Hello, and welcome to my first story on this website! This was born from me rewatching Inuyasha recently, and just looking an Kagome's school uniform in the middle of battles *facepalms so hard*. Talk about unpractical. So here, her mum finally snaps and gets her something better.
"Kagome, what are you wearing?" Shippo asked as soon as he saw his adoptive mother emerge from the well. Instead of the school uniform she usually wore, she now had dark green pants with lots of those pockets like in the jeans she sometimes wore, only these pockets were a lot bigger-looking, and a shirt with sleeves that reached her elbows in the same colour.
"Mama got me these to wear," Kagome explained, striking a pose. One hand was on her hip, the other indicated her clothes. "This way, she won't have to help me patch my uniform constantly or spend money on buying new ones. These pants are made to be resilient."
"Even your shoes are different!" Shippo exclaimed, poking the sturdy material of Kagome's new shoes experimentally. These new shoes were sturdier than the uniform shoes Kagome had been wearing before, and they seemed to have some sort of reinforcing bits covering the toes. They also smelt weird.
"Yeah, I was getting sores in my feet from running around in my uniform shoes. Once I've broken these shoes in my feet will feel much better," Kagome explained, bending down to give Shippo's hair a ruffle.
"Why would you break them?!" Shippo asked in horror, patting his messy hair back down. The shoes were obviously brand-new, not a scratch on them, and Kagome was planning on breaking them? And how would that help her feet to feel better?
"No, Shippo, it's a figure of speech. It means wearing them comfortable, so that they mould to the shape of your feet. Right now they're brand new and sort of hard, so I'll have to wear them a bit so that they become comfortable and won't cause sores." Shippo still looked a bit sceptical, but nodded and hopped onto her shoulder to begin the short journey back to the village. Kagome reached into one of her many pockets and procured the key to the u-lock keeping her bike secure. With her bike free to move, the two set out towards Kaede's, Shippo now sitting in the basket.
As they rode, Shippo had a chance to look at Kagome's new clothes more closely. Her shirt was light, and it had no collar unlike her uniform. The neckline was round and small and had three buttons, two of which were open. The sleeves ended at her elbows and clung tightly to her arms. Her pants had approximately six pockets that Shippo could see, and a belt with small pouches attached was cinched at her waist. The colours resembled the green of her uniform, but they were in darker, more earthly shades.
In no time at all they were outside Kaede's hut. Kagome's scent must've alerted Inuyasha to her presence, and he limped out of the hut, followed by a disapproving Kaede and Miroku and Sango. The latter two were bickering among themselves, and Kirara, who was resting on Sango's shoulders, twitched her ears as her kittens continued to argue over something pointless.
"Did you bring more ramen?" Inuyasha asked almost immediately. Then he looked at her again, this time more closely. "What's with the clothes?"
"Indeed," Miroku broke their argument to turn to Kagome. "What has happened to you uniform? Were you not able to mend it after the last skirmish?"
"Don't worry, mama helped me repair it, but she was really unimpressed that I'd gotten it torn again, so she went and got me these. The pants are made to be durable, they're called cargo pants. And this shirt is a henley, they're cheap and comfortable so she thought it would be good. And my shoes have been giving me blisters, so she took me shopping for a pair of hiking boots so that I don't have to suffer from sores anymore." There was an excited smile on Kagome's face; everyone could tell that she was very happy with her new gear. "Then gramps gave me this belt. Apparently, it belonged to my dad, so we had to make a new hole for the buckle."
Indeed, when they looked at it they saw that the belt was quite long for her and the hole that was buckled was some ways off from the neat row of factory-made belt holes. The pouches, however, were already filled.
"That sounds good, Kagome," Sango smiled. To be honest, she was relieved the younger girl's mother had decided to equip her daughter with more practical clothes. That short shirt and even shorter skirt had worried her when they were in battle; they offered no protection and left her vulnerable to wounds she could've avoided if she'd just dressed more appropriately. Even small wounds could get infected and cause damage, she knew from experience.
"Yeah, it is. I even feel more confident in these clothes," Kagome answered with a radiant smile. Sango could see it, too. Kagome's posture was more relaxed but still alert,and she held her shoulders back confidently. Her feet were subconsciously settled in hanmi, and Sango was proud to see some of her training sticking.
"Keh. Didya bring ramen or not?" Inuyasha demanded. He was still healing from a spear to the stomach, and everyone could see he was in a bad mood. "I'm hungry."
"Yeah!" Shippo jumped up and down in excitement. "Did you bring more ninja food? Can I have a lollipop? I've been good, I swear!"
Kagome looked questioningly at Sango, who nodded. Shippo had, indeed, been on his best behaviour, as Kirara had been keeping a close eye on him. "Okay then, let's go inside and see what I've got. I think mama also packed some pocky for you, and a batch of cookies."
Chatting, they moved back inside. Kagome hefted her large yellow backpack onto the floor and started sorting through it for the promised items while her friends laughed and talked around her, cocooning her in the warmth of family.
Maybe she should see about getting some more clothes that would fit their quest for the shikon shards and Naraku. After all, her school uniform hadn't been practical at all. Maybe she could even inquire about spiritual training from Miroku…? Kaede had helped her immensely with her archery, but her bow could easily break and she only had a limited amount of arrows with her at all times. Maybe she could carry some backup sutras, or a spear of some kind? Something to defend herself with besides the bow. Sango would probably know about a spear. Or maybe a sword. Didn't Midoriko use a sword as well? Kagome's mind was suddenly running with possibilities.
How much such a simple change of attire had changed her thoughts. She suddenly felt much more prepared to face Naraku. She had a long road ahead of her, but she was planning steps to make herself stronger and more useful in the fight.
Sango interrupted her thoughts by asking about the boots, and she handed Inuyasha an armful of ramen cups before turning to answer.
This felt like where she belonged.
Hanmi means the stance in Aikido (and other budo).
Hope you liked it, let me know. First story and everything, y'know.