The Edifice

by Alexandra Y. Jones

After the savagery of World war 70, one man by the name of Sesshoumaru Taisho revives the world, renamiing and rebuilding Tokyo as Apaxipolis. This grand city is home to millions of people who are content, but after a supposed suicide, his brother Inuyash

3. In the eye of the Storm, there is always

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, end of discussion.

The Edifice

By Alexandra Y. Jones

(Chapter 3)

In the Eye of the Storm there is always Peace

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"K-kikyou?" Inuyasha stuttered staring directly into Kagome's eyes. For a while he had been deceived, then when he looked into her eyes, he realized that Kikyou's eyes were brown, not Persian blue. Inuyasha's shocked expression melted off his face faster than it came. "Kagura, you idiot. This woman is not Kikyou, she is Kagome Higurashi, a little pet for this petty group." Kagura's red lips formed an O of surprise.

"But it's not possible. She looks exactly like her!"

"Keh! Exactly, huh? Look at her eyes, can you not see the difference or must I point them out to you?" he had now coolly folded his arm across his chest and taken a step back. Kagura did as Inuyasha suggested and realized that this woman was indeed not Kikyou. "Speaking of which, Kikyou does not possess that horrid stench which you yourself are carrying right now." Inuyasha turned coldly away from the group of five and started to walk away. He knew he had pissed this Kagome woman off, but she really had nothing to do with what he was dealing with at the moment. Kagura stepped away from the pentagonal group and did a small bow. As she did so, she apologized for Inuyasha's heartless actions and quickly followed him. She stopped and turned around to watch the last of what would have been a friendly companion to follow Inuyasha towards the edge of the city. "I cannot believe you degraded yourself so low that you, out of all the people, actually apologized to them."

Obviously, he was frustrated and disappointed, but those feelings were only obvious to himself. Kagura or any other passersby would never know how he was feeling. Inuyasha inwardly grit his teeth and wondered why it had to be him who was in search for Sesshoumaru, Elektromagnetiks, and the weak ningen that was keeping the Shikon no Tama pure. How he wished he could reach his brother just to seek a little bit of answers. But according to the letter, which he was grasping in his claws, Sesshoumaru was far away and hard to reach. Where could have you been gone to, brother? He wondered to himself as he and Kagura wove past the crowds. Out of all the people in the city, only he and Kagura were in the traditional Japanese garments of the feudal era thousands of years ago. In the war, all culture had been burned to dust, the traditional clothing that had been so strong in Tokyo (aka Apaxipolis) had vanished without a trace. All sources of Shinto Buddhism and anything "Japanese" had vanished. English had become the universal language. Inuyasha cast a sidelong glance at Kagura who had not spoken much ever since they left the company of Kagome and her pesky friends. He could tell she was angry with him, it was written all over her face. Humphing to himself, Inuyasha's golden orbs rolled back to their normal position. He stared straight ahead and never looked at Kagura again, relying on his sense of smell to figure out if she was still with him.

They had been walking for a while and the city walls still had not come into view. Kagura was growing tired, but Inuyasha continued to walk. They were only going to rest the moment the sun went down. He took another step forward when the soft sound of Kagura collapsing into the ground was heard. He froze. Already? Although he had stopped walking, he had not turned around to reassure himself that Kagura was okay. "Tired already?" was all he asked. Kagura did not respond, but her panting was a good enough clue that she was drained. He wanted to go on, but, take care of Kagura for me… His words continued to echo in his mind. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hmph. We will not rest until we are out of the city's main stream." With that Inuyasha continued to walk.

"Inuyasha! How could you be so heartless? You're so much worse than when we first started out on our journey." He stopped head in his tracks and this time turned his head, albeit only slightly. "Is it because of her?" Inuyasha continued to stare ahead at the dark night. The stars had been washed out of the skies due to light pollution, and only a few stuck out, such as Polaris. He gazed steadily at it. "Please, I beg of you, I am exhausted."

"We will rest once we are on the outskirts of the city." Inuyasha stated simply and bitingly. Kagura's pencil-thin eyebrow crinkled slightly in frustration and anger.

"You do not care about me, maybe you don't care much about Sesshoumaru, otherwise, you would have made sure that I was okay so his soul would be at peace. Imagine how he is feeling right now, looking down from the heavens to see his younger brother treating his wife like dirt!" Hn, Sesshoumaru is not dead… Inuyasha thought to himself.

"Kagura," He started, using as little words as possible, "Do you have money?" Kagura's body gave a jolt of surprise. "Well?" She reached into the her yellow obi to see if she brought any money with her, but found that she had not. "I do not have money, but if you do, then we will rest. However, neither of us do. Thus we must go on." Inuyasha tore his gaze away from Polaris. It was starting to give him memories of Kikyou again. Curse that Kagome woman, just when she almost left my mind… he thought bitterly to himself. Inuyasha surfaced from his thoughts and continued to walk so much without a word. Kagura should have gotten the message. They had no money to stay in a hotel or a lodging house; they had to move on. He heard Kagura groan in frustration for not bringing any money, then later he heard her swear. That one swear word made a smile grace the handsome face of Inuyasha.

It gave him memories, happy memories. Kagura had met Sesshoumaru long before world war one, long before the Americans came and offered Japan their boundless technology. It reminded him of the time when the three of them had gone on a trip and they ran out of money. They needed money to buy at least a bowl of noodles. Unfortunately they had lost their parents and had not even a penny to get themselves even half a bowl. Kagura had sworn once and bawled until Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha had to pound the hell out the owner until he gave up a bowl. Then the three of them shared it together. Inuyasha sighed to himself, only in his head of course. Those had been the happy days, and they were now gone, lost because of his hanyouness, lost because of war, lost because he, Inuyasha, had been banished from the world.

"Inuyasha?" He continued to walk, and ignored what Kagura had said, "What do you supposed Sesshoumaru is doing right now?"

"Watching us." Was his simple reply; he knew that if Kagura was asking him questions like that it meant only one thing: she was too exhausted to go on. He stopped so suddenly, that Kagura ran into his back and landed on her buttocks with a loud thud. Ignoring her complaints and excessive cussing, Inuyasha crouched down on the floor and cradled his arm behind him. And when Kagura had not climbed on his back, he said simply, "You are tired, are you not?" Kagura stopped swearing and stared at Inuyasha, who was still crouched on the ground. When she did not climb onto his back, he calmly stood back up. "Very well, you must still be fit enough to walk on your own." With that said, Inuyasha started to walk away when Kagura stopped him with a WAIT! Inuyasha stopped again and almost as if he could read her mind, crouched down on the ground in the same position as before. Kagura swiftly climbed onto his back before he pushed his body off the ground in one monumental leap. The air whistled through his hair making his white manes blow back and swirl in the winds. Before Kagura knew it, Inuyasha was racing through the city, and everything had become a blur. Her eyes began to grow heavy, she did not know what time it was, and she did not care, the last image that floated before her vision was that of her beloved Sesshoumaru, he stood there in the clothes that he wore before he modernized himself. It was a white and red haori and white hakamas along with the armor and his pelt. His golden eyes, similar to that of Inuyasha, gleamed gently at her as his delicate lips curled up into a graceful smile. That smile made her heart melt no matter how she felt.

Inuyasha felt Kagura's body grow limp, she had fallen asleep. He also sensed that she was no longer tense with grief or any other emotion other than that of happiness. At least Sesshoumaru had loved her until the very end, at least he still cherished her enough to rid himself from everyone's memories just to keep her out of danger. Although those were Sesshoumaru's intentions, Inuyasha knew that to protect Kagura was to show her the truth. His thoughts drifted from Sesshoumaru and Kagura to Kikyou. He wondered why she had left him, they were so happy together, so complete! It had gone on for over six years, and the last night they were together, made him so sure that they would continue loving each other, kissing each other the way they had always been doing. Then the next day, everything came crashing down around him. Kikyou had suddenly become so cold and left him in the middle of the streets, surrounded by people, surrounded by so much company, yet none of them knew him or cared about him. He sank into the floor, and tried to pick up the remains of his shattered heart, but he could never pick them up. No matter how fast or how efficiently he gathered the pieces, they seemed to multiply, double, and grow. Inuyasha lowered his gaze, as hot tears threatened to spill out of his now saddened eyes. A man never cries. Inuyasha stopped and looked up at the skies, up at polaris. It shone so brightly that it could not have been a simple star in the sky.

Polaris seemed to explode into millions of pieces, and form an outline of a person. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. The form slowly began to solidify until a familiar scent caught his nose. He knew the scent… barely. The scent had been faded from age and the past, it was the scent of his father, Inutaisho. Inuyasha, have you forgotten what I have taught you? "F-f-father?" Inuyasha stuttered, his eyes wide with disbelief. He lowered Kagura to the floor and took his fire rat haori off. He rolled it up and placed it under Kagura's head as a pillow. Yes. It is I. Though I have perished from this world long ago, when you were nothing more than a mere pup, I have been watching over you. Suddenly, Inuyasha felt resentful. His father had been watching him for all these years and had never even thought to come down to help him! Inuyasha looked down at the ground and grit his teeth. "Grrr…" his fists shook from the tension of clenching them. "You knew how they were treating me, and yet you did nothing to help me."

Do not let your last get the better of you, put it behind you. You cannot go back and correct what has already been done… "You think I don't fucking know that?" Inuyasha barked, now relaxing his fists and glaring up at the sky. "I am as old as you are now, father. You knew that as a hanyou I would suffer and you ceased to do anything about it. You should have killed me when you had the chance! It would have saved mother from the wretched prejudiced fools!" Blood slowly oozed out of Inuyasha's palms where his claws dug into his skin, letting a small steady stream of blood squeeze out and dribble onto the floor. Do not be mistaken my son, you know I loved your mother… "THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE HER TO SUFFER?" Inuyasha screamed up at the sky. The tears that had threatened to fall, dried and his sorrow was replaced with anger. "WHY?" You must realize, Inuyasha, that the world is never a fair place. You've admitted it yourself. Yes, I had been a horrible father for not being there for you when your mother left you to join me. This is the reason why I have begged the guardians of the souls to let me see you so I can help you at least a little bit. Inuyasha's brow wrinkled in confusion, as Inutaisho lifted his hands. He was holding onto a small white orb that glowed brilliantly. It began to grow bigger and flatter until it became a round, flat disk floating just in between his father's hands. The glow of the disk faded slowly until it revealed a mirror. Look into this mirror, and it will help you find Tetsusaiga, the sword that is much needed to protect the guardian of the Shikon no Tama.

As fast as his anger came, it vanished. Of course, his father would never do such a thing to him… ever. His father was noble and loved him as much as he loved his older brother. But that was not enough to wipe the coldness and the bitterness out of Inuyasha's heart. No matter how hard he tried, it would never be lifted from his body. This, of course, Inutaisho knew, and that saddened him as much as Inuyasha was saddened. Inuyasha could read it in his eyes. Very slowly, Inutaisho floated towards earth until he was floating several inches off the floor. The great inuyoukai tilted the mirror slightly until Inuyasha was looking at it. Now, my son, concentrate on your left eye. In there, the tetsusaiga lies dormant, ready to be used. He looked. His left eye looked strange. It was glowing with black light… well not really, but in the mirror the golden color was slightly dulled by something that was darker. There was SOMETHING in his left eye that he could not fathom. And of course, all sense of emotions had long since drained his body, so that meant that everything he gelt was inside him. The only emotion he could release was his anger. "What is it?" He asked simply. That, Inuyasha, is the black pearl, where the Tetsusaiga lies… ready to be plucked and put back to use, by its master, it has chosen… you. Inuyasha stood there staring up at his father, his mouth slightly opened in shock.

"And so you expect me to pluck my eyeball out and use the sword, huh?" Inuyasha turned his back to his father. "Leave me. I refuse to do that." Inutaisho looked increasingly sad. My son, I do not have much time with you. But eventually, someone will come and pluck the black pearl from your eye. It is inevitable… be careful my son… Inuyasha raised his hand to grab Inutaisho's arm, but soon found that his father was translucent. I am sorry I left you and your mother so soon… "Father!" Inuyasha shouted, now running after Inutaisho. Inutaisho had lifted off the ground and was soon floating away. Before the hanyou knew it, his father had faded away completely. The only thing left of him was his soft whisper that echoed throughout the empty buildings, Gomen-nai, Inuyasha… He dropped to his knees. All sense of bitterness had left his body and all that was left was sadness. "Don't leave me." He whispered the last words. The solemn words ricocheted off the ragged rubble and back at him as his arm slowly lowered itself, "Father…" of course. It was not his father's fault that he was like this. It was Tatemaru's fault, but he had died long ago. "Tatemaru… you bastard…" Inuyasha hissed, clenching teeth while he balled his hands into firm fists. "I hope you live a miserable life in hell."

Kagura's ruby-red eyes opened slowly, who was Inuyasha talking to? She slowly sat up, and realized that there was no one. Inuyasha was sitting across from her, Indian-style. He had his hands tucked into the sleeves of his fire rat haori with his eyes closed. He was sleeping. Inuyasha had obviously made a fire in the middle, but now, all that was left were the soft glowing ambers. She sighed. "How long will it take for us to get out into this world that has plunged back into the past?"

"Three days." Kagura jumped and turned around, with her fan posed. She let her guard down when she found herself face-to-face with Kagome, the woman that resembled Kikyou so.

"Piss off Ningen." Kagome and Kagura shifted their attention from each other to Inuyasha, who still had his eyes closed. "Didn't you hear what I said, or do I have to attack for you to get it?" The eyelids of the hanyou opened slowly, revealing golden eyes that sparkled in the dull light from the campfire. Those golden eyes were now pointed straight at Kagome, who took a small step back. "What are you deaf? Piss off!" Before she could do anything else, Kagura found Inuyasha rushing at Kagome with his claws posed.

"Inuyasha! Don't be so reckless!" She shouted as she opened her fan. She gave her fan one swift tug and blew Inuyasha off course. The said hanyou went flying up in the air and hit the floor with a loud thump. Luckily, it was not hard enough to kill him. "Hello, Kagome-chan. I believe we've met last time in the city square."

"Yes we have. I did not expect to meet you here. You see, place is considered a meeting spot for us when we go out of Apaxipolis." Kagome cast a sideways glance at Inuyasha, who had picked himself up and was now dusting himself. This Kagome woman tried to smile at Inuyasha, but she only succeeded in receiving a growl from the hanyou. Kagura also looked at Inuyasha. He looked furious, but he turned and disappeared into the night. "Wait! Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out. Kagura cast the girl another glance. Inuyasha stopped. He stared off into the darkness that resided past the dull campfire. He did not turn around, but simply shifted his glance from the darkness in front of him to the small lightness where Kagome and Kagura stood. "Where are you going?"

"That's none of your business." With that, Inuyasha walked away.

"You're ditching us aren't you?"

"Baka. I made a promise with Sesshoumaru. I've become Kagura's bodyguard." Inuyasha spat those last words out. "Remember, I'm that flea-bitten hanyou whom everyone spat on since day one, and even if people are kinder today, deep down inside, I will always be the disgusting hanyou the ningens feared and the youkais laughed at." With that, he vanished into the night. Kagome stood there clutching her hands to her chest and Kagura was silent. What did Inuyasha just say? Bodyguard? But he was her brother in law, how could a brother in law become a bodyguard? But none of them noticed a pair of large yellow eyes that were staring at them hidden in the depths of the ruins.

"At last Inuyasha-sama, I have found you…" The strange creature panted heavily, while he leaned on his staff. The staff had two heads on it, one was an old man and another was a young woman. Their hair, black and white, swirled together around the staff. Why Sesshoumaru-sama? He wondered to himself, why do you cherish this hanyou so? He's so depressing, worse than No man. The creature slipped back into the darkness and followed Inuyasha's path. Why is it me who has to help Inuyasha find this tetsusaiga? The creature wondered to himself, "Hai… Sesshoumaru-sama entrusted me to the nintoujou… it is the key that opens the black pearl." The creature sighed and mumbled a bit of nonsense to himself. When he looked up, he realized Inuyasha had vanished. "Nooooooo! Where'd he go?" The small creature vanished into the night.

Inuyasha walked alone in the dark, jagged streets. They were soon to be outside the depressing city. No matter how much he was accepted in Apaxipolis, he could not forget the past, the place where he lived as a child and as a teen and he missed it. Apparently, this part of Apaxipolis was abandoned. There were no children running down the streets any more, and all that was left were misplaced cobblestones and cracked asphalt. The street lamps that lined the road were now rusted and slightly broken, while some lay tilted and some fallen completely. The trees that used to be so neat and orderly had grown out of control and broke through the concrete creating space for new plants to grow. The concrete beneath Inuyasha's feet emitted heat no more. Apaxipolis' roads were all heated to prevent ice when the snow fell. But the stones here, they heated no more and the buildings had been eroded as the times passed by wind, rain, and snow. He stopped and posed with his claws… "SANKON TESSOU!" His yellow light flashed out from his claws and hit a tree. The wood flew in the air for one, graceful moment until they landed on the floor. The wood made loud clunking noises as they hit the ground near Inuyasha's feet.

However, it did not matter. There was no one around and no one cared. The place was nothing more than a former city choked and taken over by weeds and plants. Within years, this place will return to its forest-y form, the form that has vanished so long ago. Inuyasha thought to himself. "Oy, hanyou…" Inuyasha paused, his hands inches away from picking up the last bit of wood needed for the fire. "I didn't know that cowards like you actually dared to venture out to places like this. You amaze me." Inuyasha turned around and gave the intruder his fullest attention. "Ooh… you're pretty brave coming at me like that!" Inuyasha glared at the youkai in front of him, "and glaring at me too."

"What do you want?"

"Get off my lands." Deep orange eyes narrowed maliciously, "Hanyou inuyoukai."

"Your lands?" Inuyasha asked, "This is still property to Apaxipolis."

"It is abandoned, fool."

"But the walls still stand." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "You're on your way to Apaxipolis are you? Quite a pity… if you hate hanyous so, then in Apaxipolis, your hatred towards us will vanish and you will never be able to do anything about it."

"I do not wish to…"

"Pity… my brother worked so hard to bring it up from the ashes of World War Seventy… and after ruling for so long, he's committed suicide." Inuyasha looked straight into the woman's eye, "A great calamity hovers around Apaxipolis, do not persue it any longer, or it shall ruin you as if has ruined me."

"Your brother… you mean Sesshoumaru?"

"Why? Have you got business to take care with him? Well, if that's the case, fuck it. He's gone, he's gone up to the heavens… he has joined my father, his mother, and my mother." The piercing gold eyes stared straight at the widened orange eyes, "Your life is better off outside of Apaxipolis. You belong in Kyoto…"

"You refuse to get out of my way, huh? Then fine!" The woman flew at Inuyasha with incredible speed, and before he could do anything else, tore her claws into his left eye. "Such weakling!" The woman tore her claws out of his eye and withdrew something that was black and shone brilliantly. "What is this?" She wondered in horror.

"Never take your eyes off me..." Inuyasha spat coldly. Before the woman knew it, Inuyasha had driven his whole hand into her stomach, forcing her to drop the small black object, "Karan."

"How did you…?"

"What, did you think I was an idiot? I know about you, you're from the hyo-neko clan that has waged war against father for centuries. I've heard of stories that Sesshoumaru told me about the likes of you. Cowardly youkais that love to retreat, hm? Fools." He tore his hand out of Karan's stomach. The blood spewed out from her wound, following the momentum of Inuyasha pulling his hand out. His eyes were merciless and suddenly so calm and cold, "Shinae." Using the same hand, Inuyasha slashed at Karan's chest diagonally, and twirled around in the air, kicking her in the face with his foot. Karan spun wildly in the air and landed on the floor in a heap. She groaned in pain and tried to stand, but Inuyasha planted his foot firmly onto her neck. "This city is now cursed, leave before you ruin your life!" The black pearl, in the meantime lay forgotten on the ground, and rolled away from the two until it stopped at two green feet.

"At last I have found you, Inuyasha-sama." Came a grave, throaty voice. "I have heard of Sesshoumaru-sama's death and came as quickly as I possibly could."

"Piss off. I'm busy." Inuyasha snapped.

"I will be a big help! I can find the resting place of the tetsusaiga!"

"Fool. I know where it is. It lies at your feet."

"W-what?" Oh he sounds so much like an angrier version of Sesshoumaru-sama… "This is it?"

"Yes. That is it. Now leave."

"Oh… but it is nothing but a tiny ball." The creature… it was definitely in a class much lower than Sesshoumaru and his father's. He was completely green and resembled that of an overgrown toad. Yet the small pointed black hat on his head and his maroon and sand colored kimono proved that he was a leader of his own kind. In his hand, he carried a two-headed staff, and wore no feet. Finally, his height was no larger than past Inuyasha's knees. Inuyasha turned his attention back to Karan, who was now smirking, but before she could do anything else, Inuyasha removed his foot from her neck, and kicked her up with his feet. She spun horizontally in the air and before she could hit the ground, he landed a firm punch in her chest, sending her back twenty feet.

"It is not a tiny ball. It is the black pearl. The place where father restored the tetsusaiga, I do not want it." Inuyasha bent over and picked up the pearl to place it back into his left eye. Before he could do anything else, the black pearl flashed and filled the area up with black light. Then it was gone. In the place where Inuyasha was holding onto the black pearl was a sheathed katana that glowed black. Before he could do anything else, a black mist lifted off the katana and went back into his left eye. "What is your name?" Inuyasha asked the toady-youkai before him.

"J-j-jaken… Inuyasha-sama."

"There is no use for you now. Go back to my brother." Seeing that he had nothing more to say, Inuyasha turned and left Jaken in the middle of the rubble.

"B-but…"

"Leave. You will be nothing but a nuisance to me. Tell Sesshoumaru that for me." Inuyasha gathered the rest of his firewood and left Jaken standing there, still stuttering. A small breeze sifted past the two, sending Inuyasha's whitish-silver hair to whip around casually until it settled back to its previous position. Inuyasha then vanished into an on-coming fog. The others had already gathered around the fire, when Inuyasha returned… so much for getting away from them. Sighing inwardly to himself, Inuyasha came and deposited some of the wood into the dying fire. The rest he tossed onto the ground and then sat as far from the group as he possibly could.

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"Kikyou, my dear. Do not fret. We shall find Kagura soon." Naraku whispered, his voice deep and velvety. Naraku clenched his fist and snatched a flimsy piece of paper that lay innocently on the coffee table. His blood-red eyes scanned the contents for a second before they narrowed. His whole face was twisted and contorted in anger, and his whole body was visibly shaking; he could not contain himself. On the page, someone's elegant handwriting looped and curved forming the words, "You are suspected." Growling to himself, Naraku cumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the flame. Damn. Someone's suspecting me. He thought to himself. The very thought made him grab the coffee table and hurtle it across the room. He sent Kanna and Hakudoushi to find Sesshoumaru's wife, but they returned empty-handed. They could not even find his children.

Upon seeing her lover throw the coffee table, Kikyou quickly stood up, and hugged him around the waist. She stood there holding him from the back and placed her beautiful face against his back. "Do not fret, Naraku, we can finish them, you'll ruin your handsome face." Naraku kept his teeth clenched. "Forget it all… just for tonight…" Once she felt his body relax, she released him and moved in front of him. "Do it for me." With that, she stood up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "If you love me so, forget this letter Inuyasha sent." Naraku's body tensed again.

"This letter was written by that hanyou fool? Why did you not tell me earlier, and how did you know." Kikyou humphed and shifted her gaze to the side,

"I thought it wouldn't matter too much."

"You thought it wouldn't matter too much?" Naraku hissed, anger boiling inside him once again.

"First," Kikyou said quietly as she placed a seductive finger over his lips, "I shall answer your first question. I did not tell you because that hanyou does not care about the fate of Apaxipolis. It is only his brother that cares so much about this precious city. To answer your second question, you do recall that I have been with Inuyasha for six years. So naturally, I would recognize his handwriting, mostly because he seems to prefer the traditional version of letter-writing. Do not be a baka, Naraku…" Kikyou whispered, she placed a palm on Naraku's chest and leaned against him. " I'll always love you, and only you Naraku." She closed her eyes leisurely, enjoying the warmth of her lover and the steady rhythemic beating of his heart. Naraku smiled gently, and wrapped his arms around Kikyou. He loved her too much to lay even a finger on her, even if she betrayed him, he would never strike her. "So," she murmured sleepily, "What shall we do about Kagura's sudden disappearance?"

"We should search for her. She took her magical fan with her along with the all-seeing mirror. Even if Inuyasha does not care about this city's fate, she does. That magic fan…" Naraku's brow crinkled angrily, "That fan… she controls the winds with it. I wish to kill Kagura, and once she is out of the picture, so will her weak children. As for Inuyasha, we shall leave him to his demises." Naraku's crinkled brow smoothed as he gazed past Kikyou's head and smirked. Yes, I shall be playing a very interesting game. He thought to himself. His gaze shifted down to Kikyou who had fallen asleep in his arms. His evil smirk transformed into a completely different smile, an angelic smile that was rather unfitting with his sinister personality. His savior, his fallen angel… Naraku let the scent of Kikyou fill his lungs… so alluring, so wonderful.

As gently as he possibly could, Naraku lifted Kikyou and gathered her into his arms then carried her up to their bedroom. There, he placed her on her bed and tucked her into the warm blankets. He changed his clothes and joined her, pulling her close and soon falling into a deep, pleasant sleep. Another thing he loved about Kikyou was the way she calmed his senses when he felt most hysterical. "Kikyou… I love you…" He whispered and was fast asleep.

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The fire crackled and the wood snapped as the fire continued to burn, casting eerie shadows on the walls of the wrecked city. Inuyasha sat in one corner, and much to his distaste, found himself sitting next to Kagome. Across his lap lay the tetsusaiga, which had come out of the black pearl. Speaking of which, the black pearl was placed back into Inuyasha's eye and the fire was calm. This neko Inuyasha had dealt with was gone, probably towards Apaxipolis where her life was to be destroyed by the Band of Discordants. "Don't you think we should stop him?" Kagome spoke up, but she was silenced with a sharp look from Inuyasha. His eyes were always iced-over with apathy and bitterness, and hidden deep within was a world she had never seen. She recalled the events of when she first met Inuyasha. It was a rather embarrassing meeting, but the moment she saw him, she fell in love with him.

She along with her friends had approached him. He seemed perturbed about something, because he was rushing away from everyone. She had called out to him, and when he heard her voice, he turned around immediately. Their eyes connected and locked, this happened for a while before he whispered in disbelief, "Kikyou?" Before she knew it, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Of course she had told him she was not Kikyou, but Kagome, and when he realized she was not this Kikyou woman, he tossed her onto the floor, and didn't even apologize to her. Kouga stepped up to him and yelled at him, but Inuyasha turned and left, calling her an imposter. Her friends were visibly upset, but she stood up and asked him to join her group, but he refused.

So she simply told him, "If you ever feel lonely, don't hesitate to come and talk about it with us." He was already far away from her, but she knew he heard her because he turned his head slightly to the side and muttered, "feh" before he vanished into the crowd. She, of course, just stood there. There was something in his eyes that made her believe him. He had shut himself away from the world and refused to come back, she could almost read his mind, though her friends could not. This was what lured Kagome to Inuyasha. When the disgruntled hanyou was well out of earshot, she had whispered, "I love you" and vowed that she would stay by his side no matter how much he tried to push her away.

Now she was sitting next to him, with the same result. Inuyasha also looked down at Kagome, but unlike her, he wore a look of distain, almost as if he were looking down at her. Foolish ningen… he thought bitterly to himself, you can never crack the walls around me, I won't let you. "Go away." He said softly. Kagome looked up at him, her eyes brimming with sorrow. He winced inwardly; her tears were on the verge of falling. "Don't spill your tears here. You were the one that chose to sit next to me, so grin and bear it." His gaze traveled away from the now sniffing girl to the Tetsusaiga in his hands. He slowly twirled the sword his left hand. Then, using his thumb, he pushed the sword out a little. A soft click echoed throughout the camp and the wasted avenue. This soft click gained the attention of Kouga, Kagura, and Kagome (since she was sitting right next to him). This was the sword that father left in my hand… this was the sword that was able to mow down a hundred youkai in one swing… His right hand gripped the hilt of the katana, and with one mighty tug, the sword was plucked from its scabbard. This so-called great sword is nothing more than junk. Inuyasha stared at the rusted blade before him. "Humph." That was the only word that escaped Inuyasha's throat.

He looked up at the dark sky, now filled with stars since there were no city lights. Father… Sesshoumaru… what the hell can I do with this piece of junk? Inuyasha twirled the sword slowly in his hand until the blade was facing Kagome's neck. She let out a small squeak, which made Inuyasha's golden orbs shift slightly in her direction. "Hmph." Then as quick as lightening, he twirled the katana in one hand in the opposite direction and stopped abruptly when the blade faced the earth. "This katana is nothing more than junk." He said coolly and slammed the sword into a rock. He stood up and started to leave when Kagura let out a muffled cry.

When hearing her voice, Inuyasha whirled around, Kagura was clutching her hand to her chest, but could not hide the scorch marks that marred her smooth, complexion. "The tetsusaiga… it shocked me." Inuyasha turned his fullest attention to the katana, and ignored Kagura. He walked up to it and grabbed the hilt again and pulled it out of the stone. He examined it for a moment before stooping down to pick up the sheath and placing the sword back in its place. Much to everyone's surprise, he tied the tetsusaiga securely to his hip and sat back down.

"Thought you didn't want it, mutt."

"I've changed my mind. Chichiue's katana may come to use some day." Kagome stared at Inuyasha, watching his eyes. Inuyasha turned and glared at her, but there was something in his eyes that stuck Kagome. Those golden eyes, though hardened with hate, coldness, and bitter feelings had something deep inside. Kagome smiled inwardly to herself, now she knew Inuyasha. In the eye of the storm, there is always peace... She whispered to herself so low that it was almost like a thought. She snuck another look at Inuyasha and was relieved that he had not heard her. You are soft inside… you're no different than I am.

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A/N: That was a bit… ano… how should I say it? Fluffy? I think you've noticed that there aren't very many humorous scenes. Actually, there weren't any humorous scenes at all. Which means that this story is going to be a very serious one, quite different from my usual story that has some sort of humor to it from time to time.

And sorry for not updating quickly, my fans…

Something you should know:

You're all probably tearing your hair out and screaming, "BUT YOU SAID THIS WAS GOING TO BE A KAG/INU STORY!" Well, before you take out your sutras and attack me with them, I'd like to take the time to tell you that this is a kag/inu story, so bugger off. Kagome and Inuyasha are going to be lovers later… but not now, because making them fall in love all of a sudden is unrealistic, Inuyasha needs time to cool off from his break up with Kikyou, so yeah… deal with it.