Here is another chapter. The updates should be faster now the school has let out. Sorry for the long wait.

Disclaimer: slips out of Denial I don't own Inuyasha. slips back in

Last Time

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.

Back in 5

"Inuyasha! Watch out!"

Kagome's high pitched scream pierced the air and Inuyasha whirled around just in time to see the demon burst out from the ground no more than 3 feet behind him.

"Shit!" Inuyasha hissed and jumped back, but not before the youkai managed to open a gash on his cheek. A glowing arrow struck the vile thing and it shrieked before crumbling into a pile of ash. Another shriek was heard above them before pieces of youkai flesh rained down, signifying Miroku, Sango and Kirara's victory in the sky. Kagome came to the pile of ash and sifted through it until she found what she was looking for. The black shard turned pink as she picked it up and she thrust it into Inuyasha's line of vision in triumph.

"Ha! Another one!"

Shippou came out from behind a bush and settled himself on Miroku's shoulder as he and Sango dismounted from Kirara.

"Wonderful, Lady Kagome. Your marksmanship is improving quite a lot." The Houshi grinned.

"Yeah," Inuyasha smirked. "You actually hit the target once in a while now."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome glared at him, willing her eyes to shoot daggers as she dropped the shard in its container.

"Hey! It's the truth!"

"No! This is the 3rd demon I've killed this week!"

"Pfffffffttt! Only 3 and it's already inflated your ego."

"Oh, and you're one to talk about egos?"

"At least I don't rely on a wimpy wolf for my self confidence!"

"Oh my God! I can't believe you! Sit!"

Tears burst from Kagome's eyes as Inuyasha paid his good friend Ground a visit.

"You're such a jerk!" Kagome leaned against a near by tree and covered her face as sobs wracked her shoulders. Sango walked over and laid a gentle hand on the crying girl's back.

"Shhhhhh... It's ok. Inuyasha didn't mean that." Suddenly, Miroku came and put his hand under Sango's elbow, guiding her away. Sango shot a questioning look at him, which was returned by a thrust of head in the hanyou's direction from Miroku. Apparently, he thought this one should be handled by Inuyasha. Sango glanced worriedly at Kagome, and then at Inuyasha, who was beginning to show signs of life again. Miroku reassured her with a squeeze of his hand on her elbow and pulled her away from the crying girl, who was too upset to notice. Shippou shook his head and muttered something along the lines of "When will he learn?" before following.

Inuyasha finally picked himself off the ground and shook his head to clear his vision. Oh, that one had hurt. Then his head cleared as the scent of Kagome's tears wafted up his nose.

Crap…

"Kagome..." Inuyasha walked over and reached out to her, but his hand was slapped away. Willing his anger to subside, Inuyasha tried again.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said in his most convincing I-know-I-fucked-up-but-please-forgive-me-voice. "But... why are you crying? You never used to cry when we argued!"

Kagome glared at him with red eyes and hiccupped.

"Well, my life isn't exactly peachy right now, is it?" She regretted the words as soon as they flew out of her mouth. Since when did she start feeling sorry for herself? That thought brought out another wave of fresh tears.

Inuyasha had no idea what to do. He was just NOT good at these situations. He awkwardly stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his haori and shifted from foot to foot. Why didn't his big mouth unleash its power when it was needed?

Slowly, Kagome's sobs subsided and she wiped her face roughly. A handkerchief was dangled in front of her and she took it, much to Inuyasha's relief.

"You know what? I'm the one who should be sorry." Kagome glanced into his eyes apologetically. "I shouldn't have cried like that. It's just... I've so overwhelmed right now by all that has happened and... It is kind of hard to control my emotions sometimes."

"It... It's ok."

"Come on, we should go." Inuyasha mentally sighed in defeat as he followed her in the direction of their camp. When they were arguing, things seemed almost back to normal. But it seems as if the old Kagome has decided to leave once again. He knew it was stupid, but he had taken to provoking her more than usual in the past couple of days just to make her mad, so that the old Kagome would come back. She did, most of the time, but she never stayed long. And her visits always ended in him snogging the floor and Kagome bursting into tears.

It hurt Inuyasha to see how hard Kagome was trying to cover up her grief. He remembered when his mother left him… The pain had been excruciating. He remembered how he had withdrawn into his own reality and hid from civilization for years before he could totally accept the fact that she was never coming back. If only he could do something, anything to help her. Hell, he would give up everything he owned and more in the blink of an eye if only it would make Kagome smile again.

He took in her hunched posture and tired, dragging steps. It horrified him to think that this was once the Kagome who always walked with her face turned up to the warmth of the sun and a spring in her step.

If only he could bring her back…

"Kanna, what was it that you wanted to show me?"

Wordlessly, Kanna walked out from the shadows and held up her mirror. It displayed the image of a woman with mismatched eyes and silver nails standing in the center of a lake.

"Ah, it seems as if an old friend has reappeared..." He bared back his lips in a malevolent smile. "Summon her."

"Yes, milord."

"Inuyasha, I don't think we will get to Lady Kaede's in time..." Miroku peered worriedly at the rapidly darkening sky.

"Ah, shit." Inuyasha growled. "It's the new moon tonight, too…"

"Perhaps we should just find a shelter and spend the night there." Sango called down from Kirara's back. "Houshi-sama is right; we'll never make it on time."

"What if we get attacked?" Shippou whimpered and clutched Miroku's neck tighter.

"Easy there, Shippou. We will be in more trouble if you strangle me."

Shippou loosened his grip a little and looked around uneasily.

"We'll be ok. What are the chances that we will get attacked today, right?" Kagome pushed a couple of strands of Inuyasha's hair out of her face and stretched her senses out around her. "I don't sense any demonic auras around the area that are strong enough to be threatening." None the less, she lowered herself a bit closer against Inuyasha's back for reassurance. The new moon always meant bad news.

"Feh. I can still take on demons, even if it IS the new moon. I'm not THAT weak." Inuyasha tightened his hands slightly on Kagome's legs in response and pushed on faster. They had to find some kind of shelter soon. Night fall was but another hour away.

"Wow, we got lucky." Shippou darted into the cave and sniffed around. "No one's been here for a long time."

"That is good to know." Sango leaned Hiraikotsu against the cave wall and wearily pushed one of Miroku's hands away.

Miroku gave up and spread out the firewood they had collected earlier in the center of the cave and put a ring of rocks around it. Kagome rummaged in her pack and brought out her lighter. Within moments, a merry fire was crackling under a pot of ramen.

Inuyasha shook his now dark hair out of his face irritably and growled at nothing in particular. After a few minutes of seething in silence, he finally jumped up and jogged to the mouth of the cave.

"Back in 5." Was all the explanation he offered before disappearing into the darkness outside.

Shippou looked at Kagome and shrugged as she stirred the noodles.

"He won't go far. There's ramen for dinner tonight after all."

That made sense.

Kagome glanced worriedly to the mouth of the cave. Inuyasha had not shown up for dinner, which alone was upsetting since it was ramen night. On top of that, it was his human night, but then again… that DID give him a good reason to brood. Although he usually had enough sense to brood in a reasonably safe place.

"I'm going to go look for Inuyasha," Kagome stood up and shouldered her bow and arrows. "He should have been back a long time ago."

"Take Kirara with you, Lady Kagome." Miroku whispered, so as to not disturb the sleeping Sango.

Kagome nodded and followed Kirara out of the cave.

"Kirara, do you smell him?" Kagome leaned over and asked in the fire-cat's ear. They were flying pretty fast and the wind was beginning to drown out her words.

Kirara shook her head and snarled, no doubt cursing the hanyou for his stupidity at leaving camp at a night like this.

Kagome groaned in worried frustration and chewed on her lip. What if she lost him too? No! She couldn't think about that! Think positive! Inuyasha probably just got lost or something. Just because her family was killed doesn't mean that… no, no, don't go there either. Snarling in frustration, Kagome strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of the familiar red haori in the darkness below her.

If he squinted, Inuyasha could make out some vague shapes in the darkness. A boulder here, some bushes there, and the always present trees. What bothered him though, was being tied up-side-down to a tree in his human state. Man, it doesn't get any worse than this.

Snarling his best human snarl, Inuyasha thrashed and struggled, but the knots of rope around his ankles remained firmly tied up.

"Stop it,"

The hair on the back on Inuyasha's neck stood on end. He could see the silhouette of a woman approaching.

A pair of mismatched eyes glowed in the darkness.

Thank you guys sooo much for all the reviews. You make my day.

Twiztidchick666: That's what I'm aiming for. Evil, aren't I? xD

Nattyvarg: Thanks. I know, right? I get so happy whenever his soft side comes out.

Darkhanyou27: Thanks.

Shinjite: LOL thanks. I felt so bad when I was writing the murder description. But… I can't say that I wasn't doing my evil laugh in between paragraphs.

AngelEyes1223: Not many of us can. But then again, Kagome isn't just ANYbody. Thanks.

Morbid Faerie: Thanks.

I the Bright Angel: Thanks.

Inuyashalovebug: Thanks.

Yoshiko Furu: LOL This couple needs more attention to their relationship, no? xD