The Welder of BlackFire:

Thorn's Past Life-A Mysterious Ally

Epilogue

"Sota! Come on! I don't have time for this! I have to get home and study!" Kegome said impatiently to her younger brother.

"Oh please Kegome! Can't we just go look? Just for a minute?" the boy asked, looking up to his sister with pleading brown eyes. Kegome sighed and rolled her own brown eyes.

"Okay, okay! But we're not buying any! Wolves are dangerous, Sota, and just because their puppies doesn't mean there not," the girl said, exasperated. "I can't believe someone would own such a dangerous creature," she mumbled under her breath as her brother pulled her gaily toward the house with the sign out front that said, 'Wolf pups to good home'. There was no one in the yard were they entered, but they could hear yips coming from a large, fenced-in section of the yard. Sota let go of his sister's sleeve and ran over to the cage, his backpack flopping heavily on his back.

"The young'n come to see the pups?" an male voice called from the house. He was a jolly-looking fellow with black hair that had begun graying above his ears. His smile was radiant as he saw the young boy giggling at the pups. Kegome turned to face him with a smile.

"Good afternoon, sir," she said, bowing slightly before turning back toward her brother.

"Good afternoon. You're the girl from the shrine, aren't you?" he asked, leaning his medium-sized frame against the fence.

"Yes I am," she replied.

"Your grandfather's a good man, glad to see that his grandchildren are healthy," he said with a smile. But Kegome didn't answer. Her gaze was caught up in the green eyes of a pup. It hung back in the shadows, untrusting of the human that laughed and giggled with its brothers and sisters. Kegome choked back a gasp.

"Something the matter?" the man asked, following her gaze to the pup. "Ah, that one's a bit of a loner there. She's always 'n the shadows, and don't trust no one. Here, let me bring her out in the light so you can see her better." The man opened the gate, making sure not to let any of the puppies out of the kennel. "She's a real beaut when she's not sulking in the shadows. Then she just looks intimidating."

Sota looked at his sister, who had the look of recognition and confusion on her face.

"Kegome?" he asked, confused. But he wasn't answered as his sister's eyes were still on the pup that the man was trying to pick up. The wolf pup growled, her eyes glowing, and she backed away, ears back and hackles raising at the threat.

"Now c'mere, girl. I'm not gunna hurt ya. There we go. Nothing to be afraid of," the owner cooed. He advanced his hand out to her slowly as Kegome watched. The wolf pup finally let the man's hand grasp her by the scruff of the neck as he pulled her into his arms. "There we go," he said, moving back toward the entrance. He opened the gate, refusing to let the other pups escape, to their dismay.

"Now this one, she's a bit of a loner like I said. She dun trust anyone much. I wouldn't take her as a family pet, she's more like something for a person who's alone and needs company. She's smart, and learns quick enough if she wants to. But if she doesn't, well lets just say its like they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink." The man chuckled. He held a beautiful, white pup that seemed to have a black birthmark on her forehead. Her coat was a soft hide of pure ivory stain, its texture looking like solidified, silky water.

The man looked at her, but still he received no answer. Finally, Kegome's gaze was broken from the small creature as Sota pulled on her sleeve.

"Kegome, dinner will be ready soon, we should go," the boy said uneasily. He didn't like the look in his sister's eyes when she looked at the wolf.

"Ah, yes. Go on ahead, Sota, tell Mom I'll be home a little late, I, ah, need to pick something up at the store," Kegome replied, not looking at her brother.

"Ahh huh," was her answer as he started back to the shrine where they lived. When he was far down the street, Kegome turned back to the man and pup.

"May I hold her, sir?" Kegome asked, taking the man back a step.

"Ah, well, sure. But I warn ya, she's got a sharp set of fangs in that trap of 'ers," the man said, handing the tense pup to the girl. The wolf lay contently in Kegome's arms. "Well I'll be. No one's ever touched her without at least a growl. She must like you. Ha! Maybe ya'll met in a past life!" the man said jokingly, but his laugh was nervous.

"How much do you want for her, sir?" she asked hesitantly, but confident, petting the canine in her arms.

"Fer this pup? Well, it seems that yer the only one that can really touch her without losin' a finger or two. Ah, what the heck? I'm sure that she wont go for anyone else, so she's yers."

"You mean you're giving her to me?"

"Sure, why not? She's pure wolf, and not many go for that. You can have her. I'm sure you'll take good care of her," the man said with a smile. "Here, let me get a rope so she wont get loose," he said, heading back into the house. Kegome held the wolf up, looking into those deep green eyes.

"I remember you. I forgot who you are, but I'm sure I'll remember with time," Kegome whispered. The pup answered with a blink.

"Here ya go. We'll just knot it like so, and then pull the end through the loop like this and yer all set," the man said, exiting the house putting a nylon rope over the silky white ears.

"Thank you so much," Kegome said, turning toward home. The pup did not fuss in her arms as she walked the mile back to the shrine. When she did arrive, her mother and grandfather were appalled.

"Kegome! A wolf!" her mother exclaimed.

"Kegome! You said that we weren't getting one!" Sota whined softly.

"She's not ours, Sota," Kegome explained.

"I don't understand, what do you mean, dear?" her mother asked.

"I'm taking her with me back to the Fuedal Era. She gives me the strange feeling that that is where she belongs," Kegome said.

*

I smell wolf, Inuyasha thought, sitting next to the Bone-Eaters Well. His eyes narrowed as he looked around for the bringer of the scent. Koga?

"A little help! Hello? Can anyone hear me up there?!" came Kegome's voice from below.

I'll find it later, Inuyasha thought, getting up and looking down the well as Kegome struggled to climb up the well's stone wall with vines that grew down it. She had an over-stuffed, yellow backpack hanging from her shoulders. From its top poked something white and fuzzy, but the bag's top shifted and Inuyasha did not see what it was.

"What's the matter with you?" Inuyasha asked with disgust.

"That's what I get for coming here? Honestly, Inuyasha, you should give me a little more respect," Kegome spat back up at him. The hanyou mumbled something to himself quietly, but Kegome heard the rude comment.

"I heard that! SIT BOY!" she yelled.

THUMP!

Inuyasha growled more rude comments into the dirt, his voice dripping with loathing. Kegome pulled herself up from the well's lip with a sigh, looking down on the half-dog-demon. After a few moments the spell wore off and Inuyasha was again able to get up, move around, and curse freely without the spell holding him to the crater he had formed in the earth. He brushed the dirt off his sleeves while Kegome waited for him. The scent of wolf, he noticed, had grown stronger. Suddenly, he turned around, facing the girl.

"Why do you smell like wolf?" he growled. Kegome's eyes lit up as she removed her pack from her back.

"I almost forgot about her!" she said. Inuyasha watched as she opened up the top and put her hands in the bag.

"Her? What are you talking about, Kegome?" Inuyasha asked gruffly. Kegome pulled out a white wolf pup, making the hanyou growl and eye the pup with suspicion, turning enough to keep it in his gaze, but looking as if he couldn't care less. He crossed his harms with a huff.

"What's with the mutt?" he asked, and was answered by flattening of satiny ears, an angry growl and snap of little fangs.

"Be nice to her, Inuyasha!"

"Where did you get her?" he asked. "She smells familiar."

"That's what I thought too! I feel like I know her!" Kegome said, bringing the pup to her breast and comforting it.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"I have a feeling that she belongs with Sesshoumaru," she said quietly. The hanyou turned around with a growl and the baring of fangs.

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "He just tried to steal the Tetsusaiga again and you want to give him a pup that, more than likely, he'll rip limb from limb just for pleasure?! Besides, he's dead! I killed him with the Tetsusaiga. What is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing is wrong with me, Inuyasha! Don't tell me you don't get the same feeling! Like she needs, or maybe wants, to be with him," Kegome argued. The pup was silent, but her green eyes strayed to the golden ones of Inuyasha.

"What are you looking at?" he growled, putting his face in her own. "You don't get it, do you? That dead bastard would tear you apart without a thought, Mongrel!" The wolf clearly did not like his tone and with a flash of needle-like fangs, snapped her teeth around his nose. He pulled back with a yelp, holding his throbbing nose and cursing. Kegome giggled.

"I think that she understood what you said, and didn't like it one bit. Or bite, if you want to be technical."

"Shut-up! Fine, whelp! Go kill yourself!" he howled.

"I'll go find him tomorrow!" Kegome said happily.

"What the hell are you thinking? No you're not! If she wants to see him that much, then she can go to him herself!" he hissed, releasing his nose in his anger. Kegome giggled at the sight of the swollen nose. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," she said, struggling to hide her laughter.

"Fine, then lets go," he growled, turning away and heading back toward the rest of his group. "Myoga! Where the hell is Toutousai with my sword?" he asked the flea on his shoulder. "I need to practice this new technique he and Sesshoumaru were bragging about!"

"Don't worry, girl. We'll get you to him," Kegome said, looking into the deep gaze of the wolf.

*

"Okay, girl. There's Jaken over there, he'll lead you to Sesshoumaru if he's still alive. Don't worry about his looks, he's a faithful servant of Sesshoumaru, and if you keep following him then you'll be sure to find who you're looking for," Kegome said, quite a distance from where the toad-demon stood. She put the pup on the ground, facing the grassy clearing were Jaken stood guard over a small human girl that Kegome failed to notice. The wolf looked up at the girl with a lolling tongue, rare for the normally self-restrained pup, looking as if grinning. She gave the girl a lick of her wet tongue on the girl's cheek, suggesting thanks, and stalked through the long grass toward Jaken. "Good luck and be careful!" Kegome whispered as she watched the white tail disappear in the long grass. She quickly retreated back to her group before Inuyasha noticed she was gone or, if Sesshoumaru was alive and around, the inu-youkai noticing her.

Sesshoumaru landed silently in the thick grass behind the young wolf. The pup growled fiercely before turning toward him, her jade eyes bright and sinister. The Inu-youkai was a bit stunned and familiarity flickered before his eyes. But he could not place the memory, nor the familiar scent of dragonblood that laced the pup's scent.

"Who are you?" he asked, straightening from the semi-crouch in which he had landed in. He was answered with a soft growl, suggesting that the pup lacked the ability of speech in her youthful state. "I see." A whuffle escaped the pup's maw.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! What's going on?" Jaken asked, stumbling up to his master. The wolf pup growled and snapped at the toad-demon, who pulled back and cringed. "What's with this little mutt?" he asked.

"Quiet, Jaken," Sesshoumaru said, his eyes on the young pup as she growled at the insult. A small girl with wild flowers in her hands came up and stood next to Jaken. The pup merely glanced at the girl, and seemed to pass her off as no threat.

"Come here, pup," the master said. The wolf looked up in his eyes with her bright green ones. She did not come forward right away, her move showing that she was not one to be ordered. But she looked at his face, contemplating. After a few moments she walked straight up to him and sat down, the lord's gaze caught in her own. They stared like that a moment.

"Hmm." Sesshoumaru turned away. "Let's go."

Jaken and the girl, Rin, looked at each other before following. The wolf pup bounded past them, and trotted at the Inu-youkai's heels. Jaken opened his mouth to protest, but the wolf turned her head and shot him a glare that immediately made him shut it.

~

The wolf pup slept contently by Sesshoumaru, who had decided to sit by the fire that night. The crackling of fire did not wake her as it danced shadows across her pallid coat. Her breathing was steady, healthy, and she did not seem unnerved by the youkai's presents by her side. In the distance a tree branch snapped, making her flick her ears. Sesshoumaru looked toward the sound, but knew it was nothing. When he turned back toward the fire, he noticed added warmth to his left knee. He looked down to see the pup's chin on his knee and bright eyes that reflected the flames of the fire.

"What?" he asked, looking down on her. He was answered with a small whuffle. She lifted herself up and placed her front paws on his knees, her eyes locked on his and her tail gave a hardly noticeable twitch.

"Hmm," the Inu-youkai mused. "You were a fool to come to me. Why did you do it?" he asked, not expecting an answer. He turned his eyes away, letting them turn to the licking tongue of fire before him.

The wolf growled, but he did not answer, but continued to stare into the fire. He felt depressed, as if he had lost something important, but had forgotten what it was. Confusion plagued him endlessly.

With a sudden leap, the pup jumped into the lord's lap, her muzzle rifling through the folds of his robes. Sesshoumaru looked down, surprised at her boldness. He held up his clawed hand, threatening to swat her away. She saw it, but did not turn from her task.

Foolish pup, he said to himself. But he couldn't bring himself to hit her. Instead, he lowered his hand to her scruff and picked her up from his lap. By now she had found what she was looking for and had grasped it firmly in her jaws. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at the cloth she had clasped in her juvenile maw. Her body balled up tightly as any young pup would when its mother lifted it from the ground, but her eyes bore into his. She nodded her head slightly, making her package swing toward the youkai, but not dropping it.

Sesshoumaru looked at her uncertainly.

"Drop it," he said quietly. She gave a soft growl and looked at him a moment before dropping it onto his lap. He put her down gently in front of him and moved to pick up the tiny bundle. The wolf huffed slightly before shaking and watching as the lord picked up the deposited cloth.

Sesshoumaru picked it up carefully, feeling familiarity in its texture. He glanced quickly at the wolf, who was gazing at him with upright, pointed, ears and a tilted head. He looked back at the bundle, slowly peeling back the layers that covered the hidden treasure. Something pearly shone brightly, even through the last layer of cloth that still covered it.

Sesshoumaru took a quick breath in recognition, his eyes widening as he turned to stare at the pup before him for but a second. He uncovered the rest of the swirly gem swiftly, holding it in the palm of his hand as it glowed a defiant light, its depths still swirling the brown, green, blue, and silver as if his mate had just given it to him not minutes ago. His breath came in ragged gasps as he held the glowing jewel, his mate's tear, in his hand. His eyes kept straying from the gem to the pup, memories flooding back in a rush.

"Thorn?" he finally managed to whisper. The pup's mouth opened and her tongue lolled, her expression that of satisfaction. She yipped, almost silently, in answer, rubbing her head against his knee.

"Thorn!" he whispered hoarsely, pulling the pup into a tight hug. She growled softly in his ear, nuzzling the crook of his neck. "You've come back."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Author's note: ALL DONE! Yay! Not that I didn't enjoy writing this fic, I'm just glad its over. Well, read my other fics and have a great day!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters incorporated into this story BUT for Thorn and Blazin' BlackFire, who are my own personal characters.