A/N: WARNING: THIS IS A VERY LONG AND PROBABLY BORING NOTE. (But I hope you'll still read it, because it really does help set the scene for the story). Hey everyone! Well, I got sucked into InuYasha about four months ago, after being an avid fan and reader of Ranma 1/2 for about the past eight years, and oh I am ever so glad that I decided to pick it up! Two Rumiko Takahashi stories are better than one! Expect much Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha fanfiction from me in the future :3 Anyway, moving on...

I've always been one of those people that is obsessed with reading between the lines. It frustrates most people around me and it's nearly impossible to watch a Disney movie with me because I have to go into all the nitty-gritty details and ask the obscure questions that most people would never even consider. Because of that, I also love filling in the blank spots. The missing moments, to give them a pretty name. What happened between these two scenes? What are these characters doing and saying when they're not on display? I LOVE trying to figure it out. And then write about my ideas! This is one such example.

I often wondered how Kagome and Sango would really bond as best friends and sisters, because when Sango first joins the group she is so distant and a bit cold, and it's only over time that she lets her walls down and really starts to open up. But, of the four adults in the group (Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and InuYasha), she is always the most closed-off and secretive. Comparing her to Kagome, she always denies having any attraction to Miroku except when she's alone with him, when Kagome doesn't try so hard to deny hers to InuYasha in front of anyone, and however kind and sweet she can prove to be, Sango still seems detatched and cold to me when compared to Kagome's almost overbearing cheerfulness and loyalty and kindheartedness. I love her character dearly, but like Kikyo, I wish sometimes she could be a bit softer and really, truly let her guard down. I wrote this partly to expand on that idea of her having a purely honest and open conversation with someone outside of her family.

IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE REST, PLEASE READ THIS PART: This is meant as an innocent piece. A true girl talk. And for me, also a comedy because this is basically what my best friend and I talk about every day. Our standard conversations on sleepovers are: periods suck, boys are annoying, I-love-that-bra-where-did-you-get-it?, I'm-hungry-go-find-me-some-food, and of course...life is so hard when you're a teenager. Hahaha oh how petty and shallow we teenage girls can be, but even with those topics you really can create a deep and friendship-strengthening conversation. This is Kagome and Sango's version. Enjoy! And please pretty please review! I love reviews they make the world go around! :3

-passivestrength

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own InuYasha or any of its characters. They are property of Rumiko Takahashi. However, no one can stop me from calling my cat Kirara, pretending to be Kikyo, Sango, and Kagome, or forcing my best friend and I to stop fighting over InuYasha, Miroku, and Kouga like a pack of wolves. Heh. Wolves. Kouga. Oh, I kill myself.

Sango was practicing throwing her boomerang bone in an open field when she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her lower abdomen.

She gasped and dropped the weapon, using her now freed hand to clutch her stomach. "Damn."

She had felt this pain before, and she knew blood was soaking her clothing as she stood there. Before her mother had died, she had told Sango that this would happen to her, and that it meant she was old enough to be married and have children. Sango had experienced this for the past four years, but she had been too focused on becoming a better demon slayer to be concerned with such trivial matters as finding a proper husband.

"Aarrg." She exhaled another sharp breath as a second wave of pain hit her. The first day was always the worst, she'd noticed. If only the mess could be reduced with the second morning as well.

"Sango!"

She looked up to see Miroku standing at the edge of the field, beckoning her with his hand. "It's time for dinner. Kagome left us enough ramen for tonight."

Sango sighed and picked up her boomerang bone, putting on a strong front as she followed Miroku back to the campsite. Kagome was supposed to be back by now, and that always caused a bout of unnecessary tension around the fire as InuYasha fired off at anything that breathed.

Kagome's almost my age, she suddenly realized. I wonder if she ever has to deal with this mess.

"Hey Sango, are you okay?"

She was instantly pulled from her thoughts at InuYasha's voice. He was staring at her with what almost looked like concern, though the seriousness of his expression was cancelled out by the mouthful of ramen stuffing his cheeks. She tried to smile.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Yeah, you're not actually worried about her, are you?" Miroku asked with an amused smirk, earning a glare from both InuYasha and Sango. Shippo just laughed as he stroked Kirara's soft head, as she slept contently in his lap.

"Feh. Of course not," InuYasha snapped, swallowing and tossing his long silver hair back. "She can take care of herself. She just seemed quieter than usual."

"I'm back!"

They all looked up to see Kagome walking toward them, heaving her drastically overstuffed backpack as usual.

"You're late!" InuYasha jumped up and went to her, grabbing her pack and putting it aside so he could drag her over to the campfire. "We could have starved if you hadn't left that extra ramen."

"Thanks for the kind greeting," she muttered, casting him a cold look. "And it's not my fault that I'm late! It's your fault for not staying in the village! Geez, even with the directions from Kaede it still took a while to find you guys." That, and the fact that her period had humiliatingly started just as she had been about to cross over to the feudal era. But there was no way she was about to tell him that. "What're you doing up here?"

"We just wanted away from the village for a bit," Miroku calmly replied. "If you hadn't returned by morning, we would have gone back."

"And we definitely would have starved by then, you lazy wench," InuYasha scowled.

"Excuse me, I'm lazy?" Kagome stared at him in disbelief. "Are you really that lazy? Or that stupid for that matter? I'm not a produce market! What did you do for food before you had me? You obviously didn't starve!"

"I didn't need to eat for the past fifty years in case you've forgotten," he snapped back.

"Children, please," Miroku sighed, rubbing his temple. "There's no need to fight. I know you're happy to see her InuYasha, but there's no need to contaminate the rest of us with your poisonous joy."

"Who died and made you emperor?" InuYasha spat. "Besides, since when do you know anything about my feelings? Who says I'm happy to see her?"

Kagome's face burned fire red and she let out an angry groan. "You jerk! I'm out of here!"

"Wait, Kagome!" Shippo ran after her as she started to stomp away. Kirara mewed disdainfully as she was unceremoniously woken from her nap by being dumped on the ground, but he ignored her. "Don't leave already!"

"Let her go," InuYasha said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "She can crawl back home if she wants to. Just as long as she brings more food with her next time."

"InuYasha, sit!"

He slammed against the ground with a deafening smash, earning a hearty laugh from both Miroku and Shippo. Sango just stared at Kagome, silently watching the scene unfold as a minor distraction from her pain. I need a chance to talk to her, she thought.

"I'm going to the hot springs to take a bath!" Kagome yelled at InuYasha as he slowly pulled himself up from the hard earth. "I'm not going home, so stop complaining about food, and don't you dare follow me!"

"Feh. Like I'd want to."

"Sit!"

This time Sango spoke up. "Kagome, do you mind if I join you?"

Kagome turned to Sango, the scowl on her face disappearing for the first time into a smile. "No, not at all."

"Do you mind if I -?"

"Don't even think about it Miroku." Kagome's cold glare returned as quickly as it had left. "Shippo?"

"What is it, Kagome?"

"Will you stay here and make sure these two animals behave themselves?"

"Of course!" the young fox demon replied. Kagome was fairly certain that he would do anything she asked of him, and she smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks Shippo. I know I can always count on you." She slung her pack onto her back, knowing it would take too long to dig through it for what she needed. "Shall we, Sango?"

"Mmm." The older girl nodded, and they began walking down to where Kagome had seen a hot spring on her way up.

"So, what have you been up to the past few days?" Kagome asked her.

"Not much." Sango shrugged. "Killed a few basic demons. The boys acted like children the entire time you were gone. Especially InuYasha."

Kagome shook her head and sighed. "Now why does that not surprise me?"

"It's only because he cares about you," Sango answered, turning her head sideways to look at the modern-day girl. "You know he'd never let you leave if he could help it."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed again. "What about you and Miroku?"

"Eh?" Sango blinked, surprised. "What about us?"

"I know you like him. Like me, you have a hard time containing your jealousy."

Sango blushed furiously. "I do not like that lecherous monk!" she retorted defensively. "I just can't stand the way he treats women."

"Uh huh. Sure."

She huffed, her face turning even redder. "What? Are you admitting that you like InuYasha, then?"

Now it was Kagome's turn to grow flustered. "I never said that! How could I ever love such an insensitive, idiotic…child?"

"I never said you loved him." Sango raised an eyebrow. "I only said you liked him."

Kagome didn't answer. She just shifted her backpack and continued walking. "This conversation never happened, okay?"

"I couldn't agree more."

They continued walking in silence for several minutes, until Sango let out a sudden gasp as the painful cramping sensation worsened. "Dammit."

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, alarmed.

"Nothing," Sango replied, trying to brush it off. She was too embarrassed to tell Kagome quite yet. Besides, the hot water of the springs would help, she reasoned. It had in the past. "I must have been stabbed by a sharp branch."

"Oh, well do you need a bandage?"

"No, I'm fine," she replied quickly. "It's barely a scratch."

Sango could see Kagome watching her as they kept walking. "Why are you staring?'

"You always act so tough," Kagome answered, with a surprising hint of sadness in her voice. "It's okay to show weakness and admit you're hurt. I tell InuYasha the same thing. We're your friends. We're not here to judge you, only to help you."

Sango gave her a small smile. "It's in my training to remain strong and keep to myself. I'm fine Kagome, really."

Kagome let out a long sigh. "I guess I'm the one that needs to toughen up. You all seem fine without me."

Sango spared her a guilty glance. "That's not true."

When they reached the spring, Kagome dumped her pack on the ground with an exhausted groan. Sango watched as she unzipped several pockets and began pulling out various bathing items. She didn't want to get undressed before Kagome did, so she stood there and fingered the ribbon in her hair.

"Do you need anything, Sango?"

"Oh. Yeah, actually," she realized. "I forgot my cloth. Do you have an extra one?"

"I have an extra towel," Kagome smirked. "How's that?"

Sango rolled her eyes. Kagome and all her modern miracle items. "Yeah, thanks."

"I have some shampoo and a razor if you want to borrow them," she added, plunking those objects out of a side pocket and placing them next to the fluffy towels.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Kagome had taught her over the past several weeks what many of the items she brought from her time were. Like the others, Sango was curious about the future and quite fascinated by the genius of modern inventors, only her fascination delved deeper than the boys'.

"I was in such a hurry to get back before InuYasha blew a fuse – although I now realize that's quite pointless, seeing as he's always in an explosively bad mood – and I forgot my soap, but I suppose the shampoo will have to work," Kagome explained as she slipped her shoes off and pulled off her socks.

"It doesn't matter to me," Sango replied, pulling the ribbon bow from her long hair and kicking off her sandals. "I lived sixteen years without real soap."

"And I have no idea how you survived," Kagome shuddered, tugging off the shirt of her school uniform and tossing it on top her backpack.

"It wasn't very hard. It never is, when you don't know what you're missing," Sango smiled. As she undid the tie on her kimono, she couldn't help noticing the frilly white bra Kagome was wearing. Bras were one of the more riveting modern inventions to her. The first time she had seen Kagome wearing one, it had left her speechless and extremely intrigued. She parted the front of her kimono and stared down at her own breast bindings and sighed. They were practical and they worked, and as she'd said herself they were all she'd ever known. But some days they felt so tight she could hardly breathe, and on hot days they were nearly unbearable. And even now, with this frustrating monthly impairment, her breasts felt swollen and sore as they were smashed down by the bindings.

Kagome noticed her forlorn gaze and laughed. "I told you before; I'll get you a bra if you want to try one."

Sango sighed again as she unwrapped the bindings, sucking in a deep, freeing breath once they were off. "Yeah, I think I would like that, if it's not too much trouble."

"No, not at all," Kagome replied, shaking her head. "That's what friends are for, right?" She swiftly assessed Sango's chest and nodded. "I think you're a little bigger than me, so I'd say a…36C? I have this favorite store in downtown Tokyo, and they have these amazing…"

Sango's thoughts drifted away as Kagome continued to talk, as chipper and excitable as ever. How could she always be so happy? Even when she fought with InuYasha, and even after he'd gone off to talk to Kikyo, she never showed explicit anger for long. And when she returned after storming home to the modern era, it was as if nothing had ever happened. Sango didn't know how any one person could be so kindhearted and forgiving.

"Sango! You're bleeding!" Kagome's voice was filled with alarm. Sango glanced down, not realizing that she'd shrugged off her kimono and leggings as her mind had wandered. Sure enough, blood stained her light colored kimono, as it always did during this time.

"You did get hurt," Kagome continued, instantly dropping down to her backpack and searching through it.

"No, I'm fine Kagome," Sango said, slipping into the spring before Kagome could force a bandage on her. As soon as her body touched the water, her pain was greatly subdued. "I'm not hurt."

"Then why…?" Kagome trailed off, realization dawning on her. "Oh. You're on your period, huh? Join the club."

"Huh?" Sango blinked in confusion. "Period? What's that?"

Kagome slipped off the rest of her clothes and lowered herself into the spring next to Sango. "Geez, you guys didn't know what periods were back now?"

Sango just continued to stare at her.

Kagome sighed. "You know, your breasts swell up, you bleed a lot, and you get horrible cramps the first day or two? They're a real pain. Mine just started again today."

"Oh. Well…" Sango blushed. She wasn't used to talking about such personal matters openly. But then, she'd never really had a girl for a friend. Obviously she hadn't been able to talk to her brother or her father.

"You don't need to be embarrassed." Kagome smiled at her. "It happens to every girl in the entire world. We had to learn about it in school, even. Boys and girls."

Sango's blush darkened at the prospect of the opposite sex knowing in such detail the private struggles of females such as herself. Things really were different in the future. "Oh. Boys know, huh?"

Now Kagome's cheeks flared up. "Well, I don't know if they know. I mean, InuYasha and Kikyo…and if Miroku was around girls as much as he says…"

Sango's eyes narrowed at that last part.

"Boys have problems of their own, though," Kagome added softly, her flush growing brighter. "So the scale of punishment isn't completely unbalanced."

They sat quietly for several minutes, Kagome trying and failing to dispel her most recent thoughts, while Sango attempted to digest all the new information.

"Sango?" Kagome was the first to break the silence.

"What is it?"

She gave the older girl a curious look. "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

"No, I haven't." Her expression grew thoughtful. "Father would kiss my forehead, and I would kiss Kohaku every day, especially when we were younger, but I know that's not what you mean."

Kagome was quiet for a long moment. "You really miss him, don't you?"

"Kohaku?" Sango stared at her in surprise. "Of course I do. He is my brother, but he was also my best friend. He may have been five years younger than me, but he was very intelligent and mature." She sighed. "Endlessly more mature than Miroku or InuYasha. Combined. And he didn't let his pride control him. He would admit to me when he was afraid or concerned…a bit like what you mentioned earlier." She paused. "I suppose I let my own pride get in my way more often than I should."

"But you're very mature and responsible," Kagome told her meaningfully. "Like you said, that's more than I can say for either of our boys. Shippo is definitely the most grown up of the three."

Sango gave a small smile. "I suppose he is. His heart has been wounded deeply by the loss of his family, and yet he remains strong and in high spirits. I can understand and respect the immense courage that takes, particularly for a child."

"I remember when my father died," Kagome said gently. "I didn't think I would ever recover. I didn't think my mother would, either. Sota was too little for it to affect him much."

"Who's Sota?"

Kagome gave her a stunned look. "Oh, I never told you? Sota is my younger brother. He's seven years younger than me, and he certainly acts it. He's afraid of everything! I love him, but it can really be a nice clean breath to come here and get away from him for a few days."

"How can you say that?" Sango asked her in disbelief. "He is your brother! You must always comfort and protect him, especially when he is frightened."

Kagome looked taken aback. "You really were close to your brother."

"And I always will be. Even though he is under Naraku's control, he is still Kohaku," she stated firmly. "And I will always fight to protect him, even if I can never have him back."

"I guess I never really thought of it that way," Kagome admitted after a pause. "If I think about it, I would be devastated if anything ever happened to Sota."

"Of course you would." Sango's body relaxed and her face softened. "That's the bond of family. Your love for him will always remain in your blood."

"Speaking of blood, I'm guessing you're feeling better." Kagome was beginning to grow desperate for a change in topic. She felt guilty talking about her brother when Sango was in such a difficult situation with her own.

"Oh, that." Sango frowned, confused by the sudden turn in the conversation. "Yes, I'm much better. Hot water has always helped me in the past."

"That's good. It helps me, too."

Sango gazed out at the darkening forest surrounding them, her thoughts drifting once again. She was thankful she'd been able to talk to Kagome about these things, thankful that the other girl was understanding and kind. It really is nice to have a real friend.

"Kagome?" she asked, suddenly desiring to know more about her first friend, outside of her family.

"Hmm?"

"Your question, before we began talking about our brothers. Why did you ask it?" Sango hesitated, hoping she wasn't crossing a boundary. "Have you kissed a boy before?"

"Oh, me?" Kagome laughed. "No, never."

"Would you like to?"

Her laughter abruptly stopped. "Umm…"

"You're thinking of InuYasha," Sango said knowingly.

"I thought this conversation never happened," Kagome huffed, embarrassed.

"It's okay," Sango quietly told her. "I think it's kind of sweet. I'm sure he wishes to kiss you as well."

Kagome's expression darkened. "Well he's already kissed Kikyo."

"Oh." Sango blinked. "How do you know that?"

"Because it happened in front of me."

She didn't reply. How could she respond to that? There was another long pause.

"You want to kiss Miroku, don't you?"

"What?"

"Don't seem so surprised." Kagome smiled a little. "If we are going to have this conversation, we might as well have it straight and honest. I've seen the way you look at him sometimes."

"Well, I don't know…" Sango diverted her gaze as a fresh blush striped her cheeks. "Maybe I've thought about it."

"I think he likes you, too."

"Ha." She huffed, the corners of her lips sinking into a frown. "He likes every girl he meets."

"But he seems to genuinely care about you."

Her frown deepened. "And you."

"Well, of course. We all care about each other, because we are more than just traveling companions," Kagome explained. "We're a team, but we're close friends. When I'm here, in this time, the four of you are my family. We all have each other's backs. You say Miroku cares about my safety, but I know he cares about yours as well. Even InuYasha cares for you more than you would think."

"I think…you have all become my new family as well," Sango realized, and she noticed how comfortable and right it felt as she said it. "Do you think the others feel this way?"

"Oh, definitely." Kagome nodded vigorously. "I don't think Miroku's had a family in ten or so years, except for the priest that used to watch over him. He was reluctant to join us at first, and InuYasha didn't even want him to join us at all, but now I think they're both glad he did. And obviously Shippo's content. InuYasha and I sort of adopted him only a few weeks after we'd begun searching for the Shikon shards."

"And what about InuYasha himself?"

"He's…a more difficult case." Kagome sighed. "He's the most proud person I've ever met in my life, so he rarely comes right out and says things. But I know he's happy. You just have to learn to live with his roughness, and see through it."

"You truly do care for him." Sango gazed at Kagome thoughtfully. "And me. So you really think the monk cares for me, eh? Not that I care or anything."

"Yes, I'm certain!" Kagome smiled. "He'll always be a lecher, but I promise that the majority of the care and concern he shows for me are only out of respect. He knows InuYasha would rip him limb from limb."

"Huh." Sango gave a weak smile in return. "I suppose only time will tell with these things. But, not that I'm hoping for anything or even desiring his affection."

"A little voluntary action on your part might help," Kagome suggested, ignoring Sango's pointless attempt to cover her feelings.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on," Kagome laughed. "You know he would kiss you in a heartbeat."

Sango's blush flared. "Never mind about that. If he tries to kiss me now, I'll break his neck."

"Well aren't you a romantic."

"I'm not about to let myself be taken advantage of by some smooth-talking creep, no matter how easy on the eyes he is," Sango stated firmly.

"I'm glad I can talk to you," Kagome suddenly admitted. "My friends back home just don't understand. I mean in their defense, they have no idea about the well or the time travel or anything, but they're always trying to tell me what to do, and setting me up on dates whenever I come back to school. I know it's only because they care about me and my future happiness, but they really don't know how much extra strain they put on me."

"You're rarely ever in that time," Sango sounded surprised. "Aren't they suspicious of where you are?"

"No." She released a long sigh. "My grandpa keeps telling everyone I'm sick with all sorts of obscure and unusual diseases. My grades are so bad this year I might as well be dead."

"Why not be?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you just stay here?" Sango questioned. "It sounds like it can't really hurt you much more than it already has."

"That's what the guys have told me, too." Kagome gave her a sad smile and looked down at the water. "This is what no one but I can understand. I really want to do well in school and get into a good high school."

"What's high school?'

"It's my last level of required school, and then after that I'll go to college. I need to do well now if I want to have any hope of getting anywhere in life."

"Oh." Sango didn't understand the significance of this school and college structure, but she did understand that it meant Kagome wouldn't be around very much. "Will you miss us?"

"What?" Kagome instantly looked up, stunned.

"You're going home," Sango surmised. "Forever."

Silence filled the air once again, and it hung heavy, as if the steam surrounding them had become iron bars. Finally Kagome spoke.

"Defeating Naraku is the most important thing," she said determinately. "School is very important, but stopping him comes first. His existence is as dangerous to my time as it is here."

"But once we've collected all the Shikon shards and defeated him?" Sango asked. "What will you do after that?"

"I don't know."

"You'll go back home, won't you? You said yourself you want to go to…what was it? College?"

"I promise I'll come back," Kagome said meaningfully, desperation clear in her eyes. "I'll visit whenever I'm home. I could never leave you, or Miroku, or Shippo, or…"

"Or InuYasha," Sango finished knowingly.

Kagome was quiet for a long time again. "Maybe we'll never defeat him."

"What?"
"Maybe we'll never defeat Naraku," she said with sudden vigor. "Or if we do, it might take years. And I promised I would keep coming back until we destroy him. Maybe I'll never have to say goodbye."

Sango didn't know how to respond, so she settled with something her father used to tell her. "I think you should worry about this when the time comes. Until then, you'll only confuse and frustrate yourself, and you won't be able to focus. When the right time comes, you'll know what to do."

"But how?" Kagome asked, her voice distant.

Sango shrugged. "You'll just know. You have to trust yourself."

"Yeah, I guess."

Sango frowned at Kagome's glum expression. "Hey, don't look so sad. This isn't the end of the world, you know."

"Maybe to you it isn't."

"Kagome," she sighed. "If you really love him, just tell him."

"It's not that simple," she mumbled.

"Then try to make peace with it. You'll only hurt yourself."

"I could say the same thing to you." Kagome turned her eyes back to Sango. "You know you love Miroku, so stop denying it."

"I'm not denying anything," Sango replied. "I may have not been honest with you before, but from now on I will try to be. I know I have denied my attraction to him in the past, but I promise I do not love him. I care for him. I care for him very deeply, but I do not love him."

"You will someday."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not going to worry about it until that time comes, though. I'm not going anywhere and I suspect neither is he."

"Then neither am I," Kagome affirmed. "At least, not for a while."

Sango suddenly started laughing, causing Kagome to stare at her in bewilderment.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just, the original reason I came down here with you was to ask you about this…period stuff. The last thing I expected was to have such a detailed life-centric conversation. Not that I mind at all," she quickly added. "This is…good."

"Strengthening?" Kagome suggested.

"Yes." Sango nodded. "I feel like we spend so much time together, but we hardly know each other at all."

"No, we don't do we?"

"Well I suppose there's always time to change that. Especially if you aren't planning on going away anytime soon. It'll be interesting to see how I handle being stuck with the guys when you finally do." Sango smiled, but as she shifted to sit on a nearby rock her lips instantly slanted into a grimace.

"What is it?" Kagome asked her.

"Nothing," she hissed through clenched teeth, hands wrapped around her stomach. "Just those damn cramps again. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"I have some aspirin if you want some," Kagome exclaimed. "It really helps. I took some before I came here."

"Those pills you gave Miroku for his headache?" Sango asked in bewilderment.

"Uh huh. They work for more than one type of pain."

"Huh." Sango was finding it hard to speak. She hated how abruptly and unexpectedly these pains came and went. She thought she'd been feeling a bit better, but that was obviously a lie.

"Do you want one? I'll go get the bottle." Kagome pulled herself out of the spring and wrapped one of the towels around her body. Her wet hair dripped down her back as she knelt before her backpack and began digging through it again. "We should probably head back soon, anyway. The guys will wonder what happened to us, and I really wouldn't care for Miroku to come check on us."

"Yeah," Sango agreed as Kagome brought her the small bottle. She greedily downed the pill and water Kagome handed her, thanking her between gulps.

"Don't worry about it," Kagome grinned. "I'm just sorry it won't work instantly. You'll just have to grin and bear it for a while, but I know you're really good at that." She laughed. "This is just another of the many joys of being a girl."

"I'll say," Sango grumbled. "Sometimes I wonder if it's not easier being a boy. I might at least get some more respect on the battlefield." She sighed. "Still, I could never imagine that life, and I'm very happy that I'm a girl. I'm just so sick of washing the blood out of my clothes month after month."

Kagome clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh! You don't have to do that. I can help you stop that, too. Wow, I don't even know how you've survived this long without aspirin and tampons, and -"

"Aspirin and what?" Sango blinked.

Kagome blushed slightly. "Oh, well…let's finish up, and I'll explain it all to you."

As they washed their hair, Kagome attempted to describe everything to Sango that she might need to know about her feminine problems and how to properly care for herself. When they had finished, they wrung the water from their hair and dried off with the towels, Kagome still explaining things and giving her own personal advice.

She watched as Sango dumped a bucket of water on her kimono and attempted to clean it, and made a mental note to bring her small containers of bleach and soap the next time she crossed through the well. Kagome also made a mental checklist of the materials she would supply Sango with in the future, and thought how best to disguise them. Whether they were clueless or not, she wanted to spare Sango and herself the embarrassment of explaining anything to the guys.

"Here, take these for now," she said, handing Sango a small colorful box. "They should last you this period."

"But what about you?" Sango asked as she and Kagome began getting dressed. She grimaced slightly, as she'd managed to clean up her kimono fairly well, but it was still damp from the water.

"Oh, I'm fine. I have more," Kagome responded, re-stuffing her bath supplies into her backpack and picking it up. "Besides, I can go home to a store whenever I want to. You can't get through the well."

"I've often wondered why it doesn't work," Sango agreed, her voice distant. "It's strange how InuYasha can cross over, but the rest of us can't."

Kagome shrugged. "Well, all he ever does is cause trouble when he comes to my time. He sticks out like a sore thumb, and he hardly knows how to talk to normal people without threatening to kill them." She sighed. "It's really only nice when he's there for an hour or less."

"All the same, I think it would be really amazing to see your time."

"It's really not that great," Kagome answered, but then she paused and made a face that showed she regretted her words. "No. Well, I mean, I love my time and everything and I could never live without basically everything that this time doesn't have. But…it's so much more beautiful here. And even with all the demons and the evil, it's still so nice and peaceful. In the present it's always loud and crowded and the only time you can get any relaxation is late at night when everyone else is asleep."

"You make it sound like a paradise here," Sango said in surprise.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Kagome considered. A moment later a bright smile hung on her lips. "To me, it really is a paradise here. It…it feels like home. A second home. And a home isn't a home without friends and family." She paused. "Sango?"

"What is it?"

"I'm really glad this happened. I don't think we ever would have had this conversation if you hadn't opened up and asked me about…well, I guess I needed this more than I thought. So thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" Sango asked her. "This has been just as beneficial for me, so I ought to be thanking you in return."

"We should do it again sometime," Kagome smiled. "And we won't say one word of any of this to the boys?"

"Of course not," Sango agreed as they began to walk back to the campsite. "It will be our secret."

"Yes," Kagome hummed. "Between best friends."

Sango cast the modern girl a stunned look, and then a warm smile formed on her own lips. She liked that. "Yes. Between best friends."