Chapter Six – Tongue-Tied

They stared at each other for a moment, both blushing madly and both severely embarrassed.

"I…I need to fix…my situation."

"I…I can…go outside…"

"You'll freeze!"

"No…just…hurry…"

Without inhaling, Inuyasha briskly crossed the room and walked out the door and into the storm. Kagome stood there, still flushed and completely at a loss for words. That couldn't have happened. People don't just have situations like that happen to them out of the blue, right?

She swallowed and turned around, walking over to her bag. After pulling out a pad and…fixing the situation, she pulled out her Germ-X. Kagome walked to the door and stood there, still thoroughly embarrassed. The last thing she wanted to do was invite Inuyasha right back into this small hut with her.

I can't let him freeze out there, though. He would never admit it, but even half-demons can get frost-bit.

The young priestess straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. She needed to be brave if nothing else.

"I'm alright now, Inuyasha. You can come back inside."

She counted to twenty before he came back into the hut. The redness was gone from his face, but that might have been because he was covered with snow again. Kagome gasped and immediately felt a ping of guilt in her stomach.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!"

He snorted but didn't meet her eyes. She noticed that he still was tense and refused to breathe normally. Kagome bit her lip.

"C'mon, sit by the fire. I'll get the blanket."

She ran back over to her bag while he sat down. Kagome pulled out her Tylenol and walked back over to him. She popped a pill in her mouth after wrapping him up in the blanket.

"Do you…f-feel any b-better?" He tried to hide the fact that his teeth were shaking.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you." She replied shortly, closing the subject.

"Can I a-ask you a q-question?"

Kagome sat down across from him on the other side of the fire. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What is it?"

"Do you think…do you think I'm controlling?"

"Controlling? Well…I think you are territorial, but that isn't exactly the same thing as controlling."

"That…That's not exactly what I'm trying to ask."

Kagome examined his face, trying to figure out what he was trying to ask. It wasn't very often that he showed his feelings or even took the time to ask about someone else's. So, this was very interesting to her.

"Inuyasha, I don't understand what you are trying to ask."

He sighed and crossed his arms. Cold water dripped off his kimono and face. The warm flames from the fire reflected off of his golden eyes.

It smells like wet dog in here. She silently smiled to herself.

"Would you rather have someone like Miroku or…or that Hojo guy protecting you?"

Kagome sighed. He was so confusing. Why would he ask such a question? It didn't make any sense to her.

"I most definitely would not want someone like Miroku protecting me. Sure, he is a nice guy, but he also has his bad qualities. Hojo…" She paused, trying to think of how to phrase it just right, "Hojo is my friend, but he couldn't fight demons. You've met him before at the Cultural Festival. Inuyasha, I like you just the way you are. Why are you asking such silly questions?"

The half-demon finally met her eyes. Her heart sped up as she stared back into his face. His expression looked guarded, almost intense.

"Kagome…I…I want to make sure that you want me around. Do you remember that time when you said that you wanted to stay by my side no matter what?"

Kagome tried to steady her breathing. It was difficult to when he was looking at her like that. She wasn't even sure if he was aware of what he was doing.

"Yes, I remember."

"A lot has happened since then. You always act like you don't want me around. I…I make you furious all the time. I want to make sure that you still want to be by my side."

"Inuyasha…" Her pulse was racing, "Companions have fights. It's normal for people who travel together to have arguments and get irritated at each other. We would be idiots if we didn't get mad at each other every now and then. It doesn't mean that I don't like you or that I don't want to stay by you."

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment. He looked like he was contemplating all of this. Finally he looked away.

"So…I'm your…friend?"

Kagome stopped breathing. She hadn't expected him to ask such a thing. If she said yes, her heart would be screaming no. But how could she tell him how she felt? He couldn't return her feelings, he just couldn't.

I'll be lying to myself if I tell him that he is only a friend to me.

"Kagome?" He wasn't looking at her, but the far wall.

"Inuyasha…I…"

Kagome clenched her skirt in her hands. She couldn't figure out how to answer.

What would Mom tell me to say? What would Mom do?

She felt her chest tightening. This was too much, and why would he be asking things like this so suddenly?