I was on his back as he ran across the villages and fields.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"Uh, to her castle. Her family owned it before they all died off. She just lives there by herself, I guess..." Inuyasha sounded distracted. He didn't sound like himself.

"Inuyasha, is there something wrong? You don't seem like yourself," I asked.

"No. Why? What's wrong?" He answered a little too quickly.

"N-Nothing..." I studdered, looking down.

I heard him sigh, and then he stopped suddenly. We just stood in silence for a moment, and then he lowered me down. I just looked at him in surprise.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you," he said quietly. He was looking down to the ground.

"Can't it wait? We should go get Amaya before you transform!"

"It has to wait because that's what I wanted to talk to you about." He raised his eyes to mine. I didn't like where this was going. "You see, I can't control my full-demon side. You know that too because I ended up hurting you against my better judgement."

"You couldn't help that!" I shouted at him. I didn't want this conversation to go on any longer.

Inuyasha kept his voice cool. "I refuse to hurt you again. I refuse to be responsible for something happening to you. I couldn't live with myself. This is going to get dangerous, not only because of my transformations, but also the fight that I will have to face against Amaya."

"I'm not leaving," I said firmly.

He grimaced. "I was afraid of that. I suppose I will have to hurt you anyway because I won't take you with me."

"No! Inuyasha!" I grabbed his arm to make sure he wouldn't take off, even though I knew that wouldn't do anything.

"Kagome," he continued, ignoring my plea. "There may be another option that I may be forced to take...If I get too out of control, I will be too dangerous for anyone to fight off. If that happens..." He sighed. "I will have to...destroy myself to stop any harm I may inflict." He dropped his eyes again.

I just stood there, speechless, frozen, and shocked. I couldn't understand what was happening. Did he just suggest killing himself? How could he possibly bring that up? Tears started to well up in my eyes.

When my thoughts finally sorted themselves out, I exploded. "Inuyasha!" I nearly shrieked at him. "How could you possibly say something like that?!? This is completey irresponsible of you! I can't believe you would even consider...!" I had to stop myself from going crazy.

Inuyasha looked back up with wide eyes as I continued. "I really care about you! Haven't you realized that yet? I want to be with you and help you, always. You're just being selfish!"

Inuyasha's expression relaxed. "Kagome-"

"No, I'm not finished." I interrupted him. "I won't allow this. I still can't get over the fact that you just mentioned SUICIDE! I mean, talk about taking the easy way out! If you care about me too, then you should know better than to even try to pull something like this. I am here to stick by you through all the hard stuff that comes up, and I want to help you beat this demon!" I paused to take a breath.

A crooked smile appeared on his face.

"What are you smiling about? This is a serious matter! I really think you should at LEAST try to-" I didn't even have time to finish the sentence.

Inuyasha wrapped and arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him in one swift move.

"Inuyasha-"

"Shh." He spoke in a soft tone. "Just be quiet for a minute..." He was slowly lowering his face closer to mine, closing his eyes. I started to blush. Is he about to...? Before I could finish the thought, it happened: His lips made contact with mine. He tightened his hold around me with his one arm, the other one cupping my cheek. I stopped breathing.

I never thought this day would come. This moment was probably the happiest I've ever had, and I really didn't care if it was my last. We just stood still, our kiss so soft and innocent, and yet so beautiful. It seemed to have lasted forever.

After a minute, he pulled away, his expression so soft and so serious at the same time. He then pulled me in to wrap both arms around me in embrace. I couldn't believe what was happening right now.

"Kagome," he said cooly. "I never thought I could ever feel this way about someone. I've never even felt like this around..." he paused. I knew he probably was thinking about Kikyo. "You care more about me than I ever truly imagined, and that makes me really glad to have you by my side."

He twisted his head to whisper something in my ear. "If you really want me to stay with you, then I will never leave. I will always be with you, whenever you need me." My heart just about did a cartwheel in my chest. I realized that I was tearing like crazy, and i whiped them away.

A moment passed. I decided to speak first. "So... " I said, composing myself and pulling away. "Are you ready?" I said, smiling.

Inuyasha smiled back. "Always."

See? That was a bit longer, wasn't it? And to make things better, romance got tossed into the mix. I hope you all keep reading and REVIEW!!!