InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Telling ❯ With Him ( Chapter 21 )

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

He had been correct. She was here, back in her time. He had hoped he had gotten the timing right, after all, he could recall everything about that time long ago, about her. But, 500 years was a long time to hold onto one's memories, and there could have been discrepancies. He would have hated to have missed seeing her here, and more importantly, he would have loathed what might have happened had he made a mistake in his calculations. If he had even been but one single day too late...

He gave his head a small shake to clear his mind. These thoughts were moot. The fact of the matter was that he had not missed her and that he had been correct in his counting of the days. She was here, in modern day Tokyo, attempting to clear her mind of both himself and the hanyou. Giving his head another small shake, he momentarily missed the feel of his long locks. Seeing her again had made him remember the weight that his hair used to have before he had been forced to cut it. But, such things were necessary if one desired to belong.

He began to walk from the street towards the house. He had a very limited amount of time in which to make this come to fruition. He would not, as Inuyasha would most delicately put it, fuck this up again. He could not bear the thought of spending another 500 years without her. He wouldn't be able to tell her too much for fear of changing things too drastically, but he was determined to change one thing.

This time, Kagome would become his mate.

This time, he would hold to his word; she would not escape him.

*************************************************************

After greeting her family, she had headed straight up to the bathroom to have a hot bath. Hot springs were nice, she couldn't lie about that, but nothing could compare to a big tub full of hot water. She turned on the taps and began to strip.

After easing herself into the hot water, she closed her eyes and did her best to forget about Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. She just wanted to relax and let her mind go. "Maybe I won't even go back" she sighed to herself. But she couldn't do that; couldn't abandon her friends and her obligation to find the Shikon no Tama shards. She was, after all, the one who had broken the thing. "You said you were going to relax Kagome" she scolded herself.

With that said, she tipped her head back and stopped worrying. She would figure it out later.

*************************************************************

She emerged from the bathroom only when Souta had begun to loudly complain that he needed to have a shower before he could go to bed, which he would like to do sometime before midnight. Wrapping herself in a fluffy towel, she exited the bathroom. Passing her brother on the way, she made sure to muss up his hair while she fondly told him, "All yours squirt."

"Keh. 'Bout time." He said in a faux angry voice as he closed the door behind him.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Ok, so the kid totally idolized Inuyasha, but maybe there were some habits of the hanyou's that Souta should strive NOT to emulate. Vocabulary for instance.

She walked into her bedroom and turned around to close her door behind her. She was less than thrilled when she heard a soft tapping on her bedroom window. Seeing as how her room was on the second floor, there was only one person she knew of who would be up there, on the roof, knocking on her window. Curling up her fists in frustration, she grated out "Inuyasha! I told you I wanted to come home to re..." Turning to glare at the hanyou, she was shocked into silence.

The golden eyes were expected. So was the silver hair. But everything else was just wrong. EVERYTHING. At first, it looked like Sesshomaru was the culprit of the window tapping. But even that was wrong. This person looked like Sesshomaru, no doubt about it, but his hair was cut short. Long on the sides, it hung just above his ears, and as he tipped his head to look back at her, a few strands fell over his eyes. Short hair was one thing, but the fact that this being was also dressed in dark jeans and a white button down shirt was something else entirely.

Kagome stood there, in her towel, mouth hanging open at the sight. They both merely stared at the other until finally she heard a muffled baritone say "Miko, are you going to let this Sesshomaru inside or continue to keep me out here, perched on you window?" Well, that settled it. It was definitely the taiyoukai. She didn't understand it, but all the same she jumped into action and slid the window open for him.

"Kami! What are you doing here? Who are you? And what did you do with the real Sesshomaru?" She whispered. No doubt about it, he had been handsome in the past, but here in Tokyo, he was flawless. The jeans were obviously expensive, as was the shirt; she could tell by the expert cut of the garments. And the hair cut, although strange to her, suited him well. She saw that his choice in foot wear remained constant however, as he was still wearing black boots. Of course, they were a far cry from the ones he had worn in the feudal era, but she still had a hard time suppressing a giggle. Draped over his arm was a leather jacket. Everything about his casual attire screamed wealth. But still..... Kagome unconsciously frowned and furrowed her brow.

"You do not approve of my attire woman?" Sesshomaru asked her, tongue in cheek. He recalled a time when she had spoken those words to him.

Oblivious to the reference, she replied "No, you look...... nice. It's just that I expected something different I guess." She looked up at him and he raised an eyebrow at her, encouraging her to continue. "I guess I just thought that you'd be more formal, decked out in a suit and tie or something. It's just weird to see you dressed..... normal." She shrugged.

He couldn't help himself, he laughed out loud. It had been so long since he had last laughed that he actually couldn't recall the last time it had happened. But there had always been something about this woman that made him drop his emotional restraints. "Kagome, I do wear suits, and ties as well, but I try to keep them for the boardroom."

She was shocked. He had used her name, he had laughed, he had referred to himself as "I" and he had spoken casually to her. "OK, I reiterate, who are you and what have you done with the real Sesshomaru?" She asked as she arched an eyebrow of her own at him.

He laughed again, this time tipping his head back and giving himself over freely to the joy that was coursing through his veins. She was just as he'd remembered her; her scent spicy and yet sweet, her pale skin, the lines of her curves, everything better than he had ever remembered. "Perhaps you wish to put on something more than a bath towel before we speak any further?" He suggested.

She blushed and grabbed some pajama pants and a tank top that were lying, ready for her, on her bed. Sesshomaru, ever the gentleman, turned away from her and faced out the window. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her naked, oh no, nothing like that. He longed to see that. But, he was waiting for something very important to happen. He hated to resort to tricks like this, after all he was a lord, and such antics were below his station. Yet gazing out the window, contemplating the well house, his memories began to surface and he knew he had made the right decision in coming to her.

************************************************************

He had watched Inuyasha and the miko approach the well and say their good byes. He didn't understand any of it. Where was she going? And why would the half-breed leave her to make her journey alone? He became even more confused when the woman climbed up onto the lip of the well and then jumped. He was going to rush over to save her since the hanyou seemed unconcerned by the whole thing, but stopped just short of such an action when he caught the scent of very old and very powerful magic. It was coming from the well.

As soon as Inuyasha had vacated the scene, Sesshomaru approached the well, attempting to sniff out the miko. But there was no sign of her. The well had taken her somewhere, of that he was certain, but the question was where. Leaping gracefully to the bottom, he was shocked to find that he could not follow. It was quite irritating, especially since he could smell the woman here. It was interesting. Her scent was strong, indicating that she used this "well" often, but it was also rapidly fading, as though she were completely gone from the world. How odd.

After he had attempted to follow a few more times, he was assured that the miko was the only one who could access this well's magic. So, he would wait for her to return and question her as to it's purpose. And then he would suggest that she discontinue its usage, as he didn't like the idea of her disappearing. He had, despite himself, grown fond of her.

Settling himself down beside a tree, he began his wait. He consoled himself with the fact that if he could not be with her, then at least the half-breed couldn't either.

*************************************************************

Keenly watching the shrine and doing his best to keep from paying attention to the reflection in the window pane of Kagome changing, Sesshomaru gave his head another small shake. He had been such a baka.

*************************************************************

It had been only a few hours when he had felt the approach of the hanyou. Why was he coming back so soon? Was the miko planning on returning from wherever it was that she had gone?

Sesshomaru was struck dumb when Inuyasha bolted out of the forest, into the clearing, leapt over the edge of the well, and was immediately immersed in the same magic that had taken the miko to her destination. He too darted forward in an attempt to..... stop the half-breed? To join him? What? He wasn't certain, then or now, but in any case, his attempt was futile as the well's magic had already abated and the hanyou was gone.

The taiyoukai stared into the dark depths of the empty well. He, Sesshomaru, had been mistaken. The miko was not the only person who could use the well and it's magic, and now both she and the half-breed were gone.

He did not know it then, but never again in his long life would a mistake cost him so much.

*************************************************************

He waited for two days. He stood his ground in the hanyou's forest watching the well and waiting. The fact that they had been gone for so long carried with it a sense of foreboding, and yet he was still completely and utterly unprepared for what happened when they returned.

A bluish light had appeared inside the well, and then he caught her scent. He had begun to rise to greet her when he noticed that it was somehow different. But the hanyou's scent was overriding hers, and so he was forced to continue to wait and observe their return.

Inuyasha's koinu ears were the first thing to breach the taiyoukai's line of sight. As the rest of his brother emerged, Sesshomaru saw that the miko was cradled in his arms. As Inuyasha stepped over the edge of the well and onto the forest floor, the woman smiled up at him. It was the most beautiful smile that Sesshomaru had ever laid eyes on, and he was angered that the hanyou was the one to receive such a gift. And then, as he sat her down upon the grass, Inuyasha smiled back. There was a freedom in those eyes that Sesshomaru had never seen. Before, the hanyou had always seemed internally shackled to his rage, grief and self disgust. But now.... now something had changed him. But what?

And then a faint breeze had blown and carried the answer to the taiyoukai's question. The reason that his brother's scent had overridden that of the miko's was because it was now mixed in with hers and hers with his. His eyes widened. They were mates. Even as the terrible realization dawned on him, he was forced to watch Inuyasha grab her by the waist, lift her off her feet, and spin her around in his arms. She giggled and Inuyasha pulled her to him for a passionate kiss.

Sesshomaru had left them then.

He never saw either of them again.

*************************************************************

It had been less than a year later when news had reached him that Inuyasha had perished. As no further information had been forthcoming, he had reluctantly set out to find out what had happened.

As it turned out, he had run across the taijiya and the houshi on his way to Edo. Beside their campfire that night, they had relayed the entire story to him.

Inuyasha had never given up on Kikyou. He hadn't continued to love her, but he had felt honor bound to protect her. And then came the time that she inevitably returned to where she belonged. The priestess had died. The hanyou had been devastated by the fact that he could not protect her again, and had foolishly set out on his own to get his retribution from Naraku. He had left without his mate, as she was heavy with his pup and he could not face the idea of losing them as well. The two humans had not been present for the battle, but they knew the outcome.

Inuyasha had lost. He had died, trying to regain his honor. It was a foolish thing to do as the clay priestess had already been dead and all he had done was abandon his mate and pup. Sesshomaru had inquired then about said mate and pup. As much as he hated her for the betrayal, he knew that the miko must be devastated. And to be left with a pup, alone? He would go to her. After all, she was family, as was the pup.

The taijiya had begun to cry when he had asked about her friend. And so it was left to the houshi to explain that indeed, Kagome had been crushed, but had tried to carry on for the sake of the child. Unfortunately, she had died while giving birth, and the child had followed soon after.

When he learned of what had become of the woman that he had cared about, and the pup that he had never known, Sesshomaru broke. He had gotten up and left the humans right then and there, continuing on to Inuyasha's village and the miko's grave.

There he had sat for months on end, mourning the loss of a woman so special. She had been a treasure among mortals and had not deserved this cruel fate. Though he had finally left her gravesite, he continued to mourn her loss for the next 500 years.

*************************************************************

But here he was, back in her presence. It was a miracle. Despite his broken soul, he had lived enough to see her again. Indeed, it had been the one thing that had forced him to carry on. As youkai were forced into hiding, as the world evolved into a thriving metropolis, as he himself was finally forced to adapt and blend in with humans, she was the single motivation for him to keep breathing. He did not give himself to death as so many others of his kind did, nor did he perish in pointless battles with humans on the rise. He lived, he changed, he became wealthy and respected among mortals, and he did it all for her. All so that she might live again.

With him.

*************************************************************

Awwww! Now if you don't think that's touching, then you just suck! ;P But yeah, so I'm back on track, my muse had returned from her vacation, and we're all set to go! Hooray! No more delays. Anyway, this is going to be short and sweet as I'm already going to start the next chapter. MAN! I am in the zone baby! OH, and I just got to play with TWO, count 'em, TWO Sesshomaru's! Man, I am a lucky girl! LOL