Ah yes. The final chapter is finally here. At long last, the fun will be ending soon.
Truth be told, it's been so long since I last updated that I had to re-read my own creation. To all my faithful and patient readers out there, a thousand apologies for the ridiculously long delay. For that I truly apologize.
To the people who have started reading this fic only in recent months (that is also long)I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. The final one is here after almost a year of waiting.
To one and all, thank you for all your support and do review for one last time. :)
To reviews of past, present and future a googol of 'thank you's!!
Chapter 14… All But A Dream
"This looks interesting." Kakuzu commented while staring at the rudely phrased memo which shot his head after must persistent pursuing. In short, the message said to leave "me" alone as the "Shikon" is no longer available or "I'll" massacre the Akatsuki. It was quite the threat, given that a number of them would require many assassination attempts before either will relent even a little. As he re-read the note for the sixtieth time (not that he bothered counting), Hidan snatched it out of his fingers.
"Why'd this stupid thing get acquainted with your head? Why not mine?" Hidan complained. His frustrated scowl slowly disappeared as raised eyebrows replaced it. "Whoever sent this must have lots of guts." Then a grin came by. "I'd like to meet him." He read the note once again and turned the paper to the other side. Hidan quickly scanned the small 6 centimeters by 6 centimeters sized paper, hoping to find a venue to meet the sender.
It was not too long before he was rewarded with the word "Tokyo".
"Oy, Kakuzu, where's this To-kyou place?"
"It's Tokyo, far west. And we're not making that detour." Kakuzu replied bluntly.
Hidan scowled and began thinking of a way to get Kakuzu to go his way. "Hey, this person must be worth quite a bit in that black market of yours if he dares challenge us."
Almost immediately, Kakuzu said, "Let's head west."
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"I can't read this." Itachi mumbled.
Kisame took the piece of paper from Itachi. "It basically challenges the members of the Akatsuki, namely us, to a fight. Though it mentions that the Shikon artifact we are after is "no longer available". I believe we're supposed to go to To… Kyo… to meet the challenger."
"Hn."
--In Tokyo--
Kagome sat up in bed and sneezed twice. She had only been back from Konohagakure for a day and already phone calls were flooding her household. What's worse was the annoying Furi had decided to stay awake on this very day as seems unable to get back to sleep.
"SHIPPO! GET THE XXXX-ING PHONE!!" Kagome screamed from the kitchen where she was trying to make coffee without the numerous telephones blaring into her ears. Much to her satisfaction, heavy thumps sounded from the curved staircase in the living room as Shippo tried to keep up with the callers. Kagome sat onto a high stool in the kitchen and began sipping her coffee as she pushed ear plugs into her ear canals. Enjoying the self-created peace for the first time that day, she sighed in contentment.
That's quite a futile attempt.
Oh shut up, Furi.
Tch.
Just as she reached the halfway mark of her coffee, the door bell rang.
"Okasan! I can't keep up!!" Shippo screamed over the deafening orchestra of ringing.
Growling, Kagome left her mug sitting on the table while she headed for the front door.
--Akatsuki--
"This looks… interesting." Hidan commented as he stood at the front gate of the mansion with Kakuzu. The journey here was quite the adventure. Having to pass through thousands or maybe millions of people without a single one of them screaming out in terror and running away was slightly unsatisfying though. When Kakuzu did not reply him, Hidan rolled his eyes and jumped over the fence. As he walked towards the main door of the building, Kakuzu followed after him silently, as though he was contemplating something important.
Glancing sideways, Hidan said, "What's with the silent treatment?"
"This property could be worth well over millions…" Kakuzu murmured as he continued remaining deep in thought.
Hidan scoffed and commented, "Money keeps you so occupied that I have to stoop to talking to myself and yet you complain like a prissy when ever I do my ceremonies. Why do I get the disadvantage?"
No reply.
"Here I go again!" And finally, they reach the door. Still scowling, Hidan pressed the doorbell.
--Normal--
Kagome opened the door. To Hidan and Kakuzu, it felt like an entire wave of ringing hit them. Hidan flinched slightly and Kakuzu woke up from his thoughts. Kagome stared at the two oddly dressed men for a moment before remembering that they were Akatsuki. The two men stared back, wondering what they had to do next.
She looks familiar…Both Hidan and Kakuzu thought. Ah. Realization struck them. Kakuzu remembered her as the girl whose death was priced at twenty billion ryou while Hidan remembered her as the target with the Shikon (there's someone who keeps to the mission). Reacting quickly, Kagome murmured a quick incantation to for a barrier around her property to prevent curious onlookers from getting what they want if she had to engage the Akatsuki in a fight.
"Would you two step out onto the field please?" Kagome asked, sounding oddly polite for someone who challenged them so rudely. Her politeness was so overwhelming that the two men obliged.
As they reached the center of the field, Itachi and Kisame arrived. Barely a greeting was exchanged.
"Shippo, I'll be dealing with something out here for awhile!" Kagome yelled into the household.
"Alright!" was the reply that she heard.
Kagome stepped out of the house and mumbled another incantation which protected the structure of the building. Satisfied with herself, she stepped out towards the four men. As she approached them, it appears that more and more people were arriving. Eventually, there were nine Akatsuki and Kagome stood with only Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
One of the Akatsuki members said something. But however Kagome strained to hear, she could not catch a word he said.
"What?" Kagome called out. When he began to speak again, blackness poured into her field of vision.
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Kagome opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her room. That was odd. She sat up in her bed and looked around her. It was the room she currently has alright. This probably means that she still had her company. She turned to her bedside table and looked at the digital clock. It read nine a.m. As she began thinking about her life-like dream, she slid out of bed and went to brush her teeth.
All the historical details in her dream were true but how could it not have happened? It felt like she really was at Konohagakure once again. Feeling refreshed, Kagome left her room and headed for the dining room on the first floor. As she descended the widely curved staircase, she passed a window looking out over her lawn. She stopped for a moment and took in the view of the field of lush green grass at her entrance. Satisfied, she continued down and headed for breakfast.
On the table top was a note from Shippo, saying that he left for work slightly earlier than usual to clear up the overdue work he had. Smiling slightly, Kagome sat down and drank her coffee. Glancing at the calendar, she got reminded that toady was the day to visit the family she had been deprived of for the past five hundred years. Feeling a lot more spirited and excited, Kagome rushed through her breakfast, got changed and got to her motorcycle.
A thought struck her and she dialed a number on her cell phone.
On the other end, a voice came through. 'Hello, Shippo speaking.'
'Hey! It's Kagome here. I need you to look after the company for me again. I'll be gone for quite awhile I believe.'
'Okaa-san! You're evil!'
'Aww! I know you love me! Anyway, just do me the favor.'
'Alright, you'd better get back quick though. Who knows? I might just ditch the place!'
'I dare you to!' Laughter was heard on both ends of the call. 'I've got to go now! Bye and thanks!'
That short conversation left Kagome feeling much livelier than she had felt just moments ago. With a final laugh, Kagome smiled and slipped her cell phone back into its compartment on the motorcycle. She got on and rode off.
Kagome skidded to a halt outside her family's shrine after five minutes of traveling. She glanced at the place quickly and sighed. It's been five hundred years and luckily, my memory's not fading yet. She jumped to the top of the stairs and walked towards the front door. She braced herself for her family's reactions and pressed the doorbell. After standing for a minute, the thumping of footsteps could be heard and her mother's face appeared when the door opened. Behind her was Souta yelling, 'Who's that?' He stopped next to his mother and stared. 'Kagome?'
'Yo. It's been awhile,' she replied.
'Wow! Your hair's so long! Nice eyes! And you pierced your ear!' Souta marveled all at once. It took Kagome quite a while to tell her family all that happened in the last five hundred years, but she did.
'So now you're five hundred and seventeen years old?' Souta asked again.
'For the third time, yes.' Kagome answered and sipped from her cup of hot green tea. 'Ah… Green tea never tasted better…'
'So what are you doing now?' Mrs. Higurashi asked.
'I'm currently running quite a company. I established it within the past twenty years, I guess. Oh, and Shippo's my partner.'
'Then you must be very busy.'
'It's manageable.'
'YOUKAI BEGONE!' Kagome's grandfather has made his appearance.
Kagome made a face and pulled the pieces of paper off, 'Grandpa, can you not even recognize your own granddaughter? And for the last time, your ofudas DO NOT work!' Now I know exactly how they feel…
'Oh! Kagome! What happened to you?' And now, Kagome has to retell everything.
By late afternoon, Kagome was sitting in the living and switching the channels on the television. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last. When she finally settled on a channel, the doorbell rang. When the door opened by a small crack, something flew towards the door and got stuck in it. Kagome walked out to take a closer look and realized it was a kunai which pinned a note to the door. It read:
To Higurashi Kagome,
To the Hidden Village of Konoha you shall go
Your questions will not be answered unless you appear.
The short message was not signed. As her mind wandered off, she hastily called it back, took the keys to the apartment they owned in Konoha and bid her family adieu. She rode off swiftly and packed certain belongings into a few duffel bags. I hope this is worth it.
END