Disclaimer: Do you honestly think that I own Inuyasha and any of it's caracters? Really?

Chapter 1 : What was it you wanted?

Kagome sat under the goshinboku gazing absently at the sky and letting her mind drift. Ever since the defeat of Naraku and her "official" return to the present, she found herself spending more and more time in this place. Her mother had told her once before that there was some sort of aura emanating from the tree that calmed the soul and cleared the mind. While it was true that she felt at peace sitting there, she knew in her heart that that wasn't the only reason for her seeking this place. It was the one place in her time where she could feel him and sense his presence.

"Inuyasha…" she said longingly.

She had thought that the end of their ordeal would bring everyone closer together and indeed Miroku and Sango had tied the knot, but for her and Inuyasha things were a bit different. He had closed himself up completely and the best she could manage to get out of him when she managed to corner him was his traditional "Feh!".

She had thought then that the hanyou was avoiding her. Most of the time, she could barely get a glimpse of him. Yet, as much as he would seem to flee her company, he never seemed to be far away either. When she walked in the woods alone, she sometimes could catch a glimpse of silver out of the corner of her eyes. She knew then that he was close by, watching over her. However, two nights ago, something happened that made her believe that he was holding something back from her.

---Flashback---

The day had been long and tiresome. Working with Kaede in the herb garden was never easy work. However, she really loved to do it. Plunging her hands in the soft soil to extract the plants needed for healing was a sensation that she really liked. She also loved all the different fragrances these herbs had. It was all in all a very stimulating experience. It was also very interesting to learn about their different uses.

"This one is good to help prevent infection while this one will help settle an upset stomach and this one…"

It had gone on for hours, Kaede explaining to her the effect the plants had and how to make different remedy. Some other would have found it boring, yet she could simply not get tired of listening to the old woman. Her knowledge of the art of healing was incredible and one could simply not do anything but admire her for it.

"This is so much more interesting than math, and much more useful to." she thought ruefully after her "lessons". Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift, imagining herself in a miko outfit applying an ointment to a bruised knee or prescribing a specific herbal mix for a particular illness. She couldn't suppress a gasp when she realised what exactly her mind was implying. She looked at her hands then, dirty from a day of working in the garden and flexed her finger as if testing them.

"You know I could… I really could do this.." she whispered. The realisation that she could envision her future more clearly 500 years in the past then in her own time was so astounding that it took her a minute to realise that Kaede was speaking to her. "W...What was that Kaede?" she asked a bit embarassed that she hadn't been paying attention to the old miko.

"I said are ye alright Kagome, ye look like something important just came crashing on ye."

"I'm alright, thank you Kaede, it's just that…" she hesitated then, not sure herself if this was just a fluke or if her heart really did belong here. She finally decided to ask the miko some advice about it. "Well… you see I found that today was really fun, working in the garden and learning a bit about the art of healing. And then I let my mind drift and I pictured myself administering different infusions and ointments to people. So I realized that I could see my future more clearly here than in my own time. But still, I'm not sure if this is really the right thing to do."

"Well it is indeed a big decision to make. Of course if ye do decide to stay, everyone will welcome ye with open arms, but no one will think any less of ye should ye choose the other option. Though I do think that a certain hanyou would prefer if ye stayed."

"Yes, I think so to, but recently, all he seems to do is try to avoid me. I just wish he would open up to me." she said sadly.

"Do not worry child, he is currently struggling with his own heart, when he is ready he will come to ye, but until then, there is very little ye can do except wait and show him that ye are there for him."

"Thanks for your advice Kaede. I think I'll go to sleep now, today was really tiring." she said stiffling a yawn. Her conversation hadn't helped at all. If anything, she felt even more confused now. Bringing Inuyasha in the picture had definitively not been a good idea on Kaede's part. Or had it been? Now that she thought about it, her choice depended greatly on Inuyasha's feelings for her. "She's really too sharp for her own good." shethought before sleep overtook her.

She didn't know how long she had slept, but it was still night. She was dead tired and longed more than anything to go back to her slumber, but something woke her up. She wasn't sure exactly what it was though. She was sleeping near the far wall, facing the door. So when she cracked an eye open, she simply could not miss the shape outlined by the moon standing a few paces away from her. It was him, Inuyasha. He was there, his silver hair shining brightly, his dog ears were drooped slightly as if he was afraid. As her gaze locked with his, she could see a whirlwind of emotions in his eyes. Almost like he was in a trance, he started to bring his hand closer to her face. His trembling fingers were a mere inch from their destination when he suddenly recoiled violently. He stood there for a few seconds, a look of horror in his eyes. He looked like someone who had been about to commit some unspeakable crime and had pulled out at the last second. Before she could do anything though he bolted out the door.

"Inuyasha, wait!" she cried, but by the time she was out of her sleeping bag and outside the hut, he was long gone. "What was that Inuyasha, what were you so afraid of?"

---End Flashback---

No matter how many times she played the scene in her head, she couldn't make any sense of it. At first, the hanyou had acted like he wanted desperately to touch her. "Not that I would have minded." mused Kagome. The simple thought of feeling his warm hand cupping her cheek was enough to send shivers of pleasure down her spine. But then he had pulled back, suddenly afraid of something. Scratch that, he hadn't been afraid, he had been positively terrified. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what had triggered this reaction.

"If only you could open up to me Inuyasha, what was it you wanted that night, what was it that you were afraid of?" she asked no one in particular. Her train of thought was interrupted when her mother called.

"Dinner's ready dear."

"Coming mom." she answered. With a sigh, she hoisted herself up in a standing position and headed inside to join her family.

Author's notes: Well that's it for the first chapter. Kaede's speech gave me a headache, so if anyone sees a mistake, please report it to me. I also TRIED to stay true to the original personnality of the caracters, but it's not an easy thing to do. So I ask you to bear with any deviation you might notice. Well I hope you enjoyed it, please Read and review.