I apologize for the long wait.

Thank you to those who reviewed & are waiting so patiently.

I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 3

Kagome sat on the wall of the Well. An empty sight greeted her as she looked down. She sighed. "Oh what am I thinking?" she said out loud. "No one's coming through that Well. In fact, nothing ever does."

But why do I have the feeling that I'm waiting for someone to come out of this Well?

She shook her head and started to walk out of the Well's house. "I have homework to do. I'm not going to sit around here for nothing."

"Kagome!"

Kagome gasped and ran back to the Well. "Who's there?"

Nothing.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone down there?"

Nothing.

She growled. "Must've been the stupid wind. I'm really am losing it!"

IKIKIK

Kikyo came to the Bone Eater's Well to find Inuyasha sitting up against it, sleeping. His ears twitched from time to time, keeping alert as always. She smiled sadly.

She has resurrected me. She has given me a new life. And she took part of your memory away, she thought. She did all of this just so we could be together again.

Kikyo found it strange that Kagome allowed only her to remember everything. The demonslayer and the monk didn't remember Kagome, especially the little fox kit. Whenever they would inquire about why they feel as if someone from their small traveling group was missing, Kikyo would walk away.

Kagome wanted it this way, Kikyo knew. She took her friends' memories away so they wouldn't try to bring back Inuyasha's memories as well as having them not feel any pain or remorse when she left.

But whenever Kikyo looked at Inuyasha, an arrow of sadness would pierce her heart at his expression. He looked so…lost. Forlorn. Torn apart. Confused. And it was all because of her reincarnation.

Oh she understood that Inuyasha had begun to love the modern girl; she just couldn't believe it until now.

A month after Inuyasha's five-month "sleep", Kikyo started up a concoction that would bring Kagome back…at a price, however. She now understood that her life in the living world was over. Destiny had taken her away and gave birth to her reincarnation. In a way, Kagome was Kikyo's second chance with Inuyasha.

The potion was done. Her spell was complete.

It was time.

Kikyo knelt by Inuyasha, staring at his serene face. He looks like a child when he sleeps, she thought. She brushed back part of his long bangs.

Twin orbs of sun blinked open. It rested on her. A smile. "Kikyo," He moved forward and laid a gentle kiss on her lips.

Kikyo steeled her heart against the soft warmth of his lips. "It is time, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" Understanding dawned. "Ah. The mating ceremony. Don't you think we should wait just a week more? I-"

"No." Kikyo said. "That's not what I meant."

His head tilted, one ear up, the other down. "Then what do you mean?"

She stood with a sigh. "Go get Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. Meet me in my hut within the hour." She stroked his cheek lovingly. "It is time that the truth be unveiled to you all."

Inuyasha nodded slowly. "Sure. W-whatever you say." He turned and leapt away.

Kikyo stared after him. I had a wonderful time with you these past months, Inuyasha. I will never forget them, I promise. I will always belong to you, but it is not in this body and mind that I will be bound to you. She thought of Kagome.

Fate had given me a second chance with you through her. I was selfish enough to stay in clay form just to stay with you. I was selfish enough to want to bring you to hell with me because I assumed that you were the one who betrayed me while it was Naraku. I was selfish enough to go to you and make you come to me while it was Kagome who needed you the most. I'm so sorry, Inuyasha. Please forgive me.

An hour later, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha went into Kikyo's hut. A fire was brewing the center of the hut and a pot was held over it. Its contents were boiling as Kikyo stirred.

"Sit around the pit," she said.

They obeyed.

"What is the meaning of this, Priestess Kikyo?" Sango asked.

"Yes. Inuyasha told us that the truth was to be unveiled." Miroku said. "What do you mean by that?"

Kikyo started adding the last ingredients into the pot. "Five months ago you all woke with a memory that is incomplete." She paused. "There is a small spot in each of your hearts for one woman who was taken from your group. One who you all adored, trusted, and loved. Her name was…Kagome."

Four pairs of colored eyes blinked confusingly.

"Five months ago, the shards of the Shikon Jewel was finally purified and put together. It was then Kagome made five wishes."

"A moment, if you will, Priestess." Miroku requested.

"What is it?"

"Who is this…Kagome?"

"My reincarnation," she answered. "Born of the Higurashi family who guards and preserves the Bone Eater's Well five hundred years in the future."

"A girl from the future?" Sango repeated. "How is that possible that she came here?"

"From what I know, she ventured near the Well and awoke Lady Centipede from her grave. Lady Centipede brought her into this world where she met Inuyasha, pinned to the great tree with my arrow." Kikyo turned to Inuyasha. "She released you because you were the only possible solution to defeat Lady Centipede."

"Well, that explains my reawakening." Inuyasha said.

"Afterwards, she shattered the Shikon Jewel by accident and you and she went on a journey to find them."

"I remember going on the journey, but I don't remember her." Inuyasha looked at his friends. "Do you?"

They shook their heads.

"You remember Naraku, though." Kikyo stated.

"Yes," Inuyasha answered. "We defeated him with your help."

"And Kagome's," Kikyo poured in the second to the last ingredient. "As I was saying earlier, she made five wishes. The first was to give me a body of my own and a beating heart. The second was to have her memory taken away when she returned to her time. The third was to ensure all of your safety. The fourth was to have Inuyasha's memory of her to be taken away. The last was to have Sango, Miroku, and Shippo to forget her and stay with Inuyasha so he won't be alone."

Inuyasha looked toward his friends, who stared right back. He turned back to Kikyo when she said, "There was a necklace of subjugation around your neck when she was here."

He touched his neck. He nodded. "I always felt as if something was missing."

Kikyo chuckled. "She would say 'sit' and you would go crashing into the ground whenever you did something that displeased her, which was often I might add."

Inuyasha groaned.

"But you miss it because it reminded you of her,"

He just stared at Kikyo.

Kikyo turned to Miroku. "You miss her because she was the first woman who didn't fall into your…habits." She looked at Sango. "You miss her because she acted like a sister to you." She looked at Shippo. "You miss her because she was the mother you lost." And then she returned her gaze to Inuyasha. "You miss her because you love her."

Inuyasha's narrowed. "That's not true. I love you, Kikyo. Not her. Never her."

Kikyo only smiled sadly. "That is what Kagome thought. It was what prompted her to make her wishes. She believed that you never loved her and you only loved me, a woman's lost soul trapped in a clay body." She poured in the last ingredient. "But you actually did love her."

Inuyasha snorted.

"You did. You loved her like a sister, at first. Then, you loved her because she reminded you of me. And finally, you loved her because of who she was and what she did for you."

Kikyo stared into the pot, making sure that it was heated exactly at the right temperature. Then, she held her arm over the pot and cut her forearm.

"Kikyo! What are you doing?" Inuyasha cried out as he got to his feet.

"Sit down, Inuyasha." Kikyo ordered. She clenched and unclenched her fist, making her blood drip into the pot. "It is part of the potion."

Miroku's eyes narrowed. "You're going to try to bring Kagome back."

Kikyo nodded.

"Why are you doing this, Priestess?" Shippo asked, his wide blue eyes staring up at her curiously.

Kikyo only smiled. "She saved my life and gave me back my body and life. She has done so much for me with or without her knowledge. I'm merely repaying her."

"What exactly does this…potion do?" Sango asked.

"Once the potion is done and cast, you will all remember what has been taken from you. It will allow Inuyasha to travel through the Well five hundred years into the future and bring Kagome back to this time. It is here that she will depend on all of you to help regain her memory." Kikyo held a cloth to her arm.

"And its price?" Sango said.

"My life,"

"No!" Inuyasha shouted. "I will not allow you to do this! If this…Kagome wanted to take away all of our memories and give you back your body, then that means she doesn't want to come back. It was her wish. We should honor it."

"But her wish is tearing at your heart," Kikyo said. "And I can't stand to have you in pain."

"It doesn't matter. I want you."

Kikyo shook her head. "Fate has taken me from the living world for a reason. I have spent a fair amount of time with you that I understand where I belong. And it is not in the living world,"

"Kikyo, please don't do this."

"I have to. No, I want to. I already lived my life. I loved you once as a woman. I guarded the Sacred Shikon Jewel as a priestess. I taught my younger sister the things I know as the role of the eldest demands. I have had enough adventures and I am tired. I wish to rest in peace now."

Inuyasha's hands clenched.

Kikyo raised her hand to his cheek. "Once I cast the spell, you have but two days to bring her back here." She glanced at Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. "Once Kagome is back, you all have one month to regain her memory."

"And if she doesn't?" Shippo asked.

Kikyo swallowed hard. "Time will eat at her heart and body. She had traveled between times safely because of the Shikon Jewel. Now that the Jewel is gone and I am to fall to my grave, she has no protections. I have seen her future and it will change dramatically if she is dead."

"What happens if she is dead?" Inuyasha asked.

Kikyo shook her head. "What I tell you will alter the course of the future. All I can tell you is that dangerous things will happen if she does not recover her memory within one month. It will start once your feet touch these grounds after you've retrieved her."

Before anyone could say any thing more, Kikyo said firmly, "The potion is done and the spell needs to be cast now." She paused, looking at all of them. "I thank you for kindness and your friendships. I will never forget you and what you've done to save us all from Naraku's grasp."

She turned to Inuyasha. "Tell her you love her. Make her believe that she is the only one in your life."

Inuyasha's lips pursed.

She smiled. "And tell her thank you for me." She looked into the pot and murmured an incantation. Seconds later, a magical mist shot out of the pot and swirled wildly over Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.

"I…I remember," Sango murmured.

"As do I," Miroku agreed.

"Me, too!" Shippo cried out happily. "I remember Kagome."

Inuyasha reached to his neck, where the Sacred Necklace used to lay. "I remember her."

Kikyo smiled. She whispered another incantation. Another magical mist shot out of the pot and out of the hut. It swirled around the Well, bringing back its magical uses once more.

"Go, Inuyasha!" Kikyo shouted. "Now! Before the spell fades!"

Inuyasha grunted a thank you to her and ran out of the hut. He leapt to the Well and jumped into it.

Kikyo whispered the last incantation. A gentle magical mist swirled around her. She smiled at her friends. "Good bye," she whispered. And then, she was gone.

IKIKIK

Inuyasha jumped out of the Well. He took in a deep breath and coughed wildly. "Ack. Yup. I remember this time's stench."

He opened the Well's house's door and looked around. He took a sniff and realized Kagome wasn't back home from school yet. He grunted, frustrated. "Just great, just…great. I thought this was going to be easy. But I guess not," He collapsed into a heap on the floor, folding his legs and cradled his Tessaiga.

During the next few hours, he thought about Kagome. Their adventures. Their new friends. Their argumentative moments. Their smiling moments. Everything.

Kagome, how could you? he thought. How could you just take everything away from me and our friends?

"You don't love me. You love Kikyo. And you always have. You say you love me, but it is only because I remind you of her." Her voice rang through his mind. "Either way, Inuyasha, we can never be together. Never. I belong in the future. You belong in the past. And it is the future I will return to and it is the past you will stay in."

Inuyasha's heart clenched. You were my everything, Kagome. You were my first real friend. You never judged me. You understood me. You comforted me. You saved me. You did everything to and for me. And not once did I thank you. But did you really have to rip out my heart when you left?

He buried his face in his folded arms. "Oh Kagome," he whispered. "I want you back in my arms again."

IKIKIK

Morning came. Inuyasha's ears perked at the birds' chirping. He jerked awake, realizing the time. He slid the door open a crack and sniffed. SHE WASN'T THERE?!?

According to his nose, she hadn't even come home at all!!

He growled, furious. What the hell's has she been doing? he thought wildly. Doesn't she know that it's not right to stay away from home for so long? Stupid damn girl. I'm gonna-

Just then, he heard the most musical voice.

Her voice.

Heart pounding, he slid the door open wider. His amber eyes drank in the goddess before him.

She still looked the same, except that her hair was shorter and her eyes held a lost look.

Oh her eyes.

How he missed those brown orbs. He drowned in them when he first opened his eyes to stare into hers.

Her curves had shaped deliciously these past months, making his blood boil.

He blushed. Stop it, you mutt!

She stepped out of his view and into her house.

Inuyasha shook his head wildly and opened the door wide. He stepped through and leapt up to her window, making sure no one saw him at first. He went through her open window and sat on the window sill.

She opened the door and froze at the sight of him. "Who…Wh-who are you?" her voice shook.

Inuyasha stood and said calmly, "It's all right. My name's Inuyasha, Kagome."

Kagome fell back against her wall. "H-h-h-how do you know my name?!?"

Inuyasha scratched his head. "Kinda long story. We were friends once. Until five months ago."

That one detail caught her attention. "Five months ago? But I was in a coma."

"Coma?"

"Yeah. It happens when your body shuts down after an accident,"

Inuyasha frowned. "You were in an accident? Where? How?"

The door suddenly opened. "Kagome, I brought you – oh my goodness!" Kagome's mother squealed. "Inuyasha!" She put down the tray of snacks and went over to hug him. "Inuyasha, it's so good to see you again! What happened to you? When you didn't come for Kagome when she came home, I started to worry that something happened to you." She cupped his chin and moved his head right and left. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Inuyasha gently took her hand away from his face, glad that she remembered him. "No. I'm fine. Kagome wished for the Sacred Jewel-"

"WhoaWhoaWhoaWhoa!" Kagome shouted. "Hold on a minute!" She looked at her mother. "You mean you know this guy?"

Kagome's mother nodded. "You two were the best of friends." She looked back at Inuyasha. "After she came out of her coma, she didn't even know who you were. She didn't even know who Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Naraku, Koga-"

"Mom!" Kagome yelled. "The guy has dog ears! Don't you think something's a bit odd with him?"

A hurt expression clouded Inuyasha's face. "But you liked my ears."

Kagome's heart clenched at his expression. "W-well,"

He suddenly walked up to her. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his ears. "Go ahead."

Kagome glanced over his shoulder to see her mother nod encouragingly. Her fingers settled over his ears. She blinked. It was so strange. So inhuman. So…soft. Then, it twitched.

Inuyasha sighed as he closed his eyes. "It's been a while since you've last touched them." He leaned into her soft touch. It had been more than a while since she last gave him an ear rub. "You were the only one who loved my ears." His memory drifted into the past, when they were together and happy with their friends. "You were the only one I allowed to touch them."

Something stirred in Kagome's heart and mind as he talked.

"Where I came from, everyone hated them. Hated me. Because I was different." He opened his eyes and stared into her eyes. "But you didn't hate my ears. You didn't hate me. You liked me because I was different. You liked me for who I was. You didn't want me to change. I remember you telling me that one time."

Kagome's eyes misted over. "We were…sitting…in a field…looking up…at the stars…"

Inuyasha perked. "Yeah. Yeah, that's right."

She blinked, her brow furrowed. "You were…talking about your…past." She tilted her head, as if listening for something. "How no one but…your mother…wanted you because you were a half-" She stopped.

"Half…?"

"Demon," she finished.

Inuyasha grinned. "Heh. Well, whaddya know. She's remembering."

Kagome suddenly shook her head, withdrawing her hand away from his ear. "This is crazy. Nuts. Psychotic."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome's mother, who shrugged.

"This is just a dream." Kagome muttered. "I'm going to wake up soon. I am. You'll see. This is just a dream…just a dream."

"Sorry for this," he muttered to Kagome's mother. He suddenly pushed Kagome up against the wall, laying his lips on her trembling ones, licking into her mouth.

Kagome's mother gasped and looked away, blushing. Oh my…Not even my husband was that impulsive. Well, actually he was. She blushed harder. This is not the time!

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes and pulled away slightly so that their hot breaths mingled. He stared at her closed eyes and then her slightly open, pink, wet mouth. "I think it's real," he murmured.

Kagome opened her eyes. She was glad for the wall was behind her and for his clawed hands as it held her up. Her knees had buckled at the intensity of his kiss. It spoke of longing, anxiety, excitement, and sadness.

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder. "I would like to take Kagome back to my time for the time being."

Kagome's mother nodded rigorously. "Of course. Do what you must. I want her memory to come back."

"So do I," he agreed.

"Y-your time?" Kagome repeated. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"

Inuyasha reluctantly stepped aside as Kagome's mother gave Kagome a suitcase out of nowhere. "I've been waiting for this day," she said. "It's all right, dear. You can trust Inuyasha. He's been nothing but harsh to you when you were with him."

He snorted at that, even as an amused smile threatened to curve on his lips.

"Don't worry. He'll take good care of you. Your grandfather and I will come up with lots of excuses to the school. We'll make sure you'll have ample time to study for your tests as well. I only want your memory back since I know it's been bothering you these past months." Kagome's mother looked at Inuyasha. "I would have sent for you, but the Well doesn't allow anyone but her."

Inuyasha nodded understandingly. "She'll be gone for about a month, if that's all right."

"All right? Of course it's all right! Do whatever you can to bring her memory back."

"Kagome, wait for me downstairs while I talk to your mother." Inuyasha said.

Kagome hesitated, then nodded at her mother's encouraging look.

"You must know, ma'am," he began. "That there are…consequences if she doesn't regain her memory back by the end of this month."

Kagome's mother nodded. "Yes. I understand."

"If she does not regain her memory, she will die and then chaos will occur," he continued. "Are you ready to accept that?"

She nodded, even as tears rolled down her eyes. "I just want her to have a change to get her memory back. She's been so frustrated lately about something missing in her heart."

Inuyasha's eyes softened. "As have I,"

"Please take good care of her, Inuyasha. I'm counting on you."

"I promise." He walked out of the room and went down the stairs. He grabbed Kagome's suitcase and said softly, "Let's go." He headed toward the Well.

"Why the Well?" Kagome asked. "Shouldn't we be taking a car or some kind of transportation?"

He smirked. "The Well is our transportation."

Kagome looked at him curiously as he opened the door and stepped up onto the low walls of the Well. He held out his hand. She stared at his hand then back at her home.

"I can't guarantee that you'll be back, Kagome." Inuyasha said. "There will be consequences if you-"

"I know. I heard." Kagome said softly.

"Your remembering is important to me above all things. Just think of that for now."

She nodded. She took a breath and placed her hand in his.

He curved his arm around her waist. "Let's go home, Kagome." He jumped, the Well's magic swallowing them up.

Okay. Well. The chapter's not very good. Sorry about that.

Thanks for reading, though!

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