InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Inu-Yasha What if...? Story: The Sacred Tree ❯ A Reawakening Heartbeat ( Chapter 7 )

Part VII: A Reawakening Heartbeat

Kagome rushed out of the car and up the stairs to her home. Shippou, Setsuna, Sayo and Mamoru had followed her in their car (Mamoru drives like a fiend), and had picked her up. They raced in the direction her heart led them… and they had ended back at the temple.

The burning in Kagome's chest wouldn't stop. She closed her eyes and just followed it, whispering Inu-Yasha's name repeatedly. She didn't know if her heart was leading her to the truth or to him… All she knew was that she had to follow it. And she would follow it. To the ends of the earth if need be.

Abruptly, the burning in her chest stopped and the sound of a pounding heart stopped. The sudden silence froze Kagome and her eyes snapped open. Na-nani? She looked around and saw herself gazing at the Sacred Tree. Go-Shinkobu? It was then that she noticed a strange overgrowth around the tree.

"Nani…?"

The other four arrived then, heaving with their effort to keep up with her. Kagome turned to Shippou in confusion. "Shippou-chan… What is this strange overgrowth? I've never seen it before…"

Shippou took a deep breath and looked at the Sacred Tree. He blinked. "Ah, hai. That overgrowth appeared long ago, Kagome. I don't know at exactly what time, but I do know it was after you left. No one has been able to go near Go-Shinkobu since this overgrowth spread on it. It was said it was enchanted." Kagome lifted an eyebrow and Shippou explained further. "It burns." He heaved a breath.

Kagome turned to the Sacred Tree. Burning overgrowth? She shook her head and placed her hands over her heart. But what did this have to do with the sudden stop…? She looked at the overgrowth. Could it be possible that this is where the heartbeat was leading her? Kagome dropped her hands and quickly rushed onto the roots, climbing as close to the trunk as she could.

"Kagome! What are you doing?!" Shippou cried from behind her.

She ignored him and placed her hands on the overgrowth. Scorching heat seared her palms. She let a scream and pulled her hands away. Shippou was right! It did burn! She looked at her hands and saw them pulsing red, some of the softer flesh burned away. Kagome turned her gaze back. What...what was this?

"Kagome? Dai-jo-bu?" she heard Shippou say. She didn't turn around.

"Mm." She looked back up at the overgrowth denying her entrance and her eyes narrowed in determination. She would get through. She would… Suddenly something caught Kagome's eye. She focused her gaze at it and she gasped.

"Dosh ta, Kagome?" Shippou asked.

Kagome's breathing was harsh as she stared at the object. It…it was… "An arrow, Shippou-chan."
"EH?!" cried the group together.

Kagome nodded. "All I can see is the end of it and some bristles peeking through the overgrowth, but it's definitely an arrow." Kagome straightened and then, with desperation, reached to tear at the plants, but her hands were scorched.

"KAGOME!"

She shook her head and turned to her friends. "Does anyone have a knife or something I can use to cut it?"

Mamoru pulled out his pocketknife but Shippou was shaking his head. "It won't work, Kagome. We tried all that. It's enchanted. Nothing can remove it."

Kagome took the knife from Mamoru and attempted it anyway. The enchanted growth melted the blade. Kagome cursed. "Very well then. I see your game. I'll fight enchantment with some of my own magic."

"NANI?!"

Kagome gathered some of her spiritual energy and pressed her hands against the plants, blasting her energy against it, ignoring the blazing pain that burned up her arms. "INU-YASHA!"

The voice. It was back. Only instead of being a soft whispered name, it was a cry of desperation, agony, despair…and love. A blinding love that bathed the darkness in a glowing light. He could feel himself moving up, up toward the light…

AH! Pain seared his being once more…but the voice…the voice wasn't gone. It still kept calling out to him, luring him. He couldn't give up. This pain…this pain…wouldn't…stop…him …not this time…!

He fought furiously against the pain. It washed over him, giant waves of agony that made every part of his body scream. But the voice wasn't gone…it was still there… Calling out to him…calling… Suddenly a vision came to him. The voice…it…it…it belong to…her! The woman in his dreams, the one that had kept him sane. His soul mate, his other half, the elusive phantom in his dreams that had made him go on living and never give into the despair…

He surged ahead with a battle cry. Strength filled him as he tore the pain aside, desperate… desperate to reach the surface. It was there that she awaited him…

It was from there that she was calling out his name…

Tears of exhaustion and a painful joy overflowed from her eyes and spilled unheeded down her cheeks. His silvery white hair blew gently in the wind, his soft ears unmoving. Not a drop of blood stained his clothes and the fire rat's fur was in perfect condition. He looked like the older version of himself she had seen in her dreams. There was a peacefulness to his face that almost frightened her. Not like the peacefulness of sleep…but more like the peace of death. Her heart clenched. Inu-Yasha…

She turned to Shippou, barely able to see him through her blurry eyes. Kagome saw the tears streaming down his face as well. She smiled brilliantly at him and then turned back to the enchanted hanyou before her.

Kagome reached for the arrow piercing his heart, but the aura around the arrow blasted her hand away. Her eyes widened in shock. It was like the barrier that had kept her from Inu-Yasha in her dream! She turned her gaze to Shippou, her heart beating wildly.

"Shippou-chan! I…I can't pull the arrow out!" Kagome cried desperately.

"Was Inu-Yasha unconscious the first time you two met and you pulled out the arrow then?" Shippou shouted back at her.

Kagome realized what she had to do then. She had to wake him up first. She pounded her burnt hands onto his chest. "INU-YASHA!" she shouted at the sleeping hanyou. "Wake up, dammit! INU-YASHA!"

Nothing.

Tears streamed down Kagome's cheeks. So close and yet so far. "Damn you, Inu-Yasha," she murmured and pounded his chest again. "Damn you. Why won't you wake up? Fight it! Fight the spell! You woke before! Why won't you wake up now?! Inu-Yasha! Damn you, baka! Wake up! INU-YASHA!" She got no reaction and Kagome collapsed against him sobbing. "Why…why don't you wake up…? Is the magic that powerful… Inu-Yasha…" Kagome lifted her face from his chest and stared into his sleeping face. She lifted her burnt hands and placed them on his cheeks. She winced. Salty water filled her eyes. Her heart twisted. The overgrowth had burnt all the feeling from her hands… she couldn't even feel his face beneath her palms. "Shi-ku-sho…" Kagome whispered. "Shi-ku-sho!"

She stared at his face and shook her head. She'd failed. She had finally made her way to him and now… Now there was no way to wake him, to free him. Kagome leaned up against him and let her lips touch his. At least she would be able to taste the softness of his lips beneath hers again…even if he didn't kiss her back, even if he was lost to her forever…at least she could touch him this way once more.

A gentle softness against his lips…he…he could feel again! It was she! The pain was slowly fading into the background as the light bathed him in its healing. He was finally going to be set free! He felt tender hands against his chest, a dampness against his cheeks and the softest lips against his own…

A sound came from the depths of his soul…a sound… A name… Her name. He had forgotten… But now, it was emerging from the darkness… the brilliant light ahead of him… her name… The name of the only one he had ever loved so deeply, so completely…

"Ka…go…me…"

Kagome pulled away from the kiss as his lips had moved under hers, the sound of her name coming from them. Her heart clenched fiercely. Inu-Yasha…? "INU-YASHA?!"

His eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing the brilliant gold beneath. His demonic eyes were foggy, but they slowly cleared. Kagome watched him, her breath caught in her throat. His ears twitched toward her and she let out a half sob, half laugh.

"Ka-Kagome…?" he whispered hoarsely, almost as if he were just beginning to use his voice again. "Why…are you crying, dammit…?"

Kagome let out a cry that was both tears and laughter and threw herself at him. She wrapped one of her arms around him, burying her hand in his hair. She smiled at him, ignoring the tears still sliding down her face. "It doesn't matter anymore, Inu-Yasha… I'm going to set you free." She kissed him again and he kissed her fiercely back, their mouths opened and taking in each other's tastes like two starving animals desperate for the feel of the other. He moaned against her lips and Kagome reached up, grabbing the arrow.

It vanished in her grasp.

B-BUMP. B-BUMP. B-BUMP.

A blast of light exploded from Inu-Yasha. The sound of the blast echoed through the forest and force of it blew Kagome back… just like when he'd been freed by her the first time. She saw the smile on his face and the flash in his eyes. Her eyes drifted shut… Kami, how she'd missed him.

But this time, instead of hitting the floor, Kagome was caught in strong arms. She opened her eyes and stared into Inu-Yasha's smiling face. Her heart twisted in her chest, giving her a wonderful pain. Tears slid down her face as she lifted one of her hands to his face.

When her hand touched his face, his eyes widened. He turned to them and saw the scorched palms. It looked like someone had tried to torture her by putting her hands into a blazing flame. He turned his shocked gaze to her.

"Kagome…?"

She gave a light shrug. "It'll heal. It was a small price to pay for setting you free." Her breath caught. "Oh, Inu-Yasha…"

Inu-Yasha groaned and bent his head to her lips. "Never hurt yourself like this over me again, got it, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled against his lips, her eyes drifting shut. "Hai…"

And with that, he silenced anything else she might have said with his lips. Kami, it had been so long. The taste of her on his lips, her intoxicating gentle smell, the softness of her body against his. Inu-Yasha held back a sob as he kissed her more deeply, letting his tongue mate with hers. He had thought he would never get the chance to hold her in his arms again, to see her, touch her, hear her, smell her, taste her. And now, as the endless kisses continued, neither Kagome nor Inu-Yasha could tell apart the beat of each other's heart against their own, could tell whose tears belong to whose as they mingled with the passion of their kiss. The millions of kisses merged into one long kiss, both lost into each other. Their souls seemed to reach out for each other, feeling as if they were finally home, as if they had at last found their other half again. Both were overwhelmed with joy just for being in each other's arms once more.

Murmured whispers that sounded suspiciously like arguing eventually broke them from their trance. Neither Inu-Yasha nor Kagome knew how long they'd been like that… All they knew is they needed to get to her bedroom…very quickly.

"I think we should leave now, before they notice us."

"But I want to stay! I want to meet this Inu-Yasha! I've only heard about him in fairy tales!"

"Actually, I agree with Mamoru this time. We should go. We all know exactly were they want to be going and we'll only be in their way! Ne, Papa?"

"Hmmm…"

"Too late," Inu-Yasha grumbled as he turned to face the four people before him, still holding Kagome in his arms. He wasn't going to let her go, he wasn't even going to put her down. He had been deprived of the feel of her for too long. He wouldn't let her go at all. Kagome didn't seem to mind either. She snuggled more deeply into him and took in a deep breath, inhaling his scent.

Inu-Yasha got a good look at the people before him and his eyebrows shot up. "Miroku? Sango? What the hell did you two do to your hair? And what's that on your face, Sango? And who are these other two with you?" Sniff, sniff. "A kitsune youkai and a…kitsune hanyou? Why are you two with them and…" sniff, sniff. "Wait a minute…you two aren't Miroku and Sango… but you do smell like them… a little bit…it's faint… All right, what the hell is going on?"

Kagome tugged on his haori drawing his attention. "Nani, Kagome?" Inu-Yasha muttered.

She thrilled at the sound of his voice before answering. "Inu-Yasha…you're in my time. No time traveling included. It's been 500 years since then. Sango and Miroku are dead. They have been for a long time. This is Sayo and Mamoru their descendants. The hanyou is Setsuna, Shippou-chan's daughter." His shocked expression was expected. She had seen the flash of sadness in his eyes when he had realized that Sango and Miroku were dead. They had been his friends long ago as well. She smiled tenderly at him. "And the kitsune youkai is Shippou-chan."

"NANI?!"

Inu-Yasha turned back to the four before him and sniffed. He'd been expecting his friends as well as Kagome… But she was right. They had been already getting older when he had last seen them, with children of their own. He had been jealous of them. At least, in the end, they had had each other. He had lost Kagome. He tightened his hold on her, and he sniffed the air again. Kagome was right… There was a familiar scent, not different or similar…the same scent…

Inu-Yasha growled as his eyes opened and he stared at the group. "All right, kozo! I can smell you! Where are you, Shippou?!"

Shippou stepped forward with a small smile on his face. He tugged absently on his goatee. "Here I am, Inu-Yasha."

Inu-Yasha blinked and stepped back in surprise. "Shippou? Ma-sa-ka. You're an old youkai! Shippou-"

"Aged." Inu-Yasha turned to Kagome. She smiled at him and continued. "The other one who smells like him, but not, is his hanyou daughter Setsuna. It's been 500 years, Inu-Yasha. Even youkai's age. Including Shippou-chan."

Inu-Yasha turned to Shippou and saw the tears sliding down the kitsune's cheeks. Shippou had been alone for 500 years? He looked at Miroku and Sango's descendants. Had Shippou been watching over them? He turned his gaze to the hanyou girl with small fox ears. He blinked and smiled lightly. He turned his gaze back to Shippou.

"Shippou… You look a lot older than I remember. What did you do, kozo?"

Shippou laughed. "I'd really horrify you now, Inu-Yasha, and hug you, but I wouldn't want to disturb Kagome. She's been through a hell of an ordeal and she looks really comfortable there. So I'll do this instead." Shippou 'poofed' and turned into the small Shippou, hopping onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder and giving him a hug from there. Shippou looked into the golden eyes with a smile. "You have no idea how lonely both Kagome and I've been without each other and without you, Inu-Yasha." With that he hopped off and transformed back.

Inu-Yasha watched Shippou hold back his tears and turn to the others. "All right, kids. Let's go home. We'll be back later so I can properly introduce you to Inu-Yasha. But for now let's do what Mamoru and Setsuna advised." He turned to Kagome and Inu-Yasha and gave them a wink. "Let's leave them to their own devices. They have a lot of catching up to do."

"Ma-te, Shippou-chan!" Kagome called out.

Shippou turned around. "Nani, Kagome?"

Kagome blinked for a moment before speaking. "I don't understand the overgrowth that burned me and held Inu-Yasha against the Go-Shinkobu. In my dream, Kikiyou…she was the one who shot Inu-Yasha. To put him out of his misery…" She shook her head and continued. "But you said, she had vanished as well. It had taken fifty years the first time, just to get some vines to grow around Inu-Yasha. This overgrowth clearly happened very quickly to cover him so much that he was invisible to you, Sango and Miroku. And you said all you found of the two of them was Kikiyou's clothes."

Inu-Yasha was silent. He was probably remembering the events of the that day. Kagome turned her gaze back to Shippou.

The kitsune was pondering the question. He shrugged and looked at Kagome. "I can't say, Kagome. All I can assume is that Kikiyou, after sealing Inu-Yasha again, used the last of her powers to become the overgrowth. She was made of earth and bones. Perhaps it was that and what was left of her magic that made the plants into that burning overgrowth and surrounded Inu-Yasha. But we will never really know."

Kagome nodded. "Thank you, Shippou-chan. Ja-na!" She waved at them.

The four nodded and waved at Inu-Yasha as they left.

Inu-Yasha watched them leave and his heart constricted. This was what was left of the friends he had known? Had it been so long? He felt gentle arms wrap around his neck and he turned his gaze to the smiling woman in his arms. At least he had his Kagome. If nothing else in the world mattered… She was the one thing that did.

He bent his head toward her and kissed her lips fleetingly as he began to move toward her house. "Kagome…I love you…" he whispered against her lips.

Kagome smiled. "And I you, Inu-Yasha…"