:( I do not own Inuyasha. But if i had an inuyasha, i'd be the happiest girl ever!

"Tell me again, Miroku, where are we going?" The silver-haired half-demon slumped in his seat, utterly bored.

"Inuyasha," the man sitting next to Inuyasha replied, "we are travelling to a shrine where we are hopefully going to find someone to provide us with the medicines we need."

"Why do we have to drive to the middle of nowhere to do it?" Inuyasha growled.

"Because," piped a voice in the back seat, "there are very few places where you can find medicine just for demons."

"Sango is quite right," Miroku nudged Inuyasha. "So please stop complaining."

"Not to mention that people get suspicious when the mafia walks in and asks for anything."

"Shut up, Shippou!" Inuyasha snapped at the red-haired fox demon who was sitting next to Sango, trying to get reception on his phone. "It's not as though we'd announce it!"

"The point is," Miroku raised his voice, "we are going where we are going because we have to and no amount of whining and complaining will change that. Take it up with Sesshoumaru when we get back, but for now," the monk glanced at Inuyasha, "just be quiet."

~~~~!~~~~~

Inuyasha yawned and stretched as he stepped out of the van. "What a long ride," he mumbled. Then, his eyes opened wide as he surveyed his surroundings. "Th-this is it? A witch lives here?"

"Wow," Sango said, just as shocked as Inuyasha. "Everything is so...so… cute!" Sango gazed at the little house which was situated a few yards from the ancient shrine which stood before the group. It was small and cozy looking, surrounded by a white picket fence. On one side of the house was a garden with bright, cheery flowers and lush herbs. On the other side of the house was a small pond. The house itself was painted a light blue, with windows on every side with old-fashioned wooden shutters. The door was painted a bright white and the windows on either side of it had planter boxes. The shutters were opened slightly, allowing the scent of freshly baked bread to drift out and surround the four people standing by the front gate.

"It's very quaint," remarked Miroku as he stepped forward. He reached out to open the gate and stopped suddenly.

"Well? Go on!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Inuyasha, read the sign." Miroku sighed and pointed at a sign that hung on a fencepost.

Inuyasha bent down and read, "Please ring bell and wait to be greeted at the gate. Trespassers will suffer eternal bad breath and nose-warts…" Inuyasha made a face. "Gross! But that's a nice picture. Maybe this witch gets a lot of clients who can't read."

"Hmm," Sango said quietly, "I don't see a bell. Inuyasha," she said, nudging the half-demon aside, "Let me look at that sign."

"What, don't trust my reading?" Inuyasha said grouchily.

"Well, you're right. It does say, 'please ring bell,' but…" Sango absentmindedly reached out and ran her hands over the sign.

RING

"Woah!" Sango jumped back.

"What'd you do, Sango?" Inuyasha asked, surprised at the loud ringing noise that had seemingly come from nowhere.

"I just touched the sign and-"

Inuyasha reached out and ran his clawed hands over the sign.

RING

"I see," he mused, "the picture of the bell is the bell."

"Well, were is our escort?" Shippou pushed Inuyasha out of the way to peer at the sign.

"Maybe," Miroku pointed, "that's it?"

"Oh man," Inuyasha muttered, "this keeps getting weirder and weirder."

Nervously, they all followed their, 'escort,' through the gate and up to the front door. Sango was first to enter, as she was eager to see what the inside of a witch's house looked like. She was again surprised at how bright and cheery everything was. In the middle of the front room were a table and a few chairs. Against one wall was a couch and against another was a door. There were stairs leading downwards into what Sango assumed was a cellar. The walls, to everyone's surprise, were painted a very pale blue that looked almost white. The scent of fresh bread and cinnamon floated throughout the house. Sango breathed in heavily as she looked for the inhabitant of the house.

~~~~~~~~~~!~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome walked quickly up the stairs and opened to door, entering her front room. She waited. Soon she became aware that her guests were oblivious to her presence. She waited some more. Eventually, the woman in the group noticed her and smiled warmly.

"Hello," she said, stepping forward, extending her hand, "My name is Sango. My er…friends and I are here to get some medicine."

Kagome smiled nervously, (She was not used to having so many visitors, and such young ones at that! Her clients were mostly older folks looking for cures for their arthritis or headaches or bad vision.) and whistled softly under her breath. She relaxed as she saw Ki, her pet and protector, pad softly across the floor and sit by her feet.

~~~~~~~~~!~~~~~~~~~~~

"Inuyasha, stop staring," Miroku nudged Inuyasha forcefully. "You're being rude!"

"Miroku, she looks like…well you know… she looks like…like Kikyo," the half-demon whispered.

"That may be, but please," the monk pleaded, "Stop staring at her! You'll frighten her half to death with your glaring!"

"Wow," Shippou whispered. The three were sitting on the couch and looking quite squished together. Miroku had sat himself down in between Inuyasha and Shippou to keep the two from bickering. "She's pretty," Shippou said under his breath.

"We appreciate your services," Sango said, smiling at the girl sitting across from her who was quite unsettled by having so many people crammed into her small house.

Kagome smiled shyly.

"You have a lovely garden," Sango remarked, "and what's that smell? Bread? It smells wonderful!" Sango breathed in deeply. The demon slayer watched the young girl keenly, aware of how delicate her movements where. Yet, there was something strong about her as well.

~~~~~~!~~~~~~~~

"Thank you, Miss Kagome. May I ask you something? Will you bear my-"

"Monk, that's enough!"

"Y-yes Sango my dear. Farewell Miss Kagome!"

The four companions bid the shy, quiet witch farewell and, quite noisily, took their leave.