InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dumb Luck ❯ Time for Reflection ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer- I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Translationnotes - Shimenawais a straw rope with Gohei (white zigzag paper strips) that marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on gates, around sacred trees and stones, etc.

Chapter Two: Time for Reflection

Kagome falls back easily into the old routine of school, household chores and all the little details of keeping a shrine, which is open to the public, running smoothly. It was almost a welcome change from the constant searching for Shikon fragments amid questionable conditions and innumerable dangers…almost. There would come moments in between cleaning, sorting through boxes and other general tasks that all needed doing, when she found herself missing the strangeness.

And even though she cared dearly for her longtime friends, their juvenile chatter often made her long for her serious discussions with Sango, Miroku's insightful wisdom or Shippo's endless curiosity and boundless cheer. She would sigh and Eri, Ayumi and Yuka would drag her back into the conversation whether she wanted to or not. She found herself trying to act like the others her age and that's when she realized just how much of an `act' it was.

Giggling over pop-stars or movie hunks just couldn't compare to the intense experiences she had gone through or the many people she had met on the other side of the well. "Teen Idols" and faces plastered on billboards didn't seem very real and she could care less about what they ate for breakfast or who was seen with whom. So, by the end of the schoolday, she was glad to wave goodbye to her friends and escape back home where she could hear herself think.

The only thing she didn't miss was InuYasha…because he showed up every other day. He would claim he was there to help but it seemed more like pestering to her. And his impatience was often so visible that she knew that if he could hurry up Time itself by pushing, her four weeks would be over already.

And then again…just yesterday when he had carried Jichan outside to sit under the Goshinboku so he could enjoy the fresh air and sunlight, she had found him over an hour later still with her grandfather, sitting and quietly talking to him. Something indefinable about the way they looked had made her back away without saying anything, not wanting to intrude. She had peeked around the corner of the house to make sure they hadn't noticed and ended up watching them for a few minutes, curiously watching what seemed to be a very serious discussion between the old man and otherworldly hanyou. Very curious indeed.

She had left them undisturbed and didn't ask InuYasha about it later, not wanting to embarrass him. `Come to think of it, he had been very quiet the rest of the day.' Kagome frowns to herself as she climbs the long stone stairway up to her home, her bookbag quite lightweight compared to her fully loaded yellow pack. `Huh…there I go again. Comparing here and there.' She sighs, shaking her head as she steps on the pathway to he house, then changes her mind and takes the path leading to the Goshinboku instead.

She sits down on one of the small stone benches and stares at the gohei on the Shimenawa tied around the trunk of the tree fluttering in the breeze. `I know I belong here in this time and place.'

A distant rumble draws her attention up to the deceptively small airplane, moving slowly across the sky and winking in the sunlight, headed to some unknown destination. `I've never been in a plane but I have flown…' She watches it until the silver vessel is just a speck and thinks about riding on Kirara's back with the wind in her hair. `How many people can say as much?'

She continues to gaze blindly at the blue sky. `There are things I miss when I'm here…and things I miss when I'm there.' She looks around her home, so full of memories. `I could never leave my family for good…' her eyes stop on the wellhouse, `and I can't imagine never seeing my friends again.'

She frowns pensively, `My family is very important to me…but it's also very important that all the Shikon Shards are located and I'm the only one who can find them.' The pale image of Kikyo with her sad eyes and proud bearing drifts into her mind and she gives a small self-mocking laugh, `Well, at least I'm the only one who doesn't have a private agenda and is willing to do so.' The undead Miko is always a touchy subject, one best left alone.

Kagome laughs softly again and rolls her eyes. "That's another thing," she looks up at the ancient tree and asks, "How many people can say they've met their past selves?"

So looks back down at her slightly dusty shoes, `So many things I can't talk about to my friends…or to my family.' She sighs deeply, `And for so many reasons.' She hears the doors of the wellhouse slide open and looks up to see InuYasha step into the sunlight. 'And yet…' she stands up and begins walking over, `…I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of it.'

InuYasha sees her and closes the doors behind him before walking towards her, his hands hidden inside the voluminous sleeves of his red haori as he so often does, meeting her halfway.

She tilts her head to the side, "Your back."

He quirks an eyebrow at her, "Heh, that's obvious."

She grips the strap of her bag, "Well, for two weeks now you've only come every other day, so I didn't expect you today." She squints up at him, "Why the change?"

He shrugs and looks uncomfortable, "Do I need a reason?"

"No," she shakes her head and lets it go. Instead she thinks about the list she had made of things she wanted to get done today and wondered if she could keep him busy and out of trouble. She thought about the weeding he had asked him to do last week and shuddered, `Why he had thought that digging up half of the proper plants would make weeding easier…? Thank goodness I stopped him before the whole garden was ruined.' Her eyes light up when her gaze lands on the roof of her house, `Cleaning out the gutters! I hate that job and he's perfectly suited to do it. He won't even need a ladder.'

She smiles at him, "Feel like working?"

He looks a little suspicious but shrugs again, "I'm here aren't I?"

She puts one hand on her hip and gives him a considering look, "Now who's stating the obvious?" She shakes her head and grabs his arm, "Come on. I'll feed you first." She pulls him along behind her and, noting his slight resistance, says over her shoulder, "and I promise…nothing spicy."

He stops dragging his heels and allows her to lead him into the house.

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InuYasha gives the tie one last tug to secure the knot and looks at his handiwork with a critical eye. `That should be good enough.' With a satisfied nod he stands up and leans the broom against the wall of the shed and walks out. He closes the door and doesn't see the broom bend crookedly where the scrap of material is wrapped around the handle before toppling to the floor.

He makes a quick scan for witnesses and sighs in relief. `I wonder what else I'm gonna have to do?' He looks down at his hands and brushes them together before walking towards the house. `Why does she make me do things she only yells at me for later?' He makes a scoffing sound remembering last week when he had helped carry groceries and he set the bag down a little too hard…

--Flashback-

Kagome held the door open with her back and holding two bags of her own. She motioned with her head for him to go in and said, "Just set those down on the kitchen table."

He nodded and carried his double-handful of bags into the kitchen to plunk them down. She was right behind him, setting hers down as well. She and her mother started emptying the bags, putting the various things away. He watched curiously, wondering where it would all go.

"Ewww!" Kagome pulled her hand out of one of the bags with a disgusted expression and looked at the wet, slimy substance covering it. She made an even worse face, "Gross, egg!" She looked into the bag then over at him, "Can't you be more careful with things?" She moved to the sink to wash her hand still muttering, "The whole pack…smashed…"

He watched her growing anger and his ears flattened against his head as he said defensively, "Keh! How was I supposed to know it was so fragile? Am I a mind reader?"

She grabbed a towel and dried her hands giving him a narrow-eyed look, "You're always breaking things!" An accusative finger is pointed at him, "Like my window this morning!"

His eyes rolled, "Again with the window? I told you; it was an accident!"

Mrs. Higurashi laid her hands on Kagome's shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze and smiling at InuYasha, "Now that's enough. Nothing has happened that can't be fixed." She bent over her daughter's shoulder and made eye contact, "Right?"

Kagome sighed and nodded contritely. Mama looked over at InuYasha and gave him another small smile. He had felt a little ashamed and looked down to stare uncomfortably at the floor. The two Higurashi women returned to putting things away and he had slunk out while Kagome's back was turned, leaving through the well without saying goodbye.

When he had returned two days later it wasn't mentioned, though Kagome had seemed happy to see him.

--End Flashback--

`Will I ever understand…' He frowns as he walks, head down and arms crossed. He suddenly stops and looks up at the brilliant colors of the sunset and noticed that the constant noise of this busy modern city sounded muffled. He takes a deep breath and can only faintly smell the nearby flowers and whatever was cooking in the house, but not the ever-present stench of road-tar or the acrid exhaust fumes that drifted up from below and usually assailed his senses. He slowly walks over to sit cross-legged under the Goshinboku. Closing his eyes and slumping in resignation, he waits.

-----

Kagome steps through the front door and moves until she could see onto the roof, "InuYasha?" When she didn't see him she looks around, `Now where would he be…' The brilliant red of his garments drew her eye to where he sat, his pale hair picking up similar reds from the setting sun. `Oh.' She walks over and sits down next to him, hugging her knees. She sees him glance at her and she turns to watch the sunset too, waiting for him to say something. After a few minutes of silence she turns back to him. `He looks…lonely.' She leans forward to get his attention, "InuYasha?"

His eyes slide toward her and then away, "Hmm?"

"Is something the matter?" Her voice was concerned.

He stares fixedly at the sliver of sun still visible over the horizon and shakes his head, saying quietly, "Nothing new."

She frowns and leans back, her shoulder brushing his. The colors in the sky deepen and clouds of fantastical hue drift along as the stars begin to twinkle in the growing darkness. Kagome sees his hand resting on his knee close into a fist and looks over at him in concern, only to have her eyes widen in surprise. `That's why…?'

InuYasha's jaw tightens and his brown eyes dare her to say anything from under lowered brows.

She stares at his black hair and his stubborn look with mild wonder, still amazed at this monthly transformation; at how odd his full-human form seemed when she was more used to his wilder-looking hanyou appearance. She did some belated mental calculations and silently berates herself for forgetting the date then looks at him in puzzlement. "I thought you said you wouldn't come here when…?" Her voice fades and she looks down, remembering his heated words at her earlier offer, `I may be weak when I'm human but I won't go hiding like a scared pup in your home!'

She lays her hand on his shoulder and says quietly, "Do you want to come inside?"

He shakes his head, "Not yet."

She looks over at the light shining through the windows of the house then back at him. "Do you want me to bring you something to eat out here?"

His head shook again, "I'm not hungry."

Kagome sighs, drops her hand and leans back against the tree, looking up at the faint stars fighting to be seen through the light pollution of the big city. "Is it alright if I sit here with you for a while?"

He reaches for her hand in answer, holding it warmly in his.

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