Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: One more story, being reworked because...well, because I have a tendancy to mess things up. Look for a new chapter with a week (hopefully).

Watching Over You
By: Moonlit Seductress
Prologue

Kagome watched the battle, separated from her body. She watched as she drew back her arm, arrow notched and ready. She watched as Sango, crouched in a fighter's stance, remained in front of Miroku, protecting him. She watched the monk sit cross – legged on the ground, fingers clasped together, the air around him shimmering with holy power. An ofuda lay on the ground before him, also shimmering as the power flowed into it. She watched as Shippou stood nearby, the blue hint of foxfire gleaming at his fingertips.

Glittering amber eyes lifted to the form at the other end of the battlefield, wrapped in torn white fur. Clawed hands shifted on Tetsusaiga's hilt. "Go," a rough voice whispered.

The group launched into action. Miroku snapped from his trance, slapping the readied ofuda onto Hirakotsu. Sango hurled the boomerang, the power of the spell causing it to fly faster than ever. It hurtled through the air, towards the baboon cloaked figure. Naraku smirked and raised a hand. A small wave of demons moved in to intercept the boomerang, but the bone simply tore through them.

Another wave moved forward. An indigo blast of foxfire and a hiss from the fully transformed Kirara had them skittering away in all directions, while Hirakotsu continued its inexorable flight.

The boomerang whisked past Naraku, so close that he jumped back, flicking his attention to it for a split second. But it was long enough for that same rough voice to call out again. "Now, Kagome!" And Kagome watched herself let the arrow fly, her miko powers enveloping the projectile and sending it streaking towards Naraku in a halo of pink light.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha's shout was almost drowned out by the sounds of battle. The power from Tetsusaiga caught the speeding arrow and gave it a boost. Kagome pulled herself together and concentrated all her energy on that white tipped arrow, and the pink aura surrounding it increased.

There was a musical twang, and suddenly, another arrow was racing towards Naraku. Kagome spun around. "Kikyou," she breathed, hearing Inuyasha echo her.

Kikyou stood, bow in hand, the other stretched out, pink beaming from it. The clay girl locked eyes with Kagome, a challenge in their brown depths. Understanding, Kagome gritted her teeth and focused harder, watching with detached pride as the aura around her arrowincreased again.

Inuyasha tracked the progress of the arrows. 'Almost there…almost there...now!' He raised Tetsusaiga. "Kongousouha!"

The scream that ripped from Naraku was unlike anything Kagome had ever heard. Unearthly, evil, and fraught with defeat, it was something she prayed that she would never hear again. And when it was all over, the wicked creature that had plagued Kagome's dreams for two years, and the dreams of countless others' for over half a century, was reduced to a crater in the earth, a chunk of the Shikon no Tama flickering innocently through the plume of black smoke.

'It's over,' she thought dimly. Somehow, it was all over. She fell to her knees, drained by the use of such concentrated power when she was so untrained, by the battle, by the trials and trauma of two long years. 'It's all over.'

She heard the telltale clicking of the prayer beads around Miroku's hand, and she turned towards the sound, watching as the monk unwrapped his cursed hand. "Gone," he said hoarsely, half expecting the Kazanna to roar to life and suck everything into the blackness. Sango held her hand against his, feeling nothing pull her in. "Gone," she confirmed.

Kagome smiled bitterly, letting her head drop again. Through her tear filled eyes, she could make out a pair of sandals standing in front of her. Blinking, she looked up to see Kikyou. The older girl was holding out the large jewel fragment. Kagome struggled to her feet and accepted the pink jewel that was dropped in her outstretched hands. She looked up into the deep brown pools that were trained on her own. There was a calm, quiet satisfaction in them, and what looked like a hint of a smile.

"Well done."

The words were clipped and precise, tinged with the coolness Kikyou always bestowed upon her reincarnation, but they warmed Kagome's heart. Such praise from Kikyou made her feel – just for a second – that she was worthy of looking the girl straight in the face.

The older priestess turned to Inuyasha, and Kagome followed suit, wincing at the look on the hanyou's face. Kikyou smiled sadly, reaching one hand up to touch a lock of silver hair. "I will miss you," she said simply.

Souls began to rip from her body, streaking off into the night sky like shooting stars. "Kikyou!" Inuyasha lunged for her, but a spirit cut across his path. Kagome felt a twinge in her heart. 'My soul – it's…complete.'

But there was no time to marvel at the wonder. The last spirit left Kikyou's body, and the clay priestess crumbled to dust – fine, gray dust that scattered into the wind and disappeared.

Kagome turned to Inuyasha. His amber eyes were darkened to almost brown, and his expression bordered on painful. She stretched out a hand. "Inu – "

"Let's go," he interrupted. "I want to get out of here."

She nodded. He silently offered her his back, but she shook her head. "I can walk. You're injured."

To tell the truth, none of them were in the greatest shape. Sango's bodysuit was torn at the shoulder, blood still seeping from three slashes. Her sword was broken, and Hirakotsu had a large crack down the middle. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, and her eyes were dull.

Miroku was clinging to the broken halves of his staff, his knuckles white. The staff had been his father's, and it pained him to see it broken, even though he knew it could be repaired. He stumbled as he walked, traces of poison from the insects his wind tunnel swallowed still lingering in his veins.

Kirara was bleeding from a slight gash on her front left leg, the dark red liquid staining her creamy fur. She carried Shippou, who had passed out from exhaustion, and the body of Kohaku. Sango's brother had died at the instant Naraku did, as the power that held him captive disappeared. Even the jewel shard still in his back was not enough to sustain him.

Inuyasha was undoubtedly the worst off. He had two holes in his chest, both from the vines of one of Naraku's puppets. Both hands were bleeding, his claws broken, and there was a deep wound above his right eye, the blood trickling down his face, oddly resembling tears.

The reached a small clearing, and Kagome rummaged through her faithful yellow backpack, pulling out her first aid kit. She handed Miroku some anti venom medicine, and breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes brightened slightly, and his hands shook less.

The two of them carefully pulled Kohaku's body off Kirara, laying him down on the unrolled sleeping bag. Kagome placed Shippou beside him, and carefully bandaged Kirara's leg. The tiny fire cat gave a grateful mew before curling up next to Shippou and falling asleep.

Kagome glanced at Sango, then up at Miroku. Frowning, she picked up an empty water bottle and handed it to the monk. "Could you go and fill this up, please?"

Miroku eyed Sango unhappily, obviously catching on to the plan. But he sighed, and took the bottle. "Of course, Kagome." He walked into the forest, searching out a stream, muttering the whole while about how nothing in life was fair.

Moving quickly, Kagome helped Sango out of the bloodstained uniform and into her usual kimono. She then cleaned and bandaged the slash marks, smirking slightly when Miroku returned with the water, looking disappointed to see Sango fully clothed.

'Next,' Kagome thought dryly. She was expecting an argument with Inuyasha – the stubborn hanyou always insisted that he didn't need her remedies, that he would heal fine on his own. But as she approached him warily, she was shocked to find no resistance from him. He hissed in pain as she wiped the cut above his eye with a damp cloth, his claws gouging tracks in the dirt. Reaching for his hands, she carefully washed the blood from them, and wrapped them in gauze, knowing they would be fine by morning.

She started to pull away, but he dragged her back onto her knees, amber eyes intent. Staring up at him, her own eyes widened in surprise as he pressed the damp cloth to the cut on her cheek, her only real injury. He then pulled her against him, settling her in his lap, her head resting against his shoulder. "Sleep now, Kagome," he said softly, as though speaking to a child. "You've had a rough day."

She started to protest, but his clawed hand gently stroking her head was enough to make her eyes slide shut, and she knew no more.

Kaede looked up to find the disheveled group slowly making their way towards her. Her wise old eyes took in the scene – Miroku, with a bleary eyed Shippou on his shoulder, still gripping his broken staff. Kirara carrying Sango, who was holding the body of a young man, presumably Kohaku. Kagome, with her backpack on her back, a broken bow in her hands, and an almost whole Shikon Jewel at her throat. And Inuyasha, his fire rat clothing torn and filthy, his silver hair stained red with blood, Tetsusaiga at his hip as always.

The old woman shook her head as they moved into the hut. Kohaku was placed on a futon, Sango next to him, her brown eyes haunted. Inuyasha settled against the far wall, eyes closed, and body limp. Miroku sat next to Sango, staring at his lap, silent for once. But Kaede only had eyes for the young girl from the future, who held out the Jewel.

She shook her head. "Nay, child, only ye may possess it. Have ye gathered every piece?"

"There's still the one shard in…with Kohaku," Kagome stammered. "Sango, I wanted to wait and make sure – "

"Take it," the demon exterminator interjected. "It can't save him now."

Kagome nodded, tears in her eyes as she gently removed the last shard from the young boy's body. It glowed pink in her hand, purified, and she brought it against the rest of the Jewel, fitting it into the tiny groove.

The Jewel pulsed in her hands, once again pink and perfect. She glanced at Kaede, and then at Inuyasha, and back again. The old priestess nodded, watching as Kagome stepped across the room, stopping in front of the noiseless half demon. "Here," she whispered, dropping the Jewel into one healed hand and moving back, eyes closing.

She felt a rush of power, then a sense of emptiness, and she knew the wish was made and the Shikon Jewel was gone. But she was afraid – afraid to open her eyes, afraid to see a full demon Inuyasha standing in front of her.

She finally pried her eyes open, face twisting in anticipation.

But everything seemed normal. Inuyasha was still sitting before her – it looked as though he hadn't even moved. "Inu…yasha?"

He climbed to his feet slowly. "What?" he demanded, voice just as snappish and rude as it always was.

"Nothing," Kagome said quickly. "Uh…could I go home? Just for a day?"

"I guess so," he replied. "But you'd better be back here tomorrow, wench. We've still got jewel shards to…" he trailed off, realizing that there really wasn't anything to force her to come back for. "Let's go," he bit out, storming from the room. Kagome ran after him. "Inuyasha!"

She chased after him. "Will you wait up, I want to tell you something!" But he didn't stop until they reached the well.

"What?" he asked, glaring at her. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and removed the rosary from around his neck, stuffing the beads into her pocket. He stared. "Kagome…?"

"You've grown up so much in the past two years, Inuyasha. Those beads were there to keep you from killing me, but I don't think I need them anymore. Besides, I was kinda abusing them, wasn't I?" Without waiting for an answer, she hugged him quickly. "I'll be back tomorrow."

She leapt into the well, and Inuyasha watched her go, when something tugged at his memory. "Oh for the love of…stupid wench forgot her stupid bag." Scooping it up from beside the well, he jumped in after her.

Back in modern Japan, Kagome finished her climb from the well, only to stop at the lip. "Oh, come on," she moaned. "I can't believe I forgot my bag." Letting go of the sides, she let herself fall back…

…only to slam into the ground. "What the hell?" she gasped, winded from her rough landing.

Inuyasha hit the ground with a thud. "What the hell?" he demanded, climbing to his feet.
Trapped 500 years apart, the hanyou and the schoolgirl stared at the stone walls of the well. Twin voices raised in confusion and terror.

"Why can't I get through?"

TBC

A/N: Please review!