InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Same Thing, Different Time ❯ Hate, Memories, and Following A Scent ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of InuYasha, and am still not seeking to gain anything in means of profit, rights, or anything else from creating this.

The bold print words are what people are saying to themselves in their heads.

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Same Thing, Different Time

by: aishiteru_inu

Part 7: Hate, Memories, and Following A Scent

It was something that he normally would not do. The only reason he did it now was to avoid any confrontation inside the building. Even though most knew who he was, what he was, not all of them did and the lest inconspicuous he was among them the better. He stood out quite enough as if was.

It was a strain to do and it hurt, but if he kept his ears low enough he could almost make them seem to disappear by shifting some of his hair over to cover them. It would only be for a short time; he could bare it for that long.

He hated being different. He wasn't accepted by either humans or demons. Neither side wanted his kind, his half of a breed. Humans feared his wilder, stronger demon half, and, if they weren't cowering, then their fear usually germinated into hate. Demons despised his human side because they saw it as a weakness -- emotionally and physically. There was no room for weakness: it wasn't something they tolerated. Weakness in demons always fell away to death.

He was neither one or the other. Lacking in both. Never measuring up or belonging.

He learned long ago to live with the fear, the hate, but now wasn't the time to push anything that would lead to conflict,…not at a police station. He had given them enough problems in the past, which was something humans didn't forget easily… or lightly.

He hated the irate feeling that welded up inside him as he passed by one human after another. Every one of them would be willing and ready to subdue him by any means possible.

He hated the stinking scent of fear that would emanate from them once they discovered he was something other than what they were. He hated the pungent smell of their hate.

He hated having to run. He hated having to hide. He hated having to fight just to escape them. It was something he had been doing nearly all of his life… and it was all just because he was different. And he would probably be doing that the rest of his life unless he could get that necklace! Once he got that, things would change! Oh, how they would change! He wouldn't be an outcast anymore. He wouldn't be weak. He would have a place to be accepted.

Once outside, InuYasha didn't care who was around or who saw him. His ears flicked up through his white mane of hair, and he shook his head to clear it away.

He took a series of running steps then leaped into the air, disappearing quickly in a succession of bounds through the concrete forest of the city.

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As soon as the door closed, Kaede glanced over at the silver picture frames that was upon her desk. Reaching out, she picked one of them up and sat there staring at the picture of the two children that was in it.

It was a picture taken long ago, nearly a lifetime. Times were hard, but they were together, and that's what mattered most to the little one. She followed her sister everywhere, sometimes much to the dismay of the older sibling. She had wanted her to be safe, to be a child, but the younger girl just wanted to be like her and tried to watch and learn all that she could.

Beauty. Grace. Caring. Responsibility. Those were her qualities. And she manifested them to such a level that it seemed like she could do things beyond what others could do. Yes, the little girl wanted to be so much like her sister.

It was…difficult to say the least, when that tragic day struck and her sister was viciously ripped away from her. Not only did the young girl have to deal with the heartache of the loss, but her sister's position fell upon her also and that alone was a heavy responsibility. Even with her own abilities, it was a struggle, for she was nowhere near what her sister had been. And she wasn't as pure of heart… anymore.

With a heavy sigh, she placed the picture back upon the desk, still feeling the loss that even the passage of time had not completely healed.

She glanced over to the other picture beside it, and as she stared at the girl's unblemished features, the image of another young girl drifted into her mind.

Her one, uncovered eye grew wide, and she again leaned fully back into her chair, speechless. Had it been so long? Had the pain of her sister's memory caused her to put her image so far back in her mind that she missed the similarity when she was face to face with the girl? After all the child did possess the Shikon no tama, and that dog demon, InuYasha, she had no doubt, had been after her because of it. After all these years, not truly expecting a day such as this would even come around, this girl even activated the beads which now subjugated the hanyou. Could it be possible that she….?

Kaede, rose up out of the chair. She was going to have to find this young lady. She was going to have to see her again to know for sure. She needed to talk with her and tell her a few certain things. It would mean a world between life or death.

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The air whipped around him, making his hair slap against his back as he flung himself through the sky time after time, bounding from one landing perch to the next. Racing for the want of putting as much distance between himself and everything else. Racing just for the sheer speed. He wasn't expecting to catch wind of a familiar scent.

Dropping down to the ground, InuYasha crouched. He sniffed at the air and the ground, sorting out and discarding all other scents accept the one. Rising up, he followed it until he came to an open gate which lead to a courtyard of a shrine.

The lateness of the night bothered him little as he entered upon the grounds, taking the stairs that lead to the upper landing several at a time. He kept sniffing, and saw a house further in the distance with lights shining through several of the windows. Quietly, he followed the scent to where it was the strongest -- the back of the house itself, and it was drifting down from the second floor window which was open.

Quickly surveying the area, InuYasha noted a tree nearby that would give him the view that he wanted, and with a effortless spring, he was in the branches within a matter of seconds. He positioned himself, silently, like a predatory animal, to watch his quarry.

That scent had lead him to her, and she was in there -- the little wrench that had planted his face in the ground more times than he cared to remember. She had changed her clothing from the green and white sailor outfit to a pair of sleeping pajama's that consisted of a power blue button up shirt and matching pants. Fluffy white clouds, trimmed in silver were scattered over the material.

She looked so damn familiar, but who the hell was she really?

He tested the air again. No, it couldn't be her. The scents weren't the same. This girl smelled of a mixture of cherry blossoms, wild berries and vanilla, which he noticed earlier hadn't been completely masked even over her fright.

The hanyou watched as the dark haired girl toyed with her hair, running a brush through it several times. Then the subject of his thoughts were dismissed as he saw her take the necklace off and lay it down on top of the dresser. She moved to the bed and got in, pulling the covers up around her. Reaching a hand out, she snapped off the light that was on a stand next to the bed before she rolled over to her side and snuggled down into the blanket.

The corners of his mouth curved upward in a grin. The window was still open.

'That's it.' he murmured silently as if trying to lull the unsuspecting girl with his thoughts. 'Close your eyes. Go to sleep like a good little girl. You won't have to worry about anything else happening after tonight.'

He wouldn't have thought that it was possible to ever feel again such an overwhelming surge of joy rush through him, but InuYasha did. He couldn't believe it! It was right there within his reach. Even his hands tingled! All he had to do was be patient and wait a little while longer; then it would be his!

Ha! Old Kaede thought she was so smart collaring him with those damned beads, and this little wrench… well… she was just nuisance… one that he would be more than glad to be rid of.

'Go to sleep.' his head hummed rhythmically. 'Close your eyes.'

It wasn't long that there was a rustling sound heard, which caused his ears to tweak. He held his breath, watching. Even through the darkness, he could see as the girl shifted and rolled back out of bed. She moved over to the open window and looked out. Her dark hair falling over her shoulders as she leaned a bit over the sill, moving her head from one side to the other. Then she looked up, and he froze for her eyes were directed straight toward him. She stared for several seconds before lifting her gaze upward toward the roof. Good, she hadn't seen him after all. InuYasha smile was almost a wicked sneer as he elated in her diminished abilities of being human. She didn't have the sight that he did to distinguish shapes within the shadows. Then…

'NO!!'

She pushed the window shut and locked it.

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Behind the house, unnoticed, a white haired dog demon paced back and forth the length of the house. He fumed at the disruption of his plan. It would have been so easy, and things could have been different already. But they weren't, and it wasn't, and all he had now was the same as before…nothing! It seemed like this girl unwittingly thwarted his every plan of getting the jewel, and that even made him more upset.

Of course he could always resort to just crashing in there and taking the damn thing. Maybe she would be too startled from the commotion to realize it was him. Perhaps she wouldn't even realize what the intentions of the assailant were until it was far too late to do anything about it.

He really had a half a mind to do that, but then he thought, 'what if she did?' She'd have his face planted so deep into the floorboards he might even go through the lower room floor too. And he didn't relish that idea. Even though her 'sits' didn't cause physical harm him, they still felt like he was getting the sense knocked out of him.

"Dammit!" he growled, after about an hour of pacing. He was going to have to figure out some other way to get that necklace because he wasn't going to get it this night.

With a strong push of his legs, InuYasha darted straight into the air. He came down many yards away in the courtyard only to repeat the action again.

Yeah, he'd be back. He'd be back and would get what was his.

Then the swift and silent figure disappeared into the night, leaving behind the girl and the jeweled necklace.

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This was the hardest chapter in the story line to write (so far *_*). It felt like the 'dark' chapter of the story -- (not as dark as some other stories I've read, but for this story, yes), -- and because of it I'm having to redo a bit in the next future chapters. This wasn't a part of the story line to start off. It just kind of dropped on me the other night because I felt like something like this was needed to be added to give them a bit more 'substance'. I don't know if I did something right with this or not.

I hope that you liked it anyway. I appreciate your comments and thoughts on it, so please review me. Your reviews are what keep me wanting to continue to post. Thanks.