Sorry once again for the late update. I got a little caught up in my work. I'm glad to say that here is another chapter to the story. This has gotten quite long. I would have never guessed it would go for this long. But if you're happy then I'm happy.
LadyKaa28 - Congrats for being my 1500th reviewer.
Shippo123456 - Actually when you mention the man in the tree from the USA, there was no person like that. You are referring to Hiko. He is in the US and did not watch the battle. It was mentioned that he would be coming from the US to Japan though. To find out about him and the others you'll have to wait until the end.
Ryguy5387 - This is the last chapter of fluff for now. The ending will have fluff so don't worry about that.
Ks-Starshine - I know this story seems to go on forever but it will be coming to a close. I had planned to end it soon after the yakuza but since people wanted the back story on Sess/Kagura I planned out a little more.
Larka the White Wolf - The younger Shippo does make a small appearance in this chapter but it will most likely be his last.
Sakume Nohara - Though I did write other fics, no other ones were IY. I do have a Gundam: 08th MS Team one posted which you are welcome to read but it is no where near as complicated as this story has become.
Torina Archelda - The story will be coming to a close soon but not just yet. We still have somewhere between 5-10 chapters left. I'm going to cover the Sess/Kagura relationship (IY and Kag will be present) and then do the epilogue.
Just to let you know, I have gotten a chance to see the 3rd IY movie. I know know what IY's father is like. Unfortunately he isn't exactly like I portray him. If you've seen the movie just think of my portrayal as the side of Inutaisho you didn't see in the movie. Also though I have tried my hardest to avoid it, it seems there will be one small conflict within the story plot. You'd have to really study the details to see what it is though so that's why I'm overlooking it. See if you can find it.
Chapter 49: Moving Forward into the Future...or is it the Past? (With help)
Inuyasha and Kagome looked over everything in front of them. Everything was practically as perfect as it could be. It had only been a month since they had graduated from school that they had been married. It had taken a while to settle on the agreement of when it should occur. Inuyasha had also insisted that they perform the demon part of the ritual either the same day or the following. This meant that they would have to leave to go back to the feudal era shortly after the wedding.
They had many troubles setting up the wedding in less than a year. [If my timing is correct, IY proposed to Kagome somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving so they had a little over 6 months. Just thought I'd let you know.] But in the end the wedding had gone successfully. Inuyasha had been a bit sad that his parents could not attend but he felt it was only fair. Kagome's parents would not be around when they went through the demon mating ritual while his would be. He had talked with his parents so as to let them know the arrangements he had made in the future.
Kagome looked out on the group that was there at the shrine celebrating her wedding. Most of the people had been family. Kagome had been a little sad about not being able to have Inuyasha's family come so she made sure to at least invite Tai. He was talking with her parents at the moment. Kagome had also invited some good friends from school such as Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. They had been a bit surprised when she had told them that she was marrying Inuyasha. They supported her none the less. She had even confronted Hojo with the news and he was happy for her. He had started going out with another girl so Kagome was glad that he was no longer hung up on her.
"Kagome?" her friends called to her as they waved their hands in front of her face. Kagome finally came out of her reminiscing to see her friends in front of her. "Are you sure you okay? You're acting like you did before when you used to be sick all the time."
"Sorry about that. I'm fine I was thinking about everything," she told them.
"Yeah, I guess it is a bit overwhelming," Yuka said.
"So what are you two going to do now? Where are you going to live?" Eri asked.
"You know I'm not one hundred percent sure. We're going to look for a place but in the mean time I figured we'd live here at the shrine until then." She knew it was partly a lie. Tomorrow morning they were leaving for the past and she wouldn't see them for almost 500 years. It made her sad to think about that but she was happy to be with Inuyasha and also know that she would at least see them again.
"That's good. Please tell us that when you move out you're not going to leave Tokyo," Yuka pleaded.
"You don't have to worry about that. I don't want to leave my home city," Kagome assured them.
Kagome continued to talk to her friends and everyone else that had been kind to visit they party. Inuyasha managed the best he could. The only people he knew were Kagome's family and some of the people from school. Many had people had wondered up and talked with him. Inuyasha would just talk to them as if he had known them all his life. After a few hours it was finally over and he was glad. He had been able to spend some time with Kagome during the celebration but not much. Tomorrow they would leave for his time and they would truly be together for the rest of their lives. He didn't want it any other way. He really wanted to show Kagome how much he loved her but he knew he would have to wait. Tomorrow they would be on their own.
Kagome and Inuyasha check over everything they had packed. They brought plenty of stuff that would last them about two weeks until they could find a suitable place to live. Then they would return to get anything else they would need. Plenty of ramen was a necessity as far as he was concerned.
"I'm sorry to see you go so soon after your wedding," Mrs. Higurashi cried as she hugged her daughter.
"Don't worry honey. We'll see her again," her husband assured her.
"Yeah mom. You know Inuyasha and I will have to come back for some things, so you'll definitely see us again," Kagome said to her. "I love you, mom."
"I love you too, Kagome," she cried as she hugged her even more.
In the meantime, Mr. Higurashi walked over to Inuyasha. "I'm sorry to see both of you go. I'll never be able to thank you enough for all that you've done for my family."
"You don't have to worry. I do it all again for Kagome," Inuyasha said.
"I know. I want to ask a favor of you though I know you'd do it without me even asking," he said. "Take care of her."
"I will. You can count on that," Inuyasha assured him. With a few more words between the family they wrapped up everything they needed to before departing.
Kagome's mother continued to cry after they had gone. Her husband held her and comforted her. "Don't worry. You know she'll be fine," he told her.
"I know. It's just hard to see her go," she said through her sobs. Her husband just held her.
Even though the bag on his back was heavy and Kagome had her own, Inuyasha grabbed her and brought them to the ground right outside the well. Kagome looked around for a bit. "It's good to be back," she said happily. Inuyasha didn't respond though. Kagome quickly could hear a low growl emitting from him. "What's wrong?" Inuyasha didn't reply but instead motion towards one part of the woods. Kagome looked and watched as Inuyasha's parents emerged to welcome them. Kagome still didn't understand but it didn't take long to notice there was a third person with them. Sesshomaru was following after his father.
When they finally were close, Inuyasha spoke. "What is he doing here?" Inuyasha could barely contain his growl.
"Inuyasha! Contain your anger," his father warned in a stern tone of voice. "I told you once before that I wanted you and your brother to find peace. I want this to be a first step for towards that goal. Also the mating ritual is a family affair and no matter how much you try to deny it, Sesshomaru is family."
"I am here because father requested my presence without a reason. I just recently got here and father has insisted I be here," Sesshomaru said making it clear that he didn't want to be there any more than Inuyasha wanted him. "Can we get this over with so I may be going?"
"I agree with him," Inuyasha said.
"Inuyasha, this is not something to be rushed just because you are in a bad mood," his father warned. "Calm yourself down and then we will begin." Kagome didn't totally like the idea of being rushed either but she didn't totally like Sesshomaru around either. The other fact was that the demon ritual was much shorter than a human marriage. The pledges that were made between demon mates would only take a few minutes. Kagome took the bag which she had been carrying from her time and set it on the ground.
Inuyasha then realized that in his anger he had totally forgotten about the bag on his shoulder. He slowly set it down and let the anger seep out of him. About a minute later he spoke to his father, "I am ready."
They looked to Kagome. "I am ready as well."
Inutaisho nodded and looked to his wife and first son. They nodded. He then slowly began to say something in a language that Kagome had never heard before. She figured it was some sort of demon language. From the look in their eyes, Izayoi and Sesshomaru fully understood what was being said. Kagome then looked to Inuyasha who seemed to be as lost as she was.
Inuyasha had no idea what his father was really saying but he trusted him none the less. Inuyasha knew that if he would have grown up with his father he probably would have learned the language. He was not saddened by this though. If things had not turned out as they did he would have never met Kagome and he couldn't imagine life without her anymore. Inuyasha then heard his father's speech come to an end. His mother then said something small in the demon tongue. Sesshomaru then spoke saying the same thing Izayoi had. All of them looked at Inuyasha then.
His father had told him everything that was required of him for the mating ritual. Inuyasha then looked to Kagome and she nodded that she was ready. She too knew what would come next. Inuyasha leaned in a bit her right at her shoulder blade. Kagome tensed up for just a second as the fangs punctured her skin. When some blood came out of the wound, Inuyasha removed his fangs. He then moved his finger to wipe up some of the blood on his finger. Using that blood, he drew a symbol, which his father had told him was their family crest. As he did this he spoke, "I ask that the gods above approve of my joining with Kagome. I wish that you join our souls for the rest of our life and our lives to come." As soon as the crest was complete, the blood set into her skin and it made a permanent mark. It looked similar to a birthmark or tattoo.
Kagome felt the pain totally go away when Inuyasha had finished the mark. Inuyasha smiled as he looked at Kagome. She then gather up her miko energy within herself. Kagome then bit Inuyasha in the shoulder as well. She just barely broke his skin and she could feel some of his blood in her mouth. Then she traced a symbol over the wound as well. "I ask that the gods above approve of my joining with Inuyasha. I wish that you join our souls for the rest of our life and our lives to come." She then finished the symbol. Izayoi had taught her that the mark was to show the mating of a miko with a demon. Kagome then looked back at Inuyasha and smiled.
There was one final thing to do that would test to make sure the ritual was a success. They both leaned towards each other and their lips met in a passionate kiss. Each could feel the other's energy as it mixed with their own. This was proof that ritual worked. They wanted to stay together but broke away as they her Inuyasha's parents clapping at their success.
"Congratulations son," Inutaisho said as he hugged his son. He then turned to Kagome, "I am honored to have you as part of my family."
"I'm so glad I was able to be a part of this," Izayoi said as she cried a bit while hugging her son. She then went to Kagome as well. "I knew this day would come and I'm glad it's finally here. Since I met you I couldn't wait until you were officially my daughter."
"I'm glad to be part of this family," Kagome told them.
"Well if that is all, I think I will be going," Sesshomaru announced as he turned to leave.
"I am going to talk to your brother really quick," Inutaisho said as he walked over to his eldest son. "Tell me. Why is it that you hate Inuyasha? Do you even know why?"
"Though you may have thought otherwise, I have given it some consideration before. Do you remember the night you passed away?" Sesshomaru questioned his father.
"I do. We had talked just prior to my leaving to save Izayoi," Inutaisho said and he had an idea as to where this was going.
"That night you asked me if I planned to kill you. While that was not my intention, I had intended to challenge you."
"You wanted to be able to prove to yourself that you had surpassed me, correct?"
"Yes. But unfortunately you decided to leave before I could to save Inuyasha and his mother. It was because of Inuyasha that I was not able to truly show that I had bested you. Even then when Sou'unga reappeared I was not given the chance to show that I could contain the power of the sword just as you had. Instead Inuyasha had to wield it foolishly and now it resides in the Underworld. Because of him I was once again deprived."
"I can understand some of your argument, Sesshomaru, but it was my choice to go after Izayoi that night not Inuyasha's. Besides it was not that battle that killed me. When you and I spoke I was badly injured from fighting Ryuukotsusei. It was those wounds that ultimately killed me. Besides would you have fought me in that condition? If so your victory would be meaningless. You would have been able to truly surpass me if both of us were at our best," Inutaisho told him. "But that is behind us now. I am alive once more and you are welcome to challenge me. I do not see any reason for you to hate your brother anymore."
"My reason might be gone but the feelings are not. The hate which has built up over the last 200 years of my life will no simply vanish."
"Promise me that you will at least try to give your brother a chance, just as you now have your chance to fight me," Inutaisho said.
"I will try, that is all I can say," Sesshomaru barely agreed. "I will not challenge you today. I will prepare for this fight and I would highly doubt you would accept with today's events. Now that we have resolved this, I must be going."
"Take care my son and I await your challenge," Inutaisho said as his oldest son departed. He then walked back over to Inuyasha and Kagome.
"Is everything okay?" Inuyasha asked as he kept an eye on Sesshomaru as he walked away.
"Everything is fine. I don't think that Sesshomaru will cause much more trouble. Do me a favor though. If he comes by again, try to be nice. I hope that you two can resolve your issues," Inutaisho told his son.
Inuyasha was a little unsure about what his father was suggested but he trusted him. "I will try but I'm not the one who's been trying to kill him for the longest time."
"I know that, Inuyasha, but if you don't give him a chance nothing will get better between you two," his father said.
"Okay, that's enough about that you two," Izayoi said. "So what do you two plan on doing now that your going to be living here?"
"Well we figured we'd stay with Kaede for a little bit until we could get ourselves settled," Kagome replied.
"You could have talked with us about staying with us," Izayoi said.
"That's alright we didn't want to burden you," Inuyasha said.
"It wouldn't have been any trouble," Izayoi said.
"Don't worry about it. It seems our son has grown up and wants to be able to support himself and his mate," Inutaisho said. "You know, Inuyasha. All this time your mother and I have been here we haven't really gotten to know this area. We've walked around here but I'm sure you could tell us much more about it. I hear this forest is even named after you. How did that happen?"
For the next half an hour, the group of four walked through the forest as Inuyasha told his parents and even Kagome who hadn't heard some of his story about how he came to this part of Japan. He mentioned about learning about the Shikon no Tama and meeting Kikyo. He mentioned how he grew close to Kikyo and he made sure to stress that even though he thought he loved Kikyo it was only a deep friendship and a bond through loneliness. Kagome was glad to hear this. Inuyasha then mentioned about him getting pinned to the tree and it was because of this that the forest was named after him. When his story was coming to a close, Inuyasha noticed he was near a familiar spot.
"That was a wonderful story, Inuyasha," Izayoi said to him. "I'm glad to see you've grown and not just physically."
"Thank you mom," Inuyasha said. He knew he had sensed something amiss and he decided now was the time to find out what. "There's something wrong with you two. I don't know what you're keeping from me but I want to know what it is."
"Well I'm not going to tell you," Inutaisho said. Inuyasha started to get a little mad but his father continued talking, "you'll have to find out for yourself," and with that he pointed forwarded.
Kagome was unsure what to make of the current events. She just looked to Inuyasha who looked back at her with confusion but also courage. She was sure that whatever was beyond them, they would face together. They grabbed each other's hand and walked forward.
What awaited them was a sight they would have never expected. "Oh my god," Kagome said in surprise.
[Wouldn't I be really evil if I stopped here. Do you think I should? ducks from the oncoming tomatoes I guess not]
They were at the same place that Inuyasha had proposed to Kagome. It still had the beautiful waterfall and the nice hot spring but there was also something new. Right next to the hot spring was a huge house. Kagome didn't know whether it would be considered a house or a mansion, either way it was huge.
"You did this?" Kagome stuttered out.
"Well talk about that later. Just wait until you see the inside," Izayoi said. She and her husband led the two shocked newlyweds to their brand new house. They stopped at the door and waited. "Well it's your house so you're the one that has to open the door."
Inuyasha reached out and grabbed a hold of the door and pulled it open. "CONGRATULATIONS!!" shouted many people at once. Inuyasha and Kagome looked at all the people inside. Miroku and Sango were there with their families as well. Shippo and his parents were there. Even Kaede was there.
"I don't believer this," Kagome said. "You all did this?"
"Yeah," Sango told her friend. "Inuyasha's parents thought up the idea shortly after you two told us you were engaged. We all got together and helped build this."
"You didn't have to," Kagome said.
"Actually it was Sango and Miroku that didn't have to help," Sango's father this. He then spoke to both Inuyasha and Kagome. "This is our way of thanking you for what you have done. You guys worked so hard to finish the Shikon Jewel and then used it to bring back us. We owe you a big debt of gratitude that we hope this can start to repay."
"Inuyasha is the one that deserves your thanks. He was the one that made the wish," Kagome said.
"Yes that is true," Miroku's father said and looked at Inuyasha. "We owe you for giving up your opportunity to become a full demon so as to help us. In the end though, all of you are to thank. Inuyasha made the wish but all of you made the jewel whole again. Without that, there would have been no wish."
"You know I don't say this very much but thank you all," Inuyasha said. Everyone looked at him a little surprised except Kagome who had been the one to open up his good side. "Quit staring or I'll take it back!" Inuyasha yelled at them. They all laughed in return. Inuyasha then turned to Kaede, "Don't tell me you actually worked on this? If you did I'm surprised you lived through it."
"No, I didn't," Kaede admitted. "They invited me to come and congratulate you. The rest of the village did donate some of the materials for the house."
"Thank you, Kaede," Kagome said.
A loud cough got everyone attention. It was Inutaisho. "Now that everyone has had a chance to talk, I believe it is time to continue the festivities with a feast."
"I don't believe this. You guys actually planned a feast for us," Kagome asked.
"Well we felt it was a worthy occasion and it would be a nice welcoming to your new home," Izayoi said.
"Thank you all," Kagome said as she took her turn showing her appreciation for what they had done. All of them got together in the great hall to then celebrate Inuyasha and Kagome's joining.
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Well this will end Kagome and IY's peaceful times. Technically their peaceful times will last for about 5 years but since the next chapter jumps 5 years that is why I state that the peace will end. Now I move into the Sess/Kagura relationship which IY and Kagome will definitely play a part. As I mentioned to a reviewer before, we will need conflict and for that we need a new villain. Who could this villain be? Find out in the next chapter. Now 2 things I want to mention:
Did anyone see the plot consistency error in this chapter? Something is said in this chapter that conflicts with a previous one. Anyone know it?
Secondly, last chapter I mentioned that I would go into the demon mating ritual since it gave me an idea for another story (not a sequel just another story). I wanted to get your feedback on what you think about it. I'm not guaranteeing to write it but its an idea I'm throwing out there (I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS IDEA BEFORE SO DON'T ANYONE STEAL IT!!!)
In many stories, when IY and Kagome mate through demon ways their souls are tied together for all of their future lives. What would happen if in a future life they didn't get back together? Would it have any adverse effect on their souls? What would happen if one of the two would try to mate with some else in a different life? How would it effect the other?
This is another story idea that came to me. I would really like to write this story but with all the other ones in my head I'm a little afraid to start this one. Even if I would write that one, it wouldn't be nearly as long as this one has been. Anyway though, join me next time for:
Chapter 50: A New Evil Comes Knocking