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The Choice You Make Now

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Life, surprisingly, wasn't all that he'd hoped it would be. Don't get him wrong. The years he'd spent as a human living with his wife had been more than someone like him could've ever hoped to have. Well, that wasn't quite true. There were no children. For whatever reason, no matter how hard they'd tried, those never came. They'd been heartbroken of course and after it became clear that no children were ever going to be gifted to them, it became clear that his wife resented him for it. Not that she ever said it to his face. They both tiptoed around each other. Neither wanting to bring about a confrontation that might end with them being alone. Her trying to put on a strong face, knowing that she'd forced him to give up so much, and him always being afraid to push her away. They'd loved, yes, but they'd also never trusted each other. Always worried that the other might leave or betray them. It wasn't a happy life, but again, someone like him should never have expected a happy ending.

It wasn't until Kikyo died that Kaede had told him of the man in the cave and that she'd kept him a secret for decades until he'd died. It wasn't in him to talk ill of the dead. He was far too old and tired to care. Despite everything he'd given up to not die alone, here he was anyway. By himself, in a hut in dire need of renovations without anyone except Kaede, and even she wasn't all that good of company whenever she was around. They'd moved to a distant village to start their new lives, full of hopes and dreams. Sleeping with sutras around the house every night to keep out that bastard brother of his and all the demons who wanted him dead. Countless battles where one or both of them were injured. In a way, it was probably good they never had children. Just another target for some asshole to kill or maim. They'd to move every couple of years or so. It hadn't been a peaceful life. It hadn't been the happy life he'd wanted. All of that to not die alone and yet here he was.

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha sighed as he lay down on the futon and tried to imagine what it would've been like if he'd just stolen the jewel to begin with. Would he have been happier? Even as a human there was nowhere for him to really belong. He'd lived too long and seen too much to be comfortable around humans. For once, he wanted to meet someone who'd really understand him. He wanted that more than anything in the world.

"Inuyasha," a soft woman's voice cut through the silence of his home, "I will give you a choice. I will show you one vision from the future you could have had should you have stolen the jewel. One if you had failed and been betrayed. One of your life had it begun on better terms. One if you choose to move on. After, I will give you the choice of which life you would choose to live again or whether you merely wish to pass."

"Who the fuck are you?" Inuyasha snapped as he pushed himself into a sitting position, "I may be old but I'll kick your ass. Come out here and fight me."

"I am part of you," the soft voice replied, "I have been all along. Since that day you made a wish upon the jewel."

"You expect me to believe you're the jewel?" Inuyasha snorted before flopping back down on the futon, "Know what. Go ahead and fucking kill me whoever you are. I don't even give a shit anymore."

"You might," the soft voice replied, "You never know what you might be missing."

"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered under his breath, "Either kill me or don't. I'm too old for this shit."

"As you wish," the soft voice laughed softly, "I shall give you four visions and then a choice must be made. A final wish to change your fate."

"Why do you even care?" Inuyasha asked in a bored tone, "Aren't you supposed to be gone? You fucking disappeared."

"Alas, you have trapped me for fifty years with your wish to become mortal but I was never gone," the voice responded with a dejected sigh, "Your wish was a selfish one. As such, I became a part of you and we both have suffered the consequences. Now I'm giving you a choice to do things differently."

"Change your fate, you mean," Inuyasha responded knowingly, "You hate that I'm so boring and that Kaede will probably burn my body and you with me."

"Perhaps that much is true," the voice said knowingly, "However, I yearn for freedom and until you make the one true and correct wish, I will never be free."

"Fine, let's get this over with bitch," Inuyasha groaned as he waved his hand at nothing, "Take me away to wherever. I ain't got time to spare."