- THE TIES THAT BIND -
An InuYasha FanStory

Chapter One: Shooting Star
000
Kagome sighed softly, sitting at the desk by her window and gazing out at the night sky quietly. It had been a long and very tiresome day, and yet she couldn't bring herself to slip beneath the downy comforters of her bed and sleep. It felt as if someone had a fist clenched around her heart, slowly strangling the life out of her. She couldn't say why, exactly – she and InuYasha had gotten in fights a thousand times before. This was nothing new. And yet, somehow, it seemed different to her.

Perhaps it was because they were so close to the end – to the final battle against Naraku. Their nerves were all on edge. Even Shippo had seemed more fidgety than usual, and Miroku had lapsed into solemn silence. Still, ragged nerves were no reason for InuYasha to pick a fight with her – even if his intentions were good. She knew that he had told her to leave and return home because he did not want her in danger when they finally faced Naraku. She knew that, but after all these years traveling together, it hurt that he still could not trust her to stay by his side. Even after all this time…did he still think of her as a burden?

She could forgive him. She would forgive him, she knew. That was how these things always worked. Whenever they neared the Well it would always come up again, in a variety of creative ways. Always, the question of whether she should return home. Of whether she should come back again. It didn't matter though. She still had a couple of the Shikon Shards – even if she didn't return to apologize to him, he would come to get her eventually. It was almost like a ritual between the two, playing on and on and on no matter the circumstances.

Still, the pressure in her ribs was beginning to suffocate her. This had, undoubtedly, been one of their worst fights yet – excluding that one painful scene when she had stumbled upon him in the arms of Kikyo, of course. She would return to Sengoku Jidai on the morrow. Now if only she could get a good night's sleep.

She rose from her chair, stretching her sore limbs out with a half-stifled yawn. She moved over to the window, cracking it open a bit and leaning her elbows on the sill, her brown eyes upturned towards the heavens. She was always amazed to look up at the night sky after returning home. In InuYasha's time, the night sky was filled with millions upon millions of tiny pinpricks of light. Here, in the center of Tokyo, however, the night sky was dimmed from the constant glare of manmade lights.

As she contemplated the differences between their two eras, her mind wandered back to her dilemma – the dilemma that had begun when she first entered into that long ago time and met InuYasha, pinned to the God Tree. What would she do when it was finally over? When Naraku was finally defeated and they collected the last of the shards, what would she do then? Would she come home, never to return to the Sengoku Jidai ever again? Would she abandon InuYasha forever? Or more importantly, would he abandon her? It was a question that had troubled her ever since her heart had first started thumping in InuYasha's presence – when the first spark ignited the stirrings of her emotions. Now that it was so very close to the end, it nagged her all the more.

"He would tell me to go home," she murmured to herself. The moment the words were whispered, she knew they were true. Even if InuYasha loved her, he would still tell her to return home – and even now she could not say for sure that he did. Kikyo always lurked at the edges of his thoughts, tugging him back into a past she knew little of. There was so much she didn't know.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he were more like his brother, Sesshoumaru. Not that she cared for the cold blooded youkai much, but she did have to admit that there were certain qualities in him that were desirable. She had never thought that before – it was only when Rin appeared in his life that she began to realize there was more to the young taiyoukai than it seemed. Besides, he wasn't loud mouthed and obnoxious like his hanyou brother was. It seemed he never lost his composure – never said foolish things that had no purpose but to hurt those around him. That was coupled with the fact that he rarely deigned to speak to others around him, of course, but Kagome could do with a bit of silence from InuYasha any day now. She was getting sick of his constant nagging.

"If only the two of them could switch places," she murmured softly. She didn't really mean it, of course, but she was angry. InuYasha could be so dense sometimes.

"If only InuYasha and Sesshoumaru could just…switch places." She heaved a sigh, shaking her head a bit as she turned away from the window. It was time for her to go to bed, if she had any hope of going back to InuYasha's time tomorrow.

As she slipped underneath the covers, enveloped in the unaccustomed warmth of a present day bed, a small glimmer of light shot across the night sky.

000

It was early in the morning. Probably too early to be leaving, but the strangling feeling in her chest was becoming too much to bare. The sun's rays just barely kissed the horizon, the morning sky painted deep shades of gray. Winter wind hissed around her feet, tugging at the jacket she had thrown over her t-shirt and skirling late fallen leaves across the thin patches of snow on the ground. Everything looked gloomy and bare, forcing her to wonder if it was some sort of bad omen for the future. She pushed such thoughts aside quickly enough, however, and hurried towards the tiny hut that concealed the Bone Eater's Well from view.

She paused as she pushed the doors open, peering at the lump of shadows that marked the Well. Should she really go back so soon? Perhaps she should wait for InuYasha to come get her. Perhaps she should force him to apologize first. She closed her eyes, leaning up against the door and taking a deep breath as her heart thudded against her ribs. She really was too stressed these days, but putting off the inevitable would only make it worse. She would have to face InuYasha sooner or later. The final battle was just around the corner. She could sense it. They could all sense it.

She pushed herself off the door, running a hand anxiously through her thick black hair as she stepped over to the Well. She threw the doors back, leaning against the old, wooden edge and peering into the ominous blackness. How many times had she made this journey? It was impossible to say. She had jumped into the cavernous hole of the Well so many times that even trying to keep track was a futile effort. Sometimes it was hard to even remember a time when she hadn't been jumping between eras.

She bit down on her lip, attempting to silence her thoughts with slight pain. She flung her yellow, lumpy backpack over her shoulder, pushing herself up onto the edge of the old Well and dangling her legs over the side.

"Well, here goes nothing," she muttered to herself. Her heart skipped a beat – as it always did when she jumped off the edge of the Well into the darkness. Once, long ago, she had always wondered when the magic would stop working and she would crumple on the hard ground below instead of passing through time into another era. For awhile she had always climbed down slowly, just to make sure she wouldn't get hurt.

How things had changed…

She felt the slight pressure that pushed against her body as the darkness enveloped her. She could sense the magic – powerful magic – that pulled her away from her own time into another. She would face InuYasha soon. Perhaps even more importantly, she would face Naraku soon. And then they would all go their separate ways…

She sighed as her feet lightly touched the ground. It was covered in half rotted leaves and branches, old vines hanging down from the top. She craned her head back, staring up at the still murky gray sky. She thought it interesting that the weather here seemed to be the same as in her present time. Everything was dark and murky, completely devoid of color.

"Never mind that," she muttered, admonishing herself for her stupid thoughts. She walked over to the nearest and most study looking vine, adjusting her backpack on her back and then slowly hefting herself up, hand over hand, to the top.

She blinked as she came over the edge. Glaring white snow surrounded her on all sides, glinting in the faint light of morning rays. It must have just snowed the night before, for everything to be so white and pristine. She blinked as her gaze caught a flash of movement – was that white hair she saw? She couldn't help but smile slightly.

"InuYasha?"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"You know of my brother?"

She cursed herself, stumbling back against the edge of the Well and nearly falling backwards into its depth. That might be a good thing though – if Sesshoumaru decided to attack, it would be her only way to escape. She stood poised over the edge of the Well and only then did she pause to consider his words.

"Of course I do. What are you talking about?" she asked, her entire body tense as she pressed back against the Well. Her vision was finally starting to get accustomed to the glaring brightness of the snow. She could see him standing not far in front of her, just before the first trees on the edge of the clearing. He was wearing his usual attire, his haori hanging loosely around his frame, the fanged breastplate plastering his clothing to his chest. Long, silver white hair fell over his shoulders and down his back as gleaming golden eyes regarded her coldly.

"How should I know whether you know of him or not?" he asked, his voice serene but cold and threatening. She had insulted him. "I care not what my foolish half brother does with his time." His gold eyes appraised her closely, a frown twitching on the edges of his lips. "…nor who he consorts with."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly and then narrowed again. What was he talking about? Of course she knew his brother – he had seen her with the hanyou a thousand times before! Was he playing some sort of trick on her? Or perhaps he was simply pretending he had never noticed her existence before. That wouldn't be surprising. He never paid her any attention, no matter how many times they came across each other. She decided to humor him and let it pass.

"What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru-sama? Haven't you already given up on the Tetsusaiga? What use is a blade you cannot wield, after all?" The look on his face truly startled her. His golden eyes widened into round orbs, a stunned expression flitting across his face. His lips curled back into a snarl and his hand shot towards the hilt of the sword hanging at his side.

"How do you know of this?" he hissed at her, hesitating at the edge of the clearing. "How do you know of the Tetsusaiga?"

Had he gone insane? Or perhaps she had. Or maybe she was dreaming. She didn't know, but it was really starting to frighten her. The look on his face was not a lie – not a game. He truly had no idea who she was, nor what she was talking about.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she stuttered, flipping one leg over the edge of the Well and dangling it into the opening. She had to be ready to jump in an instant – this man was fast, much faster than InuYasha. If he chose to attack her, she would be dead in an instant.

"Who are you, girl?" he snarled. She could hear the metallic click of metal against sheath as he pulled out the first inch of sword. "How do you know InuYasha and how do you know of me and the Tetsusaiga?" He paused for a moment before continuing, lowering his voice darkly. "Where do you come from? I did not sense your presence when I first came here. Why do you cling to the well, and how did you come to climb out of it?"

This was the most talkative she had ever seen him. And perhaps the most on edge as well. He was like his hanyou brother in that – neither of them liked to be caught off guard, left in the dark without a clue as to what they faced.

"I…I am Kagome," she stuttered. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to tell him about all the times they had met before, when he clearly did not remember her? "I am Kagome, InuYasha's companion. We have…met before," she whispered the last two words, her heart momentarily failing her. What was going on?

"Met before? You fool with me, human girl, and that is something I would not advise. I have never met with you before. I do not consort with humans as my father and brother seem to so enjoy doing." His voice was a low hiss of hatred at the mention of his father and brother. This was truly the most emotional she had ever seen him. "And how could you know of InuYasha as it is? Unless you are, perhaps, not as young as you seem. As far as I recall, he has been bound to this tree, unconscious, for many years now!"

"Bound to the tree? The God Tree? What are you talking about? I already released him from…" Her voice trailed off then, her eyes going wide. Sesshoumaru eyed her warily, his claws still wrapped around the sword at his side. Her mind was whirling around and around in circles, continually asking herself just what was going on now.

Could it be? Could it be that I have…gone back too far? Gone back before releasing InuYasha? Before meeting Sesshoumaru for the first time? She couldn't even fathom the idea. Was there such a thing as a world where she was not friends with InuYasha? Was it even possible? Those times, before she had met him, were so far away…so vague and shapeless in her own memory. The idea of being without him was shattering.

She lurched forward without a second thought. It was a foolish thing to do – if she had hold of any semblance of sanity she would have known that. With Sesshoumaru standing on the edge of the clearing near where the God Tree was, a sword in his hand and suspicion on his face, gambling past him was the stupidest thing she could have done. He merely watched her through narrowed eyes, however. His body slightly stiff as she lunged past him, into the bushes and around the other side of the giant trunk of the God Tree. Could it be? Could it really be?

"InuYasha," she hissed breathlessly. For a moment it seemed as if she would suffocate. Her heart stopped beating and it seemed unwilling to start again. Dangling just above her was the limp form of the loud mouthed hanyou she knew so well – an arrow pierced through his chest.

Sesshoumaru was by her again, off to the side a distance but close enough to keep her within eyesight. His grip had loosened on his sword, however, and that was somewhat reassuring.

"It really is true," she murmured, slumping to her knees helplessly. "It really is…"

"Of course it is," replied the hard, cool voice of the taiyoukai. "Did you think I had lied?" She didn't answer. She simple stared up at the slumbering figure of her dearest friend. The friend that no longer knew her. The friend that had never met her.

"How did this happen?" she whispered. The taiyoukai shifted slightly. She could feel his golden gaze slide from her to the prone figure of his brother.

"Did you not say you knew of him? How could you not know, if you are so close?" he asked. There was no emotion in his voice – not even the wariness that had characterized his features only moments before. Perhaps he had come to the conclusion that she was not a threat.

Her shoulders slumped slightly. It was true. She really had gone back to the beginning.

No, not the beginning…she thought. In the beginning there was no snow on the ground. In the beginning there was no Sesshoumaru hovering near the Bone Eater's Well. Was this, perhaps, somewhere before the beginning?

She turned, her large brown eyes focusing on Sesshoumaru's figure more closely now. He regarded her in silence, upright and aristocratic as always. Her gaze fell on his left arm and once again she cursed herself. That should have been the first sign – his arm had not been hacked off in the battle against InuYasha yet. This was definitely before her time in the Sengoku Jidai.

"Why are you here?" she asked suddenly, her voice harsh. She paused, gulping, and ducked her head slightly in a clumsy bow. "Sesshoumaru-sama," she added. His golden eyes narrowed upon her downturned face before once again shifting to his hanyou half-brother.

"My business here is none of your concern, human child. You should be grateful that I have not wrenched your head from your neck…yet. I will not stand for your insolence any longer – leave now, and your life will be spared."

Leave? she thought, the word thundering in her ears. Why? What was he going to do? Did he plan on killing InuYasha? No…that couldn't be right. If InuYasha survived until the future when she was originally supposed to come, then…

She dropped her head into her hands with a groan. She had never been very good in school and this was far to abstract for her. What was going on?

Her head jerked up suddenly, her gaze jumping to InuYasha.

"I could release him again," she murmured thoughtfully, ignoring Sesshoumaru's burning glare on the back of her head. She could do it, she was sure, but she had no idea what that would mean. As well as she could recall, InuYasha had tried to kill her after she had first released him. It was only the Prayer-Beads that held him at bay, and those were put on him by Kaede.

"Move now, human," Sesshoumaru said as he took a step closer. His voice retained its calm demeanor, but she could sense anger boiling beneath it. She scrambled out of the way as he continued moving forward, stopping just in front of his brother and turning to regard him. He slowly reached out a clawed hand towards the arrow.

Light crackled around him and he jerked his hand back with a slight, nearly indistinguishable grimace. His golden eyes narrowed, his brows coming together in thoughtful annoyance.

"It's a miko spell," Kagome said suddenly, cringing as the youkai slowly turned his cold gaze on her.

"I can see that," he pointed out stiffly. Kagome stared for a moment before taking a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and collect her thoughts.

"You can't remove it. No one can. No one but Kikyo. Kikyo or…" Her voice trailed off and she pulled slightly. What am I saying?! she screamed at herself. This was not the Sesshoumaru she knew. Well – it was, but not exactly. The point was, she shouldn't just blabber out anything without a second thought.

In fact, that was something she shouldn't do no matter what Sesshoumaru she was talking to.

"Or?" he asked, a hint of steely impatience in his voice. This time he really did unsheathe his sword, swinging it around and pointing it at her neck. "Answer me."

Kagome drew back as she whispered her answer, her heart sinking. "Or…me."

"You?" he asked, arching a brow incredulously as he turned his gaze back to InuYasha. "You have the power to release him from the miko spell?"

"Yes," Kagome said breathlessly, her gaze on the sword hovering just before the soft flesh of her throat. "I can…"

He turned his attention back on her and was silent for a moment. He pulled his blade back, letting it hang by his side, and then nodded in the direction of his brother.

"Do it." She started at the command, lifting her head and staring at him with wide eyes.

"Wai…what? You want me to…no, why?" she asked, her voice stuttering. None of it really made sense to her. Why would he want to release his brother? Wouldn't he rejoice in leaving his brother here to rot?

"I have no reason to answer you, human," he said, his grip tightening on the sword at his side. "Do as I say if you wish to live."

Kagome drew back, her mind working frantically. Would he kill InuYasha? Sesshoumaru always did have a strange sense of honor. Perhaps he wasn't willing to kill his younger brother when he could not fight back. Perhaps he wanted her to awaken him only so that he could kill him under the pretense of being 'fair'.

"You cannot kill me if you want to awaken your brother. I am the only one alive who can do it," she blurted suddenly. She didn't know where the words came from. They just came out.

The taiyoukai stared at her silently for a moment, his gaze burning through her skin. She wouldn't have been surprised if she simply dropped dead then and there. It certainly seemed like a look from him could kill.

"I could torture you instead," he answered coolly. "I could tear your limbs off one by one and still leave you alive. You do not require legs, after all, to pull out an arrow – do you?"

She shuddered. This was Sesshoumaru all right. She lumbered to her feet, moving slowly towards the God Tree. Sesshoumaru backed out of her way as she passed him, his golden eyes boring into her.

She turned as she stopped before the prone figure of InuYasha, her wide brown eyes regarding Sesshoumaru pleadingly.

"Please…just tell me this. It is all I ask, and I will pull the arrow from his chest." When the taiyoukai did not respond, she decided it was safe to continue. "Why do you want to wake him? You have no love for your brother, I know that much. Why not leave him to rot here?"

The taiyoukai's eyes watched her carefully. She knew that her words made him wonder – wonder how she knew so much about him. He has never met me, after all, she thought bitterly. Never before had she thought she would be so unhappy at the prospect of not being known by Sesshoumaru-sama.

"I came to see my brother…" he said slowly. She started, having not really expected an answer at all. Perhaps it was his wonder at her 'uncanny' amount of knowledge that led him to respond to her. "…because I search for my father's grave."

"The Black Pearl," she hissed. Now she remembered! Sesshoumaru had only been given a twisted clue by his father as to the whereabouts of his grave. He had sought InuYasha in the future time as well, though he had used a different method – a youkai in the form of his mother in order to extricate the information. But InuYasha was unconscious now – in a sleep as deep as any death. There was no way he could get the information from him in this form.

"The Black Pearl?" Sesshoumaru shattered her thoughts suddenly. She jerked, back up slightly. Her body brushed against InuYasha's practically dead form.

"What do you know of this matter?" he asked, taking a step towards her. "What is this Black Pearl you speak of?" There was no escaping now. She decided to plunge right in and see what happened.

Her hand closed around the arrow and with a clumsy jerking motion, it was freed.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

((Please Read and Review! Your thoughts, opinions and suggestions keep me warm and safe at night!))

NEXT CHAPTER
Chapter Two: Father's Grave

Kagome reveals the secret of the Black Pearl and the three old acquaintances spiral into the graveyard of the greatest inuyoukai of all time. The fated fight for the legendary blade, Tetsusaiga, begins.