Kagome sighed as she finished packing her bag, setting the surprisingly light backpack on the ground. 'I don't want to leave,' she thought as she sat on the floor next to her bag. 'But I have to leave. I need to study for my tests so I can graduate and I can't do that here. Between miko training and spending time with everyone, I'd never get any work done.' Kagome got to her feet, walking slowly toward the door. 'Inuyasha won't be happy about me being gone so long. Two weeks is a long time.' She began to walk through the forest, letting her feet guide her while her thoughts wandered.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said as she stood in front of the Goshinboku. "What are you doing here; I thought you were supposed to be training with the old hag."
"Inuyasha, you need to be more respectful to Kaede," Kagome said, crossing her arms. "And a child got sick in the village so she went to take care of him. Can I come up?" she asked, looking up at him from his branch. Inuyasha jumped down quickly, scooping her into his arms before jumping back onto the branch.
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist as she relaxed against him. "What's wrong Kagome? Something's bothering you; I can tell."
"From my scent?" she asked.
"Yes and you have this sad face on. What's bothering you?"
"I have to go back to my time," she said softly.
"Keh, that's all? You go back all the time; what else is new?" he replied.
"I need to go back for a longer time, I have to go back for two weeks."
"Two weeks!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Why do you need to go back for so long?"
"I have to finish taking my tests," she said, bracing herself for an argument. "If I don't pass all my tests then I won't graduate until the ending of summer. I need time to study."
"So you have to go?" Inuyasha said quietly.
"If I want to do well, yes," she replied.
"Then you should go back. For a while anyway."
"What?" Kagome said, looking up at Inuyasha in shock.
"Keh, I said you should go back. This school thing is important to you right?" Kagome nodded silently. "Then you should go back and study if you have to. No point in you waste all that time over the years to fail at the last moment."
"Thank you Inuyasha," she said, throwing her arms around him. 'Here I was preparing for a big fight and he gave in so easily,' she thought as Inuyasha hugged her back.
"Just don't forever to come back wench or I'll have to deal with the runt constantly whining about you."
"Will you try to be nice to Shippo while I'm gone?"
"Keh, I'll be nice if he is," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms. "But if he starts trouble with me I'm gonna give him a beating."
Kagome sighed, shaking her head. 'Hopefully they don't kill each other while I'm gone.'
Two days later...
Kagome sighed, looking down at the books scattered across her desk. She had only been gone for 2 days and she already missed everyone. 'I wonder what everyone is doing,' she thought, holding a picture of them in her hands. It was taken last summer when Kagome had brought cameras to the Feudal era. (a/n: that's a story for another time =x) The sun was setting behind them, painting the sky a beautiful range of reds and oranges. Kagome had shown Kaede how to work the camera and begged her to take a group picture of them. Miroku's hand was hidden behind Sango, probably rubbing something he shouldn't have, which explained the blush on Sango's face. Shippo stood in front with Kirara, smiling broadly after a day of fun with the camera. Kagome stood next to Inuyasha, a slight look of surprise on her face. At the very last second Inuyasha had wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He didn't smile in the picture, looking at the camera with his usual bored expression. But the picture captured them perfectly.
"Inuyasha, I wonder what you're doing," Kagome said outloud as she stretched her arms above her head.
"I'm right here wench," Inuyasha said, opening her window.
Kagome gasped in surprise, slightly embarrassed that he heard her. "Inuyasha what are you doing here? It's nowhere close to being time for me to go back."
"Keh I know that stupid. I just came here because I was bored and there was nothing else to do." Inuyasha sat on her bed, resisting the impulse to sigh in happiness. In truth Inuyasha was dead tired. He had spent the afternoon chopping down trees to build a hut for him and Kagome. Even with Tetsuaiga to cut down trees, it still took a lot of energy to do. He was planning on building the hut a little bit away from the village: not so far away that he and Kagome couldn't get to the village quickly but not so close that they couldn't have some privacy. 'If it takes this much energy just to cut down and haul the trees, building the hut might kill me,' he thought, leaning against the wall. 'Especially since I want to build a big hut.' Inuyasha wanted Kagome to have enough room in her house for anything she would want.
"Well you can stay Inuyasha, just try not to bother me while I study please?" Kagome begged.
"What are you studying for?" he asked, stifling a yawn.
"My math test; I didn't realize how far behind I had gotten," Kagome moaned.
"You're bad at that math stuff; you should study hard."
"Thanks," Kagome said dryly, pulling out her notebook. For the past two days, Kagome hadn't been able to focus properly on her schoolwork, always having something distract her. But knowing Inuyasha was sitting on her bed calmed her. 'Who knew Inuyasha would actually be the one to help me focus on my school work?' she thought.
'It smells really nice in here,' Inuyasha thought as his eyes began to drift shut. He was completely surrounded by Kagome's scent, the soft vanilla smell filling his nose and relaxing him. The only sounds he could hear were Kagome's pencil scratching on her page and the gentle wind outside rustling the leaves of the Goshinboku. Inuyasha felt at peace, knowing Kagome was with him. Being apart from her for two days had been harder than he thought. He had gotten used to her presence, to hearing her musical laugh or smelling her vanilla scent, that he felt a little empty without her around. He was still surprised he managed to wait two days before he came to her. 'Who would have thought the person who aggravates me the most also relaxes me the most?' he thought as he drifted to sleep.
A few textbook-filled hours later...
'Okay I'm done for tonight,' Kagome thought, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She stared at the numbers in her textbook till they blurred before her eyes, signaling the end of her studying. Kagome stood up and stretched, turning toward her bed. "Inuyasha," she said softly, a smile on her face. Inuyasha laid sleeping on her bed, his dog-ears twitching every few seconds as if he was tracking in his dreams. Kagome sat on the bed next to him, stroking his hair gently. 'He must be really tired if he fell asleep so easily.' She watched him sleeping for a moment, happy he was finally getting some rest. 'Now where am I supposed to sleep?' she thought. 'There is enough room on the bed for me to sleep too.' Kagome blushed faintly at the thought of Inuyasha waking up next to her. 'He's sleeping in my bed and I am not sleeping on the floor.' Kagome laid down next to him, covering them both with a blanket. 'He won't mind sharing my bed; he'll be happy I didn't kick him onto the floor.' As Kagome began to drift to sleep, she felt Inuyasha's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer. Kagome's eyes opened in shock, looking up at Inuyasha to find him still asleep. He nuzzled her hair momentarily and then lay still, sleeping deeply. Kagome smiled at him, her eyes closing once again. 'He's even affectionate in his sleep.'