Despite his teasing, Satoru does not take her into an empty classroom nor does he teleport her home. After joining the others, he insisted that Shoko check her out just in case. A part of her feels a little bad for rushing through the barrier without him, and it is only natural that he'd freak out about her fighting off so many unknown enemies. Kagome gives Shoko-san a small smile as the tired doctor argues with Satoru about the state of the wannabe butcher-looking man. It's pretty clear Satoru is not paying even the slightest bit of attention to the explanation on how much unnecessary work he's given to Shoko-san.

Luckily, the casualties weren't too high. Kagome gives a quick prayer to the other sorcerers that weren't so lucky.

"Kagome-san, how do you put up with this menace," Shoko asks, clearly exasperated with Satoru. The bags under her eyes are darker than the last time they met. "It can't be his personality." She pulls her brown hair back into a low ponytail.

"Excuse the fuck out me?" Satoru gasps, places a hand right about his heart. "My personality is amazing. Right Gome-chan?" Even though she can't see his eyes with the blindfold covering them, she's willing to bet money that his eyes are lit up with mischief. "Really, the question should be, how do I put up with all of you bores."

"Don't lie, Kagome-san. Satoru here could use some humbling." Shoko pulls on a glove and walks over to where the butcher guy is lying. She pulls back the white covering, and Kagome's eyebrows shoot up at the sight. There's a mess of limbs that look as though someone has run them through a paper shredder.

Did Satoru do this?

She clucks her tongue. He is always boasting about how he's the strongest and that purple attack he did back in the forest was like nothing she's ever felt before. Even the Shikon perked up at the amount of power radiating from that one blast. Which is yet another thing they need to discuss with Naraku being back. If he gets a whiff about the Shikon being merged with her…

"Ouch," Satoru says, pulling Kagome from her musings.

"What the heck did you do to this guy?" Kagome changes the topic, walking over to where Shoko is busy fixing the guy up. The man's eyes are squeezed shut as though the sight of his limbs is too much. It's actually incredible he is still alive. Satoru must have shown the guy some restraint, though maybe he could try exercising a tad bit more next time. Like simply knocking the guy out if they were gonna keep him around.

"Just raw energy." He shrugs. "Once you get him all fixed up, they'll gonna take him in for questioning."

"So, you didn't use a technique?"

"I gave a lecture on this topic. The teacher in me is disappointed."

"Shoko-san, is there anything that I could help you with?" Satoru huffs behind her. Shoko regards her with a curious expression.

"This doesn't bother you?" she asks, motioning to the dried blood.

"Not really. It's probably the most creative injury I've seen."

"Have you ever tended to someone before?" At Kagome's nod, Shoko continues, "The students need tending too, and I am swamped with cleaning up Satoru's mess here. And there's still some transfigured bodies I need to get to." Shoko gives her a small smile and Kagome smiles back. "Could you take care of the students for me?"

"Of course," Kagome replies, gathering some of the medical supplies from the cabinets. "Come on, Satoru. I don't know where the students are at."

"Do I get medical attention too?"

"You aren't injured." Kagome places some items in his hands and waves goodbye to Shoko.

"My heart is injured," he says, leading them out of the cold room. Kagome briefly wonders if Shoko just likes the bite of the cold so that she stays awake.

"Because I didn't admit to Shoko-san, that your personality is amazing?" She brushes her shoulder against him. She likes how he slows his pace down to match her stride, so she doesn't have to She never feels as though she has to struggle to reach him.

"Ran into another shape-shifter–"

"Naraku?"

"Uh. I never asked its name. I just killed it after I realized it wasn't you. It left behind a wooden puppet. Eh, but that crumbled away with the wind."

"Yeah, that would be Naraku. I didn't think he would target you."

"Who is InuYasha?"

Kagome stops, tightens her grip on the supplies in her arms. Her heartbeat pounds so loudly that she can barely make out any other sound. She didn't dare allow herself to hope in the moment, but seeing Naraku did plant ideas that maybe some of the others were in this world too. But what could she really say or offer up to Satoru that would put him at ease?

The truth is always a good start.

She exhales and takes a step forward, turning so that she is facing him directly. Discussing this on school grounds is a little off-putting. She would prefer to be at home where he wouldn't be wearing his blindfold and she could get a better read on his mood. Though, it is clear that he's not okay with whatever Naraku said to him. His knuckles are sheet white from the grip he has on the medical box and his lips are set in a tight line.

"A high school love," she says. Calling InuYasha her ex-boyfriend isn't really accurate, as they never put a label to what they were doing, and they were never intimate, so calling him an old lover is true either.

"And you were trying to get back to him." He keeps his voice even.

"Yes, and no. I haven't seen InuYasha and the others in nine years. The first year, I tried everything I could to get the well to work and let me back through. After that, I focused on finishing school and then I slowly started moving on. I wasn't trying to get back to InuYasha when the well decided it wanted to work again. I just assumed that I was supposed to." She takes a step forward until her shoes touch his. "Instead of ending up in the feudal era, I ended up in your lap."

He doesn't smile or make a joke like she thought he would. Satoru frowns, as though something is still nagging away at him. "If he showed up… if he were in this world, would you go back to him? You'd probably be safer back at home without all these curses around."

It hits her that despite the level of confidence and power Satoru radiates, he is still human. And he isn't immune to feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps she has not been clear enough on her stance in this relationship. Kagome stacks her items on top of the medical box in his arms and raises herself up on the tips of her feet. Her hands caress the sides of his face, thankful that he bends down for her without her asking. Her lips brush against his.

"Toru, you aren't getting rid of me that easily." The Shikon sends a warming burst of energy through her fingertips. At least, this is something that she and the jewel can agree on.

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for the reviews and for the well wishes with the new job :) I got asked if I would be willing to do some Jujutsu strolls and I know some of you wanted to see more of Megumi and Buyo Jr, so I'm going to create a side story for this world. So if there are any shenanigans that you want to see, just let me know! I hope everyone has a great weekend and that everyone is staying safe and healthy :)