Well, this was going to be the last chapter, but there should only be one more after this, plus an epilogue. I realize that this chapter may seem a little short, but the cliffhanger was too delicious to pass up. I hope that you are still enjoying this! Inuyasha does not belong to me, all ideas and credits go to Rumiko Takahashi.

Sealed Away

Chapter Nine

By: Lazuli

lazulidreamer@yahoo.com

Light… soft and soothing—lost in the sensation of nothing but the soft purplish pink light. Pain… sorrow… then a voice.

“I want nothing but his happiness…” How could a voice sound so sad? So incredibly heartbreaking? It echoed… bouncing back and forth off the light covered walls like a badly recorded message. The words were almost faded, but then came louder again, the sound almost deafening. “For him to have a family… here—without any pain. To have both parents alive—to have acceptance from his brother—to not be hunted down…” The sensation of a tear falling, the sound barely heard as it hit something out of the realm of light. “Free him… unlock his soul from his prison!” Tearing… pain pain pain… separation from the light… darkness.

Seirei woke abruptly, heart pounding as the sensations from his dream lingered into the waking world. He took a few deep breaths and looked around his room to assure himself that he was alive and not dying… not being separated from his link on life. That was too weird. It was … familiar. This can’t be good. You don’t dream of yourself in a realm of pink light normally. He tried to console himself. Just recently. Although why it had to be pink was beyond him. Couldn’t he dream a more manly color?

He looked at his watch and sighed. It was still much too early in the morning to be up. The sun was barely up… and he had gone to bed not too long ago. He and Kagome had stayed up awhile, just talking and relaxing as they ate dinner and sat in the garden while the stars brightened in the sky as the night wore on. She had finally gone home—before the buses stopped running and he was sure that she wasn’t going to get hurt. He walked home with her, daring to give her a kiss on the cheek as she walked into her house.

She had been so surprised….

**

Kagome flushed as Seirei brushed his lips over her cheek, his eyes wide and uncertain as he pulled away, but a small, hopeful smile crossed his lips when she didn’t pull away in disgust or anger over the motion. She actually returned the smile—to his great surprise—and initiated a tentative hug before vanishing into her home. Seirei walked home with a blissful smile on his face because of the move and as a resulted stayed up as he played it over and over in his mind. The hug was different from before—he was sure of it. And the kiss…! Granted, it was only on the cheek, but she didn’t pull away! He practically danced.

**

He lay back in bad, the happy smile back as the sunlight slowly streamed into his room. He could hear his brother in the next room, grumbling as his alarm clock went off, blasting on the morning traffic report and the many accidents that seemed to occur on the main roadway. For once, no one was injured but he wasn’t able to hear the rest of the news after Shinnou issued some profanity and a loud bang against his side of the wall signified what happened to the alarm clock.

Dad’s going to kill him. Those clocks cost money and the dents in the wall are getting to be a bit much. Seirei was just glad that it didn’t make its way through like the last two times that his brother got pissed off at an inanimate object. It had taken a few days to repair the damage and there was a large gaping hole during that time where the brothers could clearly see each other and privacy was almost non existent.

Seirei looked at the sun once more and sighed, heaving himself out of bed. Might as well get up. His eyes felt like sandpaper was rubbed on them but he knew that there was no chance of staying in bed now. He was far too awake and that dream was still fresh in his mind, tugging at him. It should have faded by now. For some reason, that made him grumpy that the dream wasn’t following the normal rules of a dream and decided to take root in his brain instead.

He was just about to fall back in bed and just lay there for awhile when he heard familiar footsteps outside his door. He looked at his watch and wondered why anyone would be bothering him this early in the morning. Shinnou had to go somewhere, but he didn’t have work until later that day.

“Seirei! Are you up, dear?” Seirei sighed and opened the door to see his mother standing there, a broad smile on her face. “You don’t want to be late for work, do you? You promised your boss that you would take the early shift today.”

Groaning, he resisted the urge to beat his head against the doorframe. He had forgotten about that—and he and Kagome were talking about that last night! She had gotten roped into as well while the manager was out of town and they would essentially be the ones in charge of the summer employees—the college and high school students with the part time jobs. While it was a nice boost to his ego to be in charge of all those people—some being older than he was—it would have been nicer if he could have ignored the little voice that pushed him awake and fall back in bed. He gave his mother a grin though and stumbled down the stairs to eat the breakfast she had already laid out for him.

Shinnou had already beat him downstairs, head buried in the newspaper, silver hair trailing freely down his back. He never cared if he was in youkai form or not—not even bothering to really hide his appearance. Gold eyes looked amused as they glanced at him over the edge of the newspaper.

“Try to sleep in, Seirei?” An elegant eyebrow was raised as Seirei slumped at the table, a mug of coffee already in his hands. “Staying up all night, thinking about mating that girl isn’t good for your health, you know.” Shinnou made a tsking noise, grinning slightly at the chance to antagonize his younger brother. Seirei had given him enough grief about Rin that it was time for some payback.

“At least I haven’t actually mated with her yet.” Seirei shot back. “Or been panting after her since she was a child.” Rin was a few years younger than Shinnou, and the fact that they were technically married in the youkai sense wouldn’t please her parents any. Rin was very devoted to her mate, though—and when the two of them got together it was almost sickening how she fawned over him. Cute, but almost a bit too much. Seirei had enjoyed every chance he had gotten to tease his brother.

Shinnou just rolled his eyes and put the paper down calmly before taking a sip of tea. “At least I have the balls to do so, little brother.” He smirked. “You don’t seem to have the guts to throw her to the ground and make your claim on her.”

Seirei had just started to swallow a mouthful of rice when Shinnou spoke. He gagged for a few moments, glaring at him while he tried to regain his breath. “Bastard.” He managed after a few moments of wheezing. “Have better timing, will ya?” He took a quick drink of coffee to clear up anything else, trying to ignore the broad smirk on Shinnou’s face. “You just don’t do that sort of thing anymore.” He took a deep breath. “She’s human, you moron.”

Shinnou looked unconcerned. “Rin is human, too.” He said casually. “She didn’t seem to mind when I showed her what I wanted.” Oh, no—of course Rin wouldn’t mind. She had known Shinnou since she was eight years old and loved him to death. Any move on Shinnou’s part to move the relationship to a higher level wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

“Kagome and I have only known each other for a little under a year, you moron.” He growled out. “We haven’t been intended mates since children. You already placed your mark on her long ago.” He wasn’t expecting what came next.

“There already is a mark between you and Kagome.” Shinnou took another sip of his tea as if he hadn’t said anything of monumental value. Shinnou had seen Kagome for a few minutes last night, and Seirei stared at him, trying to figure out how he came to that conclusion. He must be delusional, that’s the only explanation that I have. There can’t be a mark between us—we haven’t known each other long enough for that—and I know I haven’t done anything more than hug her!

“Your souls—“ Shinnou looked bored that he was saying this, but there was a definite gleam of amusement in his eyes. “Perhaps in a previous life you met.” He shrugged easily, gulping down the rest of his tea and brushing off his hands. “I have to go to work now, little brother. But before you start teasing me about Rin, think about the situation with your own mate to be first.”

Seirei was left sitting in dumb shock as the coffee cooled to the point of undrinkable in his mug. He recovered enough to pour himself another cup when his mother appeared again, eyes wide with surprise as she saw Seirei still sitting at the table, staring at the cup in his hands. “What are you doing here still?!” She demanded. “Get to work, you’ll be late!”

Seirei glanced up at the clock, swore and hurried out the door, running as fast as he could to make it to the library in time. He barely made it and clocked in with relief. He noticed Kagome looking up at him with amusement and he recalled what his brother said. Now if I can just act normal around Kagome today, I’ll be lucky.

**

Kagome grinned when Seirei stumbled in the library. “Tired?” She teased. Seirei looked like he had been hit by a bus on the way to work—his skin seemed more pale than usual, but it may have been due to the dark rings under his eyes. He made a face in response and sat next to her behind the desk. There was no one in the library at the moment—it still had a half hour before opening and Seirei took that moment to lay his head on the desk, eyes closed.

“Wake me up when it’s time to start working.” His voice was muffled with the wood of the desk, head buried in his arms. Kagome giggled and poked him with the pen she was using the write down the new inventory that had come in earlier.

“Not a chance. You have to look bright and cheery for our patrons.” She raised and eyebrow and looked at his limp form. “Not like a overcooked noodle.” Seirei groaned once more and Kagome outright laughed. “Why don’t you stumble over to the break room and grab yourself some coffee? It doesn’t look like you got enough this morning.” She looked more concerned as he didn’t seem to be moving. “Seirei… are you alright?”

Seirei heard the concern in her voice and forced his head up from the collapsed position that wanted to be in at that moment. He gave her a smile to reassure her. “Just tired, Kagome.” He said softly. Even his voice was raspy and Kagome giggled again.

“You sound like you’re drunk.” She pointed out. “You better do something to clear your throat and head before you really start work.” She still looked concerned over him but he stood up, still rubbing his eyes slightly.

“Good idea.” Kagome looked like she wanted to follow him to make sure that he wouldn’t fall over the coffee pot and burn himself but he waved her off. “I’ll bring you back a cup.” He promised. “You don’t look very awake yourself.” He grinned at her indignant look but there was no denying that she was tired, too—although probably for a different reason then him. That festival of hers was coming up soon, and he had no doubt that her family had her up half the night going through preparations, not realizing that she had work so early in the morning. He wished that there was something more that he could do for her, but right now all she seemed to want was the caffeine. Seirei cursed his brother under his breath once more and headed for the break room.

Giving him a grateful look she bent over the paper again, pen moving swiftly as she documented the scrolls she had filed yesterday. She stifled a yawn behind one hand and Seirei grinned as he hurriedly filled two cups full of the steaming coffee. It was going to be a long day.

**

Kagome watched over Kioku as the younger girl sorted through the files with an efficiency that was surprising. There was almost no expression on her face though as various scrolls were carefully placed aside after a quick glance down at them. One made her stop—amazement crossing the features as she looked up at Kagome, then down at the scroll.

“Kagome—this was written about your shrine and that festival of yours. Do you want to read it before I put it away?” Kagome resisted the need to snatch it out of the girl’s hands—the expression on her face must’ve been enough incentive to hand over the scroll quickly, Kioku’s face intent on hers.

Kagome squinted as she looked at the handwriting—it wasn’t one that she had remembered being a chronicler of the shrine’s history—this was a different viewpoint and one that quite surprised her.

From the hand of Taijiya Sango—Muhashi’s Domain 15—

Today has marked a year since the taiyoukai has died—the one that almost had the jewel in his grasp. His power was already great—the son of the great lord of the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru was stopped by his younger brother, of all people—but at a great cost. The priestess Kikyou—whom we had entrusted the care of the Shikon no Tama, died on that same day from injuries sustained from the attack. The hanyou brother also perished in the fight. Not all hope was lost, though—the jewel that had been fought over for so long—that would have been without protection—vanished in a flash of light—there were several witnesses to the event, one being Kikyou herself before passing away later that day.

No one saw what remained of the hanyou’s body, but his spirit was honored for the sacrifice that was made on his behalf to save the village. The Taijiya village will always recognize his deeds and so this celebration will take place every year so that his great service will not be forgotten in the dusts of time.

There was more to the scroll—information at how a shrine was going to be dedicated to the tree that was supposed to hold the soul of the hanyou—where he had died when his body was pinned to the tree. To Kagome’s greater surprise, there was some criticism on the miko’s part for ending a life so carelessly without thinking of the consequences. Kagome put the scroll down, hands trembling. She then looked determined as she carefully rolled up the scroll and put it in a special, water-proof case.

Kioku was looking at her with wide eyes and Kagome gave her a tight smile, trying to reassure her. “This is what I need for the festival.” Her smile grew. “The proof that I need to show that I wasn’t crazy at all… that the festival really was to honor Inuyasha, not the miko that killed him.” She practically danced out of the room, scroll held carefully in her hands. Kioku could only stare and shake her head as she bent, emotionless, over the large pile of unread scrolls again.

**

Seirei looked up when Kagome rushed out of the back room, a startled expression on her face. When she saw him, she practically grabbed him, hugging him tightly. “Look at this!” Her voice was high pitched with excitement as she waved a scroll case at him, and he followed her movements dazedly. “This is what I needed! This is the proof…” Her voice trailed off as she held the case close to her again.

“What is it?” He asked carefully. She looked like she was about to fall apart from excitement… whatever it was had made her light up from the inside out and he was amazed at the pain that had cleared away from her expression—pain that he wasn’t even aware had been there. She carefully pulled out the scroll and showed him the words. His own eyes widened and he leaned over it, reading the ancient words carefully to make sure that he was catching all of it.

“The festival… at your place…” His voice trailed off. “You’re going to bring it back to the original origins?” He tapped the paper carefully. “You have to be very careful with this, Kagome. Bring it out the right way for people to listen to you. Look here—this details on how it was celebrated.” He pointed out a few notes that Sango had made—it was an intricate ceremony—the first festival…and he wondered if it would be possible to duplicate something like that.

“Well, we can’t do the whole thing, obviously.” She said with a huff. “But the ceremony for the Goshinboku… we can do that at least.” Her smile was dizzy. “This is great… people will still think I’m crazy because of Inuyasha, but at least we can honor him again.”

Seirei blinked in surprise. This was the first time that she had said his name. Before she had glossed over it, evading it—always substituting it for something else. Now—she seemed so more at ease—as if finding this information—this chance to honor something so dear to her—brought her peace.

At least something has—He thought sadly. I had hoped it would be me… He was startled out of his musings when Kagome hugged him fiercely. “You’re coming, too!” She looked anxious. “Right?” At his hesitant nod, she smiled again. “Good. There won’t be any harmful energy there.” She teased. “It will be perfectly safe for you to come.”

He gave her a nervous grin, running his hands through his hair. “I appreciate it.” He said softly. “I wouldn’t want to cause undue attention to myself.” He peered at the last part of the script and his eyes widened. “Oh my….” Kagome blinked at him.

“What’s so startling?” She asked in confusion. He pointed to the tiny, careful writing that had been done by someone other than Sango. She gasped and leaned against Seirei for support. “No… it’s impossible. I … he can’t…”

Seirei read the writing again, eyes intent on the words that froze his heart. “And a spell can be performed 1 and 500 years after the date of the hanyou’s end to bring him back to life, to reunite him with the soul that bound him, to be forever locked in eternity with each other.”