Chapter?: Kagura can make you allllllllll better!

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Kagome stared at the finger pointing to her nose for a minute before understanding what Sango meant.
Slightly irritated, she batted her finger a way.

"What do you mean 'you tell me'!? Stop avoiding my questions!"

"Keep you voice down! Your going to wake up Kaede!"

Kagome lowered her voice slightly, "Why do you need my nose?"

"Because, I need to find someone, but I don't know where she is!"

"Who?!"

Sango turned her head to the sight, not wanting to meet Kagome's eyes, she knew how bizarre
this was going to sound, "Kagura."

"Kagura!?! Why in the world do you want to find her!?", yep, according to Kagome's voice, it
was in fact, just as bizarre as she had thought it would be.

Instead of answering her, Sango grabbed hold of Kagome's wrist and forcefully pulled her out the door,

"I'll tell you once we aren't in danger of *anyone* hearing us."

Kagome had been lead well past Inuyasha's post before deciding she was done obliging with
Sango's orders, if she was going to just up and leave, seemingly with out reason, the least Sango could do tell her *why*!

"And what makes you think that I can find Kagura anyway? I don't know what she smells like!"

Sango stopped dead in her tracks. She hadn't thought of that. Kagome had been human
in every encounter they had had with Kagura. She didn't know what she smelt like.

"Oh. Yeah. You .. don't. . do you?"

Kagome threw her hands up in the air, exasperated, "That's what I just said!"

Sango stood there a minute, looking genuinely distressed, that is, untill she noticed the
still untransformed cat youkai in her arms. She smiled.

"Oh well, Kirara can do it for me, but you *still* have to come, I'll need you for moral support."

Kagome didn't respond for a second, as she considered something, 'moral support' really
didn't sound like a word they would use in feudal Japan,

"Have you been reading my dictionary again?"

Sango ignored her question, as it really didn't matter anyway, and she wasn't quite sure what
she was talking about,

"Kirara?"

The little cat demon transformed into her larger form, apparently already knowing what Sango wanted her to do.

Sango hopped on, then noticed that Kagome was still standing on the ground, "Get on."

"Why?"

Sango sighed, "Kagome, would you stop being so stubborn? Your *not* Inuyasha! Now get on,
we are making too much noise here."

Kagome continued to stand her ground, "... why?"

"Ugh, Kagome! Fine, if I promise to tell you what's going one as soon as we are out of the village, will you get on?"

Kagome debated that for a moment, she really hadn't intended to stay here and let Sango go on her own,
she was only being stubborn in hopes that Sango would explain right then and there.
However, seeing as how Sango didn't seem to be backing down, she reluctantly boarded the cat demon.

Sango turned to look at Kagome graciously, "Thanks .. I really do appreciate this..", not giving Kagome time to respond,
she turned back around, "Kirara, head to the outskirts of the village."
The cat demon took off.

***

Kirara stopped, they had arrived at the edge of the village.
"Alright Kirara, I need you to take us to Kagura.", without hesitation, Kirara took off once again,
under Sango's order.

Having finally made it out of the village, Kagome was determined to make Sango keep her promise,

"Alright, what are you doing .. Or why are we trying to find Kagura?"

"We are trying to find Kagura because she is the only one that can help me.."

"Help you? *Kagura*? Are you feeling arlight?"

"Hey, she owes us one, remember, we did free her from Naraku .."

"Yeah, but how exactly can she help you?"

"Kagome …", Sango sighed, "Do you remember what Kaede said earlier?"

Kagome thought back to the conversation they had had with Kaede, tyring to find any thing she might have said to
upset Sango so much .. Well, other than the fact that she had told her her baby was dying. She
mused a little more before coming upon something that was sure to make Sango distressed.

"That you aren't strong enough?"

Sango nodded, "Right, and you understand what that means to me ..correct?"

Kagome knew what Sango meant, she knew what strength meant to Sango, and also what it might mean to have it
suddenly taken away, when before it hadn't been anything she had ever worried about.

Kagome attempted to comfort her, "Your still just as strong as you used to be Sango .."

Sango only shook her head, "Not strong *enough* though, I'm so weak that I can't even save my own child!"

"Sango…."

"What Kagome!? Is it not true?"

Kagome wasn't quite sure how to respond, she couldn't deny it, it was unfortunately true. "But…"

"But what?!"
"I'ts not your fault …"

"Not my fault that what Kagome?! That I couldn't have been *born* a demon? That I couldn't have stumbled into a well
and found myself the sole owner of a magical jewel that could make me into one?"

"W-What? What are you talking about?", Sango was really starting to disturb Kagome, she was acting so… strange.

Sango tried to cool down, she was overreacting and upsetting Kagome, " Sorry about the yelling, it's just that,
I'm kind of jealous of you…"

"Jealous of me? What do I have that you don't? Surely your not secretly in love with Inuyasha.."

Of course, Kagome knew that she did have other things Sango didn't, a mother, a brother, a grandfather... she at
least had a family, other than this strange one they had formed…

Sango chuckled a bit at that, no, she was most definitely not secretly pining over Inuyasha, "No Kagome.. It's not that.."

"Then what? .. Your family?"

Sango cringed a bit at that one, " No.. I have ... accepted that ...", she sighed again, "Do you remember that
conversation we had?"
" I don't know, could you be a little more vague?"

Sango smiled a little, she really could have been more specific, "Remember, right after you became.. a hanyou?"

"What ..what do you mean?"

"Well ..we were talking about how the past would be forgotten for the present, and how, a hundred years
from now, I wouldn't even be remembered. And how… I would die, and you would keep on living."

"Yes… I remember, but, I'm not quite sure I follow you.."

"Kagome, weeks ago, I was perfectly willing to die avenging my family, remember when I first met you and
Inuyasha? I was trying to kill him, because of Naraku's manipulation, and I knew that killing him would cost me my
own life, but it didn't matter, because that was fine with me. I would die with honor."

Kagome was beginning to understand, "please go on.."

Sango nodded and continued, "But, it's not like that now.. Now I have so much to live for! So much
has changed! Kagome.. As shameful as this is to admit it.. I'm afraid of dieing, I don't want to… and *you* don't
have to, you know why? Because you're a youkai."

Kagome was starting to take not of all the youkai references.

Sango paused a moment, letting that new information sink in with Kagome,
"Well, at least you won't have to for a *long* time. I've kept this realization far at the back of my mind
.. Ignored it, untill now. You know what brought it out in the open again? Tsuyu. That damn bird youkai, she
made me painfully aware of my own mortality.."

She took a breath of air, "Kagome, if I were a youkai, I would have been able to see Tsuyu. If I were a youkai,
my baby would heal itself. If I were a youkai, wouldn't have to worry about 'not being strong enough', I wouldn't
have to worry about death, aging, or anything else such as that…"

Okay, now it was getting damn near impossible for Kagome to ignore all the mentioning of youkai.

"Sango are you … do you want to … Your not thinking what I think your thinking .. Are you?"

"Well … only if you think I'm thinking that I'm a shameful jealous coward that fully intends to be a
youkai before the nights over."

Kagome, to say the least, was shocked. Sure, she had had some kind of an idea as to what she was getting at .. But
hearing her say it aloud was .. Strange. She knew she had to say something. Sango was obviously berating
herself for this decision, and it was her duty as her friend to reasure her, besides, she really didn't see anything
wrong with the idea, in fact, she was thrilled to learn that she wouldn't have to live through eternity with *only*
Inuyasha and Shippo.

"That's…Great!"

"Eh?", obviously, that hadn't been quite the reaction Sango was expecting, "Great?"

"Of course it's great! Why wouldn't I want to keep my best friend with me forever? This is
such a relief, now I don't have to worry about you getting old and dieing while I stay young and healthy!
Hey, you *do* plan to make Miroku into the same as well.. Right?"

Sango shuddered a little, "Um.. yes.. But I'm not exactly sure how he's going to take this…which is why I though I'd just .. Surprise him…"

"And what a surprise it will be…", Kagome noticed her friend was seriously concerned about this, "Don't worry Sango!
It's *Miroku*, give him a little action and he'll be happy as ever."

"Hentia."

"Oh, come on, you know I'm right."

"Well… maybe so .. But you still have a dirty mind.", Sango smiled, glad that she had brought Kagome along,
she really was good at this 'moral support' thing, "Thanks Kagome.."

"No problem, anyway, you have to tell me, where exactly does Kagura come in to play? And just how do you plan
to become a youkai?"

" Actualy, change a few words around in that sentence, and you've answered your own question; Kagura
is going to make me into youkai."

"Kagura? And just how would she do that? She's weaker than Inuyasha, and he can't even make people into youkai."

"And there is where your wrong. Kagura *was* weaker than Inuyasha. Key word, 'was',
she is now possibly strong as Naraku was."

"W-What?!"

"Listen Kagome, think of it this way, Naraku was incredibly powerful, he was not only skilled in
the art of combat, but he was also capable of controlling the golems he used, and many other different spells.
He was able to separate Onigumu from himself, create offspring from himself, which I don't even want to know
*how* he did, and many many other things, as well as things we don't even know about. He was an
extraordinarily powerful youkai. In fact, he was probably more skilled in spell craft than he was physically."

"Alright ..but what does that have to do with Kagura?"

"Okay, so Naraku was incredibly powerful. But then we, well , to be more specific, *you* killed him.
*He* died, but that doesn't mean his powers did. Such power couldn't just die Kagome, it couldn't just
vanish, it was too great, so it had to go somewhere. And not just anywhere mind you, it had to go to
someplace connected with Naraku. Since Naraku was far too strange to just be normal and find a mate and
have kids, the only things connected to him, were his 'offspring underlings'. Which, actually had a closer
bond to him than any true children would have, as his offspring were produced from himself."

Kagome was starting to get it now, "So, with Kanna dead, it had to go to Kagura? Right?"

"Right."

"So.. Kagura has all the power that Naraku did?!", this new found information was kind of unnerving.

"Not the physical power, only the spells and such."

"Then.. Why hasn't she attacked us?"

"There are a number of possibilities as to why she hasn't attacked us, maybe she is afraid that
Inuyasha might still be stronger than her, maybe she just doesn't want to, or more than likely,
she doesn't feel any need to, with Naraku gone, we are no longer her enemies."

"And what makes you think she can actually do this? Better yet, what makes you think she *will* do this?"

"I think she can do this because if Naraku was strong enough to *create* youkai, surely he can make a
human into one, and I think she will, simply because she owes us one."

"..oh.. Your not wanting to be a *full* youkai … Are you?"

"And risk losing my mind?! I think not. Hanyou is all I want, besides, if I were full youkai
, I'd outlive all of you, and have to go be friends with Seshoumaru."

Kagome giggled, "I'm sure that would be fun…"

Sango was about to make another joke regarding the fluffiest youkai
around, when Kirara stopped abruptly.

"Are we.. Here?" Sango looked around in the dim light for any sign of Kagura. Then, she spotted the wind youkai,
sitting on her feather, about five feet in the air, letting her legs dangle off the side.

"Well, well, well, I was wandering when you two would finally pay me a visit."

***********************

Shippo stirred in his sleep. He continued to move around uncomfortably before finally waking up.

The first thing he noticed was that it was still night time, and the second thing he noticed, was that Kagome was
missing. She wasn't in Inuyasha's lap, and he couldn't smell her.

"K-Kagome?" What if a big youkai came up and ate her?! Or she fell down and broke her neck? Or-or-or ..

...or maybe she just went down to go to the bathroom.

'I really do need to stop over reacting.'

'I'll just wait a while and see if she comes back .. And if she doesn't, well, I'll do something then."

So the little kitsune waited, and waited, and waited, untill he decided that if Kagome was taking that long
to go to the bathroom, she was having problems anyway.

So what should he do? Go look for her? By himself? Should he wake Inuyasha?

Normally, that wouldn't be one of the options he provided himself with, but, Inuyasha was now Kagome's mate,
and he was technically Inuyasha's pup. It was his duty to tell Inuyasha.

Tentatively, he poked Inuyasha's cheek, since it was the closest thing in reach.

"Inuyasha?"

Poke.
"Inuyasha?"

Poke.

"Inuyasha?"

Poke.

"Inu-"

And then something had grabbed his big fluffy tail and hung him upside down.

"Um.. Hi Inuyasha."

"What the hell were you doing!?"

"Um…notice anything missing?"

A second went buy. Two seconds. Three seconds..and..

"Kagome!"

"Yeah.. So you noticed? She's gone."

"Well, maybe she just went to the bathroom or something."

"Nope, I waited for a while to make sure that wasn't what she was doing."

"You waited! And gave her time to be taken farther and farther away!"

"Hey! I didn't want to wake you up for no reason!"

Inuyasha stopped a moment, considering whether or not he should fling Shippo into .. Something.
At last, he decided that Shippo had didn the right thing., so he sat him back down on his shoulder.

"Alright Shippo, hold on."

Barely giving Shippo any time to hold on to anything, Inuyasha lept out of the tree, right in front of Miroku.

Inuyasha licked miroku's leg. "Wake up monk."

Miroku grumbled something in his sleep, but didn't wake up.

Shippo jumped from Inuyasha's shoulder to Miroku's, and promptly screamed in his ear. "WAKE UP YOU BIG BAKA!"

Needless to say, that got the houshi up.

Miroku lept to his feet, "W-wha- eh?"

"Kagome's missing. Come on, we gotta go wake up Sango.

" grmm umm .. Eh?"

"Come on!"

Finally coming to his senses, Miroku followed Inuyasha and Shippo into the hut, only to find that,

Sango wasn't there either.

Actually, it appeared as though she had been turned into a scroll.

"Um, Sango isn't really a kitsune .. Is she?", Shippo kept staring at the scroll which was in the exact place
they had left Sango.

Inuyasha grabbed the scroll off the futon and urolled it, "Of course she's not you baka! This is a note!",
he tossed it to Miroku, "What's it say?"

Miroku read through the note addressed to him quickly.

"Damn it!"

Now Inuyasha was concerned, 'Damn it' wasn't exactly a reassuring reaction.

Shippo was back to over reacting, "Is it a ransom? A threat? A.."
Inuyasha silenced the kitsune by covering his mouth. "What is it Miroku."

"A note, from Sango and Kagome, but mostly from Sango."

"Well!? What's it say?!"

Miroku reread the note aloud, word for word, he wasn't really sure what to do, and he was
infinitely curious as to what Sango was talking about, she had asked him not to follow her,
but still … "What do we do Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha debated this in his head. His demon side was, for once, arguing with itself,
part of it was telling him that it was his duty to protect his mate, while the other was
telling him he needed to honor her wishes.

His human side, tried to be reasonable, Kagome could protect herself, he had seen what
she had done to Kikyou, and she had asked him not to follow her, and yet, he still needed
to protect her, he had promised to protect her long ago, and he couldn't just back out of it.
But… 'Ugh! I don't know what to do! Stupid, damn different sides to my personality!'

Inuyasha shrugged and sat Shipp down on the ground, "Alright Kit, unfortunately your
part of my family now, what'da'ya think we should do?"

Shippo was really surprised to have Inuyasha place such a decision
on his shoulders, hell, he was surprised that Inuyasha would place anything
on his shoulers other than a fist.

"M-me? You want *me* to decide?!"

"Yep, you.", mainly it was simply because Inuyasha just couldn't
decide what to do, and no matter what Shippo decided, he really couldn't
disagree with either one.

"Your letting *Shippo* decide?!"

Shippo looked at Miroku defensively, "Hey!"

"But! Your..*Shippo!"

Inuyasha smirked, "Really now? I hadn't noticed *that* before, wow Shippo!
You really *are* Shippo!", Inuyasha's expression turned back to being serious,

"So what'll it be kid?"

"Well .. You *are* supposed to protect her .. But maybe she'll be arlight now that she's a hanyou ...
And she *did* ask you to stay here.. and if she gets hurt ...I'll be able to smell *her* blood in the air from miles away
... I think we should stay..

Inuyasha nodded, "Alright then, we wait."
***Seshy Maru!***

Seshoumaru had long since taken the pig tails out of his hair, after running into two minor youkai
and finding them laughing at him hysterically, for seemingly no reason.

After appropriately killing them, he had realized what they were laughing at, and of course
taken the pig tails out of his hair, deciding that never again would he not allow Rin to talk .. Now
that he knew what repercussions that could bring.

***********A/N***

Yep, that took a long time to write. You know why? Because I was upset over the lack of reviews,
yeah yeah, I got 23, but still! Anyway, I wasn't going to write untill I received 600 reviews,
luckily for you unreviewers, Vold reviewed 4 times! So there, bow down on your knees in praise to her.

I actually considered ceasing to write this story.. Mainly because I was just upset about the lack of reviews..
But I updated..just because.

Anyway, you sure as hell better update this time, or I won't update for 2 weeks! Or maybe not at all!

Oh and for you people that did review, You are wonderful and great people, who shall be rewarded by good
fortune and luck for the rest of your days. You all are my favorites! Not those evil ones that didn't review!

*glomps all of the reviewers*

*kicks an unreveiwer*

Vold: Thanks for all the reviews, I seriously don't know what would have happened to this story if it weren't
for you, your always there with encouragement, reassuring me that this isn't all pointless.

And thanks so much to everyone else who reviewed.

When will the next chapter be out? I dunno. It's up to you guys.

REVIEW REVIEW!!

That girl.
-Heather-