I didn't realize how long it's been since this was updated! Sorry about that!
We learn more about the relationships between Kagome and her friends in this chapter. I adore the relationships between Miroku/Kagome and Sango/Inuyasha, and let's face it, Sango is such a badass that she is clearly the strongest of them all, minus Inuyasha's demon powers. You'll see a lot more bonding between them all if I ever get a sequel finished!
Kagome's ears were ringing and her head spinning as consciousness slowly returned to her. The concussion had been healed the same as the wound, though the effects still lingered.
"mfgodme!"
As the ringing began to subside, she realized someone was speaking to her. She kept her eyes fully shut, however, waiting until the ringing steadied before opening her eyes and being met with Miroku's worried face.
"Roku?" She murmured, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her.
"Kagome, thank the Kami. I've been calling your name for a few minutes now. Are you ok?" Barely, the ex priestess could see the man she considered a brother was tied very well to a thick, wooden pole, his hands and arms firmly roped into place. Her own, however, were tired almost loosely- enough to keep her upright.
"I'm ok," she responded, wishing the ringing would finally go away completely.
"I had a concussion- long story. Inu healed me but the effects haven't disappeared yet." Miroku frowned at the mention of concussions, but didn't press. "If you're here; then that means Inuyasha and Sango will be hot on our heels."
"Sango was frantic when she came to us, she thought Inu could track you."
"Ah, my brave and strong love, worrying so fiercely over my disappearance."
Ignoring his gushing over Sango, Kagome was relieved when the ringing finally began to dissipate. "How did you end up here? Sango said you just vanished." The monk let out a dramatic sigh. "Sango convinced me to do one last job before the wedding. I agreed against my better judgement, and now I'm certain it was a trap, I simply do not know why."
"A trap?" Kagome glanced around the room, examining the surroundings.
"Yes, I was taken almost immediately. At first I wasn't sure why, but when you were misted into the room by whatever has taken us; I started to suspect it could be our spiritual powers."
"What makes you think that?" Miroku shot her what could be considered a scathing look.
"Compared to our respective partners? We're practically useless Kagome. I'm wedding a demon slayer in less than two weeks and you're the wife of a powerful half demon. Besides our spiritual powers, we're essentially bait!" He looked so incredibly offended by being bait that Kagome began to giggle.
"And there's the little matter of the bodies." Kagome's laughter stopped instantly. "What bodies?!"
"The bodies of monks, priests and priestesses that line the walls behind you." Kagome swallowed hard at the thought of bodies behind her.
"I guess that is ample evidence." She managed to choke out. She struggled a little against her bonds, testing them, and felt the rope give a little.
"I guess our kidnapper thought I was badly hurt; I think I can get free here." She struggled a little more and felt the rope begin to give more.
"Hurry Kagome! Maybe we can escape here without being bait!" She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she slipped free, making her way over and beginning to untie the rope binding Miroku.
"My my; it seems my snack has escaped! You were out cold and covered in blood, how did you ever manage to escape my hold?" The voice belonged to a woman, beautiful in features and in dress. Skin smooth and milky white, hair almost blue it was so silver. Her lips were painted red, clothing made of rich cloth and clearly high quality.
"Who are you?!" There was no hiding the anxiety in Kagome's voice as the woman smiled slyly at them.
"I am the goddess of power, Seishin. I was so fortunate for one such as you to cross my path. I normally only need a few spiritually gifted humans a year. The silly slayer and the monk here fell easily in the trap. But then… then I sensed you. The power you possess, so strong and vibrant, I could live off of you for years my love." She reached out and lifted Kagome's chin slightly with the crook of a finger.
"Her energy is bound to another, it doesn't belong solely to herself." Miroku blurted out, thinking quickly on his feet.
"Yes, I could sense that as well. Her energy is bound to another being just as powerful… a demon it seems. How unfortunate. Breaking such a bond to have all that power to myself will be difficult indeed." Kagome's heart began to race even more than it already was when the goddess mentioned breaking the bond. The goddess glided forward, bringing her hand up to hover over Kagome's forehead. The ex priestess let out a gasp as the goddess forced her to her knees, still holding her hand over Kagome's forehead.
"Let's see how strong the bond you share with this demon REALLY is…"
-0-
"Stupid, cowardly bullshit bunch of damn villagers!" Inuyasha was combining every curse he could in as creative a way as possible- Sango was almost impressed. They'd quickly dropped the medicine off to Kaede and headed for the scheming village. Thanks to Inuyasha's… unique, intimidating techniques, the villagers quickly confessed the job was a ruse to lure spiritually gifted individuals as sacrifice to a god in return for a plentiful harvest.
Inuyasha hated answers like that.
The only good news was the village's insight on the god, or goddess as it were. She apparently lived in the mountains north of the village, and consumed the spiritually gifted that fell in the trap.
On second thought, Inuyasha really, really hated answers like that.
"That explains why she went after Miroku, but why Kagome? Why go so far away from the village to kidnap her?" Kelala yowled in support of her mistress, flying low next to Inuyasha as he tracked Kagome's scent and hits of Miroku's when he could pick it up.
"Because these low level gods are fucked up, that's why." Inuyasha snipped.
"Still, something feels off here."
"We haven't found them so I can kick their ass yet, that's what's off."
"I swear this all feels so familiar. What did they call the goddess again?"
"Seishin, or something. Who cares? We got ass to kick!" He took a sharp left as the scent moved, noticing the mountain was a lot closer than before. They were so close.
"Wait a minute, Seishin, as in the goddess of power Seishin?!"
"Less chatter, more running." Inuyasha scoffed, yet Sango looked more worried than ever.
"Inuyasha, I take it you never heard the legend of the goddess Seishin? And how she devours spiritual power?"
Inuyasha was getting tired of these questions.
Sango explained as they ran. Filling him on everything she knew about the goddess. By the time she finished, they were at the base of the mountain. The scent was getting faint, prompting Inuyasha to crouch down on all fours, sniffing deeply while Sango watched in amusement.
"We're not far. You smell that Kelala?" The cat demon meowed in confirmation. "There's definitely a demon around here. It's faint, but I can smell it. Think you can keep up with me?" He smirked at the slayer and her companion. Sango narrowed her eyes and ran her hand through Kelala's fur.
"We can keep up no problem. You just watch us!"
"Good luck!" Was all he said before taking off up the mountain.
"Let's go Kelala!" They took off after him, turning it into a race up the mountain until finally, a clearing appeared. Lush, beautiful flowers surrounded a stunning manor home.
"They're in there, I can smell them!" Inuyasha booked it towards the house without a plan.
"Inuyasha wait!" Sango leaped off Kelala's back and tore after him, feeling the cat leap onto her shoulder after transforming to her smaller form. Inuyasha ripped the screen door open, hesitating for a moment to smell the air.
"Someone's dead, I can smell rotting corpses!" He covered his nose with his sleeve.
"You go first Inuyasha, I'll watch your back." Sango instructed as she pulled out her katana. He nodded and took off down the hallway, the slayer on his heels. Before they made it to the end of the hallway, he suddenly stopped and groaned, pinching his eyes shut.
"Inuyasha?! What's wrong?"
"Somethings wrong." He bit out. "Kagome's in trouble, I can feel it!" He took off around the corner, slashing open screen doors and covering his nose whenever the scent of corpses became strong. Sango took a moment to slide her mask around her nose and mouth to protect her. Finally, they came to the end of a long hallway, a strong spiritual aura and the distant sound of voices coming from the room.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha smashed the door down, both he and Sango recoiling from the scene they came upon.
Miroku was tied against a pole, trying to bend his hands to be able to reach the knot and free himself. Kagome was kneeling on the door, her face pale and eyes glazed over as a woman with silvery blue hair and pale skin stood over her, a hand over her forehead.
"Ah, so this is the demon that is holding my meal hostage."
"Let her go!" Inuyasha snarled.
"I think not. I intend to devour her powers, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!" What little restraint Inuyasha had snapped and he leaped forward, slashing claws and missing the goddess by inches as she left Kagome and avoided his blow. Sango raced to Miroku and slashed the ropes binding him, freeing him. He rubbed his wrists and tossed a smile to his fiancée before rushing to Kagome's side. Her skin was ice cold where Miroku held her wrists, and he knew instantly there was nothing he could do. Inuyasha, however...
"Inuyasha! Quickly, Kagome is in trouble!" Sango left her fiancé with Kagome and lunged at Seishin, missing by an inch as the goddess leaped aside. Her attack distracted the goddess, while Inuyasha leaped to Kagome's side, kneeling in front of her and cupping her cheek to look closely at her face.
"What the hell did she do to Kagome?!"
"We will distract the goddess, you must help Kagome! The goddess has attacked her mind. You'll have to save her from whatever has been done inside."
-0-
He peered at the sign in front of him, noticing the kanji for "sunrise village" with an arrow pointing left and a "river village" to the right. He sighed and started left, thinking and planning how long it would take him to return home, when a strong flare of spiritual power stopped him in his tracks. He peered back towards the sign, then spun around and headed towards the river village. The sun was hot over his head, but by the time he came across the village it had dipped further down into late afternoon. The village was quiet, the only noise being the occasional villager going about everyday tasks. He made his way through the surprisingly large village, noticing the weary glances and looks he was getting as he followed the aura. He approached the temple, only to be distracted by a loud series of grunts and a cry of "hiraikotsu!" Could be heard. Curious, he followed the sounds around the temple, and suddenly found himself gazing upon the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
She was young, a few years younger than himself, he guessed. Wearing a skin tight body suit and sparring fiercely with an older man who, by the body language and the way he was tossing instructions and criticism her way as they moved, was her father. To the side, The river village's priest was watching intently, a young girl with dark hair and excited blue eyes sitting neatly next to him.
"Well done Sango!" The slayer man stopped, hooking his weapon to his belt while the young woman, Sango, he figured, stabbed an enormous boomerang that was bigger than herself into the ground.
"Truely, your mastery knows no bounds master slayer, and the young lady slayer as well!" The priest clapped his hands together and bowed, the young girl at his side mimicking him before rushing to Sango's side, the two beginning to giggle immediately. It was then that Miroku realized the spiritual aura he had sensed was coming from the young girl. Curious, he stepped forward, intending to find out more about this interesting girl, and maybe inquire into who the beautiful slayer was as well…
Miroku could only watch in horror as Kagome's mind was invaded in an attempt to sever the bond with Inuyasha. No amount of struggling would release him from his bonds. So he moved to the next best options- his mind and tongue.
"You'll regret this." He hissed at the goddess, who gave him an amused smirk from her position.
"Oh? Pray tell how I'll regret this."
"The demon she's bonded to… he's a very powerful demon. You're no match for him." Her smirk faltered only slightly, barely a tick of her mouth before she turned her attention back to Kagome.
"Powerful or weak, it matters not, Monk. We all have weaknesses, it's only a matter of finding hers and using it against her." Miroku grit his teeth at her words, knowing Kagome had no training, no mental defense she could rely upon to protect herself. He'd known her since she was a young child, the image of her innocent, smiling face flashing through his mind. The priest had casually tossed out she was an orphan, dismissing her so easily that Miroku realized the fool had no idea of her true power, or how gifted she was. He decided then and there he would take her under his wing, watch out for her and protect her the best he could. He had no blood claim to her, or else he would have taken her home and claimed her as his sister then and there.
It was known the priest from the river village had a shallow reputation, but he hadn't realized it had been this bad. Sango was young, but she was bright. She too had recognized how special Kagome was, even if she didn't know why. She drew Kagome out of her shell, protected her, guided her as a sister would. Truly it was thanks to Kagome that the romance between Sango and Miroku had grown. (He couldn't forget that he fell head over heels for her the first time she slapped him for groping her) it was almost an unspoken agreement between them to look out for Kagome.
His only consolation was that Inuyasha surely had to know something was wrong.
-0-
She was running, endlessly running in place without ever really going anywhere. It was a forest, eerily similar to the one she lived in with Inuyasha. Except it was different- dark and cold, empty of life with shadows at every turn.
"Hello?" She called out when she finally came to a stop. Feeling nothing around her, an abscess of life. Her spiritual powers meant she could feel life, sense it all around her and Inuyasha's forest was nothing but life.
"Kagome." She spun around at her name, finding a man and a woman standing behind her. Their faces were blurred, none of their features clear to her, yet she had an idea of who they were…
"Mother? Father?" They simply stared at her with their blank faces, no movement to come closer, to embrace her, to tell her they loved her.
"We never wanted you Kagome. You were a burden to us. We left you because we didn't want you." Fresh tears sprung in her eyes as the cruel words pierced her heart. She felt a piece of her heart crack and fall away as they faded from her view, as if they had never been there.
"Mother! Father!" She called for them, running in the direction they had faded.
"Please don't leave me." But they were gone, just as she had been left behind as a child.
"I didn't want you either Kagome. You were even more a burden to me." She spun around again; this time coming face to face with the priest who had raised her… who had banished her for saving Inuyasha.
"I was the only one who didn't have an apprentice." He scoffed, his face also blurry and unfocused. "I had no choice but to take you in. I wanted a boy as a successor, someone strong to protect our village, not a nothing girl with no family." The tears were pouring down her cheeks as the whispers of the cruel things the villagers had called her surrounded her.
"But I was overruled. None of us in the river village was happy to have you. But better a weak girl than nothing at all." He began to fade from view, and another piece of Kagome's heart chipped away.
"We spent our lives keeping you safe."
The woman and man who appeared before her looked suspiciously like Sango and Miroku, their faces just enough she could make out their features, such as Sango's long hair and dark eyes, Miroku's ponytail and the golden staff he carried. Sango was shaking her head, staring at Kagome with a look of disgust. Kelala was on her shoulder, spitting and hissing at Kagome and arching her back.
"We've been trying to rid ourselves of you for years. I was the monk who was stuck teaching the useless priestess apprentice her defensive skills. We never wanted to be friends with you Kagome."
"We hate you." Sango finished for him. They faded away as quickly as they had appeared with one last hiss from Kelala.
She sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing over her broken heart as the scene around her began to change, a bright meadow filled with colorful, beautiful flowers. She could barely make out footsteps before her, but paid them no mind. Her heart was too broken, too shattered to care.
"Oi, wench."
Wait, she knew that voice. Opening her eyes, Inuyasha stood before her with a smirk on his face. But his face… it was clearer than the others, yet still blurry, only the gold of his eyes and bits and pieces of his features could be made out.
"Stand up wench."
Kagome's eyes widened in horror, her face red from her tears.
No… please not this. Not him. Anything but that. Please no.
His smirk grew and he held out a hand to haul her to her feet. She ignored it, staring up at his face and trying to focus on his features clearly. But… something was off.
"What makes you think you're so special, wench." His hand dropped and clenched into a fist when she didn't take it, his mouth turning into a scowl. She winced at the harshness of his tone, bowing her head and shutting her eyes. Around her, the flowers began to die, turning black and wilting as the entire field turned dark and began to fade.
Please, anything but this, her worst nightmare before her very eyes.
"You bound me to you. Shackled me to a failure of a priestess who wasn't even wanted by her own village. Why would I want you? Some useless priestess who can't even-"
"Iron reaver soul stealer!" There was a shriek, a thud and the voice of Inuyasha disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
She jumped when a pair of red clad arms with sharp claws wrapped around her middle. The arms only held her tighter, pressing her against a warm and solid chest.
"I'm here Kagome, whatever the hell that was is gone. You ain't alone wench." And then his warmth and aura flooded over her, the burning flame that was Inuyasha washed over her like a tidal wave, and she knew instantly that was what had been missing.
"Inu…Yasha?" She whispered. Her whisper was so quiet that even his demonic hearing could barely pick it up.
"It's me woman, I'm here." She pulled away and twisted to look at his face. His eyes were the same bright gold, his features clear and focused. She touched his cheek with her hands and he was warm, solid.
"Inuyasha?" She whispered again, this time a little stronger.
"Already said I was, didn't I?" He smirked at her, the same smirk she had been on the receiving end of a thousand times.
"Inuyasha!" She flung herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him as though her life depending on it.
And she suspected it had.
"I was all alone. They all left me here, and then you were here and-"She cut herself off and blubbered into his shoulder
"You ain't alone Kgome, I'll always come for you. I told you it was my job to protect you, remember?" She nodded into his neck, and he slid back from her slightly to each into his robes, pulling out something green…
She gasped as he held the jade pendant out in front of her, letting her admire it for a second and then sliding it over her head to rest against her collar bone. She'd completely forgotten about the pendant he'd had for her.
"Let's get out of here wench," he stood and offered her his hand, but this time his eyes were warm and golden, his aura washing over her and reminding her she wasn't alone, not anymore.
"You saved me Inuyasha," she told him as he pulled her to her feet. Around them, the meadow was alive and green, the flowers vibrant and colorful.
"Not sure why you're so surprised Kagome, it's a full time job at this rate."
-0-
When she opened her eyes, Inuyasha's arms were still wrapped around her, his skin warm where it touched hers. She was sitting in his lap, his body curled around hers, his cheek pressed against her hair. Something solid was resting against her collarbone.
"Kagome?" Miroku kneeled in front of her, his eyes full of concern. Inuyasha pulled back and let his arms loosen around her.
"Roku? What happened?"
"She tried to sever your bond with Inuyasha, do you remember?"
She did. Along with the cruel words she had used to do so. She patted Inuyasha's arm and started to stand, feeling him grasp her elbows and help her up.
"I think I can stop her."
"The hell you are woman!" Inuyasha held fast to her elbows. "You just had your mind attacked, you're in no position to fight!"
"I'm not going to fight her Inuyasha, I'm going to purify her." She slid one of her elbows from his hand and placed her hand over one of his, giving it a squeeze. Her blue eyes met his golden ones, pleading for him to understand that she needed to face her own demons.
"I swear I'll be ok, this is something I need to do. You have to stay back a little so I don't purify you too." Inuyasha grit his teeth, looking like all the world he wanted to argue. Behind Kagome, Miroku was shaking his head, begging the stubborn demon not to let his little sister do this.
"I'll be right behind you." He managed to squeeze out, trying to keep his voice even so not to upset her. She squeezed his hand again before letting go and stepping away from him. Miroku stepped up to help her, wrapping an arm around her body and letting her use him as a crutch. Behind them, Sango was successful holding off the goddess, a cut gracing her cheek and several wounds gracing the goddess. Sango had lassoed the goddess with a chain made of iron, ofuda symbols carved into each piece of the chain held the goddess firmly in place. Kelala was behind her, spitting and hissing as she backed up her mistress. Sango was breathing hard, but had a triumphant smirk on her face as the goddess glared at her. With Miroku's help, Kagome approached them both, catching their attention.
"So my little snack escaped after all. I underestimated you priestess, it will not happen again!" The goddess spit out, a trickle of blood running down her temple making her look fierce and angry despite the chains holding her.
"You will never get the chance." Kagome replied. She could still feel the pain of having her heart broken, the stab of the cruel words spoken to her before Inuyasha had put her back together again. She stepped away from Roku and approached the goddess, placing one of her hands on the goddesses cheeks.
"Hold her steady Sango." She held her free hand up and chanted a small prayer, causing a pink barrier to surround Inuyasha to protect him. He grit his teeth, but didn't fight the barrier. With her love safe, Kagome placed her free hand on Seishin's other cheek and closed her eyes. She channeled her energy, thinking only of the good, of the positive things required to purify one of evil. The goddess howled as Kagome's power engulfed her, forcing whatever darkness had taken root inside her to leave. The goddess howled and shook, until her screams suddenly stopped and she shuddered; a thick, black miasma leaking out of her body and forming into a grotesque creature with black eyes on the floor. The demon screeched and made a lunge to escape, but was paralyzed with a ofuda landed on its back and froze it, followed by Miroku's staff pinning it to the ground.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Sango hissed, still holding the chains firm.
"A demon of some sort I would imagine." Miroku replied, leaning down to studying the tiny, spitting demon.
Kagome let go of the goddess's face and Seishin collapsed, the chain loosening around her. Kagome slid down to her knees next to her, exhausted. She reached out and touched Seishin's face, her cheek warm and full of life.
"Kagome!" she waved her hand to remove the barrier, and instantly Inuyasha was at her side.
"I'm ok," she reassured him. "I'm just tired. It was deeper than I thought it was."
"How did you know?" Miroku approached, kneeling down next to them as Sango began winding the chain back up and removing it from the goddess.
"Do you remember how you used to tell me stories, Miroku? When you would come visit?" At his affirming nod, she continued. "You used to tell me stories of great heroes and priests banishing demons and purifying the gods. I knew I could save her from those stories, that she wasn't evil, just corrupt."
"How remarkable." Miroku whispered. Next to him, the goddess began to stir, all but Kagome tensing as the goddess opened her eyes and peered at them, revealing eyes the color of lavender.
"I'm free." she whispered, pulling herself upright and sitting in a billow of skirts.
"I can't believe I'm free." Her lavender eyes met Kagome's blue ones, and she smiled. "Thank you priestess, you have done me a great service." She waved a hand at Kagome, floating up to her feet.
"A blessing I bestow upon you. You will live a long and full life my child, one blessed by the Kami." She waved her hand again, and disappeared from their sight.
"Did… did Kagome just receive a blessing from a goddess?" Sango froze with the chain in her hand, her eyes wide.
"I… I think so?" Kagome's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Keh, she couldn't rid herself of that pesky thing alone? What a weakling!" Inuyasha scoffed, clearly not ready to forget what the corrupt goddess had put Kagome through.
"Can we go home now? I think I could sleep for a week." Inuyasha scooped her up in his arms and let her nestle down.
"Yeah, we sure as hell can go home now, we might never leave again in fact."
"Except for our wedding next week, right?" Sango cleared her throat and looked at him expectantly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah fine. We'll be there to see if the monk actually manages to talk you into marrying him." He smirked at Miroku, who sputtered out in protest.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Sango collected the tiny demon that corrupted the goddess, planning on worrying about it back at her village. She gestured towards the door as Kelala leaped onto her shoulder, and the four of them left together, stopping outside the beautiful manor for a minute to admire the flowers. Kagome was long asleep by then, her breathing slow and even to suggest she was very deeply asleep.
"Something I wanna to ask you monk," Inuyasha randomly blurted out as they walked through the meadow.
"Eh?" Miroku was curious, raising an eyebrow.
"What did Kagome mean by 'when you used to visit'?"
"Ah, that is a long story Inuyasha, but one you should certainly hear, so here's a short version." He gestured towards Sango before sliding closer to her and wrapping an arm around her back.
"I've known Kagome since she was a child, around 12 or so." He paused, staring thoughtfully at the slumbering ex priestess.
"The idiot priest at the river village had no idea how powerful she is. He just dismissed her as the burden orphan he had to train. I'm sure you've also noticed how strong her spiritual gifts are, Inuyasha. But, I had no blood claim that would overrule the guardianship of the priest, or I surely would have taken her back to my home temple to protect her from the temples in the cities." He paused again, a dark look crossing his features.
"You must understand Inuyasha, any number of the big temples would go to war for someone as strong as Kagome is. It's a miracle she wasn't discovered and taken away as a child. I surmise it's due to how poor the priest's training was, you may have noticed how… basic, her offensive skills are." Inuyasha scoffed, she wasn't a bad shot, but she certainly was no marksman.
"I came at least once a month to visit under the guise of making rounds to the villages. The priest was happy to pass part of her training off to me instead of doing it himself. Barriers are her true talent. I was forbidden from any weapons training, but we could practice her barriers to our heart's content. I believe it was the intent of the river priest to find a male apprentice as quickly as possible and leave Kagome only for shrine duties."
"It's very important Kagome slumber as much of her power as she can, to avoid catching the attention of the city temples. That is the best way to keep her safe, Inuyasha." The half demon nodded, his face suddenly twisting with anger.
"That's why they banished her as suddenly as they did. He found the perfect excuse to rid himself of her when she saved my life."
"That is also my suspicion, yes." Miroku confirmed.
"Son of a bitch village." He swore. "I swear if I ever come across that damn priest I'll rip his tongue out."
"I wouldn't stop you." Miroku shook his head. "When Kaede had told us Kagome was no longer at the river village, I feared the worst. Please, keep her safe. She means the world to Sango and I." Inuyasha looked him straight in the eyes, nodding towards the pendant on Kagome's neck. "She is the world to me. I'd die before I let anything happen to her."
"Good." Kelala leaped off Sango's shoulder and transformed, letting her mistress and Miroku climb aboard her back.
"See you both soon Inuyasha!" They both waved at Inuyasha and took off back to the slayer village. Inuyasha couldn't wave while still holding Kagome, but he waited until they were gone from sight before taking Kagome home.
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