Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and the gang, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Personal note: This isn't really a chapter, it's a summary of the prequel. It's meant only as a reminder of what happened so far because it took me so long to write this. I highly recommend you read After-effect, your understanding will be much better. Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone. First of all, I'd like to point out that this story is the long-awaited sequel to after-effects so before actually reading this story I recommend you actually read the other one or you'll feel kinda lost. However, for those who don't want to go back and read the prequel or for those of you who already read it but don't remember exactly what happened (I did finish it well over a year ago after all), well here's a summary of what happened in the last story.
First of all, Inuyasha's gang, after a fierce battle manage to finally defeat Naraku and recover the completed shikon jewel. However, the price of victory was high. Sango and Miroku were severely wounded and Kagome succumbed to her wounds in Inuyasha's arms. Desperate to save her, the hanyou makes a wish on the jewel and brings her back to life. However, this wish, as pure and selfless as it might have been wasn't enough to get rid of the sphere and the newly revived schoolgirl decides to use it on Kagura to free the youkai from the rest of Naraku's legacy. Unwilling to pass such an opportunity, the youkai accepts and she quickly finds herself completely free. The mark on her back is gone and even her scent changed. Anxious to finally enjoy her freedom, the youkai takes off into the night.
Back in the village, it's fixing time for the group as they finally get an opportunity to patch their wounds. The quest being finally over, Kagome is now faced with a choice. She can't continue to live her double life and she knows it. After much thinking and consideration, she decides to permanently move to the past with all of her friends.
Meanwhile, Kagome's not the only one who's enjoying her new life. Kagura too is thrilled by the fact that she doesn't have to follow anyone's orders ever again. As she hovers at the edge of a small village in search of food, the youkai meets a young girl named Yuna who she immediately feels connected to. A quick investigation reveals that the child happens to be a slave to a cruel couple. Unwilling to let this continue, Kagura frees the girl. However, in his anger, the man tries to shoot the youkai in the back. Seeing this, Yuna pushes her new protector out of the way and end up taking the blow for her. Enraged, Kagura's about to unleash a power unlike any she ever unleashed before... until Yuna's weak voice brings her back to reality. Now, with a wounded child on her arms and absolutely no idea how to treat her, Kagura's only hope is to get to Inuyasha's group before Yuna's remaining strength gives way.
A night's traveling brings the exhausted sorceress to the group's doorstep and it's all she can do to hand Yuna over before she collapses. She wakes up a short time later and is somewhat surprised by the acceptance she's faced with. After having fought the group for so long, she's now accepted as one of their own without so much as a question. Still, the new feelings she has just developed for the young girl are also a thing that bothers her. After having spent her entire life alone in Naraku's service, all it took was a chance encounter and she suddenly finds that a child has wound itself in her life, and what's more she finds herself actually enjoying it.
Back to the group, Inuyasha's wounds have recovered enough for him to accompany Kagome home to her time for her final farewell. However, on their way to the well, the schoolgirl exhibits some rather odd ability by almost outrunning the hanyou. Puzzled by this new occurrence, they agree to ask Kaede about it when they get back and resolutely jump down the well... about a minute before an unknown figure makes his appearance. It's a very tough moment for Kagome as she's forced to say goodbye to not only her family, but to a part of herself as well. Still, with the strength and support of all those she cares about, she manages to pull herself together and jump back down the well with a smile on her face.
They hardly had time to take a step out of the well before they're attacked however. The youkai named Mattemaru wants nothing less than the shikon jewel which of course. A fierce battle then ensues which Inuyasha has trouble controlling because of his injury. However, thanks to a purification blast from Kagome followed almost immediately by a kaze no kizu, their opponent is forced to retreat.
Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of their friend's battle, Kagura and Yuna enjoy their first breakfast together. This allows the sorceress to learn more about the girl she now considers her charge and see just how far she has to go before she can be totally free. With a solemn promise to always support and do their best for each other, the youkai gives one of her feather to the child to symbolize their bond and their promise.
The bliss is short-lived however as Inuyasha and Kagome returns with dire news. Someone's already after the jewel. Not knowing what to do to get rid of the offending relic, the group finally elects to send Kagome and Inuyasha to Midoriko's cave in order to draw the danger away, leaving Kagura in charge of protecting everyone. Before they leave however, Kagome's condition takes on a whole new development as she discovers that her spiritual powers are now tainted with youki. Still, there's no time to worry. She has a jewel to protect so she pushes everything back and jumps on Kirara's back.
On their way to the cave, the couple ends up meeting with Kagome's nemesis... Kikyo. Having made a pact with another youkai in order to reach them, the undead miko tries to make Inuyasha do good on his promise and make him follow her to hell. However, she underestimates Kagome's strength because the girl manages to completely disintegrate her opponent and reach them before the inevitable could happen. The antipodes of love clash together, each unwilling to give in, each unwilling to let what they care about the most in the world go to the other. However, in the midst of their challenge, they both come to realize that the one who's suffering the most through all this is Inuyasha. As a final act of love, Kikyo finally decides to reintegrate Kagome's soul in order to allow the hanyou she loves to truly move on with his life. In the calm after the storm however, Mattemaru makes his second appearance, this time to deliver some extremely worrying news. He wasn't the only one after the jewel... and the other party involved will stop at absolutely nothing to get their hands on it. Their friends are now in grave danger.
So it's now a race against time for the couple. Being four days away from the village already, their hopes of arriving in time are slim, but they go on nonetheless. However, it quickly becomes obvious that the grueling pace they set for themselves cannot be kept for long. With Kirara exhausted and unable to transform and Inuyasha with a twisted ankle, they are just about ready to give up when Kagome's condition evolves yet again, increasing her physical abilities enough to allow her to carry her companions the rest of the way. With that added bonus of strength, they finally arrive just in time to get rid of the youkai attacking their friends. However, all of their efforts prove to be in vain as a giant eagle comes out of nowhere and swoops down Shippo and Yuna's unsuspecting forms right in front of their noses.
Having fallen unconscious, Kagome finally learns the truth about her condition when Midoriko appears to her in her dream. Apparently, a speck of youkai blood present in her veins have been awakened when she was brought back to life and it's now trying to take over by sucking power from the shikon jewel. Problems just keep piling up for the girl and this new piece of information was just what she needed to bring her to her breaking point. Luckily for her, Inuyasha is there to comfort her until the storm has passed. In another room, Kagura too is mourning the loss of Yuna and it's Sango who snaps her out of her daze by making her realize that she's not the only one who's suffering.
Morning comes, the storm passes and the group is now ready to counterattack. Surprisingly, Mattemaru makes yet another appearance, this time bringing to them one of the youkai that had attacked them the night before and also revealing the name of their true enemy: Akkimaru. Pressing the spy for information they're able to determine where she's hiding and come up with a desperate plan to save their friends without handing over the shikon jewel.
Back to Shippo and Yuna, they too are thinking hard for a way to escape. However, they're time for reflexion is cut short when Akkimaru comes in to check up on them. Knowing she's in full control of the situation, she actually goes so far as to threaten Kagura. Something completely unexpected then happens. Anger awakens something deep within Yuna, a dormant power she hadn't even known existed. And in one mighty burst of energy, she throws their captor right through the wall. This does not stand very well with Akkimaru who threatens to kill Yuna for what she just did. Only Shippo's swift action managed to save the child's life. Still, through this fearsome ordeal, the two were able to discover that Akkimaru's staff was cracked. Knowing this might just be their only hope to tip the balance in their favor, they start to devise a plan to tell their friends about this.
Now, it's back to Inuyasha and Kagome as they near their destination. Having decided to send Kagura and Kirara through the back door while they go through the front, they go on, hoping that their plan would work. They end up meeting with Mattemaru on the way who kindly asks them to leave the jewel in his care once more. Before they have a chance to really answer though, an enormous blast shakes the earth, making them hurry their pace. They reach the source only to stare in awe at Sesshomaru who currently battles on with Akkimaru. However, it becomes obvious that something's definitively wrong with him as his moves are slow and sluggish. Seeing the new arrival, Akkimaru then finishes the fight pretty quickly by sending an enormous blast of energy at her opponent. Luckily for Sesshomaru, Tenseiga intervenes and teleports him away before the blast could connect.
The moment of truth has now arrived for Inuyasha and Kagome as they are faced with their opponent. However, it quickly becomes apparent that their plan will be pretty useless as they are standing amidst an open space some than fifty feet wide that completely prevents any form of surprise attack. Seeing their options rapidly dwindle to nothing, Kagome does the unthinkable... she absorbs what's left of the shikon jewel within herself. Her youkai blood thus empowered then transforms her and threatens to take over. Only a desperate action from Kikyo and an even more desperate crawl for Tessaiga saves her fleeting sanity.
The jewel thus emptied dissolves into complete nothingness under Akkimaru's baffled face. Angered by this unexpected turn of event, she raises a barrier that traps Kagome alone with her. Then, she uses her own powers to seal away the girl's spiritual powers and then challenges her to a fight. Midoriko then intervenes and gives Kagome her skills with a sword. Thus empowered, the girl is then able to put up a decent fight. However, with only an untransformed Tessaiga for a weapon, Akkimaru isn't long to overpower her. Trapped in a binding spell, Kagome can only watch as her opponent turns her attention to her friends. Desperate to protect them, the girl manages to summon the necessary power to break free. However, Akkimaru isn't at the end of her roll as she calls upon her giant eagle to do her dirty work for her.
The attack never comes though as Kagura and Kirara stops it. After a warm reunion between girl and sorceress, it's back to the fight. However, something's definitively different this time. Tessaiga having sensed Kagome's desire to protect her friends answers and actually transforms, much to the surprise of everyone present. Thus empowered, the girl is able to launch a fierce attack that Akkimaru barely manages to block. The youkai can only watch on in horror as her damaged staff starts to crack. In one last ditch effort to prevent the inevitable, she summons her powers... but this mistake proves fatal to her. Her damaged staff is no longer able to channel her energy and as such, she loses complete control of her spell. Kagome barely has the time to jump out of the way as the weapon explodes.
Finally, Akkimaru's threat is gone and the shikon jewel has been taken care of. It's now time for the group to head home. Kagome can finally acknowledge the pain she has been pushing back for so long and give in to her desire to be mated to Inuyasha. Her friends, though surprised by this unexpected development take everything in stride and welcome her with open arms. Yuna's mysterious outburst is also explained and it turns out she has the same type of powers as Kagura, though her element happens to be water instead of wind.
Yes, life is truly good for the group now. After years of fighting, they can finally settle down to enjoy a well-deserved peace. Or so they thought.
And so, after more than a year of waiting, I now present to you the sequel to After-effects, I proudly call: Pride, honor and family book one: Divisions.
I hope you will enjoy it.