Chapter 17: Now Or Never


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Finally, Kagome had finished packing. Sure, it had taken her and her mother almost an hour, but at least it was over now. She let out a sigh as she swung open the front door, wishing she hadn't had to waste away so much time, not that she had anything important to do… no shards to find..

But still, if it had just been her alone packing, she could have been done in 5 minutes. Hell, after all the experience in packing quickly, she probably could set a world record by now. But it wasn't just her, and with her mother there, she was forced to constantly explain things.

Such as why exactly her nightlight (from when she was five, mind you) was not a necessity in Fuedal Japan.

Half-way out to the shrine, where her friends were waiting, more than likely quite impatiently, she turned around to flash her mother a smile.

"Bye Mom!"

Mrs. Higurashi waved from the doorway, "Oh bye, bye sweety! Have fun... are you sure you won't be needing that nightlight?"


"Um.. Pretty sure mom", her voice died out as she entered the shrine, shutting the door behind her.

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were all sitting on the lip of the well, looking none to happy.

Inuyasha scowled at her, "Its about time!"

Miroku rose from his seat, leaning on his staff for support, apparently still a little weak from dieing. "What took so long?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned her head in the direction she had came as if it should explain everything. "My mother.."

"Can we go now?"


Kagome nodded to Sango, "Of course.", she answered, joining her friend's on by the well.
Sango stared down into the murky darkness of the well, still a little new at this.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Looking quite thoughtful, Kagome considered this a moment. Sure, it had worked once, but, would it work again? Or was it just a fluke or something?

"well… last time me and Inuyasha carried you guys through...you can't jump through on your own… so I guess we should do like we did last time.."

A grown came from the inu hanyou, "I have to pick up the bouzo again?""


Kagome crossed her hand's over her chest, annoyed at his whining, "Would you rather I did it?", Well, the line worked last time.

Without warning, Inuyasha grabbed the monk and slung him over his shoulder, again.

Caught off guard, Miroku let out a noise that sounded a little too much like a yelp.

"Hey!"


"Shut up Lech and hold on!", not even bothering to look back, Inuyasha plummeted into the well.

With Inuyasha and Miroku taken care of, Sango looked to Kagome, "So… I guess you have to pick me up now?", Sango looked into the well apprehensively, she really wasn't all too fond of jumping through time, or into well's for that matter.

"I guess so.."

"So… what are you waiting on..?"

Kagome flinched as memory's of what happened last time she and Inuyasha did this went through her head.

"Because of what happened last time… I'm gonna give them time to get out of the well, so we don't land on top of them."

The demon exterminator couldn't help but blush at the idea of landing on top of Miroku, even if she was unconscious when it had happened. She waited a few more seconds before saying anything.

"Has it been long enough now?"


"Lets hope so…", Without another word, Kagome grabbed hold of Sango and pushed them both into the well, she didn't pick her up this time, only grabbed onto her, figuring is should work just as well.

She smiled as she was surrounded by the familiar, eerie, yet strangely calming, lucid array of various colors, and the thick atmosphere that she had never been able to distinguish between air and water. How many more times would she get to see this? What if this was one of the last time's?

Shaking the thoughts away from her mind, resigned to just take things as they came, she braced herself for the hard landing that was soon to come.

Sango oofed as Kagome fell on top of her.

Kagome hastily got off of Sango, "Sorry about that.'

"It's ok, I'm fine..", Sango assured as she stood up, thanking kami that she was back in her own time, as was evidenced by the bright blue sky above her.


"Inuyasha! Come help us out!", Kagome called. Of course, she could get out all by herself like she usually did, but this was just so much easier.

~*~


"Thanks.", Kagome mumbled as Inuyasha sat her and Sango down on the ground.

Sango looked around, apparently noticing for the first time the absence of her two most prized possessions.

"Um, Kagome? Where is Kirara and my boomerang?"

Kagome plopped herself down on the ground, rubbing her neck somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, um.. It's the funniest thing, I kind of.. Um.. Forgot it back after I killed Naraku... and Kirara is with Shippo.

Miroku smiled Mishieviously from his spot leaning up against the well, "You mean after you chopped off his head?"

Kagome gave him a glare that could freeze hell, then melt it, then make it grow tiny little wildflowers with cute little bunnies frolicking about.

"No, after she hacked off his head", Inuyasha corrected, hoping to irritate Kagome and bring back a little normalcy… even he could tell how forced the conversation was right now. It didn't take a genius to realize there was really no logical reason for Kagome still being there, other than…

"Inuyasha? Why don't you just sit down.."

Inuyasha complied with her request, though obviously not voluntarily, muttering a string of curses all the way.

He spat out some dirt, and perhaps a small worm. "Why'd you have to go and do that for wench!?", sure, he had been making fun of her, but still, usualy he'd get a few more warnings before she snapped. She was probably just tense from… well, the obvious.

The subduing spell worn off, Inuyasha began to stand back up.

"Inuyasha, I was serious about um.. Taking a seat, so, don't make me say it again! "

Inuyasha sat back down, begrudgingly.

Noticing his sour expression, Kagome couldn't help but feel a little bitter. "What? What's wrong with just relaxing a minute? Got something more important to do?"

Inuyasha threw his hands up in the air as if she were the biggest idiot in the world,

"Well Yeah! Weve got jewel shards to-", his sentence died immediately as the realization of what he was about to say hit him, not to mention what it meant.

They didn't have jewel shards to find… So.. why couldn't they just sit down?

Still somewhat shocked by this revelation, he scrambled for an end to his sentence to see all three of his companions waiting for him to finish what he started.

"Er..em.. Feh.", boy, was he ever gifted with words.


Kagome gave an empty laugh, "Yeah Inuyasha, no more jewel shards… no more reason for me to-"


Before she could finish her sentence, Miroku quickly interrupted her,

"Have you decided what you are going to do with the complete Shikon No Tama, yet?", Miroku mentally slapped himself, in attempting to get rid of the subject of her leaving, that he definitely wasn't ready to face, he had only brought about yet another unhappy subject.


She gave Inuyasha a not so subtle glance, " … It depends.."

"But that's what you said last time!", apparently, Inuyasha didn't notice.

Kagome only smiled at him, wondering if he was just pretending to be niave for show, or if he was just really that dense. Did he have no idea that it was he who it depended on?


Not at all phased by Kagome's vague answer, Miroku seemed to have lost interest in the fate of the Shikon No Tama and was now attempting to grope Sango.

She gave him her famous 'You are such an unbelievable pervert that someday I will chop you up into little bitty pieces and feed you to Kirara Glare of DOOM!' followed by a somewhat shrill scream of 'Hentaii', and a slap on the cheek.


Miroku smiled far to happily for someone who might be fed to Kirara someday, "But Sango, my air rip is gone, and Naraku is defeated..", he reminded, ignoring his stinging cheek.

Sango stopped dead, and her famous 'You are such a pervert… ect. Glare of death' was soon replaced by the far more famous, though not in this time, or country, as the 'deer caught in headlights mask of pure terror'.

But soon that too was replaced by careful consideration. And then.. And then..

What the hell? Now that expression certainly didn't fit properly on Sango's face.

Oviously, Miroku noticed it too, as it was he that the expression was being directed at.

'Why is she looking at me like that? Grinning all goofy and stupidly, you know.. She looks almost… Oh my-she looks.. Lecherous!'


Sango continued to grin at him, lecherously.

Miroku still was trying his best not to have a heart attack from the shock.

Inuyasha and Kagome only stared at Sango, they had both saw that look before... too many times to count, only they had never seen it on her. And on her, it looked down right scary. Surely, surely this was the product of some kind of weird illusion.

"Miroku..", Sango started, the name sounding somewhat foriegn coming from her mouth, "Why don't we go and retrieve my boomerang and your staff.. together?", she suggested in what could only be described as a suggestive manner.

The color drained from Miroku's face, never before had he been this shocked, never. Go and retrieve their weapons? Sure Sango, real subtle. Not that he was much better at sublimalty, but then again, he never tried to be subtle.

Rememering that Sango was expecting an answer, he tried his best to stammer one out.

"Um-Yes, sure, Sango! Weapons, us, get! Yes! Now! Of course!", gee, Miroku was just so smooth
The demon exterminator stood from her spot, her hand extended to Miroku.

Miroku (very) happily took it, now grinning like an idiot.

And then the two began walking merrily into the woods.

"We'll be back soon.", Sango yelled to her gawking friends as she made her way deeper into the forest.

Somehow, Kagome doubted that very seriously upset.

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Kagome and Inuyasha shared looks of pure stunned amazement, both sufficiently traumatized for life.

Kagome cast an uncertain glance in the direction Sango and Miroku had went.

"You don't think they're really just going to get they're weapons, do you?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and pointed in the opposite direction of where Sango and Miroku had went, "The weapons are that way. Besides, I'm the only one who could find the place from here, and they know that."

"Oh..", Kagome smiled somewhat sadly, though happy for the other two, part of her couldn't help but wonder why it couldn't be that easy for her.

Inuyasha smirked, "Can you imagine what their kids are gonna be like?!", he shuddered involuntarily at the idea of little Miroku's running around asking anyone who would listen to bare their children

Kagome grinned slightly, but resolved herself to not get off subject. She was done procrastinating, the time had come and it was no or never.

"Inuyasha, we need to talk.."


A.N_____________________________________________________________

Revised/Edited/Official Version. 5/6/03. Thank you for reading my story.

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