InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny, Time Travelers, and a Little Baby ❯ Kagome Higurashi's Day Off ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer : It's a wonderful life, and it would be even better if I owned Inuyasha. (*HINT, HINT, NUDGE, NUDGE, WINK, WINK*) But I don't. (*SOB*)

 

Chapter 4 : Kagome Higurashi's Day Off

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Where everyone in this story stands*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

After they finally got breakfast, Inuyasha and his group started for Kaede's village again. They walked and led the cow for three days. They weren't really in a hurry to get rid of Kaede anymore. Stopping for everything from diaper changes to naps didn't anger Inuyasha in the least. This was a big surprise to Kagome, who was ready to fight him tooth and nail for the welfare of the baby. Unfortunately, with the baby taking up so much of Kagome's time, day and night, he never got his chance to ask her, you know, his "questions".

 

All this time Sango and Miroku had followed their last clue to no avail and headed for home discouraged. This wasn't the first trip where they hadn't even gotten one shard. Amazingly enough, they had the feeling that Inuyasha wouldn't care. Neither knew why. Usually they were scared to come back after an unproductive trip, but now, they didn't feel any pressure and they were coming back empty-handed. ...?

 

Also in a far off village, Kikyo and Kosimu had found a kimono shop. Kosimu was fitted for a flowing purple and blue number that accented Kikyo's miko outfit perfectly. Just thought you might want to know. Also, Kikyo let him keep his skin tight black ninja outfit for when he was fighting and being all ninja-like. Very noble of her, huh?

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Now that you're up to speed*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Kaede's village was coming into view and our intrepid group of travelers were exhausted. Inuyasha and Kagome had been walking all day. Shippo had found a comfy post on Inuyasha's head in which to watch Kagome holding the baby who was wrapped in a blanket from her pack. Surprisingly, Inuyasha didn't tell him to get off, but let him stay up there as a kind of lookout. The cow was following behind on a lead rope held by Inuyasha.

 

As they neared, a familiar sight came into view. Sango was holding her Hiraikotsu up over an unconscious Miroku's head while panting heavily in a barely controlled rage.

 

`No use killing the pervert. Knocking him out for a few seconds is good enough.' She thought as she lowered her weapon.

 

"Well it's good to see you two again." Kagome shouted and waved.

 

"Kagome-chan!" Sango yelled back, putting her boomerang away and beginning to run to her best friend. She then noticed the cow following them and the odd bundle that Kagome held in her hands.

 

As they came closer, she realized that the cow was being led and the bundle was Kagome's blanket. She tilted her head to the side and decided to question it after Miroku woke up.

 

"Hey, Inuyasha, do you think you can kick the letch up again? I really want to get to Kaede's hut." Sango asked politely. He grunted and walked away.

 

"Did you have any luck finding the shards?" Kagome asked trying to make conversation.

 

"Nope, not a single one." Sango replied. "Though, we did find many youkai without ones. They just kept coming at us. It was so annoying."

 

In the background, away from the girls, Inuyasha nudged Miroku with his foot.

 

"Do you think Sango finally killed him?!" Shippo asked from atop his head.

 

“Nah. I can hear him breathing. I think he just needs a little help getting up." Inuyasha said with a rueful smile as he pulled back his foot and gave the monk a good kick in the ribs.

 

Miroku went sailing like a football at kickoff and landed with a thud a few feet away. Getting up, he mumbled a few curses and started walking back holding his side.

 

"Damnit, Inuyasha! Do you always have to wake me up like that?" Miroku muttered low enough for only Inuyasha and Shippo to hear. "You could've let Sango bend over my prone body and-"

 

"Okay, that's enough from you letch. If you hadn't noticed there ARE little ones around." Inuyasha said in a low tone.

 

Miroku just gave him an odd look and decided not to question where THAT had come from, seeing as how Inuyasha had the worst mouth of any of them. He walked back toward the girls. At a warning look from Sango, he held up his hands in a gesture of innocence and joined in on their conversation.

 

“So, are we going back to Kaede's hut together then?" Miroku asked, anxious to get a good meal after a week on the road with nothing but some old bread from the crowded house, Ramen, and fish from the rivers along the way.

 

"Yep." "Let's get going." "I'm hungry!" and "Keh!" Were heard from just about everyone, except Baby Kaede AKA `the blanket that was not alive', as they hurried along the path.

 

When they finally reached the hut, Kaede was already cooking a rather large pot of stew. She seemed to know that they would be back right about then and had prepared for it. After announcing that dinner was to be ready in two minutes and for everyone to get comfortable, she turned back to stir the pot of stew and take the buns out of the oven.

 

Speaking of which, Baby Kaede finally decided to let her presence be known as she smelled the food.

 

Sango, Miroku, and Kaede all stopped what they were doing when they heard the baby's cry. They slowly faced Kagome who still held her with shocked expressions on their faces and started looking pointedly at Inuyasha and Kagome as if they had some explaining to do. Baby Kaede had stopped crying and was looking from person to person as if she understood what was happening perfectly.

 

Inuyasha, fed up with their looks, blurted out, "Oh come on! She can't get pregnant and have a kid in two weeks!", at the same time Kagome said, "We didn't do anything like that on OUR trip.", with a glare at Miroku and Sango and an exasperated sigh at them all. After a quick look down at their laps, everyone started to talk at once.

 

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down. We can't understand a word you're saying." Kagome said with a smile. They quieted and took turns asking questions.

 

"So what is it?" "Whose is it?" "Where did it come from?" "How did you get it?" and so on and so forth was heard from all three. Kagome and Inuyasha were overwhelmed at the sheer immensity of their questions and began to answer them one by one as best they could.

 

"It is a she." Kagome started off and related the whole tale, since that was obviously what they wanted.

 

Once she was done Inuyasha added to it. "And we thought that you might find her a nice home Kaede-sama."

 

As if Inuyasha asking for help wasn't enough, the honorific was a doozy. All eyes got ten times larger and mouths began to hang open. Inuyasha had somewhat expected this reaction, but it still bugged him.

 

"Oh, come on. You act like you've never heard respect before."

 

"Not coming from you Inuyasha. Especially not to Kaede-obaa-chan. You usually just call her old woman or hag." Shippo said with wide eyes and slack jaw.

 

Inuyasha, to his credit, kept in his displeasure with only a small twitch of his eye. Kagome, seeing his deteriorating control, changed the subject.

 

"So, Kaede, can you do anything about Baby Kaede?" She asked with a hopeful expression.

 

"Well child, I don't know. Truth be told, I don't think any of the villagers would want to raise a youkai, despite all the improvements that you and Inuyasha have made to their thinking. I think your best bet would be to find another set of chameleon youkai and ask them to take her in. They'll be hard to find and probably wouldn't want to take her in anyway, but it's worth a try."

 

"Of course. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you for being so honest.” Kagome tried not to let her disappointment show. “Say, Kaede, do you know anything about chameleon youkai, like where they live? And do you have any baby clothes we can borrow? We've been using Shippo's bandanna and I don't think he'll ever want it back."

 

"No, I've never raised a child and my mother gave Kikyo and my own baby clothes away long ago. We could see about a few sets in the village, but usually the mother makes the clothes herself so the children only have a couple sets themselves.” She sighed heavily. “It sounds like a hopeless situation, but we shall see."

 

"Oi, Kaede, is that dinner burning?" Inuyasha asked as he sniffed the air.

 

"Oh my, I completely forgot about that." Kaede rushed to the pot and stirred the stew. "It will be fine, just stuck to the bottom of the pot a little." She said with relief.

 

She started ladling out the thick rabbit stew into bowls for the weary travelers. Baby Kaede started crying again as she saw everyone eating the delicious smelling stew.

 

“Kaede, do you have a pail I could borrow for a second?" Kagome asked as she handed the baby to Inuyasha. Kaede nodded and handed her a nearby water pail. "Thank you. I'll be right back." And she left to go milk the cow which they had tied up outside.

 

"What is she doing with that pail?" Sango asked puzzled.

 

"She's milking the cow to feed the baby." Inuyasha answered without stopping his eating, propping Baby Kaede in the crook of his arm.

 

"Why? Why not just find a wet nurse when we're done eating?" Miroku queried, surprisingly he didn't have a perverted thought in his head at the thought of the volunteer breast feeder.

 

"Because baby youkai don't need to suck to eat like human infants. Kagome's going to milk the cow and then feed her from a cup." Inuyasha again answered with an unusual patience.

 

"Oh." Was basically the consensus of the room.

 

Kagome came back in, took Baby Kaede from Inuyasha and began feeding her. Miroku, Sango and Kaede watched with rapt attention. Shippo kept eating and Inuyasha looked on with soft eyes while everyone's attention was diverted.

 

`She's so natural with kids. She'd be a great mother for my pups.' Inuyasha thought until the newness of the situation wore off and everyone turned back to their food, forcing Inuyasha out of his reverie and back into his assimilated role of indifference.

 

Soon the milk was gone and Kagome set the baby back on her blanket and continued to eat. Baby Kaede let out a big burp, which shocked Miroku, Sango, and Kaede. Kagome just shook her head and Inuyasha hid his small smile behind his hair.

 

Once the meal was done and the bowls were washed and put away, conversation went back to what they would do about Baby Kaede.

 

"I'll just take her home with me. It'll be easier to find fitting clothes and diapers and stuff in my time." Kagome decided. "And before you say anything Inuyasha, we all agreed that I'd get to go back after the two weeks were up. Besides," She sniffed. "we're out of Ramen." She warned when he opened his mouth.

 

"I was just going to say that I'd go with you." Shocked gasps were heard all around. "She does need clothes and those are easier to get in your time. I don't know what diapers are, but if you say she needs them…..Besides, it'll be easier to keep her safe if I go with you. And it's my night tonight." He gave her a meaningful look.

 

Needless to say, everyone was shocked speechless. Again. But Kagome managed to nod her compliance.

 

"Okay, if no one has any objections…..Let's go." So he grabbed her pack and strode to the door. In the doorway he turned back and said, "Oh, before I forget, don't forget to feed the cow for us. We need that milk as healthy as we can get it. For the baby. Bye. Come on Kagome, don't just sit there." And he strode out the door.

 

Everyone left in the hut looked at each other with big eyes and wide, gaping maws over Inuyasha's strange behavior. Numbly, Kagome stood up, said her goodbyes and followed Inuyasha out the door. She walked stiffly to the well with Kaede in her arms. Once there she turned to him.

 

"I just thought of something. We don't know if it will actually let her pass. It's only let us through so far." Kagome looked at him fearfully. "If it doesn't let her pass, then we'll have to leave her here and I don't think I'm ready to leave her without you or me."

 

Inuyasha's stomach fluttered at her innocent confession of trust. Even if she didn't outright say it, it was implied that she only trusts him to protect someone she sees as her own. "If it doesn't let her through, we'll leave her with Miroku and Sango. They can care for her for one night. Then tomorrow I'll come back as soon as the sun comes up and guard her. Problem solved."

 

Kagome still looked a little indecisive, so Inuyasha put his right arm around Kagome's waist and Baby Kaede, held the pack over his shoulder with his left, and jumped in. He was very pleased that she didn't object to him touching her and when they set down in her time he didn't let go.

 

Kagome smiled and released the breath she was holding in a relieved giggle. "She's still here." She looked up at the man holding her. "It let her through Inuyasha."

 

He half smiled at her. "As if there was any doubt."

 

Before she could reply to that arrogant comment, he held her closer, jumped out of the well and through the well house door. As they neared the main house, he reluctantly let her go. He didn't want her family to question his intentions. By discretely sniffing the air, he found that they were all home.

 

Souta saw them walking across the yard and made a run for Inuyasha's knees. He skidded to a stop just in front of him and proceeded to ask excitedly, "Inuyasha-no-nii-chan are you going to stay with us while nee-chan is home?" It wasn't everyday his hero came home with his sister.

 

"Yeah kid. I'm going to be staying here for a couple of nights. But right now we need to talk with your mom. Do you know where she is?" He could smell where she was of course, but decided to let the kid `help' him.

 

The fact that he was staying for more than one night and needed to talk with her mom was news to Kagome and she looked at him with questioning eyes. When he caught her look he said, "I'll tell you later.", and turned to follow Souta to her mom. He had shocked her into silence again.

 

`He's acting so weird today. Is it because he'll be human tonight or something else. Maybe he's possessed!' She took a closer look at his aura. 'Nope. Nothing. Well that's a relief. So why the odd behavior? First he gives Kaede-baachan an honorific. Second he doesn't fight me on going back and volunteers to come WITH me of all things. Third he actually acts like he cares about the baby. Come to think of it, he hasn't cursed for the last few days. Well except for calling me `bitch' every now and then. And he's been lenient with Shippo. What's going on?! I'm so confused!! And he said he'd tell me his plans later?! What am I? His underling? MEN!!!' She reached the house and had to drop her musings to greet her family.

 

She walked into the house and saw that everyone was at the kitchen table. Inuyasha was already there and, surprisingly, not fighting with Grandpa. After warmly greeting her mom, Grandpa, and Souta, Kagome got quite a shock.

 

"Inuyasha said you had something to show us dear. What is it?" Her mom asked tentatively looking from her daughter to the hanyou standing behind her baby girl.

 

Kagome paled slightly and gazed down at the bundle in her arms. "Um, yeah." 'Well, now's as good a time as any.' "We found a little surprise on the side of the road." And with that she tossed back the top part of the blanket and gave her family a good look at the blue haired, blue eyed, scaly skinned youkai in her arms. 'Here it comes.' She thought and braced herself for the gasp and "the look" that signaled a mother's displeasure.

 

So, the poor girl was sorely unprepared when her mother squealed, yes squealed like a school girl, and ran to the baby.

 

"It's soooo cute Kagome! What's it's name?" She asked, never taking her eyes off the child in her daughter's arms.

 

Kagome's vocal cords wouldn't work. She just kept opening and closing her mouth, looking very much the part of a fish out of water. Inuyasha, while silently enjoying Kagome's shocked expression, soon took pity on the girl and answered for her.

 

"Her name is Kaede, and she's a chameleon youkai." He then proceeded to fill them in on the story of what happened, making sure he praised Kagome's part in it. If she was going to be his mate, she had to think he didn't hate her. He had realized in the last few days that how he was acting towards her wasn't getting him very far. He had realized a lot of things about himself and his behavior actually. Like he grew up two hundred years overnight or something.

 

"Wow. My baby brought a baby into this world." Kagome's mom said with awe in her voice.

 

At this comment, Kagome's face turned bright red. "Come on, Mom. You make it sound like I was the one giving birth."

 

Inuyasha choked on the tea that Mrs. Higurashi had placed in front of him, at that mental picture. After what he'd seen, the screaming, yelling, pain, blood, and gross fluids, he didn't want Kagome to go through that for a while. Much as he wanted pups, he couldn't stand the thought of Kagome being in that much pain. 'What am I thinking? I haven't even asked her yet and I'm already planning our life together.' He thought with a hint of a blush spreading along his cheeks.

 

Everyone's attention had turned to him after he started choking and were watching intently, some in concern, some with mild interest, until he calmed down enough to breath right. All watched in confusion as he blushed for no apparent reason. Everyone, that is, but Mrs. Higurashi.

 

She had a knowing smile on her face and a hint of mischief in her eye. 'You have to be blind not to see the attraction between them. Oh, I love when I get to play matchmaker!' She thought with silent glee.

 

She approved of Inuyasha. He took good care of her daughter, and had a sense of modesty that was hard to find these days. Yes, she definitely wouldn't mind having him as a son-in-law. The thought that her daughter was only 17 barely crossed her mind. Kagome had matured very quickly because of her travels in Sengoku Jidai. She was responsible. Sensible. A real adult. Even if she wasn't considered one in her time for another year.

 

Pausing in her musing before it got too far, she held up her hand for silence. Apparently a fight had broken out between Inuyasha and Kagome as she was daydreaming. It was a harmless tiff over who got the last Biscotti. Hey, old habits are hard to break. They kept going at it. Those two just don't listen. Souta and Grandpa were absorbed in this display.

 

"It's mine. I saw it first." Kagome cried.

 

"Well, I'm your protector. I need it to keep up my strength." Inuyasha fought back, waving it in front of her face.

 

"Children! Stop it." Mrs. H had had enough. "Give me that." She fixed them with "the look". Inuyasha handed it over with wide eyes. He hadn't been on the receiving end of “the look” in a long time. She broke it in half and gave a piece to each.

 

"You broke it." Inuyasha pouted. Kagome just scowled. Biscotti's are good, but they're not big enough to begin with.

 

"Would you rather I had eaten it?" She said with a raised brow.

 

"No ma'am." Inuyasha said with bowed head and dipped it in his, now cold, tea.

 

"No Momma." Kagome practically whispered and dipped her half in her own.

 

"Good. Now, does Kaede have clothes or were you just gonna let her go around in that bandanna?" Mrs. Higurashi asked with a mocking tone.

 

'Now I know were my bitch gets it from.' Inuyasha thought with a small smile. He respected Mrs. H. After all, she had raised his Kagome and her brother without a father. Just the old man, and he didn't look like he helped much. For once Inuyasha wondered what had happened to Kagome's father. He'd have to ask her later. For now, he turned back to the interaction going on between the Higurashis.

 

"Of course we aren't going to keep her in that bandanna, Mom. What do you think we brought her here for? Besides to show you how adorable she is."

 

Kagome smiled down at Kaede who smiled back.

 

Mrs. Higurashi and Grandpa were shocked. "How old did you say she was?"

 

They asked in unison.

 

"About a week old. Why?" Kagome was confused. Her mom hardly ever looked shocked.

 

"At a week old you were sleeping almost 24/7. You didn't smile until you were about two…..almost three months old." She looked like she had just been hit by a truck. "No babies do what she just did at that age."

 

Kagome was worriedly looking between her mom, jii-chan and Inuyasha. "Maybe it's just a youkai thing." She wasn't really sure though. Inuyasha had no idea what to say. He didn't know the growth rate of youkai babies.

 

"I don't think we should worry about it. A smile never hurt anyone." He said with a shrug.

 

Kagome was finally starting to get used to his weird mood. "Okay, since it's Saturday, can we go shopping?" She asked with her most charming smile. Inuyasha's stomach was doing back flips. He loved it when she did that. Souta was looking disgusted. She always pulled that face when she wanted something.

 

Kagome's mom looked at her with a calculating look. "You don't have any money, do you?"

 

Kagome was still smiling. "Not a cent."

 

Her mother sighed. 'Well, you can't really expect her to have any money, baka. She has no job and keeps going to feudal Japan in her spare time to save the world. But what about.….' "What happened to your birthday money from last year? You don't stay here long enough to spend it all."

 

Kagome gulped as she revealed her only indulgence. "Pocky for Shippo." She stated with a nervous laugh. Souta was cracking up.

 

Her mother sighed again. "I suppose you need to buy baby clothes and diapers, right?"

 

"Yep." Kagome winced.

 

"And Inuyasha needs clothes to go with you, right?" She looked beside her daughter at the nodding half-demon. Oh yes. He knew all about going out in public dressed as is.

 

"Right." Kagome was literally cringing in her seat.

 

"Okay, that one shouldn't be a problem. How many clothes were you thinking of buying? Never mind. I'll just come with you." She said quickly.

 

"What are you talking about Mom?" Kagome asked. She stared at her mother. "I'm going to go baby shopping with you dear. Now we'll need-"

 

“No, Mom, before that. What did you mean getting Inuyasha clothes shouldn't be a problem. Men's clothes are ten times more expensive than baby clothes." Kagome was getting curious. Inuyasha was getting nervous. He didn't want to be the cause of a fight between Kagome and her mom.

 

Mrs. Higurashi got a defeated look on her face. "I kept some of your father's clothes. They're about the same height and build, so he should fit in them." She didn't want to think about her husband more than she had to. It hurt too much. By looking over at her children, she could tell it pained them too.

 

Poor Inuyasha had no idea why the table had gotten so quiet all of a sudden. `It's like someone died in here.' Suddenly his eyes got wide. `That must be it. Kagome's father is never around because he's dead.' He decided he wouldn't ask. After all, both his parents were dead. He knew how hard it was to talk about it. He decided to take everyone's mind off the past. "So, where's everyone going to sleep tonight?" He asked.

 

Mrs. H shot him a grateful look and took over. "Well, you can either sleep with Souta or on the couch in the living room." She had to think for a while. "And Kaede can either sleep in Kagome's or my room or out here with you, if you choose the couch. It's really up to you."

 

Inuyasha thought for all of five seconds before he decided to sleep on the couch with the baby. He could watch her and let Kagome get the sleep she needed. Plus protect the entire house from downstairs. If someone broke in, they'd have to go through him first. He hardly ever slept when he was human anyway. "Alright, I'll take the couch." He said with finality.

 

Souta was a little put out. He really wanted Inuyasha to share his room. But Inuyasha pulled him aside and had a short "hanyou-to-man" talk with him about his reasons. He was okay with it after that.

 

Once that was taken care of, Mrs. H spoke up. "Okay Inuyasha. Follow me and we'll get you dressed." And she led the way to her room.

 

She had him get a large trunk out from under her bed. She opened the lock and proceeded to take out some pants and a shirt and some unmentionables and handed them to Inuyasha. She told him in what order to put them on and led him to her bathroom. "Okay, I'll be in my room. Come show me when you're done." And she left him to put on the strange future clothes by himself.

 

So, here he was, in the bathroom, alone, with Kagome's dad's old clothes. As with all new things, he sniffed them first. He picked up on the musty trunk smell, and buried underneath that was a very old and fading male scent. 'Must be Kagome's father. He smelled like her, a little. Or I should say, she smells like him. He didn't smell threatening. I'm sure he was a nice man.' And with that he turned his mind to figure out how to put on the odd clothes.

 

He grabbed the underwear. 'Alright. She said these first, right? They look awfully small. Well, if he wore them, I can.' And with that mentality, he put on the briefs. Yes, good old tightey-whiteys. 'Argh! How could he stand this?! It's nothing like my fundoshi! But, oddly enough, I can still move. Hmmm. Future fabric. Weird stuff.' After that, he made quick work of the shirt and pants, after the initial button trouble of course, and went to go find Mrs. H. A quick look in the mirror was all he needed to know one thing.

 

'I look.….like an idiot.'

 

He went to her room. She was there like she said she would be. But she looked sad. Inuyasha looked for the source and found that she was looking at old pictures from the trunk. He shifted his weight from foot to foot in the doorway and finally got the nerve to go in. Mrs. H looked up with a teary smile and put away the pictures.

 

"Well, you look all spiffy." She made a slow circle around him. "Yep. Not bad at all. The sleeves are a little short though. Can you move alright?" He nodded. "Nothing's too tight or too loose?" He shook his head. "Good, let's go show Kagome." And she headed for the stairs.

 

At the bottom of the stairs, she told him to wait. "I'll be right back." And she scurried off to get Kagome. 'Hehehe, now my plan begins.'

 

She found Kagome in the kitchen, doing the morning's dishes. "Put down your washrag sweetie. I've got a surprise for you." And she led Kagome out to the bottom of the stairs. She just watched as Kagome took in Inuyasha's lean figure in the black slacks and white dress shirt. Her eyes raked over his form, from head to toe and back again. Inuyasha began to blush from the attention. Her mom scurried behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, smoothing out the shirt. "Doesn't he look great honey? Of course he needs shoes, but I think there's some that would fit in the trunk. What do you think?"

 

Kagome began to blush as she met his eyes. Her mother had a huge smile on as she watched her daughter size up her no longer feudal-looking friend. "He looks…..very nice." She said slowly.

 

"Why don't you get him cleaned up while I finish the dishes?" Mrs. H said with a conniving smile and gleam in her eye that neither teenager noticed.

 

"Uh-huh." Kagome said and snapped out of her Inuyasha-induced trance. "Follow me Inuyasha." and she walked towards the bathroom she shared with Souta.

 

Inuyasha followed behind her and Mrs. H danced to the kitchen sink, humming and chanting "I'm gonna be a GrandMA!" to the conga-line beat.

 

As Inuyasha was following Kagome, he admired the straight line of her back and the way her hair trailed behind her. Allowing his eyes to roam lower, he watched the hypnotizing tilt of her hips as they swayed back and forth in a slow rhythm. He snapped out of it when she turned the corner and he lost his eye candy.

 

Following her around the corner and through a doorway, into the kids' bathroom, he saw her looking around at the mess. "Souta doesn't know how to keep this bathroom clean." She said with a sigh. He looked around and saw the clothes on the floor, the empty hamper, the toothpaste on the sink, the erect toilet seat and the filth ridden tub. "Guess I have to pick it up before we can get you cleaned up." And she set to work.

 

Luckily, the tub was just dirt. It seems Souta had washed his favorite pair of cleats in the tub after a muddy scrimmage, and never rinsed it out. She put the clothes in the hamper, put down the toilet seat, wiped off the counter and splashed the sink and tub with water. The bathroom finally looked halfway decent and she turned to Inuyasha. "Okay Inuyasha. Should I get started on you, or do you want a bath first?"

 

`Can't I have both. Argh. Bad me, bad.' "I think I'll take that bath first. Thank you." Was it just him or did she look disappointed. She quickly showed him how to work the tub and left.

 

So, here he was. In the bathroom. Alone. Again. With Kagome's dad's clothes on and Kagome's scent in the air. He was surrounded by her life and didn't think he'd ever want to leave. But, Kaede needed clothes and he'd be damned if he let them go out alone. So he quickly stripped and ran the water. 'Hmm. Cleaner than the lake. More temperate than the hot spring. I think I finally get what she's always talking about.' He started the shower head, got in, quickly soaped up and got clean. He got out and dried off, then realized…..his clothes were missing.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*In the kitchen a bit earlier*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Kagome came down after showing Inuyasha how to work everything and saw her mother finishing the last dish.

 

"Did you get Inuyasha cleaned up already?" She asked. She was expecting them to take a little longer than that.

 

"No, he decided to take a bath first. Maybe a shower. I showed him how to do both." Kagome was a little disappointed that he didn't want her to run her fingers through his thick silver hair, massaging his scalp, and rubbing his ears as she.….'Okay, little too much. Why would he want me to do THAT anyway? Argh! Unrequited love sucks!'

 

"Well, that's nice dear. I think I'm going to go see if Grandpa needs help with Kaede." And she left.

 

With a stealth born of repeated middle of the night trips into her children's rooms, Mrs. H made a clean get-away with Inuyasha's clothes while he was in the shower. He was relaxed for the first time in forever, so he wasn't on guard and couldn't really hear much over the spray of water. She stashed them in Kagome's room and, giggling, went to find Grandpa so her alibi wasn't seen through.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*A few moments later*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Inuyasha had just discovered his missing clothes and frankly, he was pissed. He had wrapped the towel around his vitals and had gone in search of someone, namely Mrs. Higurashi, to see if he could borrow a robe or something. And to ask if she knew anything about it. Her scent was all over the bathroom for some reason.

 

Unfortunately for him, the first thing he saw as he came down the stairs was Kagome. 'Just great. Nothing better than seeing the girl you love after you lose your pants. Perfect.'

 

She was sitting in the living room, getting reacquainted with the TV by watching an old episode of Ranma