Fly By Night

Vladygasckgyn

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu, nor do I own Hiei. As a matter of fact, I don't own anything. Leave me alone!

A/N: Just a quick little blurb, if you please. I would have updated long before now (sorry...), but I was far from pleased with this chapter. I still am, as a matter of fact. However, I think that I have kept everyone waiting long enough. It is short, yes, and for that I apologize as well. With that said, read on and review.

Chapter 12

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-: Normal POV :-

Kagome landed hard, almost crushed by the immense weight of her book bag. She and Hiei were the only ones there, so she assumed that the others made it out alright. She gazed up at the clear blue sky, reveling in the fresh, invigorating air of the feudal era.

She was drawn out of her musings at Hiei's quiet snort. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Patience is a virtue."

"One that we don't have time for."

"Fine, fine. I'm coming." She watched as Hiei jumped up, disappearing from her line of sight. "Yeah, whatever. Don't help me." Kagome braced herself, finding her balance, and began her ascent. She had almost cleared the top, but Hiei's arm shot out and caught the bag, hauling her the rest of the way out and dropping her unceremoniously on the ground. He smirked.

"You are too slow."

"Come on, Shorty. We need to find the others." She needn't have bothered speaking, though, for Inuyasha came running into the clearing not a moment later.

"Kagome! Where the hell have you been! If you're finished, we need to go look for jewel shards!"

"If I'm finished!"

"Yeah. Now that it's not 'that time of the month' anymore." The hanyou seemed to be rather proud that he'd "figured it out."

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"Sit."

Hiei snorted, and the action had served its purpose in alleviating some of the frustration that had accumulated over the past few days. She turned to say something to Hiei but suddenly stopped short, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Hiei regarded her curiously.

"Wench."

"It's...Kikyo..."

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"Hey Kurama, what do you make of this?" Kurama's reply was drowned out, however, by the sudden onslaught of girlish exclamations over the "kitty".

"Kitty! Wow, can I hold it? Urameshi, you've looked at it long enough! My turn! It's so cute!"

"Kuwabara, I highly recommend that you put down that cat." Kuwabara glared rather comically at him, refusing to relinquish his hold on it.

"No! It's mine! Such pretty tails..." He was so absorbed in his ministrations that he failed to notice the arrival of a certain taijiya and monk.

"Kirara!"

Kuwabara watched, transfixed, as the tiny cat in his arms suddenly transformed into a giant fire cat. Confronted with this new development, he did the only thing he could think of – he shrieked loudly and ran to hide behind Yusuke. This, of course, caused Yusuke to turn and yell at his friend loudly for being such a coward. In no time it had progressed into an all-out argument.

Kurama, being the only sensible one left, took the incentive and stepped forward in greeting. The two humans in front of him crouched into fighting stances, obviously not trusting him.

"Hello, my name is Kurama. And who might you be?"

They exchanged glances before warily relaxing enough to respond.

"I am Sango, and this is Miroku. Where did you come from? Your clothes are strange, like—" Miroku abruptly cut off any further comment she might have made.

"Ah...well I came with Kagome through the well..." Kurama trailed off at the expressions on their faces. The monk stepped forward.

"You are acquainted with the Lady Kagome?"

'Well that explains it...' Kurama made to offer an explanation, but Yusuke broke in before he could respond.

"Yeah, we know her. You got a problem with that?" He glared at them, practically oozing hostility. If anything, though, the monk seemed relieved.

"My most humble apologies. Any friend of Kagome's is a friend of ours. I would assume she is here...?"

"Yes, she and Hiei came with us. However, we didn't wait for them as we were distracted by the appearance of your cat." Kurama's voice soothed away any remaining suspicions that the two may have entertained. Sango chose that moment to step forward.

"And Kagome...how is she?"

Kurama looked confused for a moment but answered nonetheless.

"She was fine when we last parted ways, almost cheerful even. I distinctly remember her smirking as she shoved Yusuke and myself down the well." Sango sighed.

"So...she is the same." At Kurama's perplexed expression she hastened to explain. "The Kagome that you know...isn't the real Kagome. She used to be happy, at least up until a few months ago. She was fine when the rest of us went to fight the demon, but she wasn't even there when we returned for her. She just... disappeared.

"Then a few days ago, after months of being gone, she returned, changed. She killed a demon right in front of us, and she didn't even flinch though she was covered in blood. She wouldn't even acknowledge us..."

"So...she didn't tell you what happened?" Sango shook her head, too distressed to speak. "You seem very concerned...I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I told you. You're bound to find out eventually anyway."

"Please!"

"Very well." He then went on to tell them the story of Kikyo's betrayal and Kagome's current situation, sparing no details. At the end, Miroku and Sango sat with grim expressions, worried for their friend.

"Poor Lady Kagome. One can only imagine how much pain she's in. The loss of a soul is a very traumatizing experience, both physically and mentally. It's a miracle she survived at all..."

Sango turned her gaze to the sky, letting all she heard sink in.

"Kami, Kagome... Please be alright."

Author's Note: Yes, I know that my absence from the site is shameful, and my inferior chapter even more so. I've had this sitting around for a while, but wasn't pleased with it as a whole. And again, it is way too short. I shall just have to try harder next time. Sigh My specialty is editing, not writing, I'm afraid.

I have had several complaints about my short chapters. To you I say that, in truth, I have no idea how to make them longer. Once I have said what I need, everything else is a waste of time, words, and space, thereby making inferior chapters even worse. However, if anyone has any, I am open to suggestions.

On a lighter note, I was surprised by the sheer multitude of reviews that I've gotten, most of them positive. I wish that this site was structured more like DeviantArt's, so that I could respond to reviews directly instead of clustering them all at the end of a chapter. I find the process distasteful, as I am not able to acquire the depth of communication and response that I would like. Oh well.

On to review responses! (And there are quite a few...lol.)

Angelgirlmia: Luckily, I did eventually get the song, but thanks for your offer. Thanks for your review!

animeadhdgeek14: Thank you!

Black Hands: Thank you!

BlackAndSilentFire: Thanks for understanding.

BloodyCrystal: Lol. Thanks for understanding. I'm out of school for now though, and hopefully I'll be able to post more chapters.

Charroum The Lady of Death: My sentiments exactly. Thanks for reviewing!

Dark Inu Fan: Yes, I'm back. Somewhat, lol. As to her bag's stitching, Kagome is using my patented unreasonably-strong-but-super-light-for-heavy-lifting bookbag thread, made specially for her by yours truly. It's good stuff. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Darkness101: I'm getting there. Again, I want for them to take it slow to allow for their respective personalities. Thanks for reviewing!

dawnstar28: Thanks. No, I haven't given up on it, I'm just lazy, as much as it pains me to admit.

DMGTDK: Thank you! Truly, I am flattered.

gnat101: Lol. Thanks for the advice!

Kagome259: Thank you. I try to make them longer, but it never seems to work out. However, I'll keep trying.

Kagome-Sano's grl: I'm flattered! Seriously, I don't know how much I can help, as I myself have only just begun, but I'll try. Write what you like, regardless of what everyone else says, and try to have fun with it. Also, ignore irate reviewers and their comments if at all possible. Try out different styles of writing and find what suits you best. Again, I'm no expert, far from it, but I hope I've helped. Let me know how it goes.

Kitsune'sangelofflames: I haven't decided exactly what I want to do yet. So many choices! Anyway, thanks for reviewing.

Koorime13: To you I shall dedicate a paragraph of response, lol.

I am late, I know. I was distressed upon reading your review. I wish I could claim that I had accidentally deleted the paragraph explaining the bag's sudden drop in weight, but I didn't. I failed to notice the discrepancy between the two instances (which is very embarrassing, hence my distress), and will eventually fix it. As for not letting Kuwabara lift it, my reasons are juvenile at best. I hate Kuwabara. Let me say that again...I hate Kuwabara. And I'm not sure why. Oh well.

Anyway, I appreciate your constructive reviews. I just can't believe that I missed something like that! Gyah! Thanks for keeping me in check.

LaDyPnAi: AP classes really weren't that bad, lol. At least, not as bad as one is led to believe. Summer school is going to suck. I feel for you.

Madam Sorceress: Lol. Thanks!

Mischeivious Skyla: Thank you! And I agree; they are and awesome couple.

mizushoubai: Thanks!

regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks for reviewing.

sakuragirl-123: I will, and thanks for reviewing.

Serena: Thanks for reviewing! And I apologize for the update that was so long in coming.

Sexi3-Kagome69ner: Yes, well, I don't particularly care for her either, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Shabopo: I can't imagine having to take five of those accursed things—I only had to take two, and the reviewing alone was exhausting. I haven't gotten my scores back yet, but I doubt I did very well on anything. AB Calc. wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected, but I still didn't know anything. My own fault, I'm afraid, as I have an appallingly short attention span when it comes to any kind of math. The other was AP Eng. Lit., which also wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was rather easy, which concerns me. Usually when I think something is easy, I find that I misinterpreted something crucial and, consequently, I don't do very well. Blast.

I'm happy to say that I am finished with the hated teacher. I only made a 98 in her class, but whatever. I'd say it's not bad for spending most of my time in there doing my Calc. homework. Muahahahahaha! I hope that I never see her again, but that's unlikely since she lives on my road. I have rotten luck, obviously.

I was very happy to read your well-rounded review, as they are so rare. Yes, Iam trying to make Hiei's reaction to Kagome plausible, "try" being the operative word. It's hard to find an adequate compromise, as some are impatient and want them together now, and still others think things are moving too fast. No matter. Your review was very flattering and well-spoken, another rarity. Lol.

I have been lucky so far, as most everyone has been very understanding of my school woes.

Anyway, thank you, you've been a great help with everything!

shadow miko: Lol. Thanks for the review!

stonedjoker1: Thank you.

Tammy: Thanks.

TheLightintheDarkness: Yes, my chapters are all quite short, as much as it pains me to post them while being so. I'll try to work on that. Thanks!

tom fan: Lol. Certainly.

Wolf-Teen: Thank you very much! I do try. As for the exam, well, I'm still not sure about that. The results haven't come in yet... But thanks for the vote of confidence!

xxprincess-sakuraxx: Lol. Thanks!

Let me know if I've missed anyone. As always, thank to everyone!