"Well one day when I was back in the feudal era, after I had become a demon, we were all at Kaede's hut sleeping. I don't really remember if it was after a big fight or before but something big had just recently happened. It wasn't a very memorable moment in any case." She paused and pulled on a pair of jeans Eri had handed her. "Well we were all in one place in any case. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Me….I don't think Sesshoumaru was there. But you get the point. It was a lot of us in the little hut." She stopped once more to put on a white tank top underneath a light blue tank top. Then she pulled on a light weight white sweater. "Everyone else was asleep and like usual I wasn't. All I remember about that night is that I was looking around at everyone thinking about all the good times we had had and thinking I never wanted the good times to stop. And for that to happen I remember thinking that I wish that Miroku and Sango would live as long as a demon could." She stopped and looked at her friend.

"And? Something else had to have happened that night. That can't be the end of the story." Eri complained tying the laces on her sneakers.

"Well, again I don't really remember what happened and since no one else was awake I have no one to cooberate the story, I thought I remembered seeing a light blue glow encompass Sango and Miroku's sleeping forms." Kagome finished feeling as if that was the end to the story.

"A blue light? What is that supposed to mean?" Eri asked growing more and more frustrated with the fact that her friends story seemed to be coming in choppy pieces.

"Oh that right, you weren't really around for much of the "blue light" times." Kagome giggled. "When I use my miko powers it appears like I'm using blue light sabers."

"OHHHHHH!" Eri exclaimed in sudden realization. "So what you're saying is that somehow you used your miko powers to give them the life span of a demon?"

"Yeah but I have no idea how." Kagome told her. She then turned to look at her friend. "So, you ready to see my second lifetime home?"

"Yeah but we're going to have to think more on this topic. I would really like to know the real answer to this question. It seems like someone would have looked into this matter more to me."

"Well you know, I guess after I died people had other things to worry about." Kagome said dryly walking to the door.

"Wow, way to be so morbid Kagome. And its not like you stayed dead for long anyway. You never really do…" Eri stated following Kagome out of the room.

The two women walked down the winding staircase to the kitchen where they rummaged through cabinets and refrigerators to find something to eat for breakfast….or rather lunch. Once they had decided on appropriate food stuffs they sat down at the table to eat their meal. It wasn't a particularly exciting meal. Just some sandwiches and chips and the conversation was light too. Chit chatting about the weather that day and how they were planning on getting to Kagome's manner. After finishing their meals and cleaning up the dishes they decided it was time to head out.

"It's actually only a few blocks from here. It wouldn't be too hard to walk. Or I could call Shouron and have him bring the car to drive us." Kagome suggested.

"Nah, we can walk. We're relatively young and in shape people. We should be able to hoof it without problems." Eri responded lightly grabbing Kagome's hand and pulling it through the crook of her arm and heading for the door. "Now lets not waist any more of this beautiful day and get going!"

"Yes, lets." Kagome agreed as the two of them headed for the door.

Kagome and Eri walked down the front steps and down the long drive way. Once they got to the street Kagome let out a huge sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" Eri asked.

"Nothing, I'm just ready to live in the present. I've spent so much of my life hopping between two periods of time. And now I'm here and the well is dormant. All I want to do is have everything be alright." Kagome said with a smile.

"Does this mean you're going to forgive Sesshoumaru soon?" Eri asked hopefully.

"I'm going to have to. We're going to have a little talk and then I'm going to just move on. And hopefully that'll be it and nothing else will come up."

"That seems to be the right attitude. And I'm sure Sesshoumaru will be happy to hear that."

The two continued walking down the street quietly for a while breaking the silence with polite conversation. They were about halfway to the manner Kagome began getting a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Without saying a word she began steering Eri down a different path away from their destination.

"You do know where you're going, right?" Eri said noticing the change in direction having a loose idea of where the manner was.

"Yes I do know where I'm going. Look, I just really need you to play along for a little while. We're going to go the long way." Kagome said tightly squeezing her arm that was through Eri's arm a little tighter.

Eri picked up on her friends' mood and agreed quietly.

They continued to walk changing their direction here and there. By the third turn Kagome was sure they were being followed, and not by someone with good intentions.

"I'm just going to make a quick phone call." Kagome announced to Eri as she let go of her and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly dialed the correct numbers and waited for the phone to ring. She didn't have to wait long because the person she was calling was eager to talk to her.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end of the line answered.

"Hey Sesshoumaru. I just wanted to call and let you know that Kenji called me the other day to tell me to wish my mom a happy birthday." Kagome said into the phone.

"Where are you?" Sesshoumaru asked in an urgent voice.

"We're about halfway to the manner but we are taking the long way." Kagome responded in a hushed tone.

"Keep heading toward the manner. Don't change you're course again." He told her quickly and hung up.

Even though he was no longer on the line Kagome continued the conversation loud enough for anyone near to hear. "Alright well I just wanted you to know how nice he was to call. He didn't have to do that. I'll talk to you later." She finished and put the phone in her pocket.

"Kagome, what's going on?" Eri asked in a hushed voice.

"Nothings happening. We're fine. We're gonna go to the manner as we planned and have a great time!" Kagome told her friend with a reassuring smile.

Again walking toward the manner the two women were suddenly flanked by Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha who seemed to appear out of an alley.

Kagome sighed as she felt the feeling in her stomach dissipated and the front gate of the manner came into view.

Eri noticed that Kagome had relaxed and when they stopped to open the gate she turned to look at her entourage. "Will someone please tell me what just happened? Why are you two here?" she half shouted.

"We were being followed. I called Sesshoumaru and used our 'emergency code phrase' to let him know we were in trouble. I probably would have been able to handle any iffy situations but I didn't want to take the risk with you here. I just go you back, didn't want to risk losing you." Kagome answered turning toward Sesshoumaru. "Thank you for coming."

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome. "There are some things we need to discus." He told her simply.

"I know but right now Eri and I are going to go into the manner and have a visit with Akari. Then tonight when I come home we will talk. Alright?" Kagome countered calmly.

"That is agreeable." Sesshoumaru agreed. He then turned to Inuyasha. "I think we should get back to work."

"Really? That's it? We came all this way just to have a little jaunt down the street?" Inuyasha complained.

Kagome laughed. "No, you came all the way down here for a nice little jaunt down the street with your favorite sister-in-law and best friend." She responded.

"Whatever. Come on lets just go." Inuyasha said turning to go back to the office.

"I'll see you both later at home. Thanks for coming again." Kagome told them as they walked away. She then turned back to Eri. "Lets go. I want to get into the manner."

They continued to go through the gate then up the driveway. Kagome burst through the huge double doors of the manner and took a deep breath. "!" she shouted.

And then, it was like hell itself opened up. Akari, who had been in the library, sprinted down the hallway and screamed. "KAGGGOOOOOMMMEEEEE! OH MY GOD! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER! HOW ARE YOU?" She said going over and squeezing the life out of her friend.

Eri stood by and watched this overly emotional reunion quietly waiting for her chance to break in to the conversation. As it turns out she didn't have to wait long before Kagome and Akari turned in her direction.

"Akari this is my friend Eri. You remember I used to talk about her? Eri this is my friend Akari." Kagome said formally introducing her friends to each other.

"This can't be the Eri you would talk about." Akari exclaimed with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Didn't you say she was human? Wouldn't she be like two hundred years old by now?"

"It's nice to meet you too. And actually I'm closer to five hundred years old. I was born roughly two hundred years after Kagome 'died'." Eri responded sticking her hand out for a handshake.

Akari looked from Eri to Kagome and back to Eri before ignoring the hand and giving her a bear hug. "Oh it's so good when good things happen. I love surprises!" she released the now stunned Eri and stepped back. "I'm glad you both decided to come over today. I was so bored I was actually reading in the library."

"Wow you must have been bored. The whole time we were living together you never stepped one foot in there." Kagome said abashed.

"Yep that's how bored I was. And god forbid I do something productive like get a job or something. Hey did I feel Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha outside before you came in?"

"Yes they were here but they went back to the office. How about we go get something to drink?" Kagome said stepping further into the manner.

"She and Sesshoumaru are kind of in a fight right now." Eri informed Akari as they followed Kagome to the wet bar in the lounge.

Once settled at the bar with cocktails firmly in hand, the three women talked about everything. Kagome hadn't seen Akari since before she took her trip back to the past and that took up a good portion of the early conversation. Then the conversation turned from Eri being the daughter of her friend, to the fight with Sesshoumaru, to why Akari still doesn't have a job.

"WHY do I need to get a job?" Akari whined. "I don't need one. I've still got some money your parents left me! I can make it last. How about we talk about why you keep shutting Sesshoumaru out like you have been? Hmmm? How about we talk about that?" she countered successfully changing the conversation.

"You know Kagome, she has a point. You can hold grudges for excessive periods of time. You should learn to let go of things and move on. You never know what tomorrow brings. You should know that. You wouldn't want something to happen to you, god forbid, and have been fighting with him." Eri mused after taking a sip of her drink.

Kagome sat still on her stool looking at her drink. She knew they were right. And she was uniquely qualified to know that one never knows what tomorrow will bring. One day she's enjoying the company of her mate and the next she's dead. She really didn't want that to happen again. She had put her family through so much. She shuttered at the thought of anything happening to her or any other member of her family.

"You're both right. After we're done here I'm going home, talking to my mate, and getting things cleared up. I don't want to live life angry. I want to make every day count." She paused and looked up at her friends. "You two really are good friends. I'm lucky to have you both."

"You're right, you are." Akari confirmed matter-of-factly.

"You don't have to be so smug about it." Kagome retorted smacking Akari playfully on the shoulder.

"Oh yes I do. I don't have much to be smug about but you telling me I'm right definitely is one of them." Akari laughed holding her shoulder in pretend pain.

The women continued their happy hour until a phone rang. Although Kagome was happy that it wasn't her phone, for once, she was curious to see who was calling Eri and after a short conversation she had her answer.

"My dad says that he wants me back at the house. Something about family time? He probably wants to ask me tons of questions about what you and I talked about." Eri said looking at Kagome. "He's a bit of a gossip whore. Actually I think he wants to make sure he's not going to get another office beat down." She finished with a giggle.

"Alrighty then, I should probably get back to the palace to put an end to our little tiff." Kagome said setting down her drink and pulling out her cell phone. "But we're not walking. We're not taking that risk until I know what's really going on. I'll call Shouron and have him come give us a lift. He won't mind. He'll be just as relieved to know I'm going to be home tonight."

With the call being made and the estimated time of arrival at T-minus ten minutes the three, now tipsy friends took the opportunity to finish their drink….and their gossip. It didn't take long for everyone to forget what they were waiting for before a loud knock on the front door gave them all a little startle.

"COME IIIINNNNNNN!" Akari shouted at the top of her lungs too lazy and boozed up to actually make the effort to let the visitor in.

"And what if that was one of the people who was following Eri and I this afternoon?" Kagome said in mock annoyance.

"Well is it?" Akari countered.

"No it's not, but it could have been." Kagome retorted pouting slightly.

Shouron walked around the corner and was greeted over enthusiastically with waves, shouts, and giggles. "Wow, we're being really mature in here aren't we? And here you all are drinking and I didn't get an invitation. I might actually be hurt." He said feigning actual hurt with his hand over his heart.

"Hey, they just talked me out of being angry with Sesshoumaru a little while ago. Lets not ruin anything right now by making me be angry with you." Kagome said standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

Shouron laughed at her then turned his attention to Eri and Akari. "I suppose I'll forget about this grievous injustice due to the fact that I'm thrilled that we're going to have a calm night. Really, it's going to be the first in a while."

"Hey mister fancy talk, can it." Akari said simply.

Kagome chuckled and hugged Akari goodbye. "We should go, koga's waiting for Eri at home. We'll drop her off then go home. Is that alright?" She asked Shouron after releasing Akari.

"That sounds fine to me. Everyone will be happy to have you home tonight." He responded.

With glasses cleaned up and good-byes being said Kagome, Shouron, and Eri headed to the car. From there it was a short ride to Eri's house where they dropped her at the gate. And one more stop and Kagome and Shouron were walking up to the palace.

I apologize for any misspelling or horrible grammar. Enjoy it for what it is, a fun story. Please don't over criticize.