Lunar Month

What do I do, what do I do? Kagome asked herself as she swung her legs back and forth. She sat on the hard wooden steps, staring at the well, although it wasn’t the well she was seeing.

Kagome had been in the same position for at least a half an hour, contemplating to herself. She had been in her own era that afternoon to rest and wash up, and to stock up on some 'ninja food', as her friends back in the feudal era liked to call it. After finishing up everything she needed to do back in her own time, she made her way to the old well, with the intentions of returning to the feudal era. But as she passed the old sacred tree, her thoughts began to wander, and she found herself sitting on the steps, distracted from going down the well.

The sacred tree was a very special tree for Kagome. Not only was it a place where her and her family had shared countless memories, and grown up around, but it was also the place where she had first met Inuyasha.

Inuyasha. Her best friend. Her comrade. Inuyasha meant the world to Kagome. Although they had hated each other at first. He wanted the Sacred jewel, and she was its protector. But as time went on, and they traveled together, they became friends, very close friends. They argued more than anyone Kagome had ever met, and she had to "SIT" him quite often. He was a jerk sometimes, and she knew she had her moments. But despite all of this, Kagome had become quite fond of Inuyasha, and although she tried with all her might not to, she had fallen in love with him.

Every time I see that tree. Oh Inuyasha, I wonder what you're doing right now? Kagome thought to herself, as she stared off into space. She had done a lot of thinking, sitting on these steps, mostly about Inuyasha. This well connected their worlds, but more importantly, connected them to each other. He always comes to get me if I'm even a bit late. Kagome chuckled to herself at the thought of Inuyasha perched on her bedroom window, or playing with Buyo in the living room, always hurrying her to come back to the feudal era with him. I know he cares deeply for me, but then there's Kikyo. She sighed. Will he ever be over her? I know I promised him I'd always be by his side, but it's so hard to think of him with Kikyo. With anyone. Kagome shook her head to block out her thoughts, without success. Still in somewhat of a trance, she leaned back and lay on the bottom step.

"Inuyasha…" she said softly, her voice trailing off.

"What?" came a familiar voice above her.

"AHHH", Kagome screamed, as she looked up and saw Inuyasha standing over her.

"What's your problem?" Inuyasha asked, staring at her in confusion as she sat up and brushed herself off.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, as she stood up and grabbed her backpack.

"I came to get you, stupid! You were supposed to be back before sundown, and its already dark out!" Inuyasha exclaimed in annoyance. Kagome also noticed a touch of worry in his voice, but she brushed it off as nothing.

"Sorry. I must have lost track of the time." Kagome said, somewhat to herself, realizing how long she must have been thinking.

"What were you doing anyway?" Inuyasha asked, as he made his way back to the well.

"Oh nothing, thinking", Kagome replied absentmindedly, still trying to figure out how she could possibly have been so long.

"Thinking?" Inuyasha asked. "What were you thinking about for so long?."

"Nothing," Kagome quickly replied. "Let's go."

"Ok," Said Inuyasha. "Here". He took her backpack as she jumped down the well ahead of him. He really is clueless sometimes. She giggled softly to herself, as they arrived back in the feudal era.

When they arrived back in the feudal era, Inuyasha helped Kagome out of the well. As they climbed out onto the grass, a breeze blew by. It was colder than usual that night, and Kagome had forgotten her jacket. She hugged herself as she shivered.

"Are you cold?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah, I left my jacket back home." Kagome replied, as Inuyasha handed her her backpack.

"Here, take mine, you'll get a cold." Inuyasha said, as he wrapped it around her.

"No, it's ok, you'll be cold." Kagome objected.

"Don't be stupid," Inuyasha replied sternly. "Don't you know by now that the cold doesn't affect me the same as you. Now take it!".

"Ok." Kagome said, giving in.

"Good. Now get on my back, so we can get back to the village quickly. Everyone's waiting for us." Inuyasha turned around and reached out his arms, as Kagome climbed on his back. In a matter of seconds, they were sprinting through the trees, on their way back to the village.

Back at the village, the group was all gathered in Kaede's hut, huddled around the fire, eating stew that Kaede had made. Sango and Miroku were sitting close to each other, leaving only enough room between them for the cold night breeze to pass through. Kaede was stirring the stew, keeping it warm for when Inuyasha and Kagome returned. Shippo sat as close to the fire as he could possibly get, coloring using the crayons and paper that Kagome had brought him from her era.

"I wonder what's taking Kagome so long?" Sango wondered aloud.

"Don't worry, I'm sure whatever it is, Inuyasha will get her back here soon enough." Miroku chuckled.

"I hope they get back soon," Shippo piped up. "I'm getting hungry." Just as he finished, Inuyasha and Kagome walked in.

"Hi guys!" Kagome said happily.

"Hey Kagome!" said Sango. "What took you..." Sango trailed off as Kagome gave her a look that let her know that they would talk later. She nodded as Kagome and Inuyasha sat down.

"How was your afternoon?" Kaede asked Kagome, sensing the need of a subject change, as she began to take up everyone's stew and hand it out.

"It was good!" Kagome replied. "I had a bath, and took a nap, and went shopping. Which reminds me..." She opened her backpack and began taking out packages for everyone. She handed Kaede, Sango, Kirara, and Miroku their gifts. She then reached into her backpack and pulled out a giant lollipop for Shippo.

"Yay! Thanks Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed, as reached for it, eyes wide open.

"Ah," Kagome scolded. "Eat your stew first."

"Aw man!" Shippo said sadly as he picked up his bowl and began to eat. Kagome reached into her backpack again, this time pulling out a pack of ramen noodles.

"Here you go, Inuyasha." Kagome said as she handed him the noodles.

"NINJA FOOD!" Inuyasha exclaimed happily. He took the noodles and placed them behind him, as if to shield them from the others. Kagome giggled softly to herself as she picked up her own meal and began to eat.

"Mmmmm. That was excellent Kaede. Once again, you've outdone yourself." Miroku complemented the old priestess as he finished off the last of his stew.

"Yes, it really was." Sango agreed. "We'll miss your cooking while we're travelling again."

That's right, Kagome though to herself. Tomorrow we begin travelling again. The group has been travelling before this for weeks, and had finally decided to return to Kaede's village to rest and take a break. Tomorrow they planned to leave again, in search of Naraku.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, knocking her out of thought. "Can you make the ramen for me?"

"Sure." Kagome replied, as she took the noodles and began to prepare them.

As she finished preparing the ramen, she stood up and looked at Sango. Sango nodded, and stood up, following her out of the hut. As they left, Miroku spoke up.

"Where are those two off to?" he asked curiously.

"It seems they wanted to talk in private." Kaede answered. Shippo and Miroku looked at Inuyasha, who was finishing off the last of his ramen.

"What did you do?" Shippo asked angrily, crossing his arms.

"Me?" Inuyasha exclaimed. "What makes you think I did something?" Miroku and Shippo rolled their eyes.

"Because you always do." Shippo muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Miroku to hear. Inuyasha was too infatuated with his ramen to notice what Shippo had said.

"So, what's up Kagome?" Sango asked as they sat down on the cool grass.

"Well, I don't really know where to start." Kagome replied.

"Well, let me start then. You're upset about Inuyasha going to see Kikyo?" Sango asked.

"Yeah." Kagome replied sadly.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. I know it must be hard for you." Sango said soothingly, trying to make her best friend feel better. "I get the feeling, though, that that's not all that's on your mind." Kagome looked at Sango, and before she knew it, she was pouring her heart out to her. By the time she had finished, she was out of breath, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Sango looked at her and smiled. "I had a feeling."

"You did?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Yes. Miroku and I both did. Even Shippo." Sango answered.

The girls continued talking for what seemed like hours. By the time they were finished, they were both freezing. so they decided to head back to the hut. When they got back, they saw that Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippo were still awake.

"Finally!" Shippo exclaimed, yawning.

"You girls sure know how to talk." Inuyasha said in annoyance.

"We were up waiting for you." Shippo said.

"You were?" Kagome asked.

"Uh huh. Inuyasha wanted to come get you, but I said we should stay here because you guys were probably talking about Inuyasha and Miroku." Shippo said, matter-of-factly. "Especially since Inuyasha..."Shippo's voice trailed off into mumbles as Kagome quickly put her hand ove rhis mouth.

"Brrrr." Sango shivered. "It's freezing out there."

"You know, my dear Sango," Miroku began, standing up and walking over to her. "If you're cold, I could always help warm you up." Miroku laughed mischeviously as Sango felt his hand on her behind.

"What was that, Monk?" Sango asked angrily as she hit Miroku in the head with her Hiraikotsu.

"You know, Inuyasha, you could always go to bed. Even you must need sleep sometimes." Kagome stated, pointing to the untouched bed next to Miroku.

"Don't be stupid." Inuyasha said. "I'm not like you weak humans. I don't need sleep to keep me going."

Kagome giggled as Inuyasha yawned, despite his attempts to hide it. "Ok, whataver you say." She turned over and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Bye Kaede!" Kagome waved as the group left the village. "See you in a few weeks."

As they walked along the road, Kagome watched her friends with a smile. Ahead of her, Shippo and Inuyasha were arguing as usual. Behind her, Miroku and Sango walked side by side. Every once and a while, Miroku's hand would disappear, and every once and a while, Sango's Hiraikotsu would make contact with Miroku's head. All of a sudden, Shippo's screaming pierced Kagome's thoughts.

"KAGOME! HELP!" the little fox demon yelled as Inuyasha chased him around in circles.

"Inuyasha." Kagome said in a taunting voice. He looked at her, a look of fear crossing his face. She looked at him with a mischevious smile.

"Why you..." Inuyasha muttered angrily, while attempting to stand up.

"You guys," Kagome said as she stopped walking. "Koga's coming, I can sense his sacred jewel shards." Just as the words escaped her mouth, a great gust of wind came towards the group. As the wind died down, Koga appeared in front of Kagome, grabbing her hands. He looked into her eyes.

"My dear Kagome," Koga exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again."

"I thought I smelled rot." Inuyasha said dryly.

"Maybe that's a hint for you to take a bath, you mangy mutt." Koga replied, still staring into Kagome's eyes. Kagome shifted uncomfortably.

"Why you..." Inuyasha said, fists clenched. He ran over and grabbed Kagome away from Koga.

"When are you gonna get it through that thick skull of yours that Kagome doesn't want to be with you, you idiot!" Inuyasha said, still with his hands on Kagome's upper arms.

"Oh yeah, like she wants a mangy mutt like you, dog breath." Koga replied smugly, grabbing Kagome back from Inuyasha.

"You guys," Miroku said cautiously. "Do you feel that?" Inuyasha and Koga stopped fighting, a dazed Kagome falling to the ground. Inuyasha began to sniff the air.

"Yeah, I smell it alright. That brat Hakudoshi and his puppet Moryomaru are nearby." He took off before the others could stop him and began to follow the stench of the two offspring of Naraku. As Kagome regained her composure, the rest of the group followed, Miroku on foot, and both girls and Shippo on Kirara. Koga took off after them. As the group left, Ginta and Hakkaku arrived, gasping for breath, hands on their knees.

"Wait up Koga!" they yelled as the began to chase after him once again.

As the group caught up to Inuyasha, they found him on his hands and knees, sniffing the ground. As he stood up, he pointed to his left. "They're that way." he said as they continued on in the direction of the scent.

As they reached a clearing, they saw them. Standing in the middle of the clearing was Moryomaru, Hakudoshi perched on his shoulder.

"So you've come." Hakudoshi stated, with a smirk on his face. "We've been waiting for you."

"It's a trap!" Miroku exclaimed.

"So what? I'll just kill them both. They won't be able to do anything then." Inuyasha said confidently as he removed his Tetsusaiga from his side and pointed it at the pair. "WIND SCAR!" he yelled as he unleashed his attack. It quickly approached Hakudoshi and Moryomaru, until it was right in front of them.

"Heh. Got you now." Inuyasha said.

Just as the wind scar was about to make contact, Moryomaru jumped out of the way, landing to the right of the group.

"Silly Inuyasha. Your weak attacks won't harm me." Hakudoshi said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Inuyasha said angrily as he charged the two. With each attack of the Tetsusaiga, Moryomaru jumped out of the way. Finally, Inuyasha stopped, panting.

"I'm getting bored." Hakudoshi yawned. "Moryomaru?" Moryomaru nodded as a tentacle sprouted from his right shoulder.

"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome screamed as the tentacle raced at Inuyasha. He dodged it just in time, the tentacle missing him by mere inches. It continued to come after Inuyasha, who continued dodging it, until finally, the tentacle pierced his chest, going right through, and slamming him up against a tree. Moryomaru retracted the tentacle, and Hakudoshi sneered. Tears ran down Kagome's cheeks as she looked over at Inuyasha, who was face down on the ground, unmoving. "Inuyasha!" she screamed, as she ran over to him. Rolling him over so that he was lying on her lap, she began shaking him, trying to wake him up.

"Stupid girl. It's no use. He'll be dead in a few hours anyway." Hakudoshi said as miasma began to seep out of Inuyasha's wound. "Moryomaru, our job is done." A barrier surrounded Hakudoshi and Moryomaru as they floated across the sky, until they were completely out of sight.

"No! Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, as more and more miasma began to seep out from his chest. The miasma became so strong, that for Kagome to purify it, she would become affected by it as well.

Inuyasha opened his eyes. "Koga," he said weakly. "Take Kagome away from here. Keep her safe."

"WHAT?!" Kagome exclaimed. Before she knew it, she was in Koga's arms, and Inuyasha was becoming smaller and smaller as they moved further away. Kagome began to cry as thoughts crowded her mind.

"You're safe now." Koga said, as he carried her through the trees, until Inuyasha was no longer in sight.

No! I can't leave him! If I don't purify the miasma...He'll...he'll... Kagome began to cry even harder.

"Koga, you've got to bring me back! I have to save Inuyasha." Kagome said, in between sobs.

"Kagome, forget about him. You can come live with me, I'll protect you." Koga replied, sending Kagome into a fit of rage.

"I SAID, BRING ME BACK KOGA!" she yelled, hitting his chest repeatedly, trying to break free of his grasp. Looking terrified, Koga stopped running and put kagome down.

"Kagome, why do you care so much about that mutt? What is it that makes you want to stay with him so bad?" he asked curiously.

"Because, Koga. I...I'm in love with Inuyasha." Kagome yelled, feeling the relief of being able to get it off of her chest. Looking at her with a sad smile, Koga sighed.

"Ok then. Come here, I'll bring you back." He picked her up, and started back towards the clearing.

When they arrived back at the clearing, Koga put Kagome down. She ran over to Inuyasha. The miasma surrounded him, and he looked lifeless.

"Here Kagome." Sango said, handing her her gas mask. "This'll help you get to him." Kagome tied the mask around her mouth and made her way to Inuyasha. As she picked him up so that his head rested on her lap, tears trickled down her cheeks.

Inuyasha...please don't let me be too late. she thought to herself as she removed his shirt, revealing the wound to its full extent. Placing her hands on the would, the miasma began to purify. But as she purified it, more appeared. Oh no! It's too strong! What can I do?

Tears still flowing down her cheeks, Kagome concentrated all of her energy on purifying the miasma.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking. "You have to wake up! I need you to wake up! I...I love you Inuyasha!" As she said these words, her hands began to glow a bright pink. It's working! The miasa is being completely purified!

As the last trace of miasma was purified, Inuyasha opened his eyes. "Kagome." he said softly. Kagome threw her arms around him and hugged him, getting blood on her clothes, but she didn't care. Inuyasha's safe. she thought happily, as she fainted from the strain of what had just occurred.

Kagome woke up back in Kaede's hut. She was dressed in a clean kimono, as her clothes had blood on them. Noticing that she was alone in the hut, except for Kaede, who was fixing the fire, she sat up.

"Kaede, where is everyone?" Kagome asked, somewhat nervously, immediately thinking of Inuyasha.

"Not to worry, your friends are in the other hut having something to eat. Would you like to join them?" the old priestess asked.

"Yes, please." Kagome answered, as she got up and made her way to the next hut. When she arrived, everyone greeted her with smiles.

"How are you, Kagome?" Shippo asked, running over to her.

"I feel alot better!" Kagome answered, looking over to see Inuyasha, chest bandaged up, sitting by the fire. She walked over and sat next to him as Sango handed her her supper.

When she finished, Inuyasha spoke softly.

"Kagome, would come outside with me for a minute?"

"Sure." Kagome replied curiously. Placing her bowl down, she stood up and followed him out the door.

They walked along the dirt road in silence, until they reached a field full of grass. They sat down on a hill, looking up at the stars. Inuyasha was silent for a minute, and then he spoke softly.

"Kagome, why didn't you go with Koga? Why did you come back? That miasma could have seriously hurt you...or worse." He turned to face her.

Kagome looked at him, searching his face for expression. She was surprised to find that he was not angry. The emotion that he showed was great worry.

"You could have gone with Koga and been safe. Coming back to save me...you put your life in danger."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome began, resting her head on his shoulder. She moved closer to him, wanting to feel his warmth on this cold night.

"Are you cold?" Inuyasha asked. He put his arm around her to shield her from the wind.

Kagome started again. "Inuyasha. I could never leave you. Even if it meant putting my life in danger, I had to save you. What would I do without you?" Inuyasha looked up at her, somewhat surprised at this statement. As she turned to face him, looking into his eyes, all control of her words was lost, and she began pouring her heart out to him.

"Inuyasha, I need you here with me. I can't bear the thought of losing you. Like I said, I could never leave you. Inuyasha...I...I love you!" As she said these words, she felt a great burden being lifted from her heart. She looked at him. A look of surprise was on his face, which had softened from its previous worried expression. He simply stared at her, unmoving, as Kagome began to speak again.

"Inuyasha, I know, I'm so sorry. I know you still love Kikyo, and I-"

"Kagome."

"-I understand completely. I know you can't feel the same because of that. I just had to get it out there so it wouldn't-"

"Kagome."

"-wouldn't eat away at me anymore. And even though you-"

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"What?" she asked, catching her breath.

"Shut up." Inuyasha said, his voice softer than she had ever heard it. She looked up at him, as he looked into her eyes, smiling. He brushed the hair away from her eyes.

The two arrived back at the hut a while later. They had walked back, hand in hand, as slowly as possible, enjoying each others company. As they entered the hut, they were greeted by Shippo, Sango, and Miroku, who were waiting up for them, each seeming too curious to sleep. As they saw Inuyasha and Kagome, fingers entertwined, they smiled.

"Finally!" Sango, Miroku, and Shippo exclaimed in unison, laughing. Blushing, Inuyasha went over to the corner, and closed his eyes. Kagome smiled, and climbed into bed, as Shippo snuggled up beside her. She slowly drifted off to sleep, a smile on her face.

"Well, Sango" Miroku said, smiling as he advanced towards her.

"Monk..." she warned, reaching for her hiraikotsu. Miroku continued towards her, but instead of reaching out his hand, he simply kissed her softly on the lips. Smiling, he whispered, "I love you".

"I love you too." Sango replied, grinning, as she got into bed.

Inuyasha opened his eyes, looking around the room to find that everyone was asleep. Weak humans. Always needing their rest. His eyes drifted over to Kagome, who was sleeping soundly with a smile on her face. Inuyasha smiled, and closed his eyes once more, this time finally letting sleep consume him.