I don't own InuYasha. I might try to claim I did, but I can't draw, so I can't convincingly fake it….

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"So what do you think?" Sango asked Miroku that night, once InuYasha had left Kaede's house to sulk. "Is Kagome really in love with this Hojo person?" Miroku shook his head.

"No, I don't think so." Sango smiled wryly.

"I don't think so either. She still worries about InuYasha a lot, even though she tries not to let on. Not to mention how she avoids most of the questions I ask her about Hojo. She talks about how considerate he is, but when I ask her if she's going to tell him about the well, she finds something to distract herself." Miroku laughed.

"Yes, I was getting that impression. Do you think she realizes what she's doing?"

Sango shook her head. "Not really. She honestly believes she loves him."

"I think it's something she's doing to protect herself. She's finding a way to numb the pain of taking second place to Kikyo." Miroku said pensively. Sango nodded slowly.

"She's decided that if InuYasha loves someone else, so should she. If she loves someone else, the way he always puts Kikyo ahead of her can't hurt her anymore. Yes... I can see that."

"There's more to it than that," Miroku said thinking out loud. "If Kagome doesn't love InuYasha, then he doesn't have to love her. He doesn't have to protect her anymore."

"And Naraku can't use her to get at him, because they're not together." Sango finished, slightly awed at the perfection of this idea. She traded amused glances with Miroku.

"So," Miroku said brightly "Want to bet on how long it lasts?" Sango laughed.

"Until the next time something attacks Kagome. If not earlier. InuYasha isn't really patient, and he hates sharing Kagome with the competition." Miroku chuckled.

"No arguments there. Just look at how he gets when Kouga's around her. Which makes me wonder, why didn't Kagome go to Kouga, instead of Hojo?"

"I think it's because deep down, she didn't want to see InuYasha and Kouga fight." Sango explained. "And also, because Kouga irritates her. He has a habit of treating her like his property, and that makes her mad. Hojo was a safer choice all around."

"That's true. And InuYasha doesn't know Hojo, and it's not very likely that Kagome's going to introduce them."



"Which means InuYasha is going to be left in the dark about who she's seeing and how he treats her. That's not going to make him very happy." Sango and Miroku rolled their eyes, sharing the knowledge that InuYasha was going to be unbearable for the next few days.

Kagome lay relaxed on her bed, feeling clean and comfortable for the first time in a while. Her date had been fun, but something was nagging at her. It was almost as if there was something missing. Stop that. She told herself. It's not like you are missing anything. You have great friends, quite possibly the nicest, most agreeable guy for a boyfriend... She rolled over, so that her chin was resting on her fists. That was it. Hojo. He was wonderful, sweet, funny, and would do anything for her, but something felt... wrong. Out of place. She could not explain it. It was almost as if he was too perfect. She shook herself to stop her train of thought. She must be imagining things. She was probably just tired from fighting demons in the feudal era. A good night's sleep in a bed would fix that. With a sigh, she got under her covers, and tried to fall asleep.

Her plan did not work very well. For a long time, she could not get to sleep, and when she finally did, her dreams were nightmares that woke her almost every hour. Eventually, around dawn, everything calmed, and she settled into a deep sleep with a mumbled "Thank you".

Shippo woke up a little before dawn. Someone was moving around the house. He cracked open an eye, and saw InuYasha leaving. Quietly, Shippo got up and followed. InuYasha walked to the woods, and Shippo stealthily hid behind buildings, bushes, and other convenient hiding places. He was relieved once they crossed the tree line; it was much easier to hide in the forest. Shippo froze behind a tree trunk as InuYasha looked back over his shoulder. He looked around for a moment, then shrugged and walked a path that Shippo recognized. A few minutes later, InuYasha stood next to the dry well that lead to Kagome's time, and stared into the well's depths with one hand resting on its weathered wood. He looked over his shoulder again, and Shippo darted behind another tree. InuYasha turned back to his contemplation of the well. After a moment, he jumped into it. Shippo stared. Why was InuYasha going after Kagome so soon after she had used the beads?

InuYasha got out of the well, and quietly walked to the window of Kagome's room. As usual, it was unlatched. He started to open it, like he always did, but then he paused. If Kagome was awake, he was not certain he wanted to talk to her. He would never know until he looked. Besides, it was still before dawn. There was no way she would be awake. He slid the window open, mostly muting the scraping sound of the frame on the window sill, and glanced around. Kagome was tossing and turning in her sleep. Occasionally, she whimpered slightly. InuYasha climbed into the room, and sat down next to her bed. The first glimmerings of dawn light followed him. Kagome shifted wildly, and flung her hand over the side of her bed, 

to hang there limply. He reached out, took her hand, and laid it next to her cheek. She shifted again, more slowly, as if she was still nervous, but calming. InuYasha turned away from her.

"Just relax will ya? I'm not going anywhere, and as long as I'm here, I'm not going to let anything hurt you!" Kagome smiled in her sleep.

"Thank you." She murmured, and settled.