"I'll be back soon," Kagome said as she grabbed her stuff and carefully climbed onto the edge of the well, despite Inuyasha's and Shippo's protests.

"Kagome!" Shippo squealed. "Why do you have to go?! Stay with us! Just ignore Inuyasha! He makes dumb comments all the time! Please don't leave me!"
"Shippo..." Inuyasha barked, "shut up!" He grabbed Shippo and threw him across the grass into the trees.

"I won't be long," Kagome said sweetly. "Two days at the most. Bye!"

"Bye!" Miroku and Sango said as Kagome jumped into the well.

"You better come back!" Inuyasha yelled after her. "Or I'll make you come back!"

"Real smooth," Miroku commented under his breath. "Come Sango, let's return to the village. Shippo? Are you coming?"

Shippo joined the others by the well. He jumped unto the edge and looked in. All he could see was the bottom. Kagome was already gone.

"Inuyasha, you jerk!" Shippo yelled as he punched him with all his might. Inuyasha didn't even flinch.

"She'll be back!" He simply yelled back at him. "Quit your whining and just deal with it!" And with that, Inuyasha made his way back to the village, leaving Sango, Miroku, and Shippo by the well.

"That guy is so difficult," Sango said once they were sure he was out of earshot. The two nodded in agreement.

Kagome quickly climbed the ladder in the well and hopped out to see the familiar surrounding of the temple. Good to be home! She thought happily. The first thing Kagome planned on doing was taking a nice, long, hot bath! She found herself fantasizing about how good the hot water would feel on her tired body as she crossed the yard to her house.

"Kagome!" Her mother said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Mom!" She exclaimed as they hugged. "Grampa! Sota! It's sooooo good to be back home!"

"I can only imagine," her mother said. "You were gone for quite some time. Did you find any more shards?"

"Only a few," Kagome answered as she got herself a glass of water. "And I have to say, it wasn't easy. These youki are getting even stronger!" She took a big gulp of water. "I really need to take a bath right now. I feel so icky." She moved to leave when her mom stopped her.

"Oh! Kagome, I almost forgot to tell you," her mother began. "You remember Cousin Charles and Sara Tisaro?" Kagome nodded and felt her heart speed up a bit. The way her mom spoke made her uneasy. "Well," she continued, looking down and dropping her voice a bit, "maybe you should sit down."

"What happened Mom?" Kagome asked urgently.

"There was a terrible accident…." She paused as Kagome gasped. "They didn't make it."

"Oh My Gosh!" Kagome breathed. She tried to blink away tears.

"I'm sorry sweetie," her mother said, pulling her into another hug. Sota and Grampa sat with saddened looks on their faces.

"It was a few weeks ago," Grampa said softly.

Kagome quickly pulled back.

"What about Hailey?!" She asked suddenly. "What happened to Hailey?! Is she…."

"No!" Her mother said quickly, trying to calm Kagome down. "Hailey is fine… She's going to be staying with us now, Kagome." Her mother's eyes looked past her. Kagome turned around to see her cousin standing in the threshold of the kitchen.

"Kagome!" Hailey said happily as she made her way towards her with outstretched arms.

"Hailey!" They hugged tightly and for a long period of time. Kagome whispered into her cousin's ear, "I am so sorry."

"It's okay," Hailey whispered back. "I'm fine."

The two went up to Kagome's room and talked for a long time about everything that has happened since they last saw each other when they were 12. A lot of time has passed since then. They were both now almost 17 years of age. Their lives had changed dramatically since they were kids. Soon, they both grew silent.

Kagome looked at her cousin and thought about how different things were now. Hailey has grown up….well, we both have! She looks the same, yet so different... Her hair seems lighter and her eyes more intense….

When they were both kids, Hailey and Kagome were inseparable. They looked fairly similar and were even mistaken for twins a few times. Hailey's hair was long and black like Kagome's and their smiles were both the same. The hung around so much when they were kids, they began acting like one another and knowing what one was going to say before she would say it. They were able to finish each other's thoughts and sentences and never fought.

Kagome reflected on all of this for a bit. She remembered the last time they saw one another. It was the last days of summer and both Kagome and Hailey were told that Hailey would be moving far away, so far that they couldn't even visit. Kagome and Hailey were so upset, they thought about running away so they could stay together. Kagome was like the sister Hailey never had, and same was true the other way around. They were the closest friends, the best of friends, the best of sisters, and in one day, they were going to be torn apart. They missed each other so much it hurt. When they weren't in school, they were always on the phone together, still trying to keep alive their sister-ship and keeping involved in each other's lives. Then one day, they both just became too involved with their own lives, their own friends. They lost contact.

"I've missed you Hailey," Kagome finally said.

"I've missed you too, Kagome," she replied with a weak smile. Soon, they both burst into tears. "Kagome! It was so hard when I left! I hated school, I hated my parents for pulling us apart! No one has even come close to being as good of a friend and sister like you!" They hugged each other tightly.

"Same here," Kagome sniffled. "I wanted you to come back so much! I prayed every night-"

"-that I could come live with you?!" Hailey finished as she pulled back from Kagome. Their eyes met and Kagome nodded. "So did I!" They can still finish each other's thoughts.

"I just," Kagome began, "I just never wanted it to be under these conditions…. I'm so sorry!"

Hailey nodded. "I know, but it's not your fault, so don't worry about it. Honestly, once we moved, they were never home. They both became involved with their new jobs. Now, it just feels like their both working overtime again."

"Oh Hailey!" Kagome sniffled. "We're always going to be together now, Sister!" They both wiped away their tears and smiled.

"It's going to be just like old times!"

Inuyasha sat by the well, waiting for Kagome's return. Impatiently, he got up and looked into the well, only to see the empty dirt bottom.

"Kagome, where are you?!" He muttered angrily.

"If you want her to come back so much you should go get her!" Shippo said, popping out of nowhere and startling Inuyasha.

"I don't miss her or anything!" He said quickly. "I just want her to come back so….we….so we can continue looking for more jewel shards!" Shippo rolled his eyes. "Get OUTTA here RUNT!!!!" Inuyasha screamed at him as he picked Shippo up and threw him as far as her could.

"He misses her terribly," Miroku commented to Sango from their hiding spot.

"Oh yes," she agreed. "How long has he been sitting there?"

"Almost three days."

"Three days?" Sango repeated. "Kagome's been gone for that long?" Miroku nodded.

"I wonder if everything is alright…." he said.

For the past three days, Kagome and Hailey spent catching up on life and time spent apart. They learned a lot of new things about each other, but were both glad to see that some things hadn't changed.

It was later into the evening and Hailey was in the shower. Kagome was in the kitchen helping her mom wash some dishes from earlier that evening.

"Kagome," her mother said, "how long were you planning on staying here?" This question caught Kagome by surprise. "Not that we don't want to you around!" Her mother said quickly. "It's just that, normally you don't stay for more than a few days, even when you're in school. It's summer now, and you can spend more time there helping your friends find jewel shards…"

"I've been thinking about it," Kagome said quietly, "and I would like to go back, but how do I explain this to Hailey?"

"Right, I see," her mother said as she continued to scrub a dish. "That is difficult… Maybe you can just tell her about it!"

Kagome paused and thought about it for a moment. Well, she is the closest person in my life…. I know I can trust her…. But will she believe me?

"She is part of the family…" her mother said. "She's going to be staying with us for a long time now… You're going to have to deal with this at some point, because I know your doggie friend will come for you if you do not return soon."

That's right! Kagome thought. Inuyasha will definitely come and get me! And I told him I'd only be a few days! Oh no….

"I should tell her, shouldn't I…." Kagome said more to herself than her mother. "I'm gonna do it now, while I'm thinking of it." She dried her hands and made her way up to her room.

Hailey was already in there with her pajamas on. She had a towel wrapped around her head, towel drying her hair.

"Hailey," Kagome started…..

Inuyasha continued to sit beside the old well, muttering to himself about how irresponsible Kagome is and how he'll go and get if she doesn't return soon.

Shippo watched him from a safe distance behind the trees. He just turned to leave when he saw a tornado headed his way. Shippo screamed and attempted to run to Inuyasha for protection, but he was caught before he even reached the trees.

Dangling in the air with his hands over his eyes and his legs flaring, Shippo looked frightened to death.

"P-p-please d-d-don't e-e-eat m-m-me!" He stuttered in a girlishly high voice.

"Ha! Don't worry pipsqueak, I'm not interested in eating you," laughed a familiar voice. Shippo recognized this voice and stopped squirming.

"Kouga!" He said in a relieved tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Kagome," he said, then sniffed the air. "She's not here? Her scent totally disappeared…. Where is she?"

"She went back home a few days ago," Shippo answered calmly. "She said she'd be back soon, but she still hasn't shown up."

"Why don't you go get her?!" Kouga demanded.

"That's what I've been telling Inuyasha…" Kouga "hemp"ed at the sound of his name. "but he's too stubborn and proud to do it."

"Where is he now?" Kouga asked as he put Shippo down. Shippo led Kouga to the hiding spot in the trees and they watched as Inuyasha sat by the well, fuming.

"What is he doing?" Kouga asked.

"Waiting for Kagome," Shippo answered. He received a questioning glance and filled in Kouga about where Kagome comes from.

"So why doesn't he just go get her?"

"Because he doesn't want her to think that he's missing her. He's being stubborn," Shippo stated. "If I could go-"

"Why can't you?" Kouga asked quickly, while a plot formed in his head.

"Only Inuyasha and Kagome can travel through the well. I really don't know why," Shippo answered, "but it's not fair."

"Well, I say we test this well out," Kouga said as he stood up. "If he can't make it through, then we'll just force Inuyasha to go." He stepped out from the trees. "Hey! Mutt-face!"

"Kouga!" Inuyasha said standing up quickly. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Well, I came to see my woman," he replied as he drew closer to Inuyasha, who fumed, "but I hear she went home a few days ago. So I'm going to go bring her back!" He made for the well and Inuyasha blocked him.

"You can't go in there Flee-bag!" He said while rolling up his sleeve threateningly. "You won't make it through!"

"Won't I?" Kouga mocked. "We'll just see about that." He charged at Inuyasha, got a firm hold on him, and pushed them both over the edge of the well….