Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and I don't own YuYu Hakusho

Chapter Ten: Together

They had stopped for the night, mainly to give Kirara a rest. The poor neko probably hadn't carried anyone on her back since Sango was taken and now she had been carrying two people for most of the evening.

Kagome sat close to the small fire Kurama had started and Kirara curled up beside her, purring as Kagome absentmindedly ran her hand along her back while searching the woods around them to sense Kurama. He said he only needed a moment and not to move from the spot where she was sitting in. She found him so easily that she surprised herself. She couldn't explain it, but she felt almost connected to him.

Sighing softly, Kagome laid down on the ground to rest. Her body was sore from the traveling and she just couldn't get comfortable. She shifted from one side to the other. Nothing was working right.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Kurama asked quietly from across the fire. Kagome looked over at him and gave a weak smile.

"No matter what I do, I just can't get comfortable." She replied while shifting yet again, "I think I'm going to suffer the rest of the night and be really sore in the morning."

"I might have a solution if you are willing." He rose to his feet, Kagome's eyes never leaving his.

"I'm listening."

He knelt down next to her and helped her to sit up. Kirara eyed the red-haired boy warily. Kurama shifted and sat behind her. Kagome bit her lip nervously and waited.

"Lean back against me." He said calmly as the light scent of sakura blossoms assaulted his sense of smell.

"Are you sure about this?" Kagome asked timidly. She trusted him, but this seemed a bit more intimate than she expected.

"The question is, Kagome, are you okay with it? I understand if this is something you are uncomfortable with."

She leaned back against him hesitantly and blushed as her back made contact with his chest. He was much more comfortable than the ground, but she still felt a bit uneasy with the contact.

"Just promise me that you'll behave yourself." She said quietly and giggled knowing he wouldn't do anything improper. The sound of her laughter had him smiling. This is what he wanted to hear from her, not pain and suffering.

"I promise, Kagome." He answered her truthfully and she snuggled just a bit closer. He hoped she wouldn't move like that often. He didn't know how long his body could last having her constantly brushing up against it.

They talked together for awhile, each enjoying the other's company, but wanting badly to get back to the others. Kurama feared a run in with Sesshomaru and with only himself there to protect her, he knew something horrible would happen. Something so bad that he probably would not survive and he knew Kagome would be hurt as well. Still, he'd fight with all of his strength if it came down to just him and Sesshomaru. He'd do his best to protect Kagome.

Somewhere during their discussions, Kurama realized Kagome had drifted off into sleep. Her head had fallen and rested just under his chin. He strained to keep his hands to himself, but he so desperately wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close against him. He gave a frustrated sigh and looked down at the neko who had moved closer.

"I'm confused." He openly admitted to Kirara, who mewed a quiet response as if she knew what he had said, "What am I going to do?"

Kirara hopped onto Kagome's lap and kept her orange eyes fixed on Kurama. She gave another soft mew and curled up into a ball to sleep. Kurama knew this neko would protect Kagome as well.

Kagome's body tensed and her head flopped to the other side. Beads of sweat formed on her brow and slid slowly down the side of her face. Kirara hopped up quickly and gave an alerting mew.

"Ahnn….no, please…." Kagome pleaded and Kurama gently stepped away from her, lying her down on the ground. Kagome rolled to her side and curled her hands into fists, "Please….please don't, Sessh…."

"Kagome?" Kurama shook her gently. He frowned when tears began to fall from her tightly shut eyes, "Kagome, please wake up. You're having a bad dream."

Her eyes shot open wide with fear and pain. She sat up quickly and looked around her, her eyes landing on Kurama's worry filled face.

"Kurama?" she sobbed softly and flung her arms around his neck, clinging tightly to him and bursting into tears.

He had wanted to wrap his arms around her, but not in a situation like this. He did anyway and whispered calming words to bring comfort to the sorrow stricken miko that had just had a nightmare about the horrible things the demon lord had done to her.

"It's alright, Kagome, please don't cry." He hated it. He hated hearing those heart wrenching sounds come from her. He ran his hand through her soft ebony hair, "It's alright. You're okay now. No one is going to hurt you, Kagome."

She sniffed a few times and wiped the stray tears off her cheeks. It had been a horrible nightmare. Sesshomaru had been ruthless and all he did was punish her for disappearing on him. She clung tighter to Kurama, happy that he was with her and that it had only been a terrible nightmare.

It took her a few moments to compose herself and pull back from his arms. She lifted her head to look into his eyes. His emerald orbs showed nothing but concern.

"I'm alright now. Thank you, Kurama." She said shyly and looked away as a blush crept onto her tear stained cheeks.

She liked him. She knew she was attracted to him. He had done nothing but been gentle and caring towards her since the day they had first met, even though the first day she had been very nervous. Her eyes swelled with tears again as she thought of Inuyasha. Was it alright for her to be attracted to someone when her heart had already been given to someone else? Would she be betraying him if she admitted her feelings? He would want to her to be happy, right? She shook her head and wiped the tears that had fallen away. She didn't have to think about those things now, not when there was a more important task to complete.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

She shifted her eyes and they locked with his. She couldn't find her voice to respond, not while his eyes held her captive. She could feel her body moving closer to him and she didn't know if he was pulling her in or if she was doing it on her own. Her eyes trailed down to his lips as they were only a few inches away from her own.

He didn't know whether to kiss her or stop her. His mind screamed to press his lips to hers and show her all the emotion he had building up inside of him, but he knew that that would be the wrong thing to do. Kagome was different. She was special and he knew not to be forceful. He'd give anything for a distraction.

She pulled back abruptly and looked behind her. Her eyes scanned the darkness, searching for something. She jumped to her feet, scooping Kirara up in the process. She stepped next to Kurama and squinted her eyes, still looking into the forest before them.

"Hiei." His name left her lips and Kurama felt it too. Hiei was close by and likely on his way to them. He was thankful for the distraction. It was a short second later that the short, spikey haired fire youkai came into their view. He landed softly on the ground just on the other side of the fire. He eyed Kurama and Kagome and smirked.

"Wipe that look off your face." Kagome gave a warning. She just knew he was thinking something inappropriate.

"Hiei, where are the others?" Kurama asked and Hiei looked over his shoulder.

"They're on their way. Slow humans." Hiei answered and a low growl alerted them to another's presence.

"Who the hell are you calling a human, shorty?" Koga glared at Hiei and then gave a charming smile to Kagome. She launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Hiei watched the anger and jealousy flare in Kurama's eyes. It amused him to no end that the kitsune was already feeling possessive towards the miko. Things would be quite interesting with him acting that way and the already open feelings Koga had shown towards her.

The rest of the group came into the clearing and Kagome started crying again as she buried her face into Yusuke's shoulder. She wasn't sad, just really, really happy that they were all together again as a group.

Kurama watched from the other side of the fire as she embraced everyone around her and then went back to hug Yusuke for a second time. Seeing the two of them so close made him feel jealous, but not as bad as it was with the others. The love that came from Yusuke was definitely on a brotherly level and Kurama had no quarrels with that.

Once everyone settled down, Kurama was surprised, yet happy, when Kagome sat next to him and began to tell the others about what they had gone through and the addition of the little neko that was sitting contently in Kuwabara's lap. The neko had taken a liking to him, which only delighted the big ape more since he was so fond of kittens. Kagome laughed knowing that Kirara was far past being a kitten.

The conversation died down eventually and Kagome hid a yawn behind her hand. Kurama gave her a small nudge and she smiled.

"Yes?" she raised an eye brow and he smiled back.

"You need your sleep, Kagome. Why don't you lie back down?" he watched her scrunch her face in concentration and then she nodded, lying her head against his shoulder and scooting a tad bit closer to him. He hid the blush as best as he could as a few of the group's eyes landed on them.

Yusuke was glad to see Kagome become closer to someone other than himself. He had always had a feeling that Kurama and Kagome would be close friends. It was just the matter of getting Kagome more accustomed to the kitsune and assuring her that he was indeed a friend and not someone that would harm her. They had a rocky start, but it had changed a lot over the days they had been near each other.

The morning brought little comfort to the group as a dense fog rolled through the woods and over them. Kagome awoke slowly feeling chilled. She didn't remember lying on the ground and could only assume that Kurama had put her there. She glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping and snoring person behind her. She smiled and held back a laugh as she watched Yusuke sleep like a child. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Hiei was off to her left, high in a tree, but not too far away. Kurama was off to her left as well, but he was on the ground and closer than Hiei. Genkai was sitting off to the right. She was awake, but meditating. Koga was a little further away than the others. He was in front of her about twenty feet away. The rest were still sound asleep

As Kagome sat up and opened her eyes, Kurama knelt next to her. She yawned and stretched the last bit of sleep away.

"Good morning." Kurama said politely, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm alright." She nodded and then struggled to stand. Kurama again helped her and she thanked him, "I guess we should wake the others. We shouldn't stay here for much longer."

"Why is that?" Hiei had joined them and Kagome jumped a little when he spoke.

"You should really work on not spooking people like that." Kagome retorted and then looked off into the woods, "Something is out there. I can just feel it. Something just isn't right and I think we should keep moving."

"I agree." Genkai hadn't moved from her spot, but her eyes were focused on them, "We should wake these dimwits and get Koga."

"I'll get the wolf, you guys wake them up." Hiei said and headed into the woods.

Kagome knelt down next to Yusuke and shook him gently. He brushed her hands away and rolled onto his other side muttering something about Souta and a blanket. Kagome held back her laughter and shook him again. This time he opened his eyes and looked back at Kagome.

"Kagome." He said with a yawn.

"You need to get up. We're moving on." Kagome stood again and walked over to wake Botan up from her peaceful slumber.

Hiei and Koga returned shortly after and the group looked at each other. They had no idea which direction to head in now, but they knew they had to move. They started walking in a southerly direction, hoping it was the direction that would lead them to Kagome's friends.

(A/N: Okay…I wasn't sure this was going to come out, but I'm glad it did. They're together again and that can only mean a couple things. 1.) More fighting amongst Yusuke and Koga! They're so cute when they fight! 2.) Someone is going to admit to some new feelings, but it's not going to be who you expect it to be! ; 3.) A certain Demon Lord will make an appearance. I think we'll see him in the next chapter, if not I promise it will be the one after that! It all depends on what comes out of me when I write the next chapter, which will hopefully be soon although I have chapters to write on other fan fics. Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think! Ja ne!)