It took me a couple hours to type this up, which is why I'm beating myself up on the head for not getting my butt in gear earlier. Anyway, enjoy the epilogue. It's really short but that's because it's the end of everything. There might be a sequel. Read more below after you finish.
Thanks to Half-Demon Cali for reviewing!
Half-Demon Cali: It was supposed to be freaky! I'm glad it came across that way.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Miya. Not even the reference to Brian Jacques.
It was a gorgeous day in feudal Japan. The sky was blue, the clouds white, the sun shining, and the birds chirping. Everyone was in a small field in the woods, lying on their backs and simply enjoying the lovely weather. Kagome was curled up by Inuyasha; Sango and Miroku were lying side by side; Miya was resting up against Kirara with Shippo on the feline's head.
There was absolute silence except for the wind rustling the grass. Not one of the friends spoke. It wasn't until a stray cloud covered the sun that Miya roused and sat up, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky.
"Something up, Miya?" Miroku asked, opening an eye.
Miya shook her head. "No."
Inuyasha rested his weight on his elbows, cocking an eyebrow at the girl. "You know that none of us believe you, right?"
Miya sighed. "All right. I was thinking of when I had to leave."
"You have to leave?" Kagome said, frowning. She sat up.
"Yeah. It was never my intention to stay here anyway," Miya said, shrugging. "It was just that you, Kagome, were captured by something that was my business so I had to stay and clear up the mess that was my fault."
"You can stay here, though," Kagome pleaded, not wanting to see her friend go. "There's no need for you to go into hiding."
"Not into hiding," Miya disagreed. "There's no need for that anymore. I just don't belong here. This isn't my world."
"Can you go back?" Sango asked.
"No. I can't." Miya hugged her legs, staring at the grass. "There's nothing there for me anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if my world blew up with how things were escalating."
"And you might not be able to find it," Miroku added.
"Exactly," Miya said with a firm nod.
"But why can't you stay?" Shippo had also joined the conversation. "You're our friend!"
"And you're mine," Miya said, smiling. "But you have a mission here to fulfill."
"You can help us," Inuyasha objected. "Naraku wouldn't stand a chance against you."
"That's just it. This isn't my battle. If the curtain hadn't interfered I would never have met you. You need to face Naraku on your own and find the jewel fragments."
"But the curtain did interfere," Kagome argued. "You're here now. Why can't you stay?"
Miya smiled sadly. "It's not my battle," she repeated. "There are lessons that need to be learned that only you can learn if I leave. I'll only hinder you on these journeys."
"And what if they find us again?" Miroku asked, meaning the shadowy demons of the world between the worlds.
"I'll know," she said simply, pulling at the grass. She didn't uproot anything. "I'm familiar with everything that has to do with you."
"That sounds twisted," Inuyasha muttered.
"It does, doesn't it?" Miya laughed. "But you know what I mean. If something happens I'll definitely find out. No matter where I am."
"Will we see you again?" Kagome asked. "We're going to miss you."
"And I'll miss you. You're the first friends I've had since…well…since ever."
"Then why can't you stay?" Sango inquired.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm really going to miss you guys. It's just that I don't belong here and never will. I'm merely a passing visitor."
"Where do you belong?" Shippo said.
"In my world. But since it's already been established that I can't go back, I'll just drift between worlds until I find someplace where I'm destined to be," Miya explained. "Since I'm obviously uprooted from where I would've stayed, it's clear that I was never intended to be there in the grand scheme of things."
"Oh come on," Inuyasha scoffed. "You don't seriously believe there's some grand being out there that's watching our every move?"
"That is my religion, Inuyasha," Miroku reminded him.
"And we all know how well you follow your status of being a monk," Inuyasha retorted. "I thought they were supposed to steer clear of women?"
"Perhaps I'm not quite a full monk," Miroku said delicately, dancing around the subject.
"Regardless…" Miya seemed to be fishing around for something. She finally looked at Kagome. "Have you ever heard of an author that goes by Brian Jacques in your world?"
Kagome furrowed her brow. "He sounds American so probably not. I don't recall hearing that name."
"Well, he writes books. One of them is titled Castaways of the Flying Dutchman and is about a boy and a dog that have been touched by an angel. They are immortal and travel from place to place, helping those in need. While they do long for a home, they can never stop because the gift that the angel has given them is also a curse," Miya said.
"You're likening your situation to one that's in a book?" Miroku asked.
"Yes. It's very similar except that I travel between worlds and not between locations already on one planet." Miya smiled wistfully. "I may not be immortal but I am also displaced, unable to find a proper home. Perhaps they will find rest as I hope to."
"If you have to," Inuyasha said reluctantly. "It would've been nice to see you whoop Naraku's butt, though."
"You'll do that on your own." Miya winked, smiling broadly. "I have no doubts about that."
"Are you leaving soon?" Kagome hoped it wasn't in the near future.
"Perhaps in a few days," Miya said. "I have to wait for an opening."
"You can't just open it?" Miroku looked at her curiously.
"That was just an extreme case," Miya said. "It takes too much energy. I need everything I have in order to face what the curtain holds."
"I thought you said that they wouldn't be after you anymore," Sango said.
"Not in other worlds," Miya corrected. "They'll be after me simply because I'm an intruder. After I'm out, though, they'll leave me alone."
"At least stay with us some more," Shippo implored. "We're going to miss you."
"I'll miss you, too, Shippo." Miya ruffled the kitsune's hair affectionately. "Just don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, will you? You know how lonely Inuyasha will get without your pranks!"
Inuyasha promptly scowled. "I will not get lonely!"
"Sure."
The next day… Nighttime…
"Is there something you wanted, Miya?" Kagome sat next to her friend on Kaede's roof. She'd gotten up with help from her friend's mind powers.
"Just to talk," Miya said, clearing a space next to her. The wind was blowing strongly but not strong to blow them off.
"About anything important?" Kagome sat next to her.
"You and Inuyasha." Miya observed Kagome's reaction out of the corner of her eye. She was not disappointed as she was met with a furious blush.
"What do you have to talk about?" Kagome was looking everywhere but at Miya. "We're friends."
"It's more than that," Miya disagreed. "Take some advice from a friend, all right?"
"Can this advice be given later?" Kagome asked, fiddling with her fingers.
"I'm going to be leaving later tonight," Miya said gently.
"What? Why?" Kagome objected. "I thought you said you'd be leaving in a couple of days! That was yesterday!"
"I miscalculated," Miya said apologetically. "The opening came sooner than expected."
"Can't you wait for the next one?"
"It's time, Kagome. It's why I wanted to talk to you about Inuyasha."
"We're friends," Kagome repeated. "Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Seize the chances before they're gone," Miya advised. "There will come a time that you'll regret not coming clean about your feelings towards him. If you tell him first he'll tell you, too. He's just not sure about how you feel towards him."
Kagome sighed, her arms slipping between her knees as she drew them up. "How? I-I'm not even sure if he feels the same way! What if I end up making a fool of myself?"
"You won't," Miya said reassuringly. "I believe in you. Have a little faith in Inuyasha, too. You already know what he's feeling."
"I do?"
"You do," Miya said firmly. "Remember what your nightmare was about? Your nightmare about Inuyasha was the worst."
"You know?" Kagome's cheeks flushed even as she thought back to that horrifying time.
"I was the one who broke you out of it," Miya reminded her. "I was there in your mind. You heard my voice, didn't you?"
"I did," Kagome admitted. "Thank you for that. So much."
"It was what anybody else would've done," Miya brushed it off. "I'm your friend, Kagome. And that's why I'm trying to push you two together," she added slyly, throwing her a sidelong glance.
Kagome groaned dramatically. "And thanks for that."
"You're welcome," Miya said nonchalantly, smiling. "Think about what I said, all right?"
"You're leaving now?" Kagome looked unhappy.
"We'll see each other again," Miya promised. "I can promise you that."
"Thanks," Kagome murmured. She smiled weakly. "I'll hold you to that."
"Wouldn't take it any other way." Miya hitched up her new quiver of arrows and bow, giving Kagome one last smile. "'Till next time." She jumped down from the roof, landing neatly.
"Yeah," Kagome said softly, not sure if Miya heard her. "Be safe."
Apparently, Miya did hear her because just before she disappeared into the forest, she looked back and waved, giving Kagome a thumbs up, too. Then she was gone.
Kagome sighed and stood up on the roof, her hair being blown to one side by the wind. She stared up at the waning moon and wondered when she would see her friend again. She would have to talk to Inuyasha very soon. A mild blush covered her cheeks when she considered what she would have to talk to him about.
'Trust him,' she told herself firmly. 'That's what she said.'
Trust him. Just like she would trust herself to finish what they had started with Naraku.
It was odd, how a chance encounter with a strange girl who had literally come out of nowhere could change everything. Completely odd. But then, Kagome's life had never been simple.
Indeed, it had never been simple.
I feel sorta depressed that my first ever fanfic is finished. But not very much. I have more time for my other fics now. I have to thank my readers (few as they are) for reading this story. Thanks so much, Half-Demon Cali and KiraraTwoTail! Would you two mind dropping a REVIEW?
By the way, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is a real book by Brian Jacques. All his books are great reads and I totally recommend reading them. In other news, I am considering a sequel to this story titled Twisted Fates. Here's a summary of what it would be about: There has been a twist in the fabric of the world between the worlds. Not a big problem, right? Wrong. Inuyasha and the gang never met up thanks to the world between the worlds interfering with the Bone Eater's Well. Inuyasha is still stuck on the tree, Miroku is doomed, Sango has her family, Shippo lives with his father, and Kagome never heard of the feudal era. When Miya finds out, it's up to her to figure out how to get the gang together again and fix the problem.
It will not be up soon because I have more important fics to focus on. I would recommend keeping this story on Story Alert because when I post it, I'll add an author's note alerting you. Thanks a bunch for staying with me throughout this fic!