A/N: All right...so I lied. The epilogue wasn't really the epilogue in Missing In Action. Truth is, I have received several requests to continue the story, which I have decided to do. However, the way I want to continue it will end up spinning it off into a sequel...so I just wanted to warn you all about that! Warning number two...this one will be long, but you should be able to figure it out! Hope you like it! Read and review please!
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Missing in Action
The Part After The 'Epilogue'
"Kikyou...don't run off into the forest like that. It isn't safe..." Sango warned her small daughter. "You should stay safely within the village where everyone can keep an eye on you..."
Little Kikyou nodded. "Yes, mommy, but I was just going to go play with the little boy. I thought you said the demons were gone, mommy? Isn't it safe to go play?" she asked.
"Little boy? What little boy?" asked Sango suspiciously.
Kikyou pointed. "The little boy from the forest, mommy. He wants me to come play with him..."
Sango's eyes widened. "A little boy...from the forest?" she whispered. "Miroku!"
"Yes?" he poked his head out the door.
"Your daughter says there is a little boy in the forest who wants to play with her. Have you seen anyone?" she waited, and he shook his head. "What about any nomads? Herders? Anything?"
He shook his head. "No one, Sango." He repeated.
Kikyou frowned. "Can you describe him to us, sweetie?" asked her mother.
Little Kikyou began her description. The farther she got into detail, the more Sango's eyes widened. Miroku looked very disturbed. Sango gasped, nearly falling into him as her daughter spoke. She was describing someone very dear to her...someone who had been gone for a while. Kikyou did not know him. He had died before she could get to know him...
"What was his name?" whispered Miroku, asking the question Sango could not bear to utter.
Kikyou looked as if she was thinking very hard. "Kohaku...I think." She said finally, with a nod.
Sango fell. "Miroku...oh god...you don't think...it's not possible...five years...." Her words were jumbled, her speech was broken, and all color had drained from her face.
"Calm down, Sango. Kikyou, go inside." He ordered.
"She can't have been describing the same person," Inuyasha shook his head. "That's impossible. It's been five years...." Although he was saying this to convince the others, he looked quite fearful of what Sango had said.
Kagome frowned. "It doesn't sound too good, Inuyasha. Something is wrong." She turned to Miroku. "Are you feeling all right? How is your hand?" she asked.
Miroku jumped. He'd almost forgotten about the curse. Slowly, he turned his hand over. There isn't going to be anything there! That would mean that...He gasped as he stared at his hand. The wind tunnel itself had not yet fully appeared, but a dark shadow was on his hand that had not been there before. The last time he had seen such a sight was right before the wind tunnel had disappeared. He ran back to his home, grabbed his prayer beads, and ran back out.
"It can't be..." he whispered. "The curse is returning..."
Kagome's mother had overheard the conversation. "What does he mean, dear?" she asked.
Kagome rounded, frightened, on her mother. "Mamma, take Souta and grandpa inside, and keep them there. Do you understand? Go inside now! It is dangerous out here!" She turned back to the others. "We have to get the jewel...and we're going to have to fight again..." she nodded. "We can't let him have the jewel, especially in its completed form, and we can't let him near the village and all these innocent people..."
"Err...Kagome..." Shippo was pointing up, at Inuyasha.
"What?" he smirked at the small fox demon.
Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha! Your hair! Your ears! You're turning back to a Youkai!" she yelped.
"What?" he growled. "But how can that be? We have the jewel! It's been right there around your neck this whole time! Never once have I seen it leave!" he whined.
"Actually...there was one time, about three weeks ago. It was the day Kagome left the village. Rather than travel with the jewel..." Shippo began.
Kagome gasped. "I left it in the temple!" she realized. "Shippo...think back. When I was gone, was there anyone in the village that you had not seen before? A stranger?"
Shippo shook his head. "I don't think so. Me and Kirara stood outside the temple guarding the jewel the whole time you were gone..."
Miroku rubbed his chin in thought. "Let me see the jewel, Kagome..." he nodded.
"Why?" she asked, clutching it worriedly.
"We're going to break it. This way, we can at least hope to keep most of the demons away from the village, and we can ensure that Naraku, if he has indeed returned, will not have it..."
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"Priestess Kagome! One of the villagers has injured himself! He needs your care quickly!" one of the older men informed her.
Kagome nodded, following the man to his home. "Is this the man that is hurt?" she asked. "How did he injure himself?"
"I found him in the forest like that, Milady," the old man explained. "I brought him back so that you could tend to his wounds..."
"You found him in the forest? And you brought him into the village! You idiot!" she yelped. "Do you realize what has happened recently, and how dangerous your actions could have been?"
But the man appeared speechless. He was staring at the person behind Kagome, who had risen, and was laughing as if he was a madman. "I didn't realize I was so predictable, young priestess..." he smirked.
"Who are you?" demanded Kagome, stepping in front of the old man. Her voice shook.
"I should think you would know who I am. You killed me, after all." He laughed.
She gasped. "Nara..."
He had her by the throat. "Give me the jewel, and I was thinking about letting you live..." he smiled evilly.
Kagome shook her head. "No!" she coughed. "You will never know the whereabouts of the jewel! I will die first!"
"That can easily be arranged!" he threatened, but dropped her only seconds later.
She coughed violently. Standing between her and Naraku was Inuyasha, his sword unsheathed. "Inuyasha...it's Naraku..." she whispered.
"I know." He nodded. "I could smell his foul scent from a mile away..."
"Inuyasha...the half breed...back to your old self again, I see..." Naraku laughed. He did not back down.
"Aren't we all?" Miroku, red in the face, calmly entered the room.
Naraku nodded, and again smiled. "Where is the jewel?" he asked.
"You're a bit outnumbered to be asking stupid questions," Inuyasha warned him.
Miroku nodded his agreement. "You won't find it, anyway. I suggest you leave, before I make sure that you're gone for good..." he threatened.
Naraku cackled, throwing his head back. "I won't find it?" he laughed. "That does sound interesting! Here's something else that sounds interesting..." He paused. Miroku gasped, as if he knew what the demon was about to say.
"Sango..." frowned Inuyasha.
"Until I have what I want, your daughter is mine..." he nodded, "...although she does seem like such a useless little creature. Kohaku could at least yield a weapon. You have gone easy on her. She may not be very useful to me..."
Miroku did not blink. He pulled on the prayer beads binding his cursed hand. "Return her to normal, or I swear, I'll..."
"You will do nothing! You wouldn't risk killing everyone else in the process! You have feelings...human emotions...you are useless!" Naraku spat. "You know what I want..." With that, he disappeared.
Miroku ran to his home. Sango was on the floor, bleeding badly. Kikyou was nowhere to be seen. He dropped to his knees next to his wife.
"He took her...he's taken everyone I love from me..." Sango was sobbing.
Miroku frowned, and carefully lifted Sango. "I'm still here..." he sighed. "And come hell or high water, we will get Kikyou back."
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Kagome frowned deeply. "Inuyasha...I...I couldn't stop him. And now he's taken Kikyou. I feel so guilty...I didn't do anything..."
"What could you have done?" he whispered.
Kagome just shook her head.
Shippo pulled on her pant leg. "Kagome, how many jewel shards do we have?"
"There were five around the village," Kagome frowned, wiping away a stray tear.
"Why don't we leave the village, then? If we leave, we take the threat away from the village, and we can hunt down Naraku and Little Kikyou without worrying about everyone here..." Shippo suggested.
"Just what I was thinking..." nodded Inuyasha.
"We're coming," groaned Sango. Miroku was holding her up.
Kagome wrapped her in a hug. "Sango.... I am sorry I wasn't able to do more. We are going to find her. Don't worry..." she smiled.
"I know. And we're going to kick Naraku's ass, right?"
"Of course..." nodded Inuyasha, placing his hand on Kagome's shoulder.
"We'll leave in the morning," Kagome smiled. "Tonight, you need your rest..."
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When Miroku and Sango had left, Kagome dropped to her knees and sobbed. Inuyasha joined her on the floor. "I thought we went over this already? You can't blame yourself for something that you can't control..."
"I know, Inuyasha...but they are in so much pain. What if what happened to Kohaku happens to Kikyou? I don't think Sango could handle that, Inuyasha..."
"But you're going to be there for her, right? Together, we're going to take him down, and this time, we'll make sure he won't ever be able to come back..."
"Inuyasha..." Kagome stared at him.
"Hm?" he asked.
"...I...I love you..."
He laughed, and she immediately looked as if she were going to kill him.
"Sorry!" he threw his hands up as if to surrender. "I didn't mean to laugh...I do that when I get nervous...I just...I wasn't expecting you to say that. It was awkwardly timed, is all ... "
"So? I'm pouring my heart out to you and you're laughing at me?" she frowned.
"No! Kagome...don't you see...I feel the same way. I always have. Knowing that you feel the way I do only gives me more of a reason to pound Naraku's ugly face into the ground..."
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"You sure you'll be all right for tomorrow?" asked Miroku.
"I'm fine. Quit asking or I might hurt you," Sango growled.
He sighed. "I'm just worried, is all...about you, about Kikyou...."
"Seems like we have a lot to worry about, huh?" smirked Sango. "I refuse to let Naraku do to Kikyou what he did to my brother..."
"I know, Sango." Miroku nodded. "We won't let him."
"It's not 'we won't', Miroku. We can't. It will not happen." she corrected him sternly.
He nodded, glanced at his staff, and stared at his cursed hand. "If I have anything to do with it, he won't even get the chance. I promise that...."
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A/N: I'm hoping you all figured out what I was doing with the character switching thing! Hope you liked this too! Please review! The sequel should inevitably be out very soon!