A Bond Across Time
By: ChocolateEclar
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Inuyasha or any other character from the anime/manga "Inuyasha." So don't try to sue me. ^_^
To TetsuoTsubushi: I know! I know! It was cruel and cliché! But I was in a hurry and I bet in the real anime, if there were an episode like this, it would end there too… Thanks for reviewing!
To Ni-chan: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like this!
To sleep walking chicken and HAP: I just write cliffhangers, I don't like them either, but it keeps you guys interested. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!
To Lylli Riddle: *running away from Lylli* ARGH! Atleast you said you weren't goin' to kill me! ^_^
To Aarolye: Yea, the last chapter was short, but I was in a hurry and really wanted to get another chapter out before I left on vacation… Thanks for reviewing!
To FallenSk8rAngel: Thanks a bunch for the compliments!
To shadowspinner: *gets hit with the pan* Ow! *rubs head* Er-here's the next chapter.
To Ashieyu: Thanks- Ack! *gets whacked on the head with a pot and a baseball bat by Ashieyu* @___@
Shippou: I think she's really dead.
Inuyasha: Let's leave!
Shippou & Inuyasha: *hit a force field and pass out beside Choccy*
Kirara: -__-;;; *sweatdrop* *shaking head* Mew me ow mew me me-ow meow. (Translation: This chapter is in Kagome's POV again.)
Part 4: The Inuyasha Reunion
I got out of my car and began to walk up the steps to the home where I had grown up. As I reached the top, I saw him. After waiting for five years I didn't think he would ever come back but there he was, living, breathing. He looked a bit worn, but still young, his hair moving in the breeze. It was definitely Inuyasha though. There was no mistake about that. The rosary beads were still hanging around his neck, I realized slightly.
"I-Inu-Inuyasha…" I exclaimed in shock, grabbing onto the red archway.
His golden eyes widened and he looked ready to bolt, his feet shifting backwards.
I took a deep breath before asking softly, "What are you doing here?"
Those fuzzy, pointed ears of his cocked slightly as he replied, "Err-I didn't-I-er-oh! I don't know!"
I was actually able to chuckle quietly at his befuddled state. "In that case, Inuyasha, are you going to leave?" I inquired, holding my breath and biting my lip.
"No," he whispered after awhile.
"Hmm," I mumbled striding closer to him.
His eyes dilated again. "I never came through the well," he explained hurriedly.
I stopped and looked up at him. "Never? Then how?"
"Easy, Kagome," said a voice. "It's only been five years for you, but it's been five-hundred years for us."
I looked around, searching for the owner of that voice. I soon found him sitting on top of the archway. His hair reached the nape of his neck and was a reddish-brown color, and his eyes were green. It only took me a minute to recognize Shippou.
"Shippou?" I called out.
He jumped nimbly from the arch. That was when I noticed the little two-tailed form on his shoulder. "Kirara?" I inquired.
Shippou nodded. He was about as tall as I was and wearing loose clothing like Inuyasha. Kirara was on his shoulder and looking at me with her large, red eyes. She hopped down and sauntered over to me. "Mew," she said, gazing up at me. I smiled, bending down and picking up the tiny neko youkai. She cuddled against my cheek and I patted her tenderly.
Then what Shippou had said set in and I turned to him. "F-Five hundred years? Does-Does that mine Sango and Miroku are-are…" I couldn't say it.
"They died a long time ago," Inuyasha replied gravely. I had forgotten he was still beside me. I glanced up at him, but he didn't turn to me, although his ears did.
"Why don't we go inside, and I'll explain what happened after you left, Kagome?" Shippou offered after a brief, uncomfortable pause.
I nodded dully and led the way inside my family's house.
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After Shippou was done, I gazed mutely at the floor. Sango and Miroku were dead. It pained me to think of how they had married and had children and I hadn't been there. After I thought about it for a while, I realized that was selfish. Just because I hadn't been there, didn't mean they had to stop living their lives.
"Y-You have the jewel?" I asked Inuyasha.
Inuyasha glanced at me and pulled a tiny pink orb out of his pocket. The Shikon no Tama. It glowed faintly in Inuyasha's palm.
"So Naraku's gone?" I inquired.
Shippou nodded and said, "Like I said, Inuyasha killed him when Naraku tried to use the jewel to become a full demon."
I nodded too and asked another question. "What about Kikyo?"
I could tell Inuyasha had winced. Shippou merely eyed him coldly as if Kikyo were an old argument and answered a bit sarcastically at first, "How could I forget? Naraku killed her-er-I mean he stopped her walk of hatred (if you know what I mean) by slicing her in half to use as bait to lure Inuyasha to him. Of course, we followed him. The smell of Kikyo's rotting clay body led us right to Naraku, Kanna, and Kagura."
'So,' I thought. 'Kikyo's gone.' The realization left me feeling strange inside.
Shippou's eyes were locked on Inuyasha, who refused to look at the kitsune. After awhile, Shippou looked back at me and said, "It's sure been a long time, Kagome."
"Yea, but far longer for you three," I muttered. I felt my eyes tearing up at the discovery. 'Five-hundred years…' I thought. I could understand why Inuyasha was obviously avoiding my gaze. It must have hurt to see me after all that time.
Shippou shrugged and said, "It wasn't terrible. It just felt like a basic routine after awhile. Sesshoumaru and Kouga are still alive too."
Both Inuyasha and I shifted at the second name. "Where'd ya see him?" Inuyasha asked, his voice practically a growl.
"Near Mount Fuji in one of my travels," Shippou answered. "A few other urufu youkai and him live there. He's even got a mate and some kids."
I smiled softly remembering Kouga's advances and Inuyasha's jealousy. Of course he had moved on and reconstructed his tribe after Kagura murdered most of them. "Good for him," I whispered.
Shippou's head moved up and down again in agreement. "We didn't see him again until he tried to steal the complete Shikon Jewel from Inuyasha." he remarked. Here Shippou's jade eyes danced with amusement and he laughed. "Inuyasha chased him out of Kaede's village with Tetsusaiga. It was funny."
"Because Kouga was trying to steal the jewel?" I inquired.
"Huh?"
"Did Inuyasha chase Kouga away because Kouga was trying to steal the jewel or because of something else?" I rephrased my question. I knew Inuyasha well enough to know he probably had acted that way because Kouga had said or done something that really bothered him. Trying to take the jewel shouldn't have enraged him that much.
Shippou's eyes dulled and he glanced at Inuyasha nervously. After awhile, when Inuyasha had made no move to interfere, Shippou explained, "No, it was because Kouga had mentioned…" Shippou gulped a bit and continued, "Kouga mentioned your absence, Kagome."
"Oh," I muttered, a flicker of a triumphant grin crossing my face. I sure knew Inuyasha's moods well. It was a peculiar observation that made me realize why I'd felt so odd lately. 'My feelings haven't changed for him,' I thought. 'I've been feeling weird because I've been missing him even more than ever though.'
I peeked at Inuyasha. Now that I was studying him close up, I could see the darker, duller appearance of his skin. He had aged, but only slightly. Come to think of it, I had too. But even our aging couldn't compare to Shippou's. Of course he couldn't stay little forever. He must have become an adult and then his maturing slowed like Inuyasha and Kirara's. It was bizarre sitting across from the man who used to be the little kit who used to sit in my lap and cuddle against me. His bushy tail must have been tucked into his pants for it wasn't in sight. He was still Shippou though.
Inuyasha's golden eyes looked as worn as the rest of him, I noticed as I turned back to examining him. They had the look of someone his actual age really and his ears were a little frayed. I was sure they were still soft though, but I didn't quite dare confirm it by touching them.
I sighed and asked Shippou one last question. "Where are you three going from here?"
"Well, Inuyasha and Kirara usually sleep and hang out in the forests of Japan. I sometimes do too, when I'm not traveling that is," Shippou replied.
"I'm staying here for the week," I told them. "Then, I'm going back to my apartment. If you want, you guys can stay here while I am. I'm sure my mom and grandpa won't mind."
"If its no trouble," Shippou said shrugging.
"I'll ask Grandpa. I think he's in the shed cleaning some things up," I said standing up.
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Shippou, Kirara, and Inuyasha did stay with my family and I. Souta shared his room with Shippou, while Kirara slept at the foot of my bed and Inuyasha slept on the couch in our living room. Souta had offered Inuyasha a spot in his room too, but Inuyasha had declined.
Souta was going to junior high then. He was pretty good in school, getting by with an assortment of high grades. I hoped he would do well.
My mom loved having our guests and Grandpa and Shippou told each other stories. (Shippou's were a lot better and very detailed considering how long he had lived, while Grandpa's bored me like old times.) Souta was like Inuyasha's shadow, following him around the house. Eventually, I reminded Souta that he'd gotten a new video game for his birthday and he went and played it for hours.
After that, Inuyasha just sat in one of the trees outside napping sometimes, or just pondering others. I wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't have the courage to ask him for a couple of days.
I crept outside on the fourth day we all had been there together and climbed up the tree. I sat cautiously on the same branch as Inuyasha, clutching the bough when it swayed a bit. Inuyasha remained utterly motionless, except for his ears, which cocked towards me.
"I-Inuyasha?" I inquired softly. His ears flicked a bit so I continued, "Why-Why didn't you come after me that day?" The question had been eating at me those past days and I wanted to know the answer horribly.
Inuyasha let out a great sigh and I looked at him imploringly. After a few moments he looked me right in the eye and somehow I knew the answer. He hadn't looked at me in days I realized dimly as I sorted out the new information. 'He-he didn't want to hurt me again?' I thought. 'But-But-' I couldn't think properly anymore.
Instead, I muttered, "I'm sorry."
His expression sharpened and he blurted out, "It wasn't your fault damn it! I shouldn't have gone to K-Kikyo in the first place! Argh! Don't cry!"
But I did cry, the tears I had held after that day all seemed to be pouring out. "But it is my fault!" I cried out. "I should've stayed and listened to you! If I had, you wouldn't have been virtually alone for all those years!" I tried to wipe away my tears but they kept falling so I continued, "I'm such a blubbering idiot!"
I couldn't see Inuyasha through my hands, but I felt him grab me around my shoulder and hold me tightly. I silenced immediately, leaning back into his arms. I could faintly tell he was on the edge of the branch and if he stepped back he would fall, but I closed my eyes.
He reached around me and brushed away my remaining tears with one clawed hand. I opened my eyes slightly and whispered, "Inuyasha?"
"Yea?"
I didn't say anything; I just turned around a little and gently kissed his cheek.
His arms went slack and his face reddened. Then he fell off the tree limb. I looked over the edge of the bough, down at him and asked as he reached the ground gracefully on his feet, "Are you alright?"
He smirked up at me, his face still a deep crimson.
I laughed and nearly fell out of the tree myself.
He then laughed at me, his golden eyes sparkling in the twilight.
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A/N: @_@
Shippou: *throws a bucket of water over Choccy's head*
Choccy: *wakes up in a puddle* Huh?
A/N 2: ^_^ Anyway, let's all sigh together. This chapter was a bit fluffy at the end, no? ^___-
Shippou: *fake gag*
Choccy: -__-;; Oh shut up!
A/N 3: REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shippou: -__-;;; *sweatdrop*
Choccy: Bye! ^_________________-
