Author's Note: Happy New Year! Finally all of the holiday mess is over and I have time to myself again. Thanks again for the lovely reviews!XDtear I'll try to have another chapter up before the weekend is over...but here's chapter 5! Enjoy R&R

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Inuyasha...but I don't. If I did Bankotsu would have been in more episodes and Kikyo would've never been resurrected!(Okay that's mean).

Inuyasha dashed through the forest with incredible speed. It was a little late to go shard hunting, but he could cover more ground without the others. He still couldn't shake what Miroku said from his head. 'Kikyo...would you really help us, better yet...Kagome?' he thought. He didn't like the idea of seeking her for help, but he knew that without the aid of a priestess he wouldn't be able to find the jewel shards. Inuyasha leapt into and tree above and looked down below. He had finally found her.

Kikyo had stopped in her tracks and turned around. "I know you're here, Inuyasha. What do you want?" she asked in a low voice.

Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and landed in front of her. An eerie blue glow surrounded her as another soul collector deposited a soul in her clay-like body. He looked down to the side and tried to ignore the fact that she was still feeding off of the souls of the dead. "Kikyo...I was wondering if..." he trailed off. Kikyo placed her cold hand on his face and moved closer to him.

"Inuyasha, there is something troubling you. It's the band of seven, isn't it?" she guessed.

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, they kidnaped Kagome and now they want jewel shards for a trade, but we don't have any jewel shards and...' He stopped when he noticed that Kikyo was laughing. "Kikyo..." He said as his eyes widened.

Kikyo stepped away from him and turned around. "Inuyasha, you came here seeking my assistance, did you not? You want me to help you find shards of the shikon jewel to help Kagome. I'm sorry, but Naraku has most of the shards and I refuse to give the band of seven any shards of the sacred jewel." she said nonchalantly. The soul collectors surrounded her and she began to float off into the air.

"Kikyo, I know you can help us, please don't go!" Inuyasha yelled. Kikyo continued to drift off into the air.

"It's in your hands now, Inuyasha." she said, her voice fading away as she flew higher into the sky.

Inuyasha slumped down to the ground and held his head low. Seeking Kikyo's help was his last resort and she refused to help him. He was running out of options, but it was only day one of their shard search. He would just have to find shards the old fashioned way. Inuyasha turned around and began jumping off into the forest. He and the others would begin their extensive search for jewel shards first thing in the morning. 'Kagome, don't worry, I'll find a way to save you.' he thought.

Kagome winced slightly as she was in the process of waking up, though it wasn't of her own free will. She opened her eyes and moved her head to look at the person underneath her. He was still sleeping. She blushed as she stared down at his well-toned chest. A smile crept upon her lips as she moved off of him reluctantly. It was still dark outside, so it was probably very early in the morning, around three o'clock or so. Kagome pulled on the previously discarded kimono and stood up. She turned her head towards the door. It was that sound again. The sound of loud coughing could be heard coming from somewhere within the old castle.

Kagome furrowed her brows in worry. 'Is that Jakotsu? It sounds really bad, he could be really sick.' she thought. She unconsciously moved towards the door and opened it. The coughing became louder once she entered the hall so she quickly closed the door behind her. She began walking down the hall, towards the coughing. It was an incessant cough that didn't seem to ease up, the person must've been going through hell. Kagome arrived to the door where the coughing was the loudest and slid it open and closed again once she stepped in. There were a few candles lit in the room so she had no trouble seeing. Her eyes wondered over to the person lying on the futon, coughing every once in a while.

Kagome gasped. It was Jakotsu. His kimono was stripped down to his waist, leaving him in his metal armor. His body was covered with a sheen of sweat and his chest heaved up and down violently with every cough. She approached him closer. She gasped again. She hadn't noticed that he wasn't wearing any makeup, he looked so pale, so lifeless without it. She had to admit that he was a fairly attractive young since his face paint wasn't concealing the fact that he was a man. His hair was undone and it was spread out in wavy curls. Jakotsu slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at her. "Wench, what are you doing in here? Get out!" he yelled. He began coughing again.

Kagome ignored him. "You don't sound well. You're getting sicker by the minute. You need some medicine!" she said as she rushed to his side. She placed a hand on his forehead and he was feverish.

Jakotsu grunted and grabbed her roughly by the wrist and pulled her hand away from him. "Leave me alone." he said, coughing. "I've dealt with worse so get off of my case!"

Was he so resentful towards women that he wouldn't receive medical treatment from one? She couldn't help but to pity him. She still wanted to help him. "I don't care what you say, I'm still going to help you! I'm going to find some herbs and I'll be right back!" she said as she stood up and ran to the door and left the room.

Jakotsu narrowed his eyes. "Foolish girl." he said to himself before he began coughing again. Though he hated to admit it, he was very ill. But he would be damned if he received help from that wench.

For what almost seemed like an half hour, Kagome finally returned. Her hands were covered with dirt and in them she held a variety of herbs. She had snuck out and scoured the forest for certain herbs that would aid the sick man. Kaede had told her that certain green herbs could recover strength and brown herbs could restore the health of the ill. If she mixed the two she could have a remedy for Jakotsu's cold. She stumbled down beside him and grabbed a bowl that was lying near him. "Just be patient, this will help you, okay?" she said and she poured the sake out of the bowl and filled it with water and tossed the two herbs in.

Jakotsu would've sat up and slapped her if he felt like it, but he didn't. He suppressed his oncoming cough with his hand and he glanced over at her. She was crushing the herbs together in the bowl and stirring it around in the water. The water turned a sickly brown color which looked objectionable in sight and probably taste. "I'm not drinking that you crazy wench!" he said in protest.

Kagome ignored him and held the bowl of brown water in her hand as she approached him. "It'll make you better." she promised. Jakotsu moved away from her and turned his head to the side. "Come on, stop being stubborn!" she yelled.

Jakotsu glared at her. She was pushing him over the edge and he was a second away from slapping her silly. He could of easily sat up and choked her, but the aching in his back prevented him from doing so. "Get away from me with that stuff, it smells gross!" he said, twisting his face in disgust. His eyes widened when he felt his head being lifted from the futon and the bowl being forced to his lips. He gasped and some of the vile liquid seeped into his mouth. He immediately gagged and spat the concoction out. He glared at Kagome and lifted his hand to slap her but she quickly moved out of the way. "You bitch!" he gasped out. He covered his mouth as he began coughing again. He turned his head away from her and looked at the wall. 'I can't believe I missed...I must be really sick.' he thought.

Kagome moved back towards him and glared at the sick man. Why was he being so stubborn? He knew that he was sick, but yet he still refused her help. Kagome sighed. 'Man, this guy is difficult, but I can't let him go on like this. It's not like his comrades will come to his aid.' She thought sadly. Kagome didn't want to do this, but she had to get the medicine into him somehow. Kagome pinched her nose and sipped the brown liquid into her mouth. She felt like she was going to puke, but what she was going to do next was worse. 'Here goes.' she thought as she moved closer to the unsuspecting man.

It had gotten quiet, too quiet. He didn't hear her leave so she was still in the room. Jakotsu slowly turned his head back to Kagome and he got the surprise of his lifetime. He widened his eyes but he didn't have time to react when he saw the girl coming towards him with puckered lips. Her lips forcefully met with his and the worst part was yet to come. He cringed as he tasted the nasty brown juice slipping into his mouth. Kagome moved her mouth away from his and quickly clamped her hand over his mouth so that he wouldn't spit the liquid out. His eyes began to water and he wanted to puke, but he hadn't swallowed the liquid yet.

He began to struggle, but she kept her hand clamped over his mouth. "Just swallow it!" she urged. She pinched his nose with her other hand and he stopped struggling. He glared at her and a few seconds later he swallowed the medicine since he had no choice. "There, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" she said as she stood up.

He was disgusted. He was repulsed. How dare she violate him like that? He cringed at the thought of her lips pressing against his. "Get out, you wretch!" he yelled in a hoarse voice.

Kagome did as she was told and left him in peace. "Goodnight." she said as she closed the door.

Jakotsu squeezed his eyes shut and tried his best to sleep. 'That wench, how dare she put her disgusting lips on me.' he thought with anger. His expression softened at bit. 'Was she that desperate to help me?'

Kagome tip-toed back into her original room and slowly slid the door open and stepped in quietly. She noticed that Bankotsu was still sleeping, completely nude. A faint blush covered her cheeks as she turned to close the door once more.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked.

Kagome jumped and quickly turned to face the leader of the Shichinintai. She could've sworn that he was sleeping. "U-Um...I went to go check on Jakotsu. He was very sick." she quickly explained. He didn't look too happy with her answer.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You better not be lying, Kagome." He said with his intense blue gaze fixated upon her.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not." she simply said. Under the circumstances, he shouldn't have any problems trusting her by now. She could've attempted to escape long ago, but she didn't.

Bankotsu smirked. "Good, you're a smart girl...now show me how smart you are and come over here." he said with a grin, patting the space next to him with his hand.

Kagome blushed again and slowly walked over to him. "Aren't you going to put your clothes back on?" she asked trying not to look directly at him.

He looked himself up and down. "Maybe...not." he said with a devilishly sexy smirk. Kagome began to blush as he grabbed her chin with his index finger and his thumb pulling her face to his and pressing his lips against hers, while loosening the sash on her kimono.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck returning the kiss and thought to herself 'Oh no, not again. Why can't I resist him? I just can't help myself. No I can't...I have to stop this.' she scolded herself mentally.

Kagome pulled away from his grasp and looked down at her lap. Bankotsu looked at her with confusion, shocked by her actions. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted this."

Kagome tried not to look him directly in those sexy blue eyes because she knew if she did she would fall right back under his spell. "I know, but I can't keep doing this to Inuyasha."

"But I asked you before and you said yes, but now you want to worry about Inuyasha?!" he said angrily.

"I know but I ...I love him." she whispered.

"You what, what did you say?" he said standing up, beginning to raise his voice. He thought that he had heard what she said, but he silently hoped that it wasn't what he thought she said.

"I said I...love Inuyasha." she said nervously. " And I won't allow myself to keep hurting him."

Bankotsu didn't know why but he was hurt by Kagome's response. Bankotsu slowly began to realize that he was falling in love with Kagome. He didn't know how to respond to this feeling or how to respond to what she said. He sat back down slowly and then looked down realizing he was still nude. He silently began putting on his clothes.

"Well, Kagome." he said fastening his armor.

"I'm sorry Bankotsu but I..." she said being cut off once more.

"You don't have to apologize Kagome. Your clothes should be dry by morning you can go back to Inuyasha, if that's what you want." he said jealously, turning his head away from her to hide the pain displayed on his face. He knew that he couldn't be happy knowing that Kagome wasn't happy with him, that she would rather be with Inuyasha.

"Bankotsu are...are you upset with me?" Kagome asked sadly, taking a few steps towards him to.

"No!!!" he yelled turning away from her leaving the room.

Kagome felt terrible about what she had just done. 'I hate myself how could I hurt Bankotsu like that! How can I hurt someone I love? Oh my god I ...I love Bankotsu.' Kagome plopped back down onto the futon and decided to cry herself to sleep.

Author's note: Kagome we already know who you want stop doubting it! I know this chapter was short, but the next one will be longer!