Kagome was always a dreamer. And not just in the fanciful sense.

Every night, when she would rest her head to get respite from her- to put it mildly- hectic life, her imagination would run rampant; either distracting her from her difficult, dutiful existence, or strongly suggesting she analyze recent events without the limitations of her consciousness. Or both.

As a child, she dreamed of fantastic things. Creatures that did not exist, and lands that never were. Confusing and often nonsensical adventures would carry her from the dark nights through to the early dawn.

Ironically, when she actually began having such adventures in her real life, those light, and excited dreams stopped coming. Perhaps it did make sense.

Now that her waking hours were full of unbelievable and unexplainable things with increasing regularity, her mind did not see fit to supply her with such whimsy.

She didn't have nightmares, per se. Perhaps she had experienced enough horror in real life to remove those things from her slumber as well. Dreams were not supposed to resemble the waking world too accurately, after all. Throughout her time in the feudal era, her dreams had been coming more stressful.

She would often be chased, though she did not know by who.

A looming threat always seemed to linger and nip at her heels, but she could never be certain of what. Its presence was strong, and inspired her flight. But after all this time, she could never discern what it was that she was running from. She'd accepted that it was likely her brain supplying some kind of metaphor. But there had been so many threats to her safety and her sanity over the years, she had trouble narrowing down what her subconscious thought she was afraid of.

Intricate, and involved dreams would leave her weary upon waking. Though she usually couldn't remember the details, she simply had the feeling that she had just been put through the ringer. And for a long while, at that. When you stress in your dreams, it is hard to wake up feeling rested.

That was why this morning, when the sounds of movement within her hut stirred her awake, she initially was pleased to be coming to peacefully.

As per the norm, she could not remember what dreams she'd had. But the calm rejuvenation she experienced as she opened her eyes told her that perhaps for once, she had dreamed nothing. It was a welcome break. Especially with how things had been.

But her relief was short lived. Someone was in her hut.

She had fallen asleep alone, waiting for her roommate to return. And she certainly wasn't expecting Sango to be up before her. But apparently, she was. And she was relieved anew at the appropriate presence in the room.

Kagome yawned with a stretch, and plastered a cautious smile across her sleepy face.

She still wasn't quite sure how to handle the woman now; How she would be received. But she was nothing if not persistent. And tactful. And polite.

"Sango." The demon slayer seemed startled as she was distracted from dressing. She appeared to be getting ready for the day. Clearly, she had somewhere to be. Kagome was no longer so privy to the busy young woman's daily schedule. But really, there were only so many things to do, unless she had joined some sort of secret society nobody else knew about.

"You sure got in late last night," she began timidly. "Did you have a nice talk with Inuyasha?"

She was dying to know, so she prompted. But she refused to pry.

Sesshoumaru's cutting words to her the night before were still fresh in her mind.

He was right. It wasn't her business. She didn't need to insert herself into every little thing. But the two of them used to share everything with each other.

She hoped she would at least get her turn at a heart to heart; just as everyone else was seeming to get with her friend.

Her hope swelled when Sango regarded her sympathetically. It was the first time in days she had not looked at her with anger, and she was optimistic that things could finally start mending between them.

And when the demon slayer crossed the room, to pull her into a hug, she smiled in relief. She sighed as melted exhaustedly into the embrace; ignoring the awkward feeling of battle attire digging into her shoulder.

She was enjoying the warmth of the renewed comradery, until the woman's confession caused her to falter.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome."

They were the words she had been waiting to hear. What she felt she was owed, to be honest. But she wasn't expecting them to come so freely.

Sango grabbed her tightly, nearly squeezing the breath out of the much smaller woman as she explained herself.

"I haven't been myself lately, and I have been taking out on all of you. You most of all." Kagome ignored the discomfort at being handled so roughly. Because despite the pain of being crushed against the muscular huntress, the apology removed the large weight within her chest. She would have hugged back, but her arms were pinned to her sides, with no hope of escape. "The way I have been treating you is inexcusable. I hope you will forgive me."

Finally. She knew Sango would snap out of it eventually. The resentment dragged on longer than she had predicted, and was far harsher than she felt she deserved. But they were all under a great deal of stress lately.

She was more than willing to bury the hatchet. She just wanted this whole mess over and done with.

She smiled again as she gripped her back the best she could.

"Of course, Sango. We should never let a man come between us."

But when she made to extract herself, Sango held her tighter.

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

Sango removed herself only enough to look her straight in the eye, drawing more attention to how strong she had gotten recently. She really had been training a lot.

Kagome met her friend's intense, imploring gaze, and was mesmerized by it. Pulled into its orbit seamlessly, and for a moment, it rendered her incapable of reaction.

"I've always thought of you as a sister," she admitted. "And I hope you know that I would never do anything to hurt you."

The statement wasn't all that strange. But something about it just seemed off. Confusion, and suspicion was creeping into Kagome's aura, but the sudden appearance of the monk distracted them both from their reconciliation.

"Ladies," Miroku ventured cautiously from his place in the threshold.

He was trying his best to contain it, but neither could ignore the somber air about him.

Usually, the sight of the two women embracing would garner some lewd comment from the monk, or at least a suggestive joke.

But there was no mirth in his features, and Kagome could guess why.

Sango had declared her intentions with Sesshoumaru last night. Even if they did not come to pass, her motive was loud and clear.

And even though Miroku probably had it coming to him, Kagome still felt bad.

They used to be in love. Or at least it had looked that way.

And now the honeymoon appeared to be over, when it never really got to begin.

But in the end, Miroku had been exactly the man he had always declared himself to be. And as much as Kagome did not admire it, Sango should have seen it coming.

Maybe she loved him so much that she would do anything she could to make it work; to try and change him. Maybe she was just naïve; though it was hard for her to assign such a trait to the worldly demon slayer. Sango was only a couple of years her senior, but she seemed so much older than that. Living in these times tended to do that to you.

But Miroku had never made secret, or attempted to deny his lecherous ways. He had declared himself quite accurately, in fact. And when someone tells you who they are, you would do well to believe them.

Sadness blanketed Kagome at this realization. It seemed that Miroku was next in line for a one on one with Sango. And this would be the conversation that finally put their relationship out of its misery.

She only hoped that the couple could find happiness without one another. That the pack could endure this heartbreaking shift.

She hoped that even though they were not romantically involved any longer, they would still have each other as friends. As she hoped they all always would.

Sango spared a look at the man she had planned to grow old with, before turning back to Kagome, who was still in her arms.

"I need to talk to Miroku," she told her somberly; determinedly, commanding her full attention. "When I get back, I am here if you want to talk to me. I hope that you will."

"Of course," she assured her. Why wouldn't she? She would probably need a friendly ear after this.

Maybe that was why she was so eager to make up. She would need her best girlfriend to get her through this rough break up.

But Kagome didn't care what the reason was. She was only happy that they could be close once more, just like they had always been.

Sango pulled her in again for another crushing hug.

"I love you Kagome."

She didn't realize until then how badly she needed to hear that from someone. She had felt so isolated lately. So unappreciated. It looked like things were finally starting to turn around for her. She held in her tears as she smiled.

"I love you too."

With resignation, Sango finally retreated. She flashed Miroku a weak smile as she approached him, which he solemnly returned, and they walked off together.

Kagome watched them go sadly, before giving herself a shake. She had gotten a late start today, and there were a million things to do.

If she hurried, she could have breakfast ready for them by the time they got back.

She just finished getting dressed when Inuyasha alerted her of his approach, and entered her hut. She perked up at the sight of him.

"Good morning Inuyasha!" she greeted cheerily, and welcomed him inside. "You guys were sure out late last night." There was no accusation in her tone; it was merely observational. But she missed his nervous countenance as her curiosity got the better of her. Maybe her best friend would clue her in on what the hell was going on. "What did you guys talk about?"

Maybe it wasn't her business, but there was no harm in asking. If it was something she should know, Inuyasha would tell her. They were a team. And their investment, and concern in one another's happiness and safety left very little to secrecy.

But when she looked at him hopefully, she finally noticed his sad appearance. He was stiff, and his arms were crossed in front of him in a defensive stance. Sorrow, and nervousness radiated from his aura which was poorly contained. And in his eyes, usually so confident and sure, she saw fear.

Worry washed over her, and she instantly became very concerned.

She was about to ask what was wrong, but before she could, he interrupted.

"That's kind of why I'm here." He shifted on his feet, forcing himself to meet her gaze. "Can we talk?"

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It's funny how the brain works.

You spend your whole life speaking, hearing, reading and writing a language fluently.

Yet when someone puts words you know very well in an order your brain does not expect to hear them, it can sound like a foreign language.

That's how it was at first. Inuyasha was speaking Swahili.

But once the initial shock wore off, and the words he used finally registered, a whole new wave of shock short circuited Kagome's system.

He was blunt, yet gentle. And apologetic. Very apologetic.

Eager to get his words out, and with a tact not often employed by the brash young hanyou, he waited with baited breath for his best friend's response.

She couldn't give one.

She was stuck. She didn't know what she was supposed to be feeling; what she was supposed to say.

Was she angry? Most likely.

Upset? Yeah, that's a given.

Heartbroken? Absolutely.

But there were so many emotions bottlenecking, clamoring for dominance, that she actually had time to consider the appropriate way to react.

She was outside her body; floating high above. Watching herself in slow motion gave her plenty of time to analyze her situation with a detachment that was oddly calming.

Should she feel hurt? Betrayed?

She now understood Sango's behavior just moments earlier.

She wanted to be angry at her, but logically she knew she couldn't really blame them for their feelings. The heart wants what it wants, after all.

Was it fair to condemn them for having a mutual attraction to each other?

She felt like she'd been led on, and she had been to a degree.

But she and Inuyasha had never really talked about their future together. Not with any certainty.

And though he had never told her that he didn't see a relationship being possible between the two of them, he hadn't told her that he had.

But she had been sure there was something there. She thought things between them remained unsaid, because it went without saying. Apparently, she had horribly misconstrued their deep bond- which absolutely they had- for a romantic one.

Her own hopes had perhaps forced this seemingly inevitable scenario to go further than he had intended. And he cared too much about her to dash those hopes to pieces. Though that would have been the kind thing to do.

She had been presumptuous. Naïve.

Did she feel stupid? Blind, for not seeing what was right in front of her? And what would she do now?

Had she only agreed to stay with the promise of having a life with him that was more than they had? Was that the only reason she came back anymore?

Inuyasha, and her friends, were the reason she came to the past. With Naraku defeated, there was nothing holding her here any longer. It was no longer a duty to find the jewel which caused her to return, but her duty to her friends. And it was more than duty. It was her choice. This is where she had wanted to be. But with the life she had envisioned; she and Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango, growing old together just like she had always imagined they would, crumbling before her eyes... did she even want to stay here?

Should she feel shallow? For hinging her future and her happiness on the preconceived notion of what things would be. For considering that without the promise of her desired romantic future, she might pick up and bail on the life she had fought so hard for...

She felt so much at the moment, that she actually felt nothing. So, she said nothing. It tended to typically be the wisest thing to say. She could think of a certain former dog demon who employed this tactic to perfection. She had the presence of mind to keep her reaction guarded, so as not to say anything in the heat of the moment which could not be unsaid. She needed time to think, and sort all this out.

So, she asked him to leave. And he did. Though very concerned about her wellbeing, Inuyasha recognized her need for some space.

She sat alone quietly for a moment, trying to soak it all in. Trying to make a plan, any plan, to get her from this moment to the next, and what she should do after. But she was overwhelmed. It was too much all at once.

She wished she could cry. Scream. Release some of the horrible tension that was building in her sternum. But she was empty. Dry. So she just sat there.

And after a while, in which she was unsure if minutes or hours had passed by, she decided she wanted to move. She didn't want to sit and wallow, or stew. Her feelings would come, she was certain of it. But for now, her friends needed breakfast, and it was her turn to cook. It would probably be easy to pawn off her chores today, but she needed the distraction. Needed to keep moving. Needed... to feel needed, even for such a simple thing. Her worth, and necessity in this world was understandably fragile. So she went to start the fire.

Only to find, to her surprise- and yes, irritation- it had already been started.

The flames roared impressively in the center of their little clearing. Perhaps one of the others, anticipating her despair, sought to lessen her burden. But the gesture was not appreciated.

As she approached closer, she noticed several fish had been scaled and skewered. The sharpened sticks were impaled firmly into the ground, and the fish were roasting to perfection around the perimeter of the flames.

"There you are, miko. I was just at your hut."

She was too distracted to register the implications of his statement, or startle at his sudden, unexpected appearance behind her.

"Hi Sesshoumaru," she offered dismissively, still staring at the result of another's labor. "Who started breakfast?" She was curious of whose pity was throwing a wrench in her plans.

So curious, that she forgot to feel embarrassed at their biting exchange last night.

She kind of blew up at him, she had recognized that. She had been under a great amount of stress due to- among other things- Sango's aggressive behavior. And even though he hadn't followed through- for reasons of which she was still not made aware-, and even though it wasn't any of her business what two grown adults wished to do in private- not much anyway-, she still took out her frustrations on him; basically laying the blame at his feet for all of the distractions and disarray of the camp. And though there may have been a kernel of truth to her words, his dressing down was not entirely merited. She felt shame later- and yes, fear- for going off on the Western Lord the way that she had. She had not looked forward to their next confrontation. But with her crazy morning, her concerns regarding him got moved to the back burner. And apparently, even out of her cue entirely.

But it seemed that he didn't see fit to remind her. He didn't even appear to have been affected whatsoever by her harsh assessment of him. He was cool, passive, as he had always been. Moving in and out of frame with a serenity that she would have admired, were she paying attention.

"Who else but I would have done it?" he demanded rhetorically, as she scanned the camp for the culprit. "Your pack seems to have made themselves scarce."

He gracefully made his way to the fire, and began plucking the skewers out of the dirt ground below in a predetermined order.

She wasn't expecting that. And her incredulity showed.

"You?"

His focus was on his work, replacing the sticks in the ground at a greater distance from the flames to prevent them from drying out.

It was funny how unrecognizable he was from his former self, yet somehow, she managed not to fully register the change in his appearance.

The difference should be jarring. From the lack of facial markings, to the black hair. From the absence of his swords and armor, to the unprecedented appearance of bruises and abrasions on the usually flawless face.

Most of the marks she had found him with were nearly healed. Still visible, but not as glaring as they had been when she had discovered him that day in the snow.

His most recent black eye was not as damaging as the first had been. But it was now his most prominent injury that she could see. Other fresher marks graced his stoic face, from his most recent beating. But he appeared to be more or less on the mend.

The difference in his usually untouched features should be shocking to her. Should command her attention at every interaction. But he was just so... him. Even still. So much so, that all she saw when she looked at him was... Sesshoumaru. His appearance didn't even register anymore. Though perhaps, she was a little bolder with him now that she had been when he was a demon. And before she had secured his promise not to kill them on a whim.

But maybe he was different. In the past, Sesshoumaru would never have entertained, or accepted, or cared about her opinion. But if she didn't know better, she would say he had finally taken her words to heart.

She had told him to stop stirring the pot, and instead do what he could to help them. And maybe cooking breakfast was his way of contributing. But she couldn't be certain. It was just so out of character.

But then, he was a human now, wasn't he? Maybe simply being human altered enough within him to accept the counsel of others. Maybe he didn't have a choice.

Either way, the prospect had her thinking.

She thought to that day. To the wish that had reduced him to this somewhat approachable, or at least less terrifying, being before her. What were her exact words?

She wished that he knew what it was like to be human.

Maybe, in being human, he was coming to learn some of what that entailed.

Maybe, they really were different enough to warrant some realizations- or at least some capabilities- that he was not aware of previously.

His smooth baritone hadn't changed, however. And the sound of it drew her from her silent ponderings.

"With all of your useless distractions, it is a wonder anything gets accomplished around here."

She couldn't really blame him for having that perception. Everyone had been acting particularly crazy ever since she had brought him here, and she had the decency to be slightly embarrassed. They all probably looked ridiculously pretty, and childish to him.

She watched as he continued to transfer the sticks in the ground. When all but two remained, he removed the fish from the skewer in his hand, taking care not to mangle the cooked meat, and handed them to her.

"Why did you do all this?" she couldn't help but ask, too discomfited to consider how rude she probably sounded.

She reached out robotically, accepting his offer. He paused a moment as his gaze lingered on her. His sudden scrutiny caused her cheeks to heat, but she didn't know why. He seemed to be assessing her for a moment, but quickly returned to his task.

"We all must eat, correct? I arose early and caught an acceptable amount of fish."

He said it so causally, as if feeding her was not the strangest thing in the world. Seeing as it was, she just couldn't play along.

"You know how to fish?"

He pulled the final stick from the fire, and took the portion for himself.

"It was my first attempt. But as you can see, I excelled. There is nothing overly difficult about it."

It wasn't until he sat in one swift motion, and began biting into his food that she remembered to do the same.

This day was just too weird. And her confusion led her to express less gratitude than usual. Forgetting her manners, she finally focused on her meal.

She was all in her head. But after a few bites, she finally thought of something to say.

"I don't know when the others are coming back." Not that he asked. Or appeared to care. But he cared enough to cook for them, so she was kind of out of her element here.

He shrugged, seemingly more interested in finishing his food than conversing.

"Then their meal will be cold. I am also not opposed to you eating their share, if you wish."

He was under the assumption that if they were not present for meals, then they must not be hungry. It didn't matter to him. He had provided, and that was all that was required of him.

Though it would be best if they kept up their strength, for all of their benefits. But that was on them.

"No, I'll save it for them," Kagome announced gently. Then, finally remembering herself, she finally offered her gratitude. "Thank you."

He was already finished with his portion before she was halfway done. She couldn't tell if he was busy, or if he simply wanted to get through the humiliation of eating human food as quickly as possible.

"Where are you going?" she asked as he turned with purpose toward the forest. She was somewhat surprised when he answered her.

"To check the traps I had laid out. Our dinner is sure to be there by now."

Already? They hadn't even finished breakfast, and he was already onto dinner? He was being extra ambitious today.

Feeling slightly inadequate in comparison, she strove to make herself useful. Not to mention forget her troubles.

"Oh. Uh, I guess I can go get the laundry then."

"Already handled," he informed her. The information stopped her fish on its journey to her lips. She stared at him, perplexed. At her incredulous look, he simply elaborated.

"I found what you had left hanging on your clothesline, and took the liberty of sorting and folding it. I placed your things inside your hut." At her prolonged silence, he decided to elaborate. "I hope it was not an imposition, however I assumed you did not wish for your clothing to become dirty laying on the ground outside."

Okay, that had her forgetting her breakfast entirely. 'hope it was not an imposition?' When had he ever been concerned about that?

"I also took the liberty of sharpening the arrows in your quiver, along with the slayers and monk's weapons. I offered to do the same for Inuyasha, but as you could understand, he wary of placing his sword into my care."

"What are you doing?" she demanded. She was grateful at first, if not entirely pleased. But now she was suspicious. What was he up to?

"My part," he insisted, catching her eyes with his own. "You have informed This One that he is useless in finding Rin on his own." She flushed, finally recalled their heated exchange the night before. Shame washed over her anew, as his intentions finally dawned on her.

"I have no power, no weapon, no experience fighting in this form. Therefore, I shall complete all of your duties so that you might be freed up to help me find her."

That wasn't what she had been implying. Well, not exactly. And while feeling guilty of her brutal assessment of him, she was also relieved that he saw fit to entertain her notions. And not to retaliate. She hoped.

She was instantly reminded of why he was here, and what they were waiting on. He had probably been worrying sick about his ward, and she hated to admit that the little girl had barely been in her thoughts at all. She had been more concerned with pack drama than fulfilling her promise to help save Rin, and felt disgusted with herself. But it wasn't entirely up to her. She regarded him with genuine sympathy.

"I'm sorry. I know you want to leave, but Inuyasha-"

"Inuyasha just sped out of here on an extended constitutional," he accurately recounted. "And spent all night walking about, cavorting with your good friend deep in the forest. He appears to be enough healed to ride on the back of your fire cat, in This One's view."

She couldn't tell if he was trying to spin her up; trying to manipulate her. But she couldn't deny any of his claims. She remained silent in the absence of an argument.

"Inuyasha may be alpha, but the pack listens to you. You hold more power than you realize among your companions, whether you acknowledge it or not. I believe finding Rin would be a prime opportunity to use it."

So that's it. He was trying to persuade her to use her sway with the others to get what he wanted. He knew his opinion held very little weight here. But when Kagome talked, the others listened. It was a power she only used in the most necessary moments. Usually when Inuyasha was being short sighted, and she needed to tip the scales.

"We all must leave together," he grudgingly acknowledged. "And ill prepared as you may be, even the hanyou recognizes you as a leader. By all means, miko. Lead."

He held her gaze for a long moment. Violet, where gold had once been, held her captive with his demand. His challenge.

He may not have his great power anymore, but he had a way of cutting right through the shit and forcing you to look at things- and yourself- through his no-nonsense lens.

Demon or no, Sesshoumaru was incredibly resilient. No longer able to simply slice through his obstacles, he was forced to use whatever remained at his disposal to see his will done.

In appealing to her compassion for others, and her need to prove her worth, he was clearly laying out how she could be of use. To him, and to everyone.

She was his best shot at getting this show on the road. And in doing so, she would not be reduced to sitting on the sidelines. She could help him. She was needed.

He left before she could respond. Off to check the traps which presumably already had their next meal. He sure did work fast, when properly motivated. She surmised that he had several lifetimes of practice hunting and catching game. Though she couldn't be certain how much of that training involved using methods that didn't require demonic abilities.

She considered his words long and hard as she finished her meal alone, and set the rest aside for the others' return.

His sudden helpfulness wasn't coming out of the kindness of his heart. His motives were more than clear. And completely understandable.

His extremely limited options left him at the mercy and mobility of the pack.

They were only staying behind so that Inuyasha could heal, and the hanyou was well enough to travel. But the real question was if he would be well enough to fight, in the highly likely scenario that they would run afoul of a demon or fifty.

He may not be in his best form. But with his powerful sword, and the help of his friends, not to mention rapid demonic healing abilities, Kagome decided that it would be worth the risk. Particularly considering what was at stake.

With that matter decided, all that was keeping them back now was preparedness. They had been all set to go before Inuyasha had gotten injured. So it wouldn't really take much to get them off and on their way. And Sesshoumaru seemed to be doing all that he could to eliminate the burden, and any excuse that might delay them.

She was guessing that his actions had more to do with that, than any inadequacies he may feel in his inability to fight with them, resulting in overcompensation. But there was likely some of that there too.

She should have been more focused on their goal. But with all the recent drama in the camp lately, everyone seemed to have let themselves become distracted. She felt a little shame in that.

But she allowed herself to inwardly beam just the slightest bit at the acknowledgment.

She was aware of the influence she had over her pack. That Sesshoumaru recognized it so easily gave her a renewed sense of importance at a time when she really needed it. But then, he had always been incredibly perceptive.

It wasn't until the others returned to eat their now cold breakfast that she realized her new responsibility had distracted her completely from the life altering conversation she'd had less than an hour ago. In mulling over what to do next, she hadn't thought about her relationship with Inuyasha once.

"It's time to leave."

Her announcement broke the uneasy silence as her companions began to eat.

"What are you talking about, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked nervously. He was afraid she was intending to leave them. It was his biggest concern in admitting his feelings to her, and he didn't know what he would do if she did.

"Rin. We've waited long enough. We need to find her," she answered clinically. She wasn't being cold. She just didn't want her emotions to cloud her judgement for the worse.

She hadn't spoken to Sango since her talk with Inuyasha. She just wasn't ready yet. But no matter what uncomfortable things were going on between them, they still needed to function as a team.

Sango began to voice her concern.

"But Inuyasha-"

"Inuyasha will be alright," Kagome insisted, turning to him. "If he is able to take long walks in the middle of the night, then he is well enough to ride Kirara ahead of the villages. It's time to leave."

He tried not to wince at her accurate assessment. And he pushed aside his fear that perhaps she no longer cared for his welfare. But in addition to knowing that fear was ridiculous, he agreed with her.

"She's right," he assured them, making brief eye contact with everyone present. "I can get around just fine now. If we're going to track her down, we need to leave as soon as possible."

Miroku nodded.

"Alright. We can get things ready today, and leave first thing in the -"

"No," Kagome interrupted, catching him by surprise with her sure tone. "We leave now. Finish your breakfast and pack what you need. If we leave soon, we can get there before sunset."

Kagome was usually content with simply going along with what the others suggested. She would throw in her two cents often, but this was their world. They had lived in it their whole lives, and knew how to navigate it far better than she. So her confident demand took them all a little off guard.

But out of all of them, Sesshoumaru had a hundred times more experience than everyone put together. And his faith in this plan gave Kagome the courage to speak with certainty. He knew what to do, and she had their ear. Between the two of them, she knew that no one would argue.

"The miko is correct," the until now silent Sesshoumaru announced from his place at the edge of the fire. "We have wasted enough time. We must depart."

She felt oddly validated, having his support. Even though she knew it was his own idea he was agreeing with. But really, she should have thought of it herself.

It seemed that everyone was willing to concur.

If they left soon, they could reach the first village before dark.

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A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've kind of been in a weird head space lately. I'm going off a basic outline, but I have been having some trouble accessing my flow. To compensate for that, I employed a different method with writing this chapter. Can you notice any difference? Or does it flow about the same? I'm just curious if anything stands out as seeming different in the writing.

On another note, I'm relieved to finally be getting them out of the camp. Now we can go find some trouble XD

Keep staying safe y'all, and employ healthy practices. what a great time to hole up and consume fanfics!