InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Present Perfect ❯ Chapter 26 ( Chapter 26 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

 

Chapter 26:

 

 

The mish-mash of youkai remains that had been piled just inside the entrance to Midoriko's cave were gone, catalogued and relegated to the depths of the cave where Midoriko's spirit could watch over them.

 

They filed silently into the cave, and neither Kohaku nor Inuyasha flinched as they passed the entrance. Both had been forgiven long ago, and apparently even Kohaku believed it now. Kouga and Ayame followed with their baby. Neither one of them had any idea there might be a barrier, no, not a barrier, a restriction upon beings with less than pure intentions. Either they were sincerely well-intentioned these days, or there really was no more barrier, now that Midoriko's soul was free.

 

She was still an imposing sight, the ancient miko. Rin gazed at the beautiful lady in awe, while Sango, Miroku and Kohaku bowed their heads respectfully. Inuyasha studied the miko's face, seeing differences and similarities to his own beloved mikos. She was strong, and beautiful, and pure of heart, just like they were. How he missed Kagome, who was the embodiment of all he had ever loved.

 

“Inuyasha, would you come here, please?” asked Miroku. He asked Ayame and Kouga to step forward with their son, too.

 

“Do you have a name for your child?” intoned Miroku in his best official voice. He swept out a paper, brush and ink and beckoned Kouga to approach. “We're doing this a little differently,” he whispered in an aside to the wolf youkai. Out loud, he said, “Please write your son's name on the scroll.”

 

Inuyasha idly wondered if Kouga even knew how to write. However, the youkai took the brush readily enough, dipped it in the ink, bent over and carefully inscribed the characters for his son's new name. Miroku had him write it twice more, then gave Kouga one of the copies to keep, before separating the other copies into two piles. One would stay in this cave as a permanent record of what had taken place here, and the final copy would be burned, along with a copy of his own son's new name, in front of their guardian ancestor, Midoriko.

 

Kouga stepped back to where Ayame still held their son, and murmured something in her ear. Inuyasha's own ears perked up. Kouga hadn't expected to be included in the human ceremony, and he was both embarrassed and pleased.

 

“Inuyasha.” His attention was drawn back to Miroku, who was holding out a second scroll and brush. “Would you do us the honor of naming our son?”

 

Inuyasha couldn't have been more surprised. “Me?” He stepped forward and gingerly took the brush. “Why don't you name him yourself?” he whispered fiercely to his friend. “He's your kid.”

 

Miroku smiled, as much at his friend's unease as at his words. “Sango and I want you to name our first child,” he said.

 

Inuyasha looked around wildly in all directions. Would they hold it against him if he bolted right now? His gaze snagged on Midoriko, larger than life, and a part of this child's past. She gazed benevolently back, as if she, too, were waiting for him to name the baby. Reluctantly he put brush to paper. Midoriko's descendant. Slayer. Friend of youkai. He had an idea.

 

When he was finished, he handed the copies to Miroku, who read the name with approval. He showed Sango, who also smiled, and then Miroku showed the name to Kouga and the others too. “We make our own traditions from this day forward,” he said firmly.

 

“Good choice,” Kouga congratulated him later. “You do manage to come through when it counts.” It was grudging praise, and Inuyasha felt obligated to respond in kind.

 

“Yeah, well, maybe I'll invite you to my kid's naming ceremony someday, too,” he muttered. He probably would have to, if Kagome had anything to say about it.

 

Kouga laughed, spoiling the mood. “Like anyone would bear your child,” he taunted. “Even Kagome had the good sense to get far away from you.”

 

It stung, how true Kouga's unthinking words really were. Kagome was far away, in time and space, but never, never in his heart. “You take that back!” he growled. He would have started something right then and there, but Miroku cleared his throat, bringing them both back to the task at hand.

 

“Speaking of Kagome-sama,” Miroku said. “She gave me a special gift for each of the babies.” He reached into his robes and brought out two identically wrapped boxes. He handed one to his wife, who looked at him with complete surprise. How had he managed to keep something like this a secret for so long? The other box was for Ayame. Both women bowed their thanks, intending to open their gifts in private, but Miroku insisted they open them right away. “They're for the children,” he insisted. “Kagome wanted me to make sure you opened them together.”

 

They each took out the tiny silver bracelets, reading the inscription `Friends Forever.' Ayame and Sango looked at each other, eyes suspiciously moist, and smiled. “Friends forever,” Sango affirmed. Ayame agreed. Too bad Kagome wasn't here with them today to share this moment.

 

Together, the couples threw the third copy of their children's names into the small fire by Midoriko's feet, marking the end of the ceremony.

 

“Good. Let's eat,” said Shippo, when it was over. The best part of the ceremony was the feast afterward. They laid the two babies together on a blanket, and Ayame kept a wary eye on her own son, in case he might try to hurt the smaller baby. She needn't have worried. The wolf cub had the human baby's scent now, and considered him family, not food. After a while, both babies fell asleep.

 

During the night, Inuyasha sought Shippo out. The kit was snoring against Kirara, dead to the world until Inuyasha roughly shook him awake. “Shippo! Shippo! Wake up. I have a job for you.”

 

 

 

Kouga was Kagome's escort the next day and he insisted that she leave the shrine to get her mind off what might be happening on the other side. “It's too early,” he told her. “You have a few days before it's time for him to come back.” Kouga showed restraint in referring to Inuyasha as `him,' rather than as one of the many derogatory nicknames he had bestowed upon the inu-hanyou over the years. He felt he owed it to Kagome to show a little sensitivity. If the mutt made it back alive, then he'd start up with the nicknames again. It was only fair.

 

Kagome saw babies everywhere she went. She rationalized that there must have always been this many babies around, she just hadn't paid that much attention to them before. She hoped she would make a good mother.

 

They visited a few of the shrines where youkai had a secret presence, amazing Kagome all over again at how youkai had been under their noses all along, and neither she nor Inuyasha had ever suspected.

 

Later they stopped for noodles at a tiny shop on the corner of a busy street. There was just room for about four or five people at most to sit at the counter. Even then, whenever the door opened, the unfortunate person sitting closest to the door got bumped. These places had the best noodles, though, so it was worth a little overcrowding.

 

“Will he be all right, Kouga?” she asked. No matter where they went or what they did, Kagome couldn't get Inuyasha out of her mind.

 

“He's tough. He'll come back even if he has to take the long way around. I would.”

 

Kagome smiled. Inuyasha had said practically the same thing. If he couldn't make it through the well, he would live the five hundred years until her time. They would be together again. She had to believe it. “He is a stubborn spirit, isn't he?”

 

The cook behind the counter glanced at them curiously. Kouga grinned back at him, and took Kagome's arm. “Let's go, Kagome.”

 

 

“Shippo, I need you to find Sesshomaru and tell him to meet me at the well.”

 

“The well? Are you leaving so soon? I thought maybe you'd stay for a little while longer this time. We could play.” The wistfulness in Shippo's voice tore at Inuyasha.

 

“Kagome's waiting,” he replied. “Can you do it? Can you leave now and track Sesshomaru down? He should be somewhere near Kaede's village, but he's in the wrong place. I need him to go to the well.”

 

Wrong place? Shippo wondered what Inuyasha was talking about. “Sure, I can track him. It might take a little while, though.” Shippo didn't want to admit that he was a little afraid of Sesshomaru. He wanted to approach the taiyoukai cautiously, especially if he had to deliver a message from his brother. That might not go over too well.

 

“They you'd better leave now,” said Inuyasha. “I'll meet you at the well.” This was another slight change Inuyasha wanted to make in the way things had happened. If only he could get Sesshomaru to the well before the final battle, he might be able to save someone—himself. From what Kouga, and later Shippo, had told him, Sesshomaru and Shippo had made it to the well in time to see Inuyasha disappear inside of it, followed by the raging youkai. Inuyasha's plan was to have Sesshomaru's help in decimating some of the youkai so that maybe he didn't have to die.

 

 

Shippo scurried through the underbrush, trusting his size and his non-threatening appearance to keep him out of trouble with the bands of youkai which incessantly crossed the forest. As it was, he had to take cover more than once, when persistent youkai decided he would make a better lunch than nothing at all.

 

“I'm small, you don't really want to eat me,” he kept repeating under his breath as he hurried along. `Near Kaede's village' was a very broad statement. There was a lot of territory to cover and not much time. Inuyasha would be leaving the slayer's village soon, and Shippo had promised to do his best to find Sesshomaru and meet him at the well. So far, he'd searched the forest on the near side of the village, but he couldn't pick up even a faint scent of Sesshomaru. He headed in another direction, where he'd picked up a whiff of unknown youkai. Much as he really really didn't want to go there, he had to check it out. Inuyasha had said Sesshomaru was probably battling youkai near the village.

 

“Aah!” A nasty-looking youkai snatched Shippo up by his tail and dangled him in front of his face. From Shippo's perspective, he was all teeth. “Please don't eat me!” Shippo recited over and over as if it were a mantra. It didn't look like the youkai even understood him. Shippo popped into his statue form, causing the big youkai to drop him, right on his foot, as it happened. The youkai yelped, and Shippo used the distraction to pop back into fox shape and dart into the bushes. That was too close!

 

Shippo kept low to the ground. His big balloon shape might get him above some of the land-bound youkai, but it would be a beacon to anything out there that had the ability to take flight. He'd need all his fox tricks to get through this in one piece.

 

Two and a half more directions to search. Sesshomaru better be in one of them. And, Shippo knew, it wasn't at all certain that Sesshomaru would go to help his brother even if Shippo did find him in time. If that was the case, Inuyasha had given him a word to speak to his brother to make him change his mind: Rin.