Light within the Darkness

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho... though a girl can dream can't she?

Chapter Twenty Two: Consequences

Kagome raced to Genkai's temple, her worry quickly building. After Kurama and Yusuke disappeared, she quickly told her friends she would be back after she made sure the boys were alright. Upon arriving to her time, she was confused to find herself dropped in the middle of the city down a secluded back alley. She'd searched the entire surrounding area but found no trace of Kurama or Yusuke. Giving up on searching in the area she'd arrived, she hurried home thinking the avatar may be there waiting for her. The house was empty, even Kokoda wasn't there. She began to panic as she made her way to Yusuke's house only to find the building empty as well. Her next stop was Genkai's and she wasn't sure what she would do next if she found the temple barren. Finally clearing the steps, she let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Yukina sweeping the yard.

"Kagome! You're covered in blood!" the koorime gasped, hurrying to her side with worry etched all over her face. "What happened? Where are you hurt? What is that smell?"

The miko shook her head as she tried to catch her breath. "I'm fine… final battle…almost got eaten by one of Kurama's plants... my injuries are slowly healing but none are life threatening. Have you seen Yusuke and Kurama?" she quickly asked, her eyes scanning the property.

The ice maiden shook her head. "Not today, what's going on?"

"I can't find them. You know the fight I've been training with Hiei to prepare for? It happened this morning… and somehow Kurama and Yusuke got there and helped us win. But the moment the coast was clear, they suddenly disappeared."

"Those idiots." Kagome and Yukina glanced toward where they heard Genkai groan in irritation. "They went to the feudal era?"

The miko nodded. "I don't know how though, do you know where they are?"

A grim expression pulled at her wrinkled face. "I have an idea…"

Before Kagome could drag the information out of the old woman, Botan 'popped' in on her oar. "Kagome! It's terrible!"

"Botan! What's going on? Where are Kurama and Yusuke?!"

"King Enma had them transported to Reiki. I hurried here as fast as I could after I found out from Koenma what's going on. King Enma is arresting them!"

"For what?!" she snapped, anger quickly replacing her earlier concern.

"I don't know the details but something about them jeopardizing the time line." She explained, trying to recall what Koenma had muttered to her before ordering her to find Kagome as quickly as possible. "Koenma told me to find you, he said you might be able to stop this."

"Take me there right now." The miko demanded, her blood boiling. How dare King Enma try to convict her brother and boyfriend of a crime when they just helped save the future. Botan quickly opened a portal and ushered her through. Upon arriving to the spirit realm, Kagome focused her gaze on Koenma who was pacing back and forth across his desk. "What the hell is going on Koenma?" she snarled.

"My father arrested Kurama and Yusuke for going against orders. Time traveling is forbidden because of the risks and effects it can have on the present time line. There was nothing I could do to keep my father from finding out, he was alerted the moment they left this time. He is sentencing them to three hundred years in Reiki prison." He explained, his voice gradually becoming softer as he watched the rage build in the miko's narrowed eyes. He had not seen Kagome that angry… ever. And considering how distance and cold she was when he first met her, that was saying quite a bit.

Kagome spread her aura through the building in search of the boys' auras. Easily finding them along with another massive aura she assumed was the king, she stormed toward the door.

"Kagome where are you going?!" Koenma screeched, panic flooding through him, maybe bringing Kagome here wasn't the greatest idea…. She looked ready to confront his father directly. He had merely hoped she had a plan to convince his father not to sentence his detectives.

"I'm going to talk to the king." She snapped, her attention focused on the three auras that seemed to be in the same room.

"You can't do that! My father is not someone you want to start a fight with!" he quickly followed the miko, trying to stop her but in his toddler form he could barley keep up. "Please Kagome! He'll lock you up too!"

"I'd like to see him try." She growled, leaving the prince in her dust as she quickened her pace toward what she now assumed was the king's private office, if the guards stationed at the door were any indication. Directing a glare to the two guards, she crossed her arms over her chest as she came to a stop in front of them. "I need to see King Enma."

"Sorry miss but the King is not seeing anyone at this time." The guard on the left stated, mimicking her stance and crossing his arms over his chest as well.

"I don't care, you will allow me to pass." she snarled, her purification rising to the surface of her skin in warning.

"We cannot allow you to pass Miko, you will need to make an appointment to see the King." the guard to the right piped up, glaring down at her.

Her patience wearing thin, she proceeded forward without another word. Both guards made to stop her but her powers burst to life, throwing them several feet down the hall behind her. Kicking the door open, she stormed inside and felt her rage blow through the roof when her gaze landed on Kurama and Yusuke in chains similar to those that Naraku had placed on her.

"Kagome!"

Ignoring their shocked expressions, she turned her deadly gaze to the oversized man standing across from the two demons she sought to rescue. "How dare you take them prisoner and convict them of crimes when they just assisted with saving this era!" she snapped.

"Miko, you are out of line. You have no right to enter my office without first being summoned. Leave and return when I call upon you." the King demanded, not even bothering to glance in her direction.

Her fury only building, she sensed the two guards she'd dismissed earlier approaching her from behind. Throwing up a barrier, she shoved them back out the door and kept the shield intact to prevent any others from entering. "You will release Yusuke and Kurama. Now." she spoke up, her gaze still on the King.

"These two have been sentenced to three hundred years in the Reiki prison for disobeying orders, breaking the law of time travel, and risking the time line as we know it. Time traveling is strictly prohibited." he snapped, now turning his fierce gaze to the little miko. "They are lucky I did not sentence them to death for this treason."

Yusuke and Kurama could see the pure rage burning in her ocean blue eyes, they'd never seen her this angry before and quickly began to worry. They watched in horror as she stormed toward the King's desk and shoved her arm into the air. Squinting to see what she held in her grasp, they panicked when they realized it was the Shikon Jewel.

"Kagome, don't!"

"Just drop it Kags!"

"I will never let him arrest you two for something like this! You hear me Enma?! I've been time traveling for over three years! Why am I not being arrested for time traveling if it is such a forbidden act?! And do not give me an excuse of the Shikon journey being a part of my destiny because if that is the case then these two were also destined to come to my rescue. Reiki exists to keep balance and peace between the three realms but all I see is a spoiled King that thinks he can do whatever he pleases! They came to my aid to save our era! If they hadn't come and helped us defeat Naraku, he would have won the jewel and this time would be changed anyway!" she yelled angrily, "If you do not release them and clear their records of whatever 'crimes' you pinned on them, I will wish on the jewel that I had died in the battle and Naraku won. If Naraku has the jewel, Reiki will never come to exist and demons will forever rule the world." she threatened as she pushed her energy into the jewel to show the King just how serious she was.

"You would give your own life and doom the entire world to Naraku's wrath just to save two criminals?" he mused, watching her closely.

"Without a second thought or regret. They are everything to me so if you take them away, I have nothing else to lose." she stated, her stance firm.

The King remained silent as he continued to watch her, the little miko's chest heaving from her pure anger over the situation. After several moments of silence, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Alright miko. I will clear their records under one condition; you take their time upon yourself and work as a member of my son's team."

"Deal." she answered without hesitation.

The chains suddenly felt to the ground and she tore her gaze from the King. Rushing toward them, she threw her arms around them both. Pulling away, she gestured toward the door, "Let's get out of here before he changes his mind." she muttered before quickly leading the way back to Koenma's office. Upon entering, the demigod and his ferry worker bombarded them with questions of what happened.

"He allowed us to be released of our crimes if Kagome agreed to take our sentence upon herself." Kurama muttered, not completely happy with the outcome of the situation.

"So Kagome is to be imprisoned for three hundred years..." Botan felt tears well up in her eyes.

"No, I am to work as a spirit detective for three hundred years." she elaborated.

Koenma sighed in relief. "How did you possibly convince my father to agree to those terms?"

"She threatened to basically destroy all three realms." Yusuke chuckled as he pulled the still raging miko into his arms. "That was hot as hell babe but please don't do that again. You know Enma could have killed you in the blink of an eye right? And what about your friends in the past? They would have been screwed if you made that wish."

"He wouldn't have dared take Kagome's life, she is the guardian of the Shikon and the only one that can keep it pure. Without her, the jewel will be corrupt once more and draw on the darkness of others. We don't need a repeat of Naraku in this time and he knows that." Koenma explained. "Seems he didn't have much of a choice in the matter."

The miko lifted the jewel once more for them to see, "And I couldn't have made such a wish, the jewel is still missing one shard."

Yusuke chuckled. "You lied straight through your teeth. Hell even we believed you."

"Can we go home please? I'm still fuming... I feel like going back in there and roasting him for daring to say he could have sentenced them to death instead. How dare he make it seem like he was going easy on them." she growled.

Koenma requested Botan open them a portal back to Yusuke's home. Once there, Kagome forced her anger to slowly disipate. Shoving the jewel back under the neck line of her shirt, she took a deep breath. Yusuke's arm snaked around her waist and she turned her attention up to him, feeling the last of her anger slip away. "Let's go take a shower, we're still covered in blood... and you in plant drool..." Yusuke murmured, a teasing smile on his face.

A blush burned her cheeks as she stared up at him with wide eyes. "To... Together? Like at the same time?"

He chuckled at her reaction. "Unless you want to shower alone."

She glanced toward her step brother and he smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine, I will shower after you two."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded slightly and allowed Yusuke to lead her to the bathroom. He turned on the water before briefly stepping out to retrieve clothes for them to wear. Closing the door behind him, he removed his shirt before his gaze fell to the fidgeting miko. "I'll behave myself babe, I promise we will just shower." he smiled reassuringly as he took her face into his hand gently and kissed her softly. She returned his smile and nodded before slowly removing her clothes as well. Just as he'd promised, the detective behaved himself. He tenderly washed the blood and grime from her skin, careful to avoid the deeper wounds that were still slowly healing. Once they were both clean and all signs of the battle they'd just fought were gone, the miko wrapped her arms around Yusuke and rested her head against his chest as they enjoyed the warm water beating down on them.

"I was so scared I'd lose you..." she murmured.

His arms tightened around her as he kissed the top of her now clean hair. "I can't even explain the fear I felt when we found out Naraku had captured you... and when he wrote in your journal with your blood..." a growl rumbled in his chest.

She snuggled closer to him in an attempt to calm the rage she sensed rising within him. "It's over now, Naraku is dead. He didn't have the chance to truly harm me. You arrived quickly enough. When Botan told me you two were detained and being charged with crimes that would sentence you to prison time, I feared I'd never see either of you again. But I couldn't allow that to happen... not after we just completed the mission that has been chaining me down for so long."

"Let's think about this later, for now it's over. We should let Kurama take a shower and I think you should go back to let your friends know everything is alright. Let's wrap this up so we can finally relax." he murmured as he took her chin in his hand and turned her face up so he could steal a quick kiss. She smiled up at him and nodded before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower. Grabbing her towel, she wrapped it around her body. Grabbing the second towel, she turned to hand it to her boyfriend but stopped at the look he was pinning her with. A blush powdered her cheeks at the smirk on his face. "Babe. You're so sexy." he growled as he took the towel she offered. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her more passionately.

By the time he pulled away, she was breathless and the steam filled bathroom was flooded with the scent of her arousal. "Yusuke... I'm sure Kurama doesn't want to smell this while he's taking a shower." she scolded.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you're not talking your way out of this next time." The desire she saw in his eyes caused her stomach to do sumersalts.

She quickly got dressed into the pair of boxers and tshirt he'd brought for her to wear before exiting the bathroom. If she didn't put some distance between them, she was going to jump the detective. Entering the living room, she smiled toward her step brother. "Your turn. I'm going back to tell Sango and the others that everything is ok. I should be back before you're finished cleaning up."

"Alright, be careful." he returned her smile before disappearing down the hall.

Yusuke joined her in the living room as she was pondering her current state of dress. She was sure her friends of the past would wonder about the clothing she was wearing but she honestly didn't care at the moment. She just wanted them to know everything was alright and that she would come back in a few days to make sure everything was wrapped up on that end of the timeline and discuss what they were going to do about Kohaku. Glancing toward Yusuke as he plopped down on the couch, she made her way toward him and kissed his cheek. "I'll be right back."

When Kagome returned to the past, she found herself back at the campgrounds they'd set up in preparation for the battle. A slight sigh escaped her at the mere thought of all the traps and efforts they'd put into the surrounding area. Weeks of preparations gone to waste because she hadn't paid better attention and allowed herself to be kidnapped. If Yusuke and Kurama hadn't come to their aid... she was certain they wouldn't have been able to defeat Naraku on his own terf. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she treked toward where she could heard her friends packing things up. Upon entering the clearing, Sango dropped everything she was doing and rushed over to her.

"Kagome! Is everything alright with your mate and brother?" she quickly asked as the others also gathered around them.

"Yes, Reiki tried to arrest them for illegal time travel and going against orders but I was able to bargain their release." she explained with a smile.

"What was the bargin?" Miroku questioned curiously.

"That I join the Spirit Detectives, which is the team they are both on that keeps the human realm safe. Oh and that I don't wish on the jewel that Naraku had won the battle and destroy the future as we all know it." she grinned innocently.

They laughed humorlessly. "Well that's one way to do it I guess..." Sango muttered. "He must not have noticed the jewel is not yet fully intact."

"Apparently not. And I wouldn't actually have wished on the jewel. But King Enma doesn't know that. I was quite convincing."

"Yea yea wench, glad you were able to save your lover boy and the weasel. What the hell are you wearing?" the hanyou questioned, looking at her clothing in complete confusion. "Your time has such odd clothing."

She rolled her eyes at him "It's Yusuke's clothes, I didn't have anything else to wear and my other clothes were covered in blood."

"You're wearing his clothes hmmmm?" Miroku grinned suggestively.

Sango smacked the back of his head before smiling toward the miko. "I like him Kagome, he is perfect for you."

The miko smiled brightly. "Thank you Sango, he makes me very happy. So what are you guys doing?"

"We're packing up and heading back to the village." Inuyasha piped up.

"Kaede's village?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, we are going to rebuild the village." Miroku smiled softly.

"And we are going to welcome anyone and everyone that is in search of a place to call home. Demons, hanyous, humans... the newly built village will not discriminate against blood or species." Sango elaborated.

Tears welled up in her eyes as Inuyasha smirked and nodded in agreement. "You guys..."

"We've been thinking about it for some time Kagome, and the idea was actually inspired by you and your kind heart. We know that you will not be able to continue to visit us here for much longer now that your mission with the jewel is almost complete... so we want to build something that will continue to remind us of you." Sango said, tears brimming her eyes as well as she pulled the miko into a tight hug.

"I'm not leaving for good yet. As long as I'm allowed, I will continue to come back and visit you guys. And we still need to figure out how to help Kohaku."

"You better wench, I'm not going to deal with the little runt crying over never seeing you again." Inuyasha complained as he returned to cleaning up the campsite.

She rolled her eyes at the hanyou. "I'm so glad you care about Shippo's feelings Inuyasha. Anyway, I just wanted to come and let you guys know that everything is alright. I'll come back in a few days to help with the rebuilding of the village."

"We will have a celebration when you return, for our victory." Miroku smiled, "No need to rush back, enjoy your time with your mate to be." he winked.

Holding back her blush at his comment, she hugged the monk and slayer before making her way to Inuyasha and hugging him as well. "I will see you guys in a few days. Travel safe, Koenma will be watching the history book still to make sure you arrive safely. I'll know if something goes array. I'll also speak with him about what can be done for Kohaku." she smiled before activating her necklace and disappearing from sight.

The miko wasn't surprised to see Yusuke playing video games when she returned. She could still hear the shower running and knew she'd returned before Kurama had finished cleaning up just as she assumed. Settling herself on the couch beside the detective, she snuggle up against his side. He moved his arm around her and repositioned himself so he could play and hold her at the same time. "How did it go?"

"They're packing up camp and heading back to the village."

"Wait... the village of your friend that was burned down?" he asked curiously, hoping it didn't cause her pain that he was bringing it up.

She nodded. "They are going to rebuild it."

"Well that's good. You going to go back and help them?"

"In a few days yes. But for now, I just want to enjoy some time with you and Kurama." she stated as a yawn escaped her.

Yusuke glanced at the time and realized it was quiet late. It'd been a long day, he didn't blame the little miko for being exhausted. "When Kurama gets out, how about I walk you both home?" he suggested.

"Only if you spend the night." Glancing down at the woman, he rolled his eyes at the pout on her face.

"Are your parents going to be alright with that?"

"They already know you two are dating, but I don't think my mother would approve you sleeping in her room. We'll just have to sneak you through her window." Kurama said as he entered the room, still towel drying his long crimson hair.

She nodded. "Guess we're sneaking you in then."

Yusuke sighed but agreed. "We should get our own place." he muttered as he turned off the game and prepared to leave. Sensing their gazes on him, he turned to see both the avatar and miko staring at him with surprised eyes. "I mean in the future, you know, after we're mates and stuff." he hurried to elaborate.

Kagome giggled at him as he scrambled for words. "We know what you mean Yusuke."

He scowled at her teasing as he ushered the siblings out the door. "Let's go, I'm exhausted from saving the world... again."

A/N:

Sorry its short... Im terrible at endings lol almost as bad as I am at writing fighting scenes but I hope everyone enjoyed! This was definitely a fun one to write, makes me wish there were more Yusuke/Kagome pairing fics cause I loved writing this pairing. Anywho keep an eye out for my next fic Destiny :) it'll be a Youko/Kagome/Kurama pairing... who doesnt love that pairing lol. Love you all and thank you so much for all of your support! Til next time ;)