I do not own InuYasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.

The Lost Chapters: True Feelings Revealed Part 5

Kaede went over to the fire pit and put the stew back on. She had a feeling more people would be arriving soon. Inuyasha remained quiet while he watched Kagome rest.

The half demon flicked his right ear when he heard Kirara land outside and recognized the familiar scents of his companions. He sighed deeply in preparation of explaining everything again. He looked up just as Miroku entered the hut.

The monk gasped when he saw her, "What happened to Kagome?"

Shippou rushed over to her and looked up at Inuyasha with fresh tears. "Poor Kagome! We should have never left her with you!" he wailed.

Inuyasha turned away from the little fox demon and waited for Sango and Miroku to get settled. They removed their sandals and left their weapons in the entry way before sitting down. Kirara curled up in Sango's lap and Shippou could still be heard sniffling by Kagome's side.

"Lord Inuyasha!" cried a voice. Inuyasha slapped the side of his neck and Myoga the flea fell from his hand.

"Old Myoga, you always show up when the danger is gone," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Lord Inuyasha, how can you say such a thing? I've put my life in jeopardy several times for you," he shouted.

Inuyasha just shook his head and began describing the snake demon to the monk and demon slayer.

"Lord Inuyasha, I've heard of this demon before. He gains holy powers from those he devours. It enables him to lower his youki*, and conceal things within his body," Myoga interrupted.

"Well that explains how he tricked us and why Kagome couldn't find the shard," Inuyasha disclosed.

"I will extract some of the poison to alleviate her pain," the flea announced happily.

He hopped over to Kagome and started sucking out her blood mixed with the poison. He grew in size and rolled away to the corner. The half demon finished telling them what happened, but left out his interlude with Kikyo and argument with Kagome.

"I wonder if this demon had been watching Kagome for a while. It seems strange that he would attack her right when she was alone." Miroku contemplated.

"It's possible since she travels between the two places often. But still, what worries me is how he came across a jewel shard so quickly. It was a bit convenient, don't you think?" Sango added.

Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"I suppose it can't be helped. Carrying around jewel shards makes us all more susceptible to danger. At least she's okay," Miroku noted.

"Quite a few jewel shards are in Naraku's possession. Do you think he gave it to the demon in an attempt to get rid of Kagome?" Kaede offered.

"Naraku," Inuyasha snarled his whole body tensing up.

"It fits his roundabout ways of attacking," she added.

"I don't think so, he would never have allowed me to take the jewel shard," Inuyasha admitted and relaxed his shoulders.

Kaede didn't partake in the rest of the conversation but had her own speculations. She passed bowls of stew around and took her place by the fire. The group stayed up for a while and told Inuyasha about their adventure gathering the other shard. Soon after, his friends drifted off to sleep. Kaede had stayed up to wash the bowls and grind up herbs for tomorrow. She then got up and placed a cool, wet cloth across Kagome's forehead for the night.

The old miko looked over at the half demon. He appeared to be asleep, sitting against the wall with his head down and eyes closed.

"Inuyasha?" Kaede whispered; she knew he was too restless to sleep, caused by Kagome's state of unconsciousness.

"Eh, yea. What do you want to say?" he replied. He knew she had stayed up to talk with him alone. He opened his eyes but kept his head down

"Can I see the shard you collected today?" Kaede asked him. He took it out from the folds of his shirt and handed it to the old miko. "Hmm, very peculiar," Kaede said while examining it.

Inuyasha glanced over at her, waiting for her to continue.

"This shard isn't tainted…it shines pure. I only know of one person besides Kagome who has the power to keep a shard pure even after it has been in the possession of a demon." Kaede confessed.

Inuyasha jerked his head in her direction. Is she really accusing Kikyo he asked himself? His brows knitted together as he remembered the last time Kikyo threatened Kagome's life.

"Jealousy is a terrible emotion to harbor, and my sister Kikyo has plenty of it," she reasoned.

"No, it couldn't have been Kikyo; I was with her when Kagome was attacked the first time. That demon was up to no good before he got the shard," he defended her.

"That's true," she agreed, "but that doesn't explain how he got this jewel shard.

The half demon fell silent, running over the details in his head to discredit Kaede's theory, but he couldn't come up with a good reason why it wasn't her. The old miko decided to say nothing else and prepared to get some rest.

As the night went on Kagome's condition improved. Her heartbeat became stable and color returned to her cheeks. Inuyasha stayed up and continued to feed the fire long after everyone was asleep.

Kaede had given him much to think about:

Not only did the woman that he love try to kill another that he cared for, on multiple occasions, but he didn't want to choose between the two. He would always love Kikyo which is why he couldn't devote himself to Kagome, but he couldn't help wanting to be with Kagome more and more each day. Her scent, her smile, her warmth; those things he didn't want to go without.

The young girl started to stir and yawned deeply. Inuyasha detected her movements and opened his eyes to meet hers: those beautiful brown eyes.

"You're okay, h..h..how do you feel?" he stuttered.

There was true sincerity in those amber eyes and she found it hard to still be mad at him. After all the last thing she remembered was the second attack from Rydou, so he must've taken care of her.

"I think it looks worse than it feels," she lied and tried to sit up on her elbows, but stumbled. Inuyasha caught her before she hit her head but then lowered her back down. He stole a glimpse of her several bandages and bare skin covered in bruises. It pained him to think Kikyo was behind it and that he was powerless to stop it.

"It's too early to sit up, just rest," he requested. He pulled the blankets back over her shoulders and placed the cloth on her head. She turned her head to face him.

"Inuyasha…" she breathed. He repositioned himself to lie alongside her and leaned his head on the back of his hand. "I'm sorry I worried you," she finished.

"Keh, don't be stupid," he muttered. "If I had gone after him the first time you wouldn't have gotten hurt," he confessed.

They remained quiet in each other's company for a few minutes before she fell back to sleep. He stroked the side of her face before rolling onto his back to doze off for a few hours.

* youki - demonic aura/energy