Faces of the Past

Circa 2008 - 2010 ?

Summary: She had to leave them, for she didn't belong there. So, she could only hope that the ones she asked would keep their promise. Five hundred years in the future, she hoped the past would come back to haunt her. [Hiei/Kagome]

Genre: General / Romance

Rating: T

Prologue

"You won't forget me, will you?" she felt another tear wash down her face as she gazed at the last remaining people within their small group, even if it had grown some over the years.

A pair of emerald eyes stared up at her, blurry with tears and grief. "Please don't go, 'kaa-san!" he whimpered, rushing forward to cling to her leg. His messy fiery red hair buried into her pair of baggy cargo pants, something she'd taken to wearing instead of her school uniform. Tears ran down his face as he felt another hand pry him away from her, and turned to cry into the chest of the taijiya of their group.

The taijiya clutched the boy, her eyes clouded with the loss of her dearest and oldest friend. "I'll never forget you, imouto."

She smiled, "You'll take care of him, won't you?"

"Of course," the taijiya replied, tightening her hold on the boy a little. "And I… I…" another kind of grief filled her eyes, "I'll make sure to do as you asked earlier, imouto. I shall honor my lost love by finding another and bearing him many children once I have restored my village."

"Thank you," she smiled a little wider. "I'll never forget you." Her eyes turned toward the silent one, standing a bit away from the others, and smiled a little more. No matter how hard it had been, or how much time it had taken, she was glad he had come into their group. "Any of you."

The boy turned his face away from the taijiya, back toward the strangely dressed one. "'Kaa-san!" he whined, trying to pull himself away from the taijiya when the thought of her having to leave. "'Kaa-san, don't leave me!"

Giving the boy a sad look, her lips trembled at his adorable face looking so angry, sad, and frustrated. "You'll be good, won't you?"

"Not if you leave!" he replied, reaching out toward her. "Don't leave me, 'kaa-san!"

Her smile started to fade a little, softening around the edges. "You must remember that you aren't human, my little one. If you are strong, learn, and continue on with life correctly, one day we will see each other again."

He frowned, "In your time?"

"Yes," she said softly. "One day, if we're able, we'll see each other then."

He nodded, "I'll miss you, 'kaa-san."

"And I'll miss you." She smiled at him, knowing from his clinging claws that he'd most likely try his hardest to reach her then. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she didn't sense demons in her time, but that they did once in a while show up out of nowhere, and then suddenly disappear again. Those that did weren't very powerful, which made her wonder if either of them would actually make it to her time—the little one, or the silent one standing off to the side.

The taijiya turned her head away, clutching to the boy once more. "I can't bare to watch, I'm sorry. I'll know, though, when you're gone. I have a feeling that I'll just know." She closed her eyes, "I'm sorry… I'm rambling."

"No, its alright," she said. "I understand, and it's alright. I don't think he should have to see me go, anyway."

The boy began to cry again, as the taijiya gave her one last look and turned to leave. Once more the boy cried out for her, but she ignored it, knowing that she could not do anything from this moment on. It was time for her to go home, and she knew that it would be harder on him to actually see her go. He didn't need to see her jump into the well, anyway; not when she knew his little heart was breaking at the fact that another mother was leaving him behind.

Her eyes shifted to the other still watching her, his crimson eyes drawing her in. She wanted to run to him, to try and make it all go away for him, but she couldn't. Not this time. Yes, she'd grown away from the hanyou she'd thought she'd loved, and had opened her heart to another, but she knew that this wouldn't go away. She didn't belong here, no matter how many times she'd jumped into the well thinking that this side was so much better. Especially once she'd found him, for though he was silent, and had insulted her at every chance he could when they'd first started out, she couldn't help but feel happy and light around him.

It hurts, you know. She was startled for a moment, her eyes snapping up to him, thinking that he'd spoken. She managed to calm herself once she remembered the way he'd spoken with her this way before. Silently, so that no one else would figure out what he was saying, especially if it was important and he didn't think it should involve anyone else. Strange, the others had always said his third eye, the one that allowed him the gift of speaking telepathically to her, was evil and should never be allowed to go near her.

Nodding, she stepped toward him, only to stop when she realized what she was doing. "I know," she reached her hand up and fisted it in front of her heart. "I know."

If you truly knew, then you would not be leaving, miko. He glared at her, but it softened as he continued to stare at her. Knowing that I cannot stop you hurts even more.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, and I hope that one day I'll see you again." She smiled a little more, "You once said you loved me, and I hope that if you're still alive, you'll still love me then, though I won't blame you if you don't."

I do not like, nor do I understand this emotion well, miko, he shifted, but know that I will not die without a fight. If it is to be then I shall find you one day, five hundred years from now.

She turned from him, "I have to go now." She felt new tears form in her eyes, but took a step forward. Arms wrapped around her waist, holding her still as she was pulled back into the short demons body, his chin just barely resting on her shoulder. She knew that someday he would grow, for demons grew much slower than humans, but she didn't care how tall he was. He was lucky to have grown the inch or two he had within the last year.

His nose pressed against her neck. "Hn, do you wish to leave so abruptly, or do you merely wish to leave my presence?"

"No," she whispered, tears streaking down her face. "I just hoped that it wouldn't hurt as much if I left quickly."

"For you, or for me?"

Snorting, she replied, "You did tell me to start thinking more for myself than for others. Are you trying to say that now you wa—"

"That was not what I meant," he growled. You know that full well, miko. I wanted you to think more for yourself when the moment was critical, and your life could be in danger.

"Are you saying you're not dangerous?"

His growl darkened, "Of course I am dangerous." The growl ended, fading into the distance, as his arms tightened, "I cannot bring myself to harm you, though."

"I'm sorry," she frowned. Her eyes widened when his arms left her, her sensing suddenly screaming at her. Feeling herself being pushed, she turned to see him drawing his sword, his bandanna falling to the ground. A demon shouted for the jewel, but she was not given time to even ask her companion to run, knowing that she could save herself through the well.

The push had been hard enough to send her stumbling. Her knees hit the back of the well, and she cried out as she tipped backwards. Her eyes widened, her hands reaching out for her companion as she fell. Tears flooded from her eyes, her mouth opening as she went to scream the name of the demon she'd come to love. And just as the scream ripped from her throat, she saw blood splatter over the entrance to the well…

Chapter One

A young woman sat up instantly, her hand coming up to run through her hair as she tried to block out the dream, again. It had been two years, and still the dream haunted her, making her remember what she'd asked them and what they had promised. She knew, most likely, that neither of them would have been able to keep it, especially with the memory of blood in her vision, but she did not give up hope. Not since the time that she felt a slight flood of demons a year and a half ago, powerful and weak demons.

Sighing, an exhausted Higurashi Kagome swung her legs over the side of the bed, wondering exactly what time it was. Her eyes glanced to her alarm clock and found it to be twenty minutes after five, which meant she'd actually gotten forty more minutes of sleep than normal. She knew it was early, and that her mother, who had insisted she stay on the shrine grounds, would be coming to check on her in an hour or so. Best to get up before her mother came in and asked why she was once again sitting in her window, simply staring out toward the sky, and began telling her for the millionth time that it wasn't good for her to stay up so late and barely get any sleep. At least if she was up and ready she could tell her mother that she'd only gotten up a short time before, which meant she would have gotten, or seemed to have gotten, more sleep than her mother thought.

Stretching a little, she wondered what she was going to do with the rest of her life once more. She'd been thinking the same thing for the last two years, wondering if she should go toward where she'd felt the surge of demons, Kyoto, or simply continue to live on the Sunset Shrine for the rest of her days, hoping that the demons she'd known so long ago might pop out of thin air and make her happy again. Now that she'd managed to finish school, help Souta with his love life, and said farewell to her grandfather when he died, she wasn't sure what else there was for her to do.

Her hand reached up when she finally stood, touching the near transparent orb settled around her neck. An item that so many had wanted, and strangely enough had grown dormant as soon as she'd reached this side of the well. She'd made sure to watch what she said while she wore it, since she was not sure what would happen if she managed to wish for anything. She'd come to realize that no matter what she wished for, anything in the whole world, it could be considered selfish by someone, or something. The only thing she could really think might be considered unselfish would be giving everyone and everything eternal happiness. However, she'd thought about it, and thought that one person's happiness might bring pain to another, thus even that wish could be considered selfish. So, she'd left it, protected it, though there didn't seem to be any reason for her to anymore. Now it seemed somewhat like a pretty gem, a trinket that she'd picked up somewhere, and many women awed at it, asking her where she'd gotten it. She couldn't tell them, though, for it was dangerous—it was the Shikon no Tama, an item wanted five hundred years ago by almost everyone who ever heard of it.

Sighing, she got up, hoping to do something before the others woke up. She knew that taking a shower would most likely wake her mother, as would filling the bathtub, and she'd taken one the night before, so it wasn't like she really needed one. Her brother would most likely try to kill her if she played his videogames. She could walk around the shrine grounds, but she'd seen everything so many times that it would mostly only bring back painful memories. Or she could sit underneath the Goshinboku and remember. It seemed like one of the most reasonable things to do, since her mother, if she woke earlier than normal, would merely smile and turn back inside, instead of trying to talk some sense into her. And the Goshinboku still radiated the same level of peace it had when she'd first found she'd come to love her two-timing hanyou as a brother, and no longer wanted him, but a demon hunted by others simply because of his origins.

Because he was considered Forbidden—she had thought that was ridiculous, since everything deserves a chance at life. Well, maybe not everything, but most demons and humans deserved to have a chance. Some of them, even if they were considered a disgrace to their families line, did great things or helped many people.

Grabbing her jacket from the back of her desk chair, where she'd laid it the night before, she turned toward her bedroom door. Managing to get her right arm into the sleeve, and open the door right afterward was very self-accomplishing to her, though it was kind of amusing that she wouldn't have been able to do it when her journey started. Not this early in the morning, at least. Quietly, she moved down the short hallway and then began descending the stairs, knowing that the fifth one creaked louder than anything. Gently moving over a few spots, glad she'd remembered them all when she reached the bottom, she wondered exactly when she'd pulled her jacket completely on, but decided to shrug it off. It wasn't important.

Moving away from the bottom of the stairs, Kagome crossed the short walk to the kitchen and then moved through it without a sound. There was a creak underneath her foot when she laid it back down onto the floor, and she looked down to find herself looking at the spot she'd told herself not to step on. Sighing, she moved quickly, making it to the backdoor, and pulled it open in order to go to straight to the ancient tree. It had been so long since she'd taken refuge with the Goshinboku, and she smiled at the thought of feeling its calming aura filling her pores and making these thoughts leave her. Perhaps she'd even be able to sleep for more than two to three hours a night.