Inu's eyes twitched. He looked away. I pushed my way out of his arms. Guess not. I got up and brushed my skirt off. I looked back at him. He was still looking out at nothing. The clouds were starting to come and the smell of rain was thick. I headed back to the hut. I blew it! Stupid Kagome. Stupid, Stupid. I hit my head lightly with my fist. Well at least I know. I guess. I stopped in the doorway and looked back at Inu-Yasha, but found him not following. He wasn't coming. I guess he was thinking about Kikiyo still. I meandered back to the cooking fire and added a few new sticks. Something warm should make me happy. But how to get Inu-Yasha out of the rain. I didn't realize it till I said it, but it was raining, quite hard by the sound of it. And Inu-Yasha's still out there. I wonder, will he come in if I make some ramen? No, I should call him first. Then onto the ramen. I stood just inside the hut.

"INU-YASHA!" A couple minutes passed and I didn't see him walk out of the forest. "INU-YASHA!"

"what…" he mumbled softly, walking through the rain. I'd never seen him like this before. Well, maybe I had, only a few times before. But only when he found out that I saw him with Kikiyo. This time was different. I felt sad for him. He slipped past me and sat in a corner farthest from the fire.

"You should sit by the fire. You don't want your kimono to shrink." I told him. It sounded motherly, but it

was true.

"whatever…" he closed his eyes and held his sword. I looked out again. Why? What is it that is making him sulk so much? I slumped in the doorway, my back sliding down the frame. I sat on the ground with a womp. I heard Inu-Yasha rustle and felt him looking at me. I kept my eyes outside in the forest. The wind outside brought the rain inside. I shivered when the rain hit my face. I heard the patter of his feet as he walked towards me. Loose dirt speckled my wet hands. I didn't look at him, just stared at my hand. I had tears in my eyes. Nothing will work. I should go home.

My hand was being wiped. I couldn't see because of the tears that refused to fall from my eyes. I looked at Inu-Yasha and blinked the tears out. He looked at me with compassion. "Kagome." He hugged me. For what seemed like hours, he held me. I rubbed my eyes in his shoulder and silently sobbed. I felt his hand stroke my hair. The warmth of his breath on my neck made me shiver with pleasure. Be still my beating heart! He released his hands from me. His eyes were soft and sorry. "Kagome, I…" he stopped, like he was gathering his thoughts, or trying to stop himself from thinking out loud. His eyes wandered around the hut, looking for something that could distract him. He would find something if he was in my room, but an empty hut in the feudal era had much to be desired. He looked back at me.

"I… I…"

What! Spit it out already!

"Kikiyo is in the past now. I do. More than Kikiyo." He dropped his arms to his side and looked at the dirt floor. I placed my hand under his chin and lifted his face. He had tears in his eyes. What did I do? Why is he crying? "Inu-Yasha?" he looked at me and suddenly buried his head in my lap.

"Forgive me, Kagome. I didn't mean to hurt you." I heard him mumble.

"Oh, Inu-Yasha." I placed my head on top of his. "Its alright. I always knew you would come back." I smiled into his hair. I think he might have fallen asleep in my lap because he didn't move for a long time. "Inu-Yasha? Are you awake?" I heard him whisper no, but then he lifted his head up. He sneezed. His eyes were watery. "Are you sick, Inu-Yasha?" he sniffled. His hair is still wet! He must be. Oh! Don't say I tell you so. I stood up and walked over to my backpack.

After rummaging around the bottom for a few minutes I found what I was looking for. Inu-Yasha was sitting by the fire. Finally. I sat down next to him and revealed my brush to him. "Turn your back to me. Your hair won't dry fast enough by itself." He looked at me weird, but did as he was told. He sat there, letting me brush his hair. "It's a new moon tomorrow. What are you going to do if your sick?" I started to brush near his ears. "I dunno. What ever I usually do." He sounded depressed. His head drooped down. I dropped my arms and put the brush down. "Oh, come on. Don't sound so depressed." I shoved his shoulder. "Hey!" he joked.

A moment of silence passed before he spoke again.

"If my brother comes after me, promise me you'll stay out of his way." He tilted his head.

I gently scratched behind his ear. "If Miroku and Sango are here tomorrow, then I will. If not, I'm the only one who can protect you. Like it or not." I could tell he wasn't really listening, his foot was wiggling. Silly dog. "hehe." He turned around and looked at me. The rain had stopped for a little bit. But the wind was getting stronger. I shivered. It must have been almost 10, because I was getting tired. I stood up and went over to my backpack. I left the brush on the floor, and got my sleeping bag out. "Where is the blanket, Inu-Yasha?" Oh. That's right. We left it outside. Before I could say 'forget it', Inu-Yasha had bounded out of the hut to retrieve it. Good boy. He returned a few moments later with a heavy, wet blanket. "Hold it near the fire. Don't let it burn." I heard him huff in disgust.

While I slept, Inu-Yasha kept watch over the fire. I knew because I would wake up at random hours of the night. "Are you having trouble sleeping, Kagome?" I looked up to find Inu-Yasha squatting over me. He just had to look at me to get an answer. He left my side and returned a few minutes later with a cup. "Drink this. It will help." He handed me the cup. This wasn't the first time he had taken care of me. I took the cup and drank the contents. Actually you could have classified it as chewing it down. Kiaede must have left some dried remedies for me in case of sickness while she was away.