InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Here at the End of All Things ❯ Gypsy of a Strange and Distant Time ( Chapter 2 )

*I can send you forward with Kagome, if you wish. With the last of my power, I can hold open the portal long enough for you to pass through, but you must decide now.*

"I don't have to think about it," Inuyasha said. "There is nothing for me here. With Naraku and the Jewel both gone, I have no driving force, and if I can never see Kagome again, then my life will be meaningless. I will go with her, even if it should mean the end of my life before I get to her home."

Kagome found herself saying what she had privately sworn she'd never say if ever she heard Inuyasha proclaim to choose her; "But what about Kikyo?"

"Kikyo was nothing more than a clay body, animated and bestowed with a personality that was hauntingly familiar. Were she truly alive, perhaps things might have been different. Then again, perhaps not. Naraku was evil as sin, but he had a point: the legacy of the 'trust' Kikyo and I had for each other was so tenuous, it was ridiculously easy to break and turn to hatred. You, on the other hand, have always been there for me." His eyes clouded over. "I cannot stop loving her; you cannot expect me to. But I cannot stay here either out of devotion to her. She is beyond my reach."

*Kikyo has found peace. She has done what she was called back to do, and she is at peace.*

"Inu no Taisho," Miroku said, a hint of desperation in his voice, "what do you mean when you say I must leave this world in order to break my curse?"

*Passage through the time portal will force your void to close. If you survive the journey through time, that is.*

"Then I'm going to. The way it's behaving, it'll consume me in 48 hours if it isn't stopped."

"Then I'm going too!" Sango said. "My entire family is gone, and now I've lost Kirara. I have nothing else but you guys. I need to be with you."

"I want to go too!" Shippo said frantically. "Don't leave me behind."

*We must be going to the well. Son, you will need to carry your friends. My powers wane as we speak.*

"But, he can barely hold himself up!" Kagome protested, overwhelmed by the adamant devotion of her friends.

"Hold still, hanyou," a silky voice intoned coldly from behind Inuyasha. Kagome froze and Inuyasha went rigid. They had last seen Sesshomaru leaving--when had he come back without them knowing?! Sesshomaru slashed diagonally, a blue light cutting across Inuyasha's back.

"Sess--" Kagome started to yell, until she saw the white-haired demon lord carry the momentum through and sheathe Tenseiga---Tenseiga?! Not Tokijin?

Inuyasha let out a sigh as a blue light enveloped him. In five heartbeats his wounds healed up completely and even his fire-rat clothing mended.

"Handy!" Kagome said, fingering the fabric. "It mends clothing too!"

"Now get out of here," Sesshomaru growled, his voice echoing his demon side. "I will settle for you leaving forever, if I cannot have your head."

"Come along all of you, let's get out of here before my asshole brother rips us to shreds," Inuyasha crouched slightly to allow Kagome to hop on his back. Sango and Miroku clambored on as well, earning an ill-tempered comment from Inuyasha that nearly earned him a SIT... until Shippo pointed out that they'd all be going with him if Kagome shouted the incantation.

The faintly glowing eyes of the Inu no Taisho flared a moment and then zoomed forward, slamming into Inuyasha's eyes. He grunted in surprise but held his ground.

*Go.*

As the little clearing surrounding the Bone-Eaters' Well came into view, it began to sink in to Kagome, all the ramifications.

Kaede was dead.

Koga was dead.

Kirara was dead.

Kohaku was dead.

But most importantly, Naraku was dead! And her beloved companions were coming home with her!

If they can, the thought nagged at her like a puppy worrying a chew toy.

Inuyasha landed on the rim of the well, and paused. "Hold on tight, everyone. Don't let go for any reason or you will be lost. This time it's going to be different. The portal won't want to let us through."

"How do you know this, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"I just do. I don't know how, but I just know this."

Kagome wrapped an arm around Shippo. "Let's go, Inuyasha. Let's go before the Inu no Taisho loses what's left of his power."

Inuyasha took one bouncing step and then they were falling through a vortex of shadows and light, the stars wheeling by them. Kagome found it strangely enjoyable, but her companions all groaned, muttered and strained as the exact nexus of the time portal approached. There was a slight hesitation as they passed through the nexus itself, and then the stars disappeared, followed by an all-consuming blackness.

A blackness with consciousness...

Kagome rubbed the side of her face. She was awake, but she couldn't see a thing. She reached out with an arm and felt around her...

Walls. Cold stone walls... and the smell of stale earth...

She couldn't see or feel anything around but earth and stone...

Had her friends not made it through? Had she been the only one to make it through the portal of time?

She heard a soft feminine moan from a few feet away.

"Sango?" she called softly. "Are you there? Are you okay?"

"I'm here and I think I'm okay. Are you okay, Kagome?"

"Yeah, of course I'm okay."

There was a softer masculine moan. "Is this dark place your world, Kagome? Or have I lost my vision?"

"Miroku?"

"None other than... is it dark for me only?"

"No, someone's put the cover on the well," Kagome said. "I'll go see if I can open it."

"Where's Shippo? Or Inuyasha?"

There was a squeak that sounded sort of like Kirara. I am here, a juvenile voice spoke to their minds. I think I've been forced to transform permanently. A blue spark illuminated in a nearby corner, a small spark of foxfire. Near Kagome lay a fourth human form, utterly still. In the blue glow of the foxfire, the blood-red raiment of Inuyasha's fire-rat clothing still stood out.

Kagome crawled over to him and placed a hand at his neck. His skin was very cold, but she could feel his heart beating. He was still alive, but he was unconscious still.

"Everyone's accounted for."

last updated: february 27 2005

Author's Note: The chapter title comes from a song I dearly love, called "Gypsy," a song that inspired this chapter enormously. I almost want to classify the chapter as a songfic, except that... well, it really isn't. But if you're curious, here are the lyrics to the song.

"Gypsy"
words and music by Justin Hayward

A gypsy of a strange and distant time
Travelling in panic all direction blind
Aching for the warmth of a burning sun
Freezing in the emptiness of where he'd come from

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Left without a hope of coming home.

Speeding through a shadow of a million years
Darkness is the only sound to reach his ears
Frightening him with the visions of eternity
Screaming for the future that can never be

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Left without a hope of coming home.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

A gypsy of a strange and distant time
Travelling in panic all direction blind
Aching for the warmth of a burning sun
Freezing in the emptiness of where he'd come from

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Left without a hope of coming home.
Left without a hope of coming home
Left without a hope of coming home