Hello!  Here's another chapter, may or may not be the last one, not sure yet.

hanyou-elf, Inu's Wife, Talek, LotusStar, and Kikyo!: Thanks to you all for reading, I'm glad that you've enjoyed the story!

Kohaku27: Thanks for your comment.  I'm watching subtitled Inuyasha, the last episode I watched was 140.  If you have any other questions, please let me know! :)

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are the property of their respective owners.  This piece is not for profitable purposes.

Chapter 3: By the Well

Wanting to avoid his glance, Kagome looks downward at the ground as she says, "I – I didn't expect to see you here."

He remains silent for a moment before answering in a tone quieter than his usual, "You must have hated it here all along, leaving like this."

She lifts her head quickly and shakes her head no as she answers, her voice raised, "That's not true, not at all.  A lot of things happened along the way, but I was happy to be amongst friends, journeying together."

He looks away from her in the direction of the Goshinboku and answers, "It has to be then that I drove you away, all the times that I've hurt you because of my feelings for Kikyo."

She moves towards him and rests her hand against his arm. 

He turns his face back towards hers and she looks into his eyes as she says, "I'm not of this place, Inuyasha.  My family, my classmates – my future, are on the other side of that well.  I was just here because of a twist of fate and a string of events.  I've finished what I came to do, the shikon no tama no longer exists here or anywhere.  It's time for me to return and continue my life as it was before.  And you, Inuyasha, where we are now, this is your world, where you have always lived.  How could you leave here after the promise that you made with her to protect her?  Even though she's gone, this is where she had once lived, where you shared time together not so long ago.  Your staying here keeps that alive." 

With a pained look in his eyes, he says, "I failed Kikyo over and over, not keeping the promises I made to her.  I didn't fully trust her on that day, and I let her face Naraku alone.  I couldn't even return her remains to where they had been laid to rest."

Saddened but accepting, she removes her hand from his arm and places it on the rim of the well.

"You understand, don't you, Inuyasha?  I know you don't want to fail her anymore and believe you know in your heart that you should remain here."

She places her other hand and right foot on the rim of the well and then looks to him with a smile.

"Thank you, Inuyasha, for letting me travel with you, it has meant so much to me.  More than anything else, seeing, walking, arguing, celebrating - everything with you - will be what I'll miss the most.  I wish you all the best in the world."

Choking back the tears that she know will flow endlessly once she leaves and seals the well, she moves forward, about to jump, when she feels his hand against her left arm.

Startled, she stops and looks back at him, surprised to see the determined expression in his eyes.

"I won't let it end like this."

"Inuyasha."

"It's true, I couldn't do for Kikyo what I promised, I hurt one I cared about.  That's not going to happen anymore.  I won't fail the one most important to me."

"I, I knew you'd understand."

"You're wrong."

Confused, she moves so she is standing next to the well once more, her right hand still on the rim.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?"

To her shock, he steps forward and embraces her tightly.

"Why haven't I been clear?  I've never told you that you are the most important to me."

Hearing these words, Kagome's resolve melts away and she moves both her arms to return his embrace as tears begin to stream down her face.  They remain silent in each other's arms for a few moments in time, finally freeing their feelings from where they had been held deep inside.

They loosen their embrace but remain holding each other's hands and smile to each other.  Inuyasha takes one hand and uses it to carefully wipe away her tears before returning it to her hand.

"I don't want us to be apart ever again, Kagome.  I'm coming with you wherever you go."

"Inuyasha," she says before embracing him once more.

"I'll stay ever with you."

"That is my greatest wish."

He moves from her embrace and, to her surprise, picks her up and grins as he says, "We don't need the shikon no tama to grant that one."

She smiles in return as he jumps with her into the well – into their future.