Before I start the 15th chapter of what I hope to be a fic of at least 20 chapters(I still have a few ideas up my sleeve for the fic... MUAHAHA...), I would like to thank some of my reviewers, especially those of you who review religiously! It means a lot to me!

Miko no Kaze: You are by far the coolest person ever. LOL. Your fanfics rock, i'm going to review them a little later on tonight after my homework is done(never, ever take a high school philosophy course -shudders-). Thank you so much for your support! I think you've reviewed for almost, if not every single chapter. This is the stuff that makes me write until 4 am... and still be not tired.

Dani: Thank you so much for your constant support throughout this fic so far. I'm hoping to free up some time(between writing, applying to universities, doing homework, and studying for exams x.x) to read and review your stories! Thanks a bunch! I'm a devoted authoress because of your reviews, lol!

EangelZ: You guys hate Hojo and Kikyo, right? I don't hate Hojo, just want to kill him. I do however hate Kikyo(sorry for any Kikyo fans... I just really want Inuyasha to be with Kagome so I hate Kikyo...). So yay! I'll try to r&r your stuff soon! Thanks!

NomadGirl: Thanks so much!

Tracee: Thanks soooooooo much!

Chapter 15

Inuyasha stared at her. "Seal... seal the well back over?" he mumbled.

"Yes. I... i'm sorry I dragged you into all this, Inuyasha. Look. I... I want to stay by your side, you know that... but if the well is sealed over again, we'll be stuck on one side or the other..." she sighed. "You know which side i'd choose." she stammered. I have family here... family I can't just abandon...

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No one can ever drag someone away from their home and family. I understand... but my place isn't here. It's there, in the feudal era. Kagome..." he held out the jewel. "Keep it. Keep it as a reminder of everything we went through. There aren't any demons here to attack you for it." he said.

"I don't want to leave you, but I don't want to leave my family either!" she cried. "I... I hate this..." she said as she took the jewel and held it close. "Why does it always feel like everything is being ripped away from me?" she cried. Inuyasha wiped away a few of her tears.

"I know, Kagome. I understand that you can't just leave your family. I know how you feel. When I was a child, my mother and father were taken from me. When I grew up as a hanyou, my dignity was taken from me. When I met Kikyo, she was taken from me... and... and now you're being taken from me too. I also understand that the well can't stay open. I... i'll miss you." he stated simply. Kagome looked up at him, her eyes all red and puffy from the tears.

"Inuyasha... I... i'll miss you too!" she cried as she clutched onto his haori. "I'll miss you so much! I'll never forget you! Never! I swear that no one will ever take your place. You'll always be my protector even if you're not here!" she sobbed. Inuyasha could feel tears welling up from behind his eyes. I can't cry. I have to be strong... for Kagome.

"I won't forget you either. You'll always have a special place in my memories and in my heart. No matter what, no one will ever replace you." he choked. Kagome looked into his eyes.

"I guess... I guess it's time..." she sniffed. Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..." Kagome sighed. I... I have to tell him! I have to tell him or I won't move on! I swear on everything in my life... I will never love someone else. No matter what happens, or whoever comes along, I will never stop loving him. I... now is the last time i'll ever have the chance to tell him! "Inuyasha..."

"Hmm?" Inuyasha looked at Kagome. She looks so nervous... why?

"I... there's one thing I need to tell you before you go... something I should have told you a long time ago... maybe... maybe things wouldn't have been as hard as they are now if i'd said it earlier." she whispered, too embarressed to speak any louder.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. What... what could she tell me now that could have changed all of this had she told me earlier?

"I... it started so long ago. Shortly after we first met. It was only a little, at first, but it grew over time."

"Do you have a wound that won't go away?" Inuyasha cried. Why didn't I smell it? Kagome laughed.

"No no. It's nothing to do with my health. Now... it did grow over time. I think... I think the first time I admitted it to myself was after i'd gone home when you went to see Kikyo." Inuyasha cringed. Kagome simply put her hands on his shoulders. "I... I cried, and I didn't know why. I felt so alone; so empty. I didn't understand it. Though... it was that same day, under the same tree that you were pinned to so long ago, outside my house that I understood what it was that I felt." she continued.

"How... how do you feel?" Inuyasha said, somewhat baffled. What could she be feeling that has her so nervous? (A/N- Such a dense idiot, ne?) Kagome just shook in his arms. "Kagome, it's okay. You trust me, right?" Inuyasha soothed as he hugged her to stop the shaking.

"I... Inuyasha I..." Why can't I say it?

"You what, Kagome?" he encouraged.

"I love you!" she cried as she burst into tears. "I've loved you for so long! I always will! No matter what happens in the future, I will never love anyone else! You... you will always have my heart!" There... I finally told him... but... somehow... I don't feel any better, knowing that i'll never see him again.

"You...you..." Inuyasha couldn't finish his sentence. She loves me? Loves me? Why me? I'm just a hanyou who gets on her nerves easily. "Why... why me?" he asked. Kagome was afraid to answer. How do I say this without looking and sounding like a fool...

"I... I love you because you always protect me! You always know how to make me feel better. Remember when I had that bad cold, and you made me medicine? You take care of me, Inuyasha. You... you were always there when I needed you. You'd come to bring me back to your era even when i'd been so cruel to you. You... oh I don't know, Inuyasha! I just love you! I just... I just love you for everything that you are. I love that you're a hanyou. I love that you don't take crap from anyone. I love you as a human. I love you as a youkai. I... I love you in any form! I love that you protect me. You've lended me your firerat haori so many times to keep me safe, even though you knew that you would need it more! I... I just love you, Inuyasha. Everything about you." she trailed off, afraid of his reaction. Why am I afraid? I won't see him again...

Inuyasha was stunned. She loves me... for me? Everything about me? Is this... is this what i've been feeling too? This strange feeling pulling at my heart every time I think of her? Is this what it feels like to love someone, and to have them love you back? So she's not just a friend after all... I... I love her. So this is what real love feels like... It's... it's definately not what I had with Kikyo. This feels entirely different. This... it has to be love. I can't bear the thought of leaving her... but... for her to be safe I have to... Kagome... I would stay here if I could... but I belong in the feudal era... it's my home... Inuyasha shook himself from his thoughts.

"Kagome..."

"Don't say anything... you don't have to. I understand that you don't feel that way about me, Inuyasha. It's okay. I'll deal with that." she forced a smile. "I... I guess this is a goodbye, then..." Inuyasha frowned.

"Kagome..." he cleared his throat. "Kagome... I don't want to leave... but if I don't, Kouga, or worse, other demons could overrun your era... and I can't have you in that kind of danger." Kagome sighed and nodded. So he doesn't love me... "Kagome." Inuyasha's voice called her from her thoughts. "I... I..."

"You?" Please just say goodbye. I don't want to have to hear your blatant rejection... I already know you don't love me... don't make me suffer... Please... please Inuyasha...

"I promise to never forget you. No matter what, Kagome... i'll... i'll always... i'll always love you too!" he cried. "Just... just seal the well once i'm gone!" Without hesitation, Inuyasha jumped into the well; engulfed in the swirling lights. He... he loves me? How? When? Why? He... he loves me! Why does this happen? We admit that we love one another, and now we are forced apart! No... Inuyasha... I can't stay away from you forever... I have to find a way... Kagome looked at the jewel. Seal the well... but... but don't make it final! I... I have to think of a way to be by his side again! The well sealed over and Kagome collapsed, crying. How... how can I be by his side without risking the lives of everyone in this era? Kagome heard a car park into her driveway and she immiediately bombarded her mother in a hug. Her mother noticed the tears, and took her daughter inside, where she heard the entire story.

After about two hours of explaining everything from beginning to finish, without skipping over a single detail, Kagome looked up at her mother with tear stained cheeks.

"Do you want to know what I think?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes." Kagome muttered. I know she'll say to forget about him and move on... but I can't. I have the jewel to remind me. "I... i'd like to hear your thoughts." Kagome said softly. Her mother laughed and took her daughter's hands into her own.

"I think you made the wrong choice."