Wardrobe 1 + Wardrobe 2 + Jaken 1 + Jaken 2 + Twist Endings + Illusions + Age + Unrequited Love + Modern Era + Promises + Reincarnation + Last One Standing + Fortune + Scream + Break + Red + Over + Insatiable + Fantasy + Feral + Flight + Entrance + Storm
Kagome fiddled with the last of the stitching on the red fabric.
Sure, she knew it would just get torn up before the night was out. But that didn't matter to her.
"Would you stay still for five minutes!" she screamed at her 'mannequin'.
"I've been standing here for twenty minutes already! Hurry up or I'll be late!" He shifted again.
"If you wouldn't keep moving and ripping seams, it wouldn't be an issue,"she huffed.
"Feh, whatever."
She restitched what he had just messed up.
"There."
"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" The small body plummeted off of the chair at Kagome.
She caught her brother easily. "Sometimes I think you take the hero worship a little too far. Have fun at your party, Souta."
"Thanks sis, I will!" He ran out the door, white wig flowing behind him, toy sword nearly dragging the ground.
Inuyasha plopped onto the couch.
He wanted to go with Kagome to the market, but he was tired of wearing that ridiculous hat. What was wrong with his ears anyway? They were cute and fuzzy, women loved them. The hat hurt his ears.
But no. "This is Tokyo, you stand out enough with that outfit," he mocked her.
Why not something like the little scarf thingie she wore around her neck? If they were good enough for necks, surely they are good enough for heads.
"Feh." He grabbed the hat from the floor, where it landed when he threw it, and headed out the door to find Kagome.
Jaken is my best friend! Other than Sesshoumaru-sama.
At first, I didn't like him too much, but I wouldn't tell that to Jaken or Sesshoumaru-sama. but now, I've learned to deal with him. He used to yell at me, for everything. Maybe because I'm human? He always tells me that he doesn't understand why Sesshoumaru-sama keeps me around.
I always wonder why Sesshoumaru-sama keeps HIM around.
But when Sesshoumaru-sama leaves, Jaken will play games with me more. He will even pick flowers with me! Just don't tell anyone, Jaken would be very angry!
So that leaves me where we are now. I am making flower wreaths for my two favorite people. Or should I say demons? Maybe I'll make wreaths for Ah-Un too. Jaken's has to be extra special though.
There! Perfect! I run back to the tree where Jaken and Sesshoumaru-sama wait for me.
I first go to Sesshoumaru-sama and place the wreath on his head and smile at him. "Thank you, Rin," he tells me, patting me on the head. He's probably happier I've just put a flower wreath on his head instead of braiding them into his hair.
Next is Jaken's extra special wreath. "Look what Rin has made for you, Jaken-sama!" I say to him, not giving him time to respond before I try to place the wreath on his head. My wreath slips over his head to fit around his neck. "Oops..."
"Thank you, Rin. Are you done wasting Lord Sesshoumaru's precious time?" he asks. He looks irritated. I silently nod, running to Sesshoumaru-sama, who is already leaving.
I know he likes my flowers though.
Because Jaken is my best friend!
Sesshoumaru watched as his ward and companion argued.
"But Jaken, you have to have a demon form! Sesshoumaru-sama does!" Rin whined.
Jaken eyed the girl. "Lord Sesshoumaru happens to have a demon form to be proud of!" he pointed out.
"I know that! I want to see yours!"
Sesshoumaru was starting to get irritated. She was using her whiny 'please' voice and puppy dog eyes on both of them. What was he supposed to do, force the little toad? Oh, no. Not the tears.
"Come here, Rin," he called to her. Shooting one look at Jaken for making his ward cry, he tossed the small girl onto his shoulders nearly smiling a her squeal of delight. That evening the two demons sat around a small fire Jaken had built to cook for Rin. The girl was already asleep.
"Jaken."
"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?" He stood.
"I have not seen your true form either." He looked at the tiny demon.
Jaken groaned. "If you wish, my lord." POP!
Sesshoumaru looked around. Jaken's staff was still there, Rin remained asleep. "Jaken?" He stood to look around. "Jaken?" he called again.
"Down here!" A little annoyed voice cried.
Sesshoumaru leaned down to inspect the ground for the voice, only finding a little green frog. He pointed at Jaken. "You mean..." he started to snicker.
Jaken groaned.
"Is this the..." more snickers.
"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru." He looked down in shame the best he could in his little froggy form.
Jaken looked back up at the cackling laughter to see his master doubled over. He had NEVER seen him laugh, not even at Rin.
Jaken changed back with another POP.
Sesshoumaru quickly calmed himself and straightened, stoic and blank as if nothing had ever happened. "I would be embarrassed of that pathetic form too." He walked to the sleeping Rin and picked her up, cuddling the child to his chest, he leaned against a tree to sleep.
Watching his master and the child he sat by the fire. "I am never going to hear the end of this."
She stared out the window at the rain. Today was Kagome's twenty first birthday. Six years since she had gone down the well, three since she had gone, not coming back. p>She wondered what had become of her daughter, had she and Inuyasha been killed? She hadn't seen him since she vanished either. They couldn't be dead. She was too strong for that, Inuyasha too protective.
Maybe the jewel was whole again and Kagome had to stay and protect it?
Either way, it wasn't fair. Grandpa had passed away, grief striken at the loss of his only granddaughter. Souta tried to be strong, but sometimes she still hears him sobbing after he thinks she has gone to bed.
It has been a year and a half since Kagome's friends had stopped coming by and asking about her. Houjo came by from time to time, to see how she was. She told him Kagome went away to college, though she doubted he believed her.
Sighing, she blew out the single candle on the cupcake that sat in front of her. Strawberry. Kagome's favorite.
"Happy birthday, dear Kagome."
Going outside, she placed the cupcake under the God Tree next to a bouquet of lillies that were already there, like every year.
Shippou watched Ms. Higurashi go back into the house. He had grown older, but he would never forget the one he saw as his mother. "Happy birthday, Kagome."
He turned and left. It continued to rain, tears for her.
"Ahhh..." She sighed and leaned back against a large boulder.
Sango dunked under the water to wash the shampoo from her hair. "This has to be the best bath I've ever taken, Kagome-chan!"
"Don't I know it!" Kagome replied. "Will you hand me the shampoo?"
The final battle was over, Naraku was dead. The jewel was complete, glowing pink around Kagome's neck ready to be used.
She quickly shampooed her hair and got out of the hot spring to dress.
Sango followed soon after, helping her end to the few wounds she did have.
All in all, the group fared well, with the assistance of Kouga and the wolf tribe, Sesshoumaru (that shocked them all) and Kikyo.
"Kagome-chan?" Sango waved her hand in front of Kagome's face, successfully pulling the girl from her thoughts.
Kagome smiled. "Back to camp?"
The other girl nodded.
"Do you and Miroku still plan on marrying?"
Sango blushed. "He may have to now."
Kagome looked at her friend in surprise. "You mean you...and him..." Sango nodded. "When!"
Sango blushed again at the memories of the monk and the times they would sneak away from camp late at night. "About two weeks ago, and then last night." They giggled. "You mean you and Inuyasha..."
"No!" Kagome tried to form other words but was too flustered. "I want to..." She opened and closed her mouth a few times, no words forming. "Kikyo," she finally managed to mutter.
Sango patted her friend on the back. "Don't worry, Kagome-chan. I don't like the way he treats you anyway." She still didn't like the sad expression on her face. She threw her arm around her shoulders. "Let's go celebrate! We finally did it!"
Conversation from then on was light, talk of Kagome's swiftly approaching graduation, baby names Sango liked, even how much Kagome craved a burger from WacDonald's.
When they got back to camp, Sango rushed into Miroku's arms. Kagome was filled with a sort of sadness, she had no one to rush to, to seek comfort from, no one to tell her things would be alright now that Naraku was gone.
Even Kikyo and Inuyasha were still wrapped up in each other's arms, leaning against a tree.
She needed to take a walk.
Patting Shippou on the head as she passed, she headed towards the woods.
Not watching where she was going, she tripped over a root, falling flat on her face. The jewel snapped off of the chain, rolling away to be scooped up by a crow demon. "The jewel!"
Jumping from Miroku's arms, Sango grabbed her weapon of choice. "I've got it!"
"Hiraikotsu!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the enormous boomerang make contact with the bird.
Followed by a collective groan when the sky turned a brilliant shade of pink, the jewel once again exploding into a million pieces.
Sango caught hiraikotsu and looked at her friend, with a weary smile. "Oops!" She tried to laugh, to make herself a little less fearful of the looks she was receiving.
Inuyasha growled and threw his head in his hands. "Son of a-"
The End (or a new beginning?)
"Come here, bitch," Inuyasha growled at her. "Doggy wants to play."
Kagome wimpered and did the only thing her mind could register: she ran. He had used the jewel to become a full demon that day.
Their friends were dead, their blood nearly blending in with the red of his shirt.
"What? Baby doesn't want to play now that doggy isn't on a leash?"
She could hear him behind her, his feet making a dull thudding with every step he took on the moist ground.
When she removed his rosary, she knew she would regret it. Now he was just toying with her.
The thudding behind her was gone. Had she lost him?
"Gotcha!" He appeared in front of her.
Shaking her head, she backed away.
"No..."
He chuckled. "No...Don't be like that. Doggy knows you want to play...Just like Kikyo when she pinned me to that tree..."
"No, Inuyasha!"
He smirked. With sharpened claws he shredded her shirt. "Pure shrine maiden no more."
"No!"
Everything went black.
------
"Kagome..." She heard his voice distantly.
She peeled her eyes open, a pair of golden ones looking at her worried. "I was so worried when Naraku got you." He pulled her into a hug.
She took a moment. "You mean..."
He nuzzled his face into her hair. "Just one of Naraku's illusions."
He sat at her bedside, brushing a cool cloth over her aged skin. She was still beautiful to him now as she was the day he met her, even though her once black hair had turned gray years ago and her once supple tan skin had began to sag and yellow. Her eyes were still sharp and observant. She carefully monitored his every move with those eyes, probably in fear he would leave her side.
He grasped her smaller wrinkled hand with his own larger one that was just as aged. "Don't worry, my dear, I won't leave," he whispered. It must have satisfied her, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.
Closing his own eyes, he hoped to possibly get a few minutes rest, but still be alert if she woke up and needed anything. Even as the door slid open, he remained. Footsteps neared, then stopped beside him.
"How's she doing, Miroku?"
Miroku turned his gray head up to see Inuyasha's concerned face. "Asleep. She doesn't have much time left."
Inuyasha's shoulders drooped. After Kagome left, these two became his family "Not yet. Sango is a fighter." He turned and left the room, not wanting to show the sorrow he tried, and failed, to keep hidden.
Inuyasha watched the rest of his companions sleep. They were the only family he had. Even as much as he wanted them to think he hated his brother, deep down he really longed for him, longed for the only blood he had left, the last connection to his father.
When he was younger, he encountered the older demon a few times, but that was very few and far between. Ever encounter always ended badly, with his brother calling his mother a demon's whore, and calling him half breed trash.
One of the things he was pretty sure of was Sesshoumaru's jealousy. Their father had moved on from Sesshoumaru's mother to Izayoi fairly quickly, and in Sesshoumaru's eyes disgraced their family; tainted their pure blood.
The only time he could recall Sesshoumaru showing any sort of compassion to him was after his mother passed. Inuyasha was alone and lonely, barely old enough to care for himself.
Sesshoumaru took him in long enough to teach him a few necessities to keep himself alive, then threw him right back out again.
It hurt.
It hurt to be taken in and accepted by the older demon just to be denied once again and thrown out to fend for himself. All he wanted was someone to love him, to show they cared, be a part of a family, no matter how strange.
He was jealous of Kagome and Souta. They could play jokes on each other, have dinner with their mother, tell secrets, argue and fight; then at the end of the day know that if they needed anything they could turn to one another for love and support. Hugs, I love yous, and goodnight kisses.
The family he had always dreamed of; the sibling relationship.
All he really wanted was the brother to play with as a child, to go to when things went wrong, to play mindless pranks on mom and dad, someone to be there through thick and thin.
Damn it, why did he have to always get the short end of the stick? He had no way to control who he was. It's not like he asked to be a half demon. if the human half was gone would his brother love him?
Why should he be punished for something he didn't even do? Why was he cursed to live his life alone?
Nearly everything he knew he had to learn himself. He could have used advice from an older brother, especially around the time he met Kikyo, even more so now that Kagome was in his life. All his brother would do is claim he was pathetic just like his father, falling in his footsteps and chasing around weak human women.
Inuyasha glanced over his companions again.
A girl from the future that wore skirts so short it was almost evil.
A little orphaned fox child.
A fierce demon exterminator that was a lot more sensitive than she let on.
A perverted monk that in all reality had a heart of gold.
In their own weird way they were a family, full of love even if they didn't show it.
But it would never compare to the love of a brother.
Thoughts becoming too heavy, he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.
He tapped his foot. She was late. Again.
Pacing inside of the well house, Inuyasha weighed out the possibilities. Maybe he had miscalculated. No way, he lived through it already, he couldn't forget.
From the day she was born, he had kept a strict eye on her. He didn't interfere too much, but she was going to simply murder him when she found out it was he that lured Buyo to the well house.
Watching her grow up had been almost fun, to see the things that happened in her life to make her the woman he had fallen in love with. All of the watching had been hard, though. So many times when his past self had made her cry, he wanted to take her into his arms and apologize for all of his past mistakes.
The angry half demon glanced at his watch again. Now this was getting ridiculous. He had changed a lot over the years, even learned to manage his anger, but right now he was going to hurt her. Right after he kissed her. It's been five hundred plus years, he deserved it, he had been a good dog.
He grinned when he saw the eerie blue glow, followed by the sound of sobbing.
"Get your ass up here, you're late!" he screamed.
Some things get better with age, unfortunately his attitude wasn't one of them.
Kagome sat at the kitchen table. Glancing at the clock on the wall, her eight year old mind began to worry. "He's late, mommy."
A very pregnant Mrs. Higurashi came over and patted her daughter on the head. "Don't worry, baby, he'll be here. He's always home for dinner." She went back to the counter to finish icing the small cake she had made. "Today is your special dinner, he wouldn't miss it for the world."
Kagome knew her daddy would be proud. She brought home perfect marks from school. It was even his idea to have a cake. Daddy couldn't forget, he promised to bring home a special surprise for her!
She glanced at the clock again. It was already nearing six o'clock. He was never this late. No matter how hard she tried to push them back, tears started to fill her eyes. "Why isn't he here? He promised..."
Laying down the spatula and wiping her hands, her mother came over and took her into her amrs and held her. "Daddy never breaks promises. Remember when he promised to be at your dance recital and was late?"
A teary Kagome nodded.
"You cried through the entire dance routine, and who was waiting for you back stage?"
"Daddy," she replied.
Mrs. Higurashi smoothed Kagome's hair back from her face. "He never broke his promise, even though he was a little late. He will be here, sweetie." No matter how much she tried to convince her daughter everything would be alright, she had her own doubts. He was already an hour and a half late, that was extremely unusual. "Why don't you go up to your room and play with your dolls until he gets home?"
The girl nodded and her mother kissed her on the forehead.
Forty-five minutes later she got the dreaded call.
"This is Sergeant Kurosawa from the Tokyo Police Department. May I speak with Mrs. Higurashi please?"
Another promise broken.
The battle had raged for hours, many lives were lost. Thanks to Kagome, who now wore the completed jewel around her neck, Naraku had been defeated.
He felt faint from blood loss. He tried his best, but it wasn't good enough. Shippou hadn't lasted five minutes. Sango and Miroku...Miroku died trying to protect his love. Somehow his idiot brother had made it, and the little girl that worshipped him was tending to his wounds. Even that dumb wolf Kouga had made it, but now he had almost no clan to lead.
All of that wouldn't matter anymore. He was dying. Of course he knew Sesshoumaru could revive him with a flick of the wrist and Tensaiga, but he didn't want it. Kagome had to go home now, he would be alone, and he didn't want that.
The only thing he desired was to meet Kagome in her time, as a normal human boy.
The world around him began to fade. With one final smile, he drifted away.
---
Her body ached. After hours of labor, she was almost done, her baby almost here. Though she swore this would be the only child she would ever have, the experience alone was worth it. It would be worth it to hear her baby cry for the first time.
One more push!
"Congratulations, Mrs. Houjo! You have a beautiful baby boy!"
"Kagome! Souta! Turn off the video games and go clean your rooms!" Ms Higurashi called from the kitchen.
Souta groaned. "Ten more minutes, mom! I'll be the last one standing!"
"Shut up and fight, squirt!" Kagome ground out.
"Hey, quit killing me! I was distracted!"
-Ten Minutes Later-
Ms. Higurashi walked into the living room, her children still glued to the television. She was happy that they were spending time together. With Kagome spending more time in the past hunting shards, it was nice to see them spending quality time.
She just hoped they would find a different way to do it.
"Alright, you two, time is up."
"Mom, I've almost got him!" Kagome said, eyes never leaving the action on the television screen.
Souta growled, the best he could. "I'll be the last one standing!!"
She watched her children resume their playful banter. Their rooms weren't too bad...
No.
'I am the mother.'
Calmly, she walked over to the wall and yanked the plugs for the television and the Playstation out of the wall. "Now I'm the last one standing. Go clean your rooms." She pointed to the stairs.
Souta and Kagome rolled up the wires on the controllers then put them on top of the game console before heading up to their rooms.
Ms. Higurashi watched the kids disappear up the stairs. "Who's the game master now?"
The young boy ran ahead of his parents, turning around periodically to check if they were still behind him. They had agreed to take him to the street fair if he was good at school, and he had tried his best that week.
He stopped his running when he came up to a small tent, with the perfume of strange incense floating from it. Turning to his parents, he looked at his mother with question in his eyes. "What is in there, mama?"
The woman smiled at her young son. "That's a fortune teller, dear. How would you like to go have your fortune told?"
Shyly, he looked at his father, and then back to his mother. His mother read cards; she even started to teach him how. He wasn't sure he wanted someone other than mommy telling him his future.
He watched his father lean over to his mother and whisper something to her.
"Are you sure you want to let him go in there? You know these fair fortune tellers are full of crap," he said quietly.
The woman chuckled and shook her head. "Let him have a little fun," she replied.
His father nodded and they walked into the small tent, the strange scents assaulting their noses, the smoke from the incense cones making the tent hazy.
An old wrinkled woman with yellowing eyes and bad teeth sat behind a table. "Aah, what do we have here?" she asked her partner.
The young man smiled. "What a handsome family."
The old hag beckoned the little boy over to her. Again, he looked shyly up at his mother and father for reassurance. When they nodded he went to her. "Yes, mam?"
She took his chin in her hands to get a good look of him. "I feel much power radiating from this young man, don't you, Shin?"
Her partner nodded vigorously. "Yes, much power from this young one. Why don't you read his palm or aura?"
The woman looked to his mother and father. "I'll read his fortune for 580 yen. Is that reasonable?"
His father took his wallet from the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out the money and handed it to the woman's partner.
The money safely tucked away in a clay pot, she closed her eyes and started to concentrate. "Ooh, yes, great power this young boy has. I can see one day that he will be a great shrine priest!! He will be one of the greatest of his time!"
He looked over his shoulder at his parents, with a look of elation on his face. "See, mama! I told you one day I will be running the shrine!"
Both of his parents laughed, knowing that the fortune teller was just saying it to make the small child happy. "Thank the nice lady," his mother told him before she took his hand.
He looked to the woman, the grin never leaving his face. "Thank you!!"
The woman smiled and patted him on the head. "You're welcome, son. Best wishes for you and your family."
He felt a gentle tug on his hand. "Come on, dear."
Following his mother and father out of the small, strange smelling tent, he glanced back at the old woman once more and she winked at him.
Happier than he had ever been in his five year old life, he couldn't wait to tell his best friend when he went to school on Monday.
----------
"And that is how I knew I would be a great priest one day!" Grandpa announced.
Inuyasha snorted. "Great priest my ass." He dodged a smack from Kagome.
"Respect your elders," she hissed.
"But I'm really HIS elder," he replied cheekily.
Grandpa shook his head. "I knew neither of you would believe me, after all I'm only an old man!" He bumbled away, set off to clean one of the store rooms.
"See, now you made him mad!" Kagome yelled at him.
Neither of them noticed when Ms. Higurashi approached. "Did he tell you the story about the fortune teller again?" she asked, amusement showing through her eyes.
Kagome nodded. "For the fifth time this month."
"Well, at least we know why he thinks he is such a powerful holy man," Mama said. Seeing that her daughter and Inuyasha were still staring daggers at each other, she quickly changed the subject. "How about we go get some ramen. My treat!"
Thrilled over the idea of getting ramen, Inuyasha dragged Kagome along when her mother began to walk away.
Very few things in his life pleased him, but the shrill cry of a human ranked very high on the list. The blood curdling sound that made him just shiver with delight; it was music to his ears. It was even more delightful when it was he who caused them to cry out in pain and agony. The looks of fear on their faces as they expressed their horror vocally made him want to shout out as well, a demonic cry of glee as he trampled through the devastation that was once their village. A village that he had burned down all on his own, mind you. No one was taking credit for this destruction but him. He may have been small but this would teach those lousy humans to judge the power of a demon by it's size.
His mother would be proud. So proud.
"Jaken!" The daydreams of destruction and pride were rudely thrown to a halt by Sesshoumaru's angry voice.
Once again he had fallen behind their little caravan and he had to make sure he caught up before Lord Sesshoumaru punished him. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Wait for me!"
As one last little hoorah he ran by Rin, stepping on her toes. Inside he grinned and did a victory dance of happiness at her yelp of pain. Outside, he was in pain himself with the weight of a fully grown dog demon standing on his head.
How the mighty have fallen.
Sesshoumaru sighed. His brother and group of misfits seemed to attract trouble. It had not been two weeks since he joined the group out of desperation and they had been attacked at least twice a day since. This time they had been in the middle of a peaceful lunch when the demon came out of nowhere.
A few swipes of Tokijin and the demon was taken care of, but apparently someone wasn't quite paying attention. He looked down when he heard a light clang of something hitting his armor and then the metal breastplate falling into two pieces. At his feet along with his broken armor sat an arrow. He felt a the familiar tick in his eye that seemed to come whenever the miko did something stupid and whipped around.
Kagome sheepishly looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry! At least I didn't kill you!"
His frown deepening with every step he marched over to her, loving the way she began to cower away, and snatched her bow out of her protesting hands. Making a great show of it he held the bow up in front of him and snapped it in two.
"You! You! You broke my bow!" she stammered, her face slowly becoming as red as a beet.
He shrugged his shoulders. "At least this Sesshoumaru didn't kill you." Feeling quite proud of himself he turned to walk back to their small picnic area to finish his lunch.
Most people call him a letch. It had only been a week since Miroku had met Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou, and that was the only thing they seemed to be able to say about him. If they thought a few harmless gropes were bad, they should have seen him before!
In the time he had traveled with the group he had developed a new love for the color red. No, no; not on Inuyasha. Not at all. He had no desires for the hanyou. It was the miko that inspired his new found love for the color. In the past week he had seen more shades of the color red come across her freckled cheeks than he had ever seen before in his life.
Different actions earned different reactions; light flirting brought on a pretty shade of pink, some innuendo created the same shade of pink but also a light red to her ears. He had fun making her ears change colors.
So far the greatest success was brought from a firm squeeze to her backside. Instead of just a light sprinkling of color her entire face took on the most brilliant shade of red. It made him want to squeal with joy and accomplishment.
Of course in the end he always did some squealing which involved the beautiful blushes. Kagome always left a nice red hand print in the wake of her violent backlashes. Through the stinging he always smiled. To see that pretty blush the pain was definitely worth it.
Kagome smiled broadly at her enemy. A few more quick moves and she would be victorious. 'Yes, move that way. A little closer...' This was turning out to be even better than she had counted on.
"No," she murmured. She no longer had the upper hand and the enemy was closing in fast.
She bit her lip as he chuckled, his velvety voice sending shivers down her spine. "Oh yes, miko. It's over." With lightning speed she watched as he made two moves and picked three of her pieces off of the board. "Checkmate."
This was her game from her time, how dare he beat her on his first try! She should have known that inviting the master of strategy to play a game of chess was a mistake.
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Best two out of three?"
The day at the village had been very quiet for Kagome. Miroku and Sango had gone to her village for supplies to repair her weapons and Inuyasha had taken Shippou with him to help some of the farmers in the fields. Her school was on break so there were no tests to study for and she didn't want to go home just to sit around. Inuyasha would have a fit if she did that. For the first part of the day she had assisted Kaede in gathering herbs to make ointments for the villagers, but now that the task was out of the way she was bored out of her wits.
"Demon! Demon!" She jolted up at the villager's cries. Instinctively grabbing for her bow and quiver, she jumped up and ran outside. She already had an arrow notched and ready to fly when she saw a flash of silver, white, and red. With a sigh she dropped her weapon and waited for the demon to appear in front of her.
"Miko," he addressed her in his normal cool tone.
"Sesshoumaru," she replied, mocking him and using the same tone.
He snorted at her attempt. "I require something of you."
Immediately she stiffened. "Is Rin sick again?"
"My ward is in perfect help. I require more of those boxes with the fruit nectar inside."
She cocked her head to the side a moment to figure out what on earth he was talking about. Then it hit her. "Oh! Juice boxes!"
"Yes. Rin enjoys them and I require more."
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "There is no way that a child can go through two cases of juice boxes three days."
"Hn." He looked back down at her in his normal holier than thou way.
"You have been drinking them haven't you?" she said suspiciously.
He shrugged his shoulders, an action Kagome had never seen from the cold emotionless demon. "I will neither confirm nor deny that."
In her mind she pictured him sitting under a tree with Rin, both of them sipping juice out of the little boxes. Laughing quietly she looked back up at him. "What kind would you like?"
"I don't see how your fantasies are their business anyway," Inuyasha snorted. He lay on his side, head propped up on his arm, soaking in the warmth from the fire.
Kagome slammed her notebook in frustration. "It's for my creative writing class, and I can't afford any more failing grades!" She shoved the notebook and pencil case in her bag. "I have until the end of winter break, but if I don't get it done now it won't get done."
"It's probably some dumb fantasy anyway, like taking hot baths every night."
"And yours is any better?"
He nodded. "As much ramen as I could eat, whenever I wanted to eat it."
Kagome immediately envisioned the hanyou prancing in slow motion through a field of ramen cups with "Born Free" playing in the background. "Mine is much better," she said, egging him on.
"Oh yeah?" He rolled over onto his stomach and propped up on his elbows, the desire of wanting to know what fantasy she wrote clearly written on his face.
"Yep." Ignoring him she grabbed her bag and stood up.
"Aren't you gonna tell me? I told you mine."
She continued ignoring him, humming lightly.
"Kagome!" he whined. "Not even a hint?"
She smiled sweetly at him. "Kouga. Hot spring. A pair of tube socks." In a way she almost felt guilty when he stalked away angrily, but at least she could finish. She pulled out the notebook and opened it.
My fantasy is to spend a single day with my best friend without any interruption.
Kagome's eyes widened at the decor of the beautiful place that Sesshoumaru called home. It wasn't as lavish as she had imagined, but it wasn't exactly what she expected either. It was clean and simple with a few family relics on display and lots of windows and doors to give the effect of being outside instead of sitting inside at a simple dining table.
Sesshoumaru chuckled with amusement from the table, sipping a cup of tea that he held with two hands. Yes. Two hands. It felt damn good to be able to say that again. "Do my living quarters not live up to your modern standards, miko?"
She searched for the right words. "It's beautiful, just not what I expected the home of a great taiyoukai to look like." Kagome joined him and poured herself a cup of the fragrant tea.
Jaken snorted. "Did you actually think Lord Sesshoumaru would live like a feral beast in his regal true form?"
Instead of the fearsome demon that she had seen other occasions, Kagome imagined Sesshoumaru in true form laying on his back while Rin scratched his chin, tail wagging wildly. Rather than admit that she just nodded, agreeing with Jaken. "Yeah, a wild dog with a taste for blood."
"You idiot human! Lord Sesshoumaru is not a filthy lesser dem-" He was silenced when an elaborate tea cup smacked him in the forehead.
Sesshoumaru grabbed one of the other cups on the table and poured himself more tea. "So, miko. A taste for blood?"
How did it feel, Kagome?
It was like suddenly seeing the world in color, after living all of my life in black and white. Suddenly everything was so clear and vivid, like I was finally living for the first time.
I can remember it like it was yesterday; there he was standing at the counter of the sweets shop I worked at. He was a frequent visitor, always coming in on Friday afternoon and buying four strawberry cakes and a small jar of hibiscus syrup. Sometimes he would stay a little longer and talk with me, though the owner of the shop discouraged it. His whole face lit up when he smiled. Nothing else in the world mattered but his smiling face, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
Soon he started coming by every day around closing time and wait for me outside. He would walk me home, holding my hand as we walked down the street, looking like the cat that got the canary. This went on for months until he finally worked up the courage to give me a goodnight kiss.
There, on the steps of my apartment, he kissed me for the first time. It was awkward and sloppy, but it was at that moment I realized I was in love with him. I felt free, like nothing in the world could stop me.
It felt like flying.
"I can't do it, sis!" Souta screeched. He stood in front of the board that announced if he had made it into high school, his hands over his eyes. "What if I didn't make it?"
Kagome snorted. "If I can get in with my arthritis, shingles, slipped discs, infantigo, asthma, bum knee, lazy eye -" She was cut off when Souta slammed his hand over her mouth.
"People are staring!" he hissed. He pulled his hand away from his sister's face. "I still can't look. I mean, what if I didn't pass the entrance exams? Would I be like a ronin or something?"
Kagome shook her head. "Outta the way, squirt." She walked up to the board and started hunting for his name.
He snorted at her nickname for him. He wasn't extremely tall as far as most of the boys his age, but he was still a head higher than Kagome. "Well?"
"I thought you didn't want to know."
"Kagome!"
She turned around and smiled. "You failed!" she said with a cheery grin.
Souta's jaw dropped. "No freakin way!" He ran to the board and shoved her out of the way, searching for his name. When he found it he was reduced to silence. "No freakin way."
Kagome tilted her head to the side in confusion like he had seen Inuyasha do many times before.
Before she recovered he ran over and picked her up, spinning her in the air. "I made it!" he shouted.
She hugged him back just as fiercely. "I never had any doubts."
"Kagome?"
She looked up at her father and smiled. "What are you doing here, daddy?" The steps of the shrine were oddly devoid of people, the sole occupants being her and her father.
"It's going to rain," he said, looking up at the dark clouds that hovered low in the sky, his hair catching in the winds that were becoming violent. "You will need this, to protect you from the storm." Her bow and quiver appeared out of nothing in his hands and he passed them to her.
She took the items, looking at him strangely. "What are you talking about? This isn't going to protect me from the rain."
He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I never said that it would, little one." A large umbrella appeared over their heads, just as a gentle rain began to fall.
Kagome shot up from her sleep, her hair clinging to her sweaty forehead. Inuyasha sat at her side, his ears twitching this way and that. Then she felt the tingling. She shot out of her sleeping bag and grabbed her bow and quiver. No time to dress; demons didn't care if you were in pajamas or street clothes.
Out of the corner of her eye could see Miroku and Sango rising from where they lay sleeping, preparing for the impending onslaught. Even Shippou was awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"There's a storm coming," she whispered.
Inuyasha nodded and unsheathed his sword. "And when it rains, it pours."