A/N: Here's chapter two! Enjoy!
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Where
You Are
Chapter
Two: Back to the Future
"Don't touch me, damn it..." Inuyasha snapped.
"Lighten up, Koji..." Manami laughed seductively.
Inuyasha stopped. "Damn it! I am not Koji! And you are not Kagome..." he whispered, more to himself than to any of his friends. He sighed deeply. "We should be back at the village soon enough. It will be better once we get this whole thing sorted out..."
"I am not Kagome, huh?" Manami smirked, twirling Kagome's hair in-between her fingers. "You would return my affections if I was?" she asked him after a slight pause.
His eye twitched. "I didn't say that."
"Interesting..." Miroku commented under his breath.
"Shut up, monk. All I'm saying is that whoever she is, she isn't Kagome. That means two things. One is that we don't know what is going on with the real Kagome...and another is that if we happen to stumble upon Naraku, we'll be in trouble. Without Kagome, we can't see the jewel shards. We won't know what to do...and none of that makes me very comfortable at all..." he explained.
Sango frowned. "I still don't understand how all of this managed to happen," she huffed.
"We were simply in the wrong place at the right time," Miroku answered. "It is as simple as that...and yet, so much more complicated..."
"Miroku..." Inuyasha growled. "Seriously. Shut up. I can't handle you right now...and I really don't want to hurt you."
Throwing up his hands in a symbolic retreat, the monk smiled and took several steps backwards. "Understood, Inuyasha." he promised.
"You know, Koji, I think we should..." Manami began.
Inuyasha shivered. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence..." he warned under his breath.
"Hmm..." she nodded, reaching out and entwining her arms with his.
Growling, he pulled away, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I already told you a million times, Manami," he smirked. "Do not touch me. Keep your distance. I want you to leave me alone. We'll be at the village any minute, and soon I'll be rid of you...so keep your hands off..."
"You're so touchy," she pouted. "I was only being friendly..."
"You're a little too friendly..." he snapped at her.
"Inuyasha..." Miroku called from behind him. "The village is just up ahead. All of this is going to be over soon. Calm down and don't worry so much. Lady Kagome will be returned to us soon enough..." he nodded to his friend.
Manami led the way to the small house on the outskirts of the village that the group had stayed in the previous night. Manami sighed and smiled as she entered it.
"It really hasn't changed," she commented. "That is partly the reason I stayed here. I grew to love it while I was alive."
"I don't care. How do I get Kagome back?" Inuyasha demanded for the hundredth time that day. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I feel bad about what happened to you and everything, but you don't belong with us, and you don't belong with me. I hope that when this is all over, you are able to move on in peace..."
Manami smiled, twirling Kagome's hair yet again. "I will be gone by morning," she said quietly, and she walked without another word into the next room.
Sango's eyebrow rose. "Was it really that easy?" she looked to Miroku and Inuyasha for answers. Shippo, exhausted, slept soundly on Kirara's back. The young kitsune didn't usually have much to say unless it involved Kagome...and she hadn't exactly been herself this past twenty-four hours.
Inuyasha sat indian-style in the corner of the room and let out a very deep breath he had been holding. Allowing his head to fall back against the wall, he frowned. "This is such a disaster. Kagome's family is going to kill me. How am I going to explain this one to them? 'Sorry guys, Kagome was possessed by a sexually-frustrated ghost. I hope you don't mind'," he mimicked the scenario. "Yep. I'm going to die..."
"You heard her," Sango pointed to the next room. "She claims that she will be gone by tomorrow morning. Let's hope she is telling us the truth."
"Yes..." nodded Miroku. "Hope..." He paused a moment. "Although, if it was indeed that easy this whole time, I wonder why she didn't say something earlier?"
"I don't like having to stay in this house again, though..." Sango sighed. "Something about this whole thing doesn't sit right with me..." She paused a moment. "Why are we here, exactly? She didn't really explain everything..."
"We're here because we are trusting her..." Miroku replied.
"Trust a ghost?" Sango blinked in his direction.
Inuyasha waved his hand. "It's all we can do. We have to hope that she releases her hold on Kagome..."
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Sango yawned. "Inuyasha...are you staying up all night again? I can't do it. I'm going to have to go to bed. Shippo had the right idea..." Sango stretched her arms out over her head. "Wake me up if something interesting happens, all right?"
"Something interesting?" His eyebrow rose.
"You know what I mean..." she snapped at him.
He smiled. "I'll wake you up when Kagome returns, all right?"
"That's what I was looking for," Sango gave him a thumbs up, and laid down, yawning once more and pulling the sleeping bag over her head.
Inuyasha once again leaned his head up against the wall. "This is going to be such a long night..." he whispered to himself. "But it is all worth it if it brings Kagome back to me..." he added as an afterthought. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drift off into a light dream-filled sleep.
"Inuyasha..." He could hear her voice calling out to him. It was Kagome...but where was she? Inuyasha looked around. He was in a field. Behind him was the sacred tree, where he and Kagome had first met.
"Kagome?" He blinked. "Where are you? Tell me where you are..." he pleaded in a low voice.
He heard her sigh. "I'm still there...inside...deep down inside. She has taken over my body...but she can not take over my soul. I am still aware of everything...but I don't have control over anything..." She stopped a moment.
Inuyasha gasped when she suddenly appeared in front of him. "Kagome..." he smiled, wrapping her in a hug.
"I...I came here to warn you, Inuyasha..." she whispered into his ear.
"Warn me?" he repeated. "About what? Things can not get much worse than they already are without you..."
"Yes they can." she nodded. "I know what she is thinking. She has brought you back here for one reason...and it isn't the reason you think it is..." she frowned, looking at the ground. "I...I can't come back like this. The only way I can return is..." A single tear raced down her cheek. "The only person who can save me is the one I love, Inuyasha. My love has to be returned. Manami and Koji were very much in love while they were alive. This is merely a part of their curse. If Koji gets a hold on your body, then both of us will be in more trouble than either of us can imagine..."
Inuyasha did a double take. "Koji wants to gain control of my body? What are you talking about? That doesn't make sense. It sounds like some crazy folktale...but...I want to help you, Kagome. How can I help?"
Kagome shook her head. "No, Inuyasha..." she began to cry again, and he held his hand out to her. She pushed it away lightly. "Inuyasha...you have to wake up. You have to wake up right now..."
"I don't want to..."
"You have to! Inuyasha, I am serious! You can not let him win..." She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Wake up, Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha jumped up. "Kagome..." he yelped.
Standing in front of him was Kagome.
"Is that you?" he asked her. "Kagome?"
"Calm down, Koji. It was just a nightmare..." she replied.
Inuyasha groaned. "Damn it..." He blinked. "Get the hell away from me!" he yelled at her. "I know what you are doing," he accused, pointing his finger at her. "And I am getting the hell away from this house before you have the chance! I'm taking Kagome back home right now!"
He picked the girl up. "Sango!" he screamed.
"Eh?" She groaned in her sleep. "Inuyasha? What do you want? What are you doing with Manami?" she spat the last sentence.
"I am taking Kagome home before Manami invites her buddy Koji to join us..." he answered. "I will be back when I have figured out how to really get Kagome back..."
Sango sat up. "All right, Inuyasha. We'll head back to old lady Kaede's village as well. We will meet you there when you return with Kagome..." she promised. "I hope that everything will be all right..."
Inuyasha walked over, gently picking up Shippo. "I'm taking the kit, too. It will be no good to have him here if Kagome and I are not near by..."
"Huh?" she blinked in confusion.
"I'll explain later." Inuyasha informed her, and ran quickly from the hut.
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He stopped in front of the bone-eater's well and stared at it. There was a lot on his mind...and a lot that he was soon going to have to explain to Kagome's family as soon as he arrived in the future.
Manami squirmed in his grasp. "Where are we going?" she demanded. "What do you think you are doing?"
"You have no right to ask me any questions," he growled under his breath. "I am taking Kagome back to her family, and keeping you far away from that house. Understand? There isn't anything that you can do about it, so there is no reason to worry about it."
"Wait one second, I don't..." she protested, but before she could say another word, Inuyasha jumped into the well, and brought her with him.
Shippo yawned. When he opened his eyes, it was dark, and he yelped with fright.
"Inuyasha..." he called out.
"It's me holding you, runt. We're in the future. I've brought Kagome back to her family to try and fix this mess. I just thought it would be a good idea to bring you along this time, too. You haven't seemed to be in a very good mood since Manami took over..."
Shippo's small brow furrowed. "You noticed?"
Inuyasha frowned. "Well, I had a visit from Kagome...and I figure that the safest place for us to try to figure all of this out would be Kagome's time." He paused a moment. "I'll do all of the talking when Kagome's mother starts asking questions, all right, runt?"
Shippo nodded. "I just want my mom back..." he admitted.
Inuyasha's eyebrow rose with interest. "You really consider Kagome your mom now, runt?" he asked him, his voice softened somewhat.
Shippo nodded. "Yeah. I have for a long time."
Inuyasha
uncharacteristically allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "That's
great, Shippo."
he agreed. "I'm glad for you..." he looked
up, where he could see the ceiling of the well house, and sighed
deeply. "What do you say we get this over with?"
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Shippo looked around curiously at his new surroundings. "Is this where Kagome lives, Inuyasha?"
"In the future, yes..." he answered, keeping his eyes on the door that he knew would lead to the kitchen of Kagome's home...where he would more than likely run into her mother almost immediately after walking in.
Inuyasha let go of Manami's arm. "You follow me, got it?" he smirked.
"You're so forceful, Koji. Calm down..."
"Stop calling me that!" he commanded her.
"Inuyasha?" The hanyou's ears flattened against his head when he heard the familiar sound of Kagome's mother's voice calling out to him.
"It's me!" he replied.
She stepped outside. "Who were you talking to?" she smiled when she saw Kagome and Shippo in Inuyasha's arms. "This must be Shippo! Kagome has told me so much about him! Oh, he's even more cute in person than when Kagome talks about him!"
The kitsune blushed deeply, but Inuyasha could only look at the ground.
"Look, Ms. Higurashi...I need to talk to you about Kagome..."
She blinked. "Kagome is right there, Inuyasha. Why can't she talk to me herself?"
"Koji..." Manami wrapped her hands around his arms.
"This is why..." Inuyasha jerked his hand away. "I need to talk to you, all right? And I think that maybe we should go inside and...sit down to talk about this..." he suggested.
Kagome's mother blinked. "Inuyasha...what has happened?"
Inuyasha led her inside, and she promptly sat down. "Ms. Higurashi...look, when Kagome came back, she had a really bad cold...and we stopped at a village so that she could rest for the night...and something happened while we were there..."
Her cheeks reddened. "What kind of something, Inuyasha? What are you talking about?"
"Kagome...Kagome was possessed by the ghost of a young woman who, along with her lover Koji, was murdered by a group of bandits. Her name was Manami. She tried to trick us into going back to the village so that Koji could get into my body...but Kagome came to me in my sleep and warned me before it happened. She told me that there was only one way to get her back...but I didn't really understand what it meant...so I thought that it would be a good idea to bring her back here...and far away from that house...so that I could figure it out..."
Kagome's mother's skin had gone pale. Her hand was at her throat. "Inu...Inuyasha...Kagome is...Kagome is my baby...how could this happen to her?"
Inuyasha shook his head sadly. "I don't know how it happened..." he admitted. "But I assure you, I will do all that I can to bring her back...I want her back as much as you do..." If not more...he admitted to himself.
"Koji..." Manami smiled, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
He jumped nervously. "This is part of the problem..." he whispered to Kagome's mother. "Manami seems to think I am Koji, no matter what I say..."
Kagome's mother sighed deeply. "Inuyasha?"
He looked up, but did not say anything.
"You said that Kagome told you how to get her back?" She waited a moment, and he nodded slowly. "What exactly did she say to you?"
He coughed. "She said...she said that the only person who could save her is the one that she loves. I don't know what to do..."
At this, Kagome's mother smiled. "If that is true, Inuyasha, then getting Kagome back should be easier than you thought. Don't you see, Inuyasha?"
He blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Inuyasha..." she laughed. "I think it's your turn to sit down..." she advised him, placing her hands on his shoulders and then wrapping him in a hug. "You and I need to have a bit of a talk..."
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A/N: So there it is. The second chapter. Hope you guys liked it! Please review and let me know what you think! Chapter three will hopefully be up soon!
