A/N: Chapter six! Yay! And the next piece of the puzzle shall soon fall into place! Sorry about the delay guys, but I've moved to Indiana and I'm still getting sort of settled in. Anyway, I couldn't let you guys wait too long for the next chapter, so here it is. Thanks for the reviews I've received so far. Please keep them coming. I love to hear your feedback!
Summary:A Place Where I Belong: AU. Kagome accidentally discovers a secret that her abusive family has hidden from her. She was adopted. Desperate to find her birth mother, Kagome enlists the help of Inuyasha, a private detective who always finds what he's looking for. But what happens when she finally finds the truth? Will Inuyasha be able to help her find where she truly belongs?
---
A Place Where I Belong
Chapter Six: Old Ways, Old Problems
"She died…protecting me?" Kagome blinked several times. It was hard for her to believe. "Why would she…why would she…?"
Kaede smiled. "Don't you see, child? She was protecting the future. You were the future."
"That would explain why she was reborn and became your mother on the other side, Kagome…" Sango whispered.
Miroku thought a moment. "So Inuyasha couldn't possibly be…?"
"No!" Sango screamed. "And should you finish that sentence, I will be forced to kill you slowly and painfully…"
Miroku cringed. "All right!" he yelped.
"So where do we go now?" Sango asked.
Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. "My brother…" he realized. "Sesshoumaru…"
"Did you miss me, you disgusting half-breed?"
The group jumped in surprise.
"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha hissed. "Where in the hell did you come from?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. "That would be long and complicated to explain, so I'll take the short version. I've been watching over your things in the time that you have been gone…including the kit and the demon cat Kirara. Everything is at my castle right now. Follow me."
Kagome's eyebrow twitched. "Shippo! Sesshoumaru, thank you so much! I can't believe it! I don't even have any candy for him!"
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "He's out of that stage of his life, priestess, although I'm sure he will be very glad to see all of you. After you all disappeared, it took us a while to figure out what had happened…"
Kagome's' face paled. "He didn't know what had happened?"
"No. We figured it out several years ago when Shimane brought father back."
Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. "What the hell?! Sesshoumaru, how many years have passed since we left this time period…and what the hell do you mean 'Shimane brought father back'? How can he be back? We fought over the tesseiga inside his body!"
Sesshoumaru paused. "Yet another question that would take quite a while to answer. I shall simply say that twenty-two years have passed from the time you and the others disappeared. That should be about how old you are according to the other time. The rest I will leave for Shippo and father to explain when we get there…"
"Twenty-two years…" Sango gasped. "Will Kirara even remember me?"
"Of course she will." Sesshoumaru answered shortly. "She has been waiting for your return ever since we figured you were sent to the other side of the well."
Miroku cleared his throat.
"Save the rest of the questions for when we get there." Sesshoumaru commanded. "Trust me…you will have many more."
Miroku nodded and shut his mouth quickly.
Confused, Inuyasha took a deep breath and glanced at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru!" he yelped. "Of all the demons on earth, I pegged you to be the last one who would…."
"Shut up, Inuyasha. You can save your questions and idiotic statements for when we get there…just like I told everyone else."
A few minutes later, the group arrived at a large castle—Sesshoumaru's. He led them inside and directed them to sit, but Kagome could not bring herself to do so. She stood, Inuyasha at her side, and waited for Sesshoumaru to lead Shippo and the others into the room.
Kirara was the first to run in. She looked just as she had when they had left, and just as she would have if Sango had simply been returning from a demon hunt and not a twenty-two year absence, she ran into Sango's arms.
The next to enter was Shippo, and Kagome's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. The small kit child she had known the last time she had adventured through the feudal times had grown into a handsome young demon. His tail was longer, and not as bushy as it had once been. Unlike other tail-sporting demons like Sesshoumaru or Kouga, Shippo allowed his tail to flow freely. His dark red hair was long and flowing, held in place by a low ponytail. He carried a sword now, although Kagome recognized a small bag she had given him to hold his magic tricks in still hung at his waist.
She smiled, approaching him slowly, and wrapped him in a hug. "You've grown so much, Shippo! I'm so proud of you!" She teared up.
Inuyasha's nose wrinkled, and he glanced at Shippo with an inquisitive eye. "Shippo!" he laughed. "Are you kidding me?"
Shippo blinked, looked up at Inuyasha, and shook his head. "Oh, so you noticed?"
"Of course! I have a nose! Where is she?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome stepped back. "Shippo…don't tell me! Do you have a…"
There was a collective gasp from the group from the future when the young demoness slowly walked in.
"This is Aiko…my mate." Shippo introduced.
Aiko was not a fox demon. That was obvious. Her hair was a dark red like Shippo's, except that it contained streaks of orange. It was long, flowing freely all the way down her back loosely. Her eyes were the same golden hue as Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's eyes. She had draped across her back what appeared to be some sort of weapon, although the group could not make out what it was.
Shippo cleared his throat. "Aiko, this is my mother, Kagome, from the future. That is Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku…the monk I told you about…"
Aiko looked alarmed for a moment, but she recovered quickly and smiled at everyone. "Hello. Shippo has told me so much about everyone of you…especially you, Kagome."
Kagome swallowed hard. Shippo had introduced her as his mother…even after she had been gone for so long. "It's…it's so nice to meet you, Aiko." She managed to choke out.
"So…I can imagine why you all came back." It was Inuyasha's father who spoke. The hanyou's eyes widened in shocked surprise, and his jaw dropped.
Kaede nodded. "I brought them here, Lord Inutaisho." She told him. "The jewel created a rather big mess of everyone's lives in that time."
"How so?" he demanded.
Kagome frowned. "Naraku…killed Kikyou…my mother…and then took me. He beat me regularly, until Sango and Miroku took me to Inuyasha. Inuyasha found out everything for me…and when we found Kaede, she told us everything else and brought us here."
Shippo's eyes darkened. "Naraku followed you to the future?"
She nodded. "Yeah he did…but the jewel came back…so I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he showed up here. Kaede explained that, too. He could very easily end up here…"
"We've gotten no sign of that yet, though…" Miroku reminded them.
"That doesn't mean it hasn't happened yet." Inuyasha sighed. "At this point, I don't think that anything would surprise me anymore."
Inutaisho sat down, a thoughtful look on his face. "So it appears we are going to have a bit of a challenge on our hands…"
"How are you even here?" Inuyasha finally asked.
"I told you…Shimane brought him back. I don't know how, but why don't we focus on more important things?" Sesshoumaru growled.
Inuyasha smiled. "Sure, Sesshoumaru. Like why don't you tell us where Rin is, hmm?"
Sesshoumaru huffed slightly. "You idiot."
"Is she your mate, Sesshoumaru?" Kagome guessed. She could have sworn she saw the dog demon blush slightly. "That was an easy guess, Sesshoumaru…"
He coughed. "Well she isn't here right now. She'll be back tomorrow morning. I didn't want her to go, but…"
"Sesshoumaru…" his father interrupted.
"Jacken!" Sesshoumaru called. "Bring the weapons that my brother and his pack left behind! Now!" he ordered.
After several minutes, the annoying green toad demon appeared, dragging a very large sack, and grumbling about his master having gone soft for him to want to help the half-breed and his humans again.
Sesshoumaru glared at the toad demon and his comments stopped quickly.
"Here are the weapons, Master Sesshoumaru…" he croaked out.
"Good. Now leave." He commanded, pointing into the other room.
---
Miroku sighed. "My staff…" he smiled. "I've missed you, old friend…"
"You've also hit your head if you're going to stand there and talk to your weapon." Sango commented. "Now…how about you show me how well you remember how to use that thing, huh?"
Miroku's eyes widened. "No way! Are you nuts? You were always packing more than everyone of us!"
"So?" she smirked. "How are we going to know if we can still use these things unless we test them?"
---
"Inuyasha…I'm sorry about everything…" Kagome whispered.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded.
Kagome cleared her throat. "I didn't want everything to happen like this. I didn't want it to turn out like it did. I just didn't want to leave you behind. But I didn't know that all of this would happen because of that wish. I mean, we left Shippo and Kirara behind…and I just don't understand how everything managed to turn out like it did…" She paused for a moment. "That was supposed to be the future. But now we're here…and this is the present…and I have no clue what the future holds anymore."
"Kagome, that is not what is important…" Inuyasha insisted.
"I think so…" she frowned.
Inuyasha shook his head. "No. You can't think like that, wench. Everything has a reason, remember? There is a reason that everything happened how it did. And even though everything happened like that…hell, Sango, Miroku, and me grew up together…and I still met you. So how could that be bad?" he explained.
Kagome directed her gaze to the ground. "Inuyasha…Naraku was still there to ruin everything. He hurt me. He killed Kikyou…again. He ruined everything. He ruined me…" she cried. "And now we still end up fighting. I don't want to go through all of this again and lose everyone again…"
"Kagome…I won't let that happen. I will protect you, and nothing is going to break our friends or us apart again. There is nothing to worry about. I'm here…" he assured her.
Kagome managed a small smile. "Thank you, Inuyasha…" she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being you…for helping me through all of this…and protecting me from him…and for caring about me…"
"Kagome, I…"
Inuyasha stopped short as Kagome looked up and kissed him lightly on the lips. Although the gesture was unexpected, it was welcome, and he did not pull away.
"Thank you…" she repeated.
---
"Like father, like sons…" Inutaisho mused.
"What are you babbling about now, father?" Sesshoumaru groaned.
He laughed. "Can't you tell? It was in their scents. Inuyasha is quite smitten with that human girl…"
"That is old news, father…" he commented. "And shouldn't you be concerned with something else? I mean, we have bigger problems then whether or not Inuyasha is going to pull his head out of his ass and…"
"That has always been the problem, hasn't it?" Shippo added. "Trust me, we've tried to explain things to Inuyasha in the past, and usually he just doesn't get it…"
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "That's because he can be such an idiot sometimes that he can't even understand plain Japanese…"
"I know that, Sesshoumaru…" Inutaisho interrupted. "But I also know that this time will not be like the last time…" he told him. "Things are going to be much more different than they were…I'll see to that…"
---
"Miroku…I know you can do better than that!" Sango challenged as the monk's staff went flying through the air and landed a good ten feet behind him. She had blocked yet another one of his attacks. He had yet to even get close enough to cause any damage.
"Sango!" he pouted. "This isn't any fun anymore…"
He leaned down to retrieve his staff and screamed out in pain. His hand felt like it had suddenly caught on fire, and he dropped his staff from his other hand in surprise.
"Miroku?" Sango called. "Are you all right?"
Miroku's eyes widened as the wind tunnel began to rip itself a place in his once curse-free hand. Recovering quickly, he grabbed the prayer beads and quickly sealed the hand.
Wincing in pain, he turned to Sango.
"Find the others quickly. Naraku is here somewhere…" he announced.
---
A/N: Again, sorry about the wait, guys! I'm finally starting to get settled into my new home and everything, so updates should be more often…and those new stories I promised will be out soon enough. Please review and let me know what you think!
Next, on 'A Place Where I Belong': Naraku's back, and a new struggle for their future begins for Inuyasha and the gang. But this time, Naraku has a new weapon: fear. Will Kagome be able to fight?
Upcoming Story Info:
'Far Away': Something happens, and Inuyasha fears he may lose Kagome forever. Can he finally admit what's in his heart and save her…and himself? A multi-chapter songfic based on the Nickelback song 'Far Away'.
'Somewhere, Sometime': Kagome and her best friend Sango find a photo in the Higurashi shrine's well house. They've found strange things in the well house, and even the well before, but this is different. Kagome finds herself falling in love with the man in the photo...a hanyou. Even stranger is the writing on the back of the photo...in Kagome's own handwriting! Will Kagome be able to unlock the mystery of this man...a man she will never get to meet...? Or will she...?
COMING VERY SOON!