Inuyasha, "Next Generation: Shiori Chronicles" ch. 23, rated K+ (complete)

[paynesgrey]

Fandom: Inuyasha
Title: Next Generation: Shiori Chronicles
Chapter Title: The Parting of Ways
Author: Paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Shiori, Kohaku, (slight Kohaku/Shiori)
Rating: PG
(Chapter) Word Count: 3,374
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Warnings: None
Notes: Post-manga.Continuation to my "Shiori Chronicles". This is the last installment for Shiori's story and will continue with Kohaku's journey. I have started Kohaku's story already but I want to revise it and repost it to continue off where this story ended. This was finished for wipbigbang and #IFD2020. 

Summary: A teenage Shiori wants to do something more with her life, and everything changes when she meets a traveling pack of pacifist bat youkai, as well as a handsome demon slayer.

Chapter Summary: Shiori and Kohaku say goodbye as Shiori continues on with the bat youkai.

Links: AO3 | FFnet

She’s shifting nervously on the balls of her feet as Kohaku looks at her sadly and then begins to turn away. He’s stepping away to return back to the crackling fire. Soon, Kai and Shinta will return from their patrols and he’ll tell them the news. He will leave it to them if they want to continue on with Shiori or return back to their pack. 

Shiori knows that the two wolf youkai, her new friends, have no reason to join this fight. They don’t have a duty to the bat youkai, not like she does. Sadness fills her heart when she thinks about them leaving her too. 

Kohaku turns to her before he extinguishes the fire. Soon they will go to bed and in a few days, they will be on separate journeys. The reality sends a jolt of dread through her core. 

“I’ll send Tomoe to tell the bat youkai to rendezvous with us in a nearby crossroads. They shan’t be far behind. The Elder will send word back to where they want to meet. They should know the best place to meet and go on our way,” Kohaku says to her, and Shiori can hear Tomoe cawing as the bird circles the sky above their little camp.

“And then you and Kirara will be going back to your village,” Shiori says solemnly, entranced by the fire and getting caught up in her thoughts.

Really, she thinks to herself, she’s being foolish. She’s made her promise to the bat youkai that she will learn their ways and master using the scepter. She knows she shouldn’t get carried away with her feelings for Kohaku, but she cannot help it. Her emotions are swirling inside her like a hornet’s nest. When she grips the scepter, it starts pulsing like a heartbeat.

“Shiori-chan…” Kohaku begins, and his voice is soft and lovely in her ears. She will miss it.

“Kohaku I have to tell you something,” Shiori says quickly, interrupting him. “I am grateful for meeting you and the bat youkai. I finally found a purpose in my life. I know that I will gain so much from the bat youkai when we go to the sacred waterfall; however…” She doesn’t dare look at him, and he keeps silent so she can speak. His silence is almost deafening.

“However, I have come to really care for you… I know you must leave regardless. I know that there is a bigger threat out there that we must face. We both have our own paths, but I feel I must tell you…” She pauses and swallows awkwardly, trying not to swallow her words too. “I feel something more for you than a friend. However you may feel for me, I still treasure you as my friend and ally in this coming dilemma.”

“Shiori-chan…” He says, and she braves a motion to face him. He’s looking at her solemnly, but he’s not disgusted or unnerved. She’s relieved he’s not repulsed by her confession.

However, she sees something else in his large brown eyes. The scepter pulses in her hand.

“I… you are a precious friend,” he says finally. “However, I don’t… I don’t feel the same,” he says, and his words feel like claws through her heart. A dull ache settles in her throat, as if she’s known his feelings already.

“I had suspected,” Shiori says, and she turns to stare at her hands, one still gripping the scepter which has now gone dark. The scepter seems to mirror her feelings. She feels hollow and lonely. 

“It’s not what you think… I don’t….” he explains,  “You see I don’t feel like I’m good enough for anybody. I feel like I need to make up for a lot of things in my past. I feel incomplete, but also that I have a debt I need to repay for all that I have done in my life.”

Shiori looks at him confused. “What does that mean, Kohaku-kun?”

“For the longest time I felt like I wasn’t even alive,” he answers. “I wasn’t, not really, after what Naraku did to me. When Kikyou gave me my life back, I felt almost like… a clean slate, like I’ve had to learn to live all over again. I live every day with the things I know, though, and that’s being a demon slayer.”

“Are you saying you don’t know how to feel love?” Shiori asks. 

Kohaku nods once. “I can feel love, but it’s not… It is more for my sister and family. I haven’t felt anything beyond that. I don’t know if I can...All I know is how I feel for you, Shiori, is admiration and friendship. It would be unfair of me to say that I felt more.”

Shiori nods, and her heart swells with hope. “But someday...someday you could love someone like the way your sister loves the monk?”

“I suppose,” he says with a shrug. “But now all I can think about is what I can do to repay my debt and learn how to live like a person again. Now that we have discovered this disease, my purpose is clear. I have to do something about it and hopefully stop it before it gets worse. Naraku was like that, a disease, but I have a feeling this is something else. I have to know more about it…”

“I understand,” Shiori says. “I have a duty to my people and to this new role as the successor to the scepter. I have to take care of the bat youkai first, and I have to learn how to protect them, especially against something like this disease.”

“I was hoping…” Kohaku begins and Shiori snaps her head to him, anxious for his words. “When you have completed the training, that you come to my sister’s village and find me to help me fight this disease, whatever it is.”

She nods once. “Of course, but I do not know how much training I will need.”

Kohaku leans toward her and rests his hand on her shoulder. “I have complete faith in you, Shiori. You have learned so much already with the scepter. Once the bat youkai are safe at the waterfall and you have your training, I have no doubt you will be ready to defend them and protect others as well.”

Shiori smiles at him softly even though her heart is aching. She understands what Kohaku has gone through, and if he needs to understand his life and his own feelings first, she can accept that. She feels less heartbroken this way because maybe someday Kohaku will see her differently. 

He still wants her help, and he has faith in her abilities. She wants to fight for him too, and she makes a promise to herself that she will learn all she can from the bat youkai and she will master the scepter. 

She will impress him and exceed his expectations, and maybe then his admiration for her can grow into love. Someday.

--

The next day, Kohaku and Shiori have picked up their camp. Tomoe flies back from getting orders that evening, and the raven informs Kohaku that the bat youkai are on their way, within a half a day to meet them at the forest crosswords.

Kai and Shinta are not surprised that Kohaku is going back to his village; however, Kai is more torn about leaving Shiori by herself with the bat youkai.

She reassures him that she will be with her people and she has a duty to keep her promise to them.

“We have to return to our pack, but I’m going to tell them what happened here with the dark miko and the disease that is coming throughout the lands. I will warn them to be ready for battle,” Kai says.

Kohaku nods agreeably. “Tell Kouga and Ayame that we may need their help; however, it’s best they keep their pack safe away from human villages for now. We do not want a repeat of what happened with Azuna. I do not know how far this disease has stretched already, but I swear to you I’m going to find out.”

Kai turns to Shiori as Shinta moves to say goodbye to Kirara. Kai reaches out his hand and boldly he takes Shiori’s. She gasps as he presses her palm to his heart. He meets her surprised gaze with determination.

“I will make a promise to you too, Shiori-chan, that we will train and get stronger so that we can come to you again and repay you for saving us,” Kai says. 

“Oh, Kai-kun,” she says, feeling heat in her cheeks. “I...I am grateful for your help.”

Kai’s face is turning redder, and he scratches the back of his neck nervously. “I...I also want to uh, propose to you, ah...if you will consider…”

“Kai loves Shiori!” Shinta yells giggling, and Kai almost falls over in shock and embarrassment. Shiori turns equally red.

“Yeah, I wanted to say,” he grits his teeth. “I really think you’re amazing and maybe I’m not good enough now but someday…” He furrows his brow and the determination returns. “I’ll become good enough to marry you!”

Shiori gasps, and she’s shocked. She turns slightly to Kohaku to see his expression, and he looks quite bemused. 

“Kai-kun…” she begins.

“You don’t have to say anything now,” he says, and his words came out in a quick, nervous string. “I mean, we’re still kids but uh, I just want to say that I’m going to make myself get stronger so I can protect you! And when we fight again together maybe... Please consider me then!”

Shiori doesn’t have the heart to turn him down. She can’t; after all, Kohaku is unable to return her feelings now, and she doesn’t know her own future yet. She doesn’t know how her heart will feel when she’s trained at the waterfall and fulfilled her promise to the bat youkai. She doesn’t know how she’ll feel about Kai either. 

She can’t predict the future any more than Kai or Kohaku can, and she does treasure Kai as a friend.

“Until then…” She finally says with a light smile. Kai looks at her owlishly, as if he doesn’t believe what she’s said.

She leans close to him and kisses him on the cheek. “Farewell, Kai-kun.”

He laughs and nods at her, and his face lights up with pure happiness. Shinta teases him as he rounds up beside him. 

“Goodbye, everyone!” Shinta says waving. Kai is staring at Shiori with a goofy grin on his face, and he lovingly traces the spot on his cheek where she’s kissed him.

“Let’s go!” Shinta says, pulling him along. Kai doesn’t look away from her until they’re dashing away, deep into the forest.

When the wolf youkai are out of sight, Shiori turns to Kohaku and Kirara who are ready to leave. They continue in the opposite direction of the wolves into a clearing where they will meet up with the bat youkai at the crossroads. Shiori walks next to Kohaku on his right while Kirara rounds up to him on the left.

Shiori is still smiling from Kai’s confession, in which she wholly doesn’t expect it. She’s suspected that he’s had a little crush on her since she helped rescue his brother, but she’s never really considered his feelings can be more.

“Kagome-sama once told me a story on how she met Kouga-san. First time he saw her power, he carried her back to his pack and demanded she be his woman. He was very persistent, much to Inuyasha’s ire,” Kohaku said. “However, Kouga-san was very loyal to her. She said that it was difficult for him to give her up...Wolves are just that loyal.” He taps his chin thoughtfully. “I wonder what that must feel like, to be that attached.”

“You needn’t worry about that feeling, Kohaku-kun,” Shiori says. “Someday you will feel such things for someone else.” 

It may not be me, she thinks somberly. However, it could be her. She continues to have hope.

Kohaku nods thoughtfully, but he furrows his brow as if he’s clinging to something incomprehensible. “I...I feel terrible that I cannot return your feelings, Shiori-chan. I hope you do not resent me for it.”

Shiori shakes her head. She stops at his side, and he halts too, looking at her with concern. She meets his eyes. “Please, don’t let it bother you any longer, Kohaku-kun. I needed to tell you how I felt, but that does not mean I expect something from you in return. I understand how you feel and I do not hold it against you.” She sighs, and continues resolutely. “More than anything I want to be your friend. If that’s all I can have, it’s enough. We both have our paths, and our focus needs to be elsewhere now.”

Kohaku moves closer to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. She’s taken off guard by his closeness, and he looks down at her puzzled. “I know you’re right but…”

“What is it?” Shiori asks.

He shakes his head. “It’s nothing, I just thought that despite everything we’ve been through and the things to come ahead, maybe we need something… more to fight for.”

Shiori barely inhales a breath before he leans down and kisses her. His lips are soft and dry against hers, and when she realizes that he’s initiated this kiss and that this may be the only time he’ll ever kiss her, she moves into it. His lips linger over hers, and it feels like an eternity.

When he pulls away, her cheeks burn like they are on fire. He looks shocked, like he’s surprised by his own actions.

“I’m sorry, that was forward of me…” Kohaku says finally.

“No, that was uh, wonderful…” Shiori says. “You’re welcome to do it again.”

Kohaku stares at her for a pause and then he turns to chuckle. “Ah, I think that was...enough, Shiori-chan.”

They begin walking again and she moves a little closer to him. His exploratory kiss gives her hope, so she feels inclined to flirt.

“Did you feel anything, Kohaku-kun?” she asks with a sultry smile. “Or rather… is it what you were looking for when you were thinking so hard back there?”

“Ahh,” he says in a sigh. “Don’t tease me. I’m still thinking about it. I still don’t know...All I know is that it was nice.”

“Good,” Shiori says. “And the offer still stands, you know.”

“Hrmm?” he asks her, turning to meet her bright eyes.

“That you can do it again, if you want,” she says with a grin.

“Ah, oh,” he says shyly. A blush paints his cheeks. “Um, sure. Thanks.” Shiori giggles at him.

When they reach the crossroads, the bat youkai are resting under a shaded group of trees. They welcome Kohaku and Shiori happily, and the Elder understands when Kohaku says that he has to return home and consult with his sister and the others. They agree that Shiori is the best option to take them to the sacred waterfall, and she can more than handle protecting them.

“And I intend to learn the extent of the scepter’s power so I can protect you all,” Shiori says as a promise. The bat youkai are enthralled by her words.

“I have no doubt Shiori-chan can take care of you. She has proven herself numerous times in battle, and there is much she can do with the full extent of her powers,” Kohaku confirms. 

“I am so thrilled to hear it,” the Elder says, taking Shiori’s hand. “Child, we cannot wait for you to lead us.”

Shiori inhales a heavy breath, and she steals a glance at Kohaku. He nods to her, smiling with his usual confidence in her.

“Shall we continue on to the sacred waterfall, then?” Shiori asks. The group of bat youkai nod and murmur their agreement.

“I will stay with you until I have to travel west toward my village. I’m guessing it’s about forty li from here. Then we will part, but I hope to see you again,” Kohaku says to them.

The Elder approaches him and takes his hand. “We are forever grateful for you, Kohaku-dono, for bringing back Shiori and for always helping us.”

Kohaku bows out of respect and smiles. “Of course, Elder. Shall we go on ahead?” He offers his arm to the Elder. She takes it and Shiori follows at his side. The rest of the group trails behind them, and they start their journey again back to the sacred waterfall. 

--

They arrive outside a human village on one of the country roads, and Kohaku stops to say goodbye to everyone. Shiori knows this is where he will leave them and go to his own village. The group of bat youkai enjoy a moment of respite as Kohaku pulls Shiori aside to say his farewell.

“This isn’t goodbye for good, Shiori-chan,” he says immediately, and he pulls her into an embrace. “I’ll see you soon. I know I’ll need your help again.”

He doesn’t release her, so she revels in the warmth of his touch. She wills herself not to cry, but the tears are welling up in her eyes. She sniffles.

“I know,” she says. “I hope… you figure out what this thing is we have to fight. I know you will.”

He pulls out of the hug gently but his hands are still resting on her shoulders. “I’ll need you.”

“I won’t forget that,” Shiori says. She looks at him resolutely. “I will become stronger so I can fight again by your side.”

He nods and gives her a small smile. “I have to go.”

He starts to pull away, but Shiori grabs his hand. He gasps as she pulls him forward, capturing his lips in another kiss - a kiss of goodbyes and promise of hope. He melts into her, and when he shifts her toward him, he takes her face into his hands. She moans against him, delighting in their closeness. 

This may be the last kiss he gives her, so she treasures it and all the fires inside her it ignites.

She pulls away and he looks dazed. He grins at her, his cheeks blushed and his lips quivering with delight. She folds her hands in front of her and smiles demurely at him. 

“Goodbye, Kohaku-kun,” she says. “Until we see each other again…”

“Yeah… goodbye, Shiori-chan,” he says, trying to compose himself. 

He begins to walk away when she says. “Remember what’s waiting for you when I see you again.”

He stops in his tracks for a beat, his mind rolling over her meaning. He finally walks on ahead, waving one last time before departing into the distance. Her lips still burn from their kiss, and she hopes that her kiss gives him something to think about when she’s not with him. 

Shiori hopes he will miss her as much as she desires him. And the next time, maybe his feelings will finally be ready for her.

Until then, she has time to train and learn. She has time to dream, and she has plenty of time for hope.

END

(To be continued in Next Generation: Kohaku Chronicles… currently being revised and updated.)
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