A/N: I know you're all dying to know what happens next so here's the next chapter. I'm very sorry it took me so long to get it up. I really have no good excuse. I've just been really busy. Plus my hubby's been hogging the computer for days! He got a new computer game and hasn't given me any time on it. *sigh* Oh well. Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Why is this so necessary? I'm sure you all know by now but I do not own Inuyasha. Whatever.
"speaking" 'thinking' flashback/dream


LAST TIME:
He pulled her into his arms and squeezed her to his chest. He began rocking her and stroking her hair in an attempt to soothe her. "What is it Kagome? What's wrong?"
Forcing herself to calm down enough to talk, she replied, "He- needs me- my Ship- po-"
Confused now, he pulled her away to look down at her. "Shippo? That fox kit that always followed you around?"
Kagome nodded swallowing the rest of her sobs. "Yes. I've taken care of him, you see. He is like a son to me. I can't just leave him alone. He needs me."


Chapter 7- Reunion


Kouga stared at her for a long moment. He watched the tears streak down her face. Her pain and anguish broke his heart. He didn't want to see her upset.

"Alright, let's go get him." He smiled down at her.

Kagome didn't expect that. Actually she hadn't known what to expect. But Kouga still surprised her. "You mean it? We can go get him?"

"Of course, Kagome, if he means that much to you. I just want you to be happy. If that boy is like a son to you, I'll accept him as my son as well."

Fresh tears spilled out of Kagome's eyes. "Oh, Kouga!" She cried as she slammed into his chest and gave him her best bear hug. "I love you more now than ever before! You're just perfect!"

He kissed the top of her head then pulled away from her. "Let's get dressed, and then we'll leave, okay?"

Kagome nodded, climbed out of the bed and began picking up her clothes from where Kouga threw them last night. Kouga followed suit.


Inuyasha had been sleeping for quite awhile and Sango was getting impatient.

"When is he going to wake up? I want to know what happened. Where is Kagome-chan?" Sango ranted pacing around inside the little hut. Shippo's wide eyes watched the angry woman as she moved around the room. Sango is scary when she's mad! He thought.

"Calm down Sango. He lost a lot of blood. He needs to recover. Give him time." Miroku said looking up at her from his meditation.

Kaede was stirring some stew in a pot over the fire. "Miroku is right, Sango. It will be awhile. Be patient."

"I can't be patient. I want to know what's going on! Kagome-chan is my best friend. She is like a sister to me! She is the only family I have left besides Kohaku! I can't just leave it alone." She continued to rant and rave, but stopped short when the hanyou stirred.

"Shut up, woman. Let me sleep." He said glaring at her.

"Inuyasha! Finally! You're awake!"

"No thanks to you! Your constant screaming made it impossible for me to sleep."

"Forget that, Inuyasha. Where's Kagome-chan?" Sango sat herself beside his bedroll looking earnestly into his groggy, golden eyes. Shippo climbed into her lap and stared him down as well.

Inuyasha looked away from them. "Who cares about that wench? She forgot all about us! She doesn't care about us, not really!"

Sango stared wide-eyed at him. So Inuyasha did find Kagome but what happened between them when he did? "I can't believe that, Inuyasha. Kagome-chan is a kind-hearted person. She cares for all of us." Shippo nodded enthusiastically.

"No she doesn't, she forgot everything!" Inuyasha sat up and winced from the pain of his newly healing wounds.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"She forgot us and that bastard is taking advantage of it!"

"Inuyasha, we're not following you. Calm down and explain to us what happened when you found Kagome-sama." Miroku said, taking control of the chaotic situation.

"Screw that! I'm too pissed to talk! I'm outta here!" With that, Inuyasha ran out the door leaving the group even more confused than before.


Kouga had been running for a while. Kagome was comfortable being carried in his arms, excited to see her friends again.

"How much farther until we get to the village, Kagome?" Kouga asked. He'd never been to the village that Inuyasha's group considered home base. Kouga was kind of curious about it and this "Kaede" woman that Kagome always raves about.

Kagome glanced around instantly recognizing it as the area near Kaede's village. "Not too much farther now Kouga. A few more miles maybe."


Shippo was sitting at the door waiting for Inuyasha to return so that he could get his questions answered when a familiar scent wafted to his nose. Jumping to his feet, he mutters, "Crap!" And rushes out of the hut.

Sango and Miroku share a confused look. Miroku shrugs it off and follows the kit outside. Sango, still confused, picks up a dozing Kirara and trails after her companions.

The two males were standing not too far away, so she approached them. "What's going on?" She whispered to Miroku. He nodded toward the horizon and she turned to look. A couple of miles away, a small cyclone could be seen. "Kouga? What's he doing here?"

Shippo crosses his arms over his chest. "To complicate things. Kagome's not here and Inuyasha is already upset enough as it is. We don't need this right now." Suddenly another gust of wind smacked into Shippo's face. It carried another scent along with Kouga's scent that the kit hadn't noticed before. His eyes grew wide. "OH!" A huge smile broke out across his face as he started to bounce up and down on his toes excitedly.

"Shippo? What is it?" Sango asked.

He turned his brightly shining eyes up at her. "Kagome is with him!"


Kagome looked up and saw the village off in the distance. "Look, Kouga! There it is! We're almost there!" Her eyes were sparkling and she was practically trembling in his arms from excitement.

Kouga was so glad that Kagome was happy now. "Yes, koibito. We'll be there in a few minutes."

She smiled up at him. "Would you put me down right outside the village? I'd like to walk in under my own power."

"Sure. Whatever you want, Love." The wind blew into his face. "Ugh. This place reeks of dog."

She smacks him lightly on the arm. "Be nice, Kouga. Inuyasha is still one of my friends."

"Fine, okay." He grumbled.

Seconds later, they reached the outskirts of the village and Kouga screeched to a halt. He put his precious cargo down and took her hand. "Let's go." He smiled down at her.

Kagome led him into the village heading toward Kaede's hut. Suddenly a small blur leaped at Kagome. Kouga snatched it out of the air before it could reach her.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried when the blur turned into the kit. She reached out and plucked him from her mate's grasp and hugged him tight. "I missed you!"

"Oh Kagome! I missed you too! Are you alright? We were all so worried!" The boy was on the verge of tears.

"Of course I'm alright, Shippo."

"Kagome-chan!" Kagome looked up to see Sango running towards her.

"Sango-chan!" She sprinted toward the older girl that she considered a sister. When they reached each other, they embraced tightly, accidently squishing poor Shippo in between them.

"I can't breathe!" The boy cried.

"Oops! Sorry, Shippo." The two girls chorused and stepped back from each other.

"It is good to see you unharmed, Kagome-sama." Kagome turned as Miroku walked up to them.

"Thank you, Miroku."

"Kagome-chan, where have you been? We've been so worried!"

Kagome looked at Sango. "Isn't it obvious?" She said, indicating her clothes and Kouga who was standing behind her. "I've been with Kouga. He nursed me back to health after I fell off the cliff."

"You fell off a CLIFF?!" Sango's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head.

This is when Kouga decided to speak. "Yes. I saw her fall. She was fine except for the bump on her head." He reassured them. "Nothing to worry about."

Shippo looked up at her confused. "But Kagome, you've been gone for almost a week. If you only had a bump on your head what took you so long to come home?"

Kagome wasn't sure what to tell them. Would telling them that she forgot all about them hurt their feelings? She shared a meaningful look with Kouga before deciding to just tell the truth. "Well the bump on my head wasn't all that I got from the fall. It caused amnesia. Kouga helped me through it."

"Amnesia? So that's what Inuyasha was talking about when he said you forgot all about us." Sango said nodding to herself.

"I guess so. Hey, speaking of Inuyasha…" Kagome said as she surveyed the surrounding area. "…Where is he?"

"He woke up and started babbling about you not caring and that you forgot us. We didn't understand and when we asked him to explain himself he just took off. He hasn't come back yet." Sango explained.

"I see." Kagome looked down at her feet. She felt bad that she made Inuyasha feel like she didn't care about her friends. She remembered when he showed up at the den, it wasn't pretty. She suddenly recalled his condition that day. She turned frightened eyes up at her friends. "Inuyasha was hurt when I saw him! Is he okay?"

Miroku placed his hand on her shoulder causing Kouga to eye him carefully and growl under his breath. He knew the man was a pervert. Miroku ignored him and smiled reassuringly at her. "He'll be just fine, Kagome-sama. He just has to allow his wounds to heal."

"Wounds? How did he get hurt?"

"The explosion at that last fight caused a lot of damage on Inuyasha since he was so close to it."

"That's horrible! We should go find him!" Kagome's eyes shone with worry.

"Don't you worry, koibito, I'll find the stupid mutt." Kouga may have hated the hanyou but he was still Kagome's friend and he promised to be nicer.


Inuyasha was sulking in a tree far away from the village when out of nowhere, a soul collector flew by off in the distance. Kikyo! I found her. Finally! He thought as he raced after it. After a minute or so he came to a small open field. Kikyo was standing a little ways ahead of him with her back turned. The soul collector that he had followed deposited its load and flew off.

Kikyo opened her eyes. "Inuyasha, why are you here?" She turned to look at him.

Inuyasha took a hesitant step towards her. "I wanted to talk to you, Kikyo."

Her eyes narrowed warily. "About what?"

"I need your help." He started.

"My help? With what?"

"You can sense the jewel. I need help collecting the shards."

"But you have Kagome for that."

"Not anymore. She forgot everything and she's with Kouga now." His voice was bitter.

Kikyo stared at him for a moment. It is true she still loved him and she now knew that Naraku was the true cause of her death so she no longer held that hate for him. She needed to think. "Inuyasha, I will think on your request. Meet me here in two days and I will give you my answer."

"Thank you, Kikyo." With that he turned and disappeared into the forest.

He ran for quite a while, intending on returning to Kaede's hut to sleep when a disgusting odor reached his sensitive nose. Growling, he muttered to himself, "What is Kouga doing here?!"


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that! Please review! Okay

ttfn!

kaerfemina