The Day After Tomorrow
AUTHOR: Angelhart
GENRE: romance/hurt/comfort
SETTING: AU post-manga/anime
STORY: continuation
RATING: M
DISCLAIMER: InuYasha ©2000 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan - Yomiuri TV - Sunrise
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended..
Chapter 28
"If you lean in even closer, you'll fall in, you little twerp."
Shippou looked up at the sound of Inuyasha's voice.
"Were you crying again?"
"No." But as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his right arm, he knew it was obvious he was lying. Yet no teasing remark followed as usual. He watched Inuyasha sitting down on the grass, the man's back against the well.
"Yeah," the hanyou said softly, the word leaving his mouth in a sigh. "I miss her too."
There was a long silence, the young kitsune staring down in the darkness below. Then Shippou asked: "What's it like, in her world?"
It took a moment before his friend replied as if he had trouble recalling it. It had almost been a year now…
"Crowded. Noisy. A lot of smells. And not all of them are good, you know. Sometimes it really stinks." Then soft, hardly audible: "Except her room. Her room… smelled nice."
"I wish I could have visited. At least once."
"Don't worry. You'll live long enough to see it with your own eyes. I'm not sure if you like it, though."
Shippou leaned back and moved to sit beside Inuyasha. "Is it that dangerous?"
"Well, I don't know. But according to Kagome there are a lot of demons she needs to fight. Like tests or something. I went to that school place a couple of times, it was weird. There were strange demons all over the place. One even puffed air at me as I stamped on it."
"Wow…"
"But her world has some neat things too. Like a lot of food. You won't believe it, but there is this place and it's loaded with food. All kinds of it. And you don't even have to hunt for it." Inuyasha snickered and for a moment Shippou thought his friend was actually drooling. "There is all kinds of meat, and ramen, and candy too, twerp. Lots and lots of it."
"Really… Then… all those humans must be really fat."
Inuyasha laughed, his loud laughter scaring some birds in the nearby trees, the leaves and branches rustling as they flew up. "Yeah, you would think. But they're not. Probably because of all those demons they have to always fight or something. I mean they prepare their children for it at a young age. I saw these little kids, smaller than you, go to such a school place."
Shippou gave himself a few minutes to let that information sink in. With his imagination, he tried to form an image in his head about the world, Inuyasha described. But no matter how hard he tried, it didn't really make any sense. It sounded like a scary place, but at the same time amazingly wonderful. A part of him regretted the question, because he was now even more curious.
"And the well?" he then asked. "What is the well like over there? And the Goshinboku?"
"The Goshinboku is still there. But out there, in that world, there is hardly any green. Mostly everything is rock. A smooth surface for walls, buildings and even to walk on. The well is inside a small wooden building. A shrine. They keep the door closed, most of the times."
"Because they are afraid of all the demons going through it?"
"Nah, don't think so. Besides Kagome and me, no one could travel through it. Not even her kid brother couldn't..." And in the silence that followed, Shippou knew what Inuyasha was thinking. That now even he nor Kagome couldn't go through it.
Seeing the pained expression appear on his friend's face, he sighed and decided not to question him anymore about Kagome's world, even though he liked the stories about it. At those times, it felt like she was just a bit closer to their world. And maybe, maybe he was afraid that he would one day forget about her.
One question did slip passed his lips automatically. One he often repeated on the days they were here. "Will she ever come back?" He looked at Inuyasha, trying to see anything that would resemble hope. But each time he asked that question it seemed that Inuyasha's face became more sad. And each time the answer became more gloom.
"I… I don't know."
She was certain minutes passed by and it was when he took her hand and she felt the cold of the metal as the keys were pressed into her palm, Kagome found her voice.
"What?"
He smiled. "It is the Higurashi shrine. It should stay that way."
"But-"
"After your grandfather died and after both her children left the shrine, it is understandable that your mother could no longer keep maintenance of this place. It is rather huge. But it is your family shrine and I know it was hurting her to sell it."
"So… You bought it?"
"Yes. Besides, every shrine needs a kitsune as a guardian. A haunting spirit is good for business."
The laugh leaving her mouth was a bit awkward as she was still trying to make sense out of it. "You are giving me, my own shrine."
"Yes."
"I-I can't except this gift." She held out her hand and waited for him to take the keys from her again.
"I kind of suspected you would say this. After renovation, your mother will return to the house again. I will oversee maintenance and when you're ready you can take over the family business and live there yourself. With my long lifespan, the shrine will be protected and cared for, for a very long time."
She watched him slowly taking the keys from her again.
I will oversee maintenance and when you're ready you can take over the family business and live there yourself.
His words were echoing in her mind when she turned around and made her way outside, her mind and body in need of fresh air. She wasn't ready. She would not ever be ready. This was not the future she had envisioned for herself. But as she took a deep breath and turned her head, it was hard to miss the large Goshinboku. Blinking, her mind taunted her again with that same image of the red figure stuck against the large trunk. One arrow piercing his body, close to his heart.
A hand on her shoulder banished the illusion and she gasped, her body turning to face the one standing behind her.
"If there is something that I learned, that even you, Kagome, helped me learn, was that you can't outrun your fears forever. You helped me once, to face my demons. Will you allow me to help you face yours?"
"Yours were rather literally, as I remember. Mine are… is…"
"If it's closure you need."
She heard it even before she saw it as he took an object from the right pocket of his jacket. She found it odd that the sound was something she recalled. The sound of beads that moved against each other. Her hands reached out for it immediately to take it from him. She looked at it as it now rested in the palm of her hands, her right thumb brushing over one of the white fangs that was attached to it. It was weird to see it like this. The last time she had seen this it had still been around Inuyasha's neck.
"It removed it from him, before…"
Kagome looked up as the kitsune had broken off his sentence. "I want to know." The sudden painful expression on his face told her already his death had not been a peaceful one. Of course, he would therefore be reluctant to reveal it. "For closure," she then pushed on.
She could see the tension in his body, the movement of his Adam's apple as he swallowed, everything in his posture showing that he was hesitant. Then his hands disappeared in his pockets and he passed her, walking into the direction of the Shrine's entrance.
"All right," he said. "But not here."
Kagome followed him. "Where?"
"My place." His head turned to look at her and he smiled. "I make a mean spaghetti."
"Spaghetti? Italian food?" She upped her pace to walk next to him.
"I've been around."
"I don't think I've eaten spaghetti before."
"Well, then you're in for a treat."
He aided her in climbing the fence, allowing her to step onto his hands to lift her up.
"You don't have a key for this thing?" She said taking a breather as she sat on top of the large obstacle.
"No, I don't need keys." And in one jump he was on the other side.
"You know if anyone sees you doing this-"
"Then I'll say I'm an Olympic athlete," he replied, breaking off her sentence, as he helped her down.
She looked at him suspiciously. "I don't think they'll buy that."
"Sure. I'm very athletic. You can ask all of my dates."
He left her baffled on top of the stairs. This seriously cannot be all Miroku's influence. "Fuck. The stairs again."
"Don't swear. Come on, let's go," Shippou shouted from half way down.
Inside his car she couldn't stop rolling the beads between her fingers. Today she would hear it all. No more mystery. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was closure that she really needed, before she could move on.
She had never thought about Inuyasha's aging. Not even when that moment arrived and she started imagining a future with him. She hadn't until Sesshomaru had brought it up. The demon telling her that her fantasies had been ignorant and foolish. Inuyasha would have outlived her. The demon cells in his body would give him a longer life span. She had at least hoped for him that he lived a happy life, maybe even met someone who loved him and that he died an old man. Peacefully. A full lived life. Life had not been kind to him and she at least wanted him to find the happiness he so deserved. Even… if it was without her.
She looked up to Shippou and realized the car had stopped inside a parking garage. How long had he been sitting there, just waiting? The sound of the car door opening, pulled her out of her thoughts completely and she moved her right hand to the handle to open hers as well and got out.
She had expected the elevator to take them to the highest level, but the button he pressed was two floors lower. Judging from the other cars in the garage parking lots, this apartment was still also way above her pay-check, but unlike Kouga's place, this elevator ride was one without music. The silence was making it awkward, uncomfortable even. And it was probably because of the conversation that was going to happen when they would arrive at the destination. She was counting the numbers in her head as they flashed in the digital screen in the elevator. Red numbers, like a reverse countdown. Red lights. Red.
Bright red like the brake lights from the cars in front of her…
Her right foot pressing hard on the brake of her own car instinctively even though the logic part of her mind already came to the realization.
She could never stop her car in time…
A sudden jolt as the elevator came to stop, shocked her out of the memory that suddenly had surfaced inside of her. Her heart beating wildly in her chest. After the accident the last thing she had remembered of it was leaving the premises of Sesshomaru's estate.
"You okay?" Shippou's concerned voice asked.
She nodded quickly, even though she wasn't sure yet if she really was okay. Her mind somehow still stuck in that last image that was freezeframed in her memory. Cars breaking, redness of lights like a sea of blood. And a sound. That sound, that horrible sound as her own vehicle crashed into the one that was in front of her.
"I need to call maintenance again to get this thing fixed before it gives someone a whiplash."
As they stepped out of the elevator he reached for the phone inside his jacket. Still a bit shaken, it took Kagome a few seconds that his words actually meant that the he owned the whole building.
"You own this place?"
He gestured her for silence and then she heard him talking on the phone. A tone of authority which seemed out of place for the tiny kitsune version of him she remembered. But as she stared at his back, as he had taken some distance from her to conversate on the phone, she realized that there was over 500 years between the young kitsune she remembered and the adult kitsune she was with now.
Kagome waited for him to end the call. As they stood in the corridor she noticed there were only two apartments per floor. And when the conversation had ended and he opened the door that was left of her, she was staring at another luxurious living space. Taking hold of the door post she narrowed her eyes at the man next to her. "So, no penthouse for you?"
He laughed. "Nah, too much space. I like mine a bit more cozy."
She took another look inside. "More cozy," she repeated slowly. "Yeah, sure."
A hand against her back forced her to enter. "Besides, there is no penthouse on the top floor. The top level is the swimming pool." Shippou closed the door behind them. "Complete with bar and terrace and amazing view. Strange enough hardly anyone uses it, except me. Every morning I take a dive and do some rounds." He walked over to a large bar that instead of alcohol was stuffed with all kinds of candy. Taking the popsicles out of his pocket he placed them in a small jar on top of the counter. "Yeah," he said, "Need to stay fit. Never know when those pounds will stick." And he rubbed over his stomach.
She walked to the bar and eyed the huge wall behind it. There wasn't a shelf that wasn't occupied with a glass jar stuffed with sweets on there. Also, the window display behind the counter was like every child's dream. There was a popcorn machine, a cotton candy machine and even an icemaker machine.
"Seriously?!"
He was standing behind the counter now and holding a smaller jar in his hand. "Grape vine?" he asked and he took one out and stuck it in his mouth.
"No. And seriously?"
He laughed. "I have a good dental insurance." As he grinned she noticed the four canine fangs, a little larger than a human's, smaller than Sesshomaru's.
"You're a demon, I doubt you need a dentist."
"And now you insult me. I know not all demons have this vegy diet, as it were, like I do, but we do need to floss."
Kagome shook her head, figuring it would be hopeless to start a discussion about him having a custom-made bar filled with a hundred of different sweets. She eyed his apartment further and walked around. There were no separate rooms except two. Which was probably the bathroom and the toilet. On the far left was a platform with a futon on it. On the far right the kitchen that was partly divided from the living area by a black, modern, decorative room divider. In the middle the candy bar. The place was modernly furnitured. Even the bar was something you would expect to see in a penthouse or a night club, minus the non-alcoholic items. There were some historic artifacts on display on small columns and tables, like ancient samurai masks and swords. She noticed a display standard that seemed off. Walking towards it, it seemed something was missing. Her focus then turned to the beads she had wrapped around her right arm as she had stepped out of the car. Then she realized they had been on it.
Another item caught her attention as well. It was standing on same shelf of the cabinet as the empty display. A picture frame. She swallowed as she reached out to it and picked it up.
There they all were, frozen in time. She remembered taking her camera back to the Feudal Era, not even knowing if it would work. If some time flux thing would render it mute or something. But it had worked, although it had taken her many tries to get a good picture of them all. Inuyasha had been really suspicious of the item and had been ducking away every time it flashed, leaving an image of three humans, one nekomata, one kitsune and two white, fluffy ears on the bottom of each picture. But in the end, she succeeded in creating a photo, picturing them all.
She had treasured that image for a long time after the well had closed and it seemed like she wouldn't be able to get back to that time line anymore. All she had were her memories and that one specific image. But as the years went by the photo on her desk and later on her night stand in her own apartment became a torture device. A constant reminder of something she desperately wanted back and of her entrapment in this world. And on one night when she just couldn't take it anymore she had knocked it off the night stand in an act out of anger and despair. That morning she had stepped into the glass and cut herself. It was then when she decided it had tortured her enough. Taking the picture to the kitchen she had taken a match and had set it on fire. She had watched the flames as they consumed the image, somehow hoping that it would burn the memories inside of her too.
And here it was, displayed out in the open. The fingertips of her right hand moved over the glass following the contours of the people in the image behind it. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Shippou, her. Inuyasha...
"Great cosplay picture, right?"
She was startled by the voice so close behind her.
"When anyone asks about it, we were just a bunch of youthful cosplayers." He took the image from her hands, maybe for the better, because her hold on it felt so unsteady. He sighed. "I remember you making this and giving us a copy of it on a later visit. Miroku used some charm on it to keep it from corroding. I remember that one day I had lost it. Or so I thought. It wasn't until days later I spotted Inuyasha at the well with it. He never said much about it, but we all knew he missed you, more than he even showed. He kept it with him for years, until one day he gave it back to me. He said that I might needed it, in case I would forget what you looked like." He placed the frame back on the shelf. "That display, held the Subjugation beads…" He sighed again and she knew he would tell her now.
Two hands took hold of her arms. "Let's sit down."
"No." The word left her mouth probably harsher than she meant it to be. She didn't want to be moved to the couch or whatever place he had in mind. She wanted to look at the photo, she wanted to see Inuyasha as she would hear the story of how he had died.
"All right." The hands rubbed over her arms, soothingly, already trying to comfort her. "Our species don't mix well, Kagome. You have seen this during your stay. Inuyasha was a being of both worlds and accepted by few, but hated and disgusted by so many others. The years have not been kind to us. The war between demons and humans had been brewing for ages and came to a final stand many years ago. To protect the humans we loved, we left them. At a time, it didn't matter if you were a demon, a half demon or a human who had affection for any of the youkai kind. Every one of them awaited the same fate: death."
If there hadn't been a tension in her chest before, there was now. She could picture her friends, Shippou, Kirara, Inuyasha being hunted. Hiding, battling, running for their lives. The imagery Inuyasha had painted so vividly as he told her about his past as a child. How he had to run and hide. She had not wanted this life for him. Not again…
"You know Inuyasha is as tough as they get. How he once kept fighting even with a hole in his chest."
Yeah, she did. She smiled a little at that memory. He had always been so stubborn. A hand touched her face, the back of fingers caressing her cheek lovingly.
"But there is one time, once a month when he becomes vulnerable."
"The night of no moon." They both said it. Her voice uttering the words softly, barely audible.
"We followed the scent of blood. His blood."
Kagome turned her head. "We?"
"I wasn't with him when it happened. We had split up a while ago." The memory of it was still painful for him, she could see it in his eyes. As if he blamed himself for not being there. What had happened, what had caused their departure, their separation? "His brother had picked up on the scent too."
"Sesshomaru…" His name left her mouth in a whisper.
"Inuyasha had probably been looking for shelter or had been sheltering somewhere and had been discovered anyway. When we found him, he had won the battle, but he was severely injured. And it was already late in the afternoon."
He had taken hold of her arms again. A shiver running through her, making her tremble.
"Tenseiga."
"He refused. When Sesshomaru was standing by, ready to use it, Inuyasha declined. He asked… He asked… … Inuyasha didn't want to do die as a human. So, he asked his brother to… To…"
No. Her eyes widened and Kagome felt the warm moisture of tears running down her face. She spun around when he suddenly stopped and there was only silence, forcing the kitsune to release her.
"Tell me," she demanded. "Tell me, Shippou. Tell me how Inuyasha died. Tell me who killed him!"
"Sesshomaru."
The hairs in his neck were standing on end at the sound of the voice belonging to the one who was standing on the bridge at the koi pond. Smoke leaving her mouth as she removed the kiseru from her lips. He had felt her presence even before he had arrived back at his place from the miko's apartment. And even before that, some instinct feeling of recognition that something would be off.
Demon instinct was never wrong.
He had made his way to the center square at his mansion, following the scent and aura of her, knowing he would find her there. At the center of his area of tranquility she would be taunting him with her disturbance.
He had stopped at the path leading to the bridge on which she stood and there she had spoken his name in the elegant, smooth tone she always used. Manipulative, seductive, dangerous.
His eyes narrowed and his demon beast was on edge inside of him. "To what do I owe this visit? Mother."
A/N: Information about the next update will be on my 'Work in Progress' page on my tumblr. (you can find me on tumblr as angelhart79 or on google search: Angelhart's Blog)
My main priority at the moment is however in finishing the subs for the InuYasha Stage Play.
Also, dreaming-of-the-midnight-sun (tumblr) has made some lovely fanart for this fic ^^ You can find it if you type this post/163881069083/dreaming-of-the-midnight-sun-nothing-within after my tumblr url.
