InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Day Revelation ❯ Day Three, Part One ( Chapter 3 )

Seven Day Revelation

By Pareathe

A/N: Ah, it's good to be back and writing again! Since you guys have been waiting on this one for a while, I'll save the majority of my typical babbling for the end of the chapter and stick with major stuff. It'll be long enough as it is.

Spoiler warnings: there's stuff from both episodes 91(? I think that's it) and episode 107 in here, so be warned.

OOC warning: Mind you, I am in no way supporting rampant OOC-ness. The truth is I was lazy this time around, so Hojo makes an appearance in this chapter, and to those who haven't seen episode 91, it might seem like his comments come out of left field somewhere. Hell, you may thing he's out of character anyway, but I wanted a conflict, and Kouga's on the wrong side of the well, so forgive my use (or misuse as the case may be) of Hojo. ^_^ Other than that, I think I'm okay, but we'll see.

Possible mistakes: Sounds weird, I know, but this is for those who are more well-versed in Inuyasha than I. There's a fair bit about Kagome's father and how he died in this chapter. Now as far as I've seen or read, they've never said anything about her dad aside from her mother's comment about their engagement under the tree in the first movie, and nothing I've seen in the manga so far. So like the industrious ficster I am, I made up a bunch of stuff to fit my story. If there's been ether something I've missed/forgotten or if there's something about any of this in the later Japanese manga which isn't available in the US yet, forgive me if stuff doesn't mesh.

On that note (Damn that was long! Sorry!!!), I'll shut up for now.

Day Three, Part One

"Hey..."

Kagome shifted slightly and smiled. She was lulled by the warmth of the body she leaned against, comforted by the rhythmic breathing. Or she was, until her perch jerked one good time.

"Hey, can you get off me now? My arm's numb," Inuyasha groaned as he shifted a bit more. "Oh yeah, your mom's at the door too."

"Nani?!?!"

By the time her mother opened the door a second later and popped her head in, Kagome lay sprawled on the floor.

"Oh good, you're awake. Are you two hungry? Breakfast is ready." With a sweet smile, the woman disappeared once again as though seeing her daughter red-faced and semi-upright on the ground were perfectly normal.

Kagome sighed and glanced at the clock. For once, she wasn't late at all, which helped take the edge of her nerves caused by the rude awakening. Then she turned to Inuyasha and frowned. "Are you okay? You look tired."

He scowled back, or tried to, but ended up letting out a loud yawn instead. "I can't imagine why," he retorted moodily. Then he stood and stretched, wincing as he moved. "I'll go downstairs while you do whatever it is you do to get ready."

"Um, Inuyasha?" He stopped in the doorway and turned around. She lowered her eyes shamefully. It was embarrassing he'd gone to so much trouble just because of a harmless nightmare. "I'm sorry, you know...about last night..."

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a shrug. "I'm just wondering what could've gotten you so worked up. Do you remember any of it now?"

"No," she lied. Many of the details were hazy, but the image of her comrades being murdered was burned painfully into her memory. Sure it was just a dream, but the possibility of witnessing a similar scene at some point in the future was very real. For that very reason, she didn't want to share what'd she'd seen with him. Somehow saying it out loud would make the risks impossible to bear.

Inuyasha noted the pallor of her skin and the unsteadiness of her breath-he doubted she even knew she was doing it-but let it go for the time being. He wanted to eat and go to sleep. Badgering her could wait He tossed her a nod over his shoulder and went downstairs, plopping down at the table. Her mother was out in an instant with a heaping plate, and his stomach growled in response to the strange and inviting scents of various foods he could only find in Kagome's world. Of course Kagome herself had attempted making him the same stuff many times, but she always overdid the spices, making most of what she brought him almost inedible. Her mother on the other hand seemed to take his sensitive taste buds into consideration when cooking. Surprising since she seemed so ditzy most of the time, but he had no desire to complain about his good fortune. He grunted in thanks and dug in.

Kagome came in awhile later, dressed and groomed as usual.

Her mother smiled sweetly. "Would you like a plate, or would you rather just have toast?"

She considered enjoying a full breakfast, but it would mean riding Inuyasha to school again. She snuck a look at him and decided against it. He'd obviously not slept well if at all since she'd used him as a leaning post. "I'll just take some toast with me," she answered.

Her mother pouted. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If I sit down and eat, I'll be late for school."

Inuyasha nearly choked on his fish. "What do you mean you'll be late? I thought you got up on time today!"

"I did!" she shot back. "I just don't usually worry about breakfast on school days."

"But if Inu-oniichan takes you..." Souta piped up matter-of-factly.

She was already shaking her head. "I'm not gonna ask him to do that every day just because he's here."

Her brother looked at her like she was nuts, then beamed hopefully at his surrogate brother. "Well if you're not taking Kagome, can you take me to school on your back?"

"Forget it," came the united response from Inuyasha and Kagome.

"I'll take Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled through a mouthful of fish. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."

Kagome frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Just sit down and eat something already."

She grinned and took her place beside him. She leaned over and whispered, "Thanks," out of the corner of her mouth, and her smile broadened when he snorted back.

Kagome was floating on cloud nine by the time she walked into class. Even though he was totally exhausted, he piggybacked her to school. The only reason he didn't wait for her to get out was because she insisted he go home and get some sleep. Of course she was relieved he listened; her friends would've gotten suspicious if she ditched them after school two days in a row. Still, she admitted to herself she wouldn't have minded the barrage of questions and increased suspicion too much either.

***

After a much needed nap and another fruitless attempt at traveling through the well, Inuyasha ventured into the kitchen to scrounge up something to eat. He stifled a yawn; compared to his world filled with evil youkai and tyrannical humans to battle, he was bored stiff in Kagome's time. Of course her time had plenty of stuff to investigate, one of which was the big white box-thing-Frigador? Refigator? Whatever it was called-he stood in front of at the moment. He was saved the trouble of trying to figure out how to make the thing give him food as footsteps approached and a familiar scent met his nose.

"Oh, you're awake," a cheery voice greeted from behind him. "Would you like some lunch?"

He turned and nodded, backing away to give Kagome's mom room to navigate around him and open the refrigerator. She pulled out a variety of foods in strange containers and laid them on the counter.

"Is a sandwich okay?"

He nodded even though he couldn't remember exactly what a `sandwich' was just because the various meats she was pulling out made his mouth water. As soon as she finished, he took the plate from her with a grunt of thanks and scarfed it down on the spot without bothering with the formality of sitting at the table. His nose had been right again; it was damned good, much better than Kagome's had been the time she'd brought a basketful with her a couple months earlier. He at three more in rapid succession and waved away the fifth, which her mom nibbled at instead.

He waited for her to leave or indicate she wanted him to get out of her way, neither of which happened. Instead, she put the dishes into the sink and turned back to him. "You still can't get back home?"

He shook his head stiffly.

"Do you have any idea how much longer you'll be staying with us?"

Another shake of his thick mane of white hair. "I don't know what happened on my side, so for all I know, I could be stuck here for a while." As an afterthought he added, "I'll stay out of the way, don't worry."

He was caught of guard when the older woman grabbed his arm. "Oh no! I think it's wonderful you're here!"

"You...you do?" he stammered, taken aback by her genuine enthusiasm.

"Of course," she answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Souta's been happier than I've seen him in a long time, and my father is too even though he won't admit it so easily. It also gives me a chance to repay you for taking such good care of my daughter," she explained, though her voice lost a great deal of it flighty tone. "Even though I can tell she's worried about what's happening to your friends, I think she's comforted a great deal by your presence. Knowing that makes me very thankful she has you to support her."

"I don't get it," he admitted, confused and pissed off because of it. "I'm half demon! I have fangs and claws that could rip you all to shreds, and you're trying to tell me you don't care? You're happy she's with me?"

She considered him for several seconds. Then she beamed. "Yep, that's right."

All he could do for a while was gape at the woman. She stared back, her face showing a combination of maternal patience and polite curiosity. He suddenly realized he'd never actually talked to Kagome's mother before. He'd witnessed plenty of interesting conversations within the family, but he'd never spoken more than a few words to her, and never one-on-one. He also acknowledged the irony of the situation. He'd spent his entire life shunned by humans who were either scared of him or disgusted by his very existence. It was unnerving to be accepted, even welcomed, by a woman who was ten times weaker than those in his time. The only comparison he could make was with the scattered and vague memories of his own mother which rattled him more than anything else.

It was time to change the subject. "How much longer `til Kagome gets back?" he asked briskly while turning his back to her.

If she was aware of his unease, she didn't let on. "She won't get out of school for a few more hours," she supplied. "Did you plan to pick her up after school today?"

He almost said yes. "Nah, I better not. She wouldn't know to find me on the roof, and I can't just wait out in the open for her."

"Why not?"

He frowned at the innocent question. "I think she's worried about me scaring her friends or something since you guys aren't used to having demons running around."

"Well, I don't think it would be a problem as long as we cover those adorable ears of yours," she cooed fondly. "Of course, it would be better if you had some clothes...maybe some sunglasses, though it's a real shame to hide your eyes; they're such a lovely golden color..." She rambled under her breath for another minute while Inuyasha tried not to let it make him nervous. He failed, jumping when she clapped her hands together and grinned expectantly at him. "Then it's decided," she announced.

"What's decided?"

"We'll pick up Kagome and Souta after school and go shopping."

He blinked a few times. "Shopping? You mean we're going to the place with all the food?"

"No, no," she replied, her sugary tone back in full swing. "Since you may be here for a while, you can't very well stay cooped up the whole time, so we're going to go buy you some new clothes so you won't stand out so much."

"You mean they have places that sell stuff like that too?" he asked, still not sure what she was talking about.

"Oh, this will be so much fun!" she went on as though she hadn't even heard him. She pulled him out of the kitchen and ushered him to the living room. "I'll go ahead and run a bath for you, and while you clean up, I'll put your outfit in the wash and get you something to wear in the meantime. He threw a distrustful glare over his shoulder which she also either ignored or missed entirely. "I'll have your bath ready in just a minute," she called to him as she continued down the hall, leaving him staring dumbly behind her.

***

On the other side of the well's gateway and just outside the door of Kaede's hut, Kirara's ears perked up. She lifted her head and sniffed before moving inside and nudging Sango. Miroku and Sango stopped talking looked at one another before following her out the door, grabbing their weapons of choice instinctively just in case. Shippo was right on their heels.

"Is it Naraku?" he squeaked, clambering onto the large feline's back He stared in every direction, finally stopping on an approaching mini-tornado. "Oh great, it's that jerk."

"I was wondering when we'd be seeing him," Sango muttered, barely suppressing a grin.

Miroku didn't bother trying to hide his. "Indeed."

Kouga's eyes were already scanning the group as the whirlwind his shard-enhanced legs always created finally cleared. Then he stuck up his nose and inhaled deeply for a second, before barking, "Where's Kagome? I haven't been able to catch her scent lately."

Shippo growled and shook his fist at the wolf youkai, whom he'd never totally forgiven for trying to feed him to his clan during their first encounter. "It's none of your damn business."

"Now, now," Miroku chided mildly, stepping between he two before Kouga could respond, "there's no need to be hostile. We're all on the same side, right?"

"Like hell we are," the cub snarled, though he sat down and turned his head as to ignore Kouga's presence entirely.

Kouga was undeterred, his gaze focused squarely on Miroku. "Where is she?"

The monk and the demon exterminator shared a brief look, both knowing it would be in everyone's best interest to give Kouga as few details as possible. "She had to go back to her time," Sango responded evenly. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"I don't remember her being gone this long before," Kouga stated as he searched their faces one by one, suspicion etched deeply into his features.

Miroku shrugged. "It is difficult on Kagome-sama, having to lead two separate lives."

Kouga watched them for another minute, then conceded with a long breath. "Whatever. What about Dog Shit? I can't smell him around either."

Miroku and Sango looked at one another again, but the decision on what to do was taken out of their hands.

"No that it has anything to do with you," Shippo piped up, "but he's staying with Kagome."

Whether it was what he'd said or the fox demon's look of triumph as he said it made no difference; Kouga saw red. "What?!?! You mean that bastard is alone with her?"

In truth, Shippo didn't know if they were alone or not, but it didn't matter. "Yep, that's right, so why don't you just crawl back into your cave where you belong," he taunted fearlessly, despite the fact Kouga had begun a stiff advance on the group.

Kouga was fuming. How dare that weakling hanyou puppy boy try to hide out with Kagome? And in her own world no less! The damned half-breed was already way too close to his woman, and now he was pulling a slimy stunt like this...

"Where is it?"

Miroku and Sango both looked confused. "Where's what?" inquired Miroku politely.

"The place where Kagome goes, it's that well, isn't it? Isn't that how she gets home?" Kouga clarified with a deadly edge on his voice.

"Well yes, but no one can get through it except Kagome and Inuyasha," Sango explained slowly, hoping to calm the irate wolf demon down.

"Hn, if Dog Shit can go to Kagome's world, then so will I," Kouga seethed, turning on his heel.

Miroku, Sango, and Kirara with Shippo riding on his back all moved to stop him, but a fifth presence stopped them. "Let him go," Kaede urged as she walked into the sunlight. "Although we have been unsuccessful with banishing Naraku's barrier around the well, perhaps another demon enhanced by the power of shards from the Jewel of Four Souls can do what we could not."

Miroku's brow furrowed in thought. The elder miko made a fair point, he decided. Unlike Inuyasha, his pride was not a problem; he was well aware there were limitations to what humans, even ones as powerful as Sango and himself, could do. Perhaps it was time to fight fire with fire. Yet another questing peek at his lovely female companion affirmed she'd come to the same conclusion.

"At the very least we should keep an eye on him," Sango suggested. "He's bound to notice Naraku's scent, and when he does, I doubt he'll take it well."

Miroku nodded in agreement, and the troupe set off in the direction of the well. No one was surprised to find Kouga sniffing around frantically when they reached the opening.

"That low-life Naraku's been here," he growled accusingly to the group at large.

"Hai, but you need not worry for Kagome's safety," Kaede calmly replied. "Both she and Inuyasha were already in her world when he came and sealed the gateway between the worlds."

Kouga jerked. "You mean he put a barrier up to block it?"

"Yes. We're sure that's the reason they haven't returned yet," Sango answered.

Miroku nodded. "It seems to block us from getting too close as well as stops Kagome-sama from traveling through it. Of course, he'll have to remove it eventually," he continued, "so perhaps it would be to everyone's benefit to join us for the time being."

Kouga scoffed, turning his back on them. "Why the hell would I do that? All I have to do is smash this barrier."

"By all means," Kaede urged with a knowing stare, "do so if you can, but I must warn you: as far as I know, Inuyasha with the red Tetsusaiga is the only one who has ever broken one of Naruku's barriers."

As she expected, Kouga growled in determination and squared his shoulders, both hands curled into angry fists. "Feh, if that piss-smelling dog can do it, I can too. And if I find out he touched her, I'll kill him," he added under his breath.

And with no more warning he began a physical barrage against the sudden kaleidoscope of colors which signified the impenetrable divider between the opening of the well and the rest of the world.

***

Inuyasha managed to get on the weird, fluffy, blanket-with-arms Kagome's mother had left for him outside the bathtub-she told him it was called a robe when he asked her, and he let her use the hair drying thing to speed up the process of getting the moisture out of his wild mass of silvery-white hair. She hummed a soft tune as she ran a brush through it, gently pulling at each tangle until the strands separated and straightened. She was even careful not to snag the edges of his tender ears.

"You really have the most beautiful hair," she commented as she continued to smooth his mane with long strokes. "Do all demons have hair like yours?"

He gave a noncommital shrug. "Nah, just the ones that can look like humans."

"As children, I think we're all taught these days that demons would be horribly scary monsters." Her mother gave a wistful sigh. "It's interesting to think there are such handsome young men like you instead."

"Hmph, the ugly ones are wimps. It's the ones who look human you have to worry about. They're always the most dangerous."

"I doubt that," she argued gently. "Without those ears, it would be difficult to distinguish you from any other boy, and I don't think you're dangerous at all."

He couldn't think of a good comeback to her statement without revealing mistakes from his past he preferred to leave where they were. He wasn't about to tell her about his transformation or the fact he'd attacked Kagome the first time they met. Instead he simply snorted, crossing his arms while she finished with his hair. She did a minute later, and patted him softly on the shoulder as she stood. He stood and frowned as she gave him a good once-over.

She nodded to herself and beamed. "Now we just need to get you something to wear."

His frown deepened. "I can't wear this?"

"Oh no, dear, that's just for around the house," she told him as she turned and made her way down the hall and up the stairs, forcing him to follow her as she spoke. "When Kagome first told me you couldn't get home, I dug around and found some things which might just fit you well enough for now. I'm glad I remembered to air them out."

Once they reached the top of the stairs, instead of turning left into Kagome's room, her mother turned right and led him down the hall until they reached the last door which she opened for him. He stepped inside while she turned the light on. He knew immediately it was her mother's room; her scent was the only one in the air. The furnishings were similar to Kagome's, though the dresser and bed looked much older and more decrepit. The surface of the dresser was faded by time and sunlight, and there were several deep grooves and places where the varnish had been worn off over the years. It was all meticulously clean, he noted, even though it wasn't as dressed up as Kagome's stuff. The only things which looked as though they'd been replaced were the groups of picture frames. There was a group of pictures on a table beside the bed as well as several hung on both sides of the single window on the far wall.

While she pulled things from the closet and laid them on her bed, he studied the pictures on the table. One was of a young girl-unmistakably Kagome years earlier-cradling a baby he assumed was her brother with a look of immense pride on her face. Another looked more recent, with Kagome posing in her uniform and flashing a victory sign. The third was of Souta looking shy in yet another, uncomfortable uniform judging by the grimace on his face. The last one on the table was of the three of them together with their arms tangled around each other as though they were trying to keep their collective balance and failing miserably.

His inspection was interrupted by Kagome's mother's willowy voice. "I'm afraid there isn't much here considered fashionable these days, but there are a few plain t-shirts here and two pairs of blue jeans. I also found a pair of sweatpants if you like those better."

He looked from the table to the things spread out on the bedspread. He'd seen people in Kagome's world wear similar stuff, but it all looked uncomfortable as hell. He glowered at her mother for a moment, but when she nodded to him to go on, he gave up. They'd gone to the grocery store before, but he figured Kagome'd never let him hear the end of it if he paraded around her school in plain sight without at least attempting to blend in. "Just give me something," he growled impatiently.

Kagome's mother glanced over the shirts for a moment, then picked up one the same color red as his normal outfit. She also picked up one of the pairs of pants and handed it to him before walking out of the room to, he assumed, give him some privacy. He could hear her humming outside of the door as he took off the robe and worked his way into the t-shirt. It took him three times before he figured out which appendage went through what hole, but he finally managed to get everything situated the way he thought he remembered seeing on other people. It was a little tighter than he was used to, especially around his neck, but not as bad as he thought it'd be. He pulled the enchanted bead and bone rosary around his neck out from under the fabric and moved his arms around experimentally until he was satisfied with his upper body mobility.

He picked up the pants next. With a growing sense of dread, he sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. It was easy enough to tell where his legs went; that wasn't what worried him. It was the silver teeth looking thing at the top that made him nervous. There just didn't look like there was enough room for everything to fit up there, and he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if something got squished or pinched in that thing.

He put his feet in, managed after a bit of pulling to get them to pop out at the end of each leg, and stood awkwardly. He tugged them up gingerly until he got them over his hipbones and his hands were holding them up at his waist.

There's no way in hell this is gonna work.

He growled irritably. Didn't all humans in Kagome's time wear these things? If those weaklings could manage it, there was no excuse for someone like him, a powerful half-demon, to not do the same. With that in mind, he experimentally took hold of the zipper and slid it up, careful to keep anything of importance out of harm's way until he'd pulled it up as far as it would go. With a long, relieved breath, he fumbled with the button until he finally forced it through the whole on the other side, though it was feat in and of itself, trying to manage it while keeping his claws from tearing the fabric.

He'd been right; they were uncomfortable as hell. He walked along the side of the bed, his distaste for modern dress growing with every step. The fabric was soft enough, but it still bugged him to be rubbing every inch of his skin all the time, not to mention things were bunching and riding up in places they had no business going.

A soft knock interrupting his internal rant. "Are you decent?"

He scowled. "Yeah, but," he complained as Kagome's mother stepped back in, "the...pants, right? They don't feel right."

"Oh my," Kagome's mother replied. "Well, they look like they fit you fairly well. I'm afraid I didn't have any underwear to fit you. Maybe that's the problem."

"Underwear?" he repeated blankly.

The woman nodded to herself. "Yes, we'll have to buy you some. I'm sure that'll make things much better."

He didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so he simply said, "Whatever." He tried to hide his discomfort by turning his attention to the large mirror above the dresser. He walked to it, looking himself over a few good times. It was weird; he really did look almost like a human, he noted uneasily. Then his brow furrowed as he realized something. "Whose stuff is this anyway? This isn't girls clothes is it?" he cried angrily.

Kagome's mother laughed lightly. "No, those aren't women's clothes," she assured him. Then her smile faltered slightly. "They...they belonged to my husband."

"You mean this is Kagome's dad's stuff?"

She nodded, then looked over his shoulder and pointed at the wall. "That's him right there."

He turned his attention to the pictures on the wall. It was obvious they were older than the last batch. A couple were black and white while the other pictures had a yellow tone to them. One was of Kagome's grandfather looking at least a decade and twenty pounds younger in front of his shop. Then there was another beside it, also featuring the old man with a woman beside him and a girl grinning brightly between them; Kagome's mom still smiled the same way as an adult, he mused. Another was of the three, though Kagome's mom was a young adult with long hair by then which she had put up for the picture, and she was wearing some flower patterned thing that looked like a cross between a dress and the robe he was wearing with a wide belt around her waist to keep it closed.

Up to that point he'd been scanning the images with mild curiosity, but it was the last picture, the one the woman pointed to, which stopped him short. Slightly larger than the rest, it had obviously been taken in front of the large tree where he'd first met Kagome. It was her mother, there was no doubt of that, with both arms around a slightly taller, dark-haired man whose resemblance to Kagome was staggering. He had the same eyes and smile. The man even had a similar wave in the back of his hair which, he noted, was a few inches past his shoulders, as well as identical unruly bangs in the front. There was a single gold hoop in his left earlobe and a thin, matching necklace around his neck.

"He looks different from most of the people I've seen here," he muttered without really meaning to.

Kagome's mother nodded. "My parents thought he was a troublemaker at first," she admitted with a sigh, "but I didn't care. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him, and they came around after a while."

"Kagome's never talked about him."

"I'm not surprised. She loved her father very much, so it's probably painful for her to talk about."

He relaxed a little after taking a good look to make sure he wasn't going to far with his questions. "So what happened? Did he get sick or something?"

There was a very brief flash of something over the smooth features. "No, he didn't get sick."

Inuyasha's eyebrows rose. "Nevermind, it's none of my business anyway," he stated, aware of the tension building in the air. He probably shouldn't have asked something so personal, he knew, but it had suddenly hit him he'd told Kagome about both his parents. He'd told her things about his memories of his mother he never shared with anyone, but in return, she'd never once said a word about her dead father. Then again, he'd never asked, he told himself. Maybe it wasn't on purpose; perhaps she'd accepted it so she no longer thought much about it one way or another. Still, it was one of the few things he could nail down they had in common, and he couldn't help being curious. Of course he would've hated being questioned the roles were reversed, so he was ready to let it go. Perhaps, he considered, he'd ask Kagome himself once they were alone.

Her mother surprised him when she spoke again. "It's all right, I don't mind talking about it."

Well, since she offered, he gave her his full attention. She sat down on the corner of the bed and motioned for him to do the same.

"It was the first time we'd been able to go out since Souta was born," she began, her expression growing distant. "We had dinner, went to the movies...it was just like when we were dating. It was really late when we started walking home, and it wasn't a very good part of town. We thought about calling a cab, but it was such a beautiful night..." She looked down at her lap and swallowed, but just as Inuyasha was about to give up on her continuing, she lifted her head again. "Some men came out of the ally and surrounded us. One of them had a gun. They took my purse and his wallet, but then one of them grabbed me. My husband told him to let me go, and then he charged at him. The boy with the gun shot him three times. I guess it scared them, because they ran away after that. I held him until help came, but there was nothing they could do to save him..."

Inuyasha stared open-mouthed at the woman who looked dangerously close to tears despite her slight smile. He didn't understand a lot of the details, but he got the gist of what she was saying.

Kagome's dad died so he could protect her mom.

"I...I didn't know stuff like that happened here," he managed out after a moment.

Kagome's mom nodded. "Unfortunately it does, but it's okay. It still makes me sad when I think about what happened, but I feel very lucky. I had the chance to be with him, to marry him, even have two beautiful children with him."

"But he died," Inuyasha stated after a moment. The conversation struck a chord with him. How could she feel lucky? The bottom line was the same in his eyes. The guy was gone.

"Yes, but I wouldn't trade one day with him for anything in the world," she replied. "Even if I had known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have changed a single thing."

Inuyasha took a deep breath. There was a question within his own mind which haunted him off and on, had bugged him more as time went on. Maybe...maybe Kagome's mom could give him an answer, since the situation, thought not the same, was close enough to his with Kagome. "You still would've fallen for him anyway? You'd have stuck with him, even if you knew you'd lose him in the end?"

There was no hesitation. "Yes."

"But...why?" he ventured impatiently, almost angrily. "If it's gonna make you sad, why put yourself through it?"

"Because to fall in love with someone who loves you just as deeply, who would even give his life, is very rare. Even if it's only for a little while, it's worth it." She regarded him knowingly, and he suddenly had the distinct feeling she hadn't been talking only about herself. "You can't close your heart just so you won't get hurt. For that reason, I don't regret my life with my husband. I love him and my children too much to do that."

He became quiet after that as his mind reeled. The woman's words echoed in his head, joined by the memory of Kagome the day she told him she'd stay with him even though he planned to go to Kikyo in the end. The image faded and was replaced, one after another, by all the times Kagome was near death during their journey for the Shikon no Tama. The final one, the one time he'd actually believed she was dead, burned through all the others. He could still feel the weight of her limp body in his arms, remembered clearly the ghostly complexion of her skin, the lack of color in her lips, and he'd never forget the burning sting of tears which had assaulted his eyes the moment she'd whispered his name, confirming she was indeed still alive, though the poison in her body had done a nasty number on her.

How would it have felt, has she not survived? He'd felt like a part of him died when he'd believed he'd lost her forever. Would he have been able to look back at some point and be glad he'd known her, or would he have wished they'd never met in the first place? There were plenty of times too when he'd been just as bad off. Had she felt the same pain? Did she suffer like when she thought about their future, when the time came for him to keep his promise to Kikyo? Did she really care for him so much, she'd endure that kind of miserable uncertainty just to be with him for a short time?

Not that he didn't want to protect Kikyo, he did. He wanted to make up for what Naraku had done to her, but it was different with Kagome. She didn't make him feel obligated to her. She didn't make him feel guilty or judge him for things in the past. He wanted to be with her, wanted to protect her. And, he admitted to himself, he wanted her to feel the same way as her mom did about her dad if something happened to him. He didn't want her to regret the time she spent with him. Even if he had to give his life to save her, he never wanted her to be sorry she was with him till the end.

His reverie was interrupted when her mother cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. As long as you're with her, I know Kagome's in good hands, and I'm sure she'll take care of you too." She stood and smiled brightly as though nothing was out of the ordinary. "We better find you some shoes and a hat so we can get going."

He wasn't sure what to say to the dramatic change in conversation, so he nodded dumbly while she began rummaging around in the closet once again.

***

The final bell rang, jarring Kagome so she jerked her head off her desk. She yawned and piled her things into her bag just as her friends surrounded her desk.

"We're thinking of grabbing a milkshake and heading to the library. You want to come?"

Kagome considered turning them down; she was exhausted from the combination of the restless night she'd had and the long school day. Still, she knew she could use all the extra study time she could get, and the likelihood of getting it was a lot better if she went somewhere other than home. "Sure," she answered, snapping her bag shut and slinging it over her shoulder.

They wiggled through the small clusters of students in the halls until they finally made it out the front doors and into the sunlight, talking about their studies and recent additions to the gossip mill. Kagome listened and laughed with her girlfriends, enjoying their company, doing something normal for a change.

It didn't last long.

"Hey, Kagome-chan, isn't that your brother?"

"What?" She turned and sure enough, Souta was running toward them with a grin that reached his ears. She waited until he stopped in front of them, gasping and clutching his side, before speaking. "Souta...what're you doing here? I didn't forget something again, did I?"

"N...no," he panted, then straightened. "We're here to pick you up. We're going shopping!" he exclaimed so loudly several people around them turned to see what the fuss was about.

Kagome frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Mom came and picked me up from school and said we're all going to the mall."

"Mom's here?" Kagome gaped. She couldn't remember the last time her mom had shown up at her school. Then she blanched. "Wait a minute, where's..." She stopped and looked nervously at her friends, all of whom were listening intently.

Souta looked like he was trying to do his best impression of a dribbling basketball. "No, he's here too."

Her mouth went dry. "Wait a minute," she croaked in her best you're-ruining-my-life whisper. "Please tell me you didn't just say what I think you just said."

"Oooh, who's `he', Kagome-chan?"

"Is Souta talking about your boyfriend?!?!"

"Kagome-chan's boyfriend's here? For real?"

Souta cried, "Yeah, he is!" just as Kagome wailed, "No, he's not!" Her three companions looked from one to other, obviously unsure what to make of the two.

Well, why don't we go see for ourselves?"

"No!" Kagome cried, but it was too late; Souta was already leading the animated trio down the lawn and pointing across the street. All she could do was jog to catch up as she cast a frightened glance in the direction Souta was walking in.

For several blissful seconds, she though Souta had been playing a practical joke on her after all. She saw her mother standing against the fence across the street chit-chatting with a guy next to her who was apparently waiting for someone too, but there was no sign of Inuyasha anywhere nearby. She told herself maybe he was close but had the good sense to stay out of sight. She let out the air she'd been holding and continued toward her mother and the good-looking guy with the long white hair...

White hair? But people don't have...

Her mind and body both froze; at the same moment, the beautiful golden gaze she knew so well turned, looked past Souta, and bore into her.

Oh...my...God...

He was, in a word, gorgeous. The crimson tee hugged him slightly, revealing a chiseled physique very few aside from her had ever actually seen. The jeans were probably a size too small judging by the way the front was stretched tightly over his...

Oh my GOD!!!

It probably wouldn't have been so bad had she not seen him naked several times. Because she had, seeing him in the skintight pants nearly made her go limp and she came dangerously close to dropping her bookbag on her foot. She cursed herself even as she felt her entire face go red, forcing herself to look either down at his flip-flopped feet or up the baseball cap covering his ears. For a fleeting moment, she wondered what her friends would say if they knew such a hot guy really was her illusive boyfriend. It was their squeals which reminded her while she was gawking like an idiot, that's exactly what was happening.

She broke into a run, ignoring the pain in her back as her backpack slammed into it again and again until she reached the group, all of which with the exception of Inuyasha seemed not to have noticed her arrival at all. The girls were bombarding him with questions which he seemed to ignore, choosing to watch her intently instead.

"What are you doing here?" she asked irritably, considerably less winded than Souta had been since she was used to that kind of exercise from her adventures around the feudal era, though it did disguise the red in her cheeks.

"Your mom wants to get me some stuff for while I'm here," he responded, thoroughly unfazed by the angry edge in her voice.

The girls, realizing they'd probably learn a lot more by listening, stopped talking as soon as he spoke. Kagome barely noticed. Instead, she was more concerned with Inuyasha's demeanor. To her girlfriends, he probably seemed like the super-cool strong and silent type, but she knew better. Sure, she thought he was cool and strong, but brooding wasn't his thing, and that's exactly what he seemed to be doing at the moment.

She took a tentative step forward. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Then her stomach fell as a frightening possibility hit her. "Did...did something happen?"

His eyes widened slightly at seeing the change. "No, it's not that," he grumbled impatiently and to her great relief. That was more like the Inuyasha she knew. "It's just," he paused, eyeing the goggling group around them before shaking his head. "It's nothing."

She made a mental note to ask about it later when they were alone. "Okay...so this is really just about shopping?"

Kagome's mom nodded enthusiastically. "That's right. I thought since Inuyasha's going to be staying with us for a while, we should get him some regular clothes so he won't have to be cooped up at home all the time."

The revelation of his name seemed to have invigorated the girls' inquisitive effort. "So you're name's Inuyasha? That's sounds so cool!"

"Now Kagome," her mother chided gently, "aren't you going to introduce him to your friends?"

Her guts dropped another notch. "Oh...yeah...right." She darted her eyes to Inuyasha once more and immediately wished she hadn't. His eyes were unusually captivating, making her throat tighten. "Um...right...girls, this is my...this is Inuyasha," she fumbled. "Inuyasha, these are my classmates, Ay-"

"Hey, Higurashi!"

If she could've imagine the one thing to make her current situation even more awkward, Hojo's presence was it. She closed her eyes and wondered for a moment what in the world she'd done to deserve such a cruel twist of fate. She needed to get rid of him, and fast. Inuyasha's eyes were already narrowed, a serious warning sign shit was about to hit the fan.

"Hojo-kun," she greeted with an unnatural smile which he of course didn't notice at all. "What's going on?"

"Well, I saw you standing out here, so I wanted to give you these." He handed her a green folder. "They're notes from the exam review we've been going over. I copied mine for you in case you missed anything."

Kagome jumped at the soft yet dangerous growl from the hanyou. Hojo either didn't hear it or didn't know what it was, but she noticed her friends were all moving their eyes from one to the other, every pair of eyebrows raised high enough to hide beneath each girl's bangs. "Right...thanks, Hojo-kun."

She hoped he'd take the hint and leave, but he didn't. Instead he beamed at her. "So what're you doing? Are you going home? I can walk you if you want..."

"No," she cried, thankfully hiding another growl Hojo surely would've heard had she not spoken, and may have even recognized. "No," she repeated, forcing herself to calm down, "you don't have to. I was about to go to...um..."

"The mall," her mother supplied.

"Yeah, the mall," she stated, then spun around to face her smiling mom, Hojo momentarily forgotten. "The mall? You want to take him to the mall? Are you insane?"

"I thought it would be fun," the woman replied in her typical air-headed fashion.

She turned to Inuyasha, intent on talking him out of such nonsense, but his stony expression stole the words from her mouth. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Oh, are you a friend of Higurashi's?" Hojo cut in.

Her friends shared a furtive look at one another. Then one of them piped up, "Um, he's Kagome-chan's boyfriend, Hojo-kun."

Kagome's face burned, and she braced herself for Inuyasha's trademark explosion at the remark.

"Higurashi's...boyfriend?"

Oh no...here it comes...please Inuyasha, just don't hurt anybody...

"Yeah, something like that."

Kagome's jaw dropped and she was sure her heart skipped at least two beats. Once she managed to catch her breath, she gawked at Inuyasha, who simply crossed his arms and kept his gaze firmly on Hojo, whose smile had faltered slightly.

"Oh...well, I've heard a little bit about you from Kagome's friends," he said after a tense pause.

"You have?" she asked; she didn't know anything about that! She looked at the girls, all of which looked guilty as sin. Considering what she knew their opinions to be on the matter of the guy she'd told them about, she didn't even want to know what they'd told him.

"Yeah," he confirmed though, to her amazement, his face became less clueless than normal. Then he looked back to Inuyasha. "So you're staying with Higurashi's family right now?"

"That's right."

"Just visiting?"

"That's none of your business."

Hojo shrugged. "I'm just worried about Higurashi. She's been through a lot lately-"

The half-demon's hands were clenched tightly at his sides, as though it was taking every ounce of self-control he had to keep from slicing Hojo's face open. "I know that."

"So I don't want to see her get hurt. That's all," Hojo concluded with a tight smile. Then he turned on his heel. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," he told Kagome, "and if you ever need anything, just let me know." With a wave over his shoulder, he went back across the street and turned out of sight.

What followed was a maelstrom of apologies and excuses from her best friends. Kagome couldn't tell who was screaming, squealing, and shouting what, but in the end she gathered enough to know they'd told Hojo at some point they thought her boyfriend was just a violent, no-good jerk who would break her heart in the end and that they were all really, really sorry for saying it. To make matters worse, Inuyasha appeared to have come to the same conclusion; he looked absolutely livid.

"Inuyasha, I'm really sorry," she ventured weakly.

"For what? Making me out to be some bastard who treats you like dirt?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's not like that..."

"Then why'd your friends think so, huh? They don't know me, you've made damned sure of that!" he shot back, his own face coloring with rage.

Her temper was rising too. "Look, I said I was sorry! They've met you now, and if you don't calm down, they really will think you're a jerk!"

"They already do! Besides, I don't care what they think!"

"Well I do!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They simultaneously turned their back on one another, both breathing heavy and crossing their arms over their chests. Kagome's brother and her friends all watched the pair with wide eyes. Her mother, however, simply giggled.

"It's so nice to see young people in love, isn't it?"

***To Be Continued...***

A/N #2: I've had a great deal going on as of late, but a few of them have actually motivated me to keep doing what I love, so here I am. Sorry for the delay, and I want to thank everyone who's offered ideas to fill the next several days of Inuyasha's adventure in Kagome's world. Don't give up on me yet; I'm slow, but I try to make it worth the wait. ^_~

Also, as I'm sure you gathered, Day Three will have to be finished up in another chapter. As I'm typing this, I'm on page 20 according to Word, and considering I've got at least another ten pages to go to finish this chapter up (and that's a very conservative estimate), I figured I better hold off on finishing it till next time.

Aside from my notes at the beginning of the chapter, I'd like to thank the reviewer (and forgive me, I don't have your s/n right in front of me) who pointed out I'd misspelled Kagome's last name in the first chapter. I was so embarrassed when I saw it! And I didn't just do it once...it was all over the place! I think I called her everything but Higurashi in the first installment. Anyway, big thanks to the one who dropped me the note in my reviews about it, and thanks to everyone for not giving up on me right then and there after reading it. Man...I'm so ashamed of myself. I'm such a rookie, LOL! I have fixed it though (I think I got them all), though now the chapter's showing some of my code...*sighs* I'll fix it too at some point. Anyway, that's it for now. Until next time. ^_^