Coming Full Circle
Chapter 2
Inuyasha walked back into the village and saw Kaede, sitting in the dark with her eyes shut tightly and her mouth in a firm line. "Where is Kagome? I don't sense her presence."
"She's gone back to her own time," Inuyasha's voice was unemotional. He looked down at the old woman and moved to sit beside her. "She said she something was pulling her back to her era."
"Does this have anything to do with Kikyo?" One eye popped open and stared and the young hanyou.
"She said it didn't, but to keep my honor I choose Kikyo."
"Decisions are simple when the second option is removed." The old woman's voice was cracked with age, but her words were about the only ones that Inuyasha would take to heart. "I will miss the dear girl."
"I will too," Inuyasha whispered to himself. He took a seat next to Kaede and closed his eyes.
The two sat together and enjoyed the peace, until there was a stirring on top of the hill.
"There's someone entering the village." A tall slender figure stood on a hill. "Kikyo," Inuyasha whispered. He moved from the ground slowly and approached the priestess.
Kaede sighed, "I fear there is no honor in this decision, Inuyasha." Her words were too soft to reach the Inuyasha's sensitive ears.
* * * *
Kagome smiled at Hojou, "Yes, I'm feeling better."
Hojou smiled at her kindly, "It's just that you were sick for so long that I worry it won't take much before you find yourself ill again. You've been at school everyday for a solid month now."
"I have a feeling all of my sickness is over, Hojou."
The boy smiled down at Kagome. He had liked her for so long and had tried for such so long to get her attention, but her attendance at school had been erratic to put it lightly. Her habit of canceling dates or just not showing up had driven him crazy, but for the first time in a year he could sense that all of her attention was on him. Hojou liked her change in heart; he liked it more than he could express.
"Kagome, I know we haven't really discussed where we stand. I mean what you and I mean to one another. I mean whether or not we're going out." The poor boy stopped and took a breath. "Kagome, I just wanted to tell you that I like you, and now all of the sudden you seem to be willing to be with me. And I want you to be with me." Hojou looked down at his hands and began gazing at his fingers as though he had just realized he had hands for the first time.
Kagome smiled to herself. She could not help but to be touched by his nervousness; something about it warmed her heart. He was a handsome boy, and there was no one who thought so highly of her or that would treat her with such a kind manner. For all the times she had snuck back to Inuyasha's time and left him alone, he had been willing to forgive her every time and had not once asked her the reason behind her tardiness. She knew she should move on and surely by now Kikyo had come back to the village and staked her claim on Inuyasha. At this very moment, the two of them could be sitting together, blissfully happy that they had finally come together after fifty-one years of misunderstanding.
"Hojou, I do care for you."
"I'm happy to hear it.," Hojou's face lit up with a grin, and he grabbed Kagome's hand. "Let me walk you home."
Kagome had a sudden vision of Inuyasha. He was standing in front of her and looking at her with a tender look on his face, the same face Inuyasha gave her when he rescued her from one of the youkai that had captured her. Hojou was sweet, but he would never compare to Inuyasha.
* * * * * * *
Kikyo sat in the hut with Inuyasha, her eyes closed in thought. She had stayed with her sister for several weeks now, and she and Inuyasha had been spending a good deal of time together, but she still felt unwelcome here. He had hardly touched her in all the time they had been spending together, and her soul felt restless. All the priestess wanted was peace.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yes, Kikyo." Inuyasha said.
"I have not asked this before now, but I need to know. Where is the Shikon no Tama?" She pulled her long dark hair from her face. "The jewel should be under my protection, and I feel that we should destroy it."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"Making a wish on it. We could make a wish together that would purify the jewel and then we would not have to worry about any demons coming to seek it out. We will both be released from our duty to the jewel."
"The Shikon is in my possession. Kagome gave it to me to do as I pleased with it." Inuyasha looked at the girl he had pledged his life to and spoke to her with a serious tone.
"What do you plan on doing with it?"
"I hadn't decided, Kikyo, but I will not become human if that is what you are asking." His amber eyes were soft, "I'm happy as I am. I don't want to be full demon or full human. If this past year has taught me anything it is that I am in the form that I was intended to be and I will not change that."
Kikyo closed her eyes, "I was not going to ask you to give up what demon blood you have. I made that request fifty years ago and clearly it was not fated for you to become human."
"Then what are you asking of me?"
"I want rest, Inuyasha." Kikyo paused. This past year of life, living only a half life fueled by hatred, was full of horrible memories and horrors, and her return to the village brought only more agitation. This girl, Kagome, had taken so much from her. Inuyasha's companions on the trip had not forgiven her for giving the Shikon shards to Naraku and could not bring themselves to associate with her. Their loyalty to the girl could not be shaken, especially that young demon Shippou that would stick out his tongue at her when he thought she was not looking. "My life is only a half life; the life of the living dead. My body wants rest."
"You want to wish for death?" Inuyasha's eyes were wide.
"Yes, I want to return to the ground, but I want you to come with me." Inuyasha moved away from her. "Your soul is as restless as mine. We can die together. We can leave the binds of this world and the two of us can explore the next world. We can to it together, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha stood up, "Give up my life?"
"You told me that your life was mine, Inuyasha. You bound yourself to me."
Inuyasha watched Kikyo with care. He loved Kikyo or he had loved Kikyo, and he understood her desire for rest but to ask for his life as well? "Kikyo, I promised you I'd become human once, but I never promised to die with you."
Kikyo opened her eyes and tears formed at the corners, "It's the girl isn't it?"
"I want to live, Kikyo. That has nothing to do with her. To ask me to die with you isn't a fair request."
"You bound yourself to me, Inuyasha, not my reincarnation."
Inuyasha knelt next to Kikyo, "I chose you."
Kikyo looked away in anger, "Your heart didn't choose me."
"Kikyo, you know my heart, and you know that I love you, but I want to live."
Kikyo reached for Inuyasha's hand, "I should have known this is how things would end. Perhaps we should have listened to fate fifty years ago."
"I'm sorry." Inuyasha touched Kikyo's face.
"No, Inuyasha. Don't be sorry." Kikyo looked down at the floorboard of the hut. "I've asked myself many times why was it that we turned on one another so quickly. Why was I so fast to assume that you betrayed me, and why did you so quickly believe that I had betrayed you? I could not see it at the time, but now my vision is clear. We were not intended for one another."
"Kikyo, do you want the Shikon no Tama?" Inuyasha pulled the jewel out from his red kimono. It shimmered in the dull light, still pure from Kagome's touch and ready to be handed to its original protector.
"Yes." Kikyou stood up and looked at Inuyasha. "Thank you. I must speak to Kaede."
"Kikyo," Inuyasha grabbed her and put his arms around her tightly, "I am glad you will have the peace you are seeking. Don't forget that I did love you with all my heart."
"I know," she replied softly, her voice shaking. She turned and left the hut, not turning her head to look at him.
* * * * * * Kagome sat at the desk in her bedroom, trying to concentrate on the algebraic equations that sat in front of her. She looked out the window and frowned. There was an odd movement in the pit of her stomach, a churning guilt she could not quite explain. It was odd. She reviewed the past few days in her head and turned over every thing she could recall trying to remember what she could have done to earn the sense of guilt that had been haunting her.
Kagome threw her pencil down on the desk and moved to the window. She pressed her hand to it like she was trying to reach for some explanation behind her uneasiness. "I feel sick," she said to her empty room.
She moved her hand away from the window and look at the fingerprints she left on the glass. Kagome looked at her reflection in the window, and suddenly a vision of Inuyasha appeared to her. He was running through the woods at top speed and by the expression on his face he looked upset, guilty, and almost ill. The vision then dissolved in front of here.
"Inuyasha," she whispered. Something snapped in her mind. "I'm feel his pain." She pressed her hand back to the window.
* * * * * Inuyasha stood at Kikyo's grave with Kaede. His eyes were haunted by memories, and his mouth had stayed in a constant frown.
"Do not trouble your heart, Inuyasha. My sister needed peace and now she has it. She was never meant to be brought back to this world." She touched his arm and tried to bring the boy comfort.
"Quiet, old hag." Inuyasha said. "I don't need your reassurances."
"Before you completely shut out my words, listen to this. You're time here has just begun. Don't wrap yourself up in a fate that's not meant to be and kill yourself out of guilt."
Inuyasha stared blankly out into the woods, "I don't believe in fate." His eyes moved to the direction of the Bone Eater's well. "Not anymore."
* * * * * *
Kagome tossed from underneath the covers. She was in a deep sleep and everything was dark. Everything was colored in an ink black, but there were still shapes and forms that she could not quite make out. It was all deep and frightening, and the desire to scream was there, but she could not quite shape her mouth enough to scream. Suddenly one form came to the forefront of all the others. It was outlined in a thin line of silver, and two large wings protruded from its back. Suddenly, a fear bubbled up and a cry arose from her throat, all the breath from her lungs expelled in one long scream.
An era earlier, Inuyasha awoke. "Kagome," he screamed. He could feel fear simmering up from an unknown source. He reached for his rosary beads, held them in his hand, and tightened his grip around the small beads.
Chapter 2
Inuyasha walked back into the village and saw Kaede, sitting in the dark with her eyes shut tightly and her mouth in a firm line. "Where is Kagome? I don't sense her presence."
"She's gone back to her own time," Inuyasha's voice was unemotional. He looked down at the old woman and moved to sit beside her. "She said she something was pulling her back to her era."
"Does this have anything to do with Kikyo?" One eye popped open and stared and the young hanyou.
"She said it didn't, but to keep my honor I choose Kikyo."
"Decisions are simple when the second option is removed." The old woman's voice was cracked with age, but her words were about the only ones that Inuyasha would take to heart. "I will miss the dear girl."
"I will too," Inuyasha whispered to himself. He took a seat next to Kaede and closed his eyes.
The two sat together and enjoyed the peace, until there was a stirring on top of the hill.
"There's someone entering the village." A tall slender figure stood on a hill. "Kikyo," Inuyasha whispered. He moved from the ground slowly and approached the priestess.
Kaede sighed, "I fear there is no honor in this decision, Inuyasha." Her words were too soft to reach the Inuyasha's sensitive ears.
* * * *
Kagome smiled at Hojou, "Yes, I'm feeling better."
Hojou smiled at her kindly, "It's just that you were sick for so long that I worry it won't take much before you find yourself ill again. You've been at school everyday for a solid month now."
"I have a feeling all of my sickness is over, Hojou."
The boy smiled down at Kagome. He had liked her for so long and had tried for such so long to get her attention, but her attendance at school had been erratic to put it lightly. Her habit of canceling dates or just not showing up had driven him crazy, but for the first time in a year he could sense that all of her attention was on him. Hojou liked her change in heart; he liked it more than he could express.
"Kagome, I know we haven't really discussed where we stand. I mean what you and I mean to one another. I mean whether or not we're going out." The poor boy stopped and took a breath. "Kagome, I just wanted to tell you that I like you, and now all of the sudden you seem to be willing to be with me. And I want you to be with me." Hojou looked down at his hands and began gazing at his fingers as though he had just realized he had hands for the first time.
Kagome smiled to herself. She could not help but to be touched by his nervousness; something about it warmed her heart. He was a handsome boy, and there was no one who thought so highly of her or that would treat her with such a kind manner. For all the times she had snuck back to Inuyasha's time and left him alone, he had been willing to forgive her every time and had not once asked her the reason behind her tardiness. She knew she should move on and surely by now Kikyo had come back to the village and staked her claim on Inuyasha. At this very moment, the two of them could be sitting together, blissfully happy that they had finally come together after fifty-one years of misunderstanding.
"Hojou, I do care for you."
"I'm happy to hear it.," Hojou's face lit up with a grin, and he grabbed Kagome's hand. "Let me walk you home."
Kagome had a sudden vision of Inuyasha. He was standing in front of her and looking at her with a tender look on his face, the same face Inuyasha gave her when he rescued her from one of the youkai that had captured her. Hojou was sweet, but he would never compare to Inuyasha.
* * * * * * *
Kikyo sat in the hut with Inuyasha, her eyes closed in thought. She had stayed with her sister for several weeks now, and she and Inuyasha had been spending a good deal of time together, but she still felt unwelcome here. He had hardly touched her in all the time they had been spending together, and her soul felt restless. All the priestess wanted was peace.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yes, Kikyo." Inuyasha said.
"I have not asked this before now, but I need to know. Where is the Shikon no Tama?" She pulled her long dark hair from her face. "The jewel should be under my protection, and I feel that we should destroy it."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"Making a wish on it. We could make a wish together that would purify the jewel and then we would not have to worry about any demons coming to seek it out. We will both be released from our duty to the jewel."
"The Shikon is in my possession. Kagome gave it to me to do as I pleased with it." Inuyasha looked at the girl he had pledged his life to and spoke to her with a serious tone.
"What do you plan on doing with it?"
"I hadn't decided, Kikyo, but I will not become human if that is what you are asking." His amber eyes were soft, "I'm happy as I am. I don't want to be full demon or full human. If this past year has taught me anything it is that I am in the form that I was intended to be and I will not change that."
Kikyo closed her eyes, "I was not going to ask you to give up what demon blood you have. I made that request fifty years ago and clearly it was not fated for you to become human."
"Then what are you asking of me?"
"I want rest, Inuyasha." Kikyo paused. This past year of life, living only a half life fueled by hatred, was full of horrible memories and horrors, and her return to the village brought only more agitation. This girl, Kagome, had taken so much from her. Inuyasha's companions on the trip had not forgiven her for giving the Shikon shards to Naraku and could not bring themselves to associate with her. Their loyalty to the girl could not be shaken, especially that young demon Shippou that would stick out his tongue at her when he thought she was not looking. "My life is only a half life; the life of the living dead. My body wants rest."
"You want to wish for death?" Inuyasha's eyes were wide.
"Yes, I want to return to the ground, but I want you to come with me." Inuyasha moved away from her. "Your soul is as restless as mine. We can die together. We can leave the binds of this world and the two of us can explore the next world. We can to it together, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha stood up, "Give up my life?"
"You told me that your life was mine, Inuyasha. You bound yourself to me."
Inuyasha watched Kikyo with care. He loved Kikyo or he had loved Kikyo, and he understood her desire for rest but to ask for his life as well? "Kikyo, I promised you I'd become human once, but I never promised to die with you."
Kikyo opened her eyes and tears formed at the corners, "It's the girl isn't it?"
"I want to live, Kikyo. That has nothing to do with her. To ask me to die with you isn't a fair request."
"You bound yourself to me, Inuyasha, not my reincarnation."
Inuyasha knelt next to Kikyo, "I chose you."
Kikyo looked away in anger, "Your heart didn't choose me."
"Kikyo, you know my heart, and you know that I love you, but I want to live."
Kikyo reached for Inuyasha's hand, "I should have known this is how things would end. Perhaps we should have listened to fate fifty years ago."
"I'm sorry." Inuyasha touched Kikyo's face.
"No, Inuyasha. Don't be sorry." Kikyo looked down at the floorboard of the hut. "I've asked myself many times why was it that we turned on one another so quickly. Why was I so fast to assume that you betrayed me, and why did you so quickly believe that I had betrayed you? I could not see it at the time, but now my vision is clear. We were not intended for one another."
"Kikyo, do you want the Shikon no Tama?" Inuyasha pulled the jewel out from his red kimono. It shimmered in the dull light, still pure from Kagome's touch and ready to be handed to its original protector.
"Yes." Kikyou stood up and looked at Inuyasha. "Thank you. I must speak to Kaede."
"Kikyo," Inuyasha grabbed her and put his arms around her tightly, "I am glad you will have the peace you are seeking. Don't forget that I did love you with all my heart."
"I know," she replied softly, her voice shaking. She turned and left the hut, not turning her head to look at him.
* * * * * * Kagome sat at the desk in her bedroom, trying to concentrate on the algebraic equations that sat in front of her. She looked out the window and frowned. There was an odd movement in the pit of her stomach, a churning guilt she could not quite explain. It was odd. She reviewed the past few days in her head and turned over every thing she could recall trying to remember what she could have done to earn the sense of guilt that had been haunting her.
Kagome threw her pencil down on the desk and moved to the window. She pressed her hand to it like she was trying to reach for some explanation behind her uneasiness. "I feel sick," she said to her empty room.
She moved her hand away from the window and look at the fingerprints she left on the glass. Kagome looked at her reflection in the window, and suddenly a vision of Inuyasha appeared to her. He was running through the woods at top speed and by the expression on his face he looked upset, guilty, and almost ill. The vision then dissolved in front of here.
"Inuyasha," she whispered. Something snapped in her mind. "I'm feel his pain." She pressed her hand back to the window.
* * * * * Inuyasha stood at Kikyo's grave with Kaede. His eyes were haunted by memories, and his mouth had stayed in a constant frown.
"Do not trouble your heart, Inuyasha. My sister needed peace and now she has it. She was never meant to be brought back to this world." She touched his arm and tried to bring the boy comfort.
"Quiet, old hag." Inuyasha said. "I don't need your reassurances."
"Before you completely shut out my words, listen to this. You're time here has just begun. Don't wrap yourself up in a fate that's not meant to be and kill yourself out of guilt."
Inuyasha stared blankly out into the woods, "I don't believe in fate." His eyes moved to the direction of the Bone Eater's well. "Not anymore."
* * * * * *
Kagome tossed from underneath the covers. She was in a deep sleep and everything was dark. Everything was colored in an ink black, but there were still shapes and forms that she could not quite make out. It was all deep and frightening, and the desire to scream was there, but she could not quite shape her mouth enough to scream. Suddenly one form came to the forefront of all the others. It was outlined in a thin line of silver, and two large wings protruded from its back. Suddenly, a fear bubbled up and a cry arose from her throat, all the breath from her lungs expelled in one long scream.
An era earlier, Inuyasha awoke. "Kagome," he screamed. He could feel fear simmering up from an unknown source. He reached for his rosary beads, held them in his hand, and tightened his grip around the small beads.