It had been a ferocious foe. A strong demon like they had rarely met. And it knew how to use curses and dark magic, which was strange for this type of demon. They were normally all muscles no brain, but not him. No wonder why he was so powerful, he had not one but four Shikon shards.

The battle had lasted for hours and everyone would have been severely injured if it was not for Inuyasha's strength and agility. He, on the other hand, had been wounded. Not deadly but enough to prevent him from fighting for a few days. They were all exhausted and dirty.

After they gathered their things that had been scattered all over the battle ground, Kagome tended to Inuyasha's injuries while Sango, Miroku and Shippo were setting the camp for the night.

"I don't need to be patched up." Inuyasha grumbled as the miko was rolling gauze around his left biceps.

"You know you'll heal faster that way. And besides... You always defend us and get most of the damage... I just want to take care of you..." she answered.

"Keh!" he exclaimed, a bit flustered. He still wasn't completely used to have positive attention on him. "My body is way stronger than all of you anyway."

"I know but... I hate seeing you getting hurt..." Kagome said softly.

Inuyasha looked at her. He could read the concern in her eyes and smell the fear mixed with her sweet scent.

"Don't worry, I've been through worse." he said softly, looking away.

"I know... But still..."

That night, when they settled around the fire after a quick dip in the river and eating some grilled fish, everyone fell asleep rapidly, except for Kagome. She was exhausted and even though her body felt heavy as if it was made of lead, slumber was eluding her.

After what felt like hours of tossing and turning, her eyes finally closed and she fell asleep.

Suddenly, a loud noise jolted her awake and she found herself alone. All her friend's belongings were still where they had left them earlier. She got up on her feet and called out for them but no one answered. She looked around but didn't see anyone. Starting to panic, she ventured in the forest, searching for anyone. She had only took a dozen of steps when she heard the sound of clashing swords.

She followed a path deep into the forest, guided by the distinctive noises of a battle. Kagome was worried, thinking about Inuyasha who was still wounded. She suddenly heard a loud cry and then, silence. Her heart skipped a beat. She ran faster and arrived in a small clearing in the woods.

There, in the middle of the glade, she saw a stack of red cloth. Kagome, dreading what she would find, forced her feet to go forward, her heart beating like crazy.

A scream got stock in her throat when she saw blood tinted white hair. She instinctively brought her hand in front of her mouth, and falling to her knees beside the unmoving form, she watched with sheer horror the face of her dear hanyo. His eyes were opened but his gaze was lifeless.

"Oh no... Oh god no. Inuyasha!" she said, her voice not more than a whine.

He was covered in blood and wasn't breathing. She desperately searched for a sign of life, anything, but soon the horror of the situation came crashing onto her. Inuyasha was dead.

Kagome recoiled from the body of the hanyo, suddenly feeling nauseated. She emptied her stomach as the intensity of her despair was too much to bear.

She let out a scream and threw herself at Inuyasha, tears spilling on his chest, mixing with his blood. She held him against her in a desperate grip, rocking softly.

Then, she heard his voice. Soft, far away. She knew her mind was playing her tricks, and it only made her cry louder.

"...gome... wa...up... Kagome... up! Kagome wake up!"

The miko gasped as she sat up abruptly, her face wet and her heart racing. She frantically looked around not really seeing Inuyasha crouched beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she suddenly turned towards him.

"Kagome... I heard you scream." he whispered.

"I-Inuyasha! You're alive!..." she exclaimed as she finally noticed his presence.

"Of course, you dummy."

He didn't have time to say anything else before Kagome launched herself at him, almost knocking him off balance. She buried her face in his robe of the fire rat and clung to him as if she was scared he would disappear. Her body was shaking as she sobbed.

Not wanting the others to wake up (they were all still asleep by an unknown miracle), Inuyasha picked up Kagome carefully in his arms and went further in the forest. He stopped when he could not hear the slow breathing of their companions anymore and sat down under an oak tree.

Kagome was sitting on his lap, her face now buried in the crook of his neck, her jerky breath tickling his skin. He delicately (well as much as it was possible to be delicate with clawed hands) pulled on one of her hands that was still grasping his clothes.

Not knowing what to do to appease the miko, he held her hand in his, slowly caressing her knuckles with his thumb. With his other arm, he held her tightly against him.

"Kagome... It's ok, you're safe."

She finally looked up at him, her eyes still wet and red from crying that much. Her whole body was trembling, from cold or from anxiety, she didn't know.

Inuyasha let go of her hand and cupping her face, wiped the tears still rolling on her cheek.

"I... I thought that... That I lost you..." Kagome said, her voice raspy.

"It was just a nightmare." he said softly.

"It felt so real! I had woken up and nobody was there. I searched and found you... You were there... covered in blood, lifeless... I really thought you were dead!" the miko explained, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She had leaned back, now facing him.

"Come here."

Inuyasha cradled her body in his arms, holding her tightly. His nose was buried in her hair, breathing her heavenly scent. Her face was laying against his chest, the reminiscence of her tears being absorbed by the fabric.

They stayed like that, in silence, for a while. When Kagome was finally calm and felt ok to stand on her feet, they walked back to the camp, Inuyasha holding her hand.

He placed a few logs in the fire while the miko layed down in her sleeping bag. He sat beside her, his back against a tree, watching over her sleep.

The next day, they had walked for hours, trying to locate other shards. At night, they had found a village and Miroku using his charisma, had been able to have them a place to sleep in exchange for a (real this time) exorcism.

Kagome fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, over exhausted from the long walk and her lack of sleep.

In the middle of the night, Inuyasha was dozing off against a wall nearby, when his ears picked up a whimper. He opened his eyes and saw Kagome stirring on her futon, her brows furrowed.

"No... N... Inu...Yasha." she mumbled in her sleep.

Hearing his name and seeing her discomfort, the hanyo got beside her and shook her shoulder softly, not wanting to startle her. Her eyes shot open and she was panting. She sat up, her face hidden in her hands, as she tried to calm down.

"Nightmare again?" Inuyasha whispered.

"Yeah... god I can't stand to see you dead..." she murmured.

The hanyo didn't know what to say. It was just a dream after all... But she seemed really affected by it. He took her hand and placed it over his heart.

"Here. You feel my heartbeat?"

"Yeah... Thank you... W-we should go back to sleep...We have a long day tomorrow..."

Inuyasha nodded and squeezed her hand before going back to his position against the wall. Kagome layed down but was shivering, feeling like her bones were freezing. She was unable to warm up, even if she had brought the blanket up to her nose.

Noticing her shivers, Inuyasha took off his robe of the fire rat and covered her without a word.

"Thank you..." Kagome whispered.

A few minutes later, she had stopped quivering and was able to fall back into slumber.

In the early morning, she woke up coughing, having a hard time to breathe. She opened her eyes and the only thing she was able to see was smoke. Thick black suffocating smoke, that could only be caused by fire. But what was weird was that she couldn't feel any heat...

She then realised that Inuyasha had covered her with his robe last night! Panic started to rise but she knew she had to get out as soon as possible.

She turned her body so she could be in a position where she could look around and crawl without leaving the protection of the clothing. She tugged on the sides of the robe of the fire rat to make sure to be fully covered.

She moved towards the direction of the exit and crawled, keeping her body as low as possible and covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve.

She wanted to call out her friends name but was unable to do so because of the smoke making her cough as soon as she tried to emit a sound. As she got closer to the exit, she could feel a cooler draft, so she followed its direction and finally stumbled upon the entrance. She got outside and ran on all four to put more distance between her and the blaze that had taken over the hut.

She then rolled on her back, gasping and coughing as the oxygen rushed back into her lungs. Breathless, she looked around to see Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Shippo running towards her.

"Kagome! Are you ok?" Sango shouted as Shippo hopped on the miko's shoulder.

"Y-yeah I think..." she croaked. "Wait! Where's Inuyasha?" she exclaimed, not seeing him anywhere around.

"We thought he was helping you to get out!" Miroku said, concern etched in his eyes as they all realised the hanyo was nowhere to be seen.

Kagome's heart was racing as she looked frantically around, yelling his name. She decided to look back in the hut before it would totally collapse. A part of the roof had already fallen down. As she approached, shielding her body as much as she could against the intense heat, she noticed it: a clawed hand, immobile, peaking from under a broken and calcinated wood beam. She screamed, paralysed by the scene.

That's when she woke up, in shock, looking frantically around her for Inuyasha.

He was already coming towards her. He didn't need to ask, he knew she had another nightmare and it probably involved him. He smelled her tears before seeing them.

The hanyo put down tetsusaiga beside the futon and didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her shaking form. She encircled his waist with hers. They stayed like that until her tears had dried out.

Without a word, Inuyasha gently helped her to lay back down on the futon. He layed beside her, feeling that she was to distressed to go back to sleep right away.

Kagome blushed slightly but was grateful that he stayed by her side. A big shiver crawled along her spine at that moment. She was definately too cold too sleep...

Inuyasha pulled the blanket and his robe of the fire rat over them. At first, they were facing each other but didn't dare to cross the other's gaze.

The hanyo put tentatively his hand on her shoulder and pulled her slightly towards him, letting her know that she could come closer. She did, and placed her head in the crook of his shoulder as he slid his arms around her in a protective way. She didn't know what to do with her arm and finally opted to lay it across the hanyo's chest. She hoped that he couldn't hear the wild beating of her heart.

He was... So warm. His scent and the sound of his beating heart were slowly appeasing her.

Kagome was unable to fall back asleep before the others started stirring on their futons. But at least she wasn't shivering and felt calmer than she had in the past couple of days.

Inuyasha didn't sleep either, his brain going full speed trying to decipher what he was feeling. Though he stayed completely still for almost two hours, afraid of disturbing the girl nestled in his arms.

The next night, they had set a camp halfway from Kaede's village. Kagome was afraid to fall asleep. After the horrible nightmares that were feeling way to real, her anxiety was rising high the moment she closed her eyes.

Trying for an hour to calm down and failing, she silently got up and walked towards Inuyasha who was sitting in the low branches of a tree.

Seeing her approaching, he jumped down in front of her.

"Can't sleep?" he asked softly.

"No... I'm scared..." she answered looking at him. "I can't stand to see you die one more time..."

"Come here..."

Kagome joined Inuyasha at the base of the tree and raised her head to gaze into his amber eyes.

The hanyo took a step, closing the distance between them. He hugged the miko, breathing her intoxicating scent. She pressed her body against his, relishing in his warmth and the peace he was bringing her.

Inuyasha stepped back and released her but took her hand in his. He guided her back to her sleeping bag.

"I-I don't want to sleep..." Kagome stuttered, her voice shaking.

"I've got you." the hanyo whispered.

He crouched and opened her sleeping bag completely, laying it on the ground. He shrugged his robe of the fire rat and holding it on one arm, he took Kagome's hand again with the other and guided her to lay on the blanket. He covered her with his coat and layed down behind her. He scooted to be flush against her back, slipping and arm under her head and rested the other around her waist.

"Inu... Yasha..." she whispered shyly.

"I thought... If you felt me against you while you sleep, maybe your brain will stop thinking I'm dead." he said, blushing.

Kagome was blushing as well, aware of the rather intimate position they were in. But she felt safe in his arms, feeling his warmth, his breath against her hair and the tender yet solid way he was holding her.

It felt different than when he held her in his arms during battles to protect her. Because those times, it was his instincts that were driving him. But right now... he chose to hold her. And she couldn't help but to feel a bit dazed.

Kagome put her hand over the hanyo's that was resting on her side and sighed, finally feeling calmer. Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep.

Inuyasha was unable to sleep, but he didn't really need to right now. He was also very aware of the feeling of her body against his... and his mind was dangerously drifting towards prohibited thoughts.

"Damn it! Get a hold on yourself!" he thought, flustered. "The last thing you want is Kagome waking up and feel your... interest..."

"Maybe it's her damn godly scent that's clouding my mind... Or the way she smiles when she sees me... Or the ridiculously short skirt she wears all the time... STOP!"

Inuyasha groaned silently. If his arms weren't... unavailable right now, he would have definately facepalmed.

"Ok I find her attractive, so what?" He thought. But if he was honest with himself... It was more than physical attraction.

First, he always felt this intense need to protect her, more than anyone else. It was visceral. Also, she had always accepted him for who he was... both human and demon sides. She even told him she liked him as a hanyo multiple times... He didn't believe her at first but she had proven her point.

Kagome stirred a bit in her sleep and he froze and swallowed thickly, the friction of her body on his sending electricity to his nerves way too much... "Yeah maybe that wasn't that much of a good idea after all..." He thought.

But when Kagome woke up as the sun rose, fully rested and not having had a single nightmare, smiling brightly at him with her eyes shining under the sun, he knew that it was worth the... hum struggle.

"Hey..." she murmured, after having turned around to face him.

"H-hey. Slept well?" he asked shyly.

"Yes... Thanks to you..."

Their gazes were locked together and Kagome's heartbeat increased. There was so much intensity in his eyes.

"I... I told you I would always protect you... Even if it's against your own nightmares." he said in a low voice, sending shivers down the miko's spine.

A clawed hand brushed threw her bangs, removing a strand of hair stuck to her eyelashes. Inuyasha leaned in very slowly, like he was hypnotised by her. He wanted, no needed to taste her, to confirm what this fluttering feeling in his stomach was. Kagome closed her eyes, her lips slightly parted, waiting nervously that he closes the gap between them. She felt his lips brush ever so softly against hers and then-.

"Hey Kagome! You're awake? Wait why is Inuyasha lying beside you?" Shippo chimed in.

The hanyo leaped backwards, now crouching a few meters away from Kagome. She felt her face heating under the questioning look of the child and Inuyasha was growling lowly.

"Why the hell do kids always have to interrupt when I want to kiss her?" he thought, irate, remembering the time Sota had barged in Kagome's room just as he was about to...

Soon Miroku and Sango joined them so they ate breakfast and packed up the camp.

After walking for hours, they were finally back to Kaede's village. They were all sharing a meal with the old miko, telling her details about their recent expedition.

Miroku and Sango decided to go sit outside since it was still warm. Shippo and Kirara followed them.

"Kagome, you should tell Kaede." Inuyasha said, looking at her.

"Why? It's just nightmares..." she answered, looking at her hands.

"Keh! It's not just nightmares, they fucking terrorise you!"

"What nightmares?" Kaede interjected.

Kagome sighed. "Well since the last battle, 3 days ago, I have those vivid nightmares... Everything seems real until I wake up. I'm kinda scared to sleep now." she explained.

"Hm. What kind of nightmares?" the old miko asked.

"She dreams that she finds me dead." Inuyasha answered.

"Yeah... But last night Inuyasha slept with me an I didn't have nightmares!" Kagome exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Kaede looked at them both with wide eyes.

Inuyasha, realising what the old miko had understood, became flustered and waved his hands in front of him. "N-no not like that!! She-she slept and I watched over her... fully clothed!! I swear!!"

Kagome blushed violently at the implication. "N-nothing else than sleeping!" she confirmed.

Kaede started to laugh, seeing those two so flustered. "Ok ok, I understand. Don't worry."

She then became serious once again before looking at the younger miko.

"Kagome. It looks like you have been cursed."

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"Well, it's true that the demon we fought was able to use curses..." said Inuyasha, thinking. "Remember, he rendered Miroku and Kirara unable to move for a while." he added.

"That must be it then." Kaede declared. "Let me take a look. Inuyasha, please wait outside."

"O-ok." He left the hut but didn't go very far, wanting to hear what the old woman had to say.

"Now Kagome, I want you to lay on the futon. I'll try to use my purification powers to break the curse."

The young miko did as asked and Kaede kneeled beside her. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Kagome's aura and noticed a dark spot on her forehead. The old miko placed her hand over the dark spot, trying to purify it but was immediately rejected by lightning, making her fall down on her back.

"Kaede are you alright!?" Kagome shouted, worried about what had just happened.

Hearing the commotion, Inuyasha rushed inside the hut and helped Kaede to sit up.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Kaede joined her hands together, thinking.

"You are indeed cursed, but my powers are not strong enough to break it."

"But why did that yokai curse me?" she wondered out loud.

"Naraku." Inuyasha said between gritted teeth. "The yokai had multiple shards. It can only be Naraku's doing."

"You're right..." Kagome mumbled.

"Kaede-baba, is there nothing that can be done?!" the hanyo asked, clearly mad about the whole situation.

The old woman kept silent for a while, lost in her thoughts. She then looked at Kagome.

"There's a priestess I know, who is almost as powerful as my sister was. She might be able to help... She lives in a secluded temple, on the other side of the mountains."

"Then let's go Kagome! We're leaving now!" Inuyasha exclaimed, already halfway through the entrance.

"Wait Inuyasha. You won't be able to go with her to meet the priestess. The sacred grounds around the temple could purify you in an instant." she warned them.

"Keh! I'm not scared. I'm half human remember?" he spat, getting impatient.

"That's why, if you want to go with her, you will need to get there before the new moon and go in as a human."

"I really don't like that..." he mumbled under his breath.

"One last thing." Kaede added. "You can't bring anyone else with you. I had promised a long time ago that I would not reveal her existence but... It's an emergency."

Kagome and Inuyasha nodded. They decided that she would go back to her era tonight to rest and prepare for the expedition ahead, and they would leave in the morning. She asked Inuyasha to come with her at home. She was too scared of sleeping alone tonight...