Chapter Twenty Six: Naraku Visits Kagome

The next day, the whole village was a buzz with excitement, it was only five more days before Kikyo and Inuyasha were getting married, and Kagome had formulated a plan to surprise her newest sister...

" Hey Kikyo?" Kagome asked faking innocence...

" What are you up to?" Kikyo asked smirking.

" I've been thinking about what I can do for you and Inuyasha for your wedding day and I've finally come up with the perfect solution..." Kagome said triumphantly.

" And what would that be?" Kikyo asks shaking her head and smiling at the younger girls exuberance.

" How would you and Sango like to go on a shopping spree in my era?!" Kagome asked excitedly, " Then you can meet three of my very best friends from my time too!"

" That sounds wonderful!" Kikyo exclaimed, " But would it really work?!"

" Koga was able to come through when someone tried to hurt me over there, so I don't see why it wouldn't..." Kagome said grinning.

" What are we waiting for?!" Sango exclaimed excitedly, "When did you want to leave?"

" Right now!" Kagome exclaimed.

Inuyasha wasn't very thrilled with the idea of Kagome dragging Kikyo all over strange era, but one look at Kikyo's shining happy face and Inuyasha was done for...

" Fine..." Inuyasha sighed finally relenting, " But please be careful... I mean all three of you! Not just you Kikyo, Sango, that goes for you and especially you Kagome... I haven't forgotten how badly that guy hurt you all that time ago... I never want to see you in that much pain again..."

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome in a brotherly hug... Kagome shivered slightly as the horrible memories from that day surfaced once more... The pain, the fear... How very helpless she felt... Kagome nodded, unable to speak at the moment, before resuming her walk to the well, Kikyo and Sango following close behind...

Sango and Kikyo weren't stupid, they'd seen how shaken up she became after Inuyasha mentioned her injuries, but were smart enough to keep quiet until they were well out of Inuyasha's hearing range...

"Hey, Kagome?" Sango asked worriedly, " Are you sure your ok with going home? Koga and Inuyasha never did say what happened to you over there before your mom disappeared... Just that someone hurt you... What exactly happened?"

Kagome didn't want to answer, so instead, she quickened her pace to a brisque walk, leaving the others efficiently behind... Kikyo and Sango had to break into a jog just to catch up to her...

" Kagome?" Sango asked reaching her hand out cautiously, " Please? Won't you tell us what happened?"

" Its nothing... " Kagome said emotionlessly, " Lets just go have fun shopping... It's to celebrate Kikyo and Inuyasha's special day after all..."

' Be thankful, you two...' Kagome thought to herself bitterly, ' You both still have your purity... I'll never have that for my wedding day...'

Kagome shook the cobwebs of sadness from her mind before clapping and plastering a smile on her face...

" Alright you guys!" Kagome exclaimed happily, " Moment of truth! Here goes nothing!"

And with a mighty leap, catapulted her way into the bone eaters well... Kikyo and Sango shared a look of happiness and excitement before both followed Kagome into the well... Kagome grinned happily when she saw her friends had made it into the time portal as well and the three young women clasped hands as the blue lights in the well receded and the three of them looked up from the well to see a structure above them instead of the blue sky of the feudal era...

" it worked!" Kagome cried happily, " We made it!"

Sango, Kikyo, and Kagome all walked happily from the well house once they all climbed out of the well and for a moment, everything was peaceful and happy... Until Kagome heard the familiar sound of her little brother, Sota, crying... Kagome motioned for Sango and Kikyo to stay quiet before she silently went to comfort her little brother...

" Sota?" Kagome asked, placing her hand on his head affectionately, " What's wrong buddy?"

" Oh sis!" Sota cried happily as he flung himself into her arms, " I'm so glad your safe! You've been gone for so long!"

" Oh Sota, I'm so sorry!" Kagome exclaimed, tears springing into her eyes, " I'm so sorry I stayed gone for so long!"

" Have you been able to find momma yet?! I'm so scared we'll never see her again!" Sota exclaimed sniffling.

" Don't worry, I'm going to find her!" Kagome said with determination...

" But, that demon!" Sota exclaimed.

" I don't think her took momma because he wanted to hurt her..." Kagome said soothingly, as realization dawned on her, " Momma was badly injured by that strange female demon that showed up here... I think he took momma because he wanted to save her..."

" You mean, like how dad gave his life to save you and momma before I was born?!" Sota asked innocently.

Kagome jumped back, a little startled by her little brothers innocent question, before drawing him further into her warm embrace...

" Yes... I think he fell in love with mamma that day at the carnival, and she felt the same way about him..." Kagome said, " That's why momma begged for that woman not to hurt him..."

" Do you think she's ok then?!" Sota asked worriedly.

" I'm sure she is... Momma is a strong women, raising me and you all on her own... I'm sure she's fighting to stay alive, even as we speak, so that one day she can see us again once she's all better..." Kagome said smiling warmly.

" But sis, You were so scared when you saw them together..." Sota said worriedly.

" Because he used to be a very very evil demon... But that one day I saw him with her... It totally changed him... And there's been rumors about a kind hearted demon savior saving sick, injured and dying people over in the feudal era..." Kagome said smiling, " I have a hunch that it might be momma's good influence on him making him change for the better..."

" Can love really be that powerful?!" Sota asked in amazement...

Kagome nodded and motioned for Sango and Kikyo to come out of hiding.

" Sota, we aren't going to quit searching for momma, I promise you... These are some of my friends from the other side..." Kagome said smiling, " This is Sango, the demon slayer warrior that I've been telling you about, and this is Kikyo, the powerful priestess who protected the jewel fifty years ago..."

Both women blushed at Kagome's praise for thier abilities...

Sota reached out and shyly took hold of Kikyo's hand, expecting it to be cold and hard as ice since she was one of the walking dead... His eyes widened in shock when all he felt was a silky smooth hand of a living person... Kikyo laughed warmly at this and patted his head, remembering how much she treasured her own younger sister...

" Your older sister told you of my death and my resurrection into a clay body I take it?!" Kikyo asked smiling.

Sota was struck so speechless that he couldn't do more then shake his head yes...

" Rest assured, my existence as a corpse is over now... For I have been given a second chance at life... I suppose I have your mother to thank for that..." Kikyo mused thoughtfully, " I shall have to thank her personally when I get the chance to meet her..."

After Kagome introduced Sango and Kikyo to her grandfather as well, she made a delicious lunch for all of them to enjoy before the three of them headed into town... Once they sufficiently away from her family's shrine, Kagome pulled out her cell phone and dialed Yuka's phone number, figuring that number one, she's the only one that ever remembers she even has a cell phone and number two, Eri and Yumi will undoubtedly already be hanging out with her anyways... Due to shere luck, they happened to come back to her time on a Saturday, so at least she didn't have to worry about school...

" Hey Yuks! It's Kagome!" Kagome said cheerfully, " Are you with Eri and Yumi by any chance? That's great! Yeah, I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me and some of my best friends I brought over with me! Awesome! Yeah... We'll meet you at the mall in about thirty minutes!" Kagome said happily as she ended the phone call with a click...

" Ok, it's all set! And thier super excited to meet you both!" Kagome said happily.

" What was that?!" Kikyo asked in shock, " It sounded like there were people trapped in that little thing!"

Kagome burst out laughing.

" Thier called cell phones..." Kagome said between bouts of laughter, " Its how people in my time stay in contact with friends and family when they live too far apart to visit each other in person..."

" That's... Incredible..." Kikyo said in amazement.

" Your time really has some amazing technology!" Sango said, clearly impressed...

By the time they caught the public train and got off at thier stop at the mall, Yuks, Eri, and Yumi were already at the doors waiting impatiently... Kagome smiled happily as she introduced her three best friends of her time to two of her best girlfriends from the feudal era... It didn't take long for Yuks to start rapid firing questions at both of the the unsuspecting girls...

" Oh wow! How are old are you both?! What do you do over there?! Do you both have jobs?! Oooh!" Yuks squealed excitedly, " What about boyfriends?!"

" Sango is a professional demon slayer, she makes a living slaying evil demons and spirits for villages in the feudal era and they pay petty well... Kikyo is a skilled priestess with awesome spiritual powers... She also uses her powers to slay bad demons as well as help heal the sick and injured with her healing powers..." Kagome informed them, " As for boyfriends... Kikyo is engaged to Inuyasha, they'll be getting married in a few more days... Which is why we're actually here, I want to help Kikyo get a wedding dress that Inuyasha won't soon forget! And Sango, well, she's to shy to openly admit it as of yet, But I really think she and the Monk, Miroku have a thing for each other, and they'll be heading that direction soon enough as well..."

Needless to say, it took a few minutes for the information to all sink in before Yuks, Eri and Yumi exploded in anger...

" Are you serious right now Kagome?!" Yuks screeched angrily, " This is the girl responsible for you and the guy you like never getting together because he's still into her?! And you want to help and and him with thier wedding plans after he continuously broke your heart with no remorse or regret for hurting your feelings?! Are you crazy?!"

' Well... Shit' Kagome thought to herself in aggravation, ' I forgot to tell them it's not like that anymore!'

" Its not like that you guys!" Kagome exclaimed defensively, " I... Uh... I don't feel bad... Really..."

All eyes were glued to Kagome as she figeted under thier scrutinizing gaze, trying to figure out the best way to explain things... In the end, she decided to tell them the whole truth, how Kikyo tragically lost her life because an evil half demon shape shifted into inuyasha's form, mortally wounded her, then shifted into Kikyo's form and went after Inuyasha in order to turn them against each other to fuel the dark powers of the sacred jewel...

" Oh wow..." Yuks, Eri, and Yumi sighed as one.

" So you see..." Kagome finished, " It was a case of unrequited love on my end because Kikyo and Inuyasha were always meant to be soulmates... And I couldn't be happier for them..." Kagome said, not an ounce of anger or bitterness in her voice...

Of course, all five girls sensed the slight sadness in her voice, and shared a worried glance at each other over thier friend, before Yuks stood up, wiping a single tear from her eye...

" Well, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Kikyo..." Yuka said smiling, " Kagome has been in love with your guy for a really long time... We just didn't like seeing her get rejected over and over again by him... Sorry..."

" No harm done..." Kikyo said smiling warmly, " In all honestly, if I really were to die again... I would have liked to see Inuyasha have someone love him as wholly as Kagome does..."

" Did..." Kagome corrected smiling warmly, " I've come to realize that my feelings towards Inuyasha were just that of a sibling... He's like an overly protective older brother to me..."

" But that's a good thing Kagome!" Yuka exclaimed.

" Yeah! I still can't believe you saved Horn from them both after how badly he hurt you!" Eri exclaimed angrily...

" I'm fine you guys!" Kagome exclaimed worriedly, "Please don't go there..."

" What exactly happened?" Kikyo asked nervously.

" Jorn poisoned Kagome with a lethal amount of sleeping pills and raped her in the woods..." Eri said sadly, a look of sadness on her face...

" By the time we found her, she was covered in gashes and bruises... Jorn had already succeeded in what he set out to do..." Yumi said, tears spilling from her eyes at the memory...

" When Inuyasha and that wolf demon took you away, we never thought we'd see you again... Are you sure your feeling alright now?!" Yuka asked worriedly.

' I'll never be alright with it... But they don't have to know that...' Kagome thought to herself sadly.

" I'm fine now... Barely a twing of pain anymore..." Kagome said, plastering on a smile that didn't reach her eyes... " Now then... Let's get shopping! We have a bride to spoil!"

Yuka, Eri, and Yumi nodded excitedly and like a whirlwind the four girls whisked Kikyo and Sango in and out of dozens of different shops all over town, clothing stores, jewelry stores, a makeup boutique, a hair and nail salon, the whole Royal treatment... Kikyo and Sango were left breathless by the time the day was nearly over...

" This was amazing!" Kikyo said joyously, " Thank you all so much!"

" Its not over yet..." Kagome said winking mischievously, "We still have one more stop to make..."

Yuka, Eri and Yumi grinned as well, knowing full well how much Kagome loved her shopping sprees...

The last shop they visited was a wedding gown boutique, with dresses in every color of the rainbow...

" Kikyo, as my final gift to you for your special day, I want you to pick out any gown you want... Same goes for you too Sango!" Kagome said excitedly.

" But... I'm not getting married!" Sango said blushing furiously.

" Not yet..." Kagome said grinning, " But you will someday..."

Kagome hid the fact the Miroku had pulled her aside a few hours before they left the feudal era earlier that day and informed a very excited Kagome that he was going to ask for Sango's hand in marriage... Naturally, she was ecstatic... That explained Miroku's abrupt halt of his advances on the other young ladies they'd run across on thier travels... After careful consideration, Kikyo chose a beautiful princess style butterfly sleeved dress with a silk bodice, and satiny gossamerlike material draped elegantly over it with hand sewn crystal butterflies in glittering gold crystal... Sango chose once similar in style, but the white at the bottom of the sleeves and skirt of the dress faded in a deep shade of purple, reminding her of Miroku's eyes... It had crystal butterflies as well in alternating shades of stormy dark blue violet and rose gold colored crystal with a sweetheart neckline, both gowns showing a nice but modest amount of cleavage on the mannequins they were displayed on...

Happy with thier choices, Kagome bought them each a matching butterfly Barrett piece to go with the veils...

By the time they started heading back, the sun had already begun to set... Kagome was so happy shopping with all of her friends, she didn't even notice the shadow following them... Until it was too late...

" Hello Kagome..." Jorn said, unemotionally... " Its been too damn long..."

" What the hell are you doing out on the streets again?! " Yuka demanded angrily, " I thought they threw your ass in person for what you did to Kagome!"

" Dad posted my bail... Since I was on my best behaviour..." Jorn said laughing, it sounded mechanical, "I just saw you and your little pals here shopping and I thought I'd say hi... Can't you say hi back?!"

Kagome visibly tensed when jorn laid his hand lightly on her shoulder...

" Hi..." Kagome muttered quietly, " Not to be rude or anything... But we need to get going before we're late... Lease excise us..."

Kagome then quickly ducked under his hand and began walking quickly in the direction of her families shrine, a cold chill running up her spine as her friends called after her and began running to catch up... What jorn said next had her frozen in fear...

"Hey! Tell your little brother hi for me! Ok?! I might drop by and pay him and your gramps a visit! I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better!" Jorn said as he laughed and sauntered off in the oposit direction...

Thankfully, gramps and Sota were safe and sound when Kagome and her friends got back to her house, Sota was watching a shark movie while gramps was conked out asleep on the couch...

" Thank God they're ok..." Kagome said with relief, " Kikyo, can you help place a barrier around my families shrine?! One that keeps out evil humans that wish to harm someone?! It's very important..."

" Of course..." Kikyo said, instantly understanding, " You have all the herbs and potions that priestess of the light needs, correct?"

" Yes..." Kagome said instantly.

" Good..." Kikyo said, " Follow my lead..."

By the time the barrier was placed, it was well past midnight... Kagome didn't even want to think about what jorn was capable of as she looked up from in the well to see a sky full of stars...

" Kagome?" Kikyo asked worriedly.

" I'm alright, Kikyo... You and Sango go ahead and head back to Kaede's village... I'll be there after while... I just need to be by myself for a bit..." Kagome sighed tiredly, " I promise, I'll be fine..."

"If you say so..." Sango said worriedly, " And Kagome?"

" Yes?" Kagome asked.

" We're here for you when you do need someone to talk to..." Kikyo said embracing her adopted sister in a warm comforting embrace...

Kagome nodded, letting out a shaky breath as she watched the two women she thought of as her sisters, make thier way back to the village until they were out of sight...

Once her friends were far enough away that she knew they'd be safe, she spoke to her hidden visited...

" You can come out now..." Kagome said, her voice sounding tired and drained.

" Hello... Priestess Kagome..." Naraku said respectfully, "It's been a long time..."

Writers comments: ' wow! That was a way longer chapter then I meant it to be, but it turned out awesome! Let me know what you all think!'