Chapter 19

Two months passed quickly in Feudal Japan. Before any of them had realized it, everyone had fallen into a comfortable routine. Kagome and Inuyasha were closer than it seemed they had ever been. The pups, Volug and Saito included, loved being off on their own, even though they lived not far from their father. Miroku and Sango saw their children growing up quickly. Both of their sons found women in the village who would have them, and left home to start their own families. Shippo and Soten went on a trip to visit the places where they had each grown up. Sesshomaru and Rin busily prepared for the arrival of their first child. All in all everyone had some happiness to live with and the problems of the past seemed to be forgotten.

One afternoon Kagome decided that she needed to return to her time to see her brother and run some errands. Inuyasha scowled at her, but said nothing. Kagome kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. I'm not leaving you. I've just been away from home for longer than I had originally planned. I have to tell Sota and Eri something."

"Keh. Fine." Inuyasha relented, shoving his fists into his sleeves. "But you'd better hurry back."

Kagome kissed him on the mouth gently. "I will. And I'll tell Sota that you said hi." The woman set off from the hut and walked along the path. As she was about to pass the pups' new home, Kagome decided to pop in and say hello.

She knocked on the door and was greeted a moment later by a very disgusted looking Saito. He dropped the scowl when he saw who the visitor was and bowed respectfully. "Good morning, Kagome." he said.

"Hello, Saito. Where is everyone?"

The young man rolled his eyes. "Tai went to visit Sano, Vol and Kita have gone to find some food, after I kicked them out."

Kagome frowned. "Why did you kick them out?"

"They were this close to sullying the main room floor." Saito answered and shuddered. "I suggested that they go make themselves useful elsewhere." He shrugged. "So now I'm here by myself."

"Saito, would you like to go somewhere with me?" Kagome asked after a moment's thought.

"Sure, where are you going?"

"I need to return to my home for a bit and see my family."

Saito shut the door and fell in step with the woman. "Is it close to here, where you live?"

Kagome giggled. "Yes, and no. You'll see." Together they made their way to the Bone Eater's Well. Kagome always marveled at how unchanged it remained, no matter how much time had passed. She sat on the edge of the well and swung her legs around, preparing to jump in. She looked back and saw Saito just standing there staring at her. "What are you waiting for?"

"Um Kagome, this is a well." the young half demon said. "A dry one at that."

"Oh it's more than just a well." Kagome explained. "You must have noticed that I am different than people around here. That I have things that seem...strange and advanced."

Saito considered this and then had to agree. "I always just attributed it to the fact that you have spiritual powers."

"Not even close." Kagome replied. "I'd explain it to you here, but I doubt you'd believe me. So we'll go to my home and I'll tell you the story there. Just follow me." She slipped down from the rim of the well and dropped down into the void.

Seconds later she was climbing out of the well in her family's shrine. Kagome looked around, glad to be home again. Saito clambered out of the well a moment later. "This is not the village." he observed. "Where are we?"

"A more appropriate question would be 'when are we?'" The woman corrected. "Saito, I am not from the same time that we just left. I live about 500 years in the future." She quickly told the young man the story of how she had come to the Feudal Era all those years ago. "I feared that the well would close up after Inuyasha wished on the Jewel, but it seemed that whatever I did when we killed...your father," here she gave him an apologetic look. "blew the void wide open so I can come and go as I please still. Before only Inuyasha could come through with me, now it seems that others can as well, since you are here."

Saito stared at her, absorbing the information. He remembered seeing Kagome the day Naraku was killed. She had stood firmly at Inuyasha's side in her strange looking clothes. He could remember his father cursing her with his last breath. It was a a lot to take in, but he believed her. "That's...crazy." he muttered.

"Yes it is." Kagome agreed. "But you'll be seeing all manner of crazy things today. Let's go." She opened the doors to the well house and the pair of them stepped out into the sunlight. Kagome grinned as she recognized the car parked in front of her family house as her own. Her grinned widened as Sota came out, locking the door behind him.

His eyes bugged when he saw his sister. "Kagome!" he cried and raced toward her. The two siblings embraced. "I guess things went well with Inuyasha then. You've been gone for ages." Just then he caught sight of Saito. "Who is that?"

Kagome laughed. "One question at a time Sota. Yes, things with Inuyasha are wonderful. I didn't mean to stay away so long, I just lost track of time. And that is Saito. Saito come meet my brother." The two shook hands and then Kagome looked at her brother. "Are you headed back to the apartment?"

"Yeah. I was just making sure that everything was okay here. Mom'll be back later today."

Armed with that information Kagome made a decision. "You're picking her up from the airport?" Sota nodded and Kagome took a deep breath. "Okay then. I need you to take us back home and then drop us back off here before you go get Mom."

Sota gave her a suspicious look. "You'll be here to see her won't you?"

"Yes, but then I have to go." Sota knew what that meant. It meant that his sister wasn't going to come back, or if she did, it would just be to visit. But he didn't say anything.

Two hours later, he dropped Saito, Kagome and three duffel bags of her stuff back off at the house and headed off to the airport. Kagome sighed and walked through the house she had grown up in.

Saito was still reeling from all the shocks he'd received that day. (The car rides were especially strange for him. He found it hard to think of it as a big metal horse and wagon the way Sota had suggested.) He noticed though, that Kagome seemed rather somber. "Are you okay?" he wanted to know.

Kagome gave him a sad smile. "I'm alright. I just realized that I don't belong here anymore. I wonder if I ever did."

"No disrespect intended, but I know what it feels like not to belong anywhere, Kagome. You don't have that problem. With you it's more like you belong everywhere and don't know where to settle down."

"You're right." The woman agreed. "I have a life here just as much as I have one with Inuyasha. The only difference is that my heart belongs in the Feudal Era. I've been ignoring that for so long." She shook her head. "But I've made a decision. Inuyasha means more to me than any success I've had here. I'm going to stay with him."

Once she had voiced her decision aloud, it wasn't hard for her to tell her mother when she arrived. The older Higurashi woman smiled knowingly when her daughter said that she was going to live in the past. She knew that the hold Inuyasha had on her Kagome would withstand anything. Even a nineteen year estrangement.

"I wish you luck Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi said. "And you had better come back here and let me meet any children that you might decide to have.

Kagome blushed. "Mom." she protested. She stood and kissed her mother's cheek. "I'll miss you."

"And I you, Kagome. But you must follow your heart. I have thought for sometime that you and Inuyasha belonged together."