InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forevermore ❯ Part Eight ( Chapter 8 )

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

Rant from the author: All characters belong to their respective owners. Wow minna-sama, you're all so nice! You're still reading my fic! Woo-hoo! I still say you all are so nice! Great! Wonderful! All powerful! Masters and Mistresses of the universe! I only orbit around you! ::Okay okay, I think they get it now...:: Am currently on a sugar high, heh heh. This chapter is dedicated to ALL of my reviewers so far; thanx for being such sports and not flaming me whatsoever (hope I'm not giving you any ideas...). THANK YOU SO MUCH! *running around and waving banners with a big grin on my face* I'm going to start putting in people's names who have recently reviewed in the latest chapters, and it's also a way to answer any questions you might have. Thank you to:
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Jenn ::What a nice comment you left! Aw! I've never been complimented that nicely before!::
foureyedbookworm ::Ever so vigilantly watching for a new chapter. Thank you::
kittyears ::Yuma is the new character, the taxi-driver w/ the powers, Allie. He healed Kagome's bump, aint' he nice?::
Kou Shun'u ::Get some sleep man (if ur male)! Don't worry; the story's still gonna be there the next day.::
MoonKnight Maiden ::Fast reader if you've read it all in one hour! Sugoi! Mattaku!::
Rhiannon ::Oh yes, Ren does have a mighty fine ass, as does Inuyasha. I agree! Miow! Grrr! lol Yamaha YZF-R6 is his bike in a scarlet color::
AngelsExist ::I was hoping more of angsty stuff, but it gets sad in some chappies.::
tah ::Damn me to hell and back! I'm so cruel for being so lazy...but thanx for saying it's so good!::
animeann ::Yes, I recognize you, viet angel! Which reminds me...I have to update in Inuyasha.net. Welcome!::
inu-gurl ::I agree w/ you. I have to write more. Inuyasha/Kag? :D You'll see::
Narra ::You're hooked? That's fantastic, thanx!::
(of course) whitewingeddragon1 ::Amanda, Amanda...Inu-chan is definitely kokoii material, ne? lol, and yes, slug me if I do the wrong pairing (God strike me down if I do a Kik/Inu!)::
sunflowerobi ::I will continue. It's worth dying for? Aw, ur sweet! And stay hyper, okies?::
Catrina Winner ::One of the best ff.net authors? Gosh, ur so generous. *blushes then is shoved to computer* Oi! I'm getting there! lol::
To the rest of you who reviewed before I got this idea ::Kisses, huggles! I just love you guys! "I love you, but I'm not -in- love with you," is what my sis says. Screw that, I'm in love with you all! Heh heh. lol. J/K!::
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NEW FLASH (MEANS YA GOTTA READ!): I have drawn a pic of Inuren, though I highly welcome any who want to draw any scenes in Forevermore--- in fact, that would be SO great! More so than great. As soon as I get my scanner fixed, I'll be putting in some pics, as well as some of the new characters so you can get the idea on what they look like. But pictures from you, the reader, would be just . . . Unbelievably appreciated. From the heart. :) Ah, better get those bios down, eh? Well, you won't really comprehend them until I have more information, but this is just a sneak peek, okie? There is supposed to be more than three characters down, such as Nanji mentioned in the last chapter, but I've yet to squeeze him in. I know, the guys down there are pretty old...I mean, really really old. O well, isn't Inuyasha old as well? But he still acts like a youngin' (ya'll come back now, ya here??) LOL. Ja ne! I need at least 15 more reviews if you wanna see more! *ah, my threatening side... Finally unleashed. *sigh* FLUFF ALERT IN THIS PART.
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Name: Yuma
Stature: Immortal
Age: 470+ with the appearance of a 24 year old
Birthdate: January 13th
Gender: M
Hair: White-blonde
Eyes: Cobalt-blue
Occupation: Guardian of the Keeper of Time from Sengoku Jidai.
Powers:
Yuma has the abilities to control weather. He has spells and incantations to create ice and water. Yuma tends to get very protective of his friends--his fellow guardians--since his family was killed before he was made immortal. On the outside, Yuma is joyful and enthusiastic, but also can have his serious moments. He now serves the Keeper of Time, one of the celestial deities of the Sengoku period, and has been obeying orders to keep a close eye on Higurashi Kagome and will do everything in his power to protect her. He has also taken the leadership in the group of four.
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Name: Sazumai
Stature: Immortal
Age: 443 w/ appearance of 20 year old
Birthdate: August 8th
Gender: F
Hair: Blue-black
Eyes: Brownish red
Occupation: Guardian of the Keeper of Time from Sengoku Jidai.
Powers:
Being given the right to be an official guardian and follower of the Keeper of Time, Sazumai has also been bestowed with the mystic powers of fire and flame, and can bend it to her will as she can make water boil with her mind. Able to set ablaze to almost anything with the slight touch of a finger, Sazumai can get a bit tempermental with her duties, and is usually on the serious side. Her parents and younger siblings had long since died off long ago, though it is possible that her elder brother may still be alive but has been hidden by the enemy. She sticks close to Tora, who has become like a sister to her during all the years they've spent under the rule of the Keeper of Time.
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Name: Tora
Stature: Immortal
Age: 457 w/ appearance similar to Sazumai
Birthdate: July 14th
Gender: F
Hair: Midnight w/ forest green streaks
Eyes: Emerald green
Occupation: Guardian of the Keeper of Time from Sengoku Jidai.
Powers:
Tora, the forest beauty herself is the master of the earth and can shape-shift into any beast or animal alike. Animals come to her by the flocks as they tend to help her in her most dying need. Gentle and soft-spoken, Tora has often wondered who indeed were her parents and whom had reared her up as a child--she had awoken alone in a forest wilderness when she was only an infant with no memory or recollection of past events at all. She sees the rest of the guardians as her family and will do anything in her power, as Yuma would, to protect them.
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Name: Naomori
Stature: Mortal
Age: 20
Birthdate: December 2nd
Gender: F
Hair: Black
Eyes: Dark green
Occupation: Legendary Priestess of the Shikon no Tama
Background:
Naomori protected the jewel as did any priestess who came before her, as would the ones that came after her. A being that would have been considered a Japanese diety that was the Keeper of Time, fell in love with her and later created a spell to unite any of the priestess of the Jewel with their true loved ones. She fights with two double-bladed swords that are strapped to her back, with one knife at her hip. She can create a tsunami-wave of her power with her swords as she swipes them at her enemy. Naomori is kind, gentle and caring (but is not as dutiful and strict as Kikyou once was). She wished to love someone but never asked to be free of her guardianship. (I'll provide a picture of her later on)

« Forevermore «
By Mia
~ An Inuyasha alternate-universe/continuation kind of story ~

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Ikutsu namida o nagashitara
Every heart sunao ni nareru darou
Nare ni omoi o tsutaetara
Every heart kokoro mitasareru no darou
Nagai nagai yoru ni obieteita
Tooi hoshi ni inotteta

Meguru meguru toki no naka de
Boku tachi wa I o sagashitieru
Tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara
Kyou mo takai sora miageteru

-BoA "Every Heart"

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* PART EIGHT *

The sound of the microwave door being closed with a slight jarring sound echoed through the kitchen down the hallway and Ren heard it as he opened the door of his old bedroom. The birds outside through the window above the sink fluttered away in a large flock into the bright sunlight of the early morning sun. Tiredly Ren made his way to the table near the open kitchen, dropping down into the nearest chair and warily watched as his mother took out a cup and stirred the contents, simultaneously turning off the burner with whatever she was cooking in it.

"Ohayoo, Inuren," His mother greeted warmly, coming around the kitchen island and setting down the cup of steaming hot coffee before him. He stared at it and tried to focus his bright amber-gold eyes then looked up at her.

"Ohayoo. Ah . . . Ofukuro?"

"Nani?" She returned to her cooking, dishing out what looked like Arai rice and stirring miso soup in a separate bowl.

Ren gestured to his coffee. "Since when had you started making coffee instead of tea? And with a microwave no less." Hayasha-san quirked an eyebrow at him curiously, her hand stilling for a moment before she resumed.

"What's wrong with being varied once in a while, my Inuyasha? I never knew you liked the tea I prepared so much, but I'm glad you're here to comment --- or perhaps complain nonetheless." She gave him a slight smile before juggling several of the bowls with his breakfast in them to the table. He spied upon a well-cooked fish laying in a square -shaped plate, miso soup in a wooden bowl with tofu, nattou in another, the Arai rice in another bowl with pickles sitting right beside it. "Here you are. Eat up, you look as though you've starved since you came from America. How well do they feed you over there, son?" He reached out and took the blue chopsticks she handed him.

"They don't malnourish people over there at all, it's just that . . . I didn't have enough of an appetite for the airplane food." To back up for that, his stomach growled and groaned loudly and he blushed when he glanced at his mother's disapproving glance. Even though, he ::still:: didn't feel up to eating and the jet-lag was still apparent. All he wanted to do was drop back into bed for the moment, the smell of the food was slightly irking his senses.

"Inuren."

"Hai, ofukuro?" Ren forced himself to lay down the chopsticks and reach for the spoon laid in the miso, and to retrieve some of its contents to bring it up to his lips.

"You don't feel well because you miss Kagome-san." The spoon stopped in midair and he frowned into the rippling surface of the miso soup. He didn't feel well because she made him go, made him go without her because she wanted to be left alone. He sighed and set the spoon down again, closing his eyes as he laid back in his chair. He saw her in his mind, suddenly tense and worried as soon as they got off the plane. "You have to go, Ren . . . You can't come to the shrine yet. I . . . I'm not ready. And Inuyasha . . . he needs me to be there to take care of him." So in other words, get lost. It was why he wanted to go with her in the first place, to be with her, and not to be made to shy away to Osaka because she didn't want him there in front of Inuyasha. He felt like a child being left out of an older kid's game.

Ren opened his eyes and casually looked up at Hayasha-san, attempting a faint smile. "No, ofukuro. I feel fine. I just have a headache, that's all. It doesn't have anything to do with Kagome." How it hurt to lie so bluntly.

Hayasha-san shook her head and clucked her tongue, holding a cup of tea as she sat across from him, laying a hand on the tablecloth and smoothing it out. "Tell me, Inu-chan, what really is bothering you. I know you wouldn't travel here to Osaka just to visit on such a short notice, and with Kagome without you no less. Come on. Silence comes to those who wait for it, son."

Ren swallowed as he absently stirred the spoon in the miso, not looking at her. "Inuyasha . . . The real genuine one, the one who had supposedly died or disappeared or whatever . . . he returned, ofukuro." His voice was slightly cracked and hoarse, like he had a sore throat. "That's why Kagome came back to Tokyo, to be with him . . . because she's still in love with him."

Silence. The cheerful chirping of bluejays outside the window could clearly be heard and contrasted to what Ren was feeling at the moment, the sun's rays making his eyes appear to glow. Why had the last bit hurt him so much?

"Why are you here then, my Inuyasha?"

Why indeed? And why was that name starting to annoy him all of a sudden when he used to be so comforted by it before? "I . . . I really don't know."

"Either you don't know or you don't want to admit you know . . . Kagome-san has captured you, can you not see?" He turned up to look into her eyes and suddenly saw Kagome in her place in just a flash of a second and everything went back to normal. He sighed deeply as his mother watched with grim concern. She stood and reached down to smooth his hair. "Love is the most important thing to a person. It should also be for you."

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Kagome only left Inuyasha's side the next day to fix them tea since her mother had already gone out to the part time job she applied herself to while Souta had gone with Jii-chan shopping for some more medical supplies such as gauze because apparently they were running low, which concerned Kagome all the more; the bleeding from Inuyasha's abdomen just would not stop. The flow slowed though it refused to cease. They also made sure that ramen was on their list for Inuyasha who immediately requested it blushingly.

In her light blue pajamas with the spaghetti straps she found in her closet which she still fit into, Kagome with her hair tied up into a ponytail, stood by the counter as she turned down the burner and lifted to pour the steaming water into two cups with the tea bags draping on the bottoms. She did her task with medium concentration and the pot almost clambered back onto the burner when she felt arms snake around her waist, squeezing her against a very warm body. Her breath caught, her heartbeat increased dramatically as she shivered and closed her eyes, leaning her head back when he dipped his head low to kiss the side of her neck and shoulder, the strap sliding down and leaving her vulnerable. His lips left hot trails on her skin, his crisp white hair brushing against her shoulder and she literally melted like hot candlewax, unable to sustain her balance. How much had she missed him? His touch, the comfort he was more than willing to give, the memories they shared that came jarringly back into her subconscious and flashing before her eyes . . . it was almost more than she could handle.

Inuyasha had never kissed her before they were separated, but more than left hints of his feelings towards her. The memory was of one when he had first really touched her, almost if not intimately, the moment engraved into her mind.

:::::flashback:::::

It was on a hot moonlit summer night that Kagome remained restless and unable to sleep those few years ago just before they separated, splayed out on the open sleeping bag as she stared up at the stars but not without encountering the branch above her. Not able to withstand the heat, Inuyasha himself had removed himself from the heavy cloak he wore and withstood the elements of the dark shirtless. Just before then, he had made sure Kagome was right underneath his sleeping place and sure enough, she was while Sango and Miroku stayed in the outer areas for protection. Shippou had rolled away somehow, his mouth open and snoring away. The moon, she could remember, was very bright and illuminated Kagome's skin as she stared up at him as he did like wise. Surprising her he had crouched down on his legs, crouching near her side as she sat up on her elbows.

"Can't sleep?" he whispered for the benefit of not waking the others.

Kagome smiled slightly and nodded. "Mm-mm. You can't either?" She surprised herself by trying to distinguish the outlines of his chest by the shadows created in the moonlight as the prayer beads laid neatly against his collar bone, and it wasn't long until she started blushing. Why blush? She'd seen him this way so many times by bandaging him up from one of his fights; it shouldn't be any different, should it? But she'd never seen him with a thin gleen of sweat before.

Inuyasha shrugged from her reply, almost too hot to notice. "Feh. I don't really need it. I would've went further if Miroku hadn't complained about something of a dislocated shoulder that was left from Sango's hiraikotsu." The air between them was a bit apprehensive afterwards. He had never seen her wear a tank top before. And he found himself taking a liking to it, to his amazement. Then it was her scent that changed all of a sudden and he caught it with his nose and he inhaled it, analyzed it and shuddered.

Kagome's heart pounded and her blue gray eyes widened, almost trembling. "Ano . . . what is it, Inuyasha? Do you smell a youkai near?" He almost retorted with one of his insults but stopped, staring directly at her in his keen eyesight which she felt more than saw like slight electricity up her spine.

"No, not a youkai. Kagome . . . what . . . sort of weird clothing is that you're wearing?" He said quietly, pointing curiously at her shirt and shorts. Kagome had to hold in her bout of giggles when she looked down at her shirt. She found it funny that he always questioned things that came from her world, and she was more than happy to supply explanations, such as her "metal horse" that was her bike.

"It's shorts and a tank-top." She'd already explained about the shorts.

"Eh? 'Tank-top'?" The words sounded slurred from his tongue and she had to grin. (With a Japanese accent, it would've sounded like, "Tanuku-topu?" lol)

"Yes, Inuyasha. Don't ask me why they gave it a name like that. Why do you---" Inuyasha suddenly leaned forward before she even finished the sentence, placing both arms on either side of her to maintain balance as his face came closer to hers. Her legs spread for his form to get closer. Her throat made a deep swallowing sound when he gazed into her eyes, the light of the moon making them seem to glow.

"I like your shirt, Kagome." His voice was soft and sultry, his firm arms sliding against her own glistening ones. She found her legs shaking as were her arms that kept her weight on them as he dipped his head to the side of her, his nose nuzzling her shoulder, and next the soft skin of his lips. An automatic reaction for her was to close her eyes, and she felt nimble fingers touch her skin ever so softly, sliding down the strap of her tank top and running lazily down her arm with such sensual gentleness. Inuyasha intently watched her reaction at the same time he took this opportunity to explore her, using the pad of his fingers to run a caress from her neck down to her elbow skipping the silver chain of her necklace, his opposite hand only beginning to pull the strap downwards and accidentally tearing it in two with his runaway claws in his desire for more of her. He discovered she wasn't wearing that thin piece of fabric she often wore underneath all her other clothes because he met no other barrier nor strap as he continued to pull the shirt down even further, brushing her slick strands of hair away.

He indulged in the soft flesh that was Kagome, the scent was fragrant and moist with her perpiration, his nose traveling the length of her collarbone before he dipped lower, leaning her head back as her neck and chest were totally exposed to him as the chain of the vial of Shikon no kakeras weighed heavily against her sternum. Her guile and willingness to give herself to him overwhelmed his heart and he felt as though he wasn't worthy. Leaving a long, lingering kiss on her shoulder and cheek, he pushed himself away reluctantly, crouching back as she slowly began to open her eyes and stare up at the stars for a few moments, trying to discern what truly had passed. On the minute she met his eyes, something changed. Definitely for the better and she only smiled, a silent message that told him that she understood as she reached for his hand and gripped it in her own . . . of course she understood.

Inuyasha returned to his perch later on and surprisingly both were able to drift off to sleep, only to dream of each other. If only they knew of the perils to come.

:::::end of flashback:::::

Kagome reached up and held his head against the side of her neck, caressing his ears and a breathless moan escaped her, effectively making his arms tighten. "Inu . . . yasha . . ."

Said person's ears perked up to listen to her voice as his purring hummed and effectively brought her completely under his control. "Hmm, koishii? Tatta hitori no watashi . . ." He kissed her jawline and turned her toward him and looked deeply into her eyes. Finally. He found her. The same yet older Kagome who was more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen. He had her in his arms and he wouldn't ever let her go if he could help it. He even ignored the underlying unfamiliar old scent clinging to her as he leaned softly to her lips. 'You are mine now, Kagome. It's forever.' "I love you," He whispered with such a serious tone when the kiss ended, staring into her eyes to make sure she knew he was absolutely serious. He'd always been meaning to say it and wanting to see what it felt like to say it, always dreaded her reaction before he'd lost her to fate and now he had the chance to say it and by no means would he pass it up. Not once had he ever uttered those three words together to form a sentence and he wanted to make sure it was Kagome that would receive those three words.

A smile suffused her rouge lips matching her rosy cheeks, eyes bright and misty; she replied softly, "And I love you as well." She cupped his cheek and sighed, giddy and excited inside. He's the most important person to her, because she loved him, and love was the most important thing to her, because love was in her heart. "I'll love you forever Inuyasha. Until the end of time . . . forevermore."


::Translations::
Tatta hitori no watashi: "My one and only," I think.
Shikon no kakera: Shard of the Jewel of Four Souls
Hai: Yes (in reply)
Ofukuro: The term Inuyasha used for his mother- more vulgar or more slang-ish. Get it?
(absent) Aishiteru: I love you? Does it really mean that? Would someone tell me? :)

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::Inside Naraku's castle in Sengoku Jidai::

The heavy door of the chamber slowly creaked open with an annoying scraping noise, and it opened to reveal Naraku in his dark, long kimono, long coarse and unruly hair almost reaching the floor. He stepped into the cold of the dungeon, his feet hardly making a noise as he found what he was searching for, a smirk playing along his lips.

Kikyou stiffened in her chains, eyeing him with an eye-slitted glare as he approached her with an air of dominance, in finally capturing her at long last. Naraku's intense gaze was too unnerving as he reached where she was kept along the wall, a single beam of light emanating from the ceiling and dimly illuminating her face and lights danced somewhere overhead; she guessed her shinidamachuu were battling to reach her and retrieve her stolen souls. He was so near to her, Kikyou wanted to retch but she kept still and silent. "Kikyou, I hope you're faring well. You see, it is solely for your own good that you are kept here when you did not stay on your own free will."

"Kisama . . . 'For my own good' does not include being imprisoned against my own free will, Naraku," She hissed against his face, her hands where they were held against the wall, crackled with blue electricity and power as she continued to look at him with disgust.

Naraku's eyes glowed red, bright in the dimly lit dungeon and he reached out and took a hold of her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "I can see that imprisonment has not yet taught you your manners, Kikyou. I would loath to silence you further . . ." His long fingers traced her chin to her cheek as she bit her lip hard enough to bleed not to jerk away. "Do you know something, miko? That you are not the only to have a soul that is born from reincarnation." Her gray eyes flashed curiosity. "Inuyasha, with his spirit gone from this world for only but a moment as yours had so briefly, a life spurned of the hell they call love was brought into the world of the future."

"What nonsense are you babbling, hanyou?" She emphasized the last word harshly, her tone mocking as she could sense as his aura piqued. "You are growing weak, to let Inuyasha escape from your hands so easily . . . You might as well have left the door open for him."A warning gave out from his red eyes and for only but a second did she feel fear towards him as he lashed out and caught her jaw and lip, slapping his hand hard against her face and her head turned to the side, the sound was crisp and sharp, echoing in the stone confines. 'Blood.' The thought crossed Kikyou as a thin line of the thick crimson liquid ran down the side of her mouth. She had never bled since she first was awakened and the shock preoccupied her enough to numb the sting of the blow.

Naraku noticed with slight amusement that she noticed the change in her and he displayed a grin dripping with malice, smearing the trail of blood against his hand and marveling at it to himself. "Blood, Kikyou? Why should it surprise you when Inuyasha shared his blood with you to keep you alive before I captured you both? However, he did not know what dramatic effects it would cost you, nor the price he would pay afterwards. I know you blame the girl, Kagome most of all for your situation, do you not?" He chuckled evilly, clenching his fist. "But I've a new strategy. I promise that you will see Inuyasha soon, alive . . . I can not guarantee."

"What of this reincarnation you speak of from the future?" asked Kikyou to keep him occupied; he was already stalling her healing process and it aggravated her to the fullest extent, but she forced herself to remain calm; she would have his life later.

"Have you ever heard of the legendary Keeper of Time, Kikyou? I know that you have; it is written in all your petty scrolls by ancient scholars of long ago." He brought a hand up toward the ceiling and she watched as a single soul of light drifted downwards having discarded its shinidamachuu carrier, and Naraku tainted it with his power as it went slowly into Kikyou's body making her wince irritably. "Another miko such as you named Naomori had helped him in one of his disguised forms of a small child many centuries ago; it was meant to have been a test for the priestess and she had passed, nursing the pseudo-ill child back to normal health for no good reason. She too, guarded the Shikon no Tama with her life and sworn herself to the duties required of her. When Aoi, the immortal being and the Keeper of Time itself, showed her his true form only from the cause of growing weak in feelings for her, she remained under his protection for so long of time, watching over her and granted her wishes beyond her dreams. Does this story sound familiar at all to you?"

It certainly did and Kikyou remembered hearing the story from a priest back when she was still training to become a priestess herself, before any of the duties of the Shikon no Tama. Naomori was also a powerful priestess, granted, the most powerful in all of Edo. Aoi-sama had fallen in love with her and later felt heartbroken when whom Naomori's affections held was separated from her for an unknown reason--even though she could not love in the first place--and for this love Aoi felt toward her, he created a spell that whichever priestess with the harsh duties of being guardian of the Jewel of Four Souls, would always be reunited with their one true love either in the same world or in a different world altogether. Since he had the powers to manipulate time to a limit, it was what motivated him to secretly watch over the priestesses. 'And Aoi-sama's spell worked for me,' Kikyou thought silently. 'Though not in the way I wished.'

"So you see, Aoi seems to have grown compassionate over time and favored a certain priestess who is not a true reincarnation at all, but is one created from the Jewel. When my youkai attacked you and left you to bleed as Inuyasha rescued you and shared his blood, you stole a piece of his soul to keep yourself alive---without his knowing---and without the existence of that soul, another one is conveniently created in the connecting time period to seal the girl Kagome's broken heart after they were separated." Naraku glared straight into her eyes, his face right in front of hers. "The only way to have everything back to the way it should have been is to piece together the Shikon no Tama, and whomever so wishes what they desire, they will receive, but you know Inuyasha-tachi will never succeed; they are all scattered about like mice in an endless battle field, never getting to their goal." Finally he stepped back and strode toward the exit, momentarily looking at her over shoulder. "I never did mention that I am grateful for your help in sealing the well those years ago. Now you know that a selfish heart is also greedy when you planned to take Inuyasha for yourself and to trap the girl where she belonged. I have sent a surprise to the breach in time for Inuyasha; I mean to kill his reincarnation and him both." ::CLANG:: The doors slammed heavily shut and latched closed, sealing Kikyou in eternity of darkness.

Tight-lipped and left in her own thoughts, Kikyou smiled bitterly and had the insane urge to laugh mockingly out loud at Naraku's foolish attempt to break all spirits in two. 'But you will not succeed, Naraku. Because the Keeper of Time also has his loyal guardians to protect Kagome even if he can not do so himself, and the shards she possesses you will not hold.'

::Translations::
Inuyasha-tachi: The group of Inuyasha's allies (that sort of thing)
Kisama: 'You' pertaining to the opposite person; vulgar, derrogative. Rude.
Aoi: The name of the Keeper of Time means 'blue' in Japanese. Thought you oughta know.
Miko: Priestess

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Night was falling upon the city of Japan as the sun rapidly descended behind the surrounding green skills, shining sunset yellow against Tokyo's skyscrapers and buildings. At the Sunset shrine of the Higurashi residence, a lone cat strode past the door of Hone Kui no Ido, now closed, and decided to sit next to the short stairs to groom itself. Suddenly it streaked away with a startled hiss at the unusual sound from the other side of the door, scraping against wood sounding like rough nails.

From inside, sharp nails clawed at the opening of the well, and a stray lock of black hair could be seen clinging to the sticky base of those nails.

::Translation::
Hone Kui no Ido: Bone Gobbler's/Eater's Well
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"Here you are, Inuyasha-kun." Higurashi-san kindly handed him a bowl of food she dished out for him and he took it eagerly as she sat back down.

"Arigatou," Kagome glanced at him for a moment, catching the almost inaudible shy tone in his voice and smiled. They were all having dinner (like in Ranma) around a low, square table, the surface spread out with all kinds of food--one in particular was oden, Kagome's favorite. Souta was busy heaping on tons of fried vegetables due to the deal he'd made with his mother about eating a lot of veggies and being able to play video-games with Inuyasha late into the night. Jii-chan was complimenting his daughter-in-law's cooking, as usual, and either complimenting or degrading it.

Inuyasha looked sideways at Kagome next to him as she stuffed more oden in her mouth. "Oi, Kagome," he began quietly while the rest of them were too busy watching the tv set up in the room near them.

"Hn? . . ." She swallowed before looking toward him. "Nande, Inuyasha?"

He popped a piece of meat into his mouth to seem more casual. "Do you remember that ring that my mother gave me a long time ago and I had shown it to you?"

Her eyes widened. "Did you lose it?"

"No," he replied softly, a gentle expression in his eyes. "Do you remember that one day before your birthday and I had told you I was going to give you a surprise? The ring, Kagome, and the lock of hair I kept with me when we fought against a youkai possessing a Shikon shard, had cut your hair with one of his spinning blade attacks."

Remembrance dawned on her face and she nodded. "Yes? Do you still have it?"

"The ring I have but your hair . . . I lost your lock of hair and I think it was the only way I was able to go through the well alone, since someone had interfered with the spell that kept us apart, not allowing me to enter but for you to. Before then, three years ago it was different; we both were unable to reach one another." His fingers tightened around his chopsticks. "If I left your hair in the Sengoku period and someone would happen to find it, like one of Naraku's damned youkai with your scent and mine still permeated in it . . ."

". . . They would be able to travel through . . ." Kagome filled in.

"To your world."

::CRASH::

Inuyasha shot up from his seat, ignoring the pain he felt in his abdomen as his ears swiveled around and searching from where the noise came from. Everyone was on the alert and immediately stopped eating, standing up at the hammering crash. "What do you think it is, Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice became more panicked as she stood beside him. He suddenly remembered that his sword was taken when he automatically groped for it. 'I'll kill Naraku if he ever does anything to Tetsusaiga.' Another sound of wood splintering emanated from the side of the house and the floor beneath them shook slightly, a renting sound filled their ears, the shrill of a youkai following it.

"Shit . . . Kagome, get your weapons." He cracked his knuckles, eyes sparkling as she trembled at the command before obeying it. "I definitely have a bad feeling about this."

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A/N: I know, it took so long to get out. Not as short as last time, ne? And I wrote this at almost 3 in the morning after this party we had with some friends. I'm ti-URD! I need some rest. Oh, thank you for reading! Love your reviews and sorry if I missed your name on the list. It'll be there next time. If you're confused on any details about the story, or if you have drawn any scenes or basically just ::anything:: don't hesitate to tell me about it. It does sound hurried, huh? I don't have my own editor and I do this story completely on my own without anyone giving me any ideas. Darnit. So-o... never mind and have fun! Remember, at LEAST 15 reviews for me to continue. I'm hoping to hit the 100 mark sooner than later---And do I have a surprise for you! And Katia? Yes, I'm still on my freshman summer vac. ;D Mia