InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ For Such a Time As This ❯ The More Things Change ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Me no own, kk?

Warnings: Inuyasha/Kagome WAFF (Warm and Fuzzy Feelings), with a little Miroku/Sango on the side, slight spoilers for when Tetsusaiga breaks.....um....not much else....hmmmmm, a sympathetic view on Kikyo! (explanation at end)

Review responses at end of chapter.

For Such a Time as This

Chapter 2: The More Things Change...

Kagome was numb. She couldn't feel Shippo, who was pulling on her hair to get her attention. She couldn't hear Miroku's calls, or Inuyasha's curses. She couldn't even really see Sango's hand waving in front of her face. Her vision had been reduced to a tunnel, focusing solely on the dog ears, twitching madly on the hanyou's head.

Those ears had been the first things she had noticed about him, the one thing in her mind that made him truly different. Hair could be dyed, contacts used, nails sharpened, but those ears had to be real. Throughout all the adventures she had been on, they had been her one constant. Inuyasha could maybe hide his feelings behind his eyes and blustering mouth, but he could never hide his ears. She could tell when he was hurt, when he was happy, and even when he still listened when he was 'ignoring' her. Those nights that his ears were gone equated to nights of fear as they anxiously awaited the dawn. As long as those ears were up and aware, Kagome knew, she *knew*, that she would be safe. Danger could not threaten her with those ears on alert.

Inuyasha was still subdued and glaring at her. Very, very slowly, Kagome crawled forward. Equally slowly, she reached out a hand, but paused millimeters from actually touching the furry appendages. This was where her dreams always ended, and she didn't was to reach out only to find Kohaku asleep next to her. But wait. Shippo had had substance. She had definitely felt the little fox cub in her arms. She closed her eyes and swallowed convulsively. Gathering all of her courage, she forced her hand to make that final leap, and made contact.

Her eyes flew open and she stared, incredulous, at her hand, which was absently rubbing Inuyasha's ear. Shocked, her gaze clashed with the hanyou's glare. She quickly pulled her hand back and fisted it over her mouth. She knew she was five seconds from becoming hysterical, so she ruthlessly held back the tears, only giving hiccupping sobs that seemed to stick in her throat.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, had been released from the spell and immediately stood up. He tried to cover his shock at her behavior in his usual way. "Oi!" he said gruffly. "What's the matter with you?"

"No-nothing," she hiccupped. Her hand came down to reveal a blindingly bright smile. "You're a hanyou."

Inuyasha scoffed. "What did you expect, girl? The new moon was two weeks ago."

Kagome frowned. Surely he had meant days, not weeks. She opened her mouth to question him, but something else niggled at her senses. A youkai was headed their way, very fast. A very familiar youkai.

"Kouga-kun!" she cried joyfully as she leapt up.

The others glanced around, but there was no sign of the wolf. Inuyasha even sniffed, but apparently he smelled nothing. Kagome was oblivious as she continued to stare into the woods. A few minutes later, Miroku stiffened, and everyone could see the whirlwind over the tops of the trees. In just a few seconds Kouga had arrived.

"Hey, Kagome!" he greeted, totally ignoring the hanyou that was growling at her side. "I've come to claim you, now that I heard that the dog-turd can't protect you anymore."

"Oi, wimpy wolf," Inuyasha snarled. "I can beat you anytime." He pulled out the Tetsusaiga.

Kouga laughed. "You can barely lift that stupid sword. But if you are serious..."

They launched into a fight. Kagome back up shaking her head. "This is wrong," she whispered. "Something's horribly wrong. Stop it." Her voice was getting louder. "Stop! Inuyasha! Kouga-kun!"

She was screaming by the end, but they weren't listening. Her face hardened, and she picked up her discarded bow. Barely taking the time to aim, she fired at the dueling pair.

Her aim was true, rather miraculously. The arrow flew and hit Tetsusaiga, de-transforming the sword and ricocheting into the sky, still glowing with miko energy. Concentrating as Miroku had taught her, she called the arrow back to her. She noticed, as she absentmindedly leapt to catch the arrow and put it back in her quiver, that Kouga was still traveling too fast. She felt his energies, and realized that there was something that was enhancing his speed. Kagome frowned and raised a hand to call the energy to her. It felt familiar, but she couldn't place it. His legs started to glow, and two shards flew out into her hand.

She stared stupidly at the Shikon shards in her hand. 'That's why it felt familiar,' she thought dazedly. Ignoring the others, who were staring at her in amazement, she took the shards back into Kaede's hut. The whole Shikon no Tama should have been in its pocket and pouch, where she could barely feel it. Again, she didn't realize when everyone piled into the hut behind her. She was too busy staring at her backpack.

About a month ago, they had been attacked by a snake youkai. It was a stupid battle. The snake did not have any shards, nor was it trying to get the shards that they carried. They had found out, later, that it, or rather she, was merely defending her nest. The battle was short, consisting mainly of Inuyasha and Miroku guarding their rear while Kirara retreated with Kagome and an injured Sango. Sango had discovered early in the battle that some youkai could spit acid. The injury had been minor and had healed quickly in the quiet of Kaede's hut. The only true casualty of the battle had been her backpack, which had valiantly taken most of the blow for Sango. Kagome had been forced to get a new one. It was the same color and style as the previous one, with a few minor differences, such as the cell phone pocket where she stored the completed jewel. A cell phone pocket that was missing from the bag in front of her.

"I'm in the past," she murmured dazedly.

"Feh," Inuyasha said. "Where did you expect to be?"

"No," Kagome said as she turned to face them. "You don't understand. I'm from your future as well. A future where the Shikon no Tama has already been completed."

"What are you talking about?" Kouga demanded and was ignored.

"I need to find out exactly when I am," Kagome said. She turned back to the bag to look for clues. "What was the last youkai we fought?"

There was silence behind her as she found the bottle of shards. 'That makes sense,' she thought, 'because Kikyo stole the completed piece before Kouga kidnapped me. Only two shards, so we haven't met that freaky man who ate the fruit of the demon tree. The sword was too heavy for Inuyasha to lift, so it must have broken, but Inuyasha hasn't made it lighter yet. I've already asked Miroku to train me, because the visions didn't occur until I had begun training.'

Suddenly she noticed the silence behind her. Turning around, she realized how uncomfortable everyone was. Inuyasha had turned away, and no one seemed to be able to look at him. Finally Miroku spoke up delicately, "The last youkai Inuyasha fought was Sesshomaru, but he doesn't remember the battle."

"Oh," Kagome said faintly as the information sunk in. The bandits. Sesshomaru had fought Inuyasha after Inuyasha had killed all the bandits. "And Kouga came this morning...." she suddenly realized that she still had Kouga's shards. She quickly held them out, knowing what day it was. "Here, Kouga-kun. Take these and leave. You need to leave before this afternoon."

"What!" Kouga exclaimed indignantly.

"Do you want to encounter Sesshomaru?" Kagome said dryly, knowing just which buttons to push.

Kouga flinched and, as gracefully as possible, accepted the shards. Kagome managed to replace them in his legs with little pain, and he quickly left. Kagome collapsed on the floor of the hut as if her puppet strings had been cut. Shippo approached her cautiously and climbed into her lap.

"Oh, Shippo-chan," she exclaimed, as if realizing for the first time that Shippo was here and alive. She buried her head in his fur, inhaling deeply. "It's been too long." Only Shippo could hear her broken whisper.

There was an embarrassed cough, and Miroku was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "You say that Sesshomaru will come?"

Kagome gave a great shudder, lifted her head, and nodded. "If I have gotten the day right," she said as the rest sat down. "This day will be a doozy."

She gratefully accepted her lunch from Kaede, and paused to eat some, realizing that she had not had breakfast. "Kouga came and challenged Inuyasha in the morning," she said, "Sesshomaru in the afternoon, and Kikyo called to him in the evening. Add to that a bloody vision of your deaths and it's one big headache."

"Feh," Inuyasha said. "I can handle that. What more concerns me is what you said about the jewel."

A ghost of pain slithered behind the miko's eyes. "Yes, the jewel is complete when I'm from," she said coldly. "And I will do anything in my power to prevent that outcome."

That effectively ended conversation for most of lunch. Miroku tried to initiate a conversation with Sango, but as he used his usual methods, he only ended up with a severe headache and a handprint on his face. Surprisingly, at this display Kagome choked on her lunch. By the time Inuyasha and Shippo had 'helped' her recover (she almost choked again as Shippo got a little overenthusiastic), her choking had dissolved into hysterical laughter.

"Oh my," Kagome gasped as she wiped helpless tears from her eyes. "I shouldn't find that so funny, but you've been tiptoeing around me for a week. To see normal behavior from you..." she laughed again.

There was a snort from behind her. Whirling around, she saw Inuyasha desperately trying to keep a straight face. Shippo was giggling in her lap, and Kaede had turned aside to hide a smile. Sango refused to look at Miroku, who was scratching the back of his head with a smile.

With the ice broken, the rest of the meal passed in comfort. Kagome listened to Shippo's chatter as she ate and helped Kaede clean the bowls. Suddenly she stiffened and stared hard at the door flap.

"He's coming," said Inuyasha, "isn't he?"

At her nod, he smirked and left the hut. Sango grabbed her boomerang and Miroku his staff. They left the hut together. With Shippo on her shoulder and her bow and arrows, Kagome smiled a goodbye to Kaede before leaving.

The battle was already joined by the time she had gotten outside. Inuyasha had not drawn his sword, but kept it by his side to keep from transforming. Sesshomaru had not deigned the fight worthy enough for his sword, so it was poison and whip against claws of blood.

Something niggled at the back of Kagome's mind as she loaded her bow. Something else was important about this day other than the three visitors and the vision, something that she had figured out far after the day had ended. She watched the brothers fight, waiting for the idea to surface. It had something to do with this particular fight, with Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru was fighting Inuyasha, leaving Jaken to guard....Rin! Rin had been kidnapped during a fight between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Shouldering her bow, she cautiously felt out, searching for Rin. She couldn't feel her anywhere, but she could feel Jaken, and he was close. However, so were Naraku's youkai. She ran.

She had developed a lot of speed since she had first come to the feudal age, so it wasn't long before she burst into the clearing where Rin and Jaken patiently waited the outcome of the battle.

"Hello!" Rin called out cheerfully. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kagome," she replied a little breathlessly. "This is Shippo."

"Ahhh!" croaked Jaken. "It's Inuyasha's woman!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, but didn't have time to argue with the youkai. She spoke specifically to Rin, because she knew that wherever Rin went, Jaken had to follow. "Rin," she began. "I am going to ask you to trust me. You are in danger, and you need to come with me."

"Don't trust her!" cried the toad. "She is Sesshomaru-sama's enemy!"

The other youkai were very close, and Rin looked undecided. Kagome decided to play her trump card. "Fluffy-sama told me to come and get you," she said, using the nickname Rin had told her in the future.

The doubts cleared off of Rin's face, and she willingly trotted over to Kagome, who scooped her up and ran. Almost as soon as she had entered the woods again, the youkai burst into the clearing. Kagome heard Jaken's startled scream and quickened her pace. Her senses were screaming with the threat right behind her.

"Kitsune-bi!" Shippo yelled, and the pressure eased up some. Not enough, though, not nearly enough.

Just as her lungs were about her burst, Kagome tore into the field where the others were. What had seemed like a long time to her must not have been, because she practically bowled over Miroku and Sango, who looked like they were running after her. The brothers had paused in their fight, and Sesshomaru looked at Kagome coldly. When he recognized Rin, he pulled out his whip as if to strike, but couldn't seem to find a place to hit that wouldn't endanger Rin. Kagome either didn't see this or didn't heed the warning, because she dodged around Miroku and ran straight for the youkai lord. This behavior stunned Sesshomaru, and he did nothing while Kagome ducked behind him.

The reason for her panicked flight soon became obvious to the others, even if they didn't know who the strange child she carried was. The youkai that burst into the clearing made explanations unnecessary. Sesshomaru drew his sword, Miroku prepared his Kazaana, and Sango hefted her boomerang. Inuyasha had already drawn his sword for use against his brother, but the targets were switched easily. After a few hundred of them had perished, the rest decided to escape while they still could.

"Well," Kagome said into the silence of the battlefield. "This day just keeps getting more and more interesting."

"Rin," Sesshomaru coldly summoned. When the child had disentangled herself from Kagome and had gone to his side, he spoke again, "I thought I told you never to go anywhere without me."

"But," Rin turned confused eyes to the miko. "She said you sent her. She used The Name!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and looked to Kagome for an explanation. Kagome sighed at having to explain her self again. As briefly as possible, she explained her position and how she knew to use The Name, which Rin had only used while she was captured. She delicately left out any mention of what happened during the actual kidnapping.

Sesshomaru was silent for a long time. "I think," he said finally, "that I owe you thanks." He bowed low, then left with Rin to retrieve Jaken.

Sango stared at Kagome. "Do you realize," she said, "what an honor that was? The only thing greater would be if he granted you a debt."

Kagome nodded. She knew. Sesshomaru had granted her a debt when he discovered that she had allowed herself to be tortured rather than Rin. A debt that she had never formally collected on, because he considered fighting Naraku vengeance, not a payment.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon and evening past smoothly. Everyone tried to get Kagome to tell more of the future than she had already told. Each had their own methods, from Shippo's bright curiosity to Inuyasha's blunt questions to Miroku's more subtle inquiries. Sango even interrogated her when they took a bath after supper. The worst, however, was Kaede's silence. The weight of her knowledge pressed in on her at those times. She wanted to tell the elder miko of the fate of her sister, but didn't know if she should.

She had already changed the past by saving Rin, and may have lost a significant advantage because of it. She no longer had the debt, and Sesshomaru did not have the hatred of Naraku that he had in her past. She had only thought of saving Rin from the horror of Naraku, but she hadn't considered the prospects for the future. As horrible as that future had been, they had succeeded in defeating Naraku and reuniting the Shikon no Tama. Despite her earlier statement, she did want that part of the future to stay the same.

"Oi!" Inuyasha's voice pierced though her thoughts. "Has your brain escaped you or something? You've been staring at the wall for a long time now."

Kagome sighed. "You know," she said bluntly, "you're a lot nicer to me in the future." It was an outright lie, but she wanted to see how he would react.

He spluttered for a moment, then said scathingly, "Ah, who'd want to be nice to you?"

Sango sucked in her breath and prepare to defend her best friend, but Kagome caught her eye and gave a slight shake of her head. The miko stood and walked over to the hanyou. Inuyasha paled, waiting for the sit.

Kagome knelt right before the hanyou and made sure to catch his eye. "Who'd want to be nice to me?" she asked softly, but with a merry twinkle in her eye. "You would, you good boy!" And she reached out and patted him on the head.

Inuyasha stared at her for a full minute before lunging at her, growling, "Don't do that, wench!"

Shippo squealed as the playful scuffle burst outside. Thoroughly excited, he jumped up onto Inuyasha's head and patted him like Kagome had done. "Good boy," he laughed. "Good boy! Good boy!"

"You little brat!" yelled Inuyasha. "Come back here!"

"Ack!" Shippo yipped. "Save me!"

He dove behind Kagome, who was laughing too much to really notice the charging hanyou. Miroku and Sango had come out to watch the antics as well, and they too were doubled over in laughter. Inuyasha paused in his head long dash to take in all the merriment surrounding him. Everyone seemed to be laughing at him! He huffed, then turned around and prepared to sit, the picture of offended dignity.

Kagome appeared in front of him, smiling gently. "Don't be mad, Inuyasha," she said. "We needed to laugh, and I wasn't being mean."

Her only response was another huff as he began to turn away again. Kagome's sharp eyes caught the twitch of his lips that signaled the suppression of a smile. Grinning again, she caught him by the rosary and began to lead him back to the hut. The strange mixture of offended pride and uncertain surprise on his face was enough to start her laughing again.

Their joy lasted until they were halfway to the hut, when Kagome's senses tingled for the third time that day. Sure enough, pretty soon thereafter one of Kikyo's soul stealers floated out of the forest and circled around the miko and the hanyou. Inuyasha turned to Kagome with an almost apologetic look.

She released his rosary. "Go," she said, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. "She wants to see you. Just," she paused, and a flash of fear speared through her eyes, "come back, ne?"

He gave a sharp nod and bounded away. Kagome felt more than heard Sango's approach, and leaned into the comfort her best friend tried to offer.

"You aren't going after him." It was a statement, not a question, from the monk.

Kagome shook her head. "This time all she wanted was to see him," she said, "and I screwed that up for them the first time. Just to be near him and talk to him. Can I deny her the privilege that I had every day?"

They didn't have any answer for that, and quietly withdrew. As they walked away, Sango sighed. At Miroku's inquiring look, she said, "Sometimes I think that Kagome is truly the strongest of us all. I don't think I could stand to watch the love of my life constantly go to the arms of another that I know he loves."

She turned to him, and the sadness in her eyes amazed him. "Did you notice," he said, tying to get her mind off of that subject, "that she spoke of him in the past tense? I truly wonder what could have happened in the future that turned our Kagome into this Kagome."

By this time they were at the hut, and Miroku courteously bowed her in first. When she had disappeared through the flap, he stared at his right hand, clenching and unclenching it. "If I survive this madness," he vowed to the absent exterminator, "and you will have me, I swear that you will never have the pain that Kagome feels tonight."

Much, much later that night, a hanyou silently crept out of the woods. Moving swiftly, he practically glided to Kaede's hut, but paused right before it. Kagome was watching his approach, half asleep, absently petting the sleeping fox cub in her arms. She stood, stretching stiffened muscles.

"Why?" Inuyasha asked, perplexed.

"Because I thought you might appreciate the company," she said softly. "Let's go to sleep."

He nodded, and they went inside. He took his usual post against the wall, and she spread out her sleeping bag. Inuyasha was asleep almost immediately, but she tossed and turned, halfway dozing. Something was wrong, different, and she couldn't get to sleep. She tried, in her half awake state, to figure out what was missing. Sleeping bag? Check. Warmth that was Shippo? Check. Warmth that was....not there.

'Silly hanyou,' she thought. 'Why did you sleep way over there?'

Still only half awake, she gathered her sleeping bag and Shippo and stumbled over to the sleeping Inuyasha. Plopping Shippo into his lap (which immediately woke Inuyasha up), she snuggled into his side and spread the opened bag over all three of them. For his part, Inuyasha sat very stiffly, surprised at this new development. Frowning, Kagome reached up a hand and rubbed his ear, causing an involuntary rumble of contentment.

"Relax, Inuyasha," she whispered. "I'm here. Relax and sleep."

She took her own advice, and the hanyou, much to his own amazement, followed soon after.

* * *

Kagome woke to find herself at her desk, her head in her arms on top of that ridiculous journal. She nearly cried in frustration. The dream had been so real! She had been able to feel everything.

Sighing, she opened the journal to read what she had written the night previous. She laughed and cried again at the tricks of Shippo, the quirks of Kouga, and the antics of Kirara. However, when she turned the page, expecting to find a tribute to Sesshomaru and his entourage, she found a tribute to an entirely different person. The only male survivor of a dead village, the memories recorded were tales from a fond sister. Tales that Kagome couldn't remember ever having heard. Sango had never revealed this much information about Kohaku!

Frantic, she began to search the journal for any mention of Sesshomaru and Rin, but the girl was entirely absent, and the youkai lord only got mentioned in conjunction with Inuyasha's fights. The past had changed. The dream had been real and she had changed the past.

She surged up out of her chair, but soon sank back down. The past may have changed, but the results were the same. Just add one more body to the count. She had had her chance, and blew it. This time she really did cry tears of frustration.

After her tears dried, she sat staring blankly at the wall. Soon her mother poked her head in and said, "Kagome? You did say you wanted to leave in the morning, and it's almost ten."

"Yes, Mama," Kagome said.

She got up and gathered her backpack, not even checking to see if the Shikon no Tama was there. She gave her mom a brief but fierce hug and walked to the well house. More depressed then ever, Kagome jumped through. She arrived on the other side with little fanfare. Dispiritedly she called up, "Is anybody there to help me out?"

Sango's head appeared in the opening. "Hey," she called down cheerfully, "Inuyasha's still sulking, and Miroku's gone to 'help' some of the village women, so I decided to help you up."

* * * * *

Translator's notes: I don't use Japanese often, but when I do it is because I can't think of a good English translation. Having said that, I will attempt to translate the words I do use (other than honorifics and names, which you should know if you watch the series)

In this chapter:

Kitsune-bi: literally 'fox fire'. What Shippo calls out when he produces his attack of blue fire.

Kazaana: Wind Tunnel. Miroku's attack, and the curse on his hand

Ne: kind of a question ending, like adding right? or ok? to the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Review responses:

Reiku Toukijin: Glad you liked it! Here is my next update!

Moonsilver: OF COURSE you're a favorite author. *Bows to the queen of WAFF* I LOVE your fics! Of every fandom! Naraku is gonna die, it's just gonna take a while. (and I didn't think about the rosaries, do you mind if I use that later on?)

Kirsten: *looks smug* of course this fic is cool, I wrote it!! Seriously, I am glad you liked it.

Aamelie: *Suffers from severe case of over-inflated ego* *blush* ummmmmm... glad you liked it? I am not sure what to do with so many compliments, but it sure helped in getting this chapter out!

Lori: LOVE THE BETA-READER!!!!!!! Thank you for all of your help!!! And, all, your, patience, with, my, comma, problem!

Author's notes:

The Kikyo explanation: I am a total Kag/Inu fan. But that does not mean I think that Kikyo is a total bitch either. (Well, I used to think so, but then I saw some eps in season four. They showed Kikyo going off by herself into the woods and wondering to herself what the hell she was doing. She's got to have something besides hate in there.) One of the things Rumiko Takahashi is good about is making all of the characters well rounded. To have Kikyo be only a hateful, revenge seeking bitch is to lose Takahashi's character. And while it makes the fanfiction easier, I won't do it.

Random beta plug: Lori is WONDERFUL! Last week she sends me a random picture she just drew, and I included the scene in the fic as a tribute to her great artistry. So if you want to see a pic of the scene where Kagome is leading Inuyasha around by the rosary, go to:

http://www.angelfire. com/bug/art0/ iy/banner/necklace1.jpg

(cut and paste into address bar, then remove spaces)

And for those who are interested:

For Such an Akugi (Parody):

Warmth that was Shippo? Check. Warmth that was....not there.

'Silly hanyou,' she thought. 'Trix are for kids!'