Next chappie! Hopefully I can manage to make this one longer than the last…

Otulia: By decree of the Universal Council, InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Not us. How disappointing.

Resolutions

InuYasha sat in the doorway of the hut, watching his comrades as they slept. Kagome had been the last to fall asleep, as expected, but her usual bout of fear and nightmares hadn't taken hold, and for that, InuYasha was glad. He hated to see her in such a frightened state, and to know that returning to the Feudal Era didn't cause her to panic was a great relief.

He stiffened suddenly, sniffing the air. A familiar scent was drifting to him from the outskirts of the village. He started to get up, but hesitated, his gaze landing on Kagome's sleeping form. He didn't want to leave her. What if she awoke? Would she panic if he wasn't there? He didn't want that. No, he decided, settling back down, he would stay.

When the glowing, snake-like demons began floating around outside the hut, he did his best to ignore them. Things were going well, he kept telling himself. No point in causing trouble just when everything was starting to go back to normal. His eye twitched when one of them entered into the hut, clearly beckoning him. Irritated, he jumped to his feet and stormed into the night.

Kagome awoke with a start, knowing immediately what was wrong. InuYasha wasn't in the hut. She had come to know the feel of his presence, and could not sleep if he was not nearby.

She sat up, grabbing her bow and arrows as silently as she could, and slowly rose to her feet. Straining her ears, she could hear InuYasha's familiar irritated grumbling coming from outside, and crept to the doorway of the hut to peer out. He was marching out of the village, completely focused on where he was going. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but no sound came, and she settled on following him instead.

He trudged into the forest, and was lost to her sight. She hesitated at the tree line, fear creeping up on her, but she didn't want to go back alone. So, gathering her courage, Kagome walked into the enveloping shadows under the trees.

Kikyo, though she outwardly remained as impassive as ever, was thoroughly irritated. It had never taken her so long to lure InuYasha away from his comrades, and she was tired of waiting. He had been gone for some time, and she was truly concerned that something was wrong. Though she hated to admit it, her old feelings for the hanyou were returning, and she was genuinely worried about him.

At long last, he appeared, and she found herself feeling quite relieved. He was unharmed, and didn't appear to be acting strangely, except…he seemed to be angry. Had he perhaps gotten into a fight with her reincarnation?

"InuYasha," she started to say, but stopped when she felt the familiar crackle of spiritual power nearby. She hadn't come to cause trouble, but she was still annoyed at having to wait, and figured she'd at least get some fun out of it.

Kagome froze when she saw Kikyo. She couldn't believe that InuYasha, after promising to be there for her, would go back to Kikyo. At least not this soon.

What she saw next made her heart break. Kikyo ran straight into InuYasha's arms. She looked away, blinking back tears. It was just too much for her to take. She was too upset to even be angry at him for it.

"If you don't have any information about Naraku, leave."

Kagome blinked, and slowly lifted her head. Had InuYasha really said that to Kikyo? She blinked again; was he really pushing her away? It couldn't be true; surely she was dreaming. InuYasha loved Kikyo, and would never treat her so coldly.

"InuYasha, what is the meaning of this?" Kikyo asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Just go away, Kikyo," InuYasha said. "I can't keep coming to see you. Kagome needs me. If you learn anything about Naraku, you can share it with everyone."

Kagome's breath caught in her chest. A million confused thoughts and feelings whirled around inside of her, but one thing stood out over them all. InuYasha had just rejected Kikyo. For her.

InuYasha watched Kikyo leave, trying to calm the fury of emotions within him. He didn't want to be so cold to her, and he didn't want her to go, but the simple truth was that Kagome needed him, and Kikyo didn't. He wasn't so dense as to not realize that.

The wind shifted, and he suddenly picked up Kagome's scent. He turned around to see her stepping out from behind a tree, tears in her eyes, but a smile gracing her lips. He should have known she would follow him; she always did. But he hadn't expected it. And he hadn't expected what she did next.

She nearly tackled him in an embrace, clinging to him tightly. "I'm so happy, InuYasha," she whispered, as he just stood there, dumbfounded. "I'm so happy, because…because…" She trailed off mid-sentence, tilting her head up to look at him. There was something inexpressible in her deep brown eyes, and it took his breath away to look in them.

He was reminded of their fight against Kaguya, so long ago now, but her words still came fresh to his mind. 'I love you as a half-demon!'

"Kagome," he murmured, closing his arms around her and breathing in her scent. He knew he had made the right decision in standing by Kagome, because...

…leaving Kikyo didn't hurt, not when he had Kagome.

"So that is the cause of her fear," the figure shrouded in shadows mused. "I can use this to my advantage."

Crimson eyes glowed as he began formulating his plan.

Okay, so I tried to leave the ending all mysterious, but I bet ya'll know who the person is by now. It's quite obvious. But, hey, whatever. Hope you enjoyed the fluff!