InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Intentional Solitude ❯ Flashback Part 1 ( Chapter 4 )

“INUYASHA! LOOK OUT!” Kagome shouted as she dodged an attack. The demons were relentless. She grabbed an arrow and quickly knocked it and pulled. It flew true but the youkai destroyed, were quickly replaced by more.

“WINDSCAR!” Inuyasha swung his great sword and took care of many of the disgusting beasts. One last arrow from Kagome dissolved the rest of the stragglers. Kagome collapsed onto her knees and wiped her brow with her sleeve. ‘Their numbers are growing.’ she thought to herself. Inuyasha ran over to her side,

“Kagome are you alright?” She nodded her head and flicked her hand,

“Yeah, it’s alright, I’m not hurt or anything.” She took a deep breath, “Just tired.” She smiled up at him. Inuyasha sheathed his sword and sat down next to her on the ground. He looked around at all the demon remains and sighed,

“Well, looks like we’re gonna have to clean all this up.” He flicked a bit a flesh off his shoulder and grumbled. Kagome groaned in frustration,

“Inuyasha, we’ve been fighting like this for over a month now, we have to get rid of the jewel if we want to lead any sort of normal life.” Inuyasha looked at the ground thoughtfully for a moment before answering. After defeating Naraku, Kagome and Inuyasha had taken on the responsibility of keeping the jewel pure and out of evil’s hands. They fought day after day with onslaughts of demons and it was wearing them both out.

“I know. But who would wish and what would they wish for?” Kagome lowered her head a bit at Inuyasha’s response and gazed down at her hands. They were calloused and rough from all the fighting. She sighed a bit shakily.

“I will take it and wish.” Inuyasha sighed at her reply. She had already sacrificed so much for everybody. She was the most selfless person he knew, and he knew whatever she would wish for would only hurt her.

“Kagome…You don‘t have to…” Inuyasha was quickly silenced when Kagome raised her hand up and stopped him from continuing. She rose to her feet and looked down at the hanyou. She smiled and reached out her hand to help him up,

“C’mon, we gotta get this mess cleaned up!” Inuyasha gazed up at her for a moment, but took her hand and rose up from his seated position. Inuyasha threw all remaining demon parts into a pile while Kagome purified the flesh away. This went on for about half an hour until they were finished.

“Inuyasha, I’m going to go take a bath, I’ll be back later.” Kagome said while she gathered her bow and arrows together. She quickly padded through the trees back to the village. As she passed various huts, her attention was soon averted from a bath to the shrine which held the Shikon Jewel. She gazed in the building and solemnly looked upon the glowing jewel. Protecting it was so dangerous and the demons never stopped coming. Sango and Miroku were helpful when they came to visit, but that hadn’t been very often. The two had settled down in a village a few miles from Inuyasha’s Forest and they came to visit every once in a while. Of course their visits were never enjoyed seeing as youkai were almost constantly attacking. Kagome sighed and stepped into the shrine. She gently picked up the jewel and looked it over. She stared at it a moment before seeming to reach a conclusion. She placed the jewel around her neck and exited the shrine. She wearily sauntered off into her hut and grabbed all her bathing supplies. ’Once I wish it away, I’ll have to stay here, or go back to my time, forever.’ She shakily brought her hand up to her heart. ’I can have my family, or my friends, not both.’ She quickly shook herself and decided not to think about it for a while, right now she needed a bath. She scurried off to a hot spring nearby, clutching her bow for defense in case anything wanted to attack. When she arrived she hastily shook out of her clothing and stepped into the water. It felt so nice, but it couldn’t calm her nerves. She was having a lot of trouble deciding which time she wanted to stay in. ’I don’t belong here….’ she thought to herself ’But I want to be with Inuyasha….’ She sighed again, ’I want his happiness…’ She then gazed forward, ’I want all of my friends to be happy.’ And then the idea struck, ’That is what I will wish for! Their happiness! The way they should have been before the jewel and Naraku affected them!’ She quickly dunked her head underwater and then rose from the spring. She dried off quickly but as she went to get dressed, the daunting choice struck her again. Her school uniform was folded neatly outside her bag, but poking out of the top of the backpack was the beginnings of a traditional miko outfit. Kagome wrapped the towel around her body and fell to her knees in front of her things. She picked up her uniform with one hand and then, with the other hand, grabbed the white haori from her bag. She went back and forth with her gaze, ’I don’t belong here…If it weren’t for the jewel I would have never been here.’ Her eyes watered slightly as the idea of her never seeing Inuyasha and her friends again flashed across her mind. ’But this place…is my happiness.’ With that, she made up her mind. She was going to stay in the past. She adorned the miko outfit and ran to the bone-eater’s well. She dropped her backpack down at the side and leapt into the dark abyss. As she climbed out of the well on the other side, she quickly ran to find her family. She burst through the front door,

“Mom! Mom are you here?” Kagome was panting as she searched around,

“Yes Kagome, what is it?” Her mom walked out from the kitchen, followed by Souta and her grandfather.

“Yeah sis, what is it?” At the sight of her brother Kagome almost broke down into tears, but she held her composure.

“I have to talk to you guys.” Kagome’s mother sat down on the couch and motioned for Kagome to come sit next to her.

“Come sweetie, go ahead and tell us.” Kagome’s eyes started to water when she looked up into her mom’s smiling face.

“The jewel, it’s getting to hard to protect, so I’m going to wish it away.” Kagome paused, to gauge her family’s reaction, they just smiled back, “And well, when the jewel is gone, the well will close off.” This got more of a reaction, her mother’s smiled dimmed just a bit, “And I’ve decided, I want to stay in the feudal era.” Kagome’s mother flung her arms around her daughter’s neck and started to cry.

“Sweetie…” She was interrupted when Kagome’s grandfather stood up and raised his voice,

“You can’t stay there Kagome! You don’t belong in that time, you belong here!” Kagome looked up at him with pleading eyes,

“But I‘m…” Kagome was cut off by her mother,

“She may not have been born in that time, but she does belong there.” Her mother looked back at Kagome and smiled, “She is happy there, she wants to be there.” Kagome smiled and hugged her mom,

“Arigato Mom!” She looked down at her little brother and let go of her mom to embrace him. He started to cry in her arms, but hugged her back,

“I’m going to miss you sister.” He pulled back and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a necklace with a claw tied to it, “I was going to give it to you anyways, it’s the nail from a bear, I thought it might be a little useful in the feudal era, just for you know, stuff.” Kagome took the necklace and tied it around her neck, and then hugged Souta again,

“Thank you so much Souta, I will use it, I promise.” Finally Kagome looked up at her grandfather. He still had a hard look on his face, but as soon as he saw Kagome’s tears and pleading eyes, he softened. Kagome stood and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You’ve grown so much Kagome, I have to look up when I talk to you!” Kagome laughed through her tears,

“I’m going to miss you Grandpa.”

“I will miss you too.” He pulled back and looked up at her, “You’re still so young, but I know you will make it.” Kagome stepped back and smiled at her family,

“I’m going to go get some things ready.” With that, she turned and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She went through all her things and grabbed everything she might need. She grabbed winter supplies, hygienic stuff, pictures of her family, and just random little things she thought she might need. After her final goodbyes to her family, she padded down the steps of her home and warily slid open the door to the shrine which held the well. She stopped in front the old pathway between the worlds. ‘Closed forever…’ she thought to herself and grasped the side of the well. She turned her head to look at the surrounding walls and breathed in the city air, ‘I’m going to miss this…’ She turned back to the well and peered down into the depths, ‘But I need to be in that time, to be with, Inuyasha…’ With that, she closed her eyes and leapt into the abyss, knowing that this would be the last time it would let her through. She peered around at the wooden planks and grabbed a vine climbing it’s way up into the light. She could hear birds chirping and the sounds of nature as she breathed in the fresh air of the feudal era. Kagome grabbed the vine and climbed out of the well, she knew exactly what she was going to do next. She was going to make her wish. She jogged to the God Tree, the one where her adventure first started. This tree was a spiritual place for her, it meant so much to her just because it was where she met Inuyasha. She dropped her bag at her side, and pulled the jewel out from around her neck. She knelt in front on the tree and brought the jewel up to her face. She closed her eyes and whispered to the pink orb,

“I wish everything was right, I wish everyone was the way they were supposed to be before the jewel or Naraku affected them.” She felt a huge wave of energy wash over her and then, everything went dark.