I don't own Inuyasha. Though I totally wish I did... I love his dog ears! And yes, I know Kaede speaks using ye's and stuff, but it just makes things a thousand times more difficult. So just bear with me, please. And sorry for the time jumps. Nelieve it or not, they are rather necessary.

Three Years Ago, Feudal Era

"Goodbye Inuyasha," Kagome said, tears causing her voice to go up an octave. "I'll miss you! I swear, I'll come back as soon as I can!"

"Feh. Stupid wench. Don't rush for my sake. Just do what you need to. I'll be waiting here for you."

Kagome threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much, Inuyasha," she pulled back slightly, "and I want you to know, I love you."

He hesitated for a moment before pulling her into his chest. "So do I Kagome. So do I." And with that he pushed her into the well.

"Hey old lady, you're sure she'll come back?" an irate Inuyasha asked of Lady Kaede. It had only been three days, and fur was already flying.

Kaede hesitated. "She'll be able to, yes. However, three years is a long time for one so young. Do not be surprised if she does not return here. This is not her time, after all. She may wish to stay where she is now. But in three years' time, you may return to her time as well, if you so wish."

Inuyasha leaned back, cockiness emanating from every pore. "Nah, she'll be back." But his confidence was merely an act. He would make sure she came back to him though. Even if he had to use force.

Three Years Ago, Tokyo

Screeeeeeeech. Crash. A young girl, no older than eighteen, was forcefully slammed into the ground by another youngster, a boy with short brown hair.

"Kagome, are you okay?"

"Nnnggggghhhh."

"Kagome? KAGOME! C'mon, stay with me."

"Inu- Inuyasha?" the girl's eyes slowly closed. "I'm sorry. I won't be back."

Present Day, in the Feudal Era

"Where is she? She should've been here months ago! Kaede, you said she would be back!" Inuyasha paced the area around Kaede's hut.

"No Inuyasha. I've explained it before. You just don't seem to understand. The well is open. You could visit her, if you wanted to."

"Tch. I'm not going over there. She can come here." A little fox demon jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder as the monk and demon slayer, now happily married with two children, walked in.

"The well's open?" Sango asked, directing her question towards Kaede.

Instead, Inuyasha answered in his normal, gruff way. "Yeah, but I'm not going until she sees me first!" He turned his head away, but they all saw the light blush that embarrassed him.

"So, Inuyasha, what exactly did you and Lady Kagome do while by the well? Did you say your bitter goodbyes as you were up her-"

Miroku's words were stopped midsentence by his wife's stinging slap. "What? It was a perfectly good question!"

Sango shook her head. "What they do is their business. She will come back in her own time." If she comes back at all.

Present Day, Tokyo

Kagome sat on the edge of her hospital bed. It was almost time to go home to the shrine, but for some reason she was a little nervous. There was no telling how much had changed. It had been three years, after all.

She had no idea how her friends were handling everything. But she really wanted to find out.

It had taken her months of physical therapy to get back into the condition she was before her accident, and she had worried all her friends and family.

But she made a full recovery, and that was what mattered.

Looking back at the bland hospital room, Kagome felt an odd sort of detachment. After all, it had been her life for the past three years. You don't just forget something like that. But she wasn't sure if she just didn't remember, or if she just wanted to forget.

There was no one there to pick her up. Instead, she signed herself out and walked through the automated glass doors. It was lonely, but that's just how things were.

As she walked down the streets of her beloved hometown, she was struck with nostalgia. She passed by the playground where she had first met Ayumi, and a couple blocks later, the elementary school where she'd met Yuka and Eri. It felt like forever since they'd last visited her at the hospital.

The sun slowly sank behind the hills, casting a twilight glow over the shrine as she approached. Kagome breathed in deeply, feeling like she had once belonged there. But it didn't feel like home. Not anymore. Again, she felt different. Not like the place had changed, which was certainly true, but more like she had changed. Kagome shook it off; it was no use feeling as if she didn't belong. This was her home. It always had been.

Opening the door, there was no hint of the dinner her mom would've been making, had she known Kagome was coming home. But she didn't.

No one did.

That thought almost made her change her mind. But she was resolute in her decision. Too much had changed, not enough had stayed the same. She shook her head to clear it. There was no use thinking things over. She'd had three years to do that.

Instead, she trudged up the stairs with an equally heavy heart. Packing her giant yellow backpack with food and a couple changes of clothes, Kagome was nearly ready. All she needed was one more thing. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was.

It was like a light bulb suddenly flashed over her head. Racing over the her dusty desk, Kagome prayed she still had it with her. She sighed with relief, for there was a necklace with a large pink jewel at its center. Thank goodness her mother hadn't thrown anything out!

Kagome slipped on her shoes and closed the front door behind her for one last time. She started to descend the stone steps leading to the streets of Tokyo, but something stopped her.

It's not like it was in the movies: the heroine didn't suddenly change her mind, nor did she feel a pull towards the old abandoned well she had played near as a child. Instead, it felt similar to what she had felt as she had passed by the park and the school earlier. Pure nostalgia.

But whatever the reason, Kagome felt herself walking toward that old well house, and then lifting a leg over the side. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kagome felt herself jump into the well.

Could I get any stupider?

A shining blue light engulfed her, sending her through the ripples of time.