Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Bleach, so lawyers can go SUCK IT.
Hello peoples! I decided I would do a crossover for Bleach and Inuyasha. It's mostly because of the fact that I have recently read a very good story written by ConsistentlyInconsistent, called "Death Is Only The Beginning". I would suggest reading it, because it is a fantastic take on the melding of the two worlds. Anyway, now for my take on the theme. Well, let's begin! Please R&R!
It was the night before the battle; the group lay silently about the floor of Kaede's hut, getting what little sleep their anticipation would allow them. Two of the five members however were not touched by the sandman's magical sleeping dust, as they quietly pondered the outcome of tomorrow's events. Would they win? Would they save the jewel? Would it truly be over with when they killed Naraku? These questions and so many more circled around in their minds. Kagome had a single question that was above all others however,
'When we win… when we finally defeat Naraku… what will we do with the jewel? Better yet… what will Inuyasha do?'
Likewise, Inuyasha had a single question that trumped the others,
'If we win this thing… will Kagome stay? Should I really become a demon?' while the two of them worked out answers to their questions, they slowly drifted to a deep slumber, which would be interrupted later that morning when they all heard screams emanating from the rest of the village and Kaede begging them to wake up and prepare for battle. Indeed, the group could smell and feel the miasma that choked the village. When their preparations were complete, four of the five friends bolted outside to find a lounging Naraku, who was eating grapes off of a grape vine,
"So… if it isn't the mutt and his bitch. You two truly are suited for each other; you wish to die so terribly that you would run into a battle with me without first thinking things through."
The moment Naraku's words ended, a barrier formed around them, and tentacles erupted from the ground, surrounding the group. They seemed to be harmless until Inuyasha cut one, and a black miasma came pouring out of the severed limb. Since the tentacles were an obstacle, they knew they had to get rid of them, but the fact that the toxic miasma spilt endlessly from any of the tentacles if they were cut made it a near impossibility. As they all thought hard to figure it out, Sango realized she had a way to get out of the tight spot,
"Hey guys, I know how we can get out of this. We just need to have Miroku purify the ground here, and I can dilute the miasma that's coming from that tentacle that Inuyasha cut. Can you do that Miroku?"
"Yes, I can do that. Let's hurry though, because the miasma is going to take us all under if we dawdle anymore."
With those commanding words, Sango and Miroku began the tag team effort. It took Miroku a little longer than usual to bless the grounds, but eventually he had done so. Inuyasha realized much too late that the blessed ground beneath him would subdue him as well. He leaped away from the group, hoping to get out of the radius of the blessing, but his hopes were dashed when he landed on the ground and his feet began to burn, just like walking on searing hot coals. As he ran around trying to keep his feet from becoming nothing but putty on the ground, he began to curse out Miroku and Sango for their 'Stupid idea'. The two simply laughed him off, while Naraku simply smirked and shook his head. Finally Sango diluted the miasma enough to where it would not affect them. Since the blessing had killed the tentacles, they were able to move around them and get back to Inuyasha, who was still hopping up and down trying to get away from the ground. When the group finally reunited, they noticed that Naraku was still lounging about, eating off of the same grape vine. Kagome thought she would make a joke,
"Hey Naraku, what are you, a Roman emperor? I thought you were an all mighty half demon! Oh yeah that's right, you're only a half demon!!" Inuyasha winced at those last words, while Naraku's face went from mild enjoyment to moderate impatience,
"If you feel so ill towards half breeds, then why travel with the bastard child of a human and a demon?!"
That was the last straw for Inuyasha; The last thing he needed was another hanyou telling him that he was simply a bastard child. All his life, and not even up till now could he ever get a break from the constant ostracism he recieved from everyone he ever met other than the group he was with now. His mother was a good person, and his father was a strong, powerful demon that felt affection towards his mother, who was human. There was nothing wrong with it, absolutely nothing. No one had the right to call hanyou worthless or disgusting. No one, not even demons. That was the last straw for Inuyasha. He was going to utterly rip Naraku to shreds,
"Naraku… I could handle Kagome's words… but yours are the bane of my existence… you… are the bane of my existence. I don't care if I die killing you, but I know full well what will happen if I fail. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen! Be prepared to die by my hands Naraku, because this ends now!!" Inuyasha raised his Tetsusuiga and let go with a powerful windscar. Naraku remained unaffected. In light of this, Naraku staged his own counterattack, which Inuyasha fought off easily. Naraku decided to step it up with a much more powerful attack, to which Inuyasha dodged and tried to hit Naraku directly. Naraku dodged the slash, but was not prepared for the arrow that blind sighted him. He felt the unbearable pain flow through his body and caused him to fall from his protective place in the air. Now on the ground, he realized that part of his power had been diminished by the arrow. Knowing he would not be able to manipulate powerful enough magic, he pulled out his own katana. He waited for the next assault, and it came quickly. Inuyasha began to confront him with his own blade, but found that Naraku was very skilled in swordplay. So much so that he was vastly superior to Inuyasha. Within the first five minutes of the battle, the two began to fatigue. Inuyasha himself was badly injured, but was able to fight on par with his enemy. Naraku however managed to surprise Inuyasha when he forced Tetsusuiga from his hands and pinned him against the ground,
"So Inuyasha, I see that my skills outweigh yours tenfold. If you could not defeat me, then why try?"
"I wouldn't be so arrogant right now you son of a bitch!"
Just as Inuyasha's words ended Kagome's arrow pierced Naraku through the stomach and he vomited blood at Inuyasha's feet. Knowing that one more arrow would kill him, Naraku did the only thing that he could in the little time he had remaining. He charged the blade with the remaining power he had and ran Inuyasha through the heart, releasing all of his power into Inuyasha, killing him instantly. Within that instant, Kagome had shot one more arrow that pierced Naraku in the heart, and killed him instantly as well. He collapsed next to Inuyasha. The group all ran over to the two half demons, and realized that both were dead. A bitter sweet feeling washed over the three remaining allies. Kagome could do nothing but stare at the two men in front of her, and only pray that her wish would work.
Taking the tainted and unfinished Shikon Jewel, she melded her shard with the jewel and a pulse of energy went through her. Then she heard a voice,
"Miko whom restored me and purified my soul, I shall grant you any wish that you so desire. Though do well to remember this; to revive one I must take the life of the holder whom wished for said life to be saved. Heed my words and choose thy wish well… for the wish cannot be undone. Once granted, you may never undo what you have done."
Feeling troubled, she asked her friends,
"Hey… did you guys hear what the Jewel said?"
"Wait, the jewel talked? We didn't hear anything."
"Yes, Sango and I heard nothing…"
"Well… I guess I know what I want… hey guys… tell Shippo I loved him like he was my own, and please tell Inuyasha that… well… I'll miss him very much… and I'll miss you guys as well."
"What do you mean Kagome? What's going to happen when you make your wish?"
"Um… you'll find out when it happens…"
Tears began to stream down Kagome's cheeks, as she made her wish,
"Oh great and powerful Miko of the Shikon Jewel, I wish with all my heart that you revive Inuyasha in exchange for my life. That is my final wish."
The voice once again spoke,
"If this is what you wish, I shall grant you what you desire."
In an instant, Kagome could feel herself slowly fading away. As she faded, she could see the life returning to Inuyasha. When the process was over, and Kagome was conscious once more, she noticed she was in the same spot. She looked around at her friends to find that they were all staring in horror at her. Perplexed, she had to know what was going on,
"Guys, what's wrong? I'm okay! See? I'm right here!!"
Miroku and Sango then went over to her, but they weren't looking at her. They were looking behind her—no, right through her! She looked behind her, and saw what she didn't want to see; it was her body, limp and pale. Now in shock, she had no idea what to think; Inuyasha had woken up when he heard Miroku and Sango calling her name worriedly. As Kagome watched the chaos unfold, she noticed a strange chain that went from her body back to her. It was connected to her chest with a metal, hexagon shaped thing that was bolted to her chest. Thought it startled her, when she looked over, the look on Inuyasha's face only proved to make her even more regretful of her decision. He had tears running down his face in rivers; his face contorted in an angry, frustrated look. Underneath that she knew was the pain and torment of him reliving old memories and the re-opening of wounds long since past. While Inuyasha hugged her body and screamed for answers to her strange death, she couldn't help but shed a tear for the hanyou that she had left in this world, left to remember for an eternity.
When the three were consoled and Shippo had been calmed, they carried her body back to Kaede's hut so that she may be dressed properly. As she followed, she noticed that Miroku had sensed her presence. However he must have passed it off as a breeze and continued to walk along with his comrades. As Kagome followed, she could hear their conversation,
"Inuyasha… do you remember what you saw when you were dead?"
"Uh kinda… I remember having this chain of some sort that was attached to my chest, and it was connecting me to my body. I couldn't figure out what the hell it was, but it was weird. I didn't expect that when I died."
"Strange… well, now that Kagome's passed on… her parents must be notified."
This proclamation was what Inuyasha was fearing the most. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news to the family who'd trusted him with their daughter's life. He just didn't feel right about it. However he was the only one who could pass through the well, so he was the one who had to do the deed. As he contemplated what he was going to say, his thoughts were interrupted when Kaede came out of her hut to find Kagome's body laying limp in his arms,
"Oh my… oh dear I'd hoped this wouldn't happen… oh Kagome, you poor soul… if only you hadn't wished to revive Inuyasha… although at her age, she had yet to realize that reviving Inuyasha was one of the most selfish things in the world. She may have thought it was a good thing, but now he must bear the pain of having lost another love. I wish ye well, dear sweet child of the future…."
Inuyasha remained silent from that point on. At least until it was time to take Kagome back to her mother, grandfather and brother. He began to speak quietly to Kagome's body, not realizing that she was right there. There was no way for him to realize anyway, she was a ghost! Kagome listened to his words, and heard things that made her blush heavily. When they finally got to the well, Kagome decided she would go with Inuyasha. As she watched Sango, Miroku and a bawling Shippo, her heart began to break. It was so hard for her to comprehend not being able to say bye back to them. Finally, Inuyasha prepared to go down the well. Just as he jumped, Kagome followed him. Down the well they went, into the flashing light that told them that they were going to the future. This was the last time she was going to be able to see this, so she took in as much of it as she could before she ended up on the other side, right next to Inuyasha and… her body. One thing she noticed though was that the chain seemed to be slack on her body, as well as on herself. Then she realized that the chain had been severed when they went through the well,
"Oh god! Well… it doesn't seem to do anything… so I guess it's like an umbilical cord after you're born. I guess that means that I can do what I want. In fact, that's a great idea!! Woohoo!!"
With her cheer, she ran off towards town, not thinking twice about going to see the reaction of her family. However her name being screemed from shrine told her that it was better for her not to have seen her mother mourning over her loss. Her mother's yelling only served to make Kagome go faster. Finally she ended up at the McDonald's that her and her friends always went to. She found her friends there, eating and having a great time. Kagome tried calling to them and waving, but when there was no response, she was instantly reminded that she was not but a spirit now. Slightly downtrodden, she walked aimlessly around Tokyo, hoping to find something fun to do. As she walked along, she heard something; it seemed like a beastly roar. Ignoring the sound, she brushed it off as the soul of a demon that had passed on. However she had a change of heart when the roar came much closer. When she turned around to look at what it was, she was scared half to death to see a beast that stood ten feet tall, with a white mask covering its face. When the monster spotted her, Kagome ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
She kept running through city streets, little allyways, and all sorts of things, but the monster continued to pursue her. It was like there was no end to the chase, and her legs were burning. Her lungs as well. Finally she spotted a park, and ran towards a group of bushes. She dove under them, hoping to hide from the beast. To her amazement, it seemed to work pretty well. She got a surprise when it began to speak,
"Oh little spirit, where have you gone to? I'm pretty hungry you know, so you shouldn't keep me waiting!"
The fact that the beast could speak wasn't a big deal, but when she first saw the thing, she didn't think that thing would be able to talk. Well, she knew now,
"I can smell you! You must be…" there was silence, "Here!!"
The beast blew the bushes away and uncovered Kagome,
"I see, so you tried to hide under the bushes, ay? Well that won't work with me girlie! Now get ready to be eaten—"
Just as the creature finished it's sentence, Kagome watched as a white line traced itself through the beast's body, and as the thing split in half, it turned to dust and blew away. When she looked around for her savior, she saw a man dressed in a black kimono, with spiky, bright orange hair. The look on his face was a little intimidating, but when he looked at Kagome, his face softened and his voice gave her a comforting feeling,
"Hey, looks like I made it in time. Now then, it's time to perform the konso."
"What the—what's a kon—" Kagome was cut off when she felt the man tap her on the forehead with the bottom of his sword's hilt, and she was enveloped by a blue light, and disappeared.
When she woke up, she was dressed in a crimson kimono, with cherry blossom petals that decorated the lower half, and her sash was cherry red. She got up, and looked around to find that she was in what looked like a rural village that mimicked the ones she had seen 250 years ago. She saw many people walking around, and most of them glanced at her, then brushed her off. It perplexed her, and she didn't understand. Then she saw a group of kids running through the streets at top speed, with an older man chasing them, screaming at them to give his goods back. Wanting to save the kids, she started running after them. Through the town they went, around corners, through little allies, and so on. Finally Kagome was able to catch the man and bring him down,
"What the fuck—who the hell are you?!"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that those kids get something to eat!"
"They didn't pay for the food, so why the fuck should they get a goddamn crumb?!"
"They're children! Children need food to grow up and be healthy, just like you and me—"
"Ah shit I know what you are… you're a new kid on the block. Listen lady, I can forgive ya' for this since that's the case, but I'm gonna tell ya' somethin' right now, in this world, if you don't got spirit energy, you don't gotta eat a damn thing! You can eat just for the hell of it! Just be warned, you better pay for what you want to eat, else you're gonna fight off an army of cranky store owners, got it?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Good, now get the fuck offa' me!!"
Kagome hopped up off of the man, who gave her a sour look as he walked back to his shop. The idea of not having to eat made Kagome remember that she was dead. Since people could see her, that meant that this entire village was made up of spirits, more or less. When that thought crossed her mind, she almost freaked out. The entire concept itself was amazing; had all of these souls gone through the same thing she did? Did they all have a konso performed on them? That seemed like the only way for all these people to get here. Her thoughts were ended when a little girl, no more than five or six came up to her. She was one of the children running from the shop vender. She had a deep red blush on her face and she looked timidly at Kagome before speaking,
"T…thank you…"
"Oh don't worry, I was happy to help you out! What's your name?"
"V-Viveka…"
"That doesn't sound Japanese, you must be from somewhere else. Do you remember where?"
"N-n-no… w-what your name?"
"Higurashi Kagome! Now tell me, how old are you?"
"S-six…"
"Are you now? Well that's wonderful! Say, where have your friends run off to?"
The girl stayed silent. This wasn't what she was expecting of the little girl, so Kagome tried once more,
"Do you know where they are?"
Viveka remained silent. Huffing in defeat, she picked the girl up and looked her in the eyes,
"W-w-w-what are y-y-you d-d-d-oing?!!"
"Well, I'm going to take me with you until you lead me to your friends!"
"I don't wanna!! Put me down!!!"
"Well I will if you tell me where your friends are. I don't want to hurt them, I want to help them! You want help from an adult, right?"
"No, we don't need no help from no old lady!!"
"Well I'm certainly not an old lady, and it looks to me like you guys need some help. Now show me where your friends are!"
Viveka thought long and hard, and finally decided she was going to let her know where her friends were,
"Th…they're over there, in that direction…"
"Okay then, thank you so much Viveka! Now when we get there, I'll be able to help you guys get food every day and make sure you guys get the proper treatment you deserve!"
"Th… Thank… you…"
The girl on Kagome's shoulders held her tight while they walked in the direction that Viveka pointed in. As they were getting near a run-down hut at the edge of the district, Kagome spotted one of the boys that had been running. When he looked over and saw Viveka on Kagome's shoulders, he instantly ran into the hut. When he returned, there were two other boys with him, all holding some sort of farming implement. They looked at Kagome with disgust before yelling,
"You let go of Vivi-chan or we'll kill you!"
"Hold your horses! I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help you! Please, put down those tools!"
"Not on your life, hag!"
"Hey now, I resent being called a hag when I'm only seventeen, be respectful!"
The boy in front, the eldest child of the household, stepped forward. He slowly analyzed Kagome as he got closer to her. He went all the way around Kagome, and finally stopped when he was back in front of her. He gave her one last look from head to toe and back and then spoke,
"You don't seem to be dangerous… but we can't be too sure! Go into the hut, and put Vivi-chan down!"
"Alright alright, sheesh!"
Kagome set the girl down on her feet, and when she was finally on the ground, she ran into the house. The other two boys followed suit. Shortly after the eldest boy and Kagome walked in. Once inside, Kagome could see that the children really had a problem; most of the house was empty, and the only thing that was of any use was the little fire pit in the center of the house, which had a cauldron of some sort in the middle. 'They must use that to cook' she thought. The oldest boy looked her right in the eye, and gave her a stern look before saying,
"Okay lady, because we don't know if you're carrying any weapons, take off your cloths!"
Kagome was miffed; a boy of no more than ten just told her, a seventeen year old girl, to take off her clothes. There was no way he was going to get away with it,
"Like hell I'll take my clothes off you little perv! I told you once, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you!!"
"How do we know you're not just lying?"
"Because, I will show you some proof that I'm not dangerous."
Kagome pulled her kimono in many directions so that it would show the outline of her body. When there was no irregularity in her figure, the boy seemed mildly satisfied. However he wasn't completely satisfied yet,
"Just because you do that doesn't mean you don't have any weapons! If you won't take off your cloths, we'll make you!"
"I'll say it again, I am not taking off my cloths! Especially for you little perverts!"
"Fine, if you don't want us to see, we'll go outside and we'll let Vivi-chan look at you!"
"Fine then, now GTFO you guys!"
Looking at her weird, they vacated the hut. When she was sure that the windows were covered and the door was blocked, she began undressing,
"Okay, you believe me when I say I don't have any weapons, right Viveka-chan?"
"Of course! You're a nice person… you wouldn't hurt anyone."
"I'm glad you think so. So, can I keep my cloths on?"
"Yeah, you can I guess…"
"You seem unsure… is that because you don't want to disobey your friends?"
"Kind of…"
"Do you really want to see me in the nude? Oh I get it, you're just curious, aren't you?"
Viveka blushed heavily and shook her head up and down to show that she was curious,
"Well, I suppose I could show you… but I'll only show you some things, okay?"
"O-okay!"
With that Kagome opened up the top of her Kimono to expose her chest. The little girl looked at her breasts with great interest, as if trying to figure out how they got there. Feeling that an explanation was in order, Kagome began to elaborate,
"You see these? They're breasts, which all the older girls have when they're my age. You won't have any until you're older, but you'll have some. Here, you can play with them if you want!"
The girl timidly reached up and began to squeeze them with her little hands, and after a bit bounced them up and down. When she was done, she sat back down with a sheepish grin and a much darker blush,
"So… I'm going to have breasts as well?"
"Of course silly! Didn't your parents ever teach you that?"
"N-no… I don't have any parents… none of us do… after we came here, we weren't able to find our parents… so when we found each other, we decided to live together. Now we consider ourselves brothers and I'm the only sister."
"Oh… I see… well, would you like me to stay?"
"Y-yes, I want you to stay but… the others don't like adults… they think that grown-ups are all bad, and there isn't a good one. I think they're wrong, but that's just the way they think…"
As Kagome thought about the children's situation, her need to stay here grew. Not only did they not have parents, but their untrusting attitude against adults caused them to shun and treat adults terribly. It was official; she was going to stay at this house for as long as these children needed help. Even if she had to make them understand,
"Well, if they try and kick me out, they're just going to have to deal with me staying here. They'll learn eventually they need someone like me around…"
Kagome gave a cat like grin, which made Vivika giggle in response. Ready for the three boys to get back into the house, she called to them,
"Alright boys, you can come back in!"
When she cleared the entrance, they all shuffled in and looked right at Vivika, expecting an answer,
"Vivi-chan, what did you see?"
"W-well… she doesn't have any weapons, and she has breasts."
"She has breasts? What do you mean?"
"Well… she has two round things on her chest called breasts. All girls her age have them."
"Are they dangerous?"
"No, they were actually soft and bouncy."
"Well, I suppose if they're soft and bouncy they aren't too dangerous… you say all girls have them?"
"Y-yeah… or so Kagome said."
"Who's Kagome?"
"That's Kagome. She saved us from the angry shop owner."
The boy thought long and hard about that, and realized that he and the other boys had treated her wrongly for what she had done,
"Alright Kagome… listen, thank you and all for saving us and stuff, but I don't think we need your help."
"Look who's talking. You're the one who has to go stealing from other people just to sustain you, your brothers and your sister."
"Well we do fine like that anyway, we don't need any help!"
"Well listen, I'm staying whether you like it or not, and if you can't stand it just go somewhere else while I take care of the others, kay?"
The boy thought about this hard as well. Given such a choice, and the way Kagome proposed it, it seemed like he might as well give it a try,
"Fine, you can stay. I'm warning you though, no funny business! One wrong move and you're outta' here!"
"Well said! Now, what are all your names?"
"Well, this is Daisuke, this is Yoshiro, and I'm Teijo."
"Oh I see, well your name suits your personality just fine! Anyway, it's getting late! Shouldn't you be getting to bed?"
"Like we need to sleep! We don't go to bed till halfway through the night anyway—"
"You mean to tell me you guys go to bed that late?! That's no good! It's a good idea to go to sleep early so you get up early as well! Please believe me when I say that! In fact, I'll help you guys get into the habit! Common now, change into your pajamas and get into bed!"
"Pajamas? What are we, children? We sleep naked!"
"As a matter of fact you are only children. Although I don't like that you all sleep in the nude, I will ignore it. However for all of your sakes you should at least learn to wear some form of clothing when you go to bed! As for this little one, she's going to get some new pj's when I go out to look for a job tomorrow! Now, everyone, in bed! Hurry up, we don't have all night! Sleep is a precious thing, you don't want to lose any do you?"
When everything finally settled down and the four children asleep, Kagome sat out on the patio and watched the moon. It was a full moon tonight, and she loved to watch the full moon; it helped her to think when things got Chaotic. After the incident of wishing for Inuyasha to be revived, and having her life taken from her in exchange for it, she had to wonder; how selfish was she really being? If Kaede's words were any indication, then she was being overly selfish. Now she was dead however, so none of it seemed to matter; at least, it shouldn't have mattered. What perplexed Kagome most was the fact that life after death was just trying to live in a village where other dead souls lived. She had no idea where she was or what she was meant to do, but she knew for one thing she had to survive. Whether or not she could do so would come with her attempt at getting a job. Once she had a job, she would be able to support the children and hopefully educate them somewhat to the point where they could live on their own. What would she do after that though? She had no idea how long she would be here anyway, so why bother trying to take care of the kids anyway? She knew why she did though; she felt so sorry for them that she couldn't let them fend for themselves even if she wanted them to. With her resolve to help these children set in her mind, and her goal of getting a job in the morning, she stared long and hard at the moon for one last time before crawling into the hut and going to sleep herself.
Well sports fans, what did you think? I have an idea where I want this to go, but if you see any similarities between my story and ConsistantlyInconsistant's 'Death Is Only the Beginning', then just realize that I've had the same idea for quite some time, and until I read that I had no idea someone had already done something like it. As such, I'll credit the writer of the story for using the idea, ConsistantlyInconsistant. As for me, I'm hoping that my story will take a different direction from her's so that we don't end up doing the same thing. Anyway, hoped you all enjoyed it, so please review and have a wonderful day!
-JT Jewels