Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry for not updating sooner! I don't want to give you all excuses because it's been SO many months since I last updated! So... yeah... I'M SORRY! Since school is over for the year, I'm able to write a lot more! AND in ONE day I wrote this entire chapter because I felt SO bad about not updating in ages! Hopefully I still have some faithful fans who will read this... hopefully... if not... well... at least I managed to update! It is a rather short chapter... but longer than my last couple... so... yeah...

Anyways, I am really sorry about updating and I'm hoping to write another couple of chapters ASAP to make it up to you all! Hoping being the operative word... I really hope I can because I want to finish this story this year... so... yeah...

ENJOY and if you might be so kind... review :)

Secret's Out

"Hey guys," said Sango as she, Miroku and Kirara arrived where Nozomi and Shippo were, "where's Inuyasha and Kagome?"

"Not here," replied Shippo, looking up at Sango.

Sango frowned. "I know that. But do you know where they are?"

Shippo shook his head. "Not a clue. Nozomi and I haven't seen them."

Nozomi nodded in agreement. "They haven't been here."

Sango's frown deepened as she glanced behind her and said, "They should've arrived here... they were just behind us... where are they?"

"Do not worry, Sango dear," said Miroku, "Inuyasha and Kagome will be just fine."

"Maybe. But it's Inuyasha; he could've easily sped in front of us! What happened?"

Nozomi frowned and looked behind Sango, her eyes studying the surroundings behind the older woman. Suddenly, the outlines of Kagome and Inuyasha appeared running towards the group.

"We've gotta go!" exclaimed Kagome, her eyes wild, "Right now!"

Sango nodded and jumped onto Kirara, with Miroku following. "Let's go," she said.

oOo

"What happened?" asked Sango. The group had finally stopped running and were now resting in a small clearing, far away from the castle.

Kagome shook her head and said, "I'm not sure... I can't really remember much. I remember saying we could go and then... nothing."

Inuyasha nodded. "I can't remember anything beyond that."

Nozomi frowned and said, "Isn't that bad? I mean, memory loss is never really a good sign."

"We don't seem to be injured," said Kagome, studying herself more clearly, "I don't know why we can't remember but it's probably nothing."

"Famous last words."

Kagome grinned before sighing and saying, "I know... but... there's nothing we can do about it."

Inuyasha growled and said, "I do remember one thing."

"What?" asked everyone else, all staring at Inuyasha.

"Something about Nozomi. Kagura said it before she vanished."

"What's that?" asked Kagome, "I don't remember anything like that. What did she say?"

"She said Nozomi has a secret that will destroy us."

Kagome, Sango and Miroku all looked at Nozomi, who had an expression of shock plastered on her face. "W-what?" she stammered, not even blinking.

Inuyasha growled again and said, "Do you have a secret? Don't lie to us either, this is affecting all of us now!"

Nozomi sighed and stared at the ground. "I-I-I do have a secret... b-b-but... you'll think of me differently if you know it!"

"We won't, Nozomi," said Kagome softly, "You're our friend now, we won't think of you differently."

Nozomi glanced over at Shippo, who nodded his head, and then she opened her mouth. "M-my father... you know him. Well... a part of him anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Sango in confusion.

"M-m-my father... he's a bad person. Very, very bad..." continued Nozomi, her voice getting softer.

"Who is he?" asked Kagome, gentling placing her hand on Nozomi's shoulder.

Nozomi took a deep breath and in a barely intelligible voice whispered, "Naraku. My father is Naraku."

"WHAT!" yelled Inuyasha, making Nozomi cringe in fright, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! HE'S YOUR FATHER!"

Nozomi reluctantly nodded. "Unfortunately... but it's a very, very, very, very long story... and I don't like him! Not at all! He's horrible and mean and evil and I don't like him! I don't!"

"We believe you, Nozomi," murmured Kagome, squeezing Nozomi's shoulder, "I don't think you're anything like Naraku."

Nozomi smiled weakly and said, "I wish he wasn't my father... but he is."

"How is he your father?"

Nozomi sighed and whispered, "It's a very long story."

"Tell us," demanded Inuyasha, his tone deadly.

Nozomi cringed again before nodding. "Alright... well... I was born long, long ago... sixty odd years ago actually."

"But you look-"

"I know. It's because of the time travel."

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Nozomi sighed and said, "I can't control how I travel through time... I just can't. I've never been able to no matter how hard I tried! Except once..."

"Go on."

"Naraku is my father... more or less. But, when I was born my father has a... different look and... name."

"Onigumo."

"Yeah. Him. He was my father, but, by default, that makes Naraku my father. See, my mother wasn't that... ah... nice, so to speak. She fell in love with an evil bandit who abandoned her before she knew she was expecting... she reformed after that, but Onigumo came back and killed her a few years later. It was when she died that my time travelling started. I generally go forwards in time, sometimes backwards. Once, when I was ten, I arrived at Kikyo's village."

"You knew Kikyo!"

"Yes. She was wonderful to me, and with her alive my time travelling temporarily stopped. It was like she completely blocked it..."

"Did you know Inuyasha then?"

"No. Kikyo never let me near him, said he was a bad influence. Course, I always retorted with 'then why are you in love with him?' but she never answered me. Kikyo and Kaede were like sisters to me... they were so kind and nice. They never once judged me because of what I was... but I never told then who my father was... especially not when I found out he was in the cave nearby..."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing much. I was afraid that he was there... I didn't want to go near him! And then... then Kikyo died... I remember the blood... the grief... everything... and not long after that... I started time travelling again."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be... it's not like it's your fault or anything. It's all his fault. That bastard is such a... a... a bastard!"

Kagome squeezed Nozomi's shoulder again and said, "Thank you for telling us Nozomi. Now we can help you."

"How? How can you help me?" asked Nozomi, staring with wide eyes at Kagome, "You can't change who my father is!"

"No. But we can stop Naraku from getting his hands on you and... we can try and get rid of your time travelling ability."

Nozomi's eyes lit up and her voice was filled with excitement as she cried out, "Really!"

Kagome nodded. "We'll help you Nozomi. You were brave enough to tell us that, so we'll help you."

Sango nodded in agreement as she said, "Of course we will!"

"It would be a pleasure," added Miroku with a smile.

Shippo bounced up and down in joy as he cried out, "You're our friend Nozomi!"

Inuyasha sighed and said, "Keh," before he jumped up into the nearest tree.

Kagome smiled and said, "Even Inuyasha wants to help you! You're in good hands with us, Nozomi. Do you trust us?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Nozomi, embracing Kagome in a tight hug, "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. We'll start in the morning... after we get some sleep."

"Right! Thank you all so much!"