A/N: Yay! More reviews! Awesome-ness! Hopefully, you guys will like this chapter enough to review as well! Hope you enjoy!

>>>>>>

My Only Hope
Chapter Nineteen

Kouga sighed deeply. "This is not even in the realm of amusing as far as I'm concerned." He swung in the breeze. He was hanging from a tree by one foot, his arms crossed.

"It's not my fault you walked right into it!" Kagome was near to tears. "How was I supposed to know Shippo was up to his tricks again? You should have been more alert than that!"

He growled. "It's not funny."

"Shippo…seriously…get him down now. We have a big problem we have to talk to him about, and it's kind of hard to talk to him when he's hanging from the tree…"

"What is it, Kagome?" asked Shippo.

Kagome shifted her gaze. The kit didn't need to know of the impending danger. She didn't want him to get into trouble. "Kohaku!" she called. "Why don't you and Shippo go with my grandfather to…to visit Tokyo?" she suggested.

Her grandfather's eyebrow rose in concern. "You want me to take them to the other side of the well?"

"That is a good idea." Inutaisho nodded. "Izayoi and Akira should go as well. It will keep them out of danger until we've taken care of the issue at hand…"

"Issue at hand?" Shippo repeated.

"Never mind, runt." Inuyasha rubbed his hand over Shippo's head. "Everything is going to be all right. Have fun in Tokyo. They have chocolate there." He added, and watched Shippo's eyes light up with happiness.

"You won't leave me there, Kagome?" Shippo whispered.

Kagome's features softened. She glanced at Inuyasha and smiled sadly. "No, Shippo. I would never leave you there. I just don't want you to get hurt…"

The kit nodded, and soon, he was off. When he had gotten out of hearing range, Kagome turned to the group. In attendance was Inuyasha, her father, Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Sango, Miroku, and several of Kouga's comrades. She took a deep breath. "Okay…what exactly do we know about these bear demons?"

"Their leader is a demon named Kumade. He'll probably be leading the assault. He's larger than the others, and completely ruthless. Also…his mother was a poison demon. Avoid his claws at all costs. If the blow alone doesn't kill you, the poison soon will." Sesshoumaru spoke up.

Inuyasha frowned. "Sounds like a pain in my…"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome growled. She cleared her throat. "What about the others?"

"Still pretty lethal." Sesshoumaru answered. "They are about as large as we are when we transform…" he turned to his father and Jin.

"I see. And what could we do to help?" Kagome sighed. She glanced at Kouga and his comrades, then at Inuyasha, and then straight at the ground.

"Your miko powers may come in handy. Do you have a good stock of arrows?" Jin asked her.

She nodded. "Yes…they will work against the bear demons?"

"If you aim well, yeah." Kouga smirked. "Unless you've somehow lost your ability to hit your target?"

"Of course not!" Kagome gasped.

"All right…" Jin smiled. "They'll be here later today. Sesshoumaru, Inutaisho, and I can take on some of them on our own if we transform. Sango, if you learned any tricks from your training, employ any that you can think of…or maybe…" Jin looked thoughtfully at the monk Miroku, but his face fell. "Your wind tunnel is gone…" he reminded himself.

"We should fare well," Sesshoumaru nodded. "I say we start preparing for the battle. We'll be able to tell when they get here, so hopefully we'll be ready for them."

"They're already here." Inutaisho frowned deeply. "Just beyond the hill."

Inuyasha growled, pulling out his sword. "Let's go."

Kagome's jaw fell to the floor when she finally saw the approaching bear demons. "Inuyasha…they're huge. How do we attack something that big if we can't transform?"

"Aim for the head." He whispered. "The bigger they are…the harder they fall…hopefully…." He added under his breath.

Kagome nodded, letting out a breath she didn't even know she had. The bear demons were standing at the top of the hill, looking down on them with contempt shining in their eyes. The sky was pink, and the sun was starting to go down in the sky, although Kagome could not see the moon beyond the trees. She had butterflies in her stomach.

She readied an arrow, and sent it flying. It whizzed above Inutaisho's head as he transformed, but a sudden gust of wind made it go slightly off course. It hit one of the bear demons in the shoulder rather than in the head.

"That works!" Sango smiled.

Kagome groaned. "Inuyasha…something's wrong with me…" she whispered. She glanced into the sky, and nearly screamed.

Inuyasha looked up. "Oh, no…"

"Two full moons in one month?" Kagome yelped. She felt the power drain from her body as darkness enveloped the land. She glanced at Inuyasha.

"Kagome, go! I don't want you to get hurt!" he demanded.

"Inuyasha, I'm fine. Besides, you need my arrow power, thank you very much…" Kagome let another arrow fly, barely dodging a freakishly long claw as it hit the ground.

Inuyasha paled, but continued his attack. "Be careful…" he whispered.

Kagome nodded, but gasped as Kouga flew over her head and hit a tree, hard. "Kouga? Are you okay?"

There was no response.

Inuyasha nearly screamed. He had barely dodged yet another of the bear demons attacks, but still managed to nearly get slashed in two. Kagome reddened in anger, sending an arrow straight into the forehead of the demon who had hurt him. Surprisingly, he discintegrated.

After a couple of hours, there was only Kumade.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango screamed, severing Kumade's arm.

He growled in anger, punching Kirara from the sky, and effectively ending the fight for Sango and Miroku in the same blow. Sango, her companion demon, and Miroku lay bleeding and unconscious on the ground.

Jin jumped on Kumade, attaching himself to the bear demon's neck and pulling with all his might. When his strength alone would not bring the bear down, Sesshoumaru joined the fray, jumping onto Kumade's back and biting with the most ferocity he could muster.

Kumade yelped, and soon he fell and did not move. To be on the safe side, Kagome hit him with a purifying arrow. Within seconds, he was gone.

Inuyasha, breathing heavy, sighed with relief. "Glad that's over." He frowned.

"Yeah," Kagome nodded. "Sango…Miroku…Kouga…" she realized. "Are they okay?"

Sesshoumaru glanced at Sango and Miroku. "They'll live."

"And Kouga?"

"He'll never live it down," Inuyasha smiled. He groaned in pain, and Kagome noticed his wounds.

"Inuyasha…you're hurt…" she gasped. "Were you hit by Kumade?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Of course not!"

"I'm serious! I don't want you dying on me!" Kagome yelled at him. "Let me see your wounds…"

"They'll be fine. I should be the one checking to see if you're all right. You're human. How in the world were there two full moons in so close a time?" he turned to his father for answers.

Inutaisho shrugged, groaning at the large gash in his side. "It happens on occasion. Would've been nice if we'd have had some warning, though…"

"I'm so tired…" Kagome yawned. "We have to get Sango and Miroku back to Kaede's hut. They need the recovery time…"

"You need sleep." Inuyasha said sternly.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious." Kagome laughed at him. He was right though. Her legs felt as if they would fail her at any moment, and her eyelids felt heavy. She yawned deeply, nearly falling off balance. Inuyasha caught her.

"Oh yeah, you're going to bed when we get back down there…" he said with concern in his voice.

Kagome frowned. "Put me down, Inuyasha. You're hurt. I refuse for you to carry me right now. Wait until your wounds are healed…" Kagome whined.

Jin and Inutaisho laughed to themselves. Jin helped to carry back Sango and Miroku.

Sesshoumaru plopped himself down next to the fire and took a deep breath. "Did anyone find that just a little bit easy?" he asked them.

"How so?" asked Inutaisho. He had some of the same thoughts.

"There were nine of them, three of us, Kagome and her two friends were human…yet we managed to defeat them in a mere couple of hours. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Last time I came up against Kumade and his forces, I had serious problems, and I had several of my men with me…" Sesshoumaru admitted.

"True," Jin nodded. "It does seem a bit odd…and Kagome's arrows alone took down two of them…"

Inutaisho nodded. "But her arrows are quite powerful."

"That powerful, though?" whispered Sesshoumaru. "The battle nearly exhausted her. She could barely walk back on her own. Are we sure this was all there was?"

Inutaisho frowned. "You have a point."

"What is that supposed to mean, though?" Jin asked.

"That maybe something bigger is coming…that maybe Kumade and his forces were nothing but some kind of diversion. I bet it has something to do with father's return. Anyone who could defeat the mighty Inutaisho would certainly be noteworthy in the demon world…"

"I don't think my return is the only problem. Have either of you thought about the possibility of Kagome?" Inutaisho suggested.

"She's a hanyou, father." Sesshoumaru shrugged.

"Part hanyou, and thanks to Lady Kikyou, part Miko. She could be pretty lethal if she needed to be." Jin informed them. "And then, of course, there is Inuyasha…"

"What about him?"

"He wields Tessiega like there is nothing to it…one of the most powerful swords ever in possession of human or demon alike. He is very powerful, even if he hasn't realized the extent of that power yet…"

"And Kagome and Inuyasha plan to mate…." Sesshoumaru added thoughtfully.

"Well, I've already told Inuyasha I approve of that." Jin nodded. His eyebrow rose in confusion. "What's the problem with that?"

"Maybe the rest of the demon world does not." Sesshoumaru answered

Inutaisho blinked. "You think these demons are attacking to prevent Kagome and Inuyasha's union?"

"It does make a little bit of sense…" Sesshoumaru sighed.

"But Kumade and his comrades…they could have easily squashed Kagome or Inuyasha at almost any moment during the battle…but they didn't."

"Therein lies the problem," Sesshoumaru nodded. "Why didn't they?"

"Maybe they're waiting for something." Jin replied.

Inuyasha stood in the door of the hut, and glared at his father and brother. "What's this your talking about? I've heard mine and Kagome's names mentioned several times. Mind telling me what's going on?"

"We're not even sure if we're right with our little theory, but you may want to sit down…" Jin warned him.

>>>>>>

"Do you think everyone is okay?" Shippo whined. "Why wouldn't they let me help them? Why did we have to come and stay here?" he questioned.

Izayoi shook her head. "They just didn't want you to get hurt is all."

"Kagome will come for us when everything is okay." Akira assured him.

"Ms. Higurashi?" Eri and Yuka stuck their heads into the door. "Is everything okay? Is Kagome coming home from her aunt's house any time soon?"

"Come in girls. I want you to meet someone." Akira smiled. "This is Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi…and this is Shippo."

They dropped to their knees and began to stroke Shippo's head. "He's so cute! Is Kagome home?"

"Kagome is in the feudal era right now, taking care of something. Do you girls want to go for a visit?" she asked. Izayoi's mouth nearly dropped open when Akira mentioned the feudal era, but she closed it quickly.

"Can we?"

"When everything is all right, yes you can."

"All right?"

"I'll explain later. Is that all you girls came by for?"

Yuka shook her head. "We thought we might come and warn you. Hojo plans to come by after graduation later this week. He likes Kagome a lot, and he wants to…"

"That won't happen." Akira interrupted her, shaking her head.

"That's what we thought, and we told him about Inuyasha, but he still plans to come by…" Eri informed her.

Akira shrugged. "We'll be gone by then."

The shoji swung open, causing Eri and Yuka to jump. It was only Kagome. She smiled at her friends. "Hey guys! Mom, Izayoi, everything is all right now. Dad said to come and get you guys. We took care of the bear demons…"

"Can Yuka and Eri come as well?" Akira asked. "They wanted to visit with you…"

Kagome shifted her eyes. "Okay…but when we get back we need to talk about something. It's kind of important." She added.

"All right."

>>>>>>

"If the other demons unite, we could possibly have another Naraku on our hands." Sesshoumaru growled. "They're probably all just waiting in the bushes until Kagome and Inuyasha complete the mating ritual…"

"Yes…that way, kill one of them, and the other goes down as well…" Jin shook his head somberly. "There has to be someone somewhere who is giving directions to everyone else, right?"

"Right." Inutaisho agreed.

"Let's find him, then." Jin suggested with venom in his voice. He jumped up when Kagome reentered the village. "I'm glad you all are back," he bowed.

"How are Sango and Miroku doing?"

"Better," Inuyasha replied.

"And how are you?" she asked next.

"I'm fine." He nearly growled. "Quit worrying."

"We need to be worrying about both of you right now," Sesshoumaru smirked. "You both have a problem as far as we're concerned."

"If everyone would leave us be, there would be no problem." Kagome growled. "I mean, give me a break. In the past month and a half, we've run into Naraku, Jiro, Takemaru, Kumade…it's getting just a bit annoying."

"They aren't your only problems, Kagome." Eri whispered, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Hojo is planning to come by your house later this week, Kagome. We told him about you and Inuyasha, but I don't think he believes us…"

"What?" Kagome yelled. "I have enough problems as it is!"

"You've just got one more…." The voice was very familiar.

Akira's mouth dropped open, for Hojo was standing at the entrance of the forest, looking at everyone.

"Hojo…." Whispered Kagome.

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do." He smirked.

"How did he get through the well?" demanded Sesshoumaru.

>>>>>>

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you liked it. I have decided that this story will continue as long as you guys stay interested, so just let me know:D