wk: Hey guys... Eh heh heh heh... Sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait. I have the normal excuses--school and life. But I found some time during the winter break to write! :) Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter Eight
The Long Run

Four days passed by, and Inuyasha grew more and more concerned. Other than knowing it was Naraku, they had no other leads. Even the evidence of that was iffy. So what if they had a piece of his costume? Until the psycho had been caught with his costume, they had nil on him. Hell, even then, Naraku could just say that someone stole his costume, and that he was a newly reformed man. Even the murder style was different.

Inuyasha never had enough evidence on Naraku. Whenever there was a murder that screamed Naraku's name, the wily, rich bastard always got out of it somehow. Paid-off witnesses as well as judges, Inuyasha didn't know, but Naraku always, always managed to slither away like the snake he was.

And it looked like he was going to get away with this one as well, if Inuyasha and Miroku didn't do something about it. And looking at things currently, Naraku's next victim, or his last victim, was going to be Kagome.

Fuck.

Another concern of his was that Kagome was growing antsy. She was getting more nervous and twitchy by the day. She wanted to get back to work, but wouldn't risk any of the children. She played with Kirara, and did his household chores-- she even cut his grass! She cleaned his house until it practically sparkled with polish. She had tried not to use too many cleaning chemicals because of his nose's sensitivity, and he had appreciated it. He had tried to find activities for her, but wouldn't allow her to leave the house unless he was there. With his very irregular hours, this was very irritating to Kagome. She couldn't even make plans to go anywhere.

He knew, just knew, that she was going to try something stupid if he didn't catch this son of a bitch.

Kagome wasn't one to just sit back and "twiddle her thumbs," as she put it. And there was only so long she could stay off her job without losing it for a legitimate reason. And there was no way in hell she would ever get herself fired.

His fingers were tied together, and he had no idea where to start to untangle them.

Fuck.


Kagome blew out a frustrated breath. She was on the treadmill that she had discovered in Inuyasha's basement. Apparently, he had his own little home gym, to keep in shape while he wasn't working. So, this is how he kept those proverbial donuts off, Kagome had thought grimly when she found it.

Kagome ran and ran, working off the frustration and tension of staying in one place for too long. She was going to go crazy. When she got off the treadmill, she wiped her face with a towel, and stretched. Kirara watched, while washing her face with a paw. Buyo was still upstairs, probably prowling around in the kitchen.

Kagome took a shower, easing sore muscles and aches. She heard her cell phone ringing, and she quickly snapped off the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and flipped open the cell phone. "Hello?" She answered.

"Get the damn cat and be ready in five minutes," Inuyasha's rough voice ordered. Kagome frowned.

"Be ready for what?" She asked. By the "damn cat," she assumed he meant Kirara because she didn't know why he would want Buyo.

"To come with me to the hospital," Inuyasha replied.

Kagome's grip became tense on the phone as panic rushed through her. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Kirara's owner is being released from the hospital."


Kagome walked behind Inuyasha into the hospital. Inuyasha nodded at the people stationed at the door, and they nodded back at him, and gave Kagome knowing smiles. Kagome frowned and tipped up her chin, and they blinked at her. She might have been sleeping with Inuyasha, but she would be damned before they labeled her as his floozy.

When Kagome walked into the room, her heart tripped. Sango was apparently not ready to leave the hospital. She had crutches, and her body was still looking bruised and battered. Kagome hated to think what she looked like before now. Inuyasha hadn't told her the details about the case, but Kagome knew enough from the media-- brother missing, parents dead.

Kirara was mewing and struggling in Kagome's arms, so Kagome released her onto the floor. Kirara cautiously went up to Sango, her twin tails twitching with anxiety. Sango saw her, and Kagome saw Sango's face crumple. Hurriedly, she shoved Inuyasha out. Inuyasha protested with only a mild grunt, and they both left.

Right when they stepped outside, they saw Miroku ambling over.

"She all right?" He asked, uncharacteristic concern on his face. Despite his easy walk, Kagome could tell that tension had his muscles tight.

"She just reunited with Kirara," Kagome supplied. "We're giving them a moment." After about three minutes and Inuyasha's endless shuffling around, Inuyasha deemed that it was time to go back inside.

Kagome opted to stay outside, not wanting to be there when Sango was being told that she was being taken into protective custody.

Suddenly, everything was a whirlwind of motion as Inuyasha strode out determinedly, Miroku beside him. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's arm, and barked orders at the two policemen outside the door. They jumped at his voice, and rushed off.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha started to drag her along. "Inuyasha, that hurts!" Inuyasha's hold immediately loosened, but he didn't let her go as he walked to the elevator.

"She escaped on Kirara out the damn window," Inuyasha growled. "Probably on her way to try to find Naraku."


Inuyasha had ordered Kagome to stay in his truck, despite her protests. And to ensure that she wouldn't leave, Inuyasha called one of the guys at the door to come and sit with her. Or, more accurately, to babysit her. Inuyasha was going to get an earful when he was back, Kagome promised herself.

She watched as Inuyasha and Miroku jumped off from the parking deck, and she marveled at Miroku's physical capabilities. He was apparently capable of keeping up with a hanyou, and it must have taken a lifetime of training as well as some of his spiritual powers in order to do that.

She wished she could keep up with them. Or at the very least have some power of her own, so that Inuyasha didn't have to worry about her and so that she knew she could take care of herself. She hated depending on Inuyasha so much, despite their relationship. Or perhaps it was because of their relationship. This reprieve to go to the hospital, she knew, had been something that Inuyasha had thought of to get her out of the house to keep her from going crazy. But now that she was out, she was going to scream and bite him if he forced her to go back. She knew it was for her own personal safety, but now that she was out, she wanted at least one full free day. At least.

She made idle conversation with the cop, and he seemed as bored as she did. But she knew better than to try to convince him to follow Inuyasha and Miroku by car. He would laugh in her face. So, instead, she convinced him that she was hungry, and that he could probably use a bite to eat, too.

They went to a nearby fast food place, parking because she wanted to eat inside. "Don't worry, I don't think they're coming back anytime soon," Kagome replied to his worries. "What's your name? Mine's Kagome."

The cop shrugged, and said in a grumbling tone, "Eiji."

As he shook her hand, he didn't understand how Inuyasha could be together with such a willful, wily creature such as Kagome. She had been bugging him the entire time underhandedly about being bored. When she said she was hungry, he grabbed at the chance to be anywhere else but the dark, hospital parking deck. He was supposed to be chasing a suspect, but no, he had to be babysitting Inuyasha's girlfriend. If she hadn't seemed so offended about it as he was, he probably would have disliked her.

He supposed that a man such as Inuyasha wanted a woman he could go toe-to-toe with, rather than his own preference of the semi-stupid, busty girls with small waists. Of course, Kagome wasn't hard on the eyes either. He could see the attractiveness of an intelligent woman, as long as they all came in the same package Kagome seemed to be wrapped in. Of course, he also knew that he himself was beyond any stupidity of his past girlfriends if he hit on Inuyasha's girl. Hitting on a dog-demon's—even if he was only half—girlfriend was beyond stupid. It was also detrimental to his health and his well-being to have all his teeth knocked out and fed to him.

"So what made you want to become a policeman?" Kagome asked, taking a big bite out of her wrap after asking the question. The man sighed, obviously not wanting to talk to her. Well, tough. She was going to drag the words out of him if she needed pliers to do it. And while she was at it, she was going to discover more about Inuyasha and his job description. Last time she checked, a regular traffic patrolman didn't have to take care of victims or their cats. Whenever she asked Inuyasha, he scowled and grumbled and never answered.

"Dad was one," Eiji finally answered, frowning at her.

"Ah. Are there a lot of people with parents in the force, then?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah." He gave her a level look. "Like your boyfriend-- the chief is his brother, and their father used to be Chief. Looks like you've got yourself a very important man."

Kagome blinked. She never knew that his brother was the chief, or that his father had been either. She was a little hurt that he hadn't shared that information with her, but then she also knew from what little tidbits he had given her that he and his half-brother didn't get along.

"Yes, well..." Kagome took a small bite of her food. "I'm not with him for the rank, or for the increased pay. If I wanted important or money, I would have gone corporate," she said smoothly, as she watched the flush of shame cover Eiji's face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean--" he mumbled. Kagome cut him off with a wave.

"Speaking of my boyfriend," Kagome started, "what exactly does he do?"

He put his food down to tell the tale. "He's being punished by his brother by temporarily being a highway patrolman," Eiji answered. "He—did something bad to one of our suspects, and the Chief wasn't too happy 'bout that." Eiji gave a distant smile, as if remembering the conversation between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. "So, he demoted Inuyasha, but technically, he's still a detective. Which is why he's on this case." Eiji gave Kagome one long look. "A lotta people think that he's too close to this one, and I tend to agree."

Oh, dear. Kagome blinked. She never thought people would resent her for his decisions. But she could see his rashness taking over in this case—literally this case—and warning other detectives off his back. He had probably argued that he was involved with the threatened—why not just watch her as his job as well? The personal involvement would have had any other officer pulled from their case, but Inuyasha's bull-headedness probably won out in this situation. She could practically see him growling in her mind's eye, at a faceless figure with the same silver hair as his, telling him to shove it and that he was going to protect her even if another detective was signed onto the case.

"You care who's on your case?" he asked, curious about her now.

Kagome thought it through. She would prefer Inuyasha over anyone, but was that just her personal bias towards his company? She nodded her head. Professionally speaking, he was the best there was. And who else would she want but the best to protect her from harm?

"I care," she said. She smiled at Eiji. "Why wouldn't I want the best to protect me?" Eiji nodded. He acknowledged Inuyasha's skills as a fellow policeman. If it wasn't for Inuyasha's temper and his tendency for rashness, Inuyasha probably would have won more awards than anyone else already.

"So how'd you two lovebirds meet?" Eiji asked, picking up his food again.

"We live next to each other," Kagome replied, grinning.

"No shit?"

"No shit."

"Huh. Well, I guess fate does have a hand in things after all."


Inuyasha grit his teeth as he jumped off another rooftop. It wasn't hard at all to follow Kirara's scent. However, having to track them as well as follow them at a faster speed was damn near impossible. Miroku followed him, zigzagging across the rooftops as well.

After nearly half an hour of straight-up running and tracking, Miroku started to slow. But at that precise moment, Inuyasha spotted a little flame in the distance.

"Miroku!"

Without another word and a burst of speed, Inuyasha jumped after the flame. Now that the visual had been established, he could go straight for her.

When Kirara noticed his presence, she turned, snarled. Inuyasha skidded to a stop on top of a roof. Miroku landed beside him.

"Sango!" Inuyasha called out. Sango was staring at them both, a tortured expression on her face, but a hard, determined light in her eyes.

"Sango, you need to go back," Miroku said from beside Inuyasha, his voice low and soothing.

"Why should I?" Sango yelled back. "Even if I go back, you'll just put me in some stupid protective custody. And then I'll lose all my chances of finding this bastard!"

"It's best to leave it to us," Miroku stated, moving closer cautiously. Sango's eyes flared as she noticed his movements, but didn't say anything. "You can refuse to go into protective custody. But flinging yourself headlong into death couldn't help your brother right now." He saw Sango stiffen.

"I wouldn't be killing myself. I'd be killing him."

Inuyasha decided he let Miroku play "good cop" long enough. "Lady, we've dealt with this bastard a longer time than you. Now, I'm not saying I know how you feel, but I also know for a fact that you're not only asking for your own death, but your brother's as well if you actively search him out like this."

Sango stared at him. "You don't know that."

Inuyasha gave a humorless laugh, his arms crossing over his chest in an unconcerned, relaxed move that didn't reveal his inner tension. "I personally don't care what happens to you. But don't fuck up my case, and we'll get along just fine," he drawled.

"Inuyasha," Miroku hissed. He knew what Inuyasha was trying to do, and didn't like his method of achieving it. Sango was being half-suicidal, and mostly hopeful. Inuyasha was killing the hope while making her desire for revenge burn even more. This ensured that Sango would keep herself safe before going after Naraku. Miroku barely restrained himself from yelling at Inuyasha.

"I need to save Kohaku!" Sango's thin cry, and her crumpling face was all Miroku needed to jump up to settle behind her gently on Kirara. Kirara growled, but didn't move without her mistress' consent.

"You won't be able to, if you die looking for Naraku. You're not even all the way healed," Miroku said gently, handing over his handkerchief. She buried her face into it, crying silently.

"You can try to save him all you want, but you'll fail," Inuyasha called from where he was standing. Miroku sent him a dirty look, and wasn't expecting Sango to give a thin cry of anger. Miroku was thrown off as Sango gripped Kirara's fur on her neck, urging her down quickly. Miroku gave a cry of surprise as he fell off, but landed on his feet gently.

Inuyasha dove out of the way as Kirara attacked, but was clobbered on the side of the head by Sango's monstrous weapon. He saw stars, and everything momentarily went black, but he merely flipped onto his feet, blinking the blood and unconsciousness out of his eyes. When the fuck did she get her weapon back?! Inuyasha thought dizzily, and cursed. She had probably picked it up from her house, or had it ready to go in the hospital—if they had kept all her possessions in a different location. It was just a matter of finding it. Kirara made a wide circle, then dove, giving a fearsome yowl as she descended.

"Fucking crazy bitch!" Inuyasha spat as he rolled out of the way again, this time keeping clear of Sango's Hiraikotsu.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, rushing over. Inuyasha ignored him, and he bent his knees to prepare himself to spring upwards. He honestly hadn't wanted to fight with Sango, but had merely tried to press her buttons to goad her into a breakdown so they could take her back. It wasn't the prettiest of methods, but he was tired and cranky, and he wanted to return to an unprotected Kagome. He had left her with a stupid human kid, and he wanted to get back to her. What if this whole thing had been some kind of tactic just to get Kagome? His heart squeezed in his chest in panic, as if Naraku himself had thrust his hand inside to grasp it in his despicable fingers. He had expected this to be a simple track and retrieve. He had not expected her to flip out and to dive-bomb him, nor to brain him.

When she was close enough, Inuyasha felt his muscles bunch and he shot upwards towards her. He was close enough to her that he could see the surprise in her eyes before she tried once again to hit him with her weapon. He was too close by then, however, and it merely painfully thumped against his back before he knocked her off Kirara. She landed a few feet away from him, on her feet. Of course, she was still weak from her injuries, and on top of that she had her bad leg. She crumpled to her knees, and she braced herself from falling completely with a hand while the other braced her weapon against her own back.

Miroku was there, a reassuring hand closing on her shoulder. She flinched away, and Miroku merely regarded her with a calm, clear gaze. Suddenly, he was tackled by a heavy demon cat, who was baring her fangs. Her long, frighteningly long and close-to-his-face fangs, Miroku thought.

"Kirara, no," Sango said tiredly. Kirara gave Miroku a warning growl, her claws digging into his shoulders. He winced but did nothing. Kirara slowly got off him, and walked over to Sango to nuzzle her with her head. Sango sat up, laid a comforting hand on Kirara's head. She looked at Inuyasha who was staring at her, his arms crossed across his chest in the same relaxed posture that had infuriated her before. She realized that he had been guiding her reactions, trying to make her see that it was impossible to go after Naraku currently.

And it worked.

Tired and emotionally drained, she heaved herself back onto Kirara's back. "You all right?" she asked Miroku, and Miroku nodded as he dusted off his rump with his hand. "Let's go back. I think I tore open the stitches," Sango said tiredly, and Miroku cast her a worried look, but didn't say anything knowing she would shrug it off anyway.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have gone berserk like that," Inuyasha snapped, swiping the back of his hand over his forehead to wipe away the drying blood.

Sango immediately stiffened, and Miroku gave Inuyasha a dirty look as he walked up next to Kirara. "He doesn't mean it. He just left his girlfriend unattended, and he's in a bad mood because of it."

Sango had a brief memory of the pretty girl that walked into her room before she had run off with Kirara. The one that had persuaded the seemingly thick-skinned and thick-skulled Inuyasha into leaving the room to give her a sentimental moment with her cat. Understanding a little about Inuyasha's tension, Sango relaxed fractionally.

"Let's go back." She looked at Miroku, who seemed bone-weary. "Hop on." Miroku didn't ask questions, merely hauled himself up behind her, barely able to put his leg over Kirara rather than just slumping himself over her back.

Sango looked at Inuyasha, and her lips tightened. She doubted he needed her help, and she wouldn't give it either way. Inuyasha gave her a slight nod, then he was running, back towards the hospital, a new tension making his return speedy. She might have understood his haste, but she couldn't forgive his cruel words right now. "Kirara," she said softly, and an equally soft growl cooed up to her. Then Kirara bounded upwards, and they sailed away, Inuyasha running ahead of them.


Kagome and Eiji seemed to become wary friends, or at the very least, companions during their short stay together. Eiji could understand Inuyasha's attraction to this girl, to her intelligence and wit, and found himself joking around with her as they awaited Inuyasha's return.

"Yeah, and then Inuyasha just went berserk and punched my ex in the face--" a hard, hot hand fell on Kagome's nape, halting her narration mid-word. She winced, and looked upwards to see Inuyasha's face, his eyebrow raised in question down at her, his displeasure clearly written across his face in a scowl. He was breathing hard, as if he had been running the entire time he had been gone. Kagome knew it took a lot to get a demon winded.

"Ah..." Kagome sent him a tentative grin. "Hi, handsome." Eiji snorted in front of her, and Kagome gave him a glare, because she knew that Eiji must have seen Inuyasha come into the door, and hadn't warned her.

"Kagome, you--" Suddenly Kagome was up with a startled cry, making Inuyasha blink at look at her as if she's grown two heads. But Kagome merely pushed aside his defensive hands, and held his face between her palms.

"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed, examining the rust-colored stain on his forehead. Inuyasha scowled.

"I'm all right. I'm already healed. You--"

"You have to go to the hospital! They have to check you out!" Kagome insisted, her fingers pressing on his scalp. Inuyasha sighed, grabbed her wrists to hold her hands away.

"Kagome, it's just dried blood. I'm fine now. No brain damage, nothing. No permanent damage." Before she could protest, he added, "Trust me. I know my body."

Kagome's eyes flicked to the dried blood, and pressed her lips together into a tight line, but nodded. Inuyasha took a deep breath, then gave her a stern look.

"Telling coworkers tales of my misadventures isn't a way to get on my good side, Kagome," Inuyasha growled. "And didn't I tell you not to leave the damn truck?"

"I got hungry," Kagome protested. "Surely you don't want me to starve while I'm waiting for you." Inuyasha grit his teeth. Kagome blinked up at him innocently. "And they're hardly misadventures, Inuyasha. I was just telling him how gallant and noble you--" Eiji's snort cut Kagome off, but when Inuyasha flipped his glare to Eiji, Eiji was looking away with the same innocent expression Kagome had, with all traces of amusement wiped off. Inuyasha ground his teeth. Here he was, tired from having run non-stop, full-speed back to her because he'd worried the top off his head about her well-being, and she was chowing down and getting chummy with another male. He narrowed his eyes with purpose, and Kagome's own eyes widened, reading the intent in his eyes. Her eyes flicked nervously over to Eiji, who hadn't noticed their by-play, and Inuyasha growled. She would keep her eyes on him, dammit!

Before Kagome could protest his intent, Inuyasha's mouth was on hers. Her mouth had already been open to tell him to stop and he took full advantage. She forgot what she was going to protest and why, and she drew her arms around his neck. She suckled delicately on his tongue, and she felt his shoulders stiffen with a different tension. A loud cough made her eyes fly open, and she withdrew quickly, her face flaming. She caught the startled, amused gazes of other customers, and also the gazes of those that clearly didn't approve the public display of affection. Her face flamed, and Eiji seemed amused by her predicament.

There was a loud whoop, and some scattered applause, and Kagome groaned and buried her face into her palms. Inuyasha was grinning now, a self-satisfied, cat-that-got-the-cream grin, one that made Kagome want to poke his eyeballs so that he could yowl like a cat-that-got-poked-in-the-eyeballs.

Inuyasha took one of Kagome's hands, bringing her to her feet. He gave a look to Eiji, who stood to acknowledge his departure. He gave a slight bow of his head, which Inuyasha returned with some puzzlement. It seemed to be important, but for the life of him he couldn't see why. Mentally shrugging, he pulled Kagome behind him, walking out of the restaurant.

Kagome had caught the little wordless exchange, and she gave Eiji a smile which he returned hesitantly. He might not have respected Inuyasha before, thinking he was just a crass know-it-all, but knowing his woman had given him a different perspective.

Kagome sighed as Inuyasha knelt in front of her. She couldn't get any more embarrassed in front of the restaurant, so why not? She climbed onto his back, and he bounded towards the hospital parking lot.

"What happened with Sango?" Kagome asked in between kisses when he had set her down at the truck. She was gasping, but her natural concern overrode her own needs. Inuyasha paused, his lips at her neck.

"Her stitches came loose, so she's getting them restitched." Inuyasha frowned. "Let's go back to her room for a minute."

Goddammit! If he hadn't been so concerned in taking Kagome home to make love to her, he would have kept his head screwed on straight and realized that he needed to see about Sango's well-being first. Such as, if she was refusing to go into protective custody, then what the hell was she going to do? And where the hell was she going to stay since she most likely wouldn't want to return to her house?

If he reacted like this every time he was scared witless over where Kagome was, he didn't know how the hell he would survive if anything happened to her. When she hadn't been at the parking lot, he had gone nearly berserk, nearly tearing into the hospital to demand security tapes of the parking deck before he remembered that he could scent her out.

Inuyasha dragged Kagome with him, keeping her close by putting an arm around her waist. She stumbled a few times as he refused to let her go, making her crab-walk with him in crowded halls sometimes. She rolled her eyes at him, but he ignored her, a scowl still set on his face.

When they approached a different examination room, Miroku was already there. Sango's stitches had been fixed, and she was sitting on the edge of the examination table. She glowered at Inuyasha, and Kagome felt a fine tension lock his arm around her. Something had happened between Inuyasha and Sango, Kagome thought. And not all of it good. Kagome, despite his iron arm, pushed it off and stepped away from it.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Sango, looking her over. Sango seemed startled by the question, and her face became grave again.

"Useless and crippled." Sango looked away from Kagome then, whispering the words. Kagome's compassionate heart clenched, and she held out a hand with a smile.

"I'm Kagome," Kagome introduced herself, realizing that she had never done so. Sango seemed startled, but her mouth twitched as her hand went into Kagome's.

"Sango," she replied. Kagome pumped her hand once, let go. "Pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine." Kagome smiled, and Sango gave her a hesitant smile in return. "How's your side? I heard you needed to be put together again."

Sango winced as a hand went to her side. "In a manner of speaking, I suppose so."

"You should be more careful. Your brother wouldn't want to come back to a broken sister." Quickly, before Sango could get mad, Kagome looked straight at Sango, and said, "I have a little brother, too. I would hate the situation if I was in your shoes. But you gotta stay healthy and whole so that your brother will have family when he's saved. You're all he has left."

Sango's throat became tight, and all she could manage was a nod.

Kagome kept her tone light and cajoling as she continued to soothingly talk to Sango. Inuyasha looked on with a bit of startled bewilderment. Kagome had managed, in less than thirty seconds, to get on Sango's good side, and had managed to make Sango value herself. Inuyasha had just pissed her off enough for her to hurt herself and to come back. He could see who was better in this situation, and it surely wasn't him.

Miroku stepped up, clearing his throat. "Rather than going to stay at a hotel or a motel, you're welcome to stay at my place."

Inuyasha threw Miroku a sharp look. Miroku met it with a bland, controlled gaze.

"I don't think--"

"Here's why it's a good idea," Miroku bulldozed over Inuyasha with quiet but steely undertone in his words. "First, you'll be under my protection, since you refuse to go into a witness protection program. Second, we won't lose money from the department by appointing guards to you, although I do expected to be compensated by this. Third--" he turned his gaze to Inuyasha, "she doesn't get killed."

Inuyasha grit his teeth. Miroku had a point. Because she refused to go under witness protection, the only thing for her to do was to go to a hotel room with appointed policemen at her door at all hours. It would save Sesshoumaru a lot of manpower as well as money to simply put Sango under Miroku's care. But what did he mean by--

"What do you mean by compensation?" Sango asked, her gaze hard, beating Inuyasha to the punch.

Miroku blinked, then grinned. "Not your body, Sango. Increased pay, for taking care of two people, rather than one."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Sesshoumaru might agree to this." He turned his eyes to Sango. "Only if you do."

Sango looked down at her clenched fists on her knees, her gaze sightless but troubled. "I..."

"How about you take some time to think about it?" Kagome put in. "You could stay here for a little while, then when you leave, you could tell Miroku your decision." She gave Miroku a look. "I'm sure he'll still be here when you're ready to leave." Sango nodded, still not looking up from her knees.

"Good. Great. Well, let Sesshoumaru know once you get that settled." Inuyasha growled, and his hand clamped around Kagome's wrist, bringing her to his side. "Time for us to leave."

"Call me if you need someone to talk to," Kagome told Sango. Kagome waved at both of them, and followed behind Inuyasha, whose hand had slid from her wrist to her hand to tug her along at a reasonable pace. Kagome smiled at the back of Inuyasha's head. As tough as he seemed, she had seen his utter confusion and his pout at how well she had handled Sango. She had no doubt that the undercurrent of tension between Sango and Inuyasha was because of Inuyasha's big mouth.

When they got to the truck, Inuyasha had her up against it, his big body crowding her against it. She blinked up at him, and gave a sigh of pleasure when he merely skimmed his lips over her jaw.

"You surprise the hell out of me," Inuyasha murmured, before capturing her mouth with his. Kagome hummed, and looped her arms around his neck. It was a soft kiss, one that was exploratory in its purpose. When Inuyasha pulled away, Kagome gave him an equally soft smile, a little off kilter. Inuyasha bundled her into the truck, and they were on their way back home.

On the way, Inuyasha recanted the story of how he got his head injury, and Kagome was aghast at all the things he wasn't saying. Like how he had goaded Sango beyond her limits.

"Inuyasha, I can't believe you did that!" Kagome said in disbelief.

"It's not like I did it because I meant it," Inuyasha said, scowling defensively. "It was just faster and it got a lot better results."

"You getting hit over the head is a much faster result that I like." Kagome shook her head. "And to think, I thought I was dating someone smart."

"Hey!" Inuyasha's indignant response had Kagome hiding a smile by looking out the window.

When they arrived, they were still light-heartedly bickering. Kagome doggedly kept her eyes away from her own place. Before Inuyasha let Kagome enter, he did a sweep of the house and then let her in.

"When is it gonna get back to normal?" Kagome lamented mournfully. Inuyasha drew her into his arms, pressing his lips comfortingly to her hair.

"It won't ever get back to the way it was," Inuyasha said quietly, "but I promise that what you'll go to will be better. Fear-free."

Kagome gave a reluctant chuckle, then buried her face into his chest. "I wouldn't mind if this was over soon, then. I don't like the feeling of having to look over my shoulder in my own home."

Inuyasha's heart flipped at her off-hand mention that she felt as if she was at home—in his home. He wondered how she would feel when—not if—he caught Naraku. But he was terrified to ask. But he had no problems ordering. He placed a hard kiss on her lips, then his eyes searched hers out before saying, "Kagome, we are in a clear, long-term relationship, until one of us says otherwise. Right?"

Kagome gave him such a radiant, soft smile that he wanted to gather her in and just snuggle, despite the fact that this would make his manliness go down a couple of notches. Kagome threw her arms around his neck, and gave a smacking kiss. Inuyasha grinned down at her in a foolish, happy manner. Kagome had never seen him give one of those goofy smiles, and it warmed her to her toes.

"Inuyasha, when this is over, and when you've caught Naraku and he's safely tucked away in some prison, I expect you to take a long vacation, because I'm gonna want one with you," Kagome said lightly.

Inuyasha swung her up into his arms, and his lips nuzzled hers as he made his way into the bedroom with her. As he laid her down on the bed, he said seriously, "Baby, my vacation time is all yours."


Well. He supposed snuggling after sex had its merits. And it didn't make him feel any less manly, not with his arms full of a hot, naked, satisfied female, dozing in and out of sleep. He kept tracing her profile with a claw, awed that this beautiful, gorgeous woman was in the same bed with him. He wasn't self-deprecating—he knew he wasn't hideous. But Kagome—Kagome was just ethereal. Her face was softened by good sex, her satisfaction almost tangible. His fingers went carefully over her eyelids, her nose, her lips, and chin. How could this perfectly formed creature be with him?

His thoughts momentarily took a dark turn as he briefly wondered if she was only with him because of the circumstances—Naraku being after her and dumping a dead stranger into her home would make her want to seek comfort from anyone. But Inuyasha shook off the thought, since they had long been attracted to each other before Naraku. If anything, the dire circumstances had forced them closer, but hadn't forced any emotions on them.

He had to find Naraku. And once he did, he was going to tell Kagome he loved her. Hell, he might even tell her that before he caught Naraku. When he fell, he wasn't exactly sure of the moment. Before, during, after, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he just knew he was, and that was enough for him.

Inuyasha hoped Kagome was in it for the long run, because he sure as hell was.


wk: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter--sorry if there were some... uh... things that didn't coincide with earlier chapters. My memory of my own stories aren't so good after not updating in so long, so if you guys find anything strange about this chapter, just message me or just write it out in a review and I'll jump on fixing it. This goes for my other stories as well! :)

Thanks for waiting patiently, guys!