Disclaimer: Do I still have to do this?

Thank you everyone for your reviews, I appreciate hearing from all of you. Just knowing that there are others out there reading makes me feel good about it. Just because you all made me feel so good, I pulled this chapter out of my….um hat tonight so thank you so much. This didn't turn out quite like I expected it too but I am pleased with it….warning it may be a little too fluffy, but I don't think it is OOC for Inu in the least. From what I have read and seen he-

Sango: You're doing it again.

What would that be?

Sango: Babbling, you tend to do that on occasion.

Hmm…really? I never noticed. Really…I swear.

Sango: Just get on with the story.

I am the author, I can do what I want. I do actually do whatever I want. No matter how much you beg me to do otherwise.

Sango: What is that supposed to mean?

Hee Hee, You'll see.

Chapter 16

Naturally Inuyasha couldn't sleep that night. He had just woken up from a 500 year long sleep and didn't need to rest, but that was not what kept him awake. In the beginning he had just watched her sleep, but after a short time his mind began to wonder. His thoughts were getting more stressful as the night rolled on. It was almost morning now; he had officially worked himself in to a panic.

He regretted his decision to pin himself to the tree.

Sure, he had wanted to be with Kagome, still did in fact. He hadn't thought everything through before the pinning; his only concern had been getting to Kagome. He hadn't thought about the ramifications of his actions.

She will resent me.

Yep, sooner or later she would wish he had never come. No, not right away, she did care about him after all. But soon. He had willingly sent himself 500 years in the future without thinking how it would change Kagome's life. Yes, sooner or later it would come back and bite him in the ass. How could I be so stupid?

He had visited often enough to know that things were different in her time. They had only been that, visits. He was stuck here permanently and that was completely different then visiting for a day or so. The air, the smell, the buildings, too much was different and strange. He knew next to nothing about how things worked here, Kagome would have to teach him everything. He couldn't do that to her, he was supposed to take care of her.

I'll become nothing but a fucking burden to her.

He had no friends, money, or a place to live, and very little schooling. He knew the importance people in Kagome's time put on education, the little schooling he had as a child would not carry over to today. He could read at least, between his mother and Miroku he had learned that. Reading wouldn't get him very far here. Kagome had things like Math and Science she learned about. He didn't know much about either of them.

He buried his face in his hands, what have I done now? He would lose her, he knew that now. He could never survive on his own here and she would find him burdensome soon enough. In the end, she would leave.

It frightened the hell out of him. He didn't want to be alone ever again. He had been alone all of his life, until Kagome came along. Even with Kikyo he had never had a need to be with her. I have really messed up my life this time.

His eyes landed on the pink jewel, he slowly moved Kagome off from where she rested on his leg. She stirred a little in her sleep before resettling onto her pillow. He released the nervous breath he hadn't even realized he had held. He shouldn't do it, but he had to. He had been wrong, dead wrong about pinning himself to the tree. He couldn't bear to lose Kagome, not after he had finally gotten her.

With one giant leap he made his way to her dresser, which the jewel sat on. Yanking it from its resting place, he changed directions to head for the window. He needed out of there as quickly as possible. His feet hit the window sill as he prepared for a final leap.

"Inuyasha, HEEL!"

Shit, He felt the command yank him from his perch on her window, dragging him to her bed, where she now stood with a look of anguish on her face. She yanked the jewel from his fingers before turning and storming out of the room. She hadn't said a word. That in itself was a sign that he had built himself the biggest hole possible. "Kagome!" He yelled, scrambling to his feet to chase after her.

"SIT!" He heard come from the stairwell as he felt the spell yank him to the floor. Thud!

"Dammit Kagome! Listen to me!" He yelled, praying the spell would hurry up and release him already. He heard the front door slam, she had gone outside. Shit! He felt the spell release him and he leapt out of his hole.

He raced out the window after her, scenting her tears in the air. She sat in front of the Goshinboku, her tears assaulting his heart. He had damaged their trust, badly. It was the worst sin he could have committed. Her trust meant everything to him, right now it had shattered. "Kagome?" He whispered, feeling like crap.

"How could you? I thought you had come back for me. I would have given it to you if you had asked." She turned and faced him, her words lacking emotion. Oh kami, what have I done? He thought to himself, he wished she would start to yell at him. Her quiet rage was so much worse than her emotional rage. "You know I would have. Why would you steal it from me Inuyasha? I would have expected this when I first met you, but not now. I thought you cared for me."

Every word stabbed through his heart, rendering him speechless. He tried to open his mouth, but nothing would come out. His breath caught in his throat, unable to speak. He felt nauseous, sick, devastated by what was happening. Apparently she would be leaving him much sooner than anticipated, because he had done the stupidest thing he ever could have done; stolen the Shikon no tama from her.

"What? Can't you even defend yourself? Why did you do it?" She waited for an answer, an explanation, to call her a bitch; hell she wished he would just say anything. She sighed, "Speak Inuyasha."

"I didn't want to be alone again." He blurted out against his will. "Dammit I hate that spell." He muttered when the spell released him.

"What?" She looked as if she had been struck, the shock on her face at his forced admission. "What are you talking about? You aren't alone, Inuyasha."

"It's nothing." He growled, she didn't press him about it thankfully. "I didn't want you there if I failed to open the well."

"What?" She jerked her head up at his answer. "Is that what you were going to use the jewel for?"

Realizing that her expression said he was off the hook, he smirked, "What the hell else would I use it for bitch?" She gave him a scathing glare; apparently he wasn't quite off the hook enough to say that. He severed eye contact with her, refusing for her to see he was sorry.

"If that is the case," She stood up, handing him the jewel. "Lets go see if we can open the well." She walked past him, heading for the well. He stared at the jewel in his hand before following on her heels.

Once they reached the well, he handed back the jewel to her. "You should do it. It's your jewel."

She frowned at him, "I have always planned on giving it to you, Inuyasha. We would never have gotten it all back if it hadn't been for you. Are you sure this is what you want to wish for?"

"Yeah," He sighed.

"How should we word it? I made a mess of that last time." She said, leaning in as he placed his hand on her back, leading her to the well.

"Something simple, I wish to open the well so we can travel between our times again." As soon as the words left his mouth, the jewel began to glow, lifting from her hand. The light became brighter until it blinded both of them. He yanked her closer to shield her from the light.

Suddenly a soft voice could be heard, "I am sorry, there is nothing I can do now. The well was for use during your journey in the feudal era. This is your destiny, both of you. You have another quest ahead of you, and will not be alone. I am sorry you will never see your friends again, but they lived happy lives. You both changed their lives for the better and of that they were grateful. They both can be found in their reincarnations, and will help you on your new journey. You will find them all soon. I am sorry I can not grant this wish."

They watched as the jewel floated to the ground, dimming before burning out again. "That didn't happen last time." Kagome laughed at the look of horror on Inuyasha's face. "It will be fine, I will miss them all too. We will be fine, Inuyasha."

"Whatever," He muttered storming off. Kagome grabbed the jewel, placing it around her neck again before following him. When she finally caught up with him, she grabbed his arm, trying to slow him down to stop. He stopped and glared at her.

"What is your problem today, Inuyasha?" She demanded.

He glared at her and said, "Leave me alone." Her look of hurt on her face caused him to falter and say, "Oi, you're going to school today remember. Go get ready. Those aren't your school clothes." He said, taking a good look at her in her pajamas.

She blushed, wondering what he was thinking with that look on his face. "Speak."

"I getta see a hell of a lot more leg in that uniform." He heard himself say out loud. "Dammit Kagome. Knock that off."

"My legs huh? You want to see legs? SIT!" Thud! Inuyasha crashed into the ground. "Now all you can see are legs. I can't believe you, Inuyasha. You really are no different from Miroku."

"Dammit, you made me say it. I wouldn't have actually said it if you hadn't commanded me to." He yelled to her legs as he waited for the spell to break. "I'm nothing like the lech. Just go get ready for school."

"I don't wanna- wait" She dropped to her knees in front of him, grabbing his chin to look up at her. "Did you just tell me to GO to school? Who are you and what did you do with my Inuyasha?"

"Nothing, just you're home. You have to go to school." He said simply, getting to his feet when the spell broke.

"Alright, I am sure mom has breakfast ready. Why don't you go talk to her while I get ready?"

"Keh, Not hungry." He jumped over to the Goshinboku tree and sat in it, ignoring her.

He sure is in a peculiar mood today. She thought getting dressed. Almost as if he didn't want to be here…but he chose to come here. She just didn't understand what was going on in that head of his. Sure he tended to be quite moody, but his behavior was out of sorts. He had actually tried to steal the jewel this morning. She sighed, she would never understand him.

She ran down for breakfast, her mom gave her a smile. "Thanks for telling me, mama. I can't believe you let me go that long."

"I thought if you read what he had been through, you might not take him for granted." Mrs. Higurashi answered, handing Kagome an egg and rice.

"Can you keep an eye on him for me today? He seems a little…well upset for some reason." Kagome asked, worried about her friend.

"Who seems upset?" Souta asked, tired of all the secrets in the house.

"Inuyasha." Their mother replied calmly.

"Inu-oniichan is here?! Where is he? I thought you couldn't see him anymore. What happened to him? Where is he?" Her brother screeched, anxious to see his hero again.

"He's outside, Souta. Leave him alone for a bit. He is probably a little overwhelmed right now. You can see him when you get home from school." Mrs. Higurashi answered. Those words dashed all of Souta's hopes on seeing him before school.

"Your probably right, mama. He doesn't handle change very well and this is…well it's a huge change for him." Kagome said thoughtfully realizing all he had done to be with her.

After she finished her breakfast, she brought him some. "Inuyasha? I brought you something to eat. Why don't you come down for a second before I leave for school?"

She heard a muttered, "Keh" before he jumped down and landed in front of her. "What?"

"I brought you some egg and rice. I thought you might be hungry. I just wanted to tell you thank you. I know how much you gave up coming here to be with me, I appreciate it."

"I would have been around now, probably. So you wouldn't have missed me." He scoffed at her.

"A lot can happen in 500 years. People can change; I fell in love with the Inuyasha on the other side of the well. He was the same one who pinned himself to be with me so he didn't have to wait 500 years later. If you could have survived without me for 500 years…that would have worried me. I could never do that, be without you that long. Three days was bad enough." She smiled softly, looking into his shocked eyes before whispering, "Thank you."

She had knocked him off his feet with her confession. He did the only thing he could think to do, drop the food in his hands and embraced her. Egg and rice littered the dirt on the ground but he didn't care. Kagome had just told him she loved him. Right now nothing else mattered. He pressed his lips to hers in desperation, catching her completely off guard. It took a moment, and then she responded back. He had never kissed anyone before, only returned kisses he had received. This felt good, right. He pulled her tighter to him, not wanting to ever let her go.

"Eww! That is gross you guys! I am gonna tell!"

The pair jumped away from each other as if they had been burned. Actually, both of them felt as if they had been. Kagome's blush could have lit the night sky. "I'll see you after school, Inuyasha." She said before turning toward Souta. "I am going to KILL you!" She took off running after him.

The kid yelled as he ran away from her. "Bye, Inu-oniichan."

Inuyasha couldn't help chuckling at the pair as he picked up his food from the ground to throw it away inside. The day looked much better now. Kagome had said she loved him.

Kagome couldn't help thinking about that kiss all day. Her friends were a little surprised at all the daydreaming she was doing, but it was better than the mood she had been in lately so they didn't complain. The day went fairly slow, until history. Sensei Hikotaki continued his lecture on the Shikon jewel shards. Today it was much easier to listen to than the last one.

"Inuyasha realized he needed the young miko with him in order to obtain the jewel shards. Not only could he not see them, he could not purify them either. Their journey together began from there. As I have said before, Inuyasha was a hanyou, born of a youkai and a human who had fallen in love. He did have an elder brother. Now Sesshomaru hated humans, and the fact that his own brother was half human, he hated him too. Their father had loved both sons' equally and bequeathed to each a special sword. The Tenseiga and the Tetsusaiga were both extremely powerful swords. He had left the Tenseiga to Sesshomaru and the Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha. He had hidden Tetsusaiga until Inuyasha would be able to handle it. It held the ability to kill one hundred demons in one swing. Sesshomaru's sword Tenseiga, although just as powerful, his brother wanted the other sword and came after it. His sword could save a hundred lives in one swing. The full demon figured, what good is a sword if you can't even kill with it. He felt he deserved Tetsusaiga and went to kill Inuyasha for the sword."

Kagome doodled in her notebook listening as she helped Inuyasha weald the Tetsusaiga. It had quickly become his pride and joy, his life line. She loved watching him fight with it, he had made it a much more powerful sword from when he first obtained it. All because he protected me. Strangely, she knew in her heart by the end of her journey Sesshomaru would have been able to weald it. He would deny it because only a demon that protected a human could ever weald the sword, but he protected Rin; he could have weald the sword as well.

Her teacher stopped right before Shippo came into the picture. Suddenly she wondered if the little kitsune was still around or not. The bell rang and her teacher again said, "Higurashi, can I see you again?" She smiled and nodded as everyone else filed out of class.

"You knew too didn't you?" She said suspiciously.

"The Legend of the Hanyou is true? I had been told, but had no real proof."

"It is true; I should get going before he comes after me. He isn't a patient hanyou; that is for sure." She laughed.

"So I have been told. I know this might seem strange but I have a few things that might make things a little easier for him. Could I bring them by this evening? It might help him adjust a little better." He asked carefully.

Grateful for whatever help anyone could give that would make things easier for him. "That would be wonderful. Is seven alright?"

"It will be perfect, Higurashi. Thank you."

"No, if it works, thank you." She said as she walked out the door to head home to her hanyou.

He walked inside to throw his food in the trash. Kagome's mom still stood in the kitchen. He hesitated; this was the one woman who terrified him. Well her daughter did occasionally, but Mrs. Higurashi seemed to unman him by seeing his soul. When she looked at him, it was as if his life was laid out on the table for her to read. The worst part of all, he respected her. This woman amazed him by her kindness; Kagome was who she was because of this woman. She had done an amazing job raising her daughter, but she would never allow her to be with a hanyou. He wouldn't be able to stay here for long.

"Inuyasha, how are you this morning?" She asked him with a smile.

"Better, thanks." He mumbled, throwing the food in the trash.

"You didn't eat anything, aren't you hungry?" She pressed.

He blushed, thinking about why he had dropped his breakfast. "I dropped it by accident. I wasn't really hungry though."

She took the small dish from him, "Nonsense, you need to eat. Sit down and I will get you another egg and there is some rice left over."

"That's okay, I am fine. You don't need to do that." He protested.

"Sit down, Inuyasha."

He obeyed, no further arguments. Moments later she placed some fresh eggs and rice in front of him. He quickly ate, thinking about what to do for the rest of the day. He had very few options. Sit outside waiting for Kagome, sit inside waiting for Kagome. It would be a long day. He could always help the old man, but he constantly tried to purify him. Not that he could or anything, his granddaughter got all the purification energy in the house. Finished with his breakfast, he took his dish to the sink and cleaned it out.

When he turned back around, Mrs. Higurashi was standing behind him again. "Inuyasha, I wanted to show you something and talk with you for a little bit. Could you come with me for a little while? I promise I won't keep you long."

"Sure." He answered, staring at the floor.

He followed her upstairs to the room next to Kagome's. "I have been working on this for a while, even Kagome doesn't know about it." She opened the door to reveal another bedroom. Similar in size to both Kagome and Souta's it had two red walls and two white walls and a bed with red bedding on it. He looked confused. "It's your room, Inuyasha. I knew this day was approaching, I am not sure if Kagome had a chance to tell you about the books your friend, Miroku left behind for her. But I knew you did what you did before I ever even met you. I know it isn't much, but I wanted you to have a say in how you decorated it too. There are some new clothes in the closet, I know you are used to what you have but to fit in here you might need to occasionally change them to fit in with everyone." She opened the closet to show him what she talked about. "I was not sure on sizes, I know they will take some getting used to also but I tried to get the most comfortable things I could, sweatpants and t-shirts and such. Well I will let you look around. I am not sure how often you would use the bed, but I got you one just in case. The tree out the window is the same one out Kagome's. Well I will leave you to look around." One look at his face told her his emotions were shot. "If you need anything, let me know. Welcome to the family."

A whispered, "Thank you," came from the hanyou. Nothing else would come out. She understood of course, and closed the door behind her.

He had never had his own room before; he had spent most of his time outdoors. But a room, HIS room, it had a bed and clothes, everything. Kagome's mom had expected him to come and stay, had taken it upon herself to make him a part of the family. He felt the burning trail of a single tear roll down his face. She had accepted him from the beginning; let her daughter risk her life with him. Now she gave him a home, the closest thing he had to a home since his mother dies was wherever Kagome was. Her mom had just made Kagome's home, his home too.

First Kagome tells him she loves him, now this? This was the hands down best day he had ever had in his life. He began to investigate his room. Finding pictures like Kagome had of their friends, a stereo like Kagome's, even some manga. He couldn't wait for Kagome to get home so he could show her everything.

There…now was that a surprise.

Miroku: You…You….You fucking killed us off.

Not really, you are just dead in my story. If they would travel though the well to the past you would be alive and well. You do live full lives and all….just not a part of my story. Now I need to get your reincarnations in here soon….so please pack your things.

Sango: You're kicking us out?

Well…not entirely. I am sure we will hear about what happened to you horny devils…how many kids you ended up with and all.

Miroku: Come Sango, we don't need her kind. Killing us off, I can't believe it.

But you will be reincarnations…Sango, Kirara needs to stay.

Sango: What? You're taking my cat?

Yeah…sorry. She is a youkai after all.

Kagome: Besides, everyone knows how much better the reincarnations are than the original.

Sango: Shut up, Kagome. You're not helping any.