The change was unbelieveable.
The rain had fallen for the past 2 days. It was a light rain, and sadly didn't correct a lot that the drought had done, but at this point now, every rain drop was precious, and needed.
There was no more dust covering everything. The trees had managed to perk up a little, and looked green again. The grass underfoot, while still burned, at least no longer crunched when you walked over it.
And the circle of friends was complete once again.
As Izumi had promised, Sango's wound, though returned, wasn't life-threatening. She rested in the hut given to them by the village they returned to. The village of demons, hanyou and humans was swiftly becoming a second home to InuYasha's group, and it seemed they were liked by the villagers as well.
While not life-threatening, Sango's wound had been severe, and she was very weak. Pale with bloodloss, she lay sleeping most of the day, awakening long enough to drink some soup or broth, and falling asleep again. The healers of the village had washed her, cleaned her wound, bound it, and settled her in to sleep.
Sango was unnaturally pale, almost white. Dark circles under her eyes were testament to the amount of blood she had lost. But to her friends she was beautiful. Beautiful, and alive.
Kirara spent almost all day curled up beside her, sleeping as well, purring like a small train, bathed in the scent of her beloved mistress.
Everyone was beside themselves with joy, although InuYasha, as ever, was more subdued about it. Each of them checked in on her constantly, just affirming that she was back, was alive, had returned with them. InuYasha sat beside the small hut, his back to a wall, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. But he was aware of every soft sound from within the hut; Kagome's voice as she murmured to Sango, encouraging her to drink. Sango's quiet breathing. Even the fact that her scent had returned to them, lifted the hanyou's heart.
Sango wasn't the only one who had walked through hardship, although hers had been a spiritual journey.
Miroku seemed as if he had walked for miles over hot coals, and was now allowed to relax. While his face still seemed guarded, even wary, he no longer seemed so weary. He never ventured far from the hut, as if concerned Sango might somehow be in need of him. Kagome often saw him resting beneath a tree, face turned up to the sky, eyes closed. But now and again he would open his eyes, looking up into the branches overhead, lost in thought. It almost seemed he was healing as well.
InuYasha was thinking about the conversation he had had with Amaterasu. For all the fact that she was supposed to be the good one in this upcoming war, the goddess seemed content to play games with her own "soldiers". Although she told InuYasha she had not known Sango had been going to die, she certainly hadn't had any trouble with taking the demon slayer and making her some sort of...Celestial Warrior, neither dead nor alive, in order to kill that Rorantan thing. And hadn't let her friends know about it.
Perhaps because there had been a small chance that Sango might not have lived?
A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see Kagome standing there, watching him.
"Mind some company?" she asked.
Blinking, InuYasha shook his head, and made a little room for her. Kagome knelt beside him, and studied him.
InuYasha stared back, not sure what to say or do. Kagome seemed to be searching for something, and he had no idea what it was.
Finally, she spoke, "How are you feeling?"
InuYasha blinked again, then shrugged, "Alright, I guess. I mean...Sango's back, right?"
Kagome smiled, "Yes, Sango's back."
InuYasha smiled back. It was good to see her looking more...herself.
"Where's DarkWind?" he asked, surprising himself. It was out before he knew it - he didn't really care where the Kageri was.
"Oh, I sent him off for a while."
InuYasha blinked, "What?"
Kagome smiled, "You know that woman in the village, the one that hyponotised those men into leaving?"
InuYasha nodded, "The one that used to be a Kageri, yeah."
Kagome nodded, "Yeah. Well...I guess she and DarkWind...sort of had something."
InuYasha blinked.
"Anyway, he likes to visit her, and I'm not about to say no, so..."
InuYasha nodded again, more than willing to have Kagome visit without DarkWind around.
"So...what about you?"
"What me?" she asked.
InuYasha faltered, "I mean, how are you doing? You're ok, right?"
Kagome blinked, pleased he thought to ask. Maybe he wasn't slipping as deeply into his old ways as she feared, "I'm good now. Now that she's back. Oh InuYasha, I missed her so much."
"Yeah," InuYasha said lowly, as if afraid someone would overhear, "Me too."
Kagome smiled at him.
"Have you been talking to her at all?" InuYasha asked, "About...you know."
She shook her head, "She's still so tired. Eating exhausts her, she's lost so much blood."
InuYasha nodded, and was suddenly taken back to that time, so long ago, when Kagome had been so horribly injured by that demon. How much blood she had lost. The village healer had been sure she was going to die. How tired Kagome had been, how weak.
InuYasha unconsciously brushed a hand across his face for a second, before looking back to her, "So she hasn't said anything?"
"She asked what happened. What happened to the thing her and Miroku were fighting. And where Miroku was. I...I don't think she remembers anything else of what happened. Nothing."
"Well..." InuYasha looked down at his hands, "Maybe that's for the best anyway."
Kagome nodded. She remembered that she had...had died, as well. Twice now, if memory served her. Once at the well...though she had no memory of that, not really. Just...sort of...being a ghost. But it was all twisted and made no sense.
The other memory she had was of falling off the mountain side, and...hitting bottom.
Subconsciously, she raised a hand, touching the back of her head. She remembered pain there, and when she awoke, under the control of the Shikon, how the back of her head had felt so...mixed up.
Kagome's stomach rolled.
"What's wrong?"
She looked up to see InuYasha watching her closely, and uneasy look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"You just...you just got a horrible look on your face. You went pale."
InuYasha watched her touch the back of her head, and suddenly bring her hand down, as if burnt. He frowned, not sure what had happened, but he hadn't liked it.
"Just bad memories. Best forgotten," Kagome said, shaking her head.
InuYasha studied her in silence for a second, then nodded. He wasn't going to push if she didn't want.
They sat side by side, looking out into the heart of the village, watching as people walked back and forth. The well had filled with water again, and people were eagerly filling buckets to take back to their houses.
Kagome watched as a little boy, a hanyou with wide green eyes, filled a bucket that was a little too big for him, and tried to lift it. He staggered a little, but an older child, this one a human child from the looks of him, ran over and grabbed the bucket. Grinning, the two children supported the bucket, and started walking off with it.
I like it here, she thought, There is so much love amongst all the people here. Everyone here learned to accept everyone else, be they demon, human, or hanyou. This...this is a place InuYasha should have grown up in.
Kagome glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, watching him as he watched the others.
I wonder what he would have been like, if he hadn't grown up alone and always being attacked? If he had grown up with love and acceptance, like the children here? That other hanyou, Tensio, had told her that being prickly and tense and going around with a chip on your shoulder all the time, that was just a part of being a hanyou. Of knowing you were being judged, but...here he wouldn't have been.
She watched the children as they vanished from sight, His life would have been so different. He probably wouldn't have grown up angry all the time. And he wouldn't have met Kikyo. Or me, for that matter. Or the others. But he might have had other friends. Hanyou friends.
Kagome's eye was suddenly taken by a pretty young hanyou who waved at the elders as she walked by. Her skin was a soft blue, her hair curly and green, the same color as her eyes. She didn't seem to have ears at all, but soft, feathery gills in the same place.
He might have met another hanyou...and fallen in love...
A strange feeling moved through her at that thought. It would have been good for him, to find someone that fitted him so perfectly...
"Kagome?"
Kagome blinked, startled out of her reverie, to find him looking closely at her, "Uh, huh? Yes?"
"I asked if you thought we should tell Sango what happened to her?"
"Oh. Well...not yet, certainly. She needs to heal. But when she gets better...I think we should, yes. I mean...that's the kind of thing a person should know about. Besides...I think she's going to notice Miroku's new look, don't you?"
InuYasha sighed, leaning back against the hut wall, "Yeah. Although maybe he'll take up his robes again? Now that she's back, I mean?"
Kagome made a disagreeing sound, "I doubt it. Knowing Miroku, he'll still feel like he failed her somehow. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just celebrate that she's back."
InuYasha, keeping his head touching the wall of the hut, shifted a little so he could still see her, and nodded.
Kagome smiled.
InuYasha smiled back, and for a second, debated taking her hand. But he was afraid of what might happen, so he shifted, resting both his hands on his legs instead.

Her head ached.
As she slowly swam up from the darkness, that was the first thing she realized.
Her head ached.
And she was thirsty.
Slowly opening her eyes, Sango waited for everything to focus. She was a little alarmed at how long it took, but slowly, everything came into focus, clearing enough for her to see.
She was in the small hut they had been staying at before. There were dried herbs hung from the rafters, little bunches here and there, tied with colored string. Sango couldn't remember seeing them there before, but she felt so dizzy it almost didn't matter.
Something had happened. Something bad. But what?
She couldn't place it. But she knew something was wrong. Why was she lying on the floor, for one thing, covered up? Why was she cold? Surely the heat wave and drought hadn't broken while she was asleep?
Had she been asleep? It seemed like she knew time had passed, but...
Sango closed her eyes, frowning as she tried to move an arm. It felt like it weighted about 80 pounds.
Beside her, she could hear Kirara purring loudly, and felt the heat of her small furry body pressed against her.
Sango tried to speak, but only managed a parched creak.
Instantly, Kirara was moving, squirming out from in under the blankets, her small eyes focused brightly on Sango's face. A fraction of a second later, and she was out the gap in the door.
Sango tried to swallow, but her throat was dry as sand.
Why was she so thirsty?
Sunlight flooded in the small room as the door opened, and Kirara skittered back in, Miroku behind her. He quickly moved to her side, kneeling, "Sango?"
"Thi-" she could only croak, but thankfully, Miroku knew what she wanted. He poured some water into a wooden cup, and gently lifted her so she could drink. He held the cup to her lips, carefully letting her sip only a small bit at a time. The water tasted so wonderfully fresh, and for some reason, Sango felt tears trying to prick her eyes.
After drinking, Miroku eased her back down to rest again, carefully tucking the blanket in around her.
"Miroku." Even after drinking, her voice didn't sound like her own, and it frightened her.
"Sango?"
"What...what happened?"
Miroku watched her face carefully, and though she was dizzy, she thought she saw Miroku pale.
She spoke again, "Something...happened, didn't it?" Her voice was just a whisper, "Someone...hurt? Me? Is that why I'm lying here?"
"Sssh, Sango. You need to rest." He reached out, and lightly brushed the bangs from her forehead, "Rest. There will be plenty of time for talking later."
"Is...everyone...alright? Please, tell me..."
"Everyone is fine, Sango." Miroku's voice was soft, "As you are, too. You we-" his voice caught for a second, but he smiled at her, and spoke again, "You were injured. Badly. But you're going to be well, I promise you. But you need to rest."
"I'm...so tired. Everything...aches."
"Yes, well, that's why you need to rest."
Sango fell silent, watching his face. Something was wrong. There was a look on his face Sango couldn't remember seeing before...something she didn't like. It was similar to the time he had been taken by Neith...and tortured.
"Are you ok, Miroku? You ... look...like you've been sick, too."
Miroku slid a hand under the blanket, lightly taking her hand in his. He gently started to stroke it, "I haven't been sick, Sango, no. Just...just very worried about you. But now that you're back...now that you're here...there's no reason to worry, is there?"
Confusion drew Sango up farther from the foggy world she was in. Something was very wrong with Miroku.
"Miroku, something's happened. What's happened?"
"Nothing has hap-"
"I see it in your eyes, Miroku. Your eyes always give everything away."
Miroku fell silent.
"Now tell me what happened."
Miroku watched her in silence for a second, then smiled. It wasn't his old smile, and that frightened her, but it was an honest smile.
"I promise you, I'll explain everything when you're better. For now, you're going to have to trust me, Sango. Everyone is safe, and well. Including you. You just need to rest, and heal."
"You promise?"
"With all my heart."
Sango nodded. She was about to speak, when something that had been knocking on her subconscious suddenly came into focus.
She frowned, "Miroku? Why are you dressed like that?"
He stopped, even the movement of his hand stopped. A slightly self-mocking smile came over his face, "That's a long story, and again, nothing for you to worry about. All will be cleared when you heal up."
Sango said nothing, just watched him, uneasy. He was hiding something. She knew him very well. And he was hiding something.
"Now," he said, "Do you want any more water? Broth? Another blanket, anything?"
"No...I'm ok."
"Then rest some more. Your guardian - " here he nodded to Kirara, who had taken up her post at Sango's side again, " - will come and get someone if you are in need of anything. Don't try to get it yourself."
"I doubt I could anyway," she said.
Miroku smiled softly.
"Good. Then sleep."
Sango was about to ask him something else, when he gently brought her hand out from in under the blanket. He lowered his head, and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles, his hair falling to cover his face as he did.
For some reason, that frightened Sango than anything else he had had said so far. It was such a personal thing, she felt her heart both speed up at the touch, and stutter in fear. Yes, something was very wrong, and it even seemed to come from the fact that his hair was now hanging freely. Though surely that was just because he had just bathed or something? Surely?
Lifting his head, Miroku covered her gently, and with a nod to Kirara, rose, and slipped back out through the door.
Kirara moved onto Sango's shoulder, and made happy-feet, gently kneading a place to settle down.
"What's happened, Kirara?" Sango whispered to her friend, "What really happened?"
Kirara only lifted her head, and made that soft, kittenish mew that only she seemed to be able to make. Watching intently.
Sango wanted to talk to Kirara, to explain what she was feeling. But exhaustion overcame her again, and she slipped back into darkness.

"Oh hey." Kagome spoke.
InuYasha looked up at her voice, blinking to see someone standing before them. The sun was behind them, and he had to raise a hand to shade his eyes to make them out.
The tall one was Tenshio. The handsome hanyou nodded politely to InuYasha and Kagome. The one standing next to him was the pretty young woman Kagome had seen before, with the pale blue skin and green hair. She smiled at InuYasha and Kagome, dipping in a half bow, "Hello."
"How is your friend?" Tenshio asked.
Kagome was reminded again how alike Sesshomaru Tenshio was. Very tall and slender, face ususally impassive. Although unlike Sesshomaru, Tenshio didn't make you feel as if the wrong would would cause him to whip out his sword and try to lop off your head.
"She's doing well, thank you," Kagome said. Tenshio's eyes were a startling orange, so bright in comparison with his black hair. His long hair had been made into many, many thin braids, and then pulled back into a ponytail. Two swords were strapped to his hips.
"It is good she returned," Tenshio said, his voice calm, "There is too much darkness in this world." The older hanyou seemed to study InuYasha as he said this, though he wasn't speaking in an accusetory manner. More as if he were just judging InuYasha's mood.
The lovely young hanyou smiled, again, "The elders asked me to check up on you, see if there was anything you needed. They are very thankful that you deepened the well for us."
"You're welcome...um..."
"Oh!" the young woman blushed very faintly. It made her cheeks appear a pale lavender, "I am Chichiko. Please forgive my forgetfulness!"
Kagome smiled, unable to help herself. Although the woman was her own age, she was so cute, "It's fine. Pleased to meet you, Chichiko."
"Please remember, if there is anything you want or need, just ask! The elders want you to know you are as welcome here as your own homes."
"That's very kind, thank you."
She bowed to them, and turned, heading back towards the center of the village. Tenshio, seeming to be expecting InuYasha to say something, waited a moment before turning and walking back. InuYasha had done his best to ignore him, going so far as to put his hands behind his head and close his eyes while leaning back against the hut, as if asleep. Kagome found his attitude odd.
"Um...InuYasha?"
He didn't move, "Yeah?"
"Are...is...what's up with Tenshio?"
InuYasha blinked at her, lowering his hands, "Huh?"
Kagome studied him, "It's like there's something between you two. Like you know each other or something."
InuYasha looked away, as if disinterested, "Yeah we know each other, we met first time we showed up here."
"No, I mean...like there's something else. And the weird thing is, I get the feeling he makes you uneasy."
He didn't meet her face, just shrugged, "That's stupid."
Kagome fell silent. InuYasha's quick retreat into his earlier, blunt ways only spoke all the more that something was up.
"Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure. He's just a hanyou, like me. Nothing more, nothing less."
Kagome watched him for a second, but didn't like that he wasn't meeting her gaze, "Alright then."