Welcome back again, my dears! Hope you're all staying warm this season, or that you're already somewhere warm if you aren't! Your reviews on the last chapter were so lovely and uplifting. I'm always glad to hear from you, so it means a lot how invested so many of you are in this story. And thank you as well for the holiday wishes! I always respond to every signed review if the feature's enabled, because I truly appreciate them so much.

You may have noticed this, but I've now added titles to every chapter :) If you ever decide to go back and check them out, you'll notice a pretty clear "trend" with them, haha.

Without any further ado, let's dive into the new chapter! Enjoy.

It had been a handful of days since they'd all returned from the Council gathering, and though things were quite calm, a mild gloominess had settled over the village. This was likely owing to how reserved its priestess had become. For, following the conversation with Kaede, Kagome had grown somewhat quieter and prone to being lost in thought.

One morning, Inuyasha showed up as Kagome was sweeping the steps of the shrine with her broom.

"Hi, Inuyasha," she said pleasantly. His presence was among the things that helped lift her spirits. He'd been lending a hand as much as ever, even coming around every day.

"Hey," he said. She noted that there was more color in his face than usual. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"No more than usual," she said, surprised. "Why?" He'd never asked anything like that before.

"Well," he said, uncharacteristically hesitant, "you know that lake that's in the middle of the forest? The one with the small creek?

"Yeah," Kagome said, intrigued.

"I wanted to ask if you'd meet me there. I mean if you ain't busy." He was strangely breathless, Kagome noticed. Had he been helping carry wood again...?

"Oh!" she said. "How come?"

She watched as Inuyasha lifted a hand and scratched his head, lowering his eyes a bit. "There's something I wanna tell you."

"Oh." Kagome's voice was softer this time. Inexplicably, her cheeks began warming. "Is it ... is it about something to do with... us?" she asked deliberately. She couldn't help but ask that. Any talk of "figuring out her feelings" had all but ceased after what Kaede had told them about the Jewel, and maybe this was his way of wanting to bring it back.

Inuyasha met her eyes. She could see that his were gleaming with an anticipation she rarely saw. "Yeah," he said at last. "Yeah, you could say that."

Her heartbeat sped up. "Why not... why not just say it here, then?" she asked. Did she have to wait until tomorrow?

He cleared his throat. "I'd rather not say it in the village. It's not something I can just tell ya. It's more something I'd have to show you, too."

Kagome's cheeks burned now. Maybe he going to finally kiss her again, like she'd wanted. Maybe he couldn't tell her how he felt without doing that too. She knew things had been left unfinished between them. It had upset her to do, but how could she just resume them after finding out that the Shikon Jewel had grown attached to her? Over the past several days, all she'd been able to think about was what that meant for her and the life she would have to live. She'd felt foolish for even entertaining the possibility that she could have feelings for any man. And then, Inuyasha was a demon. As long as the Jewel was her responsibility, nothing and nobody else could take precedence in her life. It wouldn't be fair, and she didn't want to lead him on: that is, if there was even a chance that he was feeling the same things she thought she was, whatever they may be.

Therefore, she hadn't had the courage to bring anything up to Inuyasha again. And he hadn't pressed her either. Kagome didn't blame him: what else could he do? He wasn't the type to force such an issue with no encouragement from her.

That was why she was feeling such a rush of relief to hear what he said now. It was as if he was reassuring her that this was okay. She'd been too afraid to hope, but now here he was, rescuing her again. She'd felt selfish to be worrying about her own feelings in the wake of what Kaede had told them. But this made her feel like she was allowed to.

"Okay," she said, a shy smile spreading across her face.

Seemingly encouraged, Inuyasha grinned too.

"Great," he said. "Tomorrow, then. Come a little before sunset, before it gets dark. Is that okay?"

Kagome nodded, her grip on the broom tightening with excitement. It made sense that he wanted her there before dark: it was safer that way, and once they were together, even if they were attacked, he could protect her. Talking while away from the village would also finally give them privacy. They'd kept getting interrupted the other day, after all.

"Do you need help with that?" he asked, pointing to the broom.

"Oh, no," Kagome said hastily, resuming her sweeping again. "I'll be done soon. It's not like it was that dirty."

She smiled at him again, which he returned. Her eyes traveled to the beads around his neck, and her heart swelled. Had she even seen him without them ever since she gave them to him?

"You don't have to wear those every day, you know," she said shyly. "You can take them off whenever you want."

Inuyasha followed her gaze to the beads, and then looked up, seeming surprised at her suggestion. "I don't plan on taking 'em off," he shrugged. "Why would I? You made them for me."

Kagome blushed, if possible, even more deeply. He was so sweet, and he didn't even know it. She looked away and cleared her throat noisily, focusing on sweeping the leaves and dust off the steps. As awkward as she felt, she was grateful for it. She'd been so downcast over the last several days, she wasn't sure if she could react like this anymore. It seemed like Inuyasha had no trouble causing this effect on her.

I wonder what he's going to say tomorrow, she thought. I hope he does kiss me again. She gave her head a little shake at that. Stop it, Kagome, she chided herself. Don't put the cart before the horse. For all you know, he's going to tell you the kiss was a mistake and he doesn't want the whole village to be horrified or make fun of you when he does.

She tried to cast her mind for something to fill the lull in the conversation.

"Mrraow."

She looked up in time to see the Buyo nudging Inuyasha's ankles with his head. She smiled, gratified that he'd shown up. Snickering, Inuyasha bent down and lifted his roly-poly body up, cradling Buyo as he purred loudly.

Technically, they're a good example of a cat and a dog getting along, Kagome thought, watching with amusement as Inuyasha pet him. It was quite nice to see how familiar the shrine cat had become with him. It felt like Inuyasha was starting to belong in the village.

"This guy's a glutton for for attention," Inuyasha said.

Kagome giggled. "He just really likes you," she said smiling. "And who could blame him?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Listen, uh. Kagome."

"Yeah?"

"What I wanna say to you tomorrow. It... it might be a lot. A lot to take in, I mean."

Kagome nodded, curious, but decided to hold off on asking more. It was clear he didn't want her to know until tomorrow. "It's okay," she said at last. "I understand. Thanks for asking me, Inuyasha," she added. "I know I've been down in the dumps lately. I wasn't sure if you'd even still want to spend time with me while I'm like this. So I'm glad that you do."

"I get it," Inuyasha said, his eyes soft. "You've been going through it."

Kagome sighed. "It's helped, having you here. You make things better just by being around."

"Yeah? For real?" he said eagerly, taking even Kagome aback with how pleased he looked.

"Of course," said Kagome, thrilled. "Haven't I made that clear already?"

Smiling, he looked back down at Buyo, scratching his ears. "You have. It's just good to know I've got things right. That's why I decided to tell you this."

Kagome nodded, feeling as though she knew what he meant. But just for good measure, she thought she should say something else. "I... I didn't want you to think that I'd forgotten what we were about to do that day," she said in a small voice, blushing again. "It's not that I didn't want us to anymore."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to clear his throat noisily. "Right," he said awkwardly. "I didn't think you had." He wished he could say more than that, but he held his tongue. He didn't want to do anything before it was all out in the open.

It made sense to him now, why he'd initially been hesitant about kissing her again before. It didn't feel right to do it with her still in the dark. That was why, in a twisted way, as disappointed as he was when they kept getting interrupted, Inuyasha was glad it didn't happen in the end. He realized he wanted her to choose to kiss him even after knowing the truth. Which, if he was lucky, she would end up choosing after tomorrow.

Kagome didn't seem to mind his silence. Smiling, she said, "Since things have been pretty quiet, I was thinking of visiting Mama and Sota again in a few days. You're welcome to come, too."

Inuyasha tried not to let on how taken aback he was. "Sure," he said after a pause. "That would be cool." He allowed himself another smile, scratching Buyo behind the ears. She was already so kind and accepting of him. Was it possible that he was being too cautious about this? Maybe, after hearing what he had to say, seeing what he had to show her, Kagome's feelings wouldn't change. Maybe to her, he would still be someone she'd invite to visit her family with her.

Tomorrow hadn't come soon enough.

Kagome rushed throughout the day to get her tasks done. There wasn't any more to do than usual, but, somewhat unexpectedly, Inuyasha hadn't shown up to help that day. Perhaps it was because they were going to meet by the lake anyway, or he needed time to prepare whatever it was. In any case, Kagome's excitement carried her through the mundaneness of it all. if Kaede could tell that she was anticipating something, she kept quiet about it. Kagome made sure the arrows were sharpened, the herbs picked and assorted, the talismans prepared, and of course, the Jewel purified, before she informed Kaede that she would be back in a few hours.

It was still light out when Kagome set off, and the sun would set soon. She was glad she was doing just as Inuyasha had asked. She tried to ignore the beating of her heart; she was so glad he had asked her to meet him. Despite how nervous she was, as far as she knew Inuyasha, there was no way he would say anything cruel or unkind to her. Kagome still tried not to get her hopes up too much, though, she wasn't sure what it would even mean to get her hopes up in this kind of situation. What did she want Inuyasha to tell her? It had been in the back of her mind all day, but all she kept coming back to was that she was happy she would get to spend some time alone with him.

She had made it as far as the Bone-Eater's Well when the shrieks rang out. It was half a second later when the youki struck Kagome's senses. She turned her head just in time to see a horde of demons swarming the village from the other side.

Kagome's jaw dropped. She stood, rooted to the ground as her blood curdled.

No.

It was large. Larger than the one from the day Sota was kidnapped. Larger than the one from some time ago, when she'd first met Inuyasha. The only horde she'd faced which had been more numerous was the one in the forest all those months ago, right before she became the Shikon Miko.

Kagome found her legs, and with all the strength she could muster, forced them to run in the direction she had come from.

Why tonight?!

Things had been so peaceful, and since she'd been going to see Inuyasha anyway, she hadn't brought many arrows. It wasn't too late: the swarm wouldn't make it there until after she'd retrieved her weapons, because they'd been approaching from the other side. But that in itself was troubling. They had always gone for the Jewel first. This was the first time they'd chosen to pass through the village.

Kagome blinked back tears as she sprinted closer.

It'll be all right. Inuyasha should be here soon.

The lake wasn't all that close, but Kagome knew how sharp his hearing and sense of smell was. If he hadn't smelled the yokai and heard the screams yet, he would before long. He was fast enough that he'd make it here before dark, which would only be in a handful of minutes.

Kagome raced up the steps and ran into the shrine just as Kaede was emerging, armed and ashen herself. They could do barely more than acknowledge each other; the demons were closing in. Kagome raced into her room and seized another, taking just a second to ensure that this one was full.

Before stepping back out, she reached out for her beni, then paused, her hand inches from it.

She'd always worn the beni before a major fight ever since acquiring it. But would it be a good idea to put it on now? It may waste a few seconds, but on top of that, how would it look when Inuyasha got here? She didn't want him to see her wearing something another man had given her, she realized. Not today. He'd already asked before if she preferred him. He'd asked her to meet him today, especially. What if he showed up only to see that she was still thinking of someone else, even after that?

Even if we can't talk yet, when Inuyasha comes, I want him to know I'd thought of no one but him.

Kagome withdrew her hand from the beni and ran back outside without having even touched it.

She sprinted down the steps of the shrine and towards the midst of the village. The demons still hadn't made it through. With a sickening feeling, Kagome realized they were taking their time. The villagers were all fleeing, rushing indoors, barricading themselves in and calling to one another in terror.

Kagome shot an arrow into a group of yokai, blasting them to bits. She spotted Kaede, holding off a few of them who pursued some feeling villagers, and ran over to her.

"What are they doing?" she cried as she drew near her old teacher. "Why don't they go for the Jewel right away?"

"I do not know, but we must draw them away from here, and to the shrine," Kaede gasped, already tired. "Otherwise the villagers' lives will be in danger."

Kagome nodded, concentrating on firing her arrows, grateful that her aim was so masterful, because it was difficult to reach the slithering, squirming demons when they were in such close proximity to the villagers and their homes. At least most of them had already made it indoors, or were well on their way. Again and again, her purifying light penetrated their thick, scaly hides, felling dozens of them to the ground. But more demons replaced them as quickly as they were defeated.

"Nee-chan!"

Kagome's heart sank as she turned in the direction of the voice. Alarm filling her body, she saw Sota hurtling towards her, something that looked like a knife in his hand.

"There's too many of 'em! Let me help, I'll drive them off with you-"

"Sota, get back!" Kagome shrieked. Wasting no time, she lunged forward and shoved Sota hard, hurling him back just in time for him to evade the bared fangs of a lizard-like yokai. As he struggled to get to his feet, she only had time to say, "Hurry home to Mama. Don't come outside, either of you!"

She wrenched her focus from him and back to the demons. It tore at her that she couldn't even see whether he'd done as she said or not. Taking her eyes off this horde for even one more instant could be fatal. To her shock, she saw that they'd even started diving headfirst into some of the houses, causing damage in their wake. Why were they behaving so peculiarly this time, she wondered as she shot them down? They'd always attacked nearer to the shrine before this.

And then, with a pang, it came to her, as though she'd needed the interaction with Sota to realize this: what if their target wasn't the Jewel this time? They were here, in the thick of the village, threatening all its inhabitants because they knew it would force Kagome to protect them. They knew it would be harder for her to pick them off when she had to simultaneously avoid harming the humans. She would struggle more to slay the demons that way, making herself more vulnerable. What if this was the very thing that they wanted? What if their target tonight was her?

The Shikon Jewel would no longer have its protector that way, Kagome realized with horror. Their path would be clear.

A group of the village men, including Rikichi, surrounded Kagome and Kaede with axes, rakes, and other makeshift weapons, while Kagome could see some other men engaging with the yokai at various points of the village, trying to beat them back.

"Rikichi-san, you all need to find shelter," Kagome said urgently. "Fight them off while fleeing if you must. But the goal should be to find safety, don't worry about us! Inuyasha will-"

"We will defend you and our village until he arrives, Kagome-sama," Rikichi declared firmly. "When will we ever be of use to you?"

Kagome swallowed, and nodded, moved by his words.

Hurry, Inuyasha, she thought desperately. Night had already fallen.

Looking up at the sky, she saw with a sinking that there was no moon tonight. Save for the burning torches some of the villagers had managed to put up, it was dark.

What was keeping him? He ought to have been here by now. Could he have been attacked on the way? She turned to see Kaede staring at her, a look of urgency on her stark-white face. There seemed to be something on her mind.

"Kagome," Kaede began deliberately.

"We'll drive them back, baa-chan," Kagome said bravely. "It'll take a while, but with Rikichi-san and the others, we have a chance."

Inch by inch, they budged on forwards towards the shrine, although it felt like it would take forever. Kagome's abundant reiryoku heavily outclassed any of the demons' powers, but their main strength was in numbers, and they were counting on it to overwhelm her.

Sweat soon poured from Kagome's forehead, but she was grateful that they hadn't been able to land a single scratch on her. To save her arrows, she alternated them with bolts of purifying energy that she shot out of her palms, disintegrating her foes. Though Kaede's powers were not nearly as potent as hers, her expert marksmanship helped: she was able to fire arrows directly into the demons' weak spots, handicapping them long enough to allow the village men to pick them off with their weapons.

"Aaaah!"

Distracted, Kagome turned just in time to see Juro falling to the ground, weapon discarded as his hands scrambled to stymie a gash in his side that gushed blood.

Horror struck her bones. Never, never before had she witnessed anyone injured in a demon attack since the day she had become miko to this village. The sight rattled her to the core. What would Chiaki think?

But there was no time to waste. Some of the men had already gathered to Juro's side, in a panic for what to do next.

"Rikichi-san!" Kagome burst out. "You and the others bring Juro-san to safety. And then find somewhere to hide! No one is to stay out here with us now."

"But Kagome-sama-"

"Now," she yelled firmly. "I won't let anybody die here. You've all done enough. Everyone is to get themselves to safety, and that's final!"

Swallowing, the men nodded. Supporting Juro between them, they hurried away and out of sight.

I won't let what happened to Papa happen to anyone else, Kagome resolved, her head spinning as she remembered her own words on why she chose this path. This is why I became a priestess. These demons won't take away a single one of our villagers as long as I'm standing.

Together, she and Kaede began firing arrows into the night.

Where are you? her heart cried out.

It made no sense. He ought to have been here ages ago. They would have gained the upper hand easily. They were not losing now, but they were practically deadlocked. Still, Kagome did not falter. She fought on. But why on earth wouldn't Inuyasha have arrived to helped, when he had done so countless times before, for dangers that were far less extreme? She hoped against hope that he wasn't hurt. But what if it was something else? Had he abandoned them? The situation was so dire and unprecedented, all kinds of possibilities swarmed in her frenzied mind. What if he'd planned on leaving this village, having completed his task of repaying whoever he was supposed to be repaying? What if that was why he'd summoned Kagome, and his intention had only been to say goodbye? What if, when she didn't show up, he just set off as planned, missing the attack? As out of character as it was, she couldn't help but wonder.

And then a most dreadful thought struck her.

What if his plan had been to lure her away from the village? What if he'd known about this, and wanted her out of the way so she wouldn't be hurt? Worse, what if he just wanted her out of the way so that other yokai could steal the Jewel, just as Hitomiko had feared?

Shame and disgust filled Kagome's body as soon those vile thoughts entered it.

What's wrong with me? Kagome was aghast. How could I even imagine such a thing? There's no way Inuyasha would do that. He has to have been hurt, or he's just gone, anything but that!

She glanced at Kaede, who was eyeing her again. Strangely, it seemed like she knew what was on Kagome's mind.

"Kagome, Inuyasha-"

"It doesn't matter," Kagome interrupted. "If he hasn't come yet, he probably won't. I'm sure there's a good reason, but we can't think about that right now! We need to focus."

To her immense relief, the demons' numbers were dwindling. They were moving further and further away from the villagers' homes and closer towards the shrine. Of course, there was the chance that they'd just rush towards the Jewel when they did, it was a chance Kagome would need to take. She glanced over at Kaede repeatedly, making sure that she was holding up. The old woman was panting and wheezing heavily, clearly in dire shape. They had been fighting for hours already. Kagome felt horribly guilty to see the state of her. She felt responsible for it: after all, she was the one who'd sent the men away, so that they could only rely on themselves. But she knew Kaede supported her decision. This just meant that Kagome would need to work harder to not only defeat the yokai, but watch Kaede's back as well.

Soon, she was gasping for breath, her hair coming undone, the blood of demons spattered on her garb. The shrine was in sight, and there were still scores of demons remaining. Any moment now, they could catch on to her plan and either turn back to the village, or make for the Jewel. That couldn't be allowed to happen, Kagome realized. She knew what she had to do next.

She faced Kaede, determined.

"There's nothing else for it, Kaede baa-chan," she said. "I'm going to put up a barrier."

Kaede's eyes, bloodshot and weary, widened. Understanding filled them, and she nodded.

Swallowing, Kagome raised her hand before her face, and rapidly chanted the incantation in her head.

As she did so, her heart wept. Putting up the barrier would prevent the demons from leaving. But it also meant that no other demons could enter. Erecting a barrier all but ensured that Inuyasha would not be able to help them, even if he tried. Only humans could pass through this particular barrier: none with yokai blood could penetrate it. She'd done this to give Kaede the option to flee. One of the reasons why Kagome had resisted this recourse until now was because part of her had been holding out hope that he would show up after all. But now, it was time to let go.

The barrier descended over them, forming a pale-blue translucent dome that enclosed them with the demons. Kagome was confident that it would be powerful enough to keep them out. But her heart felt so heavy. Had it really been just yesterday when she'd been so full of hope, of excitement? When Inuyasha had smiled at her, asked her to meet him alone, and made her feel as though tonight, their relationship might take a significant turn? Now she'd cost herself the chance to see him again tonight. Though Kaede had been a source of support all night, she was faltering considerably, and now she was more of a hindrance than a help. Kagome was the sole fighter now. She was alone. Inuyasha was not coming. And now he couldn't even make a difference if he did.

She continued shooting her arrows, picking off what remained of the demons. There were still so many. But she tried to feel encouraged by the fact that there were only about several dozen left now, when there had been hundreds not too long ago. Without wasting a breath, Kagome fought on.

A shrill cry of agony distracted her. She whipped her head around only to see Kaede finally fall to the ground by the body of a half-sliced demon writhing with one of the older priestess' arrows in its side. Kagome's mouth opened in a silent scream at what she saw. Kaede's hand clutched at her left eye, blood spilling over her fingers from all sides.

"Kaede baa-chan!"

"I'm... I'm all right," she murmured. "Don't... don't let them get ye, child..."

Kagome's heart pounded in her ears. Her mind swarmed with panicked thoughts as she stood in front of Kaede, shielding her with her body as she continued firing her arrows.

What should I do? What should I do?!

There were still so many of them, even as Kagome relentlessly slew whichever ones were left. Every few seconds, she turned to check on Kaede, who knelt on the ground, trying to staunch the flow of blood. The demon she'd slain had disappeared, but her bow was at her side now: she was unarmed.

The blood's flowing too quickly. She could become unconscious, and the demons would devour her. What if she's lost her eye? The wound could get infected. She's old. The infection could travel to her brain and turn lethal in just hours. I can't leave her like this. I've got to do something!

Her own safety be damned. Kaede needed her.

For the first time that night, Kagome flung her weapons to the ground. Falling to her knees, she placed her hands above Kaede's face and began concentrating her energy on healing her wound. Maybe she could do it quickly enough to pick up her weapons again in time to defend herself.

"Nay, child," Kaede rasped. "Don't! Ye leave yourself open to attack!"

Kagome shook her head, ignoring Kaede's orders even as tears sprang to her eyes. She could sense the flow of blood ceasing, and she was relieved that Kaede's life would be saved. The wound was almost healed. Despite this, she couldn't help but hate the fact that this happened right under her nose.

But there were more pressing things to be concerned about now.

The demons cackled and hissed with glee. They knew that both priestesses were vulnerable now.

Hurry... hurry! Kagome silently implored the injury. It was so close. She snatched up her bow with one hand, imbuing it with reiryoku.

Gleefully, the yokai all joined together in one group. Kagome could sense this even though her back was turned: they clearly intended for this to be a deadly strike.

The wound was seconds from healing completely.

I'm going to make it!

"Kagome!" Kaede gasped, seizing her wrist in desperation.

Kagome turned just as the wound healed, and to her horror, witnessed the demons shooting towards them, the largest one, a purple snakelike yokai with pincers jutting out of its mouth, at their helm.

It was too late. Shutting her eyes, Kagome wrapped her arms around Kaede and waited for impact. She had done all she could do. If she was going to die, it would be with pride, knowing she had fought to the very end and done her duty by the villagers.

Amid the sound of approaching yokai, the sudden sound of rushing footsteps met her ears. Confused, Kagome opened her eyes to see a dark, blur of a figure burst through the barrier.

Before she could say or do a thing, the figure raced towards her, moving too fast to even see clearly.

But the long flowing black hair, and those silver irises that glowed in the darkness were unmistakable.

"Tsuya, what are you doing here?" Kagome screamed. "Run! Run, before you-"

Her voice died in her throat as she figure leapt over her head swiftly. In the next second, its foot connected with the demon leading the charge against her and Kaede, splitting its head clean off.

Kagome's mouth fell open. Her bow fell from her hand. She watched as he landed in the midst of the demons, and kicked the rest of them mercilessly, with startling, inhuman strength. His back was to her. But he moved with frightening speed. Her eyes wide and mystified, Kagome watched him seize the yokai's wriggling forms, two, three, four at a time, and shred them apart with his bare hands. The demons shrieked and flailed; some of them darting to attack him, others attempting to flee. Of those trying to evade him, a few crashed into the barrier and were incinerated in reiryoku. The others attempted to redirect their aggression towards Kagome, and the newcomer snatched them out of the air within seconds, not even allowing them a chance at her.

Wordlessly, Kagome sat there, still embracing the hunched-over Kaede. His assault on the demons was so brutal. She'd never seen anything like it. The Tsuya she knew was not capable of such strength, such raw power. And yet... why did it look familiar?

He straightened up and stomped the remainder of the yokai to smithereens with his bare feet. Before she knew it, the last demon evaporated. It was just as the first light of the morning began peeking over the horizon: Kagome realized they'd been fighting until dawn. The man had arrived mere minutes ago, and he'd already dispatched of the dozen-odd yokai that threatened her life. Kagome was filled with gratitude, but also confusion. She had nothing but questions.

But he stood quite still. She could hear him breathing; long, measured breaths. He seemed to be doubting his next move. Or rather, he seemed to be gearing up for it.

Then, slowly, he turned towards Kagome and met her gaze.

Kagome opened her mouth to thank him.

Then her voice died in her throat when she finally saw who stood there.

The grey eyes, the black hair, the tan skin... they were all there. But with them was a face so unmistakable, Kagome could hardly believe what she was seeing. How had she never seen it before? The diamond-shaped eyes, the nose, those shapely lips, even the two thick locks of hair that rested on his shoulders. Above all, the way he was looking at her. The intensity, familiarity of his gaze. All of it called to her in a way that no one else ever had nor could.

"Inu...Yasha?" Kagome whispered in a daze.

She was hardly in control of her words, but uttered his name all the same. How could it be Inuyasha? But at the same time, how could it be anyone else? Still, this didn't make sense... there was no youki.

Only... that wasn't true, was it? Even as she'd thought those words, she could sense a massive amount of youki rapidly filling his form.

And then the sun itself emerged above the horizon.

The rays of light shone upon him, illuminating him to her. And then his whole body pulsed with a strange, ethereal energy. It was as if light rays were projecting from his very frame. Kagome watched, spellbound, as silvery-white hues traversed up his gleaming black hair, dramatically lightening the ends all the way to the roots. She could see the nails on his fingers sharpening into claws. His hair blew in the breeze, and moments later, those triangular canine ears appeared where they hadn't been all this time.

His eyes had been shut throughout it all. Once everything settled, they reopened, and Kagome gasped.

The silver had been replaced with the gold she had come to know and be mesmerized by so well.

But how was this real? What was going on? Was she losing her mind?

As though reading her dilemma, he opened his mouth.

"It's me, Kagome. My name is Inuyasha. And I am a hanyo."

It was his voice that finally brought her to her senses. Kagome blinked, a chill suddenly ascending over her. The wind continued its gentle breezes. But Kagome felt cold for a whole other reason entirely.

Her heart pounding, she got to her feet on shaking legs.

Seeing him standing there, she recalled how he'd looked when she'd first seen him. How seeing him framed against the setting sun had given her a sudden glimpse of an image: of Inuyasha standing in the mouth of a cave, the rising sun illuminating the forlorn, wistful look on his face. At the time, she had wondered if it was just her imagination. But the scene before her now, the sun rising and fanning out behind him, made her realize it was in fact a long-buried memory. And with it came the realization of what she had truly seen the morning after that night.

"Inuyasha," Kagome repeated, her voice quivering. "You were Tsuya... the whole time?"

Unexpectedly, he lowered his eyes.

"Yes."

Kagome blinked again, her fingertips finding her mouth. "From the very beginning... it's been you from the beginning?"

She was only vaguely aware of Kaede stirring behind her. She heard the sound of fabric tearing, but couldn't even fathom turning to look right now.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said, and she was surprised to hear guilt in his voice. "I never meant for it to get this far. I know you've gotta be mad. There's probably nothing I can say to make this better, but I swear I had my reasons-"

She was barely listening.

"All along, it was you... the whole time, every minute, of everything..."

Hanyo, he'd said. Half-demon. Now that she knew it, it was so stupidly obvious. All those eerie similarities, the wholly human aura, the things he'd said that she felt she heard before, the suspicions she'd been having, they suddenly started falling into place. Nothing in the world made more sense than this, better explained what she'd just seen. And then it hit her with finality.

Inuyasha and Tsuya were not two different people. They were one and the same. Every time she'd said anything to Tsuya, she'd been saying it to Inuyasha. Anything Tsuya had said to her, it had really been Inuyasha. And with that, everything she had done with Tsuya... it had been with none other than... than...

Blood rushed to Kagome's face as she was overwhelmed with the full force of the weight of what this meant. Seeing Inuyasha now, for exactly who he was for the first time, she was filled with betrayal, and she couldn't even begin to articulate in how many ways!

"You... liar!" she gasped. "All this time, you had me believe you were someone else. How? How could you do this?"

"I'm sorry," he said, looking anguished. "There's no excuse for what I've done. I just wanted you to know before-"

"Before what?" she cried. "You had every opportunity to tell me the truth. And you were just letting this play out-"

"No," he said, at once. "I wanted you to know. I just didn't know how to tell you. The first time we met, we were strangers. I didn't even know if we'd ever see each other again. I-"

"And the second time?" Kagome demanded. "We weren't strangers anymore. We were friends. I thought we were. You could have told me when we met when you were human again. Scratch that, you should have told me before that!"

"I was going to tell you tonight," Inuyasha said insistently. "But you never showed, so I-"

"And that's my fault?" she said, enraged. "We were attacked just as I'd set off. I looked for you. I waited. You were the one who didn't show. So many of us almost died. Look at the state of her!" She pointed to Kaede, still knelt on the ground.

"I lose my powers when I'm human, Kagome!" he entreated, looking genuinely tormented. "They only began returning as I ran through the barrier. My senses started waning hours before sunset. I was too far away to hear or smell anything when it started. By the time I realized something was wrong, the attack was well underway. Still, I rushed to get here. I ran as fast as I could, but the forest yokai got to me first."

He paused, and for the first time, Kagome noticed that there were gashes in his fire-rat robe, on his arms and legs, behind which cuts in his flesh, some of them quite long, peeked through. With a pang, Kagome swallowed hard, realizing that this time, he was telling the truth. She felt terrible to see his injuries there, both mollified and guilty that he'd put himself in harm's way for her yet again.

But neither her anger nor her feelings of betrayal had broken just yet.

"Even so, how do I know you'd planned to tell me this? It's awfully convenient we got attacked tonight, isn't it? That way, you can claim that you were going to tell me even if you weren't-"

"It wasn't convenient," Inuyasha said, his eyes flashing with indignation. "I was worried out of my mind, Kagome!"

"How can I trust anything you say?" she shouted. "I can't look at you the same anymore! Everything you've done and said, I have to look back and wonder why you did it now. What even was your goal? You had me as a human, so you wanted to see if you could get me as a demon, too? What are you, sick?"

"No. No!" He shook his head firmly, as though this was what he'd feared the most. "It's not about that. It never was."

Tears began springing to Kagome's eyes, and her face flushed with shame and embarrassment as it struck her all over again, feeling as fresh a wound as the first time she'd realized it.

Inuyasha had seen her naked. Inuyasha had touched her, kissed her, tasted her in places no other man ever had. He knew what she looked like in lust. He knew what her voice sounded like when she begged him for more. He'd been pretending all along that he didn't. And all along, it had been without her knowledge.

That wasn't to say that Kagome couldn't ever have chosen for him to do those things someday. But that choice had been taken away from her every time it had actually happened. Her heart sank as this washed over her, and once again, she couldn't believe that this was happening, that Inuyasha could have been responsible for such things.

"You... you used me," she whispered numbly.

She imagined him privately laughing to himself over her foolishness, such a naive young priestess, to not have put two and two together in all this time! Maybe it amused him to see how long he could go without her figuring it out.

"Do my feelings mean nothing to you? You think this is a game?" she sobbed, tears pouring down her face.

Inuyasha looked devastated. Wordlessly, staring at her tear-filled face, all he could do was shake his head.

"Then why? Don't tell me," Kagome whispered, the truly horrendous possibility she'd dismissed hours ago coming back to her, "that the Holy Council was right? You wanted to get close to me just to lower my guard and get to the Jewel? Is that it?"

"No, it's not!" he yelled, his expression now a mixture of hurt, frustrated, and exhausted over hearing this accusation yet again. "It's got nothing to do with the Jewel. I swear."

"Then why else would you do all this?" she cried, tears splashing onto her collar. "What other reason could you possibly have?"

Kagome saw him clench and unclench his hands into fists. To her surprise, he lifted his chin so that his head was held higher. Whereas earlier, he had been looking mostly pained or worried, now, he looked resolute. Unabashed. Impassioned.

"Because I love you."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. Her brown eyes widened to their fullest. The pale blue barrier evaporated at last. The seconds ticked by as she stared at him, lost for words.

"What... what did you say?" she whispered.

"I said, I love you," Inuyasha said, the intensity in his eyes unmatched by anything she'd seen before. "And I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, but I have. If I could go back and change how long I've kept this a secret from you, I would've. I'd have told you the day we met again. I put that on everything, Kagome. I know you've no reason to believe me anymore. But I swear it's true. You probably regret everything we've done now, and I don't blame you. But," and here he paused, as though weighing whether he ought to say the next thing, "but I don't regret anything. The only thing I wish I hadn't done was hurt you. Otherwise I'd go back and do everything all over again, Kagome. I'd do it all over again, if it meant I could still know you at the end of it. Every last bit."

Kagome swallowed and took a step back, hand over her chest, heart pounding in her ears. Bizarrely, her cheeks were growing hot, in a different way from how she'd been flushing all night long. His impassioned words had caught her off-guard, making her feel things she didn't want to feel just yet. What was she supposed to say? How could she even respond to all of that?

"Kagome."

A hand had reached up and grasped her sleeve. Still dazed, Kagome looked down to see that Kaede had torn off a fragment of her own sleeve, and had tied it around the spot where her left eye had been.

"Kagome," she said again, her voice haggard and cracked, "Inuyasha had sought to tell ye sooner than this. It was I who had discouraged him. And hanyo are protective of their human forms for crucial reasons, child. It would not do to berate him without hearing him out."

But Kagome only stared at Kaede incredulously.

"Baa-chan," she whispered, "baa-chan, you knew?"

"I happened upon his human appearance the night he approached ye in the shrine, Kagome. He did not reveal himself to me willingly, as he has done today."

"So," she struggled to say without crumbling, "you both have been keeping this from me since then? You just decided on your own what I deserved to know, and what I didn't?"

"Kagome, it was only with your best interests at heart. I did not want this to disturb you-"

"And you don't think this does, baa-chan?" Kagome sobbed, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't I get to decide anything for myself? Do you really think I'm that incapable? You had no faith that I'd be able to withstand this at all? I can look after the Shikon Jewel, but not my own life?"

"Wait, Kagome," Inuyasha said quietly. "It isn't her fault. I did this. None of it would be happening if I'd never come into your life in the first place."

With tremendous effort, Kagome turned back to face him.

"All right," she said in a low voice. "Then I'll ask you. Why didn't you tell me the truth before, Inuyasha? Kaede baa-chan said it's risky for hanyo to reveal their human forms. What was really stopping you from telling me, then?"

Inuyasha looked perplexed. Perhaps as though there was so much he wanted to say in response, but couldn't face up to it, because he knew what it would make her think. And perhaps as though he felt like he'd lost the right to say it at all.

"That's what I thought," Kagome whispered, heartbroken. "You know what hurts the most about all this, Inuyasha? Knowing that you didn't trust me. I trusted you with everything, Inuyasha. You always knew exactly who I was. It's been me all along. I didn't keep anything from you. I stuck up for you at the Council. I risked everything so you could stay here. I told them you were exactly who you said you were. I defended you from anyone who said a single thing against you in this village, over and over again. But that still wasn't enough for you to trust me with this. I wasn't good enough."

"Kagome, that isn't true," he said, his face distraught. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't you. I told you, you're the only thing that matters to me anymore-"

"Am I?" Kagome said, a dry, sorrowful laugh escaping her lips. "What about all those nights I cried myself to sleep, Inuyasha? Do you have any idea how hard it was, not knowing where you were for months? Waiting for when you'd finally come for me? Wondering if I was betraying you by growing closer to someone else? Trying to figure out which one of you meant more to me? Worrying that me and my feelings were so shallow, if they could be won over so fast?"

A look of self-loathing crossed Inuyasha's face. For the second time that night, he lowered his eyes.

"If I meant so much to you, then where were you when I needed you?" she said softly, her big, starry eyes gazing up at him beseechingly.

Inuyasha gave no answer. Kagome could sense that there was nothing more to be said. The sun had fully risen now. Casting her gaze around, she could see several villagers now peeking their heads out from behind their doors and windows. She wondered how long they'd been listening in, but realized she was too broken and exhausted to care.

Turning her back to Inuyasha at last, she bent down and helped Kaede to her feet, steadying her carefully. But this act was solely obligatory. She knew that the old priestess would be able to tend to her wound herself, now that she was out of immediate danger. All Kagome intended for now was to be alone.

She took a step towards the shrine.

"Wait, Kagome."

Kagome paused. She could hear his footsteps approach deliberately. She turned her head slightly to the side. From the corner of her eye, she could see that he stood several yards behind her, his hand outstretched.

"For the past few months, I've liked talking to you. I've liked spending time with you, no matter what we did. I like listening to you, and hearing what you think. I like how much you've cared to know about me and my past. I like watching you with your family, and seeing all you do for your village. I've liked getting to know the kind of person you are. Don't you feel the same? Or am I still someone you don't think you know anymore?"

Kagome shut her eyes as fresh tears leaked out of them.

No, she thought. I did think I knew you. I do still want to know you. I've loved every minute of knowing you. I don't want to lose you.

But how could she say that she couldn't even trust her own judgement anymore? That none of what she wanted mattered, because she didn't know what the right thing to do was? She hadn't even begun to process what Inuyasha had revealed to her about his feelings.

"I want you to leave now, Inuyasha. Please," she breathed, wiping her soaked face with the back of her hand. "Go."

And with that, doing her best to ignore the shattering of her heart, Kagome walked away.

Happy 4th anniversary to this fic :)

Happy 10th chapter to this fic :)

If it's dark where you are, look outside your window and you'll see that there's a new moon tonight. Yes, none of this was a coincidence.

Fun fact: Every time human Inuyasha has made an appearance in this fic so far, it's been following a major battle. I'd like to say this was intentional too, but I only realized it somewhere down the line. Maybe it's just poetic to have half-demon Inuyasha's human form appear right after a clash between humans and demons :)

Happy New Year in advance, everyone. Don't be too disheartened by this chapter ;) I'll see you all in 2025. Stay well and be safe!