Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Inuyasha or any of the characters that find origins within the Inuyasha manga/anime.
"Kagome, up! Up!"
A groan, fluid shifting of rumpled sheets, followed by a barely audible yawn. The voice seemed trapped behind the safety of a closed door.
"I said up!"
Another yawn followed by more shifting. To the listener the voice had become nothing more than droning, an annoying and unwanted pull back into reality.
"What about 'up' don't you understand?" came the booming voice from a now open door.
Standing with arms crossed and a harried expression, Hideki Higurashi appeared anything but the doting and protective father he usually presented. With good reason, of course. Splayed lazily out on her bed lay his teenage daughter, Kagome, who gave no indication of life.
"Kagome, if you don't get up now you'll miss the bus and you know I can't drive you," Hideki said pleadingly, trying to muster up some semblance of his fatherly 'know-how' voice, a voice that seemed to have escaped him when he needed it most. A parent could never do without the strength of their parental "voice" when dealing with a teenager in mid-waking.
Brown eyes slowly opened, the weight of sleep still bearing down on the teenager. Kagome, still barely moving, began to yawn lazily as she noted the sunlight that peered serenely through the heavy white curtains adorning a rather large window to the left of her bed. Although she seemed to move with the speed of an unusually languid sloth, Kagome managed to pull herself up enough to establish a seated position. Hair rumpled and eyes still groggy with sleep, she looked around confusedly searching for the perpetrator of the annoyingly tempered voice that had caused her despondent parting from the sweetness of sleep. Her father.
"Old man!" Kagome exclaimed in an accusing tone, pointing her index finger at her father who stood unmoved by Kagome's theatrics.
"I rue the day I sired you…Now up!" Hideki drew out the first words with an emphasis on the 'you.' He was well aware of his daughter's antics concerning the act of waking every morning and played along as best he could without blanching at her less than amiable words. It was always best not to show fear. This had become a common routine in their household.
Hideki unfolded his arms in defeat and smiled sweetly at his still pointing daughter. It hadn't taken him sixteen years to figure out his little girl was not serious when she referred to him in such a manner. Hideki had become accustomed to Kagome's offhanded way of showing affection with a joking approach. It was actually more of an endearing term to Hideki that only cemented their relationship, affirming the bond that only Kagome and he could have. With his usual grace he walked calmly out of the room leaving his daughter to her half-awake/sleep trance.
Kagome never thrilled at the act of getting up, but once she'd reached the point of half wakefulness there was no use whining. Smiling more to herself rather than her father's retreating form Kagome proceeded with a catlike stretch and a theatrical wave of hands that sent her covers flying to the end of her bed. The chill of the air nearly sent her retreating back into the protection of her comfortable covers, but her father's voice prompted from down the hall for her to hurry up and get ready for school.
Less than thrilled at the prospect of touching a cold floor, Kagome had to chide herself to extend her legs downward. However, once her feet made contact with the wooden planks her indecisiveness gave way and she quickly made her way out into the hallway and straight for the bathroom.
Minutes later Kagome appeared, fully dressed in uniform, in the small dining room where her father quietly sat drinking coffee and thumbing through a small stack of what looked to be some sort of forms. Kagome sat down, silently looking over the contents of the table. A small breakfast was laid neatly out, dining ware and all, for Kagome compliments of Hideki. With a small grin Kagome picked up her chopsticks and began eating.
After a few minutes Hideki glanced at his watch and stated, "Sorry, Kagome, but I think you'll need to eat a little bit faster than that. You only have a few minutes to get to the bus station."
Nodding in acknowledgement Kagome finished off a small bowl of rice then placed her dish down softly so as not to make too much noise.
"I'm ready," Kagome stated, "I guess I'll be seeing you later on tonight."
Smiling as Kagome moved to the door, bag now in hand, Hideki quickly called out, "Kagome…"
"Yeah"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Dad."
And with that Kagome made her way out the door and onto the small paved street that would lead her to the bus station.
The irony in that simple display of affection, those doting fatherly words, was lost on Kagome at the time, but only hours later she would discover the gravity of her last parting with her Hideki Higurashi. With her father.
The prelude is rather short, but consider it the simple introduction. The best way I can describe this is simply as a precursor the real juice and meat of the story. I'm a little rusty at all this writing and I'm actually using my older story as my outline. Please enjoy.
Schi