Every inch of his body thrummed with some kind of dull ache, although it was overshadowed by the pain tearing through his now fixed shoulder and left ankle.

His legs ached from over-exerting himself in today's battle for the jewel shard. His arms ached from wielding the tetsusaiga. His head ached from the blow he sustained from a rock when he landed in the pond. His heart ached, as it often did regardless of his more emotional human form, for the miko on the other side of the room.

He shifted slightly, adjusting his back to fit more smoothly against the faded, flimsy wall behind him. Once Kagome had helped him to his current position and started her hunt around the hut for anything useful, Inuyasha had quickly opted to cradle his right arm in his left to keep his ragged breathing from further jostling his shoulder. He was currently trying to find a comfortable position to rest in without moving his left leg from its straightened stance on the ground.

It wasn't long before his thoughts strayed to stave off the familiar jolts that ran through his body. He thought of the battle and the way the old cherry tree had been able to project a tangible she demon to pester him. He marveled at how it was the same she demon that was made entirely out of leaves. He thought of his rapid descent down a rock wall earlier in the day. He thought of the way Kagome's hair had smelled as he held her close during their free fall. He thought of the way her eyes shone when she was happy and how her smile warmed everyone in her presence. He thought of how he would irritate her, even to the point of a warranted "sit", just to see her angry.

He shook his head a bit and redirected his thoughts to his sword.

He wanted to get up and retrieve his tetsusaiga from the rock wall where he knew it was still embedded. His vulnerable condition was only amplified by the lack of his blade. However, even in his hanyou state, he knew it would take more than a day or two for his leg to heal enough for him to walk steadily, let alone try to scale a cliff.

He gritted his teeth and shifted his head forward to hide his eyes from Kagome as she approached him with what seemed to be a few tattered sheets and a blanket from some other corner of the hut. One of the things he hated even more than transforming into a human was letting Kagome see that he was troubled.

He felt her kneel within a few inches of his leg.

"Alright there, Inuyasha?"

He shifted his gaze up to her startling blue eyes. Fortunately, his face didn't falter and give away his pain or his true feelings for the girl before him.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'll manage."

"You're lying to me aren't you?"

"Now why would I do something like…OW! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

Stupid wench. Can't she see I'm trying hard enough as it is to keep my pain under control?

Kagome sighed and removed her hand from his ankle. She had barely touched it to begin with! She shook her head at him while she bit and tore the sheets that she had discovered in a chest at the opposite end of the room. She had always marveled at how incredibly stubborn Inuyasha could be; even when he was a human, he never wanted to let her see that he was in pain or going through a difficult time emotionally.

I guess I would be too if I grew up as an outcast from both the world of demons and the world of humans…

"Sorry," she muttered and separated a few of the wide strips of fabric from the pile that had accumulated on the floor next to her.

She shifted her weight until she had turned her body towards his injured ankle and looked at Inuyasha pleadingly.

"What?"

"Well, I need to pull your pant leg up so I can bind your ankle with these strips of cloth and these straight sticks I found, ok?"

Inuyasha only nodded in response. Inwardly, he was preparing himself for some discomfort and his only outward symptom was a harsh swallow that broke the silence in the room.

She eased his pant leg up, trying not to cause her friend any more pain. He hissed a bit as the tighter part of his pants, usually around his ankle, worked its way upward and squeezed itself around Inuyasha's very swollen and bruised ankle. With a few minutes of working, Kagome had managed to get the cloth far enough away from her target and went about examining his ankle.

"Inuyasha, this is going to hurt, but I need to move your ank-"

"Just do what you gotta do and get it over with…"

She grimaced and lightly pressed on a rather prominent purple bruise on the top of his ankle. She felt him shudder and watched as his lips pursed tightly together and a groan caught in his throat. Supporting his calf, she raised his leg and rested the bottom of his foot against her shoulder.

"Push against me."

"Kagome, I-"

"Its going to hurt, but I need to feel how much damage you did! Now push against my shoulder!"

He felt her fingers go lightly to the top and sides of his ankle. It was tender, but the softness of her fingers felt like a caress against the painful joint. He took a deep breath and began to push against her shoulder.

Inuyasha tried as hard as he could to keep from crying out as he felt pressure rapidly building in his ankle. He looked up and caught Kagome's blue eyes staring into his chocolate brown one's with concern and something more that he couldn't discern. It looked like….love. His breath caught in his chest with the simple notion and he forgot about the task at hand.

Kagome watched as he gingerly began to press the bottom of his foot into her. She also noted that he had stopped in his tracks when her gaze had met his. A blush crept silently over her cheeks, but she shrugged it off and brought her attention back to her little test.

She knew he was being earnest in his efforts, but she also knew that he was keeping a lot of the force in his knee instead of in his ankle. She shifted forward a bit to press against his foot. Instantaneously, an electric shock of pain jumped from his ankle to his face. Her heart leapt out to him when he cried out in both shock and pain.

Her fingers carefully prodded and pressed and she gasped as she felt an unusual bump under the surface. It felt jagged. She was positive that it was broken.

He caught her gaze again. He was angry that she had surprised him like that, but he was not ready for what came next. He heard a soft pop, very similar to the one that he had heard when the pain first began in his ankle and it felt like fire had burned into his bone. Inuyasha's eyes grew as large as saucers and the color drained from his face. He never felt the clammy sweat that was breaking out over his entire body as a yelp of pain escaped his lips.

"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha," cooed Kagome between small gulps that were keeping her from tears for his pain, "I had to set the bone in place. I'm so sorry."

She watched him nod, acknowledging and accepting her plea for a pardon. She watched as his eyes glazed over and a single bead of sweat ran down his face.

Why did I have to leave my backpack on the battle field? I could've given him something for his pain!

He took slow, calming breaths to steady his racing heart, but he still felt wave after wave of fire run through his ankle. He watched as Kagome laid a few strips of the stained fabric on the floor where his foot once rested. He watched, his brain half in a fog as, as she lowered his ankle on to the floor, fixed the two sturdy sticks to either side of his ankle and tightly tied them into place around his ankle. It was strange, but he felt the pain subsiding already.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yea, Kagome?"

His tone was softer than usual, even for his human form.

"I'm sorry."

"For helping me?"

"For hurting you," she whispered and averted her eyes.

"You didn't hurt me. You helped me."

The two sat in silence for a bit. Neither felt like sleeping, although neither had anything to say.

To Inuyasha's dulled eyes, it appeared as if Kagome was idly playing with a larger scrap of the remaining cloth, until she drew near. He watched as she looped the fabric around his neck and very carefully placed his heavy right arm in a pocket of the fabric. Kagome had fashioned him a sling.

"Is there anything else I can do to ease your pain, Inuyasha?"

He merely shook his head and felt his physical exertion from earlier in the day starting to take its toll. He blinked a bit and watched as Kagome gave Inuyasha the blanket she had found in the chest earlier in the evening and made to stand and leave his side. He quickly grabbed his wrist with his left hand.

"Kagome?"

It was barely a whisper and the miko strained to hear.

"Hmm?"

She turned towards him, dropping to her knees and leaned close to his mouth to hear his next words.

Instead of speaking, Inuyasha pulled her closer with his left hand and kissed her softly. A shiver ran up his spine in the brief, intimate contact.

Did I really just kiss her?

Both were left blushing as Kagome slowly pulled away. She turned her face away from him for a moment to hide the blush that was rapidly over taking her face.

Did he really just kiss me?

A few moments later, Kagome rested herself against the wall along side Inuyasha. She laid her legs out in front of her and coaxed the half demon to lay down on her lap.

He smiled a bit as his head rested comfortably on her thighs. He looked into her eyes and Kagome saw the same emotion that Inuyasha had fumbled to grasp earlier in the evening.

"Kagome?"

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"I…I lo-"

His tongue stumbled over the words he was trying to say.

C'mon Inuyasha, pull yourself together!

"I love you."

Kagome's breath hitched in her throat and a smile slowly crept over her lips.

"I love you too, Inuyasha."

She smiled inwardly to herself and let her fingers run gently through his hair. It wasn't long until the boy fell asleep and Kagome took a turn at playing the protector.

She pondered a bit, sitting alone in the dark. She rested her head against the wall and wondered if Inuyasha would profess his love for her again once the sun had risen and his youkai senses returned along with the invisible barrier that he used to so carefully protect his heart.

With that final thought, she let her body succumb to its exhaustion and she joined Inuyasha in a dreamless sleep.