Destiny Revealed

Chapter 1

Naraku was gone. It had been two days since he was defeated.

The entire gang was standing before the Bone Eater's well saying their last farewells to Kagome. She was returning to her time now that Naraku was gone and the Shikon no Tama had become whole once again. She absentmindedly rubbed at the spot on her side where the jewel was reabsorbed. She didn't really want to leave but felt that she had to.

'This isn't my era' she has been telling herself since Naraku was killed. 'I don't belong here, I belong back in my own time' she told herself as she stared into the faces of her friends. They had become her family, Sango and Miroku were like siblings, Shippou was basically her son, and she had hoped that Inuyasha and her could have been together one day. But, Inuyasha could barely look at her now although her relationship with her other travel companions had not changed.

Flashback

It happened several weeks before the final battle with Naraku. Kagome was lazily enjoying a hot spring with Sango that they had stumbled upon while pursuing Naraku. Suddenly a blazing white light surrounded Kagome and then it bombarded her body and caused her to black out. If Sango had not been there she would have drowned in the hot spring.

When she finally came to she was lying beside the campfire with a small kitsune lying against her side within her sleeping bag. She looked around wearily at her companions. Sango and Miroku were lying beside each other across the campfire. Kirara was curled up at Sango's side. Kagome couldn't see Inuyasha but she could sense him high in the trees above her. She desperately tried not to wake the others as she rose and headed towards her bag. She failed to notice the figure approach her from behind as she dug through her bag searching for the water bottle she knew was inside. After finding the bottle and taking a long drink she finally sensed the presence behind her.

She slowly turned around and stared into two golden eyes. "Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked clearly concerned. "You've been out for nearly ten hours."

"I feel fine now, I'm not really sure what happened back there" Kagome replied feeling slightly embarrassed by his concern. "You should go back to bed and rest" he retorted "It will be light soon enough and we need to keep moving." She lightly nodded her head and returned to her sleeping bag settling in beside Shippou.

The following day the small group of companions, after much fuss over Kagome's health, continued on their journey. They were following a tip that Naraku had traveled through the area only weeks prior and may still be residing in the area. After several more days of travel the small group came upon a scene that explained Kagome's sudden collapse.

In the middle of a small clearing laid Kikyo, she had a huge gash down her right side and another across her abdomen. In spite of these injuries, there was no blood surrounding Kikyo although she appeared to be covered in a thin layer of dust.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha yelled, running to her side. The rest of his companions stayed behind, hidden within the tree line. They gave Inuyasha an hour with Kikyo's body before coming forward and starting to dig her grave. "Don't worry," Miroku reassured Inuyasha, "we'll return for her after we find out if Naraku is still in the area and return her to Kaede's village." This seemed to work and Inuyasha moved her body into the makeshift grave. After holding a small ceremony and marking the grave, the small group solemnly moved forward until they made it to a small hot spring. Camp was quietly set up a small distance from the spring.

While Kagome, Sango and Shippou retreated to the spring Inuyasha wondered into the surrounding forest. Throughout the night he stayed in the forest and only emerged the next morning just as his friends had finished packing up camp. He continued to follow this same routine every evening, disappearing while camp was being set up and only returning after it had once again been packed away. This continued until the small group stumbled upon Naraku.

End Flashback

The group had returned for Kikyo's remains and returned her to Kaede's village once Naraku had been defeated. Although this had done little to relieve Inuyasha's grief over his first love. They had found out from Naraku that he had killed Kikyo just the day before the small group stumbled upon her body. She had attempted to purify the almost complete jewel he possessed along with him in the process. Unfortunately she had failed not realizing that he did not have the complete jewel.

Inuyasha had been unable to look at Kagome since they found Kikyo. He was taking her death a lot harder than Kagome thought he would which only helped her decide what to do after Naraku was gone. She had decided that the best thing for her to do would be to go home, back to her era. Unfortunately, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that she just couldn't get rid of. Even now, standing in front of the well saying goodbye to all her friends she felt that she was doing something wrong.

This feeling was once again dismissed as Kagome said her final goodbyes and headed towards the well. She was disappointed that Inuyasha just gave her a faint wave and his typical 'feh' while she got big hugs and lots of tears from the rest of her companions, especially Shippou who had come to view Kagome as his mother. Even Kirara seemed depressed.

Giving one last fleeting glimpse to her friends, Kagome sat on the edge of the well and pushed herself into it's black depths. She saw a flash of blue for what she thought would be the last time. Her friends also felt that now that the jewel was complete and Naraku was defeated the well would no longer allow her to pass through and the time line would once again be put right.

After Kagome's departure, the now smaller group headed back to Kaede's village before departing there separate ways.