Chapter 28: Moments

"I'll see you later, Masahiro." Kagome said as she sat on the rim of the Bone-eater's well.

"Hai, Kagome." Masahiro said before he quickly placed his lips over Kagome's. The both of them blushed at the same time.

"See you in a month, Masahiro." Kagome said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Hai, have a great time with your family, Kagome." Masahiro said, smiling softly as Kagome.

"Hai." Kagome said, smiling. Then she jumped into the well, leaving a blue light in her wake. He was amazed that Kagome could travel through time. No one can actually do that. At the time, he thought Kagome was joking, but now he realizes that she was telling the truth. Then he heard footsteps coming his way. He was about to reach for his sword until he caught the scent of the person: Inuyasha. Soon enough the second son of Lord Inu no Taisho appeared.

"Hey dragon." Inuyasha said.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Masahiro asked.

"What is it that you love about Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Masahiro asked as he sat on the rim of the well and crossed his arms.

"I just want to know, okay?" Inuyasha asked in a grumpy tone.

"Her kindness towards others whether they are demons, hanyō, or humans. She would always put everyone before herself. She never gives up whenever the situation looks bad..." Masahiro said.

"Could you just cut it short?" Inuyasha asked, impatient.

"Her pure and gentle heart." Masahiro said, "is what I love about her."

Inuyasha sighed at that. It was true about Kagome's kindness. She had a golden heart. She would care about others before herself. Even when he kept breaking her heart. He wished he had seen it sooner. It was too late now, someone else has her heart. But he had to make sure that this dragon won't take advantage of her.

"Why do you ask, Inuyasha?" Masahiro asked.

"I just want to make sure that she made the right choice. I don't want her to get hurt again." Inuyasha said, turning away from Masahiro.

"Don't worry about Kagome, Inuyasha." Masahiro said, "I love Kagome with all of my heart."

Inuyasha turned towards Masahiro and saw the gentleness and the determination to love and protect Kagome from anyone who might harm her in his amethyst eyes. It reminded him of himself when it came to Kikyo. But Kikyo was only using him to make Kagome suffer. But now, he was glad that someone loves Kagome for who she is: herself.

"I'm glad." Inuyasha said with a small smile.


"I'm home!" Kagome said as she entered her house. Somehow, it felt good to be home. It had been quite a while since she had been home. She wondered how everyone was doing. Then she heard footsteps coming towards the front entrance from where she now stood. The owner of the footsteps appeared in front of Kagome: her mother, Mai.

"Kagome." Mai said with widened eyes.

"Hi, mom." Kagome said.

"Kagome!" Mai said as she ran and embraced her daughter. Kagome tightened her embrace.

"Is Kagome back?" Souta asked as he and Grandpa walked in on Kagome and Mai's hug.

"KAGOME!" Souta and Grandpa said at the same time as they joined in on the hug.

"It's great to see you all again." Kagome said as tears began to collect in her eyes. It really had been too long since she left home. She knew that her family missed her terribly. But what would they think when she would decide to stay in the feudal era with Masahiro?

"It's great to see you, too sis." Souta said.

"Hai, thank you, Souta." Kagome said. Then everyone stepped back from the family hug.

"So how long are you going to stay here for?" Grandpa asked.

"I'm staying here for a month before I go back." Kagome said, smiling.

"A month?!" Grandpa exclaimed.

"Why a month?" Souta asked, confused.

"I'm not really sure. But Masahiro believes that I deserve that amount of time with you all. Besides, I don't know if I'll stay in the feudal era or be sent back here after I complete the jewel." Kagome said.

"That is a good point." Mai said.

"So what happened when you returned?" Souta asked, excited.

"How about some tea before Kagome tells of her adventures?" Mai asked.

"I would like that, mom." Kagome said. After getting some tea and ginger cookies, Kagome began to tell them everything that happened when she returned to the feudal era: meeting Masahiro, Akari, Hansuke, and Tomoe. Freeing the village women from Kaira, fighting against the revived Yamata no Orochi, meeting Tomoe's family, defeating Naraku, Kagura's death, Kohaku and Kanna staying alive, and making alliances with Lord Sesshomaru, Koga, and Ayame. Also Ayame's broken engagement to Koga.

"So Lord Masahiro is courting you?" Mai asked.

"Hai. I'm very happy that he is." Kagome said.

"But he's a dragon youkai, correct?" Grandpa asked.

"Hai, but what does that have to do with anything, grandpa?" Kagome asked.

"From what I've read, dragon youkai are known to be extremely powerful. But corrupted ones are even more powerful as well." Grandpa said.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I know that we'll be able to defeat Shinji." Kagome said, smiling.


It was now the second day since Kagome went to visit her family. Masahiro was training with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru was training with Hansuke, most of the time. Sango and Kohaku were training as well. Hansuke and Miroku would train together as well. Koga trained with Tomoe and Akari was training by herself with her fan. Hansuke had noticed that Akari looked down at her friend's departure. He was walking towards her as she sat by herself on a hill near the Inuyasha forest.

"Hansuke." Akari said with her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin resting on top of her knees.

"Hai?" Hansuke asked.

"Do you think Kagome will stay in the feudal era after the jewel is gone?" Akari asked, worriedly.

"Even I'm not sure, Akari." Hansuke said, "It might up to the kami to decide."

"Well, I hope that the kami are on our side." Akari said. It was silent for a while as the wind blew past them. Hansuke wanted to ease Akari's worry. He knew that she looked up to Kagome as a sister. Probably a mother as well. Then an idea came to him.

"There's a small festival in the nearby town, Akari. How about we go there until Kagome comes back from her visit?" Hansuke asked. He wanted to distracted Akari from her worry of Kagome not possibly returning.

"Sure, I would like that." Akari said with a small smile.


Later that day:

Hansuke and Akari walked through the streets as they watched families and couples checking out the stalls that held games, foods, and different kinds of merchandise. For Hansuke, he remembered when he would sometimes take Miroku to festivals like these when he was a little kid. It was funny when the kid would go up to a girl and asked them if they would bear his future children. Hansuke had to drag him by the ear before a parent would pound him for a being a pervert. He chuckled at the memory.

"What's so funny, Hansuke?" Akari asked.

"It's just that...when I was still living with Miroku's family, I used to take Miroku to festivals like these." Hansuke said.

"Really? What was your favorite thing to do?" Akari asked.

"Trying all of the different kinds of foods they make here." Hansuke said, "also getting little Miroku out of trouble as well."

"Let me guess: he walked up to a girl and asked her if she would bear him his future child?" Akari asked with a humorous smile.

"How did you know?" Hansuke asked.

"A wild guess." Akari said with a closed eye smile.

"A really good guess indeed." Hansuke said, smiling.

"I've never really gone to festivals like these before." Akari said.

"Really?" Hansuke asked.

"I only watched them from a distance though." Akari said.

"I see." Hansuke said. He remembered when Akari spoke of her past. After he had asked her to let him court her, she told him more of her past. She had to avoid humans most of her life. She didn't even dare to go to a festival. There would be a likely chance that she would be discovered that she wasn't human. Miroku's great grandfather knew that Hansuke wasn't human, but he still accepted him as family. Then he spotted something at one of the stalls. He grabbed Akari's hand and lead her to the stall that caught his eye.

"Sugoi." Akari said as she stared at the object: hair clips.

"I made these myself." The stall owner said.

"So they're handcrafted?" Hansuke asked.

"Hai. It's a hobby of mine. I knew it was a good time to sell them during this festival." The stall owner said.

"They're very detailed." Hansuke said.

"Thank you, sir." The stall owner said, smiling. Hansuke picked up one that had an ume pattern on it. There was a large white flower with light shade of pink on the edges in the middle and it had smaller ones on both sides along the clip.

"I'll buy this one." Hansuke said, handing the clip over to the stall owner.

"OOh, good choice. This is the last one to be sold." The owner said.

"Really?" Hansuke asked, taking out his pouch and giving the money to the stall owner.

"Hai." The owner said, nodded. Then he handed to the clip back to Hansuke.

"Thank you." Hansuke said. He held onto Akari's hand and led her away from the stall.

"An ume?" Akari asked, curious. She wonder why Hansuke chose that kind of flower.

"Hai." Hansuke said as he carefully brushed aside Akari's bangs and placed the hairclip, which held her bangs in place.

"In floral language, "ume" represents "pure heart"."

"Pure heart?" Akari asked, touching the hair clip.

"Hai, you have a pure heart, Akari. That flower represents you perfectly, Akari." Hansuke said. Akari's cheeks turned pink while looking down at her feet. She never knew that ume had that kind of meaning. Hansuke saying that the flower represents her made her heart beat faster.

"Thank you, Hansuke." Akari said, looking at Hansuke with a soft look.

"You're welcome, Akari." Hansuke said, smiling back at her. Hansuke held his elbow out and Akari wrapped her arms around his arm. To their point of view, they were comfortable in each other's presence. They spent most of the festival on eating a few treats and checking out stalls. Then they spotted a small group of performers in the middle of the village. One girl and one boy were juggling balls, three ladies were dancing with fans, and three men were doing balancing acts. Akari was amazed at what she was seeing. She had never seen such wonder that humans were able to create. It was the first time she was seeing this. She looked up at Hansuke and saw that he had the look of nostalgia.

Hansuke remembered the time when he first saw performers like the ones in front of him. It was when he and young Miroku first came to a festival. The boy was so captivated by their performance that he wanted to be one of them. But Hansuke had to remind him that his father wanted him to go after Naraku and find a wife as well. When the performance ended, the two walked to the edge of the village and sat near an oak tree that resided just outside of the village.

"So, did you have a good time, Akari?" Hansuke asked. Akari leaned against Hansuke's shoulder, which caused him to blush.

"Hai, I did." Akari said, smiling softly.

"I'm glad." Hansuke said. Then Hansuke and Akari stared at each other as the festival went on. They slowly leaned towards each other and closed their eyes. Then their lips connected at that moment. Everything was blocked out during that moment.


It had been the third day since Kagome had left to visit her family and Ayame was walking in a pasture of flowers near the village. She had always liked flowers ever since she was a young cub. She knelt down to smell the daisy near her side. Then she spotted Sesshomaru's ward, Rin, Shippo, Tomoe, and Kanna. From what she had heard, Rin was killed by Koga's wolves and Sesshomaru brought her back to life. She felt sorry for the little girl. She was afraid of wolves because of Koga. She walked over to the little ones in the pasture.

"You like flowers, Rin?" Ayame asked as she knelt in front of the little girl.

"Hai." Rin said, nervously. Even though it was Koga's wolves who attacked her, she was trying to get used to Ayame who's a white wolf.

"There are some flowers that can be used for medicines and such. Would you like to learn about them?" Ayame asked.

"Really?" Rin asked with wide eyes.

"Hai." Ayame said, nodded with a smile.

"I would like to learn more about flowers!" Rin said, excitedly.

"May I learn as well?" Kanna asked, nervously.

"Of course." Ayame said with a closed eye smile.


Lord Sesshomaru eyed the white wolf princess on a hill not too far away from where Rin, Tomoe, Kanna, and Shippo were. He knew that Rin was uncomfortable around wolves. He didn't want any harm towards his ward.

"Don't worry, Ayame wouldn't harm a child."

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder and saw Koga the wolf prince with his arms crossed.

"What do you mean, wolf prince?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Ayame won't harm Rin, Shippo, Tomoe, or Kanna. Let's just say she likes children." Koga said.

"You're sure?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Positive." Koga said, "I think your ward just got interested on what Ayame is talking about."

"And what would that be?" Sesshomaru asked, brow arched.

"Possibly flowers." Koga said, shrugged. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and gave a quiet chuckle. He knew Rin loved flowers. She would always put a necklace of flowers on Jaken whenever they stopped near a field of flowers. He was always laughing on the inside whenever he saw Jaken get chased by Rin whenever she tried to put the necklace on him. He didn't know when Rin started to like flowers, but he was glad that she liked something other than him.


It had been two weeks since Kagome went to visit her family, Kohaku was training with his older sister, Sango. He was panting as he stood a few feet away from his older sister, Sango. He was training hard in order to protect Rin and Kanna while the others would go to the Eastern Palace to fight against Shinji-sama. It had been a while since he last trained with Sango. He was glad that he was able to live again.

"Let's take a break, Kohaku." Sango said.

"Okay, onee-san." Kohaku said, letting out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

"You've been training hard ever since we got back, Kohaku." Sango said as she sat down beside him.

"Hai. I want to become strong in order to protect my friends and family." Kohaku said with a smile.

"Good, that's a good reason, Kohaku." Sango said with a smile.

"Onee-san." Kohaku said.

"Hai?" Sango asked.

"Do you think that you'll be able to defeat Masahiro's older brother?" Kohaku asked. He was worried for his older sister. He didn't want to lose her just when they were finally reunited. After all, Sango is the only family member he has left.

Somehow, Sango could tell that Kohaku was worried about them going against Masahiro's older brother. Shinji is a dragon yōkai. They are just as strong as an inuyōkai as well. Inuyasha's father was heavily wound by a dragon yōkai which soon lead to his death. But there might be a chance of winning against Shinji.

"Well, if Masahiro and the others were able to defeat Naraku then I believe that we'll be able to defeat Shinji as well." Sango said, smiling again.

"I know you will, Onee-san." Kohaku said, smiling once more. His sister's words somehow calm his worried heart. She was right, there is a chance of victory.


"Honō o odorimasu!" Tomoe yelled as flames were released from her metal claw like weapon.

"Goraishi!" Koga yelled as lightning was released from his steel claw like weapon. Both of their attacks clashed and soon disappeared.

"Nice one, Tomoe-chan!" Koga said, standing a few feet away from Tomoe.

"Thank you, Koga-sama!" Tomoe said, smiling.

"You've gotten real good at your attacks. I have to admit that they're just as powerful as mine." Koga said, grinning.

"Really?" Tomoe asked, excitedly.

"Yup." Koga said as he stood in front of Tomoe with his arms folded, "By the way, will you be ready to go against Shinji-sama?"

"Even though he's a dragon yōkai, we have to defeat him in order to bring peace to the Eastern lands." Tomoe said, determinedly.

"I agree with you fully on that one, Tomoe-chan. But there might a chance that you won't survive this battle." Koga said, "Are you going to risk it anyway?"

"Hai, this is my pack. I will do everything I can for them." Tomoe said. Koga was shocked for a moment then he smiled softly at Tomoe. He could tell that this child wanted to protect those who were precious to her. Then he placed his hand on her head.

"Well said, Tomoe-chan." Koga said, grinning as he ruffled her hair. Tomoe started laughing at the affection.


Totosai sat beside Momo along with Myouga, who was sitting on top of Momo's head, sat near the edge of Inuyasha's forest as they watched the villagers work. They wanted to stay away from the forest since it was occupied by several members of Kagome's pack. Totosai was impressed with all of the weapons they have.

They get stronger whenever they get a new weapon. Totosai thought, or maybe when someone joins their pack.

Totosai had a good feeling that Lord Inu no Taisho would be proud of his sons now. They both have someone to protect. Someone that is very precious to them. Totosai and Myouga heard footsteps coming towards them. They soon saw Kaede walking towards them.

"Kaede-sama, what are you doing here?" Myouga asked, jumping onto Totosai's shoulder.

"I wanted to take a little break, so I thought I would come up here and join the three of you. If you don't mind of course." Kaede said.

"You're very welcomed to, Kaede-sama." Myouga said.

"Thank you." Kaede said. Then she walked over near Momo and sat down next to him.

"Totosai, Myouga, are you two worried about something?" Kaede asked.

"I'm wondering if Shinji-sama will be defeated by Kagome's pack." Myouga said.

"I have great faith that they will, Myouga." Kaede said.

"How do you know, Kaede-sama?" Totosai asked.

"There are some things that an old woman knows. Besides, they have each other to rely on." Kaede said with a closed eye smile.

"Even though, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru can't stand each other?" Totosai asked.

"Hai." Kaede said.

"I suppose you're right, Kaede-sama." Myouga said.


The month had quickly gone by for Kagome. Today was the last day of Kagome's visit. Her mother, her grandpa, and her little brother, Souta were very emotional about her departure. But the jewel had to disappear from the world.

"Good bye, Kagome. Be safe." Mai said, hugging her daughter close to her.

"I will, mom." Kagome said. Then she released her mother and went to hug her grandfather.

"May you achieve victory against Shinji-sama, Kagome." Grandpa said, hugging Kagome.

"Don't worry, we will, grandpa." Kagome said. She released her grandpa and hugged her little brother.

"I'm going to miss you so much, onee-san." Souta said, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"I'm going to miss you as well, Souta." Kagome said. She held him close to her for a little bit longer. Then she released her brother and grabbed her backpack. She climbed over the rim and sat there. She looked over her shoulder to gaze at her family one last time. Tears were falling down the sides of their cheeks as they watched Kagome.

"Good luck, Kagome." Souta said.

"I wish you and Masahiro eternal happiness, Kagome." Mai said.

"Farewell, Kagome." Grandpa said.

"Thank you, mom, grandpa, Souta. Thank you so much." Kagome said with a closed eye smile as tears fell down her cheeks as well.

"Good bye...everyone." Kagome said. Then she jumped off the rim and into the well where she was surrounded by the blue and white lights.


Masahiro stood by the Bone-eater's well, waiting for Kagome's return. He knew that Kagome was having a hard time saying goodbye to her family. After all, she didn't know if the jewel will send her back home or not. But he promised himself that he will provide Kagome her happiness. Then Kagome's scent came from the well. He jumped into the well and saw Kagome with her head in her hands. He could smell the scent of tears coming from her.

"Kagome, is something wrong?" Masahiro asked. Kagome lifted her head up and he could the redness in Kagome's sapphire blue eyes.

"I had to say goodbye to my family. I didn't think it would be so hard." Kagome said with a mournful tone in her voice. Masahiro pulled Kagome into his arms and embraced her with all of his strength, trying to soothe her pain. But not too much of his strength, he didn't want to crush her. In return, Kagome wrapped her arms around Masahiro's waist.

"Even if you can no longer see them, Kagome. They'll always be close to your heart. Never forget that, okay?" Masahiro asked.

"Okay." Kagome said, tightening her grip around Masahiro's waist. Masahiro and Kagome stood in silence at the bottom of the well. Masahiro didn't want to hurry Kagome. He knew she needed a little of time to grope with the reality that she'll probably never see her family again.


Soon after Kagome's arrival, everyone joined her at the Bone-eater's well. Everyone could see the faint of redness near her eyes. They knew that she was mourning. Kagome gazed at all of her friends and allies. She was glad that she had met them all. They all became important to her. Then she took the small bottle of jewel shards underneath her clothes and placed all of the pieces into the palm of her hand. She clasped her hands together and used her miko-ki to merge the pieces together. Her hands glowed a light pink for a moment and then it disappeared. She laid out her palms and the complete shikon jewel was shown. She clasped her hands once more and closed her eyes.

"I wish for the jewel to disappear forever." Kagome said. Then a small chime of a bell echoed around them and the jewel faded from the world...forever. All the battles, the hardship, the pain, the bloodshed that they faced and the bonds they created, the object that had caused so much misfortune...was finally gone.

"It's finally gone, Kagome." Masahiro said, looking at Kagome.

"Hai. It no longer exists, Masahiro." Kagome said, looking at Masahiro.

"That also means that means that you're staying here permanently, Kagome?" Shippo asked.

"Hai!" Kagome said with a closed eye smile. Then everyone ran towards the couple and started hugging them. They were happy that the jewel was gone, but they still mourn to the innocent who were used in Naraku's schemes. Those that were used in his schemes were finally set free from his sinister grip. Then Koga broke the happy moment to an end.

"So what's next?" Koga asked with his arms crossed in front of him.

"We go to the Eastern Palace." Masahiro said, "that's where my older brother, Shinji, resides."