It's the end! Hope you enjoy it and the story. And that this ending isn't disappointing and yeah I know, not much of a wait but I have no patience and most readers (being an avid one myself, with real novels that is) I hate stopping at a critical point.

Happy reading.

Clarity

And the sight that greeted her had her weeping.

It was her dear friend and confident, Inuyasha with a concerned Sango standing behind him.

It had been so long since she had seen them, she had no idea what to say in response to anything. If they even did say anything, she had missed them too much to be sane. And too little to make her feel good.

"Oh I've missed you guys so much."

Inuyasha looked like she had a fever and Sango asked her an odd question, "What do you mean?"

"It's been like thirteen years," Kagome snorted, like? How about thirteen horribly lonely years? "The well closed and everyone--…"

"That's the last time you have ramen right before bed, obviously it makes you have crazy dreams." Sango smiled and patted the younger girls' resting hand. "Get up and take a bath before we head to the well, ok?" She walked off in the direction of a following stream, where Miroku and Shippo sat side by side.

Kagome was confused.

Is this the afterlife? Like I'm traveling again? And Kagome looked up at the silent Inuyasha and knew it, oh fuck, this is hell.

Almost as if reading her thoughts, Inuyasha laughed, "get up and make some ramen. I'm hungry." He walked away as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Kagome sat up, touched her face (nice and smooth and young feeling), looked down at her hands (which were the same), and then laughed.

"It was a dream!?" Kagome didn't know what else to do except laugh because fate had either played her like a drum or shown her what could happened. Either one, scared her immensely.

So Kagome went along with it, returning Miroku's greeting (he made fun of her for sleeping in so late), and Shippo's hug before heading to take a bath. She felt incredibly dirty.

But as she was walking through the idyllic forest, she stopped when she saw him. He looked like she remembered, like how he always looked, how he looked in her dream…when he apologized.

She didn't know what to do, she didn't greet him for sure even though their groups were traveling together and they had killed Naruku. She glanced down at her abdomen and saw it bandaged.

She knew it would scar and the only thing that would sooth it when it hurt was a cold water bottle and she smiled softly, and looked up at Lord Saigoku.

She knew it was no point in telling him because all he would do is apologize.

For what, she never wanted to know but she knew enough about the possible future to know that she didn't want to leave with the pain of knowing, but the pain of not knowing. So she clutched her belongings tighter to her and bowed slightly before walking around him, she knew it was odd. She was the talkative one of her group but sometimes, things were better left unsaid.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

She knew when to not speak even if she rarely exercised the practice. So the day went by as planned, she took a bath (and when she returned to camp Sesshomaru's group was there), packed up her things and continued the journey to her future. She smiled a lot without actually speaking much, and the others wondered if the sleep she had taken had harmed her in any way. But she knew better because she knew her future and knew what to do.

But when they arrived, at dusk, to the village she had considered a second home a festival was in place. So the group decided that they would stay the time and enjoy themselves.

Only Kagome didn't want to spend anymore time with Him. It was hard not playing into Fates' hands and painful, the soon to be scar on her abdomen was flaring up as if telling her that she needed to do what she was meant to do.

And that was get her heart broken, so Kagome refused and when everyone separated into the various stalls she went through it and into the dark forest. She turned and softly whispered her goodbyes, she was heartbroken but she knew that they would be fine and happy.

Miroku and Sango would marry and have many babies.

Shippo would grow up tall and strong and have to beat the ladies off with a stick.

And Inuyasha, her beloved friend, would quite possibly guard them all.

So she turned to the darkness and slowly picked her way home and knew that in her heart, her whole heart, it was the right thing to do.

When she broke into the clearing of her well, she saw Him. Of course, the last curve ball in Fate's stock. And she sighed, but smiled, "Hello Lord Saigoku, what brings you here?"

He merely inclined his head, acknowledging the honorific she used, and looked pass her, "you leave them with no words."

She nodded at the non-question, "its better this way, no tears and no messy goodbyes. They'll soon realize I'm not in their midst and know I've left." She shrugged as if it was a simple thing to do.

If she had not been traveling with him and observing him, she would never have noticed the sigh but she did, "And why is that such a bad thing to do?"

He stepped forward, only one step and looked at her finally, "There is no honor is hiding from what you are meant to do."

She frowned, thinking he knew about her dream but only shrugged before casually scratching her head. "Sometimes it's not easy what Fate asks you to do. Sometimes it's easier to just not do anything."

"Fate might want you to run from your fears."

"Then at least, I am taking the easier of the routes."

"Things that are easy to acquire are seldom worth anything."

"But things that are difficult are never fully appreciated…or understood."

Sesshomaru stepped forward, as Kagome stepped forward and she knew that Fate had changed its plans and she would still probably end up with a broken heart. And that was painful knowing she was a pawn in her own life.

So she did what she was meant to do and told him how she felt. Down to the last horrid little detail, how she wished she was a demon just to have a chance with him and how she wished he was different but she didn't want him to be.

And she waited, watching the silent lord for longer then necessary before she sighed, "I don't mean to embarrass you Sesshomaru." And she walked around him just in time to hear him speak.

"I am sorry," and her eyes grew heavy with moisture.

She knew it was over, and when she jumped into the well, no one would stand on the other side.

And she would die in a little over a decade after hearing those words.

And she wept openly because he was leaving.

She wasn't supposed to have her heart broken twice, by the same family. Maybe she should have taken reliable Hojo up on that offer of a date, because if she had, maybe she wouldn't be standing by a well in the middle of the night, crying.

Her dream was coming true.

But it wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.

She turned around angrily, and saw his slowly departing figure. "I knew you were going to say that!" She yelled because she felt like he should know that she knew. She was better at him in something.

She saw him stop and turn his head towards her, and she knew he wanted to know how she knew. "I overslept and had this horrible nightmare. I went back to my time, but I told you how I felt and you said that you were sorry. And then I'll….die in about thirteen years…from right now." She stopped sobbing but the tears flowed freely. She didn't want to stop them anyways, he deserved to see the pain he had caused, even if unknowingly.

"I didn't want to even like you. I wanted to hate you, not because you're an arrogant demon, but because you hurt the only family you have. And out of the whole world, family is all you have. You shouldn't turn your back on one of your own, maybe that's why you say sorry to me, because I'm just a pathetic human. But I'm guessing it's more to do with you than me." Kagome had stopped crying altogether, she felt good about saying this. He deserved to hear it.

"Yeah so I love you. I don't care that you can't feel anything except obligation but I've watched you enough recently to know even that's a lie. You feel violently and passionately about those you deem worthy enough." Kagome sighed, and clutched the rotting wood of her well tight, "I know I'll regret ever telling you so much but at least I'll live in a regret knowing what I know." She paused and looked at her silent audience. "But will you live all your years alone and wondering what you don't know?"

Kagome turned to sit on the well's lip, turned, "Bye Lord Saigoku, I wish you the best."

And she vanished.

--

Fin.

(Is there a demand for an epilogue? Tell me if you want one, I have an idea but won't bother writing one if not desired.)