This chapter is a little shorter than all the others... bear with me people, I wrote it in a day! There are some really cut fluffy parts in this one! Also, a mini shocker at the end... Read on!

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha!

Chapter 7- The Beginning of an End

Replay-

"I'll see you around Inuyasha," he smirked as a cloud of miasma lifted him and Kagome into the sky. Kagome screamed. Naraku hit her on the back of the head and she slid into unconsciousness.

"NO, KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled as he watched her being taken away.

"You bastard, let her go!" Inuyasha jumped up and swung his Tetsaiga at the miasma. Naraku fell, releasing Kagome. Kilala caught her right before she hit the ground. She ran over to Sango and Miroku lifted her off Kilala and held the limp girl in his hands.

Inuyasha wrapped his hand around the Tetsaiga even tighter in anger. "You're gonna pay for trying to do that to Kagome!" he yelled at Naraku. Naraku smirked. (I know he smirks a lot)

"Do you honestly think you can beat me when you are no better than me?" Naraku spat.

"Who told you that lie?" Inuyasha retorted as he swung the Tetsaiga at Naraku. This time Naraku was prepared and easily dodged the attack.

"Foolish dog," he hissed, "I will get what I came for!"

This outburst of words made Kagome stir. Her eyes fluttered open. "Inuyasha?" she asked weakly.

Miroku looked down at her and said, "No, but you can call me that if you like." Kagome hit him lightly in the chest. Kagome suddenly realized where his hand was as he was holding her. She slapped him and jumped out of his arms. "Perverted monk!"

Inuyasha looked over to the scenario and yelled out to Miroku, "Keep your hands off her!" Miroku waved nervously.

Inuyasha turned back to Naraku. "You're going down." But before he could release the Wind Scar, Kagome ran up to him.

"Inuyasha," she said pleadingly, "we have to work together to beat him."

Inuyasha looked down at her and silently agreed. Sango and Miroku jumped on Kilala and Kilala disappeared into the sky. Kagome, sensing that this battle was gonna be a difficult one, gathered all her priestess power into her. She began to glow a light pink and all the air around her seemed to be sucked in. Her aura was now greater, stronger. Even Inuyasha was impressed. "Wow Kagome, what happened to you?"

Kagome was looking at herself. "No clue," she answered. But she had a plan. "Miroku, Sango! Join your weapons." Sango slid the staff into her Hitalkos.

"Do you know what she has in mind?" she asked Miroku. Miroku, thinking hard, said, "Maybe she wants us to hit him with all our force."

Kagome nodded to Inuyasha who prepared his sword for the Wind Scar. She slid an arrow into her bow and pointed it directly at Naraku. Focusing her spiritual powers, she created a tiny barrier around Naraku, just big enough for his body.

"What the!" Naraku struggled, but he couldn't move at all. The barrier around him was a tight one.

"Now!" Kagome screamed and Sango threw the Hitalkos/staff at Naraku with all her might. Inuyasha released the Wind Scar and Kagome shot the arrow. Just before the attack hit Naraku, she released the barrier around him. First the Wind Scar went over him, then the Hitalkos tore him in half and last of all, the purified arrow shot right through his chest, leaving a huge, gaping hole. The explosion that followed next was a deafening one and Inuyasha ran to cover Kagome because she was right in the middle of it. As soon as the mist cleared, they went over to investigate. There, in the middle of all the flesh, was Onigumo's heart with the arrow halfway through it. With everyone watching, Kagome picked up Onigumo's heart and purified it. Kagome looked over at Inuyasha and hugged him tightly. Miroku reached over to look at his right hand and there was the Wind Tunnel, disappearing slowly. Sango looked over his shoulder and exclaimed,

"Miroku, your Wind Tunnel!" Miroku looked over to her and kissed her. Sango nearly fell backwards, but she soon relaxed into the kiss. When they pulled away, they went over to Kagome and Inuyasha, who were still hugging, and sat down. "Lady Kagome," Miroku said in an urgent voice. Kagome broke away from her hug and looked over to him happily, "Yes?"

"What... how did you do that spiritual power increase before?" Miroku said in a shocked voice. "I've never seen anything like it!"

Kagome looked down at the ground, unsure what to say. "I really don't know how I did it. I just suddenly had a horrible urge to destroy Naraku forever, and I just gathered all my spiritual power to me." Everyone gaped at her.

"Well it was incredible when you put that barrier around Naraku, good thinking." Inuyasha said, impressed.

"Yeah, well thanks" Kagome said, embarrassed. Suddenly Shippo came running from behind a tree.

"Kagome! Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Inuyasha glared over at Shippo and snorted. "So where have you been this whole time, huh runt?"

Shippo got nervous and sweat dropped. "Uh" he said nervously.

"That's what I thought," Inuyasha said triumphantly, "hiding behind a tree somewhere."

Sango gave Inuyasha a look and said, "Well he's a kid, whada you expect?"

Kagome cleared her throat. "Uh, guys? What do we do now?"

They all looked over to where Naraku's remains were. Kagome stood up and walked towards a glowing light in the flesh. Everyone followed, knowing exactly what she was gonna do. Picking up a good portion of the jewel from inside Naraku, she took out her other two shards and combined it with her new ones. There was a bright flash of light and out of it came half of the Shikon Jewel. Kagome grabbed it out of the light and attached it to her necklace.

"Well," she said proudly, "halfway through."

"You're so optimistic Lady Kagome," Miroku said. "If we are halfway through by beating Naraku, then greater hardships face us now."

Shippo shivered. "Great, now I got goose bumps," he whined. Kagome dug through her backpack and pulled out a lolly.

"Here you go," she said in a motherly voice. Suddenly everyone heard a loud rumble.

"Demon!" Shippo screamed and hid under a rock. Sango pulled her Hitalkos in a fighting position and Miroku got his staff ready. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who was looking down at the ground in a guilty way.

"What's with you Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned. Suddenly Kagome understood what the rumble was. She went up to Inuyasha and humorously said,

"I take it you are hungry, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha nodded. Everyone burst out laughing.

"You can read minds." Inuyasha said.

"Can you read mine?" Miroku laughed. No one laughed with him.

"Miroku," Inuyasha said seriously, "no one wants to read your mind. Whatever is in there sure as hell ain't for kid's ears."

"True, true," Kagome nodded.

"Well I guess this is a good place to make camp. It has been a long night." Sango set down her Hitalkos. Miroku started a fire while Inuyasha watched. Kagome searched through her backpack

"Ramen?" Inuyasha asked hopefully.

"Ramen." She reassured him, taking out a package of noodles. He grinned. Man this has been an awesome night. First seeing Kagome- whoops had a Miroku moment I mean, umm, defeating Naraku, yeah that's it. Inuyasha happily accepted the ramen and ate it at lightning speed.

"Inuyasha you're gonna choke..." Kagome said in a worried voice, but it was too late. Inuyasha was already done with it. The whole gang sat around the fire, just enjoying the moment. But like all moments, it had to end and it did when Miroku asked out of nowhere,

"What are you gonna do, Kagome?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome asked in mild surprise. Miroku asked the strangest questions...

"I mean when the jewel is completed. What era are you gonna remain in?" Inuyasha looked over at her. This question had been on his mind for a while, but he didn't dare ask, for fear of her answer.

Kagome looked to the sky for a while. "I guess I'll go back to my era..." she finally said sadly. As soon as she said that, Inuyasha stood up, his eyes covered by his bangs.

"I'll be back," he said before running off. They all watched him go and everyone except Kagome knew exactly why he was running. She watched him go in bewilderment.

"What's up with him?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

Sango sighed and said, "It hurts him that you will be leaving him, no matter how far away that time is."

"You know he cares a great deal for you..." Miroku stated.

"Yeah," Kagome admitted. "I'll go talk to him." She began to walk through the woods, the whole time thinking. I love my family and friends, but I know it would kill me to be away from Inuyasha. I don't know if I would ever recover. And Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kilala are all great friends... Kagome scanned her surroundings looking for a patch of red somewhere. Seeing nothing, she continued to think. I wonder if I will be allowed to stay in this era. She thought back on all the times Inuyasha had come to her rescue, all the times he had been there for her, and all the times he had come back to comfort her when she saw him with Kikyo. Also, the rare times when he chose her over Kikyo brought tears to her eyes. He really does love me... and there's no denying that I love him back...

Kagome snapped back to reality when she lost her balance by a cliff. She was just about to fall when a hand grabbed her from the back and pulled her up again. First she saw the red material on the hand, and slowly looking up saw the silver hair, then the golden eyes, and last of all the dog ears. Yup, Inuyasha, she confirmed to herself.

Inuyasha smiled weakly to her and said, "That would've been a nasty fall."

"Did you just happen to come and see me falling?" she asked curiously.

This time he really laughed. "No, I've been following you for a while, seeing how long it would take you to notice I was there."

Kagome lightly punched him in the chest. "That's not fair." She complained softly.

They both sat down by the edge of the cliff and let their feet dangle. Inuyasha looked deep in thought, which was unusual to see on him. Kagome reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He shivered lightly at her touch, but then relaxed. "Is something bothering you?" Kagome asked him softly.

"Nothing," he said, averting her eyes. The eyes that always held so much caring, compassion, and right now sadness for him. Inuyasha felt so guilty that she had to feel bad for him.

"Inuyasha," she began, "what do you want me to do about it?" He looked over to her, confused. "I know that you are worried about what era I'm gonna stay in and I..." She drew in a shaky breath and Inuyasha's breathing quickened. "And I choose to stay here with you." She looked away in embarrassment. Inuyasha stared at the back of her head. It took him a minute to register what she had just said.

When he put his hand on her shoulder, she turned in surprise. He leaned in closer. Just as the sun rose, they kissed. (I know so cliché) After they pulled away, they just sat there staring into the rising sun. Inuyasha couldn't believe she had chosen to be with him. A soft, gentle breeze blew by and played with Kagome's hair. Suddenly a horrible stench met Inuyasha's sensitive nose. He stood up. Kagome looked at him questioningly. "Inuyasha" she asked.

"Ugh." Inuyasha grunted in disgust. "Wolf stench."

Wolf stench, Kagome thought, there's only one person he could be talking about... Coming towards them at lightning speed was a tornado. "Thought so," Kagome said firmly. Inuyasha raced towards the tornado.

"Could Koga have picked a worse time?" Kagome silently sighed. She ran over to the battle that had just been waged. Suddenly Kagome stopped dead in her tracks in front of the fighting pair. What the... she thought mentally. No it couldn't be...

"Inuyasha," she screamed out, "watch out! He has three jewel shards!"

I know. A mini cliffy. Not so bad, but it leaves you with something interesting to think about... Well I think I'm gonna have 10-12 chapters in this story... I don't know; I keep changing my mind.

Next Chapter- What's up with Koga and the Jewel Shards? Then, Sesshomaru and Rin come into the picture! Yay! I think they are an awesome couple. Also, the gang meets up with an enemy bent on revenge for... Naraku? Find out in next chapter!