A/N: Ok, so that was a lot longer than a month! Sorry folks, life caught up with me.

The Way It Has To Be

Chapter 6 – Forget Me Not

A sudden kick to her stomach jolted Kagome from her sleep with no warning. Blearily, she looked around to find the offender. A second kick left her gasping for breath, but at least now she knew who was responsible. Shippo was curled up next to her, obviously caught in a dream of some kind. He was making rather familiar thrashing movements – 'dream Shippo' was either running or fighting, she wasn't sure which.

'I wonder what he's fighting…or running from…or chasing, even.' She smiled fondly. 'If it's anything like last time, he's chasing butterflies again.'

Kick number three was harder than the others and had her frowning – and amending her previous thought. 'Okay…make that really big, nasty butterflies.' She huffed in mock indignation. 'I don't have to put up with this abuse!'

Oh well, at least it was morning and not the middle of the night. If it had still been dark she would not have been happy. Kagome was not by definition what you would call a 'morning person'.

She gingerly shifted Shippo off of her and onto the rest of the sleeping bag, trying desperately not to wake him up. Fortunately he merely sighed and snuggled into the warm covering, still kicking faintly. Silently getting up, Kagome looked around to see who else was awake.

To her surprise, Miroku was still fast asleep – his face for once peaceful and free of worry. It was such an unusual sight that she was tempted to take a photo in case it never happened again. Not that she would be there to see it, of course…maybe she should take that photo.

Heroically resisting the lure of capturing a sleeping Miroku on film – which action would result in a mass-awakening and a lot of cranky people – she grabbed her camera and headed outside. It was becoming clearer every day that her time in Sengoku Jidai was growing short…so there was no time to waste just lying in bed! 'Very likely I've only got a few days left here,' Kagome thought sadly as she walked, 'so I'd better make the most of it.'

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Miroku yawned widely as he came awake, stretching luxuriously as he felt his muscles tingle from the slow movement. He allowed himself this admittedly undignified method of waking up, safe in the knowledge that no-one else would be awake to see.

Well, no-one but Sango, who couldn't care less these days. And she was usually gone when he opened his eyes anyway. He looked around and sure enough, her corner was empty. Shaking his head sadly at the problems that plagued his warrior friend, he glanced oh-so casually over to where Kagome would still be sleeping.

The sleeping bag was empty, except for a dozing kitsune.

Miroku froze, his first reaction being to panic. 'She wouldn't…not without even saying goodbye!' He began to struggle to his feet, tangling himself hopelessly in his suddenly constrictive robes in his haste. Finally freeing himself, he stumbled outside and looked around wildly – nearly crashing headlong into the object of his mad search. Miroku squinted when a shaft of sunlight reflected off of the Shikon no Tama and straight into his eyes. It was a timely reminder.

'Idiot,' he thought in immediate relief, 'she wouldn't leave before the Shikon no tama was taken care of.' Inwardly he smacked himself on the forehead at his assumption. 'And she wouldn't leave her sleeping bag behind either!' The monk watched quietly as the young miko wandered around, still unaware of his arrival, while she took photographs of the surrounding area.

When she had still failed to notice him after a few minutes, Miroku slipped away for a quick dip in the river. His fright had left him distinctly shaken, and he still felt the need to calm down. Hopefully the cold water would help.

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Sango watched wordlessly as the monk strode off in the direction of the river. As was her habit lately, she had been observing the hut and its inhabitants very closely ever since waking. Until today the routine had not changed – but this morning Kagome had been the first one to come outside. It had been almost comical to watch the monk come blundering through the doorway in an uncharacteristic hurry a little while later. She had seen his face shift rapidly from looking worried, to immensely relieved, to annoyed, and finally to resigned…all in the space of a minute or so. But there was no missing the way his eyes tracked her friend's every movement, nor denying his tendency to lean slightly in whatever direction the girl headed. He caught himself doing this from time to time lately – Sango could tell from the small shake of the head that he would make when he realized. It was like watching someone come out of a trance.

Some part of her mind was muttering that the notorious lecher needed a boomerang to the head, and that Kagome obviously needed protection from the romantically-inclined menace – but the voice drowned under the constant roar of anger that had been present in her thoughts ever since the final battle.

Ever since Kohaku had…died.

A familiar sensation crept into her awareness. Youkai were approaching the village, no doubt in an attempt to wrest the prized Shikon no tama from its guardian. 'As long as that thing exists,' she thought heatedly, 'the village is in danger of youkai attack. What is she waiting for?' The demon exterminator doggedly made her way towards the nearby intruders, relishing the chance to work off some of the rage she was experiencing these days. Without warning, her treacherous subconscious pointed out that getting rid of these stubbornly aggressive youkai would be much easier with Inuyasha to help. And then the answer to her previous question hit her. It was obvious, in hindsight.

Kagome was just waiting for Inuyasha to wake up.

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Kagome found her feet leading her through the village, eyes drawn to the various sights which she hadn't really had the time to notice before. Indeed, apart from the first (relatively) peaceful days of her time in Sengoku Jidai, the village had mostly raced past her in a speeding blur as Inuyasha dragged her off to find the next Shikon shard. Now that she had the opportunity to slow down and really look, she was very pleased with what she saw.

In the manner of mothers and housewives everywhere, the women tended to gather together and discuss everything from teething problems to politics. Of course, also keeping to the pattern, they never let their esteemed husbands know just how much they understood.

In turn, the men prattled on between themselves about how smart they were, how intelligent, how superior – never dreaming that their lowly wives were laughing at them behind their superior backs. And from time to time, they would do some work. Truly, some things never changed.

She took photo after photo.

- Emiko-san and Yoko-san haggling over a basket of vegetables;

- Little Marika-chan chasing her family's chickens around her house;

- A group of girls sitting in a circle under a shady tree, exchanging the latest gossip…

She lowered the camera slowly, her eyes slightly wide and just a bit sad. Without really knowing it, she had gotten to know these people, this…this place.

And she was really, really going to miss it.

It felt oddly like home. Once again her mind started racing futilely, searching from any, absolutely ANY possible loophole that would allow her to stay. It didn't help that in the middle of her mental scramble she espied a distinctly wet-looking Miroku trudging gracefully from the direction of the river.

How did he do that, anyway? Trudging gracefully? It was a typically 'Miroku' way of moving…and she really had to stop her thoughts from wandering like that!

No doubt the…er, the 'graceful trudger' would have something to say about their little talk last night. She was no fool – she had heard his breath suddenly catch, had caught a glimpse of his shocked expression when he thought she wasn't looking. And he had looked…well, devastated. That was somewhat surprising, even though they had certainly become very close in the last few weeks.

Kagome sighed deeply, allowing her feet to carry her wherever they wanted. And in the back of her mind, she wondered if Inuyasha would have anything to say about her leaving.

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For once, Miroku reflected, the cold water had done what it was supposed to do. After his (rather bracing – brr!) swim, his thoughts had settled down and started to make some kind of sense.

He had a choice. He could oppose Kagome's decision, moping and frowning and generally making the poor girl feel miserable and terribly guilty. Or, he could accept what was going to happen and use the time remaining to his best advantage. (In a completely honourable way, of course!)

The second option was much harder than the first – especially when he was so very firmly against her going that if pressed hard enough, he could conceivably start throwing a tantrum – but she would be much happier if her decision was supported by her friends. Including her 'more than friends' friends. He knew that she was expecting a very serious talking to after what she had said the previous night, and was clearly dreading any confrontation. And more than anything, he didn't want her to stop talking to him now.

His mind finally made up, Miroku quickly broke into a jog, catching up with a rather bemused Kagome. "So, Kagome-sama, I was wondering if you would tell me a bit more about that 'future world' of yours? After all – "

He broke off at the sudden elbow to the ribs. Kagome glared pointedly at the arm which had somehow slipped around the girl's waist without his knowledge. He coughed. "Ahem, sorry – habit, you know." The monk quietly removed the offending hold, only to lay his arm comfortably across her shoulders. To his mild surprise he got a wry smile in response. Relieved, he grinned down at her.

"As I was saying – before I was so rudely interrupted – holy men such as myself," he chose to ignore her softly incredulous chuckle, "are known for their love of learning and knowledge. Helps to pass the time, I am told. And what kind of monk would I be if I did not take this chance to learn about the future, of all things?"

They walked in silence for a moment.

"What do you want to know?"

Hmm…

"So where does all that strange food of yours come from?"

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Sango, although rather tired from the thwarted youkai attack, continued to stealthily watch her comrades as time wore on. It was a predictably silent gathering around the fire that evening. Shippo, nearly the only person who still attempted to start any kind of conversation these days, was just glad to see his beloved Kagome out and about – and seemed to have decided not to run the risk of upsetting her and triggering a relapse in her behaviour. He was, instead of bothering everyone, drawing quietly in the corner.

By comparison, Miroku appeared to be so tightly wound that he might snap at any given moment – but he only had eyes for Kagome, and so missed the sharp look in Sango's eyes which saw everything and revealed nothing.

Kaede sat quietly apart from the others, also keeping an eye on the changing attitudes of the ones under her care. Inuyasha, she noticed, did not look quite as pale as he had before. It was a sign that he was finally improving, and would possibly wake up in a day or so. She wasn't sure what would happen when he did.

Miroku's mind was spinning. In all his years of religious training, he had never tried to fit quite so much new information in all at once. Electricity, cars, school, food – the concept of 'refrigerators' was amazing to him…imagine, food you could keep for longer than a day or so! – television, computers, and who knew what else. Rationally, he knew that for Kagome it was all commonplace, an everyday fact, but for him…it was absolutely incredible. Some of it he had listened politely to, but really wouldn't be able to believe unless he could see it for himself. And there was a limit to what Kagome could fit down the small opening of the well…

But the main cause for his rather nervy behaviour (he couldn't help fidgeting in his place, drawing some curious looks from Kaede) was that he was waiting ever-so impatiently for the others to go to bed already! It was evening – time for fireside conversations, and no interruptions! It was the highlight of his day, not to be missed, and he just wanted everyone else to go to sleep right now.

Finally he got his wish; people murmured their 'goodnights' and drifted off to sleep, leaving him free to start the new tradition that they had formed. He caught Kagome's eye and gave a little smirk, reaching for the blindfold that he had gotten used to using. To his utter shock, Kagome reached out an impulsive hand and stopped him from picking it up. "No, Miroku-sama…I think by now I'd feel rather silly, making you wear that thing. Leave it off."

Well. This was new.

Cautiously, he shifted around so that he was sitting next to her with his back to the wall. If he moved just an inch or so over, their shoulders would be touching…and he kept that thought firmly to himself. "Why were you taking all of those – erm – fo-tos today, Kagome-sama?"

To his delight, she gave a soft almost-laugh. "Yes, you got the word right. Well, I was taking them so that I wouldn't forget what everything around here looked like." Her voice turned sad. "I've spent so much time here, and I love it so much – I would hate to forget anything."

He began to nod in understanding, but then stiffened as an unwelcome thought occurred to him. "You haven't taken any photos of me, if I recall correctly – should I read anything into that?"

'Please say no, please say no…'

"No! Oh, I would never let myself forget you!" She looked at him suddenly and blushed. "Uh, any of you." The girl brightened. "Anyway, I nearly took a photo of you this morning, but decided not to because the flash would wake everyone."

This time he did nod – and very surreptitiously closed the gap between them, letting their shoulders touch. She didn't appear to notice. "If I may ask a very important question, Kagome-sama?"

She didn't dare turn her head to face him – they were so close! – but she nodded in assent.

"What are you going to do about Shippo when you leave?" He heard her suck in a pained breath sharply, and mentally apologised. But it was an important question. "You know he's not going to take it well – who do you want to look after him? It goes without saying that he can't go off on his own yet."

"I've been thinking about it," she admitted, her eyes on the youkai child asleep on her (their?) sleeping bag. "And I really can't say. I mean, Kaede would look after him well, but maybe he would want to go with some youkai? After all, it's what he is. I think I would have to ask him. He's still not old enough to leave, that's true, but he is old enough to have a say in what happens to him." She sighed despondently. "You're right – he's really not going to take this well at all."

"He's not the only one," Miroku muttered under his breath. The next thing he knew, a small, warm hand was resting very, very lightly on top of his own. Surprised, he turned slightly to meet Kagome's eyes. Did she even know…? Yes, evidently she did, as she was looking at their two hands as she spoke. His heart started skipping beats all over the place. Her touch was unbelievably light…

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly – and in those two words he could hear her apologising for everything that had happened, and everything that was going to happen. He could see unshed tears shining in those amazing blue eyes, and he felt his own throat starting to close up a little. Miroku steadied himself and leaned closer to her – and kissed her on the cheek.

"I know," he sighed. And then without giving her any say in the matter, he looped one arm securely around her shoulders and arranged their position so that she was half-lying with her head resting on his shoulder. She took a breath, as though she was going to argue about this…and then to his silent relief she said nothing. He stroked her long hair gently as he lulled her off to sleep.

"I know."

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Hope you're still reading! Sorry I stayed away so long...