InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Gen-Ex ❯ A Few Bumps On The Way ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any characters there in.

A/N: Ivy Adrena you were exactly right about Kaio. ^_^

Chapter 5: A Few Bumps On The Way

Kagome was curled on the bench next to the thousand year old tree, her English text book balanced on her knees. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves of the surrounding trees and made it very difficult for her to concentrate.

`It's not fair,' she thought, `grounded for three days because I fell down a stupid well.' Suddenly a heavy creaking, one that Kagome was sure usually didn't come from the old tree, caught her attention. She looked up to see InuYasha perched high up in the branches.

"Don't you have any respect for the sacred?" Kagome called up to him.

"Keh." He replied.

"And where do you get off saying that our house stinks?" she said louder, "Momma cleans all the time!"

InuYasha dropped straight to the ground, "It stinks. It smells like... flowers and fruit and pine, but … not."

Kagome paused for a second then asked, "Do you mean the cleaners?"

"I don't know." InuYasha leaned against the trunk of the tree and folded his arms, "But it stinks."

"It can't be that bad," Kagome put her feet on the ground, "You'll get used to it."

"It makes me dizzy." He huffed.

Kagome looked at InuYasha shyly out of the corner of her eyes as a thought occurred to her, "Is, is your nose really that sensitive?"

InuYasha just glared at her and turned his head away.

"It's not just normal curiosity InuYasha," Kagome said defensively, "if you're really that affected by it we can try to do something about it."

"It is." He said quietly.

"What?"

"My sense of smell." InuYasha glared into the distance, "I can tell that two females and two males live in that house together, even with the stench."

"Wow."

InuYasha turned to see Kagome's surprised expression, surprised, nothing else.

"I'll talk to Mom about that later," Kagome turned back to her book, "Or you can, which ever you want."

"Oh, there you are!" Masa walked up to the tree. "I've been looking for you two. Have you gotten unpacked InuYasha?"

"Uh, no." InuYasha looked back at the house nervously. Was he really going to live here with all these people?

"Well," Masa smiled tolerantly at him, "I came out here to tell you that you're scheduled for a placement test next week and that you should start studying. Kagome, dear, I trust that you can take time to help him study."

"Yes Momma." Kagome sighed.

"I don't need help from anyone." InuYasha barked at them.

Kagome scowled at him, "Have you ever studied for a test before?"

"Keh." InuYasha turned away from them again. He was beginning to regret his decision to come down from the tree.

"I'll help him," Kagome addressed her mother, "But he has to help out around the shrine."

"That sounds fair." Masa looked between Kagome and InuYasha, "I've been talking to family services-"

"Momma!" Kagome said a little frightened, "You promised!"

"Kagome," Her mother gave her a level look, "Teenaged boys do not just fall out of the sky, there have to be records. Or reasons those records don't exist. Don't worry, there coming to check out the situation and meet InuYasha tomorrow, but I sure we'll be granted temporary custody at least. Trust me." She smiled brightly and walked back into the house.

"What was that all about?" InuYasha sat next to Kagome on the bench.

"Family services… finds homes for kids." Kagome frowned at her mothers receding back.

"But you said that I could stay here." InuYasha frowned at her.

"Yeah, and so did Momma. So trust her, she usually knows what she is doing." Kagome turned to smile at him, "So, do you want to study or unpack?"

*

Kagome had left the window open in his room, so by the time they returned the stench of the cleaners had lessoned greatly. They had elected to get InuYasha unpacked and then settle into studying.

He wouldn't let Kagome into his duffle, but it seemed that all the clothes were just like the ones he was wearing. Her mom was not going to let that slide. While he scowled at the closet Kagome sat on his bed near the untouched doctors' bag.

"So, what's in here?" She fingered the handle lightly.

InuYasha glanced over his shoulder, "I don't know. It belonged to my uncle."

"You've never opened it?"

"Why should I?" InuYasha turned around to look at her.

"Curiosity? Or don't you have that?" Kagome prodded.

"He's dead." InuYasha answered, "Whatever is in that won't change anything." Then he went back to his unpacking.

"You don't know that!" Kagome said to InuYasha's back, "It could be… can I, look inside?"

"Whatever." InuYasha moved over to sit on the window sill and look out over the first floor roof, it seemed to ring the entire house.

The old leather cracked as Kagome gently pried the bags jaws apart. It was full of old yellow papers and rusted out tools that Kagome put to the side after examining them. The papers were completely ruined, but, to one side, there was an old book.

Kagome pulled it out and opened it. The first ten pages were completely unreadable, but farther in she could make out the writing in the middle and the edge near the spine.

"What's that?" InuYasha peered over his shoulder, unable to feign disinterest any more.

"It looks like a journal." Kagome said trying to read through the blurs, "He's writing about medical school."

"Keh, well, that's useless." InuYasha lay down on the bed and sank into it uncomfortably, "What the… are all beds this soft?"

"If you prefer you can sleep on the floor." Kagome didn't even look up from the journal.

"Keh."

"You really aren't curious about what's in this?" Kagome turned to look at him.

InuYasha didn't answer, he just stared at the ceiling in a disinterested way.

*

The next morning Kagome yawned at her breakfast, she had been up half the night with the paramedics' journal.

"Kagome, didn't you sleep well?" her mother asked.

"Yes momma, I just," Yawn, "was reading late. Sorry." Kagome picked at her food for a minute, "Aren't you curious what I found InuYasha?"

InuYasha just shoveled more food into his mouth.

"What's this?" Masa asked Kagome, "What were you reading?"

"We found an old journal in some of InuYasha's things." Kagome explained, "It belonged to the man that found InuYasha!"

InuYasha looked up. Found? His grandfather had told him that his uncle brought him to the mountain shortly after his birth. But… found? Was he even related to his grandfather and uncles?

"Curious?" Kagome smiled mischievously at him.

"Keh." InuYasha returned to his food.

"Good," Kagome gave her breakfast her attention, "Because that section is water damaged. The lines are all smugly and I haven't sorted it out yet."

"Just remember that we have a lot to do in the present Kagome." Masa reminded her daughter, "The two of you have chores and InuYasha has studying, and we're having visitors. So eat up."

*

"Hey, Kagome." InuYasha said quietly from a few feet away. They were both sweeping the large tiled area outside.

"What is it InuYasha?" Kagome glanced up at him, "Sweep while you talk."

"I'm not going." He stated, almost angrily.

Kagome stopped sweeping and faced him completely, "Not going where?"

"With those people." InuYasha said vaguely, "I came with… I'm not leaving with them. I'm going back to the mountain."

"Don't go now!" Kagome walked up to him, "They haven't done anything yet, they haven't even shown up. Don't run away before they even show up!"

"I'm not running away!" InuYasha yelled, "I don't like strangers. I don't like people looking at me!"

"InuYasha calm down!" Kagome yelled back, "Please? Momma knows what she's doing. They won't take you away, if they do, then… I'll go with you. We'll go somewhere together. You still have my quartz? That means we're friends remember? I won't let them take you away. I owe you too much."

InuYasha looked down at his broom, the Higurashi's were alright, but he didn't like to be looked at. He didn't like not being in control.

"Come on InuYasha, keep sweeping." Kagome encouraged, "Whatever happens later, the shrine still needs to be swept."

She worried about InuYasha, he seemed almost afraid of being seen. How was he going to handle school? Heck how was he going to handle clothes shopping tomorrow?

*

"How'd it go?" Kagome asked when InuYasha walked into his room that night.

"Isn't this my room?" InuYasha grumbled.

"Do you want me to leave?" Kagome asked peevishly, "What happened?"

InuYasha shrugged and lay down on his bed. He frowned, it was still too soft.

Kagome sat down on the bed and faced him, "Was it bad?"

"They wanted me to take off my hat." InuYasha stated, "I wouldn't."

"How bad were you?" Kagome asked in an annoyed voice.

InuYasha remained silent.

"I've been going through the journal again." Kagome lay down next to him, with her head propped up on her elbow so she could look at him still, "You want to know what I've figured out?"

InuYasha just stared at the ceiling.

"… I'm going to make you ask." Kagome teased. InuYasha didn't even blink, "InuYasha are you ok?"

"Their decided my fucking future in there and there isn't anything I can do about it." He growled, "I don't have any power over my life anymore."

"… You still have that power InuYasha." Kagome said quietly, "Do you think you had more control on the mountain?"

"Damn right." InuYasha grumbled.

"So, you wanted to stay away from everyone?" Kagome asked, "Kiao seemed to think he had some say in what you did. You are not powerless, you just think you are because you've made decisions that make you depend on others to keep you on your path. You have to remember that, InuYasha. You are never truly powerless."

"Yeah, Just sometimes the alternatives such too much to consider." InuYasha mumbled. His mood was improved slightly by Kagome's scent.

"That's the spirit." Kagome smiled brightly at him.

Suddenly InuYasha stood up and walked over to the window.

"Are you Ok InuYasha?" Kagome sat up, worried.

"I'm fine." He answered without looking around, "Hey, um, get out of my bed, you're going to stink it up."

Kagome stood slowly, "… Do I … stink, to you?"

InuYasha still didn't turn around, "… no." he said quietly, he didn't wanted to admit the real reason he didn't want Kagome's scent in his bed or the real reason he had to get out of it.

"Hey guys." Souta walked into the room.

"Are they done?" Kagome asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Souta smiled, "InuYasha is staying with us in consideration of his circumstances and our resources and him being a pain to place. Momma's real good at dealing with people Kagome! If I can learn that I'll be set!"

"I don't think Momma's technique would work for guys." Kagome smiled warmly at her brother, "Isn't that great InuYasha?"

"Yeah," InuYasha tried to smile at her, but he was petrified. He was here, he couldn't run away now. Not without Kaio being right about him. Now he would have to let more people see him. He would have to allow himself to be in… public.