[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Oh... my.... God. You guys... there is no way I can apologize for this. I am so unbelievably sorry
for making you all wait this long! Even though you've probably all forgotten about this fic... but,
the good news? It's done. I've written it all out, so I just have to post them all. So... enjoy. Once
again... I am soooooo sorry...
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Chapter 17 - Captures and Shopping Excursions :)
Sango basically threw herself at the new demon, wishing only to get to Kikyo and hack her to
pieces. She'd watched her friend cry too many times over this frosty bitch, and she was furious in
her hatred now. There was no way Kagome would cry again. Not if she could help it.
Miroku was frightened, and angry, but not to the point of Sango's recklessness. If only those
horrible insects of Naraku's weren't hovering in a cloud over the monster... Then he could just
suck them all up and be done with it. Except for Kohaku...
With that thought, he looked frantically ahead to Sango, wondering suddenly if she'd forgotten
about her younger brother in her haste to kill. She hadn't for she wasn't attacking that group
directly. She was just attacking the new demon.
Who, strangely enough, wasn't fighting back. Miroku stopped in his running and stood still,
wondering why on earth...
Then he had it. The entire reason for this... And it filled him with fear. He began to shake.
Naraku knew Inuyasha wasn't here. And he was planning to draw him out.
"Sango!" he screamed, trying to urge the taijiya back with a panic he'd never known. What on
earth was Naraku planning? "Sango!"
"Miroku, you better... have a damn... good reason!" She stopped attacking the demon's torso,
which was now beginning to look a little battered. She hadn't even bothered with Hiraikotsu, just
grabbed her katana and hacked at the thing. Then she ran back to Miroku. Naraku looked on with
a smile.
"Sango, Naraku knows." Sango looked up at him, panting. What on earth was he talking about?
"What on earth are you talking about?" Miroku almost slapped his forehead.
"Inuyasha and Kagome. He knows they aren't here." He leaned down toward Sango. "He has to
know about the well."
Sango gasped, her eyes filling with tears. Deception? Who knew about the well...? Then, an awe-
struck Sango looked to Kikyo, who smiled knowingly back. Kikyo! Had she witnessed
everything? Had she been spying on them all?

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As soon as Sango had that thought, Kagura brought her feather out from behind the great, new
demon, and sped toward the two. Their eyes widened, and both struck out in a frenzied state. But
when they made contact with Kagura, a bluish film of a bubble surrounded the wind demon, and
both looked to Kikyo, desperation written on their faces; victory on hers.
At that moment, Sango cried out and clung to Miroku as they were pulled up into the feather by
Kagura and shackled by Kohaku. The young woman cried out again at the sight of her brother
putting chains on her feet, and the tears poured down her face.
Shippou, currently forgotten inside the house, had already begun his crying-marathon minutes
ago. Everything had happened so fast, he couldn't believe it yet. His friends had been captured.
And Inuyasha and his Kagome weren't here. If they were... this could have been stopped. He
knew it.
Naraku chuckled infuriatingly as the two humans were brought before him. Kikyo leveled her
gaze on them, triumph in her eyes. Miroku wondered why; she wasn't after them was she? The
great monster looked to them as well, it's eyes the only indication to it's intelligence. They, of
course, almost reflected Kikyo's.
Then Naraku chuckled once more and stretched out a tentacle, aiming toward the hut. Shippou
shrieked as the disgusting appendage wrapped itself tightly around him. Then he was brought out
to friends and enemies.
He looked to Sango and Miroku, who were leaning on each other in their moment of horrible
loss, and were weeping. So Shippou felt better in the presence of like company, and he began to
cry as well. Kohaku lost the dazed look in his eyes for a few moments and looked on them in pity
and shimmering tears of his own, then it was gone, and he was a slave once more.
Naraku then nodded to his newest creation, and the thing began to walk in a fast pace for such a
large creature. Naraku, Kanna, and Kikyo rode on the creature's shoulder, while the rest huddled
in the feather, three of them scared out of their minds, and sorrow filling their hearts.
Where were Inuyasha and Kagome?
~~~*~~~
Shopping. Again. For some strange reason, it was all they seemed to do lately. Mrs. Higurashi
was never satisfied with the amount of diapers, with the amount of clothes, with pillows and
chairs for Kagome.
And since the two had been in the modern era for quite at least a month now, Kagome was
looking a little chubby-chub. So she was also getting clothes for herself. And there was always
time for Inuyasha shopping.
But he didn't seem to find the shopping malls fun enough. Men...

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Kagome, on the other hand, was having fun shopping. It was so lovely to think of their child
growing up with the things they provided. But Kagome warned her mother not to get too many
things, since it would be difficult to take them back to Sengoku-Jidai.
For that was what they had decided. While Kagome could not single handedly raise a child in her
own era, and still live comfortably, she could in the past. There would always be food there, and
Inuyasha would take care of her and the child.
Besides, it was their home now. Deny it as much as she wanted, Kagome had found a new home.
Over there, she had different worries, different people in her life. While in her era, she had her
family and a few friends, in the past she had so much more.
She had Inuyasha, her love and her best friend through everything. Sango, another best friend
who kept her sane when Inuyasha was being... Inuyasha. And Miroku.... he was a dear friend and
confidante, no matter where his hands were at the moment. And then there was Shippou, her son.
Adopted though he was, it didn't matter to either of them. They had that same loving relationship
between mother and son.
And there was Kaede and the villagers to think of too. They had always been there, maybe
shunning Inuyasha occasionally, but they'd gotten used to the hanyou's presence, and Kagome
was sure they'd help her if she ever needed any. And Kaede was like her mom away from her
mom.
Yup, she was stuck. She couldn't leave her new family. She had too many things keeping her in
the past. She had no future... in the future.
Kagome smiled to herself as she and Inuyasha walked into another store. She looked up at her
hanyou with loving eyes, but he was looking wildly around at all the walls. Startled, Kagome
realized that she'd taken them into the toy store. Oops.
"Kagome! What is all this stuff?" he picked up a G.I. Joe and looked at it curiously. "I could take
him on any day," he said, proudly puffing out his chest. He even set his hand on the Tessaiga,
which was currently hidden inside and under his clothing. Kagome stared at him, and shook her
head, moving onto other toys in the baby section. Might as well get something done.
She looked around, seeing the bright colors and cute little animal shapes. She squeezed one, and
it emitted a loud obnoxious noise that had Inuyasha slamming his hands on top of his hat. A few
people looked at him strangely, but most passed by without comment. From across the isle, he
shot her an annoyed look, and she smiled, then put the toy back.
She looked to the area where Inuyasha's ears were hidden. If the child got those - pretty please -
then that would mean no toys with loud, obnoxious noises. Darn. She wondered suddenly if the
cute little mobile above the crib would be too much...
Inuyasha came bounding up to her, little action figures in his arms. Kagome took one look at the

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delighted look on the boy's face and burst into giggles. Inuyasha ignored this and tried to show
her the various men and their totally cool action poses that put the stuffed animals Kagome had
to shame.
"Inuyasha, if it's a girl, I doubt she'll appreciate any of these," Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha's
ears drooped a little, and he looked at the stuffed animals in Kagome's basket. He pulled out a
pink stuffed elephant.
"Well if it's a boy, I highly doubt he'll like this thing. What is this anyway?" Forgetting about
Kagome entirely, he dropped his action heroes and inspected the elephant with an intense
curiosity that Kagome was rare to witness.
So she giggled again. If nothing else, her Inuyasha made her laugh so hard the baby might just
come out early.
Kagome took the poor elephant back from him and patted his head like a puppy. He pouted at
her, and she just giggled some more and turned away.
Even though it was getting a little boring here, she was glad to have so much time with Inuyasha
all to herself. But she was kinda missing everyone...
"Inuyasha?" She turned back to see him fighting it out with a couple action figures on the
ground, complete with sound effects. A few children were even beginning to crowd around him,
and he was happy to oblige them with a show.
He started to mutter things like, "Naraku," whenever one action figure beat up another. Then
he'd reenact a little Miroku actions with a G.I. Jane he found. A few children were a little lost,
but mothers soon caught on to those butt-rubs. (Thought I meant something else didn't you)
Luckily, the G.I. Jane would take the skinny little action figure ( a Sherlock Holmes) and then
proceed to kick the living snot out of him.
Finally, all the Narakus and Kougas ( and a few Mirokus) were gone, and he frantically looked
around as he held the action figure that was, presumably, him. Then he spotted a shelf he liked
and ran over, ripping a box to shreds to get its contents.
Proudly, he pulled out a Barbie that looked curiously familiar, which proceeded to make out with
the hero. Well, with the action figure hero anyway. The real hero received a frustrated shake of
the head and a nice view of Kagome's butt as she walked away laughing.
She went up to the front and paid for a few toys, good for either sex the baby turned out to be,
and for the Barbie as well.
Then she walked back to where the Inuyasha-figure was reliving Kouga's death, and the
Kagome-figure was adding in a few kicks and high pitched, `I hate you!'s to the whole thing.
Kagome shook her head again. Good thing Souta had outgrown his action heroes.

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"Inuyasha, come on we're going home. Mama's waiting." She looked down with a smile. "Do
you think we could visit Sango and Miroku and Shippou later?" He finally looked up, a
thoughtful look on his face.
"Yeah sure." He concluded. Kagome bit her lip.
"What if Naraku..." Inuyasha glared at the figure who had once been Naraku, stood up, and
stepped on the toy viciously. A few remaining children cried out in alarm. They'd liked that toy!
Grumbling, Kagome went up to the front to pay for that toy as well.
No more toy stores for daddy.

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