I do not own Inuyasha or any of the supporting characters.

Sorry for the delay, things got a bit busy, but here is the latest chapter. I am working hard on the next one for you all. Please feel free to leave a review, I love hearing from you all!

Chapter 4

Inuyasha kept his distance after that night, but still stayed within the village. The only time he ventured out was with Miroku to defeat a demon terrorizing a nearby village, but he never went further. Kagome and he were able to talk, when necessary, but it mainly felt like the old days when they would hunt for jewel shards.

This morning, they had received word that a large demon had been attacking small shrines, Sango had suggested they all go together, but Inuyasha had said he and Miroku could handle it alone. That was almost six hours ago.

In the meantime, Kagome made herself busy with Shippo, helping him read a book, but the whole time they were reading, she was distracted. She sat there, but something felt off, she kept feeling the need to move, as if she had to be somewhere. Pushing the feeling aside, she continued focusing on Shippo's reading. A few minutes had passed, and she found her thoughts drifting again until her name was called, "Kagome?" Shippo said as he slowly closed the book and brought her back to the present.

She still sat under the tree they had been under and looked at him questioningly.

Looking down at the book with a small frown, he quickly shook his head and said, "mmm, never mind."

Getting her curious, she asked, "What is it?" giving him her full attention.

Taking a deep breath, he continued to look down as he asked, "You chose to stay here with us because of Inuyasha, but I heard you are giving up on him. I've always thought of you as my mom, but if you're going to be looking for someone else to be your mate, what happens if they dont want me? Inuyasha is like my dad with you, but if you're with someone else, will that mean you won't be my mom anymore?" his voice cracked and that broke her heart. She had been so selfish about her issues with Inuyasha, that she never stopped to think about the impact it would have on Shippo.

Opening her arms to him, he gladly went to snuggle against her as she said, "No matter what happens between me and Inuyasha, you will always be my son. And I won't speak for him, but I know he will always be there for you. Right now Inuyasha and I are going through some things, but I don't want you to worry about anything."

Snuggling into her hold further he said comfortingly, "Okay, and I figured he was just being a baka. He'll figure out a way to make things right again."

Smiling sadly at him, she said, "I'm sure he will," while deep in her heart she feared he wouldn't.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled as she came running towards them fully armored and ready for battle.

Getting up quickly she asked urgently, "what is it?! What's the matter, Sango?"

"Quick, we have to go help Miroku and Inuyasha, the demon was stronger than they thought," she explained as they quickly made their way back to Kagome's hut to get her bow and arrow. "A villager came running to call for us, Miroku had sent him, saying they needed help, both he and Inuyasha are injured and can't take him on alone."

Hearing Inuyasha was injured brought an instant discomfort to her chest that just festered there. She suddenly knew what she was feeling earlier, it was Inuyasha, it wasn't as strong as it was now, but it had been there. He was injured and it was like her body knew before her. Once in her hut she got her bow and arrow and quickly put on her old sneakers to be able to run faster. As she exited, she and Sango got on Kirara as she called out to Shippo, "go stay with Ren and Kaede, tell her to be ready with supplies, we don't know how injured they are, but it is better to be ready." Shippo was quickly on the move as they flew off, he knew what he had to do.

After flying for what felt like forever, though it was only about an hour, they could hear the demon's battle cries getting closer.

She suddenly heard the familiar, "Wind Scar!" As they reached the clearing, they saw the demon that was over 15 feet tall, surrounded by a dark aura. He had large hands, one of which had a sharp weapon, which had obviously been used on the others. On the left they saw Inuyasha blocking an attack with his Tessaiga, protecting Miroku who was crouched behind him holding his side, but was covered by Inuyasha's Fire-rat robe. Both were covered in blood and from the look of it, Inuyasha's left arm was injured, he was only using one arm to fend off the attacks. Jumping off Kirara, Kagome ran to them as Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at the demon.

"Inuyasha! Are you okay?" she asked as she got to his side. His face was bleeding from the left side, his eye barely opened from the swelling. Since he wasn't wearing his fire-rat robe, the blood along his hadagi looked bright red.

"Miroku is worse off, he has a broken leg and is bleeding from his abdomen, we need to end this, but my attacks don't work on him, they've been good for just blocking off his attacks. The aura around him is too strong to break through, it's acting like a barrier. Kagome, I need you to try to break through it, that way I can kill this bastard once and for all" he said, not taking his eyes off the demon.

Understanding him, she quickly got up and aimed her arrow at the demon just as he was about to swing for Sango and Kirara. Feeling her energy and reiki overflow, she took a deep breath and released the arrow. Within seconds the aura glowed, a bright light growing larger until it finally shattered the aura's barrier.

"Now you're mine fucker! WIND SCAR!" He yelled as he gave the final attack that made the demon burst into pieces.

"You did it!" Kagome exclaimed as she quickly turned towards him, but her excitement was short-lived as she saw him collapse to the ground, "Inuyasha!" Quickly dropping to her knees at his side, she called out, "SANGO! Quickly bring Kirara, we need to get them back to the village!" She saw blood was seeping through his clothes, he had been making light of his injuries. By looking at it, his abdomen had been punctured as well. Who knows how long he had been protecting Miroku.

When Kirara arrived with Sango, she quickly found two thick branches, tore off the bottom of her robe in strips and made a temporary splint for Miroku's leg. Removing the fire-rat robe from Miroku, she started checking his abdomen. He was bleeding, but thankfully, it appeared to have missed any vital organs. Using the obi from his robes, she folded his outer robe up towards the opening and placed the obi around to hold it in place until they made it back to Kaede's.

"Thank you, Kagome," he said as he winced while trying to get up with their help. "Please check Inuyasha, as soon as my leg was broken, he took most of the attacks trying to protect me as we waited for you ladies to arrive. Even more so without the protection of his fire-rat." Sango and Kagome helped him get on Kirara, who had helpfully lowered herself to make it easier for them. Sango continued to help him, making sure he was stable, while Kagome rushed back to Inuyasha.

He was still unconscious; he had definitely taken a lot of beating. Her heart felt heavy just looking at him. The left side of his handsome face was swollen and covered in blood that was coming from a nasty cut along the top of his forehead. She opened his hadagi to see the extent of his injuries and noticed his chest had a large gash that went from his left shoulder to his right upper abdomen. Below that was a puncture wound along his side that went straight through. Thankfully it was along his side and didn't hit his hip or any organs. She knew he was already healing, but it would take some time, especially with the extent of his injuries.

She wished she had brought some bandages, but she was in so much of a hurry to get to them that she completely overlooked the main reason they were called to them in the first place. She quickly took off her hanjuban, she still had on a tank top from her time under. It was difficult for her to still relinquish some of the clothing from her time. And good riddance too, since it would keep her covered while she was able to use her hanjuban to cover Inuyasha's chest and abdomen wounds. The blood would take a while to clean out, but she didn't care, his well-being was more important to her now.

Checking his left arm, it had been dislocated. With Sango's help she was able to sit him up and get it back in place. He grunted but remained unconscious, and she winced, not wanting him to feel the pain. Getting his fire-rat robe, she slowly tied it along his left arm as a makeshift sling. It was all she could do for now; she just hoped the trip wouldn't cause them too much pain.

The trip back took twice as long to get there, but when they arrived, Kaede, Rin, Shippo, and some of the village men were there waiting for them in a makeshift triage station near the huts. Laying both men on the floor, Kaede and Kagome got to work helping to bandage them up and placed healing herbs on the wounds.

They managed to move Miroku over to Sango and his hut so he could rest. When it came to Inuyasha, they looked to Kagome to ask where to take him and without hesitation she told them to take him to her hut so she could watch him until he woke up. Inuyasha had his own hut, but he hardly had anything in there. Other than a few items, and a few rugs to sleep on, he didn't have anything in there. He preferred to sleep on a tree making sure he was on high ground keeping an eye out for danger. Her hut was better equipped to help him be comfortable. No one questioned her decision and carefully took him to her hut, laying him on her bed.

Kaede brought her some water and rags so she could remove the dried blood from him. By this time, it was late into the evening and Kaede was looking tired already.

"Don't worry Kaede, I'll go ahead and clean the blood, you get some rest, you must be tired."
"Aye, it has been a while since we have had injuries this extensive. Are ye sure ye don't need any help?"

"I'll be fine," Kagome said as she continued to look at Inuyasha lying there unconscious.

Kaede watched Kagome silently for a moment, "Ye are very strong child. I know my sister has kept ye and Inuyasha from being happy, but I think once she finds her peace, ye both will be free to be happy."

Giving Kaede a sad smile, "I'm sorry Kaede, I know it must seem selfish on my part, especially since it is your sister, it was hard enough losing her once when you were young, I can't imagine what you must be going through now that she can't find peace."

Sighing sadly, she says, "She never chose to be brought back, but still I do not mourn her anymore. I hope she finds peace; she has deserved it after all this time. At least Naraku is finally gone, and Inuyasha tells me she is looking for a way to finally be at peace and be free of this world."

This was news to Kagome, frowning, she asked, "He told you this?"

"Aye, he has been going to her, so she won't be alone during these final days. From what I hear, she is close to finding a way. Well child, I will leave ye to care for him. Let me know if ye need help." With that, she left to her own hut to rest, leaving Kagome alone with Inuyasha.

Grabbing the water and rags, she began to slowly clean along his brow, removing the blood that had dried on there. Little by little the face she loves so much began to appear, even if swollen from the battle earlier. As she cleaned along his face, hairline, and neck, she wondered if Kikyo was close to finding a way to set her spirit free from this world. She could only imagine what Inuyasha must be feeling, knowing that soon he would not be able to see the love of his life again.

Sighing sadly, she continued to work. They had removed his hadagi earlier to tend to his wounds, so he was bare chested, and only the bandages were a stark contrast to his tanned skin. She began to clean along his muscles, she never failed to marvel at how handsome he was, how strong his body was. As she was cleaning below his belly button, he gave a soft moan, mumbling something she couldn't understand. It wasn't a moan of pain, but of pleasure. The sound alone did things to her, but she pushed the feelings aside. Ignoring the fact that the last time they had been together in her hut, he had kissed her so passionately, she had felt the desire he felt for her as he had rubbed against her. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and when she opened them, she was met by a pair of golden eyes. He was awake.