If the Roles Were Reversed

by Glon Morski

I: Until he fell down the well and 500 years into the past, Inuyasha didn't believe in legends. His beliefs were challenged when he found himself in a world in which said legends are reality. Problem? He wants to leave that world behind, while it is unwilling to let him go. And so he begins a search for a substitute for a duty, aided by Kagome, his slef-proclaimed hanyo protector.

39. Kagome's Nature

Well, here we are, chapter 39. Chapter 40 is right around the corner. Wow, I'm breaking my own record for the length of a story here ;) Then again, I expected this story would be longer than any other I've ever written. And we're not even closing in on the middle of it, much less the ending O.o Sometimes I wonder if you people will manage to stick with me until the end LOL

Well, anyway, happy reading. And don't forget to review ;) Reviews are fuel :D And no, I'm not joking.

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ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

Dino-Rogue: About Ayame, I have thought long and hard about it. But, I still haven't decided whether she'll make an appearance or not. If she does, however, it will be only once the triangle between Inuyasha, Kagome and Koga is resolved. I can't say I dislike drama, but going beyond a love triangle is just overkill. I'm not planning on creating a square, much less an hexagon or whatever like Takahashi-san did. So rest assured, the love-drama will be relatively moderated where the number of people concerned is concerned. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed this story so far. I hope I won't disappoint in the future… or in this chapter, for that matter. You'll see when you read. But you know, it's always good to know there are people out there who actually look forward to Kōga's appearance instead of dreading it ;)

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Tracks for this chapter:

Yui Makino:Tsuki no Shijima

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What happened last time: Kagome's attempt to help Kohaku overcome his fear of fighting after killing his kinsmen under the control of a demon had backfired. Sango's sudden entrance of the scene had broken both Kohaku's and Kagome's concentrations and caused a simple training session to become potentially deadly. Not wanting Kohaku to hurt even more than he already did, Kagome protected Sango, but paid for it with the loss of an eye. The incident causes Kagome to remember her own mishap many years ago, which ended in her killing her mother. The hanyō fears it might happen again. However, Myouga calms her and assures that so long as Kagome has Tessaiga, her blood should not awaken. Intrigued by the swords abilities and remembering its origins, Kagome demands to know the story of her father. Meanwhile, for an unexplainable reason, Inuyasha finds himself unable to sleep. Worried for his health, Kagome decides to leave the remains of the taijiya fortress and return to Kaede's village, though Inuyasha's ailment disappears as soon as the fortress is left behind. On the way, Kagome overhears a group of wolves conversing with each other and finds out they're reporting to their leader about finding her. Realizing who the leader was, Kagome enters the conversation and contacts him, agreeing to meet in two days time at the Sacred Tree near Kaede's village.

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Chapter 39 – Kagome's Nature

The rest of the way to Kaede's village passed in a blur. Inuyasha didn't even notice when two more days passed and their destination was already in sight. But he did notice one curious thing. They had run the entire way there.

It didn't really bother him in the sense that he felt tired after a whole day of travelling this way. Kagome had obviously refrained from going full speed, just as she always had when he ran next to her. He hadn't realized before just how much she was holding herself back, just so he could keep up. He only realized she was not going at full speed because he witnessed it first hand when she was carrying him – and now, he even found himself wondering if she could go any faster than that.

Still, it was not the speed at which they ran that had him bothered. What bothered him was simply the fact that they ran. There was no hurry to get back to the village, was there? Sango's wounds weren't getting any worse, so there was no need to hurry that much because of them. In fact, the slayer was already well on the way to recovery. No one else was hurt, either, and he was feeling better, too, now that he had truly slept for the first time in almost two weeks. So, as far as he knew, there was no logical reason for them to run like they did. They could just walk. It would have probably been better for Sango, too, even if Kirara was carrying her and flew smoothly next to them – flying was better than running, since it irritated Sango's wounds less, apparently.

The only reason he could think of to explain Kagome's haste was what had happened with the wolves. Inuyasha didn't fail to notice that since her conversation (at least he suspected it was one) with one of the wolves via howling to each other, Kagome seemed strangely eager to return to the village. She was obviously trying to cover it up, but in Inuyasha's point of view, she was doing a poor job of it. Sure, he couldn't see an expression that'd betray her on her face, but he did see a glint in her eyes that he was sure he had never seen before.

Naturally, he had no idea why she would be so eager. He hadn't understood her howls, or the ones responding her, at all. But somehow, he knew it had to do with that 'old friend' of hers, the one she had once upon a time met regularly at that cave… the one she loved.

He didn't know why, but knowing that made him angrier than he cared to admit.

When they were almost in the village itself, Inuyasha suddenly stopped. Somehow, he really didn't feel like reaching their destination. Had he explored his feelings a bit more, he would have been stunned to realize he was actually scared of it – although the reason remained a mystery to him.

Kagome was the first one to notice and she skidded to a halt a mere couple of steps in front of him. She turned to glance at him, her one eye narrowing worriedly.

"What is it?" she asked, her ears twitching on her head and her eye darting around, as if she expected an attack to come from anywhere any moment. She was quick to calm down, however, easily reassuring herself that there was no danger nearby. Her gaze fell to Inuyasha again as he, too, looked around, unable to meet the hanyō's eye for some reason.

"I thought I sensed something," he lied, wincing internally at the sound of his strained voice, at how it betrayed his anxiety. He suspected Kagome to frown at him and call him out on the lie. Usually, there was no way he could hide the truth from her and get away with it. But this time, Kagome didn't seem to realize he was lying. Of course, she noticed all the signs that should have pointed to it, but she misinterpreted them and took their origin to be something else.

"Sensed? You mean a yōkai?" she asked, her hackles rising slightly. On either side of her, Kirara and Miroku also grew weary and started to look around, each searching the surroundings in their own way. Sango had tensed, too, and so did her brother. Only Shippō didn't seem bothered by it in the least.

"Yeah… A wolf… I think." Lie after lie. Had he ever felt this much of a need to lie before? And why was he even lying? He should just tell her the truth. Just tell her that he didn't want to reach the village, that he wanted to continue travelling…

Yeah, like that wouldn't sound bizarre. His lies had a tiny bit of credibility to them, at the very least. Still, he had suspected Kagome would realize he wasn't being truthful. Ironically, out of everyone in the group, only Shippō was looking at him weirdly, as if knowing he was hiding something. And contrary to what Inuyasha expected, Kagome did not catch on to his lie. Instead, she visibly relaxed, and even allowed a happy glint to enter her eyes instead of a smile appearing on her face. She was quick to hide it again, of course, but Inuyasha had still noticed it.

It made him feel like he had just received a solid punch to the gut.

That wasn't a normal reaction, was it? Usually, he liked it when she smiled, when she was happy. Definitely more so than when she was hurt or angry. But now, he almost wanted her to explode with anger. Anything but to get that feeling of utter happiness out of her eyes, or at least change its reason for it, even if she had already hidden the feeling behind a mask he still couldn't get used to. The hanyō before him wasn't the Kagome he knew… but at the same time, for the first time, he actually didn't want to know just what was hiding behind that mask of hers right then.

"There's no need for you to worry," she said calmly, her voice strangely serene. Inuyasha knew he had never heard her talk like that before, but instead of wondering what could have caused the change, he suddenly felt like cold water was dumped on him. For some reason, the tone of her voice was not a good sign in his ears, despite the fact that her words were obviously meant to reassure. "If you're sensing who I think you're sensing, then he's no threat at all. It's that friend of mine I told you about. We agreed to meet at the Sacred Tree."

She had agreed to meet him… so that was why she was so eager to return. She was probably looking forward to meeting with the wolf demon again, whoever he was.

The realization made Inuyasha feel strangely numb and hurt at the same time. That shouldn't be possible. When you were numb, you usually stopped feeling things. But in his case, the numbness actually made the ache all the more noticeable, though Inuyasha was unable where it actually originated from. All he knew was that something inside of him ached and he couldn't do anything to make it stop.

He tried to hide his obvious discomfort, but he should have known the half-demon was too smart for that. Kagome easily saw through it and frowned. The priest's reaction was not the one she expected, and quite honestly, it worried her.

"Inuyasha?" she inquired, letting her mask slip once again and showing her concern for all to see, but hardly realizing it. The other five people besides Inuyasha and herself were long forgotten.

"I… I think I'll go home for a few days," the black haired teen finally stammered out, not looking at Kagome or anyone else. Because of that, he didn't notice the half-demon's frown deepening as she stared at him openly with her one, good eye.

"O-Kay…" she said slowly, as she studied the kannushi in front of her with growing concern. 'He's acting weird,' she thought, feeling like snorting at herself for stating something so obvious. She couldn't figure out what could have possibly brought on the change in Inuyasha's demeanor, though. He'd been fine not five minutes ago. What happened to make him act so strange all of a sudden? Could it be because he sensed Kōga?

Something suddenly clicked in Kagome's mind she bit her lip in thought. Of course, Kōga would be coming to the village pretty soon, as they were supposed to meet under the Goshinboku today, but he wasn't anywhere near enough for any of her senses to pick up on his presence. That had to mean the wolf was still pretty far away (not that it surprised her, she was actually quite sure their meeting would only take place after sunset, as it usually did, though they never actually verbally agreed on it – it just sort of happened every time). That, in turn, could imply two things. Either Inuyasha was even stronger spiritually and could sense demons from much further away than Kagome's heightened senses… or he was lying.

'Why would he feel the need to lie about something like that, though?' she couldn't help but wonder, but decided to let it go in the end. If Inuyasha felt the need to go home, then there was no reason to keep him here, especially if he was obviously bothered by something. With any luck, he'd be better by the time he came back.

At least, Kagome hoped so.

"Miroku-sama, would you go with Inuyasha?" she asked when the priest made no move to leave right away, her eye easily explaining to the monk what she didn't want to say aloud in front of the taijiya. At least not yet. If they really did stick around, then they'd probably find out about the well soon enough, but for now, Kagome preferred to keep it a secret.

Surprised by Kagome's request, Inuyasha's head snapped up to glance at her just in time to see the houshi nod his understanding.

"Shall we, then?" Miroku asked amicably as he turned to walk towards Inuyasha no Mori instead of the village, while Kagome, Kirara, Shippō and the taijiya siblings headed towards the settling. Inuyasha 'keh'-ed as he fell into step beside the monk, walking briskly towards the well that would lead him home. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he was suddenly desperate to be there and not here.

"I can reach the well by myself, monk," the young kannushi snapped irritably, causing the monk to sigh.

"Indeed, but can you also seal it off so no yōkai slips through to your world?" Miroku replied as he slowly pulled a few o-fuda from his robes and already started to infuse them with his houriki. Inuyasha didn't answer, opting instead to fume silently the rest of the way to the ancient, wooden structure that tied this time to his own.

XxX

As soon as they reached the village, Kagome's hackles rose and she had to fight the urge to growl. Something didn't feel right. In fact, whatever it was, it felt wrong. Very, very, very wrong. She couldn't pinpoint what had her so on edge, though. The village didn't seem any different than any other day. She couldn't smell any yōkai being near the village recently, nor did it bear any sign of being attacked while she was away. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad has happened. Was still happening. The whispers that reached her ears from the villagers that saw her and stopped dead in their tracks because of it wasn't helping matters any.

"Look, it's the Inuyasha. She's back. Maybe there's still something that can be done."

"Do you think she sensed our village needed her and came back aid us in our time of need?"

"She could help us. I heard stories of what she did for this village in the past. And she helped us again not too long ago. Maybe she'll help again. Maybe not all is lost."

"There's still hope. If the Inuyasha is here, then there's still hope."

By the time she and Kirara, with their respective passengers (Shippō for Kagome and the two taijiya for Kirara), reached Kaede's hut, the hanyō was absolutely certain something had happened. She just didn't know what it was. And she was determined to find out from the best possible source.

"Kaede-chan? Are you home?" she asked as she gently pulled the mat in the door frame aside to peek inside. Indeed, the old woman was there and was also quite surprised that Kagome had returned. That surprise was quickly pushed aside, however, when she noticed Kagome's bandaged face, and no matter how much the half-demon protested, the old woman wouldn't be swayed.

"Ye will show me that wound right now, Kagome," she ordered, already preparing what she supposed she'd need to treat the hanyō's wounded eye. The Inuyasha sighed.

"I'm telling you, it's not…"

"Right now," Kaede interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument. Sighing in defeat, Kagome knelt in front of the old miko and removed the piece of the robe of the fire rat that served as her make-shift bandage. Kaede's only response to the sight of the wound was an impatient click of her tongue. "How did it happen?" she asked as she inspected the healing cut.

Kaede was certainly unaware of it, but the wound she was inspecting looked much better than it did when it was fresh. Back then, the gash that reached from above Kagome's brow almost all the way down to the rest side of her chin was deep enough to reach the bone. The visible flesh was an angry shade of red, both because of the blood that refused to stop flowing and because of the irritation and possible infection. To make things worse, since the skin of Kagome's face was no longer in continuity, it started to retract slightly, effectively pulling and widening the wound instead of allowing it to heal. At first, Kagome had been afraid the cut would get longer before it disappeared, but luckily, her demon-blood's regenerative abilities proved to be stronger and little by little, the flesh sewed itself together and the wound started to close. Now, the long gash, while still reaching from above Kagome's brow almost all the way down to the left side of her chin, was nothing more than a scratch-like wound. It wasn't deep at all and, from the looks of it, would be healed by next morning. The real issue was the eye itself.

"An accident. I only have myself to blame for letting it happen, I was careless," Kagome replied with a shrug, her ears easily catching the sudden intake of breath from behind her. It had undoubtedly come from Kohaku. The hanyō fought the urge to sigh. Of course, she understood why it was so hard for him to believe her that she didn't blame him for the mishap, but it was still frustrating that she couldn't get through to him.

"Open your eye, Kagome," Kaede replied in response, easily catching on that the half-demon did not want to be questioned on the wound's reason for existence. The hanyō-girl winced slightly.

"Won't you just take my word on it? It's really not…"

"I said 'open your eye, Kagome'," the elder miko replied impatiently, and with a sigh, Kagome obliged, forcing her up until now lowered eye-lid to rise, revealing a perfect little window to see, literally, inside Kagome's head – the eye socket was empty, the eyeball having flowed out when Kohaku's sickle cut it through. The sight had even Kaede, a miko who had without a doubt seen many wounds just as bad or even worse, freeze. Before the old miko could recover, though, Kagome closed her eyes again and swiftly re-tied the fire-rat-eye-patch over it.

"Before you ask anything, Kaede-chan, yes, this was an accident, and no, it's not a big deal. It will heal, just give it some time," Kagome said calmly, her voice betraying her slight irritation. She had lost count how many times she had said those same words, albeit to a different spiritualist, the last two weeks already. And just like Inuyasha, Kaede didn't seem to be convinced.

"This is nothing like any other wound I remember myself or my sister treating where you are concerned, Kagome."

"All the more reason for you to just take my word for it. I know when a wound is serious where my own body is concerned."

"How can you be so sure it will heal? It is not a cut. It's not a question of sewing your body together, it's a question of regenerating a part of it. Why are you so certain it will happen?"

To that question, Kagome allowed herself to give an answer she had not dared to tell Inuyasha. Opening her good eye to stare straight at Kaede, both to show she was serious and to ensure the miko believed her, Kagome said calmly:

"Because it had happened before."

Kaede didn't answer and silence reigned in the little hut for a while. Kagome opened her mouth to break it and ask what had happened in the village, but someone else had beaten her to it with a soft mewl. Turning around, Kagome remembered the other four people who came with her, and who were still huddled near the hut's entrance. All except for Shippō, that is, who has already made himself at home near the empty fireplace.

"I see you have once again brought someone new back with you, Kagome," Kaede finally said, as if only now realizing there were other people in her hut. And quite frankly, she probably hadn't noticed them until Kirara announced their presence, too preoccupied with Kagome's condition. The half-demon shrugged.

"I didn't bring them here, they decided to tag along on their own," she replied casually. When it became apparent she had no more to say on the matter, Sango and Kohaku had taken it upon themselves to tell the elderly miko who they were, although the half-demon didn't fail to notice the weird look Sango was giving Kaede, as if she didn't know what to make of the woman. It wasn't surprising, though. On one hand, she was a miko. On the other, she was visibly demon-friendly, as she had just demonstrated by fretting over Kagome. The hanyō suspected the taijiya was getting pretty confused by now, but there was little anyone could do about it, so she paid no more attention to it.

Once the introductions were over and done with, Kagome decided it was time to cut to the chase.

"Kaede-chan," she said to get the miko's attention. When the elder woman looked up at her from her work (she had decided to check on Sango's injuries, just in case, and ended up forcing the taijiya to lie down while she sewed the gashes closed), Kagome asked the question that had been dancing in her head since she entered the village.

"What happened here while I was away?"

XxX

The first thing Inuyasha normally did when he arrived on his side of the well was climb out of it and head towards his house, with the hope of seeing his mother. That wasn't what happened this time, though.

Instead of climbing out of the well and going home, Inuyasha sat on his haunches where he landed, glaring at the ground as if it were responsible for all his problems. Then, without really thinking about what he was doing or why he was doing it, he raised his right hand and punched the earth at the well's bottom with all his might.

[T]

To say he was mad would an understatement. Even 'pissed off' wouldn't begin to describe what the black haired teen was feeling at the moment. And the most astonishing thing was, he had no idea why he was so angry. The thing he did know was that he really wanted to break something, or at the very least punch something very hard. So he did, letting the dirt feel his anger.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath as he continued to punch the ground. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

What he was cursing at, he had no idea. But it made him feel a tiny bit better, so he saw no harm in it.

"Damn it, Kagome!"

Stunned by his own words, the black haired priest stopped mid-punch, then slowly lowered his raised fist back to the ground, barely registering the dull ache he felt due to the multiple punches he threw at the earth. Why was he so mad, anyway? And why did he curse Kagome out? It wasn't like she had anything to do with it all…

Then again, she probably did.

Still, what had the half-demon done to make him so angry? There wasn't anything, was there? No, there was no reason to be truly mad. So why was he? Was it because of the wolf Kagome would meet?

Inuyasha snorted to himself. What did he care whom she did and didn't meet? It wasn't any of his business, and he didn't want it to be. The hanyō-wench could meet whomever she wanted, he didn't give a damn about it. He didn't care in the slightest.

"Go meet with the stupid ōkami, whoever he is. See if I care," the black haired priest growled under his breath as he slowly rose to his feet and then started to climb the leader that he and his mother had installed in the well. Somewhere deep inside, however, Inuyasha knew he was lying to himself. He did care. He just couldn't figure out why it bothered him as much as it did. Nor could he figure out why the closer he got to the lip of the well, the less angry he felt, the emotion being replaced by one he was very unaccustomed to feeling: sadness… or maybe even defeat.

Kami, what was wrong with him? He couldn't remember the last time he was on such an emotional rollercoaster. In fact, he was quite sure he never had been before. And he could honestly say he didn't want to ever be on one again. It was exhausting and confusing, not to mention irritating if he didn't know the reason all those feelings surfaced one after another. And in this case, he did not.

Not knowing how else to react to the overwhelming emotions inside him, Inuyasha let them all out in a deep sigh as he got out of the well. Leaning against the wooden structure as his strength seemed to seep out of him along with the air, Inuyasha lowered his head and closed his eyes.

That was a mistake. He did it because usually, closing his eyes and breathing evenly helped him to calm down. Instead of having the calming effect it usually did, however, the sudden darkness behind his eyelids only served to agitate him further as images of Kagome assaulted his mind. More specifically, images of that happy gleam in her eye he had seen, no matter how briefly, when she mentioned her impending meeting with her 'old friend'. Unable to help himself, Inuyasha clenched his hands causing his fingers to dig into the old wood and gritted his teeth as another wave of anger hit him hard.

'I've never seen her this fucking happy before, that's for sure,' Inuyasha sulked inwardly. But then, he shook his head in denial. That was wrong. He had seen her happy. He had seen her smile and he had heard her laugh. There was no mistake that he had witnessed her being happy. Just… not the same kind of happy.

The smiles and the laughs he had seen and heard were those of amusement, be it because of him or because of Shippō. That glint, though… that wasn't amusement. That was happiness in its purest form, the kind of happiness he was sure his mother had felt when she had been with his father – that kind of happiness.

If he had any doubts about whether or not Kagome loved the wolf she was about to meet, they were gone now. If just thinking about the man – 'demon,' Inuyasha rectified in his mind – made her look like that, the young priest didn't even want to think what she'd look like when they'd actually meet.

Still, that was no reason for Inuyasha to be mad, was it? Sure, he cared for Kagome, but only in a friendly way. She was his friend – his very first friend at that. Of course she'd be important to him, but that was no reason for him to be mad if she wanted to meet with another guy. Especially since if he ever found another girl he'd be interested in in that way, he wouldn't want Kagome butting in, either. Right?

Sighing again, Inuyasha opened his eyes and raised his head, the familiar sight on the Goshinboku meeting his eyes. The teen hadn't even realized when he had left the well-house or walked towards the Sacred Tree, but that really didn't matter.

Before he could think twice about it, Inuyasha climbed over the small fence that surrounded the tree and walked up to it, placing a hand on the rough trunk. He never found out how it worked, but the tree had always had a calming effect on him. Now wasn't any different as his anger slowly ebbed away. But unlike any other time Inuyasha had indirectly asked the Goshinboku for guidance, this time, it didn't bring the serenity and true calm of mind it usually did. Sure, the anger seeped out of him, but the confusion and feeling of defeat remained.

Cursing softly under his breath, Inuyasha leaned his forehead on the ancient tree and closed his eyes once again, trying to regain control of his unnaturally raging emotions. The moment he did, though, another image appeared in front of his mind's eye. This time, it was the very tree he was leaning against, and an unimaginably beautiful girl pinned to it, her beauty highlighted by the rising sun's rays light games.

Inhaling sharply, Inuyasha snapped his head back up to stare at the Goshinboku, his eyes easily finding the old scar on its trunk where Kagome had once rested. How he had not seen that scar before he ever fell down the well was beyond him, but that really didn't matter right now.

"We agreed to meet at the Sacred Tree," Kagome's words drifted back into his mind again and Inuyasha frowned. The half-demon had said she wanted to meet the wolf at this very tree, where she had slept for fifty years and where he, Inuyasha, had freed her from.

'That's right… this place, right here, is where we first met… Kagome and I,' Inuyasha thought, thinking back fondly to that moment. Sure, it wasn't in the best circumstances ever, but it beat not meeting her at all considering all that she has given him – strength, friendship, trust, she had given him all that. If he hadn't fallen down the well, if he hadn't freed her, he wouldn't have any of it and he wouldn't even know what he was missing out on. All because he met her, right here at this tree. 'And now… she wants to meet with someone else in that same spot…'

Maybe that was why he was so mad. Inuyasha was well aware just how much Kagome had given him, whether she herself realized it or not. Because of that, the half-demon was an important person to him, a very important friend – a fact he was no longer ashamed to admit, even though he wouldn't actually say it aloud to anyone – and the place where they first met was a special place to him. Somewhere deep down, he had hoped he had the same kind of impact on Kagome, too. He had hoped he was someone important to her, too and that she would cherish the memory of their first meeting as much as he did. But it seemed he was the only one who felt that way. In fact, it almost felt as if Kagome wanted to forget, as if she wanted to overwrite the memory of meeting him by meeting with the ōkami in the same spot.

That was probably the reason for his raging feelings. It's not like it could be anything else. And besides, it was a valid enough reason in his mind. Though she was only his friend, Kagome was still special to him and he had hoped she had felt the same about him.

"That's why I'm so mad, isn't it. 'Cause I now know that I ain't important to her at all, not even as a friend," the black haired priest muttered to himself, the hand that wasn't on the tree's trunk clenching into a fist at his side once again.

No, that was wrong. He was important to her. Kagome had never said so, but she had proven it many times. She had fought her brother as if she really wanted to kill him for the first time (at least, according to Myouga). She had protected him time and time again. She had risked her life. All to save him or help him out when he was in a tight spot. If she hadn't cared for him at all, if he weren't important to her even the tiniest bit, she wouldn't have gone that far. That had to mean that just as she was important to him, he was important to her, too.

Just… not as important as the wolf-demon…

Not really understanding why, Inuyasha punched the Goshinboku.

[/T]

XxX

"You… don't know what happened?" Kagome repeated quietly, disbelief more than obvious in her voice. She had never considered that Kaede might not be aware of what went on in her own village. The old miko always knew everything. On the condition that she was in the village, of course.

Problem was, when whatever had happened in the village was actually going on, the old miko had not been there. She had been in the forest, gathering herbs, and when she came back from the woods, it was already too late. Still, there was something wrong with that story that made Kagome frown.

"The Inuyasha no Mori isn't that far from here. With all due respect, shouldn't you have heard or felt it if something was wrong, Kaede-sama?" Miroku asked calmly before the hanyō could as much as open her mouth.

The monk had come back after sealing the well with his o-fuda just before the group situated in the hut started discussing the village's current situation. And while that was all well and good, since it would save them time to repeat whatever they'd learn to the monk, Kagome started to wonder if it had really been a good idea to let Inuyasha go home, as it seemed they wouldn't be able to wait for him to return before having to set out again.

Instead of wondering about that, though, she decided to first fully understand what had actually happened in the village that was as close to her home as she would probably ever get.

"Indeed, you are right, houshi-sama. If the calamity that befell our village was caused by a demon, I should have at the very least sensed its youki. And yet, I have not felt anything amiss."

"That can mean one of two things. Either it was not a demon, or it was one weak enough for you not to feel its approach. But if it was that weak, then I can hardly imagine it actually managing to do anything," Kagome replied.

"Kagome-sama… why are you so certain something happened at all?" Kohaku suddenly asked. "I mean, there aren't even any signs that there had been a fight or demon attack. So why are you so certain something happened?"

"Probably because of what all those people were whispering. They sure trust you a lot, don't they, Kagome?" Kirara mewled softly from her spot in Sango's lap, the taijiya in question staying eerily silent throughout the duration of the conversation. Kagome nodded to the cat's words, but didn't verbally reply to them. She really didn't feel like explaining how she and Kirara could communicate in a language no one expect for the two of them and Shippō could ever hope to understand.

'Yeah, they do. I'm actually a bit surprised myself… but then again, Kaede probably kept telling everyone stories about me and a miko's word is never considered a lie,' Kagome thought, but didn't allow the pleasant thoughts to occupy her for long. Instead, she focused on the feeling of wrongness she felt the moment she arrived in the village. 'Yeah, what I heard the villagers whisper is one reason for my uneasiness. But it's not the only one. There's also the fact that…'

"It's calm here. Too calm. It almost feels like the calm before a storm or something. Or calm in between storms, more like," she finished aloud, answering Kohaku's question even as she continued her line of thought. Frowning, the half-demon crossed her hands in front of her chest and glared at the wooden floor of the hut as she tried to figure out what was wrong. "It's never been that calm here before."

Sure, she had heard people whispering here and there, so the village wasn't totally dead silent, but to a human's ears, it might as well have been. And that wasn't normal. It wasn't normal at all. So something had to have happened. Kagome just couldn't figure out what.

"I haven't been to this village, or any other human settling for that matter, as often as Kagome, but even I know that much," Shippō suddenly piped in. "Usually, the people are yelling orders at each other who's to do what or are at least talking to each other."

"Yeah, and you add to the ruckus when you play with the other children," Kagome couldn't help but tease, until her own words made her freeze where she sat. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Children?" she repeated, her mind easily drawing the parallels between that one word and what felt so very wrong in Kaede's village. It seemed so obvious now. And she wasn't the only one who realized it.

"Now that you mention it, Kagome-sama, I have to wonder myself," Miroku spoke slowly as he turned his head towards Kaede. His eyes revealed he already knew what answer he expected to hear from the solemn, elderly miko, but he asked, anyway. "Where are the children? I haven't seen a single one since I entered the village."

Kaede's only response, at first, was a deep, regretful sigh.

"I do not know," she responded, repeating once again the same answer as before. "I know not what exactly happened, but by the time I have returned from the forest, the children were already gone, except for the one who went into the forest with me. And none of us know where they are."

"And you haven't tried to look for them?" Sango finally spoke, her tone one of disbelief and mistrust. Why she'd feel mistrustful of the old miko, Kagome didn't know, but that wasn't really the time to ponder it, either. Kaede turned her head to glance at the taijiya, her old eyes hiding a pain in them Kagome had rarely seen. It was obvious that the children's disappearance weighted on the old miko's shoulders heavily, although she tried to remain strong.

"I am a miko, child. I can sense a yōkai's aura, but a human one is not something my senses can feel. All I can do is try to find the yōkai's presence to find the children. But do ye really think an old woman like me could pinpoint the exact location of the one, particular demon among all those residing in Inuyasha's Forest?" The old woman asked wisely, effectively silencing the slayer. Kagome sighed.

"Plus, there's no guarantee it's in the forest. It could have gone anywhere, really. For all we know, it could have already went beyond the radius of Kaede's sensing ability," she said quietly.

"Ye forget, Kagome, that while I am old, I do not forget my duty to this village. I would not be sitting here talking with ye all if I had not already tried everything I could to find the children," the old miko replied.

"I don't doubt it. But it's hard to find something if you don't really know what you're actually looking for. I mean, the idea that a demon had taken the children is a speculation at this point. You haven't sensed any youki when it happened and I don't smell any demon near the village, either," Kagome replied, a frown appearing on her face. "When did the children disappear?" she asked suddenly. If it was a long enough time ago, then the scent trail would have vanished, which could explain why she didn't smell anything off. But that idea was quickly shot down by the old miko.

"No more than two days ago."

'Two days?' Kagome repeated in her mind, her frown deepening. Normally, two days wouldn't be considered long at all. But in the current situation, two days were a very long time. 'Damn it.'

"In that case, it is quite possible that even if we do find out what happened, we might be too late to change it," Miroku said gravely, causing the mood in the hut to become even worse as the grim possibility was presented to everyone. Kagome's nose twitched as the sudden smell of salt reached her nose and she turned her head to the kit who was obviously trying very hard not to cry.

"Are you saying they're all dead already?" he asked in a quivering tone, his tone causing something within Kagome to stir. Usually, she would reach out to comfort the kit. In that particular moment, however, her thoughts wandered to another child and she was suddenly fighting the urge to let her emotions show in more ways than just on her face.

'He's right, all of the children could be dead. All of them,' Kagome realized, the by now very familiar feeling rising within her and threatening to drown her. She had felt it so many times now, that familiar despair of losing someone dear to her, yet it still affected her more than she thought it would. 'Souta…'

They hadn't met many times, as she was always traveling with Inuyasha. But whenever she was in the village, she made a point to interact with him and talk to him. The demonic side of her brain might not accept the boy as her pack, but he was family and they both knew it. She still remembered the look he had given her when she made it clear that she was the daughter of his great-great-great-grandaunt. Of course, he had known she had protected his family for a couple of generations, but he had never really realized why she protected them and why they accepted her so easily despite what she was.

Though she really didn't know him that well, they were already close and the idea of losing the boy hurt. Even more so considering she had sworn to Ko-chan that she would protect him.

"Not necessarily," the voice of a woman she'd have expected to be the last to say anything comforting brought Kagome out of her depressing thoughts. Without turning her head, Kagome glanced at Sango out of the corner of her eye as the taijiya continued talking, unaware that her words comforted more people in the hut than just the scared kit. "There are demons out there who prefer to wait a bit before eating their prey. And while I know that doesn't sound reassuring, it doesn't change the fact that if it was a demon that kidnapped the children, there's still a chance that they can be saved," the young demon slayer said as she slowly stood up, careful to hold Kirara in her arms so the cat would fall off her lap as she did so. "That all depends on what it was that took the children, though," she added as she slowly walked towards the exit of the hut.

"Ane-ue, where are you going?" Kohaku asked as he also stood, intent on following his sister. Hearing his voice, Sango stopped in the hut's entrance to look over her shoulder at him, her eyes calm, but determined.

"If the miko-sama can't tell us more of what occurred, I'll go ask people who might know," she replied before turning her head again, this time to glare at Kagome. "I'm a taijiya. If it was a demon that caused this tragedy, I will find it and kill it," she added before stepping out of the hut. Kagome snorted as she also stood up, glancing at the mat Sango had just walked through coldly.

"I'm no taijiya, but I don't need to be one to know that I'll do at least that much," she said despite knowing Sango wouldn't hear her reply. But before she could take so much as one step to follow the slayer, the mat was thrown to the side again as a frantic boy ran into the hut – most certainly the one Kaede had mentioned had not disappeared because he'd been in the forest with her. Kagome's eyes widened slightly at the sight of him.

"Kaede-sama, is it true that…" the boy started to say as he ran inside, only to cut himself off when he saw who was in the hut with the old miko. The surprise didn't last long, however, and soon enough, he was launching himself at the stunned hanyō-girl with a yell. "NEE-CHAN!" he called as he rammed into her, his arms circling her middle and enveloping her in a tight hug. Why the boy was calling her 'big sister' when she was only his cousin (a few-times-removed, but whatever), Kagome didn't know, but she didn't really care, either.

"Souta," she whispered in awe as she gently hugged the boy back, briefly throwing a weak glare at a smiling Kaede. Of course, trust the old woman to neglect telling her that the one boy she cared most about was the one who had not been taken by the yōkai – or whoever it was that had kidnapped the children.

"You're back. You've come back to find the others, didn't you? How did you know we needed your help, nee-chan?" the boy asked as he looked up at her, though he still refused to let go. Kagome sighed.

"I didn't know," she admitted. "But I do now and you can trust me when I say I'll do anything I can to help," she added in an attempt to reassure the lad. It wasn't very hard to do it, though.

"I'm sure you can bring everyone back safe and sound. I know everything will be fine if it's you," Souta said with a smile, stunning Kagome speechless for all of five seconds. She had not expected the child to trust her this much, but it was a pleasant surprise, she couldn't deny that. She smiled gently.

"If I'm to try and do anything, though, I need to find someone who can clue me in on what happened first," she said, petting the boy on his head. Nodding his understanding, Souta let her go and, after throwing another smile his way, Kagome walked out of the hut.

XxX

Inuyasha bit his lip as he tried to stifle a groan of growing frustration.

He had been so used to getting up at dawn that he didn't pay any attention to it anymore. It was a norm, just like getting up at seven o'clock for school had once been. That was the reason he had been unaware of the hour when he actually returned home, so he was quite surprised when, after entering his house and greeting his mother after another lengthy absence, he saw that it was just about time to leave if he planned to go to school that day. One look at his mother was enough for him to know that while she would not force him to go, she'd prefer it if he did. So he went without complaint. It wasn't like he didn't understand her reasons, anyway. He missed out on plenty of lessons already, missing out on more when he was actually home and could go for once would be totally stupid.

The only thing he didn't like about the whole thing was that going to classes was more of a reality-check than he would have liked. He didn't expect to not be behind with all his absences, of course, but he hadn't expected to be this far behind in his studies, either. And knowing that he had a make-up test coming up tomorrow when all the material that would be on it could have as well be written in Chinese for all he understood didn't make him feel any better.

He was aware, of course, that it was his teachers' way for him to better his grades. It wasn't like there was anything else they could do to help him, anyway, so he should be glad they went as far as that considering they really didn't have to. And he probably would have been if he had a chance to better his grades at all. But considering how much time he had to actually study for the test, he really doubted the grade would change for the better. And then, there were also all the exams that would be coming up soon. If he kept going back to the Feudal Era so much, there was no way he'd get through the first exam week.

But on another hand, he couldn't imagine not going anymore. Without him even realizing it, that time had become his second home and he couldn't imagine leaving it behind. He could imagine even less leaving the people he met there behind, particularly a certain female half-demon.

But he would have to one day. He knew that. Didn't mean it was any easier to accept, though.

'Goddamn it,' the black haired priest thought as his train of thought slowly turned towards Kagome before he could think any better of it.

She was probably by the Sacred Tree by now, having her long-expected reunion with some annoying wolf-demon. Inuyasha snorted inwardly at the thought, trying to remain calm even as his hands tightened into fists on his desk.

Who cared what Kagome was doing? Well, he didn't that was for sure. She could meet whomever she wanted, wherever she wanted and whenever she wanted, he didn't give a damn. He wouldn't give a damn. Not anymore. Her choices weren't worth his time or the energy it took to get angry.

'Let her meet the ōkami. I don't care. I. Don't. Care,' he thought in frustration, fighting the urge to bang his head on the desk in front of him. 'I don't,' he repeated again for good measure, although even in his own head, his voice lacked the bite he knew it should posses. He was lying. And the worst part was that he knew it. He did care. In fact, he cared a lot. A lot more than he thought he should. 'Damn it.'

His hands relaxed. His shoulders sagged. His eyes lowered. His chest started to throb slightly, an annoying feeling that made him want to rub the offended area, although he knew there was no offended area to rub at. Inuyasha frowned. He had never experienced something like that and it unsettled him. Whoever heard of being in pain when there was no wound to cause any pain or discomfort?

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly at the thought as something he had refused to think about for the last two weeks suddenly jumped to the forefront of his mind.

'Wound…?' he thought dazedly as his mind dug up the incident from two weeks prior. Or rather, the end-result of the incident.

"Let me see."

"No."

"I said let me see."

"And I said no," Kagome's harsh words rang in his mind again and he could almost feel her hand slapping his away.

Of course, logically speaking, there was no need for Inuyasha to worry. Kagome really didn't act as if her wound was as serious as Inuyasha had feared it was. But still, the fact alone that she didn't want him to see it bothered him, not to mention that it was taking an awfully long time for it to heal. She had never had a wound that needed more than two weeks to heal, so no matter what she said, that wound had to be serious…

"Hinoiri-san?" a female voice suddenly brought him out of his musings and Inuyasha blinked, only now realizing that the lecture was already over. He stifled another groan. It wasn't enough that he missed out on most of the lectures this year, no, now he had to miss out on them even when he actually came to school because his mind was elsewhere.

Those make-up tests were going to be the end of him tomorrow. He just knew he wouldn't survive them.

With a sigh, Inuyasha rose from his seat and picked up his books. This had been the last lecture for the day, so he was free to go home. And he intended to do just that. He really needed to get ready for those make-up tests.

"Shirugawa," he acknowledged with a nod. Ririko smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Hinoiri-san. I'm glad you're feeling better," she said as they headed towards the corridor, Ririko leaning slightly forward as she walked so she could see his face better. Upon taking a closer look, the girl frowned. "You are feeling better, right, Hinoiri-san? Because now that I take a closer look at you… you don't look like you're better at all."

"I'm fine," Inuyasha replied carelessly, not bothering to wonder what she was talking about anymore. He really didn't want to know what kind of disease his mother had come up with this time to excuse his absence. As they say, ignorance is bliss. "Come back to school after about two weeks of absence and have all the teachers tell you that you have make-up tests in their classes tomorrow, which you're absolutely not ready for. See if you look any better," he added when the girl at his side didn't seem convinced. She giggled at his words, earning herself a glare. "That ain't funny."

"I guess it's not," the black-haired girl replied, although her eyes still betrayed her mirth. "I definitely wouldn't want to be in Hinori-san's shoes right now."

"Keh," was Inuyasha's reply. "It's not like it's something I can't handle."

"I'm sure it's not," Ririko replied with another laugh, causing Inuyasha to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. It occurred to him suddenly that, although the two of them met on rather rare occasions (what with him constantly being 'sick', aka not present in the current time period and all), he was finding it easier and easier to communicate with the girl beside him. Her presence annoyed him less than before and he even found himself kind of enjoying chatting with her. It definitely beat being left to his own thoughts, especially today.

"By the way, Shirugawa, why are you still walking with me if your house is in the opposite direction?" Inuyasha suddenly asked, causing Ririko to stop in surprise. Not wanting to walk away without an answer, he stopped as well and turned back to stare at the girl. She was rubbing the back of her head nervously and her cheeks were colored a slight pink of embarrassment.

"I… I don't know. I didn't even realize we already left the school, actually," she replied slowly with an awkward, embarrassed laugh. But just as suddenly as her embarrassment started, it vanished once again and Ririko smiled brilliantly. "But since I'm already walking the wrong way, would you mind if I came by your place, Hinoiri-san? I could help you study for those hellish tests tomorrow."

Inuyasha stared at her for a few moments. He had expected her to say a lot of things, but offering to help him study was not one of them, so it threw him off, completely and entirely. Ririko's smile didn't waver as she patiently waited for his answer and eventually, her patience was rewarded. Inuyasha cleared his throat as he shook the surprise off before replying.

"You're joking, aren't you, Shirugawa," he said flatly, not even bothering to sound like he was asking. Instantly, Ririko's smile fell and turned into a pout. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the expression, and the very un-lady-like snort that followed.

"If that's how you're going to be when I'm trying to be nice then I'll just go straight back home," she said, sounding slightly disappointed. Realizing she had been completely serious, Inuyasha swiftly experienced an internal battle. On one hand, his pride was telling him to let the girl walk away and tackle the problem of the tests on his own. On the other, his reason was telling him to accept the help, knowing that it would make things easier than trying to figure things out on his own. It all lasted a second or two before Inuyasha came to a decision, just as Ririko turned to walk away.

"Hey, I never said I wouldn't accept the help, did I?" he asked after her, causing her to stop mid-step. There was no apology or anything like that in his voice. He was merely stating the obvious, once again, but Ririko didn't seem to care much as she turned back to him, smile back in place. This one was different from the previous one, though, more mischievous than mirth-filled.

"Alright, I'll help then. And I'll make sure you ace those tests, Hinoiri-san," Ririko said, her voice completely serious and business like. Inuyasha chuckled ruefully before he could help himself.

"Good luck with that."

XxX

Kagome let out a worried sigh before she could help herself. Her and Sango's attempt to gather information on what had happened in the village from the villagers themselves had… interesting results, to say the least.

When she had walked out of the hut, following Sango, it had turned out that the slayer hadn't been welcomed like she had most likely expected to be, or used to be, more likely. Actually, hearing what the villagers had been saying, Kagome had been reminded of how people usually reacted to her. Even more surprisingly, when the half-demon had stepped in and vouched for the slayer, the people had believed her word over Sango's, declaring that 'if she came with the Inuyasha, then she could be no threat'. To say Kagome had been surprised was an understatement, and she was quite sure Sango, who under normal circumstances would have never had experienced something like this before, wasn't feeling any different.

'At least now she knows how it feels like to be on the receiving end of someone's unwarranted hatred… although I doubt that'll be enough to convince her that I'm not unnecessarily evil,' Kagome thought briefly, allowing her thoughts to rest on the slayer for only a brief moment before moving on. There were way more important things to think about than the slayer and her thoughts on Kagome. Like who had taken the children and how had he done it so that no one took any notice – because as it turned out, the villagers didn't know much more than Kaede did. According to the few people who could actually provide some information, the children had been left under the supervision of a young girl who just recently passed her sixteenth summer, since Kaede had been occupied and couldn't look after them like she usually did. Occupied by their respective work, the other villagers paid little attention to the kids or the girl attending to them, so they hardly realized when the children vanished, along with the girl looking after them.

If Kagome didn't know any better, she would have thought the children had just been whisked away by magic. But while different yōkai were capable of many different tricks, the half-demon doubted there was any creature capable of making a whole group of people disappear, especially if it couldn't get near them in order to do it – and since no alarm had been raised and absolutely no one noticed a thing until it was too late, it was almost certain the culprit had managed to kidnap the children without ever entering the village.

'But if it didn't ever enter the village, how did it take the children?' Kagome wondered with a frown. But no matter how much she thought about it, no answer came to her mind and Kaede, Miroku and the two taijiya weren't fairing any better. The whole matter was as shrouded in mystery as it had been before, if not even more so.'Damn… how are we supposed to help if we know nothing of the situation, much less the enemy?' the young half-demon thought in frustration, knowing well that no matter her initial reason to come to the village, she had to help. Turning a blind eye on anyone's need for help just wasn't something she could do, even less considering that this particular village actually accepted her despite her species – most likely thanks to a certain elderly miko and her stories of a time long passed. Still, no matter the reason, the villagers trusted her. They had proven it many times before, and tonight more than any other time. They had practically begged her to help them, their eyes filled with conviction that if anyone could help them, it'd be the Inuyasha.

And she wanted to help. She really did. The trust they had shown they had in her was not something Kagome was willing to prove to be misplaced. 'I can't let them down. I can't! But… what the hell can I do?!'

She didn't know. But she certainly wished she did.

"What about Inuyasha?" Shippō's voice suddenly cut through the silence and everyone's somber thoughts. Kagome blinked in surprise, trying to figure out what the kit might have thought of. Her mind drew only a blank, though, as did everyone else's.

"What of him, child?" Kaede asked tiredly. The old miko was as stressed about the situation as Kagome was, if not more so, although she didn't allow it to show. Still, that stress had an effect on her body she could not hide. Kagome felt another pang of guilt at her own uselessness. If only she hadn't left in the first place…

No, that was wrong. She couldn't have stayed. She would have broken her promise to Inuyasha if she hadn't left, and just like any other promise, she was unwilling to break the vow she had given him. Promises represented her honor, and that was one thing the hanyō refused to discard no matter what the cost. Better die with honor than live without it, after all, especially if it's the only thing you actually have besides your life.

"He said he was able to distinguish yōkai by their youki. Maybe he could feel the youki of the demon who took the other children and lead us to it?" the little kit explained. The idea would have been a brilliant one, if not for a certain problem.

"That's true, Shippō-chan. But Kaede-chan already told us that she felt no youki in the village at any point in the day," Kagome replied, only barely managing to keep her disappointment behind the mask she always put on when Sango was around. Maybe it was a setback in making the slayer realize that Kagome was no threat, but at the same time, it was the hanyō's only line of defense and she wasn't willing to give it up. Better be overly cautious than overly trusting, after all.

"Kaede hadn't felt anything," Shippō fired back, "but maybe Inuyasha can pick something up."

Kagome was about to open her mouth and refuse the idea, but she stopped herself in the end, considering the kit's words. Logically, there was no reason to believe that Inuyasha should sense anything if Kaede hadn't. But then again, the priest had proven many times already that, uncontrolled as they were, his powers were truly extraordinary. Besides which, Inuyasha didn't really need to control his powers in order to sense youki as far as Kagome could tell. At the very least, it never seemed to take any effort or concentration on his part. Maybe this idea was worth a shot.

Ignoring Kaede's, Sango's and Kohaku's surprised stares (since none of them had seen how Inuyasha shattered Naraku's shouheki and recognized the demon by the feel of his youki alone), Kagome turned to glance at Miroku. The monk seemed to agree with her. They didn't have any other plan, anyway, so they might as well try. Miroku simply nodded mutely and Kagome stood up.

"Alright. I'm going to go get him," she said simply and walked towards the exit of the hut. But before she left, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Miroku again as he called her name. Seeing that he had the hanyō's attention, the houshi stood and handed a small set of prayer beads, about the size of a bracelet. Kagome raised a brow in silent question, but her inquiry didn't need to be voiced.

"Those will allow you to get past the barrier around the gate leading to Inuyasha's home," Miroku replied without missing a beat, this time having a white lie prepared to avoid mentioning the well itself. And it truly was nothing more than a white lie, if not even a metaphor. The well was a kind of gate, after all. The only difference was that instead of leading somewhere, it led to sometime.

Nodding her understanding, Kagome took the beads and put them around her wrist before walking out of the hut before anyone could stop her. As soon as she was outside, she leapt off at top speed, only barely hearing Kohaku's question as to why no one else could go get the priest in question. The young half-demon didn't pay much attention to the inquiry, however, trusting Miroku to find a way not to reveal too much. Within moments, she was at the sealed well. She jumped in without a second thought. To her great surprise, however, she did not fall into the river of time and was not transported to Inuyasha's era. Instead, she landed softly on the bottom of the well, still very much in her own time. It took her only a moment to realize why she couldn't pass.

'Right. I can only pass if the Jewel calls yōkai over or if I have Kikyo's bow with me,' she remembered. The idea of the Jewel calling her over was obviously out of the question, for various reasons. First, she did not hear the gem's deceptive voice, however faint, in her head. Second, even if the Jewel did try to call other yōkai over, it definitely wouldn't allow her through. And third, assuming the Jewel allowed her to go to Inuyasha's time, there was no guarantee it would also allow her to return, making such an expedition much too risky.

That left only Kikyo's bow, as Kagome had already realized the first time she needed to go to Inuyasha's time in pursuit of the nymph.

Nodding to herself, the hanyō jumped back out of the well, intent on going back to Kaede's hut and grab the bow. As soon as she was back in the clearing, however, a memory concerning the bow struck her and she knew that was impossible. She couldn't get a bow that was already broken, after all. Kagome's ears drooped as she reached absentmindedly into the fold of her haori. Sure enough, her hand easily found the magatama, the only part of the bow that had remained intact.

She still remembered that evening when she awoke despite having expected to be dead. That evening right after the encounter with the Baku. When Inuyasha had put his things together, he had asked where her bow was, since he hadn't been able to find it near his back pack, where it should be. That had been enough to remind her of how the bow had shattered in her hand inside the dream. And it had also let her know that just like a priest or monk could die within a dream created by a Baku if the creature ate all of his spiritual energy, so could the Baku destroy any object infused by reiki (or houriki) if he ate all of it. In the end, though the bow had shattered in the dream, it was also destroyed in the real world and the only parts that remained of it were the magatama, which Kagome had taken with her while inside the dream. As for the splinters that should have remained from the bow's wood, they vanished as if the bow had never existed to begin with. The only proof that it had, were the magatama Kagome had kept with her with the hope that Kaede could somehow make something of them to keep Kagome connected to Kikyo.

Now that she remembered that Inuyasha had also tied himself to her through the bow and thus allowed her to traverse time, she also hoped the elder miko would find a way to restore Kagome's connection with the future-born kannushi.

'It was probably because I lost that connection to Kikyo that I feel so… empty,' Kagome thought absentmindedly as she slowly walked back towards Kaede's hut. Indeed, when the bow had shattered in her hands, Kagome remembered that something inside of her had broken along with it. She hadn't really thought about it before, trying to ignore the by now dull ache somewhere in her gut. But while she knew that ache wasn't due to a physical wound, she still couldn't ignore it completely. Or rather, it was because it was not due to a physical wound that the hanyō couldn't ignore it completely.

It had felt as if something inside of her had been brutally ripped away. The very moment the bow had shattered, the pain had been excruciating – even more so since she had been human at the time. Later, it dulled somewhat, but the feeling of having lost something important still remained. Occupied as she had been with other things and other feelings, she had managed to put that particular one in the back of her head. But now, it returned with a vengeance. And just knowing why she felt the way she did didn't make Kagome feel any better.

This wasn't the time to be thinking about that, though. All that was of importance about the whole problem in this very moment was that she could not go to get Inuyasha because she no longer had the bow. Everything else about the matter could be thought about later. Now Kagome needed to figure out what they would do next – or rather what they could do.

The list of ideas wasn't very long.

XxX

"Alright, out with it. What's bothering you?"

"Eh?" Inuyasha answered intelligently when Ririko's voice cut through the silence of the room and effectively brought him out of his thoughts. The girl was sitting on a chair next to him, leaning back to give him some space and glaring at him almost angrily. She huffed.

"I admit I may not know you very well, Hinoiri-san, but I think I know you enough to know when you're spacing out. And that's what you're doing now," she accused. "I said I'd help you studying. I can't do that if you're not concentrating at all. So either throw whatever's bugging you out of your mind for now, or tell me what it is to get it off your chest and have a clear mind. Your choice. But choose swiftly. We don't have all day."

"Actually, we do," Inuyasha tried to defend himself, causing Ririko to groan.

"That's beside the point," she fired back. "Now, will you tell me what's on your mind or will you finally manage to cast it from your head for now?"

It was amazing how much the girl in front of him sounded like his mother right now. Or like Kagome when she got mad when he did something idiotic. It was even more amazing that Inuyasha didn't really mind. If it had been anyone else, he would have already told them to shut up and mind their own business.

Then again, he probably would have said so to anyone prior to meeting Kagome.

Did the hanyō realize just how much she had already changed him without even trying? Or how much it had helped him, though he hadn't realized until now? Did she know how thankful he was to her?

She probably didn't.

"I can see you won't cast it from your head. So either you tell me right now or I'm leaving. I won't waste time helping someone whose head is in the clouds despite knowing how much he needs to concentrate on the here and now," again, the girl beside him interrupted his thoughts, which had once again strayed to Kagome. He'd been doing that all day, thinking of her despite knowing the half-demon should be the last thing on his mind at the moment. And the more he thought about her, the more he realized that her meeting the ōkami was not the only reason he couldn't stop thinking about her without getting angry – rather couldn't stop thinking about her in general, really. The young priest didn't really know why he couldn't get her out of his mind, though. Nor did he know how he could possibly tell anyone of her without revealing things he shouldn't ever tell anyone.

"Fine then. I'm leaving," Ririko said with another huff when she realized Inuyasha wasn't going to say anything. She barely managed to stand up, however, when the young priest suddenly spoke up.

"It's just… there's this girl I know," he said before he could stop himself. Whether it was his reason talking in order to make Ririko stay (since he could really use her help studying, he knew) or his need to just talk to someone, Inuyasha didn't know. All he knew was that now he had started talking and had no idea how to get out of the hole he had so expertly dug for himself. He couldn't very well tell Shirugawa of the well and all that crap. She'd think he was crazy.

It turned out he didn't need to worry as the brown-eyed girl unknowingly provided him with a way out and a plausible lie he could use.

"A girl?" she asked, studying Inuyasha attentively as if searching for something in his face and eyes. "Someone you met in the hospital?"

Inuyasha hesitated only for a second before nodding, only briefly allowing himself to wonder just what kind of disease his mother had come up with to get him into a hospital.

"Yeah. We… we often share the same hospital room, so we became friends, I guess," he lied, cursing at himself mentally for having started to talk at all. It would have been so much easier to just let Ririko walk away. Although, then he'd probably fail all his make-up tests, whereas with her help, he at least had a chance of getting a passing grade.

"Alright," Ririko said slowly as she leaned forward in her chair, where she had sat back down only seconds prior. "And what is it about this girl that keeps you unfocused on what's in front of you, Hinori-san?" she asked gently. Inuyasha hesitated a moment, trying to sort out in his head what he'd tell his classmate. The next string of lies was surprisingly easy to come up with. Not that they were lies, really. It just wasn't all of the truth.

"She… I don't know what exactly is wrong with her, but she's often wounded. She says it's no big deal. Though it's hard to believe sometimes," he said slowly, frowning at his own words as he recalled the many times Kagome had gotten hurt – more often than not in order to protect him. Not once had her wounds seemed minor, and yet she always brushed them off like nothing and only rarely allowed him to 'waste bandages on her' as she put it.

Ririko remained silent. But she didn't need to say anything. Her eyes and expression was all the invitation Inuyasha needed to continue and without realizing it, he stopped lying altogether, letting the honest truth spill from his mouth.

"Usually, when she sees I don't believe her, she lets me see the wounds. It's her way of reassuring me, and it usually works. They really aren't as bad as they look most of the time. But last time…" Inuyasha faltered, the image of Kagome's bandaged face flashing in his mind again. His fists clenched at his sides. There was no way this was a minor wound, no matter what she said! "She said it wasn't anything serious. She always says so. But this time, it was even harder to believe than any other time. And when I asked if I could see to reassure myself she was fine, she didn't even let me! How bad does it have to be for her to not even want to show me? For her to feel like she has to lie to reassure me?"

It was the sound of his punch hitting his desk that made Inuyasha realize just how frustrated he was because of that. Or how worried. Up until now, the anger and confusion have overlapped the worry, hiding it even from his conscious mind. But now that he actually talked about it, he realized that he was truly worried and scared – scared that this time Kagome wouldn't be fine, despite what she said. Scared she wouldn't heal. Scared it would turn out to be much more serious than the hanyō expected.

"Maybe she wasn't lying?" Ririko's soft voice cut through Inuyasha's thoughts once again, reminding him that he wasn't alone in the room. The explanation the black haired girl offered surprised him and he blinked as he raised his head to stare at her. He shook his head.

"How could she not? With how her face was bandaged, there was no way it wasn't anything serious."

"You can't be sure, Hinoiri-san," Ririko tried to persuade. Inuyasha snorted, suddenly feeling angry again and letting it out on her.

"How would you know? You haven't seen it!"

"From what you told me, neither have you," the girl replied calmly, completely unfazed by Inuyasha's short show of temper. Her words were enough to calm him down surprisingly fast and his shoulders slumped again. Seeing that he was now calmer and would listen to her reasoning, Ririko continued.

"You said she was wounded often. That means she's used to being hurt and to estimating when a wound is worth fussing over or not. But her way of estimating is probably different. If she's really wounded often, then she doesn't define a 'serious wound' by how long it'll take to heal, but whether it heals or not. That's how I would have started to think if I was hurt all the time, anyway.

"That means that any wound that'll heal eventually is not serious. A 'serious wound' is for her probably something she won't recover from – something that could kill her. But let's assume the wound you saw last time was one any normal person would consider serious. If she had told you it wasn't a big deal and you saw something you yourself would consider serious, would you believe her?"

Inuyasha frowned as he thought about it. His initial reaction was to say 'no'. If Kagome said she'd be fine, then no matter what he saw, he would believe her judgment.

But before he could actually say it, his mind reminded him of situations that perfectly contradicted his claim. Basically any time she got hurt, to be honest. He couldn't actually remember one time when she was wounded and he didn't try to persuade her to let him help. But he did recall the one time he had crossed the line.

"When will you finally get it? I'm not like you! A little poison won't kill me. It'll be neutralized by sunrise." Her words, and the overall message hidden in them, rang in his mind.

'I'm not like you. I won't get killed so easily. She's been telling me that since we met and yet… I never really took her words into consideration, did I? I always thought that if a wound was serious in my eyes, it'd be serious for her, too. No matter how often she proved me wrong, I never actually believed her to be alright, did I,' Inuyasha thought, not even attempting to question himself. He knew the answer, anyway. He didn't believe her. He hadn't believed her a single time.

"Tell me, Inuyasha, in the two moon-cycles that we've known each other, have I ever lied to you about whether or not my wounds were serious?"

'No, you didn't,' Inuyasha replied mentally to the voice that resonated in his head that was repeating the words he had heard a mere day ago.

"Then do you trust my judgment where my own wellbeing is concerned?"

He remembered his response to her question. But now that he thought about it, he wasn't so sure. He knew, of course, that he had not lied when he said he trusted her. However, it seemed that instead of saying the truth, he had replied what he wished were the truth.

"I probably wouldn't," he finally said in response to Ririko's question. The girl seemed satisfied with that answer, smiling gently in response.

"And she probably knew it. So she trusted you to believe her judgment without having to see proof. In her own way, she was probably trying to keep you from worrying. It turned out to cause the exact opposite of the desired effect, but you can't really blame her, can you," she said with a smile. Inuyasha sighed and nodded in response. That was just how Kagome was – ensuring no one worried about her was her nature as much as protecting those weaker than her was. It was quite hypocritical, really. She always worried about everyone, but vehemently tried to make sure no one ever worried about her. It was almost as if she thought she wasn't worthy of someone else's worry…

Inuyasha shook his head when that thought entered his brain. Kagome wasn't like that. She never thought any lower of herself than of anyone else, though she seemed to think other people thought less of her just because of what she was (and if he had just entertained the thought for a few seconds longer, Inuyasha would have realized that Kagome was right about that, as Sango had already proven). Still, that wasn't enough for her to ever believe to be unworthy of anything, unless she truly believed herself to be lesser than any other living being – which Inuyasha was certain she did not.

"Well, now that we cleared this up, do you think you can focus on this, Hinoiri-san?" Ririko asked energetically, tapping a physics exercise book with her finger. Inuyasha groaned inwardly, suddenly remembering the initial reason the brown-eyed girl was at his home. But he didn't complain and dutifully got back to studying, knowing that he'd need every second of study-time he could get if he was to pass all those tests.

But in the back of his mind, thoughts of Kagome still remained and nagged at him despite his best effort to shut the hanyō-girl out of his mind completely. And with those thoughts remained the worry, unexplained as it was – because if he really thought about it, if Kagome said she was fine, then there really wasn't a thing to worry about.

Or was there?

XxX

Kagome fought the urge to curse under her breath as night set in. She had given the magatama to Kaede in hopes the old miko could somehow restore their magic, but it turned out that while she could indeed do so, she'd need time and Inuyasha's presence to complete the spell. That meant that for now, Kagome was incapable of going to Inuyasha's time period and thus their only plan of action had effectively been rendered useless. They had yet to come up with another one, and from the look of things, they wouldn't be getting any new ideas any time soon. Not with all the humans and demons besides her and Kirara sound asleep.

That, of course, left the Inuyasha with her hands tied behind her back and understandably irritated at having to admit it. In the current situation, time was of essence. If the children were indeed taken by a yōkai, then they had to hurry, or they'd find only bones. And even if somehow a human had managed to kidnap them and their caretaker, things didn't look any better.

'Damn it. I need a plan. And fast. But how can I think of a plan if I know nothing of what happened, or even who my enemy is? I have no idea where to look. I don't even know what to look for. Damn it,' Kagome cursed in her thoughts, one of her hands absentmindedly stroking Kirara's fur. The kitten purred softly in response, her own way to ask Kagome not to stop. The hanyō-girl didn't really hear her, however, too encompassed in her thoughts on the rather hopeless situation.

It was a few hours later that a possibility to act presented itself – albeit definitely not in the way Kagome would have liked. And not in the right moment, either.

First, she heard a howl. A wolf's howl. One she'd recognize everywhere. In a flash, Kagome was on her feet, Kirara just barely managing to jump off her lap instead of falling off.

"You could be more careful, you know. I almost fell flat on the floor!" the cat mewled indignantly, but Kagome ignored her in favor of leaving the hut. Just as she walked outside, another howl reached her ears, this time much closer. It seemed Kōga was arriving.

Kagome took a deep breath, readying herself for an answer. But before she could howl towards the havens, her ears twitched, catching the sound of the mat that hung in the door as it was pulled aside. Releasing the air in her lungs soundlessly, Kagome turned around to see whom Kōga's howl had woken up. Quite frankly, she had expected the taijiya woman to be standing there, looking at her with distrusting, brown eyes.

She did not expect, however, for Souta and Kohaku to walk right by her as if she hadn't even been there. Blinking as the two boys staggered past her, Kagome turned and swiftly reached out a hand, catching Kohaku's shoulder and stopping him in his tracks. He froze for a moment, then vigorously shook his head as if trying to clear his mind. Kagome frowned.

"Where are you two going?" she asked in a low tone. Kohaku jumped slightly, as if he did not expect her to be there despite having her hand on his shoulder or having walked right past her not even a second ago. Slowly, he turned to face Kagome.

"Going? I… wasn't going anywhere, Kagome-sama," he replied, then looked around. His eyes widened for a while and his expression turned into that of genuine surprise. "When did I even get outside?" he asked no one in particular, truly perplexed.

"Just now," Kagome answered, her frown deepening. Looking past Kohaku, her sharp eyes easily found Souta. The boy was still walking, or rather staggering, to some unknown destination. "Souta! Get back here. Where in the seven hells do you think you're going?" Kagome called after him, although she made sure not to yell too loud – she didn't want to wake the entire village, after all. Souta, however, had blatantly ignored her. Huffing angrily, Kagome was about to go after him when Kohaku suddenly spoke, his words halting her where she stood.

"It's like that time… that time when I… when my blade…" he stammered, obviously incapable of finishing the sentence aloud. But he didn't need to. Kagome understood perfectly what time he was talking about. Frowning worriedly, she knelt next to the boy and laid both hands on his shoulders, suddenly feeling very uneasy.

"What is like that time?" she asked softly, but urgently. When the boy didn't reply right away, she urged him to answer. "Kohaku?" she asked, causing the young demon slayer's eyes to focus on her again. "What is like that time?" she repeated, her voice harder this time, demanding an answer.

"The way it felt," Kohaku answered slowly. "Just like when I… just now, too. I knew what I was doing, and yet I didn't. I couldn't control my body… but I didn't notice I was moving either. It felt just like back then… and yet different," she said, struggling to find the correct words to describe the feeling. But the little he had said was enough for Kagome to understand and she quickly turned around to glance at Souta's retreating figure.

"Possession?" she asked no one in particular, although she was almost sure she knew the answer. "From a distance. That's why no one noticed anything. The children weren't kidnapped, they just up and left on their own, controlled by the demon," the hanyō-girl whispered furiously, the current situation suddenly more than obvious. She chastised herself for not having thought of it sooner, although a part of her knew there was no way she could have realized it. 'If that's how it is, then Souta will be heading straight towards the demon… maybe even its den.'

The thought was as wonderful as it was terrifying. On one hand, it meant they had a way to find the demon and the other children (hopefully, anyway). On the other hand, it meant that Souta might very well be heading towards his doom. Kagome's fists clenched, every single cell in her body yelling at her to catch up and wake the boy up, as she had done with Kohaku. But she stopped herself. This was their only chance. If they followed Souta now, they'd find the demon and possibly the rest of the children. She couldn't allow her instincts to protect her mother's blood to jeopardize the possibility of saving everyone else.

'Sometimes, when dedicating your life to protection, you need to choose. Sacrifice many to save one, or risk losing one to save many. I know that. And I know what the right choice is. Not that it makes it any easier,' Kagome thought, forcing herself to turn back towards the hut.

"Kagome-sama?" Kohaku spoke up, astonished that she turned her back on someone who was so obviously being led to his death. Kagome fought to keep her voice even.

"Right now, he's our only option to find the demon that took all the other children. So we let him go. We'll wake up the others and follow him to the yōkai's den," she replied to the unasked question.

"But he could be killed if he goes. We're sacrificing him without even giving him a choice," Kohaku tried to argue, but Kagome swiftly interrupted him.

"Only if we're not strong enough to ensure his safety. Only if we aren't capable of getting him out of the trouble we're pushing him into. I won't allow either of those conditions to ever become reality," Kagome fired back resolutely, not a shred of hesitation in her voice. "We'll follow him, find the den, kill the demon and bring the children back. All of them, Souta included. That's all there's to it."

If there was one thing Kagome was certain of as she walked into the hut to wake the rest of her companions and leaving two messages for Kaede (one for Kōga when he arrived at the Goshinboku, which wouldn't be long, and one for Inuyasha in case he returned while they were gone), it was that she had said only the strict truth. Souta would not be killed tonight. She would not allow him to become sacrificial bait.

'I will get you out of the trouble I willingly pushed you into, Souta. I swear. And I hope you'll forgive me for using you like this,' Kagome thought ruefully as she, Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Kirara set out, following the controlled boy's scent trial towards the yōkai's den.

---

And that's it for this month. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I won't know unless you tell me, though ;) But tell me honestly: who expected Kōga's entrance to be postponed, after all? I'm pretty sure you weren't many, if any at all *laughs*

In case you're wondering about the villagers' reaction to Sango: I know she's a demon slayer and that the villagers should, because of it, trust her rather than not. But, put yourselves in the villagers' shoes for a bit. They had just their children taken from them. They don't know by who, demon or otherwise, they don't know where and its doubtful they'll ever see them again. Then, suddenly, out of the blue, a woman arrives claiming to be a demon slayer who can help them. If the arrival itself in the mysteriously appropriate moment isn't suspicious, then at the very least the people would wonder where the slayers have been two days ago, when they were actually needed. Of course, that's not a very reasonable reaction, but that's what I'd expect from a mob of people on the edge of despair, knowing they probably lost their children. Kagome, on the other hand, had in the last fifty years achieved a status close to a deity in the village (courtesy of Kaede's stories), so her presence brings hope into the people's hearts.

With that said, I bit you goodbye until next month :D

Next Chapter: Reiki

See you then!