FicWad

A/N: Chapter three has been posted and I have already received several reviews for it. Now I have been told as a piece of advice not to put a poll at the end of each chapter. If I did this then how would everyone who is reading these chapters know what the pairing results are? I am holding a vote on this at the end of the chapter. Now here are the current results for the pairings, remember anything below a three is going by the time you get to the poll, except the Kurama/Yukina pairing, that was just added on 5/12/05, now the current pairing results:

Yusuke/Kagome: 10, Hiei/Kagome: 2, Inuyasha/Kagome: 4, Sesshomaru/Kagome: 2

Hiei/Sango: 6, Miroku/Sango: 3, Yusuke/Botan: 1, Kurama/Botan: 1, Miroku/Botan: 4

Sesshomaru/Botan: 2, Kikyo/None: 1, Kurama/Kikyo: 1, Sesshomaru/Kikyo: 1

Inuyasha/Kikyo: 4, Yusuke/Keiko: 1, Kurama/None: 2, Hiei/None: 2, Kurama/Yukina: 1

For the disclaimer check chapter one, this type of message will be at the beginning of each chapter after chapter one, so deal with it!

Chapter Four:Revelations II

Somewhere in Feudal Japan

Kagome and the others were heading to a village that was being terrorized by Youkai. The Youkai were seemingly after something and it was said that they had a cross or something along those lines on their foreheads. They had never heard of such Youkai before, but they were going top investigate and help the village if they had to. When they arrived they saw the village was nearly in ruins and Kagura was there watching the other Youkai do the destruction.

“Kagura!” snarled Inuyasha as he charged her.

“Inuyasha, so nice to see you again,” said Kagura sarcastically.

“What are you doing here? What did these people ever do to you or Naraku?” demanded Inuyasha angrily.

“I’m merely following order’s Inuyasha, now leave while you have a chance, this doesn’t concern you,” said Kagura.

“Oh yeah? WIND SCAR!” yelled Inuyasha unleashing the attack at Kagura who dodged it and soared up high into the sky on her feather.

Then they heard something like screaming as they saw a Youkai with a cross on its forehead coming flying into the ground head first unconscious. They soon heard other of the strange Youkai fleeing back towards them. But instead of trying to attack them, they seemed in more of hurry to get away from them.

“Hey what are you running from!” demanded Inuyasha as the Youkai that had crashed into the ground in front of them woke up.

“We’re running, for our lives! You had best do the same! A dragon is coming!” said the Youkai as it started running.

They watched it run with the others who then started to run back towards them. That’s when they saw it, a gigantic black fiery dragon roaring through the sky and towards the Youkai that had decided to try running the other way to escape it.

“Inuyasha!” said Kagome as they all noticed him running away from it, but to the sides instead. They decided to follow suit and attempt to stay out of its way and attention.

The dragon roared past them and crashed down upon Youkai and they could hear their screams of agony. Eventually the screams subsided and all that was left were their charred corpses. The dragon then flew up the cliff face and right at a man who stood there. Kagome wanted to scream for him to watch out, but couldn’t. They all watched as the man held out his right arm and the dragon seemed to attach itself to the arm. Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha’s back and Miroku and Sango onto Kirara’s back and they climbed and flew up the cliff to where the man had stood not a minute ago.

When they arrived at the top they saw thousands more blackened corpses of Youkai. They all seemed to have been victims of the black fiery dragon. That’s when they saw the silhouette of someone holding another be the throat. They rushed down there to find it was a Silver Kitsune holding one of the survivors by the throat and slapping his face hard for information.

“Who do you work for scum!” snapped the Silver Kitsune.

“I work for someone even more powerful than you are Silver Kitsune! I know of you, you were sent by the Reikai to get Naraku, but he works with someone more powerful than you,” said the Youkai. “May the Mekai’s resurrection bring about your end!”

They watched the Silver Kitsune’s face take the expression of shock and then anger and disgust as he killed the Youkai. Turning to them he scowled at not having noticed them earlier and spoken in the Youkai language.

“What did you hear?” said the Silver Kitsune.

“Enough, now how did you get here Suichi?” demanded Kagome angrily.

“Kagome are you crazy? He’s a Silver Kitsune, they’re ruthless and cunning! They won’t hesitate to hurt you!” said Shippo.

“He won’t hurt me, right Suichi?” said Kagome.

“You are very perceptive Kagome, indeed I won’t hurt you, but I cannot say the same thing for my friend behind you,” said Kurama.

“He won’t either, not if he doesn’t want to be purified!” snapped Kagome.

“Hn,” replied Hiei.

“Now how did you two get here! I thought you had assignment form your boss!” said Kagome.

“We do and we are on assignment Kagome, Koenma sent us to kill Naraku and destroy anyway for him to get to our time,” said Kurama.

“Naraku’s ass is mine,” said Inuyasha.

“You had best watch your tongue hanyou! You speak to the Lord of the Southern Lands! Now Kagome you would be wise not to call me Suichi in this time or while I am in this form, you know as well as I that in this form I am Yoko Kurama,” said Kurama sternly.

“The Yoko Kurama?” exclaimed Shippo.

“You know of him Shippo?” asked Miroku curiously.

“Yeah, he’s an infamous Silver Kitsune that is said to be the greatest thief there ever was,” said Shippo. “It’s said female Kitsune’s would all but throw themselves at him.”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, you know much for a child. Indeed I am Yoko Kurama the Infamous Thief of the Makai. However I believe in this time, I am busy in the Makai making a name for myself. Now as for you Kagome, you are in over your head now,” said Kurama as he glared at Kagome.

“And why exactly is that Kurama?” asked Kagome.

“Because the King of the Mekai has returned, again! We all nearly lost our lives to him when he returned the first time, but we were able to defeat him. It is still a mystery to this day on how King Enma was able to defeat him and his armies. We defeated all his henchmen, his strongest warriors, and barely him!” said Kurama angrily.

“You don’t scare me Kurama! We’re here for Naraku and to find the Kumori Wraiths! Now tell us why we should back off!” said Kagome.

“Because Yakumo will kill you without a second thought,” said a voice from behind them startling them.

“Who the hell are you?” demanded Inuyasha angrily threatening him with the Tetsaiga.

“Learn your place dog! I am the Lord of the Northern Lands! I am Roizen, son of Raizen! I fought Yakumo as a human and nearly lost my life! I was able to purify his Power Sphere with my Reiki, with help from Kurama, Hiei, and the traitor. Our spirits and power combined was enough to seriously hurt him, to the verge of death, but then I blasted the sphere and him into oblivion, or so we had originally thought. I have my own reasons fro wanting Naraku dead, he killed my mother to get to me and I will never forgive him for that! However now that Yakumo is involved in this war between Naraku and myself, I will not let them have the power sphere!” said Yusuke angrily.

“I thought you said you destroyed the Power Sphere!” said Kagome.

“I die, but it came back with the power of four spirits, a few hundred years ago. You carry parts of it with you Kagome. The Power Sphere was reborn, but it was not like it was before, now it is more powerful and a lot more dangerous. Midoriko had the right idea when she attempted to defeat such powerful Youkai. The jewel was to be kept with the Taijiya, however when they gave it away, it became corrupted and Yakumo was able to slowly gain strength and power,” said Yusuke sorrowfully.

“Exactly why should we believe you? You are a hanyou and a Youkai Lord,” said Mirkou cautiously.

“I don’t expect you to believe or trust me. But Kagome there is a descendant of Midoriko herself. How else do you think she is so powerful? I am descendant of one of the most powerful Youkai races in existence, I am a Toushin,” said Yusuke angrily.

“I’m a descendant of Midoriko?” asked Kagome confused.

“Yes, that is why you have such a strong spirit and have you ever noticed how you resembled Midoriko more than you do Kikyo?” asked Yusuke curiously.

“I thought it was strange that I resembled her, but I didn’t think anything of it. But that would mean that my family are also descendant of Midoriko,” said Kagome.

“Yes, from your fathers side of the family. The purifying power lay dormant throughout your bloodline, until a girl was born from your bloodline, you Kagome. According to what we have been briefed on about you, on your fathers side of the family were all males, no females. Now follow us back to our campsite,” said Yusuke as he turned and started walking away.

“Why should I follow you? Don’t you remember what I told you Urameshi!” snapped Kagome angrily and without thinking.

That caused Yusuke to stop in his tracks and turn to her. “I remember Kagome, you hate me, you never wanted to see me again, well guess what Kagome? You can’t always get what you want! You hurt me! You hurt me so bad that it had brought memories of a time I thought I was over, when I was betrayed by the two people closet to me! If you hate me so bad then purify my damn ass into nothing, destroy my soul! If you aren’t then shut the hell up and lets get going! You wanted the Kumori Wraiths? Well here we are!” snapped Yusuke, clearly angrier than he had been in a long time.

Turning around again he started walking away again and she noticed that Kurama and Hiei looked at her angrily and with clear disgust.

“Kurama, please what did I do that hurt him so bad?” asked Kagome a bit confused.

“It’s not entirely what you did to him Kagome. It’s what is former fiancée did to him. He had given her a precious and extremely rare gem as his token for his love to her. He was true to his words, he never strayed even when there were clearly prettier women than his ex-fiancée. However she did stray and had been doing so for a while, one night when he returned home to where they stayed he caught her in bed with his best friend. We call him the traitor these days and want nothing to do with him. Yusuke was so angry than he took the gem he had given her, which she threw in his face by her disloyalty to him, and he crushed it with his bare hands. He had nearly killed them both where they lay, but he showed them mercy and let them leave. But not before he told Keiko, his ex-fiancée, what she had lost and what she had done. When they ran into each other now and then they were civil with each other, but it was clear that Yusuke was heart broken and it was at this same time that he found out his other was dying.

“Can you imagine the pain he had to be going through then? His heart was still very frail and fragile, but he pushed on for his mother’s sake, and then he got over his loss. But when his mother was killed, he had nearly lost it all again. It was during this time that he was working for your family that he fell in love again. He tried to be civil with her, even courteous to try and impress her, but she kept treating him like dirt,” explained Kurama. “Then one day when he and his friends had been exposed for what we were, he had nearly lost it. It was the same day that you interrogated us and Inuyasha. It was that very day, that his heart was broken again and he very nearly lost control of his emotions and his self control from killing somebody or something, or even destroying something. It was then that out employer had given us this case and exposed Yusuke to a new depth of respect for him, offering his hand in not only as his boss, but also in friendship. Since then we have been here in the Feudal Era and he has been struggling to keep it together.”

“That’s sad, but what does any of this really have to do with me?” asked Kagome.

“Are you truly that naïve? Think about Kagome, who treated him like dirt and tried to be kind to her? Who said those cruel words to him that broker his heart yet again?” said Kurama. “When you can answer this question you will truly understand. Who hurt him the most, aside from Naraku? Here is a hint, it is not a physical or mental wound, but a wound of the heart itself.”

Kagome was at loss for words, she never knew her cousin had such wisdom. She really didn’t understand, but she knew that the story itself and each of the questions held hints at the answer and the hint itself was the key to it all.

‘Who did treat him like dirt at my place? Grandpa, Souta, and mother didn’t, but I did, not even Aunt Shiori was that mean to him. He did try and be kind to me, but…’ though Kagome as she thought back to that day.

Flashback

(A/N: The following flashback will have Kagome’s thoughts about everything in apostrophes by her point of view. Everything else just treat like a normal flashback.)

‘It was just after the fight with Inuyasha, that Yusuke reminded me of my question for Inuyasha, before he had been dumb enough to insult Yusuke’s family.’

“Now Kagome I believe you had a question for the mutt,” said Yusuke as Kagome nodded and walked right over to Inuyasha angrily.

“What did you do Inuyasha!” said Kagome sternly.

“I uh… that is uh…”

Inuyasha didn’t have to finish or answer completely, the faint blush on his face and his stammering was all Kagome needed, to now the answer. With tears in her eyes she ran up the stairs straight to her room, where she began to cry. She had loved Inuyasha and he had betrayed her in the worst way possible. He had done the unthinkable.

‘Inuyasha couldn’t answer the question, but the faint blush on his face and his stuttering made me suspicious. It was when he couldn’t even look me in the face and tell me, that confirmed my worst thoughts and fears. He had mated with Kikyo and had claimed her as his, meaning when he had the Jewel he would do everything within his power to bring her back for good, in a flesh and bone body, not one of clay and dirt. That’s when I heard Yusuke yell at Inuyasha and Inuyasha counter. I just couldn’t face the truth about what Inuyasha had done, he had broken my heart numerous times, but I didn’t know why this sudden revelation surprised me.’

“Alright mutt, what the hell did you do!” said Yusuke extremely angry.

Inuyasha remained silent and looked at the ground guiltily, but then turned to Yusuke and spit in his face and slashed him across the face with his claws. “It’s none of your damn business, you hanyou wannabe!” snapped Inuyasha who immediately regretted what he said without thinking.

However Yusuke pretended not to hear or he just ignored it… for now. He turned to the others with a deep frown upon his face and nodded to Hiei. “I’m going to go talk to her,” said Yusuke as he made his way upstairs.

Finding her bedroom was simple enough, knocking on the door, he heard her tell him to go away. But he couldn’t, he wouldn’t, not when she was like this.

“Kagome,” started Yusuke, but was cut off.

‘That’s when Yusuke had come to see if I was alright, but I was in such pain at having my heart broken yet again, that I had failed to hear the sorrow and concern in his voice. He was worried about me!’

“Don’t! Don’t say your sorry, just don’t say that!” said Kagome as she tried to hold back the tears.

“I won’t say it, even though I am, Kagome what did he do to you?” asked Yusuke, his voice filled with concern, but it went unnoticed to Kagome.

“It’s not any of your damn business Urameshi!” snapped Kagome bitterly. “GET OUT! I HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF YOU! NOW GET OUT! GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! ANY OF YOU! NOW GET OUT!”

‘That’s when my anger for Inuyasha had just erupted, I just snapped and didn’t really know what I was saying, it wasn’t until afterwards when he spoke and left that I realized what I had done to him. I felt so guilty, I still do, about what I said to him that hurt him so bad that it was right in front of me on his face, plain as day, what I did to him. Now that I think back at what I did, I feel even guiltier, sad, and angry at myself for saying such hurtful and hateful things to one who just trying to help me. Mother would be ashamed of me if she ever found out, perhaps she already knew, when I told her Yusuke’s message. She hadn’t spoken with me for days, now that I think about it, she probably knew before either us did, about how we felt towards one another. I guess one good thing came out of my heart breaks with Inuyasha. I found one who would never cheat on me, who would give his very soul for me, but I had been blind. He had gone through the same thing I had, but it was worse for him. He had given the one who hurt him something so precious that it hurt him not only physically, emotionally, and mentally, but it had hurt him to the very core of his being. Yusuke knew more about heart aches and having your heart broken than I did, but he had pushed forward for the others in his life.’

Yusuke was taken back and he felt a deep pain his chest. The same pain he felt when Keiko had betrayed him. But he had been willing to forgive her and eventually the pain went away, until he betrayed him again and that time left him. So he fell into a deep depression, but came out of it, when he learned his mother was sick and slowly dieing.

“Alright, I’ll go, you’ll never have to see me again. If you would please inform your mother. I’m resigning from my job here and won’t be back to collect my final pay check,” said Yusuke as he left heartbroken. “Hiei, come on, let’s let Kurama or Kagome deal with this scum, he’s not worth wasting anymore energy on.”

‘If I could go back and change that, I would. I can’t stand to see him in such pain, maybe this isn’t just my mind and feelings tell me this, but perhaps my heart was hinting at the truth about my feelings. I don’t love Inuyasha anymore, but that I’m in love with Yusuke… these feelings are something I’ve never experienced before, my stomach is full of butterfly’s, it feels like my heart has had a great burden taken off it, but not completely, not until I can forgive myself, and hope Yusuke can forgive me.’

End Flashback

Kagome ran to catch up with the others and she noticed her friends wouldn’t even look at her. Not even Shippo could look at her, even Inuyasha who had been a main apart of the problem wouldn’t look at her. Kagome decided to go talk with Yusuke about what happened at her home and see if she could be forgiven for what she said.

“Kagome,” said Yusuke acknowledging her presence as she started walking beside her.

“Um… Yusuke, listen about what I said…”

Yusuke just kept his frown like scowl on and kept walking seemingly ignoring her.

“Listen, I’m sorry for the way I treated you before, you didn’t deserve it. Especially since you were just trying to help me. I hope you can forgive me for what I said to you, I realize now, that what I said was stupid and cruel and that you never deserved it. I just want you to know I’m sorry for all the times I treated you like you were nothing more than dirt,” said Kagome.

Yusuke just kept walking and seemingly ignoring her, which made Kagome think he wouldn’t forgive her. It hurt to know that she had possibly hurt him that bad, to the point where he couldn’t and/or wouldn’t forgive her.

By the time they reached their campsite they were all impressed at how simple it seemed, yet they could tell it was made to be fortified, yet weak. They could tell that they wanted no visitors with the wards that were put up everywhere around the camp. Tree’s, boulders, the walls, even the ground itself held a ward on it. They wanted absolute privacy and protection and it seemed they would have it. Yusuke stopped them with his arm and motioned for Kurama to come forward to the front of the group.

“Signal her, that it’s us,” said Yusuke plainly. “With visitors.”

“BOTAN!” yelled Kurama. “VISITORS!”

Everyone was confused at what he said, even those who understood what he said. That was until they saw a girl with turquoise hair come flying out on her oar.

“Oh, it’s them! I‘ll lower the gate, so you can avoid the wards,” said Botan.

In three minutes time the gate was lowered and Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei were running across the gate rather quickly. When Kagome and the others stepped on it and were going slowly they could feel the effects of the wards, so they sped it up.

“What type of wards are those? They even affect humans!” said Miroku curiously.

“They are Reikai wards, they are used to keep out unwanted visitors that aren’t either Reikan or have the Reikai seal tattooed on their arm. It’s rather useful in keeping out unwanted quests,” said Botan cheerfully as Miroku looked at her with awe and surprise.

His normal routine would be to ask if she would bare his child, but something inside of him told him that would be a very big mistake. So he kept his mouth closed and just looked around his surroundings.

-

Sango had seen the way he had looked at Botan and expected him to ask his usual question, but was surprised to see he kept his mouth shut instead of asking the question. Perhaps Miroku was learning that you don’t ask that of every woman you meet or come across. But when she looked at Hiei, she noticed that he had bandages on his entire right arm, along with a white head band across his forehead, which made her suspicious of him for a possible spy.

I am no spy, said Hiei telepathically.

Sango was startled and looked around trying to see who had just spoken to her. When she looked at Hiei, she saw him smirk and then disappear into thin air. Looking around she saw him at a nearby window ledge that looked out across the plains, polishing and sharpening his katana.

-

Kagome herself had been waiting to speak with Yusuke in private, but he was briefing Botan about their mission.

“We arrived to late to forge a treaty. But it wouldn’t have worked anyway, they were Mekai Youkai. Yakumo has apparently joined up with Naraku, how he survived I have no idea,” said Yusuke with obvious fear in his voice.

When he finished with Botan he moved to the back of the campsite and went into an area that had been blocked off with not only Reikai Wards, but two stone pillars and a large blanket between the two. That was either the area where they went to the bathroom or it was the area they bathed in. Her second guess had been right when she heard the swishing of water. Turning to Botan she saw that she obviously knew about what she had said to Yusuke and wouldn’t even look at her. She decided to just go to a corner somewhere and hope that everyone would just ignore her enough to let and Youkai that got passed the wards to just kill her and end her misery.

­-

Yusuke was relaxing in the waters of the hot springs, trying to figure out why Yakumo had suddenly reappeared after so long. Why not reappear when he was at his weakest and easily defeat him? That was what really made him wonder if Yakumo was still weakened from their last battle. If that was the case, then he would surely have to be extremely careful and bide his time. His thought started to drift to off to what Kagome had told him earlier. He still loved her, even if he was quite angry with her and had given her the silent treatment and the cold shoulder. He had been kind enough to acknowledge her presence next to him, but now that he thought about, he knew she had to be hurting inside. Whatever Kurama had said to her, made her realize the way she had acted. He didn’t want to loose her, he needed her, she was what made him complete. He could feel it in his bones, in his very being, in every fiber of himself he knew he couldn’t stand to be with out her.

-

Kurama watched his cousin carefully, knowing full well what she was feeling. He had felt it before, as had Yusuke, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried that she might do something stupid, thinking that she had lost Yusuke and all her friends, because of a stupid mistake. No he would watch her carefully and to be sure of this, he had planted sentries all along the camp walls and even inside where he could monitor everything if something did get in. He had also planted many traps along the walls as well and in the forest and meadow. Kagome and the others had to be given the Reikai seal temporarily, so for now they would be able to move around much easier. He noticed Yusuke come out from the springs and motioned for him to get Kagome and follow him.

“Kagome,” said Kurama softly to her.

“Yes?” asked Kagome as she lifted her head and he saw her face stained with tears.

“Please follow me,” said Kurama as Kagome followed him.

They arrived at where Yusuke stood overlooking the vast plains and forests, along with the mountains. He seemed to be very comfortable in this place.

“Ironic is it not Kurama? This is the exact same place that Genkai’s Shrine will be built at,” said Yusuke chuckling. “I came here on my mission after I met you and beat Hiei. I became Genkai’s apprentice and nearly died here from the fight with Rando.”

“Indeed, the area you fought him is just on the west side of the campsite about three miles. Genkai’s actual shrine will be built in around the same area our campsite is at and will be very large and secluded, just as Genkai likes it. I never would have been able to fathom that we would help build her shrine. A shrine that would train Miko’s in years to come, where Genkai’s ancestors would be in charge and own these lands,” said Kurama chuckling as well.

“Kagome you probably want to know why you’re here listening to us. This is the very same place that I trained for many months to become stronger so that I could protect my family and loved ones. This very place is where I was able to learn to focus my reiki and learn new techniques. It was also this very spot that we began our mission to save the Ningenkai, we knew we might not come back alive. This is the area where we left to fight Yakumo, King of the Mekai,” said Yusuke slowly. “I have to know, are you willing to risk your life to stop Naraku? Are you willing to risk never being able to grow old and have children and grandchildren? If you aren’t then hand over the jewel fragments and go home. If your not willing to risk loosing everything, then you shouldn’t be here. Your friends all have a reason to fight Naraku and are willing to throw their lives away if it meant defeating Naraku. The monk with his cursed hand, the Taijiya to save her brother and avenge her family and comrades. The hanyou for being tricked over fifty years ago. The Kitsune pup because he feels it just to rid the world of Naraku’s evil and have a happy life. The Neko has the same reasons as the Taijiya. What is your reason for fighting Naraku, Kagome?”

Kagome was speechless, she never truly realized that those reasons for Naraku could go so far as to ultimately loose. They would be justified, they would be willing to sacrifice everything to defeat Naraku, even if it meant they had to give their very lives if it meant Naraku’s demise.

“I’m the Guardian of the Jewel, it is my sacred duty to repair and purify the jewel of all corruption. I shattered it and I have to rectify my mistake, if Naraku seeks to corrupt the jewel, then it is my sacred duty to stop him at all costs. I am a Miko, I am the direct descendant of Midoriko herself, I am the Guardian of the Jewel; it is my sacred duty to give my life, if necessary to protect this world and all other worlds from Naraku’s corruption and to purify the Jewel,” said Kagome as Yusuke smiled at her.

“Kurama go, please,” said Yusuke as Kurama nodded and left, but stopped part way.

“Kagome, I am proud of you, I love you, you are my cousin, and are worthy to carry out your task,” said Kurama gently.

“Thank you,” said Kagome as Kurama left.

“Kagome,” said Yusuke seriously.

“Yes?” asked Kagome scared at what Yusuke might say as he turned to look at her.

“I heard what you told me and I realize you are truly sorry for you did to me, however I am also in need to apologize to you for the way I treated you earlier. I hope you can forgive me, for I have already forgiven you,” said Yusuke gently.

“You have?” asked Kagome as Yusuke nodded slightly.

Kagome was so happy that she jumped into his arms, surprising him and hugged him tightly and then kissing him on the lips. Yusuke was shocked, yes, but he was also happy as he returned the kiss passionately. They were like that for at least five minutes before they had to separate to breath, before they suffocated fro lack of air.

“You’re forgiven as well Yusuke,” said Kagome as she kissed him again.

Yusuke returned the kiss passionately and kept her close to him. When they broke the kiss, Yusuke looked into her eyes and saw everything she had gone through. All the heart aches, the broken hearts, but always forgiving the one who had caused her heart to be broken in the first place and giving him chance after chance for forgiveness and to break her heart again.

“I love you Kagome,” said Yusuke softly as he kissed her forehead and hugged her close to him.

“I love you too Yusuke,” replied Kagome as she laid her head against his shoulder.

“If we survive this Kagome, I need to know, will you marry me?” asked Yusuke as he pulled away from her and revealed a jewel that was even rarer than the one he gave Keiko. This was a jewel from the only triple hanyou, one of the Fire Koorime’s, the Ice Koorime’s and the Toushin. It’s color was a deep blue, with a deep red swirling around it, and a deep purple as result of the two, representing the Toushin aspect of it. Yusuke had forged it onto a golden ring made from the purest gold in the Makai.

“YES!” said Kagome excitedly as Yusuke slipped the ring onto her ring finger. The two of them stood there watching the sun fall below the horizon.

(A/N: The Yusuke/Kagome pairing to vote on will still be left in, just to see how many votes I can get from it.)

-

Elsewhere in a dark domain that many Youkai were gathering a shadowy figure watched the Youkai carefully. His army was gathering for a grand war against the hanyou that had nearly killed him on several occasions, but had been enough of a novice in battle to let his guard down numerous times. The only thing that concerned him was the fact of the Youkai whose power dwarfed his own, the Youkai that could keep himself from being absorbed into his body. The two had struck a deal, that he would get his wish from the jewel, to become a full fledged Youkai. However afterwards he would have to swear an oath of eternal loyalty. By that time however, he intended on having absorbed the unique hanyou, fire Koorime, the Silver Kitsune, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru, along with his incarnations. When this was done he would absorb the Youkai that he held alliance with and become unstoppable. With that thought he began to chuckle at his fortune.

-

Miroku had been in deep meditation contemplating what he was feeling. He thought he had been in love with Sango, but something kept telling him that she was more like a sister to him. The sister he never had, or any other siblings, it was actually quite sad, his mother had died while giving birth to him and his father had died a few years later from his own Wind Tunnel. Deciding to meditate deeper into his thought and feelings, he saw things that horrified him, his worst fears. He had already dealt with the fear of Wind Tunnel growing so large that in sucked in him and his friends into it. But now his fears that were greater than that, he would be holding his child or children and then his wind tunnel would grow too large to be contained and his entire family himself included would be sucked into it. He attempted to rid himself of this fear and go deeper to find out what had change his perspective about Sango, but the images would not leave him, he couldn’t shake the images. It was as if Naraku himself had planted these fears in him, or he had somehow invaded his mind and was forcing him to relive that fear over and over again. Suddenly he awoke and sat up with a yell and was breathing heavily.

“Miroku, are you alright!” asked Sango.

“I’m fine. It was just a nightmare…”

“What was it about?” asked Sango.

“I had a family… children, a wife, but while I was holding one of my children, my Wind Tunnel had grown too large to be concealed or contained. My entire family was slowly sucked into its void and then myself, I could hear Naraku’s evil laughter. I tried to move past the images to acknowledge this was one of my worst fears, but it was as if Naraku had invaded my mind and wouldn’t let me move past these images. I kept reliving them over and over, it was horrifying, I felt so guilty,” explained Miroku.

“It sounds like, side effects of the Nightmare Plant,” said Kurama walking in. “Forgive me, but I could not help but overhear.”

Miroku nodded and Sango asked, “What is this Nightmare Plant?”

“It is a plant that forces you to live your worst nightmares inside your own mind as long as you are in its clutches. Many have never escaped without going mad. Those who have suffer for a long time its effects. However sometimes a person can overcome these effects with training and/or ridding themselves of what drives the fear. Once Naraku is dead and his body and soul obliterated, then your curse shall be lifted and these fears will subside in time. But seeing as how you say it was as if Naraku himself was forcing you to relive these fears over and over. Then it may be that Naraku has absorbed a Kitsune with power of the plants,” said Kurama.

“Then he absorbed a Silver?” asked Shippo appearing from the adjacent corridor.

“Perhaps, or perhaps a Red or Green Kitsune, one of the only other two Kitsune types with power of the plants. Green Kitsune are the second strongest Kitsune with power over the plants, only the Silver are more attuned with nature, thus better control and power over plants. The Red Kitsune’s have triple abilities, the power to control and manipulate fire, the power to control and manipulate plants to a certain degree, and the power of illusions. Remember only the Black Kitsune is above you, where the power of illusions is concerned. Kitsune’s are known as clever creatures, but we are also powerful, kind, and ruthless when need be,” said Kurama as Shippo nodded.

They left with Sango in tow to give Miroku some time alone. However a certain turquoise haired girl had overheard the conversation. She had also overheard Miroku’s mumblings while he was meditating, which had led him to a deep sleep. She had been embarrassed when he mentioned her name in his sleep. She knew how she felt about him, ever since she started to read about him in history at the Reikai palace, she had felt a deep connection to him. Though she knew he was dead, she couldn’t help but fall for him, without really knowing him. His file said he was a bit of a pervert, groping women’s butts and asking them to bare his child. It also mentioned a part about how he seemingly had an eye for the female Taijiya that had been traveling with him and the others in the group. To her utter surprise she was jealous and furious with the female Taijiya for catching the eye of the one she loved. That was when it hit her how desperate she was for someone to love, even if it was a man who had been dead for five hundred years. But here she was in the past and watching him, like a love sick school girl.

-

Sango didn’t know if the others had seen her, but she saw Botan, the girl who was even stranger than Kagome at times. Nothing was said about her, except that she wasn’t a Youkai and she was part of the Kumori Wraiths. She felt a deep fire within her at seeing the girl watch Miroku so closely. It was like she knew almost everything about him, but of course she might, she was from Kagome’s time. But even if she was jealous of her, why did she feel like there was someone always watching her, even in her sleep. It was strange and annoying, yet comforting in a way. Her thoughts were usually very focused on what was at hand, mainly if they could trust these Kumori Wraiths. Their leader had all but demanded the Jewel Shards, that they had, but they had refused to give them to him at all. She was actually quite shocked to know that these Kumori Wraiths were extremely powerful, enough so that they could destroy more Youkai with a single attack, then Inuyasha’s Wind Scar. However her thoughts were in turmoil at the moment, between three things, the task at hand about the Kumori Wraiths, her jealousy with the girl watching Miroku, and her own shocking feelings towards the one who wore all black and was apparently the controller of the fiery black dragon from earlier.

-

Hiei smirked as he ran through the shadows in the camp. There was a reason his name meant flying shadow. He was quite fast, flexible, and had quite a bit of agility. He was also a master swordsman, the wielder of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, and wielder of the Jagan Eye. He was a Fire Koorime, the Forbidden Child, but he had learned that it was just a title given to those who were male Koorime of another type, other than there own type. He was a formidable opponent in battle and had proven it time and time again. However as his power grew, his thirst to find a mate did as well. He didn’t know why he needed a mate, except that his offspring would be powerful Youkai. He was a Youkai hanyou after all, but still a Youkai. There was something that had always nagged at him, in the back of his mind. Something that told him held knowledge forbidden to those outside of the female Ice Koorime clans. He was determined to discover what it was, but when he had arrived in this era his instincts told him that a very strong and powerful potential mate was near, a strong willed, defiant, compassionate, powerful, ruthless, yet sad female, like him. He saw it all in the female Taijiya that made his instincts battle for control over his rationality to just claim her as his. He had felt jealousy and a strong sense to harm the monk, for she had her eye on him, but now she was confused about what she felt. After probing the monk’s mental defenses and easily slipping past them, he saw that he was just as confused as the female Taijiya. The monk’s instincts told him, that she was like a sister to him, the sibling he never had and never would have, at least by blood.

-

Yusuke and Kagome had stood watching the sun set in each others arms. Both felt whole, complete, like they never had in their entire lives. It was strange, yet it was comforting to know that they finally had forgiven each other and had found love in one another. But they knew their love for each other would be put to the test in the coming battle. A battle that threatened to not only rewrite history completely, but also risk neither of them ever being born, completely destroying history. It would change to a version that was darker and worse than they could ever imagine if they failed. So they decided to enlist help, it was time to bring in as many allies as they could. After the sun had set they returned to the camp and for the first time Kagome got a good look at what was the camp. It was a shrine like fortress, wards almost everywhere emanating a sense of enclosure, yet it also emanated a sense of peace and serenity. Once inside Yusuke had Kagome cover her hears while he yelled for the others to get to the center most area of the campsite.

“What is it Yusuke?” asked Kurama.

“Wait for the others,” said Yusuke as Hiei appeared, followed by Botan and Miroku, then Shippo, Sango, and finally Inuyasha. “If we’re going to get rid of Naraku, then we’re going to need a lot more help. Inuyasha this is not questionable, you’re strong, but you’ll surely die when Yakumo steps into the fight. You think you’ve done pretty well in the past? Well Yakumo is much stronger than Naraku is and, hopefully, ever will be.”

“So what will you have us do Yusuke?” asked Botan.

“Botan, you, Miroku, and Kurama find Koenma in this era. Tell them it is matter of life and death and that Yakumo has returned, if that doesn’t get his attention then hold him to his oath to protect the humans. Hiei, Sango, you two gather as many allies as you can from the North, tell them a Toushin fights at the risk of death. Tell them Roizen of the Toushin fights for honor and for the great Lords of the Northern and Western Lands, Raizen and Sesshomaru, if you have to. Inuyasha you get whoever you want to help you in this battle. Shippo your with me and Kagome, we’re going to go see a few wolves and Sesshomaru himself,” said Yusuke smirking as Shippo jumped into Kagome arms. “Any questions?”

-

A/N: Well that’s it for chapter four, sorry it took so long. I’ve had bit of a rough weekend and I still haven’t got my computer to work right. So for all whom wanting to read chapter five, when it’s finished, it will be a while. Anyway here is the new pairings poll, note though that only the Kurama/Yukina pairing will still be left in.

Yusuke/Kagome: 10, Inuyasha/Kagome: 4, Hiei/Sango: 6

Miroku/Botan: 4, Inuyasha/Kikyo: 4, Kurama/Yukina: 1

Should Hiei and Sango be successful in their mission? Yes or No, explain

Should Kurama, Botan, and Miroku be successful in their mission? Yes or No, explain

Should Yusuke, Kagome, and Shippo be successful in their mission? Yes or No, explain

Who should Inuyasha recruit, if anybody? You choose

Now for the one who gave me the advice not to do this in every chapter, I’ve been going by what has been requested for the most part. Now for all of you had voted differently than what I am leaving you to vote on, I apologize and hope you will continue to read on. I am currently in the market for co-authors and staff for my C2 Community and I am also planning on making another YYH/IY crossover fic. I have gone by the votes for the most part with this story and again apologize to all who did not get the pairing they were hoping for. Now I’ve forgotten what else I was going to say, so I hope you like what I have so far and that you keep reviewing.

Shadow Kage