A/N: QUICK QUESTION

So I've had this idea for a one shot (also JJK/Inuyasha, different pairing) for…months now, a kind of "what if" scenario of this fic. Originally, I wanted to wait until the email notification issue was solved, but I finally started writing down because at this point I'll forget the premise. Considering I'm working on it on the sideline, it'll probably be done in around two weeks.

Now, it looks like the notifications might finally be working again, but last time it was "fixed" it didn't last long at all. Honestly, there's no guarantee emails are still gonna be working by the time I get it ready, and in case they're not, should I wait or just upload it regardless?

Chapter 6.- Testing the waters

Something was reaching out to her.

"Thanks, you know, for the help."

"Hn."

"It's not that bad, really, no broken bones or anything."

Kagome could feel it. It was probing, tentatively trying to poke around her defenses.

"Naraku ain't here, so just scram already."

"Really? He just got us out of a tight spot; talking for five minutes isn't going to make that big of a difference when we're going back to the village anyway."

"Yeah, right. Last thing that bastard wants to do is talk."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Careful but persistent, it wasn't just exploring around.

"Look, I know this isn't…easy to swallow, but it's not even interfering with our travels, so can we get five minutes?"

"Keh, do what you want."

"As crude as ever, I see."

"He's…trying, I swear. In any case, I didn't think you'd be around here."

Not just prodding…it was trying to break through. Foreign energy pushed against her.

Bright pink filled her vision as soon as her eyes opened, reiki lashing out. Slender fingers closed around air, even as she rushed to her knees, finding her balance despite the soft ground shifting under her feet. Colors blurred, worlds bending together in a dizzying kaleidoscope. Voices clashed against one another, a discordant melody that made it hard to know what body she was in control of.

"Whoa, we're all friends here."

Pale beige walls finally took shape in front of her, her mind latching on to the reality she existed in. The sound of voices of people that never existed, the friends she'd once met dulled over.

Right, Higurashi Kagome had always lived in modern Tokyo, with its Western-style buildings and fluorescent lights. The soft ground under her feet was just a (likely) ridiculously expensive mattress, and standing in front of a tired-looking woman was Gojo Satoru, fake grin firmly in place. His energy was dense inside the room. She'd taken pills to knock herself out, the miko remembered, caught off guard by an ambush she'd forgotten would happen. These last few days had been so full of unexpected turns that Kagome completely forgot to keep track of when their fights would occur, no one's fault but hers. It couldn't happen again. At the very least, she had to be able to prepare herself to work through the pain instead of trying to sleep it off.

"Unpleasant dreams, I take it." Satoru's grin grew bigger, waving away her extremely paranoid behavior. "But anyway, now that we're all awake and present, let's get introductions out of the way: Shoko, this is Kagome. Kagome, this is Shoko, the school's only doctor."

"I'm…pretty sure I said there was nothing to heal." Politeness wasn't quite catching up to her mouth when her mind was doing her best to figure out what was going on.

"Maybe not up here, but there's absolutely something to heal." Amusement shone through as the sorcerer pointed down after tapping his head."You're bleeding again, by the way."

Azure eyes blinked twice before glancing down. Red was seeping into the navy blue sheets, creating dark stains. She really shouldn't be that surprised to find bandages wrapped around her legs. Right, there'd been no tail whipping her into a tree, leaving behind bruised ribs she'd yet to heal, courtesy of Sesshoumaru's unexpected presence and Inuyasha's predictable sulking. The bones didn't break, but the phantom pain echoing in her mind was louder than the stinging ache from her legs. Closing her eyes, Kagome did her best to refocus her consciousness on the correct body. Being abruptly woken up from her drug-induced sleep apparently left her far more disoriented than usual. Careful not to make things worse, Kagome rushed to shift her stance, getting out of her half-kneeling position and sitting on the edge of the mattress. It only took a look for her to notice how much more professional the bandaging work was.

Glancing at the woman still standing behind Satoru, the miko frowned. Overworked might've been an understatement because she could see tiredness painted in every bit of the doctor's complexion, only amplified by the woman's aura dim color as she stared at…her hand?

"…it's taking longer than it should." Shoko's voice was mostly toneless, her gaze fixed down.

"Huh?"

"Shit." Embarrassment fought with worry as Kagome stood up, walking around Satoru and wincing at the sight of reddened skin. "Here, let me see."

"Thought you couldn't harm humans," Satoru said, matter of fact.

Kagome tensed, forcing herself not to swirl was all she could do as her gaze snapped to the white-haired sorcerer. His hands were in his pockets, a sly grin on his face. Paranoia reared its head as she bit her tongue.

"Pretty sure I never said anything like that." The girl's eyes narrowed slightly; she'd kept her story vague on the details of her power on purpose. "Not even once."

"Well, I am a genius. Also, that rock didn't actually hurt me." Unwavering grin still in place, the sorcerer waved his hand in a dismissive motion.

"You are something alright," Kagome huffed.

How much had Satoru told this woman?

As far as injuries went, cuts from broken china were far less important than the torn mess her feet had become because of the mix of oil and blood-covered debris. And the sorcerer had waited quite a bit for the miko to wake up on her own. This doctor wasn't called here out of concern for her physical well-being. Biting her tongue, the young woman forced down the urge to lash out. Her assessment of the man's aura wasn't wrong, she trusted her ability enough, and so far, he'd been careful with her secrets. To jump to the conclusion that he'd decided to break their deal for fun would be unfair. Letting her gaze fall on the other woman, Kagome felt some of her worries fade away. Exhausted as Shoko looked, her aura was nothing like the elders'. Not a saint, but nothing that'd make her turn and walk away. If Satoru brought her here, it meant he trusted this woman enough to let her poke around the priestess' injuries. Regardless of what the sorcerer wanted from her, they'd likely be stuck together for a while.

In order to earn some trust, she needed to give some of her own.

"Keep in mind, I'm just guessing here, okay?" The young woman gave up with a sigh, going back to sit on the bed and glancing at Shoko. "A sorcerer's biology... is it the same as regular people?"

"Sure, you could say that, as long as we're not actively using cursed energy anyway," the doctor confirmed.

"That's probably it, then." Kagome nodded, talking to herself as much as she was talking to them. "Harming human bodies isn't something my powers can really do, but while the soul and the body are intrinsically linked, they're not the same. Cursed energy seems to be tied to the soul." At least, that's what she thought the dark fog wrapped around these sorcerers' aura was. "The amount of negative energy you guys have seems to be enough for my powers to react and push back, but when I threw that rock at you, I wasn't really trying to aim at anything but your physical form."

"And that means…" Satoru trailed off, letting the question hand.

"You're human, just like everyone else," Kagome said with a scoff at his expression. "Sorry to break it to you."

"Eh~ I'm, pretty unique, one in hundreds of years." The sorcerer didn't miss a beat, lifting a finger.

"Gods," she laughed, shaking her head. "It's a miracle your neck can support your head."

"Just goes to show I am that special."

"There's no winning with you, is there?" Rolling her eyes, the miko turned to look at the other woman. "Anyways, as I was saying, when Shoko-san tried to heal me, it felt like the cursed energy was trying to breach my defenses, so there was enough contact for me to target more than just her body, and then it just….ricochet?" Her wording was careful, not wanting to insult anyone through the implications of what she was saying. "If I take back my reiki, it should let you heal more easily."

Black eyes stared at her for a second before nodding and offering her injured hand. Kagome bit back her wince; the slight burn wasn't that bad, but the guilt was beginning to build up now that she knew the woman was only trying to help. Probably. Shaking her head, the priestess focused on the remnants of her power lingering on the woman's soul. The negative energy from the doctor was nowhere close to what she felt radiating from Satoru; still, it was concentrated enough that her spiritual energy was reacting in a similar way it did when interacting with an unknown youkai. Harming a sorcerer with just her reiki would be far more taxing compared to targeting curses; humans simply weren't what her powers considered a threat, after all. But her reiki wasn't tied to a black-and-white spectrum. Almost from the start, her arrows were able to mix and strengthen Inuyasha's attacks; she'd managed to replicate the effects when working together with Kouga and Sesshoumaru, and with a bit of practice, Kagome learned how to heal her non-human friends as well. At the very least, the process shouldn't be too different.

Careful, the miko called back the embers of her reiki. She felt it the moment it happened, the rush of energy as the reddened skin healed before she could fully comprehend how it happened. So, their recovery was faster than an average demon's.

"Now that's effective." Whistling, Satoru leaned over her shoulder. "But yer still bleeding."

"Oh, I'll just…"

"Why not let Shoko give it a shot?" His question wasn't really a suggestion. "Since you're awake now."

"Is there going to be any difference?" The doctor's gaze flickered towards her.

"Maybe…at the very least, I can hold back the knee-jerk reaction to counter." Kagome offered a wan smile.

Doubt was obvious in the other woman's eyes, but a glance at Satoru seemed to be all she needed to be convinced to go ahead. And wasn't that something for Kagome to consider? Later, when she had some time for herself. For now, however, the priestess moved, borrowed experience letting her make a quick analysis of the jagged cuts adorning her legs. Closed together with butterfly strips were three shallow incisions, though the one that reached her knee had been busted open again, thanks to her sudden movements. It really wasn't that bad. Even without doing anything, it'd likely be healed before the week was over. But it wasn't hard to figure out why the sorcerer had insisted on having his…coworker? Friend? To try again. Taking a deep breath, Kagome closed her eyes as the other woman placed a hand on her skin. She could feel the foreign energy wrap around her leg. Unlike the sensation that woke her up, the cursed energy wasn't trying to reach any deeper than her skin. Her brows furrowed.

This wasn't holy, spiritual, or divine energy; it wasn't negative energy anymore either, but it still felt different. Reiki tried to rise up, an instinctual shield, and Kagome did her best to stomp it down, letting the doctor's power flow over her injuries. It wasn't…right. Like ants walking under her skin as the ends of her flesh slowly knitted itself back together.

"Fantastic!" Slow claps broke the silence; the healing must've still taken longer than usual if this was his response. "Now we know. Mind healing the other cuts yourself, Miss Archer?"

Alright, she was still missing something. No way in this was just a random whim. Trust, she reminded herself. Just a little trust wouldn't leave her defenseless, and constant paranoia would backfire sooner rather than later. Narrowing her eyes anyway, the miko made short work of the wrappings on her left leg and allowed her reiki to come to the surface as slender fingers traced the one cut dividing her skin. In a second, any hint she'd ever gotten hurt was gone.

Same as always.

"Not cursed energy, indeed," Shoko mused; still in a somewhat monotone voice. "Can I get a blood sample?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Shoko, I did tell ya, didn't I?" Something crept into the cheerful tone of the sorcerer's words, a warning. "The one hiring Kagome here is me, not headquarters."

"A general medical history is still going to be required if she's going to be at the school." Tension was definitely present in the doctor's voice, though it wasn't terribly perceptible.

"Blood is way easier to get a hold of than one would think," Kagome said before Satoru could respond. All things considered, letting Shoko-san take a sample really wasn't that big of a deal; someone from the school would manage to get their hands before her first month was over. "Though I'm not sure you'll get anything the hospitals couldn't find."

Glancing between the two before quirking a brow, the doctor took out a syringe from a black bag Kagome somehow missed before. "If you need help, just blink twice."

Pearls of laughter fell from her lips, and the miko tried her best to stay still, if only to avoid ending up with a needle stuck in her arm. Because really, as far as first impressions went, her meeting with the sorcerer was leagues better than her encounters with any of her closest friends yet she had to keep reminding herself to trust him.

"It hasn't been too bad of an experience for a kidnapping." And she had quite a lot to compare it to; she'd honestly lost count of how many times she'd been kidnapped in the span of three years. "Also, I'm pretty sure I could find a way to get away."

"You don't think I could trap you?" The white-haired sorcerer almost sounded offended.

"That's what you're focusing on?" Kagome shook her head. Gods, his ego was way higher than she'd given him credit for. "Also, impossible situations, remember?"

"And I'm the strongest, remember?" He leaned towards her, his grin a little more genuine.

"Well, since my work here is done," with a huff, Shoko pushed the sorcerer back, "I'm leaving."

"Right, right, I'll show ya out."

Kagome rolled her eyes, waving and apologizing again for the accidental burn.

Falling down to the ridiculously soft mattress, the priestess groaned. She wasn't even sure if the white-haired sorcerer was trying to be subtle, but it hardly made a difference. At the end of the day, Kagome was the anomaly here; it was only logical for these people to be curious, and the young woman wouldn't complain about whatever tests Shoko had run before she woke up. So long as the girl could take a peek. After all, it looked like Satoru wasn't keen on letting any crumb of information about her reach the Council's greedy fingers s could trust him on that. Besides, if she wanted to survive in this world, she'd had to figure out how her reiki interacted with this cursed energy sooner rather than later. So she'd restrain her annoyance when asking for whatever sort of report he was getting right now.

Slender fingers slid into her pocket, and the miko allowed herself a sigh of relief when she took out her (way too expensive) new phone and noted the lack of cracks on the screen. Her gaze flickered to the time; they didn't lose the whole afternoon, so that was something. Fumbling around with the unfamiliar layout, the young woman opened the calendar app and stared at the numbers. Attempting to focus on the details of memories that hadn't happened yet was…difficult. Tendrils of knowledge slid through her fingers, distorting the image she could see from afar. It hadn't mattered all that much before; missing school wasn't ideal, but there'd be no significant consequences. Even if she was caught off-guard by a sudden migraine in the middle of class, someone would help her get to the nurse's office. Now that she thought about it…usually, Kagome thought of the days she was back in the modern era as a respite from her headaches. Those were some of the few days their actions matched perfectly, but what was going to happen now that Kagome would be busy with completely different activities? Did this mean she'd be stuck with a never-ending migraine?

Luck was never on her side, was it?

Mere variations in her actions caused some pain, but it was something she'd slowly gotten used to. And of course there were the times her actions were nothing like the ones from this other reality. It was that pain that clawed at her mind, forcefully dragging her attention to a reality Kagome no longer belonged to. Heavy use of her powers, on the other side, had a similar effect. Getting a rough timetable wouldn't be an easy task, but it should be possible.

Ideally, she should share those dates with Satoru; of course, doing that involved more than just a little trust.

Turning to her side, the young woman closed her fingers around the stained sheets, her thoughts wandering back to her new housemate and the tired doctor on the other side of the door. Those two were around the same age and clearly knew each other, but there was still a noticeable distance between them. Even a child would be able to tell the sorcerer hated his leaders, too. What on earth could his goal be when he seemed cautious of even those he called here were kept at a distance.

Honestly, this was ridiculous. It was better for her this way; the odds for her secrets to remain safe were higher if the man kept to himself, and it'd be easy to let her connection with the sorcerer remain somewhat superficial. So long as she kept answering his questions, he'd likely keep his end of the deal. A light relationship was fine…it should be…and it wasn't going to happen. Kagome knew herself well enough to know she couldn't ignore that all-too-familiar hue in his aura. Gods, she was three for three when it came to emotionally constipated, isolated white-haired males, wasn't she?

Fine, she'd managed to reach out and forge meaningful relationships with the other two...

She could do it again.

"Gods, I think I've lost it," she groaned.

"Now that'd be problematic." Satoru's sing-song voice almost got her to jump. "We've got a test in less than a week."

"Wasn't it a week?"

"Nah, they're assholes," the sorcerer snorted. "No time to waste; we got a couple missions to get done."

"Aren't you on a vacation?" Kagome really needed one.

"Nicked them from a minion's backlog." The bed sunk when Satoru sat down. "They can't complain about how I deal with my clan."

"I get it, fine, so what's the plan?"

Apparently, the plan was to get themselves inside the sewers.

Dealing with her school was pushed to tomorrow morning before packing up and moving to the mansion Satoru insisted on calling a house, leaving them with free time for the rest of the afternoon. Somehow, that meant the only mission the sorcerer could find required them to stick to the narrow walkways of the sewer system on the outskirts of Tokyo. An urgent mission, a special grade curse had just been detected, and though not in the middle of the city, it was still a little too close to it to be ignored. According to the bits of info he gave him before appearing them both here (because apparently that was something he could do) this monster they were about to confront was stronger than the one from the mall, and she could already feel the dark, ominous fog of power saturating the air, and yet, rather than tightening her grip on her bow, the girl was more focused on the pungent stench going through the thin fabric of her shirt despite being bunched up against her nose.

Blood and rotting flesh were not in any way more pleasant smells, but they weren't uncommon in the feudal era. To a degree, Kagome knew what to expect when facing a disaster, but this… this was certainly different. Piercing just the same while invoking the sort of images that made bile rise through her throat and made the girl hope there was no chance for her lunch to make a reappearance because the miko had the sinking feeling she wouldn't manage to keep this fight on dry ground.

"So…am I getting the same help as before?"

"I'll be closer this time," Satoru shrugged; he seemed unconcerned about the smell. "Easier to get a good look."

"Thought I was the one supposed to be learning," she grumbled, glaring at the fumes rising from the water.

"Why waste the chance? It's important to grab every opportunity." The sorcerer's steps were lazy. "Of course, if you think you need the help, just holler."

"We're definitely going to have a talk about your teaching methods." A long and tiring one, more than likely.

"Come on~ nothing wrong with some practical experience," he said, crossing his arms behind his head. "Oh, we're getting close."

Reluctantly letting go of her shirt, the miko picked up her pace. The stench was getting worse, the fumes oozing from the rancid liquid, merging into a fog that grew denser with every step she took. Her frown grew worse as the negative energy swirled around her. Apparently, this wasn't the first time this particular curse had been confronted before. What exactly the results of those fights had been, Satoru didn't share it, but whatever reports had been made claimed the monster would remain calm until it detected intruders around it. Letting out a huff, Kagome flexed her fingers around her bow for a second before unzipping her sweater's pocket for easy and quick access. Clothing, Kagome thought absentmindedly, was another thing she should start thinking about. Back in the feudal era, it was easy to just pick her school uniform as a default, but that wouldn't work anymore, and there was a limited number of comfortable dresses, skirts, and pants she could ruin. She'd likely run out of shoes first. With a shake of her head, the miko tried to focus once more. There'd been enough ofudas left in her house for her not to worry about today's fight, but she'd have to restock soon.

Maybe she should try to pick up where her training left up. If this was to be her life from now on, she'd need to get used to fighting without backup. Curses that'd be destroyed with a flick of her wrist were unlikely to make the bulk of her enemies. It'd be harder to keep going with it without a teacher wouldn't be an easy thing to do, but so long as —

It rose up in a heartbeat. Cursed energy, a wave charging straight at them.

Green-tinged water rose in a wave. A physical one, this time. Pain burst with ease, her knee skidding against the metal. Fingers tightened around her bow. Shit. Was the water a part of the curse or just being manipulated?

Azure eyes snapped to her right.

Sludge was piling up, a wet, monstrous thing that couldn't quite keep its form, filth rolling off it in ripples. This was waste, rot, an unbridled mess of decay that conjured a dozen tentacle-like tendrils bashing wildly at Satoru. Unbothered, the man leaned on the wall, not caring about the attacks slicing through the tunnel's walls, unable to cross that barrier she continued to unknowingly bypass. The strongest indeed. Metal screeched under her feet before she could stand up. The platform was falling, leaning at a steep angle. Spilled-over water turned the ground into a slide. Curses escaped her lips as her balance failed her, placing her close to the incessant tendrils. Reiki reacted on instinct, covering her body, even as filthy water splashed onto her skin as one of the tentacles lost consistency the moment it made contact with her shield. And now, she was the target.

Biting her tongue, Kagome found her footing only to jump into the water.

Pain began to throb inside her brain.

This much was fine. Kagome could endure far worse.

Landing on her feet, revulsion climbed up her throat. Violent currents reached up to her knees, making a struggle out of just standing. Half a dozen water tendrils lashed at her. A gasp got stuck in her throat by self-control and the desperate determination not to open her mouth. Off balance, reaching for her arrows wouldn't work. Fine, gaining time and finding space was her priority now. Wet fingers dug around her pockets, paper crinkled in her grasp as she took it out. The ones on top of the pile were for attacks, the ones in the back were for defense. Pink enveloped the sutra, cutting through the miasma, a stream of light fading behind it. Kagome gagged at the sight of squelching waste all but melted, chunks of trash splashing as they fell. The currents died down, finally letting her regain her balance.

"Hurts…it hurts!" Garbled and twisted, but it was definitely a voice.

Those things could talk?!

It was the sound that registered first.

Her surroundings shifted, the sewer system disappeared, vanishing together with the lack of echoes. A scream escaped her, the ground under her feet. It wasn't the worst fall she'd ever gone through, the pain exploding inside her head worse than the one throbbing, trying to claim her attention to her twisted ankle. Something was pulling at her soul, attempting to trap her, invisible claws failing to fully dig into her but managing to drag her part way through, leaving her stranded. Her vision swam, barely able to distinguish where she was. The bottom of a hole, muddy water up to her ankles, the walls and unnatural mixture of dirt and metal, and before she could figure out how the hell that bulbous curse was peeking in from the top, a torrent of vile water falling on her, not quite losing its speed as it touched her barrier pushing her to a wall. A burning sensation burst in her shoulder, a broken piece of metal piercing her shoulder.

Forcing reiki to her bow, Kagome swiped her arm around through clenched teeth. The miko stumbled back, fingers closing around an arrow. Somewhere above her, obscured by the green liquid trying to drown her, she could feel Satoru, unbothered as always. He was safe, then. More importantly, she could feel the curse, its core, and she didn't need to see.

Power flowed through her, pouring into her arrow, pooling there for a heartbeat before she let go. Bright pink cut through the water, giving her a moment of respite before it vanished, the trail of light not enough to keep the water off her before it reappeared behind the monster.

Just as the world changed before, it rearranged itself once more; the ground shifted under her feet just as exhaustion hit her. All she could do was stumble back, fall on her ass, water splashing around her, but her mind was too busy to notice. Her purification had done its job, getting rid of the miasma; the rancid stench was now back to normal. The water level was lower now, courtesy of the busted-in walls, but it was still enough to drench the pocket with the rest of her ofudas. But this too, was easily ignored as the faint red light seeping in through a massive hole in the roof, though for the life of her, Kagome couldn't quite remember when it happened.

Cold was invading her soul, the freezing realization making it impossible to move. Because that curse had done more than transporting her physical body to a different place. It had touched her soul. Panic coursed through her, closing her eyes as she switched her focus inwards, searching for the Shikon. Dormant. A relieved sigh escaped her. Compared to the one from the mall, this one was stronger, yet Kagome couldn't say it was that close to Naraku, let alone Sesshoumaru. The jewel wasn't that picky; if something stronger than this brushed against the seal, would it even bother to wait for the other version of her to finish gathering the shards? How bad could things go if that stupid thing tried to fight her while she was trapped in that in-between space?

This was the real reason it sent her to this world. It was more than the simple lack of holy people. Back in the Sengoku era, threats lingered around every corner, and daiyoukais could destroy a mountain with a basic attack (a slash of their sword, a whip of their tail, or whatever they preferred), yet for all of that, there were only two beings that had been able to directly mess with her soul. Kanna's mirror had almost killed them more than once, though the void youkai stood back as soon as she realized she couldn't finish them off in a single hit; still, the memory of her soul being sucked into that blasted mirror was as unsettling the second time around. Of course, there was also Urasue.

In this world, without a physical form, her death wouldn't give the Shikon freedom. It had found a way to do so before. It could do it again, though the same trick wouldn't work twice. They'd known the jewel could reform itself inside her body, so they'd been careful. In order to truly contain the Shikon, a simple seal wouldn't be enough, so a full year was spent researching a way to eternally chain it to her very soul. Her own eternal, personal curse. With creatures like this, it'd be easier for the damned thing to act on its own. Once it was complete again, this would be the tool it'd use to try and break the seal, Kagome was sure. There was no way they ended up in this reality just by chance.

"Flashy~" Satoru whistled, cheerful grin in place. "Doesn't look like ye'r about to pass out."

"What…the fuck was that Satoru?!" Okay, maybe yelling was a bit of an overreaction.

"Guess your demons don't have domain expansions, then." Hands in his pockets, he was entirely unconcerned. "Looks like ya can handle them well enough on your own."

Domain…what?

Vaguely, Kagome could recall hearing that term before, one of the many Satoru spouted without bothering to explain. So, there was a term for it. It was common enough for there to be one. Anger built up inside her, drowning the fear and anxiety with irritation because at least for now, she could use the anger. Fueled by frustration, Kagome jumped to her feet, her motions choppy and brash as she waved her arm in a futile attempt to separate her skin from the wet fabric clinging to her.

A little trust.

She'd give him a little trust, but like hell she'd let herself be dragged around blindly.

Blunt nails dug into her palms as the miko forced herself to take a deep breath, only to gag as she tasted the stench on her tongue. Her hand began to move, stopping short of her mouth at the sight of the filth clinging to her flesh. This wasn'tgoing to work. He was underestimating the Shikon, or perhaps he didn't understand what it really was. There were so many gaps between their worlds that some things were bound to slip through the cracks. They needed to have a chat…or a hundred more because somehow, none of their previous talks were ever enough. Of course, that would have to wait until she felt like she could actually listen to the sorcerer's fake cheer without snapping. Screaming matches, Kagome had learned, rarely led to productive results. She wasn't fifteen anymore; she could take a step back, calm down, and only then, discuss why keeping her in the dark about stuff like this was a bad idea.

"No, can't say we have those over there," Kagome said, willing a smile to her face, and what mattered was that she wasn't shouting; a little pettiness was allowed. "Easier to deal with compared to attacks that send you straight to Yomi or a sword that can open the gates to literal hell that wants to invade the earth with undead warriors or a youkai that ate a Tennyo and can manipulate the flow of time itself, freezing the world in its tracks…got really lucky with that last one."

"Sorry, what?" Finally, his grin fell.

"Oh?" Her voice was saccharine sweet as she echoed his words. "So your curses can't do that here?"

"That's just mean, Miss Archer!"

Alright, maybe more than just a little petty. Swift fingers got drenched talisman, cheerfully pasting her sutra on his arm with a beatific smile of her own, gaining perhaps a bit too much satisfaction at his surprised yelp at the slight shock from her reiki. Well, her sutras did work on him, to a degree, at least.

"Knock on the bathroom door before an hour passes," she said as she pushed past him. "And I'll really charge the next one."

"You can't just say something like that and leave, Kagome!"

"Funny," the miko huffed. "I don't see why not."

"I won't be able to sleep tonight~"

His whine was accompanied by an open palm, forcing the young woman to stop in her tracks. She wasn't quite sure where exactly they were right now, and even if she could find her way back to the apartment, there's no way in hell she'd ever be let into the building with the way she looked. Not to mention, the last thing the priestess wanted was to spend any extra second in these blasted clothes. With a sigh and a glare, Kagome grabbed his hand. He'd be the one paying for her next shopping trip and restocking her arrows…and possibly bow if cleaning this one proved impossible.

A/N: So sorry, for the delay you guys, there was a city wide blackout that somehow lasted the better part of two days and then I just had no time, and really wanted to say thank you for being patient.

I know that even though I do my best to upload weekly, each story basically gets only one chapter a month so to end up with a delay is definitely not fun, I'm as much of a reader as I'm a writer so I get how it feels to have to wait for the next chapter. Just to let you guys in a bit of the writing process for these, for anything longer than 4k, I like to write my drafts by hand (I feel like the words flow easier), and it takes a day just to type it on word, it takes another day to go through the edits and in cases where I don't end up going back through the chapter and deleting part (or scrap the whole thing out right) I spend two to three days on it.

So…yeah, that's why these chapters take so long. Honestly, I really love writing, so the process itself is fun, but the comments do add so much more to my motivation and to work on the chapters until I feel like they're ready.

As for the chapter itself, yeah things are still a bit rough with their relationship, but they're getting there, it's just a work in progress….a progress that's a bit on the longer side, but what matters is that there's progress. Also, hope the way it's explained here makes sense, that said, this is still just Kagome's best guess, Satoru will have some input of his own.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading, and any and all review/comment/criticism is greatly appreciate it.