InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Father Figure ❯ The Truth about the Well ( Chapter 5 )

AN: Just before I start I'd like to say that I am actually English, not American (though some already know that) and therefore I spell things wrong apparently. I put S in realise instead of Z. Hardly anyone uses Z in English spelling… it's like the forbidden letter or something. Don't ask me why. But it means that I say Maths instead of Math, because to me it sounds like Mathematics with a plural. I know it might sound awkward to others, but it really doesn't to me.

I just thought I better say because a lot of people have recently been giving me grief about the way I write. And for the last time 'camp' isn't an Americanism. How can it be?

And as for why I say Mom, instead of Mum - well that's because I read translations and fan fics galore and it just starts to sound out of character if I make Kagome say Mum instead. ^_^;; She's officially Americanised in these stories I write.

And for those who wonder what happened to my missing fics - you can find them at this site in the fanfiction section http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/iys I've lost the files myself so I can't upload them back onto ff.net anymore, so this is where you'll have to go to read them.

Ok, enough grouchy notes and more story!

Father Figure

The Truth About the Well

Kagome's finger reached out mechanically to turn the page of the magazine she was reading… or looking at in a glazed trance like state. She had been reading the columns, until her mother had come into the kitchen and started moving around, tidying the place up. Kagome had been wanting to speak to her mother for some time… Now all she had to do was sum up the courage to talk.

Finally she looked up and watched her mother as she ran a cloth over the counter surfaces. Kagome bit her lip and tried to think how best to start this imminently volatile conversation.

"Mom…?" Always a good way to start.

"Hm?" Her mother hummed to show she was listening as she continued without a break in her cleaning.

It would have helped if her mother gave her more undivided attention… because she was sure that what she was about to say was quite serious.

"What do you think of Denji?" she asked almost hesitantly, afraid of the answer, even though she already knew it. Maybe her mother would surprise her. But unfortunately, Mrs Higurashi wasn't the impulsive type of person.

"He's a fine man, don't you think?" Her mother smiled as she dipped her cloth in the sink full of warm soapy water and wrung it out. "Steady job, steady mind, he's really hitting it off with Souta. I was worried about that boy… he hasn't had much of a male role model in his life."

"What about Grandpa?" Kagome pointed out.

They both thought about that before both shaking their heads negatively.

"Well, what about Inuyasha?" Kagome shrugged. "He's a good role model… sort of… well - he's male."

"He's not really around enough…" Mrs Higurashi paused her cleaning to throw her daughter a sceptical glance. "What's this all about? Why are you asking whether or not Denji's a good role model for Souta?"

"I'm not asking that." Kagome leaped to her own defence. "I was… just curious to know how you felt about Denji."

She was sorry she asked. Mrs Higurashi beamed like a school girl with her first fresh love all over again. Kagome didn't need to hear her mother's answer. "You love him a lot don't you…?"

"I do."

More than Dad? Kagome wanted to ask, but knew best to keep her mouth shut. They were divorced, which meant they didn't love each other any more. Her father was now engaged to a lovely woman, and her mother was now fallen for… a creep… a creepy creep.

"Why'd you ask?" her mother repeated.

"Um…" Kagome shifted uncomfortably, feeling a little hot around the collar. "Don't you think… I mean… haven't you noticed that Denji - I'm not being shrewd or anything… but haven't you noticed he's… well…"

"He's what?" Mrs Higurashi leaned against the counter to watch Kagome through curious eyes.

"He's… odd?" Kagome winced, waiting for her mother to snap at her.

To her surprise, her mother just chuckled. "Odd? Don't be silly, he's the only normal man in this house. Maybe we're all so odd now that we live in a shrine with an enchanted well, that we start to think normal is out of the ordinary."

Kagome didn't follow her mother's humour. In fact she felt a little indignant. "Actually… I don't mean that… I mean, don't you think Denji is strange. Stranger than normal… as in…" Kagome struggled for words as her mother's eyes slowly narrowed on her. "Not right?"

Mrs Higurashi stared at her a moment before sighing and shifting her weight to her other leg. "Not this again…" she glared back at Kagome. "I thought we'd gotten past this little acceptance stage. What's the matter with you?"

Kagome hugged herself slightly. "I-I…"

"Denji has been so good to us." Her mother scowled at her. "He's done nothing but help you with your maths and contribute to this family - even though he doesn't have to! Good men like that are hard to come across, Kagome - I don't know what's the matter with you! Usually you at least give people a chance before you decide you dislike them - why haven't you given Denji a chance!"

She HAD given Denji a chance! She'd given him three weeks of chance to prove her wrong about her initial feelings. But he was only getting worse as time wore on…

For some reason, Kagome couldn't find the nerve to say that to her mother, though she couldn't think why. She just seemed to lack the courage to speak to her mother any more…

"Why don't you like him?! He's done nothing wrong! He's fond of you and he wishes you would feel the same for him! He'll be your father soon!" Mrs Higurashi berated her.

Kagome clenched her fingers around her glass of water so hard she saw them turn white. She could feel a hard lump form in her throat, along with an imminent feeling of tears welling up behind her eyes. A roaring was droning out the quiet of the kitchen, almost as if intensifying the silence. Mrs Higurashi waited for an answer from her daughter… but she received none.

After a while she straightened and dropped her cloth into the sink. "I suggest you think about your selfishness Kagome, if I can call it that. I don't know what you have against Denji. The only thing I can think of is that he's replacing your father."

Kagome closed her eyes, half in despair. That had nothing to do with it…

"Though I can't understand that. You accepted Mari just fine, so why can't you be fair to me as well and accept Denji. They're both very fair and pleasant people when you get to know them."

A long pause stretched out. Kagome kept her eyes closed, knowing if she opened them and blinked the tears would spring loose. Mrs Higurashi didn't seem to notice her daughter's distress and moved past her to leave the kitchen, throwing one last terse comment over her shoulder before she disappeared. "Think about what you say from now on, young lady."

When she was alone, Kagome finally opened her eyes and felt the tears begin to well up, ready to spill. But instead, she took a deep breath and refused to blink and let them fall. After a few moments her eyes dried and the choppy feeling her in her chest faded somewhat. No, she didn't need to cry.

So she went back to reading her magazine.

^_^

Kagome hurriedly stuffed her feet into a good pair of old boots as she sat on the floor beside her bed. She only had a few minutes or else she could just forget the whole mission.

Her foot was healing well, so well that she could now walk around for short periods of time, and she planned to use this time to trail Denji and Souta to the park. She had to know how his relationship with her little brother was… did he treat Souta the same way he treated Kagome.

It was a Saturday, meaning lots of parents were taking their kids to the park… She'd be hidden by the crowds well enough (hopefully) and from there she'd be able to observe them both.

Of course, hitches in her well thought out plans always popped up at the last minute. This time in the form of her favourite Hanyou.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, half-way through his window, giving her the most irritated look yet. "Please tell me you're getting ready to come back."

"Can't." She said bluntly as she finished tying her laces on stood up, testing her sore foot. The pain wasn't so bad now. "I have to go follow Denji and Souta to the park."

"Uh… Why?" Inuyasha slipped from the window to the floor, looking at her carefully. She seemed very determined that morning.

"Because I have to know if Souta's ok with him." She had to know if she was the only one being mistreated.

"Maybe you should eat something before you go." Inuyasha suddenly said.

"What?"

"You're trembling." He pointed out, looking at her hands which quaked ever so slightly against the folds of a pleated black and yellow chequered skirt. "Lacking energy today, huh?"

"I don't have time for breakfast." She waved her hand with a dismissive gesture, choosing not to tell him she wouldn't eat breakfast as long as Denji was at the table. "I have to go now, see ya later Inuyasha."

She dashed out the door with a slight limp before he could stop her. She was down the stairs and out the door before her path was blocked by his larger frame, folded arms and stern look. "If you have the energy to go chasing step fathers, why not come back and chase demons instead."

"Same thing." She shrugged and tried to move past him. He grabbed her jacket sleeve to stop her, making an impatient scowl flicker across her expression. If he delayed her too long she'd be left too far behind. "What?" she asked with a sigh.

He regarded her for a moment before offering his back for her to get on for a lift. "If I let you run around like this you'll just damage your foot further. Then you'll use it as an excuse to stay here when you should come back home."

"THIS is my home." She argued, even as she clambered onto his strong back.

"Which way's this 'park' thing?"

"I'll guide you."

^_^

"We're here - you better put me down, or he'll see us." Not that she wasn't noticeable enough as it was with a white haired boy in a bright red hakama and haori… with little doggy ears no less. "Maybe we should have brought you a hat?" Kagome whispered to him as they began making their way through the sparse crowd of pedestrians as they headed towards the gates leading into the park.

"Oh, right, I remember." Inuyasha nodded, recalling the last time they'd made him wear a hat out in public. So he just snatched a hat off a random girl who was passing a little too close by them. The girl yelped indignantly and was about to cause a fuss, until she saw Inuyasha and reckoned she shouldn't even bother.

"How's that?" he stuffed it on over his ears.

"You look positively French." Kagome told him with a poorly concealed grin. Well it WAS a little black French hat. "I can kinda see the resemblance between you and your brother now."

"Sorry?" he said loudly.

"I said I think that hat's too tight on your ears!" she yelled back, grabbing his hand to drag him through the gates before she lost him. She began following the path through the grassy quads of trees and water features, trying to find her brother's familiar face, or Denji's misleading smile. Inuyasha just toddled along behind her, looking around him in mild interest, curiosity, or just boredom, she couldn't quite tell.

Then she saw them, playing out in the open grassy space on the left side of the path. Kagome made a strangled sound and quickly threw Inuyasha into the bushes and quickly followed.

"Ow!" he glared at her angrily.

She dropped down beside him the rhododendron bushes. "You ok?"

"My head broke my fall." He ground out, pushing himself up. No matter how strong he was, even a weakling like Kagome could still take him by surprise like that.

"Stop complaining, you're worse than me." She concentrated on peering through the bushes to where Denji and Souta were playing on the grass… with a dog…

"Um." She glanced back at Inuyasha who was removing his new hat to massage his ears. "We don't have a dog do we?"

"Besides me?"

"Yes."

"No." he glanced through the leaves to take a look. "You only have that fat cat, right?"

"Right." Kagome turned her eyes back to the dog. "Maybe it's a stray… with a collar… and a leash that happens to be attached to Souta's hand…"

"I don't think that's a stray, Kagome." He said and paused to think. "Ok. We done spying now? I wanna go back."

Kagome frowned and carried on watching her brother and Denji. They seemed at ease with each other… he wasn't bullying Souta or telling him he was fat or anything…

"Ok." Kagome stood up and pushed her way out of the bushes. She turned back to Inuyasha as he emerged after her. "I guess it's just me he doesn't like."

Inuyasha found that strangely hard to believe. Even he liked Kagome, and he had trouble liking many people, however impossibly nice they may be. As he watched her standing there, brushing her hands down over her clothes and the incredibly short skirt (surely that wasn't decent!) he couldn't help but notice how incredibly pale and sad she looked. She didn't look as happy as she normally did… something he didn't like to see. When Kagome was sad it usually meant something was amiss… and it made him feel uncomfortable.

"Don't cry." He told her hesitantly.

"What?" she looked at him with confusion. "I'm not going to cry… what made you say that?"

He quickly shrugged and back-stepped his mistake. "Brain tick… thing…"

"Right…" she nodded, with a worried expression. Her gaze wondered past him for a moment and she suddenly gasped and jumped. "Oh crud - they're coming this way!"

"What?" Inuyasha started turn towards the grassy pitch where Denji had been playing with Souta and the new dog, but Kagome grabbed his sleeve and pushed him behind a wide tree to hide him, then stood in front of him in an attempt to hide herself. She stood close… and even stepped closer since the tree wasn't that big. Inuyasha leaned back, getting slightly nervous of her proximity, but Kagome didn't seem to notice their closeness, or his discomfort.

She was all but radiating with fear.

When he realised it, it made him frown. Now her tremors had increased and it looked like she was shivering. Her eyes were wide and she was desperately trying to keep from being seen.

"Why are you so scared of this guy?" he asked after a moment.

Kagome darted her eyes up to meet his and smiled slightly. "I'm not scared of Denji… I never have been… it's just…" she swallowed hard. "I just don't want them to see me… I don't want Denji to know about you. I don't know what he'll do if he sees you…"

After a moment he decided she wasn't close enough. She could still be seen. So with a sigh he reached out and tugged her closer until her body was practically aligned and leaning against his. Inuyasha's arms loosely rested around her waist though her body was stiff as a board in her surprise. For a moment she did nothing but gape softly, wanting to protest, but her voice refusing to listen to her.

No, he was only helping her keep out of sight, she told herself as she forced herself to consciously relax against him, bringing her hands up to rest against his chest.

But even when the danger had passed, they stayed like that a little while longer than was really necessary.

^_^

Kagome sighed heavily as she stepped through the door of her home and stepped out of her shoes. She could hear small sharp yips sounding from somewhere within the house… probably the new family member, and she didn't mean Denji.

"I'm home." She called wearily, and soon heard the sound of thundering footsteps upstairs.

"Kagome!" Souta yelled as he appeared on the landing and hurtled down the stairs with a brownish blur on his tail. "Kagome! Guess what Denji got me?!"

"A torture kit!" she said with pretended enthusiasm.

"Look!" he scooped up the bundle of fur and held it out for her to see. Kagome smiled genuinely when she saw the little terrier in his arms, wriggling and wagging it's tail like a mad thing.

"He's cute." She told her brother, giving the dog a scratch behind the ear. "Does Mom know?"

"She's the one who agreed Denji should get him yesterday. We picked him up from the pet shop this morning." Souta said, full of glee and energy.

"Yesterday? We decided this yesterday?" Kagome's smiled slipped a little, and the little dog started squirming to get her hand scratching again. "Why didn't I get told about this?"

"Dunno." Souta couldn't really care less, he was too busy hugging the new pet. "Oh - but Mom and Denji want to talk to you."

Kagome felt a prickle of foreboding run down her spine. "About?"

Souta suddenly broke out in a wide, almost evil and conniving grin. "Kagome and Yasha sitting in a tree - K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Kagome's blood ran cold as Souta ran off laughing, back up the stairs. "We saw you at the park!" he yelled as he went back to singing. "Kagome and Yasha, sitting in a tress, K-I-S-S-I…!"

She remained standing by the door, not believing what her ears were telling me. Then she winced when she heard her mother calling from the kitchen. "Kagome!"

"Damn… crap… hell… damn… hell…crap…" Kagome chanted as she headed towards the kitchen at the slowest pace possible of the human snail.

She arrived at the doorway and looked in, seeing them both sitting at the table with Denji's hand covering her mother's. Kagome had to fight the urge to run up and rip his hand off her mother. She swallowed her jealousy (if that was what it was) and raised her chin, half defiantly. "Yes?"

There was a beat of silence before Denji spoke up. "Your mother told me everything."

Kagome swallowed hard as she glanced at her mother for confirmation, seeing that it was true. For some reason she felt betrayed…

"I told you to hold off seeing your friends for a while." Her mother said slowly. "I wanted you to stay here and get to know your father."

"But I know my fath- oh… you mean…" Kagome glanced cautiously at Denji. Barely any emotion showed on his face.

"You weren't visiting a friend called Kikyo were you." He asked, though it wasn't really a question. "You were…down that well thing…"

Kagome stared at him hard. Was he really believing all the things he'd been told. Kagome knew for sure that if she was in his position… she wouldn't believe a word of it until she saw proof.

"I wouldn't have believed it myself until I saw that… boy…you were with." He sounded like he wasn't sure 'boy' was the correct term. "Me and your mother have been talking about this…"

"Your grades are dropping massively at school." Mrs Higurashi nodded slowly.

"You're entrance exams for your high school are coming up." Denji said sternly.

"You seem to have developed an attitude problem recently."

"So we've decided… you shouldn't be going back through that well anymore." Denji finished.

Kagome froze as she stared at him in disbelief. How could a total stranger… and total outsider come into her home and declare she wasn't allowed to get on with her life anymore! She was aware her jaw had dropped in shock. "You… you can't tell me to do that!"

"If it's affecting your performance at school we can." He said, squeezing her mother's hand on the table.

That urge to tear his hands off her came back strong again. "But - I need to go to the past! I can't just abandon it."

"You can give up travelling time, Kagome." Mrs Higurashi frowned at her daughter. "Besides, your friends can still visit you."

Denji shot his fiancée a sharp look and Kagome's mother seemed to change her mind. "Well… occasionally. Not often. I don't want them to distract you."

"But… Inuyasha's the only one who can visit me." Kagome said weakly. "What about Miroku… Sango… Shippo?"

"I'm sorry Kagome. Perhaps we'll work something out, but for now, I don't want any more time travelling. It's a frivolous little pursuit that's taking too much time away from your studies." Her mother told her sternly.

"It's not frivolous!" Kagome half laughed in disbelief of what she was being told. "My life there is important! I need to go there!"

"You don't!"

"I do!" Kagome argued. "I have to collect the Shikon shards for Inuyasha and-"

"That can wait, the shards aren't going anywhere." Her mother told her.

"Of course they are!" Kagome cried. "Demons pick them up and then they gain strength and then they go on killing rampages! I can't abandon my duty - I broke the damn jewel so I have to repair it before these monsters kill people with the shards!"

Right then, Kagome realised she'd gone too far. She'd never told her mother exactly what she'd done in the feudal era… she didn't want to worry her, or risk her mother putting an end to her trips down the well. The look of shock on her mother's face was priceless.

"What?" she gasped at Kagome.

"This is ridiculous." Denji shook his head with a snort. "Rampaging demons? Maybe in the fairy-tales, Kagome-chan, but not in real life."

"This is real!" Kagome defended herself. She was NOT about to let Denji make her out to be a liar. "I fight demons with my friends! We get the shards back and gather the jewel! That's what I do! That's why I can't just forget about going back there! People's lives are at stake here!"

"You never told me… this was what you do…" Mrs Higurashi stared at her daughter, looking slightly pale. "You lied to me…?"

"No." Kagome shook her head. "I never lied to you, I would never lie… I just… told a few white lies… and skimped on detail…"

"This is ridiculous…" Denji repeated.

"It's true!" Kagome cried out again. "And it's not just a matter of lives either. We're running out of time to stop this Hanyou named Naraku - if we don't stop him he could end more lives then all the shard enhanced demons in the Sengoku era!"

"You're making this up!" Denji shot at her.

"I'm not!" Kagome yelled, almost hoarsely. She looked at her mother. "You've seen Inuyasha - how can you not know this is true! He's not your average boy, is he?! He's a fighter - he's fighting with me and my friends right now! We fight Naraku and demons… but we always win… we're not in danger…"

"But… demons, Kagome!" Her mother still gaped at her. "God! How many times did I wash blood out of your uniform! It was always your blood! You could have been killed!"

Kagome had the imminent feeling she'd just made everything much worse for herself. Now there was no way they were going to let her continue her life in the past.

"This isn't just a story straight from the story books, Kagome!" Her mother stood up. "You're my little girl - how can you be so stupid as to risk your life like this?! And not tell me about it! You could have died and I would never see you again!"

"Inuyasha protects me!" Kagome tried to reason. "He's strong!"

"Your life is worth more than this to me!" Mrs Higurashi moved around the table to tug Kagome into a tight hug. "How can you do this without telling me… this is bleeding dangerous Kagome!"

"I know… but I have to do it… it's my duty…"

"Dear…" Denji stood up and looked meaningfully at Kagome's mother. "A moment alone, please?"

Her mother and her new 'father' looked at Kagome expectantly, and she realised she was being told to remove herself from the room so they could talk privately. She turned without a word and walked outside, but she only closed the door and didn't move from that spot. She had to know what they were saying about her.

"You can't honestly believe this can you…" Denji said somewhat contritely.

"She's telling the truth." Her mother responded grimly.

There was a long pause of silence, in which Kagome listened to the pacing of steps and a scraping of a chair as her mother must have sat down.

"How can this be real? Magic and all that nonsense… it's not real!" Denji exclaimed, making an effort to keep his voice down.

"It is… well, it is real down that well… I've seen things come out of there… you wouldn't believe." Her mother said weakly.

"Perhaps… but do you really think she's telling the truth about this 'duty' of hers?" he questioned. "Do you really think that if she doesn't go back the world will fall into chaos like she'll have you believe."

There was another drawn out silence. "I suppose… it is a little… unusual."

"She's blowing the whole situation out of proportion. I doubt any lives are resting on her shoulders." Denji admonished. "I've seen these cases in kids at school all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Kids have it tough these days, Ayame." He told her. "Stuck in classes full of others like themselves, they begin to feel insignificant and unimportant. So they… like to make up little fantasies where they are the centre of the universe. Where they are important… They dream of fame and fortune. Or adventures where they are the hero…"

Kagome clenched her fists angrily.

"These little fantasies are harmless enough… everyone day dreams… but sometimes it can overwhelm a kid. They believe they are living their fantasies - or would at least have you believe they are. They pretend to be slaying monsters, pretend they are the saviours of the world… I admit that's outlandish. Most of the time they just do it for attention. They skip school and then come back and tell everyone they were involved in a secret rendezvous meeting with a secret boyfriend or something stupid. It's harmless… but with Kagome… I'm worried."

Kagome half wanted to march back in there and tell him how wrong he was. Did he think she enjoyed all this attention! She never told her friends at school about it! She didn't crave attention for anything. Her mother knew that - her mother knew she wouldn't lie about something as serious as life and death.

"Maybe you're right…" Her mother's soft reply almost made Kagome's knees buckle.

"Maybe she does go back in time… but I doubt she does any of the things she claims to do. She's just saying that to make herself seem more important in her fantasy. To talk you into letting her skip more school time."

"You're right… you're right…" Kagome's mother whispered. "But what can we do…?"

Denji spoke evenly, in a way that made Kagome's blood run cold all over again. Must have been the fifth time that day. "I know… the perfect solution…"

Kagome's eyes widened in horror.

He's going to seal up the well…

^_^

"This is unbelievable…" Kagome rolled her eyes as she laid back on the comfy couch, letting her sore foot take some well earned rest. "Of all the lame things to do…"

"Kagome, at least take your shoes off before you sit on my couch. Patients use that as well, you know." Her father told her as he leaned back in his chair with a notepad on his lap. "So… tell me what's the fuss about then? Why your mother wants you to have therapy."

"I was hoping you could tell me…" Kagome responded, turning her head to look at him.

"Huh?"

"I thought you could read my mind or something…"

"Kagome… I'm a psychiatrist… not a psychic…"

AN: Nope. I bet you all thought he would seal the well. Nah, that's too cliché. ^_^