*AN: I'm really very sorry for the delay on an update, again. I've been doing some rewriting, making sure things are correct. Thank you for your kind words. Again, if I disappoint you, sorry. I hope you're still interested in my story. I'm hoping to post much sooner next time. I'm working on Chapter Five at this moment. I hate to do it like this, but Chapter Four is good. In my opinion that is. Anywho, please review. Thanks.*

Kagome had returned. The nothingness had enveloped her. Everything was the same. Then again, she had been in complete darkness, so the details of the surroundings were very limited. The air that had moved all around her was still as cool as ever.

Although she had fought hard to keep herself from returning, she had to admit that the void had a sense of peace to it. She felt at ease, for the pain had ceased. She felt free. It was the one thing she had looked forward to as she blacked out. Or as she thought of it, died.

When that word crossed her mind, her 'body' shivered with a feeling of shock.

'Am I dead this time?' She wondered.

Kagome wondered just where the voices were. She assumed she would hear them just as soon as she returned. But she remembered what happened last time. She had told them to stop. She didn't want to hear them at first, but now it was all she wanted to hear; just to let her know that she wasn't alone, entirely.

'So this is it huh?' She reasoned with the silence. 'This is how I'm going to spend my eternity? Just floating?'

Kagome knew that it would be pointless to make an attempt to move around the darkness. Her body had lost all feeling. She had come to the conclusion that it was just her consciousness that existed in this place. Rather her spirit.

'I thought I was suppose to find peace when I die,' she asked herself. 'How do I do that if I'm troubled with thoughts like this? Is this a punishment? Was I bad when I was alive?'

Her essence shivered again at the thought. She didn't like it. Though peaceful and painless, she didn't want to be there anymore. It was too soon. She wasn't suppose to die so soon. She still had so much to do.

'I have to get out of here,' she told herself. 'I want out!'

'I know you hear me!' Her mind called out to the nothingness. 'Let me go! I want to go back!'

There was no reply to her demands. She pleaded with whatever was there; whoever had brought her there and kept her there.

'Please,' she sobbed. 'Please…I need to go back. I don't belong here. I…I…'

Her cries were interrupted by a familiar sound. It was them again. They were singing. Again, the song was one she had not heard before. The voices sung it in a very slow melody. They were faint like before. They crooned all around her.

Kagome stopped her weeping to listen. They were repeating a line. It made her think of a broken record. But she knew that wasn't it. Last time she had heard them sing, it was as if they were telling her something.

**…If I were you…

…If I were you…**

'What?' She asked, forgetting her voice was lost. Still that didn't stop her from pressing the question. 'What? What are you…'

**…I'd promise to live life for all it's worth.
Take all that you've been given and leave your mark upon the earth.
Trust your heart to show you everything you'll ever need.
And if I were you…**

The choir trailed off. Kagome found it confusing. She didn't understand how she could do such a thing if she was stuck where she was. There was a soft drumming noise thumping all around her. It was faint, but there was strength in its throbs. It was soothing. Then it faded into the abyss.

And the silence came again.

She thought about what the choir had sung. It was disheartening as she thought of the thing she would never do again. Her biggest mark, she felt, would have been the Shikon jewel. She would never be able to finish her journey.

Before Kagome could complete her thought the voices resonated again.

**…Funny, funny how time goes by
And blessings are missed in the wink of an eye…**

'I've heard those lines before,' she thought. 'But…'

"Kagome," a muffled voice called to her from far away.

She recognized it immediately. She tried to call out to him, but her voice was still gone. She hollered with all she had to make the slightest echo in the world of darkness, but her efforts were in vain. She couldn't do anything to better her situation. Her fate was set.

The vocals continued all around her, and through them she heard him faintly call her name once more.

**…Goodbye

No use leading with our chins

This is where our story ends…**

'No!' She cried out.

Soon she became enraged. She didn't like being confined the way she was. If that was the way she was to spend her eternity, she wasn't about to face it now. His voice called her name. She could hear pain and anguish in his cry. She wanted to comfort his hurt. She wanted to be there; to be with her friends. She wanted to be alive.

Just as that thought filled her essence, a bright light flared among the darkness. It was blinding at first and the distance was quiet far, but it was splendor to see. Then Kagome felt something pull her towards a light. She did her best to fight for control over what was pulling her into the light. She didn't want to go. The power of what held her was overwhelming. No matter how much she tried to fight it, she couldn't get herself to break free.

She could feel something warm flowing alongside her face.

'My face!' She thought to herself. 'I can feel my face.'

It was a chain reaction. One by one she could began to regain feeling in her entire body. It started with her face and it worked its way down, all the way to her toes. There was a dull soreness in her upper back and the rest of her was a little numb with fatigue, but those were the best feelings she had ever felt.

'The light?' She pondered. 'It's getting brighter.'

As she got closer to the source, she began to see some silhouettes. They appeared to be the outlines of people. She tried to focus on the faces, but the light was too much. It made everything distorted.

The force that had began to pull her towards the light had released its grip on her. She could feel its momentum taking her more into the light and closer to the faces. She was almost there. She wanted to be there. She wanted to be where the light was.

"Kagome," a voice whispered, faintly. "No!"

'What?!' She tried to call out, but she found herself shy of her voice. Everything else had returned to her, but her voice.

She tried to call out with all her strength, but it did no good. Every word she 'spoke' came from the voice within her mind. It also seemed to take the energy out of her. It slowed her thrust to get to where she wanted to be. Soon she felt herself fall back; back into the darkness.

"No!" The voice echoed.

The light began to lose it's intensity.

"No!" She finally called out. "I don't want to go back! I'm alive!"

She felt something or someone from behind her shove her back into the light. The silhouettes were no longer in shadow. Their features were a bit hazy, but much more clear than before.

"Kagome!" A child's voice squealed in delight.

Her eyes hadn't completely adjust when she felt something wrap itself around her neck.

"Huh?" She felt disoriented. "Where?"

"Shippou," Kagome's ears picked up an old woman's voice. "Be careful. She's still weak."

The veil that obscured Kagome's vision had lifted. Her eyes had caught sight of a little boy with a light brown tail and big smile sitting next to her.

"Shippou," she whispered softly.

Off to her left, she saw an elderly woman with a patch over her eye.

"Kaede," she spoke in the same tone. "Where?"

"You're in my hut," she answered kindly. "Shh. Try not to use too much of your energy. You need your rest."

"How?" Kagome continued.

"Rest first," the old woman dabbed her sweat covered forehead with a cloth. "We'll talk more later."

"But-" She tried.

"Enough," she insisted. "Later. We're just glad to have you back."

"Me too," she took in a deep breath. She could feel her body become heavy. She had to admit to herself that she felt exhausted.

"Inuyasha?" She glanced around, only seeing Shippou and Kaede.

Kaede didn't answer. She gave her the knowing look. She had already told her she would talk to her later. With that Kagome closed her eyes and whispered a small prayer to herself.

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Kagome awoke to the sounds of the small fire crackling in the hut. She slowly moved her head to look around. She saw Shippou asleep just a few feet away from her. On the other side of the fire, the gentle sounds of snoring could be heard from Miroku. Kaede was asleep a few feet away from her to the left.

She found herself wrapped up warmly in her sleeping bag. When she tried to sit up, she was hit with a dull pain on her left arm. She glanced down to find her arm in a sling. Kagome lay in her sleeping bag for a few minutes, trying to go back to sleep. But having slept quite a bit, she found it difficult. She couldn't allow herself to just lay in the hut and not sleep. She had to get up.

She knew she would hear protests to getting up and moving, so she sat up as quietly as possible. She moved slowly to keep her left arm from hurting. She gently pulled out the blanket within her sleeping bag and wrapped it around her. She crept towards the door and stepped out into the chilly night.

Kagome stood before the entrance of the hut. She gazed up at the sky. It was a clear night. The stars danced and shimmered all around the crescent moon. It was in it's first quarter.

She turned her attention to the village around her. The light of the moon illuminated the sleepy village. Her eyes traveled all around. There was no sign of life. Everyone was tucked away for the night. They were all enjoying a good sleep.

Her eyes fell upon a familiar tree in the distance. She remembered seeing it for the first time. It was the first time she had laid eyes on him; the first time she had played with his ears. It had been some time since she had touched them. Even now, she could still feel it's soft texture.

Her thoughts moved through her past; their past. She remembered the golden spheres that glared right back at her. In the beginning, they were cold, as were the words that came from him. But after some time, there was a change. He was more gentle, though he tried to remain cold. She could see right through it.

She sighed thinking of him, 'Where..'

She shook her head and made her short trek to the tree. She didn't get too far from Kaede's hut when she was stopped by the small twinge in her left arm. She used her right hand to gently rub the pressure point.

"It's the chill in the air," a voice spoke softly behind her. "That's why it's aching."

She turned around to see Miroku walking up to her.

"I figured that," she answered in a tone, just above a whisper. "What are you doing up?"

"The late hour is a good time to collect my thoughts," he joined her side. "That and a young woman is venturing off in the late night, alone, without protection."

"I'm sorry," she frowned. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"No apologies necessary," he grinned mischievously. "It's my pleasure."

She smiled at his gesture.

A silence fell between them. She had wanted to ask him the moment he had made his presence known. The question plagued her mind since she came to consciousness. She had tried to ask, but could not get an answer. They insisted that she get some rest.

Kagome studied his dark eyes in moonlight, before turning away. Once again, her gaze fell upon the familiar tree.

Miroku followed her eyes, "He's not here."

"I figured that much," she sighed, not taking her eyes off the tree.

The monk cleared his throat, careful to choose the right words, "He…There was a shard…He had to go…"

"It's okay Miroku," she closed her eyes, trying to fight the small moisture from building.

"He brought you here," he continued. "And…well…never mind."

"I told you," she turned back to the young monk. "It's okay."

"I need your help," she went on.

"Certainly," he nodded his head.

"I need you to grab my things for me," she looked back at the hut.


"Yes?" he awaited her to finish.

"I'm gonna go back to home," she took a deep breath, then exhaled her last thought. "Tonight."

"So soon?" He looked at her troubled. "Your wounds have not fully healed."

"I know," she rubbed her arm once more. "But I need to be home. I need to be in my own bed. I think it'll help me heal faster."

He took her right hand, "I'm sure he'll-"

"I want to go home," she stopped him.

He sighed in resignation, "If you insist."

"Thank you," she forced a smile.

Miroku didn't push any further. He just made his way back to the hut. He thought of the events that lead up to that moment. He sighed inwardly as he thought of the two of them. He silently prayed for the best.

As he quietly stepped into the hut, his thoughts were interrupted by the elder woman sitting up on the other side of the fire.


He jumped in surprise, "Lady Kaede."

"Aye," she stared into his face.

He held her gaze, knowing what was on her mind.

"She appears to be fine," he moved further into the domicile.

"Perhaps it's too soon," she spoke softly.

"It's been three days," he walked over to Kagome's things. "Maybe we are jumping ahead of ourselves."

"I hope you are correct," she watched him pack her things. "And?"

"No sign," Miroku didn't look back and paused before finishing. "She wants to go back."

Kaede stood and reached for a small pouch in the corner, "I assumed she would." She walked over to the monk and handed it to him, "Here. I've made this. Tell her to take it with hot water before she goes to bed."

Miroku eyed her carefully, "Oh?"

"It'll help speed her healing," she placed it in his open hand.

He sealed her bag and headed outside to see Kagome standing in the same spot. Though she remained still, he knew her eyes were moving all about. They were observing the stillness of the night, through the breeze. They were searching. He saw her shoulders drop in disappointment. His heart grew heavy for her. He glanced down at the bag once more. He thought of the two, and again, his prayer went out for them; for her.