I'm sorry for not updating for so long. I will spare you of the excuses. Here you go, next chapter. Enjoy

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but no, I don't own Inuyasha.

Silver

Kagome paused in the motion of cutting potatoes for the stew. She turned the knife slightly, so the blade glinted against in the glow of the fire. She had though about this a lot during the past couple of days. What if she just you know… ended it all…? What if she went to join her family, where ever they are right now? It would be so easy… Just, make an excuse to go to the hot springs and do it. By the time Inuyasha got there, it would probably be too late to save her.

Shaking her head, Kagome brought the knife down and split a potato in half. No, those were stupid thoughts. She was a sensible person. And sensible people don't commit suicide. Plus, if she died, who would be there to avenge her family?

"Kagome," Sango's voice brought her out of her musings like a bucket of cold water. "Are those potatoes done?"

"Oh, yes." Kagome finished up the last piece and dumped the pieces into the boiling water. "Is there anything else I can do, Sango-chan?"

"No, no, I'm almost done." Sango smiled at her friend. "Go sit with Inuyasha or something," She whispered. "He's been staring at you with this worried look on his face the entire day."

Kagome nodded and took off her apron. Inuyasha seemed to be really worried about her. Kagome shook her head, trying to clear her mind. It was as if he could read her mind or something. Does he know about her thoughts on leaving this world?

"Hey," Kagome sat down beside Inuyasha and tucked her knees under her chin.

"Hey yourself,"

"You… okay?"

"Yeah,"

Inuyasha lowered his head and peered at Kagome through his bangs as she stared off into the darkening sky. She was thinking about it again; what ever that was had been bothering her since that day. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he was sure as hell it wasn't what he wanted to know.

"Oi," Inuyasha squinted at Kagome long and hard as she turned back to face him. "What are you planning?"

"W-what?"

"You're planning something. Thinking real hard…" Inuyasha tilted his head to the side like a puzzled dog. "What is it?"

"I… I don't know what you are talking about." Kagome looked away stubbornly. What was going on in her head was for her to know and him to never find out. Curse him for being able to read her so well.

"Stop lying," Inuyasha took a sniff. "I can practicallysmell the lie."

"Well, then you should get your nose checked." Kagome stood up to go. His accusations were too close to the truth for comfort.

"Don't." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's wrist and stopped her. "Come with me." He started to drag her off towards the trees.

"But dinner-"

"-will still be here when we get back." Inuyasha finished and pulled Kagome onto his back and jumped off into the shadows.

Inuyasha stopped in a tree and plunked Kagome down on a branch next to him. Let her try and get away now.

"I won't let you fall." Inuyasha kept a hand on her arm to steady her. They were pretty high up. "Ok, talk."

"About what…?" Kagome looked away as the grip on her arm tightened, just a little. She knew that Inuyasha was trying to be as patient as he could with her. But… how did he know? She had shown no signs of it, had she? She was sure that Inuyasha couldn't read minds and you definitely couldn't smell thoughts… then… how?

Inuyasha growled softly and turned Kagome by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

"You know exactly what I'm going on about, dammit!" Shaking his head in frustration, Inuyasha wracked his brain. How should he say this? He had a pretty good idea on what Kagome was thinking of. He just didn't want to be too blunt with it.

"Just… what ever you're thinking of doing… don't do it." Inuyasha mumbled, peering at Kagome with his brow scrunched up in worry.

Kagome let out a soft gasp as a cold shiver ran down her spine. He did know…

"How…?"

"I've known you for all these years, haven't I?" Inuyasha chuckled bitterly and ran a hand through his hair. "Look Kagome, promise me that you will be smart and not do anything idiotic, okay? Leave that to me." He joked, desperately trying to lighten the mood. Man, did he fail miserably.

"I was just…" Kagome abandoned her half hearted try at defending herself.

"Kagome, you promised me to keep doing that happy thing, remember?" Inuyasha hurried on at the confused expression on her face. "You didn't forget, did you? You promised me that you would never let yourself be broken and that you will always remain happy and shit."

At this, Kagome's eyes began to sting and water. Happy and unbroken… she had promised, and oh, how she had failed.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha mentally gave himself a good, hard kick in the balls. Yeah, go ahead and make her cry. That'll totally make her feel better. He gave a sigh and picked her up and set them both on the ground. "I… You know what? Don't worry about it. Let's just… pretend this conversation never happened, okay? I'll take you back and…"

Kagome shook her head furiously and choked back a sob.

"No. I don't want to live in denial." She took a shaky breath and looked up almost defiantly into those eyes of molten gold that had captured and held her from the moment they first fluttered open. "I… I won't do anything stupid. If I do, there will be no one left to look for and destroy whatever it was that…" She swallowed thickly. "That… killed my family."

Inuyasha's chest contracted painfully at this. He had just seen the real Kagome emerge, even if it was only for a moment. It reminded him painfully how much he needed her and how his entire being would cease to exist if she was gone. He knew without a doubt that if she was to leave this world, he would have no hesitations about following her. Oh Kami…

"Are you okay?" She studied him closely, concern etched clearly in her features. "You look really pale…"

"No… No, I'm fine." Inuyasha bit out. "Just… just, come here."

Kagome gasped as he pulled her into an almost rough embrace. Slowly, she brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. A low growl rumbled deep in him. She could hear it along with his rapid heart beat as she tilted her head so that her ear was against his chest.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear? Ever."

When they came back, no one asked where they were. They were both hustled around the fire and given a bowl of stew and chopsticks. There was the usual talk about Naraku and the jewel, the usual snarls of "PERVERT!" followed by the sound of a harsh slap.

That night, Inuyasha sat down against the base of a tree next to Kagome. He needed to be near her right now. Just to make sure… that she would still be here the next time he looked. He felt so angry with himself. All this time, he had never realized how easily he could have lost her. Kami, he was one lucky guy. There have been a million times where she could have just left him, left this world behind and gone back to her's. She had had everything waiting for her back there. The perfect family, the perfect friends, a would-be perfect boyfriend… she had her entire life mapped out flawlessly in front of her and she left all that behind, simply to be with him.

Kagome turned around in her sleeping bag to face him and gave him a smile that did not reach her eyes. She curled up into a ball and leaned her forehead against the side of his leg. Inuyasha pulled a strand of her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. Crossing his arms across his chest, he then laid back against the tree as Kagome's breathing evened out on the ground next to him.

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha thought back to the day when he and Kagome had gone back to her world. There had been the distinct smell of roses in Kagome's house… could it have been left by the murderer? He knew for a fact that whatever killed Kagome's family wasn't human. From what Kagome had described, the killer was completely heartless and had the most messed up mind he had ever heard of. Whoever who did it did it purely for amusement. Inuyasha looked down at the sleeping girl next to him.

How could anyone be so cruel as to do such a thing, to someone like Kagome?

She glared on the surface of the lake in distaste. That girl, she was mending inside. No, that was not supposed to happen. The boy with the hair like spun silver was healing her. No, she could not have that.

A malevolent smile graced her red-stained lips.

The boy with the hair like spun silver… He has to go.

Inuyashafanfreak: I am ashamed to say that I actually enjoyed writing that part… Not to say that I actually wanted Kagome's family dead. I was just happy to be able to unleash my sadistic side for once. :P

sniff: I'm hoping that is a good sign…

InuKagzLover: Inuyasha calls Kagome Kags because I tell him to. LOL. When I feel sad, my friends always call me baby names or nicknames and such. It makes me feel better, so I think that Inuyasha might just be trying to do the same for Kagome. Just think of it as a term of endearment.

twiztidchick666: Thank you.

kagome10678: Thank you.

Silver-Shadow-Fox: Thank you. LOL. I HAD to make Inuyasha have his cute moments. The anime deprives him when it comes to such behavior. xD

Kumiko Lovesss: Thank you.

Yoshiko Furu: Oh I see. Ah well, this isn't a CSI fic, so it matters not. Thank you for the info. Oh, um… :hands over sleeping pills: Hope these help…?

slipknot4349: Thank you.

DarkDeSkull: Oh::blushes: Well, never been called that before. LOL. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

screw-the-system: I know! I hated myself for doing that to Buyo… But I'm sure that he is at a better place now.