His heart clenched as he saw how wounded their bodies were, especially Kagome. Her blood drowned his senses, that with every second passed, the more he struggled to think clearly. He felt too defeated to do anything.

"Inuyasha, we need to get to Kaede the soonest. Kagome's loosing blood." Sango paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say, before she uttered her next statement.

"You carry Kikyo and we'll get Kagome on Kirara. We need to move now."

As if a slap to reality, Inuyasha then walked towards Kikyo, knelt in front of her, and hugged her body as tight as he could.

"I'm sorry I was not there to protect you. I know you need me now but Kagome's wounded too. And I.. she needs me now more than ever. I will give you to Sango's care but I promise, I will constantly check up on you" - he whispered in her ear.

After their moment, he stood up, carried Kikyo on his arms, and placed her on the safety of Kirara's back.

"I will take Kagome and you go ahead. We'll be behind you" he told sango with conviction, and with a tone she knew she shall never dare to question.

If not for the risky situation they are in, Sango would have felt elated, as finally she could see for herself what might have been the true feelings of the hanyou over the two mikos. But not today, she thought. She will deal with the revelation later. And with that, they left kagome and inuyasha behind as they headed towards their village.


Inuyasha walked towards Kagome's side and held her tightly to his chest. With a gentle hand, he stroked her back and he burrowed his nose on her hair to inhale what's left of her natural scent.

"Wench, I wont fail you again." he thought.

He then shifted her head so he could look directly at her face, and with a touch so tender, he placed a palm on her bloody cheeks.

"Koi, I promise i wont leave your side. No one can make me.." he whispered as he leaned his head down and pressed his lips against hers...


Inuyasha was able to catch up to the group so they were able to bring the two mikos to the old healer at the same time.

"What happened Inuyasha?" Kaede asked while the mikos were laid on the futon.

"We don't know the details, baba. I.. I wasn't there to protect them"

"It is not your fault, inuyasha. We need to tend to them immediately. Right now, I need you and miroku out of the hut. Sango and I will bathe their bodies and clean their wounds. Shippo, I need you to boil water for them"

"No" - inuyasha quickly interjected.

"You… you take care of kikyo and I.. I will take Kagome to a nearby hot spring and bathe her there. I will go back as soon as we finish."

The group was stunned and silent, understanding what Inuyasha was implicating..

"I understand, you go ahead inuyasha, we'll take it from here and we will wait for you" - was the last he heard from Kaede, before inuyasha leapt with kagome, away from the hut.