O.K. This is a short chappie, sorry about that.

Chapter 26 – What she left behind

"Kagome... where have you been for so long?" Inuyasha's little dog ears drooped forward as a sad expression crossed over his features. His voice was choked a little as he spoke to the inanimate object as if it could answer his questions. He knew it was not conscious, but it was still the closest link he had to his best friend. His golden eyes filled with pain as he stared at the bone eaters well in anguish. "Why won't the well let me through? Kagome... have you sealed it? Kagome please, did something happen? You know you have nothing to fear from this era, you know that I am always here to protect you."

He collapsed onto the ground next to the well and stared despondently up at the sky. "Where are you Kagome, and when are you coming back to us?" He crossed his arms and leant against the portal which had stolen his friend. "I'll wait as long as it takes Kagome for you to come back, so please, we need you to be here with us. I'm going to be here until you rejoin us, so please know that you are not forgotten here, and you never will be."

"You are not just a shard detector to me, you know that don't you Kagome. I know I have called you that before now, but you mean so much more than that to all of us. I know I've compared you to Kikyou before now, but you do know that you are so much more than her. She is just a dead clay pot, and you are a true, powerful priestess and I am in awe of you. I'm sorry for hurting you so much, I know I have, I always have, I've never treated you the way you deserve, and for that I beg for your forgiveness. If I am the reason you left for good... I don't even want to know, and all I can do is apologise, and you are not even here to hear me."

"We love you, Kagome, we all do, and you are family. I love you Kagome, you are like a little sister to me, I would die for you, I wouldn't hesitate either, because I couldn't live in a world that didn't include you. The only reason I'm carrying on right now is the fact that I do not know for certain if you are dead or not." He thumped the well with his closed fists, making a couple of chips of wood fly off into the woods.

"Please," this time he was addressing the well again as if it could offer a reply. He roared at the top of his voice, his baritone echoing off the trees and coming back to him. The anguish was clear and there was no one there to comfort him. "Please bring her back," he thumped it again, this time weakly, "or let me through." He collapsed over it, embracing the well as if the hug would reach its way to her.

Shippou appeared out of nowhere and perched on his shoulder. "How long are you going to stay here Inuyasha, the well and the tree are not going to give you any response? Come back to the village, Keade's got some soup, you have barely eaten since she left, and you need to sustain yourself or you won't be much of a use as a protector when she appears. Kagome would never abandon us, you know that, she will come eventually, I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for her being so late. It's going to rain tonight too and you don't want to get ill, so come on, you'll know the moment she comes back, you'll smell her."

"But then I won't be here to help her out the well," Inuyasha argued in a rather small voice. It was a weak excuse seeming as he was not usually there for her to help her out of the well, but he was sticking with it. He did not even bother thumping Shippou on the head for reprimanding him, even though he was his senior by over a century. "I want to stay here a bit longer runt; I'm closer to her this way."

"Inuyasha, we all miss her, but you really need to come and rest and eat some more O.K. I bet you cannot even remember you had for your last proper meal, or remember the last time you had a proper good night's sleep. We're getting kind of worried about how distant and unresponsive you are. You can't stay here 24/7, we can still hunt shards without Kagome – we have done so, we've found three already."

He didn't get a real reply. "It's been two months now Shippou, she was meant to be back two months ago."

I know Inuyasha, but don't worry, she will come back eventually, I know she will, so don't lose hope. "If you're going to stay here then I'm going to get you some food and blankets, and you will eat this time or I'll get Miroku to feed you."

"You're definitely her kit; you are acting just like her."

"Someone's got to look after you in her absence, you don't look after yourself."

"That's why you love me though isn't it?"

"Love may be going a bit far."

"Come on Yasha," Shippou smiled, taking his hand, "let's go."

With one more hopeful look at the well, Inuyasha bowed his head and nodded in defeat. He turned on his heel and let the runt lead him back to the village. Kagome was not coming back today and Shippou was right – for once. He had to eat and rest so he would be able to continue being her protector when she came back.

She would come back, he knew, deep down he knew that, because, because Kagome had honour. Kagome never broke the promises she made, and she had made a promise to stay by him. She had promised to fix what she broke and help collect the jewel shards, so she would come back, and he would wait for her. Even if it took another two months for her to return, he would still be here, waiting for her.

Kagome woke up with a scream on her lips. She tried to thrash but found her movements restricted by a certain demon lord holding her in his lap. There were tears in her eyes and she shook terribly, because she had not been able to help.

She knew it was only a dream because there is no way that Inuyasha would care that much about her. He loved her sure, as a sister, and she loved him too, whether as a brother or as a love interest, but not that much. He would not kill himself if she was dead, he would not abstain from food and sleep waiting for her, although the idea was sweet. No, this was just her sick mind making up fantasies about him and his heart.

On a second note, Shippou was not that smart or wise. Sure she was his mother and loved him, and was also bound to be a little biased in his favour, but when it came to admitting the facts... that was not him. He had grown a lot, and was older than his years due to the things he had seen and done in his century or so of life that darkened his childish eyes slightly. And he did not care for Inuyasha in that respect, nor was he clever enough to be the one to look out for him in her absence, that job was up to Sango and Miroku.

Still, some things remained truth all the same. Her friends and family must still miss her and fear for her, for she had been gone for a little over two months now. It must seem to them like she had abandoned them and her duty to collect the jewel shards and sealed the well. Her feudal family would think she was still home in her own time, while her biological family thought she was in the feudal era.

It was not up for debate any longer, she had to get back.

Sesshoumaru instantly saw her need to talk to someone who was not his father. "Father, perhaps you should leave Kagome alone for a little while," he suggested hesitantly, not forgetting his father had tried to strike him last time he had tried to keep him from Kagome. "You should go and bathe and have something to eat."

He seemed to contemplate it for a moment before deciding to obey. He picked up his precious cargo and much to her surprise, dumped her in Sesshoumaru's lap. "Look after her well," he ordered in the language of the Inu.

He nodded an affirmative and wrapped his own arms around the still shuddering girl. She was a friend, and he would protect his friends with his life. "Sesshoumaru," she muttered, curling herself into him. "I have to return to them now."

He understood, and all he did was nod.