InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox ❯ Memory Lane (Part 2) ( Chapter 5 )

Author Notes: I'm so pleased with the interest in this story! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has read! And of course, heartfelt thanks to the reviewers:

RedHerring: You are simply the best! I cannot thank you enough for being so supportive!

Van Stolin: Eternally grateful for your corrections! I've seen Kaze no Kizu spelled three different ways (this being one of them) so I appreciate your providing the correct spelling in romanji. Also, I'm indebted to you for supplying the link! Arigato gozaimasu!

Paradox

Chapter 5: Memory Lane (Part 2)

Last Time:

"Forget about it." He cut her off before she could go any further; his sharp tone wounding further her already bruised pride.

Kagome dropped her eyes to stare at her toes as she curled them in the thick pile of the carpet. Tears burned against the backs of her eyes and she swallowed hard to push down the knot of emotion forming in her throat. She heard his feet thumping softly as he strode across the carpet. When she heard the door close with a firm click, she numbly crawled back into the bed and burying her face in the pillow, she wept.

++++

Some time later, Kagome felt someone shaking her shoulder gently, and a female voice called softly, "Kagome-chan. Come on, wake up, sleepy head. Are you planning to spend the whole day in bed?"

Groggy, her eyes swollen from crying, Kagome grumpily turned her head towards the source of that voice to be met by a smiling face that looked awfully familiar. Twinkling, chocolate brown eyes and long, dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail adding to the feeling of recognition. Squinting a little, trying to place the face, her eyes widened when it finally hit her who she was looking at.

"S-Sango-chan!"

In an instant she was up and the two young women were both laughing and crying as they hugged each other; each trying to say how much they had missed the other and how wonderful it was to be together again. They were so excited that neither managed to utter more than a couple of choked words before emotion overwhelmed them. When they finally calmed down enough to form coherent sentences, Kagome breathlessly asked, "How did you get here?"

Ecstatic to see the taijiya, Kagome missed the slight shift in Sango's expression; her bright smile becoming a little sad as she said, "Ah, well, that's a long story. Let's sit down, okay?"

Perched on the edge of the mattress, Kagome could hardly believe that Sango was here; her heart near bursting with happiness. Her life seemed to be chock full of surprises lately. First, Inuyasha was here in the present and somehow, so was her best friend. Her grin stretching nearly ear to ear, she gazed happily at the woman sitting beside her and, for a little while, was able to put aside her worry about what had happened with Inuyasha.

As they sat together on the bed, Sango kept hold of Kagome's hands and did her best to remain composed. Two years had wrought some remarkable changes in the miko and they were fortunate that Inuyasha had immediately recognized her scent as she looked quite different from what Sango remembered. She had finally grown into her coltishly long legs and her teenage cuteness had matured into the serene beauty of a woman. There was also a strange darkness in her eyes that hadn't been there before; dulling their usual bright color so that they appeared flat and almost lifeless for a moment. When Sango tried to discern its source, the darkness fled; almost like a shadow receding from a probing beam of light.

Pushing her uneasiness aside as a unpleasant memory flickered just outside of her consciousness, she turned her attention back to the task at hand. She had so many questions she wanted to ask and so many things that she had to tell Kagome, but first she needed to know what had transpired that fateful day by the well. Souta had been able to fill her in on a few points; however, there were some answers that only Kagome would be able to provide.

Although Sesshoumaru had wanted to speak with Kagome himself, Sango had insisted it would be better if she spoke to her; their close relationship establishing a much more relaxed atmosphere than if the taiyoukai had approached her. Not that she personally had anything against the demon Lord; she even considered him to be a friend when he wasn't acting all high and mighty, but they needed to take things slowly at first. Though he would vehemently refute any correlation drawn between himself and his half-brother, Sesshoumaru could sometimes be just as impatient as Inuyasha. Besides, they didn't know how much Kagome's memory had been affected by the wish and making her more unsettled than she already was would defeat the purpose of this little exercise.

So with that in mind and without preamble, Sango suddenly asked, "Do you remember what happened after you wished on the Shikon no Tama?"

Unprepared for such a direct question and a little confused as to why Sango was bringing this up, Kagome nodded, "Umm, sort of. I must have blacked out and when I woke up I was in the well house at the shrine with this huge knot on my head. Then Souta came and told me some really weird stuff about never going to the Sengoku Jidai." Seeing her friend's surprised expression, she hastily explained with a nervous laugh, "I later found out I had told him to say that whenever I brought up Inuyasha. Though I'm still not entirely sure why I asked him to do this."

Sango absorbed this with a thoughtful look on her face. As they had suspected from Kagome's fevered ramblings, there were definite discrepancies between what had occurred in Kagome's time before the wish and what had occurred after it. Wondering what ramifications these alterations would have and how severely they would affect future events, she inquired, "Did you notice anything else that seemed strange when you got back?"

Her words smacking of sarcasm, Kagome quipped, "You mean besides Souta turning into a teenager overnight, my mom's personality being completely whacked, my grandfather suddenly looking like he's at death's door, and a memory lapse of almost three years?"

She smiled a little at Kagome's exasperated tone, the sound bringing back memories of their time together in the Sengoku Jidai. It had taken her a while to get used to Kagome's peculiar way of speaking, but after a while, she learned to read between the turns of phrase and self-mocking behavior to know what lay underneath. Whenever Kagome complained, she was usually trying to hide the fact that she was worried and uncertain how to deal with whatever was troubling her. She would then try to change the subject in order to draw the focus off her fears.

Which is exactly what Kagome did when she asked, "Anyway, how did you and Inuyasha get here? The last time I saw the well it was sealed tighter than a drum and looked like it hadn't been opened in ages. Did Souta break the seals when the youkai attacked and that allowed you through?"

"Maybe I should have said something earlier…." Her voice trailed off and a somber light came into Sango's eyes before she looked away as if gathering her thoughts. Drawing a shaky breath, she turned back to face Kagome and said, "Something unexpected happened after you made your wish."

++++

"Why the fuck is this taking so long?"

Directing his question at no one in particular, Inuyasha resumed his pacing, his need to speak with Kagome making him restless. He couldn't get what had happened between them out of his head nor could he stop thinking that he shouldn't have reacted so harshly when she tried to apologize. But, he hadn't wanted to hear her say she regretted kissing him, so he had cut her off and left as quickly as he could.

After he had a chance to calm down and clear his head, he went back to try and patch things up only to have the smell of Kagome's tears reach him through the door. His guilt had compounded then; knowing that he was their cause. He'd felt like shit after that and ended up trying to pick a fight with Kouga; however the wolf hadn't felt inclined to oblige him, saying he had more important things to do than spar with a whining puppy. Left with no other outlet for his frustrations, he'd resorted to pacing and was now driving Miroku and Shippo to distraction with his constant mutterings.

Growing weary of watching the hanyou tramp back and forth in front of him, Miroku pleaded, "Inuyasha, for kami's sake, sit down. You're wearing a groove in the floor."

"Keh, like I care." Having reached the opposite side of the room, he whirled around to begin his return journey, his scowl growing darker as he snapped, "Why the hell did Sesshoumaru agree to let Sango talk to her alone? We need to find out where the jewel is before that bastard gets to it first."

Having gone over this very point only a few minutes ago, the monk struggled to repress a sigh of exasperation that he was being asked to repeat himself, yet again. Struggling to keep his tone reasonable, Miroku explained, "Because Kagome-sama has been through quite a bit in the last few days. Besides, there is no reason for all of us to bombard her with questions, it would only confuse and upset her."

Inuyasha knew the monk had a point, but what little patience he had left was rapidly wearing thin. Sango had been with Kagome nearly three hours and in his estimation, that was more than enough time to fill Kagome in on what had happened. In truth, he didn't give a damn about finding the Shikon no Tama right now, he simply wanted to be with Kagome, enveloped in her soothing scent. He desperately needed to know that he hadn't spent these last five hundred years waiting in vain.

He had waited for so long, several lifetimes in human standards, to be with her again and not a day went by that he didn't think about her. The years had passed with excruciating slowness and he had felt their weight like a dagger being slowly driven into his heart. Time became a burden that at certain points was almost more than he could bear; his loneliness so overwhelming he thought he might go mad.

He had felt that burden being lifted the moment he had held Kagome in his arms. It had felt like a part of him that had been missing had finally returned and in that moment, the agonizing loneliness had receded to be replaced by a deep, soulful peace. Regardless of whatever happened in the days ahead, only one thing truly mattered to him, he needed Kagome beside him.

"Oi, Inuyasha, will you stop already?" Shippo's hand came to rest on his shoulder, the kitsune's grip firm as he tried to prevent the hanyou from making another trip across the room. When Inuyasha paused to glare at him, he noticed that Shippo wasn't looking at him but rather behind him. Glancing over his shoulder to see what had grabbed the fox demon's attention, he sucked in a sharp breath when he saw who was standing there.

`Kagome.'

++++

Lifting his gaze from the scrolls littering his desk, Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as the wolf demon strolled through the door. He had sent the youkai to check on a possible lead regarding the origin of the mysterious envelope, but hadn't expected him to return so quickly. Setting aside the parchment he had been reading and relaxing back in his chair, he steepled his fingers beneath his chin and waited for the wolf to explain his presence.

Ignoring the annoyed look the taiyoukai was giving him, Kouga settled himself in one of the leather chairs facing the desk. He had gained very little information from his recent venture, but the information he had secured was enough to confirm that something terribly wrong had indeed happened after Kagome made her wish. Leaning forward, his forearms resting on his knees, he said the one thing neither of them wanted to hear. "The scent is definitely Naraku's."

His lips drawing into a thin line, Sesshoumaru scoffed, "Impossible. The miko destroyed that hanyou centuries ago. He cannot still be alive."

It was Kouga's turn to act derisive, "I know that as well as you, but that still doesn't change the fact that it is his scent on the letter." His face grew worried as he asked, "Has Kagome seen it yet?"

"No." Simple, decisive and giving nothing away, the demon Lord's face remained impassive.

"Are you going to let her see it?" Kouga's tone implied that he thought it would be wiser to not let Kagome read the missive, but Sesshoumaru seemed to have a different opinion.

"She will read it once the taijiya has explained what has happened." He had come to the conclusion that it would serve no purpose to keep the miko from reading the letter. The note totaled only a couple of lines in length and their meaning was so cryptic that it made no sense. The message read:

My dearest Kagome,

Briefly does time matter to those who do not measure it and time is fleeting when viewed by troubled eyes. Our time has already been and yet, we shall soon recall our memories of what is still to be.

It was unsigned other than for the wax seal at the bottom again in the shape of a rose.

He had tried finding something in the scrolls that would enable him to decipher the riddling text, but so far, he had come up with nothing which explained their significance. There were references to both the past and the future, but how those were to be taken was unclear. Whatever their actual meaning, it undoubtedly had something to do with Kagome's wish and the whereabouts of the Shikon no Tama.

And now they had confirmed that Naraku also was somehow involved.

++++

Standing in the doorway, Kagome's eyes widened in delight when she spotted Miroku sitting on the sofa. He had hardly changed and the roguish grin he gave her warmed her heart. Shifting her gaze, she then took in the tall, redheaded man standing beside Inuyasha and was stunned to see how much Shippo had changed. Sango had explained how the kitsune had been affected by the wish, but seeing the proof in front of her was slightly unsettling. Gone was the cute, little carrot-topped demon with his enormous teal eyes and fluffy tail and in his place was a handsome young man with sea-green eyes, dark auburn hair and a sweeping tail of the same shade tipped with a creamy gold.

Her face breaking into a wide grin she quickly crossed the room and embraced him, laughing while she said, "Wow, Shippo-chan, you grew up."

He was a little embarrassed by the attention, a faint blush playing on his cheeks, but he warmly returned her hug. "It's so good to see you, Kagome-chan." Moving back a little but still holding onto her upper arms, he smiled broadly and said, "I've missed you."

Nodding, tears sparkling in her eyes, she said, "Um, I missed you, too."

Miroku had risen from the couch and was now standing beside them. Stepping around Shippo, a mischievous twinkle coming into her eyes, Kagome hugged the monk as she teasingly admonished, "You're lucky that Sango decided to marry you; otherwise, I'd have to be whacking you instead of doing this."

Giving her a extra squeeze, he impishly suggested, "We could always revive our old ritual."

As they separated, she gave him a stern look and muttered, `Hentai' before breaking into laughter at their joke.

Inuyasha watched the cheerful exchanges, his regret at having tarnished Kagome's and his reunion weighing heavily on his heart. Hanging off to one side, he listened intently as they chattered away about how each of them had been doing. Enjoying the sweet sound of Kagome's melodic voice, he was relieved when he overheard her say she hadn't seen Kouga yet. He breathed a silent sigh of relief at that news; the last thing he wanted to suffer through today was the wimpy wolf's possessive drivel as he loudly proclaimed Kagome was `his woman'.

As much as he wanted to speak with her, he knew that he couldn't just drag her aside without the others raising some objections. He would have to content himself with the knowledge that once the initial excitement of reuniting with her friends was over, there was bound to be an opportunity where he could catch her alone.

"Inuyasha, are you all right?"

A nearly indiscernible twitch of his eyebrow was the only indication that Kagome's soft question had startled him. Laying her hand on the sleeve of his shirt, she reflexively pulled it back when she thought that he might not want her to be so familiar. He had been awfully quiet from the moment she had walked in the room and she was beginning to wonder if he was still upset about kissing her.

"Keh, I'm fine." He hadn't looked at her when he said that and Kagome felt a little self-conscious about how she should react. On the one hand, she wanted to speak to him and sort things out between them. On the other, she was silently hoping that they could just put the whole embarrassing situation behind them and forget it ever happened; start with a fresh slate so to speak. Hovering indecisively for a few moments, she figured it would be best to let the matter drop for the time being. Mumbling a slightly hurt sounding `okay', she went back to talking with the others.

Settling themselves on the sofas, Kagome and Shippo commandeered the larger one, Miroku and Sango the loveseat, while Inuyasha took up residence in one of the two armchairs. Over the next hour, the friends reminisced about their days of shard hunting and the time they spent together in the Sengoku Jidai. Souta joined them not long after and Kagome squealed in delight to see her little brother safe and sound before forcing him to promise that he would never again try to fight a youkai on his own.

As the afternoon wore into evening, Sesshoumaru finally deigned it necessary to put in an appearance. The taiyoukai suffered through Kagome's exuberant greeting, even going so far as to allow the miko to give him a quick hug which raised several eyebrows around the room. He met their surprised looks with what bordered on a cross between a scowl and a defiant stare that promised severe retribution if they made any comments about his odd behavior.

With nearly all the players in place, Kagome smilingly looked around at her friends before she noticed that someone was missing. Becoming a bit concerned, she asked with a slight frown, "Where's Kouga?"

All eyes turned to Sesshoumaru as he spoke up, briefly explaining, "The wolf is preoccupied with an important task. He will return tomorrow morning."

Looking a little crestfallen, Kagome murmured, "Oh."

She wondered what was so important that he had sent Kouga off before she had a chance to see him; however, she didn't have long to think about it since Sesshoumaru was holding out to her a thick envelope on which her name was written. Curiously taking it and sparing a cursory glance for the elegant wax seal on the back, she drew out the enclosed sheet of paper and slowly scanned the contents. She read the short note three times before she looked up at the taiyoukai in puzzlement. "What does this mean?"

Sinking gracefully into the remaining armchair as Kagome reclaimed her seat next to Souta, his expression was unreadable as he replied, "Since it was addressed to you, I thought that you might know. However, it appears that you do not."

Not sure how to take that, she hesitantly asked, "Where did it come from?"

"It was delivered yesterday."

Kagome gave the taiyoukai a disgruntled look. She had forgotten how exasperating it was trying to carry on a conversation with him. He had the most annoying habit of saying only as much as he felt was necessary and it was nearly impossible to drag any additional information from him. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she asked with feigned sweetness, "And do you know who sent it, Sesshoumaru-sama?

The sarcastic way she stressed the honorific drew a glare from the taiyoukai. His tone icy, he replied, "Naraku."

Kagome nearly fell out off the sofa, her surprise was so great. Her eyes bulging, she disbelievingly stared at Sesshoumaru. If he hadn't appeared so deadly serious, she might have thought that he was making some kind of bad joke. And she wasn't the only one shocked by that unexpected news.

Inuyasha, furious that his brother had failed to mention anything to him about Naraku being involved, leapt out of his chair with a snarl, demanding, "Why the hell didn't you say something earlier?"

Favoring his brother with a dark look, Sesshoumaru explained as if he was speaking to a small child. "Because, I know how impulsive you are. You would have rushed out of here swinging your sword like an imbecile when we have no idea for certain how or even if Naraku is actually here."

While Inuyasha sputtered to come up with a response to that, Miroku calmly interjected, "Sesshoumaru-sama, how did you determine that Naraku is involved?"

Still frowning, Sesshoumaru gestured slightly towards the paper in Kagome's hands and said, "His scent is on the letter."

She nearly dropped the note then, suddenly afraid of what it implied. How in the world was Naraku here? Hadn't they destroyed him in that last battle? And if they had, then why was Miroku's kazaana still present after all this time? Shouldn't it have eventually disappeared as they had all guessed it would after a few years? Unless, and as loath as she was to consider it, Naraku was somehow alive and living in modern day Tokyo?

Searching her mind helplessly for answers to questions she had never thought to be asking herself again, she glanced back at the letter in her hands and paused when she read again the part that said, `we shall soon recall our memories of what is still to be'. Did that mean she already knew what was going to happen? Was there something that had happened recently or was about to happen that would explain what they needed to do? The more she thought about it the more confused she became.

Apparently, her wish had done more harm than she ever could have realized. Not only had she altered her friends' futures, she had somehow affected the course of events from the day she was supposed to have traveled through the well. Since her memories of the past overlapped with those of the future, by altering the future, she had inadvertently altered what occurred in the past. Yet, in her present reality, she never went into the past nor was she supposed to have met Inuyasha or the others. If that was the case, then why was she able to easily recall events from the Sengoku Jidai, but next to nothing about what had happened in the last three years of her time.

Damn it, none of this was making any sense at all.

++++

Moving stealthily through the throngs of people crowding the main thoroughfare, Kouga kept a few paces behind the dark haired man he had been following for the last two hours. The packed sidewalk both aided and hindered his progress, allowing him to duck out of sight when the man turned to glance behind him but preventing him from getting close enough that he could discern his features. However, his acute sense of smell provided the wolf demon with the only real confirmation he needed to identify his prey.

Naraku.

He had picked up the hanyou's trail outside an office complex in downtown Tokyo; the address helpfully supplied by the delivery service who brought the letter. Since then, they had been weaving their way through the streets and Naraku seemed to be wandering aimlessly with no real destination in mind. Kouga had a sinking suspicion that the hanyou had detected he was being followed, but so far, hadn't made any attempts to evade his pursuer.

The crowd shifted around them causing him to briefly lose sight of the hanyou and when the path cleared he was furious to see that Naraku had suddenly vanished. Cursing his bad luck and berating himself for letting his prey slip away, the wolf sprinted forward to try and identify when and where he had disappeared. Passing irritably between a group of giggling school girls, he skidded to a halt when he spied the hanyou casually leaning against the front of a building between two columns.

The hair on the back of his neck raised and a growl rumbled low in his throat as Kouga glared at the smiling half demon before him. Other than the neatly pressed suit which had replaced the traditional kimono and baboon skin, Naraku looked exactly the same. His maroon eyes twinkling with suppressed humor, he drawled, "Ah, I see that you managed to make it this far, wolf. I take it the miko received my letter."

Snarling, Kouga snapped, "How the hell did you get here, you bastard? I watched you die five hundred years ago."

A smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, Naraku said, "Yes, you could say that I died. At least that is what you remember; perhaps your judgment was clouded then." His smile grew wider as he continued, "And maybe, you didn't see what you thought you saw."

Cracking his knuckles in anticipation, Kouga growled, "Maybe I should just finish you off now, then I can be sure you are dead this time."

His expression indicating he didn't favor that suggestion, Naraku softly replied, "If you do, then the miko will die."

Taken aback by the quiet conviction in the hanyou's voice, Kouga paused in his advance; a prickle of fear caressing his spine before he shook it off. His eyes narrowing dangerously, he hissed through clenched teeth, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Pleased to see he had the wolf's undivided attention, Naraku repeated, "If you kill me now, the miko will also die."

Thinking that it must be another one of Naraku's tricks and deciding to call his bluff, Kouga retorted, "You expect me to believe a lie like that?"

Naraku simply leered at the wolf, his eyes reflecting his contempt as he coldly remarked, "I don't expect you to believe anything, but I assure you it is the truth."

Calmly crossing his arms over his chest, he elaborated, "The miko's and my destinies are inextricably linked. What happens to one, happens to the other." Amused by Kouga's incredulous expression, he laughed derisively as he challenged, "So, by all means, go ahead and kill me and you will finish this before it even has a chance to begin."

++++

Coming Soon: Chapter 6: Be Careful What You Wish For…(Part 1)