Say Goodnight
a/n: I do not own Inuyasha. That honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. This fic was inspired by a song called "Say Goodnight" by Beth Nielsen Chapman. If you ask nicely I will send you the lyrics by email, so as not to violate TOS for any sites I may post this onThis chapter was betaed by no one. So, sorry for any mistakes.
CHAPTER ONE – Say goodnight, not goodbye
"Kagome, are ye ready?"
"Yes, Kaede," Kagome looked at the old priestess nervously as she twirled a lock of jet black hair around her index finger. She still could not believe it. The last two shards, the ones that had belonged to Koga, sat in front of her on the low table. Everyone was watching expectantly. Koga and his mate, Ayame; Miroku and Sango; Kirara and Shippo; Kaede; and the one being who meant the most to her: Inuyasha. The half demon was staring out into space, trying very hard to not look at Kagome or the jewel.
Kagome sighed. This was it. Naraku was gone. Kikyo? Gone. Kagura and Kanna? Freed, and no longer a menace to anyone. There was nothing stopping them. They could fuse this jewel together finally, and then they would set Midoriko free. The ancient priestess had been warring within the jewel ever since she pulled it from her own body. Now, they would end that battle by purifying the jewel and destroying it.
"I believe we should do this with some haste," Miroku suggested sagely. Sango nodded in agreement.
"I agree. As long as the jewel exists, there will always be someone after it. The sooner we get this done the better," Kagome's best friend stated with confidence. Kagome picked up the jewel, and then the two shards. She fit one piece in like a puzzle, and then examined the very last piece.
Three years ago on this day I shot a sacred arrow through this jewel and caused the shattering. Three years ago I turned fifteen. Three years ago I met Inuyasha. And now, the quest is over, Kagome thought to herself while studying the fragment. She slowly but surely fit the last shard into place, and then the jewel began to glow and pulsate. It shone brightly pink, and then the legendary priestess Midoriko was there, a stern look on her face. Everyone stood, including Inuyasha, and offered the priestess a bow. She held great power, and she had been a formidable figure when she had been a corporeal person. Now this spectre stood in front of them, representative of her warring soul.
"Kagome, Kikyo was to have been the one to set me free finally. But then the events of Naraku set her behind, as it were, and you inherited her task. And you have done admirably. Against all odds, you have persevered and you have freed me and purified the shikon jewel. Now, I have the limited ability to grant you one wish. Only one. And you must decide what it is now, before my soul fades into the final darkness," Midoriko explained.
What to wish for? Kagome thought. She stared at each of her friend in turn and knew there was only one wish to make. Somehow she had always known what wish she would make. It was so easy, to think of them first. They deserved any happiness she could give them. She looked Midoriko in the face and spoke her wish.
"Midoriko, I wish that all my friends could have their destroyed families back. Inuyasha's parents, Sango's family, Miroku's father, Shippo's parents, and Koga's wolf tribe. Let them have true happiness for once. They deserve it, truly," Kagome looked expectantly at Midoriko and waited to here some kind of confirmation. Midoriko looked at her solemnly.
"Kagome, that is a noble wish indeed. I can think of none better. But, there is a price for that kind of wish," Midoriko sighed, and then continued, "You have to go back to your own time. And you must never come back to this era. The well will be sealed, forever. Do you understand this?"
Kagome was in shock, along with everyone else in the hut.
Leave everyone behind? Leave – Inuyasha?, Kagome's thoughts became jumbled and she looked at the half demon. His eyes showed so much. Confusion, pain, loss, and hope. It was the hope that got her attention. As she looked at the faces of all her friends she knew there was only one thing she could do.
"I will accept your terms," Kagome stated firmly, and a gasp issued from nearly everyone in the room except Inuyasha. Kagome saw a flash of red disappear from the room.
"Prepare then, and say your goodbyes," Midoriko told her.
It was so quick. But Kagome knew that even if she were given weeks she could never say everything she wanted to say to the people she loved as much as her family above.
Sango and Miroku took her arms and led her from the hut, and into a clearing.
"Is this really it?" Sango asked.
"I'm afraid it is. Look, Sango, we all knew I could not stay here forever. We all knew one day I might have to leave. For three years I have been coming here, living over half my time here with all of you. Don't get me wrong, I love all of you. You are family to me as much as Mom and Sota. But, you guys deserve this. All of you deserve this. A second chance to live your lives the way they would have been lived if it were not for Naraku and his lies," Kagome turned to Miroku, "Promise me something Miroku?"
"Anything for you, Kagome," Miroku told her.
"Take care of her and Kirara. And do not let Inuyasha beat up on Shippo, okay?" Kagome touched Miroku's cheek and then let her hand drop. She turned to Sango and enveloped the demon slayer in a deep hug. They were both sobbing by the end of it.
"Kagome, it has been an honor and a pleasure knowing you," Miroku stated, and Sango nodded in agreement.
"You are the sister I never had, and the best friend a girl could ask for. You will be sorely missed. I will write you, and when Inuyasha and Shippo find you later in life, they will give you my letters. I will tell you everything," Sango told her. Kagome picked up her packed things and started towards the well, waving her hand above her head at her friends as they faded from sight.
She was met by Shippo before she even left the village.
"How could you do this to me?" the kitsune asked.
"Shippo, I'm doing this for you, not to you!" Kagome tried to reassure the fox demon, but he burst into tears at her words.
"Kagome, you have been my mother for three years now! If you leave, I won't know what to do!" Shippo yelled desperately.
Kagome hugged Shippo close to her and closed her eyes and tears threatened to escape, "Shippo, remember when your father's coat protected us? With the fox magic?"
Shippo nodded, "And Inuyasha thought we had died? Yeah, I remember"
"Well, I am going, but your real mother and father are coming back for you. They will be so glad to see you. And Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara will always be here for you. Even Kaede. This is really the best thing. And hey! You're a demon, right? You will see me in again in five hundred years, give or take, right?" Kagome tried to cheer Shippo up. He had stopped crying, but his eyes were still rimmed with red.
"I love you, Kagome," Shippo told her. Kagome hugged him tight.
"I love you too Shippo. I will miss you, but not for long. Come see me when five hundred years is up, okay?" Kagome smiled as she sat the fox demon down.
"Sure! I don't want to watch you go down the well. I think I will go help Lady Kaede," Shippo waved at her and took off towards the center of the village. Kagome was glad that he had not made a bigger scene. That was the last thing she needed. She continued down the path until the well came into sight.
This is the last time I will see the well like this. This is the last time I will see this era. Say goodbye Kagome, you will never see this place again, Kagome looked at her surroundings and she knew she would never know a better place than this. If things had been even the least bit different she would have stayed, would have wished for something else, anything else. But Naraku had taken so much away from her friends. So much away from the world. The wind tunnel had sucked up Miroku's father. Naraku's puppet had killed Sango's father and fellow villagers, and then had possessed her brother until he was killed by a hailstorm of arrows. And while Naraku had nothing to do with the deaths of Shippo or Inuyasha's families, those were people Kagome knew were needed desperately by the people here. Shinigami could give these people up to live long and rich lives with their loved ones. Kagome could give up almost everything to see them happy. And who knew? She could maybe come out on the other side of this well and some of her friends could even be waiting for her! But there was one friend she had not said goodbye too, and she did not even know if she could.
Inuyasha is as natural to me as breathing. What if something happens between now and then? What if he dies? What if he does not care anymore after five hundred years? I don't think I could take it if he fell in love with someone else, stayed with someone else. He's just so stubborn, and pig headed. He makes my blood boil. But I am a better person for having met him, and I have a bigger heart for loving him. I am lucky I guess, Kagome thought to herself. The well was right in front of her now. She bent over the edge and looked down at the bones within.
This is where demons go to die. And this is where I will leave everything I love behind, for their sakes. For Inuyasha, and everyone else.
Kagome jumped as something hit the ground behind her. She knew it was him. She knew he would come eventually. What he could say, she didn't know. What he could do, she had no idea. She turned to face Inuyasha, with apology and regret on her gentle face.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said simply. Then he hugged her close to him. Kagome was briefly reminded of the time he had hugged her like this and then pushed her through the well, supposedly for her own safety. Kagome threw her arms around him, trying to show him how much she cared in that one simple caress.
"Inuyasha, I'm sorry," Kagome told him, her voice muffled by the robe of the fire rat.
"For what?"
"I told you I would always be by your side, I told you I would never leave you. And here I am, leaving you," Kagome said, a solitary tear escaping her eye. She let it fall on the red cloth, and did not raise her head from its perch on Inuyasha's chest.
"Kagome, listen. I know why you did it. I do have some human in me too, remember? And look, I will see you in five hundred years, right?" Inuyasha smirked.
"You may not. You may meet other people, you may move on. You may grow to hate me. You may die," Kagome's voice hitched in her throat at the thought.
"None of that will happen. You just wait and see," Inuyasha told her.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yeah Kagome?"
"If it's not too much trouble, can I lay my head in your lap?"
Inuyasha sunk to the ground and let Kagome place her raven head on his lap. He could let her have this, just as she had indulged him once. She laid on her back and looked into his eyes. They seemed trapped in a moment, where all they could do is look straight into each other's eyes, brown meeting amber in a staring match. Kagome looked away first, knocking away another stray tear.
"I promise you Inuyasha, I will always be here for you, inside of you. You only need to think of me, and I will be there. Somehow, somewhere, I will be there. When you stare at the stars, I will be there. Just do me one favor, Inuyasha?"
"What, wench?" Inuyasha whispered.
"Don't forget me. Please, just do not forget me. I don't care if you grow to hate me, or if you grow to love and have pups. Just, never forget me or everything we have been through. Remember the jewel, and our quest. Remember our friends. Don't forget to dream, and don't forget to live. Be proud of who you are. I have always loved you just as a half demon, and that will never change. In five hundred years or so, find me. Find me and just tell me you remembered," Kagome sobbed and stood up abruptly. It was time, before she could not do it.
"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered, "I will remember. I will remember you. As if I'd let you get away! I'd just have to come rescue you anyways"
Kagome leaned in and pecked Inuyasha on the cheek,"Goodbye, Inuyasha," she said softly. He stopped her.
"Not goodbye, Kagome. Just good night. Goodbye means forever"
With a sad look she finally jumped. As the blue light surrounded her, she sobbed and sobbed, until everything went black.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"Kagome? Are you down there?"
"Hey sis, wake up!"
"Kagome?"
Kagome Higurashi awoke to find herself at the dirt bottom of an ancient well. She looked at her grime covered clothing and body, and then looked up to see her mother, brother, and grandfather looking down at her.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, and then she stood.
"Are you all right sweetheart?" her mother asked.
"No. But I am sure one day I will be," Kagome stated, and she began to ascend the ladder to the modern world.
a/n: what do you guys think? This is my first non-erotic inuyasha fanfic. I hope you like it.