"Are you really going to run from her, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou's ears flattened to fit to his head and he didn't turn around.

"Get away from me old woman."

Kaede sighed, falling back a step to get a better view into the trees.

"I came here to be alone. Grant me some peace damnit." The hanyou barked again. His tone has risen dramatically.

The old woman shaded her face with the palm of her hand and kept watching him. No hatred seeped off the dog demon, of that she could tell. But any other jumble of emotions were Inuyasha's to sort out. She didn't come here to rush him in that. She came here to warn him that was no time to waste.

"Lady Kagome will be returning to her time shortly, but we will need your assistance in helping find the boy. Inuyasha, do not take long to yourself. We haven't much time to lose."

The hanyou didn't budge but thinking her words were understood, she turned to return to the village. His voice caught her a second later.

"Why is she going back to the well? Running away again?" His voice didn't reflect the anger his words desired. They came out to slow and soft. Kaede paused where she stood.

"You may ask here yourself. That is not my place to say."

Inuyasha listened to her leave, listened to wind blow in her absence, the tree branches knock together in the breeze. He let out a breath but it didn't seem to change the mass that had taken over his chest. It was almost suffocating him. He moved a loose claw to place over his heart but it only made the fury worse.

He closed his eyes and let himself lean forward, sounding out the world. Every noise, every smell, every outside sensation made it hard for him to think. And the cloud of emotions that rained hailstorms upon him didn't help.

Clenching his eyes further, he tried to gather his thoughts. His mind was so blown, utterly thrown beyond what he thought was even possible, when he saw Kagome again. And when that boy…the hanyou boy went running toward her calling for his mother.

The mass in his chest ached with a vehemence and he cringed. He tried desperately to clear his thoughts. To voice what he already knew. His Kagome was back. She came across for her son. A boy with inu youkai blood. His heart only hurt more as he continued. The boy, that boy, must have been his son. And Kagome had known it all along.

He couldn't stop the short cry that escaped his throat and his clawed hands clenched at his head. Inuyasha had always prided himself on the ability to think on his feet, and now it seemed he couldn't even think much at all.

Opening his eyes, he stared at the tree canopies ahead of him. His eyes barely noticed the rising light in the sky, the sun reaching over the horizon. For whatever reason, at that moment it all came crystal clear to him.

Whatever happened in the end, they did not deserve this. He wouldn't let Kagome go away again. He wouldn't spend any more time mourning the absence of a lost love. He wouldn't let her leave. And at the moment, his most pressing goal came clear. He was going to get his son back.

~*~*

A/N: *stares at computer screen* How the hell did I mutilate these chapters like this? This is TIET12 2.0. What that means, I'm not sure. It means you prolly want to shoot me for stretching out the drama.

I think I'm gonna post the next chap early tomorrow or later today. But I can assure you, the initial showdown between Kagome and Inuyasha is in the next chap…thing.

And to harass you guys with one more question:

Why does Kouga have a tail when none of the other wolf demons do? Is it cause he's royalty orrrr is that tail thing part of his pelt?