InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ BEGINNING ❯ BEGINNING ( Chapter 1 )

 

BEGINNING

 

 

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

 

“Mmm.” The hot tub felt perfect against the cool night air. Kagome leaned back against Inuyasha and closed her eyes. This was their time. Kazuki was asleep and would hopefully stay that way until dawn at least. Kagome glanced at the open door to their bedroom.

 

“Keh, don't worry—he's fine. I'll know it if he wakes up.” Inuyasha pulled her more securely against him.

 

Over two years had passed since Inuyasha had escaped the time slip. In that time, lots had happened, not the least of which was that bundle of joy in the other room. Kagome smiled. He really was a joy. A handful, but a joy nevertheless. He was the image of his father, for which she was glad, although she worried a little about what they were going to do once he reached school age. He certainly had his father's energy. After the time he nearly fell into the hot tub, and the other time when he almost went over the edge of the deck, Kagome quickly became proficient in putting up barriers. The small zap he got when he approached these areas now was enough to reinforce his parents' verbal commands, and worked much better than a baby fence. Kagome didn't think there was a fence in existence that could hold him. She shuddered to think what would happen when, like his father before him, Kazuki decided to ignore the zap and break through her barrier. She couldn't very well purify her own son, now could she? Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

 

When Inuyasha had returned to her, she thought her life would get back to normal. Normal? No, she had long ago passed normal. She wouldn't know what to do with it anymore. Still, she had gone to school for the first semester and arranged to take the next semester off so that she could have the baby. After that, she planned to take a few classes at a time until she got her degree. She was in no hurry, now. They had decided to go back to Japan in mid December, as soon as finals were over. She had promised her mother a wedding.

 

Naturally all their friends had wanted to come along. Kagome shifted in Inuyasha's arms, as she remembered their wedding and its aftermath. In retrospect, it had been fun. At the time, all she had thought of was that having foreign friends was a lot like having youkai friends. Not easy.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

 

Inuyasha hovered over Kagome as she tried to sleep on the airplane. He wasn't at all sure she should be flying in her condition, but the youkai doctor had assured them that it was fine. Kagome wasn't due for a few months yet, not until February well after the New Year celebration. She had maintained a long-distance relationship with the youkai doctor, who would not consider leaving Japan. Inuyasha had brought her to see Misty down by the shore, after consulting with Mr. Rinks and the others. It had been a while since any of them had seen a real youkai pregnancy and they all agreed that Misty, as one of the oldest, would know what to do. Thankfully, in Inuyasha's opinion, she did, although it was more from centuries of watching humans give birth than from any actual youkai birthing experience. Kagome humored him and had marvelous teatimes with Misty every few weeks.

 

Noriko was flying back with Peter and would meet them after she introduced Peter to her family. Peter was excited, but Noriko had her doubts, which she shared with Kagome. “I don't know what my father will say,” she confessed. “He doesn't know I have an American boyfriend.”

 

Kagome sympathized, realizing she had been lucky that her family, even Grandpa eventually, had been so accepting of Inuyasha right from the start. Even though he was a youkai, at least he was Japanese. Knowing Peter, however, she had no doubt that he would charm Noriko's family once they got over the initial shock.

 

Jenn and, surprisingly, the new world youkai Fenn, were also coming for the wedding. Kagome had asked her mother to put them up, but Inuyasha stepped in and informed Sesshomaru that the American guests would be staying with him, instead. He told Kagome it was because her mother would disapprove of them staying in the same room together, and he told Sesshomaru it was so that he could keep a close watch on the foreign youkai, Fenn. They both bought it, which surprised Inuyasha. The truth was, he didn't want anybody else to stay at Kagome's house for what amounted to their `honeymoon.'

 

Dressed in traditional wedding clothing, Kagome's pregnancy was hardly noticeable. Only Kagome's family and Sesshomaru, as Inuyasha's family, attended the formal ceremony, but they had a bigger celebration for the extended family and guests from America directly after.

 

Fenn walked around the shrine grounds, entranced. “This is where the famous well is?” he asked. “May I see?” Inuyasha had promised him the full story if he returned, and he had kept his promise. He hadn't gone into detail with Peter, Jenn and Noriko, however, figuring that the humans had enough to deal with regarding the existence of youkai. They didn't need to know about the time slip.

 

Fenn hopped lightly down to the bottom of the well and placed his palms flat on the packed earth. After a while, he shook his head and hopped back up. “Nothing,” he said, disappointed.

 

“Told you,” said Inuyasha. He had told Fenn that his sword had created the cut which released him from the time slip, but he didn't mention that Tetsusaiga had absorbed that power and could now create a time slip anywhere, and possibly any time. He hadn't actually tested it, so he wasn't sure. He supposed it would connect them back to the feudal era, but he didn't want to take any chances that it would dump him back into that timeless void. And if Tetsusaiga could invoke the time slip anywhere, would it bring them to the feudal era at that spot, or in the same spot as the well had been? He didn't want to try it, at least not until after the baby was born and maybe not even then. Although it would be nice to see Miroku and Sango again. They'd have to sneak, because all the current youkai, like Shippo, and Kouga, and Sesshomaru, had no recollection of them back in the past after the well exploded, and Inuyasha didn't want that paradox to haunt him ever again!

 

Jenn was delighted to be staying at Sesshomaru's house. She may have come with Fenn, but they had a very easy relationship. She made sure to let Sesshomaru know it, too, much to his discomfort. Fenn just grinned. He didn't mind staying at Sesshomaru's place, either. He could sense the youkai from the village below, and was very interested in meeting them for himself.

 

On the second day, a very confused Peter showed up at Sesshomaru's door, accompanied by Inuyasha. “He needs to stay here, too,” explained Inuyasha brusquely in Japanese. “Noriko's family kicked him out.” Sesshomaru's eyebrows rose a fraction, but he didn't say anything. It turned out that her family hadn't exactly kicked Peter out—it was more that they had no intention of letting him stay in the same house as their daughter and politely sent him on his way. Noriko hadn't known what to do, and so she called Kagome, who sent Inuyasha to rescue Peter.

 

So it was a very mixed group that visited the village below Sesshomaru's house that afternoon. Fenn stared in fascination at the youkai masquerading as humans, amazed that the entire town seemed to be made up of them. Some of the youkai cast him wary glances, sensing his aura as well, but Sesshomaru was with the group, so they kept their distance, rightly figuring that the taiyoukai had the situation under control. None of the humans, with the possible exception of Peter, who kept shooting puzzled looks at some of the locals, recognized this as a youkai village. Kagome had stayed home because she had a doctor's visit. She would be meeting them later on for dinner.

 

Sesshomaru had purposely stocked his home full of human food for his guests.

 

“No sushi?” asked Jenn, when they sat down to eat.

 

“No ramen?” asked Inuyasha.

 

“What's this?” asked Peter, holding up a squiggly piece of something in his chopsticks. It slid out of the chopsticks and landed with a plop on the table. Kagome, who had cooked, rolled her eyes. This is what she had been afraid of.

 

“I don't eat human food,” said Fenn, to a chorus of `Yes, you do,' and `Give me a break,' and `You just don't like it,' from the other dinner guests. He smiled into his bowl and didn't reply.

 

“Why don't we go out to eat instead?” suggested Kagome.

 

They hadn't. After that, everyone made a valiant effort to enjoy Kagome's dinner. However, they agreed that they would definitely go out to dinner the following night, in an American-style restaurant.

 

Kagome took the girls, including Ayame, shopping while Inuyasha brought the guys, including Kouga and Shippo, on a tour around Tokyo. Actually, Shippo led them around. Inuyasha was still unfamiliar with most of modern Tokyo. Fenn found himself sticking with Peter, the only non-youkai of their group, and also the only other non-Japanese. Youkai or no, Fenn was a product of his environment, and it wasn't Japan. He kept his eyes peeled for signs of other youkai and was disappointed when he couldn't detect any.

 

“Don't feel bad,” Inuyasha said, interpreting Fenn's look. “I never noticed them either until recently. They know how to hide in plain sight.”

 

Fenn nodded thoughtfully. He was getting an education in youkai-human affairs. He had been amazed at the number of hanyou he had seen since he'd been here. Youkai-human affairs, indeed. They were all quite strong, as he had a feeling they would be. That was what the youkai in America needed, a little new blood. A lot to think about. . . .

 

Neither Jenn nor Noriko realized that Ayame was youkai. Kagome didn't see the need to tell them, either. Later that night, when they sat down to dinner with the boys, Noriko's eyes widened as Ayame slid into the seat next to Kouga and introduced him as her husband. Noriko knew that Kouga was youkai from the time he had visited Inuyasha in the States. She glanced at Kagome for confirmation and saw her eyes twinkle in amusement. That was confirmation enough. But Ayame didn't look youkai! Noriko turned towards Shippo. Could he be youkai? Shippo caught her staring and winked. For just a split second he let his illusion fall, revealing the points to his ears and his too-beautiful features. So he was youkai, too. All her life, Noriko had grown up on stories of youkai yet she had never really believed. It turned out they were all around her. She grasped Peter's hand under the table for reassurance, and Peter squeezed back. He'd somehow known they were youkai all along, and, not having grown up with the darker legends, he was more fascinated than afraid.

 

They were having pizza, and even Fenn deigned to eat a piece. It didn't taste like the pizza back home, as Jenn was quick to point out. It had pineapple on it, not very much sauce, and hardly any cheese! Kagome shook her head. Maybe she should have stuck with the burger place, but she really didn't want to run in to her old school friends, not that she didn't like them—she did—but she didn't quite know how to mix her old friends with her new ones. Besides, her old friends didn't know about the baby yet.

 

Over the next few days, they visited a few tourist spots before the group from America had to fly back. They each had different itineraries in mind, which made it difficult. Peter and Jenn both wanted to see Mt. Fuji and visit a hot spring, Noriko wanted Peter to spend some time with her family, Fenn wanted to see more Japanese youkai, and Kagome and Inuyasha just wanted to enjoy their `honeymoon,' such as it was. It made for difficult travel arrangements.

 

In the end, Peter, Noriko and Jennifer went up north with Kouga for a few days in a real Japanese village, while Inuyasha, along with Sesshomaru and Shippo, brought Fenn to some of the nearer youkai settlements so that he could see for himself how Japanese youkai had adapted to the modern world. Kagome was happy to spend some mother-daughter time at home planning for the baby. She would stay in Japan until after the baby was born, in case she ran into some trouble with the birth itself, even though her youkai doctor didn't anticipate any. But both she and Inuyasha had decided to play it safe. Neither she nor Inuyasha wanted the world to find out about the existence of youkai by accident if she had to deliver the baby in a U.S. hospital with human doctors.

 

Inuyasha regretted letting Kouga leave without talking to him about the strange youkai he had encountered in the Sengoku Jidai. Ha, he never thought he'd say that! But it was true. Kouga was the only one besides Inuyasha, and Rin of course, who had gotten a good look at the youkai. He wondered if Rin had ever mentioned it to Sesshomaru. He decided to ask.

 

“No, this is the first I've heard of it,” said Sesshomaru. “He knew you all by name, you say? And he was able to disappear and reappear at will?”

 

“Yeah,” said Inuyasha. Trust Kouga not to think it was important. Then again, Kouga hadn't known the youkai had followed them to the well. Only Rin knew that, and apparently she was very good at keeping secrets. Inuyasha smiled to himself, remembering that he had transformed briefly into the Great Dog shape in front of Rin and told her not to tell. The poor kid was probably so traumatized that she considered the entire affair part of Inuyasha's secret. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. It seemed that Inuyasha really had destroyed the strange youkai when he destroyed the well. He had worried that the youkai had been able to disappear before the final moment, but if none of the surviving youkai had ever heard of him, then it must be all right.

 

“Wait,” interjected Fenn. “A youkai who knows things he shouldn't, and can disappear? I've seen someone like that. . . it was a long time ago.”

 

. Inuyasha and his brother had been speaking Japanese, yet Fenn was answering them in English. Inuyasha knew how that worked. He'd experienced it first-hand. Somehow, youkai were able to understand each other no matter what language was actually spoken.

 

“You have seen a youkai such as Inuyasha described?” asked Sesshomaru.

 

`When? Where?” Inuyasha wanted to know. He wasn't thrilled to hear that more of these strange youkai might still exist. He didn't think it could actually be the same one. As far as he knew, this was the first time Fenn had ever been in Japan.

 

“It was back—where I come from,” said Fenn, deliberately vague. “A long long time ago, as I said. He tried to stir up the lesser youkai but without much success. An angry creature, if I recall.”

 

“He? Just one youkai?” It couldn't be the same one, could it? Why would he have gone there?

 

Fenn shrugged. “I'll show you where it happened, if you like, next time you are in my area.” He extended the invitation to Sesshomaru and Shippo too. Inuyasha realized that they would have to follow up on it, if only for his own peace of mind. He was glad to see that Sesshomaru, who was nodding back at Fenn, felt the same way.

 

But any investigation of strange youkai would have to wait. It had been five hundred years since Inuyasha had last encountered the strange youkai. What was another few months? Inuyasha had more important things on his mind, like the birth of his son.

 

Their friends went back to America at the end of the week, and Kagome could finally relax for the last few months of her pregnancy. She promised to send pictures once the baby was born. Kazuki was born on a Wednesday evening, and as the youkai doctor had promised, there were no complications with the delivery. Sesshomaru picked the name, as patriarch of Inuyasha's family. Kagome was touched that he chose their son's name, and even more touched that Inuyasha allowed it. The brothers had come a long way in a short period of time.

 

They held a naming ceremony at Midoriko's cave once the baby was old enough. Kazuki's name was entered into the scroll with all the other names of Rin and Kohaku's descendants, and placed in the shrine with the other scrolls naming the descendants of Miroku and Sango, Kouga and Ayame and, surprising Kagome, Shippo. Her eyes welled up. She had yet to meet Shippo's kitsune family, but she determined that she wanted to do that before she went back to the States.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

Inuyasha helped Kagome out of the hot tub, then gently lifted their son from his spot on the bed and moved him down the hall to his own room without waking him. It was still his and Kagome's time, for a few more hours.

 

He groaned as the doorbell rang way too early the next morning. He sniffed. “Kagome,” he mumbled, still half asleep, “why couldn't you fix the barrier to keep humans out too?” He got out of bed and shuffled towards the door, stopping to pluck Kazuki off the railing before he plummeted the four feet to the next level below. Tucking the squirming child securely under his arm, Inuyasha jumped down the few steps and stalked to the front door. Maybe he shouldn't have jumped. He wasn't setting a very good example for his son. No wonder the kid dove off of every surface without a care in the world as to how he was going to land. Not that he would have gotten hurt; he was hanyou, after all. But his mother tended to freak out. Inuyasha wondered briefly if his own mother had had such problems when he was that age.

 

“Peter,” he greeted the young man on the other side of the door. “I thought you were coming over at eight.” Kazuki wriggled so much that Inuyasha set him down. The kid had spotted some of their youkai in the yard and wanted to play. They would keep a close eye on him.

 

“It is eight,” replied Peter, holding up two fishing rods. “The fish are probably long gone by now. Let's get going.”

 

Kagome stood at the top of the railing, yawning. They had stayed up a little later than they should have last night. She'd forgotten Inuyasha was supposed to go fishing today. “Are you taking Kazuki?” she wanted to know. “He hasn't had his breakfast yet.”

 

“I'll get him something on the way,” promised Inuyasha. It was about time the kid got some real food, anyway. He scooped up Kazuki, who had stripped himself of his jammies and the hated overnight diaper and was running around naked with the little youkai. Valynne brought Inuyasha over a fresh outfit for Kazuki and helped to hold him while Inuyasha attempted to squeeze the suddenly boneless child into them. Kagome smiled, and went back to bed. It looked like they had it under control.

 

“Do you have to go?” asked Inuyasha, before he pulled up the Big Boy underpants. Kazuki shook his head emphatically No. Apparently, he had already gone. That taken care of, they headed out through the back woods. The pond Inuyasha wanted to try was a few miles in, but there were no roads to get there. They walked, in deference to Peter's non-youkai limitations.

 

Inuyasha had to haul Kazuki down from the trees a few times, but other than that, the boy was very well-behaved. He chased a squirrel and almost caught it before it slipped between some bushes and disappeared. Inuyasha had Peter go on ahead. He slung Kazuki over his back and jumped up into the trees with him. Kagome was going to kill him if she found out. His eyes and nose spotted another of the furry little animals and, with Kazuki still clinging to his back, he dove down on the unsuspecting squirrel and pincered it with his claws. The aroma of fresh blood filled the air. Inuyasha could hear Kazuki sniffing in curiosity. “Here,” he said, pulling the child in front of him and holding out the dead squirrel. Kazuki wasn't sure what to do with it. He sniffed it again, quite thoroughly, then looked up at his father, puzzled.

 

Inuyasha took back the squirrel, and prepared it, tossing the skin into the bushes. He took a bite, then held out a section for his son to try. Gingerly, Kazuki nibbled, decided he liked it, and gnawed on a piece.

 

“Hey, are you guys coming?” called Peter from somewhere up ahead.

 

“That's enough,” decided Inuyasha, taking the remains of the meal and wiping Kazuki's hands on the grass. He gently ran his thumb across the boy's mouth to remove a speck of blood. “You liked that, didn't you? Maybe we'll try some more later. But don't tell Mama, ok?”

 

Kazuki nodded, then ran ahead to catch up with Peter. Inuyasha reached him just before he plunged into the water.

 

The fishing expedition was a success. Kazuki came home soaking wet, having managed to fall in despite both men's attempts to keep him out of the water. It was October, and the temperature was in the 60's, but Kazuki was hanyou, so it didn't bother him at all. Kagome made a big fuss and gave him a bath right away. “What about me?” asked Inuyasha, after Peter had gone home.

 

“I got a phone call from Sesshomaru today,” Kagome commented, as she soaped Inuyasha's back. Kazuki splashed happily in the space between Inuyasha's legs. “He's coming to see us tomorrow. He wants you to get hold of Fenn and some of the others, too. Something about investigating a youkai? Should I know about this?”

 

Inuyasha sighed. It had been a little more than the few months he had originally thought, but he hadn't forgotten what Fenn had said about the strange youkai. He felt obligated to check it out, just in case it was related to the youkai he had encountered back in the Sengoku Jidai when he destroyed the well. He never had told Kagome about it. “Yeah,” he replied, and proceeded to tell Kagome the entire story.

 

“So you're worried that this youkai Fenn ran into years ago might be the same one you saw in the feudal era?”

 

“Maybe not the same one, but the same kind. I just need to be sure there's no threat. That youkai nearly destroyed us back then, and I still don't know why.”

 

“Oh,” said Kagome, as she lifted Kazuki out of the tub and toweled him dry. She threw Inuyasha a second towel and let him dry himself off. “By the way, Kouga is coming, too.”

 

“Great,” said Inuyasha, although it made sense for Kouga to come since he had actually seen the strange youkai back then. He grabbed his cell phone and called Fenn.

 

 

Kagome cleaned the house, which was already clean as far as Inuyasha could tell, and prepared several of the guest rooms. She wasn't exactly sure who was coming. The next day, Sesshomaru arrived, along with Shippo. Kagome had taken down her barrier so as not to offend any youkai, but their little youkai let them know something was coming long before Sesshomaru's car breezed up the driveway.

 

“Shippo!” cried Kagome, pleased to see the handsome kitsune. He smiled at her, as he got out of the car and gazed at the house. This was the first time he had been here.

 

“Shippo!” Inuyasha ignored his brother and grasped Shippo's arm in greeting. “Nice to see you. What do you think?”

 

“Nice. Very nice,” replied Shippo, who was just then noticing the abundance of smaller youkai surrounding them. He saw Valynne standing shyly behind Kagome, and his eyes widened. A fox youkai?

 

Kagome invited them in and offered them each a glass of tea as they sat in front of the fireplace in the open central room. Sesshomaru set his cup down and flew up, settling back down with a wide-eyed and much subdued little hanyou boy, who had been about to make his entrance without benefit of the stairs. “Kazuki,” he murmured, taking in the child's shining silver hair and quivering ears. Kazuki looked up at him in amazement, sniffed, and, apparently satisfied, settled down contently in his uncle's arms. Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged glances. That certainly was not typical Kazuki behavior.

 

“Where's Kouga?” asked Inuyasha. “I thought he was coming with you.”

 

“Oh, he's here already. He and his clan came about a week ago and they have been roaming the hills to the north of here. He said you had invited him to do that.”

 

“His clan? All of them?” Inuyasha suddenly worried that Kouga really was going to take him up on his offer and settle down here. He wasn't sure he liked that idea.”

 

“No, not all of them. Just about ten or twelve or so.” Shippo was being helpful. He couldn't help but notice the angry glint growing in Inuyasha's eyes. “They'll be here later today.”

 

“Oh, I don't think I have that much room!” said Kagome, getting up to check on possible sleeping arrangements.

 

“Don't bother. They won't be staying here. They prefer to be out in the wilds,” said Sesshomaru. Kazuki had fallen asleep on Sesshomaru's lap.

 

 

Later that day, Fenn arrived bringing Mr. Rinks and a few of the other local youkai with him. Kouga showed up with Ayame and three of his sons, not quite the twelve that Shippo had led them to believe. They insisted they'd rather be out in the woods than in one of Kagome's guest rooms. It was refreshing to be outdoors in this wide open country, and they were having a wonderful time running with the wolves.

 

“So what's the story on this youkai you said you've seen?” asked Kouga, startling Kazuki into wakefulness. Sesshomaru frowned.

 

“I'll take you to where I saw him, but it was a long time ago, a few hundred years at least. You have to remember we weren't as you youkai are—we rarely interacted with humans and we had no interest in power except as a requirement to our survival. So when this foreign youkai appeared and tried to stir up the lesser youkai against us, he wasn't very successful. The lesser youkai weren't very substantial, and frankly, we didn't really care what he did. The only thing that jogged my memory was when you said, Inuyasha, that he knew all of your names without being told. This youkai knew our names, too. And we rarely spoke our names, even to each other. As I said, we tended to keep our distance from each other.”

 

“You said he was foreign,” remarked Kouga. “Could he have been Japanese?”

 

“It's hard to say. I wouldn't have known what that was at the time. He wasn't one of us, that I know.”

 

“If he was the same youkai we met, how would he have gotten here?” questioned Inuyasha, looking at Kouga.

 

“You talk as if the entire world only started to communicate just recently,” commented Kagome. “There were ships, even back then. It wouldn't have been impossible.”

 

“Yes, but why?” Shippo asked. “We haven't seen any sign of hostile youkai activity, here or at home, in years,” he added. “Maybe we're worrying over nothing.”

 

“Nothing? You didn't see this youkai, but you saw what he called forth. Those lesser youkai that plagued the area? He called them—I saw him do it,” said Inuyasha. He more than anyone wanted to believe there was no longer a threat. That youkai had creeped him out.

 

“We will investigate the place where Fenn last saw this youkai,” declared Sesshomaru, setting down the squirming child. “We will keep our eyes and our ears open. That is the best we can do.”

 

Shippo nudged Kagome, shifting only his eyes towards the kitchen where Valynne was giving Kazuki a drink of some sort. “Is she kitsune?” he whispered.

 

“We think so,” Kagome replied. “She's a fox spirit, at least. She's new, Shippo. She wasn't much more than spirit when we first met her. I don't think she was born, either. I think she chose her shape. Most of the smaller youkai here are like her.” Kagome pointed to the window, where Shippo could see small half-recognizable shapes flitting about in the yard. “She could use some real kitsune guidance,” Kagome went on. “I know! Shippo, would you consider bringing some of your family here for a vacation, so that Valynne and maybe some of the others can get to know you? I think it might help her in becoming . . . what she is trying to become.”

 

Shippo nodded. He'd see what he could do. The girl intrigued him, to say the least. New? “Not all the youkai here are like her, are they?” He looked directly at Fenn as he spoke.

 

Fenn gave a slight smile. “Not all,” he agreed.

 

“Hot tub, anyone?” asked Kagome, as the meeting seemed to be over. “I have extra bathing suits!”

 

Kouga and Ayame, Fenn, Shippo, Inuyasha and Kagome squeezed into the hot tub, sloshing water over the edge and through the deck to the rocks far below. The others had already taken their leave. Sesshomaru had volunteered to watch Kazuki and was currently reading him a story. They laughed and relaxed and exchanged stories until the moon came out. Even if they never found out what happened to the strange youkai, Kagome wouldn't have traded this moment for anything.

 

Inuyasha threw some steaks on the grill and even Sesshomaru joined them on the deck for a late supper. Kazuki had long since been put to bed. Finally, Kouga and Ayame left to meet their pack members in the woods and Fenn went off to wherever it was he lived. They would all meet again in the morning.

 

Kagome went back out to the deck to clear away the remaining plates and cups when the front doorbell rang again.

 

“What the hell?” muttered Inuyasha. “Didn't they just leave?” He went through the house to answer the door. “What--?”

 

Kouga stood on the step, holding Kazuki by the back of his jammies. “I think this belongs to you,” he said wryly.

 

“Kazuki!” Kagome was horrified. “Did you follow them?” She turned to pin Inuyasha with an accusing glare. “And why didn't you notice your son was missing!”

 

Inuyasha shrugged. He would have figured it out eventually. There wasn't anywhere in these woods that his son could wander without being protected. Kagome should know that. He took Kazuki from Kouga and brought him back to bed.

 

Naturally, Kagome wanted to go the next day too, but that would mean Kazuki had to come along as well. Inuyasha was sure she would change her mind when she realized that, but she was fine with it. She bundled him up in his warmest clothes and wrapped him in Inuyasha's red jacket. Kazuki squirmed but he was caught. Inuyasha had to laugh. The kid didn't feel the cold like she did, but that didn't matter to Kagome.

 

Fenn brought them deep into the northwestern woods. They traveled for quite some time before he suddenly called a halt. “Here,” he said. It was a swamp, plain and simple, out in the middle of nowhere. No wonder humans hadn't settled this area.

 

Off to one side, shrouded in shadow, was a jumble of what looked like rocks piled one on top of the other. Fenn led them to it, then quietly waited while they drew their own conclusions.

 

“He's dead,” stated Inuyasha, as he gazed at what surely was a youkai skeleton. Is this the youkai you meant?” Inuyasha wondered if Fenn had known the youkai was dead all along, and if so, why had he brought them all out here on this wild goose chase. He glanced around at the shimmering edges of the swamp and suddenly sidled closer to Kagome and the baby. Something wasn't quite right.

 

Fenn nodded, then answered Inuyasha's unspoken question. “Yes, I knew he was dead. I killed him.”

 

Inuyasha growled and took a threatening step towards the new world youkai. “What's going on, Fenn?”

 

Sesshomaru walked around the skeleton, appraising it. He couldn't tell by looking what type of youkai it had been. “Are you sure? This youkai was the same kind as the one Inuyasha encountered? How did you kill him when Inuyasha could not?”

 

That was oblique praise, coming from Sesshomaru.

 

Fenn answered, not in words, but by abruptly disappearing from sight and scent. Inuyasha whirled around, hand on Tetsusaiga. “Get behind me, Kagome!” he ordered. She scooped up Kazuki and started to move behind Inuyasha when suddenly Fenn appeared again, blocking her. He grinned at her briefly, then turned to tap Inuyasha on the shoulder before disappearing again.

 

“That's how,” he said, as he reappeared on a boulder in the middle of the swamp, a safe distance away from both brothers. Sesshomaru immediately lunged after him, so Fenn disappeared again. Kouga and his wolves fanned out around the edges of the swamp.

 

“Don't trust your eyes,” said Shippo, frowning in concentration. “It's an illusion!” A flawless illusion, involving all the senses, but an illusion nevertheless. He couldn't have pulled something like that off.

 

“Of course not,” taunted Fenn, catching Shippo's gaze. “I am illusion—you just use it.”

 

“He read my mind! Inuyasha, he can read minds—he's the one!”

 

Inuyasha had one arm around Kagome and Kazuki, and held Tetsusaiga out straight in front of him with the other arm. Fenn wasn't the same youkai he had met in the Sengoku Jidai, he was pretty sure. And Fenn didn't always read minds, he was pretty sure of that, too.”

 

“Thank you, Inuyasha,” answered Fenn, proving once and for all that he really was reading their minds. “No, I don't listen in on people's thoughts unless I need to, like now, to prove my point.” He disappeared once more when Sesshomaru almost caught up to him, reappearing a few feet away from Inuyasha. “I killed him because I'm like him, but we are not the same. He wanted to control the youkai, he wanted to feed off their energy to fuel his power and spawn more youkai who were like him. We didn't need that. We had enough power, and besides, we liked things the way they were. When he couldn't control us, he attacked us. So I killed him. I never knew where he had come from; I never thought about it until I heard you talking about it back in Japan. So I don't know if he's the same one you saw, Inuyasha, but if he is, you don't have to worry about him anymore.”

 

“But how? How did you manage to kill him?”

 

Fenn smiled crookedly, a little embarrassed. “I took his energy. I told you—we're the same.” He held out his arms towards Kazuki, and the little boy strained towards him. Fenn was like a favorite uncle. He couldn't understand why his mama held him more tightly, and he whined softly. Fenn slowly let his arms drop. “I never hid what I was,” he said quietly.

 

“And the others?” asked Sesshomaru, meaning Mr. Rinks and the rest of the greater youkai.

 

“They knew—they know,” admitted Fenn. “They trusted me to explain it to you. I thought you would understand once you saw for yourselves.” He indicated the youkai skeleton. “I didn't want you to find out by accident one day. I—we value your friendship.”

 

As far as Kagome was concerned, that was the end of it. She stepped out of the circle of Inuyasha's arms and let Kazuki go to Fenn. Inuyasha nearly snatched him back, but he hesitated after Kagome gave him her miko look. He still thought she was too trusting for her own good, but, damn it, he liked Fenn. So what if he sucked energy off of living things? He could live with that, as long as Fenn didn't try to suck energy off of any of his people.

 

“Thank you, Inuyasha,” Fenn said again. The worst was over. The others would follow Inuyasha's lead.

 

“Would you stop doing that?” asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

 

Kagome clapped her hands. “Well, that's settled,” she said. “Let's all go back to the house and order a pizza for lunch!”

 

“Pizza?” said Kazuki. His mama gathered him back from Fenn and jostled him up and down on her hip.

 

“Not for you, my little man,” she said mock-sternly. “I have something very special for you when we get home.”

 

Inuyasha could just imagine what that might be. He'd stop along the way and pick up a few squirrels to go.

 

 

THE END