InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Final Battle ❯ Journey to the Past ( Chapter 16 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Before I go on ahead with this chapter, I want to thank you all for taking an interest in this fiction. For your further enjoyment–I *hope*–I have posted several pieces of art I created for the chapters of this fiction on my account at Mediaminer.org. If you are at all interested in seeing how I have visually interpreted some of the scenes in this story, you should check it out! Thank you very much!


DISCLAIMER: I don’t know what you’re talking about.


RECAP: Kagome’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled. “Why are you always so good to me?”

Harry gave a smile of his own, as he playfully shoved her down the entry. “Because that’s what friends do.”


***From here on, the language spoken by any majority of the main characters, English or not, will not be italicized. Only in places where the language is not understood by the majority of the main characters will the other language be italicized. Thank you!



Chapter 16



“Ungh!” Inu-Yasha grunted as a wild boar-youkai pummeled into his side, its abnormally long, thick tusks sinking into his hip. The boar snorted, its red eyes gleaming fiercely as it made to charge again, its bulk pulsing with each movement.


“Keh,” Inu-Yasha sneered, digging his claws into his injury. “You ain’t gonna be doing that twice, ya fat old pig.” The boar roared, and lunged at him once more.


“Blades of Blood!” Inu-Yasha sent flecks of his own blood cutting into the boar viciously at several places, wounding it. At lightening speed, Inu-Yasha’s tetsusaiga came crashing down on the squealing creature, now diced in half.


“Heh. Nothin’ to ‘im.” He cackled, turning to take on the next demon.


“Oy, Dog-Crap, your weak bones gettin’ tired yet?” Kouga goaded, cutting through a horde of Pipistrelle youkai.


“In your sweet, delusional dreams,” Inu-Yasha retorted, dissecting a giant macaque. “Like I’d let you get all the glory of killing off these freak-shows!”


“What in Merlin’s name are they going on about?” One of the Aurors asked, after transfiguring a large cockroach youkai into a Christmas ornament. The others shrugged, making short work of various insects and rodents.


They were doing a decent job; however, decent was unfortunately not sufficient. The youkai, although seeming to die down from within the portal, kept advancing from the present world. The walls of the café formerly known as Erzebeth’s Eden had long since been obliterated, along with much of the neighboring structures. A scant few gnarly trees, cement blocks and debris set the scene for the battle of Youkai vs. Wizard.


“Geez, where are they all coming from?!” Mr. A exclaimed, decimating several youkai that had just arrived at Kouga’s back.


Unfortunately, he didn’t see the giant scorpion youkai that had begun to sneak up on him from behind, until its stinger was reared and ready to strike.


“Take that!” Mr. A turned around just in time to see a brilliant pink light penetrate the Scorpion’s back, it’s body instantly split in two. He blinked incredulously.


“Kagome?!” Inu-Yasha exclaimed, whipping around to see the priestess knocking down youkai three at a time with her arrow. Several made a go at her and Harry on his levitating firebolt, but a force field of pink spiritual energy surrounded them, kept strong by Kagome as she perpetually fired her arrow. Harry held the broom steadily, dodging the youkai artfully and swooping around to go in for Kagome to have better access at the demons’ weak spots.


Mr. A’s expression darkened, glancing at what proved to be an effectively deadly pair. “I thought I told you to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid!” He shouted, directing his anger towards Ron and Hermione, who were fiercely handling a situation of their own.


“We DID!” Ron shouted, wincing as a great bear youkai advanced at him. “She’s following your orders–she’s safest at Inu-Yasha’s side!” He swung his numchucks at the bear, hurling them with all the force his magical strength could muster. They cracked against the bear’s skull, who toppled backwards, only to be finished off by another one of Kagome’s arrows.


Mr. A shook his head, and proceeded to battle the fearsome creatures.


Inu-Yasha, however, took a final, fatal swing at several lower-level youkai, and leapt over to Kagome’s and Harry’s side.


“Oy, wench! Who told you you could come gallivanting over here on your broom like some Amazonian Princess?!” He said, lethally thwarting a youkai who was creeping up on their right.


She grunted, preparing another arrow. Harry swerved to the side as she fired, and it soared through two youkai, skewering them and then exploding in a burst of white light.


“I wanted to make sure you were alive enough to come back for this!” Kagome said, motioning to the haori she had around her body protectively. “Besides...you always fight meanest when I’m around!”


Inu-Yasha looked at the haori, and shook his head. “That’s why I’d like to keep you around, stupid...”


He leapt over to the portal, and swung a swift, high kick at the youkai that was advancing on Ginny, who was feverishly firing rounds on her acid-bullet machine gun, with an inhuman speed that made even Kouga look twice.


The youkai were still coming down on them in brutal swarms, their battle rage crackling ominously, a stark contrast to the coolness of the collected Aurors, determined not to loose face in the wake of battle. The atmosphere churned with the conflict of emotions in the air. Inu-Yasha glanced at Kagome, and then at the Tetsusaiga at his side. Looking back at Kagome again, he had a thought.


“OY! Kagome!” The bearer of the name looked up expectantly. Inu-Yasha hulked over to her side, balancing on a tree branch as Harry held steady. “There’s a tear in the air that says it’s time for me to kick these guys’ asses once and for all. I need you to shoot at me when I say so!”


Kagome frowned. “But–“


“Don’t argue, just do it! Hey, Old Man!” Mr. A flicked his head up in acknowledgment. “I’m gonna clear these guys outta here. Get everyone of your men as far away from the portal as possible.”


Mr. A blinked, killed the youkai before him, and decided to relent. “Alright, but if it looks like you’re taking too much, we’re back in. Aurors! Back away!” He pointed his wand to the other side of the chopped-up dirt road and shot sparks out of it, signaling for retreat.


Kouga noticed the commotion, and sensed the ominously familiar clash of auras. Punching out his last youkai, he turned tail and beat out of there, joining Ginny, Ron, and Hermione at the Kagome and Harry’s back.


Inu-Yasha hacked away at a few renegade youkai, looking back at Kagome. Sniffing at the air, he nodded. “Alright, Kagome, now!”


Kagome’s hands released the arrow, sending it whizzing through the air straight for Inu-Yasha. Inu-Yasha held up his giant fang, and swung it into the arrow’s passage, colliding with its accumulated ball of Miko energy.


“BAKURYUUHA!”


An enormous flash of white shot out of the Tetsusaiga, emitting a sonic “CRACK” through Hogsmeade. The remaining youkai were immediately decimated, and the force of the attack sent Mr. A and the Aurors careening into the glass windows of street shops.


“Kyaaaa!!!!” Kagome screamed, as she, along with Harry and the other teenaged wizards (and wolf prince) were thrown in an opposite directions, sailing through the dust-clouded air, wind whipping their faces raw.


It took a good solid minutes before they met the ground again, with a loud, hard, thud.


The world took on a strange and sudden quiet.


“Unnn...” Kagome moaned, trying to unsquish her face from something firm and warm. She tried getting up, only to find her movements hindered by the familiar claws grasping her borrowed haori protectively.


“Inu-Yasha...”


“ ;Damn, woman...that hurt worse than one of your ‘sit’‘s...” Inu-Yasha groaned, leaning up from the ground and putting her into a seating position.


“I didn’t realize my arrow would be so strong this time...it must have been the power of the Shikon jewel.” She surmised, rubbing her hip and dusting Inu-Yasha’s white shirt off.


“Oh, my head...” More noises of discomfort followed, as Ron tried to sort his limbs out from a curiously tangled mess that made up him, Hermione, and their broomstick. His face, although once again youthful, now sported a twin set of black eyes.


“Your head, my ass!” Hermione grunted, rubbing said area.


Ron gasped. “Hermione!”


She looked at him sheepishly. “What? I’m cranky, and it really hurts!”


“Uh, guys?” The heap of bodies looked up at Harry, who was stuck with his Firebolt in a tree. “Where are we?”


The group looked around themselves, and for the first time, took full note of their surroundings.


Frost lightly dusted the grassy ground beneath them, giving birth to full, thick trunks of ample trees. Everywhere one looked was forest, and the sun hung low in the sky, suggesting the time to be about 5 in the evening.


Ron looked around, frowning. “Ginny, what time is it?”


“Ginny’s not available at the moment...it appears she knocked her head in the fall, and passed out.” Harry stated, looking at the girl who was curling up into a comfortable position amongst a thatch of cabbage grass. “‘Bout time too, I say...”


“My watch says it should be about...11:24 in the morning.” Kagome muttered, massaging her wrist where the buckle had dug into her skin.


“It looks like that passed hours ago!”


In the distance, a wolf howled. Inu-Yasha jumped up, his ears twitching. The howl was instantly reciprocated as Kouga stood, opening his mouth and singing a low, hollow sound–not at all like the stereotypical “Owooo” sort of howl, but a ringing, bellowing “ooh”.


“Catch you kids later! I’ll be back for you soon, Kagome!” And with that, Kouga leaving a trail of small tornadoes in his wake.


Kagome grabbed Inu-Yasha’s waiting hand, and hoisted herself up on her feet, eyes round.


“We’re back in Feudal Japan.”


Hermione jumped up (causing Ron to wince) in a mixture of fear and excitement. “I knew it! We’ve been pushed through the portal!”


Kagome looked around, taking in the scenery. “Inu-Yasha, this isn’t far from the well! Do you suppose Kaede’s...still...” She trailed off sadly, the memory of the time lapse weighing heavily in her mind.


“Nope. Old bat’s a goner for sure.” Inu-Yasha scratched his ears. Suddenly, he smacked the side of his neck. “What the...?”


“Inu-Yasha-samaaa!!” A tinny voice crinkled through the air, bouncing delightedly on Inu-Yasha’s open palm. Hermione looked at him curiously, as she helped Harry jump out of the tree in which he was lodged, his broomstick thankfully still intact.


Kagome gave a start, and then smiled. “Myouga-jii-chan!”


The tiny flea demon acknowledged Kagome with a quick leap-suck-smash, and fatly floated down onto the back of her hand. “Kagome-sama! Where have you been? What happened with the Shikon no tama?!”


“Will somebody please tell me what the hell Myouga’s tryin’ to say?” Inu-Yasha asked impatiently, fixing his eyes on Hermione.


“Oh! Ah–here.” She quickly fired off a round of spells, returning Inu-Yasha with his natural tongue, and adjusting her own vocal chords, as well as those of Ron, Harry, and a comatose Ginny to speak Japanese (all the while wondering what would become of an English-speaking Kouga in the Sengoku Jidai...?).


“Inu-Yasha! It’s the strangest thing! So many of the youkai, over the past few months, have been gathering and flocking! Ever since that strange day...it was like waking from a dream...” Myouga gibbered animatedly. “And even stranger, the amount of time that seems to have passed! Why, the village...”


“What about the village?” Kagome asked, sudden interest causing her voice to jump up an octave.


Myouga looked at her, his pointed mouth twitching. “Well, why don’t you come on out and see?”


He bounced on ahead of them. The group exchanged looks, and followed, Hermione levitating Ginny along the way.


When Myouga finally broke through the forest trees to the clearing where the village had been, Kagome gasped.


What was once a quiet, small collection of huts in the midst of war had become a thriving township. Houses were larger and stronger, and smoke drifted cheerfully from the narrow stacks in each sturdy roof. Children laughed and played outside as mothers and daughters washed their belongings in the glittering stream beside the hill–the same stream from where Kagome first shot the arrow that split the jewel into the plethora of minute slivers.


Kagome turned around, and saw a landmark so familiar and nostalgic, it nearly brought tears to her eyes.


The well had been long since dormant, but was still as sturdy as ever, for of course, it would have to be in order for it to last another five centuries. Vines swarmed around it like knotted yarn, the dead blossoms of morning glory tucked away within themselves, seeking shelter from the winter’s chill. Next to it stood a stone tablet fixed on a spike sticking firmly into the ground, looking like it had been there for a good many years.


“Kagome...is this the well you traveled through?” Harry asked, standing at her side.


She turned and nodded, a warm, teary smile stretching across her face. “Yep. The one and only.” She walked up to it, and ran her hand along the rim. “This well is the place of so many memories...” She smiled to herself, walking around the well. “This is where–oof!” She stumbled, falling to the ground in a sunken in place of earth.


“Haha, this is where Inu-Yasha must have been every time I ‘sat’ him last minute!” She giggled.


Harry chuckled along with her, and pulled her up. “Here you go,” he said, dusting her off of the dead grass that clung to her skirt, and the leaves that attached themselves to her hair. He shook it out, her long, silken mane, and smiled fondly, staring into her jubilantly glassy eyes.


“Blimey,” Ron said, coming up to the well with Hermione at his side (who had set Ginny down beneath a tree at the forest’s edge). “...Well, it is beautiful, isn’t it?”


Harry’s smile never waned. “Yes, it is.” Kagome’s smile faded a little bit at the look in his own emerald orbs, and glanced downward, breaking the spell she had unknowingly set upon him.


Harry looked away self-consciously, running his fingers through his hair.


“Oy, Kagome!” Inu-Yasha called from the forest, having sniffed out the territory to his satisfaction. “I thought you should know–“


“HIRAIKOTSU!” Before Inu-Yasha could finish his statement, he was cut off, having to dodge an impossibly large–and very familiar–boomerang that was aimed quite expertly at his torso.


Kagome whipped around to the beholder of the weapon. “It couldn’t be...” From the village, a boy of about sixteen, dressed in black, clinging material and bright purple armor showed himself. He tensed up his weapon, once more preparing to hurl it at Inu-Yasha.


“...Kohaku?!” Kagome cried incredulously. “No...that’s not possible. He’d be over sixty, by now!”


“You demons will not loot this village while I’m here!” The boy bellowed. “HIRAIIIII–“


“Soutaro, STOP!” Before the boy could follow through with his attack, an elderly, commanding voice halted him. Kagome looked curiously at the source of the voice, waiting for it to reveal itself.


A woman, refined and well-aged, emerged from a sizeable building. She wore a simple kimono, with a deep purple design. Her hair was long and loose, a deep ebony with elegant streaks of grey trailing downwards. Her demeanor was one of authority, but her eyes were kind.


But at that particular moment, her eyes held a look of extreme surprise, as she focused them on the group that stood before her.


“Ka...Kagome-chan?”


Kagome looked up, her eyes going wide. Despite the effects of time, she would recognize that voice and those eyes anywhere.


“Sango-chan?!”


The older woman’s stern face split into a disbelieving smile, as she held her arms wide open. Kagome scrambled to reach her, running up to the house from which the woman had just appeared. With a joyous laugh, the both of them enveloped each other in a warm, sisterly embrace–an embrace that tried to make up for fifty years of lost time.


The group stared in awe as the two hugged each other, while Inu-Yasha involuntarily let a smile creep across his lips. “Keh, girls. Always so loud...”


“Inu-Yasha?” Another voice sounded, this one, an older, more masculine voice. Inu-Yasha turned around, having already detected the scent of the one who had called his name.


“Well, if it isn’t the hentai bouzu! Or should I say, Grandpa?” From the dirt road down the center of the village came an older man of a lean, yet sturdy build, donning the familiar Buddhist robes of violet and black. On his neck, he wore a black rosary, and both of his arms were left uncovered. The man smiled placidly, the wrinkles in his face crinkling slightly, as he steadily walked towards Inu-Yasha and patted him on the back fraternally.


“I see you have not changed in the least, Inu-Yasha.” He smiled warmly, his staff jingling with his every movement. “Although as you can see, fifty years has certainly had its effect on myself. But I am happy to say that the same certainly does not apply to my lovely wife.”


The said woman had just unraveled herself from Kagome’s grasp, and threw her husband a dirty look. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Houshi. I heard what you were telling my grandson this morning!”


The old man chuckled easily. “Why, dear Sango...I was merely enlightening our offspring on the means by which fair maidens enjoy being...courted.” His eyes drifted towards his wife’s companion, and his Cheshire grin stretched ever further. “And speaking of fair maidens...” He walked over to Kagome, and held her hands in his.
“Kagome-sama, it has been such a long time! And yet, the years seemed not to have touched your pretty face.”


Kagome smiled, and threw her arms around the old monk. “Ah, it’s so good to see you again, Miroku-sama!” The old man happily obliged the young girl’s warm-armed welcome and wrapped his own arms about her waist.


Kagome frowned. “Miroku-sama...”


Miroku sighed, his wrinkled hand in the middle of rubbing her soft behind. “Ah, Kagome...you are truly the picture of youth...”


SLAP.


“Ah, and the picture of magnificent feminine brawn, as well. Brings back such warm memories...” Miroku said contentedly, idly massaging the brand new magenta mark on his face. Sango shook her head.


“But who, may I ask, is this lovely young thing you have brought with you on your travels?” Miroku directed the group’s attention to Hermione, who, along with Harry and Ron, was watching the display with extreme interest.


“Oh! Please forgive me,” Kagome said to both sets of her friends. She shuffled over to the curious witch and wizards. “These are my friends from the future! Miroku, Sango, this is Ron, Hermione, and Harry. That one, over there sleeping, is Ginny. They’re all humans, well-versed in Western magic, and from my time.”


Miroku purposefully strode over to Hermione, who returned his smile brightly, as he grasped both her hands in his.


“Wonderful to meet you, Hermione-san. Will you bear my Grandson’s child?“


THUD.


“Oyajii! Stop trying to match me up with girls I don’t hardly know!” The same boy who nearly attacked Inu-Yasha let his large boomerang loose on his grandfather’s head, looking at Hermione warily. “...Even if they are pretty...”


“Oh!” Hermione’s face went pink, and she smiled happily.


Ron rolled his eyes. “Just goes to show what people in the past had to work with...”


“Shut it, Ron!”


“Oh, my...I’m sorry, Kagome-chan, Kagome’s friends...this is my Grandson. Soutaro.” Sango motioned to the boy before her, who bowed nervously. “Souta-chan, these are my friends. The one you attacked is the hanyou with whom your grandfather and I fought alongside, many years ago.”


The boy flushed a bright red. He quickly bowed before Inu-Yasha. “Gomen ne. We taiji-ya have had extensive training, but we never had a real chance to make us of it, until these past few months. I didn’t know who you were.”


Inu-Yasha shrugged. “No big. That’s how I seem to meet everybody.”


He threw a glance at Sango, who knowingly smiled. “It’s good to see you too, Inu-Yasha.”


The wintry wind brought a gust of chilled air around the group, and Miroku put his arms in his sleeves. “Now then, why don’t we move this conversation indoors, eh? These feeble old bones are going to crack in this weather.”


“Feeble, my cat. You’re still the same, hale and hardy lecher you were on the first day we met.” Sango said, pinching him in his side. “But my husband does have a point–come in! The fire’s warm, and you’ll be able to meet my granddaughter.”


The group huddled inside the dojo-like abode, as Inu-Yasha made a grab for the corpse-like redheaded witch. Inside, a young lady, who bore a striking resemblance to Sango’s younger days, and donned the traditional Shinto robes of white and vermillion, was sorting out medicinal herbs by the fire.


“This is my granddaughter, Shinamichi. Mi-chan, this is Kagome, Inu-Yasha, ah...Harry, Ron, Her...my-oh-nee, and...?” Sango looked at the girl Inu-Yasha had just dumped in the corner.


“That’s my sister, Ginny.” Ron said, gaining the attention of Shinamichi.


“It is my sincere pleasure to meet all of you.” Shinamichi said pleasantly, as she stood and bowed to Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and Hermione. She stopped at Ron, and looked him in the eye, before smiling gently. She took his hands firmly in hers. “What beautifully red hair you have; it shines like the summer sun! May I bear your child?”


Hermione shot a glare that would have killed to Shinamichi, and had Ron been drinking anything at the moment, it would surely have saturated the bold girl who stood before him. “Uh...um...I...ah...that is to say...”


THUD.


“Geez, sis! Why you gotta be such a damn perv?” Soutaro clucked his tongue, removing the boomerang from the dent it made in the head of an unfazed Shinamichi.


Sango chuckled apologetically. “Sorry about that, Ron. She gets that from her father, and Lord knows her father didn’t get it from me.” She glared at her husband, who bore an expression identical to his granddaughter’s. Sango shook her head, and motioned for everyone to sit on the mats at the floor.


“Would anybody have tea?” Sango brought out the simmering tea kettle, along with several clay cups. “We don’t have too much else to offer; I meant to get to the market for things today, but I’ve been so busy.”


“It looks as if the whole village is busy!” Kagome commented. “You guys have certainly done well for yourselves in this little village! And isn’t this where Kaede-baa-chan lived?”


Sango nodded. “Yes. Kaede-sama passed shortly after I gave birth to Sanyu, our second child and only daughter. Mi-chan and Souta-chan are the twin children of our eldest son, Kagomatsu. We decided to name him for you, Kagome.” Sango smiled.


“I’m honored.” Kagome looked brightly up at the girl who so resembled Sango. “How strange! She looks exactly like you when we first met.”


“Hm. Same age, too. They both turned sixteen this past March.” Sango brushed a stray lock of hair out of Shinamichi’s face. “Soutaro is, as I’m sure you’ve seen, preparing to someday take over the Hitomo Taiji-ya Training school. As of now, my son and I run it. Shinamichi has been training under the tutelage of our resident miko, and is quite skilled in medicine. In fact, Harry, why don’t you let Mi-chan take a look at your arm? It’s bleeding a little.”


Harry looked down, and saw that he had sustained a minor abrasion in explosion of Inu-Yasha’s Cutting Wind. “Uh, sure...thanks.” He squinted, reaching up as if to adjust his glasses, then frowned. “I didn’t even notice it without my glasses...I guess I must have dropped them coming through the portal.”


Sango poured tea for the group as Harry crouched down next to Shinamichi, who began to create a poultice. Hermione spoke up. “So this...Hitomo Taiji-ya Training School. What is it, exactly?”


Sango smiled. “Well, before I met Kagome and Inu-Yasha, my family and I lived in a village some ways away from here. Most of the villagers–including myself–were a strong clan of Taiji-ya, demon hunters.” She handed a cup to Hermione, who bowed in thanks.


“My father was the okashira of the clan. Back then, we were frequently sought out to help defeat demons from other villages. We were used to such attacks; many, many years ago, my village was the center of great conflict amongst humans and demons. That’s where the Shikon no Tama was originally formed, as I imagine Kagome must have told you.


“Well, one day, the clan and I were called on a special mission to defeat a demon at the house of a young Lord. While we were gone, the rest of the village was attacked by youkai–leaving no survivors. My brother and I narrowly escaped death when a surprise attack took the lives of my father and the rest of the clan members.” A hint of sadness clouded Sango’s eyes, but her demeanor was strong.


“That’s awful!” Hermione cried, as Ron and Harry drew sympathetic glances in the old woman’s direction.


“Yes...but, I have come to realize, that had that never happened, I might never have met Kagome or Inu-Yasha...” Sango turned to see Miroku’s patient eyes on her, expectantly. “...Or that dirty old man over there.


“Anyway. After Kagome disappeared along with the demons and Inu-Yasha, Miroku and I were married in Kaede-sama’s village. I wasn’t much older than you all when I gave birth to Kagomatsu, actually. Miroku set up a small shrine by the well, and while I was taking care of the children, I decided to take up where my father had left off, and began training Kagomatsu in demon extermination.


“After Sanyu and Yasashiku–our youngest, a boy thankfully gifted with the desire to find peace of mind, rather than a piece of you-know-what–were born, I opened this school. Miroku thought that the name ‘Hitomo’ would be appropriate.”


“What’s Hitomo mean?” Ron asked.


Sango reached into her sleeve and brought out a pair of chopsticks, putting one to the side. “‘Hitomo’ is spelled with the kanji for ‘Jitsu’ and ‘Kyou.’” Sango brought out a rectangular box of sand, and used the chopstick to draw two precise characters. “It is read as ‘Our Sun,’ meaning that we all stand together, with trust in ourselves, and the way we fight. I wanted to start this school to have a sense of purpose in my life; to know that my family would continue its legacy. By learning how to defend each other, I hope people will learn to be able to lean on one another for help; just as I once had to rely on Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Miroku.” She smiled.


Kagome looked at the sand with interest. “Hey, look!” She put her finger in the sand, changing the last character a little. “If you add this and this...” She demonstrated, adding a line and a box-like figure at the bottom. “It can be read as ‘Higurashi’–my family name!” She said, smiling.


Sango’s face lit up. “Sunset?” She looked at her husband. “Well, at least you know what to call your shrine, now!”


Miroku nodded. “Higurashi Shinto Shrine.” He said, feeling out the sound of it on his tongue. “...I like that.”


“Um, miss...Mi-chan?” Eyes went to Harry, who was uncomfortably shifting away from a nonchalant Shinamichi, who was in the process of removing his shirt. “I...I really don’t think that’s necessary!”


“Oh, but of course it is. You have a wound here, it is only necessary that I make absolutely sure every last inch of you is in...top form.” She persistently pulled at his sleeve, much to the mortification of her twin, grandmother, and Harry.


“Shinamichi! Take your hands off that boy! Such shameless behavior...Miroku! Say something to your granddaughter!”


“Mi-chan, it might be more appropriate for you and Harry to take this somewhere more private.”


“Houshi!”


&# 8220;Or else, perhaps wait ‘til sundown.”


“Eh?! But–but I hardly know her!” Harry panicked, backing away.


Kagome looked outside, noticing the last slivers of sun sink behind the trees. “Huh. The sun is setting already.”


Sango and Soutaro looked up to gaze out of the window, leaving the newly-black-eyed Miroku and Shinamichi to sit with their hands in their laps.


“You’re right...” Sango said, thoughtfully. Suddenly, she looked around at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Then, her gaze settled purposefully on Inu-Yasha. “Inu-Yasha, you had better stay here tonight. In recent months, the demons have been becoming more prevalent.”


Inu-Yasha looked at her curiously. “What are you...talking...” Realization came crashing down on his silver–now greying–head, as panic filled his darkening eyes.


“Oh, crap.” He made to get up, and set to run out of the house.


“Inu-Yasha, what’s the matter?” Ron asked, Hermione and Harry wearing identical frowns of confusion.


Inu-Yasha scrambled for the door, but tripped over the box of sand, face-planting into the floor. “CRAP!” He exclaimed, cursing a stubbed toe.


He rose, looking out at the sky, which had swiftly turned a murky blue.


The sun had set, and the night sky showed no moon in sight.


Like clockwork, Inu-Yasha’s claws retracted, his senses dulling from the changes. Silvery white tresses slipped into an inky black, as his ears slipped down to frame the sides of his face. Golden eyes dimmed to a deep violet, and fangs were flattened.


Three awestruck foreigners looked on in rapt fascination.


“Inu...Yasha? Is that you?”




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Well, whaddaya think? (Especially of Mi-chan? Be nice to her; she holds a special place in my heart!) Thank you for reading! I tried my best not to OD on random Japanese insertions that wouldn’t fit with the story, but there were some things I felt I had to include, so here are some comprehensive definitions. Any questions or corrections, please feel free to e-mail me, or review! ;D


BAKURYUUHA : Tetsusaiga’s (2nd) “Ultimate Technique”: It finds the place where fierce youki (demon power/aura) clashes, and literally “cuts the wind,” having a devastating effect on the opponent. The Bakuryuuha adds a little panache to the plain old Cutting Wind in that it doubles the effect by enveloping the opponent in its own battle ki, and it involves a considerably smaller amount of flatulence. Kagome’s spiritual arrow acted as both a catalyst and a final draw, spreading purification energy to all demons in its wake. (Good thing Kouga had the smarts to beat feet in time!)

-sama/-saaaammaaaaaa : Myouga’s reverent honorific for Inu-Yasha and Kagome.

-jii-chan : Literally “Grandpa.” In Japan, the use of jii-chan was meant to show respect for one’s elders, not just cooler old relatives that give you money on your birthday. The use of -chan as opposed to -san or -sama intends for a ‘cuter’ term of endearment. I’m not entirely sure of whether or not Kagome uses this for Myouga, but I took creative license.

Hiraikotsu : Sango’s lethal, economy-sized boomerang.

Soutaro : The name I came up with for Sango and Miroku’s grandson. I combined ‘Souta’ with ‘taro,’ and he is often called “Souta-chan” or “Souta-kun” for short. Souta means “green grass,” and it is the name of Kagome’s younger brother. Contrary to the case of Soutaro’s father, Soutaro was not named for Souta–I used his name so that Soutabe a family name for the Higurashi’s, eventually passed down to Kagome’s brother, himself. Taro means “first son.”

Hentai : Pervert.

Bouzu : Slang term for “monk.”

Houshi : Respectful term for “lower level monk.”

Oyajii : Slang term for “Grandpa,” not very respectful.

Gomen ne : I’m sorry.

Taiji-ya : Exterminator, specifically a Demon Hunter.

Dojo : I’m not sure if I should have to explain this, because it’s used in English all the time...but it’s a martial arts house/studio.

Shinamichi : The name I came up with for Sango and Miroku’s granddaughter. It means “Of Virtue and Righteousness,” and I found that ironic in light of her shameless personality. Out of the entire family, including her father, she takes after her Grandpa the most. She is often called “Mi-chan” for short. (Note: It was by sheer coincidence that her name is similar to Miroku’s...I noticed this only after I had repeatedly referred to her as “Mi-chan,” whereupon I privately refer to Miroku as “Miro-chan.”)

-baa-chan : “Grandma.” See jii-chan.

Sanyu : Name for Sango and Miroku’s second child and only daughter. Means “happiness.”

Kagomatsu : Name for Sango and Miroku’s first child and oldest son; father to Soutaro and Shinamichi. Named partly after Kagome–Kago means “basket,” and Matsu means “Pine.”

Hitomo : Literally “Common/Together Sun.”

Okashira : Clan leader

Yasashiku : Name for Sango and Miroku’s youngest and second son. Means “Polite.”