Author's note:

I forgot to tell you that I managed to do not only one chapter but two and three is on the works.

And this is another re-edited chapter done by Fuwas of Fiction Editorial Board (keyword in yahoogroups dirctory: fictioneb)

Inuyasha decided to pick up Kagome from the present because he got tired from waiting for her to return.

Inuyasha jumped into the Bone-Eating Well and emerged on the other side. He found Kagome's yellow backpack resting on its side beside the well. He scratched his head in wonderment for if her things were here, it means that she's about to make the trip back.

He left the building and heard Kagome and the old geezer shouting somewhere inside the house. Scratching his face, he thought to himself, "The old geezer must have done something again to get Kagome riled up." With a smirk, he walked around the perimeter of the compound and was shocked when he saw Kagome through one of the windows enter the room, where a boy her age sat alone, and closed the door behind her. Since the window was made of glass, he couldn't overhear what was being said on the other side.

To avoid being seen, he climbed a nearby tree and watched as they talked. He nearly fell out of the tree when he saw Kagome reached out and cover the boy's hand with such a tender look on her face. They continued talking some more but Inuyasha's eyes never strayed from Kagome's hand on top of the stranger's.

Inuyasha continued watching, his heart constricting with pain. He suddenly felt relief when she finally lifted her hand from the boy's only to plunge haplessly to the depths of despair when Kagome smiled at the stranger.

Unable to continue watching Kagome with the stranger, he jumped down from the tree and retraced his steps back to the building housing the well when Souta spotted him.

"Inuyasha-ni-san, what are you doing here?" Souta asked excitedly falling in stride with Inuyasha. "Are you here to pick up my nee-chan?"

Inuyasha shook his head momentarily and faced Souta. "Me pick up your sister? Are you kidding me? I just thought that a shikon shard might have kept your sister here, but I see that that was not the case."

"You're right, no monster had shown up since that Noh mask but onee-chan had to take the high school entrance exam and she was cooped up in her room studying ever since she got back a week ago. Luckily, the tests were finally over and done with so she's going back to your world today." He brightened suddenly and continued, "Why don't you wait here while I go get her so you could go back together?"

Inuyasha remained aloof, unsure if he was ready to face Kagome just yet. "Nah. Don't bother. Your nee-san seemed to busy at the moment talking to some guy."

Souta put a finger on his chin and thought for a while. "Oh, you must be talking about Hojo-san. He left already but he looked much better now than he did when he arrived." He said more to himself.

Inuyasha cringed inwardly and with a quick goodbye, he left Souta looking at his retreating back more puzzled than ever.

Inuyasha went back to the forest and set up post in a tree over-looking the Bone-Eaters Well counting the minutes that passed before Kagome finally climbed out the well.

During that time, he couldn't do anything else, but revisit the scene in his mind; the intimacy of such a touch, the intimacy of such a look, the intimacy of such a smile, it was more than his sanity could bear.

By the time Kagome arrived, he had managed to work himself into a grouchy mood.

"Inuyasha, were you waiting for me all this time?" Kagome asked when she caught sight of him, her face lighting up with mixed surprise and delight at finding him there. "Gomen that it took me awhile to get here. A friend dropped by because..."

"Feh. As if I care. Come on, we got work to do." He snapped and jumped smoothly to the next tree.

Glossary:

Onii-san/nii-san – used to denote big brother

Onee-san/nee-chan – used to denote big sister

Gomen – sorry