InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Past, Her Present, Their Future ❯ Memories ( Chapter 31 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: No own InuYasha etc. No own Hakkai, but I felt like just using his name and visage for a character so I wouldn’t have to try and make up a name. Huzzah!

A note to people emailing me about lemons: This Katie will not be writing PWP! My sex scenes will have reason behind them! Not that I don’t think they would go at it like bunnies once I unleash them, but this story is about the story, not the yummy lemon action. The citridge are just there at all because…I’m a hentai and it would be unsatisfying for me to just say they had and leave it alone. Where’s the fun in that? XD


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His Past, Her Present, Their Future
Chapter 31 - Memories

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“Why did you…why am I here? Are you taking me away?! I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Kaori and Mattaki!”

Midoriko placed her hands on either side of the girl’s face, “I am not taking you away yet, young Kagome, calm yourself. How are my old friends, anyway?”

Kagome looked relieved, then puzzled, then she nodded, “Their fine, for now. But you are a spirit, you see all, you know of both their deaths.”

“Hai, I do. I hope to join them above once I am free, I miss them both greatly. Now, we have much to talk about.”

Midoriko sat and motioned for Kagome to do the same. Kagome looked into her eyes, “Why are you here if not to take me? Did I mess something up?”

“No, child. I have been trying to contact you to tell you our time here grows short. You have already set in motion those events you were meant to, there are but minor tasks left for you, and it is a simple one. Once it is completed, it is only a matter of time before you are sent back.”

Kagome’s eyes filled with tears, “So I have to say goodbye? Gods, I’ll never see them again…they’ve become like family.”

“They have lived long and love-filled lives, daughter. They will be content in knowing all they completed in their time.”

“What about Sesshou? Will he still be so cold after all this? Have I changed anything?”

“That is something you must ask him yourself. As for changes…I honestly cannot answer that. Since I have been here with you, I do not know what you have done differently. I am contacting you by the portion of my soul encased in the jewel, and the jewel in this time is in the Taijiya‘s village, so I did not see you do it the first time through. Even I do not know if fate is linear, though I know you were meant to do certain things in this time.”

“Like what? Can’t you just tell me?”

“When we have more time, once you are gone from this place I can explain it all to you. It will not be until we have left this place that we will know any changes to occur, since technically none of it has happened yet. Right now, my power grows weak. This is the last time I will ever be able to contact you until you release me, so I will be clear. Once you leave this era, I will send you back to the Sengoku Jidai. I need my power to be active before your acts can purify the jewel. Here, it is dormant because of its current existence.”

Kagome’s heart soared, “So I’m going back to Sesshoumaru?!”

Midoriko sighed and smiled sadly, “Only until the next sunset. I am sorry, but you belong in your own era, Kagome. Once the sun touches the horizon there, you will be put back into your time, in the well house near to your family. Gomen ne,” she whispered as she saw the tears falling down the young girl’s cheeks.

“So you’re just teasing me, is that it? I’m just your damned pawn?! Was I just some cheap sacrifice for you? You send me all over hell and back, all across time and space, and just rip it all away from me???”

Midoriko flinched and grasped Kagome’s hands, “Kagome, you are no one’s pawn. Do you not see? These things I set you out to do effect all you have! You will understand someday.”

“But I want to stay with Sesshoumaru! I want to see Mattaki and Kaori and Sango and Miroku and Rin again! But I never will, because in my time they are all dead! Even if youkai still exist in my era, I will never see them again!”

Midoriko gathered her into her arms, “Yes, you are correct. And even I do not know if youkai still exist, I was never truly free in your time. Kagome, your fate has tied so deeply into that of the world’s…and the kami and the spirits thank you. We all only wish there was more to be done. Please Kagome, accept all that destiny has offered you, accept that you are a better person for all of this. Do not turn away the gifts you have received.”

Kagome sniffed and leaned into her embrace, “I know its selfish…but I don’t want to lose them.”

“Hush now, loved ones are never lost. You know this. Now, go back to the child of my dearest friends and tell them you will soon be departing, and remember my words.”

Kagome nodded to the priestess and the light faded. Awakening, Kagome found herself still on the lake’s banks and covered in Sesshoumaru’s haori, her head in his lap. He looked down as soon as her eyes opened, and she met his gaze. She burst into tears.

“What’s wrong, my Kagome?”

She sobbed heavily, her eyes pinched closed. He stroked her hair, at a loss. The jewel around her neck had begun glowing suddenly and he had seen her go slack, and had known somehow that she was alright. But now she cried as if the weight of the world was crushing her. He held her and ran his claws through her hair, growling low in his chest to soothe her. After several minutes she calmed, moving herself up into his lap and wrapping her arms around him.

“It was…Midoriko. She told me my tasks are almost complete, and that I will soon be leaving. Oh Sesshou, I don’t want to go!”

Her sobs began anew and Sesshoumaru held her tighter, his grip like iron, like he could bind her to him. He continued the purring growl and shushed her softly, stroking his fingers across her cheeks, “You have known that you would be leaving since you arrived, my Kagome. Why is it so hard now? You will not have to wait to see me.”

She felt broken, “But its different now! I don’t want to leave you alone, I’ll never see them again, I don’t want you to have to go through all the terror and death alone!”

“What death and terror? Tell me, Kagome, I deserve to know!”

“I..I can’t! I wish I could, I wish you could change it all, but you can’t. It would change everything if you knew. Oh Sesshou, I’m so sorry!”

“Is…will it be my mother and father?”

Kagome stopped breathing and met his pained gaze. After several long moments she nodded and exhaled, “Hai, it will be. Gods, but I wish I could tell you and them how, how I wish I could just make them live and have the lives they should! And you, you don’t deserve the pain. I don’t want it for any of you, and I am laden with the knowledge and guilt. I know what’s to come and I can do nothing to stop it!”

“What will it change, my Kagome? Surely nothing so bad?”

She shook her head, “Everything! If they live, then everything I know will change. I can’t explain it to you, it will only anger you. But their fates are written and I can do nothing.”

Sesshoumaru pursed his lips, his eyes dull and pained. Kagome clung to his bare chest as she cried, willing him to understand, “Your father knows. Not how, but he knows the circumstances, and he knows why I cannot change it. He says he is without regret. Please, understand like he did, Sesshou, I don’t want you to be angry with me!”

He cupped her face and kissed her cheeks, wiping the tears away with his lips, “I am not angry with you, this fate is not your fault. And pain is what makes us, my Kagome. I will survive and I will see you again. I will not lose you no matter how difficult the years may be.”

She sniffled and laid against him, wrapped in his comforting embrace and trying to give her own comfort at the same time.

“Shall we go back now, koiishi? I still must leave with father come daybreak.”

She looked up to him, startled, her voice a whisper, “You called me koiishi.”

“So I did.”

She smiled shakily and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Without his youkai hearing he never would have heard her reply, but he smiled as he did, “Yes, we should, koi. Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

Sesshoumaru stood, gathering her yakuta and slippers and pulled her closer against him as they headed back to the palace.

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The days of Sesshoumaru’s absence were bleak for Kagome, and she longed for nothing more than for him to be there to hold her in his arms. She could end up disappearing any moment, and she feared she would not get to hold him again before she did. Her goodbyes with Kaori had been hard, her friend holding her and wishing her the best. Mattaki had told her of her fate, and she accepted her someday death and knowledge she would not live to see her son and the miko together again.

Kagome now was going through the items in her backpack, trying to decide things to leave for them. Most items were too dangerous to leave in the past, but she chose out ones she thought would be useful and appreciated. For Kaori, a modern hairbrush. The wooden picks of the time were terrible, and every girl needed a good hair brushing sometimes. For Mattaki, aside from the photo of InuYasha she had given him, she would leave him all the ink pens she had with her. He had become infatuated with them during her stay, saying it made his hands cramp less than with the quill pens. For Sesshoumaru…Kagome wasn’t sure what to give him. Her eyes lit up and she decided on the best present, digging deeper through her bottomless pack.

She scowled, only able to find one cartridge. So, she had two shots left in the camera already, and a cartridge with another five. Seven photos would have to do. She sighed and put them aside for whenever father and son arrived home. She had eight packages of ramen left, too, and pulled them out with a smile. She would treat them all to a dinner before she left; perhaps something to go with the ever-loved noodles? There were many foodstuffs she didn’t have access to in this time, so her ideas were limited.

Kagome laid down on her futon and stared out at the starlit night. How much longer did she have? An hour? A day? A month? A year? It could be anything, Midoriko hadn‘t been exactly forthcoming. Two halves of her warred within her, one to stay as long as possible and another to take her away as fast as she could go. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could bear the pain of imminent departure.

She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew a pair of strong arms were wrapped around her waist. The pendant around her neck flashed hotly, leaving her no doubt as to who it was, “You came back,” she garbled out, her eyes trying to open.

“Hush, koiishi, it is after the middle night. Sleep, I merely wished to join you.”

She smiled and turned over, sliding her head between his arm and body and laying on his chest, “You better still be here when I wake up,” she said with a yawn.

“I will be.”

She closed her eyes, sleep enveloping her again, “Aishiteru, Sesshou,” she whispered in half consciousness. Sesshoumaru heard and smiled with brightened eyes.

--

“No, darnit Sesshou, you’re being difficult!” she shouted, the hand not gripping her camera on her hip. Sesshoumaru laughed and turned to her.

“I do not understand your instruction, onna.”

She huffed and walked to the trio, “All right, Sesshoumaru you have to stand in the middle. Just stand there, and when I say to, you smile.”

“And that box will do me no harm?”

She scowled, “Would I really harm you? You might see a light in front of your eyes for a few minutes, but it isn’t damaging.”

He finally gave in and stood while Kagome adjusted both Mattaki and Kaori on either side of him. When she had them suitably in place she stood up, the camera in front of her face, “Say cheese!”

“What is…cheese?”

“Just shut up and smile, Mattaki!”

He laughed and all three smiled, though Sesshoumaru’s was only a smirk. The flash was a surprise for them, leaving all three youkai blinking repeatedly, “What was that?” Kaori asked.

Kagome giggled, “You see, when I push the button, a little shutter inside the camera opens and imprints the image of what it sees inside of it. The bright light was to make the colors easier for it to see. Now, this little paper will make an instant portrait!”

Kaori’s mouth was an ‘oh’ and Mattaki grinned, “Like this one, ne?” he said, pulling from his haori the one she had given him. She nodded happily, glad he kept it so near, and then her eyes widened in horror. She hissed and pointed at Sesshoumaru who was looking curiously at the image in his father’s hands.

“What is that, Father?”

Mattaki realized his mistake and tucked it back away, “That is not important, Sesshoumaru.”

He looked at Kagome, “You gave him a portrait? Why can I not see?”

Thinking fast, Kagome pulled Mattaki to her, “Just a minute, Sesshou.”

She pulled him around the corner and yanked out her photo album, removing the last picture in it, “Use this, and pretend it is the one he saw.”

Mattaki grinned, “Can I keep this one too?”

“Fine, fine, I guess so.”

“Why can he not see InuYasha?”

“Because! Its obvious he’s your son, and either will know his mother dies earlier than you or Kami forbid he thinks you cheat on his mom, and he will try and prevent you taking InuYasha’s mother! I can’t have that, I need InuYasha. Without him, I wouldn’t be here,” she hissed. Mattaki nodded in understanding.

When they rejoined, Sesshoumaru was scowling, “Well?”

Kagome sighed and waved a hand at Mattaki, who pulled out the small photo from his haori. He handed it to the teen who smirked, “Why wouldn’t you want me to see that?”

“Because! Stupid Kagura and her picture taking!”

“We have been in much more compromising positions than that, koi.”

Kagome resembled a cherry, “Baka, don’t say things like that in front of your parents!”

He quirked an eyebrow and smirked in amusement, then looked closer at the picture, “Is that Ah-Un behind us? He‘s huge! Most beasts of his kind only grow to half that size.”

Kagome’s eyes widened and she looked more closely at the picture. Sure enough, Ah-Un’s two heads could be seen in the background, as could Shippou’s head and Rin’s feet.

“Hai, and that is my kit.”

“Who’s feet are those?”

Kagome grinned, “You’ll see. I’m not going to tell you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her but shrugged, giving the picture back to his father, “Are we done now?”

“Iie! I still need two of Mattaki and Kaori together, and two of you and me, and one of the whole group if I can teach a guard to use this.”

He sighed, “Fine.”

Kaori gasped happily as she picked up the previously undeveloped image, “Its magick! Look, there we are!”

Kagome grinned, “Its actually science, but yes, isn’t it great?”

Kagome took the pictures of the Lord and Lady, tucking them away. Then she taught Mattaki, who was just as curious as his son would one day be, how to use it and stood with Sesshoumaru. There was a reason for the duplicates. Finally, a guard was summoned.

“See this little hole?” Kagome said, pointing to it, “Look through it really fast. See? Now, whatever you see in there will be the picture, so you have to make sure the people to be in it are all showing, alright? When you have it how you want it, you push this button here. Easy, ne?”

The brunette guard looked dubious but examined the device and nodded. Kagome grinned and clapped her hands, “I haven’t met you yet, what’s your name?”

He looked genuinely surprised, his blue eyes similar to her own rounding out, “I am called Hakkai, my lady.”

“Call me Kagome. Nice to meet you! Now, just wait for me to say we’re ready then take the picture, alright?”

He nodded again, still staring at the black box like it would attack. Kagome laughed and ran back to her fiancé and his parents, “Alright, gather around me, guys. We only have once try at this, so we have to make it good, kay?

She stood in front of Sesshoumaru, his hands around her waist and Kaori and Mattaki on either side. She wrapped her arms around both of them and yanked them close, “Now you all better look at the camera and smile, or I will teach you the meaning of the word ‘Osuwari’! Smile, and now’s good, Hakkai!”

The flash was blinding, and all four shut their eyes tightly for a moment. Kagome recovered first and bounded forward, retrieving her possessions and bowing a little, “Arigato, Hakkai-kun. I appreciate your help.” He blinked at her and bowed back, walking away dazedly. What a strange ningen.

Kagome waved the photo through the air, making Sesshoumaru look at her funny, “What is the purpose of that?”

“It makes it work faster!”

“It does not look like it is going faster.”

Kagome scowled, “How would you know? I’ve taken hundreds of these and you’ve now been in the presence of seven. Shush!”

He smirked and shook his head and waited out her waving of the picture until it finally cleared. The image was slightly crooked and there was too much sky, but Kagome grinned nonetheless. It was perfect. To have it as one of her only physical memories of the group was depressing, but she was glad to have at least that.

Her plan was to take all the pictures with her, and in the Sengoku Jidai give Sesshoumaru one of the images of his parents and one of she and him. That would be her gift to him, a lasting memory. Then she would take the others back to her own time with her and get them professionally blown up into a better size, and when she found him she would give him copies then, as well. His pictures would have disintegrated by modern times, she was sure. A Polaroid would probably only last a hundred or two years, if he was lucky.

More and more she became sure he would be awaiting her in the well house. After all, like Kaori had said when she had first arrived, humans and demons need one another to survive. And so they would, right? She refused to let her old bleak assessments permeate her, for she knew it would bring a breakdown to focus on the possibility of never seeing her love again.

She showed him the image and he smiled and watched her put the photos into her album before speaking, “Why have you never shown me your portrait book?”

Kagome paused, “Because…I have my reasons. There are a few people in it you cannot see until you meet them. I could show you a few pictures, though, if you wish?”

He did, and so she did. She showed him some of Sango and Miroku, a handprint on his face in almost every picture, one of Shippou covered in chocolate and one of her holding him. There was one he himself would take in the future of her clinging to one of Ah-Un’s necks in terror as it rose a dozen feet off the ground. She showed him one of himself, his back to her and looking towards the moon. She explained that he hadn’t known she was there, and it was still early in their friendship.

On almost all the pictures she skipped, he saw flashes of red and silver. He asked who they were of, and she looked him in the eye, “InuYasha. He’s in so many pictures…so I can’t show you.”

“Why can’t I see InuYasha?”

Her heart quivered, hearing his brother’s name from his lips without any disdain, hatred, or preceded by the word ‘Die‘. She smiled sadly, “I can’t tell you why. You will understand in about three hundred years when you meet him, koiishi, until then just trust me, alright? He is very important to my future, and I can’t risk anything happening to his destiny.”

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap. She sighed and relaxed against him, and they watched the sun set together in a myriad of swirling colors. Neither could think of anything but one another.


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A/N: Another chapter done. I think I will have a few more done by the time I even am able to post ONE (or two) of the ones I’ve written since my last update. Its June 14th right now, and I have written ten chapters now. *sigh* Boredom, thy name is no interweb…

Sorry for the delay between updates…first my darling closest friend Raine was visiting from Canad(i)a, then she left me video games…I beat Kingdom Hearts 2 in 2 ½ days. Gods was that good. Riku=the hawt…the long hair suits him. *sigh and lament* It ended too quickly! Now I have years to wait for the next… *weep*