Summary: Kagome, reverted to thirteen years old, is trying to come to terms with the aftermath of Inuyasha's wish on the jewel. A second chance of sorts awaits her, but how will it play out? With the stoic Sesshoumaru masquerading as her parent, she's become a resident of Beach City.

Pairing: Steven x Kagome

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Lacks canonicity.
Flashbacks/Past are written in bulk Italics.
Steven is 14 at this point.

Prologue

"In the end, what did it accomplish?"

That was a thought that ran through her mind more often than she was happy to admit. Her hand hovered over her chest, thin, small fingers gently tracing over the pink circle embedded into her skin. Her dress hid it, thankfully. Otherwise, she was positive she'd get several prying questions about how the pink stone seemed to be merged into her skin.

Blue eyes watched the clouds drifting overhead as she lowered her hand finally, breathing out a sigh that was full of her worries. She felt like she was angry, but that wasn't quite the right word for how she felt. No, bitter seemed like a word that fit how she felt. How could she not feel bitter at the hand fate had dealt her? Especially after everything she'd done. This… it didn't seem fair.

Footsteps behind her alerted her to an approaching figure, and not long after she was able to pick up on a familiar aura. Kagome sighed and reluctantly pushed herself up from the bench she sat on. her eyes remained downcast to the concrete under her feet. A gentle breeze threaded through inky, black locks and blew them all which ways. Her hands tightened into fists before she let them loosen. A second later, she mumbled, "I guess it's time, huh?"

Her voice never strayed above a whisper, but she knew the figure standing next to her had heard, despite the screaming voices of children playing on the park's playground.

Gold eyes watched her in silence, Kagome could feel the heat behind the stare burning her skin. Of course, he wasn't happy about this, either. He probably hated it more than she did. She finally looked up and stared into icy eyes. There was something else in them, she saw then, but she couldn't quite put a name to it. It looked foreign in the normally impassive gold. A second later it faded as Sesshoumaru turned on his heel, turning his back on the thirteen-year-old priestess.

"Come," was all he said as he took to walking down the sidewalk, heading far away from the park she'd escaped to. Kagome had no other choice than to fall in step behind him, having to jog a little to catch up with his long strides.

As she struggled to catch up with the demon, a group of familiar figures crossed her line of sight, and her steps slowed to a stuttering stop. A second later, a group of boys a year or two younger than her ran around her halted form.

"Hey, Souta, over here!" one of them called to the boy that had been walking alongside his mother and grandfather. The group stopped and talked for a moment before the boy ran to the soccer field in the park. Tears burned in Kagome's eyes when her brother ran around her as if he hadn't even recognized her.

"Of course he won't recognize me…" The thought was sharp, bitter as it raced through her mind.

She heard him shout something to their mother about staying at the park while she and grandpa went to the store. Even though she knew better, she still looked to her mother. The older woman looked at her for only a passing second before she was walking off as if she didn't know her.

She wanted to cry until she had no more tears left, but she couldn't. A few warm droplets trailed down her cheeks as she forced herself to turn and continue walking. She nearly ran into the still form of Sesshoumaru. He stood calm and poised before he turned and started walking again once Kagome had caught up.

"Don't focus on them," he said, his tone monotonous and uncomforting. "They won't remember you."

"... I know," she said eventually. Her hands fisted into her skirt as she walked. "They don't even know who I am now," she said then, much quieter than her previous words. She said them to just her to drill the thought into her head even more. To them, she never existed.

The dumb jewel… dumb Inuyasha… dumb wish!

It had all resulted in her entire life changing, and she felt so lost now.

After the hard-fought battle had ended, she had lived up to her promise and let Inuyasha have his wish on the jewel. She had thought he wanted to become a full demon still, and she, even though she hoped he had changed his mind, had let him have the jewel.

He had changed his mind, but not in the way she had hoped. No, he hadn't wanted the jewel to turn him into a full demon anymore. He used the wish instead to revive Kikyo from the dead permanently. The jewel had decided to grant it, but then there was her, still in the past with Kikyo's soul still inside of her. Of course, Kikyo couldn't be revived with her soul if it was still in her body… so the jewel did what it had to in order to bring her back. Her... Kikyo's… Their soul was ripped from her body so the dead priestess could come back.

The pain she felt had been the worst she'd ever felt. It was unimaginable, indescribable. It felt like her chest was lit on fire from the inside as something was forcibly yanked from her body. Blackness swallowed her whole as ice ran through her veins. She wasn't sure if she had been dying, but it felt like she was.

Through the black that had surrounded her, a glow of pink formed and Midoriko showed herself.

She had no choice in what happened next, and that, she knew, was why she was so bitter. The jewel was merged with her body so she'd be able to continue existing as who she was. Having her family, friends, everyone she'd ever known in her time forget she had ever existed was the worst part. The second worst had to be the fact she'd gone back to being thirteen. That, she learned, had been so that the jewel was actually able to merge with her body seamlessly. Had she stayed fifteen, then it wouldn't have worked. It had to be before the jewel had started awakening her spiritual powers. Or, that was what she had been told when she had asked the spirit of Midoriko. She chose to trust that Midoriko was telling her the truth.

That left her as a thirteen-year-old with no family or friends than knew her. At first, she had no idea what she was going to do with being erased from the lives of everyone she knew, but then she learned that a familiar face from her past would be a guardian to her.

Her eyes drifted up to look at Sesshoumaru as he walked beside her. She was still surprised he had agreed to it, but she was steadily getting used to having him around. Near the end of her time in the past, he had become something akin to an ally so she knew she could trust him, at least. Of course, she had still asked him why he'd even agreed to it.

He'd told her it was to fix Inuyasha's foolish mistake, and she had never asked again.

"Why that place?" she asked as she walked calmly next to him. He kept his focus forward as though he hadn't heard her, and she waited a moment for him to answer.

The place in question happened to be Beach City, Delmarva. A place located in the United States, and it just so happened to be the place they were leaving for later tonight. She had been curious about his decision since he told her that was where they were going.

"It's far enough away," he said. "Far enough this place and will provide you the space you need to rebuild."

Kagome wondered if he even intended to stay with her after leaving, or if he'd stick to occasional check-ins while he kept up his guardianship of her. She didn't need a guardian around constantly, and he knew that just as much as she did.

Still, Kagome nodded and kept pace beside him.

C.R: I've been working on this idea for a while before deciding to post it.

So, Kagome has the jewel as a part of her. Its position is in the center of her chest, right under her collar bones. (Right around where Amethyst's is, for reference.)

Anyway, that's it for now. Hope you all enjoyed!

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