"How was your first night here?" Kagome asked as they went through their morning ablutions.

"Oh . . . It was all right, I just . . ." Moriko sighed. "I had an awful lot on my mind. Things I left unfinished, people who will be worried if they don't - I suppose you went through something similar when you wound up here?"

Kagome wiped the water from her eyes. "Well, yes. But then I discovered I could return to my time through the Bone-Eater's Well."

"Y- You what?" Moriko squeaked.

She nodded. "I go back to see my family every few weeks. And to pick up some supplies not available in this time."

"How wonderful," Moriko remarked sincerely. "I don't suppose it's possible for me to go," she added softly.

"Oh, I'm - I'm sorry. It's a strange thing; only I can go through. Inuyasha follows me sometimes. It's too bad we didn't come back from the same year, or I could let your family know what happened."

Moriko perked up slightly. "You would do that?"

"If I could, yes. Of course," she replied with a warm smile.

She remembered something from a movie. "Maybe I could write a letter, post-date it to be delivered on a day after I . . . "

"Mm-hmm. And I could pick up some things for you, too, if you like."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no trouble. As long as it can fit into my backpack."

Moriko finally smiled. "Thanks. I'll let you know, okay? Any chance you know what year we're in now?"

"Best I've been able to figure is we're in the Feudal Era, about five hundred years from where we started."

"Five hundred years in the past? No chance I'll run into myself, then. That's a relief, I suppose."

"Relief?" Kagome gazed at her quizzically.

The Immortal nodded. "I wouldn't want to . . . There are events in my past I would be loathe to change, people I would really miss if I hadn't met."

"I can understand that. Where were you living around now?"

"Oh . . . Bavaria, or thereabouts. Lovely land out there. Well, I suppose I'll get breakfast started." She rose to rejoin the others.

"Well, you two had a nice little talk," Sango commented as she made her way over and dipped her hands into the water.

"Yeah. I can't imagine what she must be going through, not being able to return to her own time. Even if she is Immortal and could live long enough . . ."

"I know. The thought of waiting, of having left everything and everyone behind . . . At least she's not alone."

They looked over and saw Jaken telling Moriko something, growing more animated by the minute as he did; it seemed he was reenacting an event from his past.

"Yeah," Kagome sighed. "They make an interesting group, don't they?"

"Kind of like us, don't you think?" she said with a smile.

FQFQFQFQ

"And that was how I came to serve Lord Sesshoumaru," Jaken stated with a flourish.

"He really is quite something, isn't he?" Moriko said softly as she gazed in his direction. What was he looking for, staring off into the distance like that? Her eyes were drawn by the sound of Rin's laughter; Shippo was teaching her a game. 'I wish I knew exactly what year this is. I wonder if I've met Connor yet. And where M-'

"It might not be my place," Miroku interrupted her thoughts. "But I wondered if I might speak with you alone for a few minutes."

"I -" She looked at Jaken, who was giving the monk a peculiar stare. "Maybe just for a minute. Excuse us, Master Jaken." She rose and adjusted her obi.

Out of earshot of the others, Miroku asked how her first night in this era had been.

"Oh, it . . . went well enough. I know it'll take time for me to adjust. My first time around this century, I think I was travelling through the Dark Forest."

"You favour forests?"

She smiled briefly. "It seems that way, yes."

"Are you happy? Travelling with Sesshoumaru and Jaken and Rin, I mean."

"It's only been a day, but . . . yes. Yes, I am happy. As happy as I can be, considering the circumstances."

"Oh. Well . . . What I wanted to ask you . . . Might you be willing to bear my child?"

She was struck speechless for a long moment. "I - Are you always so abrupt?"

"Only with women I believe would bear a fine son."

She shook her head, unable to believe he'd propositioned her in such a manner. "I -" She turned to rejoin the others.

Sango rushed over. "Did that lecherous monk grope you?"

"What? Oh. No." Her face scrunched up with disdain. "He asked me to bear his child."

"Why that . . . How hard did you slap him?"

"Slap? I was in too much shock to do anything like that. Kind of wish I had, though. Does he do that often?"

"Ugh, yes. Nearly every village we stop in, he asks the prettiest girls if they would do him the honour of bearing him a son. Part of his reason for doing so is the curse Naraku placed on his family."

"Curse?"

"Mm-hmm. There is a hole in his hand that sucks in everything around him. He keeps it sealed with sutras, but, one day, it will consume him as his father's and his father's before him. If he dies before we can defeat Naraku, he wants to be sure there is a son to carry on the mission."

"I suppose I can understand that. Even if I could bear children, I don't think . . . With what happened to me, I . . ."

Sango nodded. "You have a lot to deal with as it is. How do you feel about our quest to hunt down Naraku?"

"I must admit that I find myself intrigued by this whole thing. Keeping him from obtaining the Jewel . . ." She recalled Connor's determination to stop the Kurgan. "If he must be stopped, I will help however I can."