A/N: SPRING BREAK! Now I can FINALLY get some sleep, and some studying done! AP US is no joke, plus I'm going to be taking AP European next year (full story on website, I finally updated!) so I'd better get used to it.

The odd thing is, I had to cram so much this year, I've become a study-o-haulic. But I still keep my title as procrastinating queen by doing my homework 5 minutes before class. (Old habits die hard.)

Oh, we're getting close to the final battle! (It's LOOONG, but good.) Plus, there's epilogue chapters, so, finally on the home stretch!

Part IV

Chapter 20: Heartache's Warning

Ever since the night of the kiss, Inuyasha and Kagome's friends noticed a change in the two. Both of their eyes held longing and deep love for one another, yet they didn't act upon it. If they got too close, they blushed, as usual, but said nothing and pulled away sharply.

It made everyone, most especially Sango and Miroku, wonder about what had happened. But whatever it was, they weren't saying. Kagome's tragic eyes had gone away, to everyone's relief, but she still wasn't quite back to normal.

They traveled on as usual, not daring to stop too often, now that they had Kohaku with them. It would be too dangerous if they were in one place for too long, now with the threat of Naraku using the curse against them.

During the travels, Kagome rode on Inuyasha's back as usual, though now, more often than not, he carried her when they weren't on a long commute. Their excuse was that her ankle was still in pain, but the others sensed it was more than that. It seemed that something had abruptly changed in their relationship, making them more open and willing to trust one another.

Though it seemed like everything was resolved, Kagome still had to battle with her emotions every time she was around him. Now, it was not merely a question of if she loved him or not, it was now a question of how far they should go. Her body ached for his, whenever he looked at her, his eyes sparkling with love, yet she couldn't get rid of her fear of the curse.

But when he tries to kiss me…should I let him? she wondered, remembering all too well the feel of his lips against his the other day. He would sometimes hug her now, trying to re-build their relationship slowly, but they both wanted so much more. Should we take it a bit further, or keep it as it is?

That day, after long hours of travel, her ankle and back cramped in protest. As Inuyasha jumped over a log in their way, he felt her stiffen as it sent an ache through her. Looking back, eyes full of concern, he asked, "Are you all right, Kagome?"

"Yeah." she replied, "Just a small ache. No big deal."

It wasn't 'no big deal' to the hanyou. He slid to a stop instantly, causing their party to come to a halt. "Hey! What did you do that for?" demanded Kagome.

"We're stopping." Inuyasha's voice held a done of a direct order. "You're in pain, and we're stopping."

The others were settling themselves down for a good rest when Kagome protested, "Don't stop on account of me! I feel fine!"

"We're stopping." The stubborn hanyou said once more, not letting her off his back. "And don't even get started with me, woman."

"Inuyasha—"

Trying to break up a sitting before it happened, Miroku cut in, "There's a pond nearby, Kagome-sama. And we all feel like we need a rest, anyway."

With Miroku's statement, she decided to give it up. "Fine," she sighed, going to move off Inuyasha's back, but the hanyou held her on.

"Inuyasha, what is it now?" she asked, sounding tired.

Rolling his eyes, as if it was obvious, the hanyou said, "I'm not letting you down on your own. That sprain of yours will never get better if you keep putting weight on it."

Struggling to get down, Kagome said, "I've put weight on it before!"

"And that's why it's not healed yet." He finished. "Look, is there anywhere you want me to put you down on, because I'm not letting you walk right now."

Kagome knew how stubborn the hanyou could be, but it was nice to see him stubborn in concern of her. After a pause, she replied, "I'd like to go near the river. I need to refill my water bottle anyway."

With a nod to the rest of the group, Inuyasha bounded off to take her there. "Hey, Inuyasha," Kagome asked, "How come while we're trying to find Naraku, we're following the river?"

"His scent." The hanyou replied. "It makes sense to follow a river, and when he last came this way, he did the same thing. He probably has a castle somewhere if we keep following it, since he'd need water anyway."

"Oh…I never thought about that." They found themselves in a small glade, where the stream formed a tiny waterfall over rocks, cascading down to a small, lily-ridden pond.

"Keh, you don't think about a lot of things, woman." Inuyasha replied, setting her gently down on the ground, propping her right foot up on a rock.

Looking down at where he put her, and pulling out her plastic water bottle from her backpack, Kagome remarked, "Thanks, Inuyasha, but now I can't reach the stream."

Snatching the bottle from her hand, he said, "Give it here, I'll do it." and promptly stuck it in the stream, refilling it.

Kagome watched him, a small smile on her face, thinking about the hanyou who would do anything for her, despite having been hurt so badly already. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" he turned around and handed the bottle back to her, while she capped it.

Looking away, Kagome asked timidly. "How long…do you think…until we find Naraku?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. His scent is getting stronger, but I guess we don't really know until we find his castle." Leaning forward, he touched his lips to her forehead, feeling her skin quiver under his touch. "Don't worry about it so much." He moved downward to kiss her cheek, but Kagome shook her head, making him pull away.

"Inuyasha, until we defeat Naraku, we can't really be doing…this…" Inuyasha wasn't listening. He was currently wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a fierce hug.

"I thought that we had agreed things would be different." There was a slight whine in his voice, showing his obvious hurt.

Snuggling into his protective embrace, though it felt slightly awkward with her ankle still propped up, she replied, "They are, Inuyasha. But there are some things that have to remain the same. We can't mate, obviously, and we really shouldn't be kissing either." Kagome told him matter-of-factly. Pulling away slightly, to look him in his eyes, she said. "I promised I would try, but we can't go jumping into things too soon. Besides, we haven't even told Sango-chan and Miroku-sama."

"Keh. They don't need to know our business." The hanyou pulled her back into a hug, where Kagome had no inclination of moving. They both held each other, small smiles on each other's faces.

But, as Kagome knew it would, being with him led her to think of wanting something more. Was it a sin, to want him this badly? She had already been with him that way, it wasn't like they could take their relationship to a whole new level anymore, but since they had been denied it after so long, the pull was strong. More often lately, Kagome found herself thinking about him…and a lot about that night before, though sometimes it caused a blush to appear on her face (and by the way Inuyasha looked at her sometimes, she suspected he thought about it a lot too). Before she had met Inuyasha, having intimate relationships in the future was something she never really thought about, and now, she thought about it all the time.

So, with blush and all, Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, at the same time he looked at her. Like always, she melted under the gaze of those amber eyes, wishing, like she always did, that she could stay in his arms forever.

It was beyond their control what happened next, they found themselves coming closer together, drawn under the spell of their eyes. Only wanting to feel their lips against each others…Only wanting to touch them once more with bare fingertips…To open up those secrets shut away long ago…

But they had just barely touched lips when it happened.

A large crash filled the clearing, causing them to spring apart Kagome practically jumping on Inuyasha in surprise, crying out in the unexpected pain as her ankle was jerked off its place on the rock. After putting one arm around her to protect her, Inuyasha looked up, to see a purple cloud of shouki floating above them.

"Just as I had expected, Inuyasha." A chilling, familiar voice said smugly. "Did you finally wear down after four months?"

Inuyasha and Kagome both knew that voice all too well. "Inuyasha…its—"

The hanyou responded in a low, dangerous growl, "Naraku!"

The figure within the cloud laughed a cold laugh, the cloud beginning to disperse. Two eyes, with eerie red pupils, opened against the dark, while soon, his whole form could be seen, from his long, dark brown hair enveloping him like a halo, to the tentacles that had sprouted from his back. Naraku was smiling as he viewed the two, with a smile tat sent a chill down both of their spines.

Inuyasha stood up, feeling Kagome stiffen against the sudden movement on her ankle. With his free hand, he reached for the Tessaiga, his hand on the hilt that was already pulsing to be reunited with his hand. "Kagome, get behind me." He whispered, moving in front of her in a protective stance.

"But—"

"Get behind me." He stressed, giving her a small glare as she obeyed silently, dark brown eyes looking on at Naraku in fear while Inuyasha protected her.

"As cautious as ever, Inuyasha." Naraku scoffed, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Though, didn't your parents ever tell you to teach your mate with respect?"

Both of them gasped while Naraku smiled. How could he have known? It wasn't like they had announced it publicly…but somehow, he knew.

Which meant they were in more trouble than they thought.

"Keh." Inuyasha replied, unsheathing Tessaiga with one swift movement, the phantom sword transforming in a flash of light. "And didn't your parents ever teach you to knock?"

Naraku continued, smile growing wider, "At least the ones who raised me told me that beating a woman doesn't win her heart. You finally got what you always wanted, Inuyasha, the power of a full youkai. And yet, it kills you to even recall the memory of it now, doesn't it, knowing that with that power, you were hurting the woman you loved…"

Kagome grasped Inuyasha's shoulder tighter, hearing the hanyou's growl escalate. "Inuyasha, calm down, he's only trying to get you riled up!"

Her pleas were lost as Naraku sneered, "And you, Kagome, you were no loss to torment. I heard you were the one to eventually put your precious doggy down…what a pity I didn't get to see it first hand…"

Kagome's comforting hand and voice were forgotten as Inuyasha launched himself at Naraku, crying out too many obscene things for Kagome to count as he readied himself to slice through his greatest enemy—

When his sword hit a crimson barrier, erected at the last second between himself and Naraku, keeping the evil hanyou safe. With his trademark smug grin, Naraku used the second Inuyasha was distracted to his advantage, sending a bolt of energy at the girl on the ground.

Inuyasha didn't notice anything had happened until he heard her scream. Whipping his head around as he jumped back to the ground, he saw Kagome fly through the air, only to be caught by Shippou transforming into his pink bubble shape as the others flooded into the glade.

"Kagome!" he cried, jumping back down to her, his hand cupping her cheek. She was alive, at least, but she was unconscious. Anger filled his heart as Shippou transformed back into himself and he entrusted Kagome to the youkai exterminator and the monk for the moment. He was angry mostly at Naraku for what he did to her, but he was also angry at himself, for letting his temper snap and putting her in danger.

Turning back and facing Naraku with cold eyes, Inuyasha tried to figure out what was going on. It didn't make sense, usually if Inuyasha wanted a fight, Naraku gave it to him, but instead, it seemed hat Naraku's aim was to attack Kagome, and insult him. What was going on?

And more importantly, how can I stop it? he wondered, looking Naraku over for any weaknesses, but sadly, there was none so far as he could find.

"You shouldn't worry about your lover so much, Inuyasha. She'll live." He replied coolly. "Though with a girl like that, I'm not surprised. Despite the fact that you seem to be drawn to human mikos—who're connected, in fact—you do seem to always pick the prettiest ones."

Inuyasha's knuckles began to turn white and his hands began to shake as hot rage poured through him once more, but he had to keep himself from a temper outburst like that again. "Naraku—"

Miroku started forward towards the hanyou, "Inuyasha, what's—" but stopped when Naraku spoke up again.

With cruelty and amusement in his eyes, Naraku replied, "It makes even me wonder, how pleasurable she must be, if you would risk hurting her again to mate with her once more."

A loud, extremely fierce growl escaped the hanyou as he looked up at his archenemy, yelling, "Naraku! If you lay a hand on her, then I'll kill you so slowly, you'll wish you had died much sooner." This threat was followed by a low growl that he didn't let up on, as his amber eyes stared with deadly intent towards him.

Naraku gave an amused chuckle at this remark, saying dryly, "Never fear, Inuyasha, I wouldn't touch your precious miko. That girl's like a bitch in heat, only letting dogs mount her."

In an instant, Kongousouha spears flew at Naraku, piercing the barrier in an instant, cutting Naraku's body into shreds. But the barrier re-formed, and Naraku's body began to come back together, since he had missed his heart. When the dust cleared, Inuyasha stood on the ground, with Tessaiga ready once more, his eyes locked in a deadly glare, full of malice, his growl escalated.

With one last snicker, Naraku said, "Whether you deny it or not, Inuyasha, every day you want that girl more and more. Your lust for her only grows with each touch of her skin, with each kiss of her lips. A mere recollection of that night sets you on fire. But…" he added, with a glance back at the unconscious Kagome. "If I were you, I'd tread lightly around these feelings." And with that, he disappeared once more.

Once he was sure the danger was past, Inuyasha sheathed Tessaiga, muttering, "Bastard." He wouldn't say anything, but he knew the last of what Naraku had said was all true. His feelings for Kagome…sometimes they were almost too hard for him to control.

Coming back over to Kagome, surrounded by his silent comrades, he traced her tender cheek with a worried look in his eyes, before he put one arm under her knees, and another under her neck, and lifted her up in his arms. Glancing back to where Naraku had been, unconscious girl limp in his arms, he made a chilling vow. "Naraku, the next time we meet, I swear, I will kill you." Looking back at her, he added, "For Kagome."


A/N: I dunno why, but I liked this chapter. I guess it was the Naraku insults. (I was really tempted to make him say, "Yo' Mama!" XP) But I think my favorite was Naraku's little "doggie comparison" comment. It's a bit harsher than some of his usual canon insults (In English…that's why I like the Japanese dub better. Better Naraku insults!) but somehow, putting it in made me feel oddly giggly for some reason.