"It's easy to do right when everything goes right. But let everything go wrong, and see how difficult it becomes."

― Ann Aguirre, Aftermath

Kagome sat in the clearing for what felt like hours, trying to calm her pounding heart before finally deciding she had overstayed her welcome. The young woman could sense the energy signatures of several weak youkai lurking in the area. After three years of battling in the Feudal era, the young priestess had become more proficient at utilizing her powers but she didn't want to push her luck unnecessarily. It would be especially foolish given that she had left her weapons at the camp. Pausing for a moment, she focused on detecting any nearby youkai. Finding none, she ventured forth on unsteady feet back to camp. She was still suffering from the aftereffects of her episode with Sesshoumaru. The speedy tempo of her heart refused to slow as the adrenaline continued to course through her veins and her petite frame shook with minute tremors.

"Damn it…" the young miko groaned as the reality of her situation came crashing down on her.

Despite her efforts to tread carefully with the daiyoukai, things inevitably ended in chaos. The young miko knew without a doubt she was too impulsive and more often than not her good intentions resulted in the most possible of scenarios. But this was too much.

"I'm a complete and utter disaster," Kagome concluded with an inward sigh. "What am I going to do now?"

The question hung in the air as she paused just beyond the edge of camp. Panic flooded her veins as she considered the repercussions of her run-in with the Western Lord. Attempting to calm herself with a few deep breaths, the raven-haired woman observed her companions. She wondered if her friends would have to suffer should the dog demon decide that her impulsiveness warranted punishment. They were so unsuspecting.

Miroku and Sango sat beside the fire conversing quietly. It appeared that Kohaku had joined them, listening intently. Off to the side of the camp Shippou and Rin were fast asleep as they shared a single bedroll. Seeing them calmed her shaken composure a bit. The sight of cuddling pair with their innocent faces slack with sleep was too adorable for words.

"I will deal with Mr. High and Mighty when the time comes. I won't let them suffer for my mistakes," Kagome thought resolutely.

Heaving a deep sigh of resignation, Kagome approached the slumbering pair first and knelt beside them. She could hear the conversations come to halt but she wasn't ready to face the questions and scrutiny. Instead, she fiddled with their covers, tucking the children in and lingering by their side. As she smoothed Shippou's tumbled locks from his face, the kit's eyes slit open to reveal his emerald eyes.

" 'gome . You're back." He mumbled as he caught her finger lightly in his clawed fingertips.

"Of course silly," she whispered affectionately.

"I just knew you'd be okay," the fox kit sighed before closing his eyes again.

Kagome uttered a quiet humorless chuckle before replying, "Yes Shippou. I'm just fine..."

After mentally preparing for the interrogation that was sure to come, she pasted on her brightest smile and turned to approach her companions. Her progress halted abruptly as a red clad torso dominated her view. The young woman felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach.

"Now InuYasha," she pleaded backing away as she raised splayed hands in front of her to ward him off. "Don't start. I'm tired and all I want to do is_"

"Oi. Where the hell have you been?" the silver-haired hanyou interrupted as he crossed his arms over his chest. Her best friend appeared to be absolutely livid.

Kagome opened her mouth to reply before snapping it shut when her dog-eared companion held up his hand.

InuYasha snapped," No… Don't say one fucking word. I already know what you did. You little fool. You absolutely reek of that bastard. You just had to go meddling didn't you? I leave for one damn second and you find a way to get into some kind of trouble."

He knew. Her shaky hands passed over her face before continuing their ascent into her tumbled ebony locks. Grabbing hanks of her own hair by roots, she tugged to calm her turbulent emotions. Usually she could take the insults and tirades but after such a traumatic encounter Kagome was on the edge. She was so mentally exhausted and emotional that it would take very little for the young miko to crack.

"Don't," she whispered fiercely. "Don't do this here."

"Keh… Wench… Why should I spare you the embarrassment you clearly deserve?" InuYasha muttered although his fierce expression wavered as his amber eyes took in her clear distress. The hanyou sighed before clutching the miko to his chest and taking off into the treetops.

The hanyou perched gracefully on a thick branch high above the camp. He sat the distraught girl away from him, propping her against the tree trunk.

"What were you thinking Kagome?" InuYasha demanded. Although his tone had softened, his disapproval of her actions was still clear.

Kagome could not bring herself to look him in the eyes so she rubbed her arms and looked off into the night sky as she replied, "I had to do something… I couldn't get through to you so I thought just maybe I could get through to Sesshoumaru."

The hanyou snorted derisively in reply. "Whole lot of good I'm sure that did."

"Well!" she exclaimed as she pinned her companion with a pointed sapphire glare. "I couldn't take all the sibling rivalry. I think we all are tired of it."

"Well, what the hell did you think would happen when just up and invited him to travel around with us?"

"We've all gotten along before. We even fought side by side."

"Youkai are governed by a different set of rules than humans especially Inuyoukai. You can't just throw us all together and think it will work."

Kagome's eyes widened at the anger in InuYasha's tone.

"Throw you together," she responded in exasperation. "Excuse me but it's not like it was even my idea. He approached us. Was I just supposed to say no?"

"Fuck yeah. I would have told him to go to Hell."

"I'm not you, InuYasha. I don't think everyone is out to get me."

"And that shows just how damn stupid you are," InuYasha barked.

Kagome gasped in outrage. Had they been on solid ground, she would have made sure the hanyou was a smoking crater in the ground. But there was she was stuck in a tree while he hurled insults carelessly her way. She knew InuYasha cared for her and worried about her well being in his own way. However, the way he belittled her whenever she displeased him or went against his judgment always got under her skin.

"I can't do this with you InuYasha, Not today." Kagome muttered trying her best to restrain her temper. "Take me back down now."

The silver haired half demon paused mid-tirade at the sound of strain in her voice. Taking in his closest friend's carefully blank expression and dull eyes, he could tell he was pressing his luck too far.

InuYasha heaved a rough sigh and softened his voice as he continued, "Look Kagome... You're different from other humans, ok? Too different… You see everyone as equals. But you have to accept the fact that's not how it is for the rest of us. Especially when dealing with an icicle prick like Sesshoumaru."

Seeing that he was not making any headway, the young hanyou ruffled his wild locks in frustration as he watched the young miko's averted profile. The silence between the pair became snarled with frustration and anger. Suddenly, it dawned on the hanyou that he wouldn't be able to make her understand without pulling back the veil of his past. InuYasha hesitated, staring off at some point off in the distance for a moment as if wrestling with a difficult decision before speaking again.

"Just hear me out okay?" the hanyou mumbled as he easily maneuvered Kagome so that she faced him.

The irate young woman's protests died in her throat upon seeing his solemn expression.

"I'm a loner Kagome... I mean I used to be. But you... That idiot Miroku... Sango and even Shippou are like the family I never had. You guys are the only ones who wanted to accept me." InuYasha's golden eyes did not quite meet her gaze as he spoke. "When I was just a kid, my mom tried to protect me but she was an outcast too."

"InuYasha..."

"You've seen it. How hanyous are treated. Even though she was the daughter of a lord, the humans in my mother's village considered her tainted... A whore. No one would go near her. In the end, when she got sick no one would help. I was just a kid... I did what I could but what did I know? I couldn't save her and in the end I had to watch her die like the rest of the village. I dug her grave with my own claws. And I left that village in the middle of the night after laying her to rest. The humans would have killed me if I stayed."

Kagome watched as her friend's hands fisted in anger, "It wasn't long after that I ran into that fucking bastard. I was just a hungry, snot-nosed kid with nowhere else to go. I didn't know who he was but I knew whatever it was he wanted it was no good. There I was a lost in the middle of the woods with some crazy youkai after me. He was hunting me and wanted me know it."

"Finally, after weeks of toying with me... He decided the game was up. He just appeared out of nowhere and I was sure I was going to die that day. I think he wanted to kill me. I could see it in his eyes. I tried to fight him but it didn't matter."

"By the end, I was pretty beat up... I still don't get it. I think maybe he got his jollies off from my suffering. Told me I was a weak abomination and my life belonged to him and that I should remember that he could take it at any time. He left me there right after that. I don't know what stopped him from killing me that day. Knowing that asshole, he probably figured I wasn't worth the trouble. "

Kagome's cobalt hued eyes filled with tears as she listened to InuYasha's tale. She knew that his past was filled with turmoil but she couldn't truly fathom his pain.

"I didn't know." She whispered in response.

"Keh..." He grunted even as he shrugged awkwardly in dismissal. "How could you know? It's not like I go around expecting a pity party. That's how life goes. You adapt or you die. That's just how it is..."

Tears slipped from her eye despite her best efforts to hold them back. She knew that crying made him uncomfortable and the last thing she wanted to do was make things even more awkward.

InuYasha's ears flattened against his skull when he saw her crying, panic leaking into his voice," Damn it Kagome... Don't start!"

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed as she tried futilely to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

The young woman knew she was babbling at this point but she couldn't seem to stop apologizing let alone stop crying. The stress of the last few weeks had already wrought havoc on her emotional stability. Now faced with the hardships of InuYasha's past, she couldn't help but mourn the death of his childhood as well as his innocence. It was no wonder that he was so mistrustful and guarded.

Heaving a heavy sigh, the hanyou tucked the miko into side. "Come on... Don't get all sappy on me. I'm alive and well, ain't I? That asshole didn't break me and don't let him break you either."

The raven-haired woman nodded against his red clad shoulder in response. "I wish I knew this before. I wish… I… I…"

Upon hearing the tears clogging her voice, InuYasha lightly plucked Kagome between the eyes to distract her. "Oi. No need for the waterworks again. What's done is done."

"Ouch!" The now irritated miko jerked in response, glaring in his direction as she rubbed her abused forehead.

Seeing the sparks flying from her sapphire orbs once again, the white-haired hanyou awarded her with a toothy grin. "That's my girl… I rather you sit me into oblivion than see you cry, ya know."

"Idiot. That stung." She whined, tears long forgotten in her ire.

"Listen up wench… I know you want peace and all that. I know your heart is in the right place so I'm going to try. I'm not saying I'm going to sit by the fire and sing folk songs with that bastard… or even act like I like him but… "

"Really InuYasha? You would do that?!"

"Keh… like you said we could use all hands on deck with Naraku. That slippery fucker has got to go down. But either way, I'm going to be the one who kill him…"

"I'm so happ_", Kagome quieted as her friend made a staying motion with his hand.

"Listen. I said I would kind of cooperate but let's be clear. If ice prick crosses me I will cut him in half. And you… You need to be careful."

"What?"

"Like I said, you may have met youkai before but you don't know their ways, especially inu youkai. I had to learn what I know the hard way myself. A stuck up jerk like Sesshoumaru will get his panties in a bunch if he thinks you're trying to challenge him because in his eyes everyone is beneath him. There's this complicated alpha and omega shit that I think is total garbage but for others it's their way of life."

Her hand fluttered to the shallow nick on her throat as she remembered her run in with the daiyoukai. "I guess… There is a lot I don't know…"

"Yeah well that means jack shit to him. I don't even know what goes through his head. Chances are he's looking for a reason to be provoked. Best you can do at this point if you want this to work is avoid him altogether if you can help it."

Kagome stared at InuYasha dubiously, "Avoid him? That's your solution? What am I supposed to do? Run for cover every time I see him?"

"You don't have to do nothing. Just leave him be and let me handle the rest. I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you."

"Ok fine…" she finally conceded. "I won't bother Sesshoumaru but you have to promise me, you won't do anything crazy. No fighting each other unless there's no other choice…"

"Keh…"

"Tone down the cursing too. Shippou and Rin are impressionable kids. I don't want them to end up with a potty mouth like you."

"Oi wench?! What's with all the conditions? You better be happy with the fact that I'm even allowing Mr. High and Mighty's ass to stay. "InuYasha growled as he crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. "

"InuYasha…"

"Damn it… Fine… I won't go hurting those runts' precious little ears. Now you need to do me a favor…"

The miko barely had time to question the half dog demon before he swiftly caught her in his strong embrace and leapt to the ground.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" she hissed after she tried to recover her equilibrium.

InuYasha merely chuckled in amusement, "Would serve you right for making me worry."

The young hanyou turned swiftly to the taijiya still sitting by the fireplace watching the pair curiously, "Oi Sango! You should take this crazy wench to go clean up. She reeks of that bast… I mean Sesshoumaru."

"I'm not a wench and I don't stink!"

"Keh… To me you do…"

"Osuwari!"

"It never fails..." Miroku sighed as he stoked the fire. Beside him Kohaku craned his neck a bit to peer curiously at the hanyou who was plastered on the ground.

"Are they always like this?" the young taijiya asked.

"Oh... Kohaku. This is truly nothing. You should see Lady Kagome when she's really mad."

"Shut your trap monk." InuYasha managed to bite out even though his face was buried in the dirt.

Kagome merely turned her nose up at the byplay between the men and gestured to Sango, "Let's go. Before my stenchoffends the whole camp."

The brown haired taijiya merely giggled and response and then led the way.

**お久しぶりですね... [Long Time No See...]

Please pardon the wait. I've been working over this chapter for a while now and I couldn't really decide on a direction. I didn't want to overdramatize InuYasha and Kagome's interactions the way I've seen in some fanfics. Hopefully, these two remained true to form and didn't get too OTC. In the canon, even though Kagome made it clear that she is devoted to her hanyou companion, the chemistry between them still comes off most of the time like they're brother and sister IMO. InuYasha doesn't seem emotionally available throughout the series until all of a sudden it's implied they marry when the well reopens.

Anywho... there's more to come so stay tuned...***