Sorry for the long wait! I have been working even more hours at my part time job and I haven't had time nor energy to write but here is finally the finished chapter 12 and I will start working on chapter 13 right away. I think some of you already know what is going to happen in the story now or at least some of you have your suspicions but who knows I might surprise you with what I have in store.

Pleas enjoy this chapter and review

Chapter 12.

Shippo and Kirara didn't know what to do and then they heard footsteps coming towards the clearing and from the sound it was from the path towards the village and them both tensed in fear of the chance of one of the villagers or Kaede coming here and getting hurt or killed. However they calmed a little though worry still coursed through them when they saw that the one that had come from the village was Renkotsu. However. He didn't wear any armor or weapons and they then saw Bankotsu stand up and look at the fire breather.

"Did you get what you needed?" Bankotsu asked and Renkotsu nodded and started to pull out a small roll of sutras.

"Yes, that village Miko Kaede apparently wasen't there though. She had been forced to go to the next village to help the miko there with a birth so one of the men in the village let me inside the old mikos hut and I quickly found what I needed and payed for it like you told me. It makes my skin crawl though since I am not a holy man." Renkotsu said and Jakotsu let out a small snicker and Renkotsu glared at him.

"Yes, when I was young I lived and trained to become a monk but I never liked that peace loving crap and left I still have some faint trail of reiki in me so I will be able to make these sutras work. How do you want them to be of effect, Bankotsu?" Renkotsu asked as he looked back at Bankotsu. Bankotsu looked thoughtful for a moment and closed his eyes to train his senses, though just a human, he did training to enhance his, sight, hearing and sense of smell and once he knew for sure they were safe to proceed he opened his eyes, he did however noticed slight movement from behind a tree in the corner of his eyes and from what he saw it was not one of Naraku's insects or minions.

"I don't want the barrier to let anyone see us or the well and unless we allow it no one other than us will be able to pass through. Can you manage that, Renkotsu?" Bankotsu said and Renkotsu snorted and nodded.

"Yes I can do that. The miko Kaede has done all the work and the only thing I have to do is place the sutras around the clearing and activate them and make sure to think of what I want the barrier to do and then everything is set." Renkotsu said though he noticed that Bankotsu started to walk towards a tree at the end of the clearing and raised a brow at it but said nothing.

Shippo and Kirara hid themselves behind a large sturdy oak and listened to what the men said and Shippo looked at Kirara and didn't know what to do. From the conversation they just heard it didn't seem like they had attack Edo which was good but what was this all about creating a barrier to hide the well and the men in it? Just as Shippo was to motion Kirara to come with him back to the sacred tree the two demons tensed when a shadow came over them and the smell of graveyard soil reached their noses and they both snapped their head up and noticed that Bankotsu had come up to them without neither of them noticing and Shippo started to tremble in fear as Kirara growled threateningly. Bankotsu looked down at the nekomata and the fox kit and raised his brow a little in surprise. He hadn't thought that none of Inu Yasha's group was here since they hadn't found them and with Inu Yasha's sense of smell that should have happen very fast.

"Where is Inu Yasha?" He asked and his voice was calm and he didn't do anything to indicate he would move closer to the two. Shippo trembled and hide behind the small Kirara and swallowed hard.

"H-he and the others are on the way here" Shippo lied and tried to appear sure of it however it didn't work on someone as Bankotsu and he snorted at Shippo's attempt to lie to him.

"Don't be an idiot. If he was on his way you wouldn't be here before him. If it is Kagome you are looking for then she is home in her own time. You and the cat are welcome to sit and wait in the clearing for her but I can't guaranty when she will return. Inu Yasha and the rest of your group however will not be allowed to come through Renkotsu's barrier. It will alert Naraku and we can't let him know what we are up to." Bankotsu said camly and looked back at Renkotsu and nodded for him to start activate the sutras and Renkotsu immediately got to work. Bankotsu then looked back at Shippo and Kirara and then walked back to where he had been sitting and sat down beside his trusted Banryuu. Shippo and Kirara both looked at each other but slowly walked into the clearing moving to the well while they kept close eyes on the members of the Band of Seven. Once at the well Shippo sat down with his back leaning against the well and he looked at Renkotsu who had already put the sutras around the clearing and activated them and he felt how the barrier surrounded them and he hugged Kirara to him and looked at them with uncertain eyes.

"Why are you helping Kagome? You are Naraku's side so why?" Shippo asked and Kirara growled to show she agreed to his questions. Bankotsu looked at the fox and the nekomata and sighed a little. He normally couldn't stand kids but he knew how much Kagome had missed the little fox demon so he made sure to give everyone in the clearing especially Suikotsu a glare in warning so that neither of them would accidently upset the two newcomers and then looked back at them.

"We aren't on Naraku's 'side' as you call it on our own free will. He resurrected us with shards of the Shikon jewel. But both me and my brothers want to be free of him so when we captured Kagome we did as we were ordered and gave her up to him." Bankotsu said and an angry hiss from Kirara and a small whimper was heard from Shippo at that and Bankotsu held up his hand to show them that he wasen't finished telling them what happened. No, he wasen't going to tell them what Naraku had done to Kagome, that was not his secret to tell and quite frankly he didn't want the kid, that loved Kagome so much to know, unless Kagome made that choice to tell him herself.

"Naraku hurt her very badly and made me and my brothers watch the whole thing, once he was done he stabbed her with one of his tentacles and injected a lot of his miasma in her body and told us to dump her somewhere so that Inu Yasha would find her dead body. However when we left Kagome's reiki kicked in and tried to heal her and I made the decision to try to save her and we did. It took time but with her reiki and the help of Suikotsu's medicine she has recovered and we offered her a deal. If Kagome can find a way to return us to life completely we will fight alongside her and the rest of you against Naraku. I know me and my brothers aren't really 'good' people but we always keep our words. And don't bother about asking what Naraku did to her exactly. That is for Kagome to tell you if she want to." Bankotsu said and Shippo and Kirara nodded slightly and Shippo looked up at the well with longing in his eyes.

He wanted Kagome to come back soon and he looked back at Bankotsu.

"How long has she been back in her time?" Shippo asked. He was still wary about the mercenaries but he couldn't smell any lies from Bankotsu and even though Bankotsu and the other men was evil if they had helped Kagome and saved her from dying then he would at least wait here with them until Kagome came back. That way he didn't have to go to the village or go back to the others. He didn't want to be near Kikyo. Bankotsu looked at Shippo and closed his eyes and laid down on the lush green grass.

"She has been gone for about two days now. Jakotsu told her to take it easy and relax before returning and I think that is what she will do. She needs it." He said and when he didn't hear anything from the fox kid he looked at him and the cat again and Shippo only nodded in understanding as he hugged Kirara closer to her.

Renkotsu sat on Ginkotsu's side reading some scrolls and he listened to what Bankotsu had told the kid and he mentally nodded his head over the fact that Bankotsu hadn't revealed what Naraku had done. That most likely would have made the kid cry and that would annoy them all especially Suikotsu and they didn't need him getting angry at the kid. Jakotsu stood up and stretched and decided he was gonna go and hunt some food and he looked at Suikotsu and motioned for him to follow him, they still had food but he knew Suikotsu needed to go out and kill something now that the fox kit child was there and Suikotsu only grunted and then left with Jakotsu through the barrier and left the clearing happy to be away from the brat. He didn't want to risk losing his temper. It would make things complicated for them when Kagome came back. The others in the clearing stayed quiet letting their own thoughts take them anywhere they wanted and only Kirara kept her guard up. She, just as Shippo had smelled no deceit from Bankotsu but she could sense that it was more to it on the story of what Naraku had done to the little miko. Warning signals was going off in her head that told her that something really bad had happened to Kagome and Bankotsu had decided not to tell the whole truth. Kirara though thought that it might be because it was not his place to tell them. That or it was because he didn't want to upset her and Shippo. Whatever it was she knew that she would know the truth as soon as Kagome was back. She would be able to see it in Kagome's aura and she prayed to any Kami that would listen that they would give Kagome their guidance.

(With the Inutachi and Kikyo)

The Inutaichi and Kikyo had been traveling for hours now and ever since Shippo and Kirara left both Sango and Miroku felt the difference from traveling with Kikyo and when they traveled with Kagome. Kikyo was cold, condescending and downright mean. She always had to make a snide remark or comment of something. She never said anything mean about Kagome but her snide remarks of that their group had so many weaknesses made both Miroku and Sango angry. It was, in their minds, Kagome Kikyo was talking about but since the dead woman didn't say Kagome's name directly they couldn't say anything. Inu Yasha had however after almost an hour of Kikyo's remarks told her to stop insulting his pack. Miroku and Sango had been shocked but they noticed that Kikyo was even more so and after that they had been walking in silence.

Inu Yasha looked at the sky and started to think of where they could stop to get something to eat. He then looked at Kikyo who was walking beside him out of the corner of his eyes. She hadn't spoken a word since he told her to stop insulting his pack. He knew she probably was mad at him but this time he really didn't care. Something inside him, something more… feral had told him that Kikyo was not just insulting his pack as a whole but that she was directly insulting Kagome but made it look like she was insulting the entire pack. He wondered slightly if it was his demon blood that made him feel like that. He knew very well that whenever he lost control and his demon side took over that Kagome was the only one he didn't attack. He could grab her and by accident scratch her with his claws but he never hurt her on purpose. When he first realised that he thought that maybe he loved her and wanted her as a wife and mate. But the years traveling with her and the others made him realise that he did indeed love her but not like a man should love a woman. Sure, a part of him didn't want her to be with anyone else than him but he knew that they were more like brother and sister than lovers. Of course he ignored it and made sure to scare away any male that tried to come close to her. He had never let anyone in the group know of his feelings and let them believe he loved her but tried to hide it. 'I'll save you soon Kagome, hold on just a little bit longer' Inu Yasha thought as he saw a small meadow and looked back at Sango and Miroku.

"We'll stop here for some lunch and then continue on. Maybe Kirara will be able to catch up to us by nightfall." Inu Yasha said and Sango and Miroku nodded in agreement.

"Good idea, I think Kirara will stay in Edo with Shippo for a couple of hours so that she can rest and eat but she will find us, I know she will." Sango said as she put down her Hiraikotsu, leaning it against a tree.

"Yes I agree. I will go and gather some fire wood. Sango my dear, would you go and find some water?" Miroku asked and once Sango nodded and walked away into the woods with a water container Miroku did the same to find some wood. That left Inu Yasha and Kikyo alone in the meadow.

Kikyo was positively fuming ever since Inu Yasha told her to stop insulting the group and when the slayer and monk left she looked at him with cold eyes.

"Why did you embarrass me in front of the slayer and the monk earlier? I didn't say anything that wasen't the truth." Kikyo hissed as Inu Yasha looked at her. Inu Yasha sighed and couldn't shake the feeling that he now regretted asking Kikyo to help them. He knew that Kikyo had apologized to Kagome and that Kagome had forgiven her but still had no trust for Kikyo and now a small voice inside of him whispered that this had been a terrible idea.

"You are insulting my pack, Kikyo. I still love you but I am not as ignorant as I was before. I know that the insults you are saying that you make to seem like they are for everyone in the pack are directly aimed at Kagome. You should stop it. I don't like it when you talk like this. If you don't like Kagome then why are you helping us look for her?" Inu Yasha said very calmly and Kikyo couldn't help but flinch slightly at the calm yet fierce look in his eyes.

'Since when did Inu Yasha use his head?! He has always agreed with me on everything I say before and he has never been this calm?!' Kikyo thought in a slight panic and she then forced herself to calm down and looked at Inu Yasha and approach him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry Inu Yasha. You are right. I shouldn't have said what I did, it wasen't right of me. I guess I'm just a little… jealous over my copy's life." Kikyo said as she mentally rolled her eyes and she then hid a confident smirk against Inu Yasha's shoulder when Inu Yasha hugged her back however he soon gently pushed her aside and looked at her.

"Make sure you don't do it again." He said and then Sango came back with the water and Miroku was just behind her with and armful of fire wood and he looked at them.

"I will go and hunt us something to eat. I will be back soon." With that said he bounded into the forest to catch them some lunch leaving a shocked and angry Kikyo alone with Sango and Miroku. Kikyo glared after her former love and then ignored the other two in the clearing and moved to sit down under a tree, her soul collectors flying around her and she closed her eyes. She would have to make sure Inu Yasha didn't find out what she was really planning to do once they found Kagome. It seemed Inu Yasha even though he still acted very immature in most situations had matured when it came to protect this weird pack of his.

Sango helped Miroku make a fire in the middle of the clearing, they both ignored the dead miko that was sitting under a tree with her soul stealing snakes flying around her. They looked at each other and wondered slight what Inu Yasha and Kikyo had talked about. Sango looked to the direction Inu Yasha had disappeared into the forest and hoped that Inu Yasha wouldn't do anything that would make them lose Kagome once they found her. Miroku looked at Sango and had a suspicions on what the woman he loved was thinking of but he felt relaxed. He knew that Inu Yasha wouldn't let Kikyo harm Kagome. Inu Yasha had told him that he would protect Kagome no matter what. Even if it meant that he had to stand against Kikyo. There was of course a small linger of doubt in him, wondering, whispering if their brash leader really would be able to stand against the undead miko if he needed to and Miroku made a mental note to make sure he would prepare some very special things to use against Kikyo once they found their young friend. If Inu Yasha was unable to keep his word at least he would have something to fight the undead miko with himself. He then went back to concentrate on the fire and then looked at Sango.

"Sango, why don't you rest and let me cook our food once Inu Yasha returns?" Miroku said and Sango looked at him for a moment and nodded then and walked to her Hiraikotsu and sat down and placed it in her lap and started to clean it to relax a little as she let her thoughts wander. She hated having that undead bitch in the group and the insults the thing had said until Inu Yasha had told her to be quiet was clearly not directed at everyone in the group they were directed towards Kagome. 'I will have to make sure that Kikyo don't get anywhere near Kagome when we find her. She has tried to take the rest of Kagome's soul before after all. I will not let my best friend die by that walking corpse.' Sango thought and she slowly relaxed and looked down at her weapon and nodded. She would protect Kagome from Kikyo. Even if it meant that she might have to fight Inu Yasha aswell.

Inu Yasha returned with a couple of rabbits, already skinned and gutted and Miroku took them with a nod in thanks and skewered them on two sticks and put them over the fire to be cooked and Inu Yasha sat down looking into the fire. He knew Kikyo was probably pissed but he couldn't find it in himself to care right now. It was his fault to begin with that Kagome had been kidnapped. If he hadn't acted like his usual immature self and just told her why he didn't want her to return home, Kagome would be with them now and they would be laughing and joking around. Instead their pack was filled with tension. Something he didn't like. He knew that it was a stupid insecurity thing from his side when it came to Kagome whenever she wanted to go home for a few days. He was afraid that after she jumped down the well and landed in her own time that the well would suddenly close for good behind her and him and the others in his make shift family would never see her again. That made him terrified. Kagome had been the very first being that had accepted him for who and what he was. She never shied away from him or treated him badly. She had cared for him and had never cared that he was a half demon. She never judged anyone until she knew how they were as a person and it was thanks to her that he felt like he belonged. He had friends now, he had a family. And it was also Kagome that had made him realise that Kikyo, though he still loved her, only wanted to use him to free herself of the burden of protecting the Shikon jewel. He did know that the Kikyo that had been alive over fifty years ago had loved him though her motives when she had asked him to become human for her had been slightly selfish and impure he knew that she had loved him and he really wanted that Kikyo to come back. Inu Yasha looked at Kikyo out of the corner of his eyes and saw her sitting at the tree with her eyes closed and he sighed internally. 'Now even I can see and sense how much hatred Kikyo has in her… I wonder if I ever will see the Kikyo she used to be ever again.' Inu Yasha thought for himself and his thoughts where then interupted by Miroku's voice telling him and Sango that their lunch was done and the three of them ate in silence, each of them deep in thoughts of their own.

(With the Band of Seven and Shippo and Kirara).

Shippo and Kirara watched with weary eyes as the band of seven cocked the bore Jakotsu and Suikotsu had caught over a small fire and Shippo looked up over his shoulder towards the lip of the well, Bankotsu had told him that Kagome had only been gone a couple of days but it was scary to be around people that was their enemies and have them not attack him or Kirara. Kirara felt the same and kept close watch on the members in the clearing. No, she couldn't smell any lies from them but she still didn't trust them.

Jakotsu took two pieces of the cooked boar and placed them in to large leafs and walked towards the child and the nekomata and once he was close enough without scaring them he hunched down and put down the food in front of them and smiled.

"You should eat too. Kags will not like it if we didn't share some of the food with you now that you are here." Jakotsu said as he once again stood up and walked back to the fire and took some meat for himself. The others in the clearing just continued to eat quietly and Shippo and Kirara looked at each other before they took the offered food and ate slowly.

(With Kagome in the future).

When Jakotsu had let go of the bag Kagome was hiding in and she felt the magic take her back into her own time and she felt her softly land on the ground on the bottom of the well she let out small sigh and slowly worked on the knot that kept the bag sealed, the knot was on the inside so that Kagome could work on them more easily and once it was done she opened the bag and climbed out of it and looked up and saw the roof of the well house and smiled as tears slowly welled up in her eyes in pure relief. She was home. She was safe here and Naraku couldn't harm her, she had been holding it in and not talked about her fears very much. Sure Jakotsu knew some of them but he didn't know that she sometimes had nightmares where Naraku would find out that she was alive and that he came for her and then took her back to his castle only to keep her so that he could rape her again and again. Kagome shuddered in fear and disgust at the memories of her dreams and she shook her head with determination. 'Bad Kagome, you shouldn't think about it. It only nightmares, your mind is making things up. I am stronger now. Thanks to Bankotsu and the others. I will not let Naraku scare me.' Kagome thought as she slowly climbed up the ladder that her family had placed down the well so that she could climb out of it much easier when she came back home. Once out of the well she ran out of the well house towards her house, she knew that her brother was probably not home since it was a school day and that her grandfather might just be out on an errand but her mother was always home.

Kagome had now been home to two days and she thought back on the look in her mother's eyes when she had run into the house and into the kitchen where the older woman had been washing dishes and when she had seen her daughter she had dropped what she was doing and hastily dried her hands of and embraced Kagome with such force that Kagome had thought she was gonna faint. After that her mother had made them some tea and had made Kagome tell her what had happened to her. Kagome had broken down and as she started to tell her mother what had happened to her she started to cry harder and launched herself at her mother, hugging her while she cried. Sakura had been shocked at what her little girl had told her and she had immediately told her daughter that they were going to go to the doctors to get Kagome examined. Kagome had been terrified and didn't want to but her mother had calmed her after a while and had been able to get her daughter to go with her to a hospital where one of Kagome's father's old friends worked temporarily.

Kagome sighed as she thought about her little hospital visit and she was glad that Dr. Onikuro hadn't tried to make her go to the police but both her and her mother had conjured up a story that it had been Kagome's ex-boyfriend that she had had sex with before they broke up and that said ex liked it rough. Kagome however didn't think that the doctor believed her but hadn't asked anything more. He had however insisted that Kagome had to be tested for diseases just to be sure she was okay and even though she wanted to refuse she knew that would have made the man even more suspicious so she had agreed and now as she looked out of the window of the buss she was sitting on she was on her way to meet Dr. Onikuro again to hear the results of those tests. She wasen't going to the hospital she had first met him at though. The man had only been on loan from another hospital that was outside of Tokyo. It was a private hospital that only the rich family in Tokyo used and Kagome had been nervous on going there by herself but her mother had told her that she wouldn't risk meeting up with her old friends from school if she went there and that was something Kagome wanted to avoid. Over the years her three childhood friends had become very annoying. She still liked them but they wanted her to go to college with them or hang out and in worse case they would still try to make go out on a date with Hojo. Last time they had tried that, that had been over a year ago, Kagome had snapped and told them to stay out of her love life and then left her friends speechless as she had stormed of home. Kagome sighed again and noticed that the next stop was where she was gonna get off the bus and she pressed the button to let the driver know she was getting off and once she was of she walked towards the large hospital buildings and once she was in front of the entrance she blinked a little in shock.

"It can't be…" Kagome muttered in shock as she stared at the hospital. This was the very same hospital that she had seen in her visions when she had meditated to find a way to help Bankotsu and the others. Slowly Kagome walked through the doors and went to the nurse station to tell them she was there to see Dr. Onikuro. The nurse that she talked to was polite but it was obvious that the nurse didn't believe that Kagome had and appointment.

"Miss, I clearly don't see how you can afford to be a patient here. Dr. Onikuro is highly sought after and he don't have time for crazy girls that just want his attention." The nurse scoffed out and Kagome glared at the nurse before she snarled at the rude woman.

"Why don't you just use that deadweight head of yours and move your fingers over the keyboard and look at his appointments in the computer instead of just assume what you think is right you braindead bitch!" Kagome glared angry at the woman who was now sputtering incoherent words as she stared at Kagome with wide eyes in shock and anger. The head nurse who had watch from afar walked up to them and glared down at the nurse who immediately became quiet and Kagome looked at the head nurse and noticed that the woman was older and that she didn't seem to have the same attitude as the nurse behind the desk.

"Maya, you did check Dr. Onikuro's appointments for the day when this lady told you she had an appointment with him right?" The head nurse looked at the nurse apparently named Maya and when a quiet shake of her head was her answer the older womans gaze became harder.

"Then I suggest that you do that and keep your comments to yourself unless you wish to find another job!" the head nurse snarled out and the young nurse immediately started to look at the computer while complaining.

"But, there is no way that she has a…?!" Maya stared at the screen in shock as she just realised that she had just been rude to one of the hospitals most renowned doctors and she looked up from the screen to meet Kagome's eyes and started to apologize and told Kagome that she could just have a seat and that the doctor would get her soon. Kagome just glared at the nurse and then turned on her heels without acknowledge what the woman said and sat down. There weren't any other in the waiting area and she could see and hear the head nurse scold Maya even more once the older nurse left Maya left aswell as another nurse took Maya's place at the station. It seemed from what Kagome could gather that the head nurse had told Maya to report to the director of the hospital. Not that Kagome cared. That woman, Maya had been rude and she got what she deserved.

Kagome had only have to wait for about ten minutes until Dr. Onikuro came and got her and the went into his own office and examine room and Kagome sat down at the chair in front of his work desk and he himself sat down in his own chair and pulled out Kagome's file from his computer and he smiled at her.

"Well Kagome. The test results came back and you don't have any diseases. Though I do hope you will find a gentler lover next time." The doctor said and Kagome blushed a little and nodded slowly. The doctor then asked her normal health questions and once that was done they both stood up and headed out of the office and that was when they heard a small commotion and the looked at each other. It looked like two females was fighting about something and they both walked towards the noise and they came to what, to Kagome appeared to be the break room for the hospitals staff and they saw two nurses fighting over something and from what they were yelling it was about who would be going to go and check on some patients in the more secured area of the hospital and Kagome the flinched when Onikuro yelled out in anger and walked towards the two shocked nurses who both paled and became quiet when they saw him.

"What in the name of anything holy is going on here?!" Onikuro's voice boomed out in the break room and other nurses and doctors who had been in there aswell became very quiet and Kagome looked at them all and wondered why no one else had tried to intervene in the fight. She then looked at the two nurses who looked down at the floor in shame and then one of them spoke.

"We didn't agree on which of us that where going to the S wing to make the hourly check up on the patients there…" the nurse spoke softly and the other nurse the shot her head up and looked at Onikuro.

"It was my turn but she tried to sneak away to do it herself!" The nurse wailed out and Onikuro glared at them both and sighed.

"You two won't be going there ever again. Those patients does not need their nurses drooling over them when they are in a coma! Only one of them have finally awoken and I will not risk their health for your amusement!" Onikuro said and the nurses gasped in shock and everyone in the room looked at him and a female doctor stood up.

"Dr. Onikuro. They will need someone to check on them at least two times a day to see if there are any changes… those two nurses are the last to that you have not already fired. You check on them at night but now they don't have anyone to look after them during the day." The female doctor said in a calm voice and Kagome couldn't help but feel like whoever these patients were they must be very important. Onikuro calmed down and looked at his colleague for a moment and sighed heavily and then looked at Kagome and smiled.

"Kagome here can do it. She is Kenta Higurashi's daughter and I am sure many of you remember him." Onikuro said as Kagome stared at him with shocked eyes. And that was when the loud voices once again filled the room.