Kagome groaned as her body started to wake up. It felt as though she had been trampled by a herd of cattle. She could tell her arms and legs were covered in scrapes and bruises, patched with stiff bandages and strong-smelling herbs and as she reached across her naked body, there was a tidy, tight wrapping around the wound at her middle.

As her eyes slowly blinked open, she panicked for a moment, not realizing where she was. She was on a futon, covered in a thick blanket up to her neck. It was dark, save a candle that flickered in the edge of her vision as she blinked at the ceiling of the chamber. A small mew could be heard, and she turned her head to see Kirara sitting up, next to the futon, back in the form of a small yellow and black cat.

"What is it Kirara?" She heard a young woman's voice say and she turned her head to see the demon slayer woman, Sango, out of her uniform and dressed in a simple pink and magenta yukata. "Oh, Lady Kagome. You're awake." Groaning, the mortal princess sat up, holding the blanket to her chest as she did. Her head was pounding as she started to come to terms with what happened.

"Apparently it wasn't all a bad dream then," She says, groaning as sharp little pains shot through her belly. Sango moved over and carefully helped her move a little and lean against the wall.

"No, you were in pretty rough shape," She says. "Luckily, I've had to sew more than a few centipede bites closed, so it wasn't much of a challenge once Inuyasha and Kirara got you home." Looking a little closer at the room, she saw her garment box sitting near a mirror and pile of discarded men's clothing.

"Where are we?" She asks and Sango chuckles.

"The royal bedchamber," She says. Kagome looks at her puzzled.

"Not the healing unit?" she asks, and the demon slayer shakes her head.

"Inuyasha thought you would be more comfortable here, and it's kind of not something worth arguing about," She says. "Especially not with someone as hardheaded and dense as your husband." Kagome looked down.

"He was pretty mad at me when he found me," she says, reaching for the jewel around her neck. "I don't think I've ever been yelled at like that before. He was more upset than when he was spitting venom at Sesshomaru during the wedding banquet." She looked down and took a deep breath. "He's probably still pretty angry at me for dragging him into an unnecessary fight and waking that demon." Kirara crawls up towards the injured woman, letting out a soft mewing.

"I think you scared him, actually," Sango says, glancing at the closed door to the princess' side. Leaning closer she went to whisper in the young woman's ear. "He's been camped out just outside the door since he carried you in here." Kagome looked up at the dark sky through the window.

"All day?" she asks, and the young woman looks at her, her eyes growing wide.

"Kagome, you've been unconscious since yesterday," She says. "And he hasn't left that spot, except to sit with you last night when I went to bed." She glanced at the door as Sango spoke those words and nervously pulled her hair across her shoulder. He sat with her, and insisted she be tended to in his own rooms? Was this the same man who was calling her a fool and Sesshomaru's tool against him?

"Really?" She says softly, looking down and seeing Kirara crawl up on the red robe that had been laying over her, on top of the thick blanket. She reached out and ran the soft fabric between her fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sango get up and walk to the garment trunk, carefully opening it.

"You must be cold. Is there anything specific you might want to wear?" She asks. "I would have dressed you, but it was easier to dress your wounds while you were unconscious the way you are now." Kagome stared at the fabric in her hands, slowly pulling it up and closer to her.

"Just a kimono robe or yukata will be fine," She replies. "It isn't as though I will be receiving visitors. Not tonight at least."

Sango nodded and pulled a pale green robe from the trunk, closing and latching it as she stood once again. Walking over, she carefully opened it and set it over the princess' shoulders, allowing Kagome to slide her arms in and pull it around herself. She noticed the way the young woman clutched Inuyasha's suikan in her hands again, bringing it to her face and sniffing at it. Sighing, she stood up again and walked around the futon, stopping at the door.

"I'll go get you something to eat," she says, opening the door and stepping through.

Inuyasha's ear twitched, and he looked up as the demon slayer appeared at his side. She looked at him and crossed her arms, making him roll his eyes and clutch his Tetsusaiga against his shoulder.

"How is she?" He asks and she shrugs.

"As well as can be expected with a wound that large that bled that much, as I told you last night," She says. "But she's awake and able to sit up, though I'm sure with those ears of yours you could hear that much." She was glaring at him and he looked away.

"I don't need another lecture, Sango," the prince says.

"Even though she's awake, she's still very weak. She probably won't be able to move around much for the next week or so," she says. "I'm going to go get her something to eat. You should talk to her."

"Why?" He asks and Sango just looks at him.

"She thinks you hate her for this," she says. "She thinks this was all her fault and that you blame her for getting hurt."

"It was her fault for wandering off," Inuyasha says and the young woman just sighs, shaking her head.

"But it isn't only her fault, and you know it, or else you wouldn't have been staying up all night and day until she recovered," Sango says, walking past him and down towards the kitchens, "She deserves answers and to hear you say more than two words to her that aren't just calling her stupid. You can't take out whatever bullshit you're dealing with over the Emperor's alliance on her. She had just as much choice if not less so than you did!"

 "I know that! Don't mean I got to like babysitting her," Inuyasha growls under his breath after the demon slayer, watching her disappear down the stairs. Once he head her close the sliding door at the bottom, he let out an exasperated sigh, pieces of his defiant façade cracking a little.

He knew it wasn't all her fault. 

It was mostly, in his opinion, overreacting like women do when they get upset by something and storming into the forest where something like that demon would be able to make easy prey of an unarmed, untrained woman. But it was also Koga and his wolves for not having the forest secure enough to have gotten there to her, and that damn jewel for summoning the demon in the first place.

The prince let out a deep breath, his claws scratching at the top of his head in thought.

Yes, it was all of their faults that Kagome got hurt, but it was also his For being such a dick about her questions and ticking her off in the first place. For not following her and making sure she didn't wind up in that less traveled area of the forest. For wasting time yelling at her while she sat on the ground with a hole in her gut. 

He had a lot of blame in what had happened to Kagome the morning before.

As he'd had time, sitting, and thinking in the silence, he had start to comprehend the way she might have took some of those words she said. His own self-deprecation, well he could see that maybe she might have thought she might be the recipient of some of that malice. And just yelling at her not to wander off, yeah that probably didn't help.

"if you get yourself killed, I'll be the one to pay for it."

That wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say to a woman. Even with his naivety in interacting with women, he knew that saying that, like she was some possession to be lost and he would get in trouble for losing. Yeah, that wasn't his finest moment.

But that was only part of the reason Sango was mad. The other was the fact that she was under the impression that he had, in fact, fulfilled Sesshomaru's contract with the mortal clans and mated with the girl, but had not actually cared enough to make her his mate.

And she wasn't wrong, because anyone who looked could see the lack of any mark on her neck. He had accepted her as his wife, understood that she was here and his responsibility. It wasn't like she could be sent back home without disrupting the fragile trust of the mortal lords in him and his brother. And she wasn't exactly dreadful to be around anyway.

But actually allowing her to become a mate, a lover, that was crossing a line, a border he would not allow. He couldn't allow it, especially after what had already happened to her. After what happened to the last woman he let himself feel those weak feelings about.

Inuyasha glanced back at the chamber door, seeing the glow of the candle inside shining through the screen. He could see her silhouette as she searched around and tied her robe shut, pulling it against her injured body.

Sighing, he stood up and grabbed onto the door, sliding it open. Kagome was sitting upright, teasing the small nekomata with a hairband, making her bat at it with soft paws. She was smiling, and her cheeks looked rosier than they had when he had left that morning. She glanced up and as she saw him, her hand dropped and she quickly folded her hands on her middle, her blue eyes turning down. Kirara tilted her head and let out a questioning squeak, wondering why her mistress had suddenly stopped their game.

"You're awake," he says, and she glances up, her blue eyes relatively calm. She reached for her neck and held onto the Shikon Jewel, running her thumb over it.

"Yes," She says. She looked away again and he saw the way her other hand was gripping onto the fire rat cloak across her lap. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you, Inuyasha. I know you have better things to do than worry about me." Crouching down, he wrinkled his nose at the smell of herbs on her, almost masking that sweet, calming scent her skin carried.

"You could have been killed, Kagome," He huffs, looking down at the small yellow cat laying on her back between them. "If we hadn't made it back to the castle when we did..." He stops, remembering how cold and lifeless her body had been when he carried her into the bed chamber. His fist clench and he grit his teeth. "Kagome, what happened isn't okay."

"I know that," She says, "You already lectured me enough don't you think. I know I was stupid for running off into the forest like that. I know I almost died from the wound the centipede gave me and that's my fault." A sniffle caused a white ear to twitch and he Inuyasha looked up at her, seeing tears run down her cheeks. Her voice became weak and scratchy.

"I know how angry you are because I disobeyed you and would have caused even more trouble if I had died." Kirara got up and let out a soft sound, tilting her head at the mortal girl as she started full out bawling. Sighing, he sat down cross legged and folded his arms into his sleeves.

"Knock it off," He says but she was too busy crying to notice. He could feel his claws fidgeting, tapping reflexively against his arm as he tried to figure out how to handle this woman. "Hey, will you stop!"

"I understand if you want me punished, sent away for being such a bother," She says, ignoring his words, Her shoulders straightened a little and she clasped her hands in her lap, eyes downturned as she refused to look him in the eye. "I'm sure if I make an appeal and we say the marriage wasn't consummated, they'll find a different mortal girl to take my place and keep the jewel pure and Musashi safe. I won't cause you any more trouble."

Inuyasha's yellow eyes blinked in shock as he heard her words. She thought he blamed her that much, that he would go to such lengths to be rid of her when all he'd wanted was to see her eyes open again? For her to be alive and her heart rate to slow back down to a normal rate and not ring through his ears at the rapid, panicked pace of a dying animal, causing a pounding in his head. For the warmth that she gave off when he was around her to return to that cold, lifeless corpse she had been even after Sango had patched and dressed the injury he had failed to see the seriousness of.

"You think it'd be that easy to replace you when it took 50 years for Sesshomaru to track you down?" He scoffs before noticing that the tone he used certainly wasn't helping the situation, "I ain't gettin' rid of you, so knock off those damn tears, Kagome."

She looked up at him and saw that he was just sitting, arms crossed. He didn't look mad, or angry, even though his voice seemed to be, gruff as it was. He was just upset, annoyed like he seemed to be most of the time she'd known him. She balled the sleeve cuff of her kimono robe in her hand and wiped the tears away from her already puffy cheeks.

"I'm sorry," She says, and he rolls his eyes.

"Will you stop apologizing?" Inuyasha snaps, looking away from her. "It loses meaning when it's all that comes out of your mouth." Kagome nods and brushes her hair off her face.

"I'm," She laughs a little as she realized that she almost did what he was yelling at her for. "Okay."

"Now, I ain't saying you ain't an idiot who shouldn't be sorry for the mess you caused," He growls. "But I screwed up too by letting you get hurt."

"Letting me get hurt?" She asks and he looks down. "Inuyasha, you saved my life."

"I promised I'd protect you and that you'd be safe here," He says. "You got hurt by a weak demon on my land on day one."

"Because I ran off," She says, "You told me not to and I didn't listen. It isn't your fault the Jewel of Four Souls revived Mistress Centipede."

"But I should have known better," He says. "I should have at least trailed you."

"I made you sit," she says, watching in a little bit of horror as he suddenly face planted on the futon in front of her, falling on top of her legs. He looked up; his golden eyes narrowed in annoyance. She felt her hand come up and cover her smirk as she giggled. "I'm pretty sure you don't like that and aren't in the most helpful mood when someone does that." His dog ears twitched on top of his head, knowing she was right.

"It's no excuse, " He grumbles, "I told you I would protect you and I didn't do that." Kagome leaned forward and picked up Kirara, pulling her onto her lap.

"Inuyasha," she says softly, "Why would you think you failed to protect me?" He looked up and saw her looking at him with those kind eyes. Feeling his cheeks growing red, he slowly sat up, getting off of her. "You came once you realized I was actually in danger. You did protect me. There's no reason to blame yourself for something completely out of your control." He blinked at her, but before he could reply, Sango had returned with Kagome's meal.

He flicked his ear, turning away from Kagome quickly and Sango shot him a look. She carefully stepped forward and set the tray down in front of the injured princess. She reached forward and gently ran her hand down the small nekomata's back. Kirara purred and looked up at her.

"I'll go back to the barracks for the night," she says, looking at Kagome, "If anything happens, send Kirara and I'll come back."

"You told me that all last night," Inuyasha growls and she got up, looking at him rather coldly.

"I was talking to your wife," she says, walking back to the door. "Don't move around too much, Lady Kagome. Those stitches will only hold so well until your body starts binding itself back together properly."

"I will," She says softly, "Thank you so much for tending to me, Sango."

"It was my pleasure," the demon slayer replies, "I'll be back in the morning to change your bandages." With that, she ducked out of the room and shut the door. Kagome looked at the food she had been brought, a bowl of fish and rice porridge and hot tea, along with a few pieces of bread. She blinked at it, really not sure where to start. the dull pain in her middle seemed to be swallowing up any hunger she might have had.

"Eat it," She heard the silver-haired man say and she looked up at him to see the way his yellow eyes flicking over to her.

"I'm not really that hungry," she says, and he turns to fully look at her.

"You've barely eaten in three days," He says. "Bullshit, you ain't hungry. You ain't gonna like if I have to make you." Gingerly, she picked up the warm bowl of food and began to pick at it. She could feel him watching her like a hawk, and her cheeks were growing red as she set the bowl down, leaving about a quarter of the soup remaining.

"Do you want some?" she asks, and he quickly looks away.

"I'm fine," He says, and she nibbles at a piece of bread. She glanced down at the red suikan that still covered her and noticed the absence of one coving his shoulders, leaving him in simply a linen kosode.

"Sango told me you stayed outside the chamber since we returned," She says. "I doubt that gave you any time to eat yourself." He glanced at her and crossed his arms angrily into his sleeves.

"I ain't a weakling like you, wench," He grumbles. "I can stand to skip a meal or two." She looks up and gently picked up the tray, setting it to the side. "I told you to eat it."

"When you haven't eaten for a few days, it isn't smart to stuff your belly full," She says. "Especially with stitches in the skin over it. You should be happy I ate most of it." Folding her arms around herself, she held onto her sides. Her body hurt, and from underneath the bandages on her arms, she could see the dark colors of bruises reaching outward.

Inuyasha watched her as she clutched her fists into her sides. She was still in pain, despite the herbs that had been applied to her wounds. She was, from what little he had seen of her shoulders above the blanket the night before, covered in bruises and scrapes. As much as she was probably flung around by that cursed creature, she was lucky not to have any broken bones, save the two cracked ribs next to the bite she suffered.

But that didn't mean the injures she had suffered did hurt like hell.

"How are you feeling?" He asks and she looks ups, her cheeks flushed. He felt embarrassed, wanting to look away from her, but she just kind of shrugs.

"I'm okay," Kagome says softly, "A little dizzy, but my head hit that tree pretty hard, so I guess that's to be expected." She laughs a little and tucked her hair behind her ear, making Inuyasha blush.

"I am sorry," He says, looking down, "That you got hurt so badly, and that I didn't realize you were wounded as bad as you were." Kagome reaches forward and grabs onto his arm. "Ka-Kagome?"

"I told you," She says. "It isn't your fault, and I don't blame you. Stop running yourself ragged over something out of your control." She slowly lets go, remembering his objection to having her touch him, glancing at her pillow.

"If you're tired, you should sleep," He says, "It's late anyways." Kagome nods, moving a little and shifting down into the futon again. She watches as he just sits, staring at the window.

"What about you?" She asks. "Surely you're exhausted, sitting outside all day and in here watching me all night."

"I'm fine," He says and Kirara leapt up on his shoulder. She purred softly and rubbed her head against his cheek as he let out a wide, long toothed yawn.

Kagome figured that it should scare someone, seeing those long, sharp fangs inside a very human looking mouth. But he wasn't frightening to her. It was just, Inuyasha. He was who he was, and that didn't bother her. He saved her life, so he couldn't be that bad, right?

Rolling onto her side, she pulled the blanket up around herself. Her body ached, but she didn't want to complain, to make him feel any worse. She knew her words weren't making any difference about the guilt he felt, that drove him to sit up by her bed, watching over her like this, for nearly two days. She glanced at the red cloth laying over her and pulled it close, cuddling it to her chest.

"Inuyasha?" She asks and he glanced at her, laying there, wrapped in the red robe of fire rat fur. She looked so precious and breakable, with those bandages on her arms and scrapes on her cheek.

"What?" He asks and she reaches out, patting the place beside her.

"I know you're really tired," She says. "Two days is a long time to stay awake, even for a hanyo. Why don't you lay down and get some rest?" He snorted and looked away from her.

"Just, get some sleep and stop worrying about everyone else," He says.

"Not until you lay down and get some rest yourself," She says, starting to try to sit up, groaning a little as her stomach flexed against the stitches. Seeing that twisted look of pain on her face, he lurched forward and pushed her back down by the shoulders.

"Knock it off," He says, looking down at her as he held her shoulders. "Didn't you hear what Sango told you? Don't move around so much." Her blue eyes blinked up at him and she chuckled.

"And getting pushed back down isn't moving around?" She says teasingly and he feels a blush rising to his cheeks. He gently released her arms and sat up, though he was still hovering over her. "Come on, it isn't like anything is gonna suddenly happen now that I've woken up. And even if it did, I'm pretty sure you'd smell the blood, even in your sleep." She glances at the nekomata as she leapt off his shoulder, hopping over her body and sitting at her side, twin tails flicking in concentration. "And it isn't like you're completely letting your guard down. Kirara's here too and has senses just as sharp if not sharper than yours."

He glanced at the small cream-colored cat and she blinked her red eyes at him. Though she couldn't vocalize the human language, he understood her body language well enough, being part Inu-yokai.

She was reassuring that she wouldn't let anything further happen to the mortal woman in the night, sitting straight and alert beside Kagome.

Huffing, he reached over and snuffed the candle out, leaving them in darkness. At least, it was dark for her. He wasn't as easily blinded by the darkness as the mortal princess, his golden eyes using every bit of the miniscule moonlight the waning crescent moon. He knew she was right, that he should take advantage of the sleep he could get for now.

After all, he would be at his most vulnerable in two, maybe three days' time, and wouldn't have the luxury of sleeping, nor of the comfort of the futon. He would be on his guard and sit vigil from sundown until the sun rose again.

Moving to the injured woman's side, he laid down, facing away from her, his arms tucked around himself. Tetsusaiga lay between them against her knee, where he had dropped it as he made her lay back down and it was safe there. She was safe with the sealing weapon between himself and her injured body.

Kagome moved a little, shifting back onto her side, staring at his long white hair that seemingly glowed in the dark of the bed chamber. The warm fabric of his robe was still clutched in her fingers and she brought it closer to her face. It still had the comforting, earthy scent to it that she remembered, one of the few things she remembered clearly form the day before. Him wrapping her in the warmth of the soft fabric and that musky, manly smell that cloaked her as he did.

"Inuyasha?" She asks and he looks over at her.

"What is it now?" He asks and she lifted her head a little to look at him.

"Why do I still have your coat?" She says. "Aren't you cold?"

"You're the one who was cold," He says, "I'm fine."

"Out in the woods, after my kimono was ruined, sure," She says, "But I was covered in a thick blanket here." He could feel his ears grow hot and he quickly looked away from her.

"You were still cold," He growls, while thinking to himself, "You were pale and ice cold as a dead body." He could feel her shifting a little and he could feel her slender fingers resting against his back.

"You aren't a healer," She says quietly, "You don't need to blame yourself for not realizing how badly the bleeding took its toll on me back in the forest. You got me home and kept me safe. That's all that matters now. I'm grateful for that, Inuyasha." She carefully moved closer, and he felt her head resting against his back, her hand moving to rest on top of his arm.

"Kagome?" He asks and he felt her shift a little, pressing against his back, he could feel the slow rise and fall of her chest as she sighed and her heartbeat, steady and stronger than it had been the night before, vibrated against his spine and thudded softly in the soft white ears atop his head. He felt her start to try to move away, her hand pressing against him as she started to move away.

"Sorry," She says, and he could hear the embarrassment in her voice. "I guess I was just moving towards you without realizing. You're very warm."

One of the hanyo prince's ears flicked at her soft voice calling him that. He had been called a lot of things, described a lot of different ways in his two centuries of life. But warm, no one, not even that woman he had loved fifty years ago, had called him warm. 

In opposition, he realized he was considered by others, even his friends and himself, as a rather cold person. He knew she likely only meant literally, seeing as her hand felt like it was made of snow as she had it pressed against his arm, but at the same time, it felt nice, to have someone so close to him, who wasn't caring what he was, but instead who he was.

This mortal woman, saw him as her protector, someone who she just met but felt safe with. He was her husband and she trusted in him, believed in his ability to keep her safe despite the grave injury she had suffered in his very own forest.

"This girl really is a damn fool to think like that with her stupid ideals," He thought but as he felt the hand try to move away, a clawed hand reached up and gently wrapped around her fingers. Blinking his eyes, he slowly, and carefully, pulled the arm back and over his middle, the rest of her being pressed against his back again.

"It's okay," He says quietly, fighting back and keeping the emotion from his voice. "I don't care."

"Are you sure?" her timid voice asks, and he glanced at the pale fingers clutched in his own, with chipped, red lacquered nails and scuffed knuckles. He carefully ran his clawed thumb across the red scrapes and sighed, nodding his head. The time to make the boundaries strict was for later, when she could put up one of her stubborn fights like she had twice the day before.

"I'm sure," He says, and he felt her head lay down, pressing against his shoulder as she cuddled her frail body against him. Her breathing rustled in his hair and her hand reflexively folded over his hand.

"Good Night, Inuyasha," She whispered softly, and he glanced back, seeing her eyes already closed and her breathing normal and steady. She was already asleep. Turning back, with her hand still clutched in his, his head lay down and he closed his eyes. His fingers wove between hers and he held the limb close against his chest.

Reluctantly, the resilient hanyo fell asleep with her wrapped around him, the dreaded jewel pinned between them but kept too pure to affect him. The Tetsusaiga, the sword that kept him sane and attached to the human part of himself, rested against his bride's legs, shifting a little as she moved in her sleep.

His sleep was thankfully for him, peaceful and dreamless.