Chapter One: The Past is Long Gone

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I would be his mate.

SSW

"I am sorry, Miko. That is one wish I cannot grant. You have to go back…" Have to go back… have to go back…

Tears escaped her eyes, cascading down her cheeks to pool together at her chin, dropping bit by bit to the concrete below her. A soft wind bellowed at her once beautiful hair, the leaves far above swaying with a sad tune.

Memories were a past existence that she was afraid of, yet, cherished with all her heart. She would never want to forget, never want to loose that love she still held so dear. Her friends, the love of her life, they were all gone now.

The same phrase haunted her mind, her dreams, her very existence.

Have to go back…

Those four little words had been a big change in her life, for the better, and for the worse. She was happy to be content in her new life. A full life. But it never really had been complete.

More tears fell. A snob escaped her, coming back with full force as she starred at the Goshinboku. Just as it had always been, in her far past, in her near past, and in the present. Summers and winters came and gone; and still, nothing changed about the great tree.

His face was the same, smooth, innocent, angled perfectly on his broad shoulders. His hair just as long as ever, shinning an even brighter sliver in the moonlight. The slight breeze stirring the air, his fir-rat kimono shifting, making him almost seem alive. Yet, he remained asleep, pinned to the Goshinboku for over 500 years, waiting.

"Inu… yasha," she whispered, more tears springing to her eyes. She wiped away the reminder of her tears and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. With a sigh, and an ache in her heart, she looked back at his sleeping form. "I'm still waiting for you." Her voice trailed off, hoping, with all hope, that he would open his eyes and see her.

But he did not.

"Grandmother!" a young voice rang out, interrupting Kagome's thoughts.

The old woman turned away with a forced smile on her face as she watched her 15-year old granddaughter race across the courtyard toward her.

Kagome nodded as the youth approached, and together, both turned to look at the sleeping form that hung on the tree. There was silence. Kagome's smile held as she wrapped an old arm around her granddaughter's shoulder.

"Yumiko…" Kagome once again trailed off, happy to see her.

"Grandfather's been there a long time, hasn't he, Grandmother?"

Kagome's smile faded as she looked down at her grandchild. Her features were exactly like her father's, and his father before that, with the exception of the hair color. Yumiko sported a midnight color in her locks, deeper then Kagome's had ever been. Her hair was long like her grandfather's, which she usually kept pulled up into a ponytail, just behind her dog-like ears. At the moment her ears were visible, twitching at the slightest sound around them. Her face held the same innocence Kagome had once had all those years ago. She was a bright child, tending to school and her duties as priestess of the Higurashi Shrine. Even as a hanyou, the girl had developed some of the same miko powers Kagome had once been able to use.

Kagome hugged Yumiko. "Over 500 years, Yumiko," she answered the young girl's question. "It feels like it's been forever."

Yumiko nodded, sad for her grandmother. "Do you think he'll ever awaken?"

Kagome shook her head, eyes closed. She took a pause before saying that last thing she ever wanted to hear herself announce. "Probably not. It's been so long already, and I've tried everything. Inuyasha is destined to guard this shrine with his soul."

"It'll be alright. I'm sure you'll see him again." Yumiko gave her an encouraging smile.

Kagome nodded. "Maybe in the next life…" When someone finds a way to break the seal.

Admit it Kagome, she thought to herself, looking down at her withered old hands. You wouldn't want Inuyasha to see to you like this. To him, it would be like he just woke up the next day. But for me, I'd be 50 years older then when he last saw me. I'm not the girl he once knew.

Looking down at her hands, then at Yumiko, Kagome wished nothing more then to be young again, to travel again, and to be with Inuyasha once more.

"What do you mean go back!?" Inuyasha shouted, his fist balled at his side.

Midoriko's spirit could only shake her head in sorrow. "Kagome cannot stay here. This is not her time. She has to go back."

"But… what about my life here?" Kagome asked, almost too afraid to ask.

"I am sorry. I wish I could do more, but I cannot. The Shikon no Tama had the power to allow the well to open the time warp. But with it purified, the well will no longer stay open. If I had the power to grant this one wish, I surly would, but I do not."

"And what if she chooses to say here instead?" Inuyasha yelled, his anger not even close to dimishing.

"Then she will cease to exist. She would never have been born. Please understand, Inuyasha."

Tears started to fall from Kagome's eyes, the fear and sorrow eating away at her. This had been the last thing she had wanted to hear.

"Kagome-chan…" Sango whimpered. Miroku put a arm around Sango's shoulders, and the demon exterminator turned to cry into them.

"Ka...Kagome," Inuyasha cried with concern. "Please don't cry. We'll find some way to keep it open… I…"

"No, Inuyasha." Kagome's voice was low, full of pain. "Midoriko has done all she can. I must make another wish." She looked up at the spirit of the Shikon no Tama. "Can I have some time to decide?"

Midoriko nodded. "By morning." Sorrow filled the old miko's own eyes. With a nod, she dissipated into a pink light.

In her hands Kagome held the whole Shikon no Tama.

"Kagome." A single word. Nothing more had to be said. Kagome threw herself into Inuyasha's arms and cried. There was nothing he could do to stop her pain, or his.

"Grandmother?"

Kagome jerked out of her state. "Oh, Yumiko. I'm sorry."

"You were thinking about him, weren't you?" Yumiko grabbed Kagome's hand and the two of them started to walk back to the house.

"I was. It's been so long since I last spoke to him. 50 years now." Kagome sighed, her old weary body taking it slow.

They entered the house, the smell of dinner wafting through the living room. "Mama is making your favorite tonight, Grandmother. Oden."

Kagome laughed. It was also her granddaughter's favorite as well.

Looking up Kagome spotted her son, Yumiko's father, lounging in the couch watching TV. He looked up as they approached and smiled at her. He was almost an exact replica of his father. Triangle dog-ears, long silver hair (which he kept pulled back), his front locks covering where his human ears would have been. And like his father, he preferred to wear red most of the time.

"InuKeiko, Kagome smiled, happy to see her son.

The Inuyasha look-a-like stood and crossed the room to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. He knew right away that something was wrong. He sighed as he looked at her. "You went to see father again, didn't you?"

Kagome tried her best to smile. "I did. I like to remember, you know."

"I know," Keiko sighed. "But I worry about you."

Kagome patted her son the shoulder, letting him know she would be fine. "It was just a visit. I'm sure he gets lonely, too." She stepped past him and went on to the kitchen.

Her daughter-in-law was there busy setting the table, the smell of dinner on its way.

"Dinner is almost ready, Mom," Yanagi smiled, looking up from her place setting. Yanagi's short black hair was much in the style Kagome's mother's had been in. Yanagi was short from beautiful. She was plain by normal standards, but what she lacked in the beauty of physical features, she made up with in her personality.

She reminded Kagome much like herself when she was younger. Bright, energetic, and a willingness to help others. But unlike Kagome, the woman never showed her temper or a flare of anger. She was sweet and innocent.

The smell of the oden reminded Kagome of her mother. How Ms, Hirgurashi would cook Kagome's favorite meals upon her return from the past. She was long dead now, passed away soon after Yumiko had been born.

Then there was Souta. Her little brother. He used to play his video games in the living room while dinner was being prepared. He would shout a hello to her when she arrived home, but ignore her again until dinner arrived.

And grandpa, well, grandpa passed away when Keiko was five. He was an old man, and still had a prejudice of demons. He had had a heart attack when he found out that his great-grandson was a hanyou.

Kagome shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Very well. I will get the others." Kagome folded her hands in front of her and went back they way she had come. Her memories were depressing now.

"No way!" Yumiko was shouting as Kagome walked into the living room. She blanched in surprise. There was her granddaughter, sitting on the couch, fighting for control over the TV control from her father.

"Let it go, Yumiko! I had it first!" Keiko shouted right back.

"But your show is over now, Pop! Share why dont'cha!"

Kagome stiffiled a laugh. Like father like son, like daughter like father. They took on too much of Inuyasha's traits, Kagome thought with a smile. "Hey you, two. Dinner is ready."

Both Keiko and Yumiko turned to stare at Kagome with a blank expression.

"What!?" Kagome started to twitch under their dumbfounded looks.

Yumiko suddenly smiled, her whole face lighting up. "Nothing, Grandmother." She did a sudden flip over her father and couch. She started to walk toward the kitchen when she stopped, noticing she wasn't being followed. She glared at her father. "Well come on, Old Man. We ain't got all night."

Keiko's face lit up as well at his daughter's sudden aggressiveness. "There's my daughter." He stood up, rather then jumping, and grabbed Kagome's arm to lead her into the kitchen.

Kagome smiled at her family. She was fortunate to have had Keiko. She was fortunate to ever have loved Inuyasha; and have Inuyasha love her in return.

"What's going to happen to you, Kagome?" Shippou asked, sitting on Kagome's lap in Kaede's hut.

"I… I don't know, Shippou." Kagome patted the child on his head. "We'll think of something."

"Feh." Inuyasha sat in the corner of the hut, arms crossed protectively over Tetsseiga.

Glaring in his direction, Kagome gave Inuyasha a warning stare. He grunted and turned his head to the side, not wanting to contest with her at the moment.

"So ye can't wish for the well to remain open to your home, eh, Kagome?" Kaede asked. The elder miko was busy preparing dinner.

"No. Midoriko's soul said that the jewel was what allowed me to travel between times. So with a wish granted, and the jewel no longer existing…" Kagome couldn't finish her train of thought.

"What if you didn't make a wish at all?"

Kagome turned to look at Sango, her best friend with a serious look on her face.

"That's impossible," Inuyasha grunted, turning to face the demon exterminator. "If Kagome doesn't purify the jewel then the demons will keep coming to try and take it. I ain't going to be around all the god damned time to save her sorry ass."

Kagome gasped at Inuyasha's harsh words. All turned to glare at the hanyou who was obviously peeved about something.

"Just because you're mad about Kagome-sama having to leave," Miroku started, "it doesn't mean you can take your anger out on her." Miroku's voice went dangerously low.

"Feh! What do you know, monk? Not a dam thing! I don't give a shit! Why should I!?"

"Inuyasha!" Shippou yelled, jumping up from Kagome's lap. "How can you say that!?"

"Keh. I can say whatever the hell I want, runt."

Kagome stood up, her head lowered her bangs covering her eyes. "You're a jerk, Inuyasha." Her voice was dangerously low. Inuyasha backed up a step, suddenly afraid that he had ticked her off. She shot her head up, tears spilling down her cheeks. She glared at him, her gaze full of hurt. "A big jerk! Inuyasha, SIT!"

Inuyasha felt the pull of the rosary, saw the hurt in Kagome's eyes, and saw her dart out of the hut, just before his face met with the hard wood floor.

Kagome couldn't stand to stay in his presence any longer. Our last night together, and he has to go and start a fight. Kagome hiccupped, her tears subsiding. She was walking blindly, not really sure what direction she was going. The village was a few minutes behind her by now.

The forest was the same as it has always been. She recognized every tree, every rock, and every path. And it was that she finally found herself at the Goshinboku.

Looking up into the brilliant tree, at the spot Inuyasha loved to sit on, more tears started to sprout.

"Baka! Baka! Baka!"

But even though she shouting out her anger toward the hanyou, she wasn't really mad at him. Like he, she was stressed about this whole situation, too. Inuyasha showed it by taking it out on her and their friends. Kagome handled it by trying to ignore it.

Kagome could never truly be mad at him. She loved him.

Kagome sighed, raising her head to look through the crest of the forest. It was a full moon, but darkening clouds were slowly moving overhead. A clash of thunder echoed over the distance.

A sudden shiver erupted over her body. Rubbing her arms to push off the chill, Kagome starred at the overgrown roots of the Goshinboku.

A drop of water landed on her hand, then another on her cheek. It had started to rain. With her resolution resolved, Kagome started to climb the branches of Goshinboku to try to avoid the rain.

"Ow." Kagome stopped climbing to rub her knee. "Just a scrape." Slightly bleeding, but nothing she wanted to worry about. She sighed a big breath of relief. She finally settled herself on a branch and kept her back against the tree trunk. A large branch overhead was keeping the rain from getting to her. And even though she was nice and dry, she was still cold.

I'm never going to have the chance to see anybody ever again. Sango. Miroku. Shippou. Kirara. Kaede. Kagome sniffled. Even Kouga and Ayame. And… and Shesshomaru.

My life here, is ending. I'll have to go home, go back to school, and everything will be just as it was, before my fifteen birthday. Kagome's eyes lit up at her realization. It's been five years.

"Five years, really?" She was talking to herself now. That's right, I'm twenty now. It took five years to complete the Shikon no Tama and destroy Naraku.

"You're just going to let five years worth of memories go to waste!" Kagome didn't know who she was yelling to. Maybe to Midoriko for not being able to grant her wish. Maybe to Inuyasha for being so mean to her. And maybe, just maybe, mad at herself, to have ever let herself get into this kind of relationship.

Kagome blinked, suddenly very tired. She looked around her surroundings with a yawn. How long have I been out here?

She sat up from the trunk of the tree and stretched. At least a few hours. She yawned again. She was tired from crying, from stressing about the situation she was in.

"And he hasn't even come looking for me yet." She gave a disapproving grunt. What a jerk!

Swinging her legs over to the near side of the branch, Kagome prepared to jump down and head back to the village.

"Where do ya think your going, wench?"

Kagome almost lost her balance at the sudden voice. She straightened herself out and got back on balance. She turned to glare upward at the owner of the voice.

Inuyasha sat on the other side of the tree trunk in his usual resting place. He was leaning against the tree, arms cross with Tetsseiga in his lap. He was looking straight ahead and not at her.

"When did you get here?" She turned on the branch to face him.

He glanced over his shoulder in her direction. "I've been here a while, wench. Maybe you shouldn't fall asleep in trees. You're likely to fall and eat dirt."

"Thanks for the advise," she retorted. "I didn't think I had fallen asleep, anyway."

"Yah, well, you did. You're just lucky I was here to keep an eye on you." Inuyasha stood on his branch and leapt over Kagome's head only to land on her branch, making her sway slightly and have to grab on to steady herself.

Kagome shook her head, anger subsiding by this comment. He still wants to protect me even after everything is already said and done with Naraku. "Inuyasha." She sighed. "I know your upset about this whole wish thing, and I'm stressed because I have no idea what I'm going to do now, but please, for just this one night, our last night actually," her voice became sad, "can we just be civil to each other?"

Inuyasha grunted. As close to a yes as she was going to get. He suddenly swooped down on her, picked her up off the branch (in which she shrieked and forced his ears to go down in pain) and took her spot on the branch against Goshinboku, with her in his lap. With her back to his chest, Inuyasha wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close to him. A gasp escaped Kagome as Inuyasha put his chin on her shoulder, his short breaths ringing in her ear. "I… I don't know what to do."

Kagome forced the lump in her throat down. "Inuyasha…" She was shocked at what was happening, at what he was saying. He seemed very innocent and child-like in that moment. He was afraid of something.

"I would never have thought that you could impact my life they way you have. I mean, you were the first person to really be my friend, to trust me. You weren't afraid of me, didn't hate me because I am a hanyou. You… you accepted me, and no one has ever done that, not even Kikyo. But now, I have Miroku and Sango as well, and it's all thanks to you."

"Inuyasha… I didn't really do anything special. You allowed yourself to open up to me. I think… I think it was you this whole time that made it possible. I never doubted you, not once. I never cared if you were only half-human. I… I care about you and love you just the way you are. And if you ever think I'd like you any other way, then your wrong."

"Kagome…" And suddenly his face was buried in her thick mass of black hair. She felt him sniff and whine slightly at the contact.

"Inu… yasha."

"I don't want you to leave. You can't leave. You promised you'd stay with me."

Tears sprang back into her orbs, not of anger, but of hurt and regret. "I… I don't want to go either. I would rather stay here with you."

"Then stay."

"But I can't… Midoriko said…"

"Damnit!" He pulled away. She cocked her head to look at him. "I know what that bitch said! But we'll find a way! We have to!"

Kagome sighed, turning in his lap to face him. "We'll think of something, even if it takes all night." She smiled, tried to be happy for his sake.

He grabbed her and pulled her against him, clutching to her as if she was his very life. Kagome's tears were subsiding. She didn't know how it was going to be possible. She had to look at the positive side, but all ideas turned up negative. If I leave without telling him, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself.

With her resolution resolved, she pulled away to arms length, tears completely gone. "Inuyasha… I… have to tell you something, in case it doesn't work out..."

"You talk to much, wench." He reached out to pull her back against him, but she stopped him.

"No. Inuyasha, you have to let me say this. If I don't I might regret it for the rest of my life."

He nodded. "Get on with it then."

She nodded but didn't start right away with what she wanted to say. "When… when I first met you, I thought you were rude, arrogant, and irresponsible. But… I got to know you as a person. You became my best friend. I… I care you. I don't think I could imagine a life without you in it. Even if it all has to end this way, I'm glad, because I met you, and I was allowed to love you."

She looked down at her lap, a blush rising up her cheeks. He didn't say a thing. Didn't even move for the longest time.

"Kagome?" His voice was uncertain.

She dared to look up at him. His eyes danced with emotion, the soft features of his face lost.

"Did… did you mean that?"

Kagome nodded. Her blush increasing.

"Damnit! That fucking bitch!" he hissed.

Kagome pulled back at his sudden anger, confusion written all over her face.

"It's all her goddamned fault. She can't grant the one fucking wish that we want most granted!"

"You mean Midoriko?"

"Who else? Damn, wench, slower then I thought."

Kagome placed her hands on her hips in irritation. "Inuyasha," she said, sounding very menacing.

"What? What else can I do but be mad? That damn bitch won't even let you stay with me. You belong with me."

Kagome took a short breath and looked up at him. "What… what do you mean exactly?"

"Huh?"

"When you said 'you belong with me'." Kagome tipped her head to the side waiting for him to answer.

"I…uh... I meant that now me and you…we can't be together." He blushed a deep red.

"Is that what you want? For us to be… together… like that?" Kagome's lips turned up into a smile.

"Feh! Of course, wench!" His ears started to droop. "That is, if you wanted to be with a hanyou like me."

Kagome gave him an encouraging smile. "Inuyasha." He looked her in the eye. "Of course I would. How can I not, when I'm in love with you." Braving her next move, Kagome leaned up and touched her lips to his. There was a slight hesitation from Inuyasha before he leaned into her lips.

His arms encircled her once more, pulling her closer as their kiss deepened. Lips parting, making way for the nibbles and licks that sent Kagome shivering. A low rumble came from Inuyasha, his arms tightening even more.

What seemed like forever, they finally parted for a breath. Kagome leaned her head against his chest, his hand on her hand, holding her to him.

"Inuyasha," Kagome called to him, her voice husky.

"Kagome." Inuyasha pulled her slightly away, just enough to look into her chocolate orbs.

"I… I want you, Inuyasha. Tonight and forever. Just incase, you know..."

He nodded. "It will be forever, Kagome. No matter what happens come sunrise, me and you, you'll be together forever."

She nodded with a smile on her face. "That's how I want it. Nothing will be able to part us. I love you too much."

He kissed her then. "No matter what, we'll be together."

She could only tremble under his kisses as her response. And there they made love, on the branches of the Goshinboku. Their first time, their last time, with all their love.

AN:

I only plan for this story to be 3 chapters long, maybe with an epilouge as well. We'll see.

I've never written an angst before. So let me know how I do. Reviews and yes, even Flames,

are appriciated. I need to know how my work fares. I don't write too often, so I hope this story

goes a long way.

SSW

Translations:

Yumiko- arrow child

Inu- Dog Keiko- adored one Adored Dog

Yanagi- Willow

Baka- Jerk; Idiot

Goshinboku- God Tree

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to review! More to come!