Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, though, I wish I did!

Author's Notes: Hey guys! I was at a lost as to what I should do for the fifth chapter, so in the mean time I decided that I should go back over the first two chapters and edit them for two reasons. Number one, it seems as though I lose more readers after these two chapters, and number two, they were written almost two years ago, and thus are very poorly done. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone! Oh, and it does a better job at setting up the "confession" scene. So here you are, the all new, revamped version of my first two chapters! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Confessions of a Stubborn Hanyou

"InuYasha, look out! Behind you!" InuYasha spun around on his heel, Tessaiga held in both hands. What awaited him was yet another of Naraku's insidious tentacles. With a great heave of his sword, the great tentacle was severed from Naraku's body, only to be rejoined seconds later.

"Kagome! Hurry up, aim for his (bleep!) heart and get this over with!" InuYasha shouted to the girl that stood not to far away from him.

"InuYasha, that's not him! He's somewhere in one of those buildings!" She shot back.

To her left, Sango battled with a tentacle of her own, and to her right, Miroku was battling as best he could without the use of his kazaana. Shippou did his best to fight; mostly he confused the lesser youkai around them into fighting each other. But this alone was enough, it let the older members of the group focus their attentions on the true threat.

"Kirara!" Sango shouted to her furry companion and was lifted onto the large nekomata's back, far enough away from they many appendages of Naraku to throw her hiraikotsuand do a significant amount of damage.

With a great yank, Sango sent the bone weapon whirling towards Naraku's head, but before it hit, those tentacles swatted the weapon away. Sango cursed loudly and looked down at the carnage beneath her. Thousands of bodies littered the grounds of Naraku's floating palace. Most of them were youkai, but some were humans, people that had joined up with the group when they had been sure that Naraku's demise was inescapable. The sight of it all reminded the demon slayer too much of the time two years passed when all she had had been ripped out from under her. He had been the cause of it then, yet had that not happened, Sango knew she would never have met her best friend and her future husband. Such a bittersweet memory.

Suddenly, without warning, Sango felt Kirara disappear from under her and the rush of air as she fell. She twisted to see what had happened and saw that her companion had been swatted by one of the many tentacles of Naraku and was now struggling to free herself of its constricting grasp. Before she had a chance to think, Sango too found herself in a like situation.

"Sango!" Miroku cried out to his fiancé. Immediately he rushed to her aid, slicing the appendage near the joint with his houshi's staff.

Sango came tumbling down into his arms, and he set her down lightly. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. Help InuYasha!" She shouted over the din and pointed to where the hanyou battled with Naraku's puppet.

Where the (bleep!) is that blasted Naraku?! He has to be around here somewhere! Kagome thought, her eyes searching all the rooftops.

She held her bow at the ready and took off towards the far corner of the floating castle. They had last seen the true form of Naraku there, whereupon he had disappeared into one of the many buildings to control his puppets in safety. Behind her, she could hear InuYasha shouting curses and attacks left and right, Sango screaming angrily at the puppet, and Miroku calling up his wind tunnel when none of Naraku's saimyoushou were around.

They had been fighting for hours on end with their archenemy and all were reaching their breaking point. There seemed to be no end to the puppets or the youkai that flooded the area. Luckily for them, Kagura had demolished one of the spouts they sprang from, but that had cost her her life. She had turned to their side once she saw that Naraku was doomed. The other detachments of Naraku had been hard to find and even harder to kill, but in the end, they had done just that. All of them but one; Naraku's heart. The tiny fair-haired baby was with Naraku, and he was in one of those buildings. And Kagome was determined to find him.

She leapt over the banister of the closest building and raced inside through the torn paper door. The place rank of death and rotting flesh. All over the floor there was a carpet of bodies, some of them fresh, most of them halfway between skeletons and mummies. Putting her hand over her mouth and nose, Kagome pressed onward through the maze in search of Naraku and his heart.

Just when she was about to lose hope, she heard something scuttle into a side room. Turning swiftly she looked back into the pitch-blackness she had just retreated from. Deep inside one of the rooms, she could hear something moving. Slowly, and very cautiously, she inched toward the door. She peeked around the doorframe but saw nothing, so she moved closer, keeping her shoulder against the door.

It was absolutely black in the room, very unnatural, and there was a distinct feeling of someone's, or something's, presence there. Kagome could feel that there were shards in the room though, so she went further inside. From the furthest corner, a deep chuckle rattled that someone's throat.

"Naraku! You (bleep!) coward, come out and face me!" Kagome shouted. Deep in her mind she scolded herself. She was starting to sound too much like a certain hanyou these days.

"So you've found me. Why don't you take a seat?" Naraku chuckled menacingly. Before Kagome could react, she felt herself being vaulted through the roof and high up into the night sky.

Hearing the commotion from the building, InuYasha turned to see Kagome go flying into the sky. Without a single thought, he launched himself into the air to save the young girl. Once he had landed, he set her gently down and peered into her shadowed face.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Just as he said that, over the stink of blood and death, he caught the tangy smell of Kagome's tears. "Kagome?"

"I'm fine! Just get that idiot out here so I can shoot him!" She said in a small, but haunting, voice.

InuYasha nodded silently and painted a scowl across his face. He hefted his trusty sword and called out his most powerful attack, Kekkaigiri. Within seconds the house was in pieces, laying helter scelter around the grounds. From deep in its midst stood the hated man, completely unscathed by the attack. A deep growl rattled through InuYasha's chest as he held his sword at the ready.

The puppets that had been plaguing the Yasha gang had apparently been based inside that building, and with it destroyed, there was nothing to fight except the real thing. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippou all gathered around Kagome and InuYasha. Each one of them had a great multitude of wounds, and Sango looked about ready to collapse had Miroku not been there to hold her up. Now was the final showdown.

Naraku chuckled ominously. "You've found me. You've destroyed all of my detachments, all of my puppets, and now my only hiding place. What are you going to do now?" He seemed hardly phased by the fact that he was sorely outnumbered.

"We're gonna kick your sorry (bleep!) from here to kingdom come!" InuYasha snarled.

"I don't think so, mutt." Naraku smiled. In the blink of an eye, a thousand tentacles had sprung from his body and were now racing toward the group.

All of them leapt into action. Tearing, slicing, incinerating, clawing, hacking, it was all they could do to keep on their feet. Kagome was the first of them to fall, and in an instant, InuYasha was at her side cradling her head in his hands.

"Kagome, don't die on me now! Not when we've come this far!" InuYasha begged the fallen girl. Her eyelids fluttered as she whispered silently to him.

"I'll be fine. I just need to rest. Just let me close my eyes." She slipped slowly into oblivion.

"Kagome, don't you dare die on me!" He shouted. When she made no response, his face hardened. He raised little by little to his feet, his anger swelling to unimaginable levels.

To his right, Miroku fell as well, his left shoulder pierced through with one of many tentacles. One wrapped its slimy self around his abdomen and was leisurely squeezing the life out of the young houshi. On InuYasha's left, Sango was dodging the flying appendages, trying to get to Miroku. She never made it though; one of the things shot out and launched her across the grounds, where she landed like a rag doll. Kirara was unable to fly to her mistress' rescue, she too was held down by many tentacles. Only Shippou was free. He stood by Kagome's head, transformed into a small statue, but InuYasha knew that he was standing guard.

Through all this, InuYasha did not cringe when Sango landed, nor did he turn when Miroku screamed out in pain, nor when flames enveloped Kirara, changing her back to her tiny form. He was focused on one thing only; killing the man that had taken the people he cared for most and playing with them as if they were nothing but clay toys.

"Poor InuYasha, he's lost his friends." Naraku taunted. But InuYasha did not hear it.

Deep within, he was fighting a battle against himself. His full youkai side had been awakened and now sought to be set free, while his hanyou side wished to fight with full leave of his senses. But his resolve fled him when he looked again at the bodies of his only true family. He gladly welcomed the beast within him, letting its malevolence cover him over. His sword sat forgotten by Kagome's limp body, so there was nothing to hinder the beast from rising to the surface. Slowly, InuYasha started to transform.

Two jagged lines of purple raced down his cheeks, his eyes took on a red haze, his fangs grew longer and sharper, and his claws grew as well. He no longer saw anything but Naraku and immediately he raced towards the youkai, determined to rip his throat out, even if it meant his own life.

Kagome. Kagome! Kagome, it's time to wake up. Wake up Kagome. The fight is not over yet. A voice called to the young girl.

She lay in the middle of a waving field of wild flowers. Their sweet perfume was making her feel lightheaded, but she was euphoric. She did not want to wake. Off in the distance though, she heard shouting and screaming. Slowly she sat up and looked around her. The flowers began to dissipate, and the butterflies that had been fluttering about suddenly turned to tiny pinpricks of light. Darkness swept over the meadow and Kagome found she was sitting on nothing but air.

Kagome, you need to wake up now. Your friends are depending on you. There went the voice again, this time much closer.

Kagome eased herself up onto her feet and turned around. Directly behind her someone was approaching. She could make out the silhouette of long hair and flowing skirts. Slowly, the figure grew brighter, shining from within itself. As it came closer, Kagome saw that the being was in fact a woman. She had long raven black hair as flat as a board and beautiful brown eyes. The thing that struck Kagome most was the fact that she was dressed as a priestess with ancient armour and she held a long straight sword in one hand.

"Priestess Midoriko!" Kagome breathed as the realization hit her.

Yes, that was my name, a long, long time ago. The woman's mouth did not move an inch, in truth; her voice was in Kagome's mind.

"Why have you come here? I thought you were still at war within the Shikon no Tama!"

I am. But that war is drawing to a close. Only you can determine the outcome. You have to wake up and destroy Naraku before he taints the Shikon no Tama and takes over the world.

"But how? I'm not as powerful as you are! What can I do?" Kagome asked.

Have no fear. I will lend you my strength. You must take the jewel once he is gone and wish for something that is pure. Only then can my soul rest in peace. Kagome, you must wake! The image of the young miko faded from Kagome's sight.

Slowly she became aware of the fact that someone was shaking her and calling her name desperately. The pain in her head started to grow as she reentered the world of the living. Her eyelids fluttered open and she caught the sight of a shock of red hair. The voice calling to her was Shippou. When he saw that her eyes had opened he began to babble on and on about something to do with InuYasha and Naraku.

"Shippou, calm down. I'm here." Kagome sat up very slowly and pulled the tearful kitsune child into her arms to comfort him.

"InuYasha has turned into a full fledged demon! And now he's battling Naraku! Kagome, if you don't do something, InuYasha's gonna die!" The boy wailed.

Kagome's head shot up to where the hanyou boy was hard at work trying to kill Naraku. He bled from a dozen places, but he did not notice them. His sole purpose in being alive was to kill his opponent.

Kagome rose to her feet and placed Shippou on the ground at her feet. She grabbed a discarded bow that lay at her feet and snatched an arrow from a fallen youkai. She notched the arrow firmly and pulled the string taut, aiming for Naraku's chest. Kagome! Don't bother with him! His heart is with the girl! Turn around! Midoriko's voice shouted in Kagome's mind. She turned around and saw Kanna standing at least fifty feet away from her, holding a baby wrapped in silk.

She pulled the string taut once more and aimed for the emotionless girl and her tiny charge. Inside her, she felt her miko powers swelling and surging to accept the help of the powerful Midoriko. She began to glow purple from all the excess power within her, but she did not really take notice of it. She whispered a prayer to the miko inside her and pulled the string as tightly as it could go.

"Ike!!" Kagome screamed as she let go of the arrow and sent it flying.

The arrow was almost invisible due to all the miko powers that were surrounded it, but it hit its mark, true to the aim of the archer. It slammed into Kanna frail body, piercing through the baby into the girl, sending the flying for a few yards before they dropped. A great explosion of white light lit the area just after the hit. The light was blinding and sent everyone who stood to their knees. After the light had dissipated, Kagome, who had been the only one left standing fell to her knees, completely spent.

Kagome! Get up! You are not finished yet! Get the Shikon no Tama before Naraku has a chance to regenerate! The young girl drug herself toward the fallen bodies of InuYasha and Naraku. She stopped next to the youkai's prone body and grabbed the full jewel from the chain around his neck. Her spiritual powers, mixed with those of Midoriko, purified the jewel, which had turned a deep crimson colour.

To her left, InuYasha groaned loudly and started to stir. Kagome recoiled from him, scared that the beast within him might still be in control. When he sat up though, Kagome gasped. He was a human! The waves from the arrow must have purified him! If that happened to him, then what about Kirara and Shippou!? Kagome thought to herself.

She jumped to her feet and raced to were she had last seen the red haired boy. He was not there. She called frantically for him, tears coursing down her cheeks. If she lost him, she wouldn't know what to do. To her left though, the sound of a small cough caught her attention. There in a pile of rubble sat a little boy that look strikingly similar to the kitsune, only he was a human and as such, had no fluffy tail, furry feet, or pointed ears.

"Shippou?"

"Yeah? My head hurts." He grumbled. Then he caught sight of his feet. "Oh my gosh! What happened to me?! Where's my tail?" He screamed as he jumped and sprang into Kagome's outstretched arms.

Kagome, the young boy will be fine. The magic from the blast shocked him, and sent his youkai side into hibernation for a while. He will be back to normal in a matter of hours. And so will my dear Kirara. Kagome turned and saw the cat walking her way. She no longer had two tails, now, she looked like an ordinary house cat. And thus ended the great fight with Naraku.

"(bleep!) it, woman! Just give me the Shikon no Tama!" InuYasha was back to his normal self.

"No! Midoriko told me I was supposed to wish for something pure! Not for you to become a full fledged youkai!" Kagome shouted back as she held the now complete ball above her head.

Off to the side sat Miroku, his arm hung in a sling, and Sango, her body covered in white wrappings. They had made it through the fight, and would live to tell of it. Midoriko had visited the small group shortly after Naraku's castle had vanished. They had had many questions for her, not the least of which was what had happened to Miroku's kazaana. She had assured him that it would remain but would not suck him into the void as it had to his father and grandfather. He had been content with it and left it at that.

Sango's question was not as easily answered. Since the lost of her family, Kohaku's fate had never left Sango's mind. Now with Naraku dead, what was to become of him? Midoriko stood silent for a moment and then answered that he would return to a place of peace with her. She could not reanimate his already dead body. But she did allow the mourning Sango to speak with him one last time.

As for the other three, Shippou asked for nothing more than Kagome to remain his surrogate mother. Midoriko had been pleased and left him with her. InuYasha had merely asked that Kikyou's tormented soul be laid to rest. Kagome had been comforted in this, although the hanyou had sulked about for a few days afterwards. She simply asked that she have more time to think about her request.

"InuYasha! Give that back! I still haven't made my wish yet!" Kagome chased after the boy. "Osuwari!" She shouted. InuYasha hit the dirt with a great thud and Kagome easily retrieved the jewel.

"Kagome, what are you going to wish for?" Shippou sprang up to Kagome's shoulder and stared at her curiously.

"I'm not sure yet."

"You'd better figure out soon. Midoriko said the battle inside the jewel was near its end and you were the only one to decide who won." Miroku stated.

Kagome sat down next to Sango and sighed. "I know." Just then InuYasha stumbled up, still spitting up chucks of dirt. He sat down grumpily next to Miroku and tucked his hands into his sleeves.

Hoping to lighten the mood a little, Miroku pointed out the weather. "It's been unseasonably cold these days." He shivered a little despite himself.

"Yes, it has. Perhaps we should start traveling towards Kaede's village." Sango offered.

"You humans are so weak. Get up, the least we can do is get a few miles before dark." InuYasha got to his feet and began walking. The others quickly followed suit not wishing to anger the already annoyed inu hanyou.

Kagome stared intently into the leaping flames of the small campfire that Miroku had built not an hour prior. They had finally stopped about ten miles away from Kaede's village due to the snow that had decided to cover the world in a thick white blanket.

Kagome's thoughts strayed back over the past two years of her life with InuYasha and their quest for the restoration of the Shikon no Tama. So much had happened since then, so many adventures, tears, and things she had learned that she would never have confronted had she not been pulled into the Bone Eater's well. Now Naraku was no more, and the Shikon no Tama had finally been put back together. But with that came the painful decision of what she was to ask Midoriko for. Would the Bone Eater's well remain open for her to continue to past from time to time? She doubted it. Would she stay with InuYasha in the feudal era, or go home to the 21st century, never more to see her one love again?

The sound of a deep snore pulled her from her thoughts. She looked to her right to see Miroku turn over on his pallet seeking the warmth of the fire. On the opposite side of the fire lay Sango, cuddled with Kirara. On her lap, Shippou lay twitching in some dream. All about them lay at least six inches of snow, and cold nipped at them like a thousand mosquitoes. She sat wrapped in two thick blankets and her thickest sweater and jeans, and still she shivered. But the sight of her beloved friends brought her back to the age-old question, stay or not?

She gazed across the clearing seeking InuYasha. She knew he always slept apart from the rest of them, but now more than ever; she needed him by her side. A rustle in a near by tree gave him away, and she looked up to see his golden eyes staring back at her. She looked back down at the fire and once again took up the futile attempts to warm her frozen body. She stretched out her long fingers in front of the flames, cupped them in front of her mouth, and rubbed them together briskly. It did no good though; the cold was everywhere, so she finally gave up. She nearly screamed when she felt something heavy drop down over her shaking shoulders. It surprised her even more when InuYasha sat down behind her, pulled her up onto his lap, and wrapped his arms possessively around her.

"You humans are so weak," He whispered softly into her ear.

"InuYasha, you'll wake Shippou!" Kagome hissed.

"He'll be fine. I tired him out today." He said quietly, as if in agreement, Shippou let out a tiny whimper and settled back down.

Kagome looked into InuYasha's eyes and saw something she would never have thought to see in him; she saw fear and sadness.

"InuYasha, what's wrong?" She asked concerned by what she had glimpsed in his amber eyes.

"I thought I'd lost you. You looked dead. Then I felt the beast swelling up. I didn't think I had anything left to live for, so I let him take over. I wanted to die." He said as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck. His velvety ears tickled her chin as they twitched back and forth.

Kagome's heart began to thunder against her ribcage. She gently began to rub InuYasha's ear to calm herself as much as let him know that she was there. "You didn't lose me. I'm here and I don't plan on going anywhere for a while."

"I don't wanna lose you again." He said quietly into her neck, his warm breath sending shivers up and down her spine.

"You always say that." Kagome nudged him playfully, trying to push the butterflies of her stomach.

"Kagome,"

The way he had said her name made her bite her lip, and drew a tear from her eye, so she just leaned her head against his strong chest. He talked to her like that only once before, when he had thought Kagura had killed her.

"Naraku is finally dead, and we've restored the Shikon no Tama. Kikyou's tormented soul has been laid to rest. So by all means, our mission is complete. But what happens after this?"

Kagome cringed at the mention of her rival's name. She had always felt like Kikyou had been a competitor for InuYasha's love. But that was over now. InuYasha himself had asked that her soul be put to rest. He must have been torn about that.

"I used to feel like Kikyou was the only one who really knew me, and I loved her so much for that. Even after Naraku pitted us against the other, I still loved her."

Kagome wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. She liked it better when InuYasha talked to her about the two of them, and left Kikyou out of it.

"But," InuYasha continued; "now I know. I never really deeply loved her. I only wanted something or someone I could trust and hold on to. Kagome… I…"

Kagome pulled far enough away from InuYasha to see his face, but it was hidden behind his bangs. Something about him was not normal and she could tell in a single heartbeat.

"You what, InuYasha?"

"I realize now that it's you I've loved, not Kikyou. You stayed with me through it all, even when I went off to find Kikyou all those times, you stayed with me. I hurt you everyday, but yet you stayed by my side no matter what."

Kagome felt her heart stop. Was InuYasha actually saying he loved her? Did he really mean it? Her heart then began to pound against her ribcage like a war drum and she swore InuYasha could hear it too.

"Kagome, I don't want to lose you! Not after all the things we've been through together! Please say you'll stay with me. I don't what I'd do if you left for the future. Please say you'll be mine, my mate. Kagome?"

InuYasha took her face between his long hands and looked into her chocolate brown eyes. Tears began to form in her eyes and spill down over her clean, smooth skin. With his thumbs, he wiped away the tears and smiled at her.

"InuYasha! I've been waiting so long for you say that! Yes, of course I'll stay with you! I made a promise too you that I would never leave your side, and that's were I plan on staying!" Kagome said through her joyful tears.

She threw her arms around his neck and felt his lips tentatively touch her own. Now, as she had once before, she felt the tingly sensation race through her veins. InuYasha gained his courage back, pulled her closer into his chest, and kissed her harder, but she would have it no other way. She had been waiting too long for this moment for her to pull away from him now. And from their pallets there by the fire, Sango and Miroku winked at each other and smiled. And Shippou, from his warm nest on Kagome's lap, let out relieved sigh that he wouldn't lose his "mother".

End of Chapter

Translator:

Youkai: Demon

Nekomata: Two-tailed cat

Houshi: Buddhist monk

Hanyou: Half demon

Miko: Shinto shrine maidens of Japan beginning in the Feudal era of Japan.

Kitsune: Fox

Ike: Go (informal use only)

Osuwari: Sit

Inu hanyou: Dog half demon

Last notes: Well, that's the first chapter redone. Now only the second one left to do (does little dance of joy)! I hope that with this chapter redone, I'll get a few more people reading and liking… Well, I'll get chapter two up before Christmas, so be looking for it! Enjoy… oh yeah! And, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! Bye-bye for now!