Disclaimer - It's not mine. Even though I wish it was.

The next morning, as the sliver of the moon set into the western lands and the night's stars began to fade, Kagome awoke in the secure embrace of the wolf prince. She had slept fitfully, never actually succumbing to the tempting void of sleep. She yawned and opened her eyes to look around. It was still dark outside and the dying embers of the banked fire cast odd shadows onto the walls of the cave. She craned her head and looked through the opening of the cave. The sky was awash with the mirage of pinks, oranges, and yellows as the sun began its ascent into the morning sky.

She watched through the entrance as the sun rose higher into the morning sky. Beside her, Kouga was beginning to stir. She turned over and tried to give him more room on the sleeping furs, but gasped when he unconsciously pulled her closer to him. He started mumbling and Kagome strained to hear what he was saying.

"Baka….hanyou….hurt….miko…kill…..dog…Kagome." he mumbled. Kagome shook her head. Apparently, even Kouga's dreams had been plagued by Inuyasha. She felt his grip on her tighten once again and she squirmed as the hold became painful. She tried to pull his arm away from her, but as soon as she touched his arm, Kouga's eyes shot open. 'So much for not waking him up.' she thought dryly.

"Lady Kagome?" he asked quietly, loosening his death grip on her waist. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, I'm up, Kouga." she said, staring into the morning light.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked cautiously.

"I'll tell you when I get fully awake." she said with a grin. She climbed out of the make-shift bed and stretched into the cooler morning air. Kouga grimaced when she left his side. He watched her stretch as the morning sunlight streamed in through the opening.

The light cast an ethereal glow around her, making her appear to be an angel from heaven. He had to fight his urge to jump up and bring her closer to him once again. She still wore the clothing Keiko had lent her, and that made him even happier. In his opinion, the skins that had been used to make the clothing made her look like some woodland goddess.

He smiled when his sensitive ears caught a low rumbling sound. He seen Kagome put her hand on her abdomen and frown.

"Hungry, Kagome?" he asked teasingly, nodding towards her stomach.

"Yeah, a little." she said sheepishly. "I haven't eaten much since yesterday and I think it's starting to catch up with me." Kouga smiled. He had noticed that she hadn't eaten much before they had left the cave, but refrained from pointing it out.

"How about I go catch us something for breakfast?" he asked. Kagome's stomach growled again and she blushed. "I'll take that as a 'yes'" he said with a grin.

"Don't forget, Kouga." she said quietly. "I need to be back to the well early." He smiled and walked to the entrance.

"We'll have time." he said. "It is still early morning yet." Kagome grinned and he left the cave. He took off into the air and frowned. 'But my first priority at the moment is to find out where that bastard hanyou is.'

As Kouga flew off, Kagome walked out of the cave and looked around. She smiled in recognition, remembering that she and the others had camped nearby a few weeks ago. It was a point that was about halfway between Kaede's village and Kouga's main cave.

"Might as well do something constructive." she said to no one in particular. She grabbed a small container near the entrance and walked East of the cave to where a small natural spring was running. As she walked, her mind drifted to her friends.

'I can't seal the well.' she thought. 'Even though he done this to me, Sango and the others have always stuck by me. I don't want to leave them.' She put the container on her shoulder and began to walk back to the cave after filling it with some fresh water. 'But if I don't seal it, Inuyasha will just come after me and make things worse.' She shook her head and sighed. 'Oh, Kami, what am I going to do?' It was still early and she was sure the hanyou was still peacefully sleeping. 'Humph! Glad he is!' she thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Kouga was flying over the forest, searching for Inuyasha. He flew over the spot were the tryst had taken place the night before and let out a growl

He could still smell them.

He settled silently into the same tree as he and Kagome had been in the night before and waited. About ten minutes later, Inuyasha and Kikyou emerged from the surrounding tree. They were hand in hand and Kouga noticed that their hair was hanging limply down their backs. 'Must have just came from the spring.' he thought. He listened carefully to what they were saying, trying to find out what the hanyou's plans were.

"… don't want you to go back to her." Kikyou said with a frown. "You said you wouldn't leave me again, Inuyasha." Inuyasha took the girl in his arms and hugged her.

"This is the last time, love." he said soothingly. "If I don't show up, she will think something is wrong."

"But why can't you stay here, with me?" the miko asked again. "All that girl does is push us apart." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hush, Kikyou." he said gently. "Kagome won't be coming back to this era after tonight. I'm making sure of that."

"What are you going to do to keep her away?" Kikyou asked. "You don't have the power to seal the well." Inuyasha smirked and kissed the miko.

"I won't have to seal the well to keep her away from us." he said. "When I get finished, she'll be to scared to come back." he pushed her limp hair out of her face and looked down at her. Kikyou smiled in agreement.

"Do whatever you have to." she said softly. "Just get rid of her."


"Don't worry, love." Inuyasha said. "She won't be back." Kouga couldn't believe his ears. It sounded like the stupid hanyou was about to attempt murder. 'Then again, he threatened Shippou's family, so I wouldn't put it past him.' He growled at the hanyou and tried to leave as inconspicuously as he had come. Unfortunately, his anger had clouded his mind and he rustled the leaves on the branches. He looked quickly towards the hanyou and shook his head.

Inuyasha had quickly taken a battle stance, placing himself in between Kikyou and the tree. The hanyou sniffed the air and frowned, letting a growl go.

"Kouga!" he yelled as the smell became recognizable. "Show your face. I know you're here. I can smell your stench all over the place." Kouga frowned and shook his head. He'd forgotten to mask his scent from the half-youkai and he'd been caught. "Get out here Kouga! Or have you lost your nerve!!??" Kouga growled and dropped down out of the tree and faced the half dog demon.

"Dogface." he said coolly, masking his obvious hatred for the demon. "What are you doing here?" He leaned up against the tree and smirked. "Shouldn't you be back in Kaede's village, doing something constructive?"

"What I'm doing here is absolutely none…of...your…business." the hanyou said slowly, sniffing the air. Kouga frowned, remembering that Kagome's scent was covering him at the moment. 'Shit, how much worse can this get?' he thought.

"You know what, dogface," he said simply. "For once, you're right. I don't want to know what you and your sorry excuse for a mate have been doing. So, I'll be seeing you around." He turned to leave and get away before the stupid half youkai could put two and two together.

WHACK!!

Kouga spun around and found Inuyasha's sword about two millimeters from his own face, embedded into the bark of the tree. He looked over at the dog-demon and frowned.

"Got a problem, dog turd?" he asked cockily.

"You smell like Kagome." he stated in a deadly whisper. "Where is she? But more importantly, what's she doing with YOU?!!" Kouga shook his head and frowned.

"Aren't you a little preoccupied at the moment?" Kouga retorted. "I think the miko bitch is getting a little lonely over there without you being within rutting range of her." Inuyasha growled and pulled the sword out of the tree. He glanced back at Kikyou, who was watching the wolf demon with a piercing, ice cold glare.

"Watch your mouth, wimpy wolf." Inuyasha growled. He looked back at Kikyou and jerked his head into the woods. "Kikyou, go into the forest and wait for me. I've got some business to take care of right now."

"But, Inuyasha…"

"Now, Kikyou. Go!" he barked. The girl glared at the wolf demon and shook her head. She turned around and walked into the forest. When she was safely out of sight, Inuyasha turned on the wolf again. "Where is she, wolf?"

"Uh, Kikyou just left, dog-turd." he said sarcastically. "Want me to go get her?" Inuyasha growled and made for the youkai. Kouga dodged the halfhearted attack and stepped to the side.

"Where's Kagome?" he barked again.

"How should I know?" Kouga said through clenched teeth. "I haven't seen her since that evening I came to thank her for bringing the pack back."

"You lie!" Inuyasha shouted. He unsheathed Tetsusaiga once again and swung the blade in a wide arc towards the wolf prince. "HER SMELL IS ALL OVER YOU!!!!! WHERE IS SHE??!!!!" Kouga got out of the angry hanyou's way.

"I haven't seen the girl." Kouga stated simply. "If anyone should know where she's at, I figured you would. However, it seems as though you've been a bit preoccupied with the dead miko bitch to pay much attention." Inuyasha growled at the mention of Kikyou and pulled the sword into a defensive position.

"Leave Kikyou out of this." he said fiercely. "She's got nothing to do with this."

"I'm afraid Kikyou has everything to do with this." Kouga said pointedly.

"What?"

"Nothing, dog turd." Kouga answered quickly. He glared at the hanyou and lifted himself up into the air. "I'll be catching you later, dog face." Inuyasha watched as the wolf prince took off into the sky. He sheathed the sword and smelled the air carefully. Kagome's scent was still apparent. He growled and quickly decided to make it to Kagome's time before night fall. He wanted to find out what was going on. He went in search of Kikyou quickly, ready to tell her the change in his plans.

Kouga flew as fast as he possibly could back to the cave where he had left Kagome. He landed down beside her and quickly swept her up into his arms and took off again. Kagome shook her head as the change in altitude made her dizzy.

"Kouga! Wha…What's going on? What's wrong?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Dog-face caught me in the forest." he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, no." Kagome said, realizing what the hanyou had not.

"He smelled you on me, and I'll bet he's on his way back to the well right now to see if you're home."

"Kouga." she said quickly. "We've got to get back to the well before he does." Kouga nodded, but it suddenly hit him as to why Kagome was in such of a hurry to get back to her time. He continued to fly as fast as he could until he reached the well. He sniffed the air and grinned. They had beat the hanyou here. He sat Kagome down and frowned.

"Is this good-bye, Kagome?" he asked sullenly as the girl he loved pulled away from him once more. Kagome smiled softly and shook her head.

"No, Kouga." she said, hugging him. "It's not good-bye. I will be back soon. There are just some things that I need to take care of concerning Inuyasha."

"When will you be coming back?" he asked, looking at her with eager eyes. Kagome sighed and looked back towards the cave they had left.

"Look for me in two weeks." she said. "I'll be back two weeks from tonight." The wolf prince nodded and hugged the miko back. He really did not want her to go, but….. She had to do what she had to do.

"Watch out for that bastard hanyou tonight." he said gently. Kagome smiled and shook her head.

"He won't be coming to me." she said. "I'm going to seal the well so he can't get through to me."

"But…."

"But I'll be able to get back through." she said. "I'm not a miko for nothing, after all. If you need anything between now and the time I get back, drop me a note in the well like you did before. I'll be sure to check the well house every day or so." Kouga nodded and watched as she walked up to the edge.

"Take care, Lady Kagome." he said. His ears perked up and he snarled.

The hanyou was coming.

"Hurry, Lady." he said. "The hanyou is coming." Kagome nodded and waved goodbye to the wolf prince. She smiled and jumped into the well. Kouga watched her disappear into the darkness and sighed. 'She will come back.' he thought. 'She will come back to me.' He caught the angry scent of Inuyasha again and masked his smell around the well before disappearing into a cloud of dust. 'Stupid hanyou doesn't know what he's screwed up!' he thought angrily as he let the wind carry him away from the well.

As Kagome fell through the well, the familiar blue lights began to engulf her body and her senses. She was floating in the midst of the stars, waiting for her trip to be over with. Instead of relaxing and waiting for the trip to end, she focused her energy on one primary thought.

'Keeper of Time, I, Kagome Higurashi, Keeper of the Shikon no Tama, beg you to forbid the hanyou Inuyasha to transverse between our times as before. He has disgraced the name of human and demon alike. I beg of you, forbid him passage through your portals.

She opened her eyes and stared, the normal blue that had surrounded her had turned to a dark pink power. The colors began to swirl around her and pulsate with the familiar power of the Shikon no Tama. She felt her head begin to ache and something begin to pierce its way through to her conscience. Suddenly, her mind was clouded with the sight of the same old man that had warned her against the wish on the jewel. She blinked and looked at the old man with a shocked expression on her face. The old man only turned to her and nodded gravely.

Mistress of the Jewel, I will grant your wish. The hanyou Inuyasha will never again pass through the well. He has disgraced and dishonored his name, and yours also. He will not pass through my realms again. Kagome smiled.

"Thank you, Keeper." she said in a warm voice. The man bowed his head and disappeared from sight. She relaxed her body and waited for the feeling of home to envelope her as she passed into the modern era.

Inuyasha stopped right in front of the Bone Eater's well. He sniffed the air and frowned. Kagome's scent was strong, like she had just left. He searched around the well for a few moments before he decided to jump in and see if the miko was actually home, or if she had been making unscheduled trips back to the Warring States. He jumped into the well, waiting for the blue lights of the portal to swallow him up.

He looked around, waiting to see the soft blue lights that guided him to the other side. Cool air whizzed by him, and he could smell damp earth below him.

Something was not right.

And as soon as his face come in contact with the hard ground at the bottom of the well, he figured out what it was.

He could not get through the well to the modern era……or Kagome.

A/N - Hello again everyone. How's ya'll doing? How'd the chapter go? Leave me a review telling me what I messed up and I'll give you a lollipop. Okay, I'm gone now. I've got another wonderful class to go to. Later, peeps.