InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The New Student and Kagome's Secret ❯ Chapter 17: The Aftermath ( Chapter 17 )

A/N: Hello my patient people!!! Gomen ne! It has taken me so long to finally start writing again! I had test after test and then I had to go out of town this weekend and my computer has been acting all crazy!!! But thank you so much for being patient! Here is the next chapter!

Chapter 17

So there they were. Their long journey had begun and there was no turning back now. Myouga led the group followed by Kagome and Inuyasha and then Sango and Miroku. They observed their surroundings as they walked. What used to be beautiful green grass was now dirt and mud. Different buildings around them had crumbled to the ground leaving a pile of dirt and rubble. People ran rampant. Some were scared, some were excited, and others, gangs and such, had set out to destroy what was left of the city. Policemen, firefighters, and doctors tried desperately to keep order. They were slowly making progress, but it was going to be a while before everything was back to normal. Everyone was appalled by what they saw…especially Kagome. She couldn't believe that her city had turned into this. Inuyasha looked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that she was shocked by everything she was witnessing. He could sense her fear, sadness, and pure disbelief. He wanted to make her feel better, but he didn't quite know how. Myouga could sense it too. He turned around and smiled at Kagome and the others.

"Don't worry about all of this, my lady," Myouga said. "Everything should be back to normal by the time we return." Kagome and Sango exchanged worried glances, but then nodded to Myouga. He smiled and turned back around.

It wasn't long before Kagome suddenly heard someone calling her name.

"KAGOME!!!" she heard someone shout. She looked up ahead to see her friends from school racing towards her. Kagome had completely forgotten that they would pass by Yuri's house. Yuri's house wasn't very far from school so it was obvious that the three girls would head there rather than their own separate houses when the sky turned black that day at school. Kagome ran in front of everyone to meet her friends.

"Hey guys!" Kagome said meeting them at the edge of Yuri's front yard. "Are you guys okay?" They nodded.

"We're fine, Kagome. What about you?" Eri asked.

"I'm fine!" Kagome said. "And thankful that it's all over." The three girls smiled at her, but their smiles soon turned to looks of fear as Myouga, Inuyasha, Sango, Kirara, and Miroku kept getting closer to them.

"Wh-Who are they?" Ayame stuttered taking a step back. Yuri and Eri were frozen. Kagome looked back at her friends. She realized that Inuyasha and Myouga were in demon form and that it was probably scaring them to death.

"It's okay!" Kagome said quickly so they wouldn't scream. "They won't hurt you!" The others walked up behind Kagome. Yuri squinted her eyes at Inuyasha.

"You look familiar," she said walking up to him. Inuyasha didn't say anything. Suddenly, Yuri about fell over backwards. "You're that kid from school…what's his name…Inuyasha!" Eri and Ayame looked at Inuyasha and gasped.

"It is him!" they said in unison. Kagome looked at Inuyasha not knowing what to do. She didn't know if she should pretend he was someone else or really tell her friends that he was Inuyasha. Inuyasha found Kagome looking at him. He had a very stern look on his face. He knew that there was no way of hiding from anyone now, anyway, so he nodded his head to the girls telling him that he was Inuyasha. They gasped again. Suddenly, Kagome felt herself being pulled away from Inuyasha and the others. Eri, Ayame, and Yuri had pulled her far enough away to where no one could hear them…no one except a certain hanyou.

"Kagome!" Eri began. "What's going on?" The other girls looked at Kagome awaiting her response. Kagome sighed.

"It's a long story," she said. "Too long to be telling right now. I promise I will tell you everything later, but right now I really have to go. I'm glad you all are okay, though." Kagome smiled and hugged her friends. Her friends just looked at her skeptically.

"Okay, Kagome," Eri said placing her hands on her hips. "We won't tell anyone about this." Kagome beamed. Her friends were being so understanding about this.

"Yeah," Yuri said. "I mean you didn't know he was a demon, right? As long as the kids at school don't get a hold of this, everything will be okay, and we promise not to tell anyone, right girls?" The others nodded. Kagome gave them a confused look.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"I mean…it was an honest mistake. I thought he was human, and he turned out to be a demon. We promise we won't tell anyone you were hanging out with a demon. I mean, do you know what would happen if the others at school found out?" Ayame said. "Your reputation would be ruined."

Sango and Miroku couldn't hear what was going on, but they knew Inuyasha could. His ears had drooped down, and it almost looked as if he was trying to fight an expression of sadness and disappointment off of his face. Sango and Miroku looked at Kagome and her friends and knew that something very contemptuous must be taking place over there.

Kagome fumed. "So you guys are telling me that as long as I don't hang out with Inuyasha anymore then there is no harm done?" The girls nodded.

"Honest mistake," they said in unison. Kagome didn't know what to say to them. She was so angry she could have shot them with her arrow right then and there. She hadn't even noticed that her friends weren't even standing in front of her anymore and had traveled over to Inuyasha.

Sango and Miroku watched as the girls left a fuming Kagome behind and made their way over to Inuyasha. They stopped in front of Inuyasha and eyed him warily. Ayame reached up and grabbed a handful of his hair while Eri studied him. Yuri had her arms crossed making scowl faces at him.

"Sorry, but you can't hang out with Kagome anymore," Yuri said. Sango and Miroku's mouths dropped wide open. Inuyasha looked as if he could have been knocked over with a feather.

"Excuse me?" he said growling under his breath.

"You're a demon…I'm sure you heard what I said," Yuri said confidently.

"Correction," Eri said taking a step back. "Half-demon!"

"Ugh!" Yuri said looking at him as if he was some infectious disease. "Even worse." Yuri made her way over to Inuyasha. She stood in front of him and gave him a sympathetic look. "Listen, Inuyasha. You're a half-demon. You should know what will happen if kids at school find out. Don't you care about Kagome? Don't you care about what this could do to her reputation? She is really popular in school right now and this could ruin her. I'm sure you have faced situations like this before, so I am sure you understand, right?" Inuyasha hadn't been treated like this in a while so he wasn't quite sure how to react. He just stood there dumbfounded. He glared at Yuri. How could these girls be friends with Kagome? Had he missed something Kagome had said to the girls? She hadn't come over there with them so maybe she was too afraid to tell him this herself. Inuyasha's face was fill emotions…but mostly filled with anger mixed with a hurtful sadness. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. Sango and Miroku stood there in disbelief. They couldn't believe these girls had had the nerve to say all of that to Inuyasha. What they couldn't believe even more is that Inuyasha hadn't ripped them to shreds for saying such a thing. But when Sango and Miroku looked at Inuyasha's face, they began to find more and more sadness creeping onto his countenance. It was then that Sango and Miroku realized Inuyasha was more hurt than anything. Sango and Miroku wanted to do something to help, but what could they do…what could they say?

Suddenly, a blue light streaked by them separating Eri, Yuri, and Ayame from Inuyasha and the others. Everyone looked up to find Kagome with an arrow pulled back ready to fire again. Eri, Yuri, and Ayame gasped.

"A purifying arrow?" Eri said out loud. Ayame and Yuri gasped again.

"K-Kagome…you're a…a…" Yuri stuttered.

"A MIKO!" Kagome shouted releasing her arrow. The arrow hit the ground in between Yuri and Inuyasha flinging Yuri back to the ground.

"Yuri!" Ayame and Eri shouted rush over to their friend. They knelt down beside her. "Yuri, are you okay?"

Kagome walked heatedly over to her "former" friends. Yuri was on the ground holding herself up with her elbows, and Eri and Ayame knelt beside her. Kagome towered over them. "You will not decide who I hang around! I can't believe you guys…especially you, Yuri! How can you be so condescending of someone you don't even know?!" It was one of the first times that Inuyasha and the others had seen Kagome with a scowl look on her face. She was truly angry and disgusted with her friends from school. Her friends just sat there shocked not knowing what to say. Kagome hung her head. She turned around and returned to Inuyasha and the others.

"Let's go," she said. Everyone looked at Kagome in shock…especially Inuyasha. Not only had Kagome protected Inuyasha from her friends' cruel treatment, but she had also revealed herself as a miko to her friends. She had given up her identity. Inuyasha watched Kagome in awe as she walked by him. Never had Sango, Miroku, or Inuyasha seen Kagome act in such a manner. She even carried herself differently, as if she were a modest but powerful leader. Myouga smiled and followed Kagome as if nothing had happened. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha still stood there unsure of what to say or do.

Yuri, Ayame, and Eri watched Kagome in amazement as well. They, too, noticed the change in Kagome's attitude. The three of them knew they had really pissed her off when they acted the way they did towards Inuyasha, and they were already feeling remorse. They began shaking when they noticed Inuyasha glaring at them. Sango and Miroku became nervous when he started walking towards them. Was he really going to hurt them now that Kagome was almost out of sight? They were just about to protest when Inuyasha stopped in front of the three girls. They looked up at him in fear. He growled and reached into the bag he was carrying. The girls closed their eyes and crouched down quivering in fear, certain they had just written their death sentence.

"Here," Inuyasha said gruffly. The girls each opened one eye to see…gauze? They looked up at him bewildered out of their minds. He didn't look at them. "For any injuries you may have." Sango and Miroku smiled even though they too were a little shocked by Inuyasha's actions. Ayame hesitantly took the gauze from him. As soon as the gauze was gone from his hand, Inuyasha immediately took off after Kagome with Miroku and Sango trailing shortly behind. The three girls looked at each other and then to the gauze. They then smiled as the watched the group disappear in the distance.

* * *

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango finally caught up with Kagome. Inuyasha folded his arms his haori and walked beside Kagome. Myouga was in front of them leading the way and Sango and Miroku trailed behind them. Inuyasha stared straight ahead as if nothing had happened, but a million thoughts ran through his head. `Should I ask her about what just happened or should I leave it alone?' he thought. `Why did she give up her identity? It could have been resolved without that and Kagome's reputation could have been saved. She could have gone on living a normal life.' Inuyasha's heart dropped. `Now she has to live a life like I did…like I do! I would never wish my life on someone else…especially Kagome. This is just the beginning of it, too. Those girls seemed like blabbermouths so I bet they will be telling everyone in the entire city before we even reach the castle. I can't let her live a life like I do. It's not fun and it's not easy. There's really nothing I can do about it though, is there? She has chosen her path now, but I promise I am never going to let anything happen to her.' Sango and Miroku secretly carried on their own conversation as they watched Inuyasha's thoughts run wild.

"What just happened back there?" Sango whispered to Miroku.

"It seems like Kagome gave up her identity of her own free will," he whispered. Sango sighed.

"Things will definitely change for Kagome in school, now," she said sadly. "If she is even able to return." Miroku nodded his head. Sango shook her head. "I just don't understand why she revealed herself like that."

"Perhaps, Kagome doesn't care if anyone finds out who she is anymore. She defended someone who was just like her…liked by neither demons nor humans. I do not have near the powers she does so no one would really ridicule me. But Kagome, on the other hand, is very powerful. Humans will think she is weird and demons will try to kill her in fear of their safety from her," Miroku said. "I'm sure Kagome is not sure what to do with her life right now. That is why she continues to stick with Inuyasha without a second thought. She is just like him. I think knowing that there is someone else out there like her sets her at ease." Sango nodded.

"I think she also knows that Inuyasha is not going to let anything happen to her," Sango said. She smiled. "Maybe back there was just a way of paying him back for all of the times he has saved her. Inuyasha was right when he told Sesshomaru that some things are worse than death. Living with a broken heart for eternity is probably one of them, but Kagome saved him from that back there. I'm sure it meant a lot to Inuyasha…though you and I both know that he would never admit it!" She shook her head. Inuyasha was so stubborn. Miroku and Sango looked at the two ahead of them and smiled.

"There's a lot of things that Inuyasha won't admit," Miroku said flatly. "To be perfectly honest with you, I'm getting tired of being the only "official" couple around here!" He winked at Sango. She caught his drift and giggled a little. Miroku had said it loud enough to where Kagome could almost have heard him. Unfortunately, Inuyasha was still wrapped up in his own thoughts and hadn't heard a word.

* * *

Later that night, everyone settled down to go to sleep. They were outside of the city now and had settled down next to some woods. Inuyasha had gone out into the woods to slice down some small trees for firewood. He had built a fire and everyone laid around the fire in their sleeping bags. For some reason, though, the entire group seemed restless. None of them could sleep. They sat around gazing into the fire entranced by their own thoughts. Kagome hadn't said hardly anything since the incident that morning and everyone was beginning to worry about her. Finally, someone broke the silence.

"Kagome," Sango began. "You feeling alright?" Kagome didn't turn to meet Sango's gaze. She merely nodded her head and continued to stare into the fire.

"Come on, Kagome," Miroku said. "We know better than to take that for an answer. You gave an answer like Inuyasha would." Inuyasha growled at Miroku. Miroku put up his hands as if to say that he meant no harm.

"I'm fine," Kagome said finally lifting her gaze. She looked at Sango and Miroku who studied her carefully. "Really you guys! It's not that big of a deal. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." Sango and Miroku knew Kagome had a lot on her mind and decided not to push the issue further. Kirara meowed in Sango's lap and then curled up into a little ball. Inuyasha looked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. He, too, knew that she wasn't okay. Kagome stood up catching everyone off guard.

"I think I am going to go for a walk," she said and with that, turned and started walking towards the woods. She would have continued had Inuyasha not grabbed her by the arm. She whirled around to look at him and gave him a questioning look. Inuyasha stared into Kagome's eyes for a second before snapping back to reality.

"You're not going by yourself!" he commanded. Kagome jerked her arm away from him and frowned.

"Who says?" she asked. "I need some time alone and I will be fine by myself!" Sango and Miroku were taken aback by her tone. Kagome rarely ever acted rudely. `Something must really be bothering her,' Sango thought.

"I said!" he said folding his arms. "Do you know how stupid it is just to walk off into the woods in the middle of the night?" Sango and Miroku could see Kagome's anger starting to rise.

"I'm NOT stupid and I have my arrows!" she said balling her fists by her side. "I can manage on my own!" Inuyasha grew angry as well. He didn't like the fact that Kagome was being so defiant. What was her problem? She normally never acted this way.

"You ARE stupid if you go off into those woods! There's no telling what's out there!" he said pointing to the woods.

"What are you saying? Are you saying that a stupid miko like me can't take care of herself on her own?" Kagome demanded. "Is that it? Huh?" Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku were taken aback. `Where did that come from?' they both thought.

"What are you talking about? I didn't say…" he began but stopped when he saw tears welling in her eyes. `Did I make her cry?' he thought.

"What's the matter Inuyasha?!" Kagome demanded. "Can't handle the sight of tears?!! Well, guess what!!! That's what happens when you are some piece of shit miko that the entire world either hates or fears!" Inuyasha was a little taken back, but growing impatient. He didn't like the way Kagome was acting, but his heart still went out to her. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to allow her to go off into the woods by herself. Kagome's defiance was really starting to annoy him. He used to always be able to tell her to stay with no problem, but she was really being defiant tonight. His aggravation got the better of him, and he said something he shouldn't have.

"Well you can't change what you are so live with it and quit being such a bitch about it!" he yelled at her. Kagome's bottom lip began to quiver and Inuyasha knew he had said the wrong thing. She began crying hysterically and started running towards the woods. Inuyasha, feeling guilty, grabbed her by the arm in an effort to stop her. Kagome swung her free arm around and…

**SMACK**

…she slapped Inuyasha in the face.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU…YOU JERK!!!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha released her and stood there calmly. It was almost as if the slap had snapped him back to the reality that he needed to be more considerate of her feelings. He had to admit, though, that his face hurt like hell. Sango and Miroku gasped when they witnessed the slap. Miroku stood up just in case Inuyasha decided to retaliate, but nothing came. Inuyasha just stared at Kagome as if he felt sorry for her. Kagome shot him an evil glare and ran off into the woods. Inuyasha sighed and didn't go after her this time. Sango and Miroku didn't know what to do. They just stood there waiting for Inuyasha to say something, but he said nothing. He turned around and walked back slowly towards his original spot by the campfire. When he was almost there, he stopped in his tracks and growled. `She can slap me until I am dead, but if I have to bring her back here with her throwing a fit a like a little kid, I am not going to let anything happen to her!' he thought and took off bounding into the woods. `Stupid bitch!'

"Inuyasha!" Sango yelled as she jumped up and grabbed her boomerang to follow him. Miroku put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Let him go," he said. "Inuyasha won't let anything happen to Kagome and they probably need to have a little talk when he finally catches up with her." Sango nodded and sat back down laying her boomerang down beside her.

"You're probably right," she said. "But it's not really Kagome that I am worried about after a slap like that!"

* * *

Kagome ran as fast as she could through the woods. She ran until she could run no more. She stopped and put her hands on her knees breathing heavily and crying uncontrollably. She hated to admit it, but she was lost. She had no clue where she was. `Why did I have to slap Inuyasha?' she asked herself as she gripped her bow. `He for sure won't come after me now.' She sat down bracing her back on the tree and began to cry even harder. It had been at least a half-hour since she had seen Inuyasha and there was no telling where she had run off to.

"Lost are we?" she heard someone say. Kagome stood up quickly and readied her bow and arrow.

"Who…Who's there?" she stammered. The person laughed and emerged from the bushes. He looked like a normal every day man around his middle thirties. Kagome looked at him skeptically.

"What do you want?" she asked. He smiled.

"You are the famous Priestess Higurashi are you not?" he asked. Kagome gasped and he laughed. "Thank you for answering my question. I'm not into playing games so I will get straight to the point. Become my wife and I will not kill you."

"WHAT???" Kagome shouted. "Why do you want me as your wife?"

"Glad you asked," he said. "When a human mates with a miko, they take on some of their powers…"

"So you just want to be powerful?" Kagome asked in disbelief. He nodded and smiled.

"Though no one had told me of your beauty. You will make quite a companion!" he said.

"NEVER!" Kagome said aiming her bow. He laughed.

"Go ahead and shoot priestess!" he said with a smile. "Your arrow will never hit!" She let her guard down a little so she could see what he was talking about. He waved a fan in front of his face that reminded her of Kagura's. He was a wind user! But was he a demon? No, Kagome couldn't sense any demon powers within him. He was just a human. Kagome had heard of these human wind users. They are just as skilled as the demon wind users. The only thing they lack is demon powers so they aren't as good as demons when attacking, but are very skilled at defending themselves. Somehow, though, they manage to control the wind and would still be quite of a nuisance to her. Kagome didn't know what to do now. If she released her arrow, the man could surely blow it right back at her. If she ran, the man would take her down. She was trapped.

`Should I scream for Inuyasha?' she thought. Her face became saddened. `No, after the way I treated him, he will probably not come any way!' Tears began to well in her eyes. Kagome removed the arrow from her bow and tucked it away in its quiver.

"That's a good girl!" the man said with a smile. He began walking towards her. Kagome didn't move.

A/N: Again, I am sorry for it being so long since my last update! I hate it when authors do not update regularly!

Any way! I had a little trouble writing that one for some reason. I wrote it and then went back and rewrote it because there were parts of it that I didn't like! I hope everyone else likes the finished product though.

It seems as if everyone has quit reviewing, too. So here's the deal. 5 more reviews and the next chapter will be posted. I am already starting on it right now. Oh, and give me some advice on what you think should happen. I want them to have adventures on their trip to Inuyasha's castle so tell me some things I can make happen to them to make things a little more interesting or something! Again at least 5 reviews!!!

Oh, and I love you guys!