Bookends (Revised June 2004).

Author's Notes: Erm, enjoy?

Thanks to everyone who left suggestions on what to fix.

Rating: PG-13

Head's Up: Blah, blah, italics indicate a "flashback," although I'm sure you would have figured that out (because, after all, stupid people aren't allowed on ff.net). This may not be completely obvious, but this is taking place several years later than the series is at presently. No, the quest isn't over, yes, Kagome and Inuyasha are finally in a relationship, but they're not mates. Yet. (duh duh duh duuuuuuuuuh)

Disclaimer: Once again, since this is a fanfiction website, that's your first clue that these characters don't belong to me. They are copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi.

*~*~*~*~*~

The days were not so long now. The sun, sensing the year dwindling, retired earlier to its bed and stayed there longer each night. That was the regrettable aspect of fall. The weather was cool and the dying leaves were beautiful to behold, but there was less time to enjoy them in the splendor of the sun's light.

In the feudal era, dusk had arrived, and the village near the Bone Eater's Well was lit by orange fires in lamps and on torches. They gave the village a warm glow that extended past the huts and to the forest beyond, including the well and two figures arguing in front of it.

"Inuyasha, I can't leave until you let go of my hand."

"Feh. Why do you think I won't let go, wench?"

Kagome just rolled her eyes and tried to yank her hand free once more. Any other girl might have slapped the hanyou for calling her such, but Kagome knew that Inuyasha's insults meant nothing. His harsh language was built in, and no amount of prodding him to just say "woman" instead was going to change that. No bother; everybody had pitfalls.

But God, that possessive nature of his was getting on her nerves.

The quest for the few remaining shards of the Shikon Jewel and the ensuing battles were still not finished, but there had been times that the intensity of the search lulled on all sides. There would be months where the fights seemed never-ending, and then there were times where everything would be quiet, as if good and evil were recharging their batteries. Now was one of those times. With no shards in any close proximity, and the absence of foes for the past week, the group had agreed that now was an ideal time to let Kagome visit her family. Inuyasha, forever and always in a group by himself, was the only one to be staunchly against this decision.

To further show just how much she wanted to get going, she hoisted herself up with her free hand and sat on the rim of the well.

"Let go," she repeated, enunciating each word with another tug. "I need to go home."

"What's so great about that place that you have to keep going back?" he asked, peering at her. Now his other hand joined the tug-o'-war. She glared at him and tried pushing against the combined grip of his hands with her foot.

"Now you're just being stupid," she retorted, struggling to get free. "And childish. How else can I see my family if I don't go home?"

"Your family is here," he growled, frowning with this surprisingly arduous episode.

"I can have more than one," she argued.

It seemed he had an epiphany just then, or at least some sort of realization. He blinked and dropped her hand. He must have been thinking something over, for he didn't speak for a few minutes, just staring at the trees off in the distance with a furrowed brow.

"That reminds me," he said, suddenly joining her on the lip of the well.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm coming with you," he asked. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's what it reminded you of?" she inquired suspiciously.

"No."

"Then what? Have you finally decided to act like a gentleman? Are the ways of chivalry not lost on you yet?"

"I think you know the answer to that question," he huffed.

"Well, all right."

They both sat in the usual, uncomfortable silence that accompanied them wherever they went. Both were frowning.

"Big oaf," Kagome muttered, shoving him hard in the arm.

"Ack!" Her violent accusation caught him off balance and they both fell backwards into the well.

They landed with a loud thump in the 21st century. Kagome, landing on top of Inuyasha, only hit her head on his chest. He, on the other hand, slammed his head and the rest of his body on the solid ground.

"Dammit, woman!" he growled, holding his head.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She was embarrassed at her clumsiness and the horrible irony. But looking up and knowing that the sky was that of her century's alleviated her qualms. The sky winked down at them through the charred remains of what had once been a roof, that is, before a rather close call with a youkai that favored attacking with huge bursts of flame. It had darkened considerably, and the moon could be seen above their landing site at the bottom of the well. She was glad that the simple things like the moon and stars didn't change between the centuries. The moon waxed and waned the same way here as it did five hundred years ago.

Inuyasha followed her gaze upward, wrinkling his nose at the dimness of the sky. The sky of Kagome's time was tainted by the glare of artificial lights from her house and the others nearby, whereas the sky of the past was uninhibited and brilliant. It always unnerved him slightly every time he came here. He sighed and gently pushed Kagome off his torso. She turned her attention back to him.

"Aren't you the poster-boy of cleanliness," she said sarcastically, pointing to the dirt and muss in his long, white hair.

"I could say the same for you," he replied cordially. He pulled at the offending brambles and dusted off his red robes. "And I don't see the point, since someone in your family is sure to screw it up."

He gingerly touched the sensitive dog-ears on top of his head. "I should just cut them off and give them to those people so they'd leave me alone."

Kagome glared at him again. "Did you come with me just to insult my family?" she questioned.

He closed his eyes to her withering look. "I'm just saying they shouldn't smother me. You think they'd never seen a hanyou before."

She threw her arms up. "They haven't!" she said exasperatedly.

He didn't answer her, instead deftly leaping to the top of the well and offering her a hand. "No time to lose. It'll start to rain soon."

She accepted his offer, although she could have gotten out herself. It didn't look as if it was about to rain, she thought. No clouds nearby, except for the wispy and insubstantial cirrus ones that wrapped themselves around the moon.

He pulled her out of the well and they stood close together in the dark shadow of the shrine. The lights suddenly came on, and they both winced from the unexpected brightness. He took a step forward to go inside.

"You're coming in?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Why?"

"I'm hungry-and I have to give them my ears."

She punched his shoulder again, and he walked off, muttering, "Always this abuse."

Kagome looked around her quiet shrine a last time. No-not her shrine. She did not associate it with home anymore. Only her mother, brother, and grandfather were home here. The physical place had lost its meaning for her. It was still a comforting place, but it didn't offer her the same comfort as before. Mostly it just filled her with nostalgia for the simpler life she used to lead.

A raindrop hit her cheek. She blinked and looked up at the clouds that had moved across the sky during their exchange. She hurried after Inuyasha, who was waiting for her at the door.

* * *

"Oh!" Kagome's mother exclaimed as Inuyasha and Kagome walked through the door. "You've both come!"

Kagome embraced her mother of whom she had seen so little of these past few years. "Sorry I'm late," she said.

Her mother only shook her head. "No, I never expect you to be here when you say you will, not with him," she added surreptitiously, nodding toward Inuyasha, who tucked his hands into his billowing sleeves as a response.

Kagome pulled her thick hair away from her face and took off her jacket. "Where's Souta and Grandpa?" she asked.

"Souta's at a movie with some friends and Grandpa…" she sighed waving her hand dismissively, "Who knows? He's must be around the shrine somewhere."

"Probably preparing for an exorcism," Kagome said drolly, looking at Inuyasha.

"Indeed," he sniffed. He looked grumpy as usual.

Kagome handed her coat to her mother, who then hung it in the closet. She hesitantly turned to Inuyasha, who, in his red fire-rat robe, contrasted sharply with the calm, muted colors of the house. "Is there any part of that I can take for you? Aren't you warm?"

He was about to answer no, but couldn't, as Kagome had already yanked off the top half of the robe.

"This part comes off, Mama," she said, giving it to her.

She placed it in the closet reverently, somehow understanding its importance.

"It's a very fine haori," she said to the aggravated Inuyasha. "What's it made of?"

Again, he tried to answer, but then a peculiar scent reached his nose.

"Is something burning?" he asked.

Both Kagome and her mother gave a small "Eep!" and rushed into the kitchen. Inuyasha, amused but not surprised at this reaction, followed the proverbial trails of dust left behind by their quick exit.

* * *

The dinner was lovely, albeit crispy. However, Inuyasha had been unusually quiet, and this anomaly distressed Kagome. The flow of complaints, declarations of honor and love, and so many other exciting eccentricities had been shut off for some reason. Throughout the whole meal, his brow had been furrowed in thought. Kagome's mother began to clear the table, and Kagome began to stand up to help. Then, she suddenly felt his hand on her knee. She leaned in so he could whisper into her ear.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Fine…why?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's not…near your time of the month is it?"

"No," she replied hotly. "What sort of a thing is that to ask? Wouldn't you know?"

"Feh, I haven't got your cycle memorized. Besides," he answered gruffly, sitting up. "You're always so moody I can never tell if it's PMS or not."

"What? Ooh," she sputtered irately, yanking his ear. He winced and clenched his teeth over the abuse being wreaked on his sensitive ear.

"Damn you, stop it!"

"You're lucky. I'd sit you, but you'd break the chair."

Just then, Souta burst into the kitchen. At first, he looked annoyed that they had had dinner without him, but immediately he broke into a huge grin upon seeing his sister home.

"Kagome!" he shouted, running across the room to throw his arms around his sister. "It's been forever. Was he keeping you there all this time?" He gestured towards Inuyasha with his head, who scowled.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," he muttered to no one in particular.

"You're in trouble already," Kagome said to him. "It was a long time, wasn't it, Souta? Nearly four months."

"Yes," Souta huffed. "I had hoped you'd be back before this project was due. Did you have to write a research paper on the Enlightenment in Europe when you were in high school?"

"That's nice, Souta," she said. "All you want is a favor? Typical."

"Oh, come on, you know that's not…entirely true," he said, grinning again. He pulled Kagome towards the stairs. "I've done all my research, but it's not like my teacher actually told us to write a research paper."

She let herself be dragged upstairs, listening to Souta babble on about how cracked up philosophers were and that he couldn't believe they just sat around in coffeehouses all day complaining for a living. She waved goodbye and blew a kiss to Inuyasha and her mother, though which gesture was intended for which person remained unclear to the recipients.

Inuyasha was suddenly aware that he was alone with Kagome's mother, and his duty, for which he had followed Kagome down the well, was weighing down on him once again, just as it had been doing so for the past few months. Unsure of how to initiate a conversation with an almost a total stranger, he picked up some of the plates from the table and walked over to where she was loading the strange cupboard she put things in so she didn't have to wash them herself.

"Here," he said hesitantly, offering her the dirty plates.

She smiled warmly at him and took them to place on the metal rack. "Thank you," she said. "Did Kagome explain what this is?"

"Uh, yes, I think," he responded. "Is this the same one you clean clothes in?"

"No, no, that's different," she said. "It's in another room, and it doesn't have this rack, you see."

He liked her way of speaking. It was very calm and maternal. Quiet and languid. She didn't seem at all impatient with him for not knowing things that she must have thought rudimentary. He fetched some more plates and utensils off the table.

When the table was cleared, she closed the door of the cupboard and pushed a button on the front. It began to make a whirring sort of noise, and there was the sound of water rushing. She wiped down the table with a towel tucked into her apron, sweeping away the last crumbs of the meal. Inuyasha sat back down at the table.

"Mrs. Higurashi," he said pertinently. No point in putting this off, he thought. "I have something I need to ask you."

"All right," she answered. Her back was turned to him as she untied her apron and hung it on a peg near the doorway. She faced him, dusting her hands on her long skirt.

"It's about-" he began.

"Kagome?" she interrupted, glancing at him askance. When he nodded, she lowered herself into the chair across from him.

"I need to know…" he trailed off, suddenly at a loss as to how to frame his question.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

"I need to you if you approve of me as a mate for Kagome," he blurted out, looking at his feet.

"Pardon?" she looked at him oddly. "A…. But, what about that walking corpse?"

"Kikyo?" he, in turn, stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Don't you know? I killed her."

* * *

"Put her down," Inuyasha hissed.

"Or…?" Kikyo asked in a bored tone. She held the struggling girl in front of her, pressing her against her chest with her arm and holding her there. Kagome squirmed and tried to claw herself from Kikyo's iron grip, but in vain. Her bow and arrows lay useless on the ground where they had fallen.

Inuyasha took a step forward. He motioned for Sango and Miroku to stay back, near the forest.

"Don't think you can use what we once had against me," he said, threateningly. "It will not work."

"It has before," she retorted icily.

"Yes, before."

In an instant, his claws were upon her, slicing her arm off at the shoulder and pushing Kagome aside. After that point, dismemberment was the least of Kikyo's problems.

* * *

"Oh," Kagome's mother said, a little taken aback. "I'm sorry-"

Inuyasha shook his head. "Don't be. I'm not."

"Goodness," she said quietly to herself. A lot had happened that Kagome had failed to mention.

"Do you approve?" he asked again.

"Well," she began, clearly as uneasy as he was. "That depends on what Kagome says."

"She said yes," he replied.

* * *

The smoke of the funeral pyre climbed high into the sky, tainting the clouds with its ash. It had been built right on the battle site, in a clearing surrounded by dense woods. Miroku led the customary prayers begrudgingly, but Inuyasha showed true, if minimal, respect for the dead. He tried to remember Kikyo before the fateful day he had been sent into his long sleep. It was difficult-memories of her past several years as a vengeful, reanimated corpse crowded his head. Which one had been the true Kikyo? The love she had felt for him those years before was nothing compared to her hate for him, but…it had been there all the same. He shook his head. It was pointless to analyze what was dead and forgotten, and indeed, Kikyo had been forgotten by Inuyasha.

He bowed his head a final time, and in doing so left her to the levels of hell or wherever she had gone. His eyes instead searched for Kagome.

She, too, had tried her best to be reverent, standing far off from the pyre, still shaken by the sudden battle. Kaede had given her a simple yukata to wear instead of the tattered clothes from her time. It was towards the middle of summer, so she had worn something a little more sensible than her school uniform, but it was no match for the trials of the feudal age.

He came over to her. Taking her hands, he asked, "Any better?"

She swallowed. "A bit," she said. "I was just so…so surprised-"

"At what? The attack or the results?" he asked pointedly.

She looked up at him, not really sure what to say to his poignant statement.

He had expected such a response. "We'll be back," he called to Miroku. "Behave."

Miroku nodded solemnly, this time deciding not to reply to the latter of Inuyasha's statement.

Inuyasha turned, pulling Kagome into the forest with him, intending to go as far as he had to until he couldn't see the smoke.

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly, not wishing to disturb the tranquil forest anymore than necessary.

"I need you to understand," was all he said. He pressed on, alert to sounds and smells of the forest, searching out anything dangerous. There weren't many animals there-they had been driven off by the battle, and had yet to return. Still grasping Kagome's hand, he headed for a small patch of light amid the dark trees.

* * *

"And when was this?" Kagome's mother inquired, soft and patient tones gone. Kagome had never deliberately kept things like this from her before, and it irked her.

"Last summer," Inuyasha said blamelessly, toying with the edge of his robe.

* * *

The branches and leaves of the trees did not reach far enough to cover the hole in the foliage. Sunshine filtered through, casting a misshapen circle of light on the undergrowth. Inuyasha stopped right in the center of the circle, and let go of Kagome's hand.

She stepped in front of him, and held his gaze. He stuck his hands in his sleeves.

"What don't I understand?" she asked.

He breathed deeply, looked up and closed his eyes. "Many things. But all I want is for you to try to understand me."

She blinked, "You?"

He nodded. "Why didn't you think I was willing to kill her?" he asked quietly.

She seemed ashamed, as if he had accused her of not having faith in him. Hesitantly, she embraced him, and he, too, placed his arms around her. He laid his head on hers, as he had done many times before.

"I don't know," she admitted to his robes. "There was always a little bit of…doubt, I guess, because she was first."

"Yes," he said, "But I never asked her to...."

"What?" she glanced at him in confusion.

"To be my mate."

* * *

Her irritation bothered him-he wasn't sure if she was annoyed at Kagome, at him, or both of them.

She got up and began to noisily busy herself by making a cup of tea. The once serene kitchen was abruptly filled with various clanging and banging, coming from cupboards being closed and teakettles being roughly set on the stove. He winced as each offensive sound reached his ears.

"We're just…promised. Neither of us were ready yet," he assured her as she ripped open a tea bag. That seemed to appease her, if only a little.

* * *

In few minutes, he'd have to check if she was still breathing. She had been completely motionless since his…proposal.

"Are you there?" he asked her hair.

Kagome shook herself to snap out her previous trancelike state. "Sorry," she mumbled, self-consciously. "I didn't expect you to ask me so soon."

He squeezed her to him. "At least you assumed I would ask," he smiled.

She looked up to see his face, saying, "Well, after you told me that I figured…."

"That I would only mate you after I confessed my love?" he smirked.

"Yes!" she jabbed his ribs. "That's the way it works."

He sighed and stared at the boughs of leaves above him. "Good thing I did that, then. I'd hate to imagine what you've done to me."

"Ha, you know what I'd have done."

* * *

"Hmm," she was stirring sugar in the tea and thinking. Then, she took her mug and spoon and sat back in her chair. Inuyasha stared at her expectantly. But she didn't indulge her thoughts to him, instead tapping her spoon against the wood for no other reason than to bother him. This man…half-man was changing her daughter. That was something she couldn't control, and would have to accept. But, she was in control of this situation, and knew it.

After a moment, she jabbed his hand with the spoon, as if to get his attention even though his eyes had not left her for a moment. He nearly jumped a foot in the air because he was so tense.

"Were you thinking of…any time, in particular?" she questioned.

"Time?" He was confused by her esoteric train of thought again.

"To…you know, do it," she said bluntly.

His face went a little pink at the remark. "Uh, I hadn't…" he trailed off.

"All right," she sighed and began tapping the spoon again. "I don't disapprove of you. You're an honorable…man, even if you are a bit rough at the edges."

He stood up quickly and bowed deeply, hands clasped in front of him. "I promise to take care of your daughter with all that I am," he mumbled the foreign, formal phrase.

His shyness and correctness were somewhat appealing to Kagome's mother. She smiled and told him to stand up before he made a complete fool of himself. Then she began to quietly and calmly ask him about feudal marriages. He answered to the best of his ability, which was not very well.

"Shouldn't you know just a little bit about marriages, since you're about to go through with one?" she commented bemusedly, looking at him over the rim of her mug.

"Feh," he scoffed. "It's not going to be a human marriage."

She stopped sipping her tea. "Pardon?" she asked.

"We both agreed the youkai customs were easier to deal with," he said.

"Are we still invited?" she asked, setting down the tea.

His face flushed bright red. "What do you think we are, woman? Exhibitionists?!" he shouted.

"What?" she did not seem overly surprised at his display, although his last statement puzzled her.

"Hello! I'm back," Kagome called, suddenly appearing beside Inuyasha. "What's wrong with your face?"

He didn't answer her, too busying being embarrassed and muttering about the profound ignorance that ran in her family. Kagome smiled, leaning against his chair, placing a hand on his head to stroke his ear. That calmed him down a bit, although his face remained red as he sank further into the chair.

"You were talking?" she ventured, feeling the soft fur on his ear.

"Hm," he grunted.

"What about?" she continued brightly. She tugged his ear.

"Don't you start," he ordered, pointing a finger at her, but refusing to move from his zone of comfort.

"I'm just making conversation," Kagome replied, looking at her mother for support, who nodded.

"What time is it?" Inuyasha asked suddenly.

"Late," Kagome responded with a yawn. "Souta can be really dense sometimes."

"Too late," he said, standing up and pushing Kagome out the door. "Best be off."

"Say," she grumbled, "If you're going to man-handle me, could you at least try not to prick me with those claws?"

"Come off it, wench. I never prick you," he said. He gave Kagome's mother a final bow before hauling her daughter out the door, but not before retrieving the rest of his haori from the hall closet.

"I'll be back!" Kagome promised as Inuyasha firmly shut the door. Her mother serenely finished off the rest of her tea, and wondered about the environment her grandchildren were going to be raised in.

*~*~*~*~

A/N: Well, I think it's better.

And remember: any "interesting events" will be taking place next chapter, so keep your pants on ('cause our heroes sure aren't gonna).