InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Torn ❯ Uncle Daisuke ( Chapter 3 )

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

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"Honey I'm home!"

Souta and Kagome's head's came up from where they hung off the edge of his bed. "Is that who I think it is?"

Kagome frowned, "I don't think so... he's in the U.S. right?"

"Oh my goodness! Daisuke!" Their mom's excited voice confirmed their conclusion, sending them both flying off the bed and out the door.

"Ojii-san!"

"Hey kids!"

Letting go of his sister, the young man stretched for a hug, eyes widening in surprise when he took in the changes in them. "My god, look how grown you are! How long's it been?"

"Forever!" Souta smiled, hugging his uncle tightly. "We've missed you so much!"

"Hai, we were worried when you stopped writing!" Kagome bounced behind her little brother, finally shoving him out of her way so she could get her own hug. "Look I reach past your shoulder!"

"Hai, my little girl's all grown up!" He laughed and leaned back to eye them both carefully, "I can't believe this, Kagome how old are you?"

"Seventeen," Kagome grinned, "The last time you saw me I was Souta's age."

"I'm shocked," her uncle smiled back, seemingly overwhelmed to see them so big. "The last time we played you insisted on using your blue truck, remember Souta?"

"I was really little back then," Souta nodded, "I'm twelve now."
years," Daisuke sighed, turning to hug his sister once again. "How time flies, ne-?"

"It sure does," she smiled and hugged her little brother, stepping back to see him fully also. "You've grown to be quite handsome Dai, father will be pleased."

"Where is the old bat anyways?" Daisuke looked around for him, a light gleam in his bright blue eyes. "Not home? Since when does he leave his cave?"

"Since he has pressing business downtown," his sister became serious for a second before inviting him for some tea.

"Tea? I was hoping you'd invite me to stay," he laughed, relieved to see the kids eagerly nod. "Five years away with no home or family makes a guy awfully lonely you know?"
can he stay mom? Please?" Souta fairly begged, batting his eyes and everything.

Asami nodded, scolding them playfully, "Like I'd really let him go so soon."

"Great! I'll show him to the extra room!" Souta dragged his uncle upstairs, leaving them to finish the tea while they put his bags in his room.

Kagome watched them with a smile, moving over to the window and gazing out at the familiar well house with a wistful expression. [How I miss them all] Her mother's voice brought her back to the present, asking her question once again.

"Oh, yeah, it is nice having him back, its always worried you not knowing how he was." she answered quietly.

"You miss them don't you?" Asami asked, watching her daughter sadly. "Don't you think you should go see them? I'm sure Inuyasha must be either worried or furious by now."

"I should," Kagome shrugged, noticing her mom's guilty smile, "But he'll survive without me, its good to get away sometimes and I'm needed here more."

"Maybe you'll be able to go back soon, now that your uncle is here again, he can help me," her mother tried to cheer her up. "You could go for a week or two."

"And what would we tell ojii-san? That I lock myself up in the well house for two weeks at a time to find inner peace? Never mind him, grandpa would have my head and I really don't need to go back mom. Believe me, if I did, I'd be going." Kagome assured her, "With your permission of course."

"Of course," Asami agreed, beaming once again, "Here they come, let's take this to the living room so we can listen to your uncle for a while, how about it?"

"Sure thing," picking up the tea tray, Kagome followed her mom out of the kitchen, spirits dampening at the thought of how weak she'd become. [And its only been two weeks since she told us. How accurate are the doctors?]

Sitting down and serving the teas, Kagome forced herself not to worry for the moment. Her uncle was home and that was all that mattered right now. [I hadn't really thought of the age difference between him and mom before but what is it... twelve years? Which means he's only twenty six! No wonder he's still so young, mom's much older.]

Focusing on the conversation again, Kagome laughed at a joke he told and listened eagerly to hear of his time in California.

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"Its good to have you finally home my boy," grandpa smiled proudly at his son. "You've gotten a lot wiser since you left, I imagine you're looking to settle down with a nice girl here in Tokyo now that you're back."

Daisuke shrugged, "I was mostly homesick for my family, I came to spend some time with all of you and take a break for a while before deciding what to do. I've asked the company to give me the vacation I'm owed and so I'll have the next three months off."

"Three months?" Kagome and Souta gaped.

"I worked holidays to earn some extra time off," he shrugged, complimenting their mom on the oden. "This is really great sis, I haven't had such good food in years."

"Thank you, but Kagome deserves the credit, she's the house chef now," Asami patted her daughter's knee proudly. "Isn't she beautiful? I'm so proud of my little girl."

"She's gorgeous," he agreed, winking playfully at his niece, "And she'd a darn good cook too."

"Only took her three tries to get it right," Souta teased. "But I'd say she's gotten better, her specialty is ramen."
up!" Kagome frowned, glaring daggers at him, "I haven't made ramen in weeks!"

"Kagome!" her mother sighed and apologized, "She's a little touchy about some subjects."

"Oh really? Why's that?" Daisuke listened with interest while Souta happily explained, "She's just upset 'cause grandpa won't let her go see her boyfriend Inuyasha!"

"That's not true!" Kagome fumed, "Inuyasha is not my boyfriend! He's a bossy, over-bearing jerk who's barely my friend!"

"Riiiight, and that's why you sigh and say 'oh Inuyasha' or 'what are you doing now?' when you think no one's nearby?" Souta laughed, watching her face redden while she gripped her chopsticks with white knuckles.

"You..." her reply was cut off by her uncle's calm voice.

"Why don't you let her go visit her friend? Have they done anything wrong?" he asked casually.

Grandpa shook his head and gave the kids warning looks to calm down, "Its just that we've needed her to stay home and when she goes to see the boy she's usually gone for days."

"Days? Why days?"

Kagome hurried to explain, "He lives pretty far from here, in Izu actually, so I usually stay with his family when I visit. Mom knows Mrs. Tetsusaiga pretty well so there's no problem and we wouldn't do anything 'cause we're not dating."

Her uncle frowned, asking easily, "Why not? Is he blind?"

Kagome blushed, "Just rude, stubborn and bossy."

He nodded sagely, "Not the best boyfriend material I'd say."
Kagome shrugged, digging into her food once again.

Souta was already done, after excusing himself, he pouted when his mom ordered him to get ready for bed. "But mom! Uncle Daisuke just came home!"

"He'll still be here tomorrow," she calmly reminded him, "You can see him after school."

"Hey, how about I pick you two up and take you out to the movies or something?" he asked, bringing eager smiles to both their faces.

"Sounds great!" Kagome quietly excused herself, putting her dishes in the sink and kissing her mom on the cheek before heading upstairs.

"What? No kiss for us?" her uncle joked, laughing along with her mom and grandpa.

Kagome came back from the door, an exaggerated sigh escaping her lips, "If I must."

Stopping while he stood with his empty dishes, Kagome was forced to lean up to reach his cheek, her hands resting lightly on his shoulder. After getting a small hug, she quickly kissed her grandpa and wished them a goodnight, hurrying upstairs to change.

Half an hour later, she was coming out of the bathroom when her mom's voice reached her ears. "I'm mostly worried about dad, he's not getting any younger you know and he'll need help with the kids. Kagome's old enough to look after herself, she's seventeen and she's got her own life now with responsibilities that keep her away most of the time. But how is dad supposed to keep an eye out on Souta when he's busy with the shrine all the time?"

"H-how much longer do you think..." her uncle's voice stopped, obvious surprise and pain etched in it.

"I'd say another four-five months, give or take, depending on how well my body reacts to the treatments we've begun." Asami spoke too softly, forcing Kagome to slip downstairs quietly and stand outside the living room to hear.

"Good lord... why wasn't I told before? I had no idea 'Sami, I would have come back, I could have helped!" Daisuke was now a bit angry. "I should have known!"

"I didn't want to worry you and keep you here when you had such a good job in the U.S. Besides, isn't that what you studied so hard for? The chance to see the world? Travel and have fun? Its always been your dream, I couldn't keep you from it." Asami was interrupted by a yawn, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I just don't have much energy anymore."

"Don't sweat it," Daisuke sighed, standing and helping her up. "And don't worry about the other issues, we'll figure something out."

"Thanks," her mom's voice came closer, making Kagome hurry upstairs, "Its so nice to have you home!"

"Its good to be here," he replied softly.

Listening to them make their way to their rooms, Kagome sat on her bed and stared up at the fake stars, wondering what would happen now. [Mom's right, Inuyasha must be furious or worried. He told me to stay for two days and its been almost a month! Poor Shippo too! But how can I leave when mom's so sick?]

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[Damned girl!]

Inuyasha stared lazily up at the sky, worrying yet again about her extended absence. [Its been three weeks! Three weeks without Kagome! Is the well broken? Why can't I get through?]

Worry over it being sealed off permanently had him sitting in a tree facing the old wooden structure, attempting every chance he got to go through. She'd promised not to take more than two days, she'd been gone for 21, and it wasn't like Kagome to break her word, not this badly.

"Inuyasha?"

Shippo's worried little voice made him frown and look down at the grass below. "Yeah?"

"Do you think she's ever coming back? Maybe she's locked back in her own time!" The kit sat beneath him and leaned against the tree, staring out at the well ahead also.

"How the heck am I supposed to know?"

Shippo sighed, "I was just wondering since you can't go get her."

He sniffled, causing the hanyou to roll his eyes again, "Not more crying!"

"Well excuse me for missing her! I know you don't care! You only want her back so we can go look for more shards but I miss my mother!" Shippo's sniffles intensified, soft sobs wracking his small form.

"I do so miss her," Inuyasha startled him, gently lifting the kit up into his lap. "We are friends after all."

"You really miss her?" Shippo asked, curling up to his 'dad.' [Of course you do, you love her ne-?]

"Feh, I guess I do, yeah," Inuyasha tried to play it off, crossing his arm over his stomach to keep the kit from getting cold, his haori sleeve draping over his small back.

"I'm sure she misses us too Inuyasha, Kagome loves us," Shippo's mumbled whisper sent a strange pang through his stomach, wondering how true that was. [How could she love someone who treats her the way I do?]
Miroku approach, he closed his eyes and feigned sleep, hoping he would be left alone to wonder about the broken well. [Not even the monk and old miko could get that unsealed.]

"Come home soon Kagome-sama," Miroku whispered, loudly enough for Inuyasha to hear, "We really do need you."





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" Eew!"

Kagome frowned, leaning closer to her uncle for protection. Although she was halfway on his lap already, the sight of spiders attacking people on screen made even an experienced miko like her shudder in fear.

"Its only a movie," he laughed, moving the arm that was around her shoulder to accommodate her better. His hand rested on her leg, the only place comfortable for it to rest.

"Its gross and freaky," Kagome whispered, staring in horror while the man struggled to swap the bugs from his legs.
soft touch on her upper thigh made her jump and take in a breath, wide eyes turning to see his laughing ones as his fingers lightly touched her. "Feel like a spider?"

"Yes! You scared me for a second!" Unthinkingly slapping the hand against her thigh to make it stop, Kagome suddenly realized her skirt draped over it and blushed, wondering how to get herself out of this mess.

Luckily her uncle helped, simply by reaching over for the soda she'd discarded and taking a sip. "How can you freak out with tiny little spiders when you see enormous ones all the time?" Souta teased after the movie was over.

"Believe me, I freak out even worse then, if not for Inuyasha I'd have a heart attack," Kagome shrugged, staring into a shop window selling the Rurouni Kenshin DVD's. "I wonder if he'd like that series?"

"Hmm? Did you say something Kagome?" her uncle seemed to snap back to their conversation.

Kagome shook her head, "No, nothing."

After strolling through downtown for a while and grabbing some ice cream, they finally headed back to the shrine, Souta and Daisuke staying outside to play some football. Removing her shoes, Kagome entered the kitchen and frowned, surprised by the mess that hadn't been there when she left that morning. "Mom?"

"Kagome?" her mom's weak voice alerting her to the type of day she'd had.

Hurrying over to the living room, she found her mom lying on the sofa with a blanket over her lower body. "Hey."

"I'm sorry about the mess dear, I wanted to have something ready when you got home but I got so tired suddenly," Asami lay curled on her side, a sad look in her eyes again.
struggled to keep her cheerful smile, "Don't worry about it! I'll whip up something quick, maybe some ramen."

The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully, grandpa called and said he wouldn't be home and her mom slept most of the afternoon away. It was nearing Souta's bedtime when she woke up again, calling for Kagome urgently.

"Help me upstairs honey," struggling against the stabs of pain running through her, Asami leaned heavily against her daughter on the way, refusing her brother's offers to help. "We've done this before Dai, its fine."

"Really it is," Kagome helped her mother upstairs and to her room.

"I need my pills dear," Asami groaned, rolling up into herself on the bed, blankets bunching up around her trembling figure.

"They're right here mom," Kagome quickly filled the glass that was now a permanent figure on her mother's nightstand and handed over the medicine, biting her lip while watching her for a moment.

Souta came in and wished his mom a good night, giving her a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug. "Sleep tight mom."

"You too baby," Asami smiled, watching her son leave the room. Turning towards Kagome she wasn't surprised to see her ready for bed and calmly brushing her hair out. "You're so grown up."

"Hm...?" Kagome blinked, smiling back and nodding, "I guess I am."

"You know, I think your time with Inuyasha and your friends has really helped you mature. You've grown up so quickly Kagome. You're not the naive girl your friends are, you know what its like to be on your own and depend on yourself. I'm so proud of you." Asami patted the bed and smiled when Kagome slipped onto it beside her, resting her head on her mother's arm the way she would when she was little.

"I know mom, you've always been good at showing us your approval and making sure we knew that we could depend on you if needed. Growing up watching you take care of us set the best example for me, I always wanted to be as independent as you." Kagome inhaled her scent, vanilla and soap, with just a touch of cinnamon.

"Believe me, you've done it Kagome," Asami sighed, running her hands through Kagome's hair, "I meant to tell you earlier but I couldn't seem to stay awake long enough to do it. I'm going away the day after tomorrow."

"What?" Kagome leaned back, frowning in worry, "To where?"

"There's a new treatment my doctor wants me to try, its not available here yet, but I was talking to Daisuke and he knows some people in Los Angeles who could take me in for the time necessary."

Kagome gasped, "You'd go all the way to California? By yourself?"

"No, grandpa's coming with me," Asami continued, "That's what he's been so busy with lately, getting our visa's and passports and things ready. We'd been planning on going with Souta after school got out anyways, but now that Daisuke's here he's made it easier for us since we won't have to take him."

"How long will you be gone?"

Asami shrugged, "Probably a month, maybe less, maybe a little more. The doctor really wants me to try it and the specialist in L.A. has agreed to take on my case."

"Have you told Souta?"

"Your grandpa's probably telling him now, we just made the final decision a few days ago," Asami sighed and closed her eyes, feeling sleep taking over.

"If that's what you need mom," Kagome kissed her cheek and covered her with the blanket, slipping from the room quietly.

Heading to her room, Kagome flopped onto her bed and fought back tears, worry over her mom's deteriorating health and her upcoming absence cutting through her. After hours of researching online for other options, she finally fell into a deep sleep at the desk, wishing she could somehow make everything better again.

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"Take care of yourselves ok? I really wish you'd take me with you," Kagome hugged her grandpa and watched her brother with their mom.

Grandpa nodded but gave her a sad look, "We need you to take care of Souta and keep the shrine running, your uncle is a good businessman but he knows nothing about the kami, rites and spells and charms. I'm really counting on you Kagome."

"I know," kissing his cheek again, she switched places with her brother and wished her mom the best of luck, hugging her tightly and kissing her soundly on both cheeks.

"Watch over those boys dear, don't let them get too wild," Asami smiled and hugged her daughter, dismayed when their last boarding call was announced. "Make sure you go back and see Inuyasha too, tell him what's going on Kagome, he has a right to know."

"I will," Kagome sighed, stepping back and watching with tears in her eyes as they walked away and boarded the plane, turning to wave a few times before the door of the runway was closed up.

Silently walking with her brother's hand in hers to the car, she smiled at her uncle when he opened the doors and closed them after they'd taken their seats. "Don't worry kids, I'm sure she'll be just fine, those Americans have some great new treatments that'll have her back here in no time."

"I hope so," Souta mumbled, lying down across the backseat and closing his eyes.

Kagome faintly nodded, giving her uncle a small smile when his hand left the gear stick and patted her knee affectionately. Focused more on the scenery outside than on his attempt to cheer her up, she tensed suddenly, as the hand on her leg slipped beneath her skirt, massaging her upper thigh softly. Keeping her eyes on the road outside, Kagome struggled to understand what was going on until it slipped further forward, fingers lightly stroking the inside of her thigh more intimately.

Unsure of what to do, Kagome casually crossed her leg over the other, forcing him to pull his hand back out of her skirt. Watching from the corner of her eye, she saw him grin and change gears, a slight shiver running through her at the glint in his eye.

[What am I thinking? This is uncle Daisuke, he's mom's little brother, of course he didn't mean it! Don't be so paranoid Kagome, hanging out with Miroku has definitely affected me more deeply than I'd realized.]

Settling back into her seat, Kagome watched a plane fly away over their heads and wished her mom a safe trip once again.

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Gomen nasai!!!

I uploaded the last chapter in July, promising to have the next one out the next day and totally forgot! (Yes, for this long - actually, I meant to update sooner but Ive had computer and family issues distracting me.)

This time I will be updating much sooner, I have most of this story done already. Thanks for the reviews guys!

K.C.