A/N: I don't own any characters.

Chapter 10: Goodbye

With the Shikon jewel gone from both worlds, the gang almost didn't know what to do with theirselves.

Sango and Kohaku decided to try and pick back up where they left off with their family "business" and head back to their old village with Miroku, of course, in tow. They would rebuild the village and train the best demon slayers once again. Unbeknownst to Sango, Miroku would soon propose and give up his womanizing ways to help raise their unborn children.

With his part of the quest over, Shippo decided to stay with Lady Kaede and grow up in her village and eventually join Sango, Kohaku, and Miroku in the demon slayer village.

This left InuYasha and Kagome. With their relationship now out in the open, it was time to make a decision. InuYasha knew he could not be away from his true love and made the decision to follow Kagome back to her time. The feudal era did not need him anymore. His past had been resolved and now it was time to start a future with Kagome.

"Bye, Kagome! Bye, InuYasha!" Shippo called.

"Good luck, InuYasha." Kaede said to the wind as Kagome and InuYasha made their way to the Bone Eater's well for the last time. Kagome's eyes welled with tears and put her hand on the well lovingly.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" InuYasha put his hand over hers and smelled the scent of her tears. Kagome stood in silence next to him for a minute before looking up at him

"I'm going to miss it here. Sango, Miroku, Shippo. Our friends are here. And I'm nervous, too." She chewed her bottom lip.

"Why?" He held her hand tighter; he hadn't forgotten the night before when she had cried in his arms.

"I don't know. I just am, I guess." She said lamely. He knew she was avoiding his question, and it was eating at him to sit her down and make her talk to him. He was sure it had to do with her father.

Instead of shaking her and demanding answers like he wanted to do, InuYasha gripped her hand and kissed her gently on the lips. Kagome let out a little surprised yelp, but found herself kissing him back.

InuYasha pulled back reluctantly and kissed her forehead. He would go to her time and fix this. No matter the cost.

The young couple jumped through the well together, hand in hand. The colors swirled around them in greeting and goodbye as they landed on solid ground again. InuYasha helped Kagome out of the well and held her by her hands as they stood alone in the well house in Kagome's time. A revelation hit InuYasha as he began to walk towards the door of the well house.

"How are we going to tell your mother?" The color drained from InuYasha's face as he thought it over. Kagome was barely seventeen. In his time, a girl was married off by thirteen or fourteen. Kagome's time was very different.

She looked at him and kisses his cheek reassuringly. "My family loves you. They might find it hard to accept our relationship at first, but I see no reason why they would separate us."

Just then, the well house door opened. InuYasha had been so preoccupied; he hadn't noticed Kagome's mother's scent at the door. He immediately took a step away from Kagome.

Miss Higurashi's face was wrinkled in stress and worry as she stepped into the well house, but she tried to smile when she saw her daughter. "Kagome! What a lovely surprise to have you home!" The door behind her widened and in stepped Kagome's grandfather.

"I sensed the change as soon as you two stepped from the well. What has happened to the jewel shards?"

"Grandpa, the Shikon jewel is whole again!" Kagome couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I used the wish to destroy Naraku."

"I'm very proud of you Kagome." The old man smiled and turned to leave. Miss Higurashi ran to her daughter and embraced her fiercely. "You are such a brave young woman. And I'm so proud of you." A tear rand down Kagome's cheek and she held her mother tighter. A huge weight felt as if it had been lifted off her shoulders.

Kagome felt her mother stiffen in her arms. "Oh Kagome. I have bad news."

Kagome leaned back, out of her mother's arms and looked her. "What is it mom?"

Her mother bit her lip and looked down. "Your father is here."

Kagome felt as if all of the air had been sucked from the room.

When she came back to her senses, she said, "We have to hide InuYasha. I'll deal with Dad." Miss Higurashi nodded.

"Oh, hell no. I wanna meet this guy." InuYasha felt his anger rise at the mention of Kagome's father.

"InuYasha, you can't. He wouldn't understand who you are. You'd scare him." Kagome almost reached for his hand but stopped herself. She still had to talk to her mother about their relationship.

"Feh. Fine." InuYasha folded his arms as he hatched a plan of his own. Kagome and her mother looked at each other quizzically at InuYasha's lack of argument. Miss Higurashi shrugged, taking it as a sign of good fortune.

"I'll distract your father while you get cleaned up. InuYasha, you take the roof to Kagome's bedroom window." Miss Higurashi turned and left the well house. Kagome gave InuYasha a quick kiss on the cheek then took the back way into her home to grab a shower and some fresh clothes. InuYasha waited until she left then took to the roof like her mother suggested, only he wasn't going to Kagome's room.