A/N: Well, here I am, writing another Inuyasha fanfic...If it wasn't for the reviews, I would seriously question why I am spending a lot of my time doing this...But anyway, this is one story I have been planning for a long time, so I really, REALLY wanted to do it once I could.
(For those of you who are into jpop, you may have recognized the story title. It's a line taken from Namie Amuro's jpop song "Four Seasons", my all time FAVORITE jpop song. They used it as the ending theme of Tenka Hadou no Ken, English title Swords of an Honorable Ruler, once again mistranslated! Argh!)
Anyway, this story is different from the ones I have done before, in that it is in the form of a flashback. The ending to Inuyasha and Kagome's romance this time is plainly given away, yet the story of how this ending came to be will keep you amused, I'm sure. This story is a whopping fifty chapters, and before you scream in frustration, you might want to think about the person who has to sit here and write it. It will undoubtedly take all summer, and a little bit into fall to finish. Fifty chapters are a necessary evil, considering that the flashback plotline takes place over two years. Considering the Plot Standard Time, it actually seems a bit streched in my opinion, sometimes one chapter one month, another chapter a month later. I put in what was necessary and attempted to blend it together, because there is no way I am EVER doing more than fifty chapters.
So, I hope you will bear with me through this long and perilous journey. But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!
(Don't forget to review, either!)
Four Seasons with Your Love
Chapter 1: Memories of Long Ago
"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, her voice almost a laugh. This was the happiest moment of her life, here with him. "I don't think there's ever been a moment in all I've known you that I didn't love you."
His hands traced her cheeks, a giddy smile of unbelievable joy on his face as well. "Kagome…"
"And that's why I…" Her chocolate eyes danced, revealing that one emotion that was all for him; love. "I'll spend my life with you Inuyasha, here. Beyond the well."
A small chuckle escaped him as he responded, "Kagome, before I knew you, I never thought it was possible to be so happy in one moment."
This time, she did laugh as she replied, "I know! I never thought it either but…I guess you learn new things every day…every year." Reaching up, she touched his cheek as well, knowing that it wasn't a dream. This was real. "I'll stay with you, Inuyasha," she repeated, his strong hand covering hers. "Wherever it takes us. Forever."
Unable to wait any longer, he suddenly pulled her against him, capturing his lips with hers. And she responded, neither one wanting to leave this embrace for all time. They knew they'd always be together, for all eternity.
Each day, each night, each season of the year would be filled with each other, filled with their love…
The night breeze blew through the air as the woman stood outside of the hut, the wind playing with her long, dark hair. She had a rather pensive look in her chocolate eyes, remembering times long past. She appeared to be somewhere in her early twenties, but her face seemed to have endured a thousand years.
Her outfit did not stand out in this time; she wore a pale blue yukata with wooden sandals, dressed like every other woman in the village, yet she didn't quite fit in with these people as well as she first appeared.
Perhaps it was because the villagers had known her for several years…they had known her when she had come here many years ago, dressed strangely and saying she was from another world, a reincarnation of a miko that had once protected the village. She was rarely seen back then, always off searching for the pieces of some important jewel with strange company—the monk and the youkai exterminator, who now lived in the village with their young daughter, the young kitsune youkai, who would spend his days entertaining village children, particularly the girls.
And then there was that hanyou…
Closing her eyes and looking down, Kagome Higurashi held a small smile on her face as she thought, Inuyasha…
Another gust of wind woke Kagome from her memories, reminding her that she couldn't stand outside all night, she had someone waiting for her, after all.Opening her eyes to the night, shelooked back at the dark sky, the stars shining brightly over her, reminding her of a time, long ago, when a human girl and a hanyou boy both lay under the stars, smiles on their faces as they looked up at the endless sky…their endless future…
Her smile faded as she turned her back on those stars, brushing past the bamboo curtain to enter the small, yet inviting hut. It was divided up into three rooms, two of them built much later than the original hut. The first room looked rather plain; it held most of their belongings, pillows and cooking pots and such.
Kagome went past that main room, and slid open the first door, to be greeted with a small room, yet it was filled with several toys, most made out of wood. Its occupant was sitting on the floor, playing with a wooden horse, before looking back at her, a smile forming on his face. "Mama!"
Smiling warmly at her child, Kagome kneeled next to the small boy. Her son looked just like his father, same beautiful amber eyes, same silky silver hair, same cute dog ears on top of his head…except he didn't act at all like Inuyasha did. He was innocent of the world's scorn, for the most part. Though many did not accept hanyous, he had a family and friends that welcomed him and loved him just the same.
Innocent amber eyes looked at his mother curiously. "Mama, did Aunt Sango-san leave?"
"Yes, Inuko, Aunt Sango-san already left," Kagome told her son warmly. "She can't stay out too late, not with another baby coming."
The boy looked a little disappointed as he said, "I wish Uncle Miroku-sama could have come. He always plays with me."
Kagome began ushering the small three year old to his bed as she told him, "Aunt Sango-san just needed some time out of the hut, Inuko. And your Uncle Miroku-sama had to watch Sakura while she was gone."
She tucked the little boy in, while he asked excitedly, "Did you see me today, Mama? Shippou took me out hunting. I killed three bugs!"
Laughing, Kagome replied, "Yes, I did see. Your father and I are very proud of you, Inuko."
With that, he gave a small pause, looking away as Kagome pulled the blankets up all the way to the small boy's chin, making sure he wouldn't be cold. She placed a small kiss on the boy's forehead, giving his ears a small rub as she pulled away. "Goodnight, Inuko. I love you. Now get some sleep, tomorrow's another day."
Just as Kagome pulled away, her son grabbed the back of her yukata with a small hand. "Wait, Mama…" she turned back to him, "You didn't tell me a story."
The smile came back on her face as she said, "You're right, Inuko. What story do you want tonight? The Story of the Wind Sorceress? Or the Tale of the Wolf Prince?"
Inuko shook his head, his amber eyes looked just like Inuyasha's when he had set on a decision. "I want to hear the Tale of the Hanyou and the Miko, Mama."
That caused Kagome's eyes to widen slightly, the smile sliding from her face. "Inuko…you know that one takes a long time."
"But I want to hear it, Mama!" her son protested. "You haven't told it to me in a long time!"
Sighing, Kagome sat next to his pallet, turning away in thought. "But Inuko…do you really want me to tell it over again? The whole thing?"
He nodded, amber eyes pleading. "I really want to hear it Mama. Please?"
Kagome glanced back at him, his waiting face making her decision. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to begin.
My son asks me about the Tale of the Hanyou and the Miko. I don't know if he knows it's the story of his father and I...after all, he's only three years old. But still…
How am I to start? That tale, in all, it took three years of my life. From the time when I first came through the well into the Sengoku Jidai, until the day our son was born. So many things happened in those three years, love, sadness, tragedy, happiness...so many emotions…
I told it to him once before, that is true. But I do not even remember how I said it back then. There are many things I leave unsaid to him, and many others I have to edit to keep his ignorance and innocence. I cannot tell him all I experienced, it would break his heart.
But, those times! It makes me smile even now, remembering those years ago when we all traveled together, after Naraku. How I made friends, adapted to living here in this time…how I fell so very deeply in love with Inuyasha…and love him still…
When I was fifteen, I never expected my life to turn out as it has. I always expected Inuyasha to eventually choose Kikyou, never wanting to get my hopes up. But how wrong I was…
But we were never safe to be in love then. Naraku was still on the loose, biding his time until we came to him to gather his strength. We both knew that we couldn't form a relationship like we wanted at that time.
Fighting our love was harder than it seemed. And I can still recall the pain in my heart whenever we got close, knowing that we couldn't have what we desired…
Was it wrong of us, to give in like that? With our son as the proof? Naraku was eventually destroyed, but not without great price, not without the threat of him nearly destroying everything, and everyone we loved.
The folly is mine, and I know it. If I had just done what Inuyasha had asked, then perhaps we wouldn't have lost so much…but the past can never be fixed, can it?
I know Inuyasha doesn't blame me. But what he thinks and what I know are two different things. He wants me to be free of this blame and regret, but I will never let go of the memory of what I lost, what we lost…
Oh Inuyasha…I wish this mistake had never hurt you as well…
But the past is the past. I cannot change it. It is the only way I have lived with myself and kept a happy face for Inuko all these years.
Because of this mistake, I cannot tell him the truth about what we did and traveled for before he was born. He would connect it with this story, and learn the ugly truth about what I had done...what I had caused to be sacrificed...
I cannot brood for too long, or I shall find myself, a grown woman, weeping once more. I have to stop myself, and remember where I am to go on without despair.
"Mama?" Inuko asked once more, his mother waking herself from her thoughts like she always did.
When Kagome turned back to him, she spoke to him in her storyteller's voice, always seeming happier when she remembered the past. "You know how the hanyou and the miko met, Inuko. The miko came from another world, five hundred years in the future, by falling into the dry well in the forest. She then met the hanyou who had been sealed to a tree by the one by his beloved, and woke him up."
Inuko listened with wide, hungry eyes as she continued, "From there, they embarked on a quest to find the shards of the Shikon no Tama with their friends, an orphaned, young kitsune youkai, a monk with a cursed hole in his hand, and a youkai exterminator that had lost her entire village due to the evil youkai, Naraku."
Kagome glanced away from her son, but out, towards memory as the words came, lost in her thoughts. "Their journey would take them many years, never ceasing, with only one goal in mind; to defeat Naraku. But during this time, they thought of other things besides just Naraku…the friends became more like a family, so close…and a few became closer than friends, so close that they swore nothing would ever tear them apart…"
The silver haired hanyou stood overlooking the village, his hair flapping in the wind while his golden eyes stared outward with a soft look in his eyes. His clothes were as they always were, the red haori and hakama, Tessaiga at his side. He seemed to be in deep thought, as if looking deep into memory.
"Inuyasha!" a voice he was very familiar with called, making his silver dog ear twitch slightly at the unexpected sound. He turned, his eyes softening as he looked upon the girl in front of him. She had a cheerful face, with happiness in her brown eyes, her slightly fluffy black hair swaying in the wind along with her clothes, the green middle school outfit and short green miniskirt.
Inuyasha came up to her, a small, gentle smile on his face, matching the one on hers. "Kagome…" he said softly, looking happy to see her. "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we're ready to have dinner at Kaede-sama's soon," Kagome replied, "After all, we have something to celebrate."
With a smirk, the hanyou asked, "Celebrate? Celebrate what?"
"You jerk!" she yelled playfully. "You know what tomorrow is, don't you?" she leaned a little bit forward to him, a knowing smile on her face, begging him to guess.
Inuyasha scratched his head, feigning forgetfulness. "Gee, I don't seem to remember. Is it something important?"
Kagome gave him a playful smack. "Don't act like you forgot! Tomorrow, it'll be one year since I came here Inuyasha…one year since I met you." She spoke the last words in a whisper, her chocolate eyes glancing up and meeting his beautiful amber ones, both of their smiles fading into a knowing stare.
After what seemed like an eternity, Inuyasha quickly looked away, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yeah…but…it's also your birthday isn't it?"
A bright smile blossomed on her face. He remembered. Nodding, Kagome replied, "Yeah, tomorrow I'll be sixteen, and starting a new school, finally. That's why I have to go home tomorrow, Inuyasha."
His ears lowered on his head as she reminded him that she was going to leave him. "How long?"
Smile never fading, Kagome told him, "Well, if you're waiting for me, maybe I can get home sooner."
"Keh." The hanyou turned away, folding his arms, denying it like he always did. "Well go home. It's not like I care."
She rolled her eyes. Of course, this was how he always acted, denying that he would miss her when she was gone. But though it would be nice if he was honest with her, there was nothing she could do to change it, and nothing she would do to change it.
He was her hanyou, he wouldn't be if he acted any different.
"Inuyasha, should we be going back?" she asked, making him turn back to her. "After all, dinner's probably ready."
He shrugged. "Sure." But Kagome couldn't help but notice his expressive eyes revealed that he did care more than he was acting like he did.
Smriking, Kagome turned and led the way back to the village, Inuyasha coming to walk beside her. As they walked back, Kagome glanced at him, still determined to make it seem like he didn't care about her as much as he did. No matter how exasperating treatment like this from his was, she loved it, she loved him…And she knew she'd feel this love forever.
"The miko and the hanyou were already very good friends, but secretly, they didn't want to remain just friends…they wanted something more…" Kagome was unable to keep herself from sighing, knowing the depth of her love had never wavered from that day.
Inuko looked up at her, his golden eyes begging for more. "What happened next, Mama?"
And so, Kagome obliged, falling deeper into her memories, remembering all those years ago, when she was just a naive girl, traveling around with the arrogant hanyou that she loved…
And thus the tale begins…