I stared into the well and sighed. I had made a promise to return today, and I planned on keeping my word. I was just tired of going back and forth. I was tired of fighting against a foe that enjoyed nothing more than tormenting us. And I was tired of being in love with someone who wasn't in love with me. That's right; my name is Higurashi Kagome, and I travel between time to fight in the Feudal Era with my friends. I do my best to come back and go to school when I can, but it only wears me out more. When would it all be over? And what would happen to me when it was? These questions were running through my head as I jumped into the well. I felt warmth in the blue light that engulfed me and transported me back to the past.
When my feet finally touched the bottom, I looked up at the sky, expecting to see Inuyasha's head poking over the side. But it wasn't there. And I realized that the sounds weren't the same as they usually were. I heard people talking, children laughing, and the sound of running water. Wondering what was going on I climbed out of the well as quickly as I could, and was shocked at what I saw.
I appeared to be in the middle of a giant park. There were people everywhere; entire families playing together and couples on dates. I could see a lake to my right, and there were many people in the water, splashing around. A large rock formation was in the center with a waterfall cascading down one side. I pulled myself out of the well and looked around. I could instantly tell I was in the wrong place. Or, probably more accurately, the wrong time. I turned and jumped back into the well, but the blue light never came. I had no idea what was going on, so I simply climbed out of the well and started walking toward the lake. I had to find someone or something I recognized.
I didn't get very far before I noticed a girl sitting on a bench. There seemed to be nothing special about her, but something pulled me toward her. I walked over and sat down next to her. She turned her head to look at me and smiled. She had long glossy blond hair that was pulled into two buns on the top of her head. It looked very soft and well taken care of. She had big blue eyes that were very expressive. I could see happiness and maturity in them, but I could also sense that she had an incredible weight on her shoulders.
"Hi there," she said to me. Her voice sounded light and carefree, but I detected misery in her words. I wondered what was wrong, but I knew it would be too forward to ask her out of the blue, and simply smiled back at her.
"Hello. This is going to seem like a weird question, but where are we?" I asked, hoping that this girl could help me without asking too many questions.
"This is the park in the Azabu Jūban district in Tokyo," she simply answered. "Are you lost?"
"I believe I am, but I'm sure I can find my way home," I said, smiling. "My name is Higurashi Kagome."
"I am Tsukino Usagi. It's nice to meet you." There was a moment of silence before, "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but are you okay? You seem to be a bit down."
I was surprised to say the least, but I felt at ease. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said, laughing softly.
Usagi giggled and titled her head to the side. "Trust me, with my life, I'll believe anything you tell me."
I smiled and nodded my head. I told Usagi all about my family's shrine and travelling back in time. I described all of my friends and all the battles we had ever had. By the time I finished I felt as if I had found a true friend.
I could tell that Usagi felt the same way. She offered to tell me about her life, and I listened with great interest as she told me about how she was the great champion of justice, Sailor Moon. She told me about her friends and Sailor Scouts, about her boyfriend and about the many enemies she had defeated over the last few years. I was totally enthralled in her story; she life sounded a lot like mine! We both had a group of close friends that we depended on to help us fight, and we both seemed to be tired of trying to live a double life.
"So what's the matter?" I asked her when she finished. "It sounds to me like you have everything you could ever want!"
Usagi sighed. "Yea, it does seem like that, doesn't it? It's just…" she stopped.
I waited for her to go on, but when she hesitated, I decided to take it from there. "You want to know what has me down? You see, for the longest time I have had feelings for my friend Inuyasha, but he was in love with someone before me. I watched him go to her over and over again and always told myself that it would be okay, because he would come back to me. About three months ago I realized that it wasn't okay. No matter what I did or said, he would always love her. Why should I have to be with someone, knowing full well that he'll always love someone else? It's not right or fair. And then, one day…"
Flashback
I sat at the base of the tree with my headphones on, listening to one of my favorite songs. My friend had told me I should listen to it, and as soon as I did I knew I had to get the CD. Now I listened to it whenever I had a chance. I closed my eyes and tapped my foot to the beat. I sang the chorus out loud.
How can I not love you?
What do I tell my heart?
When do I not want you here in my arms?
How does one walk away
From all of the memories?
How do I not miss you when you are gone?
When I opened my eyes, I got the shock of my life. Standing in front of me, watching me with interest, was the last person I wanted to see; Sesshomaru. I swallowed hard and looked at him in fear. Was he going to kill me now, or use me as bait for Inuyasha?
He said nothing for a long moment before he turned and walked away. I watched him for a moment, wondering what he was up to, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, I stood up and followed him. After a few seconds he turned around and grabbed me by the throat. I did nothing, just stood still, as he stared at me with cold eyes. What happened next is something I couldn't explain, even if I wanted to. I felt as if all my fear of him washed out of my body.
"Let me go," I said in a low voice. His expression never changed, but I felt his claws digging into the side of my neck. "I said, let me go." Once again, he didn't move. Finally, knowing that I was going to pass out soon, I snapped. I reached out with one hand and smacked Sesshomaru across the face.
His head snapped to one side as he stumbled back, pulling me along with him. He tripped over a large root and fell on his back, and I toppled on top of him. I stared down at the red mark that was appearing on his cheek and wondered if I would be killed for raising my hand to him. For some reason, I just didn't care. His head slowly turned back and he looked at me with loathing in his eyes. I merely smiled at him.
"You do realize that I'll have to kill you now, do you not?" he asked. Neither one of us seemed to be thinking of getting up.
"Bring it on, oh mighty one," I smirked at him. He didn't move for a moment, and before I could stop myself, I lowered my head and gently kissed his lips. His expression didn't change, but I could feel a growl that reverberated in his chest. At that moment, I didn't care if he killed me; I felt as if I had been lifted to heaven. His lips were soft as silk and he tasted like honey. I moaned into his mouth when I felt him start to kiss me back.
I guess it was that sound that brought him to his senses. He shoved me off of him and stood up. "You will tell no one what happened, or I will come back to kill you," he threatened before disappearing into the trees. I sat on the ground where I had landed, wondering what had come over me. And that's where Inuyasha and the gang found me.
End of Flashback
Usagi stared at me. "He was going to kill you, and you kissed him? My gosh Kagome, what were you thinking?"
"I don't know, honestly. But let me tell you that Sesshomaru is one of the most handsome men I have ever met in my life. Since that day he's all I can think about. I've told Inuyasha that I care about him deeply but that I want him to know that I don't love him like Kikyo does. I encouraged him to try to reconcile with her, and although he was surprised, he seems pretty happy now."
"Wow. And what about Sesshomaru?"
"I haven't seen him since that day. All I can wonder about is what will happen once we defeat Naraku and the Shikon no Tama is put back together. My original plan was to just go home once we were done, but I don't really feel like I can leave all my friends behind. I would miss them too much. And I would like to try to be with Sesshomaru. But I'm too much of a coward to tell him how I feel."
"At least you got to kiss him," Usagi said, sighing. I looked at her with questioning eyes. "There was this guy. His name is Seiya. He came to Earth from a distant planet to find his princess and help us fight against the invaders that were trying to take over the world. At this time, Mamo-chan had gone to America to study. Or so I believed. I didn't know that he had died minutes after his plane took off. I felt very lonely when I didn't receive any phone calls or letters, and I guess I started to lean on Seiya more and more. I didn't realize that Seiya had fallen in love with me. I only saw him as a friend, and I put him through so much. There were a lot of times when he came close to telling me, but I never let him. I held my boyfriend so close to my heart, and I was afraid of letting Seiya in.
Finally, when the battle ended and I had Mamo-chan back, Seiya and his friends had to leave Earth. He told me he would never forget me, and I told him that we would be friends forever. I didn't understand then why everyone started laughing. Seiya told Mamo-chan to protect me, saying that it was just from one guy to another. And then they were gone. That was months ago. Mamo-chan is gone again; he's in America like he should be. We write to each other and he calls every week, but I still feel really lonely. It wasn't until recently that I realized how Seiya felt about me. When I did I felt so guilty for never listening to him. I felt like I put him through so much pain and suffering, and it was all because I was being selfish.
I miss him so much these days. He was always there for me when I needed him. He asked me once, after I broke down from not seeing Mamo-chan, if he was good enough. I never really answered him; I didn't have an answer for him. And it hurts when I think that he left without ever knowing the answer."
I watched her with sad eyes. I had so much more than she did. How could I feel sad? I moved closer to her and took her hand in between mine.
"Usagi, if you have an answer for him, you should tell him."
"But I don't know how to reach him," she protested.
"Sure you do," I said, smiling at her. "All you need to do is think about him and open up your heart. Don't you think that if he loves you, he'll hear you wherever he is?"
She watched me for a moment before she smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you, Kagome-chan," she said warmly, squeezing my hands. "I feel so much better after talking to you."
"You are more than welcome, Usagi-chan," I said, standing up. I had to try to get back to the past. Usagi offered to walk with me and I accepted, glad for the company. We walked together in silence back to where the well was. I looked at it, wondering if it would let me through now.
"What are you going to do once you get back?" Usagi asked me.
"I honestly don't know. I have to keep battling; it's my destiny. Other then that, I guess I'll just have to see where everything leads to."
"Kagome-chan, maybe the reason you came here was to help me. I don't know how your well works, but it seems like there was a reason why everything happened to you. And maybe there's a reason you got caught singing in the woods and ended up kissing your demon lord. But I will tell you this; you'll never really know unless you try. You can't count on only fate to push you along. You must push back sometimes and take a different road then one you are meant to walk.
I was born to rule a kingdom, and I will die ruling a kingdom. There's no escaping that. Just like you were born to fight against this evil called Naraku. But there are choices you can make; you can fight him alone, or you can do it with someone that you love next to you. But that choice is yours to make alone. Fate may have written our lives for us, but we have the power to change the script as many times as we like. All you need to do is get the courage to get Sesshomaru to be your leading man. I believe in you."
Everything she said made so much sense, and as I listened to her, courage filled my heart. She was right; I needed to get my act together and push forward. I wanted to be with Sesshomaru, or at least try to be. If nothing came out of it, then that was that. I wouldn't spend my life wondering what if. I reached out and hugged her tightly, whispering my thanks and wishing her good luck. Then I turned and jumped into the well.
I felt the familiar warmth seep into my body, and I softly touched the bottom of the well. I could hear the familiar sounds and smell the familiar smells, and sighed with happiness. Sure enough, Inuyasha's head was peaking into the well. I grinned up at him as I climbed out.
"Took you long enough to get here," he growled at me. I simply smiled at him
"I had a stop to make."
"A stop? Where?" he asked, his eyes curious.
"I'll tell you about it some day. But for now," I said, spotting a familiar white kimono in the forest, "I think I need to go change the script." Leaving my friend looking completely confused, I turned and walking into the woods. It took a bit of searching, but I finally did spot Sesshomaru standing next to the very tree where he had encountered me so long ago. I moved to stand next to him.
We stood in silence for a few minutes before he turned to face me. "What do you want with this Sesshomaru?"
I grinned at him. "Everything."
Meanwhile, back in Azabu Jūban…
Usagi turned away from the well and looked up into the sky. The first star of the night twinkled brightly, and she smiled. 'Seiya, I need you,' she thought. She closed her eyes and opened her heart, letting her feelings rush out and engulf her body. When she opened them again, she wasn't the least bit surprised to see Seiya standing beside her. She smiled at him and offered him her arm, which he gladly took. They walked away from the well, and Usagi silently thanked the mysterious girl who had shown up to set her heart free.