[:]-[:]-[:]

InuYasha sat at the campfire, watching over a sleeping Kagome. He couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty as he gazed upon her, for all he could think about were Kikyou and the Shikon Jewel.

For some reason, InuYasha still found himself head-over-heels in love with Kikyou. But that was, well�it was simply absurd! He was in love with a�a corpse! And what of Kagome? He loved her just as much, if not, more. And it wasn't just because of the fact that she was, in a way, Kikyou herself; Kagome was still different, with that special something mixed in with every wonderful thing she was.

So then why did he still feel this way about Kikyou? And from what it looked like, Kikyou didn't much care for him like that anymore - minus those few moments they shared, anyway. Why couldn't he just forget about her and take Kagome in his arms?

Old habits - and loves - die hard, I guess, InuYasha thought to himself, frowning.

And if his love life wasn't difficult enough, there was still the Shikon Jewel in InuYasha's - as well as everyone else's - thoughts. The jewel was nearly complete by now, with just a few pieces missing. It was still constantly hanging around Kagome's neck, at least, it was when a demon didn't snatch it temporarily. But InuYasha just couldn't help but feel the terrible emotion of anxiety. He was so close to becoming full demon! Only a few pieces were keeping him from his goal, and the uneasy feeling he had stirring up in him was killing him: they still didn't know where the rest of the shards were.

With these heartbreaking and troublesome thoughts plaguing InuYasha's mind, he looked up at the starry sky as he very slowly drifted off into a dreamless, restless sleep.

He stirred slightly by the sound of a nearby twig snapping. He tiredly but alertly looked around, but he saw nothing. He was so annoyed at being awoken that he didn't bother to sniff the area for strange scents of danger. All he did was finger the Tetsusaiga before once again falling into a light - not to mention, short - slumber.

While he was asleep, a girl dressed in black clothes (that somehow resembled the style of Kouga's) entered the campsite quietly. She scanned all the sleeping people and demon's faces.

Her eyes abruptly stopped when they hit InuYasha. She stared at the Hanyou for a few seconds until she was convinced that it was safe enough to continue her mission.

The girl walked silently to the sleeping Kagome's bag and, as quietly as she could, went through it, looking for the Shikon Jewel shards. After a while of unsuccessful searching through useless junk and, of course, Ramen, she realized the shards weren't in there.

She made her way to Kagome in her sleeping bag, which was pulled down low enough to see what was hanging around her slender neck: the Shikon Jewel.

"Yes!" the girl whispered to herself, gently removing the necklace from the sleeping girl's neck, so not to wake her. "Found it!"

Looking around to make sure she woke no one, she carefully studied the jewel. It was not complete, she noticed, and from the looks of it, it only needed three more pieces - assuming that the remaining shards were the same size as the one she already had. Yes, this girl already had one missing shard. Now the question was: who had the last two?

The thief paused suddenly. Something wasn't right. She once again scanned the faces of the surrounding company.

Kagome was right below her, sound asleep at the moment. To the right of her was a snoring Shippou asleep on a rock. Across the campfire were Sango�Miroku�and by that tree was Inu -

Wait a minute.

Where was he?

Realization dawned on her -

The girl quickly jumped out of the way as InuYasha's Tetsusaiga came swinging down noisily, causing everyone to wake.

Damn, the girl thought, so much for sound sleepers.

"InuYasha�" Kagome sighed sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!" InuYasha cried, obviously no longer tired. "That demon has our jewel!"

"And I thank you for it," the girl smirked cockily.

InuYasha growled. "You're not getting away, at least not with the Shikon Jewel in your hands!"

"Wanna bet?" With that, the girl turned and started to run away.

Her feet trudged softly and swiftly against the hard dirt ground as she ignored the sounds of protest from those still by the campfire. Soon she was deeper into the forest - but still not very far from the camp - dodging trees in the dark. Her sharp ears heard slight sounds from footfalls, and she turned around to see who was chasing her.

InuYasha was gaining on her quickly, so quickly that she knew that if she didn't drop the jewel, she was going to be caught. She hated having her efforts go to waste, but she much preferred escaping without the jewel than being captured with a very slight chance of having it in the end, not to mention that if she were indeed caught, the Hanyou would most likely kill her for her attempts.

She groaned, knowing she couldn't escape in time, and she released the jewel from her protective grasp. "'Til next time!" she called loudly as she darted further into the forest away from InuYasha and his companions. Soon after, she disappeared.

InuYasha halted, not caring for the demon that tried to steal the jewel, at least not at the moment. He picked it up quickly before it could be taken by anything else in the forest before turning and stomping back to camp.

"Who was she?" InuYasha heard Kagome ask.

"I think she was a demon," Miroku said.

Sango shook her head, although she was agreeing. "She wasn't just any demon. Didn't you notice what she wore and how she moved?"

Kagome nodded, uttering one word, "Kouga."

InuYasha growled at the name. "Whoever she was, I think that'll be the last we'll ever see of her." He cast his head down, tossing the jewel back to Kagome. "Now go back to sleep; party's over."

[:]-[:]-[:]

"Damn it!" the girl shouted into the starry skies.

You shouldn't shout like that, a familiar voice said in her mind. They might hear you.

"I know," she told the voice in reply, "but I was so close to getting the jewel!"

You'll get it eventually, the voice said again

"I know�" she sighed. "But I'm still disappointed."

Don't beat yourself up for this.

"I know." She paused, sadly whispering the words of the question she needed to hear the answer to, "Hey, Yasuo? You will stay with me, right? Until the very end?"

Yes, Moriko, I promise I'll stay with you�to the very end.

"Good!" the comforted girl said softly as a giant black wolf came out of the brush from behind her to stand at her side.

But for now, he coaxed, let's hunt.

With that, the girl - Moriko - and the wolf - Yasuo - silently walked deeper into the forest.

[:]-[:]-[:]

"InuYasha?" Kagome called as she approached the half-demon. She didn't go back to sleep like InuYasha told them all to after that thief got away.

"Damn it," InuYasha growled as he pounded his fist into the ground, "she got away�" Sure, he could've gone after the girl. He did, after all, still have her scent in mind. But that demon, he had to give her credit, for she easily scattered her scent in numerous areas, making things more difficult, not the InuYasha couldn't handle it. Not to mention that he didn't know if chasing her would've been worth it. Well, there was only one way to find out� He turned to the girl behind him. "Hey, Kagome?"

"Yeah?" she said as she sat down beside him, looking at him with her big beautiful eyes.

"Did that demon girl earlier have a Shikon Jewel shard somewhere?"

Kagome thought back to the night's current events, her mind looking back to the short moment when she laid eyes on the girl who towered above her sleeping form. "Yeah, she did. It was tied on to some necklace next to�I think it was a fang�"

"A fang? Good," InuYasha smirked, "You don't see fangs on a necklace every day. It'll be easier to find her sorry ass." He inwardly frowned to himself. He should've ran after that demon. She had a shard! He let out a soft but furious growl.

Kagome shook her head at his obvious anger and frustration. She knew he held grudges easily, even for the most childish things. She did have a shard though�. They would have to find that demon girl soon, Kagome knew. All the same, she was still tired, having been woken up in the middle of the night for such a short moment, and she yawned, leaning on InuYasha's shoulder. The demon chasing would just have to wait.

It was still dark out, and InuYasha's body was warm and comfortable, and soon enough, Kagome quickly fell asleep within seconds, still leaning on him.

InuYasha smiled to himself, a genuine smile. He didn't mind at all that Kagome had fallen asleep on him. Truth be told, he was truly happy that she was with him. It was strange how her on his shoulder made him suddenly calm. He had felt Kagome this close to him before, but for some reason, this one time was�well, it was astounding! He never wanted her head to be taken from his shoulder; he wanted this amazing girl to be with him forever.

But like all good things, this one had to end.

InuYasha looked down at the sleeping girl when a familiar smell traced his nose. He frowned.

It was Kikyou's scent.

He looked up at the sky and saw her soul collectors, and again, he looked down at Kagome. He didn't want to have another fight with her, let alone leave her at the moment, but he knew he had to go and follow the aroma to Kikyou. If he didn't, then who would find out what was going on? He knew Kikyou simply appearing out of nowhere was a bit�odd.

He stood and picked up Kagome, who just snuggled up closer to his chest, making him not want to leave her even more. He carried her back to her sleeping bag and laid her down. He took one last look at her and turned to leave.

"You know," came a voice, "you shouldn't go, InuYasha. Kagome's going to find out like she always does, and this time, you might not be so lucky. She might not even stay here with you."

InuYasha frowned, his hair covering his eyes. "I have to go, Miroku." He looked up at the soul collectors. "Promise me you'll make sure she stays here."

The monk sighed. "I can make no guarantees, if or when she wakes."

"Then just do your best."

Miroku looked up at him. "You know this is a mistake, don't you?"

"Yeah," InuYasha looked down at Kikyou's reincarnation and continued, "but someone has to go."

With that said, InuYasha took of swiftly and silently, leaving Miroku to sigh and rest his back against the tree they were camping under.

[:]-[:]-[:]

Kouga sat awake while his friends slept soundly. This wasn't unlike any other night: he always found himself thinking about Kagome when he tried to sleep. However, tonight was different. He wasn't becoming even more sleep deprived because of thoughts of Kagome, not this time.

He was up because it was the two-year anniversary of her death.

He sighed in memory and depression, looking out at the crescent moon in the sky. He remembered it like it was yesterday�

[:]-[:]-[:]

+ Flashback +

"Hey, Kouga?" his best friend smiled as she called to him. "You ready for the hunt?"

He scoffed in a conceited way. "I'm always ready for a good hunt!"

She smiled mischievously at him. "Okay, then�"

Kouga raised an eyebrow. "What�?"

She smirked. "I bet you Katana that I'll get the biggest catch today!"

"What?" he exclaimed. "You're betting the sword I gave you?" He looked down at his own sword in its sheath, noting the very many similarities between the two blades.

"Well," she shrugged, "unless there's something else of mine you want."

"How about you give me�umm�" Kouga thought of her possessions, "�what was it called�? Umm�that thing you found when we were kids?"

She gave him a "what-are-you-talking-about" look.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Kouga sighed, catching her look. "I want it, so if I win this time, I get it."

She smirked at him humorously. "Why do you want a thing that you can�t even remember the name of?"

"Oh," Kouga caught her, "so you do know what it is?"

"Yes�" she smiled to herself. Kouga had always begged her for only one thing ever since they were kids, but they hadn't talked about it for a long time. "At least I think I do."

"So�" he darted his eyes back and forth, waiting for an answer to his unasked question. His friend didn't look like she was going to answer him, so he found himself asking her for real. "What is it called?"

"Wait a sec," she paused, making sure she was thinking of the same thing as Kouga, "you're talking about the stone, right? The one that has the jewel stuck in it? Am I right?"

"Yeah�" he still awaited her answer impatiently.

"Oh," she laughed, "well, I just call it 'a rock with a jewel in it'."

Kouga groaned. So much for an answer, then. "You've got to be kidding me�" he muttered. He paused, her words finally hitting him. "Really?" he asked, surprised. "Didn�t you name it or something?"

"Yeah, but I forgot what I named it." She laughed when Kouga groaned loudly in frustration.

"You don't remember? How could you forget?"

"Well, the name doesn't matter anyway! All that matters is that I'll give it to you if you beat me and I don't get the biggest catch. But if I win, I get the most valuable object you own. Sound fair?"

"Okay," Kouga sighed, "but the stakes are set pretty high today�I just hope I don't lose."

"Don't worry." She gave a sarcastic sympathetic glance. "You will!" She dodged Kouga's playful attempt to smack her arm. "Now, let's race." She got in a crouching position, her best friend mimicking her actions. "Ready? On your marks�get set�" At that moment, Kouga's best friend took off running.

"Hey!" Kouga screamed at her. "You didn't say 'go'!"

"Go!" she shouted back, laughing.

Kouga took off running at a fast but steady pace, chuckling along with her.

"Catch me if you can!" his friend teased.

"Who said I was after you?" Kouga scoffed. "I'm going to get to your 'Special Hunting Rock' so I can catch bigger prey than you!"

She mockingly sounded disbelieving. "You still think you're going to win?"

He grinned. "I know I'm going to win!"

The two raced along the edge of the gorge, laughing and taunting each other the whole way. By now, Kouga had passed his friend and was running in front of her.

The next thing he knew, he heard her yell.

When he turned around, he saw a gigantic Gokuraku-chou separating him from her.

"Kouga!" she said triumphantly, looking over at him with a smile on her face, not paying attention to the obvious power radiating off of the demon. Her and Kouga were used to fighting and killing large demons like this during the hunt, but what neither of them knew was that this particular demon would prove itself to be more dangerous than all the others. "I believe I'm going to win this bet!"

Kouga smirked competitively. "Only if you kill him before I do!" With that, he lunged at the Gokuraku-chou, as did she.

Kouga lunged at the demon's face, causing it to back up slightly.

That was the most that either of the two friends could accomplish.

The Gokuraku-chou laughed at the two's feeble attempts to try and kill it. It looked at the girl of the two and smiled as it thought of how to get two birds with one stone�or at least, one bird.

The demon acted like it was going to strike Kouga, but went after his best friend instead, causing her to jump towards the edge of the cliff in surprise. Again it lunged at her, making her inch closer and closer to the edge.

Kouga soon realized what it was trying to do, and it looked as though she knew as well. The only problem was, there was nothing she could do about these sudden attacks.

Kouga was the only one who could stop it.

He tried to lunge onto the demons back, only to be met by a quick bite on his own, before the Gokuraku-chou lunged again at his friend. Kouga could do nothing but watch in horror as she stood right on the very edge of the canyon. One more jump to that side, and she was done for.

He just watched, frozen to the spot in fear for his friend, as she looked behind and below her. She planned to jump back, but behind her was where the gorge cut in.

"Goodbye," she mouthed to Kouga as she looked him right in the eye for the last time.

The Gokuraku-chou lunged again, but she had already accepted her fate and fell off the edge of the cliff to her doom.

+ End of Flashback +

[:]-[:]-[:]

Kouga sat as he replayed that memory over and over again in his head.

He could do nothing to help her� All he could do was watch in horror as she fell. It all happened so fast� One second they were teasing and poking fun at one another, betting their prized possessions, and the next� Kouga blinked back unshed tears in his eyes.

His best friend�dead. Dead for two whole years.

She said she would always be there, Kouga thought sadly as he looked up into the heavens

He paused, his eyes fixed on the flying creatures in the sky:

Kikyou's soul collectors.

He watched in curiosity as the creatures flew and dove down with souls underneath them. He stood up to wake a few wolves, but they didn't seem to think anything was wrong and went back to sleep quickly after seeing that it was only Kouga who awoke them with not a single look of panic in his eyes.

Curious as to what the soul collectors were doing, Kouga sprinted softly to where they were. He grew silent as he saw InuYasha and Kikyou underneath them in the forest.

"What is that Dog Turd doing now?" Kouga whispered to himself as he watched InuYasha hug his old love tightly. Keh, he thought, some Hanyou he is. He's so wrapped up in that dead girl, he can't even smell my "stink"! I bet he wouldn't even notice if Kagome was here -

Suddenly, he grinned a toothy smile, a plan hatching in his mind.

He quietly sneaked out of the forest and saw a light. A campfire light.

Bingo, he thought as he picked up Kagome's scent from the area by the fire. Eager to put his plan into action, he very quietly ran to where she and the others were.

Reaching the campsite, he stopped and looked at everyone, making sure they were sound asleep. Although he didn't know, the sleeping arrangement had changed a bit: Miroku was now leaning against a tree, asleep, as Sango rested on his shoulder, but Kagome and Shippou were sleeping in the same spots they were before the thief had interrupted their sleeping schedule.

Kouga smirked as he walked to Kagome's sleeping bag. He kneeled down next to her and put his lips against her ear.

"Kagome?" he whispered as he shook her gently. He repeated the process a few times until he heard Kagome reply.

"Kouga�?" she looked up at him sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

Kouga smiled kindly at her with the grin that was specially used for her and her alone. "I want to show you something."

"Hello to you too," she said sarcastically. She looked around the camp. "Where's InuYasha?" she cried softly, no longer tired. "What did you do, Kouga?"

"I didn't do anything!" Kouga whined offensively.

Kagome frowned, sitting up in her sleeping bag. "Where's InuYasha?" she cried sharply.

Kouga stood up. "That's what I want to show you. So�" he paused, "�do you want to see or not?"

"Uggh," Kagome groaned, "okay�" Kouga picked her up bridal style, to her shock, and carried her as he jogged to the edge of the forest.

[:]-[:]-[:]

Miroku's eyes snapped open as he heard a twig snap, as though someone had just stepped on it by accident. He automatically looked at Kagome's empty sleeping bag.

Great, he thought, not even moving to get up, where is she?

His eyes darted to the sound of another snapping twig by the edge of the forest.

He watched in amusement and interest as he saw Kouga put Kagome on her feet, grab her hand, and lead her into the woods.

[:]-[:]-[:]

Miroku looked up at him. "You know this is a mistake, don't you?"

InuYasha frowned. Miroku had no idea. Going to see Kikyou wouldn't just be a mistake; it would be a disaster!

What would happen if Kagome - no, he shouldn't think about that right now. He had already left to find Kikyou, and he didn't like the thought of just turning back. But Kagome� He hoped she wouldn't wake just yet. He wouldn't be able to stand it if she started to cry, which she would be likely to do when she - if she found out.

But still, he couldn't help but run even faster through the trees to get to Kikyou sooner. What was she doing here, anyway?

InuYasha sniffed the air, still jumping from tree to tree. Kikyou, he whispered in his thoughts. He was getting closer.

His sharp golden eyes could see her outline from where he was, her soul collectors hovering above, not too far from him. He hopped off a tree, running the rest of the way to his old love.

There she was.

Kikyou.

InuYasha made his way to the clearing in the woods, and as soon as he did, he slowed to an incredibly slow walk. Kikyou just stared back at him with her cold, empty eyes.

"Kikyou�" he whispered softly, but he knew fully well that she heard him.

She continued staring at him as he walked closer and closer to her still form. Her hair blew in the light wind, and InuYasha found himself not being able to stop walking towards her, although he very much wanted to.

"What�" he started, "�what are you doing here?"

She just kept staring. He shuddered lightly. Her stare was so�so cold. She seemed to be void of emotions, which would be understandable, but her black eyes were extremely different than they were fifty years before. Yes, they were now the dead eyes of a beautiful corpse, rather than the eyes full of life that he had fallen in love with so long ago.

InuYasha had always used to love it when he stared into Kikyou's eyes, but now they were so empty and dull, he could barely stand it when she gazed into his own golden eyes.

Kagome's eyes, on the other hand� he pondered to himself, relaxing at the thought. Kikyou's gaze, both in her current state and when she was alive, was nothing compared to the looks Kagome gave him. The way she looked at him was like his life support nowadays. He loved it when Kagome's eyes reflected happiness and comfort, but he hated it when she looked at him with sadness and distress, and he frowned even deeper as he thought of what she would do if she found out about what he was doing right now. All the same�

"Kikyou?" InuYasha called to the priestess, who had still said nothing.

He was now a mere three feet away from where she stood. He finally stopped walking when he got to that mark, but he continued to stare into his lover's eyes. How dead those eyes were�how dead she, herself, was� InuYasha couldn't help but miss her, although she was standing right in front of him.

He suddenly jumped toward her and pulled her into a tight hug. He thought he heard a slight rustle of leaves around him as though there was something moving in the forest, but he thought nothing of it.

Probably just some wild animal or something, he thought, not bothering to check by sniffing for a scent. He didn't want to let go of Kikyou�not right now.

All the same, Kikyou didn't seem as though she wanted to be held by InuYasha anyway. She didn't move, although he held onto her tightly. Her arms still hung at her sides, her face only lighting up slightly by the aura her soul collectors flying above shone around her.

InuYasha held Kikyou for just a few more moments, but soon he dropped his arms to his side, looking at his past love sadly. He was about to move away and go back to camp, although he still didn't find out why Kikyou was in the forest in the first place.

But before he could turn to leave, Kikyou's hand shot out and grabbed his tightly, keeping him still. She gave a small smirk as though she knew something that he didn't. Before he could ask about it, however, Kikyou did something he didn't expect her to do:

She kissed him.

InuYasha stood still in shock, eyes wide, not reacting at all to Kikyou's lingering kiss. What the hell was she doing? She hadn't reacted to him when he hugged her just moments before, yet she surprised him by kissing him lightly.

He found himself not particularly enjoying Kikyou's kiss as much he thought he would, to his surprise, and for some reason, he just couldn't help but think about Kagome's kisses instead of Kikyou's�

Kagome�

He paused, pulling away from Kikyou's kiss quickly. He thought he heard a voice�Kagome's voice�

He turned to where he heard the voice come from, and there they stood.

Kouga�

And Kagome.

"InuYasha�"

[:]-[:]-[:]

Kouga led Kagome quietly through the trees, never once letting go of her soft hand.

Boy, he thought, if this doesn't work and doesn't get Kagome to be my woman, then it looks like killing InuYasha's going to be the only way! He looked back at Kagome. He could smell her fear and worry for InuYasha. Not to worry, Kouga smirked to himself, I'm going to change that very soon.

"How much further?" Kagome sighed.

"Not much," Kouga said in reply.

Soon the two came to a small clearing. Kouga made sure that they both walked in plain view of InuYasha and Kikyou; all four of them could see each other clearly if one looked.

Kouga glanced at Kagome for her reaction. His triumphant and proud smirk softened at his love's looks. She was paler than usual, her eyes beginning to water as she looked at her beloved Hanyou and the dead girl with sadness and betrayal.

InuYasha and Kikyou were kissing.

Kouga was still, however, pleased with himself, despite Kagome's sadness. His assumptions were correct; InuYasha did not, in fact, notice Kagome's scent. He didn't even acknowledge either of their presence until Kagome whispered his name with more hurt than Kouga thought possible:

"InuYasha�"

He pulled away from Kikyou quickly, looking extremely guilty. His eyes darted to Kagome and Kouga standing in the same clearing he and Kikyou were in.

"Kag�" InuYasha stuttered softly, "�Kagome�"

Kagome just stared in silence for a few moments. Kouga smirked at InuYasha, afterwards glancing at the girl behind the Hanyou. His smirk faltered a bit at the sight of Kikyou. True, she looked like Kagome, but she was definitely not something he wanted to see, not only because he felt as though she were trying to imitate his "woman", but�

That look she had on her face�

Why was she smirking like that? She seemed as though�as though she accomplished something without any of them even knowing she had.

Kouga tore his eyes away from her sinister look, as Kagome finally spoke.

"InuYasha�" she whispered, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "How�how could you?"

"Kagome!" he protested. "No�no! This isn't what it looks like! You don't understand-"

"I thought you were over Kikyou!" Kagome continued, not paying much notice that InuYasha was saying anything at all. "But I guess you'll never forget about her, will you?" The Hanyou looked down, saying nothing. "Maybe, InuYasha�maybe you never did care for me."

InuYasha looked up quickly. "No! No, that's not it at all-"

"Was it all a lie, InuYasha?" she cried out. "Did you ever really care about me? Or did you only love the part of me that was Kikyou?" She bent her head down, as though exhausted from her outburst. A lone tear trickled down her cheek, upsetting both Kouga and InuYasha, but they did nothing to stop it.

"Kagome�" InuYasha sighed, at loss of words. He wanted to explain, but he couldn't find the words to it. "I'm sorry�"

"I'm sorry too, InuYasha," she whispered, causing the two males to look at her. Her hair covered her eyes, but at her last comment, she looked straight into InuYasha's sad eyes. "I'm sorry that I ever met you!"

With that said, Kagome ran back into the forest.

Kouga regained his composure and smirked at InuYasha's depressed form. "See you later, Dog Turd!" he called, running after Kagome and leaving the Hanyou by himself. Wait� he thought as he ran off. Where'd that other girl disappear to? He glanced up at the sky.

There was no trace of any soul collectors.

Kouga shrugged the fact off and raced after Kagome. He caught up to her quickly, as he had the speed of a demon and she, the not-as-quick speed of a human girl, let alone one whose crying was slowing her down.

He ran in front of her form and stopped, causing her to run right into him. When she did, he hugged her tight. At first she tried to escape from his grasp, but soon after she gave in and bawled into his shoulder, holding onto his arms tightly.

Kouga was a bit uneasy from this; he had never had to comfort a girl like this before, not even his best friend before she died� He shook his head. All that mattered right now was Kagome, as unfair as it sounded to his late friend. But Kagome needed him right now.

Kouga wrapped his arms around the small girl's waist, one hand holding her close from the middle of her back. He dug his nose in her hair, savoring the soft touch against his cheek. He knew he shouldn't be relishing the feel of her in his arms, but he couldn't help but hold her even closer to him at the wonderful sensations he felt.

All too soon for him, but also thankfully, Kagome's cries subsided, and she turned her head so that it was resting against Kouga's strong chest. He held her like that for a few minutes, and it felt the world to him.

Kagome too felt relaxed at Kouga's hugs. She was glad and surprisingly feeling safe in his arms, not to mention that she felt relieved that at least someone was there to comfort her.

Soon, however, Kagome spoke, breaking the moment between them. "I think I should go back now, Kouga."

He looked down at the girl in his arms. All he could think about was getting her to stay away from InuYasha, and closer to himself. "You know, Kagome," he said softly to her, "you don't have to go back to where Dog Turd and the others are. You�" he loosened his hold on her and held her upper arms, causing her to look right at him, "�you could stay with me."

Kagome was obviously shocked at the offer, but she smiled in reply. "I know, but-"

"Just so you know," Kouga cut her off, "if you were my woman, I'd never do anything like that to you."

She looked at Kouga straight in the eye, surprised but flattered. She thought back to his offer. "I don't know�"

"What's stopping you?" he pushed lightly. There was no way she was going back to that fool of a Hanyou!

"Nothing," she whispered, looking down again, "but-"

"Kagome," he interrupted for the last time, "I won't take no for an answer."

She went quiet for a moment, thinking it over. She didn't want to go back to the campsite and have to face InuYasha and all the others like she always ended up doing after things like this happened. If she went with Kouga, she wouldn't have to. And he seemed to care about her a lot more than InuYasha did, especially after that stunt he just pulled with Kikyou.

Kouga watched Kagome's face twist as she thought it over. She might actually say yes! he gleefully thought. She might come back with me! She might choose me over him!

Kagome looked up at Kouga shortly after. "Kouga�?"

She had made her decision.

[:]-[:]-[:]

InuYasha sadly walked back to the campsite. How guilty he felt! How he wanted to run after Kagome and pull her into his arms! He could've followed her�he could've been able to bring her back to camp after explaining his side of the story. But for some reason, he wasn't able to.

It was many moments before he could even move again from the spot he stood where shehad found him. It was many minutes later that he found that Kikyou was gone, as were her soul collectors. All the same, he was going to go to Kagome, but he couldn't face her, especially not when Kouga was with her. So he found himself returning to camp�alone.

"Where's Kagome?" InuYasha asked Miroku hopefully. Maybe she was hiding behind a tree�? No, he couldn't smell her scent anywhere nearby.

"She hasn't come back yet�" Miroku looked up at him. His eyes widened as he stared at the Hanyou's look of depression. "InuYasha! What did you do?"

The half-demon looked away. "Nothing." He could practically feel the monk's gaze bore into him. He sighed, giving in. "She caught Kikyou kissing me�" He looked over at the woods, hoping Kagome would come out any second, although he knew she wouldn't. Anything to avoid Miroku's glare�

"Keh," he scoffed, "I told you she was going to find out."

"Yeah�" InuYasha sighed softly. His head jerked up to look back at the sitting monk, who was much more calm than the Hanyou liked. "Wait a second!" he growled. "You promised you would keep her here!"

"I made no guarantee that she would stay, remember?" He shifted slightly so that the sleeping Sango's head wouldn't slip off his shoulder.

InuYasha continued to growl, glaring at the monk, whose eyes were closed. "Keh�" he sighed. He looked at the crescent moon above in the sky. "When she left, was Kouga-" he spit out the word, "-with her?"

Miroku looked up at him, his eyes open and filled with concern and pity. "Yeah, he was." He turned his head to look at the moon as well. "Sorry, InuYasha. But like I said before�" InuYasha's ears twitched as he turned to look at the speaker. "�This time, you might not be so lucky. I told you she might leave you." He smirked sadly.