Rumiko Takahashi deserves credit for the invention of InuYasha, not me. I came up with this one while walking home last night, so I decided to give it a try. Don't worry—if you're wondering when I'll resume "Forward to Forever", I'm kinda having writer's block right now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So, here's the idea; What if everything in The Final Act ran its' course except for two things? Kikyo is still alive after the gang defeated Naraku, and there is no battle in the meido. Kikyo and Kagome both think InuYasha has chosen who he'll remain with and what he'll be, but InuYasha is having a tough time deciding…or so they believe.

=+IY+=

InuYasha walked towards the well. He held the completed Shikon no Tama in his hands as well as a letter he had written to her earlier that day. He had told Kikyo he would meet her there at sunset, but he would be gone by the time she arrived. He could smell the scent of a graveyard approaching, and steeled himself. It was time to act. Just as he had instructed, Shippo burst out of the woods and ran to Kikyo to ask her a question, stopping her in her tracks. Meanwhile, he set the letter and jewel down before jumping into the well in a sea of light.

Even before his feet touched the ground, signaling he was indeed in the future, he could smell Kagome's tears. The lack of light above revealed that it was now past sunset. He made his way out of the well house and stared up at Kagome's window. He could hear her crying, and kicked himself for being the cause. Forcing himself to refrain from going to comfort her, he silently went to the temple steps to meet with his brother. I hope Sesshomaru is still willing to help.

With a brief greeting, he said, "Sorry I'm late."

The well-dressed man at the base of the steps looked at InuYasha before glancing at his watch. "It does not surprise me. I would have been convinced you changed your mind, had I not seen you act on your plan back then. At any rate, we have no time for delays. Come."

=+IY+=

"Kagome, are you sure you're feeling any better?" Ayumi implored. "I heard that having the chicken pox at our age can be dangerous."

Kagome smiled weakly. "I'm fine, Ayumi. After all, Gramps let me out of the house, didn't he? And besides, I don't want to miss my first day as a high school student."

Eri noted that her voice was cracking. "Wait a minute. I think I know what's really going on!"

"I think so, too!" Yuka chimed in. "That two-timing boyfriend of yours got back together with his ex, didn't he?"

Kagome sighed. "I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to find out."

Eri shook her head, amazed that her friend was still so taken with this guy. "Why can't you just go out with Hojo? At least he wouldn't tear your heart apart."

"Nah, he's not my type, I keep telling you. And I don't even have those kinds of feelings for him, so it wouldn't be a good idea to keep leading him on like that."

"Guess what, Kagome? We'll have a transfer student in our class starting today," Ayume jumped in. "He lives with his older brother, a software developer. It looks like he hasn't decided what he wants for his own life, though."

"Kagome, look! Isn't that—"

She turned around to see who her friends were directing her attention to, and the newcomer smiled.

"It's about time I found ya!"