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Artwork commission by kaorimizunya
What if it opens?
What if you are given a chance to go back?
Kagome pondered that nearly every day after the Shikon no Tama was destroyed. She asked that question in her math class, when her teachers asked for her career plans, as she suited up for kyūdō.
Her family did all they could to fill the void in her heart, but they had stopped trying to distract her away from her daily trips to the Bone Eater’s Well, staring hopefully and hopelessly at the dirt bottom, unwilling to become the tunnel to the place where she left her heart.
If the well opens, if I am given a chance to go back, I will take it.
Kagome nudged her elbow against something far more solid than her mattress at home: the ground. She snapped open her eyes and took in the sight around her. A small cooking fire was burning in the corner, and light had begun to stream through the thatched entrance to a hut.
Oh. The well opened, and I jumped.
This was Kaede’s hut.
Kagome was in the Feudal Era.
In Musashi.
She had cast aside her life in Tokyo and returned to the time of demons and wars. Chosen a future with Inuyasha in the past, walking away from… everything. Family, friends, modern baths, subway trains, even peace, because the call to Inuyasha had been so great.
She hadn’t thought through what it all meant.
She hadn’t thought through what it all meant.
What if Inuyasha did not see the same future? They had barely said a word to one another when he rescued her from the blackness, and the merrymaking of the previous day meant that they had not even been afforded a single moment of privacy… and when she was exhausted from the day, Inuyasha had put her to bed in Kaede’s hut and disappeared to… Kagome was not even sure where.
Had Kagome made a terrible decision, and committed herself to a doomed choice? Had she given up everything to return only to find that—
“It is good to see you awake, Kagome.” A fond, but rasping, voice came from a hunched figure in the doorway. Kaede waddled first over to the fire and inspected the contents of the pot. “The rice is now done for when you would like to have breakfast. Did you sleep well, child?”
“Y—yes.” Kagome sat up, then realized she was still wearing her the skirt and the cardigan she had worn when she jumped. Had she really not thought to grab a bag or at least a change of clothes in her mad dash for the past?
Of course she hadn’t.
And while it wasn’t the dead of winter, the skirt and the jacket were not going to be warm enough for the chill of the night and the mist of the morning.
Maybe Sango would let Kagome borrow a thing or two.
Kaede’s chuckle interrupted Kagome’s momentary panic. “It looks like you and I are thinking the same thing.” Kaede then sidled over, and pulled a bundle of red and white fabric tied with twine from her satchel. “For you.”
Kagome untied the string, unraveling the fabric and revealing the red hakama and white kosode of a miko’s outfit.
“They have been waiting here for you,” Kaede commented, rummaging around in her satchel once more and pulling out the red miko’s ribbon that accompanied the rest. “A little thanks from the residents of Musashi. May I?”
At Kagome’s nod, Kaede turned her around and began to comb her fingers through Kagome’s hair.
“When my sister Kikyō passed on, Musashi lost some of its color. It was as if she held the residents’ hope in her hands, and it was all I could do to keep everyone fighting to survive.” Kaede then bunched Kagome’s hair into a ponytail, looping two strands longer than the others, setting Kagome’s hair in the traditional updo of the village miko. “You freed Inuyasha, you revealed the truth of what happened that day, and ultimately, you vanquished the enemy and avenged my sister’s death. Without you, this village would have withered away in grief.”
“Kaede-sama,” Kagome tried, but Kaede’s chuckle stopped the rest of her words in her throat.
“Inuyasha has become our village’s protector because you opened his heart.” Kaede patted Kagome’s hair, and then turned her around so they faced each other. “And you—you saved my sister’s soul.”
Through everything, through death and disease and close calls and the cursed resurrection of her sister, Kagome had never seen Kaede cry, yet here she was, her unpatched eye misty. Kagome had to swallow to keep from following Kaede to tears.
“The least we can do is assure you a future here,” Kaede chuckled; Kagome watched the tear disappear. “Should you like to become our village healer, I will train you myself.”
“Kaede-sama!” The boom of a voice accompanied by a shadow that took the entire doorway interrupted their moment. Jinenji’s sky blue eyes peeked through the doorway, and a wide toothy smile appeared on his face. “May—may I help train Lady Kagome as well?”
“Jinenji?” Kagome realized that he had a bright blush bridging his nose.
“W—well… I always wanted to teach people about herbs and—and stuff,” he muttered. “And Kagome… well, I came to Musashi because Lady Kagome might be there. Because—because it was a place safe for hanyō. A place that—that because of Lady Kagome, they accept me as I am.”
Jinenji’s long arm reached into the hut, though he did not try to fit himself in. In his hand was a lacquered black box, which he held out for Kagome. She took it and opened it.
“It’s a special jasmine tea.” Jinenji’s voice grew softer. “Very delicate. I—I wanted you to be the first to have some. If—if you would accept it.”
“Of course I accept it,” Kagome sniffled; she was beginning to lose that battle with her tears. “Thank you, Jinenji. So so much.”
“They accept me here. Because of you,” he murmured, and Kagome could tell that his eyes, too, were growing watery. Suddenly Jinenji coughed. “Come and visit my garden. Whenever you’d like. Anytime.”
And then Jinenji was gone.
“I will be headed off, too, child. The headman’s wife is expecting and I need to pay her a visit,” Kaede said. “Please help yourself to the rice. And come and find me when you have made a decision.”
Kagome simply nodded, finding it hard to utter words.
Had she really made this much of an impact? Kaede had taken her in immediately when she fell through the well, protected her from both suspicious villagers and rampaging demons, and tended to her wounds on the numerous occasions that she returned to Musashi worse for wear. If anyone was owed a thank you, it was Kaede!
And… Jinenji, too? Kagome had done nothing more than treated him as a person. He was kind, and he was gentle, and he took such wonderful care of his mother. How was it even a question as to why she treated him… humanely?
Kagome stared at the intricate box filled with Jinenji’s special jasmine tea, then at the awaiting miko robes: signs that at least to some of the villagers in this village, she belonged.
“Kagome!” The new squeak was a familiar one.
“Shippō-chan!” Kagome cried as the little kitsune brushed aside the screen on the door and launched himself into Kagome’s arms. Three years had gone by but Shippō still looked exactly the same, save for his eyes, which seemed less restless.
“I brought you something!” The kitsune rifled through his fur jacket and pulled something out: a wooden carved figure. One who wore a sailor dress with a short skirt and knee socks: Kagome. “I—I took to carving it on the evenings when Inuyasha went to the well. I was going to give it to him when I was done then—then you came back!”
“You made this for me?” Kagome fingered the smooth wood, admiring the detail which Shippō had captured. The little figurine even had Kagome’s untameable bangs.
“I thought that I was going to be alone. Forever,” Shippō whispered. “I would defeat the Thunder Brothers and get my revenge and then… then you let me travel with you! You let me fight by your side! You snuggled me on the nights I was so scared and didn’t ever make me feel like it was bad or wrong to miss my mom and dad.” Shippō’s jeweled green eyes locked onto Kagome’s, steady and sincere, then came the flicker of mischief. “And you never got mad at me when I played pranks on Inuyasha.”
“Here I thought that Inuyasha was hitting you because he was a bully, and you’re telling me that you were playing pranks all that time, Shippō-chan?” Kagome teased. She wondered if Shippō could have any idea how much she missed him too in Tokyo. How it ached down to her soul every time she came across a new sweet that she just knew that Shippō would love. “I missed you so much, Shippō-chan.”
“I missed you too, Kagome!” Kagome’s face was suddenly a pile of kitsune fur as Shippō gave her a full-force hug, his tail now brushing her cheek in its excitement. “And, um. Thanks for coming back. I need to show you what I learned from kitsune school!”
“I can’t wait to see!” Kagome beamed, then turned to the miko robes she still needed to dress in. “I’ll bring you some breakfast in just a second. But right now I need to change.”
“Okay!” Shippō beamed, and he hopped out of her arms. “The figurine is a good luck charm. I’ve added some magic to it too. To make sure that if you ever need it, it will be there.”
Then Shippō, too, scurried out of the hut.
Kagome used the quiet moment to change as quickly as she could, pulling the kosode on first, then pulling up the hakama legs. She wished that there was a mirror so that she could see herself. Was she a spitting image of Kikyō when dressed in miko garb? Would the villagers of Musashi really accept her, despite being the very symbol of Kikyō’s downfall?
Would Inuyasha look at her and see only the ghost of his former love?
“Kagome-sama, are you decent?” The smooth croon of Miroku’s voice was the next to interrupt that morning.
“Y—yes,” Kagome stuttered. She was still struggling with the tie in the front, but her skin was completely covered up.
The monk peered through the screen, then moved it aside and headed in.
“Looks like you could use a hand.” Miroku looped her belt and tied it before he finished speaking, a soft smile on his face. “Kin’u and Gyokuto have made me a practiced hand at those things.”
Kagome marveled at the perfect bow tied in her hakama. Miroku wasn’t kidding.
“Thanks,” Kagome said, her mind drifting back to the whole outfit. To the miko whose soul, and title, and even love she was set to inherit. It made her wonder if she would ever be enough.
“There’s something else.” Miroku finally rifled around in his robes, retrieving a tightly rolled scroll. “I have been recording the day-to-day since the day you went back through the well. Things I wished you were here to tell you, things that made me want to Osuwari Inuyasha into the ground, things that I knew might make you smile… in case you ever returned.”
Kagome looked down at the neatly tied notes, and once again found that she was losing her battle with tears. How did they all know? Why were they coming one after another just after she woke up?
“You don’t need to read it now.” Miroku seemed to tune into Kagome’s barely holding it together. “It’s just… well, thank you, Kagome. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if I had not stolen that Shikon shard from you. You gave me hope.”
Miroku’s usually serene eyes grew misty, and his usually smarmy smile was pained.
“We missed you, Kagome. We missed you so much.” His voice wobbled as he said it, and almost against his better judgment, he tugged Kagome into his arms. “Welcome back.”
Almost as soon as he had pulled her in for a hug, Miroku let go and backed up. “Sango also wanted me to ask you if you would like to join her for breakfast.”
“I would love to,” Kagome answered, casting only a single guilty glance at the rice that Kaede had prepared for her breakfast; rice would never go to waste, and if needed, Kagome could make it into onigiri.
“I need to run. We have an exorcism the next town over and Inuyasha is going to be insufferable, but we should be back before sunset,” Miroku coughed. “We would have canceled, but the headman was desperate and—”
“I understand,” Kagome assured. “Do you need any help?”
Miroku let out a chuckle. “Not this time. Honestly, I think if I were to deny my wife your company, there would be another exorcism that would need attending to.”
“I won’t tell her you said that,” Kagome winked, and squeezed Miroku’s hand just before he left the hut.
She looked down at her attire one more time, then at the packed scrolls that Miroku had provided for her, then at the jasmine tea from Jinenji, and at the carved figurine from Shippō.
Kagome wasn’t Kikyō, and that was okay.
“Time to see Sango,” she whispered to herself, and finally left Kaede’s hut to walk toward the outskirts of the village.
“Kagome-sama!” someone called from the rice paddy. “Welcome back!”
“Does this mean you are going to be our village miko?” another asked, waving as she passed them.
“I—I suppose I am,” Kagome answered; she couldn’t help but smile at the way they beamed at her confirmation.
She chanced a glance at herself in the reflection of the water. She was now the same age Kikyō had been when she shot an arrow into Inuyasha and sealed him into a tree. Her miko robes truly did make her a spitting image of Kikyō, but her eyes were wider and her hair wilder: a sloppier facsimile of the fallen priestess.
Artwork commission by kaorimizunya
Kagome would never be Kikyō.
Kagome was Kagome.
And that hopefully was okay.
Sango and Miroku’s hut was within sight, and if Kagome strained, she almost believed that she could already hear the excited screeches of the children. The noise filled Kagome with a serene and gentle warmth, like the first rays of the sun in the morning or the steady heat of a campfire. Her dear friends had found their happiness, gifted a future that neither had been able to dream of living.
“Kagome-chan!” Sango appeared from behind the hut, with little Hisui strapped to her back.
“Sango-chan!” Kagome called, and waved, hurrying her footsteps until she was close enough to her friend to pull her in for a tight hug. “Good morning!”
Little Hisui immediately began to gargle his approval of the newest hair to grab, causing the two women to laugh and separate earlier than either probably wanted to.
“I knew that Inuyasha and Miroku were headed out on an exorcism, so… I thought maybe you could use company today,” Sango offered; Kagome heard the underlying ‘I missed you so much’ in the lilt of Sango’s voice. “I made some rice balls and some charred eel that Inuyasha was kind enough to bring over for breakfast if you’d like to… join me?”
Kagome tried to hide the flinch at the mention of Inuyasha’s name. How was it possible that she had seen him only yesterday, basically until the moment that she closed her eyes and fell asleep, and still found herself missing him so much? Why was Inuyasha not there in the morning when she woke up? Where was he?
“Stop,” Sango interrupted. “I know what you’re thinking, Kagome-chan.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” Kagome lied.
“Of course not,” Sango assured, grabbing Kagome’s hand and tugging her into the hut. “And as for the ‘nothing’ you are thinking about, he was as surly as I’ve ever seen him this morning. He wanted to make sure I told you that they will be back before sunset. According to Inuyasha, ‘I will send the fucking headman to the underworld along with the demon if he gets on our ass one more time.’”
Kagome could almost picture the way his ears would have been pinned back as he said it. Unfortunately, that just made her want to see him more.
“He’ll be back, I promise,” Sango assured. “Now, breakfast.”
Kagome didn’t argue, because the food looked and smelled delicious (and because the second she appeared, two very enthusiastic toddlers were already pinned to her legs).
“They have heard so many stories of their Aunt Kagome,” Sango commented as Kin’u and Gyokuto started rapidfire asking her questions.
“Yes, I am from the future!”
”Yes, I was the one who freed Uncle Inuyasha from the Goshinboku.”
”Yes, I do have a special power over Uncle Inuyasha, but I don’t use it.”
”Yes, Mama’s special shoes are from my world.”
“N—No, I don’t think I can make the magic well open up to my world ever again.”
The last admission stung a little bit. And judging from the way that Sango’s arms came around Kagome’s shoulder, it seemed that Sango had noticed too.
“Okay girls! Uncle Jinenji said he has a whole lot of fun things to show you today, so why don’t you both go see him!” Sango pointed out of their hut and to the hulking figure of Jinenji, who indeed was already out in the herb field.
“Okay, mama!” Both girls squealed and peeled out of the hut.
“He promised to watch them this morning, so I could have some special time just with you,” Sango murmured, then her face lit up with a smile. “I have something for you.”
Sango headed to the corner of the small building, next to where their futons were rolled, and she grabbed something long and curved.
Kagome recognized it immediately.
The red lacquer was unmistakable, still pristine as if it had been polished the whole of the three years. The white tape that made the hand grip was soft and supple, and the string tied between the ends was taut and flexible. And when Kagome touched it, she could feel Kikyō’s power still imbued in the object.
“Kikyō’s bow!” Kagome ran her finger up the shaft. It brought her back to the day of Kikyō’s death, to those moments where the kami of the mountain tested her. Where she stopped holding Kikyō as something cold, remote, perfect, and began to actually see her. It was the bow that defeated Naraku, and it was the bow that defeated the Shikon no Tama. And all this time, Kagome thought it lost.
“Your bow,” Sango corrected. “Kikyō gave it to you. And you used it to save the world. All on your own.”
“It’s not though,” Kagome said before she could hold the thoughts in. “I borrowed Kikyō’s power and now—”
“Kagome,” Sango cut her off. “Kikyō failed to purify the jewel and Naraku, even when she was within an arm’s reach of them. You truly believe that her bow is what defeated him, instead of the wielder tested and chosen by Kikyō-sama?” Sango leaned forward. “You never have been good at seeing yourself clearly.”
Kagome almost retorted. She had seen her reflection clearly in the water that day, a reflection of a miko who looked like Kikyō, but was not Kikyō.
“You chose to save my life,” Sango continued. “You knew that I was trying to kill Inuyasha and that I was liable to betray you to save my brother. You knew all that and still you saved my life and refused to let me leave you.” Her eyes were becoming misty, but on her face was an unambiguous smile. “You took a feral hanyō, an orphaned kitsune, a wayward Monk, and a fallen tajiya and you acted as the glue that held us all together. Shippō had a mother because of you, Miroku had a moral compass, I had a sister, and Inuyasha had a—” Sango’s smile grew wider. “Inuyasha had a soulmate.” She then leaned in for another tight hug. “We all have a family now—in my case by blood and by providence—because Kagome Higurashi fell through that well.”
“Sango-chan,” Kagome whimpered. It appeared that she was going to cry for a third time that day, but in this case, Sango was joining her tears.
“Thank you for giving me—and being—my family,” Sango whispered back. “I almost cannot believe that you—that my sister—returned to me!”
Kagome didn’t have the words to articulate what she was feeling. When she was thrust back into modern Japan, she had tried not to think of it, of anything, because the grief would press on her like a great boulder.
Sango, Miroku, Shippō and Inuyasha were as much her family as Mama, Sōta, and Jii-chan were.
“I am so happy that I was able to return to my sister, too,” Kagome agreed, which did nothing but elicit another round of tears from the two of them.
“Okay, okay!” Sango swallowed down her next sniffle. “I want to hear about everything that happened to you in the future! And I plan on telling you about everything we’ve done in the last three years. I know my husband gave you a log of those things, but it is a whole lot more fun to share stories over hot sake than read some stodgy old scrolls!”
And just like that, their tears turned into laughter.
“It’s so good to have you back, Kagome-chan,” Sango sniffled. “Now. Before we begin the day’s work, I want to hear about everything!”
Kagome smiled. Even as things had drastically changed in those three years away, the feeling of belonging, of family, never had.
“Okay!” Kagome beamed. “But you go first. I want to hear all about your and Miroku’s wedding!”
The minutes turned to hours, and Sango and Kagome had nearly talked each other hoarse. It felt wonderful, having her friend back, having her sister back.
But that didn’t stop Kagome’s eyes from peering at the Musashi access road, hoping to see the glint of red and silver coming over the horizon.
Inuyasha was going to kill the fucking headman.
“Have patience,” the bouzu had said. “We’ll be back in no time.”
Inuyasha was tempted to kill Miroku, too. Or at least punch him.
Yeah, sure, fine, the demon terrorizing their village was a problem (damn Oni…), but the thing’s lair was another hour run away, and they had not thought to bring Kirara, so Inuyasha had to carry Miroku on his back to a cave in the mountains.
Sending the ogre straight to the underworld did nothing to quell Inuyasha’s mood.
Well, Kagome Higurashi had returned through the bone eater’s well and Inuyasha wasn’t there to make sure everything was okay, to make sure she was safe, because… promises. Honestly, if Inuyasha lost track of Kagome’s scent on the wind, he would have broken their promise to the headman.
The second the job was done, Miroku had turned to Inuyasha and simply said, “Go. I’ll finish up here.”
The dust cloud Inuyasha left in his wake probably could be seen from Musashi.
Inuyasha didn’t care.
He needed to get back.
To her.
He had gone to the well every three days since they were pulled to opposite sides of it. Inuyasha would never tell anyone how many times he tested it, his feet pressing against the unforgiving dirt at the bottom, hoping—wishing—for the metallic scent of her time to catch his nose and let him return to her.
He kept the well clear of debris, and he kept the forest clear of demons.
And he vowed that he would never leave that place.
It was called Inuyasha’s forest, after all.
Then a scent—her scent—hit his nose and Inuyasha could do nothing except run. And when he extended his hand into the well, and felt Kagome’s fingers entwine with his, and saw her watery eyes looking into his, Inuyasha knew.
If Kagome had returned, and if she would have him, he was going to marry her.
That was what his efforts were about, wasn’t it? He never intended there to be anyone else, and he would have waited a millennium if he had to, to find her and return to her.
But the kami saw fit to return her to him after only three years.
Her scent was growing stronger now, not just a whisper on the breeze, but now the notes of her mood, of the food she ate, of the day she spent laboring with Sango in the village. All of it was coating his nostrils now.
Inuyasha picked up his pace.
Could Kagome possibly understand what she had done for him?
She had brought him back to life—literally.
She had given him friends, the first of his life.
Hell, she had given him a family (Sesshōmaru actually acknowledged him now).
Inuyasha got to belong, he got to protect, he got to befriend and to nurture because of Kagome.
Inuyasha’s Forest was a title of honor now. The villagers looked to him with pride instead of with shame. And… and Musashi was now the place that other hanyō could live and thrive.
Because of Kagome.
It wouldn’t have mattered if she did not love him the way he loved her. His heart belonged so completely to Kagome that he would follow her anywhere. He would protect her and become her family’s guardian, for the rest of his life.
How was it possible that the kami had doubly blessed him, and allowed him to capture Kagome’s heart in kind?
He did not know what he had done to deserve that, but he knew he would live out his life doing as many good deeds as he could, to try to thank them even the littlest bit for Kagome’s love, and for Kagome’s return.
He saw her now, sitting on the porch of Sango’s hut, her eyes searching the horizon, searching for him.
“Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted before he could think better of it; Kagome’s head snapped in his direction, and even from the distance he could see her delight.
Inuyasha closed the final distance so quickly that Kagome’s answering “Inuyasha!” died in her mouth, replaced by a squeak from being enveloped in Inuyasha’s arms.
“I have something to show you,” he stated. He wasn’t sure if Kagome could feel the way his heart felt like it would explode, or could see the heat that painted the tips of his ears pink, but he was resolved. “Can I take you somewhere?”
“Yes,” Kagome answered, and without another word she shifted behind him and climbed onto his back.
He had not realized how much he missed the press of her against him, her heart’s steady beat filling his ears, so full of trust that being with him was the safest place in the world. Just one more reason that he was entirely hers: heart, body, and soul.
Inuyasha launched them into the sky, toward the well, toward the Goshinboku, toward his forest. In two great leaps they were to their destination.
Very few knew of what lay there, on the land that Kaede and the headman had granted him: a ‘thank you’ for defeating Naraku. The land sat on the border between the forest and the village. Close enough to be a part of Musashi and far enough away to be apart from Musashi. Perfect for Inuyasha.
And so he worked the land. He planted an herb garden and tended it per Jinenji’s instruction. He dug a channel from the nearby stream, so that his land had running water.
And, finally, he built a hut.
“Uh. This is… this is for you.” Inuyasha took Kagome’s hand and he led her onto his land, trying to train his ears not to twitch in his anxiety of what she would think.
“Oh!” Kagome exhaled. Her heartbeat had increased, and a slight scent of salt wafted on the wind. “Inuyasha, is this—“
“For you,” Inuyasha reiterated.
It was as big as Miroku and Sango’s, for a family he might never have. He’d cut a bamboo screen at the back of the hut, to fence in an enormous pot. One that, if a fire was lit just right, could heat water to the temperature of a hot spring.
It was not quite the same as the bathtub from Kagome’s time, but it was as close as Inuyasha could create.
Just in case Kagome ever returned.
“You built a hut for—for us?” Kagome asked; her voice wobbled and the scent of her tears grew stronger. Inuyasha could feel his own heart answer hers at her use of the word “us.”
“Y—yeah,” Inuyasha answered. “Well… I—uh. They gave me the land after I got back and I—I wanted to make sure that if you ever returned here that maybe—maybe I could give you something too.”
When they crossed through the bamboo fence, Kagome actually gasped. She circled the cauldron and the pit in which it sat, then scampered to the aqueduct Inuyasha had dug.
“You—you did this all for me?” Kagome whimpered. The tears had forced their way to the surface now, and were streaming out of her eyes.
“Well, yeah,” Inuyasha said. A blush was coming to his face, he knew. And his stomach felt like it was turned upside down. But he wasn’t willing to hide his feelings anymore. Not when he’d waited three long years for her to come back. Not when even their single night apart had been torture. “You gave me so much, Kagome. I have friends because you taught me I could trust. I have a place in this world because you helped me find it…” Inuyasha could do this! “I learned to hope, and I learned to love because—because of you. I love you, Kagome.”
It was so easy, loving Kagome. Why had it taken three years apart for him to finally declare it to her?
She’d held his heart in her hand for so long that belonging to her was like breathing air. And yet he was afraid—so afraid—that she might not feel the same. But a broken heart was worth the risk of letting her know all that she meant to him. To everyone, really.
To Kaede, for saving Musashi and helping her sister find peace.
To Jinenji, for accepting a hanyō with open arms.
To Shippō, for adopting him and becoming his family (sometimes to Inuyasha’s chagrin).
To Miroku, for helping him attain his revenge and end his generational curse.
To Sango, for redeeming her brother and giving her the chance for a family.
To Inuyasha, for accepting him as he was. For…
“I love you, too.”
For loving him.
He didn’t know what came over him. It was as if his heart was acting against his body’s will, but Inuyasha’s lips were pressed to Kagome’s, kissing her with all the longing that was built over three years apart, with all the relief that his love for her was requited.
“Kagome…” Inuyasha whimpered. Damn. His own tears had caught up to him. He couldn’t hold them in anymore. Not when—not when Kagome was here; not when Kagome loved him, too. “Thank you.”
Inuyasha would ask Kagome to marry him soon enough. And his hut would become theirs. But right now, all he needed was Kagome’s warmth, Kagome’s embrace, and Kagome’s love. And every day for the rest of his life, he would thank the kami for Kagome Higurashi, who saved the world… one person at a time, starting with him.