Epilogue:
It was not a cool day, but Kagome hugged the
blanket tightly around her shoulders regardless. There is something comforting
about wrapping a blanket around you, something warm and soft, protective,
if only a large piece of cloth. Sitting in the shade of the outer verandah
of the mansion, she looked out over the fields sloping down to the river
below. It still ran high, and if she turned her head, she could see the
ring of broken earth that marked the place the dome had formed, and the
slashes that lanced through it, ending on the other side of the river,
evidence of the effectiveness of Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu.
In her hands rested the broken chain
of the Shikon no Tama, the large chunk attached to it, and two small shards,
resting lightly in her palm, glowing only faintly in the afternoon sunlight.
Nightmares. Sango, a nightmare. Miroku, a
nightmare. Kagome had nightmares as well. Two, precisely. The first time
she had found her own way out, not giving in to the illusion presented
before her, not believing it to be real. But the second time...so very
different. Watching the stillness of the shards in her hand, she sighed
very lightly as she thought about this. The first time, it was clearly
a dream. The second time she was Kikyou. Kikyou who lived with Inuyasha,
a human Inuyasha, and both of them seemed happy. Content with their lives.
Inuyasha, who chose to become human, to live as a human. Kagome closed
her hand around the shards, and felt the sharp edges press against her
skin. A different possibility of what could have been, but was not.
Kagome remembered the first time she picked
up a bow, and wished that Kikyou, her past self, would help her somehow.
As though some fragment of that soul still existed in her, and would perhaps
guide her arrow. Now...now with Kikyou resurrected, Kagome did not want
to be anything like her. Kikyou was a rival, in a way, even though it embarrassed
Kagome to think in those terms. Kikyou, resurrected with a part of her
soul. Part of Kagome's soul wandered in a false body, part of Kagome's
soul manipulated and tried to kill her. Part that tried to pull Inuyasha
to hell. And if that was, somewhere in there, part of Kagome...then, in
different circumstances, could Kagome do these same things? As in her dream,
Kikyou could be so kind, so happy?
Which one are you? she was asked. Which one
are you?
Would he still choose her, Kagome, if their
roles were reversed?
Which one was she? Dark or light? Reborn or
resurrected? Were they so different from each other?
She bit her lip, glad she was alone. Shippou
was wandering around down by the river, and if she squinted, she could
see him. He spent some time standing on the ledge of rock by the riverside,
where Ukifune had held back the dark yurei, and Inuyasha had rescued her.
Poor Shippou, still trying to find some remnant of the little girl Ukifune,
now gone.
Inuyasha, with the yurei destroyed, had left
her to sleep alone in her room for a bit, and she had risen when he had
left, after some long length of time. And now she sat on the verandah,
worrying and wondering.
"You're awake," she heard as there was the
soft sound of a shoji sliding open, and light footfalls as Inuyasha approached,
sitting down beside her. He waited a moment for her to say something, and
when she didn't, he leaned forward, peering around a curtain of hair at
her face. "Oy."
"You have such a nice way of..." she began,
slightly irritated, but then trailed off at her own words.
"Nani?"
"Nothing...."
He frowned, not understanding the distant
look on her face. They sat there for a few moments, then Inuyasha ventured,
"Sango and Miroku went on Kirara to the village, to tell the jiji and the
babaa. They should be back soon."
Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha looked a little
uncomfortable, wondering if she was mad or something again. She didn't
really look mad, and she wasn't acting mad, but sometimes he could never
figure out what was wrong with her. He scratched his head a little. "Daijobu
ka, Kagome?"
She turned and looked at him, and the curious
and slightly worried expression on his face. "Hai...don't worry..." she
summoned up a smile. "Just tired." That seemed enough to satisfy him, and
she looked down at her hands, opening them slightly. "Arigatou...for remembering
to get the shards."
"Feh, I was trying to...feh!" his expression
soured a bit, and he folded his arms. Kagome smiled a bit sadly.
"Arigatou, Inuyasha. For saving me."
His ears twitched a little, feeling pleased.
Carefully, he snuck a glance at her. She was scrutinizing the shikon no
kakera in her palm, and he frowned at her distraction. Something was bothering
her, despite telling him she was tired. Curious, he began to say, "Kagome..."
just as she held up one of the shards for him to see.
"Look...."
"Nani?" he asked, switching his attention
there. She held the sliver of jewel into the shadows, where its own glow
could be more clearly seen. A pale brightness emanated from it, tinged
with a lavender tint. He blinked once, startled. "Looks pure."
"It is."
"How's that possible?"
"I have no idea..." Kagome said, closing one
eye and considering the shard for a moment before returning it to her hand,
closing it and withdrawing into her blanket.
"Well, those shards were the ghost kid's.
She was the good one, right? Maybe she was pure hearted or something."
"Maybe...I don't know...they were the same
person, weren't they, Inuyasha?"
He remained silent. Two spirits, one soul.
Two people, one soul. One young, smiling. One older, expressionless. They
stood beside each other, resembling each other, though different.
"Iie."
"Nani?"
He hesitated, thinking through his words carefully
as he spoke. "That yurei wasn't Ukifune. When the shikon no kakera came,
it changed her. She wasn't the same person anymore."
Kagome watched him, listening quietly and
understanding the double meaning of his words. He kept his eyes forward
when he spoke, looking out across the swaying grass beyond the mansion.
Finishing, he looked down at her. "You sure you're all right?"
She rested her chin on her bare knees. After
spending a couple days in a yukata, it felt a little odd being back to
her school uniform. She was Higurashi Kagome again, the girl who fell through
the well, who traveled in the past and sat beside Inuyasha, a hanyou and
the son of a great youkai lord. Higurashi Kagome, not Kikyou, a miko from
the sengoku jidai.
Which one was she?
Inuyasha debated with himself for a second,
and finally decided to do what would probably just get him in trouble.
He hated it when she looked so sad like that, and it was the only thing
he could think of to do about it. So he reached out and wrapped his arms
around her, pulling her to him in a hug. He was somewhat surprised when
she let him, burying her face into his shoulder and tightening her fingers
on the fabric of his kimono. He let her hold on, and leaned back against
her, loaning her his strength for awhile. In return for it, he rested his
cheek against her hair, and let the soft scent of her shampoo sweetly fill
his senses.
She wanted to tell him her dream. Tell him
why it bothered her, even if it scared her. She remembered how happy she
felt in the dream...if that was her at all. She lifted her head, asking,
"Inuyasha?"
He turned to look at her, and somewhere, in
the middle of their movement, his lips brushed against her cheek, very
lightly on accident. Kagome's eyes widened a bit at the near contact, and
Inuyasha suddenly found the wooden floor very interesting. "Gomen..." he
started to mumble awkwardly, but hesitated when he realized Kagome was
staring at him curiously. He watched her move her hand up to his chin,
exploring the contours of his face, tracing up to some of the white hair
that fell over his shoulders, which she touched very lightly. Then a little
smile formed as she reached higher, tweaking an ear. He frowned, closing
one eye as she did so, but not saying anything to stop her.
Her hand returned to his cheek, and she told
him, very softly, "I like you how you are now."
Uncertainly, he lifted a hand to her hair
and ran his clawlike hand through it, fingers brushing through the soft
ends, then returned it to the nape of her neck, warm where he touched her
skin. "I'm not good with this shit...."
She sighed, smiling sadly, though not quite
in exasperation.
And then she let him kiss her.
*****************************************
The End.
Okay, I know I made you wait for Inuyasha/Kagome
romance til the bitter end, but I told you to bear with me, way back in
the beginning, ne? Was it worth the wait?
sighs> Well, now that we're at the very
end of the story, I have a confession to make, about Ukifune. Oh, it's
nothing bad, mind you. But you should know that I've written stories about
her before. At the time of writing this, there are three others involving
her that I've done. Again, in the first author's notes, I said this was
my first full length Inuyasha fic...but I'd been writing for awhile. I've
been writing Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon fics for some time, and 'Ukifune'
appears in three Sailormoon fics I've written thus far. So this,
in a way, is a prequel to those fics. If you've read any of the others,
you'll notice I've dropped a couple hints and references of things to come
throughout this one. I just happen to like writing about Ukifune, and thought
she'd play well in an Inuyasha fic, historical time frames being what they
are. So...if you enjoyed this fic at all, happen to like Sailormoon, liked Ukifune, and want to know a fuller back story to who she is and her
past, (or future, depending on how you want to view it) I'm going to shamelessly
plug for my other Ukifune fics, the first being 'The Bloom of the Mountain
Cherry,' then, 'The Weaver of Dreams,' and most recently, 'The
Golden Rule.' Though there, I must warn you, she is called Kami.
And that is another partial inspiration for the title of this fic. As for
why her name is Kami there...well, you'd have to read. ^.~
Either way, I hope you enjoyed the story. Please review or email...or
both...^^;; Comments are always welcome, criticism is also welcomed. Pointless
flames will be doused with water. (Though that may short circuit my computer.
^_~)
Ja ne, til next storytime.
-Queen
iceaffinity@hotmail.com
fic complete 1/13/02