Sango woke up to the sound of someone rustling about. She was instantly up and on her feet, looking for the intruder.
"Good morning, Sango! Sorry to wake you, I was just looking for some things in my bag." Kagome looked up at her sheepishly. She'd really been trying to discreetly wake up her friend without it looking like that, but she hadn't meant to frighten her! Oh, well. At least she's awake now. She pulled out a math book. "I might as well get caught up on my studies while we're stuck here, right?"
"Oh. Um, sure. Studies are good, I guess." Sango had never been able to figure out what all the symbols next to the numbers in the books meant. Kagome'd tried to teach her once, but she just got too confused. "Can I get you anything now that I'm up, Kagome?"
"No, why don't you just stay in here for a bit? Shippou brought some breakfast in a little bit ago, I think it's over by the door."
Sango sighed and retrieved her bowl of 'oats meal'. Kagome was always trying to keep her in the hut with her, and while she loved her like a sister, she also liked being outside once in awhile! But she wasn't being fair. Kagome might be acting a little more like normal, but she was still recovering from her ordeal.
Inuyasha's voice came calling into the hut. "Hey, Sango! Think you could help us out over here?!" Shippou came hurtling in through the mat door and skidded to a halt next to Kagome. Sango sighed, quirked an apologetic smile at her friend, and bustled out to see what Inuyasha wanted.
"Oh, Shippou, are you alright?" Kagome hugged the little kitsune close.
"I'm ok, you don't need to worry about me! I'm a full demon, I can handle him!" Shippou puffed out his chest and she couldn't help but grin at her littlest protector.
"What would I do without you, Shippou?" All of a sudden they heard a lot of banging and Inuyasha cursing from outside. "What on Earth are they doing out there?"
"They're making a surprise for you, Kagome! Everyone knows you've been really sad cooped up in here for the last week, so we wanted to cheer you up!"
"Oi, brat, it's not a surprise if you tell her first!" Inuyasha stepped into room, glaring daggers at Shippou. He tried not to notice the way Kagome flinched away from him as he stepped a little nearer. "Can I take you outside, Kagome, so you can see your surprise?" he asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.
"Err, sure...I guess..." Kagome grabbed up Shippou in a hug so that he would have to take both of them. She was now recovered enough that she could wear her school uniform without it scraping against the last few remaining cuts; all that was still a problem were her two broken legs, which were in splints. Inuyasha picked her up gently, making sure he supported her legs so as not to hurt her too much. She gasped at the scene that greeted her outside. They had made a sort of bucket chair out of some extra clothes tied to a wooden frame with a long seat, made for some to be able to stretch out comfortably on. It was tied to a bunch of ropes and what appeared to be a harness lying next to it. Sango helped Inuyasha lower her carefully onto the seat and she knelt next to her friend while he went to get the rest of their things out of the hut.
"We know you're anxious to get home, and this was the fastest and safest way we could think of to get you back to the village. Kirara will pull you up with that harness, so you can fly in comfort without having to worry about your injuries. It's really quite comfortable, too! I got to give it a test flight earlier." Sango grinned at her friend hoping she would be pleased with their surprise.
"Oh, Sango..." Kagome's eyes glistened with tears threatening to fall. "I'm so sorry! I don't mean to be such a bother to everyone. You didn't have to go through all this trouble for me, I'm sure I would've been fine riding Kirara like usual if you guys were that anxious to dump me off at the well..." Like a dam burst, the tears started to fall uncontrollably and she buried her face in her hands.
Miroku rushed over to them and took one of her hands in his. "Lady Kagome! Do not think you are being a burden on us. We did this for you because you are our friend."
"We just wanted to bring you home, like you asked. You do want to go home still, don't you?"
"No, I didn't mean that!" Kagome jerked her hand back from Miroku and rubbed her eyes dry. "I mean, yes I want to go home. Thank you for doing this for me, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry; I really didn't mean to burst out like that. I don't know what came over me. But really, I'm not worth all this trouble..."
"Of course you are, Lady Kagome. This is part of what friends do for each other."
Inuyasha walked out of the hut carrying Kagome's giant bag on his back. "Feh. Are you idiots ready to go yet?"
Sango leaned close to Kagome and whispered in her ear. "Besides, this is the only way we could convince Inuyasha to let you travel." Kagome acquiesced, and before long Kirara was strapped up and they were on their way back to the village. She soon fell asleep lulled by the light rocking of her chair in the winds.
..
Kagome's dream
Kagome leaned against a tree, enjoying the bright morning sunshine. It was a beautiful day out and she'd come here to enjoy a picnic with her friends. No one else had arrived yet, but she was confident they'd be there soon. For now, she would just relax.
Soon Miroku and Sango appeared around the bend of a hillock arm in arm. Kagome smiled to see that they had finally got their feelings for each other out into the open. They didn't even seem to notice her; they were so engrossed with each other as they sat down at the picnic blanket. Well, if that made them happy, she could let them live in their little world for now.
Inuyasha followed soon after. She was just about to get up and pass out food when the shadow of another person appeared behind the small hill everyone was coming from. Inuyasha stopped not far in front of it, as if waiting for someone. Kikyou came around the corner cradling Shippou in her arms. Inuyasha's face lit up with joy and he gave her a small kiss on the lips before joining Sango and Miroku at the blanket.
"Inuyasha? What are you doing!" Kagome crumpled into the tree she'd been leaning against before. Inuyasha appeared to be ignoring her. "Inuyasha?" She ran over to him, ready to wrench him away from the traitorous witch. She grabbed his arm only to watch as her hand passed right through it. What's going on? She tried tapping Sango on the shoulder with the same result. I guess I'm just supposed to watch... She sat numbly back at her tree to watch the scene unfold.
"Mama, can I go play by the spring over there?" Shippou looked up at Kikyou with his cutest and most pleading eyes.
"Sure, Shippou. You know I can never deny you anything." She patted him on the head and smiled as he scampered off. Inuyasha put his arm around her and she leaned into the embrace.
"Isn't it wonderful now that we've killed of Naraku and his bitch? Everyone is so much happier now." Sango leaned over to Miroku for a kiss. "I can't believe we ever let her travel with us."
"Yes, with her gone we've all found our true loves. The jewel is restored and life couldn't get better."
"What about you, Inuyasha? Don't you miss her even a little bit?" Miroku asked curiously.
"Feh. Why should I? Bitch pretended to like me then turns around and mates with our number one enemy? She deserves worse then the hell I sent her to!" He spit on the ground.
..
Kagome woke up with tears sliding down her cheeks. They were still flying on their way to the village. They're right. I have no right to expect them to accept after what I did. I could have killed him, or at least prevented... but I didn't. We could be out gathering the last of the jewel shards right now, but I'm slowing everyone down. I'm just an unwanted burden to them.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this one up. I've been trying to get them up pretty quickly but moving into a new college kinda took up a bunch of my writing time . Thanks for everyone that's reviewed; they really help give me inspiration to write more! Next chapter should be up in a few days. Enjoy!