"So you mean those 'tests' are more important than Shikon no Tama?" snapped the white-haired half-demon beside her. Kagome sighed.

"They are both important", she said, not raising her gaze from school book. "And we all need a little break sometimes, Shippo, Sango, Miroku and Kirara too."

"I don't care a damn!" he shouted to her ear. "Naraku's somewhere out there killing others and collecting more and more shards and all you do is read for some tests!"

"That's it. Are you saying that I haven't done anything for that?" she flared and stood up from her chair, locking her eyes with him. "We will get all the shards and beat Naraku but I have to do something for my future too!"

"Keh, what about my future?" he growled and pointed himself. Kagome opened her mouth but decided to shut it. She had nothing to say about that; Inuyasha still wanted to become a full demon and she couldn't complain about that, she had promised to be his side no matter what. But the thought of him losing himself, forgetting everything, forgetting her, stung hard.

Inuyasha noticed her silence. Maybe he had said too much. But the waiting was getting on his nerves.

"Okay, sorry", she said quietly without looking at him. "I'll come tomorrow immediately after school."

"What- Tomorrow?" he cried, his soft eyes changing to angry again.

"Yes! Tomorrow!" she shouted then pushed him towards her window. "Now get out or I'll say 'it'!"

"Okay, okay!" he yelled and stepped on a windowsill then glared at her. "But if you don't come before tomorrow night I'll come to get you and believe me woman, you will come then."

"Yeah, yeah", she rolled her eyes when he jumped out of her room. She walked to window and saw him ran to the well house. Her eyes turned wistful but she shook her head and went back to her table where her books waited. Can't he see how strong and powerful he already is? How good he is just the way he is?

It was sunny afternoon when Kagome walked back home with her friends. Yuka, Ayumi and Eri were chatting keenly to her about everything what had happened when she had been "sick". Kagome's mood was high because she really thought that this test had gone well. It felt good to be home for a while though sometimes Inuyasha's time felt more like home.

"Hey Kagome, how's with your boyfriend?" Eri asked suddenly. "Is he still the same jealous, rude, two-timer?"

"Yeah, the same", Kagome said. "He's mad because he thinks I'm spending too much time for reading."

"Well that's true", Yuka said.

"Including spending time with you guys and the other things."

"That's rude! How can you be with a guy like him?" Eri asked, shaken.

"Because he has a cool hair and cool eyes", Yuka whispered to her.

"Oh, you're right."

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes.

"But doesn't that mean that he wants to be with you more?" Ayumi asked from her.

"Um, it's not that simple..." Kagome's gaze dropped to ground. After all he just wants revenge Kikyo's death and become a full demon, or maybe go to the hell with her. I'm just hastening that. Not that I don't want to defeat Naraku, I know how horrible he can be...

"That's right", said Eri. "Even if he wants to be with Kagome, he doesn't own her!"

"Yeah!" Yuka and Ayumi said in union.

"Yeah..." Kagome sighed.

After over an hour Kagome was ready to go. She had packed her big yellow backpack and was now trying to lift it on her shoulder. She had to admit that Inuyasha's presence became very handy in situations like this.

"Why you always have to take your books with you too, neechan?" Sota asked when he watched her sister's efforts to carry her bag.

"When would I read then? Every night when I come back here?"

"But you can hardly lift it."

"Inuaysha will carry it", she said surely. When she finally got the backpack on her shoulders, she went down the stairs, Sota after her.

"Do you have everything now?" her mother asked.

"Yes", she smiled then looked at old man in kimono beside her mother. "Don't look like that, grandpa."

"Please be careful, Kagome", her grandfather said almost in tears, nodding frankly.

"Sure. Bye everyone!" she waved.

"Bye Kagome!"

"Bye neechan!"

With that she went outside and walked towards the well house.

I hope Inuyasha isn't mad anymore, I don't feel like fighting. Good I took ramen with me, she thought when she walked down along the stairs to the well.

"Alright", she said and jumped in. Like always the same blue light appeared and she felt a light breeze on her face which swayed her black hair. But soon it was over and her feet touched the bottom of well. She looked up and saw the blue sky. She had thought that she would have seen Inuyasha's face too since he had been so impatient yesterday but maybe he waited in the village or on some tree's branch. But because her backpack was heavy enough, she tried, "Inuyasha! Inuyasha, are you there! ? I need your help! Inuyasha!" she yelled, hoping that he would hear her or at least smell.

She waited few minutes but there was nothing; no answer, no help. With his speed he would have come already. Was he still that mad at her? She had come in time. "I can't believe him!" she let out a frustrated hiss and angrily started to climb up. Her backpack felt even heavier and her face got sweaty when she made her way up. Finally she reached the edge and climbed over it. She dropped her bag and sighed. That stupid Inuyasha. I will sit him! She kept her eyes closed for a moment then opened them again, about to lift the bag back to her shoulders but then her brown orbs looked more closely at the forest around her. Something isn't right... Kagome thought as she eyed the view. Trees were the same like always but still wrong. Few them were gone and somehow the clearing was too small and there was some pushes she had ever seen before. And she had been in this place many times so she was sure when she knew that something looked different. She shook her head. No, maybe she was just imagining. So she just let it be, took her backpack and walked towards Kaede's village.

When she walked, she started thinking why didn't Inuyasha come when she had yelled. If he weren't mad what else it could be? There was a little, unpleasant thought that he had maybe gone to meet with Kikyo. It makes sense. When Kikyo's around he doesn't hear or care about anything else... No, that's not true, of course Inuyasha cares about us, about me... Then there was a question; what if something had happened?

She got her answer when she came closer to Kaede's village. The place where had been huts, people and fields was gone, there wasn't even a clearing. It was full of only trees, pure forest. There was no sign of colonization. The village wasn't there anymore, it was like it had never been.

"What...?" she breathed and looked behind. Had she gone a wrong way? Kagome turned frowning and went back towards the well. Soon she saw it and then sat on it's edge, her heart racing. No, she hadn't gone the wrong way. What was going on?

"Inuyasha?" she cried when she didn't know what else to do. She stood up and started walking around the small clearing. "Inuyasha! Shippo-chan! Sango-chan, Miroku-sama! Are you here...?" when there was only her echo which answered, her voice trailed off. The familiar forest looked now so strange and unknown to her. She ran back to past-village and few other places which she knew but there was no one to be seen. When she came back to the well, puzzled and tense, she noticed other thing too. There was no Goshinboku either. Did the well... bring me to wrong place? Kagome thought as she looked down at well's bottom. "Well if Inuyasha and the others aren't here then...", she whispered, looking around one more time. Then she nodded, stepped on the edge and jumped back to her home. Or so she thought.

"Ah!" she cried when her legs gave up and her face hit the bottom. "Ow..." she said as she raised her head and sat up. Kagome looked up and saw the same sky though it was now turning a bit red because of the upcoming night. What should I do now? I can't go back either? I'm here all alone...

"INUYASHA!" she yelled and stood up, clear desperation in her voice.

The sky was fully dark now. There was millions of stars, the view she never saw in her own time. That calmed her a little bit. Maybe she was lucky after all. She knew already how to make a fire and she had got used to sleep outside. Only a bit scary thing was that she was alone in the dark forest. After her attempt to get home, she had shaped up, climbed back up from the well and she had started to search for some berries, of course occasionally checking was the well working again. Now she sat close to it, by the fire, chomping few blueberries she had found, thinking.

I wonder if the others are worried, she thought then snorted. Inuyasha is probably fuming. The whole thing is so weird. The well has never done anything like this before so why now? What if I can't never go back? "No", she said out loud. "I'll figure out something or the others will. They always do." She let out a long yawn, then she rolled out her sleeping bag and scrambled inside it, her eye-lids drooping. Everything's going to be alright, she assured to herself then glanced at the trees around her. I miss Inuyasha's guarding...

Then her mind traveled to the dreamland.

It was probably little over midnight. She had dreamed about tests, home and oddly about Inuyasha wearing leather pants. But that voice was disturbing her sleep. It sounded like a delving. It made her remember how Inuyasha always delved her backpack, searching for ramen. "Inuyasha", she whispered still slightly asleep. Then the voice was gone. She smiled sleepily and tried to drown deeper back to her dreams but then a smell caught her nose. A smell of something rotten and stinking right in front of her. Slowly she opened her tired brown eyes, wanting to know where that stink came. She didn't have time to see anything before jumping sound and running reached her ears. Only thing she could catch with her eyes was glimpse of something white. As fast as she could she sat up, her eyes wide open. She looked around and saw something red climb to the tree then it disappeared into green leaves. Kagome frowned and glanced at her backpack near her. It was open and around it was her books wide open on the ground.

Could it be...? "Inuyasha?" she asked and gazed at the tree where the red thing had gone. She slowly stood up from the sleeping bag and went closer the tree. She looked up at it's branches but didn't saw anything because it was so dark. If it's Inuyasha why is he hiding? "Inuyasha? Is it you?" she whispered but there was no sign of movement or answer.

"Hello?" she asked and touched the tree. Then she saw something moving; she didn't know was it a leaf or something else but she certainly wasn't alone. Suddenly one branch shook and she saw a flash of red sail through the air, towards the other tree near. But in the middle of its fly, the red thing suddenly fell to the ground like it would have lost its wings. Kagome squinted in the dark to saw what or who that was. It looked like a little boy. Carefully she walked to him as he laid on the ground unmoving. Did he hurt himself...? she thought at first but when she came closer she heard that at least he was conscious; he was growling furiously at her. And ow she saw him fully. He wore a red kimono and he had a white long, almost shining hair and on top of his head was two tiny white dog ears. He still stank but she couldn't care a less anymore. He was like a minor version Inuyasha. Her Inuyasha.

Minor Inuyasha didn't move even a inch but his yellow eyes were open, glaring and his throat kept creating a growling to her. He laid still but was ready to move if she would. "Um..." Kagome didn't know what to say; she didn't want to scare him away. "Hi there."

He didn't answer. He didn't even blink.

"Don't be scared", she said and raised her hand to tell him that she wasn't his enemy. "I'm not gonna hurt you." When she made a move to kneel, he got up quickly and jumped further from her.

"Don't", he said and flashed his long nails to her. Not as long as Inuyasha's but not normal little boy's nails either. She frowned at him. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper and his hand was trembling. He obviously didn't want to hurt her, he was just afraid. Her gaze moved to his other hand which held something. A ramen package. Kagome's eyes softened and she looked at his little muddy face. Was there anything that cute in the world?

"You don't have to be scared", she said. "You're just hungry right? You can eat it if you want but it tastes more better if I cook it, you know?"

She tried to move closer but he backed away immediately. "No. Leave me alone. You're as bad as the others."

"The others?" she asked but he didn't need to answer. This boy was half-demon like Inuyasha. And many people treated hanyos like rubbish. But was he an orphan too like Inuyasha? "Where's your mommy, little one?"

She could have sworn that the half-demon flinched. His eyes left hers for a moment, to look at the ground. "None of your business."

Kagome didn't need anymore answers. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you but you can't be here all alone. You could get sick or something bad might happen to you. Come with me at the fire and I'll make food for you. You're safe with me." He gazed at her with hard eyes though his growling was gone. She saw his shoulders sank a little, telling that his body started to relax around her. He was just a little boy but his gaze was so intense, so familiar that it made her heart beat faster.

Finally he spoke, "How you know my name?"

Kagome's eyes widened. "What?"

"You said my name earlier. How you know it?" he growled again quietly but his eyes didn't hold anger anymore, only confusion. Kagome was confused too; she certainly didn't know his name. The only name she had called was...

"Inuyasha?" she breathed.

Boy's eyes twinkled a bit like from a surprise that she had said his name. "That's my name", he said.

AN:

Thanks for reading & comments are welcomed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha