InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strength ❯ Inconcievable ( Chapter 11 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: inufan625 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.06.2014 | Updated On: 11.06.2014 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.6K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.06.2014 | Updated On: 11.06.2014 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.6K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
Kagome stared at her ceiling in frustration. Both InuYasha and her
mother had fussed over her for nearly an hour before ordering her
to stay in bed. She had been a good girl though and hadn’t
argued because she knew that their actions had come from their love
for her and their fears of what could have happened. Both things
she could understand, but it still sucked to be in bed at 8:30 like
a kid in Elementary school.
She looked at the clock and wondered when InuYasha was going to come back. He had said he wouldn’t be gone long but that had been almost thirty minutes ago. Even worse, she knew that he wasn’t likely to have any intentions of getting into bed with her for anything but sleeping after what happened. It was just too bad for him that she had other ideas. For all intents and purposes she was a newlywed and she intended to enjoy it. She wasn’t going to let some stupid youkai have that much impact on her life. She had waited too long to have InuYasha and seen too much death to take their time together for granted.
She got out of bed as quietly as possible and quickly removed her pajamas. From her desk she retrieved the red lace bra and panties that her mother had purchased for her and slipped them on. She cursed as she heard the stairs creak. Of course InuYasha would know she was out of bed. He could no doubt feel her planning something, and that was another reason they needed to be together. She needed to be able to keep at least some of her feelings private.
She kicked her pajamas under the bed and pulled up the covers just in time to appear innocent as the door opened.
InuYasha arched an eyebrow as he studied her face. He snorted and closed the door behind him. “I know you were up to something,” he said removing his outer jacket and draping it over her chair.
She just maintained her most innocent expression. Her heart clenched painfully as he sat on the floor his back against her bed. This was going to be harder than she thought if he wasn’t even willing to lie beside her.
“Oi, don’t do that,” he said gently. “It’s not fair. I don’t like it either but you were hurt and need to rest.”
She leaned over and placed a kiss against his neck. “I don’t need to rest. I need you.”
“That’s just the bond,” he said, his voice strained. “It’ll keep for a few days. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
She growled and threw off the covers, coming to stand in front of him. She ignored the way his jaw dropped at the sight of her. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s just the bond.” She straddled his lap on her knees. “I need you, InuYasha. I want you, not just because of the bond, but because I love you and because if nothing else tonight should have shown us both just how fragile life really is. Neither one of us can know how long we’ll have together and I don’t intended to let some bastard youkai make me waste one minute of my time with you, not after how long I waited to have you. Look me in the eyes, InuYasha and tell me that they way you want me right now is just the bond.”
She gasped as he stood, lifting her onto the bed. She looked up at him and he stepped back and headed for the door.
“Please,” she tried as he reached for the knob.
InuYasha locked her door and turned back around, removing his clothes as he moved towards her. “Idiot, you had me at bastard youkai.”
Before she could get mad, he was in bed with her, his mouth on hers, his hands leaving trails of fire across her skin.
It had been a surprise for her to discover that even after such a short time, she had grown accustomed to feeling InuYasha with her, and she didn’t really like the way it felt to block him. No doubt it would be useful at times to be able to separate herself, but for the most part she couldn’t imagine not sharing her life completely with him. She assumed he felt the same way because for the most part he kept his connection to her open as well.
Kagome couldn’t get over how much things had changed in such a short amount of time. It was like all of her dreams were coming true. The only real problems left were the Shikon no Tama and all the youkai that were drawn to it.
“S’matter,” InuYasha asked.
Kagome smiled. She had done a good job wearing out her hanyou. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking about the jewel and how it’s really the last thing keeping us from being able to get on with our lives.”
“Keh, we’ll figure it out,” he said turning onto his side and pulling her against him.
She grabbed a small section of his hair and played with it absently. “I know… I just, I’m tired. We spent the last three years fighting and nearly dying and I could always come home where it was safe. Now Naraku is gone but we’re still fighting, and my family…”
“I won’t let anything happen to your family,” he said, giving her a squeeze.
“I know you won’t,” she agreed, “but can you promise me nothing will happen to you? I almost lost you and I don’t know if I can go through that again, not now, not after I’ve been allowed to really be with you. I waited so long, loved you for so long. Haven’t we earned a chance at a normal life?”
InuYasha sat up and leaned his back against her wall. He took her hands and encouraged her to come to him and sit in his lap. “If you had a normal life, I’d still be pinned to that damn tree and we never would have met.”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that,” she tried. “I wouldn’t give up meeting you and our friends, not for anything, not even if it meant I had to spend every day for the rest of my life fighting youkai by your side.”
“Keh, I know you didn’t mean it that way,” he offered, nuzzling her hair. “I’m just saying that normal ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’ll figure it out. Until then I’ll protect you and your family, and I promise I won’t let anything take me away from you. You’re stuck with me now, wench.”
She managed a wan smile, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up, but it didn’t last. “You can’t promise me that, not really.”
“The hell I can’t,” he said, lifting her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes. “I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve nearly died, how many times I should have died. When I was little I lived because I was more afraid of dying and never having the chance to not be alone, and then I met you. I met you and I lived because who would protect you if I died. I lived because I fell in love with you and saw a future where I wasn’t alone. I lived because you loved me and asked me to stay.
“If you think for one minute that I am going to give up now that I finally have a reason to live then you don’t know me at all. And you know me, Kagome. You know me better than anyone. Hell, probably better than I know myself. Tell me I can’t make that promise.
“We’ll find a way to get rid of the jewel so no one is ever hurt by it again, and until then we’ll protect each other, okay?”
“Okay,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You’re right. I’m sorry if it seemed like I doubted you, or us, or that I’m not grateful just to be with you.”
He took her face in his hands. “Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for.” Then, he favored her with a smirk. “Though if you really feel like you have to, you could start by giving me a kiss and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Kagome laughed, but pressed her lips to his.
She slipped out of bed and picked out her clothes for the day, taking them with her to the restroom. From the smell of things breakfast had not yet been served and she wanted to be ready when it was. She studied the dark ring around her neck in the mirror and found a new appreciation for how restrained InuYasha and her mother had been. She briefly considered trying her hand at covering it with some make up, but in the end decided against it. She knew that she should be horrified about how close she had come to dying, but she couldn’t because deep down she believed that she and InuYasha were going to get their happy ending and dying before their lives have even really begun didn’t fit into her future.
She headed downstairs to see if she could help her mother with anything to find InuYasha waiting for her. He cupped her cheek briefly and then frowned as his eyes settled on her neck. She could see and feel all his fears before he clamped down on them and took a seat at the table. She sat down beside him and took his hand under the table. Her mother turned and greeted her, but she too frowned upon seeing the bruises.
“I’m okay, really,” she said to them both.
Her mother smiled as she placed the plates and bowls on the table, but Kagome could tell that it was for her benefit. She was going to have to sit down and talk to her mother very soon. She knew that when all the danger was in the past it had been easier for her mother to overlook the scrapes and bruises. Kagome was relieved that they were having a traditional breakfast since she didn’t know if her abused throat was up to swallowing anything more substantial just yet, and she didn’t want to worry her mother and InuYasha anymore than she already had.
When they were done eating, Kagome cleared the table and washed the dishes, while InuYasha went back outside. She wasn’t sure where her mother had gone, but her next step would be to track her down and talk to her. The phone rang and she dried her hands on the towel near the sink and went to answer it.
“Sunset shrine.”
“I have sent a car for you and InuYasha,” Sesshomaru said. “Something has happened at a temple that I think you both need to see.”
Kagome was left staring at the handset as the line disconnected. She supposed talking with her mother would have to wait. She grabbed a cardigan, slipped in her shoes, and then headed out to find InuYasha. Whatever it was it was sure to be important since Sesshomaru had given them no say in the matter.
“InuYasha,” she called, decided that letting him come to her would be easier than looking for him.
He appeared from one of the older building on the grounds and came over to see what she needed. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” she told him. “Your brother called and told me he was sending a car to take us somewhere, that there was something we needed to see. He didn’t even give me a chance to say anything so I have to think it must be something important.”
“Keh, alright,” he said. “Let me got tell the old man, he can boss me around some more tomorrow and then I’ll meet you at the top of the steps.”
He smiled and let him feel the swelling of love she felt for him in that moment. It warmed her heart how well he fit into her family and how well he was adjusting to having given up his entire world to become a part of hers.
His lips quirked upwards in a half grin and he nodded. “Me too.”
The driver was waiting for them as they descended the steps. Kagome sensed InuYasha’s discomfort and took his hand as they slipped into the back seat. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they made the long drive to wherever it was they were going.
When they pulled up to the temple Kagome got the distinct feeling that they had been there before. “InuYasha?”
He scented the area and looked around as a frown marred his brow. “This is the temple of the Bouzo’s drunk old master.”
Kagome looked up as she felt a powerful and familiar youki headed towards them. One moment there was nothing more than a green ball of light and in the next Sesshomaru was standing before them. His expression was grim and she noticed that he carried the Bakusaiga and the Tenseiga at his hip. She could tell by the way InuYasha’s hand hovered near his own sword and by the rise in his youki that he had noticed as well.
Sesshomaru looked at her and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “What has happened?”
Kagome’s hand went to her throat and she rubbed it subconsciously. “A pair of youkai attacked the shrine last night. We had a bit of a close call but InuYasha saved me and I’m all right now.”
“Shit Sesshomaru just tell us what the hell is going on already. We talk about what happened later,” InuYasha asked.
“Follow me. A part of me still hopes that I am mistaken,” Sesshomaru replied.
Kagome could feel cold dread building inside her and she reached out to take InuYasha’s hand. She reminded herself that as long as they were together it didn’t matter what lay before them because they would get through it together. InuYasha gave her hand a squeeze as they followed his brother back into the trees behind the temple. They came to clearing and Kagome forgot how to breathe. There were trees pulled from the ground by their roots scatted in a circle around a giant crater.
She shook her head. “It can’t be.”
“So it is as I thought,” Sesshomaru said quietly.
“Kazaana,” InuYasha breathed.
“I don’t understand,” Kagome said. “How is this possible?”
“Let us return to the temple and discuss this there,” Sesshomaru suggested.
Kagome nodded, but she couldn’t seem to make herself look away from all that was left of some poor soul. It didn’t make sense. Naraku was dead, InuYasha had said so himself and his curse should have died with him. She blinked as InuYasha’s hand settled on her shoulder.
“Come on,” he said gently. “Sesshomaru is waiting.
She nodded again and this time he took her hand to lead her away. He could understand her distress, not only because he could feel it but because he was feeling the same, but standing around staring at a hole in the ground wasn’t going to help them find out what they needed to know.
They stood in front of the temple, no one seeming to know where to begin. Kagome slipped her hand out of InuYasha’s and let instinct guide her. She passed through a beautiful garden and found a boy that had to be close to her brother’s age. His eyes were rimmed in red and he was staring at the tekkou and prayer beads covering his hand. She approached him slowly and sat down beside him.
He looked at her and scowled. “Who are you?”
Kagome was unfazed by his temper. If there was one thing she knew how it handle it was a moody and grieving young man who has been given every reason to think that the whole world had turned against him. She considered herself an expert in fact.
“My name is, Kagome,” she said quietly. “And I’m so sorry. I know just how you feel.”
“How can you?” he demanded. “It was just a story, a stupid legend. It wasn’t supposed to be real.”
“I lost my father when I was younger than you,” she told him. “One minute he was kissing me goodbye as he left for work and the next the police were knocking on our door telling my mother that my Daddy was dead. I know it’s not exactly the same, but I do know what it’s like to lose someone you loved so suddenly.”
“And what about this?” he shouted, shoving his hand in her face. “What could you possibly know about this? My father he died to save me. We only had one set of beads and he made me put them on as soon as he realized what was happening. Maybe, maybe if he had put them on himself instead…”
Kagome swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her heart was breaking for this boy whose entire world had changed in an instant. “A long time ago I had a very dear friend who wore beads just like those. Of course I couldn’t know exactly what he felt, but I know he was afraid and I was afraid for him. He had seen his father taken from him, just as you did and he always wondered how long it would be before the same happened to him, but he didn’t let that stop him from living and fighting and searching for a way to end his curse.”
“Did he?” the boy asked quietly.
Kagome blinked and her heart clenched painfully in her chest as she realized that she might never know what had become of Miroku or Sango. “I don’t know, but I hope he did.”
“Kagome?” InuYasha said from behind her.
Both she and the boy looked back over their shoulders and beside her he gasped. He looked at her and then again at InuYasha and shook his head. “It’s not possible.” He held up his hand in front of his face and then lowered it and laughed without humor. “I keep saying that, but I don’t think it means what I think it means, not anymore. Let me guess, your name is InuYasha and the friend you were talking about was called Miroku.”
Kagome’s heart raced and her eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
He looked at them, expecting to see some hint that they were having him on, but found none. “You guys really are them, the InuYasha and Kagome who hunted the shards of the Shikon no Tama and disappeared down a well into the future?”
Kagome reached into her shirt and pulled out the shining pink orb that had been such a big part of her life. “Tell me, please, how did you know who we were?”
He stood up. “Wait right here.”
InuYasha came over and sat beside her as the boy ran off. He slipped his hand into hers. “Shit, poor kid.”
“InuYasha, what do you think it means?” she asked. “If the kazaana is back then doesn’t that have to mean that he’s back too? I know you said Kikyou killed him, but could he have survived and been hiding all this time, waiting for us to show up here?”
InuYasha sighed. “I don’t want to think it’s possible, but maybe it was too easy. I was no condition to make sure he really was gone. I guess I just hoped it was true. I’m sorry.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. You had the jewel and Kikyou sacrificed herself, there was no reason to believe she hadn’t succeeded.”
“Maybe it’s not him,” InuYasha said. “Maybe there is some other explanation.”
“But that’s not what you really think, is it?” she asked. “You think he’s been somewhere hiding in the shadows, biding his time, waiting for another chance to get the jewel.” She turned and buried her face against him. “Oh, kami-sama, InuYasha, what are we going to do?”
He wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair. “Whatever we have to.”
A few steps away the boy cleared his throat. InuYasha released Kagome and they looked up at him expectantly. In his hands was a scroll that looked very old and very fragile. He held it out to them. “This is for you,” he said. “It has been handed down from father to son for generations, a sacred promise. I thought it was stupid. I mean disappearing down a well into the future, who would believe that? Anyway, according to family legend it was written by the monk Miroku just before his death and left in the hands of his eldest son in the hopes that it one day might make it to the both of you.”
Kagome took it from him and unrolled it as carefully as possible. She could feel the familiar tingle of Miroku’s spiritual powers. Somehow he had poured them into the paper to help preserve it. She wiped away an errant tear before it could slip down her cheek. She had already accepted that she would never know what had become of her friends and yet here was a piece of one of them right in her hands.
She cleared her throat and began to read.
I have little hope that this will ever reach you, but as I near the end of my days in this world I feel myself compelled to put into words so many things we were never given the chance to say to one another, and to relate to you the many joys in my life that were only made possible because of you both.
The night Naraku was at last defeated I felt my curse lifted, but it was not until you, InuYasha, confirmed it that I was able to bring myself to really believe. As you went to be with the woman you loved I too finally allowed myself the hope of being with mine.
Sango and I were married at once and together we had 7 children. First, our twin daughters, both with their mother’s beauty and her fiery spirit. We named the eldest Kagome, after the most beautiful soul either of us had ever had the pleasure to know and her sister Izayoi in honor of the woman who loved her son so well that in spite of all the hardships in his life he never let himself become the monster they claimed him to be. I hope that you do not mind. Next came Ichiro, then Makoto, followed by Katsume, Chiyo and finally Hiroshi. Izayoi, Makoto, and Chiyo were born with some small measure of spiritual powers and chose to train to use them. Izayoi took over as village miko when Kaede passed, and once Makoto’s training was complete he chose to restore the temple of my old master and raised a fine family of his own. The rest of our children trained with their mother so that the ways of the taijiya would not die with her.
It was a good life and we owed it all to you and know that I have always and will always be honored to have been able to call each of you friend.
Kagome sniffled and wiped away her tears. She took a few calming breaths and then continued.
Shippou left shortly after the last time we saw you to train with the kitsune. For many years he continued to visit us and our children, but I fear it eventually just became too difficult for him to see us as we grew old just as he was entering the prime of his life though it wasn’t until last winter when my beloved Sango embarked on the next journey that he stopped visiting all together. I do not hold it against him and should you ever read this I ask that you let him know that we both understood and wished him only happiness over his long life.
There is so much more, but my time grows short and I must admit I look forward to the chance to be reborn and to find her once again. And I will find her. If there ever were two souls bound by the red thread then surely yours must be and as I draw closer to the other side I am more convinced than ever that the same is true for my Sango and I. She waits for me and you know that I do not like to keep a pretty girl waiting for long.
InuYasha, not a day has gone by that I have not thought of you, of your honor and your courage and I am humbled by it. We fought side by side, bled for one another and I will always think of you as my brother and as such entitled to give you this advice: Let Kagome love you. Let her give you a home and a family and the life of joy you so richly deserve. Love her and cherish her. Do not be afraid to let others see the man you truly are, the one she has always seen in spite of how hard you tried to hide it. Be happy.
Kagome, you too have never been far from my thoughts. From you I learned much of what it is to love and that made me a better husband, a better father, and a better man. In all the years of my life I never met anyone with even half of your compassion. As I know you are all too willing to love InuYasha and be loved in return I will say only this; Never doubt that he loves you. Whatever he says or does to the contrary his heart is yours and yours alone.
Take care of each other and should you have a spare moment to remember old friends, I hope you will remember them as fondly as they remembered you.
Kagome rolled up the scroll and set it beside her. She looked at InuYasha and he wrapped his arms around her, not caring who was watching. She sobbed and it took all of his considerable will to hold himself together for her. He was happy to know that the monk and Sango had lived a long and happy life together, of course he was, but until now he had been able to picture them living their lives alongside his just on the other side of the well instead of thinking of them as long dead.
Eventually Kagome’s tears slowed and she lifted her head. “Thank you,” said. “You can’t know how much this means to me, to us.”
The boy shifted uncomfortably as his cheeks pinked. “I didn’t do anything. Like I said I thought it was stupid.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she told him. “The only thing that matters is that you kept your promise, and now I am going to make you a promise. We are going to find Naraku and rid the world of his evil and his curse once and for all.”
He looked at his hand and then back at her. “You really think you can do that?”
“Keh, you have her promise and mine too,” InuYasha replied. “Don’t worry kid that bastard is as good as dead.”
“Hiroshi, where are you!”
The boy looked in the direction of the voice. “That’s my mother. I should go be with her. I wasn’t very nice to her earlier…”
Kagome and InuYasha watched the boy run off into the small house set back near the trees at the outer edge of the temple grounds. InuYasha stood and offered Kagome his hand to pull her onto her feet. They headed back to where they had left Sesshomaru.
“I take it you heard all that.” InuYasha said.
“Indeed,” Sesshomaru replied. “We should start trying to find him right away. It is now more important than ever that the jewel be protected. Without it he will be no match for us, but he has proved to be both clever and patient and we must not underestimate him. I suppose I need not caution you little brother about falling for the same trick twice.”
“Keh, there’s no way that would work now,” InuYasha said. “Kagome would never attack me and he can’t fake the mate bond.”
Kagome took InuYasha’s hand in her own. “And there is no way I would ever believe that InuYasha would hurt me.”
“I would still suggest that the two of you remain together as often as possible,” Sesshomaru said. “We cannot let the jewel fall into his hands again and you are both much stronger together. Now, I believe we should start our search here. He would have had to have been fairly close to reactivate his curse. With the temple grounds as the center I will take the outer search radius and work my way inward and you two can begin here. If you find anything simply call and I will hear you.”
Sesshomaru floated into the air on a cloud of his youki and in moments he had disappeared from view. Once he was gone InuYasha led the way so that they could start looking for clues. Kagome touched her power and reached out trying to sense any trace of Naraku’s youki. Every once in a while InuYasha was bend down and pick up a rock or a stick and sniff it and she noticed that they were heading in a straight line back towards the city. They hadn’t been walking long when they came to an area of forest that had clearly been poisoned by miasma. On the other side of the shriveled and deadened area they saw Sesshomaru.
He crossed the distance between them in a blink. “The trail leads all the way back to the city, but I lost his scent. There is too much pollution and too much youki for even me to follow it further, but at least we know where to start looking. InuYasha take your miko home so that she can finish recovering and I will get the search started.”
Kagome started to protest. “I’m okay.”
“The bruises around your neck say otherwise,” he told her. “Besides it is more important that the both of you guard the jewel. Rest assured I will find him and together we will rid this world of this abomination.”
She looked at the clock and wondered when InuYasha was going to come back. He had said he wouldn’t be gone long but that had been almost thirty minutes ago. Even worse, she knew that he wasn’t likely to have any intentions of getting into bed with her for anything but sleeping after what happened. It was just too bad for him that she had other ideas. For all intents and purposes she was a newlywed and she intended to enjoy it. She wasn’t going to let some stupid youkai have that much impact on her life. She had waited too long to have InuYasha and seen too much death to take their time together for granted.
She got out of bed as quietly as possible and quickly removed her pajamas. From her desk she retrieved the red lace bra and panties that her mother had purchased for her and slipped them on. She cursed as she heard the stairs creak. Of course InuYasha would know she was out of bed. He could no doubt feel her planning something, and that was another reason they needed to be together. She needed to be able to keep at least some of her feelings private.
She kicked her pajamas under the bed and pulled up the covers just in time to appear innocent as the door opened.
InuYasha arched an eyebrow as he studied her face. He snorted and closed the door behind him. “I know you were up to something,” he said removing his outer jacket and draping it over her chair.
She just maintained her most innocent expression. Her heart clenched painfully as he sat on the floor his back against her bed. This was going to be harder than she thought if he wasn’t even willing to lie beside her.
“Oi, don’t do that,” he said gently. “It’s not fair. I don’t like it either but you were hurt and need to rest.”
She leaned over and placed a kiss against his neck. “I don’t need to rest. I need you.”
“That’s just the bond,” he said, his voice strained. “It’ll keep for a few days. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
She growled and threw off the covers, coming to stand in front of him. She ignored the way his jaw dropped at the sight of her. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s just the bond.” She straddled his lap on her knees. “I need you, InuYasha. I want you, not just because of the bond, but because I love you and because if nothing else tonight should have shown us both just how fragile life really is. Neither one of us can know how long we’ll have together and I don’t intended to let some bastard youkai make me waste one minute of my time with you, not after how long I waited to have you. Look me in the eyes, InuYasha and tell me that they way you want me right now is just the bond.”
She gasped as he stood, lifting her onto the bed. She looked up at him and he stepped back and headed for the door.
“Please,” she tried as he reached for the knob.
InuYasha locked her door and turned back around, removing his clothes as he moved towards her. “Idiot, you had me at bastard youkai.”
Before she could get mad, he was in bed with her, his mouth on hers, his hands leaving trails of fire across her skin.
~ * ~
Kagome smiled, completely satisfied, as she rested with her head
against InuYasha’s chest. His arm was wrapped around her,
holding her close as she listened to the beating of his heart. As
it would turn out, it hadn’t been that difficult for InuYasha
to show her how to shield most of her thoughts and emotions from
him.It had been a surprise for her to discover that even after such a short time, she had grown accustomed to feeling InuYasha with her, and she didn’t really like the way it felt to block him. No doubt it would be useful at times to be able to separate herself, but for the most part she couldn’t imagine not sharing her life completely with him. She assumed he felt the same way because for the most part he kept his connection to her open as well.
Kagome couldn’t get over how much things had changed in such a short amount of time. It was like all of her dreams were coming true. The only real problems left were the Shikon no Tama and all the youkai that were drawn to it.
“S’matter,” InuYasha asked.
Kagome smiled. She had done a good job wearing out her hanyou. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking about the jewel and how it’s really the last thing keeping us from being able to get on with our lives.”
“Keh, we’ll figure it out,” he said turning onto his side and pulling her against him.
She grabbed a small section of his hair and played with it absently. “I know… I just, I’m tired. We spent the last three years fighting and nearly dying and I could always come home where it was safe. Now Naraku is gone but we’re still fighting, and my family…”
“I won’t let anything happen to your family,” he said, giving her a squeeze.
“I know you won’t,” she agreed, “but can you promise me nothing will happen to you? I almost lost you and I don’t know if I can go through that again, not now, not after I’ve been allowed to really be with you. I waited so long, loved you for so long. Haven’t we earned a chance at a normal life?”
InuYasha sat up and leaned his back against her wall. He took her hands and encouraged her to come to him and sit in his lap. “If you had a normal life, I’d still be pinned to that damn tree and we never would have met.”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that,” she tried. “I wouldn’t give up meeting you and our friends, not for anything, not even if it meant I had to spend every day for the rest of my life fighting youkai by your side.”
“Keh, I know you didn’t mean it that way,” he offered, nuzzling her hair. “I’m just saying that normal ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’ll figure it out. Until then I’ll protect you and your family, and I promise I won’t let anything take me away from you. You’re stuck with me now, wench.”
She managed a wan smile, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up, but it didn’t last. “You can’t promise me that, not really.”
“The hell I can’t,” he said, lifting her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes. “I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve nearly died, how many times I should have died. When I was little I lived because I was more afraid of dying and never having the chance to not be alone, and then I met you. I met you and I lived because who would protect you if I died. I lived because I fell in love with you and saw a future where I wasn’t alone. I lived because you loved me and asked me to stay.
“If you think for one minute that I am going to give up now that I finally have a reason to live then you don’t know me at all. And you know me, Kagome. You know me better than anyone. Hell, probably better than I know myself. Tell me I can’t make that promise.
“We’ll find a way to get rid of the jewel so no one is ever hurt by it again, and until then we’ll protect each other, okay?”
“Okay,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You’re right. I’m sorry if it seemed like I doubted you, or us, or that I’m not grateful just to be with you.”
He took her face in his hands. “Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for.” Then, he favored her with a smirk. “Though if you really feel like you have to, you could start by giving me a kiss and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Kagome laughed, but pressed her lips to his.
~ * ~
InuYasha was gone when she woke, but she could feel him nearby. He
was out on the grounds and she got the distinct feeling that he was
rolling his eyes. She laughed. Jii-chan must be lecturing him on
the proper way to move and stack boxes or the correct form for
beating out a rug. Though, she knew that InuYasha wouldn’t
humor her grandfather so if he didn’t have a genuine
affection for the cantankerous old man.She slipped out of bed and picked out her clothes for the day, taking them with her to the restroom. From the smell of things breakfast had not yet been served and she wanted to be ready when it was. She studied the dark ring around her neck in the mirror and found a new appreciation for how restrained InuYasha and her mother had been. She briefly considered trying her hand at covering it with some make up, but in the end decided against it. She knew that she should be horrified about how close she had come to dying, but she couldn’t because deep down she believed that she and InuYasha were going to get their happy ending and dying before their lives have even really begun didn’t fit into her future.
She headed downstairs to see if she could help her mother with anything to find InuYasha waiting for her. He cupped her cheek briefly and then frowned as his eyes settled on her neck. She could see and feel all his fears before he clamped down on them and took a seat at the table. She sat down beside him and took his hand under the table. Her mother turned and greeted her, but she too frowned upon seeing the bruises.
“I’m okay, really,” she said to them both.
Her mother smiled as she placed the plates and bowls on the table, but Kagome could tell that it was for her benefit. She was going to have to sit down and talk to her mother very soon. She knew that when all the danger was in the past it had been easier for her mother to overlook the scrapes and bruises. Kagome was relieved that they were having a traditional breakfast since she didn’t know if her abused throat was up to swallowing anything more substantial just yet, and she didn’t want to worry her mother and InuYasha anymore than she already had.
When they were done eating, Kagome cleared the table and washed the dishes, while InuYasha went back outside. She wasn’t sure where her mother had gone, but her next step would be to track her down and talk to her. The phone rang and she dried her hands on the towel near the sink and went to answer it.
“Sunset shrine.”
“I have sent a car for you and InuYasha,” Sesshomaru said. “Something has happened at a temple that I think you both need to see.”
Kagome was left staring at the handset as the line disconnected. She supposed talking with her mother would have to wait. She grabbed a cardigan, slipped in her shoes, and then headed out to find InuYasha. Whatever it was it was sure to be important since Sesshomaru had given them no say in the matter.
“InuYasha,” she called, decided that letting him come to her would be easier than looking for him.
He appeared from one of the older building on the grounds and came over to see what she needed. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” she told him. “Your brother called and told me he was sending a car to take us somewhere, that there was something we needed to see. He didn’t even give me a chance to say anything so I have to think it must be something important.”
“Keh, alright,” he said. “Let me got tell the old man, he can boss me around some more tomorrow and then I’ll meet you at the top of the steps.”
He smiled and let him feel the swelling of love she felt for him in that moment. It warmed her heart how well he fit into her family and how well he was adjusting to having given up his entire world to become a part of hers.
His lips quirked upwards in a half grin and he nodded. “Me too.”
The driver was waiting for them as they descended the steps. Kagome sensed InuYasha’s discomfort and took his hand as they slipped into the back seat. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they made the long drive to wherever it was they were going.
When they pulled up to the temple Kagome got the distinct feeling that they had been there before. “InuYasha?”
He scented the area and looked around as a frown marred his brow. “This is the temple of the Bouzo’s drunk old master.”
Kagome looked up as she felt a powerful and familiar youki headed towards them. One moment there was nothing more than a green ball of light and in the next Sesshomaru was standing before them. His expression was grim and she noticed that he carried the Bakusaiga and the Tenseiga at his hip. She could tell by the way InuYasha’s hand hovered near his own sword and by the rise in his youki that he had noticed as well.
Sesshomaru looked at her and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “What has happened?”
Kagome’s hand went to her throat and she rubbed it subconsciously. “A pair of youkai attacked the shrine last night. We had a bit of a close call but InuYasha saved me and I’m all right now.”
“Shit Sesshomaru just tell us what the hell is going on already. We talk about what happened later,” InuYasha asked.
“Follow me. A part of me still hopes that I am mistaken,” Sesshomaru replied.
Kagome could feel cold dread building inside her and she reached out to take InuYasha’s hand. She reminded herself that as long as they were together it didn’t matter what lay before them because they would get through it together. InuYasha gave her hand a squeeze as they followed his brother back into the trees behind the temple. They came to clearing and Kagome forgot how to breathe. There were trees pulled from the ground by their roots scatted in a circle around a giant crater.
She shook her head. “It can’t be.”
“So it is as I thought,” Sesshomaru said quietly.
“Kazaana,” InuYasha breathed.
“I don’t understand,” Kagome said. “How is this possible?”
“Let us return to the temple and discuss this there,” Sesshomaru suggested.
Kagome nodded, but she couldn’t seem to make herself look away from all that was left of some poor soul. It didn’t make sense. Naraku was dead, InuYasha had said so himself and his curse should have died with him. She blinked as InuYasha’s hand settled on her shoulder.
“Come on,” he said gently. “Sesshomaru is waiting.
She nodded again and this time he took her hand to lead her away. He could understand her distress, not only because he could feel it but because he was feeling the same, but standing around staring at a hole in the ground wasn’t going to help them find out what they needed to know.
They stood in front of the temple, no one seeming to know where to begin. Kagome slipped her hand out of InuYasha’s and let instinct guide her. She passed through a beautiful garden and found a boy that had to be close to her brother’s age. His eyes were rimmed in red and he was staring at the tekkou and prayer beads covering his hand. She approached him slowly and sat down beside him.
He looked at her and scowled. “Who are you?”
Kagome was unfazed by his temper. If there was one thing she knew how it handle it was a moody and grieving young man who has been given every reason to think that the whole world had turned against him. She considered herself an expert in fact.
“My name is, Kagome,” she said quietly. “And I’m so sorry. I know just how you feel.”
“How can you?” he demanded. “It was just a story, a stupid legend. It wasn’t supposed to be real.”
“I lost my father when I was younger than you,” she told him. “One minute he was kissing me goodbye as he left for work and the next the police were knocking on our door telling my mother that my Daddy was dead. I know it’s not exactly the same, but I do know what it’s like to lose someone you loved so suddenly.”
“And what about this?” he shouted, shoving his hand in her face. “What could you possibly know about this? My father he died to save me. We only had one set of beads and he made me put them on as soon as he realized what was happening. Maybe, maybe if he had put them on himself instead…”
Kagome swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her heart was breaking for this boy whose entire world had changed in an instant. “A long time ago I had a very dear friend who wore beads just like those. Of course I couldn’t know exactly what he felt, but I know he was afraid and I was afraid for him. He had seen his father taken from him, just as you did and he always wondered how long it would be before the same happened to him, but he didn’t let that stop him from living and fighting and searching for a way to end his curse.”
“Did he?” the boy asked quietly.
Kagome blinked and her heart clenched painfully in her chest as she realized that she might never know what had become of Miroku or Sango. “I don’t know, but I hope he did.”
“Kagome?” InuYasha said from behind her.
Both she and the boy looked back over their shoulders and beside her he gasped. He looked at her and then again at InuYasha and shook his head. “It’s not possible.” He held up his hand in front of his face and then lowered it and laughed without humor. “I keep saying that, but I don’t think it means what I think it means, not anymore. Let me guess, your name is InuYasha and the friend you were talking about was called Miroku.”
Kagome’s heart raced and her eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
He looked at them, expecting to see some hint that they were having him on, but found none. “You guys really are them, the InuYasha and Kagome who hunted the shards of the Shikon no Tama and disappeared down a well into the future?”
Kagome reached into her shirt and pulled out the shining pink orb that had been such a big part of her life. “Tell me, please, how did you know who we were?”
He stood up. “Wait right here.”
InuYasha came over and sat beside her as the boy ran off. He slipped his hand into hers. “Shit, poor kid.”
“InuYasha, what do you think it means?” she asked. “If the kazaana is back then doesn’t that have to mean that he’s back too? I know you said Kikyou killed him, but could he have survived and been hiding all this time, waiting for us to show up here?”
InuYasha sighed. “I don’t want to think it’s possible, but maybe it was too easy. I was no condition to make sure he really was gone. I guess I just hoped it was true. I’m sorry.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. You had the jewel and Kikyou sacrificed herself, there was no reason to believe she hadn’t succeeded.”
“Maybe it’s not him,” InuYasha said. “Maybe there is some other explanation.”
“But that’s not what you really think, is it?” she asked. “You think he’s been somewhere hiding in the shadows, biding his time, waiting for another chance to get the jewel.” She turned and buried her face against him. “Oh, kami-sama, InuYasha, what are we going to do?”
He wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair. “Whatever we have to.”
A few steps away the boy cleared his throat. InuYasha released Kagome and they looked up at him expectantly. In his hands was a scroll that looked very old and very fragile. He held it out to them. “This is for you,” he said. “It has been handed down from father to son for generations, a sacred promise. I thought it was stupid. I mean disappearing down a well into the future, who would believe that? Anyway, according to family legend it was written by the monk Miroku just before his death and left in the hands of his eldest son in the hopes that it one day might make it to the both of you.”
Kagome took it from him and unrolled it as carefully as possible. She could feel the familiar tingle of Miroku’s spiritual powers. Somehow he had poured them into the paper to help preserve it. She wiped away an errant tear before it could slip down her cheek. She had already accepted that she would never know what had become of her friends and yet here was a piece of one of them right in her hands.
She cleared her throat and began to read.
I have little hope that this will ever reach you, but as I near the end of my days in this world I feel myself compelled to put into words so many things we were never given the chance to say to one another, and to relate to you the many joys in my life that were only made possible because of you both.
The night Naraku was at last defeated I felt my curse lifted, but it was not until you, InuYasha, confirmed it that I was able to bring myself to really believe. As you went to be with the woman you loved I too finally allowed myself the hope of being with mine.
Sango and I were married at once and together we had 7 children. First, our twin daughters, both with their mother’s beauty and her fiery spirit. We named the eldest Kagome, after the most beautiful soul either of us had ever had the pleasure to know and her sister Izayoi in honor of the woman who loved her son so well that in spite of all the hardships in his life he never let himself become the monster they claimed him to be. I hope that you do not mind. Next came Ichiro, then Makoto, followed by Katsume, Chiyo and finally Hiroshi. Izayoi, Makoto, and Chiyo were born with some small measure of spiritual powers and chose to train to use them. Izayoi took over as village miko when Kaede passed, and once Makoto’s training was complete he chose to restore the temple of my old master and raised a fine family of his own. The rest of our children trained with their mother so that the ways of the taijiya would not die with her.
It was a good life and we owed it all to you and know that I have always and will always be honored to have been able to call each of you friend.
Kagome sniffled and wiped away her tears. She took a few calming breaths and then continued.
Shippou left shortly after the last time we saw you to train with the kitsune. For many years he continued to visit us and our children, but I fear it eventually just became too difficult for him to see us as we grew old just as he was entering the prime of his life though it wasn’t until last winter when my beloved Sango embarked on the next journey that he stopped visiting all together. I do not hold it against him and should you ever read this I ask that you let him know that we both understood and wished him only happiness over his long life.
There is so much more, but my time grows short and I must admit I look forward to the chance to be reborn and to find her once again. And I will find her. If there ever were two souls bound by the red thread then surely yours must be and as I draw closer to the other side I am more convinced than ever that the same is true for my Sango and I. She waits for me and you know that I do not like to keep a pretty girl waiting for long.
InuYasha, not a day has gone by that I have not thought of you, of your honor and your courage and I am humbled by it. We fought side by side, bled for one another and I will always think of you as my brother and as such entitled to give you this advice: Let Kagome love you. Let her give you a home and a family and the life of joy you so richly deserve. Love her and cherish her. Do not be afraid to let others see the man you truly are, the one she has always seen in spite of how hard you tried to hide it. Be happy.
Kagome, you too have never been far from my thoughts. From you I learned much of what it is to love and that made me a better husband, a better father, and a better man. In all the years of my life I never met anyone with even half of your compassion. As I know you are all too willing to love InuYasha and be loved in return I will say only this; Never doubt that he loves you. Whatever he says or does to the contrary his heart is yours and yours alone.
Take care of each other and should you have a spare moment to remember old friends, I hope you will remember them as fondly as they remembered you.
Kagome rolled up the scroll and set it beside her. She looked at InuYasha and he wrapped his arms around her, not caring who was watching. She sobbed and it took all of his considerable will to hold himself together for her. He was happy to know that the monk and Sango had lived a long and happy life together, of course he was, but until now he had been able to picture them living their lives alongside his just on the other side of the well instead of thinking of them as long dead.
Eventually Kagome’s tears slowed and she lifted her head. “Thank you,” said. “You can’t know how much this means to me, to us.”
The boy shifted uncomfortably as his cheeks pinked. “I didn’t do anything. Like I said I thought it was stupid.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she told him. “The only thing that matters is that you kept your promise, and now I am going to make you a promise. We are going to find Naraku and rid the world of his evil and his curse once and for all.”
He looked at his hand and then back at her. “You really think you can do that?”
“Keh, you have her promise and mine too,” InuYasha replied. “Don’t worry kid that bastard is as good as dead.”
“Hiroshi, where are you!”
The boy looked in the direction of the voice. “That’s my mother. I should go be with her. I wasn’t very nice to her earlier…”
Kagome and InuYasha watched the boy run off into the small house set back near the trees at the outer edge of the temple grounds. InuYasha stood and offered Kagome his hand to pull her onto her feet. They headed back to where they had left Sesshomaru.
“I take it you heard all that.” InuYasha said.
“Indeed,” Sesshomaru replied. “We should start trying to find him right away. It is now more important than ever that the jewel be protected. Without it he will be no match for us, but he has proved to be both clever and patient and we must not underestimate him. I suppose I need not caution you little brother about falling for the same trick twice.”
“Keh, there’s no way that would work now,” InuYasha said. “Kagome would never attack me and he can’t fake the mate bond.”
Kagome took InuYasha’s hand in her own. “And there is no way I would ever believe that InuYasha would hurt me.”
“I would still suggest that the two of you remain together as often as possible,” Sesshomaru said. “We cannot let the jewel fall into his hands again and you are both much stronger together. Now, I believe we should start our search here. He would have had to have been fairly close to reactivate his curse. With the temple grounds as the center I will take the outer search radius and work my way inward and you two can begin here. If you find anything simply call and I will hear you.”
Sesshomaru floated into the air on a cloud of his youki and in moments he had disappeared from view. Once he was gone InuYasha led the way so that they could start looking for clues. Kagome touched her power and reached out trying to sense any trace of Naraku’s youki. Every once in a while InuYasha was bend down and pick up a rock or a stick and sniff it and she noticed that they were heading in a straight line back towards the city. They hadn’t been walking long when they came to an area of forest that had clearly been poisoned by miasma. On the other side of the shriveled and deadened area they saw Sesshomaru.
He crossed the distance between them in a blink. “The trail leads all the way back to the city, but I lost his scent. There is too much pollution and too much youki for even me to follow it further, but at least we know where to start looking. InuYasha take your miko home so that she can finish recovering and I will get the search started.”
Kagome started to protest. “I’m okay.”
“The bruises around your neck say otherwise,” he told her. “Besides it is more important that the both of you guard the jewel. Rest assured I will find him and together we will rid this world of this abomination.”