M.K.L.: hello, loyal viewers! well, readers, but…. anyway (did you notice that's my favorite word yet?), i'm going to try to make this a long chapter, so make sure you have plenty of time on your hands before you read it. now here's chapter four for your enjoyment.

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Disclaimer: I don't know if I should tell you this, but I've always stayed up reeeeeeeeeeeaal late to watch InuYasha and Fullmetal Alchemist during the week. Hehehehehe. I don't own either of them or Dragonball Z, though. sigh. How depressing.

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Chapter 4

Gohan rang the doorbell. Goku was sitting in the spaceship, waiting for him to come out with Honna. Or Kagome. Or whatever the hell her name is now.

Gohan heard a boy's voice yelling 'I'll get it!' and a girl's voice yelling 'No, I'LL get it!'. There were a lot of bangs and stuff coming from inside of the house. Gohan wondered what was happening. He rang the doorbell again. The door opened.

Kagome was standing in the doorway, her school outfit on and her hair in ponytails.

"Honna?" Gohan asked. There was no doubt in his mind this was his older (by four minutes!) twin sister, but he wanted to make sure.

"Gohan?" Kagome asked. They stood staring at each other a moment. What happened next…. Well, I won't go into details cause it might embarrass them. Let's just say the next five minutes were dedicated to giddiness and dumbfoundedness.

After those five minutes, InuYasha came down the stairs with Shippo, Miroku, and Songo right behind him. Gohan spotted them.

"Honna? Who are these people?" he asked.

"Honna?" InuYasha asked. "Who's Honna?"

"Uh, I mean, Kagome," Gohan corrected himself.

"Um…." Kagome blushed. "Everyone, this is Gohan. The friend who I'm staying with for two months. Gohan, these are my friends, Songo, Miroku, and InuYasha."

"And that little boy over there?"

"That's-"

"I'm Shippo," Shippo (obviously) said, walking up. He had hid his ears and tail and had used fox magic to disguise his legs.

"So, these are the friends you write to me about. It's nice to finally meet them. How old are you, Shippo?" Gohan asked politely.

"I'm…." He looked to Kagome for assistance. "Five."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Shippo. Ho-erm-Kagome, we've got to go. Want some help with your bags?"

"Um…." Kagome started.

"No, I'LL help her, thank you very much," InuYasha interrupted.

"Urm…. That's very nice of you, InuYasha, but I've got it. Thanks. Um, Gohan? Will you come with me? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Kagome," he said, puzzled. They walked upstairs, Kagome leading the way.

When they went into her room, she closed the door behind her. "Gohan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably. "You know that little boy down there? Shippo?" She looked up to see him nod. "He's an orphan. He lost his father about a year ago and-"

"And you want to take him with," Gohan finished.

Kagome blushed. "Yeah."

"Um, I think we might have room in the spaceship. And you know Dad won't mind." He laughed. "Mom would probably gush over him nonstop, so that might be a problem, but it's O.K. with me. The only real big problem would be that he would realize The Secret."

Kagome smiled and grabbed him in a neck-breaking hug. "THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH, GOHAN! YOU ROCK! And don't worry about The Secret, he'll keep it!" Kagome pulled away to find Gohan blushing. "Sorry bout that. But, there's something else, too. That guy down there….InuYasha….I kinda promised him I'd take with something. Something like…." Kirara popped up. She had been sleeping under the bed and just woke up. Kagome laughed. "Like this!"

"Of course I don't mind! Mom will be ecstatic about how cute she is. What's her name?" Gohan asked, petting Kirara while she purred.

"Kirara. Songo named her."

"O.K., yeah, that's fine with me! Now let's grab the bags and go." So, they did.

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Flash over to InuYasha, Songo, Shippo, and Miroku sitting outside the door.

"What did you hear, InuYasha?" Songo asked.

"They're talking about some secret. I can't catch all of it, but they said Shippo's and Kirara's names. Hold on, they're coming!" InuYasha said.

"Run downstairs!" Miroku exclaimed. And so they did. They got in the chairs just as Kagome and Gohan walked down the stairs.

Kagome had six bags in all. She had the two small ones and one big one and Gohan had three big ones.

"You were right, Kagome, he's NOT weak!" Miroku exclaimed.

"Urm…. Thanks?" Gohan said questioningly.

"Pft," InuYasha said, obviously not impressed.

"Sorry, Gohan, he's just jealous," Songo said annoyingly. Gohan stifled a laugh at the thought and InuYasha's face burned.

"What was that, Songo?" he asked angrily.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Well, we gotta go!" Kagome said. "Souta, InuYasha will watch you until Mom gets home," she said to the stairs. Souta came down them sheepishly. She turned to Shippo and smiled. "C'mon, Shippo. You're coming with us." Everyone (except Kagome and Gohan) looked surprised.

"R-really? A-are you sure?" Shippo stammered questioningly.

"Yeah. Gohan got the O.K. on his cell phone." It seemed like she was talking to herself (even though we know she was really talking to Shippo) when she said "I'll explain later." so quietly that no human could hear her.

"THANK YOU, KAGOME AND GOHAN!" he exclaimed happily. He turned to Miroku. "Hey, Miroku? Can I….?"

"Sure," Miroku said, giving him a small bag from the sleeve of his robe. "Just bring what's left back when you get home." (M.K.L.: if you're wondering what's in the bag, it's extra scrolls for doing fox magic and such. kay?)

Gohan gave Kagome a look, and she said, "Don't ask." Gohan nodded understandingly.

"So, are we ready yet?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, I think." Kagome turned to InuYasha. "Will you guys be O.K. without me, InuYasha?"

"I guess," he said, seemingly uncaring.

"You have to tell me everything when you get back," Songo said to her. Without moving her head, she slapped Miroku a few times across the face. "Kay?"

"Of course," Kagome smiled. Gohan was staring at Miroku rubbing his face.

"Make sure you get back soon, Lady Kagome," Miroku said, sighing.

"I'll try, Lord Miroku." She whispered to Gohan, "He comes from an very old style family." Gohan mouthed 'Oh' back.

"Bye, guys! See you in two months!" Shippo exclaimed, running over to Kagome, Gohan, and Kirara.

"I'll make sure they all come back safely!" Gohan said reassuringly.

"Thanks!" Songo said. She turned around to Miroku and slapped him across the face again.

"What was that one for?" he asked, outraged. "I didn't do anything that time!"

"It was a warning slap. You know you were going to try it again."

Miroku sighed again and InuYasha walked up to Gohan. "You let Kagome get hurt and I'll hurt you twice as much," he said threateningly. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go," she said. They walked out the door.

"So, where'd you park?" Kagome asked.

"In the forest," Gohan said simply. They started walking towards it. "We barrowed Bulma's best."

"How is Bulma? Did she and Vagita ever go through with the whole marriage thing?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they did. Oh, and guess what?"

"What?" Kagome couldn't wait to find out what it was.

"We have a new addition to our family!"

"Really? Boy or girl? What's its name?"

Gohan laughed. "A six year old boy. His name is Goten. You know how creative Dad and Mom are."

Kagome laughed too. "Uh-huh." Shippo just gave them a 'you guys are nuts' look.

Then, they came to a clearing. In the middle was a huge white spaceship.

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M.K.L.: did you like it? i hope you liked it. i know it wasn't a cliffhanger like I've had in other chapters, but it was a cliffhanger for shippo and Kirara.

Shippo: yes, it was! why was there a spaceship in the middle of the forest behind the bone-eaters well?

M.K.L.: because i said there was, shippo! duh! anyway, hope to get the next chapter out soon for you guys! Merry Christmas and…. buh-bye!