Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi-san
The Journey Home – Chapter Twenty Nine
"Inu-no oji-chan, I see the village!"
Inuyasha walked up to where Rin was, who was jumping up and down from excitement. He wondered how she could get so energetic so quickly. But he should not really complain; she was just too cute to ignore. It was no wonder Sesshoumaru liked to keep her around.
She was pointing in the direction where a village stood, a village that was dotted with huts and further away stood a very large shrine, a village that brought back so many memories.
It was Kaede's village.
The place where he was killed and brought back to life, to what seemed to him happened on the very same day. The same day he had met Kagome and in all honest truth he really did think that she was Kikyou.
That was until she opened her mouth.
All he had remembered was that he was killed by Kikyou and then a few moments later, he was alive again and confronted with a girl who had the appearance of the same person who had killed him. And with a girl who gave him no courtesy to explain things and the fact he was still feeling disorientated with just waking up, he reacted the only way he knew how: By being surly and letting everyone know it.
It was when Kaede had told him that he had been under a sealing spell for fifty years and the girl who sat just in front of him was a reincarnation, well; he did not know exactly how to react. Everything had happened too quickly, one moment it was Kikyou and the next moment it was Kagome. To only realise that fact had taken him a while to adjust to, it was not easy, but had his life ever been easy?
Over the many months he had known Kagome, she was…how would he put it…different. Even though she was a human, she was never afraid, even gaining the cheek to argue with him. No one had questioned him back then…they were all too scared, and then suddenly, this girl from no where came into his life.
At first, she was the most annoying and frustrating girl he had ever met. She had been so infuriating, that whenever she went back home, he would always go and follow her, just to annoy her. And even then, she never gave in to the arguing.
He never knew how it had happened, but the more time he spent with her, the more he got to know her and then suddenly…whenever she was gone, something would go as well and he did not like that feeling.
And he would follow her, just to see her smile again.
But it had not always been this way.
It had been years since he had last seen her, and those years he had felt empty. It was like the time he was pinned to the tree and made to experience an eternal sleep.
Except this time…he was not sealed, he was alive, and was conscious to his surroundings. He knew everything, experienced everything, Kagome's disappearance, the friends that had left him, and the mindless wandering that had become part of his life. He was not in blissful sleep, he was made to live through the aftermath, and that fact alone made it almost unbearable.
The fact, that he was truly alone in this horrid world.
Inuyasha sighed and looked at the village again in the distance that was partly bordered by the rice paddies. A bit further he could see the forest, still the same lush greens the last time he had seen it.
It was the same place…
It was the same place where he was banished.
He never thought he would come to this place ever again, ever. And now there he stood watching the village that would only take them until nightfall to reach.
He was banished there…
The same place…the same forest…
Inuyasha took a step back.
"Are you alright Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly.
Inuyasha was banished…
He was not allowed to come here…ever…
"Inuyasha?" she asked again, beginning to worry when the hanyou wouldn't respond to her. She saw him shaking his head and taking another step back.
"I-I…not," he began, his voice shaking.
Kagome saw him taking another step back and then saw the slight turn of his foot. The miko panicked, afraid that he would suddenly bolt and run away, after all, it was a place that held terrible memories and she almost regretted coming back here.
She could see the fear in his eyes, a look that she had never seen before, a look of a frightened child.
Kagome had to be careful, any sudden movements and he would run.
The hanyou stared wide-eyed but not focussing at any particular object. All he could see was the village, the shrine and the forest.
I don't want to be here. He took another step back and was about to run, when he heard a voice, a female voice, and a shape coming closer. He felt his breathing becoming faster and he could feel the sweat forming unto his brow.
I can't stay here. Inuyasha saw the girl speaking to him, but he really could not hear anything. Her face had a worried expression and he wondered why she was worried. However, his anger grew as the girl stepped closer towards him with a hand reaching out.
"You dare touch me, human?" He asked with a darkened tone, almost threatening. He felt his youki rise as he saw this human as a potential threat but somehow could not attack her. She was not one of them, was she?
Kagome did not dare step back as the hanyou would know she was scared, but her heart refused to listen as it beat faster. Shivers went down her spine as she heard his voice, it was cold and had an almost feral quality to it, much like a voice that so familiar long ago.
It was that time when Inuyasha had let his youkai blood take over him. But this time, there was no evidence of his eyes changing, or the elongation of his claws. She could sense something was different, she couldn't put her finger on it, but she would have guessed that something or someone was trying to possess him.
She reached out to him again and with as much courage as she could muster, she said, "Inuyasha, please, don't be like this. Don't run away from me." She could feel her tears starting to trickle down her face. She wouldn't cry, but seeing him like this, made her heart hurt.
Kagome felt his youki rise in apparent antagonism as he stepped dangerously closer to her, but she stood her ground.
The hanyou made a grab for her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.
He saw the slight fear in them and he smirked, "Who are you to tell me what to do, human?" He spoke delicately, but Kagome could detect the hint of malice in his voice.
"I'm…Kagome, remember?" She smiled kindly towards him and immediately she could see the recognition in his eyes. The grip on her chin slackened and his arms fell to his sides.
"Ka-Kagome?" he whispered afraid that he was seeing things.
"Yes," she replied giving him a warm embrace. "What happened to you?"
Inuyasha could smell the miko's fragrance as he rested his head on her shoulder. "I…don't know. I can't remember. I-I didn't do anything to you did I?"
"No, of course not," she replied, hugging him again, "Are you feeling alright now?"
"Yes," he said faintly, "I suppose so."
The village was getting nearer now as they continued to walk down a somewhat familiar path. Kagome stayed close to Inuyasha, just in case he decided he did not want to see the faces of the villagers. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but she was more afraid for the hanyou. What would the villagers say after years of not seeing the hanyou's face? Would they hate him?
She squeezed Inuyasha's hand a bit tighter in a comforting gesture. Screw them if they hated him, it was their own fault anyway.
Sunlight was beginning to die down; shadows began to play with the trees, casting elongated shapes along the footpath. Several birds sang loudly to signify it was the end of the day. The evidence of the night began to creep in, showing the first stars in the sky.
As Inuyasha continued to walk down the path, his eyes focused towards the distance, Kagome noticed a subtle change in his appearance. She felt his youki slowly disappearing, being replaced by his more human-like appearance.
Kagome watched as his transformation was nearly completed, it was the first time she had seen him change right before her eyes. It was quite elegant really; the changes in colour of his hair and his eyes and how his ears would slowly move down and then change to human ears. And then he would look completely human. However his now piercing violet eyes still had their cat-like slits and Kagome supposed that the hanyou's youkai blood would never completely vanish.
"Inuyasha-san is it alright for you to walk and transform like that? What if a youkai or those houshi see you?"
"Let them Kohaku-kun."
"But--"
Inuyasha continued to walk on completely ignoring him. Kagome walked up to Kohaku and quietly asked him.
"Is he—always like this when he turns human?"
"Not really," the boy replied quietly, "but I wouldn't want to bother him when there's no moon."
The small crowd of villagers standing in front of Kaede's village were not sure what to make of the situation.
In front of the group was the wise old miko, eye-patch and all and still alive; Kagome came up next looking happier then usual; a young couple soon followed, a young girl with a checker-patterned kimono and a boy wearing a plain style kimono with a kusari-gama tucked in his belt, and lastly a man dressed in fine clothes and an expression that was hard to decipher. Some villagers felt the urge to shiver as he drifted passed them after seeing his cold violet eyes.
They looked to Kaede for an explanation, which she cleared her throat.
"Everyone, this is Inuyasha."
Inuyasha bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Whispers and murmurs could be heard amongst the men and women and confusion could be felt everywhere.
Kaede continued to speak.
"Please, make him feel welcome."
One of the men spoke up, with still a look of confusion on his face.
"Weren't you supposed to have white hair?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Inuyasha refused to say anything, instead, choosing to stand motionless and keeping his eyes towards the ground
"What happened to your ears?" A woman asked.
The villagers came closer for a better inspection, inquisitiveness taking over them.
Kagome could feel his irritation growing, and so she decided to intervene. She stepped in front of him and spread her arms out to stop the people from coming any closer.
"Yes, this is Inuyasha."
"How come he looks different?" A woman asked.
Kagome suddenly felt that she was being interrogated by her friends from the future, so she used her quick thinking to come up with a reason.
"He's sick," was Kagome's simple answer.
All eyes fell on the miko from the future.
"Sick?" The villagers asked.
Kagome nodded her head furiously, "Yes, very sick…terrible sickness. It happens every night." She shook her head. "His hair loses its colour and his ears shrink."
Shocked whispers went throughout the crowd at the discovery of this piece of information.
Inuyasha looked at her with a very strange expression on his face.
"That's terrible," a man finally said, "will you be alright?" He asked the hanyou turned human.
He was about to answer when Kagome cut in, "He'll be alright, but he needs to sleep or something…horrible might happen."
"Horrible?" They all asked as they all stepped back a bit to make room for Kagome and Inuyasha to pass through.
When the people were gone out of sight, the villagers all looked at Kaede, their eyes questioning. "She didn't really mean that, did she?"
Kaede had to laugh, it was obvious that Kagome was a very bad liar, but she was somehow able to fool some of the villagers who did not know her very well. It was amazing that Kagome would go to such lengths to try and help Inuyasha in anyway she could. Inuyasha was certainly lucky to have someone like Kagome and visa versa, and she prayed that the fates would smile upon them because they deserved at least that much.
She winced slightly as she felt a small throbbing pain on her big toe.
Over the years that she had experienced such a feeling, only meant one thing…
Something or someone was coming very soon.
Author's notes
inu-no oji-chan - dog uncle
youki - youkai energy
youkai - demon or supernatural being
kurasi-gama - chain and sickle
I wonder what is going to happen next?
Until next time...
