The Flow of Time
I do not own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho
I knew what today promised to bring, and that no matter what I needed to make sure she didn't fall victim to fate.
When I'm alone, I wonder which time would be considered the first time I met her. That one time in the rain, when we were young. She was so small and even then she seemed to try and rescue anything her little hands could hold.
Like the small kitten that seemed to have gotten stuck in a drain pipe.
It was some time ago, but I can still remember the way her eyes sparkled when I used "magic" to help her. The way she laughed when we went outside to play.
But then there was that other time, 500 years ago in the past when she was traveling with the half breed. Sesshomaru's younger brother.
She was so carefree then, loving and kind to anyone who wished to have kindness and love. Struggling to prove worth even though her friends were ten times stronger.
It pains me to realize that even then I came to love her. And as fate would have it, she could never be mine.
I remember that day well, the day where my world turned gray and the forest no longer held a purpose in life.
"Yoko, I'm going to marry that girl."
When Sesshomaru told me that, I couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed for feelings towards her, anger for not taking the chance to steal her away, anger for Sesshomaru taking my chance. But we were brothers; we grew up together, killed together, even slept together as kits.
Who was I, someone afraid to show his feelings to a mere human girl, to not show support to my dear friend.
So I gave him my permission, something I regretted to this very day, but there was one thing I counted on to lend me a winning chance; Sesshomaru's lineage.
The demon customs were far different from the human ones when it came to marriage and mating rituals. It was fine to marry human women, but mating them was forbidden and punishable by death. Many questioned this law, for it caused a great deal of grief for the lords and vassals who had fallen for human men and women in the western lands.
Why couldn't Lord Sesshomaru change this law and allow the demons to be with whomever they pleased?
The answer was simple and yet complex; Sesshomaru was not the true lord of the west, his uncle from his mother's side resided over the throne until Sesshomaru had chosen a suitable bride.
"It is forbidden." His uncle said, "To sully the blood of demon children with that of a human." A demon can only have one true mate, and from that mate will children be born; the wives will become barren until the husband dies.
The law was made to keep demon blood and bloodlines pure, who was he to ruin such a tradition?
Any smart man would have heeded the lord's words, any man who wanted to keep his status and more importantly his head, would do well to forget a mortal girl, but to my distress Sesshomaru was someone who refused to bow down to anyone.
The only girl that would he would ever show humility to; was Kagome Higurashi.
"This is ludicrous!" I tried to tell him, "Just find a mate and take her for a bride."
He wouldn't listen to me.
"She is the only one I would want to share my body with, the only one who I would want to carry my bloodline."
Whenever I looked into Sesshomaru's eyes I had the feeling I was staring at a dead man. He didn't care if he would die from choosing his ideal mate, but his head wouldn't be the only price.
Days went buy and the maidens group grew large, weeks went by and the lord of the west grew more cold.
When a year had past, Sesshomaru had enough.
"I was willing to allow her to be happy with her, but my brother must be senile if he thinks I would let any harm come to her."
Wasn't ironic that he tried to kill her before?
No, it wasn't. I could understand his motive more than anything, the feeling of destroying the one thing you cannot have.
After that, his soft side began to return.
He beat up Jaken more and adopted a young human girl.
Her spirit and a sense of innocence reminded me of Kagome and her smile, her love of flowers soothe me, but it wasn't enough for the both of us.
If I had noticed the strange ways Sesshomaru had been acting, I might have been able to stop him before something major had fallen, but before I knew it he had come home with the priestess scent, over him, in him, around him.
Kitsune have this natural ability, not just to smell the scent of sex, but the scent of love.
She accepted him! They were mated!
Even angered I could not dare turn in my friend for it would only mean the death of the one I loved most but I was not the only kitsune in the clan.
Sesshomaru was betrayed, and was soon forced into exile in his own lands, his uncle was full of raged and ordered hunts and promised handsome rewards to anyone who could bring his nephews head, and the heart of his wench.
No one knew of their whereabouts, not even me.
Until one day I overheard a servant speak of rumors of a handsome demon and a priestess living together in a holy spring.
By the time I could receive more information to follow the rumors...I was too late.
Sesshomaru laid in a field of flowers, his demonic powers purified and turned human, head severed and my Kagome leaning over his still form, a hole in her chest.
That day, I stole away from the Western lands to raise an army, and killed all who associated themselves with the name, but it wasn't enough.
I killed women, children, the elderly until nearly none were left a live, and the demons were forced to live in a separate realm called Makai.
I did nothing to reclaim my status, my honor.
I began living my days on thievery until my name became known. I made more friends, only to lose them, I started another family; only to be betrayed.
My life changed when I entered the body of an unborn child and became somewhat human.
Their life was so short and yet I could not help but become fascinated by the world these humans had managed to create with only their minds.
I felt that I could honestly forget my past and all that happened to me until I ran into her again, as a small girl.
She looked so different and yet her scent was the same.
I must have looked strange staring at her like that, a ten year old boy without so much as an umbrella in the rain.
It must not have bothered her, because she ran to me and asked me for help.
This had to have been my chance to save her before she made her adventure into the well, before she lost her life and caused me centuries of sorrow.
And so we grew, best friends who did everything together until my mother became ill, and I became a demon thief once more.
We still talked every now and again, but I was afraid too much contact would cause other demons to target her. Until today, her 15th birthday. The day it all began.
If I killed the demon and bring her back to her time before the jewel breaks, I can break the chain in time, and live a happy life with her safe.
As I came to the bottom of the Higurashi shrine, those were my thoughts, my dreams, and my hopes. If I stayed with her the whole day, I could make sure nothing would happen.
I wouldn't lose her to Sesshomaru or Death, Kagome could be all mine in the future.
As I walked towards the stairs, the scent of tears led me to the well house and the scene before me was something I had never expected to see.
Kagome's mother clinging the ground and crying desperately, praying that her daughter come back. Souta staring in shock while standing through the double doors, and Grandpa wave a flame around in the air that emitted low spirit energy.
There was no time to lose, as I dashed into the well house and into the well itself, the images of Kagome's smiling face, her voice, her stories, her fears, her pain, her death all came rushing through my mind all at once only to finish with a hard thud from the well's floor.
"No..." this couldn't be happening...I did not wait six years just to fail!
"This can't be happening!"
But it was, I could feel Kagome's presence faintly on the other side, in my heart, I knew I had failed.
This was one of the many plot bunnies I had, thank you for taking the time to read my one-shot.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Read and Review.
God Bless.
