This is the longest chapter yet (13 pages!). Thank you every one who has reviewed. As this is a very significant chapter, I will be quick to the point. I own nothing, except my characters, which by now every one should know them and figure out that I own the two new minor characters introduced in today's chapter.
Chapter 9
Reunion
InuYasha weakly looked up the length of the hakama and then up the white hakui. It felt like someone had dumped freezing water on him as he looked into the eyes of his daughter's murderer. Those same cold chocolate eyes stared back into his yellow eyes. He had wanted nothing more than for the past three days to see those brown eyes again. Now, he didn't know what to do as he looked into the narrowed eyes.
"Kagome…" InuYasha breathed.
"InuYasha." Kagome spat at him…in the same cold way Kikyo had called out to him before she cast him under her spell. Kagome pulled her bow string back. "It ends here."
X
A small breeze ruffled Kagome's black hair. InuYasha was stunned as he looked upon her. She had never looked at him with such hatred. Not even when he could not control his yokai. Not even when he ran off to see Kikyo. If anything, only Kikyo had even look at him so coldly; and even then, her gaze held nothing compared to Kagome's. Her once chocolate eyes were now like smokey quartzes that held no radiance. Looking into her eyes, he could not see the once gentle and loving girl he had fallen in love with.
"Kagome…why…" InuYasha mumbled feebly.
Kagome's eyes narrowed as she lowered her bow. She barked a chuckle without humor. A shiver ran up his spine as the image of Kagome before him blurred into that of Kikyo. He could no longer tell reality from the perverted images in his mind. The fire burning at the castle seemed to grow and surround them. InuYasha's chest throbbed where Kikyo's arrow had once pierced his chest all those years ago. InuYasha blinked his yellow eyes. Kikyo disappeared and the fire retreated. Kagome stood before him.
"You dare ask me why I am about to slay you, you filthy half bread." Kagome hissed.
Kagome's words pierced through him like cold glass. It was hard to breathe. Kagome had never called him that before and hearing the familiar insult come from her smooth lips was worse than any physical attack.
"You took me away from my family. You took me away from my life. You forced your mark on me. You continually put me in dangerous situations. You raped me. I carried your impure seed inside me for nine months and gave birth to that abomination." Kagome paused and sent a hateful look down at Aya. InuYasha went numb.
"Kagome…" She presented all good arguments. However…she had wanted to be his mate, she had wanted to make love, and she wanted that pup more than anything. This was not his Kagome. "Kagome…you don't know what you're saying…" Words failed InuYasha.
Kagome's eyes flashed with emotion. "Do you ever have anything else to say than 'Kagome' during anything mildly significant?"
Kagome raised her bow again and renotched her arrow. She pulled the string taut and she focused on InuYasha. InuYasha didn't know what to do. Should he kill her before she killed him? Should he allow Kagome to kill him? InuYasha's head began to ache. He had never been good at making important decisions. InuYasha looked numbly up at Kagome as she flicked her wrist back and then her deft fingers released the arrow. With a snap and a whistle, the arrow flew towards him. InuYasha closed his eyes and waited for the arrow to pierce his flesh. With a sickening thud, the arrow pierced his shoulder and he lurched forward in pain, gripping his shoulder.
"Next time…I won't miss." Kagome seethed. InuYasha looked up through the thick curtain of snowy bangs to see Kagome reach back into her quiver and pull out another arrow. Without a word, Kagome renotched the arrow and pulled the string back.
"Kagome…I love you." InuYasha whispered. He searched her eyes for some type of emotion, anything besides the stark anger he saw there. Nothing.
Kagome lowered her bow yet again. InuYasha drew in a hopeful breath. "InuYasha…" InuYasha's eyes widened, his breathing stopped, hope bubbled up inside him. "Why would I, a pure being, a miko, love such a tainted beast as you? Besides, I don't think you even know what love is. Who has ever loved you? Who would love you?" As Kagome's moved to raise her bow, InuYasha sprang to his feet. Ignoring the burning pain in his shoulder, he marched up to her and took her by the shoulders. Kagome snarled and moved to break free. InuYasha held fast. Her cold chocolate eyes drilled into his pleading sunshine filled eyes.
"Kagome….please, remember. You waited for three days inside the Shikon no Tama for me to find you. You never left me when I lost control of my yokai. You love me, Kagome. You always have. We were born for each other. It was our destinies. Are you really just going to throw the past four years away? We were miserable without each other those three years we were apart! Do you want to go back to those days? That girl you just killed was our daughter. Izayio was born out of our physical love for each other. You wanted nothing more than to have her. Koga was the one who took it all away. I've been trying to find and save you, Kagome!" InuYasha crushed her body against his, burying his face in her soft midnight tresses.
"Kagome! I love you! Please, see through the lies! The wolves are the bad guys. You have to believe me! I don't want to loose you, Kagome. You are the most important thing to me- ever!" InuYasha pinched his eyes tightly closed. Tears burned in his eyes. He had never been so open towards Kagome before. Kagome had stopped struggling and now leaned into his embrace, her arms hanging limply at her side. Her bow dropped from her hands and clattered quietly to the ground.
InuYasha drew in a deep breath. He surrounded himself with Kagome's scent. Her scent was something he would never forget as long as he lived. It had a calming effect on him and the tears dried away. Her scent clouded his mind and he burrowed deeper into her soft hair and held her tighter. He would never let her go again.
"InuYasha…" Kagome mumbled against his chest. A small smile tickled the edges of InuYasha's lips. InuYasha felt Kagome's arms move and then encircle his waist. She tightly held onto him.
"Kagome…" InuYasha's face relaxed into a peaceful smile.
X
Miroku and Ayame forced their way through the battle field following after Aya. Tears fell from Ayame's eyes and burned her cheeks. She stumbled awkwardly after Miroku.
"Kagome….kill…Izayio….InuYasha!" Ayame sobbed.
Miroku thought he could see InuYasha…and Kagome? And were they hugging? Miroku jostled his way through the warriors until he finally saw a break in the fighting. The two quickly worked towards it. Ayame gasped and fell to her knees, sobbing again, as they looked upon the scene before them.
Kagome and InuYasha were embracing each other. Aya lay on the ground beside them with an arrow sticking out of her back and Shippou lying next to her. Miroku squinted and gasped as the scene became clearer. Miroku could see a flash of silver behind InuYasha. Kagome held a small dagger in her hand. Miroku stumbled forward.
"InuYasha!" He cried out. Ayame's screams resounded through the clearing.
X
Marika held her hands clasped in front of her as she chanted her spell. She watched the scene from the shadows of the forest. She saw Kagome reach inside her sleeve and remove the small dagger. Kagome then wrapped her arms around InuYasha. The fool was oblivious as she held the dagger over his back. Marika's chanting increased when she saw the monk and yokai girl stumble into the scene.
"InuYasha!" She heard the monk cry out. The girl began to scream. Marika snarled and chanted harder. InuYasha raised his head slowly and looked up at the monk.
X
InuYasha raised his head slowly. He saw Miroku and Ayame calling out for him. Couldn't they see that Kagome was safe? He began to disentangle from Kagome, but she held on fast. He looked down at her, a question forming on his lips. He felt Kagome's hand jerk behind him. InuYasha howled in pain as he felt the small dagger enter his body. Kagome pushed away from him and dropped to the ground, her bangs hiding her face. InuYasha's breath wheezed out of him as he dropped to his knees and then fully to the ground. He lay next to Aya and Shippou, facing the opposite way they were.
Kagome stayed on the ground as Miroku and Ayame pushed past her to reach their fallen friends. Miroku checked InuYasha as Ayame reluctantly checked Aya. Miroku sighed as he looked up.
"She missed anything major. He's alive." Miroku informed Ayame. Ayame choked back a sob.
"The girl is dead." She barked out. Miroku looked towards Kagome. He reached a tentative hand towards her, she shrugged it away. Miroku watched as Kagome slowly lifted her tear stained face towards them.
"What have I done?" She choked out. Ayame and Miroku were taken aback as she crawled towards InuYasha. She lifted his head onto her lap and held him as she had all those years ago when she first saw him human. Kagome cried out as her memories came back her.
She never hated InuYasha. She had always loved InuYasha. Yet somehow, Marika had been able to find a small darkness in her heart and use it against them. Kagome turned and looked at her daughter. Kagome reached a hand towards Izayio and pulled the sinful arrow out of her daughter's back. She threw the arrow away and then placed her hand on the wound. Izayio's blood tainted her wicked hands. Kagome's shoulders heaved as she sobbed for her losses.
Miroku and Ayame sat back stunned. They felt awkward for watching Kagome in her time of anguish. Miroku swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"Kagome…InuYasha is still alive…" Miroku offered weakly. Kagome shook her head.
"I don't deserve him! I'm so sorry!" Kagome screamed past her tears. Miroku began to reach a hand towards her, but it shrunk back.
Kagome's body shook as she wailed. Ayame and Miroku looked at each other. Ayame looked away and drew her knees to her chin. Her lose of Koga was nothing compared to Kagome's losses. Ayame blinked back her tears as she realized that she held no reason to cry for she never really loved Koga. She had loved the person she had built him up to be and she could not see through the screen she had placed in front of him. Ayame sniffled and buried her face in her knees. She was jealous of Kagome. Kagome had had someone who actually loved her. Ayame remembered back to three night ago when Koga had began acting oddly. Maybe that was when Ayame finally realized that Koga never had loved her. For Kiba to so easily find the jealously that was in Koga's heart, Ayame knew that that meant that Koga had never really gotten over Kagome. She was merely a distraction. Ayame felt used. When a hiatus in Kagome's sobbing grew elongated, Ayame looked back up. She flushed as she realized how selfish she was being; feeling sorry for herself when Kagome had nearly lost everything and she, Ayame, had had nothing to begin with.
Ayame's eyes turned to Miroku. Miroku was looking off into the distance. Ayame followed his line of vision and looked at Sesshomaru's palace. She could no longer see Sesshomaru's true form.
"Where's Sesshomaru?" Ayame squeaked. She began to grow cold at the thought that her people had killed the inu-yokais. Miroku opened his mouth to speak when and great wind blew across the clearing. Kagome allowed the wind to knock her around as the other two huddled down. Screams erupted from the battlefield. Miroku and Ayame squinted through the wind to see the remaining wolf-yokai break apart into bursts of dust and ashes. The piles raining to the ground after dancing in the slowly dying wind for a few minutes. When the wind died, there was complete silence. Then, as if some one turned up the volume, cheers erupted from the remaining inu-yokai. Ayame looked at Miroku quizzically.
"The wolves just….disappeared…" Miroku wondered aloud. Ayame's emerald eye widened as she took in this information.
"That must mean…Marika! Marika must be dead!" Ayame blurted out.
X
Marika did not know what had overcome her. She now was on her hands and knees, panting hard. In that split second before she forced Kagome's hand down, she had seen Inutaisho. He had stood before her in all his beauty and grace. Seeing him was enough of a distraction to allow Kagome's curse to break. Seeing Inutaisho again, was enough to make her finally solidify her choice of sides. In that split second, she had remembered her love for Inutaisho. She had never hated Inutaisho. Even as she snuck into Takemaru's quarters and told him of Izayio-sama and Inutaisho's affair, she had never hated him. She had never hated Izayio-sama. This realization had brought her to her knees as around her, her curses began to fall apart. Rin changed back into her gentle, childish self. The undead wolf army had disappeared. Her hold on Izayio and Kagome shattered. Kagome recalled her memories. Izayio's Aya self slipped away into the recesses of her mind. She had even found it in herself to mutter a quick prayer of healing for InuYasha, Sesshomaru, and Izayio.
Now, she only needed to find the will to stand, to confront Sesshomaru and allow him to kill her. That would be noble. She shrunk into herself as she heard footsteps behind her.
"Marika!" Kiba spat at her. "Your spells have failed! You have failed!" Marika lost all feeling and her mind went numb as she slowly stood. She slowly turned to face Kiba.
"You're wrong, Kiba. I never hated Inutaisho." Kiba snarled.
Kiba unsheathed his katana. He briskly walked up to her and with a grunt, ran her through the heart with his sword. Marika bowed against him before falling limply on him. A peaceful smile graced her lips. She, for a merely a moment, had been mortal again. For the first time in over two hundred and fifty years, she had been human again. She had broken the spell on the object that she had hidden her soul in- her red obi. The same obi that she had stolen from Inutaisho's body when she returned to the castle that day all those years ago. She had repaired it and then sealed her soul away in it. Her fingers lazily skimmed along the material before slowly swinging away.
Kiba cursed under his breath and removed the blade. He pushed her away and in that moment in which her body slowly fell back, her body dispersed into tiny white spheres, leaving behind the obi. As the obi slowly sank to the ground, Marika's soul slowly rose towards the night sky.
'No amount of praying shall save your soul, Kiba.' Marika's words resounded through his head. Kiba chuckled as he turned on his heels and walked away from the obi, away from the celebrating inu-yokai. 'And no amount of praying shall save your soul when you meet your demon, Marika.'
X
Sesshomaru fell to his knees. He felt a tingling in his back where his wound was. He ignored it as he reached for Rin. Rin had just plummeted to the ground like a stone. Now, she lay crumpled on the debris as the fire blazed around them. He had to get her out of here or she would surely die. He grabbed her under her arms and pulled her to him. He laid her across his lap as he looked on to her face. Messy hair, dirt, and blood covered most of her face. Her kimono was ripped and dirty, her hair was matted, and her breathing was shallow.
He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers as his lips pulled back into a snarl. He had nearly killed her because he had lost control of his yokai. If Rin had not dropped when she did, he might have killed her. He would be without the one thing that he truly loved and could no longer live without.
Heat finally began to caress his body as realized that they needed to leave now. He gathered Rin in his arms and pushing up with his legs, flew through the flames, remaining ceiling and into the night skin. He turned and began to slowly lower to the ground. He gently landed and, holding Rin tighter, ran away from their burning home.
He looked out across the battle ground and saw his men cheering. He must have won the battle. But, at what cost? He looked down at Rin. Her breathing was better out here, but she was still fading. His eye darted madly around searching for Jaken.
"Jaken!" He yelled. His ears twitched and then his head turned towards a large boulder off in the distance. The little green imp jumped out from behind it and came running towards his lord.
"Sesshomaru-sama! I am so please that you are safe, mi'Lord!" Sesshomaru scowled and raised his foot. The buffoon ran into it and fell back with a black imprint of Sesshomaru's under boot. Jaken's vision swam as he lay dazed for a moment before jumping up, his complaint dying on his tongue as he saw Rin.
"Rin…" Jaken squeaked. Jaken looked up into the eyes of his demon lord.
"Jaken, find a doctor. Now!" Sesshomaru hissed. Jaken nodded fiercely and tripped over his feet while trying to turn. He jumped up and ran into the forest. Sesshomaru turned his golden eyes back to Rin. He could feel her coldness through his layers of clothing. Sesshomaru moved towards a grassy area and laid Rin on the ground. He removed his suikan and draped it over her slender body. He looked up and searched for InuYasha. He could not see him.
Sesshomaru felt a slight pang in his chest. 'Some one had better not have encroached on my claim of InuYasha's life.' That was as much worry he could muster towards his half-brother. He, after all, had more pressing matters. Rin's breathing changed and his head jerked back to her.
Rin's eyes fluttered before slowly opening. Her doe eyes were glazed over and she searched for Sesshomaru. He gently cupped her face and turned her to face him. Her eyes finally landed on his. She weakly smiled. She had lost a tooth during the fight somehow. Her bruised face and chipped smile sent Sesshomaru's mind reeling back to the day he had first met her. Again, he was plagued by thoughts of how this was all his fault. Then again, the other half of his mind argued, he would have never learned how to master the Tenseiga and in turn help InuYasha defeat Naraku. His Bakusaiga pulsed at his side. His eyes flickered to it and then back to Rin.
"Sessh…omaru…" Rin breathed. Sesshomaru placed a finger on her lips.
"Rin, do not talk. You are exceedingly weak." Rin's eyes swam before resting on him again. She moved her head towards him. He wanted to gather her up in his arms and hold her until Jaken came back with a doctor, but he was afraid to move her. The clanging of armor and footsteps behind me made him turn his head. Behind him, a foot soldier stood. His violet hair was loosened from his high pony-tail and wisps fell in his face. He wore the white kosode and hakama of a soldier with his grey armor, similar to Sesshomaru's, covering his chest. His katana was sheathed in his magenta obi. Sesshomaru faintly remembered his name being Hiro.
Hiro stood straight and tall, saluting Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru sighed under his breath. Right now, he did not want the formality nonsense.
"At ease." Sesshomaru grumbled.
Hiro unsaluted and relaxed his pose. "Mi'Lord, we have injured. Where do you wish for them to be placed? I would not normally waste your precious time with this, but most of the higher ranking yokai are the ones injured and the remaining is tracking Kiba."
Sesshomaru processed this information. He did not want his men finding and killing Kiba. He wanted that pleasure.
"Find the others and bring them back. They will answer to me. Bring the injured here." Sesshomaru sharply turned back to Rin. He could sense that Hiro was still behind him.
"Sire?" Hiro meekly asked.
Sesshomaru turned sharply and snarled, "What?"
Hiro took a step back. "It's just….um…that…"
"Do not waste this Sesshomaru's time! Speak or leave!" Sesshomaru thundered. Hiro swallowed.
"It's your brother, lord. InuYasha is also very badly injured." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me, Hiro, how did that weakling get injured?" He was going to overlook the missing "half" part of brother.
Hiro looked away and then back again, his violet eyes full of sorrow. "The dark haired girl." Sesshomaru thought of the mutt Izayio.
"That weakling? Of course InuYasha would allow a powerless hanyou to nearly kill him." Sesshomaru scoffed.
"Mi'Lord, it wasn't the hanyou that did it. It was the other one. His mate." At this Sesshomaru's eye widened. Kagome?
Kiba and Marika had chosen the one thing that they could never hate and had used it against them. Kiba might have succeeded in killing InuYasha and weakening Sesshomaru himself by taking away Rin.
"Bring InuYasha here now. Is Kagome still here?" Sesshomaru demanded.
Hiro nodded. "Yes, mi'Lord."
"Bring her as well. Now, go." Hiro nodded and turned. He ran off towards his fellow troops.
Sesshomaru looked back at Rin. Could he save again with his Bakusaiga? His mother had told him that the human life was supposed to have its limit. Sesshomaru was not a god. However, if he was a god, he would see to it that someone like Rin would never be in this kind of danger. He had done a fairly decent job of it save a few occasions. However, that was beside the point. Why was Kami trying so hard to take her away? Yes, her time was very much over by at least three times, but someone like Rin deserved to grow up, get married to a human man, have children, and live a normal life. He had tried so hard to give her an artificially normal life, but he was failing. He just could not let her go. She was too important to him.
'Damn you, Father. Why did you curse me with these awful feelings towards humans? I never wanted this. But now…I want nothing more than to have Rin, safe and completely alive, in my arms again.' Sesshomaru growled and slammed a fist into the ground. The only way to save her, the only way to make sure she would never die, was to fully mark her. He never had any intention of turning her into a hanyou. However, as he felt her fade faster away, he knew his time was up. He would have to force his mark upon her. She had claimed multiple times that she never wanted anyone else; he would have to pray that she was speaking truthfully. He had no time to wait for a doctor and he could not trust his sword. Sesshomaru pulled the suikan away from her and pulled her towards him. He pulled her kimono collar down and exposed the mark he had already given her. It was a pale, skin colored crescent moon. Anyone else would think it was a normal scar from an animal attack, but his kind new better. Sesshomaru drew up his courage and opened his mouth wide. Savagely, he bit down on her neck. Rin writhed in his arms, but he held her tighter. His yokai kept her blood from pouring into his mouth and only allowing a small trickle to dance its way down her shoulder.
Sesshomaru allowed his yokai to overtake him. He felt it flood through him and into Rin. He could already feel the changes happening in her.
X
Hiro lead a small group of foot soldiers to where the small group sat. Miroku and Ayame looked up. Hiro smiled kindly at them.
"Sesshomaru said to bring InuYasha and Kagome to the castle…or what's left of it." Hiro informed them. Miroku stood and helped Ayame stand as well. Hiro motioned for the soldiers to begin moving InuYasha and Izayio.
Kagome weakly looked up with her soulless eyes. When two of the inu-yokai reached for InuYasha she pleadingly looked up at them.
"Where are you taking him?" She whispered.
Miroku walked over to her and kneeled behind her. He took her shoulders and pulled her towards him. "Kagome," he whispered. "They are going to take them to Sesshomaru. He's going to help them." Miroku removed his hands from her shoulders and moved them to her hands; he began to loosen her hold on InuYasha and Izayio. One soldier took Izayio while the other two hefted InuYasha up. Kagome leaned back against Miroku as they took them away. Hiro turned to face them.
"Sesshomaru needs you too, Miss Kagome." Kagome nodded weakly and began to let Miroku pull her up when she spotted Shippou. She wrenched away from Miroku and scooped him up in her arms. Miroku stood and watched Kagome slowly stand with her adoptive son. Kagome held him to her as two more soldiers stood on either side of her. Hiro turned and walked back towards the castle. The procession followed him. Kagome continued to weep silently as she held Shippou.
X
A small hanyou child stood on the sidelines as he eagerly watched human children play a game with a white ball. His yellow eyes widened when one girl missed the ball and it rolled towards him. He eagerly ran towards it, momentarily forgetting why he was on the sidelines. He grabbed the ball and ran towards the game. The other children began to fade away, mumbling angrily. The one girl stood all alone on the court. He slowed to a stop. Her black hair waved to just past her shoulders and she wore a plain green kimono with a white obi. She slowly turned and looked the hanyou boy in the eye. Her eyes were like melted chocolate. She smiled at him. The small boy gasped. He had seen this girl before.
"Thank you, InuYasha!" She exclaimed in a sweet voice. InuYasha dropped the ball. The ball slowly dropped to the hard ground. "The others left. Will you play with me?" The girl asked.
"Why?" InuYasha heard himself ask. His voice was soft. It sounded weird. Wasn't his voice rough?
The girl giggled. "Silly InuYasha! Why not? You're all alone!"
InuYasha's ears flattened against his head. 'Silly' was not the insult that sounded right. He felt as if this girl usually called him something else. He scowled.
"I'm not silly!" InuYasha injected.
The girl placed her hands on her small hips. "Then what are you?" She smiled playfully.
InuYasha thought for a moment. "Stupid." He blurted out. The girl threw back her head and laughed.
"Yes, InuYasha you are stupid!" She giggled. InuYasha scowled. Without thinking, he jumped towards her. Her eyes widened as he landed on her. The two began to fall back towards the ground. As they fell, they grew. They grew from child to teenager to young adult. The girl cried out as they landed on the ground. InuYasha lay dazed on top of her for a moment before the girl cried out.
"Stupid InuYasha!" InuYasha pulled back and looked down at her. She now wore white and red miko robes. Her hair was longer and fell to her waist and her eyes were brighter. InuYasha rolled off of her. Instead of rolling onto the hard ground of the play area, his back met the softness of meadow grass. He heard the girl grumble and move beside him. He stiffened when he felt her curl against him and laid her head on his chest.
She sighed and relaxed against him. InuYasha was puzzled at he watched the girl.
"InuYasha, why are you acting so oddly?" she asked.
When he didn't answer, the girl turned to face him. She leaned closer to his face. "What's wrong?" She asked quietly. Her face was sad. InuYasha felt bad for hurting her feelings.
"Nothing." He mumbled. She pursed her lips and then smiled. She closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. InuYasha lay stunned when he felt her soft lips caress him. He admittedly responded and kissed her back, tangling his hands in her soft midnight hair.
Who was this girl? It felt so right to joke with her, hold her, and kiss her. He knew that he was in love with her.
The girl nibbled his lip and he knew somehow this meant she needed air. He released her lips and she pulled away. Her lips were swollen from his kiss, her hair was tangled, and her face was flushed. She looked unbelievably sexy to him.
She lay back on his chest and snuggled closer. "I love you, InuYasha." She whispered.
InuYasha wrapped his arms around her tightly and closed his eyes. He nuzzled her head. "I love you too, Kagome." InuYasha's eyes snapped open. Around him, everything began to loose its color, as if the color was bleeding from a picture. Kagome's warmth disappeared. He looked down and she was gone. He was alone in the darkness. InuYasha jumped up.
"Kagome!" He screamed.
X
InuYasha jerked awake. He sat up and panted as his eyes flashed across the room. He was alone in a small room, big enough for his futon, a small tray holding medical supplies, and a small walkway. He reached for his sword, but he only grabbed empty air. He looked down. His sword, suikan, and hadagi were gone. InuYasha's eyes flashed to a corner of the room. His clothes lay folded neatly with his sword resting atop them. They were within reaching distance. He turned to grab them but stopped. He hissed. He had pulled on freshly made bandages. He swore and lowered his head.
The previous battle came back to him. Kagome. He could see faint shadows on the wall across from him. It was dawn. The third midnight had come and gone. Was Kagome safe? Was she still alive? Rustling outside his door flap made his ears twitch, but he did not look up as someone quietly entered his room.
"InuYasha." The voice was familiar, especially the way it seemed to scold him. He sighed and drew in a breath and froze. That scent. InuYasha's head jerked up and before him stood Kagome. His Kagome, not Kiba's Kagome, his Kagome.
"Kagome…" Kagome smiled sweetly before frowning.
"You're supposed to be lying down. You're going to reopen your wounds." Kagome kneeled beside him.
"Feh. These are scratches." He scoffed. He looked at Kagome and she looked down.
"No they aren't. I would know. I caused them." Kagome looked back up. InuYasha's breathing stopped when he saw her tears. "I'm so sorry." She mouthed. InuYasha gathered her in his arms, ignoring his injuries, and rocked her back and forth as she cried.
They were silent for a long time. Kagome finally pulled away, sniffling. InuYasha took one of her hands and held it; he wasn't ready to let her go.
"Izayio is okay. Doctor Hyousuke treated her. I didn't kill her, even though Ayame claimed she was dead." Kagome looked into her eyes and cupped his cheek. "You're going to be fine also. I'm sorry, InuYasha."
InuYasha placed his hand over Kagome's and held it to his face. "Stop…apologizing." Kagome weakly looked up. "We're together again. Everything is fine now. I just need to go after that bastard Kiba and finish it." Kagome's eyes widened and she grabbed his arms.
"No! Not now. Wait until you are healed, at least." InuYasha looked down at his mate. He took her face in his hands.
"Ok. I'll wait a few days. But, tell me. How are you alive? I failed you. I wasn't able to get to you, and yet, here you are." Kagome looked down.
She swallowed hard. "I'm just like Kikyo now. Or…at least…I was. I don't even know anymore. Before, the only thing keeping me alive was my hatred towards you…and then, Marika's curse broke. I really don't know, InuYasha." They stared into each other's eyes.
"You're alive and here again, that's all I care about right now. We'll worry about that when it gets here." InuYasha whispered. Kagome nodded softly.
InuYasha pulled her to him again and they continued embracing. This was real. She was really here. Alive. He would have to thank Kiba before he killed him. More light filled the room.
A soft rapping at the door flap made them both look up. A human man walked in wearing a long, white hakui. He was young and had brown hair and eyes.
"Doctor Hyousuke." Kagome stated. He smiled charmingly at Kagome before turning to face InuYasha.
"I see you are awake finally. You all hanyous gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?"
"Hanyous? What other hanyous?" InuYasha turned to Kagome.
"He's talking about Rin and Izayio." Kagome said.
"What's wrong with Izayio? And Rin's human." This time he turned to Hyousuke.
He held up his hands peacefully. "Izayio is fine now. She is still asleep. However, Rin...is no longer fully human. Your brother had to turn her to save her life. And it is a good thing he did, she would have died. Praise Kami she didn't die during the change. Kami knows how many I've seen die before the yokai enters their system."
InuYasha quirked a brow. "Sesshomaru marked Rin?" Kagome nodded beside him.
"She's still asleep though. Sesshomaru is with her now. He's going to explain everything to her when she wakes up." Kagome informed him.
"That's dirty, Sesshomaru." InuYasha grumbled. "I thought he hated humans and hanyous."
Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but Hyousuke interrupted her. "Now, InuYasha. You and Sesshomaru can discus that later. First, I need to change your bandages because you've clearly moved and possibly reopened the wounds."
Hyousuke moved towards the medical tray. "Hyousuke, I can change them. Please check on Izayio again." He turned to face her. He hesitated for a moment ad then nodded.
"If you need anything, miko, please call." He turned and left. Kagome and InuYasha were alone. Kagome reached up and started to work on his bandages. InuYasha took her hands. She looked up at him.
"Kagome…is Izayio really okay?" Kagome smiled and nodded.
"Yes, InuYasha." He released her hands and she began to remove his soiled bandages. "However, she will never be a child. She will most likely never have yokai powers and only miko powers. I feel so sorry for her. I've ruined everything." A tear dropped from Kagome's eye. She turned to hid it by placing the soiled bandages next to the tray. She reached for a damp cloth to clean away the dried blood. When she turned back, InuYasha was staring at her sincerely. Kagome tried to ignore him as she began blotting away the blood on his back.
"This isn't your fault, Kagome. Stop blaming yourself." Kagome paused and looked up at him hard.
"Who else is there to blame? You? No. Izayio? No. Kiba? Maybe. Marika? Maybe. It's all my fault. Marika was able to find a small speck of darkness in my heart and use it to turn me into a monster! I'm a miko! There should be no darkness, not even a speck, in my heart." Kagome set her chin and went back to cleaning her mate.
InuYasha continued to watch her. "Kagome, you're only human." Kagome stiffened and straightened. She looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"That is the stupidest excuse, baka!" More tears ran down her face.
InuYasha could not help but compare her to Kikyo in this moment. They both tried so hard to be something they were not: Not human. And then when something bad happened, they blamed themselves. Though, Kikyo would never break down like this. This is what made Kagome so special. She showed her fears. It made her easier to protect. She wasn't weak. She was far from it because it took so much for her to cry like this. Before, it would have been his fault, but now, there was actually something he could do about it because it wasn't his fault.
"Kagome…" InuYasha pulled her to him. He kissed her forehead. He then trailed his lips to her right eye and kissed away her tears and then moved to the left one. Kagome sniffled. InuYasha broke away and with his thumbs, brushed away the remaining tears. "You're so beautiful." Kagome blushed.
InuYasha kissed her then. And she kissed him back. This was their first kiss since all of this had happened. They both shivered as their spines tingled. Kagome moved and then strattled his waist, never breaking the kiss. InuYasha's hands moved into her hair and began to make his own tangles in her midnight tresses. Kagome moaned as he lay back on the futon with her.
X
Rin's head hurt. She groaned and turned onto her side. The movement made the covers fall from her shoulders. She moved to pull them back up when another pair of hands beat her to it. Rin opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was a pale white hand with a magenta stripe running along it. She turned and was face to face with her yokai lord.
Rin smiled weakly. "Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru's lips twitched in response.
"How are you feeling, Rin?" He asked quietly.
"My head hurts." Sesshomaru's eyes flickered to her forehead and then back to her eyes.
"Rin, this Sesshomaru has something exceedingly significant to discus with you. Are you able?" Rin nodded. Sesshomaru let out a sigh. "When you said you wanted to forever be with this Sesshomaru, were you speaking the truth?"
Rin's eyes widened and Sesshomaru had to restrain her from jumping up. "Yes, of course, mi'Lord." Sesshomaru groaned.
"Rin…not that particular way…Did you want me to complete my mark fully?" Rin nodded forcefully.
"Yes! More than anything!" An emotion flashed in Sesshomaru's eyes that Rin could not fully comprehend.
"Rin, do you remember anything that happened yesterday or last night?" Rin's eyes rolled up as she thought.
"Chika came to draw a bath. We…" She blushed, "You gave me a claim mark. And…that's it." Sesshomaru nodded.
"Rin, the bad yokai that InuYasha and I are fighting with, made you do some really bad things and you got hurt really badly." Rin looked quizzically up at him. Sesshomaru never used such…small and vague words.
"What is wrong?" Rin asked.
Sesshomaru closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Her lord was failing apart. "You almost died." He opened his eyes and looked straight into her eyes. "This Sesshomaru had to complete the mark on you to save your life. In order to do that, this Sesshomaru had to turn you into a hanyou. This means that you are this Sesshomaru's forever, you will never age, you will never have pups, you will live as long as an average hanyou; about five times that of a healthy human."
Rin lay quietly as this all sunk in. She wet her lips. "I'm…a hanyou now?" She asked quietly. Sesshomaru nodded.
"This Sesshomaru apologizes if this is not what you wanted." He answered sorrowfully.
Rin closed her eyes. Sesshomaru was sure she was angry. Sesshomaru turned away from her. Rin opened her eyes and sat up. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned slowly and saw her smiling brightly at him.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru stopped breathing. Rin was not mad?
'Thank you, Kami.' Sesshomaru sent up a small prayer. Sesshomaru gathered her in his arms and held her, really held her, the way he had longed to for years.
"Rin…" Sesshomaru whispered. Rin held him tighter. She understood.
"Me too." She whispered back.
Who is jumping for joy? A description of hanyou Rin will be in the next chapter, so stay tuned. Kagome and InuYasha are back together! Woo! But, is this the happy ending? Not yet. We still have like 3 or 4 more chapters. Yes, the ending is growning near. I will have to come up with a new story line for a new fic...or spin off?
~Azarath101