Author's Note - Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up everyone! It's been a rather rough haul the past few months. However, I am recovered from the car crash that I was in, and now I'll be doing my best to get you chapters at a relatively regular rate. Thanks to you who have stuck around!

In other news, the "blood type" joke that comes later in the chapter is the Japanese version of "what's your sign?". That is, Hideki is asking what blood type Sango is to see if they would be compatible (it's known as blood divination in Japan). He's essentially hitting on her.

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"I am sorry, Kagome, but this skirt is indecently short!"

Sango flattened the back of the skirt against her thighs, afraid that something would show. Kagome watched her friend twist and turn in front of the mirror, her just-above-knee-length skirt causing much distress.

"It's as long as I could make it, Sango, I'm sorry." She felt bad for the young woman – of course modern clothing would seem terribly indecent. She also felt a little ashamed, realising now what probably many of the feudal era inhabitants thought of her clothing. It surprised her that she'd never thought of it before.

Willing herself to accept it and move on, Sango released her skirt hem, resolving to keep her hands from fidgeting. She felt quite naked; yes, her exterminating outfit was skin hugging and so much more revealing than anything any normal woman would wear in her time, but this was just unbelievable! She had not expected to be dressed like Kagome.

Kagome sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sango, I really am, but we've got to get going. There's nothing I can do anyway. Everyone has to wear the uniform."

With a resigned sigh, Sango nodded her head in defeat.

"Hey Kagome! Are you coming?" Souta's voice floated up from the stairwell and through the open door.

"Yes! Be there in a minute!" Kagome hollered back. "Alright, Sango," she said turning back to the fretting taijiya. "It's time for school."

As they made their way down the shrine steps, three figures emerged, their faces showing curiosity.

"Hello!" Kagome called, waving as they approached. She said a farewell to Souta, who then began to trudge off on his way to his school, and then she turned to the three.

"Hi, everyone. I'd like you all to meet my friend Sango. Sango, this is Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi."

"Pleased to meet you, Sango." Sango bowed to the girls, returning the "pleased to meet you"s with her own. Introductions made, the group began to make their way again.

Eri looked over at Sango as she walked, curiosity ruling her features.

"So how did you and Kagome meet again?" she asked, huffing slightly as she pulled her backpack forward to make it sit more comfortably.

"We met through Miroku," she replied softly, a little uneasy with the lie. It was already difficult to pretend she was from this era. The "cars" driving past kept demanding her attention – they moved quickly like a demon. A slight hush fell on the group, but Ayumi bravely (or stupidly) continued on with the conversation, ignoring it.

"How did that come about?" she questioned. "I was under the impression that you and Kagome lived in different towns."

"Miroku was my cousin," answered Kagome. "Every once in a while our family would pass through his hometown and stop to visit, and one of those times Sango happened to be there. Miroku was so happy because he thought we would get along; we come from the same kind of family after all." Kagome put a conspiratorial hand up beside her mouth, pretend whispering to the three girls. "If you think my grandpa is bad, you should see hers." They laughed jovially, raising hands to cover their open mouths. Sango worked hard to laugh with them, trying to ignore the faded sting brought on by thinking of her deceased family, and doing everything in her power to keep all the feelings surrounding Miroku in her little inner box of bad memories.

Slowly, and to Sango's great relief, the conversation moved from her (and thus, Miroku) to lighter things, such as school life, nail care, and new movies deemed worth watching. Although a fair chunk of what she listened to she didn't understand, it was somehow calming to hear. She found herself finding her niche in the group, a niche she hadn't felt since his death, even with Inu-Yasha and co. Perhaps it was that everything around her was new, demanding and diverting her attention. Perhaps it was because she was finally going to be meeting him.

The rest of the trip to the school was no more exciting than simply existing in Kagome's time period usually was, but she felt the flutter of anxious butterflies in her stomach as they stepped onto the school grounds. Around her were hundreds of adolescents her own age, much better versed in the workings of their era and simply waiting for her to make a fatal mistake. She paused in her stride and the other four took a few steps before noticing she was not with them.

"Sango, are you okay?" Kagome asked. The girl stepped closer, lowering her voice. "We can go back if you want." Sango shook her head in reply.

"No, I am alright. Thank you for your concern." She stepped up to them, and they continued on their way.

Following Kagome's example stiffly and with great anxiety, Sango made her way into the school, changed her shoes, and settled into the group as they made their unhurried way to their first class. She found herself having to control the reflex of jumping; there were too many people around for her to feel comfortable. It had been bearable out in the streets, but here… here everyone was jammed close together in bubbling, noisy groups whose members competed with each other to be heard over the racket. It hurt her ears, to be honest. For the first time in her life, she realised just how much she enjoyed the silence of her home era.

"Here we are," Ayumi stated brightly as they arrived at their homeroom classroom.

"You're cheerful," Yuka grumbled as she passed by and into the room. Kagome shook her head, and Sango suddenly had the inkling that school was perhaps not such a enjoyable thing after all, despite Ayumi's comments on how it was 'not all that bad'. She followed the group into the classroom, and Kagome took her hand, leading her to a tall woman who stood the front.

"Ms. Nakamura," the dark haired girl called, getting the woman's attention, "this is Sango… Takahashi-" Sango realised that Kagome was struggling to recall the false surname they had settled on for her. Demon slayers didn't have last names –"the new transfer student."

"Ah, yes. I remember." Ms. Nakamura replied as she finished shuffling her papers. A bell sounded and Sango started, but Kagome briefly place a reassuring hand on her arm. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Sango dipped her head, bowing to show her respect.

"Thank you. The pleasure is mine." Ms. Nakamura smiled, a tight lipped thing that shone mostly through her eyes, rather than her mouth. "Kagome, you can take your seat," she said, nodding to the other girl. "I'll introduce Sango, and then she can take the empty desk by Makoto." Students filed past them, and Kagome nodded, gulping as she turned away. Sango felt a pang of anxiety as her only support left, but the teacher beside her seemed kind enough, so she consoled herself with that fact. Another bell rang, and all the students who were loitering at their friend's desks sat down.

"Good morning everyone," Ms. Nakamura said, greeting the class.

"Good morning, Ms. Nakamura," the students chimed back. Ms. Nakamura took out a pen and marked something on one of her papers before continuing, setting the writing utensil down with a satisfied look on her face.

"Before we begin today," she began again, "I would like to introduce a new student we now have. Sango," she said, glancing over at her, "if you may." Sango nodded, stepping forward and giving a small bow. Kagome and she had run through a probable scenario of what might happen this morning before going out to meet Eri, Yuka, Ayumi.

"Hello. My name is Sango Takahashi. I recently moved from Chigasaki city, and am now staying with my cousin Kagome for the time being. I look forward to meeting you all. Please be kind to me." The classroom chorused back a reply that roughly translating into "pleased to meet you, too", and then the teacher stepped forward and waved her hand vaguely before them.

"Does anyone have any questions for Sango? If you'd like we can take a few moments before we begin class."

"What's your blood type?" A rowdy young man called out from the back of the class. Giggling laughter erupted throughout the students and Ms. Nakamura scolded the boy, asking the others to quiet down. Sango wasn't quite sure what "blood type" was, or why it was a cause of laughter and worthy of a reproach, so she simply stood still and silent at the front.

"Any other questions?" Ms. Nakamura drawled, her dark eyes daring the students to say anything. It was obvious that the students were curious, to an extent, but they said nothing. "Alright," she said, turning to Sango. "You may take your seat. You'll be behind Makoto, for the time being. Makoto, raise your hands so Sango can see you, please." A young man near the back of the class raised his hand, and Sango made her way over to him. As she drew closer to him, the student lowered his hand, his eyes fixed on her.

"Sorry about that," he murmured to her. "Hideki's often like that." Sango nodded in acknowledgement, but said nothing in return, choosing to take her seat silently instead.

The next couple of hours were boring.

Sango understood next to nothing of what was being explained, and she had a feeling that she was wearing a permanently dumbfounded book. Matters were only made worse when she was separated from Kagome during one of the classroom switches that took place. Fortunately she was taken pity on and her anxious wandering was chalked up to being new, but it was one of the worst experiences she ever had. Her only consoling thought was that she knew there would be a midday break, and that Miroku's reincarnation was somewhere in this building, waiting to be met.

Soon all the pain would be erased. Soon the living would be made worthwhile. Sango smiled to herself, her eyes flicking over the white sheet of paper in front of her. Soon she would have him back.