InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ Once Upon a Time ( Chapter 43 )

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

A/n: I am....so...so... SO sorry for this long awaited update. I had a looot going on the last few months---I moved, I went back to college, I finished my first semester---getting used to not having full custody of my kid. I  just started my second. As a result, I'm hopefully going to be having my life under more control. I cannot help but express my deep appreciation for those who have continually stayed with this story, followed me throughout the years, the people who have always been there--from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you so much.

Other news- I started a new Sess/Kagome fanficiton called "Nature of Change". Also, I've begun betating for a wonderful and up and coming new author on Dokuga.com and fanfiction.com named Ethereal Crescent. She is the author of such stories as "Ragtag Robbers" and "To Sip of Black Velvet". Her works are purely amazing, and she has an innate talent you don't see too often. Please check her out, she definitely deserves more attention than she gets.

soverignty: Thanks dear!

splendentgoddess: truefacts my woman, truefacts. People with prejudice quite often do not see the good and the bad, merely the black and the white (no pun intended there, really) and you bring up a lot of interesting points that will make my brain work a little harder to make the chapter that much better. Ty

unistar: thank you sweetheart! I was just biding my time waiting for the right time for kirara to transform, and this seemed the best one of all.

Lunagirl: LOL XD. It makes me so happy everyone loved the last chapter so much, thank you for the support my moonie sistah!

nan_de_mo_chibi_otaku: LOL you're welcome honey, don't be worried.

VenusLegacy: a new face! well hello! I have to say, your review is one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. It makes me happy that my portrayal grips you so much... I'm happy this tale can get so involved with the reviewers, that they feel that they're inside the story. That's something I always wanted to hear, so thank you for that.

AN: Dear, I didn't specifically state what time period this was. Don't worry about technicalities and just enjoy it for what it is, ne?

Yayaya: thank you babe!


AGAIN thank you for your patience. Thanks to Knitting Knots for her ideas she gave me months and months ago, I always kept your words in mind. They're what kept this chapter together and kept me going ^^.


Inuyasha watched them, waiting for them to make just one mistake. That was all it took and the predator that laid dormant inside him, clawing at the surfaces of his subconcious, would be set free. It wanted out of its cage, it wanted retribution for his mate's blood. The blood they spilled years ago, the life of hardship they had doled out to her in plenty, the threat of murder now. Their lives alone were not payment enough.

They had to suffer and agonize over the sins they had committed. And he would be more than happily obliged to bring them their just reward.

He had his eyes narrowed on the middle-aged ningen male who held his wife's bicep in a vice grip, the wakazashi still pressed firmly against her throat as they made their way at a snail's pace to the village. The air was tense, crackling with the promise of carnage if they slipped up just once.

He clicked his claws together in anticipation, the only audible sound above the heavy breathing of anxiety amongst the group of ningens. He could hear their blood rushing through their veins, adrenaline pumping; their fluttering heartbeats as a symbol of their fragile mortaility. The sound was a clock, ticking away the seconds til the end of their earthly existence.

Oh, but he wasn't stupid, no.

No.

He kept on eye trained on the old miko ahead of him, waiting for her to change her mind at any moment. She was the only one who was a true threat to him, able to seal him away or yet worse.

Purify me.

He couldn't have that. Not until he had done what he was very certain he would do.

Slaughter them all.

Not one would be spared. Not their kin, nor their offspring.

No use in having monsters breed monsters.

He could feel that bloodlust inside, threatening to unleash his youkai side, becoming nothing better than a mindless and rabid animal.

And for once, why not? Why not allow them to witness the horrors of the creature they failed in killing?

They claimed him to be a souless demon.

So, he would show them the meaning of a 'demon'.

"Inuyasha, I'm okay... calm down..." Kagome's voice whispered over his conciousness, soothing his rage enough for him to gain control of the unholy fury he was feeling. Once again she had spoken just barely loudly enough, her words for him and for him alone. He blinked his eyes, trying to clear his mind of the images that resided there courtesy of his youkai half.

Broken, maimed bodies littering the snow, staining it bright red and him grinning malevolently above them all...

The soft scent of her tears was like ice water being poured over his head, cooling his hatred and making him focus on her despair.

Yes, he wanted their lives.

Yes, he wanted to give them every bit of revenge they deserved.

But her tears weren't worth it.

They were never worth it.

He licked his dry and cracked lips, his vision swimming as another surge of pain gripped his arm, lancing straight up from his hand. Blood was dripping onto the snow with every step he took, streaming down his fingertips and neck, his once white inner-haori now a deep crimson.

When in the hells would they catch a break? When was enough enough?

Things had been going well. Her pregnancy was like a dream come true-- they had their den, a steady source of income. They had been warm and happy, and had a future.

Why had it all come down to this?

Maybe I should have never saved her that day. Then she wouldn't be suffering because of me.

He recoiled at his own thoughts, turning white as a sheet of rice paper as the regret creeped up inside him. He loved her more than life itself, she was his breath and his heaven and his salvation. How could he think such things?

It must be the poison getting to me... Usually I can control my youki better than this... I'd never think...

He allowed himself a moment of weakness to pass a hand down his face, in order to collect himself.

...That moment was all that was needed for a villager to seek to conspire against him.

"Kaede-sama, the hanyou is weak from his fight with the mainland youkai... perhaps we can dispose of them both before they are any the wiser..." a young male, too stupid and too inexperienced to know better, muttered to the elder priestess.

"Enough of that talk, boy. The hanyou is an inu. He can hear you as clear as if you had yelled those words right next to him," the elder miko retorted coldly to him, and he watched as the young man balked and paled, turning to look him straight in the face.

Inuyasha graced him with a sadistic smile, making sure to allow a fang to pop from between his lips for good measure. To prove that, indeed, he had heard every word the young man had said.

The feral show had worked.

The scent of his fear increased tenfold, almost suffocating in its potency, and he rushed to the very head of the group and out of Inuyasha's line of sight.

Serves the bastard right.

How long had they been walking?

Minutes?

Hours?

He wasn't sure, but he was both simultaneously relieved to reach the village and distressed they had. It was the fear of the unknown, the knowledge that there were now even more participants in their situation as young women and children popped their heads out of their homes to watch the scene as it unfolded. Inuyasha no longer had time to prepare, to plan, and he had wasted the precious opportunity being too outraged to have any forethought.

Then again, one of his most valuable traits was his ability to think on his feet.

His ears scanned the village, his nose took stock of a mental estimate of the number of bodies that surrounded him, his eyes searched for a weakness and an opening in their defenses with which Kagome and he could escape. Doing these things had become a second nature to him. It was hardwired into his being, and he'd be damned if he let anything else happen to Kagome.

His mental calculations were interrupted by the voice of the old baba that had caused the entire mess to begin with, and he heard himself growling under his breath. The few men standing near him seemed to jump at the sound, as if not expecting it.

Better to keep the assholes on their toes, anyway.

"Lead Kagome and the inu to my hut, Hachi, and then leave us be. Let the rest of the villagers be aware I am unavalible for the rest of the evening," Kaede ordered him firmly, holding tightly to the reins of the horse that had carried her to their original location. She was using her full concentration to find her way down steadily, unwilling to stumble over herself in her elder age.

Inuyasha turned the full force of his glare to the man, staring expectantly, his ears trained on him as he waited for the piece of shit dubbed 'Hachi' to move his tail. But the idiot was too stupid, staring at the elder miko and gaping like a fish as if the words that she had spoken had come out of her ass backwards. And the old woman took her time, straightening her clothes, gathering her bow and strapping to her back, readjusting her quiver--all the while the entirety of their little hunting group as well as their prisoners staring at her as if waiting for her to retract her words.

Yet the woman did not, and there she stood, returning her own expectant gaze to the man Hachi and the wakizashi he held to Kagome's throat.

"Did you not hear me child or have you gone deaf? Do as I say! And for Kami's sake take the blade from the girl's throat before you drive the inu into a frenzy," Kaede snapped, turning to the bastard with a stern look and pointing with her finger toward the general direction of her hut. "You go on for now, Hachi. I need to check on Kimiko and how she's coming along with her newborn, her child was extremely sick. But after the poultice I made I must make sure the child is taking to the medicine fine. I'll be there momentarily."

With nothing more to say, the Miko known as Kaede made her way to a far off hut, talking quietly to a young man on the trip there.

Hachi stared with digust at the wounded inu-hanyou and his slut, disregarding the statement Kaede made and kept the blade to the throat of the woman-child. He'd rather cut off his own hand than believe the hanyou wouldn't do anything foul. He jerked his head in the general direction of the aforementioned hut, sneering in disgust that it was left up to him to act as their 'host'.

"Give the hanyou the cat, Kujo," Hachi ordered to one of the older males, and it was then Inuyasha noticed the tiny furball he held close to him. It was Kirara, immobilized by a sutra, her fur matted and blackened with drying blood. He heard the distressed whimper Kagome gave at the sight of her, and Inuyasha could not guess why they would want to harm something as small  and helpless as Kirara. Were they such monsters that they would attempt to kill anything youkai? Inuyasha extended his uninjured arm expectantly, awaiting the precious bundle.

The man Kujo approached Inuyasha with little hestiance, outstretching his hands to him and placing Kirara carefully in the crook of his arm. Inuyasha watched him critically, staring deep into the eyes of the man that showed him what seemed indifference. That was, until he looked closer, and saw the overly bright sheen of light that reflected from the man's eyes in the darkened atmosphere of the night.

Was it sympathy he saw?

...Pity?

Inuyasha didn't know, but this man- Kujo- turned away too abruptly for him to know. And just as quickly as the exchange of Kirara between hands happened, he left them alone to the company of Hachi.

Inuyasha felt his ears flattened to his skull in automatic response, dismayed he couldn't have had Kujo lead them rather than the bumbling fool they had been ordered to accompany. He held Kirara close, noticing the way she shivered as if cold, though he knew it wasn't the chill in the air affecting her. He glanced down at her, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. Kirara's ruby eyes were shut tightly, and her breathing was labored. She had a large hole in her shoulder and he frowned.

Had they struck her with an arrow? What in the hells had happened to her? His wonderings were interrupted by a snort from Hachi, and he lifted his head quickly. Hachi turned away, and Inuyasha took that as a sign it was time to get going.

As Hachi moved on, he followed, keeping a close eye on the idiotic man. Yet his vision was becoming fuzzy with the loss of blood; still he was grateful the poison seemed to be neutralizing itself... though, the damage had been done. Every step was walking on hot coals, even though they tread through the snow. His injured arm had surpassed unbearable pain and gone into numbness that was similiar to needles pricking his skin. Inuyasha doubted he could move it, even if he tried.

Perhaps I've gone into shock. Fuck, after all this I'm going to take a goddamn break.

They walked to the hut in a relatively short time, only a matter of minutes. Hachi shoved Kagome through the mat covering the door, keeping the wakazashi close to her back. Inuyasha snarled, narrowing his eyes in warning at the man who merely smiled sadistcally in response.

"Sit your filthy ass down, animal. We're going to be cozy here, the three of us for a bit so shut your trap,"  Hachi snapped, forcing Kagome to sit down beside him. She stumbled awkwardly as a result of her pregnant stomach getting in the way, but managed to sit without any mishaps. She did give Hachi a dirty look for his manhandling, but he ignored it effortlessly. He kept the wakizashi tip pointed at the side of her neck in menace, looking at Inuyasha while he waited for Inuyasha to comply.

"I'd rather stand," Inuyasha barked back, short-tempered. He wasn't about to pretend he was comfortable with the situation, nor was he about to be bullied by a second-rate village idiot who thought he could fight and got his jollies off by scaring pregnant women.

The air was tense for the moment. He could almost hear the gears in Hachi's head turning, processing possible scenarios oh-so-slowly and with undoubtedly incorrect assumptions concering Inuyasha himself.  He could also tell Kagome was trying to not even breathe, or draw any sort of attention to herself.

She's growing up. She's not as reckless anymore. The passing thought made him proud. He knew she was putting the safety of their child first.

And Inuyasha was really hoping Hachi was going to let the situation be, but it seemed he had other things in mind. Inuyasha should've known better than to think a villager was brighter than he seemed.

No, Hachi was every bit the idiot Inuyasha originally assumed he was. He had made his decision, and Inuyasha didn't appreciate the one he had made.

To drive his point home, Hachi dug the wakazashi tip just a bit further into Kagome's neck, causing her to gasp with discomfort. Inuyasha tensed in response, taking an instinctive single step forward. The blade went in a little deeper, another tickle of blood sliding down Kagome's neck. "I said sit your goddamn ass down, you unholy piece of scum. I doubt Kaede-sama would disbelieve me if I said I had to kill yer bitch because you tried to attack me," Hachi whispered in a deadly quiet tone, one that Inuyasha didn't take too kindly to.

"It won't matter what the Baba thinks, because you won't live long enough to hear it if you do. And if you don't get that fucking blade off my mate's neck I'm going to slice you up into little bits and feed you to the worms, you piece of shit," Inuyasha bared his fangs in response to the threat, watching as just the smallest traces of fear began to show up in Hachi's eyes. That, and disbelief.

"And what are you gonna do, eh? You're too banged up to fucking move your arm even, you think you can scare me?" Hachi laughed in response, not bothering to lower the wakizashi. Tears were beginning to leak from Kagome's eyes because of the stress of the entire situation, but she wisely remained quiet during the entire conversation.

Inuyasha didn't know how, but he found the will to lift up his arm, cracking his knuckles with his one hand for show. "You mean, this arm?"

He wasn't about to admit to the fact his muscles were twitching in protest, or that he wanted to howl out in pain, or that his vision was swimming and his head was splitting in half from the effort. What did matter was the fact Inuyasha's little fib worked. Hachi lowered his weapon post-hast, his eyes bugging out of his head as the blood dripped down from Inuyasha's arm with a morbid promise.

Nothing will stand between my mate and I.

He would push his body to the point of breaking before he let harm come to Kagome.

He heard Kagome breathe a sigh of relief, a small one, but he could still sense the fear radiating off of her. It made him irritable, and he didn't know how much more of the tension he could really stand before he lost it.

It was only by the grace of good timing Kaede then entered the hut. Hachi scrambled to his feet, all too relieved to be out of the responsibility of the hanyou and his bitch. Kaede eyed the man, and nodded her disimissal of him. He bowed to her and exited the hut without another word. He felt the fear leaving Kagome in increments, though she still reamined stressed.

Ignoring the two momentarily, Kaede lowered herself to her knees before her cooking pit. She struck a flint and tinder to light a fire, warming the air of the freezing bite it had previously.

Inuyasha felt a moment of deja-vu, only months previously-had it only been that short of time since it had all happened?-another miko that was close and dear to them had been in the same position, under similiar circumstances.

Shinsei-baba. I had almost forgotten everything since we've been so busy...

"Things have a habit of coming full circle, if you haven't noticed, Inuyasha. Kagome," Kaede spoke so suddenly, Inuyasha shook his head, almost wondering if Kaede hadn't heard his thoughts. He knew it was ludacrious, yet, it was so ironic she had said something to that effect... He shifted on his feet uncomfortably, unsure how to respond to something that incredibly out of the blue.

"They do," Kagome responded quietly, folding her hands in her lap demurely. He knew she was acting so proper because she didn't know how else to react, what else to do with herself. He couldn't blame her, either. Here was a woman, the closet thing she had to a mother, really... and the Baba had ostracized her from their community, abandoned her and condemned her to die.

No wonder we get along so well. We both were royally fucked to begin with.

He snorted at the thought. Growling impatiently, he tapped a foot and glared at the elder woman. "Get to it, would you? Why the fuck are we here?"

Yet the woman said nothing, she did not even spare him a glance. She merely began to brew tea, as if she were entertaining dear old friends. Down to his core, he was offended at her sign of hospitality. He wanted to kick the damn clay pot over, drown out the fire, and tear her house down in a rage.

Yet...

He didn't.

He didn't know why.

He wasn't sure if it was the curiousity, the anticipation, or the sudden calmness that had taken over Kagome inexplicably that somehow managed to bleed over into him.

Still, there he stood, flabbergasted with himself and the women that they pretended nothing in the world was wrong at all. Movement from Kagome cut into his thoughts, stopping them short and blanking them out effectively.

"Inuyasha..." she called out gently to him, and he glanced at her. He read her eyes, her direct attentiveness as she patted the ground next to her. He was lured by her command, unable to protest, like a moth to the flame. He sat next to her, and had to beat down the insane urge to bury his face in her neck and sniff her all over, to cover her body with his and love her until he was sure she was ok. From her discreet smile, he knew she knew what he was feeling.

She took his injured arm with such gentleness only a woman that adored a man could muster. He felt his heart race, the pain subside, and was shocked as he realized how much she affected him. Kaede watched the exchange, but he couldn't care less. Kagome's hands glowed a bright pink as she began to purify the poison affecting his body, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the burning began to recede. She worked her way slowly up his arm, along his shoulders, neck, and face. Anyplace she saw had sustained the damage of the venom from the scorpion, she passed over with feather light touches.

Silence reigned in the room as she worked, Inuyasha's uninjured arm slack with Kirara stablizing in his  loose embrace. Kaede saw the pure peace they had while with each other, the depth of what they felt, and she knew her guilt and regret even stronger. Inuyasha didn't know how he knew this, but he did, as he stared at that aged face with conviction.

This is the mistake you made, and you must live with it the rest of your days.

He knew she would.

He understood more now than ever, why they were there. He didn't hate her for it any longer. And he knew, neither did Kagome.

In fact, he doubted Kagome could ever hate anyone.

"I lost my eye, shortly after you left the village child," Kaede spoke, finally cutting through the eternal silence that connected the past to the present, and on to the future. It was a sacred moment Inuyasha didn't realize he had been living in until it had passed, the other-worldly knowledge of exactly how they had gotten to that point and why they were here evaporating as mysteriously as it came. He blinked his golden eyes in a haze, wondering if the loss of blood was messing with his head more than he knew.

"Oh?" Kagome asked quietly, not creating any other conversation. Kaede watched her heal Inuyasha's wounds with observational intrigue.

"You have learned much in your time away," Kaede offered, yet still Kagome remained silent.

Her silence was beginning to bother the old miko Inuyasha noticed, as she fidgeted with the clay cups in consternation. "Karma had a way of teaching a harsh lesson, Kagome. It taught me I did not see clearly that day."

Kagome sighed, dropping her hands as she finished with a heavy gesture that suggested weariness. Inuyasha knew she was tired of it all, tired of living in the past, tired of the past reasserting itself. He knew she was just tired.

"Kaede, I don't wish to speak of it. I'd really rather just go home, with my husband. Is that too much to ask? What's done is done, and I don't feel comfortable being here with those that would rather see me, my mate, and my unborn child dead," she looked at her former teacher dead in the eye, with a sterness Inuyasha wasn't used to seeing. Kagome wasn't the type to be assertive with her elders, but in that moment he respected her for not backing down.

"Give me your ear for just a moment longer, child, and I'll see you off," Kaede conceded, offering a cup of tea to Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome accepted wearily, while Inuyasha flat-out refused, though Kaede expected as much from him.

"What is it you want?" Kagome asked as she placed her untouched cup of tea aside politely.

"First, I'd like to offer you payment for your services, as I've often heard you do in various parts of Nihon," at this, Kaede stood and went to a dusty chest Inuyasha previously didn't notice. The old woman lifted the heavy lid, rummaging around in the contents momentarily. After a short moment, she pulled out an aged scroll, standing erect once more and made her way back to Kagome.

She handed the yellowed parchment to Kagome, whom accepted it hestiantly. Opening it slowly so as not to tear it,  he watched as Kagome's eyes passed over the words quickly. He watched as her eyes got larger and larger, shock clearly registering on her face. After a moment, she clapped a hand over her mouth and released a choked sob, passing the scroll over to Inuyasha in such a rush he wondered if he wanted to even read it. Staring at it as if it were cursed, he looked over the rim of it at his quietly sobbing wife, who had her face buried in her hands. He noticed Kaede did not seem surprised by her reaction.

Frowning, he allowed his eyes to skim the first few passages.

Legend of the Jewel of Four Souls

"Centuries ago, a priestess named Midoriko was once known throughout the land to be as strong as a hundred samurai and able to slay numberless youkai in battle. It is known that a youaki coveted her heart, and possessed a mortal man, and started a battle with a league of other demons that lasted seven days and seven nights. Exhausted and unable to fight longer, Midoriko-sama in a final attempt to rid the world of these youkai expelled the souls of the youkai and her own. The Shikon no Tama was created as a result, and the souls of Midoriko-sama and the youkai are forever locked in battle within the Jewel. Until such a time that the correct wish is made upon the jewel, it shall exist. Be warned, for any other wish will cause darkness to take hold of the wisher and corruption to spawn within the land of the rising sun.

Anonymous-"

Winter, eleventh month, twenty-third day, seventeenth year. I've found all this information recently, and it weighs heavily on my heart. What is the correct wish? How am I to know? I could ultimately end this all or make it last indefinitely... how is one person to know what is true or false? What is the right path? I can only pray Kami-sama will help me make the right choices, lest I be cursed with this jewel for the rest of my days. Kikyou-

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the realization the scroll was a momento of Kikyou. He almost wished to toss the thing in the fire, but he knew if anyone had information on the shikon jewel, it would be her. He rolled the scroll back up, swallowing thickly, unable to register anymore of the information. He was already on the precipice of a mental shutdown, and the last thing he needed was a scroll of his dead lover.

"I was her sister, you realize Inuyasha. This is ultimately why I took Kagome into my care when her mother died," Kaede said it so factually, Inuyasha was shocked. He lifted his face to Kaede, staring at her hard, almost as if he dared her to be lying.

"It was true. I knew of you, though I lived apart from her. She lived at the shrine, so we had little time together. I blamed you for her death. I felt you corrupted her, and that you would corrupt her granddaughter just the same. I felt you were the reason she died," Kaede explained, though her words did nothing but increase his bitterness. He wasn't sure why she was telling him all this. He didn't even care. Kagome hadn't stopped crying, either. Her soft sniffles could be heard beneath Kaede's words, but neither acknowledge her quiet turmoil.

"When Kagome came to me, telling me she had freed you, I felt it was better to end her life than to let her suffer the tragedy she would experience if she were to stay involved with you. The death she would have experienced by your hands would have been a hundredfold worse than anything else she could have experienced," Kaede's eyes slipped close as she fell into the memories of what had happened that day, 4 years ago and 54 years ago.

"I rethink my decision everyday since. And when Kami-sama took my eye, I knew I had done wrong. What I can do, if only to repay you a bit, is to give you that scroll of Kikyou-onee-sama's last days. I have more, I shall give you. It is all I have left in my possession that is most precious. For not only have you lived, Inuyasha, and saved this child beyond all odds; you have also saved this village despite the hatred you must feel toward it. There is nothing we can do to repay you, and nothing I can say that will quell the years of prejudice this village has toward hanyou since their beloved Kikyou-sama died at the hands of the hanyou Naraku," Kaede shook her head with regret, ancient sadness written in her features.

Inuyasha closed his eyes against the painful memories as Kagome's sobbing got just a little louder, but not enough to be heard outside the hut.

He didn't blame her, the words... they were cutting. They were knives, the reminders of an agonizing past that had continued on for more than half a century. Still, he had to know...

He had to know.

"What happened to this hanyou, this Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, unsure if he wanted to know.

"Kagome's mother, Hana, happened to him. He delivered her a mortal blow, yet she spared her last breath to seal him. He's not a threat anymore," Kaede stated bluntly.

"So why did Kagome end up with the jewel, why did it reappear?" Inuyasha spat vehemently, his morose anger finally getting the best of him. When it all should have ended with her mother, with her grandmother, why her?

"Because no one ever made a wish. Hana saw Kagome's light, a pure and bright light coming from her heart. It was the jewel she saw, but this she did not know, and Hana named her Kagome as a blessing, but also without knowing of her curse. She would be trapped to the same lifestyle Hana and Kikyou had experienced. A life of harship, and sadness, and regret," Kaede spoke it so truthfully, so profoundly simple, as if it excused it all.

It made Inuyasha sick to him stomach.

Kagome leaned her forehead on the floor, whimpering and holding her stomach as if shielding their child from the cruel realities of the world. Inuyasha wished he could protect them from it. But he knew differently.

Instead, he gathered up the scroll, took their pack that had been left in the hut and stuffed it with the one scroll amongst many other Kaede gave them. Kaede said nothing else, merely gave them a small pouch of coin for their 'troubles'. Inuyasha helped Kagome up, and Kaede sent them on their way with a brief farewell.

Kagome never touched her tea.

And as Inuyasha carried her, Kirara, Buyo, and their pack out of the village, Inuyasha realized one thing.

Though Kaede expressed regret for everything that had happened, not once had she truly apologized.

And in the end, he was glad she hadn't.

Because in the end, he'd rather not pretend that everything about it all was ok. And an accepted apology would have been a lie, because in the end... nothing would have changed.

Nothing.







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