Episode 140

"He is me." Inuyasha stated as he stared off into the distance. The battle with Hoshiyomi felt personal. Usually, he was able to distance himself but this time, he found it difficult to fight the demon. He didn't seem like a bad demon but instead he gathered power trying to protect the woman important to him and in the process, he lost his heart. The power consumed him until the one that he loved defeated him. He thought she had betrayed him but instead, he betrayed her and himself in the worst possible way. Inuyasha felt his heart constrict as he thought of Kikyo. He thought she had betrayed him when she shot the arrows at him. He should have known better but instead he turned against her and she followed him to her death. Then there was Kagome. He thought he needed to become a full demon to protect her but he had lost his soul. He didn't know who he was and he couldn't control it. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have killed her and all of his friends.

He felt Kagome approach him as always she calmed his soul and he felt peace creeping inside of his heart. His ears flicked as he heard Miroku say softly that he should be happy to have Kagome who embraced him with kindness. Kagome smiled gently to herself. Her feelings for Inuyasha had grown but hearing him say that he would protect her during the battle with Hoshiyomi and afterwards feeling him hold her had truly touched her. However, the tender feelings changed after Shippo mentioned that the first kind she did was to tell him to sit. It was true because she was not sure what to do when Inuyasha had turned full demon and truth be told she had not expected him to turn back.

"You're not kind at all!" He yelled at her

"Well I'm sorry" She yelled back but truth be told she wasn't sorry at all since it had reverted him back to his half-demon self.

"You should be!" He said with a smirk

Kagome's eyes flashed at him. She drew herself to full 5 feet 2 and looked him dead in the eye.

"Innuuyaaashaaaa," she pauses as she takes a deep breath "SIT!" She said and watched him crashed to the ground. She always winced slightly as she watched him careen to the ground by the beads around his neck.

"Kagome…." She heard him growl behind her

"Think of it as embracing you with kindess" She shot back as she smirked and walked off. Miroku and Sango came up beside her and they started wandering off.

"You forgetting somebody!" He yelled at their retreating backs.

"Hurry up, Inuyasha. We aren't waiting for you." She said but glanced behind her and looked at him. He looked grumpy and agitated. She stopped walking as inspiration hit her.

Leaning over, she smiled at him and patted her legs, "Come on, Inuyasha. Here boy!"

His eyes narrowed and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Stop treating me like a dog!" He growled even more as he leapt towards the trees. Spotting what he was looking for, he waited a second and threw an acorn down at Kagome.

"Ouch, you jerk!" She yelled as she started running. There was no protection for him but he made sure to temper his strength so he would not actually hurt her. He did this before and he saw a huge bruise on her arm afterwards so he made sure that he gently threw it down. He wouldn't admit it anyone else but he always felt his heart lightened and he wanted to laugh. The simple truth was, it was fun.

"Okay okay! You win!" She said trying to sound angry but truth be told, she was trying hard not to laugh.

Inuyasha jumped down and they started walking. For a time, they walked in silence as they were absorbed by their own thoughts. Inuyasha noticed that Kagome was swaying here and there and he knelt down next to her.

"Here get on."

"No thanks!"

"Don't be stubborn and get on will you!"

Kagome went to come back with a scathing comeback but as she swayed and looked exhausted so Inuyasha picked her up bridal style and continued to walk.

"Put me down!" Kagome felt the blush rise in her cheeks. Her voice rose as she tried to wiggle so he would put her down.

"No! You lost a lot of your strength and although your power came back, you still need to take it easy!"

Kagome didn't have a come back.. She could feel the strength of his arms as he held her like she weighed nothing. He never carried her this way and walked with her but they didn't have a true destination in mind so they were just walking at this time. She glanced up at his face.

"What about you?"

"Keh! Don't worry about me! I'm fine. I'm stronger than you humans."

"Oh did you mean us pipsqueaks!" She said with anger present in her voice.

Inuyasha glanced down at her face as he continued to trudge on with her in his arms.

That night, the group sat around the campfire, each in their own thoughts.

"Miroku, Sango, how are you feeling?"

Miroku glanced up at Kagome, "I'm fine, but thank you for asking."

Sango just gave her a sad smile.

"Sango, want to go for a walk?"

It was an odd request by the other girl but Sango thought that some girl talk was needed and might be helpful.

"Sure"

As they went to walk away they heard Inuyasha's instructions "Don't walk too far away, you two."

Waving to show they heard him, they moved further into the foliage.

"You seem sad, Sango." Kagome said as they settled down in a clearing.

Sango sighed and bent her head slightly. Kagome's heart clenched at the look of vulnerability on the other woman's face. Kagome was astounded by how strong Sango always was and her true resilience. "Miroku proposed to me but as soon as he was in the village, he was asking women to have his children." As Sango started speaking, her emotions went from sadness to anger. Kagome knew that Sango was the best person for Miroku but he loved her but also because she could handle him. Sango was quiet for a few minutes and it took her a second to voice the question that is bothering her, "Will it ever stop?"

Kagome was quiet as she thought about it. "Miroku flirts with them but has he ever followed through?"

"No because I stop him!" Sango growled slightly

"What did he do when you followed him?"

"He kept flirting in his perverted way until he came before me on his knees and said he was sorry." She sighed "I didn't think he could see me so when I realized he could, I turned and ran away."

Kagome kept her smile to herself. "Miroku is a pervert but I don't think you have anything to worry about. He knows better than to cheat on you. Despite everything, Miroku doesn't want to lose you. I think his curse weighs on him as well and I think he truly does worry about dying before he is able to have children." As Kagome thought, her finger touched her chin. "Have you thought about speaking to him?"

Sango blinked "I don't know, Kagome."

Kagome slowly put an arm around the other woman. Although she knew this weighed on Sango, it was nice to see the other woman be upset by a universal issue. Men. Sango in this moment was acting like a normal everyday woman and it was always nice to see. It is a side of Sango that Kagome knew not many people get to see often.

"At least you know he has feelings for you." Kagome mentioned trying to raise Sango's mood.

'He loves you." Sango said suddenly, surprising Kagome.

"Who?" Kagome whispered, a blush on her cheeks.

"Inuyasha loves you and you love him." Kagome blinked at her and didn't argue. She knew that she was in love him. Her feelings ran deep but she wanted him to truly be happy. The thing was, she knew he cared about her but he wasn't sure how deep his feelings for her went.

"There's Kikyo, don't forget." Kagome sighed. Naraku killed Kikyo not too long ago. Kagome would never forget his face that morning. Her heart hurt remembering it, it hurt for him and it hurt for herself. She didn't think Inuyasha was over it or if he would ever get over it.

Sango was quiet for a few seconds before sighing. "Miroku admitted his love but he still flirts with others and Inuyasha still loves Kikyo and has yet to admit his feelings to you."

"We can't win, can we?" Kagome said with a smile to the woman who is truly her sister in circumstances.

"I guess not."

After a while, Sango and Kagome returned to the campsite. Miroku and Inuyasha were in the middle of a discussion.

"You should tell her!"

"You're one to talk, you damn lecher! Are you ever going to stop asking women to…" he fell quiet as he heard the two women approaching the camp site. His cheeks turned pink as he thrust his arms into his kimono with his normal Keh.

The two women glanced at each other, realizing that they were having the same conversation as the boys. Miroku's words resonated in her mind and caused her heart to skip a beat. She wished that they had returned slightly later so they could hear Miroku's response. On second thought, Kagome thought as she heard a smack from across the campsite, maybe its better not to know. She smiled slightly as she saw Shippo and Kirara were already asleep on Inuyasha and Miroku. They were used to them talking loudly or yelling so they were able to sleep through most loud noises.

After sitting down at the campfire for a few seconds, no one said a word. Finally, feeling comfortable, she grabbed her clothes and moving behind a tree, she changed into her pajamas. Once she finished, she went to gather her clothes when she heard a noise and glanced out into the night. As she scanned her surroundings, a small rodent, most likely a mouse darted from a nearby bush and took off darting through the bushes until he scampered out of site. She continued to scan around her until the beauty and the quiet of the night comforted and spoke to her. Sighing she sat down with her arms around her knees and her head resting on her arms.

At first her thoughts were quiet but then the true worry overcame her thoughts. This stinks. I am sure that the reason why he doesn't tell me is because of Kikyo or maybe he doesn't feel that way about me. I love him so much but I have no true inkling of his feelings. I feel as though we are boyfriend and girlfriend but is it true or just what I wish would happen? Kagome thought to herself. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that the object of them approached her without her noticing.

"Kagome?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Nothing, Just…whatcha doing out here?"

She glanced up at his face and gave him a smile. "I'm just thinking." Inuyasha looked at her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking and if she really was okay. She seemed slightly on edge and irritated.

"Hey, you aren't feeling any effects from our battle with Hoshiyomi are you?"

"No, I'm alright"

"It's not like you to go away like this."
"Inuyasha…I'm okay!"

He sighed but instead of walking away from her, he sat down close to her. She blinked in surprised but he sat down close enough to be touching her, warming her with his body heat.

"I'm not good with talking about my feelings and…that kind of stuff." He started. He could see her head move quickly, her brown eyes were probably staring up at him but he couldn't face her. 'You should tell her!' was going through his head. He shook his head. Stupid Miroku. What does he know? Inuyasha thought to himself.

"I…will protect you, Kagome." He said glancing at her face. She sighed and gave him a slight smile.

"I know you will." She said.

Although nothing said, Inuyasha could tell that she was disappointed. She would never say anything. If nothing else, she probably thought that he was still in love with Kikyo.

Kagome smiled at him. "I know you're protect me, you always do.", Kagome said. She knew he would protect her and she thought about earlier; how he held her and carried her. Her heart warmed and she was happy. If this was all she could have of them then it was fine. She knew he had a bond with Kikyo but maybe they were starting to have one too. She went to stand but was surprised by Inuyasha stopping her by putting a hand on her shoulder. Settling back down, she looked up at him.

"I…feel happy with you, Kagome. She settled back down and glanced at his face. His fact was very red, his eyes darting left to right as though he seemed panicked. She reached over and put a hand on his arm. Inuyasha fell quiet and stared at the small hand. Taking a deep breath, he said "I…loo…care about you. I know you want me to live and with Kikyo gone..I'm starting to believe that I could. I promised Kikyo that I would go to hell with her because she died to follow me but…maybe instead I can have a future with you…if you would want it. Until Naraku is dead and Kikyo is avenged, I…can't promise you anything." He kept his red face turned to the side but he had his hand on her shoulder.

"I would want that very much." Kagome whispered staring up at his face. He turned and stared deeply into her beautiful brown eyes. He moved his hand to gently cup her face. She smiled slightly as her heart started pounding in her chest.

Is he going to kiss me?

Inuyasha reached down and gently pressed his lips to her. He figured that she would sit him but instead she draped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. Inuyasha slightly deepened the kiss, but he didn't want to get too carried away. Now was not the time. There was one shard left and the fight with Naraku was escalating. He would not take Kagome until he could promise her something beyond tonight. It didn't stop him from kissing her though. Sitting back he looked at her face.

"Uhhh…come on lets go back to camp."

"Okay!" She said with smile as they headed back to camp, her heart lighter than it had been in awhile.