From the Future

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Author's Note: Welcome back. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. do not belong to me. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But right now they're mine to manipulate. I'm going to have so much fun.

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Chapter 2:

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It was early in the afternoon when Inuyasha arrived at the small hut in the village he had come to call his home. The clear blue of the sky stood out against the natural tones of the earth, a usual occurrence in his time, with none of that stuff that made Kagome's time reek. What had she called it? Pollution. Yeah, that was it.

Inuyasha ground his teeth together loudly as he sat in the middle of the hut, across from Sango and Miroku. They were bickering over what to do about Kaede's vision. It was getting them nowhere. Of course, it was a slightly better pastime than sitting around sulking about why Kagome should hate him, but still. They weren't doing anything about the situation other than arguing whether Kaede's vision was actually that, a vision, or if it was only a conjure of her mind, putting together pieces of different nightmares they'd all had at one time or another.

"I just think we should take this as seriously as possible." Sango was saying, her hands doing half the talking for her. Face flushed and upset at Kaede's words of warning, she shook a finger in Inuyasha's direction. "It's not like this happens to Kaede every day. And on the off chance that what she saw does come true, wouldn't it be better if we were prepared?" Her finger wagged.

Inuyasha's teeth continued their insistent grinding, an obvious sign of his annoyance. He had the sudden urge to bite Sango's finger off. "It makes no sense, Woman!" He growled. "Naraku doesn't even have all the shards yet!" Shippou made a bored snort to his left, which he promptly ignored. "He's been collecting them all these years like we have." The kit started gnawing on his left arm, which was resting on Tetsusiga. Inuyasha shook him off. "What reason would the bastard have to attack us at this moment?" He finished up with a bop for the young cub.

"Ow!"

"That, I do not know." Kaede replied before Sango could, and everyone turned their attention towards the old woman. Inuyasha thought she looked ominous with her face shadowed above the flames. More weary than normal. "Visions do not let me in on the details, young ones. All I know is what I saw. The time is near. We all must be prepared."

He snorted in response. "I'm thinking it was more of a night terror. Did you have a bad dream, witch?" He placed his fists together and cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

"Do not take this lightly, child." Kaede's voice had turned cold suddenly, sending a chill up Inuyasha's spine. For some reason the look reminded him of Kagome.

"Inuyasha…" Miroku said as tenderly as possible. "I do actually believe that what Kaede had was a true vision. Not a night terror. Sango was here to witness it."

Inuyasha turned his head to Sango and raised an eyebrow. "You saw it?"

She nodded, looking grim. "It… wasn't pleasant." Her finger dropped, much to Inuyasha's relief, and her face lost some of its color.

He didn't reply, but fell into silence along with the others, letting the new information sink in. He could feel their eyes on him. Watching him. Waiting for an answer. After a few moments, he let out an aggravated sigh. "Okay," he growled, "let's pretend that it is real. That the wench's vision is going to come true." He turned back to Kaede, eyes narrowing. "What exactly did you see? How was Naraku attacking? And what the hell was I doing while he was attacking? You know I'd be all over that bastard in a second! It's not like I haven't kicked his ass before!"

The others stayed silent, although the intensity in the atmosphere had grown unimaginably thick. Inuyasha's eyes roamed to each person in the hut, each avoiding his gaze in turn. What the hell was wrong with everyone? Why wouldn't they just take his good advice and leave it be?

Finally, Kaede spoke up. "Inuyasha, I'm afraid that-"

The rest of her sentence, however, did not reach Inuyasha's ears. His senses had gone into overdrive, and all he could now smell was Kagome. Lifting his nose up into the air, he sniffed four times. Three to make sure it was really her, and a fourth to take it in, to calm his racing heart. "…Kagome…" He muttered.

"Kagome's back?!" Squealed Shippou, bounding up from his lazy position on the floor, excited that his makeshift mother was in their time again. "She said she'd bring be chocolate again this time!" He bounced up and down, talking mainly to Sango, who smiled down at him. "And those colored sweet things too!" He let out a childish laugh. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Inuyasha," Kaede's voice rose over Shippou's excited one, "we still must talk about-"

He didn't acknowledge Kaede's words, he merely stood and pulled the flap of the hut open, leaving Kaede mid-sentence and staring out into the direction where the trail met the beginning of the forest, sniffing at the air. "….Wait a second…" He uttered, more for his sake than anyone else's. "Something's not right."

"Eh?" Shippou stopped his bouncing and looked up at Inuyasha in question.

"Stay here, Squirt." Was all the explanation Inuyasha gave as he bounded off towards the trail, leaving the whimpering kit behind.

Sango stepped out of the hut behind him, watching quietly as Inuyasha disappeared into the forest. "Don't worry, Shippou." She said, placing a calming hand on his back. "He'll bring her back here."

Shippou's eyes welled up with tears. "Do ya think she's okay?" He sniffed.

She bent down to lovingly cradle the cub. "Of course she is." She said, scooping him up into her arms and smiling as best she could. "And I'll bet she's brought you lots of chocolate, too!" And she tickled him on his belly.

Shippou's childish laughter rang through the trees.

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"NO!" Kagome's scream echoed into nothingness as the image of Inuyasha's tired, worn, sad face disappeared into the darkness. Her heartbeat slowed as she choked on her own voice and felt the warm sensation of passing time flow through her body. It usually had a calming effect on her. This time, it just made her nauseous.

It was crazy. It couldn't possibly be happening.

Inuyasha's words replayed over and over in her head as she reached out to him with her mind, wanting him to be next to her, to reassure her that she really was going insane and there was no such thing as two Inuyasha's existing for her now.

But what he said wouldn't leave her alone, and as she fell, his words rang in her ears.

"You were dead!"

But I'm not dead! She screamed inside her head.

"He killed everyone, I couldn't stop him."

He didn't kill me!

"I escaped the past, but it was too late… you were already…"

No… No, I'm here!

"Kagome…"

I'm alive!

"I loved you with all my being back then."

Love me now!

"Please be patient."

I've been patient for years!

"Get everyone from the past."

But… But I-

"I love you."

The moment Kagome hit the dirt in the bottom of the well, she breathed in the fresh air of the past and looked up into the warm, cloudless sky that shone down onto the top of her head. She barely noticed the tears falling over her lashes as she stood frozen, shaking, trying desperately to catch her breath. She needed to find Inuyasha, to know he was okay and not dead, to know that they were all alive.

She held her breath as she listened intently for any sounds of torment, death, destruction or fighting, but all the sounds she heard were the merry chirping of birds and crickets, and the soft whooshing of the mid-day breeze through the forest branches. Assured there was no immediate danger anywhere around the well, she hurriedly scrambled up the side and flung herself over the ledge.

It wasn't a smooth move, as her skirt caught in the uneven wood of the well and it flung her head-over-heel onto the earth. She hit the ground hard on her back, coughed, and turned onto her side, holding her bruised ribs and hiccupping through her tears. She sucked in a lung full of air, trying to calm herself by breathing as slowly as she could. Blinking her eyes against the warm sun and bright, blue sky, she tipped her head back to bask for a few seconds, willing her speeding heart to slow.

Oh Gods. What a day to come back to. A day where she could almost pretend that nothing had happened.

...Almost.

There was no way in any of the seven hells she could just forget that an Inuyasha she hadn't known existed a few hours ago, appeared out of nowhere and stated she was, in actuality, dead, proclaimed his love for her, and then proceeded to kiss her breath away.

She couldn't believe what had happened. The violent shaking of the ground was no earthquake or volcanic eruption, and the horror she felt from the impossibly loud noises of buildings being crushed under a force of something terrible couldn't be anything less than the sensation that something gigantic and imaginable evil was destroying everything in it's path.

The thought made her groan as she struggled onto her hands and feet, pushing her body to obey hr and stand. She didn't quite get there as she felt sudden nausea, and stayed on her knees, her palms mashing into bits of grass and twig. She stared at the ground as her hands clutched up fistfuls of dirt, and the sudden urge to throw up passed over her again. She dry-heaved a few times before she got herself back under control.

She'd never been more scared in her life.

But, no. No! She had to hold it together! She needed to find Inuyasha and let him know what was going on. Warn him and the others about Naraku. But the strength that usually carried her through bloody battles and rough terrain seemed to have given up on her.

"Kagome!"

She heard his voice through the trees, which at first didn't really register.

"Kagome!"

Her name. He was shouting her name. Oh thank all seven of the lucky Gods.

She heard him burst through the trees, felt the wind strengthen from the quickness of his run, and she leaned back, sitting on her heels. She turned her head to look up at him with her wide, wet eyes. His presence was blurry through her tears, but it was him alright, in his usual garb, not donning any clothing from her time. He was alive. And he wasn't bloody. His sword wasn't drawn, and he didn't look like he'd been through a life-and-death battle.

Instead he looked annoyed.

"Why the hell are you crying?!" He barked at her, stomping the last few feet between them, his eyebrow twitching.

Kagome would have laughed at his predictable question had her heart not been in her throat. Still, relief that he was okay rushed through her, and the adrenalin that had been attacking her body suddenly plummeted. She felt exhausted. She was drained emotionally, and unable to stay up.

She felt herself tipping backwards, on the edge of passing out, and she didn't register his quick movement to her side, as he wrapped his hands around her, keeping her up, until she realized she hadn't hit the ground.

His annoyed expression had now changed to worry as she lifted her heavy lids to look up into his face. "Gods, Kagome!" He breathed. "What happened to you?!" He tapped her cheek lightly, aware of his claws. "Kagome," he repeated, "what happened? Are you okay?"

"I-Inuyasha…" Her voice trailed off into a quiet sigh, and she felt the edge of darkness start to take over her weary body.

Inuyasha's voice rose to a growl as he felt her start to fade away. "Kagome, no, you have to tell me what's wrong." He shook her lightly. "You can't pass out, that's not good, you might not wake up." He tapped at her cheek a bit harder, and the darkness faded from her vision a bit, thought it was still there, on the brink of her consciousness. His voice was rough, but filled with worry, and she couldn't help but smile a small smile through her weariness.

That's right. She couldn't pass out. She still needed to warn the others. "Inuyasha…" She breathed, clutching onto his outer coat. "Naraku is… I came back to warn…" She couldn't seem to get her jumbled thoughts together, and she felt another rise of panic as well as a sob rushing up into her throat. The tears started again, and she didn't have the energy to wipe her eyes, so she clutched her hand into the red fabric and drew herself closer to him, breathing in his earthy scent, feeling his heartbeat through his chest.

He'd kissed her, his future self, and she had loved it. She wanted more than anything to close the distance between them and see if he kissed the same way. Hard and rough and quick and passionate, just as he had in her own time. She wanted to know that it had really been him. His heartbeat wasn't enough for her anymore.

God she loved him. She was out of her mind in love with him, she knew, as she sobbed into his clothes. The words that she had intended to use to tell him of Naraku choked her, and all she wanted was for him to say he loved her again.

She knew though, though the haze of her despair, that he had no idea he'd said it in the first place. Technically he wouldn't say it for another five hundred years. The thought made her lonely. It was driving her crazy, knowing he felt as she did, and yet not being able to act on her feelings. She was going out of her mind.

"Fuckin'…" She heard Inuyasha mumble as he scooped her up fully into his arms and hugged her close. "What's wrong with you, eh? You're not bleeding anywhere or anything, wench." He took off into the woods, although she didn't pay attention to where he was headed, just to the steady rhythm of his quick footsteps, and it wasn't long before he stopped, and more voices broke through her grief.

"Inuyasha, what'd you do to her?"

"I didn't do nothin' runt."

Kagome felt herself being lowered onto the floor, and realized she was in Kaede's hut. She cracked her tired eyes open to see her friends moving around, trying to make her more comfortable.

"Is she okay?" Sango's worried voice broke out.

"Had she been hurt?" She felt Miroku's hands slide up her arm.

"Don't touch her, you lecherous Monk!" Inuyasha snapped back, not answering his question.

"Kagooomeee!" Shippou's childish voice wailed out next to her. "Kagome, wake up!"

Inuyasha growled again. "Back off kit, or I'll rip you a new one!" His demanding voice was close, right by her side. "Where's the old hag?" He asked as Shippou pouted, but didn't leave Kagome's side.

"I'm here." Kaede called out as she entered the hut behind him. "Inuyasha, place this under her nose, it will clear her head and bring her back to us." She winced as she sat down and handed Inuyasha some sort of root. "Did she tell you what happened?"

He shook his head. "No, she was just a pile of mess by the well. She wasn't speaking right, something about Naraku." He crinkled his nose at the strong-smelling root. "What the hell is this?!"

"It's a medicinal herb that will kick her awake, clear her head and such. Place it right under her nose so she gets a good whiff."

Kagome felt his clawed hand slide under her head and lift up slightly, and only seconds later a smell extremely intense filled her nostrils, and her mind snapped back into place, her vision cleared and the darkness that had threatened to take over vanished. She moved her head away from the smell, jerking back. It smelled horrible.

Inuyasha pulled the root away and tightened his grip on her so she wouldn't hurt herself. She was now staring wide-eyes into five overly concerned faces all leaning over her body.

"Kagome….?" Shippou's voice wavered as he leaned down, his small, slightly wet nose almost touching hers.

"Shippou…" Her voice was scratchy from sobbing so much, and her chest hurt from hiccupping. Slowly she sat up, everyone but Inuyasha, who was careful to make sure she didn't fall back down, backed away to give her some space. Her heartbeat was normal again as she tried to find her bearings. Kaede's hut looked the same, with the small fire in the middle of the hut blazing away behind the others.

She couldn't help but imagine how she looked to everyone. Her face was stiff with dried tears, and her hands and clothes were covered in a coat of sand and dry twigs and grass. Not to mention that her lips still felt swollen. Would they be able to tell someone had kissed her?

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango's soft voice found it's way to her ears, and she nodded; still weary, but aware.

"What the hell happened, Wench?" Inuyasha's harsh tone spoke from behind her, his hands still holding her steady, as if afraid she'd faint right over again. She turned her head to look up into those hardened amber eyes as they glowered down at her.

Future Inuyasha suddenly flooded her memory again, and she stared to panic once more. "Inuyasha." She croaked out. "He's coming. He's coming and we need to warn everyone and get them through the well! He's going to kill everyone in the village and Miroku and Sango and Kaede and-" another sob crept up into her throat as her eyes welled up with tears once again.

"What about me?" Shippou asked from Miroku's side.

The Monk shook his head down at the kit. "Shush."

"Kagome, calm down." Inuyasha growled out, smelling the spike in her fear once again. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Naraku!" Her voice became panicked, more urgent. "He's coming here, and he'll kill everyone and destroy everything and then he'll go to-"

Inuyasha moved faster than she could see and grabbed her, only slightly rough, by her chin, his face now inches from hers. "Did you have a vision, Wench?"

Kagome hiccupped, then shook her head.

"Then how do you know this to be true?" It was Kaede this time, and Kagome tried to turn her head to look at the old woman, but Inuyasha held her fast, never breaking eye contact, searching for something in her gaze. For what, she couldn't guess.

They were close. His mouth was only inches from hers, and the image of him crushing his lips down upon her own flited through her mind before she inwardly scolded herself for thinking of such a thing at a time like this. "Someone…" she breathed, "someone told me so." She stuttered out, knowing how absolutely ridiculous her story sounded.

"Who?" Inuyasha's voice was low and quiet.

She stared into his eyes for what seemed like forever before she spoke. "You did."

He jerked back as if he'd been slapped, giving Kagome the time she needed to wrench away from his grasp and turn to the others. Her gaze fell onto Kaede. "I know this sounds crazy, but it's true! He was there, but it wasn't him! But it was, just five hundred years later, and he told me I was dead, and he'd waited for years, and that I had to get everyone thought the well before they died, and then Naraku attacked my time! He was in my time! I heard him! And then Inuyasha shoved me into the well and told me that he lo-"

"Kagome!"

She winced at the harshness in Inuyasha's tone and turned slowly to see him glowering over her.

"You're saying a bunch of nonsense. You sound just like her!" He pointed an accusing finger at Kaede.

Kagome stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Sango came to her side and knelt down, placing a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Kaede had a vision earlier today. We were just discussing it before you came."

"A vision about what?"

A hushed silence settled over the room, and Kagome looked from one to the next, confused even more so than she had been before, not understanding why all gazes suddenly avoided her save Shippou.

He blinked up at her with all the innocence of a two-year old. "About Naraku attacking the village and killing all of us."

A collective sigh was heard around the room due to Shippou's delicacy for dishing out information, but all Kagome heard was the sound of blood rushing through her ears as she finally understood that it would all come true.

All of it.

Everyone was going to die.

Funnily enough, the one thought she had before she passed out cold onto the floor was that she would never experience another kiss from the one guy who wouldn't do it for another five hundred years in the first place.

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When Kagome awoke again, it was night, and the sound of hushed, hurried voices filled her ears. She moaned lightly, her brain throbbing against her skull, and she reached around to the back of her head to find the lump that had grown due to her spectacular fainting affair. Apparently, she hadn't been lucky enough to have Inuyasha catch her this time.

She rolled onto her side and pushed her upper body up onto her hands, blinking her eyes at the circle of her friends. No one but Inuyasha had noticed she'd awoken, and his ears twitched in her direction, although he gave no other notice that he knew she was up.

"What time is it?" She croaked out.

Sango turned her head to look at her friend and smiled. "Kagome, you're awake!" She stood and brushed off her long skirt. "I'll check that clock of yours." She said, happy to be able to use one of her modern contraptions. Walking over to Kagome's belongings, she pulled out a mall wristwatch. "Um… I think is says four… but I could be wrong." She smiled again, sheepishly.

Kagome motioned for Sango to bring the watch over and peeked at the hands inside the little glass case. She sighed. "You're right, Sango. Four a.m. Goodness. I was asleep for a long time." She rubbed at her tired eyes, still weary.

Sango had knelt in front of her, acting as a barrier from the others. "Kagome," she whispered in a concerned tone, "are you feeling a bit better?"

Kagome nodded her head in response, although she wasn't sure if she was feeling better so much as too worn out to feel anything but drained. None of this was going the way it should. Everyone should be safe on the other side of the well now.

"That's good." Sango placed her hand onto Kagome's and squeezed, surprising the tired girl a bit. She brought it p to her chest where he heart was, and gave her a caring look. "Kagome, you push yourself too hard, I've been really worried about you. You've drained yourself out."

Kagome was extremely thankful for Sango. Never in her life had she had such a good friend, although Kagome knew three girls who would mutilate her for saying so. But the reality was that although she loved her friends from school, there would always be a barrier between them. She couldn't confide in them fully about her love life, not to mention that she time-traveled rather frequently. They'd think her crazy. Sango, however, was fully aware of Kagome's actual life. She knew the real reason why Kagome missed school, the real reason why Kagome was never home, and the real reason why Kagome refused to date Hojou. Sango knew it all, and Kagome loved having that female friend that she didn't have to lie to or keep secrets from.

She sighed and smiled as best she could at Sango. "I know, I'm sorry I've worried you." Her voice was shaky.

"Is the child up?" Kaede tried to peek around Sango from her sitting position on the floor, and Kagome stood, slowly, still wobbly from her ordeal, letting Sango help her up, and shuffled over to the fire.

"Yeah, I'm up." She glanced around at her friend's tired faces. "Why is everyone still awake?"

"We've been discussing the current events." Miroku explained kindly. "With what bits you've said have happened, and with Kaede's vision, there's a good chance that this will all come to pass."

Kagome took a seat between him and Sango, directly across from Inuyasha, who was still busy avoiding her gaze. She gave up trying to nonchalantly get his attention, and instead stared into the fire, too tired to argue with anyone anymore, much less a brooding half-breed. If he didn't believe her story, fine. She could easily figure out how to deal with it all herself. She didn't need his help.

Kaede began to speak of her vision again, but Kagome was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to pay attention. She kept her gaze on the warm, dancing flame and wondered how Inuyasha in the future was holding up. Had he gotten away from whatever it was that had been causing the massive earthquakes? He'd said Naraku was coming. Did that mean that Naraku was, at this very moment, destroying everything in her time?

God, were her friends okay? Her family?

She hadn't really had the time to sit and think about any of that before. She'd been panicked about everyone on this side of the well. Too panicked to worry about those in her time. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. What if she got everyone to her time, and everything was destroyed? What if everyone was dead? What was the point in going through with what the future Inuyasha had told her to do if Naraku could get them in both times? Should she just ignore the future Inuyasha's plea to run from the past, or stay and destroy Naraku now, so he could never have the chance to get to her time in the first place? He'd said if they fought Naraku they would lose, but maybe they could-

"There's no point discussing this! I'm going out! Getting more wood for the fire!" Kagome was jolted from her thoughts as Inuyasha's patience had gotten the better of him, and he threw his arms up into the air, standing and stomping towards the flap.

Sango stood up after him. "We'll come help you, Inuyasha." She said, making her way towards the doorway. "Let's let Lady Kaede and Kagome talk."

"Aye." Agreed the Monk, placing his hand on Inuyasha's arm. "I'm sure Lady Kaede will get the full story from Kagome." He nudged the disgruntled hanyou out the door.

Inuyasha let himself be led outside. Kagome could tell he was angry, as well as confused, but she felt that she was even more so, and extremely upset as well. Still, she needed him to not look at her like she was crazy. Truthfully, she needed him to not look at her at all, at least at the moment. She was still completely shook up from what the future Inuyasha had said to her. From what he had done to her.

…Had it all even been real?

His lips felt like a distant memory.

…Although, his warning didn't. His warning felt freezing cold, like ice water that had just been splashed in her face.

She bit her bottom lip with her teeth, realizing that yes, the kiss had been as real as his warning. Her lips still felt swollen.

After only a few moments of silence, Kaede spoke up again. This time she had Kagome's full attention. "I've a feeling you are not telling us all you know. At least," she gave a small chuckle, "all was said too fast when you were upset. Let us clear the air here. What has happened, Kagome?"

She looked towards the small window, noticing the tiniest bits of daylight. "I'm not so sure myself. It all happened so quickly."

Kaede stayed silent, letting Kagome's thought roam. Letting her speak freely.

"I was on my way home from school when I found him. Or rather," she couldn't help but smile just slightly, "he found me." She paused. "He was frantic. I've never seen Inuyasha act that way before."

"And you are sure it was Inuyasha?"

Kagome nodded.

"Yet it wasn't the Inuyasha the rest of us know?"

She shook her head. "No. No, he was much different. Older. He was wearing clothes and talking as if he had been born in my time. Like he knew how to act in the mannerisms of my time." She rested her chin on her hand. "He said that he lived the last five hundred years until he could reach me, and that…" her voice trailed off as she remembered his quivering tone, the way he looked like he was about to cry, his arms around her body as he hugged her to his chest as if she were the thing he cared for most in the world.

"…That we had all died?" Kaede finished her sentence.

Kagome nodded and placed her forehead into her hands, willing herself not to cry. He said he couldn't save any of us. That for some reason, Naraku ruled freely."

Kaede's face became solemn, and she rubbed her chin. "Your story does match up with mine, although I saw that Inuyasha passed along with the rest of us, and Naraku was able to rule freely."

Again, they sat in silence, the only interruption being Shippou, who mumbled once or twice in his sleep and rolled over.

Finally, Kaede spoke again. "Is there anything you are forgetting to tell me?" She asked, just as stuck on what to do as Kagome was.

Only that he loved me. "To come back here and warn everyone. He didn't give me much of a choice, he practically shoved me down the well."

"Aye, that would be him."

Oh, and then he kissed my breath away. "He said I could get everyone through the well. Is that possible? I know it's never worked for anyone but me and Inuyasha, and once or twice for a demon if they sense some shard power. …Could we get everyone through?"

Slowly, the old woman shook her head. "I do not know, Kagome. I assume it's worth a try, however. When the others decide to rejoin us we should try and carry out the plan this future Inuyasha has laid out for you. I can think of nothing else to do."

"Yeah, I don't know if-"

BOOM.

Kagome froze mid-sentence. No. No way. Not now.

"What in all the hells-?" Kaede uttered, bringing her hand up to her chest.

Kagome's eyes grew wide. She could feel sweat forming on her hairline. Her fists clenched at her sides, and her breath caught in her throat.

BOOM.

Naraku was here, and he was coming for them. Now.

Her thoughts ran at warp speed. She hadn't thought it would happen so soon. It wasn't quite real a moment ago, but it was all too real now. There was no time to save everyone in the village, like future Inuyasha had asked of her. She was going to fail. There was no way she could possibly get everyone through the well. Not now.

BOOM.

Now the screaming started, blood-curdling screams that shook Kagome's nerve violently. Kaede was up like a shot, and Kagome wasn't far behind. As the curtain to the hut was thrown back, a bloody scene lay before their eyes.

There were bodies everywhere. Blood. Humans and livestock alike lay strewn about at awkward angles. Homes and huts were crushed flat and lit afire, and those who remained alive ran in a crazed frenzy.

Looming above it all, in his newest, strongest form, was Naraku. He had gown to unimaginable heights, standing at least as tall as a four-story building. The top half was human, while thousands of tentacles withered and whipped around him, destroying everything in their paths.

Kagome stood rooted to the spot in front of Kaede's hut, her body frozen except for her eyes, which searched frantically for any signs of Inuyasha, trying to spot him out in all the destruction. It was like a World-War II movie, and she suddenly felt as if she'd been thrown into the middle of Hiroshima. Tentacles flew in every direction, flattening horse stables and trees, killing everything.

Where was Inuyasha? Her head snapped back and forth, trying to make scene of the horror in front of her.

"By Gods, the children!" Kaede shouted from Kagome's left and took off hobbling as fast as she could towards the cluster of huts that were blazing alive, on fire. She grabbed every child in her path, gathering them up as best she could, trying desperately to get them to safety.

Kagome didn't know what to do.

What should she do? Help Sango and Miroku, who were fighting off some of the smaller demons that surrounded Naraku? Help Inuyasha? ….No, bad idea, it's not like she knew where he was, anyway.

Okay, so the kids. She'd help Kaede with the kids. That's what Future Inuyasha had told her to do, anyway. Bring everyone back through the well.

Her mind made up and her nerves steeled, she rushed back into the hut and swiped up her bow and a bundle of arrows that were resting on the far wall, then darted out after Kaede, hearing the crack of the hut she'd just been in crushed to the ground. After diving to what could only be called safety by the Feudal Era standards, she grabbed up the kids as Kaede had done, and pulled them towards the edge of the woods, where the elder priestess stood, tending to the wounded as best she could.

"Kaede!" Kagome shouted over the noise of massive battle in the village clearing. "Do you know how many children there are in the village?"

"We've about thirteen all together!" She shouted back, her voice hoarse.

As quickly as she could, Kagome counted out the kids huddled around the old woman, shaking and sobbing. "…six, seven, eight, nine… Shit! Okay, we're missing four!"

"I passed two that'd been crushed, and saw no more!" She pointed a bony finger to the collapsed houses.

Kagome looked out into the village from their feeble hiding spot. She breathed heavily as she scanned the area, looking for any sign of life. "Argh!" She let out a cry of frustration and stomped her foot against the hard earth. She was just going to have to go get a closer look. "Kaede, listen to me!" She turned and grabbed the old woman's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "I think we can get everyone through the well, we just have to make it there, understand?"

She nodded.

"I'm going back out to look for the last two, and I'll send everyone else to the well. I'll make sure Sango and Miroku and Inuyasha make it as well. Make sure to get everyone through, okay?" She pointed to the tree line. "Stay behind the forest's edge, we don't want Naraku cutting in and grabbing anyone before you get to the well!"

"But the well does not-"

"Kaede, we have to try!" Kagome yelled into her ear, giving her a slight shove for emphasis. "Trust me, okay?! GO!"

With a final, reassuring nod, Kaede gathered the kids around her and made her way slowly towards the path that would lead to the well, making sure to follow Kagome's directions exactly.

Satisfied that they would be okay, at least as long as Naraku's attention was drawn, she crouched down as low as she could and made her way towards the burning piles of wood and hay, which were once dwellings of the villagers. Making her path a wide circle around a battling Sango and Miroku, who were doing fairly well for themselves, she managed to make it to the huts without being noticed. She still didn't know where Inuyasha was, but she had to assume he was doing okay.

"Come and get me, you coward!"

Ah. There he was.

She heard his strong voice and turned her attention to the slowly lightening sky, where Inuyasha was busy dodging tentacles and taunting the giant best. He was shouting, looking small and insignificant next to Naraku's monstrous form. Tetsusaiga was drawn, and it almost seemed to glow as he waved it around frantically.

She heard a cough to her far right, and dashed over to some fallen wood, where two kids were trapped, crying, their arms and legs burned badly. "I'm here! It's okay! I'll get you out of here!" She shouted. Their only response was to cry louder, and she quickly grabbed onto the beams and lifted with all her might, freeing the children and shoving the burning material to the side. She grabbed them by their waists and turned, running back to the forest edge as best she could.

Kaede was waiting for her there.

"Did you get them through the well?" Kagome shouted, breathing hard, and handed the two sobbing kids over.

"Nay, they won't go through! I've kept them there with Shippou, though, and we will wait for you to come! They should be safe there!"

Kagome nodded, having no other choice, and watched as Kaede hurried off with the two burnt children. She turned ready to go back into the opening and help out Miroku and Sango, when something moved to her right. She barely caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. A tentacle.

"Kaede! NO!" The scream ripped from her throat, knowing in her heart what was about to happen.

It was done in a flash, like most death is. The tentacle pierced right through the old woman's body, and she fell, instantly gone.

Kagome froze, her face draining of color.

He knew. Naraku knew what was happening all around him. Knew what they were trying to do. There was no way out of all this.

Her desperate thought was cut short as Miroku opened his hand at the demons who were now pouring out from under Naraku's body, no end in sight.

It was like a horror movie, how Miroku died. She watched from the line of trees as slowly, the hole in his palm engulfed his hand. How it moved quickly up his arm and onto his shoulder. His screams of pain and terror were sickening, and with one, last yell of despair, he was gone, the bright flash of the whole engulfing his entire body making Kagome cover her eyes. When she looked back, nothing but a giant crater was formed where he had been. He had disappeared into nothingness.

Kagome felt her feet move, and before she knew what was happening, she was by Sango's side, bow-and-arrow drawn, dodging the nasty attacks as they came. "Sango, what happened?" She shouted out to her friend.

"Kagome, he's gone! He's GONE!" She was shaking uncontrollably as she swung her boomerang around in rage, lashing out at anything that came within her weapon's range. At the first moment she could, Sango turned her face to the sky and let out a shrill whistle, calling to Kirara.

Kagome knew what she was about to do and reached out to her friend in a panic. "Sango! Calm down! Wait!" But she was weak compared to Sango, who shrugged her off without a second look.

Kirara was by her master in a flash, and Sango hopped onto her back and let out a war cry of grief. "I'll KILL you!" She roared, as she rushed at Naraku atop Kirara's back.

Kagome could do nothing as her friend raced to her doom. "No! Sango, NO!"

A tentacle, too fast for Kagome's eyes, whipped around and slammed into Kirara's side, wrapping around Sango as her demon companion fell to the earth, dead before it hit the ground.

"NO! SANGO!" Kagome cried out, shooting arrow after arrow at Naraku's giant form. They hit their target, but did no good. She wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't even felt them.

She could only watch, transfixed, as the tentacle squeezed, and Sango took her last, dying breath.

No. Not Sango too. All of them were dead. Gone. And it was all happening, just like Future Inuyasha had said it would.

Oh God. Oh God. She was losing it again. A sob swelled up in her throat, and she threw her head back, not at all unlike the movies, and shouted out Inuyasha's name as loud as she could, reaching out to him.

Again, sudden movement to her left.

Then her world went black.

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Please remember to review, I'm serious about my writing and my stories, and if you have anything to comment about or anything to mention or anything to say, I would love to hear it.

~SugarRos