Kagome sat on the edge of the well and hauled up her bags. She was finished with school. Her tests showed that she had no improvement, and rather than waste her mother's money in attempting another year, she would rather be free to roam the countryside with her friends once again. With the back of her wrist, she wiped the sweat from her forehead before fishing for the last of her bags. The hook grabbed onto a strap and with a cry of victory, she slowly pulled the heavy medical bag up.
"Kagome-chan!"
"Sango-chan!" She lifted a hand to wave at her friend and lost hold of the rope. She cringed at the clacking of bottles, and hoped that she had packed them well enough that they had not shattered on impact. She turned to her sister and the firecat. A boy peeked out from behind the woman and she smiled warmly. "Kohaku-kun! How are you feeling?"
"Better, Kagome-sama. Thank you." He spoke softly, sliding off the firecat after his sister. He was dressed in his demon-slaying attire, as was his sister. Both were bloodied. He took hold of the rope for her and hoisted the bags easily from the well bottom. "There were rat demons terrorizing a nearby village."
Sango nodded. "It appears the jewel still draws them."
Kagome pulled the jewel from beneath her jacket and frowned. It still held darkness within it, though she worked for hours each day purifying it. "We need to get rid of it."
The demon-slayers nodded as the miko shoved the jewel back into the safety of her clothing. "How was school?"
"It was," she paused, "interesting. My friends found, well, they... replaced me?" She supplied meekly before shrugging again. Though it had hurt, she really wasn't surprised. She'd been gone for most of the year, and the last time they had spoke, she hadn't been up to conversing with them. They were naive, and she had seen too much bloodshed and violence to take comfort in the newest fashions or their childish crushes.
Sango gave the woman a knowing look before helping her load her bags onto the firecat. They balanced bags and pulled the straps tight on the cat's harness before calling it done. "InuYasha has been stir-crazy since you left. Miroku has him barricaded in a hut."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "I was only gone a week!"
"It's been a long week." Kohaku said, his eyes reflecting the exhaustion he felt. The jewel took a toll on his soul, and there was nothing that none of them could do. Only time would heal the wounds, and nothing but love and understanding would make the scars vanish.
The firecat took the lead to the village and the group of humans trailed behind at a leisurely pace, catching up on current events. None noticed the grey eyes watching them from the safety of the forest.