A/N: Wow! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I am so very happy to receive them! I luv you all! I would like to thank Sugar0o for being so perceptive! I am glad you caught on. ^_^ I am also glad that none of you think Sessho-chan is too much outta character. If he starts to, let me know 'cause I don't like it when he is.

I don't usually answer questions 'cause I don't want to give the story away at all. It will all be a surprise! Lol

I will eventually draw Kagome in her new outfit and stuff… eventually. Or if someone else wants to that is fine to!

Sorry this one is kinda short. It is late and I am le tired!

Anywho, now the chappie.

Disclaimer: ok ok, I don't own nuttin'! Geez now stop harassing me!

Chapter 6: Problems, very big problems

It didn't take her long to get back to camp. By the time she did, everyone was worried. Like she expected, Inuyasha didn't say a word of what they 'discussed'. Again, she had to clamp down on the anger. 'When was I so quick to get so angry? I'm not sure I like it, but I can't help it. It must have something to do with the demon souls…'

"Kagome-chan! Where have you been? We've been so worried!" Sango rushed to hug her 'sister'. "You've been gone for nearly two hours!"

"I'm sorry Sango-chan. I needed to let out some steam." She hugged the slayer back. When she let her go, an orange ball of fluff collided with her.

"Kagome! I was so scared something happened to you!" the poor, distraught kit was nearly in tears. He clung to her tightly.

"Oh, Shippou-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." The miko hugged the kit and rubbed his back soothingly. While still holding him, she sat next to the fire. "I know it is late, guys, but we need to talk."

Everyone sat in there place before looking to her. Of course, Inuyasha was still stubbornly in his tree. He crossed his arms and refused to take part in a discussion he already ended with Kagome.

"Inuyasha stop being a baby and have a seat with they adults! It is your fault we are having this talk!" She yelled up at him.

Silence.

"Sit." She uttered the command like she really enjoyed seeing his face hit the ground. "Come on, Inuyasha, why don't you come sit with us? I am sure once you find a good place to sit we came continue our earlier argument while sit-ting so I don't end up hurting you."

A groan could be heard from yet another Inuyasha crater. "Damn it, wench! I already told you! You ain't got a say!"

"And I already told you that this is a group effort. You are not our leader. You can't make a decision that affects the whole group." She calmly retorted, refusing to be mad at him. It was like talking to a spoiled child.

"What argument did you two have, Lady Kagome?" Miroku was sitting across the fire since Sango leveled him with a glare when he tried to sit next to her.

"I guess it is no surprise that the coward didn't tell you." She ignored the inu's growl. "He decided, with talking to any of us, that he was going to bring Kikyou to join the group."

A collective in-take of air was all that was heard.

Sango was the first to react. She marched over to Inuyasha as he was climbing out of his hole and bashed him in the head with Hiraikotsu. "What are you thinking? She is a danger to everyone!"

Inuyasha promptly fell back into his hole. "Aw, hell, Sango, why did ya do that?!"

"Isn't it obvious my stubborn inu friend. Clearly, the lovely Sango is outraged. She has every right to be. She is also correct. Kikyou is a danger to everyone in this group, including you." Miroku handled the situation as calmly as he could. He too was angry that this wasn't discussed as a group. Still, in the interest of keeping the peace, he gently tugged a Sango's arm until she sat.

Inuyasha finally managed to get out of the hole. He scowled at Sango and Miroku, "I'll tell you like I told Kagome: Kikyou will be joining us tomorrow, whether you like it or not! This is my pack!" He crossed his arms, daring them to object. He really should have known better.

"This is not your pack. I already told you, and I am sure everyone here agrees. You. Are. Not. Our. Alpha!" Kagome started out calmly, but the more she thought about Inuyasha claiming that he is the leader, the more her anger swelled.

"I don't care what you think, wench! You are just a girl. I am the protector so that makes me leader!" he ignored the glares of his companions, sending his own glare at the bi-eyed miko. "Kikyou is coming. You don't want her to come because you are jealous of her!"

"How dare you!" That had her standing on her feet once she set Shippou on the ground. "You think I am jealous?! Did you really just belittle me because of my gender?! I know you didn't go there!" Really, she couldn't believe he just said that! She felt like hitting him more than she had a couple of hours ago. So she marched up to him and slapped him across the face with nearly all of her strength. He spun and hit the ground.

"Bitch! Don't you-"

"Sit! Kikyou is not even human! She is a clay doll! Sit! She tried to kill me several times! Sit! She wants my soul so she could be human again and not live off of the souls of the dead! I have nothing to be jealous of! Sit! And don't ever, ever think that I don't matter just because I am a girl! I am stronger and more powerful than anybody here! Sit! I have a voice, and I will voice it whenever I want! SIT!" With a huff, she turned and walked to her back pack.

When the hanyou got out of his hole, he snarled at her, "I don't care what you or anyone else thinks! Kikyou is coming so deal with it!"

Kagome looked over her shoulder with a look that could impress Sesshomaru. "Fine bring her. But I am leaving as soon as she is here. Nothing says I have to stay here. I refuse to walk around looking over my shoulder in my own group. I won't."

Again, only the collective gasps could be heard.

Shippou was the first to respond by throwing himself at her. "No Kagome-okasan! You can't leave me!" He cried in her surprised arms. In his all-consuming anguish at the thought of her leaving him, he forgot to edit what he said, accidentally calling her mom.

Instantly like a switch, her anger at Inuyasha was gone. "Shippou, sweetie, I would never leave you in a place I don't think is safe. You can come with me." She reacted automatically to his tears, wiping them away with her thumb. She was stunned, though, when he called her 'okasan'. Did he really think of her that way?

A slow smile spread across her face, "Shippou, do you really think of me as your mother?"

In her arms, he froze. He couldn't believe he just called her that out loud. Sure he thought of her like that but he was afraid that she wouldn't want him as a son. Suddenly, he was very afraid. He couldn't look at her. His voice betrayed his sudden fear of rejection, "Hai, I do. Are you mad at me?"

Without warning, she clutched him to her chest, laying her cheek on top of his head. "No Shippou. I am not mad. I had no idea you thought of me as your mother. I'll tell you a secret though." She leaned down to whisper lovingly in his ear. "I always thought of you as a son."

He smiled a grin so huge she was sure it would split his face in two. "Really?" At her nod, he hugged her so tight she couldn't breathe for a moment. "So I can call you okasan?" She nodded, still unable to breathe. He hugged her before bounding around camp singing that he had a new mommy. It nearly made her cry.

"Kagome-chan," Sango was reluctant to return to a more unpleasant topic. "We don't want you to leave us."

"I'm sorry Sango-chan, but, as long as Kikyou is here, I can't stay." She went and sat down next the slayer.

"Then I want to come with you as well."

"Sango-chan, you can't leave Miroku." Kagome whispered to her. Sango loved the monk; she would be depressed without him.

"He'll come too." She was confident in that.

"I need you to stay with Inuyasha." Kagome continued to whisper, though now a bit sadly.

"Why?" She didn't understand. Did Kagome not want her to come?

"I need someone to protect Inuyasha from Kikyou. He may be thick-headed, but he doesn't deserve to be dragged to hell for it. I still love him like a brother, and I don't want Kikyou to take him away like that." Kagome pleaded quietly with her friend. She really wanted Sango to come along. But Inuyasha needed to be protected from himself and from Kikyou. She knew she could count on Sango to do it.

"Alright," she sighed, defeated, "I'll stay and protect the baka if that's what you want."

"Thank you." Kagome hugged the older woman. "I won't stay gone forever. I'll check in with you guys in a month or so to visit and collect any shards you guys find."

Even with the tense sadness in the air, Kagome was able to bed down for the night with Shippou in her arms. 'Tomorrow is going to be so hard. I hope I'll have the strength to walk away… Where will we go? I guess I can travel with just us. I am strong enough for that thanks to Miroku and Inuyasha. I'll figure something out.'

For some time after he left the enraged, powerful miko, Sesshomaru had his mind, uncharacteristically, on a single thing, or in this case, a woman. She kept sticking to his thoughts and not allowing a moment of peace. Usually, the demon lord's thoughts would wander, drifting from topic to topic, now for the past couple of hours, it was consumed by one thing. It made him very uncomfortable.

He had returned to his pack and was sitting at the base of the tree closest to Rin. The girl always slept close to the fire. He had hoped that sitting close to her would take his mind off the miko. Instead, Rin reminded him of the miko. He shut his eyes in frustration.

'Onna, will you never cease to plague this Sesshomaru?' though his mask never wavered an inch, he was very annoyed. In his quest for power, she was the single most powerful thing he'd come across in centuries. She would be second only Midoriko. Even then, he wasn't so sure.

He fought thinking about her. He pushed his usually well disciplined mind to think on other things, like Naraku but even the vile hanyou couldn't hold his thoughts. He tried to think of his lands, his castle, his ward and retainer, but they all led back to that one, cursed onna. All night he thought on the scene in the forest that he had encountered, thought on the power he saw displayed even if it had no restraint.

As the sun was beginning to rise, he felt something awry within himself. His head started to ache like it was being trampled by a horde of demon. A feeling of heaviness weighted on his chest, nearly making him feel pinned to the ground. These feelings only lasted for several minutes, but to the taiyoukai, it seemed more like hours. Naturally, he fought against the feelings of heaviness and pain; he tried to force it to the back of his mind so he could function.

Then, he could feel it, like a second voice in his head. He could hear the snapping of chains and bars as though they were real. There was a sudden added pressure in his mind, not unlike the feeling of being too full. The presence suddenly struggled against him for control of the body. It snarled and growled at him, demanding freedom. It was a mental battle unlike anything he had ever experienced. He was unsure how long he sat there waging this war until the presence was subdued.

When it had quieted down, he heard a voice he hasn't heard in over three centuries, 'Where is she? Where is the onna?'

Sesshomaru recognized who and what this voice was. It was the part of himself that he had locked away a long time ago. It was spontaneous, and didn't think to the future very much. It was emotional and liked to form attachments to those few who were close to him. It was also angered easily and could release destruction unlike anything anyone has ever known. It was the exact opposite of what he wanted to be. It was his 'beast'. He had thought he locked it away forever, but it seems that once again that miko had cursed him. Somehow it was her fault. She had awaked it. There was simply no other reason. Now he has a problem, a very big problem.

Then the demon did something he had done in a long time, he cursed, "Shit."