Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Words: 100

Chapter Eight:

The Stranger

The first thing Kagome did after she ate was bathe. She sat in the bathtub for a long time, scrubbing from her skin the dirt and frustration and pain from the past few months.

At last, she was raw and new. But as she stared into the foggy mirror, Kagome saw Kikyo and decided her hair had grown too long.

Finding the pair of shears her mother used to cut Souta's hair, Kagome sliced through the last painful reminder of her unreachable, unattainable past.

When she looked back at the mirror, she saw a stranger she was ready to meet.