Summary: After the final battle against Naraku, Kagome returns home with her Stand activated. She wants nothing more than to cut all her ties to the well and put those painful memories to rest. She's taken under the wing of Bruno. Kind and caring, although reserved at times, she's well-admired by the rest of his gang. Upon meeting her, it doesn't take Giorno long to follow suit.

Pairing: Kagome x Giorno.

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Flashbacks written in bulk Italics.
Family!Bruno&Kagome.

Prologue

The trek back to the well was somber and silent. She had waited long enough, letting her more serious injuries heal up. The pain she felt now wasn't the physical sort, not anymore. She knew that if she wanted to leave, then now was the best time. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara were all still resting and recovering from the final fight against Naraku. She wasn't sure what Inuyasha would tell them once they were finally better, but a part of her doubted he'd be honest. He'd be unwilling to face their anger, so he'd sooner lie right to their faces even if they could see through it with ease. He'd still try it.

The aged, rustic well entered her line of sight, and her chest clenched painfully. Tears built up in her blue eyes, a few slipping free to wet her cheeks. They dampened the white gauze that covered a few lasting marks on her right cheek. She lifted a hand to wipe them away, only to flinch when her hand grazed the gauze, hating the way more tears built up.

She came to a halt at the well, and she bent forward so she could rest her weight against it. Her palms were braced against the aged wood, ignoring the way it creaked lowly as she leaned over it. As she did, a choked sob tore free from her at last. She didn't care about silencing it, not anymore. There was no one here to hear her, anyway.

More sobs followed the first as she began to cry loudly, her shoulders shaking and her chest heaving as she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her arms.

"It should've been you."

The painful recollection of those words sent a searing pain through her already aching heart. His voice had been cold, but his gaze had burned with scorching anger.

"W-What…?" The sheer confusion she felt was mimicked clearly in her expression, blue eyes widened and her body frozen out of unease by the way looked at her. Her quiet response only seemed to make that rage in his eyes double. She'd never seen him so angry- never at her.

It'd been three days since the jewel had been returned to its full, purified state, and it'd been three days since Naraku's defeat. Despite that, two of those days had gone by without her seeing him, or even hearing any sign from the half-demon that stood before her.

"Ya' really that stupid?!" Inuyasha snapped at her, and she flinched back out of reflex. "I said it should've been you who died, not Kikyo!"

She was dumbstruck by his outburst, all words and logic fading out of her mind in a single second. It felt like her heart had gotten ripped in two as he said that. She didn't feel the sting as her vision blurred, tears gliding down the sides of her face as her mind wrapped around what he'd just said.

The presence of them only seemed to anger him further, Inuyasha scoffed loudly. "You've done nothing but be a useless burden all this time, always cryin' at any stupid thing!"

Kagome fisted her hands in her skirt, trying to find her words. "Y-You don't mean that," she said, shaking her head. "It's the pain of losing her again talking," she continued softly. She had to try and assure herself of that, otherwise…

"The hell I don't!" he shot back at her before she could say another word. "How stupid can you be?!" She flinched again, backing up as he followed her with two steps. "I haven't come back yet because you're still there! You're a reminder of Kikyo in all of the worst ways because will never be who she was. I'd rather have her here and you dead."

He went to storm past her, and she reacted out of instinct. She reached to grab his arm, to try and stop him so they could actually talk, but the next thing she knew, she was on the ground with both hands cradled to the right side of her face. Pain spread along her cheek, and she reeled her hands away long enough to spot both appendages covered in blood. She looked up, her eyes automatically landing on Inuyasha's bloodied claws.

He glared down at her before scoffing and turning away from her. "If you wanna make it up to me, stay there and die."

Following that, she'd gathered all the things she needed, leaving behind the remaining medical supplies for her injured friends once she'd bandaged her injured cheek. She sprinted to the well, wanting to return back through to the other side as soon as she could. Her physical injuries no longer hindered her, but the wounds dealt to her heart continuously rang out through her body. She pulled back from the well and carefully maneuvered so she was sitting on the ledge. With one final thought to the ones she was leaving, she let her weight drop over the edge, and she fell into the black abyss.

Weightlessness shortly enveloped her as it slowed her descent to the bottom. Once she was at the bottom, the light blue glow that had become a normal embrace to her had faded, and the clear sky from the other side no longer shone down on her. Instead, she was in the dark, dusty well house located on the Shrine grounds.

She slowly climbed up out of the well, dropping to her knees on the hardwood surrounding it the moment she was out. Her bag sat haphazardly at her side as she drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and curling into herself.

Up until that moment, she had been prepared to remain in the past. The Shrine had lacked any life at it for two months now. It was empty, hollow, and a cruel reminder of what her life had been like prior to getting pulled into the well she sat before. The accident that had claimed the lives of her mother, brother, and grandfather was still a fresh wound to her heart, and now that she was back, it'd gotten torn open all over again.

There was nothing left of them here, not anymore. All lingering remnants of their auras had faded long ago. There had been no life here in all that time.

She'd decided she wanted to stay with her friends in the past, wanting to stay close to people she loved with her entire being, but now…

Inuyasha had made it painfully clear that, to him, she had no place there, and it hurt. His words hurt worse than the wounds his claws had made on her face. At least the injury to her body could be healed as if it was never a thing, but his words on the other hand…

Her heart clenched painfully in her chest and a fresh onslaught of tears came again. She hated that this was all she could do at this moment, to just sit and cry in such a sorry state, but she didn't have the strength to do anything else.

Hands the color of an ivory statue landed on her shoulders, and a faint weight pressed against her back, the gesture soothing. A second later, they moved, and she could see the marble-like limbs going around her in a nurturing hug. Connective lines ran over the wrists and the crooks of the arms, much like a ball-joint doll's limbs. As the figure behind her leaned into her more, long locks of amaranth hair fell over her shoulders.

There was no noise, no pressure, nothing at all. It merely hugged her as her heart cried for comfort. Kagome didn't say anything at all, merely burrowing into herself as she sobbed into her knees while the figure sat behind her on the lip of the well, a soft pink glow surrounding them both.

+3 months later.

The gentle singing of birds slowly roused her from her sleep, and she sat up with a curious hum. Blue eyes roamed to her window, which was opened far enough to allow a gentle breeze of fresh air to drift in. Confusion mounted instantly.

She never left her window open when she went to bed anymore. The last time she had, a massive spider had crawled in and made itself way too comfortable in the upper corner of her window. She had all but screamed, crying for someone to put it back outside and far away from her.

"It's not that big," the man holding a plastic jar easily trapped the spider inside before moving it to the vibrant, rosebush right below her window. A second later, he shut the window and offered her a smile.

"Yeah right!" she barked in disagreement from where she sat in the middle of her bed, legs pulled up and to her chest. "Any bigger, and it could've worn my sunhat!"

He laughed, the tone light and melodic as he patted the top of her head gently. "It was barely the size of your palm, Kagome."

Her cheeks dusted pink, and she huffed as she looked away. "... that's still way too big for a spider if you ask me."

Kagome looked at her window for a few seconds longer before her bedroom door creaked open. She realized it'd gotten opened as well, but her confusion soon faded as a figure walked in through. A small smile appeared on her face at the presence of the man.

"Morning, Bruno," she said softly. He looked at her, similarly colored eyes meeting her blue gaze. She noticed he had a book in his hand, and she figured out his reason for intruding. He offered her a like smile and set her book down on her vanity station.

"Good morning, Kagome," he responded. "The weather's really nice today, so I opened your window to let the air in," he said, seeming to know she was curious about it without even needing to be told or asked about it. She nodded and pushed her covers off.

"If any spiders try to move in, it's on you to evict them," she commented as she stood up. Bruno chuckled in response.

"Duly noted," he said as he made his way to her door. "Come join me when you're ready," he said on his way out. "We'll head out together this morning."

She hummed in response, lifting a hand to remove the headband she slept in. She set the pink elastic band, wrapped up into a massive bow at the top, down next to a matching purple one as she began to brush out her long, raven locks. Her bangs fell to rest against her forehead, longer sections of hair falling to frame her heart-shaped face.

She decided to leave her hair down, not bothering to try and put it up like she normally did. Once she'd combed the tangles out, she stood and went to get dressed.

Her chosen outfit was simple. A floral-printed, knee-length skirt and a light pink crop top. Once she was dressed, she let her fingers drag over the starburst-shaped scar on her hip, her gaze lingering on the off-colored area on her skin.

Once upon a time, she would've hidden such a mark, but she no longer desired to do so. It was a part of her now. It was nothing more than a scar, and she had plenty of scars. She couldn't hide all of them, so why bother trying to conceal them at all? Why go out of her way if she'd always have a few showing? There was no rhyme or reason to constantly worry about the way it showed to other people, anyway. She didn't care for stares she might receive, her acceptance of her marred skin being all she needed to find solace.

She slipped on a pair of white sandals and finally left her room, grabbing her small, black bag on her way out.

Though they left together, like many times before, they ended up separating for a while. As per her insistence that she didn't need him constantly watching out for her, and per his hesitation of having her get involved in things he could handle on his own. She knew it was just another way of watching out for her, but she never challenged him about tagging along when he told her she didn't have to. She knew enough to know that was him asking her not to.

The sunlight warmed her as she walked down the sidewalk on her own. The path she walked felt so familiar to her. It felt like she'd walked it hundreds of times already.

When she ran into someone heading in the opposite direction, she was abruptly knocked back to the ground. She fell with a quiet gasp, landing with a slight wince when her rear end connected with the concrete sidewalk. Kagome sat there for a second or two, one hand at her tailbone as she rubbed the suddenly sore area. She expected the usual string of insulting words that she occasionally heard whenever something like this happened, no matter who had knocked into whom, but when it never came, she was a bit surprised.

Next, she assumed that whoever it was had just left her there, as it often would happen, but when she looked up she was met with a hand outstretched for her to take. A small smile painted her lips as she graciously took the offered hand and let him help her back up. Once she was back on her feet, she looked him over as she took in his appearance. Golden blonde hair styled so uniquely and deep teal eyes that were looking directly at her were the first things she noticed.

With a gracious smile, she brushed off the back of her skirt. "Thank you," she said, her voice airy and melodic, just like a bell. She hummed and fixed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "Well, since you're still here, how about you tell me your name so I can thank you properly?"

There was a brief pause, to which she hummed again, tilting her head to the side. A loose lock of raven hair tumbled over her shoulder and tilted to the side. Before long, he smiled down at her, and, although small, it was still charming. "Giorno Giovanna."

She nodded and beamed up at him. "Well, thank you for helping me up, Giorno," she said, once again repeating her gratitude. "My name's-!"

"Miss Kagome!" An excited shout stole her attention away from the blonde man at her side, and she looked away with a small smile on her face. She glanced back at Giorno for a moment and hummed softly before looking back ahead of her.

"What they said," she said with a slight giggle.

In the distance, she could see a group of grade-school children standing and calling to her. Once they noticed she saw them, a few of them ran over to her. At once, both of her hands were snatched ahold of, and she was pulled forward a few paces. A soft laugh fell from her lips as she greeted them.

"Hello again," she hummed softly as she was pulled forward, not putting up any fight in trying to get them to cease their exuberant excitement.

"Can you come to the park with us today?" one girl asked as she squeezed tightly to her hand, an excited bounce in her step as she kept trying to tug her along with her.

"Let's go play hide and seek!" the boy holding onto her other hand exclaimed. "Last time you had to leave before you could be it!"

Kagome laughed a bit brighter at them as she nodded. "Of course! Of course!" she exclaimed just as brightly. "I have a little bit of time to spare." As they pulled her forward, she glanced back at the man still standing and watching her. As she did, she offered him a small, parting smile. "Ah… and so sorry to run into you like that," she said, and with that, she turned away from him and kept on her way, finally allowing the tugging children to pull her along behind her.

Giorno watched the path she went. When she finally caught up with the rest of the children waiting, three more standing alongside each other, they mimicked the two holding onto her wrists and darted at her. Even from where he stood, he could hear her gentle laugh as it carried along the wind.

A small smile reappeared on his face as he turned and left, continuing on his way.

Auroua-chan: There was a glimpse of Kagome's Stand in this chapter, but more will come on its existence very soon. More on it will come up as the story progresses.

I might change things about it before it makes its official debut in the story, but, for the most part, its physical body form won't change.

Inuyasha may or may not come back into her life. If he does… hoo boy. Expect chaos. And not the good kind at that.

Kagome is ~15/16 years old right now.

As mentioned in the above note, Kagome and Bruno are family in this. (Cousins, siblings, adoption, etc… I won't say how they're family just yet. It'll be revealed later.)

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~