Inuyasha was silent, as they ambled along the forest floor, getting closer to their destination. His face was blank, showing not even the slightest hint of emotion. Kagome was vexed with this, getting angrier, wishing he'd say something. Shippo would annoy him, but he seemed unfazed. When they reached Kaede's, they relayed the story of the slaying of the infamous Naraku. Days later, they began to go their seperate ways, and Shippo, Kagome, and Inuyasha were the ones to stay in the village.

Kaede offered Kagome the position to become priestess of the village, but the girl declined. She had decided to go home, for good. Shippo cried, as he held onto Kagome's neck in a hug. She kissed the kitsune's forehead, hoping someday she would see the boy again. He ran off, in a tantrum, and Inuyasha approached the teenager. She let out a breath, tears already stinging her eyes. She rubbed, furiously, praying to god she wouldn't cry in front of him before she left.

"I-I'll miss you, Inuyasha," she managed to say through a tightened throat. She swallowed, staring at him as he patted her on the back, then pulled her into a hug. It was all she could do not to drag Inuyasha with her, to keep him forever. Her eyes widened, as he snuck a gentle kiss on her cheek. She picked up the large yellow bookbag, and turned her head away to shield her emotion-filled eyes. She could hear him shuffle his feet in the dirt, as his low voice whispered, "Kagome... I will never forget you..."

A warm tear was released, and rolled down her flushed cheek. She took a deep intake of breath, and took all the energy she had left to turn around and give him a sweet smile, "See ya in another lifetime!" She could feel the hard oak wood of the well's siding, and lifted herself over it. As the blue light that connected the two worlds lit her face and warmed her soul, she could hear his words echo inside her mind, "I love you..."

She could also hear the moan of a wounded heart.

10 years later...

Her heart hammered inside her chest, as the dream faded away. It had been like that since the first night she had realized she could never go back. She could never see Inuyasha again. Ever. Her brain screamed for sleep, to go back to the dream. To see her mind's image of his sweet face. Those golden orbs, and that sexy smirk. The arms that protected her, and held her while she slept. She could feel her eyes watering, as she sat up to rub the sleep from her eyes.

Since then, her life had turned into hell. It wasn't really her fault, it was the world's fault. It had created chaos, and governments didn't know how to control the mobs in the streets. They didn't know how to stop the mass genicide, or the bombings. They used the last of their resources to try to create order again. It hardly proved to be useful. It was a giant cesspool of murderers, rapists, and pedifiles. The only thing that ran the people was the Yakuza. It just so happens that Kagome's younger brother, Souta, became a leader for one of the gangs. No one could touch her.

She graduated, went to college, and got a secretary job for a newspaper. Everything was going pretty well, and she bought a nice apartment. Then, things went downhill all of a sudden. Though the media covered it up as just another war, something was wrong and everybody could tell. That's when the electricity was cut off. Everyone was back to basics, and general needs. Rioting broke out and everybody demanded that the electricity be restored. But no one turned it back on.

5 years later, Kagome was stuck in a rundown hotel room, hoping to god that she wouldn't be shot. The whole world was insane, and she planned to stay hidden until it became sane once more.

A knock at the door startled the young woman, and it takes her a moment to get up and open it. It was one of Souta's messengers, a tall man with stringy black hair. He cleared his throat, and then said in a low voice, "I got news, Kagome. Its not good."

She stood, her knees bending slightly as she leaned against the doorframe. She was silent, urging him to continue with her eyes. He took a deep breath, then forewarded, "Your house, back in Tokyo, the shrine. Its gone. Some kid burnt it down, Kagome. I'm sorry..."

Her heart stopped for a moment, and in her mind's eye, she saw the old well house. That now fading picture of Inuyasha, and her friends. Her gray eyes dropped down to look at the floor, then suddenly met his, "The well house?"

He shook his head, already knowing how painful the news would be to the young woman. He swallowed, remembering Souta telling him how much the well had meant to Kagome. She would be truly heart-broken. He offered his hand, and patted her shoulder in a comforting gesture, "I know how hard it is to... lose something beyond value, something that can't be replaced..." He trailed off, his own memories coming back to haunt him. He removed the hand, and mentioned, "Your mom wants you to call her. There's a cab downstairs waiting to take you to a phone."

Kagome nodded, taking a deep breath, "Hai."

***

The streets seemed like something out of "The Crow." Prositutes littered the street corners, bonfires in trash cans could be seen inside dark alleys, and the sidewalks were covered in trash. Where they were going was no better, perhaps worse, as they passed block after block of destruction. She could picture how beautiful Japan once was, and the green that she wished she could see again. She yerned for the bright yellow of the sun, and the sound of kids playing in the park. She wanted to hear the sound of a stream, the sound of a bell as someone walks into a store, and most of all, she wanted the sweet smelling nights and the bright moon.

Kagome sighed, dreamily, as the cab driver stopped in front of an abandoned building. She opened the door, and was greeted by the sickening scent of oil. Marching up to the payphone, on the sidewalk in front of the house, she dialed her mother's number. She could hear the ringing, and then the sound of a stuffed-up nose, "Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Hey, honey. How are you?"

"Where are you, mom? Are you alright?" Kagome spoke, her tone fading quickly into worry. She could hear her mother chuckle, and then her cracking voice, "Not to worry, Kagome. I'm fine. I wasn't home when it happened."

"The well house, mom? Is it really gone?"

The silence on the end concluded her questioning. Yes, it was gone. She muffled a cry, as the tears filled her eyes, and she swallowed, hard, "Well, that sucks..."

"Kagome, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yeah?"

"There was something that one of the officers gave to me, when I came up to check out the damage. They found some sort of trinket. Looks like a really big pearl, or a jewel, perhaps," The middle-aged woman said, her voice tight with remembering. Kagome's eyes widened, "What jewel?"

"Oh, it looked like one of those trinkets your Grandpa used to sell. Remember that, Kagome?"

Her stomach dropped, and she cursed underneath her breath, "Mom, where are you?"

"Motel. Its really nice... " her mother rambled. The daughter grew frustrated, "Mom, I need you to tell me where you are exactly."

"Souta knows," her mother stated. Kagome made a growling sound, and said, quickly, "I'm coming over."

***

"Here it is!" Kagome's mother spoke in triumph. Kagome tapped her foot, impatiently against the baige carpet. The semi-wrinkled hands held something that was a pale violet. A little necklace charm was connected to the jewel. She could see the perfect surface winking at her, as though mocking her. Kagome swallowed, and carfully took the jewlery into her own hands. Immediately, it began to glow a soft pink hue. This made Kagome gasp, in complete shock, "Holy shit! The Shikon No Tama!"

Her mother frowned, "Don't cuss, Kagome. Its rude."

"Mom, where did you say you found this?" She rolled the ball around with her fingers.

"The officer said it was in the wellhouse."

"I thought it was gone."

"It burnt down, but in the rumble left behind, they found that," her mother noted.

The young woman's heart skipped a beat. The jewel that had caused so many people pain, suffering, and so much death; that was in Kagome's hands once again. Memories were flooding back, as she looked into the pure and whole Jewel of Four Souls.

Chapter 2: A Not-so-typical Surprise

Her heart thudded painfully inside her chest. Eyes wide, she glared at the purple orb sitting on her desk. She was completely stunned at the fact that the Jewel had surfaced in her time. 'I thought Kaede destroyed it...' She thought, 'and if she did, why in the hell was it in the fucking wellhouse?!'

Kagome's mother had seemed unfazed when her daughter had stormed off. Now, here she was, sitting on her bed, trying to think of what to do. She knew she had to hide it, because if it fell into the wrong hands, again, the result would be... Kagome shook her head; she couldn't think about it, not when the world was in such chaos. It didn't need another thing to fuck with it.

***

"Good morning, Ms.Higarashi," a kind womanly voice greeted. Her eyes fluttered open to view a semi-plump lady in her mid-30s, with long black hair done up with a red ribbon. The young girl sat up from where she had fell asleep in the bed.

"Souta would like to see you. Its urgent," the woman smiled, politely, as Kagome grumbled and stood up, nodding, "I'll be there in a minute."

"Hai," the lady bowed, stepping out. Kagome realized how rude she had been and called after her, "Wait, I'm sorry for being so grumpy!" The woman was still smiling, as she turned around, "I didn't expect you to be nice, my dear." As Kagome took in this woman's face, recognition suddenly struck her. She swallowed, "Your name?"

The woman shifted from one foot to another, and picked at an imaginary piece of lint, "Kaede."

She was immediately taken aback and gasped, "Excuse me?"

"Kaede. My name's Kaede," she spoke clearly, looking at the girl. Kagome could tell one eye was slightly off, as it stayed in one place. Kaede noticed, and held a hand over her eye, "It was an accident when I was little."

'Holy shit,' Kagome yelled inside her head, 'how can this be real?' Kaede approached the apprehensive girl and patted her shoulder in a comforting gesture, "Would you like me to pick out an outfit for you to wear?"

She shook her head, and then spoke in a low voice, "You're so young." Kaede gave a hearty chuckle, "I know, but I feel so much older." Kagome put on a smile, and then asked, "Do you have a sister?"

"Why, yes. How did you know?"

"What's her name?"

"My, you ask a lot of questions Ms.Higarashi. Her name is Kikyo. She's my younger sister," she answered, eyes twinkling. Kagome was confused, thinking how Kaede was younger sister to Kikyo, not the other way around. Her head throbbed, and she remembered she had to meet Souta. She gave a bow to Kaede, "Arigato. Where's Souta?"

"Outside, waiting for you. If you need anything else from me, I'm only two doors down," With that, the younger version of Kaede ambled off.

***

"Kagome, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost!" Souta exclaimed, when his sister walked over to the bench he was sitting on. She nodded, and then asked, "Who's Kaede?"

"Oh, she's one of my new assistants. Can't go wrong with more workers."

"Souta, don't you remember? Kaede, the old priestess from the village?" Kagome pushed, as Souta's eyes finally lit up. He nodded, that boyish quality still attatched to his face, "Yeah, but she's like 36, and has a kid."

"A kid? Who?"

"He's got a really weird name, but he's smart," he said, thoughtfully. Kagome nudged him, and he continued, "his name's Shippo."

***

Indeed, a tall man with orange hair, pointy ears, and a bushy tail. At this point, Kagome's mouth had dropped to the ground, and all her mind could process was 'What the fuck?!' But this time, Shippo seemed to recognize her, too. Behind his eyes was that childish grin, as he stuttered, "K-Kagome?" His voice was deep now, almost husky. He had definitely hit puberty. Kagome's brown eyes widened in surprise, "Shippo, you remember me?"

"Well, duh!" the kitsune laughed and almost jumped into her arms, but stopped when he realized he was too big. So, instead, he settled with a nice hug. He swallowed, hard, to keep the tears from falling at the sight of his surrogate mother.

Chapter 3: Sinful Pleasures

"Inuyasha?"

He growled, low in his throat, and pushed me back down onto the bed. I could see the Jewel glowing in the corner of my eye, as he leaned down to connect our lips in another mind-numbing kiss. I cried out, opening my mouth to unwillingly accept his hot tongue. He made love to it, tracing my teeth and sucking on my tongue. I couldn't help but imagine how good that sweet mouth of his would feel on my clit.