Other Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kagome's Trial ❯ Chapter 16

For those of you who still read this, I had a 12-hour band rehearsal yesterday, so I couldn't update then, but I have a small bit of time right now, so I'm putting something new here. Enjoy!

 

~*~

 

They were building their new Vale a few miles away from the sunken Mt. Aleph. Kagome wasn't sure that was the smartest thing, but she was assured that it was quite safe, so she accepted it. With her room buddies all gone, she just stayed by herself. At times, Jenna would stay with her so she wouldn't get too lonely, and they grew close again.

 

Apparently the work force was split, so people were helping each other rebuild their homes. It was quite effective because as they finished one person's house, they would move on to the next person's, until all the homes in the group were complete. Then they would help someone else rebuild their home, and pretty soon it was a town again.

 

Piers, Mia, Ivan, and Sheba came back after several weeks passed and helped Isaac, Garet, and Felix's families build their homes. Once those were done, they built homes for themselves. They were a bit young to live by themselves, so Piers, Sheba, Ivan, and Mia decided to stay together and just build one house. Kagome was invited to stay with them, but she declined, saying she wasn't sure that she would stay in Vale.

 

Everyone settled in their new homes a few days after the last house was finished, and they began their new lives. Except Kagome. Lately she had been suffering nightmares about the final battle with Naraku, and they wouldn't go away. She was afraid of her housemates finding out about it and decided it was time for a change in scenery.

 

It would be nice to stay here, but they don't know who I really am, and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell them. I mean, Felix would think I abandoned him even when I didn't have a choice. Maybe I should just travel around a bit, just to clear my head. Besides, I'm not used to staying in one place for a long period of time; my time in the Feudal Era took care of that! Kagome stood up in the room she was borrowing from Piers' home and packed her bag again. Swinging it over her shoulder, she walked downstairs to where everyone was, including Felix, Isaac, Garet, and Jenna.

 

They turned to look at her when she came down and noticed her strange bag. “Going somewhere?” Isaac asked.

 

She smiled sadly. “I think it's time for me to move on,” she announced.

 

Their faces immediately fell. “Why?” Jenna cried.

 

“I need to clear my head,” she said sadly. “I'm getting restless. Don't worry, I'll come back eventually,” she assured them.

 

“Did you want company?” Ivan offered. “Some of us could go with you.”

 

She shook her head. “No, I'll be fine on my own.”

 

“Where will you go?” Garet asked.

 

She shrugged. “Wherever the wind blows me,” she said, not answering.

 

“It's already dark out,” Mia pointed out. “How about you wait for tomorrow before you leave.”

 

“I'll be fine,” she told the Mercury Adept. “If I don't go now, I don't think you'll ever let me go. Don't worry about me; I'll come back, I promise.”

 

“Don't forget,” Ivan warned.

 

“I promised, and I don't break my promises.” Walking over to them, she hugged them each in turn and walked out the door, Felix following her.

 

Once outside, he asked her to wait. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his eyes begging her to say no.

 

“Yes, Felix,” she sighed.

 

“I'll go with you,” he pleaded.

 

“I'm going alone,” she said firmly. “It's not that I don't like your company; quite the contrary, actually. However, I need to get away from everything right now. Say good-bye to your parents for me. Oh, and everyone else.” She flashed him a smile and started walking quickly away before she could change her mind. Her heart was breaking, leaving this place behind, but she needed to get rid of her excess energy.

 

Once the town was out of sight, she took out her flashlight so she could see where she was going. She keenly felt the absence of her friends in Vale, but more acutely, her friends from the Feudal Era. Usually when she was traveling like this, it was because she had felt the call of the Jewel shards, and Inuyasha was pushing them on so they could get them before Naraku. That would never happen again.

 

Not paying attention to where she was going, she had wandered into a thickly wooded area. “Well, I might as well stay here,” she said out loud to herself. Finding a clearing with a giant tree standing alone in the center, she threw her stuff down by its roots and leaned against it. Making a shield around herself with her priestess powers that she hadn't used since coming here, she slept.

 

She woke when the sun hit her eyes. The nightmares had come again, but she couldn't free herself from them, and wasn't very rested. Still, it was better than nothing. Standing up, she stretched and looked around. There were no reasons she could see why there were no trees growing around this one. Curious, she turned around and started examining the tree. It was huge, the biggest tree in the area. She started walking around it, but there was nothing she could see that would make the trees around her refuse to grow near it.

 

Arriving back at her bag, she noticed some stones covered in vines and sticking out of the ground. She would have passed them by, but a second look told her that these weren't natural. Their sides were flat, and the top was curved, much like a tombstone. Looking closer at the front, she saw symbols that looked hauntingly familiar.

 

Now dreading what she would find, she dug a small hole in front of the third stone until she felt something hard and smooth. Picking it up, she opened her hand; it was the locket she had buried with Inuyasha. With trembling hands she opened it; there was her face on the right, and Inuyasha's on the left.

 

“It's not possible,” she denied, her voice and body trembling. “It didn't even happen on the same world. Does this mean…?” She stood on shaking legs and started walking. A few seconds later, the old Bone Eater's Well came into view, looking as battered as ever. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she leaped over the edge and into the well. Absolutely nothing happened. Not that she expected anything to happen, but still, it was disappointing. Climbing back out, she walked back to her bag, feeling the peace of the Goshinboku wash over her.

 

She looked back at the graves of her friends. Kneeling down, she tore the vines off from the gravestones and saw the writing had faded somewhat. “This won't do,” she muttered and, taking out her knife, rewrote the words, remembering them as clearly as the day she wrote them the first time. Those graves decided her. “I'm staying here.”

 

Now she would be close to them. The small desire to return to Vale and forget the past vanished, leaving not a trace. “I have a lot of work to do if this is where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.” There was no chance of her leaving now. Uncovering the rest of the vines, she revealed Sango's Hiraikotsu and Miroku's shakujo. My friends…

 

She walked a few paces away, looking for a good spot. Trees were going to have to fall; there was no way around it. I have the power of Venus. I can make those trees fall over. Focusing her mind, she pulled the trees up with her mind and toppled them. I have no idea where to begin in building a house. This will all have to be trial and error, I suppose. Wait! I helped them rebuild Vale! If I can just remember everything, I'll be okay.

 

Lucky for her, she could recall how the men had built the houses, and her power allowed her to do the work all by herself without using several strong men. It took her days, and her food supply noticeably dwindled, but she didn't give up until she had finished. It didn't look like a Valean home; she had modified it to make it more like her home in Tokyo. That method had failed many times, but after many failures, she found a way to make it stay.

 

Instead of using just wood to build her home, she had fired bricks and used those on the outside. Now there wasn't as much danger of her house burning down as there would have been if she had only used wood. She added pipes in the walls and beneath her foundation even though she didn't have a water source yet; she could figure that out later.

 

Once her home was finished, Kagome settled herself down by the roots of the God Tree and closed her eyes, using her Mercury power to locate an underground water source. She eventually did find one, but it was many miles off. Resigning herself to her new task, she started mentally digging a tunnel for the water to run through.

 

This took her even longer, and soon she was almost at the bottom of her bag. Still, she kept at it, making a new reservoir for the water to run into that was less than a mile from her new house. From there she dug new tunnels from the water to her pipes, and let nature take over. Now her house had running water.

 

Looking in her bag, she realized that if she didn't get more food, and quick, she would either have to eat leaves and grass or starve. She could always go up the mountains and find something, she supposed, but she might not find anything. To her delight, she had discovered that a little ways from the back of her house the trees ended and the mountains began. Anyway, she brought out her sack of coins, shouldered her bow, arrows, knife, and bag, and set out in the direction of Vale. It wasn't very far, actually, and took her only a few minutes to get free of her forest and onto the path. After a short time, she could see the town ahead of her.

 

I hope they aren't too upset with me, she thought nervously. I've been gone for weeks now and haven't even stopped by. Who knows, maybe they've forgotten me. Again. Well, in that case, I won't have to worry about giving them excuses why I have to leave.

 

Just like the first time she had shown up in Vale, those years ago, the place was devoid of all children. When they saw who it was, though, word got around that it wasn't a threat coming, and the children came out again. Kagome made a beeline for the item shop and, after saying hello to the girl who sold the stuff, bought not only food, but also seeds; like Kaede, she was going to grow what she could.

 

Once that was done, she looked down at her knife, which was dismally dull. I need to buy a sharpening stone, and probably another one in case I need it. Stepping quickly into the weapons' shop, she purchased another short knife and a long knife along with the stone. She paid the man and walked back out into the sunshine, unsure what to do next. I guess I should stop by and see if they're home, she thought. I owe them that much, at least. She walked down the rows of houses, trying to remember which ones belonged to her friends.

 

“Kagome!” shouted someone from behind her. “You're back!”

 

She spun around and saw the boy she spoke with when she had returned to Vault with the others. “Hi,” she said uncertainly.

 

“I can't believe you're back,” he said. “When you didn't come back for a few weeks they said it wasn't likely you would ever return.”

 

“Well, here I am,” she told him, not sure what else to say. “Um, it's been a while since I've been here. Do you know where Piers lives?”

 

The boy nodded energetically. “Yup. Follow me.” He bounded off, and Kagome followed at a more sedate pace. He stopped in front of the place and turned around to face her. “Here it is,” he announced.

 

“Thank you,” she said gratefully.

 

“No problem,” he answered, skipping off.

 

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Here goes nothing. She forced one foot to go in front of the other until she arrived at the door. Raising one trembling fist, she knocked three times. She waited a few seconds, then decided that no one was home. Spinning on her heel, she walked quickly away, but then heard the door open and stopped. Facing the door, she smiled at an astonished Ivan. “Hey, I'm back,” she said softly.

 

A grin lit up his face. “Kagome!” he shouted, running up to her. “We missed you.”

 

She put a hand behind her head. “I'm sorry I was gone so long,” she apologized sheepishly. “I was busy.”

 

“Come in,” he urged, taking her hand and practically pulling her into the house. “The others will be glad to see you, too.” He dragged her to the entrance to the living room, but hid her from view of those already in there. “Hey, guess who showed up today?” he asked.

 

“Hamma,” Piers said absently.

 

“Nope,” Ivan laughed.

 

“I haven't seen you this excited in a while,” Mia noted from her position on the floor, where she was trying to put together a puzzle. “Who is it?”

 

“She's back,” he announced, pulling Kagome into view.

 

“Hi,” she said nervously, waving her hand slightly. Looking in, she saw that it wasn't just the inhabitants of the house that were here; it was everyone.

 

“Kagome!” Sheba leaped out of her chair and flew to her, wrapping her arms around the other girl. “I can't believe you're back!”

 

That seemed to break the tension. “Well, I did promise,” Kagome said. “Did you think I would break it?”

 

“We weren't sure,” she answered impishly. They others were talking at once so she couldn't understand what they were saying, but she sensed that they were welcoming her back. All around she got hugged until she felt like she was going to be drowned in them.

 

After a few hours, she saw that the sun was beginning to disappear over the hills. “Um, it was nice seeing you guys again,” she said, “but I think it's time for me to leave.”

 

Immediately their faces fell. “What?” asked Garet dumbly. “I thought you were going to stay this time.”

 

She felt guilty about doing this to them, but she knew she couldn't stay here; her stuff was back at her house, after all. “No, I just came to see how everyone was doing, just like I promised.”

 

“So you're still wandering?” Jenna asked. “Where's your bag?”

 

“No, I don't wander anymore,” she answered. “I live in a place not far from here, but I need to get back.”

 

“Is someone waiting for you?” Sheba asked innocently. Everyone slightly leaned in, eager to hear her answer, and some dreading it.

 

She laughed. “No, I live alone,” she assured them. “But there are things I need to tend to, and I wouldn't want to impose on anyone.”

 

“You wouldn't be imposing,” Isaac spoke up. “I'm sure anyone here would lend you a place to say.” Every voice seconded that comment.

 

“If you're sure.” She gave in. This brought on a debate as to whom she was going to stay with. For some of them, it almost came to blows, but she sensed it coming, courtesy of her time with Inuyasha and Koga, and stated quite firmly, “I'll just stay here, if that's okay with you guys.”

 

The current residents quickly agreed. Glad to have finally gotten that out of the way without any blood being spilled, Kagome talked with them a bit more to catch up on the local news. The one person who didn't talk very much was Felix. Not that that wasn't like him, but his eyes seemed to watch her every move, as if he couldn't believe she was really there.