“Dear me, children never listen these days.” Keade sighed. “It’s supper time, ye hear!”

“Don’t worry Keade-chan,” Sango smiled, “I’ll help.”

“Ahhh yes, since we plan to have our own, am I right my dear Sango?” Miroku smiled.

“You wish houshi.” Sango hissed, yet gave the houshi an evil smile.

“Ahhh, maybe later I suppose?” Miroku rubbed his head, sheepishly.

“Sango doesn’t need children at the moment.” Miroku turned around to see InuYasha towering over him.

“Well, nice evening to you too InuYasha.” Miroku sighed. “I suppose you got the firewood?”

“Yes.”

The children started to run, but stopped just a few feet away from both Miroku and InuYasha. A few started to tremble, and Miroku saw InuYasha’s wings sage a bit.

“The supper is in Keade-chan’s hut, kids.” Miroku said. A boy nodded weakly and raced into the hut, not once looking back. The two girls’ shook from head to toe, but managed to get into the hut without saying a word.

“Am I always going to be seen like this?” Miroku looked up his hanyou friend. The two red eyes were far away, looking in the direction of the Goshinboku.

“InuYasha, we all have hard times.” Miroku sighed and put a hand on InuYasha’s arm. “This is something that will long be forgotten when…”

“How can I forget Miroku?” InuYasha growled. “How do you forget taking someone’s will and shoving it in their fear?” InuYasha turned down on him. “How can you forget that?”

“I suppose...” Miroku closed his eyes, if he was InuYasha’s shoes, he would be saying the same thing. If something possessed him, forcing him onto Sango, he would have a hard time forgiving himself.

“InuYasha, I’m sorry…I only want you to forgive yourself, your actions were not of your own.”

“I still could have prevented it from happening.” InuYasha looked away, the top of his head hitting a nearby hut. “I could’ve stopped it, instead…I just cried like a child.”

“InuYasha, I do not believe you did that.” Miroku stared, “You did all in your power, you never crumbled, if you did, I would not be talking to InuYasha, I would be talking to Inuhidoi.”

InuYasha turned away, his breathe came out loud and slow. “Thanks Miroku.” Was all he mumbled.

“Sango told me, you talked with Kikyo-chan.” Miroku said.

“I did, she…didn’t run, she cried.” InuYasha looked away even further.

“Oh.” Miroku sighed. “I see, I’m glad she didn’t run from you either.”

InuYasha watched as his houshi friend disappeared into Keade’s hut. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, the red velvet sun skinny below the horizon.

InuYasha closed his eyes, and took one big leap, lading on the edge of the Bone Eater’s well. He stared down into the abyss, the black square opening calling, begging him to jump down, but he was too afraid. Afraid of what Kagome would think, her family, even Kagome’s little otouto, Souta. His so called ‘hero’ was a monster, raping his ane-ue, been pushed into a corner and cried like a pup.

InuYasha clenched his hand, feeling the poison go into his palm, and golden blood leak down on the grass. He heard the hiss of the grass melting under the acid of blood and turned the ground into nothing but a scorch black Earth.

InuYasha closed his eyes, and stood up. “Yes Sesshomaru?”

“It is not a coincidence to find you here.” InuYasha turned to his onii. The golden eyes of his former enemy now looked at him in almost cold, yet sadness been brought out in those eyes.

“What do you want?” InuYasha asked again.

“Have you changed any yet?” InuYasha looked away, nothing really noticeable, maybe have shrunk a few inches.

“Why do you care?”

“It is the same, why do you care for the miko?”

InuYasha felt his whole insides do a back flip. Did Sesshomaru just tell him…he loved him as a brother? Without meaning to InuYasha looked at Sesshomaru, and bowed his head.

“I didn’t realize…you cared so much.”

“This Sesshomaru does not.”

“You just said…”

“This Sesshomaru said nothing.”

“Sesshomaru…why did you not stop me all those years ago?” InuYasha felt his chest flare in anger, but forcefully pushed it down. His body was too powerful to lose his temper in.

“I…” Sesshomaru stopped then looked at him. “Otouto, I did not know I had a hanyou otouto at the time, it is the truth.”

InuYasha turned away and looked down at the well. “I had no control my whole life, Inuhidoi had been controlling me form the moment I was born, being an abomination hanyou, I think you wouldn’t give a damn.” InuYasha looked at his onii again. “Yet you…joined the women I love, my companions, the wolf, and use your combined strength to get me to use the Inu Soul…why? What did you gain from it Sesshomaru? My gratitude, or was Inuhidoi just another strong youkai that you successfully killed?”

Sesshomaru glared, for the first time, InuYasha sensed his onii had no words to give an answer. But Sesshomaru turned around, so InuYasha could only see his back. InuYasha had a feeling Sesshomaru did not want him to see his face when he answered.

“That women is you life otouto, do not lose her.” And with that Sesshomaru drifted slightly upward in the air. InuYasha noticed Tokijin at his side again, the sword was repaired.

InuYasha looked down at Tessaiga at his side, the sword still did not transform. The old rusty bade was in his hand when he pulled it out. InuYasha watched until Sesshomaru’s form disappeared in the sky. 

InuYasha looked down the well, and in one faithfully jump, pulling the wings as much control he had over them and jumped into the five-hundred years into the future.

_~~~~~~~~_

InuYasha balanced his hands on the branches of the Goshinboku and looked into Kagome’s window. She had a towel around her, her wet hair swishing from side to side.

InuYasha wanted to go in there and collapse in a fit of tears in her lap, all he had let happen to her, she didn’t deserver it. She never did, InuYasha watched as she knelt down and looked in the mirror. A slight tear ran down her face. She moved her hand over a long bandage on her upper lip, sending pain through InuYasha chest.

That scar, that injury, had happened when he had pinned her, hurt her, raped her, and stole her.  He remembered clearly, her fight to get away, her small flat teeth sinking into Inuhidoi’s hand, the acid like blood leaking on her beautiful face.

InuYasha heard a soft hissing sound, realizing it was coming form his own mouth. His anger, his youkai, wanted revenge; he felt it rise up to claim her. NO. InuYasha sank his own poison claws into his acid blood. I will never touch Kagome in this form, ever, InuYasha hissed at himself bitterly.

Kagome snapped up and looked around her room; she limped to her bed and picked up something, the subjugation beads. InuYasha fingered the black armor around his neck, how had they come off? InuYasha didn’t want to know, he figured Inuhidoi must have torn them off with his brute strength, the beads were to subdue his soul, not Inuhidoi’s.

Why hadn’t she said ‘oswari’ then? Stop him from taking her pure body and ram it so into her pure soul. Why, in the whole time she had been ‘oswari’ him, why did she not say it at the time when he truly wanted her to say it?

InuYasha slowly backed away, he didn’t want her to see him like this anymore, his body not his, his soul shattered, he slowly jumped off the branches of the Goshinboku. Heading back to the well house, he heard her window slide open fast.

“InuYasha!?”

InuYasha disappeared into the well house, just as he heard her broke a sob, and the well took him back to his time, and his own misery.