InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Blessing in Disguise? ❯ Life after death ( Chapter 2 )

I don't own inuyasha or the characters within… le sigh…

 

2 months ago…

 

Kagome walked away from Kikyo, allowing her to spend the final moments of her life with InuYasha.

 

She had done everything in her power to help save Kikyo's life, but short of giving Kikyo her soul, nothing could save her.

 

Stumbling over a rock, Kagome pitched forward and closed her eyes to brace for the impact. She never hit, instead one strong arm wrapped around her body to keep her from falling. As she opened her eyes, she turned her head to meet the golden eyes of Sesshoumaru. “Sessh..oumaru. Thank…” Her words died on her lips as she was met with darkness.

 

She awoke some hours later. Night had settled, along with the warriors. The final battle with Naraku had claimed the lives of Kohaku, Koga, and Kikyo. Everyone was hurt in one way or another.

 

As Kagome looked around the clearing, she saw Sango tending to Miroku's wounds. Shippou and Rin were curled up in Kirara's fur, tight against one another. Sesshoumaru was sitting against a tree, eyes trained on the children keeping watch.

 

Miroku raised his eyes to Kagome. “Kagome, you're awake. How are you feeling?”

 

Sitting up, Kagome blinked a few times, then smiled at Miroku. Her voice was soft as she spoke. “I'm ok, but I feel a little dizzy.” Looking around, she noticed InuYasha was nowhere in sight. “Where's… InuYasha?”

 

Sango rose from beside Miroku and sat down near Kagome. “He left right after Kikyo…” She paused and looked to Miroku who nodded in encouragement. “He didn't say anything, he just left. I'm sorry Kagome.”

 

Kagome put on one of her famous fake smiles. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I know losing Kikyo again will be hard on him.”

 

Sango looked at Kagome, a frown on her face.

 

“Really Sango, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just need some sleep.” With that, Kagome layed down on her sleeping bag and closed her eyes. She turned away from the fire. As Sango walked away from her and back to Miroku, a single tear fell from Kagome's face.

 

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It was a week later when InuYasha finally made his way back to Kaede's village. He looked like he hadn't eaten, or slept the whole time. He didn't say anything to anyone, just went straight to the Goshenbuku, and jumped into the branches.

 

After the second day of him doing nothing but sitting in the tree, they began to take turns trying to convince him to eat or talk. No amount of coercing could get him to leave the tree. After that, Kagome and the others took turns leaving bottles of water and food under the tree for him. Sometimes he would eat part of it, other times, it wouldn't have been touched.

 

Kagome would make short trips between the feudal era and her world, but she never stayed away long, wanting to be close in case InuYasha needed her.

 

Finally, after a week and a half, InuYasha came down from the tree. The only words he spoke as he walked into the hut were, “We're leaving. We need to find the jewel shards.” He exited the hut, leaving the traveling companions no room for arguments.

 

Kagome had tried numerous times during the time they were searching for shards to talk to InuYasha, but he refused. He didn't even carry her on his back for the first few weeks.

 

The worst times were at night, after everyone had fallen asleep. She would sit and look at the fire, or wander from camp in order to look at the stars. She spent many nights looking at the stars and talking to Kikyo. She wished that Kikyo could answer her, but no amount of wishing would grant that. Tonight, was one of those night's.

 

Kagome sat at the crest of a hill, under a tree, looking out at the valley and sky beyond. The man in the moon looked down at her, grinning, as leaves danced upon the breeze. The fall night was chilly, leaving dew to glisten on whatever the moon touched, lighting the world around her and creating moon shadows.

 

Silent tears fell from her eyes as she spoke to Kikyo. “How do I help him when he won't talk to me? I know I can never take your place in his heart. I love him so much Kikyo, I wish you could have understood that when you were here. Maybe you can understand that now though.”

 

There was a rustling from the bushes behind her and she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as she turned her eyes toward the sound. A squirrel jumped out from the bushes and scurried away from her. With a chuckle and a sniffle, she turned her head back to the heavens. “I'm even more paranoid now than I was when Naraku was alive.”

 

“How do I get him to understand that I don't want to take your place? If he'll just let me be his friend again, I'll be happy. Sometimes I think I look too much like you, remind him too much of you. If the only way for him to be happy is to not have that reminder, I'd leave.”

 

On a sob, she buried her face in her hands. “I just want him to be happy!”

 

A figure clad in white turned and disappeared into the forest.

 

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InuYasha awakened and looked at the camp below him from his tree branch. A scent in the air awakened him, and it only took a second for him to recognize that smell. In a low voice, filled with venom, he spoke. “Sesshoumaru.”

 

He quickly jumped down from his tree branch and raced through the forest, oblivious to the fact that Kagome was not in her sleeping bag.

 

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Sesshoumaru sensed his approach and smirked. He leaned casually against a tree as he waited. Right before InuYasha broke through the bushes and into the clearing he was waiting in, he stepped away from the tree, straightened his posture and let the smirk slip from his face to be replaced by his normal cold glare.

 

“SESSHOUMARU! You bastard!” InuYasha freed his father's fang and raced towards his brother.

 

Sesshoumaru merely sidestepped. InuYasha skidded to a halt, mere inches from the trunk of the tree Sesshoumaru had been casually leaning against mere seconds ago. “It is not this Sesshoumaru you should be concerned about.”

 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” InuYasha faced his brother.

 

“You should be concerned with your Miko.”

 

A fire lit in InuYasha's eyes at the mere mention of Kikyo. She was… Gone. The bastard knew that. A low growl escaped his lips as he spoke. “What does Kikyo have to do with anything?”

 

Sesshoumaru nearly rolled his eyes at his brother's stupidity. “This Sesshoumaru does not speak of the dead, but of the living.”

 

A light went off in InuYasha's head, as his eyes grew round as realization dawned. “Kagome.” It was said on barely a whisper, but Sesshoumaru heard the sorrow in it.

 

“This Sesshoumaru cares not for humans, however, this Miko helped save Rin many times. For that alone, this Sesshoumaru is…” He paused as he choked on the word, trying to release it from his throat, which seemed to close. “Grateful.”

 

InuYasha's ears went limp as he stared at his brother, mouth hanging open. “Come again?”

 

“She will leave you InuYasha.”

 

His mouth closed as a low growl escaped his throat. First off, Kagome wouldn't do that. Secondly, “What the fuck does it matter to you!”

 

Sesshoumaru kept reminding himself that he wasn't doing this for InuYasha. He detested his brother and always would.

 

Towards the end of the long battle with Naraku, Sesshoumaru realized that it wasn't InuYasha's fault that he was a half-breed. It was his father's. Regardless of InuYasha's human blood, he was still one of the great Inu-Taisho's sons. He no longer craved the Tetsaiga. When InuYasha lost control of his demon blood, when he no longer held his father's fang, he went after everyone. He had targeted Rin. That was something that would never happen again.

 

Kagome had been the one who saved Rin that day, and for that, he would be eternally in her debt.

 

“It matters not to this Sesshoumaru. Follow her scent. Be quiet and listen to what she says when you are not there to hear.”

 

InuYasha stood speechless as Sesshoumaru floated away in a ball of light. He didn't know what the hell his bastard brother was talking about. Kagome wouldn't leave him.

 

Would she?

 

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Kagome sat, with her knees drawn up to her chest, choking on the sobs that wracked her body. She looked up to the sky and saw a star shoot across the horizon. She closed her eyes and made a wish on a whisper.

 

“Please Kikyo, help me. Would InuYasha be better off without me? All I want is for him to be happy.” A small sob slipped from her body as she spoke. “If me leaving is the only way for him to grieve for you, and be happy in the end, I would do it.”

 

She crossed her legs so she was sitting Indian-style, and lowered her head so her ebony hair covered her face from view. “If I could do it over again, I would trade places with you.” A tear fell from her face to land on a flower petal near her leg. “I would die so you could live. As long as InuYasha is happy, it doesn't matter where I am.”

 

InuYasha stood speechless behind her. It always amazed him how selfless Kagome was. She would have given her life so Kikyo could live. She would have given her life, so he could be happy. His eyes began to tear up, but before a single tear could fall, he became enraged.

 

“How could you give up your life so easily?”

 

Kagome jumped, and shot up like a rocket at the sound of InuYasha's voice. It was said with a rage Kagome had never heard fall from InuYasha's voice before. “Inu…”

 

“Damn it Kagome!” InuYasha grabbed her upper arms with both hands and jerked her forward. “How the hell could you even think something like that? Do you honestly think I would be happy to see you dead!”

 

His grip wasn't loosening, and Kagome could barely speak. With a tiny voice, that was choppy with fear and confusion, she spoke. “But then… Kikyo would still be… alive.” Her head fell limply forward as she lost all energy. She spent to many nights for the past weeks crying herself silently to sleep, or wailing to the heavens when she was alone. “You could be with her… and be happy.”

 

He felt her go lax, and then heard all passion, will, and life leave her voice as she spoke. He loosened his grip on her and wrapped her in his embrace. How could he have been so selfish not to realize that she had been suffering? He had lost Kikyo, and in his grief, Kagome had lost him.

 

She no sooner felt him relax when she was pulled into him and his arms encased her. Silent tears left her eyes. She had no strength to hide them or stop them. She threw her arms around him and clung to him for dear life.

 

As he held her, he lowered her to the ground. He cradled her in his lap, like he would a child. He softly ran his hand over her hair, slowly rocking back and forth to sooth her.

 

As InuYasha held her, she grieved.

 

She grieved for all who had lost their lives in order to protect the world from Naraku. She grieved for all the souls who hadn't found peace until Kikyo had left this world. She grieved for Sango, who lost her father, brother, and an entire village. She grieved for Miroku, who lost his father when he was but a child and feared he would die before seeing his own child. She grieved for little Shippou, who had lost his parents because of the greed of those who craved the Shikon Jewel. She grieved for Kikyo, who had departed from the world filled with hatred for InuYasha because of Naraku's greed, and for their lost love.

 

But most of all, she grieved for the little hanyou who knew only the love of his mother until he had found Kikyo. She grieved for their love that had been tainted by betrayal because of Naraku. She grieved because they hadn't loved one another enough to trust each other. She grieved because she felt Kikyo hadn't loved InuYasha as she should have.

 

She grieved because InuYasha couldn't accept the love that she wanted so badly to offer him.

 

When no more tears would fall, she sighed and spoke his name.

 

InuYasha spoke, his voice softer and gentler than she had ever heard. “Yeah Kagome?”

 

“If you want me to leave, I will. I know it must be hard to look at me everyday when I resemble Kikyo. I don't want to see you hurting anymore. You're my best friend, and I don't know how to help you not hurt.” She felt the tears wanting to be released once again as her chin began to tremble.

 

InuYasha tightened his hold on her as he lowered his head to rest his cheek on the top of her head. “I don't want you to leave. I just need some time. You know better than anyone I'm not good at saying what I feel.”

 

You know me better than Kikyo did.

 

“Just, give me time.”

 

She closed her eyes and snuggled closer into his chest. She heard the rhythm of his heart, and the beat was slowly lulling her into sleep. “I'll be there for you when you're ready.”

 

A second later she was asleep in his arms. He lifted his head slowly from hers and looked down upon her as she slept peacefully in his arms. `Kagome, how could you possibly want to stay with me?'

 

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The next couple of weeks that passed went by slowly. The demons they met up with were easily enough dispatched with. Compared to Naraku, they were like a walk in the park.

 

After camp was made for the night, and everyone was sound asleep, InuYasha and Kagome would go off together. Some nights they talked, while others were spent in silence watching the sky.

 

They were making progress. Things were starting to slowly return to normal between the two. Kagome was once again becoming her normal perky self, and InuYasha was returning back to the irritable and grumpy hanyou they all new and loved.

 

And then it happened…

 

InuYasha had placed the woman's head in his lap as she said her goodbyes to her child. “Please, you are an Inu-hanyou, you can teach him what he needs to know. I couldn't bear knowing that he wouldn't be protected.” Tears were streaming down her face now as she gripped the front of his fire-rat. She was begging InuYasha to take care of her son with her last breaths. “Please…”

 

“I…” He couldn't find the words. He raised lost eyes to Kagome's, pleading with her to find the words he couldn't.

 

Kagome took the woman's hand in her own. Bringing it up to lie on the child's head, she looked into the woman's eyes, and with a sniffle she nodded. While her answer was spoken on a whisper, the woman smiled as she heard Kagome's reply. “We'll take care of him.”

 

Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara had since gathered around, and Sango was holding Shippou in her arms, as Miroku held her.

 

“Thank… you…” The smile faded from the woman's eyes, as her life faded from this world.

 

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InuYasha sat above his friends on a tree branch, their ever-present guardian. He had watched as Kagome tenderly cradled the pup in her arms and sang him a lullaby, which had not only lulled him to sleep, but their companions as well.

 

He watched as she held him close in her embrace and fell asleep with him in her arms.

 

He raised his eyes to the heavens as the days events replayed in his mind. In less than a day, he had become responsible for not only himself, but a pup as well. He could barely take care of himself, let alone a pup.

 

He looked back down to the sleeping Kagome and the pup. He and Kagome where responsible for the pup now, not just him.

 

In that moment, InuYasha realized that he had received something he had always wanted, but thought unobtainable.

 

He had a family.

 

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Well, there it was. I hope you all like it. Sorry it took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait.

 

I realized that this is becoming slightly angsty and I fear that that will only continue. This is the way it wants to be written, so it shall be. I think it might be a roller coaster.

 

As always, your reviews and concrit is always welcomed and appreciated. I apologize for any mistakes(I have no beta) it's all me and English was always my worst subject, go figure huh.

 

Anywhoo… please let me know what you think and I hope you all enjoyed it!!

Fluffy802005