Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not yet mine. It seems he belongs to either Kikyo or Kagome, depending on who you ask. Haha. I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters, but the plot is fantasy of my own spontaneous creation.

Edit: For those of you who have already read When Will You Love me? I have gone back and properly edited all of the chapters. The differences are not plot-twisting or great, but if you're interested, there is a reason to re-read.

Note: A hanyou is a half-demon, which refers most commonly to Inuyasha. Youkai are full-fledged demons, such as Kouga and Shippo.

Sometimes I wish that I was an angel
A fallen angel who visits your dreams
And in those dreams I'd blow you a message that says
"You really want me."

-Jill Sobule

..

Wincing and panting, Kouga bent at the waist from the sudden blow that raged through his abdomen.

"This must be...how hell feels..." he groaned.

With fumbling hands, he pulled off his chest plate of armor, flinging it to the earth. The blow had punctured clean through the metal and through his stomach. The wound bled like a raging river of red, dripping onto his toes and trailing his moves. Kouga staggered about the forest, knocking into tree trucks and shrubbery. When he stumbled over a rock, he reached out to something for balance. Unfortunately, there was only air. And we know how air can be, coming up short when we need it the most. Especially to keep one from falling to the ground and landing square on your shoulder. This is exactly what happened.

"Agh!"

The metallic scent of his own blood dizzied him, awakened a primal rage. Kouga rocked to his feet and scanned the trees. With narrowed eyes, he hunted for the adversary, the man to blame for the wound. Birds crackled, a light wind stirred the hot air, but besides that, nothing. No scents or sounds but a still, undisturbed forest. Whatever it was, was long gone.

A sound curled through the trees. It smacked against his senses, and his ears lifted. He knew this sound well, like the voice of his angel.

'A very feisty angel...' he thought, blue eyes sparking mischievously.

Pain twirled through at his stomach.

"Guess it's not time to think that way."

Kouga cocked his head and he forced his blood-brimmed coughs to a minimum. The liquid churned in his throat, but it was worth it.

"Could it be her or am I just..."

Some more distant murmurs.

Oh, yes. He had heard it.

Willpower surged through his body. With his shoulders pushed back, he followed that sweet sound, only miles away...

The day was bright, long, and scorching. Inuyasha and his gang strode through the forest, in their usual search to track down shards. Since Naraku had went into hiding, it was important to collect all the shards they could while the villain lied low. The next step was to track down the beast himself. As the friends worked through the trees, exhaustion nipped at their strength. To keep up their energy, Shippo thought it'd be fun to tell a story. The Little fox demon had reached the height of an awfully witty tale about a wild Hanyou, a mistress, and the neglected kitten playmate. This caused the irritated Half-demon to fume.

"Shut up." Inuyasha said, after he picked up on the theme of this story.

"What?" Shippo's bell-chime voice made his words sound like flee against fire. "I'm only telling a story, dummy."

Inuyasha's clobber to the fox demon's head lead to a mighty…

"Sit boy!"

The prayer beads around Inuyasha's neck brightened and smashed his face to the ground. The group stopped as Inuyasha sputtered chunks of dirt.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha growled, "The smart mouth had it coming and you know it!"

With chin raised, Kagome stared down her nose at him.

"His story was very interesting. Reminds me of people I know."

Inuyasha raised a brow, beginning to retort, when his nose twitched. His eyes clouded with a bothered glaze as he whiffed the air. Still on all fours, he sniffed the crumbly forest earth.

"Now, Inuyasha," Miroku chided, smiling impishly."Prowling on the ground like that won't get you anywhere with the ladies..."

Waving him off with a hand, Inuyasha climbed to his feet.

"Feh. I smell blood. Fresh blood."

Kagome paused.

"And I sense jewel shards," She said, heaving her knapsack tighter against her shoulder blades.

Inuyasha brought a foot forward, testing the air with his keen nose.

"It is wolf blood. Kouga's, I think. Let's go."

Scooping up Kagome, Inuyasha headed forward. The rest of the pack settled on Kirara and stuck close behind Inuyasha. The half demon charged through the trees, forcing Kagome to press her face to his shoulder.

"So you do have a heart," she murmured into his shirt.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, narrowly missing a thorn bush as he glanced back at her.

"You sense Kouga's blood, so now you're going off to see the trouble."

Inuasha focused his sight on the green flashes of forest that whirled around him, brushed off the comment with an exasperated groan.

"Whatever. If he's dead, we'd have some effortless jewels," A devilish smile crossed his face. "It could save us the trouble of having to chase him for the shards in his legs."

Kagome's mouth quivered to express a piece of her mind when a familiar clunk from behind stopped her mid-sentence.

"Insensitive Jerk," Sango snapped

Kagome shifted, shaking her head at Miroku's half-conscious, contented smile. Sango's hefty hiraikotsu was buried into his head. The demon slayer sighed heavily, caught Kagome's eye, and giggled. All laughter died down as they spotted the small clearing. Inuyasha paused on his heels, glaring into the sight distance. Kouga was staggering in their direction. Blood stained the pale dirt a bright, hot red. Kagome gasped as she leapt away from Inuyasha. She tripped towards Kouga, but her knack sack weighed her down, and she tossed it to the grasses.

Kouga's pained, blue eyes brightened when he saw her. She reached his side quickly, the footsteps of the others arriving after hers.

"Ka...Kagome." Kouga managed, then coughed, knees digging into the earth.

Kagome's hands flew out to catch him, but his body hung too heavily, and she let go. Even with one hand covering the wound, the blood seeped past his fingers like from a cracked dam. Taking deep, heavy breaths, he pulled upright, trying to stand.

"Stay put." Kagome demanded, holding him down by the shoulder.

He flashed his eyes to hers, chin raised to meet hers evenly. And she stared at him, brown eyes to blue, sadness weighing down her heavy eyelids.

"You came for me?" he asked. He searched her sad gaze for something, something more. She began to pet his shoulder, but like one would pet a dog or child. It was as he expected. He only found pity.

Blood was dripping everywhere. Kagome's stomach churned from the blood that just kept coming. Instinctively, she reached behind her to open her sack, but forgot she had tossed it aside. She gently set Kouga to the ground, then hurried off.

Kouga reached out to the air she left behind. His arms dropped slowly, hitting the ground.

"What happened?" Sango asked. She hooked her mouthpiece on as she walked towards Kouga with caution, inspecting the ground for blood or foul play.

"I was..." Kouga's eyes crept low. He felt light, too light. He fell forward, but Inuyasha sped towards him. He caught Kouga's falling body and heaved him up.

"Take it easy. And stop talking."

Inuyasha removed his kimono top and stretched it around Kouga's wound. The blood darkened the fabric in a rush.

"He's out cold," Sango confirmed.

Everyone jumped when Kagome cried out from a short distance away.

"What is it, Kagome?" Miroku asked, heading over.

Kagome stared down into her backpack, hands trembling. Her head shook from side to side.

"My things...they're all gone."

The gang shifted nervously.

"You mean my crayons?" Shippo said.

"And the ramen?!" said Inuyasha, mouth dropping.

"Worse than that. All the medicine and bandages. The shards. It's all gone."