Chapter 10
Here is what I have promised in no particular order:
Sugar06: Thank you. I'll do the best I can. Priest: Thanks for sticking in for all this craziness. And I'm afraid I don't know what Ja ne means. Wish I did. KristenSharpe: Wow my writing made you sniffle! Didn't know I could do that. San-Chan: You a writer's dream reviewer. You make me blush practically every time I read a review and half of the time you're see connections in the story that I have not. Reynamangga: Bingo! Right on. You are the first person to figure out that my pen name is after one of the nine muses. Good catch! Mattielover: I think you review almost every chapter if not every chapter! Thanks for the encouragement. Priest: I love your reviews because it makes me think about the direction my writing is going in. Thanks for the ideas you do give me. Aoi Me: Seriously considered doing the whole running away at the alter, but I got another idea. But don't think it didn't run through my mind several times. YamiYuugiloverakaKikyo: One more chapter after this and I promise its over after that. Mockingbird917: Thanks for taking this insanely long story. Ladyofthedragons: Must say that I adore your pen name. Random information I know, but it's true.
Sorry if I missed anybody. I'm sure I probably did so just tell me if I forgot and I'll definitely recognize you in the next chapter.
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Inuyasha?" Kagome gasped.
She buried her head into her pillow and gripped the feathery mass with tense fingers. It took a moment to collect herself and will her heart to stop its spastic fluttering.
Kagome sensed Inuyasha. There was no mistaking his unique soul. That boy had almost touched it, but instead chose to let it hover above his cupped hands, like he was afraid any contact would harm it.
Kagome lifted her head from the pillow, trying to make some sense out of the vision and the purpose of it, but her mind felt charred from the boy's words. His mind-speak seared her mind and burned the surface of her brain, leaving only ashy remnants behind.
She forced her miko powers to reach for the boy's words and intent, using her brain as the starting point. Hot shades of color flashed in front of her eyes; first red, then purple, blue, gray, and then black until it faded away leaving the outline of an angel with a large wingspan.
Innis's son.
Kagome stood up, walked to her window, lifted up the glass, and sat on the ledge. The night air was cool and she inhaled the scent of it. The familiar scents of home surrounded her, comforting her. She leaned her head against the wooden pane, closing her eyes and relishing the split second of peace.
A crescent moon decorated the sky, smiling down at her as if it knew something that she did not. It looked like a wicked and taunting smirk.
"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she asked to the yellow-white orb. "Just stay there and give up everything?" The stars twinkled around the lit grin in the sky, but it offered no answer. "He doesn't want me anyway. He just thinks he does."
She sighed; at very least half believing her words even though the memory of Inuyasha's grave amber eyes were still fresh.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Everyone sat around the dinner table and waited while Shippo sat the food out. Miroku and Kaede sat at the ends of the table while Inuyasha sat across from Sango, who at the moment was trying to stop Taru from climbing on the table.
"Stop squirming," Sango hissed.
Taru laughed and ran around the table, away from his stern mother, and threw himself on Inuyasha's lap for sanctuary.
"Yasha!" Taru squealed, throwing his arms around his neck.
Usually Inuyasha was the best protection against his mother's disciplining, often giving him piggy back rides through the forest and climbing trees with him whenever Sango started her nagging. But tonight, Inuyasha acted very strangely, picking him up and setting him back down on the ground.
"Go sit next to your Mom, kid." Inuyasha said gruffly. He got up from the table and walked out of the hut.
Taru watched him with wide, uncomprehending eyes. His face fell and he stuck a finger in his mouth. He turned and looked to his father for an explanation. Miroku smiled with sympathy and motioned for him to come. Taru ran to his father and sat on his lap.
Miroku patted his son's head, "Inuyasha is just grumpy. Don't worry about it, my boy." He wrapped his arms around Taru.
"I'll tend to Inuyasha," said Kaede . "The rest of you eat."
Kaede wobbled out the door of the hut and outside. Inuyasha sat on the ground with his back to the village.
"Inuyasha, why does it trouble ye to be near young Taru?" Kaede's voice was cracked with age, but still held its infinite patience and wisdom.
"What're you talking about, you old bat?"
"Don't be cross with me, you stubborn fool. I have seen ye avoid the boy since ye and Kagome returned from the angel's mountain."
Inuyasha stood up, ready to walk away from the conversation, "You're imaging things." He began walking away from her.
Kaede sighed, "Perhaps, but listen if just for a moment."
"What?" He snapped at her, stopping in his tracks.
"I know ye always hoped Kagome would return and now she has ye think she will never come back."
"I don't give a damn whether she comes back or not. He snarled at Kaede and crossed his arms, apparently astounded that the old hag could be so idiotic. "She made her choice and she can live with it."
"Inuyasha, stop being so free with words you clearly do not mean."
He clenched his fists and growled.
"Ye've never been one to listen to reason, but listen now." Kaede walked up to him, and grabbed his hair, pulling him down to her eye level. "Whether or not Kagome returns, your will is strong. You will learn to live without her. Have ye not done it once before?"
Inuyasha pulled away, "But that's when I knew she'd come back. I just felt it, but now. . ." he trailed off in thought. "She won't be back."
"What makes ye so certain?"
"She left didn't she?" His was becoming annoyed with the hag's endless questions.
Kaede frowned, "Nothing is set in stone, Inuyasha. I cannot explain it, but I have a feeling that Kagome's business is not yet done here."
Inuyasha paused to digest her words, as Kaede turned to walk back into the hut.
"And in the meantime, Inuyasha, ye could try not to take your frustrations out on the rest of us." She crossed her arms behind her back and smiled, inwardly laughing at the bewildered face she was certain the hanyou wore.
He watched Kaede waddle away, wishing he could allow himself to believe her words, "Kagome is gone, hag." He swallowed his next breath, realizing their full implication "Gone."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shiro looked in the window of the bridal boutique and grinned widely. He grabbed Kagome's hand, giving it a gentle but boyish and excited squeeze.
"Are you sure you won't let me see the wedding dress?" He pressed his hands up against the glass with boyish enthusiasm and practically drooled as though all the dresses and decorations were candies.
"Not until the wedding." Kagome laughed at his eagerness. "It's bad luck if you see it before then!"
Shiro turned his head away from the store, "I don't buy into all that superstitious stuff." He did turn around and walk towards her, "We'll make our own luck, Kagome. All I'm asking is to see my blushing bride in her wedding dress, and the wedding is still four days away. That's way too long to keep me waiting!"
Kagome stretched and kissed him lightly on the mouth, "It'll be worth the wait."
"Well, that was never in doubt," he smiled. "So you won't let me see it no matter how much begging I do?"
Kagome grinned and shook her head playfully.
"Fine, be cruel." Shiro brought his hand to his chest and gave her a wounded look.
"How about I give you another kiss and we'll call it even?" Kagome offered.
Shiro pretended to think it over, raising his eyes to the sky and silently mouthing his deliberation. Once he finished, he smirked, "I'll take what I can get."
Kagome kissed him softly again, and took his hand to lead him away from the store. She loved when things were like this; quiet and peaceful. It brought back to mind all the times Shiro, Mariko, and she had played cards in their dorm rooms late at night or the times the trio had gone out just to walk around the town and stop in little out of the way restaurants to discuss politics, school, movies, and everything else under the sun.
A small smile crossed her face as she thought about the memories of Mariko and Shiro. Shiro entwined his arm with hers and gently pulled her to his side. They walked down the sidewalk, past all the specialty shops, arm in arm. Being so near him was cozy, and it reminded her of how he protected and watched over her in little ways, always opening doors for her or giving her a backrub when she was stressed over an exam. It was so different from Inuyasha's brashness that it was almost impossible to keep from comparing the two, but Inuyasha set the standard years ago and he would always be the basis to which she compared all men.
"Kagome?" Shiro began.
Kagome shook her head, trying to free herself from her heavy thoughts, "Yeah?"
He removed his arm from her and wrapped it around her shoulders, "I know I joke with you a lot, but I seriously want you to know how happy I am." He smiled down at her, a pair of dimples beaming. "You mean the world to me."
A soft grin shaped her mouth and her eyes crinkled in satisfaction, "I know."
She settled into Shiro's side and could not help but think how nice it was to have someone tell their feelings outright, to have them offer you affection so readily, to have them hold you without seeing someone else in your place. So different from Inuyasha. So completely different.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kagome's mother looked at the pile of gifts that were piling themselves in her living room. Shiro's family, apparently intent on showing their wealth, gave the largest most exorbitantly wrapped presents.
"Mrs. Higurashi, I think Kagome and Shiro aren't going to have enough room in their apartment to hold all of this stuff," Mariko commented.
Kagome's mother picked up a small present and shook it lightly, "Sounds like silver the way it's clattering. I don't think my gift is going to stack up compared to all this stuff."
"She's going to love whatever you get her."
"Well, that's the least of my concerns. I just want the wedding to be over and all these presents gone so I can have my living room back."
Kagome walked down the stairs and frowned, "More presents?"
Mariko rolled her eyes, "There are worse fates."
"That is true, but we're not going to have any room for all this stuff." She picked up a gift and shook it. "Sounds like some kind of crystal. Probably a vase."
"What you always wanted," Mariko made a comical face, "a crystal vase!" Her tone then took a humorous slant, "But never forget that Shiro is the best present you can ever have!"
"I'll be so glad when all this is over and we can just get back to school. Everything is so complicated right now. Between Shiro's family being overdramatic about everything and the stupid nightmares that have been keeping me up, you guys will have to have me committed."
"Nightmares? What nightmares?" Mariko's sharp mind grabbed onto her words and she looked at her suspiciously. "Are you feeling all right, Kagome?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. I've know you a bit too long to buy that load of bull." Mariko spoke in her usual blunt manner, not disturbed by Mrs. Higurashi's presence in the least. "Are you really okay or is this just a bad case of cold feet?" She crossed her arm and quirked an eyebrow, issuing a challenge.
"I'm not having cold feet. I've just haven't been sleeping well lately." Kagome rolled her eyes, trying to convince Mariko that she was being ridiculous.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"There's nothing to tell." Mariko was really to smart for her own good. "Stop worrying." Kagome picked up another present and shook it. "I promise I'll go to bed early tonight and get a good night sleep."
Mariko scowled at her, not believing her for one moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The angel Tathan, spouse of Innis, kept a watchful eye focused directly upon his mate. She stood at the edge of the angel's mountain, staring into the heavy mist, as though she could change things by the force of her will. For days, she had stood and sulked, careful to avoid the other angels, fearful they would blame her for the girl's departure.
Words of the girl's exit from this era were whispered from mind to mind, and the hope they held tightly to their hearts was dissipating and hovering in the air. The truth was that soon they would die out, and their blood, their legacy would die with them. Some looked to Innis for comfort and reassurance that there had to be some mistake, but she only regarded them with murky gray eyes and spoke no words.
Tathan watched her pull her wings to her body as she shivered, "This will not do," he whispered to himself. He walked away and left her to her own musings.
He walked around the white trees and thought of the prophecies, the ones that predicted that Innis and he would be the parents of the chosen child. The air was cold, and even though he was immune to such trivial matters as the weather, something frigid was gnawing at his bones. He lifted his hand and waved his wrist lightly in the cold air, a set of golden words appearing in the emptiness as his palm swept past it. The prophecies.
The words emitted warmth as they engraved themselves in the air. Tathan looked up at them and examined them even though he could have recited them by heart. He squinted his eyes in concentration, looking for something he knew was not there. The aged words proclaimed what they always had; that he and Innis would give birth to the child that would unite the three races and that Innis would be the messenger to the human girl with the same calling.
He accepted long ago that he and Innis were designed for one another, their minds being inextricably linked since childhood. He could still remember her messy dark hair, wide eyes, and dimpled smile from childhood. He had fought his feelings for her, determined that he would not settle for any of his kindred that he did not love, disliking the fact that it had been decided ages before his birth that he would marry her. But the truth was that he did love her. Always had.
He remembered his mother's pride the day he stated his intent to unite with Innis and the warning she gave him just a breath later. She had told him that he too played a role in the future of the race, a role greater than merely being the mate of the messenger or the father of the child.
"Never forget that, my son, or we may find ourselves facing extinction," she told him, cupping his cheek.
Tathan never forgot, but her words confused him and he became comfortable in the knowledge that Innis was the messenger and that he was not. However, it never escaped his attention that he was bound to the hanyou in the same way Innis was connected to the girl. He may have sealed the knowledge to his own mind, keeping it from his intended mate, but he never forgot it. He loved her so greatly that he kept the knowledge secret so she would not be distracted from her own calling.
Even now, he could sense the hanyou's heart sickness and it troubled him. Sure the son of demon and son of man had plenty of troubles in his life, but this was different. The pain exuding from the hanyou's soul was sharp, but there was a nauseating acceptance of it. Clearly, the hanyou felt like he wholly deserved it and gave up all hope of the girl ever returning. The girl filled the half-demon, the same way Innis did him, but now the girl was gone.
Tathan frowned and swatted the words out of the air, the warmth and light disappearing, "No, this will not do at all." He turned and walked towards his dwelling, a cave just a short distance away.
He entered into the darkness and walked through the blackness gracefully. He placed his hands together and a bit of light emanated from his fingers. He slowed his footsteps once he came to the place of his sleeping son.
His small face was burrowed into his arms, his cheeks flushed from sleep. His son was exquisite, inheriting Tathan's brown curls and Innis's eyes, a perfect blend of the two of them.
Tathan smiled softly at his son, a pride welling from within, "I know you've tried to reach the girl on your own, my son, but you're too young to reach your full potential." He placed his hands on either side of his son's head, "Let me help you."
The boy's eyes snapped open and then darkened.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kagome sat on her bed, blankets wrapped around her legs and her head resting against the headboard. She wanted to sleep, but sleep these days was not restful.
The nightmares.
They came every night. Some she was positive came from her inner worries, her own mind playing with her fears and second guessing her choices. But the dream of Innis's son was different. The boy had reached out for her, through time, and held Inuyasha's soul in the palm on his hand.
And now, now she knew the extent of Inuyasha's pain. If ever there was something Kagome did not want to do, it would be inflicting pain on Inuyasha. She tried for so long to wipe away all his pain and now she was the one giving it to him, but the position she had been placed in was not fair. She wanted to be accepted into graduate school, be a college professor, get married, and be a mother.
She wondered what the boy's aim was in showing her Inuyasha's soul and confirming that he was the angel that had been appearing to her for years. Probably trying to guilt her into coming back no doubt, but the angels seemed to be above such tactics.
She leaned further into the headboard and sighed, but suddenly her room began to act rather peculiarly. Everything began to twist and spin around her, and she gripped her bed sheets. The room became gray and cloudy, and Kagome braved a glance up, fearful of what was happening.
A man stood in front of her, the same outline she had seen in her dreams for years, but now there was no darkness. He was tall and his wings were of a pure ivory. Light seemed to hover around him and regarded her with a sympathetic smile and tender gray eyes.
"Hello, Kagome," he smiled.
Kagome tried to back up, but there was no space, no place to go. Even her bed had disappeared, but she still wore her cotton pajama pants and shirt.
"Please don't be scared. I just wanted you to see me as I truly am." He held out a hand to her and lifted her up.
"Innis's son."
The angel nodded, "Yes. I've been visiting you like this for years." He smiled, "Trying to talk to you in your dreams."
"But you never said a word. All I ever saw was your figure. You were black and everything was dark." Kagome clutched her chest, conjuring up old fears. "Why? Why did you have to scare me?" she cried.
He looked remorseful, "That was never my intention. I was reaching out to you, but I'm still young. I didn't have the power to do much else."
"But you're here now!"
"My father is aiding me." He opened his hand and extended it to her, smiling down at her in reassurance, "There is so much I need to tell you."
Kagome looked at him doubtfully, extending her hand slowly, then hesitating, and finally placing her trembling hand inside his strong one.
"Kagome," he spoke softly, "do you know why I showed you Inuyasha's soul?"
She shook her head side to side, numbly.
"I wanted to show you his heart. You needed to know where his affections lie, but I couldn't show it to you properly, but I know his and your heart as intimately as I know my own. As intimately as I will know your daughter's heart."
"How? How do you know so much?" Kagome frowned, her voice wavering.
"Through my father and mother I have come to know the two of you. Mother is bound to you, and Father is bound to Inuyasha, but within me is the power to dig deeper. My own heart is reaching out for the child you will bear, but she is yet to be born. Thus, my heart stretches to the two of you."
"I haven't agreed to anything," she said hotly. He presumed so much.
He smiled regretfully, "You have a sight greater that most mikos, but you cannot see what is right in front of you." He brought his hand up to her cheek, "Such a fiery spirit you have."
"My life is here in the modern era. I have things I care about, people I love."
"Kagome." He said her voice in such a clear concerned voice that she felt compelled to bring her own hand up to the one he rested on her face.
"What?"
There was a smile in his eyes, "Let me show you something."
The air around them ignited and flashes of color surrounded her. Once the burst of energy subsided, the angel stood before her cradling a soft light in his hands. The light kept flickering and it seemed dim. It was a sphere of amber color and it twisted slowly in his hands.
Kagome stepped backwards and cocked her head in confusion, "What is that?"
The angel looked down at the light, remorseful and pitying its pale color.
She stepped forward and stuck one finger out as if to touch it, but the light brightened suddenly and pulsed violently. A joyful, leaping pulse. She withdrew her hand but encouraged by its palpitations she touched one finger to the sphere's surface. The color brightened and then cooled a bit at her touch. It calmed and seemed content.
Something brutal struck her as her finger skimmed the light's surface. Kagome pulled her finger back quickly, fearful of her sudden revelation.
"Inuyasha?" she said heavily.
"Not quite," the angel spoke. "It's his spirit, his heart."
Kagome shut her eyes and felt her miko powers expand, opening up and channeling itself in a way that had not been done since the final battle with Naraku. She could feel the rhythms of the light, its subtle signature.
She looked up and tears shone in her eyes, "He's hurting."
"But you already knew this."
"I know," she paused thinking for a moment. "But I could touch it this time. It felt like it came from me."
"As it always does when two hearts are paired." He looked at her somberly, "But what you need to see is not done. I apologize for what I am about to do. It will hurt."
Kagome felt a force from within her stir. It was as though it were being suctioned from her chest. She could hear a scream, or more precisely an echo of a scream, but the pain was too intense to recognize it as her own. Just as quickly, the pain abated and she looked to see another sphere of light, a soft indigo shade hovering outside of her body.
She watched it quiver towards the amber light and then spin around it for one moment. The spheres revolved slowly around one another, twisting and occasionally touching one another's exterior. Kagome felt empty watching it, aware that it was her own spirit dancing in front of her. In an instant, the spheres melded together, slowly melting into one another.
Once the two spheres blended together, nothing existed outside of the spheres. All Kagome could see was the light; not even the angel was present. The two lights became one, emitting a single beat.
And then she understood.
She could see Inuyasha's spirit as clearly as her own, and it all made perfect sense. Inuyasha loved Kikyo and still did, but now things had changed. His love for her was present, but it was a memory, something stored away and cherished. But the intensity of his emotion and the portion of his heart reserved for her was nearly suffocating.
The startling part was that her spirit resonated the same sensation.
The spheres separated and one disappeared while the other returned to Kagome's chest, beating wildly. Her hand touched the place where the spirit reentered as though she were trying to experience the emotions again. Everything she ever felt for Inuyasha bubbled up, free from all the binds she had placed on them.
Kagome opened her eyes. Her surroundings were gray again and the angel was near her, studying her.
"You consume him."
She tried to nod but the full extent of what she had felt seized her, and she began to quiver, her lips trembling fiercely. Tears fell and the angel put his strong arms around her back, pressing her to him. Kagome buried her face into his chest, letting him comfort her.
He pulled her away and held her at arms length, "Do you understand now? Inuyasha loved Kikyo, but his world was small then. You were the one that opened him, made him see things differently." He looked her directly in the eye, staring directly into her, "You taught him what it meant to love. Don't you see, Kagome? You showed him how."
"But what about my life here?" Kagome swung her arm to the side like the gray haze was still her bedroom. "What about Shiro? I'm supposed to be getting married in three days."
"You are exceptionally powerful even for a miko. Did my Mother not explain to you that you can travel through the well at your own will?"
She shook her head in remembrance, looking puzzled, "I can come and go through time as I please?"
"It does not work quite like that, but if there is a real need for you to travel to your own time then you'll have the capability. You'll know when the time is appropriate."
"And what about Shiro? I have feelings for him."
"I can feel the care you have for him, but it is not the same as your feelings for Inuyasha."
Kagome bit her lip, "What am I supposed to do?" Forgetting all the moments she and Shiro shared would not be easy. He reached into a part of her that few people had since she left the feudal era. "I don't want to hurt him."
"There is one close to you that will heal his heart. One that already is overflowing with care for him."
Kagome frowned, "But who?"
He laughed, "You are such a child, Kagome. Those matters will take care of themselves. Do not worry about Shiro. I promise you he shall be fine."
Kagome narrowed her eyes and angled her head, amazed at how quickly everything that seemed so complicated straightened itself out, "And it's all that simple?" It was all dizzying, almost impossible to believe that she and Inuyasha could be together.
"Your hearts are compatible. You are his fit. It's that simple."
Her lips stretched into a slow smile, "Thank you." She touched his hand, wrapping her fingers around his, squeezing them delicately.
He wrapped his hands around her fingers and gave her a boyish grin, "I must leave you now, but we will meet again."
"When?"
"In time, Kagome, in time." He form became thinner and thinner until he was no longer there, and the grayness dispersed. Kagome found herself back on her bed.
Kagome jumped up, seized by an electric energy. She threw open the door of her bedroom and ran downstairs, "Mom, we need to talk!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Inuyasha lifted his head from the tree branch. He clutched his chest, breathing heavy gulping bursts of air. Something had been ripped from inside of him and it burned with an acidic fury. But then, it stopped and he could feel such peace as something merged with it. Something soft and magnificent, something with incredible familiarity.
"Kagome?"
For a split second, he could feel her and thought he could reach out to find her reaching back, but then he was slammed with a returning force. She was out of his reach, but that did not stop the shaking hand from stretching out into the darkness and her name from being screamed into the twilight.
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That chapter was a long time in coming. Sorry everyone for the long wait, but it's the end of the semester and crunch time. Plus, this story has a will of its own and all of the things I think are going to end up on paper just don't seem to fit. The angels' tale keeps popping up out of nowhere and demands to be written. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story because it you aren't then this is all pointless. And if you do not mind review because I always read them for encouragement while I write and as always thank you to all of my amazing reviewers.
Here is what I have promised in no particular order:
Sugar06: Thank you. I'll do the best I can. Priest: Thanks for sticking in for all this craziness. And I'm afraid I don't know what Ja ne means. Wish I did. KristenSharpe: Wow my writing made you sniffle! Didn't know I could do that. San-Chan: You a writer's dream reviewer. You make me blush practically every time I read a review and half of the time you're see connections in the story that I have not. Reynamangga: Bingo! Right on. You are the first person to figure out that my pen name is after one of the nine muses. Good catch! Mattielover: I think you review almost every chapter if not every chapter! Thanks for the encouragement. Priest: I love your reviews because it makes me think about the direction my writing is going in. Thanks for the ideas you do give me. Aoi Me: Seriously considered doing the whole running away at the alter, but I got another idea. But don't think it didn't run through my mind several times. YamiYuugiloverakaKikyo: One more chapter after this and I promise its over after that. Mockingbird917: Thanks for taking this insanely long story. Ladyofthedragons: Must say that I adore your pen name. Random information I know, but it's true.
Sorry if I missed anybody. I'm sure I probably did so just tell me if I forgot and I'll definitely recognize you in the next chapter.
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Inuyasha?" Kagome gasped.
She buried her head into her pillow and gripped the feathery mass with tense fingers. It took a moment to collect herself and will her heart to stop its spastic fluttering.
Kagome sensed Inuyasha. There was no mistaking his unique soul. That boy had almost touched it, but instead chose to let it hover above his cupped hands, like he was afraid any contact would harm it.
Kagome lifted her head from the pillow, trying to make some sense out of the vision and the purpose of it, but her mind felt charred from the boy's words. His mind-speak seared her mind and burned the surface of her brain, leaving only ashy remnants behind.
She forced her miko powers to reach for the boy's words and intent, using her brain as the starting point. Hot shades of color flashed in front of her eyes; first red, then purple, blue, gray, and then black until it faded away leaving the outline of an angel with a large wingspan.
Innis's son.
Kagome stood up, walked to her window, lifted up the glass, and sat on the ledge. The night air was cool and she inhaled the scent of it. The familiar scents of home surrounded her, comforting her. She leaned her head against the wooden pane, closing her eyes and relishing the split second of peace.
A crescent moon decorated the sky, smiling down at her as if it knew something that she did not. It looked like a wicked and taunting smirk.
"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she asked to the yellow-white orb. "Just stay there and give up everything?" The stars twinkled around the lit grin in the sky, but it offered no answer. "He doesn't want me anyway. He just thinks he does."
She sighed; at very least half believing her words even though the memory of Inuyasha's grave amber eyes were still fresh.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Everyone sat around the dinner table and waited while Shippo sat the food out. Miroku and Kaede sat at the ends of the table while Inuyasha sat across from Sango, who at the moment was trying to stop Taru from climbing on the table.
"Stop squirming," Sango hissed.
Taru laughed and ran around the table, away from his stern mother, and threw himself on Inuyasha's lap for sanctuary.
"Yasha!" Taru squealed, throwing his arms around his neck.
Usually Inuyasha was the best protection against his mother's disciplining, often giving him piggy back rides through the forest and climbing trees with him whenever Sango started her nagging. But tonight, Inuyasha acted very strangely, picking him up and setting him back down on the ground.
"Go sit next to your Mom, kid." Inuyasha said gruffly. He got up from the table and walked out of the hut.
Taru watched him with wide, uncomprehending eyes. His face fell and he stuck a finger in his mouth. He turned and looked to his father for an explanation. Miroku smiled with sympathy and motioned for him to come. Taru ran to his father and sat on his lap.
Miroku patted his son's head, "Inuyasha is just grumpy. Don't worry about it, my boy." He wrapped his arms around Taru.
"I'll tend to Inuyasha," said Kaede . "The rest of you eat."
Kaede wobbled out the door of the hut and outside. Inuyasha sat on the ground with his back to the village.
"Inuyasha, why does it trouble ye to be near young Taru?" Kaede's voice was cracked with age, but still held its infinite patience and wisdom.
"What're you talking about, you old bat?"
"Don't be cross with me, you stubborn fool. I have seen ye avoid the boy since ye and Kagome returned from the angel's mountain."
Inuyasha stood up, ready to walk away from the conversation, "You're imaging things." He began walking away from her.
Kaede sighed, "Perhaps, but listen if just for a moment."
"What?" He snapped at her, stopping in his tracks.
"I know ye always hoped Kagome would return and now she has ye think she will never come back."
"I don't give a damn whether she comes back or not. He snarled at Kaede and crossed his arms, apparently astounded that the old hag could be so idiotic. "She made her choice and she can live with it."
"Inuyasha, stop being so free with words you clearly do not mean."
He clenched his fists and growled.
"Ye've never been one to listen to reason, but listen now." Kaede walked up to him, and grabbed his hair, pulling him down to her eye level. "Whether or not Kagome returns, your will is strong. You will learn to live without her. Have ye not done it once before?"
Inuyasha pulled away, "But that's when I knew she'd come back. I just felt it, but now. . ." he trailed off in thought. "She won't be back."
"What makes ye so certain?"
"She left didn't she?" His was becoming annoyed with the hag's endless questions.
Kaede frowned, "Nothing is set in stone, Inuyasha. I cannot explain it, but I have a feeling that Kagome's business is not yet done here."
Inuyasha paused to digest her words, as Kaede turned to walk back into the hut.
"And in the meantime, Inuyasha, ye could try not to take your frustrations out on the rest of us." She crossed her arms behind her back and smiled, inwardly laughing at the bewildered face she was certain the hanyou wore.
He watched Kaede waddle away, wishing he could allow himself to believe her words, "Kagome is gone, hag." He swallowed his next breath, realizing their full implication "Gone."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shiro looked in the window of the bridal boutique and grinned widely. He grabbed Kagome's hand, giving it a gentle but boyish and excited squeeze.
"Are you sure you won't let me see the wedding dress?" He pressed his hands up against the glass with boyish enthusiasm and practically drooled as though all the dresses and decorations were candies.
"Not until the wedding." Kagome laughed at his eagerness. "It's bad luck if you see it before then!"
Shiro turned his head away from the store, "I don't buy into all that superstitious stuff." He did turn around and walk towards her, "We'll make our own luck, Kagome. All I'm asking is to see my blushing bride in her wedding dress, and the wedding is still four days away. That's way too long to keep me waiting!"
Kagome stretched and kissed him lightly on the mouth, "It'll be worth the wait."
"Well, that was never in doubt," he smiled. "So you won't let me see it no matter how much begging I do?"
Kagome grinned and shook her head playfully.
"Fine, be cruel." Shiro brought his hand to his chest and gave her a wounded look.
"How about I give you another kiss and we'll call it even?" Kagome offered.
Shiro pretended to think it over, raising his eyes to the sky and silently mouthing his deliberation. Once he finished, he smirked, "I'll take what I can get."
Kagome kissed him softly again, and took his hand to lead him away from the store. She loved when things were like this; quiet and peaceful. It brought back to mind all the times Shiro, Mariko, and she had played cards in their dorm rooms late at night or the times the trio had gone out just to walk around the town and stop in little out of the way restaurants to discuss politics, school, movies, and everything else under the sun.
A small smile crossed her face as she thought about the memories of Mariko and Shiro. Shiro entwined his arm with hers and gently pulled her to his side. They walked down the sidewalk, past all the specialty shops, arm in arm. Being so near him was cozy, and it reminded her of how he protected and watched over her in little ways, always opening doors for her or giving her a backrub when she was stressed over an exam. It was so different from Inuyasha's brashness that it was almost impossible to keep from comparing the two, but Inuyasha set the standard years ago and he would always be the basis to which she compared all men.
"Kagome?" Shiro began.
Kagome shook her head, trying to free herself from her heavy thoughts, "Yeah?"
He removed his arm from her and wrapped it around her shoulders, "I know I joke with you a lot, but I seriously want you to know how happy I am." He smiled down at her, a pair of dimples beaming. "You mean the world to me."
A soft grin shaped her mouth and her eyes crinkled in satisfaction, "I know."
She settled into Shiro's side and could not help but think how nice it was to have someone tell their feelings outright, to have them offer you affection so readily, to have them hold you without seeing someone else in your place. So different from Inuyasha. So completely different.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kagome's mother looked at the pile of gifts that were piling themselves in her living room. Shiro's family, apparently intent on showing their wealth, gave the largest most exorbitantly wrapped presents.
"Mrs. Higurashi, I think Kagome and Shiro aren't going to have enough room in their apartment to hold all of this stuff," Mariko commented.
Kagome's mother picked up a small present and shook it lightly, "Sounds like silver the way it's clattering. I don't think my gift is going to stack up compared to all this stuff."
"She's going to love whatever you get her."
"Well, that's the least of my concerns. I just want the wedding to be over and all these presents gone so I can have my living room back."
Kagome walked down the stairs and frowned, "More presents?"
Mariko rolled her eyes, "There are worse fates."
"That is true, but we're not going to have any room for all this stuff." She picked up a gift and shook it. "Sounds like some kind of crystal. Probably a vase."
"What you always wanted," Mariko made a comical face, "a crystal vase!" Her tone then took a humorous slant, "But never forget that Shiro is the best present you can ever have!"
"I'll be so glad when all this is over and we can just get back to school. Everything is so complicated right now. Between Shiro's family being overdramatic about everything and the stupid nightmares that have been keeping me up, you guys will have to have me committed."
"Nightmares? What nightmares?" Mariko's sharp mind grabbed onto her words and she looked at her suspiciously. "Are you feeling all right, Kagome?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. I've know you a bit too long to buy that load of bull." Mariko spoke in her usual blunt manner, not disturbed by Mrs. Higurashi's presence in the least. "Are you really okay or is this just a bad case of cold feet?" She crossed her arm and quirked an eyebrow, issuing a challenge.
"I'm not having cold feet. I've just haven't been sleeping well lately." Kagome rolled her eyes, trying to convince Mariko that she was being ridiculous.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"There's nothing to tell." Mariko was really to smart for her own good. "Stop worrying." Kagome picked up another present and shook it. "I promise I'll go to bed early tonight and get a good night sleep."
Mariko scowled at her, not believing her for one moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The angel Tathan, spouse of Innis, kept a watchful eye focused directly upon his mate. She stood at the edge of the angel's mountain, staring into the heavy mist, as though she could change things by the force of her will. For days, she had stood and sulked, careful to avoid the other angels, fearful they would blame her for the girl's departure.
Words of the girl's exit from this era were whispered from mind to mind, and the hope they held tightly to their hearts was dissipating and hovering in the air. The truth was that soon they would die out, and their blood, their legacy would die with them. Some looked to Innis for comfort and reassurance that there had to be some mistake, but she only regarded them with murky gray eyes and spoke no words.
Tathan watched her pull her wings to her body as she shivered, "This will not do," he whispered to himself. He walked away and left her to her own musings.
He walked around the white trees and thought of the prophecies, the ones that predicted that Innis and he would be the parents of the chosen child. The air was cold, and even though he was immune to such trivial matters as the weather, something frigid was gnawing at his bones. He lifted his hand and waved his wrist lightly in the cold air, a set of golden words appearing in the emptiness as his palm swept past it. The prophecies.
The words emitted warmth as they engraved themselves in the air. Tathan looked up at them and examined them even though he could have recited them by heart. He squinted his eyes in concentration, looking for something he knew was not there. The aged words proclaimed what they always had; that he and Innis would give birth to the child that would unite the three races and that Innis would be the messenger to the human girl with the same calling.
He accepted long ago that he and Innis were designed for one another, their minds being inextricably linked since childhood. He could still remember her messy dark hair, wide eyes, and dimpled smile from childhood. He had fought his feelings for her, determined that he would not settle for any of his kindred that he did not love, disliking the fact that it had been decided ages before his birth that he would marry her. But the truth was that he did love her. Always had.
He remembered his mother's pride the day he stated his intent to unite with Innis and the warning she gave him just a breath later. She had told him that he too played a role in the future of the race, a role greater than merely being the mate of the messenger or the father of the child.
"Never forget that, my son, or we may find ourselves facing extinction," she told him, cupping his cheek.
Tathan never forgot, but her words confused him and he became comfortable in the knowledge that Innis was the messenger and that he was not. However, it never escaped his attention that he was bound to the hanyou in the same way Innis was connected to the girl. He may have sealed the knowledge to his own mind, keeping it from his intended mate, but he never forgot it. He loved her so greatly that he kept the knowledge secret so she would not be distracted from her own calling.
Even now, he could sense the hanyou's heart sickness and it troubled him. Sure the son of demon and son of man had plenty of troubles in his life, but this was different. The pain exuding from the hanyou's soul was sharp, but there was a nauseating acceptance of it. Clearly, the hanyou felt like he wholly deserved it and gave up all hope of the girl ever returning. The girl filled the half-demon, the same way Innis did him, but now the girl was gone.
Tathan frowned and swatted the words out of the air, the warmth and light disappearing, "No, this will not do at all." He turned and walked towards his dwelling, a cave just a short distance away.
He entered into the darkness and walked through the blackness gracefully. He placed his hands together and a bit of light emanated from his fingers. He slowed his footsteps once he came to the place of his sleeping son.
His small face was burrowed into his arms, his cheeks flushed from sleep. His son was exquisite, inheriting Tathan's brown curls and Innis's eyes, a perfect blend of the two of them.
Tathan smiled softly at his son, a pride welling from within, "I know you've tried to reach the girl on your own, my son, but you're too young to reach your full potential." He placed his hands on either side of his son's head, "Let me help you."
The boy's eyes snapped open and then darkened.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kagome sat on her bed, blankets wrapped around her legs and her head resting against the headboard. She wanted to sleep, but sleep these days was not restful.
The nightmares.
They came every night. Some she was positive came from her inner worries, her own mind playing with her fears and second guessing her choices. But the dream of Innis's son was different. The boy had reached out for her, through time, and held Inuyasha's soul in the palm on his hand.
And now, now she knew the extent of Inuyasha's pain. If ever there was something Kagome did not want to do, it would be inflicting pain on Inuyasha. She tried for so long to wipe away all his pain and now she was the one giving it to him, but the position she had been placed in was not fair. She wanted to be accepted into graduate school, be a college professor, get married, and be a mother.
She wondered what the boy's aim was in showing her Inuyasha's soul and confirming that he was the angel that had been appearing to her for years. Probably trying to guilt her into coming back no doubt, but the angels seemed to be above such tactics.
She leaned further into the headboard and sighed, but suddenly her room began to act rather peculiarly. Everything began to twist and spin around her, and she gripped her bed sheets. The room became gray and cloudy, and Kagome braved a glance up, fearful of what was happening.
A man stood in front of her, the same outline she had seen in her dreams for years, but now there was no darkness. He was tall and his wings were of a pure ivory. Light seemed to hover around him and regarded her with a sympathetic smile and tender gray eyes.
"Hello, Kagome," he smiled.
Kagome tried to back up, but there was no space, no place to go. Even her bed had disappeared, but she still wore her cotton pajama pants and shirt.
"Please don't be scared. I just wanted you to see me as I truly am." He held out a hand to her and lifted her up.
"Innis's son."
The angel nodded, "Yes. I've been visiting you like this for years." He smiled, "Trying to talk to you in your dreams."
"But you never said a word. All I ever saw was your figure. You were black and everything was dark." Kagome clutched her chest, conjuring up old fears. "Why? Why did you have to scare me?" she cried.
He looked remorseful, "That was never my intention. I was reaching out to you, but I'm still young. I didn't have the power to do much else."
"But you're here now!"
"My father is aiding me." He opened his hand and extended it to her, smiling down at her in reassurance, "There is so much I need to tell you."
Kagome looked at him doubtfully, extending her hand slowly, then hesitating, and finally placing her trembling hand inside his strong one.
"Kagome," he spoke softly, "do you know why I showed you Inuyasha's soul?"
She shook her head side to side, numbly.
"I wanted to show you his heart. You needed to know where his affections lie, but I couldn't show it to you properly, but I know his and your heart as intimately as I know my own. As intimately as I will know your daughter's heart."
"How? How do you know so much?" Kagome frowned, her voice wavering.
"Through my father and mother I have come to know the two of you. Mother is bound to you, and Father is bound to Inuyasha, but within me is the power to dig deeper. My own heart is reaching out for the child you will bear, but she is yet to be born. Thus, my heart stretches to the two of you."
"I haven't agreed to anything," she said hotly. He presumed so much.
He smiled regretfully, "You have a sight greater that most mikos, but you cannot see what is right in front of you." He brought his hand up to her cheek, "Such a fiery spirit you have."
"My life is here in the modern era. I have things I care about, people I love."
"Kagome." He said her voice in such a clear concerned voice that she felt compelled to bring her own hand up to the one he rested on her face.
"What?"
There was a smile in his eyes, "Let me show you something."
The air around them ignited and flashes of color surrounded her. Once the burst of energy subsided, the angel stood before her cradling a soft light in his hands. The light kept flickering and it seemed dim. It was a sphere of amber color and it twisted slowly in his hands.
Kagome stepped backwards and cocked her head in confusion, "What is that?"
The angel looked down at the light, remorseful and pitying its pale color.
She stepped forward and stuck one finger out as if to touch it, but the light brightened suddenly and pulsed violently. A joyful, leaping pulse. She withdrew her hand but encouraged by its palpitations she touched one finger to the sphere's surface. The color brightened and then cooled a bit at her touch. It calmed and seemed content.
Something brutal struck her as her finger skimmed the light's surface. Kagome pulled her finger back quickly, fearful of her sudden revelation.
"Inuyasha?" she said heavily.
"Not quite," the angel spoke. "It's his spirit, his heart."
Kagome shut her eyes and felt her miko powers expand, opening up and channeling itself in a way that had not been done since the final battle with Naraku. She could feel the rhythms of the light, its subtle signature.
She looked up and tears shone in her eyes, "He's hurting."
"But you already knew this."
"I know," she paused thinking for a moment. "But I could touch it this time. It felt like it came from me."
"As it always does when two hearts are paired." He looked at her somberly, "But what you need to see is not done. I apologize for what I am about to do. It will hurt."
Kagome felt a force from within her stir. It was as though it were being suctioned from her chest. She could hear a scream, or more precisely an echo of a scream, but the pain was too intense to recognize it as her own. Just as quickly, the pain abated and she looked to see another sphere of light, a soft indigo shade hovering outside of her body.
She watched it quiver towards the amber light and then spin around it for one moment. The spheres revolved slowly around one another, twisting and occasionally touching one another's exterior. Kagome felt empty watching it, aware that it was her own spirit dancing in front of her. In an instant, the spheres melded together, slowly melting into one another.
Once the two spheres blended together, nothing existed outside of the spheres. All Kagome could see was the light; not even the angel was present. The two lights became one, emitting a single beat.
And then she understood.
She could see Inuyasha's spirit as clearly as her own, and it all made perfect sense. Inuyasha loved Kikyo and still did, but now things had changed. His love for her was present, but it was a memory, something stored away and cherished. But the intensity of his emotion and the portion of his heart reserved for her was nearly suffocating.
The startling part was that her spirit resonated the same sensation.
The spheres separated and one disappeared while the other returned to Kagome's chest, beating wildly. Her hand touched the place where the spirit reentered as though she were trying to experience the emotions again. Everything she ever felt for Inuyasha bubbled up, free from all the binds she had placed on them.
Kagome opened her eyes. Her surroundings were gray again and the angel was near her, studying her.
"You consume him."
She tried to nod but the full extent of what she had felt seized her, and she began to quiver, her lips trembling fiercely. Tears fell and the angel put his strong arms around her back, pressing her to him. Kagome buried her face into his chest, letting him comfort her.
He pulled her away and held her at arms length, "Do you understand now? Inuyasha loved Kikyo, but his world was small then. You were the one that opened him, made him see things differently." He looked her directly in the eye, staring directly into her, "You taught him what it meant to love. Don't you see, Kagome? You showed him how."
"But what about my life here?" Kagome swung her arm to the side like the gray haze was still her bedroom. "What about Shiro? I'm supposed to be getting married in three days."
"You are exceptionally powerful even for a miko. Did my Mother not explain to you that you can travel through the well at your own will?"
She shook her head in remembrance, looking puzzled, "I can come and go through time as I please?"
"It does not work quite like that, but if there is a real need for you to travel to your own time then you'll have the capability. You'll know when the time is appropriate."
"And what about Shiro? I have feelings for him."
"I can feel the care you have for him, but it is not the same as your feelings for Inuyasha."
Kagome bit her lip, "What am I supposed to do?" Forgetting all the moments she and Shiro shared would not be easy. He reached into a part of her that few people had since she left the feudal era. "I don't want to hurt him."
"There is one close to you that will heal his heart. One that already is overflowing with care for him."
Kagome frowned, "But who?"
He laughed, "You are such a child, Kagome. Those matters will take care of themselves. Do not worry about Shiro. I promise you he shall be fine."
Kagome narrowed her eyes and angled her head, amazed at how quickly everything that seemed so complicated straightened itself out, "And it's all that simple?" It was all dizzying, almost impossible to believe that she and Inuyasha could be together.
"Your hearts are compatible. You are his fit. It's that simple."
Her lips stretched into a slow smile, "Thank you." She touched his hand, wrapping her fingers around his, squeezing them delicately.
He wrapped his hands around her fingers and gave her a boyish grin, "I must leave you now, but we will meet again."
"When?"
"In time, Kagome, in time." He form became thinner and thinner until he was no longer there, and the grayness dispersed. Kagome found herself back on her bed.
Kagome jumped up, seized by an electric energy. She threw open the door of her bedroom and ran downstairs, "Mom, we need to talk!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Inuyasha lifted his head from the tree branch. He clutched his chest, breathing heavy gulping bursts of air. Something had been ripped from inside of him and it burned with an acidic fury. But then, it stopped and he could feel such peace as something merged with it. Something soft and magnificent, something with incredible familiarity.
"Kagome?"
For a split second, he could feel her and thought he could reach out to find her reaching back, but then he was slammed with a returning force. She was out of his reach, but that did not stop the shaking hand from stretching out into the darkness and her name from being screamed into the twilight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That chapter was a long time in coming. Sorry everyone for the long wait, but it's the end of the semester and crunch time. Plus, this story has a will of its own and all of the things I think are going to end up on paper just don't seem to fit. The angels' tale keeps popping up out of nowhere and demands to be written. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story because it you aren't then this is all pointless. And if you do not mind review because I always read them for encouragement while I write and as always thank you to all of my amazing reviewers.