Those who would dare to know the truth in this moment should know that their day of reckoning is upon them. The die is cast—Naraku comes for your judgment day! He will destroy the world—your world—as he destroyed his own. The way is open now. He will come!
The words of the demon were the end of the fog.
Inuyasha now understood: why the things that crawled out of the portal all seemed to be hell-bent on destroying, why Onigumo had been so cagey about the portals. He understood, totally, finally, how used he had been.
And how fucked he was.
Because all he wanted was to be with Kagome, and everything in front of him made that seem impossible.
When Inuyasha lay there, bathing in the afterglow of their coupling, he got the text.
You don't have to worry about making all the devices anymore!
With Onigumo's message came an attachment. An image. Of the reverse cyclotron that had taken Inuyasha so fucking long to develop. At first, he hoped that maybe Onigumo was just sending him a picture of one of his old devices, for reference. But the wiring was different (sloppier) and the craftsmanship was worse; Onigumo had made the device himself.
Meet me at the workshop. It needs a couple tweaks, but I think it's ready to go!
Onigumo's second text was the only thing in the world that would have been able to pry 'Yash' away from Kagome.
He barely remembered pulling himself out of her bed, or asking for her number (thank fuck he had done that). All he remembered was needing to get to Onigumo as fast as he could, to figure out what the hell to do. He figured he'd call Kagome when he sorted it out, maybe (hopefully) when he'd determined that the device was a bust and he could let Onigumo simply twist in the wind.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a bust.
"I figured something else out too," Onigumo had said, his sinkhole eyes glimmering. "These devices don't need yōki to work successfully. They can use reiki too…" When the wicked grin crossed his face, Inuyasha's stomach had turned to ice. "Talk about a good use to put those bitches to."
Inuyasha had done everything he could to stall, to try to think his way out of the danger Kagome was now in. He claimed that it was too dangerous (only for a demon, Onigumo reminded him), and finally, he just volunteered, because 'it would work better with his yōki' (and would keep Kagome safe just a little bit longer). The moment he followed Onigumo like a fucking dog to the next location, remembering the last demon ransacking 2nd Ave, he knew he had to do something. Time had run out.
61st and 5th. Bring the Demon Hunters. HURRY
Inuyasha typed an urgent message out to the only number he'd ever saved to his favorites and memorized: Kagome's.
Because if the demon that came out of the portal was half as violent as the last one, he needed the Demon Hunters. And he knew that, no matter what Onigumo was up to, he would protect Kagome. He would protect them all.
But the second that demon started talking about the second fucking coming, as the women roped the babbling madman and were about to trap him, the device apparently 'overloaded.' Providing just enough cover for the two of them to flee.
That was what Onigumo claimed anyway.
And that was the last straw.
When they'd made it back to the workshop, Inuyasha had grabbed Onigumo by his slimy shoulder. "What the fuck is a Naraku?"
"He—he was speaking nonsense! Just… trying to get out of those bitches' trap!" Onigumo shrieked. "And—you want to get home right? This is the only way…"
The idea of "getting home" with Onigumo's help now tasted like ash in Inuyasha's mouth. He finally had a clear picture of everything. Or moreso, a lack of clarity about everything.
"What have you been hiding from me?" Inuyasha had never been so tempted to plunge his claws into someone's throat before.
From the look on Onigumo's face, Inuyasha knew. The world ending, the demons, the placement of the portals, Naraku. It was all planned; it was all expected. The only person kept in the dark about it was Inuyasha; he was merely a pawn in the fucking game.
He shoved Onigumo as hard as he could, sending the diminutive man crashing into the opposing wall, then slumping and sputtering on the floor. But Inuyasha wasn't done yet. He walked back up to him, and grabbed him one more time by the shirt, forcing Onigumo's eyes to meet his.
"What do you know." Inuyasha enunciated every syllable. He stayed as calm as he could, but his blood was running hot and every instinct was telling him to end the man in front of him. The one who played him like a fiddle. The one who threatened Kagome.
"N—nothing! Honest! It's all just… coincidence!" Onigumo's face was finally the one to show fear. "It was nonsense what that demon was speaking!"
"You're a fucking broken record," Inuyasha snarled, then he tightened his grip. "Maybe not broken enough." Inuyasha leaned in so close he could smell Onigumo's rapid and rancid breaths. "What the fuck are you planning?"
"I honestly don't know." Onigumo's whimper was so different from anything Inuyasha had ever heard from him, he decided to take it at face value.
Inuyasha shoved him back down in disgust, then made to leave. But… he couldn't. Not yet. Not until something was made very very clear.
"We're done Onigumo." Inuyasha turned to look at him. "No more machines. No more demons. No more portals. You're gonna forget everything we've ever done." Then, he let his yōki flare just enough to turn the sclera of his eyes red. "And if you do so much as tiptoe near any of the Demon Hunters, I will kill you."
Inuyasha then turned and walked away. His words were final, and he knew every complexity to Onigumo's scent, so if the motherfucker ever tested his resolve by going within a mile of the Demon Hunters, Inuyasha would kill him. A benefit of being invisible to society was that he also knew how to make people like Onigumo disappear.
Those moments, stomping his feet on the pavement and letting the slumped man recede further and further into the background, felt incredible. As if just by making that single decision, Inuyasha could feel a burden on his soul lighten. But almost as soon as Onigumo's scent faded from his senses, he stopped.
He will destroy the world, your world, as he destroyed his own. The way is open now. He will come!
A quake of dread brought Inuyasha to his knees. The person that he depended on to help him find a way home was trying to bring about the end of the fucking human world by letting whatever shit was on the demon side into the human side.
His family might be in trouble.
His world—both worlds—were in trouble.
And he was alone: a half-demon stuck in the human world.
Kagome.
God, he needed her. More than he'd ever needed anyone. He needed her scent to comfort him, and her arms to wrap around him. And her voice to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. And maybe—just maybe—Kagome and the other demon hunters would know what to do about Naraku and the end of the world, of both worlds.
Inuyasha needed Kagome more than he needed to hide what he did. And he needed Kagome more than he needed to hide what he was.
Without noticing, his legs were carrying him away, toward her apartment, toward her scent. Because that was where he needed to be.
What the fuck was he going to say to her?
Hi Kagome, remember that silver-haired man you saw 10 years ago? That was me. I disguised myself as a human and slept with you under that disguise. Oh also? I've been the one setting off the devices all over New York on the instruction of a crazy man and I think I put both the human and the demon world in mortal peril. Want to let me in?
It sounded completely insane. Then again, they were there listening to the demon's chants (who knew, maybe someone spoke Latin?). And Kagome had mentioned the silver-haired man to him. Because that moment seemed to have imprinted as much on Kagome's soul as it had on his. They both felt the call of the soulmate bond. That counted for something, right?
Now, all he had to do was say the words, tell the truth, and hope.
Before Inuyasha knew it, he was staring at Kagome's door. Soft humming from a television pricked his ears and the whispers of cherry blossoms and vanilla danced under his nose. He felt himself tremble, but he had to do this. Because Kagome was his only hope.
So he knocked. Then he listened to the way Kagome's bare feet plodded over the wood floors of her apartment. And he tried not to pay attention to the way his heart was beating out of his chest when he heard the small gasp as she looked out her peephole.
"Yash!" Kagome tugged open her door, and gave Inuyasha a bright but confused smile.
"Kagome…" God, he wanted to kiss her senseless. But no. "Can I come in?"
"Sure…" Kagome eyed him suspiciously. "Usually um, people call before—"
Fuck, he probably should have called. But… when he realized that he needed to see Kagome, it was a right now sort of thing. He wanted to pull her into his arms and bury his nose in her hair. He wanted to snuggle up against her breasts and hear her whisper that everything was going to be alright. But first, he had to be brave.
"You almost trapped a demon tonight." Inuyasha decided to get right to the point.
"Y—yeah. Wait… were you—" Kagome took a step back. "Did you send me that text?"
"Yeah, it was me," Inuyasha answered.
"How the hell did you know that someone was going to open a portal in the Pierre?" Kagome asked the question even as some morbid recognition came to her face. "It was…"
"Remember the night at the bar, when you were talkin' to me about what you did and how on that one night, you swore you saw something?" Inuyasha asked, though the look of fear on Kagome's face was chafing at him so violently he wanted to stop. "I said I believed you not only because I did, but because—"
"D—did you go to the bar to… to find me?" Kagome interrupted, and her scent had started to take on the acrid edge of her fear now. It was enough to make him nauseous. And the way she was looking at him, like unwilling prey being hunted, was making things even worse.
"I—I did, b—but only for information be—because," Inuyasha pressed on; he had to. "Because I knew you from your book cover, Kagome."
"Then why did you—" Kagome continued backing away from him, tears joining the fear. "Why did you come home with me if you—?"
"Because… because I couldn't not." Inuyasha backed a bit away from Kagome, trying to make it clear that he was not there to harm her. That he was the one causing her fear was killing him inside. "Um… to say that you're irresistible wouldn't even come close." Then a look of shame passed over Kagome's face. No, that would not do. Not when she was the only thing he could think about. Not when she was who he would want to be with for the rest of his life. "Y—you mean… you are… uh. I've been.. looking for—"
"You've been looking for—wait." Kagome paused mid-sentence, then her face twisted up with tormented realization. "Yash, are you the one setting off those devices?"
Her words were the truth but had also missed the mark. Then again, how does a secret demon explain soulmates to a human who was only discovering the tip of the iceberg of demons' existence?
There was only one way.
"Yes," Inuyasha answered. It was time. He knew it was time. Time to reveal the truth of what he was to Kagome. Because if he didn't do it now, when he was laying everything else on the table, he'd never be able to try again. So, Inuyasha put his fingers on the Fuyōheki around his neck. "And I think this may give you an idea as to why."
The only person who'd ever seen him remove his concealment charm and become demon was Onigumo, and that was because Onigumo already knew he was a demon. But, if Kagome was his soulmate, if he was meant to come through a portal to find her, then he had to trust that she wouldn't scream, or run away, or try to purify him. So Inuyasha leaned into his hope.
When he pressed the glowing stone and let a small spark of his sealed yōki connect with it, the spell around him began to dismantle. His eyes changed to amber, his fingernails morphed into claws, his ears headed to their rightful place atop his head, his fangs re-emerged, and his hair drained of its color back to silver. Finally, his yōki expanded out of his body: a glowing red aura that crackled proudly at its sudden release from containment.
Inuyasha never took his eyes off of Kagome, who looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Her hand was over her mouth and her own eyes were so wide that he could see the whites entirely around her irises.
"It's…" Kagome started, trying to settle her rapid breaths. "It's you."
"Yeah. Uh, it is me," Inuyasha answered, still frozen in place. "And I'll explain everything." He took a step forward, relieved that Kagome did not take a matching step backward. "But I think something really bad is about to happen and I need your help. Kagome, please help me."