Ta Da! Chapter 5, what a great chapter to pause on. I'll be at State Fair showing my horse for the next couple of days, so I won't be updating for maybe 5-6 days. You're all going to die, aren't you? Lol, I know you won't but o well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters and I never will. I don't claim rights to the title "Maybe Memories" which is actually a song title by The Used. The lyrics to the song are again, at the end of the chapter.

Maybe Memories

Tree barks and Flames

He hadn't sat down for very long before he heard a shrill screech come from the hut. He immediately knew it was Kagome's scream, and he was racing towards the hut as fast as he could, leaping through her window to see what was the matter, and who he needed to rip to shreds. "KAGOME!"
He rushed into the hut only to find a smiling Kagome petting a black panther. He glared and growled a little bit "Why the heck did you scream Kagome? You fuckin worried me!" He grew even more irritated when she continued to ignore him.

Storming forward he grabbed her arm and turned her towards him "You can't have just screamed like that and not have been scared by something! Answer me!"

Kagome glared right back to him and he realized it was too late to take back what he said as she spat out the words "Sit boy!" She smiled a little as she watched him go crashing onto the floor of the hut.

"Nice trick…" said an amused Emiko as she covered a smile. She tried to keep her mirth out of her voice "Inuyasha… You need a hand up?"

"No I do NOT need a hand up, wench! But what I DO need, is to know why Kagome screamed!"

Kagome looked at him as he got up, as if she was just now understanding the question "Oh, that? It's just Mai here came in, and I didn't realize she was so well trained! I thought she was going to attack one of us!"

"You could have TOLD me that to begin with, but NOOO you just want to have a reason to sit me!" he growled out as he sat down by her bed and put his arms inside his sleeves. He was closing his eyes for a couple minutes before he heard a bunch of rustling and then a collected gasp from Emiko.

He looked up to see Kagome standing right in front of him "Kagome! You shouldn't be up yet! Go lie back down!" He was astonished when she shook her head and then put her hands on each of his shoulders before slowly kneeling down to sit in his lap.

Giggling and twirling his hair she chirped "Inuyasha I'm feeling MUCH better you know! Thanks to you! And Emiko too!" She giggled even more when she saw him blush, and so she took the opportunity to grab hold of his ears.

He tried to slap her hands away from his ears, but soon she was rubbing his ears and he couldn't help but lean into her hands and let a deep rumble come up from his chest. He was sort of purring, if that was what you would call it, coming from a dog hanyou.

Kagome began to pull away her hands when Inuyasha grabbed her wrists lightly and made her hands stay where they were "Consider this as your thank you for me." He could tell she was taken aback because she didn't continue rubbing his ears until he tapped her hands.

'I get to pet his fluffy ears! They're so cute! He must like it too, since he said it could be my thanks.' She thought as she continued to rub his ears. She looked over to Emiko to wink at her, as if saying 'See? Just a loveable puppy!'

After a while Mai began pacing and growling a bit, looking out the windows every once in a while. Emiko noticed a strange aura at almost the same time, and looked at the couple to see if either of them had noticed. As she suspected, neither of them detected anything, both too absorbed in what they were doing.

"Umm... Inuyasha… Kagome…" before she could continue to warn them both, a ball of fire was sent hurling into the window and hit her in the stomach, toppling her over. With that Inuyasha had leapt to his feet and had tetsuiga out, keeping Kagome behind him for her safety.

Emiko struggled to her feet and when another fire ball came hurling in through her window she was ready to counter by sending a whirlwind of dirt at it. The fire ball was soon extinguished but they didn't have much time. She grabbed Kagome's hand, then easily lifted the girl up and onto her back "Inuyasha, it's a fire elemental. If you're inside, you'll burn up as soon as you try and kill it."

Inuyasha nodded and both of them continued to run out the hut, Mai following closely behind with a couple baskets of bandages and such clutched in her teeth. Once outside Emiko set Kagome down, with Mai to protect her "Kagome, Mai will protect you. She's able to conjure up a few protective spells, so you just stay right here."

Nodding, she watched Inuyasha and Emiko step forward to meet the gaze of the fire elemental. "What do you want, and what are you doing on MY territory?" asked a very pissed Emiko as she began to molt the trees until one captured the fire elemental.

It changed into a regular, human looking form after it was caught and turned out to be a female. She was hissing, red eyes full of hatred as they staredat Kagome. Its hair was a mixture of reds, blondes, and coppers, and it wore red and orange clothes. It tilted its Elvin shaped ear, very similar to Emiko's, towards them "Eh? What did you say Halfling? I don't speak abomination!"

Emiko balled her hands into fists, the same time the tree constricted the elemental even more "Well, I'm sorry, but you're going to "speak" it right now, or face getting crushed. Not only that, but you'll die by the hands of this abomination." hissed out Emiko, her emerald green eyes glowing a bit with her anger.

The female hissed and gave Emiko a fiery glare "I'm surprised you don't know why I'm here! It's her! The human! She has the jewel that caused the rest of the elementals demise! She's the reason most of our race died out, you IDIOT!"

Emiko looked towards Kagome and eyed her coolly. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. Yes, the jewel DID cause Naraku to come after all of us. Because we did protect the Lady Kikyo before she perished and held the jewel until it disappeared and was reincarnated along with the girl that is now here. So, she knows nothing of what you speak of, therefore she has no part in this."

Inuyasha was standing protectively over Kagome, making sure there was no way she could be hurt. He could tell Emiko was handling the situation pretty well. But he had to ask something "Are you the one that set the mansion on fire and locked Kagome in it!" He growled out, about to go after the elemental.

A sharp, rough laugh could be heard coming from the elementals throat, bubbling up like a fire "O, no, no. It was not I. I cannot control fires to one part. I'm more of a wild fire type of girl.It must have been the fire demon. She's been very finicky lately, and I think I heard her muttering about killing some priestess that caused her mates demise. A very idiotic thing, to cross a fire demon."

Emiko knew of the fire demon and looked down. She slowly let the fire elemental down from the tree. When the fire elemental was about to shoot more fire out, Emiko easily held up her hand and threw the fire ball right back at it "Leave now. You don't belong in the forests, and you know it."

With that the fire elemental quickly left as fast as it had arrived and was totally out of eye sight within seconds. "Well, it seems Lady Kikyo, the woman you were reincarnated from, had many enemies. And still does. I guess the resemblance between you two is enough for demons and such to mistake you for someone you're not."

"But I'm not Kikyo! I'm Ka-go-me! KAGOME!" yelled out an angered Kagome. She had almost died because somebody thought she was Kikyo! This was great, and it seemed she had a whole lot of other demons and things after her still.

"We KNOW that Kagome, now be quiet! As if you need to yell TOO, to catch demons attention! Why don't friggin yell out to the world that you have the shard?" He put tetsuiga back away as he began pacing "But what can I do about that? It's not like I can be near Kagomeevery second of every minute of every hour of every day for the rest of her life!"

Nodding, Emiko began to think a bit before she brought her hand up in the air in a little victory hand thing "I've got it! Has Kagome shown that she has any natural abilities as a priestess, like Kikyo?"

"Ummm… Yah she has. She's detected the jewel shards, purified them,and when she was about to die in the fire she somehow unlocked the door with some sort of magic. But whatdoes that haveto do with Kagome being in constant danger and me not being able to protect her all the time?"

"O everything, it has everything to do with it. Since she seems like she's awakened her powers, I can teach her how to use them to protect herself. That way she doesn't have to have you watching her all the time. I suppose that would get very annoying for her too!"

"You bet it would." Kagome muttered, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't hear it.

"I heard that, wench!" yelled an annoyed Inuyasha, pouting a little.

"Well it would! Especially when you get in one of your moods!" Kagome said in defense.

"Feh, whatever. I don't get moods." Inuyasha mumbled lightly as he turned away from both of them to look at the ground.

"Riiiight. Anyways, when can you start teaching me?" asked an eager Kagome, who was also trying to ignore the cute little pouting face Inuyasha was making at the time. She saw that both of his ears were flattened to the back of his head, which was even more cute.

"As soon as we find the help of another priestess, maybe one a little more experienced than me…" She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

A/N: Man I was struggling on writing this chapter for some reason! I just couldn't get the creative juices flowin, ya know? Well, as you can see, Emiko and Mai might be staying a bit longer. They add creative flavor? Hehe, that's what I'm telling myself!

Inu&Kag forever: Umm, I'm pretty sure I was spelling Kirara, like you said it was supposed to be spelled, but maybe the time you found it wasn't spelled right it was a typo. Yes. I am human, I make mistakes lol. But thanks for pointing it out!

Lodke: hmm, good question. I'm not quite sure myself scratches head I was pretty sure miko is a priestess, and you have to be born a priestess to have the powers and stuff. So I just kind of assumed you could be half miko lol. –shrugs and scratches her head- like Kaede and Kikyo are both from the same parents, so maybe their powers run in the family, and are passed down in the genes?

Lov ya 4 eva: Thank you for your support and reviews! You rock!

Ivana: Thank you again for pointing out the mistake in the last chapter! It's fixed, and back up and running!

Pay backs a Bitch: Thank you! I hoped that last chapter wasn't too dull!

Sailorgirl16: Yah, I know! Inu is ULTRA cute when he's all caring a sweet... 'cept i can't make him caring and sweet all the time, since that wouldn't make him seem like Inu... ya know?

Ok, here are the lyrics to Maybe Memories! Ta DAA!

And we trudge along through the mud, and we tried to call it home, but we weren't alright, not at all, not for one second.

Never have been one to write it down, Now I think I can, I know I'm stronger now, who is looking south? Not me I'm not looking back, I'm done denying the truth to anyone, cause I'm alive.

You showed me how, you seemed to find a hole, but I just laughed and smiled, begged and rolled my eyes, even cried and denied the truth to you, just like the truth to me, mostly lied.

I'm not going to look back

Write it out like glittering butterflies.