DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho\

A/N: Part two of two!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Summary: Keiko left Yusuke, and the heartbroken Detective rescues the woman who turns out to be exactly what he was looking for. Kagome/Yusuke

oOo

Kagome braced herself, it was still hard to get used to having friends especially when a couple of them were all about hugging. She was sure that part of all the contact was because of Yusuke, he must have said something to them to encourage the hugging and grabbing onto her. But, she'd been visiting with the group more often now that she had talked out some of her issues and Yusuke had more or less told her that they were going to be there for her anyways so she might as well accept it and be their friend. It had been about a month and a half but she was getting a pretty good grip on things, she knew names and likes and dislikes and how everybody came to be part of their little group.

And today she had been invited over to Yusuke's place for a movie night, and for some reason she couldn't, or rather wouldn't, name-she had butterflies. Part of her was still fighting the attachment to these guys, wanting to be able to just cut and run if it felt necessary. She tried to reason with herself, she knew that they had been fighting demons for about as long as she had and they could hold their own in a fight, so being friends with them couldn't put them in much more danger than they already were in.

Hesitating for another moment outside the door, tugging on the sleeves on her jacket, she took a deep breath and then let herself in.

"Hey Kagome! It's nice to see you," Kurama said, hugging her as she stepped inside the door.

"Hi Kurama, good to see you too," she replied, trying to relax.

Kuwabara was next, pulling her into a hug despite the fact that he was so much taller than she was so the hug was a little awkward and pretty silly to look at. But he had such a friendly spirit to begin with so his hug was the least unexpected and the most natural. Hiei didn't say much, and he wasn't big on physical contact either so he just nodded to acknowledge her and she smiled at him with a nod in return. She got into the kitchen to find Yusuke watching the popcorn in the microwave, and walked up behind him to scare him when he turned around.

When he felt that shiver down his spine, like he was being watched, he turned his head and saw her out of the corner of his eye. He jumped a little before turning around completely and picking her up in a huge hug. She wouldn't say it out loud, but his hugs were her favorite.

"You're here! That means we can put in the movie. It's a good one, an action flick!" He said as he put her back on her feet.

Yusuke had considered renting a comedy, he hadn't really heard her laugh yet and wanted to. But, he didn't know what her sense of humor was like so he didn't know what would make her laugh. And it sucked. He may have learned more about her, but he still wanted to learn even more. He had been trying to come to terms with what he was feeling around her, why he wanted to get to know her so well, why he kept thinking about her…he was trying to deny that all of this meant anything. She certainly didn't seem to be looking for a relationship, and he wasn't sure he was either. Friendship was good.

But he found himself getting upset when Kurama would make her smile, or she would sit next to Hiei in this quiet companionship, and Kuwabara had no trouble getting her to talk to him. He'd just sit and watch and stew in this angry feeling he refused to call jealousy, and eventually he'd end up snapping at somebody or breaking something. He was sure Kurama knew more than he was letting on, he was a very observant and intelligent person so if anybody knew what was going on under the surface, he did.

Kagome followed him back into the living room where Kurama and Kuwabara were taking up two-thirds of the couch and Hiei was sitting in one of the chairs back in the corner. While Yusuke passed out the popcorn, Kagome stretched out on the loveseat assuming Yusuke would sit on the couch with his other friends. However after hitting the lights and starting the film, he just picked up her legs and sat down in the cushion they had been occupying and let them rest in his lap. For the first time she blushed, it may have been hard to see in the dark but Yusuke saw it when she pulled her legs away and hugged them to her chest. He felt himself get a little warm as well, as he wondered if that blush led anywhere else. He had to shift a little in his seat and try desperately to focus on the movie, he almost wished he had sat somewhere else. He was in trouble over here.

He was so aware of her presence right next to him, every time she'd shift he knew it and had to stop himself from looking over at her. Until she was moving more frequently, that is, and then he had to figure out just what the hell was going on over there.

"Kagome," he whispered, "what the fuck? What's got you moving so much?"

She gave him a mean look, "Sorry couch police. If you must know, I am a little hot and it's making me uncomfortable," she whispered back.

Looking at her huge, thick jacket pointedly he shot back in a whisper, "There's an easy fix for that you know, you could just take off your jacket and you wouldn't be hot anymore."

'That's a lie if I ever told one,' he thought to himself. The shock of his thought just barely kept off his face.

"I…I don't think I should," she whispered back in a nervous tone, tugging at the end of her sleeves.

"Just do it, make yourself comfortable here, you are surrounded by friends," he whispered with a tone of finality, "unless you want me to take it off of you myself."

There it was, that blush again, the blush that messed with his head, "Fine, I'll do it."

He couldn't help but watch as she unzipped her jacket, he knew he was staring but it was out of his control. She had always worn large sweaters and jackets, he'd never seen her in a T-shirt or blouse, all of her clothes were too big on her. But now he would see what she hid under there, what did she wear? Apparently a simple black tank top was what she wore, and she looked amazing. She had such a great shape that he really didn't understand why she felt like she had to hide herself under all the layers and baggy clothes. But, as she moved to drape her jacket over the back of the loveseat, he understood. Her scars.

Her wrists each had one long deep scar, he had known they would be there though, but still the sight of them caught him off-guard. And on her chest, above her-damn, he had to shift in his seat again, there were apparent claw marks disappearing into her shirt. Obviously she was self-conscious of them, that explained everything. He tore his eyes away from her before she caught him staring, it would do no good to make her cover them back up and do more damage. So he went back to focusing on the movie, or at least pretending to, while he continued to be aware of every move she made behind him.

And Kagome was really grateful he pushed her to take off her jacket, even more grateful that he didn't draw attention to her scars and didn't continue to stare at her. She was rather mad at herself for blushing around him and hoped he hadn't noticed since the lights were out. That was not a good way for friends to behave, blushing like a schoolgirl around him had to stop. But where did he get off saying flirty things and getting cozy with her? He was making it difficult to not react and she was going to need to put some distance between them. Maybe. She really didn't want to, she enjoyed hanging out with the guys and Yusuke was the best friend she'd had in a while.

When the credits were rolling, Kagome slipped back into her jacket before the lights came on and helped Yusuke pick up the bowls and trash while the rest of the guys said their goodbyes and left. Once the clean-up was done and it was time to go, Yusuke saw her to the door.

She turned around before she got all the way out of the door and said, "Yusuke, thanks for everything," with a smile just for him.

oOo

"I called you all here because we have a problem, a big one," Koenma announced from behind his desk, looking over his odd group.

Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei were standing together and Kagome was a small distance away from the group. It was a practice she hadn't quite rid herself of, distancing herself from people out in public. Koenma's office wasn't exactly public, but she most definitely wasn't comfortable enough there to let her guard down any.

"When isn't there a problem, toddler?" Yusuke asked in an irritated tone, arms crossed over his chest in a frustrated manner.

Kagome fought back a smile, they seemed to be more and more common around him, it shouldn't have been so easy for him to change her habits. But she thought his habit of intentionally poking at Koenma was funny.

"This time it's a big deal, there is a dangerous high-class demon on the loose. A psychic demon of high intellect, it has been able to move between the worlds with little effort and is draining humans of their life energy." He turned out the lights and turned on his projector to pull up pictures of the victims.

"We aren't sure how long he's been at this, we only noticed what was happening a couple days ago but this-," he pushed a button and up came a rather disturbing picture of a young woman, "is what the end result is. As you can see, there are open wounds in various places on the body which we've learned are just replicated injuries from their pasts." Another click, another picture, "And their faces are…well, they speak for themselves."

They couldn't help but agree, the looks of horror and fear and even sadness were very obvious to all of them. The injuries, the looks, the condition of the bodies…Kagome knew exactly what was happening here, but she'd wait to see if Koenma had already figured it out.

"We can assume that each attack followed the same basic pattern: the demon found the weakest point in the barrier and snuck through, hunted for the victim with the greatest potential for draining and carried them off to an isolated location to drain them. It seems to feed off of the energy generated by fear and pain, which explains why old scars become fresh injuries."

Kagome took that moment to speak up, "So, since you've already told us that you've missed this thing up until recently, how to you expect us to catch the slippery bastard?"

She heard a chuckle off to her left and resisted the urge to look in that direction, she really wanted an answer. What made him think, with all the ways he had to detect breeches in the barriers and he still missed it, that they had the means to detect and deal with the demon? How did you deal with psychic demons anyway? Was it possible to block their abilities and leave them relying on brute strength or even overwhelm the sense and destroy the mind? She didn't like how this situation was likely to play out. The fact that it would pick up it's victims and carry them away said a lot about it's strength and maybe even it's size. This was, from the looks of it, a very powerful and very dangerous demon.

"You will rely on Hiei's ability to sense auras and energies with his Jagan, and perhaps your own ability to do so would be helpful as well, Kagome." He replied in deadpan, as if it was an obvious response.

"And you are aware, Koenma, that Hiei and I cannot stay on high alert at all times. I know you are. He may have the Jagan under control but the longer he has it unwarded and has to put more energy into controlling it, the more likely it is that he would lose control or run out of energy. The same goes for me, I may have the energy of the Shikon within me, but even that has it's limits and needs to replenish itself." She crossed her arms underneath her chest.

And Yusuke couldn't help but stare for a moment. A long moment. Her body was a constant distraction to him lately, ever since he had seen what she hid underneath her giant sweaters. He found himself taking cold showers a lot more often, she haunted his dreams more often than not and he ended up very frustrated when he'd wake up in the middle of them. He couldn't deny that he had feelings for her anymore, but he could choose not to act on them. He occasionally flirted with her but, for all the reaction it got him, she would pull away afterwards and not be as open as had become her normal way recently. A sharp elbow to his ribs from Kurama brought his attention back to the matter at hand, and he couldn't help but be embarrassed.

"Eyes front, Yusuke!" Kurama hissed, frowning at him in disapproval.

"You will do what you have to, we don't want this demon to take another life. Work something out and get the job done!" Koenma shouted, effectively catching Yusuke's attention, "Botan! Take the guys home, I'd like to have a word alone with Kagome before I send her back."

"Come on fellas, let's get you outta here!" She chirped, opening the portal and pushing them through with her oar.

Kagome stepped up to the desk, "What is it you want, Koenma? Must be something if you aren't letting the guys in on it."

"So far the targets for this demon have been women in their twenties, all of them have come from rough pasts full of some kind of pain. I want you to go on nightly patrols with your senses on high alert, perhaps you can catch the demon in the act or-"

"Catch his attention myself?" Kagome had to give him credit where credit was due, this was a very good plan, "Not a horrible idea, it's not as if I can die so it wouldn't be able to kill me, but why couldn't you mention this with the others around?"

He sighed, "You are aware of how Yusuke became part of this team, his sacrifice for that child?" She nodded, "He is not the type to use a person as bait, none of them are really, not if they are aware of it. The only one who would be willing would be Hiei, he does not care much about the process as long as it ends the way he plans it. They would fight me on this, even knowing that you could not die, because in this particular case things could happen that are worse than death. This demon could make you relive every painful memory, all your fear and pain, and drain your energy and that of the Shikon…it actually may be very possible for you to die in this situation.

And, when you go back, you need to pull Hiei aside and tell him about this. When you are out looking for the demon, he should be focused on your energy to keep track of you. Should you find the demon, he needs to be able to pinpoint your location and get the team there. Understood?"

Kagome nodded, "Got it."

She left through the portal and walked right past everyone to the farthest corner of the room where Hiei was standing. She knew everyone was staring, they must have been curious, she couldn't have them listening in so she had to get him out and away from everyone else.

"Hiei, I need to speak with you and it's very important. Walk with me?" She asked, inclining her head toward the front door, her eyes were steel and determined.

He glared at her and simply nodded, to which she smiled in response. She said a goodbye to the group as they left, not taking the time to speak to the individuals. She didn't even turn around or else she would have seen the shock on each face and the anger that followed on Yusuke's.

oOo

"Every night this week! Neither of them are 'available' and it's pissing me off!" Yusuke punched the brick wall of Kurama's building.

"Calm down Yusuke," Kurama sighed, watching the man beside him shake the brick dust off of his hand, "they are probably just working the case like we are. They are the most important parts of this, after all. They can sense what we can't."

"If they were working, why wouldn't they be with us? What the hell do they think we are doing? We go out every night and hunt for this damn demon and they are off doing what? And did you see her leave with him after we got back from Koenma's office? Just walked right up to him and he left with her, no argument!" He grumbled as he fell in step with the other two.

Kuwabara nodded his head, "It is a little odd, Shorty doesn't like people so I don't know what was up with that. But I agree with Kurama, they are probably working. Kagome is very determined when she's put on a case. What else would they be doing?"

'What am I so worked up about, really? Do I really believe that Kagome could be interested in Hiei? Or that Hiei is interested in her? And what would it matter if they were…together? I hadn't made a move on her, I thought she wasn't looking for a relationship and I respected that. She can make her own choices.'

So, if that's how he really felt on the subject, why did the thought of her being held by Hiei feel like a knife in his heart?

"Just shut up, both of you. Look for signs of the demon and shut the hell up," Yusuke said, head drooping.

And while he was lost in his feelings, Kagome and Hiei were on the other side of town but they weren't together. Hiei was keeping to the rooftops a few blocks behind Kagome, letting her play bait. He had been quietly surprised when she told him what they'd be doing, he hadn't expected her to be so willing to put herself at risk and said as much. She just told him that, through certain experiences, she couldn't die so it was no big deal to her. And he let it be after that. He wasn't going to push her for details and he wasn't going to try and talk her out of it, he wanted this mission over with and she was the best bet for it.

Kagome couldn't help but be exhausted by the whole process, however, putting her energy out there to be felt by this demon and to feel the demon as well was a hard process. But they were out every night walking different streets and getting no results whatsoever. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach now though, it had been there all evening, tonight was the night. They were going to find the demon tonight and the only reason she didn't tell anybody was because she didn't want to change anything in case it affected what happened. It was now, as a matter of fact.

She turned and looked in the direction of the building where she could sense Hiei, and she just barely got his name out before she was grabbed and pulled into the shadows, "Hiei!"

"Dammit!" He growled, pulling out his communicator and contacting Botan, "Bring the detective and the others here, NOW." He slammed it closed and leapt off the building to wait for them on the ground.

He focused the Jagan on Kagome's energy signature, they hadn't known how it traveled and they weren't expecting it to shadow-walk. She could be anywhere now, too far for them to get there in time. Searching, he found her a couple miles away in the direction of woods, perfect cover for a shadow-walker. Now where was that stupid ferrygirl with the team?

As if he summoned them with his thoughts, the portal popped up a couple feet away and Botan was pushing them out before leaving again. They looked confused and Yusuke looked pissed, normal for the lot of them.

Kurama walked briskly toward him, "Hiei, what's going on?"

"We found the demon, it walks in the shadows, that's why it's been so hard to find." He stated in monotone as the others approached as well.

"Where is it then, if you found it?" Yusuke demanded, giving him an especially nasty look.

Hiei raised a brow but otherwise didn't acknowledge his attitude simply pointed in the proper direction, "In there."

"Alright, where's Kagome? Let's get this over with and be done here." He responded, looking around impatiently.

He casually pointed again, "There."

"What? Shorty, you just let her go off after it on her own?" Kuwabara asked, astonished.

Kurama squinted at him then, figuring it all out, "No, she didn't go after it, did she Hiei? This was the plan all along, am I right? You and Koenma helped set her up as bait and she went right along with it. It came and got her while you were watching."

"Goddammit! Are you serious?" Yusuke took off in the direction of the trees, disappearing into them in moments. The rest of them were right behind him.

And Kagome was waiting.

She wasn't afraid while they were shifting, she knew that she was safe as long as they were still moving. But they weren't going to be in motion long, the worst part about not knowing how the demon traveled. They had assumed it ran, meaning there would be time for the rest to get there and give chase. But it walked in the shadows, it could get where it was going no problem. Which was a problem for her because the demon had just stopped moving. And the guys were too far away to prevent any damage…and there was the small flurry of fear in her stomach.

"Come on guys, I'm counting on you…" She said to the empty air before she was thrown to the ground.

Hiei frowned as he felt the flutter in her energy, she was afraid. But she was strong, for a human, and she continued to project her energy so they could find her. He picked up his pace a bit, something he refused to identify as concern fueling his movements.

"Hiei, what is it, what did you feel?" Kurama asked, keeping pace beside him.

"Her energy has stopped moving and she is afraid," He responded.

Yusuke swore again and began to move even faster, his stomach clenched at the thought of what could be happening to her at this very moment. The pictures Koenma had shown them were right there in the back of his mind, but their faces became Kagome's. But she was going to be okay because she couldn't die, she'd live so there would be no pictures of her broken body. Somehow that didn't make him feel better, he didn't want her to be hurt at all.

"How far away are we?" He demanded, "Are we close?"

Kurama looked over at Hiei and said, "Not close enough Yusuke. Not close enough." They had at least another mile to go before they'd catch up to her.

Kagome could feel them and knew that she wouldn't be spared the pain of this encounter, but she wouldn't have to suffer long before they came to help. It was a terrifying moment, to realize that she was back in the position of needing rescued and depending on someone showing up. Again, somehow, she was a part of a team and working with friends. A dangerous predicament where somebody could die if they weren't careful.

And then she couldn't think about that anymore because she was pinned down by a huge clawed hand and a massive third eye opened on the forehead of the demon and she felt herself spiraling into the blackness. It took all her focus to keep projecting her energy despite getting lost somewhere within her own mind. Everything was black, she felt like she was floating, and then she could see again. She knew that she was in a memory, she had to remind herself because it all felt so real, this was when she had been kidnapped by the poisonmaster. She could feel the rope around her wrists and she could smell the sweat of him in the room. And she knew what was about to happen, what she was about to relive. It would be purely physical, she had moved past the emotional trauma of the rape and it wouldn't last long because Sesshomaru had saved her not long after she'd be taken.

Whatever happened here, she wouldn't scream. She could withstand it. She was strong. Besides, help was on the way as long as she kept projecting.

Hiei knew the moment it started, her energy had disappeared for a long minute before returning. It was wavering and weak but he could still pinpoint it, they were close but they were already too late. The Jagan was pulling and trying to delve into her mind now that it was so open and vulnerable, and he let it go if only to satisfy his own morbid curiosity. And perhaps he could contact her, tell her that they were near her. He did not get the chance though, he got a glimpse of what was happening before the demon forced him out. But he'd seen enough, and he knew she felt him in there for that split-second.

"Faster, we are close." He said, his voice not betraying the urgency that boiled beneath the surface.

Kurama knew though, he knew what it meant when Hiei was the one urging them on, this was one hell of a demon. He looked toward Yusuke and saw the look on his face, he had to watch him in this situation because he had known how he had been dealing with his feeling toward Kagome. He was very likely to do something especially rash and put everyone in danger because he was only recently coming to terms with his feelings. And suddenly, they broke through some brush and found the demon.

It was large, all muscle except for the belly which looked a lot like a beer gut, and there was a massive eye upon it's forehead glowing a disgusting yellow and it was fixed upon Kagome pinned beneath one large clawed hand. Kagome was…worse for the wear. There was a lot of blood, and she looked tired but determined. She was strong, she did not show any of the fear that Hiei could obviously sense coming from her, but her eyes were closed and her fingernails were dug into the earth underneath her. She was definitely hurting.

"Hey! Let her go, you big ugly bastard!" Yusuke shouted, catching the demon's attention.

It was distracted, all three eyes were on them now and Kagome's eyes opened to see them as well, and she mustered up a small smile. Yusuke forced himself to not look at her, he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he saw the damage done to her. He focused on the demon, the ugly beast and it's ugly eye, he watched it move toward them with Kagome in it's hand. It's third eye widened and then squinted as it focused it's powers at the group…but was enraged when they didn't hit the ground in pain.

"I said, let her go!" He demanded again, pulling his hands up to mimic a gun.

It let out a roar and swung it's arms out in an expression of it's rage. Between Kagome and Hiei, they were successfully blocking his psychic abilities but it wasn't going to hold up long. Especially with the way it was waving Kagome about and how weak she was getting, neither of them could hold back all of it's power by themselves.

"Detective, we have to strike now," Hiei said as he pulled out his sword, "there is a limited amount of time before we'll be overwhelmed and it will be able to use it's psychic abilities to destroy us as well."

Kurama readied his whip, and Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword, they did not hesitate to charge and attack. Yusuke hesitated at first, Kagome was up there in the hand of that demon. All attempts to do damage to it could potentially damage her as well. The others didn't seem as concerned about the situation, or if they were they were ignoring it. Kurama was attempting to trip up the demon with his whip wrapped around it's legs, Kuwabara was cutting at it's legs and Hiei was up on the arm going for it's neck.

"Yusuke, fire! You can put it down with one good shot!" Kurama shouted while he struggled with the strong legs of the demon.

Again he readied his hands and again he hesitated.

"Yusuke," Kagome said, finding herself getting closer to losing consciousness, "you can't kill me. Just shoot it! Hiei is right here, he'll keep me safe."

Hiei shot her an angry look and Yusuke frowned at the implication behind her words, summoning his energy he put all his feelings into one large shot. It slammed into the demon's chest and down it went, making a large thud as it hit the ground. Kurama retracted his whip and Kuwabara got rid of his sword, then both of them stepped back. The gaping hole in the demon's chest told them it was over. The fire demon was standing underneath a tree, awkwardly holding Kagome up with a look of disdain on his face. It was obvious that he did not want to be touching her so Kuwabara walked over and picked her up, much to her protest. But it was a weak protest, she didn't say much at all.

"Let's get you home and bandage you up," he said to her, in a tone that refused to be argued with, "Kurama, can you and Hiei cover the report with the toddler?"

"Yes, we can." Kurama replied, shooting a look to Hiei that told him he would be helping whether he wanted to or not, "You and Yusuke take good care of her. She did a great job today."

Yusuke looked at Kagome, already out in Kuwabara's arms, "You know what, I got this one guys. Knowing her, she wouldn't want anybody fussing over her. I'll take her home, clean her up and put her to bed."

Kuwabara and Kurama exchanged a look and nobody protested when Yusuke took her and left. Maybe this would all sort itself out and they wouldn't have to put up with a frustrated Yusuke anymore.

Once they got to her apartment, Yusuke managed to get the door open and inside to the bathroom without moving her too much. He turned the shower on and laid her in the tub before pulling all the bandages and first aid kit out from under the sink. He knew she would object if she was awake, but he had to cut her bloody clothes off to see the damage and patch it up. He left her bra and panties to preserve her modesty, or rather he had planned on until he saw the state of them. He rinsed her off and wiped her down with a soapy rag before rinsing her again and turning off the shower. He bloodied a towel while drying her off, and used up most of her bandages covering all the wounds, and then carried her to bed.

He was very surprised that she didn't wake up even once, he wasn't the gentlest of people, but she was very much unconscious as he put her in the bed and covered her up. When he went to go clean up the bathroom, he felt a small tug and saw her hand fisted in his shirt. It was a solid grip and rather than pry her fingers off, he just tried to walk away a little bit more. Nope, she was holding on tight. He grabbed her hand and the hold transferred from his shirt to his hand, using his other hand he grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her loose. It was kind of funny, she was out like a light but had a steel grip. He was making some slow progress trying to be easy about it, his hand was slowly slipping out of hers, but then he stopped.

She had mumbled something, too quiet to be understood, but her lips moved and her face was sad. He wondered what it was and waited for a repeat, but he didn't get one. So he moved his hand again and she did it again. She mumbled and this time he caught it, just barely,

"Don't go."

Talk about tugging at the heartstrings, he couldn't walk away from her now. For all his confusion about her, all the feelings he fought, he knew what was basis of it all. He wanted more than just friendship from her, he wanted a relationship with the promise of forever. Not the uncertain future he had been promised by Keiko, the forever full of a love that knew no bounds and had unparalleled acceptance. Kagome had that in her, he knew she did, he had seen it in her actions and heard it in her voice and in her stories.

Kicking off his shoes, he climbed into the bed beside her and held her as gently as possible. His heart was fluttering, there were butterflies in his stomach, this was the first time he had been so close to her. She was warm from the shower and he couldn't feel much skin because she was so covered in bandages. But he could smell her hair and hear her even breathing, and soon enough he was put to sleep by it.

oOo

Kurama stood over the bed, smiling at the sight of Yusuke snoring next to a neatly bandaged Kagome. Too bad he had to wake him up, she needed her bandages changed and he was absolutely certain that Yusuke wouldn't let anybody else do it because of her state of undress.

"Yusuke," he said quietly, shaking his friend's shoulder gently, "wake up. Time to change Kagome's bandages and you should probably eat some breakfast."

He jumped a bit, eyes wide, "Kurama, how did you get in? I thought I closed the door." His voice was husky from sleep and he was already sitting up in his rumpled clothes.

"You may have closed the door but you didn't lock it. Besides, I have the soul of a demon thief, you think I couldn't get in if I wanted to?"

Slowly climbing out of the bed, Yusuke took the bag of bandages from Kurama, "I've got this, you go start breakfast if you think I need to eat so badly." His look brooked no argument. Kurama sighed and left.

Brushing the hair out of her face, Yusuke used a soft tone, "Kagome, I need to change your bandages. Can you wake up and eat something?"

Her mouth opened a bit and her eyes followed slowly, at first they were foggy and she blinked a few times before looking up at his face, "Y-Yusuke?" A slow smile and then, "You stayed."

She cleared her throat a bit after hearing the rusty sound of her voice, she was sore all over and the bandages were tight but she found a smile for him. She could tell he had just woken up himself, his clothing was wrinkled and his eyes were heavy and dark. Somehow, looking at him standing over her and knowing he had been there, it still got a reaction from her. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt flushed. And when he smiled back, her smile just got bigger.

"Yeah, I stayed. You sort of asked me to not leave." He gave a cocky smile when she blushed.

"So, bandages?" Her voice had a bit of a squeak and her eyes darted away. She moved to sit herself up and Yusuke went to help. When the blanket slid down her body she blushed even deeper and tried to grab it, "I'm naked?"

It was said in quiet horror and he felt sorry for her then, he knew how she felt about her scars. But there was nothing he could do about it considering that some of the scars had reverted to open wounds.

"Who did this? Did everybody see?" No tears in her eyes, but he heard them in her voice.

"I brought you home alone and cleaned you up. Nobody else saw, I promise."

She knew he was trying to make her feel better but he was probably the last person she wanted to see her naked. She didn't want him to see her all disfigured and torn up, she was attracted to him and just knew that nobody could be attracted to her if they knew. If they saw. Eyes cast back down at her hands, she blinked away tears.

"What's wrong?" He was confused, wasn't it better that nobody else saw?

"Ah, nothing, let's just get this done, yeah? The sooner, the better…we can cover me back up." She mumbled the last bit.

"Who says I wanna cover you back up when it's done?" He thought as he sat at the edge of the bed and started unwrapping her.

He hated to admit, if only because she was so beat up, but he still found himself enticed by her. Being so aware of her body as he was taking her bandages off was getting him a little flushed and he tried to avoid looking at her so he wouldn't become too worked up…it was hard enough being so close to her bare skin. But, while he was doing his best to not think about doing dirty things to her and avoiding taking advantage of her while she was injured, she was interpreting his actions in a different way.

The way he only barely brushed her skin with his as if he was avoiding touching her and the way he was looking around the room and not at her unless he absolutely had to…it felt like he was disgusted by her. But of course he would be, she saw her body on a regular basis and knew where every scar was placed. There were many of them and quite a few of them were large, but battling in the Feudal Era did that to a body. And it wasn't attractive, she knew that. Yusuke's reaction just confirmed what she had felt. She was drawn out of her thoughts by a clang coming from her kitchen and she was startled.

"What was that?" She asked Yusuke, who was about halfway done with re-bandaging her.

Without looking up at her he answered, "Kurama came by with bandages this morning and I think he's in there making breakfast."

Sensing an out for the both of them Kagome acted without thinking, "Could you maybe get him to come in here to finish me up?"

The hurt was instantaneous, Yusuke looked up at her then and knew that she could see his reaction, but he didn't care. He had carried her home, cleaned her and bandaged her and slept next to her to give her comfort…and this was how she was going to treat him? Didn't she know? But, then again, she couldn't know. He may have flirted a little and fought to become her friend, but he never made any intentions known. Still, she seemed to prefer the company of the other three men over himself and just couldn't understand why that was.

Kagome saw the struggle of emotions on his face and realized how inconsiderate she sounded the second it came out of her mouth. She hurt his feelings. She basically said it didn't matter what he had done for her last night, she was pushing him away. But she couldn't stand having him so close to her, she wanted him in a way she had never wanted anyone before. And seeing his reaction to her body, the avoidance in his touch, she just wanted him away from her. Kurama was sweet, he was calm and unwavering and the biggest selling point on having him in here, she wasn't attracted to him. She acknowledged his beauty but that had never been what she was attracted to, and he was a good friend. He was so intuitive, if he was going to talk about anything it wasn't going to be her scars if only to be kind to her.

"Yusuke, I-" She began, but he cut her off.

"Don't. Just…don't." He dropped the bandages and left the room, off to fetch Kurama and cool down on the patio.

Kurama let himself into the room only a moment later, sitting on the edge of her bed and picking up where Yusuke left off seamlessly. Kagome watched his hands move, they were careful and quick, he had very skilled hands. Most fox demons did. She lost herself in watching him work, trying to forget the look of hurt on Yusuke's face.

Looking at her face, Kurama said, "You've been through quite a lot in your life. It must have been hard, to do what you did and then to lose all your friends."

Kagome just looked at his face, studying it quietly, he obviously had something to say to her. She looked at his eyes, so very green with a hint of gold around the pupil, there were hundreds of years worth of wisdom in them. Perhaps she could learn something from him.

"So is that why you are pushing Yusuke away? Because you are afraid of losing him like you lost your other friends?" He tied off one bandage and started wrapping another, "We are your friends, Kagome, and I for one have noticed the way you keep distance between yourself and Yusuke. I do find it odd, though, that he is the only one you seem so determined to keep away."

She gave him a little glare, "He is the only one who pushed and pulled and forced me into this friendship. The rest of you are different."

He sighed, "Kagome, we are your friends now. Even Hiei. You are a part of our lives and none of us would let you walk out without a fight. We have all been through something, each of us have our own stories, and we found each other in these strange circumstances and formed bonds that aren't easily broken.

I doubt you know how I first met Yusuke. When I became Suichi Minamino, I had every intention of leaving as soon as I got my demon powers back. But meeting and knowing my mother, our mother, I felt love like I had never known and I knew that I couldn't leave her. I had never formed such an attachment, to love was weakness and love is dangerous for both myself and Mother, but I did. And I still know that she could become a target of attack should anybody find out about her in this Human World. Anyway, when she became very ill, I set out to steal the Forlorn Hope to save her life at the cost of mine and that is where I met Yusuke. When he showed up, he offered up his own life to save mine without even knowing me, the mirror took half of each of our life forces and that is why I stand before you today.

You see, Yusuke is innately kind. Though he is rough around the edges, he is a good person and a loyal person. You keep pushing him away but he will keep coming back to be your friend, until he is all but a shell of who he was before. And then he will still stay by your side. What I am saying here is that you are pushing him and all you'll do is hurt him but you won't get rid of him."

He was done with her bandages by the end of his talk, he was just sitting on the edge of her bed and regarding her with his cool, intelligent look. It was odd how he was almost looking into her soul, and she knew that he was saying something else within his little speech. Almost as if…

"You know. That's why you wanted to tell me what you just told me, because you know what I've been feeling." Her voice was almost accusing, and closer to a whisper than it had been before, "But you know enough about my life to know how dangerous it is to let someone be close to me, I don't want to put another person's life in jeopardy. And, you were just dealing with my bandages, you saw me. Nobody could be attracted to this body."

Kurama's eyes softened as he looked at the honest pain in her face, "I just wanted to make sure my message got across clear, what you do with this relationship is your business. But I do not want to see him suffer, I don't want to see him hurt again. You are both my friends, so I hope you sort this out." He patted her hand before leaving the room.

He found Yusuke on the patio with a piece of toast in his hand and an angry expression on his face. He was using his anger to express his pain, which was a dangerous reaction and could end up hurting him even more in the end.

"Yusuke, what's on your mind?" When the young man didn't respond, he pressed on, "You know there must be a reason behind her actions. I am certain that part of it is just her way of protecting herself, it's nothing against you. She has lost all her friends and never sees her family in order to protect them, maybe she's trying to protect you as well. Or maybe she's just not sure how to react to your friendship."

He watched as the anger faded from Yusuke's face, only to be replaced with the look Kurama recognized as his "idea" look.

"Kurama, can you look after her for a while? I'm not sure how long it will be, but I've got something to do."

At first he was going to ask questions, but decided against it when he saw the light of determination in his friend's eyes, he hadn't seen that in a while.

"Sure, I'll make sure she's okay."

And then he was gone.

oOo

Kagome was forced to stay in bed for three days to makes sure she healed fast, and she did a lot of sleeping and a lot of dreaming during those three days. Her dreams were mostly about the past, all the things she couldn't change no matter how much she wanted to, but sometimes she dreamed about Yusuke. She always woke up with guilt after those dreams, he had left the day she had asked that he not be the one to take care of her and he hadn't been back since…whenever she dreamed about him, she just wanted to tell him how sorry she was and that she didn't mean to hurt him.

But Kurama had been there, every day, taking care of her and helping her around the place. She knew that she could have survived on her own if he wanted to leave, she told him as much, but he said he had made a promise and left it at that. They talked when she wasn't sleeping, she wanted to know about his mom and his past life as the legendary Youko Kurama, it was nice to just sit and talk to a friend about the things that no one else would understand. Demons, cursed jewels, travels in the past, the friends they'd known and lost; it was like spending time with him was a great therapy session. But then she was allowed to move again, she could get out of bed and go for a walk, almost back to normal, and the first thing she wanted was some fresh air.

Spending so much time in the Feudal Era made her long for the open skies and the energy of all the trees that once stood where there were now buildings, she got outside as often as she could but it just wasn't enough. So she sat on the patio and day-dreamed about the endless forests and bright blue skies of the past and was only interrupted when Kurama announced that Kuwabara had come by to visit. She smiled at that, he was a big softy, that one.

"Hey Kagome, how are you feeling?" He asked as he sat down beside her.

"Better. I'm almost back to normal, feeling good." She replied, looking over at him with a little smile. She wanted to ask him about Yusuke, what he was up to and how he was doing, but it was awkward. She didn't know how to ask without being asked questions too.

He smiled big at her, "That's good! I was worried about you. I mean, uh, you were pretty beat up there and there was a lot of blood…"

"I can say that it's nothing I hadn't been through before, so there was no need to worry. A psychic demon can only put me through pain I've already felt, after all." She tried to reassure him because he looked so uncomfortable.

"W-what was it like?" He stuttered in asking, unsure about her reaction to the question, "You really don't have to answer, if you don't want to. I'm just curious."

Kagome hesitated at first, putting herself out there and opening up to people but she remembered what Yusuke had said before, 'I will be here for you, so will the guys, we're your friends now and we aren't gotten rid of so easy.' Maybe he was right, maybe she should try.

"Honestly?" She sighed and leaned back, "It was hell. I relived every injury I ever got and after traveling in the Feudal Era for a few years, they add up and vary from scrapes to heavy-duty 'where's the blood coming from' holes. It was all so very real too, I could smell and feel and hear everything like I was back there. I had to constantly remind myself that they were only memories."

"I'm sorry. Y'know, that we didn't get there before you got hurt. We tried, Yusuke more than any of us, but we had no idea where you were and we didn't know how it traveled."

"Shh, it's okay. I knew you guys would get there, I felt you coming. Don't be sorry, I took the risk and knew what could happen." She reached out and awkwardly patted his hand.

It was nice, she realized, to have friends and people who cared about her in her life again. For all her family's begging her to come home, that's all they did. They never called her, she always called them and that was all the contact they had. They wanted her back, but not just to have her home, they wanted her back to the girl they knew and that just wasn't going to happen. But here she was now, with these new friends who completely accepted her even at her worst. And she had known that they would come for her, they would help her and save her when she put herself in the position of bait even if they didn't like it.

"Thank you," she said, dropping her head on his shoulder, "for saving me. And for being my friend."

"It's whatever." He said, but he smiled and put his arm around her, "So, where's Urameshi at? I haven't seen him since he carried you home. I figured I could see him when I came to check on you but I only saw Kurama."

She stiffened and her heart sped up, "He left a couple days ago, I thought he went home. You seriously haven't seen him?"

"He left?" He was obviously surprised by the answer.

"Yes, he left. He had something to do, but he made sure to tell me he'd be gone for an unknown amount of time." Kurama stepped out onto the patio with them.

"Kurama, was it because of something I said? I thought you told me-" Kagome was conflicted and she felt a small onset of panic. If she had pushed Yusuke away then surely the rest of them would follow him.

"Kagome, shh. He didn't give any particular reason for his leaving, but he did ask me to look after you. Does that sound like he left because of something you said?" He sat on the other side of her in a comfortable companionship.

oOo

While Yusuke was gone, it had been over two weeks now, Kagome had filled in for him as part of the Spirit Detectives and bonded more with the team. But, while she was doing all that bonding, she was also missing him. His attitude, his giant hugs, his handsome face and roguish smile. She dreamed about him every night, instead of dreaming about all of her friends from the past, and found herself waking up over-heated and frustrated in the middle of quite a few nights. It was ridiculous; she had thought that the distance would make it easier to detach herself and get rid of her feelings surrounding him but she found herself thinking more about him and worrying about him and the dreams…Gods, the dreams were over-whelming. She had never had dreams like that about InuYasha.

So here she was, sitting up past midnight refusing to acknowledge that she knew exactly how many days Yusuke had been gone, and watching a late night horror film. She hadn't even tried to go to bed, her mind was racing and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep so she didn't even bother. Ever since Yusuke brought her home and had laid down with her sleeping was a battle, her bed felt very empty. She ran a hand through her hair, she just couldn't turn off her brain and it may end up driving her nuts.

"Man, I should really get a cat or something…" she muttered to herself.

She couldn't concentrate on the movie, an old black and white flick about a vampire, and looked at the clock to see that it was close to two-thirty in the morning. Realizing that she might not be sleeping at all tonight, she decided she could go out for a late night walk and maybe even come across a rogue demon or two, if she was lucky. Maybe she'd be able to wear herself out and get some sleep. Slipping into her sneakers, she took off.

She wandered without purpose for a good hour, taking in the sights of streets she'd never been on and all the life that seemed to take place when the city got dark. She got propositioned many times, and threatened as well, but she was more than capable of taking care of the issues and moving on. It was kind of invigorating to have to put a man up against the building and demand he back the fuck off, it was definitely something to do on nights like tonight. She might even be doing some good and getting the message across that they just can't touch a woman because she's alone on a dark street.

Eventually she decided to pop into a bar, something she did very rarely but she was feeling a bit out of sorts so why not have a drink? It wasn't crowded, but it was about four in the morning so that was expected, but she sat on an empty stool at the bar and had a beer and still managed to attract the attention of one of the older gentlemen there. Lucky for her, he was just a lonely old man who wanted someone to talk to and she was happy to listen. He talked about his kids who had all moved away and the grandkids he never saw, and even his wife who had passed away just the year before. It broke her heart a little, to see such a sweet old man alone, and she would have done something like get his phone number or given him hers but she couldn't. He was safer alone than with her as a friend. So she excused herself and left the bar to start the journey home.

As she was picking her way home through the streets, she caught the flicker of demon energy down a nearby alley. She couldn't help but wonder what it was about alleys that attracted them so much, perhaps the cover of darkness and the ability to hide the victim from sight during an attack. Picking up her pace, she soon found herself at the mouth of the alley where the demon stood over a bloody body of man. Or what she assumed to be a man, in the dark and covered in all that blood, it was hard to tell what it was. But then it moaned, a very human moan with a low tone that sounded male, and she knew.

"Did you really think you could get through the barrier and get away with killing a human?" She asked quietly but loud enough to know she'd be heard, and watched the demon jump a little at her voice.

"And do you think you can stop me, priestess?" It growled, the man momentarily forgotten at the prospect of a new challenge.

She laughed, "Obviously you don't know what I am capable of, demon. Come try me!"

It didn't hesitate, it's charge fueled with rage, and she narrowly avoided it's claws feeling the snag of them in her shirt. She had never been more grateful that her clothing was so large on her than she was on this night. But she didn't have time to think about it as the demon struck again, scratching her arm but she shrugged it off like it was nothing before striking out with one glowing pink hand. She watched as one arm turned to ash and crumble onto the ground.

It screamed and shouted, "You bitch!" Then it was after her again.

With one arm, it wasn't very coordinated and could do much damage, she danced around it's attacks while landing some of her own. Small patches of it's skin were burnt and peeling off all over it's chest and stomach and the remaining arm. The demon was blinded by the pain and was lashing out in an awkward fashion, and that's when she decided to end it. Running at the wall she jumped and pushed off to grab onto the demon's neck and literally purify the head off of it's shoulders. She hopped off as the body hit the ground, now that it was dead she could get rid of the rest of the body without a hassle. She found that living demons tried to fight the purification and it took more energy on her part to finish it off. Once they were dead, however, it was simple to get rid of everything.

She rushed over to the man on the ground, the sun was starting to rise and the light made it easier to see the injuries. He was pretty torn up, especially his torso, and there was a lot of blood covering him and the ground around him. She knelt beside his head and lifted it into her lap, stroking his hair and focusing her energy to attempt to heal him.

"Just relax, it'll be okay…" She said softly, trying to soothe him as she enveloped him with her energy and watched the skin knit itself back together.

And, in a few minutes, it was done. She helped him to his feet and took off before he could get a word in, hoping that he didn't get a good look at her face. She ran a few blocks in the direction of her apartment before deciding that she wasn't ready to go home just yet. The sun was rising so she decided to hit the park and watch it come up over the trees. It was very relaxing to watch the colors in the sky change but then her stomach growled and she left to find a café for a coffee and doughnut.

She didn't start home until after lunch, around two-thirty, when she realized that she had been out for twelve hours and probably could use a shower and a change of clothes. People were starting to look at her funny because of the blood stains on her outfit. It was about three when she could spot her building and a couple familiar silhouettes standing outside of it. Her heart leapt up in her throat when she heard a voice she had missed for the past couple weeks,

"What do you mean you don't know where she is? I thought you were taking care of her, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted.

The first place he had gone to when he got back was Kagome's apartment, he had wanted to see her and talk to her but she wasn't home. He got ahold of Kurama as fast as he could and was giving the fox a serious talking-to. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he got back, but he certainly hadn't expected to hear that she had gone missing just the night before.

"Calm down, Yusuke! I'm sure she's fine, she might have just gone off for a walk. Although…she wasn't here this morning when I stopped by, but who knows what she does when we aren't around? She does have a life of her own, after all." Kurama replied, just taking his friend's attitude in stride.

"Or she could have been taken by some demon last night and she could be lost somewhere in the Demon World of bleeding in an alley somewhere! Damn it!" He turned around and started to pace a bit but stopped when he saw her approaching.

"Jeez, Urameshi, don't you have any faith in my abilities whatsoever?" She said with a big smile, she couldn't hold it back. She was so happy to see him.

He met her halfway, grabbing her by her upper-arms and looking her over, "Where the hell have you been? What happened to you? Where'd all that blood come from?"

If it was possible, her smile got even bigger, "Were you worried about me?"

"Just shut up and answer my questions!" He forced her back a step and gave her an up-and-down. She could see the genuine concern in his eyes and decided to cut him some slack.

"I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to go for a walk. I just wandered around, talked to a friendly old man at a bar and found myself a demon to fight. Most of the blood isn't mine, the demon had a guy in an alley and I fixed him up. I just didn't feel like coming home for a while so I stayed out. I'm fine, honestly."

He looked a little relieved and the light was back in his eyes, "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" He let her go, satisfied that she wasn't hurt or bleeding.

"Me? What about you? Where the hell have you been all this time?"

"Well I was coming to tell you but you had apparently decided to take off before I could visit. Now, can we go inside? I've got something for you."

Kagome led them upstairs, full of questions and hoping he would give some answers. Where had he been? Why did he leave? What did he do while he was gone?

They sat at the kitchen table, Kagome made the three of them some tea and they settled in with eyes on Yusuke.

"So…you said you had something for me? And this better not be a dirty joke, Yusuke!"

Yusuke took a moment, taking in the sight of Kagome after being gone away for so long. Her clothes were blood-stained and her shirt was torn, her hair was unruly and there were bags under her eyes, and she was just as stunning as he remembered her. He had missed her face, her eyes, her company and, oh, how much he had wanted to hug her when he saw her out there on the street. But he didn't, he held back. As much as he cared about her, as much as he had dreamed about her and thought about her while he was gone, he remembered how she had pushed him away before he left and stopped himself. But he had wanted to hold her, especially after the scare he had when he couldn't find her.

Kurama cleared his throat, it was a little awkward to be watching Yusuke stare at Kagome so openly, "Yusuke?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, I've got a surprise for you. It was hard to find and took me quite a while but…it was worth it." Rising from his chair, he moved to the sliding glass door that led to the patio and opened it. He gave a single, sharp whistle before turning around to see their confused faces, "It'll be just a second."

"Why don't you tell us about where you were?" Kurama asked.

"In a minute, I want to do this first." He looked back out the open door and the other two turned to face the same direction.

There was a light touch of a familiar demon energy in the air, and Kagome let out a gasp, "Yusuke…you didn't…how did you?" She jumped out of her chair and was on her knees in front of the open door, arms open just in time to catch a ball of orange fur.

"Kagome!"

"Shippo, oh Gods, is it really you?" She was shaking, there were tears in her eyes and she was squeezing the poor kit so tight she was certain he was going to pop.

"It's me!" He gave her a sniff and scrunched his nose, "And you need a bath. You smell like blood."

She gave a watery laugh and pulled him away from her body to look at him, he looked just like she remembered, "I know, I had a long day."

Kagome looked up at Yusuke who was standing over them and watching the scene play out with a smile dancing around his lips, "What did you do, Yusuke? How? Why?"

"I remembered you saying that you didn't really know for certain what happened to Shippo, you could never find him and just assumed he was gone for good. And that didn't sit right with me, so I found the well on your family's shrine and went looking for him. With a little help from Hiei, we got the portal to open up enough to let me through…took me all this time but I found him."

She looked him over, the torn and dirty clothes and the mess of his hair and she realized that he must have never stopped. She couldn't have hated herself more for what she had done to him before he left, he did this for her even after she pushed him away like she did. He was truly an amazing friend. Letting Shippo go, she threw herself at Yusuke and hugged him like her life depended on it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me." She said into his chest.

He returned the hug with a, "No big deal."

"No, it's a huge deal! You are so wonderful, I don't know how I'll ever repay you for what you've done for me."

Yusuke wanted to tell her that her happiness was thanks enough, he wanted to hold her until his arms fell off, he wanted to kiss her senseless, but he just let his arms drop so she could stop hugging him and go back to Shippo. And then he sat back down next to Kurama to watch her smother the kit in kisses and hugs and answer his questions.

"Yusuke, why did you do this?" Kurama asked his friend with a knowing smile.

"Kurama, don't ask questions you know the answers to, it makes you look like a jackass." He replied, shooting the avatar an amused look.

He smiled a little, "As long as you aren't lying to yourself. But you do need to talk to her. Soon."

"How about you take Shippo for ice cream and show him around a bit, Kurama? I'm sure he'd enjoy some time with another fox and you are right that Yusuke and I need to talk so we could use some alone time." She said it with an uncertain heart, she didn't want to let her little fella go after just getting him back and she wasn't sure what to say to Yusuke.

"Sure." He smiled at Kagome and rose from the table, "C'mon Shippo, let's go see the sights."

Shippo gave a tentative sniff of this new guy before taking his hand. If Kagome and Yusuke trusted him then he must be an okay fella, "Be back soon!" He waved at them as they left the apartment.

The two of them sat in a small moment of silence, her still on the floor and him in a chair at the table, neither of them were sure what to say first. Eventually it became too much and Kagome had to end the quiet,

"I'm sorry." It was spoken fast, she was looking up at him with the most honest expression of pain on her face, "I am so, so sorry for what I said to you before you left. I wasn't thinking and I wasn't appreciating what you had done for me."

His heart gave a sick thump, this isn't what he wanted to hear from her, he didn't want her apologizing to him. He appreciated it but he didn't like how sad she looked, but still his morbid curiosity got the best of him and he had to know, "Why? Why did you do it?"

She took a deep breath, her heart was racing and she didn't want to answer him but she owed him one, "I didn't…I didn't want you to see. All my scars and how messed up I look, I didn't want you to see that."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "But you didn't have a problem with Kurama, why? Why have you been pushing me away and not the others?"

Kagome didn't want to answer, so she countered, "Why did you do this for me? You went back in time to find Shippo for me, even after I hurt you like I did. Why?"

"I want you to be happy, I love to see you smile. You are my best friend, whether you wanna be or not, and I just wanted to do something for you." Yusuke refused to look at her when he said it, he didn't want to see her reaction.

"You are my best friend too, Yusuke." She moved from her spot on the floor to sit in front of him.

"Then why did you push me away?"

"I was scared. You just kept trying to get so close and I was feeling things that confused me." She said quietly, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Kagome, did you think I wasn't feeling things too? I knew I wasn't being obvious, but I at least thought there were some hints that you'd picked up…" Yusuke was looking at her in disbelief, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could it be possible they both were in the same boat this whole time?

She shook her head, "No, it's not possible. You've seen my scars and heard my story and I'm am nobody's type. Who could be attracted to this mess of a body?" Her voice shook with bitterness.

"I could. I am. Dammit, what did I have to do to make you get that? I tried to respect your space and what I thought you wanted…but being around you was torture. And you have no idea how guilty I felt reacting the way I did to you when I was changing your bandages…you are beautiful." He stood up, frustrated and feeling a little crazed.

"No, no, no. Don't say those nice things to me!" She was shaking her head in denial and her hands were fisted in her shirt.

"Goddammit! Listen to me!" He pulled her out of the chair and kissed her, he felt her stiffen at the contact and then relax into it.

He put all of his pent-up emotion into this kiss, trying so hard to get the message across. She was everything he wanted, this strong person with love to give in spades, he knew that once he had her she would be his forever and he wanted that with every fiber of his being.

Pulling away, he took a deep breath and rested his forehead on hers, "Kagome, you mean so much to me. I want to be more than just your friend, I want to share everything with you and spend all my spare time making you feel as beautiful as I know you are. I love your smiles, your laugh, your temper and determination…tell me I'm not crazy, that you want me as much as I want you."

She let out a laugh, she couldn't hold back the tears, "You're not crazy, but I must be losing my mind if I'm hearing you say these things. This can't be real. Tell me I'm not dreaming."

Yusuke, with a suspicious smile on his face, snuck a pinch of her bottom and she gave a little shout before slapping his arm.

"Yusuke, you jackass!"

He laughed and stole another pinch.