Together Again

Thanks everyone for the reviews! It really means so much to me! Please keep on doing it!
Oh, and no matter how much I wish Inuyasha and crew were mine, they’re not.
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~~~~~~~~~~Together Again~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Chapter 6~~~

She placed a quiver at her side and a bow in her hand as she stepped forward to greet him.

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As the sun peaked over the horizon her eyes fluttered open. She smiled as the warm embrace of Sesshoumaru greeted her. Memories from the night before and she blushed slightly. He had to feel it too.

Last night was the first night she had ever slept that the gods did not visit. She blushed even harder as she remembered the dream she was having just before she awoke.

He noticed her wake up and the flush on her cheeks. He wondered if he had the same dream he had, it was so real. He shook his head, trying to somehow dislodge the images from his brain. He couldn’t let this distract him, especially when the battle with Naraku was so close.

Kagome felt his body shake and she turned around to look at him, blush staining her cheeks even more. “Good morning.” She beamed.

She frowned as she was met with his ever stoic gaze and a cold reply. “I should return you before anyone notices you disappearance.”

Before she could agree she was back at the camp. She thanked the gods for Sesshoumaru’s timing, because Inuyasha was just waking. He ran over to her trying to find out what she was doing out.

Inuyasha put a hand to her forehead checking to see if she was all right. She was awfully red. “Oi wench! Are you feeling all right? You’re red.”

Kagome’s eyes widened and she spun back around. “Um… its nothing. Just a really graphic dream.” Gods she was glad that she could conceal his scent on her.

Kagome froze in her spot. Something was coming, and if she was right, she had an idea to help out with the battle. She was more than willing for the interruption.

Inuyasha noticed her tense and tried to smell what it was that had disturbed her. He couldn’t smell anything wrong. “What is it Kagome? What’s wrong?”

Kagome flashed him a smile. If this was going to work, he couldn’t be around. He would never allow it. She was going to have to do this alone. “Nothing.”

She dug her toe into the dirt. She needed to get away. “Inuyasha?” She asked meekly.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and grunted. “What now?”

“You don’t think I could go for a short walk by myself before anyone wakes up? It would really mean a lot to me to have a moment to myself before we left.” She gave him her best puppy eyes.

Inuyasha growled, knowing he wasn’t going to win this one. She was just asking to avoid an argument. He smelled the air one last time to make sure everything was safe. “Fine.” He huffed. “Just make sure you’re back for breakfast.”

Kagome squealed and wrapped herself around his shoulders. “Thanks!”

~*~

Kagura couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There stood the miko, in the middle of an open field, all alone. She laughed to herself. “This is just too easy.”

Kagome had made sure she was out of scent and hearing range for Inuyasha and made sure she was easy to spot. She knew Kagura wanted Naraku’s demise as much as them, it was just a matter of whether she would help or not. “Kagura!” She yelled as she waved hello.

Kagura smiled and sent an attack her way. “Stupid ningen.”

Kagome only smiled. This was, of course, what she expected. She nearly fell over in laughter as Kagura’s look of confidence dissolved like her attack did just before it hit Kagome.

She raised her hand with an open palm and Kagura shrieked as she was encased in a barrier. Quickly closing her fist and bringing it down to the ground she flung the ball to the ground, taking Kagura with it.

Wide-eyed she stared at the miko. She tried to move, but she was encased in the barrier. She began to fear for her life. Who would have known she contained so much power.

Slowly Kagome made her way up to Kagura. She could feel the fear radiating off her aura and almost laughed. It was nice to have the tables turned for a moment, to have someone scared of her for a change. She was just a few feet away from her when she began to speak. “Don’t worry, I just want to talk.”

Kagura snubbed her nose. “What good would it do me to talk with you?”

A sly smirk crossed her features. “Well if you tell me what I want to know, I can promise you your freedom once we defeat Naraku.”

Kagura brushed her off with a wave of her hand. “You will not defeat Naraku, and even if you did, he holds my heart within his body. You would kill me in the process.”

Kagome was growing impatient and it had just started. Did demons really think they were so much better than humans? “Look, you have seen what I can do. I could do the same to your heart once facing Naraku and you. You would walk out of the battle with your freedom.”

This definitely caught Kagura’s attention. “We can’t discuss it here. His insects are watching.” She waved to the insects that were hovering overhead.

Kagome smiled. “They can’t see you right now. Can’t you tell they are trying to figure out where you went? You are perfectly safe as long as you are with me. The only reason you saw me was because I wanted you to.”

Kagura just shook her head. “You will not defeat Naraku. For each and every one of you he has a defense, even for you.”

Kagome cocked her head to the side showing her interest. “What do you mean? What sort of protection?”

Kagura glanced up overhead at the insects and back to Kagome. “For the monk it is them. For the exterminator it is the brother. He has quite a powerful new incarnation for Inuyasha to play with.” She looked Kagome directly in the eyes. “He plans to take care of you himself. He has a stone that protects him from miko powers.”

To Kagura’s surprise she laughed. “That’s all? I guess it’s a good thing that my powers are more than just that.”

She looked at the miko with uncertainty. “You are not scared?”

“We have nothing to worry about. Naraku will be alone in this battle and I will destroy his heart before I destroy him. If you promise to take yourself out of the battle I will make sure you come out unharmed.”

Kagura felt a surge of excitement course through her body. This really was the end. She couldn’t wait to see Naraku fall. “You will protect Kanna as well?”

Kagome nodded her head. “If she agrees to give up her mirror.”

Kagura nodded her head in agreement before she took off on her feather, noticing the girl had dropped the barrier. “It is a deal then.”
Kagome smiled proudly before she headed back to camp. She had a feeling Kagura wasn’t going to be too hard to obtain. “We’re coming for you Naraku.”

~*~

Kagome made it back to camp just in time for breakfast and Inuyasha greeted her at the door. “It’s about time wench.”

She shrugged her shoulders and made herself a plate. “You’re right. We should get going.”

After she finished off her plate she picked Shippou up off the ground. “Shippou, you are going to have to stay here okay? Naraku has a not so nice present waiting for us and I’d rather you not see it.”

He looked like he was going to cry. “But Kagome! What if they come for me here?”

She laughed. “Silly, I’ll always be protecting you. There are just some things children shouldn’t be forced to see.”

Everyone was waiting for her as she made her way out of the hut. Sango and Miroku were already on Kirara. Inuyasha was the one to speak up. “Oi wench are you ready yet? Get on.”

Not saying a word she climbed on his back and pointed to the north. “He’s that way, closer than before. We should get there just before the sun sets.”

Sango looked at her friend in amazement. She couldn’t believe how much her powers and confidence had grown in such a short time. She was also surprised that Naraku was so close. He must be getting impatient. “I’m surprised he’s so close.”

Miroku nodded his head in agreement. “He must have something up his sleeve.”

Kagome flashed them a smile. “He thinks he has all his bases covered. He doesn’t know that the only person on his side now is his new incarnation.” She watched all their faces flash with confusion and worry. “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’ll never get a chance to touch us.”

Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement before they took off.

Hours passed before he even caught wind of the hanyou. If he smelled him from here then he knew Naraku knew they were coming. He hadn’t thought about Kagome being able to prevent that.

As the sun was beginning to set over the horizon Naraku came into view and Kagome smiled. Kagura, Kanna, Kohaku, and the new incarnation stood at his side to the back.

Inuyasha looked at Naraku before him and wondered why he hadn’t spoke yet as he set Kagome down. She smiled up at him and it hit him like a ton of bricks and a smirk crossed over his features. Naraku didn’t even know they were there.

Quickly going to work Kagome placed the protection barriers over Kohaku, Kanna, Kagura and her heart within Naraku.

Naraku hissed as he slowly became aware of a warm burning sensation coming from inside him. Plunging his hand inside his body he pulled out Kagura’s heart. Examining it in his hands he noticed a pale pink glow surrounding her heart and watched it as it intensified. He narrowed his eyes and looked to Kagura who was also glowing in a pale pink light. “What form of treachery is this?”

She was so shocked at what she was seeing she almost forgot to warn Kanna. She knew exactly who was behind this. She quickly looked to the snow-white girl. “Kanna drop the mirror!”

Her eyes flashed with recognition and she dropped the mirror to the ground causing Naraku to yell out in frustration. “Show yourself!” He bellowed.

Suddenly, before him, they all appeared in front of him. Kagome was leading the pack, bow up, and arrow ready to fire. Naraku cackled. “It’s a good thing my plans don’t involve them.”

Kagome smiled, focused all her energy into the bow and released her arrow. Naraku’s disadvantage was he liked to talk. They never even had a chance to meet his new incarnation. “Nope, but he was a part of them. I bet you thought Inuyasha was going to have to take care of him.”

Though unnerved he shrugged it off. He did have the upper hand. “You cannot hurt me Kagome. I am immune to miko powers.”

She smiled as she strung her bow again. She was going to make this simple, quick and easy. Concentrating, she gathered as much power as she could muster to the arrow. This had to be perfect if it was going to work. She prodded the distance to find his heart.

Everyone watched in amazement as her powers flared from the tip of the arrow. Even Naraku was surprised at the amount of power she possessed. It was a shame she was going to die. She would have made a fine mate.

When she released the arrow everyone gasped and Naraku laughed as the arrow ricocheted off of his barrier and off into the distance. “I told you it was impossible to win.” He walked up closer to her and smiled as Inuyasha growled. “Now why don’t you just let me kill you all now so we can get this over with?”

Naraku reached out for her and was kindly greeted by a blast of pure energy. He glared at the smiling girl before him.

“Just wait for it.” She said, trying to reassure everyone. Her gaze returned to Naraku. “I hope you keep your heart as protected as you do yourself. Do you really think Hakudoushi is strong enough to protect it by himself?”

Naraku’s eyes widened at her words because just at that moment he had felt his heart slowly coming to a stop. In haste he quickly pulled Kagome into his body hoping to get her jewels, ignoring the burning sensation as he pulled her in. He needed the jewel whole to stay alive, no matter if it felt as if his insides were melting. They could never win. He was meant to rule the world.

Kagome never fought it.

Inuyasha screamed for Kagome as Naraku swallowed her whole, seemingly unaffected by her barrier. She was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. Terror tore through his body at the mere thought of losing her.

Miroku had to hold him back to keep him from running off and doing something stupid. He was so absorbed in what he was seeing that the hanyou wasn’t taking any notice of the still erect barriers. “Don’t worry she is okay. She is still protecting us.” And he was right, the barriers were still up with not even a flicker.

Kagome shuddered inside Naraku’s body. It was absolutely disgusting to be sucked in by him, even with a barrier around you. It was worse than being covered with demon guts. The miasma wasn’t to pleasant smelling either along with his burning flesh. She scanned his body for the jewel and found it close to where his heart was supposed to be. Quickly enveloping the jewel inside her barrier she plucked it from Naraku’s insides and fused it with. She wanted out now. She had never been so disgusted in her life. She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Kill him!”

Naraku erupted in laughter. “Always so selfless. It was your weakness.”

Inuyasha growled, having been the only one to hear her muffled scream. He had to keep telling himself over and over again that she could protect herself from the blast. The tetsaiga pulsed red as he lifted through the air bringing down wind scar and shattering through Naraku’s barrier. He didn’t even have a chance to scream. He was too shocked to even move as Inuyasha unleashed his second attack. Thousands of diamonds ripped through his body but before his body exploded he released on final laugh.

Everyone sighed in relief as the dust settled and Kagome’s form became present. Sango ran as fast as her legs could carry her to her side. Everything had happened so quickly. She couldn’t believe that she shrugged off Inuyasha’s diamond blast attack like she had. She needed to know why Kagura knew not to attack, why she and Kanna were still alive, and where the hell Kagome got the balls to just shoot without thought. “Kagome! You’re alright!” She yelled as she slammed her into a fierce hug.

Everyone quickly gathered round, even Kanna, Kagura, and Kohaku, much to everyone’s displeasure. Kagome smiled. In one hand she held an almost whole pale pink jewel, in the other she held Kagura’s heart. Kanna had picked up her mirror and was timidly handing it over to Kagome. She gently took the mirror from Kanna and patted her head. The rest of the gang couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Kagome looked to Kagura and flashed her an even bigger smile. “Kagura, come closer and close your eyes.”

Kagura bowed her head and took a few steps closer to her, doing what she was told. She smiled as she felt the warmth return to her body. Her eyes snapped open as she felt the first beat of her heart within her body. It was a sensation she never thought she would feel again, and for that she was grateful. “Thank you. We will be forever in your debt.” She turned to Kanna. “Come Kanna, we have no further use here.”

In a flash they were gone on her feather, leaving a growling hanyou and a stunned group of friends. Kagome looked at him with question in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

His growling escalated. “You planned this all!”

She shrugged her shoulders in indifference. “So.”

He glared at her. Now he knew what she went off and did this morning. “What would possess you to make a deal with her? By yourself? You could have gotten hurt and no one would have been around to help. Hell, it could have been a trap!”

Kagome smiled and turned around to face Kohaku, ignoring Inuyasha. “It was supposed to be. But it didn’t work out that way. Her main objective in life was to live free. I gave her that option if she gave me information. Why must you always think the worst of people?”

While talking to Inuyasha she motioned for Kohaku to turn around. She flashed him a reassuring smile and placed her hand over the scar over his shoulder blade. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of her touch spread through his body and his memories come flooding back to him. He collapsed to the ground crying. “Sango!”

She was at his side in an instant with a mixture of joy, relief, and concern written across her features. “Shh, everything is going to be okay. We’re both okay and nothing was your fault.” She looked back up at Kagome who now held the whole jewel in her hands and smiled. “Thank you.”

A thought hit Miroku and he ripped the purple beads from his hand just in time to see the Kazaana fade away from existence. “It’s finally over!” For the first time ever he touched his bare hand to his face.

He looked back up to Kagome. “I would definitely have to say that was quite impressive. How did you manage to hit his heart from so far away? It took quite a long time for your arrow to get there and for him to notice.”

“It was simple. The arrow I sent only needed to taste his aura in order to find its source. I had already located its roundabouts. It would be easier to explain if you knew what heat-seeking missiles were.” She said, suddenly realizing that it may be a simple concept to her, but that was because of the time she was from.

Miroku pondered this for a moment then shook his head. “An aura-seeking arrow? That seems pretty impossible, but it worked nonetheless.

Sesshoumaru stood in the tree line watching the whole scene before him. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. The amount of power that one miko had was unnerving. No human, let alone demon, should contain that kind of power. Not only had she weakened him by taking his allies, but she had managed to protect everyone in her group while still making the first strike. Her healing powers were immense as well. She healed the exterminator with little visible effort. The boy had reeked of death and would have most definitely fallen moments later.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the miko called his name. “Sesshoumaru it’s over, you can come out now.”

Inuyasha growled and spun around. “What are you doing here bastard?” He saw the look he was giving Kagome and flew off the handle. He could see the desire in his eyes.

Sesshoumaru dismissed the irate hanyou before him and gracefully walked up to Kagome. “You did well without assistance miko.”

She gave him a cocky smile. “Did you really have any doubts? You can feel the amount of power I contain. It was you who warned Inuyasha I was hiding something wasn’t it.”

He gave her a wry smile. She was mad at him for this morning, but it would pass. Right now she was exhausted and was going to pass out soon. She had used every once of her energy. He was surprised she was even still standing. “Yes, your power is quite obvious.” As her body wavered a bit he wanted nothing more then to scoop her up in his arms before she passed out and care for her until she awoke. He shook the idea from his head, trying to convince himself otherwise.

Ignoring his desires he turned to leave. He hated to leave her in the care of Inuyasha, but it had to be left that way… for now. “Catch her before she falls.” He growled out. The stupid hanyou hadn’t even noticed her condition yet.

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, not completely understanding his statement. That was, until he glanced over in Kagome’s direction. He could tell that she was struggling to keep herself up. He was at her side in an instant. “Stupid wench, are you trying to kill yourself?”

She looked up at him and smiled. She felt the world around her growing dark and her body becoming weak. Apparently she had used more energy then she thought. Feeling the world close in on her she passed out in his arms.

Everyone ran to her side. “She’ll be alright won’t she?” Kohaku asked with a worried expression on his face, much to everyone’s surprise. It was the first sentence he had spoken yet.

Inuyasha growled to warn everyone to give her space. “She’s just worn out. We’ll camp here and head back when she awakes.”

Miroku scanned the area and then looked back to Inuyasha. “Where’s the jewel?”

He looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. He knew where she would hide it. It was where it belonged. “Kagome has it. No one needs to worry.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, when did she have time to turn Kagura and Kanna? Even more, how?” Sango asked. It was a question that had been bugging her ever since the fight started.

Inuyasha growled. “I’m guessing she did it this morning when she went on her ‘walk’. How she did it is beyond me.” He snickered at a thought. “She must have scared the hell out of Kagura though.”

Everyone laughed in agreement and began to set up camp. Inuyasha set Kagome down in her sleeping bag, placing her gently down on her pillow. He smiled down at her. Even passed out with exhaustion she still looked beautiful. He curled up next to her, earning looks of disbelief from all around, but he didn’t care. He was just glad she was alright.

With Naraku defeated, everything the way it should be, they all fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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It’s a little short, but I like it anyway. I hope you do too. Please review!

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