InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Red String ❯ Past Wanderings ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or it's affiliated characters, sad but tru. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Bandai. Of course I do claim my own rights to this particular story, and any original characters I happen to throw in here.

 

Red String

By Eden

 

Chapter 2: Past wanderings

 

The day was bright and the forest was alive with the many sounds of wildlife living within as it usually is regardless of the weather. Birds sang as they soared above the leafy canopy while chipmunks chirped at one another as they jumped from branch to branch, already hard at work foraging food for next winter. Farther into the trees past the denser foliage, sensitive ears could pick up the small sounds of sleek deer grazing the short grasses with the spring foals.

 

In amidst the greenery and animal sounds a fiery haired youngster steadily made his way along a lone pathway. His face was contorted with concentration on something that couldn't be seen. The truth was, not but a few minutes ago, Shippo had felt the surge of an old and familiar power that had brought him to his current position.

 

He'd lifted his head up from the pile of firewood he'd been busy chopping and wiped one arm across his forehead as he considered it. It was only a flash; he could even be imagining things. He pushed the thought out of his mind with a shrug of his shoulders, deciding to dismiss it as nothing. The day had been warm and he'd been busy working on one thing or another for the villagers since dawn. Perhaps it was time for lunch. Shippo looked down at the few remaining logs to be chopped and smiled. Yes, first logs, then lunch.

 

Just as he was preparing to lift the axe over his head once more; he felt the same power surge, only this time it was stronger and was accompanied by a faint but incredibly familiar smell. The teenaged fox demon stood frozen. Was this for real, or was someone playing a cruel joke? He had to know for himself.

 

He dropped the axe still clutched in his hand and had turned to move swiftly into the forest. More specifically he began to move in the direction of the old bone eaters well.

 

It had been a long time since Shippo had dared to go down the once over-used pathway. Rather, it had been a long time since anyone had dared to venture so casually into the forest without Inuyasha jumping out and ordering them back to town. Surprisingly enough, the easily irritated Inu-hanyo was the last thing on Shippo's mind. He knew for a fact that Inuyasha wasn't anywhere near the village, and hadn't been for the last few days. He'd come by before he'd left and said as much. Shippo knew better then to ask where he'd be going, the question would only be falling on def ears.

 

Besides; if what Shippo was sensing was for real and not just some sort of desperate illusion; then Inuyasha would be too preoccupied with other things that he wouldn't even notice him seemingly trespassing.

 

The animal sounds all around him seemed to get louder, his demon senses becoming hyper-aware of his surroundings, hoping to keep alert of any other presence around him besides that which he was moving towards.

 

As he neared his final destination his heart sped up in anticipation and near painful emotion. He knew how he was going to feel if he was wrong. Disappointment was only the beginning of what would follow if he found himself alone with his betraying senses.

 

Finally Shippo cleared the tree line and found himself in the clearing that he'd waited in many times before in his youth with Inuyasha and the others. Besides the obvious natural growth that occurs over time, not much had changed. The one thing that did make him cringe was the un kept state of the well.

 

It was plain that no on, including Inuyasha had touched it in a very long time. There were thick thorny vines growing up from the base, and great green leaves all but consuming the entire well, and almost completely hiding it.

 

Everyone had known without asking how Inuyasha had felt after the human girl had stepped out of their lives forever; but only after seeing the well could Shippo truly fathom the Inu-hanyo's feelings of abandonment and loss. Without having to take a single step towards the once familiar landmark, Shippo knew that more then likely it hadn't been touched once since the day Kagome had left them.

 

He pushed the last thought from his mind as another wash of the power he'd been following came over his wiry frame. This time there was no question as to where it had been coming from. The fox demon held his breath and clenched his clawed hands together. The sounds of the forest and his own heart beat rang loudly in his ears, as he struggled to focus on something else, anything that seemed to come from deep within the well.

 

He waited a long time, it seemed to take an eternity, and just as Shippo was beginning to feel his heart sink in his chest, a small sound floated up from the bottom of the un-used well, causing his heart to leap up once more.

 

He was unable to bring himself close enough to the well to lean over the lip and look down, preferring instead to sweetly torture himself, allowing himself to wallow in the comforting and wholesome smell and aura he had known so well in his youth.

 

When the familiar raven head cleared the top of the well, and the moment Shippo's eyes locked with the warm chestnut ones belonging to said head, he couldn't help himself any longer.

 

 

*~=~*~=~*~=~*

 

 

Kagome had risen early the next morning as she had planned; and set out for the trip across the city to her family shrine. The train ride that was usually the longest and most monotonous trip Kagome usually had to stomach, seemed to go by with extraordinary speed this particular Sunday morning. She'd even managed to reach her destination while the morning sunlight was still slanting through the trees and off of the roof tops.

 

As she cleared the tall staircase from the street below, Kagome just caught sight of her mother as she stepped out of the house and was sliding the front door closed behind herself.

 

“Good morning!” she called out, a smile coming to her lips as she watched the dark haired woman turning towards her.

 

Kagome was rewarded with a bright smile right back when her mother looked across the large courtyard and spotted her. “What a pleasant surprise, Kagome!” I wasn't expecting to see you today, what with you having a late night last night and all.”

 

Feeling her face pale, Kagome met her mother halfway across the courtyard and embraced her. “Why would you say that?”

 

“Well it was your two year anniversary with Arashi yesterday, wasn't it? I would've thought that he would want to take you out someplace special for the occasion.” Her eyes sparkled knowingly.

 

“Why do I have a feeling you knew what was going on before I did?” Kagome eyed her mother suspiciously.

 

“Oh Kagome,” the older woman laughed. “I did know a bit, but it's not what you think. Arashi is such a polite young man. Would you believe that he came and asked for permission to propose to you? What a sweet thing to do.”

 

Too shocked to move, Kagome could only bring herself to stair blankly at her mother, who was still smiling to herself, thinking how thoughtful her daughter's boyfriend was, and what a wonderful son-in-law-

 

“Oh dear,” Kagome's mother suddenly exclaimed, raising a hand to her mouth. “Could it be that he didn't propose to you last night? Kagome, I'm so sorry-“

 

Recovering immediately, she shook her head and smiled, trying to lighten the moment. “No, no it's okay. I did know about that already. I was just surprised that you knew about it, and that Arashi actually came to ask permission. That's incredibly old fashioned, don't you think?”

 

“I thought it was very sweet.” The older woman smiled, again relaxed after being assured that she hadn't ruined any surprise. “But since you know about the proposal; that means congratulations are in order!” She reached out to giver her daughter a tight hug. “This also might be a nice time to meet Arashi's family, don't you think? Perhaps I should organize a nice little engagement party for the two of you, wouldn't that be nice dear?”

 

Kagome pulled back from the embrace reluctantly, not wanting to ruin her mother's good mood. It seemed that she was more excited about this engagement then she would have expected her to be. “No mom, its okay. You don't need to worry about anything like that right now.”

 

“Oh, but I'd love too! It's not everyday I have a daughter getting engaged.”

 

“Then there's something I should tell you,” She could feel the guilt crawl across her features as she turned her eyes to the ground. “I haven't said yes yet.”

 

It seemed like forever she silently stood there, feeling her mother's eyes on her, and she felt like a coward, hiding her face, ashamed to have to tell her mother something like that. Before she had a chance to slip any further into her self-induced misery, she felt soft arms pull her into an equally soft embrace, and her mother's voice in her ear.

 

“Oh Kagome, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to force anything on you. I just thought that you'd be happy about your proposal. I had no idea.”

 

Relief washed through Kagome's veins. “Oh no, it's okay.” She sighed silently to herself. “I'm just glad you're not upset with me.”

 

Pulling back a bit, Kagome's mother caught her eye in a comforting look. “What do I have to be upset about? You're my daughter Kagome; all I want is for you to be happy. If you can do that, then I'm happy too.” She could see the smile alighting into her mother's features.

 

She could feel a grateful smile coming over her own face in response to the supporting words. “Thank you.”

 

 

 

A short time later Kagome found herself walking through the shrine grounds on her own. Her mother had left to do some shopping, and although she'd offered to help. Her mother had shook her head and insisted Kagome enjoy the beautiful morning outside. Secretly Kagome was sure she knew what the true reason for her visit was.

 

After heading inside the main shine building, lighting a stick of incense and muttering a short prayer, she left the place of worship to the daily visitors. There were other things she wanted to see today.

 

It didn't take long to cross the courtyard once more so she was standing on the flagstones in front of a small fenced off area with a large tree standing in the center. Goshinboku. The little paper streamers tied around its great trunk fluttered in the breeze. The tree stood just as tall and proud as she remembered, and it probably would for as long as she drew breath in this world. This was exactly the place that she needed to be right now.

 

Kagome closed her eyes and rested her hands on the wooden fence that surrounded the tree. As she breathed in, she could feel the familiar calm aura come over her. Over the years the things she thought about while standing under the peaceful tree hand changed. When she was very young, she could remember thinking of her mother and the warm embrace of her arms. Later she just thought of her family in general and happily acknowledging the fact that they would always be together. As she got older her friends became very important to her, and it always brought a smile to her face to think of a shared joke or the fact that she had found people outside of her family she could count on.

 

Her comforting thoughts of friends and family stayed the same for a long time. She finished junior high and started her first year of high school before things suddenly changed. Of course, Kagome didn't even notice the change in her feelings at first. It wasn't until about a month and a half after the first time she fell through the bone eaters well that she noticed for the first time how often her thoughts turned in another direction.

 

Kagome could almost see the figure of her silver haired hanyo in her mind as he leaned against the Goshinboku, his Tetsaiga1 clutched possessively in one clawed hand. It was such an easy thing to do, to call up an image of Inuyasha. She could even see the dark outline of his closed eyes beneath the silver fringe of his bangs, and the gentle scowl that touched his soft looking lips, even when he wasn't aware of it.

 

A lazy smile drifted across Kagome's own features as she opened her eyes to see the empty tree before her. She wouldn't lie to herself, she missed him, and at times after she had come home it had felt as though she had been ripped apart from the inside. It had taken a long time to come to grips with the fact that she had left the feudal era for good, but as time passed, the agonizing ache had gradually become a dull throb, ever present in her heart, but easier and easier to shunt to the side.

 

She found herself becoming amused at the memories of all the things Inuyasha had done to make her mad over the years they had spent together, and it felt good. It was good to have the fond memories of him, even when he acted like an idiot.

 

The sound of voices approaching from the street staircase invaded her relaxing reflecting thoughts and made Kagome push herself back from the wooden fence. Today she just didn't feel up to dealing with regular people, she didn't feel like making small talk, and smiling at the simple remarks that people always made about the shrine.

 

As the voices drew nearer, Kagome looked around hurriedly for someplace she could go and continue reflecting on her own without interruption. Her thoughts trailed off as her seeking eyes landed on a small building off to the far side of the courtyard. “The well house,” Kagome murmured to herself softly as her feet began to take her in its direction. “It's been so long.”

 

She could tell when the people who had been climbing the stairs from the street had finally made it to the top, their voices carried clearly across the large space. Kagome wasn't concerned about them anymore; she knew that she was far enough away that they wouldn't pay attention to her. Her undivided attention was now focused on the small wooden structure before her, slowly getting nearer with each foot fall.

 

The closer she came to the well house, the more she questioned whether or not she wanted to actually open the long avoided door and step inside.

 

Finally her feet slowed, and then stopped. She stood directly in front of it now, the one part of the shrine she had pointedly avoided for so long. Would it really help her to stop avoiding it now after all this time?

 

She might've debated with herself over this single issue for longer then she could fathom standing outside the sliding wooden door. Her curiosity and the part of herself that would never forget all that she had done while she was a teenager, against the now mature, stubborn part that thought it was best to let sleeping dogs lie. Yes there was a good chance that she would be fighting a dead-locked battle within herself, but fortunately she was saved from that fate the moment she heard a familiar wizened croak carry across the court yard from the direction of the family house.

 

Kagome's first instinct was to freeze. Had he seen her yet? She wasn't exactly looking forward to being caught reminiscing over old memories by her grandfather of all people.

 

Her worries were alleviated when the visitors who had come up from the street answered back in a cheerful manner.

 

With the personal battle now decided for her by outside forces, Kagome slowly eased opened the sliding door that stood before her to further avoid detection. As she did so, she thought guiltily that more then likely the only reason why she hadn't been seen by her grandfather was because of his steadily declining vision.

 

Kagome only opened the door wide enough so that she could slip inside the well house, no wanting to test her luck any further then she had so far today.

 

Once Kagome had slid the well house door closed, she couldn't help but hold her breath. She'd only glanced around the small enclosure as she'd stepped inside before turning around to face the door. From what she'd seen in her first brief glance, everything looked exactly the way she'd left it that long ago day when she'd come home.

 

But the air; the entire atmosphere of the well house had seemed to change. There was stillness in the air that never used to be there before, and she felt reluctant to shatter it.

 

Wasn't this what she had come home for? Hadn't she gotten up early this morning, taken the long train ride here so that she could finally face all of these places around the shrine that she had avoided for so long just so that she could feel closer to what she had left behind? Hadn't she been hoping that by facing her painful past memories that she would be able to sort out the conflicting emotions she was having now?

 

Steeling herself, Kagome let out the breath she had been holding, and turned to face the interior of the well house.

 

Her initial assessment had been mostly correct. Everything did look the same as it had been on that last day, with exception to the thick layer of dust and the large tangle of near transparent cobwebs hanging down from the ceiling. It wasn't an unexpected sight, but it was a bit of a shock.

 

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome raised her hand and knocked down the webbing that stood between her and the rest of the enclosure. It wasn't pleasant to feel the sticky strands on her fingers, nor was it any better when she missed some and it ended up getting on her face. Every particle in her body that had hated slimy bugs, wanted to make her turn around and run to the house to get a broom, but she wouldn't let herself leave. “Get a grip, Kagome. The spiders are more afraid of you then you should be of them.” She grumbled to herself in an attempt to settle her nerves.

 

Thankfully it didn't take much longer for her to pass through the tangle of webbing. Kagome stepped down the few short steps onto the dirt floor surrounding the well, taking her time to brush away the remainder of the sticky arachnid silk from her hands and clothes.

 

The well stood a little dustier then she remembered it being, but other then that, it was the same. The lid was closed, as she had left it on the day she'd come home, and it didn't look as though it had been disturbed at all.

 

For some reason, that thought hurt. She'd always had some wild fantasy that while she had returned to her own time; Inuyasha may have tried to come up the well from time to time to check up on her, to make sure she was safe. She'd known in the back of her mind that the possibility wasn't likely, but hope was a strange thing. Until now when she could see the proof of the impossibility of her hopes, she had believed it could be true.

 

Heaving a sigh of discontentment at her unfortunate discovery, Kagome began to lift up the heavy wooden cover from the top of the well. It rasped off to the right and landed on its side in the dirt with a soft thud. Peering into the darkness, Kagome could just make out the bottom. A strange feeling came over her at the nostalgic position she had taken. There was no possible way she could count how many times in the past she'd done exactly this before she'd taken a deep breath and dropped herself down into the darkness.

 

Most of the time she had simply gone back and forth from the different era's without thinking too much about what she was doing, having other more pressing matters on her mind. But there were the rare occasions when she had stopped to really think about what she was doing. She was just a normal girl, nothing extraordinary had ever happened to her until she'd fallen through the well, and here she was traveling through time, Not just to see the way the feudal era had been, but to live it, to experience it. It was truly mind boggling.

 

Of course there were some who may argue that she had been anything but a normal human girl. She had in fact been carrying the Shikon no tama within her body unbeknownst to her, and as it turned out, Kagome was also the reincarnation of the legendary miko Kikyo. She had the power to purify tainted objects and to shoot powerful energy-infused arrows. Secretly of course, her favorite ability was being able to subdue the most volatile Inu-hanyo that she'd ever known with a single word.

 

A grin moved across Kagome's features as she thought about the times that particular ability had come in handy. She'd always tried to control herself, to keep from over-using the spell, but once in a while when her aspiration or anger got the better of her, it was a satisfying end to a discussion.

 

Her eyes focused again on the deep blackness beyond the lip of the well. It was difficult to remember the countless times she'd been hurried into the well when Inuyasha thought that she'd been gone too long, but she could well remember the rush the Inu-hanyo always seemed to be in, weather or not they had a particular direction or lead to follow.

 

A sigh escaped Kagome's lips. All this reminiscing, all these memories that she had managed to drudge up with this trip to the shrine, and she had yet to feel as though she was moving past anything. On the contrary, she felt more strongly then ever that she was missing a very big part of herself. Every time her mind shifted to Arashi, the empty part of her heart began to ache for someone else.

 

She kept talking herself in circles, and it was an exhausting process. She loved Arashi, but not enough to marry him. She missed Inuyasha, but it didn't matter because she couldn't see him.

 

A madding thought crossed her mind suddenly, what if she jumped down the well now? Since she had come back home of her own violation eight years ago she had never made an attempt to return to the feudal era. Kagome never tried, because she knew how much it would hurt her to know positively that the well was closed to her. She had chosen to live with the small glimmer of hope that beat within her heart, the hope that one day when the time was right she would be able to go back.

 

She brought her eyes up form the depths of the well and looked across the enclosure, her gaze landing blindly on the bare wooden wall, her mind alighting on one interesting question: when would the time be more right then now?

 

Kagome felt her face light up along with her mood as the favorable idea once more rolled around in her brain. It would be a simple matter to get up on the edge of the well and simply let herself drop off of the side. She'd done it so many times in the past that her body knew the actions without direction.

 

There was one small thought in the back of her mind that couldn't quite let go: what if the well didn't work?

 

It was a small worry at this point, most of the truly logical arguments Kagome had formulated all these past years about why it would possibly be impossible to pass through the time rift had been shoved to the side during the last few moments in the presents of her new found optimism.

 

She was going back to the feudal era. Kagome could almost smell the fresh air, and feel the soft breezes against her face. She hadn't wanted something this badly for as long as she could remember. Her feelings of longing had grown into a physical need that she had to satisfy. She needed to see Inuyasha.

 

Taking a deep breath, Kagome attempted to steady herself. She was really going to do it. She stood strait, hands gripping the lip of the well, eyes focused on the deep darkness. This was it, now was the time.

 

She raised first her right knee, and then her left knee up to the top of the well. She wobbled slightly, but Kagome steadied herself with her hands resting on either side of her knees. Carefully, she moved one leg at a time down so that she was sitting with her feet dangling down the well. Her hands remained braced against the lip on either side of her, waiting for the moment her mind decided she was ready.

 

Staring down past her feet at the darkness of the well, it occurred to her how normal everything looked. An old dried up well, covered and enclosed in a building for safety reasons perhaps, and here she was; about to jump right into it against all logical reasoning.

 

At this point though, Kagome realized that many of her reasoning's weren't particularly logical. A portion of her teenaged life had been spent doing things that would not only be considered unusual, but completely impossible. And she was going to see if she could do it all again.

 

She scooted herself a little further forward so she was seated directly on the edge of the well lip, and took a deep breath in. she let the musty, stagnant smell of the well house pass through her, letting it calm her flip flopping stomach just before she used her hands and pushed herself completely off of the ledge and began her decent.

 

In the first few seconds of falling, Kagome knew it didn't feel right. She was falling too fast, and she couldn't feel the warm embrace of the pink light that hand signaled the opening of the starry void to the feudal era.

 

The fall was short, and the eventual landing, though painful, was cushioned slightly by the soft dirt at the bottom of the well. Her feet hit first, the force of the fall forcing her down to her knees, and hands. Kagome was too stunned to move from her kneeling position for several seconds. It hadn't worked; she hadn't changed centuries like she was supposed to, like she knew she should when she dropped down the well.

 

“Why?” She lifted her hands and slammed them into the dirt. “Why!” Again she raised her hands and assaulted the ground. “Why can't I go through? I need to see him! I need to see Inuyasha!” Kagome was too shocked to do more then rage against the unseen powers that refused to help her.

 

As she hit the ground open palmed once more, she felt her fingertips brush something fabric-like. She stopped her raging suddenly. What on earth could possibly be at the bottom of the well? Had she left something all those years ago when she had last come home?

 

Kagome stretched out her hand and found that it was more then a mere scrap of fabric, it turned out to be a pile of something, folded up that her hand now sat on top of. The inside of the well was dark, but she had enough light to see the faint outline of the pile, and reaching out her other hand, she pulled it closer to herself so that she would be able to get a better idea as to what it could possibly be.

 

She knelt down, legs underneath herself, and brought the pile up so that she could hold it up against the faint light she had. The material was rough, but nice feeling under her hands as she lifted it up to see the color, her curiosity almost consuming her disbelief of not passing through the well the way she knew she should've.

 

Kagome froze as her eyes adjusted enough to make out the color of the material she held in her hands.

 

“No, this isn't possible.”

 

Even in the dim light, it was unmistakable. The red color, the familiar rough feeling under her hands, there was nothing else it could be, but still she made her now shaky fingers unfold the top piece off of the pile and hold it up.

 

The sight of the familiar Haori unfolded in her hands caused the breath to catch in her throat, and made her gasp as she could not possibly deny what she held. It was Inuyasha's fire rat, folded and placed at the bottom of the well by some unknown force of nature she could not fathom.

 

It all made no sense. “Inuyasha would never give up his fire rat of his own accord, unless-“ Kagome shuddered as she thought of something. “-Unless he had no reason for it any longer.” She could feel the beginnings of hot tears forming under her eyelashes. She did nothing to stop them. If what she was thinking was true, then going to see Inuyasha was pointless, because Inuyasha was already dead.

 

She would never see him now, or ever again. It was over forever. Kagome buried her face in the fire rat, ignoring the fact that it was dusty and dirty, and breathed in deeply the lingering smell of Inuyasha's wild existence.

 

Powerful sobs shook her body, her tears soaked into the haori's material, as Kagome mourned the loss of the one person who had affected her life so deeply that she had never been able to get over him. Images of his silver head and sarcastic smile flashed across her mind making her cry harder. It wasn't fair, he had done so much for everyone, he had done so much for her.

 

Lowering the haori from her puffy cheeks, and reddened face, Kagome looked around for the rope ladder that had once been her escape from the well after returning home from the other century. There was too much information for her mind to comprehend for one day, too much emotion in this one place, too many memories that she needed time to sort through, she had to get out of this well.

 

Her body still shook with emotion as she located what she was searching for with her eyes, and stood up, gathering the fabric close to her chest. She grasped the ladder with her free hand and began the slow ascent to the top. She wanted nothing more at this point but to go into the house, and wait for her mother to get home, today had been too emotional and she was tired.

 

So tired in fact that her foot slipped on the ladder rung once she had gotten about halfway to the top of the well. Kagome's stomach lurched as she realized she was falling back down into the well, and she franticly tried to hold herself up. Her single hand couldn't take the weight of her entire body though, and she fell backwards, back down the way she had come.

 

Fearing the pain that would come from such a landing, Kagome closed her eyes tightly, and attempted to pull herself into a ball to protect as much of herself as she could from the impact. Even with her eyes closed tightly, she couldn't miss the strange warmness that was creeping over her limbs. When she finally did land at the bottom of the well, it was with a soft feathery flutter, and a gentle thud.

 

*~=~*~=~*~=~*

1 Tetsaiga: I've seen numerous spelling for this sword, I'm just going to use the one I've seen most often.

A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this ficcy of mine so far. Your kind words and comments mean a lot to me. This chapter took me longer then I expected to get done and out, I think I've finally gotten to a point that I need to perhaps look for someone to beta for me, and give a second opinion on the working chapter. Oo Well all that aside, I hope you enjoy what I managed to come up with for this chapter. I do have chapter 3 started, and it will tie directly to this one. I'm actually really excited where this whole story is going, and hope that some of you manage to stick around to see what I got going on ;P

 

*Glomps and Pocky to all*

 

~Eden