I'll begin by trying to clarify some stuff…so a comment from windbreaking (sorry I made you forget to eat breakfast!) brought up the opinion of Kagome and Kikyo being the same person. Before I get to that, I want to say that I also feel sorry for Kikyo, and that's why I brought her back. I hope I haven't made it too complicated, but it will be clearer soon. Have no fear, my dear! I have a lot in store for Kikyo in this fic, and I can't wait to share it with you all. :)

However, I do see Kagome and Kikyo as two completely different people. The only connection they have, I think, is their soul. I think that my opinion sort of comes from the whole "choice" between Kagome and Kikyo that Inuyasha always had to juggle. If they were the same person, then would it have been that hard for Inuyasha to decide between living with Kagome and dying with Kikyo? If they truly were the same person, then I think it would just be Inuyasha choosing between life and death. Does that make sense? Let me know if you have any questions! I'm always happy to address and answer.

Overall, the differences between Kagome and Kikyo are too great for me to be able to write about them as the same person, but that's just my opinion! And as always, thanks for reading. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 11: Honesty

The rest of the day…well, the rest of the week was no picnic.

I had been planning to propose to Kagome on the day that Kikyo visited, but their little conversation pretty much dampened the mood for the near future. Kagome seemed on edge ever since their confrontation, and I was just trying to figure out what the heck to do about both Kagome and Kikyo. Never thought I'd have to do that again.

Miroku and I had to go on an extermination job a couple days after Kikyo came, and I think it was good for Kagome to have to some breathing room. When Miroku and I returned that evening, Kagome wasn't at her house. I sniffed around a bit and found that her scent led to the well.

Why is she at the well? I wondered. We never go there anymore… Then it hit me.

Kagome was going home.

I hightailed it to the Bone Eater's Well and when I saw Kagome's figure sitting in front of it, I ran straight to her and hugged her tightly.

"Inuyasha?" she said in a surprised voice as I sat down in front of her. "What are you…?" I pulled back and searched her face with an intensity that I knew must have caught her off-guard.

"I thought you had left," I admitted. Kagome's eyes widened and all of sudden, her eyes filled with tears.

For a moment, I was just frozen in surprise. Finally, I snapped out of it and tried to comfort her.

"Kagome?" I said as I reached out to smooth down her hair. Kagome tried to quickly wipe away her tears before they started to fall.

Finally, she lifted shook her head and looked away from me. "I'm sorry," she whispered with her face turned to the ground.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I had no clue how to approach this, and I still wasn't good at dealing with Kagome crying. I didn't think I'd have to worry about it once she came back, but I guess things always change. Nothing seemed consistent nowadays.

She sniffed a little. "I would never leave this era," she replied. "I would never leave you…" She shook her head.

"I didn't come to the well to leave," she continued. "But…I came to remember it's here. As an option." More tears came and she wiped her eyes again.

I gently reached for her and pulled her into my arms as she tried to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry," she whispered a few minutes later. I hugged her close.

"Quit apologizing," I scolded lightly. "You didn't do anything wrong." Kagome shook her head against me.

I sighed as she curled into me. "Kagome," I said, "it's okay. We both know you would never leave, but I don't blame you for acknowledging that you can." Kagome sniffed.

"Really?" she asked in a small voice. I pulled away so I could look into her eyes. "Of course not," I replied. "And…I'm sorry, too."

"It's okay," she said. I reached out to wipe the rest of the tears off her face. She laughed quietly. "So much for not crying," she joked. I shrugged playfully.

"Eighteen is the new fifteen, I guess." Kagome laughed again gently swatted me. "Soon to be nineteen," she replied. "We'll see how it goes then." I joined her in laughter, and it felt nice to be at least a little more at ease with each other.

"Listen to me for a minute," I said as I grew serious. "Kikyo came back again and things are crazy and annoying and a little scary," I began. Kagome nodded.

"The only thing that makes sense anymore, at least to me, is how I feel about you," I continued. "If nothing else, at least I know that." Kagome tried to smile.

"Me, too," she replied. Her smile waned a bit. "And I don't want to have to tiptoe around each other about this Kikyo fiasco," she said. "I just…I like you too much for that." I chuckled and shook my head as we entered a quiet moment.

The sadness in Kagome's eyes began to fade as she laid her head on my chest again and I held her close.

In that moment, I knew that we would be okay. The world might go bad, but we were in this together.

As we sat there, I tried to think of something to make Kagome feel better. I considered proposing right then, but figured it was best to wait on that. We had too much to think about.

A moment later, an idea came to me.

"You know what I think we should do?" I asked. Kagome looked surprised. "What?" she replied. I rose and pulled her up next to me.

"We should go somewhere," I said. Kagome's expression held confusion. "Like where?" she asked. I started walking back to the village with my hand firmly around hers.

"Let's go to the beach," I suggested. "You like the beach, right?" Kagome laughed.

"Yes, I do," she replied. "But why would we go now?" I shrugged. "I think it would be nice to just get out of the village for a few days. Maybe Kikyo will have cooled off a little by then." Kagome smiled.

"That sounds like a great idea," she replied. The light in her eyes shone especially bright, and I smiled back at her. "Then let's leave tomorrow," I said.

To be continued…

I'm going to put the next chapter up ASAP because I know that this isn't the best spot to end. I needed to make a good transition to Kagome's perspective, so this is where I decided to leave off!

Much love. :)