"Sit, boy!"

 

Kagome watched with horror as Kouga brought his foot down towards Inuyasha's head, but just as it was about to make contact, Inuyasha rolled to the side, and kicked Kouga's other foot out from under him. Kouga fell to the ground with a 'thump', and Kagome rejoiced on the inside. Without giving him a moment to catch his breath, Inuyasha then unsheathed his sword, and pointed it at Kouga threateningly.  

"I won't say it again, wolf. Leave. Now...before I cut you in half."  

Kouga glared daggers up at Inuyasha, but his face fell as he realized his situation was futile. He crawled back, away from the sharp tip of Inuyasha's blade, before he used the sacred jewel shards in his legs to very quickly gather up his armor and his furs.

"I'll be back for you one day, Kagome. I'll kill this halfbreed, and come back for you, and then we can pick up where we left off."  

Inuyasha growled loudly and raised his sword to Kouga, preparing to use the Wind Scar, but Kouga quickly fled before he could unleash it on the wolf.

  A few minutes passed in complete silence, as Kagome sat, naked, on the ground, and Inuyasha looked into the distance where Kouga had fled.  

"Inu...." Kagome began, but then stopped, looking away from him while blushing and covering herself, humiliated. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she sat there, not sure of what to do, or of how much he had heard before he intervened.  

She gave a gasp when she felt heavy cloth covering her. He knelt beside her, having removed his outermost shirt, and was covering her with his robe of the fire rat. 

  "Are you hurt? I can smell your blood..."  

Kagome blushed again, and, speaking barely above a whisper, told him that she wasnt hurt; she'd just scraped her hand on a rock when Kouga had jumped on top of her.

"Thank you.....Inuyasha...." she said softly, "thank you for rescuing me..."  

He nodded, and gently drew her to him, holding her close.

"Of course, Kagome...I'd never let anyone take you---not ever."  

She smiled softly and rested her head against his chest, just breathing in his scent and calming down, safe in his embrace. After several minutes had passed, something occurred to her.  

"Hey...Inuyasha?"  

"Yeah?"  

She reluctantly pulled away from him just enough to look at his face while she asked, "How did you know to come for me? I was so far away from the group..."

 His ears flattened and he looked away from her, a guilty blush rising up across his cheeks.

"Well, I, Uh.....that is..." he rambled. Kagome simply sat there, looking at him, with a confused expression on her face.  

"I, uh..." he coughed before continuing, "I was nearby enough to hear you..."  

Kagome sat there dumbly for a few seconds, and then her face went deep red all over. "wait..what---ah, I mean...for how long?"  

His face turned more pink, and he continued to avoid her gaze.

"The whole time."  

She blanched. 'the...the WHOLE time??...oh god, then that means...he heard me saying his name...he heard me saying his name while I was...and when I was telling Kouga...but he stayed after he heard me say his name the first time?'  

"Why?" she said aloud. "I mean, why were you so close by?"  

He fidgeted a bit with his shirt, looking pointedly away from her. His ears flattened even more against his head. His heart raced.  

"Uhhhh...I was, um....Listening...to you...ahhm...I...um..."

  It took Kagome only a couple of seconds to figure out what he was trying to say.