InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ In Pursuit of the Green Dragon ❯ Farewells ( Chapter 35 )

On the road between Kasama and Edo villages

"…I wish I could take you to Brother's favorite bakery in East City, Kagome-chan. They make these amazing doughnuts, filled with homemade raspberry jam. Brother actually made himself sick--several times-- from eating an entire bag--"

"HEY!" came Ed's indignant voice from inside the iron carriage, where it was his turn to drive.

"--anyhow, the cinnamon buns there are really good, too," Alphonse continued without missing a beat. "And the cheesecake--do you like cheesecake, Kagome-chan?"

Inuyasha hunched a little, trying to drown out Alphonse-fucking-Elric's relentlessly cheerful voice, and decided to scout ahead.

As he bounded ahead of the group, he heard Miroku asking, "Where's Inuyasha going? Is something wrong? Are more youkai coming?"

Keh, thought Inuyasha. He'd fucking welcome another youkai attack at this point, if it would only force Alphonse to get the hell away from Kagome for a few minutes.

Their group had left Kasama village yesterday morning, on their way back to the Bone-eater's Well, and Inuyasha had quickly found himself in hell.

Miroku had once described the Buddhist hell to Inuyasha as a series of caverns, divided into the Eight Hot Hells and the Eight Cold Hells.

The monk hadn't known what the fuck he'd been talking about, Inuyasha decided.

Hell wasn't any fucking cave.

Hell was traveling with a completed Shikon-no-Tama, and having to fend off youkai attacks several times an hour, while simultaneously being forced to watch that too-tall foreign bastard shamelessly hitting on Kagome.

Hell was Alphonse constantly finding excuses to touch Kagome, damn it!

Not the kind of perverted groping that Miroku indulged in, which would have given Inuyasha a perfect excuse to slug the tall bastard, but little touches to Kagome's arm, to her shoulder, and even the small of her back. That last was a not-so-subtly possessive gesture that made Inuyasha grind his teeth in frustrated rage.

Must not kill, he kept reminding himself. Must not maim.

But it was awfully tempting.

And, last but definitely not least, oh no, Hell was witnessing Kikyo being entirely too interested in making friends with the tall bastard's brother.

In fact, the two of them had spent most of the journey so far either walking side-by-side or sitting together in the iron carriage, with Edward explaining--droning on and on, actually, if you asked Inuyasha--about the principles of alchemy. Kikyo was encouraging the bastard with questions whenever it sounded like he might be slowing to a halt.

Inuyasha was not worried about Alphonse taking Kagome away, damn it, he told himself.

But he sure as hell worried about Kikyo's sudden interest in both Edward and his alchemy, fucking menaces that they were.

With the exception of Kohaku, Inuyasha couldn't think of anything that Edward had tried, that hadn't turned into a fucking disaster. Feeling his youki being drained away had been...Inuyasha suppressed a shudder, and turned his thoughts firmly away from that set of memories.

As he bounded ahead of the heavily laden automobile, which was lumbering along, weighed down by the large stone box tied to its roof, Inuyasha did his best to deny that a lump of approximately the same size and weight was beginning to form in his chest, compounded of dread and fear and the sense of imminent loss.

Sure, he'd decided to keep Kagome at arm's length until their quest was completed. (It's completed now, isn't it? whispered a voice in his heart. Naraku is dead and the completed Shikon-no-Tama is ours again.)

So what if Alphonse-fucking-Elric was educated, powerful, and fully human?

Kagome is mine. Hadn't she all but said so? And she wasn't a liar.

It was the constant talking that was getting on Inuyasha's nerves and making him feel so off-kilter, he decided. He just needed some peace and quiet to restore his internal balance, that was all.

He didn't manage to get more than a few breaths of peaceful silence, with only the sound of the wind rushing past his ears and snatches of birdsong, before he heard shouts and the angry roar of the iron carriage's engine rising to a protesting whine.

Not again, Inuyasha thought wearily.

Sure enough, when he turned around to look, there was the iron carriage, stuck in the mud again, and succeeding only in deepening the soft ruts that had entrapped it.

The recent rains had dissolved whole stretches of the hard-packed earth of the road into sticky mire. The iron carriage kept getting stuck or sliding into ditches on the steeper parts of the road when its wheels couldn't get any purchase on the slick mud.

Its passengers had disembarked and were walking, in an attempt to lighten the load a bit, but the snake-in-a-box was hissing and thrashing around inside its prison, the violence of its struggles making the iron carriage shake and rock.

Before leaving Kasama village, both Edward and Alphonse had agreed that it was too risky to try another transmutation to alter the stone to something lighter.

In hindsight, that had been a smart decision, Inuyasha admitted, though at the time, he'd complained mightily about how heavy it was.

Sure, the snake was enraged at being imprisoned--luckily for the group, serpent youkai didn't need to feed more than once a month or so, so no need to actually open the box--but Inuyasha suspected that its proximity to the Shikon-no-Tama was the real problem. It wanted the jewel, and badly.

At least Kohaku and Sango seemed fine now.

After Edward's spell succeeded, the two of them had slept for almost an entire day. When they awoke, both insisted that they felt well enough to travel with the group back to the village where Kaede awaited them, especially since the presence of the iron carriage meant that they wouldn't have to walk the entire way.

Except, with the thing getting stuck so often, the not-walking part had proved a hopeful dream.

Inuyasha heaved a gusty sigh, and stomped back to where the iron carriage wallowed, its spinning wheels doing little except sending sprays of mud in all directions to spatter the unwary.

"Make it stop doing that!" he yelled, after getting a face full of dirty water and mud.

Edward obeyed, and the iron carriage's wheels stilled. The engine still rumbled quietly, emitting puffs of steam.

Inuyasha studied the problem for a moment, and walked around to the front of the carriage, where the footing was marginally better.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said, and he caught the tail end of her smile.

Feeling suddenly less irritated, he bent and grabbed the curved bumper. He concentrated on channeling his youki to his muscles, strained, lifted, and--

The ground hit his ass hard enough to momentarily wind him. Inuyasha gaped at the long, curved piece of wood clutched in his hands, then glared as he heard someone snicker.

If that bastard Alphonse dared--

As if summoned, the too-tall bastard was suddenly leaning over Inuyasha, tugging gently at the bumper still in his grip. "I'll just reinforce that," he said, without a trace of mockery. "You're very strong, Inuyasha-san. I don't know what we'd do without you."

Inuyasha huffed, and began to get to his feet. "I didn't mean to break it," he muttered, sounding ungracious even to his own ears.

"Not your fault," Alphonse assured him. He extended a hand, which Inuyasha ignored.

In the meanwhile, Ed had climbed out of the carriage. He took his brother to one side, and Inuyasha overheard them discussing how to fix the bumper so that it could support the weight of the car when it was lifted.

Their brief conference concluded, they didn't bother with a written spell this time. Alphonse borrowed the Shikon-no-Tama from Kikyo, and stood behind his brother, one hand on his shoulder. Ed clapped his hands together and Alphonse's brow furrowed in concentration, and the now-familiar flare of transmutation followed.

"If you would please try it again, Inuyasha-san," Alphonse called.

The operation went smoothly this time. Inuyasha lifted and pulled, and got the carriage to firmer ground.

"The three of you make a good team," Kagome said, brightly, and Inuyasha scowled back at her.

Team, my ass. I'm only helping these two bastards so they'll hurry up and disappear back through the Well.

But he knew better that to actually say any of that to her, not with the beads of subjugation still hanging heavy and cool around his neck.

Edward stretched, and Inuyasha heard the joints in his shoulders popping. "That's it," he said. "I need to walk and stretch my legs for a while. Al, you take over."

Inuyasha didn't miss the longing glance Alphonse cast at Kagome as he took his place behind the steering wheel.

He couldn't help smirking at the too-tall bastard as he took advantage of his rival's temporary absence to fall into step next to Kagome.

She gave him a sunny smile that sent warmth shooting straight through his chest and down to his--never mind that.

He walked along her side in contented silence for a while, studying her out of the corner of his eye, and letting her beloved scent surround him.

She looked at him quizzically once or twice, and he could have sworn she wanted to say something, but then she just smiled again, and turned her attention back to negotiating the slippery footing along this stretch of the road.

She wasn't expecting him to talk, was she? He usually didn't waste the breath when they traveled together, and she knew that.

Inuyasha recalled Alphonse's slightly nervous monologue of earlier, and scowled. No fucking way was anyone going to catch him babbling like that!

Then Kagome frowned, looking ahead to where Kikyo was striding along smoothly at Edward's side.

"I don't understand how she does that," muttered Kagome, looking between Kikyo's nearly-spotless garments and her own mud-stained hakama.

Inuyasha shrugged. He didn't see the problem--in fact, he was rather enjoying the squelch of the mud between his bare toes. Plus, after his misadventure with the iron carriage, he was pretty solidly coated in mud from the waist down, and his hair felt suspiciously damp.

"Maybe you should take off your shoes and tabi, and roll up the hakama," he suggested. "It's easier to wash mud off bare skin than get it out of clothing."

He forbore to mention that his own stained fire-rat garments would be clean again by morning, thanks to their magical self-cleaning and self-repairing properties.

She shot him an exasperated look. "Too late now, Inuyasha."

"Uh, if you like, you could ride on my back," he said, as neutrally as he could, though every fiber of his being was screaming to have her pressed against him. "Like usual," he finished lamely

She shook her head, blushing, and gave his hand a brief squeeze. Inuyasha continued to walk alongside her, feeling simultaneously frustrated and gratified.

* * *

They arrived back at the village two days later and after innumerable instances of having to heave or push the iron carriage out of mud. Kaede greeted them all with hot tea and stew, and exchanged cautious greetings with Kikyo.

It was still strange to hear the old woman addressing the young-looking miko as "Older Sister," thought Inuyasha.

He hadn't aged during his half-century of enchanted sleep, and the clay doll that housed Kikyo's spirit was also unchanging, but Kaede--the little girl he remembered tagging along eagerly at her sister's side, running errands and assisting her, was now wrinkled and stooped with age.

Shippo was exuberant at their return, bouncing and chattering and generally making a nuisance of himself, and Inuyasha was finally forced to bop him on the head to get him to calm down to manageable levels.

Edward maneuvered the iron carriage to stand next to the Bone-eater's Well. At his request, Inuyasha slid the snake-in-a-box off the roof of the carriage, and lowered it to the grass of the small meadow surrounding the well.

Alphonse stepped forward, Shikon-no-Tama cradled in his hand, and took up his position at Edward's shoulder. A clap, an intense burst of light, and a mound of wood chips, earth, and lumps of metal replaced the sleek shape of the iron carriage.

"That's better," Alphonse said, cupping his hands around the still-glowing Shikon-no-Tama and handing it politely back to Kikyo. "Nothing left to trip up the archaeologists now!"

"Alphonse-sama," asked Miroku, studying the remnants of the iron carriage with great interest. "What is an archaeologist?"

As Alphonse began to launch into a long-winded explanation, interrupted by questions from the others, Inuyasha noticed Kikyo talking to Kagome.

This was unusual enough that Inuyasha stared at them. The uneasy feeling that had been haunting him during the entire journey back returned as he saw Kikyo give Kagome the Shikon-no-Tama.

Shippo distracted him briefly by transforming into a giant pink thing, and trying to chew on Inuyasha's head.

When Inuyasha looked up again, Kikyo and Edward were walking into the woods.

What the fuck is going on here? This can't be good.

Alphonse was still in full spate, so Inuyasha took the opportunity to sidle away unnoticed. Once safely concealed by foliage, he took to the trees, leaping lightly from branch to branch, tracking Edward and Kikyo.

He found the two of them standing under the tree where he had been pinned for a half-century, and that would become the Goshinboku of the Sunset Shine in Kagome's time.

Inuyasha edged closer, using his preternaturally keen hearing to eavesdrop. The bad feeling in his gut abruptly congealed as he heard what Kikyo was saying.

"--the way you did with the self-propelled carriage, just now?"

Edward, to his credit, looked horrified. "That would be murder!" he exclaimed, taking a step back from Kikyo. "I've never...done...that to a human being, and don't intend to start now. How can you even ask me that?" he finished, his face twisted in revulsion, his voice gone husky.

Good, thought Inuyasha, glaring down at the top of Edward's golden head from his perch in Goshinboku's branches. Now I won't have to rip your arms off.

Close on the heels of that thought came a second, more unwelcome one: Kikyo, how could you ask this? The realization sent acid pain through his chest, burning like the poison that dripped from Sesshoumaru's claws.

"But Edward-sama," she said. "Have you not realized? Have none of the others told you? I am not human, not anymore."

He blinked at this, and Inuyasha could see his skeptical expression. "You look perfectly human to me," he began.

"Urasue, the witch who made this body, was an expert at her craft," Kikyo interrupted.

She stretched out her hand toward him, letting the wide white sleeve fall back to expose the flawless skin of her wrist and forearm. "But this is not flesh, despite the spells that provide the flexibility and movement."

Edward hesitated, staring hard at the proffered limb, then reached out hesitantly to touch it. Inuyasha saw his startled reaction at his fingertips encountered the cool, hard surface. He'd had the same reaction, the first time he touched Kikyo after the witch had revived her.

"What--? This feels like porcelain!"

"It is porcelain," Kikyo answered, sounding faintly amused, "made from grave-earth and bone. My grave and my bones."

Edward looked momentarily revolted. Then interest replaced revulsion in his face. "Can I?"

Inuyasha's claws dug into the bark of the tree branch he was crouching on as Edward, his expression alive with curiosity, took Kikyo's arm in both hands.

He pushed back her sleeve even further, and began to manipulate it gently, bending the elbow, wrist, and each finger, probing gingerly as if to test the movement of the non-existent tendons and muscles.

"Nothing," he murmured. "But this is amazing--the elasticity in what's usually an extremely rigid--" Inuyasha saw Edward catch himself. "...but you used to be human?"

She nodded.

He frowned thoughtfully. "How?" He gave her arm a little jiggle for emphasis, then blushed, and hastily smoothed her sleeve back down before releasing his hold. "And why?"

"Does it matter?" Kikyo said. "It is in the past. But as you can see, I am little more than an animated doll, with a portion of my soul trapped in this clay shell. I am outside the stream of Time--I can never change, never grow. I am cut off from the wheel of death and rebirth. Only you can free me, Edward-sama."

He shook his head. "I can't--"

"Please help me."

Edward began to back away. "No. Don't ask me to do this. I won't."

Damned right you won't, Inuyasha thought, maintaining his position in the tree by sheer force of will. Every instinct screamed at him to leap down, and snatch up Kikyo, and carry her far, far away from that fucking menace with the iron arm and leg...

To Inuyasha's horror, Kikyo seemed determined. She bowed deeply. "I humbly beg this favor of you. No one else can do it. I cannot do it by myself--Urasue's spells are too powerful. Even if I throw myself off a cliff and shatter into a thousand pieces, my body will regenerate itself." She smiled, sadly. "Experience has proved this."

"Shall I beg?" To Inuyasha's horror, she lowered herself to her knees in a smooth motion, and began to descend into a full kowtow. "This clay body holds me captive, Edward-sama. Please free me--"

It was too much. He couldn't watch this any longer. "NOOOO," howled Inuyasha, launching himself from the branch.

He landed, spun, and had lifted Edward off his feet before the sorcerer could react, slamming the golden-haired man against Goshinboku's trunk. "You even think about touching her, and I'll--"

"I wasn't gonna--" Edward countered, sounding winded but not nearly scared as he should be.

Inuyasha grinned humorlessly at him, making sure to display his fangs.

"Inuyasha, stop," commanded Kikyo. It was the voice of the brave, pure maiden who had befriended a feral hanyou boy, once, a long time ago.

Inuyasha stopped, though his hands remained clenched in Edward's garments, and he kept the sorcerer pressed firmly against the tree.

"Release him, Inuyasha. He's done nothing wrong." Kikyo had regained her feet, and she placed one slender, pale hand on Inuyasha's sleeve.

He could refuse her nothing. Had never been able to. Inuyasha sighed, and gave Edward one last shake before depositing the foreign sorcerer back on his feet.

Edward straightened his clothes, eyeing Inuyasha warily. Inuyasha returned his look, willing every ounce of threat he could muster into a glare.

Then Kikyo was tugging on his sleeve. "If you will excuse us," she said, politely, drawing Inuyasha away.

He followed her, unresisting.

When they were safely out of earshot, he rounded on her. "Kikyo--why?" His voice cracked, but he was beyond caring. "How can you want this--"

"Shhhh," she said, placing a cool finger against his lips.

The scent of clay and the long-dead bones surrounded him, laced with a faint hint of her original scent. It was the merest ghost of what had once been as familiar and beloved to him as Kagome's scent was now.

"You know why, Inuyasha. Naraku is dead, and the Shikon-no-Tama is purified and returned to safe hands." She smiled, sadly. "I have fulfilled my vows, and there is nothing left for me to do."

"But--" Inuyasha began, and choked on the pathetic cry of: What about me?

Her hands slipped into his, her grip firm but gentle, her skin hard and cool. "I spoke too soon. There is one more thing left for me to do."

Without letting go of his hands, she bowed her head, so that he was left looking at the glossy black hair, neatly parted down the middle. "I want to beg your forgiveness, Inuyasha, for the anger and bitterness I felt towards you when I was first revived, and for thinking that you had betrayed me. Had my faith in you not been so weak, Naraku could never have--"

"Stop," he begged her. "There's nothing to forgive. I loved you then. I still--" What could he say, to convince her? "I need you, Kikyo. Don't leave me. Please."

He wrenched his hands from hers, and drew her into a fierce embrace, feeling the cold, unyielding line of her not-flesh under her clothes. "Please," he said again.

She sighed, and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "Would you sacrifice her, then?" she asked, softly.

"What?"

"Kagome," Kikyo said. "My other self, who will never be born unless my soul can be released from this shell."

Oh. But there had to be a way to save them both! To keep them both at his side, where he could protect them!

He bent his head, and rested his cheek against that glossy hair, surrounded by the scent of funerary ashes and charred bones. His eyes were burning, and his vision was growing blurry. "Kikyo, I--"

"Don't cry, Inuyasha," she said.

He drew back a little and glared at her, indignantly. Cry? I never fucking--

Except that the breeze was cooling the tears on his cheek.

"Let me, go, love. Please." Her fingers wiped away the moisture from his face, leaving behind the scent of cool ash. "Let Edward release me, so that I can rejoin the great wheel, and work off my karmic debt before I'm reborn as that girl, some time in the future."

"No," he whispered. He wasn't ready to admit that she was really going to go through with this. "No, I can't."

"I am your past, Inuyasha. I know that your feelings were sincere ones, and that you are an honorable person. But that girl is your future--our future, and to deny her is to deny me. Go, and live, Inuyasha. And let me go...please." She gave him a small, sad smile. "After all, are we not fortunate beyond all others, in that we know, without a doubt, that our souls will be reunited? Kagome is my rival, my hope, my proof."

Inuyasha met that clear, dark gaze, and knew he was defeated. He was going to lose her--again. He sighed, feeling as if his chest were being clawed open.

"Edward," he said, hoarsely, to the man standing some distance away, his back discreetly turned. "Go fetch your brother."

Edward shot him a glance filled with misery and regret, and left.

As soon as he was out of sight, Inuyasha bent, and kissed Kikyo as tenderly as he knew how, his mouth moving over the rigid curve of her lips with mingled grief, memory and regret. "I loved you," he murmured as he drew back. "You were my first friend."

"And I loved you, though I did not do so either wisely, or well," Kikyo replied, her mouth brushing his as she spoke. "And you were my only friend. My sister was too young, and the villagers wanted a protector. Only you saw me as something more." She kissed him, a cool chaste touch, and continued: "I am happy to see that you are surrounded by friends and well-loved these days, Inuyasha."

The sound of crackling twigs announced Edward's return.

Inuyasha stepped back and regretfully released Kikyo. He wanted to keep holding her, and maybe find some way of convincing her to stay with him, just a little longer, but he wouldn't embarrass her by embracing her publicly.

"Are--are you sure about this?" Edward asked her, casting a nervous glance at Inuyasha.

Kikyo nodded, and Inuyasha struggled with himself before nodding as well.

Edward sighed. "My brother was trapped, like you, once. I found a way to get his body back. Can't we do the same for you?"

Kikyo shook her head. "My body is long gone, Edward-sama, devoured by the flames of my funeral pyre. I have been dead for fifty years, and I desire only to escape this incarnation."

"Okay," Edward said. "I'll--I'll do it. If that's really the only way you can…rest." His shoulders were slumped, and even with his long bangs hiding his eyes, Inuyasha could see that his expression was deeply unhappy.

Alphonse, looming behind his brother, gave Kikyo and Inuyasha a sharp, assessing glance. "Will you swear not to do anything to Brother?" he asked, abruptly.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

Alphonse glared at him. "Brother explained the situation on the walk over here," he continued, as if speaking to a very young child. "He said you were angry and that you disagreed with Kikyo-san's request." Alphonse paused. "And he's also got a nasty lump on the back of his head now, so I'm asking you, Inuyasha-san: will you promise not to hurt Brother or me if we agree to do this thing."

Inuyasha set his jaw. Alphonse didn't want to help? Fine by him! Let Kikyo find another way of--

"Inuyasha, please," she said wearily. "I beg you. Do you want me to get down on my knees to you?"

"N-no," he stammered, his face growing uncomfortably hot. Damn her, knowing he couldn't refuse her.

He turned to the Elric brothers. "All right," he snarled. "I promise I won't lay a finger on you for going along with Kikyo's plan."

"Good," said Alphonse, triumphantly, hands on his hips.

"Do you need a little time?" Edward asked, his voice low with sympathy. He kept his gaze fastened on his scuffed and muddied shoes. "To--to say goodbye?"

Damn it, but Inuyasha wished the foreign bastard wouldn't keep doing shit like this! It was easier to deal with him when he was being an asshole. "No. We've already--we're done. Just get on with it."

"Kikyo-san?" Al asked.

She inclined her head. "I'm ready. Goodbye, Inuyasha. Please remember me."

How could I ever forget you? His vision was growing blurry again, and he turned away in feigned annoyance. Damned if he was going to let Edward and Alphonse see him crying like a fucking girl!

He heard the rustle of footsteps behind him, and the soft murmur of the sorcerer's voices, bidding Kikyo farewell. Edward cleared his throat repeatedly during his short speech.

Then came the dreaded sound of Edward's clap, and the tingle and bright light of their sorcery. Despite himself, Inuyasha turned to look.

He saw Kikyo engulfed in a burst of light brighter than any transmutation, forming a column that reached for the heavens. It faded away slowly, leaving golden after-images in Inuyasha's vision.

When the light was entirely gone, so was Kikyo. He saw only her crumpled red-and-white miko garments under Goshinboku, and a pile of dust, fine as ashes, dotted with small, charred fragments of bone.

Distantly, he noted as Edward and Alphonse departed, but there was a roaring in his ears as he stood and stared at the remains, and he found himself unable to focus on anything else.

A breeze sprang up, and stirred the dust. Inuyasha, impelled to action, fell to his knees and carefully gathered up the dust and pieces of bone, tenderly folding the chihaya around them. He would give them to Kaede, to be reburied in the grave that Urasue had violated these many months ago.

She was gone. Really and truly gone. She had left him behind.

A sob took him by surprise as he knelt there, and more followed, shaking him like an enemy's blows. Inuyasha tried to fight them, tried to regain his self-control, and found himself defeated.

Inuyasha wept. There were no witnesses, no one to notice and mock a hanyou boy bent double, his hair hanging in the dead leaves that carpeted the ground under Goshinboku, tears streaming relentlessly down his face.

He mourned the lonely, proud girl he had known, fifty years ago. He mourned the boy he had been, mistrustful and feral and aching for affection. And most of all, he mourned the terrible waste of her life. Naraku was dead now. But so was she, and things would never go back to the way they were, before.

He cried until he had no more tears, until his body ached with the force of his sobs. Until he felt completely emptied of emotion, as hollow as a rotted log.

Then he scrubbed at his face with his sleeves until his cheeks burned, drew his legs up to his chest, and simply sat, forehead resting on his knees.

After a long time, he heard someone approaching.

The breeze informed him it was Kagome long before she appeared. He didn't bother lifting his head.

Mercifully, she didn't try making conversation. She sank down beside him, and leaned close, offering wordless comfort with the press of her shoulder against his.

She was soft, and warm. So warm...

With a muffled moan, he uncurled, and turned to her. He put his arms around her waist, and buried his face in her shoulder.

After a small, surprised noise on her part, and a bit of wriggling to situate them both more comfortably, he found himself half-settled in her lap. She held him close. He felt her first, hesitant touch on his hair.

He exhaled, relaxing more fully against her, and her touch gained confidence. She combed her fingers through his bangs, and moved carefully around the bases of his sensitive ears, her nails scraping lightly against his scalp.

Inuyasha spent another timeless interval of not-thinking, just absorbing the salving touch she was offering him.

"It hurts," he said, finally, his voice sounding strange to himself, all choked and nasal.

"I know," she replied softly, never stopping the soothing scratch of her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."

"Promise you won't leave me?" Damn, that sounded pitiful, but he felt too weary, too battered to care about his pride now.

She hesitated. "Edward and Alphonse want to go back to 1925 tomorrow. That horrible Ikeda-san is still waiting for us, and--and I have to go, too, to tell the boys about Uncle Souta."

Kagome sighed, unhappily, at the prospect of having to deliver bad news.

A thousand possibilities occurred to Inuyasha. With the jewel completed, what if the time-slip through Bone-eater's Well closed forever? He couldn't bear the thought of finding himself locked on the other side of the well from her.

Especially if she were stranded together with Alphonse, just like before.

"I want to come with you," Inuyasha said.

Canon and Historical Notes

Goshinboku - sacred tree

chihaya - the top part of a miko's outfit, which looks like a white, kimono-style blouse.

As always, thanks to Ginny, aka kokoronagomu, for beta-reading, and for supplying some of the correct clothing terminology in this chapter. You rock, my dear!