Lokag 59

A.N.:I'm gonna be real with y'all, I did not have any desire to research time zone differences to make this chapter more realistic so just... squint and roll with it lmao

They were offered a few more days of rest and recuperation, which they gladly accepted, and then two slow, grief hazed days later, they were offered a ship to fly home on. The stately Queen of Wakanda came to see them off, and though you could see the weight of the loss of her children on her shoulders, she carried herself with all the grace of a dignitary.

Thor wrapped Kagome's arm around his and approached respectfully, bowing slightly, and Kagome followed his lead, a little confused as to why he'd pulled her along.

"I am Thor, King of Asgard, and this is my sister, Kagome, Queen of Asgard, and we extend our thanks for your hospitality."

The Wakandan queen nodded back while Kagome's spine straightened with tension. They returned to their group and she bristled to find Inuyasha staring at her, eyes wide in disbelief.

"So, not only are you a goddess now, you're a queen?!"

"No." She denied firmly and swiftly, rounding on Thor who met her fiery glare with his own, stern and unyielding.

"Yes." He replied, arms crossed, stance wide, ready to go head to head with the only person he'd ever met who could match his stubbornness.

"We did not discuss that. You can't just-"

"Who else is going to be queen of the remaining Asgardians Kagome? Mother is dead!"

She flinched at the reminder of the murder of her surrogate mother, but firmed her resolve against taking on such power and influence.

"If you're king then the role of queen is supposed to go to your wife, that's how it works, and I'm not-"

"Who am I supposed to make my wife, Kagome?" Thor asked with a sad, resigned sigh. "Jane left me, and Sif is dead. We are all that's left of the royal family, you have already been queen once, our people love you, and they are scared and... I need your help."

Every other protest she had singed to ash in her mouth at the defeated look on his face, his bruised aura, the sag in his shoulders, and she felt shamed for trying to force what was left of her broken family into doing something so big on his own right now. She also knew how hard it was for Thor to admit he couldn't do something on his own. He was struggling as badly as the rest of them, and she would not abandon him.

"Okay. Okay you're right. I'm sorry, I'll help you. De-facto Queen... for now."

Some of the stress in the lines of his face softened and he hung his head in relief.

"Thank you, sister."

"This is very sweet and all, but can we get on the road please?" Bruce interrupted, and quiet fell over the group again as they shuffled into the ship and took their seats, allowing themselves to be strapped in by the attendant and readied for take off.

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Kagome didn't breath easily again until their ship touched down and the engine clicked off.

She released a sigh that unclenched all of her muscles and pried her fingernails out of the arm rests, slumping in her seat to wait for the doors to open. She glanced around, noticed everyone staring at her uncomfortably and winced. Her aura had been all over the place and had probably set everyone on edge, but she'd had no way to gauge just how awful flying like that would be.

'I've never even been on a regular airplane and that giant space ship Thanos used never felt like it was moving. That was TERRIBLE.'

She shook herself a little to rid herself of the lingering dread and motion sickness and hurried off the ship and onto the blessed, blessed ground. Their destination sat large and square and grey in front of her, a far cry from the lush palace of Wakanda, but upon entering it was made apparent that Avengers Compound housed the type of technology she used to read about in science fiction books. She scarcely blinked, following slowly as Natasha led them through the compound.

A frantic blonde woman rushed out with tear soaked eyes, looking desperately at all there faces before turning panicked to Natasha who grasped her shoulders to hold her steady.

"Tony?" Was all she asked, a broken whisper that squeezed at Kagome's heart.

"We don't know Pepper, he wasn't with us when... when it happened." Steve answered, and Pepper's face fell as a fresh wave of tears washed down her face.

She swallowed and nodded and then gestured for them all to follow her deeper into the compound, stopping at a room with a long table and chairs. They were seated and in short order they were all given mugs of steaming coffee. Kagome noted with interest that Thor seemed to know exactly what it was, but she hadn't had coffee in literal ages. She sipped it slowly and sighed as it leached through and warmed up every inner corner of her body.

"What now?" Pepper broke the silence which was still thick with grief, uncertainty and guilt. Steve shrugged and slumped back in his chair and then Pepper started when she noticed the new members of their party.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize there were new people..."

"It's alright, circumstances aren't exactly normal. I'm Kagome, Thor's sister. This is Inuyasha, an old friend, and that's Rocket, he came with Thor."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a sister, Thor. Anyway, everything here is in working order, whatever you need, you know where it is. And I'll be... I'll be around."

They remained quiet as Pepper shuffled out, understanding her need to be alone, and then the silence stayed thick and impenetrable between them, the choke hold it had over them unbreakable, their grief leaving them too tired to try.

There was so much to be done, so many messes to clean and fires to put out; they were needed now more than ever, even if they'd failed to stop the worst enemy they'd ever faced.

He didn't destroy the whole world after all.

"Hey Kagome?" Inuyasha asked softly, meeting Kagome's weary eyes from where he sat next to her.

"Are you Uh, you gonna go home now?"

Her brow furrowed and a lone tear trailed down her cheek, and Inuyasha silently cursed himself for asking.

"And how will I do that? I don't have a home anymore. It's been destroyed. Asgard is... gone."

"No no, not Asgard. I meant... I meant Tokyo. You know, the shrine?"

Her eyes widened and then her gaze dropped to the table top.

"Oh. I didn't even... I didn't even think about... how would I even get there? I don't have a passport, or an ID... or money..."

"We can get you there, but will you come back?" Steve asked, and Kagome was taken back for a second, blinking in confusion at his request. "You said you'd spent quite a bit of time as Thanos's captive. We could really use your help finding him. Any information you have would be invaluable."

"Steve is right, we could really use you." Natasha added, and Kagome looked back down at the table to consider. They made a good point, and they absolutely did need to find him. He still had the stones, and since he'd already caused such damage with them there was no telling what else he might try to do.

"Of course. I'd be happy to help. Just give me a few days to make sure my family is alright, help whoever is left. I'll be back."

"Thank you, Kagome. I'll get you all some phones, a ship, everything you need." Natasha said as she left the table, and Kagome turned back to Thor who had remained pensive and silent, his aura cooling with distaste at the way things had turned.

"You're coming with me, right?" She asked, and he met her eyes with a look of surprise that would have hurt had the situation been different.

"Why so shocked? If I'm going to make sure my family is safe of course I want my whole family there, Thor."

His blue eyes wavered with shaky relief and his jaw unclenched. He nodded once and she gave him a tremulous smile.

"We'll check in with them, and then check in on the Asgardians, okay? Together."

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Another stomach turning ride in a much smaller but still way too-fast ship had them touching down on the grass in her old front yard in record time. She'd squeezed Thor's fingers the whole way, causing him to wince in surprise pain and Inuyasha to chuckle under his breath. She'd tried to distract herself with the new phone Natasha had given her after helping her set it up and link it with the matching one she'd given Thor as Inuyasha already had a phone, but trying to navigate the advanced technology made her motion sickness worse. It was no use comparing it at all to the types of phones that had been available the last time she'd been to Earth as a young girl, technology had come so far she may as well be referencing the Stone Age.

She'd put it away and closed her eyes and breathed around the roiling in her stomach, and now she had to stop herself from dropping to her knees and kissing the grass.

Instead, she looked slowly around at the place she'd been a child, the place she'd called home when she'd still been human, a young girl with an impossible mission and impossible dreams. She felt a very distant tug of recognition in her heart. It may not exactly be home anymore, but she still remembered when it had felt that way.

The door of the house slid open and a grown man stumbled out with wide, wild eyes, firmly gripping a bow knocked with an arrow. He dropped it at the sight of her and her companions, taking a slow step back and shaking his head in disbelief.

Kagome tilted her head, looking over his face, his form, trying to place him, not recognizing him, wondering if her family hadn't moved and sold the house to someone else.

"Kagome?" He spoke, hesitant and stunned and she nodded in answer.

"Hey kid. Good to see you."

They man's eyes snapped over and the confusion cleared.

"Inuyasha. So it's true, you found her."

"Sort of. Is... is your mom here?"

"Oh my gods. Mom, mom!" He dashed inside, leaving them behind, and Inuyasha stepped toward the house to follow him. Kagome grabbed his wrist and he stopped, turning and wincing at the lost look on her face.

"Shit. I should have figured you wouldn't recognize him. He was just a kid when you disappeared. That's your little brother."

"That's... that's Souta!? Oh... I've been gone a very long time."

Then, Souta stepped back out of the house followed by an older woman who's greying hair had been brushed back into a bun at the nape of her neck.

Kagome met the eyes of the woman who was obviously her mother, though older, with more lines around her mouth and eyes, a woman she never thought to ever see again. Nerves erupted and fluttered like butterflies in her belly and she smiled uncertainly.

Her mother choked out a sob and ran across the space between them in the grass, gathering her in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh Kagome, it's you! Oh it's really you!"

She embraced her mother back, dumbfounded and numb from too many emotional upheavals in less than a week, following silently as her mother led them all into the house with tears and fluttering hands.

Frantically, in an attempt to ground herself, scrabbling for some familiarity and security, she reached over and grabbed Thor's hand. He gave her fingers a squeeze, smiled a small but reassuring smile, and walked with her inside.