Kaede sipped her tea and watched Juanyu chop firewood for the day. It was nice to have someone else be able to tend to her daily chores. Shippou was too young; such a thing was beneath Miroku-san, and half the time Inuyasha couldn't be bothered.

Thinking of the hanyou, she was amazed that he was still alive after all. It was certainly a miraculous thing. And his imooto-san. She was everything that Inuyasha was not. Although according to Myouga, they were having an influence on each other. The old miko frowned when she realized that she hadn't seen either of them this day.

"Juanyu, does thee know what has happened to Inuyasha and Hikaru?"

He paused in his chore and faced her. "I don't know, Kaede-san. The last I had seen of them, Inuyasha-sama and Hikaru-sama were heading towards the forest," he pointed in the direction of the Bone Eater's Well.

She smiled and leaned against her home. So he was taking Hikaru to meet Kagome. A good idea. She just wished that she could be present for the first meeting.

"Where are we going again, ani-chan?"

"I'm taking you to meet Kagome and bring her back here. There are more Shikon shards to look for," Inuyasha replied.

"Uh-huh. Why then do we have to go into the forest to do so? Why doesn't Kagome live the village with the others?"

"Because she doesn't. I can't explain it well. It's better to show you."

"And why do I have to go? Can't you just go get her and bring her back? There isn't any reason for me to be present, is there?"

Inuyasha glanced at the hanyou girl. "Is something wrong, Hikaru?"

She blushed and turned her head to one side. "I'm just afraid that she might not like me. I mean, I have heard such wonderful things about her from the others…maybe it would be better if I had not come here."

Pain exploded in her head as Inuyasha hit her. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Don't be an idiot, Hikaru."

"Huh?"

"I'm doing this for both of you." He sighed. "Listen, I don't always go sentimental, but I have to say this. You and Kagome mean a lot to me. I want you both to get along. I think that it might be better if you two met before we rejoined the others."

She smiled slightly and said nothing for the rest of the walk. The siblings came upon an old well that seemed to be in an odd place. She got even more curious when she couldn't smell any moisture.

"Inuyasha, what's with that well? It doesn't seem like any well that I've come across before."

"That's the Bone Eater's Well. That's also how we get to Kagome."

He grabbed her hand and they both leapt into the well. As they reached the bottom, it got darker than it should be at midday. Then she saw little pricks of light, almost like stars. Suddenly she found herself in the bottom of the well, but it now was in some sort of building. There was also a rope ladder in here.

"Where are we?"

"At the shrine where Kagome lives."

Inuyasha easily leapt up to the outer rim of the well and Hikaru followed close behind. They were in a small building surrounding the well. She could smell unfamiliar scents coming from underneath the edge of the door in front of them. For the first time since she had met her ani-chan, Hikaru was afraid. She clutched the rim of the well for dear life.

Inuyasha saw her reluctance and gently brought her to his side. "It'll be all right, Hikaru. You're safe with me." Hikaru said nothing but gulped in reply. He smiled at her and opened the door.

Hikaru was surprised at what she saw. This was definitely a shrine, but none that she had ever seen in Japan. Also, the horizon was filled with strange buildings that defied everything she had known. And the scents that assaulted her nose nearly made her gag. Only Inuyasha's presence kept her together. He had been here before, and he didn't look afraid. She had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

Kagome trudged up the shrine stairs in silence. It had been over two months since Inuyasha had been swallowed by that fish youkai. And there hadn't been any word from the others that he might be alive. She stopped to force herself not to cry. She had to believe that he was still out there. Inuyasha had gotten out of tougher situations just fine. He had to come back. He had to….

She pushed those thoughts away and concentrated on getting home. Kagome had homework to do and a little bit of studying. Not as much as she use to, staying in her own time for more than three days had seriously helped her grades. But somehow, that didn't cheer her as much as it would have. She really missed Inuyasha.

Up ahead, she could hear voices at the shrine. Probably here to buy some charms. Strange thing was, one of the voices sounded like Inuyasha. Kagome shook her head. Now she was beginning to hear voices. She really had to get the hanyou off her mind.

Her jaw dropped as she stopped at the top of the stairs. She was either hallucinating or this was real. Inuyasha was standing only a few yards away from her, alive and well. "Inuyasha," she whispered.

It was loud enough that he heard her. He smiled in that cocky way of his. "Kagome! You're here!"

Tears welled up in her eyes and she ran towards him. She stopped when she was a few feet away from him. She could hardly believe it was him. All the pent emotions from over the past months burst out in one phrase: "Inuyasha, sit!"

Inuyasha hit the ground with a grunt and a thud. This hands twitched in pain. Behind him, Hikaru gasped and stepped forward to examine the rosary.

"So that is what this is for. The others told me that the rosary would only respond to Kagome's voice. But they didn't tell what exactly it did." She fingered the beads through her fingers, feeling the power that lay within.

"Huh? Who are you?"

The hanyou looked up and smiled at Kagome. "You must be Kagome." She stood and took Kagome's hands into her own. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you. My name is Hikaru, I'm Inuyasha's imooto-chan."

Kagome stared at her in bewilderment. "Sister? But how, Myouga said that you were dead."

"He misunderstood what our parents said. They simply said that she was gone and the damn flea thought that she had died," replied Inuyasha from the ground. He had propped his head up with his arms and was watching the two girls. "She only recently returned to Japan and was able to join me."

Kagome smiled in return to Hikaru's, "Well, I'm glad that you've come back. It must have been quite a shock to find out that Inuyasha was your ani-chan, neh?"

Hikaru nodded. "You bet I was. But we've been able to get along pretty well."

"That's good. Inuyasha has enough sibling trouble. It'd be terrible if he got any more," Kagome blurted out. She blushed and looked embarrassed. The hanyou didn't seem to pay attention to her last remark and instead Inuyasha stirred them to the house.

"Let's get inside. We'll head back tomorrow." The girls smiled and followed behind talking to each other.

In the house, Sota was playing a video game while Mom and Grandpa were enjoying some tea. They were all surprised to see Inuyasha again. Their surprise increased in meeting his imooto. They were invited to join the Higurashi family for dinner. The hanyou had no choice but to accept.

Later that night, Kagome was laying in bed with Hikaru on the floor in a sleeping bag. Inuyasha was settled sleeping on the couch downstairs. Although it was late, neither girl was tired. It had been an exciting day.

"So, tell me, Hikaru, what do you think?"

"Think of what?"

"Of me," Kagome said.

Hikaru was silent and rustled in the bag. "I'll tell you the truth if you do me the same favor."

"All right."

"I think that you are a very brave girl for standing up for ani-chan like you do. And I think that he needs someone like you there for him. You are willing to accept him for what he is; most people have distrust for anything not completely human. But you don't. I think that is a very good thing."

Kagome smiled and opened her mouth to speak when she saw Hikaru's expression. She was miffed about something and her ears were twitching. Kagome followed her gaze out of her window, but she didn't see anything.

"Kagome."

"Yeah?"

"What is that word again? The one that you use on Inuyasha."

"Oh. Sit."

Outside there was a yelp and a crash in the tree. Kagome rushed to the window and looked down. Laying on his stomach, Inuyasha groaned and stayed still for a moment before getting up.

Kagome twitched and was tempted to say the command again, but Hikaru's hand on her shoulder stopped her. The hanyou shook her head. They returned to their beds and continued talking.

"Thanks for that. I didn't know that he was out there."

Hikaru twitched her ears again. "I have the family ears. I can hear as good as he can."

The human smiled. "That's good to know. You know, I think that you're good for him as well. All his life he has known that Sesshomaru could care less about him. But now he has some family that does care about him." She was silent for a moment. "It seems that he's desperate for us to get to know each other. Do you know why that is?"

Hikaru nodded, "We both mean something to him for different reasons. Since that is so, it would be easier for him if we got along. He doesn't want to have to chose between us."

Kagome smiled and the two girls said goodnight. The light went off and they slept.

The next morning they were laughing together and Hikaru had Kagome's backpack on. They were all ready to go.

Inuyasha inwardly was relieved that they were getting along; but he was still annoyed by what they did last night. He was only concerned for their welfare and they acted as if he was eavesdropping on them. All right, he was willing to admit that he was eavesdropping, that was hardly just cause to use the command on him. He sighed and headed to the well. It was time to head back. Things were definitely going to change now, he could feel it. Maybe having Hikaru around would change their luck.