THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.
Oh, and the SVU characters belong to Dick Wolf's company!
I do however own my own creations.
Chapter 20
Inuyasha walked slowly through the forest. His body ached all over but especially there. He walked, stooped, his right arm across his chest holding his left arm like a wounded soldier. His mind reeling from what had happened. He knew Sesshoumaru was ruthless, but, never in a million years did Inuyasha expect his elder brother to do such a deed. How on earth did such a thing happen?
Before he realized it, he emerged from the forest. There was the bone-eater's well. He stood motionless for a moment, before retreating back into the safety of the woods. He crumpled to his knees, his buttocks hurting from the force. Going back through that well meant facing Sesshoumaru after what had occured. What had not occured in the past. The future was now changed and he didn't know how he would handle it.
His mind traveled back to the still fresh memory,
'Sesshoumaru stood over the pathic looking hanyou with a satisfied smirk on his face. "It appears, little brother, that you enjoyed that." his brother sneered as he referenced Inuyasha's own release soaking into the soil. Inuyasha just stared ahead, wondering why his body reacted the way it did when all Inuyasha could comprehend was pain. As Inuyasha collapsed to the ground, he heard the rustling of Sesshoumaru's clothes as the youkai dressed. Inuyasha never looked at his brother as the elder demon began to walk away. Once Sesshoumaru was gone, Inuyasha looked at himself. Blood ran down his legs along with semen. The scent assaulted his nose. His stomach turned and he vomited violently. For a man who had managed to overcome the shame of his past, it didn't take much to revisit that shame. As Inuyasha managed to redress himself, he noticed that the Tenseiga still lay on the ground. Why hadn't Sesshoumaru taken Tenseiga? Was he still ashamed of the sword? As Inuyasha prepared to leave, he reached down and grabbed the Tenseiga. Why, he did not know, but he did.'
Inuyasha now looked at the sword he held. The sword of life. Of healing. Oh, how he wished it could heal his wounded soul now. He turned his head up to the sky. Why were the fates punishing him again? What had he done to deserve this treatment? He had lost Kagome once for ten years and now she was lost again. His young pups, Juliet, Zachary and, very possibly, Azarni, were lost. His fist pummeled the tree he laid against, knocking it to the ground. His eyes glowed red and his fangs and claws grew in his supreme anger. He had been violated by his own brother! Great Kami, how much more was a man to take?
His body ached for a different release. A violent, feral, animalistic release. Ignoring all sense of human dignity and reverting entirely to youkai, Inuyasha let out a howl of pain that could be heard for miles.
In the small village near the bone-eater's well, an elderly miko stared towards the forest. She heard the howl of a wild animal. The villagers heard it also,
"Lady Kaede. What is that sound? Is it a wild beast? Should we hunt it down before it attacks?" the frightened villagers asked.
The miko shook her head, "Nay. I do not believe the beast is harmful. Return to your work." she said as she looked back at the forest where the dreadful sound had eminated, 'Inuyasha ... is that you? Why are you not with the others?' she thought.
Back in New York ...
All the pups gathered in the tunnels surrounding the spot where Azarni had disappeared. Murmurs were heard as discussions of what to do were thrown about. Olivia stayed clear of the discussions, knowing she didn't have the powers of the others and didn't need to be involved. Still, she quietly listened. As she looked around in the dimly lit underground, she noticed one of the girls carried a beautiful long bow and a quiver of arrows. Kentaro noticed where Olivia's gaze had carried to,
"What's up, Cat?" he asked.
"Why does she carry a bow and arrow?" Olivia asked.
"Kaori? Oh, that's my mother's bow. My mother's weapon. She has other bows, but, that is the one connected to her heart. It is over 500 years old."
"Connected to her heart? What does that mean?" asked Olivia.
"When we receive our permanent weapon, we carry it with us always, so that the weapon becomes a part of us and we a part of it. Then the weapon will do our bidding and respond to us." said Kentaro.
"Why is it glowing?" Olivia asked.
"Glowing? It's not glowing." Kentaro replied, flabbergasted, not understanding her words. His mother's bow only glowed when his mother wielded it.
Olivia walked over to Kaori, with Kentaro beside her. The girl regarded her quietly,
"Kaori, isn't it?" Olivia asked, "I'm Olivia. May I, perhaps, see that bow?"
Kaori looked at Olivia, then over to Kentaro, who nodded. Kaori handed the bow and arrows to Olivia. Olivia held them and thought,
'The bow is glowing and resonating. Why does no one else notice this?'
As she continued to hold the bow, a breeze began blowing her hair. Olivia looked around,
'There's no wind in here. Where is that breeze coming from?' she wondered.
Kentaro's eyes grew wide,
"WHAT THE HELL? YASHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"
Somewhere ...
Kagome looked around the dimly lit area while her captor ridiculed her. Juliet! Here she was! She saw her young daughter laying limp on a table. Standing next to the table was a young boy around the age of 10. Was this Zachary? He reminded her of Kanna ... white hair, pale skin, and black, lifeless eyes. He seemed nothing more than a puppet,
"What have you done to my daughter?" Kagome cried out.
"Nothing, as of yet. She is simply, shall we say, asleep." the being responded to her, "Happy to be reunited with your children? You will soon meet another one of them." he cackled.
"WHAT?" Kagome cried, then the realization hit her, "Azarni! NO!"
As the thought of her other daughter hit Kagome, Azarni appeared before her mother, slumped over, seemingly lifeless, just like Juliet.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US, YOU BASTARD!" Kagome screamed.
The entity laughed, "When you and that other priestess purified the jewel after the first destruction of Naraku, the purified jewel absorbed into your body, releasing you full magical powers which had been sealed up. But, the jewel actually split apart ... the evil side of the jewel becoming the Devil Crystal. The good side of the crystal only exists inside your body. Now that I behold the Devil Crystal and you I will be able to rejoin the Shikon No Tama to its original self. The mystical powers of your children and you will make that happen."
"Shows you what you know. That Devil Crystal is a fake. Lucita said so." Kagome cried out.
The entity laughed again, "You are the one who has been made a fool of. Lucita is one of my minions. So upset was her reincarnated spirit over the betrayal of her daughter by the Great Dog Demon, that it vowed revenge. Takamaru of Setsuna was unable to kill Izayoi and Inuyasha. Her third reincarnation managed to kill Izayoi eventually, leaving Inuyasha alone in this world, but, dammit, that dog survived and thrived. Other hanyous died, but, he didn't. So I managed to unseal So'unga and revive Takamaru for revenge on Inuyasha, but, that plan went awry when Sesshoumaru got involved. Lucita's reincarnated soul wants nothing more than the death of Inuyasha and for Sesshoumaru to have ultimate power. I will gladly help her destroy Inuyasha, but I can no longer allow Sesshoumaru to take control. So, unfortunately, Lucita will have to die. Pity. She was such a devoted follower."
"YOU WILL NEVER KILL INUYASHA! INUYASHA WILL DEFEAT YOU!", Kagome yelled.
"I don't need to kill Inuyasha anymore. He is no more of a threat. I have hurt him. I have punished him. And I will gladly keep on hurting him. Without you and his precious pups, he is nothing but a worthless, filthy, vile, creature. His shame will be his downfall. I shall enjoy this."
Kagome's body filled with anger and her rage was evident in her shaking body. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.
'What was that?' she thought.
Sousson-Pannan turned away from his prey and stared at the void,
'Who is passing through my vortex? Is there another mystic in this family I was not aware of? Never mind. If so, I shall obtain their powers as well.'
Feudal Japan ...
Inuyasha prepared himself. He had to return to the future and find his family or he would never be whole again. He leaped into the well as the light engulfed him ... but ...why was the light orange and red? He was positive it had always been blue and purple before.
As his feet touched down onto the ground he looked up.
'Why was it so dark? Wait ... the well is ... sealed?' he thought.
Using his strength, Inuyasha broke through the top of the well. Inside of the well house, nothing seemed different.. Opening the door, he blinked as the sun hit his eyes and sneezed as an acrid odor hit his nose,
'What the hell?' he thought.
Walking out of the well house, a shock hit him. The shrine was in ruins. Sections of the house of disintegrating and the buildings were covered in vines and ivy. Inuyasha walked around in a daze. The smell hit his nose again. This time he recognized it,
'GUNPOWDER!' he thought.
Heading over to the steps, he looked around. Was he really in Tokyo? The images in front of eyes reminded him of Beirut, Iraq, or Nagasaki. War raged in front of him as people ran from soldiers with guns. Inuyasha stared at the soldiers,
'They're not Japanese.' he thought to himself.
Quickly ducking into the shrine ruins, Inuyasha pulled out a ring and necklace from his hitoe. The magic spell jewelry. Placing it on, he could feel the spell taking effect. Something told him this wasn't the time to announce his demon heritage. Placing Tenseiga in a safe spot, he headed back outside, and walked down the crumbling shrine steps. Trying to remain inconspicuous, he succeeded in walking down the street with only stares from the soldiers. Avoiding all eye contact, he stared at the ground. Finally, he saw what he wanted. In front of him was a newstand with a little Japanese man behind it. Inuyasha spoke to the man in Japanese,
"Old man, what is happening here?"
The old man looked at him fearfully and looked around him then quickly shook his head in a negative connotation. Inuyasha didn't understand the man's posturing. Looking down, he saw a newspaper written in strange letters,
'What the fuck?' he thought, 'This isn't Japanese letters. What is this?'
His eyes drifted up to the area where the byline would be. There he saw the date. He couldn't understand the month written there in the strange letters but the year screamed out at him,
"2037?????"