Chickahominy Creek

Of All Possible Worlds

Chapter 1: All But The Happily Ever After

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Memories are waking dreams.

Rivers that run nowhere

Broken into bits

Shimmering in the past

Burning cold like distant stars.

They are a jigsaw of missing pieces.

Unfocused pictures.

They sound only once.

A gasp in time

Reverberating through passing years

Echoing, echoing, fading, drifting

But never dead.

Midori Akitaki jammed the rock beneath her with frustration, tearing it aside furiously with her chisel. Dimly, she hoped that her boss wasn't watching; unearthing artifacts should be done with nothing but care and precision. If her older brother saw the way she was treating her little corner of the site, she'd never hear the end of it. But Hojo Akitaki was not foremost in her mind at the moment.

The idiotic fool! She thought with furry, striking the ground again with a strength driven by adrenaline. How could he possibly leave her like that? He was a poor excuse for a boyfriend—to think she was contemplating marrying him yesterday. But now? Oh, no, she wouldn't walk within a one-hundred meter radius of that conceited excuse for a human being. Did he realize that she had waited for him for over an hour? Had sat, in the restaurant, alone, with no date, for sixty-two minutes? Men, what she wouldn't give to wipe every single one off the face of the planet.

Another four quick thrusts broke the dirt and after the last, she stopped to catch her breath. She was breathing hard and her head was pounding. Sweat poured down her face and back. Her dark hair, pulled away from her face with a rubber band, hung limply over her shoulders like a rung out old rag. The shorts and thin t-shirt she had thrown on that morning suddenly seemed too heavy. Even her bra was soaked through.

Midori leaned back on her heals—she felt so much better.

After several seconds of relaxing, she bent down to examine the damage. A glint of blackness beneath the dark brown soil caught her attention and she blinked, rubbing her eyes. It had to be a trick of the sun. She had been digging in the same spot for days with no results. The likelihood of actually finding something worthwhile after all this time…

Carefully this time, Midori began scraping away the dirt, setting her chisel aside for a tiny pick. All thoughts of her boyfriend—what's his name, it didn't seem to matter anymore—were gone. Every part of her being was focused on the task in front of her. She was bodily pressed to the ground, ignoring the smudges of dirt that would probably never come out of her white t-shirt. Stones crushed into her hips and stomach, but the discomfort was outside her consciousness. The pick she wielded with practiced ease, gently unearthing her find grain by grain, careful not to damage anything. Her excitement mounted when the form finally took shape—it looked like a sword.

It took nearly two and a half hours to complete the excavation and much to Midori's delight, there was not one, but two blades hidden beneath her hands. With the soil out of the way, she ran her fingers against the black sheath of the first blade reverently. It was so smooth! Even after hundreds of years buried beneath the eastern end of Tokyo, the sword was in almost perfect condition.

She knew that she should probably get up and notify her brother, but she couldn't seem to pull herself away. The first blade was completely uncovered, but the second was still buried. She took up her pick again; surely Hojo wouldn't mind if she cleared away just a little more. There wasn't that much left, but… she squinted at the brown dust. There was something else beyond the swords, something hard and cold, like marble but rougher. Pick and brush were flying, rapidly trying to reveal whatever was there.

Minutes later, she gave the brush a final flick and gasped, her jaw dropping in shock. There was a face staring up at her from the earth. Midori's heart quickened; for a moment, she had thought the stone face real, so life-like was the portrayal. The woman in the earth had wide eyes that took in everything around her with a kind of primal hunger. Her full lips were parted slightly, as if the woman had been frozen in mid-breath. Sharp cheekbones and chin, high forehead, arched eyebrows—exquisite.

Midori ran to get Hojo.

Kagome Higurashi sat stiffly in her chair, thumbing through the pages of the final draft to her latest book, a large cup of mocha—double shot espresso—within easy reach. Her small fine boned hands, stained dark with ink, flipped through page after page restlessly. She felt heat rising in her body, but she doubted that it had anything to do with late August's hot weather and everything to do with the text between her fingers. It had taken months of writing to complete, whole days spent locked in her apartment at a computer to reach the end. Except that it didn't seem like the end. Her fingers itched to add more, but couldn't.

Because that was the end, and she would know, it was her own story. She sighed, wondering if all writers felt like their own autobiographies were incomplete.

"This is very good Kagome," said the young woman sitting opposite her across the table, manicured nails resting on another copy of the book. "I expected nothing less from you, except…" Her voice trailed off. She removed the reading glasses from her face, carefully folding them and placing them on the table. "It's such a sad ending. I was really expecting a happily ever after."

Kagome stared into her publicist's light brown eyes and smiled sadly. Yuki was one of her best friends, had been since middle school. Despite all the trouble she had put Yuki, Eri, and Ayumi through while she had been in the Feudal Era, the three still stuck by her. She wished she could tell them the truth. Everyday, she wanted to tell them that her book series, "A Feudal Fairytale," was more than just a product of an overactive imagination. It was the tale of her adventures and the reason for her absence back when she was fifteen. Her friends had been the pillar that held her when she returned from her final trip to the past.

After the well closed up permanently, Kagome had been nothing more than a living wraith. She couldn't recall much about that time and when she tried to remember, she only received flashes of images. She knew that she stopped eating at some point and wouldn't leave her room. She cried herself to sleep most nights, with Inuyasha's name on her lips more often than not. Usually, after those nights, her mother would come in, stroke her back, and whisper comforting words, but even she could not get Kagome to leave her self-erected refuge.

That melancholy had lasted almost a year. And then, during one of her worst moments, Yuki, Eri, and Ayumi came storming in, literally taking her locked door off its hinges with a screwdriver. Without any food, Kagome had lost a great deal of weight and it had been very easy for the three of them to haul her up and carry her down stairs to the kitchen, where they proceeded to heap large quantities of junk food onto a plate in front of her.

Then they refused to leave until they had an answer for her poor condition.

Kagome had woken up then. It was like coming out of a coma to realize years had passed in her absence. She had stared at them like they were strangers, looking at each of them as if she had never seen them before. An eternity crept by, and somewhere in between, the past finally caught up with the present. When the two met, Kagome had reached for Yuki and started bawling.

The truth never left her lips, but the feelings finally came out. Kagome didn't know how long she cried, but all three of them held her through the entire fit of tears, rubbing her back, telling her that everything would be okay. That she had friends. Friends who would help her put her life back together.

When she was ready, Kagome went back to school. By the time she returned, she was two grades behind, but despite that, she dug in with vigor. Her friends helped her catch up, and by taking summer courses, she had even managed to graduate from high school with the rest of her class. Now, she was a year and a half out of college with a degree in Japanese literature. With her adventures in the Feudal Era at her back, she had also decided to go for a concentration within her major—fairytales and legends.

She had not originally set out to write a book, much less five, but after trying her hand at several jobs with no satisfaction, she found that she was only happy pouring her heart out to her computer—the only safe place for her story was between the pages of a fairytale. And her fairytale, with Yuki as her publicist, had sold millions of copies.

"Hey, Kagome, you still with me? You're zoning again."

Kagome looked up from the page she had been staring at and gave Yuki a hesitant smile. 'Zoning' was becoming a habit of late. She didn't mean to tune her friend out, but ever since she started on her book series, she'd been getting lost inside her own head. The past just didn't want to let go.

"Sorry, Yuki. You were saying?"

Yuki's soft eyes met hers squarely. "I said: don't forget about the book signing on Wednesday. You're supposed to be at the bookstore by eleven o'clock. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Kagome took a sip of mocha from her cup, enjoying the slight burning of the hot liquid as it seeped down her throat. Just what she needed. "I'm fine, just a little tired, which is nothing a little caffeine can't fix."

"You're always tired."

"Well, I did manage to turn out five novels in a year and a half. I deserve to be a little daunted."

Yuki nodded in agreement, a slight smirk on her face. She sighed dramatically. "Poor Kagome. All alone in her little apartment, buried in her work with nothing but a cup of coffee for company."

"And I enjoyed every second of it." Kagome leaned back and closed her eyes, relaxing against the chair's back. That wasn't quite true of course. The books brought a lot of pain. Not only had she dredged up the past in full, vivid detail, but there were also the sleepless nights, the writer's block, and the frustration of spending hour upon hour behind a closed door that she couldn't bring herself to step through until everything in her head was either down on paper or in her computer. It had been her restful prison.

"Every second?" Yuki's brow jumped in surprise. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that that doesn't shock me or the fact that I can actually see how you would." She paused for a moment, considering, and Kagome barley managed to suppress a low groan. There was a shift in Yuki's voice, she was moving from publicist mode back to best friend. She knew exactly where this was leading, though she probably should have chalked it up as inevitable; it was a routine topic of conversation.

"You need to get a boyfriend," Yuki said simply. Yes, there it was. Kagome took another swig of caffeine—three long swallows. "Come on Kagome, a boyfriend would be the best distraction for you," her friend continued. "He could help you relax, take some of the daily stress off your shoulders. I bet a tall dark and handsome would do you worlds of good."

"I'm not really the tall dark and handsome type." Another sip.

"Okay, somebody foreign then. There're plenty of them in Tokyo."

"What would I do with a foreign boy?" Kagome asked, only half paying attention to the tirade. It was the same script they always used. "Besides, you know what my relationships have been like in the past. I'm just not good with them and now isn't the time." Too true. Most of her relationships lasted no more than a week and never got beyond the shallow end of the water. One date, maybe two, a single shared kiss, and a goodbye; none of them ever stuck around.

"If nothing else, you could use one as a pet," Yuki said absently.

"I already have a pet thanks. Kiri is more than enough."

Her friend huffed, nailing Kagome with a scathing look. "That stray doesn't count as a pet. All that cat does eat and sleep. He even hunts his own food, so you don't have to take care of him." Yuki cringed at the last comment, no doubt thinking of the 'meal' Kiri had decided he wanted to share with her last time she visited. Birds weren't Yuki's usual fair.

Yuki put a finger to her lips. She was silent for a moment and then, "You could use him for inspiration. Good research material."

The mocha in her mouth nearly came spewing out again. Kagome reached for a napkin and quickly brought to her mouth. She choked down the liquid, gasping once she could get air. "Excuse me," she managed. Kagome could feel her cheeks burning and the eyes of other customers glued to her back in curiosity.

"I was just saying that you could use a boyfriend for inspiration in your books." Yuki smiled wickedly. Kagome's cheeks got redder. "You know, you never really go past kissing in your books. I mean, you're twenty-three years old. Perhaps you should go a little further in the sequels. Spice things up a bit…we are going to see a sequel, aren't we? You honestly can't mean to leave it like this, with the girl sobbing by the well."

Kagome blinked in shock, a little dazed by the sudden change. It was like Yuki had just flipped a switched. One second she's speaking as her friend and then 'click,' back into publicist mode. The startled girl blinked, tracing her way back through the conversations, suddenly registering the word 'sequel.'

"Actually…"

Yuki's eyes widened into saucers and she nearly rose to her feet. "Oh, no, Kagome, no. That is no way to leave that beautiful story. There has to be more!"

Is this the friend or the publicist? "There isn't anymore, that's the end."

"But Kagome! Think what this will do to your fans. You built this story up for such a dramatic ending!"

The publicist, Kagome decided. "I thought it was dramatic."

"But a love shouldn't end like that," Yuki continued. "Not love that deep." Yuki stopped to catch her breath and suddenly noticed that most of the café was staring at her. She cleared her throat. "You really need a boyfriend."

Nope, I was wrong. Friend. And Yuki was wrong too. Love like that, love like she once had, could end like that: sorry, lonely, and heartbroken.

"Just think about it Kagome. There's something more in there," the publicist said, grabbing her purse from where it rested beneath her chair. She held up the copy of Kagome's last book. "I'm going to run this to the office. You going to be okay getting back to your apartment?"

"Of course." Kagome got up, slinging her own bag over her shoulder. She shook the cup that had held her mocha and frowned—empty. She'd throw it away on her way out.

She followed Yuki out the door and onto the busy streets of Tokyo. Yuki went left giving her a quick wave goodbye, heading towards the subway station. Kagome took off in the opposite direction, allowing the crowd to take her towards her apartment complex. Most of the people around her huddled in groups. The majority of them were students out of class for the day. Although she had graduated already, her apartment was close to campus on the outskirts of the city.

Kagome trudged down the sidewalk, absently wondering whether or not it would be to her advantage to take the bus. As she told Yuki, her apartment wasn't far from the café, but her legs were feeling every step. Her body just felt so tired lately. Not enough sleep; she worked from sun up to sun down. The next book was already underway, though she left her adventures out of this one's plot.

There was a loud rumble a few feet away. It was the turning over of a bus's motor and the last few people in line were just beginning to file in. Kagome walked past the bus stop. The exercise would do her good and the weather outside was perfect for it—sunny, clear, and warm. Sunny and warm…

"Come on, Inuyasha! It's a gorgeous day." Kagome strode through the tall meadow grasses several paces in front of the hanyou, her light steps fueled by a glittering sun. They had stopped for the night in a nearby village after collecting another jewel shard. Kagome had risen early that morning and upon seeing the fields just beyond the outskirts of the village—it had been too tempting to resist.

When Inuyasha huffed irritably, Kagome grinned. Someone had definitely woken up on the wrong side of the tree this morning. "Grouch," she said, chuckling. If he meant to look threatening, he was failing miserably; he looked like a pouting child. His face was scrunched slightly in annoyance, wrinkling his nose and putting creases by his eyes. His ears were twitching and Kagome struggled to keep her hands at her side—she wanted to touch them.

"We're supposed to be looking for jewel shards, not dawdling."

"Spoil sport. We've been on the road for weeks without a break. Don't you want a rest," Kagome asked.

"Feh, I don't need to rest. We should go back to the village and tell Sango and Miroku it's time to go. The sooner we gather the shards, the sooner we defeat Naraku." He had an edge in his voice and Kagome didn't have to look to know that his hands were locking into fists. There was a pregnant silence and Kagome could feel the past sinking between them again. She was losing him.

But she could bring him back.

Before Inuyasha knew what was happening, Kagome sprang towards him, using her momentum to lock onto his shoulders and push him down between the stalks of grass. Inuyasha stared at her with startled eyes. Her body covered his, fingers bunched in the threads of his kimono. Shielded from prying eyes by the tall grasses, she snaked her hands upward, passing through his silvery hair until she reached his ears, finally giving into the temptation to caress them. Beneath her, Inuyasha stiffened and then relaxed, settling into her ministrations. Arms wrapped around her gently, securing her to a warm chest. Kagome sighed. Just the two of them…

Kagome let out a startled cry as her bottom connected with the sidewalk. The air in her lungs was forced out and she nearly choked. She would definitely have a bruise tomorrow.

Kagome cursed herself for letting her mind wander, wondering what it was that caused her to trip. Then a shadow fell over her and she found herself staring up into the narrow black eyes of a scruffy-looking boy. "I'm sorry, lady. I didn't mean to knock you over, I was in a hurry. Have to get back home before mom gets cranky about my missing. I didn't mean it. Really." A thin hand was thrust in front of her face and without thinking about it, she allowed the boy to pull her up.

"It's alright; I wasn't really paying attention myself. It's probably my fault actually," Kagome said, rubbing the side of her head above her left eyebrow. A mighty headache was beginning to form; just what she needed.

"You alright lady?" The boy barely came up to her chest and he was staring up at her inquisitively. He looked like he had been in a rush. Black hair stuck up in every direction, giving him the appearance of just having rolled out of bed. Kagome had a brush in her purse—she was itching to use it. The jeans he wore were wrinkled, as was the two sizes too big black t-shirt covering his small frame. She had gotten a good view of his feet from the ground—his socks didn't match. For some reason, the thought made Kagome feel better. He reminded her of her brother Sota on a bad day.

"I'm fine, no harm done," she told him.

"Good. I'll be off then. Sorry again!" The boy blew past her, jostling her as he moved away, speeding down the sidewalk at an astonishing pace despite the crowd.

Strange kid. Maybe I should take the bus after all. Kagome reached for her purse and to her surprise, found that it was open. Her hand shuffled through the contents, searching for her wallet and bus pass, but found nothing.

Her mind began to panic, but she forced herself to trace her steps backwards. She knew she had it back at the café because she had to pay for her mocha and she distinctly recalled putting her wallet back into her purse when she was done. Could it have fallen out? No, she had closed her purse…

The boy.

Kagome spun around and began running in the direction the boy had taken. When she reached the bus station at the corner, she jumped onto one of the benches, getting above the crowd and searching for a familiar black t-shirt. She was getting frustrated when movement across the street caught her eye—there.

"Stop that kid, stop him! He stole my wallet!" People around her stared at her in shock, but didn't make a move to interfere. Frustrated, Kagome pushed them aside, thrusting through the people standing around the bench and into the street. She ignored the oncoming traffic, which was going nowhere fast, and sped as fast as she could to the other side, still screaming for someone to stop the kid. Horns blared as she ran and many people leaned out windows to scream at her, some yelling "stop," in concern for her safety, others shouting obscenities for slowing down a commute already near standstill.

Kagome was across in seconds, quickly making up ground. The boy didn't even notice her until she was on the sidewalk. Once he realized he had been spotted however, he took off at a dead sprint, moving deftly along the densely packed walkway.

The boy was quick, but Kagome's legs were longer and her endurance was high, both from natural ability and the added benefit of boiling rage. She was closing in on him when he suddenly darted down an alleyway, knocking over a trashcan to impede her chase—she vaulted over it.

He was within arm's reach when he yanked open a metal door. Knowing what was about to occur, Kagome dove, thrusting her body into the doorway. The heavy metal crashed into her shoulder but she ignored the pain and reached out blindly for the thief instead. Her fingers caught the hem of his shirt and she quickly pulled him toward her, balling clothing into her fist.

"Let go!" The boy struggled, kicking and swinging his arms wildly. Kagome ducked his swings.

"I'll let you go when you give me my wallet you little brat."

"I didn't take it, I swear! Let go." A flying fist connected with her jaw and she grunted, but still didn't relinquish her hold.

She opened her mouth to demand her wallet again when she suddenly became aware of a new presence in the room beyond the door.

"Kuja! What did you do this time?" The boy stopped struggling and stiffened in Kagome's arms.

"Nothing, Grandmother." Kagome watched as the bent old woman emerged from the hallway. Her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun in back of her head, adding more wrinkles to the hundreds that naturally creased her face. The folds in the woman's skin gave her a grandmotherly look; her eyes, however, added the kind of wisdom that could only be associated with years of experience. They were black, just like her grandson's, and unclouded. They saw through her as easily as they saw through tissue paper.

"Nothing?" the old woman repeated. A bloodhound sensing a lie.

"He stole my wallet."

The old woman nodded. "I see." She hobbled toward the door, stopping before the entrance. She held out her hand.

With a grunt, Kuja dug into the pocket of his jeans and fished out Kagome's wallet, placing it in the old woman's palm. When her property left his hands, Kagome released him.

After Kuja was out of the hallway, Grandma held out the wallet to Kagome. "I apologize for my grandson's actions young lady. He is an impetuous youth. A handful in my old age."

"I understand," Kagome said calmly. "It isn't a big deal, so long as I got it back." She could definitely understand "impetuous youth." Shippo had been the same way sometime, acting on impulse before thinking something through. Come to think of it, Inuyasha had been that way seventy percent of the time…Stop that train of thought right there! Haven't you buried yourself in that enough already today?

Kagome reached to take her wallet when the old woman's hand suddenly snatched her wrist. To Kagome's shock, the grip on her wrist was hard, almost painful enough to make her wince. She was surprised she didn't hear bones cracking. How was it possible for a woman her age to have so much strength? "What?"

"Let me see your hands," the grandmother said, sounding desperate. There was an edge to her voice that hadn't been there before. The hairs on the back of Kagome's neck rose.

"What? My hands…?"

"Yes, girl, your hands! Give them to me now!" Her tone left no room for argument. Kagome briefly wondered if Kuja got away with anything at all. Probably not.

Not knowing what else to do, Kagome did as she was asked and thrust out her hands. The wallet forgotten, the old woman grasped each of Kagome's hands in both of hers, palms up. The grip that was so secure seconds ago quivered now. Withered fingers traced up and down her palms as the woman bent over to get a better look. Kagome shivered with the contact of skin on skin, the crone's fingers traced every line from base to tip. There was a current running up and down her hand; the withered fingers were a low voltage livewire.

The sunken mouth was pressed into a thin light. "You're right hand. A difficult past, painful. There's magic in these hands. Lots of it. You've been hiding it from everyone. You're good at hiding it. Haven't seen this much since…"

She stopped and pulled her attention away from Kagome's hands to stare at the girl before her, eyes narrowed. Whatever she found brought surprise and confusion to her face, her lips parting slightly. "It's you. Could this mean…"

The ancient fingers pulled roughly at Kagome's left hand, bringing it to the woman's face. The electricity was coming in full force, radiating between the young girl and the old woman. She was silent this time, as if she were confirming something she already knew. "It's coming back, and once again, you are in the thick of it." She dropped Kagome's hand abruptly and pointed to the door. "Go home girl, now. And be ready. It has already been released. Word will spread."

With those parting words, the old woman followed her grandson down the hallway. Kagome didn't hesitate in taking the woman's advice. Without pause, she reached down and picked up her wallet from where it had fallen on the floor before retreating through the doorway. She ran out of the alleyway; every fiber of her being was telling her to get as far away from the crone as possible.

She didn't stop running until she was on a bus with the doors closed firmly behind her.

She was a block from home when she realized that something inside her purse was beeping. Grumbling, she undid the zipper and pulled out her cell phone. When she flipped it open, the word 'voice message' flickered across the screen. Probably Yuki. She jammed the call button and raised the phone to her ear.

"Message one," said the mechanical voice. But the next voice she heard wasn't Yuki. It was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Hi, Kagome, this is Hojo Akitaki. It's been awhile. Listen, I don't know if you know this or not, but I've been working with a team of archeologists on the east end of Tokyo, close to our old high school." She knew of the sight. Her mom called once every week or so to complain about the noise. It was very close to the shrine.

Hojo continued. "We've been digging for several months now, but we hadn't come up with anything until two days ago. I know this is going to sound strange, but we found something that might interest you. Swords, Kagome, two of them! Yeah, okay, so maybe that doesn't sound so interesting, but I thought it was kind of neat when I found them, well actually it was Midori who found them, but I was the one who evaluated them, worked with the time tables and such… Anyway, the funny thing is, they're almost exactly like Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga, the swords in your books. I was wondering if you would like to come down and have a look tomorrow morning. Obviously they aren't the real Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga, that would be impossible, but still…"

The message cut off and Kagome heard the mechanical voice cut in again, asking her what she would like to do next. Kagome just cut the phone off, placing it nervelessly back into her purse.

They're almost exactly like Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga, the swords from your books.

It's coming back…You are in the thick of it.

…tomorrow morning.

AN: Wow, long chapter. I'm posting this somewhat early. I've reread it all the way through, but I think it's too early in the morning for that read to have done any good. I hope there aren't too many grammar/spelling errors.

Thank you to all who reviewed. Reviews make me happy!