A/N: Hey you guys, thanks for being patient with me. This is going to be the second to last chapter of this story, and I feel its going to be a long one. And the last chapter will probably be longer. So here ya go!
Inuyasha regashi chapter 36 : Family, Friends and Farewells
The group watched from afar as the massive floating castle fell from the sky and into the side of the mountain in which the dragon demon clan resided. The remaining dragon demons whooped and shouted for joy at the overthrowing of their cruel dictator.
"I can't thank you all nearly enough." said Ryuhana to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
"Dont mention it, we would have had to take care of him in the future anyways." Inuyasha said lightly.
"Yes I understand. But I am glad that you acted when you did. I do not think we could last another day under Ryukoushi's tyranny." Ryuhana said.
"But then what will happen to you all? Who will be your new leader?" Kagome asked.
"Oh...Well...We havent gotten that far yet. Probably one of the remaining elders..." Ryuhana said.
"I think you would make a fine leader, Ryuhana. Seeing as how you organized the rebellion in the first place. It is you we should be thanking." Miroku said.
"Oh, me? Dont be silly! I would be a terrible ruler!" Ryuhana said bashfully.
"He's right, Ryuhana! If it weren't for you and Ryuhaku, we would all still be scratching from the ground for food!" said one of the clansmen.
"Why dont you become our leader?! Whadaya say, men?!" said another. They all cheered for Ryuhana who blushed a deep red.
"I-I dont know what to say..." Ryuhana muttered.
"Yes would be a good start!" Sango said.
Ryuhana smiled and wiped away a small tear. She inhaled deeply and declared., "Well, if you wish, I will lead you the best way that I can."
Another round of cheers rose from the crowd and Inuyasha and the gang smiled.
"If that is the case, then I recognize you as the new leader of the dragon demon clan." Sesshomaru stated.
"Thank you, lord Sesshomaru. It is my greatest honor." Ryuhana said bowing.
Then, one of the clansmen ran up to the group holding something long and slender in his hand.
"Whats this?" Ryuhana said.
"Young lord!" the man called, waving his hands.
"Who is he talking to?" Kagome asked.
"And what is that he is holding?" Sango thought out loud.
When Itaru got a good look at what it was, he gasped "Its Sutasaiga!" .
The dragon demon stopped in front of them and handed Itaru his sword.
"Young...lord...your...weapon...I saved it from...the castle..." the dragon demon panted.
Itaru took a long look at his sword. Half of the blade was dissolved from Naraku's miasma and the fabric around the hilt was tattered. Itaru sighed heavily and thought, 'Look at what I did...father thought that I was responsible enough to properly use a sword...and I destroyed it.'
he felt a heavy grip on his shoulder and turned to see Inuyasha smiling down at him.
"Cheer up! its nothing Totosai can't fix! You put it to good use today and thats what we want, right?"
"Y-yeah, I suppose..." Itaru replied.
"Thank you so much for finding it!" *Kagome said.
"Oh dont mention it..." said the dragon demon.
"We should be going." Sesshomaru stated bluntly.
And with that, Inuyasha and the group departed and headed back home. Sesshomaru, Jaken and Kazuka stopped at a fork in the road and turned to the others, "This way leads home." he said simply.
"Thank you for your help, Sesshomaru." *Kagome said. Suddenly her face took on a rather unpleasant expression.
"HOLD ON A MINUTE, ARE YOU FORGETTING SOMETHING?!" *Inuyasha/Kagome shouted.
"And what is that?" Sesshomaru asked.
"YOU KNOW WHAT!" *Inuyasha/Kagome continued.
Sesshomaru stared.
"I think what he is hinting is that he was hoping that you would use tenseiga to help revive him." Kagome said.
"Now why would I ever do that?" Sesshomaru asked.
"PRECISELY! WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD LORD SESSHOMARU STOOP SO LOW AS TO -"
"Shut up Jaken." Kazuka said, bopping him on the back of his head.
"Yes, my lady..." Jaken moaned.
"I dont know...because...you're a nice and kind big brother..?" Kagome said batting her eyelashes.
"Kagome!" both Inuyashas yelled.
"Oh would you both stop with the tough guy act already!" Kagome demanded.
They both growled in defeat.
"Please, Sesshomaru..." Kagome pleaded.
Sesshomaru grunted. "There is no good reason for me to revive him...Kazuka, what do you think?"
'HES ASKING HIS DAUGHTER?!' Inuyasha thought in rage.
"Well, father...if you don't revive him, our clan would be at risk of extinction...our kingdom would fall to rebels if you should fall...of course not that you will, you will live forever..." Kazuka said. "And besides that, you will have no one to beat up every now and then."
'WHY THAT LITTLE...! THE APPLE DOESNT FALL FAR FROM THE GODDAMN TREE DOES IT?!'
Sesshomaru laughed and ruffled his daughter's blunt short hair.
"That sounds like an well educated reason, daughter."
The group stared in complete awe at what had just happened.
"D-d-d-id S-Sesshomaru just...laugh?!" Shippo stuttered, sitting on his future counterpart's shoulder who was equally shocked.
"Thats what it looked like..." Miroku said, a shiver running through his spine.
"I remember jaken told me once that if Sesshomaru is laughing, that means someone is going to die!" *Shippo said. "Right Jaken?"
"Y-y-ess, you're right! I would stay out of his way if I were you!" Jaken stuttered
"Umm...so is that a yes?" Kagome mumbled.
when Sesshomaru finished, he carefully whipped out tenseiga and said, "Set his body down on the ground."
They did as they were told and placed the dead body of Inuyasha on the ground in front of Sesshomaru.
His face, which was normally tan from the sun, was pale as the underside of a fish's belly. Despite this, *Inuyasha's empty body looked as if he was sleeping.
"Alright, the moment of truth..." *Kagome said.
Tenseiga pulsed twice. Sesshomaru focused on the minions from the underworld who were examining his body, but they seemed confused.
'They must be confused at how they didnt notice that he was dead for so long and they did not notice...'
Sesshomaru raised Tenseiga and slew the minions as they let out painful cries that only he heard.
Six pulses could be audibly heard from Inuyashas body. "Whats happening? why isnt it working?" Kagome asked.
"Inuyasha's body is calling out for his soul..." Sesshomaru concluded.
*Kagome felt a strong and powerful pull from within herself. She grunted and fell to the ground and felt a strong release. A bright ball of energy escaped from her body and went into Inuyasha's body. It took a moment before they could see evidence that Inuyasha had truly been revived.
*Kagome bent over him and whispered in his ear, "Inuyasha...you can wake up now, dear."
they watched as *Inuyasha's finger twitched a little, then his hand, and finally his arm reached over and grabbed Kagome's hand. He opened his eyes, and when he saw his wife standing over him, he smiled.
"*Kagome...You're a sight for sore eyes..."
"Oh Inuyasha!" *Kagome choked before throwing herself over her husband.
"PAPA!" Itaru and Meimei shouted as they ran to greet their revived father.
The group looked on with contentment at the scene in front of them. Inuyasha huffed and turned away, but inwardly smiled.
"Sesshomaru..." *Inuyasha began.
"What is it?" Sesshomaru replied.
"...I appreciate what you did today..." Inuyasha croaked.
Inuyasha could not believe what his ears had just heard. He turned around and stared with a incredulous look on his face. The rest of the group emulated his reaction.
Sesshomaru grunted an acknowledgement. "Lets go, you two." then, they suddenly heard something from the sky.
"MY LORD! YOU ARE ALRIGHT!" said a familiar voice.
"That voice!" Sango said.
"That can't be who I think it is!" Kagome echoed. they all looked to see a mature young woman with long wispy hair styled in a half up ponytail and a peony hair comb stuck neatly and perfectly on the side. she was wearing a purple kimono with a fan design on the sleeves and the bottom hem. underneath, she wore two layers of a red and white kosode all tied together with a green bow. her face was youthful and glowing with her lips painted red and her eyes sparkling with joy. flying on the two headed dragon Ah-Un. Alongside her was Tomono, Sesshomaru's mother in her dog demon form.
"It is! Its Rin!" Sango and Kagome gasped.
"Shes so..." Miroku started.
"-grown up!" Inuyasha continued.
When they landed, Rin ran right up to Sesshomaru and Kazuka. "Oh Im so happy you are alright! I was just so worried about you both!"
"Rin, I was sure that I told you to stay where I told you. What if I did not succeed and you got caught in the crossfire? It was hard enough to take care of Kazuka...and Jaken..." Sesshomaru said slightly annoyed.
Jaken blanched at the offhanded comment. 'MY LORD DOES NOT BELIEVE IN MY ABILITY TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!'
"Well, I already knew that you were going to win! Thats why I came!" Rin said.
"Rin, thats not the point..." Sesshomaru said with an exasperated sigh.
"And besides, even if you were to somehow be defeated in this battle, I would not hesitate to die at your side, my lord..."
" You know that I forbid such talk from you..." Sesshomaru scolded.
Rin sighed and bowed, "forgive me, my lord. I disobeyed you. I shall never do it again."
"Thats what you said the last time..." Sesshomaru sighed.
Kazuka stood next to her parents and tugged on the hem of her mother's kimono.
"Mother?" Kazuka mumbled.
Rin looked at her child, screamed and knocked Jaken out of the way.
"Kazuka! WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO YOU?! YOUR HAIR!" Rin ran her fingers through her daughter's bluntly cut chin length hair and looked over torn silk kimono.
"I was fighting mother..." Kazuka said exasperated at her mother's worry.
"Kazuka, I will not have you tearing up your good clothes! Your father paid good money for this kimono! You are a young lady and you'd better start acting like it!" Rin scolded.
Kazuka inched over to her father and clutched to his pant leg and made a pout.
Sesshomaru ran his long clawed fingers through her hair and said, "Do no be so harsh on her. It suits her lifestyle. Paying too much attention to aesthetic details is not suitable for a warrior."
"But she is a princess first!" Rin exclaimed.
Inuyasha rubbed his eyes twice and thought. 'Is this real life...? Im sure im dreaming...'
"Rin, this is not the place to debate this." Sesshomaru continued.
"You are just saying that to avoid the discussion!" Rin huffed. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes in response.
Tomono, who had remained silent up until that point, began to chuckle. 'oh doesnt this sound familiar...?'
"We need to go." Sesshomaru asserted.
Rin turned to the group and bowed, "Thank you all for taking care of my little girl. I know she can be a handful at times."
they watched Rin, Jaken and Kazuka climb on top of Ah-Un and Sesshomaru join his mother in full demon form. Kazuka gave Ah-Un a prod and the royal family took to the skies.
"Well, there goes the strangest family that I've ever seen..." *Shippo said.
"You said it!" Shippo agreed.
~*0*~
It took a full two days for the gang to get back to the village. When they returned, the huts were on their way to being fully restored. The villagers along with Ami, Yui, Hiro and *Kohaku, jubilantly greeted them.*Inuyasha and *Kagome invited all of the villagers who did not have a place to stay to seek shelter at their house. That night, there was a great feast to celebrate their return. Sake was passed around freely and everyone was in good spirits. There was no shortage of laughter as people danced and sang songs everyone knew by heart.
"Wow! what a crowd! Are these really all the villagers?" Sango asked.
"No, most of the them went to other neighboring villagers until the danger passed. They'll come back eventually." *Sango replied to her counterpart.
Both Inuyashas and both Mirokus were busy retelling the story of how they defeated the Ryukotsusei, Ryukoushi, Naraku and the Band of Seven.
"Two dragon demons, the Band of Seven, and Naraku?! Thats incredible!" said one of the villagers.
"I dont believe it! You mean to tell us that you all killed them in one day?" said another.
Iits true! we know its hard to believe, but its the truth. We were pretty exhaused when we were through. But we're glad that its over now."
"So am I! When I heard about the band of seven being revived a second time, why, I nearly jumped out of my skin!" said an elderly man, visibly shaking with nervousness. They all had a good laugh at the old man's expense. The four men excused themselves and went to the kitchen. Gossip and small talk filled the room and was hushed a little bit when the men entered.
*Kagome was stirring a big pot of stew with her counterpart from the past helping her. *She looked up and said with an annoyed tone in her voice, "Dinner is almost ready, you all. Be patient."
*Inuyasha stepped forward and chuckled, "We weren't worried about the food, we were checking to see how you all were doing."
"Really? Honestly, I wanted to check on the food." Inuyasha whispered to Miroku.
"We're fine, alright? Now go outside, you'll be in the way." *Kagome said curtly.
"Alright, alright." *Inuyasha complied with a smile and turned around to leave.
*Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. But as soon as she did, she began to feel dizzy. She could feel the room spinning around her and lost her balance. She nearly fell in the pot of stew before Kagome and both Sangos caught her.
"Kagome!" they exclaimed.
The men whipped around and both Inuyashas were at her side in an instant.
*Kagome held her head and blinked twice, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Kagome! are you okay?!" *Sango asked.
"Yeah...Im fine...what just happened?" *Kagome replied.
"you almost became an ingredient in the stew, thats what happened!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Oh..." *Kagome breathed. she tried to get back up, but fell right back down when she felt another dizzy spell fall upon her.
"Kagome, you need to rest! you've been working way too hard!" Sango pleaded.
"No, really, im fine. this will pass..." *Kagome explained.
"No you're not! You're only dizzy because your're tired! Kagome, you need to sleep! Think about the baby!" *Sango begged.
"The baby and I are fine." * Kagome emphasized.
"You and the baby are not fine! I can even see that!" Kagome insisted.
"I said I'm fine!" *Kagome exclaimed, almost shouting. In that moment, *Inuyasha grabbed her hand and forced her to look at him.
"Kagome. Go. To. SLEEP." *Inuyasha commanded.
*Kagome stared into his eyes defiantly, and didnt move.
"NOW." *Inuyasha insisted, his eyes narrowing.
Time stood still as everyone in the room watched to see what would happen between the two. At last, Kagome's eyes brimmed with tears. "Im...so tired...of you all treating me like im still sixteen...!" Kagome whispered, before standing up in a huff, and nearly losing her balance again.
"Hold on! I'll help you!" Kagome said, grabbing her future counterpart's arm and leading her to her room.
*Inuyasha sighed and turned to exit the room. Inuyasha follwed his double outside to join him on the porch to watch children play.
"Okay...how did you do that?!" Inuyasha begged.
"I dont like commanding her like that, like i'm some kind of task master...But she doesnt know when to just stop! Does she have any idea of what she is doing to herself? Its like she wants to repeat what happened the last time!" *Inuyasha shouted, slamming his fist into the floor.
"Wait...what happened?" Inuyasha asked.
"I dont want to talk about it..." *Inuyasha replied
'Huh, so this is what its like to talk to me when im in a bad mood...' Inuyasha thought to himself.
They sat for a moment watching the children play ball. Their laughter filled the air as they passed the ball from one person to the other.
*Inuyasha sighed and said, "Isnt it a beautiful sound?"
"W-w-what? Whats a beautiful sound?" Inuyasha asked.
"Laughter. Even amongst the evil that surrounds us every day, laughter brings back the glimmer of hope that perhaps one day, peace will be restored among us."
'Whaaaaa?! am Italking to Miroku or something!? How the hell did I become so philosophical and all that shit?!'
"Now I know what you're probably thinking...I really sound like Miroku and all his philosophical banter. But marriage and children changes a man. I've come to understand what he's been saying all along. lately,I am discovering the small blessings in life. Blessings that we have been going without all of our lives. I've even gone meditating once or twice. compared to my earlier life, this life is really peaceful..." *Inuyasha explained.
Inuyasha was at loss for words. He was shocked that he was really hearing what he was hearing.
They resorted to simply watching the children play. in the courtyard, various village children with Itaru, Meimei, Ami, Yui, Hiro and Shippo were deciding what to play next.
"What should we play next?" said one of the children.
"Hey! we should play this new game our mama taught us!" Meimei offered.
"Whats that?" said one of her friends.
"Its called dodgeball! The rules are really easy. There are two teams and they stay at opposite ends and they throw balls at each other! Whoever gets hit by a ball is out. The team with the last one standing wins the game!"
"I dont like the sound of that game...It sounds like war to me!" said one of the children.
"Oh would you stop being a wimp, Jomei? I bet its gonna be fun! Lets play!" said another one of
the children.
"But we only have one ball! How are we supposed to play?" said one of the girls.
"No problem! I can help with that!" Shippo announced. he threw a bunch of acorns in the air and shouted "fox magic!" and the acorns turned into little brown balls.
"Wow! thanks Shippo!" Itaru said.
"Aww it was nothin!" Shippo said proudly.
"Now we have to pick teams!" said one of the kids.
"Why not boys versus girls!?" said one of the older boys.
"No way! Thats not fair at all!" said Ami.
"Okay, fine! In that case, we call dibs on Itaru!" said the older boy.
"Thats still not fair! He's stronger than all of us!" said Yui.
"HEY! IM STRONG TOO, YA KNOW!" Shippo complained.
"No its not! Besides, you guys can get Meimei!" Hiro said.
After they argued over who would be on whose team, they started the game. Many of the girls and the younger children were tagged out first. Itaru was whipping out the balls with frightening precision. But there was someone he was trying to avoid hitting. A girl about his age with freckles and two braids on the side of her head.
"He likes that girl." *Inuyasha said.
"Which one?" replied Inuyasha.
"The one with the braids. Shes right in front of him and he wont hit her. Either he mans up and plays the game, or someone will hit her for him-But then he might get mad at that."
And as he predicted, one of the older boys took aim and hit the girl square in the face. She cried in pain and grabbed her nose.
"Sana!" Itaru shouted as he dropped the ball and ran to her side.
"Sana, are you okay?!" Itaru asked.
"My nose...!" Sana hissed in pain.
When he saw her pain, Itaru rose up in rage and turned to the criminal who hit her.
"Why did you have to throw that ball so hard, huh?! You hurt her!"
"Hey man, I was just playing the game! I didnt mean to hit her in the face! You shouldnt be so sensitive!" said the older boy.
"Hah! I told you he had a crush on Sana! She's got him whipped!" said another boy.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Itaru growled before he jumped on top of him and began beating him; the children started to chant "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" and some of the grown ups ran out to see what was going on.
*Inuyasha jumped up and pulled his angered son off of the boy.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW" Inuyasha hissed.
"TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID, KOSUKE! TAKE IT BACK!" Itaru shouted.
"SHUT UP!" Inuyasha growled.
"Whats going on out here!?" said Kosuke's parents, finding their boy on the ground.
"Just a misunderstanding. I apologize, it will never happen again. Right, Inuyasha?" *Inuyasha demanded, calling Itaru by his rightful name.
"Yes sir. I apologize. please forgive me." Itaru mumbled, bowing low to the ground.
"Come Kosuke. Its time for dinner and bed for you." said kosuke's mother.
"Alright kids! Play time is over! Go get your food and go to bed!" *Inuyasha commanded.
There was a chorus of moans and awws from the children. Itaru got a few snide "thanks a lot Itaru..." "way to ruin the game!". He started to follow, but *Inuyasha cought him by his shoulder.
"Im not done with you, come back here."
Itaru turned with his ears plastered to his head.
"So how should I punish you? Spanking in front of everyone, serving everyone their dinner or extra chores for the week and no time with your friends?"
"What?! those are terrible choices! How am I-" Itaru began.
"You're pretty damn lucky im giving you a choice, boy! What you did there was unacceptable! You know what position this family is in!" *Inuyasha spat.
Inuyasha watched silently at the whole ordeal. Even after all they had gone through, this future Inuyasha was still afraid of things going back to the way they were before he met any of his friends.
Itaru sighed and said, "I'll serve everyone their dinner...".
"Good. Now get to it!" *Inuyasha commanded.
Itaru ran into the house and bowed slightly to the present Inuyasha.
*Inuyasha rejoined his double on the porch and they both sat in silence.
"you're still afraid, aren't you?" Inuyasha said.
"I dont think I'll ever get over that fear. I think its even gotten worse after Itaru and Meimei were born. I dont want what happened to me happen to them. its too much to bear. I know why my mother cried. she knew the terrible world i was born in. It may seem like things have changed, but it hasn't. The only reason people accept us here is that I am the protector of this area and Kagome is the priestess. If she was just an ordinary person and I wasn't the protector of this area, Im sure they wouldnt hesitate to kill both of us..." *Inuyasha explained.
Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement.
"But Kagome...she believes in the villagers. She believes that they have changed for the better and that they accept us and tells me to stop being so paranoid. A big part of me wants to believe her. After all, she was the first person besides mother to ever truly accept me for who I was. all of me." *Inuysha continued.
"B-but what about Kikyo? She accepted us!" Inuyasha reminded.
"She accepted what she wanted to accept. She wanted to use the shikon jewel to make us human. If the shikon jewel weren't available, she probably would not have offered." *Inuyasha said.
Inuyasha gasped. did he really think that way about kikyo now?
"Dont get me wrong. I still love her, and miss her deeply. She was our first love. We can never forget that."
"So, I take it that she doesnt make it out of this battle very well, huh?" Inuyasha said sadly.
"No. but, she died in peace. We said our goodbyes. I know she is in a better place, and that she's watching over us." *Inuyasha replied solemnly.
they both looked up at the sky and sat in meditative silence.
"That being said, you have no reason now to ignore what you have in front of you." *Inuyasha said.
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha replied.
"Heh, this is funny. someone asked me, 'if I could go back to the past to tell my past self something, what would I say?' well, this is the only chance Im going to get..." *Inuyasha began.
"Well, what is it?"
"Protect her. protect her with your very life. With every breath you breathe, do it for her safety and her comfort. She holds your spirit, and its not because of the enchanted beads. She is your soul mate. She belongs to you and you belong to her. And dont give her such a hard time, her family is important to her too. As you can see, she wont be able to see them for much longer..."
"Oh..." Inuyasha said, trying to compute what was just said.
"It may take a while for all of this to sink in. But dont rush anything. Take your time with her. She will appreciate it in the end."
"Alright...I'll do it." Inuyasha vowed.
And with that, *Inuyasha stood and yawned loudly. "Its time for me to turn in! see ya."
"Yeah...see ya..." Inuyasha mumbled. he stayed outside for a while to think on everything he saw and heard.
'protect her with my life, huh? that was never a question...but I guess this battle with Naraku is not going to get any easier. So if Naraku is going to step up his game, then so will I...'
After a few moments, Inuyasha went inside to rest.
….
when Kagome and her counterpart got to the room, she lowered *Kagome onto the large futon covered in thick blankets.
"Is there anything you want right now?" Kagome asked.
"No, not right now." *Kagome mumbled.
Kagome nodded and headed out of the room.
"You are welcome to join me if you like...I know there are things you have been wanting to ask me." *Kagome said.
"Oh...okay.." Kagome complied and sat down next to her double.
They sat in silence for a moment until Kagome finally asked, "Why did you give in so easily?"
*Kagome sighed. "Its...a long story..."
"We have time." Kagome insisted, making herself comfortable.
*Kagome smiled, but in her eyes was a hidden pain.
"A year after we got married, Inuyasha and I decided that it would be a good time to start a family of our own.." *Kagome chuckled. " He saw how jealous I was of Sango and Miroku's kids, so we tried to conceive. We tried for months and ended up with nothing. We even took fertility herbs that Kaede and some of the other village women suggested. Apparently, they worked. I got pregnant around March and we were both really excited to finally have a baby..." *Kagome stared off into space, her expression turning sorrowful. "Then, one day, the village came under attack by a bunch of viper demons. Over 40 people were poisoned. *Inuyasha and *Miroku killed all of them before anyone else could get hurt. Kaede and I were very short-handed. We were the only ones who knew how to apply the antidote. The venom was very strong, it took us two days to get it out of everyone's system. It was taking a serious toll on the baby and I knew it; But I still pressed on. I tried to act as if everything was fine. Inuyasha was starting to get really concerned. He told me that I should rest, take some time off for my duties. But I refused. I hated being treated like a porcelain doll, and I still do! But my pride came at an awful price..."
Kagome stared, afraid of what she was about to hear.
"A few days after that whole ordeal...I miscarried..." *Kagome whispered, choking on her own tears.
Kagome gasped and covered her mouth in horror.
"Inuyasha told me that kaede and Sango found me lying in a pool of my own blood. When Inuyasha came back home that day, he was an emotional wreck. He wouldnt look at me in the eyes for days. I begged him over and over for forgiveness. He told me that he would forgive me on one condition, that I would never push myself over the limit like I did that day. I would have to limit myself or he would do it for me. Now I know you're thinking, what about this time? Considering how this time was an emergency, I dont know if he is going to hold me to my promise..."
"Im...im so so sorry..." Kagome whispered.
"Its alright. We dusted ourselves off and made up. Nine months later, Itaru was born." *Kagome said with a smile."The makeup sex was breathtaking. We haven't made love like that in a long time..."
Kagome froze in shock a the brazen comment, suprised that those words came so casually out of her very own mouth.
"I still dont understand why you are so shy about it! dont you dare tell me you never think about him that way!" *Kagome laughed.
"Well, we're still not married you know! He still hasn't even given me the hint that he even likes me!" Kagome blundered.
"Thats not true." *Kagome said.
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"You know what I mean. Everything he does, he does it in concern for you. Do you know why he insists that you ride on his back? He does it not only so that you can be within his reach if danger should arise, but so that you can be close to him. He doesnt come to the future just so that he can annoy you and drag you back to find the jewel shards, its because every moment you are out of his sight, he yearns for you..."
"Oh..."
"...And when you catch him with Kikyo, he feels absolutely rotten about it. If he didnt care for you, he wouldn't give a damn what you felt. Isnt that evidence enough?" *Kagome giggled. "Now im starting to sound like him. But that happens in marriage, you know?
"Yeah..." Kagome muttered.
"Just be patient with him. It will come. And when he knows, you'll know..." *Kagome said encouragingly, putting her hand on top of her double's.
"Alright...Thank you for that..." Kagome breathed.
they both smiled at each other in acknowledgment and then heard footsteps outside the room followed by a slight rapping at the shoji.
"Kagome, can I come in?" *Inuyasha asked.
"Yes, of course, dear." *Kagome complied.
*Inuyasha entered with a bowl of stew and smiled at his wife and her duplicate.
"Everyone is pretty exhausted; Even the kids are out." Inuyasha yawned.
"Of course. These past few days have been pretty stressful!" *Kagome chuckled.
*Inuyasha glared at Kagome in mock anger, "Hey woman, you're on my side of the bed !"
"Oh! im sorry, here!" Kagome started to get up, but *Inuyasha ushered her back down.
"No no, I was just playing, you dont need to move!" *Inuyasha said.
"Oh, but I need to go, like you said, im pretty exhausted! Im going to bed now! Good night you two!" Kagome said, bowing.
"Haha, alright then. Good night, Kagome!" *Kagome called.
Kagome walked down the hallway carrying a candlelight that illuminated the images various villagers sleeping against the walls. A lot of them were old men and women. Some were small families with little children by them. She smiled to herself to know that they were doing a good thing. Her smile grew even wider when she spotted a group of village children sleeping together in a group. Among them, were Itaru, Meimei, Ami, Yui, Hiro and even Shippo. When she reached the front door, she saw future *Shippo leaning against the door frame supposedly standing guard. But he also was put under the spell of sleep and was gently snoozing.
'They're right...everyone is exhausted...' She finally found the room where they were staying. Both Mirokus and Sangos were asleep in different corners of the room. The only one awake was not other than Inuyasha. He looked up at her and they were caught in a deep gaze. The two lovers had no need for words, for their eyes said everything that was on their hearts.
Kagome offered a meek smile and sat next to him.
Inuyasha took off his haori and put it around her shoulders. Kagome sighed as she sunk into the folds of the thick robe that was still warm from Inuyasha's body heat.
"Thank you..." Kagome whispered.
"feh..."
"So...what do you think about this?" Kagome said in a hushed tone.
"About what?" Inuyasha whispered back.
"You know...about...us..." Kagome said.
Inuyasha paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say.
"Wellll...we've both certainly done a lot of growing up..." he said.
"Well, thats a given..." Kagome replied.
"And also..." Inuyasha began hesitantly. "...I think...that...whatever we are going to do...however we are going to do it...we...we should take it slowly...lets not rush anything..." Inuyasha whispered.
Kagome turned to look at him, and Inuyasha faced her. His eyes smoldered with an unexplainable warmth from emotions unexpressed. Their faces inched closer and closer until their lips met in sweet union. After a few long, precious seconds, they parted. Kagome blushed, despite the fact that she knew in the future, they would do much more than kiss. This only made her blush more. They came forehead to forehead, looking into each other's eyes.
"Slowly..." Kagome giggled.
"Right..." Inuyasha said, smiling.
Kagome sighed as she laid her head on his shoulder and surrendered herself to a peaceful sleep.
~*0*~
The next morning, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala gathered outside by the Goshinboku and readied themselves to back to their rightful time period.
"Alright, I think we can go now!" Kagome said.
"Thank you all so much for helping us. We could not have done it without you all." *Kagome said.
" Dont thank us, thank Itaru and Meimei! They are the ones who led us to you!" Miroku said.
The two hanyou children smiled brightly at the praise.
"Yeah, they're good kids." *Inuyasha said.
"Well, if we're done now, we can go." Inuyasha said impatiently.
"Wait a minute you guys! Wasnt it Kazuka who helped us to get here?" Sango realized.
"Yeah, thats right!" Shippo said.
"Goddamn it! Now we have to ask that bastard and his brat for help again!?" Inuyasha spat.
"Dont worry about it! we'll find a way for you guys to get back!" *Kagome reassured.
"Okay. So what do we do now?" Sango asked.
They saw *Sango, Miroku and *Shippo catch up with them panting.
"Great! We're just in time!" *Miroku said.
"Good! Now that everyone is here..." *Kagome said with a fighteningly happy smile. "We have something to give you guys as a parting gift!"
"Uhh, whats that?" Kagome asked hesitantly, not liking the looks on their counterpart's faces.
*Kagome looked to her husband and Inuyasha nodded stiffly, as if he was preparing himself for something.
"SIT BOYS!" *Kagome said deviously.
Both Inuyashas faceplanted into the ground with a loud thud.
"Sesshomaru! NOW!" *Inuyasha shouted.
And out of nowhere, Sesshomaru landed on top of Inuyasha with a giant tree trunk in his hands. And he proceeded to beat Inuyasha into the ground with said tree trunk.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING!? WHAT IS GOING-" Miroku began before he was punched in the gut by his future counterpart.
"Miroku!" Sango shouted before she was knocked in the back of her head with a small log by *Sango.
Shippo and kilala stood cowering in front of his future counterpart who was cracking his knuckles.
"alright, whats it gonna be, huh? me or you?" *Shippo said.
"W-w-wait minute! Me and kilala can knock ourselves out!Watch!" Shippo stuttered, and then knocked both his head and kilala's together and both fell to the ground unconscious.
"Hold on you guys! what are you guys doing!?" Kagome shouted.
"Im sure you know why, Kagome. You've learned enough physics and seen enough sci-fi movies to know that you can't go into the past or future without forgetting everything you saw there! it would mess everything up!" *Kagome said simply.
"Oh...that makes sense..." Kagome replied. *Shippo jumped in front of Kagome and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry, Kagome. this might hurt for a second!"
After that, everything went dark.
…...
When Kagome woke up, they were in a dark and hot room. All she saw through her hazy eyes were Inuyasha struggling against himself and forcing something down his throat.
"DRINK THE GODDAMN SAKE!" *Inuyasha yelled.
"I DONT WANNA! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Inuyasha shouted back.
Next to him, Miroku was serving himself cup after cup of sake. *Sango turned to to him and said, "Dont give him too much! You'll erase all of his memories!"
"*Master of potions, will this really work?" *Kagome asked.
"It will definitely work. i've tried it myself. I forgot everything that I did a week prior to testing this brew!" said the master of potions.
"Thats what we want!" *Kagome said.
Kagome saw her counterpart handed her a cup of sake and said, "Here, drink it."
She obeyed and drank a cup of the mysterious sake. She felt the liquid burn as it flowed down her throat. The next moment, she was unconscious once more.
A/N: Hey guys! Whats up?! This chapter was really long, wasnt it?! I wasn't even planning on the kiss scene, that was pure chemistry right there! Im glad I finally got it up for you, now I can rest in peace until the next chapter! (which will be up soon, promise!)
watched the final act of Inuyasha yet, you probably dont know who the "master of potions" is. I forgot which episode it is, but the episode is hilarious. I wont spoil it for you, but it includes intoxication and our favorite hanyou!
Additionally, If you have any questions regarding ANYTHING AT ALL you are free to ask! just post it as a review/comment and I will answer them in the last chapter!
AND REMEMBER! REVIEW!
Until then, happy reading!
GOTA