I really apologize for how long it took for this chapter. I am truly sorry. Last week I was just bombarded with a lot of work. I had three quizzes in one day (and these are not high school quizzes, these are college ones much tougher). Then over the weekend a friend who moved away about a year ago came in so I spent some time with him and I also took place in a bowling tournament (unfortunately everyone I was with place except me). I haven't even had time to read fanfics! Well you probably hate me for the wait and you'll also hate me for the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. Enjoy.
AriesnoShion - I don't think Sess will be helping out in the final battle. Yes I personally think it would be great to have the whole Inu family helping but there's reasons for everything (or at least why Sess isn't helping).
ssp51201 - Yes, Tai will be helping in the fight. I don't know how IY would be able to take on the yakuza all by himself. Even for being a powerful hanyou, I don't think he could do it all by himself.
Tsukinoko1 - Yes you are correct. The well does jump 500 years. I meant to put that in my notes but I forgot. Because of earlier miscalculations, I'm going with 400 years. I know I'm breaking away from what it is in the subs (cause I believe the dubs say 400) but I don't want to go back and start contradicting myself.
exsanguination - You may think Sess/Rin is cannon but that's only true for the viewers. While IY/Kag and Sango/Miroku are more set in stone in the anime, the Sess pairing is more open still. Be sure to check out the note right before the chapter for more info.
hikariko - Make a pairing with Tai and someone? Hmm... I haven't really thought about that yet. I might add that yet but as of right now, I have nothing on that.
FukashiOni - I'm not totally sure how Kagura acts in the dub. Sess won't really appear until I explain the Sess/Kagura pairing. As for Kanna, I believe it was mentioned in chapter 1 that she was defeated shortly before Naraku. Just for small recap, fight went like this. Gang fought Kanna won but some people hurt. Then fought Kagura, who lead them to Naraku and then fled while Naraku was busy in the fight. IY defeated Naraku.
LadyKaa28 - Okay, if you remember Midoriko has a link with Kagome and Inuyasha (really with just about everyone in the IY gang but its stronger between IY and Kag) so she could tell Kagome died. As for Kanna, she's dead, if you want more of an explanation look at the previous response. As for Tai, as far as I have it planned he's an only child. I haven't really thought about giving him siblings. And Tai will help out in the final fight.
brazil - Well as for other pairing. the Miroku/Sango pairing was already covered (or at least as far as I'm going to take it). As for Kouga/Ayame I'm not really going to cover that. I don't like Kouga much so I don't really wanna go into that.
Selcryn - With the "We have 20 or so..." comment, you're just reading into it a little too far. I was referring to the fact that they have 20 or so to fight. Tai's going to help out in the final battle.
Sesshomaru and Kagura Pairing Update: Okay I have decided that I will most likely extend the end of the story YET AGAIN to include the explaination. We're talking about 5-10 chapters. I will be taking a break though before writing that cause that's still in the planning stages. As for those of you who say that the Sess/Kagura pairing is wrong, or goes against the anime, etc. Check out this link: http:// www. geocities. com/ sess_kagura/. I actually got this from TailFluffGirl who wrote "Call Me Tomorrow." You might recognize that title. Its the story I recommended last chapter. Well anyway, the site explains how Sess and Kagura is a very likely pairing. It even mentions something that isn't in the anime yet (its in the manga though). So no more complaining from people who don't believe.
Disclaimer: I don't own IY.
Chapter 38: Sealing of Demon Blood - Part 1: Seeking Help
Inuyasha had sat back and watched Kagome tell her parents about their night. Of course, she had left out the part were she died. Instead she had told them that she had been wounded and Tensaiga was able to heal her. Even though she lied there was still plenty of blood on her shirt and Mr. and Mrs. Higurashi weren't quite happy at that. Mr. Higurashi had even grabbed Inuyasha's shirt and started shouting right in his face. Inuyasha got a little scared. Demons and evil humans he could handle but parents were another thing especially Kagome's parents. It wasn't that they were overly scary or anything but he had to be careful with what he said around them. He was slightly worried that he might not be allowed to stay with them.
In the end Kagome's parents calmed down and then shocked them. "I guess I shouldn't yell at you," Kagome's father said. "As a matter of fact, thank you." They were knocked off guard by this.
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked.
"If you weren't here then we'd probably all be dead by now, so the fact that Kagome was just injured and you was able to be fully healed is much better than being dead. I have you to thank for that."
"You shouldn't thank me," Inuyasha said. "Tonight I allowed myself to succumb to my demon blood which is not a good thing. I don't want to know what would have happened if Tai hadn't been there to save me. I don't know what I'm going to do if that happens again."
"Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said in a soothing tone. "It's not your fault. Everyone gets really angry so there's nothing to be sorry about. Have you always been this way?"
"No, my demon blood was sealed before but when I broke Tetsusaiga about a year ago, the seal was broken," Inuyasha said. "As long as I have my sword with me my blood is kept in check but if I lose it well… we know what can happen then."
"Is there any way to restore the seal?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
Inuyasha thought a little bit before answering. "Now that I think about it I don't know. I was always more worried about collecting jewel shards and as long as Tetsusaiga kept it in check I didn't worry about it."
"Well I guess if you want you might be able to find a way," she said.
"I think that would be best so that this doesn't happen again," Inuyasha said. He then turned to Kagome. "You can come if you want. You don't have to if you don't want to."
"I'll go, Inuyasha. I've always gone with you on your little adventures before I don't see why not now. Besides we haven't been back to the Feudal Era in a while so we might run into some of the others."
"Okay, since its pretty late now," Inuyasha said as he noticed to the clock which was almost midnight, "we'll leave around noon tomorrow."
"Yes that would be best," Mr. Higurashi said. "I think its best if we all go to bed now." With that everyone left the living room and headed to bed.
Inuyasha and Kagome set out the next afternoon. Mrs. Higurashi made sure they had more then they need. "Are you sure you don't need anymore ramen or some more medical supplies just in case?" she asked.
"I think we're fine. Even with Inuyasha's eating habit I think we'll be good," she replied. There was more ramen in her backpack then anything else. "As for medical supplies, I don't need anymore. I practically have 2 first aid kits in my pack."
"Well you can never be to careful, dear," her mother said.
"Thank you, mom," she said as she gave her mother and hug. "I don't know when we'll be back but hopefully it won't be too long." Kagome turned around and walked with Inuyasha to the well house where they proceeded to jump down together.
When they finally touched down in the Feudal Era, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and jumped up and out of the well to the welcoming sight of Inuyasha's Forest. They stood there for a few seconds breathing in the fresh air. It had been a while since they had the chance to come back to the past and the air was so much cleaner. Kagome had to admit, she missed it. Deep down it felt good to be back in this time period. "So where should we go first?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha took another sniff of the air before answering. "I think we should go see Kaede first," he said with a smile. Kagome didn't totally know what was up his sleeve but decided to go along with it.
When they finally reached the village they found Kaede outside gathering some herbs. "Kagome, Inuyasha, it has been a while since I've seen ye," Kaede greeted them. "How have ye been, child?"
"I've been doing just fine," Kagome replied. "Now that I'm not jumping through time I'm actually doing well in school."
"And how about ye, Inuyasha? How are ye adjusting to Kagome's time?"
"Its different," Inuyasha said. "Though I do like the fact I can have more ramen than before."
"Ye haven't changed, Inuyasha," Kaede said.
Kagome leaned in to her. "Don't let his act fool you. He's actually getting a bit nicer," Kagome said smiling.
"That is good to hear child," Kaede said. "So what brings you back here? Just for a visit or is there something that you need."
Kagome decided to tell Kaede the story of all that was currently going on. Kaede was shocked to find that Kagome had died. She told her about Tai bringing her back to life and that he was Sesshomaru's son but just in case she left out the information about Kagura. "So ye have come back looking to reseal Inuyasha's demon blood?"
"Yes, it's really important that we do this," Kagome said. "Speaking of which I guess we shouldn't sit around here. We should get going." Kagome said as she started to stand up but to her surprise Inuyasha just stayed sitting down. "Hey, are we going to search for an answer to seal our demon blood or not?" Kagome asked looking down on Inuyasha.
"Isn't it said that if you wait the answer will come to you," Inuyasha said staring at the sky.
"I don't think we have that kind of time," Kagome told him.
"All depends on how long you have to wait," Inuyasha said.
Kagome was getting more and more angry at his casual manner. Just before she could yell at him again a villager came running up for Kaede. "Lady Kaede, a demon is approaching from the south. He has a human with him as well."
Kaede stood up. "I will have to talk to ye two later since I must attend to this matter," she told Kagome and Inuyasha.
"Don't bother. You don't have anything to worry about," Inuyasha replied. He then spoke to the villager, "Let him come. He'll probably pass through the village without causing any harm so just leave him be."
"Are you sure about this Inuyasha?" Kagome asked before Kaede could.
"No, I'm going totally insane," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "I know what I'm talking about, just trust me."
"Lady Kaede?" the villager asked making sure it was okay with the old miko. Kaede just nodded in reply. She didn't know what Inuyasha was thinking but she had trusted him before so she trusted him now.
A few minutes later, all of them could see two people making their way to where they currently were. It was tough to see who exactly it was. Though Inuyasha didn't seem to be paying much attention he was the first to call out to the new visitors. "Took you long enough to get here," he yelled to them. "I've been waiting here for at least an hour."
It didn't take much longer for the two to reach them. When Kagome was finally able to see who was coming she was a bit surprised. It was Inuyasha's parents. She then remembered how they had said that they would stop in the village.
"Well forgive me Inuyasha," Inutaisho responded. "I haven't been in this area in a while so I wanted to make sure I knew the surround area."
"Yeah well didn't you say you'd be here a month after you left. We left the castle a little more than 2 months ago?" Inuyasha asked his father.
"Well actually that's my fault," Izayoi said to her son. "I wanted to stay a little longer at some places along the way. Everything is so nice. I just love all of this country; it's so beautiful to see."
"I agree," Kagome said. "I got a chance to see a lot when we traveled around looking for jewel shards."
Kaede gave a small cough on accident but still drew attention to herself. Inutaisho was the first to greet her. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Inutaisho, Inuyasha's father, and this is my wife, Izayoi," he said to the old lady. "You must be Kaede. Inuyasha has told us much about you."
"If it's coming from this lad," she said motioning to Inuyasha, "I'm not sure if you can trust all of it."
"Don't worry it was nothing bad," Izayoi said.
"Well I don't want to take up much of ye time. I know Inuyasha wishes to speak with ye," Kaede said.
"Why is that?" his father asked know this was serious.
Inuyasha gave his father a quick recap of his last fight. "And who is this Tai?" Inutaisho asked.
"This seems a little weird but he is Sesshomaru's son, just don't mention anything to him," Inuyasha warned his father.
"I understand. I guess my hopes do come true," he said but Inuyasha was confused. "Well if Sesshomaru's son is helping you out then that means that you two will probably bury the axe and get along."
"Yeah whatever," Inuyasha said. "At this point I don't really care about my relationship with my half-brother. What I do care about is is there a way to seal my demon blood again?"
Inutaisho frowned at this a little bit and looked to his wife who didn't look to happy either. "There isn't a way is there?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, there is," Inutaisho responded.
"Are you sure about this? Isn't there another way?" Izayoi all but begged.
"You know that there is no other way," he replied. "Izayoi, you stay here with Kagome. Teach her some more miko spells, I have a feeling she's going to need them. Inuyasha, you come with me."
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha liked the tension surrounding them but decided to do as they were told. Izayoi took Kagome near Kaede's hut and prepared to teach her some ways to use her miko abilities to help in the fight against the yakuza. Meanwhile, Inutaisho and his son walked deep into Inuyasha's Forest. Once they were far enough away from the village Inutaisho spoke, "Inuyasha, hand me Tetsusaiga."
Inuyasha didn't feel totally safe without it but he wasn't about to disobey his father. He took the sword off his belt and tossed it to his father. "So what do I have to do?" Inuyasha asked.
"Nothing, just stay there," his father said. Inutaisho took a big breath before speaking again. "You know I made sure you demon blood was sealed when you were first born and I intended that the seal would never be broken. As we both know, it has been broken and you are having a hard time controlling you anger at times, which causes your demon blood to take over."
"Yeah, that's why I came to you," Inuyasha said.
"When your blood was first sealed, I made a promise to everyone. One that I didn't want to make," he said not even looking at Inuyasha. "The promise was that if the seal should ever be broken and you failed to control yourself, I would make sure you never transformed again." Inuyasha didn't like how this was sounding. "Once the seal has been broken, it can not be redone."
"But you said it could," Inuyasha said.
"I lied," Inutaisho said bluntly. "I must now follow through with my promise from long ago. I cannot take the chance that you will transform again and possible hurt some innocent people, especially Kagome."
"Don't tell me you're saying what I think you're saying," Inuyasha said hard to believe what he was being told.
"I will kill you before you have the chance to hurt anyone again," Inutaisho said as he charged at his son.
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Another evil cliffhanger right? lol. I hope everyone at least forgives me for taking so long. In the next chapter, we will see what happens between IY and his father. We will also meet the leader of the yakuza (if only for a little bit). So join me next time for:
Chapter 38: Sealing of Demon Blood - Part 2: No Other Way