Title: Crossed Lines
Rating: Mature. There will be graphic scenes and talk of sex, drugs, alcohol and everything else that's rated M.
Summary: AU Life doesn't get any easier when demons from her past become part of her present and she freaks knowing her surrogate son was sold into slavery. Meanwhile Kagome struggles to keep her past hidden from her father.
Dedicated: To all my fans, but ESPECIALLY to my beta for still loving me after all these years. 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha. Cause If I did, I wouldn't have let the ending suck like that. No offense. :)
AN: This is an AU fic, a mature read. There is language, sex, drinking and everything young people should not do until after college. I will not tell you the pairing(s) of this story because … well … sometimes my writing ventures on a different path.
The muses direct the flow, I'm simply their writer. Don't like it, don't read.
With that being said, enjoy the story. Relevant questions will be answered via mail and posted on my profile. ~ Fyyrrose
The crowd cheered.
Kagome, along with the rest of her graduating class, threw her convocation hat up into the air. The act was rebellious and scandalous; an act of Westernization, but that was the future of the world. And so with the future came its customs. Some parents huffed, others cheered, losing themselves, like their children, in the moment.
Slowly the chattering and giggling quieted and dulled as people left their circle. She hugged her friends for the millionth time, glad she could be with them on this day. It wasn't an easy road, especially with her adventures to the past. Despite everything thrown at her, she survived.
After making plans to meet up with trio, and well Hojo, she went to join her family that came out to witness her big day. Smiling brightly, her family circled around her effectively giving her no room to escape. Her mother gushed and kept hugging her at random moments. Her brother kept laughing at her inability to avoid their mom's kisses.
"Just wait until it's your turn." Kagome leaned over and whispered. "And for yours I'll even bring a video camera and upload it on peer-to-peer networks."
Her brother immediately stopped laughing and paled. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Last person that dared me was a demon and I purified his hide." Kagome snapped back. To the rest of her family she smiled, as if there had never been a threat, as if Kagome was the perfect student. Souta thought his sister was scary, but he realized it was a character flaw held by all females.
Kagome broke away and walked down the aisle where she had just sat previously, taking in some much needed peace. Her struggle hadn't been an easy one. She battled demons through middle school and partially into high school. She never thought she would have finished her second year of high school and trapeze through feudal Japan searching for Naraku and the jewel shards, but she did.
She was saddened a bit by not saying goodbye to her makeshift feudal era family, but she moved on with time. It all happened so fast. She knew it wasn't her fault, but she could have thought more about what would happen when the jewel was completed. She thought she would get to say goodbye, and travel home…and maybe occasionally visit. Just weekends and holidays…
It was unrealistic she knew. Part of her was aware that this was possibility. The jewel was complete and even before Inuyasha could take it away and wish on it, she was gone. It was a case of complete. Poof. Home. End of story.
The well was sealed, and she had a very powerful completed jewel that was coveted by demons and no one to help her protect it. She tried immediately to go back, to say goodbye. But she was sealed out. The magic she felt in and around the well was gone. After trying every day for a week, she gave up, determined to continue on her own path; happy for the skills and memories they made with her.
Kagome took a silent moment to think of what her friends would have said to her today. She hadn't thought of them in a very long time, but she gave herself over to the dull ache in her heart when she thought of them.
As five hundred years passed, Miroku and Sango were long dead. Shippo was possibly somewhere out there. And if Inuyasha's big mouth and temper were kept in check, then he might be alive. Who knows how long half demons lived? But if they were with her, she knew Miroku would give her a big hug and fondle her backside. Sango would clobber him and would cry alongside her. Shippo would have given her a picture he made or a leaf claiming it had magical properties. And Inuyasha would have told her she should have spent more time in the feudal era chasing shards, since it all lead to the same place.
The scene before her was vivid, and as much as it hurt to let go, she did. She would remember them with fond memories, but she was moving on with her life.
College was now a deciding factor in her life. She could be and do anything she wanted. She thought about taking a year off and helping out her mom and grandfather at the shrine. It was a possibility. It would also give her an extra year to figure out how to hide the jewel better and figure out why demons weren't coming after her.
If Shippo and Inuyasha were alive, then why didn't they come and find her? She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Taking one last glance around at what was her entire life, she exhaled deeply and turned on the ball of her foot and went to join the rest of her family again. She hoped this time her mother wouldn't assault her with hugs in front of everyone. A girl could only take so much!
Her family seemed to have disregarded her completely for a stranger. They all seemed to be excited. Before she reached them, she felt a demonic presence and stopped. A little ways down there stood a blue haired demon. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. If he was friendly, then she would let him live. Plus, she had no weapons on her. Unlike Feudal Japan, she couldn't carry weapons freely. Times were less "dangerous".
He kept his eye on the stranger talking with her family. As she got closer, she made out the figure. He wasn't a large man but one that captured your presence and demanded you take notice of him. It was the hardened aura and spirit of a man who fought and won many hard battles. It couldn't have been!
Her steps hurried to the group. The closer she got the more her family parted. Their eyes locked and Kagome ran full force into his arms. She hugged him and cried. Her heart felt better, like a part of her returned.
"Daddy!" The childish cry caused her family to smile.
She didn't care he was late or missed the entire ceremony, she was just happy he was finally home after being away for so long. They broke away from each other, giving her father plenty of room to look her over. She couldn't stop the giant grin plastered on her face.
"Congratulations on graduating. I'm so very proud of you." He brought her forward, back into his arms, and kissed her bang covered forehead.
"Thanks Dad." She blushed. "Are you home for a while or are you leaving again?" She had hoped he could at least stay the night at the bare minimum.
"Well I'll be back for a few days hopefully. But there is one question I want to ask you later on when we're alone and away from prying eyes." He looked around as if scanning the area for hostiles. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru used to do that.
Kagome smiled fondly again. She leaned into him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Oh shit!" She cursed. If her dad was back, she wasn't about to miss her chance being with him. She hadn't seen him in over ten years. She raced over to Eri, the first of the trio she saw. She quickly explained why she had to cancel. Her friends would all understand. There would be other times, but reuniting with a parent before he took off again was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She hugged her friend and thanked her before returning to her own group.
They made their way back to the quiet living of the Sunset Shrine.
A few hours after the bustle of the busy morning and afternoon, the Higurashi family went about their daily lives and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Souta was playing his video games; Grandpa was in the far back of the shrine trying to remember where he placed Kagome's graduation gift; her mother was in the kitchen preparing their evening meal; which left father and daughter sitting at the top of the shrine steps looking out at the slowly setting sun.
"I think we need to have a talk. I don't want to scare you but there's something you need to know." Her father started off.
Kagome lifted her head and stared at the aging man sitting next to her. "I've survived grandpa's stories. I don't think anything can scare or bore me anymore." She told him lightly as he started to chuckle.
"Well," he started, "My father does have some merit. Demons do exist in today's society. And I'm not talking about some metaphysical demon that lives inside of us, but living and breathing demons." He watched his daughter carefully. He watched her reaction.
Kagome blinked at her father repeatedly. Didn't her Mom tell him about Feudal Japan? Didn't she make mention that Kagome had been basically living with demons? "Oh ... okay." That's all she could manage to say.
Her mind was spinning why was this important now? She didn't understand. "You seem to be taking this rather well." Her father told her as he continued to watch the expressions on her face.
Kagome shrugged. "If there's other life in the universe besides us, why can't there be demons?" She caught sight of blue hair and kept it in her mind's eye. She didn't want to alarm her father of its presence. She wasn't armed so they would both be sitting ducks.
"Kagome, I'm going to cut right to the chase." He sighed and centered himself before continuing. Kagome's interest was piqued. "I want to test you to see if you have any spiritual powers."
Kagome blinked and drew her eyebrows together in confusion. She had spiritual powers, her entire family knew that. Granted her dad had been away when they awoke, she assumed they kept him informed. "Sure, I guess so." She told him, confused even more by all this. "So what do I need to do?"
"We'll set you up with an experiment tomorrow and go from there."
"You're not gonna hook me up to machines and drain my blood or anything like that, are you?"
He laughed. He laughed hard and loud while shaking his head. "No nothing like that. Has your mother not told you anything about what I've been doing these last ten years?" His mirth dropped slightly, taking on a slightly sadder tone.
Kagome shook her head. Guess he wasn't the only one they were keeping secrets from. "She told me you were away on business."
"I guess that's kind of true. I want you to promise me that you're not going to freak out and call me crazy, okay?" He shifted so he was facing her.
Kagome cocked her head and shifted so she was facing him head on. "I promise that no matter how farfetched this sounds, I won't freak out and commit you to an insane asylum. " Smiling she held up her pinky finger, signaling the start of a pinky swear.
He smiled at her childishness and accepted the pinky with his own. "I'm a contracted demon slayer. I only kill the bad demons. You know like the kind in Grandpa's stories."
Kagome's eyes widened. "That's so cool!" She searched his face for some sort of lie. When she didn't see one, she started to get antsy sitting on the cement steps.
"I'm not kidding Kagome." His voice was stern. "There are demons out there that would kill you in a heartbeat given the chance."
Kagome scoffed in her mind. Gone there, done that and had the jewel to prove it. "I believe you." She wanted to hear all about his exploits and adventures as well as the kinds of demons he's killed. Some part of her hoped to hear about Inuyasha or Shippo, but the main part of her knew that if her dad talked about them meant they were dead.
She wanted to tell him about her feudal life and her own experiences with demons, but her mother called out to them to tell them supper was ready and being served.
They both got up and made their way towards the house.
"Kagome." He stopped her in her tracks. "Don't tell your brother. He doesn't need to worry about demons. I don't want to endanger him."
She thought for a moment, she thought of telling him everyone already knew demons were alive, but she nodded her head and kept her mouth shut. Her family had kept secrets from her, now it was her turn to keep one. If keeping this secret made her dad sleep at night knowing Souta was safe, then she would take it to the grave.
He walked inside the house while Kagome paused a moment to check on their unwelcomed guest. She didn't directly look at him, instead she made it seem like she was checking the sunset one last time before going inside.
Her life was about to get interesting. Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, she walked inside for a family sit down dinner ten years in the making.
