A/N: I have rabid raccoons living in the attic right above my room! I'm not insane after all! Ahem…hope you guys like this chapter!

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My Only Hope
Chapter Twenty

"Hojo…how did you get here?" Kagome managed to choke, despite the lump of fear that had lodged itself firmly in her throat. Hojo hadn't answered when Sesshoumaru asked the question. She didn't know why she thought her luck with him would be any better.

"I saw your mother jump into the well when I was coming up. When I looked into the well, though, she was gone. I thought it a bit strange. I figured maybe there was a tunnel down there or something…but I ended up here. Where exactly are we?" he asked, ending his explanation.

"You came through the well?" Inuyasha's eyebrow rose, as if he didn't believe Hojo's explanation.

Hojo nodded.

"Oh, no…" Kagome coughed. "Does that mean…"

"The seal on the well doesn't work anymore. The shikon jewel must have been the key…and we haven't realized it for this long. Demons could easily be traveling back and forth between time periods…" Jin gasped, not even trying to hide his shock from the group.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Hojo. "What the hell is going on here?"

Ignoring him, Inutaisho frowned. "That's it. We have to seal it. We can't allow it to remain open if anyone can use it now. The consequences would be far too great…"

"I agree," Kagome nodded. "But what about…?"

"Your friends and family…" Inuyasha finished her sentence.

"They can stay here if they want, but we can not allow for the portal to stay open if the seal has been broken…" Inutaisho groaned.

"Excuse me!" screamed Hojo. "Where in the hell are we, and what are you all talking about! Kagome, I demand some answers right now! Someone tell me what is happening!" He took several steps forward.

Kagome took a step back. "I've…never seen him like that before…" she whispered.

He took a firm hold on her shoulders, and shook her. "Tell me!" he yelled.

"Let go of her." Inuyasha growled, a clear note of warning in his voice.

"Hojo…he's not joking…" Kagome whispered. After a moment, he released his grip, and Kagome sighed deeply. "You want an explanation, Hojo?"

He nodded with enthusiasm.

Kagome nodded. "All right…"

"But Kagome! He…" began Yuka, but Kagome held up her hand to silence her friend.

"You came through the well to another place…you were right about that much. The area near the well is where my grandfather's shrine will be located about five hundred years from now. The big tree near the well is the god tree that sits in our yard five hundred years from now. The well is the gateway between the two time periods. This village and the surrounding area would be modern day Tokyo. This is the warring states era…we're in feudal Japan…five hundred years in the past."

Kagome let this sink in as best it could before she continued. She turned to her father. "This is my real father, Jin, a dog youkai…and Inuyasha's father, Inutaisho, and his brother Sesshoumaru…also dog youkai. Shippo is a fox demon." She pointed to the small kit, who was currently perched atop her left shoulder. "Inuyasha…" she reached out and grabbed his hand. "This is Inuyasha. He is a hanyou, like me, and my future mate…"

Kagome sighed. "Hojo, I've been traveling to the past since I was fifteen…it'll be three years in a month." She told him. "My mother and my grandfather have known the whole time. I wasn't sick all the time, I had things to do here…"

Hojo tried to swallow his shock, but still, his jaw dropped to the ground. Realizing this, he quickly closed it, and then blinked several times. "I see…" he finally managed, although his voice sounded pinched and very forced.

"What are we supposed to do now that the idiot boy knows everything?" demanded Sesshoumaru.

"We let him decide what he's going to do. Either way, we're all staying here, right, so what he says in the future won't matter to us…" Kagome reminded him, and he nodded. "So what do you plan to do now, Hojo?"

"You'd better make up your mind quick, buddy. We have a lot of problems, and not a lot of time to deal with them." Inuyasha frowned.

Hojo stared at him a moment. "Kagome…did you say 'mate'? This guy is your future 'mate'? What does that mean?"

"It's the demon version of marriage, Hojo." Akira piped up, and he slowly nodded.

"I see," Hojo repeated. He swallowed. "So that is what's been going on for the past couple years…" he whispered to himself. "And what would you all say if I said I was staying here?"

Kagome paled. "I don't know about that, Hojo. I mean, Akitoki is already in this time period. If you were both here, then your family line wouldn't be able to continue in the future, unless your mother has another son…." She paused. "Besides, what on earth would possess you to want to stay here?" she asked of him.

"If I go back, people will think I'm nuts, Kagome…and you can't expect me to go back and not talk about going to the feudal era. Come on, now. I mean, if I let it slip, they might just go and tear down the temple, and if they figured out how to work that neat well…"

"Are you threatening her?" Inuyasha and Jin growled in unison.

"Hojo, what has gotten into you?" demanded Eri. "Why are you being so mean?"

Hojo looked up. "You can't tell me that the two of you are going to go back to the future, never to see Kagome again, are you?" he demanded of them.

"That's different…" smirked Yuka. "Our parents already know what's going on. We told them over a month ago. They've talked to Kagome's mother…whereas you go about things the sneaky way and follow people around and make threats. What's wrong with you?"

Kagome, if possible, was even paler. She swallowed, finding her voice, and screamed, "Stop it!"

Everyone looked up at her. She smiled, and cleared her throat. "If you guys want to stay here, you'll have to talk to the people that live in this village. We have to seal the well, so if you stay, you won't be going back. You'll have to help the villagers and do work everyday and you won't be able to go back if you get homesick…so please, don't let me be your reason for staying…"

Inuyasha coughed. He could tell Kagome was trying to motivate her friends into going back to their homes. If they knew more of the truth, Inuyasha was hoping they would be convinced. "This place is dangerous. There is war everywhere, and demons around every corner." He paused. "Staying with Kagome is a nice thing to do…but that would mean that you would grow old and die here." Inuyasha turned to his brother. "My brother is just shy of seven hundred and fifty years old, and I don't even pretend to know how old my father or hers is. She will remain just as she is until the day she dies…"

Kagome nodded, emphasizing this.

Jin took in a sharp breath, interrupting the conversation. "If they wish to stay, let them stay, but we have much work to do, and if the demons that are trying to get to Kagome and Inuyasha realize we're sitting outside arguing amongst ourselves, they will attack, and I am in no mood to deal with anything right now…"

"Our first order of business will be to seal the bone eaters well, so if any of you wish to leave, now would be the time…" Inutaisho warned as the group made its way back to the well.

Kagome gasped. Surprisingly, it wasn't Hojo or her friends that decided to leave, but her own grandfather. "I thought you wanted to stay here with us?" she gasped.

"Kagome, someone must stay behind and run the shrine and make sure that no one gets near that well. I will have the well house demolished when I return, so that no one may be able to use the gate to get back to this time. Do not worry. I am getting to be very old. I'll be fine." He wrapped Akira, Souta, and Kagome in a hug and jumped into the well.

Kagome stared down into the blackness of the well for a moment, swallowing the lump in her throat. She looked back at her friends. "What are you guys doing? Don't you want to go home?" she demanded.

When no one replied, Inutaisho cleared his throat. "Inuyasha, I think your sword will be able to handle the task quite easily…" he whispered.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and her friends before he raised his sword into the air, and demolished the well. He took several steps back. "I think that ought to do it." He said after a moment's silence.

Sango spoke for the first time in nearly half an hour. "We had better get back to the village…" she warned everyone. "This forest isn't exactly the safest place to hang around in."

Miroku nodded in agreement. "I think we might all benefit from a nice hot cup of tea." He smiled, and surprisingly, everyone nodded.

They were almost back to the village when Jacken found them. "Lord Sesshoumaru…" he whispered.

"Jacken, weren't you supposed to take Rin and go back home?" Sesshoumaru growled. "Why are you here? And if you are here, where is Rin?"

Jacken flinched. "Lord Sesshoumaru…Jacken has lost Rin…."

"You did what!" Sesshoumaru screamed, raising his hand over his head and then dropping it to his side again. "Where did you lose her at, Jacken?"

"Jacken went to get Rin from Rin's room, and Rin wasn't there. Jacken couldn't find Rin anywhere inside Master Sesshoumaru's castle…" The toad squeaked, and brought his hand up as if he expected to be hit at any moment.

"Did you hear anything?" Sesshoumaru asked instead, and in a rather calm voice, considering the bad news.

Jacken shook his head vigorously.

"And you didn't catch a scent?"

"Jacken lost the scent, sir. His nose is not as good as yours…" he explained.

"I see," he nodded, and glanced at his father.

Inutaisho nodded. "Go find her."

The finally reached the village, and Kagome headed straight for Kaede's hut. Everyone followed her inside. Inuyasha sat down in the corner in which he usually sat, and Kagome sat on his lap.

She sighed deeply. "All right. Let's get down to business here," she frowned. "We're sure that there is someone after us?" she asked her father.

He nodded. "Almost positive. The union between yourself and Inuyasha…the combination, as we said, is almost unheard of. Kumade was most certainly some kind of diversion…and I could almost bet that the disappearance of Sesshoumaru's human child Rin has something to do with it as well…"

"That's no surprise. If Sesshoumaru has one weakness, that little girl is definitely it…" Inuyasha commented.

Hojo, Eri, and Yuka all blinked. "Wait…what?"

"It's a long story…" Inuyasha frowned. "There are demons out there that want Kagome and I dead because our pups would be…well, more powerful than them…"

Hojo nodded. "They're going to kill you?"

"That'll never happen." Inuyasha shook his head. "They've tried countless times and failed, and I'm not about to let Kagome get hurt."

Yuka smiled. "That's sweet, Inuyasha." She whispered.

Later that night, the group sat outside around the fire, chatting aimlessly. Despite Sesshoumaru's crisis, nothing new had happened. Jin and Inutaisho spent their time trying to figure out exactly who the ring leader was in the plot against Kagome and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sat on a low branch in a nearby tree, looking down on the rest of the group. With a small leap, Kagome joined him, snuggling into his chest.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"You. Everything," he admitted. "It's all so confusing. If they were going to attack, I don't understand why taking Sesshoumaru's little girl would have anything to do with getting to us…"

"You answered that yourself earlier." She reminded him. "She's his only weakness."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yes, but what does she have to do with all of this? Is there something about her that we have somehow missed? I mean, there has to be a reason she was kidnapped. It can't only be to get at Sesshoumaru. Hell, until recently, he'd rather have killed me than help protect me…"

"True." Kagome agreed. "Maybe there is something else about Rin that we've missed…" She paused. "But there is still the chance that it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with getting to us…" She shivered.

"You're scared, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered. "You don't have to be scared. You're strong, and I'll always be there to protect you…" he promised.

She shook her head. "I'm not scared, I'm just worried about you…" she admitted.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"I won't."

"You don't know that."

"I promised you didn't I?" he smirked. "That's one promise I won't ever break."

Inuyasha carefully moved Kagome's hair away from her face, and kissed her cheek. He moved to her collarbone, and glanced up at Kagome.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered.

"This might hurt, Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, and she nodded as he carefully bit down on her neck. She gasped at the pain, but found that it passed quickly and was replaced with a warm sensation that seemed to travel to her very core. Inuyasha pulled back, kissing her lips lightly, and hugged her to his chest. The small ritual had taken not but a minute or two, and then it was over.

Sniffing the air in confusion, Jin, Inutaisho, Shippo, and Kirara all looked up into Kagome and Inuyasha's tree. Kagome's scent had begun to change so suddenly that it nearly frightened them. Jin nodded when he realized what Inuyasha must have done.

Inutaisho sighed. "Now that Kagome is officially marked, I'm guessing the games will begin. I hope Sesshoumaru finds that little girl soon…" He paused, jumped up, and wheeled around, drawing his sword as he did so. The blade was pointed directly at none other than Kanna, the small girl that had once been part of the evil Naraku.

"What do you want, Kanna?" demanded Inuyasha, not releasing his protective hold on his mate.

"The little miko girl is in trouble," Kanna said simply.

"Little miko girl?" repeated Kagome. "What are you talking about, Kanna? I am right here, and I am certainly not little."

"Not you." Kanna nearly snapped at her. "There is a child. The demons won't kill the child if you agree to come for her…" she told Kagome.

Kagome paled. "Kanna…are you talking about Rin?"

Kanna looked confused for a moment, but quickly nodded.

"They want me to come get her?" Kagome asked, and again, Kanna nodded.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha. "I can't leave her with them, Inuyasha…"

"They're trying to trap you, Kagome!" Inuyasha yelped. "If you go after her alone, they'll kill you! They want you to come after her!"

"But I can't leave her there, or they'll kill her. I know it's nothing but a trap. Come with me…" she suggested. "They won't be able to handle all of us if we all go…"

"They could be expecting that, actually…" Inutaisho sighed deeply.

"So what do we do?" asked Sango.

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A/N: :D Please review, and I will update soon! Thank you!