Kagome's Voice and Inuyasha's Love

Well, here we are...at the beginning of yet another chapter...wonderful isn't it???
Ok...I better drink my coffee before I drive you all insane...*drinks coffee* ok, all better!!!!! Well, to those of you who think that Kouga and Kachie are gonna get together..................are right!!!!!!! Kachie's favorite animals are wolves, so that should give her a bit of an edge over Kagome. Believe me, Kagome won't mind. Things will start off kinda funny between this couple though...like the way they meet, so sit back and enjoy the ride!!!!!!!!!

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to my other best friend Karli...who got me a ticket to go see CLAY AIKEN in concert in August!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Karli, I owe you BIG!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Kids, Kouga, and Kachie:

Feudal Era; with the group:

Tired. That one word described the entire group of travelers after an entire day of searching for their young companions. And if the demons were tired...can you picture the humans?

"Sesshoumaru, I think we need to take a break..." Inuyasha said warily, after looking back at the group behind him and his half-brother.

"And why is that, Inuyasha, we just took one!!!" Sesshoumaru retaliated. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"First of all, that was six hours ago, second, they are trying to keep up with US and are actually doing a pretty good job, and third, they are so worried that they won't stop until we stop. They haven't even been complaining like they usually do. Take a look, they're like the living dead back there..." Inuyasha retorted. In truth, he was tired, and when he was tired, his companions were usually already dead asleep of exhaustion. He knew that Sesshoumaru was tired as well, Inuyasha could smell it, but he knew that Sesshoumaru wouldn't quit until he found Rin. At this rate, the group would be dead before they even found the kids.
Sesshoumaru glanced back at the group and nearly did a double take. Kagome was walking next to Kirara, who looked like she was about to die of heat exhaustion with all of her fur and with Sango, Miroku, and Kachie on her back. The humans had taken turns riding the cat, out of pure need to aid each other when they were about to collapse. Hekele was rounding up the end looking like she was about to pass out due to heat exhaustion as well. She had Kachie's backpack, Kagome's backpack, her own backpack, Sango's boomerang, and Miroku's staff. The group had one by one, very effectively, used her as their personal luggage carrier, and it was killing her. Sesshoumaru sighed. Inuyasha was right; they deserved a break, and needed one badly.

"Fine," was all he said before stopping. Inuyasha smiled triumphantly and turned to the group.

"Ok guys, we're setting up camp for the night." Everyone froze, then smiled, unable to show their undying gratitude any other way at the moment. Hekele decided to stop playing the 'good samaritin' and dropped everyone's stuff, sighing heavily as she did so. She and Kagome plopped down where they stood and silently thanked kami for his mercy. Sango, Miroku, and Kachie sheepishly walked over to Hekele and grabbed their respective items from her little pile when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had glared at them. Sure, Kagome could handle Inuyasha if he got mad, but Hekele didn't look like she was about to sweet talk Sesshoumaru into not killing them, she seemed to be plotting quite the opposite actually.

"Thank you Hekele for holding my staff..." Miroku said a bit too quickly.

"And my boomerang..." Sango added, giving Sesshoumaru a fearful glance.

"And my backpack..." Kachie said, slowly understanding why everyone was jumpy when Sesshoumaru glared at her.

"Thanks a bunch for holding my backpack Hekele, I'm surprised that you could carry all that!" Kagome said sweetly, and honestly. She had been the first person to ask for help, everyone else had just plain taken advantage of the poor girl's helpful mood. Sesshoumaru gave Kagome an approving glance, knowing that her request had been genuine to start with, glared at the rest of the group once more, and headed under a tree to rest.

"No sweat Kags...I know YOU meant to take it back after a while until THEY piled their CRAP on top of it..." Hekele said, acid dripping with her words. The group gulped and edged away slowly, just in case she found the energy to take out her katana.

Inuyasha looked at the group and sighed, "There's a hot spring about a quarter of a mile north of here so you can bathe if you want...when you can stand again." The girls gave him a grateful smile and nodded their heads. Inuyasha walked over to Kagome, who was still sitting where she had let herself fall.

"You want some help?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to take, a tint of red showing on his cheeks. Kagome blushed a bit as well as she nodded and took his hand, allowing him to pull her up. Inuyasha blushed a bit more as he wrapped his other arm around her waist for support as he walked her to a nearby tree. He then retrieved her backpack from Hekele and gulped when she smiled mischievously at him, knowing all to well what that little 'smile' meant. He was also aware of Sango and Miroku's stares as he walked back to where Kagome now sat. He sat down next to her and opened the compartment he knew had some of Kagome's 'bottled water' and handed one to her. Kagome gave him a slightly surprised look.

"Arigato, Inuyasha, that's sweet of you..." she said warmly, meaning every word. Inuyasha feh'ed and looked away quickly, not wanting her to see him blush anymore than she had already. Kagome smiled, knowing that to be Inuyasha's standard, 'you're welcome', and gently laid her head on his shoulder.

She was the only one not aware that Inuyasha resembled a bleeding tomato with an exceptionally red face to match his haori and pants.

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With the kids:

Rin woke up and felt cold. She shivered and sat up, causing her head to surge in pain. The little girl whimpered but refused to lie back down. She looked around at her surroundings and noticed Shippo nearby, he was staring out of a small hole in the roof of the cave they were in. Rin didn't see any bars, so she didn't quite understand why Shippo hadn't woken her up so they could run away.

"Shippo-chan?" she asked, and was appalled by her own voice, which sounded hoarse and weak to her delicate ears. Shippo spun around and bounded over to his companion and hugged her, glad that she was awake and for the most part alright as well. Rin squeezed him back and whispered to him, since her voice seemed not capable of much else.

"Where are we Shippo-chan? Where are Sesshoumaru-sama and Jakken- sama? Rin is scared..." she said. Shippo let go of her and shook his head.

"I don't know where they are, or where we are for that matter, when I woke up we were already here."

"Rin sees no bars, why can't we leave?" asked the frightened girl.

Shippo grimaced, "I tried to walk to the mouth of the cave but there is a barrier of some sort made by magic, and there's one up there too..." he said, pointing to the hole in the roof. Rin curled up and started to cry, she was scared, and she was cold. Shippo hugged her again and silently prayed for Inuyasha and Kagome to come and find them soon, he had no idea where Kagura was at the moment, and he didn't want to either.

"It'll be ok Rin, I'm sure Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are looking for us right now, and they'll be here soon to rescue us...just you wait..." he said as calmly as he could while snuggling close for warmth, for he was cold as well. Rin silently nodded but tears still streamed from her eyes.

"Rin hopes so..."

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With the group:

Hekele couldn't help but feel guilty as she soaked herself in the hot spring. Rin and Shippo were being held captive somewhere and she was soaking in a nice warm hot spring. Judging on how Kagome, Sango, and Kachie were acting, they felt the same way.

"So, what are we going to do?" Hekele asked. The others looked at her a bit oddly before answering.

"What do you mean Hekele?" Kagome asked.

"I mean, when we find the kids, what are we going to do? What's the plan of attack? What are Kagura's weaknesses?" she replied. The group froze, despite the hot water.

"Well, we usually just go in and fight. We don't usually have a plan of attack..." Sango said meekly, realizing how foolish the words sounded even to her. Hekele sighed deeply and plunged herself under the water so that she was completely submerged. The three remaining girls swore that they heard some sort of muffled scream come from the water right before Hekele reemerged with a really red face.

"Are you alright?" Kachie asked, mentally laughing her head off. Hekele smiled.

"Of course, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be???" she replied sweetly.

"Because we never have a plan of action before we go into battle?" Sango said in a questioning tone. Hekele scowled a bit at this but kept her cool.

"What weapons can you use Kagome?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Just my bow..." she said meekly.

Hekele frowned, "What happens when you run out of arrows?"

Kagome looked at her and said meekly, "Inuyasha saves me..." This time when Hekele sighed she just tilted her head upward and counted backwards from ten.

"Wow...you guys got her to count...I'm impressed, she must REALLY be frustrated!!!" Kachie piped. Hekele glared at her through one eye. Kachie barely had time to blink before she was dunked into the water. When she resurfaced, Hekele continued.

"Ok, we need to do something about this. First, we need to teach Kagome how to use some other weapon, you and me too Kachie, I KNOW you can only handle a sword, and even though I can also use my sais I am a bit uneasy with us only having weapons that work at close range. Second, we need to get the boys together to help us plan how we are going to attack. If all you do is just feel the whole thing out and swing blindly, it will surprise the enemy to have an organized method..." she said confidently. Sango and Kagome slowly nodded their heads in agreement.

"You know...that could work...and it wouldn't hurt any of us to learn how to use a new weapon. Sango can use her boomerang AND her katana, but all I can do is use my bow...and it's pretty useless when demons get close, it would help to have a closer ranged weapon to use." Kagome said thoughtfully. Sango and Kachie agreed.

"Well, lets go and talk to the boys...wait, did you hear that?" Kagome whispered that last part. Sango listened and heard some rustling in the bushes.

"Miroku..." she whispered. Kachie gave her a surprised look, which she ignored.

"Just when I thought he was getting better at this..." Sango continued.

"Better? What makes you say that?" Hekele asked quietly.

"...He hasn't groped me once since you and Kagome left...he was REALLY helpful but he didn't even pretend like he wanted to cop a feel...in truth, I was worried about him. Happy and grateful, but worried..." she explained. Hekele and Kagome nodded in understanding and Kachie just looked at them like they were insane.

"Sooooo, since we are in here and he is over there, we can't get our clothes...so what are we going to do?" Kagome asked. Sango looked around in thought and Hekele just grinned. This got the group's attention.

"I do believe I have a plan..."

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With Miroku:

Miroku snickered to himself as he watched the girls bathe. He knew that he was going to get murdered by Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha when he returned and then by the girls when they found out, but he concluded that it was worth it. He struggled to hear what they were saying until this one line caught his attention, one that Sango said.

"You are right, I confess, I love him, I love the damned monk sooo much..."

Miroku nearly had a heart attack. Had Sango, the undeclared love of his life, just said that she loved him? He struggled to hear more, this time Kagome spoke.

"I knew it! Why don't you tell him? You know he loves you back..."

Miroku puffed out his chest in pride, until he heard Sango speak again.

"If only it were so, but he always looks at other women and asks them to bear his children, he has never asked me to bear his children, though if I thought he loved me I would say yes. But what love can there be if he only sees other women and not me?"

Her words were so poetic, and yet so tragic. Miroku was being torn inside. Sango was right, he always paid attention to any other women he had met, and never used that kind of persistence in winning her heart over. He was two steps away from revealing himself and confessing his love and devotion to her when he heard her sweet and sad voice again.

"I guess I will never be able to be loved, not by the one man I cherish so much. If only he were here I would confess my love to his face, just so he knew how deeply I held him in my heart..."

That sealed it. Miroku came running out of the bushes and oddly enough felt himself trip and fall face first to the ground.

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With the girls:

It was rough, but it had to be done. Kachie and Hekele dove under water and swam over to the edge, knowing that the bubbles that the spring offered would hide them. Miroku didn't even notice their absence. They swam over on either side of the bushes and waited for him to come running out and Sango's supposedly open and waiting arms. When he made his move they linked arms and tripped him. While his face was full of dirt they pulled him into the water and dunked him. Kagome and Sango were laughing as they scurried out of the hot spring and over to their clothes. Kachie gave Miroku a satisfying push deeper and followed Hekele out and into the shelter of the bushes to change. When the monk surfaced it was all the girls could do not to roll around laughing. When they were all dressed they came out and approached the monk, who had just fully realized that he had been tricked.

"Are you ok Miroku? Sorry buddy but it had to be done, we wouldn't want you getting a full view now do we?" Hekele asked evilly. Kachie's arms were folded across her chest, still wanting an explanation for the lack of privacy while bathing. Kagome and Sango walked over to Miroku last and looked him over. He wasn't moving, he was just standing there, his face void of any emotion.

*Oh Kami...did we go to far? Is he mad? Does he hate me now?* Sango thought to herself sadly as she approached Miroku's side, "Are you alright Houshi-sama?" she asked quietly. Miroku gave her a half grin.

"I'm not mad if that's what you think...I am just trying not to show the pain..." he said.

"Pain?" Kagome asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes...it seems that when I was tripped that I broke my nose...and it is killing me...AAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled, giving up his short-lived resolve. Hekele and Kachie fought laughter as they helped the poor monk sit down as he held his nose in pain. Sango was mortified and was apologizing to him at a mile a minute and Kagome was trying to figure out what to do in order to help. Between shouts of pain Miroku laughed a bit.

"I have to admit...that was a great trick though I fell for it in a heartbeat..." he said honestly, looking directly at Sango as he said it, causing her to blush unwillingly.

Hekele, seeing that everything was under control, except for Miroku's broken nose, spoke up, "Well, let's head back so that we can take care of his nose...I'm sure Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru will want an explanation..."

Miroku froze in sudden fear.

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With the boys:

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru saw the girls come back through the woods and their eyes widened. The girls seemed happy...did they not realize that they had been spied on? Usually they would have picked up on the monk's presence and promptly maimed him...but they didn't seem angry or disturbed. Inuyasha cursed under his breath, that monk had left when neither he nor Sesshoumaru were looking, and they hadn't wanted to go to the springs themselves...Inuyasha knew first hand what would happen if he showed up there. Multiple 'sits', that's what. Sesshoumaru also looked as though he wanted to wring the monk's neck. How could such a 'holy' man be so thick headed and indecent? Weren't monks taught to be chaste and pure? Obviously this one had dosed off during such preachings... Jakken, who had been so silent throughout the day that no one had noticed him, was wondering the same thing... and what his master would do when the idiotic 'monk' returned. Sesshoumaru glared daggers at Inuyasha, clearly saying without words that they should have at least shouted warnings to the bathing girls. Inuyasha gave an equally menacing glare to the forest, stating that he smelled the monk heading their way.
When Miroku came into view it was all Inuyasha could do not to laugh. The monk's nose was swollen to at LEAST three times its normal size. Sesshoumaru saw the sight and smirked openly. The talking girls stopped their chatter and walked over to the monk.

"Well Miroku...how's your nose? Like I said before, we didn't MEAN to break it...we just wanted to make sure you didn't see more than you already had...which, since you seem discouraged, was thankfully not much..." Kachie said through gritted teeth. She had still not forgiven the monk. Hekele handed Sango some medical tape.

"Here, I'll pop his nose back into place and you tape it there so that it heals properly..." she said gingerly. Miroku's eyes got wide and he backed away from Hekele.

"Umm, Hekele, how do you 'tape' the nose? I don't want to cause him any more pain..." Sango said truthfully. Hekele nodded.

"Ok Sango, I'll just do all of it and you can watch..." Miroku backed even farther away at these words, taking shelter behind Kagome. Inuyasha saw this and glared at the monk, willing him to know that if he tried anything that he would be twenty meters below sea level before Kagome could say 'sit'. Miroku understood.

"Oh don't be such a baby Miroku, I promise that I will be as gentle as possible, but if you want it to heal properly then you will have to let me set it..." Hekele said in a motherly tone, which the group found odd because Miroku was at least three years older than her.

"Only if you promise not to purposely hurt me, Lady Hekele, will I let you anywhere near my poor nose..." said the monk. Hekele nodded and kneeled down in front of the monk so that she was on her knees and could access his nose easily. She unwillingly gave Miroku a good view of her chest, which he took full advantage of. Hekele was rather annoyed but decided that the mild humiliation would be worth it in the end...

"Miroku, I am not going to lie to you...this is going to hurt... a lot..." she warned. Miroku brushed it aside and continued his little 'inspection'. Hekele grinned. She knew that she only had one chance to both make the monk miserable and to place his nose into its correct position, so she had to make it count both ways. She held one hand where the edge of his nose should be and swiftly, but forcefully, slammed her other hand into the other side of his nose, moving it a whole two centimeters and into its original place on his face. The monk screamed in pain.
Inuyasha had to hold onto his ears in order to prevent himself from going deaf; Sesshoumaru did the same. Jakken followed suit.

"YYYAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Lady Hekele!!!!! I thought you weren't going hurt me!!!!!" Miroku yelled in pain. Hekele motioned for him to stay still so that she could bandage his nose in place, the monk reluctantly obeyed.

"I promised not to hurt you on purpose...but I warned you that it would hurt a lot..." Hekele said as she bandaged his nose with the medical tape. Sango was behind the monk holding him in place and repeatedly apologizing for the broken nose as she had done back at the spring. Kagome was standing next to Inuyasha and Kachie; they didn't know whether to laugh or feel pity for the poor monk. Jakken had gone to tend to the fire and Sesshoumaru was counting down the seconds until Hekele would move so that he could dismember the monk. For some reason, the concentrated look on Miroku's face as he examined Hekele's chest enraged the demon lord. Finally, after a few more minutes, Hekele put down the tape and examined the nose.

"I'm done Miroku, now that wasn't too bad now was it?" she said. Miroku got that perverted look in his eyes.

*I may not be able to SEE her bottom, but I wonder...* he thought as his hands slowly reached behind Hekele as she stared into his face, awaiting an answer.

"Oh, it was worth it..." he trailed off as he gave her butt a healthy squeeze and rub. Hekele froze. Her katana and sais were in her backpack and she didn't want to hurt him any more, but she had to retaliate somehow...
Thankfully for her, Sesshoumaru had just had about enough of the monk's antics and within two seconds of the actual grope he had Hekele behind him and was within inches of the monk's face as he spoke.

"You shall cease and desist your inappropriate behavior for the remainder of this 'trip' if you wish to have a nose for her to put back into place. If you wish to show gratitude for her uncalled for kindness towards you and your injury despite your deservence of such, then a simple 'thank you' will suffice."
Miroku just stared at Sesshoumaru in complete and utter fear, for the demon's trademark features were darkening and his eyes flickered to a threatening red. The monk gulped and nodded in understanding. The rest of the group stood there in complete awe; Sesshoumaru had just stuck up for Hekele.

*Damn...she's got him TRAINED!!! I wonder what ELSE she can do.* Inuyasha thought, shocked. Hekele, who was still behind her savior, was no exception to the surprise of the group. She gave Sesshoumaru a curious look, which he didn't see, and smiled a bit. Touching his shoulder gently, she spoke.

"Arigato Sesshoumaru, I didn't have my katana with me so I couldn't chop off his head like I threatened to..." At this, Miroku's eyes widened even more in fear, if at all possible, and he crawled backwards away from the two, quickly. Sesshoumaru paused as his demonic features returned to normal and granted Hekele a glance of curiosity, which she smiled broadly at.

"The first time he 'got friendly' I threatened to chop his head off and feed the rest of his corpse to some sharks...and until now he held me to my word..." she trailed off, glaring at the monk, clearly wishing that she could go through with her threat at the moment. Sesshoumaru gave her a content nod, signifying his respect for the threat and stalked off to the tree he had been at earlier. Hekele smiled and turned to Inuyasha.

"Oh Inuyasha..." she said. The hanyou gulped, thinking he was in trouble.

"What?" he asked, trying to sound calm. Hekele smiled sweetly.

"We need to talk about your fighting 'strategy', or rather, your lack of one..."

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With the kids:

Shippo and Rin were sitting there, staring at the seemingly open cave entrance. They knew better though. After Rin's little break down they had tried everything to get out...twice. Shippo sat about two feet from the barrier, facing it. Rin was lying down looking up at the hole in the roof, both children trying to think of something that they may have missed. No such luck was to be found. After a while Rin got up and walked over to Shippo.

"Did YOU think of anything???" she asked. Shippo shook his head. Rin sighed.

"Rin didn't either...Rin wishes we could just walk right out..." she continued. Shippo nodded.

"Me too...ARGHH!!! This is frustrating!!!" He grabbed a stick that was lying next to him and flung it at the barrier, expecting it to bounce back. It went right through. The kids looked at each other in shock. Then they smiled.

"Rin thinks we found something!!!"

"Me too!!! Quick, gather a bunch of sticks so we can try this out!!!"

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With the rest of the group:

It was just too funny. Kagome was sitting next to Inuyasha watching as Sango tried to teach Hekele and Kachie how to throw her boomerang.

The farthest it ever got was two feet.

"Oi, when are they gonna figure out that they can't throw the damn thing? I thought they were going to learn how to USE the weapon, not get it stuck in the ground!" Inuyasha said irritably as he munched on the ramen he had conned Kagome into giving him. Hekele heard and glared at him dangerously as she mentally thought up her hit list so that when she COULD throw the boomerang, she would...

*Victim number one, Inuyasha...* she thought. Kachie reared the boomerang back and stumbled, causing it to hit Hekele in the head, hard.

*Victim number two, Kachie!* Hekele vowed darkly as she glared at her friend. Kachie smiled weakly before speaking to the evil figure that had momentarily become Hekele.

"Your turn?" Hekele grabbed the boomerang and chased Kachie around the camp, practically destroying most of whatever the boomerang came in contact with.
Sesshoumaru watched the scene with a bemused expression on his face; even he couldn't help but think that watching Hekele go on a rampage with a weapon she didn't even know how to use was funny. He watched as Jakken was stepped on, multiple times. The demon slayer, Sango, was running after the other two girls pleading about being gentle with her weapon. She wasn't having much luck, however. The monk was sitting as far away from the carnage as possible, and looked to be meditating. He watched as the monk peeked open an eye and shook his head, muttering something about how immature some people were. He should talk. Hekele stopped chasing Kachie and consentrated on throwing the boomerang. It got a grand total of five feet before getting stuck in the ground. The group laughed again as Kachie tried to pull it out. Once she did, she took aim for the millionth time that night, and released. The boomerang went sailing. The speed and rotation was beautiful. The only problem was that the boomerang went sailing into the forest. The entire group cringed when they heard a thud. And it wasn't a bone hitting wood type of thud either; it was a bone hitting skull type of thud. Everyone watched as a figure made its way out of the woods and into view holding the offending boomerang. It was Koga. He had a huge, red bump on his head where the boomerang had made contact.
Inuyasha stood up instantly and growled but, for once, Koga didn't beeline for Kagome. He casually walked over to Sango and shoved the boomerang into her hands.

"I believe this is yours slayer, and if it makes contact with my head again I will do more tan just destroy the damn thing..." he said coldly. Sango smiled a bit and nodded.

"I, Koga, am not the one who threw the boomerang at you...the girl who threw it and who just happened to hit you was Kachie over there..." she said, pointing at Kachie, who was trying to hide behind Hekele. Koga glared daggers at both of them.

"I was showing them how to use it and Kachie is apparently catching on to it much quicker than Hekele...she actually hit a demon instead of the dirt..." she finished.
Koga decided to ignore her and he then walked towards Kagome, which put Inuyasha back on his toes.

"Kagome...my love, how are you?" he asked, trying to avoid Inuyasha. Kagome rolled her eyes and Inuyasha growled again.

"Go away ya mangy wolf...Kagome has already turned you down once this week, AND you've fallen into a hole while making your getaway. Do you want to embarrass yourself more by getting your ass kicked by me?" he snarled. Koga sneered.

"Oh, YOU'RE gonna kick MY ass are you...we'll just see about that..." The two lunged at each other, like always, and mere seconds before they collided Kagome could be heard yelling.

"SIT!!!!!!!!" Like always...

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With the kids:

"Ok, that didn't work...let's try this!!!" Shippo said as he grabbed another stick from the steadily dwindling pile.

"Shippo-chan is going to get fried again...Shippo-chan's tail is already stuck up worse than usual..." Rin said as she shook her head. Shippo glared at his fellow captive and ran at the barrier with the stick in his hand, only to have it bounce back once the barrier came in contact with skin that wasn't touching the stick. It hurt, as usual.

"Waahhhhh!!!!!!!! That hurts!!!" Shippo wailed. Rin rolled her eyes.

"Rin warned Shippo-chan...again..." she said as she gently blew colder air onto the burn for him. Shippo pouted.

"I really thought that it was gonna work though..."

"Shippo-chan tried that four times before, and it didn't work then, so why work now???" Rin questioned, both annoyed and amused at Shippo's antics. Shippo continued to pout.

"Well, if it's so easy Rin, you do it!" he dared. Rin thought for a moment and processed the information that they had gathered since their 'experiments' had begun. Then something clicked. She ran over to the pile and grabbed a stick that had the same length that her arms were when spread out as far as they would go. She then placed the stick onto her shoulders and stretched her arms to their full extent. She then walked up to the barrier and edged through it sideways, so that some of her was touching the stick at all times, and so that the full width of her body was covered by a stick.

She made it.

"Rin did it Shippo-chan!!!" she teased as Shippo scrambled over to the pile of sticks and did the same. Once he was out Rin gave him a smug look, which he tried to ignore. The two walked out of the cave and stared down. They were on a cliff.

Shippo looked at Rin, "Now what smarty?" he asked. Rin just smiled at Shippo, who knew what was about to happen and groaned.

"Shippo-chan can turn into a big pink bubble right??? Get changing!!!" she exclaimed happily. Shippo looked down again and gulped, but another look at the slowly angering Rin told him that he would rather listen to her than not.

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The rest of the group:

Inuyasha was moping in a tree about being 'sat', Kagome was trying to get him down, and Koga was listening to the avid chatter of Kachie and Hekele, whom he had been formerly introduced to by Sango and Miroku, seeing as Kagome was busy... Kagome had turned him down again, and she had also explained their situation with the children, and Sesshoumaru's presence. This part confused Koga a bit, seeing as the demon lord usually wanted Inuyasha dead more than Koga did, but ignored it.

"...So, now that Kagome-sama has turned you down yet again, Koga, what do plan on doing now?" Miroku asked the wolf demon once Hekele and Kachie had quieted down.

"I'm gonna help look for the kids of course! What do think I am? Cold hearted? I am not going to walk away after hearing that they've been kidnapped!!!" he yelled back. Kachie was right next to him and glared at him for yelling, within the next second there was another bump on Koga's head, along with a surprised yelp from the wolf demon.

"What the hell was that for?!?!?!!?" he yelled. Kachie hit him again.

"Both were for yelling in my ear!!! Unlike you demons, we humans aren't accustomed to yelling or being yelled every frickin' word said!" she yelled in return, getting in his face. Koga, being surprised, just shut his mouth and edged away from her. Inuyasha snickered.

"Future girls three, demons from the past zip." Koga chucked a rock at him, knocking him out of the tree.

"What's that suppose to mean, dog-turd?" he questioned. Sango and Miroku were laughing, Kagome was laughing, Inuyasha was snickering, (despite his position on the ground,) and the two other girls from the future were just smiling.

"Oh nothing...I'm just saying that Hekele got the upper hand over Sesshoumaru in an argument twice now and Kachie has just gotten you as well. 'Future girls three, demons from the past zip', get it now ya mangy flea-bitten wolf?" Inuyasha dared. Within two seconds Koga was at his throat and Sesshoumaru was glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, Inuyasha wouldn't stand a chance. Kagome sighed and sat down next to the fire and Koga abandoned his maiming in order to go 'comfort' her. Inuyasha was about to attack him again when Sango held him back. She shook her head and nodded to where the two were now talking.

"Look, everyone's tired, just let him talk to her; it is obvious that she doesn't care for him as more than a friend. You don't have to worry about losing her to him Inuyasha, believe me." Inuyasha looked around and saw Kachie curled up in a sleeping bag, Miroku was lying under a blanket, Jakken was about to fall into the fire because he was dozing off while so close, and Hekele was resting near Sesshoumaru, who was under the same tree he had been at all evening with his eyes closed, though he wasn't sleeping. Inuyasha relented and nodded his head to Sango, who smiled gratefully. Inuyasha jumped into a tree and lay down, making sure to keep an eye on Koga and Kagome while he was there.

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

With the kids:

Are we almost to the place Shippo-chan smells them at?" Rin asked as she held onto Shippo's hair during their little flight. Shippo grinned.

"Yep!!! And I was right, they were coming after us...they came a long way too!!! They probably stopped for the night around the time that we escaped!!!"

"Rin thinks that we should hurry up! They will be happy that Rin and

Shippo-chan got out all by themselves!!!" Rin said happily. Shippo grinned again.

"I can see them! Hold on Rin!!!"

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

With the rest of the gang:

"What the hell?" Inuyasha asked aloud as he sniffed the air. Kagome and Koga looked up at him oddly before Koga's nose picked up the scent as well.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Koga said to Inuyasha as he recognized the smell.

"What? What do you two smell?" Kagome was becoming frantic, first Inuyasha had left her and Koga alone, and now they were both smelling something out of place and not doing anything. Suddenly Sesshoumaru's eyes bolted open and he leapt forward, nearly scaring the half-asleep Hekele while he was at it. He landed near Inuyasha and Koga as he sniffed the air, just to be sure of what he was smelling.

"...How can this be?" he asked as he gazed at the sky. Inuyasha smiled.

"I don't know, but they are alone...so it isn't a trap," he said. Kagome caught on, so did Hekele as she walked over to the group to figure out why they were all acting fruity.

"Y-you mean the kids? Shippo and Rin? They are on their way? How far off are they???" Kagome started to get that joyous feeling in her stomach as Inuyasha pointed over the treetops. There was the outline of Shippo's pink balloon form with the outline of a little girl on top.
Hekele smiled with newfound happiness as she ran around the camp waking everyone up. Kachie had proven difficult, what with all the random swinging of arms and all, but eventually she was awake too. Sango and Miroku were exchanging questioning grins and shrugs as Hekele and Kagome started bouncing up and down out of pure joy and relief. Then they saw the oversized bubble heading their way and their jaws dropped. Jakken was leaning on his staff in a vain attempt to stay awake but it proved futile and seconds later he was sleeping again.
Shippo poofed out of his big form when the two neared the ground and let himself fall into Kagome's loving and protective embrace. Rin barely had time to think before Hekele had her in a bear hug and was swinging her around in joy. After being let down Rin ran to Sesshoumaru and hugged his leg tightly. Even Sesshoumaru couldn't pretend to be cold-hearted in a situation like this. He bent down and lifted Rin into his arms and gave her a hug as well. Rin was surprised that her Sesshoumaru-sama had actually hugged her, but it overjoyed her at the same time. As soon as he had set her down Hekele had Rin in her arms again and was hugging her for dear life.
Shippo had a welcome quite like Rin's but it affected him more. As soon as Kagome was done squeezing the kitsune Inuyasha had ruffled his hair into a mess and had said:

"It's great to have you back; we were worried about ya."

We. Inuyasha had been referring to himself as well. Shippo had never heard Inuyasha say that he had worried about him. Feeling loved in a whole new way, Shippo jumped onto Inuyasha and hugged him nearly as tightly as he had Kagome. Inuyasha was surprised but he smiled and hugged the kitsune back, causing Kagome to smile as well. Miroku and Sango had their turns to hug Shippo as well, but they wouldn't be for a while; Kagome was holding onto Shippo for dear life once he was no longer hugging Inuyasha, and wasn't letting anyone near him either.
Kachie and Koga hung back behind the huge group. Koga had never established even a friendship with either of the children, and Kachie hadn't even technically met them yet, so neither felt the right about joining in the festivities. The two looked at each other shyly and both felt a little out of place and embarrassed.

"So...you're a wolf demon?" Kachie asked, deciding to break the ice.

"Yeah...what of it?" Koga asked, a bit taken aback that she had even spoken to him. He inwardly wondered what had prompted that question out of her of all the things she could have said to him.

"Well, wolves are my favorite animals, and I like learning about them," Kachie said, sitting down on a nearby log, "...and since you are a wolf demon, it might be cool to learn about them from you. You can also tell me about wolf demons too! If you want to that is..." Kachie said, looking at Koga with a question in her eyes. Koga, despite his obsession over Kagome, couldn't help but find those eyes of hers very endearing. And Koga couldn't help but be a bit excited that someone wanted to learn about his wolf clan, usually people in this era just screamed when a wolf was seen, even if it wasn't after them, and wanted to kill them. Koga knew that this girl was from Kagome's era, but he still was in awe that someone actually liked learning about wolves.

"Sure I'll teach you about them! No one ever likes to hear about wolves! They think that they are nothing more than killers but they aren't!" Koga was going to like this, Kachie was nodding along with what he was saying and seemed to understand how he felt. This, he could get used to.

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

"Will you two be quiet!?!?!?!? We are trying to sleep!" Miroku yelled to Kachie and Koga. It was well after midnight and the two were still talking about wolves. A rock was sent flying into the air and it hit Miroku in the head, sending him into unconsciousness. That would keep him out for a while...
Kagome held Shippo in her arms as sleep threatened to claim her. Kagome didn't want to fall asleep though; she didn't want to let Shippo out of her sight, even in sleep. Shippo was long asleep, though, his long and tiring day had taken its toll. Inuyasha looked at Kagome and smiled. He gently pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Kagome looked up at him, surprised.

"Inuyasha?" she asked. Inuyasha just held her in place.

"Go ahead and sleep Kagome...I won't let anything happen to you and Shippo...you can sleep..." he whispered to her. Kagome nodded and allowed herself to fall asleep in his arms. Inuyasha rocked her a bit and nuzzled her. He laid his head on hers and cautiously watched Koga talk to Kachie; if he was lucky, Koga would be distracted for a while, and he wouldn't have to argue about his current position with Kagome. Besides...it wasn't Inuyasha's fault that Koga was busy talking to Kachie and not paying attention to 'his woman'. Inuyasha clutched Kagome a bit tighter; she was his. Koga could just pack up his tail, (which Kachie was currently admiring,) and go back to his pack. Inuyasha closed his eyes and allowed sleep to claim him. He was going to go through hell in the morning, what with everyone's questions, the perverted monk's questions, and Koga's death threats. Inuyasha didn't care at the moment, though he was happy where he was.

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

Rin was sleeping in Hekele's lap and Hekele was sleeping sitting up under the tree next to Sesshoumaru. Hekele had made it about half an hour after the kids had returned before falling asleep, Rin had made it five.

Sesshoumaru had decided to sit next to them that night; he was a bit on edge about Rin still. Kagura hadn't come after them yet, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't. Naraku had a reason for having her kidnap Rin and Shippo, and if he had a reason, then he would retaliate. Perhaps this was the first part of his plan for Inuyasha's doom. And Rin had been kidnapped as retaliation for Sesshoumaru's lack of participation? Sesshoumaru couldn't be sure.
Hekele shifted her position a bit, causing her head to slip and land on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. Sesshoumaru stiffened and looked down at her, and found her still sleeping peacefully. His lips curled into a slight smiled and he unwrapped his tail from around his shoulder, gently re- wrapping it around Rin and Hekele's shoulders and arms to keep them warm. Hekele curled into the silky tail and smiled in her sleep. Sesshoumaru felt a bit at peace for a moment before the disturbing thoughts from before entered his mind. Naraku had something evil up his sleeve, and, whatever it was; it was strong as well. Sesshoumaru could sense the impending doom, but the question was; when and where would Naraku's plan be unleashed? Sesshoumaru glanced at Koga, who was still deep in conversation with Kachie. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.

*And he claims that the miko is his love...* Sesshoumaru decided to stay awake that night; Koga wouldn't notice a threat if it bit him in the tail. Sesshoumaru allowed himself to be comfortable though, despite his need to stay awake. He glanced at Rin and Hekele again; both were snuggled up in his long, furry, (and yet VERY silky,) tail. They looked so calm and untouchable, almost like two angels resting, waiting for the sun's first rays to re-awaken them for another day in Heaven. Sesshoumaru enjoyed the sight. He smiled again and subconsciously laid his head on Hekele's. He closed his eyes.

*I'm just going to rest my eyes...I'm not going to go to sleep...* he thought to himself. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, between the long day's travel and the heavy weighted anxiety of losing the children being lifted, sleep had snaked its way into his body, and he was out before he could even re-think his predicament...

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

*Me* So......what does everyone think???

*Lawyers* We think it sucks.

*Me* Huh??? I thought it was good...I love this chappie!!!

*Kachie* I liked the chapter...I got to talk to Koga ALL night! And the kids were smart enough to get out on their own!!!

*Kagome* I loved this chapter too...Inuyasha was soooo sweet...I love him so much!

*Inuyasha* You do? Yay!!! She loves me, she loves me, she loves me, Kagome LOVES ME!!!

*Kagome* *gives Inuyasha a huge hug* Yep!!! I love you!!!

*Koga* I like this chapter too; Kachie is really nice.

*Me* *Watches as Kachie gives Koga a huge hug, causing him to blush* Those two are so cute together.

*Lawyers* God, what are you doing? This fic is so horrible...

*Sesshoumaru* Excuse me?!?!?! This happens to be a really thought- out fic! Leave Hekele alone or else I will be forced to kill you...oh wait...that would be fun!

*Me* *Hugs Sesshoumaru tightly* Thank you Sesshy!!!

*Sesshoumaru* *Hugs Hekele back* You're welcome...Now everyone, R&R if you want an update!!!!!!!!!!!

*Sango* *poofs into fic* In the next chappie the dog boys get to suffer the consequences for their show of emotion...Muahahaha!!! Oh, and Miroku and I tell Hekele, Kachie, and Kagome about Kikyo and Naraku's alliance...when we tell Inuyasha, will he believe us??? So, like Sesshoumaru- sama said, R&R and Hekele-chan will update soon!!!