Chapter Fourteen
Discovering the Past
Disclaimer: If I owned InuYasha then I would take Mr. Sesshy and have him all to myself!
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Kagome was hustling back and fourth in the house. It's not that she had a lot of stuff; it's just that she had managed to buy quite a few things for her new apartment. A lot of things like furniture and such, her mother and their neighbors had donated other things like that to her.
The twins were inside, playing with the cat and she had entrusted Souta with the job since it was Saturday. She began helping one of her neighbor's with lifting a couch into the back of a truck and then moved to help tie down another load.
Her mother was in the kitchen, busy preparing lunch for everyone since they were working so hard. She smiled when she heard the sounds of the children beginning to get bored. She didn't move from inside the kitchen though, figuring that her son could handle it.
"Uncle Souta, we're bored!" Takara whined, pulling at his sleeve. Souta sighed a little bit and he racked his brain for what would entertain them. What did little kids like? Oh! Stories! Little kids loved stories! Souta smiled at them.
"Would you two like me to tell you a story?" Their eyes went wide and they quickly scampered to sit beside him on the couch, one child on either side of him.
"Well, one day there was this family, kind of like ours. There was a mom, a grandpa, a boy and a girl. The boy and the girl were brother and sister though the girl was older than the boy so that made her his older sister. They also lived at a shrine like ours and they had a cat, too!"
Kagome passed the living room and stopped for a minute to hear Souta's story and smiled, continuing on with helping the neighbors get everything together to move.
"The brother, as brave as he was, didn't like the old well house because it sort of scared him. He couldn't see very well and there was sometimes strange noises going on inside of it. One day, the brother was looking for their cat named Buyo. He looked every where except for the well house so he went up the stairs and slowly opened the door, poking his head in, calling for the cat. He could hear some weird noises that were making him a little scared and he looked outside and saw his older sister just leaving for school. He quickly told her about their cat and she agreed to go further inside the old, creepy well house to look for the cat. She quickly found the cat but not before he scared both of them out of their wits! He watched his brave older sister as she picked up their cat and just before she was going to walk up the steps to the door, the sealed well burst open with a blue light!"
The twins were completely captivated by their uncle's story, not knowing that it was actually true and it had happened the very day that Kagome had gone down the well for the very first time. Souta smiled a little, remembering that day. It was so long ago but he could remember every single detail, on his part anyways.
"There were what looked like arms coming out of the well and the grabbed the boy's older sister and dragged her down into the well with the blue light. The boy got scared and ran back inside with the cat. The girl, however, turned around and saw a giant demon!
'Give me the Shikon Jewel!' She demanded. The girl was completely clueless on what the demon was talking about. She thought that the Jewel of Four Souls was just a legend or a myth! She tried to get away and finally she covered the demon's face with her hand and yelled,
'Let me go!' Just before a bright pink light came from her hand, sending her falling down the well faster. Soon, she reached solid ground and she was excited because she thought that she must have hit her head or something and completely dreamed that whole thing. She quickly climbed out of the well and looked around a little. She couldn't figure out where she was because, wherever she was, it wasn't home. There were no buildings, no cement, no cars, just grass, trees, bushes and flowers.
'Toto, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore.' She said while she looked around a little. But then, she spotted the sacred tree and she excitedly ran towards it, thinking that once she got to the tree, she would easily be able to find her way home from there. Instead, however, when she reached the tree she saw a boy with dog-ears, long silver hair and wearing a red hiori that was pinned to a tree and had some vines wrapped around his body. At first, she didn't know what to make of the dog-eared boy so she slowly approached him and climbed onto one of the very large roots of the tree and reached up and rubbed his ears like so." He reached down and rubbed an ear on each twin, earning giggles from them.
"Go on, Uncle Souta, finish the story." Kasei encouraged. Kagome was standing in the doorway of the living room, her arms crossed and a smile on her face as she leaned against the frame. Souta looked up at his sister and smiled.
"Another time, kids. We're leaving now." This was followed by protests and whines. Kagome shook her head.
"Hurry and say good-bye to Uncle Souta so you can say good-bye to grandma and great gramps." They frowned a little but hugged Souta and hopped down, running into the kitchen and hugging their grandmother's legs before running off and tackling their great gramps down and hugging him and taking off towards their mother.
Kagome smiled a little and then took their hands, walking out to the waiting car. She had already said her good-byes. While letting the kids climb into the back before her, she rested a hand on the door and looked back at the shrine, a light breeze blowing her hair back towards it. Kagome sighed a little and climbed in.
Along the ride, she watched the passing scenery and began to wonder if she'd ever see Sesshomaru or InuYasha or any of them ever again …
With another sigh, Kagome looked up at the bright blue sky with their white puffy clouds.
I love you, Sesshomaru. I miss you. I want to see you again. I want to feel your touch again. I want to come back to you …
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It was now late afternoon, nearly dinnertime and Kagome was waiting for the pizza to arrive. Her sickness had permanently passed and she could go back to eating again. She had also begun to get a little heavier but she still hadn't broken the news to the twins yet.
Speaking of the twins, they were sitting on the counter, handing Kagome various plates and bowls and cups and silverware. They had hooked everything electrical up and already had electricity in the apartment, which was good because it was beginning to get dark and Kagome didn't want to dig out candles quite yet.
Once most of everything they would need for the kitchen was put in it's rightful place, Kagome smiled and the twins hopped down from the counter, stacking the empty boxes and putting them in a corner. They stopped and then dashed for the door with a quick shout that the pizza was here. They waited at the door impatiently and Kagome smiled.
Soon, the pizza was no more than a memory in the form of an empty box in the trash. She helped the twins with their bath and brushing their teeth and they quickly got changed and crawled into their bunk beds that had been so graciously donated to them.
"Mom, tell us a story." Kasei pleaded a little. Kagome smiled and scooted his over on the bottom bunk and propping herself up against the wall with a smile. Kasei quickly climbed down and took his place on the free side of his mother.
"Alright. What one do you want to hear?"
"Tell us about the beautiful miko who met a scary yet handsome demon lord!" Takara said excitedly. Kagome's heart lurched a little but her smile never faltered.
"Alright then." She took in a breath and began telling the story.
"Once, there was a beautiful young miko who had raven black hair – "
"Like yours!" Takara piped up and Kagome chuckled a little, nodding.
"Yes, like mine. She also had chocolate brown eyes, also like Kasei's and mine. One day she was traveling with her traveling companions when she was alone in a hot spring. She didn't realize until the man was standing right behind her that she wasn't alone. He was tall and his hair was long silky silver and his clothes were made from the best silks. She turned around in the water and stared at his golden, golden eyes. Soon, he plucked her out of the water and wrapped his kimono shirt over her, covering her wet body with warmth. He wanted her and she wanted him but they couldn't tell each other, not yet at least. After a minute, he asked her if she wanted to travel with him."
"I know what she said!" Kasei revealed with a smile. Kagome smiled a little, nodding.
"He was looking to the young miko and she was looking at him. After a few minutes of silence, she finally said that, yes, she would like to travel with him. They became friends after a little while and then a little while later, they finally confessed their love to each other." Kagome looked down to see them sleeping and smiled.
She sat there for another minute or two and lifted her hand to the faded mark on her neck. Looking outside, she could see the stars and the full moon and instantly thought of him.
"I love you, Sesshomaru." She murmured softly. With a quiet sigh, she got up and placed the sleeping Kasei on the top bunk again and reached through the railing and pulled the blankets over him and placed a light kiss on his forehead.
Kagome repeated the process with Takara and then stood and turned the lamp off and walked to the doorway, her hand resting on the handle and the light from the hallway illuminating against her back. She smiled softly and turned to walk into the hallway, leaving the door open only about an inch before going to the front door and locking it then locking the sundeck doors and drawing the curtains.
Before drawing the curtains to a close, Kagome stood, looking up at the sky. She wondered what he was doing right now …
With a sigh, she drew the curtains closed and doubled checked the locks and making sure everything was off before heading to her bedroom and getting changed and climbing into her bed from her old room. With another sigh, Kagome turned out the light and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep.
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Sixteen-year-old Kasei was listening to his music while he walked the four blocks from his high school to the apartment that he lived in with his mother, twin sister and little brother. Takara would probably already be home with their little brother, Katsu, keeping an eye him while their mother was hard at work. Katsu was going into middle school soon so he couldn't quite be left completely on his own yet.
Opening the door to the apartment with his key, he carefully took out his earphones, careful of the silver ring that pierced his ear. Dumping his stuff on the kitchen table, he walked into the living room, seeing cartoons on and Takara lying on the couch with a book.
Katsu was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the couch as he periodically flipped through the channels. He looked over his brother and smiled a little. He had dog-ears, fangs and a super nose just like him and their sister.
While his hair and ears were silver, Takara's were black and Katsu's ears were silver lined with black and he had a few black streaks in his hair. Katsu's ears swiveled around and he turned from the TV set to Kasei with a smile and shot up, hugging him instantly.
Kasei had gotten much, much taller over the years and now resembled his father, at least that's what his mother had told him once. An unhappy feeling settled in his gut every time he thought of their father but he pushed it away and turned his attention to his younger brother. He came to about his chest already and he was still growing.
"Kasei, we get to go on this awesome field trip and learn all about Feudal Japan! 500 years into the past is where we're starting! It's going to be so cool!" Kasei chuckled a little, ruffling the boy's hair.
"I bet it will be." Something rung a bell in his mind. Feudal Japan? What was he thinking of that for? Sure, he had to study it a little in his history class but he never thought anything of it, even if it brought back familiar feelings that he couldn't recognize.
"Pipe down, Katsu! Some of us are trying to study!" Takara ordered. Kasei chuckled a little, going over and plucking the book out of his sister's hands. Unlike himself, his sister was looking more and more like their mother every day. Except for her golden eyes, Katsu had them too. Those eyes that he'd seen in someone else other than his twin sister.
"Give it back, damn it!" His sister's sharp order brought him back to the present and he looked at the book.
"A romance novel? What kind of studying would this be, Takara? Would that Carson guy you like have anything to do with this?" He watched as his sister turned red and snatched the book out of his hands.
She was just going to say something smart to him when their mother walked in the door with an armful of groceries.
"Mom!" Katsu cried out happily and jumped into her arms just as she set down the bags. Kagome laughed a little, hugging him back.
"Hey, you. Did you have a good day at school today?" He bobbed his head with excitement and began telling her all about their field trip and how they were going to start research and do projects and stuff on Feudal Japan.
Kagome, who had been listening with half an ear as she put some groceries away with Kasei's help, stopped when he mentioned Feudal Japan.
Feudal Japan … 500 years in the past … where she had longed to go for the last eleven years, nearly twelve as Katsu was going to have a birthday soon. Sesshomaru …
"Mom? Mom? Are you okay?" Katsu asked, waving a hand in front of her face. Kagome blinked a little, coming back to reality and laughed a little.
"Yes, Katsu, I'm fine. Now, go find that form that I'm suppose to sign."
"Okay!" He ran to his room to search his backpack. Kasei and Takara had noticed the utter sadness on their mother's face when their brother mentioned Feudal Japan. He didn't know what was wrong but he had a sneaky suspicion that it had something to do with the man who called himself their father.
There was no doubt in his mind anymore. He was going to find out more and find a way to put his mother's suffering to an end.
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That night, when his mother lay fast asleep, he found a photo album in his mother's room. He quietly snuck in and then snuck back out and into his and Katsu's room. Their apartment was only a two bedroom but their mother had moved herself out of her own room and into the room that used to be a study and gave Takara her old room.
Kasei honestly didn't mind sharing a room with his younger brother and it was probably easier than Takara and Katsu sharing one. His ears twitched and then his sister appeared in his room.
"I couldn't sleep." She whispered. Kasei gave her a weird look then motioned her to follow him as he walked into her room and closed the door after them.
"I found this in mom's room. It isn't any photo album I've ever seen." Takara took it from her brother and studied it, nodding.
"Yeah, I've never seen it before, either." Opening it, Takara blinked a little when she saw the exact same pair of golden eyes staring back at her. It was a picture of a man, a handsome man she had to admit. He had long silver hair like Kasei's and golden eyes like hers and Katsu's. He also had four magenta stripes, two on each side and she noticed that his lips were pulled into a loving smile.
He wore a kimono that flowed easily. It was mostly white and it had a flower pattern on it. She studied the picture a little more and then turned the page.
There was another man, but shorter. He wore a red outfit and also had golden eyes and dog-ears, just like theirs, minus the slight differences. He was standing with a pretty young woman with long purple hair and a light blue kimono. The woman had one hand on his chest as she rested her head against his shoulder and they each had an arm around each other.
The next picture was featuring a man, a woman, a small cat thing with two tails and a small boy that looked like a fox of some sorts. The man in red in the previous picture was laying facedown on the ground behind them.
The male standing had short black hair that was pulled into a small ponytail and brown eyes. He had a staff in one hand and he wore long black and purple robes. She guessed that he was probably a monk or something but he had his arm around the shoulders of a very pretty woman indeed.
The woman was wearing a pink and green kimono and it looked like she had something like … a boomerang, a giant boomerang on her back. Takara's eyes drifted to the cat that was a pale yellow and had black stripes and was really adorable, along with the little fox child.
Takara turned the page and everything was a little blurry in one of the pictures but the next picture showed their mother wearing a beautiful pink and blue kimono with a flower pattern. She was resting her hand on her stomach and was absolutely beaming, a small child stood beside her, holding their mother's hand. She had short black hair in a ponytail with brown eyes and a orange and white-checkered kimono.
Another page and another picture revealed the tall man with the white kimono from before with their mother and the child. He was holding her and his arm was around their mother's waist, this time, however, most of the attention was not on the camera but on each other as their mother and the man were sharing a tender kiss.
As they came to the end of the pictures, it showed their very pregnant mother with everyone else that had previously been seen. The last and final picture was with their mother, the man, the little girl from before and …
Takara and Kasei gasped a little bit, looking at each other and then back to the picture. There were two children standing in front of their mother and the man.
"That's … " Kasei began in bewilderment.
"… us." Takara finished for him, both brother and sister staring at the picture.
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Once they had rushed down to the 24-hour photocopying center, they had made two extra copies of the last picture and then Kasei quickly returned the photo album to their mother.
Now, he was pacing Takara's room, looking at the picture occasionally. Takara sat on her bed, looking at the picture and shaking her head.
"Pictures don't lie, Kasei … "
"I know … "
"So … if they don't lie then … that was … us in … Feudal Japan … 500 years ago."
"I know."
"I'm not 500 years old!" Takara exclaimed suddenly and Kasei quickly covered her mouth, listening to any signs of either his mother or Katsu stirring. Satisfied that they were still sleeping, he let her go.
"Of course you're not 500 years old, you baka. If you were then I doubt mom would still be around and I also doubt that Katsu would only be eleven." Takara nodded a little, gathering herself again.
"But … if we're not 500 years old then … how did we get from back then to the here and now?" Kasei sighed a little, sitting down.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I've been wanting to talk to mom about our father for a while but every time I bring it up, she always gets so sad and looks like she's about to cry so I just drop it and change the subject." Takara nodded a little.
"I know. I wonder why she's always so sad most the of the time. I mean, sure, she puts on a happy face for us and especially for Katsu since he's still pretty young but, I could always tell that she's sad." Kasei nodded in agreement and then his ears twitched at the sound of pebbles on her bedroom window could be heard.
Curious, he got up and opened the window and then was struck by a rock in the head. Growling, he stuck his head out the window to only catch a shadow of a small figure quickly sprint away. Sighing, he pulled his head back in and closed the window, rubbing his head.
Takara picked the rock up and undid the string around the rock that held a letter to it. Kasei sat down beside her.
"What's it say?" She gave him a look.
"Shut up and I'll read it to you." Kasei gave her a look back but crossed his arms and leaned back, waiting.
Takara cleared her throat, beginning to read it out.
"Dear Takara, Kasei, Katsu and Kagome,
We desperately need your help. By now you've probably figured out a least a little bit of your past so I'm not even going to bother to explain. There is something lurking around again and it can't be Naraku. People have already died because of this new threat and we can only stop their advances with your help. You are the princes and princess of the Western Lands and your mother is Lady Kagome of the Western Lands. This should give you enough to think about for now.
Go to the Higurashi shrine as soon as you can and go through the well found in the well house at the shrine. See you soon.'"
Kasei gaped a little and snatched the note from his sister, reading over it. "This is insane. Go through the well, yeah right. Time travel is impossible."
"Nothing is impossible." A feminine voice said from the doorway. Kasei and Takara looked up at their mother and then to their little brother and quickly hid the note and their pictures.
Kagome sighed a little from her position. "You don't need to hide things from me. Let's see what you found." The two oldest children looked to one another and then slowly handed them their pictures and the letter.
Kagome looked at the picture and tears came to her eyes but this time, she laughed a little. "You two were such treasures back then …" She then sighed, handing them back along with the letter. She had heard it loud and clear.
"I suppose you would like to know about your pasts … " Kagome motioned for everyone to follow her into the living room. Everyone sat and she went into the kitchen and brought out milk and cookies for everyone, setting them on the coffee table before handing them each a glass.
It was then that Kasei noticed that she was holding the photo album he had found. He watched his mother as she slowly opened it and ran her fingers over the picture, looking at it. Then, she took it out of it's protective covering and told them to pass it around.
"That is your father. Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands. He is a great taiyoukai who currently resides in Feudal Japan, about 500 years in the past." Kagome took the picture back after each of them studied it and put it back in it's protective covering.
"I'm sure you all remember the stories your uncle and I used to tell you." Kagome looked up and saw slow nods across the room and continued on.
"Well, for the most part, those stories are entirely true. I did go through the well many times until one day, when I brought you two here, Kasei and Takara, to see your grandmother, great grandfather and uncle, I discovered that I was pregnant with Katsu. I was so happy that I rushed to the well and jumped in. Only, that time, it was different. It didn't work and to this very day, I still don't know why. But, if this note is from who I think it's from then the well must have unsealed somehow."
Kasei and Takara exchanged silent looked and nodded a little. Katsu was listening intently. He'd never heard something so exciting before. Wait 'till the kids at school heard the was an actual prince! Hah! That'd really show them!
Kagome smiled a little and took out two pictures. One picture of InuYasha and Yuri and the other of Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kelala. She handed them out.
"That is your uncle InuYasha and your aunt Yuri. When you were young, you would call him 'Uncle Inu'." Kagome smiled at the memory, almost laughing.
"That is your aunt Sango and uncle Miroku. When we left, they only had two kids, your cousins, Aki and Cho. In that picture is your older brother, Shippo. I know he looks like a kid right now but that's only because he's a kid in youkai years, in human years he's probably over one hundred." Kasei looked at the little fox and remembered the figure that he'd seen. Though it was shadowed, he could make out a tail kind of like the one in the picture.
"This is Sango's two tailed demon cat, Kelala. She can transform into about the equivalent of a flying saber toothed fire lion." Takara blinked a little, trying to picture it, finding that strangely she could.
"I haven't been able to go back since that day so long ago … though I tried, I could never make it work again. I haven't seen your father or anyone since then. It's been eleven years … "
That was exactly it. It had been eleven years since she'd seen anyone from that time. Were they still alive? Was everyone okay? What would Sesshomaru's reaction be? Most importantly … did he still love her after eleven years of her being gone?
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A/N: Oh! Another bad cliffy! Haha, don't you love me for it though? Okay … I got the well idea from another fan fiction from another author. I really don't remember the author's name or the name of the story but I do remember that it's good and well written. Oh … wait … I do believe that it's called,
"Inu Gang Story after Naraku"
That's all I remember –cheesy grin- Anyway … oh .. yes … I'VE GOT OVER 50 REVIEWS! And … I made this chapter extra long to celebrate it! I hope everyone likes it –smiles-
-Hands out chocolate, candy and cookies to her reviewers-
You guys are the inspiration for all my work! I love you all!