Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

At the End of Days
By : inumom
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 1784 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
6. Questions and Answers

Disclaimer: No, they're still not mine. Damn!
Kagome�s eyes opened to meet the hanyou�s concerned amber gaze. �I had the strangest dream�.� she murmured.
Inuyasha helped her to rise to a sitting position on the sofa, bringing the group of visitors into her field of vision. �It wasn�t a dream,� he said, settling himself beside her and pulling her into his lap, unconcerned about what any of the others might think.
A tall Japanese man wearing an obviously expensive suit--could it really be Versace?--nodded gravely. �It seems that you have been living in a nightmare for some weeks now, miko. It is time for you to awaken, for you are needed.� At a subtle gesture from the tall man, the younger man standing at the back of the group nodded briskly.
There was a momentary shimmer in the air, and the two taller men suddenly took on a radically different appearance. At her mother�s breathless �Oh--� Kagome extricated herself from her intended mate�s grasp and approached the group�s apparent leader, whose appearance had undergone the most drastic alteration. Although his clothing remained essentially unchanged, his shoulder-length ebony hair had lengthened to form a silken, silver-white curtain that fell to his knees. Deep brown eyes lightened to the color of polished gold. The man�s ears changed subtly, becoming elegantly pointed, and colorful markings appeared on his cheeks, forehead, and right wrist--the left wasn�t visible, as the bottom edge of that sleeve disappeared into his jacket pocket. �You�re really here?� she squeaked.
At the faint rise of a single eyebrow, she turned back to her mother. �It�s okay, Mama--I know most of these people. This,� she said, indicating the taiyoukai before her, �Is Sesshoumaru-sama. I may have mentioned him before--he�s Inuyasha�s older half-brother and the youkai Lord of the Western Lands. For a long time they didn�t get along, but they�ve learned that they can work together against a common enemy.�
She stepped over to the group of four people whose appearance hadn�t really changed at all. Stopping before a young woman only a couple of years her senior, she stared in disbelief at the comfortable jeans and t-shirt she wore. �This is Sango-chan. She was the last of the youkai taijiya from her village. She�s been almost like a sister to me--I could always talk to her about anything.�
Looking at the handsome black-haired man standing behind the taijiya, she continued, �Miroku-sama is a very powerful houshi whose family bears a curse. Or two,� she amended, thinking of his tendency to grope any female flesh that came within reach.
She smiled brightly at the short, elderly woman with a patch over one eye. �Kaede-baachan has taught me a lot. It seems that she always knew the right thing to do, no matter how big a mess things were.�
She frowned thoughtfully as she stopped before the other woman, a dark-haired beauty with flashing eyes and an infectious smile. �I�m sorry,� she said. �I don�t think we�ve met.�
Sesshoumaru stepped forward, a twitch of the lips the only hint that he was more than a little amused by the young miko�s momentary confusion. �When last you met, she was but a child. It is not surprising that you would fail to recognize my daughter.�
Kagome�s eyes flew open. �Your daughter? But she�s human!� Taking another look at the woman, she suddenly recognized the bright smile. �Rin?!?�
The woman nodded briskly. �Sesshoumaru-sama marked me as a member of his pack under his protection when I reached my twentieth year. That slowed my aging quite a lot, but when I took a mate a little while later, it changed again to match his.� Her eyes flickered back to the silent figure who had been leaning casually against the wall.
Noticing that he had suddenly become the center of attention, the tall young man stepped forward. Though his rusty hair was worn long, his pointed youkai ears were clearly visible. His bright green eyes sparkled as his bushy tail, a few shades lighter than his hair, twitched in amusement. �Shippou? You�re her mate?�
Before he could answer, Kagome�s mother spoke up in confusion. �Shippou? Wasn�t that the name of the little boy you used to take care of? The one you were always taking toys and candy?�
He bowed to the woman, almost laughing out loud at the reactions of the humans in the room. �That�s right, Higurashi-san. As you can probably tell, things have changed a little since then.�
Seeing that his future mate was on the verge of collapse from shock, the hanyou sank to the floor, pulling her unceremoniously into his lap and wrapping her in his arms. As her trembling began to subside, he produced a soft, rumbling growl deep in his chest that served to relax her further. Once he could feel her composure returning, he glared up at the taiyoukai. �Okay, Sesshoumaru, what the hell�s going on here?�
Reminding himself that his wild younger sibling hadn�t had the benefit of five centuries to become accustomed to the changes that time had wrought, Sesshoumaru paced briefly across the floor before taking a small object from his jacket pocket and speaking into it for a moment. Replacing the object, he looked at the people before him. �I�m afraid that this will take some time, so I took the liberty of ordering some dessert to be delivered.�
He paused briefly to order his thoughts, then began, �It all started while I was patrolling the borders of the Western Lands. A chance encounter with Myouga set in motion the events that led to this meeting. The flea informed me that the village in which you usually stayed had been destroyed. Since I had seen your pack fight on a number of occasions I was curious about what kind of force could have defeated them. Such a power might one day plan an assault on the Western Lands themselves. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the burned village none were left alive who could tell me what had happened. That,� he said, resting his hand almost reverently on the hilt of one of the two swords that hung at his waist, �Was easily rectified.�
Suddenly Kagome understood. �You revived them with Tenseiga? All of them?�
An almost imperceptible nod confirmed her assumption. The taiyoukai sank to the floor across the room from his half-brother and the young miko. �There was little information that could be gathered from any one of the villagers--or your pack. When it was all combined, I was able to discern the events that had happened. Obviously, neither you nor the little miko were present in the village when it was attacked.�
The hanyou snarled at his brother, but Kagome raised a hand to placate him. �That�s right. I was here finishing my education, and when we went back to visit we found--that.�
The taiyoukai nodded. That had been a part of the puzzle that none of the revived casualties had been able to provide. �Then it was you who buried the dead.� It was not exactly a question.
Inuyasha nodded slowly, remembering the grisly job of trying to piece together the horribly dismembered corpses. �That�s right.�
�Then it is to you that they owe their revivals--if you had not taken the trouble to sort the body parts, even Tenseiga would have been unable to resurrect them.� Noticing Kagome�s distinctly greenish look, he raised an elegant eyebrow.
The hanyou snorted. �She didn�t see the burials--she was in shock. She�s only just started to recover herself.�
Sesshoumaru nodded--another small question answered. �If you will allow me to continue�.� Once the others all fell silent, he spoke again. �Obviously, the attack on the village was bait for the two of you. From what I have been able to learn, the fragments of the Shikon no Tama in your possession and the ones with that filthy wolf were the only ones remaining outside of Naraku�s possession.�
That was a surprise! Kagome frowned and asked, �He didn�t attack Kouga for his shards?�
The youkai lord�s voice was as venomous as any had ever heard it. �No. There was no need. The wolf had placed himself and his pack at Naraku�s disposal. He spied on the village and overheard your friends speaking of the well gateway between the worlds. That was when Naraku formulated his plan.�
�Wait just a damn minute! Did you say that Kouga was working with Naraku?�
�I did, brother. Shortly after your disappearance from our world I learned of a large increase in the population of the brown wolf youkai. I sent some of my personal guard who I knew to be unquestioningly loyal to investigate. From what they overheard, I could piece together events. Apparently, Naraku approached the wolf prince and offered him new bitches to rebuild his tribe in return for information about where the two of you went when you vanished from our world. He told Kouga that he would not harm the little miko, and that she would be given to him as compensation for his help. He even provided the wolf with additional pieces of the Shikon no Tama so that he could spy on your friends while remaining undetected.�
The hanyou fought down a surge of rage--he was beginning to see the depth of Naraku�s deceit. �That�s why he attacked the village--to bring us there, and so that none of them would be able to warn us that he�d been sniffing around.�
Kagome wasn�t entirely sure about what she was hearing. �I don�t know. Kouga hates Naraku as much as any of us do--Naraku had Kagura destroy most of Kouga�s tribe. Why would he work with him?�
The taiyoukai nodded in satisfaction: the girl was clever, all right. �He did what he does best--he deceived the simple-minded wolf into believing that Kagura had acted on her own, attacking his tribe instead of offering them an alliance. He even went so far as to make him a gift of Kagura--chained in spelled bonds to make her completely obedient to her masters. According to my spies, they have been using her brutally, even allowing their animal companions to satisfy their needs on her.� The faintest hint of distaste flickered across the impassive features, gone almost before anyone could be sure that it had been there at all.
�So that�s why he attacked us when we were trying to use the well to come back here.�
Sesshoumaru shook his head. �Not exactly. His plan was not to take the shards from you at the well. He wished instead to send you back through the well to your time and seal it so the you would be unable to return. Perhaps he thought that you would believe yourselves safe from here and relax your guard so that he could attack when you least expected it.�
For the first time Sango spoke up. �He�s right, Kagome-chan. After we were revived and the village rebuilt with help from Sesshoumaru-sama--he sent builders, materials, and food so that the villagers would be able to survive--we hunted Naraku for months, but there was no sign of him. He seemed to have disappeared, even more completely than when you hurt him so badly that time.�
Sesshoumaru nodded slowly. �Together, we made plans of our own. The new miko I had found for the village found a powerful sealing spell in an old, barely readable scroll. We altered it slightly so that it would allow the houshi, the taijiya, and the old miko to remain unchanged until I chose to awaken them from their enchanted sleep. This I did three weeks ago: I realized that they would require some time to adjust to this age.�
�Why now?� Kagome�s glance shifted from one to another of her friends. �I mean, I�m really glad to see you all again, but why bring them back right now?�
The kitsune shrugged. �Mostly because of everything that�s going on right now.�
�You mean the flu outbreak?�
Sesshoumaru simply looked at the girl. �That is what it appears to be, but appearances are not always accurate.�
There was a brief pause while the elder of the Higurashi women excused herself to answer the door. Smiling, she ushered a tall man carrying a large cardboard box into the living room. His eyes widened briefly as he saw the unusual group assembled there, then he removed the ring from his right forefinger and dropped it into his jacket pocket. Surprisingly, the owner/chef from the restaurant�changed, his hair becoming brilliantly red and his ears--clothed in short fur exactly the same shade as his hair--standing erect on the top of his head. �Hi, Dad.�
In the silence that followed, Shippou took the opportunity to introduce his son, Kenji. As they explained it, there were youkai and hanyous all over the place, in every walk of life that could be imagined, mostly perfectly content to live peacefully among their human neighbors. As Kenji unpacked the restaurant�s signature chocolate and raspberry cake, the others filled him in on the conversation so far. He moved to stand in front of Kagome and Inuyasha, bowing deeply. �I wasn�t sure if it was really you, but Dad�s been telling me stories about the two of you ever since I was a little kit. I�m really glad to finally meet both of you.�
Bringing the conversation back to the subject at hand, the old miko shook her head. �Sesshoumaru�s right, Kagome. This is not a normal disease, as we understand such things.�
Sesshoumaru nodded. �Among my many holdings is a medical research facility. When this outbreak began, it seemed to simply be a new strain of the flu, but certain discrepancies soon became apparent.�

Kagome was indignant. �Why did you bring them out of their sleep in the middle of this medical nightmare? They could catch it too.�
Shippou grinned. �No, they can�t.�
�There�s something to prevent it? A vaccine?�
Kaede took over the conversation, having the greatest actual experience in medical matters of any of them. �The thing that tipped Sesshoumaru off that this wasn�t an ordinary sickness was the populations that didn�t get sick. Nobody with the least bit of youki seems to be affected. Neither does anyone with any spiritual power, be it Shinto, Buddhist, or anything else. The level of power doesn�t seem to matter. Even someone with only a hint of power, who is entirely untrained in its use, will be protected.�
Kagome was really starting to worry. �That�s fine for you, and Miroku-sama, and Shippou-chan, but what about Rin-chan and Sango-chan? What,� she asked, fear growing in her eyes, �About my family?�
Sesshoumaru raised his hand for silence. �Your family is safe. You are descended from a line of the most powerful priests and mikos to ever live. Even the weakest and least skilled of them possesses sufficient power to protect them. As the mate of a youkai, some small part of Shippou�s youki has been infused into her, in much the same way that she now shares his lifespan. Although she is not a direct descendant of Midoriko, the taijiya is a part of the same family line, and thus has a very small amount of those same powers. In addition, that area around the taijiya village is filled with spiritual energy, and it has gradually been absorbed by those living there for generations. How else could you explain her ability to sense youki?�
�I guess I always put it down to years of hard work.�
The taiyoukai nodded slowly. �That definitely played a part, but there was much more to it. Were it not for the spiritual energy filling the region of the taijiya village, it is unlikely that they would have achieved their level of expertise.�
Kagome frowned thoughtfully. Now that her fears for her family and friends had been laid to rest, she could once again focus on the matter at hand. �There�s still something I don�t understand,� she said, shaking her head. �If it�s not a regular disease, then what is it?�
The old miko glanced at the group around her. �That,� she said, �Was the unexpected thing. You know, of course, that there are many kinds of youkai--cat, dog, dragon, even insect, tree, and elemental youkai. What there was no way to know until recently is that there are also youkai bacteria and viruses.� She stumbled a bit over the unfamiliar terms, but there was no doubt about what she was trying to say.
Sesshoumaru continued with the explanation. �Once we discovered what was causing the disease that�s been spreading through the human population, I used my connections in the national medical establishments of several nations to do some research. Apparently, many of the major diseases to plague humanity over the course of its history have been caused by youkai organisms. As human medicine became more advanced and treatments became more effective, many of them died out. At present, most only survive as small, isolated populations in laboratories, like the CDC in the United States. These,� he said, �Are of a completely different order. Not only are they totally unrelated to any of the types of youkai viruses that presently exist, but they have also seemingly appeared out of nowhere within the past few weeks. Tell me,� he said, focusing on the young miko, �Exactly what was the nature of Naraku�s attack upon you?�
Kagome and Inuyasha simply looked at each other, suddenly understanding the significance of the dark material that had struck her just before they entered the well. �He threw something at me, but it vanished when it hit. Then we came here.�
The group gathered at the Higurashi home simply stared at each other for a few moments. They were all seized by a sudden chill as they began to understand the scope of what Naraku had hoped to accomplish.
Things were going to get decidedly unpleasant in Tokyo. Very soon.
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- 7
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At the End of Days	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > General Views: 1784 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

At the End of Days