Kagome stood by the well, taking in the scenery around her one last time. He promised he would be there, see her off. She already said her farewells to everyone else. What could be taking him so long? She only had about five more minutes until the well closed and then she'd be trapped in the feudal era forever. As nice as that sounded, she couldn't abandon her family. She asked a lot of them over the years, but she couldn't ask this.

A branch snapping from behind alerted her, and she spun around, bow and arrow drawn. He stood there awkwardly, hands shoved into his pockets. "Inuyasha." She breathed a sigh of relief, and put her equipment back in its place over her shoulder.

He slunked over, standing to face her, saying nothing. The well began to glow as he neared, and she knew that her time was ending. She offered him a sad smile. "Did you know that I loved you for all this time?" she spoke at last, breaking the silent barrier between them.

He nodded. "I always had some clue."

She smiled again, then slowly reached out to his ojuzu. In a swift motion, she lifted them above his head. "You're free now." Her voice was soft as she held them to her heart.

He shifted his stance. "You should go."

She lifted one leg over the edge of the well. "I'll wait for you."

"You know only one of us can go."

"Love, Inuyasha. It means that every day, I'll be waiting."

She didn't pause for a reply before jumping through. The blue light passed through her. This would be the last time she'd ever see this light. This would be the last time she'd ever jump down wells again. As she landed in her time, she laid there, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. It was sad, to know that she'd never see her friends again. They were lost to her forever.

Kagome busied herself with school work and cleaning the house. Readjusting grew difficult at times, and Houjou's badgering didn't make the transition any easier, but here she was, Kagome Higurashi, high school student. Not time traveler, not priestess. Just an average person now. Her mother knew her sacrifice, and every morning, gave her a big hug. That reinstated her belief that she made the right choice.

Kagome hummed as she swept the steps to the shrine in her kimono. The ojuzu around her neck grew hot to touch, letting her know that today would be the day. When she finished, she sat down on the top of the stairs, assuming that would be how he'd come up. She held a nervous excitement about her. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. Maybe time would change him. Maybe he would stay the same.

The sun began to fade beneath the city skyline before she caught sight of him. She rose, but remained at the top, taking in the sight.

He had aged, his face looking a little older than it had when she left. He wore his once silver hair short and now black. His ears were most likely hidden with a charm, because she couldn't spot them. It was strange to see him in clothes of her time. Truth be told, she wouldn't have recognized him unless she had been looking for him. He looked so...human.

She made no motion to him as he stood a step below her, closer than he had only a month before. This time it was he who broke the silence. "Did you know that I loved you for all this time?"

A huge smile broke out across her lips, flattered that even after all their years of being apart, he could still remember her words. She nodded just as he had and repeated what he had said what was only a month before to her, "I always had some clue."