When I end this story, I'll thank you guys all again, like I did in the last chapter. Not to mention prizes. Ok, not real prizes, but story prizes. I obviously can't give you real prizes. Anyway, before I bore you all with my happy mood (who knows how long that will last?), I'll get on to the chapter.

A Change in Our Future

Chapter Twelve: Kagome's Temper

After the fight at breakfast (if you don't remember that, let's just say InuYasha agreed to let Gosai and Sukebei along with us), InuYasha and I got ready (OK, I got ready) and went upstairs... Well, actually we didn't know where exactly to go, so we just followed InuYasha's nose to Gosai.

We went to the training floor, and found Gosai and Sukebei sparring. Gosai was an excellent fighter, much better than her brother, though he was very fast, and just as strong. He just wasn't as skilled as his sister. Gosai carried a long steel weapon that looked like a scythe that the Grim Reaper would carry, except it had blades on both ends, and the middle was strong and slightly padded for her hands. Both of them had a sword at their sides (which were not drawn), and Sukebei was wielding a club of sorts. It had spikes at the end of the club and had a chain connecting it to a chain blade like Sango's brother, Kohaku, usually used to fight with. They also both had guns at their sides, but they obviously didn't need them

"You watch out, brother. You're slowing," Gosai said to Sukebei. Sukebei smirked.

"You're lucky I can't use my best weapon on you," Sukebei said, clenching his right hand tighter around the spiked club. He jumped over Gosai's double-bladed scythe and tried to strike her with the club, but she dodged it and held his club up with her weapon.

Gosai pushed Sukebei back and then turned her long weapon to face him and hit him in the stomach like she had done it one hundred times before. She didn't leave a scratch on him, even though he wasn't wearing armor (idiots).

"Now that you're done acting like fools," InuYasha said, startling them both, "can we get going?"

"Wait, do you two have a bow and some arrows? I forgot mine," I asked. Gosai nodded and she set off to find one.

"That's it? That's your super weapon? Wouldn't you need something stronger to fight demons? I'm sure that demons were much more dangerous in the Sengoku Jidai," Sukebei said, walking towards the wall. He laughed a little bit and looked at a fly crawling on the wall next to him.

SWHING! PTONG! My arrow embedded itself in the wall, right where the fly had been standing a few seconds before.

"Just so you know," I said, walking to the wall and yanking the arrow out, "I was aiming for the fly, not you." I showed the point of the arrow to Sukebei, smirking as he saw the squashed fly on the tip.

"Not to mention the purification powers of the arrow," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't want to get hit with that..." I could almost hear him mutter 'again.'

"Gosai, thank you for bringing the bow and arrows quickly. I needed to prove a point to your brother," I said, smiling slightly.

"Uh... No problem... I guess..." Gosai said, scratching the back of her head. I could tell that she didn't really know what to think of that, considering that I had just almost shot her brother.

"Are you two ready to go?" InuYasha asked roughly.

"We have to change first, but then we can leave," Gosai said, smiling. She and her brother left for a room. InuYasha and I waited patiently (and impatiently) for the two of them to get back. When they did come back, Sukebei wore a black and green demon slayer's outfit, like Kohaku's, and his slightly long hair was tucked behind his ears. He looked a lot like Miroku, with weird clothes. Sukebei was pulling on some pants and a regular shirt to blend in with the crowd. Then I looked at Gosai, who was brushing her hair and putting it in a ponytail. I gasped.

"InuYasha," I said, looking at Gosai carefully. He turned his head towards me. "She looks exactly like Sango, doesn't she?" I asked, and he looked at her, too. She wore a pink demon slayer's outfit, which looked exactly like Sango's.

"I guess so," InuYasha said bluntly. I smiled as I watched Gosai finish putting her hair up and look at me strangely.

"Aren't you going to wear some clothes over that, Gosai?" Sukebei asked.

Gosai wasn't paying attention, but was actually slipping a long skirt on. She then put a sweatshirt on, to hide the sleeves of the demon slayer's outfit.

"Never mind," Sukebei muttered.

"Let's go," InuYasha said, turning around and walking off. Sukebei and Gosai grabbed their weapons and started to follow us.

I heard a small meow and wondered if it was the cat that I had met a few times before. I looked around and saw a different cat. It looked just like Kirara. Two tails and all... Maybe...

Gosai started to speak. "Hey! Look, it's--"

"Kirara?" I asked, walking over to the two-tailed cat. I kneeled down and stuck out my hand so she could sniff it. She sniffed it and meowed.

"How do you know her name?" Gosai asked.

I laughed as Kirara jumped on my shoulder and started to lick my face. "She used to belong to Sango. She helped us out a lot, and saved us on many occasions," I said, petting Kirara. Kirara was obviously happy to see someone that she knew, and I was happy to see her. "Did she have any kittens recently?" I asked, looking over to the others.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Sukebei asked.

"Just a hunch," I answered.

Kirara sniffed the air and saw InuYasha. She meowed and jumped over to him. She started to lick him and he groaned. "Look, InuYasha! She remembers you, too!"

"Funny, she doesn't seem to warm up to people that quickly," Gosai asked. I found that surprising. Even though Sango had been hesitant to become our friends at first, Kirara liked us quickly enough. Maybe over the years she had become less trusting?

Kirara jumped over to my shoulder, probably knowing that InuYasha wouldn't tolerate having someone on his shoulder for long, and I started to walk again, traveling down the many flights of stairs to get out of this building.

We walked outside and I looked over to InuYasha and we both nodded. Then I turned my head to Kirara and said, "Kirara, can you travel with us? I would like it if you carried Gosai and Sukebei on your back."

Kirara meowed and jumped down. Flamed engulfed her body and she transformed into the giant cat we all know and love. Gosai and Sukebei climbed on top of her (they obviously didn't fly on her much, because they had a heck of a time balancing on her) and I got on InuYasha's back. InuYasha jumped into the air and Kirara did too. People watched from down below, and I gripped my bow tighter.

"Can you catch any familiar scents, InuYasha?" I asked the half-demon. He shook his head.

"Not yet, but I do smell many demons," InuYasha said.

"Maybe we should go towards there, then. We might get some clues to where Naraku is hiding," I said. For some reason, I felt like that would be something that Miroku would say.

I hadn't realized it until then; the Sengoku Jidai, the Feudal Era, it had changed me. It had made me wiser, stronger, and more capable. Yes, InuYasha was always there to help and protect me, but even without him, I could take care of myself all right. I didn't notice that I had changed. I had even become more kind... I think. Actually, I'm not quite sure about that last one.

We traveled for a while, morning slowly turning into midday. The speed of InuYasha never ceased to amaze me, because by dusk we had left the huge city of Tokyo and had entered the mountain area and forest. My face was getting a little bit burnt from the sun, and also a bit windburned, too. I gripped onto InuYasha's shoulder tighter, and put my forehead against his back to protect my face. I was getting tired, and the cold that was starting to fill the air wasn't helping.

"InuYasha?" I asked. He turned his ears towards me, so I knew he was listening. "How much farther until we get there?" I asked as he landed on the tall branches on a tree and jumped. Kirara also looked a little bit tired, and Gosai and Sukebei were falling asleep in their seats.

"Only a little bit. Maybe five to ten minutes. The scent of the demons is very strong," InuYasha said, turning his head towards me a little bit so I could hear him over the wind.

InuYasha was right. About seven minutes after he said that, we saw the demons... But it wasn't like a whole group of demons traveling to attack someone, no. It was a village. A regular village that was isolated from the world, and looked just like a village that you would find in Feudal Japan. I gasped.

"It's a demon village," InuYasha said. Like I couldn't figure that one out.

"It's amazing," I said, my mouth hanging open. I glanced over to Gosai and Sukebei, and they were as shocked as I was.

"Don't attack those demons!" I shouted to the siblings. "They don't look like they will harm us when we land!"

Soon enough we landed in the middle of the village.

"I've never seen one of these in this time," I said, looking around.

The village looked like it had no modern technology at all. It looked like it was stuck in Feudal Japan, and it wasn't going to change any time soon. It reminded me of Kaede's village. There even was a shrine; I could sense spiritual energy coming from it.

But not a minute after we landed, we were surrounded by demons. I looked around and gripped my bow tighter, but I didn't grab for an arrow.

"Don't attack them," InuYasha muttered to Gosai and Sukebei, since I already knew not to.

"What are you doing here?" a demon asked.

Other demons started shouting things like, "Kill 'em!" and, "They're with the Demon Hunters!"

"Settle down!" I shouted, glaring at all of them. "We aren't here to harm you! We just have some questions," I said, looking around.

"How can we believe you?" the demon that first spoke asked.

I sighed, wondering how we could prove that we weren't going to hurt them. Then it came to me. "If we were Demon Hunters, wouldn't we have collars around the demons with us? Otherwise, they probably wouldn't help us out," I said.

"I didn't want to help you out anyway," InuYasha said, his arms folded.

"No one asked you!" I shouted at InuYasha, glaring at him. "Besides, I didn't make you come with me. You came here yourself." I smirked when I saw InuYasha realize he had lost the fight.

"Yeah, well... Uh..." InuYasha stuttered. "Um... You're ugly!"

I glared. "Just because you're losing the fight you insult me?" I shouted. "SIT!"

InuYasha's face hit the ground, and after a few seconds he pushed himself up and clenched his fists. "WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" he shouted.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INSULT ME!" I yelled back.

"WHO CARES?"

"I DO!"

"WELL, I DON'T!"

"GOOD FOR YOU! JUST SHUT UP AND SIT! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!" I finished the fight and glared at the dog demon lying on the ground.

Everyone just stared at us. I didn't really notice until Gosai cleared her throat and I looked up.

"Ah... heh... Um..." I said, scratching the back of my head.

Silence.

This was sort of embarrassing.

I think I heard a cricket.

"Anyway," said the demon who first accused us of being Demon Hunters, "why are you here again?"

Grateful for the broken silence, I answered. "We are looking for a certain demon, and have some questions you might be able to answer."

The demon thought for a minute.

"I suppose we can help you. But we might not be able to answer your questions. How about you just see the leader of our village?" the demon said. There were a few outbursts in the crowd, disliking this decision. "Quiet! If we let them go to the leader's hut, he can take care of them as he pleases. He can decide if he wants to kill them or answer their questions. Besides, he knows the most out of any demon here, and has lived the longest. If he can't answer their question, no one here can."

The rest of the demons seemed to buy it and they muttered their approval. A demon child (he reminded me of Shippo, except he was a panther demon) chose to lead us to the headman's hut. We followed, myself a little bit nervous, but Gosai and Sukebei seemed to be freaking out. I looked at them and glared, and they quit fidgeting.

The little demon stopped in front of a large hut and cleared his throat. In a slightly squeaky voice he said, "Just go straight until you reach the main room. It's sort of like a throne room and a living room combined.

InuYasha started to walk inside and I thanked the little demon before following him. Kirara, Gosai and Sukebei followed us, and soon enough InuYasha had found the main room. We could tell which room it was just by looking at the doors. There were two huge doors that were elaborately carved. The doors seemed to tell a story, but I didn't have time to look at it before InuYasha banged on the door.

"Just a minute!" a woman's voice sang through the door. Soon the door opened, revealing a beautiful human woman, standing there. She reminded me of InuYasha's mother. I remember what she looked like from that demon that Sesshomaru hired to look like his mother. Though this woman reminded me of InuYasha's mother, this woman looked nothing like her. This woman had bright blue eyes and hair that reached just below her back, and it was black as night. Her bangs were a little unruly, but it looked wonderful on her.

She ushered us in and smiled brightly. "You have come to see the headman, right?" she asked as she walked over to a large chair in front of us. It was a swivel chair, the kind that you spin around and around on and then throw up, but without the wheels. I don't know how I knew it had no wheels, because there was a desk in front of the chair. I don't know how I know that... I just do.

Anyway, the woman who opened the door for us walked over to the headman's chair and quietly said, "Honey, there are some people here who are here to see you." She must have been married to him or something.

InuYasha sniffed the air and his eyes widened. "It's..." InuYasha said, not finishing his sentence.

The chair turned around. Sitting in it was a demon who looked to be somewhere in his twenties. He had red hair that was in a high ponytail that was fluffy and reached his neck, and it was a little bit curly. He wore a kimono with a fur vest over it, and around his waist he wore the pelt of a huge wolf demon.

But one feature caught my eye the most.

He had big eyes.

Big green eyes.

I gasped.

I said one word.

"Shippo."

DUN DUN DUN! Mwua ha ha ha! I'm so evil! OK, that wasn't really evil. But still. It was surprising, wasn't it? Yes, yes it was. I bet you didn't expect Shippo, did you? I sure didn't! Ok, I did, but whatever!

Next Chapter: What is Shippo doing there, and what will he say once he finds out that it's Kagome and InuYasha? It has been 500 years. I'm sure that his memory has faded a bit. And Shippo must have a story to tell. What will he say?