A/N: Here's chapter seven! Hope you like it! Please review!
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What the Future Holds
Chapter Seven
"What's the verdict?" whispered Miroku.
Kagome looked up as Sango tossed Miroku his staff.
"There isn't anything coming from it. Nothing at all. It's nothing but an ordinary jewel now." She told them all.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the entire room.
Sesshoumaru took a hurried step forward. "Well, it seems the monk has provided us with our way out of the house. Finally." He smirked. "Now all we have to do is find Naraku and get rid of him before something bad happens…"
"Sesshoumaru," said Yuka simply, "you're ruining the happy moment for everyone else. Be happy. You've finally gotten rid of that jewel…and this time, we know it's for good."
"We can not remain here long." Sango warned them all. "Naraku will be back…"
Shippo began to laugh in an almost alarming fashion.
Inuyasha's eyebrow rose in confusion. "Okay, runt. I know what just happened was really good and everything…but did you hit your head? What's wrong with you? Why are you laughing like that?"
"I just thought of something funny is all."
"What?" demanded Kagome, looking interested.
Shippo grinned. "Can you all imagine the look on his face when he realized what has happened?" He paused. "We have entered a whole new ball game…and this time around, we have the upper hand. We are stronger than him. We can beat him. It would be easy now. We could set a trap, and…"
"Wait a minute…." Inuyasha growled, warning in his voice. "Be careful what you say, Shippo. We aren't out of the woods yet. You saw how strong he was back at the house…and that was without the jewel shards."
Sango looked like she was thinking. "I like it." She said finally.
"Like what?" demanded Miroku.
"Shippo's idea…it could work." Kagome nodded, as if she could read what Sango had been thinking. Sango smiled at her friend, and Kagome walked over to Inuyasha.
"Kagome…don't even think about it. You are not doing something like that. Have you lost your mind completely? I won't let you. Miroku just had to pull your soul out of that thing. I won't risk losing you again. Do you understand?"
"I'll be fine, Inuyasha." She assured him. "We already know that he knows that I can see the jewel shards. It makes sense that I be the one to lure him in to the trap. It's more believable that way."
"Wait a minute! When did we decide on any of this?" yelled Kagome's father.
"Just now." Kagome replied. "Come on. Let's get out of here." She walked through where the wall once stood, and out into the sunlight. "We have some business to take care of."
Sesshoumaru followed her. "I agree with Kagome. Come on. We already know where to find him…"
Inuyasha did a double take. "Since when do we know where to find him?"
"He's evil, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru answered simply.
"And?"
"And…being a villain is like photography. You have to wait for the right moment. Which means that he is probably at the house, sitting in your chair, waiting for you or Kagome to walk through the door…"
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"Or…not." Sesshoumaru frowned as they entered Kagome and Inuyasha's house.
"Well, yet another one of your brilliant theories flushed down the toilet." Inuyasha smirked.
"Can you two not fight for more than like three minutes?" snapped Yuka. "Be nice to each other."
"I'm going to rest." Sesshoumaru said airily. "Someone can come get me when something of interest happens."
"Because we wouldn't want to leave you out." Smirked Inuyasha as his brother headed towards the stairs.
Kagome yawned. "I think I'll go take a nap as well. I didn't realize how much everything had made me so tired." She kissed Inuyasha gently, and was soon at the top of the stairs. The useless shikon jewel hung loosely around her neck. "Night!" she called.
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"I don't like it." Inuyasha's father growled. "Things have been too quiet."
"Meaning?" Jin asked.
Inutaisho sighed. "Naraku went to elaborate lengths to make sure that we were trapped inside that house. So what was he doing while we were in there? And don't you think he would have tried to attack us by now? But no, Sesshoumaru and Kagome are upstairs napping, Inuyasha is eating an entire box of ramen, and I don't even know where the kids are…" He paused. "It's too…relaxed."
Jin nodded in agreement. "Maybe a little bit."
"I can't help but think about what Sesshoumaru said, though. It makes perfect sense…to wait for an opportunity like…" suddenly the color drained from his face. "Has anyone been upstairs to check on Kagome?" he demanded, jumping from his chair.
Inuyasha looked up, concerned. "I looked in on her a while ago. I think everything took a lot more out of her than she was willing to admit down here. She was injured, I think, in the battle inside the jewel…"
Inutaisho ran towards the stairs. "Sesshoumaru was right!" he called.
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Just an hour earlier, Kagome had been sleeping when she heard something snap close. Someone was in the room with her. Lifting her head only slightly from the pillow, she sniffed the air, but her sense of alarm died quickly when she recognized her mate's scent in the air.
"Hey, Inuyasha…I'm fine…no different than when you were here five minutes ago…" she said groggily.
Inuyasha said nothing in reply, and Kagome kept her eyes closed. She could feel the covers shifting slightly, and shortly after that, felt the mattress sink.
"Inuyasha, if you were tired too, you should have said something earlier…" she whispered sleepily, and shifted her position in the bed slightly. Her eyes opened into small slits, and she yawned.
As she opened her eyes, realization hit her like a ton of bricks, for laying next to her was not Inuyasha, but Naraku. He covered her mouth before she could manage to scream, picked her up, and stealthily jumped out of the bedroom window.
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Inutaisho banged hard on Kagome's bedroom door, which, unfortunately, he found to be locked tightly.
"Kagome!" he called. "Kagome, wake up and open the door!" he demanded.
Inuyasha was at the top of the stairs in an instant. "Dad, what's going on? What happened? Is Kagome all right?"
"We left her alone…" was Inutaisho's reply.
Inuyasha paled. "You don't think…?"
"Yes, I do." His father nodded slowly.
"Kagome!" screamed Inuyasha, pounding on the door. When she did not open, he finally gave up and kicked the door in.
Inside his and Kagome's room, a heap was gathered under the blankets, and Inuyasha rushed forward to check it.
"Kagome?" He pulled the covers back quickly, and his heart sank. The only thing he had managed to find was a pillow. Kagome was nowhere in sight. "Damn it! Damn him to hell!"
"Dad…" Sumire whispered. "Mom…she had the fake shikon jewel with her, didn't she?"
Inuyasha paused, and his skin became even paler than it already was. "Oh, no…"
"That joke about the jewel was only funny because we were all planning to take him on. This wasn't part of the plan. We have got to find Naraku and Kagome before he realizes that the shikon jewel that she carries is a fake."
"Dad, he'll kill her!" Shippo gasped, his eyes tearing.
"Don't you think I know that already?" Inuyasha snapped. He unsheathed his sword and headed for the stairs, banging on Sesshoumaru's bedroom door as he went. "Come on everyone! We have got to find them quickly!"
"Inuyasha…" Jin whispered. "You need to stay here."
Inuyasha's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Have you gone mad?"
"No. You need to stay here. We can't track Naraku if you come with us…it would get too complicated."
"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Inuyasha.
Jin sighed. "He's masked himself with your scent, Inuyasha. You need to stay here so that we are able to figure this out…"
"Naraku is smart. We leave Inuyasha behind and we're down a valuable fighter...but take Inuyasha with us and we'd never find them." Sesshoumaru frowned. "We'd have better odds with Inuyasha and Tesseiga there with us. Naraku knows no one can weild the sword but Inuyasha. What he did was pretty smart..."
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A/N: I know, funky ending for a chapter, but I'm kind of hyper, so I couldn't help it. Please review and I will try to update again as soon as I can.