Hi... It hasn't been an entire month since my last update, right? Paaahhhh. =.=. So tired. I stayed home from school today because I felt sick, and my dad said I felt warm, so yea. I think I may have caught something from my friend Brittnay - she was sick on Friday and... yea. =.=. Warning, this chap is a little religious (not really...) talks a slight bit about rape (doesn't go into detail) and yea... You should all recognize immediately who it is later. ^^. This chap is 1,749 words according to FF w/o AUs, somebody do disclaimer and I go sleep. =.=. Oh, and like I said last chap, this chappie for my friend Forest cause she told off a reviewer who was kind of being an ass.*lays down and goes to sleep*

Kagome: O.o'. I'll do it... DISCLAIMER: Cassie does not own any of Inuyasha, just this plot and the OC's.

In the Present Forever

Chapter Fourteen

Kagome woke up the next morning with another killer headache, and immediately took some Tylenol again. She walked into the living room and sat in the chair, curling up into a fetal position. She heard a knock on the door and she got up, opening it to find Kouga and the others. She smiled weakly. He hadn't been kidding; Ginta and Hakkaku looked ready to go find most anyone. It looked like they even had something of Ayame's to go off of. Shippou pushed his way to the front and half-glomped, half-hugged her. "Kagome, are you okay?" he asked as he let go.

Kagome felt like she was being crushed as Shippou hugged her, and sighed in relief as he let go. "I'm fine, Shippou," she told him, smiling wider. They were really worried about her… "Come on, I just woke up a few minutes ago, you guys have good timing…." She shot Kouga an appreciative look, remembering how he happened to come right as Daniel had probably been about to tear out another chunk of her flesh and blocked his attack.

Kouga smiled back – he knew what she meant – and followed her in, already going over the plan he'd thought of the night before. As they all sat down, Kouga crossed his legs and started talking. "So. We need a plan, Kagome. I've already got an idea of what we should do."

Kagome sighed. "I know we need a plan… but what can we do?" she asked him.

Shippou frowned. "Wait, what do you mean by 'we need a plan'? A plan for what?"

Kagome blinked owlishly, then glared over at Kouga. "So you dragged the three of them here and didn't even tell them what was going ON, Kouga?" she asked furiously.

Kouga sweatdropped nervously. "I, uh… might've forgotten… to mention it…" he said, looking at the other three shiftily. Ginta and Hakkaku, as usual, just looked completely lost, just like Shippou did at the moment.

"Kouga! Urgh, I can't believe this… I thought you would have told them!"

"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking of that, I was busy trying to make a plan to save them!"

"Woah woah woah. Ok, first, would SOMEBODY mind telling me what's going on, and what's this about saving people?" Shippou interrupted.

Kouga took the liberty of filling the others in on the situation while Kagome, again, curled herself up into a ball.

Shippou clenched his fists. "I'll bet it was the same asshole that kidnapped Kagome!" he growled.

Kouga nodded. "I'll bet he had help, though. I doubt that he would have been able to get here without Kagome recognizing his demon aura unless someone was covering it up for him."

Kagome sighed. "Just spill your plan, already, Kouga."

Kouga glanced at her with some concern, but did as he was told. "I figure that we should be sneaky getting there this time," he explained, telling them his plan. They argued at some points and had to make changes, but they eventually all agreed.

Kouga stood up and dusted imaginary dust off of his pants. "So, we'll carry out the plan tonight… we should all go get some rest. It's already noon….Everybody meet outside the café by ten tonight. Be ready, don't be late, and don't screw up the plan," he ordered. The others nodded, and everyone but Kagome proceeded to leave, slowly, promising to her that she would get her family back, safe and unharmed.

Kagome was the first one at the café – she was tense, and she was leaning against a wall as she waited for the others since she was a good twenty minutes early. She was carrying a large bag that had her bow and arrows – she didn't want to be seen walking around with them right now, it would be too suspicious and she could possibly get arrested for having weapons. It didn't take long for Shippou to arrive, then Kouga trailed by Ginta and Hakkaku.

As Kouga stepped up to the waiting Shippou and Kagome, he cleared his throat. "Kagome, Shippou… good, you're both here already. Come on, let's go someplace less public." Kagome frowned in confusion. "Kouga… I have to get going to the place now. We all know how long it'll take to get there," she said.

Kouga nodded. ""We'll talk on the way, and then we'll carry out the plan."

It wasn't long until they had reviewed the plan and were already headed to the church. After they were only a few blocks away, Kagome went off on her own to the church, in case the kidnapper would be watching out some window to make sure there was no one there with her. She was about a half hour early, and as she neared the street that the church was on, she stopped cold as she heard a familiar old woman's voice.

"Hm? Oh, my, I don't recognize you from around here, although you do make me think of someone I know, child." Kagome turned around to see the old woman and her eyes widened at the kind obaa-san.

The old woman blinked, then gave a wan smile. "Yes… I'm afraid I lost my eye in an accident, so I wear a patch."

Kagome realized she had been staring and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry… it's just that you look very much like… like someone I used to know. The eye patch really startled me when I saw it, I automatically thought of her."

The old woman smiled. "It is all right child. I am Kotoko. Who are you, and where are you going, if I may ask?"

Kagome smiled. She felt like she could trust this woman.

"I'm Kagome. I'm heading to the old church on the next street over."

Kotoko's eye opened widely and she gasped. "No, child! You cannot go in there! That place is cursed, I tell you, you would do best to stay away from it! It is no longer holy ground, not since what happened there…."

Kagome frowned. "I'm sorry, but… what happened?" she asked. She knew she had some time, by glancing at her watch. 11: 37 it read. She had plenty of time to hear the story.

Kotoko sighed. "I suppose one as young as you would not know…. After all, ever since the place was shut down they were determined to keep it a secret as to why. Come in, and I will tell you. The feeling out here is too ominous for me… I can feel trouble brewing in the air… the wind has stopped, after all, even in such a windy season here." She walked into a house right nearby, and Kagome followed her in cautiously. With Kotoko's warning about trouble… she shuddered and shook it off. No need to worry herself.

Kotoko had Kagome sit down in the living room and began to speak again. "That church… it truly once was holy ground, a place of worship for those of the Christian and Catholic faiths. The priest at the time of the accident was a good, kind-hearted man, but his spiritual power was low…. He discovered a demon, immune to any holy thing that could be pitted against it except for a strong sacred arrow, taking residence there, and yet that fool tried to banish it himself. His half eaten carcass was discovered a few days later, and the worshippers feared it was a sign that they were not faithful enough, from their God." Kotoko shook her head sadly and continued. "They found someone who took over as their priest, but he was not as kind-hearted as he led them to believe. He not only stole any money donated to the place, when he discovered the demon, he worshipped it, brought it sacrifices of local animals and such.

"And then one day, he was so bold as to kidnap a young girl, around your age she was, and give it to the demon. The girl wasn't eaten, like the first priest and the sacrificial animals. No, she had been raped over and over by the demon, and eventually died from the brute force and trauma. The demon had eventually left, after devouring the fake priest, so it was not caught and killed by someone with true holy power, but the church has long since been abandoned and is a festering place for the vile and evil-hearted, and especially demons. Many who go in have not come out, not alive at least." Kotoko finished and the glazed look in her eyes that had started left.

Kagome felt… horrible. She looked down, feeling sorry for the first priest and the girl, although hating the demon and fake priest. "So… you actually believe in demons?"

Kotoko nodded. "Of course. Before, I was like many others and hardly believed it, though I would swear I felt some evil presence like a demon's around some people. But after that incident… Oh yes, I believed. I knew from that moment, there was no human who could do that to another person."

Kagome stood up and gave Kotoko a small bow. "I'm sorry, Kotoko-san, but I have to go in there. I can't let the same thing happen to my family…."

Kotoko looked at Kagome with pity in her eyes. "All right, child. I hope, for your sake, that you know what you are doing. May good luck go with you, as well. Beware any falsehoods, child. That place is full of evil, malice, and depression. They will do anything to add another to their ranks of the miserable."

Kagome nodded, and looked at her watch again. 11:52 now. "Thank you for the warning, and letting me come in," she said, picking up her bag and walking towards the door.

Kotoko nodded. "Be careful, child," she murmured quietly as the door opened and shut again. "If anything intelligent is there… you will need all the luck you can still have. Your family is probably already doomed, even if nothing harms them. No one goes in that place and comes back out unchanged unless they are already evil… that is how they die. Their old personality dies and is replaced by a new corrupt one. Be careful, miko-child."

*wakes up* So how'd you like it? *yawn* Urgh, I'm feeling sick again. e_e. I felt fine around noon 'til two-3, when I finished this chap, but now mom's home, cooking, and my stomach is hurting again. e_e. Review, it makes me happy, and I took ages with this chap and thinking up that story so tell me what you think. And I'd appreciate getting at least five reviews this chap, cause I still feel like crap. Again, reviews make me happy.