The countryside flew past in a gentle green-and-brown blur. Kirara flew parallel to the road, following where Inuyasha led. For once, there were no signs of destruction anywhere. Everything they passed was peaceful and serene.

If only Inuyasha could be the same. But he was clearly agitated, in a hurry to get to their destination.

They had gotten a late start, much to his loudly and repeatedly voiced dismay. But the monk had been adamant—and Sango had agreed with him—that the people of that unfortunate village deserved a proper burial and rites. It had taken a while to dig the graves and inter the bodies, until Miroku's needling finally prodded Inuyasha into action, anyway. With the hanyou's help they had finished by midday, and as a compromise of sorts they had set off in good order after that.

"We're going after Kagome, then?" she asked. They had been on the road a while now, and had allowed Inuyasha to develop a substantial lead. It seemed safe enough to talk now, so long as they kept things quiet.

"Not that Inuyasha will admit it," Shippou quipped. "But we need Kagome! Without her it'll take forever to find any jewel shards, and Inuyasha'll be so grumpy he'll be impossible to live with!"

Sango watched for any sign that Inuyasha could hear their conversation, but she didn't so much as see an ear twitch. So far, so good.

"Now, now," Miroku scolded gently. "Any man would be grumpy to find he suddenly has competition for the woman he's set his sights on. Give him time to get used to the idea. Once he does, he'll at least stop acting like such an idiot, and there might be hope of Kagome forgiving him."

Up ahead, Inuyasha had stopped running and turned back to glare at them. His anger was palpable even at a distance as he shouted, "Would ya stop talking about me like I'm not even here?"

Suitably chastened—for now—they kept to safer topics of conversation for the rest of the day's journey. And there were plenty of those: what Kagome might be doing back in her homeland, how things were going in the village that was their destination, the finer points of staying comfortable during a long ride on Kirara's back.

It was late afternoon before they reached the village, golden sunlight softening everything to an almost unreality. It was a pleasant place, Sango thought. It gave the impression of having once been larger, or at least grander, but it was well-maintained if a little worn around the edges. She liked it there almost immediately.

Inuyasha led the way to a well-kept hut set aside from the other residences and, leaving Kagome's bicycle unceremoniously outside, ducked past the door flap. He did not so much as bother to announce himself in advance to whoever might be inside.

"Does he always do that?" Sango asked.

Miroku chuckled as he slid off Kirara's back. "Stomp around being rude? Usually."

From his place on the monk's shoulder, Shippou laughed. Sango just shook her head and dismounted.

"I heard that!" Inuyasha snarled from inside the hut.

"Now, now." The door flap was pulled aside and a short, plump, and decidedly old priestess emerged from the hut. "Ah, you did bring the monk and the child as well," she commented, and then her eyes fixed on Sango. To her credit, she did not so much as bat an eye at the sight of Kirara, who Sango knew made quite an impression with her twin tails and saber-teeth. "And who might this be?"

"This is Sango," the monk explained. "She is a youkai slayer. Kirara is her companion and partner in battle."

The priestess's gaze softened just a bit. "Ah, an excellent addition to your group, then."

What had she thought Sango was, a replacement for Kagome? Yet despite the rocky introduction, she couldn't quite bring herself to dislike the old woman yet. She had, after all, just been greeted quite rudely by Inuyasha. No one would be in a generous mood after that.

"Sango, this is Kaede," Miroku went on. "Younger sister of Kikyou, and kind enough to give us shelter in her home when we visit her village." Younger sister of Kikyou. Shippou had mentioned that Kikyou had died a long time ago and only recently been resurrected, but it was one thing to hear such a story and another to see evidence in the flesh. It was hard to imagine Kaede being younger than someone who looked very young and very much like Kagome.

"Indeed," Kaede said.

"I humbly beg your forgiveness for those of our number that abuse your hospitality," the monk said, with exaggerated sincerity.

Kaede looked equal parts amused and exasperated. Sango liked her already.

"Come in, then," the priestess told them, "the lot of you. We'll have to see if we can make room."

The hut was tiny inside, but cozy and meticulously maintained. The quarters might be a little tight, but there was really no question that there would be room for everyone. It smelled deliciously of herbs, which hung in dried bunches, and of whatever was cooking. Kirara, now in her smaller form, wound around Sango's ankles before slipping off to explore all the exciting nooks and crannies now available to her.

It reminded Sango with a pang of home. It wasn't her home, but it was a home, and she had been wandering without one for a long time now.

After everyone had settled in, Kaede came over to where Sango was sitting and took a seat nearby. "Tell me, child," she began, "how came you to travel in company with these ruffians?"

Sango felt suddenly stuck: unsure what to say, on the verge of being swept away by pain and grief she had finally almost managed to set aside. It was the first time she had been asked to share her story, and she was not ready to revisit what had happened. Fortunately her companions saved her from having to answer just yet.

"Ruffians?" Shippou asked, bristling a little. On Inuyasha such an expression would have been annoying, but on one so small and young as Shippou it was almost cute.

"You heard me. I did not misspeak." The old woman said it with such serene confidence that Sango found herself unexpectedly giggling. Kaede had seemed an unlikely match for Inuyasha and Miroku's antics, but it was already clear she had no problem dealing with them.

The monk joined in with an exaggerated sigh. "Today we are all misunderstood, Shippou."

"Misunderstood? Or seen clearly?" Kaede asked.

Inuyasha stood up abruptly. Scowling, he announced, "I don't have time for this." And then he was out the door and gone, no doubt heading for wherever he thought he might find Kagome.

With Inuyasha gone, Kaede said dryly, "Dare I ask what has happened to Kagome?"

"She didn't stop here on her way?" Miroku asked. "I assumed when Kirara returned that all was well, and Kagome had returned to her own land." Which meant this was the village where one could find the alleged time-traveling well.

"If she did, she went straight there."

"That's a troubling sign," the monk continued. "Before she left us, she and Inuyasha had quite the fight."

"Inuyasha and Kagome had a fight?" Kaede muttered. "That's nothing out of the ordinary."

"They fight all the time," Shippou agreed, "but this was different from their normal fights." He sounded quite upset. Sango hadn't realized quite how worried he was about the situation. Then again, he had been traveling with Inuyasha and Kagome much longer than she had, and must have a better idea of what was normal for the pair than she did.

"Different," the priestess mused. "Perhaps… but if she has gone through the well, there is naught to be done except to wait for her return."

"Inuyasha could go get her and apologize!" Shippou protested.

"Indeed. He could."

Even Sango knew he wouldn't do that. It would mean having to admit to wrongdoing, and he was far too stubborn for that. She had a bad feeling they were going to have to wait for Kagome to forgive him before she would come back.