this piece had been edited once again by Fuwas, doumo

"Gomen ne, Higurashi-san, we scared you and your friends." Akane said, apologetically, to Kagome as they walked together to a nearby hot springs together with Sango and Shippou.

Kagome shook her head and said, "Nantemonai. It's okay. By the way, how did you guys get here, Tendo-san? I forgot to ask."

The trouble had taken the rest of the day to sort out that they decided to set up camp in the same clearing after securing Happosai tightly to a tree with thick vines and Miroku's questionable incantations.

"We got here by way of a magic mirror..." Akane trailed off hesitantly.

"Go on." Sango urged her, finding the story fascinating.

"Ranma and Happosai were fighting so much that when we finally stopped time-traveling... the mirror slipped from their grasp and the mirror shattered causing the shards to scatter." She said sadly.

"Ranma? The girl you were with?" Kagome asked.

Akane nodded with a grimace and turned to face Sango who started muttering something.

"If it's scattered about in the place where you landed, maybe we could find it and send you back to your time." Sango offered eagerly.

"Unfortunately, we tried that as well but only found some big pieces and we need to find the smaller pieces that would fit in between." She sighed.

They had reached the pond and undressed in silence, each lost in her own thoughts while Shippou took the opportunity to whistle for Kirara and together, they settled in the small, shallow hot spring.

After a while, Akane spoke up, confusion and hope coloring her voice. "Ne, Higurashi-san? How did you get here?"

"Ano... ah... sorewa..." Kagome sweat-dropped trying to find the words to explain.

"She came to us from a well connecting your world and ours." Shippou spoke up. Sensing he got everybody's attention, he went on in an awed tone of voice. "She was the reincarnation of a miko who lived 50 years ago and she's now on a mission to collect the shards of a very important stone that contains magical powers, the Shikon no Tama." Shippou ended the story by pointing to the nearly whole pinkish orb hanging on a chain around Kagome's neck.

Akane looked wide-eyed at Kagome. "Oh my, you've got a very important mission and we are preventing you from your work. Gomennasai." She tried bowing and ended up dunking her head.

"Ano... Tendo-san, it's not like that at all. It's true that I came here from our world, but ..."Kagome's words trailed off, helpless to explain her mission further.

"Ne, Kagome-chan, do you think they could use the well to get home?" Sango contemplated.

"I don't know. But it's worth a try." Kagome said after a minute.

"Ano... Higurashi-san, if we ever managed to emerge on the other side, how will we find our way back? I mean, where do you live?" Akane asked a little bit embarrassed. if you guys remember, Akane's a little slow on the uptake: )

"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself fully." Kagome said smacking herself on the forehead. "Atashi wa Higurashi Kagome desu, 15 years old, currently in junior high and about to take the entrance exam for high school. I live with my grandpa, my mother and my kid brother Souta in the Higurashi shrine."

"My turn, I'm Sango, 16 years old, and the last of the line in a family of Demon Exterminators. That two-tailed fox-like creature is my pet demon, Kirara. A demon named Naraku had killed my family and we are on our way to collect more shards, because we had heard that it is likely that he has the rest of the shards, and defeat him."

"You can call me Shippou. I'm a kitsune traveling with Kagome-chan in search of the Shikon shards. My father had been killed by Youkais who had been able to get some shards to boost their power; but, he had been avenged and I'd been with Kagome ever since."

Akane looked at them interestedly. After a while, she finally realized that the reason they were looking at her oddly was that they were waiting for her to introduce herself. "Ano... Atashi wa Tendo Akane desu of the Tendo school of Anything-Goes-Martial-Arts. I'm currently studying at Furinkan High School and 16 years of age."

They all looked at each other and giggled until they heard a blood-curdling scream getting louder by the minute somewhere overhead. As one, they all looked up to find the girl called Ranma falling head-first in the middle of the spring.

With a splash, she landed and not a few seconds past, when a man emerged from the spot. He was wearing the same clothes and looked, oddly enough, a lot like the girl.

Collectively, Sango and Kagome let out a scream disturbing the forest calm while Akane let fly with an uppercut sending Ranma flying once again.

Glossary:

Ano – well..

Sorewa – that is...

Youkai – demon

Atashi – means I, used only by females (boku male form of atashi while watashi is the neutral)

Nantemonai – it's nothing