InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Deja-vu ❯ Deja-vu Part Three ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Kagome, or the no-doubt adorable children they would have together if the puppy would get over himself. As for Sesshoumaru…let's just say I'm working on an angle to get me what I want… if you review nicely, I may even share.

** This will be a one-shotter, broken into three parts. For those of you who can't count: THIS IS THE FINAL PART!! **

AN: Okay, I know I've got another fic unfinished, but I ran into a little bit of `lack of inspiration' (I got this Inu/Kagome thing going on right now---probably a direct result of Sesshou overload), so decided this would be a good one-shot exercise to get the creative juices flowing again.

*** THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO REVIEW! ***

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Deja-vu

"What happened? How did it break this time?" she asked in a wooden voice made hollow with disillusionment.

When Sesshoumaru did not answer, she raised bruised eyes to him and was caught off guard by the obvious conflict she glimpsed in his glittering golden eyes. She did not understand what he was warring with himself over. Indeed, if she had even a hint of a clue that his inner debate was over his own selfish desires to lie to her, to tell her some accident had broken the jewel, convince her to stay here where it was safe, where he could keep her safe…she would have no doubt run screaming---or more likely, shot him through the heart with one of her purifying arrows.

The temptation was strong, and completely irrational, and for those reasons he fought against it with every ounce of his youkai pride. It was because it would be unfair to Kagome, though, and hurt her, that he fought against it with his heart and soul.

She did not belong to him or with him---she had always been his brother's. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he had known for five hundred years it was the truth. He comforted himself with the knowledge that he had decades of memories of their friendship to fall back on once she was gone from this time. He could fondly remember the arguments, the jests (usually at Inuyasha's expense), the tickle battles between Kagome and Rin, holding his niece and nephews…

He had no right to keep her here with him, no right to demolish her hopes and dreams, for he knew she could never truly be happy with anyone but his boorish half-brother. It was small comfort Inuyasha made her so blissfully happy (though that was still incomprehensible to him).

"After you left, he held onto the Shikon no Tama, hoping you would return. Every day he would jump into the well, trying to reach your time," the brittle edge to his voice spoke of Inuyasha's frantically driven actions and obvious devastation.

"He tried to come here?" Kagome asked, her voice strained with barely-reigned emotion.

Sesshoumaru nodded and his lips twitched slightly at some remembered scene.

"When he gave up on that tactic, he finally hit upon a brilliant idea," the demon lord paused for effect, mouth twitching even more to contain an obvious smile. "He decided to," Sesshoumaru leaned in closer to Kagome and dropped his voice to an awed whisper, "think of a plan."

Kagome couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips at Sesshoumaru's unrepentant and uncharacteristic teasing.

"No!" She answered in a scandalized tone, anxiety eased by the taiyoukai's teasing manner.

Sesshoumaru reared back slightly, plastering a patently offended look across his elegant features and said in a tone of deep hurt, "Would I lie to you?"

Swatting him lightly on the arm for his outrageous banter, Sesshoumaru stiffened. Kagome went rigid with horror that she had just had the temerity to strike the Lord of the Western Lands. She cinched her eyes tightly closed, preparing herself to feel the slash of claws or the burn of poison. Surely the demon lord would not let her effrontery go unpunished.

When a few agonizingly long moments had passed, though, and Kagome did not find herself melted to a lump of miko slop, she cranked open one eye to squint fearfully at the youkai prince. The utterly arrested expression on his face had her popping both eyes open and breathing a sigh of relief.

He did not appear angry, or offended, or even annoyed. In fact, he seemed to be caught between amusement and… fondness? For her? Kagome's bewilderment only grew when he reached out a hand to gently cup her cheek, thumb stroking softly along the curve.

"I have missed you, Kagome," he said in a low voice strained with longing and affection---and steeped in memories.

She leaned into his touch, wanting to erase some of the haunted shadows from his bright eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked gently, hoping to nudge him into explaining his sudden bittersweet words, but her voice shattered whatever spell had held him captive and he shook himself. The moment was lost, and he cleared his throat slightly, dropping his hand to his knee.

"I apologize for digressing from my explanation," he said briskly, firmly steering the conversational track back to the matter of the Shikon shard still cradled in Kagome's palm like the treasure it was.

"As I was saying, Inuyasha decided to think up a plan for returning to you," Sesshoumaru's lips quirked with a ghost of his previous teasing smile, and Kagome's heart ached for his lost openness.

"After ten years of trying various methods, he hit upon the only thing which had been proven to work before," he paused to eye Kagome meaningfully, watching with pride as the light of comprehension bloomed immediately in her liquid eyes.

"The Shikon no Tama," she supplied confidently, mind racing with the implications and impact of having a jewel shard in both the past, and the present.

Obviously, Inuyasha never made a wish on the Shikon no Tama, and probably shattered the jewel himself to extract a shard to give to her. But why had Sesshoumaru's given it to her and not Inuyasha? Was it to avoid meeting her in the future and creating some sort of time paradox---you know, the whole `the universe will implode if you meet yourself' catastrophe? But, no, that wouldn't be right, because it would have been Inuyasha handing the shard over, not Kagome from the past---er, future. Whatever. So, did that mean something had happened to Inuyasha, rendering him unable to reach her?

Kagome's heart chilled at the thought, though she recognized that a lot could happen in five hundred years. And Inuyasha was only half-human, so not as likely to live as long as Sesshoumaru had…

"Kagome," the demon prince's voice brought her out of her furiously spiraling thoughts, "Inuyasha broke off this piece of the jewel and entrusted it to me until the time I could place it in your care."

"But why didn't he give it to me himself?" she wailed the question uppermost in her mind, clutching at Sesshoumaru's sleeve in her desperation for assurance.

His eyes softened, and all he would say was, "He wanted me to tell you that the choice is up to you, and he will be waiting."

Kagome's heart seemed to stop briefly before resuming its normal rhythm again. He was waiting for her. He was waiting for her. Kagome. Not Kikyou. Kagome.

The knot in her chest that she had carried around for ten agonizingly long years loosened, then released in a pent-up sigh. She suddenly felt lighter than she had in decades---literally. Not since before they had managed to defeat Naraku had Kagome felt so carefree, unfettered by the chains of worry and grief and despair that had weighed down her heart.

A brilliant smile lit her face, making her seem to glow with joy. Sesshoumaru felt his heart hitch in his chest at the beauty he remembered so well, and he had to clench his fists at his sides to keep from pulling her into a tight embrace. Instead, he stood silently by as she rushed out the doors of the well house, calling excitedly to her family. He waited patiently for her return, even helped her settle her hastily-packed bundle of yellow backpack across her shoulders more firmly. He noted with amusement she hadn't forgotten the ramen.

Enduring her tight embrace of gratitude and farewell, he it back the words he longed to say to her. It had taken him years to recognize her true worth, to realize that her uniquely gentle nature was not a weakness, but a great strength.

It had always been too late for him to tell her how he truly felt for her, though---had been since before they had ever met. And he would never dishonor her or himself by trying to wrest her affections from his brother. They had created a bond of friendship and love that she believed was based upon the ties of family and loyalty---and he let her keep that perception. It was certainly the truth on her part. Besides, he had years of memories to look back on, poignant and bittersweet, humorous and embarrassing…and he was about to lose her again.

She was merely human, he reminded himself, with the lifespan of that fragile and emotionally intense race. As he watched her being absorbed by the magic of the Shikon no Tama, he clearly remembered her contentment as she slipped peacefully off the mortal plane.

I have no regrets, Sess, she had whispered to him.

And neither do I, he thought, a small smile curling his lips, thankful for her happiness and that which she had gifted him with for so many years.

"Be happy, old friend," he murmured into the darkness of the well bidding his memories farewell.

As he was turning away, he was startled when a blue light flashed again and he found himself staring at Kagome once more, who was staring anxiously up at him. She looked almost exactly the same as she had seconds ago, with the exception of her clothing. Dressed in the traditional clothing of the miko, she had an almost-complete Shikon jewel hanging around her neck.

"Did I time it right?" she asked worriedly. "This specific date-jumping thing is still new to me," she expounded, rubbing her temples as if she had a slight headache.

When Sesshoumaru nodded his head but still remained mute, the little miko fisted her hands on her hips and glared up at him.

"Why so quiet? Were you hoping to get rid of us?" She demanded irritably.

A small head poked around from behind Kagome's knees, the same raven-dark hair as the miko obscuring her round, pink-cheeked face. The girl child was no more than two or three years old, but so closely resembled Kagome she could only be her daughter. Tilting her little face up to squint at the white-haired demon peering in shell-shocked wonder over the lip of the well, she caught sight of him and scooted out from behind her mother's knees to lift her arms imperiously.

"Unca Se! Unca Se!" she squealed, chubby fingers grasping air in a silent demand to be lifted up by the man she knew so well.

"Kaori," he breathed in awed wonder before leaping down gracefully to scoop the little golden-eyed girl up in his arms, "I didn't think I would see you again."

Kaori's little brow puckered in intense concentration at this pronouncement, clearly puzzled as to why her beloved Uncle Sess would think such a ridiculous thing. She was right here after all, wasn't she? She had played youkai and taijiya with him just two days ago, hadn't she? (Though Uncle Sess said their games were a super-special secret from Daddy and Mommy.)

She reached up a dirty hand to pat at a striped cheek before proclaiming, "Ka missu."

"As I missed you, little one," the now dirt-smudged demon answered solemnly before breaking out into a rare smile. Tossing his favorite niece (his only niece) up into the air, he leapt gracefully after her squealing, giggling form to catch her mid-air and convey her safely to the well house floor.

"Mou," Kagome grumped from the depths of the well, "a mother gets no consideration nowadays. You spoil her terribly, you know, Sess," she shouted the last up at the roof of the small shack, then continued her sub-vocal diatribe (certain Sesshoumaru could hear her---he was dog-demon, after all) while clambering up the ladder to find her daughter and brother-in-law.

As she neared the top of the rickety iron contraption, a clawed hand reached down to help her over the side. Once she was safely deposited on the ground, Sesshoumaru did not immediately release her, but locked an inquisitive gaze on her.

Kagome sighed and said, "I know, I know. `What the heck are you doing here', right?"

"That would about sum it up," he rejoined wryly, "I did not think to ever see you again." A hint of sadness came through the light tone of his voice.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I didn't know that you ever would see me again. Not here in

the future, anyway," Kagome squeezed his hand lightly in apology for the emotional anguish, no matter how brief, she subjected him to and said teasingly, "Just consider me a bad experience of deja-vu." She chuckled then continued, "Inuyasha and I decided, in the interests of family harmony, to elect just Kaori and me as ambassadors for this `first' trip. He'll come next time."

Sesshoumaru sighed in comic relief, grateful he wouldn't have to endure his idiotic brother witnessing his current emotional upset. If he did, Inuyasha would never let him forget it, and youkai live very long lives…

"But didn't you ever wonder where the kids and Inuyasha and I disappeared to all those times?" Kagome brought his thoughts back to her, "Or did you think ramen cups grew on trees in feudal Japan?"

Comprehension finally began to sink in, and Sesshoumaru felt the relief spread throughout his limbs, calming his aching heart. He did not lose them---he had simply been separated from them for a very long time.

Chuckling in amusement at his own blindness, he held Kaori closer to his chest, inhaling her innocent scent, feeling the peace he had learned at the hands of a strangely non-judgmental human miko from the future and her rambunctious children return to him.

Kaori endured this for a marathon time frame of about three seconds before struggling down from her perch to dash headlong out the door, squealing, "Birdie! Birdie!" The flock of fat pigeons pecking in the courtyard for scraps was startled into sudden flight.

The adults paused at the threshold to watch her progress indulgently, making certain she was safe from harm.

"I'm back," Kagome said softly, turning to the youkai lord keeping a protective eagle eye trained on her precious daughter. She smiled at him gently, thankful once again for his strong presence in their lives.

Once upon a time she had viewed him as a ruthless and unfeeling demon, but now knew him as an affectionate---and overprotective---uncle to her children, tolerant (barely) brother to her brash husband, and beloved friend. No, more than a friend. He was family now.

"Welcome back," he said in reply, tugging on her hand to bring her out of the well house into the sunlight.

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TT: *looks around shiftily* Okay. I think the coast is clear. Whew! Sess is really out for blood! Literally! Mine! I know I haven't finished Chapter 7 of `Yume', but I had to get this Kagome/Inuyasha thing out of my system before I could return to my cruel manipulation of Sess's nature so he would fall in love with Kagome-chan. No appreciation!

Inu: I appreciate you! *slides arm around TT's shoulders and winks slyly* After all, I finally ditched the dead chick, got one up on my prick brother, and got busy with Kagome! *grumbles* But couldn't you have put in some gratuitous---

TT: Sshh! *slaps hand over Inu's mouth and whispers in horror* Don't give the Inu fangirls any ideas! I'm done with this fic! I'm trying to move on to gratuitous sex scenes involving your prick brother-er, Sesshoumaru---and Kagome now! Be happy with what you got, puppy!

Inu: Fine! *removes arm and stalks offset* Stupid, stubborn wench!

TT: I heard that! *animal roar from off set* Damn! It's Fluffy! Gotta go finish Chapter 7 of `Yume'! Look me up there, okay? (P.S.: Lots of gratuitous Sess fangirl stuff guaranteed!)