Deceitful Time
Chapter Eighteen: Turmoil

Time ticked away from him while he lingered almost in a comatose state, his legs spewed out before him, his hands in between them resting upon the dirt, his back to the well that brought him nothing but hell. Well, that's not necessarily true. If it had not opened up in the first place then he wouldn't have met Kagome… then again, he'd never have lost her, either. Would his life had been better without her? Maybe, he doubted it, but he'd never know.

All he knew was the pain that was brought by the bemused enchantress, five hundred years worth of angst, but four weeks of bliss that made it all worth it… until now, until she left, until the sun broke the sky to shine an array of far too pleasant colors that only managed to piss him off.

If he had changed Kagome's fate already—their fate—then some of the memories he had regained never truly happened yet he felt they did. Could he not change the past, then? Or did it simply not affect him no matter what? Could he have kept Kagome there all along and never forget memories that had turned false or had… they not? Had they still occurred just between him and Kagome that would never come to be?

"Fuck," he muttered to himself, such a thought was beyond him and his mingled mind. "Come back…"

Come back already, a day and night had passed him by since she leaped into the well promising to be back before school. She promised him, was she not a woman of her word? Did she return to his past-self and decided, 'oh, what the hell!' and just stayed there? God, it stung to think that she was with another man even if that man was him. With one much needed breath he finally moved from his stiffened spot and stood up to leave the hut for the first time since the empty abyss of a blackness cascaded across the sky the night before only to run into Mrs. Higurashi right away.

Panic stricken she turned and sighed lightly, "Shiro! I am so happy to see you! Please tell me Kagome has been with you all this time. I have been calling her phone and she does not reply…"

It gave him a pang of guilt to see her brows furrowed and eyes pleading to him for comfort, but comfort he could not give; with a sigh he shook his head.

"Oh… do-do you know where she is?"

He simply nodded towards the hut with the well. Mrs. Higurashi's brown eyes dilated some before she looked to Shiro with a slightly cocked brow as if to ask if he knew what he was saying, if he understood the power of the well. And yes, yes he did understand the magic that might have been created only to mar his existence.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Higurashi," it came out all wrong, like a weak croak. He hadn't used his voice in some time so he cleared his throat to cease that.

"Did you and her get in a fight?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired in a meek murmur. She had grown so fond of having her daughter around, it was almost as if the well had disappeared from their lives… she didn't want to get in the way of her daughter's destiny but that would never change the simple fact that she was her mother and what mother would want their daughter five hundred years in the past? In an era of war and anarchy, where demons lingered? What mother could sleep at night knowing that?

"No, not at all… she was going to say goodbye originally, to say she was going to stay here for good," he sighed, "but that was yesterday morning and she has yet to return…"

"So you know of the well's power?" Mrs. Higurashi awed as she raised her hand lightly to her cheek, "and you believed her when she told you?"

His eyes moved from the hut to Mrs. Higurashi's shimmering eyes, he could see a fear that must have reflected that which was buried deep in his amber gaze, "Mrs. Higurashi…" was it right to tell her the truth? To tell her how her daughter had died and he vowed to live for another five hundred years to save her? Did she need to know that? Did she want to be burdened with that? Was it selfish of him to confess to her simply because it made him feel better? Yes, most likely, but that didn't stop the flood gate once it opened, "this will sound insane… but I…"

"Please, Shiro," she smiled lightly, "with a daughter like mine what could you say that I would not believe?"

"My name's not Shiro," her smile flickered to a frown briefly as she tilted her head, "it's… Inuyasha." Her face went blank much like he had expected, he doubted she was listening anymore but he kept up, "I don't know how much Kagome has told you about the shikon jewel but it had the power to make me a full demon and gave me immortality. I've been waiting all this time to find Kagome in her era, to keep her away from the well… I love her, still…"

What felt like forever even to him passed before she blinked and looked away, "why?"

If it were not for his grand ability to hear he would have missed that, "pardon?"

"Why would you have to wait all that time…?"

Perceptive mother, that she was, "Kagome was killed. I'm sorry, I know I gave you my word to protect her but I failed… it was all I could was wait to see her once more. To try and change that and I thought I did, I was able to keep her from the well… I thought she no longer wanted to go down it but," he sighed, "then she did. I only let her because I thought she wanted to simply say goodbye to everyone then return. I… I don't know."

"Go get her then," he hadn't any idea Mrs. Higurashi's voice could sound so stern, "if you are Inuyasha then you can travel through the well, right? Go get my daughter, save her… Inuyasha, please."

It was odd how such a simple and seemingly straight forward thought had not crossed his mind yet… it hadn't. His eyes snapped back to the hut, could he? He was Inuyasha… but would that fuck everything up? Would the world collapse if he did that? He almost smiled at the stupidity of that thought, "alright, I'll go get her."

"Bring her back safely, promise me that," Mrs. Higurashi requested and with a weak nod he gave her his word… his word that he could not surely keep.

{xoxoxoxoxo}

Was it the same sky? The one that seemed to be just outside the top of the well as the one that he had just seen? He only took a few moments to take a deep almost cleansing breath before jumping out of the well with ease and landing on the rim of it to gaze around at a land that had long been lost, that he had long forgotten. An open field with trees lining it not too far away, the air did not sting of the poison that humans had grown accustom to pouring into it… it was fresh, foreign, and freakish.

And absent of the one scent his nostrils was searching for, how could that be? Had she left the vicinity…? Why? His heart picked up pace from the solemn calm that had taken him as he floated through the sparkling blue world while he leaped out of the field and towards the village—at least that's what his nose told him.

"Goddamn it!" That stopped him abruptly, to hear your own voice curse yet never pry open your lips was a surreal feeling that made his eyes widen.

"Inuyasha," someone that hadn't lost his temper sighed, "it will be alright."

"Fuck you!"

"Inuyasha!" A female, a strangely familiar voice, shrieked, "there are children around!"

"Yes!" A squeak seemed to agree.

He shut his eyes for a moment, was this alright? Whatever, it was best to think less and act more—right?

Wait. Wait, his breath got hitched in his throat… that was Miroku, he was sure now, and himself with two others yet there was no Kagome? No, he shook his head lightly before preceding forward, that could not be good. Not even a little, his stomach turned at the prospects but… maybe he just missed her? Maybe she jumped through the well just as he did to return to him? Maybe that was why his past-self was so pissed?

Ha, he vaguely smiled at his wishful idiocy. His heart wanted that to be the truth—how could he live if he lost her a second time? How? But his mind, his senses, told him what a pretty lie that was. Her scent had faded near the well, she was not recently there, the faint fresh scent of the past night's rain lingered around along with the other signs—the still drying land. Just as he walked around the corner of the hut that blocked his view something very similar to déjà vu but far stronger struck him right then…

How long had it been since he had looked like that? So pissed—that wasn't a foreign feeling to him—but with long, reckless, locks of silver, festering fiery golden eyes, and wore that ridiculous, puffy, red outfit that had been given to him by…? It took a moment or two of his mind working in over time to receive the answer to that—his father. He appeared to be very distraught by something, his fists were clenched tightly as he growled towards the three before him. The monk, Miroku, was the only one that seemed to meditate with calmness. The woman that dawned on a leather, tight—he let his eyes admire that a bit too long—suit and pink armor was fuming at the half-demon… her name, her name… what was it? 'Sa' something… then there was that thing that looked like a squirrel but his nose told him was apparently a fox demon.

He still could feel the way that thing irked him, it was annoying… what was its name?

"Sango," his past-self growled, "how could you let that happened!?"

"Do not blame her, Inuyasha," Miroku jumped in to be the sound of reason.

"Yeah, Inuyasha!" The squirrel shrieked, sending a shiver down both of their same spines.

"Shippou, I'll fucking kill you!" His past-self warned.

Ah, well, at least that answered that. Sango and Shippou, his former companions… yet no Kagome.

What is it, Sango, that you allowed to happen? That was the golden question that got him to sigh once more and take another step forward, his past-self finally caught on to his masked presence and flipped around to glare with candor hatred at him. He was always so angry, what was that all about? Gods, and he thought he was bad now.

"Who are you?" Miroku questioned; his voice firm as he pointed his staff towards the demon he had just now noticed—because Inuyasha let him, he let his aura shine through.

His eyes wondered to the… the demon slayer, yeah, that's what Sango was, who had grasped her large weapon and prepared her stance for attack, he could tell she flushed with confusion for a moment as her eyes lingered around his sure to be odd choice of wardrobe to them. Jeans, a black belt, a white T-shirt with random black graphic print upon it and his vintage brown leather bomber, "are you with Naraku?"

Naraku, right, he remembered that… former fellow half-demon, he did something—that's right, Kagome told him. He tore Kikyou away, the priestess he once loved. Worse, the thought just struck his mind, he was the bastard that killed Kagome and his… no, he couldn't think of that. He took a deep breath in through his nostrils then out through his mouth before he bothered to try and form a sentence right as his past-self sprung out his sword—now that he thought about that it might have been a good idea to bring it with him on this little journey, huh?

"Who the fuck are you?" He sure enjoyed to curse.

He stood face to face with who he once was—he couldn't even explain how odd of a sensation that was—and the world was still in one piece, it would seem… alright, well, that's good, he supposed. He had an overwhelming need to blow the half-breed off, though, just to piss him off more—what did that say about him? "Where's Kagome?"

His past-self grasped the sword that had transformed tighter, "what do you want with her?"

"God, was I this stupid?" He muttered to himself below his breath, "use your nose, moron."

He narrowed his eyes on him before he opened mouth to protest only to have whatever it was get stuck on the tip of his tongue, their scents were alike… more than Sesshomaru and his, it was a mutated form of his own—what he'd imagine he'd smell like he was a pure demon. "Wh-Who the hell are you?"

"Inuyasha?" Sango whispered as she looked to the stunned usually sizzling man than to Miroku.

"Where is Kagome?" He repeated, "I know she came here yesterday. Is she alright?"

Even though it was more than apparent that the monk did not understand the situation at hand whatsoever, his cock brow said that enough, he bothered to reply, "she… was taken, last night."

"What?" He snarled, "where? What the fuck is wrong with you? She was here one freakin' day! One! You really do fail!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha bickered back, "who the—?"

"You let Kagome die," he spat at himself… how strange, but it muted his past-self, "and use the shikon jewel to become a full demon. You wait five hundred years to see her again and then you fuck up again and let her go back down the well when you knew you shouldn't have!" It wasn't really him that he was made with it was himself, his current self, he knew he shouldn't have let her go. He knew… in his gut, that she would not return if he allowed it. He conned his mind into settling his heart's dispute, claiming it was just jealousy instead of an omen... how wrong he had been but...

He'd lose her… again.

"W-Wait…" the monk seemed to be the only one to fully understand that, "don't… tell us that you are…?"

"Inuyasha?" Sango stuttered.

He just nodded before scowling out a sigh, "fuck me. What took her? Which way did they go?" He'd just have to handle it himself, he'd get her back, he couldn't break his word to the woman he very much wanted to become his mother-in-law... and maybe even if he was really lucky a grandmother someday?

"Wait…" Shippou awed, it seemed the news—while grand, he had to admit—had struck them all into a gawking, useless, stage. "You… Inuyasha?"

"What the hell was the point of you, anyway?" He couldn't help but snicker to the little thing upon Sango's shoulder, "why did we keep you around? I can't imagine you ever came in use."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I don't have time for this," he scoffed before shaking his head and thrusting his hands into his jacket pocket, "tell me right now where Kagome is."

"We are… unsure," Sango stammered, "last night a horde of demons attacked, one was a new incarnation of Naraku's, we were all too preoccupied that none of us… noticed him snatch Kagome. It wasn't until it was too late that we saw him take her away."

"Which way?" He grumbled, useless, all of them. He wasn't the only one that failed to protect Kagome that day, Miroku and Sango had to have been there, too, right? That was the day he killed Naraku… wasn't it?

"It seemed like North," Miroku replied with a tilt of his head in that direction.

"Fuck my life," he grunted to himself before he turned to head off that way. This was absolute bullshit how could that girl get in so much trouble in such a short amount of time?

"W-Wait," it was refreshing to hear his past-self stumble over his words so, "what… I…"

"I suppose," he sighed as he turned around to look at the trio—well, there were four of them but did the small one really count? "If you must… you can come with me." Perhaps they'd be of use eventually… or maybe he'd end up killing them all out of annoyance, who knew?

"We should," Sango stated with certainty as she strutted over to him, her eyes locked intently with his dull golden gaze all the way. When she was but a few inches away from him her bluntness struck him, she reached out and grasped his left ear tightly and tugged at it. The woman had more strength than he would have given her credit for, he bit his lips and cringed. "I don't know if I believe you at all. This could be a trap, after all, you are apparently far too good tempered to be the actual Inuyasha."

"Hey!" His former voice snickered.

"Look," he hoofed, "I don't remember you much," it took a moment for him to even recall her name again, "Sango, I don't remember any of you, really. Just very vaguely, at best, so if you push your luck with me I really would not have issues with," but he stopped himself, choking on own words. Kagome would surely take issue with him doing anything violent towards Sango and he was going to get her back… he had to. He really, really, had to… he didn't want to have to stay in this time and wait another five-hundred years for her. No, he'd go mad. He'd die. He couldn't...

"With what?" She narrowed her mahogany eyes upon him, "I dare you to try."

"I could kill you with my pinky finger," he mocked.

"Now that cocky voice sounds like Inuyasha," Miroku chuckled lightly.

"Hey," again, his-past self growled.

"But I agree with Sango, this is… all very strange, we should not trust you."

He just rolled his eyes and turned about, "whatever. See ya'. When I get Kagome back she's coming home with me."

"Not if I find her first!" his far more immature self declared as he shot forward, casting a blast of wind onto him as he sped by.

"Idiocy," he muttered to himself with a sigh before leaping off. He was sure it would take half his effort to catch up to his former self and pass him, which was true, though it did fuel the fire that burned in his old self's heart so he would pick up the pace and try to catch up.

Weird… strange, ironic even maybe? That he was racing with himself, rather literally. One thing was certain; he couldn't find the humor in it.

{xoxoxoxoxo}

No…

It struck him as he stilled to a fumbled stop, scoffing up the front of his fine, Italian leather, tri-buckle, brown ankle boots that had been flawless up until that moment. Yes, he had become a stylish man that spent far too much money on a pair of shoes—and pretty much everything else—but he hadn't anything else do to, now did he?

All of that was besides the point, though, as he weakly took a meek half step forward.

No…

He heard himself land behind him, panting up a storm at that, too, and a few minutes later the scent of a cat demon, the demon slayer, fox demon, and monk catch up to him. It was only then that, apparently, he caught his breath enough to yell, "what the hell!?"

He disregarded that as his gaze kept scanning over the scene before him; over and over and over… he knew this land, this barren, empty… the way the slim moon shined upon it only made it worse. This was the place… he could feel it rip at his weakly throbbing heart, this was where he failed…

"No, Kagome, no!" He kept up the useless nonsense that spouted out of his trembling lips as he pulled her tattered body towards him. There was no hope that she'd reply, that she'd somehow give her final words of comfort like an 'it's alright, I forgive you' like he so desperately wanted. There was no hope that he would get to tell her how he really felt, either. Did she die thinking he still didn't care?

At least she wasn't wearing her school girl uniform… it was a once sure to be beautiful flowing blue baby-doll dress that was now tainted with nothing but her own crimson liquid. His shaking hand that did not hold her up against his body floated down to her stomach. No… no, he could smell a scent he wished he never knew. He raised his hand up to his nose as he fell to his knees upon the hard dirt as more of his memory poured through him. He failed. He failed majorly; he failed to protect Kagome… to protect his… his… it was right then that a pain struck through his shoulder to cause a muffled scream.

"We aren't done, Inuyasha," that malice marred voice chuckled. "Don't you want your—?"

"Hey!?" His own voice pestered him as a foot jabbed the very shoulder he thought was wounded. It wasn't until that that he was able to snap out of the memory.

"Are… you alright?" Sango asked wearily as she walked over to kneel down near him, but out of arms reach just to be safe.

It took a great deal of effort for him to pry his gaze from the ground and look over to the demon slayer—where had she had been when that was happening? Where had the monk? Where had help been?

"Kagome died here," he confessed in a meek murmur only to repeat it in a steady whisper to himself one more time before he removed his hand from his face and weakly rose up.

"What?" Sango breathlessly sped as she, too, shot up.

"What do you mean?" The half-demon to his left bickered.

Thankfully, her scent was only vaguely on the land, her safe scent… bloodless scent. He took a deep breath to shake the feeling that tore at his inners, "I… only remember bits and pieces of it. It was five hundred years ago, after all," and he had them erased but he needn't mention that, "but Naraku killed her right here. I remember that much. This land… it is burned into my mind."

"You're lying! I wouldn't let Kagome die!" the half-demon accused with an acidic edge.

We? I? Me? Which should he use while addressing himself? I because he hadn't yet let Kagome die, where they even the same person…? "She was supposed to be at home, she wasn't supposed to have come back… there was a fog of poison looming around, I couldn't see anything, smell anything, then she shot an arrow and called my name only to give away her position to Naraku. I didn't know what had happened until it was too late."

"It takes a great deal of determination, I am sure, to wait as long as you have," Miroku mused—though, still with a bit of doubt within his voice.

"Determination hadn't anything to do with it," guilt did. "Last night was the new moon, wasn't it?" He grumbled as he looked up into the sky, that was how a horde of demons could pry Kagome away from him but… that meant she had choice to stay the entire day. She choice to break her word to him, she choice not to return before school to him… did that mean she choice the old him over the new?

"Yeah," the half-demon muttered.

"Hm," he nodded briefly before his golden gaze moved down to his shoes, "fuck me!" he grunted as he lifted his left leg up in a straight line, "I scuffed my shoe!"

"What…?" Sango mumbled.

"Why are you complaining about that?" The half-demon disputed with his aggravated edge.

"Fuck you," the demon growled back as he stomped his foot against the ground, "do you have any idea how much these things coasted?"

"Kagome's missing!"

That did mean more, he supposed, so he let his grievance go with another heavy sigh. Kagome probably wouldn't have approved of him spending over 15,000 yen on a pair of shoes anyway.

"They're funny looking," Shippou squabbled as he leaped onto the fellow pure-bloods shoulders and look down at his boots.

"This coming from a squirrel that doesn't even wear shoes," he growled back.

"I'm not a squirrel! I'm a fox demon!"

"Keh," he muttered before leaping off, Shippou slid from his shoulder and almost landing upon the ground with a great thud but Sango caught him before that could happen.

"He does seem to vaguely act like you," Miroku declared as he grabbed his chin to ponder, "but… different."

"Mature-ish," Sango suggested but with difficulty.

"Still a jerk!" Shippou shouted.

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted as his always amber gaze followed… his future-self? Did he believe that? Into the horizon.

Did he really… lose Kagome? The past few weeks had been hellish on him, he hadn't known where she was—well, he knew she was in her world—but not why she hadn't returned like she promised in her supposed 'twenty minutes' until he jumped into the well to discover he could not travel through it any longer. It closed up… he tried to play it off like it didn't matter, that it was for the best even maybe but it wasn't. He missed her, though he'd never admit it, he barely could to himself. He worried of her, he wondered if she thought about him as much as he did her, he wanted her back and she finally did the other night just for him to…

Seriously and severely fuck up and lose her all over again. This time without the reassurance that she was safe in her boring era… this time she was lost to Naraku. His blood boiled at the thought as he leaped ahead of his friends and began to follow whoever that demon was—was it really himself? Too many thoughts plagued him…

Had Naraku hurt her?

Was she even alive?

Had Naraku… no, he couldn't even think about that possibility.

Kagome had to be alright, the man before him was telling a lie, he'd never let anything happen to her. Never, no matter what, he'd never… ever, right?

A/N: First off, sorry if you got confused with whether the past-Inu or the future-Inu was talking, I tried my best to distinguish between the two without repeating words too much but that didn't work out too well…Also, my apologize if anyone thinks I was harsh on Shippou but I suppose my own mild prejudice shined through, ops? I just think he's so useless... and does look more like a squirrel than a fox.

And just an fyi when it comes to 15,000 yen is essentially somewhere between 112 euros, 99 pounds, and 161 dollars.