A.N.: This chapter will cover the first two years of time after the The Snap. Each scene/segment is spread over the months of its assigned year.
1 Year Post Snap.
The sky had only just started to lighten from blue-black to the watercolor violets of early dawn when Kagome crept from her old bedroom and tip toed across the shrine and into the old well house. This had become a daily ritual for her, escaping from the house before any other living soul on the shrine was awake to spend some time meditating.
She slid the door open just enough to allow her to slip inside and closed it completely behind her, then took a seat on top of the heavy wood cover placed over the well opening.
She closed her eyes and cleared her mind, pushing her awareness deep down into the inner well inside her full of the Jewel's power.
Her power.
She couldn't believe she'd never realized it before, that she'd subconsciously sealed off the power left behind when the jewel had dissolved within her, but once their mission to find and kill Thanos and retrieve the stones had only managed to be half successful and she'd entertained those tantalizing thoughts of resurrection, Kagome had immediately set to testing and stretching her powers to find that ability within her. She didn't find it in her reiki, and didn't find it in the pocket of divinity granted to her by Asgard either, though that was another aspect of her power she'd neglected to explore.
She found it underneath those powers, sealed off and untouched.
Unlike what she'd previously thought, her unnaturally large stores reiki had not been a consequence of her fusing with the Shikon no Tama, they had been with her since birth, but largely untapped until she'd received proper training.
She hadn't been using the jewels abilities at all.
So she'd begun familiarizing herself with them, peeling back the seal she'd placed over them a little at a time and getting to know them.
Considering the Jewel's origin and birth from the soul of a miko, there was a lot about this power that felt familiar, but the echoes of Youki from the demons Midoriko had trapped inside the jewel with her were new and would take some finessing and finagling. The blending of reiki and youki in this power made it something wholly new and the whispers of potential she could feel from just the small tendrils she'd allowed free were a bit overwhelming, but she was determined to get control of it, to learn to bend it to her will.
She stuffed it all back down under her seal, and then looked at the core of divinity she now possessed.
It was completely different from both the Jewel's power and her inherent purity, and she chastised herself not for the first time for ignoring this obvious gift for what it was. She'd been too reluctant to be made more powerful and influential than she already was, too squeamish about making herself more than she thought she should be, about being selfish and taking more than she needed.
'Foolish thoughts of a foolish girl. I should have gotten a handle on this long ago.'
The power from Asgard felt a lot like home, encapsulated with the energies that used to vibrate around the whole of the planet she'd spent so much of her life on.
Her heart squeezed a little at the knowledge that that beautiful place was gone, but she continued her perusal of the abilities that came from this little pocket of energy left behind.
This is where the influence of her granted aspect resided, and she was still awed by what she found within it.
Truth, purity, selfless sacrifice; these had been the aspects named to her by Odin on her wedding day, the things she'd have influence and say over, and it would be much easier than she'd have thought to tap into them.
They responded to her will and desire like her other powers, the only thing that would take work would be the limits of her reach.
And that exploration would come- later.
She could feel the souls of her family warming as they woke, signaling the arrival of morning. She pulled her consciousness away, leaving all the different powers as they were, separate and distinct, not yet ready to attempt blending them together, and made her way out of the Well house.
———————
"Are you sure you have to go again, and so soon?"
Kagome sighed and hugged her mother again, tired of having the same conversation with her but sympathetic to her feelings all the same.
"Yes mama. I can't stay away from them for too long, I'm their queen, and Thor is hurting, too. I can't leave him to try and rule all on his own."
Her mother patted her cheek with an understanding smile and then retrieved the pack of foods and snacks she made up to send with her.
"I know dear, you have many responsibilities. As much as I wish you were, you just aren't the young daughter that went missing so long ago. I should be thankful to have you back at all, and to still have your brother. So many weren't half so lucky."
Kagome took the pack of food filled with Thor's favorites from the brief moments he'd managed to spend here and smiled wryly at her mother's ability to fuss over anyone she brought home no matter how little time they spent there, but then she sighed again at her mother's words.
She really had been lucky. Souta had lost his fiancé to the Stones, but Kimiko Higurashi had kept both of her children.
Kagome wondered if maybe it was because the Stones considered her Asgardian now, and more than half of the Asgardians had already been killed before the snap.
In any case, it had worked out in the favor of the Higurashi family.
"Yeah... lucky." The names and faces of all the people she had lost scrolled through her mind and the word "lucky" felt sour in her mouth, but she shook it off when her phone chirped to alert her that her ride had arrived.
"Anyway, we better go, the ship is here."
Kimiko waved she and Inuyasha off at the door, and they quickly boarded the ship that the Avengers let them use whenever they needed it in return for the assistance they still gave them.
They gave the operating system their coordinates and braced themselves for the initial jolt of take off.
Soon enough the ride smoothed out, and Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha. His eyes were closed and his head tilted back, resting against the back of the seat. His features were smooth and at rest, carefully hiding the sad churning of his aura, a sadness that blanketed everything and everyone wherever she went.
She felt a little guilty that she hadn't attempted to really talk to him again in the weeks since they'd killed Thanos, but the disappointment of that mission had finally made them face their new, stark reality, and it had been a grim undertaking.
Things had been quiet and heavy as they'd grappled with feelings of failure, loss, disappointment, anger, a cocktail of misery that was proving very hard to swallow.
Inuyasha had moved into her grandfather's old room to avoid his now empty apartment and keep them all safe, but he'd been a silent presence ever since.
Maybe she should break that silence, she really should get to know her oldest friend again.
"Inuyasha?"
His eyes slitted open and slanted her way and she shifted in her seat, turning slightly towards him.
"I feel badly for not asking sooner, but... what have you heed doing the last 500 years?"
He smirked and she felt a little silly, but she shrugged, lost as to how else to broach any normalcy around the enormity of their present circumstances.
"A lot. Couple hundred years after Naraku was gone is when Sesshomaru and I finished burying the hatchet, then most of our time was spent trying to save demon-kind from extinction. That was a lot of boring diplomatic shit."
Kagome nodded and looked down at were her fingers idly picked at a loose thread in her arm rest.
"Did you ever get married?"
"Sure, couple of times."
She looked back up in shock, but he'd gone back to resting his head and closing his eyes, way too casual for such an admission in her opinion.
"Well to who?! What happened?"
"The first time was a girl in the village who's father approached me for a marriage arrangement. Apparently she liked me and convinced him I'd make a good husband. She was nice, we had a couple of kids, and they all grew old and passed on way before I did, obviously. The second time was to a human servant In Sesshomaru's palace. I pursued her that time, we didn't have any kids, but we were happy until she passed of old age too."
"Oh my. I'm so sorry Inuyasha... two wives and two kids." A tiny ball of orange fluff with big green eyes flashed through her memory and she swallowed down a fresh wave of pain.
"Three kids. I meant three."
He coughed and cleared his throat of the burning emotion that had gathered and opened his eyes to stare up at the ship's ceiling.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"It's too bad there isn't a way to make human partners of Youkai live longer."
"There is. I just didn't want to use it on either of my wives. Sango and Miroku didn't understand that the first time around, but it's a really big, permanent thing, and I wasn't going to do it to just anyone, you know?"
She nodded at that, mention of her long lost companions piquing her curiosity, and she finally felt ready to ask all the questions about them she hadn't had the guts to ask yet.
"Will you tell me about them? Their lives?"
Inuyasha met her eyes with a soft smile.
"Of course.
——————————————
2 Years Post Snap
Walking the roads of New Asgard had taken some getting used to.
Displaced Asgardians working to make their new home feel permanent and secure popped out of every door, alley and shadow to greet her, bow to her, ask her for a blessing or a nod or smile, and Kagome had forced herself to shake off her reluctance at being the recipient of such devotion.
'They're just lost and they need someone they know to be a guidepost.'
Thor was struggling, she knew that. The souls of so very many people rested on his shoulders and she knew he blamed himself for every single one of them no matter how hard he'd fought for them, and he was having a hell of a time clawing his way out from the weight of them to get back to the souls who still lived.
'I wish I had more time to spend here.'
She wished she had more time to spend anywhere. Her life was currently a three week cycle: a week at the shrine, a week in New Asgard, a week with the Avengers. There was just so much work to do, so many fires to put out that kept popping up thanks to their new reality, so much she needed to help with that flitting around three separate continents at lightening speed was an unchangeable circumstance for the time being.
It was exhausting.
Dala rounded a corner on the path she was on, and the tiny child on her hip lit and up and squirmed to be let down.
"Aunty Kagome!"
She stopped and let the sweet boy run for her. His golden curls bounced and glowed in the sun and his big brown eyes sparkled with a kind of happiness she only saw in children anymore. She scooped him up and squeezed him close.
"My darling! How are you?"
"Good! I missed you!"
"I missed you too. Have you been naughty for your mother?"
She bit her lip to stifle her giggles when his little chest poked out.
"No! I'm big and strong like king Thor and keep her safe!"
She placed him back on his feet and ruffled his hair as Dala caught up with them.
"Yes you are. Are you ready for your present?"
She handed him a box of Pocky and he happily sat at there feet and ate his prize while Kagome and Dala spoke quietly.
"How is he?"
"Our king is... not often around. We are growing more concerned."
"He's dealing with a lot, like the rest of us. I'm trying to help him as best I can."
"We know you are my lady, and we are so grateful."
"You'll never stop with the formality will you?"
An old spark of mischief flickered through Dala's gaze before the tired lines of life settled back in around her eyes.
"Old habits. Well, I must get this little one home, come by for dinner tonight, I will send you away with food to bring to his Majesty. I worry he's not eating well."
"Thank you Dala. I couldn't do any of this without you."
The house Thor shared with Korg, who was always a very polite, delightful being to be around, was small and sparsely furnished, but it was generally fairly clean.
'They're like a couple of frat boys.'
"Thor? I'm here!"
"Sister!"
Thor emerged from a back room and Kagome heart sank a little. His smile was large, and his aura bloomed a little brighter in his happiness at seeing her, but it was still so hurt and fractured, and his eyes were still dull.
'He's put on a little weight, too. Wonder just how much he's cleaning up for my visits. Oh Thor, I'm so sorry.'
She pushed her concern away for the time being and sat to enjoy the start of her time in New Asgard.
———————
"Ow! That hurts!"
"Because you won't stop moving."
"You're singeing my fur!"
"Because you won't stop moving! I told you healing was my least developed ability and reiki can be caustic! Hold still!"
Rocket grumbled as Kagome did her best to concentrate and guide her reiki down into the festering gash on his side. He'd been injured on his latest mission and had fortunately returned during her designated week with the Avengers. While in the states at the compound, they took advantage of her healing powers and ability to sense truth and malice. Unsurprisingly in the wake of so many people disappearing, governments struggled and pockets of crime broke out. She and Inuyasha made it easier to detect ill intentions and sniff out trouble makers, and she could quickly repair cuts, gashes and other injuries to innocent civilians and their own team members.
Like now, sitting in a corner as she lit the room up with purity and the open slash in the surly raccoon's side slowly stitched closed while he continued to huff under his breath.
"Keep snarling flea bag, she'll purify you on purpose and you do not want to be on the receiving end of that." Inuyasha snipped from his place on the other side of the room where he was updating files, and Rocket bared his teeth and his fur bristled.
"If I wanted your opinion dog breath, I'd ask for it!"
"Don't you have a dumpster to dive in somewhere?"
"Can you two at least try to be civil for the five minutes you have to be in the same room? Some of us are actually working."
Natasha cut in, and Kagome rolled her eyes and ignored the continued arguing as she eyed her handiwork, a neat, clean line where the bloodied cut used to be. She cleaned up the dirty, blood soaked towels and washed her hands and left to find a quiet place to meditate before someone else needed her.