Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Kagome was enjoying another sunset in Sengoku Jidai, her legs submerged in the hot waters of a spring located close to Inuyasha's forest and the Bone Eater's Well. She had finished bathing and was now slowly brushing out the tangles in her hair while she stared out into the vibrant colors of the sunset, seeing, but not really seeing anything at all.
She was comfortable with the warm humidity and her thin clothing, now a simple white horai and dark blue hakama opposed to her old school uniform. Comfortable with the grassy breeze gently blowing her raven locks dry. Every scent that hit her nose and sight before her eyes was comfortable because she knew this place.
This was Inuyasha's forest, the place where her new life had begun.
She closed her eyes and began to breathe in sync with the earth. She imagined herself reaching out to every rock, every blowing leaf and singing bird, caressing and nurturing the life around her with her aura. She was the searching roots beneath her feet, striving towards water, the hissing, tall blades of grass as they swished in the wind and sun, the water swirling alive around her legs. A delighted sigh escaped her lips as her consciousness seemed to fade out of her body completely and into the warm soil.
So was so comfortable.
Destiny, Fate, call it whatever you want- Kagome could not deny that her life tread upon some uneven path. Her own feet clumsily clicking into place on a long forgotten track filled with violence, grief, death, pain, and horror beyond most people's wildest imaginations.
But also, the deepest bonds of friendship, unwavering faith and trust in new allies, and the furious desire to protect beyond the consequences of a mortal life, who you love from danger.
Everything she was today, the woman she had become, the power she had honed; all this, she owed to this time, this place, these people, this destiny. She loved her life, was not resigned but overwhelmingly thankful that she was not just anybody. Special, not like other people but something more. Somebody that could make a difference, someone that could help fight back against the tragedy and chaos in this world.
The gory tests of strength, striving for their lives and the lives of others on a daily basis, inadvertently succeeded in unlocking confidence, growth and an overall understanding of everyone's abilities in the never ending fight to complete the Shikon jewel.
Somewhere along the road in their own separate experiences, everyone fighting for the light of the jewel had unlocked hidden potentials and power in themselves; after all, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?
The old tachi had evolved into something more advanced and every day they were pushed, dragged, hurdled to stronger parts of themselves they have no choice but to discover if they wished to survive the cruel, sometimes tragic life of Sengoku Jidai.
Her thoughts stretched out with respect and admiration to that of Lord Sesshomaru. He and Inuyasha had grown in the most unexpected, eerily similar ways, though neither would admit it, she thought with a smirk. Inuyasha began to bond with people again after trusting Kagome and facing his feelings for her.
Sesshomaru resurrected the girl, Rin, after she was dismembered by wolves. She followed him everywhere and he protected her fiercely, regarding her as one of his own.
Both allowed their emotions to surface when facing the desire to protect humans; thus both learned to have a compassionate heart when dispatching their enemies and are now exponentially more powerful because of it.
Kagome blinked at the last thought and picked up the forgotten brush she had dropped in her lap in her day dreaming.
She tugged the brush slowly, working her way up from the tips by feel alone. Her raven black tresses glistened with moisture from the spring and dripped onto the warm soil beside her soundlessly as her thoughts took her back to the beginning, back to the first real change in her life. On that day, the day she was pulled through the well, her lifestyle, personality and character took a sharp turn from their current course. One minute, she was a regular teenage girl, going to school and coming home to a normal family, give or take a few oddities.
She was fifteen when she made her first trip through the well, to 500 year in the past and freed Inuyasha from the Sacred Tree. Five years had passed since then and Kagome had grown to become a powerful priestess, one that had no need of Feudal practices and rituals. In the modern era, one could learn to harness holy powers like her's by simply loading an internet search page. She had researched all types of magicks, spells, rituals, invocations and exorcisms. She had memorized the symbols for every type of rune known to the written word along with every symbol used for protection by every nationality her sources could provide. Unlike here in the Feudal Era, witchcraft and its practice were not banned by the authorities so she had been able to learn all kinds and variations not limited to priestess tradition. She had studied religious practices from every part of the globe from ancient times to present and with that kind of knowledge at her fingertips, her powers had exceeded the expectations of everyone that knew her in this time, including Naraku.
She smirked darkly then, amusement plain on her face as she thought back to that day. She found it ironic that after all the abilities she had worked so hard to obtain, a simple arrow of sealing was all it took to take the vile half demon down for good.
AN: Reviews are my fuel :D