Chapter 25. Realization

Last Time

"NOOOOO!" Kagome screamed as her brother disappeared with Naraku. She continued to scream as she heard Naraku's echoing laugh. She suddenly felt herself being shaken but found she didn't want to wake up and just sat in the darkness until she was forced to wake up.

Now

"Kagome wake up!" Kurama said shaking her. They were all asleep but Kurama woke up and saw her struggling in her sleep and he could smell her fear. She whimpered a little and began muttering, "No! Souta!" She had tears falling heavily down her cheeks.

"Kagome, please." He muttered shaking her a bit harder when she seemed to just ignore him. He gasped when she suddenly sat up and her head connected with his.

"Ow." They both said and rubbed their heads. "Sorry!" They both cracked a small smile.

"Are you okay?" Kurama asked her as she stared at the wall. She shook her head.

"I'm fine just a nightmare. But that's to be expected huh?"

"I believe it would after all the traumas you've been through." She looked at him with a calm face but you could see pain in the depths of her eyes, a knowledge that comes with knowing death. Literally.

"It's hard for me to finally know you're Yoko." She said softly. "After all this time I thought you were dead. You don't sound a thing like him though."

"Yeah well that comes with being with Suichi such a long time." Yoko sweat dropped a little as she just looked confused.

"So you really are Yoko? You took refuge in a human body in my time. Why?"

"Because I knew you would live. You're too stubborn to die." He said as she gave him a stern look. He just grinned. "It's true. Otherwise you'd be dead at least." He seemed to be thinking and counting. "25 times. Not including your last life." He concluded.

"Yup, that's Yoko. Arrogant as always."

"Hey I'm not being arrogant!" Kagome stared at him and gave him a sad smile.

"Now you are."

"You set that up."

"Uh huh." She nodded and gave him a look that said, 'So?' He sighed.

"Anyway what was your nightmare about?" He asked seriously.

"Nothing. Just a nightmare." She murmured and avoided his eyes and her aura said that she wasn't going to talk about it anytime soon. She suddenly looked up.

"Naraku." She got up and ran towards the entrance of the temple closely followed by Kurama and Hiei met them there with Genkai. Yusuke and Kuwabara went home earlier.

"Kagome. I see you're still alive. How did you like my present?" He asked smirking seeing her flinch and her anger rise. She shifted to her demon form. Her ears and tail twitched as she flexed her claws.

"Damn you!" She hissed out vehemently showing her fangs. "I'll kill you! " She moved too quickly for Kurama and even Hiei to catch her. She pulled out a rose and transformed it into her rose whip. "DIE!" She was suddenly struck in the back and she fell to the ground. She saw a boy holding the scythe-like weapon. The boy was dressed in a type of slayers outfit and had a mask covering his face. He was a kitsune kit. She turned back into her miko form and winced as she used her miko powers to try and heal herself.

"Who are you?!" She yelled at the boy. "Snap out of it! Break out of Naraku's control." She was physically shaking the boy. He had attempted to cut her again with his weapon but she apprehended it before it could hit her. "Remember who you are if you want to live!" He's under control of a Shikon Jewel Shard. She thought as she saw a familiar glow in the boy's back.

"Damn you!" She hissed with her back to Hiei and Kurama completely ignoring them. "He's just a child and you're controlling him with a Jewel Shard from the Shikon Jewel that you had stolen from me?" She shook her head. "I will free him from you." She stopped as Naraku started laughing.

"Are you sure you want to do that after all I'm the only reason he's here." Naraku said.

"What?" Kagome demanded confused.

"Remove you're mask." Kagome turned around to look at the boy who was untying his mask. She gasped and stepped forward reaching for the blank eyed boy in front of her.

"Souta…" She looked lost and confused even in his kitsune form she could recognize him. She took a step forward. "But you were dead…"

"I brought him back." Naraku said clearly enjoying her pain. Kurama stepped forward to get Kagome but Genkai and Hiei stopped him their expressions said to watch what would happen.

"Souta it's me. Kagome." She said softly, begging him, holding out her hand. "Snap out of his control please." The boy just stared at her with blank brown eyes. She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug that he wasn't able to escape but he struggled against her. "Please don't leave me again. Come back. I've been fighting him for so long. Don't work with him please fight against his control. Remember what everyone says? 'Stubbornness must run in the family'? C'mon show me that you're more stubborn than me like you always do. Remember me! Remember what he's done to our family. He murdered you Souta!" She shook him a little. "He's going to kill you again Souta! Please REMEMBER!" She began pouring energy into the boy to help him fight the control of the tainted jewel shard. "Please come back to me…don't leave me too."

"Kagome…?" He said weakly and hugged her back.

"Yes, Souta it's me!"

"I'm so sorry." His voice grew weaker.

"Don't be! Please stay with me! I'll protect you from him this time. I wasn't there last time but I am now. Please don't leave with him. Stay with me and I'll protect you."

"Such a shame." Naraku said with a laugh as Kagome gasped suddenly and was flung into Hiei as Souta jumped out of her grasp. She held her stomach tightly.

"Kagome!" Kurama yelled as she groaned in pain and stared wide eyed at her little brother.

"I'll be seeing you Kagome." Naraku laughed as his miasma engulfed him and Souta.

"SOUTA!" She screamed and tried to get up to jump after them but was held down by Hiei. Genkai began throwing balls of energy and Kurama tried throwing rose petals sharp as blades at them but they only wilted and died before they penetrated the miasma.

"LET ME GO!" She shrieked as she struggled. Then they could smell a lot of her blood.

"No. You're wounded." Kurama said. "Let me take a look at it." She only continued to struggle so Hiei mentally overwhelmed her and she blacked out.

"This girl has a nag for getting stabbed." Genkai muttered and led them inside so they could inspect her wounds.

"Damn." Kurama muttered as they lifted her shirt. She had been stabbed in the same spot Kurama had earlier and was poisoned.

"He had a hidden knife because no claws did this." Yukina came in with a pail of water and a cloth.

Kagome winced as Yukina began cleaning out her wound, but remained unconscious.

The next morning

"No offense but how many times can a person get stabbed within a week?" Yusuke asked.

"She got it enough times to last her the next month." Genkai replied.

"So her brother did this to her. But isn't the little twerp dead? What happened did he decide to work for Naraku instead of die?" Kuwabara asked but at that moment Kagome chose to wake up. She had him trapped and hanging from the ceiling with her miko energy in less then a second.

"He would never do that!" She hissed and her eyes held a faint red glow. "And no one can call him twerp except me." She let him drop to the ground with a faint thud knocking him unconscious and she struggled to get up.

"Now isn't this familiar. Didn't we already go through this?" Yusuke asked sarcastically and stepped in front of the entrance. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Get the hell out of my way." She snapped and winced grabbing her stomach. Yusuke and Kurama took this chance to drag her back to her mat.

"How many times do I have to tell you you aren't leaving?" Yusuke asked.

"Not enough times apparently." Genkai said as she tried to get up again. Kurama sighed.

"Sorry Kagome but this is for your own good." Kurama muttered and she was tied to the floor with vines. She cried out in indignation.

"Argh. Idiot I also have control over plants, remember?"

"I asked Genkai to temporarily bind your demonic powers until you're well." There was a dangerous pause.

"WHAT!?" She shrieked.

"You heard him. I also took the liberty of binding your miko powers as well just now." Genkai said and a blue light engulfed Kagome and she seemed to get even more upset.

"Let. Me. Go. Now." She said separately so you could hear the venom in each word.

"No." Yusuke said simply walking over the unconscious Kuwabara who snored and muttered something about kittens. "I keep tellin' you you ain't leavin'. So why don't you listen for once?"

"Because the last time I listened to you fools and stayed here my family got slaughtered. And now Souta is a Kohaku junior." She spat and looked at all of them furiously, her eyes sparking red.

At the Spirit World

"I'm really glad we bound her powers now." Yusuke muttered running a hand through his hair. "She's really scary you know that? How did you put up with it?" He added to Kurama.

"I got used to it. She always had a nasty temper, but as quick as it would come it would leave just as fast. But her grief and pain is making her lash out at everyone but we're not getting the worst of it." Kurama muttered.

"What?" Kuwabara asked. "Who is getting the worst of it then, Naraku?"

"Well he will, I'm sure of that. But the person who's getting the worst of it is Kagome herself. She is a little beyond angry at me and I'm just glad she couldn't give me a sacred necklace." Kurama replied.

"What's that?" Yusuke asked.

"You don't wanna know." A gruff voice echoed and you could hear a couple of chuckles.

"Who are you?" Yusuke asked the former Shikon Jewel shard collectors.

"We're Kagome's other friends." Inuyasha said glaring at Kurama. "Ya stupid fox. How did you live?" He asked after sniffing.

"I came to Kagome's time in a human body. How are you guys alive?"

"Koenma figured you guys needed help and we were the ones to do it." Kuronue said as he walked up behind them. "Long time no see eh?"

"Kuronue!" Kurama went up to Kuronue and began talking about…well stuff.

"Am I missing something?" Kuwabara asked and Yusuke just looked confused and Hiei just did his famous 'hn'.

"What is a sacred necklace anyway?" Kuwabara asked. Inuyasha just snorted and ignored him.

"Where's Kagome?" He asked.

"We had to temporarily restrain her until she gets control over herself." Kurama said.

"She's under his control?" Miroku asked stepping forward.

"No. She's just in a deep shock that she can't accept."

"What happened?" Sango asked seriously. Anyone who messed with her little sister they messed with her.

All the detectives looked away and Hiei just glared at the ground. He and Kurama realized she was a demon exterminator. Even though she's dead she could still kill them because right now she was there and ready to kill anything. Finally Kurama looked at them evenly.

"She just lost her entire family."

"No!" Sango gasped horrified.

"What!?" Miroku and Inuyasha gasped.

"That's not all…" Kurama trailed off.

"What? What else happened?" Sango demanded while Kuronue held Shippo who was crying.

"She...her brother, Souta. He's…" He just looked away and swallowed slightly from the glares he was receiving.

"He's what?"

"Well…remember Kohaku?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course, he's my brother. Why?"

"Well…now it's Souta's turn." Kurama muttered.

"No…" The others just gasped.

"NO! Kagome didn't deserve any of this. She's too innocent! She's witnessed too much already! She shouldn't have to be put through this as well!" Sango sobbed and Miroku held her tightly.

"Where's that toddler Koenma? I'm gonna shake him 'til he turns blue. How dare he allow this to happen to her!" Inuyasha yelled and began storming to Koenma's office.

"KOENMA!"

"Wha-?" The ruler of spirit world was cut off as Inuyasha grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up.

"How dare you allow this to happen to her!"

"Inuyasha calm down! He has no control over what happens like this." Miroku panted restraining him along with Sango and Kuronue. Shippo just watched and sat on Kurama's shoulder silently agreeing with Inuyasha.

"We all know that no one can control Naraku anyway. He would've done it sooner or later." Kuronue said as they finally got Inuyasha under control. "It was better that she find them then have her go through what she went through with us!"

"What?" Inuyasha and Shippo asked.

"Kuronue's right. Would you rather she witness their deaths helplessly or would you rather she find them? Even though I personally would rather she'd not go through this ordeal at all, we all know Naraku would've done it anyway." Sango said angrily. She had tears of anger and pain in her eyes. Kagome, I swear he will not get away with this. You were there for me when this happened to me and you always stayed by me. But how can I help you now? No one except me really understands the pain you're going through. I'm sorry. NARAKU WILL PAY WITH HIS LIFE FOR ALL THOSE HE SO RUTHLESSLY MURDERED!

Please Review!

How do you guys like where it's going? I'm sorry if this story seems to take a while to update I'm writing it on a different computer now and I don't have the Internet on this computer. Sniffle 

Sarcastically Plus I was just blessed with the wonderful news that my parents are divorcing. I swear this is just to complete my year and make it the best year of my life! I'm starting to think someone up there doesn't like me. So far this isn't my year and I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. We just finished with finals and I studied my guts out so I hope I did well. I've been under a lot of stress lately so I'm sorry if I take a while to update. I'm updating every chance I get.