InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Hauntings ❯ The ending ( Epilogue )

“This one is for you, though I've never known your name,

You, gentle-voiced spirits who whisper to me,

Who speak louder in case I didn't hear,

Who shout if I remain unmoved,

Who kick my Shins until I either bleed,

Or take heed.

 

This one is for you.

You, eternal muses

Who shake me from the depths of sleep with an idea,

A scene,

A story that must be told,

You who drag my mind from conversation,

And put that blank stare in my eyes,

And silence my lips,

So that friends and family thin my rude and inattentive,

Because suddenly, I hear only you!

 

This one is for you,

Goddess of the Storytellers of old,

You who make me run stop signs,

And leap up from a public meal,

My exclamation nonsensical to any who might hear,

As I run off to find a computer,

A pad and pen,

An eyeliner and paper napkin,

ANYTHING!

Anything to capture your whisper

Your breath

My inspiration

 

This one is for you,

Hell, they all are.”

 

Maggie Shayne -Edge of Twilight 2004

 

~*~*~*~*

 

They gathered in a cluster around the wreckage, the rubble, the last remains of the horror that had once plagued the small town. It seamed it once again claimed young lives, like a curse that couldn't be eradicated. The dark grey sky split like shattering glass as lightning arched across the sky, sending a new wave of rain down to them like millions of tiny glass shards to pierce their hearts.

 

Two weeks of rain, two weeks of nonstop searching for the three missing girls, the storm never relenting. Never allowing them a moments ease, never giving them anything but dread and the last clinging strands of hope in the grays of the sky and the darkness of the world around them.

 

The collapse of the library had given them something to do rather than just sit and wait for the search teams to find them. Shifting through the rubble with a throng of people, cleaning the mess that was once their grandparents' favorite place to study and read. It busied their minds and kept the painful worry at bay.

 

The first bodies had been discovered just before sundown, when everybody was getting ready to leave for the night, to go home and listen for news of the three girls. An aged woman and large burly man had been buried beneath several bookshelves in the basement area. Frightened that there might be others they searched on into the night with rescue teams and medics. The three lost girls momentarily forgotten in the excitement of the destruction.

 

There were others in the basement, withered figures dressed in large black robes. Members of some kind of cult, the searchers whispered among themselves, hurrying on to clear the way. Keeping themselves busy so they would not have time to dwell on their fears, on what may have transpired within the desecrated walls of the old library.

 

The door, the one that should be sealed, the one that contained all the true horrors of the past, lay discarded on a pile of rubble, holding no horrors here among the crowd, no hint of evil or torture. Just a regular iron door sitting out in the rain. Funny how you notice these things…when you're dead…

 

Inuyasha reached up behind Kagome with his essence, wrapping her within himself. His spirit tingled around her, like his strong arms were holding her, but he had no arms, no body. Only spirit. So…why was she seeing him like she was, holding her, comforting her. The young man who had lured her into dreams of horror and love. He was beside her no, and others were there too, though she didn't pay much attention to them at first.

 

“How long?” She asked, but she didn't move her lips… just spoke the word in her heart…or soul since her heart clearly wasn't an issue anymore.

 

“Couple weeks.” came a female reply from behind them, Inuyasha didn't say anything, just held her, squeezing her against him so hard that she knew if she had a body, it would be painful.

 

“We were trapped down there like all the other spirits until the started sifting through the rubble of the second basement.” This one was Kagura, she recognized the girl as though she had been her best friend, a woman who never should have been down there, who should have lived a long and happy life with her little girl. “Everyone's free now, even the girls that were trapped down there before us.” She continued, stepping up beside the soul mates and watching the volunteers and rescue teams try and break through the mountain of collapsed cells and torture equipment.

 

The girls who had tried to attack her, who had held her back, they were free now, and standing around, not quite knowing what to do. So many, some too young to believe, but they were there, watching everything like she was. She felt sorrow form within her when she spotted her mother and grandfather bringing out food to the large tent in the library parking lot. Refreshments for the workers. Her mother would never go out and help, she was an old fashioned sort. So she cooked and served for the search teams and gave a small pained smile whenever anybody commented on her daughter, giving her encouragement or their sympathies.

 

There were shouts and she tuned around, wondering what was happening. The workers wee so deep now, inside the cavernous hallways that were their tombs. They had found more bodies, young bodies. Three matched the descriptions of the missing girls.

 

Her mother dropped the porcelain plate she had been holding and the small cluster of nuns that had been helping beside her placed their hands on her shoulders, hurrying down to where the workers were carrying out bodies and laying them beside the dark cloaked figures. Three were shrouded I the same shadowy fabric, laid out side by side on the smooth lawn of a neighboring house willing to give the deceased something more comfortable than the hard concrete they were placed before.

 

Kagura and Rin watched the sister's collapse on the soft grass, tears streaked their hooded faces. It was the first time they saw just what kind of love the sisters possessed for them, and the deep sorrow of separation felled them like it did Kagome. The most conservative and ill tempered people they had ever encountered, weeping over the lifeless bodies of two pagans. Love really knew no boundaries.

 

A strong spiritual presence came up behind them and Kagura turned away from the sight to stare up at him.

 

“I'm sorry.” He said his grief almost as strong as the mourners around them. “I tried to save her, and ended up getting all of you killed. Kagura shook her head, it was nobodies fault. Fate does as she pleases, no one can truly predict her, only glimpse a small clue of her plans.

 

Maybe it was time they all left…Sesshoumaru should probably lead them to where they belonged, whatever afterlife they deserved according to their beliefs, but he found he couldn't quite draw on the power to do so.

 

An image arrived behind them and he immediately felt the presence of another reaper. Startled he faced her. “Kaede, what are you doing here?” He asked.

 

“I was sent to lead you all to your respective spirit world.” The aged spirit said with a small slow chuckle resonating from within her body not from her mouth.

 

“What do you mean by all?” H asked and Inuyasha turned to him, recognizing fro the first time the reaper who had tried to guide him to the next world.

 

“It seams you'll be given a second chance Sesshoumaru. All of you,” she glanced pointedly at the nine spirits that had clustered together like a group of friends in a crowd. “You have a certain affinity with each other that was ignored for a time. You seamed to have personally corrected our mistake.”

 

If Sesshoumaru had lungs he would have gasped, instead he just gazed around at the group he was in, locking with Kagura for an instant longer that he should have before turning his attention back to Kaede.

 

“You mean we'll be together next time?” He asked noting how the rest was slightly lost as to the point of this conversation.

 

“Some people are meant to be places but don't end up there.” She said, addressing them all. “Often these things pass without incident, and we correct it properly.” She looked at Inuyasha. “Nothing goes entirely as planned, not even in the afterlife.”

 

With that she was gone, and so were all the spirits around them. Just the group, this small cluster of nine spirits. Then they too seamed to fade, leaving no trace of the conversations that had passed while the world below mourned their departure.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Missouri, U.S.

 

“Samantha, get over here!” Kerstin called to her younger sister.

 

Samantha laughed and hid among the tall grass beside their house. She grasped the hand of her best friend and classmate Nicholas as the laughed. It was his birthday, and his one wish, a kiss from his supper crush Sammy. Unfortunately there was no way to ask something like that from your best friend. Damn the world and its awkward moments.

 

Kerstin sighed in exasperation and adjusted her baby on her hip, looking up to her husband, Jason for help.

 

“Don't look at me, there's no getting between those lovebirds. Her laugh was loud and unexpected, making his stop his writing and just gaze at her. “Come here.” He said, setting his laptop down and patting the cushion next to him. She sat down on the porch swing and leaned into him watching their little Bridget with loving eyes.

 

“Yo!” Came a shout from the driveway. Andrea and Curt walked up to them, hands clasped, each carrying a bag, a gift of some sort. Nathaniel and Courtney were off on their honeymoon so they couldn't be here for the birthday party, but they sent a gift from Italy and a secret card encouraging Nick in his pursuit of Sammy…

 

“I wonder what would happen if Sammy just happens to…I don't know…find the card?” Curt asked with a suggestive smile. And they all laughed, turning into the kitchen to begin plotting their diabolical plan to get The Seventeen and fifteen year olds together.

 

“Sam, Nickie! Its time for the party to start.” Andrea called; knowing the switching of their shortened names got them here faster than anything, just to yell at her.

 

Curt ignited the fire pit and Jason turned on the hanging lanterns as Kerstin put Bridget in Her baby swing.

 

“Hey nick?” Sammy asked as they made their way around the side of the house to the others.

 

“Yeah Sammy?”

 

“Every think that maybe…just maybe, we were all just meant to be together?”

 

He squeezed her had a little, swallowing the lump in his throat. “All the time.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Okay, since you know how they wouldn't have the same last names and stuffs I'll list their names and their new names.

 

Kagome: Samantha

Inuyasha: Nicholas

Kagura: Kerstin

Sesshoumaru: Jason

Rin: Bridget

Kouga: Nathaniel

Ayame: Courtney

Naraku: Curt

Kikyou: Andrea

 

No, I didn't list Miroku and Sango here, and I'm Sorry for all you Miroku, Sango fans. Just so you know they ended up married and lived happily ever after and all that shit. Soten and Souta Developed a relationship out of their joined mourning but it only lasted until Soten found a boy with the same name as her lost Baby fox.

 

Shippo has not been found and it is believed that he and Helium made their escape and are still out there somewhere. If you see the two please notify me. I miss them both terribly and I'm not good with updating my stories without him. …..You can keep Shippo as a reward….

 

Hope you enjoyed it! I know I did…the ending at least…

YAY!!!! IT'S FINALY OVER!!!!