Important Quick Note: I just think it's fair to warn you that the events here are gonna pass kinda fast. In other words there's gonna be a lot of "meanwhile breaks" so please be patient till we get to the grand finale...muahahahahaha...well sort of...don't worry, this is not the last chapter...yet...muahahahahaha (another evil laughter) oh...sorry, okay you can continue now...sorry...again...
Chapter Sixteen
"Empty...?" Hojake echoed to the party before him. His eyes quickly opened as he gasped. He raced out of the hallway he was in and stepped foot outside.
"Already...?" he whispered, gazing at the soon to be setting sun.
"What is it?" Kagome asked walking up behind him.
Hojake turned towards her and her friends. "The sun almost sets, I must be off."
"But wait..." Sango protested.
"Yeah, what about Inu Yasha?" Shippo pipped from Kagome's shoulder.
"Ah...that..." Hojake quickly scanned the brain in the vessel he was in. He again turned towards Kagome. "You do recall on the way over here the nearby hot springs, right?"
Kagome nodded.
"The ceremony is to be held not far north from there. Now I bid you good-bye."
Hojake waved as he raced away from Kagome and her party.
"Thank you..." she awkwardly said.
"No time for that, Kagome. We must reach Inu Yasha before he weds Kouga!" Miroku hurried past her, leading the way to the hot springs. Even so, the party following behind him couldn't help but hear that little giggle that Miroku let crack past his lips.
The sound of a ringed staff and a skull meeting was heard...again...
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Hokaje gazed at the body below her. 'Hurry up. You're wasting my time...'
"Sorry for trying to fix your mistakes, dear sister."
Hokaje turned her eyes away from the ground and gasped in surprise at seeing her brother awake next to her. "But...I thought you were still..." She brought her sights anew to the body below her.
She watched as the wolf demon awoke, his hand to his head, a confused look on his face as he looked around in a daze.
"Where...? What happened...?" he questioned.
"It'll wear off soon, come on Hokaje," Hojake grabbed his sister's wrist and yanked her hard towards the direction of the hot springs.
"Wait!" she yelled.
"What?" Hojake stopped but still kept his grip on her wrist.
"Look," Hokaje pointed to the mini-swirl that was below them, heading in the same direction they were going to take. "Who is that? She looks like a wolf demon...but I don't think she's part of Kouga's clan. Or is she?"
"Who cares! We need to reach you mistake before it turns into a disaster!" Hojake yelled and with one final tug pulled his sister towards the direction they needed to take, the wolf demon figure below them running towards the same destination.
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'KOUGA! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU COWARD! SENDING YOU LITTLE FOLLOWERS TO DELIVER A MESSAGE INSTEAD OF COMING YOURSELF...YOU COWARD!'
Ayame's anger fueled her speed, further pushing her towards Kouga's scent. She could also smell Kagome's and also, a faint trail, of Inu Yasha's.
'I don't get it though...I thought Kagome didn't love Kouga. Unless...'
A low, menacing growl formed in her throat.
'Kouga...!'
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'What the hell am I dong here?'
Inu Yasha stood, still dressed in the demon tribe ceremonial gown, Kouga in front of him. Upon Yomi's return, he had pulled up his hair, or should he say Kagome's hair, into a bun, leaving her bangs to drape over her face. The bun itself was decorated with pearls that resembled mini-Shikon jewels. But before Inu Yasha could admire Kagome's new hairstyle on the polished walls, Yomi rushed him out of the room and the next thing he knew...he was facing Kouga.
There was a fire besides them, it's heat caressing them. It seemed the rest of the demon tribe was there too, standing around the fire as well, smiles on all their faces, glad for their leader who was to wed his love. Inu Yasha spotted Ginta and Hakkaku who, for some unknown reason, were badly bruised and beat up, yet still smiling.
"Kagome..." Kouga took Inu Yasha's hands.
"Uh...Kouga..." Inu Yasha tired to wedge his hands free, but to no avail.
"You are beautiful."
Inu Yasha blushed a bright red, not of the compliment itself but to who Kouga was actually saying it to.
Maybe he should know who he really is going to wed...
Inu Yasha debated over that mentally while he stared at the ground. He then looked at Kouga who stared at her, apparently he never even blinked, all the while looking at who he thought was Kagome.
Inu Yasha blushed again.
He gulped. "Uh...Kouga...there's something you should know..."
Kouga placed a finger on his lips. Inu Yasha felt like biting them off.
"Kagome...not now."
"What do you mean...?"
"We must kiss before the sun sets in order to complete the ceremony."
Inu Yasha almost collapsed. 'NO WAY! HELL NO! NOT THAT AGAIN!'
But Kouga couldn't read minds. He leaned closer.
"KOUGA!"
"INU YASHA!"
Although loud and fierce, the voices that vibrated through the air did not reach the setting sun behind them.
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Hojake stopped as he saw the demon tribe below him.
"It's about time. You turned my brains into mashed...something..." Hokaje said placing a hand on her head. She then noticed her brother's anxious look.
"What?"
She turned and saw the disappearing sun. "Uh-oh..."
"We're too late..." Hojake whispered.
"Um...Well if it makes you feel any better-"
"KOUGA!"
"INU YASHA!"
Hokaje was cut off by the yells below. She looked down and saw five figures that had cut through the circle of the demon tribe, standing within the inner circle that was reserved only for the wedding couple.
"Hey!" Hokaje yelled. "It's her! That wolf demon we saw running earlier. She was heading towards here after all! And look!"
Hojake smiled, seeing Kagome and the rest. "They made it..." Then moving his glance at the sun, Hojake saw the precious time he had left.
"Hokaje," he said. "Stand behind me and place your hand on my chest."
Hokaje's eyes went wide. "Hojake...You..."
"Do it now! We don't have much time!"
Hokaje obeyed.
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Inu Yasha's eyes widened at the beings he saw in front of him, standing behind Kouga. "Kagome...?" he questioned.
"Inu Yasha..." she repeated.
"Ayame?" Kouga questioned, seeing her standing behind Inu Yasha. "What are you dong here?"
"I wasn't gonna let you get married without talking it over with me!" she yelled. In the background, Ginta and Hakkaku flinched as if Ayame's anger physically lashed out at them.
"It still stings..." Ginta said in agony.
"The...pain..." Hakkaku added.
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome said, running towards him.
"Kagome!" Inu Yasha spoke, pulling his hand away from Kouga's in order to meet up with Kagome.
"Kouga!" Ayame lashed out in anger towards him.
"Please Ayame! We can't talk now! Ayame please understand!" Kouga desperately tired to calm her down.
Ginta and Hakkaku yelled in the background.
"KOUGA!"
"Ayame...please...!"
"Inu Yasha!"
"Kagome!"
Suddenly, it all stopped, as if the world decided to stop time and...freeze.
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"Hojake...?" Hokaje spoke slowly. She gasped as she looked below her. It was all...so still.
"You did it..." she whispered.
"Be quiet." Her brother snapped. "I can only hold this for so long."
It was then that Hokaje noticed her brother's back was slippery with sweat when only a moment ago it was dry as a bone. He was breathing hard.
'And he still has to switch their souls too...' she thought and for the first time came to realize just how much she had burdened her victims but most of all her brother. She closed her eyes. 'I'm sorry...Hojake...'
Hokaje's eyes suddenly fluttered open as a familiar bright light broke through. She knew her brother's power was more than enough to break any bonds that might have formed and bring everything back to normal. She closed her eyes once again, but she still heard his voice.
"Hokaje..."
"Yeah..." she muttered.
"The reason you had to have contact with me was so you wouldn't be affected by this."
"I know..." But she also knew it was more than that. It was to reflect on what she did. It worked.
"I already-"
"I know. Thanks."
Hokaje kept her eyes closed. She heard his voice again.
"Just so you know...when the time freeze expires, it's going to return a couple of minutes into the past. So don't get confused, okay?"
Hokaje nodded her head.
"Okay."
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'What am I doing here?' Kagome thought. She looked around. 'Where's Shippo and Sango and Miroku?' she looked down at herself. 'And what am I wearing? Where are my clothes!'
"Kagome...not now."
Kagome looked up to see Kouga before her.
"What...? Kouga...?"
In her dazed state of being she didn't hear what he had said, though she seems to recall something about a 'kiss'.
Suddenly, Kouga's lips press on hers. Now she knows there was definitely something about a kiss.
'Inu Yasha...?'
She heard his voice.
"Kagome!"
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! I enjoyed writing this chapter SO MUCH! I really hope you guys like it! Well as always, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO! I really don't know what else to say...so I'll say good-bye!
NEXT CHAPTER: Kouga kissed Kagome, does that mean they are officially married now? I guess it does according to wolf demon clan rules...or something like that. What will Inu Yasha do now? Hokaje changed the souls into their rightful bodies, so why is he still claiming something about "sealing" something?