This is my sequel to my very first fan fiction, 'Before time runs out.' Hope it lives up to the original story. R & R, please! Just so you know, this story might be a little corny, but it's the best I can do for now. Some slight OOC on Inu's part, just to warn you. By the way, the song is called 'Not a day goes by' by Lonestar.
I-It's been three years, hasn't it, Inuyasha?
Sitting in the branches of Goshinboku, Shippo's words echoed in the young hanyo's mind like a mantra. Yes, it had been 3 years . . . 3 years since he'd married Kagome . . . 3 years since they'd become lifelong mates . . . and 3 years since Kagome had suddenly vanished into thin air.
I spent months looking for her, but with no success. Why, Kagome? Why did you promise to be at my side for all time . . . and then disappear just before our forever was supposed to begin? Inuyasha thought sadly.
Got a picture of you I carry in my heart
Close my eyes and see it when the world gets dark
Closing his eyes, Inuyasha recalled the last memory he ever had of his wife. It'd been the morning after their wedding, and Kagome was preparing to go out and visit Sango, whom she hadn't been able to talk to in several days. She'd been dressed in her miko outfit with her silvery hair tied in a loose ponytail. Kagome had said, "Now I'll be back in a few hours, Inuyasha. I'm just goin' to visit Sango and get some herbs from Kaede's garden." She'd given him a quick kiss goodbye and was out the door before he could blink an eye . . . she was gone. Hours later, he'd gone to get her at Sango's, and that's when he found out the horrifying truth: Kagome had never made it to Sango's. In fact, when Inuyasha later tried to track Kagome by scent, the trail ended just feet from the trail leading to Sango's home.
Got a memory of you buried in my soul
I wrap it close around me when the nights get cold
In the days, months, and eventually years following Kagome's vanishing act, everyone gradually lost hope that Kagome would come back. Everyone, that is, except Inuyasha. Every night, in the moments when the night seemed endless and cold, he'd imagine that Kagome was sleeping right next to him, sharing her warmth with him, and he'd smile sleepily as he dropped off to sleep.
And if you ask me how I'm doin', I'd say just fine
But the truth is, baby, if you could read my mind
Oh, sure, he'd been hurting badly from the separation, but after a while he just stopped letting everyone see just how much Kagome's absence really affected him. Sango and Miroku and even Sesshomaru, heartless as he was, would ask if he was alright, and he'd just say, "I'm fine," and race off; the truth of the matter, though, was that he missed his precious mate every second that she was gone.
Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time, you're still with me, it's true
Looking up at the morning sky, Inuyasha sighed. Has it really been three years? Keh . . . seems more like a thousand. Kagome . . . wherever you are . . . I just hope you know . . . I've thought of you every minute of every day since you've been gone. Shaking his head in utter disbelief at the amount of time that had passed, he couldn't help but feel that even though Kagome wasn't there . . . that she was right there beside him, if only in spirit.
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by
Sitting up, Inuyasha nimbly jumped down from his perch in the ancient god tree and started making his way back to his lonely home. Living without Kagome was hard enough, but it was always on this day . . . the anniversary of her sudden vanishment . . . that the pain almost seemed too much to bear. Not even Miroku and Sango's children could cheer him up today.
I still wait for the phone in the middle of the night
Thinking you might call me if your dreams don't turn out right
Walking in the front door of his empty house, he stopped and looked around. Nothing had changed since the day that Kagome had left . . . he'd wanted her to see it exactly the way she left it if she came back. Not if . . . when, the hanyo chastised himself. Kagome would come back . . . she had to . . . didn't she?
Around the others for most of the day, Inuyasha had been able to hide his real feelings in an effort to keep them from worrying about him. Now though . . . he was alone . . . and that's when the tears started to fall. Hot, burning tears that reflected the state of his heart . . . a broken mess that would never be able to mend.
And it still amazes me that I lie here in the dark
Wishin' you were next to me with your head against my heart
The sun slowly sank below the western horizon, leaving the despondent hanyo to bear through another night. Lying down on his futon, he couldn't help but wish . . . wish that Kagome was snuggled against his chest just once more before his broken heart killed him.
If you ask me how I'm doin', I'd say just fine
But the truth is, baby, if you could read my mind
Hnnn . . . what . . . where am I? Inuyasha thought. Looking around, he noticed clouds swirling below his feet . . . was he in heaven? Was he dead?
"Inuyasha," a voice said. The hanyo's head snapped around, searching for the source of the voice. "Inuyasha," it called again.
"Who's there?" he called fearfully in reply.
"Do not fear me, Inuyasha. I am surprised you don't know who I am, although I guess that the last time you heard my voice, you were but a small baby."
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Simple," the voice replied as a figure appeared in front of Inuyasha. The man . . . or should I say yokai . . . was wearing fierce-looking armour. Silvery hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and two blue crests wove their way down his cheeks. The most striking feature of the man, though, was his golden eyes. "I am Inutaisho. To put it more simply . . . I'm your father, Inuyasha."
"Father? But how? You're supposed to be dead!" Inuyasha whispered in awe.
"Technically, I am dead, but that doesn't mean that I can't talk to you through dreams," the inu-yokai replied.
"So if this is just a dream, then why are you here?"
"I've heard some things about what's been happening to you over the years . . . and most recently, your marriage to a human-turned-hanyo named . . . oh, what was that name again?" (A/N: Don't ask how Inutaisho hears all this, 'cause even I don't know.)
"Kagome . . ." Inuyasha whispered painfully.
"Ah, yes, that's it. And I've also heard about your wife's disappearance," Inutaisho added gently.
"Three years she's been gone, and . . ."
"And what, son?"
"Three years . . . and not a day goes by that I don't think of her."
Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time, you're still with me, it's true
"Well, I guess that's why I'm here then, isn't it?"
"What?" Inuyasha said in surprise.
"Being dead has some advantages, son. You get to scare people half to death by floating through walls, you can stay up all night and never tire . . . and you can keep an eye on those that mean the most to you, even beyond the grave."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying . . . I know where your wife is," Inutaisho said with conviction.
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by
Inuyasha's heart stopped beating for a second. Kagome . . . she was still alive? So he'd been right all along. Shock showed in his voice as he said, "You do?!"
"Yes."
"How long have you known?"
"I just found her. I saw what happened the day she disappeared. I was following her to find out more about my new daughter-in-law when she suddenly vanished into thin air. All these years, I've been searching, knowing how much she meant to you. I finally found her tonight, just as I was about to give up. Turns out she was in the last place you'd think to look-"
"Forget all that! Just tell me where she is!" Inuyasha shouted impatiently.
"Heh, looks like you got more than just my looks, eh, Inuyasha? Just as quick-tempered as I ever was at your age. For your information, she's been sealed within the Goshinboku for the past few years."
"What? I've been to the Goshinboku dozens of times, and I've never seen anything to say that she's there," Inuyasha said in disbelief.
"You didn't let me finish. She's been sealed within the Goshinboku itself. Only you can break the seal, son."
"How?!"
"That's something you must discover on your own, Inuyasha. My time with you has come to an end. For now, I wish you farewell and good luck," Inutaisho said as he faded into a soft white light. Just before the light was gone, Inuyasha could have sworn he saw his father walking towards a black-haired woman that resembled his mother.
Minutes turn to hours, and the hours turn days
Seems it's been forever that I felt this way
Inuyasha jerked up, suddenly wide awake. The seconds seemed to crawl past as he ran from his hut to the woods that housed the Goshinboku. Inuyasha felt the previously dwindling hope in his heart being rekindled as he thought over his dream conversation with his father. (Shut up! My story, not yours.)
Hours passed by as slow as could be as he tried every way imaginable to get the Goshinboku to release its supposed prisoner. However, nothing worked. By the time the sun was shining in the sky once again and Inuyasha was in his hanyo form once more, he was kneeling dejectedly at the foot of the tree, forehead resting against the tree's gnarled bark. "Please, Kagome. If you can still here me . . . please come back to me," he whispered to the tree.
Not a day goes by that I don't think of you
After all this time, you're still with me, it's true
Nothing happened for the longest time, and Inuyasha had all but given up hope when the unexpected happened. The bark surrounding Inuyasha's hand, which rested against the tree, started to glow. Pulling back in surprise, Inuyasha took a step back warily, ready to run if something should happen. The glow spread outward from the spot where his hand had been resting until the entire tree was glowing with a soft white light.
Slowly, a dark outline could be seen against the soft glow, and Inuyasha's heart nearly stopped beating when he saw that it was the outline of a person. The tree's bark began to ripple as something, or should I say someone, started to emerge from within the tree itself. The first thing to emerge was a white hand, followed by an arm and a leg, almost as if the person was stepping out from within the tree itself. The last part of the person emerged from the tree, and the glow faded.
The woman standing before Inuyasha nearly caused his heart to stop with joy. He was sure that it was Kagome, if the silver hair and dog ears and miko outfit were anything to go by. Inuyasha wasn't sure, however, not until the girl lifted her head and opened her eyes, revealing eyes as golden as the sun.
Tears gathered in the corner of Kagome's and Inuyasha's eyes as they laid eyes on each other for the first time in three years. Surging forward, Inuyasha gathered Kagome up in his arms and kissed her for all that he was worth. Every feeling of loneliness, pain, and desperation that he'd been put through disappeared the instant his lips met hers, and it was then that he knew . . . Kagome would never leave his side again, nor would he ever leave hers.
Somehow you remain locked so deep inside
Baby, baby, oh baby, not a day goes by
(That I don't think of you)
Epilogue
Sango and Miroku were understandably shocked when Inuyasha came into the village that morning. Instead of trudging along, looking as if he carried the world's weight on his shoulders, he looked as happy as could be. Miroku and Sango looked at each other in bewilderment; either something had happened to make Inuyasha this happy . . . or he had finally gone crazy from Kagome's loss.
When Inuyasha asked them to follow him out into the forest, saying that he had a surprise for them, they followed him, if somewhat reluctantly. If he really was crazed, then there was no telling what he might do. When they arrived in the clearing of the Goshinboku, Inuyasha ordered them to remain at the foot of the tree while he went to get their 'surprise.'
Seconds turned into minutes as the two stood there, and still the hanyo didn't return. Just as they were about to give up and head to the village, though, Inuyasha reappeared at the edge of the clearing . . . walking hand in hand with a very-much-alive Kagome. Sango and Miroku stared in disbelief for several seconds before Sango, with tears in her eyes, ran to Kagome and hugged her. The two sister-like friends hugged to make up for the past three years of not being there for one another, and even Miroku got a hug in. Surprisingly, though, he didn't try anything; maybe it was the fact that a certain hanyo was standing nearby, keeping an eye on him.
At the end of the day, Inuyasha and Kagome were finally left alone. Everyone was overjoyed by her miraculous return, but none more so than Inuyasha.
"You do know that not a day went by that I didn't think of you, right?" he said when they were finally alone.
"Same here. Every second of my imprisonment, I never stopped believing that you'd find me," Kagome whispered in reply. The two hanyos watched as the sun set beyond the horizon, marking the end of another day. This time, though, it ended without Inuyasha's tears. Unlike the day, though, the rest of Kagome's and Inuyasha's time together was just getting started.
Sooo . . . what do you think? Like? Don't like? Just so you know, no one ever finds out who sealed Kagome in that tree. I'll leave that to you to decide as to who the culprit was. Please review. But please, as little flames as possible.