Hey, guys! Welcome back! I am Chibi of ChibiBean. Bean is somewhere behind me eating stew.

Bean: Yummy!

Chibi: Sigh. Anyway, I got it out on time. YAY for me! It was a long chapter to write, but I finished. We hope you like the sequal to our last fic, Through the Well. We now present Can't Repeat the Past. Lot's of surprises in store.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: ChibiBean does not own nor claim rights to InuYasha or any of its character nor do we own the lyrics by Relient K. Thank you.

Can't Repeat the Past?

No Time Like the Present!

"I've given up on giving up slowly.
I'm blending in so you won't even know me,
apart from this whole world that shares my fate."-Reliant K

It was a cool night in mid-May. The flowers were blooming; birds were singing their songs…

And a brunette, eighteen-year-old girl was time traveling.

Most people will never know the hassles and adventures of time traveling. You cannot consider them either. Lucky or not, they just cannot repeat their pasts or the past of their nation or of another's nation.

This girl, even apart from time traveling, was odd. Her hair had grown dark over three years and looked as if it had recently been cut. It fell gently to her shoulders. Her face was pale with dark, pink lips, perfect, in no need of make-up. Showing from underneath her long bangs were emerald green eyes, deep and as mysterious as the ocean. Framing the right side of her face was a bright silver streak of hair, tied into a tight, tiny braid.

She had been born bearing this mark and the rejection it carried, the rejection she had only recently come to know.

She wore the uniform of a school three days away from where our story begins. A pleated, knee-length, black skirt; a white button-down, shirt; and a black sweater with the initials 'A.D.' embroidered upon it.

'A.D.' stood for none other than 'Azurine Deltan', but it also stood for 'Annabelle Ditsu', her alias in the school. She didn't want to be found.

The most interesting thing about her appearance was the two, fuzzy, golden dog-ears poking out of the top of her head, replacing her normal human ones that she'd been missing for three years, now. While at school or in public, she wore a hat to hide this peculiarity.

Azurine sighed. Home. After three days of walking across the country, she was finally here. She'd grown up in this town, met her best friends, Sarah and Yukito, here, and had the adventure of her life through the well located in the woods on the town's border.

Her life wasn't entirely fun and games, though. It was here, in this small town, where her guardian had abused her. Her adventure through the well hadn't gone perfectly, either. Everything had balanced out pretty well until exactly three years ago.

On this day three years ago, she had been attacked by her mother and guardian and both her friends had been killed brutally; Sarah, by the man she thought had loved her, and Yukito, by Azurine herself in an accident.

After that, she was sent into a six-month waking sleep…perhaps she'd done so to herself, but that was unknown to all including herself. When she had woken, she was horrified to find that Miroku, the man she'd fallen in love with and given her promise of marriage, believed she would never wake and went traipsing off with a demon-slayer named Sango.

(Chibi: Yes, everyone: the rants are back. Did you miss'em?
Bean: Shush. The weirdest thing happened. After playing 'InuYasha and the Secret of the Cursed Mask', for…6 hours straight in Chibi's basement sweatdrop
Chibi: rolls eyes
Bean: I have gained a sense of respect for both Sango and Kagome, both of whom I previously hated…odd experience. I was yelling at the demons whenever they hit those two. And I was overly protective of my Miroku, of course. )

Azurine had fled from the past. She'd spent a year wandering around under her false name, inherited a small fortune that her real father, whom she recently found out was a demon thus her dog blood, had left her, and enrolled in a private school far away from here, until now. She'd graduated almost two months ago and set out right after all of the graduation parties.

Approaching the old, dry well, Azurine wondered what had really brought her back here. Did she truly think they'd take her back after everything she'd messed up? She sighed as she sat on the well's edge. Tears of long ago, returning and threatening to spill, welled up in her eyes. She squeezed them shut.

"Yukito," she mumbled softly. "I'm going to make up for everything I've done. I swear."

Swinging her legs over the edge, she plummeted into the darkness. Feeling the air rush around her, she held her breath, clinging to the familiar feeling. With a thud, her feet landed on packed dirt.

She could have climbed the sides of the well with her eyes closed. Using the hanging vines to help her, Azurine climbed out of it and tumbled onto the soft earth beside it. Looking up, she laid on her back while memories flooded her mind: Sarah and Yukito; InuYasha and Kagome; Miroku and Shippo.

(Bean: I love you Miroku! (Hugs plushy and finger puppet.)
Chibi: You know you so owe me for giving that puppet to you? I could have kept it. Now I have to wait until our field trip again to get more.
Bean: Hush you.)

Suddenly, Azurine couldn't hold back her tears any longer. With a choked sob, she began to bawl. She didn't hear the man approach.

He was about 22, but worry had clearly aged him and he looked as if he knew his life was drawing to a close. His hair was dark and his eyes were a deep shade of violet. His robes matched his eyes and he carried a bronze staff that jingled as he walked. His right palm was wrapped in cloth and beads.

"Why is such a beautiful lady, such as yourself, weeping?" he asked casually, almost half-heartedly.

Azurine looked up, her hair falling into her eyes and over the silver streak. "Mir…Miroku?"

"Why…yes. That is I. How do you know my name?" He looked at her curiously. Had he met her before?

"You don't remember me?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"No, I don't believe so. But…we may have met before…in another life perhaps." Maybe it could be her for all he knew, but perhaps it's better to remain silent. I don't want to raise my hopes, again.

"I…I'm sorry. I must have mistaken you for another grammatically challenged monk I know. Excuse me." She pushed past him, desperately trying to hold back her tears. It wasn't working.

"It must be her. I wonder if she's still mad at me." He pondered to himself as he watched her move farther away. "Well, she's back." He could now see the silver of her hair blowing behind her.

Azurine could not recall this place. Before, it had been an open, near-barren field. Now, there was a hut, an herb garden, a cobblestone path leading from the road, a playing child, and a resting woman.

"Excuse me!" Azurine called. "Can you tell me where I can find Lady Kaede? I haven't been here in awhile."

The woman looked up and over her shoulder at Azurine. She stood up uneasily, unbalanced by a pregnant stomach. The little boy approached Azurine.

He pointed up at her and turned back to the woman. "Mama…who is this? She's gots ears like InuYasha and a wittle bit of hair like InuYasha…" He looked back at Azurine. "But she is not InuYasha," he concluded.

Azurine laughed. "I'm an old friend of InuYasha's." She paused. At least think I still am.

"Hey, 'Kito!" the woman scolded, walking over. "You shouldn't talk like that. It's rude." She turned back towards Azurine. "You'll have to forgive him, he doesn't…" Her eyes froze on Azurine's silver streak of hair just as Azurine noticed the spiky bangs on the woman.

"Sarah!" Azurine gasped just as the woman yelled out, "Azure!"

Azurine laughed. "Two kids?" she asked, eyeing Sarah's swollen tummy. "My, you've been busy…hey! Wait a minute, you're dead!"

"That's what you think," Sarah said with a sigh. "You didn't really give anyone time to explain the way you just ran off like that."

They embraced and didn't let go for a while, both on the verge of tears. "I can't believe it," Azurine whispered. "It's been so long." She laughed as they broke apart. "So, who's the lucky guy?"

"Uh…well, about that…" she trailed off, lifting her son into her arms.

"Come on!"

"Um…you've met him before…" Sarah began.

"Not Miroku!"

"No! Nooo way."

Azurine paused. "I…InuYasha?"

"Ew! Dude, no." Sarah shuddered.

Azurine took a wild stab. "Did Shippo suddenly age fifteen years?"

Sarah laughed. "No." She stopped and blushed. "Well, there's one person left."

Azurine shook her head. She couldn't think of anyone else.

A tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man exited the hut. "Sarah?" he yelled. "I can't find you! Where are you?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I'm right here, Yuto!" She put 'Kito down to play and waved to Yuto.

Azurine froze and turned white. "You mean…he…he tried to kill you…and then he took advantage of you…"

"Azzy…" Sarah began.

"…And is holding you hostage…"

"Azure…"

"…And forced you to bear his children…"

"Azure, listen…"

"…Who he's also holding hostage because everyone loves kids and wants to keep them safe!"

"Azurine!"

Azurine charged, enraged, at Yuto, eyes blazing. The man's eyes widened and he ran. A chase ensued. Sarah sighed, picked up the thing nearest to her, a turnip, and chucked at Azurine.

It hit Azurine squarely in the back of the head. She turned back, pouting. "Ow! That hurt!" She rubbed her head sulkily.

Sarah sighed again. "Azurine, you're jumping to conclusions. Again."

"When did I ever jump to conclusions?"

Sarah looked at her friend disbelievingly. "Remember the dance when I threw Tom Marshall across the room? You immediately thought that the dance must be a wrestling-themed dance and you went and grabbed the person nearest to you and put him in a headlock?" She shook her head. "Poor Yukito had a crick in his neck for a week. What a way to meet a guy…" Sarah cut herself short when she saw Azurine's stony expression. The wound was still open and Sarah had just rubbed salt in it.

Sarah paused and looked around. "Yukito!" she exclaimed worriedly. "Where's he gone?"

Azurine blinked. "What? He is really dead, right?"

Sarah found her boy behind her. "Oh, yes, sorry." Sarah lifted the struggling boy in her arms. He'd gotten into a fight with a particularly deep-rooted carrot. "Azurine, meet my son. This is Yukito. Yukito, this is mommy's friend, Azurine."

"A-zur-ine." 'Kito handed her a small, bright purple flower.

Azurine smiled. "He's so CUTE!"

Sarah smiled, too. "Come on, inside. There's a lot of explaining to do."

Yuto peeked around the side of the house and Azurine glared, still not trusting him. "Come on, dear!" Sarah shouted. "I need your help to explain. And don't worry, I won't let her kill you."

They all went inside the hut. It was a neat little house and Azurine could detect Sarah's decorating style right off the bat. Yuto and Sarah sat next to each other and Azurine sat across from them, uncomfortably looking at the way Yuto hugged her best friend. He in turn sweat-dropped. 'Kito went off to his room to play.

Sarah was silent before starting. "We should probably go back to just before you left. That was when it looked as if I was dead."

She began.

Flashback

"Y...Yuto. I know…you're there. I j…just want you…to know that…I…" Yuto removed the blade from her and, shuddering, she made a small choking noise. She began to fall backwards, still reaching for him. The others watched in horror. It seemed to take an eternity for her to reach the ground. Seconds before she hit, one last thing escaped her lips.

"I love you, Yuto."

Her body hit the ground, hard, blood pooling around her. Azurine finally broke out of her shocked state and ran at her friend. "SARAH!"

Shippo finally calmed down enough to use his foxfire on his bonds. He broke free and followed Azurine. Azurine scrambled at Sarah's throat, desperately searching for a pulse. The skin beneath her fingers was cold and lifeless. The color was already gone from Sarah's face. She waited. Nothing, not a single heartbeat.

Azurine stumbled back and looked up at Yuto who sneered down at her. "Oh, god…no," she whispered. "You killed her. You KILLED her!" she screamed.

"Congratulations," Sadie commented, walking over and nudging the dead form of Sarah with her foot. "This is your first innocent in a while, huh?"

Azurine couldn't take the sight any longer. She scuttled to her feet and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, Shippo and Miroku at her heels, a dazed Yukito behind them. InuYasha and Kagome would be following at any moment.

Sade's laugh was high and cruel. Yuto stared down at Sarah's body, his eyes flashing until, finally, he dropped to his knees, whimpering.

Sade smirked. "Now that we're alone, I'll give you some time to mourn. I'm sure you're crushed. Killing a loved one will do that." She turned to Sadie. "Once he's done blubbering, I'll repossess him and we can go dispose of that foul daughter of mine." The two witches began to plan their next move.

Yuto dropped his bloodied sword beside him and stared at his shaky hands, just as bloody as his blade.

He scooped Sarah up and cradled her, rocking back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Sarah," he whispered. "What have I done? Please live. Take my life if it will bring you back. Sarah!"

He bowed his head and wept.

An amazing thing happened then. Yuto began to give off a yellowish glow. It rose off of him like a vapor. This was his spirit energy and it flowed over Sarah. She, too, began to give off a glow, blue in color, and it mingled with Yuto's energy creating a green light.

The mixed energies flowed all over the girl, healing her minor scratches and filling her stomach wound. It was too big to heal immediately, but it was working slowly.

As Yuto held Sarah's body to his, he felt a heart beat against his own. He looked down at her as her eyes began to flutter and open.

"Sarah?" he gasped.

She smiled up at him. "Hi, Yuto."

He hugged her tightly and his tears began to flow again, but this time, it was tears of joy that ran down his face.

"What's this?" shrieked Sade, just realizing that Sarah was alive. "What have you done, Yuto?"

Sarah struggled to her feet, aided by Yuto, and glared at the witch.

Sade sneered. "Don't stare at me like you've won. Don't pretend to be so confident. I killed you once, I can do it again."

"Wrong, Sade. You had Yuto kill me, not you. You didn't want to dirty your hands. Yuto won't listen to you anymore."

"That's right," Yuto added. "I love Sarah and if that love brought Sarah back, it can break your hold over me."

Sade laughed. "Foolish children. You forget your contract, Yuto. Your parents sold you to me and we signed in blood: yours and mine. You wear that contract even now. You know of what I speak."

Yuto's hand went to his chest and grasped at something, a necklace. Sarah could see a golden glow beneath his shirt. "Yuto…" she whimpered.

"Sarah, get away. She's trying to retake control of me."

"But, Yuto…"

"Go! I don't want to hurt you, again."

"I can't." She looked down at her stomach and took a step back. The vapor that flowed between them stretched. "If I leave, your energy will leave me and I'll die anyway. Besides, I won't let her have you!"

Yuto looked taken aback, but that meant his guard was down and his eyes flashed darkly.

Sarah grabbed at the necklace but it wouldn't budge. It seemed almost glued to his body, like prayer beads, only stronger. She wouldn't be able to pull it over his shirt let alone his head. Instead, she began to unbutton his shirt.

She'd only undone the first button when Yuto seized her arms. Sarah gasped in pain and glanced up at his cold face.

"Stay with me, Yuto." She pulled on his shirt so that he bent over. She pulled him into a kiss that was sweet and full of love. His grip loosened and, in his foggy stupor, tried to deepen the kiss. Sarah broke off, however, and went back to the stubborn buttons.

"Heh, I expect to finish that kiss later, Sarah," he joked weakly.

She blushed as she opened the third button, revealing a ring: gold streaked with blood red. It glowed dangerously in the dim woods.

Sarah grasped the thread it hung by and pulled.

Sade laughed, yet again. "You cannot break it, girl. Yuto is mine to control."

Sarah paid no heed and continued to yank at the string. Blood seeped through her fingers as the cord cut into her hands and made it harder for her to keep a strong grip.

Yuto, though struggling with the power of the ring, wrapped his hands around Sarah's and fed her more energy. She blazed brighter and then pulled even harder.

Finally, to Sade's horror and Sadie's surprise, the necklace snapped. Sarah grasped the ring in her bloody palm.

Yuto laughed in triumph. "You don't own me anymore, Sade. The contract is broken."

Sarah held out her hand, showing Sade the ring. Using her firepowers, she melted the ring. "Get your own guy." She let the molten gold run onto the ground, the blood all boiled away.

Sade looked horrified and Sadie: shocked. They quickly fled and Yuto laughed again, feeling free for the first time.

He stopped abruptly, however, when Sarah collapsed against him, her spirit energy almost spent.

"Sarah?"

It took a few seconds, but she opened her eyes. "Hi, Yuto."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you. I owe you my life, Sarah."

She smiled back. "Call it even for all the times you've saved me."

He chuckled and hugged her. "C'mon. Let's get you to Kaede. She'll fix you up."

"Okay," she replied a little childishly. The blood loss, the fight, and not to mention being dead for a while, had made her a bit loopy. "Do you think she's got pudding?"

"What's pudding?" he asked, carrying her off to the village.

"I never did get any pudding, y'know."

Sarah had finished her story, aided by Yuto. (They'd left out some of the mushy points.) Azurine had stopped glaring at Yuto, finally beginning to trust him. Instead, she was now laughing. "Pudding? You're weird, Sarah."

"Yea, I know. So anyway, on our way back, we noticed the woods were ablaze near by. Your doing, I believe. I used up the last of our combined power to make it rain in your area. Apparently it worked, but I passed out before I could tell."

Around this time, two figures entered the small hut. The first was a tall, young man. He wore all red and had silvery-white hair. His tanned skin and golden eyes were very familiar. He had white, fuzzy dog ears perched on his head just like Azurine.

(Bean: fuzzy dog ears. Hee hee hee.

Chibi: shakes head)

The second person was a girl of Azurine's age, with raven hair and dark brown eyes. She wore her school uniform, a green skirt and a white, sailor style top.

Azurine smiled at their entrance. "Hey, InuYasha. Kagome."

"You again?" exclaimed InuYasha.

Kagome blinked. "Azurine? You're back?"

Azurine nodded.

"Yuto," InuYasha said, trying to act nonchalant about Azurine's return. "Kagome's heard rumors of a Shikon shard in Kasagiri Town. It's pretty far. You in?"

Yuto looked at Sarah, then turned back and nodded.

Sarah leaned over to Azurine and whispered, "InuYasha and Kagome still won't admit to everything. They still bicker incessantly."

"And…And what of Sango and Miroku?" Azurine asked, trying to look casual.

No one was able to answer as Shippo had entered the hut. "Kagome? When are we going? Hey!" He noticed Azurine sitting there and his face split open into a huge grin. "You…you're back!"

The kitsune jumped into her arms and hugged her. He only seemed to have aged a few months, perhaps three or four. "I missed you so much!"

Azurine hugged him back. "I missed you, too!" she cried, smiling just as widely.

"InuYasha? Kagome? Can I stay here with Azurine and Sarah?" Shippo practically begged.

"Huh, like I care," InuYasha spat.

Azurine sighed. Same InuYasha, all right.

Shippo beamed at him and went off with 'Kito to pick some flowers for the hut. He tended to keep 'Kito happy by transforming for him.

Inside, the curtain ruffled as Miroku pushed the curtain aside and ducked through the door. Only Sarah's firm grasp on Azurine's arm kept Azurine in her seat by the table.

"So…are we going then?" Miroku asked cautiously.

Only Yuto could muster a nod.

Sarah turned to Yuto and looked at him sadly.

InuYasha sighed. "Oh boy, here we go."

"What?" Azurine asked, confusedly.

"Those two take forever to say goodbye whenever they get split up."

And, on cue, Sarah and Yuto began to speak.

"Dear, please be careful."

"I will, love, and I'll return to you safely."

"I'll miss you, severely, darling."

"I know. As will I, you."

So on and so forth, the couple went on like this for almost half an hour. During this time, InuYasha and Kagome began to argue over whether or not they needed Yuto. Azurine's eyes locked with Miroku's.

Long after silence had fallen in the room, they still held their gaze. Finally, Miroku turned away.

"So...let's get going," he suggested.

They left the hut hastily. Sarah followed them as far as the herb garden. She, Shippo, and 'Kito all waved after them.

"Farewell, my love!" Sarah yelled.

"Bye, Daddy! I wuv you!" 'Kito added.

"See you soon!" Shippo exclaimed.

Azurine sighed from her place in the door. She watched Miroku and her heart broke all over again. She felt weak in the knees and her face was hot.

No. I won't do it again, she told herself. I can't. Still, she couldn't calm her racing heart.

Sarah was coming back and she smiled. "I assume I'll have to put up with you for awhile?"

"Of course," she said beaming. "You always have, before." She wasn't going to bring up...

"Are you okay? Your face is all flushed," Sarah asked, putting a hand on her forehead and checking her pulse. "Your heart is beating pretty fast. You should sit down."

Azurine began to argue. "I feel just..."

"I said sit. Do I need to get prayer beads on you?"

Azurine sat, Sarah was still able force her will on her, even more so, now that she was a mom.

A moment passed in silence. Shippo suddenly piped up. "You still love Miroku, don't you?" He looked at her innocently. "I mean, you told him 'yes', didn't you? You don't say that to just anyone."

No one needed to ask what the question had been. Azurine had told Miroku that she would bear his children in answer to his trademark question of young women.

"I've grown up since...then. I don't love anymore. It's a foolish emotion," Azurine replied calmly.

Shippo sat in her lap and looked up at her sadly. "You don't love me anymore?"

"No! That's...the way I love you is different. I love you like a little brother of a son. Not like Miroku," Azurine explained. "That's...a kind of love that Sarah and Yuto have."

"That love made Sarah have babies. Are you going to have a baby, Azure?"

Azure: anime fall

"N-no...Sarah! What have you been telling him?"

Sarah shrugged. "I didn't tell him anything. Must have been Miroku. He does things like that. 'Enlightening the minds of children' he calls it."

Shippo was trying to figure things out. "So...you love me like a little kid and Miroku like a lover?"

"No! I don't love Miroku at all!"

"But, you just said you loved Miroku like Sarah loves Yuto!" he argued.

"He has a point," Sarah agreed.

"Miroku forgot about me, okay?"Azurine yelled."He dropped me like a sack of potatoes the second another pretty girl crossed his path; a pretty girl like Sango." Azurine's expression showed that she had obviously lost any fragment of self-esteem she'd had when Sango came along. Azurine thought she was plain in comparison even though it was the complete opposite of the truth.

"Miroku never forgot about you, Azurine. Sango left him after a year, because he was always thinking about you. It nearly killed him when he thought you might never wake up," Sarah contradicted. "And don't you start with the whole self-deprecating thing. You're just as pretty as Sango, probably even more so."

Azurine looked up sullenly. "I met up with him when I first got here. He didn't even recognize me."

"Azure!He didn't want to get his hopes up. If it really wasn't you, it may have finally broken him."

"Yeah," Shippo argued. "For about three months after you left, he would walk up to any girl who looked even slightly like you, take her...well, once there was that guy who..."

"Don't get into that," Sarah said, shuddering.

"Well, anyway, he'd pick up her hand and say, 'Azurine? Is it you?' but get all depressed when it wasn't you," Shippo finished.

"Really?" The pair nodded and Azurine blinked.

She was silent the rest of the night.

Chibi: Yay! Sarah's still alive and she's with the man she loves. Hee hee!
Bean: And I have stew! The world is right!
Chibi: Check in next time! I'll do my best to be on time.
Bean: Note: this entire fic is based off the Relient K CD. Thank you Relient K!