InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Wish ❯ A Mother Always Knows ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter already. You know, I'm just gonna stop trying to predict when this story will end. It'll end when it ends. But here's hoping you enjoy.

 

Remember: I have a seeexy pic on Inuyasha on my desktop (courtesy of kristinsstudio.com. She's a great artist, check her out!), but ownership of the real thing is still with Takahashi-sama. (clicks off page and drools over shirtless Inu on desktop)

 

Reminder: Any questions, comments, etc., please review or e-mail me. I love to hear what you guys think (drags out fishing wire and hooks and prepares to fish ;P). Love ya.

 

 

Chapter 6

A Mother Always Knows

 

Kagome came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her home. As she stared dully up at the two hundred or so steps, her mind roamed the entire continent of Asia.

 

`Why do shrines always have so many stairs?' she idly wondered as her mind returned to the islands of Japan. `Is it a test of faith or just some sadistic jerk's idea of a joke?' She sighed heavily and squatted down on the bottom step, `I'd laugh at the joke if I didn't have to climb these damn stairs everyday.'

 

Kagome glanced up and down the street in search of something. She didn't know what she was looking for. `Maybe it's more of a who than a what.'

 

She shook her head violently, her hair forming a brief halo as it flew. She had already spent too much agonizing and valuable time on that… that… THAT. Ever since she'd fallen down the well into the Sengoku Jidai and released that jerk of a hanyou, Kagome'd spent almost every moment of her waking hours either talking, thinking, or fantasizing about that idiot. When she wasn't doing any of those, she was worrying. About him in battle, about his self-esteem issues, about him and Kikyo.

 

Well, Kikyo was gone now. Not that Kagome resented the priestess or anything. Of course not. Okay, maybe a little, but Kagome did have a deep respect for the pain and suffering Kikyo had endured, both in her original life and her resurrected one. The miko was so much more capable than Kagome and the schoolgirl wasn't afraid to admit it. Kikyo knew oodles of stuff about being a miko and a Jewel protector, while Kagome usually flew by the seat of her pants on both accounts.

 

`Kikyo had so much going for her before she died. She had Inuyasha and a chance to led a normal life.' Then that son of a monkey (no pun intended) Naraku showed up and ruined everything. Kagome clenched her hand tightly into a fist. Every time she thought about how Naraku had tricked both miko and hanyou, it made her blood boil. It was this anger that allowed her the strength to incapacitate that evil incarnate monkey the first time.

 

It appeared to the schoolgirl that her powers increased drastically whenever she was feeling an intense emotion. Fear, anger, jealousy (although that was more Inuyasha's style), even love occasionally. The stronger the emotion was felt, the stronger her powers became.

 

Of course this only pertained to her defensive and offensive powers. Her other latent abilities, such as purifying the Shikon no Tama, came to her naturally. No activation needed, just touch and go. This `automatic purification' was what had impressed Miroku the first time they'd met.

 

Kagome sighed. `God, I miss the others. Miroku-sama and Sango-chan with their bickering. Shippou-chan with his cute little tricks. Kaede-baachan with all her wisdom. Heck, I even miss Kouga-kun.'

 

She knew she was getting desperate for her friends when she found herself wishing for the company of the wolf demon. `I'm glad he finally gave up on making me “his woman” and got engaged to Ayame-chan. She'll be a much better wife for him.'

 

About five months ago, three months before Kagome left the Sengoku Jidai, Kouga had made a final social call. He announced that, for the sake of his tribe, he would marry Ayame, the cute and fiery wolf demoness Kagome had met several months back. His announcement received a cheer from Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, with Kagome joining in silently since Kouga still had a grip on both of her hands. Inuyasha had butted in, forcing the wolf to relinquish his hold, and congratulated Kouga in his own special way. He swung Tetsusaiga at the wolf's head. Kouga managed to avoid the blade, than shot off into the forest, shouting a warning to `protect Kagome at all costs or suffer my wrath'.

 

`After that, Kouga-kun only showed up for battles with Naraku and sometimes not even than.' Kagome couldn't help wondering how the two wolf demons were faring now that Naraku was dead.

 

Her train of thought was interrupted as a city bus trundled up to the stop just in front of the shrine. It squeaked its brakes in protest at the incessant stop-and-go action it was put through every day. Kagome, since she was leaning against the wall next to the stairs, couldn't see the front of the bus and who might have gotten off or on. Not that she really cared or anything. She watched as the driver stepped on the gas and the last ten feet of the vehicle she could see disappeared from view.

 

There were almost no other cars on the road at this time of day, because she had left school property right before second period. It was now about noon, and due to the fact that Kagome had stopped by her favorite ice cream parlor (ah, the treat that cures everything), she had only been sitting and brooding for about an hour. `God, I'm turning into Inuyasha with all this wallowing in self-pity crap,' she moaned to herself, closing her eyes and cradling her forehead in her hands.

 

“Kagome?”

 

The schoolgirl's head snapped up so fast, her neck popped. Cringing and massaging the now tender muscles, Kagome stared at her mother.

 

Mama looked the same as she always had, at least to Kagome. Wavy, shoulder-length, black hair pulled up into a neat style of bun at the base of her neck. Brown eyes twinkling with warmth and love. An expression of confusion marred the normally pleasant countenance. A cardigan and blouse paired with a knee-length skirt covered by an apron along with hose and sensible shoes completed the motherly picture. Mama was carrying a couple of canvas bags, filled with groceries judging by the stalks of green onions Kagome could see poking out of one of the bags. `She must have just finished her shopping for dinner tonight.'

 

“Kagome, what are you doing sitting here? Did something happen at school?”

 

Kagome snorted softly, before answering, “Yeah, Mama. Something happened.”

 

Mama stepped over and sat next to her daughter, putting an arm around the girl. Kagome turned her head away so her mother wouldn't see the tears brimming, threatening to spill over and cause havoc. But it did no good to hide her tears from her mother. Mama was already pulling a handkerchief out of her apron pocket and passing it to Kagome. Kagome made a small noise of gratitude and Mama squeezed her shoulder affectionately.

 

It was a while before either of them spoke, Mama content to hold and Kagome content to be held. Her mother was the first to break the silence.

 

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

 

Kagome released a shaky breath. `All or nothing, right? That's how it should be in life.' So she began to recount the events of the day.

 

Mama listened calmly and patiently whilst her daughter relived her `reunion' with the dog-eared hanyou-boy.

 

“…and he just showed up. Not a word of what he's been doing or how the others are. Just an `I told you so'. He didn't even tell me what his wish had been.” Kagome had reached the end of the story a bit ago, but was still recanting random pieces. Her emotions had been steadily progressing throughout the entire telling as well. They went from mildly depressed to annoyed to downright pissed as all hell. She had also ceased sitting and was currently pacing back and forth in front of her mother, who could only follow her movements and let her daughter rant herself dry.

 

After five minutes or so, Kagome ran out of steam and sank energy-less onto the steps once more. Glancing up her mother's slightly amused and calculating expression, Kagome wondered out loud what Mama was thinking.

 

Mama posed thoughtfully and Kagome recognized the gesture as something she did all the time. `Guess I know where I got it from.' She continued to gaze at her mother, waiting for the enlightening advice she just knew would be coming.

 

“Well,” Mama started, “it's obvious to me that he has made a wish that he thinks will make both you and he happy, and something didn't turn out right for him to take so long to contact you.”

 

Kagome's jaw dropped. That was it? That was the awe-inspiring commentary that would make everything better?

 

“However,” Kagome's mouth clicked shut at her mother's continued speech. “However, it's also obvious that you didn't give him time to explain himself. He must have had a good reason to wait two months. Don't give me that look.” The schoolgirl was pulling an exaggerated disbelieving face and Mama was waggling a scolding finger in front of her eyes, forcing them to cross.

 

“Well, Mama, what reason do you think Inuyasha could possibly have for making me wait?” Kagome crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. Mama just sighed.

 

“Kagome, I know this boy. He's stayed at the house before, whether you've been at school or staying the night. I've seen how he acts when you're not around. He's like a lost puppy wondering why his mistress has left him all alone. He's lonely without you for company. Souta, Grandpa, and I can't ease his fears of rejection and loss. Only you can.” Here Mama paused, so as to let what she had said sink into her daughter's brain. After a short moment, Kagome slowly dropped her arms from her chest and Mama took this as a sign to continue. “I have absolutely no idea what the reason for his absence these last eight weeks may be, but I do know this. It is an excellent reason, for he was willing to put himself through two months of separation from you in order to come back to you.”

 

Mama placed a gentle hand on the shell-shocked girl's shoulder, earning her attention. “Now, I really must go and put these groceries away before the ice cream melts completely.” That said, Mama stood, grabbed her bags, and began climbing up to their home.

 

Kagome sat dumbstruck. That was the closest to lecture she had ever gotten from her mother in regards to Inuyasha. She could remember every time she had confided in Mama about her love for the hanyou, her anger over the whole Naraku situation, her guilt for wishing Kikyo back to the grave. Mama had always given her reassurances that her emotional responses were normal and nothing to be worried about. But this time… this time her mother had practically scolded her for not trusting Inuyasha and jumping the proverbial gun.

 

`Though, she is right,' Kagome admitted to herself. `I didn't allow him to explain. I just “Osuwari”-ed him to Kingdom Come and didn't even stop to think.' She groaned, once again burying her head into her hands. `What have I done? He's probably so mad right now. Plus I don't even know where he's at.'

 

She raised her head up and planted a curled hand under chin while resting her elbow on top of her knee. `I guess I can try tracking him down through the school directory. I hope he's actually going to my school and didn't just steal a uniform.' Kagome grinned to herself as she mentally reviewed Inuyasha's appearance from earlier. `I never knew he could look so hot in modern clothes.' She blushed. `Then again, I have seen him naked.'

 

That mental image was enough to knock Kagome for a loop for a few minutes. Finally, after blushing like a tomato and fanning her hands in an effort to cool down, she managed to gather what little wits she had remaining following that particular fantasy and finish her prior train of thought.

 

`I can see why Yuka-chan, Eri-chan, and Ayumi-chan were so weirded out by his appearance. It's not every day you come across Japanese boys with blond hair and those color of eyes.' She paused. `Come to think of it, I don't even know if he's still a hanyou or if he turned human. He didn't have his dog-ears,' she winced at the thought of never seeing those cute little fuzzy triangles ever again, 'but then again, he didn't look like he usually does on the new moon.' Kagome stopped once again, this time to look at her watch.

 

“HOLY CRAP!” she screamed loud enough to be heard the next prefecture over. “It's already one-thirty! If I want to check the student directory, I'll have to leave now.” A quick glance down at her school uniform showed that it was no longer suitable for wear today. 'But first, I have got to change.'

 

Without another thought or worry, save for what to wear and what to say when she got to the school`s office (she had ditched most of the school day), Kagome scampered up the shrine steps, disregarding her aching leg muscles and burning lungs in hopes of putting things to right between her and Inuyasha