Kagome gritted her teeth as she reached once more for the wooden component of her bow. She had tried many times to stretch the string over both ends of the bow, but all she received thus far was a nasty cramp in her arms and an ache in her lower back. [At this rate, I’ll be doing this until tomorrow night! Unless I get it done soon, I know we certainly won’t make it back to the others by dawn…]

As she desperately tried to stretch the string once more, Kagome let out a frustrated sigh. "Sesshou-kun, this isn’t working…"

Sesshoumaru jumped awake as he heard Kagome’s voice. He smiled as she repeated her complaint, her voice a light melody to his ears. "Don’t concentrate so much on stretching the string, but on how you’re going to use the bow. Loop one end onto the top of the staff and then pull the bottom of the staff to the string."

Kagome, beyond frustrated with her own methods, decided to attempt using Sesshoumaru’s method. She concentrated on the idea of how she would aim and release the arrow, straight into Naraku’s heart, just as Sesshoumaru had suggested. Moments later, as though by magic, the string was firmly attached to both ends of the staff. "Sesshou-kun! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

Sesshoumaru grinned, but spoke no word as he turned around and headed out of the forest. [I… I don’t want to go anywhere near Inu Yasha unless I absolutely have to… I certainly don’t want to take Kagome back to him, but if she insists… I just don’t want to lose her back to him… Odd enough as it may seem, he’s more reasonable when he’s in his human form… He would be more able to sway her now than ever…]

Kagome grinned as she followed Sesshoumaru out of the forest. He had been rather quiet while she was working at putting the bow and string together and it was his silence that bothered Kagome above all. She had often wondered why it was that he had acted in such a way, especially after she had chosen to stay in the feudal era with him. Her thoughts had often revisited that she had mentioned that she wanted to stay by Inu Yasha during this night, even though only as a casual friend. She knew that this night, a moonless night, was when Inu Yasha was at his weakest, which was why she believed that she needed to stay near him. [Is Sesshoumaru that jealous?]

Sesshoumaru sighed as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, thus calling the two-headed dragon, Aun. The beast was quick to appear from the shadows, affectionately craning one neck against his master’s right hand. Sesshoumaru absent-mindedly rubbed the beast’s neck as he waited for Kagome, who certainly seemed to be taking her time. He turned around to see Kagome, staring at him as though she had never before seen him. "Kana-chan?"

Kagome shook her head, her warm smile returning to her face as she mounted the dragon’s back. "Is something the matter, Sesshou-kun?"

Sesshoumaru hesitated as he pulled himself onto Aun’s back. "No… I just… never mind…"

Kagome smiled as they rose into the air and began moving swiftly through the night sky. She didn’t want to allow Sesshoumaru to know that she felt uncomfortable with the way he was acting, but she also was not about to let him keep up with the ‘I don’t have any problems’ act.

"Don’t worry," she soothed, "it’ll be okay…"

Though he wanted to believe her, Sesshoumaru couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen and that he would not enjoy the consequences.

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~^_^~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

A Few Hours Later

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~^_^~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Inu Yasha stretched as he looked up to the stars. [A few more hours until sunrise… This night… why is it seeming to be so long?]

Kouga stared into the fire as he heard Inu Yasha moving about. He turned around to see that Inu Yasha was watching something. A slight change in the wind brought the scent of what Inu Yasha had been watching right to Kouga’s nose—Kagome was back!

It was only moments later that Sesshoumaru’s two-headed dragon landed in the clearing, only a few feet away from the campfire. Kagome pulled herself off of Aun’s back, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she began to panic. Her face showed no sign of the anxiety she was experiencing as she slowly approached the campfire. She even managed a thin smile as she looked over to Inu Yasha, whom had returned to his place at the base of the old oak tree. "How’s it going?"

Inu Yasha shrugged as he shifted his gaze away from Kagome. He wasn’t sure if he was mad at her, disgusted, or what he felt; he just knew he couldn’t stand looking at her. She, who had promised to stay by his side; she, who he had told that he would wait for; she, who broke his fifty-year slumber, was now Sesshoumaru’s. In a way, he felt betrayed, but he also realized that he had often betrayed her heart when he would go to see Kikyo.

He had listened to Kouga most of the night and many of the things the wolf yokai had to say rang true. Not only did Inu Yasha tend to act irrationally about things that were beyond Kagome’s control, he never thought about what he was going to say before he spoke. Inu Yasha always spoke his mind, whether or not he realized how hurtful the words were. He realized that if he ever truly cared for Kagome, he would have to let her choose her own path—he couldn’t guilt her into the one he wanted her to take. He couldn’t force her hand, as such would only beget worse problems later. So Inu Yasha had decided that he would do as best he could by caring for her from afar and letting her choose Sesshoumaru.

"Inu Yasha?"

Inu Yasha’ train of thought immediately derailed as he heard Kagome’s sympathetic voice. His deep brown eyes found their way to her blazing amber gaze, leaving him at a near loss for speech. "Huh?"

Kagome moved closer to Inu Yasha, concerned for him. "Are you okay?"

Inu Yasha shrugged as he found a sudden interest in the dirt beneath his feet.

"Are you okay with all of this? I mean, you know what I’m talking about, right?"

Inu Yasha flinched as he heard Kagome move closer yet to him. "Do whatever you want, it’s your life, your choices. All I can do is wish you two the best of luck."

A thin smile crept across Kagome’s face as Inu Yasha looked back into her eyes. Rather than seeing anger or pain, Inu Yasha saw her eyes shine with mirth. A light blush made its way to her cheeks as she bowed her head to Inu Yasha. "You have no idea… how relieved I am to hear you say that."

Her words—rather than causing him to feel the pain and regret from having ‘lost’ her to his brother—made him feel happier. He felt nearly as much relief as Kagome had, perhaps more. He was surprised—a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt a smile tug at his lips and before he knew it, he was grinning, glowing with pride.

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~^_^~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Naraku leaned forward, a victorious grin on his face. He watched as the young boy ran out of view, running as quickly as possible to his sister. Of course, Kohaku couldn’t remember that Sango was his sister, all that he knew was that he had been ordered to fight the girl. Naraku turned his head as he heard footsteps behind himself. "Kagura, we will begin as soon as Kohaku has reached them… They’ll come to us soon enough."

"What of the girl?"

Naraku’s eyes shone with evil, but it was the sound of his laughter that proved even more alarming. He spun around, pushing Kagura out of the way as he hurried towards the dungeon room where he had been keeping Sayaka. All too quickly he was in the dungeon room, his gaze boring into Sayaka’s frightened eyes. "And now… they all will die."

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~^_^~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

~ Later ~

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Kagome’s eyes lit up as she pulled the one item from her backpack that she had spent the past half hour searching for—her camera. Though she did not have such a camera before she began visiting the feudal era, Kagome had purchased a Polaroid camera to take a few pictures—of course, she was careful not to use it too often…

Kagome smiled as she handed the camera to Sango, whom had been taught how to use the modern contraption by Kagome. Kagome took a few moments more to gather Sesshoumaru, Inu Yasha, and Kouga together so that she could take a picture—her lasting memory of the hours before attacking Naraku. The last chance to show the pain and friendships that were drawn together because of the breaking of the Shikon no Tama.

Sango stepped back as Kagome got the three to pose, convincing Kouga and Sesshoumaru that no harm would come of the action, and placing herself right in the middle of the group. Sango smiled as she asked the four to hold their poses and ~ snap! ~ The picture had been taken. Sango held the photograph out to Kagome and then set the camera beside Kagome’s backpack.

Kagome smiled as the picture became visible—Sesshoumaru had been standing directly behind her, his hands on each of her shoulders. Kouga and Inu Yasha were on either side of them, Kouga still looking confused, while Inu Yasha maintained a perfect smile. [It’s the only picture I’ve ever gotten of Inu Yasha in his human form…]

Miroku managed a thin smile of his own as he leaned over the hanyou woman’s shoulder and looked at the picture. It seemed nearly comical that she had managed to get all three of them into a pose without any bickering—at times, Kana did remind him of Kagome. He turned and walked away, though, when he felt a twinge of pain in the palm of his right hand. [It’s grown bigger… I… I may not be able to see the battle with Naraku…]

Sesshoumaru settled next to Kagome, staring at the thin, paper-like material in her hand. It had come from the contraption that she had made the taijiya use, almost like a perfect painting of the group, except that it looked much more realistic than a painting. It was an exact copy. "Kana-chan… what is that for?"

"So when we can’t see each other, one of us will have the image of the other."

Sesshoumaru leaned closer to Kagome, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. "We won’t ever have to worry about that, love… We’ll never be without one another—I’ll make sure of it."

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~^_^~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

A.N. Well, another chapter finished and we’re only moments away from the battle with Naraku! The end is so close I can smell it! ^_~ Happy reviewing & Happy Father’s Day! (Yeah, I’ll bet a lot of you forgot your dad, didn’t you…)

Ja ne,

Ryoko Yuy / V Shape Otaku