Authoress:...*begins singing 'Star Trek' theme song*

Inuyasha: *stares at nearby screen, fascinated with Patrick Stuart's bald head* so shiny...

Authoress: *grabs remote, only to have it fall off arm of the couch* NOOOO!!!! COME BACK

TO ME, MY REMOTE!!!! I NEEEED YOUUUUU!!!

Sesshomaru: *covering ears, eyes twitching, stomps on the remote, then walks over to TV set and

turns off the black box* grrr...

Authoress and Inuyasha: OO....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Miroku: *woken out of a sound sleep* ...AAAAHHHHH

Sesshomaru: *begins banging head on TV screen, then turns the show back on*

Authoress: YAY!!! SAY HI TO WARF!!!*waves at TV screen*

Inuyasha:...he kinda looks familiar...*stares at the Klingon*

Sesshomaru: *races out of room quickly, then throws computer at Authoress* TYPE!!!

Authoress: um...sure...kay...whatever...*waves fist in the air* BUT YOU OWE ME AN

EPISODE OF STAR TREK...the next generation...SESSHY!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...I don't own Star Trek...*sniffle* not even Patrick Stuart...and I

don't own Meatloaf...or Days of Our Lives...(wonderin' where they come in...aren't ya? ^__^;;)

Chapter Twelve

"So...she's helping us defeat Naraku...I don't see what's in it for her..." Inuyasha stated,

narrowing his eyes when he looked at the sleeping wind sorceress. 'If she doesn't want to kill us,

then why is it she attacked in the first place?'

"She just wants to be free of Naraku...she was threatened with Kanna's life...that should be

enough for you, Inuyasha..." Kagome retorted, glaring at the hanyou.

"She's right, Inuyasha...Kagura would have already tried to kill us if that was her intention..."

Koga pointed out, glancing over at his lover. 'Inuyasha bears such grudges...but he forgave me

for kidnaping Kagome...calling her 'my woman'...but he can't seem to just forget that, at one

time, Kagura was our enemy...' Koga thought to himself, seeing Inuyasha's face soften slightly

when the hanyou looked over at him.

"Feh," Inuyasha stated, turning so he was looking at no one in the group. Inuyasha flitted off of

the tree into the darkening forest, and was followed by Koga. (A/N:...*ahem*...they're going to

talk...I swear!!!)

Kagome sighed, watching the hanyou and wolf youkai leave. 'Sometimes Inuyasha's temper is

even worse than mine...' she thought to herself, glancing around the campfire. Miroku and Sango

had fallen asleep a while ago, the small fire neko the only thing between them, Shippou, Kohaku,

Jaken, Myoga, and Rin had also been slumbering for some time. Kagome looked around,

searching for the youkai lord, and saw him standing in the shadow of a tree.



Kagome stood up and walked towards the youkai, having a feeling he wanted to speak to her

alone. She looked up at her love's face and held back a gasp. 'No matter how many times I've

seen him...I...I can't get over his beauty...' Kagome thought, smiling at the demon. "What is it?"

Kagome asked, staring into Sesshomaru's golden eyes. She noticed his eyes had always softened,

showed more emotion, when he looked at her, but now, she could clearly see every emotion in the

youkai's eyes.

She nearly stepped back out of sheer surprise when Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around her. He

held her tightly, burying his face into the top of her head. Kagome melted into his embrace,

letting her arms wrap around the youkai's back. She pressed her smaller body against his, her

body shivering slightly as Sesshomaru ran his hand up and down her back. After a moment of

complete silence, Kagome realized she had stopped breathing.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, finally able to inhale again. She laid her head on his chest and

listened to the quick beating of his heart.

"Don't...confront Naraku..." Sesshomaru replied quietly, taking a deep breath. 'Jasmine...'

Sesshomaru thought, recognizing the miko's scent. The smell reminded him of his kasan, and he

couldn't think of anyone more deserving than Kagome to carry the same scent.

"Nani?" Kagome moved away from the demon lord slightly, looking up into his face. 'What does

he mean...don't confront Naraku? Of course I'm going to fight him...' Kagome thought to

herself.

"I don't want to lose you..."

'...he's trying to protect me?' Kagome asked inwardly, touched by the youkai's concern. "Don't

worry, I'll be fine...I should be telling you not to fight Naraku..."

Kagome smiled when she saw one of the youkai lord's thin eyebrows arch, a curious expression

on his handsome face. "Why is that?"

"For what he did to you...wouldn't seeing him again bring back all of those memories?" Kagome

asked, seeing Sesshomaru's surprise. 'He didn't know that I knew...about what Naraku did to

him...' Kagome thought to herself, tightening her arms around the youkai. 'I...I can't even

imagine what it was like...to be helpless...against such a monster...'

"I won't be affected by the past..." Sesshomaru retorted, trying his best to sound uncaring, but

Kagome could hear the lie in his voice. The youkai lord buried his nose in Kagome's hair, trying

as hard as he could to forget the feeling of Naraku's hands on his body or the sensation of his

flesh being torn as he laid, defenseless, on the ground.

"Sesshomaru...even if I didn't go...if you died, I would as well...If I am to die...I want to die by

your side..." Kagome said quietly, tears forming in her eyes. 'I don't want to ever leave you...'

Kagome thought to herself.

"I won't be killed by such a weak hanyou..." Sesshomaru stated, cupping Kagome's cheek,

making the miko look up at him. "And if he attempts to harm you...death won't be enough to end

his torture..."

Kagome broke into a smile, glad to see that Sesshomaru would do anything to protect her, which

meant she wasn't just a crush to him. 'I really wasn't sure...he is so quiet...so emotionless...I

hardly know what he feels towards me most of the time...' Kagome thought to herself, standing

on the tips of her toes to brush her lips against the demon's.

(A/N: LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL!!!!!...*bobs head up and down, listening to Meatloaf* I

lu~~~v this CD...anyways...um...continuing with our lovely citrus fruity kinda story...IT'S

ENDING UP TO BE A FREAKIN' SOAP OPERA, I don't know what it is...but it reminds me

of Days of Our Lives...*shrugs* HEY...I watched that show for a long time...DAMN SCHOOL

LETTING ME OUT FOR VACATION!!!!!!!^______;;;On to the story!!! *throws fist up in air*

hell yeah!!!)

Sesshomaru hungrily kissed her back, tightening his embrace around the ningen miko. He pressed

his lower body against the woman, making her moan into their deepening kiss. Sesshomaru's

(A/N:*snores*) hand roamed across the miko's back, memorizing the curves and muscles of her

body, then began descending dangerously low. Kagome gasped when she felt the youkai's hand

grasp her buttocks.

"S...sesshomaru..." Kagome said quietly, running her hands though the demon's silky hair. The

miko felt her lower body begin to warm, a feeling unfamiliar to her, as Sesshomaru's mouth left

hers, but before Kagome got the chance to catch her breath, the youkai began licking her exposed

neck, his warm tongue leaving trails of saliva along her jugular and jaw.

Kagome closed her eyes, letting the handsome youkai lord's tongue run across her face, the mere

feeling of Sesshomaru's panting breath and tongue nearly making her collapse. She, in her lust

filled stupor, barely heard Sesshomaru pant her name as she ran her hands down his back, blindly

searching for the knot in his yellow obi (A/N: an obi is the tie around a kimono...in case ya didn't

know...).

"Ka...Kagome, we can't..." Sesshomaru whispered, removing his hand from her still-clothed

body.

"Why?" Kagome asked, slightly disappointed, as the youkai stepped back, attempting to cover his

arousal with his hand. She looked at Sesshomaru's face and saw a reddening tint on his cheeks.

"N...Not until we are mated..." Sesshomaru replied, breathing deeply as he tried to forget about

his erection that was almost painful.

Kagome smiled at the youkai. 'He wants to wait...he doesn't seem like the kind to disapprove of

premarital sex...' Kagome thought to herself, studying Sesshomaru's face. 'He's so

beautiful...why would he fall in love with me...a ningen?'

"Ai...Aishiteru..." Sesshomaru said quietly, lowering his head, but Kagome could see the blush on

his cheeks. 'How kaiwaii (A/N: I don't know if I spelt it right...but it means 'cute'),' Kagome

thought to herself.

"I love you too, Sesshomaru," Kagome replied, moving close enough to the youkai to brush her

lips against his cheek. 'I love you more than I thought possible...' Kagome added inwardly as she

stepped away from the demon lord...the man she had, involuntarily, fallen in love with.



"Kill them..." the voice repeated, this time more threatening.

"No...I can't!"

"Do it...you have no choice!"

"But...why!?" The pleading tone echoed throughout the never ending blackness, but, after a few

minutes, the question remained unanswered.

"Kill them..."

"Hey, Kagome, are you going to get up some time soon?" Inuyasha asked quietly, creeping

towards the miko, trying his hardest not to wake his brother, who the miko was curled up next to.

'Heh...he looks tired...' Inuyasha thought, mentally slapping himself for such a perverted thought.

"Hai...I'm awake, Inuyasha," Kagome replied softly, looking up at the hanyou. 'Perhaps we

should get going sometime soon...' the miko thought to herself as she stared into Inuyasha's eyes,

the golden orbs held a happiness that Kagome never saw before...before Inuyasha and Koga fell in

love. 'I wonder what would have happened if Koga and Inuyasha...Sesshomaru and I didn't fall

in love...I might have ended up marrying Inuyasha...' Kagome shook her head inwardly at this

thought, no longer able to imagine life without the youkai lord sleeping contently next to her.

With a quick glance at the campsite, Kagome noticed someone was missing. "Where's Kagura?"

"Dunno...she wasn't here this morning when I woke up..." Inuyasha answered, shrugging his

shoulders as he sat down near Kagome, but far enough from his brother so the hanyou felt

comfortable. 'I know Sesshomaru won't kill me now...but I can't help but feel cautious...nervous

around him...' Inuyasha thought to himself.

"Hm...that's strange..." Kagome thought outloud, examining the campsite closer. The three

children and Kirara were gone, but she could hear their laughter echoing through the trees,

Miroku was currently sneaking through the trees, most likely in search of Sango, who, Kagome

guessed, was bathing, Koga was sprawled across the ground, his blue eyes staring up at the sky,

and Myoga and Jaken talking about something that the two demonic retainers were chuckling

over.

"What is?" Sesshomaru asked, raising his head slightly, still half asleep, as he looked up at

Kagome, laying his head back down on the miko's warm chest once he saw that the woman had a

smile on her face. 'She is so happy...I want her to remain so...' Sesshomaru thought to himself,

inwardly promising he would never make the ningen cry.

"Kagura's missing..." Kagome replied, letting her left thumb stroke the youkai's smooth cheek.

'It's a good thing he doesn't seem to hate Inuyasha anymore...that would be hard to get over...'

Kagome said inwardly, glancing over at the hanyou for a moment. Inuyasha had a bored look on

his face as he looked away from the couple.

"MIROKU!!! YOU LECH!!!" Sango's voice rang out, followed by a large *thwack*. The houshi

stumbled into the camp a few moments later, a cluster of large bumps on his head and a hand print

on his cheek. Miroku smirked, laughing to himself, as he sat down near Koga, rubbing his

reddening cheek.

"Can't you keep your hands off of Sango?" Inuyasha asked the houshi, his eye twitching. 'That

horny human...how could he be a monk?' Inuyasha questioned inwardly.

"I didn't touch her...I swear!" Miroku retorted, a grin on his face, making everyone in the camp

sigh, shaking their heads.

"This is the place..." Kagome said, staring at the deserted-looking building. 'Yesterday, Kagura

said this is where Naraku's been hiding...I don't think she would lie...' Kagome thought to herself,

sensing a jewel shard within the destroyed palace.

"I don't know...there's something that makes my fur stand on end..." Koga commented, rubbing

his arms. 'I don't like it...' the wolf youkai said inwardly.

"I can smell a hanyou..." Sesshomaru said quietly. Kagome turned to look at the demon lord,

since she was the only one to hear him.

"Then, Naraku is here?" Kagome asked the youkai.

"Hai..." 'I couldn't mistake that scent...' Sesshomaru added inwardly, glaring at the castle as he

felt the energy move...closer to them.

"Then let's g-" Inuyasha's statement was interrupted by a powerful gust of wind, throwing the

unsuspecting hanyou back a few feet. Inuyasha landed on his feet, glaring at the figure emerging

from the castle.

"K...Kagura?" Kagome's voice was full of surprise when she saw the wind sorceress, her fan

raised as she smiled at the group. 'Kagura...she isn't working for Naraku anymore...why would

she...' Kagome asked herself, staring at her 'friend.'

"It seems you have once again let your guard down..." another figure exiting the castle stated,

chuckling. Sesshomaru, Koga, and Inuyasha growled at the man that stepped out from the dark

interior of the palace.

"Naraku..." Inuyasha stared at the other hanyou, grating his teeth. 'That bastard...he's going to

die...for sure...today...' the hanyou promised inwardly, remembering all the promises he made to

get revenge for what Naraku did to his and Kikyo's lives.

"I didn't think you would fall into my trap so easily...I'm glad to see that all of you trust that

reincarnation so much..." Naraku commented mockingly, the baboon skin covering up his face.

"Now I'll be able to get rid of all of you..."

Miroku, surveying the area, discovered that there were numerous poisonous insects hovering in

midair, preventing him from using his wind tunnel against Naraku. 'This was his plan all

along...to have Kagura get close to Kagome...then to lead us here...' the houshi thought to

himself, wondering what Naraku had planned this time, since every time the hanyou confronted

their group, he ran away licking his wounds. 'He sounds very confident...'

"Feh..." Inuyasha muttered, looking around. 'Why do I sense youki...and a great deal of them?

All of them are extremely powerful too...nearly equal to Sesshomaru's...' the hanyou thought to

himself, sniffing the air, but he couldn't smell any youkai besides the ones he could see.

Kagome stared at Kagura, trying to understand why the wind sorceress would turn on them. 'I

was sure she was on our side...what happened?' Kagome asked herself, staring into Kagura's red

eyes. The miko gasped, suddenly feeling pain in her chest. 'Nani?' Kagome opened her mouth,

but discovered she was unable to speak...or breathe.

She remained perfectly still, her body paralyzed by some unknown force. Kagome tried to ignore

the pain that was now spreading throughout her body, but a few warm tears escaped her

unblinking eyes.

Sesshomaru glanced over at Kagome for a moment and saw the wet trails running down the sides

of her face. He then looked over at Kagura, wondering what the wind sorceress was doing to his

miko. The instant his eyes met hers, he sensed an unusual ki surrounding their group. 'That's

what it is...' The youkai thought to himself, now knowing why he felt youki. Before Sesshomaru

had the chance to warn the others, his body was enveloped by the energy, its power making it feel

like his body was being crushed.

"I see that you've discovered what my newest ability is..." Naraku stated, glancing over at the

inu-youkai that was shaking in attempt to remain standing. "The more you struggle, the quicker

you die..."

Sesshomaru inwardly cursed the hanyou, wondering how he could free himself from the ki around

him. Inuyasha looked from his brother to Kagome, immediately noticing that both of them were

in immense pain...but they couldn't do anything. 'What's going on?' Inuyasha asked himself as he

glanced over at Miroku.

'It...it's like a cage...' Miroku thought to himself, trying to devise a way for them to escape. 'If

we were to somehow able to kill Naraku...or injure him badly enough that he would have to recall

his ki...Kagome and Sesshomaru would be freed...but...if any of us move...he'll begin to attack us

as well...' Miroku then realized that there was no way Naraku would be able to control his

energy so well to begin to crush all of them at the same time. 'He'd have to free someone...'

Inuyasha, his thoughts paralleling Miroku's, unsheathed his Tetsuiga and began racing towards

Naraku. He continued running, listening to Miroku's, Sango's, and Koga's feet pounding behind

him, until he dropped his demonic sword, his hand feeling as if it was on fire.

The two ningens and the wolf youkai fell to the ground, their bodies in just as much pain as the

hanyou's. Miroku glanced up from the ground to see that Naraku's energy had begun to assail

Rin, Jaken, Myoga, Kohaku, Kirara, and Shippou. The children dropped to the ground, fainting

from the pain immediately, as the two youkai retainers and the fire neko fought back, but they

eventually fell to the ground as well.

"I guess I overestimated your abilities...I thought you would be a little smarter than to try to

attack me..." Naraku stated cooly, glad to see that Inuyasha was in a great deal of pain.

"You guessed wrong, Naraku!" Kagome exclaimed. The hanyou's head whipped around to look

at her, his eyes widening when he saw she, and the inu-youkai, were freed from his trap,

Kagome's miko powers creating a shield around them. The shield grew, enveloping the rest of

the group.

"Y...you...how could..." Naraku took an involuntary step back, instinctively beginning to fear the

miko and youkai. He could feel the immense ki, a mixture of the inu's youki and the miko's

purifying energy.

"This time you won't escape..." Kagome said, raising her hands. 'If I concentrate all my

energy...I should be able to hit him with one shot...' Kagome thought to herself, knowing

Sesshomaru was thinking the same thing. 'If he dodges...I won't get a second chance...and I'll be

defenseless...'



Naraku, frozen in fear, watched as a ball of pure energy began forming in the miko's outstretched

hands...its purple glow illuminating the ningen's face, a face that looked so much like the miko's

who he had lusted after for so long. His fear grew when he saw the ki shoot towards him, a

second ki, glowing red, swirling around it.

The last thing Kagome saw before she blacked out was the violet energy tear Naraku's body to

shreds, and another body in front of his. 'Goodbye...Kagura...' Kagome thought, falling to the

ground.

Authoress: ...*eye twitches* DIE NARAKU DIE!!!..*beats hanyou over the head with pocky

stick*

Naraku: ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ___

Authoress: Okay...continuing...^____^;;;

"Hey, Kagome..." Sango said, noticing the miko had woken up. Kagome looked around the

room as she sat up, a smile on her face. "He's gone..."

"...What about Kanna?" Kagome asked, glancing over at her best friend. 'She's fine...that's

good...no one was hurt...' the miko thought to herself, seeing all of her friends sitting around the

room, all except for Sesshomaru.

"After you fainted...Inuyasha found her body in the castle...he said she was dead for at least a

day..." Sango replied, seeing a flicker of sadness on Kagome's face.

"That's why Kagura returned...she was trying to save Kanna..." Kagome whispered. 'And she

tricked into attacking us...' Kagome thought. "Where's Sesshomaru?"

"Outside...I think...Inuyasha had to almost tie him down to get him to stop pacing...he's been

worried about you..." Sango answered, smiling at the miko. 'He kept a watch over her...I've

never seen him so...unguarded...loving...' Sango thought to herself.

Kagome got up and left the room, quickly saying 'hello' to everyone else as she walked out the

door. 'Naraku's dead...now we have no competition to find jewel shards...' Kagome thought to

herself as she walked out into one of the castle's numerous gardens, somehow able to know

exactly where Sesshomaru was.

She walked along winding paths, all of which were pale stone, except for a section of one path,

where the stone was a fading red. Kagome stared at the unusual colored stone for a moment,

then saw a small building to the left of the path. She walked up to the door, amazed at the beauty

of the building. It was covered in vines and shaded by large cherry trees, but what made the

building so breathtaking were the flowers blooming all over the walls, door, and roof. 'Jasmine...'

Kagome thought, recognizing the flower immediately. She opened the door slowly, making sure

she didn't destroy any of the blossoms.

She smiled when she saw a figure kneeling in front of a group of burning candles. The flames

flickered slightly as he turned to look at Kagome. "You're awake..." Sesshomaru said quietly,

standing up.

Kagome walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his frame, then looked over at the

candles. She saw a large portrait in front of the candles, a portrait of five people. Kagome

immediately recognized the young man that wore a red kimono.

She then saw a child sitting in his lap, the boy's golden hair so similar to the beautiful woman that

sat next to the hanyou, his eyes also matched the woman's, but he had a crescent moon on his

forehead and two red stripes on each side of his face. 'It's their family...' Kagome thought,

guessing that the woman with furred ears on the top of her head was Sesshomaru's mother and

the black haired woman on the other side of the hanyou was Inuyasha's kasan. She then looked

at the man standing behind the four. The man's features were so similar to the youkai she was

embracing, that Kagome could easily tell that this was Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's father.

"Your mother is beautiful..." Kagome said quietly, letting go of the man she loved more than

anything else. 'They all look so happy in that picture...' Kagome thought to herself.

"Hai...she was..." Sesshomaru replied, glancing over at the portrait. "That was painted two days

before she was killed."

Kagome stared into the youko's eyes, seeing that the artist had captured an approving glimmer in

her eyes. "Sesshomaru?" The inu-youkai glanced down at her, wondering what Kagome was

going to ask. "If we have a portrait like that done...I hope we look just as happy..."

Sesshomaru smiled, pressing his face into Kagome's raven hair. 'We will...' he said to himself, for

the first time since his mother died, sure of what love was.

Authoress: *sniffle* that was cute...okay...actually it was a friggin' soap...

Koga: *smiling, holds up bar of white soap*

Inuyasha: (From bathroom) WHERE'S MY SOAP!?!?!??!

Authoress: O.O;;...anyways...*whispers for Koga to go and flush the toilet*

Koga: *leaves room, wondering what the Authoress meant by 'something funny will happen'*

Miroku: *gnaws away happily on a pocky stick*

Sesshomaru: *sleeping on windowsill*

Authoress: okay...so...how did ya like it?...I know, the whole Naraku/Kagura/Kanna death thing

was anticlimactic...I apologize...I didn't think torturing Sesshy anymore would be a good

thing...and I didn't have it in me to hurt me SEXY DOG MAN!!!

Sesshomaru: *wakes up, eye twitching*

*flushing toilet sounds*

Inuyasha: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Koga: *races back in room, soaked* OO;;;;

Authoress: heh heh...that was good...next time...I'll make sure that it's Sesshy takin' a

shower...^___^ And, please, for all who review, tell me if I should put up a sequel...I've already

got one person who does...

Sesshomaru: NOT AGAIN!!!!! *races out of room, stealing pocky sticks from Miroku*

Miroku: GIVE EM BACK!!!! *runs after youkai*

Authoress: I don't want to be annoying...but I'm starving for reviews...on this one story (my only

story, so far) on fictionpress.com...IT'S INTERESTING!!!...it is...and I've got two chappies up

so far...it's (as if ya couldn't guess) yaoi...but, nothing descriptive...or anything so far...I swear!!!

But, anyways...THANK YOU FOR READING THROUGH THIS STORY!!!!!!! ^______^ Until

the SEQUEL!!!!!(if there is one)...