Lost Love

Kagome sat beside Sango and Miroku as they waited for Inuyasha to speak. His wounds have completely healed and the fever had left him already, but he needed a little more time to recover his full strength.

"Where's the bastard and his pack?" Inuyasha asked, still furious after learning that his half-brother had been there when he stumbled into the cave wounded and delirious.

"They left this morning," Kagome answered. It took her much effort to bribe her friends not to tell Inuyasha about his unconscious mumblings about Kikyo. He'd apologized profusely enough for running away once more on behalf of his first love. It was embarrassing enough for her and she didn't want him to feel more mortified than before.

"So, Inuyasha, would you mind telling us what happened?" Miroku said.

The hanyou sighed and looked apologetically at Kagome once more. "I caught the scent of Kikyo and Naraku when I was on my way back to Kaede's village, so I thought I'd investigate. When I followed their scents to another village, I didn't realize the bastard laid a trap. I was ambushed."

"Why didn't you just use the Tetsusaiga's Kaze no Kizu?" Shippo quipped condescendingly and Kagome glared when Inuyasha threatened to smack the kitsune.

"Idiot! I was ambushed by the villagers! Naraku was controlling them, using them as a shield while Kagura attacked me. That wind witch's gonna pay next time I see her."

"What about Kikyo and Naraku's scent?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha lowered his amber eyes. "I lost them."

To everybody's surprise, Kagome reached Inuyasha's hand and grasped it tight, a glimmer of determination in her brown eyes. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. We'll find her."

Stunned, Inuyasha only nodded. Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. It was Shippo who broke the silence.

"Ne, Kagome, does that mean you're not jealous anymore?"

The sound of a fist connecting to skull echoed inside the cave, followed by Shippo's bawling.