The Simplest Things

By: dragonfly-rising

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters...so far

It began with a simple thing. A twist within a timeline that had already become so twisted that none would have noticed if not for the patient attention of one whom this particular timeline meant everything to. It might have resolved itself within moments of the occurrence considering it appeared to be a natural twist except that at the same instance another group who always watched noticed it as well. Still there would have been a chance to thwart the warps within the timeline that is if this other group had not immediately acted upon such a thing happening and involved themselves in something they had no business in. In the end all that could be understood about the events was that those who should have stayed out of it did not and those who had every right to intercede held back too long. The only saving grace in the entire situation was that an entity that had long been neutral in such things decided to intervene on behalf of a particular spirit surprising all that looked on. It was also understood that it was up to those that were most affected to put right what had gone so terribly wrong.

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Kagome paused leaning against the huge tree that had once held an ensorcelled Inuyasha against it. She had long ago taken to spending as much time as she could sitting on the huge roots that grew out of the ground, her back to the trunk of the ancient tree. It was a symbol of great importance to her and she had come to love it for all that it had brought to her and for what it reminded her of in the future as she would sit in much the same way waiting for Inuyasha to come fetch her or to steal a quiet moment for herself between school and the search for the Shikon Jewel shards. The great tree relaxed her in ways she could never fully explain to anyone else and she never tried to explain the peace that filled her whenever she was near it. She was certain Inuyasha thought she was insane to spend as much time as she did at the sight of such terrible heartache for the half demon. She knew Inuyasha stayed as far away from the tree as was possible and she understood his reasoning for it.

A soft wind rustled the leaves above her head and she found herself looking up into the huge canopy that was dotted with sunlight. In this brief moment she was completely at ease, no thought bothered her as she enjoyed the stillness of the forest and the light smells that lingered in the breeze around her. A small sound alerted her to the fact that someone else was nearby, purposely being loud.

~ It must drive him crazy to force himself not to move as silently as he can. ~ She thought with amusement.

She brought her attention away from the tree and found herself looking at Inuyasha who stood not ten feet away. She smiled softly at him and was not surprised when he returned the smile, although his held a hint of uncertainty to it. In these small moments she shared with him, when they were both still and quiet she found her heart filling with love for the hanyou and knew she could never live without his presence in her life.

His brow began to furrow and she realized he would soon break the silence ending the perfect moment. She moved to stand, placing a hand against the tree to steady herself. She hoped she would move fast enough to keep Inuyasha from saying something that would annoy her. She heard him move to help her down and glanced over at him. His hand was reaching towards her. Reflexively she also reached a hand out to him. A small blush graced her cheeks as she noted how he looked up at her, his golden eyes clear of doubt or apprehension.

~ Oh I do love you Inuyasha ~ she thought to herself.

It was in this moment, before their outstretched fingers could touch that something engulfed Kagome causing her to snatch her hand away from Inuyasha. Her miko powers automatically identified the heated electric thrill that filled her as natural magics though foreign and did not respond to protect her in any way. Perhaps if they had the entire happenstance would have been avoided. Instead she found herself gasping deeply, her back arching. Her body shivered violently and she felt and heard a loud roar as if something were being sucked into a drain. She turned and fell against the tree, her body relaxing. The last thing she felt before fainting was the impression upon her body of something large covering her frame.

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The entity that resided inside of the ancient tree felt the pulse of the timeline as it slipped into its change. Normally it would have ignored such occurrences with its usual bend towards allowing nature to flow, as it should without a thought. Instead it had come to appreciate the spirit of a certain human female through the long, peaceful interludes that it shared with the child. Her powers had been what had brought its attention to her in the first place. It had not reacted once in the entirety of its existence to the world around it, accepting as only the old and wise can that change was a constant of life and that the only reaction to such things that made sense was to accept these changes and move with them. It had existed in the world for a long time, had noted without action all the things that happened around it. It had been aware when the miko had sealed the hanyou to it those many years ago, though to it the measure of time was but a moment. It had noted when the hanyou had been released with much the same neutrality that it had always exhibited except for one thing. In all its time on the earth it had not once encountered such a soul as the one that had freed the hanyou and despite its record detachment it had found itself paying much more attention to her from that moment on. It had been deeply pleased when she had begun to spend time with it. Her inner contentment communicated itself well to the being that inhabited the ancient tree. In reaction it had reached out to her, enveloping her in its own sense of timelessness and had been rewarded with more visits from the human that it had grown fond of.

Now when the magics had reached out to erase the creature that it could not abandon it acted in the only way it could. It cradled the human into its own body and gave to her part of its own essence without hesitation.

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It all happened so quickly Inuyasha was left staring dumbfounded. He blinked in astonishment, attempting to reanalyze what had just occurred. Kagome had been reaching out to him so he could help her down from her perch on the tree that he hated. Something had passed behind Kagome's eyes and she had jerked away from his touch from what he could only guess was a protective motion. She had not seemed to be in pain but her body had tensed and he could have sworn her body had wavered from solid to see through to solid again. When she had leaned back against the tree it had...enfolded her completely with its bark, reacting like a father protecting its child. Now through the semi transparent bark that enveloped Kagome Inuyasha could see the girl changing while a nimbus of light green energy surrounded her.

Finally shrugging off the initial shock Inuyasha bound up onto the protruding root and placed his clawed hands on what could only be described as a pod. As he looked closer he could see that her hair was lengthening, already down to the back of her knees. Her skin was changing color darkening to a light green and it was gaining a grained look very similar to the bark that bound her to the tree. His eyes traveled her body in confusion picking up the smallest detail. The ends of her fingers had lengthened slightly looking almost like the ends of a branch. Even her clothes had been a part of the change. Her school uniform became absorbed into her body only to reappear instantly in the form of a dress that hugged her frame. One strap of this dress crossed one of her shoulders leaving the other bare, a spilt down the front of the dress began mid thigh and ran the length of the dress that ended just shy of her ankles.

With a strange tearing sound the pod that Kagome laid in split down the middle, and Inuyasha grabbed at the girl pulling her free instantly. He knelt with her cradled in his arms and brushed the strange dark green hair from her face. He was relieved to see she still breathed normally though she was unconscious. When he gently stroked her cheek he found that even with the odd markings on her face her skin still felt soft and warm. He took a moment just to stare at her, unable to form a coherent thought for the longest time.

Finally he stood up with the girl in his arms and raced away from the hated tree towards the village his mind racing with too many thoughts and a certain kind of bewilderment.