Chapter 12.- Letting go

A loud screech pierced her ears.

It was behind her. They missed one, and it was right behind her. Her arm whipped around; no time to notch another arrow. Reiki swirled around her, the shield too hasty. Biting her tongue, Kagome prepared for the pain. Instead of the worm-like creature crashing her unstable barrier, the girl could see the bright glint of a blade slicing the youkai in half. Tension fled her as she watched crimson become black. Giving Itachi a grateful smile, the miko turned to check the small group of merchants cowering inside the carriage.

"Hey, is anybody hurt?"

"W-we're all fine," the oldest of the men managed to stammer out before taking a deep breath and putting back on a business grin. "We're deeply grateful for your help."

"My, we were only doing what anyone else would do in this situation, of course, if you are willing to spare with some of your good luck…" Miroku trailed off as he neared them.

Shaking her head, the girl could only admire the way their con artist went on to skillfully run circles around the merchant leader. They'd heard the panicked screams and rushed to find two horse-drawn carriages being surrounded by what had to be some of the most disgusting worm-looking youkais Kagome ever had the misfortune of encountering. The girl considered stopping Miroku before discarding the idea. Sure, the monk was a pervert and a liar, but he'd never stoop so low as to scam someone who couldn't afford the losses. Even she could tell the fabric of the haoris these people were wearing was as expensive as it got. Besides, regular merchants would know to stay inside the mountain path…unless they carried less than legal cargo. Kagome would really appreciate the chance to stay at a nice inn in the next town they came across because Inuyasha was very much acting like a slave driver again.

For over a week, they'd walked in the opposite direction of the ruined villages, and every day that passed, the hanyou got more and more irritable. Waking up early and walking until the sunset wasn't new, but he kept trying to up their speed; at the rate this was going, they might be forced to put their foot down soon. And it's not like the girl didn't know why he was acting that way. Kagome may have been the one to notice there was something off with the spider's actions, but the one who offered an answer was Itachi. Hard to believe as his suggestion was, his logic was sound, but that didn't matter. The hanyou's dislike of their newest addition may have been more silent recently, but it was still there. Still, Itachi's presence wasn't an issue she was about to budge on.

Turning at the sound of a low cough, the young warrior nodded at her before glancing back at Miroku. The monk was still busy securing their funds for the next few days.

With a smile and a laugh, the miko pulled him farther away from the group. Inuyasha was impatiently trying to stare the merchants down while ignoring Shippo's chatter while Sango had decided to salvage something from the demons' corpses. This definitely looked like it would take some time. Giving her an understanding nod in return, the young warrior followed her, making no attempt to take his hand away from her grasp. It's not like she wanted to go back into the forest, and there really was no need for her to reach out to him, but Kagome couldn't bring herself to stop this growing habit.

"Believe it or not, Miroku-sama does have quite the strict ethics code," she shook her head. "Thanks, by the way, for earlier. I'm pretty sure my barrier would've shattered had it hit."

"Your barrier was already up; the more you practice, the more reliable it'll become. Until then, I'll do my best to help you. It might be a good idea to start adding more variation to your training."

"Even if it's still easy to break?" Her barrier was far from perfected. "Aren't we rushing?"

"Practicing at the start of the regular sessions and the experience you gain from real fights should be enough. It's important to keep moving forward." His tone was reassuring, truly confident in her abilities and the miko let out a sigh.

Adding physical combat to her training was something that Sango suggested, but the timing was all she needed to know that the older girl was likely inspired by the young woman's actions. Kagome had always been a relatively active reason; she enjoyed her gym periods and often helped around the shrine, after spending months hiking throughout Japan, she was in pretty good shape. Still, she'd been beyond sure during the first few days after working with the slayer, but already, the girl could begin to feel the difference. It was a small thing, feeling a little less tired in the mornings and being able to keep up with her friend's pace as they walked, but even that felt like the sort of progress she hadn't even thought was possible. Of course, her spiritual training was all thanks to him as well.

"Once we're back at the shrine, we're definitely borrowing the kitchen for cooking classes," she said; it wasn't a perfect way to show her appreciation, but it was the best she could do with what she knew of him.

"Won't that eat up the time you need to study?" There was a lightness to his voice she was starting to recognize. "If we stay here for the next two weeks, there won't be much time before it's time for your exams, correct?"

"Rest is vital for studying, remember?" Her grin was playful now.

"Supported by studies, was it?" Itachi smiled softly. "I'll be under your guidance, then."

Letting out a soft laugh, the girl couldn't help but feel a little lighter. It felt like it had been so long since she looked forward to going back home for something other than being desperate for a warm bath or out of fear of feeling whatever exam was coming next. Of course, her studies were still first in her priority list, but she'd enjoyed cooking together with him. The young warrior had been composed from the moment they met. Capable wasn't enough to describe him, really; Kagome was confident the older teen would've fared quite well on his own, regardless of what time period he was stranded in, so watching him become stumped by the mystery of a pan and a handful of spices made him feel so much more real, closer to his actual age. Hobbies were supposed to be good for mental health, right?

Maybe she could convince him to buy a book or two to bring back to the Sengoku era.

"Good news, everyone!" Miroku was grinning from ear to ear, a heavy bag in his hand; behind him, the merchants seemed to be glaring as they began to leave. "If we keep walking in this direction, we should arrive at the city by noon tomorrow, and I believe we'll have some spending money even after we pay for our stay."

"Way to go, Miroku!" Shippo cheered.

"Tch, we've no time to waste here." Unsurprisingly, Inuyasha was still frowning. "What about the rumors?"

"Nothing that sounds related to Naraku, but our next destination is more of a city than a town, so we'll have far more chances to hear something interesting." The monk was unfazed.

"So that means we can't go around picking fights, playing tricks, or touching what shouldn't be touched." With equally stern glares, Sango stared at each of the boys in turn.

"You wound me, dear Sango," Miroku shook his head, placing a hand on his chest in fake hurt. "But it is best to remain in our best behavior."

"Is it really that big of a city?"

"Not enough that we'll struggle with entry." Seeming to catch the girl's hesitation, Miroku continued to explain. "It's close enough to a trading route, so people there are fairly open-minded as long as we pay the right amount. I've been there before."

Ah, so that's why the monk was so persistent about scamming the shady merchants.

"Fine, but we're not waiting more than a day.' With a huff, the hanyou sniffed the air before walking east.

Careful not to let out a groan, the girl nodded to the others. There was enough tension in the group for the last few days, but if they reached the city by tomorrow, there was no need to make things worse by trying to get Inuyasha to slow down. It's not like he didn't have a legitimate reason to be tense with this particular direction. Chasing Naraku rarely took them to important places, but big cities didn't often welcome non-humans…or anyone that didn't fit in with whatever standards it had. Even with the money Miroku just secured, their group would still get wary glances thrown their way. Hopefully, they'd managed to get a lead they could follow, and the silver-haired hanyou would be able to ease up a little.

"This place…" the young warrior seemed to falter for a second before asking, "is it close to Utsunomiya?"

"Why, yes, it is, far from the more splendorous cities, but not small at all."

"How did you know?" Sango asked.

"I looked for maps of the area." Itachi seemed a little awkward being the center of attention, but he continued. "I'm not sure how accurate they are with the smaller towns or villages, but historically relevant locations should still serve as landmarks."

"You memorized the maps? Those things are ridiculously complicated. Did I ever tell you what year this is?" The miko did nothing to hide her surprise.

"No, but by comparing structures and weaponry with historical records, I got a vague idea." Dark eyes glanced at her. "After that, I checked the maps from the time range that was more likely."

"Do you have a photographic memory?"

"Photo…what?" Shippo's question was likely shared by the other two humans.

"Oh, a photograph is…" Kagome searched for the right way to explain before pivoting. "Well, when someone has a photographic memory, they can remember anything they've ever seen after looking at it only once. Not a lot of people have it."

"I wouldn't exactly call it photographic memory, I suppose I can do something similar at times."

"That's amazing!" It certainly helped explain how easily the warrior seemed to fit in in both eras. "It explains why you're such a good teacher."

"A teacher?"

"My teacher's explanations are way worse than yours. You're more patient than him for sure," the girl laughed at the apparent shock in his face. "Maybe a dojo would suit you better."

"Oh, I could see that," Sango added.

Like a charm, Shippo took over the conversation, cheerfully taking over as he fired one question after another about her professors and both traditional and modern days, only to jump and begin asking the young warrior about his world. Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the slight awkwardness in Itachi's responses. Inuyasha refused to join the conversation, but at least, he wasn't grumbling too much. It would be better if the hanyou could stop sending annoyed glares their way, but the girl was optimistic, not naive.

For the inu-hanyou to open up, it'd take far more than just a few weeks of forced interactions, and she knew he had to be irritated with the young man's easy acceptance, but she didn't want to ruin her mood by trying to appease him.

Coming across those merchants had really been a stroke of luck.

It clearly wasn't just the girl who was looking forward to finally getting some decent rest because both Sango and Miroku had been happy to wave away training for the day, and even Itachi only agreed to work with her for about thirty minutes. At this point, even Inuyasha had lighted up a little, adding a word or two as he slurped his ramen. Not that the hanyou was helping her clean up for the night, but everyone else was pitching in.

Even if they found no new leads, they'd probably end up having to pick up the speed for the next couple of days. She couldn't stay in the side of the well for months at a time; even the three weeks she'd planned for was pushing it a little. There was a limit on what she could cram in an hour or two of studies. And that was on the days she did have enough time for that in the first place. Going from what the young warrior had mentioned this afternoon, it likely wouldn't take him too long to group the entirety of her curriculum as long as he got his hands on the right books. Honestly, the girl was confident Itachi would go through an entire library to help her if she were to ask for help, but reading was one of the few things he seemed to show genuine interest in, the last thing she wanted was to have him choose what he chose to research.

So long as it wasn't math-related.

The rest of her classes were her battles to fight.

Forcing back a yawn, the miko went to close her book; she'd carved some time to make up for lost time tomorrow. Algebra shouldn't take as much of her time now that she had the young warrior's explanations so she could afford to give her other classes more attention. Carelessly shoving the book into her yellow bag, azure eyes turned up, trying to get one look at the stars before freezing. She didn't need to look at him to know Inuyasha was frozen still at the other side of camp.

Because there was no missing the trio of shinidamachuu hovering above the trees.

Kikyo was calling for him.

Trembling fingers clenched around rough fabric. The background noise of her friends moving around camp, preparing to go to sleep had quieted down, vanishing and letting silence blanket the camp, even as she could feel shame rising inside her. Everyone had noticed now. They had to be staring at her, waiting for her reaction, and it felt like her face was burning.

He would leave, he always did.

As paranoid as Inuyasha had been acting lately, he'd likely pretend he'd stay only to leave when everyone was sleeping. That was as much as she could hope. Waking up to his empty spot on camp would only hurt her more.

"Go to her, Inuyasha." Her voice was cold, unnaturally calm. "We can handle keeping watch."

"I…I don't…"

"Just leave!" She didn't want this to go on. The faster he left, the faster she could pretend this didn't affect her. "That's what you want to do, and we'll be fine for a single night, so don't keep her waiting."

He didn't say anything; the sound of rustling branches her only reply.

"Kagome-chan?"

"I'm taking first watch."

Roughly pulling on her bag pack, she took her discarded book back out, pretending she didn't know her friends were looking at her, concerned and worried but too cautious to break her silence again. Instead, the low noise of resumed activity reacher her ears.

Azure eyes pointlessly stared at a random page, the printed words not making any sense.

Shame and pain twisted into one, and the empty space within her throbbed once more in a bitter reminder of the splintered part of her soul that remained out of her reach. No one could be blamed but her. Kikyo's path didn't always overlap with theirs, but the undead miko made her presence known often enough that this whole thing almost felt like a part of their routine. And yet, somehow, it seemed like Kagome had managed to forget about during those last few days only to have reality slap her in the face as if it was punishment for daring to forget. Because, of course, he'd leave them, leave her. All of his jealousy amounted to was irritation and sometimes insults.

Thin paper crinkled under her hold; the girl paid it no mind. Her spiraling thoughts were too loud, drowning the sound.

Demanding the hanyou to make a choice or return her affection would be unfair. Kikyo died for him, of course, he'd feel responsible, and now that their misunderstanding was fixed, it was natural for Inuyasha to care about her.

But…was it fair to ask her to keep waiting when every time this happened, Kagome could feel the thorns around her heart squeezed a little harder?

Love wasn't something that could be controlled, and before she'd known it, their daily squabbles turned into something more, and the girl began to hide for his gaze to soften when he looked at her. It was more than the simple crush she'd once had for Hojo. It wouldn't hurt this much if her feelings were to lack depth. How could they not be when everyone could so clearly tell how much she wanted to fall apart? Love was meant to be unconditional, so she'd taken what she could and kept her word of remaining by his side. It was fine…wasn't it?

What if it was Sango? Or Eri? Or Ayumi?

Gods, was this what she'd been reduced to? Closing her eyes and praying for Inuyasha to return before sunrise while biting her tongue?

If anyone else had come to her and told her this situation, Kagome would've told them to give up on this because no one was worth suffering from the all-consuming anxiety this sort of never-ending waiting game. Her friends in the modern era complained about him cheating, but the reality was worse. Inuyasha had never returned her feelings. From the very start, this had always been a one-sided, pitiful attraction. For months now, Kagome had stubbornly held on to hope, even when a part of her already knew how pathetic this must look from the outside, scrambling for any crumble of love that was thrown her way.

She'd lost sight of herself; there was no way to deny it, but Kagome had pinned the blame for that on the Shikon. After all, regardless of her messy emotions, hunting Naraku and finding a way to ensure the jewel couldn't hurt anyone else would always be placed first. Of course, her life goals would end up forgotten as she got swept into the whirlwind of this fantastical quest. There was no time to think about her career options when a village may be destroyed if she took too long at home. But maybe that wasn't the full picture. Perhaps, without even noticing, she'd also been carving out pieces of herself every time she bit her tongue and willed her tears not to flow. After all, why try to train and get stronger if, when all was said and done Kagome would never be as strong or clever as Kikyo. Never as beautiful. She'd convinced herself not to care about improving her skills and became content with staying on the sidelines, waiting with a smile despite knowing he'd never be able to see only her.

For what? What on earth was she getting out of this?

When she spoke, he hardly listened; her opinions and suggestions were discarded without a second thought more often than not…hell, faking tears was usually the only way to get him to let her go back home unless she wanted to get the others involved because Inuyasha…he wanted her enough to be annoyed and scare away other male around her, but not enough to stay by her side when the undead miko called for him.

For months, she tried to be understanding. The reason he didn't care about her studies was because he was concerned she wouldn't return; with the sort of childhood Inuyasha had, of course, he'd worry about being abandoned. He wasn't taught how to express his feelings, so him choosing barbs and half-hearted insults shouldn't be surprising. Was she supposed to remain a toy he only wanted when someone else paid attention to her?

Maybe…maybe refusing to let go had been a mistake.

Doing her best to keep her word and stay by his side, helping him, however, didn't mean Kagome had to keep strangling her own heart. Because if this was how much she'd lost of herself in just a few months, it scared her to even think what would be left of her if this went on. That version of her…probably wouldn't even be recognizable.

Soft and tentative, rough fingers brushed her damp cheeks.

Broken out of her spiraling thoughts, Kagome almost jumped back, barely stopping herself as she saw dark onyx return her startled gaze, and the heat of embarrassment fought off the night's chill. Everyone should've fallen asleep already. It was one thing to handle the concern in their eyes whenever this happened, but at least the girl made sure no one could see her cry over it. Rushed movements had her turning away, roughly wiping away tears she hadn't even noticed she'd spilled. Excuses died on her tongue as she looked at Itachi. He was kneeling in front of her, his hand not fully lowered and what could only be a pained expression on his face. Odds were he'd figured out the gist of what was going on even without the details. Kagome knew the young warrior was smart and the pitiful picture she made wasn't hard to understand. As she dared to gaze back, there was no pity to be found.

Hesitant, she looked down.

Making sure to keep the group's spirits up was part of her role. Sango, Miroku, Shippo…Inuyasha, they were all dealing with far more pain and fear; the last thing she wanted was for them to carry the extra burden. A broken heart wouldn't kill her, no matter how much it might feel like it. Besides, even if they saw her like this, there was no villain to vanquish or curse to lift. As long as she could will herself to smile in the morning, they'd follow her lead and by now they couldn't tell how forced her cheer would by tomorrow night. It was exactly what Kagome wanted. There was no need for them to watch her fall apart.

Not when they could do nothing to help her put the pieces back together.

Itachi had helped her before, though…hadn't he?

More than that, he'd seen through a mask even her friends couldn't see through, and it was his advice that got her to start moving again. It was supposed to be her lending a helping hand, and she didn't want to dump all of her emotional issues on him, but she should at least explain what was going on. Glancing around to reassure herself that the others were still sleeping, the girl reached out, warmth seeping through as that increasingly comforting grip closed around hers, and he walked just one step behind her, away from camp. The silence that fell upon them was less oppressive compared to earlier, and a part of her was beyond thankful for the time she got to try and figure out how to explain the station without ending up a blubbering mess.

"Are we too far? They were close enough for a youkai to overhear them, but it's not like it mattered right now.

"It's fine. If anything gets close to camp, I'll notice."

"Good, I mean…" This was already a bad start. "Sorry, that must've been weird. Earlier, I mean…it probably felt like it came out of nowhere."

"There's no need for apologies. Truthfully, I'd never demand an explanation." His voice was soft as he shook his head.

"You should still know. After all, I got you involved in this mess." With a sigh, the girl leaned back on a tree, staying upright suddenly too much of a task. "In the…Elemental Nations, was it? What do they know about souls?"

"Some jutsus require one as the price, others grant control over them, although for the most part, those techniques are forbidden. I believe the Temple of Fire talks about them, but I wasn't particularly interested in religion." The young warrior was giving her time to think.

"Oh, that's fair. I never really paid that much attention to Gramp's stories before this," she said, her hands waving around meaninglessly. "Some youkais here eat souls or steal them, and of course, we have ghosts, souls who can't move on, and beings who guide them to the afterlife…and I'm rambling again."

"Anything you wish to share, I'll gladly listen to."

He was being honest, she could tell. Ever since they met, the warrior had been willing to listen to her worries with as much attention as he did her random chats. There really was no need to be so nervous.

"A few weeks after I fell down the well, a witch got the great idea to bring back the soul of the miko who used to guard the jewel. It'd make hunting for the shards easier if she could control her. The only issue was…her soul had already been reincarnated…in me." The girl faltered; it had been a while since the last time she told the whole story. "But there was still a way for it to work by taking it from me…oh! I managed to recover most of It, though, so I'm fine." Forcing a laugh, the girl tried to wave away the fact that she'd rushed to jump over the main issue. "But…with only a part of our soul, Kikyo's clay body can't sustain itself, the things we saw before, those are shinidamachuu, soul collectors, they look for souls of women who died while holding resentment in their hearts." Azure eyes refused to look up.

"Inuyasha…he feels responsible for her death, so this happens from time to time. Me getting upset, it's stupid, really." Her smile was the same one she used with the others because there was no need for anyone else to carry this.

"Don't…please, don't force yourself to smile."

Ah, he'd seen through her again…and he wasn't pretending not to notice.

She wasn't sure what happened first, but she supposed it didn't matter how she ended up falling apart, her barely restrained tears now freely slowing down her cheeks, holding on to his haori, because right now, Itachi felt like the only thing solid an real enough for her to lean on. No empty platitudes or panicked demands for her to stop crying left him as his arms went to warp around her. Instead, he simply listened to her surely incoherent ramblings, as for the first time since she was dragged down the well... she let go.

Not just of the pain of a broken heart but every fear and anxiety that she'd forced herself not to acknowledge. It all rushed out, shattering the barrier that might've remained.

For years, Itachi had seen glimpses of his butterfly's life. As a result, he'd gotten a mosaic understanding of her life. And yet, the Uchiha couldn't recall another time when she'd looked as frail as she did right now.

Within his arms, the young girl felt so small, almost weightless. After well over an hour, her breathing had evened out, and her tears finally stopped. She'd cried herself to sleep. He wasn't sure Kagome had even noticed he'd eventually guided her to sit on the grass. Only now did her grip on her haori seem to relax, although she hadn't let go of him yet. Pulling a little closer, dark eyes glanced at the stars peeking through the trees; his thoughts kept rampaging, her warmth a vital reminder that he had to be careful with his future actions. There was too much blood in his hand, too many sins on his back for him to covet the girl's affection, so one of the first things he'd resolved to do was to stay away from her personal affairs. So long as his butterfly was safe and happy, Itachi was satisfied. But this wasn't something he couldn't let go on.

In the shinobi world, fragility wasn't something that couldn't survive.

Ninjas were meant to be tools, weapons to be wielded by their villages or their clients, so any emotion that could endanger the mission should be pushed down. He truly had no experience in dealing with something like this. After the only other time he'd ever witnessed the girl break down in tears when her father passed, the Uchiha made sure to observe those around him, shinobis and civilians alike, in what he'd thought a pointless endeavor to better understand the girl. So when he noticed Kagome had begun to cry in silence, the teen couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her. It was clear this wasn't a new occurrence; while the others were obviously upset, no one seemed surprised by the sudden turn of events. Itachi himself had seen it happen before; there was no doubt in his mind that had he played along, the girl would've hidden all this pain behind a bright smile and pretended nothing was wrong by tomorrow morning.

Onyx landed on the patch of crimson staining his palm right before he could accidentally stain the light fabric of the girl's shirt. It was a good thing the priestess had been so out of it during her explanation because she would've likely gotten worried about him, and he didn't want to add to her burden just because his dull nails managed to break through his skin. But that had been the only way to stay quiet and still, as Kagome went on to nonchalantly mention she'd spent months living without a part of her soul with a wave of her hand and a smile on her lips.

It wouldn't be too difficult to trail the half-demon to free the rest of her soul.

Rash actions fueled by a burst of emotion would only end up hurting her in the long run. What she needed now was someone to lean on, so that's exactly what he'd do. Not that it changed the fact that he couldn't allow the girl's soul to remain splintered this way. Patience was something Itachi excelled at; he'd learned to bide his time and gain as much information as he could get on his opponent. With the sensitive nature of this situation, Itachi would rather not make assumptions since the beings in this world appeared to be far more confusing compared to those in the Elemental Nations.

Cautious not to jostle the sleeping priestess, he did his best to wipe his hand against the grass before holding her closer and standing up.

Unless he wanted to risk having the monk start looking for them, the Uchiha should start making his way back to camp. Both human members of their ragtag team seemed to struggle with split loyalties regarding the half-demon, although it seemed like they were concerned enough about the girl to silently ask him to look after her for the night. Split loyalties weren't something he was concerned about.

Establishing a decent connection with his butterfly's teammates was helpful when filling in the gaps in Kagome's training, but it wasn't something he'd been actively pursuing. The group's easy acceptance had been unexpected and a little awkward, but he'd known from the start that getting along with the half-demon would be unlikely. He'd glimpsed enough of their arguments to feel, at best indifferent. After this, however, it had turned into genuine dislike. The bitter emotions he'd been pushing down seemed to overflow. For over a decade, Itachi had resigned himself to being stuck on the other side of a one-way mirror, never even daring to dream about ever feeling her warmth. And yet, despite her affection towards the half-demon being so obvious, Inuyasha had proved tonight that he didn't care to have any sort of respect for the girl's feelings. Beyond that, the hanyou was content with allowing someone who had a massive incentive to harm Kagome once more to continue to exist. It'd been hard to fully understand what his butterfly had been saying once her tears began to flow, but it was enough to know the clay woman had already attempted to kill her before.

Perfect.

Through her sobs, Kagome had used that word over and over to describe her previous incarnation. Not bothering to repress his sacrifice his scoff now that his butterfly was peacefully sleeping. Itachi knew what perfection looked like. The Uchiha prodigy had been perfection. Perfection was nothing but gray; it swallowed him in cold monochrome. As he grew up, the Uchiha had realized how pointless it was to obsess over flaws. It was Kagome's vibrant emotions he'd fallen in love with. Exuberant and imperfect, his butterfly's colors were impossible to miss, and there was strength in her vulnerability that he couldn't help but be entranced by. She bravely fluttered her wings, regardless of how many storms there were in her way. It didn't matter if Kagome's soul had once belonged to her previous incarnation or if a shadow of that woman was walking the earth again, his butterfly's soul was Kagome's alone.

What's dead belonged to the dead.

Regardless of how many lives had been extinguished at his hands, those who should be prioritized were those who survived. Even if his parents were to be brought back, Itachi would never put their wishes over those of the living Sasuke or anyone else from the village, for that matter. Assuaging his guilt would never be worth endangering the living. Such a simple truth appeared to be too much for the half-demon.

Giving the two-tailed cat a nod when he entered camp, two bright red eyes blinked at him in acknowledgment before curling back into a ball and going to sleep. With a silent sigh, the Uchiha glanced around. Upset as she'd been, Kagome neglected to prep her sleeping bag, and she'd likely be embarrassed enough as it was without having her wake up still in his arms. Plus, the half-demon would cause a ruckus when he returned for sure. Gently, he laid her down on his bedding, covering her with his borrowed blanket. It would be better for her to get as much rest as she could get, but from what the Uchiha knew about her, Kagome would likely prefer to have the chance to clean herself up before anyone else could see her.

Dark eyes looked up as he sat beside the girl. The stars above him, so similar yet different from his own, offered little guidance for his next course of action. So far, he'd decided against testing the waters and stood back, letting the others deal with Inuyasha's temper, but the Uchiha wasn't sure he could allow this to continue. Everyone in this group wanted to make sure Kagome remained safe, but during fights, both the monk and the exterminator had their hands full handling themselves. The only one the girl could've relied on was the half-demon. And going from the way the male reacted to the wolf princess, it was evident that Inuyasha took pride in being the priestess' protector, even though he'd just shown how ill-equipped he was for the role. In an attempt to keep things calm, Itachi usually stayed in the back, only acting when it was clear Kagome would get hit, but perhaps it was time to start standing out a little more. The role of his butterfly's protector, Itachi would take it from the half-demon, and the Uchiha would make sure there would be no way for the hanyou to try and cling to her.

He hadn't wanted to get involved with Kagome's personal life. Caring as she was, it wouldn't surprise him if she tried to ask about his past, and the Uchiha was determined not to lie to her. If she decided his presence wasn't wanted anymore, Itachi would step back, and he didn't want her to feel lost or betrayed because of her. But she needed someone to lean on. From her words, it appeared it wasn't just heartbreak that caused this breakdown. This was likely the first time since she was dragged down the well the girl allowed herself to let go and show her fears and anxieties. With all of her teammates so used to living on the battlefield, they seemed to forget Kagome was a civilian. Having to go through so many life-threatening situations was taxing even for those trained to live in that violence; it was obvious the girl would struggle. Now that he was on the same side of the one-way glass, the Uchiha couldn't pretend he didn't see her suffering.

At least it didn't look like he'd have to convince his butterfly to start pulling away from the half-demon.

A/N: Sorry about the slight delay, but here we are, a pretty emotional chapter this time, but it had to happen.

As always thank you guys so much for reading and any and all review/comment/criticism is greatly appreciated.