A Future Changed

“Kagome. Kagome. Wake up. Can you hear me, Kagome?”
Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes.
A face came into view.
“M…mama?!” Kagome’s eyes were once again blurred with tears.
“Kagome, what’s the matter?”
“I was afraid I’d never see you again!”
“Afraid you’d never see me again? Why ever would you think such a thing? You just took a bad fall into the well, and Souta came and found you. Thank Kami.”
“But…I wasn’t in the well! I was back in the Sengoku Jidai! I was fighting Naraku, and he killed…oh Mama…he killed my friends! And Inuyasha took Shippo and left me alone! It was horrible…but how in the world did I get home?”
“The Sengoku Jidai…Kagome…you must have hit your head harder than I thought. I’d better call the doctor.”
“Mama, don’t you remember anything?”
“I don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about, Kagome, and I’m worried.”
Mrs. Higurashi stood from the couch and walked over to the phone. She dialed the number to the family physician.
“Hello. Hai. This is Mrs. Higurashi. My daughter Kagome took a bad fall earlier this afternoon, and…what? Oh. Hai. She fell down the well at our shrine. She’s been mumbling…since she awoke…of some strange things, and I’m afraid that maybe she hit her head…can you send a doctor over to the shrine? Hai. Dr. Takashi is our physician. He can? Oh. That would be wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“Mama…what’s going on? Why can’t you remember?” Kagome shot up from the couch.
“Calm down, Kagome. The doctor will be over in about five minutes, okay? Just try and lay back down.”
“No!” Tears welled in Kagome’s eyes. What had happened? Why couldn’t anyone remember the well…Inuyasha…anything?
She cried her heart out. Whatever Naraku had done, the past she had known was now nothing but a mere memory to her.
Mrs. Higurashi watched in awe as her daughter’s heart broke right in front of her.
“Kagome…”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Not knowing what to say, she uprooted herself from the couch and walked out of the room, waiting for the doctor to arrive. A few minutes later, he was standing at the front door.
“Oh, Dr. Takashi. Please come in.”
“Where is she?”
“In the living room. I don’t know what happened to her when she fell…but…” She burst into tears. “It’s like…she lost something…and…!”
“It’s perfectly alright, Mrs. Higurashi. Let me take a look at her. She may have fallen harder than you realized.”
She nodded, as the man turned and walked into the living room.
“Kagome? Are you alright?”
Kagome turned her head at hearing the man’s voice.
“Who are you…Sesshomaru…!”
“Hai. My name is Sesshomaru…but you already knew that. Kagome, are you feeling alright?”
“Get away from me! You…you’re supposed to be dead! You died in the battle!”
“Kagome…you must have really had a hard fall.” He sat down on the couch next to her, opening his doctor’s bag.
“Where’s Inuyasha?!”
“He’s at home today. He wasn’t feeling well, and my father decided to keep him at home instead of taking him to England. You remember the trip they were going to take, don’t you?”
‘Oh…my…Kami…what has Naraku done?’ Kagome panicked.
“I’m sorry…but how do I know you again?”
“Kagome. You can’t be serious.”
When her expression did not change, he widened his eyes.
“I’m a family friend…and I’m your…well…I’ve known you since you were a child.”
No recognition. Just fear.
“You have amnesia. This is not a good sign. Mrs. Higurashi!” He called out. Her mother came running into the room.
“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”
“I believe she has had some complications from the fall. Some amnesia. And possibly a concussion, if she fell as hard as I’ve heard. I’d like to take her back to the hospital with me, and run a few tests on her.”
“Please, do whatever you need to.”
“I will have her home as soon as I’ve found out what the problem is. Kagome, will you come with me?”
“Take me to see Inuyasha…please.” She sobbed.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Kagome. He’s got a cold, and it’s highly contagious. With your head being injured…I don’t want to expose you to something that could make you ill. Just come with me to the hospital, and when I find out what’s happened…then you may go and see Inuyasha. I promise.”
“I’m scared…” She said, her voice suddenly sounding tiny and insignificant.
Suddenly, she felt her world growing dark once more, and she fainted.
**********************************************************************************
“Kagome, are you alright?”
“Wh…where am I?” Kagome awoke, a bright light shining in her face.
“You’re at the hospital. How is your head feeling?”
“It’s fine.” Her eyes finally came back into focus, and she noticed that Sesshomaru had been the one talking to her.
“Do you really not remember me? You seemed to remember Inuyasha.”
She chose to remain silent.
“What happened to you down in that well?”
When she didn’t answer, he became cross.
“You seem to be ignoring me a lot more lately, Kagome. Is there something you want to tell me? Maybe…you have feelings for Inuyasha…and not me now? Is that it?”
“What are you talking about?!” She exclaimed.
“You really don’t remember, do you.” He sighed.
“Remember what?”
“You and I are engaged, Kagome. I thought you might remember. It seems I was mistaken.”
“En…engaged…you and I…” The words could hardly leave her mouth. It seemed impossible. Yes, Naraku certainly had screwed up her world as she knew it. Now she just had to find a way out.
******************************************************************************
He woke up cold and alone. This was the world he had created. One wish, and he had altered his life for eternity. Five hundred years into the future, Naraku Tanaka sat alone in his high-style, high rise apartment just outside of Tokyo.
What had happened to the girl, he did not know. Not that he hadn’t searched periodically for her. It had been his curiosity. But he exhausted his powers thoroughly, and still did not find a trace of her.
Why did he suddenly care? Why did the thought…that worthless wish have to cross his mind? As soon as it did, he realized that he had made a mistake. But it was too late to take it back. The jewel had heard his wish and granted it. But the girl…that Kagome… had seemed so unhappy. So melancholy. For a moment, though it was short, he pitied her. And now he was in the future. All he had known had disappeared. All of the old customs had faded into nothingness, and technology was booming. Already, he was the head of the largest hospital in Tokyo, and it was only his twentieth year in the business. He was worth millions. And yet, none of that even mattered remotely. All he wanted to do lately was find that Kagome wench. Just to satisfy the voice inside his mind…had she survived the wish? He would not stop this time…he would find her. No matter what it took.
***************************************************************************
“Hai. We are engaged. You’re only nineteen…and I know it sounds odd because you are so very young, but we’ve been in love since before high school. I care very much for you.”
“I’m…”
She paused. Was she really about to say what she was thinking…to a cold-blooded killer? Someone who had threatened her life and Inuyasha’s numerous times?
“I’m sorry I can’t remember. If I could, I would. If it’s any consolation to you, Sesshomaru, I don’t really know you that well, but…you’re a nice guy already. Thank you for being so kind to me. You must really love me to be putting up with what’s been going on.”
“I do love you, Kagome.”
He sighed.
“That is why I have decided to call one of the top neurologists in the country…and he just happens to be the head of this hospital. And my best friend.”
“Oh…okay…”
“He is going to help you recall your memory.”
‘Yeah. If he only knew everything that had happened…he wouldn’t be trying to get me to ‘recall’ my memory.’
“I just want you to get some rest right now, and I’ll be back later, with the doctor. Your mother will be allowed to visit in the morning, after some tests are run.”
“Okay…good night.”
He bent over, kissing her on the forehead.
“I love you.”
He left the room, shutting the door gently behind him.
“Who would have ever thought that Sesshomaru could act like that?!” Kagome said aloud.
**************************************************************************************
Out in the hallway, Naraku Tanaka stood alone, waiting for his colleague to arrive. He had mentioned something about a girl, his own fiancée, who had taken a terrible fall. She had become an amnesiac.
“Naraku. My friend. How are you?”
“Sesshomaru.” He smiled warmly, staring at the man who stood in front of him. “I am well.”
“That is good to hear. I trust you remember why I called you?”
“Hai. Now, what exactly happened to this fiancee of yours?”
“She took a terrible fall down a well at her family’s shrine, and I don’t know how it happened, but she doesn’t seem to remember anything about me or our relationship.”
“A terrible fall down a well, huh? Well. I’ll take a look at her then.”
“She’s in Room 1012.”
“It shouldn’t take me long to discern the cause of this amnesia. I’ll be back in about ten or fifteen minutes.”
The man nodded in understanding.
‘A girl falling down a well. How strange.’ He thought to himself as he came upon the woman’s room. He knocked gently on the door, and waited to receive an answer.
“Come in…” A quiet voice resounded.
He opened the door, and was absolutely shocked at the image which greeted him.
There she lay. Her eyes were closed, and she was lying peacefully on her hospital bed.
“Excuse me. I did not know you were resting.”
“It’s no problem. You’re the doctor, right? Sesshomaru sent you to…”
It was when she opened her eyes that she found herself staring straight into the face of the one who had caused her to lose her friends and change her destiny.
“You…bastard!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.
He was dumbfounded. How was it that he found her here, now? By sheer luck?
“You should calm down, Kagome. I would hate for you to have to be admitted.”
“You wouldn’t! You did this to me! You screwed up my whole life!”
“Be silent, wench. I saved your life. You should be grateful.”
“Grateful? GRATEFUL? I was in love with Inuyasha…you killed Sango and Miroku, and Shippo left me too! You…should have let me die!”
“Relax, wench. Your precious Inuyasha is alive in this time as you already know, I‘m sure, and so are your friends. I have found them all.”
“What?”
“Hai. I have searched for them for five centuries. They were reborn in this time and age. I do not know for what purpose the jewel placed them here, but I am sure we will understand it some day.”
Kagome stared in awe at her greatest enemy.
“We. We will understand it…ASSHOLE! THAT JEWEL IS MINE!”
He remained silent.
“You don’t have anything to say to me?!”
“I can’t believe I’ve found you after five hundred years.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been looking for you as well. I watched your ancestors grow from children, and followed your bloodline. I hadn’t looked as much in Tokyo…I have been somewhat busy lately. But I knew that your last name must be Higurashi…I knew your father. But he moved from our ‘hometown’ to this…overpopulated city.”
“Wait. So let me get this straight. My worst enemy, the one who has caused me pain and suffering, and my friends…has been looking for me for five centuries…and for WHAT?!”
“To confirm that you survived the wish.”
“That’s all? And you’re a doctor now?!”
“Yes. I am a doctor. A neurologist.”
“And how do you know Sesshomaru?! And why doesn’t he remember anything?”
“Surely you would understand how Sesshomaru would not remember anything.”
The look on her face remained blank.
“The wish was based on the one who made it and the one it truly affected. It had nothing to do with your friends. Fate simply intervened and decided to place them in this time and age.”
“You still didn’t explain why you and Sesshomaru are friends. And how that happened.”
“We’ve known each other for quite some time. You see…there is something you are missing in all of this, Kagome.”
“What NOW?!” She snapped, ready to hit him if at any point he tried to hurt her.
“You can lower your fists, Kagome. I am not here to hurt you. Sesshomaru wishes for me to help you ‘recall’ your memory. And that is exactly what you are going to act like, when we are finished talking.”
“I don’t have to do anything you want me…”
“I can have you committed for life, Kagome. I would watch your words around me. You forget. Just as I was powerful in the Sengoku Jidai, I hold my own certain powers over this hospital and the staff…and the community surrounding it. Now. Let’s try this again. You will act as if you have miraculously recalled some of your memories. Or there will be consequences.”
“Tell me what I’ve been ‘missing’.” She hissed.
“Very well then. Although things have changed, some things are still the same. You are who you are, and your family is still your family. However…” he paused. “However, there are some changes that have happened to the human society…as you once knew it.”
“And?”
“Demons overpopulate the human society.”
“Wh…what?”
“You are one of the few human families that are permitted to live freely without any scrutiny. You are priestesses. You and your mother. Because of that, and the need for tradition to be kept alive, you have been allowed to remain in your ancestral home instead of being driven into slavery.”
Kagome couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her friends. Ayumi…Hojo…would they be demons? Would they know her? Or would they be confined to a horrible life of slavery?
“How…did this happen?”
“Only the souls of the jewel know.” Naraku said quietly.
“And what about Sesshomaru?”
“He is a demon.”
“Why is he engaged to me?”
“Because you are a shrine maiden, you hold certain qualities…”
“What kind of qualities are we talking here, buddy?”
“You hold the ability to birth a full blooded demon heir with holy powers, without purifying either yourself or your mate. And you are high in society because of your status as a priestess. There are not many who remain in this world. You are revered.”
“Get out!” She shouted. “Just get out of here! Don’t come back, or I swear…”
“Temper, temper, my little miko. I warned you. Another outburst, and I will have you committed.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“What have I not done in the past, miko? I always keep my word. You should know that by now. I am only letting you go because Sesshomaru is truly in love with you. If I had you committed, he might be so himself. Otherwise…I would kill you while you sleep. Watch yourself, wench…when we cross paths again, you had better hope it is on good terms. Or I might just kill you where you stand.”
He walked quickly out of the hospital room, leaving Kagome terrified.
Sesshomaru replaced his presence almost immediately.
“Kagome. Naraku has told me everything. Are you feeling any better?”
“Hai, I am. I’m so sorry for forgetting…I don’t know what happened to me, Sesshomaru.”
‘I hope my acting is good enough…and…I really hope…that he can’t tell that I’m lying.’
He stood silent for a moment, which startled Kagome. He stared at her so intently that she thought his eyes would burn right through her. But then…he embraced her in a tight hug, planting soft kisses on her cheek and neck.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Kagome. You had an accident. It’s alright.”
“Thank you for understanding…” She trembled slightly. Those kisses…had been filled with tenderness. This Sesshomaru was outstandingly different from the one she knew in the Sengoku Jidai.
“Are you cold?”
“A little bit…”
“Well, since you’ll be staying here tonight, I suppose I should have thought to bring you some blankets. But it slipped my mind. I could have one of the nurses bring you one.”
“I don’t like hospitals…I don’t really want to stay here. Do I have to?”
“I’m afraid you might have a concussion, Kagome. You know I only want what is best for you. I insist that you remain here.”
“I…” She hesitated, seeing the genuine concern lined on his face. He was worried for her. She looked into his eyes, and saw the old Sesshomaru lying beneath the surface…something told her that if she refused to stay, he would try and force her. He would not take no for an answer.
“I don’t want to be left alone. You don’t have…anymore patients tonight, do you?”
He smiled slightly.
“No. I am off for now. Would you like me to stay here with you?”
“Do you think you could…”
She really did hate hospitals. The smell…the disease. There were a few good things to be associated with hospitals, but her father had died in a hospital, and she hated those memories. She hated being in the very place that he had died in.
“Anything for you, koishii.”
“I’m so tired.” She yawned. It was true. Her day had worn her out. She had just learned that her whole world had changed. And there was nothing she could do to get it back. She had to resign to her fate.
Sesshomaru sat on the bed beside her, taking her hands in his.
“I love you, Kagome. I’m relieved that you’re safe.”
Not even Inuyasha had told her he loved her before…the battle. Kikyo had been his one and only. She had only been a friend.
“I…love you too.” She hesitated slightly, bringing herself to speak the words. They sounded foreign, coming from her mouth.
“You should try and get some rest.”
Kagome nodded silently.
“Do you need anything?”
She shook her head.
“Good night, Kagome.”
He kissed her on the forehead and took a chair, placing it beside her bed, after turning the lights out.
She turned away from him and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. All she could think about was how much things had changed, and how much she missed her friends.
Tears slipped from beneath her eyelids, and hit the pillow beneath her. It took all of her strength to keep her sobs from being heard, although she was sure that if Sesshomaru was awake, he would smell the saltiness, and know she was crying.
Sure enough, not five minutes after her crying began, she felt a hand on her arm.
“Kagome, what is the matter?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“Do not lie to this Sesshomaru, Kagome. I can smell your tears. You have been crying for more than five minutes. I thought that maybe you’d tell me what was wrong, but I waited, and you never said a word. Tell me what is wrong.”
Slowly, she turned over, facing a stoic Sesshomaru.
But his eyes…no matter what the expression displayed on his face was…his eyes held worry for her.
“I’m fine. Really. Just homesick.”
“Kagome.” He intoned.
“Please…I don’t want to talk about it. You’ll think I’m crazy, and…none of it makes sense.”
“If we are going to be married, Kagome, you’re going to have to learn to talk to me.”
“I am talking to you,” She snapped bitterly.
His eyes narrowed.
“Tell me what is wrong, or I’ll get it out of you one way or another.”
“No you won’t. Leave me alone.”
“Kagome Higurashi, tell me what the hell is the matter with you, or I shall force you to tell me.”
“There’s nothing you can do to make me tell you!”
“Really.”
“Leave me alone…” Kagome warned.
He inched closer to her, causing her to scoot further away from him on her hospital bed.
“You are going to be my mate. It is my right to know what is going on with you at all times. It seems you have not learned this yet.”
“Please…I’ll do anything. Just leave me alone. I’m tired.”
“Tell me what is wrong with you, and I shall leave you be. Otherwise, there will be consequences.”
“I can’t tell you!”
Suddenly, Kagome noticed that pinpricks of crimson began to seep into his eyes.
She had seen that before. When he had transformed.
“You are angering my youkai, Kagome. Do not aggravate it further…” Sesshomaru warned.
“You’re scaring me, Sesshomaru…”
“Tell me!” He bellowed. “I will not be ignored or disrespected! You belong to me, and will do as I ask!”
Kagome started at his words, and tears formed in her eyes as she squeezed them shut. She didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t run away from Sesshomaru or her situation. The past had been changed, and this was her life. She could purify him, of course. But…she couldn’t kill him. He hadn’t hurt her yet. The one rule she was bound to follow--she could only use her powers for defense or healing purposes. To hurt Sesshomaru, though he had killed many in the past, would be misuse of her holy powers. It was one of the many things Kagome had been taught by the priestess Kaede.
“I’ll tell you, Sesshomaru! Just please…don’t hurt me!”
He waited for her to explain the cause of her distress, sitting beside her on the hospital bed, the crimson slowly fading from his eyes.
“I…you’re not going to believe any of this, because it’s…it doesn’t make sense. At all.”
“Whether it does or not, you are my future mate, and this concerns me.”
“You know what the Shikon No Tama is, don’t you?”
“Yes. I know of it. I have studied the legends.”
“It isn’t a legend, Sesshomaru. It did exist.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“I’m not lying. And I know you can sense when I am.”
“Proceed.” He nodded.
“I was born with the Shikon No Tama inside my body. When I was fifteen, I was pulled into a well at my family’s shrine, the very same one everyone claims I fell into, five hundred years into the past by a centipede demon named Mistress Centipede. She wanted the jewel that resided in my body, in my hip. She ripped it out of me, and devoured it. It made her much more powerful, and at that time, I didn’t know I was a priestess. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I ran. She followed me into the forest. Just when I thought all was lost, I came upon a man pinned to a tree by an arrow. The Goshinbuku tree…by a holy arrow. His name was Inuyasha, and it wasn’t a man. It was a half-demon. A hanyou. Your half brother, Sesshomaru.” She continued with her story, relaying to her ‘future mate’ all of the things that had taken place in the past.
She paused, waiting to see his reaction.
“I do not believe this story you have concocted, Kagome.”
“But I’m telling you the truth! The Shikon is back inside my body, and it’s useless! Naraku made the wish on the jewel, and everything as I knew it…this entire world…changed. That’s why I didn’t remember anything.”
Sesshomaru searched her eyes for any falsehood.
He found none.
‘How can she be telling the truth…when it seems so far-fetched. I remember nothing of these occurrences between us.’
He was silent, which unnerved Kagome somewhat. Did he believe her? Did he think she was lying?
“Well? Do you believe me?” She asked, desperation in her voice.
“I don’t know, honestly. I find it hard to believe that you would fall into a well and go five hundred years into the past to defeat an evil…that is Naraku, who just happens to be my closest friend and colleague.”
“Sesshomaru, you’ve got to…”
“Kagome, am I being punished for something? Are you angry with me? I know you never wanted to be mated with a demon. You told me so yourself when you were a child. But your mother had other plans. She wanted to see you flourish in this world of demons, and make a name for yourself. She felt the only way this could happen was to be with me. I know you never wanted it.”
“I…wouldn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t punish you just because my mother wanted us to mate. That’s not it at all! I’m not lying to get away from you…but I don’t really even know you at all! I can’t love you! I’m still in love with Inuyasha!”
At hearing his half-brother’s name used in such a way by his soon-to-be-mate, Sesshomaru growled angrily.
“I can’t help my feelings for him, Sesshomaru! When I was in the past, I traveled with him, and I fell in love! But he always loved Kikyo…I was never good enough for him.”
“Kikyo is his current girlfriend, Kagome.”
“He…WHAT?!”
“You are lost in some world of make-believe, and I am beginning to think that Naraku missed something in his diagnosis of your condition.”
“Please…you have to believe me, Sesshomaru!”
He turned away from her, and began to walk out the door into the hall.
“I am going to call the psychiatric ward. Perhaps they can further assist you. At this point, I’m not even sure I can…”
“You have a sword called Tenseiga, which can bring the dead back to life…and you used it on a little girl called Rin when you traveled a long time ago. She was attacked by a pack of wolves, who killed the villagers that were taking care of her. They belonged to a wolf demon tribe headed by the Prince of the Northern Lands, Koga. You never liked humans, and you still took her in. While you were on journeys or away, Jaken took care of her.”
He stopped dead in his tracks. Once, a few years before, he had found a small orphan girl named Rin on the side of the road, begging for food in a town populated by ruthless demons. He had saved her with the Tenseiga, which he carried whenever he traveled out into unknown or dangerous territories. The toad demon she spoke of, Jaken, was currently caring for the girl back at his father’s castle, which had stood for many centuries. Lands were no longer ruled by lords. That had been abolished nearly two centuries before. But he did not know of anyone named Koga.
“How did you know about Tenseiga? I never mentioned that to you.” He scowled.
“I told you…before everything changed, you had a sword named Tenseiga, and you saved Rin.”
“Who told you about the sword, Kagome? You know very well who Rin is…and how I came to find her. But…the sword…”
“Why is it so hard for you to believe that this happened, Sesshomaru?” Kagome hissed. “If you love me like you say you do, you should trust me!” Her voice screeched. She was panicking.
“Calm down, Kagome. I never said I didn’t love you, and that I didn’t trust you. But I…”
“Sesshomaru, I will find a way to prove it to you.”
He sensed again, and could not find an ounce of deceit in her smell. It was as pure and real as the first day he had met her.
‘Damn it. She’s not lying. But then…how did this happen? I don’t understand.’
Just as she was about to speak again, Sesshomaru sighed, surprising her.
“Kagome, don’t say another word.”
“But Sesshomaru, I…please don’t have me committed!”
“Kagome. Be silent.” He snapped. “You don’t ever let me finish.”
“Sorry…”
He glared at her.
“Now, what I was about to say was…I don’t know how this happened, or why, and why I’m involved, I would be greatly interested to know, but I believe that you are not telling me a lie. You have always been truthful with me, and have no reason to tell falsehoods.”
“You…just like that…”
“Hai. Just like that. I believe what you are forgetting, Kagome, is that demons can sense whether a lie is being told or not. Your pulse quickens, your scent changes, and your facial expressions become rigid and your eyes twitch. That’s just you. But every human is different.”
“So…you knew all along then.”
“I did.”
Kagome sighed. So she wasn’t crazy, then. And she wouldn’t be committed.
“Then can…can I go home?”
“Hai. You can go home. On one condition…”
“What’s that?”
“You must promise not to tell anyone else of what has happened.”
“But…”
“Others may not be as accepting as I am, Kagome. And even I had trouble believing you. Your mother was worried that something happened to you, and I am going to squelch those fears. She must not know anything, and you will act as if everything is as it was. In the meanwhile, I am going to try and get the truth out of Naraku. I don’t expect this to be easy.”
“You’re doing all this for me…”
“Kagome, I am going to marry you soon. I would do anything for you. I love you.”
“Can…can we leave?”
Sesshomaru nodded slowly.
He helped her off of the bed, and left the room so she could dress. Not soon after, they left, and Sesshomaru took Kagome home.