Chapter 18- No Regrets

Kagome closed the leather-bound tome that she had been reading and settled it in amongst her other various binders and books that filled the heavy messenger bag she carried. Hefting it onto her shoulder, she bounced lightly down the stairs; her muscles from the Feudal Era having been maintained, it was easy to lift such a load. A purified Shikon Jewel, now shimmering dully, hung at her throat, Midoriko's spirit having been released and laid to rest when they'd wished upon it. Kagome had wished that she, Sango, Miroku and Kohaku would all live with the life-spans of youkai, so that they wouldn't die before Inuyasha.

The miko placed a quick kiss on Kenshin's head, as well as the head of his four-year old… well, on youkai terms she was four… sister, whose name came from the creator of what brought them together. Midoriko.

"Off to the University so early, Mom?" Kenshin asked, his ears cocked with curiosity. The look was still cute on him, even though he had long grown into quite the young man. His fifteenth (youkai) birthday had been just the week before. She nodded, grabbing a piece of toast off her husband's plate as he came through the kitchen door and giving him a peck on the cheek in return. "What's up?"

"I'm helping some of my students prepare a party for the graduating class. They wanted my help in making everything 'authentic'."

She giggled at the thought. Her students all knew that she'd been to the Feudal Era, though she only told them if they asked. They figured it out quite easily when they saw that she hadn't even had to go to college herself for but a year to finish learning about the section in history which she taught. Most figured it out on their own, and if they wanted anything 'authenticated', they skipped the 'experts' and went straight to her.

"Sounds like fun, but that doesn't mean you get to short yourself on breakfast," Inuyasha fussed. She giggled.

"Chill! I'll run by WacDnald's and get a biscuit, I promise!"

"Daddy, you know that if she gives you that look she's lying, right?" little Midoriko asked. She giggled when her mother shot her a dirty look that clearly said 'Now why in the world did you have to tell him that?' "You might want to follow and make sure!"

He shook his head, easily swinging the bag off of her shoulder and onto the floor next to her chair, setting the heaped plate in her hands as he did so. She gave a cute pout, but sat down to eat anyway. They had learned over the years that, when it came to the Feudal Era in the future, she had a tendency to get a little excited. Kagome thought over what she had discovered since the Final Battle as she ate.

The old Bone-Eater's Well… it had always been a mystery as to why it would allow Inuyasha, Kenshin and herself through, but not the others. Turns out, it was because their destinies were forever an inseparably linked that they were able to come. It was because they, of all those who lived when Kagome arrived, would be the only ones to survive to the Future. Well… that was the case until their wish on the Shikon. After that, Sango, Miroku and Kohaku could go through as well.

The reason Kagome had always been so strong… she was supposedly the reincarnation of Kikyou, but it seemed that she had always been the stronger of the two. This was a real shock… she wasn't Kikyou's reincarnation at all. She was Midoriko's. The indicators seemed so clear, now that she thought about it. How Guo, the bull hanyou, had wanted to use her soul to bind the New Jewel together. How Kanna's mirror was nearly broken because her soul was so voluminous, and even after part of it was sealed away she was able to move. The sacred powers she'd used when battling Mistress Centipede had not repeated themselves until much later when she'd first come across Kenshin, because by then she had finally developed the powers on her own.

And Kenshin's biological father hadn't meant any harm. He'd wanted to protect his son, like any other dad. Turned out that, while he was slowly meeting his death, he'd called Kenshin over to him and explained what had happened so there would be no hard feelings. Naraku, evidently, had killed him sometime before, but had used a Jewel Shard to bring him back and put him in his service. That snake… Naraku had threatened to kill Kenshin if his father did not serve him, and naturally, the man would not have his son come to any harm.

She quickly finished her meal and vaulted out of her chair and back up the stairs to brush her teeth again. It was funny; now that she and Inuyasha lived in the Future, they had taken over the Shrine and lived there with her mother and brother. Her grandfather had died only the year before, but he had enjoyed playing with Midoriko and Kenshin. He considered them both his grandchildren by birth, and accepted them as willingly as he would've human children. Her mother was now in charge of keeping up the Shrine the way her father used to, and Souta was now a 10th grader. He kept telling everyone that he was going to establish a huge library full of books from and about the Sengoku Jidai.

She took the stairs as was habit: two leaps. One for the first half, another for the second half and the majority of the floor beneath it. In a single, practiced motion, she tweaked the three sets of dog-ears about the table, slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, yelled a good-bye and darted out the door. She noted suddenly that she had forgot to remember to use her white hair-ribbon, but pushed the thought aside. She'd look even more the part of a duplicate Kikyou if she pulled that stunt. She had let her hair grow out like Kikyou's, so now there was hardly any way for the two of them to be told apart; she made the excuse that it helped her students see into the past.

She called a 'good-morning' as she passed by Ayumi, who was now happily holding down a job at the nearby Sylvan center, and stopped to buy her usual, once-a-week bottle of vitamin C pills from Hojo's newly-opened apothecary and say hi to Eri, whom he had married just a couple of years before. As for Yuka… she had moved to Hollywood the year before, and was now quite a popular make-up artist among the stars from her home country.

She noticed now that Inuyasha was running at her side. He usually did follow her to school; she wasn't really surprised. He was probably going to help them out with the graduation party. She rolled her eyes. Show off. Likes to show that he can still run every bit as fast as he used to. He could wait half an hour and catch up to me in less than half of that, I swear…

He glanced over and smirked at her. She had to admit, the short haircut she'd given him four years ago looked pretty good on him. She'd maintained it all that time, and it seemed just as much apart of him as the old, billowing length used to be. She noted that he'd chosen to wear his favorite work clothes that day: beige army-style cargo pants and a red sleeveless t-shirt. She had to admit, he looked hot. I wish he didn't have to wear that cap all the time, though…

With practiced precision, Kagome launched herself into the air, and Inuyasha moved over under her just in time to allow her to perch softly on his back. This, too, was something they did often. It reminded her of the old days when they were searching for the Shikon Shards through the open country of the Warring States Era; she missed those days, but knew that now, her life was here, and that she couldn't go back to what had already occurred. Sometimes she wished she could find her younger self, the one that was still in the past, and tell her about the fights they would have and the things he would do, but that everything would be ok in the end.

She'd never forget the day she called him a half-breed, but she would never ever regret what it did.

Owari

AN: Okay, if I told you it was longer than this, I lied. I was probably thinking of "A Miko's Secret Heart," which still has chapters to go. At any rate, this is the end! Hope you enjoyed it people; this is, to date, still my most popular story, even on repost! Even competing with my new stuff! That's really a wow. XP So please review and encourage me to post new stuff soon! LATER~!

*waves bye* Don't forget to keep an eye out for my up-and-coming stories listed on the Map Writers profile: Still Here and Pulling Strings will be making their debut as soon as I'm confident of posting them!