:Disclaimer:
Leiko: We own absolutely no one in this story except the demon trio and the annoyin -- er, adorable kids in this chapter.We don't even own Koji.
Akana: Yeah, because Koji is Koji, and we can't own Koji because he's Koji!
Leiko: You make no sense. Stop talking.
Akana: But talking's sooo much fun! WHEEE!
:End Disclaimer:
Note: I rewrote a part in chapter 4. Nothing major, just changed one of the point of views. I also changed the summary to something I feel fits better. The other one was kind of lame.
An epilouge, written in third person, explaining what happened to the group. Thus ends Dominoes. Please enjoy and review.
Epilouge: Left Behind
A boy, appearing 17, was sprawled out on a large rock in the middle of a field. He lay basking in the sunlight, his eyes closed. His hair, a distinct reddish color, was tied back in a ponytail. His ears were pointed, marking him as a demon.
A small group of children were hiding in some bushes on the edge of the clearing. "Is that him?" one spoke up in a too-loud whisper.
"Shuddup or he'll hear us!" another hissed.
The boy smirked, knowing they were there even before they'd spoken. His keen senses has let him hear the rustle in the bushes and smell the scent of humans. He growled a little. "Come out you little brats!" he called, sitting up and opening his emerald eyes to glare their way. "I know you're there! No use trying to hide!"
"He caught us!" came a girl's giggling voice. Seven children between ages 5 and 10 sprang out of the bushes at once, all rushing towards the boy on the rock. The two youngest, one a girl and one a boy, both five, immediately climbed onto his lap.
"Tell us a story, Koji!" the little boy whined, and the girl quickly nodded in eager agreement.
"Fine," he conceeded, smiling at them. "Which one should it be?" He directed the question to the others, for these two young ones never had any idea which story they wanted.
"Tell us another one about the guy with the sword!" an 8-year-old boy said in excitement.
"Yuito, no one wants to hear about him," the second oldest child, a 9-year-old girl, told him skeptically. "Unless, of course, it's a romance story between him and the priestess with strange clothes!"
Yuto stuck his toungue out in disgust. "Those're stories for girls like you, Shina!" She glared at him, receiving a chuckle from Koji.
A 6-year-old girl, hair as black as a raven and eyes a soft auburn, spoke in a quiet voice. "Why don't you finish your last story?" she asked. Everyone stared at her, for she rarely ever talked, and never had she asked for a story. "You left off with the girl and the half demon both leaving the village. There's more, isn't there?"
He looked into her eyes. That story had brought an assortment of painful memories back to the surface, but he had told it anyway, had forced himself to recount it until it was late and the children had to go home. Looking into this girl's eyes, though, he remembered, and he knew he had to finish it now for them. "Alright, Aiko," he said smiling. "I'll tell the rest."
The children immediately sat on the grass in a semi-circle around him, all attention directed his way. "Miroku took his little sister back to the temple," Koji spoke, "and buried her beside their father's grave. After that, he returned to the village and lived with Kohaku as promised, helping to rebuild the village to its former glory. He never got over the deaths of the two people he cared about most. He often went back and visited his sister's grave, and every day he was at the village he brought more flowers to Sango's. Even now, he still hasn't found a woman to become his wife.
"I visit him and Kohaku in the demon slayer village at least twice a month. The rebuilding has long since been completed, and many people skilled in swordsmanship and magic have come to live there and become demon slayers. There's another thing about the village, though, something no one would've ever suspected, probably. Friendly demons and half demons live there as well, in harmony with the humans. It's a true haven to any in need of one. Sango would be proud of her younger brother, and he knows it. He has yet to find a girl to become head of the village with him, though.
"Months after he and Kagome left, Inuyasha returned to the village. He explained to Kaede what Kagome had 'chosen' and about the demons. He'd finally gotten revenge for everyone, he said, and he had the scar that ran from his elbow to his wrist on his right arm to prove it. After that, he left the village again, and I don't think anyone's seen him since. He's just fine, though, I know, killing any demon who makes the mistake of calling him a half breed." Koji swallowed the lump that had gathered in his throat and continued.
"Kagome... It took a long time, after everything that'd happened, for her to finally find peace once again and move on. She wound up marrying a guy in her own era, and she now lives peacefully with her new family."
"How do you know?" the little girl in his lap asked, looking up at him with innocently round eyes.
He smiled down at her. "I knew Kagome," he explained quietly. "She's a strong girl, strong enough to mourn and move on, like Kohaku did. Even though she moved on, though... she never forgot any of the people she met. Every day for the ten years she's been back over there, she's returned to the well in her own era, remembering her adventures with the group. She's looked at the sacred God tree just as often, remembering the first time she met Inuyasha. Then she's continued her life, as it was before Mistress Centipede entered it."
"What about Shippou?" young Aiko asked quietly.
Koji gave a small laugh, switching his gaze to look at her. "Why do you want to know about him?" he asked. "He's really not worth talking about."
"I wanna know!" a 7-year old boy protested.
"Yeah, me too!" the eldest, a 10-year old girl, agreed.
Koji knew he was out-numbered. "Alright, alright," he said, "even though there really isn't much to say. Shippou was only a child when it all happened, and he had it pretty tough after. He understood that his adopted mother was gone along with Sango. He was overjoyed when Inuyasha returned, and begged to join him on his travels to wherever. Inuyasha just crossed his arms and huffed in feigned annoyance before leaving, and Shippou was more devastated than ever. Somehow, though, he found a way to live on, taking off on his own journey a few years later to search for Inuyasha. He has all but disappeared... Unless you know where to find him."
"Did he find Inuyasha?" Yuito, the one who'd wanted a story about Inuyasha, asked. "Did they have all sorts of cool adventures together?"
Koji shook his head. "No," he answered. "He never found Inuyasha, but he hopes to see him at least once more before his life is over." A strange smell suddenly came to his nose, and he looked up at the sky. "It's about to rain," he warned. "You should go back to the village."
The two youngest slid from Shippou's lap with a deep sigh. Groaning and complaining, the rest got up from the seats and turned to start walking away, shoulders slumping in disappointment. They trudged along, muttering to each other about how they hated the rain. When a few drops touched their arms, their trudging was ended as they started to run frantically for the shelter of their homes. They all knew their parents would be furious if they got too wet.
Koji remained staring at the sky, watching the clouds with a gaze that showed he wasn't really all there. He let the rain fall freely on his face without moving, even as it rained harder and harder.
One child remained behind, standing before Koji, her auburn gaze locked on his face. "You're Shippou," Aiko stated. Her voice was small and hardly heard over the noise of the rain slapping the ground, but there was an undeniable force behind those words. There was force... and there was comfort. Not pity, not sympathy, just... comfort.
His bushy tail twitched. He closed his eyes, letting his tears mingle with the rain. "Yeah," Shippou answered.