Her Life – Chapter 21 – "In A Land Far, Far, Away"

"Once upon a time there was a young girl who discovered she could travel to a magical world far in the past. On her very first day in this land she was met with terrible, life-threatening danger. Only with the help of an elderly miko and a young half-demon that had been released from his enchanted sleep did the young girl survive that night. The three of them combined was what it took to destroy the evil Mistress Centipede and retrieve the enchanted Shikon Jewel that was forcibly taken from where it had laid dormant for fifteen years within the young girl's body.

Not after that fateful day did an important journey began. You see, the girl, being the klutz that she was, accidently broke the Shikon into hundreds upon thousands of shards while trying to recover the stolen jewel. Hence the beginning of a wondrous journey…

The young woman from another world and the half demon set off to not only find the jewel shards, but to stop a menacing evil man who was plaguing the lands by trying to increase his own powers using the cursed jewel.

Along the way the duo met others whose goal either was or quickly became the need to destroy such a monstrous person from the lands. A fox kit, lecherous monk, demon slayer, and a neko made up a ragtag group of hunters defending the side made up of good. The most amazing part of the entire situation was how five people from entirely different ends of the spectrum somehow became a family.

Yet another soul was brought into the situation, literally. The half-demon's first and only love was brought back to his world by what could only be described as a wicked witch. At first the old pain from their betrayal fifty years prier was heavily present, but over time the pain passed and they began to trust each other again…

To fall in love…

Over the coming months the group would face dozens of ups and downs yet they always stuck together. Even when the evil hanyou attempted to pit them against one another, each of them toughed it out and that simple trust is what lead them to defeat the evil, bring peace back to the lands, and restore the Shikon Jewel to its entirety.

Although, it almost cost them their most precious member.

The days following the battle weren't met with happiness, only worries. The half demon had been so badly injured while saving the young girl and his love that he himself almost perished. It was only thanks to the future knowledge of the girl that he survived the next few nights.

Once all in the group were injury free a joyous event was planned. When all were planning for the upcoming double wedding, the young girl was preparing to give the man she loved the most meaningful gift in the world.

During the night before the wedding, the young girl snuck out into the woods with the entire Shikon Jewel resting in her palm; giving no mind what so ever to the possible danger she could be bringing herself. Once she was confident that the half demon wouldn't sense what she was about to do, she braced her back against a thick tree trunk, rolled the troublesome bauble in her hand a few times, took a deep breath, and began to pray.

The jewel shone brighter and brighter the more she prayed, clearly stating that it was hearing what she was silently saying. Silently, a barrier was set in place around the woman to protect her physical body while her soul was taken to another realm; a realm so breathtaking that no words could describe its beauty. When the young girl broke herself away from the scenery her gaze moved to set itself upon an armor-clad priestess staring at her from the crest of a hill.

"We have heard your request." The miko began, "Yet there will be consequences with such a feat."

A long pause arose between the two before the miko continued on.

"If we were to grant what you request then your wish will have been worthless. With the poison writhing in the pot the wish will only last a couple months, perhaps a year at most. Are you willing to accept that?"

The girl thought it over, realizing quickly that it wouldn't be enough, but, what could she do to make it last? The invisible light bulb went off above her head.

"Could such a thing be transferred?" She questioned, "To another being perhaps?" The more she thought about it, the more hopeful it sounded. A hand lightly brushed her cheek; finding the miko in front of her suddenly sent the wind out of her.

"You would truly give up so much just to make him happy?"

"Yes."

"Then you must realize that by doing this the well will be sealed off. Never again will you travel back to the village of Edo; see the woman you think of as a grandmother, the slayer a sister, the monk a brother, the kit your child, and the man you love…"

"It will all be worth it, so long as he is happy. All I request is that I be allowed to remain until the night of the ceremony. I wish to see them off to their new lives."

The miko could see the determination in her eyes along with the fear of the unknown. Had the god's known they'd created a soul so selfless.

"It will be painful."

"I am prepared. Whatever it takes for him…

She never got to finish her sentence after calloused fingertips touched her forehead and pain engulfed her.

When she'd dressed for the ceremony the next day the young girl could see the telltale purple hue coming to her skin right above her heart and she'd known that the poison had taken. Though it was true that throughout most of the day she was immersed in pain the feeling left her for several minutes when she'd watched him take hold of his love's hands; her warm hands. It felt like everything was right with the world in those few measly moments.

For it was true that for the rest of her life she would suffer with Naraku's miasma eating away at her, it didn't matter though. The genuine smile lighting up Inuyasha's face before he kissed the warm flesh of Kikyo's cheek made it all worth it.

After all, if you had the chance, wouldn't you let the one you truly love go so that they could be happy?

The young girl, Kagome, had such strength and knew that she would never regret her decision because the one she loved was finally truly happy.