Goodbyes
"What…?" Kagome breathed in disbelief. "This was meant to happen, Kagome. With no writing left in the book, you both are free to use the well; however, Koinu will have to open the portal for you two to return to your times." Kagome looked to Inu-Yasha. She was unsure whether to trust this Kagome; after all, she was different now. "Take Koinu with you." Kagome continued. "Let him guide you on your journey." "But…" Kagome objected. "But nothing. Time will rewrite itself with every decision you make. Allow for Koinu's guidance. One day your lives will depend on him." Naiya stepped forward handing Koinu to Kagome. Koinu was beaten but he was not unaware of the situation around him so he cuddled with Kagome when she took him from Naiya. "Naiya will stay with Inu-Yasha and myself. Don't worry; Inu-Yasha will train her well. Now…go back to your own time."
Kagome opened her mouth to object, but decided against it because they did have to return to their own time eventually. She stepped backward pulling Koinu in close to her. Miroku reached over grasping onto Sango's hand. Sango's mouth dropped at Miroku's spontaneous affection. She knew he cared for her, but thought of that as more along the lines of friendship. Kirara flew up onto Sango's small shoulder. Sango rubbed Kirara's small head as Kirara purred loudly. Shippo clutched onto Kohaku as she leaned into his chest while they both held Tora close to their sides. Next to them stood Kouga with Houseki wrapped in his arms. Inu-Yasha stood statuesque gripping Naiya's hand as Kagome motioned for them to leave the group. Kagome bowed out then nodded to Inu-Yasha that they were done here. Inu-Yasha turned away from the group waiting for Kagome's company. Kagome caught up to Inu-Yasha then mounted his back. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Inu-Yasha leapt away.
Traveling to the well was not all that difficult since Kagome had cleared away the smog engulfing the area. Inu-Yasha never turned back; maybe leaving was too hard for him to bare or maybe he was glad to be going home, back to his familiar territory. Either way, Kagome couldn't wait to see her little Shippo again; he still had a lot of growing up to do. She even missed Souta…how pathetic.
Broken chunks of wood covered the well. Inu-Yasha let Kagome down just outside the rubble. Inu-Yasha leapt into the rubble clearing it away from the entrance of the well so they could return; meanwhile, Kagome wandered into the nearby woods searching for herbs for Koinu since he still wasn't feeling too well. Kagome immediately found exactly what she was looking for because she used it all the time on Inu-Yasha's injuries. Kagome was pleased with how her skills had improved since when she first traveled to the futile era. She smiled glancing down at Koinu in her arms. He was asleep, but she decided to make the medicine for him anyways. Upon returning she found the debris around the well completely cleared away. Only a minute, that's how long I was away… How did he clear all that away so quickly? Kagome snapped her open mouth shut with a pleasant grin. "Let's go." Inu-Yasha told her. "I'm not sure Koinu can open the portal thing back to our time. He's still weak from earlier." Kagome looked around spotting Kiada's image moving amongst the woods. Kagome stood frozen staring at the image. Kagome's lack of movement caught Inu-Yasha's attention. He too stared off into that direction. Upon spotting Kiada's image, Inu-Yasha grasped Kagome's shoulder. Koinu struggled under Kagome's fierce grip. Kagome loosened her hold on the small pup allowing him to escape to the air.
While circling around the entrance to the well, a light beamed out from the bottom of the well. Inu-Yasha covered his eyes falling over backwards. Koinu fell limply from the air. Kagome flew over the edge catching Koinu in her soft motherly embrace falling into the well herself. Inu-Yasha caught a vague sight of Kagome the moment she fell into the well. He knew he couldn't save her, but maybe he could protect her on the other side. "Kagome!" Inu-Yasha yelled leaping in after her.
"Are you alright?" Inu-Yasha asked as he landed on the other side. "Yes and so is Koinu." Kagome answered caressing Koinu in her arms. "Looks like we're back to my time. Thank you for your help Koinu. Come on Inu-Yasha. Let's get something to eat." With that Kagome climbed out of the well leaving Inu-Yasha kneeling in the same spot in which he landed. "Inu-Yasha…" Kagome called to him from the top of the well. Inu-Yasha knew he couldn't stay there in the bottom of the well so he jumped up to join her. Soaring through the air Kagome thought nothing of Inu-Yasha's odd behavior, but his landing was a different story. He seemed to have lost his balance landing on the floor and stumbled into the wall face first. "…Inu-Yasha" Kagome echoed the sudden worry in her mind. Inu-Yasha sat facing the wall in the sitting position he landed in after running into it. "Are you alright Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked now filled with worry and afraid to move. He never lost his balance …well, unless she told him to 'sit' but that was beside the point. Inu-Yasha shook his head side to side as if trying to shake off his graceful landing. "Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked again. His ears twitched as recognition of her voice. Inu-Yasha stood up facing her as if nothing had happened. "I'm fine." He replied a bit disgruntled. "Inu-Yasha, I know something's wrong. Just tell me what it is." "It's nothing." He enforced his reply again. Kagome decided to change the subject, maybe a different subject would weasel his problem out of him. "So Inu-Yasha, now that we've seen the future is there anything that you would want to change?" As long as I keep her talking I'll be fine. "No. How about you?" "You want my opinion?" Kagome asked a little startled. "Why not?" Inu-Yasha asked following close behind her. "It's just that you've never asked for it before." "That's because you give it so freely." Kagome giggled as she entered her house and the door swung shut behind her.
As the door swung shut, Inu-Yasha was caught by surprise. "Uh…" Inu-Yasha let out a small grunt by the impact of the door as he fell to the solid soil behind him. He growled shaking off the impact. Getting hit he could stand, but constantly falling to the ground from it was getting annoying. "Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked returning to the doorway. Inu-Yasha jumped to his feet staring off into another direction so Kagome wouldn't notice his second fall. "What is it Inu-Yasha?" She asked. "Nothing." He answered. "Well come on inside." She remarked guiding him inside by the hand. Inu-Yasha bumped into the doorway on his way in. His unconscious recoiling reaction from hitting the doorway caught her attention. How could he possibly walk into the doorframe? Unless he lost his balance again or…he didn't see it…
Kagome decided not to speak up in case her assumptions were wrong. She decided watching him closely would be the best option because he surely wouldn't admit to anything being wrong. Especially if it was what she thought it could be. "Take a seat Inu-Yasha. I'll bring you some fresh Ramen." Inu-Yasha sat down staring at the floor. "Here you go." Kagome told him placing the Ramen on the table in front of him. Inu-Yasha lifted his hand to the bowl picking it up and placing it in his lap. Whatever elegance he had with the soup bowl was all blown by his inability to find the chopsticks on the table that was right in front of him. Inu-Yasha fumbled around picking at the table with his claws. Kagome giggled picking up the chopsticks then she placed them in his hands. "Inu-Yasha, now would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Inu-Yasha grunted playing with the chopsticks trying to arrange them in his hand so that he could eat. "I can't see. Alright?" Inu-Yasha responded lifting his eyes to her direction. Somehow she knew he wasn't playing around because his gaze may have met her face, but his eyes weren't focused on hers like they usually were he spoke to her. He seemed to look right through her. "Uh…?" She questioned. Kagome watched as Inu-Yasha twitched his soft white ears to focus on her delicate voice.