Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Seven: Returning to You

"…quiz on Monday. I hope that you have…"

Poke.

"…all studied transcendentals…"

Poke.

"… and complex powers…"

Poke.

"…as well as studied about…"

Poke. Poke.

"…the letter 'e'. In fact, there will be…"

Poke. "Pssst. Kagome…"

"…an essay on the letter 'e'."

An essay on the letter 'e'? Inuyasha stopped poking Kagome with the eraser of his pencil. What the heck? He glanced around and saw other startled expressions. He let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't the only one thrown for a loop. Maybe they would be graded on a curve.

"Kagome," he hissed impatiently. "Wake up." He poked her once more.

He was sorry that he did.

Kagome woke up with a startled gasp. Her head shot up and her body jerked, knocking her books and papers to the floor. Then she looked around the room like she had no idea where she was, eyes wide and full of fear. Her breathing stopped. Just as Inuyasha was beginning to think she was going to start turning blue and was searching his brain for how to administer CPR, Kagome began hyperventilating.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha dropped the pencil and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Is there a problem?" asked the teacher coolly as he walked over to them with short, quick steps. Body language told everyone how extremely irritated he was at the interruption, including how he stepped right smack in the middle of her notebook. Though the icy tone of voice was a complete giveaway too. Then again, Inuyasha thought, he's always sounds like that..

"No," cried Kagome, still looking like she was caught in some sort of a trap.

"Good, then let us get back to…"

"It's not possible!"

The teacher narrowed his eyes and placed his fists on Kagome's desk. His face flushed with indignation. "WHAT did you say?"

"I didn't jump… I shouldn't be here… I didn't go through the well… It's not possible…"

The teacher took a step back and looked down at his student nervously when she looked up at him with tear filled eyes that were begging him to… to... he wasn't sure what… He looked at the young man sitting behind her who looked scared and concerned. For a brief moment he felt a jolt of concern and pity. Then realized what the girl was up to.

"Pleas of insanity will not get you out of tomorrow's quiz."

"I was just there… I… I only fell asleep for a moment… but I was THERE!" Her voice rose in pitch, and her eyes were wide and frantic. Then she began hyperventilating again, her hand clutching her chest as every third breath was accented by a very painful sounding hiccup. Many of the students were good at conjuring up tears at the drop of a hat, but the teacher doubted that anyone could fake a panic attack like this one.

"Er… perhaps you should escort Ms. Higurashi to the nurse's office…"

Inuyasha didn't need to be asked twice. He swept up his books and Kagome's and threw both book bags over his shoulder. Then he coaxed Kagome up onto her feet and put his arm around her shaking shoulders to support her and guide her out of the room, ignoring the curious looks and whispers.

He led her down the empty hallway, stopping at the water fountain on the way. Leaning against the wall he let her drink the slightly warm and metallic tasting water as she struggled to get herself under control.

"Feeling any better?" he asked once her hiccups subsided.

"It was different this time, Inuyasha," she said without looking at him. Instead she stared at the grayish piece of gum in the drain of the water fountain. "I didn't jump down the well or anything this time. I just… woke up… here."

"It was just a dream." He brushed her hair over her shoulder and caught it at the nape of her neck. Slowly he let her hair go and watched it fall back onto her shoulders. His heart was literally aching for her, wishing he knew how to comfort her. "It was just a dream. You're with me now. Everything's going to be okay." He leaned forward and rested his head on hers. "It was just a dream."

Her voice was just a whisper, but he still heard her. "Was it?"

Inuyasha put his arm over her shoulder and once more started leading her down to the nurse's office.

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Kagome stared up at the ceiling from the uncomfortable bed in the nurse's office, counting the tiles for the fifth time. It gave her something to do to keep her mind off of the dream.

Worse than the dream was thinking about Inuyasha. Both of them.

Flipping over to her side she focused on the wall in front of her and tried to find pictures in the swirls of plaster. It didn't help. She still thought about Inuyasha. Both of them.

This Inuyasha had been her best friend for her entire life. She loved him. But did she just love him as a friend or as something more? He made her heart fill calm and warm. He made her feel safe and happy. He was in every one of her most cherished memories. She couldn't imagine life without him.

The other Inuyasha had been her friend and protector since her fifteenth birthday. Well, maybe not on THAT day, but shortly after they became friends. She had fallen in love with him not very long after that, though it had taken her a few months to figure that out. He made her… well… crazy most of the time. He made her feel mad, sad, happy, stupid… a whole rainbow of emotions. But mostly he made her feel safe and happy. And she couldn't imagine life without him.

But his memory was starting to fade and it made her heart hurt.

This had to stop. One of them was real, the other wasn't. But which one? And… did she have a choice in the matter?

What if she did?

What if this was a secret wish she didn't know she had that Midoriko was granting? It was certainly possible. Not that she wanted Inuyasha human, she just wanted him with her and wanted him to care for her. Would she be forced to choose one over the other? It would be impossible to choose which world to stay in, she loved both too much.

Which Inuyasha did she want to be with?

Her heart began to beat fiercely and tears began to leak from her eyes. It would also be impossible to keep on the way that she was, living with one foot in both worlds. Her sanity wouldn't survive.

What if she would have to eventually make a choice? Sighing heavily she vowed to never give Inuyasha… the other one, her cute insufferable dog-earred half demon… a difficult time about Kikyo again. Making choices wasn't easy. She thought about the two Inuyashas in her life.

Kagome truly loved both of them.

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Author's Note: I hope I did a better job with the tenses this time. Hope you stay tuned for the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!