Chapter Seven
Found, Again

Disclaimer- Even though I forget these all the time, I own nothing.

--

She heard the car and turned, wiping her hands on the apron she had made out of two of Inuyasha's old t-shirts- two old, old t-shirts, as she had found them in the old chest in the living room. They were both size S in boys, and weird thoughts of a little Inuyasha had flashed through her mind.

After he had left to go grocery shopping, she had managed to find cleaning supplies underneath the kitchen sink, and there was a vacuum cleaner in the coat closet- the lack of rags were made up by said shirts. Then she had gone to work, tackling the very large cleaning project with vigor. Wood pieces shone again, dust disappeared, and the floors actually looked decent again. She had even wiped down all the walls, doors, and floor boards- it was now a much more comfortable place to live in, you could breath without choking.

Coming through the door, Inuyasha was more than surprised to see the entire thing cleaned. Setting the grocery bags down on sparkling counters, he glanced up as Kagome came into the room. "You should take better care of this place," she said, grabbing some food to help him put it up. "Its cozy- I can see why your parents liked it."

"The exact reason I don't come up here," Inuyasha mumbled darkly- obviously, he was not in the best of moods. "Besides, it's so far away from everything. I feel cut off." He stood still and watched as Kagome moved around the kitchen, putting things away and taking out the things he had brought for her- deodorant, laundry detergent, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

He frowned; she was so carefree right now. As if all she cared about was getting everything ready and making the house livable. "What the hell is your problem?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

Kagome looked up, surprised. "What?" she asked, holding the toothpaste in her hand.

"What the hell is your problem, bitch? Naraku is after you, trying to kill you. You've been taken away from your family, friends, your life. And yet you seem not to care about any of that shit, and walk around like there is nothing wrong!"

Kagome stared, a small blush creeping on her cheeks. Continuing her job, she said nothing until he cleared his throat. Turning away from him to sort out a cabinet that had gotten to full, she shrugged. "I'm not worried about it," she said. "I don't know, I feel…safe around you." Great. That was one thing she had planned on keeping from him. "I know that you won't let anything happen to me, and the sooner that it is over, the quicker I can go back to all of that."

Inuyasha froze, not expecting that answer. "Oh," he said, a loss for words. Kagome just nodded and started leaving the room, but he stopped her again when he spoke. "And if I can't?" he asked, his voice lower than it usually was, softer. "What if I can't save you next time, Kagome?"

Kagome turned and smiled at him, holding the laundry detergent and fabric softer tightly. "I trust you. I know you won't let anything happen to me, if it can be helped."

She left then and he stared after her, slamming a fist on the counter in frustration. He was growing way to close to her- and he knew, despite any efforts, he wouldn't be able to stop now. She was tangled in this mess and she needed him.

But what if he couldn't protect her? Visions of Kagome, dead, in the woods, her cream skin covered in sticky blood… "No. I will keep her alive," Inuyasha resolved, shoving the rest of the food into a cabinet. "Nothing will touch her."

--

The day had been lazy- Inuyasha had watched TV and tried to get contact with someone- but cell phones had no service. Kagome had cleaned and bathed, enjoying the clam.

Later, Inuyasha found her outside, sitting on the porch steps and staring up at the stars. Coming out of the house, he stood behind her and followed her eyes, surprised at how many you could see.

"They're beautiful," Kagome side, wrapping her arms around herself against her shivers. "You can't see it like this in the city." It was cold at night, and she didn't have a jacket. She jumped when Inuyasha dropped his around her shoulders, taking a seat smoothly beside her. "Thanks."

"Whatever." He glanced at her and then looked away, embarrassed from earlier. Smiling smally, Kagome leaned back with her elbows resting on the porch and closed her eyes- everything was so peaceful. Keeping his open, he was very aware of Kagome's scent- something he had noticed before, something he noticed calmed him, almost. A good smell, like Kikyo before she had gone bad- except Kagome's was stronger, maybe.

They sat like that for maybe fifteen minutes until Inuyasha jumped up, taking a protective stance in front of Kagome. "Inuyasha…what is it?" she asked, fear lacing her voice.

Inuyasha sniffed and then growled, cracking his knuckles as he caught a better whiff of the smell. "Not Naraku, it's that damn wolf. I forgot they spend way too much time out here."

With a gust of wind, Koga appeared- the wolf demon she had only met once, the one that called her lovely. "What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha demanded, not moving from in front of her.

"I came to see why that pretty nurse's scent was all around this place," he said, stepping forward and peering around a growling Inuyasha.

Kagome stood up and moved around her friend, who held her back by an arm. "He's the enemy, too."

"Hah. Right. With Naraku on both our cases, you are the least of my worries, dog boy." He turned and looked at Kagome, looking down her body and up. "Why don't you come spend time with a real demon, pretty lady? I can protect you and give you a good time."

Inuyasha snarled again, placing himself halfway in front of Kagome's body. "You won't touch her, you disgusting bastard." Kagome remained silent, still surprised at the veracity of Inuyasha's protections.

Koga laughed, crossing his arms. "Oh, I see. You've fallen in love with her."

"Keh, yeah right," Inuyasha said, glancing at the staring girl beside him. "She's just my responsibility."

"Well then, she can still be your responsibility, I'll just take care of her in the house…" Koga moved forward and Inuyasha moved more in front of Kagome, still growling loudly.

"So you have fallen for her," Koga said, his grin wicked. "Well then, you'll have to leave sometime." Then he nodded, glancing around the trees. "We'll be scouting and keeping you updated on Naraku- Sango and Miroku agreed that was easiest, 'cause it doesn't look suspicious that we are here." Saluting, Koga smiled at Kagome from around Inuyasha's form. "I'll see you later, lovely. Once this mangy dog is gone, we can have some fun."

"Uhm, bye Koga…" Kagome stared as Koga left, and Inuyasha didn't seem to want to move until he couldn't smell them at all. She looked at his face as he turned, meeting her eyes. "Inuyasha…"

"That was a lie, what Koga said," Inuyasha replied sharply. "I haven't fallen for you. You are just my responsibility and you mean nothing to me, sorry if it's a let-down."

Hurt by his harsh words, Kagome turned and went inside, slamming the screen door in his face. Shedding the coat, she tossed it on the floor and went to her room. The door banged shut as she locked it, not knowing why the words hurt so much.

Inuyasha watched her go and picked up the jacket, cursing lightly. It smelled of her, and right now, he wanted to be reminded as little as possible of the angry, pretty girl curled up on her bed.

--

A piercing scream woke him, and he immediately jumped up from the couch. Dashing towards Kagome's room, he threw himself against the locked door, making it slam back with a bang.

Kagome was again struggling with a demon- just one, that tried to keep her flailing limbs under control while covering her mouth and getting her through the window.

The demon noticed him as he came through the door, looking up and snarling. Twisting Kagome's hands behind her back, he finally managed to get her through the open window, dodging into the darkness.

"Fuck," Inuyasha cursed, following the demon quickly. "Get your cowardly ass back here!" His eyes followed the trail, his heart racing faster than usual- he had to get her back before the demon did something to her.

He burst into a clearing, a snarl ripping from his mouth when he saw the demon trying to get Kagome into a car. "Don't touch her, you little fucker," Inuyasha yelled, jumping forward and slashing the demon down his back.

The demon let out a feral growl, looking away and giving Kagome the chance to kick him in the stomach. "Stupid girl," the demon hissed, slamming her head against the car door. Hitting her with just enough force, Kagome dropped- she was out cold.

Watching Kagome drop to the floor, Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat. "Fuck you, damn your mother. You're going to hell, you little…" He trailed off, jumping back and slicing at the demon again. The demon neatly dodged, landing lightly on his feet.

"You thought you were being sneaky, bringing her here. Naraku will find you, wherever you go." The demon taunted, dodging again as Inuyasha jumped forward. "He will get her. Of course, he won't kill her immediately…Nah, he needs her around."

"What the hell does Naraku want with her?" Inuyasha demanded, pausing in his attacks- Kagome was still out, he was watching her carefully through the corner of his eye.

The demon laughed, moving forward and getting Inuyasha down the chest with his claws as Kagome stirred, groaning. "You stupid Hanyou. Pay attention to your fight," he hissed, slamming his feet into Inuyasha's stomach and sending him sprawling onto the grass.

Inuyasha rose to his knees, growling as the demon went towards Kagome. Using all his leg strength, he sprang forward and grabbed the demon's neck, pinning him against the car. "You'd better fucking tell me what the fuck Naraku wants with her!" he snarled into the demon's face.

The demon just laughed- a rasping noise, due to the hand that was tightly clenched around his neck. "Kagome Higurashi. Do you know the Higurashi name, Hanyou?" Inuyasha just snarled again, slamming the demon's body against the car- he wanted straight answers.

The demon let out a rasping laugh again. "Doesn't matter. She'll soon be in the hands of Naraku, now that they know where she is." With a shuddering breath, the demon died- Inuyasha jumped back, surprised. He had not been squeezing his neck that hard, he knew- then he caught the faint smell of cyanide. "Suicide," he spat, throwing the body away.

Turning, Inuyasha went to Kagome's side, kneeling beside her. Touching the lump that was forming on her head, he just felt relief that the demon didn't accidentally hit her temple or hit her hard enough she died. Lifting her carefully, he made sure that her head was tucked safely and ran towards the cabin, trying to keep the jostling to a minimum.

--

She groaned- her head was pounding, and she had a raging headache.

"Kagome?"

Trying to open her eyes, she felt warm hands on her face, smoothing her skin and moving hair from her eyes. "Inu…?"

"Yeah. How's your head?"

She managed to get her eyes open, and she was staring straight up at the half-demon's face. Her head was rested in his lap- his jacket was draped over her, and he was holding her tightly. "Where…are we?"

"Koga's car. He's taking us to Lady Kaede's house," Inuyasha told her softly. Nodding, she turned her head so the lights of the dashboard, that seemed to be fifty million times brighter with a throbbing head, did not make her head hurt even more.

"I'm sorry."

She frowned, still groggy from the blow to her head. "For what?"

"You'll never get hurt again under my watch, ever again."

She glanced up at his face- he looked angry and was so still, he could have been carved from stone. It seemed that she would not get anything else from him. Sighing lightly, she curled up and slept, not noticing with Inuyasha lightly ran a thumb down her cheek.

--

You know what to do.