Inuyasha knows what she's thinking.

"Can't even smell it on the air, Kagome." He takes her pack and tosses it over his shoulder as they head toward the village. "I wouldn't count on it today."

"I know," she says quietly.

For a bit they don't talk. It's still morning. The coolness of the autumn steadily tiptoes in, warning of change and giving the air a crisp feel, and Kagome shivers. And as she does, she recognizes that the autumnal warning would be less daunting with Sesshoumaru near.

She wraps her arms around herself.

Inuyasha sighs. "I know you miss him."