Author's Note: Hello everybody, it's been so long! I've been busy with my Chinese fanfics and other things. Sometimes I wonder: do people even care about my story anymore? Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough! Sorry to say but this will be a short chapter, it's mostly transitional stuff, but I promise big things will happen later. I will be starting Romeo and Juliet in English in October, this is so exciting! Will this bring new element to the story, I wonder. This is all I have to say. See you all next time in my talk corner and, oh yeah, enjoy the story.
"When would she wake up, old woman?"
"When it's time for her to."
"What are you giving her Obaasan?"
"A paste made of medicinal herbs to help her feel better."
"Why you…"
Conversation drifted into Kagome's ears, it sounded like a young man and an old woman, but she saw only darkness before her eyes. She slowly opened her heavy eyelids. At first, she could only see blurry silhouettes of two people moving back and forth. Then, it became focused. The face of the demon prince, Inuyasha, edged close hers. "You're awake, sure took ya long enough."
Feeling tired, she didn't argue. Another voice chose to speak up just then. "Don't worry, Hime-sama. He didn't mean to be rude. He was very worried about you and kept asking me silly questions."
Kagome was now completely awake. She sat up abruptly, but the sudden movement brought a sharp pain across her body. Inuyasha scolded, "Lay back down and quit moving you baka! Are you too stupid to see that you have injuries all over you?"
Kagome followed his advice obediently, much to the hanyou's surprise. She turned her gaze to the old lady, her long hair was grayer than when she last saw her, and was tied behind her back with a white ribbon. She sat beside the futon, gently stirred something in an iron pot over the hearth. The white and red miko garments fitted comfortably around her plump body, and there was a black patch over her left eye.
"Please rest, Hime-sama. The paste will be ready shortly."
"You…remember me." Kagome said slowly.
"Aye," replied the old miko, "It's been very long, but my memories haven't failed me. I must say, you've grown into a very fine young lady, Hime-sama."
"No, please call me Kagome."
"What are you guys talking about?" Inuyasha, who was tired of hearing them talking about things he didn't understand, snapped.
"Now, now, Inuyasha, it's very rude for a young man to interrupt an elderly lady," said Lady Kaede calmly.
"Hey, how do you know my name?" demanded Inuyasha.
"I'm a priestess; how can I not know the name of the second son of the great dog demon lord?
Inuyasha turned his gaze back to Kagome, but before he could ask anything or make a rude comment, the old priestess interrupted, "Kagome needs her rest right now. I'll come in later to apply the herb paste to her wounds when it cools off. Inuyasha come with me to the garden. The cabbages need picking and I could use the strength of a young man right about now."
To Kagome's surprise, Inuyasha only "feh"ed and allowed himself to be shooed away by Lady Kaede like an obedient grandson. Kagome chuckled to herself. It's hard to imagine Inuyasha as anyone's grandson, let alone an obedient one.
Three days passed like this, with Lady Kaede coming in to apply medicine and change bandages on Kagome's wounds, and Kagome staring at the ceiling or sleeping the rest of the time. Inuyasha, for some reason, had disappeared all together. As hard as she tried to convince herself that she couldn't care less, she did miss him, but just a little. It's somehow too quiet and lonely without him barging in and out, snapping at people for no reason at all. Kagome would always close her eyes at these moments, trying to imagine the faces of Okaa-sama and Otou-sama, Souta-chan, and of course, her best friend in the whole world, Sango. How are they? Are they worried that she was missing? Was her father sending out troops to look for her? If so, then it must be a big hassle to the soldiers and the people who lived near by. Gomenasai, she apologized silently, gomenasai for causing so much trouble.
Sango sat down on the grass and leaned against the cool hard surface of a rock. She set her hiraikotsu beside her and sighed long and hard. She had been searching for three days, or was it four? She couldn't remember clearly, nor did she care. All she cared about was her friend's whereabouts. The sword practice, the dress-picking, and the feast now seemed like events from a previous life. It's hard to imagine that so much had happened in so little time. And of course, having a perverted, annoying monk at her side didn't improve her mood either. Even thought he knew the terrain rather well and always seemed to have one or two good advice handy.
"My dear lady Sango," the smooth, slightly teasing voice of Miroku rang in her ears, "We've been searching for days, it's now pointless to search any further. I think it's time we head back to the city. We need to gather some news."
"I agree," said Sango thoughtfully, "running around aimlessly in the woods is a waste of time when even the aerial search on Kirara turned out to be fruitless. They could be going in a complete different direction. We have no clue of what's going on in the capital. For all we know, it could be utter chaos. It's lucky we haven't met any soldiers, for even though I hold a position in court, it would've been very complicated to explain your identity. Besides, I should be reporting back to the palace now, or they would be out searching for me as well. But don't worry," Sango added, "I will keep quiet about you, Miroku. But you should continue to be in disguise."
"How very kind of you, Milady," Miroku smiled charmingly, "how can I ever repay you?"
"You can repay me by keeping your hands off my backside," Sango said grumpily.
"Will do," Miroku said as he removed the offensive hand, but not before earning a well deserved slap from the feisty taijiya.
And just like that, our comical (and violent) duo hopped on Kirara's back and flew towards the city.