Chapter One
A/N: I haven't wrote a fic in forever, and I literally had to go and run after inspiration in order to get a plot set in my head for ANY story. Please, take the time to read this along with the Author's Note in the end.
It was over...
…Was it really…?
Everyone stood there for what seemed like a long five minutes, taking in the absence of Naraku's chuckle and the sound of battle. They were shocked into silence, registering the fact within their minds. Naraku's screams had ended long ago, his heart torn from his body, laying rendered into pieces on the dirt ground. The dark demon's blood dripped from Inuyasha's claws, and his expression was unreadable. All he could think was… Was it really...?
"Houshi!" Sango finally broke the silence. She ran to the monk and hastily grabbed his left hand, removing the beads and letting the cloth of his sleeve fall. "Nothing," she gasped. There was nothing there, the void was completely gone. "Houshi, there's nothing there!" A wide smile graced her features and tears welled up in her eyes. Kagome, overhearing the news, felt the feeling of joy bubble in her heart. Quickly, she ran towards the pair and gave them a huge hug, not paying to mind the sting of her injuries – the bloody cuts and bruises laden upon her arms and legs, red seeping through her torn jeans.
It was over.
Shippo pounced into Kagome's arms once she let go of the taijiya and monk, relishing in the comfort and warmth of her body. "It's over," he whispered, clutching onto the fabric of Kagome's shirt. Her smile widened as she pet the fox on his head before she looked up to see Inuyasha's face, pleased with the expression that he now wore. A smirk. A boyish, triumphant smirk was visible, and she could only smile wider until her cheeks hurt in response to his obvious feeling of accomplishment. Shippo then jumped and gave the small form of Kirara a big hug as well.
Kagome then approached the pool of Naraku's blood where she found the fully assembled Shikon Jewel laying, shining, bloodstain-free. It purified with a single touch from the miko and the feeling of joy bubbling in her heart intensified.
"Kagome."
She turned her head to Inuyasha's voice then began walking to where he stood, the two smiling at each other, their eyes twinkling with happiness as a burden lifted from their shoulders. As she neared, Kagome picked up her pace, finding herself running to him as his arms stretched out in welcome. They stood there embracing each other, letting go of all the stress and tenseness that had been conjured up as a result of preparing for this long battle that had lasted two days.
Two days.
It was two, longdays of blood and of facing Naraku's trickery. He had almost won, no doubt, with his low tactics and his stealthy ways, but it didn't prevail. The heart he had tried so hard to dispose of and protect lay there on the ground, tattered, as proof of his demise, and the disappearance of Mirouku's void in his hand only reiterated that fact.
Peace, joy, fulfillment – it all fell upon the weary group.
In celebration, the group feasted on Kaede's cooking and Kagome's food from the future. The girls burst out in laughter at one of Mirouku's jokes while Inuyasha and Shippo began arguing over the last bowl of ramen. "It's mine! It's only fair! You ate three bowls already!" Shippo cried, trying desperately to snag the bowl in Inuyasha's hold. Inuyasha had his hands on the poor kit's forehead, pushing him back and deterring Shippo's success in snagging the bowl.
Kagome still had a smile on her face when she attempted to scold the hangyou, saying, "Inuyasha, give him the ramen. He's right, you had three bowls already." Kaede laughed, "And there is plenty of food to spare! Must ye fight over the ramen? I have cooked quite enough." That didn't help. Inuyasha continued slurping the ramen quite noisily, his hand still pressed against Shippo's head. Kagome sighed, her smile gone. She considered 'sitting' him, but chose not to with the purpose of avoiding splattered ramen all over the hut floor as well as a gaping hole that would definitely be created by doing so.
"Look," She began as she stood. "I'll just go home, grab some more ramen, and cook it here. I'll grab dozens of it, too, so everyone has ramen to spare. And, maybe, we'll have leftovers. Is that alright, Shippo?"
The kit, giving up on snagging Inuyasha's food, grumbled, then looked up at Kagome. "Okay," he said. "But THIS time," he added with a pointed finger and glare directed at Inuyasha, "I WILL HAVE MORE THAN YOU, you stupid dog." That earned Shippo a lump on the head from Inuyasha, and Kagome, in turn, gave the hangyou one as well. "Ouch!" He cried, attempting to rub the pain away. With that, Kagome left the hut.
She inhaled the crisp air of fall into her lungs as the breeze blew against her body, whipping her now waist-length hair around her figure. A smile found a way back onto her face as the realization dawned on her again: Naraku was dead. Never before would Kagome even guess that the death of one man could lift so many burdens off her shoulders, giving way to relief. As the realization lingered in her mind, Kagome's smile quickly formed into a frown. It was sad to know that death was the result of his actions.
Although Kagome told herself not to have mercy on the man, she couldn't help but recall his human self: Onigumo. He had only wanted love. It was depressing how his actions lead to so much death…
Kagome shook her head. No. She wouldn't be sad, not when there was so much to be happy about. "Like," She smiled. "School! I could catch up with my studies and finally be at the same pace everyone else my age is at!" Yes, she told herself determinedly, now I can live the life I have so desperately wanted.
She fingered the complete Jewel that hung around her neck.
It had been three years since she began her journey, and the whole three years were most definitely not filled with events that were "normal" in her time. Kagome actually didn't believe in normal anymore. She's seen it all: demons, zombies, curses, spells, magic. She felt as if she were in a fairytale where she had been a damsel in distress countless times, even the brave prince from Sleeping Beauty, except that it wasn't a dragon she was fighting (although she and her group did, indeed, fight a dragon) but a demon named Naraku and it was no princess in need of saving, but the entire world.
Kagome found herself to be everything but the girl she was. She was not weak anymore, needing protection from everyone around her. It was something she made sure of as time passed by. She would train with Inuyasha and find footing in intense battles. No, she wasn't weak. She was strong, independent. With that in mind, she smiled again. It was a struggle, the whole three years. But she made it through it all, pulling her way to the top of the obstacle-filled mountain. It was a chapter of her life that she felt was drawing to a close, a chapter that will end when she finally would begin her junior year in high school to work for that diploma.
The well was coming into her view now. Of course, she thought to herself, I'll visit here very often. She could never forget the place that had become her second home. It was part of her now, much like her family was part of her in the future. Family was both in the warring states era and the modern time, and she wasn't about to let go of either of them.
Finally reaching her destination, she swung her legs over the well and jumped, anticipating the surge of blue energy that would swirl around her body before she found herself at the bottom of the well.
It wasn't long before she was out of it. After rushing out the well-house, into her home, and towards the kitchen, she grabbed two big, plastic grocery bags from a drawer and began stuffing it with ramen. Her task completed, she headed out towards the well house ready to go back to the feudal era. Like before, she swung her legs over the well, and jumped.
But there was no swirling blue energy, no rush of air as she fell down. She looked up and saw that there was no sky.
…She was still in the well-house? Kagome's brows furrowed together in confusion as she climbed the ladder back up. Again, she jumped in and, again, there was no swirling energy, no rush of air as she fell down. She looked up once more and, again, saw that there was no sky. She was still in the well-house.
After a third try and then a desperate fourth, Kagome began to feel anxiety and worries overwhelm her. Why couldn't she go back? Why wasn't the well working? And, as she panicked some more, another question raised itself in her head.
Is it possible that she could never go back?
Her friends, her second family – she wouldn't get to see them again? Kagome tried so hard not to worry, but the possibility made her fear the worst.
A/N: PLEASE review. Tell me if this is a good first chapter or not, I'm totally open to criticism. I have so much in store for this fanfiction, and I plan on finishing it. It may be very long, with the length I'm writing. I'm terribly sorry that it isn't longer. I, myself, like long chapters in fanfiction, but I felt the urge to just cut it here. I'll try to write longer chapters! Again, review, please, to be kind. Let me know if there's any grammatical or spelling errors, let me know anything!
I love my readers(:
Love,
EndlessDevotionx.
