Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

The Ages and Between	By : Kuronohime Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Inu no Taisho/Kagome Views: 17816 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: Done for purely non monetary pleasure. I do not own Inuyasha or the franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters © Rumiko Takahashi

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Kimiko was lazing on her patio as one of her chambermaids brushed her hair and another placed a platter of fruits and other delicacies in front of her. She wafted an uchiwa, a painted fan, back and forth before her face to fan the stilled air around her.
"So, how's our newest protege improving?" The young demoness inquired Fuyuki, referring to the human girl who had been working under her dominion for almost the past fortnight.
Fuyuki, the amami demoness, was kneeling behind her mistress, going over her daily reports.
"Not very strong, but has tenacity." Fuyuki gave her short estimate.
Kimiko didn't further ruminate on her subject's answer. She fell into a pensive silence for a while and her servants could only speculate what thoughts went on in the mind that was secluded from them.
"Are all preparations for tomorrow complete?" The young mistress broke the silence whilst changing the subject.
"Yes, milady." Fuyuki gave a stern nod even though Kimiko did not see the gesture.
The whole Sesshoumaru residence had been preparing for an imperious meeting between the different clans and lords of the quarters. It was customary that every year, during the spring, just in the bud of mating seasons, all the lords returned from the mortal realms and a grand gathering was hosted. The Sesshoumaru clan entertained the more casual get-together between the different houses and the day following, the current Inu no Taisho would host the official meeting that was more political in nature.
Even though Kimiko was, by demon standards, very young, she had been hosting these annual assemblies in the absence of her parents for decades. She was considered an excellent host and the lords and ladies always dined and drank to their hearts' content and were never left without good entertainment.
Kimiko knew that the official clan gathering at the Inu no Taisho's mansion was an especially wearing one, so she wanted all her guests to feel relaxed and pampered the night before.
"Very well. Just make certain that our protege keeps out of the way tomorrow." Kimiko concluded and flicked her wrist to gesture Fuyuki to leave.
Her trusted servant confirmed the wish and returned to her hectic preparation duties.

***

Toga anxiously paced around his quarters, waiting for the announcement for an especially important guest.
It had been years he had last seen his older brother.
When growing up, the two had been inseparable. Whatever his older brother did, Toga was sure to follow. They got into a lot of trouble, but his brother always had an easy air around him and could talk his way out of nearly any trouble. He was jovial and easy-going by nature, but also kind-hearted which gained him a lot of sympathy regardless of his mischiefs.
It was only in their adulthood when his onii-sama had begun to rebel against their father's rules and it had garnered him some ill-reputation and harsh talks among his peers.
His elder brother was one of the most talented swordsmen in the land and had great perception on battling tactics. Issue was, he wasn't much interested in dealing with territorial qualms and he had some... unsavory affiliations. Even though he had an amiable nature and was regarded great company, he was stubborn and not interested in pleasing others for the sake of his own status. He was very loyal to his friends, even though these questionable sidings reflected poorly on his social position. Most demons of his own kind found his connections with lower breeds distasteful.
As per usual, no servant came beforehand to announce Toga's guest before the guest himself barged in. His brother never had had a patience for "stale and conventional" customs.
"Well, there's a sight for these sore eyes!" His brother roared with his usual happy-go-lucky laughter while a desperately stumbling servant behind him tried to announce the visitor.
Toga hardly had the time to rouse his eyebrows when his brother had already strode up to him and secured him in a bearly hug.
"Onii-sam- uggh!" Toga wheezed while his ribs were being crushed. He tried to pat his brother on his back to make him ease his grip.
"You little bastard, you've gained some brawn since I last saw you!" His brother raucously announced and slapped his little brother hard on the back.
Even though Toga was younger of the two, he was slightly taller than his older brother, but still could not compete with his onii-sama's built. Ever since pups, the brothers had enjoyed competing in the size of their muscles and the skills of their swords. A habit that had not died as they had grown.
"What ungodly piece of clothing are you wearing?" Toga questioned his older brother after being released and taking notice of his brother's new outfit.
"Ah!" The older inu youkai grinned and did a little twirl for his otouto. "You like it?"
The older brother was wearing a jarringly bright suikan. He had always been quite flamboyant and exhibited peculiar tastes, so the outfit was actually quite fitting.
"It's... very red." Toga admitted shortly.
"It's made from hinezumi. Fire-proofed, sword and claw resistant and self-mending. Helluva more mobile than those clunky old armors of yours – ha! Comes in a smashing color also, yes. If you want to, I can recommend you a good demon sartor." He poked Toga to his side. "Trust me, these will become the rave in few millenniums."
Toga flashed a toothy smile at his brother but kindly refused the offer. His big brother was probably the only dog demon who could get away wearing something as attention-drawing.
After a bit of good humored nonsense, Toga cleared his throat and addressed the big, fat and smelly elephant in the room. It would just draw out the awkwardness to evade this discussion further.
"So. You're back on father's good side?"
The atmosphere dropped, but his brother didn't flinch the straight-to-the-point question, he had been expecting to be questioned about his sudden return.
"Yeah, I guess. For how long, who knows." He sighed but didn't lose the adolescent glint in his eyes. "I wouldn't heavily bet on me staying here long, though. Dad is probably anxiously waiting for me to fuck up so that he can finally remove me from the family tapestry." A rumbling laughter emerged from his chest, and had someone outside heard their conversation, they might had thought that the older brother was joking, but in actuality, he was being dead serious.
"Do you need a place to stay at?" Toga offered. The situation between his brother and father was clearly still infected and placing the two men in close quarters could possibly brew new conflicts, or blow out the old ones. His brother had long ago renounced the ownership of his own mansion in the demon realm. Mainly because he had been expelled for the majority of the time, but also because of his reputation, he had a hard time finding a staff willing to work for him.
"Much appreciated, bro." His brother nodded and found a comfortable seat next to Toga's hearth.
"Are you going to attend the gathering at Sesshoumaru's tomorrow? Have you given any thought to that yet?" Toga knew his brother was aware of the gathering, the reason why he had been summoned here was largely because of the meeting of the clans. It had been customary for as long as they both had lived that the clans met once a year, during spring and prior to the official meeting, there was the more informal evening before. But it would take a hell of a character to go in and face the music that was the resentment of all their peers. Gladly, or sadly, his brother was very much such a character. A man who didn't shy from harsh stares or cowered from viscous tongues.
"Hey, since the old man's not coming anyway – it's a night of free booze and an opportunity to cause offence among the snoots. Of the fucking course I'm going." His brother grinned widely.
"I don't feel much like frolicking right now myself." Toga replied, sounding more tired that he would have wanted to admit. "Are you sure you're alright going there alone?"
"Bah!" His brother shouted gleefully. "Since when have I needed you to hold my hand, otouto?" The stress was given to the last word.
"You're right, onii-sama" Toga mocked his brother's cadence. "It's safe to assume that you will be kicked out here by the end of the month."
Both competitively stared at each other before bursting out in laughter.

***

"Hurry, hurry! Where's the hell is the broth!" Fuyuki yelled over the commotion of servants shouting, running, spinning and huffing.
"You there!" Fuyuki pointed an angry finger at a scared looking weasel demon. "Did you take the water to the washiki already!" The demon's answer was not waited for before Fuyuki spotted another servant with a serving platter. "Akiko! Did I NOT already tell you to reheat that genmai! You are CERTAINLY NOT serving our guests cold rice!" She barked at the hunching servant who was trying to squeak back an answer.
"WHAT!" Fuyuki fumed and pushed another servant out of her way.
"Fuyuki-sama..." The squeaking servant trembled, terrified of her superior's reaction. "There's a problem in the kitchen..." She dared to continue even though Fuyuki's eyes were already looking like they could pop out of her skull any second. "The fox fire is acting up, it's not heating the kamado."
"What in the abomination... Use regular fire then!" The amami rabbit bellowed and tugged the tips of her flattened ears in frustration at the idiots she had to deal with. And on a such important night as this!
"Yes, but-" The servant was cut short when a hall servant came in to announce that the guests needed more sake. The hall servant herself had her hands full with empty cups and vessels.
The amami rabbit grumbled under hear breath trying to scout an idle servant nearby. They were understaffed since Houkou-jiji, the head kitchen master, had fallen ill with moss fever and was out of commission. It took several other servants to compensate for his skills of cooking and organizing. Houkou-jiji was the most vital part of the staff, right after Fuyuki; so it was the most unpropitious time for him to fall ill.
The amami rabbit desperately scanned the room with her eyes. Everyone was busy and she would have to personally go and deal with the havoc in the kitchen. What a mess, she shook her head until her gaze fell on a human girl huddled in the corner, picking up scraps and garbage off the floor.
Kagome had been explicitly told not to show herself to any of the guests or touching anything going to the main hall. Fuyuki had made great efforts to try and hide her human smell, but didn't want to risk the exposure of her presence by allowing her to touch anything that would be presented to demons of extremely keen sense of smell.
But at this time of the night, when there was only dessert to be served after the guests had finished their main courses, most of the demons would be probably too intoxicated to take notice if a human quickly delivered more booze. Fuyuki would do a quick reinforcing spell to mask her human scent and aura. It was her only choice.
"Princess, don't just stand there! Make use of yourself!" Fuyuki bossed while wailing her hands at the rest of the servants. Kagome was startled at the sudden bark at her and looked at Fuyuki with wide eyes.
"Take that platter to the main hall." Fuyuki quickly chanted something and waved her hands around, pointing at a side table in the preparing room.
The young girl apprehensively approached the direction Fuyuki had pointed at. There was a round, ceramic serving plate which was full of little cups, filled to the brim with spirits. The amami demoness glanced at the human who carefully attempted to lift the enormous plate off the serving table.
"Hand it to the imp once you get to the hall. Don't loiter. Leave as soon as you've delivered the platter." She further advised with a strict tone. Her lady's orders had been to keep the human away from the eyes of any guests, but there were no other idle hands available to serve the drinks. And Fuyuki knew nothing worse than an inebriate master who had to suffer thirst.

***

Kagome walked the lengthy way to the great hall, carrying a tray of ludicrously expensive sake. The cups teetered on the platter she desperately tried to hold balanced. Once she entered the great hall full of guests, the girl immediately looked for the imp to hand the platter to. There were two of the gossiping servants she had seen during her first day nearby her. She heard snippets of their hushed conversation.
"Isn't that the major general?" One whispered from the corner of her mouth while pretending to clean hashioki, chopstick rests.
"Yes. I guess he's back in the good graces of his father." The other murmured under her breath and gave a meaningful gaze to her serving colleague.
'Always gossiping', Kagome knitted her brows and tried to spot the small, green servant she had seen earlier the day.
Her eyes wondered about the room and spotted a young man who, unlike anyone else in the room, was not wearing a white kimono. But it was not the only thing that stuck out about him.
All the tables were packed full with loudly talking and arguing dog demons, but the man in the suikan sat all alone. It was the only table that was empty – save for him. He was looking bored and blew air out of his cheeks.
His eyes also studied the hall around him until he turned his amber eyes at Kagome. Their eyes locked at each other and Kagome hardly even noticed how the platter began to tilt in her arms.
"Inuyasha?" She breathed.
The man frowned at her, or maybe frowned, Kagome didn't have time to study his expression further when there was an ear-piercing clang and clatter at the root of her feet. All the cups came crashing down and each of the ceramics extravagantly shattered on impact against the floor.
Like by a wave of a magical wand, the imp quickly appeared from tending one of his patrons, weaving his way nimbly through guests and other servants who had all fallen dead silent. He angrily grabbed Kagome by her elbow and pulled her to the side.
"Look what you have done!" He hissed appalled and waved his hands flusteredly at the damage by their feet.
Kagome paid no attention to the little fuming green demon who was still holding her elbow captive. She looked past him at the man who had stood up after the human girl had caused all the commotion. The man wore a crimson red suikan, made of fire rat hive.
'Inuyasha!'
She could have sworn she was in a dream had it not been for the persistent tug on her arm that let her know she was awake. It was impossible. He could not be here. Inuyasha wouldn't be born for millenniums.
All the eyes that had been staring at her, one by one turned away from her and a loud chatter filled the room again. All eyes, except his. That man was still staring at her, looking as confused as she.

***

Right after Kagome had been forcefully dragged out of the room, Inuyasha nearly ran after her, not bothering to apologize when he knocked over some drinks and bumped into several pompous nincompoops on his way out of the great hall.
He had to know who the hell that woman was.
The evening, up until that point, had been quite uneventful. No-one had bothered to argue with him even though he had tried to be on his worst behavior. Antagonizing the lords and being boorish at the ladies for his own dark amusement. He yearned for some confrontation, especially after enjoying his share of the good sake Sesshoumaru had served. He knew he was not wanted there and could hear the whispers and murmurs about how he dared to show his face there. Would serve them right to give them a piece of his mind.
But the lords and ladies obviously knew better that to bite into his hook of provoking and everyone had been boringly civilized at him. Civilized enough to answer him politely when address to, but too chicken-shit to sit down and actually talk with him. What the friends and families would think if they knew someone was socializing with the black sheep of the Taisho clan? Tsk.
He clenched his jaw and barged into the hallway. Her scent was so thick, he could almost see a visible trail in the air.
How could she have known his name? He was absolutely positive this was the first time he had seen her. Her eyes, those doll-like dark orbs, had been like a punch to his gut. He would have been unable to forget those eyes had he ever laid his gaze upon them before.
He inhaled the thick lingering scent in the air and walked behind that trail until he came across a weasel demon.
"Oy!" He exclaimed at the weasel who was trying to pass him by. The poor creature nearly froze in shock.
"Who's that human girl working for Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha insisted on knowing. He could see how the blood on the weasel's face drained and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"I... Uh... I'm afraid I don't know to whom milord is ref-"
Inuyasha let out a forceful huff of air. "Let's just not, okay. You do know her." He pressured the weasel who was visibly growing more uncomfortable by this sudden inquisition.
"Listen," Inuyasha said and dug through his pockets. He pulled out an extremely expensive charm of dark demon magic. Something of the like was completely unobtainable for a lesser demon like the servant.
The weasel looked at the trinket and his eyes grew large with interest.
"You spill the beans and I'll give you this." Inuyasha tried to bargain and dangled the charm before the servant. "Anything you tell me, I never heard from you, okay?"
The weasel huddled his head between his shoulders and peered around him to make sure they were alone. Then he greedily grabbed the charm and bit his teeth in it to authenticate it. When he looked satisfied, the small demon hid the charm into his uniform.
"The girl is called Kagome. I dunno nothing else about her except that she's a priestess or sumthin'. Kimiko wants to hide her from being discovered by other inugami. I dunno why. She seems like she's a big deal to someone." The weasel rapidly explained, all the while his eyes kept going back and forth trying to make sure no-one was listening to his ratting.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha iterated, marveling the form of her name on his tongue.
The weasel pressed his head down "That's all I know." He said and hurried back to his duties.
Inuyasha didn't bother to shout his thanks at the back of the weasel, but instead, pursued to follow that peculiar scent. He could tell Kimiko had used potent magic to mask it, but it was human alright. He followed the scent until he arrived to a door that led outside.

***

Kagome had been dismissed to other duties outside the mansion, away from all the guests and other servants. She scraped remains of foods into a waste compost outside. It was a long walk from the mansion, the compost was used to fertilize Kimiko's garden. Kagome was sure all of this could have been done just as well with magic, but she remembered Fuyuki saying that magic never surpassed the quality of cooking, gardening or arts that were made by hand.
Kimiko's flowers blossomed just that much sweeter when they were fertilized with actual mulch and watered by hand.
Thinking of Fuyuki, under normal circumstances, would have made the fine hair on the back of her neck stand out, thinking how she would be beaten and possibly brutally murdered by her slip-up in the great hall. But she was wholly preoccupied by thinking someone else. That man she saw. Even though she was exhausted beyond reason, starving, the room had been loud and murky with incense, she was sure of what she had seen. It was Inuyasha.
Even if she lived a thousand years away from him, Kagome would recognize him in a beat of a heart.
But how on earth was such a thing possible?
"Oy! Pssst, Kagome."
She almost toppled over into the compost when she heard his voice. A familiar, aggravating sound.
She dropped her scrape and the plate she had been holding into the compost, twirling around for the sound.
"Inuyasha?" She whispered back.
"Come here." The voice called from somewhere farther. Kagome left her oil lamp behind, not wanting the light to expose her scape to the guards patrolling around the area. She walked to the direction of the sound.
"Where are you?" She whispered louder and halted near a tree.
She nearly screamed when something quickly grabbed her and pulled her up to the tree.
"Hush. Or the hounds will hear you." Inuyasha gently ordered and cupped his hand over her mouth. When she had managed to swallow down her shock, she slowly nodded her head.
They were perched on a large tree branch, in the far corner of Kimiko's domain. It was pitch-black and Kagome couldn't see the man she knew was only some inches away from her. But she could feel him. It was Inuyasha's youki. Something so powerful and unique, no-one could mimic.
They sat there, in silence, for a few minutes until Inuyasha removed his hand from her mouth. It was safe to talk.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome almost sobbed, her voice was thick with all sorts of mixed emotions. "How did you get here?"
The inu youkai beside her answered honestly. "Umm, I used a miasma cloud?"
Kagome blinked at his answer. Was it that thick cloud Sesshoumaru rode on? Did it have time travelling properties as well?
"How long have you been here?" She breathed, in too much of stupefied state to realize that had it actually been her Inuyasha, the lords and ladies would have hurled his half-bred ass out of the gates quicker than it took a hummingbird to flap its wings once.
"I came tonight." He replied. Little confused about the discussion he was having with the human woman, but he complied out of curiosity. It was obvious she was confusing him with someone. But that still didn't explain how she knew his name. She obviously though she was talking to an inu youkai by the name of Inuyasha, but as far as Inuyasha knew, he was the only one in existence.
"You came to look for me?" Kagome asked, smiling in hopeful relief. This nightmare would soon be over. Inuyasha would take her back to their time. Everything would return to normal. She would see her family again, bicker with Souta, bring tons of candy for Shippo, have a laugh with Sango, despair with her math homework. Like nothing bad ever had happened.
She almost cried with happiness and lunged at Inuyasha, holding him tight. Fearing something would come and steal him away from her, taking this hope and relief away with him.
"I missed you so much." She confessed, burying her face into his suikan. He smelled like the murky forest she remembered. A sudden want to cry like a child shook her whole body violently.
"I–I've done something... Oh, Inuyasha." She wanted to confess the things that had eaten her alive for nights on end for weeks. Her disgusting betrayal. Her weak flesh. But no matter how hard she tried to find for the proper words to describe her vile actions, she could not bring herself to a full confession. "I'm so sorry." She whispered in defeat and cried into his suikan. Letting out all the hurt and confusion of the past weeks, months even. She didn't know how long she had been trapped in this time.
Inuyasha let her cry for a long while. He rubbed her back but said nothing. How could he have? It was completely beyond his knowledge as to what the hell was going on.
But he could smell the fear and hurt of this woman. It was real. She was in despair.
Was it cruel to pretend to be someone he was not? And would it be even more cruel not to pretend?
"Kagome." He murmured and stroked her hair. "It's okay."
He didn't understand any of this. But there was something in her aura that compelled him to comfort her. Another person's aura was usually something that always clashed with his. But this one, it almost like... merged with his youki.
Kagome glid her hands over his neck and to his face. Leaning closer to him.
His nostrils flared and his lips parted.
"Wait." Kagome exclaimed, her tone changing from a heartbroken one to annoyed one in a split of a second.
"Where's your rosary?" She questioned.
The hands that rested on Inuyasha's cheeks carefully ventured to his pointed demon ears.
"How are you in your full demon form?" The intonation of her voice rose sharply.
Inuyasha didn't know what else to say except the truth.
"I've always been in this form." He flatly answered.
Kagome tore her hands away and edged away from him as far as possible.
"Inuyasha?" She asked, sounding suspicious.
"Yes?" He answered.
"What's the name of my cat?"
Inuyasha pondered a while before giving out his best guess. "Nekoyasha?" He offered and grinned.
"YOU'RE NOT INUYASHA!" She screeched and almost fell off the branch.
Inuysha hurried to clamp his hand over her mouth and steady her from falling.
"Quiet down woman, or the hounds will come 'ere!" He hissed.
Kagome slapped his hand away, the feeling of hope and relief being crushed inside her chest.
"Do you even know who I am?" She demanded, sounding pretty mad at this point.
"Well..." He tried to search for appeasing words, but found none. "Not exactly."
Kagome held her breath and tried to calm herself from wanting to punch this sudden stranger in the mouth.
"How dare you!" She spat. "I poured my heart at you and you- you- Aggh!" She balled her hands and stared daggers at the dark direction he was sitting in.
"You tricked me!" She shouted with a whisper – quite the accomplishment, Inuyasha had to admit.
"Oy! I never said I knew you. It was you who seemed to know me!" He defended himself. "Who the hell are you, woman?"
Kagome stared into the dark, into the eyes she could not see. She could sense the guards were moving around. They would find them soon if they didn't scatter.
This man, whoever he was, he was the closest thing she had for a chance.
"Take me down." She commanded and since he could also sense the guards nearing them, he didn't debate.
When they were back on the ground, Kagome angrily pushed him away. Feeling fooled and mortified.
"Come here, tomorrow evening. Same time, same place" She instructed and quickly headed back to the oil lamp that was still burning next to the compost.
Inuyasha waited until she disappeared back inside with the lamp before he quickly went over to the compost.

***

A some while later, Inuyasha wondered back into Toga's mansion, trying to recover from his sudden encounter of that strange human woman. What a night had it turned out to be.
He was so distracted by his thoughts, he was caught completely off guard by his brother who appeared into the common room.
"So, did you manage to get yourself disowned yet?" Toga's humorous jab jarred him from his thoughts.
Inuyasha cleared his throat before trying to answer with his typical nonchalance.
"I tried my best, but the damned fish weren't biting tonight."
Toga dryly laughed and asked if anything interesting had happened.
Inuyasha sat next to a smothered hearth and scratched his chin.
He couldn't tell his brother about that woman. For all the shit he had put his family through for his human affiliations, this would be too much. He was on a short leash and if his father would hear that he had as much as been in the same house with a human, he'd surely expel his ass for good. And he was not in the mood for a lecture from his younger brother. Not until he had unraveled the mystery of that woman at least.
"Nah. I was so bored I left early and just ended up wondering about before I came back." A truth that was a lie.
Toga chuckled and instructed his brother to go to sleep. Before Toga retreated to his own chamber, he halted at the doorway and carefully sniffed the air.
"What's that smell?" He asked.
Inuyasha clenched his fists in the sleeves of his suikan. Damned the observational skills of his brother.
Inuyasha had tried his best to mask her scent underneath his youki. For some extra measurements, he had taken some of the mulch from the compost and rubbed himself in it.
"Aye. I was pretty drunk by the time I left so I must've fallen into something nasty. I'll take a bath before retiring."
Toga looked at his brother. Inuyasha stared back at him until Toga nodded and bid him goodnight.

***

Kagome laid wide awake that whole night. Going over the past few hours, analyzing every word, gesture, smell and feeling. Questioning all of her senses and always ending up with the conviction that she hadn't gone mad after all.
How could he not be Inuyasha when he was Inuyasha? They had an identical resemblance. Not only that, but identical youki. It wasn't a trick. It wasn't a hallucination. He had been real. It had been Inuyasha.
But how could two people...
And a heart-wrenching realization smacked her in the head like a slap of a divine hand. Her pupils contracted to small needlepoints.
Two people of different eras, in fact, can be the same if they share the same soul.

***

A/N: All of this will make sense eventually. All of this plays a big part in how Toga becomes the man he is supposed to be.
And I also adore drama and love triangles. BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAH.
Military ranks hardly were the same 3000 years ago as they are today, but since Inu no Taisho is referred as General in the canon by Takahashi, I'm referring his son as General Major (third highest rank of ground force while General being the highest).
There's a lot of historical and foreign glossary, I might add explanations for the words if you guys feel it benefits the story and makes the reading easier?
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The Ages and Between