Paradise
Crazy.
That's what they called her.
Well, they never really said the name out loud. Instead, they used different words: mentally-ill, unbalanced, insane.
But it always meant the same thing.
Kagome Higurashi walked down the busy streets of Tokyo. A set of headphones sat on her ears, although she barely paid attention to the music that pounded through them. Even as people brushed passed her and the wind gently lifted her hair to caress her cheeks, her mind was elsewhere.
It had been three years to the very date. Thirty-six months. One-hundred fifty-six weeks. One-thousand ninety-five days. She could count down to the very hour, minute, and second if asked. She couldn't really help it.
Her thoughts continued to pick through her memories, trying to recall each and every detail of the fairytale long forgotten by others. She could still smell the trees and feel the rush of the wind as she bounded through the forest on her protector's back. Sometimes, she could almost feel the heat of the flames, as if she were bedding around a campfire for the night.
Over five hundred years, much had changed. The stars were never as bright above the city and the air seemed almost suffocating with pollution. The noise was often annoying and she found life to be dull and senseless. She felt as if she couldn't do much good in her world. Even if she were to become a doctor and cure hundreds of illnesses, she'd still only be one person among billions of others. It was as if she had no real purpose anymore.
However, she would never pretend that her life on the other side of the well had never happened – that she had never held a woman as she cried, gained wisdom from a perverted monk, mothered an orphaned child, or fallen in love with an outcast.
When the Bone-Eaters Well had sealed for a final time, she had shed more tears than most would shed in a lifetime. Never had she felt such heart-wrenching agony, not even at her father's funeral.
Kagome had sat at the bottom of the dry well for hours, her arms curled around her knees and her face buried in her stomach as her ebony locks became a veil to the outside world. When she'd finally gathered her emotions and decided to face her family, night had already fallen. Uneasiness had settled in her stomach, and even as she opened the door and called out to her mother, she knew something was wrong.
They had forgotten. Her grandfather, Souta, and even her mother had no recollection of her feudal era friends. To them she had been in school, working hard to keep up with her studies. When she went to class the following day, she found it to be true. Straight A's in every subject and she was even captain of the archery team.
She was sent to a psychiatrist. For a while, she never denied the fact that she traveled through the well and had many grand adventures with an unusual group of friends in order to defeat a great evil. But as the weeks turned into months, she learned that they would never allow her to leave that place until they deemed her cured.
So she stopped talking about Inuyasha. No longer did she speak of Miroku's lecherous behavior, or Sango's bravery. Even Kikyo and Naraku had been cut out of the picture. Instead, Kagome nodded and answered the way she knew they wanted her to. Her lips formed a perfect smile and she pretended as if they were right, as if none of it had ever happened. For a while, she had her mind set in believing that maybe she had gone crazy.
But no matter how hard she tried, never could she forget those amber eyes or silver hair. Inuyasha was engraved in her memory for all eternity, and the dull ache that burst forth with each beat of her heart reminded her that he had been real – that her love for him would surpass even death.
Kagome closed her eyes as she came to a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change so she could stroll across the street toward the shrine.
"I wish Kagome would return home forever."
Those were the final words Inuyasha had spoken that fateful night. Her other companions laid dead in the battlefield, leaving the two star-crossed lovers to fight the devious half-demon who had brought such pain upon others.
The completed Sacred Jewel had fallen into Inuyasha's hands as he struggled to hang onto life. His eyes had watched her intently even though his body no longer had the strength to move. In the end, his greatest desire was to save her instead of himself.
The last thing Kagome saw as he made his wish was Inuyasha's mournful eyes, glazed over with death. She was engulfed by a flurry of pink light and the next thing she knew, she was at the bottom of the well in her own era.
A shuddered breath escaped her lips as she allowed the memories to return full-force. Her heart felt as if it would burst from agony, too overcome with pain to deal with the present day.
At first, Kagome had tried to honor Inuyasha's wish. She continued to move forward, even though her heart stayed in the past. A part of her didn't want to waste his final breath, but a larger part of her knew she wouldn't be able to abide by it. Life had become too difficult without Inuyasha by her side.
With a smile, she stepped out onto the crosswalk, oblivious to the gasps and calls from the surrounding audience. The music pounded through her ears, overcoming the screech of tires and shouts from bystanders.
Darkness consumed her; it was quiet. There was no bustling city life. The cars had gone silent. Slowly, chirping crickets came to life as leaves rustled with the clean breeze. Opening her eyes, Kagome saw a flurry of stars, brightly lighting up the land in ethereal wonder. The red hue of sunrise began to creep up the horizon as a new day approached.
"Keh, 'bout time you woke up."
Sitting up from where she lay, her eyes fell upon a silver-haired boy. Dog ears twitched upon his head and his face was set in a scowl. He stood proud and tall against the sunrise, his arms folded into his fire-rat kimono.
"Everything okay, Kagome?"
Glancing over, she took in the sight of a dark-haired woman, her eyes filled with question as she slung a large boomerang over her back. A small cat perched upon her shoulder, her head tilted slightly with curiosity.
"You seem a little pale. Perhaps we shall stay a moment longer?"
The monk clutched his staff tighter, his dark hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. He fitted his hand around his chin in thought, looking her up and down with calculating eyes.
"It's all Inuyasha's fault!"
She turned toward the childish voice, noting the shock of red hair and small furry tail. His emerald eyes flashed with anger as he pointed at the dog-eared man, accusing him of hurting his friend.
"What do you mean it's my fault? I didn't do nothin'!"
A familiar scowl.
"Now, now, Shippo, let's not accuse Inuyasha of such things before he tells us himself."
Laughter in his eyes.
"Exactly – Wait a minute!"
Amber darkened with anger.
"Ah ah ah. Violence is never the answer."
A teasing tone.
"Shouldn't you ask Kagome what's bothering her instead of fighting over it?"
A few kind words.
"My dear, what an excellent suggestion."
A lecherous smile.
"Get your hands off of me, you pervert!"
A red hand print.
"Idiot."
An annoyed expression.
"Monk, you say violence isn't the answer, but your lechering sure causes it!"
A hand clenched in a fist.
"Inuyasha, I was only trying to console my love."
A poor excuse.
"Save it."
Narrowed agate eyes.
Kagome slowly stood as tears fell from her eyes, causing her companions to stop their childish antics and look at her with confusion.
"Wh-what's with the waterworks?"
She shook her head and shakily walked toward her protector, wrapping her arms around his waist. He stiffened under her touch, but made no motion to move away.
"I'm okay," she promised, tightening her hold around him. "Let's go home."
Her heart soared with great joy at seeing her friends again. She listened to their familiar bickering and strange humor, surrounding herself with memories of an adventure long forgotten by others. She ignored the voices in the back of her head, left behind in a life she never lived.
None of it mattered anymore.
She had found her happiness in Paradise.
A/N: Hope it wasn't too confusing, but interpret it how you wish. I'd love to hear your thoughts.