Disclaimer: See other chapters.
A/N: Is this late? If it is, I had the Fourth to attend to, as well as a English paper I'm trying to research and job interviews. Blah. Oh, and I got questioned if this is going to be long, or wrapped up in five or so more chapters.. I honestly don't know. I would like to make this as long as possible, without drawing it out to where I'm just rambling and don't really have any more story. I'd say there may be more than five more chapters, but I doubt it'll be anything past that, unless I get struck with some brilliant plot.
"What?" Kagome breathed out in disbelief, shaking her head slightly in the process, as if she had something obscuring her hearing. She couldn't have heard correctly. Houjou would never tell her to stay away from her friends. He had even invited Inu-Yasha over to their apartment!
"Stay away from him, Kagome. He's a bad man," Houjou reiterated, stepping closer to the disoriented ex-miko. The way he had suddenly started calling her by her first name, rather than her family name, unnerved her. In all her years of knowing Houjou, he had always referred to her as "Higurashi." In a way, it was very respectful, very proper, very Houjou.
"Inu-Yasha is not a 'bad man.' I would have never been his friend before if he was a 'bad man.'" Kagome protested, earning her a frown from Houjou. In fact.. it was the first frown she had ever received from Houjou.
"You don't remember him. You don't know what he was, or is," Houjou snapped, stepping forward into the room. Kagome's eyes turned hard, and an unfamiliar anger erupted inside her. How dare he snap at her! Houjou never took a tone with her. Pushing the warm blanket from her torso, she slid off the bed. Houjou stepped forward, his eyes hard and stubborn. Kagome's gaze mirrored his.
"You're the one that doesn't know him!" she proclaimed, jabbing a finger in his chest. He was taken aback by her attitude and stumbled slightly. Kagome was not usually this way to him.. In fact, in her world of chaotic dreams and nightmares, as well as years missing from her memories, she had eagerly clung to Houjou. It was Houjou she remembered; she had gone to school with him almost all her life!
He could still remember walking into the shrine that fateful day, to bestow upon his lovely Kagome some ointment for her oozing sores. Instead, he was met with her disgruntled, hysterical state. She had thrown herself at him, remembering only vaguely knowing him as the popular boy that occasionally helped her study in the early years of middle school. As she sobbed, he had assured her that he was, in fact, dating her and would be there for her no matter what. Seeing his smile, as well as the later encouragement of her friends, she believed that they were happily in love. Even if she sometimes flinched at his touch or turned her head when he went to kiss her, she had only ever acted in a submissive nature toward him, always taking her vitamins and eating only the healthiest of foods. No more WacDonalds for Kagome, no sirree. And, through all these restrictions, she had never fought with him. She had only nodded, knowing she must be really sick to lose her memories. Yet, here he was, trying to put another restriction on her for her own good, while she fought against him for once. Couldn't she see he only wanted what was best for her? He kept her from being ill!
While Houjou took a trip down memory lane, Kagome blinked, seeing his glazed-over expression. He looked utterly shocked that she would stand up to him. Still glaring, she poked him in the chest again, forcefully pushing him backwards. "And you will not tell me who I can or cannot befriend."
"I will when it comes to him!" Houjou snapped back into reality, grabbing her wrist. The way that she snapped backwards, automatically breaking the contact, made him flinch.
"What's gotten into you?" she asked, exasperated and beyond angry. Of course he knew she was stubborn; she always came to take tests and participate in school activities even when she was ill! When Kagome's mind was made up, it was made up. It was one of the many things he loved about her.. Only when it was not being turned on him.
"I just.. He's bad news, Higurashi!" Houjou stammered, sounding much like a broken record stuck in an endless loop. He had heard everything from her friends. Eri and Yuka had encouraged him to date Kagome, pleading for someone to take her away from her "jealous, two-timing, violent" boyfriend. The girls told him of the other suitors she had, such as a man that would willingly shout his love for her from the mountain tops. Her boyfriend was extremely jealous of him, they had recalled, and even accused her of having relations with the man behind his back! Kagome Higurashi was no cheater, and Houjou knew it! There was even a man who wanted her to have his children. What kind of men did Kagome know while she was sick? It was absurd to say the least.
The main reason Houjou loathed the golden-eyed man, however, was the pain the girls said Kagome went through because of his indecision. His ex-girlfriend or Kagome? That seemed to be the major question on the man's mind. He would even stoop to meeting with his ex behind Kagome's back, only to have her later stumbled upon the two, who were often embracing or worse.
Ayumi was the only one who was seemingly oblivious to the troubles in that relationship. While the other two relayed the horror stories and pleaded with him to give Kagome more of his affection, Ayumi clasped her hands together and interrupted them, saying, "They must really be in love. Kagome-chan looks so happy most of the time. I just know everything will work out, without further complications." The dreamy air of her voice was light, but the implication quite evident: Don't meddle in Kagome's love-life and mind your own business! They had all laughed nervously at Ayumi, who only smiled brightly back.
Would things have really worked themselves out? Houjou doubted it; this was the first time he had seen Inu-Yasha around Kagome since the school's Culture Festival. If he did not care enough to come for her when the illness really took its toll on her, then he was unworthy. Higurashi was Houjou's woman now.
"Why do you keep saying that, Houjou?" Kagome shouted the query, dropping the suffix from his name. He visibly flinched, his expression softening. He knew he shouldn't fight with her like this.. What if she got sick again? He was not like her ex-boyfriend; he would take care of her!
When all she received was silence, Kagome grabbed a pillow from the bed and shoved it into his chest. He automatically understood and hung his head, resigned to his fate.
He was sleeping on the couch tonight.
"Where are you going, Inu-Yasha?" Mirai asked from his spot on the couch, controller hanging loosely from his hand. The hanyou in question paused in the hallway, the hat clutched in his claws dangling about an inch or so from his furry dog ears.
"I've just got some stuff to do," he muttered, finally bringing down the hat to crush his ears against his skull. By now, he had gotten used to the sensation of his hearing being slightly dulled by the cotton.
"What kind of 'stuff'?" Miroku's ancestor inquired, putting an extra emphasis on the last word. The hanyou only groaned, turning around to face the young boy.
"I'm going to the shrine, and I want to go alone, so I don't freak out her family, he simply stated, his true meaning clear. If Shippou and Kouga tagged along, Kagome's family would probably think them to be odd. That is, if they did not remember him.
"Oh." Mirai nodded, though he seemed clearly disappointed that he would be left in the house again. Inu-Yasha focused on the controller in his hand, suddenly remembering how Kagome's little brother loved video games. Although he was a bit older now, he was still close to Mirai's age. Maybe he still enjoyed video games, too.
"Would you like to come?" Inu-Yasha asked, turning back around and starting for the door, not really expecting an answer. Mirai enthusiastically agreed, leaping from the couch and scrambling after his main guardian. Together, they set off for the shrine.
"It should be right down here.." Inu-Yasha mumbled to himself, more to quell the uncertainty of the situation than remember the directions. No, hundreds of years had not muddled his memories; in fact, he passed the shrine regularly, though never approached it, knowing Kagome was not there. Though, the thought of seeing his younger self.. Well, that had all four of the companions staying on the other side of Tokyo. They just could not risk changing the past and not ever knowing Kagome.
Upon reaching the stairs that lead up to the red Shinto gate, Inu-Yasha paused, taking in a deep breath. Mirai almost ran into him as he suddenly stopped, too busy gazing up at all the steps they would be forced to trek up to notice the hanyou had stopped. "Impressive.. Were there things like this in Sengoku Jidai?" the boy asked, already climbing the steps. Inu-Yasha inclined his head in a nod, following.
"Yeah, there was one like this in the Mushin Domain.. Well, the steps and gate, at least. We didn't have shrines this big."
"It must've been a shock, huh?" Mirai inquired, still staring at the intriguing red gate.
"Huh?"
"Coming from an era of so little and so much war, to a place like this. I'm sure it'll be an even bigger difference in five-hundred more years, if you live that long."
"Oh, yeah," Inu-Yasha absently replied, blinking at Mirai's contemplative state. It has always been times like these that the hanyou saw Miroku's blood running through the boy. There was always the Nature v. Nurture argument, but in this case, Mirai was nurtured by three demons that happened to like teaching him all about the past they once called their home, so very long ago. It was amazing they remembered as much as they did, though Mirai always contributed it to their daily reminiscing and reading of the history books. When questioned on the matter, they always replied that they never wanted to forget the era of demons.
When the pair reached the top of the stairs, the hanyou immediately spotted a familiar, albeit older, face. Not that age showed much on this man anymore..
"Hey.." Inu-Yasha mumbled once he was standing before the elderly man with the broom, unsure of how to go about the delicate inquiry. What was he supposed to say? Hey, old man! Do you remember me? Huh? Do ya? I took your little granddaughter with me through an old well to fight evil! I'm a demon myself, but you should already know that, if you remember? Well? Do ya
The old man blinked, no trace of recognition in his gaze. "Can I help you? I'm afraid the shrine is not open for tours at the moment, but if you're looking for a good luck charm—"
"Do you still have any replicas of the Shikon no Tama?" Mirai suddenly asked, a plan forming in his calculated head. He could have sworn some of his school friends had gotten tiny pink and blue marbles from this shrine, a tag reading Shikon no Tama attached.
"As a matter of fact, we do!" Gramps happily proclaimed, excited at the prospect of getting to sell one of the hundred of Shikon no Tama replicas he had in storage. "Right this way."
"Do you know its origin?" Mirai continued on, both males following after Gramps, who nodded enthusiastically.
"Its history dates back to over five hundred years ago, Sengoku Jidai. It is said to grant any wish, though many demons sought it to become more powerful—"
"Did you say demons?" the boy asked, seemingly shocked. Inu-Yasha shot him a sideways glance, surprised at how good his acting was. Of course, he did travel with Miroku, who was always able to pull off an act of Oh, Look! An ominous cloud hanging over your castle and/or inn! I'll exorcize it in exchange for a room. No need to thank me, really.
"Yes, there were demons back then. Maybe there still are."
"Have you ever seen one? Perhaps one with strange ears?"
Gramps fumbled with a box full of pink marbles, hitting the edge of the cardboard against the wooden shelf in the storage area. Inu-Yasha jolted forward, catching the side with ease. For a while, the two stared at one another over the box, Gramps with an odd expression on his face. The hanyou's golden eyes stared right back.
"Here's the replica," the old man mumbled, pulling it out of the box to dangle before the boy. "That'll be five-hundred yen."
As Mirai fished some yen from his pocket, Inu-Yasha suddenly blurted, "Don't you remember, old man?"
"Excuse me, that is very disrespectful," Gramps retorted. Sighing, Inu-Yasha yanked the hat off his head, pulling his silver hair from the ponytail at the nape of his neck in the process. As his ears sprung up and his hair flowed in a long mane to his rear, the old "holy man" gasped. "Y-you're.."
"Inu-Yasha-no-ni-chan!" a voice called from behind them. Of course, this voice belonged to none other than Kagome's little brother, Souta, who had grown somewhat taller since the last time the hanyou had seen him, and his voice had deepened slightly. As both sized each other up, noticing the differences years had given them, Gramps stared wide-eyed at the hanyou's ears.
"Where have you been?" Souta asked sadly. "Kagome has—"
"I know. I've already talked to her," Inu-Yasha interrupted, stuffing his hands in his pockets, a gesture he had taken up once there were no more kimono sleeves for him to stuff them in. "She doesn't remember.. But you all do. Why didn't you tell her?"
"There's no way she would have believed she was fighting demons for two years!" Gramps declared, coming around to face the hanyou. The glazed-over look in his eyes showed that the decision the family had made weighed heavily on his conscious. "At least this way, she got to have a normal life, without distressing over not being able to time travel!"
"Inu-no-ni-chan.." Souta started, resting a hand on his former hero's shoulder. "It wouldn't have made sense to tell Kagome 'For the last two years, you fought evil demons to save feudal Japan by traveling through the mystical dry well.' She would have thought she was nuts!"
"I guess.. You're right.." Inu-Yasha sighed heavily, accepting that they were trying to look out for the terrified schoolgirl. At least this way, she got to have a normal life, which would have been taken away from her otherwise.
Even though.. he was trying to take away that normal life right now.
"Why not come in for some tea?" Gramps suggested, already walking back to the shrine. Inu-Yasha and Mirai nodded, following after, Souta bringing up the rear.
"So, then, we bought the house closer to here. Before, we spent seventeen years living on the other side of town. Before that, we traveled often, seeing the sights, though we always tried to keep close to Miroku's ancestors."
"So, then, you're the descendant of a powerful houshi?" Gramps inquired, seated across from the young boy. Mirai nodded, though his gaze kept drifting to Souta's PlayStation 3 set up in the living room.
"Yeah.. My parents died in a car crash, so I'm living with three demons now. Miroku has other blood lines, but they live throughout Japan, and I would rather not change schools.."
"Oh my. I'm very sorry to hear that," Kagome's mother said solemnly, though she didn't think Inu-Yasha would make it very hard on the boy. After all, he had stayed with Shippou, who Kagome claimed was like her surrogate son.
"Doesn't matter," Mirai responded. Souta finally noticed his gaze and nudged him, tilting his head toward the next room.
"Wanna play it?"
"Boy, do I!" And with that, the two boys left the room, leaving Inu-Yasha with Kagome's mother and grandfather.
"I'm so glad to see you back in her life, Inu-Yasha.. Houjou-san is such a nice boy.. but.."
"Keh! Nice? He told me to stay away from her," Inu-Yasha admitted, propping his cheek up in his right palm. Mrs. Higurashi quickly noticed that although the hanyou still retained the same trademark features, he had aged a bit in five hundred years. He looked more mature, with the same hard as she imagined his father may have once had after looking into the very depths of Hell itself several times over. His clothing was also much more adapted; she would have never thought she would lay eyes on the hanyou willingly wearing shoes.
"I hope you won't listen to him," she simply stated, drawing an Of course not! from Inu-Yasha. "Kagome's memories may return if you stay around her.. Then maybe you can be there to tell her she's not crazy.. That it happened."
"Whatever happened to the Shikon no Tama?" Gramps suddenly asked, remembering that the replica was still in his pocket from earlier.
"I have it," he replied, digging out a small box from his pocket. He had picked it up the day he went to see Kagome for the first time, intent on showing her and happily telling her of how they protected it all these years. Taking it from the box, he held it up for the two to gaze upon it in all of its completed glory.
"Wait.. isn't it supposed to glow? That's what the legends say, and Kagome's shards could glow!" Gramps blinked.
"It has not shown a bit of light since that day.. When Kagome disappeared. I don't know why.." Inu-Yasha admitted. It had always puzzled him, but he assumed when Kagome was back with him, the light would return. After all, it was still not purified completely! No one had made a wish, to his knowledge.
"What happened that day? We figured the well was sealed, but.. Do you still remember?"
"Yeah," he almost chuckled. "I do."
Kagome bandaged a small child's arm almost absentmindedly, still almost steaming over Houjou calling Inu-Yasha "bad news." No one that determined to see her could be "bad news"! She always prided herself on being a good judge of character.. Though, she did tend to only see the good in people. And, she had thought of him as a sick kidnapper..
But, once she realized that he really did know her before, she knew he wasn't bad. It was much more than that, though.. It was like she was remembered him, somewhere deep down. The woman was unable to place where, or even if the sensation was real, but she clung desperately to it despite her uncertainty.
"Ow, that's a little too tight, 'gome.." her patient, a small girl named Hikari, whispered.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me?" Kagome snapped back into reality and loosened the bandage as Hikari nodded. This is not the place for those thoughts, Kagome! she mentally chided, forcing a reassuring smile for the girl. She really loved children, even though she had barely been around them to her knowledge before she got the job. Kagome even favored Hikari over the others.. Her red hair and bright, green eyes made Kagome feel a little more complete, for some reason.
"Of course!" Hikari proclaimed, inspecting the bandage now around her arm. The little girl was small and frail; she had a very weak immune system, causing her to often get hospitalized or injured. This time, she had tripped while walking outside and hurt her arm along the sidewalk.
"Be more careful, okay?" Kagome ruffled up Hikari's hair, drawing another nod from the girl. "I have to go check on the others, but I'll be back to bring you some dinner, okay?"
"Okay! Thanks!"
Kagome waved her hand in a No problem gesture, already walking out the door, eyes on her chart. The next child was a boy hospitalized for his injures in a car crash. His older, teenaged sister had not made it, however, causing emotional instability in the boy. Kagome's heart went out to siblings torn apart by death. It made her angry at Fate itself; she couldn't comprehend the need for this kind of suffering.
As she continued to skim down the chart, she saw a number of new patients, as well, all either injured or ill. It was going to be a long day, but at least it got her mind off a certain silver-haired man with golden eyes.
And dog ears.. Can't forget the dog ears.
Kagome stopped suddenly.
Wait.. what?
Shaking her head, Kagome turned into the boy's room, blaming her irrational thoughts on her lack of sleep lately.
As Kagome faded away in thin air, Inu-Yasha could faintly hear the startled gasps from his comrades. However, the sounds seemed muffled, as if through several layers of cotton, since all his senses were focused on the fading pigments of pink light where his schoolgirl once stood. Her unfinished declaration was a mantra in his mind, though he knew, had Fate permitted her another fraction of a second, everyone would have heard her true feelings.
As if they didn't already know. Hell, he already knew.
"I love you, too.." he whispered to the wind, his golden eyes shining as moisture began to collect around the rims. The wolf was already in his face, fists balled in his fire-rate kimono, snarling.
"What did you do with Kagome, Inu-koro? Answer me! Where's my woh-man?"
Inu-Yasha, however, gave no sign of noticing the wolf's growling questions, his gaze fixed on the spot where Kagome once stood. His tanned hand still loosely cupped the once-vibrant jewel, which rolled along his skin every time he was shaken by the wolf prince.
"Kagome-chan.." Sango mumbled, her voice watery and tight. Today, she had lost two siblings.. Her brother, Kohaku, and a woman she had come to consider part of her family, Kagome. Miroku wrapped his arms tighter around the taijiya, allowing her to sob freely into his shoulder. His right hand, now kazanna-free, lightly rubbed over her back. In the background, Shippou wailed his surrogate mother's name to the heavens, clinging to Kirara's smaller form.
"Where did Nee-san go?" Hakkaku directed the questionto Miroku, both his and Ginta's eyes wide.
"Kagome-sama was not of this world," Miroku stated loud enough for Kouga to hear, causing the demon to release his hold on the spaced-out hanyou.
"What do you mean?" Kouga asked, confused and frightened for "his woh-man's" safety.
"He means that she was from the future," Inu-Yasha whispered, the humans almost unable to hear him speak.
"Oh. Wait. What?" Ginta asked, blinking.
"Kagome-sama traveled through a well to journey with us. Her true home is five hundred years in the future, which is why her clothes were so much different than ours. They were what she called a 'skool uniform'."
"Why was she here?" Kouga's head was spinning. The woman he loved was from the future? Five hundred years in the future? What?
"She is the reincarnation of Kikyou-sama," Miroku replied with a glance to the hanyou. Surprisingly, the said man did not glance over to the miko robes in distance, but instead remained rooted to the spot, staring at where Kagome once stood. Though he seemed upset, he did not look completely shocked, as if he had guessed it might happen. "Kikyou-sama once guarded the Shikon no Tama, and took it to her grave. Kagome, however, was born with it inside of her body. It was ripped out by a centipede demon that happened to pull her through the well, into our time. Is my version correct, Inu-Yasha?"
"Yeah."
Okay, so he's listening Miroku realized, his heart going out to his friend. Both of his loves were taken from him in a single day, even if Kikyou was completely in his past. He knew it must still hurt to gaze upon the tattered remains of her kimono.
"So, she's gone back to her own world, then?" Kouga speculated, now pacing back and forth in front of his two best friends. Miroku nodded.
"It would appear her duty has been fulfilled, so I suppose she was returned to her own time. But one thing does trouble me." He paused for a moment, causing Inu-Yasha to finally focus his gaze on the houshi. Miroku stared at the inactive jewel in the hanyou's hand. "Why is the Shikon no Tama inactive, unless a wish has been made?"
Inu-Yasha shook his head rather violently, almost bashing it into a nearby pole in the process. Relaying the past's events to the Higurashi family had him remembering that day a little too clearly for his liking. Out of all the memories of their mission and their travels, it was that day he would not miss that much if it was forgotten. But, no, the gods did not smile upon the hanyou. Instead, he was punished and forced to remember every detail of their final battle, even the aftermath.
Keh! If only I could have said the words back then, before she disappeared..
But the past was in the past quite literally for him, and his present happened to be just inside the hospital before him. Five hundred years ago, when he time-traveled to this era, his senses were overwhelmed. He could still smell Kagome, then, but he often had to return to his more primitive dog-instincts and sniff the ground to catch her scent. Now, he had hundreds of years to adjust to the powerful smells and was able to smell her scent lingering around the area. She was just inside the enormous building.
Mirai was back at the Higurashi shrine, playing Souta's PS3. Although Inu-Yasha was not supposed to see her—they had all decided to see her one at a time, after all—he felt he could not stay away. Not after five hundred years of waiting. Besides, it was not like he would get to hang around her long while she was working. He knew the concepts of a job quite well, despite rarely taking jobs himself, besides occasional extermination and occasionally a construction job here or there. It was much easier to just sell off antiques they had been smart enough to store away throughout years and years of traveling.
As he stepped through an automatic door, however, his nose was greeted with a smell he found rather unpleasant. It was one that made his piercing golden eyes narrow and a growl gather deep within his chest.
Houjou.
A/N: I just wanted to say that I know some of you probably follow the manga and know very well that Kikyou will not perish in the final battle, as depicted in this fic. But, I started this over two years ago, as you know, so that chapter was not around then. Because of that, I went along with the original plot, rather than go back and change it. It made things clearer anyway.
Oh, and I find out if I get a job at Blockbuster today, so cross your fingers!