Aya spoke from her place beside the upset kitsune. "Kagome, I think this would be a good place for that talk."

Miroku started to protest, but was cut off by InuYasha, of all people. "Kags, ya gotta tell me why the well was closed," he said. "And why ya called her" he pointed over his shoulder to Aya "your sister."

Since Sesshomaru's display, Rin had been slowly making her way around the edge of the clearing. As InuYasha drew Kagome's attention back to Aya, who still stood beside Shippo, Rin reached out to Shippo and slipped her tiny hand into his. Kagome's eyes zoned in on this and she looked at the pair in silence. The tumblers slowly fell into place in Kagome's mind.

As she continued to stare at the young couple for an uncomfortable length of time, Kagome saw more and more similarities. She roughly shoved past InuYasha and stormed up to Aya, anger and pain darkening her face.

"You knew," Kagome snarled. "You knew, and you didn't say anything!?" She stepped closer to Aya, causing the phoenix yokai to flinch back. Kagome raised a hand and growled. "How could you stand there, every day that we trained with him and NOT SAY A FUCKING THING!"

Tsukuyomi arrived then and pulled Aya and Shippo away from the raging miko.

"She was not permitted to tell you, Kagome," he said quietly. "I think, now, we may have been wrong to withhold that from you."

Amaterasu appeared and rested her hand gently on Kagome's shoulder. "This was our decision, Kagome," she said. "Would it have changed anything if you knew?"

Kagome turned to the sun goddess with tears in her eyes. "I thought I'd lost him…" she whispered. "I thought he didn't make it."

Amaterasu looked at her in sympathy and rested her hand on Kagome's cheek. "Nothing is absolute, little priestess. Not even that. Make what you have now count."

The others looked in the scene in confusion as it played out in front of them, but with the wild swing of Kagome's emotions, none were prepared to ask just yet.

Kagome looked at Shippo and Rin again. She closed her eyes and let her aura reach out to them… When she reached two overwhelmingly familiar auras, she took a sharp breath and opened her eyes. She took one step toward Shippo before stopping again.

"I'm so sorry…" she said before tears started streaming down her face. "You just look so much like someone from home."

She took another tentative step forward and was met by the warm embrace of her son.

"It's ok, Mama," the kitsune whispered, as he hugged her tighter.

Kagome turned her head just as Aya started to step away. Reaching out, she caught her sister's hand and looked her in the eye. Aya gave a small smile and nodded before moving away to the others, suggesting a small fire to gather around so a conversation could be had before retiring to the village.

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A short time later, a fire lit the meadow between the well and the forest's edge furthest from the village. Inuyasha sat on a nearby fallen log with Kikyo in front of him, her head resting on his knee. Miroku and Elias sat to either side. Kagome sat on the opposite side of the fire from them, with Shippo at her side. Rin leaned into his other side, with his arm around her waist. Inari, Sango, and Aya paced around the circle, as an informal watch. Calian and his companions sat silently behind Kagome and her son.

Kagome cleared her throat and looked meaningfully at Aya. "Guys," she started. "This is Aya. She's my half-sister. We just found out when I went back through the well."

Sango stopped behind Miroku. "Well, that explains one thing…" she said. "But why are you in a Phoenix yokai battle dress? And why did you come from the well like that?"

Miroku continued his wife's thought. "We could feel your reiki in the Phoenix fire. How did you manage that?" he asked. "And how did you not purify anyone?"

Kagome looked into the flames to gather her thoughts. Aya took that moment to speak for her.

"I'm a hanyou," she said, by way of explanation. "My father was a Phoenix, Kagome and I have the same mother."

Miroku narrowed his eyes at her. "That doesn't explain how Kagome bore Phoenix flames. Nor does it explain why your aura fluctuated with that lie." He looked back to Kagome. "So… Care to tell us the truth, Kagome? Your sister is a terrible liar…"

Kagome looked up at him, startled. "She is my mother's first child, Miroku," Kagome said, trying to control her emotions. "She didn't lie but we didn't grow up as sisters. She is hanyou. Her father was a Phoenix yokai who forced our mother when she was younger than Rin. She was given up for adoption. Mama was no older than Rin is now when she gave birth. In my time, that is unacceptable. Even though Mama had been raped, forced against her will, she was looked down on for being pregnant outside of a relationship. My grandmother told her to have an abortion, to kill the baby." Kagome fought back tears as she related the story her mother had told them. As she finished, Aya sat beside her and laid her head on Kagome's shoulder.

Sango watched her sister in arms as she spoke. She was unsure of what was going on in Kagome's mind, but the way her emotions kept changing was concerning.

"Kagome," Sango started. "Why do your emotions keep shifting so quickly? Are you well?"

Kagome stared at Sango for a moment, then gave her a small smile. "I should have known you'd be the one to ask that…" she said. Sango grinned at her in return and waited patiently for an answer.

"I never told you guys…" Kagome started. "After the battle with Naraku, so much happened. The jewel…" here she stopped, gazing into the fire. When she started to speak again, it was almost as if she were in a trance.

"I remember being inside the jewel." she said. "I know Yasha came and brought me back out. Other than that, I didn't tell any of you what really happened…" she looked around at her shard hunting companions and continued. "And I don't intend to." At their shocked expressions, Kagome amended that statement. "I mean, I won't tell you everything," she said. "but I will tell you enough. Not tonight, though."

"It was odd, really. When Yasha brought me out, I was still there. I was still in the jewel. I went home and talked with my grandfather about it." she told them. "He felt that the jewel hadn't really disappeared, more like it had chosen a new path. Mom said he was crazy, and she took me to see a therapist who specialized in post traumatic stress. The therapist put me on medications that aren't found here, and I didn't like how they made me feel. Grandpa agreed with my logic and we started looking into natural versions of the mood stabilizers. After that, I stopped seeing the therapist, stopped those medications, and we found Aya. I started training with her family, and Grandpa found someone to help my reiki." Kagome held Aya's hand. "I learned from a kitsune there, her adoptive dad, that because we're half sisters, I could borrow her talents and she could borrow mine. We have both trained extensively with this." Kagome looked over to Shippo. "When I came at you earlier, it wouldn't have hurt," she revealed. "It was a scare tactic, tamed Phoenix flame with a thin veneer of reiki, not pure reiki."

InuYasha chose to speak then. "So why did ya take so damned long to come back?" he asked. "And why couldn't I get through the well?"

Kagome glared at him. "You couldn't come through because Grandpa fixed the well so it wouldn't allow you," she said evenly. "And I took so long because there was a lot of training to do. There is still training to do… I have a good idea what's coming, and I know it's been dumbed down enough for you to understand. Maybe this time you won't be too distracted to keep watch."

InuYasha missed the not-so-subtle barbs. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, wench?" he growled at her.

Kagome rolled her eyes. She sighed in exasperation and said, "Do you remember what happened the morning I left, InuYasha?"

The hanyou looked confused for a moment, then realization dawned in his eyes. He smirked. "It ain't my fault you chose to interrupt a moment between me and my mate."

Kagome closed her eyes and slowly rubbed her temples, growling quite impressively for a human. "You were supposed to be keeping watch over camp."

Miroku looked at his hanyou friend, eyes wide. "How long had you and Kikyo been away from camp that night, InuYasha?"

Kagome spoke before InuYasha had a chance. "It doesn't matter now, Miroku. That's in the past."

"So why did you freak out about it then, wench? Not like you're pissed about it, now…" InuYasha said.

Sango smacked InuYasha in the back of the head as she passed, quickly followed by Miroku and Elias as Kagome glared daggers at her sometimes friend.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?!" InuYasha yelled as he flinched for another hit.

Kagome growled again. "You were supposed to be keeping watch, you idiot!" she yelled at him. Her voice continued to rise as she continued, "You were too damned busy fucking your mate to keep proper watch over our pack like you'd promised to do! We could have been killed by raiders or a rogue yokai trying to prove his dominance, you fucking moron!" Kagome started to stand as she ranted, but was caught around the waist by both Shippo and Aya. "If I had known you'd be distracted, someone else could have kept watch," Kagome said, as she calmed. "You broke your word, you broke my trust, and you potentially put our pack in danger. I was right in what I said that morning, InuYasha. You will never change. If you should change for the better, it will take quite a bit, and it will take even more for me to believe it."

InuYasha looked stunned. "So… Why were you crying about it, Kags? Don't tell me you were still upset that I didn't choose you…"

Inari smacked the hanyou, this time.

Kagome only narrowed her eyes. "You idiot…" she growled. "I was beyond angry. You know damned well when I get that angry, I cry. I don't care that you chose Kikyo, finally. I care that you're happy."

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The conversation lasted long into the night, covering a myriad of non-sensitive topics. Despite the village being only a short distance away, most of the group bedded down in the meadow around the fire with a constant watch kept by Inari and Calian. Sango and Miroku had made their way back to the village, escorted by Dyani and Shiriki.

Sesshomaru kept his own vigil, far enough from the group to remain unseen. For the sake of Rin, he told himself. He had heard much of the conversation and was intrigued by the bond between the miko and the Phoenix. He had never heard of such a thing, a hanyou that had every appearance of being full yokai with the ability to wield reiki without harm. Likewise, he had never heard of a miko who could wield yoki yet remain pure. Perhaps this Phoenix was the one he was fated to? She was certainly strong enough to capture his attention…

The Inu closed his eyes to relax and found his thoughts haunted by eyes of ever changing shades of blue.

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A/N: Maybe I can delve further into the story before another year passes… It's certainly been running through my head enough. I currently find it difficult to read anything else, if I'm being honest. (and I'll admit, diving head first into other stories is usually how I escape the difficulties of everyday life. Not exactly the healthiest way of handling things, but for now it works.) As with previous chapters, the devil's in the details… Some things are not what they seem! There should be another chapter before long, but for the sake of my constant editing I won't put a time frame on it. (I've read back over this one and changed things 5 or 6 times, now. I can't go back over the rest just yet because I know I'll find stuff that can be worded better or done differently or any number of changes and I'll get annoyed with myself because I can't go back and edit everything a million times. I mean… i could, but the thought makes my brain hurt.)