AN: Let me make this painstakingly clear; this fanfiction is one-shot only. There is no second chapter. Thank you.
Inuyasha seemed edgy all afternoon. Not even Kagome's presence soothed him. Even when Kagome pressed the big jewel shards into his palm, he didn't seem to want to calm down.
"He looks so hyper, and yet so sad," Shippo whispered, perched on Kagome's shoulder.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Kagome whispered back.
"Maybe it was young love lost," Miroku declared, smiling stupidly. The earned a slap from Sango and a punch from Kagome. Miroku flinched from a third blow, but it never came. The group looked at Inuyasha, who was still walking up the hill.
"Are you sure you smelled Naraku in this direction?" Sango asked.
"No," Inuyasha murmured. Shippo was the only one who heard him and relayed the message to his friends.
"Inuyasha," Kagome scolded. "Naraku could be planning some disasterous plot involving somebody's mother, and you're leading us astray!"
"It's only a slight detour," Inuyasha mumbled. Again, Shippo relayed the message to the others.
"What is Inuyasha possibly thinking?" Sango whispered to her friends, staring at Inuyasha's back. "He's not acting like himself."
"And why are we headed for the Crying River?" Shippo asked.
"Crying River?" Kagome wondered aloud.
"Nobody ever fishes or drinks from the river, because they think it's posessed by a demon from years ago. If you listen closely, the sound of the water passing through sounds like a girl crying," Shippo explained.
"Sound scary," Kagome whimpered. Kirara mewled in agreement from Sango's arms.
"Are you guys going to gossip all day, or shall I drag you each by the collars?" Inuyasha asked. His heart wasn't in the threat, so nobody took him seriously.
Kagome watched Inuyasha with curiosity. What is it about this river that made Inuyasha act so strange?
"Kagome, watch out!" Miroku yelled. Kagome tripped and fell sideways... into a river. She resurfaced and swam to shore, spitting out river water and hair from her face.
"Ack! Now I'm all wet!" she complained. Miroku helped her up, taking advantage of the situation and grabbing her butt. Kagome squeaked and slapped him hard across the cheek.
"Are you okay, Kagome?" Shippo asked. Sango rummaged through Kagome's backpack -which mercifully didn't land in the river- and found a towel. Kagome took it and dried her legs and hair.
"I'm fine. I'll have to wait for my clothes to dry, though."
"Why not take them off?" Miroku suggested. Sango beat Kagome to the punch and slapped Miroku hard.
"No thank you," Kagome said icily.
"I think we ought to camp here for the night," Inuyasha said randomly, standing still and staring at the water. The group looked at the sky.
According to Kagome's watch, it should be lunchtime, not bedtime...
Inuyasha went with Sango and Miroku to find food. Kirara and Shippo stayed with Kagome to set up the fire for lunch. Kagome set aside some ninja food for the group after they had real food, and sat down.
"FOX FIRE!" Shiipo yelled, startling Kagome. The fire started easily. Kirara purred and lay down next to Kagome. She absent-mindedly stroked the small cat's fur.
"Do you believe the rumors of the river are true?" Kagome asked.
"I've never been here to believe, but I'm not too skeptical, either," Shippo answered. Kirara mewled.
"How strange," Sango said as she reappeared with some squirrels. Inuyasha and Miroku came out of the bushes carrying a pig.
"Where'd you get that?" Kagome asked, staring at the huge monster of a hog.
"There's a farm not too far from here. The owner was long gone, and the animals were malnourished. This was the biggest we could find," Miroku explained, helping Inuyasha place it over the fire.
"The owners died a long time ago," Inuyasha explained.
"How do you know that?" Shippo asked, sitting in front of the fire.
"This used to be a village. I lived here as a kid," Inuyasha sighed, sitting down next to the river and staring at a certain spot that made his eyes moist. "Keh, let's stop talking and stat eating."
...
After the group was well fed, Kagome went to change into some more comfortable clothing.
The woods are warmer tonight, she thought to herself, shivering at the cold, still air. She looked back and found Inuyasha several meters away from the group, standing in front of the river and staring.
When she came back, Miroku was poking the fire and trying to reach for Sango's butt. Sango smacked his hand away at the last second.
Shippo was twirling a ribbon in front of Kirara. The little cat demon batted a paw at it, clearly entertained.
"What's wrong with Inuyasha?" Shippo whispered when Kagome sat down.
"I don't know. Do you feel anything strange about this place?" Kagome asked, watching Inuyasha with worry.
Everyone shook their heads and turned to watch the half-demon.
Inuyasha's ears twitched. He sensed another party approaching fast. He half-heartedly drew the Tetsuaiga.
"Peace, brother," a stoic voice said. Inuyasha turned around and stared at Sesshomaru in surprise.
"Why are you here?" he demanded. Kagome's eyes bulged. Why was Sesshomaru here?
"I merely wanted to visit this river for this night," Sesshomaru explained. For once, a melancholy expression filled his eyes.
"I thought you'd want to destroy me, seeing me here. Didn't you say what I did was unforgivable?" Inuyasha asked, looking down.
Sesshomaru looked behind him.
"Rin. Jaken," he caled out. The little human girl and Sesshomaru's vassal timidly made their way out of the shadows. "Join Inuyasha's group."
Inuyasha didn't protest for once and nodded at his friends, who ogled the two brothers.
"Come here, Rin," Kagome whispered. "You must be cold."
Rin nodded and sat in Kagome's lap, warming herself immediately.
"What are they doing?" Rin asked. Kagome looked up.
The two brothers took out their swords, the Tetsuaiga and Tensaiga, and planted them firmly in the ground. They knelt at the river bed and closed their eyes in deep prayer.
"They're paying their respects to the dead," a familiar voice announced. Kagome felt something on her neck and smacked it. She held out her palm as Miyoga drifted down, flattened. When he adjusted back to his original 3-D form, he explained.
"Why would they pay respects to the dead when they kill several demons and people with no regrets?" Miroku asked.
"Because the person they're praying for died this very night. In fact, she was Inuyasha's twin sister," Miyoga explained. This earned a gasp from everyone.
"Sesshomaru didn't always hate humans, and Inuyasha wasn't always the tough guy we know him as," Miyoga continued. "In fact, that all changed after Yuki's death. You see, when Inuyasha and Yuki were born, they were shunned away from the community. If a human went near them, it was usually to insult or abuse them. But it was because of Yuki that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru did not seek revenge. She believed that war destroyed a person rather than relive the bitterness.
"One day, when Inuyasha and Yuki were seven, and Sesshomaru was sixteen, human boys decided it would be fun to hurt the half-demons. They distracted Sesshomaru, kept him busy. It was harder to pry Inuyasha from his twin, but they managed to do it. They told him they were giving Yuki swimming lessons to make up for their cruel deeds. They probably only planned on scaring the young girl, but it ended in disaster.
"They didn't bother to restrain Inuyasha until he realized it too late. He watched as they held his sister down underwater, explaining to him that it was a technique used to keep her kicking. The boys began to yell and scatter when they noticed she wasn't struggling anymore. Two of the boys on shore thought they merely saw a snake and restrained Inuyasha from going into the water. Sesshomaru was pulled out of his distraction at the sound of the screaming and ran to investigate. He saw Inuyasha break free of the boys' grasp and dive into the water. When Inuyasha came back with Yuki, it was too late. She had drowned."
"That's terrible!" Kagome gasped. "Poor Inuyasha."
"Sesshomaru blamed it all on humans, and, naturally, on Inuyasha for allowing such a thing to happen. Since then, he and Inuyasha fought whenever they saw each other. And Inuyasha wanted to become a full-fledged demon, so his blood wasn't tainted with that of a human's."
The group was so absorbed in the story that they didn't notice the topics of discussion sit down until Rin and Kagome squeaked in surprise. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru at her left and Inuyasha at her right. Rin climbed onto Sesshomaru's lap and hugged him. Inuyasha said nothing but drew Kagome close.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. A glimpse around the camp showed that everone except the two brothers were crying. Inuyasha hugged Kagome and closed his eyes.
Sango turned suddenly to the river.
"Everyone, shh..." she hissed. Once everyone quieted down, they listened to the water.
It was very faint, but if one strained to listen, they could hear a ghostly sobbing from a little girl. Inuyasha covered his ears and Sesshomaru clattered the rocks around him in hidden dispair.
Rin helpfully picked up a ton of rocks and hurled them at the ground, drowning out the noise.
Shippo helped her by taking his noisiest toys and enlarging them. Kagome covered Inuyasha's ears for him.
"Thank you," Inuyasha murmured, so only Kagome could hear.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
...
Later that night, Kagome dreamed of a little girl. She was playing in the water, smiling and laughing with a silver-haired boy in a red kimono. The scene changed.
Kagome was in the river with Yuki. Yuki was wailing at her.
"Please don't hurt me, I promise I'll be good, I won't become a demon, I promise!" Yuki sobbed.
"Yuki, why would I hurt you?" Kagome asked.
"I want to see my brothers! I miss them, I want to see them!" Yuki wailed. Then four boys came toward the riverbed. Inuyasha was sitting next to two and watching with interest. The other two swam towards the girls and pushed them underwater.
Inuyasha! Kagome thought.
Kagome heard a shrill scream before she woke up.
Inuyasha was asleep in his usual sitting position next to a tree, hugging his Tetsuaiga. Sesshomaru and Rin were sleeping side by side, with Rin hugging his arm. The rest of the group was asleep by the dying fire, huddled together for warmth. Even in his sleep Miroku was placing his hand on Sango's butt. Sango nudged him and rolled over.
Kagome got up and quietly made it to the spot where Yuki had drowned. She reached inder her shirt and took out the bottle of jewel shards.
I want to see my brothers, Yuki had requested. Kagome sighed and looked up at the sky.
The moon was still bright in the night sky. It was probably midnight. It was still the anniversary of Yuki's death.
"I hope I won't regret this," Kagome muttered to herself, taking a shard out. Kagome took a few steps into the water placed the shard in.
There was a glow. Kagome shielded her eyes and watched as the form of a little half-demon girl formed out of water. She began to solidify and color. The Sacred Jewel shard was glowing from over her heart.
Yuki smiled and looked around, oblivious to the fact Kagome was there.
Kagome ran out of the water and to the campsite.
"Inuyasha, wake up," she hissed, shaking him wildly. Inuyasha gasped and got to his feet immediately, disoriented.
"Kagome? What is it?" he asked.
"Wait here," she grinned. Then she went to Sesshomaru.
"I wouldn't-" Inuyasha warned.
Too late. Kagome shook Sesshomaru hard and he awoke, his eyes red like a demon's and his fangs bared. Kagome gasped and fell backwards, into Inuyasha. As soon as Sesshomaru calmed down, he looked at Kagome with disgust.
"What?" he asked. He carefully pried himself away from Rin and stood.
"There's something I need you guys to see," Kagome whispered.
"Wait, what?" Inuyasha wondered when Kagome ran down the river. The two brothers looked at each other in confusion and followed.
"Please help me," a young voice squeaked. Kagome knelt by the river and took the little girl's hand.
"Yu-Yuki," Inuyasha gasped, looking at the little girl.
Yuki looked like Inuyasha exactly. She had long, silver hair and cute little dog ears that twitched at Inuyasha's voice. The only difference was her eye color, which was the same blue as Sesshomaru's. She locked gazes with her two brothers, who were bigger than she last saw them.
"Inu... Yasha? Sesshomaru?" she asked.
"Yuki," Sesshomaru knelt down and raised a hand to her. Yuki took it hesitantly and stared at her big brother.
"Sesshomaru!" Yuki wailed, hugging him. Sesshomaru, who never got emotional, hugged her back and allowed a tear to form. Yuki broke free from his grasp and looked at her twin.
"INUYASHA!" she screamed, jumping up and hugging his neck.
"Yuki!" Inuyasha gasped, hugging her tightly and swinging her around. Kagome watched with a melancholy fondness. Yuki looked up from Inuyasha's shoulder and smiled at Kagome.
"Thank you," she said. "You gave me what I most desired."
Inuyasha set Yuki down and stared at Kagome.
"What?" he asked.
"It was the night of my death, and Kagome helped me come back one last time to say goodbye. She took pity on you guys and wanted you to be happy, so she brought me back to say goodbye one last time," Yuki explained. She smiled at Kagome and held out her palm.
"That's-" Inuyasha gasped.
"I do not need this anymore," Yuki told the older girl, placing the shard in Kagome's hands. "Goodbye, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru."
Yuki let go of the shard, and disappeared, turning into water and flowing back into the river.
...
In the morning, Sango, Shippo, Miroku, and Kirara awoke and found Inuyasha and Kagome sleeping side-by-side, Inuyasha leaning on Kagome for comfort, and Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Rin gone.
They never asked what happened that night, nor did they wonder out loud what caused the two to connect so suddenly, and the two were grateful.
The village was reborn after that, with travelers under the belief the water was exorcised by a powerful monk. Inuyasha never felt the need to return, nor did his half-brother. But if they did come back, they would have seen a young white puppy play every day by the waters' edge.
AN: Comments/flames welcome! This is like, my first one-shot in almost a year, I think. Be gentle if you have to flame, okay?