Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Each belongs to their respective owners. I make no profit from the writing of this fanfiction story. All ideas are mine and mine alone.

Searching for Shelter

Chapter 12

Shelter from the Abyss

One minute Kagome was looking at the back of the shrine, and the next she was in the only vaguely familiar world of the Makai. She recognized the pink skies and the almost barren wasteland that she'd seen from above with Botan when she was still a spirit. She knew that Inuyasha had thrown her over his shoulder like so many demons had done to her in the past, and she knew that she was afraid. There was little else she knew, but that was enough to have her struggling. She was stronger now than she was before, and even if she had to eat dirt, she would not let him get away with this! Taking in a deep breath, even as they raced at dizzying speeds towards an unknown destination, she shouted out loudly, "Sit boy!" The hanyou didn't even realize what was happening until both he and the young miko plummeted from the air to the hard, merciless earth with a harsh impact. Kagome landed in an unforgiving position on her back and her head snapped back with the force. She saw spots and her vision swam for a few moments before the darkness closed in on her, and vaguely she thought that she was going to kill Inuyasha for taking her.

The inu-hanyou was stunned for a few moments, but he recovered and he picked up his much stiller package before he grinned and moved forward towards the secret place he had created in anticipation of this moment. He knew he had to wait a long time for Kagome to get back to her time. He couldn't use the well anymore and maybe if he had been able to see her these past five centuries he wouldn't have grown so angry and bitter, but the longer time passed, the longer his anger and regret had to grow. He didn't get his wish, and he didn't get to keep a girl: either girl. He had lost everything. Shippou gained a new family, and Sango and Miroku started one of their own. He was left alone again and he was furious. Kikyou was taken from him and he blamed Kagome for that. Naraku might have killed her, but it was Kagome who broke the jewel and started a timeline of events that he loathed. He almost wished he'd been pinned to that tree for the rest of his existence, but she had taken that from him, and she had taken Kikyou from him in the form of her soul, and she had taken the wish, and the jewel, and parts of his heart, too. She had left him nothing and he was going to exact his revenge for that. She didn't want him anymore, and he didn't think she should get a choice. She was not going to leave him alone again, and if she didn't want him, he knew someone who did, and he wasn't above killing her to bring back the love of his life.

Koenma's office held more visitors than it ever had in the past and he didn't think there was room for his elder form or he might have wasted the energy just so he could stand on equal footing with the demons in the room with him. He was looking over his monitor trying to find a signature of Kagome's energy, and he wasn't finding it. The worry was growing in leaps and bounds as Hiei stroked the hilt of his katana and imagined bathing in the hanyou's blood. Kurama had similar thoughts of feeding the dog to his plants. Sesshoumaru was on the edge, scanning the monitor just as Koenma was. Her signature was non-existent which was a bad sign. It meant she couldn't draw her power, or she was unconscious. She was in danger, and his inner being was screaming to find her and kill his half-brother slowly and painfully.

"I can't find her, and Inuyasha's signature isn't strong enough to be picked up. His hanyou blood registers more human than demon and I can't find him." Koenma informed them all, his face tense with fear, worry, and concentration. Rain clouded the vision on the screen slightly, ensuring that his scent would be lost soon, if it wasn't already.

"He just took her! We can't let him hurt her; she didn't do anything to him!" Kuwabara said, his own fear clouding his voice. He wanted to be strong, but if they couldn't find her, he didn't know how they could save her. He didn't know what the hanyou had in mind for the young miko, but it couldn't be anything good. Growls filled the air as each demon looked to Kuwabara before they looked to one another.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm going out there to look for her! What the hell kind of protectors are we that we let one half-human dog get past us with her?" Yusuke shouted his anger more at himself than anything else. Keiko had been sent back home and he had a feeling that things between them were over. Kagome was one of them now, even if it wasn't as strong a bond as with Shizuru or Yukina, and Keiko had left her out to dry. His embarrassment was trumped by his worry and anger at the situation.

There were more growls in the air, but no one spoke, and Yusuke flashed his eyes on the toddler ruler. "Get Botan in here and get us a portal to the Makai. There are enough of us that one of us should pick up something. We'll find her and then, he'll pay for this." The toushin said darkly as he synced up with his mazoku powers that lay dormant just below the surface of his skin. His hair started to grow and the marks of his heritage began to appear even as the grim reaper appeared in her typical pink kimono and oar. Without speaking, she opened a portal and watched as each demon filed out into the Makai. The rain was indeed falling hard, and each person scowled before Sesshoumaru took the lead, letting himself go as he transformed into his full-demon dog form. It had been so long since he became his fabled form and he reveled in it. The moment the transformation was complete he glanced back to the astonished faces of his companions. They had never seen anything like him before and some were feeling a serious case of equipment envy as they let their own power build in the area. Hiei took off his bandana and opened his Jagan widely and began scanning the area for lingering traces of Kagome. Kuwabara let his senses grow as he sought her unique signature and Kurama placed a hand to the wet ground to listen to the nearby foliage as if they would have the answers he sought. Jin hovered expectantly on the wind as he waited for any sign of confirmation from the searching demons, and got it when Sesshoumaru howled loudly and took off in a mad dash towards his own home in the West.

The darkness of the cave was offset only by the slim lighting that appeared at the entrance and the various cracks in the ceiling. Inuyasha left Kagome lying on a flat slab of rock far inside the depths of the formation while he made sure that everything was prepared for what he was going to do. He'd injected her with some of Sesshoumaru's poison, a weak one, but one effective enough to hold her immobile for hours and hours, even with her healing powers. He'd also bound her hands and feet with a little rope, just as an extra precaution. He was in another corner of the cave, leaned over a small box that held a few ashes, some dirt, and a rolled up scroll with a recipe on it. The ingredients weren't particularly rare, at least, not rare to a royal prince of the West. He had gathered everything on the list, except for one thing, and that one thing lay unconscious in the corner of the cave. There was a large plastic tub set up even further into the cave, so her screams, should she scream, wouldn't be heard. Close to him was an offshoot that had small openings in it that allowed little air to enter the cave, but not too much that it was drafty. Within was a formed figure that was baking away on top of a fresh bed of coals. It wouldn't be much longer and the kindling process would be complete.

Moving towards the plastic tub, he began to mix some of the ingredients together in jars and then, he poured the contents into the tub, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell. He quickly placed a piece of cloth around his face and under his nose to protect himself from passing out and continued his work. After the tub was nearly full, he moved back out and retrieved Kagome and carried her deeper into the cave. He placed her beside the tub and then moved back out towards the room that was now emitting some smoke. With a pleased look, he moved the rock away from the opening and the fresh air stoked the coals lightly before they all were magically put out. The form within looked at Inuyasha with unseeing eyes. "Come on, Kikyou. I know you're not feeling well, but we'll fix that." He said softly as he reached a hand for the clay form he had created. Her form fell forward with no recognition of who he was, but the hanyou didn't mind. He pulled her forward and picked her body up in his arms and carted her back towards the tub and the final step of the process. He had found another witch in the five centuries since Kagome had died and left him, and she was kind enough, with a little persuasion, to give him the things needed to create Kikyou a body again. She had given him the magic, because he didn't have it himself, and she had been compensated well for her time and effort, just before he killed her.

He laid the cooling form of the other miko on the stone ground before he picked up Kagome and placed her in the soupy concoction he'd made. At the feel of the cool liquid on her skin, her eyes flew open and she took in a deep gasp of air. Her eyes flew over her surroundings and she screamed before Inuyasha's laugh stalled her. "That's right, just scream. No one will hear you and the rain has covered our tracks for sure. No one will get here in time and I'll have what I want, and you will pay for leaving me alone and getting Kikyou killed." He said, his voice low and malicious even as he was greedily continuing with his plans.

"Why are you doing this?" Kagome screamed out, her voice full of fear and anxiety as she looked to the concoction that swirled around her. She remembered the smell, and the texture of this particular substance. She knew what was happening, and she couldn't stop it. She tried to lift herself out of the tub only to slosh back into it and nearly get some in her mouth.

Her terror-filled eyes met with his golden ones as he laughed again and said, "You left me behind. You let Kikyou get killed. You gave Shippou to Sesshoumaru, and you made Sango and Miroku leave me. You left me alone, and here you were with a bunch of other demons, laughing it up behind my back. You know, I met that Yusuke and Kurama before. They came to see Fluffy, and they said they weren't sleeping with you. I didn't believe them, but I find you as virgin as the day you were born. Maybe I should have changed that but I don't want to mess up the process if you being a virgin has anything to do with it." He said, as carelessly as he could. He wanted her for her soul, nothing more. Kikyou was the only woman he'd had sex with and she was the only one he wanted to have that kind of relationship with. In his twisted mind, Kagome betrayed him. His aged human mind was warring with his demon mind and he was literally going insane as each year passed. He was ill, but he didn't know it. Sesshoumaru had an inkling, but there was nothing he could do about it, except find a way to make Inuyasha one or the other, human, or demon, and since there were few ways to accomplish that, the inu-hanyou was a ticking time bomb.

Kagome felt tears slide down her face but she couldn't push them away and she tried to reason with him, even as she felt her soul being pulled at her body. The sensation was painful, and her terror spiked as she screamed out mentally for anyone to help her. "I didn't leave you on purpose, Inuyasha! I died, remember? I had to go; I wasn't supposed to be in that time. Kikyou should have stayed away, it was our battle. She got herself into trouble, I didn't do that. And Naraku was the one who killed her anyway. The first time, and the last time, too. Don't you remember that?" she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her eyes, though she knew he could smell it on her.

"You weren't supposed to die!" he shouted out as his eyes flattened to slits of red for a second. "Naraku killed you both, right in front of my eyes. Well, I'm taking Kikyou back. You're already dead, so is Kikyou. You're both dead, I'm just picking the one I want." He said, his tone flat as if he were listening to voices that only he could hear.

"But I'm not dead!" Kagome shrieked as she felt the first pull of her soul as it fought to stay in her body, but the liquid tried to pull it away from her. "I'm alive! Koenma put me back together! I'm not dead!" she shouted as she screamed again in fear and pain.

"You died." He said again softly as he moved back to pet 'Kikyou's' hair softly. "You died in front of me. He killed you." And with that said, he stood and moved the clay figure closer to the tub and looked to Kagome's frightened sapphire eyes. He didn't say anything, but waited, knowing what would happen. In a few moments, her soul would be his, and he would have Kikyou back.

Kagome's mental scream nearly put Hiei into the river. When her cry reached his widely opened Jagan, he had been in mid-jump over the large body of water as he followed Sesshoumaru's gleaming white form. Her terror spiraled down his spine until he felt overwhelmed by it. His skin shook as he processed what was happening and his eyes narrowed into slits of pure, uncontrolled rage. His skin promptly began to change color to chartreuse, and then to a dark, almost black, green color. Most of the team was familiar with this form from the hiyoukai, but each of them knew that the stakes had just been raised when Hiei stepped up his game to this level. Without a word of warning, he shot off like a rocket towards the source of fear and left everyone else in the dust. He was one of the fastest demons in the Makai, and he was proving that in this moment. The rest of the team followed him as fast as their legs would carry them. Kuwabara was quickly left behind but Hiei couldn't bring himself to care when Kagome's panic was racing through him at a more intense pace. Suddenly, he could see a cave in the distance, but as that formation came into sight, her panic was suddenly gone.

His heart lept into his chest as he felt waves of emptiness and a dark, foreboding shadow where previously there had been Kagome's fear. Screaming out her name, he pushed himself faster and harder than he'd ever done in his life as he felt Kurama shift first into Youko and then into the kitsune's animal form. Seconds later, both reached the opening of the cave and they didn't hesitate to enter, each fighting to reach Kagome.

Kagome kept trying to tell him that she was alive, that she wasn't dead, but he wasn't listening to her anymore, and in a few moments she couldn't even speak anymore because of the numbing poison that he'd put into her system. She fought to struggle even a little bit in the foul-smelling potion that she was in, but eventually even her struggles ceased as she felt her heartbeat resonate with her soul leaving her body. Thrums of beats echoed out of her body as her blood pulsed in her ears. She wanted to cry, to scream, anything to keep her soul within her, but the potion was working just like it had last time, and again, she was helpless to do anything but wait for him to speak her previous incarnations name.

Her eyes closed just as Hiei and Kurama barreled into the room and she didn't even have the power to sense them. Her heart stuttered as Inuyasha whispered, "Kikyou. Come to me…Kikyou." And her soul shattered. From the confines of her petite form, her soul split into the air and a fierce wind surrounded them. Kagome's body was tossed into the air by the force of it, and Kikyou's body went with her as each piece flew into the undead body that Inuyasha had created for her. This time it looked as if it would be different. Kagome's entire soul resonated with Kikyou's 'body', and there was nothing to stop it this time. Last time, Inuyasha had called to the hatred in the shared soul of the miko's, but this time, there was no anger or hatred; she had died at the hands of Naraku, and her soul had somehow found peace with Kagome. There was nothing to stop him from stealing the soul from her live body and putting it into the false corpse that was Kikyou. The unexpected shout of Hiei, the only one with a working human mouth, froze time as he called out darkly, "Kagome!"

The soul, which had been splitting away in pieces from the young miko to the undead form, paused, resonating with both names: Kikyou was in the past, Kagome was in the present. Before, the anger and hate had given Kikyou a chance to keep a piece of the young miko's soul. Now, there was nothing strong enough to tie any of the soul to the clay form of the undead form and Kagome's body pulled back at its soul, drawing it out of the undead form with speed and ease. After all, the soul knew which body was warm and living, and the clay corpse had no power or memories of its own to hold onto any part of her soul.

Inuyasha howled in anguish as he saw Kagome's body start to take back the soul he'd worked so hard to steal from her. He clawed into his chest and drew blood enough to coat his sharp nails before he aimed at her floating body in the air. "That is Kikyou's soul!" he screamed as he raised his arm to attack her immobile form. As he did, he was tackled to the ground by a large and heavy silver fox, one that was intent on eating the hanyou for dinner. Hiei was stunned as he reached for Kagome's hovering form. Her soul was coming back to her in pieces and he quickly turned and drew his katana. He slashed down and decapitated the clay form that was even now, releasing pieces of her soul. As soon as the form was disabled, the rest of Kagome's soul flew back to her in a frenzy as it assembled itself over her hovering form. Inuyasha howled again as he reached desperately for his lost love. His demon blood fought to take over, but the sword at his side kept him half-human, if not sane.

He wasn't strong enough to push off the strength of the fox demon, and at the loss of his Kikyou he seemed to lose the will to move anymore, too. Hiei watched as Kagome's body finally began to come down from its hovering state and he reached forward and grabbed her in his arms before she went back into the wet, and smelly tub that she was above. He held her shivering and cold form to his own warm one as he upped the heat his own body was producing. She was breathing erratically and her entire form was quivering even as he held her. Moments later, the rest of the team arrived, and Sesshoumaru whimpered when he saw her dejected form. Quickly, he nuzzled her neck with his nose and he blew out the breath through his nose. She'd been poisoned by his own mixture! She had been soaked in some liquid that he didn't recognize, and he quickly searched the cave and came up a small chest that smelled of death, Kikyou, and had a scroll within. He transformed back to his humanoid form and looked over the written directions and he growled darkly as he moved closer to where Kurama was still pinning his half-brother. "What did you hope to accomplish! She is not, nor will she ever be Kikyou! She is alive, and Kikyou has been dead, truly dead, for centuries!" he shouted, his frustration and anger evident.

Inuyasha looked up at the taller demon with broken eyes. It seemed he'd put all his hopes and dreams into having Kikyou back and that had failed miserably. He knew he would be lucky if he was killed. Otherwise he was in for a lot of pain and punishment for nearly killing Kagome. No one in this rag-tag team of demons would let him get away with anything that he'd done. "Kagome died too, right in front of me. She died protecting me." He said, earning looks from each demon in the room. A couple of them knew about it, such as the Spirit Detectives, but those just now called on this case didn't, and they looked with pity to the young girl who was still passed out. After everything she'd done for the hanyou, he had treated her so badly. Each made a small vow to themselves that they would protect her, even if she insisted that she didn't need them.

"Kagome is the last guardian, the final guardian. We couldn't just let her die. There are no other miko's with even a fraction of the power she has, and no one we could entrust to keep it safe. She's already proved that she will do anything to keep it safe, and so, we made a deal that will keep it in her hands." Koenma explained later as he sat in the living room of Genkai's shrine with the group present. Inuyasha was held by Sesshoumaru and some plants of Kurama's as they all looked to the not-so-toddler of the Spirit Realm.

"So…I'll never see Kikyou again?" Inuyasha questioned sullenly as he looked to the Reikai leader even as Kurama tightened the vines around the hanyou's hands. He winced but didn't say anything about it. It was a point of pride for him, and he didn't want them to see he was in discomfort.

Koenma shook his head before saying, "No. Kagome is the reincarnation of the miko, Kikyou. Kagome, unless she dies, is not going to lose her soul to anyone else, or be reincarnated into another body. I don't anticipate her dying any time soon, and if you or anyone else tries to pull a stunt like you did today, there will be hell to pay. Do you understand me? My father will get involved and what he will do is nothing short of disastrous to keep that jewel out of the wrong hands." The young ruler said as he leaned down and peered darkly into the hanyou's golden eyes.

"Don't worry, Koenma. He's not going to go near Kagome ever again." Kurama said fiercely as he clenched his fists in rage. Hiei was still mauling trees as per his teammates request after he nearly fried the hanyou, not that he didn't deserve it, but they needed answers.

Inuyasha glared at the kitsune before he growled out, "She'll forgive me. She always forgives me, no matter what I've done."

Each person in the room turned their head towards the arrogant hanyou and each glared before he lifted his nose with contempt. "We won't let you go near her again." Kurama growled back darkly before Inuyasha smirked and looked back at the irate kitsune. "That's what you said last time. You and that guy over there." He said, as he inclined his head towards Yusuke.

The barely contained toushin raced forward and grabbed up the collar of Inuyasha's fire red kimono and shouted, "I'll make you eat those words you fucking dog!"

Kuwabara raced forward and pulled back hard on Yusuke's green outfit, saying, "Calm down man, he deserves a beating but not right this second. Everyone'll get their chance. C'mon…" he coaxed as he eased the detectives grip on the fabric he held. The mazoku demon let himself be pulled back to his corner of the room and he finally turned and grumbled out that he was going to check on Kagome. The tension level dropped a few notches as he stomped out of the room and down the hallway towards the room that held the barely stable miko.

Sesshoumaru looked into Koenma's eyes as he questioned, "What do you suggest we do with him? Honor would allow any of us to kill him for touching our own, but with the Reikai Spirit Detectives involved, I don't know if this falls to your jurisdiction." He knew of the jails in the Reikai for demons that got out of hand, and he would just as soon kill the hanyou than sentence him. He deserved to hurt and suffer as he had made Kagome suffer.

Koenma was quiet before he looked into the defiant eyes of the hanyou. He knew that the hanyou's unstable mind would only get worse as the years progressed. He could already see that his mind was being overwhelmed by the contrast in human and demon blood. Five centuries had changed that for the other half-beings around him. Yusuke's own mazoku power was so strong that he was in no danger of losing himself even a millennium from now, and Kurama was literally sharing a body and soul with Youko, so he would be fine as well, even if he lost more of his human traits as Youko regained more and more of his own spirit energy. Inuyasha had no such barriers or strength to draw from. Finally he looked up from the inu-hanyou and into the eyes of the Taiyoukai. "Unless there is some way to turn him into one or the other, a full demon or a full human, there is little hope for him. He will continue to long for Kikyou, and Kagome will be in danger." He said, earning glances from those left in the room.

"Then he's screwed because there isn't a way to do that is there?" Kuwabara asked, as he stepped forward to include himself in the conversation.

Sesshoumaru pondered a moment before he said quietly, "There is a way, but she would have to be willing, and I don't know if she wants him to even be alive anymore, after what he did."

Inuyasha looked with confusion to his half-brother before he looked to the others in the room. He didn't know what the Taiyoukai was thinking but he didn't think he wanted any part of it. "Just kill me and get it over with. That bitch eluded death when Kikyou couldn't, I'll prove this bastard wrong and kill her just to see her reincarnated back into Kikyou's body." He said as he struggled again in his bonds. Kurama growled again and let one of the thorns on the restraints nick his hand sharply. Inuyasha winced but didn't say anything as he watched blood flow from the small, but painful wound. It was almost like a paper cut, and damnit if those didn't sting.

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru boomed out as he looked towards the kitsune with approval in his eyes. "The Shikon no Tama can grant a wish, perhaps she can wish him one way or the other. I would pick human myself, because you make a piss-poor demon as it is, I would hate to see you as a full demon and fail." He said, purposely goading the hanyou with spite. "Father would be so displeased with you." He added.

Inuyasha growled darkly and shouted, "Fuck you, Fluffy! I don't want shit from her! She can go fucking die for all I care! She's a worthless bitch who couldn't even keep herself alive. If it weren't for me she'd be dead fifty times with all the stupid reckless shit she did in the past. Nobody better let her try to turn me into a weak-ass human! I'll kill them!" he shouted, his struggling renewed as he imagined her turning him into a human to spite him.

"That 'reckless shit' as you so call it, saved your life in the end, you ungrateful hanyou." Kurama growled out as he tightened the vines again. Sesshoumaru gave him a warning look; those vines were getting dangerously close to cutting skin and once his blood was spilled in quantity he was sure that they would just finish the job. The kitsune backed off slightly before he said, "I think he just needs to be killed. Kagome wouldn't agree, but then again, Kagome is kind and she wouldn't want to know that she was the reason he was executed. He deserves to pay for what he did." He wanted to shout, but he kept a level-head throughout this process. Hiei was a different story, but the volatile fire demon had a lot more physically and emotionally to deal with than the kitsune.

No one could disagree with that statement, and it was at that moment that they finally came to terms. "Koenma, what be tha' sentence for this sort of thing in tha' Spirit Realm? I'm sure there be other guardians out there in tha' world." Jin spoke up, finally breaking the tense atmosphere with a question of his own.

The brown-haired leader looked up at the question before his mouth set into a grim line. "The sentence for trying to take the life of a guardian is death. Father's rules are strict. Kurama and Hiei were lucky that Yusuke didn't die of his injuries, and they are powerful. The fact that they seemed to get along also helped in the sentencing process. They agreed to become detectives and they knew that if there was any moment that they broke Reikai law again they would die. I don't trust Inuyasha to be a detective that will listen and I don't trust his blood to not make him crazy again. If it were up to me and me alone, I would sentence him to death." Silence filled the room before Sesshoumaru nodded gravely and Inuyasha hung his head; he knew that it was over for him now. Life as he knew it was over.

Yusuke looked into the room that held Kagome's still form and he saw Yukina placing another cool washcloth over the girl's pale face. Genkai was off meditating somewhere, and everyone else was in the meeting with Koenma. The young koorime looked up as the door opened and she smiled tenderly at him. The toushin nodded gently before he moved in and took a seat on the other side of the bed. He had seen her like this before, when she was a spirit, waiting to get back into her body. He had promised her that he would visit her, and he wanted to be her friend. This afternoon mucked all of that up and he knew he fucked up with her big-time. Inuyasha just made the situation worse, but he hoped that she could find it in her to forgive him for listening so much to Keiko. Keiko was his girlfriend and his first real friend. He'd known her since they were toddlers, but today had crossed a line between them that he didn't know if they could recover from. She didn't support the team, and therefore, she didn't support him, and that was a harsh blow to not only his ego, but his heart, too.

His hands moved forward of their own accord and he grasped her pale hand between his own. Yukina stood and moved out of the room quietly to go get some fresh, cold water, leaving him alone with the young miko. He hung his head lightly before he leaned closer and said softly, "I'm sorry, Kagome. I messed up. I…you're not just a job to me. You're one of my friends, and…" he paused, not sure how to express himself. He was never particularly eloquent with words and as they failed him now, he cursed and said, "Damnit, I didn't mean any of that. I didn't want Keiko to think we were close but it shouldn't matter. If she trusted me…it shouldn't matter. I'm sorry you were hurt…I'm sorry." He said again, before he held her hand to his chest a moment only to say, "Please be okay." Tears stung at his eyes unexpectedly and he thought of Genkai, and how weak she was just before she died the first time, and he held Kagome's hand tighter and whispered again, "Please wake up." Silence filled the room, and he was about to let her hand go and leave when he felt her hand squeeze into his own. Her eyes were still closed, but it was a sign. She was still in there. Relief flooded him as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. "There are a ton of us here. You're not alone, Kagome." He whispered, before he sat back down and kept a hold on her hand, finding that some of that dark ugliness that had been in his chest loosened and seemed to float away. He knew who to thank for that.

/chapter

A/N: End chapter 12. I hope you all are enjoying 'Searching' thus far. Main pairing is still up in the air, so suggestions are welcome. I like Kagome with any of the Yu Yu Hakusho crew, or Inuyasha crew (except Inuyasha, ironically) so don't be afraid to name a pairing that's atypical or rare. ^_^ I'll take any and all into consideration.

As always, thank you to those who watch, favorite, and review this story. I appreciate the encouragements and enthusiasm of my readers, and it helps feed the muse who is hungrily perched on my chair. At this point I'm at an injunction. I'm not quite sure where I want this to go. The pairing I choose will be a big factor into where this goes. I didn't expect it to turn out as long as it has actually, so I'll see what the muses have in mind. Thanks for hanging with me guys on this journey.

I was looking over my reviews, and someone suggested I split this story into multiple parts, with the pairing being different in each ending. (A multi-ending xover?) That would be a TON of work, but I'm seriously taking it into consideration. If I have multiple ideas for this story's ending, then perhaps I will go that direction. I'll keep you guys updated if that, indeed, turns out to be the case. I'm also working on a few one shot story ideas, and playing with a few short story (less than five chapter) pieces. I'll update what I have on those to give you guys some more to read from me. My home page looks rather sad and lonely with just SFS on it.

Kudo's, loves!~

animeinvasiongirl aka Sayuri-chan