InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Begin Again ❯ Scroll Ten: Visits ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Scroll Ten: Visits

Kagome ran down the stairs of the house at the Higarashi residence, her loafers in one hand, a small backpack in the other. “Morning Mama, Jii-chan!” She greeted them cheerfully, dropping her backpack by the kitchen door. “Where’s Souta?”

“He left for school already, dear. You were running late,” Higarashi Keiko said handing her daughter a plate with a few pieces of toast on it.

“How late am I that Souta leaves me?” She took a piece of toast and put it in her mouth as she slipped her shoes on. Taking the toast back in her hand she swallowed the first bite and waved to the others. “Oh well, I’ll see you guys after school. Inuyasha said he was going through the well early this morning to give Sango and Miroku an update. He’ll be back before I get back I’m sure, so just let him lounge in my room or something, ‘kay?” She grabbed her backpack and jogged out only to turn and stick her head back in. “In fact, he’s here!”

He stopped behind her as she turned back around. “You’re gonna be late.”

“I know,” she huffed in return. Why was everyone reminding her of that? “Mama made breakfast if you’re hungry. See you later, Inuyasha.” She grinned at him and took off at a jog towards the shrine steps, waving over her shoulder.

Kagome had only been gone for a few hours when Inuyasha sighed and flopped out on the floor of the Higarashi’s family room. Keiko had turned on the television (he was getting used to it now), but he had no interest in the shows. It was boring without Kagome around no matter which side of the well he was on. When Buyo came over for his traditional romp with the inu hanyou, he was more than happy to oblige and immediately began to irritate the fat feline.

Science had never been her favorite subject, but she was determined to finish top in all of her classes and so Kagome was completely focused on her project - or tried to be. Her grades had hit an all time low the last few months she was in the Sengoku Jidai and she had to work extra hard to get them back to where she wanted them even though she’d been back in her time for a near two months now.

Kagome had been working with Eri while Ayami and Yuka worked the lab just across the table from them so that the four friends were facing one another. Her friends didn’t have near as much willpower as she did and they had begun to gossip. Their table was towards the back, along the wall, so it was easier to talk and not be caught.

“Have you heard that Mia and Mamoru-kun started officially dating last weekend?” Eri said as she mixed her chemicals together, only half paying attention to what she was doing. “He’s actually exclusive now.”

“Are you sure you’re doing that right, Eri-chan?” Kagome questioned. The other girl nodded distractedly.

“I expect your projects and handouts ready to be turned in by the end of class,” the blonde haired science teacher informed them as she straitened from helping one set of students. “And remember that these chemicals are highly flammable and possibly explosive if mixed in the wrong way or with the wrong components. You have to pay extra attention to what you are doing here. That means no idle gossip girls.” She had worked her way towards the back, looking directly at Kagome and her friends as they blushed and tried to hide their giggles.

As if to punctuate the science teacher’s words, there was a loud boom from the front of the room and several shrill shrieks from the girls responsible. Kaori only barely managed to suppress a groan and turned on her heels to hurry to the guilty parties. Everyone was silent as the mess was cleaned up and the girls were reprimanded.

“Well that was interesting,” Yuka breathed looking at her own vial of chemicals. She bit her lip and reread the last line of her instructions.

Ayami looked over her shoulder at the stuttering couple who were trying to explain away their actions. “I thought for sure it’d be us,” she muttered looking back at her friends.

“They just beat Eri-chan to the punch.” Kagome didn’t even look up as she spoke, but she could feel three pairs of eyes on her as her friends stopped in their actions to stare at her. Then, one of them snorted very quietly which led to a squeak from another girl before all four giggled helplessly into their hands.

Shippou had burst into tears when Inuyasha returned without Kagome. Inuyasha only glared at him, and the kit started to calm down when he explained his reasons for being there.

“The thing is,” he said harshly, “that Kagome misses you and she may not be able to come back for a while now. I didn’t tell her anything, but I thought…I thought it might make her feel better to see you guys so I was going to try and take all three of you through to her.”

“Do you think it would work?” Sango asked curiously. “We’ve never been able to pass before.”

“Yeah, but Kagome was able to take me before remember?” Shippou reminded them, suddenly getting excited.

Inuyasha shrugged. “It’s worth a shot ain’t it?”

They nodded and stood up, letting him lead them to the well. For the first time they seemed to notice his odd clothes. “Inuyasha?” Miroku questioned. “What are you wearing?”

“The same thing you’ll be wearing if this works,” he snapped. “Kagome’d be furious if I let you go out in her world dressed like that. I ain’t been sat in a long time and I don’t plan on giving her any reason to now.”

Kaede smiled. She knew Kagome wasn’t going to subdue him, no matter how mad the girl got. She had questioned the old miko months before about removing the rosary, but had decided against it when she realized that might be the only thing that allowed him to travel the well.

The kitsune hopped onto Inuyasha’s shoulder while the hanyou grabbed the Houshi and the taijiya by the arm, bounding over the edge of the well. There was a flash of light and Kaede looked over the edge, pleased to see that all four were no longer there. It had worked after all.

In the well house, Inuyasha leapt out of the well and waited while the two humans climbed out, then led them to the Higarashi house. They were greeted by a surprised Keiko who was quickly introduced to her daughter’s feudal era friends and welcomed them into her home with a cheerful smile.

“Oh, Inuyasha, Kagome will be so excited. I know she’s missed all of you terribly,” she told them brightly and then paused as she got an idea. “Oh, why don’t the four of you go meet her after school? I’m sure she’d love the surprise.”

Inuyasha nodded and waved the other three towards the stairs. Buyo looked up from Kagome’s bed as they came in the girl’s room, but seemed to decide they weren’t important enough to bother with. Sango and Miroku examined their friend’s knickknacks while Shippou jumped on the bed to get reacquainted with the feline.

When several garments were thrown in her direction, Sango barely had time to react, but managed to catch them. “What are these for?”

“They’re for you to wear. In case you didn’t notice, women in Kagome’s time dress differently. You and Kagome are close enough to the same size.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes and picked Shippou up but the tail. “Come on monk, you’ll have to borrow my clothes.” Miroku didn’t move until Inuyasha grabbed his arm and drug him from the room, slamming the door behind them to give Sango some privacy.

Some time later they all met back up in the living room, Sango desperately trying to keep her skirt down. She had tried to find something more suitable, but it seemed her friend was awfully fond of short skirts and very short pants (shorts). Now she was wearing a denim skirt that reached a few inches above her knees and a gray tee-shirt. She’d kept her own shoes on because they were comfortable and she didn’t exactly wear the same size as Kagome in that department. Inuyasha looked her over and decided she looked normal enough for this era. Miroku sported a burgundy colored button up shirt and blue jeans, giving Sango a low whistle while she glared daggers at him, wishing she’d thought to bring Hiraikotsu with her.

“Let’s go.”

“’kay! I’ll call you later tonight and we can go over those equations. I think I finally got it figured out,” Kagome called to a group of girls who were walking in another direction as she came out of the school building.

It took her a minute to figure out who was with him, she was so used to seeing them in their usual kimonos that she didn’t recognize them when Miroku strolled up wearing a the burgundy shirt and jeans and Sango looked even more foreign to her in the short skirt and tee. It wasn’t until she saw Shippou perched on Inuyasha’s shoulder that it clicked just who her visitors were. She would have squealed had her entire class not been piling out of the school behind her. “Sango-chan! Miroku-sama! How did you guys get here!” She exclaimed as loud as possible and ran towards them.

Shippou jumped from Inuyasha’s shoulder to her waiting arms and wrapped his around her as far as he could. “Inuyasha brought us. He didn’t know if it’d work fr all of us, but he thought it was worth a try.”

“It certainly was,” she said, smiling gratefully at the hanyou who blushed and ‘keh’d’ under his breath. “I’m glad you guys were able to come through. I’ve missed you all so much!” She petted his head. “Where’s Kirara?”

“I left her with Kaede,” Sango said, looking a little said. “We didn’t think she’d get along very well on your side of the well.”

Kagome sighed, knowing it was hard for Sango to leave her friend behind. “You should have brought her. I’d bet she and Buyo would get along great. He would have kept her company while you were gone.” She shifted from one foot to the other and then took Inuyasha’s hand, walking towards her house. “I am so sick of this, you guys. I want to go back through the well with you so bad.” She frowned. “But my baka otou decided to show…it feels like I’ll never get back.”

Miroku patted her shoulder gently. “Of course you will, Kagome-sama. You just have to be patient.”

Kagome shrugged. “I know, it’s just taking a long time. So, what am I missing? What’s happening on your side?”

Miroku gave her an innocent smile. “Sango-chan and I have been planning our wedding, mostly.”

“No,” Sango said slowly, glaring at the monk, “I’ve been planning a wedding. Miroku has been building a harem.” Her look darkened. “He’s been flirting with every available girl in the village - and some who aren’t available.”

“That’s not true, Sango. I have been very proper in my interactions with the village girls.” He put one hand to his heart, giving her a wounded look.

Kagome glared. “You’d better be or I’ll make you wish the Kazaana had consumed you.” She smiled at Sango. “I went to my first school dance. Inuyasha took me and he danced with me.”

“You didn’t give me much choice, did you?” The previously ignored hanyou grumbled even though his grip on her hand tightened. “You’d better not try and drag me to any more of those things, wench. The music was too loud and there was too many people and they were trying to touch my hair.”

Her glare transferred from Miroku to Inuyasha. “I told you that you didn’t have to go. I would have been perfectly safe with Houjou-kun as my date. He did ask me and he would have loved it if I’d said yes.”

Sango and Miroku shared a knowing look. Inuyasha would no more have let Kagome go anywhere with another boy than he would have let Naraku take the jewel. Had he just outright refused to go, Kagome probably would have stayed at home too. “Who is Houjou-kun?”

“Houjou…well…Houjou is a boy that they tried to set me up with several times. He’s really sweet and all, but he’s just not my type.” Kagome gave Sango and Miroku a curious look when both of them shared a knowing glance then blushed when she realized they were looking down at her hand wrapped around Inuyasha’s.

“So, what do you plan to do about your chichi-ue?” Kagome and Sango were the only two still up. Souta and Shippou had gone to bed early after having worn themselves out running around the shrine all day, playing various games. Miroku had also retired after Kagome had expressly forbid him from watching any more television without her supervision. The lecherous monk had been enjoying various adult channels available on cable after the concept of television and the remote control had been explained to him. Inuyasha had gotten board and had finally gone to bed himself, coming back with the complaint that Miroku had stolen ‘his’ bed (“Well, he did get there first…”) (“You weren’t even using it…”) and stormed off once more muttering colorful threats that Kagome seriously doubted he could go through with.

“I don’t know…I guess I kinda have to tell him eventually,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not gonna stop going through the well and visiting you guys just because he’s around. He has no right to have any say in what I do with my life - he hasn’t been here for ten years of it.”

Sango nodded her agreement and pulled the afghan quilt up around her bare legs. She was wearing a pare of blue boxer type shorts that Kagome had given her and a matching tee-shirt for sleeping in. “I can see your point, though, I kind of think that it might be good if you were to give him the chance he is looking for…the chance to get to know you without so much arguing.”

Kagome rolled her eyes and switched the television off since they weren’t watching it anyway. She was on the other side of the couch, with the other end of the afghan over her own bare legs. “Sango, he abandoned us. He chose to leave us here with Jii-chan and further his own career. It isn’t like I never tried, you know. I wrote him letters all the time and he never replied. I tried calling his office and his home and he never answered and never returned my calls. I learned English just to be able to ask his secretary if he was there and to tell her that his daughter was calling, please call her back. I begged him to come visit or to let me and Souta come to him. He ignored me.” She shook her head, clasping her arms around her legs. “I know why you think I should, Sango, but my chichi-ue isn’t like yours was.”

Sango gave a soft smile and nodded. “I suppose you are right,” she conceded, “but what about his new wife and the baby that she is going to have?” It wasn’t the hot springs, but it was the first time the two girls had had any private time to talk and they were swapping secrets just as the always did while bathing.

Kagome smiled a genuine smile. “Well, Ikoku-san is nice enough. She really wants me and chichi-ue (she had gotten used to calling him by a more traditional term for the sake of her friends) to get along so that we can all be ‘one big happy family.’ It’s not going to happen, but I can stand to get along with her. Souta’s kinda warming up to her too. He’s not as quiet and shy around her as he was at first.” She shrugged and played with her hair. “As for the baby…I’ll treat it like I treat Souta - as a sibling. It’s not the baby’s fault that all of this happened. And it might be kinda nice to have another little brother or sister to help take care of. I really kinda hope it’s a girl. I’ve already got one brother. I want a sister now.”

Sango giggled. “You’ve got a long wait ahead of you.”

“Two weeks I think. Ikoku-san said she had a doctor’s appointment here soon and they’d let her know for the baby shower.”

The other girl’s brows furrowed in confusion and she sat forward, suddenly extremely interested. “What do you mean two weeks? I thought you said his wife was only four or five months along?”

Kagome giggled at her friend’s confusion, having forgotten that being from the feudal era the elder girl would not know about modern technology. There are ways today that people can find out if they’re having a boy or a girl and how many they’re having - whether it’s twins or triplets or what have you - called an ultrasound. They have a special camera looking thing that they use to move over your belly that projects a picture to the womb and what’s inside onto a television screen. It’s not a very good picture, but it works well enough. The baby’s developed enough at about five months that you can tell whether it’ll be a boy or a girl.”

Sango was listening with wide eyes, very much impressed by the new innovations of Kagome’s world. There were so many things that could help people in this world. With the new machines and knowledge that the doctors had in this era, they might have even been able to save Kohaku…

Kagome saw the sad look that entered Sango’s brown eyes and frowned, knowing she had brought up a bad memory. It wasn’t right for her friend to have to be so sad all of the time. It just wasn’t right. “Gomen ne, Sango-chan. I wish I’d known more about medicine…if I had…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

The older girl seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts, her eyes refocusing on Kagome’s now concerned face. “Iie, daijoubou, Kagome-chan.” She yawned, an obviously fake move, but Kagome decided not to call her on it. “I’m getting sleepy. I think I’m going to head up to bed. Are you coming, Kagome-chan?”

She nodded and tossed the cover off of her, standing and stretching a bit. “Hai, I’m coming.”

They were heading back down the well today. Sango and Miroku still had things to work on in their era, their house and wedding plans included, and Sango was beginning to miss Kirara. The other two had changed into their feudal era clothing, a stark contrast to the modernistic clothes worn by both Inuyasha and Kagome.

“Can I please stay with you, Kagome-kaa?” Shippou begged from the circle of her arms, having latched on to her shirt for dear life. “Onegai, kaa-chan? Onegai?” His dark green eyes watered and shimmered with tears, a sure fire indication he was about to bawl for all he was worth.

“You won’t have any fun here, Shippou,” Kagome tried to intervene before the waterworks. “Souta-chan has to go to school every day and he’s gonna have homework to do and he’s not gonna have much time to play with you.”

“What about you, ‘kaa-chan?” He sniffled and looked up at her hopefully.

Inuyasha grunted, determined the runt was going back with the others. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the little fellow. He grudgingly admitted to himself (though not to anyone else) that the kitsune cub was almost like his own son and that’s how Kagome called him to her friends - her and Inuyasha’s son. That did not mean he wanted the cub there for the rest of the week or however long he planned to stay. In Sengoku Jidai he had no time alone with Kagome, but in her era he could be with her as much as he wanted to. “Kagome can’t play with you,” he stated gruffly. “She‘s got school too and she can‘t study with you bouncing all over her.”

“But I won’t bounce on you, kaa-chan, I promise.” Kagome was about to break down, he could feel it and he had to think of some way to get the kit to hush before she agreed. “I’ll be really good and I’ll be quiet and I won’t ask you to run around.”

Kagome hugged him and kissed the top of his head. “I know you would, Shippou, but I really think that you should go back with Sango-chan and Miroku-sama. Kirara would miss you if you stayed here and…” she trailed off knowing it was going to have to come eventually, but not looking forward to it at all. “And I really have to take care of my problems with my chichi-ue and I wouldn’t be able to do that…”

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, silently congratulating Kagome. Good girl. You’d better not break down and let that runt stay. I ain’t gonna allow it.

Shippou pouted and contemplated whining a little more, but finally sighed and nodded, jumping to Sango’s waiting arms and taking his place perched on her shoulder. Kagome gave them all one last hug and watched from the top of the well house steps as they leapt over the edge and were engulfed by the familiar blue light that carried her back and forth. Inuyasha turned his back to her and knelt so she could wrap her arm around his shoulders and lift herself onto his back. He headed back to the house, but turned suddenly and started down the steps to the streets. It was then she realized he’d already placed a bandanna over his ears.

“Inuyasha, where are you going?” She hugged him tighter. “You can’t carry me through Tokyo.”

“Why not?” His voice was haughty as they blended into the crowd…or as well as they could with her on his back and his white hair flowing in her face. “There’s no rule against it…if there is, it’s a stupid one. I’m taking you for a walk. You looked like you needed out of the house.”

“Inuyasha?” She giggled and raised one hand up to tweak his ear since he had forgotten to wear a cap or a bandanna. “I think going for a walk would mean I actually walk.”

“Keh.”