Dawn was never noisy when it rose, but it always managed to come at an awkward time. The golden sunbeams peaked over the Eastern horizon; glancing off Tokyo's skyscrapers and making them shine like precious gems. Slowly, the rays of light sneaked into one of the upstairs windows of the Higurashi household, tiptoeing along until they reached the pink-covered bed. Then, moving with the certainty of the rising sun, the beams of light poked the two sleeping figures lying amidst the mussed sheets. The groans started immediately upon contact with the bright light. Both of them rolled around, grumbling to themselves as the light forced them from the world of deep sleep and pleasant dreams to the world of reality.

InuYasha was first to wake. He had never really been a deep sleeper anyway, and the warm fingers of sunlight stabbing him in the face didn't give him much of an incentive to stay asleep. With a grumble and a muffled curse, the hanyou let himself drift to consciousness, blinking back the few remaining strands of sleep. For a moment, he just laid there, immersed in the scents of himself and Kagome. That mixture, so tantalizing and teasing when the miko had been lying prone in the hospital in a coma, was all the more wonderful now that it was so much more potent. No, it was more than wonderful: it was right.

A soft groan came from somewhere near him. InuYasha looked over to his right, instinctively tensing though he knew there was no threat. The source of the sound was Kagome, who groaned again and threw one arm over her eyes, trying to block out the light as she rolled over, curling up like a cat as she did so. He instantly relaxed, smirking as he watched Kagome rise from a dream she was obviously unwilling to leave.

"Kagome," he called softly, nudging the crown of her head with his nose. "Wake up."

"Go 'way," she moaned, rolling onto her back and stretching out. "Do'wanna."

InuYasha snorted and reached out with his hand. He gripped her shoulder tightly before shaking her awake. With a start, Kagome sat up. The pink blanket fell away from her, revealing her less than clothed chest. The hanyou quickly looked away, thanking every Kami that did or did not exist for the unexpected sight. Kagome, meanwhile, was yawning widely, not seeming to care that her breasts were bared for all to see. When she was done yawning, she turned to see InuYasha with his nose stuffed in the pillow, looking like he was trying to sleep.

"You hypocrite!" she growled, reaching out to gently punch his shoulder. "I just woke up and now you get to go back to sleep?"

"Not sleeping," he replied, his voice muffled by the pillow. Kagome's brow furrowed as she contemplated the way InuYasha's silver mane fell over both sides of his body. It was quite attractive, actually; the silver strands, falling like an unending waterfall over either side of the hanyou's back, pooling on the pink mattress and streaming over the covers…Kagome slapped her cheeks and made herself focus. 'I'm supposed to be angry at him,not gawking,' she told herself sternly. There would be plenty of time for that later.

"What do you mean, you're not sleeping?" she asked, her tone sulky. "It sure looks like you're sleeping."

InuYasha let one eye rise up from the soft pillow. Kagome caught a small glimpse of gold before it was quickly muffled by puffy pillow. "Shirt," he explained. "You're not wearing a shirt."

Kagome glimpsed down, noticing her bare chest for the first time. "Oh, that," she realized, her anger ebbing. It was funny that him hiding his face because she wasn't wearing any clothes would be better than him demanding she wake up before going back to sleep. At least he was defending her honor, right? She giggled, biting her cheeks in an attempt to keep quiet. It was funny.

"It's okay, InuYasha. You can look." The words were a little strange in Kagome's mouth after all the times she had screamed 'osuwari,' thrown rocks, sticks or just slapped him whenever he set so much as one clawed toe in the vicinity of her naked body. However, that was before the events of the night before, when they had shared something so precious and new together. In her opinion, staring was the least he could do.

"You're not mad?" InuYasha asked, peeping up cautiously from the pillow. Kagome felt a pang of regret hit her heart at the show of reluctance the hanyou was putting on. Was she really that scary when she was mad? Was this 'chivalry' just a result of all the times she had pummeled him for accidentally walking in on her when she was bathing? How could she have let this happen? She loved him; in this era, lovers most definitely did not beat each other up.

Well, they were together now, so she would have to let some of the more…violent aspects of their relationship fall by the wayside. 'I never really meant to hurt him so much,' she thought. 'I just…' The thought trailed off before it could reach any meaningful conclusion, so she left it at that. First, to business: letting her hanyou know that it was perfectly all right to ogle her now.

"Why would I be mad?" Kagome reached out and took one of the hanyou's hands, feeling the thick calluses on his palms and fingers with her own far daintier digits. He rose fully from the pillow, blinking owlishly at her. Kagome wrapped both of her hands around his, the tips of her fingers playing with his claws. "I'm not mad at you, InuYasha," she told him. "After what happened last night, there's no reason to be mad at you anymore. What we shared last night…" she trailed off, unable to find words strong enough to express the gravity of last night's events. So she continued instead: "You and I are together now; there's nothing I won't share with you." As she spoke, InuYasha rose from the bed, still carefully keeping his eyes away from her chest, but looking more confident than he had before.

"You're really not mad at me," he stated, almost wondrously. She beamed at him, her eyes sparkling with warmth. Then the miko gave her hanyou's hand a squeeze to affirm his statement. Slowly, a hesitant smile flowed over his face, breaking through his hesitant mask like the sun breaking through a layer of clouds. Kagome's smile became, if possible, even brighter than before. She was positively glowing with excitement and happiness.

"Come on, then!" She threw back the pink covers and towed InuYasha off the bed and out the door. The hanyou, shocked now, tried to put on the brakes and stop Kagome's mad dash, only to be practically jerked off his feet when she gave his hand an insistent tug.

"Kagome, what the hell are you doing?" he complained. "I don't know if you noticed, but we're-"

"I noticed!" she retorted, nipping quickly into the door standing opposite the entrance to her bedroom and slamming it shut. "I thought we might take a shower before eating breakfast and returning to the Sengoku jidai."

InuYasha stared at her as Kagome walked over to the gleaming bathtub and bent to start the water. "W-w-w-we?" he stuttered. His tongue seemed to have grown far too large for his mouth: he was having trouble getting words out around it. "A-as in take a shower together?"

Kagome turned back to look at him, one eyebrow raised. "I keep thinking you'll get used to us being a couple," she sighed softly, "but you keep surprising me. Yes, InuYasha, as in we're taking a shower together." Her lips pushed out in a slight pout as she fiddled with the faucet's handle, tracing the silver contours with one finger. "Of course, if you…don't want to…I won't make you." Kagome looked extremely put out now. Her bright smile was gone, her shoulders were slumping in on themselves, and her demeanor carried an air of disappointment. InuYasha noticed and tried hard not to panic.

"I never said I didn't want to!" he stated hurriedly. "I…It's just weird,that's all."

Kagome perked up a little bit. "The newness of it all, you mean?"

InuYasha blushed. "Yeah. The…newness. I ain't used to doing shit like this, Kagome. I've been alone for so long now…it's weird to have someone there with me."

The miko smiled at him again; a warm, kind smile this time. She walked back over to him and took his hand again, lifting it up and letting it rest against her cheek. "This is new for me too, InuYasha. Don't forget that. It's not like I knew exactly what we were going to do the moment we got together: far from it! The Kami aren't going to just fly down from the heavens and deposit all the answers in our laps-we have to figure out what we're going to do as we go along. That's the truth of life, InuYasha. It's not that one person knows what to do, but that both of us are clueless."

InuYasha cocked his head at her in the way that made him look like a puppy. "So…are you saying we're both baka, but that's okay?" Kagome looked at him incredulously for a few seconds, then doubled over, positively bawling with laughter. InuYasha scowled, his eyebrows drawing together to make one angry black line. "Why're you laughin' at me?" he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall. Kagome held up a hand, still laughing madly.

"I love you, InuYasha," she finally gasped. His eyebrows rose in surprise, though he still looked pleased at the sentiment.

"Why is that funny?" he asked, curious now. Kagome used the nearby toilet to push herself to her feet, still giggling quietly. InuYasha came over and helped her to her feet, careful not to touch any part of her that was (for the time being) off-limits.

Kagome shook her head. "It's not. What you said was funny. The fact that I love you is not." Without further ado, she pulled him toward the shower. "I promise not to make the water too hot," she told him. InuYasha snorted, but did not stop her from pushing him inside the tub, then clambering in after him.

'This whole together thing,' he mused as Kagome readied the shower, 'is not as bad as I thought it might be…'


The shower wasn't too long, thought it was…interesting.Needless to say, the couple was soon back in Kagome's room, gathering up their clothes and preparing for the new day. Kagome was dithering between several outfits, wondering which would she would be most prepared to lose somewhere in the Sengoku jidai. InuYasha watched her, already bedecked in his standard fire-rat haori and matching hakama. He snorted as she looked at one shirt and almost put it on, only to toss it aside and inspect another.

"Can't you make up your mind?" he teased. "It'll be the middle of next winter by the time you're done picking out your clothes." Kagome glared at him, the current contender for shirt-wear dangling from her hand. He met her gaze, one eyebrow rising slightly as he looked into her eyes. After a few minutes Kagome broke off their staring contest and went back to perusing her clothes.

Finally, ten minutes later, Kagome had decided what she was going to wear. She dressed inside her closet, aware of the less-than patient hanyou outside who was already growling his incredulity about "indecisive women" to whatever Kami was listening. When she stepped out, InuYasha looked at her, his grumbles fading as he took in her choice of clothing.

"Your old school uniform?" InuYasha eyed the green skirt and sailor shirt combo with slight amusement, his lips twitching with the effort of holding back his smile. "Why that?"

Kagome shrugged slightly, idly toying with the red bow hanging down the front of the shirt. "I thought, since we were pretty much coming full circle…it was apt."

InuYasha had no reply to that. Kagome walked over to him and sat down in front of him, reaching out to trace the beads of the subjugation kotodama with one hand. "Speaking of coming full circle…" With one deft move, she seized the beads and yanked them off the hanyou, moving carefully past his ears and over his hair. Surprisingly, he caught her hand just as the beads were passing over the last of his mane. Kagome looked at him, surprised to see anger in his golden eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" he growled, his fangs flashing at her.

"Taking this off. You hate it, and it's not really necessary anymore." Kagome pulled free of InuYasha's hand and succeeded in removing the beads. They hung from her hand, looking limp and powerless. InuYasha looked at them before switching his gaze to Kagome.

"Why now?" he asked. "You never wanted to remove it before. Why now?"

Kagome put the beads down on the bedside table before reaching out and wrapping her arms around the hanyou's shoulders. "I thought you'd like that," she murmured. "After all that's happened…all that's going to happen…I thought you would like the last piece of your freedom back."

InuYasha whined softly, putting his arms about Kagome's waist and burying his nose in her neck. "You didn't have to," he told her. "I wasn't going to complain if you didn't."

"It wasn't fair," she argued. "Mama always told me that both people in a relationship need to be on equal ground with each other. That necklace crippled you and gave me an unfair advantage."

"What about all the times it's saved our lives?" he challenged. "Or when I go full-youkai?"

Kagome pulled back to look at him, her face astounded. "I can't believe you of all people would argue for keeping the kotodama." One of her hands moved to his forehead, pushing back his silver bangs as she felt the skin underneath. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked, a little concerned now.

"I ain't feverish, wench!" InuYasha barked, startling her and nearly knocking her out of his lap and off the bed. "I'm not," he repeated, a little more gently this time. "I just…yeah, there was a time when all I wanted was to get that kotodama off and be free, but…but I've changed since then, and you have too. You don't use it against me that much anymore, and when you do, I usually deserve it. Don't argue," he growled, cutting Kagome off just as she started to open her mouth, "I know it's true. I'll let you take 'em, but just know that I don't think you should." He thought for a few seconds before adding, "Don't throw them away. We might need them later."

Kagome pondered this for a few seconds before nodding and taking the beads up again. "Maybe we can ask Kaede-ba-chan to disenchant the kotodama," she mused. "Then you can keep it and still be free. We both win." InuYasha snorted softly, but decided that it was probably for the best. Hadn't he wanted Kagome to realize how unfair the beads were?

Kagome, meanwhile, was studying InuYasha's face with curiosity. It was strange that he wouldn't be more jubilant about the removal of the kotodama, yet here he was, sitting here like it didn't matter to him at all, like it was as unimportant as the weather. Those bright golden eyes of his were filled with content, if not excitement. 'So beautiful,' she thought. 'How could he have such gorgeous eyes?' Unconsciously, as if he were a magnet, she drew closer to him, her nose bumping gently against his. He was still looking at her, his face rapidly transforming from content to a mixture of excitement and confusion. Then Kagome carefully let her lips touch InuYasha's in the softest of kisses.

It was only a matter of time before InuYasha took over, taking the kiss and making it wilder, more unpredictable, and less gentle: much like himself, actually. Kagome didn't mind. She loved him, after all, and accepted every part of him he had to offer. His hand came up to hold her head steady, his fingers knotting in her hair. Kagome's arms went about his neck, holding him close as he continued his assault. A few more minutes of this, and they might end up having to start their morning all over again.

The door burst open at that very moment, banging off the wall with a sound like a gunshot. The couple gave a yelp, breaking off the kiss as Kagome ducked into the safety of InuYasha's chest. InuYasha growled, reaching out for his Tetsusaiga, which was resting nearby.

The intruder turned out to be Jii-chan, who had thrown open the door with all the force he could muster. The old man was standing in the doorway, his withered chest heaving with pants. His rheumy eyes were on the entwined couple sitting on the bed, his wrinkled brow furrowing slightly.

"I knew it!" he shouted. "I knew you were doing something indecent! I knew it!"

"Jii-chan!" Kagome complained, peering out over InuYasha's arm to glare at her grandfather. "We weren't doing anything indecent! We were just kissing!"

"Don't lie to me, Kagome!" Jii-chan's eyes were filled with vigorous fire as he attempted to 'champion' his granddaughter's virtue. "I know what you were doing!"

Kagome moaned softly. "I don't want to hear this, I don't want to hear this," she chanted, burying her face in InuYasha's chest and covering her ears with her hands. InuYasha, for his part, looked like he was trying to melt into the bed. His ears were lying flat on his head while he looked at anything that wasn't the old man in front of him. The hanyou's arms were still wrapped around Kagome, but he seemed unaware that she was there.

Relief came in the form of Mama Higurashi, who heard the sound of the commotion and had promptly come to investigate. Upon seeing the embarrassed couple getting a tongue-lashing from the old man, she quickly stepped in to do damage control. "Father," she interrupted, stepping around Jii-chan and into Kagome's room, "Pardon me, but do you think you could help me with breakfast? I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what I should make."

The old man, who had been about to lay into Kagome and InuYasha again, turned around, looking confused. "What's that? You don't know what to make for breakfast?" His voice was skeptical, as if he suspected her ruse. "What would I know about cooking?"

"I don't expect you to know anything about cooking, Father," Karu replied calmly. "I just want your honest opinion about what we should have." At the words 'honest opinion,' the old man suddenly perked up, his chest swelling slightly. If Jii-chan ever loved anything more than the Higurashi shrine, it was somebody asking him either about a story or his opinion.

"Why, certainly, my dear. If you are at a loss, then I will be more than glad to help you out." With that, the old man strutted out of the room. Mama Higurashi paused at the doorway, her eyes on her daughter and InuYasha.

"I'm sorry about that. Father really does mean well." Karu's tone of voice was apologetic, though her face was still gentle and happy. The only answer she got was a snort from InuYasha. "See you at breakfast," was her parting statement before she quickly hurried downstairs.

"Dear Kami," Kagome moaned, looking up from the shelter of InuYasha's arms, "If Jii-chan doesn't stop doing things for my good, I might just kill him."

"Not if I get there first," InuYasha growled, still looking sheepish. Kagome let out a brief laugh before she disentangled herself from InuYasha's arms, only pausing to place a swift kiss on his cheek.

"Come on, InuYasha. Let's go see what Jii-chan's suggestion for breakfast is." Kagome headed for the open door, her inu-hanyou hot on her heels, both of them drawn to the smell of food on the air, but neither of them sure that they wanted to face the well-meaning ways of Kagome's grandfather.


Somehow Mama Higurashi was able to control Jii-chan's urge to interrogate Kagome and InuYasha about their night by keeping up a steady offering of the old man's favorite foods. Souta seemed to know better and kept quiet, though occasionally he sniggered behind his hands when Jii-chan opened his mouth to speak only to be sidetracked by his mother.

Kagome chewed halfheartedly at her breakfast, not really tasting anything she put in her mouth. It really had been a nice night and an even better morning, but then her grandfather had to come along and spoil everything. Like Mama said, he did mean well, but every time he butted into their affairs, InuYasha backed away from her like a pup caught doing something naughty. It was frustrating as all hell, especially considering the big step they had taken in their relationship last night.

"What are you going to do today, Kagome?" Mama asked when breakfast was finished and she was clearing away the dishes. Kagome looked up from the mindless pattern she had been doodling on the kitchen table.

"I think we're going to head out today. It's nothing personal, but if we're going to get married and settled down," both Kagome and InuYasha's faces turned bright red here, but she continued as if she hadn't noticed, "then the sooner the better, right?" Here she glared at Jii-chan, her eyes filled with harmless hostility. If the old man noticed this less-than loving stare he was getting, he didn't comment on it.

"All right." Mama gathered up the dishes and headed over to the sink, plopping them down with a few protesting clinks.She then turned on the faucet and started cleaning them, aware of the thick silence that had started up behind her. Based on recent experiences, Karu guessed that Takao would be fixing the young couple at the table with a piercing stare, as if he could exorcise their 'sins' just by looking at them. Maybe he wouldn't question them, but the accusation in his stare would be more than enough to make the hanyou and miko writhe in their seats. With that thought resounding in her head, Karu decided that maybe the dishes could be left off for an hour or two. She turned off the faucet and quickly wheeled around.

Sure enough, Kagome and InuYasha were squirming uncomfortably in their seats, pinned by the fierce stare Takao had turned on them. Neither of them seemed willing to rise from their seats and escape him. It was like his eyes were some sort of youkai entrapping ward, holding them captive with powers unseen. Karu quickly moved forward, crusading to liberate the young couple.

"So, will you leave immediately, or will you wait a while?" she asked. Kagome was doodling on the table again, not paying much attention to the question. InuYasha was the one who answered Mama Higurashi's inquiry this time.

"I think we're going to leave now." He looked over at Kagome for conformation as he spoke. The miko practically rocketed from her chair, nearly sending the piece of furniture flying as she did so. He was up in a second, ready to follow her wherever she chose to go. Mama smiled and moved forward, shooting her father-in-law a glare that clearly said leave them alone as she did so. Souta scrambled up, eager to see his sister off, and Jii-chan followed soon afterward, mumbling something about "too young, even if they are getting married," again.

They reached the well-house in record time, painfully aware of the three members of the Higurashi clan following them. InuYasha was just about to open the doors to the well-shrine when Kagome caught his arm, a sudden thought having just dawned on her.

"InuYasha, if the Shikon-no-Tama is truly gone from this world now-will the well still work?" she asked anxiously, her face drawn and worried. InuYasha suddenly looked just as worried as she felt.

"It worked when I brought you to this world, but I don't think the jewel had 'passed on' then." Kagome emitted a low moan when he stated this, pulling herself closer to him and ignoring the storm of protests that came from behind her.

"Kami, if that happened because of me, I-"

"Don't apologize," InuYasha growled. "It's not your fault." With that, he pushed open the doors to the shrine. There was a chance, he told himself. Even so, he found himself praying to any Kami that might be listening to let the Bone-Eater's Well work, or, at least, work well enough to perform this one last duty.

The silence within the murky depths of the well-house was deafening. Ominous shadows lurked in every corner and darted over every inch of dilapidated wood. Even though her training was limited, Kagome's miko senses were still good enough to tell her that the aura that usually surrounded the Bone-Eater's Well had faded and weakened. She moved forward, taking the stairs carefully as she approached the ancient well. Reaching out, Kagome placed one hand on the well's rim and closed her eyes, focusing harder than she ever had in her entire life. InuYasha moved to stand beside her, placing one hand on her waist for comfort and support. He waited, watching Kagome's face for any sign of bad news.

Several minutes later, Kagome's eyes opened again. "It's faint, but the aura of the Bone-Eater's Well hasn't faded yet. However...I don't think it'll last for much longer. If we're going to leave, it has to be now, and...and it'll be the last time." Kagome swallowed slightly as she said this. Even though she had long since accepted that her place was at InuYasha's side in the Sengoku jidai, the idea that she would be leaving her family forever on this day was still a hard pill to swallow.

InuYasha understood Kagome's sadness for what it was, and leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek. "Do you want to say goodbye before you leave?" he asked, his voice soft. Kagome looked back at her family, who were all standing at the top of the stairs, watching the couple with a measure of confusion.

"Yes," she replied. "I would very much like to say goodbye to my family." She moved away from InuYasha, stopping just at the bottom of the stairs. Looking up at her family, Kagome started on her final goodbye.

"Since we destroyed the Shikon-no-Tama, which was the only thing keeping this well 'alive,' the aura of the Bone-Eater's Well is dying. It'll last us for one more journey, but...that's it." As she expected, the reaction to her deliverance was largely shock mixed with horror. Mama Higurashi clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. Souta let out a cry of horror. Jii-chan just stared at her, his eyes dimming in dismay.

"You mean...you won't ever come back?" Mama asked. Sure, she had been ready to accept that Kagome was moving away-didn't all mothers have to face that fact one day? However, she had not been ready for Kagome going five hundred years into the past for good, never to be seen by the Heisei jidai again.

"No, Mama. I won't ever come back. I won't be able to. The well is about to die." Kagome hated the pleading tone of her voice, like she was begging for her mother's forgiveness, as if she had committed some vile sin. InuYasha moved forward too, reaching out and touching her shoulder as he did so. She seemed grateful for the gesture, letting one hand rise to cover his.

Mama wasted no time and rushed forward, her arms open wide to receive her daughter. Kagome embraced her mother for the last time, burying her face in her shoulder and letting her weep into her hair. Seconds later, Souta darted forward too, throwing himself at his sister's waist and hugging her tightly.

InuYasha stepped back and away from the Higurashi hug fest. Though he knew the Higurashi clan considered him a part of the family, this was truly their moment, and he had no part in it. Kagome was already coming with him instead of staying here with them, so he had nothing to be bitter about in letting her have this last goodbye.

The only person who hadn't thrown themselves on Kagome was Jii-chan, who was still watching the whole affair from the top of the stairs. His buggy eyes were filling with tears, his mouth twitching slightly. InuYasha looked at him, a slight scowl marring his lips. "You got nothing to say, jijii?" he challenged.

Jii-chan turned to look at him, the tears breaking free and rushing down his face. "Please forgive me, my dear boy," he croaked. "I...I did not realize that...I would not..." the old man broke down, crying bitterly into his haori sleeves. InuYasha, taken aback, felt slightly guilty at this reaction, feeling personally responsible for the old man's tears.

Kagome, meanwhile, was pulling gently away from her mother and brother. Tears were glimmering in her own eyes, but she put on a brave face and smiled anyway. "Well, I suppose we have to go now." She stood on tiptoe and planted a gentle kiss against her mother's cheek. "Take care, Mama." Then, she leaned down and ruffled Souta's scruffy hair. "Keep out of trouble, okay, Souta?" The youth's lip trembled, but he nodded. Finally, Kagome turned to her jii-chan. Moving toward him, she reached out and hugged him, feeling his body trembling with the force of his tears. "Goodbye, Jii-chan," she told him. "Thanks for looking out for me." He looked up at her, looking more vulnerable than she remembered him being.

"Of course. For my favorite granddaughter, always," he mumbled. Kagome smiled, though she was closer to tears than ever now. As she moved back toward InuYasha, however, Jii-chan piped up, directing this last statement to InuYasha. "Take good care of her, m'boy. She's a good girl, you know."

InuYasha nodded, then turned back toward the well. "Bye," he said simply. His throat felt like it had been coated in glue, and it was hard to get a coherent word to move through it. Kagome was at his side then, pressing herself to him and shivering madly. Slowly, they mounted the edge of the well for the last time, looking down into its black depths. Then, they let themselves fall and be swallowed up by the time-stream, the ghosts of the Higurashi clan's distressed faces still etched in their minds.

The last trip through the time-stream was spent in silence, a silence more thick and potent than the one back in the well-house. Before, when Kagome was recovering from losing the hearing in one ear, they had accepted that she was going to leave the Heisei jidai forever. Yet, this recent parting had not only reopened those wounds he thought closed, but had deepened them as well.

A soft bump marked the end of their journey. Aptly enough, it was raining in the Sengoku jidai, at just the perfect angle to send a volley of water plummeting down into the well. InuYasha barely had time to grumble at this unlucky turn of events before he felt Kagome whip around in his arms. Before he could demand what she was doing or feel hurt that she was leaving, she was upon him, her lips ramming on his with the force of a battering ram. It was a totally different kiss from the one she had given him that morning. That kiss had been sweet, loving, happy and bright, filled with the joys of love and the optimism preceding a new life. This kiss was desperate, despairing and lonely, the sadness of their recent parting etching itself into every touch of her lips on his. InuYasha reacted quickly and instinctively to this exposure of Kagome's feelings: he kissed her back, pulling her as close to his body as it was possible for her to be, giving her what she needed and taking little for himself. The rain could go to hell, as far as he was concerned. Kagome was way more important than some tiny drops of water.

After a while, he broke off the kiss, but only to nuzzle and kiss her neck instead. Kagome whimpered slightly, tucking her chin down and capturing his head. She clung to him, not caring that she was quickly becoming soaked because of the rain. She needed him, needed him now more than ever before.

If the sky had emotions, it seemed that it had been hurt by their lack of care, for the rain came down harder than before, most of it appearing to run down into the well and drench the pair. InuYasha shook his head slightly, growling at the rivulets of water running down his bangs as he did so.

"C'mon, Kagome. We'd better get to Kaede-baba's before this fuckin' rain gets worse." InuYasha tugged her onto his back and jumped up, clearing the well in an instant and sprinting out in the direction of the village. He had to be more careful than normally, seeing as the pathways were lined with slippery mud that would send him flying if he hit it wrong.

They made it back to Kaede's hut, just in time for the rain to become a deluge, pounding the earth with fists of water and churning the already muddy pathways into brown waterfalls. The old woman was busying herself about the fire, but upon hearing someone enter the hut, she looked up. The sight of InuYasha and Kagome standing their, soaked to the bone but nevertheless okay, made her mouth drop open in shock.

"How...how..." For the first time in her life, the miko couldn't think of a single thing to say, her mind was so overcome by the impossible sight before her. Yes, she knew that InuYasha and Kagome had both gone missing from the storage hut, as well as the fact that the Shikon-no-Tama had vanished too. Nobody had known what to make of it, and everybody had become very distraught at the idea that their friends might have tried to use the jewel and ended up paying for it. Indeed, Miroku, Sango and Shippou had been terribly distraught upon learning that their decision to give the magical jewel to their friends might have ended up causing their destruction. The threesome were currently scouring the storage hut with a fine-toothed comb, trying to find anything that discredited the theory that InuYasha and Kagome had become one of the Shikon-no-Tama's many victims.

However, the evidence was right here, standing in front of Kaede. InuYasha and Kagome, both of them bedraggled and soggy, but looking none the worse for wear. In fact, they looked as healthy as ever they had, as if the sickness and injuries that had afflicted them after the battle with Naraku had simply never occurred. Hence the goggling.

"It's all right, Kaede-ba-chan," Kagome soothed, moving forward and taking the old woman's withered hand with one of her own. "We're fine now. Nothing's wrong." The young miko did her best to smile, but it was hard, considering what she had just gone through. InuYasha followed her, resisting the urge to bend down and start shaking himself to get the water out of his clothes. Kagome hated it when he did that, and it was likely Kaede did, too.

After getting over the initial shock of seeing Kagome and InuYasha just strolling in through her door, Kaede recovered some of her composure. Her one eye narrowed in suspicion as she regarded the twosome before her with a stern glare. "How did you two heal so quickly?" she asked. "It has only been a week since we last saw you, yet you both look hale and hearty."

Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other, a discussion passing between them without a word being said aloud. The hanyou inclined his head at her; a sign that Kagome should tell the truth. "It's a long story," she sighed, shifting back to wrap her arms around her legs. Before she could continue, Kaede raised a hand, halting her in her tracks.

"Before you tell me what happened, I think we should wait for Miroku-sama, Sango and Shippou to return. They are all very upset about...whatever happened a week ago." Kaede eyed the couple speculatively as she spoke, noticing the way they shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the previous week.

"Where are they?" Kagome asked.

"They went to the storage hut. They've been there for the past few days, trying to figure out what happened there." She sighed, looking out at the rain that was pounding the earth into a churning brown mess. "All three of them feel guilty, since it was their idea to give you the Shikon-no-Tama. They think-"

"-that we tried to use the jewel and died," Kagome finished for her.

"That's fucking stupid!" InuYasha snorted, shaking himself just a little bit to dislodge some of the water. Honestly, he hated being soaked to the skin, but unless he wanted to get kicked back out into the rain, the hanyou would just have to deal with it and not shake himself like he dearly wanted to. "Why in the name of the seven hells would they think we died?"

Kaede glared at him, her eye narrowed into a slit. "The pair of you vanished without a trace, InuYasha. Why shouldn't they think that?" InuYasha had no reply to that. His ears lowered in shame as his eyes skittered away from hers, landing on a knot in one of the hut's wooden boards. Kagome went to him and laced an arm through his, leaning her head against his shoulder.

At that moment, there was a rustle of movement as the reed mat covering the entrance to Kaede's hut was pushed aside. Three sodden figures squished their way into the hut, looking all the more solemn because of the soaked state of their clothing. Miroku was in the lead, followed by Sango, who had Kirara tucked underneath her kosode, and Shippou, who was sitting on Sango's shoulder.

"We didn't manage to find anything, Kaede-sama," Miroku announced gravely. "It's almost as if-" He suddenly stopped mid-track and mid-sentence, screeching to a halt as suddenly as if he had run into a brick wall. Sango didn't notice and bumped roughly into him, nearly sending all three of them toppling to the ground. She looked up to see what had caught his attention and caught sight of Kagome and InuYasha.

A few awkward moments passed in which nobody did anything. Kagome and InuYasha were matching shades of pink, embarrassed by their friends' stares. Miroku, Sango and Shippou were completely astounded by the sudden appearance of the hanyou and miko, whom they believed to be lost. Kaede, for her part, looked a cross between concerned and amused.

"I guess we owe you an explanation," Kagome finally stated. "Sit down, and we'll talk."

This was quickly agreed upon to be the best course of action, so the soggy group huddled around the fire while Kaede readied a kettle so she could make some tea. While they were waiting for the water to warm up, Kagome and InuYasha took turns talking about what had happened precisely one week before: about the wish Kagome had made upon the Shikon-no-Tama, and the resulting coma; how InuYasha had sped her to the Heisei jidai so she could get proper treatment; how Kikyou's soul had been trying to drag Kagome's to the Other World, and her success at being able to let go, and finally, how Kagome had left the Heisei jidai forever this very afternoon, using the last dregs of power that the Bone-Eater's Well possessed to make it back to the Sengoku jidai. Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kaede and even Kirara listened attentively to their story, gasping at some parts and sighing at others. When Kagome mentioned that she would never be able to return to her home, their audience became very sad.

"It hurts right now," Kagome finished, her admission causing her shoulders to cave somewhat, "but at least I'm here with you guys, and I'm all right. That's something, isn't it?"

"That is indeed something," Miroku agreed. "I'm sure your family would have wanted you to be happy anyway, no matter what paths you chose to take."

"Yes." Kagome smiled gratefully, happy that Miroku had understood her feelings so easily.

"So what are you going to do now?" Sango asked, picking up her teacup and tracing the ring with her littlest finger. Kagome turned her attention to her, brow creasing slightly.

"We haven't decided yet...unless..." Kagome's eyes brightened, her shoulders straightening as an idea came to her. "Sango-chan...when do you think you and Miroku-sama will get married?"

Sango went bright red. "We...haven't decided yet."

"Maybe...maybe you should consider making it a double wedding," Kagome suggested, going red herself. InuYasha choked slightly on a mouthful of tea at the mention of 'wedding.' Miroku looked from the miko to the hanyou, a wide grin slowly spreading across his face.

"What happened back at your home, Kagome-sama?" he asked with a fake innocence everyone was all too familiar with. Kagome looked straight at the houshi in question and, sure enough, his eyes were sparkling in that way that clearly said I'm thinking of something perverted.

"Nothing...that interesting," she lied. InuYasha nodded quickly in agreement. Miroku had many faults, but stupidity was not one of them. He could clearly see that Kagome was lying and that InuYasha had been too quick to agree with her. Seeing as Sango wasn't threatening him with bodily violence at the moment, Miroku decided to continue his line of inquiry.

"Nothing interesting, mmm?" His eyes flicked from Kagome's pink face to InuYasha's embarrassed one, taking in their averted eyes and their enclosed demeanor. "Then why the embarrassed act? Surely if you didn't do anything interesting, there would be nothing to be ashamed about." The houshi waited for this statement to sink in before continuing. "You didn't happen to do anything of that nature...did you?"

The couple was spared answering the houshi's inquiry when Sango intervened, her fist flying out and catching Miroku's head. "That is none of your business, houshi-sama!" she snapped, going back to honorifics (a sign that she was seriously pissed). "Leave Kagome-chan and InuYasha alone: they've been through a lot the past few days!"

"I was just curious, dear Sango," the houshi grumbled back. "I sensed there was something left out of their story, and I-"

"-wanted to take the chance to start teasing them!" Sango finished for him. "How could you?" With that, she started smacking the houshi around, ignoring his yelps and pleas for mercy. Kagome rolled her eyes, exasperated by this display of premarital violence, but at the same time grateful for the distraction. She really didn't want to discuss her sex life with Miroku of all people. She leaned against InuYasha, her eyes closing as she tuned out the sound of fighting.

"It's nice to be back, isn't it?" she commented. InuYasha snorted.

"Sure. Crazy as all hell and dangerous, though," he growled. Kagome sighed.

"That's not the point. It's just...I'm glad that I get to be here with you."

InuYasha smiled slightly, leaning back against her and letting his own eyes drift shut. "Me too, Kagome. Me too."