Second Chance for Happiness
"Well," thought Kagome, "I wonder what would have happened if I never went to find Buyo that one fateful day."
"Hey, wench, are you coming or not? Kikyo wants to talk to you," shouted Inuyasha, coming towards the well where she sat.
"I know that you two are getting married tonight, Inuyasha, but I want you to know that I'll always love you, no matter what happens to either of us." Kagome told the hanyou. Then she fell back into the well, which glowed an eerie green color as she did so.
The hanyou uttered a cursed, and jumped in the well after her. But, instead of going to the future like always, he landed on his feet in the Sengoku Jidai.
"What did she do! now how am I supposed to tell her that Kikyo called off the wedding because neither of us loved each other. I wanted to marry Kagome!" he fumed sourly.
Back in her time, Kagome looked at the jewel around her neck, sighed and took it off then she put it in a box and sealed it with her purification spells. She went to take a shower and then she went walking towards the site of the old village.
When she got there, it looked the same as when she'd last seen it. She had been able to put a spell on it so she'd have a good memory. She walked towards Kaede's old hut and went inside. As soon as the hut flap closed, she heard the sounds of an active village. She tried to go out, but she was trapped.
"Do not worry child. This spell shall not last long." said a wrinkled old lady in the corner.
"Who are you?" asked Kagome.
"Many people call me Sakuri. But that does not matter. What matters is your wish. I heard you, back in the Sengoku Jidai wondering what would have happened if you'd never gone back in time. Do you wish to know exactly what would have happened?" asked Sakuri.
"Yes I do. I found out that the one I love loves another and was supposed to marry her the day I left for good."
"Here is the deal, Kagome. I will send you back to that very same day, right before your brother asks you to get the cat. What you shall do is say that it will be fine, just leave the door open a little. After that, you will be on your own, with no knowledge of what would have happened. You will still develop your miko powers. In exactly one year from then, you will be transported back here to me, and you can decide if you want it the way it was before, or if you want the new change. Are you ready?" asked Sakuri.
"Yes, I am. Let's do this before I loose my nerves." said Kagome.
Sakuri pulled out a small bag that had some herbs and a vial of liquid in it. She started a fire and put the herbs on it. Then she motioned for Kagome to drink the liquid. When that was done, a blue light surrounded Kagome.
"Hey, Kagome?" asked a small voice. "Are you all right?"
'Its Sota,' Kagome thought. 'So that spell did work!'
"I'm sorry. I zoned out for a while. Now, what did you say?"
"Can you help get Buyo out of the well-house? I'm afraid because of what Gramps said," said Sota, shivering softly.
"I'll be late for school if I go look for him. Tell you what: we'll put his food outside right here, and leave the well-house door open for him. If he isn't out by them, we'll go and look for him. Okay?" said Kagome.
Sota nodded. Then the siblings went to school.
Back at school, Kagome could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. She then remembered the Shikon No Tama, and that it could only be released by a demon. So, she decided to go back in time to get the jewel released from her body.
"I'm sorry, Sensei, I don't feel too good. I'm going home for the day," she told her teacher.
The Sensei nodded and gave her a note for the office so she could go home.
Back at her house, she went to the well house, and got Buyo, who was still in the well house. Then she pulled the lid of the well off, and dropped down. The well suddenly turned pink, and soon she found herself back in the Feudal Era.
When she got out, she saw the centipede that had attacked her when she'd first arrived.
"I know what you want. The Shikon no Tama, right?" asked Kagome sarcastically.
"Yesss," the centipede demon hissed.
"Well, I want you to take it out of my side." she said.
The demon readily complied and tore her side open to get it.
The Shikon no Tama dropped from her side, and Kagome fell down bleeding. Then it came over to devour her and she put out her hand and purified it.
"W-who are you to purify a demon that powerfully?" asked an awed voice.
She turned around and saw a few villagers with bows aimed at her.
"I'm Higurashi Kagome. I am the protector of the Shikon no Tama." she said.
"But that is not possible! The Sacred Jewel was destroyed with the body of our priestess, Kikyo, who was the last guardian of the jewel over 50 years ago." said one of the villagers.
"Tell me exactly what happened that day when your priestess died." Kagome said.
"As you wish, Lady Kagome." said an elderly man, motioning her over.
"On that day, Inuyasha, a half breed demon, came to speak with Kikyo. She had promised to give him the jewel so he could become a human and thus marry her. She told him to meet her in a clearing just outside of the village. When she got there, Inuyasha was not there yet, so she picked flowers for her hut. As she was picking up one last flower, she heard a noise, and reached for her arrows, but it was too late. Inuyasha had already hurt her archery arm. As she fell, he grabbed the Jewel, and ran towards the village. Back in the village, Inuyasha was getting ready to meet Kikyo when she came up to him and told him that she'd never loved him. Then she tossed the Jewel at him and ran away, crying. Inuyasha was mad and decided that he would become a demon, and he decided to get in the mood by murdering the villagers and burning the village down. He did exactly that. Soon after he'd begun, a glowing arrow just missed his arm.
"INUYASHA!" shouted a voice, as he was leaping through the air. He turned around to see who it was and suddenly, another glowing arrow flew towards him. This one didn't miss its mark. It hit him straight in the heart. The speed of the arrow pushed him backwards into the Goshinki and impaled him on it. He looked at the arrow, surprised, then looked toward the person who had fired the arrow.
"Kikyo, why?" Inuyasha whispered, and then he died. Kikyo watched as his head fell onto his chest, and suddenly she gasped in pain. Many of the villagers were now surrounding her. Some tried to get her up to the healer's house, but she stopped them.
"Where is Kaede?" she asked, and then she fell to her knees in pain.
Kaede came running up and tried to get her up.
"No, Kaede. I will not live."
"But you have to!" cried Kaede, kneeling beside her sister.
"Kaede, you must listen closely. Burn this jewel with my body so that I take it into the afterlife with me. I will not allow it to taint you. This Sacred Jewel will not come back ever! I will not allow it! Burn it, Kaede, and bury my ashes deep in sacred ground." said Kikyo as she handed the jewel to her sister. As Kaede's hand closed around the jewel, Kikyo breathed her last and fell to the ground dead. Kaede did as her sister requested and burned her body with the Jewel. Later that same day, she went with four strong men to the God Tree to take the body of Inuyasha down. As she reached up to the arrow, she found that she could not pull it out: it had burned her hand. Then she looked at the body, and saw that it had not started to rot like Kikyo's had when they'd begun to prepare it. His body was just as it was before he'd been killed. It looked like he was not dead but sleeping.
Kaede decided to make sure no one came to disturb the body ever and set guards around it."
"So that's what happened. I want you to show me the tree where the body is." said Kagome.
The villagers took her to the God Tree, and stopped just outside the clearing. Kagome, however, walked straight up to the tree, stepped on one of the roots and stretched upwards to kiss Inuyasha.
When her lips met his, a blue light shone around them, and the arrow, which she was holding, disappeared. Then Inuyasha fell down pulling Kagome with him.
When he landed, he awoke.
"What happened?" he said. "Hey! Where's the Shikon Jewel!"
"Inuyasha, can you please get off me now before I purify you?" asked a muffled Kagome.
"Huh? Who are you? And what are you doing underneath me?" asked Inuyasha.
"Higurashi Kagome. I'm not from this area, but I'm an extremely powerful priestess. And when you fell, you fell on top of me. Now can you get up so I can go back to my home?" asked Kagome.
Inuyasha got up, and stretched. That's when he smelled a familiar scent and blood.
"You-you smell exactly like Kikyo! How is that?" he asked, surprised.
"Well, if you don't know, then I'll tell you. I'm her reincarnation, and I'm the new protector of the Shikon No Tama. Now, I'll see you later, or maybe never again." said Kagome.
Then she turned and started running towards the well when all of a sudden Inuyasha jumped in front of her.
"If you want to live give me the Jewel. "Inuyasha said, flexing his claws threateningly.
"Give me an arrow!" shouted Kagome. She caught the arrow that was tossed her way. She sent some of her purification powers into it, and held it out.
"If you want to live, let me pass. This will kill you, unlike Kikyo's weak spell." she said.
Then she edged past him and started running towards the well again. When she got there, she jumped into it without hesitation.
"I knew that I should have never kissed him." she muttered angrily as the comforting glow of the time traveling zone surrounded her.
Sakuri met Kagome on the other side.
"Now that you have taken the Jewel out of your body, and awakened Inuyasha, he will live, and you will meet him again in this time. He will not have changed a lot, but he will remember that you are the one that kissed him. And, also, now that the Jewel is released, demons will now be released from the cloaking spell that you accidentally made when you went back from the Sengoku Jidai. Many demons work in harmony with humans, but there are still some evil demons. Naraku, he will have never known about the jewel because Kikyo was never brought back from life. Inuyasha will meet you very soon, but I will not tell you when or where." Sakuri said.
"Well, thank you for telling me about my actions. I have to clean up the shrine now." said Kagome.
Sakuri bowed to the miko and left her alone. Kagome sighed and went inside. As she sat down on her bed, she thought of Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.
'I wonder what happened to them' she thought. 'Hey! Why don't I go back and visit them? I know where all of them will be!'
With that happy thought, she went inside and got a huge backpack out of her closet and put her shampoo and soap in it.
"I'm going to need clothes like they have back there so I don't stand out." she thought to herself. "Why don't I dress as a priestess? That's what I was when I was over there, and a priestess would travel all over to help heal people."
Kagome got some money and went to a costume store to look for an exact replica of the white shirt and red hakima that made up a priestess costume. She found three pairs of hakima and three white shirts that were perfect. Then she went to a shoe store and found two pairs of the raised sandals that were worn by them also.
When she got home, she put on one of the outfits and pulled her hair into a high ponytail on her head. Then she put the other sets of clothing into the bag and checked around for anything else that she might need. She saw her wooden brush, which she put into the bag, and she got out a long flowing white nightgown. Then she took the Shikon No Tama out of its box and put a concealing spell on it so demons would not be able to sense it.
"Oh! I forgot to buy a bow, quiver, and arrows!" she said.
Then she got changed into normal clothes and went to find a bow that looked like an old fashioned one, along with the quiver and arrows. She found exactly what she was looking for, and also got twenty arrows.
Finally, she was ready to go. She had changed all her yen to ryi and went through the well.
Kagome climbed out of the well and went to Kaede's village. Some of the villagers had seen her and had run to get the headman and their high priestess, Kaede.
"What is your name, my lady?" Kagome asked her.
"It is Kaede. How is it that you look exactly like my elder sister Kikyo?" asked Kaede.
"It is because I am her reincarnation. I am the one who freed Inuyasha from his prison. He is vital to the world as you know it.