InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Past, Present, and Future ❯ The Past is Her Future ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Kags817 
After a stressful few days, Kagome returns home and returns to school. Later, an attack is a life-changing experience for Inuyasha.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.23.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 509 | Status: Work In Progress
After a stressful few days, Kagome returns home and returns to school. Later, an attack is a life-changing experience for Inuyasha.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.23.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 509 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: I don’t own Inuyasha. Viz does.
Chapter 1: The Past is Her Future
Inuyasha stood in front of the well as he waited for Kagome to return. She had gone back for a test and to get more supplies. The past three days had been hell for her and he had no objections about her going home. First, Kikyo had joined them saying that Naraku was near and wanted to help defeat him. Even though he knew she didn’t want her there, Kagome was the first to agree to let her. Then it was the snake demon who attempted to kill her for her shards. Finally, the day before, Naraku attacked. He ran off when he realized he was in danger, but not before injuring Kikyo so badly she couldn’t be healed. Inuyasha thought about how he had held Kikyo and kissed her before she died. His thoughts were interrupted by the blue lights signaling Kagome’s return.
Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha’s familiar red haori. She smiled, happy he was there. She had been worried after Kikyo had died. Inuyasha was distant, which she kind of expected, but by dinner time he was back to his old self. The one time Kikyo was mentioned, he said nothing. His only response, that was only noticed by Kagome, since she knew him so well, was for him to shift closer to her and put his hand on the floor next to hers, but not touching it. She slid hers to barely brush his pinky with hers.
They had woken up the next morning and Kagome told the others her plans to go home. She had been surprised at Inuyasha being okay with it. Picking up her backpack, she made her way to the door. As she touched the flap, she noticed Inuyasha next to her. Realizing what he had done without thinking, he pushed the flap angrily and told Kagome to hurry up. At the well, again without thinking, Inuyasha grabbed her shoulder as she went to jump down into the well. As Kagome looked at him in surprise, he quickly let go and became angry again. She didn’t miss his slight blush that he tried to hide under his anger.
She promised to return right after she got out of school and shopped for supplies. As she sat through classes and heard the same speeches of concern and anger from her teachers and the constant yammering about going out with Hojo on the weekend from her friends, she couldn’t help but think of the past. By the time lunch came, she wanted nothing but to go home. She was so worried about Inuyasha, she couldn’t think straight. Pushing herself, she went to her next class. As she stared at the math problems the teacher had put on the board for them to do, she realized how much she had missed even though she had studied everyday while in the past.
This being the last straw, she closed her notebook and raised her hand. The teacher asked her what she wanted. Kagome told him “ Chojumaru- sensei, I’m not feeling well. Can I go to the nurse?” As he looked at her, Kagome took a good look at her teacher. He had been a replacement when her regular teacher became sick about two months ago. Since then, she had only seen him once before, the last time she returned to the present. As she looked, she thought she was seeing things. Her teacher looked like Sesshomaru if he turned human like Inuyasha. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
When she opened her eyes, Chojumaru was standing next to her. He felt her forehead and gasped. He quickly yelled to another student “ Mirosune, take Kagome to the nurse, she’s burning up!” Kagome was confused. She didn’t feel like she had a fever but let the boy carry her backpack while they walked to the nurse. When Chojumaru sat down at his desk once again, he took a black marker and crossed a name out of his grade book: Kagome Higurashi and added one to the bottom of the list: Tsukimegami Taisho. He smiled and looked out the window at what at first looked like nothing, but soon became a streak of red as it left the area.
Mirosune knocked on the door of the nurse’s office and went in with Kagome behind him. He explained what had happened and the nurse nodded. She walked over to Kagome and felt her forehead. This time Barahime also felt the fever that Kagome, this time, insisted she didn’t have. She told Kagome “ I know more about fevers than you do dear, go lie down while I call your mother. You shouldn’t have come to school today, Kagome.” She put her backpack on the hook on the edge of the bed and did as she was told. She watched as Mirosune, who she now noticed was a new student, and Barahime talk once more. As Mirosune left to return to class, Kagome could have sworn she saw a red bushy tail.
Barahime saw where she was looking and quickly dropped a wet, cold cloth on her face, covering her eyes. Surprised, Kagome threw the cloth off her face. Barahime smiled and told her “Sorry, dear. The cloth slipped out of my hands.” She picked the cloth off the floor and put it on the table next to the bed. Grabbing another, she put it in the water and wrung it out. Putting it on Kagome’s forehead, who had finally just decided to let the nurse do what she wanted, she told her “ Keep that cloth on your forehead while I call your mother, Mirosune was talking to me and I forgot to call.”
Kagome’s mother, Keiko, left to go to the school as soon as she got the call. As Keiko turned the corner, she could hear Kagome arguing with Barahime. Keiko had gotten stuck in traffic and it had taken a while to get there. She opened the door and what she saw made her laugh. Barahime was trying to put, what Keiko had guessed, because of the water spots on the sheet, another cold cloth on Kagome’s forehead. Kagome was fighting her telling her she didn’t have a fever. Keiko’s laugh brought attention to her and Barahime put the cloth back in the bowl.
Kagome was overjoyed to see her mother. She had been getting annoyed at the nurse, who was changing the cloth every couple of minutes. After about a half an hour of this, she couldn’t take it anymore and finally lashed out at her. Keiko talked with Barahime for a few minutes as Kagome looked on. Just before Keiko turned to Kagome and told her to get her stuff ready, she watched as Barahime handed Keiko a large, official looking envelope. Keiko took it with a hint of sadness in her eyes that left just as quickly as it came.
They drove back to the shrine in silence, with Keiko looking at the envelope every couple of minutes. They walked up the steps and went in the house. Keiko put on water for tea and sat down at the table across from Kagome, who now had her head bowed. She looked like she wanted to cry. When the kettle whistled, Keiko made the tea and put the cups on the table. She looked at her daughter and wondered what had made her so sad. She sighed and asked her “Kagome, I know you’re not sick, what’s wrong?”
Kagome looked at her mother a moment before getting up and running to her. She threw herself into Keiko’s arms crying and said “ Everything.” Keiko held her as she cried and told her the events of the previous three days. She was surprised when she realized that Kagome was the most upset about today. Keiko rubbed her back as Kagome told how lost she felt at school, like she didn’t belong there. The only things that felt right were Chojumaru-sensei and Mirosuke.
Keiko smiled at that. A couple of months before, she had gotten a call from the new teacher. He wanted to come to the house to meet Kagome even if she was too sick to come to class. He noticed all her absences and was worried about her. Keiko had agreed knowing Kagome wouldn’t be there. The next day, he came after school, bringing Mirosuke along, who he explained was his nephew. Keiko lied to them saying her grandfather had brought Kagome to a doctor’s appointment. That’s where Kagome was every time they came over. The next day, Kagome had returned to school, but, due to her mother’s warning to keep away from the new teacher, they never had the talk he wanted to have. A couple of days ago, they came once more, telling her something amazing. They had told her things that she could hardly believe. The two were on edge, knowing that their futures were in Kagome’s hands. It all rested on this day and what she decided to do with the contents of the envelope Barahime had given Keiko.
Soon, Kagome calmed down and was drinking her tea sitting next to her mother. She felt better, but she still had that same feeling she’d been having all day: like she didn’t belong here. Keiko took the envelope and placed it in front of Kagome and told her “ I want you to read this carefully, Kagome. Remember, it’s what you want to do. We’ll stand by your decision no matter what it is.”
Kagome picked up the envelope and opened it. She started to read out loud “ Form DO-027. Drop Out Due to Illness.”. She gasped and turned to Keiko and asked “ Momma?” Keiko said nothing but pointed to a letter that had fallen out of the envelope. She picked it up and read out loud again.
Kagome,
If you’re reading this letter, then everything has gone as it should. Today was a very hard day for you and I wish I could have been there to make it better. Due to things you do not yet understand, I couldn’t be. Barahime has given your mother a form that she may or may not have given you yet. Barahime is really someone you already know, but I will not tell you who. She knows of your adventures in the feudal era and has helped you by giving you this form. All you need to do is sign it and you can start your journey to fulfill your destiny.
There is someone back in the feudal era who needs you even if he doesn’t say it. I should know, I am him, just 500 years older. Yes, I am Inuyasha. In the past, I’m going through a tough time right now. I am still upset over Kikyo’s recent death and even though I’m sad, I still need to protect you. This will be very hard for me, but soon something will happen that will nearly break me. I won’t tell you what or when, so I don’t change history. When you come back to the past, say nothing of this letter. It’s just to push you in the right direction.
No matter what happens, remember this, I love you, Kagome.
Love,
Inuyasha
Her lip trembled as she started to cry. Keiko smiled as she put her arm around Kagome. She reread the letter over and over making sure she didn’t miss anything. With shaky hands, she put down the letter and picked up the form. She read further down the page and noticed everything was filled out. She was shocked when she noticed her doctor, who she hadn’t seen since she started traveling to the past, had signed his name after writing ‘Although she has many symptoms of many different diseases, I can not say that she has one specific disease. My recommendation is that she take the rest of the year off and go to a hospital in the U.S, that is more experienced with this type of problem. My hope is that she can return next year, if she doesn’t die from her symptoms before she can get better. I have seen and heard of several people who were sick like Kagome and they died about a year after the symptoms first started to appear.’.
Keiko was reading over Kagome’s shoulder and was ready to explain when she asked her “ Mom, I haven’t seen Dr. Hatori since I first went to the feudal era. How did he write that with him never seeing me?”
She smiled and told Kagome “ Well, you know how Inuyasha told you in that letter that you already knew Barahime-sama?” Kagome nodded and Keiko continued “He wouldn’t tell me how he knew you, but he told me that he had known you since the feudal era. He called me when you missed your appointment a couple of months ago. When I tried to make an excuse for you, he told me he knew where you were. He even told me exactly what you were doing at that time, it was creepy. Before he hung up, he warned me that he was going to do something about you, I guess writing that on that form was it.”
Kagome looked back and forth between the letter and the form. Keiko noticed how Kagome kept looking at the letter and smiling. She released Kagome, went to the desk drawer and got out a pen. Kagome made her decision. When she looked up, her mother was smiling at her and handing her the pen. She signed her name at the bottom of the form, Keiko signed it and put it back into the envelope, telling Kagome she would drop it off at the school the next morning.
Keiko looked at the clock and saw it was only a quarter to one. Knowing Kagome was here partly to get supplies she asked her “Now, since you don’t have to wear that uniform anymore, let’s go shopping for a new outfit!” Kagome nodded and went to her room to change. A few minutes later, Keiko knocked on her door asking her if she was ready. When she opened the door, she chuckled. Hung neatly, as usual, was her uniform. Kagome looked to see what made her mother laugh. She blushed in embarrassment when she realized what she had done.
Three hours later Kagome and Keiko came back to the shrine with several bags. Most were from the grocery store. They unloaded everything onto the kitchen table going through it all carefully. Before they started to pack up her backpack, Keiko handed Kagome a small black shopping bag. Kagome realizing what store it had come from, blushed as she took it and looked inside. While they were at the shopping center, they noticed a new store had opened since they had last been there. It was a lingerie store. Keiko noticed how Kagome was staring at a red lacy bra and panty set that was in the window. While Kagome had gone to get shampoo, Keiko went in and bought it.
Kagome ripped the tags off and put them at the bottom of her backpack, praying no one would find them. They packed up the rest of the backpack. As they put what was left, mostly food, back into the grocery bags, Sota and Kagome’s grandfather, Takashi, came home. Kagome told them what had happened that day and what she decided to do. Just like her mother had told her, Sota and Takashi were behind her one hundred percent.
Keiko offered to make dinner early for Kagome, but declined saying “ I promised Inuyasha I’d be home before dinner.” She gasped when she realized she had called the feudal era home. Everyone just smiled and nodded in understanding. She got her stuff ready and went to the well. After giving everyone a quick hug and a promise to visit, Kagome jumped down the well.
Keiko looked down the well as the blue light started to make Kagome glow. She gave her mother one last smile before she completely disappeared. As Keiko went to climb the stairs to leave the well house, she turned back one last time and whispered “ Good Luck, Kagome. See you in 500 years.”
That night, they had been told of a huge demonic aura that was felt near a village in the southeast. After going all the way there, they found that it was there, but it had disappeared about a day before they had arrived. They turned around and made their way back the next morning.
The night after they left the town, they were attacked. They had set up camp when, all of a sudden, Inuyasha jumped up and unsheathed Tetsuseiga. A minute later, the bear youkai ran into camp and ran towards Kagome. Inuyasha and Sango attacked the bear with their weapons, while Miroku threw sutras at it. After a while, they realized they weren’t getting anywhere. They were getting tired, while the bear was full of energy. When Inuyasha came down from a tree branch he had been in to try to find a weak spot, he hit the bear on the back of the head, making it turn around. When it did, Kagome saw why it had so much power, it had a jewel shard.
Inuyasha had missed hitting him where he had the jewel shard by about an inch. Kagome yelled at him “Inuyasha! It’s got a jewel shard! You almost hit it! It’s a tiny bit to the right of where you hit!” He nodded and jumped back up to the branch and waited for it to move into position. To Inuyasha’s horror, when he landed on the branch, the youkai ran right for Kagome. She didn’t even have time to raise her bow before the bear raked his claws down her chest.
As Kagome fell to the ground, Miroku hit the bear with a sutra, stunning him for a moment. He signaled to Sango to tend to Kagome when he saw where the bear had hit her. He didn’t need Inuyasha attacking him later. He nodded to Inuyasha, not seeing that the bear could move again. The youkai raised his claws again, this time bringing them down to hit Miroku on his back when he went to make sure Sango had moved Kagome away from the battle.
Sango screamed “Miroku!”. She quickly, but carefully, lowered Kagome to the ground and ran and threw Hiraikotsu towards the youkai, pushing him back. Inuyasha jumped off the branch and hit the bear right where Kagome had told him to. The shard popped out and the youkai transformed from the over eight foot tall vicious bear demon into barely three foot tall bear cub. It took one look at Inuyasha’s giant sword and ran.
Inuyasha ran to Kagome. She was bleeding so badly that he couldn’t even see the claw marks. Grabbing her first aid kit out of her backpack, he took the gauze like she had shown him and placed it on her chest after ripping off her top. He pushed his embarrassment aside as he put pressure on the wound for a minute. When the gauze would hold no more blood, he removed it. As he went to put more on, he saw why she was bleeding so much, the youkai’s claws had dug so deep it had hit bone. He realized that her wounds were too severe for him to treat. He looked up to tell Sango and saw Miroku had been hurt just as badly.
Sango had just finished placing a second round of gauze on Miroku’s back when she looked up at Inuyasha to see what he wanted to do. They could go back to the town they had come from or make their way to the next village. She was very worried about Miroku and Kagome. She had seen several demon slayers die from such wounds.
After talking to Inuyasha, they decided to go on to the next village. Thankfully, with Inuyasha running and Sango using Kilala, they would reach the village in under an hour. Inuyasha held Kagome in his arms as Shippo kept putting pressure on her wound. Sango tried a couple different ways of putting Miroku in front of her on Kilala’s back before deciding to hold him by the shoulders while he straddled Kilala facing her. After a quick check to make sure they left nothing behind, they made their way to the village.
They made it to the village about forty- five minutes later. Inuyasha found a man carrying firewood and ran to him. When the man saw Kagome’s wounds, he dropped his firewood and yelled at Inuyasha to follow him to the healer. They went about halfway through the village when the man stopped at a large hut. The man pounded on the door yelling. “ Sakura- sama, two more people have been attacked by the bear demon!”
In about a second she opened the door. Sakura was a young woman, maybe a little older than Miroku. She saw the blood seeping through the gauze and gasped. After hurrying Inuyasha and Sango inside, she ran to get her sister. They laid them down as Sakura’s sister came in. Sakura shouted at her sister, Tsubaki, to get several herbs and other items. As he brushed a hair off of Kagome’s face, Inuyasha couldn’t help but flinch at every mention of Sakura’s sister’s name. Eventually, the sisters were ready. After much protest, they forced Inuyasha, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala out of the hut.
As they worked, Inuyasha sat outside nearly beside himself. The smells of Kagome and Miroku’s blood and the fact that he could do nothing for either of them was nearly killing him. The amount of blood that they had lost would have been nothing for his body, but for them it could be deadly. A while later, Inuyasha softly gasped when the scent of blood and herbs slowly began to mix with the smell of death.
Sango, who was running her hands over Miroku’s staff as it lay in her lap, turned when Inuyasha gasped. She saw the look in his eyes and knew what was happening. Her lip trembled and a tear fell down her cheek. One turned into two and soon they were streaming down her face. A moment later, a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Inuyasha standing above her. He sat down next to her. She threw herself into Inuyasha’s arms and sobbed into his haori. He rubbed her back and Shippo joined the two. Even as he assured Sango and Shippo that they would be alright, Inuyasha cried for the second time in his life.
The smell of death became stronger as the time passed, but no one was dead yet. Sango had cried herself to sleep. Inuyasha had Kilala transform and laid Sango against her. Tsubaki ran out just as Inuyasha had laid Sango down. He yelled after her, but got no answer. Sakura came out and watched her sister leave. Inuyasha came up to Sakura and looked in on Kagome and Miroku. They were still passed out and the smell of death was still becoming stronger.
Sakura sighed. She had been constantly working on the two since they had come in. She had used every healing herb she had in her hut and technique she knew, but nothing was working. She had only one hope. It was a herb that she had only used once before. She didn’t like using it since it could either heal you or kill you, it depended on the person. Thankfully, it had worked that first time, but she still wasn’t comfortable using it. As she waited for Tsubaki, She told Inuyasha what was happening.
Inuyasha had heard of the herb before. Kaede had been teaching Kagome about healing herbs when Kagome had stumbled on it by accident, since it looked almost exactly like a numbing herb. When Kaede had seen what she had found, she grabbed it out of her hand with speed Inuyasha didn’t know Kaede had. Kaede had lost four people to that herb and would never use it again. She had warned Kagome to never use it even as a last resort.
About five minutes later, Tsubaki came running back, herb in hand. Sakura and Tsubaki went back inside and prepared the herb. Inuyasha sat with his back against the hut. At this moment, he would have given anything to trade swords with his brother.
Inside, Sakura got the water to make a tea with the herb, while Tsubaki made a paste to apply to Miroku and Kagome’s wounds. She decided since she was using it, she use it any way she could. She had Tsubaki put on the paste while the tea brewed. If the paste worked, there would be no need for it. If it worked, the fever that they both had would break within a few minutes, signaling that they would completely heal in few days. The other man she had treated with the herb had also been attacked by the same bear youkai. That’s what convinced her to use the herb in the first place.
Sakura and Tsubaki kept feeling their foreheads every few minutes. If their fevers didn’t break in the next half hour, they would have to give them the tea. Sakura knew in the back of her mind that if the paste didn’t work, they would probably die, but she just felt that she needed something else to try to treat them with. About twenty minutes after they applied the paste, Sakura felt Kagome’s forehead. It was cooler! She turned and smiled at Tsubaki who felt Miroku’s forehead. His was cooler too! Tsubaki turned to Sakura and asked “They’re going to be okay?” Sakura nodded.
While they worked, Inuyasha thought about Kikyo. He had just lost her to Naraku only a little over two weeks ago. She had been fighting alongside the group when they crossed paths and Naraku attacked. During the battle Naraku had hit her several times. She couldn’t be healed. Her body turned to dust in Inuyasha’s arms and Kagome received the missing piece of her soul. With it she had also grown in power. Inuyasha had just, in the last few days, accepted Kikyo’s death. As he waited to find out the fate of his love and his best friend he thought ‘I can’t lose anyone else. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose them.’
Soon the smell of death that had been getting stronger started to subside. Slowly, Kagome and Miroku’s natural scents started to overpower even the smells of herbs and old blood. Inuyasha stood up and went to knock on the door when it opened on its own. Sakura smiled and nodded at Inuyasha. He went over to Sango and shook her gently. She opened her eyes and saw Inuyasha smiling at her. She knew what this meant. Sango and Inuyasha went inside and went to their loves.
Sakura and Tsubaki stood outside, exhausted. They had worked all night. The sun was just rising when they walked out of the hut and let the others in. Tsubaki knew what was going through her sister’s mind as she stared out into the forest. The first person Sakura had used the herb on was her love, Saskue. He had been out collecting wood to add on to Sakura’s hut to give Tsubaki her own room for when he would be moving in after they were married. He never saw the bear demon coming.
After about an hour, Sakura became concerned when he didn’t return for lunch. She looked for him and saw him under a tree. She thought he had fallen asleep, like he tended to do, until she saw the giant claw marks. Screaming for Tsubaki, she checked his wounds with shaky hands. Tsubaki came running and they brought him to the hut. Just like with Miroku and Kagome, none of her herbs or techniques were working. In desperation, she used the herb as a last resort. She looked after him until he was ready to move around again. As he got up for the first time in a couple of days, he saw her usual dishes of herbs. She saw him looking and quickly put the dish containing the controversial herb in her herb cabinet.
When he recognized what herb she had just put into the cabinet, he blew up. They had a huge argument and he stormed out of the hut. Sakura found out the next day that Saskue had left the village, telling the leader of the village that he wouldn’t be back. She had been sad ever since he’d left about a month ago.
Sakura’s stomach growling brought her out of her memories. She collected Tsubaki and went inside to make breakfast. As Tsubaki made some rice, Sango asked if the first person Sakura had used the herb on was a villager. Sango had been talking to Inuyasha when Sakura and Tsubaki had stepped out to get some air and he had told her how dangerous the herb could be. When she asked about the person, Sakura could no longer hold in her sadness and cried. Tsubaki went to her sister and held her until she stopped crying. Sakura told Sango and Inuyasha about Saskue and what happened.
Later that day, Miroku and Kagome woke up. Inuyasha, who had been by Kagome’s side since Sakura had let him back in, smiled as she opened her eyes. The first thing she thought of was the jewel shard. Kagome started to try to get up, not knowing where she was. Inuyasha put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back onto the futon. Seeing her confusion, he explained “The battle’s over. You and Miroku both got hit by the bear demon. You two have been passed out since last night. Don’t worry, I have the shard.”
Miroku listened as Inuyasha explained what had happened. He couldn’t see much since he was lying on his stomach. Sango couldn’t tell he was awake until he started to get up. She tried to stop him but didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. When he sat up all the way, he saw Sango. He watched as different expressions came across her face. She was happy, worried, and sad. Sango felt so many things she didn’t know what to do. Miroku smiled and said “Sango, I’m going to be okay.” Sango smiled back and she started to tear up. With a slight wince, he drew Sango into his arms. Inuyasha went to stop him, but Miroku stopping him mouthing ‘She needs this. I’ll be okay.’ .
Kagome looked over at Sango and Miroku as they embraced. She smiled and then gasped as Inuyasha, who was also looking at the other couple, pulled her into his arms. He had thought about what Miroku had just told him and made his decision to hug Kagome. He had been right on both statements. Kagome needed to know everything was okay and that he was fine with showing his feelings in the open. Sakura and Tsubaki came over and introduced themselves to Kagome and Miroku.
They all talked for the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, Sakura checked on their wounds. They were healing faster than she expected. Sakura told them that if they wanted to, they could leave the next day as long as Kagome and Miroku didn’t over exert themselves for a few more days. Inuyasha spoke up saying that they needed to leave the next day since Kagome needed to be back home for a test in about two weeks. Kagome shocked everyone by saying “ Screw the test. I quit school anyway.” She smiled and turned her head to look up at Inuyasha who was holding her again and said “It’s more important I stay here. People need me here. My family might be there, but …”. She looked over at Miroku and Sango and continued “… my life is here.” As she snuggled against Inuyasha, she remembered how that afternoon, as she sat with everyone, she noticed how much more comfortable she felt here than in the modern era. She had this feeling that she was where she belonged.
The next morning, after one last checkup, the group left Sakura’s village with promises to visit if they were ever in the area. They slowly traveled towards Kaede’s village. After about a week of travel, Kagome and Miroku started to hate how overprotective Inuyasha and Sango were. Kagome had the added problem of Shippo being extremely clingy. He would hardly ever leave Kagome’s side. The only time he did, it seemed, was when Inuyasha replaced him. It seemed as if Shippo knew instinctively when Inuyasha wanted to be alone with her.
That night, they set up camp and made ramen for dinner. They cleaned up and Sango told everyone that she was going to go take a bath and asked Kagome if she wanted to come. She declined and Sango got her bathing supplies ready. Before she went, she looked at Miroku and saw him scratch his head. Before she lost her nerve she asked him “Miroku, would you like to join me?” He looked at her in surprise and seeing a completely serious look on her face, went with her.
As they walked away, Inuyasha smiled and chuckled. When Kagome felt him laugh, she looked up at him with a confused look on her face. He sighed and said “ Miroku’s in for the shock of his life.”
Kagome gasped and said “You don’t mean they’re going to, you know?”
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. “ Maybe. Sango pulled me aside earlier and told me what she had planned if you decided not to take a bath. If you noticed, we camped a lot closer than we usually do to a hot spring. She wants me to..” Inuyasha blushed as he continued “ Make sure they’re not disturbed.”
She couldn‘t believe it. She asked “You mean you can hear everything that’s going on at the hot spring?”
Embarrassed, he told her “Hear, see, smell, everything. Actually, I’m kind of happy that she can trust me so much.” Looking over at Shippo, he asked him “ Hey, Shippo, you know what mating is, right?”
The small fox demon looked straight at Kagome when he said “Yeah. I know. I know that Miroku and Sango might be doing it tonight. I heard you and Sango talking before. She told me to keep Kilala busy tonight.”
Kagome was surprised to hear Shippo talk. He was talking like a adult. She knew he was older than her, but to her he was still a kid. Inuyasha put his arm around her and pulled her closer. He whispered into her ear “ Don’t worry, Kagome. He’s not an adult yet, he still has a long ways to go. Just think of him as a really smart kid.”
She smiled, sighed, looked up and told him “Alright. By the way, if you see or hear anything interesting, let me know.” Inuyasha blushed and nodded.
Chapter 1: The Past is Her Future
Inuyasha stood in front of the well as he waited for Kagome to return. She had gone back for a test and to get more supplies. The past three days had been hell for her and he had no objections about her going home. First, Kikyo had joined them saying that Naraku was near and wanted to help defeat him. Even though he knew she didn’t want her there, Kagome was the first to agree to let her. Then it was the snake demon who attempted to kill her for her shards. Finally, the day before, Naraku attacked. He ran off when he realized he was in danger, but not before injuring Kikyo so badly she couldn’t be healed. Inuyasha thought about how he had held Kikyo and kissed her before she died. His thoughts were interrupted by the blue lights signaling Kagome’s return.
Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha’s familiar red haori. She smiled, happy he was there. She had been worried after Kikyo had died. Inuyasha was distant, which she kind of expected, but by dinner time he was back to his old self. The one time Kikyo was mentioned, he said nothing. His only response, that was only noticed by Kagome, since she knew him so well, was for him to shift closer to her and put his hand on the floor next to hers, but not touching it. She slid hers to barely brush his pinky with hers.
They had woken up the next morning and Kagome told the others her plans to go home. She had been surprised at Inuyasha being okay with it. Picking up her backpack, she made her way to the door. As she touched the flap, she noticed Inuyasha next to her. Realizing what he had done without thinking, he pushed the flap angrily and told Kagome to hurry up. At the well, again without thinking, Inuyasha grabbed her shoulder as she went to jump down into the well. As Kagome looked at him in surprise, he quickly let go and became angry again. She didn’t miss his slight blush that he tried to hide under his anger.
She promised to return right after she got out of school and shopped for supplies. As she sat through classes and heard the same speeches of concern and anger from her teachers and the constant yammering about going out with Hojo on the weekend from her friends, she couldn’t help but think of the past. By the time lunch came, she wanted nothing but to go home. She was so worried about Inuyasha, she couldn’t think straight. Pushing herself, she went to her next class. As she stared at the math problems the teacher had put on the board for them to do, she realized how much she had missed even though she had studied everyday while in the past.
This being the last straw, she closed her notebook and raised her hand. The teacher asked her what she wanted. Kagome told him “ Chojumaru- sensei, I’m not feeling well. Can I go to the nurse?” As he looked at her, Kagome took a good look at her teacher. He had been a replacement when her regular teacher became sick about two months ago. Since then, she had only seen him once before, the last time she returned to the present. As she looked, she thought she was seeing things. Her teacher looked like Sesshomaru if he turned human like Inuyasha. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
When she opened her eyes, Chojumaru was standing next to her. He felt her forehead and gasped. He quickly yelled to another student “ Mirosune, take Kagome to the nurse, she’s burning up!” Kagome was confused. She didn’t feel like she had a fever but let the boy carry her backpack while they walked to the nurse. When Chojumaru sat down at his desk once again, he took a black marker and crossed a name out of his grade book: Kagome Higurashi and added one to the bottom of the list: Tsukimegami Taisho. He smiled and looked out the window at what at first looked like nothing, but soon became a streak of red as it left the area.
Mirosune knocked on the door of the nurse’s office and went in with Kagome behind him. He explained what had happened and the nurse nodded. She walked over to Kagome and felt her forehead. This time Barahime also felt the fever that Kagome, this time, insisted she didn’t have. She told Kagome “ I know more about fevers than you do dear, go lie down while I call your mother. You shouldn’t have come to school today, Kagome.” She put her backpack on the hook on the edge of the bed and did as she was told. She watched as Mirosune, who she now noticed was a new student, and Barahime talk once more. As Mirosune left to return to class, Kagome could have sworn she saw a red bushy tail.
Barahime saw where she was looking and quickly dropped a wet, cold cloth on her face, covering her eyes. Surprised, Kagome threw the cloth off her face. Barahime smiled and told her “Sorry, dear. The cloth slipped out of my hands.” She picked the cloth off the floor and put it on the table next to the bed. Grabbing another, she put it in the water and wrung it out. Putting it on Kagome’s forehead, who had finally just decided to let the nurse do what she wanted, she told her “ Keep that cloth on your forehead while I call your mother, Mirosune was talking to me and I forgot to call.”
Kagome’s mother, Keiko, left to go to the school as soon as she got the call. As Keiko turned the corner, she could hear Kagome arguing with Barahime. Keiko had gotten stuck in traffic and it had taken a while to get there. She opened the door and what she saw made her laugh. Barahime was trying to put, what Keiko had guessed, because of the water spots on the sheet, another cold cloth on Kagome’s forehead. Kagome was fighting her telling her she didn’t have a fever. Keiko’s laugh brought attention to her and Barahime put the cloth back in the bowl.
Kagome was overjoyed to see her mother. She had been getting annoyed at the nurse, who was changing the cloth every couple of minutes. After about a half an hour of this, she couldn’t take it anymore and finally lashed out at her. Keiko talked with Barahime for a few minutes as Kagome looked on. Just before Keiko turned to Kagome and told her to get her stuff ready, she watched as Barahime handed Keiko a large, official looking envelope. Keiko took it with a hint of sadness in her eyes that left just as quickly as it came.
They drove back to the shrine in silence, with Keiko looking at the envelope every couple of minutes. They walked up the steps and went in the house. Keiko put on water for tea and sat down at the table across from Kagome, who now had her head bowed. She looked like she wanted to cry. When the kettle whistled, Keiko made the tea and put the cups on the table. She looked at her daughter and wondered what had made her so sad. She sighed and asked her “Kagome, I know you’re not sick, what’s wrong?”
Kagome looked at her mother a moment before getting up and running to her. She threw herself into Keiko’s arms crying and said “ Everything.” Keiko held her as she cried and told her the events of the previous three days. She was surprised when she realized that Kagome was the most upset about today. Keiko rubbed her back as Kagome told how lost she felt at school, like she didn’t belong there. The only things that felt right were Chojumaru-sensei and Mirosuke.
Keiko smiled at that. A couple of months before, she had gotten a call from the new teacher. He wanted to come to the house to meet Kagome even if she was too sick to come to class. He noticed all her absences and was worried about her. Keiko had agreed knowing Kagome wouldn’t be there. The next day, he came after school, bringing Mirosuke along, who he explained was his nephew. Keiko lied to them saying her grandfather had brought Kagome to a doctor’s appointment. That’s where Kagome was every time they came over. The next day, Kagome had returned to school, but, due to her mother’s warning to keep away from the new teacher, they never had the talk he wanted to have. A couple of days ago, they came once more, telling her something amazing. They had told her things that she could hardly believe. The two were on edge, knowing that their futures were in Kagome’s hands. It all rested on this day and what she decided to do with the contents of the envelope Barahime had given Keiko.
Soon, Kagome calmed down and was drinking her tea sitting next to her mother. She felt better, but she still had that same feeling she’d been having all day: like she didn’t belong here. Keiko took the envelope and placed it in front of Kagome and told her “ I want you to read this carefully, Kagome. Remember, it’s what you want to do. We’ll stand by your decision no matter what it is.”
Kagome picked up the envelope and opened it. She started to read out loud “ Form DO-027. Drop Out Due to Illness.”. She gasped and turned to Keiko and asked “ Momma?” Keiko said nothing but pointed to a letter that had fallen out of the envelope. She picked it up and read out loud again.
Kagome,
If you’re reading this letter, then everything has gone as it should. Today was a very hard day for you and I wish I could have been there to make it better. Due to things you do not yet understand, I couldn’t be. Barahime has given your mother a form that she may or may not have given you yet. Barahime is really someone you already know, but I will not tell you who. She knows of your adventures in the feudal era and has helped you by giving you this form. All you need to do is sign it and you can start your journey to fulfill your destiny.
There is someone back in the feudal era who needs you even if he doesn’t say it. I should know, I am him, just 500 years older. Yes, I am Inuyasha. In the past, I’m going through a tough time right now. I am still upset over Kikyo’s recent death and even though I’m sad, I still need to protect you. This will be very hard for me, but soon something will happen that will nearly break me. I won’t tell you what or when, so I don’t change history. When you come back to the past, say nothing of this letter. It’s just to push you in the right direction.
No matter what happens, remember this, I love you, Kagome.
Love,
Inuyasha
Her lip trembled as she started to cry. Keiko smiled as she put her arm around Kagome. She reread the letter over and over making sure she didn’t miss anything. With shaky hands, she put down the letter and picked up the form. She read further down the page and noticed everything was filled out. She was shocked when she noticed her doctor, who she hadn’t seen since she started traveling to the past, had signed his name after writing ‘Although she has many symptoms of many different diseases, I can not say that she has one specific disease. My recommendation is that she take the rest of the year off and go to a hospital in the U.S, that is more experienced with this type of problem. My hope is that she can return next year, if she doesn’t die from her symptoms before she can get better. I have seen and heard of several people who were sick like Kagome and they died about a year after the symptoms first started to appear.’.
Keiko was reading over Kagome’s shoulder and was ready to explain when she asked her “ Mom, I haven’t seen Dr. Hatori since I first went to the feudal era. How did he write that with him never seeing me?”
She smiled and told Kagome “ Well, you know how Inuyasha told you in that letter that you already knew Barahime-sama?” Kagome nodded and Keiko continued “He wouldn’t tell me how he knew you, but he told me that he had known you since the feudal era. He called me when you missed your appointment a couple of months ago. When I tried to make an excuse for you, he told me he knew where you were. He even told me exactly what you were doing at that time, it was creepy. Before he hung up, he warned me that he was going to do something about you, I guess writing that on that form was it.”
Kagome looked back and forth between the letter and the form. Keiko noticed how Kagome kept looking at the letter and smiling. She released Kagome, went to the desk drawer and got out a pen. Kagome made her decision. When she looked up, her mother was smiling at her and handing her the pen. She signed her name at the bottom of the form, Keiko signed it and put it back into the envelope, telling Kagome she would drop it off at the school the next morning.
Keiko looked at the clock and saw it was only a quarter to one. Knowing Kagome was here partly to get supplies she asked her “Now, since you don’t have to wear that uniform anymore, let’s go shopping for a new outfit!” Kagome nodded and went to her room to change. A few minutes later, Keiko knocked on her door asking her if she was ready. When she opened the door, she chuckled. Hung neatly, as usual, was her uniform. Kagome looked to see what made her mother laugh. She blushed in embarrassment when she realized what she had done.
Three hours later Kagome and Keiko came back to the shrine with several bags. Most were from the grocery store. They unloaded everything onto the kitchen table going through it all carefully. Before they started to pack up her backpack, Keiko handed Kagome a small black shopping bag. Kagome realizing what store it had come from, blushed as she took it and looked inside. While they were at the shopping center, they noticed a new store had opened since they had last been there. It was a lingerie store. Keiko noticed how Kagome was staring at a red lacy bra and panty set that was in the window. While Kagome had gone to get shampoo, Keiko went in and bought it.
Kagome ripped the tags off and put them at the bottom of her backpack, praying no one would find them. They packed up the rest of the backpack. As they put what was left, mostly food, back into the grocery bags, Sota and Kagome’s grandfather, Takashi, came home. Kagome told them what had happened that day and what she decided to do. Just like her mother had told her, Sota and Takashi were behind her one hundred percent.
Keiko offered to make dinner early for Kagome, but declined saying “ I promised Inuyasha I’d be home before dinner.” She gasped when she realized she had called the feudal era home. Everyone just smiled and nodded in understanding. She got her stuff ready and went to the well. After giving everyone a quick hug and a promise to visit, Kagome jumped down the well.
Keiko looked down the well as the blue light started to make Kagome glow. She gave her mother one last smile before she completely disappeared. As Keiko went to climb the stairs to leave the well house, she turned back one last time and whispered “ Good Luck, Kagome. See you in 500 years.”
That night, they had been told of a huge demonic aura that was felt near a village in the southeast. After going all the way there, they found that it was there, but it had disappeared about a day before they had arrived. They turned around and made their way back the next morning.
The night after they left the town, they were attacked. They had set up camp when, all of a sudden, Inuyasha jumped up and unsheathed Tetsuseiga. A minute later, the bear youkai ran into camp and ran towards Kagome. Inuyasha and Sango attacked the bear with their weapons, while Miroku threw sutras at it. After a while, they realized they weren’t getting anywhere. They were getting tired, while the bear was full of energy. When Inuyasha came down from a tree branch he had been in to try to find a weak spot, he hit the bear on the back of the head, making it turn around. When it did, Kagome saw why it had so much power, it had a jewel shard.
Inuyasha had missed hitting him where he had the jewel shard by about an inch. Kagome yelled at him “Inuyasha! It’s got a jewel shard! You almost hit it! It’s a tiny bit to the right of where you hit!” He nodded and jumped back up to the branch and waited for it to move into position. To Inuyasha’s horror, when he landed on the branch, the youkai ran right for Kagome. She didn’t even have time to raise her bow before the bear raked his claws down her chest.
As Kagome fell to the ground, Miroku hit the bear with a sutra, stunning him for a moment. He signaled to Sango to tend to Kagome when he saw where the bear had hit her. He didn’t need Inuyasha attacking him later. He nodded to Inuyasha, not seeing that the bear could move again. The youkai raised his claws again, this time bringing them down to hit Miroku on his back when he went to make sure Sango had moved Kagome away from the battle.
Sango screamed “Miroku!”. She quickly, but carefully, lowered Kagome to the ground and ran and threw Hiraikotsu towards the youkai, pushing him back. Inuyasha jumped off the branch and hit the bear right where Kagome had told him to. The shard popped out and the youkai transformed from the over eight foot tall vicious bear demon into barely three foot tall bear cub. It took one look at Inuyasha’s giant sword and ran.
Inuyasha ran to Kagome. She was bleeding so badly that he couldn’t even see the claw marks. Grabbing her first aid kit out of her backpack, he took the gauze like she had shown him and placed it on her chest after ripping off her top. He pushed his embarrassment aside as he put pressure on the wound for a minute. When the gauze would hold no more blood, he removed it. As he went to put more on, he saw why she was bleeding so much, the youkai’s claws had dug so deep it had hit bone. He realized that her wounds were too severe for him to treat. He looked up to tell Sango and saw Miroku had been hurt just as badly.
Sango had just finished placing a second round of gauze on Miroku’s back when she looked up at Inuyasha to see what he wanted to do. They could go back to the town they had come from or make their way to the next village. She was very worried about Miroku and Kagome. She had seen several demon slayers die from such wounds.
After talking to Inuyasha, they decided to go on to the next village. Thankfully, with Inuyasha running and Sango using Kilala, they would reach the village in under an hour. Inuyasha held Kagome in his arms as Shippo kept putting pressure on her wound. Sango tried a couple different ways of putting Miroku in front of her on Kilala’s back before deciding to hold him by the shoulders while he straddled Kilala facing her. After a quick check to make sure they left nothing behind, they made their way to the village.
They made it to the village about forty- five minutes later. Inuyasha found a man carrying firewood and ran to him. When the man saw Kagome’s wounds, he dropped his firewood and yelled at Inuyasha to follow him to the healer. They went about halfway through the village when the man stopped at a large hut. The man pounded on the door yelling. “ Sakura- sama, two more people have been attacked by the bear demon!”
In about a second she opened the door. Sakura was a young woman, maybe a little older than Miroku. She saw the blood seeping through the gauze and gasped. After hurrying Inuyasha and Sango inside, she ran to get her sister. They laid them down as Sakura’s sister came in. Sakura shouted at her sister, Tsubaki, to get several herbs and other items. As he brushed a hair off of Kagome’s face, Inuyasha couldn’t help but flinch at every mention of Sakura’s sister’s name. Eventually, the sisters were ready. After much protest, they forced Inuyasha, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala out of the hut.
As they worked, Inuyasha sat outside nearly beside himself. The smells of Kagome and Miroku’s blood and the fact that he could do nothing for either of them was nearly killing him. The amount of blood that they had lost would have been nothing for his body, but for them it could be deadly. A while later, Inuyasha softly gasped when the scent of blood and herbs slowly began to mix with the smell of death.
Sango, who was running her hands over Miroku’s staff as it lay in her lap, turned when Inuyasha gasped. She saw the look in his eyes and knew what was happening. Her lip trembled and a tear fell down her cheek. One turned into two and soon they were streaming down her face. A moment later, a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Inuyasha standing above her. He sat down next to her. She threw herself into Inuyasha’s arms and sobbed into his haori. He rubbed her back and Shippo joined the two. Even as he assured Sango and Shippo that they would be alright, Inuyasha cried for the second time in his life.
The smell of death became stronger as the time passed, but no one was dead yet. Sango had cried herself to sleep. Inuyasha had Kilala transform and laid Sango against her. Tsubaki ran out just as Inuyasha had laid Sango down. He yelled after her, but got no answer. Sakura came out and watched her sister leave. Inuyasha came up to Sakura and looked in on Kagome and Miroku. They were still passed out and the smell of death was still becoming stronger.
Sakura sighed. She had been constantly working on the two since they had come in. She had used every healing herb she had in her hut and technique she knew, but nothing was working. She had only one hope. It was a herb that she had only used once before. She didn’t like using it since it could either heal you or kill you, it depended on the person. Thankfully, it had worked that first time, but she still wasn’t comfortable using it. As she waited for Tsubaki, She told Inuyasha what was happening.
Inuyasha had heard of the herb before. Kaede had been teaching Kagome about healing herbs when Kagome had stumbled on it by accident, since it looked almost exactly like a numbing herb. When Kaede had seen what she had found, she grabbed it out of her hand with speed Inuyasha didn’t know Kaede had. Kaede had lost four people to that herb and would never use it again. She had warned Kagome to never use it even as a last resort.
About five minutes later, Tsubaki came running back, herb in hand. Sakura and Tsubaki went back inside and prepared the herb. Inuyasha sat with his back against the hut. At this moment, he would have given anything to trade swords with his brother.
Inside, Sakura got the water to make a tea with the herb, while Tsubaki made a paste to apply to Miroku and Kagome’s wounds. She decided since she was using it, she use it any way she could. She had Tsubaki put on the paste while the tea brewed. If the paste worked, there would be no need for it. If it worked, the fever that they both had would break within a few minutes, signaling that they would completely heal in few days. The other man she had treated with the herb had also been attacked by the same bear youkai. That’s what convinced her to use the herb in the first place.
Sakura and Tsubaki kept feeling their foreheads every few minutes. If their fevers didn’t break in the next half hour, they would have to give them the tea. Sakura knew in the back of her mind that if the paste didn’t work, they would probably die, but she just felt that she needed something else to try to treat them with. About twenty minutes after they applied the paste, Sakura felt Kagome’s forehead. It was cooler! She turned and smiled at Tsubaki who felt Miroku’s forehead. His was cooler too! Tsubaki turned to Sakura and asked “They’re going to be okay?” Sakura nodded.
While they worked, Inuyasha thought about Kikyo. He had just lost her to Naraku only a little over two weeks ago. She had been fighting alongside the group when they crossed paths and Naraku attacked. During the battle Naraku had hit her several times. She couldn’t be healed. Her body turned to dust in Inuyasha’s arms and Kagome received the missing piece of her soul. With it she had also grown in power. Inuyasha had just, in the last few days, accepted Kikyo’s death. As he waited to find out the fate of his love and his best friend he thought ‘I can’t lose anyone else. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose them.’
Soon the smell of death that had been getting stronger started to subside. Slowly, Kagome and Miroku’s natural scents started to overpower even the smells of herbs and old blood. Inuyasha stood up and went to knock on the door when it opened on its own. Sakura smiled and nodded at Inuyasha. He went over to Sango and shook her gently. She opened her eyes and saw Inuyasha smiling at her. She knew what this meant. Sango and Inuyasha went inside and went to their loves.
Sakura and Tsubaki stood outside, exhausted. They had worked all night. The sun was just rising when they walked out of the hut and let the others in. Tsubaki knew what was going through her sister’s mind as she stared out into the forest. The first person Sakura had used the herb on was her love, Saskue. He had been out collecting wood to add on to Sakura’s hut to give Tsubaki her own room for when he would be moving in after they were married. He never saw the bear demon coming.
After about an hour, Sakura became concerned when he didn’t return for lunch. She looked for him and saw him under a tree. She thought he had fallen asleep, like he tended to do, until she saw the giant claw marks. Screaming for Tsubaki, she checked his wounds with shaky hands. Tsubaki came running and they brought him to the hut. Just like with Miroku and Kagome, none of her herbs or techniques were working. In desperation, she used the herb as a last resort. She looked after him until he was ready to move around again. As he got up for the first time in a couple of days, he saw her usual dishes of herbs. She saw him looking and quickly put the dish containing the controversial herb in her herb cabinet.
When he recognized what herb she had just put into the cabinet, he blew up. They had a huge argument and he stormed out of the hut. Sakura found out the next day that Saskue had left the village, telling the leader of the village that he wouldn’t be back. She had been sad ever since he’d left about a month ago.
Sakura’s stomach growling brought her out of her memories. She collected Tsubaki and went inside to make breakfast. As Tsubaki made some rice, Sango asked if the first person Sakura had used the herb on was a villager. Sango had been talking to Inuyasha when Sakura and Tsubaki had stepped out to get some air and he had told her how dangerous the herb could be. When she asked about the person, Sakura could no longer hold in her sadness and cried. Tsubaki went to her sister and held her until she stopped crying. Sakura told Sango and Inuyasha about Saskue and what happened.
Later that day, Miroku and Kagome woke up. Inuyasha, who had been by Kagome’s side since Sakura had let him back in, smiled as she opened her eyes. The first thing she thought of was the jewel shard. Kagome started to try to get up, not knowing where she was. Inuyasha put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back onto the futon. Seeing her confusion, he explained “The battle’s over. You and Miroku both got hit by the bear demon. You two have been passed out since last night. Don’t worry, I have the shard.”
Miroku listened as Inuyasha explained what had happened. He couldn’t see much since he was lying on his stomach. Sango couldn’t tell he was awake until he started to get up. She tried to stop him but didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. When he sat up all the way, he saw Sango. He watched as different expressions came across her face. She was happy, worried, and sad. Sango felt so many things she didn’t know what to do. Miroku smiled and said “Sango, I’m going to be okay.” Sango smiled back and she started to tear up. With a slight wince, he drew Sango into his arms. Inuyasha went to stop him, but Miroku stopping him mouthing ‘She needs this. I’ll be okay.’ .
Kagome looked over at Sango and Miroku as they embraced. She smiled and then gasped as Inuyasha, who was also looking at the other couple, pulled her into his arms. He had thought about what Miroku had just told him and made his decision to hug Kagome. He had been right on both statements. Kagome needed to know everything was okay and that he was fine with showing his feelings in the open. Sakura and Tsubaki came over and introduced themselves to Kagome and Miroku.
They all talked for the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, Sakura checked on their wounds. They were healing faster than she expected. Sakura told them that if they wanted to, they could leave the next day as long as Kagome and Miroku didn’t over exert themselves for a few more days. Inuyasha spoke up saying that they needed to leave the next day since Kagome needed to be back home for a test in about two weeks. Kagome shocked everyone by saying “ Screw the test. I quit school anyway.” She smiled and turned her head to look up at Inuyasha who was holding her again and said “It’s more important I stay here. People need me here. My family might be there, but …”. She looked over at Miroku and Sango and continued “… my life is here.” As she snuggled against Inuyasha, she remembered how that afternoon, as she sat with everyone, she noticed how much more comfortable she felt here than in the modern era. She had this feeling that she was where she belonged.
The next morning, after one last checkup, the group left Sakura’s village with promises to visit if they were ever in the area. They slowly traveled towards Kaede’s village. After about a week of travel, Kagome and Miroku started to hate how overprotective Inuyasha and Sango were. Kagome had the added problem of Shippo being extremely clingy. He would hardly ever leave Kagome’s side. The only time he did, it seemed, was when Inuyasha replaced him. It seemed as if Shippo knew instinctively when Inuyasha wanted to be alone with her.
That night, they set up camp and made ramen for dinner. They cleaned up and Sango told everyone that she was going to go take a bath and asked Kagome if she wanted to come. She declined and Sango got her bathing supplies ready. Before she went, she looked at Miroku and saw him scratch his head. Before she lost her nerve she asked him “Miroku, would you like to join me?” He looked at her in surprise and seeing a completely serious look on her face, went with her.
As they walked away, Inuyasha smiled and chuckled. When Kagome felt him laugh, she looked up at him with a confused look on her face. He sighed and said “ Miroku’s in for the shock of his life.”
Kagome gasped and said “You don’t mean they’re going to, you know?”
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. “ Maybe. Sango pulled me aside earlier and told me what she had planned if you decided not to take a bath. If you noticed, we camped a lot closer than we usually do to a hot spring. She wants me to..” Inuyasha blushed as he continued “ Make sure they’re not disturbed.”
She couldn‘t believe it. She asked “You mean you can hear everything that’s going on at the hot spring?”
Embarrassed, he told her “Hear, see, smell, everything. Actually, I’m kind of happy that she can trust me so much.” Looking over at Shippo, he asked him “ Hey, Shippo, you know what mating is, right?”
The small fox demon looked straight at Kagome when he said “Yeah. I know. I know that Miroku and Sango might be doing it tonight. I heard you and Sango talking before. She told me to keep Kilala busy tonight.”
Kagome was surprised to hear Shippo talk. He was talking like a adult. She knew he was older than her, but to her he was still a kid. Inuyasha put his arm around her and pulled her closer. He whispered into her ear “ Don’t worry, Kagome. He’s not an adult yet, he still has a long ways to go. Just think of him as a really smart kid.”
She smiled, sighed, looked up and told him “Alright. By the way, if you see or hear anything interesting, let me know.” Inuyasha blushed and nodded.