I still don't own Inuyasha... And I apologize for any confusion the time change might cause in this chapter. It takes place three years before Kagome went back to the Feudal Era, but in her time.

To say Kagome was shocked was an understatement. After all, who ever heard of a well that could transport you to a lush green forest when you jumped down it.

She inhaled, and instantly felt like she belonged. Not the half-weirded out part like she had felt at the hospital, and then again at home. Still keeping her eyes shut, Kagome breathed in yet again, and knew what it was she had felt.

She was home.

But that wasn't even the worst part. For standing in front of her was a man, one with long silver hair and golden eyes that seemed to smolder as he watched her.

And not even that surprised her too much.

What scared her was that she felt like something was wrong. There was a silence that seemed to last forever, until she finally shattered the iciness that permeated the air.

"Who are you?"

Inuyasha sat straight up. He knew that scent - only one person smelled like her. She was back? It was almost too good to be true. Without a single thought to the rest of his friends, Inuyasha dashed into the forest where he had once been sealed to the sacred tree.

Sesshomaru smirked at the young girl in front of him, the one his little brother seemed so infatuated with. And she didn't seem to remember him... How interesting. He could certainly have some fun taunting the half-breed. And besides, Rin needed someone more like her to spend time with.

"You may call me Sesshomaru." He held out a clawed hand. "You seem... afraid almost. It's alright. We've met before. Though you obviously don't remember anything. Come. You can stay with me for a while."

Kagome didn't really want to follow this man, but she didn't have much of a choice. Without him, she would be murdered by bandits in the forest. With him, she could very well be murdered anyway. But as much as she didn't want to go with him, it didn't seem as if he would hurt her, right now at least.

Making up her mind, Kagome followed Sesshomaru through Inuyasha's Forest.

They walked for some time. The twilight soon faded to full night, and yet Sesshomaru still didn't slow down. Kagome didn't know where they were going, and nothing in the area seemed familiar. All she knew was that her feet were really starting to hurt.

"We're almost there. It's just past those trees." Sesshomaru's deep voice broke the silence, making Kagome jump. But she didn't have much time to get herself together before her breath was utterly taken away.

In the center of the clearing was a house made of straw and trees, but that's not what took her breath away. Playing in grass was a little girl, about nine or ten. And her eyes just lit up when she saw her. "Kagome! You're back!" The two of them almost toppled over with the force of Rin's hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!" She paused for a moment before tumbling on again. "But where's Inuyasha? Isn't he with you?"

Something made Kagome's heart break at the girl's face; she seemed to know Kagome so well, but there was nothing that she could recall. And who was this Inuyasha the girl mentioned?

"Kagome?" Sesshomaru walked up beside her. "I believe you have quite a tale to tell us. Come, Rin, and make some tea for our guest. Jaken," Sesshomaru called, "bring in some of those leaves I sent you out for earlier."

"Yes, m'lord," a creepy green thing replied, darting after Rin.

After they were all seated, Kagome began to speak. "You seem to know me, but I'm sorry. I just... I just can't remember. I think it had something to do with an accident I had a couple years ago..."

Three Years Ago, Present Day Tokyo

Kagome sighed. It had only been a few days, but she already missed Inuyasha terribly. How was she going to make it for the years it would be before the well opened up again?

There was no use denying it; she was absolutely miserable. It made her wonder why she'd fought with Inuyasha all those times to come back. Now she would've given almost anything to go to the Feudal Era.

It had been a long day at school, and all Kagome wanted to do was go to the shrine, which didn't feel like home anymore, and curl up in her bed with a hot cup of tea and a good novel. But she knew herself to well to think she could actually read without her mind wandering to thoughts of Inuyasha, much less actually swallow anything.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the car coming until it was too late. The driver wasn't paying attention, and nearly ran Kagome over. It was only due to Hojo's quick thinking that saved her from being a Kagome pancake.

But as he tackled her, she hit her head on the cement, and blacked out. Her last thoughts were of Inuyasha, and how sorry she was that it wasn't him who had saved her.

The trauma to her head was superficial, but the stress of time jumping had taken too much out of her. The quirk that allowed her to visit him in his era had exhausted her body.

Long after her head had healed, she still laid in the hospital bed, refusing to wake up from her coma.

Almost two years passed before she woke up.

And she had absolutely no memory of her ninth grade year.

Well, that wasn't precisely true; she remembered being sick a lot and having to fight really hard to make it to the little school she did. She remembered her friends, and her boyfriend Hojo. But when her mom asked about Inuyasha, her mind drew a blank. It was like he had never existed, that their time together had meant nothing.

The rest of her time was spent in physical therapy, and Kagome worked hard enough with the schoolwork Hojo brought over that she was able to take exams from the hospital. She passed, and had graduated high school.

It was still a while before she was allowed to go home, though. The majority of her time was spent with Hojo or reading the magazines her three friends brought over. But she still felt as if something was missing, as if someone would be jumping up to her hospital room window and checking in on her.

That feeling only intensified during the last few months, but no one ever came.

She was alone.

Feudal Era, Present Day

"There are things I know I've forgotten, things I know my mother refused to tell me. And I think it was because she didn't want me to come back here. Well, not quite. I think she was afraid." Kagome concluded, her summary of the accident short and to the point.

Sometime while she was telling Sesshomaru this, Rin had climbed into her lap. "But that's so sad! And not to remember Inuyasha! You were in lo-"

"Rin, that's enough. If she doesn't remember, then maybe she should figure it out on her own," he turned towards Kagome, "but in the meantime she should stay here with us."

Rin's eyes lit up. "Really? Can you, can you? Pleeeeaaaase?"

Chuckling lightly, Kagome nodded. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go." Sesshomaru's eyes met her own, and something passed between them.

Feudal Era, Inuyasha's Forest

"I can smell her, dammit. She was here. And not too long ago! But something's off." Inuyasha had his nose to the ground, right up against the well. He sniffed for a few more minutes. "She's... not alone." Another few minutes passed as he tried to place that smell. And his face darkened as his nose met with his brain.

"You'll pay for this, Sesshomaru."