InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ghostly Ambition ❯ You're Not Alone ( Epilogue )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

(Keeping my fingers crossed that my formatting will work this time…sheesh!)

-- Epilogue: You're Not Alone --

After retrieving the scattered Shards and a quick reunion with the others, Kagome's elation dies as she takes in everyone's condition, turning silent as Sango and Miroku are helped aboard Kirara for transport back to the village and feeling the suspicion on Shippo's little face like a blow. She quietly talks InuYasha into taking her home briefly, with surprisingly little resistance on his part, to reassure her family and to retrieve her things with the all-important first aid supplies.

Back at the village, the males loiter outside Kaede's hut after having been efficiently banished by the females to preserve Sango's modesty. Miroku chooses to sit in a spot against the wooden wall facing the sun, a chill running through him despite the multiple layers of his robes. He fingers the two halves of his broken staff laying across his lap with a sigh before closing his eyes against the brightness, still dizzy from the pounding in his head. Thoughts of what could have happened if the young woman had been weaponless earlier causes him to shudder inside, 'I'm glad that she had it…she is not so easily mended.'

He feels Shippo sit next to him to lean tiredly against his leg and he looks down at the top of the kitsune's head, lifting a hand to gently measure the lump under the reddish hair. He winces sympathetically. While a part of him is glad that the youngster's youkai nature will heal him quicker than his own human capabilities will, another part knows that it will take longer for the kit's trusting heart to recover after suffering several, damaging blows from the person closest to him; though through no fault of her own.

The sound of bare feet approaching and InuYasha's snort of disgust followed by the clatter of the two sheathed swords landing in the dust in front of him, draws his attention to the weapons; their distinctive designs matching perfectly the short blade retrieved from the stranger who had attacked Kagome two days ago. He reaches for the longer of the two, partially unsheathing it and noting the blood still staining its length, '…Sango's blood.' He slams the blade home and drops it angrily.

"Ugh!" InuYasha makes a pained face after opening a bamboo container that had been found among 'Akunin's' things and sniffing it, the acrid vapors rising from the small amount of what looks like ointment at the bottom rise up and sting the membranes of his sensitive nose. He holds it away at arm's length from his face and puts the lid back on. He rubs his hand against his nose, takes several deep breaths and then looks surprised. He glares at the innocuous looking container before tossing it to the Monk, "I think that's what's left of what he used to mask his scent." He rubs his nose again, startled at how blind he feels without his sense of smell. "I can't smell anything, damnit!" He sneezes, 'Shit! This is worse than my human nights.'

Miroku raises his eyebrows and takes an experimental sniff of the stuff himself, dabbing his finger in it and rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger, "Well, I hope he's the only one who knew about it." He closes it and sets it down near the swords, shaking his head carefully, "I never would have guessed that that man who had attacked Kagome-sama was actually possessed by Akunin's ghost and not just an associate of his looking for revenge." He sighs, "I wonder who he was." Miroku sends up a silent prayer for the deliverance of the unknown man's soul.

"Keh!" InuYasha crosses his arms and looks off towards the forest, "Doesn't matter…he's just as dead as that bastard is…now."

Shippo tilts his head back to look up at them both, asking quietly, "Do you really think that Akunin is gone for good this time?"

Miroku looks seriously at the young kitsune, feeling the shivers shaking his little body, "I believe so. Kagome-sama's explanation of how she exorcised him rings true; her retelling only lacked the actual terminology of what she did. Somehow, at some instinctive level, she knew what to do." A faint smile crosses his face, "I should have expected no less from her. Kagome-sama is truly amazing."

Inside the hut, Kaede is across the room rinsing out the torn and soiled yukata while Kagome is helping to clean Sango's numerous wounds. Many of the cuts are shallow and will heal quickly, but the one she had just finished wrapping on the back of her friend's hand had required a few of Kaede's careful stitches. She looks at the already bandaged shoulder with its heavy padding, and guilt rips through her. Kagome bites her lip and dabs at a sluggishly bleeding slash on the Taijiya's upper thigh, helpfully extended from under the blanket covering her nakedness.

Kirara chirrups and Kagome looks over at the nearby cat-youkai sitting and staring in obvious concern at her mistress, with her red eyes blinking and twin tails twitching, before glancing up herself at her wounded friend. Sango is watching the process of wound-care with a professional detachment, unable to help herself what with one hand out of commission and the other arm too painful to move other than to hold the blanket over herself. Kagome's brow creases and she applies pressure to the raw-looking gash. "Ano…Sango-chan?"

Sango looks up at the soft query, "Hmm?" She sees unshed tears in the younger girl's eyes before they flick guiltily away, "Kagome-chan?"

A soft intake of breath and head lowering, "I'm…sorry."

'I knew it…' Sango tilts her head, trying to see her friend's face better, "For what?"

Kagome's head comes up, her surprise obvious, "For hurting you!"

Sango shakes her head, her eyes clear and a small smile curves her lips, "You didn't hurt me."

"But…it's my fault!" The anguished tears spill over and her breath shudders.

Sango sighs with fatigue, "How many times have you told me to stop apologizing for what Kohaku has done?" She sighs again and shakes her head, "This is no different. Just as he is not at fault for his actions; neither are you."

"But…if I had been trained-"

"Well you weren't…and that's nobody's fault either." She had the younger girl's attention now and she was determined to do what damage control she could. "I understand how you feel, Kagome-chan, but you've done fine up till now with what you do know how to do. Your skills have saved all of us many times and I'm not about to start keeping score. We're all in this together…and when what we can do proves to be inadequate, we do our best to improve. Just look at the lengths that InuYasha has gone to; increasing his power and never giving up."

Kaede sets down a fresh basin of clean water with a mild disinfectant added and sits near. "Sango is right. Guilt misplaced will hinder your actions and cause hesitation." She reaches for the floating cloth and squeezes out the excess liquid, "Besides, ye've not had much time for training."

Kagome sniffs and wipes her sleeve across her eyes angrily, "I'll make time."

The old one-eyed Miko nods satisfactorily, "That is good then."

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The tiny flame dancing amid the glowing coals in the center pit is barely bright enough to cast shadows on the dark walls, the slight crackle of the burning wood a comforting addition to the soft breathing of the sleepers gathered round. A small moan from the person closest to her has Kagome tossing back her cover and sitting up, reaching out a hand to Sango's forehead carefully so as not to wake her. She heaves a grateful sigh, 'No fever,' and sits back, clasping her hands in her lap while looking enviously from one recumbent form to another. Her eyes skim over the Monk to the fluffy-tailed kit sharing his bedding, her heart clenching painfully, and she looks away as if stung to stare dry-eyed at the red coals. She grabs her blanket and drapes it over her hunched shoulders, crossing her legs tailor-style and preparing for a long night.

'I don't blame him…not one bit.' The deep scarlet of the coals and the dancing yellow flames waver in her tired gaze, the warmth welcome on her tired body as strained muscles remind her of what, according to her friends, that…He…had made her do. She picks absently at the rough scab on the back of one hand left by the Shard that had been planted there, feeling the slight pull of a similar sore spot on the back of her other hand; so small it didn't even need a Band-Aid but an irritant none the less. The heat on her face causes her forehead to itch and she reaches up to rub at another tiny scab there. 'Even though I know he's gone…' she touches an identical knot at the base of her throat before dropping her hand back into her lap, memories of waking more than once to find herself on the edge of violence are still too fresh in her mind. 'I don't quite trust myself right now.' The silence emphasizes her loneliness and she shivers, gripping the folds of her blanket and pulling it tight. 'I'm…afraid to sleep.'

"What will I wake to?"

Kagome sits up straighter at the softly spoken words, surprised that she is not the only one awake, and looks over her shoulder at the speaker sitting in his usual spot against the wall. He is hidden by the darkness except for his golden eyes reflecting the miniscule flames and framed by his ghostly-pale hair. His strangeness staring at her with inhuman intensity, the very feel of him so near, with the restlessness of his demon blood stoked by hidden emotions an invisible wave of energy washing over her, has her swallowing nervously and asking just as softly, "W-what?"

"What will I wake to?" His voice is a little rough as he repeats the question and she stares; captivated. "Will I wake at all this time?" He blinks and looks away, breaking the spell with a sigh, "…every night."

Her breath rushes to fill aching lungs, no longer holding it as the atmosphere calms and he becomes familiar again; her InuYasha again. His gaze captures hers once more, this time filled with human emotion; the same one plaguing her. Her dark eyes widen in understanding, 'I never thought…' She shifts around, dragging the blanket along as she crawls closer, not stopping until she is within arm's reach and she sits facing him, her voice only a whisper, "You're…afraid-to sleep too?"

"Keh…" his scoff is halfhearted at best.

The darkness is too complete to see him very well but his eyes are expressive enough as he continues in spite of the hint of embarrassment lurking there. "Sleeping can be dangerous, especially for a hanyou. Enemies don't wait for you to be awake before attacking. You rest when you have to, but not for long." He takes a deep breath and re-crosses his arms around the sheathed sword standing upright against his shoulder. "And then Kik-" he stops and swallows. "Fifty years of nothing…tricked and sealed," his eyes look past her, "everything was taken away from me." So much was implied in those few words. A sound like a low growl rumbles deep in his throat before his gaze turns back to her, "After you released me, I swore that I wouldn't loose another second…not even to sleep." His laugh was self-mocking, "You don't know how hard I fight it…and how many times I lose."

She tucks a strand of hair still damp from her sketchy bath earlier behind her ear and then places her hand on his knee, willing to do no less than he; opening her heart and sharing her fears. "I…I've never been so scared before…to lose control, to have it taken away…and not even knowing until it's too late and someone is hurt…or worse. It's awful."

InuYasha's clawed hand covers hers, "…control." He slides his other hand along the smooth sheath before laying Tessaiga to the side on the wood floor, the metal guard clicking as it settles. "Something I will never take for granted again."

The dull gleam from the cross-guard of the sword catches her eye and she considers the chilling reason that it must always be by his side. Their eyes meet and hold as this new bond of understanding between them roots deep and she turns her hand under his to thread their fingers together, squeezing gently.

Minutes pass and the darkness inside deepens as the last of the flames flicker and die, the chill night air making itself known through the drafty door covering. Kagome eventually moves to sit against the wall next to InuYasha, completely wrapped in her blanket and leaning her head on his shoulder, their hands still entwined. She yawns sleepily, 'Somehow…I don't feel so bad…' and snuggles closer. She stares at the bed of coals glowing in the center of the room and feels his head come to rest against hers, his soft sigh making her smile.

'It's gonna be all right. I know we can do it…one night at a time.'

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-- The End --

Thanks to INU-KAGLOVER, Aquamarine and scherezade for their great reviews. I would like to address one last question from scherezade that maybe the answer wasn't very clear in the story, and maybe I wanted to leave it vague…

"...And just how did a demon exterminator become a vengeful ghost that can possess others?"

---You had so many good questions that I hope I have already answered. Now for this one; 'Vengeful ghost' is exactly the right term I would use. He was trained in all the lore of the Taijiya as well as whatever he learned after his banishment. I figure he may have set things up, just in case of his own death. Then again, it's believed that when one dies with 'unfinished business' or with 'great hatred' or `violently' (he did all three) the spirit lingers. As nasty as Akunin was, I think he is fully capable of being one supremely nasty ghost. And maybe, with his twisted mind, his years of depravity, exposure to dark forces, and the sheer death-toll on his hands...well, I think we got off easy! LOL

Author's Note - Thanks so much for joining me on my little trip of imagination…even you lurkers out there. I love InuYasha and, with the series over, I'm completely hooked on fanfiction right now to get my "fix" - that and re-watching episodes and adding to my manga collection. I'm reading ahead at ear-tweak. com and I am enjoying seeing the subtle differences between the anime's and the manga's portrayal of events.

I never intended for my stories to be sequential, but it was too hard to resist putting in little references to previous happenings in the earlier stories. I think it made the plots and character interactions stronger. I am currently working on a fifth story plot, but it is being stubborn. I have 3 different opening sequences and they don't work. Oh, well. I'll keep reading other stories, watching episodes, keeping up with the manga and try to not beat my head against the wall when I can't wrestle my own story into shape. If I do manage to get it going, rest assured that I will finish it. I'm not a person to leave you dangling with half a story and no ending, (like a lot of good stories I've read; a real shame for some. Great plots…and then nothing.) Closure is a good thing.

Well, thanks again for reading and reviewing. Although I tried this writing as an experiment, (just to see if I could do it and from a strong competitive urge.) I really enjoyed the whole experience. So many other people's story plots would jump out at me and I would say to myself, "…I would have done it this way…he should have said…they wouldn't have done that…" and there you go. That I was able to share the fun with others who are also fans is just the cherry on top. All my plots were original, I did not take them from anyone else. That would feel too much like stealing, and I'm too honest and honorable to do that. I understand that someone's work, ---be it writing, drawing, or any creative outlet--- is a part of the creator with hard work and heart put into it to make it live.

Have fun and Happy Reading!!

- Michelle, a.k.a. Darkless Vasion