Not dead yet

The sand puffed out from under his bare feet with each step he took, small dust clouds billowing out in his wake as the dust cast a pallor over his once bright red clothes. White ears dropped back on his skull as his eyes remained downcast- paying no attention to the path he mindlessly traveled as his mind followed down well worn paths of self doubt and loathing.

Once- things had seemed to be going so well. Once- he had hopes for the future, that everything would work out for the best and that he would always be an important part of his small group and that he would have someone by his side. Once- he thought he had…

Letting out a disgruntled "keh", he wrenched his thoughts from those familiar paths as he tried to remember some happier times, but every path led him back to the same bleak present. Everything should have been perfect- everything was supposed to have been over by now. Naraku was gone- the world was safe- well safer, but the jewel shards the evil demon had possessed had never been found.

That was how it was supposed to have happened, but it had seemed like fate had once again conspired to thwart his hopes and dreams again. He hadn't even had the joy of defeating Naraku, just of seeing the dead decaying bodies that he had left behind. At first they thought that he had faked his death again, but after years with no sign of the dreaded hanyou they had grudgingly decided that he must be dead. His small party had continued on their quest for the jewel shards, but time had been able to do what no enemy had been able to.

His friends had drifted apart.

Sango and Miroku had decided that they needed to settle down, start the family they had always wanted, and which had finally become possible with Miroku's windtunnel finally gone. Shippo and Kagome had wanted to continue the quest for the jewel shards, but after a year of unfruitful quests, Inuyasha had left them, had realized they needed to get on with their lives, and that his presence was only holding them from moving on with their lives.

He had been back to the village several times, and while the first few times had been difficult , especially trying to explain to Kagome why he couldn't come back to her time to stay with her, but in the end she had accepted it as best for both of them.

Looking up with a bit of a start, Inuyasha realized that his wandering mind had allowed him to come into the outskirts of a village without him noticing. Slowing his pace, he started to grow slightly alarmed as he noted the growing crowd of villagers gaping at him.

Coming to a halt Inuyasha felt his senses go on edge as the crowd continued to close in around him as he begin to hear ominous mumblings start to run through the crowd, just as he was ready to make a run for it, a small child grabbed his hand from behind.

"Mister- mister, are you… are you Inuyasha?"

Caught totally unprepared by the Childs question he froze for a moment until he felt his hand being pulled as the inquisitive child repeated his earlier question. Still feeling uncertain, he just gave the child a nod.

The response he got to his simple nod took him by surprise. He was used to the normal reaction to when people find out about him, the fear, the crowds skirting him, treating him as if they ignored him, his loathsome prescence would be gone from them all the sooner.

But the crowd flooding around him, picking him up onto their shoulders and chanting his name even. To be honest, this scared the half-demon more than any angry crowd armed with pitchforks ever had before. His first instict was to try and run from the crowd, to get away somehow, but instead he merely let out a sigh as he realized a depressing truth.

He didn't care anymore.

Whatever this crowd did to him, killed him, dropped him off a cliff, stuffed him and used him as a wall-hanging, he didn't care. Letting the crwod cart him off on their shoulders, he leaned back, feeling hands run all over his back as he was passed among the many hands, but he let it pass just under his conciousness as he stared up at the clouds, watching their patterns twist and fold above him, trying to think of something pleasent.

Unfortunately, his traitorous mind kept bringing him back to his past, those few moments when he had actually felt like he had a family, especially the one time that he thought he had found someone. His thoughts were cut off when he realized that the crowd had arrived at wherever they were going, wherever that was.

Looking around he found himself in the center of a small square, surrounded on all sides by fairly decent sized buildings as the crowd set him to his feet, still surrounding him but now spreading out in front of him, making a clearing where he saw another group heading towards him, at the front of the group a semi-familar figure strode.

The blue robe that he had last seen him in was gone, now replaced by one of forest green, and the hair that had been long now reachd almost to his feet, still pulled back into a thick braid as it swung behind him, but it was the other piece swinging behind him that held his attention. Swinging with his braid was a long gray-furred tail, sometimes batting against the braid as they swished besides each other pendulum-like. His eyes followed the movement of that swinging appendage even as the owner came closer.

Inuyasha stood, his mouth agape as he finally brought his eyes up when two hands grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a firm embrace.

"Inuyasha. I was beginning to get worried that we would never find you." Pushing back slightly but keeping the larger hanyou in place, the speaker looked into stunned eyes, before cocking his head slightly. "Are you ok?"

Stilled stunned, but managing to recover slightly, Inuyasha was able to stammer out. "T-Taptai?"

A small smile crossed his lips as the gray-haired hanyou nodded, then pulled his former lover close as Inuyasha began to weep silently. "You- you were killed, by n-naraku, and then- I mean, everything happened- and I looked- but I couldn't..."

Strong hands caressed his back as he tried to stammer out some kind of explanation- apology- something, but the only thing that stuck in his mind was that somehow- someway his former mate was still alive. Letting a small hiccup out, Inuyasha nuzzled into his ear as that thought ran through his mind. "You are alive aren't you?"

Leaning up to return his mates nuzzle, Taptai murmurred softly. "Yes dear, I'm very much alive."

Inuyasha let out a quick yelp as something prodded around his hindquarters, leaving a slightly chilly dampness in its wake. Both Hanyou turned at his start to find a child busy inspecting the new arrival, gently sniffing around Inuyasha.

"Torga- what have I told you about sniffing people without asking first?"

The child looked up, a blush spreading across his face at the admonishment, before coming to stand near Taptai, wrapping his arms around the older hanyous leg as his own tail became visibly as he tucked it around both himself and Taptai. Glancing up at the now slightly bewildered Inuyasha Taptai gave out a soft keh much like Inuyasha's own before letting a grin cross his lips.

"Inuyasha- I'd like to meet your son, Torga- this is your father, Inuyasha."




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Well folks, there you go, hope it's been worth the wait. This is part two of what has now become the Ears trilogy, and like any good trilogy, the 2nd part is the odd one where you get all the interesting background stuff. Anyway- hope you all like this, it takes place after the actual series, and I'm fairly sure that this will take a slightly different tangent than the canon would, but I hope to make a good story nonetheless- so anyhow- enjoy peeps!