"The End to the Feudal Fairy Tale"
Epilogue
Author's Notes: This is it everyone, the end! So the battle's finally ended, Naraku is dead, Kikyou is no more, the jewel is…well…gone. It's time to wrap things up! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. This story is mine though, so please respect it.
"The kisses."
"I- um- I mean that- er-" he stuttered, watching her eyes go half shut.
He was pinned by her eyes. "Admit it dog boy."
Inuyasha felt some of the nervousness ebb away. "Keh. Fine, I love you! Are you happy now?" His ego swelled; he said it.
"Yes." Kagome leaned towards him. "You know what?"
Inuyasha grinned. His admission gave him a sudden burst of bravado. "We can kiss now whenever we want?" he answered slyly, a fang protruding over his lower lip.
"Inuyash-" Kagome relaxed as his arms held her up, pulling her close while his lips ravished hers.
"Wow." she breathed, breaking the kiss.
"Keh." Inuyasha blushed.
"I guess you must really love me then."
"Damn right."
vvvvvvvvvv
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" chirped a happy Rin.
He turned slowly, acknowledging her inevitable remark.
"Thank you for protecting Rin and Kagome-sama!" she grinned.
"Should've kept the sword though-" someone mumbled from a few yards back.
Sesshoumaru faced away from her. "This Sesshoumaru was completing his duty."
Rin giggled. He was always so composed, but she knew that he was really caring on the inside. She paused for a moment, considering something and he waited for her to catch up. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"
He didn't answer.
"Can I visit Shippo-chan and Kagome-sama again sometime?" she asked, eyes large, face beaming with happiness.
"Absurd!" Jaken's voice was clearly heard, but for the moment, he was ignored.
"We shall see." He stepped forward. "Come, Rin. We are going home."
"Yes! Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin raced ahead of him, arms out wide. That was a yes if she ever heard it. She looked back at Jaken, who was wearing a grim expression.
"Come on Jaken-sama! We're going home!"
"I don't take orders from you-" he started.
"Jaken." commanded Sesshoumaru.
"Eep." The imp slipped on a sizable rock and fell flat on his face. "Yes Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"I will do as I please. And you will either follow or be killed." Sesshoumaru icily replied.
"B-bu-but Sesshoumaru-sama, you gave him the sword of your Father's fang!" Jaken stuttered. "To that half-breed! And you had the chance to destroy him too-"
His rant was cut short by Tokijin as it slashed his head cleanly from his body.
Rin stared at the imp's body for a moment, curiosity in her eyes.
"Aun." Sesshoumaru stated. "Bring him to the castle." He started walking and Rin jumped into stride next to him.
She smiled, Sesshoumaru-sama would revive Jaken-sama later. Rin felt a bit sad though, for now she would have to wait hours to play with Jaken-sama.
So, the two of them set off into the fading daylight, headed for home, in blissful silence.
vvvvvvvvvv
Kagome felt her bed shift and rubbed her eyes wearily. So she'd fallen asleep? When she tried to sit up, two arms held her back securely. A blush crept across her face as she remembered where she was. "Inuyasha?" she whispered.
He growled.
Giggling, Kagome closed her eyes again. She must have fallen asleep in his lap. It couldn't hurt to lay here for a little while longer, right? But it was getting dark and she wanted to go home and tell her mom about what had happened. "Home?" Her heart raced. What if she couldn't go home anymore?
"Inuyasha!" she tried to wiggle herself around to face him, but he held her tight. "Wake up! Wake up!"
"Oi! You're too loud! Go back to sleep." his voice was gravelly, heavy with sleep.
"No! You've got to wake up now! I have a problem!"
Inuyasha shifted under her, but didn't give any indication that he was going to let her go.
"Fine! But I have to use the restroom and you're not going to be happy if I have an acc-"
That was enough. In seconds, Kagome's feet were planted on the ground. She looked up and smiled wistfully; she hadn't even noticed that they were sleeping in a tree until now. Inuyasha blushed madly and backed away.
"So go already!"
She chuckled, "I didn't really need to use the bathroom, Inuyasha. You just wouldn't let me go!"
"Keh!" he scoffed. So she'd tricked him? Well, that wasn't happening again any time soon. "Then what was the emergency?"
"I was thinking about going home-"
"Not for more of that school thing!" he protested, glaring.
"No! Not that at all, well, I'll need to but-" she shook her head. "That's not the point. I don't know if I can go home anymore." Her gaze dropped to her shoes. "If the jewel is gone- What if I can't-"
Inuyasha cringed inwardly. If he didn't do something, she'd start crying again. "Oi, wench. Why don't we go to the well?"
"Yeah." she nodded, voice shaking.
"Come on." he gestured towards his back, and she climbed up.
Bounding through the trees, Inuyasha's mind was filled with guilt and worry. If she couldn't go back, would she hate him for trapping her here? But this was what he wanted, wasn't it: for her to stay? His ears flattened at the greedy thought. If she was trapped, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Kagome surely wouldn't blame him, right? He frowned. If she was able to go home, then what reason did she have to stay? Inuyasha ran along silently, his mind tortured with possibilities.
Suddenly, they were at the well, and Kagome was walking towards it. "Are you ready?" Inuyasha's words caught her by surprise.
"I guess so." she hastily replied. "But- I'm scared. What if I can't go home anymore? What if I can't see Mama and Grandpa and Souta anymore?"
She was starting to ramble; it was hurting Inuyasha's ears. "Hey! Just stop that okay? We won't know until we actually try, so- uh- why are you looking at me like that?"
Kagome's eyes were wide and watery. "It's just- You're right." She sniffed. "Will you jump with me? It would really hurt to hit the bottom if it doesn't-"
"It's gonna work. Relax." he coaxed, grabbing her hand.
Sighing, Inuyasha scooped Kagome up into his arms and took a deep breath. "Here we go." He jumped over the edge.
Kagome noticed the usual whoosh of air and waited. Squinting her eyes shut, she felt her stomach turn anxiously. For a moment, she felt that it was hopeless, that they were just going to land on the bottom. The air took on a blue hue and then there was a bump. The ground had apparently met with Inuyasha's feet. Kagome didn't want to open her eyes; what if nothing happened?
"Oi. Kagome."
"Hmm?"
"Open your eyes." Inuyasha said plainly.
Feeling slightly more confident at Inuyasha's kind voice and lack of expletives, Kagome hesitantly peeked one eye open. "Oh my-"
"Kagome-chan!" Her mother cried, grabbing Kagome up in a fierce hug.
"Mama?" Kagome asked in disbelief.
"Oh honey, I had this terrible feeling that something bad had happened to you, and I came to the well- What happened to your clothes?"
"I'm okay." she replied, pulling her skirt down a bit.
"What happened? Is Sis okay?" Souta came running up behind his Mother.
"Souta! Yeah, I'm fine, but listen, Mama-" she turned back to the teary-eyed woman with a smile, "We beat Naraku."
"Kagome-chan!"
"Wow, Sis, Inuyasha, that's so cool!" Souta then started imitating Inuyasha's Sankontessou attack, slashing forward with his hands.
"Keh." said Inuyasha.
Kagome frowned slightly. Inuyasha's ears were drooping and his eyes faced the ground, but were unfocused. His ego should have swelled to the size of Japan, but he seemed, well, depressed about something. She didn't get the chance to ask him, for at that moment, her Mother was dragging her into the house and insisting on making dinner.
vvvvvvvvvv
Though the table was lively all through dinner with discussion of recent events in the two time periods, Inuyasha remained quiet. He only ate four bowls of Ramen before excusing himself to the roof. Kagome just watched him go and didn't prod, her Mother was keeping her busy with conversation.
"So, Kagome-chan, after Inuyasha killed Naraku, what happened to the shikon?"
"I don't know, Mama. I passed out when it happened, and when I woke up, the shikon was gone." Kagome paused. "I don't even know how we were able to travel through the well without it."
"Maybe you never needed it?" Souta suggested through a spoonful of Ramen. "I mean, Inuyasha never needed the shards to get through."
"Souta-" Kagome breathed. The thought had never occurred to her. She started to ponder that point when she felt a tap at her shoulder.
"Kagome-chan?"
She snapped back to reality. "Sorry Mama, I was daydreaming."
Kagome's mother smiled sweetly. She knew that there were obviously some heavy things on her daughter's mind. By the looks of things, Inuyasha had a few things on his mind as well. "Why don't you go take a nice bath, dear?" She suggested.
"Yeah. That sounds nice. Excuse me." Kagome pushed away from the table and slowly climbed the stairs.
She turned on the water and let the remnants of her clothes fall from her body. A minute later, Kagome stepped into the tub, sighing as the water warmed her skin. "What if I never needed the jewel?" she repeated. "I mean, Souta's right, Inuyasha has always been able to pass through, right?" Memories flooded back to her. There was a time when Kikyou had pushed her into the well without her shard. She fell back to her time then. "I always thought it was the jewel that made time travel possible." she spoke aloud, trying to make it make sense. "But the jewel was inside me right? So how come I never slipped through before that time-" Kagome started rubbing soap over her arms.
"It's always been that only Inuyasha and I could pass through. Maybe we really were destined to meet?" She sighed. As if that was possible. "But it could be, right?" Kagome dipped down, leaving only her head above the water. "I just don't want the well to close forever. I couldn't live without-" Her mind wandered to a certain dog demon and she blushed. This thought, unfortunately, brought to mind a dozen other worries.
"Do demons marry?" She whispered, a bit shocked at her own question. "Does he want to- um- oh boy." Kagome sank down further, blowing bubbles with her mouth. She had no idea what Inuyasha was expecting. Sure, they had confessed their love for each other, but what now? There were so many questions. Kagome sighed and sat upright again. At least there would be time for that sort of thing now that Naraku was gone. Plenty of time- Her train of thought derailed.
"Even if I get to be with Inuyasha, he'll live a lot longer than me." Frowning, she imagined herself as an old granny next to an unchanged Inuyasha. It wasn't a pretty picture. Why couldn't her life be simple? Everything had to be a huge mess. "I've got to talk to him." She resolved.
vvvvvvvvvv
Up on the roof, Inuyasha was trying to work out problems of his own. He couldn't just ask Kagome to come live in the Feudal Era with him. She'd miss her family too much. "Keh. But I couldn't live here either-" he remembered the smelly machines and noisy streets and cringed. Wouldn't it be the same torture to ask Kagome to stay with him? But she loved him, right? "Keh." he huffed again. Steam filtered out from one of the windows. "Kagome must be taking a bath again." He just couldn't understand why she liked them so much, but his fears ebbed as he relaxed into the sweet smell of water and soap. "I guess I should get a bath too." Inuyasha noted the crusty blood under his claws and frowned. "Wait a minute." Something wasn't right.
"I haven't been in any pain." He knew he'd been seriously injured in the fight, so where were his injuries? Kagome had been healed by her own power, so maybe- Maybe some things were better left unexplained. Leaping from the roof, Inuyasha ran off into the woods to look for a good bathing spot.
A half hour later, he returned to his roof perch to find it occupied. "Kagome? What are you doing up here?"
"I had to talk to you." She tried to hide her worry. "Come on."
Inuyasha moved to her side and sat down a few feet away from her. "Kagome?."
"What?" she asked.
"Do you like my time?" he ventured a bit hesitant.
"Well sure." Her face brightened. "I love everyone there. Shippo, Sango-chan, Miroku, and Kaede." She listed them off in her head. "And of course, you."
He could feel himself blushing. "But you'd miss your Mom and all-"
What was he getting at? "Why? They're right downstairs."
She didn't understand. Inuyasha started to get annoyed. He was going to have to spell it out. "Kagome-"
"What is it?"
"Would you?" he tried.
"Would I what?"
"Stay-" he closed his eyes. "-with me."
Kagome's heart leapt. He was asking her to stay with him! But did he mean- "Inuyasha?"
"Huh?" he replied hastily.
"Did you mean stay, as in- you know-" Her face was rapidly turning red. "Marriage?"
"Huh? Well- I guess." Inuyasha stuttered. "I want you to stay forever, in my time, you know- as a- er-" Kagome watched as he tried to get the words out, her own embarrassment long forgotten. He was entirely too cute when flustered.
"As a what, Inuyasha?"
"As my mate!" He spat the words out as swiftly as he could, and then spun away from her. "Keh."
Her stomach was doing back flips and her spine felt tingly. Kagome could scarcely contain herself, the joy was overflowing. But a twinge of sadness still gripped her mind. "Inuyasha, I have a question first."
He nodded mutely.
"How long do demons live?"
Inuyasha thought for a minute before answering. "Well, I'm not sure. I think they can live for a really long time. Probably until they're killed by something or someone."
"Oh." she replied quietly.
"Why'd you want to know?" he asked quizzically.
"No reason."
"Keh. There's a reason, wench, so tell me."
"Well, I'm human." She looked away.
"And?"
"And, I may live to be a hundred."
Suddenly, he understood. She wouldn't live as long as him. His Kagome would grow old and gray while he stayed young for years. Humans were susceptible to disease and injuries could easily kill them. And she'd die long before he did. "Kagome-"
"It's silly, right? I've never thought about it before-" she sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "But I-"
"Just stop that! I don't care if you won't live as long!" he shouted
"Wha-"
"I don't care! It doesn't matter!" Inuyasha wasn't sure where the rage had come from, but the fury was pumping in his veins. "Living a hundred years or ten I don't care so long as it's with you!" He shook his fist angrily. "I'd have died already without you-" Red stained his cheeks all of a sudden. He blinked hard; he'd said too much. "That is- I- er- I need you Kagome." He finally faced her again, eyes clear.
"Inuyasha." she smiled. "Are you sure?"
"If you are." he managed. "You know what you're agreeing to, right?"
She nodded vigorously.
"All of it." he blushed.
"Yep!" she grinned.
Inuyasha put on an entirely too masculine grin.
Kagome blushed profusely. He couldn't be referring to- But he was blushing too, so- "Keh." he scoffed, the sly smirk still planted firmly on his face. He'd push that issue later. For now, he decided to have a little fun. "So no more of that school and no more books or test things."
"Hey!" Kagome balled her hands into fists at her sides. "No! I still need to study!"
"Why do you need to if you're gonna live in the past?" Inuyasha retorted.
"Well- I- I still want to finish!" She huffed, folding her arms against her chest.
Inuyasha mimicked her gesture. "No way, wench!"
Kagome scowled, but couldn't seem to stay mad. Instead, she decided to get even. "You're just jealous of my books aren't you?"
"Wha?" Inuyasha looked admittedly guilty. "No!"
"You are! You are jealous! Well, then," she added with a smirk of her own, "I guess I'll just go read now-"
"No!"
"See! You are jealous!" Kagome giggled.
A red-faced Inuyasha quickly scooped her up and leapt from the roof.
"Ah! Where are you taking me?"
"Home. And not another word about books!" he added swiftly.
"But that's not fair!" she half-laughed.
He stopped and stared at her. Kagome's breath caught in her throat. Then, without warning, he leaned his head down and gently kissed her lips. She went limp in his arms.
"Okay, maybe it is, but-" Kagome breathed. "We have to ask or tell Mama or something!"
Inuyasha jerked his head back a bit. "I think she agrees."
At the door, Kagome's mom stood smiling and waving broadly. "I give you my blessing, sweetie! Come back and visit soon!" As an afterthought she added, "But do warn me about any grandchildren, okay?"
Souta, who had just appeared at the door, watched his mother in awe. Then he joined her in waving. "Bye Sis! Bye Inuyasha! Now we're really gonna be brothers, right?"
"Mama! Souta!" Kagome chirped, a bit surprised by their enthusiasm.
They continued waving as Inuyasha jumped into the well house. Kagome closed her eyes at the familiar tug of the time slip. Everything was happening so fast. It was almost as if her family knew what was going to happen. Curiously enough, her grandfather hadn't tried to purify Inuyasha or- Wait a second. He wasn't even there! Where had her mother sent him at this hour? "I think I'm going to have a long talk with Mama when I go home next." she murmured.
"Keh."
"Hey! Don't you start that again! I am going to go home tomorrow and talk to Mama about all of this!" Kagome scolded.
Inuyasha flicked his ears back. "Could you go the day after?"
It was unusual for him to respond with anything other than a 'hell no,' so curiously, Kagome nodded her approval. "But why the day after?"
He didn't respond. In fact, he was avoiding eye contact.
"Inuyasha?"
Still no response.
She decided to change the subject. "Oh! What are we going to tell Sango and Miroku?" she exclaimed.
"Nothing. They can figure it out when we don't come back to the village tonight." Inuyasha replied flatly.
"Huh?" Kagome squirmed uncomfortably.
"Just wait and see wench."
Kagome's eyes went wide as her face burned red and a thin trail of smoke poured out of her ears. "Y- you- you don't mean we- you want- now- um-" she stuttered.
Inuyasha smirked. "Keh."
vvvvvvvvvv
A/N: That's the end people! I know this ending is rather fluffy and mushy and contains waaaaaay too much blushing and almost OOC-ness for Inuyasha, but I think it fits. Once the two are able to finally admit things, I think it would make Inuyasha relax and say the other things that he's really thinking. These two will always have fights and will always tease one another anyway, so I tried to throw in a bit of that as well. I hope you liked it.
Please review and let me know your final thoughts. I want to know if you liked the story, the style, and the characterization mostly. Also, I'm thinking about writing a sequel concerning finding a way to extend Kagome's life. Let me know what you think and if you would enjoy reading a sequel. (I won't write one if there isn't any interest among my favorite reviewers) Thanks again for sticking it out!