A Midsummer Night's Dream
An Inuyasha Fanfic by SakuraWings
Disclaimer: Inuyasha, Kagome and everyone else belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
"What are you going to wish for?"
With the Shikon no Tama gently cupped in his rough hands, Inuyasha's amber gaze shifted to Kagome. The final battle against Naraku had been rough and perilous, but most of all, unexpected. Inuyasha's group had stumbled upon the unnatural hanyou suddenly, while they were investigating some unnatural activities reported by the villagers in a nearby town. Luckily for the group, Naraku had been in the process of "reorganizing" himself again, and had been caught off guard when Inuyasha had suddenly detected his scent.
It was far from being an easy battle. Even half deformed and weakened, Naraku had been a force to reckon with. It seemed as if he were omnipresent; knowing exactly when and where Inuyasha and Sango were at each moment, even while distracted with Miroku and Kagome. Even when he was outnumbered four to one, it still seemed as if he had the upper hand. However, it wasn't long before the distinctive miasma oozing from the fight scene had brought the likes of Kikyou, Sesshoumaru and Kouga upon the scene.
As much as he'd to admit it, Inuyasha knew that without the help of the others the battle would have ended much more tragically. But with their combined efforts, Naraku had finally been defeated. Sesshoumaru and Kouga were exhausted and pleased, each having fufilled their promise of revenge. Kohaku had bid a final goodbye to Sango, as his borrowed body finally collapsed on him and his soul had ascended to heaven, completely free of guilt. And Kikyou...
When the final blow had been dealt to Naraku, Inuyasha should have felt relief...he should have felt freed from the guilt that had haunted him for the past fifty years. Yet, when he laid his eyes on Kikyou, he felt even more chained down than before...
And he knew it was because of Kagome.
Kikyou, holding the completed Shikon no Tama in her cold hands, began to move towards him in such a graceful manner that it almost seemed as if she were gliding across the ground. Behind him, he could smell the frozen fear and dread that poured off of Kagome. He had clenched his fists tight, and opened his mouth to speak...but he froze at the look in Kikyou's eyes.
For as long as Inuyasha had known her, he had never seen her quite the way she was right now. Kikyou, being a priestess of many responsibilities in her lifetime, had always had a strained and melancholy look in her eyes, but now, Kikyou's eyes had relaxed and brightened, making her look remarkably similar to Kagome...
"I know what you are about to say," she said softly, for his ears only, "And I understand."
She took hold of his hand, placed the Shikon no Tama within his palm, and closed his fingers around it. "I trust you," she murmured.
With that, she turned and walked into the fading mist, with the intention of never being seen again.
It had been a battle of many losses...all for the fragile pink sphere that Inuyasha was now holding in his hands.
Inuyasha slowly began to take notice of the crowd of people forming behind him. Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kouga and even Sesshoumaru were silent in waiting for his answer. What was he to do with the Shikon jewel?
"Well?" Kagome smile brought him back to the present.
He closed his fingers around the smooth pink orb as he growled, "Exactly what I've wanted to wish for in the beginning."
With that, he walked away from the cliffside, ignoring the startled faces of his companions, Kagome's shocked face and Sesshoumaru's suspicious gaze.
On their long journey back towards Kaede's village, Kagome hugged Inuyasha a little tighter than usual as he carried her steady on his back. The forest ground rose and fell below her as Inuyasha continued his methodic pace.
"Inuyasha..." she whispered softly, half hoping that he didn't hear her.
His twitching ears clearly indicated that he did.
"Why?"
He was silent for a moment before he answered her carefully, "You wouldn't understand."
The air in Kagome's lung left in a whoosh. Throughout their travels, she thought that she had grown to know and trust Inuyasha, and she thought that he had grown to trust her in return. Normally, she would have gotten angry at him, insisted that she would at least try to understand what was going on in his mind if only he told her. But the more she thought about it, the more she began to wonder, if she really knew Inuyasha at all. An enormous ache gnawed slowly at her heart as she finally answered in a tight voice, "I-I see..."
Perhaps she had been wrong about him all along.
As their travel continued, Kagome began to wonder about her place in the Feudal Era. After all, the Shikon Jewel was again complete, and in Inuyasha's hands. It would soon be gone from the world, and she would no longer have a place...in this time or in Inuyasha's heart.
She knew what she had to do.
And she would do it as soon as possible.
It was nightfall when they finally reached Kaede's village. As the full moon loomed over her, Kagome slid off of Inuyasha's back and walked stiffly to Kaede's hut without a word. It was just too hard to look at him, speak to him...or even think about him right now. What she really needed to do was say her goodbyes, gather her things and forget about the past year of her life as well as her first love.
As she entered the doorway, Kagome managed a weak smile at the old lady and the young fox youkai inside of the hut. Kaede had needed Shippou's foxfire abilities to help exterminate some minor youkai, so they had left the young kit behind on their last and final journey to find Naraku.
"Kagome!" came Shippou's voice as he jumped on her shoulder, "I heard that you guys finally got Naraku! Is it true?"
She ruffled his hair, "Yes, it's true...it's all over."
"And the Shikon no Tama?" asked the elderly lady.
Kagome's gaze dropped the ground, "In Inuyasha's hands. He's going to make his wish tonight."
"You don't look as happy as I imagined you would be." mused Kaede.
"H-he..." Kagome found it hard for the words to come out, "He's going to use it to become a full-youkai."
Shippou's eyes widened, "Even after...?" Kagome knew he was referring to the aftermath of Goshinki and the broken Tessaiga. Inuyasha had become a mindless killing machine, and would have possibly gone after his own friends if Kagome made good use of the rosary around his neck.
"Yes," Kagome's voice was a broken whisper.
Kaede said quietly, "And you are going to allow that?"
Kagome stared into the fire in the center of Kaede's hut, "I-I thought that he would be different...that his priorities would change...but even if he does choose to be a full youkai," her voice became hoarse as she continued on, "I'll support him no matter what...if that is what he truly wants."
Shippou suddenly let out a loud sob, and lept off Kagome's shoulder and outside, visibly holding back tears.
"Shippou-chan!" Kagome ran outside after him and into the woods where she had last saw the large puff of tail fur. She ran aimlessly in the forest, calling his name. The young kit had doubtlessly thought of the hanyou as a older brother...perhaps even a father figure. Although he would have Kagome to look after him, the thought of losing Inuyasha probably brought back memories of when he had lost his parents...
After few minutes of running, she realized that Shippou was much faster than her and was probably well out of hearing distance. Letting out a quiet sob, she dropped her knees to the ground, trying to deal with her own emotions. Suddenly she became aware of two voices speaking off to her left.
"...-hink it would work out alright." Kagome's head looked up at Myouga's voice. She crawled towards the sound, pushing aside some bushes. Sure enough, Inuyasha was standing there, talking with the wise but cowardly steward in front of the Goshinboku.
"Good. Then everything should go as planned." Inuyasha examined the Shikon no Tama in his left hand.
Myouga looked up at his master with reverence, "Inuyasha-sama, if your father were alive today, he would be proud of what you've become."
Inuyasha blushed slightly let out a short 'Keh!' in response.
"Well then," continued Myouga as he brandished his walking cane, "I'm glad to see that you've come out of all of this sucessfully. I must travel to Toutousai's to bring him the good news. I will be back soon, Inuyasha-sama!" With that, the flea lept off and into the surrounding woods.
For a few minutes, Inuyasha simply stood there, holding the jewel in his hand, head tilted up and staring up into the foliage of the holy tree.
Suddenly his voice broke the silence, "I know you're there, Kagome."
Kagome stiffened suddenly. Drooping her shoulders, she walked out of the foliage as she began shyly, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"Keh! As if I couldn't pick out your scent from the moment you got here," he slanted a look at her from the corner of his eye, "There's no secret I'd bother to keep from you, Kagome."
Kagome flushed at that comment, but the ache inside of her heart remained, "I-I don't think you should do it."
He blinked once. Twice. "Do it..?" he echoed.
"Become a full youkai!" she blurted out, "I don't want you to forget yourself! To forget about me!" Her eyes dropped to the ground as she flushed a bright red.
'I can't believe I just said that...' she thought miserably, 'I don't want to be selfish...but I don't want to lose Inuyasha either...'
Suddenly she found herself staring at Inuyasha's back.
"Get on." His voice was stern.
"Wha...?" she started, as she slowly climbed on his back, "Where are we going?"
"To make my wish."
They moved through the darkened woods at a speedy pace, heading towards a section of the forest that Kagome realized that she had never gone before. Kagome pressed her forehead against the back of Inuyasha's neck, absently wondering exactly why he would want her around when he finally used the Shikon jewel. She swallowed heavily.
When Inuyasha finally stopped, and let her off his back, she took a good look at her surroundings. They were at a high elevation; a cliff with a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape. She closed her eyes that the evening breeze that brushed past her face.
Taking a look at her closer surroudnings, she noticed a large, old gnarled tree standing alone at the top of the cliff. Even though it was in the middle of summer, its branches remained barren with no foliage whatsoever. The ground she was standing on was composed of nothing but dry soil; it seemed as if nothing had been growing there for a long time. Her eyes then fell on Inuyasha, who was kneeling before a very large, very white stone. Upon a closer inspection, she recognized the remains of dried flowers and words inscribed in the stone:
BELOVED LADY IYAZOI OF MUSASHI
MAY HER MEMORY BE CHERISHED FOREVER
"Ofukuro," whispered Inuyasha gently.
Kagome's eyes widened. Mother! This was his mother's grave? She bowed her head, and kneeled next to Inuyasha in respect.
Suddenly Inuyasha produced the completed Shikon jewel from the depths of his haori, "Ofukuro," he whispered again, "Ofukuro, this is for you."
Kagome's eyes widened, 'For...his mother?'
Inuyasha released the gently pulsing sphere. Instead of bouncing off the ground as expected, it simply disappeared into the ground as if it were a raindrop disappearing into water.
Suddenly, the ground around them shimmered and Kagome found herself sitting in a field of tall beautiful green grass. Around her, petals of cherry blossoms fell like snowflakes, as the formerly dying tree came alive with glowing ethereal, gossamer flowers that swayed gently in the breeze.
Staring in awe at the beauty and magic of the Shikon jewel, she turned to look again at Inuyasha, whose gaze still lingered on the large white stone. He was smiling happily, as if he felt his mother's joy even through the veil of death. His amber eyes, normally filled with scorn for the cruel world, was uncharacterically gentle, and she noticed that his right eye, the eye that held his father's tomb, was glowing slightly brighter than the right.
She followed his gaze to the inscription on the rock. She smiled and her heart warmed at what she saw:
THE GREAT LORD AND LADY OF THE WEST
FOREVER IN ETERNITY
Ofukuro: Mother (this is how Inuyasha addresses his mother)
Author's Notes: This is a nice little story that came to me one day. Although it was implied several times in the beginning that Inuyasha wanted to use the jewel to become a full demon, it made me think of, 'What if...Iyazoi's last breath to Inuyasha was "I wish I could see your father one last time..."?'
In this story, I imagined Inuyasha originally seeking the Shikon no Tama, not to become full demon, but to bring it back to his mother's grave to fulfill her dying wish. In the meantime, he got treated roughly by humans and demons alike, got betrayed by Kikyou, etc. and he suddenly wanted to use the jewel for himself, not his mother. Kagome, being who she is, comes into Inuyasha's life, changes his heart, and suddenly he remembers the reason why he set out for the jewel in the first place.
I'm pretty sure (not positive) that Iyazoi (being human), ends up in a different afterlife than Inuyasha's father (since he is youkai). For those of you slightly confused, Inuyasha used the jewel so that his parents could be together in the afterlife. A pretty unselfish wish, and a pretty good use for the Shikon no Tama.
Hope you enjoyed it! I'm mostly basing this fanfic off the events in the manga, not the anime...just wanted to throw that out because I know that the anime has a special episode depicting Inuyasha and Kikyou that I didn't really pay that much attention to...and also, Iyazoi's grave has a much more different appearance in the third movie...