The Sacred Trees

a/n
Okay, sitting up late, had to get this chapter out, mainly as a thanks to reviewers. See u review more I am interested in finishing chapters faster. Lol. Again will give individual thanks in next chapter. But will say that yes I find the Indian tribe to be perfect. Thanks for suggestions of Job, please tell me what you think of the job the puppy ended up with. This chappie is sans that person everyone is waiting for, but it is needed so please bear with me. One reason for the hurried writing is because I want him out as well. Hehehehe.. ok .. warning.. the fic takes a darker turn here, and that is a warning of things to come. I've enjoyed writing the light stuff, but well if anyone reads my GetBackers fics, you'll know angst is kindda my drug of choice.

Enjoy and as always please review....


****

Chapter 5 : Full circle

Inuyasha was met at the airport by two friends of Dionne and Matiana, who had been given detailed instructions to look after the hanyou. The two were close to Inuyasha’s age and had a sense of fun that the hanyou had missed. The three were soon laughing and joking, and they took Inuyasha to a bar to knock back some sake before taking him back to the Shrine where he would be staying.
Souta was the first to see him at the shrine, and ran out to hug Inuyasha, closely followed by Kagome’s mom. Kagome trailed behind, Mrs Higurashi (Mrs. H) tactfully invited the Inuyahsa’s two escorts in for coffee, and suddenly the hanyou and Miko were alone.

They stared at each other, the silence mayhap saying more then words. Finally Kagome her eyes misty, she took a clawed hand in hers, “I’ve received a scholarship to further my studies in Medicine in America. I’ll be leaving in five days. I.. Im sorry Inuyasha, I didn’t appreciate you as I should have, please.. please.. be my friend.”

A gentle claw drew dark hair behind her ear, “Kagome, I always have been and always will be your friend. In spite of everything, you are the sister I never had, my first real friend – my best friend.” Kagome’s eyes filled with tears, and Inuyasha drew her in for a hug, once again offering his strength and generous support to the girl. They went into the house together, and his new friends Jeon and Rameal informed him that they would return in 6 days to talk about further plans.
Inuyasha spent this time with Kagome and her family, in that short time Inuysaha learnt one - thing that its hard for some leopards to change its spots.

Though she did tried, Kagome still had a tendency slip into old habits and try to push and belittle Inuyasha, in public. The hanyou found himself relying heavily on his hard earned patience to not start a fight. If she had not been leaving the situation would have deteriorated fast. So it was with a sense of relief he saw her off, he did love her, kind of, maybe, but he decided it was one of those cases where absence made the heart grow fonder.

Inuyasha had not shared with Kagome or her family what had occurred in Canada or the nature of his mission (that had been a major contention point with the Miko). When they got back to the airport the family went in to their activities, and Inuyasha finally went to Ginshinboku for the first time. His connection with this tree was too personal to share. He spent the whole night with the Ancient tree, and in the morning when his new friends’ car pulled up in the drive, he was rejuvenated and anxious to begin anew.

The next few weeks were a confusion of job hunting and career testing. With his ears hidden, Inuyasha was able to get away with simplistic disguises. The first week Jeon and Rameal helped. They dyed his hair, an act that had Kagome’s mother in tears. When they made plans to cut his long locks, she threw a fit to end all others, and threaten to cut off Jeon and Rameal’s hanging parts if they did such a sacrilegious things. That had them backing away from the project in terror, and calling in for backup. They finally got their higher ups to alter the spell on the head band so that it not only gave the hanyou the illusion of normal ears, but also made his hair seem black, as long as he tied it back and restricted its movements in a samurai style bun on his head.

Then the jobs began. Inuyasha at first went along with the suggestions made by Jeon and Rameal. They first got him a job delivering pizza, that was a disaster to the restaurant, but made for one happy hanyou. After finding Inuyasha sleeping off his gorging up a tree, the two were less then happy as the cost had to come out of their pockets. Since he liked trees so much they got him a job at the Tokyo park, maintenance and cleaning. He lost that job in 2 days after threatening to carve his name on the ass of a couple who had carved their names into a tree. They then got him a job delivering goods all over the City, the plug was pulled on that one, when the hanyou's curiosity had overcome him, and he opened and 'tested' the items he was delivering.

The two were in a pathetic state, being comforted by Mrs. H., after they had to pay for damages – again. When the hanyou in question, walked on with Souta, the two having been to the park together. “Inuyahsa, you brat, Its your master plan isn't it, send me and Jeon to the poor house or the mad house.” Rameal yelled at the hanyou as soon as he walked in.
Jeon tried to cool his friend but was similarly agitated, “We have found you another job, you had better not mess it up..”

“Keh,.. Don't need it.” Inuyasha said easily, ignoring the two's tirade.

“This job is a sweet one.. what the hell do you mean you don't need one? You intend to sponge off this generous family!” Rameal spluttered.

“No it was great.” Souta finally having the floor blurted out. “We were in the park, and there was some rich kid there, suddenly some guys tried to snatch the kid. But before they could even touch him, Inuyasha was between him and the kid. He caught the leaders hand and squeezed. There wasn't even a fight, he threatened them a little and they ran off. So did the kid. We were just hanging out and this lady came to the park, and offered Inuyasha a job as a bodyguard. Inuyasha was so cool”

“What! Inuyasha you cant be a bodyguard, they have to stay with the person they are guarding, Matiana was specific your job must let you move around.” Jeon said.

“I know, and I told her that I liked traveling around Tokyo and having free time, and refuse to be stuck babysitting 24/7.” the hanyou said with an arrogant grin, “So she said that that she was in charge of a company that hires temporary bodyguards for visiting vips (what's a vip?) and for specific functions. So I get to travel around, stay in the background and have free time as I need it.” The hanyou finished smugly.

“Damn, that's perfect, and this company is a pure human set-up.” Jeon's head hit the table, “All that work wasted.”

***

The job suited Inuyasha fine, except that sometimes he had to wear a monkey suit, but at least this was special made, to allow for movement. Though the Shrine was his main home, he stayed out on work 4 to 5 days a week. And the pay was better then any other job the two had gotten for him. On his second job he found his first ancient one. Only to his surprise it wasn't very ancient, it was a rather small ancient one that had to his amusement been 'born' asleep. The tree was only about 80 years old, and was located in the home of the person he had hired on as an extra guard during a party. It was an overnight deal, and he waited till the middle of the night went out and awakened the sleeping spirit. The energy and soul particle required was so minimal that it took him only 5 hours to recover.

He told Jeon and Rameal of his success, and the three went out drinking again. While drinking Inuyasha suggested jokingly that he geta demonic aide, hire someone to help him find the trees. The joke fell flat with Jeon and Rameal almost panicking as they nixed the plan. The two stressed that he had to stay away from demons, as far as possible. Hanyous were not welcome in Tokyo at all, and the consequences of him being discovered would be disastrous to not only him, but all those he was close to; especially the Higurashi's. When hanyou were discovered amongst humans in Tokyo, whole families were rumored to have disappeared, by the order of the Head Youkai of Tokyo. Inuyasha sensed they were hiding something, but there was a basis of truth in what they said that squeezed all the joy from the inu's heart. 500 years, after all that had happened, he was still despised for being born. And now if the humans discovered him.. the consequences would be so much worse.

The only place he belonged now was with the ancient ones, what kind of creature was he? The hanyou hid his eyes, behind a curtain of white. Most youkai could not even sense an ancient one's spirit, their spirit was so subtle, Naraku, Sesshoumaru, none that he knew had been able to sense the strength in Gensenboku or even recognize a random ancient one from a normal tree. Yet to him they were so clear.

One his third healing, as with the first two he had healed in the middle of the job; and learnt a painful lesson. His client was attacked that same night, before he was fully recovered. That had not stopped Inuyasha from rushing out to deal with the attackers, ignoring his own pain. They had been stopped, but the hanyou also received a bullet to his ribs. He had had to call in Joel and Rameal to get him out as the client was in misplaced gratitude had been attempting to send him to a hospital, and worse the illusion spell that was tied in to his own inner strength had begin to fade and fail. Lucky the two had managed to get him out before disaster struck. Since then he healed only after his job was over, returning to the tree when there were no added threats.

Traveling through Tokyo, Inuyasha scented some demons, usually lower ones, not once did he catch the scent of those his heart cried to see. They were dead or had moved on, Inuyasha could not speak of it. Jeon and Rameal hung around for 3 months, then when they almost walked into a healing session, they were ordered away from the hanyou. Only checking up on him by phone, and Inuyasha was truly alone.

The hanyou lost himself in healing and work. He had a cordial relationship with his work mates, but they were not close. He did not share his past, and avoided hanging out. He was accepted as a rather quiet and effective lone wolf at work. He only ever behaved young and silly with Souta, in the few hours or so he spent with the boy in a given week.

His life fell into a pattern, he'd work most days of the week, staying at the shrine between jobs. When he found a sleeping ancient one, he'd wait until his job was completed, then return in the night to heal. These times were the only times he donned the firerat robe. As he was no longer staying in the client's home or had official reasons to be in the locations once he was off the job, he had to use stealth to get to the trees. Inuyasha learned that trying to be stealthy when pain was wracking your body, increased the agony many times over.

Alone and in pain, lesser demons were sometimes drawn to the hanyou, and Inuyasha finally saw why he had to be proficient in ranged weapons. Using powerful attacks in Tokyo was unthinkable, so while Inuyasha could deal with a few even in a weakened and pained state, He could not defeat whole packs. If he happened to be healing in the seedier locations of Tokyo, the lesser demons rose from the slums attacked in the dozens. As much as it disgusted him, running became the best option, his crossbow dealing damage and giving him the space to disappear.

With the exception of Genshinboku, Inuuyasha had not found a single tree that was actually awake in and around Tokyo. Inuyasha thought he understood why they had sent him to Tokyo, here the Ancient ones were young. Most of the trees he encountered were born asleep, so while the pain was enough to kill humans and even most youkai, the hanyou was able to bear it and make it to safety. On an average he healed 2 trees a month, and on over a year had only found 3 truly ancient ones, hidden in old temples. That was a lucky break for the hanyou, as he had been able to hide for the few days it took him to recover in the cellar of one temple, the roof of another and in a small prayer cave of the third.

While he recovered, in pain and alone, the hanyou never cried out, he internalized it all. He knew there was no point, there was no one to hear, no one to help, and when he needed comfort the most even the touch of the great trees was denied him. In the hours and days he withered in agony, in his heart he accept his destiny, he knew one day he would die like this, alone and in pain. As his healing went unnoticed by most humans and demons around him only, only the small human community would miss him, would know what he had done. But at least the ancient ones would remember him – probably forever.

That was his only true comfort, as he came to accept that there was nothing in his destiny except for this mission for the ancient ones. In the year plus he had been in Japan he had not gone into heat even once. And though his heart seemed to drown in loneliness, the hanyou accepted his lot. He was an unwanted half breed, and he knew that fate and his own body acknowledged that one such as he was build for pain and battle, he was in no way worthy of breeding.

The little hanyou in the corner of a small dank cave. curled into himself as he had as a child. It had taken 500 years and he had come full circle. Once again Inuyasha found himself weak, hungry, in pain and above all else alone. And once again he had to ignore all that, stand and fight on trembling feet, as no one came, no one cared when he cried.

-- to be continued --
read n review please!