Since I'm on the computer, I'll just post it. Hopefully I won't fail my physics exam tomorrow. This is my last week of school! Then I'll have more time to write!
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"Kikyo, you should go to bed."
Kikyo looked up from the book she was reading. "I'll be fine, Aunt Jenna," she assured the older woman. "I just haven't seen these before, and they're interesting."
"It's late," Aunt Jenna said. "We don't know when Isaac and the others will come back, so we need to get what rest we can."
Kikyo noted the anxiety in her aunt's eyes. "I'm sure they'll be fine. Uncle Garet and everyone else will be back before we know it, and then we'll help Sango and Kohaku and go home."
Aunt Jenna smiled. "Don't stay up too much later."
"Yes, Aunt Jenna." Kikyo turned back to her book while her aunt went into the bedroom. It didn't take long to finish, and she put it back on the shelf. Maybe I should go to bed, she thought, standing up and stretching. She glanced out the window, and she caught a glimpse of someone familiar walk into the darker shadows of Bilibin. What is Mike doing outside so late at night? Curious, she grabbed her cloak and slipped out the door.
It wasn't difficult to follow him. He didn't bother hiding, which told her he wasn't doing anything suspicious, except for that he was out here when no sane person would be. He mounted the steps that led to the Sanctum, but before he reached the door, he turned and walked along the top of the wall that surrounded Bilibin. What is he doing? Kikyo wondered, still following at a fair distance.
When he came to the section on the opposite side of the town, he stopped. "What are you doing out here so late?" he asked. Kikyo bit her lip to keep from answering him. Then, she heard someone else.
"I was just getting some fresh air," another familiar voice said.
Sango? What is she doing out here?
Mike sat down next to her, and Kikyo saw Sango leaning back on her hands, her legs dangling over the edge, her face gazing upwards at the moon. "Is something troubling you?" asked Mike.
"We're wasting so much time here," she sighed, and her head lowered to her chest. "The demons could have destroyed my entire village by now, and I have no way of knowing."
"Your village wouldn't be completely destroyed."
"How do you know?"
How does he know?
"Kohaku is still alive, and so are you. Therefore, your village can't be destroyed. As long as at least one person survives, it won't be erased from the earth."
"I see." She smiled. "You know, you always know what to say to make me feel better." She leaned against his shoulder, making Kikyo's eyebrows raise, and they rose even more when Mike's arm wrapped around Sango's shoulders. "Ever since we came to Vale, you've looked after us," Sango continued, the moon reflecting off her eyes, which appeared to be watching Mike's face with adoration. "You all have."
"It's my duty as a healer to look after those in need," Mike replied. "It's in the others' personalities to want to help others, even though they aren't healers like I am."
"Still, this is above and beyond what a normal healer is called to do. Why did you want to come and help us?"
"I felt a bond with you when we first met, and since then it's grown. At the time, I didn't know what kind of bond it was, but I think we both know now."
"Possibly. Why don't you tell me?"
He pulled away from her slightly, and his arm left her shoulder, but his hand came up to stroke her cheek. "Love. I love you, Sango Hao. It started in Vale, and since then it has grown."
"I feel the same way," Sango murmured, half-closing her eyes and bringing her own hand up to cover his.
Kikyo felt it prudent to leave at this point. She had a feeling that they wouldn't want prying eyes watching them in their private moment. Besides, her curiosity was satisfied enough that she could leave, and they weren't in any danger, which was why she followed Mike in the first place. She retraced her steps and went back to the room that she shared with the rest of the group. To her surprise, Uncle Felix was at the window, gazing up at the unusually bright moon. "Uncle Felix, what are you doing up so late?" she asked.
He didn't turn around. "I couldn't sleep. It isn't polite to follow other people and spy on them."
She started. How did he know? Did he see me? "I was just making sure that he wasn't going to get attacked, that's all. I didn't stay very long." She hesitated, then asked, "Did you know about them? That they were seeing each other?"
"Yes."
"What! How long has this been going on?"
"Almost since before we left Vale. Why?"
"Have I been that clueless?" That was addressed more to herself, and Uncle Felix didn't answer. "Anyway, Aunt Jenna says not to stay up too late. Good night."
"Good night."
Throughout the entire exchange, he hadn't moved from his position at the window.
During breakfast Aunt Sheba announced that the party who went to Imil was returning. "Ivan just contacted me, and he said that they're on their way back. They should be here by nightfall." She paused. "We'll need an extra room since we all can't fit in just ours."
"I'll take care of it," Uncle Piers volunteered and stepped away from the table. "You eat."
"But what about you?"
"I'm already finished."
"We'll need to get more supplies before we try to head off to Kalay," Aunt Sheba mused as she sat down in Uncle Piers' vacated spot. "Kikyo, would you and Mike go buy them? That will save some time, and we'll take care of washing and packing."
"Sure," said Kikyo, then looked around. "Um, do you know where he is?"
"He already ate," Aunt Jenna answered. "I think he's at the Sanctum."
Sure enough, he was, talking to the other healers and comparing techniques for certain illnesses or whatever it was that healers did when they got together. "Mike," she called.
The healer finished his conversation and walked over. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. The aunts just want us to buy supplies. I could have done it myself, but you have to have certain things for medicinal uses, so I thought I'd just come to get you."
The two walked out of the Sanctum and almost reached the item shop when they ran into Sango and Kohaku. Now that she knew about the two, Kikyo noted how Mike and Sango's eyes lit up when they caught sight of each other, how Sango blushed slightly, how Mike straightened more and picked up the pace. Mike started initiated the conversation. "Good morning. Did the aunts send you out, too?"
"They told us where you were, so we decided to join you," Sango answered. Kikyo drifted backwards, feeling like she would be quickly forgotten, and when she looked at Kohaku, she saw that he felt the same.
"Well, we don't all need to buy supplies." Mike looked at Kikyo, which surprised her since she thought that she had disappeared from his mind when Sango showed up. "Sango and I can buy the supplies. Why don't you and Kohaku see if the weapons they have are good? You need more arrows, don't you?"
"Huh? Oh, that's right." She had used almost all her arrows in eradicating the demons and undead bodies around the area. "Are you sure?"
"We'll be fine," Sango assured her. "Just leave it to us." They left, leaving Kikyo and Kohaku to stare after them.
"Well, it looks like it's just you and me," Kikyo said, walking away.
Kohaku followed. "I hate it when she does that," he said.
"Does what?"
"What she just did. What if you didn't want company, and what if you wanted to buy the food?"
"Oh, I don't mind, and if she feels like doing the shopping, that just means I don't have to. Mike knows what to get, and I'm pretty sure Sango does, too, so we won't be in any danger of dying of starvation or because something went bad."
He sighed. "If you say so."
They entered the shop, and Kikyo started looking around for arrows. "How are you feeling?" she asked while examining one of the arrows on display. "Are you feeling normal again?"
"I suppose so. Nothing hurts, and the healers said I was fine." He sighed again.
"What's with the sighs? Are you down about something?"
"It's Sango."
"Oh?" This conversation was starting to look much more interesting than the arrow. She put it down and gave Kohaku her full attention.
"She's never been in love before, and I'm not used to seeing her like this." He picked up one of the rapiers. "We've always been together and looked out for each other, but ever since we went to Vale, she's hardly left his side and ignores me or leaves me with complete strangers." He smiled ruefully at the rapier. "I guess this is what people call jealousy."
"I understand how you feel," Kikyo said. "Mike's been with me since I moved to Vale. We weren't as close as you and Sango are; he hardly had any free time because of his healer training. But when he did find free time, like once his training was over for the day, he would spend that time with me and my younger sister, Kaede. You say that they've been together since they met in Vale?"
He nodded. "Pretty much. Sango said that he stayed with me and tried to heal me, and she didn't leave my side, either. But I don't think what they have now started until after I regained consciousness."
"So it was obvious then, too?"
"Fairly obvious. They weren't exactly trying to hide it."
Kikyo wanted to slam her head into the wall. Maybe that would knock some sense into me. Why didn't I see it? Instead of knocking herself senseless, she said, "Looks like we both lost someone. I know I'm a poor substitute for Sango, but I'll stay with you. I promise I don't bite unless provoked."
"Are you sure?"
"I don't mind. This way, we might be sick of each other by the time we're done, but we won't be lonely. Do you want to?" She stuck out her right hand. "Friends?"
He smiled, took her hand, and shook it. "Friends."
They bought some weapons both needed and extra and returned to the inn. Mike and Sango hadn't returned yet, but no one worried about it. The aunts giggled and said things like "young love", and the uncles just ignored it. They helped finish up the packing so they would be ready to leave in the morning and waited for the other half of the group to come back to Bilibin. No one mentioned how Kikyo and Kohaku seemed closer. Of course, it could have been because their closeness had only increased by a small amount, hardly worth noting.
Just as Aunt Sheba predicted, they arrived a few minutes before the sun completely disappeared. As glad as Kikyo was to see the rest of her family, she was less happy about that foreign girl, Kagome. They hadn't started off on the right foot, and nothing had happened to change their opinions of each other. Luckily, she didn't get a chance to speak to her because it appeared that one of the boys traveling with her, one they call Inuyasha, was carrying her and wasn't letting anyone else near her. No one could understand what he was growling at them, but Uncle Ivan had a good guess, probably because he was a Jupiter Adept and could read minds fairly well even at a distance. "She's just tired," he said. "Whatever she did on top of the Lighthouse wore her out, and she needs to sleep."
"Your rooms are this way," Uncle Piers said. He led them away, but Uncle Isaac stayed behind to talk quietly with Uncle Felix. Kikyo drifted back out into the quiet town where she could feel the cool breeze.
The moon was beginning to wane, but it didn't matter. Its light still allowed her to see the large trees of Kolima Forest and the small, scattered forests between them. There wasn't a lot of movement, but that didn't mean that all was well. The bodies were hard to see and were easily mistaken for ordinary animals. Still, all seemed calm, and the soft wind carried no hint of malice.
"Is something wrong?"
She turned around. "Kohaku, what are you doing here?"
"I saw you come out, so I followed. Is everything okay?"
"I suppose. I just have a hard time getting along with Kagome."
"Why is that?"
He now stood next to her. "We just struck each other the wrong way. That's all. She knew what was wrong with you at a glance, and then she said that I should've been able to do that myself and insinuated that I wasn't doing my job properly."
"Is it true?"
Kikyo sighed. "Yes. I hate saying it, but yes, it's true. It didn't occur to me to use my other sight, and you were in a lot of pain because of it. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. I'm healed right now, right? So it doesn't matter."
"You know, right now, it seems a bit foolish to hate her. All she did was point out the obvious. My aunt, Uncle Felix's wife, would have done the same thing. The way she said it could've been nicer, though."
"This is true," Kohaku agreed. "Still, I think it could all be fixed if you talk to her."
"Hah! I'd have to get past her guard dogs. Those friends of hers don't like to let any of us near her."
"That is strange."
"Kikyo! Kohaku! Come inside," Uncle Garet called. "We have a long way to go tomorrow, so we'll need all the sleep we can get."
"Okay," Kikyo answered. "Let's go."
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