Here it is! The (very) long awaited sequel. This sequel will most likely have only two chapters. The next chapter will be out...sometime soon?

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed the last submission to The Innocence of a Question. I wish I had enough time to respond to everyone, but please know that I have read each and every one multiple times, and they make my day when I read them.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.


After The Innocence

Chapter One


"You were gone for a while this time."

Emerald eyes looked up to see sorrowful azure staring back at him. It was true; he had been gone far longer than he said he would be. Koenma had sent the gang on yet another mission. It was only supposed to take around two weeks, three at the most, but he had ended up being gone for over a month. Demons were stirring up more trouble and it was the job of Kurama and his friends to help keep the peace; however he could not help but notice the strain that these missions were putting on his social life. "I apologize. I would have called you, but we were in an area with no reception. There was no way for me to contact you."

The day was beautiful despite their somber moods. As soon as she had heard that Shuuichi was back from his "delivery" she had gone over to his home to see him and coerced him into going for a walk. Often times she would wait a while before going to see him, if only to not seem too dependent, but she had missed him. "It's alright, I was just worried about you. I thought something had happened." She looked away from him then, gazing to her left to watch the birds flying over the hill they were sitting on. The breeze blew her hair over her shoulder and obscured part of her face.

Reaching over, Kurama brushed the strands of ebony locks back over her shoulder, bringing himself closer to Kagome. Looking up, he followed her gaze so see what she was looking at. As much as he would like to tell her that she had nothing to worry over, he knew that he couldn't. The missions that he was sent on were dangerous; there was always the chance that one day he would not come back. He realized how selfish he was being by keeping Kagome as he was; he was stringing her along, and didn't even have the decency to tell her the truth about his life. But he was afraid of the reaction he would receive if he told her he had a kitsune locked away within his soul. Many times he had thought about telling her about Yoko, but he was always able to talk himself out of it. In situations like these there was the possibility that she would spread his secret around, or think he was insane. Of course, the probability of Kagome actually doing those things was extremely low. It just was not in her nature to be so malicious; he was merely being cowardly. Turning his eyes back to her, he caught her attention once more. "As I said before, I really am sorry Kagome." And there was nothing more to say.

Kagome seemed to understand that as well, only nodding her head. To be honest with herself, she could not hold it against him anyway. Even she was somewhat at fault. She had been gone for about three weeks in the Feudal Era. But what could she do? If she were to tell him that she disappeared 500 years into the past from time to time he would have her committed.

Looking into Shuuichi's eyes she smiled at him again. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Kurama's eyes widened in surprise; that was it? Why would she forgive him so easily? "You mean you are not upset with me? I was gone for over a month and never called you, and you are not angry?" No one had ever let him off the hook that easily, not even his mother. His mother never yelled at him, but he could tell that she was slowly getting more and more irritated with his constant disappearances.

Kagome's features softened once more. Moving her hand to rest on his cheek she brushed her thumb across his skin. "I am a little upset, but I was more worried about you than angry with you. I know that there are things that you are not able to tell me, or maybe that you cannot summon up the courage to tell me, but I respect that, and I do not expect you to share everything, just as I hope you know that I cannot share everything with you." Not to mention the fact I'll probably be leaving soon, and this is my last chance to see him before I leave and possibly never come back. The last thing she wanted to be while she spent time with him for, maybe the last time, was palm moved into his silky hair, running her hands through the bright locks. As she reached the ends of the tresses she rested her hand on his shoulder, bringing her in closer to Kurama.

Kurama leaned down to her as well, their foreheads touching. "Thank you, Kagome, for being so understanding." But there was one thing that he had to ask… "So what did you do while I was gone?" He dressed up the question quite innocently, if he said so himself. More caution was needed than before after all. With each question he asked her, she became more and more suspicious that he was up to something.

A few months ago, Kurama had felt a youkai presence while he was heading up to his raven haired girlfriend's house. Normally, he would have taken care of said youkai, and then been on his merry way, but this time was different. Kagome had been speaking to whatever entity held the demonic aura. It had left in quite a hurry through, what Kurama suspected, the old Bone Eater's well on his girlfriend's property, but he wasn't able to confirm his suspicions right away. Kagome had found him in the well house soon after.

Azure eyes widened. She should have expected his question, but she still wasn't quite used to Shuichi asking her what she did while he was gone. In the past, he had never asked because he knew she was sick, but lately, he had become much more curious. Her answer was always the same, but she couldn't help but feel that he was digging for some sort of information. She opened her mouth to answer, when suddenly an overwhelmingly dark aura burst into existence somewhere nearby.

A gasp nearly escaped her vocal cords, but she was able to catch herself just in time. What could a youkai be doing here? It's been ages since I've felt anything like this is my time. "Shuichi, I-"

But to her surprise, the red haired man in front of her shot to his feet. "I'm sorry, my dear, but you will have to excuse me for a moment. I caught a glimpse of something interesting down the hill while we were walking up. Please stay right here." Without even waiting for an answer, he sprinted down the grassy slope.

For a moment, Kagome simply knelt in shock. Her quiet boyfriend had never gotten up to leave so abruptly before. Odd. He told me to stay here, but I really should go check out what's going on with that youkai… Before she made it to her feet, another, much more powerful, aura, blossomed into existence. This could be bad.

Bolting down the hillside, she made sure to keep close tabs on what was going on not too far away. Though she couldn't see the entities, the auras that she could sense told her just about everything she needed to know. While the first aura could definitely be described as dark and evil, the other aura was harder to describe. It didn't seem evil, just…quiet, calm? But that didn't seem quite right either. Oddly enough, the first thought that came to mind if she were to describe the aura was green.

The auras seemed to hover near each other for a moment, and as Kagome made it half way down the hill, hey it was a big hill-give a girl a break, they seemed to launch at each other. There was a swell of energy, and as quickly as the auras had appeared, they faded away. A light breeze lifted her hair and brushed it over her shoulder, a remnant of the exchange of power that had just barely winked in and out of existence. It was unclear which aura had overcome the other, though deep down, Kagome couldn't help but feel, or at least hope, that the green and more powerful energy had won.

She waited on the hill, still warring over whether she should at least go and investigate, or go back to wait for her boyfriend. Suddenly the soft tinkling of her ringtone pierced the silence. Her hand dug through her pocket, and she lifted it up to see the call screen; Shuichi's face lit up the face of it. Oh shoot. He's probably already back up the hill already. Oops. Lifting her phone to her ear, she answered the call, immediately apologizing, and moved to make her way back up the steep incline. "Sorry Shuichi, I'm on my way back up; I saw some cool geese, and I wanted to check them out." Kagome winced at the lame excuse. Geese? Really, Kagome?

His response surprised her. "No, Kagome, that's alright, I actually need to head home. I saw a vender near the edge of the sidewalk we used to get up there earlier, and I came down to taste the corndogs and bring you one. Unfortunately, the owner doesn't seem to feel the need to keep up to safety codes, and now I'm sick. You will have to walk home without me."

Sick? That fast? "A-are you sure you don't want me to walk you home? If you're that sick-"

"No, thank you for the gallant offer, but I would rather you not see me like this. I will be sure to call you once I'm feeling better. Ja ne." And he hung up.

The raven haired girl started down at her now silent phone in bewilderment. What the heck just happened? "There's no way he got sick that fast," she whispered to herself. Sighing in dismay due to her now ruined date, she turned around once again and headed in the direction where she felt the demonic auras again. Despite her ember haired boyfriend's oddities lately, she couldn't help but shake them off for now. She was a miko with a job to do.

Not too far away, Kurama stuck his phone back into his pocket, wincing as the movement jarred his injured leg as his balance shifted. The youkai he fought was of a low class, C at best, but the few tricks it had up its sleeve before he was taken care of were enough to injure the more powerful kitsune. Yoko was having a great laugh at his expense he was sure.

Blood slowly seeped out of the wound as he made his way toward the nearest bus stop. A familiar presence in the trees made itself known to him as he limped, and a quick glance told him it was Hiei.

A low voice mocked him as he walked. "You underestimated that demon, fox. That distraction of yours is beginning to interfere with your work. If you weren't so intent on running back to that woman, you never would have made such a foolish mistake."

The biting remarks were nothing new, and Kurama simply didn't have the energy to respond. His leg hurt damnit! Thankfully, the aloof youkai chose to keep himself hidden amongst the trees; the leaves that hid him made it much easier for the red haired man to ignore the other. Instead, he grit his teeth as he walked up the waiting bus's steps. As the bus pulled away from the curb, he leaned his head against the window and watched the buildings that passed. He left his longtime friend in the trees, but his words continued to echo in his mind.


Two days later, Kurama's cell phone vibrated across his desk. It was the weekend, around mid-morning, and he was studying a little for his next biology test before he met up with Yusuke's gang. They had all received a call the night before from Botan, who explained to them all that they needed to report back to the Spirit World as soon as possible. Apparently the child prince had an urgent, new mission for them. Kurama couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He had only just returned, and he had been hoping to spend a little more time in the human world before heading out on another job. Unfortunately, duty seemed to call much more often than he would have liked lately.

His phone continued to ring as he read through a final paragraph in his biology textbook. Marking his place with a finger, he grabbed his phone and noticed it was Kagome calling. Instantly he felt the same bit of remorse that he felt last night. Kagome would understand he was sure, but his and her frequent disappearances were slowly becoming much more difficult to just brush off. Quickly, realizing that he had let his phone ring almost too long, he pressed the green send button. "Moshi, moshi, Kagome. How are you?"

The cheerful voice he was expecting didn't come though. Instead, his beautiful girlfriend's voice seemed a bit forced; it trembled ever so slightly as she spoke. "Um, hi, Shuichi; how are you feeling?" Her breathing was a bit off as well…almost…hiccupy.

Kurama's brow wrinkled with concern. It wasn't often that Kagome sounded upset. In fact, he could count the amount of times on one hand. "I am feeling much better, thank you. Kagome, are you alright? You sound upset."

A watery breath was heard over the line. "Of course! Sorry I just woke up."

Lie, he thought.

"Um, I'm sorry to call so early, Shuichi, but I have to tell you something." Her voice broke for a moment before she could catch herself. "I'm going to have to go away for a little while. My illnesses have been getting worse, and my doctor told me yesterday that I needed to travel to Kyoto to try some new treatments…I don't know when I'll be back." Kurama could practically taste the sorrow that dripped from his girlfriend's voice even through the phone.

She was sick again? Kurama's eyes narrowed to slits. Something definitely wasn't right. Her illnesses, while frequent, were not something that warranted travel and treatment from alternate doctors. However, he could not discount the emotion in her voice. Whether she was being honest about her reason for leaving or not, something was deeply bothering her, and he did not doubt the fact that she did not know when they would see each other again. "Kagome, I-I'm so sorry to hear that. Would I be able to come visit you before you leave? See you off?" He had some time before he had to head to the Spirit World for his meeting, and barely healed leg or not, he would see his girlfriend before she disappeared again.

The silence on the line after his question was telling. "…no, Shuichi. I'm actually at the train station now. My train leaves in ten minutes. I'm so sorry," this time her voice did break and she did nothing to stop it this time. "I would have told you sooner, but I didn't know that I would be leaving so soon. Please forgive me." She was sobbing, and the sound of her tears pulled at his heart, making it feel as if it was being sucked right out of his chest.

Lying or not now, he knew he had to make it to her before she left. "Tell me what train station you're at. Is it the one right on the corner? I can make it there in less than ten minutes." His heart was pounding in his chest, and the feeling in his gut told him that it was very unlikely that she was actually even at a train station, but he had to at least try to see her. He had to pretend to believe her. And maybe a small part of him still believed that his girlfriend would tell him the truth that she was obviously keeping from him.

He heard her sigh. "I'm at the Yoshiki station. I'll wait as long as I can," gaining some control, she managed to choke out, "Please forgive me, Shuichi. I-I love you…goodbye." Her line clicked, indicating that she had hung up.

Kurama's hand closed around his phone so hard the veins in wrists shone prominently through his skin. She hadn't even waited long enough for him to respond before she hung up. They had never spoken those three words to each other. Feeling that actions always spoke louder than words, it was an unspoken rule between them to never utter them. Instead, they showed their love for each other in the little things they did for each other when they were together. Drawing in a trembling breath, he hardened his resolve, opened up the window next to his bed, and jumped through, ignoring the pain in his leg as he ran towards the station that sat on the corner of his street. He only hoped he would make it in time, and that Kagome was really waiting for him inside the busy walls.


"Kagome, I-"

"Shut up, Inuyasha. Not right now." Angry blue eyes shot daggers into gold ones. Kagome threw her phone on her bed, and grabbed the giant yellow backpack that ominously sat in her computer chair. She shouldered the giant pack, swiping her arm across her eyes as she did so, trying to wipe away the tears she had shed moments before.

The Shikon Jewel's completion had been her goal for a long time. She knew that the time to defeat Naraku was close, but she hadn't realized exactly how close that time was. The terrible remorse that she felt at lying to Shuichi and not being able to say goodbye to him properly was overwhelming, but unfortunately, duty called.

A jealous, silver haired hanyou watched as Kagome headed out the door of her bedroom. "Keh," he mumbled as he pushed past her in the hallway. "The stupid guy doesn't even realize you won't be waiting for him. A moron like that isn't worthy of someone like you anyway." He had meant the words to be comforting, but he realized too late that insulting the man that his Kagome, well clearly not his, had just professed her love to was probably not the best idea. Glancing behind him, he saw that Kagome had stopped in her tracks, bangs hiding her beautiful eyes from him. He gulped.

When she finally raised her head, Inuyasha's ears pulled back in shame, laying them down close to his head. "Shuichi is not stupid, Inuyasha, and certainly not a moron. Clearly, I cannot say the same thing about you." The words were quiet. Calm. Scary as hell. Pure, unadulterated, fury shone through her deep blue eyes and pierced right into the hanyou's soul. "Let's go," she said, and stepped around him.

The miko lightly tread down the stairs and walked straight out the door. Her mother, brother, and grandfather waited for her in front of the well house, and Inuyasha watched as she started crying once again as she embraced each one. Shiori, her mother, was also crying. She knew there was a chance that her daughter may never return.

Inuyasha had slowly grown to love the girl – no – woman that was embracing her family. Kikyou had been a fleeting love, something that was tainted with hate and prejudice, lust and deceit, and he had realized long ago that the vengeful miko would never mean as much to him as Kagome. But, it seemed that despite his realization, the lovely miko would not be his to have. The damn male that he was never able to identify despite his best efforts, clearly held her heart tight, and even though it was painful for him to admit it, as Kagome embraced her grandfather, Inuyasha knew that if she were given the choice, she would return to this era in a second and leave his world, and him, behind.

"-rama. Kurama! Heeeey! Earth to fox boy! What the hell is your problem? I asked you a question!"

Shaken from his thoughts, Kurama turned his head to stare at the male with the slicked back hair next to him. "I apologize, Yusuke. What were you saying?" Uncharacteristically, the red haired kitsune had been caught lost in his thoughts. And understandably so. In spite of his best efforts to make it there in time, or perhaps because she was never there in the first place, he was not able to make it to the station in time to see his girlfriend off. She had sounded so brokenhearted on the phone, and he hated that he was not able to give her a proper goodbye, answer her confession, kiss her soft lips one more time…

"Seriously, what the hell, Kurama? You're doing it again. What is the matter with you today?" It was clear that the demon prince was becoming impatient. They were walking the halls of the manor in the Spirit World, debating the reason why they were all called before the toddler again so soon.

"Please excuse the foolish fox, Yusuke. He's just upset that he didn't get to say goodbye to his woman before she left for who knows where, again."

This stopped the group in its tracks.

"Wait. Kurama has a woman? You mean girlfriend? Since when? Hey, Kurama! When did you get a girlfriend? How come we never got to meet her?" Kuwabara was too excited at the news that his friend had scored a girl to notice that said male was currently glaring daggers at Hiei.

"I believe that it is about time you kept your thoughts to yourself on this matter, Hiei. Today is not the day to test my patience." Indeed it was not. Kagome's disappearance and blatant lie had finally put the normally calm demon on edge. Even Yoko, who was at times a constant annoyance, was quiet in the back of his mind, knowing that striking the nerve that held Kagome close was near to snapping.

"What I don't understand is why you keep dwelling on her. You have known for months that she has been lying to you, and she has served as a constant distraction on missions for the good part of a year. I suggest you take this event as a way to wipe your hands clean of her. A demon of your stature should not worry about the dealings of little girls anyway, and-"

A hand shot out and grabbed the dark cloak that shrouded the terribly short, fire demon. Hiei grit his teeth as Kurama's dominant size allowed him to slightly lift the smaller demon off the ground. "Kagome is none of your business. You have made your stance clear to me, now I suggest you quiet yourself before I am forced to do something that we might regret." Blood red eyes took in the state of his friend. The normally calm Kurama had been transformed into an angry, trembling, wide eyed version of his formerly proud self.

"Hey, hey, gentleman. I don't know what's going on between you two, but you gotta chill out. We don't have time for you two to start acting all strange right before a mission." Yusuke laid a comforting hand on the clearly struggling kitsune's shoulder. "We're all used to Hiei's moodiness, but Kurama, one stupid acting demon is enough. Cool it man."

Hand trembling, Kurama tightened his grasp on his friend's shirt before letting go completely. He knew that he was acting irrationally, but the pain of Kagome's leaving was still too raw, too new, for Hiei to be jabbing at him so soon.

Taking a deep breath in, Kurama closed his eyes and held it in. He slowly let it out, compartmentalizing his frustration so that it could be dealt with later in a more appropriate setting. Calm façade now in place, he strode ahead of the group. "I apologize to everyone. I will not allow what is going on in my personal life to get in the way of this new mission." Gritting his teeth one more time, he took one more deep breath, steeling himself, before he reached forward and grabbed hold of the doors in front of him.

Koenma sat at the desk in front of the Spirit Detectives, fingers weaved together, with his chin resting on top. Expression solemn. Not typical of the ruler of Spirit World by any means.

Team Urameshi assembled into the spacious office, and awaited orders. Ogre bustled around behind Koenma's desk with an outdated remote in his hand. A screen floated down from the ceiling as a DVD and VCR player popped out of a hidden hole in the toddler's desk.

"We gonna watch a movie, Koenma? What's all this?" Yusuke was getting impatient. Each member of the team had received the same phone call the previous night, and the wait was beginning to wear on the team leader.

Koenma grumbled. "Yusuke! You should show more respect for your elders! The video surveillance that we have gathered is actually quite complex. You should appreciate the fact that we even have videos to show you, and not just a single picture. I'm getting awfully tired of your attitude!" As Koenma yelled, Ogre was still busy putting in the correct DVD, and gathering all the correct folders. When he was finished, he handed the final folder to Koenma, and ran to the door that connected the ruler's office to the rest of Spirit World. As soon as he opened the door a crack, Botan pushed herself through, nearly toppling the poor, blue ogre in the process.

"Hello, everyone!" She smiled at the group that was grumpily awaiting their instructions, though it slowly melted into a frown. "Well, you lot look perfectly morose this morning. What's got all your boxers in a bundle?" Her lilac hued eyes gazed at the group expectantly.

Kuwabara scratched the back of his head, while Yusuke looked awkwardly between the red haired male and his short counterpart. Kurama was waiting patiently for his instructions with this eyes closed, the picture of tranquility. Hiei looked as aloof as always.

It was Kuwabara that broke the silence, "Maybe we shouldn't get into it again. I think a lot of us are just mad that we have to be here so early, and so soon after our last mission. I didn't even get to talk with my beloved Yukina before we got called again!" His arms were waving around as he gave his dramatic speech, but his quick witted response impressed the rest of the group. The events that took place in front of Koenma's door were best left forgotten for now.

Suspicious eyes studied the men in front of her one more time, until Koenma drew her attention. The remote that Ogre had in his possession was now in his hands. Apparently she was going to be the one to explain the mission to them. Wonderful. This was not going to go over well. Putting on a happy face, Botan steeled herself for what was to come.

"Your mission, boys, is to steal a jewel."

Kurama's emerald eyes widened in surprise. "Steal?" She had his attention.

The blue haired reaper giggled in delight. She knew that would perk the former thief's interest. "Yes, steal. But this is not going to be an easy mission. The girl that you will be stealing the jewel from is its protector, and she is an extremely powerful miko."

"A miko, you say?" Hiei's attention was now caught. He glanced at the fox before turning his attention back to Botan. "I thought all the miko were extinct or powerless. Surely she will not be as troublesome as those in the past?"

"Well, you see, this miko is a bit different from the rest. She was born in this world, however, when she was fifteen she found a way to travel into the past. Five hundred years in the past, actually. It's really quite remarkable…"

"Wait! You mean she can time travel? No way! That's super cool! I've always wanted to try it, but I didn't think it was possible. Can we do it?" The tense atmosphere within the room went completely over Kuwabara's head at the mention of time travel.

Botan giggled, "No silly. I'm afraid once the girl returns to our time within the next few days, her time traveling days will be over. The magic well that she uses to travel through time will be sealed forever."

"Well?"

At the mention of a magic well, Kurama felt his entire body go numb. He had in fact been suspicious of a magical well not too long ago. It couldn't be a mere coincidence. The feeling of dread started clawing its way through his stomach.

Pausing at Kurama's tone, Botan glanced in the kitsune's direction. "Yes, a well," she said slowly. "Kurama, are you alright?" Unbeknownst to the man, his body had begun to visibly tremble. Yusuke laid his hand on his friend's shoulder. While the young prince had no idea what had happened to Kurama that morning, if it was still bothering him, it had to have been horrible.

"Perhaps you should get on with the explanation Botan. Our patience is beginning to wane."

"Of course, of course. Sorry about that. Anywho, the woman that you will be going after in a few days is named, Kagome Higurashi."


Hehhhhhhh...don't hate me! Reviews motivate me most! Please let me know what you think so far. It's a little bit different from the rest of my stories because it is a little more developed, so please, please let me know what you think.

Also, to those that are celebrating Thanksgiving today in America, Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey and spend some time with family.