Author Note: Apologies for the small delay in this chapter. I was going to start it right after I finished the first, however my evil little mind decided to scheme some more. So that was part with the delay along with relative get togethers . . . work . . . christmas shopping . . . and other stuff that just pissed me off.
So to get the right mood for this story I'm listening to 'Broken' by Amy Lee from the soundtrack 'The Punisher' which I find to be a sad song to help me right this chapter.
Last Time:
"If you want your daughter back Inu-Yasha, come and get her," sneered Mushai, running towards the edge of the shrine and leaping into the night sky, disappearing into the snow. Mrs. Higurashi and everyone else came running outside, shocked and wondering what the hell was going on.
"NATASHA! NATASHA!" screamed Kagome as she tried to crawl hopelessly after Mushai, her shoulder dislocated. Mrs. Higurashi knelt by her daughter's side, repeatedly asking what on earth had happened
Inu-Yasha's heart was pounding with fear as he watched his mate screaming their daughter's name, and then his own rage that his own pup was in danger. Getting to his feet Inu-Yasha let off a howl of sorrow of his own. Nothing mattered at this moment . . . his brother . . .Ayumi and Hojo . . . they were not important . . . what was important was getting his pup back. With out another second thought Inu-Yasha ran past everyone taking off after the bastard who had stolen his daughter.
Winter Wonderland
Chapter 60
Part Two
Rin ran as fast as her legs would carry her across the lands. Even though Jarlarg had told her to stay, she had a feeling they would need some help with this matter. Just leaving a half an hour after Sesshoumaru, she would be reaching the well soon. Anger slowly started to rise in her emotions of the thought that Mushai would try to betray Sesshoumaru, and then kill Inu-Yasha and his family. Picking up the pace a little the well finally came into her sight and in one single leap into the air she crossed over time, hoping that everything was all right. As she landed on the bottom of the well, she could hear the screams of Kagome in the distance, and the smell of Sesshoumaru's blood. Jumping out of the well and opening the shoji door to the well, her heart dropping at the sight before her. Mrs. Higurashi and Ayumi were restraining Kagome as she continued to scream her daughter's name, and Hojo was over by the God tree trying to remove the two swords, which had been stabbed through Sesshoumaru's right arm and chest. Deciding Kagome was in no situation to tell her what was happening; she immediately headed over towards Sesshoumaru.
"Uhhhh . . . damn it! It's not use Sesshoumaru I can't pull the swords out," panted Hojo, releasing the hilt of the sword in is chest to take a small breather.
Sesshoumaru growled lowly and firmly placed his legs at the trunk of the god tree and tried to push himself forward, but both swords had him firmly pinned to the tree. Growling even louder he was about to tell Hojo to keep trying, but a familiar scent wafted into his nose, and Rin was right in front of him.
"Rin . . .what are you doing here?" hissed Sesshoumaru.
Rin didn't answer as she grabbed the swords and pulled them out. The demon lord bled for a second before his wound completely healed.
"What is going on here?" asked Rin, looking back at the screaming Kagome.
"Mushai has taken Natasha, and Inu-Yasha has gone after him," informed Sesshoumaru.
"We should go after Inu-Yasha then,"
"No, you will stay here and take care of the others, I'll go after my brother,"
Rin was about to protest, but the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes booked no argument. Nodding her head she watched as Sesshoumaru ran across the shrine grounds and leaped into the night sky, disappearing into the raging snow from the blizzard. After a few minutes, Rin took off after the demon lord, knowing she just couldn't stay behind for this matter.
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Inu-Yasha could feel his demon instincts kicking into over drive as he pursued the fucking bastard that had stolen his daughter. He could still hear Kagome's heart wrenching screams inside his head, and hoped he would never hear her scream like that again. As he leaped from building to building, he still couldn't find any trace of Mushai. Due to the blizzard that had slowly started to appear blocked any signs of where the dog demon had gone.
"Come back here and fight you fucking bastard!" howled Inu-Yasha, his eyes flashing red slightly. This caused Inu-Yasha to slow down slightly. Would he transform even though Tetsusaiga was right at his side? Deciding that feeling didn't sit well with him, he continued to run after Mushai, hoping and praying that he wouldn't be too late to save his daughter. His golden eyes were searching every direction, trying to see if there was any sign or clue of Mushai. Feeling frustrated that he had let the fucking bastard get ahead of him, he almost felt like taking Tetsusaiga and blowing up every building in Tokyo to find him. Shaking his and head and feeling he should be sat just for the thought. Closing his eyes as he leaped into the air again and the wind shifted direction again, Inu-Yasha inhaled deeply, hoping he would get a whiff of Mushai's scent. His eyes flashed open as he caught the scent, and a low growl emitted in his throat. His enemy was not that far a head of him now; he could also smell the scent of his daughter, and was thankful she was not harmed, for he could not smell her blood. Urging his legs to go faster Inu-Yasha started to run faster than he ever had and as he landed on the roof of another skyscraper, he just caught a glimpse of Mushai leaping off another building, Natasha was still with him.
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The small ding of the grocery store door opening didn't catch the attention of anyone as Hiroshi walked into the busy streets of Tokyo. With his wedding ring on, he just looked like a normal human that had simply gone grocery shopping for eggs, cream, Angel Food cake mix, and milk. Tightening the scarf around his neck and gripping the bag tightly in his hand as he stepped into the howling wind of the unexpected blizzard.
"I hope I got all the groceries sis needs," sighed the demon, not wanting to make yet another trip back to the store when he had gotten her the wrong kind of mixing for the cake. Lifting his arm up he was about to call a taxi when a familiar aura hit his senses.
"Is that . . . Tenseiga?" hissed Hiroshi to himself. Another aura hit him as well, but it was a very strong demon one, "And Tokijin?"
Looking up just in time he saw his father leap across from one building to another and by the level of his father's aura, he was beyond mad . . . perhaps even furious. Many questions flooded into the young demons mind, before his eyes widened, looking down at the clock on his left wrist. Suddenly another demon aura hit his senses, causing him to look up again to see his younger mother following pursuit after his father. Cursing softly under his breath at the date the demon dropped the grocery bag and ran into the alleyway, to see if he could catch up with his father and mother. As he continued to run through the alleyway, he found it just a nuisance since he had to dodge garbage cans, and people. Touching his wedding ring, the concealment spell disappeared as he jumped onto a garbage can, and with one leap reached the top of the nearest building. Staring ahead, he could just make out Uncle Inu-Yasha's red fire rat kimono, his father was not that far ahead of him, and he would catch up to his mother in a few seconds. Cursing softly he started to run after the two demons.
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As the blizzard raged on, the game of tag also continued as Mushai cowardly ran away from his opponents. Sesshoumaru growled lowly under his breath at how much of a coward Mushai was. The demon general should have just accepted his fate and died right there and then when he and Inu-Yasha had been prepared to kill him by the god tree. Deciding to prepare for the battle, Sesshoumaru grabbed Tokijin by his side. Taking in the scene ahead of him, he could tell that Inu-Yasha was just a building or two behind the dog demon general. His ears twitched slightly at the sound of two demons following him. Turning his head he could see that Rin was close behind him, but so was . . .
"Hiroshi . . ." breathed Sesshoumaru. The demon lord slowed down a little, allowing both Rin and Hiroshi to catch up with him, "What the hell are you two doing here?"
"I figured you would need my help lord Sesshoumaru . . .but I don't know why he's here," said Rin.
"Did you know that this was going to happen?" growled Sesshoumaru as they leaped off of one building on to the next.
"I did," whispered Hiroshi.
"Fuck," cursed Sesshoumaru softly, "Why didn't you warn us?"
"I wasn't allowed to!" defended Hiroshi.
"Do you know what the outcome will be?"
"Sesshoumaru what's going on?" asked Rin.
"I'll explain later Rin. Well Hiroshi?"
"I do . . .and I have a plan,"
"Which is?"
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Mushai chuckled softly as he landed on the building he had finally reached, which was the tallest building in this place. Turning around he could see Inu-Yasha not far behind him, along with Sesshoumaru as well. Looking down at the crying pup in his hands, he growled menacingly down at him. Natasha stopped her crying and wailing, but whimpered the odd time since this person was not someone she was familiar with. The urge to kill the worthless pup was starting to grow, but no . . . now was not the time to kill the brat. A more appropriate time would be in front of Inu-Yasha's eyes, and then kill, then along with his brother. Moving to the ledge of the building, standing thousands of feet in the air, he waited patiently for the two brothers to catch up to him. Inu-Yasha was the first to arrive, his eyes flashed red for a moment, but soon returned to their dark golden color. Mushai quirked an eyebrow up momentarily, would this half demon transform, even though his sealing sword was right by his side? Deciding it didn't matter at all, Mushai turned so that his left shoulder was facing Inu-Yasha, since in his right arm he held the half-breed pup, and could drop the child at any moment.
Inu-Yasha growled and placed his hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga, "You fucking coward . . . let my daughter go right now!"
Mushai just laughed, and didn't answer as Sesshoumaru finally caught up to his brother, landing right beside the half demon.
"It took you long enough to catch up to me, I would think that you were slowing down Sesshoumaru," sneered Mushai.
Sesshoumaru just chuckled, "I must say for once I was shocked that a demon of your honor would drop you level down to a coward by taking a helpless pup hostage,"
Mushai snorted, "When your life is the matter you take drastic measures to live,"
"And running like a coward with your tail between your legs and stealing my niece is one of them?"
The dog demon general didn't answer, his gaze shifted to the sniffling pup for a moment before returning to the two brothers. Sesshoumaru gripped his sword tighter, his mind racing as he started to concoct a plan to keep Mushai busy, however his thoughts were interrupted as Inu-Yasha released the hilt of his sword and took a few steps forward towards Mushai.
"Take another step and I'll release this half breed pup!" growled Mushai.
Inu-Yasha froze, his face was stiff, and he couldn't tell what emotion showed in his eyes since his long bangs covered them. Mushai looked back and forth between the brothers, he could tell that Inu-Yasha was shaking slightly, and it wasn't because he was cold from the blizzard. Sesshoumaru however had that damn emotionless face of his on, however his body language said something different. He could tell that the demon lord wanted to kill him; his body language screamed that he wanted to. His eyes darted back to Inu-Yasha. The scent of blood wafted into his nose as his eyes looked down at the half-breeds fists. Drop after drop of blood dropped onto the snowy ground from the half demon having clenched his fist so tight that his claws had pierced through the palm of his hands. He smiled as Inu-Yasha's body language also told him that the half-breed wanted to kill him. None of them spoke as the wind continued to howl and the snowflakes thicken as the blizzard continued to roar through the night.
"What to do . . ." whispered Mushai, his right arm extending over the ledge of the building. His claws gripped the blanket that the pup was in as he dangled Natasha over the streets of Tokyo, causing the pup to start crying again, "I could drop this half-breed pup in an instant . . . and perhaps if you ran fast enough you could catch her . . .but you would have to get by me first . . ."
Inu-Yasha started to shake more, his claws piercing further into his hand. Finally the half demon dropped to his knees, his eyes still covered by his long silver bangs.
"Let my daughter go . . ." whispered Inu-Yasha softly.
"And why would I do that Inu-Yasha?" asked Mushai.
Inu-Yasha was quiet for a moment, his body still shaking with rage and perhaps grief as he remained on his knees in front of the demon general, "I .. . I'll let you kill me . . . you can do what ever you want to me . . . take my left arm to replace yours . . . you can have my sword . . . I don't give a damn what you do to me . . . just give me back my daughter!" hisses Inu-Yasha. Natasha's wailing cries in the night sky tore through Inu-Yasha's heart as he looked up at the dog demon general. A single tear rolled down his cheek from his golden eyes, but soon disappeared as the wind blew past him, his hair moving in every which direction.
Mushai however was not convinced and laughed mirthlessly, "Pathetic! You are pathetic as ever Inu-Yasha, begging for your daughters life,"
Inu-Yasha just growled, his demon blood pounding through his body. His anger started to grow as Natasha's cries and wails became louder in the night, however what was starting to bother him more was how calm Sesshoumaru was. The demon lord's body was tense, but he was calm as well.
Mushai turned his attention back to Sesshoumaru, staring down at the demon lord who was looking at something over his shoulder. Growling Mushai turned around just in time to see Rin and another demon coming right at him. Snarling Mushai tried to move out of the way but was hit dead on by the two demons. Rin tried to take Natasha from Mushai, but her efforts were useless as the demon general threw her off him. Hiroshi also tried to reach for the pup but failed as well as Mushai's left knee connected with his jaw. The demon general leaped to his feet, running back over to the ledge to dangle Natasha once again over Tokyo's streets.
Sesshoumaru cursed softly under his breath as their attempts failed to get Natasha back and then kill Mushai.
Mushai chuckled softly, "Nice try everyone, but it seems that you were just too slow to catch me off guard.
Inu-Yasha was rather shocked for two reason, one Rin was here, and two so was Hiroshi. The half demon was about to ask how in the hell these two arrived here, but Hiroshi spoke first.
"So what do you plan to do Mushai? Drop the pup and then fight all four of us?" asked Hiroshi.
"And just who in the hell are you?" asked Mushai.
"It doesn't concern you what my name is,"
"Is that so?"
"So is that your plan? Drop the pup and fight all of his with one clawed hand and no swords? Or did you not think of a plan and just ran for your life?"
Mushai growled softly, his eyes glancing at the screaming pup in his only clawed hand.
"Or are we just going to stand here all night?" asked Hiroshi, "Or . . . perhaps . . . you don't have any intention of letting Natasha go . . . you're just waiting for one of us to grow impatient and try to attack you? Then you will drop Natasha and keep us back long enough so that none of us can save her?"
Mushai smirked, "I can stand here forever . . . I'm willing to except my faith in death . . . but what I want to see is who will not care about this pups life . . .grow impatient and just attack me,"
Inu-Yasha closed his eyes, trying not to think of even the possibility of Natasha dieing tonight, however the image that appeared behind his closed eyes shook him to the very core. 'The snow falling softly from the skies of the feudal era . . . Kagome . . . Shippo . . . Miroku . . . Sango . . . the twins . . . Kohaku . . . Kaede . . .Sesshoumaru . . .and Rin . . .standing by the God tree where a grave stone laid, Natasha's name written on the front'
Shaking his head Inu-Yasha let off a howl at the thought, trying to remove it from his mind. 'No . . .I won't let this happen again . . .I will not lose another pup to another bastard who hates half demons' thought Inu-Yasha.
Mushai smirked at the rage Inu-Yasha's was showing at being able to do nothing. His claws slightly loosened on the fabric of the blanket, preparing to let it go if either one of them took a step. He almost did let go when Hiroshi did take one step, making the demon closer to him than the other three.
"This is just stupid . . . it's just a pup . . . Inu-Yasha . . . you've already lost one right? What's the harm in losing this one? You and Kagome will have more children,"
"What the fuck are you saying?" snarled Inu-Yasha.
"I say one of us should just attack and let him drop Natasha. There is nothing else that can be done Inu-Yasha, this is the only choice we have,"
Rin gasped at what the demon was saying, and even Sesshoumaru was surprised, his golden eyes widening at what was coming from his future sons mouth.
"You got to be fucking kidding me Hiroshi!"
"Do you have any other suggestions?" snarled Hiroshi.
"We'll find away to get my daughter back! Do you think I'm just going to fucking stand here and . . ."
Inu-Yasha was cut off as Hiroshi charged forward at the demon. The next few moments happened so quickly even Sesshoumaru was confused at what had happened. Inu-Yasha had screamed and so had Rin as Hiroshi rammed his clawed hand through Mushai's throat, causing the demon general to do two things. Before Hiroshi had stuck his hand in Mushai's throat he didn't just release the pup, but practically threw her down to her death. Her wailing screams fading as she disappeared in the snowy wind below. Then when Hiroshi's hand had connected, his eyes rolled back, letting off a small choke before dieing right on the spot.
Everyone was completely frozen in shock, that is except for Hiroshi who threw Musha's corpse onto the middle of the roof near the others. Blood slowly poured out of the wound, staining the white snow a sickening crimson red.
The wind started to blow and howl harder as everyone still remained completely still in the raging blizzard. Rin suddenly screamed again and dropped to her knees beside Inu-Yasha, tears rolling down her eyes. Inu-Yasha then let off a howl full of grief and rage while Sesshoumaru still remained frozen on the spot. Hiroshi turned to look at the others, his face emotionless . . .
"We should head back to the shrine," whispered Hiroshi, starting to walk over to Inu-Yasha.
The half demon's head snapped up to look at the demon approaching him, letting off another cry Inu-Yasha charged at the demon, tackling him down on the snowy roof.
"You fucking bastard! You fucking . . . how the fuck could you do that?" howled Inu-Yasha, punching his fists repeatedly over whatever part of Hiroshi's body he could reach. Hiroshi snarled and pushed the half demon off him, but was brought back down with Rin punching him this time.
"How . . . how could you do something like that?" screamed Rin, tears still flowing down her cheeks.
Hiroshi pushed his mother off him, staggering away from the two. Inu-Yasha had collapsed to his knees, howling and screaming as his fists continued to punch the solid ground, creating craters where his fists were connecting. Rin was also on her knees, crying uncontrollably as her tears pooled in the snow, almost freezing instantly. Hiroshi's eyes turned to his father, who was still frozen in place, however his eyes had changed. They were no longer wide with surprise, but if looks could kill . . .
"Father I . . ."
Sesshoumaru growled at him, his eyes flashing red. Hiroshi flinched slightly at the sight of his father's red eyes. The demon lord took a few steps forward, reaching his brother who was still continually screaming and pounding holes into the ground. Sesshoumaru raised his hand, forming a fist as he hit his brother in the back of the head, knocking him out. The howling and screaming finally stopped, and the only sounds that could be made was Rin's whimpering as she continued to cry.
Hiroshi turned and stepped towards the edge of the building, looking down at the bottom that could not be seen through the snowy ground. Sesshoumaru thought that he was going to take off, but Hiroshi didn't, his eyes remained on the spot where Natasha had fallen to her death.
"Are you feeling guilty and stupid for what you did? If you were not my son I would kill you right now . . .and not a fast death . . .but slowly . . . and I would just keep going even if you were screaming for death to finally come,"
Hiroshi did not answer; his eyes still remaining where Natasha had fallen.
Sesshoumaru was almost starting to lose his patients with this demon, but froze at what Hiroshi called out.
"Hey Michiko! Do you have her?"
Rin stopped crying and looked up at the demon leaning over the ledge of the building. Sesshoumaru took a few steps forward, hoping that his gut was telling him that he was right.
A few moments later another demon suddenly appeared beside Hiroshi, except this one was female. As the other demon straightened, Sesshoumaru felt his stomach flip flopping for some reason as he stared into the eyes of yet another one of his pups. This demons features were much different from Hiroshi's. Her eyes were chocolate brown like Rin's, short silver hair that barely touched her shoulders, the dog-ears on her head pinned back so that they wouldn't freeze in the cold wind, and the only thing that made the two demons look the same was the blue crescent moon on her forehead. But his attention was soon caught to her arms, where a whimpering Natasha was in the Michiko's clawed hands.
Hiroshi let off a small smirk as he took the child from the female demon, and walked over towards Sesshoumaru.
"You didn't actually think I would let Mushai just kill Natasha like that did you?" whispered Hiroshi.
Sesshoumaru did not answer, and Hiroshi had a feeling that his father was just trying to keep his emotions in order. A small groan from the left caused Hiroshi to smile as he knelt down near the half demon.
"Inu-Yasha?"
"What the fuck do you want?" hissed Inu-Yasha, preparing to take down the demon again, but Inu-Yasha froze at the sight of his daughter in front him. The half demon froze, and his eyes welled up with tears, "Natasha . . ."
Hiroshi handed the half demon his daughter, and then stood, heading back over to his sister.
Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms securely around his pup, but not tight enough to hurt her. The half demon let his tears go by unchecked as he wept with happiness that his daughter was still alive. Inu-Yasha looked up to stare at the other demon standing beside Hiroshi, and didn't even have to ask in order to know whom she was. The resemblance to Sesshoumaru and Rin was unmistakable.
"We should be going now," said Hiroshi, turning to his sister. Michiko nodded, bowed to the others before disappearing into the blizzard. Hiroshi however stayed for a moment, "Inu-Yasha,"
"Yes?" the half demon replied.
"More and more demons will try to use the well. They can sense the power coming from it and will be drawn towards it the longer it is kept open. However, wait at least a two weeks before you do. Give Kagome enough time to say her good-byes to her family, and to pack everything she needs before the well closes,"
The half demon gave a small nod. Hiroshi then bowed like his sister did before also leaping off the building and disappearing into the blizzard.
Inu-Yasha stood up, turning around to face his brother who seemed to be a little shocked, "Shall we head back to the shrine? I'm sure Kagome's worried sick about Natasha," whispered Inu-Yasha.
Rin gave a tearful happy nod and watched as Inu-Yasha started to leap from building to building back to the shrine. Rin waited a moment before speaking to Sesshoumaru, "Lord Sesshoumaru . . .who were those two demons? I recognize Dr. Hiroshi . . .but who was the other one?"
Sesshoumaru looked down at the young demon on his left and shook his head, "I don't know Rin,"
Rin simply nodded and grasped Sesshoumaru by the hand. Sesshoumaru took a second to grab Mushai's body from the ground so that no one in this time would become suspicious of a body on the roof.
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Mama Higurashi stood by the window, watching for any sign of Inu-Yasha, Sesshoumaru, or Rin. Hojo was in the kitchen preparing some coffee and hot chocolate while Ayumi and Souta were trying to keep Kagome calm. Her daughter was curled up on the couch with a blanket around her. Kagome's screams had stopped since her throat was so sore, but silent tears continued to run from her silver eyes and down her soft cheeks. Grandpa was also sitting in the living room, praying to the gods that they would return his great-grandchild back safely. Mrs. Higurashi was about to join Ayumi and Souta to try and calm her daughter down, but a flash of silver and red caught her attention from outside. Mrs. Higurashi gasped and ran to the door, not bothering to answer the questions from the others. Kagome however must have figured it because she went racing after her mother. Mama Higurashi burst through the front door just in time to see Inu-Yasha, Sesshoumaru, and Rin land safely on the shrine grounds with a sleeping Natasha in her father's arms. Sesshoumaru however was carrying a dead corpse over his shoulder.
"NATASHA!" screamed Kagome as she ran past her mother towards Inu-Yasha.
Tears spilled from Kagome's eyes as she ran into Inu-Yasha's chest, weeping softly. Inu-Yasha gently passed Natasha to her mother and then wrapped his strong arms around them both.
"Thank god . . .thank god you got her back safe," whispered Mrs. Higurashi, collapsing to her knees.
Hojo, Ayumi, Souta, and Grandpa came running out of the house too, relieved to see the demons were back and had Natasha safely with them.
After a few moments they all moved back into the house and out of the raging blizzard they had been standing in. Everyone returned to the living room, but Inu-Yasha and his family headed up to Kagome's room to have some time alone, and no one booked any argument with the glare Inu-Yasha had given them.
As the half demon disappeared upstairs, Sesshoumaru turned to Rin, "You can head back to the past now,"
"Can't I go back with you?" asked Rin.
Sesshoumaru gave a small sigh, "Wait for me at Kaede's hut, I will come get you soon. I just have to have a small chat with Kagome's mother. Take Mushai's corpse back with you. We will leave it in my brothers forest for small demons to feast on,"
Rin gave a small nod, "As you wish my lord,"
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Shutting the door to Kagome's room, Inu-Yasha sat on the pink bed, pulling his mate and pup into his lap. Kagome had stopped crying, but her grasp around him and the pup had not loosened at tall. For a few moments, they basked in silence, finding comfort for the time being with each other's presence.
"I'm so glad you got her back," whispered Kagome.
Inu-Yasha nodded, burying his face into her soft hair, "We almost lost her . . .had it not been for Hiroshi,"
"Hiroshi? He was with you?" gasped Kagome, lifting her head to stare into her mate's eyes.
"Yeah . . . he caught onto our scents and followed us,"
"Tell me what happened," whispered Kagome.
Inu-Yasha took a deep breath and told what had happened, telling the same tale that Sesshoumaru was telling everyone else downstairs.
When Inu-Yasha finished, Kagome had started to cry again and wrapped her arms tightly around him, "You must have been so scared,"
Inu-Yasha nodded his head, burying his face in the crook of Kagome's neck, "I . . . I almost thought we had lost another pup,"
Kagome nodded, holding onto her mate tighter, "But we didn't . . .Natasha is still alive,"
Inu-Yasha gave a short nod, wrapping his arms tighter around his family.
Downstairs, everyone in the room was in clear shock from Sesshoumaru's story.
"So . . . your future son and daughter helped you," said Mrs. Higurashi, taking a sip from her coffee mug.
"Yes . . . and from what Inu-Yasha has learned from them, Rin and I do live until this time . . . but it is still uncertain whether Kagome or Inu-Yasha do," replied Sesshoumaru.
Mrs. Higurashi sighed softly and stared out the window for a moment, "The well will be closing soon?"
"I'm afraid so, my brother needs to close it as soon as we can so that this doesn't happen again,"
Kagome's mother nodded, "I see . . ."
Sesshoumaru stood and started to head towards the door, "I must be going now,"
Mrs. Higurashi stood as well, "I guess this is good bye for a while,"
Sesshoumaru gave a short nod, "Yes . . . I will see you again, all of you sometime,"
Everyone else in the room said their good-byes to the demon lord as he left the Higurashi house and headed towards the well.
'Take your time brother . . .give Kagome time to say good-bye to her family . . . for she might not see them for over five hundred years . . .or perhaps never again' thought Sesshoumaru as he slid the Shoji door open, closed it behind him, and leaped into the time crossing well, which would be his last and final trip.
TBC . . .
Epilogue should be up sometime next week . . . hopefully . . . .
Lynns