Dying to Live
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
We now return, back in time, to the night before Rin sat admiring her dear Lord Sesshomaru and Miroku made his confession to his master, the monk Mushin. Before those events took place, we remember that Miroku had sat surrounded by all his instructive spiritual texts, trying to figure out just how he was going to save Lord Sesshomaru. That said, the monk was completely unaware of what was about to happen approximately 450 miles away, due East. That was the approximate distance from Sesshomaru's home in the West to Kaede's village where Inuyasha had just stepped inside the village shrine, bearing the notorious Shikon Jewel. We resume our story there…
:::
Inuyasha stepped into the silvery light. It washed over him like wave. Even before the grass mat over the door had fallen back into the place, the shine had absorbed him, like the sea soaks in sunlight. He even felt like he might be walking on the ocean floor, his body strangely heavy but at the same time weightless. The temperature reached that pleasant point at which it matched his body heat. He felt inexplicably like this bright world was embracing him, almost lovingly.
Then, he saw her: pure white over alarming red, fine ebony hair flowing, and skin like pale birch bark in winter. Kikyo.
"Hello, Inuyasha," she spoke to him when they were standing no more than an arm's length apart.
"Kikyo," he breathed, as if he actually were asleep, and in the middle of a surreal fantasy. Compulsively, he felt himself ask, "How have you been?" Of course, she's not good, stupid! She's dead, he berated himself internally.
Surprisingly, Kikyo only giggled shyly, hiding behind one of her hands like a school girl. "Oh, Inuyasha, you're blushing," she said at seeing him go red in the face. "I am well," she answered, composing herself. "Inuyasha, do you know where you are?" she asked.
"Um, I think inside the shrine," he answered.
"Yes, but you've also entered the Spirit World, where I live now," she replied. "The Jewel has brought you here."
"Oh, Inuyasha said, looking down at the Jewel where it rested against his chest. It was glowing, somehow brighter than usual.
"And you know why it has brought you here?" Kikyo questioned him again.
Inuyasha felt weirdly like a child again, unsure how to answer her properly. He felt uncontrollably shy for words, so he just shook his head ever so slightly.
"Because it wants you to make The Choice," she stated, emphasizing the last two words.
"But," Inuyasha began, and the rest of the words just came tumbling out of his mouth: "I decided I wasn't going to take it anymore." It wasn't what he had expected himself to say at all. Part of him still did want the Jewel, so he hadn't believed it would be so easy for him to say aloud that he didn't plan to claim it.
Kikyo's eyebrows rose a bit at hearing this: "Is that so?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess it is," he responded, gathering some of his resolve, so that the last part of his statement sounded a bit bolder, like his normal self.
The miko now gave a small smile of satisfaction. "It is true that you have changed," she stated. "You are truly worthy of the Shikon-no-Tama's full power now. That is why its first guardian, Priestess Midoriko, who lives still within the Jewel, has allowed it to present itself to you tonight."
"Priestess Midoriko?" Inuyasha questioned.
"She continues to live within the Shikon Jewel, waging an unending battle with a pack of evil demons, who once wished to steal the Jewel. She kept them locked in battle all this time in an effort to maintain the tenuous balance that exists between demons and humans. She has been praying for someone to make a pure wish that would allow her to end the battle, a wish that promises to positively progress the relationship between the two types of beings, human and demon. You are the one who can make that wish, Inuyasha," Kikyo explained.
"Me? But Kagome—" Inuyasha began, but Kikyo ignored him and took his protestation in a different direction.
"You would want to be with her, if you believed that you were worthy of her, right?" Kikyo said.
"Yes," the young man replied, "but I'm not sure if I am."
"That's why, before you use the Shikon Jewel to make your wish, I came here to grant you one other wish, a wish I know that you have held deep within your heart for many years, Inuyasha," the late miko said. "There is someone here to meet you."
Inuyasha looked in the direction she toward which she gestured, and there he saw the approaching form of a woman as the light melted away.
"Mother?" Inuyasha breathed. Recognizing her outline, he rushed toward her.
"Inuyasha, my son," she smiled softly up at him, her hands out before her to take his.
Inuyasha had been tricked before by his enemies into thinking that his mother was there with him, but this time he knew it was really her. There was love in her warm eyes, and as they met each other at last, a tear tumbled down her cheek, as they entered each other's embrace. "My beautiful boy!" she cried happily.
"I'm here, Mom! It's me," Inuyasha said, stroking his mother's long black hair and comforting her.
They embraced for another minute, before Izayoi leaned back, and taking her son's hands in hers, looked at him. "Inuyasha, you have grown so strong and handsome. I am so proud of you!" she said, and touched his cheek to admire his features more closely. "It must be the night of the full moon," she said observing his black hair and brown eyes.
"Yes, Mother," he said loving her reassuring touch. "Are you disappointed to see me like this?"
"No, of course not: I would be happy to see you any way you were!" Izayoi replied, looking right into his gaze. "You have always been the best of both of us, my dear. How often did I try to help you see that?"
"Always, Mom, you always did," Inuyasha replied, prickly tears welling in his eyes again. "I wanted so much to believe you, but sometimes it was so hard."
Just then, a man's voice rumbled up from somewhere behind Inuyasha: "You have someone who loves all sides of you now, though, don't you?"
Both Izayoi and Inuyasha looked around at the silhouetted form emerging out of the misty shine. Izayoi smiled softly at hearing the voice, and there was a renewed glimmer in her eyes that hadn't been there a minute before. She reached up a silken-sleeve covered hand to her boy's face.
"There, there, dear. Dry your tears: you don't want to cry in front of your father, do you?" she asked warmly. Inuyasha shook his head, and hurriedly blotted away the remaining drops with his own sleeve before the man who had always been the biggest mystery in his life spoke again.
"Izayoi, don't fuss over the boy so much. He's fine," Inu no Taisho said, as his features finally came into Inuyasha's full view.
"Father," Inuyasha said, bowing reverently before the apparition of the daiyoukai.
"Son," Inu no Taisho said before taking two giant strides forward and embracing his child. When he was young, Inuyasha remembered imagining what it might feel like to be held by his father. So now, as his father held him, even only briefly, Inuyasha felt small in his arms.
"Father," Inuyasha breathed into the man's shoulder. Hot tears stung his eyes, but when Inu no Taisho released him, he quickly rubbed them away again. He didn't want to cry the entire time he was with his parents, especially since he knew it was probably the last time he would be able to see them for a very, very long time.
"You've grown big and tall and strong, I see. Good," Inu no Taisho declared, looking his younger son up and down with apparent fatherly approval.
"But, I'm usually stronger than this," Inuyasha said, looking directly at his father before going on to explain. "I'm a proper half-demon, but because tonight's—"
"The Moonless Night?" his father finished. "Yes, I know. I understand, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha was somehow taken aback at Inu no Taisho's comprehension of his situation. The hanyou had always figured that, wherever his father's spirit had wandered off to, he probably thought rarely of his mutt offspring, if at all. And he seriously doubted that the daiyoukai was very concerned over the quality of that offspring's life, for what was a hanyou typically but a mixed blood mistake of an ill-fated human-demon match?
As if he was reading the young man's thoughts, Inu no Taisho stunned him once more with what he said next: "Inuyasha, I know your life must not have always been easy growing up between two worlds. For that, I'm truly sorry. But I have never been sorry that I brought you into it. You are my son. I died believing that you would be tough enough to handle the challenges. You were fated to live as you have, and you have done well."
"Th-thank you, Father," Inuyasha uttered, astounded by his father's praise. "I've done my best." Izayoi, who was still standing beside Inuyasha, squeezed his arm approvingly before moving to Inu no Taisho's side and placing a hand on one of his large, crossed forearms. "Inuyasha, you haven't yet answered your father's question," she reminded him.
"What?" Inuyasha blurted out, trying to remember if he had missed any part of what Inu no Taisho had said so far.
"Have you met someone who loves all of you?" his father asked again.
Inuyasha, slightly surprised that his father would be asking this, thought for a second. Kagome was kind and did seem to care about him no matter what form he was in, even going so far as to kiss him to calm him down once when he was raging in his demon form. Just because he couldn't figure out what form she preferred him in, didn't mean that she hadn't at least reconciled herself to his many sides.
But when did he ever let her know how much that had meant to him? How much he cherished her consideration for him? How his skin tingled every time she touched or held him and how many hours afterward he would remember how the sensation felt and relive the moment in his mind? Or how sorry he was that fear of rejection kept him from ever telling her any of these things and instead made him act rude and callous? In truth, he had realized that's why she left and why he hadn't yet been able to go get her back.
"Well, I think I might have, if I can win her back," Inuyasha answered. "But is that enough?" This was the question that Inuyasha had long pondered as he came to realize that ultimately his happiness might actually be subject to compromise of his goals and desires.
"No," Inu no Taisho replied bluntly before adding, "it's important, but you must also love yourself."
"Yes, Inuyasha, do not be afraid to love yourself," his mother said, taking Inu no Taisho's hand, who stole an admiring glance at her. Then both father and mother looked at their son. "It can work, if you try hard," Izayoi said. Then Inuyasha understood what they were trying to show him. With them holding hands, he finally saw his parents as the two halves of himself and how they fit together. How they could be happy together. How they had loved each other.
Izayoi lightly squeezed her beloved's hand before letting go to come closer to Inuyasha. "I'm afraid it's time for me to go, dear one. But we will meet again one day," she said, pulling him forward to place a small kiss on his forehead.
"Thank you, Mother," he said, trying to smile through the emotion. He hugged her once more, and when he was leaning in close to her ear, he whispered, "I've missed you."
"And I, you," she responded, touching her hand to his cheek one last time. Then, she turned to walk away. Inuyasha watched until she was just about to fade into the brightness, when his father reclaimed his attention.
"Son, let's walk," he indicated a stone path that had suddenly appeared, winding through a Zen-style rock garden, all in shades of restful grey.
"So I understand that you have retrieved the Tessaiga and learned many of the techniques to wield it effectively? Such as the Windscar and Backlash Wave effects?" Inu no Taisho prompted.
"Yes, Father, the fang is far more powerful than I ever imagined when I first came to possess it. Thank you, it is an excellent gift," Inuyasha said bowing his head in Inu no Taisho's direction.
"You are welcome, but it would be nothing if you did not take the effort to hone your abilities and sense the needs of Tessaiga. You have shown much self-control and determination. And that was without anyone to show you what to do, at least aside from that cowardly parasite, Myoga," Inu no Taisho declared, at which both father and son keh'd simultaneously. "I am very proud of your progress."
"Thank you, Father," Inuyasha replied, dipping his head slightly again before going on. "But you praise me too much. I had a need to learn how to use Tessaiga, and I did it."
"And what was that 'need', as you so put it?" Inu no Taisho asked.
"My friends and I were gathering the pieces of the Jewel after it shattered," Inuyasha explained, gesturing at the crystalline sphere hanging from his neck, "and I had to learn how to use the sword to protect us from all the greedy bastards who attacked us, because they wanted it for themselves."
"So you were motivated by the need to protect yourself and others," Inu no Taisho reiterated the words of his son approvingly. However, he sighed heavily. "Which brings me to the thing I want to discuss with you, Inuyasha: I am concerned about your brother."
"What?" Inuyasha exclaimed, jaw-dropped.
"I started worrying about him, right around the time you were born, actually," Inu no Taisho admitted, stopping with his hands clasped behind his back. He was looking out at a very peaceful, austere arrangement of several rocks. Light colored gravel had been raked into connecting ripples emanating from the larger pieces of stone.
"But Sesshomaru's always gotten everything he ever needed or wanted… well just about," Inuyasha said the last bit with a quieter, darker tone. He couldn't forget how his elder half-brother almost literally salivated over Tessaiga anytime he saw it.
"Except what he wanted most of all from me," Inu no Taisho stated, his thoughts in the same vein as Inuyasha's. "But I didn't feel he'd earned, not to mention, needed it as much as you would. And I still feel that way. Yet, I need to ask you to come to your brother's assistance."
Inuyasha couldn't resist huffing and crossing his arms. I wait all these years to find out what the guy who fathered me is like, and all he wants to do is talk about that arrogant jerk's problems! Give me a break! "Listen, all due respect and everything, sir, but considering my, uh, relationship with him over the years, I don't feel like I owe my half-brother much of anything," Inuyasha retorted, as politely as he thought he could.
"I can imagine that Sesshomaru has been anything but helpful to you, considering his inclination toward competitiveness and self-centeredness and the relative ease with which his strengths and abilities have come to him; however, that I'm afraid is the only thing your brother understands: power. And it's soon going to be the death of him, if he doesn't accept the help of those around him," Inu no Taisho pointedly stated.
Inuyasha let his father's words sink in for a moment in an effort to show him some patience before he spoke again: "So, you're asking me to go offer Sesshomaru my help when, as good as I've gotten, we all know that he's still innately more powerful than me? I think he might not buy it…"
The late daiyoukai pinched the bridge of his nose in mild frustration at the intense rivalry that had flourished between his sons: "I might agree, except that there's whispering in the Spirit World that Sesshomaru's life is threated as we speak. Although it is not apparently his time to go at the moment, this test on him is going to unalterably change his life or cut it short."
When his younger son still looked unimpressed, Inu no Taisho faced him head on and took another tact: "I realize that this must seem like a pretty steep request coming from past the grave and on the first time we've ever met—but that is just what this is: a request, the plea of a parent on behalf of his child. Inuyasha, you and Sesshomaru are both equally my sons, and I would protect your lives with all of my being. Did your mother ever tell you how I saved both you and her the night you were born, when someone attempted to burn you alive in the very house your mother gave birth in?"
"Yes," Inuyasha replied quietly, sobering again. "It was the night you gave your life protecting us."
"That's is why I am asking you to help your brother, because I owe it to him as well, but I cannot be there to do it myself," Inu no Taisho said firmly.
Inuyasha sighed heavily: "Okay, okay. Fine. If I find out anything about him being in trouble or needing help, I promise to help him. Alright?"
"Yes, that is fine. Thank you, Inuyasha," Inu no Taisho accepted his son's begrudging concession. Inuyasha cocked one eyebrow slightly as he looked his father over and thought, What's that weird expression on his face?
Indeed, a light but strangely playful smile crossed Inu no Taisho's lips. Without warning, he suddenly reached across and punched his son in the arm, laughing.
"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed in surprise.
"Ha ha, it's just you're the perfect combination of your mother and I! You undoubtedly have your mother's good natured compassion yet all my stubbornness and bluntness!" he chuckled. "If only I had been around a bit longer, I think I would have worked a bit more on you and your brother's sense of humor. You both take yourselves way too seriously!"
Inuyasha flushed and cast his father an odd, confused look. For the first time, Inuyasha wondered if he now understood what Kagome meant when she asked sarcastically if her family lived to embarrass her.
Inu no Taisho calmed himself after enjoying his own joke but continued smiling at his boy. "Inuyasha, I'm very glad we could meet," he said more seriously.
Forgetting his annoyance, the young man found his own smile and replied, "Me too, Father," and the two men exchanged respectful bows.
"I'll follow your mother now," Inu no Taisho said. The Zen garden had vanished unnoticed, and so he turned to walk away again into endless white light.
Inuyasha felt his heart rush, as he tried to think of anything else he might want to say to his father before he disappeared. "Father!" he shouted out.
Inu no Taisho stopped and looked back at his child. Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath and called out, "Thank you, Father, for everything. I'll do my best to take care of those around me as well as you took care of us – even Sesshomaru."
"Good, my son," Inu no Taisho said, and Inuyasha watched intently, as with one last step, his father dissolved into the light.
"Was meeting them as good as you thought it would be?" came a voice.
Inuyasha watched the spot where his father had disappeared for another moment and then slowly turned to face the miko who had reappeared. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it was. It was… different than I thought it would be, I guess, but good. Thank you for that. I'll never forget it."
"Good," Kikyo said. "Then, you are now ready to decide."
"Really, now?" Inuyasha said, his heart pounding again. "But I, I mean, don't I get a little more time to think about it?"
"The Jewel already knows what's in your heart," Kikyo replied evenly. "There's nothing to think about. All you have to do is look into the Jewel and empty your mind and wait. Are you ready?" she said stepping away from him.
Inuyasha felt his hand clasp the Jewel. He looked down at it, glimmering in his palm. He glanced up and saw Kikyo turning to go, apparently thinking he was about to leave.
"Wait!" he shouted and suddenly grabbed her wrist, as she was in mid-turn. Startled, she looked up at him.
He looked directly into her eyes: "Last thing: why not us? Why didn't the Jewel choose you or me, back then?"
Kikyo looked back at him, her gaze lingering over his features, and she appeared to be thinking before she blinked very slowly and looked at him. "I couldn't reconcile myself to all of you. My trust in the darker side of you wasn't complete."
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know," he admitted, his throat rough and muffled. "I'm so sorry about all the pain we caused each other."
She looked down, dark lashes shielding her eyes from view. "Me too," she whispered.
"Are we okay, now, though?" he asked.
She looked up at him and managed a sad smile. "Yes, can we be?"
He mirrored her expression, and he replied, "Yes. I'm glad we got this chance. Thank you for coming here."
She bit her lower lip ever so slightly and nodded before he released her wrist. Her hands clasped in front of her, she took a few steps back, as she was in the process of doing before he stopped her. "It's time, Inuyasha," she told him.
"Right," he said, and looked down at the Jewel, the light of which was starting to pulsate more vigorously in his hand. He thought about how he was going to have to clear his mind over his nerves, but just before he began, he looked up to steal one final glance at the woman he had once loved. Kikyo was already gone, though, soaked into that white world beyond his vision.
A breeze picked up out of nowhere, and he returned his attention to the Jewel. Looking directly into its core, he felt his racing heart thump into time with the quickening throb of the stone's glistening light. He steadied his breath and shut his eyes as it became too hard to see through the blazing rays now emanating from the stone. However, before he let go of all conscious thought to the Jewel's control, he made one last silent request: Please, whatever becomes of me in a moment, let me be able to be with Kagome. I only want us to be happy together.
And a sudden rush of energy crashed over him. He felt the wind that was swirling around him manifest and abruptly push through his form. What Inuyasha experienced then couldn't be described as pain, but rather a deep sensation, like something was pressing on his very soul. He was distantly aware of what was happening yet vaguely absent. He dared to open his eyes for a moment, and all he saw was the Jewel floating up inches from his face, bursting with power; however, the intense light and the rush of the wind quickly made him feel sick, and he had to clamp his eyes shut once more. His limbs tingled and grew ghostly limp as if the young man had slept wrong on all four appendages at once.
Then, he noticed it: as yielding and natural as the soft rind peels back from a piece of ripe fruit, he felt his soul splitting, separating into two.
:
"Old woman, I think it hardly needs to be said, but Lord Taka has been notified of this situation, and he has sent word back: he is extremely upset," Commander Ueda spat bitterly. "The half demon Inuyasha has been secluded in the shrine for close to four hours now! And still you expect my men and this whole village to sit and wait?"
"Commander Ueda, yes. I'm not about to interfere in what goes on between this world and the Spirit World, "Kaede answered patiently for the fifth time already that hour."
"For all we know that blasted beast of man is going to burst forth and slaughter each and every one us like sitting ducks!" Commander Ueda exclaimed as if he had not heard Kaede at all.
"Surely that will not happen, though, because ye and yer men have trained to prevent it," Kaede replied dryly. One of Commander Ueda's eyebrows twitched dangerously, as he tried to decide whether to even grace with his attention what he suspected to be sarcasm on the old shrew's part.
Instead, he bit his tongue and acerbically returned, "Well they had better, or all these people's blood will be on you and I, figuratively and literally."
Kaede tried hard not to roll her eyes at the officer's flair for the dramatic. Inuyasha, ye better finish yer business in there soon, before I'm moved to throttle Commander Ueda myself, she thought, staring at the shrine entrance.
Immediately after Inuyasha entered the shrine a blazing white light exploded from inside the small, wooden building and continued to gleam forth past the window and door coverings. Kaede had swiftly yelled for everyone to stand back from the structure, and she stationed her young assistants around it. She had somewhat suspected that something like this might happen when the Jewel was returned to the shrine. Of course, she didn't know specifically what that would be, given that the Jewel hadn't been properly installed in the shrine in probably almost 200 years. So now, she properly considered it shrine business, meaning not in the temporal domain of the local warlord, that Inuyasha had opened an obvious portal to the Spirit World. She planned to do her best to show that the shrine keepers had a firm grip on the situation. After prodding him into returning the Shikon no Tama to the shrine, she felt she owed that much aid to Inuyasha.
So they waited a while longer as the stars slid across the moonless night sky. Many of the villagers dispersed when the blast of spirit light portended the unpredictability of the ritual. Still about two dozen others remained, feeling that they were thus far engaged in the proceedings. They gathered in the village square, some distance away from the shrine building. Village Head Arai and his daughter-in-law and grandson were among them. Other women, old and young, cradled sleeping children in their laps and quietly shared gossip. Some men and older boys played at dice games. Others just sat, staring into the darkness or resting their eyes. The soldiers naturally also grew weary. Kaede noticed as some stole yawns and blinked heavily when they thought no one was looking. It was nearing what we in the modern age would call "midnight."
Even Commander Ueda was getting tired. He repositioned his stance to steady himself where he stood roughly 100 yards from the building. He looked at the little hut past his half-mast eyelids: it looked so peaceful at the moment, almost heavenly, surrounded by the radiance of the mysterious spirit light.
Commander Ueda blinked a long, heavy blink, his mind and body exhausted from anxious waiting. Then, without notice, an explosive sound, as if the very fibers of reality were tearing apart, shattered his hearing. He heard himself scream first over the dry, thundering crack of ancient timber splintering all over him. His ears rang painfully before slowly the sound of other people shouting trickled back into his hearing. That's when he heard it: the roar of the dog demon, Inuyasha.
Kaede had been standing on the frontline close to the shrine and found herself covered with shards of wood and dust as well. A pair of shrine helpers, a young boy and an older woman, held her elbows as the three of them steadied themselves. Looking ahead they instantly saw that the shrine building had been completely shattered. Standing in the middle of the wreckage were four, great, tree trunk-like, fur-covered legs and clawed paws.
The old shrine maiden tilted back her head to take in the sight of the majestic dog demon. His pelt was snowy white, soft, and short compared to that of the legendary Inu no Taisho in the images she had seen of him. Inuyasha's new body was very different too. It resembled more that of an Akita dog, the legs and torso muscular but more stout and compact. Even so, he stood as big as two or three village huts put together. His snout was longer and more pointed than his father's, and his tail was instead a feisty curl. Meanwhile, two jagged purple streaks painted his cheeks, one on each side, adding to the overall ferocity of his appearance. Finally, atop his head were two very familiar, alert, pointy white ears.
Just as the old miko finished taking in his new look, the demon turned his massive head her way.
"Oi, Inuyasha!" she called.
Golden, almond-shaped eyes flashed recognition as he spotted her. She smiled warmly up at him, hoping that Commander Ueda would not be right and that Inuyasha would not just lower his boulder-sized head and eat her.
Indeed, he did not. Instead she watched as he bounced back on his hind legs, whining excitedly before raising his snout in the air and releasing a deafeningly, happy bark.
Her fears retreated at seeing his response. She chuckled to herself a little, and said, "Yes, ye've finally got yer wish." She briefly marveled to herself at how as a young child, mourning for her beloved older sister, she never would have guessed that she'd eventually help the half-demon partially responsible for Kikyo's death. After all the years though, she and Inuyasha had developed a unique relationship. So today, she couldn't help but feel glad for him.
Yet, to her right, someone else was very, very displeased at this turn of events. Commander Ueda's shell-shocked terror was just melting away, as he slowly unclamped his palms from his ears. "Wh-what are you doing?!" he yelled to his men, who were still frozen with fear around him. "Get your spears and arrows! Get the demon!"
Whereas the young recruits cast their commander strange looks, Inuyasha wasted no time in snapping into a snarling crouch, his lips curled back and revealing glistening fangs. The color ran out of one young archer's face, before he unconsciously dropped to the ground. At seeing this, a collective cry went up from the small cluster of villagers who still remained in the square, and they began to scramble in the opposite direction from the now agitated beast.
Satisfied that he had incapacitated Ueda and his obviously inexperienced team, Inuyasha inclined his head in acknowledgment to Kaede. He then turned and leapt powerfully into the forest, Kaede knew, in the direction of the Bone Eater's Well. Go get 'er, Inuyasha, she thought.
:
Kagome sighed as they finished yet another round of 500 Rummy. She, Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka had been idly chatting and playing cards off and on for the past three hours. While she was enjoying spending time with her old friends, she just couldn't shake that weird lonely feeling she'd been having ever since she left the feudal era.
She gazed out the window as Eri prattled on about some guy in one of her classes she was interested in. The sky and yard were very dark. Ah, the Moonless Night: a black-haired Inuyasha is probably sitting out there somewhere in the past, fuming, she casually thought to herself.
To her surprise the star-pricked, velvety blackness beyond her bedroom window was disrupted by a flash of silvery white light. There was a sound of wood loudly being smashed, followed by the smack of a door thrown open. Kagome leapt from her seat on the floor and threw open her window to see out as a gust of wind pushed through the branches of the Tree of Ages and into her room.
"Kagome!" Eri said in annoyance, as few of the cards blew out her grasp and a stack of papers on Kagome's desk lifted into the air.
"Wait," Kagome said, straining to hear over the rush of wind. She thought she heard someone call her name below. She had.
"KAGOME!" bellowed that brash familiar voice, as she heard the sliding glass door on the patio rattle loudly on its tracks, someone slamming it open. She listened as a glass shattered and her mother squeaked in shock, while her grandfather shouted something over Sota saying, "Oh hey, Inuy—"
In moment all sound from the floor below was lost, drowned out by footsteps pounding up the stairs like a herd of stampeding animals. "KAGOME!" the voice shouted again, and she turned to the door just in time to see it burst open, her friends aghast.
"Kagome," he said, once more, breathless before her. Caught in the draft from the window, layers of rich red and black silk floated, around the once-more black-haired, handsome man in her bedroom doorway.
"Kagome, who is this?" Eri blurted out.
"Inuyasha," she breathed in response to everyone as the world ground to a halt. "How did you… I sealed the well with a charm."
"I broke through it," he answered automatically, taking three giant steps into the room around her friends. He took her hands in his with absolutely no resistance from her. "No offense, but it wasn't very strong."
"Oh," she said, staring into his brown eyes, which were more beautiful than she ever remembered. He looked right back her, like she was the only person in the entire world. She had never seen him gaze at her like this before.
"Kagome, I have to be with you," he spoke the words earnestly, so there couldn't be a doubt in her mind. "I've been so stupid. I was so afraid to be with you—so afraid that you couldn't accept me. Worse yet, I worried that, even if you accepted me, that I couldn't accept myself the way I am—the way I was. But I realize now, that all the things that I feared—like hurting the people close to me, alienating people who would want to be close to you, not being strong enough to protect you, even being alone for the rest of my life—those things haven't happened, and they don't have to happen," he explained excitedly, only stopping to catch his breath.
She looked up at him, her eyes like saucers, and he wondered what she was thinking, but he had to finish what he was saying. Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka watched in silent wonder as he adoringly took Kagome's face in his hands and said, "Kagome, I've grown so much being with you, and through that I've grown to love you. You've never given up on me, no matter all the changes I've gone through, and I realize I just can't give up on us. I want the life we've built together back. Can you still be with me?"
Kagome's face flushed, and her eyes welled up with tears, "You idiot, I was just starting to think that you were never coming for me! Of course, I can still be with you!" she cried, clutching and shaking him by the front of his kimono.
"Good, 'cause I'm never letting you get away again," he said huskily, and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately.
"What in the world is happening right now?" Yuka asked, looking thunderstruck along with Eri.
"True love," answered Ayumi, sincerely happy for her friend.
:::
Note: I decided to pull in a little bit from the "Final Act" for this chapter, but I thought I'd take it in a new direction. Hope you liked it.