GodOfFlame101, I have not watched Inuyasha since probably November or early December...though I probably should, because I miss it so much!

KitKatAttack, this chapter is for you. It's gonna be another fluff chapter, much like the last one, except this one will have more of a point, if you know what I mean (last chapter was kinda pointless)...

I don't own Inuyasha. At all.

Pictures

Chapter 8: Boldness of Hanyous

"This looks exactly like me!" exclaimed Shippo. The kitsune was holding one of Kagome's pictures in his hand and gaping at it, amazed.

"That's because it is you," Kagome said. "Well, sort of. It's really hard to explain to people who don't even know about electricity..." She shook her head and shrugged.

Miroku was flipping through the pictures of Sango, and every once in a while he would stop at one and tuck it away inside his kimono, thinking Kagome couldn't see. She did, however, but she didn't mind. This is exactly why I told my mom to print two copies of each picture...thought the miko, smiling at her friends.

They had all returned to Kaede's hut and ate lunch before Kagome remembered the envelope that was tucked away in her backpack. Her friends immediately grabbed the photographs and were completely fascinated with the paper.

"That's such a pretty sunset," breathed Sango. She was looking at the very first picture Kagome had taken in the Feudal Era.

Kagome smiled at her friend, but then had the feeling she was being watched. She looked up and met the gaze of Inuyasha, who was leaning against the wall of the hut opposite where Kagome was sitting. He was smiling, and when she looked at him his smile grew wider.

They stared at each other for a minute before Inuyasha pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards the door. "I'm gonna go for a walk," he announced to no one in particular, considering the attention of the rest of the group (save the miko) was on the pictures.

After the hanyou walked out of the hut, Kagome waited exactly twenty seconds before standing up as well. "I'm gonna go fetch some more...water..." said Kagome, knowing it was pointless.

"Okay," Sango muttered, waving her hand at the girl without even looking up.

Kagome laughed a little at her friends and then walked out of the hut. She headed down the familiar path to the Sacred Tree, knowing that Inuyasha would be there, waiting for her. As soon as she reached the small clearing around the tree, she stopped. No one was there.

Confused, the miko walked up to the tree's base.

"I hoped you would come," called a voice from above her, causing her to jump and the person in the tree to chuckle.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted, seeing the hanyou sitting in a branch of the big tree, smirking at her reaction. "You scared me!" She pouted and crossed her arms at Inuyasha, making him laugh again before hopping down to land gracefully next to the girl.

"Did I?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Sorry about that."

Kagome rolled her eyes at the hanyou, though she couldn't help but smile. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, looking curiously into his gorgeous golden eyes.

"I want to tell you something," said Inuyasha, taking a step closer to the miko. He grabbed her hands and pulled her body even closer to his, so that her body was pressed against his muscular one.

The girl stopped breathing. What is he doing? she wondered, unable to pull her gaze away from his molten one. Whatever ever it was, though, she decided that she liked it. Subconsciously, she began to move closer to the hanyou...

But then a familiar sound filled the couple's ears. Wind. Fast wind. And it was coming closer.

Sighing, Kagome placed her hand on Inuyasha's cheek and stared meaningfully into his eyes, hoping he understood the message she was trying to convey. The hanyou nodded, gently pushing the girl away from him.

"Damn that wolf..." muttered Inuyasha, fists clenched, as said demon appeared in the small clearing.

"Hiya, Kagome!" he shouted, immediately walking over to her.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, making sure he was staying put where he was, and then smiled. "Hi, Koga," she returned politely.

"I just wanted to check up on you, seeing as you're my woman and all," he announced, smirking, as he grabbed her hands.

"Koga..." Kagome started, praying he would listen to her for once. "I'm sorry, but I'm not your woman." I'm Inuyasha's...she thought, hoping that it was true. "I'll never be more than friends with you."

Koga frowned for a moment but then his smirk returned, wider than ever. "That's what you say now," he started, and Kagome saw Inuyasha roll his eyes, "but wolves mate for life. I've chosen you as my woman, and you can't get out of it."

"Damn you!" shouted Inuyasha, pushing Koga away from Kagome. "Won't you just listen to her?" A low growl was emitting from his throat, and Koga looked completely taken aback. "She doesn't love you!"

Koga almost looked hurt for a moment before he shook it off, switching his gaze from the hanyou back to Kagome, who had been slowly shaking her head. Stupid Inuyasha...she thought. Why can't you control yourself?

"You'll get tired of this bastard eventually," said Koga, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Inuyasha. "And when you do, you know I'll be waiting."

"Um...thank you...Koga," Kagome replied awkwardly, glancing at Inuyasha. The hanyou had a small triumphant smile on his face, but he was still glaring at the wolf demon.

The trio stood there in silence for a moment, each of them expecting the others to move or talk. At last, Kagome cleared her throat. "So, Koga, did you come here to tell us something?" she asked, the question suddenly dawning on her. He wouldn't normally travel this far just to annoy me.

Koga's face immediately turned grave. "That bastard Naraku attacked again," he stated, his eyes glazed over as he seemed to be recalling what had happened in his memory. "What has been with that guy lately?"

"He killed Kikyo," Inuyasha said, and Kagome gently grabbed his arm. He shook his head, though, and continued. "The day after we...ran into...you, he just suddenly appeared and told us she was dead."

"Really?" Koga asked, sounding shocked. His eyes narrowed in either confusion or concentration--Kagome couldn't tell which. "Why the hell would he suddenly to decide to do that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" replied Inuyasha, shrugging.

"Well, besides that, why would he attack you twice in such a short amount of time?" said Kagome. The three of them stood there, perplexed, until two people entered the clearing.

"So this is where you guys went--Koga?" Kagome heard Sango ask as she walked towards them alongside Miroku.

"Naraku attacked the wolf demon tribe again," the miko explained to the confused two, whose brows immediately pulled together.

"That's very strange..." muttered the monk, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"He's certainly becoming more bold," said Sango, who had an expression on almost identical to the monk's.

Then, at the exact same time, Inuyasha and Koga suddenly became alert.

"Damn it," swore Inuyasha, his ears twitching as his nose probed the air.

"What is it?" asked Kagome, tightening her hold on the hanyou's arm.

"Naraku..." muttered the wolf at the exact same time as Inuyasha.

"Where?" said Sango.

"The village," replied Inuyasha, turning to look at Kagome. She could see confusion as well as fear mixed in his eyes, and it transferred into her own body. Shippo, Kaede...she thought. Please be safe.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" yelled Koga at the couple, obviously frustrated.

The miko and the hanyou stared at each other for a moment before he nodded. "Let's go," he shouted, and the group sprinted towards the village.

When they reached the end of the forest, they all stopped at the top of the hill overlooking the forest, horror written across each one of their faces.

"Oh, no," muttered Kagome as she stared at the site in front of her.

A dark purpled cloud was engulfing the whole village, though she could still see clearly everything through the transluscent atmosphere. Every building in the peaceful town was burning, and the townspeople were running everywhere, trying to escape. It was to no avail, though, for Naraku had created a barrier surrounding the entire village, and no one could get through it.

Except Kaede, thought Kagome as she looked at the barrier. She must be unconscious...

The young miko immediately snapped out of her shock and drew an arrow out of the quiver that was constantly on her back, pulling it back along the strings of her bow. With a twang, the arrow flew through the air and hit the purplish barrier, causing it to disperse.

The people who had been trapped all ran away, coughing, as Inuyasha and the others ran into the village, towards the loud sound of maniacal, familiar laughter...the sound that was emitting from one hut in particular, on the edge of the village closest to the ancient well...

Oh, Kaede, Shippo...please be okay, thought Kagome as she ran at top speed towards the old miko's home.

Okay, so how was that? I've had major writer's block for the past few days (I'm completely surprised I even got this chapter out), so this one took me longer than normal. I was going to add something else at the end of this one but decided to put it in the next chapter...

Mwahahaha (that was my Naraku laughter), or I suppose it should be kukuku...

Review please!