I am redoing all of this story. For those of you who know this story you might want to go back to the beginning and begin again. I think I have done better but who knows? Please let me know what you think. Don't worry there are still plenty of twists and turns to come and yes, Lemons too!

Disclaimer: No shit!

Chapter Three: Decisions

Kagome stared up into the face of her enemy. He was an enemy that had just saved her life. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Why would an enemy save her? Why would Naraku be anywhere near her? What was his plans now and why was he around this area in the first place? Does he know what happened? Did he watch the whole thing?

'I have a sinking feeling in my gut about this. Is he the one that planned this whole thing or was he just watching for the satisfaction of watching the whole scene? I do not trust the bastard but I have to find out what he knows. I remember giving up and I know I killed him but Naraku was there... I am sure of it.'

"What do you want Naraku? Why are you here?"

"Why my dear, I am here as your savior. I pulled you from the stream and pumped life back into your lungs."

"Why would you do that? I wanted to die!"

"That may be true but there are still a few things you have left to do before you can leave this world. Until those things are done, I will not let you die."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at Naraku. There was something about Naraku that seemed off. She studied him and it hit her. This demon was no puppet. This 'man' before her was the actual Naraku. He was the real life one, no puppet or incarnation... the REAL one.

"You are the real Naraku."

"Aye that I am, I have decided to visit you in person for this special occasion."

"What do you mean?"

"It is not every day I get to watch an enemy become an ally."

At those words, she knew he had watched her kill Kikyou and Inuyasha. Her heart broke all over again knowing if it had been anyone else, they would have stopped her before she had been able to kill them. That knowledge tore at her heart like a serrated knife. He could have stopped her but did not because she was doing him a favor by killing two birds with one stone.

"Who said anything about becoming your ally? I will not give you my shards!" Kagome said looking down at them.

What she saw made her gasp. The shards that were once a pure and beautiful pink were now dark and tainted. She now had proof, without a doubt that she had killed her love and his lover. She had committed murder and tainted the once pure shards. She knew without looking at Naraku what he had come for. Her soul was now tainted and she was no longer worthy of the title Shikon Miko.

Kagome tried to purify the shards around her neck but the wounds in her heart were still too fresh to concentrate properly. A few tears leaked out of her soulful eyes.

They were tears of true sadness that glimmered like diamonds as they hit the dirt beneath her. She sat there and looked at the small dot that her tears created, completely forgetting about Naraku being there. Her mind raced with thoughts of 'why' and 'how could I' and 'what will I do now'.

"Have you figured out what you will be telling your friends?"

That question startled her. She had forgotten he was there next to her. She had forgotten her friends also. She got the feeling of shame, deep down in the pit of her stomach. Panic was starting to settle over her as she hyperventilated. What would she tell Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kaede? Naraku made his point. She had nowhere to go to figure herself out.

"What exactly do you want, Naraku?"

"I can offer you a place to stay while you sort through your thoughts."

"Why would you go and do something like that?"

"Well for one, you have no place to go, you can't go home with shards like those, you can't go into your village and you can't make it on your own. You really have no other option, do you?"

Kagome knew he was telling her the truth. It did not settle well with her. She still needed to think about the situation she was in. She had to make sure that this was her last and only option before even considering it.

'I could always go to Kouga... no that won't do. He would ask too many questions. He would ask questions I could not answer. He would see the shards and know.' Kagome tapped a thin shaking finger on her chin. 'I could beg Sesshoumaru for a place to stay... pft, do not be ridiculous... he would probably kill me for taking away his right to kill Inuyasha himself.' That thought brought tears to her eyes.

Inuyasha was no longer alive. He was dead because she had lost control of her untrained miko powers. Her shoulders shook as she cried again for the love she lost. Kikyou had ruined everything. She always took what Kagome wanted... what she needed. Kagome sat there mourning the loss of Inuyasha... almost completely forgetting Naraku.

Naraku shifted his position and brought Kagome's attention back to him. She narrowed her eyes again at the foul demon and frowned. He was actually waiting for her answer instead of just hauling her away. He was actually going to give her a choice in the matter. The trouble is she did not have much time to decide before her friends would come and look for her and Inuyasha. Kagome shuddered at the thought of what will happen when they find his body. That brought another sob from Kagome. She glared at Naraku and stood up. Her sudden movement startled him and he leaped away from her. She was still a priestess after all and could fry him in seconds. The idea of frying him made her smirk.

"I want to think. You will leave me alone until I decide to either kick your ass or go with you."

"That is acceptable, but do not take too long. Your friends are already getting worried about their friends. You have three hours at best... at worst, an hour. Think hard, Miko."

With those parting words, Naraku vanished. Kagome knew he was still around somewhere. That thought brought her no comfort. Kagome walked through the stream and over to the other side before she realized she was wet, cold, and tired. She knew she would have to come up with something soon or her friends would find her before she is ready for them. Kagome continued to walk until she stumbled on an uprooted root. Kagome heard the thunder before she felt the rain. She sighed and trudged on, quickly trying to find shelter from the oncoming storm.

Kagome was lucky enough to find and empty cave. She dare not enter too far in for fear of demons and such. She could not even make a fire for fear of Sango or Miroku seeing the flames. She sighed as she sat on the cold hard floor. Kagome hugged her knees to her trembling body and cried for all she was worth. Tears of sadness and rage mixed with tears of bitter sorrow and confusion.

'All the hard times we have been through and I end up killing him in a fit of rage. We have been through so much together only for it to end like that. What kind of friend am I to be able to snap like that and kill someone so important to me? Naraku is right though, I have nowhere to go and I cannot stay in this cave. Who knows how long I will be safe here. I have to do something. I feel like this is more complex than to have just Kikyou involved, someone else would have tricked me into this, I just know that Naraku was behind this somehow. I just know it; he tricked Kikyou and Inuyasha in the past. It would not be hard for him to do it again... with the help of Kikyou but who else would be sadistic enough to pull a stunt like this? Inuyasha would not suspect anything if Kikyou was involved and her scent is so nasty he would not be able to smell anything other than the smell of soil and bones and rotten corpses.'

Kagome's eyes lit up. She grinned a little before settling down for an hour. Kagome had an idea and it would work... no matter what. No matter the cost, she would have her answers. She would get revenge and then she would spend the rest of her life trying to make things better... 'I know... that sneaky bastard would never suspect sweet little Kagome. He has no idea who he is dealing with. I will go with him. I will find out the truth and when I do he won't know what hit him.'
That thought alone saddened her but she had to do something so she would not go insane with grief. Kagome knew she had done it by accident. That knowledge did not help her with the guilt she felt. She would never get over killing her love. First thing first, she needed to get her thoughts together and form a plan to trick Naraku into telling her the truth... but how?

'That's it! Kagura is always plotting against him. I am sure after I have gained her trust she would help me. She might even have some information about this already.' Kagome sighed shakily. 'It still does not help the guilt I feel. I just wish I were able to bring him back. I will never forgive myself for this heinous act. I will live the rest of my life in penance.'

Kagome leaned her head against the cave wall and remembered her times with Inuyasha. She knew remembering right now would hurt her but she missed him dearly already. She missed him as a flower misses the sun in winter. She missed him as much as a human body misses the warmth of a tender embrace. Kagome missed his strong able arms.

She realized she would no longer be able to feel his arms around her. She would never again hear his customary 'feh'. Kagome would even miss him calling her Wench all the time. Kagome already missed the feel of his ears in her palms... missed the way he could smile crookedly at her when he played with Bouyo. He would no longer eat Ramen or demand it. He would not push her to sit him; he would not be there to protect her when she most needed it. They would no longer share quiet moments when the others were sleeping. She was alone now... she would never hear the sound of his voice or his laugh.

She closed her eyes and let the tears slowly slide down her pale cheeks. The hotness of her tears made her cheeks sting. None of that bothered her right now. Right now she was remembering the first time they met, when he asked her if she was ready to die... the first time he was human and told her that she smelled nice... the time they met Miroku and he got possessive of her. By the time they met Sango he was a changed hanyou. He went out of his way to help save her instead of letting her die.
Kagome knew now that nothing would compare to the love they had. It was a special love. Their love would have been a love that would have grown into something unbreakable and something remarkable. It would have been a love that was so rare and beautiful. Kagome knew she messed up and it was beyond repair. She would take her punishment without complaint. Kagome stood at the mouth of the cave and whispered one word.

"Naraku..."

That was all it took for him to appear before her. He was expecting his answer. Kagome looked to the sun and saw she had been 'daydreaming' nearly an hour and a half. Kagome took a deep breath and sighed upon releasing it. There was so much tension you could cut it with a butter knife.

"Alright, Naraku... I will go with you on one condition."

"What condition would that be, Miko?"

"Okay two conditions. One, my name is Kagome, not miko, wench, bitch, or human. Second, you are to stay away from my person unless after asking for permission and me actually giving it.

"That sounds reasonable."

"Oh and another thing, I expect a few answers from you in time."

"You want answers to which questions?"

"We will have to wait and see."

Naraku nodded his head and agreed to her terms. He asked her to follow him. Kagome nodded and stood. She would follow him, if only for the time being. She needed time to calm down enough to think of a way to explain her actions to her friends.

Kagome went with Naraku, not knowing what would happen, not knowing why he wanted to help her. He told her that she has no other place to go, which was true but why would he want to help her in the first place? Maybe he just wants the rest of the jewel shards... maybe he is lonely.

'Where in the hell did that thought come from?' she thought walking behind him.

Kagome figured she thought of him lonely only because that is what she was feeling now. Kagome was in so deep a thought she did not notice him stop and ran smack dab into his back. She jumped back and glared at him. Naraku held his hand out to her.

"I am asking. We can go the long way and be there in 2 weeks, or you can take my hand and be there in less than 2 hours. The choice is yours."

Kagome stared at his slender fingers as if they would suddenly bite her, which was quite possible. She sighed and took his hand. She knew that nothing he could do to her right now would cause her to be in more pain than she already was. She was however surprised at how warm his hands were. Her brow furrowed and she puckered her lips in thought. He then surprised her by pulling her towards him and picking her up bridal style. She squealed in surprise and flung her arms around his neck. She was not prepared when he pulled her closer as he started running top speed. They were going so fast it seems like they were flying. Melding her body to his, he did his famous disappearing act and in no time arrived at his castle.

"We are here, put me down this instant."

Naraku shrugged and dropped her. Kagome landed on the ground with a dull thud. She glared up at Naraku with hate shining in her eyes and huffed before standing and gaining purchase with her own two feet.

Kagome stood her ground and glanced around. What she saw put her in awe. She might not like or trust Naraku but he had good taste. His castle was beautiful. She had never seen such a place before. A large black marble structure met her gaze. It was breathtaking.

"Follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

Kagome glared at his back but followed. She could not wait to talk to Kagura and see if she could get information out of her. Only then, after she found her answers, would she be able to come up with a better plan.

'Just wait until you see what is in store for you.' They both thought simultaneously.

A/N:
Well that is it for the third chapter. Please be open and honest with me. Thank you to all who read. :)
X-WiccanGoddess-X