InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox: The Power of Letting Go ❯ Paradox ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc. and Viz Media.

Chasing Cars - Song by Snow Patrol. I do not own InuYasha or the song and I don't make any monies from this. Story and all original characters created are owned by me.

 

 

 

Paradox

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

He put the ring gently back into the case. He would give it to Kagome tonight. After all, she was planning to go through the well tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

 

Did she go through the well already? Fuck!

 

Yash raced out of the building, his black boots pounding on the pavement as he leapt onto his motorcycle. Tires squealed and rubber burned as he pealed out of the parking lot. He had to reach her, dammit!

 

Earlier in the evening when he went down to Kagome's lab to meet her, he was told that she had already left. Thinking she was at her apartment, Yash hammered on her door only to be told by her roommate that she had already gone to the shrine.

 

With his heart pounding rapidly in his chest and the blood thundering in his ears, he raced to intercept her. He prayed that he wasn't too late.

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

Kagome silently slipped out into the courtyard.

 

Breathing deep, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the slight breeze blowing softly through her hair. Before she knew it, she was standing by the Goshinboku. The air whispered around her as she placed her palm against the ancient tree, trying to find comfort in its immemorial presence. Her solitude was suspended by the soft tread of footsteps.

 

“Kagome, are you all right?”

 

Why is everyone always asking if I'm all right? Kagome lightly dragged her hand against the rough bark as she turned to face her mother.

 

She tried to smile convincingly. “Yes, Mama, I'm fine.”

 

Nori sighed. As a mother, she only wanted what was best for her children. She would lay down her life for them — to try to soothe every hurt and every heartache — and her beautiful, lovely daughter always had the weight of the world on her slim shoulders. How to help her hurts and to heal her heartaches when the wounds go so deep and so strong that they spanned centuries?

 

“When I go through the well tomorrow, he's going to be there, Mama.” Her soft voice floated through the air.

 

Nori waited calmly for her daughter to continue. Experience had taught her that she couldn't push for answers, that they would come readily enough if bought by patience.

 

“After I complete my task, I-I have to leave him again. Oh, Mama, why is love so hard?”

 

Nori smiled indulgently. “Because if you didn't work for it, it wouldn't be worth it.”

 

Giving her mother a small, sad smile, Kagome asked, “What should I do?”

 

“What does your heart tell you to do?”

 

“It tells me to love him.”

 

“Then that's what you do.”

 

A soft sigh escaped her lips as Kagome looked at her mother, her eyes shining with suppressed pain. “In order for me to love him, I have to break his heart.”

 

Nori reached out with a warm and soothing hand and tucked a stray curl behind her daughter's ear. “His heart will heal. It has healed.”

 

Kagome reached up and grasped her mother's hand and held it in her own. “But he'll hate me for 500 years. How do I live with that knowledge?”

 

“What does Yash say about it?” Nori's voice was calm and soothing as only a mother's could be.

 

“He wants me to break his heart. He says it's the way it has to be, the way it should be.”

 

“He's right, Kagome. Trust in his love for you. If that is what fate meant it to be, it will be. It's your destiny.”

 

Kagome sighed. “Do you really think it's fate?”

 

“Yes, dear. It always has been.”

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

Kagome sat with her back to the Goshinboku, hours after her mother had left her. The sun had set long ago, casting dark shadows across the shrine. She leaned back against the rough trunk and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs. Tilting her head back she looked up at the moonlight that filtered down through the branches.

 

This was how InuYasha found her — by their tree. He let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't too late.

 

Kagome stood up and held out her arms as he raced to her. Grabbing a hold of her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his nose into her hair. He took pleasure in inhaling the rich, sweet scent that was inherently Kagome. He held her tight, grateful that he was in time. It would be all right.

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

They stood together under the Goshinboku tree.

 

They were back where they first met. They clung to each other, their steady heartbeats in unison. Each was afraid to let the other go as they found comfort where they stood.

 

After a while, he whispered softly in her ear, “I thought you had already gone through.”

 

She looked up surprised. “I told you that I would go in the morning.”

 

He gave her a lopsided grin. “I know. I was just worried. There's something I need to give you before you leave.”

 

Resting his chin on the top of her head, he held her close, reveling in the feel of her, wishing that he could hold her like this forever. “Kagome, do you remember what I said about belonging together in this time, about you coming back?”

 

“I do,” was the soft reply.

 

“We never knew where we belonged, the past or the future but,” he pulled back slightly and looked deep into her eyes, “we know now. We belong in the present. Here, now,” he swept back her bangs, cupping her cheek tenderly, “this is where we're meant to be. This is where I'm meant to love you.”

 

Kagome nodded in agreement, but he detected the slight hesitation. His hand closed over hers as he brought it up to his lips. He brushed a gentle kiss on her knuckles before he pressed her hand against his chest and began to recite the speech that was etched into his heart.

 

“Kagome, those long years ago, when you freed me from Goshinboki, you not only freed my soul, you freed my heart. You've shown me what love really means. I have loved you for over 500 years and will continue to love you with every beat of my heart, with every breath that I take, and with my blood I will protect you until the ends of time.”

 

InuYasha's whispery words resonated into the chambers of her heart, filling it with love and devotion, with forever. Kagome was lost in his eyes and didn't notice him bringing his other hand up to slip a ring onto her finger.

 

Her eyes widened at the sight of the ring on her hand that was still pressed against his heart — flashes of red and white sparkling in the moonlight.

 

Kagome drew in a deep breath and tears blurred her vision as she stared speechless at the ring on her finger.

 

It was a perfect fit.

 

“In my heart, you are already mine. Our destinies have always been intertwined. You belong to me, and I will forever belong to you. I give you this ring to symbolize my love. Three stones to represent all that we are, all that we are meant to be…”

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

Mama allowed them to sleep in her old room for old time's sake. Yash decided that he would just hold Kagome and give her any comfort that he could, but Kagome had her own ideas and initiated their lovemaking. It was slow and leisurely, each taking their time and savouring the moment as if they were both engraving the act into their memories.

 

 

 

We'll do it all

Everything

On our own

 

We don't need

Anything

Or anyone

 

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

 

I don't quite know

How to say

How I feel

 

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

 

I need your grace

To remind me

To find my own

 

All that I am

All that I ever was

Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

 

I don't know where

Confused about how as well

Just know that these things will never change for us at all

 

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

 

 

 

 

They fell asleep in each other's arms with a promise of all tomorrows wrapped around them, like the well-worn comforter on Kagome's childhood bed.

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

She was standing at the edge — always at the edge. The abyss loomed up at her as she stared into the darkness.

 

“Come back to me, Kagome.” The quiet voice echoed through the well house.

 

Kagome paused at the edge of the well, her eyes locked deep into her hanyou's. With a bittersweet smile, she jumped.

 

See you on the other side, InuYasha.

 

 

 

-x-x-x-x-

 

 

 

Yash Takahashi stood there for a few moments looking down into the bottomless pit. Sorrow reflected in his eyes, and his heart ached with the knowledge of what was to come.

 

The last time he stood by the well with the woman he loved, he begged her to stay, and he couldn't let her go. Now, 500 years later, he had sent her away with his blessings. He didn't beg her to stay, and he would let her go. The only difference was that she would come back to him.

 

He stood there for a few moments with his eyes closed and his breath even.

 

There was only one thing left to do.

 

He turned around and walked out into the shrine in search of Kagome's mother.