Icygirl2- I am sorry I didn't mention you by name in my last chapter! And I'm sorry I couldn't show you how Kagome reacted…I guess I was too lazy to do that!

Well, here's a little treat for you. A taste of my next story…

This story will be dedicated to Miroku's Priestess- one of the craziest Miroku fans I know.

THWACK!

The sharp end of the sickle embedded itself deep into the tree trunk. Smiling in satisfaction, the young tajiya looked around the clearing, hoping that someone had seen his success. The fact that the area was empty except for him seemed to dampen his mood somewhat. Shrugging, he turned back to the matter at hand: getting the axe out of the tree.

Grunting with the effort, he finally pulled it out. It lay on the ground in front of its former lodging place, shining in the sunlight. Putting a hand up to shade his eyes, Kohaku looked at the sky. It was clear, a promise of heat to come.

A sound caught his ears, and he turned around. Someone was walking down the path from the village, towards him. He squinted, trying to make out who it was. The person moved with a certain grace, and he or she made slight jingling sounds as they stepped. This confused Kohaku for a while, until he saw that the jingling came from the staff the person held.

When he was a few feet away, Kohaku finally saw who it was. A huge grin broke out on his face.