Author's Notes: Okay, a few things I need to explain because a lot of people got lost in the last two chapters. First, Amaterasu sent Inuyasha into the past looking like a child, not that he had actually aged younger. Cause think about it, a grown up Inuyasha demanding things from a little Kagome would scare her more than a hanyou her own age. That's why all this thoughts were still his own grown up self. Second, when he came back, Amaterasu said he would return at the same time, BUT something interrupted that process and because of it he emerged a whole 10 years later. Everyone caught up? Good.
Lastly, I wrote in a comment about Kouga-kun but I made Kagome say it and since she's been crystallized, she wouldn't actually know. Sorry! I went back and edited so Miroku was the one who said it:
(((Miroku sighed and thought aloud. "I wonder if I should tell him about Kouga."
Kagome frowned and turned to the monk. "Eh?"
Shaking his head, Miroku began leaving the temple. "No, that's a problem for another day.")))
Now, on with the epic saga!
Memories Lost in the Sea of TimeEveryone met in the biggest hut in the camp. Up until now Sango and her son Kohaku had been protecting the villagers who ran for their lives from Yamatsu's tyranny. Without sufficient manpower, going up against the demon overlord was suicide.
Miroku and Inuyasha went through the painful process of explaining what Inuyasha had gone through, Kagome adding in a word here and there where appropriate.
Sango blinked and laid back against the hut's wall. "Well, it's hard to believe, but Inuyasha has never been one to lie."
"Damn right!" The hanyou exclaimed, angry over the fact that everyone was mad at him, but glad that they understood now also.
Rolling her eyes, Sango looked at the boastful half breed. "I accept it mainly because it's Yamatsu and above all else, he has Naraku's blood running through his veins. There's no telling what that creature is capable of."
Kohaku bolted to his feet, getting a strange look from everyone present. "How the hell can you take his words so frivolously? He leaves us to fight this monster to go off and do gods-know-what and the second he returns with this wild tale, you all accept him back into your arms! Well not me!" He turned and left the hut.
Sango sighed and looked towards Kagome. "Growing up like this hasn't been easy on any of us."
Miroku folded his hands into his sleeves. "But now with Inuyasha and Kagome-sama back, we can renew our battle against him."
Inuyasha slowly got to his feet, making Kagome look up in surprise. "Inuyasha?"
"I'm going after him." The hanyou said without looking back as he disappeared outside.
Shiori stood up too and smiled. "I'm gonna go hunt us some dinner. Come on, Kirara. You can come with me." The fire cat meowed and then she too left.
Kagome wanted to stop them, but turned to her two friends. "Anou, Miroku-sama, you said something about Kouga-kun earlier. What did you mean by it?"
The monk took a deep breath before opening his eyes and explaining. "You could say Kouga was more than upset when he found out Inuyasha had left you in the state that you were in, and the fact that he allowed it to happen anyway."
"But I made that choice." Kagome replied.
"He knew that." Sango cut in. "We explained that to him, but you know his temper. It's almost as bad as Inuyasha's."
"Anyway, as soon as he caught word where Yamatsu's army was, he lead his pack and started hit and run attacks." Miroku continued. "He's been slowly depleting Yamatsu's army where he can, but it's not enough. His children have aided our cause as well, thankfully none have fallen under Yamatsu's blade as of late."
"Then that wolf that Kohaku-kun was riding on?" The priestess asked.
Sango nodded. "Is Kouga's son: Kurai" (Kurai dark, without light)
Kagome remembered how little the pups had been before. She'd lost so much time. "What of Shippo-chan and Yuuki?"
"Yuuki's older brother offered to take care of both and hide them in Inuyasha forest until things lightened up." Sango reported.
"Kagome-sama." Miroku said, getting the girl's attention. "We also wanted to thank you." Was he blushing?
"What for?"
"Well, your advice is what made it possible for us to have Kohaku." Miroku replied with a smile.
"Advice?" Eyes going wide, she remembered their conversation.
Coming into her hut, Miroku sat down on the floor. "Kagome-sama, please. At this point I think it's an insult to Sango if I don't give her a child."
Kagome smiled and waved away his concern. "Don't worry. I've thought about it and I've come up with an idea."
"Really? What is it?"
"Roleplaying." She said simply.
"Roll…playing?" Miroku asked. "You mean a different position where you roll on the ground? I don't see how that will…"
"No no no." Kagome laughed. "You see, Sango gets jealous when you flirt with other geisha girls right?"
Miroku winced at the memory of being hit by Hiraikotsu all those times. "Yeah…you could say that."
"Well, let her be the geisha."
Upon hearing this Miroku jumped to his feet. "Sango would never agree to that! Besides I would never ask such a thing from…"
"Miroku, would you sit down and let me explain before I grab Hiraikotsu and hit you upside the head myself?" This got him sitting down. "You don't do it for real. You pretend. She gets to be one of the girl's you're always going after and it makes things more fun for her. Either a geisha or perhaps what would be more fun for you guys would be, you're the steadfast monk and she's your little protégé priestess, willing to do anything to be by your side and train with you." Kagome had stars in her eyes by this point. "I could even ask Kaede to make you the perfect outfit for it too!"
Miroku sweatdropped. "That won't be necessary, but if it will give us a successor, I'll talk to Sango about it…"
Kagome smiled. That seemed so long ago, back when her children were still babies. "I'm glad I could help." She said before standing up.
"Kagome-chan, where are you going?" Sango asked.
"Oh don't worry. I just need some fresh air, stretch my muscles." She waved away their concern and left the hut.
Inuyasha found Kohaku sitting with his wolf on one of the hills overlooking the camp. He noticed the sickle and chain on Kohaku's waist. "So, you any good with that?"
Gasping, Kohaku spun around and immediately drew out his weapon. Kurai was on all fours next to his childhood friend, ready to protect him from anything. "Why do you want to know?" The boy asked.
Walking next to both with his arms behind his head casually, Inuyasha went to see the view of the glowing encampment himself. "Cause you've got some mighty big shoes to fill."
"Do I?" Kohaku replied, not relaxing a bit. All of the hardship he'd faced was because of this hanyou.
"Kohaku was a brave kid." Inuyasha thought back. "He had a strong heart."
"So what? You knew him?"
Turning to Miroku and Sango's son, Inuyasha nodded with a smile. "Glad to say I did." Then he flexed his claws, making the boy jump back, along with his wolf. "You ain't even half of what he was!"
"What!? I'll show you!" Running forward, Kohaku jumped on Kurai's back similar to how Sango jumped onto Kirara's back. This was definitely her son.
Inuyasha jumped to the side and had to raise his arms to block Kohaku's weapon as it came whirling towards his neck. "You don't like to play with your victims, do you?" His fire rat robe sufficiently blocked the attack.
Kohaku pulled the chain and threw it towards the ground, spraying Inuyasha's face with dirt – temporarily blinding him. "No way! Those who side with Yamatsu will fall by my hand!"
Inuyasha cursed as he tried to focus his vision. He almost didn't have enough time when Kurai came in and landed on his chest, ready to bit his head off. "You smell like Kouga, that mangy wolf! Don't tell me!" Kicking the beast off him, both beast and rider went flying but managed to land on their feet. "You're his son!?"
Kurai growled low and made ready to attack again, but waited for Kohaku's word.
Kohaku held his sickle tightly and glared at Inuyasha. "Stop acting so friendly when all this is your fault!" Running in, Kohaku released his weapon, but this time Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga. The rusty sword grew into the demon dog fang.
Silently thanking his lucky stars to have it back again, Inuyasha easily blocked the attack and when Kohaku came in, he expected to lower his shoulder and throw the boy over his body, but the kid surprised him.
Kohaku spun around and threw the chain end of his weapon. Inuyasha dodged it and behind him, Kurai caught the small ball end with his mouth and when both ran to the right, Inuyasha was tripped and came crashing to the ground.
Pulling his weapon back, both Kohaku and Kurai tensed up for any retaliation.
Instead, they started hearing laughter as Inuyasha got to his feet and sheathed his sword. "Not bad. These people might have a god protector after all."
Frowning, Kohaku realized that Inuyasha had just been testing him. Lowering his weapon, he glared at the hanyou. He still didn't like the demon, but he had to admit, he didn't sense anything evil from him – even when they were fighting. Which meant he wasn't fighting to kill. He was proving a point and Kohaku had fallen right into it, giving in to his anger rather than thinking with a clear head. Even if he had won the battle, he actually lost in the end.
Kurai looked at Kohaku and when the boy nodded, he snorted and returned to his post.
Kohaku sheathed his sickle and looked at Inuyasha. "My mother said that we had to wait around for you to return, or at least until Kagome-sama was freed from the crystal before going up against Yamatsu. I never liked being here, protecting the refugees, but after a while, as more came to us seeking shelter, I started feeling differently. Even if I wasn't attacking Yamatsu directly, I was making a difference." He sighed and looked at the half made shelters. "Sometimes I feel fighting is going to be the only way we'll ever truly be free."
Walking to his side, Inuyasha put his hands into his sleeves. "Unfortunately, power hungry demons like Yamatsu leave us little choice. But don't worry." He looked down and met the brown eyes that so reminded him of his predecessor. "We'll surely win and kick Yamatsu's ass all the way back to hell, where he belongs."
Looking up at the figure that had provided his mother and so many others with hope, Kohaku was beginning to feel it himself. "Right!" He said with a smile. "I'm with ya!"
"You had better be. We could use you." Inuyasha winked and turned to the nearby forest. What is she doing all the way out there? "See ya later kid. I gotta go." Horror flashed across Kohaku's features, but Inuyasha ruffled up his hair. "Don't worry. I'll be back."
As soon as the hanyou was gone, Kurai came up to Kohaku's side. Do you really think we can trust him?
Taking a moment before replying, Kohaku nodded. "Yeah, I really think we can. Maybe this war is about over and then you and your brothers and sisters can return to your den." He smiled and Kurai nodded, accepting his answer. It had been a while since he'd seen any of his family, but he would stay by his friend's side, no matter what.
Kagome pulled her legs up to her chest and sighed sadly. She felt just like she had when she first came to this world. Like an outsider who had no place amongst the others. They had all fighting for their own cause and she was just tagging along.
Now though, the feelings came from having ten years taken away from her. Shaoran and Shiori had grown up without her, now mere strangers to her where she knew nothing of their personalities or what they had grown into.
Miroku and Sango looked older, after years of battling Yamatsu it was no wonder. But still, she wished she could've been there for him.
"Have you learned nothing from our battles with Naraku and Subaru not to go wondering off?"
Kagome scoffed as Inuyasha approached from behind. "I don't think any demon wants to mess with me right now." She said, her sorrow fueling a new anger within her.
"Ouch, does that mean you're gonna sit me?" Inuyasha asked, taking a seat besides her.
"You gonna give me a reason to?" That ended any probing and Inuyasha settled with just staying by her side. It was the least he could do after everything she'd done for him. (A/N: A little role reversal, ne?)
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She asked coldly.
"Nope." He replied calmly. "No where more than here."
His response caught her by surprise and she looked down at the floor sadly. "Sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you. It's because of you I'm not still a crystal inside some temple right now." She brought up the blue pendant and looked over at her hanyou. "How did you know it would save me though?"
Inuyasha smirked. "The goddess Amaterasu, the one who sent Sesshoumaru those visions, was the one who sent me."
"Oh." I guess that makes sense. If he had told me that when I was six, I wouldn't have believed him anyway.
Another moment of silence passed between the two before Inuyasha finally spoke up. "You know, after you awakened me by breaking Kikyou's sealing spell, I wasn't aware of how much time had passed." He started. "It wasn't until Kaede-baba told me of Kikyou's death that I really felt the years weighing me down."
Kagome gasped and turned to look at Inuyasha critically. How had he known what bothered her?
"My youkai blood… after it took control of me and I…" He paused. "Slaughtered all those bandits. You knelt by my side, tried to comfort me and I refused. But somehow you wouldn't let that stop you." A smile came to his face. "I never did thank you for being there for me when it seemed no one else would."
Kagome remembered those days too and right now, she actually wished she could return to that time. Things seemed so much easier back then. They would hunt after Naraku, Naraku would send them into traps - which they would always prevail through, and the cycle would continue. Now it seemed so much more complicated.
Without a word, Inuyasha wrapped one arm around Kagome and pulled her close. When she gasped and looked up at his face, she saw he was looking away nervously.
Smirking, she cuddled into his embrace more and let his warmth flow into her. Inuyasha…arigatou…
A few hours later when everyone, minus Kohaku who was still on guard duty, was eating dinner, they heard a shout come from outside.
"Mom! Dad come quick!"
Gasping, Miroku and Sango, followed by the rest, ran outside and saw Kohaku on Kurai, with a half unconscious human slung over Kurai's back. "What happened!?" Miroku asked as he and his wife pulled the wounded man off and laid him down on the ground.
The man had blood pooling out of the corner of his mouth and his chest was covered in so much blood, you couldn't tell where the wound was. "Kagome-sama…I bring word to Kagome-sama…" He whispered.
"I'm right here." Kagome grabbed the man's hand and gave it a squeeze.
The man turned his head, but it was clear he couldn't see her as he stared straight ahead instead. "Yamatsu…he told me to tell you that Shaoran has been captured."
Everyone gasped, but Inuyasha hissed. "What!?"
"He says that if you want…your son back alive, you will surrender yourself in exchange."
"Fat chance!" Inuyasha shouted. "Where is he!? I'm gonna kill him!"
"Inuyasha please!" Sango berated. "This man's barely alive as it is!"
Pulling out her pendant, Kagome held onto it with one hand and lowered another down onto the man's chest. "Lay still, I'll take care of this." A blue aura radiated from Kagome, and Inuyasha instantly recognized the feeling as O-Kuni-Nushi's influence.
Slowly, the man was covered in the same blue aura and his wounds healed up.
When the light died down, Kagome felt tired and started to fall over. "Kagome!" Inuyasha knelt down and caught her. "Where'd the hell did you learn to do that!?"
Without opening her eyes, Kagome gave a weak smile. "I've always know how…ever since you gave me this pendant."
Sango checked on the man and turned to her son. "He's just unconscious, but he'll be alright. Go into camp and find a place to him to stay."
"Right, come on Kurai." Kohaku jumped on the wolf's back and ran into town.
Inuyasha held Kagome tightly, and tried to fight his anger.
Shiori saw this and her brow furrowed in worry. "Daddy? What are we going to do?"
"We're going to get your brother back." Inuyasha ground. "And I'm gonna slaughter that monster once and for all."
Author's Notes: Does everything make more sense now? Those who are looking forward to my next chapter of ani-manga, I should have it done by the week's end. Also, I found a new web host, so I might even get my music videos up! Here's my website now: