Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. As usual.

Author's Note: Very briefly. Great songs for this chapter are "Broken Praise" by Todd Smith and "I'm With You" by Nichole Nordeman and Amy Grant. Yes, they're Christian songs. But trust me, oh do they fit this chapter.


Chapter Seven

The journey back home seems to take forever and yet only a moment to Inuyasha.

Kagome refuses to let go of his hand, and he doesn't bother her about it like he normally would. He can still hear her sniffling as he pulls them down into the well and into that strange, ethereal place in-between. He can feel the hurt and the sadness that she's feeling, and it hurts him, too.

Then, they arrive back into the place that smells familiar to Inuyasha, and he is relieved. He still doesn't understand anything about this strange well, and wasn't sure whether it would take them back home or to some unfamiliar, novel world. Kagome clings to him as he jumps out of the deep hole, just as before, and then they are walking back through the forest as the setting sun paints beautiful colors on the sky. Glancing back shows him that the girl is staring up at the fiery clouds above with a strange expression, almost empty.

He squeezes her hand, and she looks at him with those huge, hopeless brown eyes. Something clenches inside of his chest, and he has to look away, before he does something stupid like cry.

~/~/~

Mother doesn't ask questions when they walk through the door. By this time, Kagome has his whole arm in her grip and has her face buried in his shoulder. But when she catches sight of his mother waiting for them, seated on the floor with a peaceful expression on her face, she releases him abruptly and runs to the woman's waiting arms.

She doesn't cry, which surprises Inuyasha. He can hear her breathing, which is fast and ragged, and he can hear her heart, which beats unevenly, but there is no smell of fresh tears in the air. Kagome just holds on to Mother like her life depends on never relaxing her arms, and breathes as the lady strokes her hair. "Shh," she whispers, though the hush is unnecessary, for the girl doesn't make a sound. She rocks her slowly in her embrace. "It'll be all right, Kagome. You're all right."

His worried golden eyes fix on the two females without moving. The situation stays the same for a long, long while, and years later, he'll think back to this time as the moment when he realized that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

In the weeks to come, Kagome is quiet and sad, despite Inuyasha's unfailing endeavors to cheer her up. But she is healing, and he can see this. He sees it in the way her eyes light up when he takes her climbing trees and they find a bird's nest with four little white eggs nestled into the grass and twigs. He sees it when she laughs when they play outside one cool day in the falling leaves, and she manages to shove him into a giant pile that they've just gathered, scattering dead foliage everywhere. He sees it in her awed expression when Mother takes them to visit the new baby girl that's just been born to a young couple, and she touches the tiny hands and feet in wonder.

Soon, a month has gone by, and Inuyasha barely notices. Kagome's smile has stopped looking so bittersweet, and her natural, innate joy is in her every expression once more. They do everything together, and in a way, she is the reason that he and Mother are accepted in this village as they have been nowhere else before. For who can hate a woman who cares for a lost little girl as if she was her own child, or fear a little boy who that little innocent girl loves?

Autumn passes all too quickly, and soon the first snow of the winter is upon them. Scant months later, spring arrives, and with it, more change. Kagome no longer wakes him or Mother crying after a nightmare, and she has become familiar with the customs and chores of the village. She doesn't ask anymore about the "strange" things that had so bothered her at first. And she talks to Inuyasha about lots of things.

Most of what they talk about revolves around her own life before she arrived in the well. Inuyasha listens with curiosity to the stories of her family and her school, and asks questions that she has trouble answering, such as, "How does a micro-wave work?";"How can you save a picture of someone?" and "Do instant noodles really exist? Why don't they go bad?" At first, her stories are short and uncomfortable for her to remember. With time, they become longer, more detailed, and more animated.

As spring grows into summer, Inuyasha feels peaceful, a foreign emotion to him up till now. Always before there has been fear to poison his and Mother's happiness. But now, they seem accepted, and most of the villagers are even friendly towards them. He has a best friend, and Mother has a surrogate daughter. Nothing seems wrong, and he thinks that maybe life is looking up for them, all thanks to this one small girl.

~/~/~

A few years have passed in the small village by the well before something is discovered that will change most of the small family's assumptions about their future together.

Inuyasha hasn't noticed before now because he's a hanyou. And hanyou are slow to mature and live for a long, long time. Mother hasn't noticed because the only child she's ever had is so unusual, that she's almost unaccustomed to the growth patterns of human children.

But the villagers are human. And the villagers raise human sons and daughters. And so it is the villagers that are the ones to discover Kagome's abnormality.

It's been four years since Kagome first arrived at their hut, an eight year old girl, and she hasn't changed. At all.

Each year they've celebrated her birthday, and now, she is twelve. Inuyasha hears Mother discussing it with another woman one evening in worried, low tones.

A normal twelve year old girl should be showing her first signs of "developing". (Whatever that means, he thinks.) A normal twelve year old girl should be growing into a woman. A normal twelve year old girl should be maturing emotionally and mentally.

But Kagome isn't. Kagome is still eight years old, in every sense of the word but the literal, and no one seems to understand why.

The village people are whispering, and for the first time in Inuyasha's memory, the frightening rumors are not centered around him and Mother. They are focused on the small, adorable girl that has somehow managed to remain small and adorable for much longer than she should.

Inuyasha is afraid for Kagome, and so is Mother. He doesn't see anything wrong with her staying the same- after all, he's the same way- but when he tells Mother this, she says it's unnatural for human girls. She says that Kagome should be getting ready to be married in just a few years, if she was a normal village girl, but that because she was still so little, that was impossible.

He snorts at that. Kagome, married? She's his age! And she's his best friend! She wouldn't leave him for some, some stranger. That's silly, and he tells Mother so. She smiles.

"One day, Inuyasha, she will be old enough to get married- hopefully. Then what will you do?" Her face is teasing, and her index finger touches him lightly on the nose.

"Well I guess I'll just have to marry her then!" he says proudly. Mother laughs.

"Of course you will, dear. I'm sure she wouldn't have it any other way."

Underneath her teasing front, Inuyasha can tell Mother is afraid. That's just stupid. How could anyone be afraid of Kagome? I'm not scared at all!

Well... that's not exactly true. He's not afraid because of her slow growth, no. He is afraid that the villagers will do something to her because of her strangeness, yes.

But, afraid of Kagome herself? Keh. Ridiculous.

It's a pity the villagers don't seem to share his sentiments.

Kagome used to play with a few other girls her age, but now those girls are afraid of their perpetually childish playmate, and avoid her. Men and women begin to cast dark, suspicious looks her way. Old ladies gossiping in the street stare at her openly as they whisper. Mother's friends begin to come by their home less and less often.

All terrified of the harmless, lonely girl that doesn't understand their fear.

"Why is everyone so scared of me?" she asks Inuyasha one day. It's late summer, and the heat has them seeking the sheltered shade of the forest. "Why do they hate me? I don't know why I'm like this. But I'm not bad." Her eyes are sad. "I'm not mean, am I? I'm not a bad girl?"

"Keh. You couldn't be bad if you tried," he answers her, giving her a grin. He hopes to make her smile again, and he is successful.

"Thanks."

Mother doesn't know what to do. Two more years pass by, and no change can be seen in Kagome. That's when they decide to leave the village. Too much suspicion and fear has been planted in the minds of the people here, and one night a group of women visit their small home. Mother goes outside to talk to them, and when she comes back in, her dark eyes are troubled. She tells the children to pack their things, and that they're leaving the village.

"Will we come back?" Kagome asks her, her expression plaintive.

"I don't think so, darling," she answers softly.

Within the hour they are on their way, on the main road leading away from their home. Inuyasha grabs Kagome's hand on a sudden whim, and he drags her off into the forest, calling back an assurance to Mother as they go.

They stop at the Goshinboku.

She's told him about how this was a special place to her and her father, and he wants to give her a last chance to say goodbye.

Walking up to the weathered trunk of the tree, she places a hand on it and whispers something that even Inuyasha's keen ears can't catch. And then they walk to the well, where she simply stands a few yards away and waves to it.

Afterwards, her hand finds his as they return to Mother and the old horse the people have given them to help carry the load, and they walk down the road in companionable silence.

~/~/~

Weeks pass, and then the weeks turn into months, and the months into years. The three travel together, staying briefly in many different settlements but never lingering long. Inuyasha learns to hunt and defend himself and others when small youkai attack. He finds this strange, as they have no reason to come after their small group. Three are not worth the trouble when one is a hanyou, he thinks, no matter how young, and there are much larger prey they could go after. But eventually, he learns to accept it and use the opportunities to grow stronger.

Mother has an ulterior motive for traveling like they do, and she tells the two children one day as they are complaining about always being on the move.

"Kagome." She catches the girl's attention with a serious tone. "I don't love you any less for being who you are, and neither does Inuyasha. But it's not normal, and I don't know if it's healthy for you or even why you are this way, darling. I want to find a miko that can tell us why you haven't grown older, before I grow too old. Do you understand?"

Kagome nods, startled into solemnity. Inuyasha watches his mother with wide eyes. He is less surprised that they are searching for a miko to help Kagome than at Mother's mentioning herself growing old. He hasn't ever really put the pieces together, that it will be decades more before he's grown up and that humans only live for a very short time. Now, as he stares at her, though she still has the beautiful face that he has always seen, he can see the slight signs of aging on her face and in the way she stands. She isn't the young woman he always used to see her as. And this frightens him.

Both children are quiet after that, and Inuyasha reaches for his mother's hand.

True to her word, Mother takes them all over the lands in search of a miko wise and powerful enough to "diagnose" Kagome. They often stop and inquire at various villages, and whenever they gain a lead they travel in that direction. Mother is hopeful at first, and they meet with several reputed miko within the course of a year, but to no avail. All are stymied by the girl's condition, and some drive the family away out of fear. Inuyasha notices that Kagome looks more and more concerned after each meeting, not just Mother, and begins to give her reassurance. After all, he doesn't think there's anything wrong with her, no matter what anyone else says.

And maybe a part of him deep down is still thinking about the loneliness he's going to feel when the unthinkable happens, and hopes that she stays the way she is, that she could stay with him.

The drive to find an explanation cools a bit after the first year or so, and so the decades pass away. In time, Inuyasha is happy to discover that she is not frozen in time as Mother once feared. The pair do grow up, albeit much slower than usual children, and Mother soon stops worrying so much. Instead, she and Kagome spend a lot of time alone together. When Inuyasha whines about this, he is invited to join them.

"After all, I'm sure you want to know all the womanly things I am teaching Kagome," Mother reasons with a sparkle in her smile. "Especially all about what's going to happen to Kagome's body when she grows up..." Inuyasha backpedals, not even waiting to hear the end of that sentence, and every time after that goes off to sit in a tree while the two spend their time together. He doesn't ask again.

As the years pass for the children, so do they pass for Mother as well. And all too soon, he notices that she has grown old.

She walks a lot slower now, and while he still holds true to the belief that he has the most beautiful mother in the world, she's over sixty now, and her features reflect this. Kagome is the one that ends up doing most of the chores needed, and Inuyasha is the one hunting and collecting nearly all of the food. The next time they arrive at a village, Mother doesn't make them leave within a few weeks. When questioned, she simply replies, "I don't think there's any need to travel just now."

Her long talks with Kagome become more frequent, and she begins to tell tales to Inuyasha of his father in the evenings, long detailed stories of his adventures and how they came together. Her dark eyes are not as bright as they once were, and her long black hair is greying.

It is early autumn one year when she tells the both of them that she's not going to make it through this coming winter.

Kagome just stands and cries against Mother's shoulder. She hasn't cried in a long time now, having grown up more than a little. She now appears around eleven years old, as does Inuyasha, and has been taking more and more responsibility. To see her break down is a rare thing.

Inuyasha feels like someone has slapped him across the face. Mother, gone? Such a thing is inconceivable.

And yet it is inevitable. Mother knows it, and she alone is peaceful and accepting. "I've lived such a very long life, Inuyasha," she tells him, Kagome still clinging to her as if she were a small child again. "Just over seventy years I've had on this earth, and that's such a very long time. I've cherished all the time I've been blessed with to watch my children grow up, and such beautiful young people you've grown to be!"

"Mother," Inuyasha murmurs, and he is in her arms as well as Kagome now.

"It would be selfish of me to wish for yet more time," she continues gently, comforting her children in her frail yet warm embrace. "I know you will both mature into beautiful, strong adults, and I will always be watching over you."

"Mama," Kagome sobs quietly, "what will I do without you? What will we do? We'll be lost. I love you so much!"

"And I love you, darling. I love both of you so much! But you'll see, it will all work out for the best. The kami always has the most perfect plans, remember that if nothing else."

"Yes, Mama."

And Inuyasha is without words, just holding on to the feeling of Mother. He knows now that he won't get the chance to hold her much longer.

~/~/~

Mother is wrong. She does last through the next winter, surviving the cold and snow. It's when the spring rains come that she is to be found dying.

They had remained in the same village all that time, consulting the healer and the miko often in an effort to save the woman who has given so much to them. But in the end, there is nothing to be done. Inuyasha remains by her bedside while Kagome takes care of the afternoon chores, knowing he will call her if anything changes. The rain beats down outside, and the rumble of thunder is heard.

After a long while of silence sitting beside Mother, who is sleeping, Kagome enters the hut in a rush, soaked to the bone despite her wide hat and umbrella. She carries Mother's daily herbs in a package inside her kimono, so as to keep dry.

Inuyasha looks at her, dripping wet and out of breath, and simply shakes his head. Mother has told him earlier in the morning that she refuses to take any more medicine, that it is her time soon.

"I accept it," she had told the young hanyou with a tranquil, if slightly melancholy smile. "You and Kagome should as well."

Kagome's eyes begin to water, and she walks over to Inuyasha with tears slipping down her face. Lightning flashes outside and the thunder rolls, a true tempest. She lays her head on his shoulder as they both turn their gazes towards the sleeping woman. Neither moves all that day, talking in low voices of happier memories and their hopes for the future. Eventually Kagome falls asleep, and Inuyasha feels the warmth of her shoulders against his. He doesn't dare sleep, sensing that Mother's time is near.

It is in the early hours of the morning that the storm subsides at last, and that the sleeping woman's eyes open. He can see her face by the light of the lit candle, and it is tired and worn. He nudges Kagome, and she starts awake, only to calm at the sight of her adoptive mother's awake expression.

"Mama?" she whispers.

"Dearest Kagome, my lovely little girl," Mother murmurs back. "Let me see your face."

Trembling, the girl complies, kissing the lady on her cheek. "I love you, Mama."

"And my precious son, come see me as well," Mother says, beseeching. Inuyasha finds he is shaking as well as he moves over to the other side of his mother's prone form, kissing her on her other cheek.

"I love you too, Mother," he tells her. He feels like it's the most important thing to ever come out of his mouth. He wants her to know that he loves her, just one last time. He won't ever get the opportunity to say it again, and now he feels like he can't possibly have said it enough in his lifetime."I'm going to miss you so much."

The tears are coming now, and he lets them fall. Mother smiles at him.

"I love you both, more than anything. And now it's time for me to... to go. Goodnight, the both of you. I'll miss you both dearly."

And with that, she falls back into her peaceful slumber. She won't wake up again.

~/~/~

As Inuyasha buries his mother's ashes at a beautiful site by a lake, side by side with Kagome, he cries again. He can't help it. And when her gentle hand wraps around his own, when they are finally finished, he turns and holds on to her like she's his anchor. They both feel the loneliness, and hold on to the fact that there is someone else there to grasp, that they are not completely alone in this world that suddenly feels much, much too big.

Inuyasha thinks he's never been so grateful for Kagome.


Author's Note: Man, I think I almost made myself cry, there at the end.

Well, I have some people to thank for their reviews on chapter six! These wonderful people are: Elantina, Miko-sama, Gina, life, Shining, HelloKittyThong (thank you Mason;) now I think your dad would like his account back, haha), Silver Stella, Flames. He, and Inu-'SIT'-lovekag (I love your pen name!). I was getting kinda down there for a while with a grand total of no reviews, but then you people pulled through, as usual. I really hope you're still enjoying this story. If you could just drop a couple lines about your opinion, I would be so grateful. :)

Another thank you to Black Dahlia for nominating this fic for the Best Friends/Family award on the Inuyasha awards site "Born For Each Other"! Go vote if you feel like it, and check out her recommendations for other great fics while you're at it. She's got some good ones, folks!

Sorry if I don't have another chance to update until after Christmas. Things are about to get real hectic at my house. But I'm fairly confident I'll find some time Thursday/Friday to work on this. Again, if you've got any questions just take a look at my profile. I update that sucker fairly often. ;)

Thank you guys for THIRTY THREE reviews so far! I'm so happy about that. Might not seem like much to some, but dang it, I'm proud! X) I'm really not so sure about this chapter, so if you could provide me with some feedback I will provide you with lots of smiles(:

Merry (early) Christmas!

Lady E