Chapter 53

Hey You

Sesshomaru sat in his study alone looking down at the stone which represented Kagome's soul and he thought of nothing but simply sat there staring into its black depths. Suddenly a warm wind whipped in through the open screens that looked out over the melted gardens and blew out the candle that had been lit at the sun's setting. A sinking feeling filled his stomach and the scent of death and a thousand fires filtered through his nose. Kagome was now no longer amongst the living.

"So, you let her pass through to hell?" the demoness asked, her violet eyes glittering in the moon light.

"Hai." the other women replied, her blood red hair glittering in the moonbeams.

"How could you have let her pass?" the first demanded.

"I do not kill people." the second replied, honestly.

"But you are Death." the first pointed out with a small scowl.

"I may be Death but I do not kill, that's what I have Shinigami for." she informed the demoness. "And demons." she added with a smirk.

"You flatter us." the first replied with her own smirk.

"I am terribly sorry, it was not my intention." the second reassured.

"Tch." the first scoffed.

"If it makes you sleep at night." the second began as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms nonchalantly. "I did not allow her to enter with a weapon of any kind."

"Oh?" the first asked, curious. "She will surely die then." she added with a laugh.

"Indeed." the second agreed. "But." she interjected and it hung between them heavily.

"But what?" the first asked, the laugh gone from her lips and her violet eyes became venomous.

"If she should return…" the second trailed off and reveled in the demoness' apprehension.

"If?" she asked, urging her companion to continue.

"If she should return," she repeated. "I will not hinder her."

"Nor will you help her." the first ordered.

"You dare to give me orders?" the second fumed, her eyes narrowed dangerously, the first did not reply. "You demons like to think yourselves immortal but you will die, and it is I you will come to see when you do. Do not dare to give me orders." she added making the demoness shrink back ever so slightly though she refrained from bowing it did not matter, closing her eyes, her scowl dissipated and small smirk replaced it.

"So you plan to help her then?" the demoness asked, her voice softer.

"If I see fit to help her." she replied.

"I doubt she will return." the first commented, reassuring herself.

"You underestimate her." the second responded.

"She is human, there is nothing to estimate." the first countered.

"She is Miko and she was the one to destroy Naraku." the second divulged.

"Yes but at the expense of the Hanyou." the first pointed out.



"That is indeed true but none the less it was her own powers that destroyed him." the second explained.

"Well it doesn't matter for she is bow-less on the other side." the first replied.

"Indeed, she is bow-less." the second answered with a knowing smirk.

"No human returns from a Demons hell, none." the first reassured and the second only continued to smile.

As soon as Kagome had entered into that red haze she had been falling through, though not too fast and not too slow nonetheless the haze had lasted for a minute and then she was falling through the air. She could see all around her nothing but mountains of rocks and plateau's, small cliffs and stacks of stones that swayed precariously but seemed not to fall. No matter where she looked everything was red, a bright burning red and the air was even more hot and sticky and smothering and Kagome found it extremely difficult to take in a full breath of air. Though that was the very least of her problems; for she was still falling and she didn't know how to stop falling.

"This is not good." Kagome muttered to herself as she looked around below her trying to figure out where she was going to land and it seemed like it was to be right in the middle of a very large clump of dead things (for she didn't know whether or not they were human or demon and at that moment she didn't care to find out) who peered up at her hungrily. "I'm going to die." Kagome whined softly to herself as she looked down helplessly.

"Hey you!" A gruff voice called out to her which made Kagome's heart quicken in panic as she looked to where the voice had come from and there to her right, standing on a stack of rocks that reached at least 40 feet into the air was the last person she had expected to see ever except for inside her dreams.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, tears forming in her eyes. "Inuyasha help I don't know how to stop!"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called back sternly then he disappeared from her site all together.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out but no answer came to her. "Inuyasha?" she asked again this time her voice cracked with confusion. "He hates me! He hates me because I killed him! He hates me just like Kikyo hated him! What have I done? What have I done?" She thought helplessly as tears consumed her eyes and she could no longer see and it seemed not to matter since she was falling anyways but then she suddenly stopped falling and was wrapped in something warm and comforting.

Blinking the tears from her eyes she noticed that she was being held firmly by a pair of all too familiar arms, looking up she saw Inuyasha's face but it was different somehow, it seemed older and not as brash. Feeling her eyes on him Inuyasha looked down at her and he let out a disapproving 'tch' before looking forward once more and leaping back to the stack of rocks in which Kagome had first seen him standing on.

As they landed Inuyasha set her to her feet then turned his back to her, his arms crossed over his chest tightly and he took several steps away from her. Feeling like a scolded child Kagome took a hesitant step towards him and reached out her hand to him as she tried to find something to say but she couldn't find anything. So she closed her mouth and retracted her hand and stood there waiting for him to say something, anything. Then after a long time of simply waiting Inuyasha turned to look at her with painfully sharp eyes and he took a solid step towards her which made Kagome retreat slightly.

"Are you dead Kagome?" Inuyasha asked in all seriousness which threw Kagome off.



"No Inuyasha, I'm not dead." she said solemnly as she shook her head. "Do you hate me because I'm not?" She asked quietly.

"Of course not! I'm glad! I was really scared you had died." Inuyasha confessed forcefully as he closed the gap between them and embraced her fiercely.

"Inuyasha! Oh Inuyasha I thought you hated me!" Kagome announced as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his haori.

"Hate you Kagome?" Inuyasha asked incredulously. "Never." he assured her.

"But I killed you." She pointed out as she looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears once more.

"I told you to and I'm glad you listened or else you would have died also." Inuyasha explained with a smirk as he wiped the tears from her face.

"I didn't want to." Kagome sighed.

"I really didn't want you to either." Inuyasha replied truthfully as his smirk turned into a smile. "It really hurt." he added in a half whine.

"You jerk!" Kagome declared as she pushed him away from her and Inuyasha laughed but it soon died away.

"Kagome, if you're not dead then what are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked sternly.

"I… I, Inuyasha I need Tetsusaiga." Kagome informed him hesitantly.

"Tetsusaiga?" Inuyasha repeated.

"Yes." Kagome agreed with a nod of her head. There was a moment of silence that passed between them as Inuyasha looked over Kagome sternly and he seemed like he was about to say something but then he closed his mouth tightly and it was gone.

"Of course." Inuyasha muttered as he pulled Tetsusaiga from his side and offered it to her. Hesitantly Kagome took the sword from him, once it was in her hands she grasped it closely to herself and tears welled up in her eyes at the meaning of him parting his sword to her.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she wrapped her arms around him in another tight embrace. "Thank you, thank you." she whispered softly as she held him tightly.

"No need to thank me, the sword was always yours I just used it for you." Inuyasha replied as he returned her embrace. "So many tears." Inuyasha commented as Kagome sniffled loudly.

"Yeah." Kagome laughed as she pulled away from him and wiped the tears away. "I don't know why but they just started falling, I haven't cried like this in a long time." she admitted.

"Keh, you were always too emotional." Inuyasha grumbled as he folded his arms over his chess.

"I am not too emotional!" Kagome scowled.

"Keh, yeah you are." Inuyasha bantered back.

"Am not!" Kagome bit back.

"You don't see me crying do you?" Inuyasha asked, making his point.

"That's because you're a cold hearted demon!" Kagome spat.

"Half Demon." Inuyasha informed her.

"Sit." Kagome whispered ever so softly sending Inuyasha plummeting to the ground.

"And you call me cold hearted." Inuyasha grumbled as he pried himself free from the ground but as he did so the ground underneath him jerked sharply and the pile of rocks began to sway further heavily to each side and before him Kagome stumbled as if drunk and fell to the ground. Getting to his feet Inuyasha could then feel the ground toppling over to the side beneath 

them. "Kagome!" Inuyasha called going towards her as she tried to get up only to end up falling again.

"What's happening?" Kagome asked as she let him pick her up.

"You, is what's happening." he scolded as he jumped off of the rocks and made his way over to a cliff.

"I didn't think it was that unstable." Kagome said in an apology.

"Everything here is that unstable." Inuyasha warned her.

"Including you?" Kagome asked, with a small smirk.

"Keh." Inuyasha scoffed and was about to reply when a cold shiver skated down his spine.

"Human, I smell a human." A crackly voice droned.

"Awe it smells so good." another agreed as it joined the first. Inuyasha quickly came in between Kagome and the other dead demons, his hand quickly went for Tetsusaiga but it was no longer there for it was now in the hands of the young Miko behind him.

"Always attracting trouble." Inuyasha muttered to himself.

"What?" Kagome asked not fully hearing him but as her eyes landed on the quickly growing group of demons before him her voice died away.

"What you got there Inuyasha?" one of the demons asked his eyes firmly attached to Kagome.

"None of your god damn business." Inuyasha bit back. "Kagome get out of here, go back to the world of the living." Inuyasha ordered sharply, not bothering to look over his shoulder at her.

"But what about you Inuyasha?" she asked, old habits die hard.

"Don't worry, I'm already dead." Inuyasha assured her with a hint of laughter.

"Just be careful." Kagome ordered as she turned to make her escape but right there before her was a cliff and below it was a hoard of demons and some had even dared to begin to climb the steep rock face and it was then that Kagome realized that she didn't even know how to get back.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out as she backed away from the cliff edge.

"Get out of here Kagome!" Inuyasha ordered as he fought off one of the oncoming demons.

"Inuyasha I don't know how!" Kagome informed him as she watched him fight.

"What?" Inuyasha shouted back in dismay. "Didn't that stupid Kuri tell you anything!"

"She told me not to do anything foolish." Kagome shouted back.

"Keh!" Inuyasha growled back as he used his "blades of blood" technique sending several demons flying off the edge of the cliff. "Don't just stand around let's go!" Inuyasha barked as he pulled her into his arms and dashed away up the face of another cliff.

"So that old hag didn't tell you how to get back out?" Inuyasha asked again as he leapt from rock to rock up the cliff face.

"No, she didn't tell me anything of the sort." Kagome replied.

"Figures she wouldn't say anything." Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'm sorry I should have asked but… INUYASHA BEHIND YOU!" Kagome cried cutting herself off short as a dragon came in to attack Inuyasha making him jump off the cliff into a free fall back towards the ground.

"Ah shit, you are so not worth all this!" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Inuyasha take back Tetsusaiga!" Kagome insisted as she shoved it into his chest.



"Feh! It would be an insult to Tetsusaiga to use it on these pieces of shit, keep it." Inuyasha informed her as they continued their decent. "Hey old man! If you're just going to stand there might as well come take her, you know how the hell to get out of here better than I do." Inuyasha yelled out sharply to a lone figure standing off in the distance. Looking off in the direction Inuyasha was looking in Kagome watched as the man stepped off the side of the cliff and began to fall towards them as a jaki cloud formed at the base of his feet and carried him towards them.

"Who is he Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she turned her attentions back to her Hanyou.

"Don't worry Kagome he'll get you out of here while I tend to these fuckers." Inuyasha assured her.

"But Inuyasha…" Kagome began but she was stopped as he looked down at her in a manner that she had never seen him look at her with.

"Kagome, no buts… just live." Inuyasha whispered to her then he softly kissed her on the cheek before she was whisked away into the arms of the other man and Inuyasha disappeared from her line of sight.

"There's no need to worry, Inuyasha will be fine." the man told him simply, his voice rich and deep.

"OH! And how can you be so sure? You should be helping him!" Kagome scolded but once her eyes alighted to his face her ire vanished and she was left with only awe.

"Well he's already dead for one and he is my son for second." Inu Taisho replied with a wicked smirk as he looked down at Kagome.

"You're Inu Taisho?" Kagome managed to ask which made him erupt in laughter.

"Oh please, the name is Toga. I am far from the powerful Inu Taisho now. I'm Dead!" He declared with another roar of laughter which made Kagome smile but still she worried for the Hanyou. Turning slightly in his arms she looked down behind them and watched as Inuyasha battled the other dead demons bravely and relentlessly.

"You have nothing to fear Kagome." Toga assured her once again.

"I know but I can't help it." She sighed as she continued to watch and her grip tightened around Tetsusaiga. Looking down at the sword Toga's eyes narrowed sharply in thought as he landed softly on the highest mountain that looked out across all of hell.

"So, before I return you, though Inuyasha may not care, I do, why is it that you need Tetsusaiga." Toga asked as he looked down at her expectantly.

"I need Tetsusaiga to give to Sesshomaru." Kagome informed him her head bowed slightly for she didn't feel comfortable looking at his face.

"To Sesshomaru? Hmm I assume you are giving him Sounga as well." Toga mused.

"Yes, Sounga as well." Kagome agreed as she nodded her head slightly.

"To maybe win Sesshomaru's favor?" Toga asked, clearly amused.

"No not to win Sesshomaru's favor." Kagome replied for she had indeed already won the stoic demons favor.

"If not Sesshomaru's favor then whose?" Toga asked, bemused.

"The Great Lords favor." Kagome informed him, glancing up to his face briefly before diverting her eyes once more.

"Ah yes the Great Lords for surely you are human." Toga stated as he rubbed his chin in thought then reaching a hand forward he gripped Kagomes own chin and lifted her face up making her eyes latch onto his own. "Well human or not you have an extraordinary beauty about you, My son is very lucky to have such a fine women so determined to pursue him." Toga 

complimented.

"Beauty is only skin deep, I could be a really terrible person. You don't even know me." Kagome replied nonchalantly which made Toga laugh in reply.

"I have heard many stories about you Higurashi Kagome, the human female who had managed to pull Tetsusaiga from its resting place and the Miko of the Shikon and the one to manage to tame both my sons wild hearts! Oh yes I have heard many a tale about you little one." Toga informed her with another laugh.

"Inuyasha tell you all those things?" Kagome asked with a small watery smile.

"Yes and many other things." Toga replied with a smile of his own. "Now! To get you back to the living world before you die down here." he added as a change of subject.

"Right, so how do I get out of here?" Kagome asked as she looked up to him.

"I'll throw you." Toga replied simply.

"You'll throw me?" Kagome asked incredulously.

"Yeah I'll throw you, how else?" He asked as he looked back down at her.

"Well I don't know, I thought there'd be a door or something." Kagome replied as she kicked a small pebble.

"If there was a door then anything could just walk out it." Toga informed her with a shake of his head.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Kagome agreed.

"Alright hold tight to Tetsusaiga." Toga instructed as he grabbed her around her waist. "Ready?" he asked and even before Kagome could say whether or not she was Toga had flung her high into the sky and before she could even form a complete thought she was already laying on the floor of the room in which held the entrance to hell. All around her was the soft blue light of the incense burner hanging from the ceiling. Tetsusaiga still held tightly in her hands.

"Feh they sure are persistent bastards." Inuyasha crumbled as he leapt over the edge of the cliff and came to stand beside his father. "Oi where's Kagome?" he asked as he looked about but there was no sign of her.

"She went back." Toga informed him.

"Oh, I didn't even get to say goodbye." Inuyasha commented as he kicked the exact same pebble as Kagome had and Toga grinned at this.

"You didn't say goodbye the last time either." Toga pointed out.

"Naw, there was no time then." Inuyasha muttered.

"There was no time now either." Toga mused.

"Keh, there's never any time." Inuyasha scoffed as he turned his back to his father and walked towards to cliffs edge.

"Do you want to know why she came for Tetsusaiga?" Toga asked as he watched his son. Inuyasha stopped walking for a moment and hesitated, patiently Toga waited for him to take his next course of action.

"Tch, I don't care. There's no time for us anymore." Inuyasha grumbled as he stepped off the cliff and disappeared once more into the red haze of hell.

Sesshomaru had sat in his study alone all through the night looking down at the stone which 

represented Kagome's soul and still he thought of nothing but simply sat there staring into its black depths. Suddenly a chilly spring wind whipped in through the open screens that looked out over the melted gardens and blew the candle back into life that had sat unlit at the sun's setting. A warmth spread throughout his body and the scent of plum blossoms seeped into his scenes making them tingle. Kagome was now no longer amongst the dead.

Sorry this took so long! I actually just got back from a 2 week cruise around Europe but I am back home now and I shall work diligently on this story or atleast as diligently as my creative mind will let me! Lol anyways onward!