All right, I'm back, I'm ahead, and I'm ready to start the Fire Trilogy! I won't guarantee a posting schedule, 'cause it will partly depend on reviews, but there should be at least one or two a month!

Yes, I'm trying it again, but it is a bit different this time. Just because you've read Going up in Flames doesn't mean you'll know everything, and if you've read Fire or Before the Fire, my aborted attempts, you still don't know everything! If you have no clue what I am talking about, then ignore the last two sentences because I've deleted all previous attempts! So, I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Summary: Kagome is sick of hiding her past from the others. (No, it isn't that she's a demon. Honest.) She's ready to take a stand once more, and everything will change. YYHxIY. Not many major characters in this book.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Now, let's not all fall over from shock at once, okay?

Written by feathergriffin, of course!

Fire's Awakening

Chapter One

Miroku watched as Kagome stared into the fire. He was a pretty observant man and spent a lot of his time observing human nature. As Miroku spent more time traveling with his new companions, he found himself with some very unique specimens. Each had their quirks, but they were good people, and Miroku was growing more attached to them then he had ever planned. Lately, however, he had noticed Kagome was becoming more quiet and reserved. The degree of change was slight enough that the others paid no attention to it, but Miroku had. At first it was just little things like Kagome not sitting Inuyasha as much, playing with Shippou as much, or chatting with Sango as much. The thing that had first tipped him off, though, was that when his cursed hand caressed her the slap wasn't half as hard as usual. Knowing Kagome, he knew something was wrong when she couldn't work up enough righteous indignation to give him a decent slap, of which he was rather a good judge.

So Miroku spent the following week watching Kagome. She tried to act normal enough, but Miroku caught the little nuances that continued to enforce his opinion that something was wrong. When her behavior didn't stop and started to get worse as Kagome spent more and more of her time staring off into the distance and just not interacting as much with everyone, he decided it was time to talk to Kagome.

That night when they stopped and started to prepare camp, Kagome volunteered to collect some wood. Miroku took advantage of the opportunity and said that he would go with her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Sango gave him a strict warning to respect Kagome, and Inuyasha, scoffing, said something like it would take two humans to gather firewood.

Kagome didn't comment as they walked off into the woods. After a few moments while Miroku and Kagome wandered, picking up loose pieces of wood while they walked, Miroku stopped and sat down on a nearby fallen log.

"Kagome, would you sit down for a moment?" Miroku asked. Kagome's eyes flickered to his in curiosity, but she complied.

"Would you mind if I ask you something personal?" Miroku asked. Kagome's face turned thoughtful and a bit guarded.

"I guess not," Kagome said.

"Something has been bothering you for awhile now. Is something happening back in your time that bothers you? Did Inuyasha do something?" Miroku asked.

Kagome glanced at him, uncomfortable, and then looked back into the darkening forest.

"I suppose this is why you volunteered," Kagome said. Miroku smiled.

"Inuyasha hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, and it isn't really anything that is happening in my time," Kagome said after a moment of silence.

"Then it is something else?" Miroku asked.

"You don't need to worry about it," Kagome said.

"I know I don't have to, but you are and I don't want you to be worrying about it. It worries me because you worry about it," Miroku said.

Kagome looked at him and gave him a small smile then looked down at her hands in her lap.

"It'll sound stupid compared to everyone else's problems," Kagome said, trying to avoid talking about her worries and, more importantly, her past.

"It isn't stupid to you. I would like to help," Miroku said.

Kagome sighed. "About three years ago my father was murdered. It is getting close to the anniversary of his death, and thinking about everything, especially after what has happened over the course of this year, is bothering me." This came out a bit rushed, as if she wanted to get it out fast enough so that Miroku wouldn't catch all of her words. It didn't work.

"I'm sorry about his death. Why would I think it stupid, though?" Miroku asked.

"Think about everyone else here. Inuyasha's parents were dead at an early age, he grew up on his own, and when he finally starts to become close to someone they are tricked into betraying each other. Shippou's parents are dead. You have parents dead as well as a horrible curse that can end your life at any moment. Sango's entire village was murdered including her entire remaining family, and her younger adored brother is being controlled by the one responsible. Then there is me; I still have my grandfather, mother, and younger brother." Kagome was saying this in a detached voice unlike her own.

"That just means we will appreciate your pain more," Miroku said gently.

"You aren't going to tell the others," Kagome turned around and gave him a hard glare. Miroku thought he could make out a certain brightness in her eyes.

"They would only want to help you feel better in their own ways," Miroku protested.

"They don't need to be distracted," Kagome said fiercely, "and you don't need to worry about it either. I'll manage!"

Miroku gave her a look filled with compassion. "Kagome, you do me and the others a disservice. I will keep your secret for now, but I want you to tell me everything, all right?"

Kagome looked at Miroku. His features were hard to make out, but she could tell that he wasn't going to relent.

"All right," Kagome sighed. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. I'm adopted."

"What? Did your first family die because of something?" Miroku asked in surprise.

Kagome gave a slightly bitter laugh. "No. I am not sure which would be worse; the truth or them being dead. The truth is that they gave me up for adoption right after I was born. In my time, if a couple doesn't want to keep their child, they give the child to the government who find homes for them to live in. Sometimes they never find a home for the child and it grows up in a sadly lacking environment. I was lucky; I was adopted as soon as my mother got me out of her womb."

Miroku couldn't think of anything to say.

"I always wonder why they didn't want me. I know that maybe my mother was poor, or maybe there was some reason that they couldn't keep me, but I don't accept that. I believe if you have a child then it is your responsibility to keep him or her and raise her to full term. There are other, less pleasant reasons. Maybe my conception was a problem. Maybe my mother couldn't be bothered with keeping her child. There are many possibilities, and I have gone over each and every possibility too many times." Kagome sighed a bit then continued.

"Luckily, I was given to a great family. My parents couldn't have children, you see, and so they adopted me, and then later Souta. My father and grandfather, however, argued about our futures. Grandfather needed someone to train as a shrine keeper to replace him once he died, and father wanted a child to raise following the traditions of his family. They continued to argue, and finally drew lots as to whether the first child my parents adopted would be my father's or my grandfather's pupil. Mother thought they were both ridiculous and said they should let us choose, but they were stubborn and it turned out for the best. I became my father's responsibility, and when Souta was adopted he fell into grandfather's domain." Kagome shook her head. "At first, it seemed perfect."

"What was the tradition of your father's family?" Miroku asked.

"To become a warrior," Kagome said, looking away from Miroku in shame.

"You can wield weapons?" Miroku asked in astonishment.

"Well, yes. I never used the bow and arrow until I came here, but before my father's death I was trained primarily in the naginata, with other weapons as back ups. I wasn't too bad at those either," Kagome said, her voice a bit wistful.

"What happened?" Miroku was still trying to absorb this fact.

"I loved my father. I spent little of my time outside of school studying but instead devoted myself to learning everything I could. I practiced for hours at a time everyday. My father was very proud, and had weapons specially made of a size that I could wield them even when I was younger. He bought progressively bigger weapons as I aged; making sure that each one was significantly heavier than the last so that I would build up my strength. My whole life revolved around my father and his teachings. Just before my thirteenth birthday, my father went out to visit one of his friends. He was late coming back, and mother and I stayed up to wait for him. By the next morning we were both worried, and when a knock came to the door we flew to answer it. A policeman, you can think of him as an enforcer of law, was at the door. My father had been murdered in an alleyway. They had just found his body lying there, with all of his daggers in place and no sign of a struggle. The cause of death was determined to be a hard hit to the head." Kagome's head bowed in remembered sorrow.

"They never found out who had killed him. Nothing had been stolen from him. There was no sign of a weapon. Absolutely no clues as to what had happened to him. There should have been something, some sign of a fight! My father was supposed to be a warrior! He should have been able to make it safely home to us! The person who killed him should be in jail, and father should still be alive. Father always told me a true warrior should always fight for what he or she loved, but he didn't fight at all!" Tears started to fall down Kagome's cheeks. "He didn't fight to come home to us, who loved him with all of our hearts and who would have given our life for his." Kagome furiously scrubbed at her face with her sleeves, trying to get rid of her tears. Miroku watched her, a bit shocked with everything that she had told him.

"At his funeral, I decided that I would not practice anything he taught me of his family's ways; I would not honor someone who didn't honor and love us. It has been a hard vow to keep. I was able to forget my pain in studying at school and finally becoming a good scholar. Then I fell down the well. At first, everything seemed like a hallucination. I had decided that I had hit my head in the well and this was just a dream. As I started to realize it was real and I was in a dangerous place, I was put to a sore test. I longed to grab a weapon and defend myself, but I couldn't. It reminded me of him too much, and I couldn't break my vow. Things happened over the course of the next two days, and when I finally made it back home I was happy to be safe and I wouldn't have to worry about breaking my vow anymore. Inuyasha came back for me, though, and since then my mind has constantly worried about it. At first I decided that since Inuyasha considered me something like an annoyance I didn't need to help him. That didn't last long, though. Then, I started to wish to tell someone, to help out, but I managed to hold to my vow. Each time a battle happens, and all I can do is to try and hit the bad guy with arrows, my guilt has increased. By the time I was ready and willing to take a weapon in everyone's defense and break my vow, it was too late. I was afraid of everyone's reaction and that everyone would cast me out, or worse, keep me with them and treat me like I wasn't their friend. It's been killing me and I am so sorry!" Kagome started to sob in earnest now and stood up to run away to somewhere private.

Miroku stopped that before it happened. He grabbed her and hugged her, letting her sob into his robes. He stroked her hair, eyes far away. Eventually he started to speak.

"You were willing to break your vow and take dishonor upon yourself?" Miroku asked. His only answer was a weak nod that could only be felt.

"I think that you are only human, Kagome, and the course of action you took follows that. It might have been rough at first, but I would like to believe that we would all forgive you. Now, l am going to tell you what I think. First, I believe your vow is invalid." This was stated quietly but firmly. This shocked Kagome completely and she sat up quickly.

"What?" she asked, her voice disbelieving.

"Before your father died, you would have sworn on your life that he loved you and his family, correct?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, but"—Miroku interrupted.

"Kagome, I know you might not want to hear it, but even your father was human. The most skilled warrior can be caught off guard. It could have even been a demon assailant, for I find it hard to believe that all demons are gone from your time. I don't believe someone who called himself your father would devote so much time to you and not love you. I am sure if it was possible, he would have done everything in his power to come back to you." This was said with such firm conviction Kagome found herself almost believing him.

"But," she said in a half-hearted manner.

"If you vowed you would not honor someone who didn't honor and love his family, and if in fact he did, then your vow is invalid." Miroku said this with a hint of compassion in his voice. Kagome stared down at her hands.

"You mean all this time I have been wrong, and I have been allowing you to suffer because of my cowardice?" Kagome asked in a faint voice.

"No, of course not. You were hurt, and believed wrongly. It was a regrettable mistake. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but other than your bow and arrows you have not fought against someone with your life on the line before, or against demons, have you?" Miroku asked.

"No," Kagome said slowly, drawing out the short syllable.

"I know you don't think there is much difference, but consider the difference between aiming at a stationary target and fighting against a normal demon," Miroku said. He prayed she would understand his point.

"Yes, but I still could have," Kagome started, but she was once more interrupted.

"No. There is a difference. Demons are faster and often have centuries of life behind them that taught them things you don't know. All of your fights before coming through the well have been to learn how to fight for the sake of fighting, not to save your life. I think once you are ready, Sango and I can help you with that. But you will only fight once Sango believes that you are ready. Inuyasha might help, but I think he would be too afraid of hurting you and most likely will be sulking." This earned a weak laugh from Kagome. "I want you to think about this, and we can talk about it tomorrow, okay? I am willing to help you, but you need to decide what to do first. Tomorrow would you do me the honor of gathering wood with me?" Miroku asked in a formal and overdone tone.

Kagome giggled a little, her heart feeling so many conflicting emotions she was quite torn. "It's a date," she said before turning serious again. "Miroku, I don't know how to thank you. I was having such a hard time dealing with this and," she gulped, "I don't think you will ever completely understand what this means to me. I haven't been thinking clearly since my father died and you have helped me deal with that. There is still a great deal I need to absorb, but I wouldn't be on the right track if it wasn't for you. I want you to know that I consider you family, and I will do anything you need me to do."

Miroku felt stunned. His entire family was dead, and he didn't have any siblings. To have a family again would be beyond imagination. "You mean that?" he asked disbelievingly.

Kagome nodded, "As I have said, none of the people who I call family are related to me by blood. I would love another brother, and maybe someday I could even get a sister out of the deal too."

"I've always wanted a sister," Miroku said, half-wistfully. He was already so tightly entangled in this group, even if he had tried before to avoid companions, that it would only be solidifying the bond that was already there. Kagome smiled and hugged him tightly.

"You have one," Kagome swore. Then she smiled crookedly, "You are stuck with me now."

"I think I can handle that," Miroku said. "Shall we go back? I think we hear our illustrious leader calling our names in dulcet tones."

Kagome chuckled. "Ever a melodious voice," she said, and wiped her tears. "We better pick what we have gathered and go quickly."

"I am glad to have such a wise woman as family," Miroku said.

"Not half as glad as I am to have you in my family. Truly," and Kagome smiled, picked up her bunch of sticks, and stood up. She was still reeling from the conversation she had just had, and many things had to be sorted out inside and outside of her, but for the first time in many months she felt confident that she could handle it.

"Lead on," Kagome said and while it wasn't in her normal cheerful tones it was a definite improvement from a few minutes earlier. She started to walk off, and Miroku followed her smiling bemusedly at her back. He had family again, friends, and a woman he believed he was falling in love with. Sometime when he was traveling with the group, he wasn't sure when, he had started to feel hope that he could get rid off his curse and live a life of happiness. After years of despair, it was a truly wonderful feeling. There were many things to sort out and help his new sister with, a demon to destroy, and hopefully someday a demon slayer to woo, and after a good night's sleep he would be ready to take it all on.

OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO OoO

After a brief spate of yelling that Miroku defused with ease, the entire group spent the rest of the evening in a very quiet mood. Kagome and Miroku were both thinking of what had happened, Inuyasha was sulking in a tree, Sango was looking between Miroku and Kagome and wondering, and Shippou and Kirara were playing quietly. The next day was spent the same way. Kagome and Miroku didn't say much, but they would sometimes just look at each other. Inuyasha was more silent than usual, and Sango was pensive as she occasionally petted Kirara's head. No demon interrupted so that the group could relieve their tension and it was a very quiet camp that night. Kagome headed for wood without asking and Miroku followed her after a minute. They didn't notice the fierce glances sent after them by Sango or Inuyasha, or Shippou's curious one. Kirara actually followed them, but then she was a cat and that was her given right, whether of demonic origin or not.

Kagome and Miroku gathered wood in silence, both knowing that if their talk took as long as it did yesterday they would need to have the wood gathered beforehand. This task was accomplished quickly, and Miroku sat down, leaning against an ancient tree. Kagome curled up by him, her head on his shoulder. Miroku gave a brief smile and put his arm around her.

"What were your thoughts today, Kagome?" he asked finally.

"Other than wishing that the tension wasn't so thick that Inuyasha couldn't slice through it with his Wind Scar? I am starting feel really guilty about what I did after my father died. I said a few inappropriate things to a friend of my father's who was just trying to help, not to mention how I disrespected my father," Kagome heaved a large sigh, and then jumped as a small, furry head instituted itself under her hand. She looked down and gave a shaky laugh.

"Don't scare me like that, Kirara," Kagome requested, but Kirara just rubbed at her hand harder. Kagome shook her head slightly and started to pet Kirara in an almost unconscious manner.

"Kagome, the death of a loved one causes us to do and think things we wouldn't normally think. I wasn't quite normal myself after my father died," Miroku said, his eyes growing a slightly far away look.

"What was your father like?" Kagome asked.

Miroku gave a small smile. "He was a very kind and loving man. From the stories I have heard, he used to be quite a womanizer."

"And you aren't?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, I am not doing anything to you right now, am I?" Miroku asked, a slightly hurt tone in his voice, though a small glint could be seen in his eyes. Kagome sat straight up with a huff, making Kirara, who had settled in her lap, gave a slight sound of protest.

"I'm your sister now, it isn't allowed!" Kagome said. Miroku's face turned grave. He had forgotten about that. Kagome groaned.

"Miroku!" she protested.

"You can't make an exception?" Miroku asked.

"Not unless you want to be my stand-in for target practice, Miroku. It was barely tolerable before, and now it would be going too far. Brothers just don't do that to sisters! Great, now I have an image in my head of my little brother trying to…sheesh, Miroku! I might have to use you for target practice anyways!" Kagome said, trying to get that particular image out of her head.

"If I must," Miroku said, but Kagome caught the hint of mischief in his voice and hit him over the top of his head.

"You deliberately set me up, you twerp!" Kagome said. Miroku just gave a small smile.

"Now, tell me more about your family," Kagome demanded. Miroku did. He told of his only memories of his mother, a black-haired woman with a smile so warm that even though she wasn't the greatest beauty in the world, his father had fallen in love at first sight. Of course, then his cursed hand had made him caress her bottom, and he had gotten slapped. It had been a dangerous relationship to the two who participated in it, but they had truly loved each other. His mother, though, had died when Miroku was five from an illness, and his father had never been the same after that. Miroku believed that during the last few years he had truly looked forward to the day when his wind tunnel would consume him.

"And it took him from you right before your eyes?" Kagome asked.

"Yes." It was Miroku's turn to feel slightly uncomfortable, but Kagome hugged him.

"I'm sorry that you had to lose your father like that," Kagome said, and Miroku shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"He wanted to join my mother. I hated to see him die, but after her death his heart was half in the other world anyways," Miroku said wistfully.

"I know what you mean. My mother was devastated after my father's death. I think she only kept going because of Grandpa, Souta, and me," Kagome said.

"What do you plan to do about telling the others?" Miroku asked in a complete change of the subject.

Kagome stared at her hands. "I am going to tell them when we get back to Kaede's village, and let them absorb everything while I am back in my time. I need to visit my father's resting place and apologize to his spirit, and take care of some other things so I will probably be gone for a week."

Miroku frowned. "I see the necessity of this, but won't it seem to the others that you are running away?"

"I suppose it might, but by the time we reach the village it will probably be the night before the anniversary, and I have to be there for mom," Kagome said.

"Are you going to explain everything to them?" Miroku asked.

"I am not sure if I am going to tell them everything, but I will tell them enough about the events surrounding my father's death so that they don't completely hate me," Kagome said. She already dreaded the looks of confusion, disbelief, and pain, but it was her fault and she deserved it.

"I think they will be sad that you didn't tell them, but I think it will hurt worse that you didn't think they would understand," Miroku said.

"Either way they won't be happy with me," Kagome said regretfully, "The only things that bring me consolation are that you will stand by me and that I know that I am finally doing the right thing after almost a year of cowardice and even time as a bad daughter."

"Sister of my heart, I will always stand by you but you should not continue to hurt yourself by continuing to believe that this makes you a bad person. You are only human, and we all make mistakes. Did I not try and pull Inuyasha into my wind tunnel at one point?" Miroku asked.

"I think that is slightly different," Kagome said. "We weren't exactly on the same side at that point, and we both know how Inuyasha is."

"My point exactly. At the beginning of this journey of yours you weren't exactly best of friends with Inuyasha, and so you didn't feel the need to inform him of your skills. At the time you believed you were under a sworn vow and under the circumstances you did the best you could," Miroku said.

Kagome shook her head in doubt but decided to stop arguing. "I guess we should get back," Kagome said. Miroku realized that she was avoiding anymore discussion but decided to go along with her.

"There is only one more night before we reach the village, would you like to gather wood with me again?" Miroku asked.

"I would enjoy that," Kagome said, and stood up while placing Kirara on her shoulder and holding the wood.

"Let us return, then," Miroku said, and lead the way back to a camp where everyone else was starting to grow more even more suspicious.

That night the group was silent. No discussion, no talk. Even Shippou didn't say any thing. Miroku tried to liven things up by groping Sango, but all he received was a rather large lump and glares from everyone but Kagome. He gave up with a sigh, hoping that once everything was cleared up the group's dynamics would return to normal.

The next day and night passed in a similar manner. Miroku and Kagome left for wood again, but since feelings were running so high they didn't spend much time talking and simply gathered a great quantity of wood before returning. The next day, as they were approaching the village, Inuyasha broke.

"That's it, this is ridiculous! Someone tell me what in the hell is going on!" Inuyasha screamed this in a fairly loud voice, as he was rather aggravated.

"I wouldn't mind knowing either," Sango growled.

"I must leave it to Kagome to decide," Miroku said. Everyone's attention turned to the girl, Inuyasha glaring, Sango with a rather dark face, Miroku compassionate, and Shippou curious. Kirara bit a flea (it wasn't Myouga).

Kagome looked down at her feet. "Is there somewhere we can sit down?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and lead everyone to a nearby clearing where their conversations couldn't be overheard by the casual passerby.

"Miroku, why don't you say why you volunteered gathering wood the first time, and I'll explain from there," Kagome said. Her voice was filled with dread, and her heart was starting to beat more quickly. She tried to calm down while Miroku talked.

"I am not sure about everyone else, but I had noticed that Kagome had become rather quiet over the past few weeks. I suppose it happened so gradually that no one noticed, but something brought it to my attention, and since it wasn't getting better I decided to confront her," Miroku's voice drifted off. Everyone's eyes turned to Kagome.

Kagome started to fiddle with her hands. "The anniversary of my father's death is growing near, and it was bringing up a lot of issues for me. There is something that I have been keeping secret from you."

"Well, what is it?" Inuyasha asked in his normal irreverent voice. Miroku winced but said nothing.

"Back in my time, I am rather skilled at using many weapons," Kagome said this in a bit of a rush, but everyone caught it and looked at her disbelievingly. Well, everyone except for Miroku.

"You?" Inuyasha asked with a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"I haven't practiced in almost three years now, but yes," Kagome's voice was growing softer, and she was avoiding looking into anyone's eyes.

"Wait, you're serious about this? And you never told me?" Inuyasha's anger was starting to grow.

"I had reasons!" Kagome said in a strangled voice.

"Reasons more important then other people's lives? Then gathering the jewel shards? Were you just faking how much you sucked with shooting arrows? What else have you lied about?" Inuyasha shouted.

"I was wrong, all right? My teacher sucked with a bow and arrows and so he never taught me! I haven't lied about anything else, and the weapons I just never mentioned!" Kagome's voice was growing more strained.

"Inuyasha, if you would just—" Miroku started, but was cut off.

"No, I will not! I am not going to accept any more excuses from her!" Inuyasha shouted. Kagome gave a strangled sob, ran over to a Kirara that transformed without Kagome having to ask, and took Kagome back to the well. Miroku hit Inuyasha over the head with his staff, hard.

"You idiot! Do you know how much this has been troubling Kagome? She did have good reasons, and she just made a mistake like every other human being," Miroku said. "And you completely ignored what she said about her father!"

"Sango, don't you think that Kagome should have told us?" Inuyasha asked, going for support.

Sango, who had gone silent during his tirade, sighed. "I would like to hear more," she said, and her voice was sad. Kagome hadn't told her something that was truly important, and that really hurt her. She would have to hear more, especially from Kagome, before she understood.

"You sit," Miroku said sternly to Inuyasha. "Let me explain a little more. Kagome was really nervous about telling everyone else, and it didn't come out right. I practically had to force her to tell me everything as it was."

Inuyasha grumbled but he wanted to hear this before he yelled more. Shippou, who was watching with wide eyes, sat down by Sango sensing that it was the safest spot at the moment.

"Okay, you did catch the fact about her father's death, right?" Miroku asked. Sango nodded and Inuyasha grunted.

"Okay, her father was, from Kagome has told me, extremely skilled with weapons. It is a talent that has been passed down the generations, and she was chosen to be the heir to that learning. Souta, who came later, was to become the priest of the shrine." Miroku didn't mention anything about adoption as Kagome hadn't said a thing about it. "Now, Kagome became very gifted at what she did, but close to her thirteenth year her father was murdered by an unknown assailant. Kagome, who was understandably close to her father, was devastated. She brushed over that, but I could tell that his death really hit her hard and caused her to make some unwise decisions. You see, she thought that her father didn't try to get back to her family at all, and felt like she was betrayed. She decided that she wouldn't use any of his teachings and so refused to pick up any weapon and use it to fight that he had taught her. She didn't tell you when she first fell down the well, because frankly, you weren't that close. Later, she was embarrassed and didn't want everyone to be angry at her. Just so you know, she was considering breaking her oath and fighting just because she hated seeing everyone get hurt."

"That was dumb," was Inuyasha's comment.

"I can understand her reasoning, but why didn't she tell us?" Sango asked.

"Did you miss Inuyasha's reaction right now? I told her that everyone would listen, and that, while you wouldn't be happy she didn't trust you to understand, you would be able to react as adults. Apparently, that wasn't possible. She probably thinks that Inuyasha isn't going to forgive her." Miroku was glaring at Inuyasha.

"So Kagome didn't tell us because she thought we would get mad?" Shippou asked.

"No, she didn't tell us because she didn't want to lose us as friends," Miroku said.

"I guess I can understand then," Shippou said.

"Something else to consider is what if Kagome who has only gone up against human opponents, never trained to fight for her life, tried to go up against a real demon," Miroku said.

Everyone's faces blanched. Even Shippou understood the magnitude of that. "Kagome's going to get hurt!" Shippou wailed.

"She has her bow and arrows, stupid. Worse scenario she drops everything else and starts shooting at demons again as she normally does," Inuyasha said after a moment.

Until that moment they had been talking in the abstract, but then Shippou unconsciously looked over to Kagome's bag where her bow and arrows still rested.

"No she doesn't! She doesn't even have her bag! It's your fault if she dies, Inuyasha!" Shippou wailed. Everyone glanced to over the aforementioned items, and started to run. Inuyasha, being the fastest without Kirara there, ran to the well and sniffed. Kagome had made it through and Kirara in her smaller form was sitting on the well, glaring at him. Inuyasha tried to pick her up and received a vicious swipe of Kirara's claws.

"Hey, it's Kagome's fault!" Inuyasha yelled. Sango and Miroku, who came up gasping for air behind him, stopped to catch their breath. Shippou, who had been floating above them, popped back into his normal form.

"Let's go back to Kaede's hut and wait for her," Sango said after a moment.

"I am going to go find out what is going on now," Inuyasha said, and started to jump into the well, only to be stopped by Miroku.

"You can apologize the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day she honors her father now that I have helped her with her feelings, and maybe she will be more receptive to what you have to say the day after that. Sango, when she comes back do you think maybe we could train her so she doesn't try and get herself killed by the first demon she tries to fight close up?" Miroku asked.

Sango said, "I'll need to talk with her first to come to terms with everything, but I think so." Sango was still hurt, and needed to clear the air beforehand.

"Okay, now that that is settled, let's go talk to Kaede." Miroku said. The others followed him back to the village in silence as thoughts raced through their heads.

End of Chapter One

The next chapter is coming up soon, depending on things. Hope to hear from you and hope you have enjoyed the first chapter of the first book!