Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wishing Well ❯ The end of the beginning ( Chapter 24 )

Wishing Well

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Dragon Ball Z. Even my pants are on loan. Don't sue me.

Disclaimer: This is my first fic. Expect it to suck. Don't hurt me.

A/N: Okay so this isn't Red-eye Flight. Shh, all my ff.net fans, I'll get back to it soon.

Btw, don't be afraid to review. Please (begging on hands and knees).

O^_^O Ja ne! O^_^O

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The midday sun blazed over the tiny village next to Inuyasha's forest. Inside one hut, six people were packing a large yellow knapsack. Two small figures ran in circles in one corner of the room; in the center of the commotion sat a calm elderly woman. Finally one of the six figures was able to close the bag, although it took seven tries and much swearing. Another figure grabbed the bag and threw it on to its back.

"Ano, Inuyasha, are you sure you can carry that pack?" Kagome asked, examining the hanyou's posture critically. "You really exerted yourself last night and…uhm…over the past couple of days," she added lamely, blushing as last night's events ran through her head.

Inuyasha's smug chuckle brought her back to reality. His gaze had started to turn a warm honey color as he hefted the pack once again.

"After…the past couple of days," Inuyasha started, smirking when Kagome's blush deepened, "I could carry the village on my back and not feel it."

Kagome's face looked like a ripe tomato as Inuyasha chuckled again, and then bent his head to lightly nip her nose.

"I hate to interrupt you lovebirds but we kinda need to hurry," Sango stated, happy but impatient with curiosity.

"Ou, so you aren't a love bird too, koitori?" Miroku asked innocently, even as his hand groped Sango's buttocks familiarly.

While Sango stood blushing, unable to swat the monk behind her and not even daring to look into the eyes that she knew would be glimmering violet, he grinned broadly and kissed her temple.

"At this rate I'll never get home," Videl muttered impatiently.

"Hmm, we are on vacation Videl, we have at least two more months," Gohan murmured huskily in her ear, as his strong hands took the futon she was moving out of her grasp. He smirked as he heard her gasp.

Inuyasha overheard the comment, and asked Kagome a nagging question.

"Vacation? Is that why you stayed here so long this time Kagome?"

"Mmhmm, I don't have to go to school until the universities respond to my applications."

Inuyasha hid his eyes with his bangs.

"How long Kagome? How long until you leave me again?" he murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Kagome blinked, then placed the broom she had just picked up back in the corner. She cupped Inuyasha's cheek with her hand, bringing him closer.

"Inuyasha, it is my time, and I know you don't like it, but I don't want to go there alone now. I need you to come with me. I won't leave you waiting here alone."

Inuyasha's bangs moved up, then down, a bare fraction of an inch.

"Hai," he assented, rubbing his cheek into Kagome's warm palm, seeking comfort from her touch.

"Candy! Chocolate! Hurray!" Shippou chanted, utterly ruining the moment.

"Oi, brat, this isn't a party or parade or holiday outing, we're going to Gohan's world because his friend Bulma can examine us for the wild madness and stop it before it goes too far!" Inuyasha snarled at the russet fur ball, obviously upset about the change in mood.

"It is good to see that you remembered that, Inuyasha, but there is another reason for you to travel. Remember that the new moon will come in a few days. Considering the events of the past few days, I think you and the Shikon no Tama need to be somewhere safe. A different world with plenty of strong warriors willing to protect you is as safe as you can get," Kaede reminded him.

Inuyasha grumbled at the mention of the accursed moon cycle, as Gohan asked Miroku for details.

"During the night of the New Moon, Inuyasha's youkai blood wanes, and he turns fully human. He's very vulnerable in that state, as he cannot use Tetsusaiga," Miroku explained.

"Well then, Inuyasha now has three reasons to come to my time," Gohan reasoned, "One: to get tested/treated for rabies. Two: to hide out from his enemies while he is vulnerable. Three: to train with me so that he can protect himself during the next New Moon."

"Nani?" Inuyasha grunted grumpily, "What's all this training shit?"

Gohan frowned thoughtfully at Inuyasha's gruff response, before he realized the problem.

"You've never had a sensei have you, Inuyasha?"

"Feh. Who the hell would want to teach a hanyou how to defend or attack better, hn? Just to make it harder to kill him?"

"Well that ends right now! From today, you have a sensei who will teach you how to use the basics to make your own fighting style!" Gohan assured the hanyou, determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Well I can't do that here, so let's go!" Inuyasha grumbled, even as his twitching ears showed his curiosity at the prospect of proper training.

He turned to the door and uttered two harsh barks. In a few minutes, Ginta and Haggaku appeared, bowing low.

"Oh stop that," Inuyasha spat irritably. "I'm going to be gone for a while, about one moon cycle. Keep the clans in line and patrol the borders. Keep this village safe and don't let anyone mess around near the God Tree."

"Hai, Inuyasha-sama!"

"Dismissed."

With his lands taken care of, Inuyasha and the others turned towards the east. Kagome took her usual position, leaping onto Inuyasha's back and balancing the weight of the overstuffed pack. Videl was once again piggybacking on Gohan, who used his tail to latch her on securely. That left Sango and Miroku, who had no intention of letting his woman go today.

"Mou, Miroku, I can ride Kirara," Sango pointed out, literally, as Shippou sat on Kirara's now broad back.

"That's nice dear," Miroku replied benignly, totally ignoring her. He turned his back to her, grasped her hands, and then brought them up to entwine his neck. Before she could argue, light breezes billowed under his feet, pushing him into the air.

"Baka!" she murmured, blushing at the proximity of his back after last night's deeds.

"Hmm, I call this revenge for your, ah, forceful markings in that area last night," Miroku threw over his shoulder, causing her to blush more.

"You're still a baka," she mumbled, lightly nipping the back of his neck.

Miroku shuddered.

"Stop that, koitori, or we won't get there at all."

Sango looked like a cherry as they flew to the well.

An hour of traveling brought them to the clearing.

Inuyasha sniffed the area as he entered the glade, making sure that no surprise attacks were in store for the group. Satisfied, he let Kagome slip off of his back as Gohan, Miroku, and Kirara landed. Inuyasha stood thoughtfully for a few moments, then turned to the others.

"I really should claim this glade," he murmured, his eyes unfocused.

"Baka! Now that he owns a little land, he thinks he's a real lord, and he's trying to grab more land. Greedy," Shippou said wearily, shaking his head.

Bonk.

"Itai!"

"Osuwari!"

"Bitch…"

Miroku sighed. 'It seems some things will never change.'

"I'd claim the stupid land so I could keep others from near the well, kisama brat. That way no strange youkai or people will go hopping back and forth between the worlds," Inuyasha grumbled around a mouthful of dirt.

"Oh. Well, that's a good idea," Shippou conceded as Kagome helped Inuyasha to his feet. "That's a surprisingly good idea coming from you."

Bonk.

"Itai!"

"Osuwari!"

"Kuso…"

Miroku and Gohan helped Inuyasha up again while Kagome went to console the kit, who was busy whining to Kirara about mean hanyous who would stunt his growth because they were such bakas. Suddenly, they felt it.

"The well," Videl yelped, as she felt herself inexplicably drawn to it, "It's pulling me in!"

Gohan wrapped Videl's small hand in his.

"Looks like we're here in time. Ready?"

Sango held a now small Kirara in one arm, her other intertwined with Miroku's right hand. Kagome held the kit to her chest as Inuyasha's arm crept around her waist.

"On three," Gohan yelled to the others, "One, two, and three!"

Videl and Gohan jumped into the well, followed swiftly by Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. Inuyasha paused to make sure that no one was following them, then allowed Kagome and Shippou to tug him into the well.

The well opened like a gaping maw to swallow them in darkness.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ FIN _~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ WELL, MAYBE NOT_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The darkness was absolute, yet it seemed to roil about the company. There was no heat or cold, nothing could be heard or felt. The only sensation was a feather-light mental recognition of the flow of time. Gohan now understood how he and Videl fell into Inuyasha's world without noticing any changes. The whole atmosphere was slowing sending him to sleep…

Miroku woke with a start. One minute he, Sango, and Kirara were jumping into an old well; the next minute he was feeling bright hot sunlight on his eyes. He got up carefully, reluctantly releasing Sango's hand. A quick survey of the area showed him the dozing forms of the party at the bottom of the well. Bright sunlight streamed in from overhead. Squinting, Miroku turned his face upwards, catching sight of a bright, cloud-filled sky, with the sun high above.

Inuyasha's red form crept quietly beside Miroku.

"Nothing looks different," the former monk noted.

Inuyasha took in a large puff of air, and immediately passed out. The loud thud he made as he crashed to the ground woke Sango and Gohan up. The demi-Saiyan took a moment to scratch his butt, and stretch. He rolled up to his feet and padded towards the other males. He absently wondered what made the loud noise until he saw (rather blearily) the semi-comatose form of Inuyasha.

"Hey Miroku, what's up with him?"

"I don't know. He was fine a minute ago, then he breathed in deeply and woomph, out like a light. I haven't seen him like this since the Evil Ink Incident."

Gohan, who had paused to yawn and clear his head, soon joined Inuyasha on the floor. The loud thump he made succeeded in waking up Videl. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fuzz in her vision. After a few minutes of blinking and squinting, she finally caught sight of Miroku poking two prone figures with his staff.

"Miroku, what's the matter with them?" she asked worriedly.

"I think they are being overwhelmed by a scent in the air. While I'll admit that the atmosphere is slightly more aromatic…"

"You mean foul, don't you?"

"Well I wouldn't want to be disrespectful to your own dimension, Videl-sama."

"Cheap flattery again, Miroku? I thought I beat that habit out of you," Sango blandly stated, Hiraikotsu in her hand. Despite her habit of sleeping lightly, she became very irritable when roused violently. Kirara was rolled onto her back, scratching her nose and sneezing.

"Iie, koitori, cheap flattery was bred into me. But to be serious, I can't believe this light stench would cause Inuyasha and Gohan to faint. I mean, I can do the same thing and I'm sure I'll be fine. Observe."

In the shake of a lamb's tail, a swirly-eyed Miroku joined the other men on the ground. By this time, Gohan, who had been used to the smell for a number of years, had managed to rise to a sitting position. Inuyasha had just managed to roll onto his stomach and slowly raise his throbbing head. However, Miroku's rather violent descent to the ground finally caused Kagome to pry her eyes open. Kagome, acting on the instinct borne of two years' worth of traveling with Inuyasha, released a sleepy osuwari and started stretching. The anguished howl of the hanyou finally roused Shippou.

"Kuso, wench, my nose already feels like it's been bent out of shape! And you, brat, I'll beat the snot out of you if you don't stop laughing!" snarled the unfortunate inuhanyou as he craned his battered head from the spell-induced crater.

Kagome, finally paying attention to her surroundings, saw Sango fanning the air in front of Miroku, while Videl helped a groggy Gohan and Inuyasha to their feet and Shippou alternated between laughing wildly at Inuyasha and holding his nose in discomfort.

"What happened? Is everyone ok?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just happened to get sat for no good reason."

"Gomen, Inu-kun, but you're usually the one interrupting my sleep."

"That's cuz you sleep like the dead and I'm the only one who can survive the pain of trying to wake you up!"

"Mou, what was that baka inu?!"

"Kuso, bitch, when you go to sleep a tsunami could crash over your head and you wouldn't notice!"

"Watch it, baka you're treading around a good session of…"

"You say that accursed word and hurt my nose anymore and you can forget about Fang Tag tonight!"

In an attempt to drown out the violently arguing couple, Sango and Videl turned their attentions to the slowly reviving monk and the demi-Saiyan.

"Gohan the air has never smelt this bad before."

"On the contrary, koi, it has always smelt this bad, it's just that we're so accustomed to it that we've forgotten about it. After four days of inhaling the relatively clean air in Inuyasha's world, the reek of smog has become obvious again. Be thankful we weren't in the city, or you girls would have to roll the rest of us to an oxygen tank!"

"So why were you three unaffected at first? You only collapsed after a huge gulp of air," Sango inquired.

"That's cause we weren't quite awake yet. A big breath, however, caused our olfactory organs to be over stimulated; furthermore, there are a number of chemicals in the air connected to that stench that can cause human noses to burn. The hypersensitive inner linings of our noses were in a whole lot of pain as a result."

"And that's why, wench," Inuyasha muttered as he stomped over to the others with the pack over his shoulder and a fuming miko under his arm, "I now have a massive headache, so stop annoying me! Gohan, how'd you stand this stinking smog shit so long? No wonder you couldn't smell me when you first arrived."

"Your nose should compensate soon. Just breathe shallowly for a while."

"You mean breathe like a human."

"Exactly."

"Feh!"

"Now, Inuyasha…" Kagome began as she squirmed herself out of Inuyasha's loose grip

"Oi, I wasn't the one talking just now!"

"That was me," uttered a grumpy voice from the ground.

Sango's eyes blinked rapidly as the irritated monk stood up. She had to have imagined that. She refused to believe that Inuyasha's trademark expression had just slipped through the lips of her lover. She stared at her long-time fellow traveler/mate as he started up an angry tirade, idly wondering if she'd hit him one too many times with the Hiraikotsu.

"Now I have to re-learn breathing like a human. Hu-fucking-rrah! I wonder what other joyous surprises my bloodline has in store for me. First I spend 20 years wondering when the family curse is going to kill me, now I've got youkai blood wandering about my veins on some twisted pilgrimage. Only Kami knows…"

"It's Dende, actually. Kami sorta retired. But don't be too hard on him, he's still kinda new to the whole deity thing."

Everyone but Gohan blinked in astonishment as they tried to locate the origin of the voice. They realized that the demi-Saiyan was staring at the top of the well, the patented Son grin on his face. Their eyes scaled upwards to find two brilliant Son grins reflecting the sunlight. The faces behind the grins were identical, as were the hairstyles above the heads. The only difference between the two visages was that one was the eight-year-old version of the other. A quick look between Gohan and these two new figures revealed the blatant resemblance.

"Hiya, Tousan! Whassup, Goten?"

"Yo Ani-chan! You had Kaasan worried!"

The others were surprised to see Gohan flinch. Considering his past, he should be immune to fear. His father and brother just snickered.

"Don't worry son, my head broke the pan this morning."

Gohan's grin would have lit up Las Vegas.

"Now hurry up and get outta there, Chi's almost done cooking lunch and the Royal Saiyan Pain in the Ass is at the house!"

"Bulma is there too?"

"Yup, plus 18, Krillen, Piccolo…the gang's all there!"

Videl still wasn't sure what happened, but somehow all eight of them were suddenly in the small clearing surrounding the well. She saw Gohan drop the yellow pack and a loud red bundle on the ground, then bounce from one foot to the other in excitement just before Goten jumped into her lap, enthusiastically hugging and kissing her.

"Oi, nee-chan! You smell like Ani-chan," the youngest demi-Saiyan whispered suspiciously. Videl's face was immediately painted in a flattering shade of firehouse red.

"At least you didn't have to hear the two of them. I couldn't sleep all night!" Shippou complained loudly, having overheard the comment.

"Finally! I swore I'd have to lock the two of them in a box or something!"

Inuyasha smirked, Miroku, who'd finally revived, grinned, and the girls giggled coyly. They all held the older demi-Saiyan back, allowing Shippou and Goten to escape, while Goku proceeded to scoop the young warrior girl up in a huge, spine-shattering bear hug.

"Welcome to the Son family, Videl! I knew Gohan wouldn't chicken out of it this time."

"Tousan!" wailed the poor teenager, his face a bright crimson that complimented his mate's current complexion.

"What? Chi was wondering if you'd ever stop ruining the blankets," Goku called out over his back, a large smirk plastered all over his face.

"You've been sparring with Vegeta too long."

Goku started to agree, when he caught sight of Inuyasha. Videl suddenly found herself on the ground. Inuyasha just as suddenly found himself gasping for breath as he heard various vertebrae pop under the unexpected pressure.

"Inuyasha!!!!! You're alive, you're alive, you're alive, you're alive, you're alive…!" the (allegedly) adult Saiyan began to chant, jumping up and down and crushing the poor hanyou.

"Not for long if you don't lemme go, baka!" Inuyasha managed to gasp, feeling like a branch in a typhoon. He swore he could hear his brain rattling in his skull.

"Oops, sorry," Goku replied, letting Inuyasha crash bonelessly to the ground. Gohan and Miroku were rolling on the floor in laughter as the hanyou probed his back for crushed bones.

"You two are looking for a pounding," he grumbled as he picked himself up, waving off Kagome's helping hand. "When I can feel my back again, I'll…"

Suddenly, the clearing was filled with a huge roar, a sound so loud and frightening that the birds left the treetops in a squawking flurry of feathers and Inuyasha shut up instantly. Everyone had a large sweat drop over their forehead as the three Saiyans held their stomachs.

"Looks like we're ready for lunch, even if it isn't ready for us," Goku chuckled out, as all three Son males stood with the trademark grin on their face and their hands behind their heads. "Could you hold off beating up my son and…uh…"

"Miroku," the monk supplied. "Since your son doesn't seem capable of making introductions."

Gohan remembered his manners and quelled his laughter.

"Lemme tell you everyone's name, then we can go eat. Miroku just saved me an introduction, and you already know Videl and Inuyasha. The girl with the oversized boomerang," here Gohan paused to dodge a wayward blow from the taiji-ya, "is Sango and the other one in the school uniform is Kagome. The fox boy conspiring with the squirt is Shippou, and the little cutie rubbing your leg is Kirara," he finished, as Goku bent down to scratch the cat's back.

"Pleased to meet you all! I'm Son Goku and this is my younger son, Goten. Welcome to 21st century Chikyuu!" Here he paused and cocked his head to a side, as if listening intently. Chuckling, he turned his attention back to the others.

"Chi-chi's anxious to see her new daughter-in-law and her son's new friends, so I'm inviting all of you to come and meet the rest of the gang." Everyone readily agreed; after all, they had come specifically to meet Bulma and ask for help from her and Gohan's fellow warriors.

"Instant Transmission, Dad?" Gohan asked, grabbing Goten by the back of his pants with one hand and cuddling the (re-) embarrassed daughter of Hercule under the other.

"Yep. Everyone grab hold of someone else."

Inuyasha threw the pack over his shoulder and reached out to embrace Kagome with his free hand. Shippou scrambled onto his head while Miroku tucked Kirara safely in the crook of his elbow and wrapped his other arm around Sango's waist. Kagome and Videl linked arms with Sango, who stood in between them. Goku looked around approvingly, then slapped a reassuringly strong hand onto his elder son's shoulder.

The clearing became serene once more as Goku raised his free hand to his head and the entire group winked out of existence.