It was raining.
For the first time in months, it was raining. Real rain. Not overly heavy, not hard enough to pound the dirt and dust free from the ground, but a steady, heavy rain. It quickly filled the creek beds and dry river beds, bringing cold life back to the hot, dry ground.
The villagers were outside, acting as if it were a great, wonderful celebration. People stood outside laughing, shouting. Children were running and laughing, splashing in puddles. Adults and elders were grabbing as many empty pots and buckets they could get their hands on, carrying them outside to fill. No one trusted the drought to have ended. Everyone knew it was likely it would return, and they wanted every last precious droplet of water they could get their hands on.
Some people were even throwing up makeshirt fences, men and women gathering inside them, each to their respective sex, and were disrobing behind dividers, taking advantage of the water to wash, to revell in the glory of dust-free bodies. Children young enough abandoned all caution altogether and ran around stark naked, laughing.
It was an odd scene, but one that make the monk smile, especially watching the children.
"I hope this lasts a while," Sango said, sitting next to him, "At least long enough to refill the rivers and streams."
"I had actually forgotten how wonderful rain smells," Miroku said. Both he and the demon slayer were sitting on the small porch of their hut, under the overlapping roof, watching as the children ran too and fro, squealing. Half of them were covered in more mud than anything else, but it was cool and wonderful. The adults no longer seemed to care about such things, and the children were taking advantage. Besides, the rain was washing the mud away as fast as they were getting it on themselves.
"Where's Shippo?" Sango asked, "I'm surprised he's not out there running around too."
"He is, somewhere," Miroku said, "With the older children. When I commented he might want to take advantage of the water to wash as well, he gave me a rather offended look." He sighed slightly, "I guess he's growing up. Less than a year ago he would have had no problem stripping off and running around."
"It was bound to happen," Sango softly laughed, "Children don't stay children forever. Even Kitsune."
Miroku nodded, and softly laughed as one child went slipping through the mud, a small little demon boy of about 3. He ended up making an enormous splash, falling onto his bottom when he slipped. Short orange hair was almost black, as was the rest of him, and his wild-looking yellow eyes widened as he landed with a splat. More shocked at the fall than actually hurt, he burst into tears.
"Whoop," Miroku was on his feet in seconds, splashing out into the rain to pick the child up. He seemed not to even notice the rain pouring down on his head and robes, "Are you alright, little one?"
"I fell!" the child cried, with all the shock and indignation only a 3 year old can muster.
"Yes, I saw," Miroku said gently, "But you're not hurt, are you?"
The small demon child sniffled, "Noooo."
"Well then, you're perfectly fine." Miroku put the child back down on the muddy ground, "The ground is very slippy and you might hurt yourself. Perhaps you should head back to your parents now for a rest?"
"Yeah," the little boy nodded, rubbing his eyes with little fists, making an absolute mess of his face, "Ok."
He gazed up at the monk, who seemed so tall to him. In the future, the demon child would most likely grow to dwarf the human standing before him. But right now, Miroku was an adult, and seemed like a giant.
The little boy smiled shyly, revealing rather sharp-looking little baby teeth, "Thank you."
"You're most welcome," Miroku nodded, and watched as the naked little boy toddled back to where several children were running towards him. Two looked similar enough that Miroku guessed they were most likely siblings, startled the little one had been on his own.
Shaking his head and chuckling, Miroku walked back towards the hut, making little splashes of muddy water as he walked.
Sango smiled at him. The monk was dripping, his bangs plastered to his head, his robes sodden and now with a large mud splotch on the front, "You're almost as dirty as he is."
Miroku laughed as he sat, trying to ignore the rather ignoble squeltching sound he made, "Yes, I suppose so. Sharp rocks can be hidden under mud this thick. I was pretty sure he was just startled, but I had to make sure."
Sango smiled softly at him. Miroku glanced at her, and smiled gently back, her voice coming to him from another time, "..our children would have been so beautiful."
They will be, he thought.
Sango blushed lightly, but held his gaze for a few more minutes, before she turned, looking out over the celebrating village again.
When she felt his hand lightly touch hers, Sango kept still, and after a second, allowed him to link his fingers into hers.
Her heart felt like it was pounding, but Miroku did no more, said nothing else, and after a second or two, she allowed herself to relax.
They sat that way in silence for a while, watching the happy villagers, hands entwined, each lost in their own thoughts a little bit. Sango was thinking about how gentle Miroku was with that child...how gentle he was with all children. Miroku was wondering what, in fact, their children would look like. If they had her eyes, he thought, they would be beautiful indeed.
Shippo came barrelling out of the ran, laughing wildly, being chased by three other children his own age. All of them were sodden and filthy, and all of them were utterly gleeful.
Shippo saw Miroku and Sango at the last minute, leaping over their heads to land splat in a puddle on the other side.
He pulled himself out of the mud, making a loud, disgusting sucking sound, cackling all the while. Miroku and Sango grinned at him - it was rare to see the kitsune child just being a kid.
"Shippo, what a mess!" Sango laughed.
"I know!" he called gleefully, "I'm nothing but mud!" A little girl hanyou or demon, covered in fur with a cat's tail and eyes, peeped at him, a grin on her face. Shippo turned to her, holding out his arms, "RAGH!"
Squealing laughter, the little girl took off running again, back out into the rain.
"I hope it keeps raining," Miroku said, laughing, "This village is going to need every last drop just to clean up their children."
Shippo sat back in the mud with a splat, letting out a long, happy, exhausted sigh. His eyes were tired, but he looked so blissful.
"Hey, have you guys seen Kagome or InuYasha? I can't find them anywhere."
Sango and Miroku exchanged a look.
Something had happened last evening. They weren't sure what, but there was a rift between the younger woman and the hanyou. InuYasha hadn't returned at all, and Kagome must have come home very late. She was up again shortly after Sango herself had gotten up, saying she was going to collect some herbs. She hadn't specified what herbs, and when Sango has asked her where InuYasha was, Kagome had said she didn't know, but she was sure he was fine, and had left.
Her voice had been very clipped, very quiet, and Sango knew the signs of some sort of fight.
The worst thing was that InuYasha hadn't come back at all, and that worried Sango. Before, when their friendship was new, if Kagome and InuYasha had had a fight, the hanyou often avoided them as well, not sure how he was supposed to behave. As he had warmed to them, though, and grown closer to them, it seemed the few times Kagome and InuYasha fought, the more the hanyou tended to hang around, even if just up in a tree, or to the side. He still desired company, and still wanted to be with his friends.
Now he was nowhere to be seen either.
"Shippo," Sango said gently, "I think Kagome and InuYasha may have had a fight."
"AGAIN!?" Shippo sighed a long-suffering sigh, "Is that all they know how to do? Whose fault was it this time? Probably InuYasha's, he's always doing something stupid."
"I don't know," Miroku said, "He hasn't come back since last night."
Now Shippo started to look worried, "You don't think he's in trouble do you?"
Miroku shook his head, "No. If anything had happened, I'm sure Kagome would have known about it, somehow. She usually gets to the bottom of things like this. And if he was in trouble, Kagome would come back here and let us know."
"But...Kagome said her and InuYasha fought Neith and Xether the other night! What if there are more Shadelings out there?"
"I'm sure they're fine, Shippo," Sango said gently, "They just need time apart, you know that."
"Kagome's not going home, is she?"
"She would have told me if she were," Sango said.
"She must be getting drenched."
"Water's ok," Sango said, "There's nothing dangerous about getting wet."
Beside her, she felt Miroku shiver, and she looked at him, concerned.
"I'm fine," he assured her, but there was an uneasy look to his face she didn't like. She knew he had already had one nightmare about drowning.
He watched her, and smiled gently, squeezing her hand, "I'm fine."
She nodded.

Kagome sat under a tree, the basket beside her, half filled with herbs. The herbs were poorly picked, most of them tattered and broken. She didn't really care, she hadn't come out here to actually pick herbs anyway.
She came out because she had nothing else to do.
And because she was hoping to find him.
He hadn't come back to the hut at all last night, and hadn't turned up again in the morning. Now she was starting to worry about him. What if one of the other Shadelings had returned? They had killed The Twins, and Neith, but there were more out there. Jemu, the one that had stolen her soul, and Phobia, that weird, horrible child who could turn your fears against you. And there might be more, who knew?
She had wandered around, hoping for some sign of his crimson haori, some sign of him hanging out in one of the trees, until the sky had opened up, and she huddled under another tree for cover.
There was no sign of him, no sound, nothing.
I'm so sorry, she thought, trying hard not to cry. She cried too much, she knew it. But her emotions had always been so strong, it was always so hard to keep them in check like that.
His voice came to her from yesterday, unnaturally hard and angry with her, "...and stop crying. Just stop it right now."
Normally, her tears reduced him to panic and desperation. Yesterday they had only angered him more.
I never meant to hurt you, InuYasha, I swear on my father's grave. I thought I was helping you. Why was I so stupid?
The rain came down harder. Her hair was plastered to her neck and back now, and she just sat there, miserable. She didn't even care she was soaked through.
She caught motion from the corner of her eye, and she was on her feet in seconds, turning, peering out through the grey curtain of rain, "InuYasha?"
There was no crimson in this figure, and it continued to move towards her. Kagome took a step back, reaching for the sword that now always hung at her hip, tensing, waiting...
Blinking, startled, as Izumi hurried out of the rain to huddle under the tree beside her.
The woman wore a very light blue gown today, with little black birds embroidered all over them. She was utterly drenched, her long black hair clinging to her like a wet blanket.
Startled black eyes peered out at Kagome through sodden bangs, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter.
"My goodness what a downpour!"
Kagome took a step towards Izumi, "Lady Izumi, what are you doing here?"
"Well," Izumi laughed, holding up her sodden robes as they dripped onto the soft moss under her shoes, "I decided to come and visit. I had no idea it was raining so hard! My goodness I haven't seen rain like this in years."
Kagome smiled faintly. Izumi's presence was comforting, like an aunt. Izumi usually knew how to put everything right.
Izumi took up the hem of her robe and rolled it between her hands, twisting, wringing it out. Laughing, she bent over, gathering up her long black hair, and doing the same, "I hope we don't all get a cold out of this."
When she straightened, Izumi brushed back her sodden bangs, and really focused on Kagome for the first time. Her smile faded.
"Kagome, dear, what's wrong?"
Kagome smiled, tried to say something, only to discover she couldn't talk.
"Kagome?"
"Oh Izumi!" she cried, "I've been such an idiot and I hurt him so badly!"
Izumi blinked, "What on earth?"

"S-So, that's what happened," Kagome sniffled, hating her tears yet helpless to them, "I was so stupid. I mean, so stupid! There's no word appropriate for how stupid I was!"
"Oh dear," Izumi said gently, lightly patting Kagome's hand, "But, Kagome, dear, why did you want to set InuYasha up with this other woman? I don't understand."
"I...I just thought...he'd be happy with her, you know? I mean, I know he cares about Kikyo, but Kikyo's not good for him! She wants to take him to Hell! That's not love! I mean, I'm sure she loved him once, but not now!"
Izumi spoke softly, "Kagome, dear one. If InuYasha had trouble choosing between you and Kikyo, what on earth makes you think he would have an easier time choosing between Chichiko and her?"
"I don't know," she said, miserably, "I wasn't thinking at all."
His voice came her again, angry, and hard, "Yeah, you weren't thinking...you thought too damn much."
Yes. I thought too much. I overstepped my bounds, and tried to solve something that wasn't solvable.
"So where is he now?" Izumi asked.
"I don't know. He's out here, somewhere. He left last night, wouldn't even come back to the hut. I haven't seen him since then. Izumi, I'm scared he's hurt or fighting a Shadeling, or..."
Izumi shook her head, "No dear. I'd sense if there was a Shadeling around. He probably just needs some time alone."
Kagome rummaged for a hankerchief, sniffling.
Izumi reached inside her robe, and produced one, handing it to her. Kagome mumbled her thanks, wiping her eyes and her nose.
"What I don't understand, though," Izumi said softly, "Is why you tried to set InuYasha up with anyone. Didn't it hurt?"
"No, why should it?"
"Because you love him."
Kagome blinked at Izumi, and felt a touch of anger, "Why is everyone saying that! I'm not in love with InuYasha! I was once, but it's over! We're just friends! And I wanted to find him someone who would treat him the way he deserves!"
Izumi watched Kagome's face, watched as she looked away, unable to meet her eyes as she spoke.
Oh dear Kagome, Izumi thought, You can't admit it, even to yourself, can you? What would you have done if you had been successful?
She said nothing, just waited for Kagome to talk again. After a few moment, the younger woman spoke.
"I...I still care about him as a friend, Izumi. I do. But I can't care about him like that any more. He just hurt me too many times. And I know he didn't mean to, I know he always felt terrible about it, but he always did anyway.
He can't help himself. He loves Kikyo too much."
"And yet," Izumi said gently, "He is here, with you."
Kagome looked up swiftly, looking around, her black hair swinging widly as she looked around for the hanyou, for the splash of color.
Izumi spoke quickly, "Forgive me, I meant figuratively. He is not with Kikyo."
Kagome looked down at her knees, blushing, "Oh. Well...that's because of this, Lady Izumi."
"Please, dear, don't call me Lady."
Kagome looked up at her, "But doesn't Lord Sesshomaru call you "My Lady" ?"
She was surprised to see the older woman actually blush slightly, "Yes, he does, even though I ask him not to. I think he's mocking me."
Izumi, however, couldn't help but remember the way the Demon Lord had put emphasis on the "My" when he first called her "My Lady."
She shook her head, "At any rate, we are discussing you, dear, not me."
Kagome fell silent.
"What did you mean by, "this" ?"
"The...the war. The Shadelings. All of it. Of course he's here, this is where everything is going on." Kagome lowered her voice, "I know he still cares for me..."
His voice again, outraged...
"... but don't you dare deny my love for you!"
"And I know he'll protect me. He...he was forced to bow to Neith, because he was hurting me." Kagome's hands curled into fists, white-knuckled, "He was using me to hurt InuYasha. Because he knew he could. And I had to just stand there, and watch as he was forced to bow to Neith because he was hurting me!"
Izumi was silent, listening.
Kagome sighed deeply, wiping a hand across her face, "But he will always go back to her, Izumi. He can't help himself. I finally realized that. If I...if I started having feelings for him, I'd just be setting myself up for more hurt."
"Kagome..." Izumi shifted, making herself more comfortable, "You do understand why InuYasha loved Kikyo, don't you?"
"Yes. You already told me. He was alone, and she was the first person...the first woman, to show him friendship and affection. I don't blame him for falling in love with her. It was completely natural." Kagome looked up at Izumi, "I don't hate him for that. I did, once. But I don't anymore."
Izumi nodded, then spoke again, "He had a terrible upbringing. He had no family, no friends, no one to care for him. And then this beautiful woman started showing interest in him. She treated him kindly. Certainly kinder than anyone else ever had. He would have had to have had a heart of stone for it not to affect him, and if there is one thing we know about him...however desperately he tries to hide it, InuYasha does not have a heart of stone."
"No. He doesn't," Kagome said gently. She looked up at Izumi again, "He's come so far, Izumi. When I first met him, InuYasha was wild, he was angry, he was mean, he was...anti-social. He hated and distrusted everyone. Just about every time we fought, it was because he had done or said something I thought was unnecessary, or mean, or uncalled for. Maybe it was wrong of me. Maybe I should have accepted him more..."
"Kagome," Izumi reached out, and took Kagome's hand in hers, "You did exactly what was called for. You did accept him, as a hanyou. You accepted him as a person, with rights, a person to be held in high regard, a person with his own thoughts and actions, for right or wrong. You refused to let anyone within your hearing disrespect him solely on the basis of his hanyou heritage.
But you also insisted he become what you knew was there. A good person. You demanded he stand up for himself with patience and strength, not with claws and fangs. You demanded he stand by his word, if he ever showed signs of falling back. You demanded he do what was right for people around him, even if it put him out of his way, because that is what a good person does. You demanded he learn to open up to others, especially those he came to call his friends. You never let InuYasha get away with anything. Any time he tried to be uncivil or dishonourable, and he wanted to be able to blame it on his hanyou heritage, you refused to listen and insisted he reveal he had morals."
Kagome listened, wide-eyed.
"InuYasha was, and still is, of course...a diamond in the rough.
You polished him up."
Kagome shook her head, pulling her hands back, but Izumi spoke firmly, "You said yourself how far he has come. A year ago, would he have agreed to escort a woman he didn't even know out to the middle of nowhere so she could pick mushrooms?"
"Well, no, but I played on his ego."
Izumi shook her head, "That would have inflated his head, yes. But he still would have refused. InuYasha can walk into any village now, and start up a conversation with a complete stranger, a conversation that doesn't involve insults or arrogance, and that is because you forced him to reach out."
Kagome looked back at her knees.
That's why you are better for him than Kikyo, Izumi thought, but did not say aloud.
Kagome sighed, then spoke, "Anyone would have done that."
"They most certainly would not have," Izumi said firmly, "Because you are very outspoken for a young woman, Kagome. You have no qualms about starting a loud fight with InuYasha in the middle of a crowded place, no worries about not looking seemly, or unwomanly. You are very...vocal, dear. And that is what he needs."
Kagome blushed, "It's only because I'm from the future!"
"Is it? Are you friends as...vocal as you are, dear?"
Kagome fell silent again, not knowing what to say.
"Well...no...I'm usually being told I'm too loud..."
Izumi softly laughed.
Kagome looked up at her, and shook her head, "None of this matters, Izumi. He still loves Kikyo. He will always love her. I don't think it's even possible for him not to love her."
Izumi fell silent, watching Kagome for a moment, and then spoke softly.
"Kagome...what if I could show you something that might make you change your mind?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"How much do you trust me?"
Kagome blinked, "I...I trust you with my life, Izumi."
The older woman nodded, "Then I'm going to show you something that may change your mind."
"Like what?" Kagome asked, nervously, tugging on a strand of her hair.
"I have told you that there are different worlds, different levels than this one, yes? Worlds where things happen differently. Say, a world where you never found the Shikon, or a world where Sango died at Naraku's hands when her father did?"
Kagome fell silent, then nodded, "Yes."
"Lay down here, on the soft moss, and close your eyes. I'm going to take you to one of those worlds. A place I want you to see."
Kagome watched Izumi, starting to grow frightened, "What am I going to see?"
Izumi smiled, "Lay down."
Slowly, Kagome lay down on the soft but damp moss. The rain was letting up, but still falling, and the air around them was filled with the softly hissing of the rain.
"You will sleep. And you will go to another place. But you don't have to be afraid, because you won't actually be there, do you understand? It will be like a dream."
"Just a dream."
Izumi nodded, "You will be able to touch things, talk to people, even feel pain, so don't try anything exuberant, like jumping off a cliff to try flying. You'll be aware this is just a...visit, as well."
"Can I...I can't...die or anything over there, can I?"
"Of course not," Izumi said, "And I will be here protecting your sleeping body, so you are in no danger whatsoever, my dear.
When you wake up, you will be in your well, for your mind already sees that as a way of travelling from one place to another. And when you finish seeing what you want to see, simply return to the well, and you will wake up here."
"How...how will I know what I'm supposed to see?"
Izumi smiled gently, "That I can't tell you. But I think you'll know it when it's done. You'll start wanting to come back. Just jump into the well, and you will be here again."
"Alright," Kagome said quietly. Her heart was pounding with the faint stirrings of fear, but she trusted Izumi completely, so she took a deep breath, let it out, and then closed her eyes.
And drifted into blackness.