I've been a busy person and haven't updated in a while. I've been trying to work more on this story so most changes would take place before I posted anymore. Unfortunately, I'm not anywhere close to being finished, but I figured that y'all would want the next chapter. I'll just change it later if it needs it.

Link/Sesshoumaru/Felix Fan: I don't know what might have happened. Did you give them the right e-mail address? Just try again. So glad to have you review again. Yes, someone does have a crush. :)

DarK Shad0w: Nice to meet ya! You left a really nice review; I love nice reviews! I'm glad you like the stories. I hope I don't let you down.

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"Felix, a friend of Kikyo's is staying with us tonight," Kagome said, entering the main room, where Felix was reading. "He'll be staying in the sickroom."

"Very well, I'll find a different place to sleep," he said. "It's fine," he said at his wife's guilty expression. "I can stay out here. I don't mind, really."

Kagome very carefully hid her sadness and relief, not letting either show on her face. "If you're sure. I can always stay out here, and you can take the bedroom," she said, but he was already shaking his head.

"No, that's been your room since before we were married. I'll stay out here. It's fine."

"Goodnight, then." She turned and went to her room. Closing the door behind her, she sighed, leaning against the wooden barrier separating her from the rest of the house. "Kikyo's right. We can barely talk to each other anymore." She shrugged out of her clothes and into her pajamas. "Maybe tomorrow will be better."

She rose early, as was her habit. Almost absently going through the motions of getting ready for the day, she stepped out of her room and into the main room. Once there she stopped, seeing Felix still asleep on the couch. Making sure to be quiet, she tiptoed over and looked down at him. He still looks the same as he did when we first got married. If only our feelings were the same as they were back then.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she left her sleeping husband and entered the kitchen. She hummed under her breath as she got out food for breakfast. A few minutes after she had started, Kikyo entered, yawning and looking like she'd had a rough night. "Did you sleep at all?" Kagome whispered.

Kikyo looked at her blankly, and Kagome nodded toward the main room. The lightbulb went off in Kikyo's head, and she nodded. "I slept a little," Kikyo whispered back. "When do you think he'll get up?"

"Which one?"

"Both."

"Felix'll probably be up soon since we're bound to make some noise; we're in a kitchen, after all. Jeremy, I don't know."

Kikyo sighed. "I was so stupid yesterday."

"I won't argue with you there."

She glared at her aunt. "You don't have to agree with me. Anyway, should I take more tea to Rina?"

"No. What she has right now should be fine."

"What are our plans for today?"

"Well, since you've kept the garden weed-free, I think that just a once-over should be enough. We'll need more firewood, and we'll have to do that; Felix can't be around for that. He's a Venus Adept, so he'll feel every blow."

"I didn't know Venus Adepts were that affected by it."

"All of them are to some degree. Some just feel a small twinge, and others feel like someone's cutting them in half. As long as we choose a tree that's dead or no longer green, then we should be okay."

"What happens if we choose a green tree, but Uncle Felix isn't around?"

"He'll know as soon as we put it in the fire. I've seen it before; he says it feels like he's the one in the fire."

"I didn't know Venus Adepts had it that bad," Kikyo murmured.

Kagome nodded. "We're lucky; we're not full Venus Adepts."

"What are we?"

"We're mikos. My Psynergy isn't natural, so I'm not affected by the elements like the rest are, and you have spiritual power, not true Psynergy that the others in this world would understand."

"I thought I heard voices in here," someone said. The two women looked up and saw Felix looking sleepily at them.

"Well, you're finally up," Kagome said, smiling at him.

"I could hear you two in here."

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized Kagome. "I didn't think we were that loud."

"I heard every word," he said, grinning.

"So did I," Jeremy said, entering the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kagome greeted him. "We're just about to eat. If you and Felix over there would sit at the table, Kikyo and I will get everything down to you."

They obeyed, and soon all four of them were sitting down to eat. "So, why did you come here?" Felix asked.

"Kikyo forgot a light, so I lent her mine. Of course, being me, I forgot to bring an extra one, so I had to go with her," Jeremy answered.

"I see."

Their guest turned to Kagome. "I overheard you and Kikyo talking earlier, and I would like to help with the firewood," he said. "I'm not a Venus Adept, so it wouldn't affect me."

"You really don't have to," Kagome started, but Jeremy was already shaking his head.

"You gave me a room and food. I owe it to you to help when I can. Please let me repay you." He sounded quite serious.

"If you're bent on going, then who am I to say no. We'll leave right after we finish eating. Is that acceptable to everyone?" No one objected, so they finished eating, grabbed the axes, and headed out the door.

"You work fast," Kikyo commented as Jeremy dragged more logs over.

"I'm used to hard labor," he answered, going back.

"Don't overdo it," called Kagome after him. "We'll have to keep an eye on him, or else he might get heatstroke," she said to Kikyo once Jeremy disappeared.

"Yes, Aunt Kagome," Kikyo said, her attention on her swinging axe. "How much more do we need?"

Looking over at their growing pile, Kagome mentally counted and smiled. "I think we're just about done. Finish up what you're working on right now, and when Jeremy comes back, we can leave."

Slowly dragging her last log to the pile, Kikyo huffed as she dropped it. "I'm surprised it went by so fast. Usually it takes all day to get this done."

"We had help this time, dear," Kagome said, looking into the woods where she could see Jeremy approaching. "Jeremy, when you're done, we can leave," she called.

He appeared a few seconds later. "That's it?" he asked incredulously. "We just started."

"Dear, we've been working for five hours already. I think that's quite long enough. If you and Kikyo want to continue working, that's fine by me, but I'm packing up and leaving."

"I'm good," Kikyo quickly assured her aunt. "We just need to bring the logs to the house and we'll be done."

"Once the logs are in the house, you can show Jeremy where the hot springs are. I'm sure you'll both want to use them."

"Yes, Aunt Kagome."

It took about fifteen minutes for the logs to be brought to the house. Kagome shooed them off and took them back into the house by herself. "I need to shower," she said aloud, glancing down at herself.

Quickly jumping in the shower and scrubbing herself, she tied her hair up so it wouldn't drip water onto her clothes and walked downstairs. Since no one else was at home, she decided that today would be a good time to visit someone. Taking herself to the path, she took the side branch that led to Jenna's home. "Jenna, Garet, is anyone home?" she called when she caught sight of the house.

"Kagome!" Jenna shouted, opening the door. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Do I need an invitation before seeing you?" she teased the Mars Adept.

"Of course not! Come on in." She stepped back and let her friend inside. "So, what's going on?"

"Felix is gone, so I thought I'd come by and visit."

"I just made some lemonade. Would you like some?"

"Sure."

The two women got their drinks and sat down in the living room. "So, anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Kagome sighed. "Actually, there is."

"Is it about Kikyo?"

"No. She and Felix are getting along tolerably well, so I'm not too worried about that right now. No, it's Felix."

"What about him?" Jenna leaned forward.

"He…he seems so distant. Don't get me wrong, he's courteous and polite, but he's not like he was before. We can't even sleep in the same room anymore, much less the same bed. He's not the same man I married."

Jenna's face grew sad. "I know," she said quietly.

"What happened? He's changed. I still love him; he is my husband, but something's wrong."

"It happened while we were away."

"What happened?" Kagome asked, her voice barely audible.

"I can hardly describe what happened. It was like we were alive, but we existed outside of everything. We could see what was happening, but we couldn't interact at all with our surroundings. We were ghosts, except we weren't dead; we weren't even born yet."

"So you're saying you traveled back into the past?"

Jenna nodded. "That's right. We saw amazing things. We were there when Babi and Lunpa first arrived in Lemuria, and we saw the Lighthouses being built. We saw the first discovery of Psynergy, and the wars that it caused. But that's not all. We went back farther, before Psynergy was even a thought. There was technology like we'd never even dreamed existed. And we saw you."

Kagome's head snapped up. "What?"

"We saw you and your family. None of us ever guessed that you were from the past, that you weren't even from Weyard. Things didn't stop there. We saw you again, in the even farther past. It was hard for us to keep track of time, but there was a significant difference in the surroundings."

"I see," Kagome said weakly. "How long did you stay in these places?"

Jenna shrugged. "Like I said, it was hard to tell time. Some places we stayed in longer than others. We stayed in your time for a while."

"How long was that?"

"The entire time. We saw how you met Inuyasha, then the rest of your friends. That time ended when Inuyasha died. The last I remember is seeing you sobbing into his chest." She sighed. "None of us had any idea how attached you were to them, especially Inuyasha. I think that Felix thinks that you're still in love with him. He's confused and not sure what to do."

"Inuyasha is dead, and Felix is my husband. Yes, I did love Inuyasha, but he's dead." She shivered. "It's still hard for me to believe that they're dead, even after all these years, but they are, and there's no changing that. Felix is my husband, and I love him."

"I think Felix needs to hear that," Jenna said, putting a hand over Kagome's clenched one. "I have a feeling that he doesn't think you do love him, not after the way he saw you with Inuyasha. He wouldn't talk to anyone for a long time after we saw that."

"Thank you for telling me," Kagome said, standing up.

"Not a problem. I don't like seeing my brother like this, and if I didn't think it would help, then I wouldn't have told you."

"Well, thank you for talking to me. I'd better get back, or Kikyo will have a fit. I'll see you later."

"Bye. I'll come visit sometime."

Why didn't he tell me? Kagome asked herself as she walked briskly back to her home. I could've straightened him out. How could he not have told me? We're supposed to tell each other this sort of thing so it can be settled.

"Kikyo, Jeremy, I'm home," she called, closing the door behind her.

"Where have you been?" Kikyo asked, not looking up from the vegetables she was cutting. Jeremy was watching Kikyo work.

"I was visiting Jenna. Why? Was I needed?"

"No, I just wanted to know where you were, that's all."

"Have either of you seen Felix?"

Jeremy answered her this time. "He came by earlier and said to tell you that the mayor of Vale enlisted his help to helping the new villagers move into their new homes. It turns out that they're all going to stay in Vale. He said not to worry, he was going to stay in Vale until everyone's moved in."

"I see." I guess what Jenna said is true; he either doesn't love me anymore or thinks that I don't love him. "Kikyo, now would be a good time to escort Jeremy back to Vale and explain to his family where he's been."

"There's no need," Jeremy said. "I've been living on my own for a while now, so I only have to answer to myself and the other villagers."

"That's right, I keep forgetting that children leave the house at a young age. Still, I think Forbenwas that his name?would like to know where you'd gone."

"You won't win against her," Kikyo told him, putting her cut vegetables into a pan. "We might as well go now."

"Be careful," Kagome called after them. "Now what was Kikyo going to do with these vegetables?"

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