Prologue

"There's no such thing as a pure wish, everything comes with a price. So, shikon no tama, I wish you disappear from the world forever and I shall take the consequences."

In the darkness of the void, a pink marble pulsed with power. The jewel spoke, layered with many different voices, "Indeed young miko, and in exchange for our disappearance, your existence and memory as the shikon no miko will be erased from everyone. And you alone shall bear the burden of a forgotten tale, with only your scars and powers as reminders."

~oo0oo~

'Mate! Mate gone!'

The beast shook within the mental cage created by his master, wailing for its soul mate. 'Find mate!'

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows, not understanding what his beast is demanding. 'Silence. This Sesshomaru does not have a mate.'

'Lies! Mate gone!' The beast roared to his master. 'Mate. Price of the wish! Forgotten!'

With a growl of annoyance, Sesshomaru wrapped his mental chains around his hysterical beast tighter, ignoring its pained howls. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, Sesshomaru turned his attention to his young ward and immediately felt a slight panic at the sight of the unshed tears in her big doe brown eyes.

"Sesshomaru-sama, she's gone and Rin can't remember how she looks like." She told the confused daiyoukai sadly, "Okaa-saan has always taken care of Rin when we meet with Inuyasha-sama's group. Rin doesn't remember her, but Rin remember her warmth and touches. Rin miss her, did she leave us because Rin wasn't a good girl, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Rin, the slayer is still here."

"No! I'm talking about me and Shippo-chan's mommy! Not about aunty Sango!"

Taken aback by his ward's outburst and the fact that she's referring to herself in first person, something she only do when she's mad or frustrated with Jaken. Looking towards his half-brother's group as they try to calm down crying fox child, Sesshomaru realize that the kit was calling for his mother. Could there truly be another individual in his half-brother's group? A woman, mother to his ward and the young kitsune. His mate.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened a fraction, recalling what his beast had said. 'Mate. Price of the wish! Forgotten!' Had the memories of his mate been the price of the wish on the shikon no tama? Sniffing the air delicately, the demon lord noticed a scent so familiar yet should be foreign to the current season. The smell of peach blossom should not appear in autumn. Taking another whiff of the heavenly scent, his beast purred in happiness and joyfully told his master, 'Mate!'

A blurry image of a woman appeared in his mind. Long, wavy, raven hair, a pair of crystal blue eyes and the smell of peach blossoms.

'This Sesshomaru will find you, mate.'

~oo0oo~

Dark. Cold. Alone.

Where am I?

Who am I?

"Kagome…"

Is that my name? Who's there?

"Kagome, wake up…"

Why? I'm so tired. Let me stay here a bit longer.

"You are going to be late on your first day of school!"

Huh?

Sleepy blue eyes opened up and met with another a pair of glaring blue eyes,

"Finally!" Souta exclaimed, seeing his sister finally waking up from her beauty sleep. "Just 'cause it's you fifteenth birthday today doesn't mean you don't have to go to school!"

'Fifteen? Does that mean it was all a dream?' Swallowing the bile in her throat as she got out of bed, looking at her, much younger looking, little brother, she said, "Souta, can you leave the room, I need to change."

After Souta left the room, Kagome shakily made her way to her mirror. Looking into the mirror, Kagome's body shook from the effort to not cry. She looked younger, like she did when she was fifteen, before her crazy adventure. Her face still had some of her baby fat and her hair was a lot shorter. With shaking hands, she removed her pyjama. Her body shorter, but it was littered with scars from battling against humans and demons alike, and beneath her skin, she could feel her miko-ki humming with power. Kagome willed herself to not have a panic attack. 'I'm fifteen again. My family doesn't remember my five year long adventures. I'm the only one who remembers.'

Kagome collapsed onto the floor, her legs no longer supporting her weight as memories of the non-existent past and a tidal of emotions crashed down on her. The dam finally broke and tears streamed down the miko's face, 'I never existed to them. That means he won't remember either.' Looking at the small, blue crescent moon on her inner left wrist, Kagome tenderly touched it with her right hand; she can still feel the small amount of youki in it. 'He was real, but he won't remember me. He probably mated a pretty demoness in these past five centuries.' She thought bitterly. 'It's not his fault he doesn't remember and left me, but still hurts… mate, I miss you.'

~oo0oo~

For the next two years, Kagome was rarely home. He had asked to court her under the Goshinboku, and being near it is a painful reminder of him. She joined multiple teams and clubs, and spent all her free time studying. She had passed middle school with one of the highest marks in the country, and got a full scholarship in one of the most prestigious high school in Tokyo. When Kagome isn't distracting herself with school activities or studying, she would go camping in the woods surrounding the shrine, to get away from modern technology, the air pollution, her families' questioning stares, and the only place where she can hone her skills with miko-ki. It is, after all, one of the only things that can prove her memories weren't a crazy dream.

~oo0oo~

Diana Higurashi nee Swan knew her eldest child had not been "normal" since her fifteenth birthday. She had known the moment she saw Kagome's eyes when she came down stairs to the kitchen. No longer naïve and innocent, her eye looked aged, wise and held an unspoken pain. They were eyes that belonged to someone who had survived and fought in wars. She had seen those eyes in her grand fathers when they told her about their experience in the world wars. Those eyes should not be seen on a modern day teenager.

Diana noticed Kagome tends to stay away the shrine as much as possible, and indulged herself in herself in school activities and studies. While Diana was extremely proud of Kagome's academic achievements, she worries for her little girl's mental health. 'Kagome needs to get away from Tokyo for a bit. Hm, she does like to go to the forest around the shrine a lot. Getting back to nature seems pretty good. A place with lots of trees and would be good for her to travel to, like…' Diana's eyes widened as the most brilliant idea came to her.

Diana picked up the phone and called someone she hadn't talked to for a long time. After a couple of seconds, the other side of the phone answered.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice asked.

"Charlie, it's me, Diana."

"Diana? My goodness, what are you calling me 2 am in the morning for?"

"Ah… I forgot about the time zone differences, sorry." Diana said sheepishly.

Charlie chuckled. "Well, what can I do for you little sis?"

"I need a favour from you. Kagome hasn't been herself for a while; I think she needs a change of scenery. She likes to go camping a lot, and since Forks has lots of camping areas, I was wondering if she can live with you till she graduates from high school. I promise she won't cause much problems for you, she's great with her studies and-"

"Diana," Charlie interrupted, "I understand, and I would love to have Kagome living with me, the lonely ol'me could really use the company, plus, she's my favourite niece!"

"Oh! Thank you so much Charlie! And of course she's your favourite, she's your only niece!"

"Right. Right. Now, can I go to sleep?"

~oo0oo~

Kagome hadn't felt excited for almost two years, since her return from her quest. She's moving in with her uncle Charlie this summer, and will start her sophomore year at the local high school in September. Finally, she can leave the big crowded city, and go to a quiet, small town where she can leave the haunting reminders of the past.