Hey guys its me again, Merry Christmas! Before I start I just want to explain something. These next few chapters are separately viewing the outlooks on kagome and Inuyasha's separation. This chapter shows kagomes life after leaving; the next one will show Inuyasha's and the rest of the groups. Suman-ai if these chapters sound or are boring to you guys but I have to make it feel like they've been away from each other for a while. Don't worry it gets better after this. Ok lets get started shall we?


Previously on A Test of Faith, Love, and Destiny:

She couldn't leave. He wouldn't allow it. His protector was leaving him behind. But the hanyou didn't want to think that. He cared too deeply for her to let her slip away. And yet, she was already slipping from his grasp.

"Kagome!" She was just a few feet away from the well. 'Nooo!'

Inuyasha watched as time seemed to deeply slow down. Kagome was climbing the well, and all he could do was reach out and try to grab her. His hand was only centimeters away from her wrist, but everything seemed so slow. He watched in despair as the blue light consumed her as she disappeared.

"She's gone…..forever."

Kagome climbed out of the ancient well, tears streaming down her face as she recited the sealing spell.

'Goodbye Inuyasha. I hope you live a happy life without me. I'll always remember you and never stop loving you.'


With the weight of regret heavy upon her chest, Kagome Higurashi climbed out of the old well for the very last time.

She stood up in front of it, and hastily wiped away a protruding tear on her sleeve. It was then that she realized that she was still wearing the robe of the fire rat she had borrowed from inuyasha. She felt a surge of hatred towards it, and wasn't sure what to do with this new combination of all these mixed emotions.

Anger, fear, frustration, sadness, regret, worry, emptiness, sorrow, and something which she couldn't quite place.

All of them seemed to be squirming deep within her stomach, fighting for dominance.

Kagome clutched her stomach. It felt as if her heart had fallen through to it, all the shattered fragments piercing in every which direction. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before. She didn't even know if it was real. One thing, however, was for certain:

It hurts to say goodbye.

Letting go of everything back there was hard, but she had not yet done it. Not really.

There still stood the possibility of returning, and the possibility of Inuyasha coming back to her.

Kagome gulped. She had overstayed her welcome there. She was no longer needed, no longer wanted. She had to make sure that she didn't make the mistake of ever returning. She had to make sure that she would never feel the pain of saying goodbye ever again.

But how?

Kagome sat down against one wall of the well, still clutching her gut in a sort of low self-hug. She bent her legs in front of her, and drew her knees in towards her chest. The Miko transferred her hug to her legs, and rested her chin upon her knees. She didn't stem the flow of her tears.

How could she prevent anyone from crossing over to or from the Feudal Era ever again?

She sighed, and held her head in her hands. Her Grandpa's sutras wouldn't work. Even if she boarded up the old well house, Inuyasha would still be able to break through to the other side, and she would have to say goodbye again. She didn't want that.

Then it came to her.

She found that she had gasped because of the sudden swiftness of the idea, how perfect it seemed, and what it would mean. She would seal the well with her priestess powers just as she would with her now shattered heart.

Kagome stood up slowly, more droplets leaking from the corners of her eyes, though she had a defiant and dutiful look upon her face. She strode over to a number of dusty and mouse-eaten boxes, rolled up her long sleeves and rummaged through them, one by one. She only stopped once or twice to catch her breath, or wipe a bead of sweat from her brow, or a rogue tear from her cheek.

At last, her search was complete, for she held in her hand the key to the ultimate farewell: a bow and arrow.

She pulled out one arrow from the box and held it on her had. As if in a trance, she pulled the bow with arrow and aimed it at the ancient well. A tiny pink light danced on the end of it.

Kagome withdrew a breath, and released it at a slowed pace.

This was it.

It was time to say goodbye for good.

Not that she wanted to, of course, but she didn't want to experience this heartache any longer.

Heartache. The one emotion that she had forgotten. Perhaps it wasn't quite an emotion, but it expressed the way she felt more than any other combination of words that she could come up with.

Kagome held the bow and arrow aimed at the well with apprehension. Woe some, tearful eyes fixed on the arrow as she whispered into the wind.

"Here's to you, Inuyasha. I loved you, I love you, and I will love you forever. That's why I must say goodbye."

Kagome released the arrow from her grip, hitting the well without a sound.

Her ebony hair fluttered into her eyes in a sudden gust of wind, and a knotted feeling made itself known within the region of her stomach. She swatted her locks back into place numbly. She had done it.

So why didn't she feel... anything?

Shouldn't she at least feel triumphant, or regretful?

But, no. Nothing came. She couldn't even cry anymore.

The miko didn't even wince as the well glowed a dull pink with the sealing spell.

No, she didn't even react when her Grandpa came in and tried to talk to her.

Nor did she answer the demanding questions from her family members as she was led out of the old well house, and steered into the kitchen.

It was only when her little brother Sota asked her why she sealed well did the girl react with an odd, sad little smile, and told him calmly in a very thin, slow voice:

"Because it hurts to say goodbye."


Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Summer came and went leaving kagome to contemplate her actions. Fall began along with school and friends. Before the girl could register the events of time she was back in her old life yet she never felt right.


The school bell rang on a new day. A new, cloudy, drab, boring day. From the look of the silvery light of the sun veiled beyond the clouds, it would soon rain.

"Great." Kagome murmured to herself sarcastically over the constant crunch of her shoes on the dead leaves. She had always wondered ever since she was a little kid... Why were the dead autumn leaves always so vibrant in color?

Nonetheless, the schoolgirl shuffled her way through them and up the steps to the school. She had barely reached out to the handle when she heard three familiar voices behind her chorusing her name, and waving for her attention. Kagome turned unenthusiastically, but smiled brightly at them.

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi half ran towards her, but Kagome was shoved back by the rushing crowd as they streaked through the door without giving the miko so much as a backwards glance.

Eri loudly shouted a profanity at them, which earned an elbow in the gut by Ayumi, and a hiss in her ear not to do that, for fear of getting caught. Eri shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"Koniiechewa, Kagome!" Yuka greeted cheerfully. "Feeling better?"

Kagome nodded dully.

"How's your arthritis?" Ayumi asked.

"How about your pneumonia?" Added Eri

"And did they remove that cancerous mole yet?" Asked Yuka with a polite look of worried interest.

"Er..." She began, silently breading her Grandfather for coming up with so many odd sicknesses. "Yeah, fine. I feel fine."

Ayumi didn't seem persuaded. "You look a bit pale, Kagome. And your eyes are all red. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Well, I, uh..."

"Did your rheumatism keep you up?"

"I, uh, well... uh..."

All three girls looked at her expectantly.

Kagome gulped, and thought desperately of something to change the subject. Then she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"How's Hojo?"

Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri all smiled deviously.

"He'll be dying to see you again, Kagome!" Exclaimed Eri

"I wonder what he's brought you this time." Added Yuka, winking

"He's fine, thanks." Replied Ayumi obliviously. Yuka and Eri sweatdropped.

"So how's that jealous obsessive egotistical lover boy of yours, Kagome?" Asked Eri.

"Uh– Err, well..." What could she say? She scrounged around for something in her head. Something– Anything!

"I made it very clear that I didn't want to see him again." She answered simply.

"Great!" Yuka cheered, grinning. "Now let's get our stuff for class, shall we?"


Math class passed slowly, as it often does. Kagome scrambled to keep up, and had to borrow her notes from Eri. To her immense disappointment, they had received four textbook pages' worth of equations to complete for homework.

So this was the life she chose...

Science class wasn't much better. It had turned out that they were dissecting eggs today. Frog eggs. Kagome, who had had no idea of where to make the incision, was given the suggestion by her teacher that she not become a surgeon. That comment earned laughter from the rest of the class. The young schoolgirl spent the rest of the period poking and prodding the frog eggs with the scalpel.


She had well earned her 5 minute break between classes. She had only been in school a little over two hours, and the poor girl was already exhausted from trying to catch up on her work. She withdrew her things for her next class (Art) from her locker. Kagome had just slammed the door shut when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She peered over it, and found a sandy-haired boy staring back. The miko mentally sighed in disappointment.

It was Hojo.

"How're you feeling?" He asked politely.

"Fine, thanks." She murmured, pulling on a fake smile.

"Great! I brought you something."

He pulled out something from behind his back. He handed to Kagome a bouquet of white roses. She took them with a look of bewilderment. Hojo scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"I wasn't sure what to get you this time, so I thought, '"Why not?'', and I got them for you." He grinned sheepishly.

"I even cut off the thorns for you."

He was blushing now. Kagome was sure that she was, too.

"Thank you." She breathed, staring at them in a sort of dazed shock.

"Listen..." He said slowly. "If you're feeling up to it, how would you like to go get something to eat this Saturday? Maybe go see a movie, take a walk around the park..."

His blush deepened, but he pressed on when Kagome looked uncertain.

"My treat! I won't take no as an answer."

Kagome stuttered wordlessly at him.

"So I guess I'll see you this Saturday, then. I'll be by your place around six. See you then!"

And with that, he sped off in the other direction. Kagome's mouth was agape at his retreating figure, and she swayed slightly on the spot. Once the girl had snapped out of her daze, she realized that there were people that had crowded around them. Particularly females, who sulked and pouted and called Kagome profound names behind her back.

Ignoring all this, Kagome opened up her locker again, placed the flowers tenderly inside so that they wouldn't get damaged, and slammed the door just as the bell had rung for the next class.


Now, Art Class was slightly more eventful than Math or Science, but not in a good way. Their teacher, Ms. Atari, assigned them work to be done at the end of class. The instructions were scribbled on the board in loopy, spidery writing:

'To Be Passed In At The End Of Class

Assignment:
-Sketch (in charcoal) a selected emotion.
-Use one (1) other color of highlight
-Only use charcoal black and selected color
-Does not have to take the form of anything recognizable
-Symbolism recommended
Write one (1) paragraph explaining why you decided to
use your selected choice of emotion, color, and style'

Kagome pondered to herself which emotion to choose and how to depict it. Ayumi, seated beside her, had already begun. She had selected a goldenrod pastel along with her charcoal, and was drawing a sun (goldenrod) shining through the darkness (charcoal). The miko figured it meant happiness.

She looked at Eri's sketch. It consisted so far of charcoal black and clover green wavy lines streaking horizontally across her page. Kagome translated it to confusion.

She peered over at Yuka's drawing. She was doodling a bunch of funky blue circles of different shapes and circles on a black charcoal background.

Kagome sighed, and picked up a pink pastel from the white box in front of her. The box was smudged with different colors that the pastels had left behind.

Kagome began jotting an image, as if her hand was guided by an invisible force. From what she could tell, the drawing was of a glowing pink orb that was cracking and about to shatter.

A shadow fell over her paper, and Kagome looked up into the face of her teacher, who goggled at it for a few seconds, snatched it off of her desk, and held it high in the air for everyone to see.

They "Ooooh"'d and requested that it be passed around, and they asked one-another who it was drawn by. Kagome sunk down so low in her seat that only her eyes were visible over the flat surface. Once everyone was finished looking at it, Ms. Atari returned it to her desk, asking quite loudly what emotion she had chosen.

Kagome gulped, feeling very 'hot under the collar', so to speak. She refused to tell the class aloud, but wrote very clearly on her paper the emotion that was depicted.

Heartache.

Sighing, the young girl thought to herself as her blush mercifully ebbed away:

"So... I guess this is the life I chose..."


As soon as the Noon bell rang, Kagome scurried out of Art class to avoid questioning about her picture from Ms. Atari. She hastened her speed and headed outdoors before Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi spotted her and started gossiping about her date with Hojo this Saturday.

Very few people braved this cold autumn afternoon. Most had remained in the Cafeteria or the Library, hanging out with friends or doing some last-minute reviewing for an upcoming test or something.

Kagome pulled her jacket tighter around her as she wandered aimlessly amongst the naked trees around her, the swishing of leaves beneath her feet being her only comfort. The bitter wind nipped and stung at her bare legs. Soon there would be snow on the ground, and school would let out for the winter holidays, though Kagome was only half looking forward to it. It's not like she'd be doing anything except bustling around buying presents, or cramming the work she missed into her head before school would start up again.

The schoolgirl sighed, and trudged her way towards some abandoned bleachers and climbed up to the highest seat. She settled herself down upon it and hugged herself in a futile attempt to warm up. The miko rubbed her hands together; both concealed behind black gloves, and blew hot breath in the form of wispy clouds on them. She could feel Goosebumps forming on her bare legs. Perhaps sitting on a cold metal bleacher all by her lonesome wasn't the best idea...

Today was the very last day of November, and there wasn't a single snowflake on the ground as of yet.

'Global warming,' She thought bitterly to herself.

The season of death was upon them. Or was it perhaps the season of cuddling? Kagome sighed. Such a cold and dismal season and people were under the impression that it was the time for being with your significant other, with your heart swelling with pride and pure love. The season of miracles, where nothing could go wrong. Not when you were in the arms of your loved one.

Kagome scowled at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. It might be the season of miracles to others, but to her, it would forever remain the season of death.


Well that was the first of my angsty chapters. Hope it wasn't too boring. I know what you're thinking: how could she seal up the well with an arrow? Well I couldn't think of any other way she could so I made her use a sealing arrow so don't bite my head off ok! Anyway I would like to thank all my patient and faithful reviewers: PitaBread, xcurlyinuyashax, PrettyAnimeKitty, 13hanyougirl, and Gfam89. I love you guys! By the way I watched those two episodes explaining how inu and Kikyou first again. I must say I do have a little more sympathy for kikyo. Protecting the jewel was thrust upon her and after that she wasn't allowed to act human and have emotions or do regular things. But then I see what she does throughout the series and I kinda lose that little sympathy I have for her. Plus kagome misses out on a lot of things normal girls do at her age and she's exposed to a lot of gore and carnage at a young age. Well enough about her lets get on with the question of the day:


How is it that kagome never gets hit on her arms, stomach, or shoulder? That would be a perfect place to hit so she can't shoot her arrows. Although, that would leave the question as who would tend to her wounds, Sango? But how would she fix them without taking off her shirt and everyone seeing her? Also how come her cloths never get ripped or dirty?