InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wish You Were Here ❯ Ashes ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Chevalier Mal Fet 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.18.2015 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 324 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.18.2015 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 324 | Status: Work In Progress
So, it's been a long
time. I managed to find my notes, so everything that is supposed to
happen should happen. I haven't written anything except essays and
research papers for years, but I don't think I'm too rusty. I have
intentionally reverted certain spellings. Though I usually write
Inuyasha now, when I first read the manga in 2002, it was
Inu-Yasha. Since I have always sought to emulate the manga more
than the anime, I have purposely returned to the spelling I
remember from the very beginning.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. This is fanfiction.
Five: Ashes
Inu-Yasha looked at Inu-Yasha, and Inu-Yasha looked at Inu-Yasha. To complicate matters, Inu-Yasha was also looking at Inu-Yasha, and...ugh, headache. Kagome looked at all three of them. Thank the gods there was only ONE of her. The appearance of yet another Inu-Yasha had temporarily halted the fighting, but it was only a matter of time before it became a free-for-all. There was a Kagome present, so Inu-Yasha couldn't let that happen. Besides, only the newest hanyou had a Tetsusaiga. It wouldn't do to survive a kaze no kizu from the Twisted Youkai only to be killed with it by another Inu-Yasha. His clothing had barely finished repairing itself as it was. “Before we start ripping each other to shreds, we are not a trick of Naraku or anything like that. I will explain everything, so just wait until I'm done to start killing us—you can kill that one over there, first, if you want. For my the sake of sanity, if there is any of it left, let's call me Inu-Yasha 1 and him Inu-Yasha 2. That makes YOU Inu-Yasha 3.” Inu-Yasha (3) glared at Inu-Yasha and opened his mouth for some kind of angry retort, but Inu-Yasha continued on, “We are all Inu-Yasha, but we come from different worlds, some kind of different versions of the world where we all apparently still exist. A strange youkai that I've never seen before somehow caused the well to send me to another world instead of Kagome's time. I met Inu-Yasha 2—he was still stuck to the tree, by the way—and the same youkai managed to send both of us through the well again, and here we are.” Inu-Yasha 3 shared a look with Kagome—Kagome 3, Inu-Yasha thought forcefully. Neither seemed entirely convinced, but no one was killing anyone. Both of the new hanyous tried to explain more thoroughly, but Inu-Yasha was starting to get a headache from the whole thing, and Inu-Yasha 2 was obviously an idiot. The extra time nailed to the tree must have damaged his brain or something. The couple whispered together, somehow forgetting that the other Inu-Yashas could hear everything they said. Predictably, Inu-Yasha 3 was insistent that it must be some kind of trick—Inu-Yasha again wondered if he were the only intelligent version of himself to exist—but Kagome 3 seemed more open to the idea. Inu-Yasha had no idea what “Sci-Fi” was, but it seemed to mean that Kagome knew about alternate worlds. They were discussing methods of testing the two strange hanyou doppelgangers (still whispering) when the local Inu-Yasha's eyes widened briefly and he gave a low curse. Inu-Yasha turned to look at what had caused this reaction, and his breath caught. Attended by several circling soul collectors, Kikyou had just appeared from the edge of the forest. Her hair and robes blew in the wind forlornly, the way they always seemed to when she appeared. Inu-Yasha was so taken aback that he forgot to label her Kikyou 3. It was always painful to see her, even when it wasn't even HIS her. For a moment, Inu-Yasha was thankful that Kagome wasn't there to see him staring at Kikyou, then he remembered why Kagome wasn't there, and his heart started to ache all over again. Damn, seeing Kikyou hurt; missing Kagome hurt; what the fuck didn't hurt, anymore? Inu-Yasha 3 had a strange reaction. He seemed even more conflicted than Inu-Prime and not at all happy to see the undead miko. Inu-Yasha suddenly thought that he was never really happy to see Kikyou. However, Three (yes, he was getting tired of thinking his own name so much) seemed more than just saddened by her appearance. He smelled slightly angry and a bit worried. Then again, he had a Kagome there, so being worried made sense. If she were any kind of Kagome, she would be storming off home to sulk any second now. Inu-Yasha knew a lot about sulking. Three (he was determined to think of the copycat that way) stepped forward to confront his Kikyou, but the usual sad scene never happened. Before anyone could react, Inu-Yasha 2 launched himself across the clearing, claws ready to strike down the miko. The other two hanyous recovered from their shock and leapt after him, tackling the idiot to the ground. It took both of them to hold him down as he struggled to continue his attack. There was some kind of saying about the ignorance granting strength or something, wasn't there? There should've been. All three hanyous ended up rolling around on the ground, cursing and pulling at each other. “Stop you idiot!” “What are you doing?!” “Get off me!” “Take that!” Someone managed to throw a punch that actually landed. “Ow, hit HIM, not me, you moron!” “Wait, which of you is which? Ow, don't hit ME!” “That wasn't me; that was him.” “I saw you! You hit me! Take that.” “Ow!” “Haha, you missed me, idiot. Ouch!” Kagome and Kikyou watched all of this in silence, Kikyou's face impassive as ever. Kagome's mouth was definitely quirking up into a grin though. If it went much longer she wouldn't be able to hold back the laughter. In an effort to salvage what little dignity they had left, all three hanyous decided simultaneously to stop rolling around in the dirt and stand up. They eyed each other warily, but didn't want to make fools of themselves...anymore. “Why did you try to attack Kikyou?!” “I hate Kikyou! She killed me!” The 'younger' hanyou was practically radiating rage. “Idiot! We talked about this already. It was all a trick. Remember the whole Naraku thing? Kaede and I both explained this to you.” Maybe they should have used pictures. “He's telling the truth. It was all a trap. Naraku was behind it all,” Inu-Yasha 3 supplied, helpfully. “Feh. I don't care what you say. I've never met this Naraku person. Hell, I've barely met that Kagome girl. You keep telling me to protect her. That I have to fight some Naraku. For all I know, Kikyou really DID plan to kill me, and everything ELSE is wrong!” “Listen, that isn't even YOUR Kikyou. She's...er...my Kikyou. Let ME deal with her.” This seemed to mollify the angry Inu-Yasha, somewhat. He 'fehed' again and settled into an adolescent sulk. 'Idiot,' thought the other two hanyous. Pretending that the last few minutes had never happened, Inu-Yasha 3 brushed himself off and again turned to face Kikyou. He hardened his expression, but Inu-Yasha thought that the other hanyou still smelled of regret and hurt. “Kikyou, what are you doing here? I have no business with you, you know that. You, yourself, said that you were through with me, and I have made my own choice.” He glanced back at the other two red-garbed hanyous. “I didn't choose you,” he said for their sakes. Inu-Yasha was surprised. If he hadn't spent the last week or so falling into alternate world and fighting with himself, he might have been stunned. Apparently anything was possible. Miroku might be a respectable monk in some universe...though, upon further reflection, Inu-Yasha thought that reality might tear apart before that ever happened. Inu-Yasha didn't know what a paradox was, but he might have understood it as Miroku being Miroku but not grabbing women's asses. Such things could destroy universes. Kikyou looked pained, but she also looked angry. Did his own Kikyou look like such a cold, evil bitch? The swirling creatures waiting to feed Kikyou more mortal souls didn't help the abrupt question in his heart. Inu-Yasha would need time to sort the new feelings out. “I...did not come for you, Inu-Yasha. I sensed a strange presence and sought to determine its identity. No, I do not wish to intrude upon you and your...imitation.” Inu-Yasha 3 bristled at Kikyou's insult. Inu-Yasha was surprised to find himself growling, as well. Kikyou noticed and focused her cold eyes on him. She studied him for several moments and then looked over Inu-Yasha 2 before turning back to her own Inu-Yasha. “I have never seen the like of this, before. They are all Inu-Yasha, though they are not YOU. Certainly, that one hates me in a way that you do not, though you do not love me, either.” Inu-Yasha 1 and 3 grimaced in their own variations of guilt and regret. Inu-Yasha 2 just stared, blankly, Inu-Yasha thought. “There is a foul power infesting THIS one, a rotten wrongness that corrupts his spirit. I would purify it...but I have no interest in destroying this particular Inu-Yasha.” She looked over the three hanyous again. A small smile was almost beginning on her face. It wasn't especially pleasant. Inu-Yasha had begun to hope that the Twisted Youkai could be destroyed, but she'd quickly dashed that. Three narrowed his eyes, uncertain if she were implying that she meant to destroy HIM. Of course, she might mean Two. Inu-Yasha glanced at the unpredictable hanyou to see if he might try to attack Kikyou again, but the fool didn't seem to care about anything that she was saying. “I have seen what I came to see. Goodbye, Inu-Yasha. I will disturb your happiness no longer this day.” Kikyou turned and slipped back into the forest, followed by collectors with souls glowing eerily in the dimming light. Inu-Yasha couldn't help but sigh. He had wanted to follow after her, even with his strange doubts and the fact that she wasn't even his Kikyou. Inu-Yasha 3 took a deep breath and turned away. He headed back to where Kagome was waiting by the well. It would be dark soon. Another day ending. Another day of insanity and no Kagome. If things kept going this way, Inu-Yasha would soon have an army of hanyous with which to rid all universes of Naraku. Of course, HE would be their leader. * * * Inu-Yasha was having the strangest experience of deja vu, ever. He was sitting around the fire with Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and two other Inu-Yashas. The lot of them were eyeing him and Two as if they were some strange creature that they expected to suddenly leap up and dance or something. Shippou had actually poked him in disbelief. He'd tried poking Inu-Yasha Two, as well, but the antisocial hanyou had growled so menacingly when the fox had approached that Shippou had shown rare sense and retreated to Kagome's side. Kaede's hut was packed. The old woman had actually had to go sleep in another hut. Inu-Yasha Two was having a much different experience. They had done their best to explain everything to him and to introduce him to everyone, but he wasn't taking to it all very well. He'd barely begun to open to his Kagome before they'd fallen in the well; Inu-Yasha didn't think the other hanyou was ready to be friendly with so many strangers. It was somewhat illuminating to see how things had changed for himself. With what was essentially a past version of himself sitting right there, Inu-Yasha could see just how much was different about himself and his life. It was actually pretty amazing how quickly everything had changed after he'd met Kagome... Kagome. Inu-Yasha missed her all the more as he watched Inu-Yasha 3 with Kagome—3! He was having some trouble remembering that Kagome was Kagome 3. Every once in a while he had to restrain the urge to punch Inu-Yasha 3 in the face for being so close to Kagome—Inu-Yasha even missed his own Miroku and Sango a little. He certainly didn't miss Shippou. Annoying little bastard. He hit Shippou 3 on the head when he came near, for good measure, earning a glare from Kagome 3, and amusement from Inu-Yasha 3, Miroku 3, and Sango 3. Too many threes. There had to be a better way to keep track of things. Oddly enough, this Kagome hadn't run off to her own time. She hadn't even seemed very upset with her Inu-Yasha over him speaking to Kikyou. Inu-Yasha was very curious what that was all about. Something about this world was very different. They had explained about Kikyou and Naraku...again. Two had still not believed them, or perhaps he was just being stubborn. It had driven both of the other hanyous crazy. Inu-Yasha had shouted at him in exasperation. “You're SO dumb!” Before said dumb hanyou could retort, Kagome had burst out laughing. All three hanyous had turned to glare at her, but she'd only laughed harder. She just couldn't help herself upon Inu-Yasha calling himself dumb. With dark falling, they'd gone to Kaede's hut for dinner and to be with the others that were waiting for them. That had been an interesting situation, but the headaches that Inu-Yasha was getting from all the explaining and thinking about who was who...He was tired of Inu-Yashas. Hell, he was barely able to stand himself, by this point. He might even change his name. Better yet, he'd change all the others' names! What to call Two? Idiot worked, but he didn't think the other hanyou would accept it. The whole three Inu-Yashas thing was such a big deal that everybody wouldn't stop talking about it. It was already starting to grate on Inu-Yasha's nerves when Kagome had quipped something like 'how many Inu-Yashas does it take to screw in a light bulb?' He knew what a light bulb was. Two didn't. He assumed it was some kind of insult...which...it kind of was. “How many does it take to screw a–” he began. The other two hanyous clapped their hands over his mouth before he could finish. Inu-Yasha 3 obviously was afraid of being 'sat.' A similar thought seem to occurrto Kagome, because she suddenly got this big grin on her face and quite clearly said, “Sit!” Inu-Yasha 3's face slammed into the floor. Kagome blinked in surprise and then frowned in disappointment. “Hey...Only one of you...” Inu-Yasha grinned. “Oh, that. Well, only the one that actually holds power over the beads can use the spell. You're a different Kagome than the one that subdued us.” “That's such a let-down.” Inu-Yasha 3 had angrily surged up and glared at her. “I'm SOO sorry that only I was slammed face-first into the ground!” Everyone but him seemed to find it very funny. Well, he'd decided that maybe he could get a little revenge. There were some definite differences in the three hanyous. Obviously some things had happened in their worlds that hadn't happened in the others. “Hey, you.” Inu-Yasha frowned at being called 'you' by himself. “I'm One. You get to be Three, remember?” He'd put that cocky hanyou in his place. Three had only smirked. “Yeah. Whatever. So,” he looked sideways at Kagome and smirked even more, “If you ever happen to hear stories or rumors about some temple or shrine with some crazy god that might have a jewel shard, you should DEFINITELY go and check it out. Trust me. You won't regret it.” Kagome had sharply elbowed him in the ribs, but his smirk hadn't wiped off his face. She was blushing bright red. Miroku was—leering. There was no other way to describe it—and Sango was smiling, too. What was going on? Inu-Yasha noticed that Three's arm had gone around Kagome's waist and he started to blush (after putting down the instant desire to rip the other hanyou's head off). Was it possible? Now that he was paying attention, the two smelled different, vaguely strange. They each smelled...a little bit of one another. There was no way... Inu-Yasha Two was much less embarrassed. He stared at the hanyou and girl; he looked at the blushing other hanyou. 'Woman,' he thought. Two looked right at the couple with a disbelieving face. “Are you two mated?” he asked bluntly. Kagome's face probably could have heated the hut. Three looked down, suddenly unable to look at anyone. Apparently his revenge had bitten him back, too. Inu-Yasha's own blush was burning even more furiously now. He couldn't look at Kagome at all. To the side, Miroku was outright laughing, and Sango was hiding her face behind her hands. Shippou looked from face to face, confused. No one ever answered the question. Eventually, everyone managed to pretend it had never been asked. Eventually, after some awkward conversation, and lots of questions about their own worlds, which Inu-Yasha Two kind of was unable to help with, everyone had started to bed down. The three Inu-Yashas had headed outside and realized that they were going to have to find their own places to sleep. Inu-Yasha didn't want to see another him until at least morning. Before he could leap off into the darkness, however, Three had pulled him aside. He'd looked askance of the other hanyou, but was given only a vague gesture of 'Wait. Follow me.' So he'd followed. Finally, Three stopped when they were out of earshot of anyone, even another Inu-Yasha (there could be dozens of them running around in the forest, for all he knew). His face was serious, but Inu-Yasha couldn't help thinking about what had been suggest earlier that night (though perhaps 'suggested' was understating things). That apparently wasn't what the other hanyou had brought him here to talk about. “Today, with Kikyou...You might not understand. But...maybe you will. The other one...He isn't like us, yet. But if we get you two home, maybe he will be. I wouldn't want to be without my Kagome.” Inu-Yasha looked down. The thought of being with Kagome...It was really a new thought. He'd always wanted to be with her...but...the serious consideration of BEING with her...If he hadn't been separated from her, he might not have realized how badly he wanted it. “If Kaede, from the other world, thought that you and the well could be cleansed, then we can try it in this world, too.” Inu-Yasha 3 looked Inu-Yasha in the eyes. “I would not want Kagome, in any world, to have to be alone. She needs...to be protected. By Inu-Yasha.” Inu-Yasha felt that much more was intended than the words meant, but he wasn't sure he was ready to really confront that deeper meaning. It might not be true for ALL Inu-Yashas or Kagomes, after all. But he definitely knew that he needed to get back to Kagome. He had to protect her from Naraku. He NEEDED to be there...with her. And the Kagome of Two's world. She would need someone to protect her, too. It suddenly dawned on him how much danger THAT Kagome would be in with no one at all to protect her with the Shikon no Tama there bringing all sorts of evil after her. They had to get back as soon as possible! “Tomorrow, first thing in the morning...we need to cleanse that well. There is a Kagome that is in danger, even more than my own. Two MUST go back as soon as possible. And...I need to go home, too.” Inu-Yasha 3 nodded. There should never be a Kagome without an Inu-Yasha to protect her. Gods, who would keep that filthy wolf away from her, at the very least?
End of Chapter Five
The next chapter will not take 5 years.
-Chevalier
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. This is fanfiction.
Five: Ashes
Inu-Yasha looked at Inu-Yasha, and Inu-Yasha looked at Inu-Yasha. To complicate matters, Inu-Yasha was also looking at Inu-Yasha, and...ugh, headache. Kagome looked at all three of them. Thank the gods there was only ONE of her. The appearance of yet another Inu-Yasha had temporarily halted the fighting, but it was only a matter of time before it became a free-for-all. There was a Kagome present, so Inu-Yasha couldn't let that happen. Besides, only the newest hanyou had a Tetsusaiga. It wouldn't do to survive a kaze no kizu from the Twisted Youkai only to be killed with it by another Inu-Yasha. His clothing had barely finished repairing itself as it was. “Before we start ripping each other to shreds, we are not a trick of Naraku or anything like that. I will explain everything, so just wait until I'm done to start killing us—you can kill that one over there, first, if you want. For my the sake of sanity, if there is any of it left, let's call me Inu-Yasha 1 and him Inu-Yasha 2. That makes YOU Inu-Yasha 3.” Inu-Yasha (3) glared at Inu-Yasha and opened his mouth for some kind of angry retort, but Inu-Yasha continued on, “We are all Inu-Yasha, but we come from different worlds, some kind of different versions of the world where we all apparently still exist. A strange youkai that I've never seen before somehow caused the well to send me to another world instead of Kagome's time. I met Inu-Yasha 2—he was still stuck to the tree, by the way—and the same youkai managed to send both of us through the well again, and here we are.” Inu-Yasha 3 shared a look with Kagome—Kagome 3, Inu-Yasha thought forcefully. Neither seemed entirely convinced, but no one was killing anyone. Both of the new hanyous tried to explain more thoroughly, but Inu-Yasha was starting to get a headache from the whole thing, and Inu-Yasha 2 was obviously an idiot. The extra time nailed to the tree must have damaged his brain or something. The couple whispered together, somehow forgetting that the other Inu-Yashas could hear everything they said. Predictably, Inu-Yasha 3 was insistent that it must be some kind of trick—Inu-Yasha again wondered if he were the only intelligent version of himself to exist—but Kagome 3 seemed more open to the idea. Inu-Yasha had no idea what “Sci-Fi” was, but it seemed to mean that Kagome knew about alternate worlds. They were discussing methods of testing the two strange hanyou doppelgangers (still whispering) when the local Inu-Yasha's eyes widened briefly and he gave a low curse. Inu-Yasha turned to look at what had caused this reaction, and his breath caught. Attended by several circling soul collectors, Kikyou had just appeared from the edge of the forest. Her hair and robes blew in the wind forlornly, the way they always seemed to when she appeared. Inu-Yasha was so taken aback that he forgot to label her Kikyou 3. It was always painful to see her, even when it wasn't even HIS her. For a moment, Inu-Yasha was thankful that Kagome wasn't there to see him staring at Kikyou, then he remembered why Kagome wasn't there, and his heart started to ache all over again. Damn, seeing Kikyou hurt; missing Kagome hurt; what the fuck didn't hurt, anymore? Inu-Yasha 3 had a strange reaction. He seemed even more conflicted than Inu-Prime and not at all happy to see the undead miko. Inu-Yasha suddenly thought that he was never really happy to see Kikyou. However, Three (yes, he was getting tired of thinking his own name so much) seemed more than just saddened by her appearance. He smelled slightly angry and a bit worried. Then again, he had a Kagome there, so being worried made sense. If she were any kind of Kagome, she would be storming off home to sulk any second now. Inu-Yasha knew a lot about sulking. Three (he was determined to think of the copycat that way) stepped forward to confront his Kikyou, but the usual sad scene never happened. Before anyone could react, Inu-Yasha 2 launched himself across the clearing, claws ready to strike down the miko. The other two hanyous recovered from their shock and leapt after him, tackling the idiot to the ground. It took both of them to hold him down as he struggled to continue his attack. There was some kind of saying about the ignorance granting strength or something, wasn't there? There should've been. All three hanyous ended up rolling around on the ground, cursing and pulling at each other. “Stop you idiot!” “What are you doing?!” “Get off me!” “Take that!” Someone managed to throw a punch that actually landed. “Ow, hit HIM, not me, you moron!” “Wait, which of you is which? Ow, don't hit ME!” “That wasn't me; that was him.” “I saw you! You hit me! Take that.” “Ow!” “Haha, you missed me, idiot. Ouch!” Kagome and Kikyou watched all of this in silence, Kikyou's face impassive as ever. Kagome's mouth was definitely quirking up into a grin though. If it went much longer she wouldn't be able to hold back the laughter. In an effort to salvage what little dignity they had left, all three hanyous decided simultaneously to stop rolling around in the dirt and stand up. They eyed each other warily, but didn't want to make fools of themselves...anymore. “Why did you try to attack Kikyou?!” “I hate Kikyou! She killed me!” The 'younger' hanyou was practically radiating rage. “Idiot! We talked about this already. It was all a trick. Remember the whole Naraku thing? Kaede and I both explained this to you.” Maybe they should have used pictures. “He's telling the truth. It was all a trap. Naraku was behind it all,” Inu-Yasha 3 supplied, helpfully. “Feh. I don't care what you say. I've never met this Naraku person. Hell, I've barely met that Kagome girl. You keep telling me to protect her. That I have to fight some Naraku. For all I know, Kikyou really DID plan to kill me, and everything ELSE is wrong!” “Listen, that isn't even YOUR Kikyou. She's...er...my Kikyou. Let ME deal with her.” This seemed to mollify the angry Inu-Yasha, somewhat. He 'fehed' again and settled into an adolescent sulk. 'Idiot,' thought the other two hanyous. Pretending that the last few minutes had never happened, Inu-Yasha 3 brushed himself off and again turned to face Kikyou. He hardened his expression, but Inu-Yasha thought that the other hanyou still smelled of regret and hurt. “Kikyou, what are you doing here? I have no business with you, you know that. You, yourself, said that you were through with me, and I have made my own choice.” He glanced back at the other two red-garbed hanyous. “I didn't choose you,” he said for their sakes. Inu-Yasha was surprised. If he hadn't spent the last week or so falling into alternate world and fighting with himself, he might have been stunned. Apparently anything was possible. Miroku might be a respectable monk in some universe...though, upon further reflection, Inu-Yasha thought that reality might tear apart before that ever happened. Inu-Yasha didn't know what a paradox was, but he might have understood it as Miroku being Miroku but not grabbing women's asses. Such things could destroy universes. Kikyou looked pained, but she also looked angry. Did his own Kikyou look like such a cold, evil bitch? The swirling creatures waiting to feed Kikyou more mortal souls didn't help the abrupt question in his heart. Inu-Yasha would need time to sort the new feelings out. “I...did not come for you, Inu-Yasha. I sensed a strange presence and sought to determine its identity. No, I do not wish to intrude upon you and your...imitation.” Inu-Yasha 3 bristled at Kikyou's insult. Inu-Yasha was surprised to find himself growling, as well. Kikyou noticed and focused her cold eyes on him. She studied him for several moments and then looked over Inu-Yasha 2 before turning back to her own Inu-Yasha. “I have never seen the like of this, before. They are all Inu-Yasha, though they are not YOU. Certainly, that one hates me in a way that you do not, though you do not love me, either.” Inu-Yasha 1 and 3 grimaced in their own variations of guilt and regret. Inu-Yasha 2 just stared, blankly, Inu-Yasha thought. “There is a foul power infesting THIS one, a rotten wrongness that corrupts his spirit. I would purify it...but I have no interest in destroying this particular Inu-Yasha.” She looked over the three hanyous again. A small smile was almost beginning on her face. It wasn't especially pleasant. Inu-Yasha had begun to hope that the Twisted Youkai could be destroyed, but she'd quickly dashed that. Three narrowed his eyes, uncertain if she were implying that she meant to destroy HIM. Of course, she might mean Two. Inu-Yasha glanced at the unpredictable hanyou to see if he might try to attack Kikyou again, but the fool didn't seem to care about anything that she was saying. “I have seen what I came to see. Goodbye, Inu-Yasha. I will disturb your happiness no longer this day.” Kikyou turned and slipped back into the forest, followed by collectors with souls glowing eerily in the dimming light. Inu-Yasha couldn't help but sigh. He had wanted to follow after her, even with his strange doubts and the fact that she wasn't even his Kikyou. Inu-Yasha 3 took a deep breath and turned away. He headed back to where Kagome was waiting by the well. It would be dark soon. Another day ending. Another day of insanity and no Kagome. If things kept going this way, Inu-Yasha would soon have an army of hanyous with which to rid all universes of Naraku. Of course, HE would be their leader. * * * Inu-Yasha was having the strangest experience of deja vu, ever. He was sitting around the fire with Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and two other Inu-Yashas. The lot of them were eyeing him and Two as if they were some strange creature that they expected to suddenly leap up and dance or something. Shippou had actually poked him in disbelief. He'd tried poking Inu-Yasha Two, as well, but the antisocial hanyou had growled so menacingly when the fox had approached that Shippou had shown rare sense and retreated to Kagome's side. Kaede's hut was packed. The old woman had actually had to go sleep in another hut. Inu-Yasha Two was having a much different experience. They had done their best to explain everything to him and to introduce him to everyone, but he wasn't taking to it all very well. He'd barely begun to open to his Kagome before they'd fallen in the well; Inu-Yasha didn't think the other hanyou was ready to be friendly with so many strangers. It was somewhat illuminating to see how things had changed for himself. With what was essentially a past version of himself sitting right there, Inu-Yasha could see just how much was different about himself and his life. It was actually pretty amazing how quickly everything had changed after he'd met Kagome... Kagome. Inu-Yasha missed her all the more as he watched Inu-Yasha 3 with Kagome—3! He was having some trouble remembering that Kagome was Kagome 3. Every once in a while he had to restrain the urge to punch Inu-Yasha 3 in the face for being so close to Kagome—Inu-Yasha even missed his own Miroku and Sango a little. He certainly didn't miss Shippou. Annoying little bastard. He hit Shippou 3 on the head when he came near, for good measure, earning a glare from Kagome 3, and amusement from Inu-Yasha 3, Miroku 3, and Sango 3. Too many threes. There had to be a better way to keep track of things. Oddly enough, this Kagome hadn't run off to her own time. She hadn't even seemed very upset with her Inu-Yasha over him speaking to Kikyou. Inu-Yasha was very curious what that was all about. Something about this world was very different. They had explained about Kikyou and Naraku...again. Two had still not believed them, or perhaps he was just being stubborn. It had driven both of the other hanyous crazy. Inu-Yasha had shouted at him in exasperation. “You're SO dumb!” Before said dumb hanyou could retort, Kagome had burst out laughing. All three hanyous had turned to glare at her, but she'd only laughed harder. She just couldn't help herself upon Inu-Yasha calling himself dumb. With dark falling, they'd gone to Kaede's hut for dinner and to be with the others that were waiting for them. That had been an interesting situation, but the headaches that Inu-Yasha was getting from all the explaining and thinking about who was who...He was tired of Inu-Yashas. Hell, he was barely able to stand himself, by this point. He might even change his name. Better yet, he'd change all the others' names! What to call Two? Idiot worked, but he didn't think the other hanyou would accept it. The whole three Inu-Yashas thing was such a big deal that everybody wouldn't stop talking about it. It was already starting to grate on Inu-Yasha's nerves when Kagome had quipped something like 'how many Inu-Yashas does it take to screw in a light bulb?' He knew what a light bulb was. Two didn't. He assumed it was some kind of insult...which...it kind of was. “How many does it take to screw a–” he began. The other two hanyous clapped their hands over his mouth before he could finish. Inu-Yasha 3 obviously was afraid of being 'sat.' A similar thought seem to occurrto Kagome, because she suddenly got this big grin on her face and quite clearly said, “Sit!” Inu-Yasha 3's face slammed into the floor. Kagome blinked in surprise and then frowned in disappointment. “Hey...Only one of you...” Inu-Yasha grinned. “Oh, that. Well, only the one that actually holds power over the beads can use the spell. You're a different Kagome than the one that subdued us.” “That's such a let-down.” Inu-Yasha 3 had angrily surged up and glared at her. “I'm SOO sorry that only I was slammed face-first into the ground!” Everyone but him seemed to find it very funny. Well, he'd decided that maybe he could get a little revenge. There were some definite differences in the three hanyous. Obviously some things had happened in their worlds that hadn't happened in the others. “Hey, you.” Inu-Yasha frowned at being called 'you' by himself. “I'm One. You get to be Three, remember?” He'd put that cocky hanyou in his place. Three had only smirked. “Yeah. Whatever. So,” he looked sideways at Kagome and smirked even more, “If you ever happen to hear stories or rumors about some temple or shrine with some crazy god that might have a jewel shard, you should DEFINITELY go and check it out. Trust me. You won't regret it.” Kagome had sharply elbowed him in the ribs, but his smirk hadn't wiped off his face. She was blushing bright red. Miroku was—leering. There was no other way to describe it—and Sango was smiling, too. What was going on? Inu-Yasha noticed that Three's arm had gone around Kagome's waist and he started to blush (after putting down the instant desire to rip the other hanyou's head off). Was it possible? Now that he was paying attention, the two smelled different, vaguely strange. They each smelled...a little bit of one another. There was no way... Inu-Yasha Two was much less embarrassed. He stared at the hanyou and girl; he looked at the blushing other hanyou. 'Woman,' he thought. Two looked right at the couple with a disbelieving face. “Are you two mated?” he asked bluntly. Kagome's face probably could have heated the hut. Three looked down, suddenly unable to look at anyone. Apparently his revenge had bitten him back, too. Inu-Yasha's own blush was burning even more furiously now. He couldn't look at Kagome at all. To the side, Miroku was outright laughing, and Sango was hiding her face behind her hands. Shippou looked from face to face, confused. No one ever answered the question. Eventually, everyone managed to pretend it had never been asked. Eventually, after some awkward conversation, and lots of questions about their own worlds, which Inu-Yasha Two kind of was unable to help with, everyone had started to bed down. The three Inu-Yashas had headed outside and realized that they were going to have to find their own places to sleep. Inu-Yasha didn't want to see another him until at least morning. Before he could leap off into the darkness, however, Three had pulled him aside. He'd looked askance of the other hanyou, but was given only a vague gesture of 'Wait. Follow me.' So he'd followed. Finally, Three stopped when they were out of earshot of anyone, even another Inu-Yasha (there could be dozens of them running around in the forest, for all he knew). His face was serious, but Inu-Yasha couldn't help thinking about what had been suggest earlier that night (though perhaps 'suggested' was understating things). That apparently wasn't what the other hanyou had brought him here to talk about. “Today, with Kikyou...You might not understand. But...maybe you will. The other one...He isn't like us, yet. But if we get you two home, maybe he will be. I wouldn't want to be without my Kagome.” Inu-Yasha looked down. The thought of being with Kagome...It was really a new thought. He'd always wanted to be with her...but...the serious consideration of BEING with her...If he hadn't been separated from her, he might not have realized how badly he wanted it. “If Kaede, from the other world, thought that you and the well could be cleansed, then we can try it in this world, too.” Inu-Yasha 3 looked Inu-Yasha in the eyes. “I would not want Kagome, in any world, to have to be alone. She needs...to be protected. By Inu-Yasha.” Inu-Yasha felt that much more was intended than the words meant, but he wasn't sure he was ready to really confront that deeper meaning. It might not be true for ALL Inu-Yashas or Kagomes, after all. But he definitely knew that he needed to get back to Kagome. He had to protect her from Naraku. He NEEDED to be there...with her. And the Kagome of Two's world. She would need someone to protect her, too. It suddenly dawned on him how much danger THAT Kagome would be in with no one at all to protect her with the Shikon no Tama there bringing all sorts of evil after her. They had to get back as soon as possible! “Tomorrow, first thing in the morning...we need to cleanse that well. There is a Kagome that is in danger, even more than my own. Two MUST go back as soon as possible. And...I need to go home, too.” Inu-Yasha 3 nodded. There should never be a Kagome without an Inu-Yasha to protect her. Gods, who would keep that filthy wolf away from her, at the very least?
End of Chapter Five
The next chapter will not take 5 years.
-Chevalier