Hello you guys it's me. I have been updating faster. Sorry to leave you with that horrible, horrible cliffie, hope this chapter makes up for it!

Even though I have begged and pleaded with Rumiko Takahashi, I still do not own Inuyasha or any other character for that matter. But I still love you, Rumiko! No hard feelings...

Chapter 12- The Hatred Within

Kagome closed her door, feeling a slight glimmer of safety as she locked it. It just wasn't fair! As soon as Inuyasha actually started getting over Kikyo, she returns! In the hall she had stood there gaping for a minute or two at her, and then had muttered a brief goodbye and ran all the way home. Kagome had rushed into the kitchen and up the stairs, glad that her mom wasn't there to ask her to talk about what was bothering her. How am I going to tell Inuyasha? While Kagome sobbed, a devious thought came to her. What if I don't tell Inuyasha? I think I can handle this, but I'll need to talk to Kaede... Gathering a few supplies and writing her mom a note, she dashed into the courtyard and down the well. She fast walked all the way to Kaede's hut and marched inside to find the gang staring up at her.

Inhaling deeply, she asked, "May I please speak to Kaede alone?"

Sango looked up, curious, "Why?"

Kagome's palms began to sweat. "No reason," she lied. Sango nodded knowingly and led Miroku and Shippo out of the hut. As she walked by Kagome mouthed thank you. Inuyasha remained. "You too," Kagome pleaded. Especially you... she added in her mind.

Inuyasha looked straight at her and Kagome was afraid that he was able to read her thoughts. After an intense moment he got up and huffed, "Feh," before walking out. This time Kagome was the one to put up the barrier. She really didn't want anyone to hear except Kaede. Kaede sat up straighter and spoke, "Now what was it ye wanted to talk about?"

Kagome looked around, paranoid. "You must promise me you won't tell a soul about what I am about to reveal to you." Kaede nodded seriously and Kagome continued, "KikyohascometomytimeandIwantedtoknowhowtobringhersoultopeace." She blurted out. Kaede strained her ears.

"Pardon?"

Kagome took a deep breath and said slowly, "Kikyo has come to my time and I wanted to know how to bring her soul to peace." Kagome averted her eyes as the old woman gasped,

"Ye saw my sister?" Kagome nodded grimly. Kaede stood up and wondered out loud, "No wonder your soul hasn't come back to ye."

Kaede sighed and sat down again, "What ye need to do is get close enough to Kikyo and call your soul back to your body. Kikyo's body will disappear in ashes as soon as your soul is returned to your body." Kaede gazed at Kagome and stated, "I know why ye didn't want Inuyasha to hear this. He has just gotten over her, and he probably wouldn't be able to handle it."

Kagome sipped a cup of tea and thanked Kaede for all her help and assured her she would be back in a day. She then ran past the astonished group waiting outside and jumped into the well. They went back into the hut and Inuyasha suspiciously interrogated Kaede.

"What was all that about?"

Kaede remained silent and then commented, "Kagome wished to speak to me in private. She also wishes for me not to tell ye for reasons of her own. Now, about that monastery, Miroku..."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and blocked out everything. "I will ask you, Kagome," he promised. "You can't avoid it..." He hated whenever she went to her own time. It was like a piece of him was missing when she was gone.

"INUYASHA!" Shippo yelled in Inuyasha's face.

Enraged, Inuyasha yelled back, "Yes that's my name, now WHAT?"

Sango shook her head and commented, "We've been calling your name for about a minute already."

"Stop daydreaming about Kagome," Miroku teased, "we saw you kissing earlier!" Swatting Miroku away and blushing madly he retorted,

"So, at least I can get a girl to kiss me unlike some pervert here who doesn't even give a girl a chance because he's too busy asking them to bear his children!"

Shippo jumped up and said, "You know he has a good point..."

Inuyasha got up and walked out to the setting sun. Jumping into a tree with ease, he waited patiently to fall asleep. There was only another day or two before he had to face Naraku for the second time. Later that night Sango decided to take a walk. She stumbled onto a field of flowers and sat down. Staring up at the moon, she wondered where her brother was. Is he alive? Is he safe? These questions bounced around in her head, demanding to be answered but no answer came. Sango was so lost in thought that she jumped when Miroku sat down next to her.

"What are you doing out here?"

Sango sighed and turned to him. "Just... thinking."

"Kohaku?" he inquired.

Nodding her head, she burst into tears. Making sure that she didn't have her Hitalkos by her to smack him with, he leaned in and gave her a small hug. "It's okay. I'm sure that Kohaku is fine. One of these days we will get him out of Naraku's grasp."

Sango sniffled in his chest and then hesitantly hugged him back. This felt like more than just a friendly hug and they both knew it, so she decided to end the awkwardness by breaking it. She smiled at him and stood up.

"We should go back to the hut."

"Sounds satisfactory to me," he agreed and the slowly headed back. Her hand suddenly slipped into his and he smiled a knowing smile. They walked back in silence, happy to be by each other.

Naraku sat alone in a room, scheming. The first steps of his plan had been completed without a problem, and he was confident that his next steps would be administered without a flaw, too. His planning was interrupted when Atoka entered the room. He had gotten quite annoyed with her because ever since he had saved her, she had been following him around like a lost puppy. Frowning slightly, Naraku asked, "What is it now, Atoka?"

Atoka bowed mockingly and purred, "I can't come and visit you milord?"

He smirked and sneered, "You want to know what I plan to do, right?"

"You can read minds," she mocked.

Standing up he stated, "Kagura is leading Sesshomaru to my old castle, fooled into believing that I am still there. That will get rid of Sesshomaru for a while, so I need not worry about him when I fight Inuyasha. As for that insolent wolf prince I will deal with him by getting one of his comrades to place poison in his water. The poison will paralyze him for at least a day, marking him useless to help the others. All the pieces are falling into place, Atoka." Naraku turned his gaze to her and questioned, "I do have your loyalty in this battle, right?"

Atoka's eyes widened in shock. "Of course milord. I have only served you faithfully, even when everyone rendered you dead."

Naraku nodded grimly and sat down. "You are dismissed," he commanded and Atoka left. Now we will just have to wait... Naraku contemplated.

Kagome woke up refreshed and energized to deal with old clay pot today. She giggled. During the time that she was fuming over Kikyo's return she had made up a new, if not somewhat cruel, nickname for Kikyo: old clay pot. Sitting up and stretching she got up and dressed. Marching downstairs in a determined fashion she ate breakfast hurriedly.

"Honey, you're gonna choke." Mrs. Higurashi said, concerned.

Swallowing she replied sheepishly, "I'm kinda nervous about today, I... I have to take a hard test." Kagome shut her mouth after that. She had almost spilled about it to her mom who, in the best intention, might mention it to Inuyasha equaling disaster. Walking with her friends to school, Kagome became more and more nervous until her friends began to notice.

"Ummm, Kagome you're about to walk into traffic!" they warned as they grabbed her by her collar when cars zoomed inches in front of her.

"Oh my god, that was close," Kagome squealed. Maybe I should watch where I'm going she scolded herself. By the time they arrived at school Kagome's nerves were shot. Someone tapped Kagome on her shoulder and she jumped, yelling, "What!"

Hojo still held his hand out, shocked at her reaction. He apologized profusely, "I'm so sorry Kagome! You might need to get your concussion checked again."

Kagome sweat dropped and thought, Note to self; ask Grandpa to make up more realistic injuries! Smiling she replied, "No, it's okay. I'm just... tired." Hojo smiled and suggested,

"You should go to the nurse and lay down."

Kagome shook her head and excused herself. Going to the office she found Kikyo's schedule and looked through to find her last period. Kagome was pleased to find that Kikyo was failing all her classes. She scraped through all of her own classes and immediately went to Kikyo's classroom after school. Waiting patiently and smirking as she heard the teacher scolding Kikyo on her grades, she was rewarded as Kikyo came out. Spotting Kagome she smiled evilly and was surprised when Kagome pushed her into an empty classroom. Locking the door she confronted Kikyo by saying, "Okay Kikyo, what are you doing in my era?"

Kikyo put her school books down and replied coolly, "I came to seek my revenge. This was the only place I could live at so I took my chances and made it here. I... I don't want to go to hell by myself. It seems so... lonely."

"But you will be lonely here anyways. There is no other option, Kikyo. Everyone must move on at some point. Your point passed fifty years ago." Kagome pointed out.

Enraged, Kikyo said heatedly, "There are other options for me! I refuse to resign to go to hell alone!"

Kagome sighed. "Your soul is at unrest. You must go, don't you understand? By staying you are causing everyone pain because the delicate balance of life is being disrupted. Dying is just another step in life everyone must take. You will not be alone. There will be other people there, like your mother and father."

Kikyo gulped hard and gave in. "You know what? I'm glad that I have such a kindhearted reincarnation. Even if I had lived on, I wouldn't have been able to help you with the jewel because my heart is tainted. I... I give you permission to take your soul back, Kagome."

Kagome's footsteps echoed loudly in the deadly quiet room as she approached Kikyo. Swallowing the growing lump in her throat she whispered, "Are you sure?"

Kikyo gave her a grim nod and Kagome proceeded. Although she had no idea on how to get her soul back, she placed two fingers on Kikyo's forehead. As soon as she did that it all came to her, and she focused all her energy into fingers. Energy rushed to them and Kagome felt her soul flowing slowly back into her, filling an empty spot. Feeling the bond snap she pulled her fingers back and watched as Kikyo slowly wasted away.

"Kill Naraku... please, and Kagome... good luck with Inuyasha; take care of him for me" she whispered hoarsely before disappearing into ashes which floated off through an open window. Kagome was touched deeply by her last words. Maybe she wasn't such a bad clay pot. Shaking a feeling of guilt from her head she walked home in peace, knowing that Kikyo had finally moved on for good. Shifting her backpack higher she trotted on. Arriving home, she gave her mom a huge bear hug.

"This is new," her mom exclaimed.

"Oh, I just... passed my test with an A." And in a way she had as she walked upstairs.

"Points to Kagome for not letting Inuyasha know!" she yelled as soon as she closed her bedroom door. Turning around she nearly had a heart attack when she bumped into Inuyasha.

Raising an eyebrow, he questioned humorously, "Not letting Inuyasha know what?"

Kagome got nervous and angrily told herself, Deduct those points, she made a fumble. Smiling widely she replied, "Him know that my mom just bought ramen!"

Inuyasha perked up and exclaimed excitedly, "Where! Where is it!"

Whew, that was close. I can't believe he fell for it! She pointed downstairs and explained, "In the kitchen. Mom is unloading the bags."

Rushing by he paused in front of Kagome. "You know that I'm not as stupid as I look. I know you're trying to distract me." Grinning evilly he vowed, "I'm gonna get it out of you somehow!" With that he ran downstairs.

Kagome poked her head out of the door and yelled, "Well the joke's on you! We don't have ramen!" She heard an angry yowl from downstairs as Inuyasha realized that there was indeed no ramen.

Stomping up the stairs he growled, "Kagome..." Inuyasha went into her room and closed the door. "What is it with you and all these secrets?"

Kagome sighed, "Only one secret which I will not tell you for reasons of my own."

Flopping on the bed, Inuyasha pleaded, "Come on Kagome, don't you trust me?" Kagome looked away because she could not stand to see the hurt look on his face, but she realized if she told him that he would be hurt a lot more.

She swiveled her head back to face him and whispered, "I'm sorry I just can't. Please trust me that it's not good news for you."

Inuyasha sat still, not knowing what to say. Sure it hurt that she couldn't tell him, but he guessed he should understand. Turning back to face Kagome he murmured, "Sure, whatever."

Kagome put her hand on his face and then gave him a hug. "Thanks for understanding." With that she got up and said, "Let's go back to the feudal era."

Inuyasha looked puzzled. "What? I thought you wanted to stay here for a day or two?" He shook his head, silver hair swinging wildly. "Women." After a brief goodbye to her mom they jumped down the well and reached Kaede's hut. Miroku and Sango were outside, talking about something. As soon as the pair reached them, though, they suddenly got quiet.

"What was it that you were talking about, huh?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

Sango giggled and Miroku laughed good-naturedly. "Whatever it was I think it was about us," Kagome whispered into Inuyasha's ear. He gave her an I-already-knew-that look.

Shippo bounded out of the hut and onto Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome!" he exclaimed, hugging her neck in a death grip.

"It's good to see you too, Shippo!" she smiled at the young kitsune and brought him down from her neck. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a lollypop and handed it to Shippo. "For being so good while I was gone," Kagome explained. Inuyasha watched the moment with interest. She is gonna be a great mother one day. Not that I care though; it's not like I want her to bear my children...Ah! I had a Miroku moment! Okay, that's it, OFF THE SUBJECT INUYASHA! He battled with his thoughts and then snapped back to reality to find Miroku giving Sango a reason to knock him unconscious. But to Kagome and Inuyasha's surprise, Sango just giggled. Kagome gaped and then questioned,

"Sango, wouldn't you be screaming and hitting Miroku over the head for that?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "Not anymore. But he better not use that to his advantage." At the last words she turned around and shot a fiery glare at Miroku. He gulped and assured her, "Whatever you say dear Sango."

Inuyasha grimaced and said, "Stop flirting and get a room."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed. He shrugged and walked inside Kaede's hut. Kagome apologized to Sango and motioned, "We will talk later, right?" Sango gave her thumbs up and nodded.

Bending under the flap she entered and found Kaede. "Did ye fix your problem?"

Kagome shook her head in agreement and then said loudly, "Kaede do you mind if I sit down for a moment?" At her words a huge thump was heard in the corner and a moment later Inuyasha came fuming up to her. Kaede served her some tea.

"What the hell was that all about?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"You shouldn't be listening to other people's conversations," she stated simply and took another sip of her tea. Grumbling he exited the hut and sat down by Miroku.

An hour later they were all outside and night was falling. They had made a fire and were sitting around it, all of them deep in thought. Miroku had gone inside to converse with Kaede and the others were left to talk and just enjoy not fighting demons for once. Kilala had gone to sleep and was cuddled up by Sango. Suddenly Miroku burst out running from the hut and everyone turned to him. Panting he said excitedly, "I have good news."

Kagome interrupted him, "You just saved a lot of money on car insurance, right?" After saying that she burst out laughing and looked back up to find no one had joined her. "I can't say any future jokes near you guys," she pouted.

Inuyasha's face suddenly lit up and he exclaimed, "Wait, isn't that the commercial with the little gecko?" Kagome put her head in her hands in frustration.

Miroku shook his head and continued, "Kaede knows of Naraku's whereabouts. It is over the mountains in back of his old castle, which is on the other side of Juyokuyo's forest." (bear with me people, I'm just making up forests so you can get where Naraku's castle is okay) Sango punched her palm with her other hand and stated, "He's gonna pay for what he did for my brother. Miroku looked down at his Wind Tunnel and said quietly,

"You're not the only one Naraku has affected, Sango." She looked up and apologized,

"No, no I didn't mean it like that, Miroku." Inuyasha started to think deeply while they talked. He had to convince Kagome to go home for her own safety, at least for a while. Standing up he motioned to her.

"Can you come with me Kagome?" She looked up, confused, but agreed. Everyone stood up and he growled, "Who invited you?"

They immediately sat back down and Inuyasha trudged off into the forest. Kagome, after a moment of hesitation, followed right behind him. Catching up to Inuyasha she looked up and questioned,

"What's up?" He smiled down at her and continued walking. They ended up at the clearing by the well and Kagome froze. "What are we doing here?" she fearfully asked.

Inuyasha caught her hands in his and began, "As this battle comes up, I have a growing sense of dread...Just the thought of Naraku wanting you makes me sick. Then I started to have doubts. What if I died during the battle and Naraku took you for his? I couldn't live with that."

Kagome backed away and shook her head. She knew what he was gonna ask. Hiding his eyes behind his bangs, Inuyasha continued, "So for your own safety, I think you should go home to your own era."

Clutching her half of the jewel, she pleaded, "Inuyasha, I will not go home while you guys are fighting for your life! I know that you wouldn't die if you knew that Naraku might take me. You already know my answer on this subject. I'm staying here whether you like it or not." Inuyasha sighed and knew that he could never convince her to leave. Forcing a weak smile he whispered,

"I just don't wanna lose you..." That was all Kagome needed to hear. She gave Inuyasha a tight hug and whispered back,

"I'm not going anywhere," He kissed the top of her head then she lifted her head and he kissed her softly on the lips. Whenever he did that it sent shivers up both their backs. Breaking away Kagome murmured, "The others are gonna start worrying where we went off to."

"Let them wonder," Inuyasha replied and leaned down to kiss Kagome again but she backed off. "Come on Inuyasha."

"You're teasing me aren't you?" he asked bitterly.

Kagome turned around and said, "I just like to leave you wanting." With that they both made it to the campsite and no one asked questions to either of them. They all just fell asleep and hoped that tomorrow would result in their favor.

Rin plopped down at the base of a tree and sighed in exhaustion. Sesshomaru had walked them all night and half the day, probably to avoid questions Rin was burning to ask. Finally he had let them take a break. Well a little bit of walking was not gonna faze this Rin and she wiped some perspiration from her brow. Gathering up her dignity she grabbed her sword and took off in the direction Sesshomaru had walked off into. Slowing her pace she fell into a deep thought. Why was Sesshomaru acting so weird? It's not like him to be confused. While she was walking she heard a rattling in the bush and stopped. Placing her hand on her sword and drawing it; Rin cut the bush in half. Nothing. Must've been squirrels or something she decided and continued on.

Kohaku had been watching behind the bush and had barely escaped before Rin had found him. You could call him a stalker but he wouldn't care. He had to admit to himself he liked her. Whenever she smiled that beautiful smile she had it would warm him up; whenever she turned her deep chocolate eyes on him he would melt. Rin was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. How much she had grown, too! He could still remember when he had been sent to kill her and she was a little girl, a year younger than him. Now she was 15 and she had pulled her hair down out of that ridiculous little ponytail and had grown into a woman. Sighing he went back to Atoka to report his findings.

Rin had reached the middle of the forest and decided to turn back. Sighing, she resigned to get some sleep before she confronted Sesshomaru. Turning around, she was surprised to run head first into someone's chin. "Rin watch where you are going." Yup that's Sesshomaru's voice, impassive as ever.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lord Sesshomaru; I didn't see you there," she apologized good- naturedly and started to walk around him. He put his arm out and stopped her. Confused, she looked up to meet his gaze.

"What are you doing out here, Rin?" he questioned curiously.

"Actually, trying to find you." She explained simply and tried to walk on but again she was stopped. Sighing she stated, "I know you are trying to avoid questions Sesshomaru, but they are unavoidable. I just wanted to know... why?" After a minute she realized she was not gonna get an answer and walked past him. This time he did not stop her as she went by, but merely watched her, impressed that she had figured out why he had walked them so long. Without turning he said,

"I cannot answer your question, Rin."

Rin stopped and said softly, "Yet again, why?" With that she walked off leaving Sesshomaru to think. Why? Her words echoed in his head and he tried to clear his head of these thoughts. Turning around he, too, headed back to camp.

Like it; love it; despise it? Please review people they help me update faster! Any ways this was supposed to be a short chapter but so many things happened in here; I had to cram them in. This chapter may have seemed cheesy but, oh well.

Next Chapter: Everyone's part in the big battle comes into play, and an unexpected person comes in to help... (No, it's not Kikyo she has died and come back too many times!)

In and Out

kikyohater92