Note: The song that Kagome sings later in this chapter was written by ME. ONLY ME. There are no copywrite issues here, because it's MINE. Besides, if you wanna use, just ask.

Chapter 8- The Ring

"Kagome-kā-san! Time to wake up!" Kenshin sang cheerily, shaking her shoulder. She swatted sleepily at him before burying her head under the pillow. "C'mon! Inuyasha's gonna be trying to get you up any minute, and you know that he won't be as nice as me about it!"

The priestess groaned. She knew he was right, but she felt more tired than she ever had in all her months of journeying in the Sengoku Jidai. She wondered briefly if it was because she had all of her soul now, and decided that that must be it. Either that, or she was just tired from staying up late. She heard the curtain move to the side, and footsteps that were unusually light. That would be Inuyasha…

"C'mon, Kagome, we don't have time to waste."

"I'm so exhausted it's not even funny, Inuyasha."

"Fine, then!" She let out a squeal as he shouldered her, carrying her around like a sack of flour.

"Inuyasha! No fair!"

"Life isn't fair Kagome," he replied stiffly, walking out the door with her. Kenshin and the others looked on in amusement. They weren't really surprised that the hanyou was giving the girl this treatment, but his grip on her was obviously soft, being just firm enough as to not let her drop.

"Inuyasha, you might want to be nice to Kagome; if you recall, she can be quite vengeful with that wonderful little accessory around your neck," Miroku warned playfully. The haninu smirked.

"She wouldn't dare while I'm carrying her," he replied confidently.

"Don't be so sure about that."

Kagome's tone was deadly, laced with three kinds of venom. The boy visibly stiffened at her comment. Anyone who could see Kagome's face could also see that the reaction was satisfactory by her smirk.

"If you promise not to sit me, I'll let you down gently. Otherwise, I might as well get the satisfaction of dropping you face first to kiss dirt yourself for once," he stated. She remained silent for a moment.

"Alright."

"That's not a promise, Kagome. Promise me."

"Fine, fine! You win! I promise!"

"Promise you won't…?" he prompted.

"Sit y-!"

An 'eep' was all that was heard before Inuyasha was sent crashing to the ground, half of Kagome beneath him. It was quite comical, actually. Though, that was only for those who were not a foot underground.

Kagome groaned and shifted, but was stilled when Inuyasha grabbed her arms.

"Don't… move."

His command left no room for argument. And it was quite obvious why he had given it. The spell wouldn't wear off for a minute or two, and when they had crashed, Inuyasha had landed with his head softly cradled by Kagome's stomach. Ooh, the irony!

She gulped softly, feeling her face heat and sparks shoot through her body in response to each breath that heated the fabric of her haori, and pressed it warmly to her skin. He couldn't move, and if she did, she'd make things worse. Inuyasha didn't dare budge for fear that he wouldn't be able to run away. The first order of business as soon as I get out of this is to plunge myself in the nearest river. Wow… she's so soft… no! Stop it! Don't think things like that! No!

"Inuyasha," Kagome managed, barely above a heated whisper, "do you think you can move now?"

He did not reply, but set his hands in a spring-ready position. Two seconds later, he was gone. The only thing those above ground had seen was this strange comet of silver and red that came by at an alarmingly fast speed. Kagome sat up from the hole they had occupied and tried to calm her breathing. Sango and Miroku stared at her, quite amused. Kenshin and Shippou, on the other hand, were quite concerned.

"Kagome-kā-san? Are you ok?" Kenshin asked her worriedly. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and she looked pale.

"I'm… fine, Kenshin," she mumbled, before lifting herself from the ground and grabbing the black two-piece swimsuit out of her bag. "I just… need to go relax for a minute or two."

With this, the dog-eared child was left to the care of the pervert, the sugar-high kitsune, and the woman with a boomerang on steroids.

Sango polished her Hiraikotsu, taking care to examine the leather straps that wrapped around each end for binding. One was becoming a little frayed, but she still wouldn't need to repair it for some time. It would be good for at least three more months of hard use. She noticed that Kenshin had taken up residence just out of reach to her left. He was still somewhat removed from all of them but Kagome and Inuyasha, but that was to be expected. Kagome had saved him, and he was just like Inuyasha; they were logical attachments. He played with Shippou every once in a while, but not often, and he liked to play with Kirara some, too, but only when she was her small self. It was cute, how he would rub in a certain crevice just behind her ears that it seemed only he could find, and the touch would send the neko into fits of purring that would wake the dead, they were so loud. She grimaced at the analogy she had just made.

Wake the dead? It's not like I haven't seen that happen. I know all about Kikyou, and I helped with Enju, too! And then there is Kohaku, as well…

She sighed, putting even more elbow grease behind her polishing. It took her a moment to notice that Kenshin had moved to stand in front of her. She glanced up in surprise.

"Yes? Are you feeling ok, Kenshin?" The child nodded.

"Would you like me to finish up for you?" he asked quietly. She was a bit surprised, and asked if he was sure. "I'm sure. You look tired, and I can always hitch a ride with Inuyasha-otō-san."

Another shock. He had just called Inuyasha his father! And he had called Kagome his mother earlier…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a certain hand that she was quite familiar with, that was in a place it shouldn't be familiar with. Kenshin had already taken her boomerang and was polishing it vigorously, so she just settled with her fist. It worked only half as effectively, but at least it did the job.

Kagome moved through the water gracefully, shedding her thoughts like a discarded garment. The water was washing away the feeling of Inuyasha's body being pressed so intimately next to her own. It wasn't that she hadn't liked it, it was that she had liked it a bit too much. She peered through the crystalline depths as she swam, using her arms to push her forward into the icy water so that she could grab a shiny object on the floor of the pond. She swiftly allowed herself to be carried upward, giving a few quick strokes to help herself along to the surface. She walked gracefully to her pack and removed a towel, rubbing her face and eyes before laying it on the grass and taking a seat.

It was a beautiful ring, made of white gold with a strange crest on it in jade. It was obviously a man's ring; she could tell that by the size; but it did not matter. It was large enough to fit on her middle finger perfectly, thus she slid it into place, thinking nothing of what it's meaning might be.

The campfire that night was unusually warm, for some reason. But it was only in the mind of a certain two shard hunters.

"Kagome-kā-san, will you sing us a song?" Kenshin asked cutely as he rubbed Kirara's ears, the neko purring in contentment. She looked at him, slightly surprised for a moment, before agreeing. Her eyes glazed over for a moment in thought, and her voice lightly gave sound to a tune, though she hummed it for a moment, seeming to mull over the words, before a haunting and mournful song escaped her lips.

You walk through the town

And you come upon me.

You see me, but you don't flee.

Who are you? Who are you?

Why aren't you afraid?

Who are you? Who are you?

You saw my heart, yet accepted me;

Who are you?

Her stunning soprano voice reverberated through the forest, seemingly magnified and made even more haunting by the silent trees that surrounded them in a verdant embrace. The fire appeared to crackle melodically with her voice and the song seemed to wrench at their hearts with its deep and sorrow-filled call. Even here, the song did not end, but became even more somber.

You saw my face, but looked beyond;

Why do your eyes hold tears?

I see them come, and they don't go;

Are they for me, and me alone?

How can that be,

That you would cry for me?

Her soft and doleful words caressed them gently, lulling them to listen and let go. It seemed to wipe away all their memories as they were caught up in the rapture of her song. Sango's head drifted delicately to Miroku's shoulder, and his hand came to rest on her opposite shoulder gently as well. Kenshin leaned against the tree right next to hers, and Kirara listened with closed eyes from his lap, all her attention focused on the miko which sat singing before them. The soft melody lulled them all to sleep, and within moments, none were awake but the raven-girl and a silver-haired hanyou, whose gaze had softened on her, letting himself slip into thoughts of tomorrow.

Kagome glanced around. The entire camp was asleep, save Inuyasha, whose eyes she could feel roving over her tenderly. She stood, and began to spread her sleeping bag out on the early spring grass, when suddenly she heard a soft gasp from her hanyou companion. Before she could even think twice about it, he had leapt from the tree, landing directly in front of her, and slung her over his shoulder roughly, taking to the trees and not stopping until the were quite a distance away from camp.

"Inuyasha, what's going on?" she asked irritably as he dumped her to the ground in a less-than-gentle manner. He roughly snatched her hand up and removed the ring from her finger, holding it in her face, his features practically radiating anger.

"Where did you get this?!"

"I found it earlier at the bottom of that pond near Kaede's! Why?" she asked, a slight hint of fear in her voice. What was wrong with him?! Why was he acting this way all of the sudden? It didn't make any sense! He growled at her deeply, and his fingers trembled. He stood, turning away from her.

"You really should stop to think about what things mean, Kagome. Little things can have big consequences in the Sengoku Jidai."

"Do you think I don't know that?!" she screamed at him from her undignified position on the forest floor. He turned to look at her in surprise, his silver hair catching the light from the moon with a blinding flash. Her angry sea-colored eyes flashed like icy fires beneath the night sky as she glared at him, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Do you really think I haven't noticed? I have been kicking myself for the half-breed comment close to a week now, and when I tried to apologize, you stopped me! Kenshin called me his mother! He called you his father! For heaven's sake, Inuyasha every time I look at you I want to smile and I want to cry at the same time; smile because I love you, and cry because I hate what I've done to you!"

Her words hung heavily in the air. He faced her full front, trembling. Not a simple shiver down the spine, but trembling, his hands shaking and his legs feeling like they were going to crumple beneath his weight. A strange feeling welled up in his stomach; a mixture of anger, forgiveness, uncertainty, remorse. He'd heard the apologies before. She had known that he wouldn't believe her because of that. She had tried to find the right words… the right moment… to tell him, but when she tried, he had turned away.

He knelt next to her, his head hanging in shame as her tears fell. What could he say to that? There were no words that could describe how he felt then, because as always, Kagome had messed up his perception again. He'd been able to see that she was sorry, but… he hadn't wanted to admit it. Hadn't wanted to forgive her, for some reason… he really didn't know why. He looked at the ring he held thinking about its meaning… what it would mean if she continued to wear it. But something like that would never be possible if their relationship stayed like this. Inuyasha wasn't any good with words, but something had to be said if they were going to make things right.

"Kagome… apologies are hard to accept, sometimes. Especially for people like me. I understand that sometimes… there are no words. People have said things they didn't mean, and apologies are no different," he murmured, unable to look her in the eyes. He brought the ring up into her view, holding it gently in his palm. "I've heard all of it before. The false apologies, the false kindness, all of it. But I… I didn't want to hear it from you. There are words people say without thinking: I'm sorry. I forgot. I'll never do it again. To me, it just all seemed so… empty. I'm so used to words being empty that I… I forgot… how to accept the ones that weren't."

Kagome stared at the ring in his hand. There were no words. It was as if he was the one apologizing, but it was her mistake. This was truly proof that God had a sense of humor. She picked up the ring from his palm between her fingers, looking it over delicately.

"Kagome…"

AN: Actually, this and the next chapters were re-written from their original versions. They have more conflict now. (grins) I edited them around the time that I was working on chapter 13 or 14 of this story, though, so even the edits are old.

Next Time: Hold me Close, Never Let me Go