Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: A special thank you to Midnight Melody for reading/reviewing and Mini Moon, my USM sis, for reading and telling me what you think of this fic!

Thank you to everyone else who read! I'm glad you at least gave my fic the time to check out!

I AM SO Sorry I haven't been able to update! I have been working 6 days a week, at least 5 hours a day if not more and I have school, so I haven't had any free time! Please Stick with me! And if you ever need to know the status of my fics, you can always go to my profile page.

Some info you should know: The last shikon shard was used (episodes 166-67) which the sacred jewel cannot be completed now. Koga and Kohaku still have their respective shards.

Vocabulary-

Miko- priestess

Fun with the IY gang:

Shippo: -looks pensive and serious- "What is the difference between Inuyasha's sword and Sesshomaru's sword?"

Miroku: "About three centimeters."

Inuyasha: -Whips out Tetsusaiga- "It's pretty obvious that mine is bigger!"

Kagome: "Miroku, were you being perverted just now?"

Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha look at Kagome curiously.

Miroku: "I don't know, Kagome, was I?"

Kagome: -blushes and laughs nervously- "Nevermind."

Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha are confused.

Miroku:Grin:

Chapter 7

Inuyasha threw down Kagome's backpack and shouted, "NO! NO WAY IN HELL! I am taking you back for your safety, not to throw yourself at Naraku! Dammit, Kagome! What the hell are you thinking! Do you really think I would let you do something that stupid and dangerous!" "Inuyasha, just hear me out, please." Kagome pleaded. Inuyasha "keh'd" and crossed his arms over his chest. Kagome continued, "What else are we supposed to do? This is a surefire way to get him. I can't take it anymore, the way Naraku twists everything and causes trouble for everyone! He needs to be stopped! All of our lives depend on Naraku's defeat! Miroku's life is threatened because of his wind tunnel! Sango can't even be with her brother! I keep missing school! None of us can go on with our lives because we're consumed with revenge against Naraku!" "Kagome, you don't have to be a part of any of it!" Inuyasha stated. "Don't you see, I am a part of it! Naraku's hurt everyone I care about! All of us are putting our lives in danger for him. What's the difference if I place myself as a decoy? He's after us anyway! He's going to come after us!"

"And we'll fight him and defeat him! Kagome, I have to protect you!"

"And you will, Inuyasha! I know none of you will let me get hurt."

Inuaysha's ears flattened against his head and he looked crestfallen. He spoke softly and seriously, "But, Naraku already did hurt you. He killed you once and we were all powerless to stop it." "Then, I need to learn to defend myself. My sacred arrows aren't enough." Kagome stated. Inuyasha eyed Kagome curiously. She elaborated, "Inuyasha, I am a miko after all. I come from a long line of priests in my family; I live on a shrine, you know and I have spiritual powers of my own. I just need to learn how to use them. I'm sure Kaede could teach me how to harness my own power." "I've seen you fight before. You almost defeated Naraku once. That time, you fought nearly as good as me." Inuyasha stated. Kagome smiled at him, "Well, see then. Even you have confidence in me. So, what do you say? We'll plan everything out and finish off Naraku once and for all."

Inuyasha shook his head. He couldn't believe he was actually agreeing to this. He only hoped they could get all this shit done before Naraku attacked them. Inuyasha was never one to stand by and strategize. He relies on action. He looked at Kagome with a straight face. She seemed so sure of herself, but he knew she had to be frightened putting herself on the line. It just showed what a wonderful person she was and how much she cared about him- them all. Inuyasha shook his head from his thoughts and said, "C'mon. Let's get going. Everyone's waiting." Kagome was excited. She missed everyone so much and couldn't wait to see them!

Everyone surrounded the well. Shippo launched himself at Kagome. Tears were in his eyes and Kagome held him close to her. She squeezed him tightly and assured, "I'm not going anywhere this time." "What about your school, though?" Shippo questioned. "It'll have to wait. This is more important. All of our lives can continue once we defeat Naraku. Just, promise me we won't lose touch after it all, like last time." Kagome replied. They all nodded in agreement. "It's so great to have you back. Inuyasha and Koga were driving us all crazy." Sango stated. Inuyasha grumbled rather audibly at Sango's comment. "Yes, nothing's right without you, Kagome." Miroku added. Koga approached Kagome next, "Stupid Mutt-face. I told him to bring you back sooner." "I'm here now, that's all that matters." Kagome replied.

Kagome went to see Kaede. She wanted to speak to her before she told the others that she had planned to learn to defend herself when she was used as a decoy to lure Naraku. However, there was still the dilemma about Naraku's heart.

After speaking with Kaede, Kagome had wished that Kikyo was still alive. Kaede told her that Kagome's spiritual powers match those of Kikyo's, but Kikyo was much more experienced and her powers highly exceed Kagome's. She had to learn in weeks what took Kikyo years to perfect. Kagome felt inadequate. Maybe she simply did not possess spiritual powers as strong as Kikyo's. Maybe she wasn't mature enough in age to achieve what Kikyo did. Either way, she decided that developing and strengthening her powers was the only way to defeat Naraku.

At sunrise, Kagome practiced shooting her arrows at a wooden stump. "Kagome, I think you have pretty much mastered the sacred arrow technique." Kaede stated. "It's not that, it's my aim. I still miss sometimes." Kagome stated. "I think it's time to test on a moving target." Kaede suggested.

"You want me to ride a horse!" Kagome shouted. "Yes, shoot arrows at the targets while riding a horse. It's fairly easy. I can demonstrate for you, but please keep my age in mind." Kaede explained. "No, it's just…I won't be riding a horse when we fight; I would shoot from Kirara or Inuyasha maybe." Kagome thought aloud. "Okay, we'll have you ride on Inuyasha, I just thought the horse would be more cooperative. The point is you need to perfect your aim on a moving target." "That's true, the way Naraku darts around all the time. How can we stop him from retreating?"

"Well, you and Miroku could use your powers to create a barrier around your battle area."

"So now I have to learn to create a barrier?"

"Yes, and one strong enough to contain Naraku."

"The only problem is, not even my sister Kikyo created barriers…not until after she was resurrected."

Kagome looked crestfallen at that point. She kept feeling like she was being compared to Kikyo again….not only that, but Kikyo was gone now; Inuyasha looked so depressed sometimes when she knew he was thinking about it. "Okay, well let's work on my aim first. Let's try with Kirara." Kagome suggested.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Meanwhile 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-(Naraku's theme music plays)

"Dammit, I can no longer sustain my body without my heart. Damn you, Midoriko, your spirit within the jewel is trying to purify me. I can keep the jewel at bay, but only with my heart intact…" Naraku tried not to appear worried in front of his minions. He smirked, thinking, I am still stronger than Inuyasha and his friends. I should attack soon and finish off that girl…At this point, it would not be a good idea to bide my time. "Kukukkukuku…" Naraku chuckled. "Have you a plan, Master Naraku?" Kohaku inquired.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Don't get impatient with me, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. "Look, I'm being realistic! You can't just shoot at the targets as we're running by! Naraku is going to be coming at us from all sides and moving around constantly!" He scolded. "I KNOW THAT!" She roared. Inuyasha jerked her off his back and yelled, "DON'T YELL IN MY EARS!" "That's enough practice for today," Kaede interrupted, "We'll continue our lesson at dawn."

Kagome sat by the riverbank. She remembered Kaede said that Kikyo had unusually strong spiritual powers, even for a priestess. "That doesn't matter; I am me, no one else. I will defeat Naraku with my own spiritual powers." She thought aloud. However, if Kikyo's love for Inuyasha weakened her spiritual powers, will my feelings for Inuyasha affect my abilities? She pondered silently as she collected some water in a wooden bucket.

"Don't you think maybe you were a little hard on her." Miroku stated as he looked on at the discouraged teenager. "Not at all! She's going to get her ass killed if I don't push her!" Inuyasha shouted. He knew he was being tough on her, but he just didn't want to see her get killed….

In the morning, Kagome met Kaede deep in the forest for practice this time. "Are we going to slay random demons?" Kagome inquired. The elderly miko chuckled lightly and replied, "No, I think ye do enough of that with Inuyasha. Well, ye already know how to attack with the body of the bow and shoot a sacred arrow. We just need to work on your purifying power and flat palm strike." "And my aim," Kagome added, "I still keep missing." "Kagome, you are not yet a master archer. You've only been shooting arrows for about two years. You are quite good. Don't be hard on yourself." Kaede assured.

"Now, the flat palm strike was one ye have done once before when Mistress Centipede attacked you. Do ye remember? "

"Yes, I do. That was sort of involuntary though."

"We are going to teach you how to harness and control that power at will, as you do the sacred arrow."

"And purifying power?"

"Well, ye naturally purified jewel fragments. This purifying power will be used in battle through the flat palm strike."

Kagome saw the familiar purple light burst from her palm. She jumped, a little surprised at the intensity of her own power. "Now, if there were a demon there, you would shock him. You can grab hold of a demon and shock him that way, too. If you willed it, it would blow the demon into pieces." Kaede stated. I thought I was only able to do that to Mistress Centipede because the shikon no tama was in my body. I guess that was my own powers after all. Kagome thought. "We've made much progress today, Kagome. Now, tomorrow I will teach you something you may or may not want to learn. Until then, practice your aim again." Kagome looked at Kaede quizzically. She would find out soon enough.

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A/N: I'm sorry I haven't been updating! I haven't had any time or inspiration. I'm going to leave the chapter right here for now. I'm sorry, I know it's not the best place to stop, but I need to update before people think I've abandoned this fic lol. I promise you I am working on it and I'm actually thinking of creating a new fic hehehe. Joy! Please review. School starts tomorrow, but I should find time to work on this fic, can't say exactly when I'll update though. Next chapter will make a lot of progress I promise. This fic is almost complete! Believe me or not lol. R+R! It motivates me ;-)