A/N: Semi-sort of refreshed after being woken up at four thirty in the morning :D And I know XD I've killed so many peeps in such short time, but the story's not over yet :D I got my latest plan for this chapter where I hope you all hate me because that'll be a good thing (I think XD) and then some other stuff, but anyways! Disclaimers! Thanks to all reviewers!
"Sango…" Miroku murmured, soothingly rubbing the said woman's back. "It's okay…"
Sango, still in shock slightly, was crying silently, her eyes still wide from surprise at learning that her brother had been killed trying to protect Inuyasha's mother. Which hadn't worked because of the miasma. Both Kohaku and Izayoi were dead, Inuyasha and Sango had both gone into shock, Shippo was once again wailing, and Miroku and Kagome were running around, trying to comfort the three.
Kagome admitted to it, but since Inuyasha was a dog demon…she gently rubbed one of Inuyasha's ears in hope that it might help. Instead, it seemed to piss him off. He growled furiously until Kagome released his ear, although the woman was skipping with glee on the inside at getting to rub one of his ears. "Inuyasha, come on," she murmured, starting to get worried. "You're scaring me."
Inuyasha just growled again, glowering furiously at the carpet. Damn it all! Mother…DAMN! He snarled out loud, then darted out of the room, slamming doors as he left the house that belonged to Sango.
Kagome looked after him with a mixture of hurt, pain, and guilt. She turned to Shippo to soothe him with her speech again, hoping that it would help with Sango as well as Shippo. "Shhhh…" she murmured, rubbing his head. She knew that the death of Izayoi had left a bigger toll on everyone then Inutaisho's death had. Inuyasha had obviously been as close to his mother as Kagome had been to her own. Shippo was practically her other son instead of a nephew. And then Kohaku was also gone. Poor Sango had practically mothered him herself. And then there was Miroku, who had known both just as well as Kagome had.
"Damn bastard," Miroku hissed, wrapping his arms around Sango to comfort her as she started sobbing quietly. "That was Naraku's miasma. I'd bet my life on it."
"Well don't bet that," Kagome retorted, tucking some stray hair behind her ear. "If you do that, you might actually die."
Miroku gave a dry laugh. "Sometimes I think it would be better…" he trailed off, staring at his right hand. "Then I wouldn't be stuck with this."
"You don't want your hand?" Kagome asked, confused.
"No, no, no, I mean the curse in it. My hand was cursed by Naraku. Or my grandfather to be more precise. There's what we call a Wind Tunnel in it, Kagome. It sucks up anything and everything, and if I don't get rid of it soon, it'll destroy me." Miroku replied, his grip tightening on Sango. "I haven't told Sango yet because I don't want her scared to come near me. I doubt she'll remember me saying this right now because of everything that's happened, but you can't tell her."
Kagome nodded. "I won't. Watch Shippo, I'm going to go Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Rin. It's time we started planning." She set Shippo down beside Miroku and Sango, then walked outside with determination. They would destroy Naraku. If it was the last thing she did, it would be to destroy him.
She easily found Inuyasha by his silver hair and red shirt. He was sitting in a tree, glowering at the branches. "Inuyasha…?" she called, crossing her arms and looking up at him. "Can you call Sesshomaru and Rin, tell them where to come over to, and come inside? You're…kind of…scaring me, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha peered down at her, golden eyes guilty. "Sure. Whatever." He pulled out his phone, typed in a number, and then pressed it against a dog ear. "Yo. Sesshomaru? Be careful how you tell Rin, but listen…Naraku somehow got a damn miasma to our place and Mother and Sango's brother, Kohaku, are dead. Kagome wants us all here for some reason or another, so get over here." He gave his brother Sango's address, then hung up. He jumped down, landing next to Kagome.
Kagome gave a wary smile, sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "It's time to bring down the sucker…"
Inuyasha nodded, then pulled Kagome into a tight embrace, crushing her against his chest. His face became buried in her hair as he breathed in her scent. "Now I know why Sesshomaru doesn't let Rin out of his sight," he murmured into her hair.
Kagome smiled a true smile now. "Inuyasha, I promise I'm not going anywhere. And like you said, nobody's getting near me."
Inuyasha nodded, then pulled away as a car pulled up. "That was fast," he called as Rin and Sesshomaru slipped out of the car. Rin's face was an angry red, her eyes gleaming with a scary kind of fury. Sesshomaru was calm and collected as well as icy cold as usual.
Kagome narrowed her head. "Time for some planning, guys. We're bringing Naraku down."
_-_OO_-_
Six hours of planning later with a determined Kagome, serious Inuyasha, icy Sesshomaru, scary-kind-of-furiousness Rin, a dull Sango, an agreeable Miroku, and a sleeping Shippo, they had their plan in place.
"Okay, let's write this down," Sango said, pulling out a paper and pencil from a drawer before returning to her friend's side. "Okay…"
Sesshomaru: (Miroku, Inuyasha) Distract/Kill Naraku, guards, etc.
Rin: (Shippo) Stay with Shippo
Shippo: (Rin) Stay at home with Rin and nap, play, etc.
Miroku: (Sesshomaru, Inuyasha) Distract/Kill Naraku, guards, etc.
Sango: (Kagome) Protect Shippo and Rin
Kagome: (Sango) Protect Shippo and Rin
Inuyasha: (Miroku, Sesshomaru) Distract/Kill Naraku, guards, etc.
"So we have the roles of who's doing what," Kagome announced, scratching her head while leaning on Inuyasha. "Should we write down steps so we can all get it or do we have the plan?"
"Got it," Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango piped up at the same time, Inuyasha with a grin. Rin, Sesshomaru, and Shippo all nodded in agreement with them and Kagome rolled up the paper. "Okay. Now, where will we women stay since you men refuse to let us come with you?"
Sango began grumbling again about how she should go, because she had her Hiraikotsu and Kirara, which was no different than Miroku's sutras (she hadn't remembered Kagome and Miroku's conversation as Miroku had suspected), Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga, and Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga. "We can stay here or at your place, Kagome. Not Takahashi Mansion because we don't know if there's any miasma left." Her strong tone wavered. "We can't even have a funeral for them because that kind of miasma melts everything…"
Kagome patted her head with a smirk. "That's why this plan isn't going to fail. 'Cause Inuyasha and Miroku aren't gonna let this go without a bit of payback."
"Exactly," Miroku agreed, smirking as well. "Naraku's killed far too many innocent people. It's about time we returned the favor."
Kagome went into the kitchen to prepare a small and quick lunch so the plan could be put into action. It wasn't winter, so the days were longer and they had enough time for the plan to work. After finishing making some sandwiches for everyone, she walked back into the living room to find Inuyasha staring at Miroku, Sango, Rin, and Sesshomaru with a disgusted look. Shippo was out cold on the floor.
The reason behind Inuyasha's look had Kagome struggling not to drop the plate of sandwiches from laughing. Rin was giving Sesshomaru a sweet kiss on the lips while Sango had thrown herself at Miroku. Kagome started laughing a full out belly laugh after setting the plate down, struggling to quiet it as Inuyasha glowered at her for a moment before breaking into his own grin.
It was nice to know that laughter was possible after all that had happened.
"Do you even know where the guy lives?" Kagome asked as she followed Inuyasha out of the house after Miroku and Sesshomaru three minutes later.
"Sure. Just like he knows where we live," Inuyasha replied, throwing his arm around Kagome's shoulder.
"Where then?"
"Err, I believe he lives a ways away that way." He pointed in the eastern direction.
Kagome groaned. "You don't know where he lives? How the hell is this going to work?"
"Sesshomaru does know where he lives for sure, Kagome," Inuyasha sighed, using one hand to pop his neck. "I gotta go. I'll see you later, 'kay?"
Kagome nodded. Then with a small blush, she quickly reached up and lightly kissed his lips before dancing into Sango's house.
Inuyasha stared after her in surprise. Then he grinned like an idiot and sprinted towards the car, scrambling in like a kid on Christmas morning.
Miroku glanced from the window to the half-demon. "What's got you so happy?"
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and huffed at Inuyasha's reply.
"My girlfriend finally kissed me."
_-_OO_-_
Kagome laughed as she pranced into the kitchen, where Sango was heating up a pot of her famous delicious tea. Sango gave her a worried look. "Are you okay?"
"Just peachy, Sango!" Kagome replied with a grin. "So what are we going to do while they're gone?"
"I was thinking something along the lines of either taking Shippo shopping to keep him distracted, bake, or sleep," Rin said as she came into the kitchen.
"That work, Kags?" Sango asked, finished washing the dishes.
"Of course," Kagome replied, pulling out her car keys. "Let's stop by my place and ride in my brand new car, since you both have old ones." She teased, smirking slightly.
"Be nice, Kags!" Sango whined, glaring out the window at her old ancient white car. "I'm trying to convince Miroku to use Inuyasha's money to get me a new one!"
"Hey! No using Inuyasha!" Kagome replied, gently smacking the back of her head. "Let's go!"
They all clambered into Sango's ancient car to get over to Kagome's house. On the way there, Kagome turned on the radio and the four of them randomly sang along, enjoying themselves immensely. Kagome laughed cheerfully as Shippo stumbled over the words for a minute before picking it up again. "Go, Shippo!" She cheered. Sango and Rin echoed her. Shippo grinned with a blush coating his small cheeks as they stopped at Kagome's house. Sango pulled into the driveway and they all climbed out…only to pile into Kagome's large SUV.
Kagome went into the driver's seat, Sango called 'shotgun', and Rin and Shippo sat in the back. They all drove to the store.
Once there, they immediately went to the section with all the baking items. Shippo jumped up and down , searching for all the stuff he wanted. "Sango, can we get some of these? Oh! And this?"
Kagome laughed, helping Sango pull stuff of shelves and fill up the shopping cart. "So who's paying?"
"Easy," Rin dug in her wallet and held up a credit card between two fingers. "I share the Takahashi bank account. I can pay for almost anything in the world."
Sango's eyes widened. "Can you get me a new car?" She pleaded, giving Rin her puppy eyes. "Pretty please?"
"I guess we're going car shopping next."
"Yay!" both Sango and Shippo cheered.
~A/N: Okay, that was a cheesy paragraph meant as a filler for the chapter XD~
_-_OO_-_
Inuyasha was sprawled in the grass beside Miroku, both watching lazily as Sesshomaru slew any demon guard that came their way. Sesshomaru had gone into his true form, looking tempted to snap up Inuyasha and Miroku whenever they tried to help. "This is what Kagome meant by working together?" Inuyasha snapped sarcastically.
Sesshomaru shot a growl at his brother, red eyes flashing.
"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha waved his growl off as another few demon guards attacked him. "We get it. Don't bother you while you're doing this. Come on, Miroku, let's go find Naraku." The half-demon clambered to his feet, dragging Miroku along with him.
Both darted past the demon guards that rushed towards them, leaving Sesshomaru to snarl after them and deal with the annoying guards. "Smell anything?" Miroku asked, opening his Wind Tunnel to suck up an annoying guard.
"Yep! Follow me!" Inuyasha growled, unsheathing Tetsusaiga and starting up a massive course of stairs. "He's this –what the hell was that?" He broke off, yelping in shock when a huge gust of wind blew over them, followed by a woman on a large feather. He growled when he noticed she had the same scent as the guy they were tracking. "Come on," he muttered, shaking his head and following Naraku's scent once more.
Miroku nodded and scrambled after him, his eyes narrowed. "We'll find him."
Inuyasha was halfway up the massive staircase, his golden eyes flashing this way and that. "We're close, Miroku!" He yelled when they had burst through multiple rooms. "He's nearby! His scent's getting strong – HERE! I FOUND HIM!" he cut himself off as he burst into a room to find a black haired man sitting in the middle of it.
The room was empty except for the floor and the walls, an s well as the man kneeling in the middle of the room with a smirk on his face. "I see you have come…"
"Damn right," Inuyasha snarled, face contorting into one of fury. "Gotta problem with that?"
"Huh. Inuyasha. And it's nice to see you as well, monk." The man drawled, smirking at the floor. His red eyes flickered up for a moment, then returned to the floor. "Inuyasha, have you come to gain an early revenge on the latest woman of yours?"
Inuyasha seemed to puff up with so much fury, Miroku thought he was gonna lose it and go full demon, even with Tetsusaiga in his hands. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, YOU DAMN BASTARD?"
"Calm down, Miroku, he's toying with you," Miroku hissed to his best friend, eyes narrowed. "Nothing's going to happen to Kagome, remember? Sango's with her. I would put my life in that woman's hands."
Inuyasha seethed, not seeming to hear him. "I swear to fucking god*, if you touch Kagome I will tear each minor and major limb from every damn piece of you," he snarled, grip tightening on Tetsusaiga. His words merged together thanks to his anger and not even Inuyasha himself could understand half of what he was saying. "Stay the hell away from my family. We are SICK and TIRED of you messing with us, you got that?"
Naraku just chuckled. "Are you saying you'll give me a chance and not kill me, Inuyasha? What about you, monk? I killed that demon slayer's brother. Surely it would be easy enough to kill her and the miko."
"Okay, what the hell are you talking about now?" Inuyasha hissed as Miroku froze.
"You did not know? Did you not hear Kagome herself?" Naraku's grin grew. "She told you herself that she had spiritual powers, did she not? She said she sometimes had to threaten the parents of youkai children."
Inuyasha couldn't help it. His mind drifted back to Kagome's semi-sort of melt down. It was true. She had told him that. "Damn you to Hell!" he spat, leaping forward and striking out with Tetsusaiga.
Naraku was cut in half, but there was no blood. "Damn it. Inuyasha, it was only a puppet."
"We need to go," Inuyasha growled. He had an uneasy tugging in his gut. "Something's not right. Especially about that woman."
Miroku nodded and the two ran as fast as they could to the outside. Once outside, they saw that Sesshomaru had returned to his humanoid form. "Sesshomaru," Miroku gasped. "The plan didn't work. It was a puppet. We need to…to get back!"
Sesshomaru nodded and started in the direction of the car. "Let's go," he said, his voice a deep rumble.
_-_OO_-_
Kagome, an apron wrapped around her torso and waist, smiled as she helped Sango lay out the last of the baked goods to cool. Shippo was sleeping with a slightly bulging stomach because of all the treats, Kagome giggling at him. "All done!" She announced. "No more things to bake!"
"Thank Kami!" Sango explained, swinging into a chair and wiping her brow with the back of her hand. "I swear if I have to bake any more things for the next three months, I might strangle or hit the person who suggested it with Hiraikotsu."
"Same here," Kagome agreed. "I wouldn't use Hiraikotsu, of course. I'm sure Kirara would help me, as I can't lift that heavy weapon of yours."
Sango joined in with her laughing. "Want to give that lifting another go?"
"Nah, I'm exhausted after all that baking. Hey, do you guys mind if I go grocery shopping?" Kagome added as Rin walked in. "I have no food in my house because I've had a hungry kitsune and, for some reason, a hungry hanyou at my house all week. I'll just get some food, put it away, and then come back." She pleaded when she saw the stern look on Sango's face.
"I don't know, Kagome," Rin shifted her weight nervously. "The guys specifically told us to stay here…"
Kagome waved them off with her hand. "It won't take more than two hours. I've gone grocery shopping before, I'm not helpless. Besides. Sango, you should know better than anyone that I can purify a demon in two seconds flat if I have some sort of weapon with me. Do you still have those fans?"
Sango sighed and nodded. "Fine. Let me go grab them. But you have to promise to be careful and come back as soon as possible," she added, starting towards the front closet to collect the fans that she allowed her friend to use on special occasions. "Inuyasha will kill me if you don't return in less than two hours. Shouldn't they be back soon?"
"If they come, tell Inuyasha the truth. I went grocery shopping and he should check my house, and if I'm not there to wait for me there," Kagome said with a reassuring nod.
"Got it," Sango replied, tossing the fans to her friend. "Remember," she called as Kagome slipped out the door, pulling out her keys as she did so. "Careful!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Kagome waved it off with a hand.
She was soon on her way to the grocery store, singing along to the radio as she did so. She glanced at the review mirror every few seconds, hoping that maybe she would see someone she knew and get to stop to say hi for no exact reason.
When she finally reached the store, she slipped out of her Pathfinder and headed inside. She grabbed a shopping cart, then started down aisle after aisle, gathering the stuff she needed. Then she began to notice something.
There was a youkai woman watching her. Every time she changed aisles, the woman was there. She narrowed her eyes, reaching for her fan in case she needed it. Kagome had learned long ago how to push her powers through the fans. Screw the damn store if it was in the way, Inuyasha would kill Sango if Kagome died.
After she had finished shopping, Kagome was relieved to see the woman gone. She replaced the fan in her pocket, then paid for her food. She sighed as she pushed the cart out of the store and towards her car, clicking the unlock button…there she was again! Kagome quickly flicked the fan open and, pushing her powers through the fan, did a quick movement, sending a slice of pink energy at the woman. She vanished before it hit her, but Kagome hoped she had gotten the message. She started placing stuff in her car, then climbed in and turned on the engine.
She was driving down the larger street with trees on each side of the road when it happened.
She yawned, thinking of her bed, and sped up slightly.
The woman was in front of the car.
"HOLY –" Kagome screamed, swerving the car at full speed…right into a tree.
The airbag puffed up to keep her from slamming her head into the wheel as the front of the car crumpled against the tree. The trunk somehow popped open and her food went flying. Kagome felt a sharp jab to her side. Everything was silent.
_-_OO_-_
Inuyasha and Miroku and Sesshomaru got home fairly quickly, and Inuyasha relaxed when he saw that everything was as they had left it. "Yo! Sango! Kagome! Rin!" he yelled as they just walked in through the front door.
He heard Sango groan. "How did it go?"
Inuyasha shot her a suspicious look as Miroku replied, "No good. He turned out to be a puppet."
Inuyasha shook his head and tried to peer around Sango as Rin appeared and smiled at Sesshomaru. "Where's Kagome?"
"She decided to go grocery shopping because apparently a certain half-demon was eating her out of house and home!" Rin replied, shooting Inuyasha a look. "She said that you should just go wait at her house for her if she wasn't back by the time you came back."
"On it!" Inuyasha replied, turning and walking out the door again. He clambered into his car and was soon driving down the road, his window open and silver hair flying. He passed what seemed to be a car crumpled against a tree, but shrugged and ignored it…then slammed his foot on the break. "DAMN IT!" he spat, shooting out of the car as fast as he could. Kagome! That's Kagome's car! Damn it, damn it, damn it! "Kagome!" he snarled, skidding to a halt and sniffing frantically. There was her scent…
And there was blood.
"Damn it! Kagome!" He practically whimpered her name, struggling to tear through the metal and get her out. "Damn it!" He cursed again when it wasn't working. He almost broke the phone as he jerked it open and speed dialed Miroku's number. "MIROKU GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND HELP ME!" He snarled into the phone, voice echoing on the other end. He was shaking from fury and a hint of fear. "Bring everyone except Rin and Shippo!" he added. "I…I'm on Kagome's street…" He snarled and slammed the phone shut before trying to tear the car apart again.
_-_OO_-_
Miroku also slammed his phone shut on the other hand, shooting into the kitchen as fast as he could. "Get in the damn car!" He yelped, grabbing the keys and shooting out the door. "Rin, Shippo, he said stay here! Sango, Sesshomaru! Get your asses out here and let's go! Something's happened and Inuyasha's about ready to kill."
_-_OO_-_
"Please be okay, Kagome..."
A/N: Thoughts? I know there's a bunch of deaths and such XD but its all part of my plan :D And I've finally figured it out. Why I'm so into hurting Kags! The reason: I believe I am jealous that she gets Inu XD
