Author's Notes: I just want to say to OsuwariTetsusaiga, you are hilarious! And adorable! (scratches behind his ears) and I thank you for your cute reviews. And to everyone else, be prepared for a new, different saga than any before…
My WishShippo sat next to Kaede in her hut, drawing pictures of his latest adventure with his crayons. Miroku and Sango were nowhere to be found, but he didn't have to be an adult to figure out what they were doing. Kouga and Ayame had left for their den, Ginta and Hakkaku trailing behind them. Sesshoumaru, along with Rin and Jaken, had returned to their castle, but not after Sesshoumaru had a talk with his little brother.
"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru said. "Don't take this the wrong way, because you're still a lowly hanyou with a weakness for humans, but…" He paused, ignoring Inuyasha's growing growl. "If you ever need to, you know where our Father's castle is."
Inuyasha stopped short. "You won't fight me away?"
"It is no longer just my land. That is all I came to say." With that Sesshoumaru walked away to an awaiting Rin and Jaken on top of Aun.
Inuyasha stayed behind, dumbfounded. Never before had he known his brother to be so…well, there really wasn't a word for it, but he understood. Something between brothers I guess. Inuyasha thought.
Shippo looked up at the aged miko as she churned more herbs into different mixtures and asked, "Where are Kagome and Inuyasha?"
Kaede laughed. "Don't ask such a silly question, little one. Wherever they are, they are with each other. That's what's most important."
Shippo turned his gaze to the door and wished Kagome would return quickly. He missed her and wanted her to hold him again. When he looked back down at his drawing, it showed Kagome and Inuyasha in Goshinboku, the hanyou holding the miko from behind, looking out into the forest…
What he didn't know was right then, that's exactly where Inuyasha and Kagome really were. Kagome leaned back into Inuyasha's embrace and the hanyou squeezed her tighter from behind, while leaning back himself against the ancient tree's trunk. Kagome loved this and was happy that for once, Inuyasha did keep his word. As soon as they had gotten back from Inuyasha's father's castle, they had all gotten a good night's sleep and in the morning, immediately thanked everyone before they left and then snuck off away for some alone time.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha nuzzled her neck with his face.
"Hmm?" Kagome was so relaxed, if Inuyasha wasn't holding her, she just might've fallen out of that tree.
"Where is the Shikon no Tama?" The hanyou asked. "When I woke up, it was gone."
Digging into her shirt, Kagome pulled out the small yet powerful pink jewel. "Right where it should be." She stopped. "For now at least."
Inuyasha's ears perked forward. "For now?"
Nodding, Kagome continued to look at the jewel as it hung from its chain. "Kaede told me before that if I were to make a pure, good hearted wish, the jewel would disappear and demons wouldn't be able to get to it."
"So, why haven't you?"
Putting the jewel down in her lap, Kagome turned her gaze to vast forest before her, being bathed in gentle sunlight. It really was a beautiful day today. "Well, its because I don't really know what I want."
"There's nothing you have to wish for?" The hanyou questioned.
"Well, someone else asked me that question once and although everyone else seemed to have something they'd wish for, I never had any ambition like that. Sure I wanted to get good grades and I wanted to get Naraku, but those were things I could do by myself, with my own abilities and skill."
Smiling, Inuyasha nodded and closed his eyes as the wind blew his hair to the side. "That's why the jewel has stayed pure for so long in your hands. You have no evil or dark intentions. You always think of others first."
Kagome's hold on the jewel tightened as her worry got the better of her. "If I could make a wish, would it really be pure and good hearted? Would I be able to make the Shikon no Tama disappear and relieve everyone the stress of protecting me when youkai come to claim it?"
"No one gets stress because of that. It's a burden that you shouldn't have to bare alone and that's why we're here." Inuyasha said, opening his eyes and looking into Kagome's concerned face. "Miroku, Sango, even Shippo, not only want to keep the jewel out of evil's hands but they want to make sure you stay safe too."
Kagome met Inuyasha's gaze and asked. "What about you?"
Breaking the look, Inuyasha stared off to the side. "Well, I do it because…" He muttered the last part.
"What was that?" Kagome asked again.
Scoffing Inuyasha said annoyingly. "I do it because I care about you and don't want to see you hurt."
Kagome blushed and smiled; making the hanyou more nervous – so much that he blushed too. She raised up the jewel and covered it in two hands. "Well, I guess I'll never know until I try." Kagome closed her eyes and focused on the jewel. If I do this right, everyone will be happy…
As she made her wish, the jewel glowed brightly, and Inuyasha tightened his hold on Kagome for fear she would disappear too. When it died down, Kagome opened her hands and the jewel was gone.
The two looked at each other and both smiled. "What did you wish for?" The hanyou asked.
Kagome leaned in and whispered it in his ears. Her warm breath sent shivers down his spine and made it hard to concentrate on what she was saying, but when she was finished, he gasped and looked at her in shock. "Really?"
The miko nodded and threw one leg over the trunk so both were now on the same side. "Let's see if it worked."
Inuyasha nodded, jumped down to the ground, then lifted his arms to catch Kagome as she leapt into his embrace. Momentarily Kagome fingered the new rosary Inuyasha wore. He had grown so used to it, he had Kaede make him a new one just for Kagome. He felt so guilty about breaking the last one, he hoped this made her happy. It did, because he saw the smile grow on her face. Holding hands the two ran off back towards the village.
By the time they got there, Sango and Miroku were back, but their faces were all flushed. Kaede and Shippo knowingly kept their mouths shut and pretended not to notice a thing. If the two weren't ready to announce their…affairs, then who were they to say anything?
Inuyasha and Kagome came running into the hut, out of breath and excited. Well, Kagome was out of breath, Inuyasha just had a smile on his face.
"What are you two so happy about?" Miroku asked.
Crossing his arms, Inuyasha smirked. "Definitely not for the same reason why you two look so content and happy." This got both Sango and Miroku to gasp and stare at the ground. Both Inuyasha and Shippo laughed at that.
"Minna, come with me to the bone-eater's well." Kagome asked.
Sango looked at her friend. "Are you going back already?"
Shippo came running up and latched onto the miko's ankles. "Kagome!"
"Not exactly, just trust me."
So without further adieu, everyone minus Kaede, went to the well and gathered around it curiously. "Are we supposed to notice something?" The monk wondered.
Shaking her head, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Go ahead and jump through."
The hanyou nodded and leapt into the portal, immediately jumping out the other side. The shed was dark so he opened the door and let in some sunshine.
Back in the other time, Kagome lifted Shippo into her arms. "Now don't get scared."
But the little kitsune demon already got scared when she held him over the dark and ominous pit and let go. "KAAGGOOMMEEEE!!!!" He cried falling down and expecting to go splat against the well's ground. But instead the entire area around him exploded into blues and blacks, stars dotting here and there. "Eh?"
When it all died down, Shippo found himself at the bottom of the well again, but this time is smelled differently. "Oi, Shippo, up here!"
The fox cub looked up and saw Inuyasha's laughing face.
"You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Standing up, Shippo pointed accusingly at the hanyou. "What did you do!? Where did you go!?"
"Kaogme's time, where else?"
"But I can't go there!" He climbed up the side of the well and grabbed a hold on Inuyasha's offered hand.
"Now you can."
Looking around, Shippo found himself not exactly in the forest, but instead inside a shed. "This is…this is Kagome's world?"
Nodding, Inuyasha pointed to the open shed door. "And in a little bit, you'll get to see it just like I have."
Kagome looked down and as soon as she saw the kitsune fox disappear, she smiled and looked at the last two people. "Who wants to go next?"
"EH!?" Both exclaimed, running to the well to see if it was true. But to their amazement, Shippo had disappeared.
"He…did he…?" The monk shuttered for the right words.
Nodding happily, Kagome nodded, hands behind her back like a little kid. "Yep! Now you all get to see my world!"
Monk and Taijiya exchanged looks, then smiled and jumped in together. Kagome followed a little ways behind. This is what makes me happy. And it's only the beginning…
Since the miko was the last one in, she was the last one out, but Inuyasha was there to lend her a hand as well. Shippo, Miroku, and Sango were all at the edge of the shed, looking out into the shrine's grounds, unsure what to do next.
Kagome and Inuyasha still held hands as she went to join them. "Don't be afraid! It's not magic, it's just different." She wiggled in between them and led them outside, going straight for Goshinboku. As they stood before the familiar tree, Kagome said, "Maybe this will help you get your bearings."
Everyone gasped and looked around, amazed at the change. "Five-hundred years in the future." Sango said in awe. Kirara mewed in Sango's arms, mirroring her shock.
"I never believed we would ever get to see it." The monk turned to Kagome. "How is this possible?"
"I made a wish. The only thing I didn't have that I always wanted." She said shyly.
Kagome looked over and saw her little brother playing with his ball. "Souta!"
The little boy turned around and when he saw everyone he fell over in shock. "S-Sis! Inu-oniichan!" He ran over to the group. "What are you all doing here?"
Kagome knelt before her little brother. "Stay here while I go and get Grandpa and Mama, okay?" Kagome immediately ran off to the main house to greet her family.
"Un." The little boy nodded and started talking to Inuyasha. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were still stunned with silence.
When Kagome came back, her mother and grandfather were behind her and were just as shocked as Souta. "Mama, Grandpa, this is Miroku, Sango with Kirara, and the adorable one is Shippo!"
Kagome's mother immediately scooped up the kitsune cub and hugged him like she would a teddy bear. "Oh, you've told me so much about him, but he so much more cuter in person!!" She squealed. Shippo didn't want to be rude, but the noise hurt his ears.
Kagome put her grandfather and Miroku together. "I think you two have a lot you can talk about! Grandpa, Miroku is a monk and unlike your wards, his really work! Maybe he can give you a few pointers!"
With Kagome's mom having a death grip on poor Shippo, Kagome grabbed hold of Sango's hand and took off towards the house. "I have to show you my room!" She exclaimed. The taijiya followed unsurely, everything still needing time to sink in.
Inuyasha's ears drooped down as he thought she forgot him, but then the miko turned around and shouted. "Come on Inuyasha! I know you miss my bed as much as I do! Considering you fell asleep in it that one time!"
Inuyasha ran after the two girls, dodging the ever talking Souta, and yelled back. "I only fell asleep because you were taking too long! I wasn't tired! I was BORED!" He defended himself.
At this both girls laughed and ducked inside the house, while Inuyasha took a short cut and leapt to the window. "Stupid girls…" He muttered.
By nighttime, Kagome's mother had Shippo helping her downstairs with the dishes and keeping her company. The little fox liked her and was amazed how much she reminded him of Kaede. He even started drawing pictures of himself for her. Kirara had fallen asleep next to the ever-fat Buyo, the two hitting it off from the start.
Inuyasha went with Souta into his room, which is where he always slept when he stayed the night, but the two boys had fun playing video games until Kagome came in and told them both to go to sleep.
Sango and Kagome bunked in her room. The miko insisted Sango sleep in her bed for the sole purpose of trying out something other than hard ground. The taijiya was shocked at how soft it was and fell instantly asleep. Kagome took her sleeping back and fell asleep on the floor.
But Miroku, poor poor Miroku, was sent to stay with Kagome's grandfather because frankly, nobody else trusted him in their room – boy and girl alike. But the monk didn't get much sleep that night because Kagome's grandfather went on and on about how his ancestor's magic was and is just as strong as Miroku's magic except up until this point he had been unable to prove any of it. Unfortunately, Kagome's grandfather refused to accept that Miroku was better.
So the monk resorted to covering his head in the pillow provided and was very tempted to use on of his ward papers on the old man's mouth just to shut him up. Why me…?
The first thing Kagome did the next morning was dress everyone up in normal modern clothes. She gave Miroku some of her father's old clothes and Sango just shared some of Kagome's clothes. Inuyasha got dressed in special clothes Kagome's mother had picked out in case the hanyou needed to go out into public again, and of course his hat to hide his ears.
Shippo was another thing. Kagome had insisted the little cub keep quiet on their trip, and if he did, she wouldn't have to dress him up at all. With Inuyasha, it was just his ears, but with the kitsune cub, his tail was almost impossible to hide. If he didn't say anything, Kagome hoped the local passerby would think he was a stuffed animal.
Sango left Kirara at the house because the little kitten seemed to want to sleep the day away with Buyo, which the taijiya couldn't object to because the cat demon had done so much for the group, she deserved a good days rest.
Kagome gave the group a tour of the mall she and her friends always spent so much time at. It took forever, but Kagome was able to explain all of the questions Miroku and Sango sent her way. Inuyasha had already seen most of it and said little, but he was always very observant just the same.
The one thing Kagome had to do with the group was take them to a special place she loved to go. It was an observation deck completely covered in windows at the top of one of the government buildings. It was open to the public every now and then, and it gave the people a glorious view of the city, with the neighboring bay and ocean nearby.
On their way up, Kagome felt a little dizzy and shook her head. Must be because we're changing floors so fast. She reasoned.
When the elevator opened its doors, everyone, minus Kagome, were shocked that the area outside looked different than when they had gone in. "We're fifty floors higher now. Look!" She exclaimed, pointing to the windows in front of them.
Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha all smushed their faces against the glass, totally engrossed with the scene before them. "It's amazing…" Miroku said.
"It's so beautiful." Sango agreed.
Inuyasha looked around. "Hey, what's that flying thing?" He pointed to an airplane in the distance.
"That's an airplane. It's like a…" She fumbled for the right words. "It's a giant machine that take you from one city to another, over oceans and mountains, in only a few hours."
Everyone gasped in shock. "Wish we had one of those during our travels." Miroku said, to which case everyone nodded in agreement.
Kagome put Shippo down against the glass so he could get a better view and stepped back from the group. She'd already seen this a dozen times, and right now, her head was killing her. She turned her back to the view and thought it might be vertigo. I've never felt this way before when I came up here though. And it's not just my head. My entire body hurts and I feel so tired all of a sudden…
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked worriedly.
"Huh?" She quickly turned around and immediately regretted it because the world spun and suddenly turned black.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground. The movement was so fast that his cap flew right off and Miroku had to provide cover when a few other people passed by and noticed the dog-ears on top of Inuyasha's head.
Nervous, he smiled and waved at them until they walked away quite unnerved, then turned and looked to Kagome. "Kagome-sama!"
"She passed out." The hanyou reported.
"Let's get her some place where it isn't so crowded." Sango suggested.
When she said this, though, Kagome moaned and opened her eyes. "Wh…what happened?"
"That's what we'd like to know." Inuyasha said, holding her close.
Kagome sat up and held a hand to her head. "I don't know what happened. I just suddenly got dizzy." She said.
"I think that's enough for today. Let's go back to the shrine." Miroku said.
Gasping Kagome stood up. "No! There's so much more I want to do. I'm sure it's just cause I haven't eaten today! Let's go to the food court and get some pizza. Then I'll be fine."
"You're sure?" Sango asked.
Nodding energetically, Kagome replied. "Positive."
Inuyasha crossed his arms unconvinced, but agreed anyway. "Fine, but if you start to feel bad at all, it's straight back home."
Miroku put Inuyasha's hat back on him and smiled. "That's what we'd expect from the ever-soft Inuyasha."
The dog demon growled and flexed his claws. "You want to say that again and risk loosing the chance of ever having children, Miroku?"
This got the monk hiding behind Sango. "Now that you mention it, you look really buff today."
Kagome picked up Shippo in her arms and held him close. "Then let's go!"
Everyone ate the pizza happily. Kagome fed little Shippo in her lap and hid him under the tablecloth so he could munch all he wanted. Everyone had pretty much forgotten the little mishap before, except Inuyasha who kept an immensely close eye on Kagome at all times.
"Kagome-chan?"
Turning around to the call of her voice, Kagome saw her friends noticed her from across the way. "Ayumi, Yuka, Eri, Houjo-kun, what are you all doing here?"
Upon hearing –kun for the second time he'd known her, Inuyasha had to suppress his growl and instead decided to glare the hell out of the teenage boy.
"Kagome-chan, you're looking so much better!" Ayumi exclaimed.
"Did the sandles I gave you work well for your health?" Houyo asked.
Sweatdropping, Kagome laughed nervously. "Um…yeah I'm feeling just fine now."
"Are these your friends?" Yuka asked.
Nodding, Kagome stood up and made introductions. "This is Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha." She said.
Everyone shook hands, but the shake between Houjo and Inuyasha lasted awhile longer because the hanyou was tempted to break off the kids arm "accidentally". "Nice to meet you." He said in a low voice.
Ayumi leaned forward and picked up Shippo from Kagome's arms. "And who is this adorable little guy!?"
"He's so cute!" Eri agreed, patting his head.
Poor Shippo was beet red by being handled by so many pretty girls and had to fight the urge to say anything. I'm a stuffed animal. I'm a stuffed animal. I'm a stuffed animal. He told himself over and over again.
"Ne, Kagome-chan." Yuka asked as she pointed to Miroku. "Is he the self-absorbed, jealous, violent guy you've been seeing?"
Kagome laughed to cover her shock and waved away the question, pointingly ignoring Inuyasha's questioning glance. "Ah, no, don't worry about him. Miroku is a nice guy." Despite the fact that he gropes the nearest girl to him every time he gets the chance and he asks them to bear his children. She said silently to herself.
"I'm glad, Higurashi, because I wouldn't want you to hang around with a guy like that." Houjo said with a smiling face.
It was then that Inuyasha stood up and cleared his throat. "Do you think you'd be better for her?"
Houjo suddenly got nervous and started playing with his fingers. "Well, about that…I guess if I could make Higurashi happy, then I would definitely try my best."
Inuyasha wrapped an arm around Kagome and pulled her close, possessively almost and replied, "Well, good because she's with me and I plan to treat her with nothing but the best."
This left everyone stunned, but Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had to lean in and whisper to Kagome. "It's him isn't it?" Yuka and Eri said at the same time.
"He's so handsome." The ever-energetic Ayumi said.
Inuyasha's ear underneath his hat perked at the whispering voices, but he kept his eyes on Houjo.
"Well…" Kagome didn't know what to say and right now there was a force at work that she didn't want to interfere with. Inuyasha was doing nothing but glaring at Houjo and the poor boy was a stuttering mess of incoherent words.
Yuka began pulling Houjo away and waved to Kagome. "Well, we'll see you later then!" Eri and Ayumi waved goodbye as well and followed the two away.
As soon as they were gone, Kagome sighed with relief.
"So you told them I was self-absorbed, jealous, and violent?" Inuyasha's angry voice made Kagome squeak like a child who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
Turning around, Kagome smiled innocently. "Well, we were going through some hard times and I sorta needed to get some things off my chest."
Standing up, Miroku and Sango patted Kagome on the back sympathetically. "Don't feel bad. Inuyasha was a jerk back then." Sango said.
"You know we've all thought that way about him at one time or another." Miroku agreed.
Even little Shippo was at Kagome's ankles giving her a hug. "We're here for you."
Inuyasha on the other hand, had his hand balled into a fist and was ready to pound all of them. You guys… He thought threatingly.
Back at the house, Sango and Kagome's mother searched for some of Buyo's food for Kirara. Shippo decided to see what video games Souta had to play with in his room. But as soon as the third grader found out about Shippo's Kitsune magic, he insisted on seeing it, so the little kitsune fox showed Souta all of his toys and what he could turn them into.
Miroku, though, knew one person was missing. So, he went outside to the shrine grounds and found Inuyasha right where he knew he'd be: sitting in Goshinboku with his arms crossed.
"It's a good thing this is here in Kagome-sama's world too, because otherwise I wouldn't know where to find you." He said.
"Feh, if I didn't want to be found you wouldn't be able to." The hanyou said.
Sitting on the bench near the tree, Miroku folded his hands into his sleeves. "Might I ask what brings you here?"
"It's not like you haven't been thinking around the same lines as I have. Kagome is in her room, asleep and the sun is barely setting. She passes out for no reason and you're wondering what I'm thinking about?"
Looking up into the tree, Miroku asked, "Do you have any theories?"
Shaking his head, Inuyasha closed his eyes. "No, but whatever the reason, Kagome probably has some theories of her own and won't tell us." He paused and tried to shrug off his worries. "It always seems to happen to her. Hasn't she been through enough?"
"Well, she was the protector of the Shikon no Tama, and accepting that so lightly seems to finally be taking its toll of her. With all of her growing abilities, it's amazing its barely happening now." The monk said.
"So, you think it has something to do with her miko powers?" The hanyou looked at the monk expectedly.
"Well, Kagome-sama has gotten sick before, but never so suddenly. It's either that or another demon is out to get her again."
Cracking his knuckles, Inuyasha glared into the growing darkness of the city. "Well, if that is the case, they had better watch out because when I find them I'm going to rip them to shreds."
Author's Notes: Well, that was the longest chapter I've had, but its because I didn't know where to stop it. This is the set up for my next saga and it's already getting you thinking, isn't it? What's causing Kagome to get tired and pass out? You will all find out in due time…bwa ha ha ha…
