The river runs peacefully through the forest and down a short slope, creating a beautiful little waterfall. The light of day shines down the center of the trees, giving sunlight to the riverbank below. Standing naked in the steady river, Kagome and Kaori begin to bathe. From nearby, Kaede and Inuyasha watch in silence.

"I don't believe this!" Kagome suddenly exclaims in disbelief. Her adopted sister glances at her in curiosity. "How can they not know what a bath is?!"

"These are different times, Kagome," Kaori states. "They dig up holes to use the bathroom; it really shouldn't come as a surprise to you."

Kagome, now shivering from the cold water, makes a disgusted face, recalling the fact. "You just had to remind me of that, didn't you?" She squats into the river, her head, shoulders, and half of her chest still remaining on the surface. "Cold!"

Kaori remains standing for the moment. "No shit." She's shivering as well, but has no complaints; like she said, things are different in this time period. She can't really be mad; annoyed, maybe, or irritated, but not mad.

Kaede, on the rocky riverbank, has built a fire for warmth. "Come, you'll take sick if ye don't get out."

Kagome quickly turns her head to look at Kaede. "We can't! We're covered with blood and dirt!" Violently shivering for a moment, she touches her hair; she looks horrified by how it feels. "And I feel like my hair hasn't been washed in a week!"

"Would you stop yelling?" Kaori asks. "There's no reason to be so angry."

"I'm not angry!" Kagome protests. Kaori gives her a look. "I'm not! Yelling just gets the point across faster is all!"

Kaori doesn't believe her. "Uh huh."

Kagome takes a deep breath, gathering herself, and plunges beneath the water's surface. Kaori hears Kaede sigh. She holds back a sigh of her own. She looks towards the elder woman and gazes up at the cliff overlooking the riverbank; Inuyasha is resting on a tree branch, spitefully side-eyeing them.

Kaori glances away, rolling her eyes. "Annoying mutt." Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and holds her nose. She falls backwards, submerging into the river. She stays under briefly, catching sight of Kagome swimming. "I understand her frustration but this is our life now. Might as well accept it." She resurfaces, squatting in the water. She thinks about her true nature. "Which means... I'll have to accept that I'm a demon..." She sighs lowly. "This sucks," she whispers. "I wonder what Kagome is thinking about."

Kagome thinks about the previous night.

Kaede, Kagome, Kaori, and Inuyasha are sitting inside Kaede's home, by the fire. Kagome holds up the fragment of the Sacred Jewel, looking at it intently. Kaede appears calm, despite the alarming situation that has fallen upon them. Kaori is silently existing, unsure what to do or say. Inuyasha is grumpy, as per usual, except maybe more than he has been.

"What did you do to it?" he demands.

"Stop barking, Inuyasha," Kaede commands, exasperated. Kaori snorts; ha, barking.

Inuyasha keeps complaining anyway. "Leave it to her to wind up breaking it!"

"Well, if you'd been a better team player, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place," Kaori butts in. He growls at her; she hisses at him.

"Technically, it wasn't Kagome who broke it, but the crow's foot she attached to her arrow that actually caused it," Kaede informs. "As ye saw, the jewel has now been shattered into many different pieces. One-hundred, one-thousand, who knows? Yet, however many shards there may be, all it will take is one in the wrong hands to bring disaster."

"I'm so sorry," Kagome apologizes, feeling deep remorse. "I had no idea."

"Not to place the blame or anything," Kaori starts. "But it really is Kagome's fault that all of this happened." Kagome is crestfallen by the betrayal. "I agree with you, Kaede, that it was the crow's foot that caused the jewel to shatter, but if Kagome hadn't tossed aside the jewel in the first place, the crow wouldn't have gotten the jewel and we wouldn't have needed to chase it down and use such an...extreme measure to try and get it back."

"You don't have to rub it in..." Kagome quietly says, looking very sad.

"Actions have consequences," Kaori states. "Even in these times. I'm just saying it like it is."

"Finally, something I can agree with," Inuyasha comments.

"I still don't like you," she tells him in a monotone.

"The feeling's mutual, cat," he responds back.

Kaede calls for their attention. "Kagome, Inuyasha, Kaori." The three place their focus back on her. "Only by working together will the three of ye be able to recover the shards of the jewel."

"Huh?" Kagome looks less than pleased by the revelation.

Inuyasha looks the exact opposite of Kagome. "Heh, you won't catch me complaining. I'm one of the wrong hands you were talking about."

"I don't particularly care about this place or the jewel," Kaori admits. "But it's a mistake we definitely need to fix before we take our leave." She glances at Inuyasha. "Besides, it seems only Kagome has the power to keep Inuyasha on a leash; it wouldn't sit well with me if we just left you here to deal with his bullshit."

Kagome just wants to go back home and forget all about this.

Kagome continues to swim and bathe in the river. Kaori continues to allow her mind to roam as she soaks her hair further. Kaede continues to watch them. Inuyasha, too, continues to watch them, and apparently is entirely unaware that he's staring at naked women, one his physical age and one slightly older than such.

Kagome dives back down into the water, desperately wanting to start feeling clean again. Kaori watches for a second before running her fingers through her hair, in an attempt to untangle it a bit. She gazes up at Inuyasha again, when she feels his eyes on her. She stares back for a moment before glancing down at her body. She's almost entirely exposed; everything beneath her hipbone is hidden by the water, barely. She looks back up at him; he's still staring intensely. "You must like what you see if you keep staring like that," she teases, trying to get a rise out of him.

"Huh?" Inuyasha seems confused, until he glances downward, away from her face. "Gah!" Face turning a bright red, he looks away from the river, glaring angrily at the tree branch as if it's at fault for his sudden embarrassment.

Kaori laughs at him. "He's such an innocent puppy." She shakes out the water in her hair. "I guess he didn't get very far with Kikyō." She steps out of the water and onto the rocky riverbank. She approaches Kaede and grabs the new clothing meant for her. She bows her head politely. "Thank you, Kaede." She proceeds to put them on, not bothering to hide in the privacy of the bushes; she hadn't cared earlier about being seen, so she doesn't particularly care now.

Kagome resurfaces, standing. She sighs as she approaches Kaede, too. Then. she suddenly feels eyes on her. She looks upward and freezes; no longer sitting in the tree, Inuyasha crouches on the cliffside, staring innocently down at her, blinking. As she dresses, Kaori glances between the two, snickering to herself; she supposed it was time for round two. Just as Kaori begins to wonder how Kagome will react in comparison to herself, Kagome screams, sitting back in the water to hide herself. "Sit, boy!"

The rosary around Inuyasha's neck glows and pulls him down, knocking him off the clifftop. He face-plants against the rocks of the riverbank with a grunt. He groans as he lies there. Kaori spares him a brief glance of concealed concern before continuing with putting on her new clothing; eh, he deserves what he gets, really. Kagome quickly exits the river, grabs her new clothing, and rushes behind a bush to put them on.

Kaede barely gives Inuyasha a glance. "Thee all right, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha leans up, teeth clenched in anger. "Aw, man." He grabs at the rosary. "I forgot about this stupid necklace of yours."

Kagome tugs on the robe she's putting on, glaring at Inuyasha over the bushes, a hint of blush in her cheeks. "It serves you right for spying on me, you peeping tom!"

"To be fair," Kaori butts in. "I made him realize our state of nudity. Really sorry about that." She doesn't sound very sorry, though; she sounds amused. Finally fully clothed, she steps towards the river to take a look at her reflection. "I look good," she compliments. Her kimono, a wrapped-front (left side over right) garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, is red; her horse-riding hakama, its divided legs similar to trousers, is black; her broad sash is red. Wooden sandals were given to her, too, but she decided against wearing them; barefoot, she is.

Inuyasha lets out a pathetic little moan before speaking. "Ha! Shows what you know! The reason I really came was to-"

Kaede lifts the jewel fragment she guards, turning to Inuyasha. "Ye really came to steal this shard, correct?"

Inuyasha sits up, turning his back to her. "Think you're pretty smart, you old hag."

Kaori snorts, stepping away from the river, approaching the "bickering" two. "Do you have proof that claims otherwise? All you've ever spoken about is the jewel and Kikyō, both which you clearly have an obsession over. So, go ahead; prove Kaede wrong. If you weren't going to steal the shard, what exactly did you have in mind?"

The half-demon in question glares at her. "I don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially not to a mangy cat like you."

Her eye twitches, though barely; his remark has bothered her a tad. "Mangy, huh? Those sound like some fighting words." She hides her displeasure with a scoff, staring him down with narrowed eyes. "Whatever you say, filthy half-breed." His glare intensifies. She's seconds away from smashing a stone against his head; he's likely feeling the same way but about her.

Kaede briefly studies the two of them before speaking directly to Inuyasha, continuing their interrupted conversation. "I see. Ye think to do it alone, do ye? Ye forget only yon girl can find those shards, while only ye, Inuyasha," the half-demon in question looks very irritated, "have strength enough to take them back once found."

Inuyasha glances towards her. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm still here, ain't I? I can put up with anything for the jewel."

"Even a 'mangy cat' like myself?" Kaori questions, half curious, half annoyed.

"Even you," he confirms. "And I just so happen to hate your guts."

Kaori places her hand on her chest, above her heart. She speaks in sarcasm. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me; I hate you, too. Deeply." She gazes off towards the side a bit and suddenly smiles. "You look great, too, Kagome."

"Hmm?" Curiosity kills the dog; Inuyasha glances in the same direction Kaori's looking and becomes dumbfounded. Kagome, now attired in a very detailed white robe and red hakama that matches with Kaede's, looks exactly like Kikyō, especially with her hair tied up in the same exact manner. He silently watches, his astonishment turning back into anger as Kagome approaches. Without a word uttered, she folds her school uniform. A growl escapes him; how dare she look more like Kikyō now. Kaori automatically hisses at him in response.

"And what ails ye now, Inuyasha?" Kaede asks. He doesn't say a word; he just keeps glaring and slowly shuffles himself sideways from them. Kagome and Kaori glare back.

Shortly thereafter, when the four have gathered around the campfire, a middle-aged woman from the village appears, with a baby bundle strapped onto her. She asks for Kaede's assistance with her daughter; after a very brief explanation and private conversation between the two, Kaede leaves the area with the woman, forcing Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kaori to be without supervision.

What could possibly go wrong, now that their moral compass has left them? Everything and nothing, all at once.

An awkward silence lies between the three. Mixed with it is tension, which only seems to build each time the three interact with one another. None of it eases as they stare off into the distance, watching Kaede's retreating form. Kaori shifts her gaze elsewhere, and only she does; she glances between Inuyasha and Kagome, both still staring after Kaede from where they sit/stand. She purposely sighs, breaking the lingering silence between them.

Inuyasha glances towards Kagome. "Hey." It's less of a greeting, more of an aggressive call for one's attention.

Kagome turns her head to look at him, irritated. "Now, what do you want?"

"Get undressed," he nonchalantly requests. Shortly afterwards, simultaneously, two loud crashes echo through the atmosphere. Kaori, in her initial shock of that command, somehow tripped over nothing as she shifted her weight, landing roughly on the rocks; she didn't seem to mind, though, as she, a few seconds later, bursts into laughter. All while at the same time, Kagome has picked up a large rock and hits Inuyasha in the back of the head with it. He winces very loudly, holding his head, in immense pain. "Ow! That hurt! Why did you-?!"

"You're such a pig!" Kagome exclaims in disgust. Meanwhile, Kaori is still rolling in laughter on the ground.

Furious, he lets go of his injured head and points where Kagome's uniform is hanging to dry. "I didn't say, "get naked", stupid!"

Kaori, breathless, makes a remark. "But you said "get undressed", which is equivalent to "get naked", stupid." She stands up, taking a breath, wiping the tears from her eyes. "At least where we're from."

"I'm not talking to you!" he yells at her before returning to addressing Kagome. "I just can't stand seeing you in those clothes!"

Kagome looks insulted. "Why? Because I look like Kikyō?"

He opens his mouth to respond but his words fall short; he's stumped. Sweat drops down the side of his head. He looks away from her, indignantly. "That's got nothing to do with it, okay?"

"Sure, it doesn't," Kaori lowly comments in the background.

Kagome doesn't believe him. "Oh, please! Our little brother is more mature." She puts her hands on her hips; the nonsense needs to end. "Look, I don't want to do this either, okay? But the three of us have got to work together."

He side-eyes her. "I ain't got to do nothing. It's you who needs me."

"You've got that backwards," Kaori mutters, still making comments in the background as she lets the two argue. Strangely, it's kind of entertaining; reminds her a bit of the arguments Kagome has sometimes with their brother. Her smile falters a bit; she misses their family.

"Oh, I get it. So, you don't care if we just go back home," Kagome retorts.

Kaori raises an eyebrow, watching her. "Surely, she didn't mean that; we can't just abandon everybody and let them deal with her mistakes." She crosses her arms and impatiently taps her foot. "She better just be joking."

Inuyasha's ears twitch at Kagome's words, but he doesn't say anything; he just keeps his back turned towards her again. His ears twitch again when she moves past him from behind. Becoming curious, he glances at her, looking genuinely confused by her behavior. "Hey, where you going?"

Kagome gathers her school uniform; it's still damp. "What do you care? I'm-We're going home." She folds the clothing over one of her arms. "Goodbye, Inuyasha." She begins to walk away. "Come along, Kaori." Kaori is flabbergasted by the cold command, but finds herself following her younger adoptive sister, anyway, her soaked clothing in hand.

Inuyasha jumps up, caught off-guard by the spontaneous decision. "You can't just leave! You-!"

She keeps walking forward, in the direction Kaede went; Kaori silently follows, still lost in her astonishment. "My name isn't "you". It's Kagome."

He still doesn't say her name. "Wait, stupid!"

"It's not stupid either," Kagome says.

Kaori chooses then to break out of her stupor, not having heard a single bit of the conversation. "Kagome, you can't be serious right now." She walks alongside her, instead of behind her. "We can't just leave; we have a situation to fix."

"That's just too bad, isn't it?" Kagome muses. "We never asked for this; they shouldn't have expected our help."

"Yeah, well, that may be true, but they didn't ask for this either," Kaori points out. Sure, the sisters have been through a lot in just a matter of days, but as a result of the trouble they unintentionally caused, the villagers are suffering and they'll continue to suffer from the repercussions until the sisters set things straight again. "They could've gone about their whole lives without much issue if we hadn't shown up in the first place to upset the...balance."

"Then, why don't you just stay here and help them?" Kagome questions, sounding angry.

"You know that I can't," Kaori says, trying to stay civilized when she actually wants to un-fatally throttle her adoptive sister. "Kaede said so; only you can see the shards. Inuyasha and I are just muscle." She looks down at herself briefly. "Well, Inuyasha is our muscle until..." She takes a deep breath. "...Until I transform into...what I'm gonna transform into."

"But you're a demon," Kagome states, as if she's realized something. She's got a glint in her eyes.

"Yeah, I just said that. And?" Kaori questions. "What of it?"

"Demons want the jewel," Kagome points out. "They seem to know where it is, all of the time. So, they'll know where the shards are, right? So, you, a demon, should be able to sense where the shards are. I'm not needed."

Kaori replies flatly. "First off, my abilities haven't fully developed yet, so I can't sense shit. Secondly, you are needed; the jewel affects demons. You're not a demon. It won't corrupt or influence you, but it could do that to me. I hope it doesn't, but it could."

Kagome just hums in acknowledgement. Kaori sighs.

"Will you two just wait and hear me out?!" Inuyasha yells from behind them, wagging his fists in the air.

Kaori blinks, pausing her walking to look back at him. "Oh, right, you're still here." The sisters hadn't gotten too far down the riverbank.

Kagome stops walking, too, briefly turning around. "Why?" she answers him. "So you can try and stop me?"

Kaori gives her a side-eye. "You're thinking too highly of him. He probably just wants the shard."

Inuyasha slides on over to them with an outstretched hand. "No. So you can give me your jewel shard."

"I knew it," Kaori comments, huffing. "Predictable."

"Oh, this?" Kagome innocently asks, holding up a tiny pouch. She glares at him for a moment before deciding what she'll do. "Sit, boy!" Inuyasha crashes face-first onto the ground. Kagome calmly walks away afterwards, twirling the pouch in the air. Kaori follows her again, a smirk on her face; she'll probably always enjoy that little punishment of his.

Inuyasha groans, raising his head from the rocks. "Why, you-"

"It's Kagome," she loudly snarks.

Kaori snorts. "That's right; you tell him."

Kagome fumes. "Why, that stupid, ignorant, little-! He never once used my name! Not once!"

"As far as he's concerned, our names are "stupid" and "cat", and whatever other insult he can come up with in a short span of time," Kaori says, trying not to laugh at Kagome's anger towards Inuyasha. "We might have to get used to that."

"Not a chance!" Kagome exclaims, making the pouch spin into the air. She catches it when it comes back down. "We're going home!" Kaori's amused expression becomes a sober one in an instant; she'd forgotten about that. All she can hope is to convince Kagome to stay; otherwise, the old world is doomed without her.

Along the journey to the dry well, Kaori and Kagome have been loudly arguing. At first, the conversation was going well; Kaori was being calm, civilized, trying to convince Kagome to stay, but when Kagome started getting more and more aggressive with her responses, Kaori had enough. So, now, they argue as they approach the source of their newfound suffering.

"I already told you why I can't stay without you!" Kaori yells, stomping behind Kagome. "I may be able to sense the shards, eventually, but demons apparently go mad with power around the jewel! It may just be in shards now, but I'm not willing to take the risk of touching one and going nuts! Therefore, you have to stay! These people are doomed without you! You're literally the only person who can set things right again!"

"But I want to go home!" Kagome complains. "I miss everyone!"

"What and I don't?!" Kaori exclaims. "I'd much rather be at home than here, but mistakes have been made and they need fixing! Our family can wait; this is much more important! Our entire future, erm, present could be at stake!"

That makes Kagome's steps falter. She quiets down. "...Do you really think so?"

"I..." Kaori hesitates. "I don't know; it's possible. The jewel wasn't supposed to exist anymore in this time period, but now, it does because you-we brought it back. I'd hate to one day see demons suddenly roaming Tokyo, causing havoc."

"...Maybe everything will be okay, though," Kagome insists. "I mean, it's broken now, so the demons can't really use it for anything too terrible."

Kaori sighs and groans. "...Yeah, maybe." The argument has exhausted her. "Whatever..."

They slowly approach the dry well, which has finally entered their view. "That's where we came out," Kagome speaks up, unnecessarily. She walks towards it faster; Kaori continues her slow approach. "It should take us back, right?"

Kaori sighs, uncaring. "I don't fucking know; wasn't it your theory?" Kagome loudly gasps, startling her. "What? What is it?"

Kagome stares into the dry well, horrified. "Bones!"

Kaori steps beside her, rolling her eyes. "Weren't you listening yesterday? Kaede told us that they throw the bones of the supposedly dead demons in here."

"We call it the Bone Eater's well. It's a resting place for the bodies of monsters, though the flesh of those bodies disappears quickly enough."

Kagome sweatdrops. "Oh, right."

Kaori huffs. "Idiot."

Kagome drops her school uniform; it lands neatly on the ground beside her, still perfectly folded. She squats next to the well, looking down at her feet in slight panic. "...I can't go in there now." Behind her, Kaori chokes on air, dropping her own damp clothing; would her adoptive sister make up her damn mind already? Kagome turns and sits on the ground, gazing up at the sky. "What will we do now...?" she softly asks herself.

Kaori gestures behind her, towards the general direction of the village. "Uh, stay, obviously." She looks smug. "And fix the mess you've made while we're at it." Kagome just stares at her. "...Fine, we've made. Happy?"

"Not really," Kagome answers in a whisper. She looks back up, towards the sky. Something suddenly glistens in the light. "Hmm?" A falling leaf slices cleanly in half when it passes through the glimmering light. "Huh?"

Kaori raises an eyebrow at her, confused by her sudden behavior. "What's the matter now?" she asks, exasperated. "Don't tell me you've come up with an excuse to avoid doing your duties? The people need us." As Kagome stands up, and as Kaori reaches towards her, they both flinch; Kagome reaches for her cheek and Kaori jerks her hand back, gazing at the back of it. They've both been cut by something. "What the hell...?" Kaori mutters.

Kagome gazes around. Spread across the area, there's an entanglement of very long hair; it's surrounding them. "That looks like...hair!"

Kaori glances around, alert. "I don't see anything." She glances back at Kagome, who looks panicked. "I'm not saying I don't believe you; I got cut, too, see?" She shows her the blood on her hand; the light wound has already healed. "...Right, instant healing; forgot about that." She hesitantly reaches out to Kagome; her finger tips get slightly sliced. Kagome gasps, staring at Kaori in horror. "Don't worry about it." Already, the injury heals, just like previously. "Kagome, stop panicking. We'll get through this. Together."

"O-Okay," Kagome stutters.

"Oh, my. Oh, me. You can see it then," a seductive tone rings through their ears. The sisters look up; standing on a strand of hair is a woman. Her appearance is striking: a red ribbon is tied in her short black hair; a black ribbon choker is wrapped around her neck; her tunic is black and sleeveless, cut off midway down her thighs and exposing the cleavage of her large chest; a yellow sash is tied at the front of her attire; her hands are covered in thin, tight black gloves, which are holstered by her middle fingers and extended beyond her wrists, just short of mid-forearm; tight black cloths act as foot guards on both her legs, which start midway up her shins down to her middle toes, each held by thin straps at the bottom arches of her feet; lastly, her sword is holstered on her left hip. "My net of hairs, I mean," she continues. Wrapped around her fingers, like a puppeteer's strings, is hair. "Pity, because seeing's not enough."

"Who the hell are you?!" Kaori yells, glaring up at the demon.

The woman giggles evilly. She twists her hand briefly; unbeknownst to the sisters, the demoness has attacked the village. "How do you do? I'm Yura of the Hair, though you needn't bother to remember because you'll be dead soon!" Stretching out her right arm, several strands of hair reel towards Kagome; they begin hitting her like whips. Kaori rushes forward, getting cut by the other strands in the process; she endures the hits she takes in Kagome's place. "I'll be having the jewel, if you don't mind." She pulls on a stand of hair, which takes out the pouch in Kagome's clothing. Grabbing it, she opens the bag to find only a shard. She gasps in shock. "You naughty, naughty girl. You've shattered the jewel. Where's the rest? Or I shall be cross."

"That wasn't cross?" Kaori groans, feeling cuts along her body. Behind her, Kagome is feeling no better, in pain from the attack.

"Answer the question," Yura cooly demands. "Where is the rest of it?"

"I'm..." Kagome hesitates. "I'm not really sure."

"Oh..." Yura sounds, and looks, very disappointed by the answer. Her sword floats towards her. "In that case-" She grips the hilt of the sword and lunges down at them, ready to slice through their flesh, personally. "I may as well finish you right now!" Kagome gasps; Kaori yelps. Grabbing onto Kaori's clothing tightly, Kagome steps backwards, pressing against the dry well. As Yura swings her sword at them, aiming for their heads, they duck in a manner that sends them both falling backwards into the well, screaming. "No fair escaping!" Yura yells at them, throwing her sword in their direction inside the well.

Nothing happens.

Yura hums. She lands on top of the dry well, staring down. Her sword returns to her, completely clean. She leans over, peering down there still. "That's strange." She rests her blade against her shoulder, leaning back up. "Come to think of it, so was that girl. No normal human would travel with a demon, after all."

The damp clothing of the sisters are all that remain of them, resting on the ground where they'd been left.

The modern day world lies quiet as the evening quickens towards nightfall. Down in the well, a place meant to be off-limits to anyone and everyone, Kagome and Kaori lie. Only the youngest seems to be unconscious; the oldest stares up at the pitch blackness, her earlier wounds having already healed again. She stays silent.

Beside her, Kagome begins to awaken. Groaning, she sits up. Blinking, she gazes around at the darkness surrounding them. Kaori sits up, too, staying silent, thinking about what happened. "Where are we?" She feels the ground, gasping; there are bones. "We're in the well," Kagome realizes. "Which is where we fell when that woman pushed us."

"We fell because we dodged," Kaori quietly comments. "If we hadn't moved when we did, we'd be dead right now instead."

Kagome glances at her. "What's the matter?" Kaori doesn't respond, becoming silent again. Kagome becomes worried. "Kaori?" Suddenly, familiar voices can be heard from above.

"But we've already been in here a dozen times."

"But, look, grandpa, I keep telling you, this is where they fell."

"But are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"But I wasn't!"

Light shines above the sisters. Kagome gasps; they've returned home. The theory had actually been true. Beside her, Kaori doesn't look very pleased to be back; in fact, she doesn't even look dismayed, she's just silent and blank-faced, though there may be sadness in her eyes. Suddenly, a torchlight shines into the well and the faces of their grandfather and brother appear from above. Kagome exclaims, "Grandpa! Sōta!" Kaori keeps quiet.

It takes some time, but eventually, the sisters climb out of the dry well. Kagome steps out and into the courtyard of their family shrine. Behind her, Kaori, Sōta, and Grandpa Higurashi follow; Kaori has her arm around Sōta's shoulder, and he almost manages to return the favor when he hugs her waist but his arms are too short. No one speaks a word.

Kagome looks at the scenery; the temple structures, telephone poles, shops in the streets, everything to prove they're really back home. "We're back," she whispers, tears filling her eyes. "We're finally home."

"You two were missing for three full days," their grandpa informs them. "The least you could have done was called."

"And why are you both wearing those weird old clothes?" Sōta asks.

"..." Kaori sighs. "It's a long story, which we'll tell you. Soon."

Kagome twirls around and dives into their grandfather's arms, wailing loudly. "Grandpa! I was so scared!"

Kaori watches as he comforts her, or tries to comfort her, anyway. Sōta and him look at her, after a moment, as Kagome continues sobbing. "Soon," Kaori repeats. "We'll tell you soon."

Kaori is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Directly behind her is the bathroom, which Kagome has claimed for batheing. She awaits her turn, feeling dirty. Only, she doesn't physically feel filthy; guilt is overwhelming her. If they hadn't ducked, they'd be dead, but in the process of saving their own lives, they left the villagers to fend for themselves. They left the humans of the old world to deal with the consequences of the jewel being shattered. She wonders if they'll start noticing differences here, thanks to leaving the shards behind in the past where they shouldn't have ever returned.

She holds her head, slouching over. Now, here they are, back at home. Kagome may be able to pretend it never happened, but the rest of them aren't gonna be able to; they were missing for three days. Now, they'll have to explain to their family why Kaori is gonna change, sprouting a tail and cat ears and whatever else that Kaede said, which she can't remember at the moment. She pulls at her hair and whispers, "Everything's fucked..."

She can only hope that they'll return to the past, but she strongly believes it won't happen; everything's connected to Kagome and if she doesn't wish to return, then they won't.