*Hey! It's me again. What do you know, I have another chapter! I hope you enjoy this one because this is the beginning of a long set of linkage chapters. I should know...I'm almost done writing them!*

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and co. do not belong to me, but if they did I'd have them pound my little brother for being so annoying!

Chapter 28

Naraku stood calmly in the soft midday air. He had been standing her only a moment, but already he could see the dragon demon coming up over the hill.

Kagura had come to him, only the night before, and informed him of a hanyou demon much like himself, with a lot of power, that might want to work with him in order to get to the Dragon Miko with Inuyasha.

Naraku figured, that with this kind of alliance and that of Kikyo working for this Mikoto, he might have a powerful force to take down the group of angry wanderers after him.

Should he group with Mikoto the Elder of dragons, then not only would he have the power, but an entire army of dragon demons at his disposal should anything happen to the obnoxious Elder.

Naraku...couldn't help but grin by this thought.

A minute later, the man he wanted to meet arrived, looking a bit annoyed.

"Would you be the Naraku fellow I'm seeking?" asked the Elder, sitting upon a strange floating cloud, that was apparently his ride. It was pink, and floated about two feet off the ground, while the Elder sat Indian style on top, a bag of what Naraku derived to be beans sitting in his lap. He also wore a grand emerald Dragon's Eye around his neck, hung on a golden chain.

"Yes. And you are Mikoto the Dragon Elder."

"I am." Replied Mikoto, crossing his arms. "What is this about?"

"Have you heard of the Shikon no Tama?" asked Naraku, already knowing the answer, but using it anyway to start conversation.

"Yes...I have. It is a miko made jewel with the strength of over a hundred demons with in it's glassy walls. Why do you ask?" Mikoto replied, glaring at Naraku with simple dark green eyes.

"I have a rather large piece of it." Replied Naraku, showing him the jewel from under the baboon pelt he wore.

"I see. And you plan to give it to me should I help you right?" Mikoto asked, returning his glare back to Naraku's hidden face.

"Yes. Very observant of you. I ask that we create an alliance. From what I know, you want Kojika's head. Yes?"

Mikoto nodded.

"Well...I want the hanyou traveling with her...Inuyasha, for he has troubled me in the past."

"Ah yes...Kikyo is after him as well. He must be a rather popular person to have so many trying to kill him."

"It seems so. His miko friend Kagome also has a few of the Shikon Shards I'm sure you would want to have."

"Really? I did not sense any with her?" Mikoto inquired, rubbing his chin inquisitively.

"Well...so far...she may have learned to hide their energy. Miko's can do that you know...those that practice." Naraku informed, stepping closer. "I need you're allies and you need my insight to their little group. So what do you say...shall we join together against them?"

Mikoto sat quietly for a moment, rubbing his chin as if there were a beard there, then, he nodded and took the jewel from Naraku's hand as he offered it.

"Certainly." He whispered to Naraku as they began their conversation on how to get at the group one by one.

The next day, they left the village Inn for the night in pursuit of home, to perhaps prepare for a battle they knew was on the way.

No one talked really...not Inuyasha...not Kagome...most certainly not Kojika...

The only sound for the entire group was that of trees swaying in a soft cool breeze or of little brooks sparkling in the warm sunny day.

Their reason for heading home was thus: Kojika informed them, that during the kiss, Mikoto had told her that they would attack sometime in the next four days...but when would not really be known. There would be an all out battle...and the last living...would be the true ruler. For this, they were heading home to collect on equipment, to train, and to let Kagome go home and stay there while such battles commenced (Inuyasha was not going to leave his old mentor to fight alone, and Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippo agreed that they would help too).

Kagome of course did not agree to this little plan, of making her stay home and such when everyone might need her help, and she and Inuyasha had argued about it profusely.

Even now, Kagome and Inuyasha still hadn't resolved it, but everyone got tired of listening to them and threatened to throw them over a cliff if they did not shut their pie holes.

Finally, around mid-day with the use of a few new abilities of Kojika's, concerning the teleportation of more than just one person over vast distance, the group made it home. When there, Inuyasha dragged Kagome to the well.

"Don't fuss with me Kagome! This is the best way to keep you safe!" Inuyasha shouted back, dragging a kicking Kagome towards the well.

"I would rather die than leave you guys to fight that THING! Let me GO!" she continued to shout, trying to grab anything on the ground that would help her to slow him down.

Inuyasha was too strong for that though.

They managed to make it to the well around evening.

Inuyasha dropped Kagome gently by the well, a little odd for the red angry face he was displaying and stepped away.

"Now...Go." He told her simply.

"No." She replied in the same fashion, crossing her arms.

"Don't argue. Go."

"Don't tell me to go! I won't!" Kagome replied.

Inuyasha rubbed his temples the way men do when they are exasperated past their limit and are ready to do something ridiculous.

"Go or I'll throw you in." He replied.

"No Inuyasha. I'm staying here. I can help you more than you think!"

"And I'm sure you can. But I'm not about to let you get killed should things here get out of hand!"

"Inuyasha." She mumbled softly, turning her face away from his glare. "I can't go. I can't just sit around in a safe place when I know you all will be fighting an enemy that loves to kill. I can't!"

Inuyasha sighed and sat down before the miko, sniffing to make sure no one was around to watch them have their little fight.

No one had followed them, not wanting to see another argument between miko and hanyou, which was good.

"Kagome..." He whispered, grabbing her delicate chin and pulling it so that they could meet eye to eye. "I know how much you want to help here...but you'd really be helping us by not being in danger while we're fighting. Naraku has tried to kill you before, and he will most likely try it again during battle."

"But we've searched so much...and now I have an understanding of the jewel that I never did before. Kojika was supposed to teach me how to control the rest of the jewel, and use it to my advantage. I can't just leave like that!"

"Kojika told me that she doesn't need to teach you anymore." Inuyasha replied, letting go of Kagome's chin. "She say's you mastered everything you needed to, and that you showed her that when you attacked Kikyo."

"Yes...but she lived." Kagome whispered, thinking Inuyasha would get angry over the fact that she had tried to kill Kikyo like that. But the hanyou surprised her.

"I no longer love her." He whispered, backing away from Kagome. "She is nothing but an old memory to me now."

Kagome gasped her surprise.

"But how...? Why...? She was the only thing you thought about ever since we had met!" she said, nearly shouting.

"I know...but considering that she's been trying to kill you, and that she wants me to go to Hell with her...I've lost any love I had. She's nothing but an angry statuette of clay that can walk, and can no longer live or breathe. She is death itself...and I no longer want to be with her."

"But...?" Kagome tried to continue...but Inuyasha cut her off.

"If you're wondering how and why I came to think of her like this...you might as well say an ancient dragon knocked some sense into me." Whispered Inuyasha as he pointed to his head, leaning closer to her all the while.

Kagome at first was shocked, but then, thinking about how Kojika had told her of how much Inuyasha truly cared, she began to understand how much they had learned from the wisdom of the Dragon's words.

She smiled, and leaned towards Inuyasha, ready to ask a silly question, and hoping he wouldn't laugh.

"So who do you love now?" she asked, watching Inuyasha calmly.

He smiled, and with out thinking, reached out and wrapped Kagome in a tight embrace.

"Isn't it obvious Kagome? You're the one I'm trying to protect." He squeezed her tighter to him, and then, upon the right feeling, he pulled away and kissed her softly on the lips.

Kagome didn't complain...nor did she try to push him off. Instead, she gladly wrapped her arms around his neck and welcomed his warm kiss, enjoying it as if it were candy.

Even when their kiss was over, they continued to hug, and it took every ounce of Inuyasha's self-control, to steal the shards from her skirt pocket, and to pick her up, just to drop her softly into the portal of the well...with her shouting at him angrily.

It wasn't like Kagome was hurt to bad when she came out of the other side with out her shards. She knew Inuyasha too well by now, and understood that he really just wanted to keep her safe from harm.

That...and the kiss had been so real and warm and loving...so wonderful. With out realizing it, Kagome lifted her fingers to her lips to feel them over softly.

That had been her first kiss ever...and she was glad that it had been from the one man she loved.

Also...there was something Inuyasha didn't know...and that was that she kept a spare shard in her room just in case he ever tried to do that again. She smiled and ran off to her room, happily thinking of their kiss the whole way up.

*So...how was the chapter? I know...I know...a little mushy...but hey...I'm sure a lot of the readers reading this are finding what they're looking for. I just really love Inuyasha and Kagome love scenes! I think they're very romantic! (Yeah right! Like I'm even a romantic!) Oh well...there are more chapters coming. To tell you the truth, the whole story is a total of about 104 pages on Word. I know. It surprised me a lot when I noticed the amount at the bottom of the screen!*