A lonesome cherry blossom floated from the tree above and into the lap of a sad and confused girl sitting on a worn wooden bench. Her paling face and hollow brown eyes, staring out across the dirt yard scattered with bricks that shimmered in the intense heat. In the midst of a Tokyo summer it was unusual to see such a pale face but for this particular girl, the sun offered neither company nor warmth to her cold heart. She just sat by the sorrowful cherry blossom tree that bloomed the same month of every year, never changing or growing for a thousand years. It was the very last tree from the Inuyasha forest, the last piece of her true home.
"Kagome? Kagome?" a voice yelled from nearby. She only took notice for a moment, just enough to remember her own name. It was times like these she forgot her very existence, feeling like her humanity melted away. She hadn't felt alive in so long… A year to be exact.
The first few months of her imprisonment were not as terrible as one might think. She had finally defeated Naraku and with her final wish, the jewel vanished and she made the world right again. With his defeat she felt an odd satisfaction about it, even when she was trapped on the other side of the well. She tried to return to life as it once was, to school and homework and dreams of college, but with her constant travel to the feudal world her grades were less than college-worthy. After finals were over she managed to graduate with D's but after she took off her school uniform the grief set in.
It felt like someone had died, though she knew that after the battle her greatest friends had lived. She had decided long ago to live the remainder of her life with her dear friends but now, 500 hundred years in the future they had already lived their lives, had children and grandchildren and hopefully died happy in their beds.
Yet the feeling of not knowing what happened after, the need to see them and live their lives together got the better of her. In her desperation she had raced to the well, praying to the gods and Midoriko to let her pass through. Her fingers had grasped the rotting wood with her fingertips and let it brush against the soft cotton nightgown she wore as she sat on the edge, her toes swimming in the empty space. Longing for the blue of the feudal sky and the green of the Inuyasha forest, Kagome jumped.
It wasn't until morning her brother Souta found her crumpled on the dirt floor of the dried up well. Her mother had rushed her to the hospital while she cried in the backseat of the van, holding a broken wrist and shattered dreams.
When admitted to the hospital and asked about her injury, she admitted to falling down the well in search of recovered the time she had lost.
Her mother had cried with her. "Kagome, I know you miss them. But the well is sealed, there's no way back. You have to try to live your life in this time. I'll get you some help, but you have to try."
So with that she began an awfully deceitful and complicated relationship with Dr. Koi, her therapist. It wasn't too different to from lying to her friends about the feudal world, but to come up with reasons why she felt so sad was quite complicated. But in the end, she was truthful about why she was there, that she was depressed and lonely. She truly believed for a while that the pills he gave her were working, until she began to forget things.
It started with just simple things, like forgetting to do the laundry after being asked several times or forgetting to check her e-mails twice a day for job opportunities. She thought it was normal, forgetfulness was in her nature but it got worse quite suddenly. When she was staring off into nothing, thinking of the past just as she was now, she would forget things like the color of Shippo's eyes or the name of Sango's choice weapon. These things were engraved into her entity for so long she refused to believe a mere year could leave her grasping for answers.
"Kagome!" The voice pierced her temple with a migraine.
Looking up at her highly agitated mother, Kagome smiled impishly.
"Sorry mother what were you saying?"
"I've called your name several times. Please be a bit more attentive. I'm working an extra shift tonight after I drop Souta and Grandpa off at the soccer game so I'm not going to be able to pick up your medication tonight. Think you can make it to the pharmacy before dark?" Her mother looked at her hopefully, the dark circles under her eyes telling the story of her exhaustion. With Kagome going to the therapist so often as well as her Grandfathers increasing medical bills, her mother had taken up a second job and it showed on her face.
A pang of guilt clenched her chest. No employer had seemed interested in Kagome with her school attendance records. She was jobless, not in college and had no social interaction with anyone what-so-ever, what a life right?
"Yeah I'll leave right now if you want me to," she answered trying to fake enthusiasm.
Her mother smiled with relief. "Yes that'd be wonderful. I'll see you tonight then." Her mother placed her withered hand on the back of her head and kissed her forehead lightly. The tenderness of her mother's affections yanked at her heart even more so, feeling so helpless to assist her.
With a sigh, she watched her mother take the long steps down to the street, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. After her head disappeared and the distant echo of a car engine starting, she lifted herself off the wooden bench and looked back up at the tree.
'This tree never changes…' She thought to herself as she turned on her heels and jogged down the stone stairs to the loud car horns blaring, people talking on their cell phones loudly and the smog of Tokyo life. It was a mile trek to the pharmacy, leaving her breathless and sweating. 'Man I need to get back in shape.'
She watched the people passing her with an odd fascination. A woman passed by without looking up as she texted with a quite ferociousness, the furious typing with her thumbs and the pinch between her brows showing her mood. A man and woman smiled to each other and held hands like it was their own little secret. A young boy pedaled away on his bicycle trying to get home before dark. She found it odd how everyone was in their own little worlds, while she was just gazing into them and getting a taste of what normal life was like when you weren't living in your memories.
She entered the pharmacy as the bell chimed and the brisk air conditioning hit her like a wave, sending a shiver up her spine. Reaching into her pocket as she reached the pharmacy desk, she retrieved her wallet and paid for her medication quickly, then waited patiently for the pharmacist, Mr. Nguyen, to return. She glanced around the shelves of various medicines and as the pharmacist returned with her small baggie, she noticed the young man standing next to her at the counter. His hazel eyes wracked her body, as if sizing her up.
"Have a great day Ms. Higurashi." She took the baggie from Mr. Nguyen and smiled shyly at the handsome stranger.
The boy met her eyes and smirked. "Didn't think pretty girls had to take that stuff. Guess they can't all be so pretty on the inside".
The shock of his offense bristled up her neck. She felt as if the hair on her head would rise like an angered cat. Her cheeks flushed and her mouth hung open before she made the stumbling remark, "Yeah w-well I guess not all guys can be a gentleman on the inside."
She stormed through the pharmacy doors and her cheeks brightened even further as her words finally registered to her brain how stupid it sounded. Ignoring the urge to smack herself in the forehead, she was consumed in her thoughts. Then the fury turned to sadness, the need to go back home was so heavy it nearly choked her. 'Only home isn't just a mile away, it's 500 years in the past...'
As she approached home the road grew less busy and a forest began just past the sidewalk, her eyes drifted to the tree tops.
A flash of silver had her pause in her steps. It was just the slightest bit that barely brushed the tree-line nearby and glinted in the sunlight. Just as she thought it was all in her head, it happened again. The blood rushed through her head, making her ears ring and she sprinted off towards it.
She felt tears prick her eyes and her vision blurred, nearly causing her to run into a tree. Yet her feet still carried her, farther into the deep wood until finally she reached a clearing.
Her knees wobbled and her heart swelled in a bitter disappointment. A large metal latter leaned up against the farthest tree, clearing just the highest branch. Various machines were scatter about the clearing, machines for chipping wood and a small crane she recognized. But the clearing looked to be void of people.
Her adrenaline began to die and with that her hands began to tremble and the burning in her thighs became noticeable. But still she stood, staring her insanity in the face. 'I knew it wouldn't be him. Why did I run all the way out here to just be disappointed?'
She bowed her head in shame and turned to leave.
"HEY! Girl you're not supposed to be here. It's very dangerous." The voice came from several feet behind her.
Without turning around she answered, "Sorry I just got lost is all."
As she took a step back towards the street, a vice-like hand gripped her wrist. "I-I'm sorry I'll leave now." She turned to plead with the man and was shocked when she met bright blue irises.
'Where have I seen such blue eyes?' They pierced her soul, aching to remember. It pushed closer to the surface as she examined his face, the tanned skin stretched over a thin arched nose, slightly pouted lips and a dark furrowed brow. 'Who is he?'
His mouth opened only slightly and he breathless asked, "Kagome…?"
His voice sent a sharp pain through her temple, her mind searching farther for his rough graveled voice.
"K-Kagome where? How? Are you..." His voice trailed off as he examined her. His blue eyes were wide and wondering and had the oddest twinge of hurt.
As she looked over all of him, it was his hair that she grasped for. It was practically screaming in her deaf ears. She grasped a long black tendril of hair, sliding it between her fingers and it clicked. Images of being picked up and carried up a high mountain, yelled at Inuyasha over an injured man with dark skin, this hair… brushing her face. Her mind throbbed but it pieced together so much all she needed was a name…
"Kagome… Do you not remember me?"
His blue eyes looked at her imploringly, willing her mind to remember. Blue eyes that lit with fire as he swung his fist right as Naraku…
And just as she remembered it felt like fire struck every nerve in her brain, her eyes shooting open wide as she looked back at this man… This man who used to be her friend.
"Kouga?" As she said his name he smiled in recognition and a wave of pain washed over her. Her knees gave out and she crashed against his chest, falling into unconsciousness.
Kouga scrambled to lift her up. He yelled her name as she collapsed and picked her up as he used to, one arm underneath her knees and the other just below her neck. But he had no time to reminisce; he rushed her to the closest hospital and prayed that he wouldn't lose her again.