A/N: Due to popular demand, I have decided to write a sequel to the popular story "For The Trees"!! Hopefully this story will be much happier than it's predecessor... I'm not going to say anything more, because I don't want to ruin the storyyy... I hope you enjoy it anyways!!!

Also for your information, this story was getting so long I decided to break it up into two sections... this is part one of two.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or YuYu Hakusho. I also don't own the poem…

Till Death Do Us Part

By ancient-relic

--

Part I

--

No one really understood, at first. Why Kurama seemed so troubled all of a sudden.

He was quiet by nature, and though he shared his mind with a fox, he rarely showed Youko's mischievous, curious, troublemaking nature to the world around him. Yet despite Kurama's inherent need for privacy, everyone could sense the day Kurama changed…

The day he curled in on himself.

The day he cut himself off from the world.

The day his heart died.

--

Waiting for the light to shine,

Knowing that you can never be mine.

--

"Does anyone know what's eating Kurama?" Kuwabara spoke, waiting until the redhead had left his house to head for his own. Kurama had been quiet all night, and had barely spoken a word- not to Keiko not Yukina, not Botan… not even to Hiei.

"Well, it's certainly not a girl," Yusuke sniggered, laughing at his own joke until Keiko smacked him.

"Kwubara's right, you know." Keiko said, looking rather sadly out the door where Kurama had just disappeared. "He's not been himself for a while now. He was practically bouncing a couple weeks ago- and even that was a change from his usual routine."

Yusuke sobered up, thinking back to each of his encounters with the boy. "He's been quiet- though it's not really quiet… it's more… sullen."

"Like something bad happened to someone close to him," Yukina said softly. "Like his heart's been broken."

Everyone remained quiet at Yukina's admission. The thought of Kurama having a broken heart was a little strange, as he was regularly quite distant from the opposite gender.

"It makes sense," Keiko spoke up. "I mean, someone must have let him down. She must have been very important to him."

"Hold up," Yusuke removed his hand from around Keiko's shoulder to hold them up in protest. "You're telling me that I'm supposed to believe that some girl caught Kurama's attention- and then let him down? Do any of you remember the most recent attempt to sway Kurama's heart? A pack of girls stalked him through the mall, and were trying to follow him home, until Botan picked us up in the men's room and got us out through a portal."

"It is a little hard to believe," Kuwabara shook his head, scratching his neck. "But isn't it possible? Kurama's always been alone in that sense… what if he had found someone?"

"We just graduated," Keiko replied. "He probably confessed because she wasn't going to the same place he was… he wanted to tell her before he- or both of them- went their separate ways."

"Where is he going, anyhow?" Yukina asked curiously. "I know you're all staying close to home."

"America," Hiei spoke, his voice low and startling- it was one of the first times he had spoken since they had arrived earlier that evening. "He's going to a University in America."

"What?" Keiko gasped. "That's so far away! It's across the world!"

"Why would he go so far away?" Kuwabara asked, shaking his great head sadly. "Why is he leaving us? Why didn't he say anything?"

"Surely you didn't expect him to remain here," Hiei spoke, rising from his spot against the wall. "Kurama had many things he wanted to accomplish, not all of which could be done here."

"Why are you speaking in the past-tense?" Keiko questioned.

"I am almost completely certain those plans have changed," Hiei replied, before disappearing.

"You know," Kuwabara spoke, hand on his chin. "I think Kurama had been doing this tutoring thing. There was this girl… Higur-"

"Higurashi," Yusuke interrupted with a grin. "She's real easy on the eyes. I remember her- she was in my class last semester."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Anyways, her family hired Kurama through the school to help tutor her, because she had gotten real behind in middle school. Maybe it's her?" Kuwabara said.

"So you think Kurama had the hots for her?" Yusuke leaned forward, resting on his knees. "Well, at least he picked a cutie!" Keiko smacked him again.

"I think she lives on a shrine a little ways from here," Keiko spoke up. "I remember, she had to leave school early and skip cleaning duty some days because she had other duties to take care of… and an aging grandfather…" she mused aloud.

"We should go check it out!! Maybe talk to Kagome herself, and find out." Kuwabara said.

"All right then," Yusuke said, grinning. "The least we can do for an old friend is put his heart back together again!"

--

Tears running down my face,

Memories of you I need to erase.

--

"Kurama," a voice spoke, accompanied by a tapping on his bedroom window.

Kurama, who had been lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, rolled over to the window to see red eyes staring at him through the darkness.

Let me in, a voice spoke in his head.

With a sigh, Kurama climbed from his mattress, and closed the small distance to the window before opening it to let his long-time friend in. Then, hearing Hiei to shut the window behind him, Kurama headed back to bed, curling back up in the warm spot at the center.

"What do you want, Hiei? I'm really tired right now." Kurama's voice was quiet. Weary.

"What's wrong with you, fox? You've been like this for almost a week. Even the idiot has noticed something's wrong." The apparition growled from Kurama's desk, across the room.

"Nothing." Kurama replied, sitting up to face the hybrid. "I'm leaving for America in a couple of days. It's going to be hard leaving all of these things behind."

Don't lie to me fox, Hiei whispered in his mind, heading back for the window. I didn't go through your thoughts before, but I can, and I will.

With that, Hiei was gone, Kurama's curtains flapping in a quiet night breeze.

Am I that obvious? Kurama wondered. Kagome… he sighed, pulling the covers over his still clothed form, and closing his eyes.

--

When I see your face you make me smile,

And the tears in the end are worth-while.

--

"Hello?" Yusuke's voice rang out through the grounds, echoing eerily back at him. "Anyone home?"

"Try over there," Yukina suggested, pointing at the house tucked a little further back. "Maybe they're all inside.

Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara and Yukina headed towards the house, walking past a massive tree. "It's so pure," Kuwabara spoke, staring up in awe at the magnificent tree.

"It has protected this place for generations," an old man spoke up, appearing from inside a small building to the left of the tree, broom in hand. "We call it the Goshinboku, or the God Tree."

"This tree is very important to you, isn't it?" Keiko spoke softly, smiling at the old man. "My name is Keiko. I'm a schoolmate of Kagome's? Is she home?"

"My dear," the old man took Keiko's hand, and lead her over to the tree, and pressed her hand on the bark. "This tree- it is a place of happiness, but also of great sadness. Many terrible things this tree has had to bear witness to. Can't you feel it?"

Keiko felt her eyes well up with tears. Something horrible had happened- she could hear it in the old man's voice.

"Kagome Higurashi," Yusuke spoke up, uncomfortable. "Is she home?"

"Please," the old man seemed to realize himself. "Come this way. My daughter will help you."

The four followed the old priest to the house, where some lights were on. He brought them inside, to a small, though quaint, kitchen. Then, sitting them down at the kitchen table, he disappeared further into the house.

Moments later, a woman- clearly older; though not as old as the man, walked in. Her eyes, which once might have held joy, only held loneliness and regret. "Welcome to my home. I am Kagome's mother, Kun-Loon Higurashi. May I get you some tea?"

When everyone had a steaming cup of tea in hand, Ms. Higurashi sat down at the table, and begun to speak. Five sets of eyes- four, in the room, and one watching and listening carefully from outside in a tree, were curious.

"Kagome was often… well, sick as a child." Kun-Loon began. "She was so full of life, and joy, but was often shackled by her duties as a young priestess, and the time spent recuperating from her- various illnesses. When she made it through to high school, we decided that we wanted to do things right, for her future, so we hired a tutor. I believe that is where Minamino-san comes into the picture," she paused, sipping her tea.

"He was a very kind young boy, and he helped Kagome come back to life, leaving her depression behind, and helping her fall in love with life again. I do believe," she smiled fondly. "That along the way, Minamino-san might have fallen in love himself. You see, Kagome was quite the heart-breaker. She loved love, and always put others' before her own.

"They got on quite well together, and even though we only had Minamino-san helping her for the first year, they continued to spend time together, studying and otherwise. However, as the end of high school approached, Kagome's depression returned; she was not going to college or university, she was going to remain behind to pick up with her duties, to help support the shrine. Everyone was moving on without her, and the place she wanted to be most, she was not allowed to be."

"That's so touching," Keiko whispered, looking to her friends, who were remembering Kurama in love. "But where is Kagome?"

"On the morning after graduation," Kun-Loon continued quietly, "she disappeared without a trace. I know, in my heart, that she is happier where she is, no matter how much she will miss her friends, family… and Minamino-san. You see, when Minamino-san gave Kagome his heart, Kagome was happy. Happier than she had been in a long time, you see. But Kagome's heart was already somewhere else. And that is where she has gone; she has gone back to her heart, back to her home."

"Like the saying, home is where the heart is," Kuwabara said, squeezing Yukina's hand. Yukina was sniffling softly.

"Kagome will not return, I fear," Kun-Loon said, gathering the now empty mugs. "But I know in my heart, that though she has given up much to be where she is, she is happy. And that is all I, as a mother, can ask for my daughter."

"Thank you very much, Higurashi-san," Yusuke said quietly, taking Keiko's hand. "Thank you for explaining. Sorry to bring up painful memories."

"It's all right, dear," she smiles, eyes wrinkling lightly at the sides. "I'm sure that you shall share that with Minamino-san, and maybe that will help him."

"We will, thank you." Keiko waved as they headed home, and she turned back into Yusuke's side.

"That was so sad," Yukina said. "Poor Kurama."

"He really did have his heart broken." Kuwabara said.

"Figures Kurama'd fall for a girl already spoken for," Yusuke grumbled, listening to Keiko and Yukina sniffle. He hated it when girls cried.

"The woman was not telling the truth," Hiei spoke, popping up on the edge of the stairs, where they were all approaching.

"What?" Kuwabara spoke. "You think she just made all of that stuff up? A mother made up stuff about how her daughter disappeared?"

"No," Hiei said slowly, glaring at Kuwabara, who glared right back. "I am unable to use the Jagan here. There is a powerful spell of protection protecting those within that house. But I do not need the Jagan to sense that there has been no sickness in this house. There is no trace of it in any of the scents- not even in the girl's room, on the second floor. Have none of you sensed the muted power coming from this place?"

"It is a shrine, Hiei," Keiko spoke up.

"You should have felt it, earlier, when you touched that tree," Hiei spoke, tipping his head towards the Goshinboku. "It is wrapped around that tree, and that little house to the left, that the old man exited earlier."

Yusuke left Keiko's side, and walked towards the small house. Sliding open the wooden door, he peered into the darkness. "I can't see a thing."

Kuwabara popped his head in beside him, and stared closely into the darkness. "It's a well house."

"The well?" Keiko asked, from outside.

"Hn," Hiei spoke. "There is no more magic here, but there was, once upon a time."

"I think we need to speak to Koenma," Yusuke said, exiting the well house, Kuwabara close behind, shutting the wooden door. "There's more to this Kagome than any of us- even Kurama- realized."

--

I love you, I'm getting in too deep.

It's the thought of you that puts me to sleep.

--

"Is that everything, Shuichi dear?" his mother called from the house as Kurama lugged his last bag into the back of the taxi that was going to take him to the airport.

"I'm just going to check to make sure," Kurama called back, before asking the cab driver to wait another minute. Heading back into the house, he climbed the familiar set of stairs back up to his bedroom, realizing that this was the last time that he was going to see this place for a while.

And I miss it already, he sighed.

You should suck it up a little, a voice replied in distaste. Kurama sighed again. You know, the little hybrid was right. You've done nothing but mope around for almost a week. Don't you think it's time to move on?

Youko, it's not as simple as moving on. Kurama replied.

I used to do it all the time… it can't have changed all that much. Sleep and run?

Don't you think that if I could have put it all behind me, I would have? Kurama's logic silenced the voice in the back of his head. I hope that a busy schedule and an ocean will help that along.

Not with the way you're sighing… Youko grumbled, before the presence faded from his mind.

Entering his bedroom, Kurama looked around the familiar walls. He would be back, with time, he knew. He would be back for holidays, and perhaps his mother's birthday. But in the meantime… he spied his communicator, sitting on his night-side table. Scooping it up, and tucking it into his pocket, he was about to leave his room, when he spied his desk- neat, as usual; though lacking his books and computer.

Walking over to it, he sat in his chair, and stared at the wood grain. He felt a bitter sting start in his eyes, and he blinked it away. He had not cried in years, and he would not start now, he resolved. Opening one drawer at a time, he smiled fondly at the objects left within, remembering times in which they had been used.

The ruler that he had bought for math class, only to discover his old (misplaced) one tucked away in a kitchen drawer later that day; the sharpener that his fan club had fought over when he had made the mistake of lending it to a fellow female classmate; the notebook…

Kurama's mind floated to another memory.

The notebook that Kagome had made him for studying English, as she was easily his superior in that subject. It does make sense to take this with me, then, doesn't it? Kurama deduced, reaching for the blue notebook, with his name scrawled across the top.

He could practically feel Kagome's hand brushing across his when she handed him the notebook earlier that year… he smiled. Tucking it under his arm, he shut his drawer, and headed back downstairs. The cab was waiting, and he needed to get to the airport.

"Oh, baby, don't forget to email me, and call me, and write letters and send cards, and-" his mother gushed, starting to tear up.

"Don't worry, I'll keep in touch- even if it costs a little more." Kurama smiled disarmingly. "It'll be like I'm still here with you. And before you know it, I'll be back."

"Oh," his mother swept him into her arms again, squeezing him tightly. "You're going to miss your plane. Get going. Call me at the halfway stop, okay?"

"Sure thing." Kurama pecked his mother on the cheek, and then headed towards the cab, which was still waiting for him patiently in the street. Climbing into the car, the cabbie started his engine. Turning back to his mother who was standing on the threshold, he waved. Wiping her tears, his mother waved back, energetically. Kurama smiled as best as he could as the car drove away, so her last memory of him would be of his smile.

--

I hope one day you'll think the same,

But I know that day never came.

--

"All right, Toddler. Open the god damn doors, and let us in!" Yusuke pounded violently on Koenma's office doors. They had been stuck waiting for the better part of the morning, and he was getting irritable. Keiko was not helping- her pacing was driving him nuts.

Hiei, who had been still as a stone since they entered the waiting room, rose to his feet suddenly, his red eyes wide. "Kurama's plane is leaving the airport."

"How do you know?" Keiko turned to him, eyes teary. "Why would he leave without saying goodbye?"

"He just said goodbye." Hiei spoke, his eyes closed. Everyone in the room had to take a step back as a malicious power flooded from Hiei's forehead. "Kurama apologizes for not saying goodbye, but he was unable to get in contact with any of us, and he had to get to the airport. He just locked the link between us… I can no longer reach his mind."

"Damnit!" Yusuke kicked the wall violently. "Stupid fuc-"

Hiei walked over to the doors, almost four times as tall as he was, and stared at them, eyes travelling from the floor to the ceiling. Then, flipping his cape out of the way, he lashed out with his leg, and kicked the door. A mighty crack echoed through the room, like the sounds of two massive stones slamming and grinding together.

The large set of double doors flew open, a small circular section where Hiei had kicked the doors crumbling onto the floor. The large brass handles were melted on the ground. The rest of the people assembled in the waiting room cringed at Hiei's choice of action, but followed the apparition's brusque steps down the hall and into Koenma's office.

"Oi, toddler!" Yusuke hollered threateningly as he got closer to the little god's office. "You'd better have a good explanation for making us wait!" However, anything else that he had planned to say was silenced by Hiei's delicate hand raising, telling him to stop.

No one had seen Hiei act quite so strangely- not ever. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Yukina exchanged glances of confusion and wonder. Hiei then proceeded to kick open the doors to Koenma's office, and marched right in, scarlet eyes blazing and youki whipping furiously around his small form.

"Kurama is gone." Hiei snarled. "He has broken the connection between us, and I cannot reach him. He will shortly be across the world, and you have let this happen. His life has fallen to pieces, because he fell in love with a priestess." Hiei reached across the desk of the startled ruled, grabbed him by the throat, and dragged him back to him through a stack of documents.

"Did you not think it important enough to tell us about this woman?" Hiei's power and anger were suffocating. It was rare to see so much on his face. "Do you know this girl's secrets? She has disappeared, and now Kurama is gone. If you do not fix this, I will kill you."

Yusuke and Kuwabara stepped forward, ready to stop Hiei from doing anything he would later regret, but a vicious growl from the demon stopped them in their tracks. It was an uncommon sound to hear- the remaining members of the SD had not heard such a threatening growl in a long time.

"Do not even think about trying to stop me-" Hiei continued, eyes and voice murderous. "I will kill you, and anyone who tries to stop me from gaining the information I need, and I will not stop until then, consequences be damned."

Kuwabara was amazed, and clearly so was everyone else. Yukina and Keiko had fled Hiei's aura, and were standing behind him. Yusuke, used to such exposure, remained in his spot slightly behind the demon.

Hiei threw the little ruler back to his seat, and Koenma adjusted his crown before beginning to speak. He pressed a button on his desk. "George, bring me the file on the Higurashi girl, and the monitor."

Turning back to the furious hybrid, Koenma watched Hiei closely. Something had happened that was irritating him beyond words. Yusuke could see clearly that Hiei was trying hard not to lash out, and reached a hand out to his shoulder.

"Don't-" Hiei bit out. Yusuke, instead of being taken aback, understood that Hiei was forcing his powers back under control. It was impressive that he had lasted this long- what, with his almost non-existent fuse.

George shuffled into the room, handing Koenma a small monitor with a cable, and a box used to store manila file folders. Hiei snarled, and George high-tailed it out of the room. "Explain. Now."

Koenma reached into the box, digging to the middle, and pulling out a folder. Clearing his throat, his eyes still wary, and trained on Hiei, he cleared his throat.

"Are you familiar with the story of the Shikon no Tama?" he voice was hoarse.

"The what?" Yusuke spoke up, moving between Hiei and Koenma. Kuwabara and the girls came closer to the desk, also placing themselves between the ruler and the hybrid. Hiei's aura was shrinking back to where it had been before- barely noticeable. Though his red eyes were still furious, Hiei seemed to have gotten a hold on his raging power.

"It's a legend that has been passed down through shrines for generations," Yukina spoke up, glad to be of use. "It was a jewel, created from the heart and soul of a powerful warrior-priestess and the evil power and souls of the demons she fought will during the time of the Feudal Era."

"That was over 500 years ago!!" Keiko did some quick calculating. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The legend is indeed of a powerful jewel, called the Shikon no Tama. It was created by a priestess' last attempt to quell the evil power of the demons, but it killed her in the process. However, the jewel contained an enormous amount of power- both that of the priestess, and that of all the demons she had trapped within the jewel. A battle was continuously waged within the power of the jewel, between good and evil; light and dark, priestess and demon.

"The jewel also had the ability to grant its possessor a wish. It was coveted by almost all who knew of it. However, if it was held by an impure soul or used for devious purposes, the purity of the jewel could be overpowered. In an attempt to stop this, many different priestesses guarded the jewel because it was constantly subjected to taint. The presence of the jewel disappeared around 550 years ago, when a priestess, Kikyo, burned it with her body so she might be able to protect it in her next life."

"Relevance, toddler," Yusuke ground out. Koenma, deciding he did not need another fiasco like the one that had just passed, continued.

"The jewel was burned with the priestess' body, and it disappeared for 50 years."

"What happened then?" Kuwabara questioned.

"It reappeared in the body of a strange young girl, claiming to be from a strange world. She appeared in a well, one called "The Bone-Eaters Well". The young girl was a priestess, and the spitting image of the Lady Kikyo. When the jewel appeared from her body, there was no doubt that she was the older priestess' reincarnation."

"The well on the Higurashi property?" Yusuke began putting pieces together. "And the power that Hiei sensed," he jerked his thumb at the hybrid.

"Kagome-"

"The young girl was dressed in strange clothes, spoke with strange words, and had strange mannerisms. When the Shikon no Tama was shattered into hundreds of shards, it became her duty to gather them, and make the jewel whole again. She did so, over the course of three or four years, with the help of an inu-hanyou, a kitsune, a demon slayer, and a monk. Several other notable figures aided in her quest, like the Lord of West Makai, Sesshomaru, and the Prince of East Makai, Kouga."

"The dog demon?!" Kuwabara knew those names. "And that wolf! No way-!"

"A malicious being, created 50 years prior to the reappearance of the Shikon no Tama, learned of its reappearance, and set to gathering it for himself. It was against this creature that the young priestess and her allies fought, fighting for years until they were finally able to slay him and the priestess purify his soul. After the battle, the Shikon no Tama was recreated, finally pieced together again, and purified by the priestess. However, she disappeared."

"Disappeared? From the feudal era," Yusuke spoke again.

"Simultaneously, a young girl of fifteen, Kagome Higurashi, had disappeared from this era. Her presence was gone, as if she had died- though no soul ever appeared for judgement and reincarnation. Strange power surges were documented coming from the shrine on which she lived. However, a powerful barrier protected the shrine, stopping almost every form of investigation save someone physically going to the shrine. Further investigation showed the well on the grounds as a time portal, connecting the two eras through the power of the Shikon no Tama."

"But how is that possible?" Keiko asked. "If the jewel was shattered in the past, how could it have been affecting the modern day?"

"There are many time paradoxes that made it difficult for any kind of interference," Koenma continued. "Through Kagome's powers from before the jewel's exposure, and her exposure after, it created a portal for her to pass through so that she could complete it. The Bone-Eater's Well was created from a tree which harbored massive amounts of spiritual power, matched only by two trees; one of them, the Goshinboku."

"The God Tree!"

"In other legends, the three trees possessed many powerful properties of their own; though unknown to many humans. The one tree was turned into a dry well for the sealing of demon souls after death, as a means of purification."

"So a portal was created by the purifying tree and the jewel for Kagome?" Yusuke asked. "And she was able to travel through time?"

"Yes." Koenma replied, placing the piles of files he had slowly gathered on his desk from reading back into the box.

"But you said she disappeared from the Feudal Era," Keiko questioned. "Where did she go?"

"To high school with you all and Kurama," Koenma replied, plugging in the monitor to a small port on the desk. A larger screen, across the room, showed a picture of Kagome Higurashi in graduation day, smiling merrily with her friends. A series of pictures flashed across the screen, slowly going backwards. There were pictures of Kagome at school, running errands, and cleaning the shrine. There were some pictures of her with some of her friends that no one recognized, and there were pictures of Kagome and Kurama, studying together, books open at libraries, in the park, and at small café's.

"Woah- check out the look on Kurama's face," Kuwabara said, as Koenma came to a rather peaceful shot of Kagome and Kurama laughing together, walking down the walkway to the main entrance of the school. "When was the last time you ever saw him that happy?"

"A couple of weeks ago," Yusuke replied, eyes glued to the screen. "And I was right," he added as an afterthought. "She's really cute."

Keiko promptly smacked him in the back of his head. Koenma continued through Kagome's life, going backwards. There Kagome was in her purple graduation dress, accepting an award at her middle school graduation. There Kagome was in her uniform, green and white, smiling with her friends as she entered a WacDonalds. There Kagome was, exiting the well house in a strange red and white garb, covered in mud, blood and dirt, and covered with cuts and bruises.

"Proof," Koenma said simply. "There is no other explanation."

"Why didn't you do something?" Keiko said. "A poor young girl, thrust into a world of evil, magic and demons? She must have nearly died more than once!"

"Actually," Koenma said sheepishly, "We have an accurate file on all her adventures." He gestured to the box. "When she died of old age, her spirit came to us. As for assistance- had we interfered with her quest, we could have altered time! The Rekai, Makai, and Ningenkai may have never been created, you may never have lived the way you did- you may never have met each other… you may never have been born!!"

"How could she have died of old age?" Kuwabara asked. "Wasn't she our age?"

"When Kagome disappeared in the Feudal Era, it was after her wish on the Shikon, for its disappearance. With its destruction, the power holding the portal open disappeared, but not before leaving Kagome in her own time, where she belonged." Koenma explained, flipping through more images.

A picture of Kagome waving merrily to her mother, yellow bag threatening to topple her over, walking towards the well house. A picture of Kagome arguing with a strange man clad in red, with silver hair, and silver animal ears.

"That was around the time of her entry into high school. Shortly after that, she met Kurama. Throughout her three years of high school, Kagome attempted to revive the powers of the well, using her own. They all failed. Throughout her travels, she had become immensely powerful, but her power alone did not enable her to travel through time. After high school had been completed, on the morning after graduation, the ancient magic of the well; more specifically of the Goshinboku and the Bone-Eaters Well together, willfully opened the portal one final time, allowing Kagome back into the past- where she lived her life with this man and her other companions until the day she died of old age."

"Who is that demon?" Yukina spoke softly, her eyes shining. The mournful story of the young girl touched her. She knew easily of the feeling of not belonging, and of yearning to be somewhere else.

"This," Koenma gestured to the image, "is the half-demon she traveled with, and the only other being ever able to pass through the well- InuYasha. He is half brother to Lord Sesshomaru, and long-time acquaintance to Kouga. They were all rather close-knit."

Everyone stared at the image. It was history come to life; a being who had been dead for hundreds of years, alive and breathing beside a girl who they had until recently, gone to classes with. It was hard to believe that any of what Koenma was telling them was true, but they were looking at pictures.

"There is a story behind InuYasha as well- directly tied with the Shikon no Tama, and Kagome's predecessor, Kikyo. InuYasha and Kikyo were one time in love- though it ended with Kikyo's death, and InuYasha becoming sealed to the Goshiboku."

"The God Tree again?" Kuwabara asked.

"As I said before; though in a slightly different context, everything is extremely close-knit. Kagome freed InuYasha from his enchanted sleep, and became her first ally. They later fell in love, and it was InuYasha that she returned to the morning after graduation."

"It's such a tragic love story," Keiko said, wiping her eyes as Koenma turned off the screen.

"It's an adventure!" Yusuke shot back, "and a horror story! Young heroine, sent back in time to defeat the evil demon and save the world!"

"It was all those things," Koenma sighed, rubbing his head. "Please, take these files. Inside, you will find a complete timeline, as well as information on her allies. They are copies, but don't lose them nonetheless."

"What did you do with Kagome's soul?" Yusuke asked, watching as Keiko, Yukina, and Kuwabara converged on the box. "You said you received it after her death. This place wasn't around that far back, was it?"

"Kagome was a being of the future. She coexisted between two different periods of time. A link, through her, had been created when she first passed through the well. It was not what allowed her to pass through time, but it was what allowed her spirit to return to this modern time. When she finally passed away- peacefully, in her sleep, might I add- her spirit was returned to the present day through that connection, permanently severing the two times."

"That's awful complicated," Kuwabara pointed out. "If she was born in the present, but died almost 500 years ago, only finally disappeared in the modern era a week ago, when did her spirit return?"

"The minute she travelled through the well for the final time," Koenma replied. "It was the point in which Kagome stopped existing in this modern day and age. She could not exist twice, you see. Her spirit was in her body, and therefore could be nowhere else."

"Uh-huh." Kuwabara, confused, returned to the box. Yusuke, in a similar predicament, looked to Hiei, who had remained silent and stoic. His eyes, calm, were full of something it took Yusuke a moment to recognize- sympathy. For Kurama, no doubt- for entangling himself into Kagome's convoluted life.

"So where's her soul now? Can't we let it meet Kurama, or something?"

"You see," Koenma began again, "Because of this anomaly that Kagome had become, we kept tabs on her carefully. By tracking her through historical records and her modern day appearances, we were able to track on her relationship with Kurama. By approximating the time she died in the past, we were able to approximate the time she would disappear in the future."

"So?!" Yusuke was so in over his head. He had hated Physics.

"We took the liberty of preparing a body for Kagome's soul, instead of reincarnation into a child. I am kind, Yusuke. I would not separate Kurama from Kagome. You see, InuYasha was destined for Kagome, but Kagome was destined for Kurama. What would have been impossible for Kagome with her final days spent in the past was corrected by reincarnation; though Kagome was the same age as Kurama. To fix this, from the day Kagome was born, a second body- a clone, of sorts- was created and protected here for when she returned."

"So you're putting an old lady into a young body? Creepy."

"We gave her the option of having her memories suppressed, so that she might forget her days after graduation. She, however, refused. Despite her love for InuYasha, it seems that she had quite the soft spot for Kurama as well."

"So you're saying Kagome still exists, now, same as the day she left a week ago, except like, 70 years wiser?"

"Essentially. Please send Kagome in," Koenma spoke into the intercom at his desk.

Everyone turned to the set of doors George had entered what seemed like ages ago, watching as the familiar face of a long-haired, fair-skinned girl pushed through the second set of double doors and stepped into the light in Koenma's office.

--

tbc.

EDITED: 02/01/10