Cycles of Destiny by Tea

Prelude: A Time of Before and After

Story Status: Originally, this story was started back in 2002 and then halted unexpectedly at chapter 6 a few months later. Now, almost 4 years later, I'm still armed with more than 20 pages of old outlines, a mostly finished (albeit abandoned) chapter 7, and a story that was never properly told in whole. It makes for a rather depressing situation, because I had stopped following Inuyasha for almost as long as I've left this fic hanging...which has made me even less confident than I already was about writing a good Sesshoumaru/Kagome fanfic. Nevertheless, I've been spending some time re-reading all the wonderful reviews that had been left for this story and I thought I'd try to do this again. My motivation and inspiration comes from you all. Thank you! I truly hope that you'll still feel that this story is worth returning to.

That said, I've taken down all 6 chapters so that I could fix all the little discrepancies I had made (a long-overdue task) in order to edit and repost them. For those who had never read this fic, the inspiration was originally taken from one of the earlier episodes where Inuyasha had pushed Kagome back into the well because he didn't want her to get hurt during their adventures. What if he, with his stubborn mindset, never went back to retrieve her? My fic takes a twist from that idea and spins the consequence of Inuyasha's actions.

Important Note: Since this fic was written fairly early on in the series compared to all that's happened in the recent storyline, it will probably be far from canon. There are parts in my story that I had planned out at a time when these things had not yet been touched upon in the actual series, so they were all made-up by me. And because I'm very far from being caught up with the series, I'm not even going to bother to change my original plot to conform with what's canon and such. Please keep this in mind when reading my fic. Also, the third movie or whatever else did not happen in this story, and any similarities or parallels are probably a result of coincidence. When in doubt, just follow the story as it is written? I hope that won't deter anyone from enjoying what I have planned for Sesshoumaru and Kagome!

Summary: It's been almost four years since Kagome was sent back to her own time with no way of going back to the feudal era. Now, at the age of 19, she's about to find that she's once again connected to the past somehow. Sess/Kagome.

Disclaimer: Applicable to the entire fic. Somehow, I find it difficult that anyone would believe me even if I claim to own Inuyasha. But in case anyone has any doubts, I make no claims for Inuyasha. (no, really?) All recognizable elements belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whoever else. The only character I might have any remote claim to is Juro, since he's an OC.

destiny:

1. the inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.

2. a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency.

3. the power or agency thought to predetermine events

Prelude: A Time of Before and After

They say every story has a beginning and an ending.

But there is also a belief that talks of how the world moves in a whirlwind of cause and effect, of action and reaction where one thing inevitably leads to another. It makes you wonder how much of what you do is really yours alone; where the choices made by others end and where yours truly begin.

It gives time an odd quality, turning it into an intangible existence that had no beginning and no ending. It goes on, the essence of our actions and our decisions. It becomes embedded in the before and the after, forever changing the paths that are given to us. It becomes a cycle of time that keeps going.

Kagome had never given destiny much thought. That's not to say that she didn't believe in such a thing. She just didn't think she had one. And then it found her.

Revision completed on June 23, 2006. The story begins with chapter 1...revised and to be added soon.