Chapter 1: Out of The Well

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns Inuyasha manga, anime, characters, storyline, etc...

The first chapter may be a bit messy, sorry about that, because i have a great problem with startings... Please take it that the context of this fanfic is after Castle Beyond the Looking Glass and Swords of an Honourable Ruler, okay? But before the birth of the mind reading demon? Please read and review!...

Now for the story.

"Sis, are you sure you can fit all these in?" Souta asked, eyeing the pile of food by the yellow bag pack. Apart from the usual ramen, potato chips and candy bars, there were bars of chocolate, fishes prepared by Mother and also a can of glucose! His hands inched towards the can of chips.

The instant he touched the can, Kagome swatted his hand away.

"Sis!"

"I don't require you to lighten my load, Souta," she said, picking up the can and placing it in her bag.

"What's with the chocolate anyway?" Souta asked edgily.

"That's for Sango. She's not taking it well that Kohaku was taken away again, when we all thought Naraku was gone for good." Kagome thought of how Naraku emerged from Kohaku's back, and shuddered.

"Fish for the cat demon?"

"Certainly. Kirara needs a treat now and then," Kagome answered, as the last of the food went into the bag. "Bye, Mum! Bye, grandpa! Bye, Souta! Don't touch my things!"she called, as she raced towards the well.

I wonder how the gang's coping on the other side, Kagome thought as she jumped into the pitch black interior of the well. The place held so many memories… The first time he came over to our side, when he'd just about given us all a heart attack… The hundreds of ways he used to stop me returning home… The first time I saw him… The well, the link back to the Sengoku period. The link to Inuyasha. Inuyasha.

Inuyasha. The feeling of his arms around her, the feeling of his chest against hers, the feeling of his lips on hers…

Get a grip on yourself, Kagome! She told herself, trying to calm her racing heart. She could already feel the heat on her cheeks. This was so not the way for Sango to see her.

"Hey guys!" Kagome said, stepping into Kaede's hut. A ball of orange fur collided with her face, preceding the chorus of "Kagome!"s and "Welcome back"s. However, a particular hanyou was not to be seen.

After unpacking the "ninja food" and helping Lady Kaede prepare dinner, Kagome tried to sound nonchalant as she asked where Inuyasha was.

"He was sitting on Goshinboku the last time I saw him," Shippo said, his mouth full of chocolate cookies.

Kagome murmured about getting him for dinner, before rushing out into the night.

The gang exchanged a significant glance, smirks on their faces.

"Would it be surprising if Lady Kagome took an hour to locate Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, looking amused.

"Don't go barging in on them on purpose, Miroku," Sango warned. "I'd like peace and quiet, for a change."

"And intimacy, Sango dear?" Miroku asked, as his left hand wrapped around Sango's waist and pulled her close, nuzzling her face. The right hand, however, reached down to touch a particular place.

A resounding slap rang through the area like a gunshot, frightening the birds out of their nests.

Kagome giggled at the mental image of Miroku supporting a cheek with an imprint of Sango's palm. Some people just never change, she thought. She could just briefly make out Goshinboku in the distance and was just about to call out to Inuyasha when she heard him talking.

"You once said that my life belonged to you. Then, your life… it belongs to me, Kikyo."

Inuyasha and Kikyo! What? Why? What's going on? What happened when I was back in my time…?

"No matter what you think of me now, I don't care. But I'll never let Naraku get you! I'm the only one who can protect you, Kikyo!"

Kagome hid behind a tree, hands cupping her ears, her head buzzing. She froze as she saw Inuyasha embrace Kikyo. She felt ill, and it took all her concentration to block out the next few minutes. She didn't want to hear it.

"Kikyo!"

Kagome's eyes snapped open as Inuyasha's cry shattered the stillness of the night. Kikyo had gone with her soul collectors, leaving Inuyasha under the tree. And there he stood, statue-like, where Kikyo left him, gazing at the sky with nothing but longing and affection in his eyes. Her heart spasmed with pain, and she slid a little down the tree trunk, causing some of the bark to give way.

Alerted by the soft snap, Inuyasha turned around, scanning the trees for sign of the noise.

Up 'til now, he didn't realize me. Not my scent, only Kikyo's. Not any sound, but Kikyo's. For some reason, although something in me screamed against it, I stood up and faced Inuyasha. Not my Inuyasha, but the hanyou of 50 years ago.

The air between us were still. Cold. Relentless.

"Kagome."

Instead of the heart warming effects the word usually held, all instincts screamed at me to run. To break the gaze. To go. Before it was too late.

Yet I didn't. I had no control over my wobbling legs.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. Please understand that I cannot leave Kikyo. She's all I ever wanted, the first person who ever cared, the person I love most in this world. I love Kikyo. You were only her replacement."

It can't be… Kagome thought, as the words shredded her heart. It was a curious sensation, as she felt both the pain triggered by the words, the numbness as she looked at Inuyasha, and denial, all at once.

"You… never… cared?" Kagome whispered, a lump rising in her throat.

"Never."

Kagome looked helplessly at him, trying to find a drop of untruth in his amber eyes. There weren't any.

"I will never be able to give Kikyo up. So, Kagome, we part ways here," Inuyasha said, pulling off the golden locket Kagome gave him. "Say good bye to the gang for me," he added. In a flash, he was gone.

I sank to my knees. The pain in my heart and mind was too strong for me to understand anything but the fact that I never had a place in Inuyasha's heart. I was simply Kikyo's replacement. I was nothing compared to her.

Some people never change. Inuyasha's love for Kikyo will never change. I will never see Inuyasha again.

With that, I was thrown into a pitch black abyss as the pain devoured me, just as the rain clouds started forming.

"It's too long, Miroku!" Sango snapped. She did not find Miroku's suggestion that Inuyasha was getting 'personal' with Kagome funny. It was obvious that the two loved each other, but that was not the point. "Call it a woman's intuition if you please, but I think something's wrong!"

"Like what?" Miroku asked, popping open a can of coke. "Nothing can go wrong with Inuyasha around."

"But Inuyasha might not be there!" Sango said, rolling her eyes.

"Do tell why not."

"STOP!" Shippo bellowed, as Sango opened her mouth to reply. "Listen to me, okay? Inuyasha and Kagome are grown ups, so we don't need to know what they are doing every second."

The monk and the youkai exterminator looked at each other, thinking the same thing: Since when had Shippo become so grown up????

"I suggest that ye wait a little longer," Lady Kaede murmured. "If they don't return, ye should go and look for them."

Miroku nodded, and Sango reluctantly followed suit. Staring out at the pitch dark surroundings, she could not help but shudder at the feeling of impending doom.