A/N: I recently changed the program in which I write. Hopefully it has better spell-check and is easier on my eyes.

The Tree That Witnesses

Kagome watched the little girl running after the par of youkai disappearing in the forest. The cheerful smile and wave of a hand were so odd, after the fierce battle that had transpired in the meadow. One thing was for sure - they had lots of firewood for the winter. And - somehow - they have survived a run-in with a daiyoukai. She still felt the oppressing aura of Inuyasha's older brother's youki, receding fast, calming, but still easy to pick up. The woman, who she had known as Kaguraya, was a youkai of significant power herself, but not as strong as him. And, with them, was a human, for some strange reason, unafraid of neither of them. How odd…

She was pulled out of her thoughts when a hand gripped her wrist and tugged at her. It was a familiar hand, warm and rough, the grip firm, comforting and somehow soothing after all that had happened . It took her a while to realize that he had taken Tessaiga from her without her even noticing, now the katana was in his other hand.

"Oh, Inu-!" she stumbled and was about to scold the shrine guardian as she walked wherever he wanted to lead him, but she paused.

He had his back turned at her, his ears somewhat droopy and cocked back towards her. His silver hair was a royal mess of tangled tresses and twigs. His red robes were torn and dirty with blood and mud, The hand holding hers was dirty as well, claws coated with dried blood. He pulled her towards a pathway that led straight to the glade housing the Sacred Tree and - in the hidden realm - the old well. Not for the first time a part of her wondered how the mirror words could have this same well - which was a portal linking them together - be at slightly different places.

But most of her worries were for Inuyasha. He limped as they walked through the forest. He didn't move with such fluidity as usual and his head was lowered, as if he was terribly tired. She could use a nap herself.

"Come, let's go home and take care of your wounds," she offered, her voice soft. He was always so difficult when it came to treating his injuries. "I can make you a special bowl of ramen before dinner…"

"Not now," was his gruff answer.

She resigned herself to walking after him, the trees soon parted to let them enter the meadow. Inuyasha walked out of the dappled green shade and into the sunlight, dragging his feet across the grass until he sat under the Sacred Tree, tugging at her to follow his example. She sank to her knees in front of him, biting her bottom lip. The ancient tree rustled softly overhead, casting shifting shadows across them as they rested under it. He placed Tessaiga on the ground where he could easily grab it. Birds chirped around them, probably rejoicing in the fact that the big bad youkai was gone now.

Golden eyes lifted to meet hers and held her gaze. They were the hard, tired eyes of a shrine guardian who had fought countless battles and had lost many companions. He might have not liked them, but losing them surely had been painful to him. Kagome knew he was about to scold her for running into the battle after him specifically telling her not to.

"Listen, I had to do something! He was about to bite your neck!" she exclaimed, ready to defend her precious actions. Remembering the vision of the shrine guardian,leading and struggling to rise to his paws, with the daiyoukai looming over him, fangs glittering, like a promise of death, it was still making her blood freeze.

'How could I stand by and watch when he hurt you or worse?' she asked in her mind, her relief that he was alive and the concern for him twining with the deepest fondness she had for him.

"Kagome…" he breathed out. His face was covered in blood and his left cheek bore a still bleeding slowly mark of fangs that had pierced deep. A bruise was forming around the wound, darkening and swelling with every heartbeat.

Kagome sighed at the way he spoke her name, his voice so low as if he was afraid her name would flee like a skittish animal if he said it any louder.

Then, the miko squeaked, because the hand that still held hers gave her wrist a big tug and she was suddenly falling against the chest of the hanyou in front of her. She braced herself on his shoulders, praying that she wouldn't cause him more pain. She felt his arms wrapping around her waist tightly, one of them slowly sliding up her back to press the back of her head, guiding her to nuzzle the side of his neck. Warm breath fanned against her ear.

"I was scared," he confessed quietly.

"Inu…"

"You are not allowed to make me scared like this ever again," he added somewhat firmer. "He could have killed you in a snap."

Her hands carefully wrapped around his neck and she relaxed against him slowly, letting herself soak in his warmth. Everything was okay now, the danger was over.

"I was scared too," she whispered, knowing his keen ears would pick her words up easily "I won't back down from standing beside you only because someone is pretty strong."

He pulled her even closer, as if desperate to hide her in his embrace. Which was all good with her, because that was where she wanted to be. Her fingers gently stroked the silver hair on the back of his head.

"My miko," his lips brushed against her earlobe, a barely-there touch that made her heart skip a beat. "You can't do that."

"Why not? I can fight, you know! I just have to get some more training and I'll nail any bastard that comes our way!" she argued heatedly.

Her reward was a husky chuckle. Was it just her or was the day getting pretty hot?

"Silly wench, you're an archer, archers don't fight beside swordsmen," he informed her, a hint of amusement and fondness in his tone. "And, really, don't let your grandfather hear you use such language, he will be miffed as fuck."

Kagome was about to argue her right to swear, but at the same time he spoke in her mind, a clear thought that was at the same time a yell and a whisper.

'I love you, too.'

Oh, now she was not only hot and with heart beating faster than it should, her belly was full of silly butterflies dancing on the wave of the feelings that washed over her. All she could do was to press her cheek to where a human had an ear and Inuyasha had smooth skin, tears of passing adrenaline and rising euphoria making her vision blurry.

He sounded so cute, his words somewhat hesitant, but at the same time conveying his usual bravado. It was not a poetic speech full of fancy words, it was short
and honest. He didn't stutter this time, he already knew her feelings for him. He knew that she wouldn't reject him, she wouldn't laugh at him, she wouldn't humiliate him for having feelings for a miko like herself. She wanted to kiss him on top of the head, between his ears… right before she kissed him on the mouth. She had known he cared about her, after all he'd asked to date her, but hearing him admit to loving her was making her smile a terribly dopey grin, that she was glad no one could witness and laugh at. She wanted nothing more to stay in his embrace, just to make sure that she wouldn't float away from the happiness that flooded her and threatened her eyes to water even more.

Her happy haze was disturbed when a wisp of panic from him as he tried to pull away.

"Are you… Are you gonna cry? Don't cry!" he trued to mask his rising anxiety with brash words, but she didn't let him fool her, neither did she let him pull away. And, he told her that under the Sacred Tree, as if he wanted it to be the witness to the silent confession.

"My komainu," she cooed. "My handsome hanyou badass boyfriend."

'I will wait for you to say it aloud later, when the time is right,' she decided, not minding one bit that he spoke only in her mind. This way it was more intimate, actually.

"So, you not upset?"

"Silly shrine sentinel."

He let out a sigh and she felt his body relax against her.

"Good. Now, let me fix your alliterating issue and we can go get that extra bowl of ramen," he shifted as if to kiss her and Kagome loosened her grip on him. It was a good exercise and a reward was a kiss, so alliteration was becoming her favorite.

But, instead of kissing the hanyou, Kagome kissed the moss, because suddenly Inuyasha pushed her out of his arms and onto the ground while standing up himself.

"Hey!" she glared over her shoulder at him, but he wasn't looking at her and had Tessaiga already drawn as if expecting an attack. When she followed her gaze she saw Sango in her slayer armor and Miroku with stacks of sacred papers sticking from every pocket of his jeans.

"Where's the youkai?" asked Sango. "Is Kagome hurt?"

"You really have to work on your timing," Kagome groaned as she picked herself from the ground.