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The Other Side of Kazaana	By : szaugg Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 19841 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
A/N
Thank you for the reviews!   Aaaah,
the joys of having so much written I can just pop �em
off like firecrackers! Woo hoo! Sorry
this one is mostly conversation, but you always gotta
have those plot progression moments�at least when there�s actually plot.
Kind of new terrain for me, here, so we�ll see where it goes!

Chapter 4 �
Discussions

Miroku sat on the ground, uncomfortable to be the
focus of all eyes, the others� faces forming the rough circle in front of
him. Kaede hadn�t wanted the discussion to be
held in the village, not with so much anger still directed at the monk.
Instead they�d quickly made their way to a clear, grassy area, away from most
of the village�s activities. Looking at the large pool of water where an
eddy in the stream had eaten away at the bank, Miorku
thought he recognized this as a favorite of Sango and
Kagome�s when they bathed.
He�d have to go to the concealing bushes on the opposite side and look back
to be sure.
He felt the urge to fidget with the cloth of his robes and restrained
himself. This was a time for clear thinking, not nerves.
Unfortunately, clear thinking seemed beyond him at the moment. He was
sitting in a place he knew, surrounded by people he knew, and at the same time,
everything felt completely unfamiliar. Things had happened he knew
nothing of. Unfamiliar emotions poured from his companion�s eyes whenever
they looked at him, and another man with a face almost identical to his own
roamed the world committing atrocities that he felt responsible for.
He was at a loss about how to explain any of it. How did he even go
about discovering what had happened? How could he find out when the
imposter had taken his place? He didn�t even know how much time had
passed since the kazaana took him, and they had
thought Naraku was dead more times than he could
count, so referring to the time �they thought they�d killed Naraku�
was not going to be very useful. He wanted to ask when they�d noticed the
change in his behavior, if it had been after a large explosion from kazaana, but he was�afraid.
What if they hadn�t noticed? That was his worst fear, that a slow
worsening of his character had seemed such a natural progression that no one
even commented on the change. It pained him to think that they knew him
so little that such a trick could be perpetrated at all; it would be worse if
they saw nothing surprising in his behavior over the years.
Although that was likely his own fear over the past few
days affecting his judgement. After all,
if they really hadn�t noticed a difference, would they even consider having him
close right now? Definitely not. He needed to
take a deep breath and simply try and approach this as a puzzle in logic rather
than the emotional maze it seemed to be. He had plenty of time to mourn
later, if such was needed.
And it would be, he thought, looking to Shippou.
There would be many things he was sure he had no desire to know. He
shuddered. There were already things he wished he didn�t remember that it was
going to take some time to recover from. But this needed to be solved. Now.
If only he could figure out how!
�So does anyone have a fucking clue why there are two Miroku�s?�
Inuyasha finally said. Miroku
smiled momentarily. Well, that was one way to start the discussion.
�I don�t believe I have any half-brothers, but that is a possibility that
occurred to me.�
�You�re not brothers.� Inuyasha and Shippou echoed.
�How can you be sure?� Kagome asked, �They�re not identical, but they�re
really close��
�Their scent is too damn close to be related. Siblings I could tell
apart with my eyes closed at 20 paces, but this Miroku
and the other? Their scent is so close it�s fuckin�
eerie. There�s a tiny difference, but anyone without a good nose, or who
isn�t really looking for it, would miss it. Siblings just don�t smell
that much alike, not even twins.�
�I suppose I should be happy, then, that one of my own blood
hasn�t turned out so poorly.� Miroku said with a
disappointed shrug, �Although it certainly would have been the most convenient
explanation.�
�Eh, it still wouldn�t explain how you know all of us.� Inuyasha
disagreed. �That�s the part that�s so weird.�
At seeing all heads nodding in agreement, Miroku
closed his eyes, pained. They believed so easily that he had turned to Naraku that they couldn�t even conceive of being
fooled?   Had he been such a terrible person before?
�I know you because he took my place, Inuyasha.� Miroku said softly. �I�m sorry if- if my past
behavior led you all to believe that I would do�the things he did to you.
But it wasn�t me.�
�What the hell are you talking about?� Inuyasha
asked slowly.
�I- what?�
�I�ve never fucking met you before in my life before a few days ago.�
�But Inuyasha- � Miroku stared at him, hurt more than he would have
thought possible. He didn�t believe him? Looking at the others, he
saw the same rejection of his words. �But- it�s me, Miroku.
I�m Miroku.�
Inuyasha stood up and started pacing, agitated as
he looked down and the monk. �You�re not.� Miroku
stared up him, almost unable to breathe. Why didn�t they believe
him? Inuyasha looked at him closely and
crouched down in front of him. �Look, I�m really sorry, but you�re
not. Fuck, I can�t tell you how much I wish you were; things would have
been a hell of a lot easier these past years. But�I�ve never met a Miroku with monk�s robe and golden rings through his ears.�
He said, flicking at Miroku�s hoops lightly with his
claws as he stared into his eyes.
�Nor have I.� Said Kaede slowly.
The others nodded in agreement again.
Miroku looked at them all blankly. �But I
thought� I don�t understand. This makes no sense. I don�t
understand this at all.� He muttered, trying to wrap his mind around it.
They didn�t recognize him? They had to! If they didn�t know him,
then�who were they? Who was he?!!
Kagome�s voice broke through his confusion. �Miroku,
you think you know us, is that right? Maybe we could figure out what�s
going on if you can remember what happened from the time we knew you to the
time we didn�t?�
�I-I�m sure that would be of some use.� He said shakily. His mind felt
fogged and uncertain. His friends claimed that they had never met
him? what was he going to do? �Eh, th-the last time I saw you was
when Naraku was killed.�
�Well considering he�s still alive, that seems a little strange, don�t you
think?� Sango said coldly.
�Shut up and let the poor guy talk, Sango.� Inuyasha growled, moving to the side of Miroku
to listen.
�W-well, a-as I said, we�d just killed Naraku��
�Wait, �we?� Does that mean you were fighting against Naraku?� Sango broke in
again.
�Of course.� Miroku
waited a moment in case she wanted to interrupt again before continuing, but
she settled for a disbelieving grumble and gestured for him to go on.
�After his body was destroyed, the kazaana started to
grow and I was consumed. And somehow I woke in the well and came back to
the village��
The others looked at him curiously. �And?� Inuyasha asked impatiently.
�And what? That is when I met Kaede-sama and was mistaken for the ronin
version of myself.�
�That�s it? Well that doesn�t help us for shit!� he muttered angrily.
�I wouldn�t say that.� Kaede interrupted.
�It sounds as though the man died.� She looked to Miroku
for confirmation.
�I assumed I was a spirit when I first emerged from the well.� Miroku said quietly.
�I would have to say that you seem to have too much flesh to belong to that
particular class of beings.� Kaede said with a
twinkle in her eye. �Perhaps you have simply been brought into this world
from somewhere else.�
�Through the well�� Kagome whispered, and then flushed as Miroku looked her way.
�The well?�
�Never mind me, I�m just talking to myself.� She
said, waving her hand gently. �I was just thinking, if we don�t know you, but
you remember knowing us, maybe we�re both right.�
Inuyasha scowled at her. �And how the hell
would that work?�
�Well� some people from-from my home land think that there could be
different�well, different versions of the same place. There�s
lots of stories about that sort of thing. Miroku
calling the ronin a version of himself�maybe he
really is. If we had something�� here she looked intently at Inuyasha, ��that could bring someone from one place to
another, maybe that�s what happened. You could be the Miroku
from another world just like ours, with the same people, but just a little
different.�
�Another version?� Miroku
thought hard. The well did bring Kagome from the future, could it
have brought him to an alternate Japan as well? Did that
mean� �Then I shouldn�t be here. If that�s true and I�m merely a
different version of the Miroku already here, maybe I
wasn�t meant to be here at all. But if I jumped back into the
well�perhaps I could go home!�
Inuyasha scowled as Kagome�s eyes grew wide.
�Eh, I don�t know that the well is anything all that special.� She stuttered.
�I�m sure it just happened to be the place where you showed up��
�But it�s worth a try!�
�You want to leave??� Inuyasha asked
angrily.
Miroku felt a strange pang. He hadn�t known
them long, but already he felt rather close to this Inuyasha.
�If Kagome is right and this is another world rather than my own, I shouldn�t
stay.� He said quietly. �It wouldn�t be right�two of a person instead of
one? I should see if I can return.�
�But we don�t even know if that�s what�s really happening! Dammit, we don�t know jack shit; this is all just, just
making crap up!� Inuyasha glared at Kagome, obviously
blaming her for even bringing up the possibility.
�It feels right.� Miroku said quietly, standing
up. �Everything has felt so different since I crawled out of the well,
like the world took a turn when I wasn�t looking and ended up somewhere I can�t
understand. Kagome-sama�s theory makes
sense. And with all her knowledge of the world, she might have a better
idea than any of us what might have happened.� He turned to face Inuyasha as the hanyou came to
his feet next to him.
Still so strange to have to look so far up, he thought.
�I want to go to the well and see if I can go back.� He said firmly, and Inuyasha growled as he looked at him.
�Feh, fine, dammit,
we�ll go to the stupid well. Bet it won�t do a damn thing, though.
This is stupid.� He turned and stalked off in the right direction, Miroku following
and the others trailing behind.
Twenty minutes later, after goodbyes and a long climb down, he stood at the
bottom of the well and looked up.
�Am I home now?� he wondered out loud.
�Hell, no.� Inuyasha�s
voice called down from above. �Told you this was stupid.
Kagome�s an idiot. Ow!�
�Don�t call me an idiot!� Kagome yelled, and Miroku
sighed heavily. He was stuck here. He supposed, in its own way, it
was better than the death he thought had claimed him, but it was still crushing
to realize once again that he was separated from all the friends and loved ones
in his life.   His new companions were similar�
�Will you stop fucking hitting me!!�
�Baka!�
�but not quite the same. Sighing again rather
sadly, promising to try and give himself time to grieve when he had a moment
alone, he climbed slowly back up to the lip of the well and sat on the
edge.
Inuyasha stopped bickering with Kagome and looked
over at him. Whatever he�d seen must have concerned him because he came
over and put his arm around Miroku�s shoulder
again.
It was so strange how much more physical contact this Inuyasha
seemed comfortable with.
�Hey, Kagome could be wrong, ya know. Maybe
you just got your mind fucked with or something, and you�re rememberin�
wrong.�
�I don�t think so, Inuyasha. I feel
comfortable with my mind�s state, at the moment. I simply remember a
different place and different people than the place and people I am currently
with.� He held his breath a moment as he fought off tears. Everyone
is gone.
Kagome came up as well and patted him on the back. �I- my homeland has
a lot of very smart people in it. Maybe I can find out more about this
sort of thing and see if there�s anything we can do.� she said softly.
He smiled at her. Kagome seemed to be compassionate no matter which
world he was on. �Thank you, Kagome-sama. That
would be greatly appreciated.�
Hopping gently off of the well wall and coming free from Inuyasha�s
grasp, he turned towards Kaede and the others who
were hanging back from the trio. �Kaede-sama,
if I might beg a few days lodging until I figure out what to do?� Kaede and Shippou had just
started nodding when Inuyasha interrupted.
�What? Of course you can stay.� Inuyasha
grumbled. �Like we�d throw you to the wolves? Don�t be an idiot.�
He glared at Sango, the one holdout, as though daring
her to disagree and she nodded reluctantly.
�Good. It�s settled then. You can stay in the village with the
rest of us.� Inuyasha grinned suddenly and wrapped
his arm around Miroku�s shoulders again.
�C�mon, let�s get back. It�s almost time for food and I�m fucking starving.�
Staring up at Inuyasha�s face,
feeling the friendly embrace that was starting to feel comfortable and almost
expected, Miroku felt�better. The grief
was still inside; a tight ball of it that he knew was going to come out sooner
or later, but for the moment, he could concentrate on this small, every day act
of walking home and having a meal.
And the fact that he could still have such a mundane, familiar task reminded
him that no matter what happened, no matter the loss, he was still alive.
His kazaana was gone, and he had the rest of his life
to look forward to, no matter if he was trapped in an unfamiliar world.
And hopefully, he thought as he looked up at Inuyasha
again, hopefully he could make some friends along the way.

Naraku had Kanna turn
off her mirror.
�What an enlightening conversation.� He stared into space, his hands running
through the dark hair of the man reclining in front of him.
�I will be damned�� Ronin Miroku
breathed.
�Is there any doubt?�
A cruel smile bloomed on Ronin Miroku�s
face. �Not really.� He opened and closed his mouth a number of times without
speaking.   �Hell, I think I may need a moment to recover.�
�Truly? Discovering that the little one might be
another you has discomposed you to this extent?�
Ronin Miroku
laughed. �No. Thinking of what I can do to another me is
what�s doing me in. Can you imagine? A young man whose body I
already know more about that I imagine even he does. The things I could
do to him��
His voice stopped as Naraku continued to stroke
his hair, grunted as a pale hand gripped painfully to yank Miroku�s
head up.
�I want him.� Ronin Miroku
said roughly. He looked up through half-closed eyes, enjoying the slight
pain, and smiled as he saw his own interest reflected in Naraku�s
face.
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The Other Side of Kazaana