Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

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This chapter absolutely did not want to get written. Sorry for the long wait :/ Enjoy :)

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His ears flicked back and forth, catching the noises of the late fall afternoon. Leaves danced on the wind, as squirrels busied about, looking for nuts to store for winter, not that they'd remember where they were. The lone fox hunted quietly across the meadow, stalking a clueless squirrel as it darted around in the fallen leaves. He took a step forward, the leaves crackling beneath his feet. The fox stopped and looked at him, startled, before fleeing for its den. He gave a low chuckle of amusement. A girl, sitting on the edge of the well in front of him, looked up at him, tilting her head in curiosity.

"What's so funny?"

He shook his head, a grin playing out across his lips. She couldn't help but smile back--she was glad he was happy again. Even after she had woken up, his laughter, his smiles were scarce, few and far between. She swung her legs over the edge of the well, and looked back at him.

"You coming with me?"

He nodded, and she slid from the edge down into the murky depths.

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"InuYasha?"

He nodded to show that he had heard, not that she was looking at him. She was sitting on her bed, looking out the window at the stars. He was staring at her from where he was sitting on the floor, back leaning against the wall, Tessiaga next to him on the floor, his hand resting lightly on the sheath.

"You never did tell me how I got to the hospital."

He shook his head, before standing and moving to sit next to her.

"I'm not really sure myself."

"Huh?"

"I don't really remember...just some flashes of carrying you. The first thing that was really clear to me after was waking up nearly covered in bandages."

"Oh..."

"Miroku told me that after I had collapsed on the battlefield, I woke up and picked you up. He says that when he tried to stop me, I wouldn't listen, that my eyes were blank, like Kohaku's used to be when he was controlled by Naraku."

She nodded, silently musing over what she had been told. She turned to face him, looking up into his warm amber eyes.

"What if I hadn't woken up? What if I died?"

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he turned away to stare at the wall.

"That's unusually morbid for you, you know."

"It's unusual that you know the word 'morbid'. Answer my question."

"If you had died, I would have died."

"You don't need to lie for my sake, InuYasha."

"I'm not."

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She leaned against his back, as they sat in the middle of a torn up field. Small craters dotted the ground and large tree trunks lay about like so much litter. Scorch marks occasionally scarred the land. All in all, it was a desolate scene.

"I can't believe it hasn't changed."

Her voice was low, colored by sadness. He turned his head, glancing back at her out of the corner of his eye. She shifted uneasily against his back, the battlefield before her putting her on edge.

"Stop squirming. It's not that bad."

"Oh yeah, why isn't it 'that bad'? It looks so...so...broken."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, moving in front of her to offer her a hand up.

"You wanna know why it isn't that bad?"

He pulled her over to where Naraku had finally died, and knelt down in the ashes left from when they had burned his corpse after the battle. brushing some aside, he revealed a small seedling sprouting out of the dust, its leaves pale green in the dying light of the day. He looked back up at her over his shoulder.

"That's why it's not that bad."

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She was angelic in sleep, he thought, as he carried her towards the well. She had fallen asleep on the battlefield, leaning against his back as the last few rays of light faded and the stars began to spark into life above them. Now he was bringing her back to her era, her home, so that she could sleep in peace. A smile graced her face as she lay nestled in his arms.

Upon reaching the well, he jumped in, and in a flare of light, was landing lightly in her time. Leaping out, he jumped up to her window, which was open from when they had left earlier that day. Carefully, he placed her in her bed, pulling the blankets gently around her. She shifted in her sleep, rolling over and grabbing the nearest soft fabric in her hand, which turned out to be InuYasha's sleeve. He started, surprised, and tried to get his sleeve out of her grasp, but to no avail. Silently, he sat down on the floor next to her bed, his arm resting next to hers. He sighed and laid his head down on his arm, and closed his eyes. If he had to stay, he might as well rest while he waited for her to let go.

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"InuYasha!"

The hissed voice in his ear woke him up, and startled, he leapt away, across the room, immediately on guard. Kagome giggled as she watched his wary surprise.

"You know, you really should warn me if you're going to be sleeping here."

"It's not my fault! You're the one that grabbed my sleeve last night!"

She blushed slightly, caught off guard that she had sought to have him near even in sleep.

"Yeah, well, you could have gotten loose if you wanted to!"

He shrugged.

"Probably, but you were hanging on tight and I didn't want to hurt you."

She sighed and pulled the blankets off, standing up and stretching. Glancing down at her clothes, she looked back up at InuYasha.

"I take it I fell asleep outside last night?"

He couldn't resist grinning as he answered.

"Yeah, fast asleep like a baby."

She stuck out her tongue, and turned away from him. He walked up behind her and grabbed her around the waist and she squeaked, startled.

"You're so immature, you know?"

"Look who's talking."

"Me? Immature? Yeah, right."

She grinned and turned around, Laughter sparkling in her eyes as she let loose the next comeback.

"Says the guy who once almost didn't save me from a floating mask because I hadn't said sorry yet."

"Hey! You hurt my back with those sits!"

"Mmhmm. Yup."

He glared down at her as she looked up at him, grinning. He dropped his arms from around her waist and turned away.

"Yeah, well, if I'm so immature, maybe you'd be better off without me."

It was her turn to surprise him as she grabbed him from behind in an impromptu hug.

"You may be immature, but that's the way I like you. A selfish, immature hanyou who doesn't know when to stop talking."

"Hey!"

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The End.

R&R :) Again, I'm sorry this took so long, but it refused to be written.

How was it? tell me how to improve, so that the next time I write something, it's better. :) And yes, that is the end.

One thing I want to answer someone who left an unsigned review: At the end of the second chapter, she woke up for the first time, hence why she was awake (and screaming) in the third chapter.