Chapter one : I'm fine !

Normal POV

"Inu-Yasha ! The jewel shard is in its forehead !" Kagome yelled.

"I'm on it !" the hanyou yelled back.

Him and his companions were presently fighting a ferocious youkai looking somewhat like a black scorpion. The demon was rendered half-crazed by the tainted jewel shard in its forehead, probably a 'gift' from their common nemesis : Naraku.

Inu-Yasha dodged an enormous pincer coming right at him and jumped ; once in the air he raised his Testusaiga to deliver the final blow, aiming for his opponent's head. Unfortunately he didn't see the long black tail coming from behind, its sting already dripping poison... Seeing the threat from afar, Sango quickly came flying to him climbed on Kirara's back ; she raised her Hiraikotsu over her head and then threw it with all the strength she could will in her arm. The large weapon hit the youkai's tail straight on, slicing it in half just in time.

"You OK Inu-Yasha ?" Sango shouted with concern.

"Yeah ! Thanks Sango !" answered Inu-Yasha who had landed safely on his feet some distance away.

The hanyou was very confused. He hadn't sensed that tail coming at all. Normally he would've been able to dodge it with no problems... Had Sango not come to his rescue, he would've been out cold by now...

He looked at Kagome who was shooting another of her sacred arrows at the beast, missing one of its legs by inches, and told himself that this wasn't really the best time to think about it. He quickly composed himself and ran toward the demon ; his friends immediately understood that he was going for the final attack, and skillfully moved out of the way. Inu-Yasha raised his sword once again and summoned its destructive power... The Tetsusaiga came crushing down in the ground and the Wind Scar flawlessly made its way to the demon scorpion. The youkai's head was ripped in pieces, soon followed by the rest of its body.

Inu-Yasha leaped gracefully in the air and grabbed the small jewel shard as soon as it was out of the scorpion's forehead. When he landed back beside Kagome, Miroku stepped forward and unwrapped his right hand ; the Wind Tunnel was unleashed and sucked in the youkai's remains.

"There" said the monk, "that's one youkai who won't be bothering anyone anymore !"

Inu-Yasha went to Kagome and gave her the shard he was holding. As usual, when the young miko took it, its tainted glow disappeared and the jewel shard was instantly purified.

"Well, that makes ten" she said while putting it in her small bottle with nine other shards.

"Ten ? You mean that's all we have so far ?" exclamed Inu-Yasha.

"Well it's better than nothing" Kagome told him.

"Yeah Inu-Yasha" said Shippo from Kagome's shoulder, "don't be such a jerk !"

The hanyou grumbled but didn't retort.

Kirara came landing beside them with a soft growl. Sango got off her and the cat demon transformed back in her smaller self.

"Good work everyone !" Sango said with a smile. "We got ourselves another shard !"

"I don't see why you're all so cheerful about it !" Inu-Yasha ranted. "We only have ten and that's not enough ! Naraku already has hundreds of them !"

"Well Naraku also have several minions that bring him the shards, which is something we don't have !" Kagome retorted angrily. "What is it with you recently ? One moment you're silent, one other you're whining or snapping at us for no reasons ! You're even worse than usual ! Do you have mood swings or something ?"

"What's that, whench ?" Inu-Yasha growled.

Sango interrupted them before they could start another one of their fights, which had become even more numerous lately. She gently grabbed Inu-Yasha's shoulder and asked him :

"By the way, Inu-Yasha" (he turned to look at her) "What happened back there ? Didn't you sense the demon's tail coming from behind ?"

"I must admit it surprised me too" Miroku said. "I was almost worried for a moment. You're lucky Sango was there..."

They all stared at him, waiting for him to answer. Making sure to hide his nervousness, Inu-Yasha just snorted and said while sheathing his sword :

"Keh. I got distracted. It happens"

"Maybe to us" Kagome intruded, "but not to you. And now that I think about it, you've been fighting like that for a while now... What's going on ? Are you sick ?"

"Of course I'm not sick !" Inu-Yasha practically shouted. "And what do you mean by 'fighting like that' ? Are you calling me weak !"

"No ! I'm just worried, that's all !"

"Well there's no need to be ! I'm fine !"

But at the same time he was ranting, Inu-Yasha found himself thinking about what his friends were saying. In fact, he knew they were right. There was no doubt that his fighting skills had diminished, he had noticed it way before them... He wasn't himself since a while, and he was feeling strange inside... Maybe Kagome was right, maybe he was sick... He didn't feel sick... but what else could it be ?

That's when it clicked in his mind : he was like that since that night. The night he wanted more than everything else to forget. That night with him.

It had been two months since then. Two months of pure torture, from Inu-Yasha's point of vue. He had been trying so hard to erase those memories from his mind... and those feelings from his heart. But to the hanyou's dismay, it hadn't worked. Not one bit. It was still so vivid, so strong... The longing was unbearable...

It's wasn't fair. He had probably forgotten everything already. He was the one who left, after all... He had abandoned him...

"...even listening to me !"

Inu-Yasha looked up at Kagome, startled. He hadn't heard a word of what she had said. Great, now he was spacing out too...

When Kagome saw the surprised look on his face she said :

"I knew it ! You weren't even listening ! You're such a jerk ! We're all worried about you and you're totally ignoring us ! You're so ungrateful !"

"I said there was no need to worry !" the hanyou yelled back. "I'm fine ! Now leave me alone, whench !"

"Oh you... you... SIT BOY !"

With a dejected sigh, Miroku and Sango watched Inu-Yasha dive face first into the ground, creating a good sized crater around him. Shippo snickered and said :

"Ah ! That should teach him !"

But when Inu-Yasha got up, the young kitsune stopped snickering all at once. A concerned look appeared on Sango and Miroku's faces, while Kagome suddenly stopped pouting to adopt the same expression as them. The reason of their reaction was simple : Inu-Yasha didn't look well at all. His movements were slow and he was panting heavily with a far away look in his eyes...

"Inu-Yasha...?" Miroku asked hesitantly.

The hanyou didn't even glance at him. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth in pain and placed a trembling hand on his stomach. Then, he did the last thing they expected him to do : he swayed on his feet and...

...he passed out.