A/N: Oh, yeah! I'm back, baby! Just kidding…but seriously…been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, I noticed I hadn't updated this one in a while, so here you go! Please review and let me know what you all think!

>>>>>>

What the Future Holds
Chapter Six

Inuyasha paled considerably, and blinked several times. Grabbing Kagome's shoulders, he shook her, hard. "Midoriko! Midoriko, you wench! You can't do this! Kagome is a hanyou! This will kill her! Don't you understand?"

"Inuyasha…calm yourself." Sesshoumaru demanded.

He frowned. "I don't see you trying to do anything about the situation."

"We can't, daddy." Sumire whispered sadly.

Realization again slapped Inuyasha in the face. Kagome was going to die. Kagome was going to purify herself to end everything. He glanced at her. She was there, but she wasn't. It was her, but it wasn't her. The fight for the Shikon jewel was really going to ruin their lives.

"Dad…" Taka frowned.

Inuyasha looked up. His father, his brother, his mother, and everyone else was staring at him with worry in their eyes. His father cleared his throat in a manner much louder than necessary.

"Inuyasha," he said seriously, "you do realize…what will happen if Kagome dies, don't you?" he asked.

Sighing, Inuyasha nodded slowly. "Yes, I realize."

"Inuyasha!" Miroku snapped, and the hanyou's head bolted upright.

"What?" he demanded.

Miroku shook his head. "I've never known you to give up before! What the hell are you doing? Are you just going to sit there and tell me you aren't going to try to save her? You always do! You can't pick now to change such an important tradition!"

Sango nodded in approval. "You have to help her. We have to help her. She's fighting a battle. We can not let her fight it alone."

"You're forgetting she isn't alone." Sesshoumaru reminded them quietly.

Sango nodded again. "Yes, she's with Midoriko…but we are her friends and family. She needs us to be there for her…not here."

Miroku coughed. "Well then…I suggest we figure out a game plan. What are you going to do?"

Inuyasha stood, once again placing his hands on Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome! Kagome? Can you hear me? We're…coming in there….to help you!" he paused. That sounded a bit weird…but it was true.

"Dad…what if we touched the jewel? Nothing happened to mom until she physically had it in her fingers. Maybe we just have to touch it." Shippo suggested. He took a step forward. "It is worth a try…."

Inuyasha gulped, and slowly, he nodded. "You hear that, Kagome?"

"Idiots." Sesshoumaru spat.

The entire room turned to stare at Sesshoumaru, who was staring back with a frightening look in his eyes. He took a step forward, and did not blink once.

"I can not allow you all to go in." he said. "Sending our spirits inside the jewel would only serve to leave our bodies behind and open for Naraku's attack. Have you forgotten who trapped us here in the first place? Not to mention the fact that all of us would be purified if we went inside the jewel. If we want to help Kagome, we need to honor her sacrifice. She wouldn't be too happy if we all died trying to prevent a situation under which we had no control…"

There was a moment of silence.

Inuyasha blinked. "Why are you picking right now to be an ass hole, Sesshoumaru?" he demanded after a moment.

"Sesshoumaru…." Yuka began.

"I'm sorry…" Sesshoumaru whispered. "I can not allow everyone to go on a suicide mission. I'm not discussing the matter any further. With anyone." He added, turning to Yuka.

She nodded slowly, and did not say another word.

>>>>>>

"Lady Midoriko, watch out!" Kagome screamed, sending out an arrow. Kagome had never before seen so many demons at one time. If Midoriko had truly been fighting this many demons when she died, Kagome was astounded. It was perfectly understandable why the fight to finally rid the world of the jewel had taken so long.

"Kagome, take my hand…" Midoriko reached out.

Kagome, rather than take her hand, merely looked at it. "Why?" she asked.

"We are going to purify everything. Once everything is purified, the power behind the jewel of four souls will be no more." She answered.

Kagome blinked. "Purify…everything?" she repeated, and the priestess at her side nodded. "You didn't say…I thought I was brought here to help you fight the demons, not to purify them…We can kill them…but I can't…"

Midoriko looked shocked. "What is the problem? You are a strong miko. That is why I asked you here…"

"The problem is that I am a hanyou." Kagome snapped, pointing to the very obvious ears atop her head. "If I was on my own, I would purify everything, and I wouldn't care about the consequences. However, I have a mate and four children. If I die, he dies as well, and then my children would be orphans. Besides, the actual jewel isn't what puts us in danger."

"Oh?" smirked Midoriko.

"Right. It is people who seek to use it for the wrong purposes…people like Naraku. If my mate and I were to perish because we purified the jewel, that would not guarantee the safety of my children. Destroying the jewel will not destroy those who are after it."

"Your family is aware of the risks, Kagome." Midoriko whispered.

"How?" she demanded.

"I informed them."

"You?"

"Yes."

Kagome paused at this. This was new information. "You knew this was going to happen. You pulled my soul into the jewel knowing what you wanted to do….and you told my family I was going to die? I came here to help you fight the demons, yes…but I planned on winning, and going home."

Again, Midoriko could only blink. "I'm sorry, Kagome. We haven't any other choice." She finally replied.

>>>>>>

"I should kill you." Inuyasha growled.

"Father!" Shippo snapped. "Contain yourself! We didn't think…and…Uncle Sesshoumaru is kind of right. If we all got our souls sucked into the jewel, we would all be purified when everything was over. Mom would be so mad at you…"

Inuyasha looked as if he was going to punch a wall. "So…we just have to sit here, and watch her die? I…" he was at a loss for words.

Sango frowned. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. How were we to know this would happen?"

But Inuyasha had jumped up as if he had just gotten a very smart idea. "Sesshoumaru!" he yelped.

"No," Sesshoumaru answered simply.

Inuyasha's smile fell from his face. "Damn you! Why must you be so negative?"

"Inuyasha, in order for Tenseiga to work, the dead must still be in possession of their soul. Kagome's soul is inside the jewel now…"

"Son of a…!" Inuyasha cursed, finally punching the wall. "Damn it! Kagome…" He sank down onto the nearest couch, and placed his head in his hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I…I have an idea, Inuyasha…" Miroku whispered. "It may hurt Kagome, but I think it's better than the alternative."

Inuyasha looked up momentarily. "All right." He said after a moment. "Whatever it is, go ahead and do it."

"But don't you want to know what…."

"No. I said just go ahead and do it. If I know what it is, I'll think twice, and we don't have that kind of time on our hands right now." Inuyasha snapped.

Miroku sighed deeply. "All right…" he nodded in agreement. "But…there is something else." Miroku held up a sutra, and glanced around the room. "I'm going to try to draw Kagome's soul out of the jewel and back into her body with this sutra…but since we don't know what's going on inside the jewel, I won't be able to control it. We could end up with some demons on our hands….or their souls, anyway…"

"Which would mean…" Akira frowned.

Miroku tossed his staff to Sango, and placed another sutra on the ground amid the group. "When I throw this the sutra, plunge my staff into the ground where I have just laid that sutra. A barrier should erect itself around you all…"

"Miroku…why?" Sango demanded. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, but I should be able to absorb them with my kazaana once we are sure Kagome's soul is back into her body…" he answered.

"And how will we know?" asked Taka.

Inuyasha nodded. "Trust me. We'll know."

"Everyone get ready!" Miroku commanded. "Now, Sango!" He threw the sutra toward Kagome's body.

The jewel was still clutched in Kagome's hand. When the sutra hit her, it sent out a shock, and Inuyasha jumped as Kagome's still rather frigid body convulsed. The jewel, rather than falling to the ground, floated out of Kagome's hands and hovered in front of her. It began to shine brightly before several glowing balls emerged from it.

There were five in all. One of them shot into Kagome's body.

"Lady Kagome! Is that you? Are you all right?" Miroku called, looking nervously at the other four balls of light.

Kagome blinked, and the color began to return to her cheeks. For a moment, she looked very confused. "Is it you?" Miroku repeated, staring directly at her.

She gasped and quickly nodded. "Yes, Miroku, it's me…" she answered. "What happened? How did I get back?"

"Explanations shall come later, Lady Kagome!" Miroku yelled. "Brace yourself! The others are safe, but the kazaana is likely to destroy absorb everything around us…."

Kagome nodded in understanding, and wrapped her arms around Miroku's waist. He opened up the kazaana, and the four balls of light were soon gone…as was the wall of the house. He closed it quickly, and fell to his knees.

The sacred jewel of four souls was lying on the ground near Kagome's feet. There was no longer a glow coming from it. Carefully, Kagome picked it up and examined it between her fingers. After a moment, she smiled.

>>>>>>

A/N: Had to leave it there. Do you hate me? Oh, well, that's too bad. Please review, and I will update as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!