Sorry ya'll about the long update time. I actually got most of this written only days after posting the last one, but push came to shove and I had to travel around the country what with my grandfather dying, my cousin like a niece being born, and having so much company that I must entertain. In repentance, I'm making this chapter long.
But actually, it occurred to me the other day just how close this fic is to being finished. ... counts plot points so far... Yep, definitely getting close. After this chappy, I think I'll close the polls and decide which ending I'm going to write.
Oh yes. And if you want the latest on happenings with me (a.k.a. when I won't be able to write or special things I want everyone to check out), go check out my profile.
Disclaimer: I own everything. (Note: If you believe this disclaimer, it would probably be in your best interest to see a local physician about your mental health.)
It was Sesshoumaru.
Of all the people Kagome had expected to come to try to stop her, Sesshoumaru had definitely been last, or at least close to last, on her list.
His cool amber eyes gently slid to the dagger in her hands, the blade glinting in the afternoon sun. "Where is Inuyasha?"
Sesshoumaru's trademark: a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Kagome remained silent, quietly fastening her hold on her rage in order to do this.
"I doubt the half-breed would appreciate seeing you try to stab yourself."
"I don't give a damn about what Inuyasha would think." Kagome gripped the knife in both hands, readying herself to plunge it into her heart. "I don't give a damn about Inuyasha at all!"
"You speak as if you think I am a fool." Sesshoumaru let his eyes rise back to her own, tears now slipping from her bloodshot orbs.
She . . . just couldn't do it now. Sesshoumaru was wearing away at the little bit of resolve she had barely managed to gain. The knife clattered to the ground, the blade sinking into the earth's flesh instead of the miko's. She followed it, hands catching her weight as she let the tears muddy the dirt's wound.
"As little as I think of Inuyasha, he is not the type to allow himself to be killed so easily." He paused. "Besides, I doubt your child would appreciate being orphaned at such a young age."
Another Sesshoumaru trademark: he could assess any difficult situation with a single sniff.
"Jiko's dead . . ." Kagome closed her eyes, trying not to relive the pain she had felt when she discovered the ashen remains of her once home. "And he is going after Inuyasha now too . . ."
"The fire youkai who took advantage of you, I assume?" Sesshoumaru gave her pathetic figure an uninterested look. "No demon that is so low as to do such a thing would be able to defeat my father's blood."
"Quit acting like you know exactly what's going on, Sesshoumaru!" The miko's sadness morphed itself into trained rage, her eyes turning to glare daggers at her savior. "You can't possibly understand! You don't even have any reason to be here now!"
"I simply came to determine the source of the wretched smell that has descended over Musashi. It was merely chance that brought me to stop you from killing yourself." Sesshoumaru looked away into the trees at where the village had once stood upon the hill. "When you see the half-breed again, you should tell him not to forget this."
Kagome stood, angry now and not afraid to show it, even to the mighty daiyoukai. "I'm never going to see Inuyasha again! Don't you understand?"
Amber eyes were suddenly back on her, evaporating her anger with their ever mysterious complexity. "Then do not see him again and kill yourself. It is not as though he will actually care, now will he?"
Kagome felt an unintended sigh slip through her lips, her anger evaporating again. Inuyasha . . . would care. Even if he never knew it directly . . . he would feel that she had left the world forever . . .
Sesshoumaru, seeing that she had no more to say, turned, walking off in an attempt to vanish as quickly as he had appeared.
"Sesshoumaru, wait."
The daiyoukai paused, his body still away from her.
"Thank you . . ."
A soft, uncaring sound that was so characteristic of Sesshoumaru drifted back to her ears as he finally took his leave, perhaps never to be seen by the miko for another few years.
'Sometimes . . .' Kagome smiled softly at the thought, picking up the dagger and wiping the tears from her cheeks. 'He really does act like Inuyasha's brother . . .'
Jiko stared up at the ceiling of what was once his mother's room, trying to fully take in all he had just heard. His mother had come from 500 years in the future and fallen in love with Inuyasha . . . Then, six years ago, – close to the time when he was born, the boy noted – she had vanished completely from this time.
'And Mommy said that I'm not Inuyasha's son, so . . .' The hanyou raised his hand to stare at it, as if attempting to assess just by that who his father was. 'Who could it possibly be then . . .?'
"Jiko-chan, may I come in?"
Said child sat up, staring at the door which he recognized his new grandmother stood behind. "Hai, baa-san."
The woman slowly opened the door, a smile on her face at how quickly he had picked up the nickname for her. She had always wanted to hear it before Kagome had left, and had always hoped that when her daughter returned, she would carry armloads of precious children all fathered by Inuyasha.
Never in six years had she imagined this being what came out of the well. A lone boy with an unknown father that didn't even know she existed had never been her ideal, but . . .
She sighed mentally, stepping into the room with a tray of sweets. He was still her grandchild.
"Would you like something?"
The hanyou leapt off the bed and hurried over to the much older woman, staring at the foreign sweets on the tray before choosing the most outrageous one, hoping to see what exactly this world had to offer in terms of food.
"Thank you." The boy quickly began nibbling on a corner of the pastry, some of the chocolate frosting finding itself on his nose.
"Tell me something, Jiko-chan." The grandmother set down the tray on a lamp stand in hopes that she wouldn't have another episode like she had had in the kitchen when Jiko had first arrived. "Do you intend to go back to the other world?"
Understandably, Jiko suddenly lost his appetite, taking the sweet from his mouth. "Yes, I do."
His ancestor sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped, but I do have a favor I need to ask of you."
Jiko blinked as she reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a small . . . something. She took the young boy's hands and closed them around the object, kneeling so she could look into his beautifully red eyes.
"Please . . . I beg you . . . give this to Kagome when you see her again . . ."
The hanyou opened his hands to stare at what she had given him. It was a small, shiny piece of thick paper with a painting drawn on it in such detail that it was as if the four there were real. He stared at the girl standing next to his grandmother, her hands on Souta's shoulders. "Is this . . ." He pointed. "Mommy?"
The woman nodded. "Yes. I want her to have it so that she won't forget about us."
"I will, baa-san" Jiko nodded, then went back to his staring. "But Mommy looks so different here . . . are you sure that's her?"
"I'm positive, Jiko-chan." She smiled at him, no longer knowing if she'd be able to send her precious grandson back into the world that had taken her daughter away.
Inuyasha woke up to the feel of something wet on his cheek, and only after he had gotten over the initial shock of waking up suddenly did he realize it was a tongue.
Sure he had expected Kagome to be rather affectionate after their long parting, but licking?
He groaned inwardly, guessing that perhaps it would be best to actually see who it was licking him before he made any assumptions. He turned his head stiffly to the side, opening his amber eyes only to meet the innocent brown of one of the village dogs.
Inuyasha growled, and the pup quickly found its way out the door.
"Nice to see you're awake."
Two fluffy white triangles twitched at the familiar voice. Was that . . .?
A pale face came into his view, loose priestess clothes covering the small frame of Tasuke. How Inuyasha wished that she didn't look so much like his beloved Kagome . . .
His sudden drop in countenance caused the young girl to lose her smile as she scooted closer to him, the light filtering through the door illuminating her hair and eyes, so much like the miko that once cared for him like this . . .
"Inuyasha, what is it?"
The hanyou shifted again, facing away from her to avoid seeing anything more to remind him of the woman he loved. 'Even if she does love me, there's no way she'll come see me again after the way I've treated her. The only reason she'd come by here would be to find Jiko . . .'
Inuyasha sat up, his mind suddenly focused on the boy. He was still in the well and was most likely starving by now.
"Inuyasha, lie down before you hurt yourself." The surprisingly strong five-year-old pressed on his shoulders, attempting to push him back down onto his futon.
"J-Jiko . . ." The hanyou closed an eye as his initial shock at forgetting the boy wore off and he was left with only the blazing pain of his head injury from that . . . what was his name again? The harder he tried to think about it, the more blurred the room became, the colors swirling together and Tasuke looking more clearly like Kagome by the second.
"What about Jiko?" Tasuke took her hands from Inuyasha's shoulders, looking rather worried now that the subject of her new hanyou friend was brought up. "The whole village has been looking for him since the fire stopped and no one has been able to find him."
The desperation in her voice gave Inuyasha an even greater need to get to the well to save Jiko. He was the one that promised he'd go to get the boy, and so he was the one that would get him. The hanyou dug his claws into the wood beside his resting place, forcing his body to turn so that he was on his knees. His lungs, protesting, began forcing air out of their owner's weak body in sickening coughs, a blood and ash mixture soon dripping from his mouth.
"Inuyasha!" Tasuke, knowing she couldn't stop the much stronger hanyou, ran to the door. "Lady Kaede! Lady Kaede! Inuyasha's trying to get up!"
Almost instantly it seemed, not only was Kaede there, but Sango and Miroku as well, their younger child nestled comfortably in a makeshift sling on his mother's back.
The hanyou sloppily wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand, bringing one knee underneath him and standing, the repulsive liquid now oozing down his fingers to drip lazily into the growing puddle on the floor.
"Inuyasha, sit down," Kaede demanded, walking into the hut and gesturing for the couple that had come in behind her to help her seat the disobedient hanyou.
Sango, having given up her Hiraikotsu for her child at the moment, decided it would be best for her to simply steady the swaying demon while her husband did the actual forcing. Inuyasha, of course, resisted, and being one of pride, he hid the coughs that were screaming to escape him, the ashen crimson bubbling from his stained lips as he finally seated himself.
"Do ye intend to kill yerself, Inuyasha? Ye should be happy with living, so close ye were to losing it in that blaze." The wizened miko quickly took a healing liquid from the corner, bringing it over to the dog and holding it to his lips. The instant he opened his mouth to take it, the remainder of the blood and ash escaped him, dribbling down his chin.
Tasuke put off a repulsed look, turning her gaze up at her mother before making the wise decision to hide behind her legs just as Inuyasha drank the liquid and another fit began, the pasty antidote mixed in with the hanyou's blood, making a sick puce color.
Miroku's lip curled slightly, wondering why his friend would so desperately want to leave in such a condition. "Inuyasha, where is Jiko?"
The inu finally settled himself back on the futon, realizing that he wouldn't be able to do much in this condition, especially when the others could so easily keep him down. "He followed me into the forest after I ran inside to protect the well, so naturally . . ."
"You pushed him inside it?" Sango gave her husband a look, which he returned.
"Inuyasha . . . we've checked in the well . . . Jiko's not there . . ."
"What!" Inuyasha attempted to stand again, the sudden movement making the world turn very suddenly on its side.
"It was the first place we looked," Miroku continued. "You seemed so adamant in your pursuit to protect it that naturally we checked there first."
"Damnit . . ." The hanyou hissed, falling back. "He must've gone through. I didn't think it would work for him."
"Gone . . . through?" Tasuke peeked out from behind her mother's legs, curious now as all five-year-olds were. She looked up at Sango. "What does he mean?"
"Tasuke." The former taijiya gazed down at her daughter, not knowing how to explain it and not wanting to in front of everyone. She gave her husband a look, then took Tasuke's hand. "Come on. Let's go home."
The girl, about to protest, decided to give in when Inuyasha put off another loud cough, following her mother out of the village miko's house.
"So what do ye intend to do, Inuyasha?" Kaede sat down beside the fire pit, setting her hands on her knees and letting out a deep sigh. "Ye are, after all, the only one who can pass through the well."
"Go after him, of course!" the dog barked, growling at his inability to stand or even move without losing his balance.
"But how could the little one pass through? He has no ties of fate binding him to that era." Miroku put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "It makes no sense."
"Haven't you figured it out yet, you dumb monk?" Inuyasha wiped a fresh trail of blood from his lips, his amber eyes giving his friend a very serious look. "That boy is Kagome's son."
"Mikomi, I'd like to thank you for your hospitality." Kagome bowed deeply, hands folded properly in front of her. "If there is anything else I can do for you, I would be honored to-"
"Oh, dear, it was nothing." The older woman put a hand on the miko's shoulder, encouraging her to stop bowing. "The little chores you helped me with today were enough repayment, believe me."
Kagome gave her a small smile, straightening. "If you say so."
"I'm just glad that you're alright now. If you ever come by here again, don't hesitate to visit me." Mikomi returned her smile, taking her hands back. "You will always find a place here. You and Inuyasha."
The miko almost frowned, but remembered that it would indeed be hard to kill Inuyasha. There was still hope for him, and she wouldn't allow herself to abandon him again. "I'll remember that, Mikomi. When I find him again, I will most definitely come back to see you."
"Thank you, dear. And I'll see you then."
Kagome turned, waving over her shoulder before starting her trek to find the hanyou who now meant everything to her.
Hinote never had been the type to sit around casually when his prey was so obviously close to him. He never had been the type to allow any child of his that happened to possess the blood of a human go. Nor had he ever allowed a woman to survive him before that miko.
He growled openly, slapping a hand to his face, remembering all the mistakes he had made thus far.
'I never should've let that woman live. If only I wasn't in such a damn hurry that day.' He ran his hand down his face, eyes focusing up on the sky as he remembered.
Flashback
He had just finished his business with her, standing and gazing down at his handiwork. Her pathetic frame was curled in on itself, whimpering and crying as she attempted to hide her pale skin from his gaze.
Hinote smirked, always enjoying the last moments of life left in these women who had the privilege of meeting him. The fear in their scents made all of it worth it, their muffled screams at the height of passion the greatest reward.
"Now for the final practice." He drew his sword, taking his time to line up his strike. He wasn't the type to kill his women painfully; a quick slash was all that was required to execute them.
The girl opened her eyes suddenly, tears still pouring from them. They found their way to the blade in his hand, and she instantly recoiled, sitting up and scooting to the base of a nearby tree.
"Afraid of death even now, are you?" Hinote lowered his blade, taking a few steps towards her. "Even though you can never look at anyone you love the same again?"
She squeaked, dragging herself away from him, not wanting to stand and expose anymore of herself. "G-Get away from me!"
The hellfire demon let out an annoyed sigh. "And if I don't, what will you do?" He swung his sword casually over his shoulder, taking slow steps towards her.
The girl, still attempting to cover herself, pulled herself further away, reminding Hinote so much of a wounded mouse trying to escape a cat.
"I wanted to make it painless, but . . ." He continued his slow pace after her, patting his katana threateningly on his shoulder. "If you insist on running away."
It was then the girl stood, no longer minding her tattered skirt. She knew she had to get away now. Get away or die. And so she ran.
Hinote sighed once again to himself. He never really did appreciate the chase following these matters. He had exhausted himself on this girl, and he had important business elsewhere to attend to.
"Damnit to hell. I just don't care." He sheathed his sword, staring in the direction she had run. "I'll let you live for now, little miko."
End Flashback
Hinote stood from his spot next to a well, stretching and casually staring back down at the thing. It had been a great curiosity to him when he discovered this clearly wooden well still in perfect condition after his recent burning of the entire surrounding forest.
He had only discovered this well today too. Perhaps someone had erected it after he had left to survey the rest of his damage? Surely if it had actually survived the fire it would be covered in ash.
The demon growled, not liking to be outsmarted by some damn humans. How dare they think that they were so clever?
Though it made no sense . . .
Hinote stared again at the thing, seeing the outlines of something on its surface. No, this had survived the fire. Something or someone had made sure of its safety by covering it. With what? The fire demon had no idea, nor did he care.
He turned, sick of this feeling of stupidity this damn well had caused him. If he had felt more malicious, he would burn the damn thing to show the humans that nothing could survive his hellfire.
'Maybe another time,' he thought, walking towards the black horizon to begin his search anew.
Inuyasha, having finally calmed his lungs and taken enough medicine to make any human woozy, hobbled uncertainly towards the well, Miroku and Kaede in toe. His strength had returned just enough that they would allow him this journey into the future, and he wasn't about to cause them to lose faith in him by falling to the ground to breathe.
'Jiko's counting on you . . . don't forget that . . .' The dog took a deep breath as his claws rested uneasily on the old wood of the well, curling over its edge. He hadn't gone through the well in over six years, and a feeling of dread overcame him at the thought of facing Kagome's family.
"Are you sure about this, Inuyasha?" Miroku put a hand on his back, calming the dog somewhat. "I'm sure Jiko is safe over there in Kagome's time."
"I made a promise, damnit." Inuyasha brought his foot up between his hands, ready for the leap into the well. "That boy's counting on me."
"I would advise ye to make this visit short, Inuyasha. The villagers believe the blaze was the work of a demon and would feel much safer if ye were near to protect them."
"It was the work of a youkai . . ." The dog paused, staring down into the dark depths of the portal to the future, remembering the familiar red hair and the fiery eyes, the familiar frame of his face and the smirk that just seemed so wrong. "I ran into him . . . he was looking for Jiko . . ."
"What?" Miroku hid most of his shock, gazing fixedly at his friend.
Inuyasha lifted his other foot up so he was now standing on the well's edge, trying to keep his balance enough to stay there, picturing his beloved Kagome and that . . . creature together. "He is . . . Jiko's father . . ." He paused for a moment, wondering if they were going to say anything, silently hoping they would try to sooth his aching heart. But no, there was nothing.
He took in a deep breath, held it, feeling his heart pound against his chest at the dense silence and the prospect of facing Kagome's mother. Miroku's mouth opened, and unable to take any sound, he took the plunge, leaping into the well.
Kagome could feel her heart begin to flutter as she looked out over a steep hill, the horse she had been given from a village she passed through grazing noisily behind her. She had stayed on the main roads so far, hoping to avoid any unwanted encounters with demons, and she could now see her path twisting and winding its way over to a tall mountain, on the other side of which she knew was Inuyasha's forest and Kaede's village.
Her mind was swirling with thoughts of what she should do and say, who would be there and how they would react. Kaede would most likely be the first to come and see her, if she was still alive. The old woman would probably recognize her right away, taking her into her home and offering her stew, calling any of the villagers that might know her.
Miroku and Sango might even still be in the village too. Kagome's heart skipped a beat, thinking of her friends and the family they would undoubtedly have created. The thought stung her a bit, the mere idea of them cradling their children while her own son had been killed stabbing her heart yet again. Perhaps if she was lucky, one of them would become attached to her and it would be like she had Jiko back . . .
Or perhaps . . .
Her thoughts now traveled to the hanyou that she simply knew would be there, strong, handsome, and most likely more than happy to see her and know that she loved him. If they could return to what they once had . . .
Kagome shook her head. What was she thinking? Inuyasha might think that she hated him, but the moment he found out that she had lost herself to that fire demon . . .
Tears pricked at her eyes. What the hell was she doing here . . .?
'To tell Inuyasha that you love him. Isn't that the only thing that matters?' a small voice in head told her, forcing her to look up again at the mountain. 'You need to tell him before you can move on, or else you'll be trapped in this misery forever.'
Kagome bit her lip, taking a deep breath. Even if it did mean that her past would be discovered, she just needed him to know . . . or she would never be able to move on . . .
And there you have it, my friends. Of course, now I have a very special omake theatre for you:
Omake Theatre No. 3
Hinote pulled up his e-mail, clicking around on the laptop that Overobsessy had lent him. He had a ton of spam, like usual, advertising free trials of a special human repellant and where to find the next big massacre. He junked them without even looking at them, seeing now that he had no other e-mail.
"Just great," he muttered to himself, exiting out and pulling up MSN messenger. "I have less popularity than Shikaki did, and I'm in a more popular story!"
To his surprise, instead of signing in as him, it signed in as his master, MSN Today popping up to reveal the new e-mail messages she had. There were 52.
Hinote's eye twitched as he opened up her inbox, seeing a long list of new reviews for the story. He opened one after the other, seeing the reviewers chase him and beat him and tell Over that he was the only one that was allowed to die.
He started scrolling through the rest of her e-mail, hunting for someone screaming the same thing about Inuyasha or maybe even Kagome. Nope. Nothing.
There were, however, a few already-replied-to e-mails from fans telling her their own takes on the story. Some of them were actually rather flattering, things like "Hinote really doesn't have to die" and "as long as he doesn't bother them again" written on the page.
His eyes glistened. Some people actually liked him!
"Eh hem."
Hinote shot up and wheeled around, seeing one of Over's newer OCs standing behind him. "You didn't see anything!"
"I saw plenty." Nagirah put her hands on her hips, swishing her skirt a bit as she bent over to look him in the eyes. "Just wait until Master hears about this."
The fire youkai scrambled for some excuse to get her off the topic. "Hey look! Over's guy friend is back from Florida!"
Nagirah's eyes instantly lit up, turning and running from the room, desperate for another encounter with her lover, a creation of said boy's mind.
Hinote let out a sigh of relief, turning back around and looking down at the now fully shown desktop. There were several new icons on it, ten reading "Testing" some number and another two reading "Final" and "I love you." He highlighted them all, bringing them up in Windows Media Player.
The first three tests were boring, just simple tests of some camera, but then they became a little more than just blackmail . . .
Hinote burst out laughing several times as the videos progressed, his master being proved a spaz, a klutz, and insane all at once. Finally, "Testing 9" came up, and he sat in his swivel chair with a goofy smile on his face, watching her mess up her fingers for the umpteenth time, then show off a ton of absurd, no wait, she meant to say obscene, gestures. Nearing the end, Over grabbed the camera's nose, showing it off and laughing, evilly if you will, then finally settled back in her chair to wait for the laughter to die down.
Yes, his master was evil. And she definitely needed a hobby . . .
...sweatdrop... Yes, I know that was somewhat random, and I apologize for the inside joke that was Nagirah. I just couldn't control myself.
Now as for the final poll (I'm closing them the instant I put up the next chapter), it will be done differently this time. All I ask of you is that you tell me how you think this story should end (if nothing else, to amuse the authoress and make her feel good), as well as the answer to one or all of the following things:
Epilogue or no epilogue? (I'm personally rooting for the epilogue unless I make a great ending.)
Whoever's left ends up in the past or present? (Currently, I'm making it past.)
Alternate ending? (My friend's pulling for it, but I'm not sure.)
That's about all I can think of that I'd be willing to shift my view on right now, and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do with the story, but I'd like my reader's opinion, because, well, you guys are the world to me right now. ...big, dashing authoress smile...
Kudos to the person who comes up with what I think is the best ending (even though I probably won't use it, but you never know)!
Now for shout-outs:
darkfire can purehearts: ...sticks out tongue... Yep. I outdid myself if I say so myself. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Summer and family issues, you know.
Linella: Well, I think you know now. ...snickers... Bet you didn't think it'd be Sesshoumaru, did you?
Ryo-Truesdale: ...beams... Thanks for the awesome review! I've never felt so good before! And I think people voted for the tragic ending because, well, I suppose they just like seeing a lot of angst. I dunno. But anyway, thanks for the magnificent review!
Lady-Sttar: Hmm . . . that would make for an interesting back story. You mind writing it up for me? ...grins... I'll be your first reviewer and advertise it for the world to see!
dragon's kitty: Exactly. And it's not as if he can control that he was the product of a rape either, huh? Poor Jiko . . . I don't want him to find out . . .
Miyuki-Baby: Well I hope this chapter cleared up your confusion. The two were just hallucinating that the other was near them because their brains are so stuck on each other.
Kurinji-sama: ...sweatdrop... Sorry I took so long to update. I hope you can forgive me with this chapter. ...heart...
Also Thanks To: Taijiya Hatake Uchiha, upsidedown, Kagome-chan88, mseryel2, Deadly Crimson, Asuka-Angel-21, whimsy007, lynniel1-23, Savitri Marie, OniyuriGaaru, Inume-blue, inuyashafanficfan, Duzellluver, and Alexa