Disclaimer: I own my OCs and nothin' else.
They had spent three weeks now on the road and found nothing. It was frustrating for all of them, and a little boring as there hadn't even been any strong demons to fight, only a few weaklings that were killed almost before the fight had started. The only problems seemed to be Inuysha and Kagome's near-constant fights and Kagome's stress over her schoolwork.
The group came to an abrupt halt, however, when the wind shifted and brought the distinct smell of blood, and a lot of it, to everyone with demonic senses. Quickly preparing for battle, the group broke into a run.
They arrived to a slaughter. Bandits had come through the village and destroyed everything, killing everyone in their path. Inyasha, Hari, and even Shippo and Kirara all sniffed around, but the smell of blood was too powerful and the bodies too cold for there to be any hope of catching the bandits. Sighing, the group got to work digging graves for all the villagers.
The work stopped suddenly, however, when a small, plaintive cry was heard by Kagome, who called out to the others. Instantly, they rushed over and started working to pull rubble from a burned house away from the source of the cries. It was a young girl, about five or six. Kagome, who was the most mothering of the group, led her away while the others finished digging graves.
They found Kagome holding a still weepy girl. All Kagome had been able to find out so far was that her name was Hitomi, and that her parents were both dead.
"What are we going to do? We can't leave her by herself, but we also can't take her with us, it's too dangerous," Kagmome said worriedly once Hitomi had finally cried herself to sleep.
"I know this area well enough," Hari said after a few long moments of thought. "The mountains where I spent most of my life aren't far off, and I spent a lot of time exploring them and looking out at what's around them. I know where a few villages are. One of them will probably be able to take her in."
The offer was met with varying degrees of upset. The others had gotten used to Hari's presence, and she had managed to become a friend to all of them. Inuyasha, however, looked ready to shoot the offer down without even giving it a moment's thought, which Hari found unusual.
Studying his posture and face, she saw that this was more than him simply being unhappy with the offer. He looked decidedly agitated about it. Which didn't make sense. Being agitated about her leaving would only happen if...
"He claimed me," Hari suddenly realized. She recognized the agitation for what it was, having felt it herself whenever Kaya had been out of sight while she had been alive. At some point during the few months she had spent with this odd group, the half-demon had claimed her. The realization was both startling and comforting. She honestly hadn't expected anyone to claim her as their own, expecting to spend the rest of her life alone. It was nice, however, to have a family of sorts.
"The nearest village isn't too far off," she said after a while. "The trip should only take a month or so, and then I can return to Kaede's village and wait for you there." A small sound from her left brought her gaze to Hitomi, who was starting to wake up.
Kagome briefly explained Hari's offer to her, and Hitomi nodded her head slightly, though she looked uneasy about it.
"Probably doesn't want to travel with someone who looks like me," Hari thought, but she didn't show her thoughts on her face, and she also didn't voice them.
"We can leave tomorrow," she said, smiling at the girl while being careful not to show her fangs. Mentally, she was going over every inch of those mountains, trying to decide the shortest route that would also allow for the easiest travel. After all, small human children weren't as hardy as adult half-demons, and even if Hari had only been Hitomi's age, she still would have been hardier thanks to her demonic blood.
The next morning, the group enjoyed one last breakfast as an entire group before Hari picked up Hitomi and set off at a quick pace towards the mountains. Her quick speed and high leaps were met with shrieks of delighted laughter by the small child.
When they finally stopped for the night, Hari having caught a large meal and starting a small but warm fire for the little girl, the first pangs of loneliness hit her. The little girl was fine as a traveling companion, but she definitely missed Kagome and the others.
"It should only take one month," she reminded herself, "then I can rejoin them."
It ended up being much longer than the one month, however, before Hari found a village for Hitomi that she was satisfied would take adequate care of the child before she found herself having to leave. By then, summer was just starting to turn into fall, and Hari ended up being trapped in the mountains by heavy storms well into mid-winter. And then it was a long trip back to Kaede's village.
Spring was just starting to appear when she finally reached the village. She was greeted warmly by Sango and Miroku, who had just celebrated their marriage.
The reunion turned melancholic when they explained what had happened to Kagome. They then went on to explain that Inuyasha wasn't taking her absence well, jumping into the well every three days.
"He should be there right now," Sango said sadly. Kagome's absence was hitting them all hard, though none were as affected as Inuyasha had been. Hari nodded and, remembering where the little clearing was that housed the Bone Eater's Well, headed off.
When she reached there, she was just in time to see Inuyasha jump in. He exited moments later, with a heartbroken expression. He didn't head back to the village right away, instead sitting next to the well looking close enough to tears that Hari was actually shocked that she couldn't smell any.
The briefest glance in her direction told Hari that he knew she was there, but neither of them said anything. Instead, Hari leaped to the tree closest to where he was sitting, and made herself comfortable. They sat that way in silence for a few hours before Inuyasha finally headed back to the village. Instead of immediately following, Hari leaped down next to the well and tried to figure out how the thing worked and what was keeping it from working now. Sighing, she tried once, futilely, to make it work herself by jumping in, hoping that even if neither Inuyasha nor Kagome could get through, if the well would let her through, she could relay a message from the girl. She was unsurprised when the well refused to let her pass, and instead made her way to Kaede's hut, where what was left of the group, with the notable exception of Shippo, were eating a quiet meal.
The pattern continued for a few weeks. Every three days exactly, Inuyasha would leap into the well, and Hari would sit nearby, sometimes next to him, offering silent comfort and companionship. They never said a word, but Hari still believed that the thought was appreciated, even if Inuyasha would never actually say as much.
The group was eating lunch and chatting companionably one day when Miroku spoke up.
"So, Hari, we've told you all about how we've been, and neglected to ask how you fared during those months apart. Did you manage to find a village for Hitomi to stay in?" It was a harmless question, and asked with good intentions. Nonetheless, the reaction was still unexpected by the group. Hari's face, which had been in a small but happy smile, immediately clouded, and she stood up without a word and walked a small way out of the village, sitting at the base of a tree with a sad sigh.
In a reversal of roles, it was Inuyasha who sat nearby in silent companionship. Quietly, almost reluctantly, Hari explained how, yes, she had found a village to take Hitomi in, but it hadn't taken long before the humans, in their fear and hatred of demons and half-demons, had chased her out, turning even the child who she had protected and provided for for months against her.
One month after she had returned to Kaede's village, Hari left without telling anyone. She was tired of seeing just how upset Inuyasha was over Kagome's loss, and was determined to find a way to fix it. During their recounting of their travels, the group had mentioned a few names several times, people that they had managed to become friends and allies with. Perhaps they would know of a way.
She first sought out and found Koga, whose name she already knew from the few times she had come across wolf demons in the past. Koga was upset by the news, but didn't know any way to help. He did, however, promise that, when he had time, he would try and find a way to find it.
During her first human night on her trip, she found herself near a shrine. Having an idea, she made her way to the priest, and asked if he had any idea on how to unseal the well, though she was careful not to mention any names, merely that it was a well with strange properties that had suddenly ceased to work. The priest was happy to offer her food and shelter for the night, and even listened to her tale, but was unhelpful beyond that.
She asked anyone who she thought would be able to help and listen, though people to ask were sadly few and far between. She even asked, in one terrifying encounter, Sesshomaru, having come across him by chance and recognizing the smell of 'kin.' The older demon had glared at her and told her in no uncertain terms that he did not "consider the half-demon to be my brother" and was then informed that if she dared disturb him about Inuyasha again, he would kill her. She very quickly ran away after that, not caring that she did so, literally, with her tail tucked between her legs. It was with shaking legs that she finally stopped once she could no longer smell either him or the toad that accompanied him.
Despite Sesshomaru's words, when she returned to Kaede's village for a few days, Inuasha mentioned that the last time he had been over with something for Rin, he had stopped by the well, and had even lingered there for a few minutes. The group puzzled quietly over why he had done so, and Hari smiled privately to herself.
"So there's an older brother in there after all," she thought to herself as she set off again. There were still people she might be able to ask, and she wasn't going to give up until a solution had been found.
Totosai, of all the demons she found, was the most helpful. While the master swordsmith did not know of any ways to unseal the well, or why it had seemingly sealed itself in the first place, much like Koga he promised to try and find a solution. He also very helpfully sharpened her dagger for her, and even managed to make it so that it didn't take quite so much of her energy when it formed a barrier, which was very appreciated.
She continued to seek out monks, priests, and priestesses on her human nights. The only exception to this, albeit one she was reluctant to test in case she was wrong, was Mushin, Miroku's master. Her concerns over at attempted purification were allayed, however, when she smelled Hachi's presence. If he allowed a full demon to stay with him, then surely a half-demon wouldn't offend him. Mushin she found to be friendly, if somewhat frustrating. The older monk was more than happy to share his sake with her as they talked. Despite not having intended to, Hari ended up spending a few days with the monk, helping him around the temple in exchange for company, conversation, and sake.
As the years passed, however, she started to lose hope in ever finding a solution. A little over two years after setting off on her mission, she returned, dejectedly, to Kaede's village. She had finally decided to simply apologize to Inuyasha, but she couldn't find any way to bring Kagome back despite searching everywhere she could think of.
It was to her surprise, then, when as the wind shifted, she caught Kagome's unmistakable scent. Disbelieving it at first, she took another, careful scent, ears slowly perking up and tail wagging hopefully as a smile broke out on her face. Taking off as quickly as she could, she landed in front of Inuyasha and Kagome, whose scents told her that they had mated, or as the humans put it 'married.'
"You made it back," she said, tail wagging happily, if slightly embarrassingly.
"It's good to see you, too, Hari," Kagome said, hugging her before remembering that, much like Inuyasha, Hari wasn't particularly comfortable with hugs. Hari stayed for a week before leaving, briefly, to tell people who had promised to look for a solution that Kagome had returned, only to discover that with the exception of Mushin, all of them already knew.
Hari was happy for her friends. Inuyasha was visibly happier now, and didn't care who noticed, and Kagome was thrilled to finally be with the man she loved and who loved her back.
She was privately sure, however, that it was not their love that would be remembered, but their fights. It seemed that every day, Hari was woken up by them fighting each other over something, waking her up frequently from her perch on a nearby tree.
"Are they trying to wake all of Japan?" she mused aloud after one such fight, leaping down since there was no way she would get back to sleep with them yelling like that.
Their fights, already bad, only escalated when Kagome got pregnant. Inuyasha meant well, but he tended to hover over Kagome, whose temper was made worse thanks to raging hormones, which led to them both fighting even more loudly than before.
When it came time for Kagome to give birth, Hari's task changed from assisting to sitting on a male half-demon who suddenly forgot exactly what 'no men allowed' meant. It was only due to having managed to coax Inuyasha into roughhousing a few times in the past that she knew how he grappled, which allowed her to keep him busy just long enough for Kagome to finish giving birth. She was immediately shoved away by Inuyasha as he went inside to see his child.
Kagome and Inuyasha exited moments later with a child in each arm. Kagome had had twins, a boy and a girl, who they named Sota and Kikyo respectively.
The twins were instantly popular with the entire group, and Kagome and Inuyasha had no shortage of people willing to care for their children. Hari quickly became a favorite aunt, with the children almost constantly asking her to show off her skills, and take them hunting (which wasn't allowed since they were too young).
Kagome had only been back for a few years when Hari started noticing subtle signs of aging on all the humans of the group. Again without warning, she set off on another trip, trying to find a way to allow at least Kagome to live as long as Inuyasha would. Unlike before, the only person of the cloth she visited was Mushin, who was getting on in years and, Hari was sure, wouldn't live for much longer.
Her belief was proven right as, right when she came to visit after spending a few months away, she saw the others there, sadly standing around his grave.
"Hari," Miroku said sadly. "Mushin said that you visited him sometimes. I am sorry you weren't here when he passed. He asked for me to relay a message to you. He said that he is sorry, but he knows of no way to do what you asked. I was hoping you could tell me what he meant."
Hari didn't answer, instead leaping onto a perch and sitting in silence while the others visited his grave. Miroku's visit lasted the longest, and Hari was sorry that he lost the man who raised him. That night, when the others were asleep and had said what they needed, Hari walked towards his grave. She set down two cups and a jug of sake, pouring a small amount into each cup. Lifting hers, she raised it in a silent toast before drinking it.
"Thanks for looking, old man," she said respectfully, walking away and leaving both cup and jug where they sat.
As they left Mushin's temple, the sky darkened ominously, and suddenly. Moments later, Totosai was there.
"Totosai? What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked.
"I was looking for Hari. Every time she seeks me out, it's with some impossible request. I thought I would seek her out this time before she thought of another one."
"When did Hari seek you out?" Kagome asked.
"You didn't tell them?" The sword master peered curiously at Hari and scratched his head. For her part, Hari was looking away, ears and tail lowered and blushing madly.
"It didn't seem like something they needed to know," she muttered quietly.
"The first time she sought me out was to ask me if I knew of any way to unseal the well so that Kagome could return to us," Totosai said, pretending not to have heard Hari. "Then she came back hoping I knew how to give Kagome and the other humans a demonic life-span."
Hari didn't have time to see anything more than Inuyasha's stunned expression before Kagome had tightly embraced her, thanking her over and over again for her thoughtfulness.
"And?" Hari asked, prying Kagome off of her.
"You asked for the impossible. The life spans of humans and demons is set in stone, and cannot be changed," Totosai answered.
"I see," Hari said, ears and tail lowering dejectedly. "Thank you for looking. Next time I see you, I'll be sure to ask for something more doable, like going to the moon." The last was said with an amused smile as she tried to cheer the group up.
"Is that what you were doing all those times you left for months at a time without notice?" Miroku asked. Hari silently nodded in the affirmative, blush having deepened in strength.
"I heard she even asked Shesshomaru about unsealing the well," Totosai said.
"And was immediately threatened with death," Hari said, wanting very much for this particular line of topic to be finished.
"So that's what Mushin meant," Sango mused quietly. Far too slowly for Hari's comfort, the topic changed to other things as the group made their slow trip back to the village.
The human's looming mortality was pushed to the side as everyone focused simply on living. But one day as a thirty-three year old Kagome was walking home with the others, she told her children and Inuyasha to go ahead, and asked to speak privately with Hari. Nothing was said until Hari told Kagome that she could no longer hear Inuyasha, and from his scent he had reached their home. Assured that her husband couldn't hear them, Kagome finally spoke.
"Hari, I'm sure you know this, but I'm getting older all the time and Inuyasha isn't," she said sadly. As the years started to show on Kagome, Sango, and Miroku, time seemed to have halted for Inuyasha, Hari, and Shippo, who had only aged one year in this time.
"He knew this would happen when he took you as his mate," Hari said simply, not certain where this conversation was going.
"In a few years, I'm going to die," Kagome continued.
"Again, he knew this already," Hari said, wishing Kagome would get to the point as the human's mortality wasn't something she liked thinking about.
"I wanted to ask you to stay with Inuyasha once I'm gone," Kagome said, looking earnestly at Hari. "He was alone for so long, I don't want him to be alone again."
Hari was stunned, not having expected the question. She didn't say anything, merely nodding her assurance that she'd do so. Kagome's grateful hug was awkwardly returned, and the two continued the trek to Kagome's home.
Only a few years later, twelve years after the birth of Kagome and Inuyasha's children, did it become apparent that the lack of aging from the half-demons was noticed by more than Kagome and Hari.
Sota and Kikyo, who used to excitedly run to Hari whenever they saw her, had started acting more coolly towards her, speaking in flatter tones. Hari chalked their changing attitudes towards her up to them aging. Being only quarter-demon, the slowed aging that their demonic blood would grant them had yet to kick in. No one exactly knew when it would, or how much longer than humans they would live, but were still fairly certain that they would have slightly extended life spans. What she couldn't understand, however, was why they were always certain she was there to see Inuyasha. Many times they would tell her that their 'father wasn't here' when Hari could smell that he wasn't there, and had in fact been there to see them or their mother, or even Sango and Miroku's children. It was unusual, but unconcerning. It didn't take long for her lack of concern over this to turn on her.
She was in the forest, looking for a rabbit to eat when she heard an attack coming from behind her. Acting with reflexes finely honed over centuries, she moved out of the way of the projectile – an arrow, before having to dodge another one.
Turning around, she saw only Kikyo and Sota. Certain that there must be some threat that she hadn't sensed, she stood still, turning her ears and taking in deep breaths through her nose. She was so focused on the surrounding area that she only barely dodged another attack. Tracking the arrow, she saw that it could only have come from Kikyo.
"Stay away from our father!" Sota yelled, firing another arrow.
"What are you talking about?" Hari questioned, leaping away easily.
"Don't pretend you don't know!" Kikyo yelled, firing an arrow at the same time as her brother. "You plan on taking mom's place! We won't let you! Stay away from dad!"
Hari was shocked. When had she ever said she was planning on taking Kagome's place? Unwilling to fight back against the two children she had helped with raising, she retreated, barely hearing Kagome's yelling for her children, demanding to know what they were doing. As she ran away, she slowly understood. They had been seen how their mother, who had more than her share of gray hairs by this point, was aging constantly and their father looked barely older than they were. They had also seen how Hari was equally ageless, and just how frequently she had visited the family. They had been acting out of fear. She sighed, not certain what to do. It wasn't as if she could keep Kagome from aging and eventually dying any more than she could age herself or Inuyasha to mach her.
"I'll just stay away," she decided. "I'll only come when Kagome is there, and make sure to keep my distance from Inuyasha." She wasn't happy with the solution, and she was determinedly ignoring the fact that this same problem would arise when Kagome did eventually die, and had in fact originated because of Kagome's eventual death. She had promised Kagome she wouldn't leave Inuyasha, and she wasn't about to break it. Sighing, she settled against the tree, hoping by some miracle that an answer would come to her.
Hours later, an ear twitched as a sound reached her. It was the whisper of feet rushing through the grass. A quick inhale told her that it was just Inuyasha, returned from a demon exterminating job with Miroku. So Kagome had told him. She didn't open her eyes as she heard him leaping into the tree, settling himself on the branch just in above her.
For his part, Inuyasha was irritated, but not with Hari. He had only just returned from an unexpectedly difficult job, and instead of spending time with his family like he wanted, he was in a tree with Hari, who Kagome had tearfully told him his children had attacked and wouldn't explain why, saying only that they had to keep Hari away from him.
"Should I ever have children, Inuyasha," Hari suddenly said, breaking the silence, "remind me to not take them to you for fighting. I have never had an easier job dodging arrows."
Inuyasha's first reaction was to be angry that she had insulted his ability to teach is children to fight, as well as his children's abilities. Then the meaning of what she had said sunk in.
"So they did attack you?" Inuyasha sighed.
"I didn't believe it either, at first," Hari said sadly. Then she sighed. "Well, it's not like it's the first time someone I cared about turned on me," she added sadly, thoughts turning to Hitomi.
"Why?" Inuyasha asked. "Kagome said they wouldn't tell her, only saying they had to keep you away from me." His question was met with a bitter laugh from the person in question.
"Your children aren't blind, Inuyasha. And they're not stupid. They can see easily enough that Kagome is getting older and you're not. Then they see me, someone with the same amount of demonic blood as you, who's just as seemingly ageless as you. They think I'm a threat, that I plan on taking their mother's place. I don't blame them, I'd think the same in their position. We both know that I wouldn't do that, but I'm not sure they'd believe it even if we told them." After a moment, she opened her eyes and glanced up at him. He looked a little shocked, and also upset, and also a little confused as to what to do.
"You were gone for a few days. I'm sure you have better things to do than sit in a tree with me," Hari said with a small smile. "Get going. Kagome will probably want to know what happened and why."
"Right," Inuyasha said, leaping down. He only took a few steps before he stopped and looked back, looking impatient. "Oi! Did you forget that you promised Kagome you'd be over for dinner when I came back?"
Hari blinked once, twice, a third time. She had made no such promise, and Inuyasha knew it. Then she smiled and bit back a laugh. He was, in his own somewhat awkward way, inviting her over to eat with them, letting her know that she was still welcome.
"You're right, I did forget," she said, sounding appropriately apologetic as she joined Inuyasha on the ground. Sota and Kikyo weren't happy with it, but they didn't go against their father's decision that Hari was still welcome any time. They did later apologize, but from their manner, Hari could tell that it was because they had been told to, and not out of any real remorse. She forgave them, but things stayed strained between the three of them, Hari never quite letting them out of her line of sight when she spent time with the family.
When, a few years later, Kagome died of old age at age eighty shortly after Sango and Miroku's deaths, everyone who had cared about her was there for her funeral. Much like when Inuyasha leaped again and again into the well, hoping to be able to reach Kagome, Hari's presence was silent, both of them aware of her presence, but neither of them saying a word. If tears quietly leaked out of Inuyasha's eyes, Hari wouldn't tell. For all she knew, the only tears she smelled were her own.
For a week, Inuyasha hardly left Kagome's grave, barely ate, barely slept, barely did anything at all. Then, without any warning, he left. Hari wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been silently and worriedly keeping an eye on him. She waited a few minutes, and then followed him.
For several days, she followed him on his seemingly senseless trip. She never got close, only keeping him just within sight, but she couldn't help but wonder just where he was going. If he was following any path, or had any destination in mind, Hari couldn't think of it. Inuyasha made it clear that one, he knew she was there, and two, he didn't want company. She spent much of those few days dodging attacks, one terrifying time having to dodge the Meido Zangetsuha. Luckily for her, Inuyasha seemed to realize at the last moment what he was doing and, not actually wanting to kill her, changed the direction of his attack so that it managed to, just, miss her. The badly shaken half wolf couldn't move for a long few moments, and it was only by following Inuyasha's scent was she able to catch up to him. Fortunately for her, Inuyasha seemed just as disturbed as she was by that attack, and since he didn't want to kill her, stopped attacking her after that, seeming to resign himself to the fact that she was going to keep following him.
Hari wasn't worried about her ability to follow him until the day of her human night came. When she turned into a human, she wouldn't be as mobile or have senses strong enough to keep up with him, even with the moon's light. She was both relieved and confused when, just before sunset, he stopped for the night. Just as she turned into a human, she saw him turn towards her and settle down comfortably. When she realized what was happening, she smiled slightly. She was still claimed. Inuyasha may not want her around, but he wasn't going to abandon her on the night she was weakest.
As the days went on, Hari was still confused as to where they were going. It was when they passed by an abandoned temple, with the bones of dead demons littered around, that she understood. The bones were of spider demons. Inuyasha was making the shard hunting trip again, following the route they had taken before and reliving the quest. She couldn't help but wonder if this was healthy, but she didn't say anything. Whether by fate or pre-planing, the night that they were at the Spider Head temple was Inuyasha's human night. Much as he had done for her, she stayed the night guarding him during his time of weakness. She sighed to herself as she wondered if he was ever going to acknowledge that she was there beyond not abandoning her when she was a weak human.
The wished for acknowledgment came, but it was in a form that was unexpected. A small group of humans was being attacked by a lizard demon, much like the ones that had attacked them when Hari first saw Inuyasha's demon form.
Inuyasha leaped to help them with a short cry of "Hari!" just as he reached the lizzard. Hari moved immediately to help, but wasn't certain if she would be able to. It had been a very long time since they had fought together, after all. Her concerns were groundless, however, as she fought just as easily with him as she had back then. When the demon was killed, Inuyasha barely waited long enough to hear the thanks given before setting off, Hari on his tail.
That night, Inuyasha caught and prepared two rabbits for cooking, placing them on opposite sides of a fire before calling out behind him.
"You might as well stop pretending that you're not watching, Hari," he said quietly, not once turning to look at her. Hari quietly landed on the ground before sitting on the opposite side of the fire from him, where the second rabbit had been placed.
"Why are you following me?" The question was quiet enough that Hari barely heard it. She wasn't certain if he wanted an answer or not, but resolved to give one anyway.
There were multiple reasons she could have given. 'I've claimed you the same way you claimed me.' 'Kagome asked me to stay with you once she died and I'm not going to break that promise.' 'This is probably the worst time for you to be alone.' She decided on a different answer, however.
"Because you and I are going to be alive for a very, very long time. Possibly even into Kagome's time. And you can either spend it by yourself and be lonely, or you just accept the fact that I'm not going to leave you and actually let me travel with you instead of, as you put it, 'pretending I'm not watching.' Besides," she continued quietly after a moment, "like I told you, wolves don't do well alone and you, Shippo, and Kirara are the only living family I have left."
Inuyasha didn't answer, but he didn't move away or force her to move away either.
The next morning, he had only gone a few steps before he stopped and looked at her. "I thought you wanted to travel with me," was the impatient statement before he took off at top speed. Hari spent a moment being stunned before grinning and following him.
They spent the next few days companionably when they both smelled Shippo coming from behind them. Turning, they saw him in his favorite pink transformation. When he reached them, he undid the transformation, landing next to them. Demons aged even more slowly than half-demons, but a lifetime was still long enough for Shippo to have grown taller, too tall now to ride on either of their shoulders.
"Where have you two been? Kirara and I have been looking all over for you," he demanded. Sure enough, only moments later, a large shadow came over them, which quickly landed and shrunk down in size to be a small cat.
"Just because you're sad about Kagome dying, doesn't mean that you get to just leave us without saying anything!" Shippo yelled. Kirara was unable to speak in words they could understand, but her glare showed just how much she agreed with Shippo. To everyone's surprise, Inuyasha quietly apologized before simply telling them to keep up.
It took Shippo far less time than it had taken Hari to realize what Inuyasha was doing in his seemingly pathless trip. When he brought it up to Hari, asking if she knew, she nodded before asking him not to say anything. If Inuyasha felt he had to do this, then she was going to follow him.
"But it won't bring Kagome back!"
"He knows, Shippo," Hari sighed sadly. "I think he's just trying to remember. Like visiting a grave, he's revisiting places that Kagome touched. This might just be how he needs to say goodbye."
It didn't take long for the group of four to reach territory familiar to Hari, and she was able to help out with the group more, knowing the best places to rest and catch food.
As quickly as Inuyasha seemed to want to revisit all the places that he traveled with Kagome, he stopped inexplicably right next to the village Hari had been born in, setting up camp despite the fact that the sun was still high in the sky.
"What are you waiting for, Hari?" He finally asked just as the sun set. "Your old man and Kaya are buried here, right?" Hari stared at him openly shocked, and more than a little touched. He was waiting for her to give her a chance to visit their graves.
She wasted no time, taking the quickest route to the graveyard that still let her stay hidden. When she saw and smelled no one around, she quietly stole through the graveyard, ghosting past the graves of people before she reached the first one.
"Kaya..." The name was barely whispered aloud as she touched the grave marker, placing a flower on top of the grave before standing up. She never had much time here, and she couldn't afford to spend what little time she had now with Kaya alone.
She was almost to her father's grave when a noise behind her had her whirling around. There was someone there.
"Who are you?" It was an older man, but no one that Hari recognized. She came to a startled conclusion that she had been gone for almost an entire life time. Almost everyone who she had seen so regularly before would be long dead.
"No one," she said, grateful for the night's protection.
To her dismay, the man stepped forward, eyes widening in shock at what he saw.
"You... You... You're a monster!" He took in a breath to scream before, with a sense of de ja vu, Hari witnessed a man being pinned by the throat to a tree.
"What kind of monster doesn't let someone visit a loved one's grave?" Inuyasha growled out, eyes narrowed angrily. Shippo was there, more as support for Inuyasha's attack than able to help. He glanced briefly at Hari.
"Well? Are you going to visit your old man or not?"
Hari nodded, quickly moving to her father's grave.
"It's been a while, dad," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I can't stay, but you'd be happy. I managed to find a family." She stood up after saying this, wishing she could spend longer here but the man had managed to get out a strangled yelp moment's before, so they had no time to linger.
By the time the villagers made it to the graveyard, the three of them were gone, barely even a footprint to prove they had been there.
"Thank you," Hari said quietly. Both for stopping the man and for letting her visit her loved ones. "It'll be a delay, but there's somewhere I need to go," she finished. Inuyasha nodded and Hari took off. It wasn't a far trip, but it was far enough that it would take her until morning to visit and return.
"Hi, mom," Hari said. She was pretty sure she inherited the belief that the dead would hear her words from her father. Her mother's grave was rarely visited, a lack of memory beyond the faintest of scent imprints meaning that Hari rarely had a desire to visit this place. All the same, she sat down next to the grave her father had put so much work into making. She never had any idea of what to say to her mother, unlike her father who she had much to say to, and never any time to say it.
"Maybe..." It was the barest of thoughts, one that had never occurred to her before. "Dad, if you're with mom, then maybe you'll hear me. If you're not, then maybe mom can tell you stuff for me." Slowly, she told the memory of her father, and the wish for her mother, about what had happened over the lifetimes. About Kaya, and Kagome and the others. The sun was just starting to rise when she finished her lengthy tale.
She had just turned to leave when the flash of red caught her eye. She was surprised. This was the second time she hadn't even smelled Inuyasha. Then she realized that it wasn't that she couldn't smell him, it wasn't even that she was so focused on her own grief and memories that she wasn't aware of her surroundings. She was just so used to Inuyasha and the others being there, that it was only natural that they were still there while she visited her dead loved ones, making sure that, for once, she had the chance to do so in peace.
The trip that had taken so long before took only months during the revisit, but once it was done, Inuyasha did seem to be more at peace with what had happened. Hari was right, he had had his chance to say goodbye by making the trip he had.
Kirara, Shippo, and Inuyasha were gladly welcomed back by Sota and Kikyo. Hari's presence was far less welcome, but they didn't protest. Hari stayed at Inuyasha's home with Shippo and Kirara, his children having long since married and having kids of their own.
Kikyo and Sota's quarter-demonic blood meant that their lives weren't as short as their father's was. They outlived their children, however, and Inuyasha was there when they were buried. For the first time in a very long time, Hari was again a welcome presence for them, wanting at least for a moment to be children again, surrounded by the comforting presence of their loved ones. When, a few years later, his children passed, Inuyasha again had a period of grief as he mourned the loss. With his children and grandchildren gone, and never having spent any length of time with his great-grandchildren, he again set off to travel. Hari went with him, and this time they actually traveled.
Kirara had sadly passed not long after Kikyo, who outlived her brother by five weeks, so they had to walk, but neither of them minded. Shippo would join them infrequently, choosing instead to travel on his own and get stronger with his own fox magic rather than being tempted to allow Inuyasha to fight his battles for him. All of his training had turned him into a capable warrior, and during the fights that he joined Inuyasha and Hari in, he more than held his own.
Two hundred fifty years after Kagome had passed, Inuyasha and Hari started noticing something; there were fewer, and fewer demons around. The demon race seemed to be dying out. They had just started discussing how they could survive when so many demons seemed to be dying around them when they were both struck from behind, pinned in place by full demons who were using their full strength to do so. They both easily recognized Koga, Ayame, Ginta, and Hakkaku, but they were the only familiar scents.
"Hari! Inuyasha!" Shippo's cry as he landed in front of them had them struggling to free themselves, unsure why they were attacked like this and not wanting Shippo to come to harm. "I told you guys to just keep them in one place, not attack them!"
"Shippo! This is your fault?" Inyasha redoubled his efforts to get loose, though now it was with the intention of pounding the brat.
"To help you! Look, demons are starting to die out, you must have see it! The only way for us to survive, is if we blend in with the humans." Once Inuyasha and Hari were let up, the turned around and were stunned to see, not the demons they smelled, but humans who vaguely resembled the demons they smelled.
Turning back to Shippo, they saw him holding out two pendants. They were in the shape of fox fire inside a pentagram against what they assumed was a full moon. Around the border were the words 'human illusion' written over and over again.
"You both need to bleed on both sides of these pendants," Shippo said, handing one to each of them. "That way, they'll be able to attune themselves to you. Once you've done that, hand them back to me." Somewhat skeptically, they both humored him.
"Fox fire!" Shippo poured his demonic fire into the pendants, burning the blood into them instead of burning it off like they thought it would. "Okay, put them on," he said, handing them back. Once the pendants were on, Hari looked at her hand. It wasn't her usual clawed hand, but a human one. Turning to Inuyasha, she saw him looking the same way he did on his human nights. Reaching out slowly, uncertainly, she briefly skimmed her hand over first his ears, then her own, assuring herself that, yes, they were still there.
"It's just an illusion," Shippo said, watching the two half-demons assure themselves that nothing had changed, despite what their eyes told them. "If the pendants are taken off, it'll fade, so make sure you always keep them on. But this way, you'll be able to live with humans. Here! These are for you," he added, handing Hari a bundle of clothing, and both of them a pair of sandals.
The new clothing was horrible. It fit, meaning Shippo was a good judge of size, but it was restrictive, not allowing her to run as quickly as she would be able to normally. Fortunately for Hari, she was able to wear the pants that she had under the pelt at her waist under these clothes as well, which was a small comfort to her. And both of them hated the sandals, feet unused to any type of restrictions protesting them. Hari's original clothes were placed in a cloth bundle on her back, Inuyasha's clothing similar enough to what was commonly worn that he didn't need new clothes just yet.
"You'll get used to them," Shippo assured herself. "Now you'll be able to live in villages with normal people, and I'll stay with you." Neither half-demon liked it, but they realized that, yes, they had to do this.
"So why aren't you wearing a pendant, Shippo?" Hari asked. "I needed you to immediately recognize me, and not question what you smelled," he answered, slipping his own pendant over his head. While he technically could appear like a human without one, the pendant meant that he didn't have to use up his energy.
They found a village easily enough, and the villagers were more than happy to let them stay together. There was a hiccup, however, when they tried to put Inuyasha and Hari in separate houses, saying that it wasn't proper for a man to live with a woman he wasn't married to. It was Shippo who saved them, saying that Inuyasha and Hari had saved him from bandits, and he couldn't sleep if they weren't both nearby. His tears, and the fact that he still appeared to be a child, if only just, were enough to convince them, but he wouldn't be able to pull this off for too much longer.
"Inuyasha. You and Hari have to pretend to be married when we go to another village," he insisted. The comment was met with instant protests, but they seemed more token protests than anything else, protesting because they felt they had to more than the fact that they were genuinely opposed to the idea. Due to this, Shippo had an easier time than he expected to convincing them to agree to the deception, though he did sniff them both carefully to see if they hadn't become mates while he was away.
For a few years, the deception went well, though Hari was obviously struggling to appear as a normal human. It was fine for Inuyasha and Shippo. Being males, they had duties similar to what they had spent their lives doing, hunting, providing for their families, and so on. Being female, Hari had duties that were far from what she was used to, leaning more towards cooking (the only familiar task), and tending to the house and other duties.
She slipped out early one morning, determined to hunt, and having slipped on her usual garb to do so. Her new clothing, however, she did take with her, planning on returning to the village with no one being the wiser.
She ecstatically took a rabbit, reveling in the freedom she felt. Knowing she was pressed for time, she barely waited for it to warm up as she changed clothing, tearing into it while it was still raw.
"Hari?" She was startled by the human, a neighbor that she had chatted with infrequently. "What are you doing out here alone?" He had a few more village men with him, evidently a small hunting party that had set out earlier than they usually did.
"I... um..." That was when she noticed, at the same time as the man, that some of the blood from the rabbit had gotten onto her clothing.
"Hari, you're bleeding!" The well-meaning man rushed over, intent on checking Hari's wounds.
"It's nothing. Just a scratch. I'm fine," Hari insisted backing away.
"Nonsense. Let me look." He reached her and then reached for her, determined to check on Hari and make sure she was okay.
"I said I'm fine!" Hari cried, jumping back slightly, barely remembering to not jump farther than a human would be able to.
Unfortunately, the leather that her pendant was attached to snapped, and it came off in the man's hand.
"Monster!" Immediately, Hari had the group of six men on her. Not wanting to hurt them, she found herself handicapped. She was quickly pinned down and then tied.
"Are the people you're living with monsters as well?"
Desperate to keep Inuyasha and Shippo from being discovered, Hari forced herself to bark out an arrogant laugh.
"As if those two weak humans could ever be anything like me. I travel with them only because it is convenient to me, no other reason." She forced herself to pour every ounce of disdain she had ever felt for her human blood into the word 'humans.' "Those simpletons never even suspected that I was greater than them. They know nothing, would still be clueless even if I didn't appear to be as pathetic as them."
As she was dragged back to the village, she could only hope that her claims were believed.
The sun was barely up when she was led into the center of the village, and then tied in place.
"A monster has been living among us!" Cried the first man, clutching the pendant in his hand as proof of her disguise. "We will kill it now, and be rid of it forever!" He was handed a sharp sword and walked towards Hari set on taking off her head.
Hari was terrified. Never in her life had she actually stared death in the eyes. But she wasn't going to look away. She was determined that, if this human was going to kill her, he was going to do so knowing she could see him. The only thoughts running through her mind, however, was the desperate prayer to the gods that had never once done anything for her that they believed her when she said Inuyasha and Shippo, whose pendants were better hidden from the start and therefore wouldn't have been seen, knew nothing and wouldn't be suspected of being different.
The man had just lifted his sword to kill her when a cry tore through the air.
"Fox Fire!" The blue flames surrounded them all, causing the villagers to cry out in terror.
"Wind Scar!" The powerful winds from Tetsusaiga spread the demonic flames, causing further panic. Inuyasha and Shippo, pendants gone from their necks but held in their hands, landed next to her, Inuyasha slicing the ropes binding Hari in place with one even swipe of his claws. "We're leaving!" Hari didn't need to be told twice, running as quickly as she could after them, stopping only long enough to grab the cloth bundle that held her old clothing, tearing off the restrictive clothing to allow her to properly run as she did so.
They ran for miles before finally slowing, stopping only that afternoon when they were certain that no one from the village could have followed them. Danger over, Inuyasha turned towards Hari, furious with her.
For her part, Hari had never been more ashamed in her life. Her ears were flat against her skull in submission, and her tail was as far between her legs as it would go, eyes averted entirely towards the ground. She had assumed a submissive stance in front of Inuyasha before, but even then, it was only barely submissive, with her largely looking like the confident half-demon she was. Now, she looked beaten.
"I told them you and Shippo knew nothing," she quietly said, shame and remorse evident in her voice.
"Idiot! What were you thinking?"
"Inuyasha-"
"No, Shippo! You're not defending this. She nearly got all of us killed! Do you really think they would have believed that we didn't know anything, Hari? Are you that stupid? We would have had to leave immediately or risk being killed as well. So what were you thinking? If you were that hungry, then you could have eaten what we already had instead of getting yourself caught like a fool!"
"I was thinking that it's been years since I was allowed to be myself!" Hari exclaimed, daring to look at Inuyasha in the eye. "I was thinking that, just for one morning, I needed to hunt. To use the claws I was given for their intended purpose, to actually run for once. Yes, you were restricted. You couldn't run as fast as you can, or use all of your strength, but you were still freer than I was. You could still run, and hunt, instead of being expected to stay in the village all the time." At the end of her speech, she looked away, fully expecting to be run off after this.
For a long moment, nothing was said. Finally, Inuyasha turned away.
"Shippo, make her a new pendant before someone sees her," he ordered.
The pendant took time to make, and Shippo set about doing so. Despite working as quickly as he could, the delicate work was still an all-day affair, and the sun had set by the time he presented the nearly finished pendant to Hari. During that entire time, Inuyasha didn't say a word to Hari, whose ears seemed permanently fixed in the submissive position.
"It only needs your blood and my Fox Fire," Shippo said. Wordlessly, Hari cut her palm with a claw, coating the pendant in her blood and giving it to Shippo. When it was finished, Hari slipped it over her head.
When Shippo and Inuyasha had settled down to sleep, deciding that they would set out for a new village the day after, Hari quietly stole out of the camp, sandals in her hand so as to not make noise. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she didn't want to risk Shippo and Inuyasha's safety again.
She hadn't gone far before a sharp "Where are you going?" froze her in her tracks.
"Weren't you asleep?"
"I sleep as lightly as you do, Hari," Inuyasha said, sounding annoyed, but not as angry as he had when they had stopped running. "Now where are you going?"
"Not sure," she said, not turning to face him. "Maybe the mountains. I can survive there until being alone kills me the way it did my mom." Her statement was met with a sigh.
"So you were just going to leave without telling us? Did you forget that Shippo and I would be able to follow your scent?"
Finally daring to turn around, she was surprised to see that, no Inuyasha did not look livid. Frustrated, yes, annoyed, yes, but not angry. To her surprise, he also looked upset at the concept of her leaving like that. Needing to actually see what he was thinking, she slipped off her pendant, gesturing for him to do the same and grateful when he did. Kagome had said once that they practically had their own language with how easily they could understand what the other was thinking just by looking at each other.
As they had been during the day, Hari's ears and tail were submissively low. To her surprise, Inuyasha's ears were also lowered, flicking back and forth in confusion and distress.
Hari's ears stayed low, but her tail raised itself the slightest bit, leaving its place between her legs and twitching the slightest bit in hope. Neither of them said a word, they barely even made a sound beyond the odd growl or whine, the majority of what they 'said' being communicated through facial expression and ear position.
"Hari? You're not leaving us, right?" The silence had been broken by Shippo, who had woken up early in the conversation.
Hari hesistated, ears and tail lowering themselves again now that they weren't needed for communication purposes, though not as severely as they had been. Finally, she slipped the pendant back on and sighed.
"No, Shippo. I'm staying." Shippo let out a happy cry, and Inuyasha relaxed.
"Maybe at the next village, we can get a house that's farther away from the village and closer to the woods so that Hari can slip out sometimes," Shippo suggested.
"We can try," Inuyasha agreed. Then he turned to Hari with narrowed eyes. "But you cannot do this again. We can't keep getting caught and then having to run." Hari nodded wordlessly in agreement. She had nearly gotten everyone killed once. She wasn't going to do that again.
AN: So this chapter completely got away from me. Most of the chapters are running at about ten pages in the word doc. I spent almost all of that just getting to Kagome and Inuyasha's children. I know that it's very popular fannon that Kagome, when mated to Inuyasha, would get a demonic life-span but that didn't work for this story. And on top of that, think of the life she would have to lead. She would constantly find herself moving from place to place, never able to settle down anywhere and always losing friends that she made. And she's such a friendly person she would make friends everywhere she went. Inuyasha and Hari could do it, being just this side of antisocial. Shippo could do it, having already gone through similar things in his own solo travels and therefore knowing that he can't make any real connections with people because he won't be in any one place for long. Kagome is strong, but I honestly don't think that she could do that for centuries. Once or twice, yes, but that long?
And I know I strongly implied it, but I'm just gonna spell it out (because who really reads these anyway?). Yes, Inuyasha and Hari have slept together, multiple times. No they did not become mates the way Kagome and Inuyasha did. I know that the thought of Inuyasha not being with anyone after Kagome's death has its own appeal because of how 'romantic' it is. But think about this for a moment. This isn't one or two years he's been without Kagome. This is centuries. Does it honestly make sense for two young and healthy adults, traveling together 24/7, to not sleep together at least a couple times?No, this is not an Inuyasha-OC story. If they do eventually become mates, it'll be mentioned for one moment, and that's it. And for anyone wondering, no, there will not be children from these two. One more (hopefully not as monstrous) chapter after this and then maybe an extra 'get inside the author's head' type of thing.