Chapter 232 - The End

*Green Memories* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

Later that afternoon, Mrs. Higurashi was washing up in the kitchen while thinking about her little girl who was now a grown woman with a family of her own to care for. It happened faster than she had expected, but she was proud of Kagome. She remembered the day her baby girl was born, the look in her father's eyes as he held her for the first time. She remembered her first steps, her first words, and her first day of school. From now on, however, she would miss everything. She wouldn't see her daughter's stomach grow as she carried her first child. She wouldn't see her grandchildren. She wouldn't see anything else because Kagome was gone, lost to her forever on the other side of the well.

The older woman sighed as she looked at the chipped white dish she was washing. How she wished she could have given Kagome more, a better life, but the shrine didn't bring in a lot of income, just enough to get by really, and sometimes not even that much.

Suddenly, the room pulsed, and Mrs. Higurashi looked in shock at the dish in her hand. It wasn't the old, chipped and faded dish she had been washing but a beautiful and expensive one from the set she always wished she would have the funds to purchase.

Confused, she looked towards the dish rack only to find it gone. Instead, standing open beside her was a fancy dishwasher, half full, as if she had been filling it all this time instead of washing the dishes by hand. They would never have had the money to buy such a luxurious item, and her confusion grew as the room pulsed again. Suddenly, the cracked, torn, and curling linoleum was replaced with shining tile. Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, closed her eyes tightly for a moment, and sighed before opening her eyes once again. Then, she went about rinsing the dishes and filling the dishwasher as if nothing strange had happened at all.

The sound of feminine laughter caught her attention, and she looked up sharply, staring out the kitchen window in shock. Kagome was outside! Did that mean that the well hadn't let her through after all? Was her daughter trapped here on the wrong side of the well away from her mate and her new family? But if that were the case, why would she be laughing?

*Cosmic Cycle* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

Mrs. Higurashi rushed outside, meeting Kagome halfway across the shrine. She frowned in confusion at what she saw. Kagome was wearing her school uniform and was surrounded by several other girls dressed in the same fashion that she had never met before.

"Kagome?" she asked, fear in her voice. "What happened? Did the well...?" She cut herself off, not wanting to give away her daughter's secret.

"Its okay, Mama," Kagome replied with a smile. "They know all about the well. No, it let me through."

"Then why did you come back? I thought you were worried about it."

The miko's smile widened as she glanced around the shrine. It wasn't quite as she remembered it. Places where the concrete had been broken and crumbling were now pristine. Buildings had fresh coats of paint and the flowerbeds were filled to the brim with blossoms. The changes she made in the world had extended even to here.

"I didn't come through the well, Mama." Kagome paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to say it. "I took the long way home."

"You mean?"

"I mean I haven't seen you for five hundred years," the miko replied with tears in her eyes. "I missed you so much, Mama!" she said, throwing her arms around the older woman's neck as a sob burst forth. Mrs. Higurashi clung to her daughter while thanking the gods for giving Kagome back to her. She hadn't been quite sure how she would be able to go on, never knowing what happened to her little girl, but now she wouldn't have to.

"But you just left a few hours ago."

*Many Before* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

"I know," Kagome said, pulling back and straightening her skirt nervously. "I planned it that way. Mama, I'd like to introduce you to some very important girls." She turned and smiled at her companions. "This is Tsuki, Kiko, and Rin, my daughters." She gestured toward each girl as she introduced her. "This is Sango, and these two are Aiko and Aika."

"The nannies?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"They started out that way, but they're family now. Inuyasha is mated to Aika."

"It's so nice to meet you all," the older woman said with a bright smile. "I have grandbabies!"

Kagome laughed. "They're not quite babies, Mama, but yes, you do. The boys should be here soon. We didn't want to overwhelm you all at once."

"We're here, wench," Inuyasha hollered from the direction of the shrine steps. Mrs. Higurashi laughed at the sight of the hanyou in the high school uniform. He had always hated modern clothing, and he looked so strange wearing it.

"Doesn't Inuyasha look handsome?" Kagome asked with a wry smile. "And that's Miroku, Sango's husband. Well, technically he's her boyfriend now. They'll be getting married again after graduation. This is my little Shippo, all grown up."

"And where's your mate, my dear?"

*Chance Meeting* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

"He'll be here soon. He had an important meeting today."

Everyone headed inside, crowding into the nicely furnished living room that had once been filled with ragged furniture. "The place looks great, Mama," Kagome said.

"We have a very generous anonymous donor," Mrs. Higurashi replied, suddenly knowing the answer even though it hadn't been that way an hour ago.

The miko nodded with a knowing grin on her face. Her rich mate was the anonymous donor that had changed the state of the shrine and her family's financial situation. She changed more than that over the last five hundred years. This time wasn't quite how she remembered it, and she was still getting used to all the differences.

"I thought there were no demons in this time," Mrs. Higurashi commented.

"There weren't, but there are now. They're everywhere; whole, half, quarter, eighth. Some people don't even know they carry demon blood."

"But how did that happen? How did it change?"

"Sesshoumaru's says it was me. We did a lot to help relations between humans and demons. We erased the stigma of hanyou. I think what happened was we prevented a battle between humans and demons that wiped out demon-kind, all by changing how they saw each other."

While they waited for Sesshoumaru to arrive, Kagome's mother listened as her daughter explained her plans. She would finish school, and then she would marry Sesshoumaru there on the shrine. Sango and Miroku would marry again, and Inuyasha and Aika would, as well. She explained where she had been and some of what she had done over the years, hitting the highlights.

*High High High* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

"Is it weird, going to high school with your mother?" she asked Tsuki and Kiko.

"Nah," Tsuki replied. "We've done it before. We just finished high school in the United States."

"But if you've finished school, why are you doing it again?"

Kagome grinned. "For you, Mama, so you can be proud. So you can see me, see us, graduate. So you can brag to all your other mom friends. I know you would never have said it, but you were embarrassed by my poor performance in school. I know it. I also know how hard it would have been to explain to people that I dropped out."

Tears filled the older woman' eyes. "You're doing this all for me?"

"Of course! After what you've done for me, I think it's only fair. I think I'll enroll in college this time. I haven't been to University in over a century. There's so much that's exciting and new to learn. All new literature to study."

"You've gone to University before?" Mrs. Higurashi asked in surprise.

"I've done lots of things. I had five hundred years worth of time to fill, and I enjoy learning. I'd have gone again more recently if it weren't for these two," Kagome replied. "They kept me busy this last hundred years or so."

"Are they your only children?"

"Yeah, so far. I know, you'd think I'd have dozens by now but Sesshoumaru and I are very careful. I didn't want to be a baby factory. We're thinking of having another soon, though. After college, of course."

*All Daddy He Is* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge 2)

A knock on the door had Kagome popping up with a bright smile. "That'll be Sesshoumaru." The miko rushed to the door and opened it for her mate, jumping into his arms as if she hadn't seen him for ages. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around Kagome, holding her tightly to his body as their lips met.

"Still so in love after all this time?" Mrs. Higurashi asked from the hallway.

Sesshoumaru allowed Kagome to slide down his body until her feet found the ground, and he nodded while adjusting his suit. He wanted to make a good first impression on his mother-in-law, of course. "Very much so. Kagome is my angel, and I will always love her with every bit of my being."

The miko blushed and grabbed his hand. "Mama, this is my mate, Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, this is Mama." The two both bowed politely.

"It is lovely to finally meet you," Mrs. Higurashi said. "Thank you for taking such good care of my little girl all this time."

Sesshoumaru nodded again and a small smile pulled at his lips. "It is nice to meet you as well. You need not thank me. Nothing could keep me from protecting and providing for her. She is my world."

The three headed back to the living room and made themselves comfortable, Sesshoumaru smirking at his gossiping daughters. There was so much to say, so many stories to tell, and Kagome was looking forward to it. She had been waiting to share her life with her mother for a long, long time.

Author's Note:

I know some people will be disappointed it's over, but at some point in the future, I may write a sequel to this fic covering everything that happens from the time Kagome goes back through the well to this chapter. Right now, I'm hoping to focus on She Who the Prophecy Foretold.