A/N: Thank you so much to all who have reviewed my story! I am so so so so so so (times infinity) sorry I took so long to get this chapter up, but I have been very busy. The good news is that this story is done on my computer, and now all I have to do is refine it and post the rest!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

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"Shippo!" Kagome cried in warning. The kitsune had just enough time to dodge a blow aimed at him. Kagome searched frantically through her backpack for her bow and quiver of arrows, to no avail. She recalled that she had not grabbed them in her hasty departure from Kaede's hut.

"Sango, I left my bow at Kaede's!"

"Don't worry Kagome, I can hold off the demon while you go and retrieve them. Just hurry!" Sango threw her hiraikotsu, but the demon was able to dodge it. The demon-slayer's movements were awkward and delayed because she had been unable to change into her battle clothing. The Kimono she wore was very restricting, and Kagome knew that Sango wouldn't be able to hold the demon for too long.

Kagome ran swiftly towards the village, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder to see how her friends were doing. She needed every second devoted to running. The bamboo mat serving as the hut door was down, and Kagome shoved it aside as she made way for herself. Kaede was not in the hut, and Kagome was glad; it would save a lot of explaining. She found the bow and arrows where she knew she had left them. Quickly she threw the quiver onto her shoulder, grabbed the bow, and dashed out of the hut.

The return run seemed longer than usual, and the thought of all of the terrible circumstances her friends could be in was driving Kagome half mad. Finally when it seemed she would never reach the battle, she broke into the clearing that held the well. The sight that met her eyes was better than she had envisioned, but still in no way good. InuYasha and Miroku were still unconscious, and it looked as though Shippo and Kirara had joined them in that state. Sango was unharmed, but she looked worn. Each time Sango threw her hiraikotsu it missed the demon.

"Sango!" Kagome called to her friend. Sango did not turn to acknowledge Kagome, but Kagome knew the demon-slayer had heard her. In aid to her friend, Kagome fired an enchanted arrow, which missed the demon but served as a distraction. The demon stopped long enough for Sango to land one good hit with her hiraikotsu. The boomerang sheared the demon's tail clean off. A wave of nauseating stench hit Kagome and Sango like a brick wall. The smell that had been bad before now became unbearable. Kagome began to cough and choke as the demons puss-like blood spilled forth from its wound. Sango put on her protective mask before tossing her hiraikotsu again. Kagome found a handkerchief in her backpack and tied that around the lower half of her face as a makeshift gas mask. Then she loosed another purifying arrow, which struck true in the centre of the demon's head. With a hideous cry of agony, the demon fell, yellow-green puss oozing around its corpse.

"What happened?" Kagome asked of Sango with a voice muffled by the handkerchief. Sango wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Shippo fainted right after you left, and Kirara not long after Shippo. I think the smell was too unbearable for them!" Sango replied with an equally muffled voice. "I think we have to get them away from here, they won't wake up with that horrible smell still in the air!" Kagome nodded, grabbing the still-unconscious InuYasha by the wrists. InuYasha's chest was exposed and bared for all the world to see. Kagome blushed with the modesty that InuYasha should have felt. Sango grabbed her fiancée by the back of his robe's collar. She was not gentle as she carelessly dragged the monk over rock and pit. The handkerchief hid Kagome's amused smile. Miroku was getting his punishment from Sango even while unconscious. It was a long and trying walk to get away from the demon. They were a good five hundred metres away before the stench died enough to become bearable. They set the "men" down before returning for the demons.

Several minutes after they had been relocated, Miroku and InuYasha began to show the beginning signs of wakefulness. Shippo twitched and Kirara growled, but they showed no other signs of waking. Sango and Kagome removed their masks, and Kagome threw one of her spare uniform blouses over InuYasha to cover his exposed breasts. InuYasha's eyes blinked open and he sat up, stretching. The white shirt that had kept him covered fell into his lap.

"Oh, Kagome!" he said, noticing the girl sitting in front of him. "I just had the weirdest nightmare where I was a woman…" A strand of raven-black hair fell over his bare chest and InuYasha looked down. He groaned. Kagome playfully tugged his hair.

"You're living that nightmare, dog-boy! The least you can do is have the decency to cover up." InuYasha growled as he pulled Kagome's school shirt over his head.

"I thought I told you I was never going to wear girls clothes?"

"It doesn't look like you have a choice, InuYasha." Sango noted.

"Au contraire, Lady Sango. InuYasha always has a choice." The three "women" had not noticed their perverted friend awaken, but he was quickly silenced by Sango's outraged fist.

"Are you implying that he walk around topless!" she demanded. Miroku decided it would be safer not to answer. At that moment, Shippo and Kirara chose to awaken. The little kitsune yawned and the twin-tailed cat mewed softly. InuYasha took this as his cue to stand up. He looked very peculiar with his hakama pants and modern day sailor-uniform on.

"Alright, let's go!" he commanded, once again eager to get going. Usually this command would be followed with pleas for a moments longer rest, but today it seemed like a good idea not to argue. They did not want to meet up with another demon. They all nodded their agreement, and Sango, Kagome and Shippo mounted Kirara. Miroku and InuYasha both volunteered to walk. Few words were exchanged that day, as all energy was put towards the effort of walking.

That night everyone slept lightly, for no one was exceptionally tired. At dawn the group again departed, making sure to leave no trace of their camp. Many days and nights were spent in this way, and it would be tedious and boring to write about the uneventful walking. On the fifth day, the group reached the mountain that was their destination.

"I thought Kaede said this trip was going to be long and difficult? What an accurate description that was!" InuYasha broke their silence, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Perhaps it was more dangerous before the jewel was mended?" Miroku suggested.

"Whatever, but it sure is making this journey boring!" InuYasha huffed. (Me: o yawn. It sure is making this chapter boring too!)

"Hey what does that say?" Shippo asked, tugging on Kagome's sleeve. A few metres away Kagome could see a sign, with kanji painted on it in blue.

"It says 'Hot Springs'!" Kagome announced. "Oooh, can we stop her InuYasha, please?" she begged.

"No!" InuYasha said angrily. "We're way too close to that witch's domain to take a break! If we hurry we can see her by late afternoon, and I'll be myself again by sunset!" Kagome felt it too cruel to ask InuYasha to stop when he was so close to his goal, so she did not ask again, and the group continued on. InuYasha seemed to have a spring in his step, now that he was so close to his goal.

They hiked up the mountain, filled with a new resolve. Everyone was on foot now, and the tangled undergrowth made for slow travelling. This did not seem to hinder InuYasha though. He pressed forward with just as much determination as he had had for the entire trip.

Halfway up the mountain the trees became less densely packed, and although the undergrowth was just as tangled and thick, it made travelling easier. Kagome turned around to admire the view and gasped. All of Japan was set before her, and she took in every inch of it. The lush green forests, the rolling hills, the tiny villages, all of it looked like a land out of a fairytale. Sango turned at Kagome's side to look for what the schoolgirl was so in awe of. Miroku and Shippo were still making their way up the mountain behind them, and InuYasha was far ahead.

"Hurry up!" InuYasha yelled, when he saw how far behind him they were.

"Oh InuYasha," Miroku said placidly, "let the women rest for just a

moment. In fact I'm sure we all could use a…" Miroku's foot caught on a

tree root and he fell forward with a yelp. His hand landed squarely and Sango's breast. The demon-slayer's face flushed with anger. Miroku looked up and saw her face. He was quick to jump back. "Sorry Sango, act of God!" Kagome and Shippo snickered while InuYasha looked impatient.

"Pervert!" the demon-slayer seethed. They continued to walk again, silently, and Sango kept a safe distance away from the lecherous monk she was to marry. The other three travellers could feel the friction between the couple. Finally the group reached the summit where there was, as expected, a small dreary little hut built into the stone. It was more or less a cave, with a thatched overhang and bamboo door, both decorated with charms and shells, and other ornaments. A small pool of murky green water and an herb garden sat in front of the dwelling. Blowing in the gentle breeze was a scroll that was tacked onto the overhang. Sprawled down the scroll was some muddled kanji that looked like it had been written as an afterthought.

InuYasha was the first to reach the script and ripped it from the overhang. He scanned it quickly and a look of total shock took over his face. He stood there, stunned, unmoving even when Miroku took the paper out of his hands to read it for himself. A displeased and confused frown creased his brow. Sango was next to read it.

"That's not fair!" she said after reading it. She passed it to Kagome who looked it over and then laughed bitterly at the irony. Shippo, who could not read very well, was unable to decipher the messy calligraphy, but was unhappy to be left out of anything.

"What does it say!" he demanded. Kagome read it aloud:

"'To whom it may concern; it seems that casting so many enchantments has taken its toll on me. I have taken up rest at the 'Hot Springs Inn' at the base of this mountain. If you have great need of me, you will have to wait until my aching bones have had their soak. I should return in a fortnight. Tsuichikara'" Shippo was still puzzled, but refused to allow anyone to realize it. He did his best bitter laugh, but the sound that came out was more like a snort.

"You think this is funny, you little rat!" InuYasha's tiny nose was in Shippo's face in an instant.

"N..n..no!" Shippo stammered. How was it that even in his small female body InuYasha still managed to intimidate him? Kagome sighed.

"Looks like our sorceress has 'gone fishin'!"

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A/N: I'm not going to beg for reviews this time, but you know that I really appreciate them. If I get a lot of reviews, I will write more, and update faster. If you want me to, tell your friends to read and review, so that I will! This story is almost over, so I have to ask; don't you want to know what happens? Midori

P.S. If anyone can tell me what 'chikara' means (I used it in Tsuichikara, the witch's name) you win brownie points! I know what it means, and yes, it is Japanese! Just take a guess and tell me what you think it is in your review! I will reveal the answer next chapter.