AN: Readers...this AN is a notice. To those of you who have not read my profile update in which I state the reasons for my infrequent updates. Namely, I have other things that I must do. I love my fans, and I appreciate every comment, even the ones that are written in mostly caps and demand another update as soon as possible. What you must understand is, as soon as possible is as soon as possible for ME. I am an aspiring artist (To those of you who've visited my art gallery on Sheezyart), and I'm an aspiring writer. However, because I spend so much time on fanfiction, more often than not, I loose focus on my original works. I also have a very fickle muse. There are times when I become inspired, and I'll stay inspired for a few weeks, and then I'll suffer a complete burnout. Burnouts last for undetermined amounts of time, and I've been fighting with one recently. I'm sorry, but life interferes. Thanks for reading so far.

Kagome, Born of Fire

By: Demonsaya

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Chapter 6

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Sesshoumaru was unsurprised to find Naraku in the principals office when he entered. He was almost pleased to see the elemental named Kagura at his side. He looked at the small man behind the desk and took a seat. "What is this about?" He asked calmly.

"You brother has neglected to show up to my class the past few-"

Sesshoumaru glared at Naraku, pleased when the demon went almost immediately silent. He saw the elemental hide a smile behind a hand. He returned his gaze to the little man.

"It's about Inuyasha, Fushizawa-san..." Jaken said, his face nervous. He dabbed a bit of sweat that was accumulating on his forehead. "He's been missing so much school-" He went abruptly silent.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru agreed. "I'm sorry to say that my brother is quite sick, and Aono Miroku-san, who has been staying with us, has been remaining at the apartment with him since I cannot." Quite love-sick, that is. His brother had been walking around in something of a daze the past several days since Ayame, the earth elemental had awoken.

"Would you also know what happened to Ishikawa Kouga?" Naraku snarled, turning towards him, his face angry.

Sesshoumaru looked at his watch. "As far as I know, Kouga has been indisposed as well, seeing as he's left his father's home and has to pay for his own apartment now." He stood, dusting off his suit. "Funny, isn't it, Naraku, how you seem to be the only teacher who has issues with the fact that these specific students are missing school. How many of your other students cut class on a daily basis-"

Naraku sputtered.

The taiyoukai then turned his attention towards Kagura. "Ah, a pleasure to see you again, miss." He scooped up her hand and bent low to press a kiss lightly to the skin. He could almost hear Naraku's teeth grinding, and enjoyed that almost as much as he did the sharp intake of breath from the elemental. He could see why his brother was so smitten with his own. Before releasing her hand, he slipped a paper from his palm to hers. When he lifted his gaze, he saw confusion and something else.

Finally, he turned towards Jaken. "If there are any other problems, you'll call?" He asked calmly. The principal stood, nodding, and he idly wondered exactly how the students took someone who was just over three feet tall seriously.

Meanwhile, Kagura struggled to catch her breath, folding the paper discretely. She tucked it into her blouse and watched as Sesshoumaru left the room. He was messing with her, she was convinced. She could still feel his lips on the back of her hand. They were warm and smooth, a little dry. There was no point denying it. She was turned on. Damn him.

Naraku was talking to the principal, insisting that the boys couldn't possibly be sick, they had to be skipping school and she tuned him out. That man had something about him that was sinful. Something about how he could steal her breath and look so detached from it all.

Suddenly, she felt a slight draw on her energy and blinked, sitting a bit more upright. She didn't look at her master, simply set a hand against her chest. Her final sister was going to be released and soon. She shivered, her eyes widening and she flicked her gaze towards the evil man sitting beside her, oblivious to her condition.

Sango would be out soon.

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The power flowed around her and she knew her sisters had already awoken. The time to summon the jewel was upon them once again. Dark purple eyes opened to stare through the dark enveloping waters surrounding her. All it would take was the element to hit her housing and she'd be free. The clock would begin it's inevitable countdown.

The one who held her casing had power. Not like a youkai's power, but that of someone who had the blood of a holy man residing in their veins.

Not Naraku.

It wasn't time yet, so she relaxed. When the time came, she could leave. When the time came, she would be happy to be reunited with her beloved sisters. Especially Kagome. Her opposing force. Like, yet not alike. Sisters of their souls, not just because they were elementals.

Neither one born of Youkai blood.

A miko, who fought using her holy powers and a taijiya, who fought using her physical prowess.

Two girls who lost their brothers because of who, of what they were.

She closed her eyes and smiled. It would be soon.

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After that night, things got awkward between Inuyasha and Kagome. Well, truth be told, things had always been awkward between them, but now things were worse. Miroku couldn't help but notice how they were trying to give themselves whiplash by staring, then jerking their gaze from the other when that person looked towards them. It would have been comical, if it hadn't thrown Miroku's own lack of a relationship into greater relief.

Both halves of the couple were deeply troubled by this rather abrupt turn in their circumstance. It was much easier when Inuyasha was attracted to Kagome, but not attached. It was easier before Kagome had started noticing how much she really enjoyed his company. It was easier for both to not notice just how much they liked kissing each other.

So now they would sit in the same room and talk at each other, but not too each other, neither sharing those pieces of their soul that would make it even harder when finally Kagome had to return to her lighter. Frankly, it was starting to drive Inuyasha freaking crazy. He liked her. She was attractive, kind, and she had more braincells than Kikyou ever did. And she was a good kisser. A very good kisser.

Sesshoumaru had gone to work, Miroku was getting his stuff set up properly in the spare room, which left Kagome and Inuyasha to futz around with one of his video games. They were both being rather brutal to each other's characters, their emotions towards each other reflected in a fight between two fake characters.

"So, why the hell have you been avoiding talking to me?" Inuyasha asked, landing a solid punch to her character's face. This was something they had to talk about. Whether she liked it or not.

She bit her lip. Video games was something she'd found she had an aptitude for. It was mostly pattern recognition and memorization. "What are you talking about?" She sighed, spin kicking his character across the ring. A slight frown turned down her lips when he hit the power button on the Playstation, turning it off. "Hey! I was winning!"

"Now we're talking." He said, tossing his controller across the floor and snatching hers away. "Look, if what happened the other night bothers you, relax. I get it. I'm not an idiot, Kagome."

She flushed, looking away, scooting away from him. "You don't understand a thing." She said quietly. Emotional distress drained her. "It's not..." She felt his hand lightly touch her cheek and bit her lip. "It doesn't bother me. I just don't think it should go farther."

He caught her chin, making her look at him. "Why not?" When she pushed lightly against his chest, he backed off slightly, but kept the contact with her face. "Answer me, Kagome."

She glared at him when he made the demand. She was being compelled to answer. Damn him. "Because I don't want to get too close." She spat at him. She saw shock on his face and wanted to look away, but his gold gaze now held her captive. "I'm going to leave, eventually." She whispered. "And when I return to the housing, I'm stuck until the next time we're summoned. I can't stay on this plane, not until the Jewel is gone, and that means letting it be summoned and used, and no one can make a wish pure enough for it to disappear!"

He dropped his hand from her chin. "Kagome-"

"So I'll be stuck back in that damn lighter, remembering you, feeling you through it, IF you're still alive, until the next time, and that will be years after this. Don't you get it?!" She tore at her hair. "We can only be summoned every five hundred years. You'll be dead the next time I'm free. I'll never see you again. If I..." Tears filled her eyes. "If I fall in love with you, it'll kill me when I leave..."

Inuyasha smoothed her hands, pulling them from her hair and tilted her face up gently. He searched her eyes and knew plainly that it was too late. For either of them. They were too far down this path. Maybe they'd been too far down it before they'd kissed. This was someone he could fall in love with. Someone real, someone honest. Gently, he licked the tears from her cheeks, his hands sliding down to her neck and lacing behind it keeping her from pulling away.

Kagome shuddered slightly at the feel of his tongue on her face. "Master-" She gasped when he nipped her chin lightly and licked the tip of her nose. "Master, please..." Her heart felt like it was breaking. "Don't do this to me..."

He hesitated for a moment, seeing the need and sadness combined in her eyes. Instead of saying anything in answer to her plea, he cupped her face with one hand and kissed her lips gently. As she pulled back, he chased her, till her head was trapped between him and the bed. He kissed her cheeks and forehead, hearing her sobbing. "Shhhh..." He whispered, moving his hands to her arms, lightly stroking her skin. "Don't cry..." He nibbled gently on her neck, licked the lobe of her ear.

Involuntarily, her sobs slowed and her arms went around his neck. "Why...?" She whispered, her will broken. She needed his strength, she wanted this.

He pulled back, looking into her eyes and grinned a bit. "Because you feel good...right. Like you were made for me." He brushed the tears away and nibbled her lower lip. "Besides, it's too late. You've been mine since you came out of the lighter, and I've been yours." He felt her breath gasping against his lips and pulled her into his lap and against him. "You know it's true." He growled, then kissed her forcefully.

She whimpered, clutching his shirt in her hands. His hands bit into her flesh slightly and he kissed her with a violent kind of gentleness. His tongue swept through her mouth without asking and all she could do was respond. Because she wanted to, because she knew he was right. It was too late. His lips ravaged hers and she slid her arms up his chest and fisted his hair in them. When he descended to her neck, she whimpered again, feeling his tongue and teeth leaving their mark at the junction between her neck and shoulder.

"Say my name." He demanded, tearing his face from her neck and looking down into her dazed, somewhat foggy expression. "Say it..." He saw realization cover her face and he lightly licked her chin. "Please, Kagome. I want to hear you say it."

Kagome's eyes fell closed and she pressed her face into his neck. She'd rarely spoken his name. In truth, because it wasn't allowed unless given permission. Now he was demanding it of her and she found the name rising to her lips without needing to force it. "Inuyasha..." She whimpered. She pulled back and looked at his face. There was pleasure in his eyes. He liked to hear her say it, she realized, and it fell unbidden from her lips again. "Inuyasha..."

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Miroku grumbled, digging through his mother's things, trying to ignore the argument going on between the volatile hanyou and equally volatile elemental. It seemed everyone had one except for him. His research to find the final one had come to naught. It appeared that it was his destiny to stand on the sidelines for this one. His mother's rosary sat on his desk, a bit dingy.

He needed to clean some of the pieces that were nicer, the ones he wanted to keep.

Like that one.

He lifted it into his hand and examined each bead. They were connected by a larger bead, and he tapped it, curious about the substance it was made of. It felt differently than the rest of the beads, not wood. It felt almost like a kind of stone.

He walked into the bathroom, noting the argument seemed to have stopped, but they were still talking. Good, maybe things would relax a bit more. He slipped the rosary around his wrist and turned on the water, pumping some soap into it. As the water foamed up, he unwrapped the rosary, slowly setting into the water. When it was finally fully immersed, the water seemed to tremble.

Miroku heard a roaring sound and something seemed to be coming out of the water. He backed quickly away from the sink as what he could only describe as a tenyou rose out of the water and stared at him with a slight smirk. Her hair was black as night, her eyes a rich dark purple. Her skin was pale, her lips petal pink. Water swirled around her as she rose, revealing a muscular, lithe figure. When her ascent was complete, she rested lightly on the water in the sink. She walked off the water in the sink and dropped, hovering an inch above the ground in front of him. "The countdown has begun."

Then, she collapsed against his chest, and Miroku found his arms full of unconscious young woman.

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Kagome felt the draw on her energy and a shift in the base of her stomach just before Inuyasha kissed her once again. She turned her head, her eyes widening. She heard a muffled curse leave the hanyou's mouth and lightly brushed her lips against his cheek in apology. "Sango has awoken." She whispered.

His head snapped up. "Where?!" He asked.

His bedroom door swung open and he found Miroku standing there, holding another girl, a rather dazed expression on his face, both he and the girl soaking wet. "Right here I believe." He said, looking stunned. A white rosary had been twisted around his wrist.

Kagome's eyes widened and it felt like a clock ticking inside her. It was counting down, she knew, counting down until the jewel would have to be used and they would all have to return to the gems they'd resided in prior. She knew well enough that Naraku would force the summoning as quickly as he could get the proper items together to do so. If the summoning was forced, she'd be pulled from Inuyasha's side. She stood, walking towards Sango and wrapped her arms around her sister. She helped Miroku ease her to the floor. There was only one option.

"We're going to have to force Naraku's hand." She whispered, biting her lip fiercely. She lifted her gaze, looking between Inuyasha and Miroku. "Contact Kouga. Tell him that it will begin three days from now. That should give us all enough time..."

She felt the weight of Inuyasha's hand on her shoulder. "Kagome? What's going on?"

She looked up at him, her lip caught between her teeth. "We don't have much time. We must begin to prepare." She looked towards Miroku. "If you don't want her to tear your hands off when she wakes, I suggest you don't touch her in any violating way." She stood, turning to Inuyasha. Her eyes were sad. Yet, it seemed tragedy was always going to be a part of her life. "We're going to have to start the ceremony to summon the jewel without Kagura. She will physically be pulled to it, but without her housing it will fail. Which means Naraku will have to get there quickly, because twenty-four hours after the ceremony begins, we will return to our housings."

Inuyasha's eyes snapped wide. Three days. They were only going to get three days?

Kagome saw the pain on his face and lowered her gaze. "I told you, Inuyasha. There was no way this wasn't going to end badly for us." She cupped his face, watching him lean into it. "We have to prepare. Call Kouga and have him bring Ayame. Call Sesshoumaru as well. We will need his assistance." Then, she sank back to her knees and helped Miroku carry the unconscious Sango to his room.

Inuyasha curled his hands into fists in anger. It was too soon. He hadn't had enough time with her, and it was too damn fast. He felt his claws prick the skin of his hands and a soft growl bubbled up from his throat. He snapped up the phone and called Kouga and took a steadying breath as Kouga answered. "Hey, it's me." He snapped. "Bring Ayame by. Kagome needs to talk to us. Bring my brother with you."

He didn't say bye as he hung up. He rather, thrust the phone into it's cradle with a violence that belied intense frustration. He wouldn't let her go. He was going to find a way. He'd have to talk to the others, but he would find a way. Even if he had to use the jewel, himself.

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AN: Yeah, another chapter for the first time in forever. Please let me know what you think, and sorry for the delay. I've had other things on my mind...like babies...anyways, you know the drill, leave me a note, I love hearing from all of you! Love, peace and big boxes of giant pocky!