Innocence

by Sarah Barah

*Author's note

Hello again! I have absolutely wonderful news! I went to the Mayo Clinic again and I got extremely sick, but that's not the news. I was so bad that they actually had to take my colon out! Now, I am colon-free, which means I no longer have Ulcerative Colitis! *dances* I am still healing, so it will be awhile before I'm normal again, but when I am, I can eat what I want, do what I want, and be happy! ^-^ Life is good! :D Anyways, I just wanted to let ya all know that I wasn't ignoring you and I wasn't putting off finishing the story, I was sick, and I didn't have access to a computer while I was in the hospital. :( That was really hard, because I couldn't get on the internet or e-mail my friends to tell them what was up. Though I did get a lot of calls from my family and so many get-well cards! My whole wall is covered with them! lol. Welpers... I better stop blabbing and get back to the story!

~Ao: *nods* ^.^ ~

~Chu: :P ~

~Etsuko: *blinks* -.O; ~

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Inuyasha or it's characters except Ao, Chumoru, and Etsuko!

Thank you and enjoy! ^.~

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Etsuko's whole body shook. She was sitting in the middle of the forest, surrounded by trees that kept all sunlight from reaching the ground. Tears streamed from her sapphire orbs, and her thoughts were clouded. She had no idea what to do. She feared that she would have to attack Inuyasha if he followed her, so she had tried desperately to hide her trail. But he would find it eventually, unless he wasn't hunting her...

Oh god..... what now?

She looked down at the gold ring, her mother's ring, now on her finger. The sapphire glowed eerily in the near darkness of the forest. It reminded her of her mother somehow, though she hardly knew why. She had barely known her mother. She had died when she was very young. But the small glow gave her comfort, and she continued to stare at it, almost in a trance.

Mother...

Daughter.....

Oh my god.... mother? Is that you?

Laughter filled Etsuko's mind as she asked the question. The laughter of a young woman.

My dear daughter, you remember me! I am very glad!

But, how? I thought you.... you were...

Hush child, say no more. Indeed I am dead, but my spirit is not. You will see that the power of the mind-readers can be a very powerful gift. In the mean time, you must do me a great favor.

Etsuko hesitated, her body frozen in shock, for the ring was speaking to her through the power of telepathy, and now the ring was telling her it was her mother's spirit. This was all to hard, too fast for her to deal with all at once. She needed time. But no! There wasn't time! She had to speak! She had to listen!

What is it mother? What favor of me do you ask?

In her mind, Etsuko could almost see her mother smiling.

My dear, you must tell him...

What?

Tell him...

The voice disappeared and the glow of the ring dimmed until it was dark once more. Etsuko felt her mother's presence leave her, and her trance was broken. She looked up at the treetops and another tear fell down her cheek.

"Mother! Don't leave me please! MOTHER!"

She put her face in her hands and broke into silent sobs. Her mother had left her once more. She was so sick of being alone. She had spent so much time hating her mother, but now all she wanted was to embrace her, and ask her the questions, "What does it mean? Tell who?". All she could do was guess. But her answer would find her....

****************

Inuyasha searched again for Etsuko's scent, though it was all he could do to keep from throttling Ao's tiny neck. The skunk-youkai had been pressing his buttons ever since he had found him, and the only thing that kept him at bay was to do what he asked. So, here the hanyou was, playing bloodhound to a tiny forest spirit.

Dammit this is degrading, Inuyasha thought, as he crouched low to the ground, sniffing for the scent. But he didn't say anything until he found what they had been looking for.

"Hey, weasel! Come on, I've found it," Inuyasha called to Ao, who was busy munching on a patch of clover nearby. He ignored the weasel comment and followed Inuyasha as he followed Etsuko's trail.

"The scent is rather weak, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I think I can still catch it. Just keep up with me."

"Of course, Lord Inuyasha."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and "keh'd".

Then, he stopped abruptly, causing Ao to nearly fall face-first into the grass.

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU-"

Inuyasha leapt on Ao, clamping a firm hand over his mouth and keeping him still.

"Don't make a sound," he whispered when Ao had finally stopped squirming. He stared ahead at what had caused them to stop...

****************

Kagome stopped to catch her breath. She looked ahead. The hut was just a little further. She smiled gratefully and started jogging towards it. But she almost cried out in horror when she saw the trail of blood left behind by Songo and Miroku's battle with the demon bear, Chumoru. She ran to the hut and flung open the door. There lay Songo and Miroku, side-by-side, both covered in bandages and blood. She saw Songo move her head slightly, and she ran to her side.

"Songo! Songo are you alright?"

Songo opened her eyes and looked up at Kagome weakly.

"Oh, Kagome! I'm so glad to see that you are alright. But Miroku is hurt badly. Do you think you can bring him some medicine from the future?"

Songo noticed the worried look on Kagome's face but smiled.

"Kagome, please, I am fine," she said, taking one of Kagome's hands in her own, "But please, help me take care of Miroku-sama."

Kagome nodded but had to turn away when she saw the large ugly bruises on Songo's face. She felt hot tears sting at her eyes. She hadn't been here. She hadn't been here when they needed her the most. Guilt rose in her throat, creating a lump that she couldn't swallow. This was her fault. If only she had been here. She set Songo's hand down gently and smiled.

"Don't worry, Songo. I'll help you."

She hugged her friend gently and got up, telling her she would come back soon but had to go get her bag. She had left it with Shippo and needed to get back to him anyway. So she closed the door of the hut quietly and left, with a heavy heart.

****************

Inuyasha stared ahead at Etsuko. She stood with her back to them, her silver mane flowing down her back, her silver tail wrapped about her. A growl emitted from Inuyasha's throat as he looked at her. He didn't trust her. Didn't even want to be near her. Etsuko's ears twitched, she had heard him. Without turning around she said, "Is that you, Inuyasha?"

He didn't need to answer, she knew. She could see into his mind and all that it held were anger and sorrow. She smiled despite herself.

Dear Inuyasha, dear sweet Inuyasha....

His eyes grew wide as he heard her voice in his mind.

For a moment I thought you would forget about me... let me go...

No. I wouldn't forget you again... not again...

You betrayed me, Inuyasha...

How? Tell me how...

You don't know? I loved you....

This shocked Inuyasha, and for a moment he hesitated.

Why?! Why in the HELL would you fall in love with ME?!

You stupid idiot! You really don't see how caring and loveable you can be, do you?

Inuyasha just stared at Etsuko in surprise as she faced him. She had a sorrow in her sapphire eyes, and her smile was weak and sad. She was surrounded in mist, and then, in her place stood a gray wolf.

I can give you one gift before I leave you, and that is this....

The wolf leapt at Inuyasha, but the inu-hanyou didn't move. Then, like a ghost, the wolf went straight through Inuyasha, landing behind him. Ao's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

I can give you advice. Tell Kagome you love her, don't wait. Because if you do, it could be too late... It's too late for us, but not for you and Kagome... tell her, Inuyasha, tell her...

Inuyasha didn't turn around, but just stared down at his feet. Then, because he knew Ao could hear him anyway, he said aloud, "I'm sorry... that I couldn't love you like that.... But, I hope.... I hope you find someone better than I could ever be to you...."

For a moment, the wolf seemed to almost smile, sitting down beside Inuyasha, knowingly glancing up at him with those wide, wondering, sapphire blue eyes. Then, she let out a tiny howl, and turned on her heels, leaping into the trees and disappearing from view. Inuyasha smiled at her last words, though these Ao hadn't been able to hear, for they were in native dog tongue.

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Whenever you need me, I will be here beside you. Whenever you call, I will be there to answer. But always know this, Inuyasha, our battle here ends, and our hatred hath disappeared. No more will I hunt you, and no more will you hunt me. Our kind will now be at peace. I know now that love cannot be forced, and it wasn't your fault that I, in my childish fantasies, fell in love with you. You had a right to forget me. So now I must forget you, and move on.

She sighed softly, her voice tired.

I have wasted a good many years of my life in hatred. But now it ends. I am free! Hatred will no longer rule my life and I will find my brother and we will go back to my father and teach our pack new ways! We will teach them the ways of a peaceful pack, and no longer slaughter senselessly! We will truly be free! Thank you, my friend, thank you!

With that, she sent up a howl that echoed up into the sky and didn't stop until it had reached every creature in the forest, and leapt into the trees, disappearing like mist among the leaves....

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Well, guess what? IT'S DONE! Yes! That's what I said! Done! "But wait a minute, it's not finished yet," you say, but actually, it is! I'm doing a sequel! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil! But really, that's it! Now you all have to read the sequel to see what happens! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! ) Sooo very evil! Anyways, I'm gonna go work on the sequel now! hehehe :D Byes! Oh, and a great big huge thank you to alllllllll my beautiful readers! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU GUYS! PASOLOVER, THANK YOU SOO MUCH! YOU MADE MY YEAR! ^-^ And to everyone of those other people I can't even name right now cuz my brain is dumb... haha... -.-;; Pathetic excuse for a brain that it is.... anyways... ahem..... I WANT TO SHOUT OUT TO ALL YA'LL! LOVE YA!!! TOOTLES!

Etsuko: ^.~

Chumoru: U.u;

Ao: @.@

- Sarah Barah and friends