InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Past, Present, and Future ❯ Demon's Death ( Chapter 3 )

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

Kagome landed hard at the bottom of the well, and all the air rushed from her lungs in a painful loss of breath. She groaned and flipped onto her back only to be greeted by a square of blue sky above, instead of the well house roof she had expected to see. Even with the well’s strong flash of magic, she had not expected it to work. It was too good to be true that she should get her wish after four long years of waiting.

And Sesshoumaru. She couldn’t begin to understand his motives for helping her back to the Sengoku Jidai, much less his motives for kissing her and taking a grab at her ass. His last words rang in her mind, one day you’ll realize, and she supposed he meant that she would find the answer she needed here in the past. Hopefully the answer would come soon enough, because the more she thought about him grabbing her, the angrier she became. The only boy she wanted feeling her up was Inuyasha, and--

The thought slammed into her like a charging oni. If she had seen Sesshoumaru and that demon girl in the future, where was Inuyasha?

With renewed energy, Kagome scrambled to her feet and began the climb out of the well, using old roots and brittle vines to hoist herself out. One of the vines broke under her weight, and she dug her nails into the dirt wall to keep herself from falling all the way back down. She reached up and tried to grab hold of a root high above her head, but instead she found her fingers held firmly in a clawed hand.

He yanked her into the light of day, and when she saw his face again for the first time in four years, she smiled and began to cry.

“Inuyasha…” she said softly, reaching out to place her hand on his cheek.

“Kagome…” he said, “You came back.”

“Inuyasha!” she cried and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs firmly around his waist. “I missed you so much!”

He held her tightly and laid his head on her shoulder. “I missed you, too.”

Kagome ran her fingers through his hair, coaxing him to look her in eye. She had loved him for so long, and yet this the closest they had ever been. When she leaned in to kiss him, it was for the first time. He tensed for a moment, but it didn’t take long for him relax and kiss her back. Unfortunately the moment was cut short by the calls of a very familiar voice.

“Hey Inuyasha, where’d you go!?”

Kagome looked over Inuyasha’s shoulder to see Shippo bouncing up the hill toward them. Kagome uncoiled herself from Inuyasha and ran towards Shippo, who came to halt with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

“Kagome!” he yelled and leaped into Kagome’s arms. She held him tightly, gently rocking him back and forth in her arms. “I knew you’d come back!”

The kit then jumped out of her hold and flailed his arms around wildly in excitement. “You have to see Miroku and Sango!”

Inuyasha’s hand fell gently upon her shoulder.

“Wanna run?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, and Inuyasha crouched down for her to get on his back. He held her firmly by the back of her knees, and Shippo jumped up and secured himself between them.

Kagome’s heart rose as he ran, and with the wind whipping in her hair and across her face she felt more exhilarated and alive than she had in years. She finally remembered what it felt like to be happy. And in love.

She gently peeled back a piece of Inuyasha’s haori and kosode to place a gentle kiss on his shoulder. Shippo giggled, and so did Kagome when she saw the blush creeping down Inuyasha’s neck.

Inuyasha stopped and let them down in front of a hut on the fringe of the village, and from the rear of the house Kagome could hear the laughter and chatter of young children. She looked at Inuyasha and he smiled, jerking his thumb toward the hut.

Kagome sprinted around back to find to find Sango and Miroku hanging laundry out to dry. There was an infant bundled on Sango’s back, and two identical girls playing at their feet.

“Sango! Miroku!”

Sango turned around and let the white sheet she was holding fall into the dirt, followed closely by the clothespin.

“Kagome…” Miroku muttered in shock.

“Kagome!” Sango shouted, and Kagome was crushed by the taijiya’s ecstatic hug. She was then passed on into Miroku’s embrace, where she was afforded a bit more breathing room.

“Didn’t I say she’d come back?!” Shippo said, bounding up onto Miroku’s shoulder.

“We never doubted you, Shippo,” Miroku said, and Kagome’s eyes began to water again.

“And you guys are married!” Kagome yelled.

“Married four years with three children,” Miroku said. A soon as he said this, the twin girls grew bored enough with their play to notice the happenings. The two girls stood on either side of Miroku. He laid his hand on the daughter to his right first. “This is Aiko,” his hand then fell on his other daughter, “This is Kokoro, and this,” he said, turning Sango around so Kagome could see the precious bundle on her back, “Is Masaru.”

“I’m so happy for you!” Kagome shouted and hugged Sango again.

“Lady Sango, here is the rest of the laundry,” a high-pitched voice interjected, and Kagome turned to see a large basket of laundry coming around the side of the hut, supported by a pair of skinny legs clothed in pink kimono.

Inuyasha took the basket from the girl’s hands and Kagome nearly squealed at the sight of Rin, very tall and nearly all grown up.

“Rin!”

“Kagome?” Rin said, her face scrunching up a bit.

Kagome rushed over and hugged the girl, than held her out at arm’s length. “You got so big! Are you living in the village now?”

“Yes! I’m staying with Lady Kaede,” she said, and her face was overcome by a wide smile. “I’ll go tell Lady Kaede you’re back, Kagome! She’ll be so surprised!”

Rin was gone in a flutter of brightly colored fabric. While they waited for her to return they sat in the grass and talked. The last four years in the future had seen Kagome retreat into her own little world. She rarely spoke to even her own family, since they could never have hoped to understand her grief. Now the words poured from her in an excited tumult. She listened and responded to each thing they told her, and all the while Inuyasha kept his arm firmly around her. When they asked, she told them that the well had simply reopened in a flash of light, and she had jumped through to find that it worked again. She did not tell them of Sesshoumaru or Shizuka, and she supposed she never would.

When Rin returned with Kaede, the old miko was shocked nearly to tears. Kagome thought she had never been so happy.

Her only concern was that there was one person she had yet to see. The very person that had helped her return to her friends in the first place.

When darkness fell they went their separate ways. Rin and Kaede went home together. Shippo began to make his way back to his home at the Kitsune Inn, not without a promise to be back in the morning. Sango and Miroku herded their children inside, and Inuyasha took Kagome’s hand and led her home.

Kagome’s heart beat a frantic tattoo in her chest. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel nervous. She wanted to show him how much she loved him, to see him and feel him like she never had before. Even though it was only a few hours ago that they shared their first kiss, they had loved each other through five-hundred years.

Once they were inside his modest abode, Kagome closed the curtain behind them and kissed him desperately. She pulled at his clothes and after she had exposed his chest, she took a few steps back from him. She took off her shirt and unhooked her bra, slowly revealing herself to him. He reached out to her, his claws trailing lightly up her sides. Kagome took one of his hands and pressed it to her breast. She kissed him again and his arm wrapped around her, holding her tightly.

“Kagome, are you sure?” he asked. The nervousness in his voice was palpable.

“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life,” she said, and in a flurry of abandoned clothing and the soft sound of flesh on flesh, they welcomed the first night of the rest of their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Be careful, okay?” Kagome said, standing up on her toes to place a kiss on her intended’s lips.

“Yeah, yeah. You worry too much, Kagome,” Inuyasha said.

“I didn’t wait four years and go through five-hundred years just to lose you,” she said. She watched as Inuyasha’s eyes fell, his ears drooping. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll be careful,” he said.

Kagome reluctantly let him go. She watched as he disappeared up the road to Miroku’s hut. From there he and the monk would travel on to a neighboring village to exterminate some troublesome youkai. It was the first time in the three months since her return that they had been apart, and Kagome couldn’t help but worry about him.

Taking her worries with her, she made her way to Kaede’s hut where she found the miko and Rin working diligently in the garden.

“Hello child, come here and help us tend to the garden,” Kaede said. It didn’t take long for the old woman to notice something was bothering her. “Does something trouble you?”

Kagome sighed and plucked a weed. “I’m just worried about Inuyasha. It’s the first time since I’ve been back that we’ve been apart. I’m probably just worrying too much. He’ll probably be fine.”

“Aye, child. He and Miroku have been performing exorcisms together for all the years you were gone, and they have always come back in one piece.”

They continued to pluck, plant, and till as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was fairly easy work, and Kagome learned a lot of uses for herbs from Kaede in the process. And it succeeded in keeping her mind off of Inuyasha.

“Lord Sesshoumaru!” Rin shouted.

Kagome looked up to see Rin abandon her hoe and run out to the demon standing just outside the garden. Kagome gasped and dropped the herbs she had been bundling.

“Are ye all right, child?” Kaede asked.

“Yes,” Kagome said, though it was far from the truth.

It was the first time since her return that she had seen him. She had almost been dreading meeting his past self again, although with Rin living in the village she knew he was bound to cross her path eventually. She had tried her best not to think of what he had told her in the future. And more importantly she tried not to remember what he had done to her, especially since she and Inuyasha were to be married soon. She couldn’t even confront him with what he had done, because in reality he wouldn’t be doing it for another five-hundred years. He wasn’t the hidden demon in a black blazer yet. He was still that cold demon Lord who dressed in silk and carried a sword that saves. It was a frustrating and odd situation if there ever was one.

Kagome’s heart leaped into her throat as Rin turned back and pointed her out to him. She felt his hardened gaze fall on her and she lowered her eyes. The kindness that she had seen in his future self was completely absent.

Kagome took a deep breath and set her mind. If she was ever going to figure out what changed him, she was going to have to at least say hello to him and get him to acknowledge her existence with more than a silent stare. She got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her knees, approaching him as calmly as she could manage.

“Hello, Sesshoumaru,” she said, bowing her head slightly.

“Miko,” he said.

“I was just telling Lord Sesshoumaru how you came back through the well, Kagome,” Rin said.

“Really?” Kagome said. If only everyone knew the entire truth about how the well had opened again. Not that they would have believed her for a second anyway.

Kagome was anticipating awkward silence to ensue, but instead there was frantic yelling. “Kagome! Kaede!”

“That’s Miroku,” Kagome said, and she ran around the front of the house with Rin beside her and Kaede hobbling along behind.

Though she hadn’t even seen him move, Sesshoumaru somehow managed to reach Miroku and Inuyasha before they did.

Miroku was standing in front of Kaede’s hut with Inuyasha’s arm over his shoulder. The monk was scratched and bruised, but Inuyasha was in worse shape by far. The hanyou’s middle was torn open and bleeding profusely, and he was depending on Miroku to support most of his weight.

“What happened?” Kagome yelled, and she rushed over to help support Inuyasha.

“A lizard youkai managed to get the best of us,” Miroku said.

“Not before I cut off his damn tail!” Inuyasha yelled and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Get him inside quickly,” Kaede said, guiding them toward the hut.

Inuyasha caught his brother glance as he was taken inside.

“Shut up,” Inuyasha mumbled, even thought the taiyoukai said nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though the hour was nearing dawn, neither of them had slept the entire night. Inuyasha never slept on the night of the new moon, and Kagome found it hard to fall asleep when he was sitting awake and watchful all night with Tetsusaiga in his lap. She curled up next to him and laid her head on his leg. Inuyasha remained tense and silent throughout the night, which gave Kagome ample opportunity to think.

It had been almost a year since her return and her life had taken some very pleasant turns. She and Inuyasha were married, and in a few months time there would be a new member of their little family. The face Inuyasha made when he realized what the change in her scent meant was forever ingrained in her memory. She would be laughing about it until the end of her days. He had been completely dumbfounded at first, but when he came out of his stupor he had hugged her tight and promised to do his best to protect her and their child.

But thought it had been almost a year, there were some things that remained the same. Kagome still didn’t have solid evidence as to how the past and future of her life connected with each other, at least not where Sesshoumaru’s attitude was concerned. But after a lot of thought, there was one thing she was finally sure about.

“Inuyasha,” she said, and he gave a sleepy grumble. “I know what I want to name the baby.”

“What?”

“Her name is Shizuka,” she said, and Inuyasha looked down at her as if she were crazy.

“Woman, how do you know it’s going to be a girl?” he asked.

“I just know,” she replied. That would have to be answer enough.

“Keh. Sure you do,” he said and gave a wide yawn.

There was a strange sound outside, a wail like wind in the trees, and Kagome shivered. At the same time she felt as Inuyasha’s body went rigid beneath her.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

“Yeah. Pretty weird, huh?”

“No, I know that sound,” he said, and got to his feet. To her surprise, he dashed out of the hut.

“Inuyasha, don’t go out there!” she yelled, and quickly got to her feet and ran out after him.

She found him standing at the edge of the forest, a large demon looming over him. Its eyes were huge and bulging, its skin scaly and covered in long spikes.

He had no tail. Not anymore.

“Inuyasha, I’ve been looking for you,” it said. The youkai’s voice was slithery and unpleasant. It wailed again, and Kagome covered her ears at the horrible sound.

“Yeah, well you found me,” Inuyasha grumbled, “Now get ready to die!” He drew Tetsusaiga though it was nothing more than an old katana.

The youkai laughed. “You’re nothing but a human now. What can you do to me? I think I’ll take a bite of your mate first.”

The youkai lunged forward and Kagome screamed, but Inuyasha had thrown himself in front of the demon and stuck Tetsusaiga into it’s throat. With a swipe of it’s claws, the demon threw Inuyasha to the ground.

“Run, Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted as he tried to get to his feet. He was run through with a hooked claw as he stood.

“Inuyasha!” she yelled.

“Kagome, watch out!”

Kagome ducked and was sprayed with blood as the youkai’s arm was cut off at the elbow. She saw Hiraikotsu flying across the sky above her head, and suddenly the youkai had his sights on Sango. He rushed at her, but there was a flash of light and the rest of his already mangled arm fell to the ground. Sesshoumaru landed beside Sango, and the taijiya and taiyoukai did battle together.

Kagome didn’t stop to watch the fray. She ran to Inuyasha and took him in her arms. She placed her hand to his neck, but could feel no pulse, and he wasn’t breathing. She buried her face in his dark hair and cried, listening to the sounds of battle nearby.

There was one last terrible wail and then the sound of a blade being sheathed. Kagome looked up at the sound of footsteps in the grass to find Sango and Sesshoumaru towering over her.

“Can’t you help him? Please?” Kagome asked.

Sesshoumaru touched Tenseiga’s hilt only briefly. “It’s too late,” he said, and his hand moved to draw Bakusaiga again.

“What are you doing? Put that away!” Kagome yelled.

“The human part of his soul has been released to the afterlife, but the demon will return with sunrise,” Sesshoumaru said and lowered Bakusaiga’s tip to loom over Inuyasha’s head. “You are in danger. Release him.”

“No!” she yelled, tucking Inuyasha closer to her.

“Miko, I command you to release the hanyou,” Sesshoumaru said so fiercely that it frightened her.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. She didn’t doubt Sesshoumaru’s word, but she didn’t want to give up on Inuyasha. She had seen his full demon side before and had helped him conquer it, but now that the human part of his soul had died she wasn’t sure there was anything she could do to help him. She couldn’t lose him like this, not to the mercy of his brother’s blade, and not when she was carrying a child that would need his love and guidance.

In the course of a few minutes her life had crumbled before her eyes.

The sky lightened as the sun rose in the east, and Kagome watched as the color drained from Inuyasha’s hair. His ears slid back atop his head, and Kagome could feel his heart come alive again, beating hard in his chest.

“Kagome,” Sango said softly, “Just let him go.”

“Inuyasha?” Kagome said, and smoothed back a lock of his hair to see the blue stripe running across his cheek.

He opened his eyes and his face was illuminated in a murderous red glow. Kagome screamed and fell away from him as his claws cut into her side.

There was a loud crack as Hiraikotsu slammed into him, knocking him into a tree. Kagome screamed as he slid down the trunk, leaving a smear of blood in his wake. Inuyasha opened his eyes as he hit the ground, giving a feral snarl. He made to lunge at Kagome, his claws searching for purchase on her vulnerable body.

He never reached her.

In one deliberate jab, Bakusaiga sliced through Inuyasha’s heart and pinned him to the tree.

Kagome’s mind began to swirl, and the corners of her vision faded to black. She swayed and Sango caught her before she could fall. The taijiya and taiyoukai exchanged a glance and knew that Kagome’s life would never be the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome removed the dead and wilted flowers from the grave, replacing them with a fresh bouquet. In the beginning she had walked to his grave nearly everyday, but now it was the first time in a over a month she had come to visit him. The cold months were beginning to settle in, and walking through snow while eight months pregnant was not very advisable.

“Miko.”

Kagome was startled by the sudden voice behind her. She didn’t even bother turning around.

“Sesshoumaru,” she acknowledged him.

She should have been angry at him. She should have rushed at him and tried to throttle him for killing Inuyasha, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t hold any anger toward him because in her heart she knew there had been no other choice. He had tried to save Inuyasha with Tenseiga. And if he hadn’t put Inuyasha out of his misery, then both she and her unborn child would have gone to the afterlife with him. It was a mercy killing, and Kagome couldn’t find the will or the reason to be angry at him.

“The hurt will pass and life will go on,” Sesshoumaru said suddenly.

The sincerity of his words struck her, but she couldn’t help but be defensive.

“How do you know?” she said bitterly, slowly turning to face him. “The man I loved is dead. You have no idea how I feel.”

“This Sesshoumaru is no stranger to loss, miko,” he replied and began to turn away.

“But who have you-?” she began, but at that moment the wind picked up. Kagome watched as his hair fluttered up in elegant strands, and she knew the answer to her question. “It was Kagura, wasn’t it? You loved her.”

Sesshoumaru stopped but did not turn around. “Ridiculous.”

“No, Sesshoumaru,” she said, getting to her feet. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all.”

She went to him and lightly touched his sleeve. He pulled out of her hold and walked away, his form quickly disappearing in the flurry of snow.