InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Lives ❯ A Few Steps Taken Part 2 ( Chapter 27 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

“Oy, Kyou-chan,” he said.

She opened her eyes and smiled back. “Yeah?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

She laughed.

~*~ Miroku ~*~

She looked very somber. “I will speak to Sango for you, but you must do something for me in return.”

He straightened a little. Kaede wasn’t the kind of woman to do an eye for an eye. “What would this task be?”

She smiled.

~*~ Sesshomaru ~*~

He could almost hear her tsk. “Wasting time? This Sesshomaru? Never.” He took her hand and gestured the door. “Where would my Mother like to go? The sky is the limit for technology only.”

“I don’t know when you grew so kind,” she said, looking up at him, “but Inuyasha and Rin have my thanks.”

~*~ Kagome, A Few Weeks Later ~*~

She smiled and reached zero. Her mood successfully refitted for sleep mode, she gave a sigh, relaxed entirely, and called on dreams. It didn’t take long for her to fall into her dreamworld, and found herself having more pleasant dreams of Inuyasha in various types and amounts of clothing.

Fifty Eight (Sango-Miroku Marriage)

This was absolutely insane.

Here she was, fidgeting like no tomorrow, tapping her foot and wringing her hands – and she wasn’t even the one getting married!

Kagome paced the small hut where she, Sango, and two other ladies from the village awaited. Every now and again she looked down at her digital watch and groaned. What was it about this wedding that was getting to her so much. . ?

She glanced over at Sango, who was looking more than a little content. She sat neatly, eyes shut, sweet smile curving her mouth and no worries on her brow. Dressed in less-than-usual wife garb, it wasn’t overheating her or restricting any movement – like it could have, anyway. Still, half the reason Sango wasn’t totally decked out is because she didn’t have much left; a pretty large portion is made up of gifts from various village mothers. The other reason is that Sango just isn’t as traditional as the other ladies, which is just as it should be, really.

What worried Kagome most was that Kirara up and left a few hours ago. She didn’t know where the firecat went, but wherever, it was surely taking a long time. The look on Sango’s face hinted that there was nothing to fear, but it didn’t stop Kagome from pacing.

“You really need to calm down,” Sango told her.

How strange this was: Kagome, about ready to rip her hair out, while Sango is sitting peacefully, quietly, perfectly serene. The bride should be nervous, and Kagome – the priestess – should be the one radiating calm. On the other hand, since when was Kagome a full-fledged priestess? Powers and natural acceptance don’t exactly count when barred against serenity and near-constant prayers.

“I know, I know, I know!” Kagome half-whined. She stopped and faced Sango. “Aren’t you nervous at all?”

“What’s there to be nervous about?” Sango replied, opening her eyes. “Miroku and I have been waiting a long time for this. . . and neither of us were really willing to wait. I’m excited, Kagome-chan. . .” Her smile grew into a grin. “He made a house for us and everything.”

From the light in Sango’s eyes, it was fairly obvious that she thought no one was more magnificent than Miroku. Kagome couldn’t help but feel great love and happiness for her friend; truly, Sango was as close as any sister. She smiled despite being nervous. “I’m sorry, Sango, I really should be more supportive. I just hope that my own marriage will put me in such a good mood as you.”

Sango raised a brow at her. “Oh? Planning it already?”

Kagome blushed. “Well, no, but. . . it’s bound to happen and. . . Stop teasing me!” she moaned, turning her back to Sango and trying to hide her burning cheeks under her hands. “Seriously, I never teased you about Miroku!”

“That’s because I’m the big sister,” Sango pointed out. “I get to tease you all I like.”

As a new thought hit her, Kagome looked over her shoulder at Sango. “Oh? Did you tease Kohaku so badly?”

Sango’s smile became infinitely more serene at the mention of her brother. “No. Little brothers are different from little sisters, after all.”

“I know how that goes,” Kagome giggled. “I know they’re different ages, but if Souta and Kohaku are anything alike. . . you can expect Kohaku to start making fun of your clothes and favorite food.”

Sango giggled. “Believe it or not, he already has.”

“Really?” Kagome knelt in front of her friend. “When? What’d he say?”

“He was five,” Sango began, “and the first time he saw me in my uniform, he pointed out how bad pink and black look together, and that I looked nothing like father did.”

Kagome giggled at that. She was working on a reply when she heard Inuyasha outside the mat door.

“Oy, Kagome. We’re ready out here. Just waiting for you four now.”

“Thank you, Inuyasha,” she called back. The butterflies she’d been feeling returned with a vengeance. She looked over at Sango. “Ready?”

Sango stood up, and the two ladies from the village helped steady her. “Let’s go.”

Kagome turned to the mat and brushed it aside, holding it open for Sango to pass through.

~*~ Inuyasha ~*~

Miroku was about as nervous as a worm staring a bird in the face. Though he tried not to show it, he was doing basically the same thing Inuyasha tended to do whenever Kagome wasn’t around. He tapped his feet, wrung his hands, shook a hand or a foot, sat down, stood up, paced. . .

“Oy! Quit that already!” Inuyasha snapped at him.

A show to his anxiety, Miroku immediately jumped and stuttered something about being perfect and Sango’s heart.

“Geez, what the hell’s your problem, monk?!” he all but yelled. “You can’t tell me you haven’t been looking forward to this.”

“Of course I have!” Miroku shot back. “But Sango. . . I just. . . Argh I can’t get my thoughts straight!” he groaned, messing up his hair as he rubbed his skull.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and strode over to Miroku, forcing him to sit and trying to rearrange his hair back the way it was. “Look, why don’t you try counting? Kagome says that always works.”

“Count, to what number?” Miroku blurted. “I can only count so high! And we’re running out of time before it – it starts! OW!”

Inuyasha had yanked a little hard on a lock of hair. “Count to one hundred.” Finished putting it all back, he stepped aside and watched a moment to make sure Miroku was counting as he’d said.

He saw Miroku’s lips mouth the words and turned his back. People were still moving around outside, setting up things and moving things, getting into their specified places – he could hear the rucket of their steps and sounds of objects being dragged to where they belong. He could ever hear Kaede out there, giving orders and breathing a little harder than usual.

He was sure of it now. For the past few weeks, it’d been on his mind that Kaede’s age is finally catching up to her, and it seems he was right. It made him feel oddly scared, like the feeling he’d had when he knew something was terribly wrong with his mother, only less severe. There was no panic this time, no fear that he was going to be alone very soon, but it didn’t stop the feeling in his gut that he was going to miss her.

Still, he could wait one day to speak with her. After all, today was Miroku and Sango’s wedding – a day to celebrate, not pine. He wasn’t very good at pining in his opinion, anyway. He counted as he waited now, watching everything as the finishing touches were added, until everything was settled and perfectly ready to go. He hoped Kagome and Sango were done getting prepared, too.

“Inuyasha,” Kaede called – perhaps her voice was a bit weaker than his memories provided – and he crossed over to her. “You can fetch Sango-san now. I’ll make sure Miroku-sama doesn’t pull his hair out.” She chuckled lightly and watched as Miroku sweat and shook his leg uncontrollably.

Inuyasha glanced over at Miroku and couldn’t help but smirk. “You have nothing to worry about,” he told the monk before he left. “You know Sango loves you.”

Miroku gave him a shaky smile in return, his expression saying he appreciated the confidence, even if his mouth couldn’t.

Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head, and walked over to the bride’s hut, listening for a moment. Kagome and Sango were talking about their little brothers, and he heard Kagome giggle. It made him smile. It’d been just a half a year or so since “the incident,” and she seemed to have recovered entirely. It made him want to tease her about it, but no way was he about to tease her about a good thing.

“Oy,” he called, “Kagome. We’re ready out here. Just waiting for you four now.”

“Thank you, Inuyasha,” Kagome’s voice filtered back. Then, to Sango, “Ready?”

And last, Sango’s voice and the rustling of clothing, “Let’s go.”

And get married, he added silently. Kagome opened the mat door.

I wish you only the best, Inuyasha and Kagome thought in unison, to both Sango and Miroku.

Sango stepped out of the hut, Miroku saw her, and they smiled at one another. That simple smile they shared could have very well been the entire ceremony, granting them married status from the love in their gazes – love so thick you could almost feel it.

As though drawn by that feeling, Kagome met Inuyasha’s eyes, and they too shared a smile – a secret smile, just for them.

~*~ Later ~*~

Married, bound, united, as one, fated, husband and wife, together forever, even mated – these are all terms meaning the very same thing. Very simply, it means that you and your partner are stuck with each other, hopefully out of love and deep attraction. And very simply, it is inescapable, for even divorce doesn’t strike from the record the fact that the two of you were once married, living together, and had children from the union, if you’re lucky.

The bond is unbreakable for those whose souls are connected, united at the very core of your beings, tied by the red string of fate for all time. For some, marriage isn’t a prerequisite for your lives together, and neither is it necessary for you to know each other and each other’s families well. They can call it “love at first sight,” but it’s the realization of that love, not the creation of it, that you feel.

For Sango and Miroku, it wasn’t “love at first sight.” For them, it was an odd companionship, strengthened but the love they felt, unbeknownst to their conscious state of mind. It kept them together through thick and thin, until at last they knew what it was they were feeling, and finally they admitted it. Through that admittance, marriage was merely the next step in a whole new book of their lives, one that they hope will end in many children and a peaceful death.

For Kagome and Inuyasha, it was far more amazing.

Inuyasha, shunned by everyone he knew for the majority of his life, save that of his mother and later, Kikyou. Hard-bitten by the cold shoulder of humanity and the extreme prejudice of full-blooded demons, there was no place for him in the world he was living, and so he made his own world – if only to hold on to his sanity. Meeting Kagome and staying with her confused him as his emotions couldn’t deal with love again so soon, making him angry and testy. Yet he still couldn’t deny his feelings, rushing to save her at every turn, even from things that couldn’t do harm, such as a volleyball. Once he opened his heart again, he found that Kagome had already nestled comfortable there and gave in without a fight.

Kagome, normal as can be, maybe a bit wishful off to the side, who was thrown into this story against her will. Though it may have been frightening, confusing, and dreamlike in the beginning, as she wished for nothing more than to return to her normal life, it didn’t stay so. As she grew accustomed to being in Sengoku Jidai, she also became accustomed to being around Inuyasha, daily. Knowledge of his past love and that she is the reincarnation of that love only made her uncomfortable at first, but love knows no bounds. Like Kikyou, she fell for the one-of-a-kind hanyou and has never looked back.

For Sesshomaru, however, his love life was far more complicated. First he had a human mate, who taught him even more effectively than Rin that humans were more than just capable of loving. They were capable of changing a person, totally and completely, if the two of them worked well enough together. Sesshomaru had loved her, admittedly, unabashedly, and had nearly died himself when she had. It was pure luck that it didn’t take long for her to reincarnate, as a demon this time, able to live with him for as long as time permitted.

Even Shippou and Kyou are feeling the pulls of matrimony. Young as they are, they are not mere children, older than most humans live beyond despite their looks. The two were already starting to feel deeply for each other, though neither is willing to admit it just yet.

Hojo and Hisaka have been bonding fairly nicely. Both of them seem to have put their desires and demons behind them, leaving them bare to one another. They talk to each other a lot, give gifts and visit often, becoming an entirely-human version of Kagome and Inuyasha’s relationship. So far, neither of them are showing any signs of becoming less interested.

Motsumoto and Akira seem to be having an odd relationship, too. Higaru wants to prove his worth to Akira, and Akira is getting a little more than just friendly while teaching him.

With Naraku defeated and the jewel close to being rid of completely, the entire planet – in both eras – seems to be calm and feeling extra nice. Kagome and Inuyasha left Miroku and Sango to enjoying their wedding night and returned to her time, and the first thing they did was go to Kagome’s room and snuggle on her bed.

Normally, Inuyasha isn’t a “snuggle” kind of guy, but this time, it was just as soothing for him as for Kagome. They stayed very still for a very long time, talking from time to time, until the both of them began dozing. Kagome woke the next morning in her bed, warm and comfortable, and found that Inuyasha had already risen. For a few more minutes, she simply remained in bed, and smiled.

~*~ Inuyasha ~*~

He stared in stunned surprise in front of him.

He’d left Kagome’s room early to make his usual rounds around the shrine, though granted lately he’d been forgetting, and stopped dead at the scent that hit his nose. Standing in front of him was two people, male and female, cleverly diguised but still obviously demon to his nose.

“. . .So,” he began, “you two made it. . ?”

Shippou laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah. Hey, is Kagome-nokaasan awake yet? She usually is, yeah?”

Inuyasha nodded slowly, still finding it hard to believe that the man in front of him was once the perky, prankster whelp. He’d certainly grown up, that’s for sure. Shippou now had short hair, a little long in the back and at the bangs, and stood tall and proud and quite strong. A total turn-around from how he was as a boy.

And next to him was Kyou, fully grown, wearing a spotless, wrinkle-less kimono of pure white, just like she used to as a tiny tot. She wasn’t as tall as Shippou, reaching just above his shoulder, with her hair’s length hidden behind her back. She still had one blue eye and one brown one, which Inuyasha half-expected to change over the years, by chance or by choice.

Noticing he was looking at her, Kyou smiled and waved shyly. “It’s been a while since we last saw you, Inuyasha-sama,” she started. “Well, the other you,” she added.

Shippou was taller than Inuyasha now, which Inuyasha wasn’t very happy about. Shippou made this clear when he stepped forward and patted Inuyasha on the head, grinning in the mischievious way that only Shippou could do.

“So, Inu-chan,” he teased, “where is my kaasan?”

Inuyasha practically burst into flames.

~*~ Kagome ~*~

She came running downstairs when she recognized the sounds of battle going on outside, and found that her family had already made a small audience just outside the house. Inuyasha was in the air, in the midst of a jump, Tessaiga drawn and aimed at a young man. . . who shouldn’t be up that high unless Inuyasha tossed him.

Her eyes blurred at she looked at him, catching only a few details about him from this distance. No matter how much she blinked and squinted, the blur didn’t go away. She was about to question why Inuyasha was attacking the boy when Souta interrupted her, cheering Inuyasha on like an adoring little brother would.

“Inuyasha!” she yelled, half worried and half angered. What was going on, and why was it hard to see all of a sudden?

“Kagome?” a soft voice asked.

She looked to her left and saw a gorgeous young woman wearing a pristine kimono, with long black hair and different-colored eyes. She carried a fan in her hand. . .

“Kyou-chan?!” Kagome asked, shocked.

The woman nodded, smiling. She looked up at the battle in the sky, saying, “That’s Shippou-kun.”

Shippou looked down when he heard his name and waved at Kagome, yelling, “Kagome-nokaasan!”

Inuyasha took the chance and punched Shippou in the cheek. Shippou recoiled from the hit and did a one-eighty, landing directly in front of Kagome and looking unscathed. He took one big sprint towards Kagome and then hugged her tight around the waist.

Kagome was still stunned at seeing a grown-up version of Shippou and Kyou, but managed to snap out of it quick enough. Inuyasha was glaring at Shippou a few steps away, and Souta was going half nuts, pulling on Shippou’s arm.

“Hey you, let go of my sister!” he yelled. “Inuyasha-noniisan is going to kick your ass!”

“Souta!” Kagome scolded at the same time as Mama. She hugged Shippou in return, then released him and explained about his and Kyou’s relationship to her. Meanwhile, Shippou flexed behind her, Inuyasha reprimanded the now-grown kitsune, and Kyou made a graceful bow towards Mama. At the end, Kagome looked over her shoulder and saw Shippou’s head trapped in Inuyasha’s arms, fighting futilely.

“Inuyasha!” she snapped. Inuyasha released Shippou after a moment, and Shippou tried to make it look as though he’d allowed that scene to happen.

“Oh!” Shippou said, and jogged up to Kagome again. “I found them!” he said with a huge grin.

“Who?” was all Kagome could say.

“Well,” Kyou added, “technically the other Inuyasha-sama found them first, but I don’t think he knows.”

“Knows what?” Kagome asked, now befuddled.

“Miroku and Sango’s reincarnations!” Shippou boasted loudly. “I forgot their family names, but they’re Higaru-san and Akira-chan! Isn’t it great?”

“Higaru-san?” Kagome echoed, feeling like she’d heard that name before. Nothing immediately came to mind.

Grandpa joined in with, “Higaru. . . Motsumoto?”

“That’s it!” Shippou agreed.

“You know him?” Kagome turned to her Grandpa.

“He was in the papers,” Grandpa began, nodding as he thought. “He was chasing after the, uh. . . criminals’ killer. Now he moved precincts and probably got a cushy job for it.”

~*~ Higaru ~*~

He’d never been in so much pain in his life. Even his previous wife hadn’t been so rough on him. Akira’s training was making him feel like his body was about to fall apart, yet he couldn’t deny his improvements.

For one, he can draw his new put-a-hole-through-anything gun twice as fast as when he first handled it. For two, he was getting much stronger, able to last in hand-to-hand battles better than before. And for three, it seemed Akira was becoming worried about her rank in the best shooter in the business. Well, maybe not the business, but she was certainly the best at the office.

His new bosses weren’t so bad, trying mostly to make sure that he’ll survive fairly easily out there when the time comes. His job has now been described to him fully, his soon-to-be title being “Demon Hunter,” which is literally as it sounds. He wasn’t being ordered to do anything except track and spot the demons. The rest, it seemed, was up to the rest of his team.

Meaning the only reason why he was being trained is for backup insurance, in case the battle comes to him and he has to fight as well. They wouldn’t want him to be a liability, so he too needs to have the skills of the Demon Exterminators.

What bothers him most is that phrase, “Demon Exterminator.” He keeps thinking he’s heard it before, and he doesn’t like it much. The only thing he could come up with as to “why” is perhaps he heard it as a little boy, maybe on a show, and it got to him. For whatever reason, he simply didn’t want to be an Exterminator, and neither did he want anyone he knew to be an exterminator.

~*~ Kagome ~*~

“You found their reincarnations?” she repeated. They were all sitting inside now, around the table in the middle of the room, though Mama and Grandpa went about their chores and duties. Souta seemed highly interested in Shippou and Kyou, mostly because of their tails – hidden from most humans’ sights but open to Kagome. As they entered the house, they took off their charms that hid their demon attributes, leaving Souta to “ooh” and “aw” in wonder.

Shippou grinned hugely. “Yeah. Kyou-chan and I have been trying to find them for a long time, ever since they died.”

“That was. . . really sad,” Kyou added to herself, opening her fan and hiding her face behind it.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha in question, wondering if something bad happened to Sango and Miroku, or if the pups just took it really hard. When she looked back over at Kyou, Shippou was hugging her lightly, and her face was hidden behind his neck.

“. . .How did they die?” Kagome asked, almost holding her breath.

“Seperately,” Shippou began, his tone much more somber than before. “See, after you and your baby died, and Inuyasha went insane – don’t look at me like that, you did – Sango and Miroku took it upon themselves to try and protect the village. They had three kids about the time Sango started getting grey hairs, and then this demon attacked. . .” He shook his head. “She wasn’t what she used to be, and neither was Miroku. They fought, but Sango died. Not directly from the battle, but from afterwards; her wounds wouldn’t stop bleeding.”

Kyou lifted her head and sighed. “Miroku swore a lot after that, swearing at Inuyasha-sama for leaving and not even trying to keep his priorities straight. The only thing that kept Miroku from going mad is that he had his three sons, and he kept reminding himself that the village still needed a protector. But still, he died years later, angry at Inuyasha-sama still and wishing Sango had never been a Demon Exterminator to begin with.”

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha again, and met his expressionless gaze with her own sorrowful one. “Well. . . we can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“You can’t change the past,” Shippou interrupted her. “What you did, going through the well, you were just walking with it. The future would have turned out this way, even if you weren’t there to be part of its making.”

“Then am I doomed?” she asked, hearing her voice break.

“No!” Inuyasha snapped, turning her face towards his again. “You are not doomed! He said the past can’t be changed; he said nothing of the future!”

“My future, when I died in the past?”

“Damn it, woman, I’ll kill the Fates if I have to, but I’m not losing you! Hell is going to feel some intense wrath if they want to take you from me,” he added in a dangerous growl.

“Believe him,” Shippou said. “I’ve been around him longer than you; Inuyasha really could take on Hell and live to tell it.”

“. . .Then why didn’t he last time?” she said quietly.

“Ask him,” Kyou told her. “Go talk to him and find out.”

Kagome sat back, feeling quiet both on the outside and in, unable to lift her gaze to Inuyasha’s at the moment. She knew he was worried about her, but at the moment, there was little she could do about it. Maybe later she’d come back to herself and find this entire talk of her death was pointless, but until then, she felt like thinking.

:End Chapter:

Long time coming, much?

I really should update faster, and I know that, but right now I have more on my plate than ever before. I have longer school hours, an online class, and now a job which is mainly a late-night weekend shift. My art teacher is demanding more of her students than last semester, which in turn is making me hate drawing more than ever before – don’t forget that you can’t love or hate something without having the other.

Slightly bigger explanation: Always before, I loved drawing and only hated it when pictures wouldn’t come out right. Now I love it more, but also hate it more, since now I have vague assignments with a wide range of ideas to use, making it that much more frustrating to do the work.

My online class is a Creative Writing one, and I’ve been pulling out my hair trying to put together a workable story based on stats I made. These stats are for a game I’m wishing to create, or help create, including a script for the storyline, quests, alignment changes, level-up stats, titles for each playable character that change based on alignment, and now an 80's style book that lets you pick your own route through the game.

Right now that book is very simple, but as it turns out, putting together this game is becoming much more difficult than it started. I’m not very good with drawing maps, but now I need several of them. If anyone wants to read the character sheet I made (it explains how to customize your character at the very beginning) let me know.

On another subject, New Age is going very slow. I didn’t think that when I started it, it was going to get very complicated, but now it is. Without a solid plot line, I just kind of think of it at random times and write down whatever comes to mind. I have, however, discovered exactly how to write out the New Age Language they speak. Yay for that! : )

I suppose that’s the end of the notes. I’ll ask you really nicely not to beg for me to update soon. At first it was awesome to know people want more of my fics, but now it adds pressure that I really don’t need. I’ll update when ideas come in strongly and I have enough time to write it.

See ya!