Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho and if I did...I'd be damned if I shared Sesshomaru, Miroku or Hiei with any of you.....jk
A/N: My muse decided to take an extended vacation recently and is forcing me to think on my own. A task I must tell you that is very hard to achieve. However, I hope the chapter I am now presenting to you is adequate enough. ...................................Oh yeah!! btw....free cookies to all of you who guessed who the confused ice blue eyes belonged to...although I suppose it really wasn't too hard to figure out.
Chapter Eight: Explainations
"Ka...Kagome? It can't be..."
The raven haired girl stared at the youkai before them. It had been awhile since she had seen him, but even longer since he had seen her. The five hundred years hadn't changed him much at all. He still wore his long black hair up in a ponytail, although the length was just a bit longer than she remembered.
"Koga!" Kagome stepped forward and was swept into the wolf youkai's strong arms. Tears swelled in her eyes.
"How is this possible? It's been five hundred years since I last saw you!" he asked her while eyeing the others in the cave behind her.
"It's a long story really." Kagome answered truthfully, "I'm sure you heard about what happened to Inuyasha?"
"Yes and to the two humans as well. Can't say I care too much about dog breath's end, but I am truly sorry about your two friends, Kagome." He was certain now that Kagome was a very changed girl. He pulled back and studied her. It came as a shock as he picked up on the inu youkai child growing in her womb. He brushed the stray tears from her face, "Who's child are you carrying, Kagome?"
"Um...well you see..." she stuttered a bit and was stopped by Yusuke.
"It's none of your business wolf boy, so butt out!" he retorted, pulling Kagome closer to him by her arm and then pushing her gently towards Kurama and Botan.
"Who do you think you are?" Koga had stepped before Yusuke and looked down at him.
"Guys, please. Don't do this!" Kagome squeezed her way between the two of them. It was almost like she was seperating Koga and Inuyasha all over again. With a heavy sigh she shoved Yusuke back, "Yusuke, it's alright. I trust Koga."
"Kagome..." Yusuke stared at her and shook his head, "Alright, but if he does anything funny, I'm gonna kick his ass."
"I'd like to see you try." Koga glared hard and Kagome pushed him away.
"Come over here with me, Koga. I'll tell you why I'm here." Kagome pulled him aside.
"Kagome, may I join you as well?" Kurama stopped her briefly. He was curious about her relationship with the wolf youkai. Koga gave him an angry stare, of which he ignored.
"Yes, you can, Kurama." she nodded, gave Koga a soft smile and walked away from the rest of the group.
"We're setting up here for the night. We're setting out first thing in the morning." Genkai took a seat. The others sat with her, except Hiei who leaned against the wall eyeing Kagome with the Kurama and the wolf youkai.
"How long do you think it'll take to reach Sesshomaru's castle?" Botan asked Genkai.
"As long as nothing goes wring, I'd say three days at the most." Genkai answered and shook her head, "It shouldn't be a problem as long as dimwit over here can refrain from picking fights with Koga.
"He started it!" Yusuke snapped angrily, "He shouldn't be asking her such personal questions."
"Isn't that up to her to decide?" Hiei questioned his teammate. His crimson eyes met with Yusuke's briefly then looked away.
"No one asked you." Yusuke retorted curtly, "Wait a minute!"
Genkai, Botan and Kuwabara stared at Yusuke as he jumped to his feet.
"What is it now, stupid?" Genkai knew what his problem was but, she could help but feel entertained by his revelation.
"Please tell me that wolf boy isn't coming with us!"
"He's been asked by Koenma to help."
"We don't need his help!"
"I agree with Yusuke." Hiei added.
"Neither of you have a say in the matter." Genkai eyed Kagome, "Besides, Koga will protect the girl. That leaves Sesshomaru to the rest of you and the two humans to myself and Botan."
"Do you think it'll take all four of us to defeat this guy?" Kuwabara spoke up. The question brought Hiei's attention back and Genkai shrugged.
"We won't know until that time comes." she answered honestly, her eyes still fixed on Kagome. If everything went well, they'd all be able to return alive, but Sesshomaru was not someone to take lightly and Genkai knew that, "He is the Lord of Makai for a reason."
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The story spilled from her lips like running water from a faucet. Every detail of Inuyasha's death, all the horrible details of her time with Sesshomaru, her escape through the well with Shippo, discovering her pregnancy and meeting new people...all of it came pouring out in her explaination to Koga. She took the time to explain the significance of the well since she could see how confused Koga had become.
Through the conversation Kurama noted the trust Kagome had in Koga. She had willingly opened up her heart and told him everything. It was something even Yusuke had to fight to learn about and it had been Souta who gave him what little details he knew. But Koga was different. He was obviously someone important to Kagome.
"Oh, Kagome. I had no idea!" Koga pulled her into his arms again, "I wish I had been there. I should never have left you alone with Inuyasha."
"Don't say that, Koga." Kagome said gently and pulled back, "It's in the past now and there is no reason to dwell on it. We have to focus on saving Miroku and Sango. That is the most important thing right now."
"I know it is. That is why I agreed to help. I had no idea that you were going to be a part of it too, Kagome. I'm very happy though, that through some bizzare circumstance, you are here."
"Thank you, Koga, for agreeing to help." Kagome smiled and looked at Kurama, "Thank you as well, Kurama."
"It's not a problem, Kagome." Kurama stood, "I am going to go sit with the others."
"I'll go with you." Kagome said and Kurama helped her to her feet, "Are you coming, Koga?"
"Yeah." Koga followed them over to the rest of the group. His eyes scanned the group as he followed her. Each of them were different, and as much as he wanted to hate them, he had to respect them for Kagome's sake. After Sango and Miroku were saved, he wouldn't have to be so nice to them.
She sat next to Yusuke and gave him a cheery smile. He couldn't remain angry with a smile like that. He sighed and shook his head in defeat. There would be no arguing with her that day.
The Next Morning
Kagome hadn't slept much and wasn't at all surprised when she sat up and found Hiei standing in the opening of the cave. He glanced back over his shoulder to look at her and then went back to staring outside. She let him be and tried to lie back down. She stared up at the stone above her. Thoughts flooded her mind. She had to be prepared for Sesshomaru. Koenma said they would run into him more than likely and he would be angry. He would probably try to kill her. She shivered a little at the horrid thought.
"Are you alright, Kagome?" Kurama's voice spoke softly not too far away from her. She turned her head to look at him. His beautiful green eyes stared at her with concern.
"I'm alright." she answered quietly, "I was just thinking is all."
"Anything I can help you with?"
She shook her head. Kurama gave a quiet sigh and sat up. He stretched before standing and joining Hiei. Kagome watched for a moment then sat up herself. She wasn't going to fall back asleep now and it was pointless to keep trying. She rose to her feet and stretched. She noticed movement from Genkai and Koga.
"Good morning." she said quietly to them, doing her best to not wake the others. Genkai nodded to her and joined Kurama and Hiei.
"Morning, Kagome." Koga said loudly and jumped to his feet. He stepped before her, "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, I slept okay." she could feel Hiei's eyes look at her momentarily, but she ignored him. It wasn't any of his business how she slept anyway.
Botan awoke shortly after and between her and Genkai, they were able to kick the last two awake. Kuwabara barely protested, but Yusuke was a different story. Kagome had to step in to help get him up. He grumbled a few obscenities before dragging himself up onto his knees. Kagome giggled and he looked up at her.
"Curse you for being a morning person, Kagome." he grinned at her.
"Let's go dimwit. We haven't got all morning to wait for your lazy ass to get up." Genkai turned to Kagome next, "It would be wise for you to stay close to Koga today. Makai is not a place for an untrained miko and many demons around here will hunt for you the second they feel the slightest bit of your power."
Kagome swallowed hard and nodded. They were all going to have to fight because of her and her untrained power, but she was too determined to have that stop her from continuing. It was her fault that Sango and Miroku were in this situation and she was going to save them no matter what.
"Ready?" Kurama was next to her and she jumped again, "I'm sorry I scared you, Kagome."
"It's alright!" she gave a nervous laugh, "You're just so quiet."
"Perhaps you should concentrate and memorize our energies. We're not all the same you know." Hiei watched as Kagome's eyes scanned across the group slowly.
"He's right, Kagome." Kurama smiled, "It shouldn't be too hard for you. I was informed you can already pick up the energy's of Hiei and Shippo."
"Yours is easy too." Kagome added with a grin, "So it's just the rest of you I need to remember. That couldn't be too hard. I'll work with Koga today. It'll be a lot harder than when you had jewel shards in your legs."
"Sesshomaru has most of the jewel completed now. The rest of it just vanished and no one has heard of any youkai finding a shard in..."
"Five hundred years?" Kagome finished the sentence, "Yeah, the thing is, the other half is back at my home. It was with me when I fled from him."
"Jewel shards?" Kurama questioned Kagome and Koga.
"I have half of the Shikon No Tama. It was the reason I met Inuyasha. The reason I met everyone in Feudal Japan." Kagome looked towards the entrance, "We should go. I heard it may be a tough journey and the sooner we get there and save my friends, the better."
She put on a strong, brave face. Yusuke saw the determination in her eyes again and couldn't refuse. He put his arm around her back and led her out. He'd be damned if he let Koga protect her. Quite frankly, he didn't like him. Koga hurried his pace to walk alongside her, giving an angry death glare to Yusuke, and expression that Yusuke gave back. With yet another heavy sigh, Kagome continued on. These two were never going to get along.
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It was shortly after noon when things started feeling out of place. The air seemed thicker and an eerie fog had settled around them. Kagome pressed closer to the person on her left, realizing immediately that Kurama had taken Koga's place at her side.
Two arms slipped around her waist. One from Yusuke and the other from Kurama. She could sense a youkai approaching rather quickly. She watched as Hiei placed a hand on the handle of his katana.
"It's coming closer. It doesn't seem very strong at all." Kurama and Yusuke stoppped together.
"What is it?" Kagome's voice faltered as she looked around, "It's a youkai, right?"
"It is a kitsune judging by the scent." Koga growled with annoyance.
"Stick close to the girl." Genkai ordered, giving a quick glance at Koga and then at Botan. They both stepped closer to Kagome.
The kitsune came into view shortly after. Her hair was a light brown and her skin just slightly tanned. She wore a white robe that rested just abover her knees and carried a wooden rod. She flicked her hair off her shoulder and cast the group a mischievious stare.
"Why are you here?" she directed her question to the person closest to her. Hiei scowled at her.
"None of your business." he retorted curtly. She raised an eye brow and watched him.
"You're moody, aren't you, shorty?" she laughed a bit before inspecting the person behind Hiei, "You're a big, ugly fella, huh? And human too. Yuck I hate humans!"
"Hey, are you talking to me?" Kuwabara pointed at himself.
"You're stupid too I see. Typical human."
"Listen lady, just get out of our way. We're on our way to meet someone and we don't have time to stop and chat." Yusuke released Kagome and stepped forward, "Now be a good little kitsune and let us pass."
"How dare you insult me! You expect me to let you pass through my territory after that?" she crossed her arms over her chest, "Too bad for you. You just put me into a bad mood."
"I doubt you are much of a challenge for us." Hiei spat and she replied with a smirk.
"I don't have to fight you." She began chanting words unfamiliar to the group.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked nervously as Botan vanished right before her.
"It's a type of kitsune magic." Kurama pulled Kagome closer, "Don't worry, Kagome. Wherever we end up, we'll be together."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, trust me."