"Kagome, how's your arm?" The delicate little kitsune asked, seating himself next to her. She ran her fingers across the tight bandage on her forearm and winced at the sting it left.

"It's fine. I'll be better in no time." Her words faded lower as she laid a hand on the trembling hanyou in front of her.

"And InuYasha?" Sango questioned, entering the small hut. Kagome eyed the exterminator and the monk falling in behind her as memories flooded her troubled mind. She tried to smile as her shaky words drifted out.

"His...um...fever has come down and the wounds are beginning to heal. He just needs some well deserved rest. I think he'll be fine."

"He always is." Miroku reassured, taking a seat next to the old village priestess. A smile curved onto the young miko's weary features. Her friends. She sighed heavily, recalling the adventures they had encountered over the past two years and now...it was over. Their mission was done. Their journey ending. What now? She could stay, but what of her family? She intently gazed at InuYasha as a moan passed over his dry lips. What about him? Her heart throbbed in pain with the mere thought of leaving him.

"He was almost purified."

"Huh?" Kagome turned with question filled eyes to the old woman now kneeling next to the hanyou.

"The spirit shield...he was almost purified. That is why his wounds are taking so long to heal. It drained him of the last ounce of strength he had." Kaede spoke with such wisdom, that which comes with growing older. The miko nodded in understanding, pressing a cold rag to his forehead. Kaede watched her in both awe and sympathy. "What ales ye, child?" Kagome flinched at the question and tried to brush it off. "Kagome..."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Please, do not lie to me. I know ye well enough to see that ye are troubled."

"I don't...I just don't want it to be over." The young girl sobbed, placing her hands on her knees and lowering her head. Her strangled words snatched the attention of everyone in the room, including the seemingly unconscious hanyou. "I've gotten used to having you all in my life. You have taught me so much. You all have shown me friendship..." She gently placed a hand on the exterminator's shoulder, "...wisdom..." She turned to the old priestess, "...compassion..." She kneeled to gather the fox child in her arms, "...self defense..." She smirked at the perverted
monk, "...and...love..." She gingerly place her fingers on the hanyou's cheek, feeling him flinch at her touch. "You guys have become a habit."

"One that you'll have to break." InuYasha pushed himself to sit, clutching his abdomen to subdue the pain before it overtook him. His golden eyes traveled around the room, stopping for mere heartbeats on each of his friends. Yes, his friends. Him, a hanyou. An outcast. One that was destined to be alone. A fear in the eyes of humans, a weakening in the bloodline of demons. For once, he was glad not to be alone. He hadn't been since she stumbled into his life. Kagome. That girl was his life. A figure that forever would be etched into his heart. She alone had brought down every defensive wall that he had built throughout his dark life. But now, it was over. She would leave. As beautifully as she had came, she would go. "Kagome, come with me." He clutched the wall and slowly pulled himself to stand.

"InuYasha!" Kagome was instantly at his side, pleading with him to stay still. He satisfied her concerns, leaning on her for support as they inched outside. Her companions watched in sorrow, knowing he would return...alone. InuYasha walked slowly with Kagome at his side, hoping that the closer they got, the further away the well would be. He didn't want her to go, but he knew it would be for the best. She had her family, her friends, her 'tests'. That was the time she was meant to reside in. As the beat-up, wooden passage came into view, he felt his chest tighten and his stomach wrench. Kagome stopped abruptly a few feet from her departure point, ceasing the hanyou next to her. She turned to face him, uncertainty echoing through her chocolate eyes. InuYasha dropped his head, fighting back the tears he refused to let fall. He had only cried in front of her once, and that weakness was to remain hidden from her at this point. It would only make it harder...

"InuYasha..." Her voice was a whisper, barely audible to even the delicate senses of the hanyou. He brought his eyes back up to meet her own tear filled orbs. His heart skipped a beat as she brought the jewel from her pocket. "This is it..." Her trembling hand brought up the three remaining shards. She wanted to throw them...to break the jewel again, so that she could stay. Stay with her friends...with him. Putting her thoughts aside, she raised the jewel and pressed the shards firmly against it. A bright, illuminating light erupted, sending shockwaves through the pair almost knocking them down. It was done. The light faded, leaving one complete jewel in the small hand of a young schoolgirl. She raised her head, searching him for any kind of reassurance. She found none. His trembling, unsteady hands clamped onto her waist as he sat her on the edge of the well, his mouth not cooperating with the words that ran throughout his mind.

"Kagome, I..."

"Don't say it. Please, give me that much. Leave me with some hope that maybe one day I'll see you again. Don't say goodbye." The tears that had engulfed her eyes now flowed freely, drowning her pale cheeks as the rain began to fall. He nodded in compliance, keeping his eyes
lowered to her lap. She gently moved his hand and reached in her pocket. Pulling out a red handkerchief, she pressed it to her lips and then to his, feeling his entire body shake behind her small hand. This was it, she'd never see him again. Stroking the side of his face, she smiled and placed the handkerchief in his clawed hand. He leaned into her touch as it pulled away. He watched her fade from sight, drowning in a blue light that would carry her through time...back home. Where she belonged. He let a single tear fall as he opened the cloth in his hand. Inside laid the jewel and a small, folded piece of paper.

"She's really gone, isn't she?"

InuYasha turned, the rain soaking him, to see his friends gingerly approaching. He nodded with the best smile he could offer. All heads lowered in unison, feeling a sense of loss.

"Sango..."

The exterminator raised her head to the source of the shaky voice. InuYasha handed her the paper, his eyes silently pleading with her to read. She reluctantly took hold of the folded note, turning as Miroku nodded. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she opened the small paper and
squinted past the rain in front of her...

InuYasha,

If you are reading this, it means that I am probably gone. I wanted you to know that I will always remember, but promise that you and the others won't forget me. Please, remember I was always true and how I always tried. I want you to remember that I loved only you. Remember me and smile. I would rather you forget than remember me and cry.

Love Always,

Kagome

InuYasha's heart began to ache with each beat. She loved him. She really had loved him. He turned from his friends and scampered away as best he could into a tree. Placing the jewel in his pocket, he tied the handkerchief around his belt. What could he have given her if she stayed? A life full of fear...running from demons that disapproved of their relationship. Lowering his head, he let another tear fall, mixing silently with the rain. 'Kagome...'

Kagome embraced herself as she glided silently from the well house. A promise. She had made a promise to return when it was over. To return to her family. To her school... She turned with tearful eyes as her grandfather placed sutras on the wellhouse door. Her mother ran from the house with a look of obvious worry.

"Kagome, you're home! Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine, mom." She painfully smiled and stepped into her mother's embrace. The wounds on the outside would heal long before those digging at her from within. "I'm home, mama,...for good."