(- -)
Memories
Mrs. Higarashi walked upstairs and opened the bedroom door to her daughter's room. She glanced at the mess inside. Kagome was reading on her bed. "Kagome, will you look at this mess?" she demanded sternly. "Grandpa, Sota, and I are going grocery shopping now. But before you come back, I want all of this cleaned up!"
Kagome closed her book and stared at her mother. "Alright…" she said wearily. Her mother closed the door and Kagome could hear her footsteps disappear downstairs. The raven-haired girl looked around the room. It was a mess! But the only reason, she had stopped cleaning her room was when she had come back from the Sengoko Jidai…for good. The saddening memory was so fresh in her mind even though it has been only a year since she left. It was the hardest decision she made.
Flashback
"Kagome-chan, you can't leave us! We don't now what we could do without you…" Sango pleaded her best friend. Tears poured from her face and sadness and sorrow was overflowing in her heart.
"I can no longer stay here Sango-chan…I've fulfilled my purpose now…The Jewel is complete and Naraku is dead…" Kagome said, tears brimming. "Please stop crying Sango-chan…You're making me cry too."
The kitsune youkai, Shippo, jumped up on Kagome's shoulder and hugged her, while shedding tears in her hair. "I'll miss you so much Kagome!" he wailed. Kagome hugged him back, not wanting to let go.
Now, the young miko reincarnation was pouring a waterfall now. "This is too hard…" she whispered.
"Kagome-sama, we'll always remember you. Especially with this "picture" thing you gave us." Miroku answered downheartedly. He hugged Kagome as well and Sango threw her arms around her friend again.
All four of them were all crying, not saying a word. When they released her, they were still crying. Kagome bent down and pet the small little neko youkai next to Sango. "Kirara please take care of all of them…" she pleaded. Kirara gave a soft reply.
"Ok, enough of this nonsense…" Kagome said, wiping away her tears. "There's just one last person to say good bye to. Where's Inuyasha?"
Sango and Miroku looked at each other. "We don't know…" Miroku replied.
Kagome gave a sad smile. "It's best that I don't know where he is. If he wants to be with Kikyo, then let him be with her…" she said sadly. She gave everyone one last and final hug and said, "I love you all. And you'll always be in my memories." She turned her heel and sprinted towards the Bone Eater's Well.
She could never say good-bye to Inuyasha! Never! Not after everything they had been through together…all the good memories…and even through rough times…it was way too hard. She jumped into the well but before she could be transported to the other side, a claw grabbed her backpack and pulled her out.
Kagome turned her head to see the last person she wanted to see. "Inuyasha…"
The silver haired hanyou gazed at the miko with his gold orbs. "Everyone gets a good-bye but I'm the only one who doesn't?" he asked, hurt appearing in his voice.
"Inuyasha…" she began. "You're the one who is the hardest to leave…It was easier to leave without seeing you…It's because you mean more to me than anyone else."
Inuyasha pulled her into a hug. "It's never easy to say good-bye." He whispered in he ear.
"I'll always keep the Shikon No Tama as a remembrance…" Kagome replied. Tears began to stain his red kimono.
"Kagome?"
"Yes…?"
"I've been thinking…I think I'll stay a hanyou for a while longer…" Inuyasha said sadly.
"I like you just the way you are…" Kagome responded with a sad smile. The hanyou wiped her tears away with one of his claws.
"Maybe we'll meet again…another time, another day…"
"Inuyasha…close your eyes…" she muttered.
"What?"
"Please do it." Inuyasha did as he was told. "Now you can open your eyes." Kagome ordered. He opened them to find that the necklace that was used to subdue him was now gone. "I don't think you need this anymore once I'm gone." Inuyasha hugged her once more. Kagome climbed onto the railing of the well.
"Good-bye Kagome."
"Good-bye Inuyasha."
And with that, she jumped into the well, crying all the way.
End of Flashback
Kagome sighed as she folded her stay clothes and put them in the correct drawers and hung them up in her closet. She threw away any unwanted trash and papers into the trash. She vacuumed any dust and dirt on the ground. Her room was almost clean as it once was. She took all her book from her desk and arranged them on her bookshelf. But as she reached for the last book, she looked at it carefully.
It was something that she had created at least two weeks before she left the Sengoku Jidai for good. It was a scrapbook that was filled with all sorts of things about the Era. It was filled with pictures of her friends and types of herbs. The minute she saw the faces of her old friends, she began to cry.
Never forget who your friends are. Suddenly, she felt a pulse going though her body. She looked at the place that it came from. A small beating was pulsing within her body and in her side table dresser. She crawled towards it and opened the drawer. Inside was the Shikon No Tama, its wish still unused. Kagome picked it up, staring at its brilliance.
She held the object close to her heart and shut her eyes. She wished for the same thing over and over again. Please, let me see me friends again…in another time, another day…
(- -)
One year later…
Kagome ran up her school steps, eating a candy cane on the way. It was Christmas time again and it was a week before Break started. She ran up to her classroom. It was another day. Another day with them. Another day that she'd have to stop her friends from setting her up Hojo.
She sat down at her usual seat by the window. It was as if Nature was her only refuge. No one could really understand what went through all the time. Her wish with the Shikon No Tama hadn't even come true yet though the Jewel was now dull.
Her friends, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi came up to Kagome, their faces shinning. Kagome secretly hoped they weren't trying to set her up again. "Kagome! You have to see this!" they yelled. Kagome chewed the sugary candy cane and looked at them with confusion.
"There are three new students here! And two of them are so hot…" Ayumi replied dreamily.
"One is even hotter than Hojo!" Eri squealed.
"He has silver hair and gold eyes!" screamed Yuka.
Kagome immediately stood up. "Let me see them!" she yelled eagerly. Her friends led her to another classroom, nearby to theirs.
Kagome slammed the door open to see a crowd of girls around two guys. Outside the circle was a girl with long brown hair and brown eyes. She looked highly annoyed at the girls. Kagome shoved her way through the crowds, enough to see the two new guys all the girls were gushing about. One had black hair tied into a ponytail at the bottom with violet eyes. And the other had long silver hair and gold orbs that Yuka mentioned earlier.
The one with violet eyes was asking all the girls to bear his children. Kagome outrageously screamed, "MIROKU STOP THAT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" But she wasn't mad or angry, but instead she was so joyous to see all her old friends again! The one with the silver hair looked at Kagome with surprise. The girl who was annoyed smiled happily.
"Kagome…Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked dumbly. The surrounding girls gazed confusedly at the scene. "Is that you?"
"Kagome-chan!" the girl yelled. She flew right into Kagome's arms.
"It is!"
"I missed you so much Sango-chan!" Kagome cried. The silver haired guy stood up and put his hand on Kagome's shoulder. Sango let go of her friend and moved back a couple of steps. Kagome turned around and gazed at those familiar gold orbs.
"Hey. You owe me a hello instead of a good-bye now." He replied.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered. "I like you just the way you are…" she repeated. Inuyasha pulled her into a hug and kissed her lips. They were sweet and sugary from the candy cane. When they let go of each other, they stared at each other.
"Took you long enough to use the Shikon No Tama Kagome-sama." Miroku commented. Sango elbowed him in the stomach.
"Hush Houshi-sama." She muttered with a smile.
At the same time, Kagome and Inuyasha said, "Never forget."