Chapter Four: Closure (or Exorcist Inuyasha and Across-the-Time Inome)
"What did you say your name was?"
The small boy with pointy ears, no older than nine or maybe ten, answered respectfully:
"It is Inome, lady Kaede."
The old priestess couldn't help wondering why she felt like there was something very familiar about that little hanyo in front of her.
"And you're a half demon?"
The boy turned his eyes of glowing amber towards Shippo.
"Actually, I'm about one third demon, My grandfather was a full demon, but my grandmother and parents were cross-breads and humans. You are a full demon, isn't it, great Shippo?"
"How... how did you know my name?" The small kitsune stuttered. "And what's with the "great" part?"
"Where I come from, everyone knows about the brave fox-demon called Shippo, friend to Inuyasha and part of his group."
"Reeealy?"
"And where do you exactly come from?" lady Kaede asked.
Inome looked down, carefully choosing his words, like a child quietly repeating a poem. He spoke:
"i come from a distant, yet not too far away place, that you can reach only if Nature allows you."
~This is a riddle, or a coded message of some kind.~ Kaede realised. The child surely was wise beyond his age. She looked with her third eye: the time continuum was disrupted around him. He seemed from another world... just like Kagome.
"You are talking about a different time, aren't you?"
The little boy tightened his lips and frowned, reluctant to say more. Around his neck he wore a small bag, while in his hand he held some kind of macabre staff. Lady Kaede startled: ~It's the legendary Staff of Two Heads. I thought Jaken, Sesshomaru's henchman, was in possession of it.~
"Where are Inuyasha and Kagome?" Inome asked. "I have a very important message for them."
"They are away on a quest, my child. I honestly don't know when they are coming back."
"They should be back right about now."
As soon as he had finished his words they could hear Sango's two-tailed cat landing. Miroku and Sango entered the house. Their cloths, especially the monks, were stained by a black, greasyn substance.
"What happened?" Shippo asked.
"Ah, some oil demon!" Miroku answered, then his eyes met Inome's. The same as lady Kaede, he got a strange feeling that he knew those eyes all too well.
"Hello, there!" Sango greeted their guest.
The boy stood up. His short, wavy black hair had a familiar bluish shade. Another striking detail was his miko outfit: it was made of red fire-rat cloth. He looked at the monk and the demon slayer with a warm smile, as if he knew them. At the same time, he seemed surprised.
"You're just a couple of kids!" he exclaimed.
"Excuse me?!"
"I mean, for the great warriors you are renowned to be, you are very young."
"I'm sorry... who are you?" Miroku stepped in.
The boy looked behind them, as if expecting someone else.
"Where are Inuyasha and Kagome?"
"who are you?" Miroku insisted.
"This boy is called Inome. He says he has an important message for our friends." lady Kaede explained. "How come they didn't return with you?"
Miroku scratched his head.
"They told us to go on, about a mile ago. Said that they wanted to be alone and that they'll catch up later. What's the message?"
With a frown, the child swished out of the house.
"Whatta strange kid! I could swear he looks like Inuyasha. He has his eyes and face mimic."
"But he has Kagome's hair and sweetness." Sango added.
"And Sesshomaru's ears." Shippo concluded, while the others nodded in approvement.
***
The beautiful country side offered a spectacular view. But neither Kagome, nor Inuyasha were interested in it. They walked slowly side by side. Kagome was staring blankly. Inuyasha threw her a sneaky look: she seemed sad and confuse and about to make the biggest mistake of her life. He reached out and took her by the hand. Kagome squeezed his hand hard, desperately. The shards glowed gloomily at her neck and Inuyasha felt dizzy. He tore his hand away from hers. Kagome stopped. She dropped down on her knees. Tears flooded her cheeks.
"I'm turning you into a Yokai, because of how I feel for you. Because I have the sacred jewel shards and I am not allowed to have negative feelings. Not even your Tetsusaiga can counter the jewel. You should get away from me, as far as possible."
Inuyasha made a strong effort to come to his senses. He breathed deeply. It calmed him down.
"I don't care!" he said, in hoarse voice; the signs of the yokai slashed his cheeks, but were slowly disappearing. "I'm not giving up on you. You never gave up on me. You never gave up on anything!"
He kneeled down before her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"So, I won't let you start now."
"Don't touch me! You have no idea what I did!" she yelled, struggling to break free. "That oil demon got to the shards, because I threw them away. I'll give them to Kaede. Right now, they're probably safer with her."
She tried to get up, but Inuyasha wouldn't let her.
"Let me go!"
"No! You're not yourself!"
She sank her teeth in one of his hands; blood came out.
"Is that all you've got?" You can scratch, bite or kick me from here all the way to China. I'm still not letting you go!"
Kagome felt teh blood in her mouth and looked horror stricken at Inuyasha. He pulled her in his arms. Kagome broke out crying. He held her tight and let her cry for a while, then spoke:
"It's ok! You'll get through this. WE'll get through this together! But you have to talk to me. Tell me what's going on. What's causing this darkness inside you?"
Kagome looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"Inuyasha! I'm so scared! I'm afraid I'll lose. I'm afraid you'll die. I've been having these terrible nightmares. I find you dead, then I'm at your funeral. And I'm so alone, although the others are trying to comfort me..."
Inuyasha took her face lovingly into his palms.
"They're just dreams!"
He wiped her tears with his thumbs.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily! Don't you know that demons, like bad habits, die hard?"
A smile lit Kagome's face.
"Gramps often tells me this saying."
Inuyasha smiled back at her.
"There you go, see? Don't be afraid! Fear is a mind killer."
"I wish I were as brave as you." Kagome sobbed, looking down. "What I actually fear is that if I come closer to you, the way it happened at the lake, I will suffer even more, if I lose you."
Inuyasha raised her face once again.
"Suffering and loss are a part of life: I've been no stranger to both of them, since I was a kid. What I discovered is that you mustn't fear them, because you miss out on what's best in life. The way to get rid of them, is to dash through them, leave them behind. And you're wrong: the Kagome I know is one of the bravest people alive. And she told me the other night I should never doubt her love. Well, I'm telling her right now, she should never doubt mine, either!"
~That's gotta be the closest thing to an "I love you" I ever got from him.~ she thought, very touched. ~And when did he get so wise? Is he finally starting to grow up?~ She wiped her tears.
"Funny you should bring me back to my senses, for a change. Thanks!" and she kissed him on his nose, making him blush.
He helped her up.
"Maybe I'm half demon myself." Kagome mused aloud.
"No!" Inuyasha said firmly. ~There is something inside her. I felt it clearly before: like a black spot spreading negativity. It must have also caused her nightmares.~
"Listen..." he took her hands. "You're strong. And together we're even stronger! I need you to trust me like you did inside that oil demon."
"It was pretty cool how we could hear eachother's thoughts." Kagome said. "That's some bond!"
"We'll try it again. Close your eyes."
Kagome became suspicious.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Trust me! And have no fear."
She closed her eyes. She could feel him wrapping his arms around her, in a warm, protective embrace. One thought crossed her mind at the speed of lightning: it was Inuyasha's.
~Can you look inside yourself, the way you looked inside that demon?~
~Look for what?~
~Anything that is not yours. Something like a black spot.~
Kagome immediately realised what Inuyasha meant: the pain she felt in her chest, whenever she was not herself. She searched inside her heart with her mind's eye and there it was: a sponge-like being, fretting, now exposed. Like a flash, Kagome remembered how that piece of the demon struck her in her chest, how she couldn't find it, how the y couldn't find any shards either. It must have gotten inside her. The shard was inside her, contaminated, infecting her heart, her feelings. She felt ashamed and angry that she hadn't spotted it. Inuyasha sensed that.
~Don't beat yourself up. It's harder to see these things in yourself.~
~What the hell is that?~
~Don't panic! Stay with me!~
~I'm afraid.~
~It's not you who's afraid. That thing tricks you into believing whatever it gives off: fear, jealousy, hate...~
Kagome reached inside with her mind, eager to get rid of the unwanted guest and grabbed the dark sponge. A powerful ache, like a knife to her heart, weakened her. But then she felt the warm, soft sensation on her lips, his breath on her face and a taste similar to sweet-basil... Inuyasha's scent... he was kissing her. He was also reaching inside her with his mind. The mental projection of his hand closed over hers.
~You're holding my heart.~ Kagome thought.
~Haven't you always been holding mine?~ he answered.
Warmth filled her heart. The Shikon jewel fragments glowed like a super-nova, spreading vibrant sparks inside her. Something screamed and that scream climbed up Kagome's throat. She broke away from Inuyasha and let that scream out, towards the sky. Together with it, out came a small red piece of flesh. Kagome collapsed, coughing.
"Grab that!" a child's voice resounded.
Inuyasha could see the strangest thing: a little boy with demon pointy ears, wearing a fire-rat kimono and holding the Staff of Two Heads, dashing towards them. With a small explosion, the piece of flesh disappeared in the air.
"Oh, man!" the boy went; he sat down, frowning and puckering up his lips disapprovingly.
"Who... uh... who are you?" Inuyasha asked, with the weird sensation he was looking into his own frowning eyes.
Kagome felt a weird sensation inside her womb and breasts, like a pressure. Suddenly, she felt nauseous. She moaned.
"Kagome, are you ok?" Inuyasha inquired. "You're all pale."
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." and she barely had the time to turn around, so she could throw up.
"Damn it! What did you eat?"
"It's not her fault," the boy spoke "but mine, or rather my being here. I'll make this quick: my name is Inome and I come from another time. I am a male miko and also one third demon. That piece of flesh Kagome just got out of her contains a shard from a Dark Jewel, Naraku has made for himself. It has not completed its evil task yet. Naraku has just sent it into another dimension to harm another version of you, Inuyasha."
"Whoa! Time out!" Inuyasha burst. "You mean Naraku's behind all this? Where is he? What do you mean he has made himself a Dark Jewel? And how do you know this and we don't? Do you expect us to trust you?"
Inome looked him in the eye and smiled. Inuyasha blushed. ~What is this feeling I get when I look at this boy? Who is he?~
"I expect her to trust me!" and the kid pointed towards Kagome.
And he was right: something inside her, told the girl they could trust him. She still had the feeling of pressure in her womb.
"Inuyasha, this may sound strange, but I simply know we can trust him. Tell us what to do, Inome, but after all this is over with you've got some serious explaining to do!"
"I knew I would have no problem getting to you." and Inome smiled to her, like a baby to his mommy; it was Kagome's turn to blush now.
Inome began chanting faintly, his eyes closed. Then he raised the Staff and the head of the old man laughed. A dimensional portal was opened.
"The piece of flesh will search for the rest of its body, which of course is the version of the dragon from that dimension. Find it and slay it." Inome said.
"Come on, Inuyasha!" Kagome pulled on his arm.
"Wait, Kagome!" the kid cried. "You can't go and neither can I: we don't exist in that dimension and it would be too difficult for me to sustain us there. You, on the other hand, do exist Inuyasha. Ask for the help of your alternate version. Hurry up! I can't hold the portal open for much longer. I'll reopen it for you, when you're done. I'll know it! Oh, and you should know there is a time lag of about 50 years, where you're going."
Inuyasha went through the portal and Inome closed it behind him. Sango and Miroku arrived.
"Where did you sent my master?" Myoga popped out.
"Myogaa!" Inome exclaimed happily.
"You…" Sango began and continued in her mind: ~You have Kagome's smile!~
The kid sat down and said:
"I'll tell you a little story. We'll have time till dad sorts things out."
"DAD!!?!"
***
As soon as his feet touched the ground again, Inuyasha was attacked from behind. He threw his opponent over his shoulder, but he dashed with great velocity back towards him.
"Iron River Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha shouted… and there was an echo to his words, like a second voice using the same battle cry.
That stopped him and his opponent, and Inuyasha found himself face to face with…
"What the heck?" the two exclaimed at the same time, looking into eachother's identical wide, bright, yellow eyes.
"Are you me?" he asked his mirror image.
"I am Inuyasha! What happened to your voice?" the one in front of him asked, in obviously shriller voice.
"What happened to yours?"
Inuyasha began to notice the differences between them: the other Inuyasha was shorter, though not by much. He had longer eyelashes, fairer skin, fuller lips… and there were also the feminine lumps on his chest and the beautiful waist curve that the tighter cut of the kimono revealed. It took both of them about a couple of seconds to realize the obvious.
"You're a girl?"
"You're a guy?" they went, at the same time.
"Of course I'm a guy!"
"Of course I'm a girl!"
"That's so lame!"
"That's the lamest thing!"
"What's going on?" a woman's voice asked.
Inuyasha turned around to have another surprise.
"Kikyo? Is that really you? You're alive?"
"Who are you?" Kikyo lowered her bow, which till then had been pointing an arrow towards Inuyasha. "You came through a dimensional portal. Are you some alternate version of Inuyasha?"
"No! He… I mean she is the alternate version. I'm the real thing." he boasted.
"Pf! I can't believe it: in another dimension I'm a sexist pig!" girl-Inuyasha insulted him back. "You sure you're not half-boar?"
"You should talk: you're a half-bitch."
"Look who's talking! You look exactly like a girl with very thick eyebrows."
"Don't make me show you something else I've got that's definitely manly."
"Go ahead! I bet it's the size of a peanut."
"Your breasts are the size of peanuts!"
"Listen pall: "yasha" means female demon…"
"It does not!"
"Does too!"
Kikyo laughed out loud.
"Well, you sure are both Inuyasha."
They both blushed, especially our hero who had missed hearing Kikyo laughing like that. She was so beautiful, full of life, full of love.
"Why have you come here?" she asked him.
"I'm looking for a shard from a Dark Jewel, that's been sent here by Naraku."
"A few minutes ago there was a disruption in the energy field. I've sensed an evil aura. That's why we came here. It must have been the shard you're looking for."
"A shard of a… Dark Shikon no Tama?" girl-Inuyasha wondered. "And who is Naraku?"
Inuyasha stared amazed and said:
"Boy, you've got it good here! Unfortunately, not all of us are so lucky."
***
"I know part of this story from my mother, from the future you, Kagome. Five years from now, there will be a great battle between Naraku and his minions and Inuyasha's group. Sesshomaru will also join Inuyasha. Kagura will be the one to betray Naraku and this will be of great help."
***
"Well, see ya… or better not!" and Inuyasha ran towards the village.
Kikyo and girl-Inuyasha watched him distancing himself.
"We should help him, little sis'!"
"Why should we? He didn't even ask for our help. That's so typical male!"
"You're no better yourself!" Kikyo chuckled.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Hop on!"
As he was running swiftly, Inuyasha was tormented by thoughts.
~The cruelty of fate: that she should be alive here where I can't be with her. Yet, it's the answer to the problem: by being a girl, there could never be romance between us. Kikyo would be free of temptation. The Sacred Jewel is safe. Naraku is never created, I don't get pinned to the tree. Kikyo doesn't die. I wonder… if I stayed here… What's stopping me from remaining here?~
The warmth of Kagome's smile and embrace filled his heart like an answer. ~What am I thinking about? Life went on for me one year ago. It took me so much to realize it. Then again, if Kikyo doesn't die, Kagome is never born. Out here, she doesn't exist. The cruelty of fate…~
Deep in thought, he could hear a powerful lashing sound, but it was too late for him to dodge the head attack of the Chinese dragon, they had thought almost one month ago. It hit him fully with an incredible strength and carried him through the air in its horn. The pain in his stomach was too acute to allow him to move, or even breath.
"Wind scar!" girl-Inuyasha cryed out and a great light twister hit the dragon's body.
It dropped Inuyasha from a great height. His feminine e counterpart soared and caught him.
"Not bad for a half-bitch, huh?" she boasted as she lay him on the ground. "Dude, you're hurt badly!"
"It's… nothing…" Inuyasha could hardly utter through his teeth.
But blood poured heavily from his wound, as the horn had gotten through the folds of his kimono, piercing through his stomach.
"Hey, big sis', help him!" girl-Inuyasha called for Kikyo and then engaged in a battle with the dragon, driving it away from the wounded.
***
"In a weird twist, Naraku will get Kagome's shards, while Kagome will get Naraku's nearly restored jewel. Victory will be ours. Naraku is almost destroyed, but manages to retreat with the few shards. For almost ten years, there is a relative peace in the Feudal Era. But what we didn't know was that Naraku, aside from rebuilding up his strength, was also fashioning himself a Dark Jewel, with the help of the shards from the original Shikon no Tama."
***
"Where were you hurt? Kikyo asked him. "Here?" and she reached towards his stomach.
Inuyasha cought her hand half the way and growled. Kikyo smiled. He had missed that smile so much, it broke his heart seeing it again.
"I can… heal myself…" he said.
Kikyo was amused.
"You're just as bad as my Inuyasha. You'll have to trust me. Hold still and let me do my job!"
Inuyasha agreed and let her hand touch his wound. She began praying in a low voice. There was a purple light at her neck: hidden by her kimono there was the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha could feel the light riding through Kikyo's hand, like a subtle current. It came through her palm and burned his wound in a million places, like numberless needles sowing the flesh together.
"Take your mind off it, or you'll slow down the process." Kikyo advised him. "Tell me something: in your worl… I died, isn't it?"
Inuyasha looked away and nodded.
"But you are reincarnated." he added.
"I see. And… were we ever…?"
She blushed. He blushed even harder, when he realized what she was hinting at.
"Hey!" girl-Inuyasha shouted. "I'm busting my ass here! Get pretty boy fixed and send his butt into battle!"
"Done!" Kikyo said then grabbed her bow and ran in help of her friend, who was in a fierce clenching with the dragon.
Inuyasha was surprised to see a wound that would have normally taken him at least three days to heal, closed up like it hadn't even been there. He jumped to his feet, as good as new. The jewel had energized him.
"Wind scar!" girl-Inuyasha shouted, while Kikyo fired a sacred arrow.
The energy attack united with the arrow, but unfortunately it hit only the dragon's tail, because it was lashing violently and continuously in the air.
"I'll show you how to get rid of this bastard!" Inuyasha said. "But you'll have to help me. Kikyo I need you to… hold me."
"What?" both Kikyo and girl-Inuyasha went.
"I need the strength of the Shikon Jewel to flow through me in its pure form. That's why Kikyo has to keep it in her reach."
"Because she can purify it." girl-Inuyasha realised, while Kikyo braced him from behind.
"No fear!" Inuyasha said.
"I know I can trust you." she answered.
Inuyasha focused. The Tetsusaiga turned diamond. The dragon descended upon them. It opened up its mouth, breathing fire.
"Adamant Barrage!"
The tremendous energy of the whole Sacred Jewel went through Inuyasha and his blade in a mega-attack. The dragon's body was simply pulverized. All that was left from it were ashes and its head, in a very bad shape.
***
"In this time period, I am born, then my sister Kagosha, five years after me. She's quite a handful: she's the one that really resembles father, has his ears, temper, strength, his ability to manipulate energy… everything. Then there's also our cousin, Kaze, Sesshomaru and Kagura's daughter. It's needless to say she's got her share of powers, as well."
On my ninth anniversary, uncle Sesshomaru gave me the Staff of Two Heads, as a present. He had noticed I have the power to travel both through time and dimensions and said the Staff will help me increase this power, if I learn how to use it."
***
"How did you do that?" girl-Inuyasha exclaimed. "How did you use the Tetsusaiga like that?"
"Sorry, "sis'"! But you'll have to figure it out by yourself. Kikyo, tell me where the shard is; do you see any glowing spot inside the head?"
Kikyo was about to approach the head, when Inuyasha remembered.
"No! Wait!" but the dragon had already spitted the poisoned shard towards the priestess.
Luckily, girl-Inuyasha was on top of things. She deflected the projectile with her blade, destroying the flesh surrounding the shard, which fell on the grass. Kikyo picked it up, but its colour remained a dirty shade of purple, as if the priestess wasn't able to purify it. ~So this is the Dark Jewel.~ Inuyasha thought.
To their surprise, a deep, seducingly evil voice came from the dragon's head:
"I didn't think we'd meet here, young Inuyasha."
"Naraku!" Inuyasha growled, tightening his fists around the sword.
Out of the dust that once had been the dragon, a vision was formed: that of the demon that had caused so much pain to a lot of beings. Both Kikyo and girl-Inuyasha startled.
"This is… you are…" Kikyo began, but couldn't finish the sentence, because the knot in her throat prevented her.
"You don't exist here!" Inuyasha barked.
"Wrong!" Naraku's vision chuckled. "I just haven't awaken, yet!" and he threw Kikyo a dirty look while she frowned. "Those offspring of yours don't know quite everything! But I see they've managed to send you here."
"What are you babbling about? What offspring?"
"Hm, you're kind of slow. You should know I am not the Naraku you know but an improved version from the future…"
"I don't care where you're from!" Inuyasha interrupted him. "You tried to get me to hurt Kagome."
"It was your mongrel freaks that started everything: they stole my shards. I didn't need them anymore, since I now possess my own Jewel, but it was still an impudent thing to do. You're all off the hook this time. But, be warned, this isn't over! I won't rest until I see that you never continue your blood line."
~My blood line? Offspring? I have no…~ Inome's face passed before Inuyasha's eyes in an instant. ~Inome?! Is he… my son… with Kagome? Wait! Did he say "those offspring" as in more then one?!~
***
"The trouble started when Kagosha and Kaze wanted to play with it and I wouldn't let them, so we fought over it. The Jewel was in the same room with us. Because we all have the same blood line, the Shikon no Tama somehow combined our powers, when we simultaneously touched the Staff. Suffice it to say that we found ourselves with the shards that Naraku had and so we were able to complete the Jewel after so many years. I guess it made Naraku very angry."
***
"I'll have that, if you don't mind!"
And a powerful gust of wind yanked the tainted shard out of Kikyo's hand and sent it towards Naraku. Then his vision dissipated like mist, along with the shard.
"Wait!" Kikyo called. "Are you lord Onigumo?"
But the vision had already vanished entirely, leaving Kikyo a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Kikyo, do you really think that this Naraku character is lord Onigumo?" girl-Inuyasha asked her friend, with obvious concern in her voice.
"So, there is an Onigumo here, too!" Inuyasha mused, discontented.
The dimensional portal suddenly opened.
"I have to go, now! Listen, Inu-chick, never lose sight of that Onigumo you have here, never turn your back to him. Protect Kikyo and the Jewel at all cost, keep them away from him! I would advise you to go kill the bastard right away, but I'm sure he has already hidden himself. But be on the look out!"
"I hear you, bro'! I never liked that guy!" girl-Inuyasha answered.
"Kiyko…" he took her hand into his. "Neither I nor she would never betray would! No matter what happens, remember that!"
Kikyo nodded. They looked into eachother's eyes and their cheeks turned fire red. In the strong wind of the dimensional current, Inuyasha kissed Kikyo. Her scent filled his nostrils: she was warm and alive. He held her tight. ~I'm ready to let you go now…~ he thought.
"Goodbye, Kikyo!" he whispered and jumped into the dimensional vortex, leaving Kikyo day dreaming, with sparkling, sad eyes.
"What was that all about?" girl-Inuyasha examined her friend's blushed face. "I sure felt weird. Now don't be expecting me to start acting like a guy!"
Kikyo giggled.
"Don't worry! It's not like that. It's just that all dimensions are connected. He needed that kiss! It closed up a wound he had from that other Kikyo. As for me, you don't know how grateful I am that I live in a world where you're a woman."
***
"You're back!"
Kagome was happy to see Inuyasha that he rushed towards him. Instead of a hug, she received a growl.
"Where's the little brat?" and he searched for Inome.
"Oh, no!" the kid hid behind Kagome.
Inuyasha growled again and was about to catch him, when Kagome stepped up, menacingly.
"Don't you lay one finger on him! He explained everything: it was all an accident. But don't be mad at him: he actually did a good job. When he stole the shards from Naraku, he completed the Jewel…"
"Which you shattered, in the first place. He's a cluts, just like you! No wonder he's your son." Inuyasha mumbled.
"He's your son, too!" Kagome pointed out and immediately blushed at the thought.
Sango and Miroku snickered. Inuyasha was embarrassed, too, but did his best not to show it.
"Well, well, who would have thought?" Miroku teased him. "In the future, you're quite the family guy, Inuyasha."
"It seems we also have a mischievous little girl and a niece." Kagome explained. "They're partly to blame for this mess. It was the future you who sent Inome, the oldest of the kids, to sort things out, as a lesson in responsibility."
Miroku and Sango were on their bellies with laughter at the idea of Inuyasha being a father and an uncle and giving lessons in responsibility. Inuyasha couldn't even speak with embarrassment. Inome came to his rescue.
"I don't see why you two are laughing. You have six kids, you know?"
The monk and the demon slayer suddenly had the longest faces.
"Just kidding!" Inome smiled.
Sango and Miroku sighed, relieved.
"You only have four…"
"Huuh?!"
"Well, time for me to go." Inome announced. "I'm so glad it all ended up well. You know, I'm pretty impressed that you stuck together through all this and got the shard out by yourselves. That's the mom and dad I know and love!"
"Oh, you're so cute!" Kagome said. "I could kiss you… if I didn't feel the urge to throw up, just by looking at you…"
"It must have something to do with the fact that you will one day be pregnant with him." Sango presumed.
"Pregnant?!" Kagome's eye twitched, while Inuyasha pretended to look for something inside the sleeves of his haori, but his face was redder than it.
Their friends chuckled once again.
"Inuyasha… I mean… dad, would you please see me to the Bone Eater's Well?" Inome asked him.
"That's where you came through?"
"Like you said: I am my mother's son. With the difference that I can go wherever… or better said whenever I want."
He turned towards the rest of the gang.
"I'll go now. See ya'… in time."
And he took a white powder from his bag and threw it over Kagome, Sango, Miroku, even Kirara. They al sneezed from it.
"Let's go quickly!" Inome urged Inuyasha. "They won't remember a thing about me."
Carrying his son on his back, Inuyasha felt strangely peaceful. Knowing that, in the future, he will not only still have Kagome by his side, but also two precious gifts from her, gave him comfort. Inome began speaking; his warm, childish voice, had Kagome's modulations.
"There is something I need to tell you, dad. No matter how hard it will be for you, you must make peace with your step brother and convince him to fight Naraku along your side. You must have noticed my ears. The reason I took after Sesshomaru is because, while still in my mother's womb, he resurrected me with the Tenseiga."
"Resurrected you?! You mean…"
"Try not to freak out, but in the great battle you will have with Naraku, five years from now, mom… Kagome will be killed. She will be pregnant with me at that time, so, I too, will perish. Unless your brother is there beside you, there will be no one able to bring us back."
"Isn't there a way to stop this?"
"Unfortunately, it is inevitable, because both Kagome and I have to go through this experience. What you can change is to patch things up with Sesshomaru. Leave your pride aside, humiliate yourself, if you have to. It's the price the future asks from you, in exchange for Kagome. And I'm sure you must know by now that her pure heart is your salvation."
Inuyasha didn't understand very well everything Inome told him, but of one thing he was certain: without Kagome by his side, he was doomed to roam in total darkness."
They arrived at the well.
"Promise me you will do as I have asked you!"
"I promise I'll protect Kagome, kid. Whatever that implies."
Inome put on his beautiful, heart-melting smile.
"That's good enough for me."
He stepped on the rim of the well and was about to reach into his bag, when Inuyasha cought him by his kimono and growled in his face:
"You's not pulling that trick on me, young man! I wonder if I won't be going soft in the future. Or else, how could I have raised such a disrespectful little squirt, who doesn't know his place?!"
"Please! Dad will kill me if I let you remember everything."
"Well, I'm your dad and I'll kill you know if you try to erase my memory. Good riddance, sonny!" and he threw Inome down the well.
"I'm telling moooom!" the kid's voice echoed in the well.
In the meantime:
"What happened?" Kagome asked.
"I have no idea." Sango answered.
"I feel like I have just awaken from a dream." Miroku added, holdin his head.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome searched around for him.
At Kaede's hut.
"And you're sure you don't want Kagome to know about this?" the old priestess asked Inuyasha.
"I'm sure. It's enough of a burden for me… yet, at the same time, It's reassuring. I know something terrible about the future, something which I cannot change. Luckily, I also know something so beautiful: if I save her, she will give me the most precious gift there is. I promise I will do everything I can to save Kagome and our son, even if it means stepping on my goddamn Hanyo pride."
Kaede was impressed by the amount of feeling under Inuyasha's tough appearance.
"I told you all this Kaede, because I will need an ally on this path. I'm counting on you to remind me of my promise, should my pride get the best of me."
All of a sudden, Kagome came running inside the house and threw herself directly into Inuyasha's arms. He was happy to feel her old self again: no trace of the darkness that had so tormented them.
***
"Inuchan…"
Up on his tree, Inuyasha was looking at the full moon dawn, still thinking about everything, when Kagome called him. He reached one hand and pulled her up on the branch, next to him.
"What's on your mind?" she asked. "I'm so happy I got that dark shard out of me, that I can't stand seeing you so pensive."
"Kagome…"
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to tell you that I have made up my mind."
"About what? Um…"
Inuyasha was looking at her so lovingly that Kagome felt she was melting. The moon cast mysterious shadows on him, while his eyes glowed golden in the dusky light.
"I have made up my mind about who I want to be with."
Kagome felt her face burning up and her heart ready to break through her chest. She didn't know what to say. This time he wasn't talking about Kikyo, but herself. She couldn't help but wonder why the change, but she knew Inuyasha wasn't the type to talk about his feelings too much.
"Inuyasha… I don hope it's not the "mating season" talking through you, right now."
"And what if it were?" he became cheeky out of offence. "You're not afraid I'd eat you up, are ya'?"
~Oh, boy! So much for high expectations!~ Kagome thought.
"I think I'm gonna go turn in. It's obvious this moon has gotten to your head." And she climbed down the tree.
"You see? This is why I don't talk to you about what I feel. The moment I really open up, you freak out."
"That's not opening up, that's your testosterone acting up." she sighed: "As if Miroku wasn't enough of a lecher in our group…"
"You're calling me a lecher? Get back here and say to my face!"
"You're such a kid!"
Inuyasha snarled and crossed his arms over his chest. Kagome looked sadly behind, while she was distancing herself from the tree.
"I don't think you are being fair to him, Kagome." Miroku suddenly appeared from behind a bush.
"You were spying on us?"
"I overheard. I'm usually lecturing Inuyasha about how he should treat you, but this time, it's you who's being weird. In my opinion, as a true, certified lecher, he was being honest. So I must ask you this: you're not afraid of Inuyasha, are you? You know, of him being a man?"
"It's not like that at all!" Kagome snubbed him, annoyed that he would ask her such a thing… and be partly right, too.
"The truth is that it's kind of scary to be getting so close to him, after all this time we've been just friends... all this time that I've been forcing myself to be just friends with him, when in fact I… Pf! I mean, what does he expect me to do? Simply fall into his arms? What if he changes his mind again? Where will that leave me?"
On hearing that tirade of arguments, Miroku just smiled.
"Listen, why don't I keep guard this night? Inuyasha sure looks like he could use a rest."
Kagome blushed and smiled in her turn.
"Thanks, MIroku!"
Inuyasha was feeling a little sad, when he heard Kagome's voice again.
"I'm sorry I called you a lecher!"
"Neah… I'm sorry! I understand if you don't trust me. After all, I've been chasing wild geese all this time, when I had you right beside me. Serves me right!"
"Inuyasha…"
~Miroku was right: he is honest!~
"I was wondering…" Kagome began. "Miroku said he will keep guard tonight. Said that you looked like you could use a good night sleep. So, I was wondering… would you like to come and sleep in the house?"
Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and looked at Kagome closely.
"That took you a lot of guts to say."
"Don't flatter yourself. And don't you think of getting crazy!"
"Hey! I'm a gentleman!"
"Sure you are!"
The End