"KAGOME!" A familiar voice screamed. "KAGOME!"

'Huh?' Kagome thought, remaining still with her eyes closed. She wanted to move her head towards the source of the voice but couldn't. 'How come I can't move?Whose calling my name?That person sounds so familiar…'

"KAGOME, STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Another familiar voice cried out. The intensity of this voice sent chills through Kagome's body as she immediately recognized who that person was. "KAGOME!"

'Sango?...What…What is going on?' Kagome thought, 'Why are you screaming my name like that?'

"KAGOME PLEASE…" Sango begged, which confused Kagome on why the demon slayer would do such a thing towards her. '. " a revealing Sango standing in front of a horrified Miroku on the ground. "PUT THE ARROW DOWN!"

Upon hearing this, Kagome's eyes snapped open and she was immediately greeted with the sight of a teary eyed Sango standing in front of a stunned Miroku who was on the ground as if someone had just knocked him down. Standing besides him were Shippo and Kirara who appeared the same as Sango had–as if they were trying to protect Miroku from someone.

'But who?...What's going on?' Kagome thought.

But then she realized something, everybody was all staring at her with horrified and sadden expressions on their faces. As if something had happened to her. 'But I'm ok..I'm not hurt or anything am I?'

However before she could think more on the looks of her teammates, she finally looked at what she holding at her hand….what she was using to aim at what was in front of her.

Suddenly the words of everyone from before made sense….

"KAGOME, STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Miroku called out, his face desperately pleaded with her to listen, "PUT THE ARROW DOWN!"

However, before Kagome could do just that, her hand suddenly released the arrow towards the monk. Then it was as if time slowed down the next seconds, and Kagome could only watch in horror as her arrow left her bow and flew straight towards Miroku, and pireced right through his chest.

Gasping out in pain, Miroku grabbed at the arrow at his chest trying to remove it, but fell to the ground and stopped moving. Everyone watched in horror as blood began to flow from Miroku's chest from the ground.

Unable to believe what just happened, Kagome just stood aghast at the sight in front of her. This couldn't be real….This couldn't be real….. She had just killed Miroku…

Suddenly before Kagome could do anything else, her eyes snapped towards the demon slayer who just bent down to check on the fallen monk. Kagome watched as Sango put her hand on Miroku's neck, before slowly taking it away.

Then, Sango turned towards Kagome with a horrified look as tears ran down her face.

"Kagome…." Sango managed to say, "Why…"

Before, Sango could do anything else, Kagome shot her arrow again and watched as her arrow pierced Sango's chest as it did Miroku.

Sango gripped at the arrow in her chest before collapsing onto the ground and going still.

Suddenly, Kagome heard yelling as she suddenly found herself with Kouga restraining her arms. He was yelling at her to stop and snap out of it, but Kagome herself was too horrified at what had just happened to listen. She felt motionless as Kouga with a desperate expression on his face, begged her to stop and shook her as if he was trying to help her snap out of whatever spell she was under.

'W-What?...D-Did I just…..No…' Kagome thought in shock, '...This can't be real…This can't be real…' However, as she tried to release the bow and arrows in the grasps of her hands, she realized that she couldn't. She had a tight grasps on them. 'W-Why won't my body listen to me?'

Suddenly the flash of Naraku's eyes on Miroku's face appeared in Kagome's mind as memories of her dream immediately flooded her head. 'Naraku!' Kagome realized, now understanding that she was under the spider demon's spell. But her realization at this point was pointless…Miroku and Sango were now dead all because of her….

'This can't be real….'Kagome mentally repeatedly, as memories of her arrows piercing the monk's and demon slayer's chest kept flashing before her eyes, 'This can't be real…' Kagome tried to direct her eyes to the body of the demon slayer and the monk, but her eyes refused to and remained on the wolf demon who remained holding her as he tried shaking her out of whatever spell she was under.

'No…' Understanding what her body wanted to do, Kagome just froze as she stared aghast at Kouga who only looked at her desperately as he pleaded with her to wake up.

Suddenly, as if Kagome's hands once again had a mind of their own, they instantly turned and held onto the wolf demon's arms. And in that moment that she held his arms, her hands released this strange light blue fire onto the wolf demon.

This strange fire did not burn Kagome but as soon as it came upon the wolf demon's arms, it began to instantly burn Kouga. Kouga screamed as he released Kagome's arms and moved back from her. Unfortunately, that did nothing as the fire quickly spread to the rest of his body. Soon Kouga was covered in light blue fire. Kouga howled as he fell to the ground and rolled around in an effort to put out the fire. However, it didn't work and the fire continued to burm him.

"KAGOME!" Kouga cried out as he continued desperately rolling around in the ground, "KAGOME MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"

At this, Kagome just held out her hand towards him and increased the size of the fire. And it seemed as soon as the fire grew bigger, the intensity of it also increased as the wolf demon cries became agonizing and sent chills through Kagome's body.

Internally, Kagome pleaded with her body to release the wolf demon from this torment and to snap out of the spider demon's control, but it was if her cries fell on deaf ears. 'NO! NO! SOMEBODY HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME….KOUGA!...KOUGA…'

"FOX FIRE!" A familiar voice cried out as Kagome's head snapped towards the direction of the voice. And the instant she did, she was surrounded by blue fire that didn't burn her but was However, suddenly knocked down on the ground by Kiara who transformed. After knocking Kagome on the ground, Kiara flew off of her as ropes from nowhere quickly appeared and tied her up.

"DON'T MAKE ME HAVE TO USE THIS AGAINST YOU KAGOME!" Shippo cried out, his face all teary eyed as the fire cat stood by his side in a protective stance. In Shippo's hand, he tightly gripped a spinning top that Kagome knew was barely a weapon.

'Sh—Shippo, please run. Use this as a chance to get on Kirara and fly away. ' Kagome pleaded as she tried looking away from Shippo in shame at what her body was doing. 'Dont come near me..Stay back Shippo!'

However, no matter how shocked and fearful Kagome's soul was towards the safety of her remaining friends, her eyes remained steadfast on Shippo and Kirara. And it was at that moment, the same bright light blue fire that was burning Kouga came and engulfed both Shippo and Kirara.

The screams the both Shippo and Kirara released were too much, both demons fell on the ground and rolled around in an effort to put out the fire, but just like the wolf demon's, the fire refused to go out. As the small demons screamed, Kagome stretched out her hand towards them and increased the intensity of it. Instead of the anguish of both Kirara and Shippo to continue on as long as Kouga's, they only lasted a few minutes until they stopped screaming and immediately went still much to the horror of Kagome.

Horrified and grief stricken, Kagome watched as the fire on both the still bodies of Shippo and Kirara went out. It was by watching them, she realized how quiet it was. And in that moment of realization, Kagome remembered Kouga. As if her body finally listened to her, Kagome's eyes glanced over Kouga's direction and saw that he was also still on the ground, his body almost consumed in burnt marks, but wasn't covered by the fire anymore. The fire was gone and Kouga was quiet.

Kagome sat up upon her knees and the ropes around her vanished. And she was all alone. Kagome shook her head in disbelief and let out an anguished scream. She screamed, screamed and screamed as tears fell from her eyes. She threw her body on the grounds towards the still almost charred remains of the fox demon and wept bitterly.

However, in the midst of her tears, she didn't sense the presence of another person that approached her.

"Kagome, why did you allow the influence of Naraku to go on long and have complete control over you?" The voice said, in such a hauntingly familiar tone that sent chills through Kagome's body. Immediately recognizing who that voice belonged to, Kagome looked up and saw Kikyo standing across from her with a look of plain disgust and anger.

Distraught and taken back from such a look from the other priestess, Kagome sat up but immediately took her eyes away as soon as realized that she laid them upon Kikyo in an effort to protect the other priestess.

"Oh, do not worry about me Kagome. I am not so weak to fall victim to powers that you don't even know how to control." Kikyo said in a condescending tone. "Those powers that you allowed Naraku to use on your friends are my powers that were passed down to you. Do not forget that."

Hearing that, Kagome felt a bit relieved but also felt so guilty at her actions even though she was controlled by Naraku, she didn't even try to defend herself against the verbal abuse the other priestess was giving her. Kagome believed that the cold and harsh words that Kikyo spoke were true rather than abusive.

"Naraku is just a demon Kagome, a demon that you failed to kill and protect the sacred jewel from. It's only a miracle that you didn't give him all the jewel shards that you and your group suffered to get." Kikyo spoke as she looked around the dead bodies that were scattered in the ground. "To let Naraku go this far with his atrocities is simply beyond me. Naraku is not that powerful that your friends had to fall prey into his hands over."

Walking over the the fallen monk and demon slayer, Kikyo went on her knees and closed the two humans' eyes as she said a quick prayer over them. Her action to pray left Kagome alone with her thoughts as they replayed Kikyo's cold and condescending words back to Kagome over and over again.

And each time, Kagome reheard those words, the memory of the friend that Kikyo was on her knees for at the moment, flashed before her eyes. Kagome shut her eyes in an effort to stop seeing the memories, but that was proven to be in vain as the memories continued to flashed in her mind.

Shaking her head in disbelief at the devastation, Kagome attempted to calm herself down by taking deep breaths, but that only led to her weeping once again.

'How could I let this happen? How did everything go so wrong so fast' Kagome thought, suddenly remembering the terrified and horrified looks that Miroku and Sango had on their faces when they were shot. How they stopped moving after struggling to remove the arrow from their chest. How Kouga, Shippo and Kirara screamed in agonizing pain as the fire burnt their bodies and they stopped moving.

As the memories came coming and flooding her mind, Kagome's felt her chest tighten as her heart rate began to quicken. Taking deep breaths to calm down, more memories began to fill Kagome's mind and she continued to hear their screams, their pleads for her to stop and suddenly those pleads all became one voice. One male voice that gave her goosebumps as sooon as she heard it. It was the voice of Inuyasha.

Inuyasha begging her to stop 'sitting' him, the voice of Inuyasha trying to talk to her when she was ignoring him for simply going to see Kikyo's grave, and the voice of Inuyasha begging her to listen to him when the serpent demon came to make a mess of things.

Suddenly, the image of Inuyasha with a bruised cheek after Kouga had punched him looking at her with heartbroken eyes. Eyes that looked like they were going to cry, before he ran away. Then another image flashed before her eyes, an image that she didn't see but imagined. She saw the image of Inuyasha held down somewhere by these huge demons, wounded and half naked. He was trying to appear tough, but one could easily tell how scared he was as he looked up at Naraku who was approaching him with a wicked grin on his face.

Then another image appeared. It was the image of how coldly Inuyasha stared at them as he held Naraku's and his infant in his arms.

Then the words of Naraku echoed in her mind.

"Once I get bored of Inuyasha's body, I'll turn him into a whore for a bunch of random demons. The thrill that overcomes me when I think of his face as he begs me for death. A desperate plead it will be. I have already have seen that face once before, and I can't wait to see it again. I must say, the look of absolute desperation is quite becoming of him and I don't think I can get enough of it…..there's no chance you will ever see Inuyasha again. I'll make sure of it. Sure Inuyasha hates me, but he despises you just the same. He wants nothing to do with you all again. Meaning, if I ever kill Inuyasha off, you won't ever see him again. I'll tell you of his last moments of how the demons raped him once I was bored with his body, but I'll never let you see his death body."

Suddenly, the image of Inuyasha's still body with lifeless and empty golden eyes just lying there as multiple demons taking their time having their way with him and Naraku standing from afar with a wicked and heartless smirk on a his face watching the whole scene. Then next thing Kagome could see were the dead bodies of her friends, Inuyasha and Kouga surrounding hers. And in the midst of it all, all Kagome could hear was Naraku's hearty and wicked laughter as it echoed about the darkness of the gruesome scene.

Finally, the last image that appeared before her was the memories of her friends all besides her smiling and walking down the path that led them on another adventure to find a shard of the shikon jewel shard.

Kagome screamed.

"NO…NO…NO!" Kagome screamed hysterically, tears running down her face as she extended her hands forward in an effort to grab that last image of a memory that she didn't realize that she held so dear to her heart, "THIS CANT BE REAL…THIS CANT BE REAL! AHHH!"

Suddenly, Kagome's head was jerked sideways as a hand made contact with her cheek hard. That's when everything became quiet.

Feeling nothing but the feeling of heavy gulit in the her heart and the stinging of a hand print on her face, Kagome turned back to face the person who slapped her. Stunned tear filled brown eyes met judgemental, hard and cold brown eyes.

"Do not be so disrespectful to the dead Kagome." Kikyo said harshly as she glared at the time traveling priestess, "I am trying to pray for your friends so they can pass on in peace and instead of helping all you are doing is making noise and disturbing the air. Are you not ashamed of yourself Kagome? Aren't you supposed to be the one doing this, instead of me?"

Stunned and didn't know what to say, all Kagome could do is apologize, "I-I'm sorry….I'm sorry, I was just…." Kagome managed got out, "I…"

"Pathetic." Kikyo said looking at the time traveling priestess with nothing but detestation in her eyes. "And you are supposed to be my reincarnation. If I was the one around, none of this would've ever happened."

The way Kikyo was looking at Kagome sent chills down her spine. It was a very dark look on the older priestess face and in her harsh brown eyes, Kagome swore she saw fire in her brown eyes.

Overwhelmed with emotion at what had just happened and what she was experiencing at the moment, Kagome scooted back on the ground in an effort to get anyway from Kikyo. She just had a strong feeling that she should.

"Afraid of me are you?" Kikyo sneered, with the same look on her face as she took a step closer to Kagome, "Well you should be."

"W-What do you mean by that Kikyo?" Kagome asked with fear evident in her voice as she tried to scoot back some more.

Kikyo said nothing and took another step towards Kagome. And with each step Kikyo took towards Kagome, Kagome scooted back even further. This went on until Kagome felt someone soft yet hard on the ground behind her.

Looking back to see what it was, Kagome gasped in horror to see the dead body of Miroku looking straight at her with his lifeless and empty eyes.

Kagome screamed and in the midst of her screaming she looked back at Kikyo, who was now reaching down towards Kagome with her hand stretched out as if she wanted to take something from Kagome.

Kagome let out a bloodcurdling scream and woke up.

When she awoke, she found herself alone in Kaede's hut. Sitting up, Kagome looked around and took deep breaths trying to calm her heart down.

Suddenly the door to the hut slid open and Kaede entered with a concerned look on her face.

"Kagome, are ye alright?" Kaede asked, "I heard ye from outside the hut and was worried if you were attacked by a demon that managed to sneak past my defenses. Were ye?"

Looking around past Kaede, Kagome took a moment to calm down before she answered the old priestess. "You could say that." Thinking about her encounter with Naraku a few nights back, "Where is everyone?"

Walking towards Kagome before she put her hand on her forehead, Kaede said, "I assume that after that night when Naraku came to take the shard of the shikon jewel, you seem to think that every nightmare you have, and rightfully so, is another encounter with Naraku once again or with another demon."

Kagome kept quiet, as memories of that night and her dream flooded her mind once more.

"Miroku and Sango are out on errands, Shippo and Kirara are helping me gather herbs in the field near the forest, while Kouga went back to his tribe to check on them." Kaede said, taking her hand off of Kagome's forehead, "Kouga said that he should return soon."

"Kouga left today, while I was asleep?" Kagome asked, "Without saying Goodbye?"

'Does Kouga hate me now?' Kagome couldnt help but think as she recalled the moment in her dream and a few nights back when she released the purifying fire against the wolf demon when all he was trying to do was simply help her. Remembering the burnt marks on Kouga's skin. 'I can't say I blame him. I really hurt him.'

"Kouga actually left last night while ye and everyone slept in the hut. He said it had been some time since he had seen his tribe and wanted to check on them on a quick visit. Kouga said that he will be back soon. If not, he'll be back tomorrow then. " Kaede said as she sat her stuff down and sat next to Kagome. "Now, do ye mind telling me what your dream this morning was about?"

'Oh, so that was the reason he left.' Kagome thought in a bit relief as she shook her head and ooked away from Kaede, "Don't worry about it."

"Are ye sure Kagome?" Kaede asked, staring at the time travel priestess with compassion in her eye, "That was quite the scream I heard from ye."

Still keeping her eyes away from Kaede, Kagome nodded.

Kaede waiting a bit before getting back up, "Well, since Shippo and Kirara have been gone for longer than expected, I must go to find them. As for you Kagome, since ye are not in the mood to talk now, please feel free to talk to me anytime. I am always willing to be a listening ear for you Kagome." With that Kaede walked out of the hut, leaving Kagome all alone with her thoughts.

Watching the door slide shut, Kagome thought on Kaede's words for a bit, before she looked back down to her hands.

'Your kindness is touching Kaede, but if you knew how much of a useless and terrible person I am, you wouldn't be so kind to me anymore.' Kagome thought, recalling how hesitant the group have been around her since that day, 'Shippo and Kirara don't jump in my arms anymore, Kouga keeps a safe distance from me, while Miroku and Sango just feel like they are more distant to me than before. Maybe I should take that as a sign to go back to my era and just stay there. "

In that moment, the memory of Kagome shattering the jewel into jewel fragments came to mind. She was only trying to shoot down the demonic bird with her arrow and she ended up shooting at the jewel in its hand. 'I know that it's part of my responsibility to collect the jewel shards with Inuyasha and the others, but Inuyasha is no longer with us and I'm not even sure the others want me around anymore. So maybe I should go home where I don't have so much power to destroy another person's life like I have already done.'

Sighing, Kagome got up and started to pack her stuff in her school bag.


Sliding the door to the hut open, Kagome peeked her head out to see if anyone she knew or if one of the others were out there. Fortunately for her there was none, so Kagome opened the door fully and stepped out of the hut before closing the door.

Once outside she took a good look at the busy and oblivious villagers around her who bargained sales with one another, laughed and talked with one another knowing that she would never see them again.

With a heartfelt sigh, Kagome headed towards the direction of the village where she would enter the forest of Inuyasha.

It wasn't a far walk, but it took a while to get into the forest from the village. She knew that in less than a few minutes she would see the well and would finally go back home for the final and last time.

However, along the way there, Kagome heard the sound of a young woman crying out from help as she heard another sound of a demon laughing wickedly at her.

"AHHH! Somebody please help me. Please help me, it's a demon!" The young woman cried, tears running down her face as she desperately tried to run away, "Somebody please!"

Turning towards the direction where she heard the screaming, Kagome froze and instinctively went to reach for her bow and arrow. However, she quickly realized that she left them back at the hut since she didn't think she needed them anymore.

'Oh no, what am I going to do?' Kagome thought, 'I don't have my bow and arrows on me so I can't protect that lady or even myself from that demon. Should I go back to the village to get some help or would that be too late?'

Suddenly the image of her friends fighting to protect villagers came to mind. Then at that moment, Kagome saw the dead and lifeless body of the woman on the ground and the demon laughing over the woman as her friends looked at Kagome with disappointment in their eyes.

Shaking her head no, Kagome looked around for any makeshift weapon she could use around her and saw a big and strong looking stick that was light enough for her to carry by a tree.

Dropping her back pack, Kagome picked up the stick and ran straight towards the direction of the young woman crying for help. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

Entering the clearing, Kagome saw the scene of a skinny yet tall demon who didn't look very powerful hunched over the lady who had now fallen over and was begging for her life.

Seeing this, Kagome didn't hesitate to yell, "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU DEMON!"

And for some reason the stick in Kagome's hand glowed a white color and the demon, seeing Kagome approaching towards him with that stick while yelling, caused him to get scared enough to run away.

"What the…." Kagome said, confused by the demon's actions, while oblivious to the glowing white stick in her hand that was now returning to normal. A bit confused, Kagome came towards the young woman's side.

"Oh thank you, so much!" The young woman said in gratitude as Kagome helped her get back on her feet, "If you hadn't arrived, I probably would've died."

"Uh, I wouldn't go that far to say that." Kagome said, "I think you would've managed somehow."

Shaking her head in disagreement, the young woman said, "I don't think so, because if it hadn't been for your bravery and kindness, I definitely would've died."

Walking towards her backpack that she had dropped earlier in favor of the stick, Kagome picked it up and dropped the stick. Turning back to look at the young woman, "Well, I'm glad that you're safe now. I have to go now, goodbye."

"Wait, do you know whether or not there's a village near here?" The young woman asked, causing Kagome to stop in her tracks and look at the woman.

"Yes there is." Kagome replied, and turned to point a direction towards where she came, "If you go down this path, and keep on it for a bit you'll see the village."

"I'm sorry," the young woman said with an apologetic look on her face, "I'm not from around here. I was supposed to be visiting my relatives in a village near here, but I got lost once I encountered that demon. If it's not too much to ask, could you please accompany me to the village if you know where it is? I also don't want to run into any demons by myself."

"it's very unlikely…" Kagome paused as she just remembered that they had just encountered a demon, even though it was weak, not too long ago. Sighing with a smile, Kagome thought , 'I guess a few more minutes in this era won't hurt, before I return back to my home.'

"Sure." Kagome said, before she bent down to pick up the same stick from earlier, "Let's be on our way."

The two, at first, walked in silence as they began their way back to the village. However, a few minutes into their walk the young woman looked at Kagome and smiled, "Hey, what is your name? My name is Kiyome."

"Hey, your name sounds like mine." Kagome said, looking at the young woman with a warm smile, "I'm Kagome."

"Kagome, that's a nice name." Kiyome said, the two girls gave each other warm smiles before they both looked away giggling.

'This girl seems like a lovely person.' Kagome thought, as she looked back straight at the path before her.

"Kagome, I know we just met but what's on your mind?" Kiyome asked, drawing Kagome's attention back to her. "You seem upset."

This took Kagome by surprise, 'Is it really that obvious?'

"Why would you say that?" Kagome asked, trying to find a way to dismiss the girl's words. " I'm fine, really."

"Although you're smiling, your eyes reflect deep sadness. There's no joy or peace in them or on your face. And as we are walking now, you keep your eyes focused on the ground instead of straight ahead."

'Oh,' Kagome thought, completely taken back by the young woman's keen observation of her. Debating about whether or not she should share her feelings, Kagome took another look at Kiyome that was more a casual look.

Kiyome had long black hair that was tied back into a low ponytail. However, she wore a light pink cover on the top of her head that allowed some bangs of the young woman's hair to come out. What had Kagome's attention about the young woman's appearance was the warm brown and compassionate eyes that Kiyome had towards her. It felt like those eyes saw right through her and into her heart with no judgment. And interestingly enough, the aura of the young woman made Kagome feel as if she had known this girl for a long time. It was a strange feeling that Kagome couldn't explain.

"Actually…." Kagome said, taking her eyes away from Kiyome's and onto the ground as the two women walked. "I have been having a hard time with myself lately and the things that I have done towards other people….Sigh…I don't even know how to say it. It's complicated story and I don't even think you would understand it if I told you. Besides, it's not like we have all the time in the world as well. The walk to the village is not enough time to properly tell what happened."

"Well then why don't we sit down and talk about it?" Kiyome said with a sweet smile, "I'm in no rush, I have time." Stopping as she looked around for a resting spot, "How about that tree over there, it looks nice,"

Taken back by the young woman's willingness to hear what was on Kagome's mind despite having just met her and it being a long story made Kagome wonder why the young woman would do this for her. "You don't even know me but you're willing to listen to me talk for gods know how long about things that have nothing to do with you?"

"If it makes you feel better, I'm ok with listening Kagome." Kiyome said, "I know if I was sad like you, I would like someone to listen to me and my story. Just to get it out there." Walking towards the tree that she had pointed to earlier, Kiyome sat down and patted the grass next to her, "This is a nice spot away that gives us shade from the rays of the sun. Over here Kagome."

Kagome hesitated for a moment before she thought, 'Why not? It's not like I'll ever see her again. I'm going home after I walk her back to the village.' Walking towards the spot, Kagome took a seat next to Kiyome and smiled at her. "Thank you."

"No problem," Kiyome said, "So what's on your mind?"

Kagome waited a moment before she started to tell the young woman what was on her mind and her heart. From her encounter with the serpent demon who came to make a mess of things to the dream that she had this morning.

"I see. I think you have the right to be upset and sad after what happened, Kagome," Kiyome said, "Those things were very traumatic. Some are more traumatic than the others."

"Yeah but what I did to Inuyasha and what I made happen to him, what I attempted to do to my friends a few nights ago and losing the shikon shard that we got from the Netherworld to Naraku." Kagome said with dejected brown eyes looking straight at the ground, "All of those things didn't need to happen. If I had done things differently, things would've gotten this bad and Inuyasha would still be here with me."

Kagome and Kiyome were silent for a while before Kiyome asked, "Kagome, do you want to hear about my thoughts on the whole thing?"

"Sure," Kagome said, "Why not?"

"Truth be told, the way the serpent encounter was handled, It could've been better. Inuyasha is someone that you have known for a long time. He has been your friend and has risked his life to save you and your friends multiple times. Knowing all of this, has Inuyasha ever lied to you or your friends before?" Kiyome asked, watching as Kagome shook her head, "Ok so why would he start to do so then?"

"I was just too jealous." Kagome admitted, "Kikyo is Inuyasha's first love, and even though he is a bearer demon, at the time I didn't know that, and felt like I was competing against Kikyo for Inuyasha's affection."

"Kagome, Kikyo was Inuyasha's first love. The day you found him, Kikyo, the woman that he had been in love with, had just shot his heart with an arrow and was the last thing he saw before he went to sleep. And just as Kikyo was the last thing he saw, with his feelings for her fresh in his heart, you were the first person he saw when he woke up." Kiyome said, "Kagome, I have learned that men aren't worth fighting another woman for. If a man doesn't love you, or is unsure about you, leave him alone. Let time and fate play their course. If a man is meant to be with you, he'll come back to you without you doing so much for his attention and his affection."

"Hm…" Kagome said in agreement, thinking about the behavior of her old self.

"But honestly, I think your encounter with the serpent demon was all an unfortunate and honest mistake." Kiyome said, "There was no possible way you knew about the existence of that serpent demon at the lake when you sat there. And even after you sat there, there was no way you could've known about her existence in general or of what she was capable of when you met her. She deceived you all with her powers and preyed upon the areas of your relationship that you all were the most vulnerable with Inuyasha. It was just unfortunate. Yes, had you all just trusted Inuyasha, things would've ended up differently but it didn't. That serpent demon hit the right spot almost as if fate had intended it to happen that way for whatever reason. Or maybe there didn't need to be a reason. Sometimes, terrible things just happen and all we can do is to just go through them and use them to become the person that we can choose to be.

As for your regret, all I can say is that sometimes in the midst of surviving or just pushing things through so we can get through the trials in our lives, we do terrible things that hurt the people we love. At the moment, these terrible things may seem justified, but after sometime when you look back, you realize that they weren't. Nothing that ever causes pain to our loved ones is ever worth it. In the end, all we are left with is the guilt of all the alternative scenarios of what we wish would have happened, instead of what actually happened in reality. We all wished we could've handle situations better, that's just how it is."

"I agree with you, but," Kagome asked, "…how can I ever feel better about what happened, when I feel so bad about my past actions? I just feel so lost and so hopeless about everything."

"You can't Kagome," Kiyome said, "You must live through the feeling, embrace it and never forget it. However, that doesn't mean that you should remain stuck in the past and wallow in your past mistakes, but you should learn how to live with the pain and use it to make yourself a better person. It's good that you feel remorse and want accountability of your actions. It means that you're still a kind hearted person Kagome. Never forget that and forgive yourself Kagome. Even I have made mistakes that I regret that I can't undo."

After saying this, Kiyome just turns to Kagome and puts her hand on Kagome's cheek in a comforting gesture before giving her a warm hug.

Taken back by this, Kagome's eyes blinked for a bit before tears began to fall from them. Startled by her own tears, Kagome tried to wipe them while in Kiyome's arms, but Kiyome stopped her by saying, "Let it out Kagome. Let it all out. The only way you can heal is if you allow yourself to experience and sit with the emotions that you're working so hard to repress."

For some reason, those words were all Kagome needed to hear before she let herself cry and be comforted in Kiyome's arms.

Some time passed before Kagome left Kiyome's arms and returned back to her seat. It was silent between the two girls before Kagome spoke again,

"I wonder how Kikyo feels about all this." Kagome asked, speaking her thoughts out loud, "You know, after my encounter with Kikyo in the Netherworld, I always wondered how she feels about what happened here during her absence to Inuyasha and whether or not she knows, since I kind of made it obvious to her the last time I saw her even though she was disguised as Inuyasha."

"I'm pretty sure Kikyo knows what happened by now Kagome," Kiyome said with a gentle smile, "And I believe that if you sat down and talked with her, she would've said the same thing that I said to you and would have treated you the same way I treated you."

"As nice as that sounds, you don't know her like I do." Kagome said, "Kikyo and I don't have the greatest relationship. She at first hated me before she tolerated me before she died. I'm pretty sure the only reason she saved me was because she didn't want Naraku to get the sacred jewel shard in the Netherworld."

"Hmm…" Kiyome said with an all knowing smile as if she understood Kikyo pretty well, "I don't think you know Kikyo pretty well, do you Kagome? If she only wanted to save you for the sake of the Shikon jewel shard, she probably would've stopped Naraku from getting it in the Netherworld instead of taking the time to save you from falling to your death and saving your from Naraku's plot to keep you trapped in the Netherworld."

"That's true." Kagome said, her face still dejected, "But sometimes, I wonder if she is disappointed in me in how I'm using her powers, since I am not able to use them to the extent that she was able to while she was alive."

"Kagome, I think you're using them just fine." Kiyome said, as her voice slowly begin to change into a voice that had been haunting her dreams and her subconscious since her visit to the Netherworld. "Even I struggled with them when I first got them. I worked hard to develop them to the strength that you saw while I was alive." At this statement and at the sudden change in voice that had now completely become an entirely different person, Kagome snapped her head towards the young woman who she thought she knew as Kiyome and was surprised to see a different yet familiar face there.

"Kikyo?!" Kagome gasped in pure shock as she jumped back and stared hard at the older priestess, "Is it really you?!" The older priestess nodded with a warm smile. "I thought you were dead?!"

"I am dead, Kagome." Kikyo said, "I only came to visit you because I knew my presence was what you needed at the moment more than anything else. But now that it seems that you're becoming like your normal self again, it is time for me to take my leave." Suddenly the solid form of Kikyo began to fade away.

"Wait Kikyo!" Kagome cried out, stretching her hand towards the fading older priestess and watching as her hand went through the now transparent older priestess's body. "You're leaving?! But wait, your presence is needed more than mine here. Only your hold on your power is powerful enough to stop Naraku!"

"I told you already, didn't I Kagome?" Kikyo said with a gentle voice with a warm smile, "Your power is enough to take on Naraku and any demon you come across. You just have to believe that it is, give it time and work hard to develop it some more. Though I must tell you this, you must not be hard on yourself with how you fell prey to Naraku's control. For Naraku to have a change of heart at the last second, it means something must have happened over there on his end, who knows for sure what that man is thinking. But I fear that the change of heart or whatever interruption that he had might not happen again. And when that happens, you must not give Naraku a foothold into your heart or mind again. If you do, work to overcome him so you won't become his puppet."

"Do you really think I can do it Kikyo?" Kagome asked, watching at the face of Kikyo almost completely vanished.

"I know you can," Kikyo smiled for the last time before all that remained was her voice. "With that being said, won't you stay Kagome? You're still needed here until the completion of the shikon jewel and the end of Naraku." After that, the voice of Kikyo disappeared and all that remained was little soul fragments that flew up into the sky before disappearing as well.

Looking up at the sky, Kagome remained speechless before falling on her knees and crying some more.

After some time had passed, Kagome remained where she was on the ground with her knees on her chest and her head resting upon her knees.

Looking at her bright yellow bag besides her, Kagome thought, 'What should I do? Should I go home or should I stay? Will the others find it in their hearts to accept me after what happened that night?'

Thinking back to the terrified and horrified looks her friends had towards her in her dream and a few nights ago, Kagome became dejected again before the words of Kikyo suddenly came to mind, 'Though I must tell you this, you must not be hard on yourself with how you fell prey to Naraku's control… you must not give Naraku a foothold into your heart or mind again. If you do, work to overcome him so you won'tbecome his puppet… With that being said, won't you stay Kagome? You're still needed here until the completion of the shikon jewel and the end of Naraku.'

Suddenly the memory of her friends and Inuyasha smiling as they welcomed her back from her time, brought a warm feeling in Kagome's chest. 'I guess for the sake of old times, I will stay. I'll stay until my duty in this era is finished. And maybe if I'm lucky, I can have those times again with Inuyasha and the others. I just gotta keep holding on until then.'

Standing up, Kagome stretched her legs before she bent down to pick up her backpack. Looking at the path to the well, Kagome turned around and began the walk that would lead her straight to the village.

On her way back, the sky had begun to darken and the villagers were going back inside their homes to eat dinners with their families and rest for the night.

Watching as the villagers began to walk inside their huts and say goodbye to each other, Kagome entered the village and headed towards Kaede's hut. On her way there, she heard the familiar sounds of her friends calling out to her.

Taken back by this, Kagome paused in her steps and turned around. Upon turning around, Kagome saw Sango, Miroku and Shippo and Kirara all running towards her with relieved looks and smiles on their faces.

"KAGOME, WE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Shippo cried out, before jumping off of Miroku's shoulder and into Kagome's startled arms. "THANK GOODNESS, YOU'RE BACK KAGOME. WE WORRIED WE WERE NEVER GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Shippo cried as he rubbed his face in Kagome's arms.

This took Kagome by surprise….

They were? Didn't they hate her?

"Kagome, where did you go?" Miroku asked, with a concerned yet stern look on his face, "When we returned to Kaede's hut, we didn't see you and when we asked around some of the villagers that saw you leave said that they saw you walking back to the direction of the forest with the your backpack and a sad look on your face. Is that true?"

Kagome didn't know what to say about that. She never seen that stern yet concerned look on the monk's face directed towards her before like this. "Uh…"

"Kagome!" Sango said, with a hurt expression on her face evident before she quickly hugged Kagome and Shippo. "Don't you ever do that again. Since Inuyasha is no longer with us, there is no one who can go back to your time and get you back for us. Please Kagome, you must promise us that you won't ever do that again to us. I was so scared that we wouldn't see you again." Suddenly tears began to fall from Sango's face as she hugged Kagome even tighter, "This is a tough time we are all in and we are supposed to stick together. Aren't we friends Kagome? Aren't we supposed to rescue Inuyasha from Naraku together?!"

Taken back by this, Kagome also felt like crying at the demon slayer's words, "We're still friends?..I-I thought you guys hated me. I thought you guys didn't want me around anymore after what happened with Naraku!" Kagome said before she bursted out with tears of her own.

At Kagome's words, her friends looked at her shocked and horrified that she would even say that.

"Kagome, as I told you many times before, none of us blames you for what happened with Naraku." Miroku said in shock that the time traveling priestess would even still think that, "You are under Naraku's control which could've happened to anyone of us, including myself. Fortunately, you were able to snap out of his control just in time before anything could really happen."

Sniffing to clear up her clogged nose as tears fell from her face, Kagome said, "But you guys were being distant with me."

"That's because we were all tired and had our own problems to worry about Kagome. It wasn't really about you." Miroku said, "When you think about it, we spent a lot of time fighting princess Abbie and her birds, Naraku in the Netherworld and then suddenly Naraku again but this time through you. It was honestly so exhausting and we all just wanted to come back to Kaede's village before continuing our journey again."

"Yeah, Kagome." Sango said trying to wipe her tears as she stepped away from Kagome's arms, "We were just exhausted, not mad or upset at you."

"Ok, well then why was Shippo and Kirara avoiding me?" Kagome asked, causing Shippo to suddenly tensed up in her arms, "I know I wasn't imagining that."

"Uh…." Shippo with an embarrassed look on his face, causing everyone to draw their attention to him, "Well could you really blame poor me and Kirara? I mean, after we saw you summon this strange fire out of nowhere from your hands that burnt Kouga and even brought him to his knees screaming, I was thinking what if you did that to us. And I know that you wouldn't do that on purpose, but what if you did that by accident?"

"Oh, Shippo…" Kagome said, and looked at Kirara and asked, "Was it the same for you too Kirara?" Watching as the fire demon cat nodded her head in agreement, "Aww…."

Still holding on to Shippo, Kagome bent down and picked up Kirara in her arms and hugged both of the two little demons in her arms. "Don't worry, I would never do that to you guys. That's one of my biggest fears after all."

"You promise not to do that to us Kagome?" Shippo asked, both Kirara and him looking at Kagome intently as if their lives depended on her answer.

Understanding their fears and remembering the looks of fear that both Shippo and Kirara had in her dream, Kagome simply hugged the two demons tighter and said, "I promise to never to use that power or any of my powers on you two, Kouga, Or Miroku and Sango ever again."

Looking up at the time traveling priestess, Shippo and Kirara smiled and hugged her back.

Suddenly, sensing two jewel shards coming towards her friends and her, Kagome looked up and saw a medium sized whirlwind approaching.

"Kagome!" Kouga called out as soon as he got out of the whirlwind. Before Kagome could say anything, Kouga just suddenly ran up to her and hugged her tightly, "Don't ever disappear like that ever again."

Taken back by the wolf demon's behavior, Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. It reminded her of the times when Kouga proclaimed his love for her and would always fight Inuyasha for her affection. Watching how Kouga released her from his hug and stepped back from her, the look in his eyes told Kagome that he no longer felt the same way towards her. It had been like this for a long time. 'Ever since Inuyasha was taken from us.' Kagome couldn't help but think.

Perhaps the whole situation rubbed Kouga the wrong way and he dropped his affections for her, but if that was true then he wouldn't still be here with them protecting and fighting aside their side against Naraku.

'It's hard to understand how Kouga thinks, but I'm glad that he doesn't hate me anymore or if he ever did at all.' She concluded after noticing the same concerned look that Miroku had on Kouga's face.

"Where were you? What happened? After I returned a few hours ago, and heard that you had left back to this 'home' of yours, I tracked your scent to the forest and it smelt like you had disappeared." Kouga said, "Where did you go?"

'Huh? Disappeared?' Kagome thought, 'I didn't disappear, I was with Kikyo. Oh wait…' thinking back to the time that she spent with Kikyo, Kagome wondered if Kikyo had surrounded the both of them with a barrier to prevent their time together from being interrupted. 'Could that have happened?'

"It's a complicated story Kouga, but I assure you that it won't happen again." Kagome said with a smile, while Kouga looked a bit displeased with that answer. Sticking with her decision to not tell Kouga where she really was, Kagome just came closer to the wolf demon and hugged him. This surprised him but he decided that he wasn't going to push Kagome if she wasn't going to tell him, and hugged her back.

After she separated from Kouga, Miroku cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention back over to him,"Now that Kagome has been found, let's all head in and get something to eat." With that said, Miroku headed back towards the direction of Kaede's hut.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Miroku." Sango said, as she followed after Miroku. The rest of the group followed.


Sometime after having dinner and the rest of the group were preparing to go to sleep, Kagome wanted to talk to someone that she knew would help her decipher the events of today, her dreams, and the feelings that she had been feeling recently with no judgment and was just the most reasonable sound person of the group to talk to during difficult times.

"So that's where you had disappeared to today." Miroku said, in complete realization after hearing everything that Kagome had to say, "It is because you were with Kikyo."

Nodding her head in confirmation, Kagome said, "Yeah, at first I didn't realize it was her. I honestly thought it was really a village woman who was lost and didn't want to be attacked by anymore demons. Now when I think about it, the demon that attacked her was probably either an illusion of a weak demon or was an actual demon she purposely attracted with the goal of using it as an excuse to make me stay with her." Bringing her knees close to her chest and resting her chin on them, Kagome continued loudly pondering on the events of the day and her dream. She thought about the dream Kikyo and the Kikyo she met in real life. They were really two different people.

Apparently, Miroku had the same thoughts as well.

"It seems that the Kikyo you encountered today and in the Netherworld was completely different from the Kikyo you encountered in both of your dreams." Miroku said, "Perhaps the one that you met in your dreams, besides the first one being Naraku, was actually how you perceived Kikyo would behave towards you if she came back to life during all of this. Which is not completely wrong since you two did have your fair share of previous encounters in the past over Inuyasha. But there were also times where she helped you and you helped her in the past when she was alive. So I guess she never really hated you, but was just hard on you because she was jealous of the life you lived traveling side by side with Inuyasha, the man she loved but was taken away from by Naraku through deception and death. That's probably why she told you that ,'No man is worth fighting another woman over.'"

Watching as Kagome nodded her head in agreement, Miroku continued, "For her to take the time to save you in the Netherworld and stop you from going back home today, she must really care about you more than we realized. That must mean that Kikyo has finally healed from her earthly emotions that caused her to be so angry and bitter. She's finally returned to being the kind and compassionate self that she was rumored to be in the past or at least a better version of herself now."

"Yeah," Kagome said, "Kikyo is really strong and she really has a kind heart. I see why Inuyasha fell in love with her." Remembering the memory of Inuyasha and Kikyo together. Kagome blinked in suprise at herself but unlike the previous times where she felt angry and bitter over the sight of seeing those two together or even thinking about them together, she always felt so angry and bitter. Now she felt nothing. 'Is it because I'm also healing and moving on from that?'

Thinking about the angry and judgmental harsh brown eyes of Kikyo glaring at her, Kagome compared it to the gentle and compassionate brown eyes the Kikyo she met today and in the Netherworld. 'Thank you for coming by the times you could, Kikyo. You really saved me.'

"I guess the reason why Kikyo was able to come and visit you this time Kagome was because you still share the same soul," Miroku said, "Since she's in the Netherworld, perhaps the connection between both you and her through your soul acts like a bridge between this world and the Netherworld." Causing Kagome to look at him in surprise by his theory.

"Really? Could it really be because she and I share the same soul, she used it as a connection to come here?" Kagome asked, thinking on the theory some more realizing how much it made sense, "That actually makes sense."

Miroku nodded but then went silent for a few moments before he said, "But the one thing that I can't understand no matter how many times I think about it is why did Naraku release you from his control when he could've used you to kill all of us?"

Looking back at the monk as if he read her mind, Kagome nodded in agreement, "That's the one question that I keep thinking as well. Why did Naraku do that when he had no reason to stop?"

"He could've been free of all of us forever and could've come by and taken the shikon jewels shards as well. So why did he stop?" Miroku said.

From a distance not too far from Miroku and Kagome as they sat on a hill that overlooked Kaede's village, was Kouga hiding in the trees behind them. The reason why Kagome hadn't picked up on his shards was because he left them with Kirara and Shippo. Kouga didn't want anything to give himself away to Kagome or Miroku. Nothing.

Staring at the two humans on the hill with narrowed eyes full of suspicion, Kouga remained quiet behind the tree and continued listening.

"I don't know what could've caused Naraku to release you from the spell when it could've made his plans go by much easier." Miroku said, still puzzled by the spider demon's strange behavior, "It's really hard to understand him."

Kagome was silent for a bit as she looked up to the sky, "Perhaps Inuyasha had something to do with it. Perhaps Inuyasha had something to do with causing Naraku to release me from the spell." Drawing both Kouga's and Miroku's attention to her.

"What makes you say that Kagome?" Miroku said, watching as the time traveling priestess besides his shook her head.

"I don't know, it's just a feeling." Kagome said with her eyes still in the sky. "A comforting feeling that feels that Inuyasha was somehow involved in stopping Naraku."

Taking his eyes away from Kagome to look up at the sky as if he was trying to see what she was seeing, Miroku thought on the words of the time traveling miko, "If Inuyasha was involved, then it makes sense why Naraku would have stopped. He must have gotten what he wanted from Inuyasha, besides the jewel shard from us. Maybe a reaction, or something else. I don't know, but it's just a theory. A theory that I guess no one but Naraku could answer."

Nodding her head at agreement at the monk's words, Kagome's eyes twinkled in remembrance of a memory that just came to mind. It was the memory of Inuyasha looking down at the well with a peaceful and welcoming look on his face as he reached down and grabbed Kagome out of the well.

Kagome sighed and directed her eyes to the moon in the calm midnight blue sky.

'Inuyasha if you're watching this, even though you're with Naraku, I hope that you are safe and you're out of harm's way tonight.' Kagome thought. 'Are you listening to Inuyasha?'

At Naraku's castle, Inuyasha was sitting down calmly watching the beautiful full moon through the window in his room. Its beautiful light lit up his room more than the lantern in his room could do.

As if he heard Kagome's words, Inuyasha smiled tenderly at the moon before turning his attention back to the sleep bundle in his arms who was now waking up.

Opening his wide crimson eyes to the world, Sekichou blinked a few times as he locked eyes with his mother who was only down at him with a gentle smile. At this sight, Sekichou let out a happy sound as he immediately tried reaching for his mother. Inuyasha chuckles softly before he begins to gently play with his child with the moon being his only source of light in his room.


Author's notes: Kagome don't expect Kouga to just take your answer as is, he's gonna try to find out what happened to you since he couldn't track you down. XD

The name Kiyome is actually a play on play on Kikyo's and Kagome's names.

Alright, the next couple of chapters are going to be setting up the stage for something exciting coming really soon. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for leaving your reviews and comments. They encourage me to write more and release chapters faster. I'm always excited to know what you guys think. I started uploading my story on AO3 until the same user name. I'm just letting you know in case is still fooling around, AO3 is where I'll be uploading the rest of the chapters, until it's fixed. This is only if the site continues to have errors.

See ya next chapter!