A/N: This story is kind of dark… I've taken the main story and changed a few things. Like Kikyo is still alive. Kagome is a totally different person since leaving and please don't hate, it's a progress thing.
In my perspective it's taken a year to collect the jewel pieces together, so she basically leaves on her 16th birthday.
And this is my first attempt to write a fanfiction. I realize there are probably a lot of mistakes. Sorry. I wanted to get it up before I chickened out.

Edit: I realized that I made a lot of mistakes… So I just fixed those small grammatical things, there's probably more though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

With the wish of a certain 15 year old girl the Feudal Era had been saved from total death and destruction. Life was slowly becoming a normal thing, all had seemed to slowly calm down. Sango felt her heartache a little less for her fallen comrades and family. Kohaku seemed to be enjoying his time living with a certain human girl in Kaede's village, so Sango was at ease, especially with a certain monk who seemed to be enamoured with the child in her womb. Shippo had danced around going independent but remained by the demon hunter and monk, his exams seemed to become harder and he had slowly started making new Kitsune friends. Kikyo, had somehow managed to survive and was most likely hanging around a shrine as the new priestess, but no one was sure. The infamous half demon had lost contact with most of his comrades simply visiting them from time to time… No one knew what trouble he faced nor did he speak about it. It had been 4 years... A whole four summers, the girl still wasn't back. On a certain day; Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara and Shippo would meet at the old wooden well and wait, they would laugh and talk about the days when the small but fearsome young 15 year old had helped them find happiness again. The good and the bad.

"I don't know why we still wait her for her!" Inuyasha seethed, it seemed he was the first to crack. Sango pursed her lips and looked down at her hands lying limp in her lap. It was slowly starting to seem pointless. He was upset. They all knew that much. It was hard not to be, but what else could they do. It seemed the well had stopped working the day the jewel had been destroyed. It must have been hardest on Inuyasha, there was a constant reminder of Kagome around his neck, and no one else had that power.

"Enough! I'm done!" The silver haired demon roared.

He stomped his foot and kicked the well pathetically. Sango noted that he hadn't tried his usual destruction, he probably hoped somewhere deep down a replying 'sit' would echo from the bottom of the well. It never came though. It was another day and another summer to pass that they were Kagome-less. Miroku stood up and offered his hand to the swollen bellied woman and she smiled grateful for the extra help up. They all lived in Kaede's village, somewhat.

Inuyasha was the first to leave huffing and pouncing into the woods. Shippo clicked his tongue in Inuyasha's direction, he sighed and shook his head folding his arms across his chest. It seemed to Shippo that it was time for an 'Inuyasha round table discussion'

"He really shouldn't be that upset" He tutted, Kirara purred in agreement.

"He only had himself to blame" Sango agreed as she thought out loud. Miroku looked at the unforgiving pair and shrugged his shoulders,
"There's no harming in wanting a concubine in a marriage" he said offhandedly.

This earned a shake of the head from Shippo and a solid *WHACK* to the back of his head. He rubbed the offended area and shrugged his shoulders again watching the retreating back of his wife.

"Sannnn-gggooooo!" He beckoned, "You have more than enough personalities to make up for 10 concubines"

*WHACK*

"Pregnancy makes you grump-"

*THUMP*

She was leaning against the bar as she watched him attempt to finalize her dare. She watched with wild anticipation, a smirk passed her lips, it was finally reaching the climax, she counted in her head '1…2…3' *SLAP* Kagome let out a laugh and watched as a disheartened male slouched rubbing his cheek and pulled out a note handing it to her and walking away. She cackled to herself and then placed it in her bra,

"One day you're going to get caught out doing that"

She jumped. Startled. She turned her attention to the unfamiliar voice and tilted her head with a slight smirk,

"I have no idea what you're talking about sir," she said innocently.

It was half past ten and her shift was about to end. She looked at the man who seemed interested in her and pursed her lips, she really wanted to clean her station but the man looked insistent on pestering her. It seemed that it was going to be one of those nights. She licked the bottom of her lip and challenged his stare down. It was just starting to get interesting when a sudden thud broke their focus and she turned to see a small fight break out. She pursed her lips and looked at a worn bow next to the fridge and shook her head, 'nah' she thought. With an improper salute to her stare down buddy she placed a hand on the bar and pounced over it and walked toward the fight, they were regulars. She stood in between them like a fearsome lion and they stopped their fists from the assault. She narrowed her eyes at both men and pointed to the chairs behind them.

"SIT!" She demanded.

With a pout and nod of their heads they obliged her demand and returned to their drinking. Kagome returned to the bar to see the man sitting amusedly. The 20 year old raised a brow at him and sipped a drink she pushed in front of him,

"Were you a dog trainer?" He inquired.

"You could say that,"

The unfamiliar man chuckled a little at her response. There was a cryptic look on his face that almost tempted the barmaid to question him. She opened her mouth to say something when she heard her name in a sing-song voice.

"Kaaaa-Gooo-Meeeee" it cooed happily.

The young girl visibly cringed, she forced a small smile and turned around to see a lecherous grin on the vulgar girls face. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes she looked at the owner of the bar and dance club, together they dove into conversation. Ellen was her name, she was the female version of Miroku, it seemed hard to believe but she was even worse than said male lecher. 'Small doses' she reminded herself, 'only in small doses.' The words Ellen seemed to be spouting were nothing but nonsense and by the time she had finished her fisherman's tale it was an hour past her work time.

Breaking free of the bar finally she took a deep breath and coughed out. It didn't seem like the air was as fresh in the alleyway as she thought. She shook her head and fumbled in her pockets for her keys. Unaware that she was being watched, she flung her bag behind her and headed purposefully to her car. She swung the keys around her index finger and hummed a slow tune to herself. She saw a dark figure leaning against her metallic silver car and pressed her lips into a thin line. She really wasn't in the mood for any creepy stalkers. With a quick glance around the car park, all it revealed that her car was the only one in the lot. Ellen must have left already. It didn't bode well in the pit of her stomach, however, Kagome had developed a knack for ignoring her danger instincts.

The past few years Kagome had changed more than she ever thought possible. Instead of the pure-hearted child she was the slow reality of the 'real' world began to poison her. She sighed a little. She had spent a year in the Feudal era, only, when the days turned to weeks and the weeks to months, it all became surreal. She had convinced herself that she had been living in a fantasy world in her mind. Her family didn't mention the world she often visited and eventually she forced her mind to believe that Inuyasha and the rest of them were only pigments of her imagination. That life was something she had concocted in order to deal with her teenage hormones, she forced herself to grow up and believe that there was no such thing as a well that took her to the past.

Looking for an escape route the girl hadn't managed to find one. It seemed that the only light came from a full moon above her head. The sky was particularly clear and she had other business and a different job to get to. She had no time to be flouncing a round with a stalker who may have enjoyed her dance. She folded her arms and placed her weight on her left foot letting her hip tilt in a seductive manner that had unconsciously became second nature to her. She narrowed her eyes and waited for the man leaning on her car to say something.

"Wanna go for a drink?" He questioned.

Kagome looked at him quizzically and tried to place the familiar voice. Slowly her mind played different sounds and finally she placed it to the entertained man who questioned her about the dog training. 'What is he playing at?' she thought. Her eyes narrowed examined the man, it was kinda hard to get a good look and she pondered on the idea for a bit. It seemed like a trap, but he didn't have the sociopathic, crazy-killer vibe. She shrugged her shoulders and pressed a button on her keys to unlock the car,

"I have a fight to get to first, get in." The man obliged and soon they were speeding off to an abandoned warehouse.

"Kagome?" He questioned.

"Sure. And you are?"

"Sayomi"

"Right"

"What do you mean you have a fight?"

Kagome let an enigmatic smirk pass her lips and tapped her nose, it was an English thing she had seen before, from what she had gathered meant that it was a secret and it was going to stay that way until she was ready to spill. He looked at her with a slight frown, probably didn't understand her gesture. She shrugged her shoulders and kept her eye on the road, aware that he was looking at her. They were nearing their destination. As she pulled up and got out of her car she looked at the man slightly intrigued about his next action. He followed suit and closed the door. She locked the car and trudged through the gravel toward the entrance. She heard her name being called a few times, waving nonchalantly. The man trailed behind her taking in the site.

Upon entering the warehouse there was a cage like fighting ring in the middle of it. The wire was a dark copper colour, looking like rust and despite how many times it was cleaned it seemed the blood had been stained on the wire fortress. There were bleachers on three sides of the chain fighting arena and they were slowly filling up. The man looked at her in disbelief and watched as his jaw dropped looking from her to the cage and back at her. She laughed a little and then clutched her stomach. He thought she actually fought in that thing? She shook her head and walked toward the bar. It was a simple raised bench with glass shelves behind it filed with alcohol in alphabetic order. She looked at the man and observed a slight relief flush over him.

"You didn't seriously think that I fought in that thing did you?" She mused.

He looked at her and shook his head, what a liar.

"Let's get a drink,"

She went behind the bar and then poured two shots flinging one back quickly and then waited for the man to do the same. She placed her elbows on the bar. It was often that many men chase after her, not that she was proud of that fact. Her job called for her to be the centre of attention. She looked at the man and then squinted at him, should she had led him here? 'Ah well. Who the hell cares?' She poured them another drink and slowly they both became a little more talkative. She took the time to observe the man and his features. In the club she was in she couldn't see anything and the dim light from the moon stopped any examination. Only in the lighted arena did she notice that this man had green eyes. It was different, he was definitely from some other country. He had shaggy brown hair that seemed to dip into his face every now and then. He had the head flick to remove it from his eyes down pact. He could have passed for a model with the elegant and graceful movements she began to notice, or maybe it was the alcohol? Between scrutinizing the man and drinking, the alcohol seemed to win.

Her attention turned to the fighters as they drearily practised romance. She didn't understand how this blood sport could actually be a thing. Kagome wasn't fond of it, but they paid well for her to stand there get drunk and look pretty. It wasn't a hard job. Entertainment. She was a side attraction,

"So why two jobs?" Sayomi slurred,

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "I think you mean why I dance for a living when I don't seem like a dull, idiotic-numbskull?"

He nodded.

"You'd be surprised at how many strippers are actually intelligent, you meet a few, I have the same answer to them, easy money"

He nodded again.

"The real world isn't as elegant as they make it out to be" She closed her eyes heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose, she was getting tired. It was starting to get a bit dull and depressing so she decided to switch the moods. Pulling out a different alcohol, soon the whole place was screaming and partying. Kagome could feel her sense of self slowly blur with the rest of her body, her exhaustion fade. Her sane side sleeping, glad to finally take a break, Kagome happily let her inhibitions take a break as she took her dark waltz with the intoxicating beverages. She had stopped caring a long time ago, she had held everything in and it was moments like these she allowed herself to be free again. It was a short lived freedom, but it was all she needed to stop herself from breaking down. It was the price she decided to pay in order to keep the many bones buried in her closet.

Everything was a blur until she found herself stumbling through the doors of her house at the shrine. She felt slightly pathetic for still living at home. Ayumi, Eri and Yuka had all moved on with their lives, living an honest life as college students. Kagome attended classes seldom, somehow, somewhere she had lost her purpose and it was taking a toll on the person she hid deep down inside of her. She shuffled loudly and tripped over many things making louder sounds as she tried to find her way in the dark. A light switched on and it seemed there were four people looking at her disapprovingly, Souta was 15 now and he had his arms folded across his chest glowering at her, her mother was the other person and she had pursed lips matching the same look as her little brother. Kagome blinked with glassy eyes in their direction, she didn't understand how the pair of them doubled. However their reproachful glares seemed to be twice as intimidating, if only she could hold in her fits of giggles.

"Kagome!" Her mother admonished.

"I can't believe that you're doing this again!" She seethed

"I thought we had this fixed!" She shook her head and then pointed to the door looking away from her, "You were warned!"

Kagome looked at her mother her mood flipping erratically and then growled a little. She made a loud noise of disapproval and stomped out the door before pushing a table over and making a louder noise. She had to break something to relieve her frustration. She stomped out of the house and towards the first door she laid eyes on. She ripped open the door and stumbled inside slamming the sliding door. She didn't know that it was possible, but it seemed to make a loud banging noise. She looked at the ground feeling a sense of familiarity. Her eyes rose up slowly, her heart skipped a beat and her throat went dry. It had been the first time she'd been in here since she had 'left' the Feudal era. She cautiously took the steps down, her eyes were glued on the wooden well.

It seemed daunting and so foreign. She swallowed hard feeling a scraping sensation in her throat. Of all places she could have stumbled along to, this had to be it. She felt an overwhelming amount of pressure on her chest and placed her hand on the wooden well, but she pulled it away quickly like it had burnt her. She felt tears welling in her eyes as memories and emotions loomed in her belly. She turned her head to the side and heaved whatever alcohol hadn't been absorbed into her body and whatever food was left in her stomach. Her hands began to shake and now free flowing from her face were warm salty drops. She shivered and fell to her knees hugging her body tightly.

Souta looked at his mother with concern, he swallowed hard and placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mama, she still won't talk about Inuyasha and the others, the Feudal Era"

Her mother forced a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. The mother of two felt as if she had lost her daughter, somehow her sweet little girl and morphed into this monster. The elderly woman listened to the sound of silence.

"Souta…" She said tentatively, "This is something Kagome needs to overcome by herself…" Her voice was strained, she hated seeing her daughter like this, but there was nothing she could do. Her little baby had been forced to grow up so quickly over there, she had changed and probably not for the better. She hated that she couldn't help her. Kagome needed to find herself again, and she hoped that it was soon, soon before the girl destroyed herself. She needed to go back to the Feudal Era and recover what she had lost.

The volley of tears refused to stop falling. She wanted to go back. She wanted nothing more than to go back and see everyone. Somehow Kagome knew that they would understand, right? Shaking her head furiously she looked at her hands, she looked at the revealing clothing she was wearing, but she had changed. Of everyone around her, she was most aware of how much she had changed. How could she face those people again? Punching the well she pulled her hand back hissing as the pain shot through her body, looking at her fist she swallowed hard, it slowly dawned on her that hitting this inanimate object relieved her pain, if only slightly. The stinging pain from her fist hurt, a lot, however, it seemed rather symbolic to the mental chaos flinging around in her head. She hit it again, and again, and again.

Kagome looked at her bloodied hand a slight relief filling her and she managed to smile. She pulled herself up off the ground quickly. Unaware of her unbalanced feet and jelly-like legs she wobbled uncontrollably. She put her hand out to the well to try balance herself and pulled it away quickly, her hand must have been broken because it was now throbbing manically. She hissed loudly as she looked at her hand, she felt a light sensation as she shook her hand. Time seemed to slow as she looked up at the roof of the room, she was… falling? 'Oh.' She thought. 'I fell.' She closed her eyes waiting the slow fall to end, waiting to finally make impact with the dirt ground. She felt pain, everywhere and then all at once everything went black. 'Is this peace?'