If Kaede was surprised to see Miroku and the others, she did not let it show. She merely welcomed them into her home with her usual combination of hospitality and exasperation and left them to share the story of what had happened if they so chose. Her attention, however, was first and foremost fixed on patching up the injured members of the group.

"You should see to Inuyasha first," Miroku said. He did not particularly relish the thought of Kaede poking and prodding at his arm, which was already sore. "His injury was worse."

Inuyasha disagreed. "Hah."

"Inuyasha heals much faster than you because he's half youkai," Kagome cut in, speaking much more gently than Inuyasha had. "His injuries might have been worse to start with, but he was already healing before the fight was even over."

Miroku made a show of perking up. Having the tender attention of one woman was well and good, but two was even better. "Why, Kagome, were you worried about me?"

"Of course she was," Sango said. "We all were."

It was a perfectly acceptable answer, if a bit disappointing in its blunt matter-of-factness. No matter that it had long since become obvious that Kagome's heart belonged to Inuyasha and no other, the easy dismissal of any potential interest in him stung… even if it came with the admission that Sango had also been worried.

"I will start with the monk, then," Kaede decided, "and then see to our ill-tempered friend."

"Hah," Inuyasha repeated. But he seemed perfectly content to let Miroku undergo examination first.

"Let's get this over with then," Miroku said with a sigh.

Kaede took her time, taking in the full extent of the injuries and of Sango's attempts to put things back in order. "You did well," she told Sango after a long period of tense, silent deliberation. "There is only a little infection. If not treated properly, this could have become very bad. Instead, it is healing as well as could be expected."

Sango seemed deeply relieved to hear this. As a fighter she of course would have been trained in the basics of battlefield first aid, but must have felt that this was at the limit of her abilities. She had certainly been self-deprecating each time she had checked on his condition on the way here; perhaps that had not merely been for humility's sake.

"Keep the wound clean and take it easy for a few days," Kaede went on, "and keep using that sling. This will aid in your recovery."

He thanked Kaede and let her help him get his arm back in the sling, which they had been lucky to find in Kagome's first aid kit, but he was even more grateful when she turned her attention to Inuyasha. Kaede was a good ally, but she was much more difficult to impress than the rest of the group and she often made Miroku feel like he was about to be scolded, even if the scolding never came.

With things settled to her specifications, and probably in no small part because Inuyasha was now preoccupied with being Kaede's patient, Kagome announced, "All right then, I'm going home. Okay?"

"Shut up and go already," Inuyasha told her. Fortunately, he did not try to get up and chase her away or any other nonsense. He stayed where he was, a surprisingly complacent patient under Kaede's stern eye.

This was not a great way to send Kagome off, but Inuyasha seemed oblivious to her mood lately. In fact, he didn't even bother to look. If he had, he would have seen what Miroku and Kaede did: she was not pleased at all.

"You two do nothing but fight every time you visit," Kaede observed, being well above complaining about such things.

Miroku envied her that air of detached objectivity. Then again, she did not have to travel with the bickering couple. She knew that sooner or later they would be on the road again, and out of her hair.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Kaede!" Kagome said with obviously false cheer. And with that she ducked out the door, hauling her enormous backpack with her, and was gone.

Into the ensuing silence, Shippou declared, "That's not a very nice way to bid her farewell!"

"What're you looking at me for?" Inuyasha demanded.

"You could consider being more polite to Kagome," Miroku pointed out. He wondered suddenly if taking it easy, per Kaede's orders, would mean not going into town—if it meant he might be stuck here with Inuyasha until he had healed. Surely not, right? He had walked all the way here, after all. And it wasn't like Inuyasha would just hang around Kaede's the whole time Kagome was gone… The only person Miroku was fooling was himself. He was going to be stuck with a grumpy hanyou at least part of the time, whether he liked it or not.

Meanwhile, Shippou seized the opportunity Miroku had presented. "Yeah, if you weren't always so mean to Kagome, she wouldn't be leaving right now!"

"Bah, who cares?"

"One day you're going to chase her away for good!" With this dire prediction, Shippou could stand it no longer, and took off after Kagome.

If Inuyasha was worried about that possibility, he didn't let it show. Miroku shook his head. Someday he would learn that affecting indifference was no way to win over a woman. Today, alas, was apparently not that day.