Kagome sighed, her head pressed against the wall as she let the cold water cascade between her shoulder blades and wash over her back. The cold water helped her relax her feelings and forget her worries, if only for a moment. It had been three months since she had left. Inuyasha had not come after her. But she knew she had to go back. They would need her help finding the jewel shards, even if inuyasha didn't want to be around her, she would stay out of his way. She sighed again, turning the water off as she reached for her towel and dried herself off. She walked to her romm and turned to her closet, grabbing a loose and flowing red kimono with white flowers on the bottom. As she dressed, she looked at the well. This must be how it felt to be homesick. After so long, she was finally going back. She approached the well and with a deep breath, she jumped in.
Kagome pulled herself out of the well and sat on the edge for a moment, breathing in the familiar scents of the place she had come to think of as home. She got up after a moment and walked towards the village. She wondered what she had missed while she was gone.
Kaede looked up and gasped as kagome approached her, dropping her herbs as she ran to her, pulling her into a hug. "Oh kagome. I'm so glad ye are home." Kagome held her tightly as her eyes filled with tears. "So am I kaede. Where are the others?" Kaede released her and thought for a moment. "Hmmm...shippo is still in fox demon training, miroku is in another village, warding off spirits for them, sango is in the forest, picking food from her garden, the stubborn woman, and inuyasha is where he always is. Sulking in the goshinboku." Kagome nodded and turned to go see sango. Kaede called out to her as she walked away, "tell that stubborn girl to take it easy! That baby could be here any day!" Kagome nodded back at her and continued to walk on. She finally made it to sangos garden and looked around, spotting her by some tomatoes. She made her way to her, careful to avoid the food growing everywhere. Sango looked up and shrieked in suprise, surging to her feet and throwing herself at kagome as she started to cry. Kagome managed to hold her up and she held her as she cried with her. "Oh...oh kagome...im so sorry! It was all my fault! Can you ever forgive me?" She asked into kagomes shoulder as she continued to cry. Kagome rubbed her back. "Its not your fault sango. You just wanted us to tell each other how we felt. Thats not a bad thing." Sango clung to her as her crying slowed down. "Inuyasha has not talked to anyone since you left. He hasn't even left the tree or the well since that day." Kagome looked down at her in suprise. "Why not?" She asked as sango wiped her eyes. "He kept hoping that you would be the first to come back. He didn't want to force you to return. And i couldn't convince him to go after you. I tried everything." Kagome looked at sango as she finished wiping the tears away. "He is so afraid to hurt you kagome. I told him about your father and he still is afraid to hurt you. I'm sorry kagome." Kagome looked at sango in concern as sango winced, rubbing her stomach. "Are you okay sango?" She asked, worried for her. "Im fine." Sango said, "Its been happening all day. Im sure it's just the baby moving." Kagome got on her knees and placed her hands against sangos belly. "Sango, you're in labor!" She shouted out as she looked up at sango. Sango blanched. "But...but how do you know?" Kagome pressed on sangos belly. "Your stomach muscles are contracting under my hands and the child has dropped down." Sango gaped at her. Kagome smiled at her questioning look. "I have been taking classes sango." Sango tilted her head at her and kagome shook her head. "I will explain later. Lay down so i can help. Its too late to get kaede." Sango complied, laying down and wondered why kagome knew so much about this. Her mind pushed the question aside as she felt the pain from the contractions growing. She yelled out in pain. Where was miroku when she felt like hitting something? Damn that man. He would get what was coming to him. At the moment, she didn't want him to touch her ever again.