I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams.
When the city sleeps, I'm the only one and I walk alone. I walk alone.
I walk alone.
The separation wasn't completely unexpected.
A group of people that have risked their lives for each other, loved and hated each other, and fought along side each other are usually expected to stay together till the end of their days. However, sometimes these things don't happen. Life isn't always what it seems. When the danger is over, isn't it normal to want to return to their normal lives? For those who had followed Inuyasha and Kagome on their quest to defeat Naraku and return the Shikon no tama to it's original form, they craved normality. They craved the lives they had had before Naraku ruined them and in a sense decided mutually to try and obtain that normality.
The entire group watched as one of them left for good. There were tears racing down her cheeks to meet at her chin and drop unceremoniously to the ground. Her raven hair swirled in a light wind that betrayed the current mood. As the sun shined happily down upon them, the raven haired girl spun on her heel and without a single goodbye plunged into the well.
"Kagome..." The group mumbled quietly, but the young woman was gone.
No longer was that young woman a woman-child, but a full fledged woman. It had taken five whole years to defeat Naraku and return the Shikon no tama to it's former glory. Though no wish had been made upon the now whole jewel, it had been given to the hanyou to hold onto. He wore the jewel upon the cursed necklace; the necklace he had refused to allow Kagome to remove. It would be there keepsake, he had said in a tone that was unlike any Inuyasha had ever used with her. And now that she was gone, his clawed fingers gently touched upon the stone with a light clicking noise.
He turned from the well and faced the rest of the group. Though they had aged, it was barely noticeable. Five years had been kind to both Sango and Miroku; they looked as they had when they first met. The only difference was the scar upon Miroku's forehead, half hidden by his bangs, and the long ragged scar on Sango's neck that extended far below her navel. Shippo, on the other hand, had sprouted to at least Inuyasha's shoulder and his somewhat short orange hair had blossomed into a pony tail the length of his back. He had matured as well, and kept his tears well hidden from the others in a show of emotional strength he hadn't been capable of years ago. He too sported various little scars on his arms and face from that last fight with Naraku; no one had escaped unscathed. Inuyasha himself, though he healed quickly and usually scar less, had one wicked scar that extended from right shoulder to the middle of his hand.
"Well, this is it then," Miroku said, trying to keep his voice light. "I shall return to Mushin and see how he is fairing.." He turned to the others and bowed slightly. "Stay safe, my friends."
Sango nodded, though her heart sank terribly. "Stay safe yourself, monk. I might as well return to my village and pick up the pieces. Perhaps Kohaku has returned there as well," She smiled sadly as Miroku walked into the forest. "Hopefully I can rebuild my family's honor. Till we meet again," Sango quickly turned on her heel as the tears that had been trembling on her lashes spilled over to crawl quickly down her cheeks.
Inuyasha, devoid of all his haughty inquiries, glanced over at Shippo. "Where will you go, runt?"
Shippo shrugged his widening shoulders and bared his elongating teeth. "At the moment, probably to see my parent's grave and tell them of our victory. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll go see Ayumi again. It has been a while." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "And what about you, Inuyasha? Are you going to use the jewel and become full demon?"
It was Inuyasha's turn to shrug now. "I don't know. I don't think I want it that badly anymore."
Shippo noticed the sad look in Inuyasha's amber eyes and turned to nod at the well. "And the well...?"
Inuyasha kehed in pure hanyou fashion, though there was more hurt in his tone than usual. "Without the jewel, she can't cross back over even if she wants to...and she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to stay. I have no intention of going after her," Was that his voice breaking, or did Shippo's ears deceive him? "What's done, is done."
"Then where will you go?" Shippo asked, turning the question back onto the inquiror.
As an answer, Inuyasha turned to the woods. Where the hanyou was going was anybodies guess, but he had no intention of sharing his destination. In fact, Shippo was pretty sure Inuyasha didn't even know where he was going. With a little, sad sigh and a longing look at the well, Shippo started on the path that would bring him closer to his parent's grave.
The separation had been mutually accepted so that each could rebuild their lives, but in a way they lost pieces of themselves that their lives sorely needed. Shippo knew it, knew it better than any of them did, that their lives together shouldn't have been over so quickly. As he passed by brushes and dark trees, he once again contemplated their situations. Inuyasha was still alone, though he truly didn't want to be. Sango and Miroku never did confess their adoration for each other. Kagome never told Inuyasha how she felt. Life could not be over for the group; there was still so much to be done.
With those thoughts running through his head, Shippo caught Inuyasha's scent on the wind. It was faint, but he could follow it. With the sun going down and a new moon about to rise, a rather elusive plan entered the young fox-demon's mind. Perhaps their lives without each other wasn't yet meant to be. Stepping off the path and tentatively sniffing the air, Shippo took off to catch up with the hanyou. As much as Inuyasha was going to kill him, it had to be done.
Besides, Shippo missed Kagome already.