Inu-Yasha
A Feudal Fairy Tale
Disclaimer: This episode of Inu-Yasha is of my own creation. I do not own any portion
of Inu-Yasha. "Inu-Yasha"
and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1998-2003 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Inu-Yasha is a
trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights
reserved.
A Change of Heart
Scroll Two:
Separation
"Kikyo?" the inu hanyou Inu-Yasha says once more
to the miko in front of him.
She stands still at being noticed, a wide array of emotions coursing through
her. The former guardian of the sacred Shikon Jewel
has recently been staying near the man she loved, near enough for her to sense
his presence, but farther than his keen eyes, ears and nose can trace her. Her
normal objective when she came to him this night when he separated himself from
his usual traveling companions was as she has been trying to do ever since she
was brought back to life by the kijo Urasue, to bring him down to hell with her so they can be
with each other...forever.
However, she never expected to hear his long scream of deep sorrow cut through
the night sky like his mystical sword, the Tetsusaiga,
or to see how weak and shattered he was when she came to him. Seeing him in
this state changes the miko deep inside. Never once
since she has known him has she ever witnessed Inu-Yasha
show any kind of sorrowful emotions this extreme, ever. Upon seeing his
drooping ears and tear stricken face, her heart yearns to condole
the poor hanyou. "Inu-Yasha?"
she mutters while slowly stepping forward.
Inu-Yasha is quickly on his feet as he looks intently
at the woman before him. He wipes the tears off of his face and tries to
compose himself. "I...I know why you are here Kikyo,"
he begins, "and I want you to know that I will not fight you anymore. I am
ready to join you and go to hell."
The miko is, needless to say, shocked by his words.
'What has happened to him?' she thinks sadly. 'What could have hurt my Inu-Yasha so much that he now yearns for death?' Kikyo decides to find out. "Inu-Yasha,
what has troubled you so? Please tell me."
The inu hanyou is about to
turn his head to the side and spit out a 'Feh,' but falters. Kikyo has always had that kind of effect on him. Whenever
she is near him, he wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around her
protectively and take in her calm scent and never let go. Those feelings were
even more powerful when it concerned Kagome...but he knows now that it will
never happen. Inu-Yasha sits back down, the sorrowful
expression coming back onto his face. "She doesn't care for me the way I
care for her."
Kikyo thinks for a moment, then questions, "You
mean that girl, the one who is my reincarnation?"
Inu-Yasha doesn't respond, but lowers his head so his
silver bangs cover his eyes. The miko begins to walk
closer to him, but pauses as she sees him tense up. "Inu-Yasha,"
she starts, her voice sounding calm and soothing, "you have no need to be
tense around me."
"Oh really?" he spits out, "Why do I even try? I always have to
suffer because of the women I love." He quickly stops and shuts his mouth,
now realizing that he blurted out more than he wanted to.
Kikyo's eyes shimmer slightly as she leans in towards
the hanyou. "You...you loved me? You truly did?"
Inu-Yasha turns his head so now he is gazing deep
into Kikyo's bright blue- gray eyes. "Yes I
did," he answers confidently. "And part of me still does, even after
all the times you tried to kill me."
The miko scoots a little closer. "Please tell me
more."
He hangs his head down in shame. "My...my mother died when I was only a
pup. I loved her so dearly, she was the only human I knew that ever loved me
and was never bothered by the fact that I was a half-breed. When she died, I
closed myself up, vowing to never open my heart up to anyone again. That all
changed when I met you," he pauses to look back into her eyes. "That
day when we first began to speak with one another...I...I
saw that look in your eyes. I saw that you felt as alone in the world as I did.
Just as I was beginning to open my heart up to you...that bastard Naraku deceived us, causing you to seal me to that tree and
then die." A single tear rolls down his face in memory.
Kikyo moves next to him and wipes the tear away.
"I wish that day had never occurred as well."
"When Kagome released me," he continues, "I felt strange when I
was around her. She looked so much like you, but was so different at the same
time. Something about her changed me and I started to open up to her too. But
now...now she went behind my back and is in love with that baka
wimpy ookami Koga."
"She is with someone else," the former guardian of the Shikon Jewel calmly states. She feels her hateful and
vengeful feelings towards Inu-Yasha begin to ebb
away. 'I never knew he felt this way before,' she thinks in wonder. 'He is
going through such heartache.' Kikyo diverts her
attention back to Inu-Yasha and is surprised to see
that he is now shaking.
"W...why do I have to suffer so much?" he stammers out.
The miko's heart opens up even more as she reaches
over and takes the hanyou's head in her hands and
leans it on her right shoulder. She calmly pats his head and gently runs her
fingers through his thick silver hair. "Calm down Inu-Yasha,"
she whispers into his sensitive dog-ears, "for I am now here. Rest now you
poor thing. I will watch over you and make sure no harm comes to you."
Her soothing words, mixed with her warmth and her calm
scent help to calm Inu-Yasha down. His breathing
becomes less ragged and rushed. Soon, he is breathing normally and has fallen
asleep in Kikyo's arms. She looks down at the
sleeping hanyou and smiles. The miko
reaches down and pushes a few stray strands of hair off of his face and gently
rubs his cheek with her thumb.
Her attention is diverted by the now normal sounds of her youkai
soul collectors, the Shinidamachuu, coming towards
her. They are not carrying any souls since she has no need for any more right
now. Kikyo called them to her to help her transport
herself and Inu-Yasha. They silently glide through
the air and effortlessly fly down and pick up the miko
and the hanyou.
After several minutes of flying upstream, they enter a small clearing that
contains a rather large tree in it. This tree is where Kikyo
has been sleeping while following Inu-Yasha in the
valley. Where the large branches begin to expand from the base of the tree is a
wide opening, large enough for two people to sit comfortably in.
Kikyo's Shinidamachuu
gently place her and the hanyou in her arms down in
this spot. Inu-Yasha suddenly shifts in his sleep and
wraps an arm protectively around the miko. She smiles
once more and leans in and kisses the soft furry inside of his left ear, which
twitches at her touch. Kikyo rests her head against Inu-Yasha's and closes her eyes to
begin a calm slumber.
______
Meanwhile, not too far from the campsite where the
rest of the gang is, Kagome hurriedly runs towards it. She straightens out her
ruffled clothes and presses down the blotches of hair that are sticking up at
odd angles. 'They'd be really suspicious if they saw me like this,' she thinks
to herself. 'Inu-Yasha would probably go crazy and
I'd have to 'sit' him about a dozen times.'
She bursts into the campsite, causing all of her traveling companions to jump
slightly. "Kagome!" Shippô
happily cries out as he leaps into her arms. "Where were you Kagome? We
were all getting really worried about you."
"I...I went to wash up," she quickly lies. "I felt kinda dirty from traveling all day and I just wanted to
feel all nice and clean. Say, why are all of you up so late?" She looks around
and notices that someone is missing. "Hey, where's Inu-Yasha?"
"You mean my Lord was not with you?" Myôga
questions while hopping onto her shoulder.
"No he wasn't," Kagome truthfully responds. "He was still
sleeping up in that tree when I left."
Miroku steps forward. "Now this has me
concerned. I have reason to believe that it was Inu-Yasha
who was shouting just a short while ago."
"You mean you heard that too?" Kagome asks, now feeling very worried
about a certain inu hanyou.
"Yeah," Shippô answers while shivering in
the girl's arms. "It woke all of us up. Kagome, do you think something bad
happened to Inu-Yasha?" he asks,
his blue eyes wide in concern.
"I...I don't know."
Sango reaches over and easily hoists her hiraikotsu onto her back while Kirara
transforms into her large fire neko form. "Well
we need to find out," she states, now looking fully determined.
"Kagome, come with me and Kirara. We'll take a
quick sweep over the valley and see if we can find Inu-
Yasha. Miroku, you stay
here with Shippô and Myôga
in case he returns here. Okay?"
"Of course Lady Sango," Miroku
states while walking up to the taijiya and grabbing
both of her hands. A small vein forms on her forehead. "And I will be
praying for your safe return."
Sango sighs deeply and shifts her position on top of Kirara so she can stop the expected roaming hand to find it's way to her bottom, but it doesn't come. Confused, she
looks into the houshi's eyes. She is surprised to see
the serious glance he is giving her. She has only seen him look like this when
either Naraku or his Kazaana
are on his mind. "O...okay houshi-sama,"
she stammers out. The neko youkai
is soon off flying in search of Inu-Yasha with it's two passengers on it's back.
______
Inu-Yasha is silently running through the forest, a
smug smile on his face and the sacred Shikon Jewel,
which will turn him into a full youkai, grasped
firmly in his right hand. The sound of an arrow coming towards him from his
left causes him to turn just in time to see the arrow pierce his heart and pin
him to the old tree in the heart of the forest.
He looks up, expecting to see Kikyo holding the bow
as she usually is, but is completely taken back as Kagome walks up to him. A
strange sneer that doesn't fit her appears on her lips. She tears the Shikon Jewel from his right hand. "You could never
satisfy me you pathetic half-breed mutt," she spits out. Koga then appears
behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. Kagome's sneer turns into a
joyous smile as she places her hands over the ookami's.
"Only a full-blooded youkai can fulfill my needs. Right
darling?"
"Of course my beautiful mate," Koga replies before leaning
over and kissing her passionately on the lips.
Just before the enchantment spell takes effect, forcing the hanyou
into a deep sleep like state, he cries out, "Kagome..."
After what felt like an eternity, Inu-Yasha feels his
body finally begin to awaken. He opens his eyes and takes a look around. He is
still trapped to the tree and from the looks of things, many years have passed
by. The forest all around him has grown larger and thicker. Large vines have
grown up the tree and wrapped around him. His ears twitch at the sounds of soft
footsteps coming towards him. He looks straight ahead just as a figure emerges
from in between the trees and foliage.
His eyes go wide as Kikyo slowly walks towards him,
wearing her usual miko attire. She keeps walking
until she is right in front of him. The hanyou is too
stunned for words. Kikyo smiles and Inu-Yasha instantly notices that the smile is totally
unlike her usual smiles. This smile is full of life and happiness and a little
bit of innocence, the kind of smile that Kagome normally has.
The miko reaches up and grabs the arrow imbedded in
his heart. In a flash, it vanishes and Inu-Yasha is
free. He easily rips the vines covering him off and lands gracefully on the
ground. Kikyo places both of her hands on each side
of his face, her touch warm and gentle. "Inu-Yasha,"
she begins, "we cannot change the past, so let's try to make a better future
for each other." She raises her self and kisses the hanyou
on the lips. He wraps his arms around her as he returns it.
______
Inu-Yasha awakens with a start. It takes him a moment
to register where he is. He is now in a part of the valley that he hasn't been
to yet. The hanyou suddenly feels the warm body
pressed up next to him and realizes that he is not alone. He manages to move
his head slightly and gazes into the calm sleeping face of Kikyo.
It takes his mind a few moments to register the most recent events that he has
experienced.
His lower lip trembles slightly as he remembers Kagome sneaking off to be with
Koga. He then remembers running off and then Kikyo
appearing and then...she was being very kind and gentle to him. She didn't try
to bring him down to hell with her or anything. 'Maybe there is some hope left
for us,' he thinks with a small smile. Inu-Yasha
snuggles closer to Kikyo and closes his eyes. 'The
sun will be up soon, but I just want to stay in her arms for just a little
while longer.'
______
Sango and Kagome have been traveling on Kirara's back for over an hour and a half now and both of
them are beginning to feel very tired. They have already done a quick run
around most of the valley and have only a few more areas to check before they
stop and go back to their other companions. As they are nearing one of the
areas, Kagome gets a sudden strange feeling deep inside of her. "Sango," she starts, "I'm getting a kinda funny feeling."
"What do you mean Kagome?" the taijiya
asks.
"I don't know, but it's getting stronger and it seems to be coming from
over there," she replies while pointing a little off to the right. "I
think we should check it out."
Sango nods and her faithful neko
youkai turns towards the direction Kagome is pointing
to. A couple of minutes later, they notice a very large tree in a small
clearing. Just visible through all the branches and leaves is blood red
clothing.
"Inu-Yasha!" both young women say at the
same time as Kirara lowers herself down onto the
ground a few yards from the tree. She transforms back into her smaller form and
jumps onto her master's shoulder. They sprint towards the tree, but freeze as
it comes into full view. There, in a large crook in the tree, sleeps the inu hanyou they have been
searching for...but he is not alone. Inu-Yasha is
leaning onto the revived miko Kikyo
and both have their arms wrapped around each other. They both also have calm
and serene looks on their faces.
Kagome feels a deep pang of both sorrow and jealousy, though she and Kouga are now mates, as she takes a small step forward and
whispers out, "Inu-Yasha..."
To be continued...
______
Translations (in order of
appearance):
Kijo:
ogress
Tetsusaiga:
Steel-Cleaving Fang, the sword Inu-Yasha inherited
from his father. Has the ability of the 'Wind Scar' that can destroy a hundred youkai with one swing
Kazaana:
Wind Tunnel, the black hole void in Miroku's right
hand
-sama:
this added on the back of a name or title and is meant as a sign of respect. (note: I will only use it in junction with Japanese words)
Shinidamachuu:
Kikyo's youkai soul
collectors (those strange flying snake looking things that get Kikyo her souls)
______
Author's notes: I like Kikyo, those of you who say she is evil or a bitch or a slut
or all three is wrong. Sorry if you don't feel that way -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com