Chapter Twelve:
The Journey Home

Kagome could barely believe the news...Sango and Miroku were going to be married! She was so happy for them both; it was easy to tell they had grown very close while she was away. She sat on Kirara with Sango and noticed InuYasha kept glancing at the scrapes and bruises on her legs. She knew she was going to have to come up with a good reason for having them, because he wouldn't ignore such a thing. For now though he didn't seem interested in bringing it up.

InuYasha was seething inside, he was sure Kagome's reaction to him was a direct result of her treatment while she was with Sesshoumaru. Just looking at her bare legs was enough to tell him that things had not gone well while she was there. Kikyo had told him the truth. He was right; Kagome had to return to her own time. She wasn't safe in his era. He looked over at her again; the scratches and bruises that were on her legs nearly drove him into a state of rage.

Miroku was quite perplexed by the events that had unfolded earlier in the day. With the exception of Sesshoumaru's brief attack on InuYasha and some sharp words and looks he did very little to prevent Kagome from coming with them. Even his attack on InuYasha, seemed to be purely instinctual. It had been Kagome's scream that brought him into the forest. As soon as he saw that she was safe, he backed down. The fact that Sesshoumaru asked her if she was alright, had surprised him. But when he began speaking to her softly, Miroku could almost swear he had been comforting her.

Miroku looked at Kagome sitting atop Kirara; he too, had noticed she had many injuries. Maybe they would account for the look of fear in her eyes when they approached her in the forest. He glanced at Sango who too apparently noticed but she merely gave him a look that he interpreted to mean he should avoid asking Kagome any questions just yet.

It was Shippo that finally broke the silence, by again telling Kagome how much he missed her. She hugged him close to her and looked very sad. The group eventually began talking amongst each other, with the exception of Kagome; she seemed to be deep in her own thoughts.

Finally they decided to stop for the night. There was a beautiful lake nearby and Sango asked Kagome to join her for a bath. The two grabbed their towels and headed towards the lake. Once there they tested the water, which was a bit chilly but not cold, Kagome began to remove her clothes and then heard a gasp from Sango. She had not thought about the state of her back, and the look on Sango's face told her it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Kagome, we were under the impression that Sesshoumaru was at least humane to you," she said with anger resonating in her voice. She turned towards the slayer and, for reasons she didn't understand, became defensive about Sesshoumaru's treatment of her.

"Sesshoumaru didn't hurt me," she said evenly. She could see the disbelief clear in Sango's face. Kagome stood there considering whether or not to tell her friend what had happened to her, but found that she was crying uncontrollably.

Immediately Sango was by her side, and they each wrapped themselves in towels and sat on the ground. Once Kagome had calmed she began to tell Sango what had happened. Before she could even stop herself she had told her that she had embraced Sesshoumaru and he had not stopped her; and that he had been the one dressing her wounds.

Sango was stunned by what she had heard. Kagome had been attacked, and Sesshoumaru had come to her aid? But not only that, he had cared for her afterwards? He had even tried to heal her with the Tenseiga? What could this mean? Sesshoumaru had tried to kill them all on more than one occasion, and still had looked as though he wanted to earlier when they appeared before him. Sango had heard the way Kagome instantly came to his defense when she had accused him of hurting her. Was it possible that he was not as evil as they believed he was? Regardless, Sango knew that for now she had to be there for Kagome.

Miroku watched InuYasha as he sat across from him at their little camp. The look on InuYasha's face told him it was best if he not speak, but chose to do so anyway.

"InuYasha, I know you noticed Kagome's wounds. Do you believe she received those from Sesshoumaru?" InuYasha gave him a pained look then lowered his head.

"Yeah, I noticed. I hope she'll talk to Sango about it. If I find out they're from Sesshoumaru, I will personally go back there tonight and rip him apart," InuYasha again went quiet and the two waited for the women to return from the lake. When they did, they could tell Kagome had been crying but didn't say anything to draw attention to it. The girls simply sat down; Kagome next to InuYasha, and Sango next to Miroku. Quickly they began discussing the upcoming marriage.

Sango and Miroku both decided they want get married as soon as possible. But would wait until Kagome had gotten a chance to return home and let her family know she was safe. That was their next destination. Kagome knew her mother would be worried sick and she had to let her know that she was doing fine. InuYasha had told Kagome of his visit with her mother. He had reassured her mother that Sesshoumaru would not harm Kagome, now he wasn't so sure he should have said that. How would Kagome explain her appearance when she returned home?

Sesshoumaru had been doing his best to keep Rin's spirits high. Since Kagome was no longer around; he sent her out to play with Ah and Un, the two headed dragon-like creature, which Rin regarded as her pet. He also sent Jaken along to keep a watchful eye on the child. He, himself, couldn't get the sound of Kagome's scream out of his head. He knew that the only reason his half-brothers life had been spared was Rin was near by. He would do everything in his power to avoid killing in front of the child.

He simply didn't understand his feelings at the moment. He found himself with the desire to check on Kagome because he didn't trust his pathetic half-breed brother to keep her safe. The thought of Naraku getting his hands on the girl, nearly sent him out of the castle to hunt down InuYasha. He had never before had such a desire to protect a human, with the exception of Rin. This was a desire that had him perplexed.

At some point while she was here, he stopped thinking of Kagome as a mere human. Much the same way he did not think of Rin as just a human. While he could still not stand most humans, and that included his half human brother, there was something about Kagome that set her apart from the rest. For not just any human could hope to have the protection of the Lord of the Western Lands, and that was something that both Rin and Kagome could depend on

InuYasha awoke to Kagome having a nightmare. Miroku and Sango were both asleep a little ways from them, but apparently didn't hear. He could tell she was struggling and finally he could hear her voice become more panic stricken. Though he couldn't make out most of her words, he did hear her say his brother's name several times. The thought that he had hurt her bad enough, to cause her to have nightmares had InuYasha fuming.

He moved over to her and tried to wake her up quietly but was having trouble, so he gave her shoulder a little nudge. He watched as the girl came out of sleep in an almost hysterical state and look around wildly. She took in her surroundings, and then looked at him as though she did not have any clue where she was or who he was. After a moment she began to calm down.

"InuYasha?" She looked at him and began to cry softly. He put an arm around her and asked if she was ok. She felt very tense and uncomfortable with him touching her but didn't say anything. Again he cursed his brother and vowed to get vengeance.

Kagome didn't know why she was in the forest when she woke. The very thought had scared her just as bad that the scene that had just replayed in her mind. For a brief second, it didn't register who the person was with her. It had been Sesshoumaru that had been there to calm her on several nights when her cries had woken Rin; tonight however, she was with InuYasha. As soon as she remembered where she was her heart began to slow. He put his arm around her. It felt nice to be comforted, but oddly his touch made her nervous.

"I'm ok now, InuYasha. I guess sleeping in the woods just frightened me a little," she said meekly. He heard the quiver in her voice and couldn't stand it any longer.

"Kagome, did Sesshoumaru hurt you?" Again she felt the need to defend his brother.

"No, InuYasha, Sesshoumaru didn't hurt me. I spent most of my time playing with Rin," she replied defensively. He glanced down at her legs, wanting to know how she had been hurt. She didn't want to tell him what happened to her.

"One day Rin and I were running and I lost my footing and slid down a hill. You know how I am," she said and tried to smile at him. He didn't believe her for a second. Kikyo had told him, that she had witnessed Sesshoumaru being cruel to Kagome. He believed Kikyo. He didn't know why Kagome was covering for his brother. He found himself growing angry.

"Why are you defending him? He kidnapped you!"

"InuYasha, I'm not covering for him. Sesshoumaru didn't give me these bruises," she said growing more flustered by the second. InuYasha's anger was upsetting her. She didn't want to be near him right now. She pulled away from him and said she needed to stretch her legs and then walked a little way from camp, but stayed within view. After she saw InuYasha move to his own area and lay down, she returned.

Sango had heard the two of them talking and had really wanted to stop InuYasha. Even though she knew he had reason to be upset, his anger was going to frighten Kagome. Sango knew that she didn't want either Miroku or InuYasha to know what had happened to her, and Sango understood why so for now she'd keep it to herself and do her best to support her friend.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, when is Kagome going to come back to play with me?" It had been three days since Kagome's departure and Rin had been inquiring about her daily.

"Rin, Kagome had to go to her own home, she will come to play with you again someday," he replied. Never before had Rin pressed an issue with him. Normally, she just took what he said happily. However, the girl missed Kagome very much and for some reason, continued to pursue him with questions.

"But why can't Kagome live here?" He looked down at the girl, not knowing how to explain that Kagome would never want to live with a demon such as him, that she had only been here because he had forced her to be. Instead he simply told Rin that it was time ready her self for a bath.

Finally they made it back to Lady Kaede. Kagome had missed the woman and enjoyed sitting and talking with her. After eating, Kagome and Sango discussed the wedding with her. The Priestess said she would be happy to perform the ceremony upon Kagome's return. Just before heading off towards the well, Kagome pulled Sango aside and told her she would be bringing back something for her, then she headed off to the well. InuYasha followed and began talking to her.

"Kagome, maybe it would be better if you stay in your own time for awhile. Naraku doesn't give up easily," he said solemnly. She looked to him, saying the words seemed to hurt him a bit.

"InuYasha, I have to come back. I wouldn't miss Sango and Miroku's wedding for anything. Besides, I don't have to worry about Naraku," she said offhandedly. The words escaped her lips before she had a chance to think about them.

"What do you mean you don't have to worry about Naraku? He has already kidnapped you once, what makes you think he wouldn't try again?" She blushed slightly, though she could never tell InuYasha, Sesshoumaru's words played in her mind. She knew that if Naraku where to try anything he would protect her as he had promised. Kagome turned to him once they reached the well.

"Thanks for bringing me here; I know my family is probably pretty worried. Please don't worry so much about me. I'll be back in a couple of days," she said as cheerfully as she could and then she got into the well and InuYasha watched her disappear to her own era.

He turned to walk away and there was Kikyo...his Kikyo.