Chapter Six: Back Where You Belong
Sango, Shippo and Haruko peered into the infinite blackness of the well that doubled as a portal to Kagome's time. "How do you suppose Miroku's talk with Inuyasha went?" Shippo asked Sango innocently.
"I don't know." Sango admitted. "Miroku is clever but Inuyasha's stubbornness is astounding."
"Daddy convinced him! I just know he did!" Haruko remarked, confident in her father's power of persuasion.
Sango gave her a tender look. This was the first time Haruko had referred to Miroku as 'Daddy' instead of Houshi-sama without instruction. "You're probably right. Daddy is a very smart person."
"Yup! He's the smartest!" Haruko agreed.
"Hello? Anybody up there?" Kagome shouted from the bottom of the well.
"Yes!" Shippo replied. "One ladder coming up!" Shippo disappeared in a cloud of smoke and emerged as a ladder that Sango lowered into the well. Kagome climbed up and out, her pack looking as if it weighed over half of its carrier's body weight, which it probably did. Kagome plopped her heavy pack on the ground with a huff.
"Hi." she greeted her three-person welcoming committee. "Where is Inuyasha?"
"Off somewhere with Miroku. Boy talk I suppose." Sango answered. "Let us return to Kaede's hut. I'll handle your haversack."
Haruko was doing very well. Her mother and Shippo had both instructed her to not let Kagome know of the scheme. "Kagome." Sango began. "What do you plan to do now that Naraku is dead and gone?"
"Well, first I suppose we ought to make a pure and selfless wish so the jewel evaporates. Of course, I'll need to go back to my time regularly and finish high school. Then I guess I'll continue living life in modern times until college, but I'll be visiting here until I leave of course." Kagome explained.
"You'll be leaving? For how long?" Sango inquired.
"College lasts four years."
"That's almost forever!" Haruko interrupted. "I don't want you to leave ever!" Haruko added, latching onto Kagome's leg.
"Neither do I!" Shippo joined, latching onto Kagome's other leg.
"I don't want to leave either, but I need to finish schooling to get a good job in my time." Kagome explained to the pair of children.
"Then stay here! You don't need a job here, and then you will never have to leave us!" Haruko begged. "You can live here and visit your time!"
"But I have family back home." Kagome reminded her niece.
"You have family here too Kagome." Sango brought up. "A brother, a sister and niece. And a boyf-…Inuyasha."
"Me too!" Shippo added enthusiastically.
Kagome gave a sad smile. "It's nice to know you think of me as family, but I'll only get in the way. You and Miroku have a real family now."
"What about Inuyasha?" Shippo said.
"What about him?"
"You're just going to leave without telling him you love him?" Sango questioned.
"I was hoping you wouldn't bring that up." Kagome sighed. "I want to tell him, but he'll just laugh in my face."
"Blasphemy!" Miroku remarked, taking them by surprise and hugging Kagome around her waist from behind. "Only a fool would deny a love as beautiful and pure as you Lady Kagome!"
Kagome unlatched Miroku's arms from about her waist and gave him a smile. "You flatter me. If I didn't know better I'd say you wanted to see me get shot down."
"I meant no flattery by my comment. I spoke only the truth!" Miroku insisted. "You three go on to Kaede's. I wish to speak with Sango alone." He waited until Kagome, Haruko and Shippo were out of earshot. "I spoke to Inuyasha as you suggested my love."
"Any luck?"
I got him to fess up. Verbal proof that he loves Kagome." Miroku reported.
"Perfect! Where is he now?" Sango asked.
"I'm not sure. I gave him some time to think on his own. The bad news is that he still loves Kikyo as well." Miroku continued.
"What? How?"
Miroku shrugged. "Beats me. All we can do now is wait and see what move Inuyasha decides to make."
"Kagome refuses to tell Inuyasha she loves him. If anyone is going to break the ice, it's Inuyasha." Sango informed him.
Miroku began stroke his chin thoughtfully. "Suppose we tell Kagome the truth?"
"We have to. I don't trust Inuyasha to come open up to Kagome." Sango reasoned. "Let's just hope Inuyasha doesn't do anything stupid in the meantime."
At that moment, Inuyasha was running blindly through the forest, trying to catch a whiff of Kikyo's scent. He stopped to smell the air. He didn't smell Kikyo, but he identified a scent of ozone and a dull smell similar to rubber. The scent of Kikyo's soul collectors. "I should've known I'd smell those filthy vermin that serve Kikyo first." Inuyasha took off again in the direction of the soul collectors and hopefully Kikyo.
"Kagome." Miroku started, back at Kaede's hut. "There is something that Sango and I have known for a while now. We haven't told you so because we thought it would be best for you to discover yourself, but considering the circumstances, as your friends we feel obligated to tell you now. Inuyasha is in love with you."
"Liar." Kagome retorted. "He is in love with Kikyo."
"That may be true as well, but he has told me, straight from his own mouth that he loves you too." Miroku repeated.
"No joke?" Kagome asked.
"No joke." Sango confirmed. "Am I correct in thinking that if you could be with Inuyasha you would like to remain here with all of us?"
"Of course!" Kagome said.
"Then go to him." Miroku advised. "Confess your love. As we Buddhists say, love unspoken is untrue. True love is made known."
"You're right." Kagome agreed. "I'm going to go find Inuyasha."
Inuyasha smirked as Kikyo's creatures came into view. "This didn't take as long as I thought it might." he remarked silently.
Kikyo sensed a demonic force and calmly drew an arrow from her quiver, knocked it to her bowstring, and drew her bow taught. Inuyasha appeared and Kikyo loosened her pull. "It is only you Inuyasha. It has been a while has it not?"
"Yeah."
"Do you bring any word of Naraku's whereabouts?" Kikyo asked.
"Naraku is dead. We killed him several months back." Inuyasha said. For the first time in more than fifty years, Inuyasha saw what he thought was happiness come to Kikyo's features.
"My murderer lives no longer?" Inuyasha nodded. Kikyo dropped her bow, ran to Inuyasha and threw her arms about his neck. "You know what this means don't you Inuyasha? We can now die together!" she exclaimed, tears of joy filling her eyes. "We can finally go to the underworld and be together for eternity!"
"No, we can't. I love you Kikyo, and nothing could ever change that, but I love Kagome too. And either way I certainly don't want to die." Inuyasha explained. "Do you?"
"You forget, I am already dead. After I learned that Naraku had pitted against each other fifty years ago, I never believed you would betray me. Looks like I was wrong."
"I would never betray you Kikyo!" Inuyasha protested.
"You have, by falling in love with that wretched girl from the future!" Kikyo accused him.
"But I love you too!"
"Who do you love Inuyasha? Kagome or me?" Kikyo asked him.
"Can't I love both of you?" Inuyasha pleaded.
"No. Either I die or she dies." Kikyo named her ultimatum.
"I'd sooner die then condemn one of you to death." Inuyasha nobly declared.
"Then so be it." Kikyo drew one of her arrows and lodged it firmly in Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha pushed her away and stumbled back. Kikyo retrieved her bow and fitted another arrow to its string. In response, Inuyasha slowly drew his Tetsiuga. "I'm sorry Kikyo, but it's time for you to go back where you belong."