Had anyone known about her daughter's unusual circumstances, they might have asked Mrs. Higurashi why she allowed her to continue on these little excursions. And had anyone asked, she would have smiled and simply said, "Because I know."

Mrs. Higurashi knew that Kagome would return in the end perfectly fine. She just knew.

It wasn't because Kagome constantly assured her. It wasn't because of Kagome's protectors. It wasn't because Mrs. Higurashi had no idea of what really lay on the other side of the well.

She knew.

For on her own fifteenth birthday, Mrs. Higurashi had fallen down the well.