Summary: Kagome has always been one to see the good in everybody, no matter what their past was like. Heroes, Villains, she could make a friend out of all of them with a bit of trust, patience, understanding, and, well, empathy. Lucky for them- and maybe her, as well, she had plenty of all that to spare.

Pairing: Up for debate.

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

Note:
Flashbacks are written in bulk Italics.

Prologue

Moving the last few boxes into the building was the last task that she had. Soon enough they were all inside the cabin surrounded by endless paths of grass and open space.

It was their home.

"Hey, Mother, where do you want me to put this one?"

Kagome paused mid-step and turned at the question. Her gaze landed on Shippo, who held a medium sized box in his hands. She cocked her head to the side, unsure of what might be in it. "I dunno," she said after a second. She walked over to him and examined the box some, confusion melding onto her face. "I don't remember packing this one…" she said softly.

Using her knife, she quickly split the tape on the top and peered inside it. As she did, she felt her expression soften, a weak smile appearing on her face.

No wonder she didn't remember packing it… She hadn't been the one to pack it.

She pulled out a folded sheet of paper from the top, silently sparing the rest of the contents a quick once-over. It was empty, save for a hefty-looking photo album. She turned her focus to the paper that had her name written across it, and she unfolded it.

"Since it seems no one can change your mind about leaving, it's time to wish you the best. If you ever need us, which I doubt since we were always the ones needing you, then you know where to find us.

Enjoy the countryside."

Tony.

PS- The photo album was all my idea.

You're welcome, Sunshine.

She read over the note several times, a soft smile peppering her face as she memorized the words. Kagome folded the note back up with care before she slipped it beneath her haori. After doing so, she reached for the photo album and Shippo dropped the box by his side once it was empty. He came up on her side as she opened it.

Half of it was already filled, and half of it was left empty for her to fill. On the very first page was a very crowded photo, but she recognized everyone in it. It was from her birthday, a month ago. Once he'd found out that it was coming up, Tony promptly turned it into an excuse to throw one of his glamorous parties- despite her insistence that it wasn't as big of a deal as he made it out to be. She'd hidden the information from everyone, only to end up spilling that she'd first gone down the well on the day she turned fifteen. Tony put it together quickly, since she'd also previously mentioned the anniversary of that incident by date before.

She hadn't celebrated her birthday since she was eighteen, back when her family was still with her. When she lost them, she never really felt the desire to make new memories on a day where she'd be alone. It'd been the first time she actually celebrated her birthday in five years.

He'd complied enough with her in the end, and he only invited people she knew when he made it clear the party was going to happen and she'd be the guest of honor. She knew that was the best she was going to get out of him, and he'd even invited her non-human companions.

She remembered the night vividly, and not just because it was the first time she'd actually celebrated her birthday in a few years. That was also the night when she told them that she was going to leave.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, meticulously looking over at what stared back at her. The deep, jewel-colored dress was stunning, but it felt like it would look better on someone else. It wasn't a single color, but an ombre that faded from a deep, onyx black that matched her hair to a rich sapphire that matched her eyes. It was strapless with a silver ribbon to tie around her neck. The length was comfortable, stopping just below her knees. It had a matching silver ribbon that cinched around her waist.

"Almost done," Wanda's voice crept closer to her as she came up on her right side. "Look at me," she said, her tone coaxing her to look away from the mirror. She had few makeup products in her hands. From what she could see, there was an eyeshadow palette, some liner, mascara, and a few different types of lipstick. Natasha was still by her bed, rummaging around in a bag that held even more types of makeup. Wanda seemed to notice her attention going to the items she held, and she offered her a smile. "It won't be too much, so don't worry," she said reassuringly.

Since she didn't actually have a lot of makeup products- just a few things she considered a necessity for her everyday look, she never bothered much to amass a collection of products. She also didn't know any other techniques than the ones she knew for her routine look.

She was silent as she let Wanda apply whatever makeup she wanted, trusting both women present to do a good job on it. She could hear Natasha occasionally suggesting colors from the eyeshadow palette as she walked by to drop off more items for Wanda to have at the ready.

It wasn't long before it was done, and Wanda excitedly motioned for her to look in the mirror. When she did, she was momentarily startled- even more than she'd been upon seeing herself in the dress.

"What do you think?" Wanda asked, peering around her to see the look on her reflection's face.

"It looks really nice," Kagome said once she collected herself. She'd never put too much concern into her outwards appearance, as she figured she usually looked decent enough. Probably not what most would call beautiful, but she was at least alright in her own opinion. After all, she possessed a complicated opinion about her physical appearance due to how much she had in common with Kikyo- enough to be mistaken for her by countless people when she was younger. Wanda easily noticed the slight subdued look on Kagome's face, and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kagome shook her head. "It's nothing bad," she assured. "Its just… maybe all this is a little much?" she shrugged. Natasha looked at her from where she stood a few paces back, and she nervously fiddled with the dress. "I mean, the dress, the make up, those shoes," she said, nodding to the blue heels still waiting to be put on. "I just… I dunno…"

She felt silly for feeling this way, even more so when she heard herself say the words. First it was the insistence on Tony's end to throw her- in his words exactly- "The Birthday Party of All Parties," to the look the two girls of her team had gone through the effort of picking out for her. She should be grateful that they all seemed to care so much, but… she wasn't used to it. Not anymore.

"It's not just the look, either," Kagome sighed. "All of this. I know Tony said he'd crank it back to a five for my sake, but the party as well. I'm happy for all the care, I really am, I just… I'm used to being on my own today." She paused for a second or two, and when neither of them tried to speak, she continued. "Everyone is making it out to be a big deal, and I appreciate it- I really, really do- but I- It's just…" She looked down at her bare feet and wrapped her arms around her midsection. "The last time I celebrated my birthday was when my family was still alive. It was just the four of us- my mom, my little brother, my grandfather, and me." She felt tears start to form and she held them back so as to not ruin the effort Wanda had put into her makeup. "Celebrating without them is hard."

The last part came out quieter than she meant for it to, but they both heard it all the same. She was taken by surprise when a pair of arms went around her, and she was slowly pulled into a warm embrace. She realized that it had been Wanda to embrace her, and she was frozen for a few seconds. After a bit of hesitation, she returned the hug.

"Oh, Sweetie," Wanda said softly. "Why didn't you say all of this earlier?"

"I didn't want to dampen the mood," Kagome responded. "Everyone's lost someone, after all."

"We can cover for you and tell everyone you're sick if you really don't want to go," she suggested as she moved back. "Give you some time to be alone and come back up for a girls night?"

Kagome smiled but shook her head. "No, I don't want to lie to everyone when they're here for my birthday," she said. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Tony somehow found my old school friends and invited them. They'll sniff me out and drag me down." Well, he definitely did if that last-minute rundown of the guestlist he shared with her last night was correct.

"So you're going to go?" Natasha asked. Kagome looked at her, able to hear the concern she spoke with. "I'll kick Tony's ass to shut the party down if I have to, I don't care."

Kagome stifled a giggle at her determination, and she shook her head. "Thank you, but there's no need for that," she said. "I'm going to go. I feel a lot better after being able to get all that off my chest."

"Good," Natasha said, offering her a sly smirk. "It'd be a shame for you to lock yourself away wearing that. You look hot, y'know."

"Nat!" Heat rose to her cheeks, and Kagome rose her hands to her face in an attempt to hide the red creeping into them. She wasn't the most skilled at accepting compliments- particularly on her looks. Not when the closest thing she could remember was Kouga complimenting her whenever he'd call her his. Safe to say, she didn't think back on those as if they meant much.

"What? It's true," she said. "You're a total knockout already, but those colors on you are seriously gorgeous."

"Mmhmm," Wanda hummed in agreement, and Kagome shook her head.

"Both of you! Utterly unbelievable."

000

Hours later, once the party started to die down, they gathered at a collection of couches and chairs at tables. For a moment, she was reminded of the party they had before Ultron became a thing, and she had to remind herself that it was done and over with. There wasn't going to be something trying to kill them this time. At least, she hoped that was the case.

"You seriously never knew her birthday?" Tony looked at Clint, disbelief in his eyes. "She's your apprentice, I don't buy it."

"She never talked about it," he responded. "If she wanted me to know, then she would've told me." Kagome nodded, stifling a laugh.

"Clint was never a part of hiding it from everyone," she said. "He genuinely never knew," Kagome added with a laugh.

It'd been a fun night, and she found herself enjoying it more than she expected herself to. Tony had gone above and beyond for it. He'd had people make some of her favorite, traditional foods- even some from her childhood that her mother always made. It was a little touch of home, and she cherished it.

She sipped on the champagne she had as she sat quietly, listening to the conversations around her. It seemed like everyone around her was so excited, and so happy. As she sat there, a prior decision she'd been keeping secret returned to the front of her mind. She subconsciously gripped her glass tighter and held back her sigh.

Now that people had started leaving the party in order to head back to where they needed to, all that remained were the people she counted as her team and friends she'd made during her time here. Well, them and her demon companions.

She felt a hand rest on her knee, and she automatically looked at the owner of it. Clint sat beside her, and he nodded as if he was urging her to say what she needed to. She offered him a grateful smile for the support, and she cleared her throat.

"I have something that I really need to say while we're all still here," she said, and she felt as gazes swapped focus to land on her. A part of her was hesitant, but not because she wasn't sure of her choice. She exhaled softly and a small smile lifted her lips. "I've been trying to find a way to say it for a while now, but…" Kagome frowned and glanced down. She knew it would be hard to say, but she never thought it'd hurt this much. "I've decided to leave."

A stunned silence followed as she said those words, and she didn't try to say anything else, instead allowing them to absorb the meaning behind her words. Eventually the silence was broken by Steve.

"What?"

She heard the confusion in his voice, just as she could feel the confusion radiating from everyone who didn't know of her plans. She nodded slowly.

"I'm leaving," she repeated. "I've been thinking about this since Ultron, and I have everything in place. I planned to leave a month from now, I just… haven't been able to figure out how to tell everyone." She felt the stares of many on her, and she pushed herself to explain. "I've been fighting since I was fifteen, and I think it's important to listen to my heart when it tells me it's time to walk away." She fiddled with the ribbon around her waist. "It's time," she said softly. "I'm not strong enough to keep doing this."

The silence returned as she stopped talking, but it didn't last long.

"Is there anything we can do to get you to change your mind?" Wanda asked softly. Kagome offered her a small smile and shook her head.

"No," she said after a pause. "With Clint's help, I found this cabin out in the countryside, and everything is already taken care of." She paused again and her smile grew a bit. "Though, there's enough room for some visitors, and my door will always be open. I-I mean, if you ever feel like getting away for a while," she added softly.

She saw the faint shine of moisture in her eyes as she nodded, a small smile on the other woman's expression.

She'd settled on the decision after the entire Sokovia ordeal. She never expected fighting to be a permanent thing for her, and she was determined to make sure her life bore more merit than constant strife. She had moved past the crisis for the jewel, saying goodbye to friends she knew she'd never see again due to time because she knew she never belonged there in the first place. It felt like she'd never stopped fighting since then. She always had demons after her due to the jewel, and that was something she learned to live with. She knew she could never run from that.

She let her gaze linger on the photo, taken at the insistence of majority in order to have as a keepsake. When she finally turned the page, she saw a collection of photos. Some taken by her, and the rest taken by others.

There were at least two photos of everyone throughout it, and she remembered the moment each one of them were taken.

When she got to the last page of photos before the blank pages started, there was a small, white card fixed to one of the slots.

"Here's to new memories!"

Kagome smiled and kept the card where it was, and she finally closed the album. "To new memories, indeed," she said softly. She cradled it safely in her arms as she turned to face Shippo.

The young fox kit had grown since her days in the Feudal Era, but he was still a child in looks. To everyone around them, he looked like a human child, no older than twelve. He often kept his demonic features hidden, but now that it was just them there, he had them showing proudly.

"We're home," she said softly, and Shippo beamed up at her.

C.R: May I introduce my official story that will have a literal free-for-all pairing war? Anyone who appears in the movies/Disney+ Shows is a possibility. Good, bad, doesn't matter. I might have my own preferences/ideas, but I'm not going to say them now because it's a lot of options and I wanna narrow it down a bit.

I have options of both good guys and bad guys on my list.

Once there's a general consensus for options, I'll do a poll. (probably in the notes at the end to allow easy additions to it.) No matter who it ends up being, Shippo will 100% be a nightmare to them because Kagome's his mom. (Until he approves of them, at least.)

This starts by leading into Civil war, but it will have frequent flashbacks to the prior movies. I'm doing it this way mainly due to the amount of different characters opposed to starting out with, say, the first Avengers.
It will also continue on past Civil War to Endgame (and most likely the shows.)

Anyway, that's it for now. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~