Disclaimer: I do not own 'Inuyasha' or any of its characters.
Chapter Thirty-Four: A teary goodbye
Another two weeks passed and everyone was getting ready for the imminent and final departure for the world beyond the bone-eater's well.
The first thing Inuyasha and Kagome did was to bring everything they needed through the portal. Obviously, most of it would not even survive through the centuries, but they had chosen what would be most useful and last the longest. Anything suspicious had been hidden in their home, but for the most part, they had wisely chosen valuable items and relics that might have gone unnoticed in the feudal era. Sesshomaru had helped them as well, allowing them to safely store anything that could not be kept in their quiet village in their rooms in the West.
Kagome had decided to bring some modern-day conveniences with her, Inuyasha stocked up on his favourite food – though with his and his son's appetite it wouldn't last long. They hoarded seeds for the garden, dry food, rice galore, paper, and a selection of books to keep even safer.
They were aware of the risk, but considering how long they would live, they could not even expect Kagome to remember everything she had learned in history class. If they wanted to avoid some gruesome battles, dangerous places, and shady individuals, it was best to keep at least one history book aside.
Everything was collected with the help of Sesshomaru and Rin from the future. The two had personally taken care of their preparations, always being careful with what that was said, especially considering that Kagome was about to leave her native era forever.
Yet, as tedious and tiring as these tasks were, they were the easiest thing to deal with. While on one hand, Kagome was working hard just to keep her mind occupied and free of other thoughts, on the other, they finished so quickly that in two days everything was on the other side and she was back to square one.
Rin and her mother organized her a farewell party, but this time a private one, and she had wanted to say goodbye to her best friends from that time alone, elsewhere. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi cried a lot that day when Kagome told them that she didn't know when she would return to Tokyo. She herself could not predict if she would meet them again and could not share her doubts. Luckily, a trip to Beppu wasn't that easy to make and even though the girls had promised her that they would try to come to see her, she knew it would be difficult.
She felt a little guilty because the three of them had been her best friends since kindergarten and had always been there for her, even when they didn't understand exactly what was going on in Kagome's life since her fifteenth birthday. She knew she couldn't tell them the truth, that they wouldn't understand, but at the same time, it hadn't been easy to lie without even getting a chance to say goodbye for real.
They recognized that their lives were changing, that each would go their own way and Kagome was even leaving town with her husband. They reminisced the past years by telling funny or embarrassing stories, laughing and crying again, looking at the pictures they had brought with them and pointing out how they had changed over the years.
Finally, they walked Kagome home, hugging her tightly, and the young miko promised them that no matter where life would take them, she would always hold the memories of their years together in her heart. And it was true. Inuyasha watched the exchange from atop a branch of the Goshinboku, as guilt filled his heart.
Those days weren't easy for him either, especially since he knew he was the reason Kagome would have to say goodbye to her family. Even though she had reassured him plenty of times that it was what she wanted, it didn't mean she wasn't in pain. He could see it and tried to comfort her as best he could, even understanding that sometimes she needed to be alone.
At the same time, Inuyasha discovered that the idea of leaving the Higurashis made his heart ache, too. He had never been able to spend time with someone before a farewell; every person who had left him had done it suddenly, never giving him time to grieve. It was a strange feeling preparing to say goodbye for the first time. These people had welcomed him into their home without any problems, had treated him as if he was part of their family even before he dared to reveal his feelings for Kagome. He knew he would never meet someone like the Higurashi again.
His mother had died when he was just a pup and he had lived his whole life without her warmth, the years gradually erasing his memories of her. However, in Mrs. Higurashi, a woman born seven centuries later, he had finally found something similar and unconditional love.
The family was trying to take advantage of every possible minute. More than once they had gone on a few hikes together, they had had lunch at a few restaurants – Kaori argued that they should enjoy every dish they would soon have to give up, especially for Inuyasha's sake – and he found it hard to refuse Sota every time he asked to play with him. He found out that Kagome felt sad at the thought of not being able to see her little brother as an adult and because she was taking away the family's chance to see Muteki grow up. He tried to give them time alone with Kagome as much as he could, but every time he did so, Kaori stopped him from leaving saying that they wanted to spend time with him too. After all, they would miss him as well.
The farewell party, which Rin had decided to turn into an embarrassing trip down memory lane for Kagome with her mother's help, went smoothly. Much to Inuyasha's delight, they showed everyone in attendance – this included Shippo and Koga's family – every possible photo of her from day one until her fifteenth birthday when Inuyasha also began to appear. At that point, the half-demon had stopped laughing, because he realized that Sota was as sneaky as his sister and had taken pictures of him at very awkward moments. How had he managed to avoid that devilish noise? Sota had winked at him; it was a secret. Anyway, Rin's idea eventually worked, because they laughed for most of the party until Kagome's grandfather started another corny speech that made everyone cry again.
More presents were opened as well, some of them rather suspicious; Inuyasha had narrowed his eyes as he unwrapped what a smiling Koga had handed him. Ayame had dismissed any concerns he had by saying that they were just trying to help since she was a midwife and Kagome would be in charge of births once she became the village's head-miko. By the end of the day, they had their hands full of baby clothes, diapers, and anything that would fit a newborn.
Finally, the big day arrived. Soon they would be leaving for good.
Inuyasha had already brought everything that was left to the other side while Kagome was sleeping. When he joined her in their room, she was filling two backpacks with last-minute things.
The half-demon looked around. The room no longer resembled the pink one he'd seen the first time he'd shown up at her house, nearly unhinging the window and demanding that she immediately return with him to the past or the one he'd sneaked up on her in when they'd first made love. In this one, they had lived together the last few years as a family.
It had seen Muteki's first steps, Kagome in the panic of motherhood and school. It had been his second home, and it certainly bore the traces of his passage: claw marks on the window or the headboard, a pair of jeans he always forgot to put back in the closet, or the ink stain he'd left behind the first time he'd tried to write with a ballpoint pen. There were even fewer frames on the walls now. Kagome had hung a lot of them after her mother had shown her how she had transformed her old room. They were mostly pictures of the two of them plus Miroku and Sango, but others depicted the entire group with Shippo's mischievous tail appearing in the most absurd places. All these pictures were gone now because Kagome had packed them up and taken them to the other side; some of them had been hung in their bedroom, where no one entered but the two of them. All that was left in their place were patches lighter than the normal blue that the wall had been painted in, next to a few more pictures that represented Kagome's modern life.
Inuyasha approached her from behind as soon as she zipped up the second backpack. "Your mother says lunch is ready. Everyone's waiting for you." She nodded, then handed him the backpack and Muteki's baby carrier. "Are you coming back here after we've eaten?" he asked her; Kagome shook her head, no, she was going to close the door behind her now. She looked around and smiled noticing several details, no doubt remembering the meaning behind them, just as Inuyasha had done five minutes earlier. "Do you want me to leave you for a couple of minutes?" he asked again seeing that she remained silent.
"No, I'm done. Better not remain too much here. I already had all the time I needed and I have everything else with me. It's just..." she trailed.
"I know," he replied, pulling her in a tight embrace.
When they reached the living room everyone had already sat down and Muteki was waving enthusiastically at them from his high chair. They took a seat between him and Sota.
"Everything ok dear?" her mother asked placing several dishes on the table. Kagome noticed she had cooked her and Inuyasha's favourites.
She nodded. "Thanks, mom. I'm gonna miss your cuisine." Inuyasha promptly hummed in agreement, his bowl and mouth already full of food.
"I'm gonna miss seeing Inuyasha's eating," Kaori giggled. "I think you'll have your hands full cooking for these two alone," she continued pointing at Muteki who was zestfully eating his fill, too; Inuyasha swallowed and pretended to be upset.
"Hey, Sis," Sota interjected, "since you're not gonna be here when I turn thirteen, are you leaving me some money to buy my present?"
Kagome turned to him, eyes blazing with fury. "Why you..." she said. Everyone else laughed recognizing the kid's attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
"Hey, it was just a suggestion," he raised his hands in defence.
She scoffed, "I already bought you a present, but if you keep behaving like this I'll tell mom not to give it to you when the time comes," Kagome replied, sticking her tongue out at him.
In reality, when it came to Sota, she had bought a lot of presents. She had spent some time with her mother, trying to find the perfect gift for every birthday she was going to miss until his adulthood. Some of them are even painfully embarrassing.
At last, they stood beside the bone-eater's well.
Inuyasha had an arm around Kagome's shoulders who had Muteki in his baby carrier. The baby was waving enthusiastically at the family who stood in the well-house with them, not really understanding that this was the last time he would see them.
Kaori was the first one to approach them, she slightly cupped her grandson's cheek and then gave him a feathery kiss on his forehead. "Grandma loves you, Muteki," she said with watery eyes.
"Love you," he repeated, still waving with a hand and clutching hers with the other, offering a toothy grin.
She looked up at the couple, her daughter had been going down that well so many times and it had always been so normal. She couldn't believe this time she wouldn't come back. "Kagome..." she started, but her daughter didn't give her the time to complete her sentence because suddenly she was wrapped in her arms, Kagome sobbing on her shoulder like she had done so many times before. "Kagome, little one, don't cry."
"We'll come back, mama," Kagome sniffled when she released her from her embrace. "This isn't a goodbye, I'll find a way," she promised, grabbing her hands. Kaori arranged a lock of hair behind her ear and then touched her cheek tenderly, kissing her on the tip of her nose. "I know you'll do, little one." With the other hand, she grabbed Inuyasha's clawed one and smiled up at him too. "You all will come back to us, bringing us a bunch of grandkids, ok? And I want to see this puppy grown up. I'm sure he will be as handsome as his father." She chuckled when Inuyasha turned an interesting shade of red.
Sota and Mr. Higurashi reached them to give their goodbye. Inuyasha ruffled Sota's hair and knelt to look at him straight in the eyes. "You'll be ok, runt?" he asked.
"I'll make you proud of me next time we'll meet, Inu-no-niichan," he promised confidently, hugging him tightly. This time Inuyasha accepted his display of affection without problems. Sota had been his brother all these years, and even if lots of times his hyperactivity had been a nuisance, being worshipped for once had been good.
"Make sure you learn some new moves because then you'll have to spar with Muteki," Inuyasha winked.
Mr. Higurashi was the one crying more, fat tears falling down his cheeks; he cupped Kagome's face and kissed both her and the pup on their forehead. "Raise your kid to be a perfect gentleman, young lady," he told her. "I don't want to hear him talking like that husband of yours when you'll come to visit again." It should have been a reprimand, but everyone could hear the amusement in his tone.
"Oi, I'll let you know that my mother raised me to be the perfect prince," Inuyasha interrupted, standing up after having talked with Sota.
"Indeed," Kagome laughed, "you lost your way after," she mocked him; everyone laughed.
They stayed like that for a while, Kagome memorizing every little detail fearing she would forget them after some time. When Sota came closer and hugged her in the middle, their grandfather and mother joined the embrace, Kaori pulled Inuyasha into it too. Sota released her just when Muteki kicked him with his foot.
"Hey, that hurts! That's the way you treat your favourite uncle?" he cried, secretly glad when her sister started laughing again. He didn't want the last memory he had of her to be filled with tears and sadness.
Inuyasha wiped some other tears from Kagome's cheeks and then spoke, "We should go." They couldn't stay there forever and had plans for the moment they went through the well one last time. She nodded and hugged her mother again, Kaori whispering soothing words in her ear.
"You'll be fine, dear, you don't need me anymore," she said. She kissed her daughter some more and then pulled the hanyou in another embrace. "I'll miss you too, Inuyasha," she told him. "Make sure she'll be always loved and cared for."
"I will, mom. You'll see next time we met," he reassured her. "Thank you for everything." Kaori nodded and understood everything he poured in those few words
A couple of hugs more, some other kisses and plenty of cries later, Inuyasha waved his hand at the Higurashi family, smiling and silently thanking them again. He put an arm around his mate's waist and for the last time they jumped down the well, vivid light engulfing and bringing them 500 years in the past.
The family remained there for some minutes, Kaori peered down the well to find no one there and tears started falling uncontrollably. Her father-in-law put an arm around her to offer some comfort and keep her steady when her body trembled. Together, they left the well-house for the last time, closing the door and not looking back.
Kagome and Inuyasha were gone and they didn't even know if they could see them again. Nothing was left but hope.
While 500 years in the future someone was crying, Kagome looked up at the clear sky that the feudal era offered them. Tears, however, equally blurred her vision.
Peering down, Shippo greeted and welcomed them, perched on the edge of the old well. The young priestess focused on kit and smiled. She was still home after all; her second family was there. However, to herself she promised that she'd meet mama, Grampa and Sota again, had she had to wait 500 years.
Inuyasha threw his backpack at Shippo, expecting him to catch it, but since it was huge, filled to the brim and the kit was still too small, he fell on his back, buried by the yellow monstrosity.
Sango and Miroku, also waiting for them, burst out laughing and Inuyasha sighed with relief as he saw another smile appear on Kagome's lips. He pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair, inhaling deeply and kissing the crook of her neck. There was something else lingering in her scent that he couldn't place, but he would investigate later, right now he wanted to make sure she was okay and ready for the next big step.
They jumped up and were greeted by Sango and Miroku, the twins, and Shippo who was still trying to weasel out from the bag's grip; Inuyasha helped him. "Oi, runt...when will you grow up? My son is almost taller than you," he taunted. Shippo huffed, but said nothing; he didn't want to fight with Inuyasha today.
"How are you, Kagome?" Sango asked seeing her tear-stained cheeks.
Kagome only nodded and then released Muteki from his baby carrier since he had been complaining for a few minutes. Inuyasha hastily grabbed his chubby little hand before he could go running wildly through the forest. The pup tried to break free from his father's grasp but to no avail. "I'm fine, Sango. I'm glad I got the chance to hug them one last time for now."
"Do you think you'll meet again?" asked Shippo. They'd never talked about demons in her time, so he'd assumed there weren't any and they'd all disappear eventually.
"I hope so," she replied as a genuine smile lit up her face.
They slowly walked through the village and reached the small shire, where Kaede was patiently waiting for them. They entered and closed the door behind them; no one would have access to it today. They stood in a circle and the old priestess placed the small box in her hand in the centre. Everyone looked at it with different emotions painted on their faces.
"Are we sure we can destroy it, Kagome?" Miroku finally broke the silence, "What if we break the seal and then aren't able to?"
"Don't be the bird of ill omen, bouzu. Kagome's been thinking about it since we were still looking for the last few shards. She's not that unprepared," Inuyasha scoffed at him.
"I'm sure, Miroku. Once, when Naraku was still alive, my grandfather told me a legend that has been passed down for centuries in our shrine. According to him, the Shikon-no-Tama would disappear only by granting the right wish. It didn't say what it was, but at the time, it made me think. We travelled for a year, everyone we met never got to use it with good intentions, and before I accidentally broke it into pieces, it never really granted a wish. From what we heard, it was either being distorted or the possessor being manipulated by the jewel itself. After all, that's what it tried to do with Naraku as well, and I'm sure that if Inuyasha and Kikyo hadn't fallen into his trap, the jewel wouldn't have really granted their dream. Who knows what would have been of Inuyasha. He might as well have been turned into a 200-year-old human and died soon afterwards," she pondered.
Inuyasha stiffened beside her; he had never really thought about the consequences of that wish after waking up from his slumber. He still felt sorry for Kikyo's death, but in the end, Naraku's trap had been a blessing, for through it he had met Kagome and now knew that what he had had with Kikyo had not been true love. They had loved each other attracted by their respective loneliness, but the half-demon had only understood what it truly meant to be in love when he had accepted the nature of his feelings for Kagome.
"What does it mean?" asked Sango.
"It means that there is no such thing as a pure wish as my sister believed. I, myself, have been thinking about what she and Inuyasha wanted to do since the day Kagome freed him from the sealing arrow. The jewel will always have a nature of its own and will try to manipulate anyone who wants to use it for his or her own gain. While my sister Kikyo may have had good intentions, the wish itself was also as selfish one as any we could think of. A hint of selfishness will always allow the jewel to distort the will of its possessor. That way it will continue to secure its existence," Kaede explained.
"That's a bit contorted, but I think I get it," Miroku said, stroking his chin. "This means that a pure wish will not grant the destruction of the jewel because there is no such thing as a pure wish."
"I think I got lost in the middle of the speech," Shippo said. "Inuyasha, did you understand everything?" the half-demon didn't seem so convinced either.
"Not really, Miroku. It's true, the jewel won't grant even the purest wish, for the very reason Kaede just told us. However, I believe I have found a loophole that will guarantee its destruction, a wish that does not contain even a shadow of selfishness," Kagome continued.
"And what is it?" Miroku asked again. "We must be sure before we try. We can't take any chances." Everyone was looking at her intently.
"Have a little faith, Miroku. I've done my research and this will solve all our problems," she replied confidently. "I will wish for it to disappear forever. No way out for the jewel itself; there is no way it can manipulate it."
"Miroku, we have to erect a barrier around the shrine, the stronger the better. The moment we unseal the box, the jewel will make itself know to every demon in the area. We cannot allow that. Everyone thinks that it had already been destroyed, if they sense it we could have many problems," Kaede explained. "Kagome you will have to be the fastest ye can, but even so there will be likely a flaring of its aura so the barrier is our best chance to hide its presence." Miroku and Kagome nodded and she addressed the other occupants of the room. "Try to stay away and do not interfere, do not disturb us once the barrier is erected either. We have to be focused to create a strong one." Inuyasha, Sango and Shippo with the children moved themselves to the other end of the room, waiting patiently for the jewel to disappear, forever this time. "Kagome ye'll be on your own once the barrier is set. Do not worry and ye'll manage perfectly."
Miroku and Kaede prepared themselves and everyone felt the barrier surround them. Eyes closed and hands in prayer, the two focused on its strength. Kagome grabbed the box and took a deep breath before breaking the seal that had masked the jewel's aura for the last two years. Immediately, the feeling increased ten folds; Inuyasha and Shippo sensed it and stiffened. Kagome hastily took it in her hands, it was a brilliant pink and seemed to shine brighter than she remembered.
"Shikon Jewel, grant my wish. Disappear! Forever!" Kagome said out loud just before the jewel started pulsing in her hands, its aura flared and everyone currently in the shrine was blinded by a sudden bright pink light. For a moment, both Inuyasha and Kagome feared the jewel had divided itself into hundreds of shards again, but then Kagome felt its aura disappear completely and where once she had always instinctively perceived its presence - even when it was sealed inside the box she could feel the connection - there was nothing more. The Shikon no Tama had disappeared forever.
Finally, they won't have to worry anymore about demons finding out their secret or the seal to be reinforced.
Kagome turned to the two demons in the room and smiled brightly. "It's done," she declared, "I felt the exact moment when its aura vanished, the connection is gone. I have destroyed it forever." She cried and laughed at the same time, the enormity of the whole ordeal very clear to her. The object that had brought her 500 hundred years in the past and made sure she met Inuyasha was gone forever. The source of tears, grief and pain was no more.
Inuyasha reached her and pulled her in an embrace. "You did it," he told her proudly.
Once everyone had left the shrine to go back to their huts and Inuyasha had made sure no demon was nearby, Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippo headed towards home and to do so they crossed the clearing that housed the bone-eater's well. Kagome reached it and touched its edges, closing her eyes for a moment.
"I can't feel anything here anymore either," she declared. It was another proof that the jewel had vanished. They had known all along that it had been the Shikon's power to allow the well to be a time portal. Now, the only chance she had to meet her family again was to survive the next five centuries. She would do everything to reach the future again.
Inuyasha wrapped her shoulder with an arm and Shippo jumped in her embrace next to Muteki, both offering her comfort. "Over the years we will need to make sure that the well is always protected," Inuyasha commented, Kagome nodded and leaned back in his chest. They stayed like that for some minutes, the sun already setting and the air getting colder.
"We'll do it," Kagome told them before she started walking towards home again. The four of them, after all, were the only ones who would survive the passage of time. This was just the beginning of their new journey.
A/N: Aaaand it's done! The jewel is gone and Kagome can't travel back and forth through the well anymore. Obviously, the way I made the jewel vanish was the same we read in the manga, see in the anime. I've always liked it.
We hit a major point in the story now and things are going to move faster from the next chapter on, which I should upload by the end of the week.
Anyway, I hope I managed to write a satisfying last moment between Kagome and her family.