Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko and respective companies. I do not own any part of it and I'm not in contact with its author or publishers.
Author's note: This story was originally written in 2007 after I watched the first anime series (167 episodes). It follows it as a sequel. Strangely enough, even after the rest of the manga was published and the second series was released, my plot didn't collide with the original story.
I originally wrote this fic in my mother tongue, Czech, and now I decided to translate it into English so you too can enjoy it. As it is a complete story of fifteen chapters, you can expect frequent updates. I won't promise you an update every week at a certain hour of certain day, but the release tempo should still be pretty much stable and quite fast.
Reviews, favs and follows are encouraged.
Enjoy the story. :)
Chapter 01: The Loop Closes
A boy with white hair and dog-like ears crept silently through the forest, his frame casting a sharp shadow on the ground as the sun shone through the countless branches of green and gold. The only thing revealing his age were the countless experiences, pain and weariness displayed in his golden eyes. He wore a set of ragged red robes and a rosary made of large beads at which he kept tugging every now and then, though his efforts proved futile. It was not by far the first time he attempted to take it off, but no matter how hard he tried, the cursed trinket kept hanging around his neck and making his life as bothersome as it could get. He frowned, darting out only to stop a while later. Truth be told, he had no idea where he was, for he had shut his senses off the moment he had left the dried-out wooden well whose peculiar magic had changed his life forever.
If only this well didn't exist, he whined in his thoughts. None of the things happening to me would have occurred. I would have never met her, and as of now, I would be resting in peace, pinned to the Sacred Tree for eternity…
"Oh, I highly doubt that," an elderly hoarse voice issued behind his back and the half-demon turned around abruptly. An old hag in white kimono and red hakama trousers, whom he recognized as Kaede, the local priestess, was looking at him, giggling impishly and nodding in his direction. "Next time you need to sort something out, perhaps you could try avoiding yelling it out loud so the whole forest hears you."
He twitched his ears and snorted.
"You don't have to listen to every whisper one lets out to relieve the stress," he snarled and sat where he stood with his legs crossed, grimacing grumpily. She scoffed at the remark but shook her head in resignation.
"I presume Kagome's back to her time?" the woman asked with a sigh.
"She went home to let her steam off," he grumbled in reply. "As always."
"You should be a little more forthcoming towards her, Inuyasha," she scolded him softly. "She doesn't have it easy either."
"Bah. If it were up to you, she'd be even far worse off than she is now," Inuyasha uttered with a frown.
"Oh yes?"
"Imagine having to decide between Kagome and Kikyo… isn't she your own sister?"
Kaede took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something which would stab the half-demon's heart much more painfully than any weapon of Naraku's minions could, but not a single whispering sound escaped her lips and she pressed them together again. The process repeated itself several times until she dared to speak.
"But Kikyo is… gone."
Inuyasha regarded her with a look full of genuine hatred, his eyes narrowed with fury.
"Gone, yes? If she was gone, why would I be able to speak with her? Why can I touch her and hear her voice? Why do I… love her?"
"You did love her," Kaede corrected. "Understand, Inuyasha, she is halfway to the land of the dead, unable to proceed further or go back. Kikyo is beyond saving."
"So I should just wave and give her goodbye?" he growled in exasperation and twitched his ears again. The soft grass beneath him failed to soothe his stirred emotions, and so he rose and started pacing restlessly, circling the ground before the priestess. She lowered her head as though some exceedingly heavy burden pulled it down.
"No," she exhaled, "just don't leave Kagome behind."
"I'm not leaving her behind," he protested fiercely. "It's just that… she feels that way the moment Kikyo appears in her sight. I really don't know what to do. Why did it have to happen? In the end, Kikyo and Kagome are one and the same person, they share one soul. So why…"
"They have a different heart," Kaede said quietly.
Inuyasha sighed. He knew in his heart that one of them would have to leave his side permanently, but who? Can he just cast one of them away? Should it be Kikyo who was supposed to be dead for a long, long time? But wasn't he the same? Still, he was truly alive, while Kikyo was just an almost empty vessel of bones and dust. But he loved her… Should it be Kagome, the girl who had come from a different time and did not belong here? No, the mere thought of her leaving felt suffocating. A life without Kagome…
I can't even imagine it anymore, he thought to himself. No in-stunt ramen or potato chips, no creaky two-wheeled iron device, no miraculous cures, no more shouting "Sit!" and no more watching…
He shook his head. The only thing this world had brought Kagome was suffering while Kikyo had been born here and knows nothing beyond it. He was sure every minute must feel horrible to the girl from the future. Maybe it would be best for her if she left for good.
Strands of ivy and other climbers rustled in the dried-out well in the middle of the forest. A dark-haired girl in a school uniform of green and white was climbing its tendrils, clinging to them tightly. Her face was reflecting indecisiveness, as though she was struggling between the feeling of anger or sorrow. She sighed, half because of her unsettled emotions and half of exhaustion, for this was the second time in just a short while that she was trying to climb up the cold walls of the well. At last, she finally reached its upper edge. Upon entering the beautiful sunlit meadow spreading around it, she spotted a small fox demon, waving his tail from side to side absentmindedly. He stared at her in surprise when she appeared before him.
"Kagome," he called to her. "I thought you went back."
"Well, I…" the girl hesitated. "I changed my mind. Shippo, could you maybe give me some time alone?"
"Sure," he nodded and disappeared in the trees nearby in the wink of an eye.
Kagome sighed and then sat down heavily, her back leaning to the loft wooden edge of the well she had just come from. In an instant, her attention turned to a snake-like translucent demon whose faint glow drowned in the sunlight which floated from the bushes, approaching the nearby Sacred Tree.
"So Kikyo is here as well," Kagome spoke to herself silently a knit her brows.
As if answering her call, a tall figure of a girl in red and white emerged from the shadows. Kagome raised her head and looked up, her face barely reflecting a hint of surprise at her sudden appearance.
"You should be careful," the newcomer spoke softly without a word of greeting. "And ready your bow. Kagura is heading this way, although I have no idea what she could come here for. I doubt she'll be friendly though."
With that last word, a woman in an elegant purple-white kimono holding a large fan landed nearby, and the arrogant look in her face was the only fault in her otherwise perfect face crowned by a mop of raven hair tied up in a short ponytail. Her red eyes studied the two girls who stood there ready to fight, resembling twins in appearance, yet each of them wearing a different aura.
"Well, greetings," she said with a smirk. "I've been looking for you. I want Kagome to come with me."
There was a moment of silence, everyone standing at their place motionlessly.
"No worries, I have no reason to hurt you," she continued calmly. "Naraku doesn't trust me anymore, I'm a traitor to him. But I have to act while I'm still alive. If we rid him of the Sacred Jewel, I can see a chance to defeat him. So what say you?"
"We have no guarantee that you're telling the truth," the girl beside Kagome spoke, her lips curling softly to form a hint of a smile.
"Not asking you, Kikyo," Kagura hissed irritably. "You and your infinite meddling… I'll be sure to make you and Naraku meet and settle things between you two before I put him down!" And with that, she swung her fan towards the young priestess. Kikyo jumped up in the air, avoiding the glowing blade reminiscent of a crescent moon gone in her way by a hair. Leaping backwards, she gasped in surprise as the well opened underneath her frame, embracing her in darkness as she fell. Then a blinding beam of light flashed through the air. Kagome squeezed the wooden sill in a tight grip and leaned over the edge, staring into the depth, but there was no sign of the priestess.
"Kikyo!" she exclaimed, but only silence came in reply, interrupted only by the soft whisper of the wind in the treetops. Deciding to follow her, Kagome jumped into the pit without a trace of hesitation, but she cried out in surprise when her body landed on the unpleasantly cold hard bottom with a thud. And Kikyo wasn't there.
She poked at the soil with the tip of her foot and then placed a hand on it. Scratching didn't help either, and finally she hit it with her fists, but the solid ground refused to give way and let her to the other side.
"Why – is – it – not – working?!" she fumed, her fist meeting the ground with every pronounced word. But it would not budge.
She heard Kagura scoff above her and shot her an angry glance. The red-eyed girl was leaning to the sill, watching her, wicked amusement framing her face. Kagome furrowed her brows. She could almost hear Kagura's triumphant jibe.
So that's taken care of, she must be thinking. Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction and she smiled at the helpless girl kneeling at the bottom of the well.
