Hello,

I've decided to start a new story! I will still be working on How to Raise a Wolf pup and a new chapter should be posted within the next day or two.

All you need to know is that the flashbacks will be in italics.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Routine

Time.

Time had such a different meaning to Kagome than it had to the rest of the world, and at one point it meant the same to her as anyone else. That is, until the day she was pulled into the Bone Eaters well, 500 years into the past.

So much had happened during that time, both good and bad. It had been three years since she had been unwillingly sent back to her original time. At times it felt like another lifetime to her, but mostly it all replayed in her mind as if had just happened yesterday. Even now, as she did her best to shove her skeletons in the closet, she would still lie wide awake at night as she would subconsciously think of those memories.

She wished it would stop.

Sure there had been good times, like meeting all of her friends, she had become so close to each and everyone one of them. There was even falling in love for the first time, even if it was with Inuyasha. Even if it had been painful, it was an experience she would never forget or regret.

It was all overshadowed from the fateful day Naraku's terror would end. It was also the last day, although unknowingly, the last day she would see any of her friends.

The time they had all been waiting for had finally arrived, all those wronged had gathered in one area ready to fight.

It was the final battle with Naraku.

Kagome, along with her friends, had finally gathered almost all of the Shikon Jewel shards. While Naraku held a large piece, Kagome held a few of her own, along with the two Kouga had.

In the immediate area Sesshomaru, minus Rin, Kouga with a a few members of his pack, and the Inutachi gang were gathered around Naraku. Damage had been done, but they all remained courageous doing their best not to let it dampen their spirits. They had all had enough of the chaos that he had brought, and not one person was going to allow this to last even one more day.

Kagome was frightened, as she watched her friends rushing forward and retreating, putting all force into their attacks. She stayed back, she had been hovering over Kohaku's body. Mere minutes ago, Naraku finally retrieved the shard from his back. To the utter horror of the group, he laid motionless on the floor ever since.

Sango had made a voice of pure anguish, one that kept playing over and over into Kagome's head. But that anguish soon turned into anger and hatred, and Sango did not falter in taking it out on Naraku. Kagome looked over at her best friend, as tears flew from her eyes and she relentlessly attacked.

Kagome gripped the arrow and bow tighter into her hands, but she couldn't stop the trembling.

"I have to be strong..." she whispered harshly to herself. To falter now? Of all times?! There should be no hesitation, but she was scared. She was afraid of the other lives that this battle would cost her.

She laughed bitterly as she remembered the words Inuyasha would constantly barrrage her and her human companions with. She was just a pathetic, weak human.

Suddenly strong hands gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face in the direction of the battle. She was met by a pair of violet eyes.

"Kagome-sama, you need to snap out of it!" Miroku's usual playful and teasing voice, now serious and slightly harsh. Though she knew it wasn't his intention to be, as he eyes clearly showed his concern for her.

Kagome sat up in her bed quickly, she didn't want to think about this again. She'd replayed the battle over and over in her head for the last three years, thinking of every single detail.

She looked at the bottle of pills on her nightstand, the ones that had been prescribed to her not too long after she got back. Ever since then she had a severe case of insomnia, but she hated taking the pills. They put her to rest, but the unnerving feeling they gave her made her resistant to take them. Sure, they would block the memories that stuck with her everyday since then, for the next eight hours, but she never got to dream.

Kagome felt like the memories of her past were like nightmares, that not only haunted her but robbed her of her dreams.

She sighed. And like she had done every night, since she had been prescribed the pills, she took one after she couldn't take it anymore.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The medication made Kagome wake up groggy, but she was much more rested than on those rare nights where she refused to take the pills. She climbed out of bed and into the shower, hoping that it would make the day more tolerable.

After her shower and changing into her clean clothes, which consisted of a traditional priestess outfit that her grandfather forced her to wear. It was not much different from the one that Kikyo wore in the past, which left an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She didn't need anymore painful reminders, but with their limited budget she refused to outwardly complain. Kagome felt selfish if she demanded for a different version, simply because her current one displeased her. The only good thing was that no one in the future knew what Kikyo looked like, so therefore she received no comparisons. She was simply Kagome, this thought left her with a small smile.

After her return, Kagome finished high school but she struggled through it. She was incredibly behind and worked her butt off just to make sure she passed. Which of course meant she didn't get into any good schools, but that was okay with her. Her family knew she was struggling, and after throwing herself into school work not only to catch up, but to busy herself from thinking of pesky thoughts, her mother suggested she took some time off and help out around the shrine.

Thanks to her help the shrine had much more business than it ever had. Kagome took the knowledge she gained from Kaede and put it into modern practice. She taught her grandfather of the medicinal herbs she knew of in the past, and after acquiring some she helped make a herbal garden where her family sold the remedies. Which turned out to be a great hit, it was not uncommon to find those seeking medical assistance that didn't come from a bottle. These were much more natural, with far fewer side effects.

Kagome would also help draw attention and visitors with her demonstrations with her archery skills, she had been a big hit with archery throughout her high school years. Then and even to this day, it was something she looked forward to.

She walked down the stairs and took her seat besides her grandfather at the table, as her mother served her food. It was early in the morning, yet her grandfather scolded her for coming down later than she was supposed to. "Kagome, you need to learn to get up earlier. There is much to do before we open the shrine up today, we are already behind schedule." he grandfather lectured her.

"I'm sorry, grandpa. I slept in longer than I planned to." Kagome shrugged.

She ignored the disheartened look her grandfather gave her, she could tell he felt bad having scolding her about sleep after she had difficulty doing so in the first place. Even after so much time had passed, Kagome constantly felt the pity from her family. She learned long ago that snapping at them about it only made them pity her more, so she endured it silently. Having already finished his breakfast he stood up, "Very well, I'll start sweeping the stairs, you take care of the courtyard after you finish your breakfast."

Before she could protest about his age and health, he made haste out the front door. She looked to her mother, "The doctor told him not to do extraneous tasks, and the those stairs are not easy to tackle."

"He's doing his best Kagome, besides you know he yearns to be more helpful." her mother replied.

Kagome sighed, "Yeah but we all know he can't do all the stuff he used to. I wish he'd let me take care of the busywork, besides he gets to tell his stories and legends and work the storefront."

"Your grandfather knows his limits, he won't push himself too far. Besides, there's no arguing with him at this point. If anyone knows how stubborn he is, it should be you. That's something you took after him." she said with a small laugh.

Kagome rolled her eyes, a smile forcing her way to her lips. She quickly finished her breakfast, and went outside. She wanted to get as much done as possible, the more she did, the less her grandpa would have to do.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The day had gone by smoothly as any other, a reasonable amount of people had come and gone. Kagome sighed as she approached her usual target, ready for her archery demonstration. It was fairly obvious how worn down it was that it was commonly used. She knew that it would eventually have to be replaced, but she wanted to make sure she used it as much as possible before then. This had been the same target she'd used since she had returned. In a way, she supposed this is where she let out most of her steam. To replace it, might represent her actually letting go of the past. But she wasn't quite ready for that.

As the crowd grew around her from a safe distance, she notched and arrow and raised her arm slowly and steadily pulling the string back. With practiced movements she pulled the string near her face, and without hesitation let the arrow fly.

It was after lunchtime, which meant it was the slowest part of her day. They recently started trying to sell food, her mother spending countless hours preparing. It was fairly popular, people spent more time around the shrine, which meant more items were sold at the shop than they used to be.

After having put her archery equipment away, Kagome attended to her next favorite part of the day. Which was tending to her herb garden. She walked over to the small makeshift greenhouse her family had made, and went to work. Pulling out weeds, and making sure the soil was in tip top shape.

Kagome was on her knees, a basket in hand, as she picked the herbs that were ready. Carefully and with practiced grace, she placed the herbs neatly in the basket. She had grown so used to this process that she didn't need name tags to tell her which herb was what. She could tell by the color, shape, and smell of the herb she held and all the medicinal uses it provided.

She heard footsteps enter the greenhouse, which she paid no mind to. It wasn't uncommon for visitors to come and watch her work, she supposed it gave them a better image of her medicinal herbs. Proving that they were in fact homegrown, and very natural. She made it a point to not use any chemicals on any of her plants.

To others she supposed her life was simple, it didn't change much. This was her everyday, it was practically identical to any other. It was her new routine. But she liked it that way, the repetitive pattern of everyday was somehow soothing to her. She didn't have to worry about the unexpected because everything had become so predictable. For the first time in a long time, she was finally started to settle. Kagome knew one day, she'd be normal again.

"Do you tend to the herbs all on your own?" she heard a curious voice of the visitor speak.

It sounded vaguely familiar, she thought maybe he was a frequent visitor. She didn't bother casting the stranger a glance and continued with her work and mused, "Yes, sadly I'm the only one with a green thumb in my family."

"It seems like a lot of work for one person to take on." she heard him say with a chuckle.

She shrugged with a content smile, "It's not that bad, I find it relaxing."

"I also witnessed your archery demonstration earlier today, to say I was mesmerized by you would be taking it lightly." he complimented her, and he cheeks felt slightly warm. She was used to compliments, she didn't know why she felt so bashful today. He continued, "Forgive me for interrupting, but your grandfather told me you would help me find the proper herb that I was looking for."

Her new visitor was certainly fairly chatty, usually people watched her in silence as she worked on her herb garden. Suddenly feeling rude she hurriedly placed the rest of the herbs she needed in her basket. "I'm sorry, for being so rude. I'm almost done."

"Beauty, grace, and kindness. It's like you're an actual priestess from the Feudal Era." he teasingly replied.

Kagome scoffed slightly standing up, she dusted herself off. She'd had many kinds of visitors, but she'd never had any flirt with her this blatantly. She turned to face her visitor, and she eyes widened in utter surprise.

She paled and a lump formed in her throat, she looked a the stranger and it felt like her world was crumbling. It was like she was staring at a ghost, a phantom from her past.

Her breath hitched and she spoke, "M-Miroku-sama?"

A/N:

I've decided for now on, all author comments will stay at the bottom of my stories, after the first chapter. As to not confuse the readers! So if you're looking for any hidden notes (if any), just check down here.

Please leave a comment to let me know how you like the story so far.

Have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them, but please bear in that I will take it into consideration though it will ultimately come to my decision how this story will go.

Thanks for reading!