Wow, sorry I took so long, I have been reading the Inuyasha manga, and haven't had the time to update! Gomen!
Ugh, do I HAVE to do disclaimers?

Miroku: Unfortunately yes, but I know a way to cheer you up aft…

Sango: Punches Stupid pervert. C'mon just get it over with

Finee! rolls eyes

None of this belongs to me (unfortunately) except for the sucky plot and the o/c's

By the way this is talking: " "
This is thinking: ' '

Chapter 2 – Planning

Kagome walked into the hut. She didn't need to see the hand mark on Miroku's face to realize what happened. The mood was enough. Miroku was sulking in the corner, and Sango was facing the other way, staring dejectedly at the wall, obviously ticked off. Kagome rolled her eyes. 'Honestly! He is NEVER going to stop doing that is he?'It seemed everyone was in a bad mood today, she thought, sighing once again. She made her way over to wall, still carrying the bawling kitsune-youkai. She set down her bag, and then sat down next to it.

"Shh… It's okay Shippo! It's only Inuyasha being a baka as always!" Kagome said quietly, trying to comfort him.

'Hmm... This isn't working… Gosh Inuyasha! He's just a kid!'

"Oh I know!" She said out loud, and started rummaging through her gigantic yellow backpack. Shippo, who was extremely curious, stopped crying, and leaned over to look at what she was doing.

"Aha!" Kagome mumbled as she emerged from her backpack. Shippo's eyes lit up with joy (all tears forgotten), as he saw that Kagome was holding a large multi coloured lollipop in her hands.

"Here you go Shippo." The young miko said lovingly, unwrapping the lollipop and handing it to the small youkai on her lap who was using all his effort to restrain himself from drooling. All pain forgotten, Shippo eagerly grabbed onto the lollipop that Kagome handed him and started licking furiously.

"Arigato! Kagome!" he managed to say happily between his licks. Then he went off to cuddle up with Kirara who had moved off of Sango's lap and onto the floor. Kagome gave him a warm smile and turned to Sango and Miroku (who's mood had improved greatly).

"Awhh! I hope you're like that with our kids." Said Miroku to Sango. His voice had that dreamy quality that he usually used when he was thinking something lecherous.

This statement earned him a hard whack on the back of the head and an evil glare from a now furiously blushing Sango.

"I don't get it Miroku," asked Shippo innocently from his place on the floor. "Why do girls always hit you when you ask them to bear your children?"

"Err…" Miroku said, lost for words. He glanced at Kagome hoping that her usual quick thinking could save him from Shippo's innocent interrogation.

'Sheesh! He can handle youkai and oni but not a 7 year old's question. Sounds like someone else I know…' Kagome shook those thoughts out of her head. She did NOT want to think about him right now.

"You're too young to understand Shippo, one day when you're older we'll tell you, okay?" She said, hoping this answer would be sufficient.

"Okay." Shippo said, shrugging his shoulders and getting back to his lollipop.

"Stupid, good-for-nothing wench!" Inuyasha muttered under his breath wiping the dirt off of the sleeves of his red fire-rat haori, and heading towards the river to wash off his face.

'Why was she so upset!?' he thought, angry at first. Then realization hit him. ' She did look really tired , and had purple under her eyes... maybe that's why she wasn't in the mood to argue…'

Inuyasha sighed. Stupid humans and their weak bodies. Stupid over-emotional wenches! He splashed some water on his face, and scrubbed it clean. 'Why does this always happen to me?!'

The hanyou hung around the river for a while, hoping that Kagome's anger had receded, then headed towards the hut.

"Oh look who decided to show up" snorted Kagome from against the wall, crossing her arms as Inuyasha walked by her and took his usual place against the wall beside her.

"Now, now! We have really important thing to discuss, so every one here should behave and act civilized." said Miroku pointedly, glancing at Inuyasha and Kagome (who were avoiding each others eyes). Then he noticed Sango's cold glare and quickly added: "and I, of course, will keep my hands to my self… err… for the time being."

Everyone snickered, seriously doubting that he would keep his promise.
"Anyways!" Miroku continued, "How can we make sure that Naraku dies this time, for SURE?"

"Keh. That's easy, I'll lop his head off with tetsusaiga." Said Inuyasha as if it were the most matter-of-fact thing in the world.

"You, of all people, know we can't do that!" Retorted Sango. "You're the one who has been going on about finally finding out his secret!"

"Fine then!" sneered Inuyasha, stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his haori. "First we kill the creepy baby thing, AND THEN I use tetsusaiga to lop his head off."

"It's not that simple!" stated Miroku blandly. "Naraku is cunning; he won't just sit there waiting for you to chop his head off! He'll definitely have lots of different plans to counter ours! We need a plan that not even Naraku can ruin."

" Then we'll need to make sure that everyone makes use of their abilities as best as they can." Inuyasha gave in, rolling his eyes.

"The saimyoushou will definitely be there, so the wind tunnel is useless." Miroku said, staring blankly at the wall, lost in thought.

"Miroku and I can kill his heart while you and Kagome get his body." Sango suggested.

"Your plan will not work child," whispered Kaede, making everyone (except Inuyasha) jump. She had somehow managed to walk in without anyone noticing. "The baby that is Naraku's heart is pure evil. It cannot be killed. It must be completely purified so that it leaves this world and will never again be reincarnated. I am afraid that the only person who has the ability to purify that much evil is Kikyo –onee- Sama."

Everyone, especially Inuyasha was shocked when they heard this. They would never be able to get Kikyo to fight for them. She wasn't on Naraku's side, but she wasn't on their side either. She was on her own side, so she could get revenge herself.

'There has to be a way….' Thought Kagome.

"W...what about me, Kaede-baa-san?" Kagome suggested quietly "Aren't I her reincarnation? I should be able to do it…."

"I am not suggesting that ye don't have the power. Nay child, ye may even have more power than my onee-sama. But it would require lost of intense training. You would need to learn how to cloak your aura and scent…" Kaede explained, looking slightly pained. "But if you knew how, the plan could be almost perfect…"

"What do you mean by ALMOST, baaba?" Asked Inuyasha

"Well, of course Naraku would notice that Kagome is not with ye, and go after her." Kaede said, sounding like she was deep in thought. "Though… there may be a way. It's very ancient and requires a lot of power… not even Kikyo-onee-sama could do it."

" What is it?" Asked Sango, curious about this mysterious ancient spell. "We have to try anything we can!"

"It is called the 'Soul-Splitting' technique… Calm down Inuyasha!" she said , raising her hand to silence Inuyasha who's mouth had opened into a furious retort once he heard the term 'soul splitting'. "It is just a name. This technique has nothing to do with splitting you soul as it suggests. It only consists of when a powerful miko wants to cast an image of her self onto the earth."

" So it's like an illusion?" Shippo asked from above his lollipop.

"Nay. It is much more than a mere illusion. It is a perfect image that can speak, and move. It also inherits the miko's aura and scent. Most miko's are not powerful enough to use this spell, and those who can are only able to keep the image functioning for a short span of time." Kaede explained, regretting she mentioned it. 'There is no way Kagome would be able to do this; she had no training as a miko whatsoever.'

"I'll do it." Said Kagome, her voice had a determined ferocity to it. She knew she could.

"I wouldn't doubt ye can't do it child." Kaede said to Kagome, smiling slightly. "Your heart contains many more qualities than Kikyo-nee-sama could even dream about. But it would take months of training to learn how to control your powers, and even more to learn the spells. Some people here are a bit too anxious to finish off Naraku."

"Keh. I don't care. I'll wait. As long as we finish off Naraku once and for all." Inuyasha said, still not meeting Kagome's gaze. 'And as long as Kagome is safe.' He added to himself as an afterthought.

"So it's settled" Kagome said happily. "Now for a plan." She turned to Inuyasha, who was staring out the window and was seemingly interested in the now setting sun. 'Thank-you Inuyasha. And im sorry for making you wait.' She thought.

They all started planning, but Kagome never heard the plan. She smiled and allowed her exhaustion to sweep over her. 'We'll get him this time… im sure of it.' She thought to herself before completely surrendering to the drowsiness that was threatening to drag her into unconsciousness.

Srry to bug you guys , I know you must hate groveling authors…but… Can yu please please review? I really appreciate you're comments and im always open for ideas !