I'm in a good mood because I just watched one of my favorite episodes of Inuyasha (126 - Transform Heartache Into Courage) and it always makes me so happy. Aaaaaand...I BEAT ONE (guitar hero) and now my fingers hurt!! Yay! My life is complete (who cares about expert...hard is hard enough, hence the name), though I'm just angry that my brother beat me to it. But oh well.

Allright then. Chapter 12.

I do not own Inuyasha.

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Chapter 12: Demons

"I'm so glad it's finally over," Kagome muttered as she sat on her bed, leaning her head back against the muscular chest of the hanyou sitting behind her.

Inuyasha, who had been stroking her hair absentmindedly, frowned and dropped his arm to his side. Kagome noticed this and twisted in his lap, turning to look in his distracted golden eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Inuyasha, hearing the concern in her voice, shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing," he muttered, glancing away. Now Kagome knew something was wrong.

"Please," she whispered. "You know you can tell me anything." She placed her palm carefully on his cheek until he sighed and turned back to face her.

"It's just...I mean...are you still going to come see us anymore?" he asked, his ears drooping as he said this. Kagome frowned in confusion. "The Jewel's complete now, so you don't have a reason to come back and visit us." As soon as he clarified what he meant, Kagome's eyes widened.

"Of course I'll come back to visit you guys!" she shouted, surprised that Inuyasha would even have to ask. She smiled before lowering her voice. "Inuyasha...you are my reason to come back."

Inuyasha's eyebrows raised slightly at this before he hugged the girl tightly, knocking the breath out of her. But she didn't care at all. She hugged him back, wishing that he would never let go of her--that she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Her wish immediately faded as a knock came on the door. Immediately the couple sprang apart so that Kagome was sitting next to Inuyasha as the girl's mother walked into the room. "I was worried about you," she said as she stood awkwardly in the doorway, seeing the blushes on the faces of the other two. "You've been up here so long and Inuyasha was upset when he came in..."

Kagome smiled. "We're fine," she said, glancing at the hanyou before turning back to her mother. "Hey, mom? I think I'm gonna head back there tomorrow morning."

The woman just nodded, smiling, before she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Did you tell Sango and the others about Naraku?" Kagome asked, turning back to Inuyasha.

He shook his head and replied, "Koga said he would tell them." Inuyasha smirked slightly. "He seems to be in a much better mood now that Naraku's dead."

Kagome smiled. I'll never get used to hearing that sentence...she thought. Naraku's dead...finally...

It seemed like there were a lot of things that were 'finally' happening to her. The obvious was that Naraku was finally dead, the Sacred Jewel was finally complete and was safe with her, she and Inuyasha had finally kissed...

At that last thought, the miko's smile grew even wider, causing a confused Inuyasha to cock his head to the side. "What is it?" he asked the girl who was smiling at him with absolute happiness written across her face.

"Oh, nothing," she said in a cheery voice as she continued to smile brightly at her love.

The boy, however, was completely lost. He scratched his head. "Whatever," he muttered, shaking his head to admit defeat. Kagome's eyes drifted to the hanyou's dog ears, and her smile faded.

"Inuyasha," she started, but she was scared to ask the question that was on her mind.

"What?" he asked.

Kagome sighed and turned away from him. "What are you going to do with the Sacred Jewel...now that it's complete?"

She could hear Inuyasha's breath catch. He had been waiting for this question, and she knew it. Kagome looked down at her hands, bracing herself for his answer. But an answer didn't come.

After a few seconds of silence, Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha. He was staring right at her, his eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating. As soon as she turned, though, his eyes relaxed and he shook his head again. "Kagome...I already have what I want." She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but he answered before she could--by pressing his lips against hers again.

When he pulled away just a few seconds later, Kagome couldn't help but smile. "Good," she replied, breathing an inward sigh of relief. Her smile quickly went away though as she thought. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing over at the tiny purple ball that lay on her desk across the room. "I mean...you started collecting the shards only so you could become full demon...are you sure you want to throw that away?"

Inuyasha didn't have to even think about it this time. "I don't know...what would happen if I became a full demon," he answered, his eyes glazing over as he remembered all the many times he had transformed into a full demon and nearly harmed his friends. "I wouldn't want to take that chance...especially if I might hurt you."

Kagome considered this a moment before moving on to her next question. "What should I do with it?" she asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, and the miko sighed. We finally get the Sacred Jewel whole again, and now I have no idea what to do with it...

"We should ask Kaede about it," Kagome decided. Her heart cringed painfully as she remembered the last time she had seen the elderly priestess. The woman had been unconscious and wounded..."Inuyasha," she started, turning back to the hanyou, "we should go back now. I need to see if Shippo and Kaede are all right."

Inuyasha nodded, and the two of them stood up. On the way down to the well, Kagome began to get anxious. Shippo and Kaede had just been unconscious, and were probably perfectly okay, but...what if something had happened while she was gone? Kaede's head had been bleeding pretty badly, and she was old. Kagome would never forgive herself if they were hurt...

Kagome watched Inuyasha jump down into the mystical well and sighed. They'll be fine, she reassured herself. Despite that, she clutched the small orb that had caused so much pain already tighter in her fist before swallowing hard and following the hanyou back to the past.

Kagome could tell something was wrong as soon as Inuyasha pulled her up out of the well. And it wasn't just the fact that the hanyou was growling loudly beside her. She could just sense that something wasn't right...

"Inuyasha," she said, causing his narrowed eyes to temporarily focus on her. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha went back to scanning the area with his eyes before he replied. "It smells like demon..." he said, more to himself than to Kagome. "I know I recognize those smells..."

"Those smells?" Kagome asked. "You mean there's more than one of them?" She stopped for a second and gasped when she thought of something. "But it's not..." Kagome started, afraid to finish her question.

Inuyasha knew who she was talking about, though, and he immediately shook his head. "No. Naraku's dead," he said firmly without turning to look at her again. "It's...I think...there's a bunch of different demons." He looked extremely confused as his eyes continued to roam around the dark forest surrounding them. "What the hell?" he muttered.

Kagome was beginning to get anxious again, so she scooted closer to the hanyou. Inuyasha jumped slightly as she slipped her fingers through his. He turned to face the girl, but she was still looking around at the dark trees, fear and confusion plainly written across her face.

He squeezed her hand lightly, feeling her fingers relax slightly. "It's allright," he said. "They aren't anywhere near us...a few miles away, at least."

Kagome nodded and shifted her gaze slowly back to Inuyasha's. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing quickly at the black trees before looking back at him.

Inuyasha nodded and started to walk. "Let's go see the others," he offered, keeping her hand in his as they walked down the familiar path back to the village. Kagome was slightly comforted by his confidence, but at the same time she knew that this incident wouldn't just pass.

What are those demons doing here? she thought as they walked. Are they...after the Sacred Jewel? Without even realizing it, she squeezed the sphere that was in her fist again, as if to assure herself that it was still there. Well, they won't get it...

Another short chapter. But I figured since the last one was a bit longer than normal then it evens out...well I am about to go watch I Am Legend with my family. I'm excited.

Review please...it gives me encouragement!

Have a good weekend (if I don't update again soon)!!