"…is… is that why you decided to… to do it with me"
For a long moment, she stared at him, as though at a loss for words. Then, slowly, she bit her lip, nodding.
"There… there was just so much regret in… in the way he was speaking. What he said was everything that I'd ever feared would come true - not that I would die… that I would never have the chance to… let you know how I really felt. I… didn't want to… didn't want us to go through with that kind of regret, Inuyasha. I just didn't"
The hanyou smiled, stroking her hair, "You… you didn't have to do something like that to tell me how you felt about me, you know"
The girl nodded, "I… I know. But"
"It's okay, Kagome. I understand"
Silence ensued. Then, he shook his head, sighing, "I can't believe it though. For a moment there, I thought it was all a bad dream, seeing her like that in the warehouse. I was so sure you were safe, and that everything was all right"
Kagome remained silent, allowing him to speak, knowing what he meant.
He turned to look at her, his face suddenly determined, "But… you know what? Everything will be all right. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Never"
Again, their eyes met. She smiled.
"Thank you, Inuyasha"

"Hey, Kagome"
The girl looked up from the task at hand, squinting slightly as the bright morning sun caught her eye unexpectedly as it shone through the living room windows, "What"
"What's up with your brother? He's been acting strange today"
She resumed her application of antiseptic lotion to Inuyasha's remaining shoulder wound - though it had mostly closed up the day before and all trace of it would probably be gone within the hour, she wasn't taking any chances. Dabbing it gently, she replied, "Can you blame him? You really freaked him out last night with that little display of yours. I don't think he's ever seen you that furious before… and have I mentioned jii-chan's not too pleased about having to fix that wall"
He looked away, turning red in the face as he put his robes back on, "Well… what did you expect me to do, anyway"
Another uncomfortable silence. Taking advantage of the moment, Kagome started packing up the medical kit.
"What made you think he was telling the truth"
She looked up, blinking at her companion, "The birthmark inside your right ear. You know, the one I found out quite by accident a few months ago"
The hanyou's ears twitched, but surprisingly, he said nothing.
For a moment.
"He's… very strong"
At that, the girl smirked, "Yeah, I noticed. I don't think I've ever seen you manhandled like that before… usually, you're the one doing that sort of stuff"
She paused, "But… technically, you -were- the one doing it anyway"
The hanyou glared at her. She smiled.
"You're not fooling me, Inuyasha. I know you've already accepted it inside. You're stubborn, but you're not stupid, no matter what Shippou thinks. Sooner or later, you're going to have to stop making the distinction between him and you. The sooner, the better"
Inuyasha remained quiet. She looked at him for a moment longer, then stood up, picking up the medical kit, "You stay here and rest a bit more… I'm going upstairs for a bit, and I'll be down again later at lunchtime, all right"
The hanyou nodded.
Listening to the door slide shut behind her, he leaned back against the table in the centre of the room.
Sooner or later, you're going to have to stop making the distinction between him and you. The sooner, the better.
He snorted.
"Feh"
Glancing around the room, he spotted the little black device that Kagome had told him about. Reaching over to grab it, he stared at the gadget and all the little buttons, trying to remember which one did what. He pressed the button he was sure he was supposed to.
Nothing. He pressed it again. Still nothing. He growled.
Realisation struck him.
He pointed it at the big brown box with the glass front that displayed all the strange moving pictures. Again, he pressed the button.
The screen lit up, and the hanyou smiled, leaning back as he lay down on the futon.

Inuyasha yawned.
He'd been switching the moving pictures around for about an hour already, and nothing seemed to be able to catch his interest… there was this strange one where a lot of people seemed to be doing nothing but crying, shouting or looking shocked at each other… and there was this other one with two huge men grabbing at each other and apparently fighting on top of a big square platform while a lot of other humans cheered them on. Then, there was this odd one where this other human was cooking all kinds of weird foods… and another strange-looking one where the people in it didn't look real - they were kind of flat-looking, and they had really big eyes and their lips didn't always move along to what they were saying.
The hanyou sighed. And Kagome says humans in this world spend hours in front of this box. He pressed the button on the little black device again, and the moving pictures changed yet again. His ears perked up as the glass screen showed images of the warehouse they had been at the night before. His eyes narrowed as he listened to the disembodied female voice coming out from the box.
"Police investigations into the incident at the warehouses located along Yokosuka Bay two nights ago are currently ongoing. Central Division spokesperson Himori Fujisaka declined to comment in detail, but said that officials have not yet ruled out foul play or malicious intent, though a source within the police department says that no leads have been found as yet. The four security guards on night duty at the warehouse have now been officially declared missing. Meanwhile, investigations into the accident at the same warehouse involving one transport container holding a full shipment of textiles and raw clothing materials are also ongoing. Port authority officials have yet to ascertain how the container, which was stored at ground level, was moved from its holding location, or how it crashed into the warehouse's northern wall, particularly since confirmed computer logs indicate that the transportation machinery in the warehouse had not been activated during that period. Officials are now suspecting that the party responsible for the incident was also able to tamper with the computer records, indicating an inside job, as the mass and weight of the containers, which measure twenty metres by five metres, make them impossible to move without mechanical assistance. The motive for the incident has also yet to be determined, as the contents of the container in question were not considered particularly valuable." The hanyou raised his eyebrows. What was with this world, anyway? It was like they needed to know everything that was going on around them, and they seemed to have a particularly bad habit of picking up on things that he'd been doing. Save a little girl from a fire - they talk about it on that box thing. Stop a fleeing bandit - more talk. Bust up a warehouse - and again, it's there.
Am I really so out of place here?
Inuyasha sighed, his thoughts returning to his future self as he closed his eyes, shutting off the brown box and dumping the black control device.
He seemed to be doing well enough.
The sound of the rice-paper door sliding open caught his attention, and he slowly looked up, opening his eyes, watching Kagome walk in carefully bearing a tray laden with…
… with food that smelled awfully strange.
The hanyou grimaced momentarily as thoughts of that awful "curry" stuff danced through his head, but quickly checked himself. She always reacted badly when he said nasty things about her food… and she didn't need that right now. He steeled himself for what was to come, thinking thoughts of ramen. The girl set the tray down on the table in the centre of the room, sitting down next to it and setting out two plates. She glanced at him as she worked, "How's the wound? Is it still there"
He shifted over, moving to sit opposite her, shaking his head as he did, "Nope. It closed up a while ago… finally." He growled lightly, "Spiritual attacks always take longer to heal"
She stared at him with one of her exasperated looks, "You were shot through the chest by a dozen submachine gun rounds and had your shoulder gouged out by an energy arrow, and you're walking around, watching television less than two days later, completely healed. Count yourself lucky"
The hanyou didn't respond, looking away. Moments later, his lips moved.
"I'm hungry"
The girl blushed, fiddling with her fingers, "Um… about that"
Inuyasha eyed her warily, "About… what"
"Well… you see, it's Saturday, and we're… kinda out of food, and Mama's not back from the supermarket yet, so… this was all I could find"
She took the lid off the plate, picking up a weird round thing wrapped in paper and offering it to him. Inuyasha sniffed at it.
Glancing at her with one eye, he proceeded cautiously, "What… is it"
Kagome fidgeted, "A hamburger… um, it's just some meat on bread. Souta stopped by Wacdnald's with his friends yesterday and brought a couple back after ordering too much… I heated it up in the microwave, so it should be fine. I… I know it's not something you're used to, but"
She found herself interrupted by the hanyou, as he reached out to take the hamburger from her. Ripping off the paper with one well-placed claw, he sniffed at it for a moment, before taking one unhesitant bite, chewing noisily.
The girl smiled. She unwrapped her own.
The phone rang. Dumping the burger, she scrambled up to grab the cordless sitting on top of the television.
"Hello? Oh… hi. Yeah… yeah. What, now? But Mama and jii-chan aren't around and Souta… okay. All right, we'll be over right after lunch. Okay. Bye"
Kagome switched off the phone, turning to look at the hanyou who had already worked his way through half his burger. She said the obvious.
"It's the other you. He says he's made some discoveries, and wants us to go over as soon as we can"
She sat down again, silently. Her food stared up at her.

Higurashi Kagome found herself gazing aimlessly down the road as they made their way over to the elder Inuyasha's apartment. It was a quiet, rather warm afternoon that was nice for a brisk walk… but the same couldn't be said about her two travelling companions. On her left, aloof and clearly not looking forward to the meeting ahead was her hanyou, his arms folded aggressively and his head sporting the baseball cap that served as camouflage for his ears. On her right, standing slightly further apart than usual, was her younger brother, who was also being uncharacteristically quiet and sombre.
She paused mentally, her thoughts upon Souta's odd behaviour. It certainly could be that he was still freaked out by Inuyasha's display of temper the night before - after all, she had to admit the hanyou could be very intimidating when he was furious, and for Souta, who idolised him like other kids idolised athletes and movie stars, that could well have been an awkward moment for him.
Or he could just have overheard all the yelling and realised that his elder sister's going to die very soon.
She sighed. Or maybe you're just overreacting and imaging things. Nevertheless, she was probably going to have to talk to him about it soon.
"Ne-chan"
She blinked in surprise as her brother's voice reached up to her. Looking down at him, she followed the boy's hand as it pointed in the direction of a store a short distance away.
"Ne-chan… there's a bookstore over there… can I go take a quick look? I wanted to pick up this week's Shounen Saturday"
Kagome raised an eyebrow. Was there something bothering the boy or not?
To her brother, she didn't voice her concerns, instead nodding with a small smile, "Sure, Souta… just don't take too long. We're going to be late"
The hanyou glared over, "We're wasting time. Can't we just get thi-" He trailed off as she glanced over at him. He sighed, "Oh, all right. Whatever. Just hurry up"
The boy smiled slightly, crossing the quiet road and bounding into the store.

Inuyasha leaned against the bench on the sidewalk across the street from the bookstore, eyeing the girl resting next to him as they waited for Souta to be done.
"How far away did you say we were"
Kagome shook her head, "Not that… we're about a block or two away, if I remember correctly"
The silver-haired hanyou remained quiet, ears twitching in annoyance, and the girl found herself venturing further.
"You're really not looking forward to this, are you"
Silence.
Kagome sighed, instead focusing her attention on the street and the myriad of buildings that lined it. She looked up at the sky, breathing in the air - it was a really nice day, and it was surprisingly peaceful, especially considering that it was about lunchtime.
Her eyes narrowed as her train of thought trailed off.
It was indeed surprisingly peaceful. Too peaceful.
She nearly jumped when the hanyou beside her suddenly spoke up, his eyes narrowing as his ears perked up in attention, "Something's coming… I can hear it"
The girl strained her ears trying to pick up what Inuyasha had heard, but without success. The hanyou, however, was continuing.
"It… it sounds like a bunch of those rumbling wagons that are always moving along these roads"
She exhaled in relief, "Well… that's kind of expect"
She was interrupted by the sight of Souta emerging from the store, tiny hands carrying a large plastic bag. Finally, she thought. At least they could finally get off this unnervingly quiet street. She stood up to meet him.
That was when three large black cars swerved erratically onto the road, tires screeching in unison as they took the corner, already speeding down the lane, one actually getting up on the sidewalk as it roared towards them.
Directly towards them. The hanyou muttered a curse as his eyes darted about looking for a way out, eyes that soon widened in alarm as he realised that one of the cars had broken away and was aiming for Souta across the road.
Kagome stifled a gasp as she watched the car race towards her brother. Turning to the hanyou, she barely had time to call out his name before he reacted, scooping her up with one arm as he dashed across the road, reaching the boy almost instantly, even as the cars tailing them swerved to follow his motion. Turning his head around, he furiously tried to work out an avenue of escape, but there was no time to react. The two cars that had swerved to follow him crashed into the one that had been aiming for Souta, sending the vehicle screeching over - at full speed, directly at the three of them.
The hanyou cursed at the fates - there wasn't even time to leap out of the way. Dropping the two humans, he yelled at them to crouch down against the wall of the bookstore. Standing in front of them, he stretched his arms forward, bracing himself against the wall even as he dug his feet into the ground, hoping to prepare for the impact.
Hoping that he could protect them.
The girl held her now-shaking brother close, watching helplessly as the car, now wildly out of control, smashed into the hanyou standing protectively over them, the hood slamming right into his back and caving in from the force of the impact. Above her, she watched as Inuyasha grimaced, his face contorting with pain that was evidently coursing through his body. Fragments of the wall above them rained down on their heads, as the structure gave way at the point where his hands met brick-and-cement.
But the silver-haired hanyou's arms refused to buckle, his legs refusing to admit defeat. For a moment, he remained so, his eyes closed, his brow quivering as he fought pain Kagome could barely find herself imagining. Then, as quick as lightning, he raised one leg, kicking the vehicle clear across the road, smashing it into the building opposite. Wordlessly, he opened his eyes, sparing the two humans a quick glance to make sure they were okay before his gaze switched to one of fury and untold rage, turning around even as his hand reached down to his waist, drawing Tessaiga from its hilt. The sword transformed, resonating in the wind as it declared its readiness to fight, as the hanyou silently allowed himself a small grin, eyeing the two remaining cars.
Slowly, the girl stood up, her hand reaching back for her bow, preparing for the worst.
Quietly, she leaned over, whispering to the hanyou.
"Are you all right"
Without taking his eyes away from the cars, he nodded lightly, "Yeah… feels like there could be some bruising… but I'll survive. Some youkai back home hit harder than that"
The car doors opened, even as the now-familiar shrill cry of the hanyou Kagome's once-humans filled the air. The girl shook her head - she should've realised it from the beginning. One foiled attempt at getting to her didn't mean they were going to stop trying.
And I nearly got Souta into trouble as well.
She looked up at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. The hanyou was grinning widely now - obviously, he hadn't been injured too badly… or at least appeared to be hiding it very well. He spoke.
"Is that all you could manage this time? Keh"
With one swing, he slashed out with Tessaiga in a horizontal arc, the blade slicing apart everything it touched, severing once-humans in half and ripping through the two cars like paper, remains of both collapsing to the ground. The grin refused to leave the hanyou's face. "Keh…" he began, then stopped himself as he realised - the shrill cries that were the trademark of the once-humans hadn't abated.
Both human and hanyou glanced around. A mass of the creatures had turned the opposite corner, coming from around the bookstore, heading towards them. Inuyasha cursed again.
Turning to the girl, he spoke hurriedly, "Take Souta and go inside that store. Stay hidden. I'll handle this"
Kagome frowned. Grabbing her brother, she shoved him inside the doorway of the bookstore, ordering him to stay there, the boy doing so willingly. Reaching back for an arrow shaft, she primed her bow, walking up to and standing next to the hanyou, her weapon drawn and ready, aiming at the oncoming horde. She looked at her companion meaningfully.
Inuyasha spared her a glance. Shrugging his shoulders, he muttered softly.
"Suit yourself"
Breaking into a sprint, he charged forward even as Kagome let fly with her first arrow, the spiritual power of the hama no ya slicing through the horde and diminishing their number.
The hanyou stormed into their midst, already fighting like a wildcat, as creature after creature was cleaved apart wherever he swung Tessaiga. Expertly placed arrows lanced forth from Kagome's bow as they continued to smash into the horde, even as the hanyou intensified his attacks, he and Tessaiga working as one as they ripped through the enemy.

"You're late"
The girl glanced down, not quite meeting the elder hanyou's gaze. The younger, however, stared back at his future self openly, as though challenging him with his gaze. Kagome spoke.
"We… we ran into some opposition on the way"
The older Inuyasha nodded as he moved over to glance out the window, "I guessed as much - that explains all that commotion I heard a while ago. A lot of people on the street here were wondering what was happening, but no one could get across to that side. I figured it was probably her doing. There wasn't anyone there, other than her creatures and you, right"
At the girl's nod, he smiled, "She's obviously been busy. Hasn't given up on trying to get you, it seems. Not since the incident at the school, at least"
Kagome flinched as the younger hanyou's eyes widened. Despite that, however, he said nothing, carrying Souta wordlessly.
Something outside the window seemed to catch the elder Inuyasha's attention. Frowning slightly, he narrowed his eyes as though focusing, then turned to look at his younger self accusingly. He spoke.
"You want to tell me why there's a pile of lampposts blocking the road downstairs? I presume it's your doing"
The robed hanyou blinked. Kagome moved to intervene.
"Um… well, after we got rid of the main body of creatures, another bunch of cars came screaming down the road and we decided enough was enough. Inuyasha grabbed both of us and ran off. We took a few rounds around the district, but I think we managed to shake them. Inuyasha wasn't so sure, and wanted to be cautious and decided… um… to… to create a blockade"
The elder hanyou blinked incredulously, "Out of lampposts"
The girl fidgeted, "Well… there wasn't anything else available. Inuyasha wanted to use a couple of the buses parked downstairs, but I wouldn't let him… so, well… um"
The older Inuyasha sighed, "Look, never mind. Did anyone see him doing it"
"I… I don't think so. The road seemed clear"
He nodded, "Good. But it's useless. There's no need for it here… I have a barrier up around the street that prevents those creatures from coming near here or even sensing anything here. It's something like what she used to block off the road you were on before attacking you with her creatures, except that it targets those creatures, instead of humans"
He paused, "After that incident yesterday, I even put one up around your school and at your home as well, so you should be safe there too."

Looking back down at the street through the window, the elder hanyou forced back a grimace. Eyeing his younger self, he slid the window open, stepping up onto the ledge.

Kagome started towards him, "What..."

He turned to her, "Well, I can't just leave that there, can I? Sooner or later, there are going to be cars that need to go past this road, and when that happens, you can imagine the commotion that's going to take place, right? The last thing I need is another exposé on the exploits of my youth on the news, thank you very much."

Elder hanyou stared pointedly at younger hanyou again, balancing on the window sill for a moment as he turned to scan the horizon, making sure no one was watching. Muttering a quick "I'll be right back", his form shimmered as the illusion took shape, silver hair giving way to black, dog ears to human ears, and gold to purple. Ignoring the surprise on his younger self's face, he leaped out the window silently.

Minutes later, he returned, landing deftly on the sill as silently as he had departed, his form once again transforming back to the familiar. Getting back into the apartment, he dusted his hands, closed the window, and pointed to the sofa, "All right… have a seat, and let's get started. I have a lot to cover right now"
"Um"
The older Inuyasha turned around, his tone giving way to slight exasperation, "What now"
Kagome pointed at Souta, lying unconscious in the younger hanyou's arms, "Do you have somewhere we can let him lie down? I… I think all the… excitement was too much for him to take"
The elder looked at the insensate boy for a long moment. Then, stifling a small laugh, he took him off the other Inuyasha's hands, carrying him into the bedroom.

Sitting heavily down on the armchair across from the sofa where Kagome and his younger self had planted themselves, the elder Inuyasha leaned back, resting himself, glancing at the girl.
"I'll say this much - whatever else she may have become, she certainly didn't lose the resourcefulness and intelligence that you always had"
The girl frowned, "What do you mean"
"Well… obviously, she knows something that I don't about the way things are going to turn out in all of this... I've discovered why things are different from how I remember them - she's done something to alter it"
He paused for a moment, as though collecting his thoughts, "It's possible, though only the most powerful youkai have ever been able to do it successfully, but it seems she's done it. She's used her power to create some sort of time void around all of us, at this point of time. It's… kind of like a… a moment that's not really a moment, where everything around you is drawn out of the normal timeline… it's… it's like… as if time is a highway…" He shrugged, "… and our car's just been detoured off the highway and onto another road that's running parallel, but not quite the same"
Looking the two of them over, he continued, "What we need to do now is to find the slip road that'll connect us back"
The younger hanyou frowned, "What the hell is that supposed to mean"
The girl at his side moved a hand to his lap, "You mean that she's drawn all of us out of the normal timeline in order to change something that's going to happen, something that she knows and doesn't want to happen… and we need to stop her and restore the original timeline before more things get out of hand"
The elder hanyou nodded, his gaze taking in both of them.
"The only reason I can think of to explain why she's doing this is that maybe she knows that… she's going to lose in the end"
Kagome frowned, "But… how would she know that… if you don't"
Standing up, the elder hanyou started pacing slightly, "As I slowly unravelled the puzzle, it slowly began to make more sense - things only started to change from the way I remembered them the day we met at the warehouse. I remember rushing back here, all furious with you for being late, getting worked up by the fact that I thought you lost the shards again, then bounding around Tokyo searching for the impostor posing as me. We ended up at the warehouse, met the horde, and I got rid of them. I remember asking you to stay outside while I continued back in to deal with the rest of them. Inside, I detected some form of youki, but before I could do anything, some energy arrows took me down, and I crashed to the ground, surrounded by those creatures attacking me. The next thing I knew, I woke up, still very much injured, inside Kaede's hut with Miroku, Sango and Shippou staring over me. They told me that Kagome had come through the well with a human boy carrying me, and that she'd asked them to take care of my injuries while she went back to her world to settle some things. I was in no position to disagree, so all I could do was worry. But Kagome came back a couple of days later, and she said that everything was all right… that she'd managed to get the shards back on her own, and that it had all been a big mistake"
He paused, "There was nothing I could say, and she wasn't too willing to say anything either, so I let it slide. Besides, we didn't have much time. Soon after she returned… we… encountered Naraku for the final time. It was only after that that I realised what had happened"
The elder hanyou eyed the girl, "That was why I was over at your place so soon after you left mine yesterday. I came over, because I was expecting that that was when you would ask me to bring him back, and that matters would proceed from there. It didn't make sense to me back then - I figured you were up to something, but I never thought it was something like this. Knowing what I know now, it unfortunately all falls into place - that in the way I remember things, while I was holed up in Kaede's hut healing, my Kagome - you, in the way things originally were - was back here helping me fight her future self. In the original timeline, I can only guess that we must've been successful, and she returned to you," he pointed at his younger self, "… and to the battle with Naraku, for some reason or another, despite knowing that it meant her death"
The older Inuyasha sat back down, "So… does it all make sense now"
Kagome and the other Inuyasha remained silent for a moment. Then, the girl spoke up.
"What do we have to do now"
The elder hanyou gazed at her, "Regardless of what's happened, she cannot be allowed to win this. The spell that she's used to create this time void probably works like any other miko or youkai spell - there are only two ways to stop it… the one casting the spell must voluntarily release it… or must be killed"
He smiled, laughing a bitter laugh, "It's ironic, but it seems that despite the change in time, my goals remain the same. All these years, I've tried to find a way to bring her around… to bring her back to me, knowing that if I couldn't, I would have to find a way to… kill her instead"
The younger Inuyasha glared at him, "And you're fine with doing something like that"
Kagome squeezed the hanyou's leg, wordlessly telling him to back down, "Are… are you sure there isn't any other way"
Looking at her, the elder hanyou smiled, "None that I know of, at least. You could try asking the mikos and houshis around here if you think that'll help, but I'll tell you, the ones these days are nowhere near as experienced as they were back in the 16th century… they probably wouldn't even be able to exorcise Myouga-jiji, if he were still alive"
He blinked as his words took hold, "Or… you could try asking someone from back then"
The girl nodded, "Wakatta. We'll go back through the well and talk to Kaede. Maybe she can help us… or point us to someone who can"
The elder hanyou agreed, "I guess… it's worth a shot. Just… just stay away from Naraku. Let's not go there… until it's time"
Standing, Higurashi Kagome allowed herself to smile at the one who was the future of her hanyou, "We'll see you when that's done then"
He nodded, "And I'll bring your brother home, when he wakes up"

The walk home from the elder hanyou's apartment had been relatively silent so far, as both human and hanyou absorbed all that had been told to them.
The hanyou was the first to speak.
"I… "