Authors Note: OK, trying to speed up the publishing process but school and life has been getting in the way recently. Oh, and if I have the time lengths wrong here, please feel free to let me know so I can fix it. KK? And I still do not own InuYasha and any related characters, but I wish he would own me ^_-.


500 Years to Eternity

Ch. 9

"Happy birthday InuYasha!" Matt and Kagome said as Kagome ran over to InuYasha, her long scarlet kimono trailing behind her as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Matt just nodded and smiled as he followed her. It had been almost 4 years since Kagome had decided to go with Matt back to the feudal era; it had also been almost 500 years since Lyn had left. Matt would occasionally go back to the future and bring back news of her, but that was all InuYasha had left of her.

"Thanks guys…" InuYasha said, forcing a smile to surface on his lips. His pain at her loss had not been eased over the time he had been without her. He knew he would probably never see her again, not in this lifetime anyway.

"Oh, don't be so glum. I'm sure her knew boyfriend won't last that long," Matt said shrugging, trying to give his life long friend some sort of hope. He saw the hurt in his friends' eyes. The same eyes that had once been so feisty and full of life's glow now rarely shined and had no happiness, no anger, no nothing; only emptiness.

"Yeah…" InuYasha said as he looked off into the distance as the sun set. It was a full moon tonight and he felt the beginning of his transformation. He hated these nights because being human made him feel so much farther form her. In this form he couldn't smell her Jasmine scent that lingered in the well and he couldn't hear the trees whisper her name in the night.

"She's not coming back, is she Matt…" he said as he ran his claws through his now dingy white hair. He turned towards his friend, his amber eyes beginning to become a heavy brown. The brown of his eyes and the black of his hair suited his new demeanor perfectly.

"...no, not this time. I'm sorry InuYasha," Matt said as walked up to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. InuYasha just looked at him, gave him a smile of understanding and also of great sorrow before he bounded off into the trees. Matt knew he was headed towards Lyn's well in the heart of his forest. There he would sit and ponder a life of loneliness and perhaps to shed a tear or so.

"InuYasha, the most feared demon in this world; scary," Matt said absent mindedly. Kagome stood at the railing and sighed as she watched him disappear into the night. She turned towards Matt and saw him still staring off into the moon draped night. She smiled at how handsome he looked and how he had matured in the last few years. Although they had just come back to the feudal era 4 years ago, his changes and maturity steadily grew everyday. Her heart fluttered every time he touched her and she knew that he would be hers and she his. It was a love she thought she would never find. She only had to look into the past to find it.

"Will he be ok, Matt?" Kagome asked as she walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her against him. She bit her tongue as she felt a small gasp try to escape her. She instead burrowed her head into his chest and lavished in the warmth of him and his steady, strong heartbeat.

"I hope so babe, I really do," he said as he kissed her forehead and rested his chin upon her head; true happiness. This is what Lyn and InuYasha must have felt in each others presence; wrapped in each others arms. Her heart ached at the thought of InuYasha's sadness and wished she could share her happiness with him.

"I hope so, too," she said as Matt lead her off the balcony into the bedroom. He let her go and walked over to the bed, shedding his familiar, red robe and laying on the bed waiting for her to join him. She began to walk towards the bed but stopped as she heard an anguished howl echo in the night. She hugged her kimono tighter around her and sighed, eyes downcast as she walked over to her bed and to the man she loved.


"Happy birthday Lyn!" shouted Miroku and Sango as they walked up next to Lyn and each gave her a tight hug; it had been a year and a few months since she had left the feudal era and InuYasha, but it felt like an eternity to her.

"Thanks guys, but my birthdays not for another month. I wish Sain were here though…" Lyn said as she looked back at the setting sun as her thoughts wandered first to Sain and then to InuYasha. She just sighed and closed her eyes, pushing away the thoughts of the both of them. Sango and Miroku looked at each other and Sango shook her head once and sighed. She knew that Lyn was thinking about him again and she was helpless to help her.

"Um, Lyn? Sain left to the states yesterday. He said it wasn't working out. He said he couldn't live in InuYasha's shadow anymore…" Sango said with an uncomfortable, I-don't-know-what-to-say smiles playing on her lips. Lyn sighed heavily, as if her lungs were full of the tears she hadn't spilled. She turned towards her two closest friends and smiled half heartedly before turning back towards the orange, dusk sky.

"Oh...I figured," she said as she watched the sun disappear and smiled a bit as she gazed into the starry, moon filled sky. It was bloated and orange and as she looked into it she thought she saw his face appear, and, if only for a few seconds, she had felt happy.

"Look Lyn, I know you miss InuYasha, but it was for the better," Miroku said, trying to comfort his friend. He didn't know what to do; he was torn between what he had heard and what had been seen. He knew that Lyn wasn't happy here, but would she be able to trust him alone again?

"Yeah…" she said as she rubbed her neck. As she did she felt the scar his mark left and let her fingers linger there. Her mind wandered to the night it had happened. She had thought of how heartbroken and dead she had felt when she saw InuYasha and Kikyo together, but she also felt immensely stupid and angry, especially at herself, for not going back when she learned that InuYasha had genuinely done nothing with that damned Soul Healer. She had known Miroku knew something after he and Sango came back from their visit to the feudal era and she wanted to know what. So, the night after they returned, she had made him some warm milk, with a bit of a special surprise mixed in and he had gone right to sleep. That's when she had asked him questions about what he had known and heard while back home. Even in a deep sleep the monk was hesitant, but she had finally learned that he had spoken to Kikyo whom had told him that InuYasha had resisted the entire time. And, true to the monk's nature, as Lyn was getting up to leave, he had reached out and caressed her bottom. She had punched him in the head and stormed off, leaving the dazed and injured monk alone in the dark. Even today the bruise from her punch was visible just below his hairline. She stared at the moon one last time before she wiped around and grabbed the monk's shoulders roughly. He flinched reflexively, but then opened his eyes and looked at her in complete confusion with a hint of fear.

"I'm going back…" she said calmly as she stared intently into the monks wide eyes. At first he wasn't sure what she meant, but then his eyes widened even further and he began to shake his head.

"Back? Oh...oh! I don't know Lyn, I mean with him and Kikyo and everything," he said, frowning slightly. She smiled slyly back at him and whispered something into his ear. As the words left her lips, Sango saw the monks eyes begin to shine with glossy fear. She pulled away and he chuckled nervously.

"Oh yeah, of course you can go back. I know InuYasha would love to see you and know you have forgiven him," Miroku said almost robotically. Lyn smiled, her teeth flashing in the moonlight. Sango was even more puzzled and began to address her friend, still looking at her boyfriend with curiosity and suspicion.

"But Lyn, we don't know were to find him if we did go back. Why would you even want to GO back anyway?" Sango asked, still clearly puzzled. She knew Lyn had some sort of epiphany, but wasn't sure what kind. She also knew that Miroku had something to do about it too and it made her suspicious and a little bit pissed that she had been left out of the loop.

"I know now that I have to and should have a long time ago. I'll explain it all later, promise! Are you in then?" she said, deciding that she would let Miroku tell Sango about the whole situation with Kikyo and anything he wanted to tell her, or leave out. By the way she was eyeing him, she knew that Sango meant for the monk to tell her, whether or not she did first or not.

"Lead the way!" Sango said as she saw Lyn truly smile for the first since she left InuYasha.


"Lyn, I miss you…" InuYasha thought to himself as he sat atop the overlooking the well she had disappeared into the day Kikyo had kissed him. She had gone in and never came back and it hurt him more than any one of his deaths had. He had come to the Goshinboku every night since she had left; he vainly hoped that he would smell her sweet scent again and see her coming through the well, her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Every night for the past 500 years he had come and she hadn't, but he continued, never giving up the hope that she would. This night was no different.

"I was so stupid; I can't believe I let her do that. But what's done is done, I guess," he said as he looked away and leaned against a tree branch, closing his now chocolate eyes and crossing his arms inside his fire rat kimono. He sighed heavily and was soon asleep.


"Here we are," Sango said as she landed gracefully on her feet, next to Miroku who was sprawled on his face. Lyn appeared next to Sango and she as well landed on her feet, but on top of Miroku. He grunted as the air rushed out of his lungs and Lyn stepped off of him, apologetically. The monk huffed and stood up, brushing off his dark blue robes.

"What the holy hells? Where's the ladder? How do we get up there now, fly?" Miroku pouted as he looked up at the night sky, realizing that it was also a full moon here too. He looked back at Lyn who was studying the sides of the well walls intently.

"We can climb these vines!" Lyn suddenly said as she grabbed a thick, worn vine and started to climb. She was the first one up followed shortly by Sango. The two waited at the top for Miroku for a good 2 minutes before the looked down into the well which was illuminated by the moon's intense glow. There was Miroku, tangled in a vine web, he was exhausted from struggling and hung there limply. The girls shook their heads and proceeded back down the vines to Miroku. Sango wrapped her arm around one vine and revealed another hidden saber from a strap on her arm and cut the monk free. Lyn grabbed him as he was cut free and swung him onto the wall, forcefully. He hit the wall and nearly bounced back off, but somehow managed to cling to it and climb to the top.

"Thanks guys," Miroku said as he hoisted himself over the edge and collapsed to the ground, leaning on the outer walls of the well.

"Yeah, anytime," Lyn said absently as Sango kneeled down next to him and gently picked off pieces of vine still stuck to him. As Sango tended to Miroku, Lyn looked up at the trees, searching for him. She finally spotted him in the Goshinboku where he was fast asleep. She gazed at him for a few moments before she heard a loud smack from behind her and Sango angry hissing.

"Damnit you perverted monk! Keep your hands to yourself!" she hissed, her back turned to him and Lyn saw that her face was fire red with anger and embarrassment.

"I just couldn't help myself my beautiful Sango. I just couldn't resist the gentleness of your touch," Miroku said as he rubbed his face where an angry red hand print was now forming. Sango made her way over to Lyn, but she put her finger to her lips and pointed to the tree. Both Sango and Miroku looked up and nodded in understanding.

"How are you…" Miroku said but stopped as he saw the glint of revelation sparkling in Lyn's eyes. He didn't know what she planned to do, but knew she had something planned.

"You guys stay here, I've got an idea," she whispered as she gingerly tip-toed over to the Goshinboku tree. She looked up and her aquamarine eyes glowing as intensely in the shadows of the trees as the moon. She reached the tree and placed her fingertips on it, feeling the rough bark and letting his memory and scent assault her. Her senses were always hyper-sensitive when she was back in the feudal era and she savored the sensations she felt. She traced the scar on the tree from when InuYasha was wounded by a hunter when he went on one of his "business trips." She looked up and a sinister smile spread across her gentle features.

"InuYasha...SIT!" she yelled. Amber eyes shot open as InuYasha slammed into the ground. A cloud of dust, dirt and grass plumed up as his body made contact. Leaves drifted down from broken braches and Lyn bent down next to the depression and giggled softly.

"What in the seven hells; Lyn…?" he said as looked up and saw her kneeling next to him. Her head was in her hands and her elbows were rested on her bent knees. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were large and alive. He felt his heart stop as all of his senses save his sight seemed to vanish. He stared at her and reached up to touch her hesitantly, afraid that when he touched her she would disappear into the air like a phantom nightmare. He touched her smooth skin and she placed a hand on his, leaning into his touch. She closed her eyes and moved his hand to her mouth, kissing it gently. She opened her eyes and looked at him, her gaze burning into him.

"Hello InuYasha…" she said softly, her voice watery but still strong. It did not quaver and he admired the strength she had in controlling her emotions. She had not changed at all in the past years and he thanked the Gods for it.

"...you came back," he was finally able to say. His voice was soft and watery as he felt the tears that he held back for the past 500 years threaten to drown him. He swallowed the large lump that had formed in his throat and inhaled deeply, taking as much of scent in as he possibly could in his human form. She was a drug to him and it was about time he got his next fix.

"I had too, it was wrong of me to have left you. I should have known you wouldn't ever do something like that. For…" but she was stopped by a finger on her lips. He sat up and pulled her into him, savoring her warmth. She grabbed the front of his kimono and buried her face into it.

"Stupid girl, you have no reason to apologize. I was the fool who allowed himself to be cornered by a child. Now hush with your sincerities," he said. She pulled away from him and studied his face. His skin was washed by the moon's soft glow and that's when she noticed that he was in his human form. She frowned as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, past the point where his ears usually were.

"Your ears are gone," she said absently. He reached up and pulled her hand down. He held it and pulled her close once again.

"Hmmmm...I've waited over 500 years for you to rub them and now you can't," he whispered into her ear. He felt her body tense against him and then shake slightly as his words flowed through her. She pulled her head away, keeping her body pressed to his. She peered into his eyes, a mischievous glow in them.

"Really, because I've waited that long for something else," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and threw all her weight into him. He lost his balance and fell onto his back with Lyn still on him. At first he was confused, but that confusion soon past as he felt her hot, sweet breath on his neck and her teeth nip his ear playfully.

"That's my girl, but Lyn, about the day you left. I…" he began to say, but she stopped him with her lips. They were warm and tasted of strawberries. He needed her more than he had ever before, but she pulled away abruptly, leaving him kissing the air.

"Now ssshhh and don't ruin it. Save your sincerities, silly inu," she whispered, mocking him slightly. He let it pass and soon he was in a world filled with the scent of Jasmine, the taste of strawberry and the blissful ecstasy he found within her.

"I think we should be going…" Miroku said quietly as he started walk, then jog, then run into the forest. Sango was still transfixed at the sight of Lyn and InuYasha and hardly noticed when Miroku disappeared into the dark of the Forest of InuYasha. It wasn't until a rock, throw from somewhere within the forest, hit her in the side of the head did she notice that she was standing in the well clearing, watching her Lyn and InuYasha. She turned a shade of red brighter that InuYasha's fire-rat kimono and turned around toward the forest. She saw Miroku waving her towards him so vigorously that it was a miracle he didn't dislocate his shoulder.

"Wait up!" Sango said as she ran after him, but not without stealing a last quick glance back at the intertwined lovers.