Hello my friends! Did you miss me? Oh wait a second okay…..Inuyasha attack! SANKON-TETSOU! Heh, got another one! Oh sorry my friends, were having some problems with the computer (bugs) but, Inuyasha is helping me out with them. Good Koinu!

New friend alert! Kenuyasha bows in gratitude. Thank you all for my birthday wishes, it brings a tear to my eye.

LightandDarkness4ever (sweet name my friend)

Zelix

Lunar Girl( Bows three times)

Stephanie B.

Stobot (That is interesting about the 'Hai' and 'un', I will have to remember that)

InuyashaForEver (Arigato my faithful friend, nice to hear from you again)

And Johnmenefee( Arigato!)

And without further interruptions, back to the show (which I know is not mine. Damn!) Inuyasha did come by and give me some flowers.

Chapter 12 : Questions Answered

Inuyasha was carrying his Kagome down the staircase while she laid her head on his chest, at the same time blushing of the thought of being that close to him. Before they reached the end of the stairs Kagome stopped him by saying "Inuyasha can you wait a second?" Whispering so that only he could hear her.

"Why are you whispering Kagome?" the hanyou asked confused.

"Well, I know this may sound a little silly, but…." her face turned a deeper shade of red as she continued "Is it possible to get one more kiss from you? It will probably be awhile till we have time alone again and…"

Before she said anything else, Inuyasha took the hand that was behind her head and pushed her face toward his lips. Taking in her sweet taste once more. Kagome in return placed her hand on his tender face and took in the kiss, loving every second of it. He pulled away from the kiss and tenderly said to her "You don't ever have to ask, just go ahead….I can never get enough of your kisses anyway. Oh by the way that is our third kiss…."He said giggling under his breath.

"Nani?" Kagome placed a hand on her mouth "You are counting how many times we actually kiss….you are too kawaii Inuyasha!" she giggled back while giving him an Eskimo kiss on the nose.

"Come on you, lets get down stairs before the others come up here and start worrying about us." Inuyasha said. Kagome nodded in response with a big smile on her face as the two continued their climb down the stairs. She thought to herself 'I wonder how he will act around the others, will he still be gentle or act like a bad ass. I guess I will find out.'

The group saw Inuyasha carrying Kagome, all very happy to see her after her terrible ordeal the other day. Before the hanyou had a chance to put her down somewhere, they all came running up to the both of them giving them a hug, practically knocking them on the ground. Sango was the first to jump up to them and said "Kagome-chan! I was so worried about you! How are you doing?"

At the same time Shippo came jumping up to Kagome's arms and asked "Yeah, Kagome are you feeling better? I missed you!"

Miroku was on the other side of the huddled bodies and said "Kagome-sama! Thank Buddha that you are alright."

Kagome surprisingly jumped in Inuyasha's arms and felt a familiar touch on her rear. She looked over at Miroku with a cold stare.

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome wondering why she jumped up like that and saw the immediate problem. He glanced over to Miroku's direction and sent thunderbolts out of his eyes. "Monk!" Inuyasha growled "Step away from Kagome before you get hurt!"

Miroku stopped rubbing Kagome's buttocks and placed his hand behind his head "Ah, I was making sure that she was okay, that's all." while a sweat drop came down from his forehead.

"You are lucky that I am holding Kagome, otherwise you'd be dead by now LETCH!" Inuyasha said with an angry expression.

Shippo shook his head and replied "Guess Miroku will never learn either."

Sango put a fist to Miroku's face and said "Houshi-sama! What do you think you are doing? Have some restraint for a change!"

"Gomenasai it'll never happen again, I promise." as Miroku blushed back.

Mrs. Higurashi and Souta looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. They thought it would be best not to say anything until the group calmed down. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and asked "Inuyasha can you place me on the couch please? I need to talk to everyone." Inuyasha nodded in response and gently sat her down on one of the cushions of the couch. Kagome's mother and brother walked over to her to give her a big hug.

Souta asked "How are you feeling nee-chan?"

"Much better, arigato Souta. But you should thank Inuyasha. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be up and about." as she smiled at her younger brother. Souta looked up at his hanyou brother and bowed as to say 'thank you' in respect. As he came back up, Souta gave out a small smirk, Inuyasha did the same, for they both knew that Souta's plan had worked. Mrs. Higurashi bent down and kissed Kagome on the forehead "I'm glad you're feeling better Kagome, arigato Inuyasha." she bowed to the half demon to give her respect, as he did the same.

Kagome insisted that everyone get comfortable so that she may tell her story. Inuyasha sat on the floor in front of Kagome crossing both his arms and legs. He leaned his back to the couch and separated her feet so that he could get as close as he could to her, as to not arouse any suspicions of his true feelings toward Kagome. Kagome looked down at him and smiled softly, she thought 'Well at least he's trying.' Sango sat right next to Kagome, placing a arm around her, while Miroku sat next to Sango. He kept his hands to himself trying to uphold his promise of not groping anyone. Shippo sat on the arm of the couch right next to Kagome and said "I will sit right here Kagome." as the kitsune got comfortable.

Mrs. Higurashi sat on the recliner and motioned Souta to come and sit with her. Souta proceeded to join his mother as everyone waited patiently. She looked across the way from her and thought 'You know, I didn't notice it earlier but they all look like a family sitting there like that. This would make a great picture.'

"I know everyone has a lot of questions to ask, who wants to go first?" as Kagome looked around at everyone in the living room. Miroku was the first to say "I will Kagome-sama…." She nodded and asked him to continue.

"How did you know that we were in danger that day when we saw you at the Goshinboku?" Miroku asked.

Kagome took a deep breath and explained "Well, when I was studying for my exams, I was having these strange nightmares. I had one and thought nothing of it, but I had the same one again and again. Kind of like a 'premonition' of things to come…."

Miroku nodded in response and said "I have heard about this sort of thing before, please continue…"

"This dream I had…..it seemed too real. I could smell and feel everything around me. I could actually feel the wind, the smell of the flowers and see the brightness of the moon. But then, I saw this purple smog consuming every living creature around me, I could even feel their pain. I saw everyone and everything perish in front of my eyes….and…..all of you as well."

Everyone looked at Kagome in fear, except for Inuyasha, he was looking down at the floor gritting his teeth. Kagome continued "I knew something was wrong when I had that dream again, so that's when I decided to go and check on all of you."

Shippo with concern on his face asked "What about all the people we know back in our time Kagome? What happened to them?"

Kagome looked back at the kitsune and said with a remorseful expression "Oh Shippo……I really don't know for sure…." A tear came down from her eye "I…I hope they are okay. Kaede, the villagers, Kouga, Ayame….." At that instant she felt a hand on her foot. Inuyasha could smell her tears as he grasped her foot, he wanted to let her know that he was concerned as well, but still did not look up at her. She felt a little better knowing that he actually responded to her pain.

"I have a question…" Inuyasha said "Whatever happened to the shikon shards you brought back with you?"

Kagome looked down at the hanyou and replied "To tell you the truth, I really don't know. It's as if they disappeared."

Inuyasha turned around from where he was sitting, now facing Kagome, looking up into her eyes. She looked into his eyes as well, she saw tenderness and sincerity. "So how did you channel me with through the Goshinboku, especially without the shards?" he asked.

"Well…" now looking away from the silver haired hanyou "you'll probably think that I am crazy….."

Sango rubbed Kagome's back replying "Kagome we all know that you are not crazy…." reassuring her to continue her story.

"That's right. We have no reason to think that…." Inuyasha replied while giving Kagome a small smile of reassurance.

Kagome smiled back at Inuyasha and said "Okay, I'll try my best not to disappoint you…." as she continued her tale. "Do you remember the first time I channeled you through the Goshinboku….that time when I shot you with my miko arrow?" cringing at the very thought that went through her mind.

Inuyasha nodded and said "But don't forget, that was an accident…." still looking into her eyes.

Kagome continued and said with remorse "Well ever since that day, I have been improving my 'spiritual' power to become stronger. It seems that the tree and I have a strong connection, not just because I am a reincarnation of a miko, it's something else. I really can't describe it, the only thing I can say is that it feels like that the Goshinbiku and I are 'one'. I wanted to get stronger, not just for myself but…." She hesitated, looking away from Inuyasha.

Kagome thought to herself 'What will he think of me? Should I even tell him?' as she bit her lip.

Inuyasha sat up on his knees and gently grabbed Kagome's hand into his. His amber eyes looking into hers and asked "But what Kagome?"

Everyone directed their attention to Inuyasha as he kneeled in front of Kagome, giving her strength to go on. What happened to Inuyasha's bad ass reputation? Has he really changed that much ever since he crossed into Kagome's time?

Kagome looked back into Inuyasha'a handsome eyes and saw his gentleness in his smile. She smiled back and said "I wanted to become stronger so that I could fight along side of Inuyasha, I thought that if I could surpass Kikyo in strength and spirituality that…….that you would notice it and accept me."

Inuyasha saw a another tear come down her cheek and couldn't help but grab Kagome to embrace her. He replied while stroking her hair "Oh Kagome, why couldn't you tell us sooner about your new abilities?"

She trembled in his arms and said "Because of Naraku….I was afraid that if I told anyone, that he would catch wind of it and take advantage of the situation…."

The group was still under the spell of the two bodies holding each other, all except for Miroku. He was definatly in agreement with Kagome about Naraku. He placed a hand on his face thinking about the matter and replied "Yes, who knows what Naraku would do if he found out…"

Inuyasha let go of the embrace while still looking at Kagome. He softly placed a clawed finger under her eyes to wipe some of the tears away, he sweetly said to her "You never had to prove yourself to me. You have been strong ever since I've known you. When you are near, you give me inner strength. Kikyo NEVER gave me that kind of feeling, that kind of strength….." He smiled at her and continued. "You make me calm and at ease, and I look at everything at a totally different retrospect. So don't go thinking that you have to change yourself, I care about you, the way you are…..and…." he leaned down to her ear and whispered "Ai shiteru…..I love you for who you are."

Kagome let out a big smile and grabbed Inuyasha to give him a big hug. "Arigato Inuyasha! I needed to hear that, especially from you." He hugged her back and lightly kissed Kagome on the forehead.

The two didn't realize they had an audience until Inuyasha looked up at everyone. He sensed their stares as his face turned tomato red "Hey!" he exclaimed "What's the matter? Why are you looking at us like that?"

Miroku spoke out by saying "Inuyasha! We caught you in the act this time, stop trying to deny it!"

Inuyasha glared back at the houshi and scolded "Oh whatever! Can't I comfort Kagome without you gawking at us, even for a moment? Geez…I feel real sorry for Sango, how can she put up with such a letch?"

Sango jumped up at the comment with a giant blush on her face and asked "Nani? Why are you including me in this conversation?"

"Because …." Inuyasha continued "That monk always has his filthy hands all over you. Doesn't that mean anything to you Sango?

Both Sango and Miroku quickly looked at each other with flushed faces. Miroku commented "Haven't I been a good boy lately? Come on give me some credit!" while hiding his hands behind his head.

Souta and his mother looked at each other as Mrs. Higurashi said "Well Souta, shall we go make dinner now?" Souta nodded to his mother and replied "Hai, mama. I think we'd better before we get included in the conversations."

The two got up off the chair and slowly headed to the kitchen. The rest of the group still having their arguments were oblivious to the others walking by them. Maybe it was a good thing?

End of Chapter 12. Oh yes more to come….hang in there!

My little Japanese glossary:

Hanyou : half-human half-demon

Hai: yes or acknowledgement

Nani : What

Ai shiteru : I love you

Miko : loosely translated as a priestess but in actuality : A virgin girl residing in a Shinto shrine

Goshinboku : The sacred tree/ time tree

Shikon shard : The shikon no tama/ the jewel of four souls

Kitsune (shippo) fox demon

Gomenasai I am sorry

Kawaii: cute

Nee-chan: sister

Sankontetsou : claws of exorcism