InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Wishes ❯ Tea With Toutousai ( Chapter 9 )

Silence pervaded the village at dawn, the first delicate rays of warmth disturbing the diaphanous blanket of darkness that cloaked the abandoned wreckage. The usual sonance of early birds, hens feeding, and children playing as their elders started on their share of work were absent. The villagers had resorted to braving the wilds, only to return when they could be certain the Wind Witch was long gone. After the previous night there was only one hut left standing.

Beneath the clapboard roof the old miko slept soundly beside the cold hearth, on the opposite side of which the two humans were snoring lightly. Kagome, lying on her side, sighed contentedly in her sleep before burying her nose deeper into InuYasha’s neck as his arms tightened around her waist.

As slowly and steadily as a spring flower blooms, chinks of sunlight spilled through the many tiny holes in the clay of the ceiling of Kaede’s hut, gathering intensity as they caressed InuYasha’s tanned skin. The bamboo door flap whipped about in the unnatural wind within the wooden walls as InuYasha’s hair that had been as dark as night changed to match the day outside. Puppy ears flicking, the hanyou’s clawed hands drew Kagome closer to him as he shifted to lie supine, bringing the girl onto his chest, her face still tucked securely into the hollow between his shoulder and neck.

Hours passed before the couple was disenchanted from the slumber that was so new yet so familiar to the two of them, Kagome stifling an immediate yawn as she arrived in the realm of awareness. The disorientation the miko might have experienced in earnest had she been in the same situation a few years prior now guttered like a glowing wick under liquid wax; waking up in a different setting everyday for two years straight had attenuated the confusion of awakening beneath a forest canopy instead of her bedroom ceiling.

She smiled vaguely, never having woken up with InuYasha’s scent so close that it clung to her like clothing. She blinked a few times to clear her bleary vision, but where she should have seen only the ligneous side of the hut, a large purple something hovered before her. It took all of two seconds for her to figure out what the large purple thing was.

“Miroku!” Kagome screeched, trying to scurry away, but InuYasha, having been jolted awake by her scream, tightened his hold on her, ears swiveling as they searched for any signs of danger.

It was only a matter of a brief time until InuYasha realized that it was just the Houshi, and the hanyou blinked up at him with slightly dazed golden eyes, though his grip on Kagome didn’t slack.

“How long have you been standing there?” InuYasha asked incredulously.

The monk wore a knowing smile, “Long enough.”

It was as if Kagome and InuYasha had suddenly been doused in water; they took one look at each other before scrambling to separate themselves, InuYasha hissing in pain as he moved into a sitting position.

“Oh, are you okay?” Kagome asked, reaching for his bandaged chest.

“This is nothing, wench,” InuYasha scoffed, eyes never leaving the monk, who was watching them with a serene expression. “This ain’t what it looks like.”

He switched his shakuju to his other hand, “Really? Because it looks to me--”

“I know how it looks, bouzu!”

The Houshi’s countenance turned stormy with alarming abruptness, “You are even wilier than I thought InuYasha. You would bed Kagome only hours after you ran off after Kikyou?”

The silence that followed his so bluntly put remark seemed to hold more promise of belligerency than ever it had. InuYasha couldn’t make himself face the miko when he felt her eyes on him, “What?”

He flinched, “Kagome, let me explain....”

But she didn’t, choosing instead to head for the door flap, and he watched as she hurriedly limped from sight, just as he had been afraid she would do the night before.

The hanyou spoke virulently to the monk, “Why the hell did you do that?”

InuYasha barely had time to register his own surprise at the anger on his friend’s face before the monk bellowed, “Kagome deserves to know the truth if she’s going to bear your pup!”

Nearly choking on his words, InuYasha exclaimed, “I told you nothing happened! You should know; you were standing there watching us for Kami knows how long, sukebe!”

“Hey, I’m no sukebe!” The monk yelled indignantly, and the hanyou’s stomach froze over as his purple-clad friend about-faced to reveal a fluffy brown kitsune tail poking out of the seat of his robes. The inuhanyou gave a punctilious sniff, and sure enough the scent was not that of Miroku’s.

“Consider yourself maimed, hairball.” The hanyou then winced, clutching his chest as he muttered threateningly, “As soon as I can stand up....”

Shippou grimaced, and a telltale poof followed by the frightened squeak of the fox kit preceded InuYasha’s guttural growl as he got to his feet with difficulty.

Eschewing the hanyou’s ire, Shippou cast about for a means of distraction. His jaw went slack when he spied the magenta fragment of the Shikon no Tama lying harmlessly in the space InuYasha and Kagome had occupied not moments ago, and all thoughts irrelevant to the jewel quickly fled the kit’s head.

“InuYasha, that’s the almost whole jewel!” Shippou exclaimed, darting between the hanyou’s legs sprier than he could be caught and gathering the smooth shard in his little clawed hands. “We’ve got Naraku’s shard.”

“Gimme that!” InuYasha groused, yanking the jewel from Shippou’s grasp. “This belongs with Kago--Oi!”

Something soft floated down to cover InuYasha’s head, and he wrestled it off of him to see his haori in his hands.

“Ye’ll be needing your clothes, InuYasha,” Kaede said to him without looking up from the fire, and InuYasha blushed as he donned his undershirt. He hadn’t known she’d been watching too.

“Feh,” He grumbled as he tucked the ends of his haori into his hakama before flying out the door, seeming to have forgotten his injuries.

Kaede and Shippou looked from the door to each other and smiled.

“Ye played a dirty trick, taking the shape of Houshi-dono, young Shippou,” The old miko scolded, though her eyes sparkled. “Was the subterfuge really necessary to achieve your ends?”

Shippou shrugged, “InuYasha should’ve known it wasn’t Miroku; he’s off in the woods with Sango making more pups.”

Kaede shook her head and sighed, but the kit didn’t stop there as she added more kindling to the fire.

“Kaede, do you know when Kagome’s pup will be born?”

The old woman sighed once again, figuring that efforts to gainsay the kit’s notion would prove, as per usual, fruitless, “Not for a long time yet, Shippou. A very long time.” - * - *- * -

Slipping into her bedroom, Kagome doffed her wet towel, sighing as it landed on the floor beside her once white gown, now covered in filth and blood stains. Quickly pulling on fresh underclothes, she picked out a gossamer yellow skirt with a plain white tee and took the dirtied dress to the bathroom to rinse it under cold water.

Perched on the edge of the tub, Kagome gasped when she felt her eyes sting. The wetness had leaked into the corners of her eyes unwittingly as she thought about InuYasha--and Kikyou.

With the realization came the crumbling of her last defenses against the worries that plagued her heart, and her body shook as the red washed down the drain, leaving a brown shadow on the fabric it had left.

Having hung the dress to dry, she wiped at her eyes as she went back to her bedroom, her feet dragging behind her as she shut the door.

“Kagome?”

The girl looked up to see InuYasha, one foot still on the windowsill as he gaped at her, “You....”

Hastily pushing himself into her room as Kagome felt the hot tears welling up again, her approached her with an appeasing gesture, “It’s not what you think, Kagome. Kikyou--”

“What is wrong with you? You b-baka!” She shouted, unable to control the tremor in her voice as he stepped back a bit.

“You don’t understand--”

“Oh, really? What I understand is that you don’t. That woman is bent on killing you, InuYasha!”

He was rendered speechless as she closed the gap between them, clutching fistfuls of his haori with a childlike desperation as she sobbed into his shoulder, “Wha...?”

“How dare you scare me like that? You could’ve died--you could’ve died and I wouldn’t have known.”

InuYasha could barely believe what he was hearing as Kagome continued to bawl, but soon enough he pulled himself together and steadied Kagome by laying hands on her shoulders so that he was looking down into her tearstained face.

“I-I didn’t know. I didn’t know I scared you. I’m sorry--for a lot of things. Please don’t cry.”

Kagome’s lips quivered as she nodded to the floor, “I know. It’s okay.”

He winced at her words, and she got the impression that he felt even more guilty now that she’d forgiven him, “Aren’t you going to... ‘Osuwari’ me or something?”

Kagome blinked at him, “Do you want me to?”

“Feh, of course not,” InuYasha growled, shaking his head. “Uh...you forgot this.”

He extended his hand to her, offering the Shikon no Tama no Kakera resting in his palm, and Kagome breathed an ‘Oh.’

She slipped the necklace it was strung upon over her head, fingering the jewel with a thoughtful frown, “Kikyou...she knew Kagura had taken Naraku’s shard, didn’t she?”

“Uh...yeah. She did.”

Kagome’s frown deepened, “She’ll probably come after us when she finds out we have the shard.”

His amber eyes evinced fear, and she imagined he was remembering when Kikyou had stolen their shard from her the first time, long ago. The fear was soon masked by determination however, and his hands balled into fists, “I won’t let her. I’ll protect you.”

“You’ll protect me from the woman you vowed to protect?” Kagome laughed weakly. “Don’t you think making a promise that you can’t keep is just as bad as breaking one?”

His mouth opened and closed several times, seemingly incapable of answering her, and she averted her eyes lest they betray her. She suddenly found herself staring at InuYasha’s white suit that lay folded upon her sheets.

He rubbed his neck in a sheepish manner, “I guess we missed that dance thing, huh?”

Kagome smiled. “It’s not your fault. It’s definitely over by now though,” She laughed, looking at the clock over on her nightstand. As soon as she registered the time however, she gasped. “Half past noon? Kami!”

“What’s so special about half past noon?” InuYasha queried.

The words of the ancient swordsman whistled past his gap-toothed jaw before her mind’s eye, ‘Come to my shop tomorrow around noon and we’ll talk over tea.’

“Nothing, I just have to be somewhere important!” She squeaked evasively, flinging open her bedroom door. “You should go back across the well and help Miroku rebuild the village.”

And with that parting suggestion she left, completely missing InuYasha’s pouting expression and rolling of the eyes.

Kagome tore downstairs, not even stopping to pet Buyo as he chowed down on cat food as she threw open the front door, slamming it closed as she chanted the street names that led to the sword shop under her breath.

“Higurashi?”

Kagome yelped in surprise, “Houjou?”

Broom in hand, he jogged to her side with a wide smile, “Your mother said you might be here. I wasn’t sure if--

“Houjou, your face!” Kagome interjected, appalled as she stared at his bruised eye.

He made an irenic gesture, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt too much. Burimoudou found me at the dance last night. I guess he wanted to finish what he started in gym class.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault,” Kagome said regretfully, uncertain if the boy’s fate would have been much different had InuYasha been at the dance.

“Don’t say that, Kagome. It isn’t.” His face was suddenly lit with cautious curiosity. “I thought you were going to be at the dance with your boyfriend though?”

Kagome mentally damned her blush to hell as she tried to keep herself from fidgeting, but to no avail, “S-Something came up. Why are you here?”

“Oh,” he lifted the broom, “I offered to help take care of the shrine for free. I was very sorry to hear about your grandfather.”

Kagome’s expression turned pained, and she hoped that Houjou would chalk it up to the reminder of her grandfather’s hospitalization and not the prospect of the brown-haired youth skulking about the shrine everyday, “That’s very sweet of you. Mom’s been having a pretty hard time of it because of the heart attack.”

Houjou nodded, then perked up as if remembering something, “I almost forgot. I have something for you, Higurashi.”

“I kind of have to be go--okay,” Kagome trailed off as Houjou fished a small, wrapped package from within his pocket. She shifted her weight anxiously.

“I never got to give you your White Day present because--you know--you hurt your ankle. How is it by the way?”

“Well, I can walk,” She smiled insincerely as she took the offered gift, tugging open the soft paper to see a miniature jewelry box. “Wow...Houjou,”

Hung upon the necklace was an onyx pendant, flat and round like a coin, the golden kanji for ‘beauty’ inscribed in it.

“It’s--er--beautiful,” Kagome said with a delighted giggle, pulling it over her head so that the pendant settled just below the Shikon no Tama no Kakera.

She stopped short of thanking the boy when she saw his expression, his eyes wide and confused and fixed on a point just above her shoulder. Kagome stiffened when she felt a tug on her new necklace, followed by a terse snap.

Every part of her tried and failed to offer up a suitable excuse for the noise she’d just heard She didn’t want to believe it, yet when she turned around her mouth dropped open; towering behind her and wearing a lower fit to kill, the gray and gold pendant hung off his claws as he bared a fang in silent rancor.

“InuYasha...you baka!” she screeched, shoving him in the chest but scarcely surmounting to move him, she ran around him instead, storming past the door and into the house.

“Wait, Higurashi! I can get it repaired--” He was cut off by the sharp sound of the front door slamming combined with the choking glare that the hanyou pinned him with.

InuYasha emitted a low growl of warning as the boy stared at him in something akin to wonder.

Houjou raised a hand timorously, “Hi.”

He froze mid-wave as a twitch of the hanyou’s dog ears caught his attention a split second before InuYasha shot him a final ominous look before running through the front door after Kagome.

He caught her at the top of the stairs, grasping her firmly by the shoulders as she tried to escape him.

“Get away from me, baka!” Her voice cracked as she shouted at him, pushing at his chest. Her heart was torn at the one she usually went to for comfort causing her such chagrin. “Why do you always have to get jealous of every little thing?”

InuYasha pulled her toward him, trapping her hands between their torsos, and as she glared up into his angry golden eyes she felt his chest rumbling beneath her fingers in a primal growl that frightened her yet comforted her. She had to avert her eyes as a rosy blush stained her cheeks when she suddenly realized that she wanted him to kiss her.

Stupid Kagome! If you kiss him now that’ll be like rewarding bad behavior, Kagome nearly rolled her eyes at her thoughts. The idea of yelling at him was suddenly a lot less appealing than it had been only a second ago.

“I am not jealous,” He spoke in a deadly quiet tone, still not releasing her. She could feel the scabs from his wounds beneath his clothing and bandages.

“Then explain why you broke my necklace,” Kagome demanded. “Houjou is my friend.”

“Friend my ass! Just like Kouga thinks you’re his friend.” InuYasha riposted trenchantly.

“So what your saying is; you’re allowed to promise yourself to two women, but I’m not allowed to wear a simple necklace from a male friend?”

InuYasha’s cheeks pinked, and he loosened his hold on her somewhat as he feigned stubbornness, “I....”

“You’re being unreasonable, InuYasha. You shouldn’t be jealous of my friends.”

“I ain’t jealous!”

“Then why did you break my necklace?”

“Because,” He snarled, his voice exasperated, “It was like--like he was marking you as his own or something.”

Kagome couldn’t possibly have hid the indignation on her face, and she knew InuYasha saw it as well, “Oh, and is that for you to do? Mark me as your property?”

Kagome pushed away from him, her fury making her immune to the undisguised pain in InuYasha’s eyes. Yanking her broken necklace out of his now limp hand, she ran down the stairs and out the front door. She stood there in front of the house for nearly a minute until she heard her bedroom window slide open and then gently fall closed. InuYasha had gone back through the well.

Dammit, A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as guilt and shame overwhelmed her. I didn’t mean to hurt him.

Her chest ached and burned as if she’d been stabbed, and her vision blurred as she wobbled down the shrine steps and walked as fast as she could down the sidewalk, her yellow skirt swirling about her as she plied the length of each street until she had passed the graveyard. She rubbed her puffy eyes as she jogged up to the sword shop, a healthy sheen of perspiration coating her face.

“S. O. F. A.?” She read the sign above the entrance of the shop, ‘Swords of Forgotten Ages’, “I remember one time Mama came in here thinking it was a place to buy furniture. False advertising if you ask me.”

Kagome pulled open to the door to the shop, nearly gagging as the pungent aromas of no less than thirty sticks of incense assailed her, “Kami.”

She plugged her nose as she entered the dim shop, the only lights coming from the oil candles and the pots of glowing incense along with a few windows. The chipped walls were a deep tomato red, and the room was cluttered with more glass-encased swords than actual people. They lay in bundles upon the shelves, strewn about the counters and displayed on pillows on window ledges. A dart board on the far side of the room was stuck with knives, and she thought she saw a sword resting on the wings of the broken ceiling fan above her. Even the umbrella stand by the door was filled with rusty blades.

“So you decided to show up, did you?” A voice hailed her, and the withered form of Toutousai materialized on the threshold of an adjoining room, his body veiled by a thick cloud of smoke as he drew on the pipe between his parched lips.

“I’m sorry I was late. It couldn’t be helped.” She said truthfully, fiddling with the jewel about her neck.

The old geezer’s gaze was drawn to her hand, and his eyes grew, if possible, wider than they already were, “Oh my. So that’s why you were late, eh?”

“You know what happened?”

Toutousai sighed, “Come, Kagome. We have much to discuss. I just hope I’m not too late.”

Kagome heard his muttered plaint as he retreated back into the smoke-filled room, panic grazing her as she gulped. Coughing as she braved the abutting room, she closed the door behind her and toddled toward the low, round table before which the old man sat pouring himself a cup of tea. Kagome took the spot on the floor opposite him, pulling the tea kettle toward her and helping herself as she tried to keep her eyes from watering.

“It stinks in here,” She complained. “Do you have to have the windows closed with all the candles and incense and...is that a cigar?”

Toutousai lifted his chin, a large brown stick smoldering in his mouth, “Banana flavored.”

“Ugh,” Kagome stood up, moving to the window and forcing it open. “There. Now we can talk.”

Taking her seat once more, she slurped her tea as the air grew fresher, sounds of traffic floating in through the window, “Toutousai...tell me how InuYasha died.”

He rummaged around for something beside him, then pulled up a box of tissues and set it on the table before her, “You’ll be needing these.”

She nodded in understanding, “Thanks.”

After staring at her for a long minute, the sword smith spoke, “Now that you have acquired the fragment the Wind Demoness stole from her former master, I must inform you that the time to defeat Naraku draws near. The third year after you first fell through the well is the day you and your friends will defeat him. It is also the day that InuYasha will meet his death.”

Kagome nearly started crying at the mention of InuYasha dying. She took a deep breath, “Can you tell me how it happened?”

He gave a nod, taking a swig of his tea before replacing the void in his mouth with the cigar once more, “All that you will hear now is what Myouga told me afterward. He was with InuYasha when he went with you and your friends to attack Naraku at his hidden stronghold. Sesshoumaru and the miko named Kikyou were with you as well, though their presence is not as vital to the story as yours is, Kagome.”

“Mine?” Kagome whispered.

“Naraku was weaker without the shard, which InuYasha was in possession of along with the rest of the shards--the completed Shikon no Tama. Naraku was not expecting the attack, and you came upon him while he was accommodating his heart. It was necessary to him to aid in his recovery, and with his heart he was susceptible to death.”

“InuYasha killed Naraku?”

“Yes. With the completed Shikon no Tama, InuYasha made a wish: that Naraku be made human.”

Kagome gasped, “You mean--that idea actually worked?”

Toutousai nodded gravely, “Indeed. A little too well.”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

Smoke slithered out of his mouth as he spoke, “InuYasha was direly injured in the battle, and it is the wounds inflicted upon him by Naraku that will cause his death shortly after the demise of the human Onigumo. His soul will then be taken captive by Kikyou, who intends to take it with her to the world of the dead.”

“No,” Kagome breathed, tearing up. “Why didn’t Sesshoumaru use Tenseiga? You said he came along. Surely he wouldn’t have let her...?”

“Sesshoumaru was unable to wield Tenseiga.”

Kagome stopped in the middle of dabbing her eye with a tissue, “What? Why? Did Sesshoumaru die during the battle too? Is that why his grave is there?”

Toutousai’s mouth formed a rigid line, his cigar snapping in half and falling to the table, though he didn’t seem to notice, “No. Sesshoumaru died forty-nine years after that day, because that is what humans do. They die.”

The tissue fell from Kagome’s hand, “Human?”

“Yes. That is also why InuYasha died. The wish he made on the Shikon no Tama came with some unexpected repercussions: along with Naraku, every other youkai or part-youkai was turned human. This is why InuYasha’s injuries were the death of him; no mere human could survive with wounds of such magnitude.”

Kagome stared, her mouth hanging open, Every youkai turned human? It would explain the size of Sesshoumaru’s grave, and why I haven’t seen a single youkai in modern--wait a minute....

“Hold the phone, Toutousai,” Kagome pointed her finger at him. “Do you think I’m dumb or something? You’re a youkai and you’re sitting right in front of me and smoking your nasty cigars five-hundred years later!”

“I am not a youkai. I was turned human just like everybody else,” The old man said indifferently, and Kagome gaped as he pulled back his hoary hair to reveal ears that lacked the characteristic points of a mononoke.

Kagome shook her head, “Then--how the heck are you alive?”

“That is why I visit the grave of Sesshoumaru so often. The sword of healing that was interred with him, that I forged for him many years ago from the fang of his father, has sustained my life these five-hundred years. There are no others alive from that time besides the hermits of the mountains with their mystical knowledge of long life.”

Kagome expelled a shaky breath, gripping the table until her knuckles turned white, “You--You’re telling the truth?”

“I understand that this is difficult, Kagome. You are taking this quite we--”

“I can’t believe this!” Kagome cried, tears running down her face as she began to weep. “Oh my God!”

Toutousai looked at her concernedly as she buried her face in her hands upon the table, her body wracking with sobs and incomprehensible words. The sobs did not subside for at least another ten minutes, at which point he patted her gently on the shoulder as she looked up at him through watery brown orbs.

“There, there, young missy. Dry your tears. The future can be changed.”

Kagome gulped, “C-Can it?”

“So I hope. I have spent the last five-hundred years researching the events of that terrible day that has yet to come on the other side of your magic well, which, by the way, Myouga told me about.”

“I guess that means Myouga’s dead too,” Kagome said quietly, picturing a pointy-nosed human Myouga being cremated, his equally funny-looking wife wailing over his body. All of them died...all the youkai, good and bad.

“I offered to share Tenseiga’s power with Myouga, but he did not desire life as a human, and chose death instead. He said he trusted me to tell you these things so that he could live as a flea-youkai again.”

A frown creased Kagome’s brow as she mulled over his words, “You aren’t actually suggesting I could change the future, are you?”

“I would never have guessed a girl who’d fallen through a well and landed in the feudal era to battle monsters could be so skeptical,” He grumbled, reaching for another cigar.

Kagome sighed, “I don’t even know why the jewel did what it did! How can I prevent all youkai from turning human by the jewel if I don’t know how it happened in the first place?”

“I haven’t been alive all this time just playing with swords, miko,” Toutousai said, lighting the cigar. Kagome coughed and fanned at the smoke with her hand. “I have reliable theories as to why this may have happened, ones that have much, if not everything, to do with you.”

Kagome awaited his explanations as he took a drag of the blueberry flavored cigar.

“I won’t pretend to be naive; I know what is it that you and InuYasha have with each other now, and what you will have with each other later. You are in love with him, and the hanyou is in love with you.”

She blushed furiously at his forthrightness, only half-feigning irritation at the smoke as she covered her face with both hands.

He continued, “The Shikon no Tama, infested with both evil and good as it is, will use love against him when he makes his wish. Though he may have wished Naraku human, his secret desire to become human himself is so all-consuming within him that it bleeds over into that simple wish, and the Jewel of Four Souls will augment that desire to worldwide proportions.”

“But why would InuYasha want to become human?”

“It is simple: InuYasha is of the belief that you, Kagome, will only love him as a human.”

Kagome stared at him, disgruntled, “What? I’ve never said anything that would make him believe that! He knows I accept him as he is--as a hanyou! And I do! I would never ask him to become human if he didn’t want to! I’m not Kikyou!”

Toutousai nodded, eying her intently as she seethed, “It’s true. You accept him like no one else has, because that is who you are, and it is this that endears InuYasha to you so. But you must keep in mind that actions sometimes speak louder than words.”

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, her harsh breathing slowing as she tried to make sense of what he was saying, and then it came to her, with horrible verity, the memory of the previous night.

I kissed him...when he was human. Kami, her eyes widened as a fear like she’d never known before, a fear she had never wanted to know, clenched her heart, constricting her breathing, When I yelled at him this morning. No...no, no, no! I didn’t mean it! And that night in my room--his ears--I pushed him away because I was nervous! And when I broke off our first kiss.... No, please don’t let him think--

“Now you see,” Toutousai’s voice intruded, hushed and grim. “InuYasha may trust you, but he harbors insecurities that cannot be touched by your warm presence alone.”

Kagome felt like throwing up, And when he asked me about turning Naraku human--surely he couldn’t have been trying to ask if I wanted him to turn human? Oh God....

“Tell me what I have to do, Toutousai,” Kagome rasped, fierceness in her gaze as she clutched her stomach. The tea on the table before her was cold by now.

He seemed satisfied with her determination, “If you want to save him, you must try your hardest to convince him that you love him as he is. If you succeed in this, the Shikon no Tama will not be able to use InuYasha’s secret desire to be human against him, and all of youkai kind will be saved from his fate.”

Kagome released the breath she’d been unconsciously holding, “I don’t suppose I can just go up to him and say, ‘Hey, I love you as you are,’ huh?”

“No, I don’t believe that would work,” He said. “You must be sure you are up to the challenge, Kagome. InuYasha’s life, as well as the lives of countless others, rest in the strength of your will to do this.”

“Of course I’ll do it. I can do it. I have to,” Kagome said, more to herself than the old man across from her.

“Miko, it is unclear if changing InuYasha’s wish will save his life...in the end,” Toutousai said hesitantly.

Kagome met his gaze, her uncertainty disappearing, “I have to try.”

He grinned around the cigar before snuffing it out on the ashtray beside him, “Good to know. I trust you to see this task through, so don’t let me down.”

“I won’t,” I won’t let you or InuYasha down. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“Nope. Oh yes!” He yelled, causing Kagome to jump, “I forgot to tell you yesterday at the grave; you must not, under any circumstances, mention this to anyone from the other side of the well.”

“That’s fine. I haven’t. But--uh...why is that?”

Toutousai barked out a laugh, “Obvious, isn’t it? You can’t just go around telling people about the future! Do you go around telling people about your magic well?”

Kagome eyed him suspiciously, “Are you holding back on me?”

Toutousai averted his eyes, “I have the right to withhold information from you.”

Kagome mentally counted to ten before speaking, “Can you tell me what happens to my other friends? Miroku? Sango? Sango’s child? Me?”

“No, I can’t! You know too much as it is!” The ancient human bellowed.

“So you are holding back on me!” Kagome gasped.

“It’s for your own good. I can’t damn well tell you everything about everyone in a future that has yet to take place on the other side of the well, so don’t you dare ask me another question about your future. You’ll just have to trust that I’ve given you all the information you’ll need to save InuYasha’s life.”

They sat in tense silence for a minute, when Kagome was hit with an idea, “Can you tell me about Sesshoumaru? What’s going on with him? Why is he slaughtering villages and setting youkai on them?”

Toutousai frowned. He seemed to be internally debating whether or not her question was reasonable, but in the end he sighed, “Sesshoumaru was planning to lure out the Taiyoukai of the South by attacking the humans who live in his lands.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow, “That’s dumb. He could just go and attack this guy, whoever he is, couldn’t he?”

“Not with what Sesshoumaru has in mind. He is in love with Lord Masaki’s mate, Soruto--what’s so funny?”

Kagome had unleashed a massive snort as the mention of Sesshoumaru being in love, “I’m sorry--it’s really not...that funny but...Sesshoumaru is killing people because he’s in love?”

The old man lit another cigar, mint this time, “He’s killing people so that Masaki, his rival, will challenge him, and not the other way around. If Sesshoumaru were to waltz into Masaki’s lands and kill the guy, who knows if Soruto would have him? He hopes that if Masaki issues the challenge then it will be Masaki’s fault that Sesshoumaru kills him.”

“That’s awful! He’s killing countless people just so he can steal the woman he loves from a man by killing him,” Kagome ground her teeth angrily. “This ‘Masaki’ doesn’t have a son by the name of ‘Takakuri’ by any chance, does he?”

Toutousai puffed his cigar, “Yep. That’s the one.’

Kagome’s brow creased, So as long as Masaki keeps sending his son to do his dirty work instead of going out there himself, Sesshoumaru will continue to slaughter innocents.

Glad to have something else to dwell on besides InuYasha’s death, Kagome stood up, preparing to leave, “Uh--thanks...I guess.”

He stood as well, escorting her to the door, “I trust you, Kagome. Trust yourself, and you will succeed.”

He opened the door for her, leading her toward the exit to the shop when someone stepped in front of them, “Higurashi Kagome!”

Kagome blinked dazedly at her gym substitute, taken unawares, “Sensei? Hello....”

The elderly woman smiled at her, “I didn’t know you knew old Toutousai. Nice to see you again. That was some fine shooting yesterday, if I do say so myself. Takes me back, that does.”

“Kagome and I go way back, Tsukimi. I’ve seen Kagome’s archery as well, though I’d expect no less from such a powerful miko as she,” Toutousai said offhandedly. He shrugged at Kagome’s horrified expression, “Tsukimi here is a miko as well. Not as nearly as powerful as you, mind.”

“She’s a...?” Kagome trailed off as Tsukimi wandered off to a corner display. “But--what about InuYasha’s wish?”

“That was youkai, little missy. Mikos still had all their abnormal powers, though I’ve not seen one quite like you even in all my years.”

Kagome smiled self-consciously, “Oh, well, I should be going.”

The old man nodded as Kagome made to exit the shop, “You won’t let us down.”

Once out on the sidewalk, Kagome held onto the wall for support as another wave of tears spilled down her cheeks. Crying into her arm, Kagome slowly wobbled along the sidewalk in the general direction of the shrine.

“How can I do this?” Kagome complained aloud, “How on earth.... InuYasha dies in a year. I-I can’t--I won’t--let him.”

She began to walk faster, grimacing as she staunched the flow of tears, Ever since I learned InuYasha would die I’ve been so afraid of the fact. That’s why I was so afraid last night when Kagura attacked.

Kagome shivered, remembering the feeling that her hanyou was suddenly out of her reach that she was experiencing worse that ever at the moment. Those same feelings had given her the courage to stand up to Kouga, to overcome her qualms of nervousness and kiss InuYasha in a vain attempt to bring him closer. How she wished now that she could have saved that kiss for the morning.

The wind whipped her midnight hair behind her as she limped around bends and past fire hydrants, “I’ll make him see that I love him the way he is. I have to; I can’t live without him.”

But how will I do that? Aren’t I in this mess because of my shyness? How am I going to prove I love him if I can’t get near him with a twenty foot pole without blushing?

She stopped, panting. She had reached the base of the shrine stairs. What she recognized as Houjou’s car was still parked at the curb. Kagome dug in her pocket, her hand closing around the broken necklace as she thought of the fight she’d had with InuYasha.

Taking the stairs at a speedy enough pace, she looked around frantically when she reached the top. She spotted the youth closing the door of the shed where Grandpa kept all his maintenance and cleaning supplies.

“Houjou!” Kagome hailed him, and he greeted her with a diffident smile.

“Higurashi,” He said as she stopped in front of him, “I--uh--”

“Here,” Kagome stuck out her hand, and Houjou stared at the broken necklace.

“What are you--?”

“I’m sorry, Houjou. You have to understand that I can’t accept a gift like this from you. I’m not doing this because of what InuYasha said, but because I love him, and only him.”

He gawked at her as she slowly marched toward her house, a strange feeling of satisfaction mingling with the fire of resolution that now flickered in her heart, melting away her doubts and scruples.

Things have changed.