If the Roles Were Reversed

by Glon Morski

I: Until he fell down the well and 500 years into the past, Inuyasha didn't believe in legends. His beliefs were challenged when he found himself in a world in which said legends are reality. Problem? He wants to leave that world behind, while it is unwilling to let him go. And so he begins a search for a substitute for a duty, aided by Kagome, his slef-proclaimed hanyo protector.

46. Training and Testing

Lookie here. Can you believe it? After two months of absolute silence, IRWR is back :D I hope you're all happy and I apologize for the delay. You know the drill, real life, studies… and a new game I got positively addicted to for a while LOL Actually… it was mostly the game that kept me away, too. Poor excuse? Maybe, but you have to live with it :p In exchange, I promise to try not to delay an update again (though I don't promise to be able to update by the 23rd again, so please consider this as the June update and be glad it's early – I didn't have the heart to make you wait until the weekend around the 20th). Hope to be forgiven and that you enjoy the chapter… even if I'm not sure if there aren't certain parts of it that I could have possibly written better *sigh* Well, I'll let it sit as it is for a month or two more and see if I edit it again afterward. Anyway, enough of my chatter, time to give you the delayed update :]

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ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

Buyo class o'08: *sighs* Why does everyone think that whenever you are in love, you automatically get aroused at the mere sight of the person you love or something? That's an idea I detest, especially since I see getting aroused that fast/easy as a sign of lust, not love (some may disagree with me on that, but that it my personal opinion). So no, if Kōga will smell anything off our 'hormonal teen', I doubt it'll be arousal. Besides, if Kōga had been able to smell it, then Kagome would obviously be able to, too, and that would make things WAY too uncomfortable, so I'm going to spare them that kind of problems. But the rest of what you said is pretty spot on – indeed, there is the whole problem with Kagome swearing a lot of things to Inuyasha and thus being honor bound to him, which I'm also surprised no one mentioned yet – and VERY happy that someone finally did LOL Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy :3

Guest: Well, if KōgaxKagome is hurting your brain, you might consider buying some powerful painkillers for later parts of the story – like when the wolf prince actually shows his face besides appearing in Kagome's thoughts and flashbacks. There really isn't much I can offer in terms of advice. And as for some InuyashaxKagome fluff, I think there's some in this chapter… if you squint a bit... Anyway, thanks for the review, hope you enjoy :)

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Tracks for this chapter:

SID: Monochrome no Kiss

Riviera: the Promised Land Music: Elegant Melodies

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Special thanks to Compucles and .Mandy who, despite joining us on this journey long after it began, took the time to review every other chapter. Also, special thanks go to Inuma Asahi De, a fellow writer whom I admire and hope to one day be at least an equal author to, for the same reason. Your reviews really helped me in the last weeks of this two month break when my muse simply refused to stick around long enough to write more than one sentence at a time. If this update is early (by standards of when I usually update in the month), it's thanks to the three of you :D

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What happened last time: After a close brush with death, during which Kagome got the chance to meet the spirits of her deceased parents, the hanyō miraculously recovers. Glad to see her well, but still feeling guilty for being the reason she had almost died (if only a partial reason), Inuyasha decided to ask Kaede to train him in the use of his spiritual powers. Now, in some sense grounded in Kaede's village, the rest of the group find themselves free to do as they please while the kannushi attempts to complete his training…

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Chapter 46 – Training and Testing

The next day, Kagome found herself jumping from tree to tree as she followed the young miko and a small group of children. Tomiko had decided to spend one more night at Kaede's village, both to recuperate herself and to let the children rest some more before the more or less long route back home. During that time, Kagome, Shippō and even Kirara had been in the forest close to the village, but had decided not to enter the village itself, just in case. Kagome didn't have very good experience with miko, with but two exceptions, after all, and the other two demons didn't want her to be alone, especially after the close call from the day before. In fact, Shippō still had the tendency to clinging to her as though she'd drop dead any second, and knowing well how scared the kit must have been all things considered, Kagome had allowed it.

Now however, she was on her own. As soon as Tomiko had left, the hanyō-girl told Shippō to return to the village and asked Kirara to ensure he wouldn't follow her. What she was about to do was not something she wanted the child to see. In fact, it was something that remained best one of her secrets, unless circumstances demanded she tell the others, which was why she hadn't told anyone where she was going. She wasn't planning on staying away long, anyway.

Her only problem was how to go about doing what she needed to do. Normally, it wouldn't be hard, especially with a miko, but this one had children with her. Children Kagome wanted neither to see what was about to happen, nor to involve in any way. Her attempts to find a safe way to separate the miko from the children without leaving the kids in potential danger were cut short, however, when the scent of blood reached her sensitive nose from up ahead. Frowning, the young half-demon sped up to see the source of the smell, even though her nose alone gave her a pretty much good idea already. And it was a correct guess, too.

Leaving the trees, Kagome landed on the ground and knelt by the first corpse, her hand barely ghosting over the mangled body before she drew back. Her nose scrunched up in distaste as the smell assaulted her. The victims were a group of travelers, probably merchants, and their state and scent betrayed that they've been lying on the road for quite a while already. Whatever had attacked them, and Kagome was pretty sure it was a demon, was probably long gone, too.

Of course, she knew all that just from smelling the corpses. But a human wouldn't have been able to tell whether these people were killed minutes, hours, or days ago. Which was why in the next second, Kagome was forced to move swiftly to avoid a purification arrow, the sound of a string being released being her only warning that an arrow was even fired. It was only thanks to her demonic ears and speed that she managed to avoid the projectile, landing lightly on the ground a foot or two away from where it pierced the ground with a growl rising from her throat.

"Quick to judge and quick to act, aren't you," she stated, not even attempting to look friendly and instead glaring daggers at the miko who had attempted to shoot her. The young woman had reached the top of the hill where the carnage had taken place and had seen Kagome there, obviously coming to the only conclusion a miko could possibly come to. Kagome wondered whether to be glad about it this time, or really annoyed. On one hand, she had the perfect opportunity to test the miko now without getting the children involved, as they had stayed a bit behind, probably on the miko's request, since the woman would obviously want to spare them the horrific sight. But on the other hand, being accused of murder you didn't commit was not something Kagome liked. "Ever thought that the person you find at the crime scene isn't necessarily the one who did the deed?"

"Silence, hanyō," Tomiko said in a low tone, probably trying to sound intimidating but failing miserably at it in Kagome's point of view. "Who else but you could have done it?"

"As if I was the only demonic being around here," the silver-haired girl snorted. "Spread your senses, why don't you, and then try asking that again," she added as she stood up from her crouch, caring little for the miko's notched bow, ready to send another arrow at her. She was sure she didn't look like it, but she was ready anytime. That arrow wouldn't touch her. She wouldn't allow it to.

To her surprise, however, the miko didn't release her arrow, but seemed to hesitate, instead. Was she, by any chance, considering what Kagome was saying? The half-demon frowned at the thought, quickly forcing it out of her mind. Being optimistic like this wasn't a good idea – it was only a good way to get killed.

In the next second, the arrow came flying at her and Kagome jumped back in order to avoid it, her ears twitching so she'd hear when another arrow came while her eyes remained on the projectile that missed her, trying to gauge the power that had been put into it. Her eye widened momentarily and her eyes quickly snapped back to the miko, who was already notching the next projectile. The silver-haired hanyō pursed her lips narrowed her eye in an attempt to hide her surprise and unease. Surprise because the miko seemed much more powerful than she expected and unease for the same reason. Her skin crawled in response to the purity that remained in the air after the last arrow, not to mention the purity she felt coming off of the one yet to be fired. No wonder the lesser demons had been fleeing back in that cave. Faced with such power, even Kagome felt the urge to turn tail and run, although she didn't allow herself to act on it.

And yet, there was something that bothered her. The projectiles were strongly charged, yes, and could maybe rival Kikyo's arrows. Maybe. However, unlike the long-deceased priestess, the miko Kagome was currently facing needed much more time in between firing, either in order to charge the arrow up, or to aim. Plus, her heartbeat and breathing were quickly speeding up, something the Inuyasha's ears didn't miss, signifying growing fatigue.

'Her arrows may be powerful, but that's all there is. Only power. She has no stamina and she's much too slow. If this had been a real fight, she would be long dead. And if, kami forbid, she were ever forced to fight more than one demon at once, she's be a goner before she could blink,' she thought as she dodged yet another arrow. The priestess opposite her slowly reached for the next one, her eyes betraying her growing frustration and causing Kagome to sigh as she stood with her hands raised in an attempt to show that she meant no harm.

"Why don't you quit wasting your arrows on me, miko? They might be powerful, but we both know you'll never hit. And you should also know that if I wanted to, I would have already killed you," she said calmly, but her words had little to no effect as the priestess took careful aim, again.

"The likes of you could never take my life, hanyō," she replied in a challenging tone, which didn't go unnoticed by the half-demon. The hanyō-girl narrowed her eyes and growled softly in anger at the insult, though she managed to stop herself from reacting otherwise.

"Confident, aren't you," Kagome replied as her eye narrowed in suspicion. 'She's baiting me,' she realized easily. 'She wants me to prove her wrong by attacking.' That much was quite easily to figure out. Too bad for the priestess, Kagome had never planned to attack. She had wanted to force the miko into a one-sided battle to see how she would handle herself and she had achieved that goal, already knowing what she had wanted to know. That miko could not take the Jewel. She was neither experienced nor powerful enough to protect it. The only reason she appeared strong was because she had yet to fully learn to gauge how much power she needed… and how much she had at her disposal, too. "Make sure that confidence isn't your downfall one day. The power behind your attacks means nothing if they don't connect. It's better to shoot weaker arrows but be able to hold out longer than the other way around, believe me," she added before leaping back gracefully, swiftly leaving not only the miko's range, but also her line of sight.

~ξ~

It didn't take Kagome long to return to Kaede's village. Once she was there, however, the half-demon quickly found herself unnaturally bored, for the first time in a very long while. In fact, she was quite sure it was the first time in her life. Usually, she always had something to do, and if she just happened not to have anything that needed to be done, then she was glad for the moment of peace, never actually seeing it as boredom. Especially as ever since she's met Kikyo, those moments of peace were practically nonexistent, and it had only gotten worse once Inuyasha entered her life.

Now, however, the kannushi was somewhere in the forest, though not too far from the village, along with Kaede who was training him how to use his powers. Seeing how the future-born teen had problems just forcing it to cooperate without any distractions, Kagome knew going to them, if only to observe, was a very bad idea. She would do it later, once Inuyasha started to have a grasp on his powers, just in case. After all, she didn't want his to learn to control them only to never use them at all because he had purified her a few times, so she had to make him see that, so long as he controlled it, it was safe to use his power even when she was around. He would probably be strongly against it, of course, but it wasn't like Kagome cared. She wouldn't leave the priest alone until he started training with her around whether he liked it or not. But not now. It was too soon. For now, she had to leave Inuyasha alone in Kaede's capable hands.

As for the others, they were all occupied in one way or another. Kohaku had asked Kirara to play moving target for him so he could train by himself, probably not daring to ask Kagome because of her almost-death not too long ago… and the fact that the last time they trained, he had accidentally taken her eye, which had yet to fully regenerate, although Kagome was quite certain it wouldn't take much longer by this point. Of course, she didn't blame Kohaku for the mishap in the slightest, but the young taijiya boy still didn't want to bother her. Miroku was off somewhere in the village, either meditating or, which Kagome thought was more probable, picking up girls. Shippō was playing with the village kids and Sango was kami only knew where. And even if Kagome knew where the slayer was, she wouldn't have sought her out. The other female might have started to warm up to her, but the hanyō was not going to take any chances.

With little else to do and knowing that it would be a while before she got time to herself like this again, Kagome decided quickly enough to do the only thing she could at the moment besides lying down and idly wait for time to pass. It was pretty much the only thing she could do at the moment, anyway, not to mention something she should have thought of much sooner.

That was why currently, Kagome was sitting by the river with a cloth in hand and Tessaiga lying comfortably across her knees in its transformed form. Polishing the sword might seem to be more of an obligation than anything else to some, but for Kagome, it was different. Maybe it was because she was demon or maybe because her sword was demonic and had a mind of its own. Be that as it may, she didn't see taking care of her weapon as a chore or anything like that. Rather, she considered it a pleasure, and a good opportunity to learn more about her weapon.

Because of this, she was very thorough in what she was doing. Her movements were slow but meticulous, her eye trained on her blade in order to spot any and all specs of dirt that needed to be removed. Tessaiga was obviously enjoying it all, too. Every now and then, it would pulse in her hands and instinctively, Kagome knew it was thanking her. Once or twice, the pulse was more of a guidance which spot needed more attention than the rest, but mostly it was letting her know the maintenance was very appreciated.

'I know what it is you're saying to me,' Kagome thought calmly as she continued to polish her blade. 'On an instinctive level, I can understand. But I know that's not all I should be able to do,' she saddened at the thought, her ministrations slowing a bit while her ears lowered. She knew Tessaiga had a voice, she had heard it a few times already, but she still couldn't really hear it. Her understanding of Tessaiga was still mostly instinctual. And that saddened her. It saddened her because it wasn't enough. Since Tessaiga had a voice, she wanted to be able to hear it. She wanted to know in words what her sword was trying to tell her each time it spoke, not just through feelings and instincts. But sadly, she had no idea how to go about it and even if Tessaiga was trying to reveal the secret to her, she couldn't understand the words.

Unable to help herself, the silver-haired girl sighed before putting the cloth she had polished Tessaiga with aside and admired her weapon. The polishing had done the fang some good, there was no denying that, and the hanyō could only smile at her handy work while Tessaiga took on its rusted form again. A part of Kagome wanted to polish this form too until it looked at least a bit better off, but somehow she knew it wouldn't have worked. This was Tessaiga's disguised form and no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to make it look any better. But then again, that was probably a good thing.

'Someday… Someday, I'll understand you fully. I know I will,' Kagome thought as she slowly sheathed her blade. Her ears twitched when, just as the sword's guard met the scabbard's edge with a soft click, the bushes behind her rustled as someone approached. Instantly, Kagome was on guard, although she didn't tense or prepare to be attacked in any way. She knew who was approaching, so she suspected she was safe from an attack, but she remained cautious all the same. After all, just because Sango seemed to start to see past her prejudice didn't mean she and Kagome were going to be the best of friends.

"So that's where you were, half-demon," the taijiya said as she came out of the greenery. Kagome narrowed her eye as she glanced at the slayer over her shoulder, not failing to notice that she was in her slayer-outfit instead of the usual kimono she wore over it.

"I take it you were looking for me," she replied in place of asking, her tone curious. "What do you want?" she couldn't help the defensive note in her voice. Sango and her hadn't been on the best of terms up until that point, plus the other female was a demon slayer. Kagome preferred to be cautious. And for her part, although she had to have noticed it, Sango didn't seem to mind in the least. Although then again, why should she if she was just as cautious.

"I have a favor to ask," the slayer replied, causing Kagome to raise a curious eye-brow, especially at the determined glare Sango was giving her.

"A favor? You? From me?" she asked disbelievingly, not even attempting to hide her doubt. Sango's eyes narrowed and Kagome could smell the irritation coming from the woman, but surprisingly, it was swiftly replaced by acceptance, which actually stunned the hanyō. She would have rather expected her obvious disbelief to anger the slayer-woman.

"Yes," Sango replied shortly, her voice hard as she reached for the large boomerang on her back. "I want you to fight me."

The surprise on Kagome's part only lasted a split second before the hanyō smirked and tied Tessaiga to her obi.

"Fight you, huh?" she said as she rolled her shoulders while glancing at the taijiya from the corner of her eye. "Any rules besides not killing each other?" she asked calmly before throwing her hair over her shoulder so it wasn't in the way.

"All is fair," Sengo replied, sticking Hiraikotsu in the ground before her in order to grip it better. "There'll be no holding back," the slayer added, her body tensing in preparation as she lifted her boomerang again and held it behind her in obvious preparation for a throw. But then she froze and her eyes narrowed. "But I only want to fight when you're at your full strength, half-demon."

"If you're worried about this," Kagome replied, her hand ghosting over her covered eye as she bent her knees, also preparing for a fight in her own way, "then you needn't think about it. I don't need my eyes to fight, so being an eye short doesn't weaken me any. If you want to take me on at my best, now's as good a time as any."

[T]

"Fine. But you better not be lying because you're looking down on me, half-demon," the demon slayer warned, causing Kagome to scoff.

"I might not think most humans are much of a threat to me, but spiritualists and taijiya are not most humans, now are they," she said while facing Sango fully, her knees already bending in preparation and her claws flexing. She knew, of course, what the taijiya was up to. That was the only reason she agreed to fight her at all. "So, no killing and, in my case, no chopping off limbs or anything of that sort, but other than that, everything's allowed, right?" she decided to make sure, grinning a feral grin when the female taijiya nodded. "Deal. Then give me your worst, taijiya."

Sango didn't need any more invitation than that, her hand already moving and the boomerang following it as she threw it with expertise.

"Hiraikotsu!" she yelled as she let the weapon go, the gigantic bone flying in a straight line at the hanyō, who merely ducked in order to avoid it. When the boomerang flew over her harmlessly, Kagome straightened and immediately swung with her claws in order to deflect the sword Sango had tried to slash her with. The slayer wasn't done, however, and if the glint in her eyes was anything to go by, she wasn't planning anything good, either.

The assumption had proven correct when in the next moment, a cloud surrounded both the hanyō and the slayer, making seeing each other hard for both of them despite being mere inches away from each other. Said cloud's purpose, however, was not to hinder sight as Kagome realized rather swiftly. She immediately leaped back to get out of the cloud, but the damage was already done and the half-demon's knees buckled under her the moment she landed, her moment of weakness the only thing that allowed her to avoid the returning boomerang as she fell to her knees coughing and fighting off the dizziness.

"Any taijiya would know that demons like you can be easily weakened by strong scents. Did you think I wouldn't make use of that?" Sango asked as she caught her boomerang and stuck it in the ground in front of her. She wasn't affected by the stinking smoke any, but then again, she didn't wear a gas mask for nothing. "You're at my mercy now. I guess that means I win," she added, sounding somewhat disappointed. Kagome snarled, trying to ignore the way her vision blurred and spun as she raised her head to glare at the slayer in front of her.

"Don't go deciding that on your own. You haven't landed a blow that would have been fatal in a real fight yet, taijiya, so you haven't won," she snarled, though thought better of trying to stand up. The demon slayer scoffed.

"With the way this stink affects humans, who don't have a nose nearly as sensitive as yours, you won't be able to stand up for at least a few hours," Sango deadpanned, although she didn't let her guard down.

"And would that mean the end of your job during an actual extermination?" Kagome challenged, her unwillingness to admit defeat causing Sango to sigh.

"Fine, have it your way," she said before her eyes hardened and she threw her boomerang again. Looking at the way it flew, Kagome knew that even if she didn't move, the weapon wouldn't truly harm her, merely take a bit of hair from the crown of her hair, but not harm her. Still, in an actual battle, it would have, so not moving was not an option.

Waiting until the last possible moment to move, Kagome ducked under the weapon only to stand right back up, the sudden impact of her fist against the boomerang's side making it change direction and fly off somewhere. But the hanyō didn't pay much attention to the demonic bone anymore, instead leaning to the side and bringing up her hand to stop the blade that was aiming for her head by catching the sword's handle. Her hand covered Sango's easily and in the next moment, the slayer and the hanyō were almost nose to nose with the demonic of the two women glaring daggers at the other.

"You recover fast," Sango commented, obviously surprised at the ease with which Kagome had defended herself. Kagome huffed under her breath, but didn't grace the slayer with a verbal response.

'As if. I'm just not that easy to kill, taijiya,' she thought angrily as she turned her wrist slightly at just the right angle, causing Sango's hand to twist until the slayer was forced to release the blade in an attempt to free herself, which Kagome allowed even thought she could have easily kept the slayer where she was with her superior strength (though she probably would have crushed her hand in the process, too). Sango's eyes widened in surprise and Kagome couldn't help but grin at the disbelief she could see in the slayer's demeanor, probably at the way in which she had been disarmed.

"Everything save killing allowed, right, tijiya?" she asked rhetorically in a low tone as she caught the falling blade with her other hand before jumping back, just as another stink bomb hit the ground, effectively shielding the slayer from view. Kagome scowled, already knowing what the first thing she needed to do was but not yet sure how to go about it. 'That gas mask… I need to get rid of it,' she thought while throwing Sango's wakizashi behind her to get stuck in one of the far off trees to be found later. It was a weapon she didn't know and was not used to, so she wouldn't risk using it, but she had to also make sure the slayer wouldn't get it back just yet.

The moment of pause was swiftly over when Kagome's sensitive ears caught the sound of something weird cutting through air. She dodged instinctively, her eye widened slightly when Hiraikotsu tore at the ground in front of her before turning around and returning to Sango, who didn't waste any time to throw it again with deadly precision. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Kagome unsheathed Tessaiga and blocked the incoming boomerang. And while it didn't harm her as expected, it did push her back.

Standing her ground, the half-demon applied more pressure and finally threw the boomerang back, but to her dismay, it merely returned to Sango once more. And then, it came flying at her again. It was obvious that was how the slayer dealt with most of her enemies, but that didn't make it any less problematic. With how well Sango handled Hiraikotsu, there was no way to get close to her while she had it, unless Kagome chanced attacking before the weapon came back to the slayer.

It quickly became apparent that it was pretty much the only thing Kagome could do, too. So when Sango threw the boomerang again, the hanyō ducked and immediately leapt forward, planning to knock the taijiya out with one hit. However, that wasn't to be, something Kagome had half-expected, as the demon slayer threw a chain at her that Kagome hadn't realized she possessed up until now. The metal wrapped itself easily around Kagome's wrist and with one tug on Sango's part, the half-demon was dragged to the ground, plummeting face first into the dirt. Hiraiotsu returned to Sango soon after, and Kagome didn't have the time to stand up before the slayer was looming over her with the boomerang at the ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"My win," Sango said quietly, but Kagome didn't quite agree. Before the slayer could deliver the would-be killing-blow-feint, the hanyō wrapped the chain still encircling her wrist tighter around her hand in order to grip it better, then pulled strongly. As she expected, the other end of the chain was still wrapped around Sango's arm to make handling it easier, and the sudden tug caused the taijiya to lose her balance and fall forward. Just as she started falling, Kagome got up to her knees with lightning speed, the movement exposing her throat to the hidden blade that suddenly sprung from Sango's arms, stopping just an inch short of actually cutting skin. The taijiya smiled, something Kagome could see despite her gas mask, which in the end had not been necessary to remove.

[/T]

"I still win," she said, her words making Kagome raise an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that?" the hanyō asked while moving her free arm slightly back, suddenly making Sango realize that there was metal resting against her neck as well. Glancing down, she saw Tessaiga's untransformed edge resting against her flesh as if nothing were. When they were fighting, however, Kagome had let the sword transform.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that if Kagome hadn't undone the transformation, then Tessaiga's blade would have been half-way in Sango's neck by now. And the slayer hadn't even seen the blade approach.

"I'd call it a draw. There's no way I would have been able to evade this and I doubt my head would still be attached to my shoulders in that case," the half-demon said while tapping the blade at her own neck with one of her claws while withdrawing Tessaiga from Sango's neck. The demon slayer moved back as well and sat back on her heels, only now realizing how true Kagome's verdict was.

Both of them were breathing hard, even though the 'battle' didn't last very long. Both of them were currently on their knees as if defeated, and yet both have landed a killing blow in the same moment. Truly, there was no doubt – if this wasn't a draw, then neither of the two would know what was. Sango sighed as she took of her mask.

"Fair enough," she admitted with a soft smile. "You're good."

"You're not so bad yourself, not that I expected anything less. You are a taijiya, after all," Kagome replied before shifting positions so she could lie down comfortably on her back, Sango soon following suit. "But damn, what do you put in those nasty stink bombs? I barely breathed their stanch in and I'm still dizzy."

"You're dizzy? And you could still fight the way you did?" Sango couldn't help but ask, her voice betraying her surprise. Kagome shot her an annoyed look from the corner of her eye.

"If I let a little dizziness slow me down, I would have died a billion times over by now," she said as if it were obvious, which it actually was.

"True," Sango admitted. For a while, neither of the two said anything more and a peaceful silence settled between them, for the first time not a spark of animosity to be felt between the should-be natural enemies. The silence didn't last long, though, as Sango spoke up again. "You know, I've always been taught that whether it be a demon or a half-demon, they're the same. Both are a danger to humans, both love killing for no reason, both need to be exterminated… the only difference is that half-demons weren't as strong as yōkai because of their mixed blood."

'Mixed blood… What a bunch of bullshit,' Kagome thought with a mental snort, frowning a second later when she realized she had no idea where the thought even came from, much less her conviction about it.

"But now… I think it's time I forget all that and just try to see for myself if any of it is actually true. Although from what I've already seen in the short time I've traveled with you and the others, Kagome, I'm starting to doubt it. I realize I was wrong, and I want to find out just how wrong I was," the taijiya continued while turning her head to glance at the half-demon, effectively bringing her out of her thoughts. The silver haired girl smiled slightly, not missing the fact that Sango had called her by her name for the very first time.

"Fine by me. I always wondered if it was possible for a taijiya and a hanyō to tolerate each other, anyway, but since you get along with Kirara, I don't see why we couldn't try," she replied with a shrug.

"So… we can try to start over?"

"Yeah. We can start over." And yet, Kagome already felt it was more than that. It wasn't just a start with a clean slate. It was the beginning of a new friendship.

~ξ~

The next few days passed by rather uneventfully. In fact, the only thing going on was Inuyasha's training, which was shrouded in mystery to everyone but the kannushi in question and Kaede, his teacher. As for the rest of the group, it quickly became obvious that if they didn't occupy themselves somehow, they were doomed to get bored.

While everyone could somehow occupy themselves, however, Kagome didn't have that luck. There was nothing she could currently help in the village with, as there was no repairing to do and there was little else she was capable of helping at. She had simply long since forgotten how village life worked and was too much of a free spirit to bother remembering. Which was why instead of wasting away in the village, the hanyō quickly took to spend her time in the forest, leaving before dawn and returning no sooner than dusk. What she was doing the whole day, no one knew and no one bothered to ask, either. The villagers knew who Kagome was and respected her as the Inuyasha, but that was as far as their acceptance went. So long as there was no demon attack, Kagome could do whatever she pleased and no one would care. She was only important to them if her strength was needed. The exceptions to that rule were her traveling companions, Kaede and Souta (whenever he wasn't busy training himself, as he had decided to follow his father's footsteps and start doing it sooner, rather than later), but even they did not ask how she spent her days, though Kagome didn't mind.

Whenever she was in the village, however, she made a point to come to Kaede's hut. Since the old miko's home was where the group was currently spending their nights, she usually saw everyone there at that time, although she paid more attention to Inuyasha than anyone else – a detail everyone but the priest noticed, but didn't question given the circumstances. It was because of the future-born teen and his training that they were currently forced to remain in the village, after all.

It was because of these de facto check-ups that Kagome noticed a few concerning things about Inuyasha's condition, though she did not comment on the fact. For all she knew, it might all be normal given the intense training he was going through. If Kaede mentioned no concerns, then the hanyō-girl believed there was nothing to worry about. Still, that didn't deter her from keeping a closer and closer eye on the priest as the days passed. And on the sixth day since her miraculous 'revival', Kagome decided things have gone too far.

"Kaede-chan," she called to the elder miko when she came out of her hut in the morning and jumped down from the roof of her hut to land beside the priestess. "I need to talk to you," she said, although it really wasn't needed. The silver-haired half-demon wasn't someone who called out to anyone if she didn't have something important to talk about, and Kaede knew it.

"If ye are concerned about Inuyasha and my plans to train him today, there's no need. He shall rest today," the old priestess said before Kagome could utter a single word more. The immediate response made Kagome chuckle lightly.

"You know me well," she said with a smile, though it reached only half-way to her eyes. "Then I guess asking whether everything is really alright is unnecessary, too?"

"Ye have just asked either way," Kaede replied with a smile of her own, then turned and headed towards the edge of the forest where she often went to gather herbs that did not grow in her garden. "Walk with me, Kagome. This old miko could need some help while gathering herbs," she said without turning around, knowing well that the half-demon would follow without protest.

"That, and you wish to talk with me about something important you don't want anyone else to hear about," Kagome replied in a low tone so no one besides the elderly woman would hear, chuckling again at the somewhat surprised glance Kaede shot her in response.

"Ye know me well," the old miko threw Kagome's words back at her with a small smile on her lips. "Indeed, there's something I need to discuss with ye. Something very important."

"I'm all ears," the golden-eyed girl replied, her demeanor sobering up instantly. Even if Kaede hadn't said it, Kagome could sense that whatever Kikyo's younger sister wished to talk to her about, it was of utmost importance. Even more so since the priestess obviously didn't want certain people overhearing, if she would tolerate anyone overhearing at all.

"While it is true ye needn't worry about Inuyasha and his training today, I cannot say if there's truly no reason to worry at all," Kaede said, socking the facts to Kagome without preamble. The young hanyō's eye narrowed, the girl in question liking neither the words nor the tone they were said with. She didn't need to ask Kaede to explain, though, even if the explanation she got wasn't actually explaining much. "Surely, ye have noticed Inuyasha's condition?"

"If you mean the obvious signs of exhaustion that make it seem like he's just about to fall over, I would have to be blind and deaf not to notice," she replied. Before she could ask Kaede to tell her what exactly was wrong, however, the priestess asked a question of her own.

"Deaf? Then ye hear signs of his fatigue, as well?" the old woman asked, gaining a nod from the half-demon. Frowning, Kaede knelt down and started to look through the plants that grew on the ground in search for the herbs she needed, although it was obvious her mind was still on the conversation at hand. "What signs did your ears perceive, Kagome?"

"His heartbeat is just a bit too fast, for one. If I heard that tempo during a fight or any other situation in which he's exerting himself in any way, I wouldn't be worried. But his heart keeps that pace continuously, even when he's sleeping. His breathing isn't quite normal, either. It's not exactly as erratic as after a longer spar with me or anything like that, but it's not as calm and deep as it should be," the half-demon-girl replied quietly. "Honestly, I doubt he even had a good night's sleep these past few days at all. His breathing wasn't that of a deeply sleeping person for even a moment."

Kaede's frown only deepened as Kagome spoke, and the only reply the hanyō got at first was a pensive hum. Crouching down next to the older woman, Kagome stared at the ground while forcing herself to wait calmly, knowing that Kaede would only share something with her if she was absolutely sure she that what she was saying was true. For a moment, silence fell between the two women and when Kaede finally broke it, it was with a weary sigh.

"Then it seems things are worse than I anticipated," she said gravely. "I have seen Kikyo-onee-sama train when it became obvious she was a miko and I had went through that training as well. That is why I thought that Inuyasha's response to the training, while stronger than that of my sister and myself, was quite normal considering that his training was to learn to control his power after it escaped his control. It would seem I was wrong on that account, however," she added with another sigh, causing Kagome to bite her lip worriedly.

"He'll be fine though, won't he?" she couldn't help bus ask. It wouldn't bring anything to hold the question back, anyway. If there was one person who could read her every mood without having to look at her, it was Kikyo's younger sister.

"Aye," Kaede's answer was immediate and her voice left no room for doubt, a fact that relieved Kagome more than the hanyō would have thought it would, which in turn made her feel a tiny bit guilty for doubting the old miko however slightly. "As far as his physical condition is concerned, he will be fine. However, I cannot guarantee anything for his spiritual condition."

"What do you mean by that?" Instantly, Kagome tensed once again, her worry spiking. But it turned out Kaede's meaning was nowhere near as bad as the half-demon feared.

"I will give Inuyasha today to rest. If he's any better by tomorrow morning, he will continue training, although at a slower pace. However, should the day of repose do nothing, I'm afraid I will not be able to allow him to continue and he will have to give up on ever learning to control his powers."

"How will you do that? Knowing how stubborn he is, he'll never just give up without a fight. Even if you tell him you won't train him anymore, he'll just continue on his own if he has to," Kagome pointed out, curious as to how Kaede would respond to that. But the old miko wasn't worried in the slightest.

"He will not be able to," the old woman said. "Not if I were to seal his powers and make it impossible for him to use them, or for them to manifest on their own," she added when Kagome shot her a dubious look, effectively causing the hanyō to freeze in surprise.

"You can do that?" she asked quietly, her voice betraying her astonishment just as much as the expression on her face and her body language did.

"Aye, it is possible, although only in specific circumstances," Kaede replied. "Normally, Inuyasha is spiritually more powerful than I, so I should not be able to do it. Sealing away another's reiki can only work on miko weaker than oneself. However, Inuyasha's case is different."

"How so?"

"He never had any control of his power. Because of this, when ye encountered the Baku, it could eat to its heart's content. Houshi-sama told me about it," Kaede started, easily reading the unasked question in Kagome's eye and responding without stopping her explanation. "Because of this, Inuyasha's reiki acts different than in most cases. Where most miko can learn to control their powers with the help of another miko guiding them, Inuyasha cannot do that, as his power refuses to be controlled by anything else, even Inuyasha's own conscious mind. It fights against any attempt to be controlled, leashes out at any trace of youki and shies away from another's reiki or houriki."

"And that's why you should be able to seal his power away?" the half-demon asked, not really understanding the logic behind it. As if sensing her confusion, the elderly miko went on.

"Indeed. For if I were to send my reiki into his body, as it is done when trying to guide someone, his spiritual energy would retreat into its core and hide there. It would not emerge or fight me unless I tried to force it out. But, if I were to erect a barrier around the core of Inuyasha's power, instead, then my reiki would always remain there without ever trying to interact with his…"

"And his power in turn would continue to cower where it was and wouldn't ever emerge again," Kagome finished, now easily realizing what Kaede was getting at.

"Aye," Kaede replied simply, her response ending the conversation as both miko and hanyō fell into deep thought.

'However… if Kaede did that, then Inuyasha would be nothing more than a normal human,' Kagome thought, her brow furrowing at the realization. 'The Jewel would have to leave his hands, too. He wouldn't be able to protect it anymore. And that in turn means, he wouldn't have a reason to stay.' And there wasn't just that. There was also the fact that, whether Inuyasha controlled them or not, his powers made him stronger in some way. If for some reason Kagome wasn't nearby, then the priest's powers protected him in her stead, at least a little. But without them, each battle would be even more dangerous for the priest than it had been up until now. And such danger was not something Kagome was willing to risk exposing him to. Which meant only one thing. 'If it comes down to that, if Kaede decides his powers need to be sealed away, then whether he likes it or not, he's going to return home for good. Even if I have to destroy the well to ensure he doesn't return,' she decided as she slowly stood, only to be stopped from leaving by Kaede one more time.

"Watch over him for today, Kagome," the old miko requested, finally turning her eyes away from the herbs she was gathering to glance at the half-demon in question. "He is a stubborn boy who refuses to see reason when determined to accomplish something. Watch over him and make sure he does not try anything. I fear his body might give in if he does not rest."

"You don't need to ask me to do it, Kaede-chan," Kagome replied as she turned her back to the miko and slowly started to walk back towards the village, or, more accurately, towards Kaede's hut. "I was planning to stick close to him to do just that, anyway."

XxX

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was in the forest, though not too far away from the village, and as anyone who knew him should have expected, he was doing the one thing Kagome and Kaede wanted to make sure he wouldn't be doing: he was training. That he was supposed to take it easy and rest today mattered little to him. Learning to control his powers was more important. And how was he supposed to learn to control them if he didn't do anything?

No, now wasn't the time for resting. Now was the time to train. It was only because of this that they were still in the village instead of setting out in search of Naraku (or rather, in search for someone who could replace him as the guardian if the Shikon, although Inuyasha had long since forgotten about that), anyway, so he didn't have time to slack off. He had to learn and the faster he did the better.

Of course, he knew why Kaede insisted that he should rest. The elderly miko could see he was exhausted, but he was the one who felt said exhaustion. Still, he didn't let it stop him. He was never one to yield just because he was a bit tired.

[T]

Breathing deeply in order to focus once again, Inuyasha unsheathed his sword and held it front of him like he had many other times. His hands shook under the weight of the blade, but the teen ignored it and concentrated on the spiritual part of the exercise, instead. In explanation it sounded fairly easy. All he had to do was call his power out from where it resided in his soul like he had learned at the very beginning, then guide it to the blade. Once Seiryuu glowed from the accumulated energy, he was to release it into the air.

Of course, actually doing it wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded. He had been trying for at least three days now and he still struggled just to bring his sword to glow, much less to let the energy leave the blade. But he wouldn't give up. No way in hell.

Closing his eyes, the black haired teen forced every thought except the idea of what he needed to do out of his mind. He found the core to his power easily enough and releasing the energy held within came also much easier than at the beginning. The door opened without resistance and Inuyasha felt the by now familiar, though uncomfortable feeling of his power coursing through his entire body. He winced slightly as heat spread through his insides, quickly making him feel as though his body was on fire. His hands shook harder and his eyes opened briefly before clenching shut again, the pain quickly becoming worse and worse. But still, Inuyasha ignored it and focused instead on manipulating the energy that flowed through him. Soon enough, the pain ebbed away and he could breathe easier. He opened his eyes slightly to gaze at his sword, not really surprised to see it silent as ever. He tried again. The flow of energy was resisting him, he could feel that, too, but he wouldn't allow it to do as it pleased.

Eventually, his reiki reached the blade and Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief when part of the heat left his body to accumulate in the blade – or that's what he thought, anyway. But still, Seiryuu remained unresponsive. The young kannushi cursed in his mind before chasing the frustration away and focusing once more, willing the blade to glow, though still with no success

To anyone watching from the sidelines, however, the sight would have been surreal. While the sword remained unresponsive, the same couldn't be said for Inuyasha himself. The priests whole body was enveloped in a blanket of soft, light blue light, giving him the mystical air of a powerful being beyond anyone's comprehension. It was as if the priest wasn't even on the same plane of existence anymore, standing there completely still and unmoving, the breeze that any living being would feel not touching him in the slightest. The kannushi couldn't hear or feel anything from his surroundings by that point, either, a fact that should have surprised him if he paid it any mind. But he did not, too focused on the task at hand that he just couldn't bring himself to finish. A task he wouldn't be allowed to finish, as he soon found out.

"Care to explain what the hell you're doing?" an unnaturally loud, but cool voice cut through the unexplainable silence surrounding the priest and Inuyasha's eyes snapped open in response. He didn't need to look up to know who spoke, he would recognize Kagome's voice anywhere. But glancing her way made him realize that despite sounding calm and composed, the hanyō was actually quite angry. Or more like livid. "Didn't Kaede tell you to take it easy today?" she growled at him, worry and anger warring inside of her for dominance. At the moment, however, anger was winning.

[/T]

"She did, but so what? I don't have time for that. I need to train," Inuyasha replied before turning his back on Kagome and taking another deep breath in preparation to continue. He wasn't really confident about training with Kagome nearby, as a part of him still feared he would accidentally hurt her, but whereas he would usually try to distance himself from her and force his reiki down, this time, the fear was pushed onto the back burner. If that wasn't suspicious enough, though Inuyasha failed to notice it, then Kagome's reaction to his words certainly was, had the teen but glanced at her at that moment.

Given what he had said, Kagome should have gotten angry and irritated and she should have growled at him. Maybe even clench her fists. When she spoke next, though, Inuyasha didn't hear anger in her voice, but the soft note of pleading.

"No. You need to rest," she said softly, her words sounding like an order but her tone more like a request. The black haired priest froze for a second at the weird note in her voice, but didn't let it deter him from doing what he knew he had to do. He couldn't take it easy now. The more he trained, the faster he'd learn and that was what was most important.

"No I don't," he replied confidently, "I won't a little fatigue do me in. I can take more."

"Inuyasha…" the silver-haired half-demon started, her anger having long since been pushed back by the ever-growing worry. Worry Inuyasha didn't fail to notice.

"I think I'd know when I was at my limit," the kannushi snapped and effectively interrupted her, although a part of him was starting to think something was wrong. Kagome wasn't acting like herself at all. Of course, it was normal for her to worry about him. But to worry to this extent when he was obviously alright wasn't like her at all.

What Inuyasha didn't realize was that where he felt the calm beating of his heart as if he weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, Kagome perceived the erratic beating of a heart that was struggling to keep pace with the exertion the body was being put through. Where Inuyasha heard his own, calm breathing of a person that was completely fine and merely trying to concentrate, Kagome heard the labored breathing of a man whose lungs couldn't get enough oxygen. Where Inuyasha heard his own strong, confident voice, Kagome could only catch the weak tone of a boy who was on the verge of collapsing but refused to acknowledge it.

"You should," Kagome agreed quietly, her fists clenching at her side in helplessness. Why couldn't she get through to him? Why wasn't he listening to her? Why wasn't he listening to himself? "But it's like you don't," she continued, her own words making her freeze in nothing short of terror. Could it be? Could Inuyasha really not be aware in just how bad a condition he was in somehow? She didn't think so. It shouldn't be possible for him to be unaware of it. And yet he really acted as if he didn't realize what was going on with him. And if that was the case, then being the stubborn idiot he was, he would continue training until his body truly couldn't take any more.

He would continue until he died.

Kagome felt as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown straight at her face as that thought shot through her mind, although she quickly chased it away. That wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen. It wasn't possible because there was no way Inuyasha was really unaware of just how bad a shape he was in. It was impossible not to be aware of something like that, right?

Her thoughts were cut short when her skin started crawling uncomfortably and her instincts screamed at her to run, a reaction she had long since learned to associate with danger she shouldn't meddle with – like insanely powerful reiki. Her head shot up and her eye widened at the sight before her. Inuyasha had obviously not heard her soft-spoken words or, if he had, he had ignored them and instead tried once more to force his power into obedience. The glow of the spiritual energy surrounding him grew stronger, forcing the half-demon to squint against the light as to not be blinded.

Despite this, however, she could still easily see the way Inuyasha's whole body shook and trembled, she could see the beads of sweat that rolled down his face, just as she could hear his heartbeat getting even faster before faltering. It was that one slight change, that slight falter in his heartbeat, that was all it took. Against her better judgment, caring little about the agony she knew would follow when she so much as touched the priest in that moment, Kagome stepped closer to him and reached out to grab his shaking arms, though she ultimately grabbed only his clothes.

"Stop already!" she screamed at him, her worry turning into full-blown fear. Though she hadn't been certain before, now she knew for sure that something was terribly wrong. There was no way this was normal. "That's enough! You're overdoing it!"

With his concentration shattered, the glow surrounding Inuyasha vanished, although surprisingly enough, his reiki didn't leash out at the hanyō-girl. Neither of them noticed the small detail, however, both too focused on different things. For Kagome, it was trying to figure out how to help the kannushi before her when he himself wasn't aware he needed help. And for Inuyasha, it was attempting to understand what was wrong with Kagome, who, in his point of view, was acting beyond weird.

'What the hell?' he thought in confusion, her behavior stunning him speechless for a moment. She had never acted like this before. Sure, she had worried about him before and had never really tried to hide that worry (and if she did, then it didn't work), but never had he seen her this distressed. And as for how he should deal with it, he drew a complete blank.

"Kagome, calm down," he tried to sooth her, Seiryuu falling forgotten to the ground as the future-born teen reached out to the half-demon, only to stop himself a mere inch from actually touching her. The fear of hurting her, though pushed to the back of his mind, still lingered and he didn't dare actually touch her. "Calm down. There's nothing wrong. I'm fine."

"No, you're not," the half-demon disagreed, her ears lowering when defeat stared her in the face. Was there anything she could do to help? Even if there was, she couldn't think of anything, and that scared her more than anything else. "You're not," she repeated in a quieter tone as she stepped away from him, her head lowered as helplessness swallowed her entire being.

She was the Inuyasha, the demonic protector who always helped out those who couldn't defend themselves. She was also Inuyasha's friend. And his own, personal guardian, no matter how much that irritated him. She had sworn to protect him, vowed not to let him come to harm… and yet, now, she was completely and utterly helpless.

She hated that feeling. She detested not knowing what to do. But in this situation, what could she do? She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what. All she knew was that if nothing was done, then the situation would only get worse. But she didn't know what needed to be done. This wasn't as simple as killing a demon. This was a situation she couldn't comprehend, not that anyone else seemed to be able to, either, and because of this, she didn't know how she was supposed to deal with it at all. And that, in turn, scared and frustrated her at the same time.

Inuyasha, for his part, was only getting more confused and uncomfortable. He could easily see that Kagome was troubled, distressed even, but he failed to understand what the problem was. What Kagome thought was impossible was in actuality true. The priest was really utterly oblivious to his own condition. Not knowing what else to do, the black haired teen sighed tiredly.

"Kagome, do you really think I wouldn't know it if something was wrong with me?" he couldn't help but ask her, hoping she would finally realize the absurdity of what she was saying and calm down. However, instead of that, Kagome glared at him angrily after raising her head once again.

"And do you think I would be acting the way I do if nothing was wrong, you idiot?!" she couldn't help but snap, her fear and frustration overriding her rational mind as she reached out and grabbed his shoulders while her youki skyrocketed in her distress. Such a thing should have gotten a reaction in terms of Inuyasha's reiki leashing out. However, for whatever reason, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, Inuyasha felt as though he'd been cocooned in some sort of blanket that had now been forcefully removed. And as soon as it was, everything his body was feeling and which he had somehow been unaware of up until now hit him full force.

He gasped at the sudden pain that spread through his body like a wild fire while all of his strength seemed to evaporate into thin air. His knees buckled under him and he fell forward, suddenly realizing that no matter how hard he breathed, his lungs kept burning as if he were suffocating. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the moment he hit the ground, but it never came.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out worriedly as she caught him, her fear reaching new heights. The priest in question couldn't answer her though, the agony he suddenly found himself in being worse than anything he had ever experienced. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't even utter a single sound.

'It hurts,' the kannushi thought, his mind unable to focus on anything else even though it would have been better to try. 'It hurts…'

'What do I do?' Kagome thought as she held the priest, panicking for the first time since she could remember. She had been scared before, she had experienced not knowing what to do before, but never before had she panicked like this. She tried to force herself to calm down, but it helped only partially, especially since she couldn't find an answer to her question.

It was obvious that somehow, whatever it was that had kept Inuyasha from realizing what was going on with himself was now gone. But that wasn't actually helping matters at all.

A sudden glow caught her eye and Kagome's thoughts came to a screeching halt when her eyes fell on its source. It was the Shikon Jewel, which had once again fallen out of its confines under Inuyasha's shirt when the teen fell. But unlike any other time the half-demon had laid eyes on the pearl, it wasn't a light pink or the deep color somewhere between pink and red. It wasn't violet, or deep purple like it had always been whenever defiled, either. Instead, it was the blackest black the half-demon had ever seen. She shuddered at the sight, almost able to smell the evil rolling off of the pearl.

As if sensing her gaze, the pearl pulsed suddenly, its energy brushing against Kagome's youki in an almost tantalizing manner. Instead of hearing the gem's voice in her head, however, Kagome's skin crawled in revulsion, even her inner beast cowering before the evil of the Jewel. In the same instant, Inuyasha let out another pained gasp as his face contorted in agony, his breathing becoming even shallower than before as the pain coursing through him rendered breathing harder and harder. He couldn't even think straight anymore, the only thoughts running through his mind being pleas for it all to stop. He couldn't take more than that. Though he had always been a fighter and thus thought that he had a high tolerance for pain, this was definitely beyond his limit. In fact, he was quite certain this was beyond anyone's limit of tolerance.

Not even needing to think anymore, Kagome quickly reached out and grasped the beaded necklace the Jewel was threaded on, then pulled on it strongly. As the necklace was, in fact, the seal on the Shikon, there were two things that Kagome would have expected to happen: either for the necklace to break, since the spell had nothing to do with the sturdiness of it, or for it to resist and remain where it was. Both outcomes wouldn't help, of course, so the half-demon was very happy when neither happened. Instead, the necklace snapped open in a specific point, which allowed Kagome to remove the pearl from around Inuyasha's neck, only to snap back closed once it was removed.

Throwing the Shikon no Tama to the ground with little care what happened to it, Kagome focused immediately on the priest in her arms. Before she could even fully turn to look at him, however, his reiki seemed to awaken and in the next moment, Kagome fell to her knees in response to the sudden agony that always accompanied purification. Thankfully, it was over swiftly, though she had still cried out in surprise and pain as Inuyasha's spiritual energy reacted to the energy opposing it.

"Ka… go… me?"Inuyasha forced himself to ask, his voice barely loud enough for the now human girl to hear.

"Sorry. Think nothing of it. I'm alright," she reassured him hurriedly while her arms tightened around him as the priest slumped against her even more. The moment she had ripped the Jewel off from around his neck, the pain vanished as suddenly as it appeared, but in turn, he was assaulted by exhaustion of such a caliber that it was all he could do just to stay conscious, not that it helped much. Barely a few seconds passed and he could feel his consciousness slipping away while darkness invaded his vision.

He could barely make out her face, but he could tell she was human. Guilt and regret slammed into him once again. He wished he could apologize, even if Kagome seemed not to blame him. But before he could, the darkness won and his consciousness slipped away completely.

'It's fine, nothing to worry too much about. He's just unconscious,' Kagome told herself in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves. Still, even if Inuyasha was 'just unconscious', it didn't mean there was really nothing to worry about. There was, for one, the question of what in the seven hells just happened.

It was something the half-demon couldn't even hope to figure out on her own, however, so she decided to get help from someone who might. In order to do so, she'd have to take Inuyasha back to the village, though, and while that wasn't a problem in and of itself (even if she was human), it left the problem of what to do concerning the gem that lay a few feet away from the hanyō and the unconscious priest. Kagome bit her lip in though. Seal or no seal, she couldn't very well leave the Jewel where it was without protection. But she wasn't sure if she could take it with her, either, and she wasn't about to put it back around Inuyasha's neck – not when it seemed to be the source of the problem.

'Well, I'm not a half-demon right now. Besides, it's sealed. So… it should be ok, right?' she asked herself as she gently laid Inuyasha on the ground before walking over to where the pear lay. She shuddered as soon as it was within her reach, even her human instincts feeling the evil rolling off of the gem and telling her to stay away from it. Gulping, Kagome carefully reached out and tried to brush her fingers against the Shikon. Ultimately, however, she didn't dare and grasped the beaded necklace it was strung on, instead. When no voice entered her mind and nothing else of the sort happened, the hanyō-turned-human breathed a sigh of relief and put the necklace in the folds of her haori before turning back to Inuyasha.

It quickly turned out that Inuyasha was heavier than she expected. As a hanyō, she barely felt his weight whenever she carried him. That was not the case when she was human, however, her much frailer body unable to carry nearly as much as she normally could.

'He's actually quite heavy,' Kagome had to admit, more than glad when she finally reached the village. Her muscles were complaining at the weight they had to support by that point, but the currently human girl refused to show it (although she couldn't hide all signs of fatigue, obviously).

"Kagome!" Shippō called as soon as he saw her and immediately leapt in her direction, probably in order to jump straight into her arms. Ever since her almost-death, the kit had been acting as though he had been affection-deprived for much too long. Kagome didn't mind it most of the time, since she knew she would have acted the same way had she been his age if something like had happened, but she couldn't even attempt to hide the sigh of relief that escaped her when this time, Shippō skidded to a halt in front of her. The relief was short-lived, though, when she noticed the way the little fox's eyes widened in surprise and a worried glint entered his eyes. "You weren't human this morning… why are you human, Kagome?" he asked, even though it was pretty much obvious what had happened. There could be only one thing as far as the kit was concerned, after all.

"Inuyasha purified you again, didn't he," the small child accused, his angry eyes now moving to the priest Kagome was carrying. But the anger didn't last long. "What's wrong with him?" the child asked instead, causing Kagome to sigh regretfully.

"I don't know," she admitted with a scowl, obviously not liking the fact. "Shippō-chan, I need you to find Kaede for me and ask her to come to her hut. If there's someone who could tell us what's wrong, it'll be her," she added after a moment, knowing that she was right. After all, whatever was wrong with Inuyasha seemed to have something to do with the Jewel. Plus, it seemed to be a spiritual problem, so asking a miko was probably the best course of action.

"Right," Shippō replied in a determined tone, as if he had just agreed to take down a demon by himself and not just go find one elderly woman. In a second, he was off and Kagome was left alone to bring Inuyasha back to Kaede's hut. When she got there, she gently deposited the priest on the floor before stretching, her human body definitely not appreciating the strain it had just been put through. Then she sat down next to him, guarding him even though she knew it was not needed while she waited for Shippō to return with Kaede.

It was only a few moments later that the black haired girl felt a pulse of power within herself, the feeling making her jump in surprise. She calmed down immediately afterward, however, easily realizing that it was her own returning youki. Still, considering every other time she had been purified by Inuyasha, its fast recovery was surprising and the hanyō wondered whether she should feel glad or worried.

Almost as if responding to her returning demonic energy, Inuyasha twitched in the same moment as he slowly came to once again, though Kagome didn't notice at first. By the time the priest had managed to open his eyes, the hanyō had fully transformed as if she had never been purified to begin with and her eye immediately turned to glance at the priest.

"Inuyasha?" she asked tentatively, knowing full well he was conscious but not quite sure if he wouldn't fall right back asleep. The future-born teen tried to get up to look at her instead of answering verbally, but his arms quickly gave way under his weight. If it wasn't for Kagome's light-fast reaction, his head would have hit the wooden floor quite painfully. He glanced up at her, fully expecting to see an annoyed expression on her face, but he was met with a worried one, instead.

"You shouldn't be moving yet," Kagome said softly while gently depositing him back on the floor. "You need to rest," she added after a while, only barely managing to hold back a frown when she realized that this time, Inuyasha's reiki didn't react to her, like it had every other time.

"I… can kind of tell… this time," Inuyasha replied in a quiet tone, obviously struggling with even something as simple as talking. Thoughts of Inuyasha's reiki's lack of reaction flying out the proverbial window in an instant, Kagome frowned worriedly while sitting down by his side.

"How are you feeling?" she asked carefully as she folded her arms in her sleeves, her eyes never leaving his face.

'Like I was run over by a steamroller,' Inuyasha thought miserably, but knew better than to voice the thought aloud. Not only would Kagome be confused, she would probably get even more worried once she understood what he meant. And while it was true that he could feel every single cell in his body hurting and that his muscles seemed to be made of jelly or something, which turned any kind of movement into herculean effort if it was even possible to move at all, the black haired kannushi wasn't about to admit it. Though this time, it wasn't because he wanted to seem tough, but because he didn't want Kagome to worry more than she already obviously did.

"I'm fine," he managed to reply, hoping his voice didn't betray him. When Kagome looked at him doubtfully, though, he knew it did.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked, sounding almost timid for the first time since he met her. He almost gawked at her in surprise, not having expected such a reaction at all. Not only would Kagome usually either believe him or scold him for an obvious lie (in both cases proving that she knew the answer from the start but wanted to ask anyway, almost just for the sale of asking), it seemed impossible for the half-demon to sound so unsure of herself. She had always been the epitome of confidence, although she never overdid it and was far from arrogant. To see her so obviously uncertain disturbed Inuyasha in a way he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Yeah," he replied in an attempt to reassure her, deciding that attempting to understand what went through Kagome's mind at that particular moment was too tiresome. He'd think on it later, when thinking didn't physically hurt.

"Really?"

When the black haired priest had closed his eyes once more, he himself didn't know, but that one word question made him snap them right back open. It was weird enough for Kagome to probe like this, but to hear her probe in such a small voice, as if she were a little scared child was beyond weird and worrying.

Normally, he would have gotten annoyed if someone acted that way around him. And yet, looking at Kagome now and hearing her talk the way she did didn't irritate him at all. Instead, it worried him. Which was why he didn't reply to her inquiry, but instead asked a question of his own.

"Kagome… What's wrong?"

"I don't know," the half-demon replied in a mere whisper while lowering and uncrossing her arms so that her hands could rest on the floor by her ankles, her legs automatically shifting position so that she was no longer sitting cross-legged but rather crouching much like a dog would. Inuyasha's eyes widened at her soft admission, his confusion rising still.

"Eh?" was all he managed to ask, his tired brain failing to provide him with a more eloquent answer.

"I don't know," Kagome repeated, this time sounding frustrated and scared at the same time. And she had good reason to feel that way. "I know something it wrong with you, but I don't know what. I want to help, but I have no clue how. I'm completely helpless. And I hate it," she continued, her hands, still resting on the floor, clenching into fists and her claws scratching the wood and leaving tiny marks. She wasn't lying. If there was one thing she hated more than anything else, it was feeling helpless and being unable to help someone, especially if it was someone she actually cared for. There were few times in her life she ever felt that way, but she could recall each one more vividly than she would have liked. And each time she felt that way, each time someone needed help she couldn't provide (which was in all cases someone close to her), she ended up losing that person. And because of it, she was scared it would happen again, without her being able to do a thing about it.

Of course, Inuyasha was unaware of any of that. Still, he didn't need to know all these things to see the obvious distress on Kagome's face (or rather in her whole demeanor, really). It was the first time the hanyō-girl had displayed her emotions so openly or talked about what was on her mind. A tiny part of Inuyasha couldn't help but feel glad at the way Kagome seemed to be opening up to him. That part, however, was very small and easily ignored in the face of the much more urgent need to make that distress disappear from the silver haired girl's face.

"Kagome," he said while slowly starting to rise, cursing his body for its lack of cooperation when his arms once again refused to support him. This time, too, Kagome caught him easily with one hand supporting his back to he didn't fall.

"You shouldn't…" she started, but the black haired priest wasn't going to let her even finish that sentence.

"Shut up," he told her, only barely sparing the fact that the hanyō actually obeyed a thought, "and listen to me," he added after regaining his breath, trying to make it look like he could talk just fine when it was obvious it was difficult for him. Unable to stop herself, Kagome whined worriedly, but obediently didn't say a word, knowing that no matter how hard it was on him, Inuyasha would continue talking until he told her all that he wanted her to. Hearing that one whine, however, was enough to make Inuyasha flinch slightly in guilt. He was attempting to make her feel better, not worry her more, damn it.

"You don't have… to do anything," he said slowly as he started to raise his hand towards her face while trying to ignore the way his muscles burned and screamed at him to stop moving already. Black spots were dancing in his vision again and the black haired teen cursed mentally. Not now. He couldn't pass out now! Besides, why would he? Was he overexerting himself? But he was barely doing anything!

Kagome seemed to catch on to what he was trying to do and raised her unoccupied hand immediately to grasp his, then raised them to her face so she could rub her cheek against his hand, another rather doggish action to convey apology. She couldn't help it, just like she couldn't help feeling at least a little guilty because she was unable to help in any way.

"But…" she started to say, only to be interrupted once again.

"No buts," Inuyasha wanted to snap, though his voice lacked the strength behind it to sound the way he wanted it to. Still, Kagome fell silent once again so he could talk, knowing that in his current condition, he wouldn't be able to argue with her even if he wanted to. "This… is something that… I have to deal with… on my own. And… that's fine. You don't have to… save me… all the damn time. If there's… nothing you can do… then that's fine. You don't… have to do anything. Knowing you're by my side… and knowing that you care… that's enough," he finally said before falling silent and trying to catch his breath and chase away the dark spots clouding his vision.

He doubted he would have admitted any of it in any other situation. Heck, admitting it as it was made him feel embarrassed. But even so, that didn't make his words any less true.

Before he met Kagome, there was no one except for his mother who truly cared for him in any way. And while he appreciated his mother's care and love, in some way, it wasn't enough. Or maybe he just figured it was normal for her to worry since he was her son. Kagome was different. She was just like any other person out there, someone unrelated to him. But she still cared. She cared enough to worry for him when something was wrong. She cared enough to shed tears for him.

He could still recall that first time he saw her cry, and the way he felt when she yelled at him that the reason for her tears was her worry that he was hurt or worse. Back then, he had been stunned. And while the fact that she worried didn't surprise him as much now as it did before, he knew better than to take it for granted. He could still remember how it was before he met her, how lonely he had always felt though he had managed to hide that fact even from himself. He didn't want to go back to that. He never wanted to live that kind of life again. And so long as Kagome was with him, he knew he wouldn't. That was why it was enough, just her being there. Just knowing he wasn't alone anymore, that was more than enough.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said slowly, hardly able to believe his words. But he wasn't lying, she knew that. Of course, that wasn't enough to completely calm her worries or her fear, but it did help. Trying to force the dark feelings to the back of her mind for the kannushi's sake, Kagome smiled slightly as she adjusted him so he could lean his head on her shoulder.

"Then that's where I'll stay," she said quietly in an attempt to reassure him, as her keen ears had easily caught on to the unmentioned, but still present fear that she would one day be gone. "As long as you need me to, I'll stay by your side. I promise you that," she added. She would only later realize what exactly she had said and what it meant for her, though. Currently, she was too caught up in the moment to think much about her own words.

He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but the moment Inuyasha heard the half-demon say those words, he felt a certain warmth and comfort envelop him. He recognized the feeling. He had felt it before, but it had made him uncomfortable then. It had made him uncomfortable because it felt very much like something one needed and was very happy to have – and Inuyasha never needed anything. Still, when that feeling was gone, he felt only worse and having it back now was even more relieving than he thought it would be.

But when had that feeling vanished? He wasn't sure, but it seemed it was sometime before they met Sango…

"It would seem ye had placed an enchantment of your own on the bow without realizing, thus binding Kagome to yourself and allowing her to pass through the well. With the bow broken, the enchantment was overcome as well and the connection vanished, along with Kagome's ability to pass through the well," Kaede's words from barely a few days prior echoed in his head and if he could have, Inuyasha would have bolted upright as soon as they did. As it was, his eyes merely widened in realization, suddenly more than certain what this comfortable feeling it. It was the same as when he felt before Kikyo's bow broke, meaning it had to be the binding. Or at least, some sort of connection he had with Kagome… or something like that.

Still, whatever it was, it felt really good and Inuyasha found himself hoping the feeling would never disappear again. He was quick to realize, however, that it probably would, anyway. After all, Kagome wasn't bound to him anymore.

As if to prove him right, Kagome shifted and moved to lie him gently down once again, her ears picking up the sound of Kaede's and Shippō's voices. While she didn't mind holding Inuyasha the way she did, she was still uncomfortable with other people seeing her like that. And the moment she moved to help him lie back down, the black haired priest could feel that comfortable feeling slipping away.

He hoped the discomfort he was feeling wasn't showing on his face in that particular moment. He wouldn't want Kagome asking what was wrong this time, after all, she was worried enough as it was. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything she could do about this aside from letting herself be bound to him again and he seriously doubted she would allow that. After all, from what he knew from binding, it was always a form of enslavement. Although, then again, as Kaede said, Kagome wasn't one to sit down and take something on the sort without saying anything. So maybe…

"Kagome," Inuyasha said tentatively when Kagome started to rise with the intension to put some space between herself and the priest. She froze when he called her name, though, and glanced his way while lowering herself back into a crouch from her half-standing position. Kaede and Shippō were coming closer, but that didn't bother her. She could be 'caught' sitting near him, after all, it was just possibly-intimate situations that were the problem and source of discomfort.

"Yes?"

"I… Kaede… she… told me something… the other day," Inuyasha started, not quite sure how to attack the subject. Kagome's ears twitched on her head in response to his words and she cocked an eyebrow, a silent request for him to continue. So he did. "She told me about the bow. And the enchantment I probably put on it."

"I see," the silver haired girl replied nonchalantly. "What about it?"

"She called it a binding… I think. But… she couldn't tell me what it did. She said binding could be very different from one spell to the next."

"And?" Kagome probed when Inuyasha didn't go on, although her voice sounded just a tiny bit cautious now. Why would the future-born teen bring this up now? Why even bring it up at all?

"Kaede said that… if someone could tell me what the binding did… it'd be you," Inuyasha managed to say slowly, somehow feeling that bringing the subject up was a very bad idea. But it was too late now. He got this far, might as well finish it. "So… what did it do?"

If he had expected a neutral reply, he was sorely disappointed. The question had barely left his mouth and Kagome's ears were already laid back against the crown of her head, a sure sign that she was either extremely uncomfortable, angry or both, neither of which was a positive response. Her eyes grew distant too and, as if in accordance, Inuyasha could feel that mysterious feeling of comfort slipping further, while the ailments his body was dealing with seemed to get a tiny bit worse. But maybe that was just his imagination.

"Kagome?" he asked cautiously when the half-demon remained silent for a while, only to have her huff in response.

"It doesn't matter what it did," she replied in a hard tone, now glaring at the ground at her feet. "Why are you bringing it up, anyway?"

"Because it does matter," Inuyasha replied, once again attempting to rise but this time hardly able to move even a millimeter off the floor. And this time, Kagome didn't move to help him up, too caught up in her own thoughts to even notice his poor attempt at moving. "I want to know what it did."

"I'm telling you it doesn't matter."

"It does to me," he argued. "Please, Kagome, tell me what it did."

"I won't. Leave it alone already," the hanyō-girl barely stopped herself from actually snapping. But the obvious irritation in her voice would have looked like an actual physical blow to a bystander, for in the exact moment Kagome started to lose her temper, Inuyasha suddenly started gasping for breath and occasionally coughing as if he had really been struck. And while Kagome hadn't even moved a single finger in his direction, it was actually her behavior that caused it, or at least that was what it looked like. "Inuyasha?" the half-demon called worriedly the second she noticed the change in his breathing and turned her head to glance at him, her growing irritation instantly forgotten.

"I'm… I'm ok," the kannushi wheezed between coughs, though his poor attempt at lying wasn't anywhere near effective. It was obvious he was anything but ok. In fact, just by looking at him, Kagome knew the future-born teen was in serious pain. Maybe not as intense as back in the clearing, but definitely nothing to be sneezed at, either.

Before the hanyō-girl could call the priest on his lie, however, the mat in the entrance was pushed aside and Kaede walked into the hut, followed by Shippō and Kohaku, who must have been with the old miko when Shippō found her. Kaede, for her part, only took a single glance at the situation before reacting and giving orders, not giving even little Shippō time to say a single word.

"Kohaku-kun, please bring me some cold water from the river," she requested in a tone that left no room for argument and made it more than clear that whatever was being requested of you was to be done and fast.

"Right away, Kaede-sama," the young taijiya replied without questioning and practically ran out of the hut to comply with the priestess's request.

"And ye, Kagome," Kaede said as she turned to glance at the hanyō regretfully. "I fear I must ask ye and Shippō to go outside and stay away from my hut for a while. What I need to do will require my holy energy to spread throughout the hut and I do not wish to harm either of ye," she explained quickly when Kagome shot her a questioning glance. The silver haired girl nodded in response, then glanced one last time at Inuyasha worriedly before standing.

"Alright. Please let me know when you're done. Come on, Shippō-chan," she said while holding her hands out, a silent invitation the kit didn't hesitate to take her up on as he jumped straight into her arms. Kagome left the hut without another word or glance over her shoulder, knowing that if she did look back, she wouldn't be able to make herself leave despite knowing it'd be best if she wasn't there.

'Wait!' Inuyasha wanted to call, but his voice and body failed him at the moment as his condition worsened once again. 'Kagome, wait!'

He had just told her that as long as she was by his side, then she'd be helping him. He had said that knowing that she was by his side was enough for him. What he hadn't told her was that he didn't just want her by his side. In some way, one he didn't fully understand himself, he needed her. Desperately. And yet, she was leaving.

Of course, he knew she wasn't going anywhere far and wouldn't even leave the village. But still, that didn't change the fact that she was leaving his side.

'Wait… please…' he wished he could say, but he wasn't able to. And the last thing he saw before his consciousness slipped away again was the mat in the entrance falling closed as Kagome left.

---

Well, here it is, the belated update. Hope it was worth the wait, even if nothing major happened action-wise… but you can see the plot finally moving along again, no? To people who were bored with mere character-development, you can rejoice, things are about to heat up again. Hopefully… :p

Next Chapter: The Shikon's Evil & Kagome's Sorrow

See you then!