Time is only an illusion. Always moving forward yet nearly irrelevant to the master who created it. She knew this all too well, being the evidence of times mistakes.
Since her friend Wan had asked her to join him after he had been banished and left in the Spirit world, she sealed her fate in this new world. She was at his side when he met Raava and Vaatu. She was there when Wan and Raava first entwined; when he asked for air and when he traveled to learn all the elements. She watched as the first Avatar came to be, giving herself to Wan and Raava as they passed from this life to the next. From there on the world has always had an Avatar to protect the balance and peace of the world. Reincarnated over and over through as each of the four elements. Thankfully that was not her role but her destiny was forever entwined with theirs.
Unlike the Avatar, however, she was not reborn after her death. Once the current Avatar passes, she vanishes back to the island she first woke up on; awaiting the Avatar to wake her with their call. By the third Avatar's death, she had her own following and a temple made for her to rest in safely while she waited. The people that settled made it their duty to protect her at all costs and keep the island off maps so that others could not find her.
She had tried fighting back the volcano with Roku and warned him countless times about Sozin. Because of his love and trust for his friend, Roku had met his demise. She had tried protecting him, keeping them from being completely buried, but it hadn't been any help. Avatar Roku had collapsed from exhaustion, the toxins in his lungs taking over and killing him. She watched her best friend die in her arms, holding onto him for as long as she could before she vanished from his corpse.
Her people had found her sleeping form with tears streaking down her face endlessly. They knew the Avatar had been killed, yet wouldn't find out how for a hundred years. The tears freely flowing from her closed eyes.
The new Avatar was chosen and named to his master's at the Southern Air Temple, the notion slowly bringing her consciousness back to the surface from the spirit world. There she would stay, locked in the space between two worlds, for a hundred years.
Kagome restlessly watches her world go by slowly, desperately waiting for her partner's call. Being in between, she could dream. Yet her dreams were always filled with memories of her Avatars. Of when she was fighting beside Kyoshi for the first time, grieving with Kuruk over the loss of Ummi, laughing with Roku over his clumsy starts, meeting Wan as children and starting everything with Raava. Even of her own past life with Inuyasha. Who knew her service would never end.
Aang stirs in his sleep, much like every night before this. His dreams filled with the presence of a raven-haired girl that he had yet to meet himself. The few months that this was happening, he learned more about her through his past lives. Kyoshi Island had been expecting her when they had gotten there, the Warriors upset they couldn't meet her. Aang and the others had been confused about it, unaware at that time of the existence of this girl. The night the gaang had stayed on the island, Kyoshi had come to him in his sleep and showed him her memory of being on the island with the girl.
As he communicated with Roku more, he learned about how the girl had grown with him and watched as Sozin slowly fell for her in the background. Roku didn't hide any memories from Aang, helping him feel closer to the girl, closer to Kagome.
Aang had just dropped Sokka off with his father before heading on his way to the Eastern Air Temple to meet with the Guru. Toph and Katara had stayed behind in Ba Sing Se. Along the way to the Temple, he passes over an island they had yet to find on any map. "Alright buddy, let's go down to see what it is." Something was begging him to land there, almost pulling him down. Flashes of Kagome appear in his mind as nervousness settles in. Appa lands on the beach of the island, flopping onto his side as soon as Aang jumped off of him. "I'll be back soon so you can take a nap." Aang pats his large friend's head then sets on his path. The people automatically take notice of the unknown face, watching him silently go up the trail to Kagome's Temple.
"He's finally here," someone mutters as he passes them.
"He looks so young."
"The Avatar is going to wake her," a young girl nearly cheers out before being hushed by her mother. Aang looks around at them, his heart pounding in his chest. Getting to the end of the path, he observes the temple in front of him.
"This has to be where she is," he says quietly as he enters. "Hello? Is anyone there?" A pulse of energy responds yet no voices. "You can come out, I'm not going to hurt you." Kagome's senses return to her fully as he draws closer to her chamber. "Hello?" Aang knocks on one of the only doors in the building before stepping inside. Upon seeing her sleeping form, he freezes and is unsure of what to do next. Kagome pulses her energy again, begging him to wake her. He walks towards her hesitantly, scared to wake her. She seems so peaceful and looks to be around his age if not older. He places his hand on her shoulder, glancing around the room for a moment before shaking her. "Hey, you should wake up now." Silence. "I know you aren't dead."
Kagome would facepalm if she could, but she can't exactly move without her name being called. Yeah, leave it up to someone who doesn't remember her name to wake her up.
"Roku and Kyoshi never told me I had to wake you up," he groans as he tries to investigate the room for any information. Again, nothing. "You've gotta give me something." The villagers come up to the temple, wondering what is taking him so long and watches through the small windows. Kagome's form changed from her adult age from yesterday, meaning the young male was indeed the new Avatar. "Kagome, please just wake up."
"Took you long enough," she smiles at him before pulling him into a hug. "I honestly thought you vanished forever…" The hug becomes tighter. "That you forgot about me."
"I've been busy…" he hugs her back, greeting her like his old friend.
"Too busy to get your best friend?" Kagome pouts as she pulls away from him and tries to stand from her bed. "And you are very very late."
"What do you mean late?" he asks, helping her stand. "How long have you been here?"
"For 112 years to be exact," she smiles at him sweetly. Aang frowns, feeling guilt for having left her like this.
"And you never gave up on me?"
"What kind of best friend would I be if I did?" The pair exit the temple and are greeted by the villagers.
"Lady Kagome has awakened!" the village leader announces as his people cheer loudly. "The Avatar has brought her back to us!" Kagome blushes slightly, still not used to the praises even after all this time.
"Aang I know you were on your way somewhere, so we should get going," Kagome states after greeting her people. Aang smiles at her, confident that she would make a perfect addition to his team.
After getting supplies from the village, the pair set off on Appa to the Eastern Air Temple. When Kagome had first seen Appa, however, she tackled the flying beast. Saying something along the lines of "aren't you a cutie!" Appa takes to her immediately, snuggling against the small female. Kagome smiles softly at her old friend and in her moment of distraction, Appa licks her from her toes to her head. Kagome stiffens in slight disgust over the spit on her body before trying to wipe the slimy liquid off. Aang laughs loudly, finding Kagome's slimy situation rather hilarious. Kagome glares at him slightly before tackling him into a hug, transferring the saliva to him.
Kagome waves to the people on her Island as she takes off on her journey with the Avatar once again. Being in the air and being able to move around in the living world had Kagome in a state of pure bliss. The wind rushed through her hair as they flew to the Eastern Temple, making her close her eyes and subconsciously spread her aura out further from her person towards Aang and Appa. Any nervousness that they felt had melted away completely, letting Aang calm his forever racing mind.
Appa lands gently on the grounds of the Eastern Temple, the pair on him getting off and thanking him for the ride. "There is so much unsettling silence," Kagome sighs as she places her hand on Appa, finding his presence comforting. "Nothing like it used to be." The sadness in her voice hit Aang's heart harshly, knowing exactly what she meant. The man on the platform above them continues in silence, seeming to be meditating.
"Uh, hello?" Aang calls out, ridding his thoughts of the past. "You're Guru Pathik, right?" The pair climbs the steps to the man as Aang continues questioning him.
"Indeed," the Guru speaks as he opens his eyes. "I was a spiritual brother of your people and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso." The name brought back many memories for both Kagome and Aang. Kagome's eyes fill with tears, knowing for sure that her old friend was long gone due to the war. She remembered watching Roku and Gyatso train together with airbending, fool around when studying, everything. Kagome hadn't thought about the friends she had made throughout time, her mind only letting her think of her partner whenever it decided to wander. Aang, however, doesn't let himself dwell on the fact as he continues his conversation with the Guru.
"Drink up," Pathik says to Aang while holding a bowl of yellowish liquid. Aang takes it and does as told, only to spit it out immediately. Kagome laughs loudly at Aang's face of disgust.
"This tastes like onion and banana juice," he grimaces as Kagome continues her laughter.
"That's because it is," Pathik drinks his share before flipping the bowl over his head. "Yum yum." Aang looks at the man like he has lost his mind while Kagome calms her laughter enough to greet him.
"How have you survived this long, Pathik?" Kagome smiles to him, having not seen him in many years.
"Don't worry about that, Kagome," Pathik smiles back to her and pulls her into a hug. "Just be glad that they haven't found you yet." Kagome knew what he was meaning, yet didn't want it to be true. Her love for the fire nation slowly fading with each piece of information she uncovered.
"Tell me everything you know about Chakras," Pathik says calmly, expecting at least some sort of knowledge from the boy.
"What are Chakras?" Aang asks while rubbing his eye. Kagome shakes her head slightly in disappointment.
"My, my, Kagome," the Guru teases. "Have you been teaching him nothing?"
"Hey!" Kagome snaps as she raises her hands in defense. "I just woke up!" Pathik chuckles slightly before continuing his lesson with Aang.
"I guess we'll start with the basics." Pathik then uses the creek pools around them as a reference to give Aang a better picture of something unseen.
"So chakras are pools of spiraling energy in our bodies?"
"Exactly!"
"However," Kagome decides to add. "If nothing else were around, it would flow clear and continuous." Kicking her feet slowly in one of the pools, she sighs. "Yet life has a way of being messy and unpredictable, tainted things tend to fall into the creek."
"And then what happens?" Pathik questions Aang.
"The pools can't flow?" Aang answers unsurely, looking towards Kagome for guidance. She nods to him with a calm smile.
"But if we open the paths between them," Pathik comments as he lifts some algae away from an opening.
"The energy flows!"
The three move on to a large cave, hidden from the outside. Pathik begins the next lesson for opening the chakra pools, warning both of them about the intense experience. While this wouldn't be the first time Kagome has done this, it had been a long while since she last had to. "Once you begin this process, you cannot stop until all seven are open." Kagome takes a deep breath, preparing herself. Aang hesitates before he inhales slowly, making up his mind.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
"First, we will open the Earth chakra," Pathik continues as they all close their eyes to meditate. "Located at the base of the spine." Kagome focuses on her breathing more, knowing how hard this was going to be for not only her but Aang. At this point, she couldn't read him or his aura, nor did she realize who the Guru was until she saw him. Her pools were completely blocked, having been stuck for those 100 years. "It deals with survival and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid of?"
Kagome hadn't thought much about this question before, usually, it was lead by her Avatar dying in her arms again or never waking up. But this was different, now she was afraid of not being able to help, to protect the person she promised herself to. Because then everything would be for not. She would let the world and her Avatar down. If she were to die, the Avatar cycle would continue without her. "Let your fears become clear to you." Kagome saw Roku dying in her arms again after he wouldn't listen to her and escape the island. She saw Kyoshi fighting for her life while she was left captive. She saw Aang being taken down by a wall of fire while they both screamed out in fear for Aang's survival. "Your visions are not real." The pair relaxes, listening to Pathik guide them. "Let your fears flow down the creek." Everything in front of them vanishes and brings them back to the present. "You have opened your Earth chakra."
Pathik leads them to a cave behind a waterfall, settling down as he returns to his teachings. "Next is the-"
"Water Chakra?" Aang cuts him off, finally understanding what was going on.
"Brilliant!" Pathik praises. "Maybe one day you will be a Guru, too." Kagome chuckles slightly, welcoming the lighter comments from Pathik. "This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt."
"So we are looking for all the guilt that burdens us?" Kagome asks in more of a statement.
"Yes, and what do you blame yourself for?" Kagome frowns as she retreats into her thoughts again. She was the reason Wan refused to give back the fire, convincing him that he would need it. How she had rejected Sozin's courtship many times. How she couldn't save Kyoshi or Roku. How she wasn't there for Gyatso or Aang. How her people took care of her island without asking for anything from her in return. "You need to forgive yourself." Kagome sighs, wanting to let it all go, but the memory of Roku was still too fresh in her mind. "You need to let it go." With another sigh, Kagome forces herself to forgive, to let go of everything that was out of her own control.
They find themselves on a ledge with the sun shining down on them harshly. "Third is the Fire chakra, located in the stomach."
"My fire chakra would like to eat…"
"Something other than onion-banana juice?" Kagome laughs with Aang, poking fun at Pathik.
"Yes, yes," Pathik chuckles. "Good one. But moving on." They quiet their giggles and focus on their breathing again. "This chakra deals with willpower, and is blocked by shame." Kagome tenses, remembering when she had held Kyoshi back; when she had told Roku that he needed to be stronger. She was always comparing each Avatar to their past self. Kagome knew she shouldn't do it, finding herself more and more like Inuyasha. The one person she could never see again. His name rang in her ears for what felt like an eternity, making sure she would never forget it again. He was the reason she remained, the reason she chose to stay by Wan's side. Kagome had wished to follow him, to find her Inuyasha again. She felt shame for using her best friend to find her lover. Kagome held onto her head, her mind hammering with memories she had pushed down thousands of years ago. She never told them, any of them. And Roku, he felt the closest to Inuyasha but not close enough to be him. But she knew she had to let it go, to let it flow over her and continue on. During her inner turmoil, Aang was able to open his much like a burping bison according to Pathik. Kagome finally calmed herself and forced the memories down the creek of her energy. "Are you alright, Kagome?" the Guru breaks her from her thoughts.
"I'm fine," she responds calmly.
"Your energy crashed out like a tsunami," he states knowingly. "Whatever you were holding onto completely blocked the flow over your other pools." Kagome doesn't respond, having gotten over her shame for once and didn't feel like bringing it up ever again.
Moving locations around the temple was tiring and annoying for Kagome, she just wanted to rest after everything and not be emotionally attacked like this. "The fourth chakra deals with love and is blocked by grief. Located in the heart. Lay all your grief out in front of you." Kagome returns to her time in Edo with Inuyasha, her love for her second family dwelling in her heart. She had watched them die at the hands of her enemy, Naraku. She had wanted to grow old with them, to cherish them until her dying breath. But her jewel threw her where she was needed and that was at the side of Wan and Raava. Kagome saw them for the last time, being the only one in this world who would know anything about them. But her time with them has been long over, her grief never seeming to wilt away. "It is rebuilt in the form of new love." Kagome then sees her Avatars. She loved all of them dearly, learning a new way from each one. "Let the pain flow away." The pair cry at their memories of past loved ones, Kagome finding her Avatar again and Aang finding his love for Katara. "Very good."
"Can I have some onion-banana juice, please?" Aang asks politely, causing Kagome to laugh. Of course he would end up liking that stuff.
"The fifth in the chain is the sound chakra, located in the throat. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies. The ones we tell ourselves." The lies Kagome told herself were to keep others around her from knowing her burdens, her pains. She lies to herself about being ok about never dying and never being able to settle. She lies to herself about not wanting to cut the ties with Wan and Raava. She lies about not wanting to end it to find him again. But she's looked all over the spirit world for any sign of his soul. But she let it all go, to start anew with Aang like she should have done with Wan.
"The sixth pool of energy is the light chakra, located in the center of the forehead. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion." Kagome knew exactly where this was going. The illusion of separation.
"Everything is connected."
The week went by, draining Kagome almost completely. She may have had a hundred years to dwell on everything under the pain come back, but undoing the damage was harder to deal with. Pathik explains the last chakra, located at the crown of the head. "It deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. Meditate on what attaches you to this world." Kagome begins to think of everything she could that would keep her attached here, but can only think of Aang and Inuyasha.
"Why would I let go of Katara?" Aang asks defensively. "I- I love her." Kagome snaps out of her thoughts and repeats what he said in her mind.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Kagome teases slightly. This has happened many times before, where her Avatar finds love before finding her. Was it the girl that brought him back? Aang's cheeks flush brightly as her question, ready to deny it.
"You need to let her go, or you cannot let the pure cosmic energy flow in from the universe."
"Why would I choose cosmic energy over Katara? How can it be a bad thing that I feel an attachment to her? Three chakras ago that was a good thing."
"You must learn to let go." Kagome focuses back into herself, letting go of her attachment to Wan and Raava yet still keeping her promise to them. She let's go of Inuyasha. The energy from the universe starts flowing through her, giving her abilities back to her at full strength. As she comes back to reality, Aang had gotten up and was walking away from them. "You have locked the chakra pool by choosing your earthly attachments!" Kagome's eyes widen at this, getting up to help Aang.
"Katara needs me," Aang looks at her with complete seriousness.
"Then let's go save her," Kagome states, standing by him.
"Kagome you can't let him! If he goes now he'll never be able to unlock the Avatar state!" Aang says nothing before heading towards Appa to leave.
"He will because my Avatar does what is needed." Kagome follows after him, quickly climbing onto the flying bison and they rush back towards Ba Sing Se.
"The trip will take a few hours, so let's get to know each other fully again," Kagome states hopefully.
"Well, what do you want to know?" Aang asks, humoring her in the conversation while his mind raced.
"Why did you disappear?" Kagome asks bluntly, it was better to start from the beginning and keep the order of his adventures correct. "And how were you found again?"
"Oh," he sighs. "I ran away and got caught in a bad storm with Appa." Aang continues his tale, telling her about how Sokka and Katara found him, how he found Momo, and the remains of Gyatso. He tells her about the banished prince, about the blind earthbender named Toph, about how he had lost Appa, and about Ba Sing Se. Kagome listens to his adventures, proud of how far he has come so far.
They make a stop, confusing Kagome greatly. Aang only nods to another male before the male climbs on Appa with them as they take off again. "So who's she?" the male whispers to Aang.
"That's Kagome, she's been with all my past lives."
"Wait, you mean the Priestess of the Spirit realm?"
"You know about me?" Kagome asks, completely shocked.
"Well, you're said to be a myth," the male rubs the back of his neck, now nervous about the younger looking girl in front of him. "And you are usually pictured to be a lot older…" Kagome crosses her arms and huffs.
"So I'm a bedtime story parents tell their kids to keep their hopes up…"
"Exactly!" This worsens her mood as she turns away from them. "B-but they were always amazing stories," he tries to fix his obvious mistake. "I'm Sokka," he sighs as Kagome merely nods to him and watches the sky pass them.
"As smooth as ever," Aang laughs slightly before turning back to the matter at hand. He tells Sokka about what he saw with Katara being in trouble, leaving Kagome out of the conversation for a moment.
Kagome looks towards the ground, finding something out of place and moving fast. "Hey guys, what's that?" she asks, grabbing their attention. The males search for what she was talking about, finding something moving quickly. Aang had Appa speed up to reach the fast object.
"Hey, it's Toph!" Aang pulls them closer to the female that was running. "Need a ride?" This breaks the girl's concentration as she falls back from her rock formations.
Picking her up, the group carries on their way to save Katara.
"So how did it go with the Guru?"
"Yeah, did you master the Avatar State yet?" Kagome's gaze bore into the back of Aang's head, knowing fully well that he was about the lie to his friends.
"Yeah of course! I had a great time with the Guru." Kagome shakes her head, not finding it her place to call him on his bullshit. She could tell that they knew he was lying, though.
They land at the Earth King's palace, questioning him about Katara's whereabouts.
"She is fine," he tells them. "She's been with the Kyoshi warriors." Kagome stopped listening after that, deciding to do her own investigating. Something was off, someone isn't who they should be. And most importantly, someone felt like him.