A/N: Hello! This is my first fic, be forgiving. ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha or the underlying plot points. I am no making a profit off their inclusion in this fan-based literary work.

Five Years and Counting
By Jag6201

There was a weight that tugged at her chest as she typed away feverishly at her computer. It was subconscious. The moment her eyes peeled open from sleep this morning she knew it wasn't going to be a good day. It wasn't until later that she remembered why.

A pretty young woman sat at her desk, working diligently with her shoulders slightly hunched. Kagome Higurashi was an aspiring journalist and recently land a job with the "Tokyo Post" and was determined not to let the opportunity slip by. She had only been on the job for a short two weeks before today, and she attempted to not show her nerves that tingled at this particular day. With a soft huff, she pushed back a loose hair that untangled itself from her bun that was piled on top of her head.

"Really." She murmured to herself, letting her fingers rest, "Why do I even bother?"

With a temperamental highlight and backspace, she deleted the short article she had been working on. It was crap in quality and she knew it. Her heart just wasn't in it today. She pushed back from her desk and stretched her arms over her head, her spine popped like bubble-wrap.

"Jeez, hun."

Kagome spun around in her chair and felt the corners of her mouth curve into a soft smile. "Why don't you come over here and give me a shoulder rub?" She teased at the man that leaned on the door frame to her cubicle. "That is if you're really that worried about me Hojo."

He smiled and strode over to her as she spun back around in her chair, exposing her back to him. He placed his soft, strong hands and began to kneed the knots that had welled up under her skin. She let out a soft sigh and melted to his menstruation. "What has you so stirred up?" Hojo asked curiously.

"Nothing." She murmured. It was a blatant lie. Everything about today had her wanting to crawl into bed and not get out until the day was done.

Today was the fifth anniversary of the last day she'd seen him.

She remembered it with vivid clarity. She'd left the feudal era in a huff, screaming at the immature hanyou about God knows what. He'd obviously had said something to rile her up. She remember throwing her yellow backpack into the well first, and will a push fell away into the modern era. The next evening, after a long day at school attempting to catch up and pretending to have her tenth bout of pneumonia she had leapt into the well to return to Inuyasha and everyone. She only ended up gracing herself with a broken ankle. The well had not opened and never did again. She attempted every day for a year (carefully climbing down the latter rather than flinging herself down with reckless abandon), then every other month, to every year, to finally quitting all together.

She hadn't visited her mother at the shrine in two years now.

"Kagome?"

She jumped a bit, looking up at Hojo who stared down at her in concern. She had been lost in her thought.
"Why don't you take the rest of the day off hun?" He suggest, giving her shoulders a firm squeeze.

"No. I can't." She protested, shrugging off his touch and reaching to pull herself back up to her desk. He held her chair firmly in place.
"Seriously hun, go. I can tell you need to unwind. I'll cover for you."

She looked up at him and then smiled softly. A lot of her friends questioned her decision to take a job that would involve her working under her fiance, but it did have it's perks. Standing up, she rested her fingers on his stubbly jaw and gave him a peck on the mouth. "Thanks babe. Dinner tonight?" He nodded and returned her affection with a kiss on the nose. You'd be hard pressed to find a more perfect couple. A loud, technological ring tone erupted from Hojo's pant pocket and he retrieved it quickly. Giving her a reassuring grin, he walked from her cubical and could be heard answering the call.

She slung her purse over her shoulder as she made her way out of the office. The bustle of downtown Tokyo distracting her momentarily from her memories. Hopping on the public bus, she debated over what to do. Generally she would just go home and try to relax, but she had a strong feeling that being alone would only lead to tears. For what ever reason, she felt like it was necessary to visit the old well - even if it was just to stare down into it's abyss.

"Jesus…" She huffed, her hands on her knees and her small heels hung off her fingers. "How did I climb these every day?"
Kagome had just summited the shrine steps and looked back down the steep steps at the street below. She took a moment to catch her breath before slipping her heels back on. Her ankle still protested at times and half way up the stairs she knew there was no point in ignoring it. Now that there would be no more elevated climbing, she felt safe to replace them onto her feet. Her hose was now ruined though, hole in the toes and balls of her feet.

She felt her throat tighten as she looked over to the small well house to the left. It took ever ounce of her not to just turn around and trot back down the steps and forget all about this little visit. But instead of going backwards, she took steps forward. Before she comprehended, she found herself sliding the door to the well house open and slowly stepping inside. It was dark, musty smelling but there was something overwhelming familiar about it. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. A small spark of hope flamed to life in her chest, but she quashed it out before it took any traction. She was just here to remember. Nothing more.

Walking down the stairs to the well, she paused at the lip of it - staring down into it. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the soft wood with her finger tips. The old wood had a silky feeling to it, unlike the well of the past that was freshly cut and still splintered her regularly when she was in the past.

Had.

She retracted her hand in disapproval. This is exactly why she didn't visit any more. She always thought of the past as the present, that she was just stuck in a separate world - not the other way around. She glared at the well reproachfully, as if it was the cause to all of her problems. Before letting out a breath and slumping down onto it - her arms crossed and leaning against the lip.

"What are you doing now?" The words fell out of her mouth and she stared down into the void listlessly.

Minutes, maybe an hour passed before she moved again. Thought and memories had taken her far away from the modern world and she had finally be pulled back. Much like earlier in the office, she pushed herself away from the well and raised her hands over her head causing her back to crack sickeningly. She was about to leave, when that same spark of hope and curiosity flamed up again in chest. But this time, she didn't immediately dowse in out. She stood there staring, debating with herself before finally groaning to herself, "What's the harm?"

She knew if she didn't at least clammer down the bottom of the well while she was here, she would be haunted by it until she came back again.

Leaning down to pull off her shoes once more, she set them to the side as she climbed over the lip - her snug pencil skirt hiking up very immodestly. Her feet scaled the old rungs of the rope latter that descended down into the well. As she crawled down, she caught herself cursing at the dirt wall, wondering what on earth she was doing. Her fingers cramped as she made her way down the last ten or so rungs and when her foot finally found the soft dirt of the bottom she found herself with a huge knot in her throat. She was still very much in the modern world and this only confirmed what she already knew. She was never going to see Inuyasha again. Tears welled in her eyes for the first time in years over the silver haired boy and she reached for the latter, desperate to leave.

But, suddenly - before she could find the rope in her grasps, she felt the ground slipping aways and she began to fall. It seemed like forever that she plummeted through darkness, and like it never happened at all when suddenly, she found solid footing again under her. Snapping her head up, instead of finding the shrine roof all she could see was clear blue sky. Her breath seemed fall out of her mouth and her eyes went wide and the only thing that seemed appropriate to say was,

"Fuck…"

A/N: Uh-oh… Now what?