InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Things Come Full Circle ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: This is the first and last time I will say this - I do not own or have rights to the characters or story of Inuyasha. The only character I have rights to here is Inukigo, plus a few new ones that will show up later in the fic (but I'm not telling ya about those yet).

Summary: Inukigo goes head to head with a face from the past, Naraku creates a few new incarnations as the final battle grows near, and Kikyou makes an appearance to interfere with the new relationship steadily forming between Inuyasha and Kagome. The past is dredged up, and all things will come full circle.

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Chapter 1

'Ah…it's so peaceful.' Inukigo thought to herself as she sighed happily. She was currently lying on her stomach, draped over a tree branch with both legs and one arm dangling lifelessly while her other arm pillowed her head.

While resting in the tree, Inukigo contemplated the past three days. It had only been three days since they had returned to the village, and she had learned a great deal in that short amount of time.

The first thing she had learned, and which was the biggest shock, was that fifty years had indeed passed her by. That fact had been surreal, because while she had been sealed it had felt as though no time had passed what so ever. But when she came face to face with the village miko, well, she had been startled to say the least. When they had entered the hut, the old woman who had been leaning over the fire pit cooking stew had looked up to greet them, and upon seeing her had whispered her name. She had been confused and asked the old woman how she knew her name, and she had been floored when the woman said that she was Kaede, the same Kaede that she had know fifty years ago. Kaede, Kikyou's little squirt of a sister, who had been barely the height of her waist fifty years ago, was now an old woman in her sixties and the village miko, concrete proof that fifty years had passed. She had needed to sit down when that hit her. She had gotten used to it, although she still was not accustomed to calling the woman, who she remembered being a child younger than herself, Kaede-baba.

The next thing she had learned was that Kagome was not from the village, but from an entirely different time. She had thought that those clothes were strange. After they had visited Kaede, Kagome announced that she was going home for three or four days to catch up on 'school work,' whatever the hell that was, and she then witnessed another of her brother and Kagome's arguments as they began to walk through the forest. She had followed out of curiosity, and was confused when they stopped at the dry well that she remembered was called the Bone-Eater's well. When they reached it, Inuyasha told Kagome that she was only allowed to leave for one day, to which Kagome did not agree. She had gotten really pissed, subdued her brother with the 'sit' incantation, and threatened more 'sits' to come if he dared to come and drag her back before three days had passed. She had then jumped down the well. She had rushed over and peered down the well, and oddly enough, Kagome was nowhere in sight. Sango then explained that the well was a portal to Kagome's time, and that only she and Inuyasha could pass through it. She had made a very important observation from that day - never get Kagome pissed off, especially if she has the power to make you eat dirt by simply saying 'osuwari.'

Inukigo's thoughts then strayed back to the night before last, when she and Sango had gone to the hot springs for a bath. While there she had learned quite a bit more than she had expected.

******************************FLASHBACK*********************** *******

"Inukigo-chan, you'll be able to tell if that lecher of a monk is anywhere near us right?"

"Hai, Sango. I'll be able to smell him before he gets anywhere near us. Unless he's smart enough to come from downwind, but I highly doubt that."

"Good," Sango replied as she sunk further down into the warm water, "That means I don't have to rush for fear of him sneaking up on us."

"How did you ever manage with the hentai before?" Inukigo asked while laughing slightly.

"Well, either I get Kirara to hold him off, or Kagome-chan happens to be with me. If she is, then Inuyasha makes an extra effort to keep him away."

"I've been meaning to ask you something about Kagome and my brother." Inukigo said.

"Go ahead."

"What kind of relationship do they have?"

Sango looked at her with a knowing expression on her face.

"You noticed how they act with each other too, ne?"

Inukigo nodded.

"They think of each other as more than just friends, but as for an actual relationship, there isn't one. Not really."

"What do you mean 'not really?'"

"They are both too stubborn to see that the other has feelings for them."

"Ah…I see. I can see Inuyasha being that way, but I didn't picture Kagome to be one not to recognize the way Inuyasha behaves around her."

"Well, they both give each other reasons to doubt one another."

"Honto? Well, start with Kagome."

"Okay. Well, there isn't much really. There are the 'sits' that she gives him, but there is also an ookami youkai named Kouga that comes around a lot proclaimed his love for Kagome-chan and calling her his woman. Inuyasha gets jealous every time he comes around, but I don't really know why. Kagome-chan has never returned Kouga's affections."

Inukigo stared into the water and thought for a moment, contemplating what Sango had told her.

"Well, I don't think that he's really thrown off by the 'sits,' but he does get angry when she uses the rosary," then Inukigo looked Sango in the face, "Sango, how much do you know about canine youkai courting?"

Sango was a bit taken aback that the question had been directed toward her.

"Nothing really. My training didn't focus on that at all. More on strengths and weaknesses, where they live, and some aspects of behaviour, but never courting."

"I guess since you know next to nothing, then Kagome is completely clueless then, ne?"

"Yeah, I guess. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Everything. I'll give you a little explanation of canine youkai courting to you so you understand."

"Okay."

"Alright, there are two phases to courting. The initial courting begins after a male youkai meets a female and checks her scent. From that he decides almost instantly whether or not he wants to court her. Knowing Inuyasha, he probably started to court Kagome a week or two after he met her."

"You mean he's courting her? I never would have guessed it from the way he acts."

"How does he act?"

"Well, for starters, always picking fights with her and forever calling her names."

"You mean when he calls her bitch?" Sango nodded and Inukigo gave a little laugh, "That name is not meant as an insult to Kagome when coming from Inuyasha."

"It's not?"

"No, inu youkai males refer to their female as their bitch. Since Inuyasha is half inu youkai, him referring to Kagome as a bitch is the same as a term of endearment. The fighting is for two reasons as far as I can tell. One is that my brother is an idiot when it comes to showing his emotions so he covers it up by being gruff, and the other, well, is that Kagome's scent changes slightly when she gets angry."

"Really? Changes how?"

"Inuyasha kinda gets turned on by it." Inukigo replied quickly.

"Oh…" Sango said, sporting a slight blush.

"Don't dare tell anyone that I told you that. If Inuyasha finds out that noticed it he'll be so embarrassed that he'll probably hide for days, and if he finds out I told anyone else he'll probably kill me."

"Don't worry, I won't say a thing."

"Good. Now, the initial courting consists of a few things. It involves the male protecting and providing for the female, putting his scent on the female, and it's a claim to tell other males to back off. It eventually leads to the whole name-calling thing too. The dedication that the male puts into this phase of the courting determines whether or not the female will see him as an acceptable mate. After this goes on for awhile, the length of time varies, the male will finally ask the female to become his mate, and if she accepts he marks her with a physical claim. Sort of like an engagement in human terms."

"Mark how?"

"It's a bite mark that's placed on the left shoulder," Inukigo replied, pointing to the juncture of her neck and left shoulder to indicate where the mark would be, "It marks the end of the initial courting. I'm actually surprised that Inuyasha hasn't marked her. A year is a pretty long time for it to go on. The courting after the marking is usually what takes longer. That's when the male and female are supposed to get to know one another. He's gone on into that phase without marking her. He did the same thing with Kikyou, but the reason that he didn't mark her was because she wouldn't let him. Something must be making him hold off on asking Kagome," Inukigo went deep into thought, placing her finger on her chin. After a few moments she spoke up, "Sango, when this Kouga guy comes around, how does he act around Kagome and Inuyasha, other than what you've already told me?"

"Well, he's always grabbing onto her hands or hugging her. And he insults Inuyasha and picks fights with him."

"Does Kagome openly refuse his affections?"

"No. She doesn't like it, but she grins and bears it for the sake of not hurting his feelings. She also keeps Inuyasha from beating Kouga up."

"Ah…so that's the problem."

"It is?"

"Yup. This ookami knows that Inuyasha has a claim on Kagome and is courting her. He's trying to challenge it. When a challenge occurs the female is supposed to let the males sort it out and not interfere. If Kagome doesn't reject Kouga, and keeps Inuyasha from defending his claim, then Inuyasha sees it as her considering to take Kouga's claim and drop his. I know that my brother wouldn't handle that type of rejection well, so he's probably afraid to ask her to become his mate."

"So, Kagome-chan is throwing Inuyasha off by not directly refusing Kouga's advances and not letting him fight? But she really doesn't have any feelings for Kouga other than friendship. She's never given him any reasons to think that she wants his claim."

"In the world of canine youkai courting, females need to be very direct when dealing with males. By not forcefully telling Kouga 'back off, I don't want you,' she's making both Kouga and Inuyasha think that she's considering it."

"I think I understand now."

"That's good. There's a bit more to it, but I'll wait until Kagome comes back for that. I need to have a long discussion about this with her so the next time that ookami comes around she can tell him to piss off. Hopefully then things will be straightened out between her and my brother."

"That would fix that problem, but I don't think that it's the biggest reason that Inuyasha hasn't asked her."

"Why? Is there something else going on?"

"Well, yes. This is much worse though. Every time a certain someone happens to come by, Inuyasha rushes off without really giving Kagome-chan a second thought."

"Certain someone?"

"Kikyou."

At that name, Inukigo's blood ran cold.

"B-but, Kikyou's dead. I was there. I saw her die."

"She did die. But Kagome-chan explained to me that Kikyou was brought back to life. Well, sort of brought back to life. Her body is an imitation, and she only has a small part of her soul, which she stole from Kagome-chan."

"Stole from Kagome?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan is the reincarnation of Kikyou."

"Well, that's not something that I was expecting. Although I did notice a resemblance when I first saw Kagome."

"It makes her so sad when he goes off like that. She has told me that she does love him, and that makes it very hard when Inuyasha runs off to see an un-dead miko and leaves her behind. She sometimes fears that he will not come back."

'So, Kagome does love him.' "Why is that?"

"Kagome-chan told me that once, before I joined them, Kikyou attempted to drag Inuyasha to hell with her. She fears that that is still Kikyou's goal. Inuyasha has also promised Kikyou that he will protect her, out of the guilt that he feels for her death. He acts as though he is still very much in love with Kikyou."

"Kami, I knew that my brother was dumb, but I never imagined that he was this big of an idiot. I'm going to have to talk to him about this later, when an opportunity presents itself."

"Kagome-chan won't appreciate you doing that. She just wants Inuyasha to be happy, even if it isn't her that he's happy with."

"I don't care. I'll be talking to him as his sister. I have to do something to keep him from completely ruining his life. But please don't tell Kagome what I plan to do. I don't want to have her trying to put one of those enchanted rosaries around my neck in an attempt to stop me."

Sango laughed at the frightened look on her friends face.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her. I've been telling her to have that talk with him for months and she won't listen to me. I hope that you can get through to him."

"So do I."

***************************END FLASHBACK****************************

Inukigo returned to her senses when she realized that she was growling and that she was subconsciously digging her claws into the tree branch that she was lying on.

Kikyou. That bitch of a miko was still 'alive' and was after her brother's life. And what made it worse was that Inuyasha still seemed to carry some kind of feeling for her. She would have to ask him about it to find out exactly what. She also couldn't understand why he would run off on the female he was courting for someone who was dead.

'Forever the indecisive one. Kami, why is my brother such an idiot?'

Inukigo let out a tired sigh. She would figure this out. There was no way that she was going to let her brother completely ruin his chances at a happy life. She wasn't really sure what her brother was thinking, the opportunity to talk to him about it hadn't presented itself yet, but she had to make Inuyasha realize just what he was doing. She didn't think that Kagome was going to put up with this kind of behaviour forever.

Speaking of Kagome, wasn't she supposed to come back today? It had been three days, and judging from how Inuyasha had been sulking since she had left, she figured it wouldn't be long before her friend from the future was dragged back through the well by her impatient brother. She was hoping that it would't be to hard to get Kagome away from her brother before they left on another shard hunt so she could talk about the courting issue. If not, they might end up running into that ookami that Sango had been telling her about, and then she would get to see the results of the problem first hand.

"Ooi! Inukigo!!"

"Huh?" Inukigo was brought completely out her thoughts by a small voice and looked down to see a small figure with a big fluffy tail run towards the tree she was resting in.

"Konnichiwa, Shippou!" she yelled out before the kit quickly climbed up the tree and settled on her back. "Done annoying my brother already?"

"Yeah, he got boring after awhile, so I went to play with some of the kids in the village."

'So, they're not scared of you and let you play with them, even though you're a youkai. Must be because you're so cute.'

"Besides, he just went to get Kagome."

'Figures.' "About how long does it take for him to bring her back Shippou?"

"Sometimes it only takes him a few hours, but other times he'll stay all night and the next day."

"I see." Inukigo replied as she laid her head back on her arm.

"Ne, Inukigo…"

"Nani, Shippou?"

"Why do you spend so much time out here all by yourself?"

Inukigo lifted her head up again so she could look at Shippou over her shoulder.

"I'm not really used to being around a lot of people. It's too noisy. Besides, the villagers don't really like me, and I was getting tired of the way they were looking at me."

"Oh." Shippou said quietly. He knew what Inukigo meant, and he knew that the villagers didn't really like hanyous.

"It's no big deal though. I'm used to those kind of looks. I just leave when I've had enough of them. Besides, I like it out here. I can watch out for the village, and it's peaceful, so I'm not really complaining."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh yeah, Sango sent me to tell you that she had some lunch made and ask if you wanted any."

"Hmm…I think I will, Shippou," Inukigo said as she slowly stood up on the branch and stretched, "I've been out here for a few hours now, I think it's time to go back for awhile. *yawn* Ready Shippou?"

"Yup!" came a reply from her back.

"Okay, let's go then."

And with that, Inukigo grabbed the Touitsaiga that had been propped up by the base of the branch, and jumped from the tree and then took off running towards the village to the small hut where her companions were currently residing.

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Meanwhile…

"Wha?! She's not here?!"

"No, Inuyasha. I'm sorry, she's still at school. You're welcome to wait here for her if you like."

*sigh* "I guess."

"Well, I have to go out and run some errands. Souta is still at school too, and Ji-chan is visiting another shrine, so you have the house to yourself. Go ahead and make yourself at home while you wait for Kagome. She shouldn't be more than a few hours."

"Kay."

Waving goodbye, Mrs. Higurashi walked out the door.

"So, I have the house to myself?" Inuyasha said out loud to himself.

After ten minutes of wandering around, and finding nothing that interested him, Inuyasha trudged up the stairs and made his way to Kagome's room. He opened the door, then shut it behind him as he walked in. Upon entering the room Inuyasha walked to the bed, sat down, and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of Kagome's room. As he exhaled he flopped back onto the bed, resting his head on the pillow and then putting one arm over his head while the other rested on his stomach. Closing his eyes, he began to relax.

'Kagome's scent is so much stronger here then it is anywhere else in the house. I guess that's why I like it in here so much. Her scent makes me feel so calm, I find myself missing the comfort I get from it when she's gone. How in the world did I keep myself sane before I met her?'

With those thoughts in mind, the hanyou drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep that only the warmth of Kagome's scent could bring him.

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A few hours later…

"I can't believe them! They never give up. How many times do I have to tell them, 'I don't like Houjou-kun, and I don't want to go out with him'? *sigh* I'm starting to think that Ayumi-chan is the only one of the three of them that has any sense." Kagome huffed as she slid the front door open. "Tadaima!"

Silence.

"Hmm…I guess no one's home. Oh well, might as well get ready to go back before Inuyasha comes to drag me back there." 'Why can't he have some patience. He knows that I'll always come back.'

When Kagome opened the door to her bedroom she threw her book bag on the floor, then jumped and nearly screamed when she saw Inuyasha sprawled out on her bed on his back.

'So, he already came to drag me back.' Kagome thought angrily. She was about to go up to him and give him a very rude awakening, until she saw the peaceful, contented look on his face. 'Wow, he must really be asleep if he didn't hear me when I called out downstairs or when I came in here. I wonder how long he's been there. I think I'll leave him alone, he never sleeps well in his time so I'll let him sleep as much as he wants while he's here.'

With one last look at the sleeping hanyou, Kagome moved to her closet and tried to pull out her backpack as quietly as she could. Unfortunately, the backpack decided to pull down some clothes along with it, and they hit the floor rather noisily. Kagome turned to see if the sound had disturbed the sleeping Inuyasha, and sure enough, his ears had begun to twitch slightly, proof that he was indeed about to wake up. Kagome sighed quietly and then walked over to kneel beside her bed as Inuyasha woke up.

His eyes cracked open then he blinked them lazily to clear out the haze of sleep. He then yawned widely and stretched, raising his arms above his head and arching his back. A quiet giggle drew his attention to the edge of the bed where Kagome was resting her head on her arms. She smiled at him, and he froze in his position lying on the bed.

"Have a nice nap?" she asked him, still smiling.

Not yet broken out of his stupor from Kagome's face being so close to his, all Inuyasha could do in reply was nod dumbly. 'She's so close. All I have to do is lean over a little bit and I can mar…no no no! Don't think about that now!!'

"How long have you been asleep?"

Having been asked a question that required actual words for an answer forced Inuyasha to sit up and fight the slight blush that was threatening to show on his face as a result of his thoughts. If Kagome had noticed his predicament then she wasn't letting on.

"I don't know. When I got here your Okaa-san said you wouldn't be home for a few hours and then she left to 'run some errands' or something. I went to sleep not long after she left."

"You've been asleep for awhile then. Sorry for waking you up. You looked like you were having a good nap so I was going to let you sleep while I packed my backpack."

"It's ok. I don't need to get a lot of sleep anyways."

"Maybe not, but it's still nice to get some actual sleep once in a while isn't it? I know that you get enough while we're travelling, but you're always alert and watching out for youkai attacks, so you don't sleep very well."

Inuyasha turned to look at her, wondering when she figured him out so well. Kagome looked like she was thinking something over in her mind - she wasn't looking at him and she was chewing on her bottom lip. At that moment he thought she looked very cute. 'Cute? Where'd that come from? I never use the word cute. But…that's what she is.'

"Ne, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha shook his head to clear his thoughts when he heard her say his name.

"Nani?"

"How about we make an arrangement?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"What kind of arrangement?"

"Whenever I come home for a few days, you come and spend the nights here."

Inuyasha just stared at her wide eyed for a few moments. 'She actually wants me over here with her? I thought that she was happy to get away from me for a few days when she came home. Heh, guess I was wrong.'

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh? Nani?"

"Well, do you like that arrangement?"

"Keh. Sure, whatever." Inuyasha replied, trying to sound indifferent, but a small smile crept onto his face.

Kagome saw it and smiled back. 'Maybe…maybe this way, with just the two of us spending time together without the others and no one around that could use his feelings against him, I can get him to open up more to me. And maybe I'll be able to find the courage to tell him how I feel about him.'

"Good. Now, I've got to finish packing my stuff." Kagome said, pulling herself up off of the floor.

"Tadaima!" came a call from downstairs.

Kagome ran to the door, opened it and stuck her head out.

"Mama!! What are you making for dinner?!"

"I was going to make rice and curry, is that okay?!"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, the scared look on his face telling her that he had heard they were having curry. She laughed to herself remembering what had happened the last time her mother had fed him curry. She then stuck her head back out the door to answer.

"That's fine Mama! But could you make some ramen for Inuyasha please?!"

"Sure Kagome!"

Kagome shut the door then looked to Inuyasha, seeing him relax visibly after hearing that he wasn't having the dreaded curry.

"You didn't think I was going to make you eat it did you? I know that you don't like spicy food."

"Keh! Could've fooled me. You've made spicy stuff for me to eat plenty of times before."

"Hey! I haven't done that in a long time. Besides, the food was only spicy to YOU. I kept forgetting that your senses are more heightened than mine. I am sorry for doing that you know."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, it's no big deal anyways."

Kagome smiled to herself and shook her head, then turned to pick up her backpack.

"Whatever you say. Now, I have to start packing my bag. You can stay there, or you can wander around, or you can help me. What do you want to do?"

"Keh. I'll help you. That way you'll be done so we can get going right after we eat. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you run downstairs and ask Mama for the instant food that I take with me?"

"Sure."

And as fast as you could blink he was up off the bed and out the door.

"Geeze, you're in a hurry." Kagome said dryly. She then smiled and went back to packing her clothes in her backpack while waiting for her companion to return.

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HaHa! There's chapter 1! Not much to it. I just wanted to get the story started. Next chapter should be up shortly, I hope. Until then, ja ne!!