Chapter Two

A whole week had passed by since Kagome came back to her own era. Sango and Miroku tried to talk her out of returning home, and Shippo threw a tantrum, exclaiming that he wanted to go with her. But once Kagome explained to them what had happened, and how she had received her injury, the complaining stopped. No-one tried to stop her after that. Not even Inuyasha, who more or less ignored her attempt at saying goodbye. His stubbornness knew no bounds. But this time Kagome knew she wasn't coming back. How could she? Inuyasha would do better off without her getting in the way.

Sighing in bliss as she lowered herself into the bath, Kagome relished the hot water. After a week back home, with electricity, running water and her own bed, she wondered to herself how she ever dealt with the feudal era for so long. Hot water and her apple scented shampoo won out over a cold lake any day. And the medicines of her own world meant that her injured leg was on the fast track to a full recovery. It was stitched up and healing, with only a pink scar the length of her finger. But that small scar was enough to remind Kagome of the incident with Kikyo.

A knock on the bathroom door broke Kagome from her thoughts.

'Yeah?' She called.

'Diner is ready,' her mother called.

'I'll be out in a minute!'

Her mother's footsteps faded down the hall. Kagome closed her eyes against her thoughts and sunk deeper into the hot water.

Outside, the wind was beginning to pick up; winter was right around the corner. Inuyasha felt this cool breeze the moment he stepped from the small shrine built around the well. Back in his era, winter had not yet set in. It seemed five hundred years effects the changes of the seasons to a certain extent. He wondered if it still snowed as he walked towards Kagome's home. Inuyasha glanced up at the sacred tree, exactly the same as always, before following the path around the side of the building.

He had been to Kagome's home twice before, and each time he had entered through the window. It was a direct path into her room, avoiding attention from others who lived in the building. Inuyasha easily jumped onto the second story window ledge, thankful when the glass was already pushed aside. The half demon lightly landed on his feet and quickly took in his surroundings. No Kagome. He wasn't certain whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. She would no doubt still be upset with him, so he decided it was a good thing she wasn't here. And it gave him time to think about what he was going to say to her.

'Kagome!'

Inuyasha's ears twitched. That woman's voice, was it her mother's? He crouched on the floor just below the window, using his sensitive ears to figure out what was going on.

'I said give me a minute,' Kagome shouted back, splashing her way out of the bath.

She grumbled about having to cut her bath short as she wrapped a towel around herself. Kagome stomped back to her room to get dressed. Her mother shouted at her one more time about diner being ready, but Kagome ignored her this time.

Inuyasha was in motion the second he heard Kagome's footsteps drawing closer. But her walk sounded off; he noticed there was a few second spare before her right foot hit the floor, opposed to her left leg, which she seemed to be favouring. It might be too soft for a human to hear, but with his heightened senses, it was easy to pick up. Could it be from the wound Kikyo left on Kagome? Either way, there was no time to think it over. Inuyasha fled to the other side of the room, throwing open the doors to her closet and hiding inside. He made sure to gently close the doors just as Kagome entered the room.

Kagome shuddered when she walked into the cold room. 'I must have left the window open again,' she muttered to herself.

She sauntered over and closed the window, unaware of the eyes watching her from a crack in her closet doors. Kagome set to work finding something to wear, settling for an old shirt and some trousers. Who was she trying to impress? Not like anyone would see her wearing these old things. Well, not anyone that mattered. Feeling a little more down at the thought of never seeing Inuyasha again, Kagome began getting dressed.

Seeing her like this was a first for Inuyasha. Kagome's hair was pulled back, bunched up in a ball on top of her head. The slender line of her neck gave way to small shoulders, the skin stretching over them flawless. And the short fabric she had wrapped around her was- Falling! Inuyasha felt all the blood drain from his face when he realised what she was doing. He fell back in the closet, more or less a reaction to seeing Kagome undressed. But in doing so, he smacked his head on the wood; no doubt creating enough noise for Kagome to hear.

She whirled around, quickly grabbing the towel once more and clutching it to her chest. 'Who's there?'

No point in trying to hide now. This wasn't exactly the reunion he was going for, but there was no backing out now. Inuyasha slowly pushed his way out of the closet until he was crouched on the floor. He kept his head low, his eyes away from Kagome. Inuyasha could feel how hot his cheeks were, how fast his heart was beating.

'Inuyasha...' Even though she knew she should be angry about him spying on her while getting dressed, Kagome couldn't get past the fact that he was here. Inuyasha had come to her.

Inuyasha's ear twitched. 'Look, I...didn't see anything.' He was waiting for her to start yelling, or even crying.

Kagome simply walked over to him and bent down onto her knees. He was here. He had come to see her. Nothing else mattered at the moment. His silver hair was just as silky looking as she remembered. Kagome leaned forward to softly place her hand on his cheek, lifting his eyes to meet her own. They were as golden as they were the first day they met. Neither of them moved, even when Kagome thought she might pass out from happiness. Very slowly, Inuyasha's eyes closed and he leaned his head further into Kagome's hand.

Without warning, he reached out and pulled her into his chest. He wanted to feel her warmth, to feel her heart beat against his chest. Inuyasha never wanted to let her go again. Kagome moved so she could get into a more comfortable position, laughing at herself when she couldn't get her towel to sit right. Perhaps her happiness was making her a bit giddy? The half demon holding her stayed still until he was sure she was comfortable before wrapping his arms around her once more.

They stayed like this for a long time before Inuyasha whispered, 'I'm sorry.'

Kagome wanted to lift her head, to see whether the emotions in his eyes matched his voice. Inuyasha held his arms tight around her, so there was no way she could lift her head from where it was nestled in the crook of his neck. She breathed in his scent, her hands clutching tighter at the fabric of his shirt.

'Kagome, I'm sorry,' he continued. 'Kikyo could have killed you and I... I'm just glad you're safe.'

'It wasn't your fault,' she breathed. 'I shouldn't have been there. And I should have been smarter than to stand up to Kikyo.'

'So you'll come back?'

This time when Kagome moved to lift her head, Inuyasha didn't stop her. She remained in his lap, though, holding onto the front of his shirt with a strong grip. 'If I do go back, it'll be the same. You love Kikyo too much. There is no room for me.' She smiled sweetly, hiding the sadness in her eyes.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. 'Kagome...'

'And I don't want to hurt you anymore,' she told him.

'Hurt me?'

Kagome tried to hide her sadness with another smile. 'I don't want to make you feel like you have to decide. Inuyasha, I want to go back... I just don't want to hurt you.'

'Kikyo is the one that shot you with an arrow and you're worried about me?' He couldn't believe it. Was she really so concerned with him that her life didn't matter? Inuyasha was so used to protecting others, and never once thought that someone might want to protect him.

'So I shouldn't be worried?' Kagome leant back and crossed her arms. 'Fine, then I won't worry.'

'Uh, no, that's not how I meant it.' He knew he would never understand the changing emotions of a female or how their minds worked. Kagome was always throwing him off. 'I want you to worry about me, Kagome.'

Her arms dropped to her sides and she glanced away. How could he say something like that so easily? Kagome was completely stuck on what to do next. Their conversation was too heated for her liking, and she didn't want to make him upset in case he went back to his own era. But why was he even here? Was he really here just to apologies about Kikyo? Inuyasha had been the one to pull Kagome onto his lap, to hug her; that must mean something. Kagome didn't want to look too much into it in case it meant nothing to him. In case she meant nothing to him.

'Kagome!'

Inuyasha's ears twitched again at the high pitched shout. He could hear footsteps outside the room, heading towards Kagome's room. But she was already in action. The half demon sat where he was, cross legged on the floor, as she jumped to her feet and began racing around the room. Her cheeks were red and she looked flustered. Inuyasha liked the way she looked when she was embarrassed. She was cute.

'Don't look,' she suddenly said, glowering at Inuyasha. His eyes widened in innocence before he spun around, ears down. Kagome smiled lightly at his bashful expression before pulling her shirt over her head and dropping the towel. 'Okay. You can turn back around now.'

'Kago-.'

'I'm coming!' She shouted to her mother.

Kagome's mother didn't even bother knocking. She barged into the room, irritation written on her face. 'How long does it take to get dressed? Diner is ready and-.' Her eyes landed on the half human, half demon sitting on the floor. 'Inuyasha?'

'Uh, yeah,' was all he could say. Kagome's mother looked terrifying. He had met her once before, but she seemed so nice then.

'It's a long story,' Kagome told her mother before she could ask any questions.

'Well, I hope nothing was going on.' She pointedly looked at Kagome before shooting Inuyasha a questioning look. When he only sat there, a confused expression on his face, Kagome's mother knew they hadn't done anything. He looked too innocent. 'Are you staying for diner?'

Inuyasha was taken aback by her change of moods. No wonder where Kagome got her mood swings from. 'Uh...'

'There is more than enough, and I'm not taking no for an answer.' With that said, Kagome's mother walked out of the room, leaving the door wide open.

Both Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other, blushed, and then looked away.

Remember, I still suck at writing romance. It's not something I do often. I prefer the action side of this anime, not the relationship between the characters. But it's worth a shot, right?

I hoped this chapter was alright!