InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Vindicated ❯ Reincarnations ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Reincarnations

(A bit of scene setting: it's 1:00pm and Inuyasha is at `The Broken Jewel' nightclub. But of course it is practically deserted because of the early hour. He is meeting some old friends...)

"So she's finally seen you, does she remember anything?" The young man questioned the hanyou.

"I'm not sure. When she said my name I could have sworn she remembered something, but...eh, I just can't explain it." Inuyasha replied as he set his drink down on the counter.

"I don't mean to be pessimistic but she might never remember, her situation is quite a bit different from ours." A young woman said as she crossed the bar and took a seat next to Inuyasha.

"I just don't know. It doesn't make sense that she should remember and I don't even know if I would want her to. I made that wish to get her away from the horrors she saw, to give her a normal life." Inuyasha sighed.

"I don't think Kagome will ever be normal." The young man countered from behind the bar as he set down a bottle of water for the woman.

"And what do you mean by that?" the angry hanyou questioned.

The young man's eyes widened, his mind racing for the proper response to avoid Inuyasha's anger turning physical, "I only meant that you fell in love with Kagome for who she is and if she's different that wouldn't be the woman you loved."

"He does have a point." The woman said with a smile.

"So now you both are going to gang up on me? Just remember who found you and brought you back together!" Inuyasha hissed, folding his arms.

"I believe that wasn't just you. If memory serves me you made a wish 500 years ago and..." The man could not finish, Inuyasha cut him off.

"So what, huh? I found you, monk. If not for me you would have stayed at that orphanage and as for you..." he turned his sights on the woman to his right.

"What, I didn't say anything! I know I owe you for saving my father's martial arts academy after he died." The woman said swiftly.

"And..." The hanyou encouraged her to continue.

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed with annoyance, "And for introducing me to my no good boyfriend....there are you happy. You have made our lives better, but before you go patting yourself on the back how are you going to handle this new situation. Kagome doesn't need any rescuing, she has no monsters to battle with the exception of high school math. So what are you going to do Inuyasha, tutor her?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head, she was right, he had no real reason to come into Kagome's life like he had done to theirs.

888

(Lunch time at Kagome's school)

"Tell us again, Kagome, about that guy you met today!" Eri squeaked at lunch.

Kagome's face turned bright red, she didn't really want to tell the story of how silly she acted in front of the handsome stranger.

"Come one Kagome...Tell the story...Especially the part of how good looking he was." Aayme added.

They weren't going to leave her alone about it so Kagome gave in, "I already told the story once to you guys this morning when you asked why I was late....but I will describe him agian!" she added excitedly. The girls giggled and leaned in closer to hear all the juicy details.

"Well he was average height, but that was about the only thing average about him. He had long silver hair and I mean long, longer than mine. His eyes were amazing, the oddest shade of amber. And his smile, so warm..." Kagome trailed off lost in the image. The girls just stared at her dreaming of the stranger themselves.

"Are you going to go over there again after school?" Eri asked breaking the silence.

Kagome's face turned red again, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "I don't know. He probably would yell at me for trespassing or something if I make a habit of dropping in on him uninvited."

"I don't think so, I think you should go for it!" The three girls said in unison.

888

(Flashback)

After making the wish Kagome vanished, Inuyasha knew that his wish would mean waiting but he thought that he might least get to say goodbye, but of course, all things come with a price especially when dealing with the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha stayed in Lady Kaede's village and watched his companions live and die. Lady Kaede went quickly after Inuyasha made his wish two winters later. Sango and Miroku married and had four children only two of which survived to adulthood to have children of their own. Only a year after the birth of their first grandchild Sango died in her sleep, Miroku followed a month after.

Inuyasha was, yet again, alone. However, this time he did not have the luxury of being pinned suspended in time to wait for the return of his love, he had to live. And live he did, at first he remained as the protector of the village that neighbored his forest, but as time passed man grew in numbers and lost the old ways of magic and demons. Many of the youth of the village didn't even know who he was and those elders who did know were dying. So Inuyasha changed as well, traveling across Japan discovering what demons were left and how they were adapting to the new age of man. Many demons disguised themselves as humans to live and work among men, with their superior powers intact they even rose above most men to positions of power and wealth-Inuyasha was one of them.

After the ways of warriors all but became dust, Inuyasha found that he was in need of a new trade. Only a mere century left of awaiting Kagome, Inuyasha found himself in the services of shrewd wealthy business man. As Inuyasha served as his bodyguard he learned the tricks of taking over businesses and turning profit. From stocks to architecture, eventually Inuyasha had a small part of everything in Japan.

With only an estimated year left until Kagome's birth Inuyasha found himself reflecting back on his wish. "My heart's greatest desire is for you to have everything you have been denied by joining me in my quest for the Shikon no Tama. I wish for you to be in your own time, Kagome, with your family; to get back the time you lost here in an era that is not your own. But I also wish to be there with you as you have been here with me. Shikon no Tama, take us back to before Kagome fell through the well, give her the life she deserves." He replayed the scene over and over again, until it was burned into his mind, he paid close attention to the ending, "Take us back..." Much more educated in rhetoric, Inuyasha would sometimes find humor and terror in his error, Kagome was from the future not the past, his wording was wrong.

It wasn't long before he had more to concern himself with than just semantics, while strolling through the park close to the grounds of the Shrine the Higurashi family cared for and his own estate, he found two intriguing things: First, Kagome's mother holding hands with a man he assumed to Kagome's father as she was now at least 5 months pregnant with Kagome...and a incredibly familiar little boy playing on the swings. Upon closer examination Inuyasha recognized his scent to be that of his long dead friend Miroku. The moment the name entered his mind he heard it called by a woman rounding up other playing children, "take us back" he thought back yet again to his wish. He was not specific about who was to reunited in Kagome's time, albeit it was implied, the jewel must of assumed "us" meant all who were present at the wish.

(Present/ The Tashio Estate)

Inuyasha sat in the black leather chair in his office trying to keep his mind on work and not on the events of the past 500 hundred years or how close he was to being with Kagome. "This is hopeless, I just can't do this!" he yelled slamming his fists on the desk. He gather what little composure he had left and breathed out heavily, trying desperately to push out his frustration with the breath. He set aside his work papers and pulled open the desk drawer. Inside the drawer of the mahogany desk, a manilla folder. He opened the folder and laid it down on the desk as he looked through the contents: pictures of Kagome from birth to three days ago when he received the last report on Kagome from his informant, that is when he decided it was time to come back home.

His attention was quickly shifted from the folder as his keen hanyou senses picked up the sound of footsteps walking up the driveway. He shoved the folder back into his desk and dashed to the front door just before the visitor had a chance to knock.

He held the door open and just stood there, staring at her. It was like a dream to see her again, right in front of him.

Kagome was surprised that the door opened before she could knock, the owner of the house just looking at her not saying a word, a rather happy look on his face. "Umm, Hi. I just came back over to apologize about trespassing and about my brother's silly cat...Well, bye." she said nervously wanting desperately to run home, hide under her bed, and forget about what a fool she felt like for bothering the rich handsome man again. But before she even get off the front step, he grabbed her arm.

"Please, wait." he said with a slight tone of anxiety in his voice. Kagome turned, face blushing, as she looked down at his hand wrapped around her upper arm. Inuyasha blushed and removed the hand, she didn't know him yet so of course it wasn't right to touch her. "I mean, don't be sorry. I'm actually glad you came over this morning and even happier you came back this afternoon."

Kagome's jaw dropped, `what did you just say?' she thought, `You don't even know me!'

Inuyasha could read her confusion easily, he had to think and fast. "You see I've been meaning to go over the shrine and see you." Well that wasn't quite the smooth response he was wishing for.

"You wanted to see me?" she gasped. "Why?" It was beyond Kagome why anyone like him would want to see her. She was just a little high school girl from a poor shrine family, she didn't even think she was too incredibly pretty, despite what Hojo thought.

"Yes, well, I wanted to learn more about the shrine that neighbors my home and the people who live there." He lied, he already knew everything there was to know about the Higurashi's, he had been following there family since the first Higurashi took over as caretaker of the shrine...but Kagome did not know that...yet.

`Oh! Well you should have said something about it this morning!" Kagome said excitedly, he was obvious to her that he was interested in her and her family and showing him the boring old shrine might just be the best way to get to know him. "If you want to we can go over there now, Grandpa is always available for tours and history lessons."

Not that Inuyasha had anything against Kagome's grandfather, but that wasn't quite what he had in mind, "Actually, I thought that maybe you could give me the tour. I'm sure that while your grandfather knows every piece of information concerning the shrine, you know the highlighted cliff notes version." he said with a smile.

Kagome laughed, Grandpa was a bit long winded when it came to a history lesson about the shrine, who was she kidding, given the chance he would talk anyone's ear off about that old tree and the old well. "Yeah, your right, but the offer still stands, whenever you want to see it just let me know, alright?"

"Now is as good a time as any." he said shutting the door to his home. He wasn't ready yet to see Kagome leave him.

They walked silently over the shrine, Inuyasha silently relishing her sweat scent, `The same Kagome...' he thought, taking in another breath. Kagome was smiling nervously, she had no idea what to say to someone like Inuyasha, a man of wealth and by the looks of his clothing and his home a man of taste. She could feel his eyes on her the whole way to the Sacred Tree, but once there his focus visibly shifted.

Inuyasha stopped once his eyes focused on the tree...his tree. It had been so long since he had laid eyes on it. After the shrine was built around this place he retreated to the part of his forest he bought for his Tokyo home. Then, as every time he looked upon the tree, the memory hit him: Kikyo's hatefilled eyes piercing through his soul just before she shot the arrow that would pierce his soul...then there was when he awoke...Kagome, his salvation.

"This is the Sacred Tree." Kagome's voice brought him back to the present. "This tree has stood here for at least the past 500 years, Grandpa guesstimates that it might be closer to 1000 years old."

"Yes, I think your grandfather is probably right." Inuyasha said absentmindedly as he reached out and lightly touched the tree were he had been pinned.

Kagome watched him carefully, the way his silver locks swayed in the wind, the way his muscles shifted under his shirt as he moved, his cute triangular shaped ears on top of his head. Kagome's eyes widened, "you ears..." she gasped, blinking repeatedly. Inuyasha turned to face her, a look of extreme surprise written all over her face.

"My ears?" He repeated questioningly, `what's wrong with my ears?' he wondered.

"Your ears are...they just changed...all of the sudden...You have dog ears now!" Kagome final got out.

Inuyasha had to think fast, spill the truth now, tell part of the truth, lie, or run. She had seen through the glamor he had spent years mastering after entering the world of man playing the role of just a man and not a hanyou. Perhaps the Sacred Tree heightened her priestess powers here. Perhaps, it's because this is the place they first met so long ago. Or, perhaps, he had just let the glamor slip. None of these possibilities mattered, what mattered is how he was going to handle the situation; however, Kagome made that decision for him.

"Can I touch them?" she asked intrigued, reaching out her hands to his ears.

"What!?!" Inuyasha asked slash yelled at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me, they are just so cute and they look so soft. I just have to touch them." She continued to inch closer.

"Is there something wrong with you? My ears just changed, out of now where and you don't want to run you want to touch my ears? It's amazing you have lasted this long with out me, had a youkai caught you by surprise you probably would try to make it a pet before it ate you!" Inuyasha was fuming, she was just as fearless and stupid as before.

Kagome grew red with anger, she didn't like his tone at all. "There is nothing wrong with me, thank you very much! I should be mad at you, you hid your appearance from me, you lied!"

"I didn't lie, you just saw what I let every human see. They can't handle truth. Humans now are too weak to handle the real me." Inuyasha snapped back.

"I am not weak!"

"I know, your just stupid. Seriously, you don't know me and you want to touch my ears. It's obvious now that I'm not human, you should run and protect yourself."

"I am not stupid! And I do know you Inuyasha!" she screamed furiously.

Inuyasha stopped before he could snap back, "You do know me?" he said in an astonished voice his anger vanishing.

"Yes I do. I might be just a little high school girl, but I can see right through you. I know your type, you're rich and think that you can do whatever you want and JUDGE whomever you want because you have it all. But really you don't have anything because you have to hide who you really are. And sorry if I didn't go run and give you a good show. I don't play the part of scared little girl. Now I just have one thing left to say to you jerk..."

She didn't remember anything. Inuyasha frowned and tilted his head down, "What's that Kagome?" he sighed.

"SIT BOY!"