A/N: This is my first time writing an Inuyasha fic, though by no means my first fanfic. It feels so wonderful writing stories again - and look, this one actually has an ending! Im so proud of myself! ^_^
This story is slightly AU, just because I messed with Kagomes background family. Anything you need to know for the story is in there, its pretty self-explanatory - but if you want a more thorough background, tell me, I might write about how the changes effect her shard hunting with Inuyasha-tachi. But for now, this is it. Enjoy, and tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha, Kagome and their friends, as well as the universe of InuYasha do not belong to me, but to Rumiko Takahashi. But when she's not looking, I steal them from the back of her closet, mess with their lives, tweak Inuyasha's ears, then stuff them back when I hear her coming back.
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Inuyasha ran as fast as he could, damning himself for staying away for so long and not memorizing the way to the shrine. He kept repeating to himself, **I have to make it, I can't be late. I can't be late, I can't be late, I canNOT be late.** When he finally reached the steep shrine steps he bolted up them three at a time, thankful for his superior eyesight so he didn't trip in the darkness.
As he reached the family house, he knew he was too late; he could smell a large amount of blood. **No... No!** "Nooo!" he screamed in anguish and helpless rage. "Kagome!" He started moving again, running through the open front door. He made his way swiftly and surely through the dark house. He found the intruder quickly, still in the parents' bedroom. The mother and father were butchered, the mother out of bed and looked like she was going to protect the baby in the bassinet against the wall. She hadn't made it, and now both she and the baby were dead.
Inuyasha stared at the killer for a brief moment, remembering...
"He was a serial killer. They called him the Family Man, because he only killed families of four, where the siblings were a girl and a boy. My family was the last he got. Someone came to the house and... killed him. Brutally. Just as brutally as my parents. And it sounds horrible, but I—I'm glad he got to feel the pain he inflicted on them."
Inuyasha looked at the serial killer, and slowly smiled. It was a predator's smile. This guy was going to die. Slowly. And very painfully.
I saw him get killed. I know I should have been afraid of this new man, but... I never was. He killed the bad guy for me." She laughed. "He was covered in blood when..."
He stood up slowly and turned around. Standing there, holding onto and partially hidden by the doorframe, stood a little girl. She had large, liquid brown eyes and midnight black hair, pulled into a loose braid for bed. She stared up at him without fear.
"He turned and saw me. All I could see... was my savior. He came over to me and-"
He knelt in front of the little girl, who didn't seem to care that he was covered in blood. He reached behind him and coated his fingers in the blood pooled on the floor from her mother's body, then reached toward her.
"He took his first three fingers and drew three parallel slashes up my cheeks. Then he said -"
"You are marked with your family's blood," Inuyasha said softly. "You are a survivor, and you must live on for them." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"But what I will always remember," she finished quietly, "what I simply can't forget..."
"Be strong," he whispered,
"He knew my name."
"...Kagome Higurashi."
"And then he was gone, and I never saw or even heard about him again. Grandpa came to live at the shrine to care for it, and that's been it."
"You have no idea who he was?" Sango asked, breathless in the dark. The campfire had long since gone out, but none of them had gone to sleep yet.
Kagome shook her head, staring at Inuyasha in the dark. "No, I don't. I just know that... that he protected me when I couldn't protect myself."
"A bit like now, huh?" Inuyasha said rudely. Sango gasped in outrage, but Kagome gave a little smile. "Yes," she said thoughtfully, "I'd say a lot like now."
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A/N: Tell me what you thought! Liked it, hated it, didn't understand it at all, whatever! For the moment it's a one-shot, just cause that was all the original idea was about - the possible overlapping of time, and what Inuyasha might have learned from Kagome for when he finally reached the 20th century. And before you say it, I know that because he's a hanyou, he might not live that long, but... shh, if you don't tell, neither will I. ^_^ Besides, it's already AU, so just go with it!