Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does. If I did own Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing fanfic for it, and the anime would have ended much better, more like the manga. Hope this satisfies someone's need for a disclaimer, because I'm only doing this once.

NEVER THE SAME AGAIN

AN: This is an anime continuation fic. It begins about one month after the events of the fourth movie, which I assume takes place after the last episode of the series. Let's say that makes the date March of 1498/1998, since the manga says Kagome turned 15 in '97.

I will be using the Japanese school calendar in this too, which begins in April and ends in March with July and August off for summer. Since the story said Kagome started her freshman year on her birthday, (or would have if she hadn't fallen down the well) I assume her birthday is in early April. So she's not 16 yet but will be soon.

On a personal note, I want to say that I've never knowingly interacted with someone who shares Kagome's experience in this fic, so I cannot say for sure that she will be acting in all the right ways. If she doesn't, then I'm sorry, but other fics show even worse behavior in my mind.

Chapter 1:Assaulted

Hakkaku and Ginta were once again running to try and catch up to their leader Kouga. For all their energy and determination, it was a futile effort as always. The prince of the eastern wolf youkai tribe had earlier caught the sight and scent of Naraku and ran off in a haste to fight him, leaving behind his two cohorts as he usually did. That was earlier this morning, and they still hadn't found him yet. While they understood and agreed with their leader's need to defeat Naraku, and his impulsive urge to do it soon, they still wished he could slow down once in a while for their sakes. After all, they didn't have shikon jewel shards in their legs to make them faster, and constantly trying to keep up with him was hectic and potentially unhealthy.

After several hours of running with occasional breaks, the pair of wolf youkai had to stop and catch their breath again. Even the wolves with them had to do the same before they went much further. Sure, they had more stamina then humans did, but Kouga's constant traveling and endless energy usually ran them ragged daily. Luckily they had at least managed to track his scent to a forest, which was unusually foggy at the moment. Obviously their leader was in there. They weren't worried; Kouga could take care of himself. But they didn't like being left behind, so they were going to find him.

Once they could breathe normally, the youkai duo and wolves cautiously walked into the misty woods. Ginta, the striped-haired wolf youkai, inhaled deeply, then stopped in his tracks, noticing something seriously wrong. "I... I can't smell Kouga-kun! Or anything anymore!"

Hakkaku, the mohawked wolf youkai, inhaled in response and looked confused. "You're right. It's... like nothing within this forest has a scent." The wolves moaned in desperation, upset their noses weren't working for some reason. "How do we find Kouga-kun now?"

Ginta put a finger on his chin and thought for a moment. "We should split up and look for him that way. If nothing else, we can at least still see and hear for him." Hakkaku agreed to the plan and went to check the north side, while the wolves went east and Ginta went south. They didn't bother to check the west side of the woods since that was the side they entered from.

Ginta walked casually through the thicket, mostly for the sake of his legs. All that time traveling taught him to never waste a chance to take things easy. Also, by moving slowly he'd have better luck hearing something important. In no time at all, he did hear something from far off. It was a voice, but it was too feminine to be Kouga's. Whoever it was, the sounds they were making, or at least the ones Ginta could hear, implied they weren't happy. Instead, they sounded... upset, frightened, and hurt. No words could be distinguished from where Ginta was, but the frantic, pleading tone of voice was enough of an SOS.

Ginta rushed over in the direction of the sound. As he moved, the fog began to thin out a little and he could finally begin to notice some scents. Soon, the striped wolf youkai made it within sight of a clearing, and saw Kouga inside it. But Kouga wasn't alone, and it was extremely obvious as to what was going on. While Ginta at first wanted to be wrong about what he thought, he knew better and couldn't pretend otherwise in good conscience.

Suddenly angry and disgusted, Ginta pounced at Kouga. Caught completely by surprise, the alpha wolf youkai was hurled across the clearing. Before he could react, Ginta swiftly poked and prodded Kouga's body in numerous places, using shiatsu to immobilize him. At this time, the only other person in the clearing chose to flee in a blur of black, white, and green. Ginta tried using what was left of his energy to catch up to them, but when they looked back, they screamed and ran faster.

"STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY! DON'T COME ANYWHERE NEAR ME!"

Choosing to obey them, Ginta stopped and panted heavily. He watched the hysterical person continue to run from him and disappear from his sight into the mist. Even though he personally hadn't done anything wrong to them, he took no offense at their words. They reeked of fear and this day had surely traumatized them. So he just stood there, leaning against a tree, not knowing what to do. He knew he had to keep an eye on them, for both their safety's sake. Kouga wouldn't be down for long, and as soon as he could, he'd try to kill Ginta and recapture the escapee.

Before Ginta could go anywhere, he turned around and saw a very furious Kouga. He looked like he could barely stand, but his jewel shards gave him that ability quickly. He looked almost rabid. "What... the hell... were you... doing?" For once, Kouga was out of breath.

Ginta put up a tough front. "I know what you were doing. What were you thinking?"

Kouga glared even more if that was possible. Then, without bothering to say another word, he pounced at Ginta. Even though the striped wolf was expecting and prepared for this, he couldn't act quickly enough and got pummeled senseless. Kouga even thrust a finger into his left eye, destroying it. As Ginta cried in agony, Kouga prepared for the finishing blow, but a beam of light came out of nowhere and struck him by his right shoulder. It threw him against a tree, and it was revealed to be an arrow, actually pinning him to the tree. He tried to pull it out, but ended up falling asleep, as if under a spell.

Ginta, with a hand over his severely bleeding eye, turned to see Kouga pinned like a bug in a display case. "What? How? Who...?" was all he could bring himself to say.

As if to answer his questions, a miko sporting a longbow and a solemn expression came into view from where the arrow did. She walked up to the subdued Kouga, and removed his shikon shards. Kouga didn't move once, not that anyone expected him to. Ginta wondered who she was and why she was doing all this.

"He has no right to these anymore." The miko stated to herself before looking forlorn in the direction of the escapee then the injured wolf youkai.

"Who... are you?" Ginta cautiously asked, afraid she'd do something to him.

"Why did you defend her?" The miko asked back, ignoring his question.

Ginta coughed up some phlegm. "Because, she needed it. Why did you?"

"I have my reasons." She answered bluntly, then waved her hand in the air above her head. Some youkai that resembled snakes or eels that swam through the air came and picked up Ginta. "I shall help you heal. Please come with me."

Ginta was too tired to even think of refusing.

--

Kagome felt awful to the point of being sick. In fact, she had already thrown up while running. She had found a river that wasn't that deep and dove right in, staying in the shallow part. She didn't even take off her torn and filthy uniform; she just dove in. There was no soap or shampoo, but she acted like she desperately needed a bath. She felt horribly, horribly dirty, and it wasn't because of the dirt, leaves, and sweat that not too long ago had clung to her body. She sat in the water, scooping it up and pouring it over her, and scrubbing herself raw with her bare hands in a frenzy.

Then she stood up, and just stood there knee-deep in the water, staring down at her reflection, holding her torn shirt closed. She was shivering, but not from the coldness of the water. Her skin still tingled in an unpleasant way, and it felt like her bones and muscles were too, like there were needles digging into her body. She was crying heavily now, but since her entire body was soaked no one would notice. Not that there was anyone else there to notice. Kagome was completely alone, a fact that both comforted and frightened her. She was safe from enemies, but apart from her friends, and right now she needed to see a friendly face more than ever. And there was one particular face she especially wanted to see.

'I need to get home or to Inuyasha. Right now!'

She got out of the water but didn't bother to dry off, mostly because she couldn't. Even though she had scrubbed herself to the point where her skin was raw, cut, and bruised, although it partly was that way before, Kagome still felt... horrible. That was the only fitting word. She clutched herself at the shoulders, closed her eyes, and fell to her knees as unpleasant images came to her.

"Inuyasha... I'm so sorry. You... you were right all along." She quietly said to herself as she kept crying and sniffling a few times.

It seemed that someone heard her private statement, for there was suddenly a rustle in some nearby bushes. Kagome panicked and started scuttling back towards the river like it was a fortress. She had unfortunately lost her bow and quiver earlier, so unless the thing in the bushes hated water, she was at the mercy of whoever showed up. Luckily, the thing in the bushes had a face Kagome knew and trusted.

"Kirara? Kirara! Thank heaven it's you!" Kagome shouted as she rushed to hug the nekomata, currently in her kitten form. As she embraced Kirara, she felt something bite her cheek. She slapped it, and confirmed it was Myouga as she guessed. "What do you think you're doing, Myouga-ji-chan?" She asked, sounding colder than she meant to.

As soon as the old flea youkai recovered, he looked at Kagome with concern from her palm. "Kagome-sama, have you been exposed to anything new recently? Anything that you've never experienced before?"

Kagome's eyes widened as a memory flashed in her mind. She cried out as she closed her eyes and put her hands on her temples, attempting to block out the image.

Myouga fell out of her hands and landed on Kirara's forehead. "What's wrong, Kagome-sama?"

It took time for her to answer. "Y... yes, Myouga-ji-chan. I... something did happen to me earlier."

"That's what I feared. Your blood tastes different, so something has begun and I think I know what. We must get you somewhere safe now."

"I need to get to the well." Kagome almost shouted.

"No, Kagome-sama. More is going on here with you than you know and you need to be here to hear it all. I know a close place where you can be safe and Inuyasha-sama can keep an eye on you." Myouga stated, waving his arms to keep her attention. "He'll need to hear this too."

Kagome wanted to get to her modern day home, where she would be safe. But she also wanted to get to Inuyasha, where she would feel safer. She then considered what Myouga had said. The flea may be a coward, but he always meant well and knew what he was talking about. If there was something she and Inuyasha had to hear now, then she would cooperate with him.

"Okay, Myouga-ji-chan, I'll do what you want, but get me to Inuyasha first."

Kirara changed into her larger, saber-toothed form, and Kagome got onto her back, hoping her ride and companion wouldn't mind the fact that she was very wet. If Kirara did, she didn't complain. As soon as Kagome was seated, Kirara took to the air.

--

Inuyasha was rushing through the forest, furiously hopping from tree to tree, looking for his missing companions. The last thing he remembered was the group walking through the forest as it suddenly got foggier. Then he noticed that somehow the others in the group had disappeared from his sight. He couldn't even smell them anymore. Unfortunately, he couldn't go look for them right away because a swarm of demons came from all directions to attack him. He just now was done with the battle and was seeking out his friends, especially Kagome.

'Dammit! Where the hell are they? This is one of Naraku's plans. I just know it.' He angrily thought to himself.

The unnatural mists in the forests were finally disappearing and Inuyasha could finally smell everything again, although still not entirely clearly. He did notice a familiar scent off to his right so he turned that direction. Very soon, he saw a figure breathing heavily while standing beside the dead bodies of minor youkai. He didn't need to sniff them to know who it was.

"Miroku!" The hanyou shouted to catch the attention of the houshi.

"Inuyasha! Glad to see you're well. Have you seen the others?"

"No, I haven't. You mean you don't know where they are either?"

"It seems we all unintentionally split up in that fog. I felt Naraku's presence earlier so I'm guessing this is another of his plots. But this does seem much too simple for him. Why split us up and have us fight novice youkai?" Miroku speculated.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked downward with closed eyes. He agreed with Miroku; this did seem too petty to be one of Naraku's schemes now. 'This can only mean that there's more going on here.' He thought, then something in his mind clicked. "Miroku, what if Naraku was trying to... get one of us alone, and sent these small fry youkai to keep the rest of us busy?"

Miroku gasped. "Then Sango-chan or Kagome-sama, or both, are possibly still in danger." He highly doubted that Shippou would be the target.

"You check one way, I'll check another. Let's reunite outside this forest by sundown at the latest unless something comes up." It was only a little after noon so that was presumably more than enough time. Miroku agreed, and the two men rushed off to find the women in their group.

--

Sango had been looking for her friends, but found Hakkaku instead. She didn't want to be rude, but she had just fought off a swarm without having time to get her battle outfit on, was worried about the others, and was in no mood for small talk. "What are you doing here?" She asked as politely as she could.

"I'm looking for Kouga-kun." Hakkaku cautiously answered. "What are you doing here?"

"What I do best: slay youkai. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my friends." Sango didn't bother waiting for a response before she started to leave. But before she was gone, she stopped and turned to look at Hakkaku. "Wait. Why would Kouga-kun be here?"

The mohawked wolf youkai felt it was none of the taijiya's business, so he refused to answer and resumed his search. Annoyed, Sango went and continued her own as well.

--

After flying for some time, Kirara finally found Inuyasha moving through the trees. He was going slower than his usual pace since he was trying to locate anything familiar. Luckily he was heading their direction so Kirara stopped in front of him on the ground. Kagome meanwhile chose to get off her ride and get to her hanyou protector right away.

"INUYASHA!"

The cry definitely caught the attention of the inu-hanyou. He could plainly see she was extremely wet and unhappy, but from what he couldn't guess. He jumped onto the ground, and Kagome ran right into him, nearly knocking him off his feet. She was crying like she couldn't run out of tears and clutched his haori like her life depended on it. If she was trying to say anything through her sobs, it was too muffled to be understood. Unclear on what was going on, Inuyasha simply wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

When he rested his chin on her scalp, Inuyasha was able to notice Kagome's scent better. It was overpowered by water, but her personal scent was filled with fear and blood from many small cuts. The scent of salt was also evident due to all her tears. But there was another aroma, an unidentifiable one that made Inuyasha nervous for her.

Kagome pulled her face away from Inuyasha's chest without ever leaving his arms. She spoke to him but didn't give any eye contact, looking like she was embarrassed to. "Inuyasha... please... don't leave me."

"What happened to you Kagome?"

Kagome looked like she was trying to contain a scream. But before she could make a sound, Myouga jumped onto Inuyasha's nose. Oddly, this time he didn't take a drink. "Inuyasha-sama, we need to get Kagome-sama to a safe place urgently."

Without any questions, Inuyasha then picked up Kagome bridal style. She didn't resist, but clang to him even more. "Then... let's get to the well." Inuyasha didn't sound enthusiastic about it because the well was a long ways away even with his speed. There was no way they'd make it there by a decent time.

"No my lord. It's better that she remain here in this time for now. I'll explain later, but trust me on this. If she's here, it'll be easier to treat her. Masao-sama's residence is close enough so I recommend there."

Inuyasha growled lightly to himself, as if mentally protesting the idea. But he relented and moved Kagome onto his back and ran off towards the west. Kirara took to the air and resumed looking for the others.

--

After wandering around aimlessly in the forest for an unknown amount of time, Miroku finally managed to locate Sango and Shippou, but not Kirara or Kagome. Their stories were identical to his own, except Shippou ran from his attackers until Sango found and defended him. They asked where Kagome and Inuyasha were, and Miroku only told what he already knew. The three of them continued searching, but weren't going to separate this time.

After some more time wandering, probably an hour or two, they happened to come across Kouga's pinned body. They all gasped when they saw it.

"What... could have happened here?" Miroku asked no one in particular.

Sango got a closer look. "It looks like a sacred arrow is binding him here."

"You mean like how Inuyasha was trapped." Shippou asked. They were all well informed on the story of Inuyasha being snared to the Goshinboku by Kikyou decades ago.

"It appears so. But why would Kikyou do this?" Sango replied.

"Maybe it was Kagome-chan instead. It smells like she was here." Shippou commented. However, as soon as he said it, he didn't believe it. It was just too hard to picture Kagome doing something like that.

"But why would she do this?" Miroku asked, disbelieving the idea for the same reason Shippou did.

"I don't know. We should find her and find out what happened." Sango suggested.

They left in a hurry, and about ten minutes later found Kirara who was resting. Sango was glad to see her companion, still in her larger form, safe and hugged her. "Kirara, have you seen Kagome-chan or Inuyasha?" The nekomata nodded. "Do you know where they are now?" She made a whine that clearly meant 'no'. Disappointed, the small group decided to rest with Kirara for a while, exhausted from all the searching.

--

The journey to wherever Inuyasha was going was filled with an awkward semi-silence. Occasionally one of them would try to say something, but stopped after maybe one complete word at most. Both just seemed at a loss for words right now. Kagome almost slept on the trip, but couldn't because Myouga wouldn't let her and if she tried nightmarish images came to her even more.

Sometime after mid-afternoon, Inuyasha stopped running. Kagome saw they were in front of a moderately sized building. It almost looked like a Shinto shrine, but wasn't decorated like one. It also appeared to be in good shape, as if it was well tended to despite it's seclusion.

"Inuyasha, why are we here?" Kagome curiously asked as she stepped down off his back.

"Myouga-jiji suggested we stay here tonight. Don't worry about intruding; this used to be my house." Inuyasha answered.

Kagomestill partially wanted to get to the well, but didn't say anything about it. She knew there had to be a reason for her to be here, so she wouldn't argue. "Your house?"

"Yeah. Long ago when I was a whelp. When Haha-ue got worried I'd be killed by other people and youkai, she took me here and raised me. It belongs to a friend of Oyaji who was willing to help and welcomes me back all the time. Of course I rarely come back anymore, but I'm sure the offer still stands. Let's find out."

Inuyasha knocked and in a few moments the shoji opened. The pair was greeted by a creature Kagome had never seen before. It was some type of bird youkai about half her size. It resembled a brown eagle or hawk and stood like a person. It wore armor and had two muscular arms along with a single wing coming out of his, or possibly her, left shoulder. It looked like it had lost the second wing in a battle long ago.

'Wow. I think it's a tengu.' Kagome thought to herself.

"Why hello Inuyasha-sama. How nice to see you again." The tengu said. It's voice confirmed it was a male.

"Thanks Masao. My friend and I need lodging for tonight." Inuyasha replied.

"Oh, of course. Come on in. You can stay as long as you need to. This is your house too you know." The tengu responded, then moved to let Inuyasha and Kagome enter.

Once inside, Kagome could simply gasp in awe. It wasn't fancy by feudal or futuristic standards, but was well decorated. Paintings of many different scenes, the kind she had only seen in history books and museums, covered the walls along with several weapons. The whole place was designed to house a samurai, and it was easy for Kagome to imagine a young Inuyasha standing here, looking up and dreaming of becoming a warrior himself one day.

Inuyasha got Myouga into his hand. "Okay flea, we're here. So what's the big problem that can only be fixed here?" He asked rather bluntly as everyone just stood around in the main room. He saw Kagome look like she was trying to hide behind him. "What's wrong now Kagome?"

"I... I need a change of clothes." She shyly and sadly answered.

Masao heard this and went into another room. Inuyasha was about to say she didn't need to change her outfit, but saw it was torn and still damp from her river bath. She was also clutching her shirt closed since it was torn down the front. Masao returned holding a red yukata and handed it out to Kagome.

"Here you go miss. It's made from fire rat fur like Inuyasha-sama's outfit, but designed to be more feminine. Inutaisho-dono, Inuyasha-sama's father, had me make this for his son's future mate."

Both Kagome and Inuyasha blushed at what the tengu implied. "Thanks Masao, but... sadly Kagome isn't my mate. We... aren't even courting yet, if ever." Inuyasha clarified, sounding almost disappointed. Kagome gave him a surprised look at the sad tone of his voice.

"Well, she can still have it for now. Who knows, she might later be the one it was meant for." Masao said with a shrug. He then opened a door to another room and let her enter so she could change.

Kagome went inside and closed the door. When she was positive no one could see her, she slowly removed her tattered school uniform and cringed as the action reminded her of why it was tattered in the first place. She didn't bother to carefully place it aside in a pile, she just threw it away from her, not caring where it landed. She never intended to wear it again. Soon she was just in her underwear, or what was left of it. Her bra was torn in two and her panties were long gone. Luckily Masao had included an underkimono and Kagome wasted no time in putting on her new outfit.

When she was done, she just stood there in front of a mirror to see how she looked in these clothes. It was the same red as Inuyasha's clothes, but looked more like Sango's casual kimono shapewise. It included a pair of formfitting hakama under the loose knee length skirt part so she could move her legs more freely without fear of revealing anything inappropriate. Most men would call her beautiful in it and she knew it, but she didn't want them to, unless they were Inuyasha.

Kagome sniffled as her thoughts turned to the hanyou in the other room. She had every intention of telling Inuyasha what had happened to her. She knew he would not be happy about it and would surely do something about it. Even if he didn't love her like she wanted him to, there was no way he could let her go unavenged.

Kagome sadly sighed. She knew she was in love with Inuyasha and wanted to be with him all the time. Even though she wasn't ready for marriage or children, she did know she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Inuyasha. A life without him just seemed hollow to her. She wanted desperately to believe that he loved her back, and was more than a little sure he did, but Kikyou always made her feel insignificant.

Still, there were times when Kagome could feel she was the more important one in Inuyasha's heart. Like just before when he denied she was his mate. He truly sounded disappointed to her, like he wanted them to be together that way but felt such a thing was impossible. Kagome decided that next chance she got, she would talk to him about their relationship. She wanted some real answers.

--

Inuyasha sat cross legged on a tatami mat with Tetsusaiga resting in his arms like he usually did. He kept silent with a solemn downward expression, thinking about Kagome. Everything he saw, heard, and smelled told him she had just been through something terrible. He already had an idea of what it was, from the bruises he saw on her arms and the scent of blood on her legs, but prayed he was wrong. He hated thinking it as much as he hated seeing her cry. It made him feel like he was a failure at being her self-appointed protector.

Over the year they had been together, Kagome's well being came to be Inuyasha's top priority. Even higher than gaining jewel shards, despite how he acted. Anything bad that happened to her hurt him worse than his own actual injuries. Of course this all had confused Inuyasha over the year. He wondered what exactly made her so special. Even Kikyou had never been this important to him.

More than two months ago, Inuyasha began to wonder if he actually had fallen in love with the miko from the future. This confused him since he wasn't entirely sure what love was. He had always been told he never deserved love, so he never bothered to try to understand it. What was the point if no one would want anything to do with you?

He had thought he felt love for Kikyou once, but had learned he was wrong. Sure, he did care for her 51 years ago, but it wasn't love. If anything he felt for Kikyou what he felt for Sango, and he knew that Sango was just a friend. Kikyou was the first person to show him tolerance in a long time, and he was so desperate for acceptance that he went along with her plans to keep it.

His feelings for Kagome, however, were on a completely different level. They went beyond companionship and a desire to protect her. Inuyasha thought about a union between them quite often nowadays, even without prompting. Back with Kikyou, he never thought about it until after she mentioned him being human so they could live normally, and even then the idea wasn't as appealing as with Kagome. He was greatly confused why.

But Inuyasha tried not to think about it too much. Even if he was in love with Kagome and found the idea of being her mate enticing, he felt it was just a pipe dream. Kagome could have any man she wanted, and Inuyasha felt it was unlikely she would settle for him when he was a hanyou and had nothing to offer that others couldn't as well with more.

Kagome came out of the room, dressed in her new fire rat outfit. Like she predicted, Inuyasha thought she was beautiful in it. She still looked miserable, almost ashamed of herself even. Inuyasha scooted over on his mat and indicated there was enough room for her if she was interested. She apparently was, for she immediately sat down but not in her usual manner. Her legs were wrapped by her arms tightly to her chest while her chin rested on her knees. She leaned onto Inuyasha's side and relaxed a tiny bit when he put an arm around her.

"Myouga-jiji," Inuyasha said while glaring at the flea sitting across the unlit hearth. "Tell us what the big disaster is. I'm sick of waiting."

Myouga sighed then looked at Kagome. "Kagome-sama, what I have to say might make more sense after you explain what happened to you when everyone was separated."

Kagome gulped but didn't talk right away. She looked to see that only Inuyasha and Myouga were with her now. Masao was in another room to give them all privacy. Turning her attention back to the floor, she began to explain what had occurred.

"After... everyone was out of sight, I kept walking, trying to find everyone. What I found was... one of Naraku's baboon-cloaked puppets."

"What did that bastard do to you?" Inuyasha angrily asked, holding her closer reflexively.

"I tried to get my bow ready, but he rushed over to me and punched me real hard in the stomach. So of course I fell to my knees hurt and gasping for air. While I was going that, I felt... as if Naraku had thrown some dirt on me. I checked, but I saw my body glow a faint purple for a moment. Then he punched me again in the jaw, and I fell down on my back."

Kagome shed another tear and closed her eyes. "He vanished, and... that's when things got bad."

Inuyasha blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"After he left, someone else... showed up. Someone I... didn't want to see, and never want to see again! He... he saw me, and... then he... he..." Kagome had to stop because her sobs began to overwhelm her words. She clung to Inuyasha and buried the side of her face on his chest. "HE RAPED ME!" She suddenly shouted, and Inuyasha nearly facefaulted. "He raped me! And he claimed I wanted him to! I... kept telling him 'no', that I didn't love him, but he wouldn't listen. I'm just glad I at least got away before he finished and 'marked' me like he said he would."

"Who was it?" Inuyasha asked, barely hiding his rage.

"Ko... Ko..." Kagome shamefully struggled to answer, finding it difficult to form the word now. Luckily she didn't have to.

"Kouga?" Inuyasha asked, his voice filled with surprise, disgust, and mostly anger.

Kagome nodded with more tears streaming down her face.

Inuyasha was now clenching his fists and snarling, looking like he was out for blood. He wanted to go out, find his wolf adversary, and gut him into more pieces than the shattered shikon no tama. But Kagome's whimpering made him choose to remain right with her. He wrapped both arms around her and lifted her onto his lap. She didn't resist in any way; in fact, she would have done it herself.

Myouga cleared his throat, catching their attention. "Now I should explain what I have to say. Kagome-sama, if you recall, earlier I said your blood tasted different. That is because Naraku apparently used a rare, cursed dust called the yousei powder on you. How he got it, I don't know except maybe from the creator himself. Anyway, if used on a living being, it seeps into the body and starts it's effect. Once the victim falls asleep, they... change into the type of creature they had the most contact with before. And since the powder only works once, the change is presumably irreversible. Naraku must have wanted you to be turned into a wolf youkai for some reason."

Kagome suddenly looked very panicked. "Can it be prevented? I don't want to be a wolf!"

"Well... yes and no." Myouga answered. "The yousei powder is already in your blood and you will wake up tomorrow no longer human, whether you like it or not. However, you don't necessarily have to wake up a wolf. The powder turns you into what you most had contact with, not what you first had contact with." The flea youkai explained as his eyes darted back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha. This did not go unnoticed by them.

"You don't mean...?" Inuyasha tried to say.

"Yes my lord. Left alone, Kagome-sama will most likely become a wolf youkai. But, if she stays in your company for the rest of the night, your aura should be strong enough to prevent that. Thus, she will wake up as an inu-hanyou instead. Of course, that change will be more likely if you two are in constant physical contact all night and Kagome-sama desires it more than the change to wolf." Myouga answered.

Inuyasha was about to object, not wanting to force such a change onto Kagome without her consent. But she spoke before he could. "Would I... be strong and have dog ears and claws?" She sounded curious but unhopeful, as if expecting to be told 'no'.

"Yes, Kagome-sama. To the best of my knowledge, you'll have all the physical traits of Inuyasha-sama. His attacks, his time of weakness, his longevity, and a need for a seal as well." Myouga answered.

"Then that's what I want." Kagome said, much more eagerly this time yet still sorrowful. "I want to be like Inuyasha." She hugged him a little tighter as she said this without realizing it.

Inuyasha himself was speechless. Kagome was willing to match him? Kikyou had always insisted that he match her, never the other way around. Plus he was a hanyou, one of the most disliked creatures in existence, and yet she was okay with herself being one. He was incredibly shocked, and touched, by her words.

--

Hakkaku heard the sad howl of wolves in the distance, and headed their direction. When he later got there, he saw them standing around Kouga. Hakkaku gasped and tried to remove the arrow, but a barrier prevented him from grasping it. Minor burn marks appeared on his palm.

"Who did this, and why?" Hakkaku asked, knowing no one would answer. He then smelled Ginta's blood coming off of one of Kouga's hands and on the ground too. This added to the confusion. The wolves moaned in sadness and Hakkaku sat down to think for a moment.

Later on, still with no ideas about what had transpired, the mohawked wolf youkai gathered up the wolves and started to leave. They had no idea where to go, but knew they'd never get any answers just sitting there.

--

It was night and the rest of Inuyasha's group was outside the once foggy forest. They hadn't seen either Inuyasha or Kagome yet, even though sunset had already passed. They circled the forest twice but were too tired to search anymore, so they made camp.

"Just what is going on?" Sango irritably asked.

"Inuyasha believes that Naraku was trying to separate us all so he could victimize one of us while the others were distracted." Miroku mused.

"Well, nothing bad happened to me that I couldn't handle." Sango replied.

"Same here." Shippou added.

"Likewise." Miroku agreed. Then his eyes widened in realization. "It must have been Kagome-sama that Naraku was targeting."

"Kagome-chan?" Both Sango and Shippou shouted in shock.

"Do you think she's okay?" Shippou asked, worried.

Miroku sighed. "I don't know. The best we can hope for is that Inuyasha has gotten to her already and is watching over her. There's sadly little we ourselves can do now." He started to yawn, all that time on the move during the day was catching up to him.

Even though Sango and Shippou wanted to keep searching for Kagome, they were getting sleepy too. Even if they weren't, Kirara was already dozing off and they couldn't go very far without her. So, unable to do much else, the group let sleep overcome them.

--

Inuyasha and Kagome were still at Masao's house that night, but weren't asleep yet. Mostly because Kagome was too afraid to go to sleep. At Myouga's advice, she had stayed in his embrace all evening, separating only for one of them to go use the latrines when they had to. Even right now, she was touching nothing but him, hoping it was enough to prevent her from becoming a wolf. Neither had eaten any dinner, not having much of an appetite. It seemed like it was going to be a long night.

They sat in a room Masao had prepared for them, leaning against a wall. There were no futons, but they didn't need any. Inuyasha planned to stay up all night watching over Kagome, who was going to hopefully get some sleep in his arms. Inuyasha didn't plan on letting his guard down for a second, not with Kagome in this state.

Kagome leaned against Inuyasha's chest, hearing his heartbeat and inhaling his scent. She wondered what he would smell like once she got a hanyou nose. She really hoped she became an inu-hanyou and not a wolf youkai, mostly because she wanted to feel closer to Inuyasha. That and if she became a wolf Kouga would be more encouraged to take her again.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome started to say to get his attention. "Thank you for all that you've done for me today. It really means a lot to me."

Inuyasha brushed some of her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to prevent it."

"And I'm sorry for what I did too." She added shamefully.

Inuyasha could tell she didn't mean the same thing he did, and got confused. "What do you mean? You've done nothing wrong. So what are you sorry for?"

"You were right about... him. You were always right about him. I should never have defended him." Kagome explained, painfully remembering all the times she and he had discussed Kouga. How he would insult the wolf youkai and she would accuse him of jealousy and overreacting, and sometimes leave afterwards.

Inuyasha lifted her chin up to make sure she was looking at him. "Kagome, don't you dare blame yourself for this. It wasn't your fault. It was that mangy wolf's fault and that bastard Naraku too. I'll kill them both to where even the crows can't find their remains."

"Why?" Kagome asked, feeling it was a good way to get him to explain how he felt about her.

Inuyasha took a deep breath. "Because... anything that hurts you hurts me too, worse than my own injuries."

Kagome tried to lean in closer, anxious to hear this. "Why? What exactly am I to you Inuyasha? Tell me the truth. I need to hear it."

Inuyasha closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. It looked like he was trying to find the right words to say, but they weren't coming easily. "Kagome, you... you're the most important thing in the world to me. All the time we've spent together, you became the only thing that really matters to me. Much more than the shards or defeating Naraku. I just have to say those are important to justify to others being near you."

Kagome blinked and then rubbed his cheek with her hand. "Inuyasha, do you love me?"

Again he struggled to answer. "Kagome, I... I feel... lighter and more cheerful with you around. Just the sight of you puts me at ease. I hate seeing you go down that well, because I'm always afraid you'll never come back. I feel... I need you around to really feel right in the world. And I would gladly give up everything I own if it meant you would never cry again. Is that love?"

Kagome saw it wasn't a rhetorical question. He was seriously asking her if that was love. It made sense that he wasn't sure exactly what the feeling was, since none had ever shown it to him before.

"Yes Inuyasha, that is love. I know... because that's exactly how I feel about you." Kagome told him, a small smile forming on her lips for the first time all day. "I love you, Inuyasha, and I have for a long time."

Inuyasha blinked several times, disbelieving what he had heard. "You... you do? Really?" Kagome nodded. "So... does that mean if I were to someday ask to court you, you would agree?"

"What's courting?" Kagome asked, her head tilted a little.

"It's... where two demons intend to one day... become mates. For some time, usually half a year to a year, they live together and find ways to have fun privately to let their feelings for one another grow and see if they are interested in becoming mates. If they do, then they mate and become what humans would call husband and wife." Inuyasha explained.

Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha... are you saying you want to... someday... marry me?"

"I would like to be mated with you Kagome. But... if you don't want that, I understand." Inuyasha replied sadly. Before he could say anything else, Kagome pulled him into a loving kiss, one that made them both feel like they were on Cloud 9 the whole time.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said when they pulled apart. "I would love to be with you like that, someday. While I'm not ready to actually be married or mated yet, I would love to be with you forever. Maybe... sometime around the end of the year. Is that okay?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Whenever you want it. As long as we're together, the 'when' doesn't matter to me."

Kagome got more comfortable in his arms. "Thank you." Now that she felt a little better, she began to feel a little tired too. "Goodnight, Inuyasha. I love you." She said with a yawn, happy she no longer had to hide her feelings for him for fear of rejection. She was afraid of what nightmares she might have, but was consoled knowing the hanyou she loved was right there with her to keep watch.

"Goodnight Kagome. I... love you too." Inuyasha said as she started to fall asleep. It felt weird to actually say it outloud for him, but once he did he was glad. He leaned back against the wall and tried to imagine what life would have in store for them later on.