The votes stand thus:
Happy, Happy, Happy, etc. Ending – 19
Bittersweet Ending – 26
Myeh Ending – 26
Tragic Ending – 28
Evil Ending – 21
Tragic Ending is now in the lead, and as far as character death goes, Hinote got voted for everytime. ...sweatdrop...
BEFORE YOU VOTE THIS TIME, I IMPLORE YOU ALL TO READ MY FRIEND'S FANFIC OF THIS FIC CALLED 'UNWANTED OUTING.' IT GIVES A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO HOW HINOTE CAN BE VIEWED AND IS RATHER AMUSING.
Disclaimer: I own Hinote, Jiko, Tasuke, and Mujaki. I own the woman I shall probably name in this chapter (seeing as I haven't written anything yet), and I own anyone else that I have the joy to call an OC. That is all I own, and all I ever hope to own.
Jiko had never really been the type to enjoy a stranger's company, never been the type to trust humans, and especially never been the type to walk into said strange humans' house and be treated like some amazing child sent from above.
In fact, he would never have left the well if it hadn't been for the teenage boy now staring at him from the end of the rather tall table, sitting on some wooden contraption that he had referred to as a 'chair.'
Now that Jiko thought about it, he didn't even know what half the things he had seen so far were. The doors had weird metal objects covering them as if they were mere blocks of wood fastened tight to the wall. The windows had some strange clear covering. The walls were elaborately painted with a repeating pattern of flowers. Even the floor was unusual, not made of wood or dirt.
Where a fire usually would have been etched into the ground, there was instead this high table, and a large opening led into what appeared to be another, larger room. The objects in there seemed even stranger, and Jiko made a mental note to stay away from that room.
"Would you like something to eat, dear?"
Jiko jumped, clutching to the bottom of his own wooden 'chair.' It was that woman again. She had an incredibly motherly air about her, but it seemed very . . . strained . . . as if she was forcing the kind smile to stay on her face before she accidentally jumped the gun and pounced him with questions.
"N-No . . . I'm fine . . ." The little hanyou boy knew he must look incredibly fearful right now, and he knew that this expression made him incredibly vulnerable. What he wouldn't give for his mother to be here now . . .
"What about you, Souta?" The woman's eyes focused now on her offspring.
"Some tea would be nice." The boy never took his eyes off of the strange child from the Feudal Era. "Maybe coffee if we have any."
'Coffee?' Jiko looked up to lock eyes with the teenager, a slight hint of curiosity in his fire red orbs.
"I guess you must be really confused, huh?" The older boy gave him a soft, encouraging smile. "There's a lot of things in this world you probably don't know about. Kagome must not have mentioned any of it to you."
Mother and son exchanged a short glance, broken off almost instantly as the mother lifted the kettle from the stove, ready to pour it into the waiting mug.
"You . . . you know Mommy?"
A loud crash echoed off the fading walls as Kagome's mom dropped the kettle onto the floor, denting the cheap metal and spraying hot water all over the floor. Some had even spilt on her legs, but she didn't care; her mind was still trying to grasp what she had just heard.
Souta, on the other hand, had managed to keep some sense about him, even though his voice had almost completely vanished. "Nee-chan . . . is your mother . . .?"
"Nee-chan?" It was Jiko's turn to try to conceive this sudden information. So this was his mother's family? Come to think of it, she hadn't ever mentioned her family. He had just always thought that they had died in some war or by some disease like the relatives of so many other people he had met. "You're . . . Mommy's little brother?"
"And you're her son . . ." Souta stood, walking over to him and crouching in front of his chair, staring into the hanyou's eyes. "Yet you . . . don't look like Inuyasha at all . . ."
"You know Inuyasha too?" Jiko jumped off the chair to take a hold of the teenager's shoulders. "Do you know where he is? He isn't hurt is he?"
Kagome's mother, finally coming back to her senses, touched her cheek softly. "We . . . haven't seen Inuyasha in six years . . ."
"But . . ." Jiko was beginning to become frantic. "I just saw him . . . he had pushed me into the well and told me to wait there until he came back for me."
"He pushed you into the well?" Souta immediately recognized that something was definitely wrong.
"I followed him into the fire, and he pushed me into the well to keep me safe."
"Fire?" Kagome's mom walked over and crouched next to the boy as well, no longer being able to hide her worry. "Was Kagome caught in it, too?"
"I don't know where Mommy is . . . she left me in the village a few weeks ago, and I . . . I went to go find her . . . but I never could . . ."
"So she's . . ." Tears welled up in the middle-aged woman's eyes, the woman that Jiko now fully recognized as his grandmother. "She's still lost in that world . . ."
"That world? What are you talking about?"
Souta let out a slow sigh, hissing through his teeth. "I guess she probably never explained it to you if she didn't even mention us . . ." The boy stood, sitting down in another chair and leaning back, trying to think of how best to explain it. He decided it would be best to start from the beginning . . .
Inuyasha's eyes fluttered open as the sunlight suddenly broke through to land on them. His head was killing him, almost literally, and the light was sharpening the pain to a pitch that it was like someone sharpening a knife on his brain.
He growled softly, the vibration somehow soothing his head for a moment, just enough for him to be able to assess his surroundings.
He was sitting in the middle of a black ashen field, charred trees and soot everywhere. His mind was functioning well enough to recognize this as his forest, the place he had gone for refuge ever since his first run-in with Kikyo that rainy and moonless night. It was gone now . . . and the only pieces of it he had left were the bone-eater's well which he had so carefully protected and the tree he was sitting on, the Goshinboku.
'Of course,' he sighed, mentally, Kagome's time had each, and only each. The precious trees he had become so attached to were gone, only to be replaced one day by perfectly lined foreign ones, meant only to please the eye. The world was indeed savage, taking away all the things important to him. So now all he had was the boy Jiko who, with the well, was safe.
Inuyasha took the Tetsusaiga from his waist, digging it into the ground in order to stand. His body wasn't cooperating very well, wanting to stay among the roots of the tree in order for him to regain his strength and clear his lungs of the ash he had inhaled. But no. . . he made a promise to the boy. And a promise was a promise, no matter how much he couldn't move.
Somehow, he managed to get to his feet, shaky though he was. How Kagome would kill him if she saw him now. Kagome . . .
As soon as his mind lost its focus, he felt himself begin to fall. The sensation of the still air brushing his cheeks made it seem that he was collapsing in an almost dream-like matter. His mind was playing tricks on him. He knew that, but . . . the black matter beneath him looked so soft . . . so inviting . . . Jiko could wait a little bit, couldn't he?
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"
That voice . . .
The hanyou managed to look over his shoulder as he fell, seeing her running towards him.
It was Kagome . . . she had returned to him now . . . she was happy that he had saved both her son and her future . . . she was happy that he hadn't killed the one she loved . . . she would come back to him . . . she would help him . . .
The ground had never felt so inviting. Kagome would come . . . she would turn him over and take care of him . . . she would rest with him . . . they would be together . . .
For the first time since he and Kagome had went their separate ways, he let a genuine smile play on his face . . .
The next morning, Kagome was rested enough that she could stand, and by the afternoon, she had regained enough energy that she could walk. With this strength came back her fluent speech, and she had quietly questioned her savior about the circumstances by which she had come to this place.
The woman's name was Mikomi, and she was a hermit in the middle of the forest outside the village where Kagome had stayed. When she asked why, Kagome was told that this was due to the woman's loathing of the life and death humans were experiencing, and her seclusion was her way of rebelling against it.
"But you're so young," Kagome had said, not fully understanding the matter. "You should go out and raise a family of your own."
Mikomi's solemn face had worn the expression clear off Kagome's. "I have, and the demons have taken them all away from me."
But now, Kagome was by herself, helping her caretaker out by looking for food. Her bow and arrow had been abandoned long ago, after her first run-in with her 'mate,' and now she held only a small dagger as her protection.
It was, however, a beautiful dagger. The blade barely protruded past its worn leather grip, but it was so very sharp . . . and so very deadly . . .
Kagome paused, loosening her grip on the thing to stare at it. It was quite sullied . . . quite used . . . . It had obviously been the death of many a creature, and if used properly, could mean the death of her as well.
She smiled slightly, her eyes dying ever so slowly in the dim light filtering through the trees . . .
It would be so easy . . .
There were so many ways to kill oneself with a blade this sharp . . .
Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned the blade over in her hand, the point now facing her heart. Her shattered heart . . . her non-existent heart . . .
It would be so easy to cease its persistent beating . . .
She drew back her hand, readying herself for the final blow. This would be simple . . . this would be quick . . . she would die so soon after . . .
"Kagome . . ."
She froze. That voice was . . .
She was delusional . . . she had to be . . .
It just couldn't be . . .
Oh no! It's a cliffy!
Now I'm debating an omake . . . hmm . . . this chapter was fairly short. So why not?
Omake Theater No. 2
Hinote sat in his study, sipping some English tea. He had just finished his most recent and most popular role in Overobsessy's Running From the Past and was now ready for a well deserved rest.
Being cast as the bad guy of the story was not what he had in mind when he first wandered into the young authoress's mind. In fact, his previous incarnation had been one of Over's favorite bishis. This 'Atsumaru' was indeed a bad guy, but as most bad guys go in the way of Over, he wasn't all that bad. But with this new role, he had no choice but to be evil. Why? Because he was going to be killed off.
Hinote growled inwardly. Why did Over always insist on killing him off?
"That's it!" he shouted, standing and spilling his tea on the Persian rug at his feet. "I'm filing a complaint about my abuse as Overobsessy's OC!"
Lahara cast him a wary glance, having come over recently for a visit with her original incarnation, Mos. "Hinote, you shouldn't complain about the way Over treats you. At least she's kind enough to kill off your character instead of forcing you to live with everything that's happened. Tell 'im what Over did to you, Mos."
The woman's piercing gaze shifted slowly to her descendant, dead as they always had been. "Lahara . . . I do not wish to share my story with anyone . . ."
The inu youkai's face softened. "I'm sorry. Did I bring back painful memories?"
"Then you tell me, Lahara. What the hell's so bad that Over did to this chick? I've never seen her in any fics before." Hinote made a mental note to murder his creator in her sleep for this torture.
"That's because she's Overobsessy's original brainchild that will remain hers alone." Lahara cast a sideways glance at her close friend, then decided to continue. "She forced her to be the cause of her mother's death. She made her father and her newborn brother ostracize her into insanity. She created a world where she couldn't be with her lover or her children. She destroyed her entire race. And as if that's not bad enough, she is forced to live for eternity knowing that her two sons killed each other!"
"Woah . . ." The fire youkai attempted to digest this properly, sitting back down in his chair. "What about you, then?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know what she's put me through. You were there to read it."
"Oh right . . ."
A knock on the door sent the peeved inu to open it, looking down at a familiar red-head. "Hiya, Jiko!"
"Jiko!" Hinote stood, holding out his arms for his son to leap into them. He never had liked the fact that Over had forced him to try to kill his own blood either, hanyou though he might be.
"Daddy!" The little fire hanyou hugged his father tight. "Guess what!"
"What?"
"I just went to see Overobsessy-sama, and she told me that she might make an alternate ending for our fic!"
"An alternate ending?" The old demon blinked. "For Running From the Past?"
"Yep!"
"Like what kind of alternate ending?"
"You'll see!" The kid poked his father's nose in a teasing fashion. "But, she says we all have to behave if we want it!"
'Behave?' Hinote sighed mentally. 'Well, there goes my plan to get fair and equal treatment . . .'
"And, Daddy?"
"Yes, Jiko?"
"There are some reviewers that want to see you."
TSUDUKU . . .
I had a dream once . . . in it I got more reviews . . . back when I was writing shout-outs . . .
And here's the way the voting works this time around:
This time you will be voting for which 'pairings' will exist in the end. This does not exactly mean lovey dovey pairings, but at least really, really good friends, etc.
Inuyasha x Kagome
Hinote x Kagome (Not originally intended, but sparked interest when my friend brought it up)
Tasuke x Jiko
Inuyasha x Jiko
Kagome x Jiko
Shippo x Jiko
Hinote x Jiko (Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No.)
Kagome's Family x Jiko
Inuyasha x Tasuke
I ask that you vote for THREE OR MORE pairings. Anyone voting for less won't have their votes confiscated, but instead I will add on the remaining votes to either completely abandoned options (as in this case, Inuyasha) or I will add them onto my own votes. Thank you.
A few of the votes for the last chapter weren't counted against them. Simply because, well, because.
Now for the shout-outs that everyone misses so much:
Chapter 7 (Desire) Shout Outs:
The Light in the Darkness: I'm really glad you liked it so much, and I'm sorry I didn't update as soon as I should have. Hopefully, you've liked these past few parts too. Thank you.
maboroshi kaji1: No. I was not trying to kill you.
Demons-Heart: I'm glad you thought it was so good. Now when I reread it, I even wonder myself sometimes where I was actually going . . .
Mage of Swords: You know something? That would be interesting for Inuyasha to get stuck in Jiko's body for awhile. That would make a good AU fic if you could find someone willing to write it. My friend is actually writing an AU one-shot off my story right now called "Unwanted Outing." It would be fun to check out after she posts.
unheard screams: That would be the embodiment of 'Desire.' She won't really be oh too important in the fic except as a plot device. Sometimes I wonder why I even stuck her in there . . .
chibiNeko1920: Jiko is five years old, but because of what he's been through, sometimes he acts older.
AnimaiGurl: Yes. Jiko is one of my own, beloved OCs.
Moonflower: Wow. My first flame.
Thanks and apologies for confusion to: Ookami Otome, animedorkette, ShadyLady06, KaNaGi, inu-kitsune-youkai, WrenchTHROWER, BlackandSilentFire, brigurl, Sanci, Tsuki no Akakage, sweet-girl8270, OniyuriGaaru, Amaya, ColorXMeXFake, luvinukagome, fallenangel7583, anny108, sesshoumaru's-hot-mate, twinkledontleburry, mitsukai-otome, Rockstar-groupie, Toya's Gurl, darkangel29, Beth, Drake Clawfang, Danakagome, Kagome-Vixen, Jade Summers, Zoderella, kasha, lilblondekid, inulover4391, greenJEMS, JulyFlame, BinkaWV, InuTime, and Miyuki-Baby
Chapter 8 (Explanations) Thanks:
crizz
Sanci
Miyuki-Baby
Chapter 9 (Demon's Fire) Shout Outs:
Sanci: Ya see, Inuyasha? You're not invincible.
Inu: ...growls...
Me: It's the truth, get used to it. I'm the authoress of this story!
Inu: That doesn't mean I can't complain.
Me: You and your complaining, Inu-boy. That won't change the fact that you got the-
Inu: Just shut up . . .
Me: What? You can't stand the fact that Hinote beat the shit out of you?
Inu: Never! The results were tampered!
Hinote: I'll beat the shit out of you anyday, wretch.
Inu: ...growls...
Me: Now calm down. We have other shout-outs to write, boys.
Also thanks to: Sweetest Pea, Mizukithepanda (200th reviewer!), Angel of hatered, Gwriter4Anime, lunabelle0, crayola-skies, cherrystraw, J. L. Faust, mseryel2, BinkaWV, Rikku-Tasuki, Inu Star Angel, and Miyuki-Baby
Chapter 10 (Separation) Shout Outs:
darkfire can purehearts: The story behind the Omake Theater is an interesting one. Because I had been asking everyone I could, I asked my mom which ending she preferred. She said that she didn't like any of them and proceeded to tell me that her favorite stories are the ones where the good guy doesn't have to sully his hands killing the bad guy. I proceeded to explain to her that Inuyasha would never let Hinote go, and there was a convenient laser for him to walk into. She then proceeded to tell me a story about Kagome thanking Hinote for giving her Jiko and then him being so stunned that he walked into a road to be hit by a semi. I simply couldn't leave that alone . . .
Deadly Crimson: See, I kinda made some promises in the beginning, and I feel those people wouldn't like it if I didn't give them some say -or at least some forewarning -before I did it.
Lady-Sttar: Your review made me laugh . . . so . . . hard. But if Hinote has an evil twin brother, does that mean that he's the good one?
Sanci: You're right. The plot really is coming along. I could hardly believe it when I realized. I'm so sad . . .
Also thanks to: kagomes pup, reviewer, Sweetest Pea, mseryel2, Tajiya-Hatake, Miyuki-Baby, J.L. Faust, lady-joker, inulover4391, dragon's kitty, Linella, Rikku-Tasuki, and lilazninufreak.
