Allow me to take this time to explain, yet again, that I don't own xxxHoLiC, or InuYasha: A Feudal Fairytale. I do not own any of the characters, settings, plot lines, etc. from therein. If I did, then there would be several differences, most notably that InuYasha would be about... two or three hundred chapters shorter. As it is, I am not the owner. It's a disappointing thing, I know, but it is so.

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"How much stuff did you have in that storage room?" Watanuki shrieked at Yuuko.

"Let's see... a lot?" The Dimensional Witch answered innocently. Watanuki answered with an entrance to Psychotic Rant Mode.

"GAAAAAH! You pile everything up so that it's really hard to lug it all out when you decide you want to clean!" He shrieked. "AAAH! I can't believe you have all this China piled on top of each other! You're supposed to wrap them in paper! And this kimono isn't wrapped in protective paper either! You don't even have any camphor in here, and EVERYTHING IS COVERED IN DUST!" He emphasized the last statement by going into a frenzied cleaning spree, and creating an enormous cloud of dust.

"Achoo! Watanuki-senpai, what are you doing?" His very irked co-worker demanded as she set a slim cylinder with a scrolling flower pattern on a small chest of drawers.

"He's whining again, Kagome-chan." Yuuko told her calmly. "He'll get over it eventually." Kagome giggled.

"I see, Yuuko-san. And just so you know, that cylinder was the last thing in the store room. I'm going to go inside to get some cleaning supplies to wash the interior. It's filthy! You really clean it more often." Kagome scolded gently.

"Perhaps you're right, Kagome-chan." Watanuki, however did not agree.

"If she cleans it more often, then we have to lug everything out here, Kagome-chan!" He yelled. "And what is THIS thing?" He seized what looked like a large, fluffy black ball. Kagome reached out.

"Ahh, Watanuki-senpai, that's..."

"IT'S MOKONA!" Mokona screeched, clearly unhappy with the manhandling. Kagome resisted the urge to laugh at the startled look on her co-worker's face. Yuuko made no such effort, and began to laugh hysterically at his misfortune. Kagome turned the other way to prevent herself from joining in, especially as Watanuki expressed bafflement and awe at one of the carpets, which apparently had a moving pattern.

"Do all the things in the store room have magical powers?" He asked, stunned.

"No." Kagome answered without hesitation. "Just most of them."

"'A storage room is a treasure mountain', ne?" Yuuko agreed.

"If that's the way it is, you should appreciate it more!" Watanuki scolded.

"I often straighten them out." His employer informed him, straight faced.

"THIS IS STRAIGHTENING THEM OUT?" Watanuki screamed. Kagome sighed, and began cleaning artifacts with a good deal more care than Watanuki had in the midst of his earlier rant. While she was mildly impressed that Watanuki could go into Psychotic Rant Mode twice in less than ten minutes, she really didn't feel like dealing with it today. She was tired from a draconian archery club schedule, gratis upcoming tournament, and all the conflicting auras from the storehouse items were giving her a migraine. She was almost positive that was why the storeroom was such a frightful mess; Yuuko probably couldn't stand to be in there for more than fifteen consecutive minutes without wanting to kill herself. So much magical power... so much pain. Kagome thanked her lucky stars she didn't have school in the morning so that she could hide in her room with the lights off and something cold over her eyes all night without repercussions.

"The stuff here is here for the sole purpose of getting them to the people who should get them." Yuuko said quietly. Kagome tilted her head to the side.

"So, it's like a hostel, or something?" She asked. "You know, a rest place for magical items?" Yuuko nodded.

"Yes, Kagome-chan, it's exactly like that. You see, between things and people there is... 'luck', I suppose, is the best way to put it. It's rather like the luck in relationships between people."

"Suitability, you mean, Yuuko-san?" Kagome asked, eyes wide. Yuuko smiled.

"Yes, suitability. If there is good luck, or suitability, as you put it, people do well. Without it..." Yuuko's voice trailed off, and she appeared to be about to speak again, when another voice sliced through the air, jarring the atmosphere.

"Excuse me!" Kagome, and Watanuki whirled, and caught sight of a pretty young woman, standing just inside the gate. "I'm a student of archaeology and folklore. I'm fascinated by antiques, so I often go to antique shops, or even people's homes, to study them. I was just passing by when I caught sight of some of the artifacts in your yard. May I take a look?" Kagome was unsurprised at the young woman's interest. She could see at least three priceless relics from just a cursory glance. She glanced over at Yuuko, who seemed a bit... odd, even more so than usual.

"No problem. Hitsuzen has brought you here, after all." Her words seemed decidedly less happy and mysterious than when she had first introduced Kagome to her shop, and judging from the way Watanuki was looking at Yuuko, the same was true for him. "What was it that interested you?" She asked quietly. The student smiled, and reached for the cylinder that Kagome had brought out moments before. A ripple of unease flitted through her as the student's fingers closed around the sealed case.

"This one! I'm not entirely sure why, but this thing fascinates me! Do you know what it is?" Kagome resisted the urge to flinch. Something about that vial just seemed... wrong. Not in a demonic way, or even a dark way, really, just... wrong. Much like the Shikon no Tama seemed wrong sometimes, especially when prepared to grant wishes. Whatever the reason, she really, sincerely hoped that Yuuko didn't let the student take the vial. It would bring nothing but trouble, she was certain. Yuuko was silent for a long moment, then asked

"What do you think that it is?"

"Well... it's a flowered cylinder vial of some kind... I can't get inside of it..." The student held the cylinder next to her ear, and shook it gently. "I think there's something in there..." She looked eagerly at Yuuko, "Can you give me this thing?" Yuuko's stare became flat, and almost cold.

"I don't think that it suits you." She told the young woman, her voice did not hold the slightest trace of inflection. Kagome shivered.

'If there is good luck, or suitability, as you put it, people do well. Without it...' Kagome had a very, very bad feeling about what would happen if the young woman took the cylinder. "Is this very expensive?" The student asked, sounding slightly desperate.

"No!" Yuuko snapped, then looked the student directly in the eye. "If you truly want this, you must agree to one thing." The student perked up visibly. "You must never open the cylinder." The student nodded eagerly.

"Yes, yes of course! Thank you so much!" The student skipped off. Yuuko sighed.

"And so the boulder is set at the top of the hill..." She murmured.

"What do you mean, Yuuko?" Watanuki asked, confused.

"I think, Watanuki-senpai..." Kagome said quietly from behind him, staring after the student, "We don't want to know."

— - — - — - — - — - — - —

"Are you really that worried about it?" Doumeki asked Kagome, waiting for her to collect her archery gear from her locker. Kagome had just finished telling him the story of the cylinder and the student. She shut the door, and looked at him, her nerves evident on her face.

"Yes. Yuuko looked... well, not uneasy, because she never looks uneasy, but it was obvious that she was not happy about the student's interest in the vial. In my experience, when something like that happens, someone with power trying to prevent an occurrence, and it coming to pass anyway? Nothing but bad can come from it. And usually, it's not just bad for one person." She bit her lip. "I hope she doesn't open it..." Doumeki regarded her carefully for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Aya! It's you!" A cheery voice called from behind the two. They whirled, Doumeki stepping forward slightly to put Kagome behind him. "You're one of the part-timers from the shop, aren't you?" Kagome nodded slowly.

"Yes, that's me."

"So you're a student at this school? Such a coincidence! Starting tomorrow, I'll be taking my teaching trial here!" Kagome's eyes widened, and a chill went down her spine. In her experience, hitsuzen rarely caused coincidences like this unless it wanted to express its hatred towards a specific individual. Case in point, her stumbling across InuYasha and Kikyou all the time in the Sengoku Jidai.

"I see... That's, umm..." She stammered, trying to figure out something positive to say.

"It's so unbelievable that you're a student here!" The young woman continued to bubble, while Kagome remained silent. Doumeki was watching Kagome with growing concern. "Now that you're going to be my student, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Satou Chiwa, and you are?"

"Higurashi Kagome, and this is my senpai in the archery club, Doumeki Shizuka." Kagome answered softly.

"Pleased to meet you." Doumeki added, nodding. Satou bowed slightly.

"Please take care of me during my time at your school." She turned back to Kagome. "This kind of thing always happen to me. I think that it would be great if something happened, and then it does. I guess you could even call it an attractive force!" Kagome resisted the urge to take a step away from her. Hitsuzen did so love its little games, and setting someone up for a brilliant fall was one of its very favorites. "Like this thing, it's magical, I just know it!" she said pulling the vial out of her bag. This time, Kagome did take a step back. The cylinder still gave her a bad feeling. Her hand went to the strand of prayer beads around her neck, which held the Shikon no Tama, a nervous habit she had picked up in the Sengoku Jidai. She was certain that interactions with Satou Chiwa would finish the job youkai on the other side of the well had started, and completely shatter her nerves. "Ah, well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again, Higurashi-san!" Doumeki watched Kagome for a long moment as Chiwa left.

"So. That's her." he said finally, breaking the silence.

"Yep."

"I think I can see why you're worried." He said slowly "She really wants to open that vial."

"That's why she said she didn't know what was in it yet." Kagome agreed. Doumeki nodded.

"Right. 'Yet' implies that she will eventually, which she wouldn't be able to do if she did what Yuuko told her to and didn't open it." Kagome nodded grimly.

"We'd better keep an eye on her. I'll pass the word onto Watanuki-senpai at work. Let's go to practice." The two walked off in silence, both starting to worry about what the determined young student would do.

At work that afternoon, Kagome brought up the subject of Satou Chiwa, and her presence at their school.

"A trial teacher, you say?"

"Yes ma'am. And, Yuuko-san, Doumeki-senpai and I both think that she really wants to open the cylinder. I'm worried." Yuuko snorted delicately as she picked up a morsel of food with her chopsticks.

"As well you should be. Watanuki, Kagome-chan, did either of you sense the cylinder?"

"Just a little. Enough to know that there was something... wrong about it, but nothing more than that, and even then only if I concentrated really, really hard." Kagome answered quietly.

"No. Until she picked it up, I didn't even know it was there." Watanuki confirmed.

"It was sealed so tightly that not even you two noticed!" Yuuko said coldly.

"...Is that important?" Watanuki asked tentatively. Kagome turned to stare at him, incredulous.

"Watanuki-senpai, both you and I are extremely sensitive to the supernatural. If we didn't notice it, there should be no way that she did. That... doesn't bode well..." Kagome trailed off.

"Then I'll tell her to stop tomorrow, and make sure she doesn't open it!" He stated, determined.

"She won't listen, I think." Yuuko said slowly, "Perhaps, she will listen to no one, because she's too confident in herself." Kagome shivered, remembering the things Chiwa had said about her nearly unbroken string of good fortune. No, she did not think that Chiwa would listen to Watanuki any more than Yuuko did. The student was far too arrogant for that.

The next day, Kagome sat with Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari as they ate lunch. Conversation had somehow turned to the archery tournament in which she, Doumeki, and the rest of the archery club members would be participating the following weekend.

"It should be fairly interesting," Kagome commented, popping a piece of tempura into her mouth with her chopsticks. "I haven't gotten to see any of the archers from the other schools, and I heard that one of my friends from middle school had joined her school's team. It'll be nice to see her again, if it's true." Doumeki shrugged.

"The other schools have archers that are about as good as ours. No one who'll be a challenge for you, that's for sure." Kagome laughed, and Doumeki continued, looking directly at Watanuki, "Kagome and I'll need lunch." Kagome glanced at the perfectly oblivious Himawari, and started to giggle as Watanuki got a resigned look on his face, knowing that in a moment Doumeki was going to say something to deliberately goad him into a rant. "I want fried chicken." Sure enough, Doumeki's ply worked.

"OI, EVEN REQUESTS?" Watanuki screamed.

"You're having lunch here?" The voice of Satou Chiwa cut across the chaos of Watanuki's rant, startling everyone in the group. Kagome and Himawari got to their feet and bowed, murmuring a polite "Satou-sensei" as they did so. Kagome resumed her seat, but Himawari decided to stay on her feet.

"May I ask, what have you done with that cylinder?" Watanuki asked cautiously. Satou pulled it out of her bag, and shook it slightly.

"I haven't opened it yet. It doesn't seem to have a cover." She explained. Suddenly, the vial slipped out of her hand. Himawari dove to catch it, just barely managing to keep it from hitting the sidewalk. Kagome's eyes widened as the darkness in Himawari's aura seeped into the vial, warping the protections around it.

Oh, no... she thought, as she heard Watanuki behind her voice a confused "Eh?"

"Here, Satou-sensei!" Himawari said cheerfully, offering the student teacher the vial.

"Thank you!" As Satou-san's hand closed around the vial, the ties securing the front portion of the vial untied themselves, and the vial slid open. Kagome nearly gagged. It was like the Shikon no Tama, only a hundred times worse.

"She opened it..." Watanuki exclaimed.

"Is it because... I caught it?" Himawari whispered. Kagome whipped her head around to stare at the other girl. Now, why would she think that? She wondered, Does it have anything to do with the fact that her aura is tainted?

— - — - — - — - — - —

"What is that?" Doumeki asked, "It looks like a branch..."

"Maybe this is 'the Monkey's Paw'!" Satou said, excitement plain in her voice.

"Monkey's Paw?" Kagome asked, sounding confused. Doumeki's eyes narrowed.

"I read a story about that for English class once. It's supposed to grant wishes." Kagome's back went ramrod straight. Doumeki could not help but wish he knew why she reacted so violently to the concept.

"Exactly!" Satou agreed, "Maybe this is the real one, or maybe not, but I always find unique things! I bought it for such a cheap price, and so many people have tried to find this and failed! My luck is the best!"

Kagome shivered. Doumeki could not blame her in the slightest. What was that old Western saying his grandfather had been so fond of in relation to the supernatural? Pride comes before a fall. Yes, he could see that Satou Chiwa had clearly missed that particular lesson.

"We should test it to see if it's the real thing!" She said gleefully. Kagome opened her mouth, but, surprisingly, Watanuki beat her to it.

"But if it's a bad thing..."

"Don't worry!" Satou assured him, before pursing her lips in thought. "Let's see... Our next class is gym, and even the practice teacher has to run. So, my wish is... I wish that it will rain from now to the end of the day!" Doumeki did not miss how Kagome's hand flew to what he was pretty sure was a strand of prayer beads she wore around her neck at Satou's words. A loud crack resounded, and everyone looked at the Monkey's Paw, which now had one broken finger. Kagome shivered, and Doumeki forced down the urge to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. After all, he was not sure that she would appreciate it. A second later, Kagome hastily gathered her things, and took refuge under an outcropping of the school. Unsure exactly why he was doing so, Doumeki followed suit. He was glad he did, as the instant he was under the outcropping, it started pouring down rain, mercilessly soaking Watanuki, Himawari, and Satou. Kagome turned and grinned at him.

"I find that whenever someone makes a wish on something that has even the remotest possibility of granting one for rain, it's good to get under cover. It always works." She told him. Doumeki could hear the laughter in her voice. He relaxed slightly, and smirked back at her.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" He asked dryly, and laughed along with her.

"So, she opened it?" Yuuko asked Watanuki and Kagome after they passed the story along at work.

"Yes, Yuuko-san. I think Himawari's aura might have had something to do with it, but she definitely opened it."

"And why did it actually start to rain like she wanted it to?" Watanuki shrieked.

"Of course it started raining, that was the actual Monkey's Paw." Yuuko told him in cool tones. But Satou's fate is not good... and I do not think she will admit it."

"What do you mean by 'not good'?" Watanuki asked hesitantly.

"That depends." Kagome said softly.

"On what?"

"On what she wishes for." She answered bluntly. "If she continues to wish for trivial things, like the rain today, then she should be fine. But if she starts to wish for deeper things..."

"Exactly. This is like a rock rolling down a hill. Once it starts to roll, it becomes very hard to stop." Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Satou-sensei is the rock. And judging from her behavior... I'd say the rock is only going to pick up speed as it goes down."

"Indeed."

The next day, Kagome came into school to the sounds of worried whispers all around her. Frowning slightly, she made her way to her shoe locker, and ran into Doumeki.

"Doumeki-senpai, what's going on? Did something happen?" She asked, worried, and more than a little confused.

"All the water from the pool is gone." He told her bluntly, looking her right in the eye.

"All the water from..." Kagome's eyes widened. "The rain. Of course. The rain water had to come from somewhere. So. That was the price of her wish. The pool water." Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Well. Looks like no one will be going swimming anytime soon."

"Heh. Guess not." Doumeki agreed, then looked serious. "So, if you wish on the Monkey's Paw, something bad will happen." Kagome shivered slightly.

"Why would you think that, Doumeki-senpai? I mean, I know there has to be a price, but why would you say something bad..."

"Because you, Watanuki, and Yuuko were all very adamant that she not open the cylinder. Especially Yuuko, because I'm sure she knew what it was. If she was worried about it, then it can't be good. Besides," Doumeki sobered, "That definitely held true in the Jacobs story I read about it."

"What happened?" Kagome whispered, not exactly sure if she wanted to know.

"A mother used it to wish her son back to life." Doumeki told her flatly. Kagome blanched.

"What was the catch?" She asked softly.

"It brought him back to life alright... just back into a body that had been dead for ten days, after he had died by being pulled through machinery." Kagome's hand flew to her mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit.

"Excuse me," She whispered, and ran for the girls' bathroom, where she promptly disgorged the contents of her stomach into one of the toilets.

To be brought back to such a body... is it so different from being brought back to a body of clay and grave soil? She wondered. No, she decided. It was not. And that thought left her heaving over the toilet again.

When she finally ventured out of the bathroom, class had already started. She sighed. She would have to go to the infirmary and tell them what had happened to get a pass. Hopefully, she still looked sick enough. Goodness knew she legs were shaking to the point that she was not entirely certain she would make it to the infirmary. A hand descended onto her shoulder, and she yelped.

"Relax, it's just me. Are you alright?" Kagome laughed in a mildly hysterical fashion.

"Oh, Doumeki-senpai... I, uh... No. I'm not alright. I'm heading to the infirmary." She paused, "Why aren't you in class, Doumeki-senpai?" Doumeki's eyes narrowed.

"You weren't that hard to follow, Kagome, and I wanted to know what was wrong." Kagome's face flushed slightly, or it would have if she had been capable of bringing color to its present palor.

"Oh. I was, well... throwing up. Talking about raising the dead... especially like that... generally makes me do that. I'm going to go lie down for a while. That, and getting something into my system, should help." Doumeki shrugged, and without another word, scooped her up into his arms, making Kagome yelp in surprise. "Do-Doumeki-senpai! Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you to the infirmary. You're not going to make it there on your own. You look like you're about to collapse." He informed her bluntly. This time, a tinge of pink did manage to make its way to her face.

"Oh. Thank you."

Upon her arrival at the infirmary, Kagome was sentenced to spending the next two periods lying on the bed in the corner, staring up at the ceiling, and hoping that nothing bad happened.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. That afternoon at work, Watanuki told Yuuko and Kagome that Satou Chiwa had used the Monkey's Paw for a second time, in this case to get a mirror she wanted. Yuuko sobered.

"It can't be made, a wish without a price." She told Watanuki. "There are no such things."

"That means... the water from the rain... it was the pool water?" Watanuki asked, surprised. Kagome nodded.

"Yes, of course, Watanuki-senpai. Doumeki-senpai and I figured it out this morning. After all, you can't just make water. It has to come from somewhere."

"Oh. What about the mirror?"

"The owner of that shop is a friend of mine." Yuuko told them, "He called to tell me that the mirror suddenly disappeared this morning."

"What will happen if she continues to make wishes like this?" Watanuki asked. Kagome and Yuuko exchanged looks before Yuuko answered him.

"She doesn't listen to your warnings, right? She ignored Doumeki and Kagome as well." Yuuko paused, "Watanuki, when will the spring rolls be ready?" she asked sweetly. Watanuki's eyes widened.

"Damn it!" He shot to his feet and ran for the kitchen. Kagome looked at Yuuko.

"A rock won't stop after it starts rolling downhill." She said quietly.

"No, it won't. It will keep going... and picking up speed, until the end of the road." Yuuko agreed. Kagome winced.

"That's what I was afraid of."

The next afternoon, Kagome's gym class was merged with that of Doumeki, Himawari, and Watanuki due to a distinct lack of pool water. She was quite happy to have the opportunity to join her friends. When she returned from one of her longer races barely winded, the other three stared at her in stunned amazement.

"What?" She demanded, slightly embarrassed.

"How do you do that?" Watanuki asked, sounding stunned, astounded, and disbelieving.

"Do what?"

"I think Watanuki-kun is referring to the fact that you can run a mile faster than anyone else without getting winded, Kagome-chan." Himawari told her.

"Oh, that." Kagome paused for a moment, considering her answer. Obviously, she could not say that she had traveled with a hanyou who did not understand the concept of human limitations for a year and a half, so she went for the other option. "There are a lot of stairs at my shrine, and it's a long way to the subway station. I have to run when I'm running late, so I'm used to it."

"Oh, I see!" Himawari said cheerfully. Doumeki just looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. Kagome blushed, knowing that he knew that she was... well, she was not lying exactly, just leaving out certain significant details. The group turned at the sound of delighted laughter. It was Satou Chiwa, laughing with a group of students.

"Why am I suddenly very, very worried?" Kagome murmured to Doumeki.

"Because you should be." He answered. Satou Chiwa caught sight of them, and hurried over.

"Oh, hey you guys! Guess what? My advisor said that my thesis was so good, that when he showed it to a publisher friend, the friend offered to publish it, just from the first draft! It's all because of the Monkey's Paw! I wished for some interesting source materials, and then there they were!" Her voice rose to a borderline squeal, making Kagome have to fight the urge to wince.

"Satou-sensei, I hate to ask this, but isn't that like... cheating?" She asked, hoping to get the student to think about her actions.

"What? Of course not! Anyways, what do you want me to do? It's not like there's someone I could talk to who could tell me some old story that isn't told very often. At least, not around here, and not that are willing to talk to students like me." Satou snapped.

"I am one of the keepers of the Higurashi shrine on the other side of town. It's a highly respected shrine, well known for keeping many of its stories secret. I know them all as well as my grandfather, the head priest. I am in training to become the head priestess of the shrine when he dies. I would be happy to share some of our stories with you." Kagome told her coolly. "All you would have to do is ask." Watanuki and Himawari's jaws dropped. Doumeki raised his eyebrows, then spoke as well.

"I also live on a shrine, the Akatsuki shrine, which isn't too far from here. I may not have all the training Kagome does, but I'm the current caretaker of the shrine, and I know all the stories my grandfather told me before he died last year. I would also be happy to share them." His voice was every bit as cool as Kagome's. Satou blinked, then laughed.

"Wow! So, the next time I need to write a paper, I'll know who to come to! Thanks!"

"Satou-sensei," Doumeki said quietly, "Kagome and I are trying to help. In every story, anyone who uses the Monkey's Paw–"

"Comes to a terrible end, I know, I know. But that won't happen to me." She told him with a confident laugh. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you later!" With that, she darted off, presumably to tell the next person about her good fortune. Kagome sighed.

"Well, at least we tried."

"Yeah."

"Ehh, Kagome-chan, are you really that important to your shrine?" Watanuki asked, surprised. Kagome turned to him, a slight smile on her face.

"Well, I don't know if important is the right word. After all, if my little brother really wants to, he'll be the next head priest, not me. But since Souta's interest level in becoming a shinto priest is somewhere slightly below zero, and I am the first person in our family to have the gift in something like five generations, I probably will take over the shrine, and preserve the memories there." She closed her eyes for a moment, adding silently, After all, most of them are my own. She opened her eyes as her teacher blew her whistle to signal the end of class, and all four of them set off for the changing rooms.

That next day, Kagome was running late. Souta had managed to splatter miso all over her uniform during breakfast, forcing her to go change. Kagome knew that she would miss her connecting train, but if she at least tried, maybe her teacher would be more merciful. She darted through the central station, desperate to reach her platform on time. She missed her train by seconds. With a sigh, she turned to go find a bench where she could sit, and maybe go over her math homework before the next train arrived. Immediately, someone slammed into her, and she was knocked to the ground.

"Ow!"

"Oh, Higurashi-san, is that you? So, you're late too?" It was Satou Chiwa. Kagome smiled hesitantly.

"Yes. My little brother spilled miso soup all over my uniform during breakfast, so I had to change."

"I overslept a bit. I thought for sure I would still be able to make the train, but... apparently not. And it's my last day, so I have my examination class! If I'm late, the other teachers will think I'm irresponsible, and grade me poorly!" She lifted her thumbnail to her mouth, and began to bite it as they walked towards the train rails. "If only there were some sort of accident, then I would have a Police Report to say why I was late! Then no one would consider it my fault!" The moment the words left Satou's mouth, Kagome began backing away very, very carefully. The Shikon no Tama responded just as well to the words 'if only' as it did to 'I wish', and she did not want to be near the train rails until she was good and certain that she would not become Satou's accident.

A moment later, Kagome heard a dull crack, and the woman who had taken her place next to Satou stepped over the boundary line, probably quite by accident, just as the train was passing. Blood spattered Satou's shoes, and Kagome's face. Satou turned to stare at Kagome with wide horror struck eyes.

"That didn't... that didn't just count as a wish, did it?" She asked, horrified. Kagome looked at her with what anyone who had not seen half the blood and gore she had in the Sengoku Jidai would have considered a remarkably composed expression, considering the fact that she had a dead woman's still warm blood on her face.

"'If only' is just another way of saying 'I wish'" She said flatly.

When they arrived at the school an hour later, Satou's tardiness was excused, and Kagome was permitted to take the day off if she so chose. She refused. If that woman died in her place, then she would at least make the poor woman's sacrifice worth while. At least her death had been quick, which was better than several Kagome had seen. She maintained her composure with relative ease.

Satou, on the other hand, was a different matter. She was obviously shaken by the scene that had played out in the subway, and was mortified that she had inadvertently killed someone. Kagome went to seek her out after lunch, hoping that maybe, just possibly, she would listen to her now. She knocked on the door of the small room Satou had been given as an office, and it opened without any effort on her part.

"I never stole anything!" Satou was saying into her cell phone. After a brief pause, she continued "Ye-yes, I was in the library that day, and I met up with some friends from class, but I didn't steal research materials from anyone!" Kagome shivered. So, this was the price of the research for which Satou had asked the Monkey's Paw. Note theft would scar her reputation in the academic world forever. "Y-you're saying that the person who's notes were stolen was in the library then? And you want to know where I got mine? Uhh... A book! I found the stories in a book!" Another pause, then a horrified whisper "The student got those stories by interviewing her grandfather, and there was no way anyone else could have known them? No, wait, professor!" But even Kagome could hear the sound of the dial tone coming from the phone. Closing her eyes, Kagome backed out of the room, and shut the door behind her. She had a bad feeling she knew what was about to happen, and there was nothing she could do about it. The rolling stone was about to hit the bottom of the hill, and stop, permanently.

A few hours later, Kagome went back to Satou's office to retrieve the vial for Yuuko. She definitely did not want it getting into anyone else's hands. There was no sign of Satou Chiwa anywhere.

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So, the Monkey's Paw arc is completed. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it. There are a few too many time skips for my taste, but there wasn't a better way to handle things. I did take out a few for the sake of writing quality, though. The next chapter is either the fox oden stand, or the archery tournament leading up to the fox oden stand. I'm not sure if I'll decide to make them separate chapters or not. We'll see.

I'm really, really sorry this took so long to get up! College eats up all of your time, so that you just want to go brain dead when you don't have to work. My apologies! Thanks for continuing to read, though! It's always great to find that someone else has favorited or story-alerted The Price of Hitsuzen!