Surreptitious Serendipidity: Chapter 001: Aftermath

Stunned.

That was really the only word to describe her current state. There she sat - right there, at the bottom of that cold, dark well. The smell of mildew and dirt clung to every wall. She sat as still as a statue, wide-eyed and unresponsive to the world outside of that dinky little well house. It wasn't until Buyo the cat wandered in sometime after lunch when she finally managed to get up off her knees.

How many times had she tried? No more than three this week. Had to be. She twisted her ankle the very first time she had tried - nearly three months prior. She knew she had to return- she must! She had a duty to complete, an enemy to defeat...why was she not allowed to cross? She must have come up with a million possibilities as to why, exactly, the well refused to function properly. Maybe the wood had finally rotted and lost it's magical properties. Perhaps someone in the past is blocking her entry. Maybe, even, they didn't want her to return.

Whatever the reason, she knew a few things were for certain. The first, most obvious fact, that she was stuck in modern day Japan, where people were busier than bees all day, second being that she still maintained a quarter of the jewel. Without that quarter, the jewel will never be completely whole. Third of all, despite her state of depression, she had to do something.

Of course, saying and doing were two completely different things.

Regardless, she knew that this had to stop. With one final look at her dark surroundings, she climbed up and out using the very worn ladder propped up on one of the well's walls. The tears didn't subside, but she did make up her mind right then. She would spend the next several months making a life for herself, to entwine herself back into modern society and build a future worth having.

It was certainly difficult. She cried very nearly every day, at first. She supposed she had been in denial all those months, thinking the well would magically reopen itself when it was ready, just as it had done on her fifteenth birthday. It had been wishful thinking, she knew, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to accept the fact that the well very may be closed for the remainder of her very short life span. She only had a hundred years to walk this earth - and already, nearly a quarter of it was taken. What would she even do with the time she has left?

The plan was to move in with Sango and Miroku. She was going to help them rebuild Sango's home village. She wanted to see the two of them get married and have lots of children. She wanted to see Shippou become a striking, handsome young man - she wanted to be the one to raise him well. To see him eventually leave her nest and find a mate of his own. She wanted to build a life with Inuyasha at her side, to see where they could take their new-found relationship. She wanted to see it all.

But now, she will never be able to witness Sango's first pregnancy, or Shippou's first real, long-term relationship. She will never experience another kiss, or to even hear the words she so longed to hear from her first love's lips. She'll never be able to have another carefree moment among them, never have another heartwarming, one-on-one conversation with Sango, who she practically saw as a sister. Never again have the warm snuggles every night from her little man. Never be held romantically high above the tree tops. No. Gone were the days of the magical girl from the future who would help slay beasts and collect shards of a shattered jewel. No longer was this her little fairy tale-

In a way, she could very well be saying goodbye to her childhood. Her teenhood. This period of time where everything seems to just fit into place.

Kagome made it to the third stair of the well-house before glancing back at the old, dusty well. With tears still flowing freely down her face, she gave a shaky smile, a deep breath, before she walked out of that well-house. She promised herself she wouldn't try anymore. It's been three months - she had to accept her new reality.

Or waste away into nothing.


There was a newspaper left on the kitchen counter as she was prepping for breakfast one morning. It has been a total of six months since she has accepted the fact that she would never again traverse time. These days she kept herself busy in an attempt to not think about the past. More often than not, she ended up cooking or cleaning, and ultimately had many left overs and a damn near spotless shrine.

She had pulled out all of the materials needed for a traditional American-style breakfast: bacon, eggs, biscuits, potatoes - the works. Just as she was about to begin dicing her potatoes, she noticed a 'help-wanted' ad snack-dab in the center of the page. And for just a moment, she considered picking up that newspaper before shaking her head and continuing her task.

For nearly a week a week straight, that newspaper sat on the counter, taunting her, beckoning to her. Normally she would have tossed it out. Would have torn it to shreds and never thought twice. Why didn't she just get rid of it?

Finally, when she couldn't stand it anymore, she returned to that newspaper, feeling ridiculous and angry over it all, with the full intent of tossing it into the recycle bin. She hesitated as she scrunched the newspaper in her hand. With a sigh, she looked at the dock, and with sudden adrenaline and determination pumping through her system, she threw on her shoes, grabbed a coat, her purse and keys, and she was gone.


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Hello, hello!

Long time, no see, ne? I've been working my butt off at school, at work, doing commissions-
I had completely forgotten about the story I began!

I really appreciate all the reviews! I'm so happy that this story seemed to catch with so many of you - and it was only a prologue! An idea sparked out of thin air in my mind!

So yeah, sorry for such a crazy-late update! My updates are super irregular, but I try to write/type when I have the free time. X3 Not to mention, I'm a grammar-freak - I really want to make sure my punctuation and spelling is spot-on, or at least as close as I can get to it.

It was a short one, but the next update will be longer! I've already got most of the next chapter done, just fleshing out some details. X3 I might do a second update later this week if all goes well. Finals are this week, so wish me luck!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you in the next update!