Chapter 4
- The Tale -

Time is a cruel creature
It changes the body and makes memories fade away
But it can never, ever stop love
- The Prophecy of Ages

Inuyasha closed his eyes thoughtfully.

"My name is Inuyasha. I am a half-demon. I live in To-"

"Cut the obvious, dummy!" said Yahiko, booting him in the head. "We know all that!"

"If you'd let me finish..." said Inuyasha irritably, clenching his teeth. "Ahem, well, a lot's gone on since you left, Kagome. The Well was

destroyed, so there was no way to get to you,"

"It WHAT?" said Kagome, suprised.

"Yeah, when that pink girl got rid of Naraku, I guess he did it as a last resort."

"So, there's no way back?" said Sango urgently, and seeing Inuyasha nod, she looked sadly at her feet. "Then...I can never see Kohaku

again...ever..."

"Oh, Sango..." said Miroku, putting an arm around her, seeing her eyes begin to sparkle with tears. "It's okay,"

"Umm, is something wrong?" said Megumi helpfully.

"She lost her little brother, a long time ago," said Inuyasha. "If it's any help, Sango, I'm sure he died peacefully. You don't need to worry

abou-"

"Can you talk about this later?" said Yahiko, who was growing impatient. "This is getting boring; if I was friends with a half-demon, I'd at

least like to know about him, not someone's stupid kid brother I don't even know!"

"You better watch it, kid..." said Inuyasha, forming a claw with his hand. "Get on my bad side and..."

"You really don't want to," said Kagome, nodding, then looking at the hanyou. "But try anything, and you know what I'll do,"

"Yeeaah," said Inuyasha. "Well, after the accident, I hung around in the village, waiting for you to come back. After a few years, I kinda

began to lose hope. Kaede died, eventually; we put her ashes next to Kikyo, and I kinda became the protector of the shrine, but I just let

the forest do what it wanted,"

He sighed.

"Things were pretty quiet for a few decades, but I started to notice something strange was going over when Shippo hadn't aged after a

while. It was rather odd, but I really didn't take much notice until after a century had passed and neither of us had changed. It was

definately something unnatural, that I knew at least. A few more years passed, and I kinda became the village elder; all the kids kept

asking about me and my stories, and hanging around me an' Shippo. I began to hear news that demons were beginning to disappear;

apparently, they were to go to another world the the Lord of Heaven made for them, but I chose to hang down here with Shippo.

Sesshoumaru showed up a little while after we got the news; by then, I think it was...1647, but I can't be sure. He had a home in the

western lands, but wanted to settle the rift between us; after Rin had died, his heart finally melted and he learned that life is more than just

a sword that was never meant for him."

"Oh, you mean that little girl that hung around him all the time?" said Kagome. "Poor thing; was it old age?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"Worse; that little imp Jaken killed her and took her off to the other world; he couldn't do anything, and locked himself in a cave and

never came out for years, he felt so guity about it,"

"Hard to imagine that," said Sango. "Sesshoumaru grieving over a child?"

"A lot of things have changed, Sango," said Inuyasha coldly. "More than you can imagine..."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"Anyways, another two centuries came and went, and I found myself living in the forest; the village had grown and become a great city

called Edo. My existance became mere myth; my forest was barely ventured into anymore, only by kids out on dares. I would try to

avoid them as best I could; truly, I had become a hermit, waiting for you by what was left of the Well."

"Then, I woke up one morning to find myself in a fine house in really nice clothes Sesshoumaru had come for me in the night and brought

me there; he said the woods were becoming dangerous and that I should not live there anymore. So, I abandoned my home in the forest,

and I've lived there ever since, under an assumed name,"

"So that's it, huh?" said Sano. "Man, that's pretty cool; you gotta tell me more of this stuff about your past,"

"So, Shippo and Sesshoumaru are still alive as well?" asked Miroku. Inuyasha nodded.

"Man, Kagome, would Shippo be glad to see you!" he said with a smile. "Y'know, he kept your sleeping bag for you at the house; I

suppose you'll want it,"

"Well, I'd be glad to see him too," said Kagome. "But first, let's eat! I'm starving!"

"HERE HERE!"

-/-

"So, where is your house, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku later that night.

"Edge of town; Sesshoumaru's got a huge mansion," he replied casually. "Sano, pass the rice, will ya?"

"A mansion? Oh, wow..." said Kagome.

"Well, what d'you expect?" said Inuyasha, filling his bowl with rice. "He's the lord of the western lands; you won't believe how much cash

he has,"

"Ahhh!" said Miroku, rather pleased. "I see!"

"Say, how are you and your brother getting along nowadays?" said Sango.

"Fine, I guess," said Inuyasha. "We occasionally fight over a piece of food or something like that, but we never use our swords anymore,"

"That's good to hear," said Sango with a smile. "Are we all done?"

"Yes, I think so," said Kenshin, getting up. "Ke-, I mean, Inuyasha, you may leave now, if you wish,"

"I think I will," said Inuyasha. "But first..."

He turned towards Kagome and smiled sheepishly.

"You...wanna come...live...with me?"

Kagome gasped and Sango tilted her head against Miroku's shoulder and sighed.

"I-I-Inuyasha...?" she stuttered. "I..."

"I-I don't mean only you, of course!" he added nervously. "Sango, Miroku, you can come too, if you want,"

"That's all right," said Miroku, nodding, knowing exactly what Inuyasha was thinking.

"I agree," said Sango. "Don't worry, we'll stay back here,"

Inuyasha and Kagome stood, looking at each other.

For them, time seemed to stand still.

"So...are you coming?" he finally asked.

She paused and looked at her feet, and he got the horrible feeling of his heart sinking.

But then she looked up at him, a smile on her face, her cheeks tinged pink.

"...yes," she finally said.

Together, they held hands and walked down the street to Inuyasha's house, alone in their own universe until they reached the door.

-/-

"I'm back," Inuyasha proclaimed, taking off his shoes in the foyer. "Shippo, get over here."

There was silence as Kagome took off her shoes.

"SESSHOUMARU!" he screamed, and Kagome winced.

"WHAAAAT?" came the equally loud reply.

"Where the hell is Shippo?" said Inuyasha.

"In his room, why?"

"Get 'im down here," said Inuyasha. "I got a suprise for him,"

"For meeee!"

A small round ball of red fur came hurtling down the magnificent oak stairs and into Inuyasha's arms. Kagome watched as it turned over

and revealed it's face.

"Where is it? What is it?" he asked.

"Right behind you , idgit," said Inuyasha cheerfully. Shippo peeked over Inuyasha's shoulder, and gasped with suprise and delight.

"Hi Shippo!" said Kagome, waving at the small kitsune. Instantly, she found the small creature snuggled in her arms, staining her borrowed

kimono with his tears.

"Ka-kagome!" he cried. "Oh..oh...but how?"

"We had a chance encounter," said Inuyasha. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we need to get Kagome her room,"

"She's coming to live with us?" said Shippo, suprised. Kagome nodded.

"That's right, I'm here to stay!"

Shippo snuggled even closer to her, and Inuyasha began up the stairs.

"Well, come on," he urged. "We'll get you a place to stay up here,"

Kagome was more than eager to follow. Following the hanyou down the hallway, he paused at a door.

"Ah, I think you'll like this one," he said.

"Oh yeah, she will," Shippo agreed, and smiled. Inuyasha grinned, and opened the door.

"Oh, wow!" said Kagome as she entered the room.

The place was a beautiful vison of elegance and simplicity. The four-poster bed in the corner was covered in a soft, pink velvet-like fabric

with a pattern of sakura, the softer-looking pillows plump and seeming to wait for someone's head. The beautiful dresser of warm walnut

matched the paneled walls and bed perfectly. A pale pink chair sat by a window, offering a beautiful view of Tokyo to whomever was

lucky enough to sit there.

"Inuyasha..." said Kagome, looking around in wonder at her new room. "I...I don't know what to say,"

"I...I mean, -we-, made this room, waiting for you to come back," Inuyasha admitted. "I'm...glad it finally came in handy,"

She turned around and, suddenly hugged him, causing Shippo to land on the bedspread.

"Inuyasha...you're the best..."

He hugged her back, and Shippo watched them happily, resting his head in his hands.

"It's late," Inuyasha said. "I'll go now. See you in the morning, then,"

Kagome sat on the bed and yawned.

"Yeah. Good night Inuyasha, Shippo. I really missed you guys,"

"You have no idea..." Inuyasha whispered as he began to close the door.

"What?"

"Nothing. G'nite, Kagome,"

The door closed, and Kagome lay against one of the pillows, and heard a faint drumming noise coming from outside.

Sitting up, she found it was raining. Sighing, she sat on the soft pink chair and watched the rain fall until she fell asleep, reminiscing on all of

the wonderful old memories she had shared with Inuyasha.

And for the first time since their separation, she felt like she was truly home.

- Next -
The Magician