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Of Mist and Fog

Prologue

With their portion jewel nearly complete, Kagome and the others could almost taste the end of their journey; but never before had Kagome felt so far away from their goal. She felt as if she were standing before the mouth of a yawning cavern, the journey with those she had come to know as family the path that lay behind her, the uncertainty and fear of Naraku the darkness below. Her fingers were clenched at her sides, and she wasn't sure if she's be able to take the plunge and step towards the completion of a task lasting two and a half years.

Inuyasha had had an uncharacteristic moment of generosity and had allowed her to take as much time as she needed to be with her family. This could very well be the last time she would see them; a fact that she and her family knew only too well. Kagome had informed them upon returning three weeks ago that they were drawing close to the inevitable battle to complete the Shikon no Tama. Her mother had drew her into an embrace and whispered words of comfort; her brother had been unsure as to what she meant, and her grandfather had ruffled his proverbial feathers and said that it was about time.

Kagome had spent the weeks with her family quietly, preparing herself in more ways than one for those life-altering moments she knew were to come. Her mornings had been devoted to helping her grandfather around the shrine, memorizing the lines in his face and the way his voice sounded in her ears. She took her afternoons slowly, watching idly as her brother puzzled out a trivial question on his homework, his tongue in his cheek as he sounded the words silently with his lips. Kagome helped her mother with the evening meal, absorbing the quiet serenity in her mother's every move, observing the soft line of her mother's shoulders when she lifted them as she laughed. Buyo was a constant attachment to her side, his yowling meows a persistent companion to the thoughts she spoke aloud.

The Higurashi family strived for a sense of normalcy in the weeks that the miko was home; movies after dinner, games every Thursday night. Kagome smiled true smiles, her fear of not having known these wonderful people as well as she had thought abating as she participated in an inside joke; the ache at the thought of possibly leaving them forever lessening as she focused on living in the moment. This was here, this was now, and this was home. Nothing could ever touch her here, no matter how hard it might try.

Kagome watched from her window, in a quiet moment of reflection, as the sun began to rise from its evening slumber. As pale light bled into the shadows, she decided that perhaps today was the day; now was the time to set out and hope to whatever deity was up there that she would return here, safe and unharmed. She turned her back to the warming glass, the room before her familiar and full of comforting memories. She smiled at the oblivious Buyo, his tail flicking occasionally in his undisturbed sleep atop her pillow.

Would it be easy, she wondered, to return here and live a life of normalcy? Could she adapt to a life here at home after living scattered between two places at once for over two years? Kagome questioned her ability to leave the Sengoku Jidai; could she abandon the people that had claimed a spot in her heart forever as her family, leave the young child who had claimed her as his mother; forget...Inuyasha?

A frown marred her features and she forced those thoughts from her mind; they weren't even sure if the Shikon no Tama would remove her ability to travel between the two worlds upon completion. Don't think such things, Kagome ordered herself, her grip upon the window frame tightening. Don't...what? Conceive the possibilities that were laid out before her?

The miko stepped away from the window at last, the light from the clear surface spilling into the room slowly, banishing the shadows in every corner. Buyo blinked open one bleary eye and observed her for a moment before giving a little snuff of air. Kagome smiled and scratched him behind his ears, his message received. She'd be fine, no matter what happened. At least the cat believed so. She hoped that he was right; and she then gave a slight giggle. It felt good to laugh at herself while rationalizing the quiet snuff of her obese cat; made her feel normal.

Sitting on her bed gently, she absently scratched at Buyo's back while looking around her room, inhaling deeply to breathe the scent of home. The house was quiet; her grandfather's snores easily heard from down the hall. Souta would be up for school soon; ever the early bird, her brother loved to be up and about as early as possible. Her mother would be waking as well; bustling about the kitchen as Souta chattered his plans for the day around a mouthful of toast.

School. Kagome's thoughts turned to the friends she had made there; compared them to Miroku and Sango and realized that no one could ever possibly fill the space they had created within her heart. The young woman had finally given up and admitted defeat when it came to her schooling; her absenteeism and scattered thoughts while she was there leading up to her removal from the public school system. Her mother had enrolled her into a home schooling program, taking it upon herself to teach her daughter as much as she possibly could in their brief visits. It was a move that Kagome had appreciated dearly; she no longer wasted precious time that she could have been spending with her family in a building in which she felt odd and out of place.

Hearing Souta's soft footsteps as he padded into the bathroom, muttering around a large yawn, Kagome patted Buyo one last time before pushing herself off of her bed. Today would have to be the day, because if she waited any longer, she wouldn't be able to go; having made the decision; she sought out her battered yellow backpack. Stained with mud, crayons, markers, medical supplies and the occasional splatter of what looked like blood, Kagome couldn't bring herself to be rid of the pack. Too many memories resided within its drawstring pouch, and she held onto those images fiercely. She might need the memories to survive, one day, and it never hurt to be prepared.

xXx

Kagome's mother looked up from the dining table with a smile, her eyes straying to the yellow pack on her daughter's t-shirt covered shoulder for only a moment. She stood from her chair, moving to embrace Kagome before removing the backpack and placing it next to the doorway, smoothing the cotton material of Kagome's shirt as she went.

"Are you leaving today, dear?" Her mother's tone was light; Kagome knew her mother wanted to believe that this was a normal trip into the Well. No underlying intentions; no possibility of her daughter not returning from this step in her journey.

Kagome smiled, fake and plastered, but she smiled. "Yes, Mom. I think I've kept Inuyasha and the others waiting long enough. I'm surprised he hasn't come over to demand that I come back immediately."

Pushing Kagome into a chair and placing a plate of food in front of her, Kagome's mother replied, "Ah, but you both have grown."

"I guess."

The table was quiet; Souta's usual chatterings silent as the boy in question picked at his food, nibbling a small bite occasionally. Kagome's mother inquired if her daughter had all the supplies that she might need, to which Kagome nodded, picking apart her eggs. Her stomach was rebelling in nervous waves, and she suddenly wasn't so sure about her decision to leave today.

Swallowing back the bile that began to rise in her throat, Kagome pushed her plate away slowly, her hand moving to enclose the glass of water on her left. Its surface was sweaty, and as Kagome sipped at the cool contents inside, she could feel her stomach protesting even that. She grimaced. Placing the glass aside, she listened to the quiet conversation that Souta had began, her chin upon her fist.

Their meal came to a quiet end, Souta avoiding everyone's gaze as he stood from the table, his food not having been touched. He walked to the door slowly, coming to a stop in the doorway, his shoulders slumped. The fifth grader turned around and looked at his mother nervously before giving his sister an odd expression. His fingers twitched at his sides and his eyes darted between his mother and sister's gaze.

Fidgeting, Souta grimaced before asking, "Um, Sis? Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Kagome offered him a smile and stood. "Sure."

She smiled at her mother as she passed her, and followed her brother out into the shrine's courtyard, his goodbyes to his mother tossed over his shoulder as he grabbed his backpack.

The morning air was crisp, awaking and calming in all its glory. It was a stark contrast to the rolling emotions now filtering through Kagome's system; Souta ignored her presence for the moment, choosing instead to lead her to the shrine's steps, their immaculate surfaces stretching out before them.

Souta kicked out the ground, his shoulders shrugging to some invisible question. He sent a rock flying to its end before turning to face his sister, who was watching him with her arms crossed behind her back.

He frowned. "You really have to go today?"

Kagome swallowed, sighing as she nodded. "Inuyasha is waiting."

"Inuyasha...Sis, do you still love him?"

Kagome blushed; now that was a question she hadn't heard in a while. Her thoughts turned inward, asking the same question as they searched for the answer.

There had been a time when she would have said that she loved him; fiercely and passionately, undeniably. During that exact time, she would have been suffering from heartache, the organ tattered and abused as she looked on invisibly while Inuyasha pined for Kikyo. Kagome had been wild about him; thoughts of his face lingering in the oddest of moments, the platonic touch of his hand as he shook her into awareness every morning lighting her skin on fire. He had reigned over her life; imaginary reactions to her actions the controlling hand in everything she did.

Yes, there had been a time when she would have said that she loved him; but it was not now. Somewhere along the line, something had changed. He had become the one she loved most, not best; she, herself, still wasn't sure when his place in her life had shifted. Realizing her brother was still looking at her, waiting for her answer, she looked down at him with her chocolate gaze.

"Yes...but things are different now." Kagome hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why?"

Souta shrugged, all boyish innocence. "I was afraid that you might want to stay with him. After you're all done fixing that jewel thing, I mean."

Kagome nodded before stating, "Oh."

They had never been good at these kinds of things; saying goodbye wasn't a task they relished in. Whether sending Kagome off to the feudal era, or wishing Souta a happy weekend with his friends, the siblings had never been able see each other off without a bit of sentimentality. It was a special bond between them, something Kagome had always been proud of when her friends complained that their little brother or sister was annoying them to no end.

Her brother approached her cautiously, skirting her form until he come to a rest about a foot away from her person. He held out his pinkie; a gesture he hadn't made since he was nine. "Promise me you'll come back soon, Sis. I want you to be home for my birthday."

Kagome smiled her first true smile all day and hooked her pinkie with Souta's. "I promise. Now, off to school with you." She turned him around and pushed him on his way.

Souta took a few hesitant steps before turning around and walking back to his sister. Pulling something from his pocket, he handed her a bundle loosely wrapped in an aging cloth. "Give one of them to Inuyasha; you keep the other." He hugged her tightly around the waist, and before she could respond, he was jogging down the steps, tossing, "Love ya, Sis!" over his shoulder as he went.

Kagome looked down at the small package in her hands, eyes softening and beginning to tear as she realized what Souta had given her.

When they had been younger and bored after school, they would sit and weave together strings, creating bracelets, necklaces, squares of cloth and little pictures their mother would put up for sale in the shrine. Forever Bracelets had been what they called them; it took two of them to weave just one, seemingly taking forever to create. The two would pinkie promise over each and every one of the pieces they made that they would be together forever; Kagome smiled at the memories that had been brought forth.

Holding the bundle close to her chest, she walked slowly back to the house, taking in everything that she could. Her thoughts organizing themselves as she made her way back into her home, Kagome prepared herself to say goodbye to her mother and grandfather.

xXx

Kagome sat atop the lip of the Well, her legs crossed at the ankle as she held the cloth bundle Souta had given her against her chest with one hand, the book her grandfather had given her when he said goodbye, upon her lap. Its pages were yellowed, frayed edges fluttering in the spring breeze.

The clearing in which the Well sat was quiet, and Kagome felt a twinge in her chest as she gripped the edge of the book tighter. This was the final step within their journey, one she was unsure if she would return from. She longed to return home; to fall back into the Well and allow it to carry her back to where she belonged. Kagome knew it would be cowardice to do such things, but at that moment, it didn't really matter.

She pondered over her grandfather's words, trying to reason with herself; trying to puzzle out his meaningful glance as he pressed the tome into her hands.

"You'll learn much from this, Kagome. Be well on your journey, as they need a new priestess."

Unsure of his intentions, and positive that this was another one of his absurdities, Kagome had taken the book to please him. But as she held it close to her heart with the cloth bundle, she was sure that this would be one of her lifelines; one of the things that would push her through the troubled and torrential road before her.

Voices of her friends now carrying into the clearing, Shippou's excited ramblings as he bustled through the underbrush alerting Kagome of their presence, she stood. She straightened her shoulders and met Inuyasha's golden gaze as she caught Shippou with ease.

This was her duty. One that only she could fulfill.

And it was time for this madness to come to an end.

Chapter complete 11:27 PM 02-10-05