Time and Again by Artemis

Prologue

Time and Again

Prologue

She couldn't help but let the tears fall. Her agony could be felt and was almost tangible. She sat there, her back to a tree with drooping branches; raindrops hitting her and plastering her ebony hair to her face and back. Her uniform was all but ruined, clinging to her like a second skin. Her blue-gray eyes were dull as they looked out into the rain; remembering, reliving, and feeling; feeling the pain of the abandonment.

She didn't know how things had turned out the way they had. She wondered now, stuck in the recesses of her mind, on how things had gotten so out of hand. What had changer them; what had changed her?

Five years of searching. Hard years of blood, sweat and tears. Her friends were her family, but now...

They had restored the Shikon Jewel, Naraku being purified and destroyed but the combined powers of the little band of mis-matched heroes. Yet... something had been off. They had looked at her differently; in a new light. They didn't think that she'd be useful; that they'd have to save her and struggle to kill Naraku, but that had not been so.

After that, they hadn't been the same. They weren't as close-knit. Sango and Miroku left back to the Demon Exterminator village, taking Shippo with them while she and Inuyasha had returned to Kaede's village. Something had been off then; when they had parted.

No hugs, no promises, no love. She felt so alone in that moment, but nothing could compare to how she felt at the moment. Now, she felt tired, alone, and betrayed.

At first, it had made sense, that after the restoration of the Shikon, that everything would go back to the way things were. She didn't think; she didn't count on Inuyasha turning on her. She didn't count on Inuyasha purposely throwing her sword away from him and tearing into her shoulder; growling and hissing as her blood stained the ground, her clothes, and his face. Her blood had dripped; had flowed from her body, yet she could feel nothing.

It had happened so fast, it was all a blur to her. She knew that she could never be romantic with Inuyasha and had settled herself as only being a close friend; but at that moment, she didn't know what to believe, and the reality at the time... she just couldn't believe it.

All of the work, all of the loss, everything... all had been thrown to the wind when he had attacked her. She didn't know why, and she supposed she never would, because when the horrible reality wriggled its ugly head, she had screamed. She had screamed long and hard. Her scream was full of hurt, pain, betrayal, disbelief, sadness, and desperate.

With a sad smile, Kagome realized that she hadn't been completely forsaken. She had never noticed; had never known that Kirara had followed at a distance; that she had disappeared on a hunt by the Demon Exterminator village, and was filled with such concern, that she had followed the pair at a distance.

It was then that Kirara had made herself known and defended Kagome; tackling Inuyasha away from her, and in the next moment, Kagome had been slung over Kirara's back and they had taken off into the air.

Smiling softly, Kagome rubbed the cream and black fur of her one and only companion, the only companion that hadn't abandoned her. She felt so bad, so sad that she had never shown so much compassion to Kirara and there she had been, the only one to hear her distress and to help her in her time of need.

Now though, things would be different. It would be miko and cat demon, Kagome and Kirara. They would survive and forever be companions, friends and family.

With this, Kagome stood up, shifting her valuable bundle to a more comfortable position and took off into the direction of the Bone Eater's well.

Looking around her one last time at the beauty of the past, of the Feudal States Era, Kagome jumped into the well, taking her friend and the Shikon with her.

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A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this. I have a lot of plans for this fic. Let me know what you guys thiink of the begining. ^-^