Chapter 11

Hojo was the first to awaken and was mildly surprised to find he was still dreaming. Last night's nightmare of him going into the past after Kagome, meeting and fighting a demon named InuYasha, and then being stitched-up in the back room of a grass and straw hut had been incredibly real. Starring at the ceiling he realized he was still in that dream only now sunlight seemed to be seeping through a small window. The intensity of the light burned his eyes and he squeezed them shut.

Thinking that if he just went back to sleep he would awaken later at home, Hojo shook his head slightly and rolled onto his arm. Raw, hot pain shot from his shoulder, across his chest, and into his neck. He clenched his jaw and groaned loudly as he rolled back flat. Tiny red and white stars burst in his vision and he realized he was incredibly thirsty before everything went dark again.

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Chapter 12

"Hojo? Hojo, can you hear me?" Kagome stroked a hand over his forehead again, softly caressing his scalp and carefully avoiding the bump left when InuYasha had tossed him. Sango still slept peacefully in a corner of the room and Kaede was preparing clean dressings for Hojo's wounds. She came over and knelt on his other side handing Kagome a clean cloth and a small jar of salve. She laid them carefully on the floor before going back to awakening Hojo.

Though she knew she'd heard him groaning earlier this morning, Kagome was not sure she would be able to wake him now. His sleep was like the dead except that he was breathing and warm to the touch. She was not worried about fever, his wounds were not serious enough, but she was concerned about shock. Hojo'd been uncharacteristically lethargic after he'd come to Kaede's hut yesterday. He had reacted to the pain and discomfort caused by his arm, but had seemed to take it all in stride as though he were caught in some altered reality. He'd not spoken much and actually had lain down to sleep without complaint or even a goodnight.

"Come on, Hojo. It's Kagome... open your eyes, please," she said in an almost whine.

The man in her arms scrunched his face a little before yawning and awakening. He seemed dazed and unfocused, searching his surrounding for something familiar, something that would tell him he wasn't still dreaming. Kagome's face was the only recognizable thing.

"Where..?" he whispered, his voice scratchy and dry.

She sighed with relief and had to catch herself before hugging him fiercely. "You found me, remember. Through the well."

"That was a dream, Kagome," he stated. She shook her head negative. "It's real?" Hojo's eyes widened in wonder as Kagome slowly affirmed his questions. She gazed up across him and Hojo realized for the first time that they were not alone.

An old woman, the one he remembered tending his wounds the previous night, sat silently, watching him and Kagome interact with a sort of sad joy in her eyes. Hojo studied the face, and could remember the sound of her voice before she even spoke.

"Do you think you can walk, young man?" Her aged voice was soft and anything but condescending.

Hojo nodded and the two women helped him to sit up. His head swam with dizziness and his shoulder throbbed so bad that for a moment he believed he'd be sick all over them. With a weak gulp, he swallowed his nausea. Kagome left him for a moment to get some water then helped him to sip the cool, clear liquid. It did wonders to calm his stomach.

"Kaede and I need to change the wrappings and put some more salve on you arm, then we'll go home. Okay?" Kagome began preparing the cloth wrappings and didn't see his weak nod of approval.

As the two carefully unwrapped, cleaned, and redressed his shoulder, Hojo was able to take in a bit more of his surroundings. He studied the walls, the random patch of sky through the window, the miscellaneous evidence of living in the room, the fire pit... anything really to keep his mind off the tingles and pricks of pain in his arm.

Kagome was sitting behind him and the old woman on his left, finishing the wrapping, when Hojo noticed shadowed forms moving in the next room. He tensed and tried to get to his feet as the bamboo curtain that divided the rooms was putted back slightly and a young fox came in.

Alerted to the presence of another, Kagome looked over Hojo's shoulder, while trying to hold him down, and saw Shippou. "Hey there," she said in a cheery voice and felt Hojo react to it and calm beneath her hand.

"Hello," the junior fox demon said, a curious tilt to his head as he studied Hojo. "I'm Shippou," his sweet child's voice danced with excitement as the kitsune slowly approached the trio in the middle of the room.

The little being was getting closer and closer, and with every miniature step, Hojo became more and more tense. He needed a savior...

As if one cue, the curtain was pulled back again, and Miroku came into the room. He scooped-up Shippou and sat down, positioning the cub on his lap. Shippou squirmed for a moment then settled when the priest whispered something in his ear. Hojo starred at the man, asking with his eyes what had been said. His answer was a wink.

Aware that Miroku had joined them but not really paying attention, Kaede and Kagome finished with Hojo's arm and began putting away the supplies. Kagome finished in a hurry and sat next to Hojo on his uninjured side. She leaned into him slightly to get his attention and smiled when he turned to her.

"You should be okay in a few days." He nodded and hummed in response. "I, um... I'm really sorry about this. I didn't know you could follow me here, or that InuYasha would come after you, or that..."

"Hey, hey," he said, calming her to mumbles. "I didn't know what to expect either, but your family asked me to come."

"Her family?" Shippou asked.

Hojo nodded to the little cub and turned back to Kagome. "They are afraid one of these times you won't come back. I'd be willing to bet the well should and will be destroyed once we get back."

Shippou gasped, Miroku grumbled, and Kaede gave a somewhat understanding sound of approval. Kagome looked at her three friends, almost losing it when she saw Shippou's bottom lip quiver, then back to Hojo quickly.

"Then I can't leave yet. I need to finish what I started here before I go entirely." She voice was firm and her statement final.

"Then I stay too."

"You can't," came a strong reply from the other side of the bamboo curtain. Hojo looked up just as a man with long white hair, dog-ears, and wearing a red kimono came into the room. He stood just inside the door, his amber eyes drilling holes right into Hojo, and crossed his arms over his chest.

InuYasha..., he thought.

"You will go back through the well and never use it again, if you know what's good for you." The man's commanding presence, and the fact that none of the others were opposing him, sent a chill down Hojo's spine.

No longer one to be outdone in front of Kagome, Hojo struggled to his feet, swaying dangerously until Kagome also stood and helped him, and faced off with the demon.

"Who are you to be giving orders, especially to me? I'm here for Kagome, not to be pushed around by the likes of you..."

Anger clouded InuYasha's eyes and he took a threatening step forward. "Listen you, I should have killed you last night, so don't think I won't try again every chance I get, especially when you're not hiding behind a girl."

Hojo fisted his hand and was about to step up to InuYasha when Kagome swung around him to stand between the two, giving the demon an evil glare before speaking.

"He's right, Hojo. You can't stay." Hojo looked down at her, his expression bordering on betrayal. "You could get hurt again...," she said in a weak voice. Behind her she heard InuYasha snort in triumph. Without warning she said 'SIT' and was satisfied that she'd evened the score when a loud thump and many obscene curses railed at her back. Hojo too was trying to suppress a smile.

"Okay," he consented, then lowered his voice, thinking only Kagome would be able to hear him, "but you can't spend as much time here. I want to see you more." He swept a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand come to rest on her shoulder. She blushed and behind her on the floor, InuYasha fumed.

"I'm going to show Hojo how to get to the well," Kagome said, her comment directed towards Kaede but meant for the room in general.

As they left the house InuYasha finally found his footing. "Leave them be," Kaede warned. "Might want to stay here until she comes back," Miroku advised. "Don't drive her away," Shippou whispered, almost to himself and low enough that InuYasha doubted anyone but him had heard. Don't worry, kitsune, I'm not going to lose her...

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Chapter 13

Morning sunlight filtered through the canopy casting wonderful shadows over the couple. She hadn’t let go of his hand the entire way, squeezing occasionally to get his attention for specific features of the forest. She wanted him to be able to navigate his way to Kaede’s again, in case he came back for some reason. For her.

"Will you be okay getting back," Kagome asked as they approached the well.

His only answer was a slight "humm."

Kagome peered over the rim, judging the distance to the bottom. She’d never really thought about the jump, but then again she’d never made it while seriously injured. Maybe I should take him back, she thought. He could reopen the stitching if he landed wrong, or twist an ankle, or...

"Kagome."

The Shikon no Miko turned to him, her eyes showing the question in her mind. She was so beautiful, especially with a slight breeze calmly pushing her hair about. A stronger gust pulled some from behind her ear and it drifted across her face. He smiled, gently using the hand on his uninjured arm to scoop the silken strands back again. But his hand lingered, cupping her cheek, and bringing her closer.

"Come with me," Hojo said. "Come home and forget all this." He motioned with his eyes in the direction of the village while squeezing her hand. The two stood close enough to...

Kagome’s eyes changed. She desperately wanted to go back, to be with him and have something of a life more normal than this yet more extraordinary then anything. She wanted to say ‘yes’ to him, to jump over the rim of the well, to leave all the pain she knew here for the peace she knew at home. She wanted to so badly.

"Hojo, you know I can’t," Kagome lowered her head, allowing him to hug her closer. "I created this mess and to leave… it just wouldn’t be fair."

"To hell with fair, Kagome! It’s dangerous here, that creature especially. What happens once I’m gone, huh?"

He’d tipped her face up to his, maybe two inches apart. Somewhere in his mind, Hojo realized how close they were and how easy it would be, but that was passed by in his panic. "What if InuYasha seals the well with you here, what if he hurts you, takes you away? What if I lost you?" He had lowered his voice for the last bit, a sorrowful statement more than a question.

"Hojo," she knew how close they were, and it was audible in her voice. Kagome’s cheeks pinked slightly from the intimacy of their contact, but she couldn’t look away, couldn’t move away from him. She liked it there. He smelt good so close, a distinguished and caressing scent, made all that more attractive by the slight hint of ointment still lingering about him. It was intoxicating.

"I…," Hojo stuttered as his libido caught up with him. Somewhere along the way he’d found the courage to touch her, to get close enough to hold her without feeling awkward. It was different than that first morning. Then he’d wanted to comfort, now he wanted something else.

Kagome wanted it to. Rising slightly on her toes, she came close enough to feel his breath on her lips when he moved the last little way to her. When they met she trembled slightly, lowering her eyes as she melted into him. The contact seared him and he felt the sensation travel through his entire being. It was his first, her’s too though he had no way of knowing it, and her hesitation and innocence heightened the effect the kiss had on him.

Hojo unconsciously used his hand on her cheek to tilt her head slightly, giving him better access to her entire mouth. He carefully ran the tip of his tongue along the seam of her mouth, seeking entrance. Caught unaware, Kagome backed away just enough to break contact.

Her eyes fluttered open, her tongue quickly darting out along her lips to taste where he’d touched her. A slight blush heightened the color of her cheeks as she watched him watching her. Hojo also drew back; just enough though to rest with her forehead to forehead. They stayed like this for a moment, digesting what had happened before she snuggled against his chest, using her free arm to hug him and allowing herself to rest and just listen to his heartbeat.

Hojo sighed happily, the chaotic events of the previous evening a million miles away. His eyes came to rest on the well and his brows drew together in frustration. If only things were normal...

Giving the young woman in his arms a solid hug, he kissed her on the head, and mumbled a plea. "Come with me, Kagome. Please..."

Kagome leaned back in Hojo’s arms and looked him straight in the eyes so that’d he would know how it was. So he could see the way both worlds, both responsibilities tore at her. She looked also at the well, thinking over how she could manage it, going back now. I’d have to run and tell Kaede and everyone good-bye, and I’d have to give them the Jewel, and Shippou... Oh Shippou you’re the only thing that could really keep me here. But it would all be ruined if I ran into....

Kagome felt the half-demon as she thought about him. He was in the immediate area, probably watching them. If she left now Hojo might not live to see modern times again, might not even live long enough to think about any future they might have. InuYasha would kill him if he stayed. The dog demon had been deadly serious about it when he’d threatened this morning.

"What is it?" Hojo asked. Kagome had stiffened in his arms and was looking about the well’s clearing as though searching for someone. Following her lead he looked about too, but saw InuYasha first. Hojo’s instinctive reaction was to draw Kagome closer.

Now well away of his location, Kagome’s vision locked on InuYasha’s face, but the youkai’s gaze was focused on Hojo. She could feel the testosterone fueled explosion coming so reached up to Hojo’s face and pulled it back to her.

"Go, I’ll come back tomorrow for a change of clothes and some supplies. We’ll work out a schedule then, okay?" He looked skeptical. Kagome quickly kissed his cheek to reassure him then drew back, turning with Hojo to the well.

"Don’t worry, and tell my mother not to worry either. I’ll be..."

"Don’t tell me you’ll ‘be fine’," Hojo interrupted. "Don’t lie to me like that."

Kagome smiled softly, "Okay. But have faith in me, please."

Hojo nodded once and stepped up to the well. He threw one leg over and looked back at Kagome. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he ran his thumb along her lips and off her chin, giving her an affectionate knock to the jaw.

"Good luck and be careful." Her smile and shy nod the only answer he got. Looking past her slightly to InuYasha, Hojo glared what he hoped was a look of death then pushed off the rim and was gone.

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Chapter 14

She took a steadying breath, sucked in all the resolve and patience available to her, and turned.

InuYasha hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing near the edge of the clearing, the morning sun casting a peaceful facade over the imminent scene about to be played. She was not about to leave the well without him, there was too much at stake. He was just dangerous enough to do something drastic and unnecessary.

"So." Kagome came away from the wooden rim, loath to leave but realizing she had no choice. "Lets go get the rest of the Jewel." She walked right up to him, waited while he continued to concentrate on the well, and finally cleared her throat to gain his attention.

When he looked at her, InuYasha saw everything good that had ever happened to him. She was the personification of his hope, his ultimate dreams, but she wasn't really his anymore. Kagome was now some other male's, that Hojo boy, and it was like a dull knife cutting him in two. She was here only to prevent him from destroying her future, a future which may not include him anymore.

His eyes shifted back to the well behind her. "I should destroy it now," he mumbled, ignoring the sharp intake of breath that signaled she'd heard.

"I'll leave, InuYasha. So don't even threaten it," Kagome wasn't about to touch him, but Kami help her if he even took one step towards the well. She'd fight him tooth and nail to protect her home. "It'll be better for everyone to finish the Jewel and let us all get on with our lives."

"No."

Her brows creased at this expressionless, emotionless response. "No? You don't want the Shikon-no-Tama anymore then?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone and it drew his gaze to her again. Though his face was blank, as perfectly neutral as the best of SesshouMaru's indifference, InuYasha's eyes told a different story altogether.

Emotion swirled in the amber depths. Hate and love were evident, but it was the internal struggle that seemed to keep him on the verge of a rage so deep and dark, that Kagome stepped away. He caught her in a firm grip before she'd moved to far off, pulling her flush against his body, InuYasha barely glanced at her before taking flight in the next moment.

He flew blind, making daring and dangerous swoops just to feel her grasp onto him in fright... just so he could hold her tighter. The landscape was a blur beneath and around them, isolating the two from this world, as he took her far from the only known portal to her world.

Kagome held tight, her heart trusting he wouldn't hurt her, wouldn't let her fall to a painful death below. She trusted he would contain his anger and land so they could talk like normal beings. A long reaching branch strayed close to her cheek as InuYasha took them into the forest again and she buried her face into his shoulder to escape any other near foliage.

He chose a quiet looking glade to land in, and stood for a moment after the world had stopped moving, just holding his precious burden as a drowning man would a lifeline. The heat he felt from watching that boy from her world kiss her began to dissipate. He wasn't here now, couldn't take what he had no way of finding, and InuYasha hugged her tighter. She would probably never want to see him again, let alone touch him after he destroyed the well. There was no other course of action in the half-demon's mind. He had to protect what was his.

"So this is what it feels like to be Kikyo," Kagome said at length. She pulled away from InuYasha, studiously avoiding his gaze so as not to see any hurt she might have caused him. It wouldn't do to give him a chance to turn her heart.

"I don't think she feels," he turned to survey their surroundings for danger, overly aware of the girl next to him and of his own heightened senses. "She's dead, Kagome."

Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to face him. "Does that matter? Her death makes her immortal, demonic if you will. Just what you always wanted."

"You're one to talk."

She snorted daintily at the comment then came to stand directly in front of him. "I'm one to talk? You're the two-timer, not me!"

"And what do you call kissing that boy?"

"I call it showing someone how I feel," she practically yelled. "Emphasis on the 'someone' part, InuYasha."

Kagome wanted to stalk and sulk. She went to turn from him, maybe make a quick circuit of the glade, but his firm hand on her arm brought the girl up short. Ready for him to take flight again, Kagome relaxed her body so that she wouldn't get dropped. Instead, InuYasha pulled her back into a solid yet gentle embrace. She let her head rest on his shoulder, realizing the tactic he was using, but needing his touch too much to care. Maybe she had let Hojo close to her for this; maybe it was her subconscious showing her the way to get InuYasha's attention was by actively seeking someone else; or maybe she was just too tired to care either way.

He inhaled her scent and let the silence infuse his soul. He cupped her to him, letting his anger calm and her words die out on the breeze. "I can't give you what you want," he said at last, tightening his hold on her when Kagome began to move away.

"I don't have those types of feelings in me anymore, Kagome. It's just not possible for me."

He let her raise her head and look him in the eye. She could see the way his expression begged her to understand, to be the person he knew she was and to forgive his weakness. It just didn't make sense, though.

"Why does Hojo matter to you then?"

He cringed from the question, had known it was coming, but withdrew just the same. As she slipped from his arms, InuYasha repeated the answer over and over in his mind, but just one look at her brought back an image of them, her and Hojo, and he couldn't say it.

Kagome could tell the instant he went from stalling to answer, to not considering it anymore. Sighing, she began to realize he'd have to trust himself again before he could trust her, especially with something as important as his heart. The problem was his immortality. She would eventually die whereas he would grow eternal. Kagome just couldn't wait that long.

"Take us back to Kaede's, InuYasha. We need to get started on the Jewel again."

He nodded absently and went to take her in his arms again. Side-stepping his attempt, Kagome move around behind him to climb on his back. She would speak to Kaede, Miroku, and Sango when they got back to the village, then take Shippou with her as far as the well. She had promised Hojo she'd come back for a bit, which the kitsune cub knew, but still Kagome figured her adopted son would better appreciate knowing when she left this time.

As they ascended above the canopy and headed home, Kagome preoccupied her thoughts with what she would tell Hojo and her apparently worried family about what was going on. She had to be able to continue returning to the past, not only to complete her quest but for Shippou's sake. She refused to break her promise to the cub, even if it meant the awkward meetings with InuYasha would become a constant in her life.

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Chapter 15

Night fell, a thick blanket over the land. Creatures too frightened to be seen in the light of day took the opportunity before full darkness caught them to forage for food. The village too began to settle for what would hopefully be an eventless night. Neither man nor beast noticed the hanyou that moved among them, his path set and determined.

His step was unhurried though; there was no rush now that he was out of the hut. Shippou had detained Kagome, unknowingly giving InuYasha the window and time needed to see to the well. The kitsune would side with Kagome once he discovered InuYasha had used his tears as an excuse to trap her in their time, but in the end it was for the best.

The Goshinboku Tree loomed overhead as he passed it, its leaves dancing in the sudden breeze that had picked up through the forest. For a moment he paused to study it, the place where it had all begun. Kikyou's magic arrow imprisoning him, Kagome's innocent touch freeing him; the dead miko's demand that he honor promises made long ago, Kagome's tears at his betrayal.

That's what it was and he knew it fully now. Hojo had made him realize that. They'd hurt one another deeply, and though he was sure, given time, his own heart would trust again, he could only hope hers could too. Hope and pray.

It was a simple jump to the well from here, but knowing it would be one of the last times he'd ever go near the well site again, InuYasha walked. He was within view of it when that same breeze turned violent, as though sensing his intent. Leaves and small branches rushed in strong gusts, picking up dirt here and there.

Raising an arm to shield his eyes, InuYasha faintly heard her voice over the blowing. Kagome was calling him, coming closer. She must have figured it out, that he'd gone for the well, that he would keep her here. It was now or never, and he knew she would make good her earlier threat and leave. It had to be destroyed.

Cracking his knuckles, InuYasha launched towards the well, one arm raised to slash the wood and earth. He was within ten yards when Kagome broke into the glade.

"InuYasha! NO!!" Her shout was lost in the wind, a swirling cylinder of the forest with the well at its eye.

He knew she was there, had heard the infliction of her voice though not the words themselves. The well was only a swipe away, the storm be damned, but he'd never make it. InuYasha knew, just as he felt the ward necklace gain weight as it had before, that the well would protect its mistress.

Now he knew what it was that had kept him from reaching Kagome that morning, the morning he began to lose her. The magic of the well, Kagome's magic, was protecting her heart, and in this case itself to some extent.

His body slammed into the ground, as though he'd been sat, but the force didn't relent so he concentrated on his breathing. All around him the debris caught in the well's wind tunnel fell to the ground. Next silence set in, and still he was caught to the ground.

Kagome starred in shocked amazement. She hadn't even said SIT, but he was down. And the weather, talk about strange. For the first time since seeing InuYasha with Kikyou, she began to wonder if there wasn't some deeper evil responsible for everything.

"Can you hear me?" He mumbled. Her brows quirked in confusion but he wasn't facing her so he wouldn't see that.

Coming to stand over him, Kagome tilted her head. "Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

"Last time I went hoarse screaming to you and ..."

"Last time?!?" She knelt next to him, able to see his eyes and so he could see her expression. "When..."

"The morning after you saw me with Kikyou," his gaze shifted from her face to avoid the anger that would probably be there. He'd had a chance to tell her earlier and hadn't. "I went back to explain and you were with him. I thought he'd pinned you to the tree, and was going to kill him to free you, but the ward stopped me." He attempted to shrug his shoulders but it was hard to do pinned to the ground. "I yelled alot but you didn't hear, just cried on his shoulder and walked away."

The forest's silence descended for a moment again. He chanced a look up to her face and was momentarily stunned at what he saw. Tears, two tracks already on her cheeks and more pooling in her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips.

"You came for me?" She whispered the words, and though he doubted she expected an answer, he nodded yes.

"I meant to tell you the other night but it got away from me."

In a characteristically Kagome move she bent over and hugged him. It was awkward and a little dusty, but a true hug nonetheless. He struggled to turn and hold her in his arms but it wasn't to be.

Cursing the magic that held him to the ground, InuYasha used all his might to begin pushing up and away from the well. Kagome released him and watched as the hanyou was able to regain his feet by moving just a foot back from the well. Her eyes widened in wonder at the power locked within the well beyond its capacity as a travel gate.

"Amazing," she said in a soft voice, looking down at her own hands in wonder. "What makes it do that? I mean, it was fine earlier..."

"Maybe," InuYasha finished dusting himself off. "I didn't get this close to the well then, otherwise I might have taken off his head." He mumbled the last part under his breath and then winced. It was a thought he hadn't meant to voice aloud.

The hanyou was fully prepared to take a verbal beating from Kagome for saying something against Hojo, but the girl was still studying her hands. She was thinking he realized, contemplating their situation and a way to solve it. The previous night he'd asked if things could go back to normal, and standing there, Kagome and him together trying to fathom out a problem or regain something they'd lost, it was almost normal. He just wished he could touch her.

"It must be the arrow," she exclaimed after a few full minutes.

"The arrow?" He was still a little lost in his own thoughts.

With a slight blush she nodded, "The one I stabbed in the tree. It must be what's keeping you from destroying the well... what kept you from reaching me that morning." Her mind drifted to that scene, the feelings that had been rioting through her, and the way Hojo comforted her. It struck her as strange now that he'd been there, a valiant knight to sooth her aching heart and attempts to mend what InuYasha had broken. It seemed too convenient.

"I'm going to go release you," she said, rising to her feet and turning to the well. He reached a hand to stop her but she evaded his grasp and InuYasha stumbled to his knees when he took a step towards the well to correct the overbalance.

"NO!! Don't go, Kagome!" InuYasha moved back again, regaining his feet. If she didn't come back to him he had no way of reaching her. "You can't go alone, it's too dangerous."

Kagome cocked her head to the side and gave him her best don't-pull-that-macho-crap-with-me look. "Then what do you suggest we do? We can't leave things the way they are." He opened his mouth to respond and she cut him off, "No, wait, don't say anything yet, okay?"

Sighing, she rubbed her temples mildly. What to say and how to phrase it, Kagome thought.

"This was a royal mess and a half, InuYasha," she began, pausing to gather her thoughts. "But if you're not able to fight with the freedom you need to get around, then we'll never be able to finish the Shikon-no-Tama."

He was beyond caring about the jewel and not a second away from telling her that, when she drew another breath and beat him to it.

"Plus, I really need to talk to my family and let them know I'm going to be okay, and if I don't go back now then it'll just wait until we need more supplies and they'll be even more worried by then, and you know the tree is not a dash from the well." She gestured to the Goshinboku where it grew behind him, opening her mouth to continue.

He raised both hands to stop her, "Alright, okay, okay... I get the picture." Sighing once, he looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes. "Just come here first."

Kagome swallowed with uncertainty. "Please don't lie to me now, InuYasha. I need you to promise if I come over there you won't grab me and fly off somewhere."

"I promise," he said, serious eyes never leaving hers.

Slipping carefully off the well rim, Kagome walked to him. She came to stand exactly in front of him, their bodies close to touching, and looked directly into his face. So much emotion swirled in his eyes, tension radiated from his form, but he didn't move to hold her, didn't touch her at all. She wanted him to grab her, Kagome realized, or push her away, but to make a decision somehow or another and not to stand there and look at her in this way. Anything but this way.

"Come back to me, Kagome," was all he said in a voice deepened with passion, restraint, and love. He couldn't say it yet, was still not able, but he knew it and so did she.

She stepped away before she did something like kiss him or touch him in any way. Kagome stood over the well, looking down into its depths and felt the reality beneath the illusion. "I have to, InuYasha," she climbed on the rim and looked back to him over her shoulder. "I still love you.

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Chapter 16

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Chapter 17

To be continued...