InuYasha's sensitive canine-like ears twitched atop his head as Kagome approached. He was surprised that she even wanted to be near him, due to a fight they had the night before. In all honesty, the half dog demon couldn't even remember why they had been fighting to begin with. With a tilt of his head, InuYasha gazed over at the schoolgirl uniform-clad high schooler. He didn't smile, but that wasn't anything new or shocking. A part of him wanted to ask why she was walking with him, instead of with the lagging-behind group, but he didn't want her yelling at him again. Boy, could that teenager yell!

Instead, InuYasha looked ahead of himself again. He knew she'd sped up to walk beside him for a reason, and he would wait for her to bring it up. Around Kagome, it felt as if he always said the wrong thing at the wrong time; no matter the situation. He was tired of watching her eyes narrow or well up with tears. Sometimes, well, all the time, that girl confused him to no end. She was always a challenge, though, and InuYasha secretly admired that about her. One thing he would change about the girl.. was that goddamn "Sit" command.

His arms folded across his chest, the hanyou slowed his pace in order to allow Kagome to keep up with him more easily. The friends that remained behind seemed to silence, as if they were waiting for a conversation (or argument) to commence. He heard a tiny giggle emerge from Shippo, and two "SHH!"s follow suit. Annoyed, InuYasha shot them a glare before looking back at Kagome.

She walked nervously beside InuYasha. She didnt know haw to tell him what was wrong. After all he always blew things outta proportion or didnt care. He was so insensitive!
"InuYasha," she said quietly so the others couldnt hear her, "I have a problem. I dont know where to go. There are shardsup ahead, but the are in different directions." She looked at him to see his reaction. She would give him credit, he did make funny faces sometimes.

InuYasha groaned dramatically. He crossed his arms, seemingly closing his eyes. His canine ears flattened against his soft white hair, and he began:
"Is that all, Kagome? You made it seem like you were dyin' or somethin'!"
He turned around to the others.
"You all can stop ease dropping on us now. There are shards on both sides of this fork in the road, is all!"
Turning back to Kagome, InuYasha's golden eyes fixed upon her brown ones. She seemed annoyed at him already, so he toned it down a bit.

"Whatever," he said, looking in either direction. "Which one seems closer? That way, we can retrace our steps and get the other one."
While he awaited an answer from Kagome, he heard the others bustle with conversation. It made him uneasy, so he decided to just ignore them.

"Well," She said keeping her anger in check, " The one straight ahead is." She wanted to add more, but the fact was, she was growing weary of arguing with him, so she held her tounge.
She knew there would be no arguing now anyway. He would say for the to go straight and that would be it. It helped that the others were in deep discussion. She hated it when the easedropped.

"Alright; what are we waiting for, then?" InuYasha said, setting off, once again, ahead of everyone. His shoeless feet led him to where he needed to go. "Kagome, keep up. I need you to keep me on track."
He looked over at her; his look wasn't demanding or rude like it usually was. It was more of a 'please'-type thing. The rarity of it all would probably throw Kagome off guard. As soon as InuYasha realized the softness in his eyes, he looked away.

"Come on, girl," he ordered, taking hold of her left forearm. "That stupid machine is slowing you down. Why do you bring that thing, anyway?"
He pulled her a bit, causing her to walk beside him, whether she wanted to or not.

" I coming! Shouldn't we wait for the others though." She looked back at the others,mainly to regain her coolness. Inuyasha's look had thrown her off. It wasn'tlike him. Maybe, he felt the same way about her as she refused to admit that she liked him.
"And, for your information, I carry this contraption because it helps me get around faster when I ride it!" She looked at him with furry in her eyes. If he did like her, or she like him, it didn't matter. They were from different times, and they were different species! She was human and he was half demon, half human. This was the main thing that was upsetting her, not inuYasha himself.

"Well, then, ride it, stupid! I don't get you, Kagome, you lug all that shit around, or you have me do it for you, and we never use it. It's ridiculous and completely time-wasting; not to mention energy-wasting." He stared at her with that annoyed look again, snatching the bike up from her. "Just keep up."

The others behind Kagome and InuYasha followed suit; as if they were on some kind of cue. It seemed to be only Kagome that had problems keeping up. InuYasha, on the other hand, trudged ahead.

Kagome hung back, feeling hurt. He always had to do that. He always had to be rude and make her lose her temper, then cry. She knew that InuYasha was a jerk, considering he tried killing her when they met because he thought she was kikyo. She was tired of being bullied by InuYasha. She would make him pay and she would win this time!

With tears streaming down her face, she could baerit no longer. She didn't need to feel like this. He had no right to make her feel like this. She clenched her fists. "InuYasha!"

"What do you want, Ka-" he noticed her brown eyes. They looked so sad; so hurt. Watery, even. With her bike tucked under his arm, he just stared at her. What was wrong now? Anticipating a 'sit', he tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

His hair blew back in a small breeze, thus causing Kagome's hair to cover her angry face. This was a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively speaking). Kagome seemed to make InuYasha feel things he'd never felt before... sometimes that was good; sometimes it wasn't. This wasn't one of those good times.

She looked up at him, the wind blowing the hair across her face. The others walked past inuyasha and and stopped, waiting for some kind of show down. She stared at him for what seemed like forever. Finally, she said "I am not a child! I am Not ignorant! And I am not Selfish!" She stormed her way across the space between them. At this point she was yelling. "You Always insult me! You always make me feel like a child, but I'm not! You make me so angry sometimes that I wish you had stayed on that dumb tree where Kikyo put you!" She breathed heavily, almost like she was out of breath but not ready to stand down yet.

InuYasha's canine ears lowered to his scalp, but he tried to remain looking dominant. He was bothered and a bit hurt by Kagome's words, but he would NEVER, in another million years, show it. He looked away from her, a scowl reforming on her face. He, then, returned a blazing stare at her.

"Look, Kagome," he shouted. "If you wouldn't ACT so childish, maybe I wouldn't treat you like it! Maybe if you weren't running off and throwing a fit; sitting me after EVERY instance, I wouldn't be so rude to you! Maybe if you didn't act so selfish," he took a breath. "Like coming here then leaving just because you're a little stressed. This may not be YOUR only life, but it is ours! This is not some fairytale that gets put on hold every time your little futuristic self leaves! So make a choice so we can get on with this search!"

InuYasha crossed his arms, still staring Kagome down.
"And maybe... maybe you should've just left me there. You should have just stayed away, Kagome."

The red-clad dog demon walked away; he didn't storm off, he walked away. He didn't turn to look back, nor did he mumble and scowl at her under his breath. He left like an adult; not a child.

Kagome had tears running down her face. After a few minutes went by, she turned around and walked in the exact opposite direction. She knew the well was some where that direction. If InuYasha didn't want her there, then, maybe it was best to leave and never come back. The others had gone with InuYasha, most likely thinking that she was gonna follow. She knew that she was the only one who knew where the shards were, but that didn't matter any more, she wasnt wanted.

She walked a while and stopped. She wanted to go back and apologize, but then she remembered that she had nothing nothing to apologize for. Sure, she felt guilty giving up now and leaving them to fend for them selves, but she couldn't stand it here. "I promise to send my not yet concieved child to collect the rest." She said as if to confirm that thatwas the best answer. Then She continued walking back to the the well.

With a sigh, the half-dog demon continued on. His pride wouldn't even let his steps falter; it, of course, wouldn't let him turn around. His mind was raging; his heart pounding. Kagome would be the death of him. She was so unreasonable sometimes! His upper lip curled, but he held the snarl back.

His canine ears were a dead give away, though. They were droopy and slanted back; he seemed to sulk a bit, even. He always felt bad after things like this; InuYasha always thought everything was his fault. His golden yellow eyes trailed down to the dirt path that continued soiling his feet.

"Guys," he said to the following group, who were deathly quiet. "I shouldn't beg her to come back, should I?"
The three choked up a bit, afraid to say anything. They were somewhat stuck in the middle, for the two feuding partners were in the right in some way.
"I shouldn't," he declared for himself. "I'm tired of her."

Shippo whimpered, trotting over to InuYasha. "You should, InuYasha. She's just as stubborn as you."

She kept walking, knowing the village with the well was up ahead. She could go to the well and never come back!

She paused. InuYasha wanted her gone, why was she listening to him? She never cared about what he wanted when it came to her being there, so why start now?

She turned her bike around and got on it. She started to peddle, heading back from where she came from.

He heard her returning long before he approached, and he muttered indecent terms gruffly under his breath.
"What does she want now?" was all that could be understood by the others. He turned on his heel, the group stopping in their tracks and staring at him in confusion. Without a word, the half-demon hopped over their heads, still murmuring under his breath.

Landing in front of Kagome, his hair in slight disarray, InuYasha stared at her intently. His golden eyes stared through her chocolate-brown ones, and a low growl was released from his throat.
"I thought you were leaving, girl," he said, crossing his arms.

She looked at him defiantly. "I was, until I realized that it would mean two things. The first, that I was giving up my duty to this time, and two, i was doing what you wanted me to do. We can't have that. Also,I know where the shards are, which makes me the boss, so I am in charge!" She got off her bike and walked up to him, her eyes never leaving his.
She had a lot fight in her and she wouldn't give up. Too long had she let him control her and this mission. It was time she showed him who was really boss.
"It is not your job to lead this group, its mine! Your job is to fight the monsters, and its time you took your place instead of mine! I am totally capable of running this group and I will not have You, of all people, tell me what I should and shouldn't do. You have controlled me for too long!" She took quick breaths. She had hardly breathed during her big monologue and was having a hard finding the air she needed. Still, she did not take her eyes off his face.

"Kagome, you think too highly of yourself," he said gruffly. "If I weren't here, you know you'd have been dead by now.. and on numerous occasions!"
He turned around once more, breaking the ice between the stares given by each being. He shook his head, walking ahead to catch up to the group.
"And to think I ever had feelings for you," he mumbled, clearing his throat loudly as soon as he noticed he said it aloud, and rather audibly.

She looked stunned for a second before she said "You think this has something to do with how we feel about each other?" She ran ahead and stood in front of him.
"This has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with us and how we feel!" She took a second to catch her breath. She dared to touch her palm to his face. "InuYasha, You have a strong will and mind, but sometimes, you have to let someone else lead. If this was about us, the only thing i would be complaing about, is havng to go back and leave you." She didn't know why she was saying that, but it was true. Had she really had enough to tell him how she really felt?

The warmness of her palm clashing with the otherworldly coldness of his cheek immediately made him turn a rosy red, his golden-hued eyes sparkling at her in return. Upon noticing his body's reaction to Kagome's simple touch, InuYasha jerked his face away from her delicate hand. As she talked, his gaze drifted away from her, his canine ears alert and observant atop his head.
"The only thing I would be complaining about," he heard her say. "Is having to go back and leave you."
As soon as the sound of her voice entered his ears, they lowered, plastering themselves on tightly against his scalp.

He took Kagome's hand; the one that had, just a moment ago, made him turn colors and made him sparkle. Yanking her small, thin form toward him, he clasped his arms around her as she fell against him. Immediately taking her scent into his sensitive nostrils, he nuzzled his cheek into her.
"...I don't understand why you have to leave," he muttered. "It's not fair."

She nuzzled into his soft fur. "Its only till the summer, then I can stay all vacation. Its only till I finish school." she whispered so no one else could here, because InuYasha was so close, she couldn't and didn't want to see where the others were. She just wanted to be right here with InuYasha.

Releasing a sigh locked within his chest, he nodded.
"I don't understand your world," he said. "It's already hot out; that means it's summer, doesn't it?"
He let the girl go, stepping back from her body. Turning, he noticed the group standing, watching silently. Sango looked ecstatic; Miroku, lecherous; Shippo, jealous. InuYasha shook his head, motioning toward Kagome to follow him.

"We need to get some stuff done before you leave again. Weren't you saying there's a shard up ahead?" his tone fell back to normal, but his eyes still sparkled when he looked at Kagome. InuYasha may've been a tough guy, but his weakness was a small, significant teenage girl.
"Come on," he said, nudging her.

"um... yeah," She said,realizing the other were there and getting back to why they were there. She blushed and smiled. "it was this way." she started to lead them, knowing they would get the idea, but she didn't leave Inuyasha's side.

Looking down, the half-breed spotted Kagome right beside his haori-clothed shoulder. A smile was fought from his lips, and he looked ahead.
"Let's go, then. Hurry up; all of you."
Bending down, he scooped his human onto his back, telling her to tell him the directions as they traveled along.

Walking backwards for a few steps in order to look at the others, InuYasha growled as he noticed their giggling and whispering. "Hurry up, idiots!"

Kagome giggled at the situation and told him where it was. Then she just snuggled aginst him as they traveled. she felt so much comfort and peace now that she realized she was exhausted. with that she closed her eyes and fell asleep, waiting for when they would need her to know where to go. At the moment though, she never wanted this day to end.

He listened to Kagome's shallow breathing as she drifted to sleep, still perched up on his back. InuYasha held her more tightly, for fear that she would fall off. Typically, the dog demon was soaring through the air with gentle strides on the dirt, sighing. He didn't know why, but he wanted to set up camp in the middle of the day, when no one was complaining of being tired. Maybe he just wanted individual time with Kagome.

Shrugging it off, they came to a fork in the road. Gently, InuYasha nudged Kagome awake.
"Hey, where to now?"

Miroku smiled, noticing the couple's immediate, but subtle, changes in the way they were treating one another. The monk slowly edged toward Sango, whispering, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"