It had been three years since she and her friends defeated Naraku. She had fallen through the well and ended back in her own time un able to go back to the past. Numbly she worked through her schooling, learning all she could of the past and how they were, trying to find a last connection to her friends. In the beginning she had gone to check the well every day, that soon became every few days, then every week turning to every month until she only checked it once in a while. Today, the day after she graduated she went to check on it. Knowing that it was in vain she walked out to the well, looking down into its depths, seeing the old dirt bottom. She began crying, leaning over the well and shedding great big tears remembering all of her adventures and friends. She did not notice her mother walk in.

Her mother had known for a very long time that Kagome belonged in the feudal era, that she would have to give up her beautiful daughter, but she had accepted that already. In her hands she had a large backpack, over the last three years, she had slowly collected things she new her daughter would need that she would not be able to come back for and she had stored them away for her. Glancing into the well she could see the bright blue sky of a clear day and new it was time to say goodbye.

"Kagome, I love you very, very much, and I hope you will be happy there with your friends." Her mother reached out and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Mama? What are you talking about?" Kagome looked at her mother in confusion.

"Kagome, the path is open, but I don't think it will be open forever. Be happy my dear."

With that she handed Kagome the bag and pointed to the well. Kagome looked in, shocked at what she could see. She turned around and hugged her mother, happy for this chance but sad at the idea she would never see them again.

"Tell Sota that I love him, and Grandpa. Please? I love you soooo much momma. Thank you!" And with that she climbed into the well, disappearing in the bright light of the Bone Eaters Well.

She arrived in the Feudal Era to birds singing and a very bright sunny day. Looking around she decided her first job was to see if her friends were in the Village. Going through the forest and stepping onto the road she made her way into the little town. Not many people were out and about mostly they were in the fields she suspected, working.

Closing in on the last houses on the road where her and her friends usually staid she could here screams and curses. Before she could reach the house, intent on saving whoever was in peril she noticed Miroku standing off to the side, pacing frantically. If he wasn't rushing in than she assumed that the screaming wasn't over some demon. Just as she started towards Miroku a body ran into her. Picking herself off the ground she looked down to see a very familiar little girl sprawled out in front of her.

"Rin!" She bent over and helped the girl up, noticing how much she had grown in three years; counting back she supposed Rin had to be about 10 or eleven now.

"Kagome! Oh wow, we did not think you would be coming back!" Rin bent over and grabbed a bucket she had spilt and dusted off her dress.

"Catch me up, what had been going on around here, what is that screaming?" she asked the little girl.

"Well, Lord Seshomaru let me come and train under Lady Kaede. I wanted to know how to be human, to be a girl. Lord Seshomaru knew he could not teach me those things. So I've been here for two years now. And Shippo is learning so much about his Fox Magics, he travels up to the mountains a lot to take lessons. He is over in the field now, practicing. We do not know what happened to Inuyasha, he has not been around for many months now. OH Sango and Master Miroku got married, they had a little baby last year, and now Sango is having another one. Lord Seshomaru comes to visit me; he brings me dresses and such from his travels over his lands. Oh no, I have to take water to Lady Kaede, she is helping with Sango's birth. I have to go Kagome!"

"Wait, don't tell anyone I'm here, I don't want to take away form there happy day. I'll come back around in a month or so. Okay? Can you keep that secret Rin?" Kagome hoped the girl would say yes.

"Of course Kagome, please come back, I have to go though, BYE." And with that she ran back to a small well to get more water.

Kagome wandered off to the field, thinking of seeing Shippo before leaving again.

Before she even entered the field she was talked by a red furry ball that hugged her very tightly.

"KAGOME! Why did you leave, your not leaving again, Kagome I've missed you so much, Kagome!" She hugged the little Fox kit tightly crying into his fur, having missed him very much too.

"No Shippo, I'm not leaving again. I'm here to stay. But I am leaving the village I am going to the mountains. To catch up on my shooting and work on my powers."

"Can I come with? I go and visit Totosai all the time, I know my way around. Please can I go Kagome; I've missed you so much!" The fox kit had tears in his eyes at the thought of losing her again. In the year after his parents were killed he had turned to Kagome as a kind of mother and had missed her terribly.

"If you're not needed here, I can't say no to you. Do you have anything you need to get? I'm not going back into the village right now. Oh and do you know where my old clothes are? Are they still here? I could really use them." She was wondering about what was in her backpack as she spoke to Shippo, thinking of things that might make her staying difficult.

"Yes Kagome, I know where they are; they are in my hut where me and Kohaku and Rin stay. I'll go get my things, your things and anything else we will need. Ill ask Kirara to help bring it out." And with that the little bundle of nerves scampered off into the Village. I wandered off towards the peaks in the east knowing Kirara would be able to track my scent. I passed the Bone Eaters Well, and instead of the usual background power I could feel coming off of it, I felt nothing. The well really was closed, at least for now. I could hope that one day it might be open, if only for an hour. Before she had reached the tree line on the far side of the field where the Bone Eaters Well rested she could here heavy steps behind her, turning around she saw Kirara with Shippo and bags on her back. She came forward and touched her great nose to Kagome's head; purring. Kagome hugged onto the great demon cats' neck and whispered how much she had missed her into the white fur there.

"Kagome, Kirara is tired of Sango in pain and wants to help us into the mountains. She says she has to be back in three days." Shippo told her. Shippo jumped into Kagome's arms and after attaching her bag onto Kirara they started walking through the forest up the slow accent into the surrounding hills. The trek was a nice workout for Kagome, who had missed all of the running around they used to do, but knew she wouldn't be able to keep up if they started right where they left off. Around 1 they settled in clearing by a stream and rested a bit, eating on some rice Shippo had brought, not wanting to use everything they had too quickly, and cooling off in the shallows. By the time the sun was setting in the west Shippo had led them far through the hills and they could see the entrance to the mountains just across a shallow field. They made camp in the cover of the trees, careful of being out in the open for any demon to see.

It felt wonderful to sleep out in the open again, a fire at her side and friends around her, even though the seen wasn't complete Kagome was euphoric.

The next day found the trio in the great eastern mountains, through the old ravine, and hiking up the narrow ledges. They still had no idea exactly where they were going, only Kagome's idea of a cave she had seen after they had fought the birds of paradise. Higher and higher they climbed, winding through the ancient lands. Hearing the sounds of a waterfall Kagome and Shippo hid the bags in a shallow cave and covered them over with moss before getting on Kirara to scope out the cave from the sky. Up in the air they soared, passing over the great waterfall they had heard, and seeing all of the valley and cliffs that surrounded them. Kirara caught the old decayed sent of the birds of paradise' nest and they swerved even farther east to the high cliffs of the mountain range, over the curling tunnels where the foul birds had lived and finally they did spot a cave. Going down they could see that the cave they found had a nice amount of protection. There was a path that led to it, but it stopped just above the cave from beyond and you would have to climb down the side to get to ledge in front of it. The outside tilted down slightly, a fair protection from floating in a rain. Inside they found it was a deep cave system; a fairly sized main room and five smaller rooms after some small tunnels. Obviously a demon had lived here and had excavated the original cave, but Kirara confirmed that nothing had stayed there in a very long time. It seemed only minutes later, when in fact it was hours, that they were settling into the cave, bags and all. Kirara helped them find a small stream fed by the high frozen cliffs above that wasn't too far away, and then she helped find game for them before the day finished while Shippo collected firewood. After a nice meal, and a very good nights rest Kagome set to finding out what they had at there disposal.

She started with Shippo's bag while he was out with Kirara getting whatever he could before the cat demon had to leave them. Inside he had the little hand drawn pictures he had made years before of all of his family, and all of there companions. There was a scroll of meditations and focusing energies obviously by Miroku and a scroll of fox demon magic. He also had some of his supplies for his little fox demon tricks, little mushrooms and leaves, and the last thing in the bag was an arrow head, it was a long one and it was sharp as a knife.

The next thing she looked at was a big odd shaped bundle tied together. After untangling the half hazard bunch of rope she discovered it was two bed rolls, with extra blankets and tatami mats. Before heading onto another bag she laid each of the mats into one room and then spread out the pillows and blankets. She recognized the pillows; she had brought them with her shortly after her first trip to this era, not wanting to sleep uncomfortably.

When she was done with that task she moved onto the next bag, the first of three that were left. Inside there were food stuffs, dried fruits, meats, rice and three large empty water skins. There was also a change of clothes for Shippo. In the second bag she found a red and white set of priestess robes from the times when her own clothes had been badly in need of washing, she also found the simple blue dress given to her by Sango and the various brown pants and tops she had scavenged from an old bandit's village. Trading her blue jeans and sweater for a set of those she folded all of the clothes neatly and set them aside, on the edge of her tatami mat. The bag still had surprise' she found sandals and strap up leather shoes like Sango's, some of her old socks, a demon bone comb, one of her old toothbrushes, and in the bottom of the bag there was a whole cloth sack of iron and stone arrow heads ready to be fitted onto a shaft with the soft powder in a jar with them; the powder when wet worked like glue, and dried into a very strong substance. She knew she would need to thank Shippo again when he got back.

The last bag was the one her mother had given her before she left. Attached to the straps she could see her bow and two quivers of arrows wrapped in linen, she unstrapped and laid them to the side. She began to cry as she saw the things her mother had given her, a photo album of the family and house even her dad, a book of medicinal herbs and treatments with tips of survival for the region, a metal cup, a box of crayons, a flint kit, lots of extra underwear and bras that Kagome though were way too adult for her, forgetting that she was an adult. At the bottom there was a small book of children's tales from when she was growing up, and inside it a letter. The letter was from her mom, and taped to the front was a note and a small bag.

'Dearest Kagome, I know that you are where you belong, and I am happy for you. This letter was a very long work in progress; I've tried to cover everything you will need from me in it, boys, babies, love, home, heartache and comfort. When you need it, just open it up and read, and know that I love you. The bag has my necklace in it, the one your grandmother gave to me, and on it are mine and your father's wedding bands. Keep us close my love. Live your life.'

She put away all of her things, back into the bag and set it by her pillow, standing up and stretching while trying to dry her eyes. Wandering out onto the ledge of the cave Kagome felt peaceful a she gazed out towards the high cliffs and deep valleys. Afternoon set in and Shippo was tucking in for some lunch while Kagome patted down Kirara and sent her off. Now alone the two companions sat next to one another, calm and with joy at all they and accomplished in the last three days. Deciding to get to work tomorrow Kagome and Shippo sat for the rest of the day on that ledge, telling stories about there time apart and enjoying the company of an open mind. When they went to bed that night to the music of the wind Shippo crawled up into Kagome's bed and snuggled into her chest, having missed her more than he could say.

The next morning a sense of purpose sprung back into the duo, and they set to cleaning up the entire surrounding grassy cliff, picking out any herbs they could find, collecting long dead tree bits, weaving baskets out of the tall grasses and storing nuts they found lower on the ridge in them. The work was hard, and they still had half the area to go by the end of the day when they sat down with there new fire and ate some of the meat collected by Kirara.

For five days they spent clearing, collecting and cleaning. During there breaks they would roast more meat or nuts and then wrap them up for later, Kagome frequently stopped to sort threw the growing plants they had collected so she did not mix the deadly ones with safe ones. On a few occasions she would enlist Shippo to help her uproot a plant or tree and they would move it to a flat little outcrop that had very soft soil and an easy amount of sun, with the stream flowing just above it. This way later she wouldn't have to go in search for a plant she needed, it would be in walking distance. Every evening just before it started to get chilly up on the cliff they would both go down to the stream and get cleaned up, despite the frigged chill of the water. By the end of a week of hard work you want something better than a cold stream and so Shippo and Kagome set off in search of a hot spring or warm pool of water.

While exploring the lower line of trees and rock walls Shippo caught a scent on the wind just as Kagome sensed demonic presence. They rushed into a clearing not far off to see 3 medium snake demons attacking a little furry bundle on the ground. Kagome shot an arrow at the first snake purifying it while Shippo raced around to find a way into the fight. A second arrow killed the snake closest to Shippo and allowed him to grab the bundle on the ground while Kagome fired at the last snake. Running over the Shippo Kagome learnt that the little bundle was actually a pointy eared, fur clad little girl of five or six, a wolf demon cub. She immediately latched onto Kagome's neck, crying into her shoulder as Shippo prodded at a wound on the girls leg, obviously what had allowed the snakes to catch her. Returning to the cave with the girl in her arms Kagome started cleaning out the wound, slowly running water over it and rubbing healing herbs into the long open gash.

"Little one, why were you out there alone?" Kagome attempted at conversation, if only to stop the sad mewling the girl was making at the pain.

"I fell behind. We were moving dens for the season and I stopped when I caught a yummy scent. Before I knew it no one was in sight and the snakes were coming up behind me. I ran off only to get pulled back over a root by one of the snakes. That is how I got the gash."

"I'm sorry we were not there sooner." Almost done Kagome quickly leaned in and hugged the child.

Wrapping a long piece of torn cloth onto the girls leg Kagome fought with herself about using her powers to help the child, but not sure if it would damage her instead. Before she could make up her mind though they heard a howl in the distance, the child perked up instantly and babbled to Kagome that it was her Papa calling for her. Gathering the child in her arms careful not to put pressure on her leg they walked out to the clearing where they first met and waited for her papa to arrive.