Anyway! Review, and as always, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned either Inuyasha or Doctor Who, you would know.

—Goodbyes and Farewells—

"Escaped execution, saved a Queen-to-be, deposed an evil regent—sounds like a fairy tale," Kagome mused once they were back on the TARDIS.

The Doctor chuckled as he tossed his overcoat onto one of the coral struts. "Not bad for a day's work, eh?"

Kagome grinned as she shrugged off her own coat. "Not bad," she agreed.

The Doctor strode over to the console while Kagome headed over to the jump seat, fingers tracing at the edges as he gazed at the time rotor of his beloved ship. He reached out, fingers curling around a lever, before pausing to pull it. After a moment, he finally spoke. "You… wouldn't want another trip, would you?" the Doctor asked, his offer hesitant. "Something a little less, well, life-threatening?" His smile was sheepish when he finally glanced over at her.

At his question, Kagome had looked up, hands frozen in the air and fingers tightening into the coat she was just about to toss over the railing. When a sad look crossed her face the Doctor sighed. "No, I guess not. Probably a bad idea…" he muttered, shuffling in his spot.

Kagome offered a wistful smile. "I wish I could," she confessed, casting her gaze to the floor, and the Doctor could tell that she really did. "But you said it yourself—time is relative. And if I go, I might not come back. I might not be able to or I'll just keep going and going and I'll be too old to go back and finish what I started. I'll end up regretting coming, and I wouldn't want that," she murmured, tone gentle and somber, and when she looked up at him once more her smile was regretful. "And, I really can't abandon my friends like that."

The Doctor returned her smile with a small, sad one of his own. "I guess you're right," he murmured, and he made a face, breaking the gloomy atmosphere. "Ugh, responsibilities. Leaves a bad taste in one's mouth, it does."

Kagome laughed lightly at that, grinning.

"So," the Doctor said, mustering up a small grin of his own. "Ready to go back to Edo, 1502, Japan's Feudal Era?"

Kagome paused, biting her lip as she peered up at him. "Actually, can we make another stop first?" she asked. At his raised eyebrows, she added, "To 2002? The Higurashi Shrine in Tokyo?" She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "It's just, I want to see my Mama and my little brother and Gramps. It's kind of been a while, and I don't know when I'll be able to see them after that."

The Doctor smiled softly. "I can do that," he acquiesced. "Higurashi Shine in Tokyo, Japan, Earth 2002, here we come."

o.O.o

They had barely made their way down the path to Edo when someone called out.

"Kagome?!" came Inuyasha's incredulous and furious voice. They looked over to see a red and silver form sailing at them through the air, landing right in front of them. His golden eyes were flashing, and he was scowling heavily at her. "What the fuck are you doing here? I sent you back without the shards—how in the hell did you get back?"

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, jumping and leveling a finger as Inuyasha turned to him, eyes blazing. "That's not a nice thing to say—that's rude."

It had Kagome snorting and muttering under her breath. "Pot, meet kettle," to which the Doctor heard and pouted a bit.

"Well, at least I'm not mean to boot!" he exclaimed, whirling on her.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha glared. "And who the hell are you?"

Not even remotely one to back down, the Doctor took a big step forward and placed himself in Inuyasha's personal bubble, bellowing with even more velocity than the half-demon. "Who the hell are you?"

Inuyasha's jaw clenched, his hands tightening around his sword. "Are you mocking me?" he hissed, baring his fangs.

The answer was obvious when the Doctor bared his teeth as well. "I don't know, am I?" he asked, before taking a pinky and picking at something in between his teeth.

It left Inuyasha speechless as his mouth worked open and closed angrily, unable to articulate a response.

The Time Lord suddenly perked up. "I am the Doctor," he announced, or rather, cheerfully chirped.

"'The doctor'?" Inuyasha repeated flatly, and he turned to Kagome, demanding. "You mean like them humans back in your time? Those healers?"

Kagome snorted at the thought of the Doctor stuck in some stuffy hospital treating stuff like the flu. The Doctor flashed her a cheeky grin, as if he knew what she was thinking. "No, nothing like that really. It's his name." Her eyes narrowed as she took a threatening stop towards her so-called best friend, glaring. "We met right after you," she poked him harshly in the shoulder,"So kindly shoved me down the well."

The Doctor winced as her voice dropped to a low and decidedly not happy tone.

Inuyasha had the decency to flinch guiltily at that, a remorseful expression flashing across his face and his ears flattening against his skull. It made Kagome forgive him just a little, but she sure was still going to give him hell for what he did.

And, oh, was she going to give him hell.

Meanwhile, the Doctor shrugged and gently interjected, trying to lighten the atmosphere and calm her a little. "Not that I don't know my way around basic healing, of course," he reminded her.

Kagome straightened, stepping away from Inuyasha to smirk at the Time Lord. "Of course," Kagome replied mockingly.

Inuyasha was looking between the two, eyeing them suspiciously. "I thought you said you only just met him after you left, Kagome?" Inuyasha remarked, his eyes narrowed. "You seem pretty chummy for some human you just met."

Kagome shrugged. "It's only been a few days for you, Inuyasha, but it's been nearly a couple of weeks for me. The Doctor… he has a time travelling ship, kinda like the well, but he's not restricted to one point in time. He can go anywhere, or rather, anywhen."

"Not a word!" the Doctor commented in a sing-sung voice, to which Kagome answered promptly but teasingly.

"Bite me."

o.O.o

It was hard saying goodbye.

But, the Doctor figured it always would be that way. At least this way, they weren't saying goodbye because of something bad that had happened—like with Rose, both times, the first when they were forced apart and the last when he left her with his metacrisis in another parallel world; like with Martha, when she had to get out, after travelling the world for him to save it from the Master; like with Donna, when he had to walk away from his best friend, the most important woman in the universe who had not one single memory of it or the adventures they had shared.

He had to say goodbye to Kagome, not because they wanted to, but because they had to—because Kagome couldn't, not in good conscience, travel with him with the unfinished Shikon dangling over her head—no matter how much either of them would like to travel together.

"Just keep going, all right?" Kagome whispered as she gave him a tight hug. "Stop blaming yourself, you can't keep doing that or it'll just make you bitter and drive you insane, and I don't want you to ever go down that path."

The Doctor smiled to himself as he returned the embrace, one lanky arm wrapping around her back to rest a hand on her waist and the other across her shoulder blades. He threaded his fingers through her long, dark locks, thumb sweeping gently across the nape of her neck. "We'll see," he murmured in return, his tone gentle. "And good luck. Don't you dare give up; this'll be over before you know it and you'll pull through. You're too tough for you not to—and oh, so very brilliant."

"We'll see," she said, parroting his words back to him, and his lips twitched as he shook his head at her. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said as she pulled away and she flashed him a smile and a wink. "I hope you have a great life."

The Doctor stared down at her and before she knew it, he was leaning down and there was a pair of warm lips pressed against the curve of her right cheek. She could only blink, her breath hitching as the breath of his whisper brushed against her ear and his hand reached down to give a gentle squeeze to her own. "

See you later, Kagome," he told her, gentle and slow as their eyes locking for a split-second before he pulled away. And then he was leaving and all she saw was him walking away.

She lingered, wanting to watch him, watch the TARDIS, leave. So she watched as he made his way across the field, past the well, before stopping before his amazing blue box of a ship. He paused, hesitating with his hand on the handle, and for a moment, she thought he would turn and look back for one last glance.

He did.

Kagome smiled widely, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes as she lifted a hand in farewell.

His lips curled, the skin around his brown eyes crinkling along with the tip of his nose, teeth flashing at her in a small grin. He gave her a nod before he pushed open the TARDIS doors and swept inside, blue panels closing behind him.

Mere moments later, wheezing echoed as the TARDIS grinded to life. A tear trailed down Kagome's cheek as she watched the ship fade away to who knows where or when in the universe.

When the TARDIS finally disappeared, she lingered for just a moment longer before turning and walking back down to Edo where her friends were waiting.

They still had a quest to complete.

Technically, this could be the end if you wanted it to be and if you're happy with the story ending there. But there's still an epilogue left if that's not the case, which I hope won't ruin anything. It really shouldn't, but that's just my biased opinion lol.

Well, what did you guys think? Hope you all enjoyed it!

Till next time,

RainLily^^

A great, sincere thanks to these awesome reviewers! I'm really happy you're all enjoying this story!

Krikanalo, MiniRoonie, Tigerluver13, fierynightangel, Bunny.W.K, tinabug, Nyuka, enchanted nightingale, Sezony, Purplediamon