InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sleep Paralysis ❯ Ghosts of the Past ( Chapter 33 )

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

A/n: People are slowly finding my story again. Yay <3. A note: For the explanation of the Shikon no Tama, I looked it up on the Wikipedia. Kudos to Wikipedia for being awesme <3.

Chanda: Thank you miss Chanda. :). Thanks for sticking around and waiting out that year so patiently!

Lindajrjt: You're so creative... honestly, I never considered that as a possibility, but then again, each chapter comes as a surprise to me. I never plan things out before hand except for a very large generalization. So who knows? What you spoke of might or might not come true (kukuku! Suspense!) but we'll just have to see, won't we? :)?

Zetsuii: I'm happy you finally got around to reading it. I know how you feel, I have at LEAST a dozen fics I have to read, and instead of catching up with them, I go off and reread ones I've read. I'm so bad. *blush* Anyway, it's your birthday, eh? Well, you saying that did kind of prompt me to write. Happy Birthday! I hope early suits your taste better than belated :3. *sings happy birthday* Banzai Miss Zetsuii!

I know I have a tendancy in my Author's Notes to get carried away, and once again this is one of those times. Okay, now, do you like NIN? If that was a yes, time for question two. Do you like Flyleaf? Another correct-o? Well...

Then go to YouTube... look up Flyleaf-Something I Can Never Have and eat your heart out :3.

The end. ^-^.

Luna-




Inuyasha brushed the bangs away from Kagome's face in a very uncharacteristic display of open affection in front of Sesshomaru. Kagome and he had done things never before either of them had shown him before this day. Sitting quietly in the chair downstairs, he watched as Kagome had fallen asleep on the couch, the stress overtaking her.

And Inuyasha had brought a blanket to cover her, and was now touching her face so gently...

They had shown him their love for one another.

It was a display so deep, it was tangible. This was the stuff novels were written from.

But, of course, Sesshomaru did not share his thoughts.

He knew their shyness would overcome them both again, and they would close up on him, delving into a world just their own-hiding it away from the world.

It was time they were no longer alone.

"Kikyou said she had to destroy Naraku herself..." Inuyasha said softly, looking to his Aniki with uneasy eyes. Golden and deep, Sesshomaru was sure the boy didn't realize he knew the change. They had settled to molten cognac amber, raw and exposed, the confidence usually present so easily stripped away because of the girl sleeping peacefully before them.

She was in danger, more than either of them had known.

"I am not surprised," Sesshomaru drawled out, trying to appear unconcerned. He had to maintain control of himself, so he could give the strength to his otouto... strength Inuyasha so desperately needed that moment. "She is the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama, afterall."

Inuyasha flinched at his words.

"What the fuck is that damn thing and why is it so important?!" he snarled, apparently barely restraining himself. Sesshomaru knew Inuyasha was more than furious... he felt helpless. He had to cover it up with another emotion.

Rage.

But Sesshomaru remained calm. He had to, for their sake.

He himself wanted to kill this Onigumo character, after Inuyasha had told him everything Kikyou had said.

But it had been apparent to him that the cycle wouldn't end then. They had to do it right. They had to fix the consequences of Inuyasha's past life. His wish.

But how could Inuyasha not have remembered that?

"You mean you really do not remember what it is, otouto?" he asked quietly, crossing his legs and leaning his chin into his fingertips in consideration. This was definitely a surprise...

"If I remembered, it would make things a lot fucking easier, wouldn't it?! I wouldn't be asking these damn questions!" Inuyasha snapped, pacing a few steps from the couch. He placed one hand on his hip, and ran his fingers through his deep black hair roughly.

Sesshomaru noted the way his shoulders were stiff, the muscles in his body tense. Inuyasha really had not a clue...

But was it really his place to tell Inuyasha everything?

Considering his otouto, Sesshomaru watched him with critical eyes. It was left up to him. He could make or break the situation, make a move for the two that gave them the upper hand. But was it his move to make in this vicious game? It wasn't as if they could restart, rewind the situation if they messed up. Game over meant that... game over.

It would be the end.

And the end meant something far too horrible to think of.

Sesshomaru surely believed in destiny, in carving your own path and making things happen for you. To change things, to make the impossible possible.

Nothing was impossible.

There was no limits to life.

And Sesshomaru refused for the outcome he saw fast approaching the two single souls that had come to be his everything... his family, his life.

Death would be more pleasant than what he predicted.

So, he supposed he had already made his decision.

"...I remember everything, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha turned around with wide eyes, looking at his brother as if were a shining holy figure that had suddenly appeared before him.

"...what...?"

Sesshomaru uncrossed his legs, placing his hands on his knees and stood.

"I am going to put on a pot of coffee. Would you like some?"

Inuyasha did a double take, giving his brother an incredulous look.

Sesshomaru ignored it. The teenagers of the house really had no manners... Then again, he supposed he was the one to blame when he never taught them.

"I believe it is going to be a long night, Inuyasha."

The expression on his brother's face softened a bit... his body relaxing as he made his way toward his brother to follow him into the kitchen.

"...yes, I would like a cup of coffee. Thanks..."

Sesshomaru nodded and lead the way.

He hoped he had made the right decision.




"Sugar and cream?" Sesshomaru murmured as he stirred his own cup. Inuyasha nodded heavily, sighed deeply and said, "Yeah..."

Preparing the second cup, Sesshomaru brought it over and held it out to his otouto who accepted the cup with quiet graciousness. In another circumstance, Sesshomaru may have been unnerved by his brother's seriousness. Usually brash and loud, but loyal to a fault, this was unlike any way Sesshomaru had ever seen him act.

His face seemed worn and far too tired for someone of his age... eighteen and going on fifty.

Kagome's birthday was soon, and their graduation was just over the horizon.

They should be celebrating.

They never had a birthday party for Inuyasha, come to think of it... It was never even mentioned.

They were so wrapped up in Kagome's mother disowning her that it was completely forgotten. Looking over the rim of the cup at his otouto, who was currently rubbing his eyes wearily, Sesshomaru was struck by a sudden respect for the boy.

He had put Kagome before himself so fully that his own birthday had been forgotten.

They hadn't even celebrated their Otou-san, or Izayoi's birthday that year. It had been a tradition, a way to honor their memory...

Kami rest their soul, he knew they would understand.

"The Shikon no Tama..." beginning quietly, Sesshomaru put his cup down and stirred it idly with a spoon. It was a strange habit he had, to constantly stir his coffee. The soft clanking sound made him feel something, far away and familiar, he just did not know what. But it helped him think. He stopped trying to remember the source of it years ago.

"Come again?" Inuyasha questioned, blinking his eyes as if he were fatigued. Though he had slept for a long time, it was unnatural, not restful. Inuyasha had to be dead exhausted.

"The Shikon no Tama," Sesshomaru repeated patiently, "was what we were discussing."

Nodding and leaning back in his chair, Inuyasha stared at his cup blankly. "What is it? Why is it so important? Just the name makes me feel God awful... but I can't recall..." There was a tinge of sorrowful frustration in his voice.

"You're still regaining your memories, Inuyasha. You will remember everything fully in time, but for now, I will tell you," Sesshomaru stated, sipping at his coffee again.

"It started with Kikyou," Sesshomaru began, dimly recalling his own faint memories. They were hazed, like dreams he had had when he was a child. But he could never, ever forget their story together.

Inuyasha waved his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose in apparent disgust, cutting Sesshomaru off.

"Kikyou showed me... Kikyou showed me stealing it... I think Kagome was the reincarnation..."

Sesshomaru merely nodded in affirmation.

"The details of its history aren't really important. What the fuck is it?"

Smacking his lips in slight annoyance, Sesshomaru arched a single eyebrow down at his coffee. Though he disagreed wholeheartedly with him on the history of Inuyasha's connection to it, he knew he needed to just say it.

"...it was created through a great battle with a Miko named Midoriko, and a powerful youkai that greatly resembled Naraku in existence. The youkai was created through many youkai joining up and anchoring themselves to the evil heart of a human. Midoriko was said to be the perfect balance of the Shinto philosophy Naobi-courage, friendship, wisdom, and love. She was considered to be the most powerful Miko of her time. Her final battle lasted seven days and nights, and realizing she could not win, Midoriko seized the soul of the youkai with her own and bound their spirits together. From this, the Shikon no Tama was created, and it is said the souls of Midoriko and the youkai still fight within it. The state of the jewel, tainted or purified, depends upon the person who holds it."

Inuyasha stared at him hard, scrutinizing. But he said nothing.

"Kagome is the guardian because she is a Miko. She can keep the jewel pure, and she is perhaps one of the last of her kind. The reason you and your friends were able to kill Naraku was because the four of you symbolized the same philosophy Midorki did."

Inuyasha's face became stone, absorbing everything Sesshomaru was saying.

"At least, that was the assumption. Unfortunately, Kagome was unable to fulfill her karma as one of the four virtues. She died before Naraku. Her soul was not complete. There was inbalance."

Standing then, Sesshomaru went to refill his cup of coffee. He continued to talk as he did so.

"Because that balance was unable to be maintained, when you made your wish you changed the course of that karma. You tied your soul fully to Kagome, more than it already had been, and dragged Miroku and Sango along for the ride. They had to be there, in order to fulfill the destiny of destroying Naraku... though Kagome must be the one to give the final blow, to restore the balance."

Sesshomaru heard nails scraping along the wooden surface of the table, but he did not make it known his notice of it.

"Naraku wishes to take Kagome, to have her use the jewel as he wants it used. He wants to fully materialize here, but there is not enough spare energy on this plane to sustain him or his youkai. If he used the power of the jewel, however, he would have an alternate source of energy."

Pouring cream inside his coffee, he watched as it turned into a toffee color. He stilled a moment, listening to his brother's ragged breaths. He could feel the tension, the anger pour off of him.

"...That would mean, though, Kagome would cease to be on this plane. I do not know how he plans to transfer Kagome, but he obviously has more than a little physical influence here. How he has injured her has made that more than clear, and the connection seems to be through Kagome's dreams... as well as your own."

"How do I fit in?"

Sesshomaru turned around slowly to look at his brother. He stirred his coffee... metal against ceramic, that soft bell like sound that soothed him...

"...you are connected to the energy that had been fully removed from this plane. Energy of the ancients, some say. Some of the oldest, rawest forms of energy. That is because of your past life as a hanyou."

Inuyasha for the first time lifted his eyes to look into his brother's eyes, his face set with an emotion that was ever so present, but unidentifiable to Sesshomaru.

"And what about you?"

He had already expected that question. He had just been waiting for him to ask it.

"I am here, as was your human mother, and our father...," Sesshomaru began subtlely, "...because, Inuyasha, we were part of your history before as well. Your wish brought more than just your companions here."

"...why do we get along, then?"

Frowning, Sesshomaru set his cup down. He had expected the previous question, why he was present in his life now, but not what had caused them to be companionable in the first place.

"Do you not remember?"

Inuyasha's silence answered him.

Rubbing his face slowly, Sesshomaru looked at his brother quietly. There was much he had not remembered, more than he had guessed.

And this was a question he had not wanted to answered, because it was a nightmare from days long ago...

"Because, brother, you asked me to kill you."





A/n: I'm such a bitch :3. Cliffhanger!