Kagome's trembling hand went up to her face, covering her openly shocked mouth as she stared down at him. Suddenly, time sped up again and she burst into action, jumping into his arms as she screamed out for the world to hear. "Yes! Yes!"
He twirled her around, laughing with her as his and her family applauded. Clay Brice was the happiest man alive. Kagome had just agreed to be his wife.
Since their meeting he had lived in Japan for nearly three years, waiting out until her mother had trusted him enough with her daughter so that he could take her to America. They had flown to his home and she stayed with him for another three years, getting to know one another and each other's family.
They had never even kissed.
He didn't court her.
It didn't seem to matter to them, they were happy being around each other just as they were. It was one of the very unique and special things about Kagome that made him love her even more; her acceptance of him and how he did things.
Sometimes he wondered if she had some sort of magical knowledge about him. She seemed to know how he liked things done before he mentioned it. Other times, he felt the tables were turned and it was he doing things for her.
Neither of them questioned it. Happiness comes so rarely and they were not about to argue the gift they had been blessed.
But today, after the engagement celebration, Kagome had told him that there was something they needed to talk about. It sounded serious. She was rarely serious. center/center
He found her sitting in her bedroom, looking out at the sunset with a wistful smile. How beautiful she was to him, he would never be able to express. He gently knocked on the door frame. "Kagome? You said we needed to talk?"
She jumped a little, surprised by his arrival, but smiled at him and nodded, gesturing to the bed for him to sit with her. He did and she sighed, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Um… Clay, there's something I need to tell you. Something I haven't told anyone before but it's something I think you need to know about me."
He nodded, waiting for her to continue and she sighed, biting her lip a little. Why was it so hard to tell him this? Because he might leave you, Kagome, that's why. She frowned a little and shook her head. No. Be brave.
"Well. You know where I live. When I was fifteen something unusual happened. I was on my way to school and my brother Sota called to me, telling me that the cat was in the well-house. It held a dried up abandoned well in it, and he was nervous and afraid to go in there. I was rather reckless in those days so instead of thinking about it I went in, calling for Buyo. I can't remember if I saw the cat anymore. The next thing I know there was a mysterious blue aura coming from the well and then a centipede youkai was on me, mumbling something about a jewel. I fought, of course, but my struggling was no good and eventually the youkai had me within its grasps, taking me into the well."
She smiled a little and turned to look outside again, watching the sun. "The well was a time portal. Next I knew we were outside somewhere, near the well but in a place that was not familiar to me. The youkai lost its grip and tore the side of my flesh out. From my wound fell a pink bauble that would completely alter and determine my future. I later learned that this was called the Shikon no Tama, The Jewel of Four Souls. Unfortunately, the youkai continued to attack me and I ran, coming across a boy pinned to a tree. A boy in a red haori with dog ears atop his head, in a permanent slumber."
Clay fidgeted a little and shifted on the bed, still listening but looking a little nervous. He didn't say anything so she continued. "There was an arrow pinning him to the tree, and I could see the magical aura surrounding he and it, binding them forever. I was so scared. I pulled the arrow from within his chest and it disappeared into nothing as my fingers caressed it. He woke, and there was where my adventures with the hanyou InuYasha, a half human and half inu youkai boy began."
"In a foolish movement I shattered the shikon. Fragments of the jewel rained everywhere and eventually they moved so far to the ends of Japan that we had to search high and low for them. During this time we had competition from another hanyou, Naraku. A man who was born into the life of thievery only to wish himself to be full demon so he could possess a woman that would never be his, Kikyo; a priestess of the highest esteem. She was both beautiful and skilled, and many sought her services. Unfortunately for the thief she was already being courted by the young InuYasha. So the thief sold his soul to the demons and in exchange he created a hell-on-earth for anyone he felt amusing enough to do so."
"Time passed and we traveled. InuYasha and I grew very close. I loved him very much and he loved me, but we were never more than friends. We met Miroku, a funny but perverted monk who was cursed by Naraku. We met Sango, a beautiful and strong demon slayer whose entire clan was destroyed by Naraku. And little Shippo, a fox kit who's family was killed before he could do more than protect himself. They all touched my life in such a way that I could never forget them so much."
"However, one day we came across a man. The man was attacked by a youkai and died, leaving no apprentice to his cause. His cause was the separation of Youkai and Human societies. By then, nobody was there to pass on his ideas." She sighed and lowered her gaze, staring at her hands in her lap. "That night I returned home, through the well and through time, only to find that time had been altered. In this odd time difference Youkai still lived but they were slaves to humans, bound to them through subduing spells." Clay shivered slightly and shook his head.
"That sounds horrible." Kagome nodded, a tear escaping her eyes.
"While I was there, the woman that was my mother bought me a youkai. I could choose any one I wanted but when I found this particular one I knew there could be no other choice. I knew him. He was InuYasha's older half-brother and the lord of the western province. I knew so little else about him. Only that he was there and that he was the only solid figure in the growing madness around me. So I clung to him."
She bit her lip again and her hands clenched tighter, whitening her knuckles. "But he did not push me away. He held me in return, in his own way. When he learned of whom I was and where I was from he sought out to right the wrongs that had been; even if it meant destroying everything; his future, the youkai existence, our love, everything for the sake of the truth." A sob raced from her throat and Kagome could not help herself but cover her mouth with her hand, unable to stop it.
"I did love him! I loved him so much!" Clay reached for her, trying to wrap his arms around her and comfort her but she held up her hand and shook her head. "When the time came I left, the well was already half full. It had taken me a while to figure out that was the sign that that time period was no longer available to me. You cannot fall into a pool of water the way you do into an empty pit."
She sighed and looked even more broken, if at all possible. "It came time to face Naraku. We were all there. Even he was there. But none of it changed anything. My fury that was what had done it. I had learned that I was pregnant." Clay's blue eyes widened at this information and he looked completely shocked. "Their gross comments about my pregnancy and my child upset me, but that was not what infuriated me. It was the idea that I would have to give it up for them. My child, the only memory of my lost love, would have to be sacrificed. I would have nothing left of them for the sake of the future."
"I rescued everyone's future but my own. I defeated Naraku and made my wish upon the jewel. A wish that would have Naraku born as a youkai instead of a thief, so that he would be at peace with himself enough to live his life without the need for the shikon. And a wish that would have the priestess Kikyo never to find the jewel… so that I, too, would never receive it and time could not repeat." Her breathing shuddered and she leaned over, laying her head against his shoulder. He reached up and ran a hand over her hair.
"When I came back I had nothing but my family and this time. Then you found me. Sitting on that bench, crying my heart out for my pity, and you saved me. You rescued me." She smiled at him and he smiled back.
She looked about to say something and he silenced her with and shake of his head. "Kagome. I understand." She inhaled sharply, surprised. He didn't think she was crazy? He laughed a little. "Honey, we know you're crazy. Stop questioning it. What I mean is, I understand. When I was a boy I had dreams. My mother said they were very detailed and that often I would wake up screaming. I still have them sometimes but I never remember them as much."
He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and burying his head into her hair. "In those dreams I lost people I loved very much. I felt that I was very powerful and should be able to stop it, but I never could." He stood, walking out of the room only to return with a small sketchbook. "As I got older and the dreams progressed into more visual detail I practiced drawing what I saw so that I could remember better. I had never really looked at them until I met you, back in Japan, and the images came back."
Opening the book he smiled as he flipped through a few pages before turning one towards Kagome for her to see. "Oh my god." She couldn't say any more, too in shock from what she saw. There on the left side was her face, slightly different, mostly younger and a little bit more angry than normal but it was her. On the right was Sesshomaru. Not the lord of the west, no, this was him… the man she had loved so passionately there within the well-house.
Her body shook with sobs and she began to fall but Clay threw the book aside and pulled her to him, whispering to her nothing in particular. "Kagome. I might not remember but I never forgot."
She couldn't stop crying. He sighed and shook his head. "Silly woman! Don't you ever give up?" She looked at him curious, tears still streaming down her face, and he sighed. Leaning down he reached his hand around the back of her head and pulled her up to him, kissing her.
Kagome felt her soul cry out in joy. This kiss… it was so familiar. Gentle and giving but requesting; Sesshomaru! It really was him! Her arms wrapped around him and she returned this kiss, passionate and hard.
He had kept his promise to her.
