A/N: By the way, I'll be using the word 'shoujo' in this chapter, which means 'daughter'..... Just FYI.
........................................................................................
A ray of sunlight flooded through the partially open door, shining in his eyes. He sat up and looked around him. What a beautiful day! And she made it even more beautiful. They both did. He smiled and stood up, walking to the door, and going outside. He took a deep breath and watched the birds sitting on the ground in front of him. He took one last glance back at her, and then walked out into the forest surrounding his home.
It had been a while since he had gone for a walk just for the sake of it. Having a family had definitely taken a lot of his time. And now his second child was on it's way. Things would definitely get busier. But things had been so peaceful lately, a change in his life he never thought would happen. He was grateful that he had been able to move on in his life, from all the fighting he had to do when he was young. Grateful for all the peace that he now enjoyed. If only he and his family could stay this happy forever.
He walked down to a stream that flowed not far from where he lived, gazing at the newly dampened grass, filled with dew. He was admiring the flowers that had just bloomed, when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He looked down at the arrow protruding from his body. He then looked up a small hill at the Buddhist priest that had shot at him.
"Stay back youkai!" He shouted.
He looked at the priest in confusion. He hadn't done anything to harm him, and he definitely did not have the appearance of a youkai.
"We guard sacred scrolls of prophecy, you must not interfere!" He shouted again.
Scrolls of Prophecy? What was this priest talking about? Why would he interfere? He didn't care about any stupid scrolls....
"Stay back or I'll kill you!" the priest continued.
Looking at the priest, he spoke angrily.
"Why would I want any scrolls? I want nothing to do with you or what you carry!"
"That may be, but how would I know? You are a youkai, yes? Youkai cannot be trusted."
He rolled his eyes. Great. Another Youkai-hating Buddhist priest.
"I am not a youkai!" he shouted angrily. "I never have been."
"No? Well maybe you aren't. But you do submit a strong youkai aura, which means if you are not youkai, you are a hanyou."
He could have protested this, but it was true. He was indeed, a hanyou.
"Just go on your way, I want nothing to do with your scrolls." he said firmly.
As the priest went to slowly back away, believing him, another priest rushed up to him. He whispered in his ear.
"We must kill him, whether man or beast, whether he wants the scrolls or not. He cannot know of their existence!"
The first priest looked at the second in confusion.
"But Shishou!" The first priest protested, "He doesn't want them, we cannot kill an innocent person. By the laws of Budd-"
"We must and we will. You will, or I will."
"I cannot."
The second priest grabbed an arrow, and pulled out his bow. Just before he shot it, he shouted.
"Die YOUKAI!"
The arrow flew, hitting him in the side. The priest pulled another arrow.
"Shishou!"
The second priest ignored his student's plea's. His bow was set, aimed at the hanyou's heart. The arrow flew, but it never reached it's target. The first priest jumped in the way of his master's arrow, shielding the hanyou.
"Baka." The master exclaimed as his student fell to the ground, an arrow lodged dangerously near his heart. A fatal wound.
The hanyou looked from the priest who had saved his life, to the other that had claimed his life. He would not get away with this.
The priest re-loaded his bow, and pointed it again, at the hanyou. This time, he would not succeed.
Just as the arrow flew, he watched the hanyou move out of the way, and run at an incomprehensible speed towards him, striking him down. The bleeding priest looked up at the hanyou.
"You cursed demon! You will pay someday for your crimes against servants of Buddha!"
He looked at him with eyes full of anger.
"After I had a family, I never wanted to kill again, wishing that I could forever live in peace with them. That is why I live here, in the center of a forest. I was trying to avoid the likes of you."
With his last breath, the priest spat at the hanyou, then fell to the ground, never to wake again.
Looking down at his own wounds, he heart a noise behind him. Turning, he saw the first priest, lying on the ground, fading quickly.
"You- you must take the scrolls. P-protect them from evil hands."
He walked over to the priest.
"Thank you for saving my life."
"P-protect the s-scrolls."
"I will." he promised. If this was what the man who saved him wanted in return, then he would do it. "For the rest of my days."
The priest let out a relieved sigh, and fell asleep.
This was not what today was supposed to be like....
He pulled the arrows out of himself, and walked up to the Scrolls he promised to protect. He wondered what had been so important about these, that they had been willing to die to protect them.
He pulled out the first scroll, and read it carefully. His eyes went wide.
One will rise, her power great
The magic she protects, can inspire much hate
She must never leave the power she guards
The power that someday will be scattered in shards
Deceit will fill the minds of all
Because of the power inside this ball
Great shall die, evil shall win
The true journey shall now begin
When the great one dies, the power she takes-
But again someday the power will wake
From the Great ones ashes the power rises
Her reincarnation has many surprises
The clue to who, is in this sign:
It is one who is not from this time
The distance she will travel here
Is not by mile, but by year
Great evil this one too will face
Against time she will have to race
She must complete the ball in time-
Or else this one is sure to die
He re-read the scroll trying to understand what is was saying. Okay, a ball of great power..... That must be the Shikon no Tama, and Kikyo was the guardian of that, which meant Kikyo was going to die, taking the ball with her. But it said that someday the ball would return in Kikyo's reincarnation? But it took hundreds of years for that to happen, which meant it would be past their time right? Unless....
The distance she will travel here
Is not by mile, but by year
That could only mean.... The well!
He didn't like how things were adding up. It was starting to scare him. The only person he could possibly think of that was from a different time, had the face of Kikyo, and had potentially great power was.....
"Kagome-shoujo!"
But the reason she had Kikyo's face was not that she was her reincarnation right? Kikyo was still alive. There had to be a perfectly simple explanation. But he didn't want to take that chance. He made up his mind as he ran the last lines through his head.
She must complete the ball in time-
Or else this one is sure to die
He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't. He had to protect his family. That was his first priority. Tonight, no matter how badly it hurt, he would have to send his family home. He would have to send his baby daughter away from almost certain death. Even if that meant never seeing her, her mother, or his unborn child again. He wouldn't let them die. Not like his father had let his family die when he was small. He had known they were in danger, and yet he let them die. Luckily he himself, though he had only been a small child, had escaped the hands of death. But it had left him with a scar that had never gone away. He couldn't bear to watch anyone else he loved die. Kagome couldn't get hurt here, if she wasn't in this time. True she had traveled years, and years back in time, but he would fix that soon.
"They deserve a better life." He told himself.
He picked up the scrolls, and walked over to the stream. He cleaned his wounds, and stared off into the distance. Tonight he would lose his family. His everything. His reason to live, his reason to breathe. He would send them back through time, and then he would have to stay behind to seal the well, so that Kagome could never get through. Tears began to fall down his cheeks. If only he could go with them, if only he could seal the well from the other side....
He stayed by the bank most of the day, trying desperately to think of any other way to protect his family. The breeze blew his long black hair across his face, and he pulled it up into a high ponytail, like he always used to do.
Finally, as the sun reached it's climax, and would start going down from there, he stood up, and headed home. He was extremely somber, and he tried hard to show no sign of emotion.
When he reached the door, Kagome ran up to him, and wrapped her arms around his legs.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed happily. It was one of the three words she knew. Daddy, Mommy, and Hungry.
He patted her on the head and walked over to the opposite corner of the room. There he picked gathered up some of their belongings, and put it into a backpack they had brought from the future. Mrs. Higurashi walked in and saw her husband, bloodied and dirty, packing their things.
"What happened to you? What are you doing? Are you alright?" She was extremely concerned for her husband.
He did not answer her.
"Hiroshi, answer me. What happened?" She asked kindly. A kindness he had never known before he met her.
He stood up and took her in his arms, embracing her tightly, but carefully. He couldn't find his voice for some reason, and so he could not answer her. He only looked into her eyes, so full of love, and longed to keep her right there with him forever.
"Hiroshi......" She whispered softly, brushing the hanging strands of hair out of his face.
She looked into his eyes, and he held her gaze. For an instant the world came to a stand still. There was a tug on the end of her skirt, and Mrs. Higurashi looked down at her daughter.
"Hungry, Mommy."
"I know Kagome. I'm hurrying."
She walked over to a pot hanging over the fire, and dished up some rice for her daughter.
"Careful it's hot."
Kagome tried to blow on her food, resulting in a sort of spitting sound, and rice flying everywhere. Mrs. Higurashi turned to go clean it up, when Hiroshi grabbed her arm. He shook his head.
"Hiroshi, what's wrong?"
He led her over to the wall, where he sat down, propping himself up against it. He motioned for her to sit down next to him. When she did, he pulled her close to him, and wrapped her in his arms. He drank in her scent, her warmth, her touch. He placed his hand on her abdomen, feeling the kick of the child within her. He wondered whether it was his daughter, or his son. Something he would always wonder.
"Isn't it wonderful?" she asked him, "It's amazing isn't it? Our little family."
All he could bring himself to say was yes, before a tear fell from his eye.
He stood up and finished packing the things that belonged in the future, and then picked up his little girl. He ran his fingers through her hair lovingly, and held her close to him.
"Follow me." he said turning to his wife.
She looked at him confused, but she followed. He led her through the forest, down many long pathways. The sun was fading quickly, and Kagome had fallen asleep in her father's arms. No one said anything on the way there, but Hiroshi took his wife's hand, and didn't let go. Finally, they reached a clearing, and the well came into view. The last time they had come here, was when she was pregnant with Kagome, and there were complications they needed to see a doctor for. It had been so long.
"Hiroshi, why are we here?"
"I want you to see a doctor."
"There is nothing wrong with the baby, I don't-"
"Promise me." He said seriously. "I don't want anything to happen to you or my children. Promise me."
"Alright," she said, "we'll go see a doctor."
Hiroshi looked away.
"You are coming aren't you?"
He gently placed the sleeping Kagome in her arms, and kissed her head lightly.
He then reached for his wife, and once again wrapped her in his arms. He looked her in the eyes, and then kissed her with everything he had.
"Don't come back here again."
She pulled away from him.
"What!?! Hiroshi, I can't-"
He looked at her pleadingly, and then gently, he pushed into the well.
She threw him a terrified, hurt, and confused look, and as she fell, he spoke his last words to her.
"Forgive me."
...............................................................................................................
A/N: Okay, there's chapter eleven. I'm sorry, and I know it is short, but it took a lot of time. This chapter is where I had to make some final decisions. For those of you who had questions about Hiroshi Higurashi, there you have the main who, why, where, and how. Yes there are still some things yet to be revealed, but you are privileged even above Mrs. Higurashi with this information. That's right, now you remember she still doesn't know. In fact, no one does, except one other. Yep you're right there too.... but you'll just have to wait to see for sure. And what ever happened to those scrolls? Hmm...... You'll just have to wait and see....... And yes, you'll find out what's happening with Kagome next chapter, and you'll get to hear from Inuyasha again, so don't be mad at me, I fully intend to fill you in...... Eventually. (evil laugh)
Thanks for the reviews!! I love them!!! You guys are so good to me! THANK YOU!!!
And I'd love to keep chatting with you, but if I don't continue on and start writing the next chapter, I'm sure some of you will hurt me.......
CYA!