Of Time and Traveling by Eerie

Me, myself, and I

Kagome sighed as she hauled herself up and out of the well and back into Sengoku Jidai. The sunshine beamed down with no concern for the conflicting thoughts flying through the mind of the young miko who had just climbed up and out of the ages old structure in the ground and now was contemplating her future, which was her past, twice over. Where she should have felt elated, although she still did, she felt more a sort of weary acceptance hanging over her. The chirping of birds and the light breeze flowing across the short grass of the clearing paid her and her melancholy thoughts no heed. They had finally beaten Naraku, after all. Why shouldn't she be celebrating?

Why?

Because, when you find out that you've just defeated your greatest foe, and that your years long quest is over, you do not relish doing it over again.

Especially not 6 more times.

A shake of her head, and she banished the dark thoughts. Who was she to be so down about taking down the evil hanyou who had stalked them for years. One who enjoyed taking everything and everyone from those she held dear, just for his own entertainment. With a firm resolution, she stood and turned to face the well. Looking down into it's depths, she wondered if she hopped in, would she return home right after the battle again? Would she even go back to her era, or would she just pop back up right here at the bottom of the bone eater's well, 500 years before she even existed?

Leaning against the ancient wood of the side of the well, tapping a foot on the ground and trying to figure out what her course of action should be, Kagome stopped and watched in some amount of fascination as a blue glow emitted from the well. She saw herself look up at her, a smirk upon her face. Bizarre as it was, she knew that this was the way things were going to work for a while, and as her next self began her climb up and out of the well, she stretched a hand down to offer herself some assistance.

"Thanks." Her own voice said to her, strangely foreign, coming from someone else's, but still her own lips. She watched herself hop over the edge and lean casually against the well and giggle, at...herself, and wondered if she'd ever get over this odd and rapturous fascination with her 'other' self.

"You will, don't worry. Trust me, remembering that thought when you get to my point will just be funny." She explained, and Kagome blushed and gave a small laugh at herself. Of course she didn't become a mind reader! She'd merely thought and done the exact same things, so naturally she would remember something like that.

Recovering from her self induced, in more ways than one, embarrassment, she looked up at her next self and pondered something.

"I know that the me traveling with Inuyasha and my friends right now won't know about this until the very end, but, what about me and the rest of us, do we travel together? What do we do, exactly, until we defeat Naraku again?" She blinked after her words, thinking they sounded strange, and that normally the phrase wouldn't make any sense. Given her situation though, they were perfectly reasonable. The next Kagome broke into a small fit of giggles again at her expression.

Once she was done she looked at the face that was identical to her own and replied, word for word, what she'd been told the last time she'd come out of the well, and waited just long enough for herself to come climbing out.

"No. We each go out separate ways. At least, most of us do. At most, the last two or three may travel in pairs. It would start too many rumors if a group of identical miko were wandering around." She pointed out, and it made a lot of sense. "Also, make sure to avoid traveling anywhere you know that your last self and your friends are going to be headed. I think it's reasonable to say that if someone recognizes you before you arrive, and Inuyasha gets wind of it, you'll have quite the chase on your hands." Kagome, the one being explained these things, went wide-eyed and made a note to make very sure not to cross her own path, along with Inuyasha's.

"Aside from that," she continued, this time not pausing to snicker at her past antics, "It seems as though we have a set path for us each time we come back. Trust in the signs you receive, and, hard as it may be, set differences aside and make as many allies as you can. You saw, we can have many more friends than we first realized. They will all come in handy by the end of our journey. Of course," She finished with a grin, "you knew that."

Kagome stood and took a deep breath. After half a second of pondering if the air would ripple like a reflection on a pond if she were to reach out and try and touch the other Kagome, she was ready to go. Turning to face her slightly older self, she smiled and bid her farewell. "See you in a couple of months."

"Most definitely." The elder Kagome nodded, and sat by the edge of the well to await the chat with her next self.

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Translation Key:

Sengoku Jidai - Warring States era of Feudal Japan. The time period Kagome travels back and forth to

Hanyou - Half-Youkai

Youkai - Demon/mythological creature

Miko - Priestess