Kagome rose a little bit before the sun. She stretched and stood, her feet brushing the cold wooden floor. She shuffled over to her side of the dresser and picked out her clothing for the day. It was going to be chilly outside, so she picked out a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeve skin-tight workout shirt. She needed to do her exercises.
She moseyed down the stairs and outside. She shifted her trusty yellow backpack and looked around for a place to train. She saw a copse of trees and decided that would be perfect. She took off at a light sprint for a warm-up and made it to the trees in a short amount of time. She set her backpack down and sat herself against the base of a tree. It was the best place for her to meditate. She could feed off the energy from the tree. As she fell into her meditative state, she never noticed the curious eyes peering down at her from the trees above.
Kagome came back to the house an hour later. She was sweaty and something didn't feel right in the air. It put her on edge. Never one to ignore a bad sign, she flared out her aura in search of anything dangerous. Not feeling anything, she reeled it back in tight. She would be on her toes today. She wasn't leaving her yellow bag behind either. As she entered the house, she realized that she wasn't the only one up at the ass crack of dawn. Kasumi was already up and making breakfast. At the smell of delicious food, her stomach let out a loud growl, alerting Kasumi to her presence. "OH! Kagome, how long have you been up?" Kasumi questioned.
"Eh, not long. An hour or so. I have this strict exercise regimen for my muscles. It's to help stimulate growth and get my strength back to normal." Kagome said.
Kasumi nodded and asked "Are you hungry?"
Kagome nodded. "Anything I can do to help?"
"If you wouldn't mind, could you crack these eggs and stir them in. I'm making a special western breakfast today. It's a Sunday morning tradition." Kasumi smiled sweetly to her.
Kagome cracked the eggs and asked "Scrambled or sunny-side up?"
"Scrambled please" Kasumi said as she fried up bacon in a pan. The two women worked in silence, the delicious sounds and smells of the bacon, eggs and biscuits being made overtaking their senses.
By the time they had finished, the whole house was seated at the table, waiting anxiously for their meals. Kagome smiled her first true smile in days. She always loved cooking for people. It made her feel like she was giving them something that they enjoyed. It made her feel needed. They all sat down to breakfast and ate till they were full.
"That was amazing Kasumi. Truly wonderful." Uncle Soun told his eldest daughter.
"Oh, Kagome helped father, she handled the eggs and biscuits. I made the gravy and bacon."
"Western food is so weird, but it tastes delicious!" Ranma said as he dug in.
Aside from the compliments, the meal was relatively quiet. Each person was lost in their own thoughts. Kagome finished first and asked to be excused. She needed to change clothes and clean herself up. She still had a light sheen of sweat sticking to her skin from her workout. She hurried upstairs and picked out a simple long-sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. She loved jeans; having started to use them in the feudal era after her school uniform got totaled one too many times.
The bathing room was steamy with hot water. Kagome dumped a cold water bucket over herself to rinse off and stepped into the hot water. She hoped no one came in; it would be difficult to explain some of the scars on her body. She hated lying to her family, but it was a necessity. The last thing she needed them to do was throw her in a nut house. That wouldn't fly well. She cleansed herself quickly and stepped out of the bath. She reached for a towel just as the door slid open. Kagome, panicking, hid herself behind a changing screen. A strange man she had never seen before poked his head in. He was about the same height as that woman, Cologne. 'Oh great' Kagome rolled her eyes, 'another old midget.' She sputtered in shock as the man took a flying leap at her clothes. He dug around before shouting in triumph. Looking to the item he held in his hand, Kagome gasped in outrage. He was a panty snatcher! Kagome glared at him from her hiding place. She reached over to the rack and grabbed a towel. In one lightning quick move, she leapt from her hiding place and confronted him. "Who are you and what are you doing with my underwear!"
The little old pervert stopped and gave her a deer in the headlights look. Then he straightened and seemed to take on an air of confidence. "I am the great and powerful Happosai." He struck a pose and winked at Kagome.
Kagome growled impressively at the old pervert. This sent him slightly cowering. "Give me back my underwear and I won't have to hurt you." Kagome told him.
He laughed. At her. Kagome seethed in outrage. She hated it when people laughed at her. It seems he thought she was defenseless. "I would like to see you try little lady!" Happosai took off at a run. Kagome watched him for a moment, and then flared her aura. She locked onto him, and then smirked. She would give that old fool a run for his life. Nobody laughed at her and got away with it. Kagome ran to Akane's room, clothing in hand, clad only in a towel. As she entered, Akane gave her a weird look.
"Why aren't you dressed Kagome?" Akane queried.
"Some old pervert named Happosai stole my underwear, laughed at me, and then ran off." Kagome growled, startling Akane. "I'll give him something to laugh about." Kagome dressed quickly, and then checked her senses to see if she could still feel where he was. She smiled evilly and knew he was still near the house.
"You want me to help you find him?" Akane offered.
Kagome looked at her cousin and nodded. "Yeah, I could use some help." Akane grabbed her mallet and Kagome smiled. Kagome reached into the closet where her pack was resting comfortably and pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows. Akane smirked at the weapon she chose. Then the two women took off after Happosai.
They found him, mostly thanks to Kagome's senses, about to steal another woman's underwear from her clothing hangers. Kagome frowned up at his perch in a tree, and then took aim. Hopefully he wouldn't see it coming. She let her arrow loose and watched as it embedded into the tree, holding Happosai's clothing with it. Akane watched in amazement as her cousin climbed up the tree with a swiftness that most normal people wouldn't possess and land on the branch that Happosai was stuck to. Akane smiled, because although she couldn't see what they were doing, she could hear Happosai's screams of pain.
"WH-What? H-How did you trap me!" Happosai sputtered.
Kagome shrugged and crouched in front of him. "I'm good at what I do. Now hand over my underwear and maybe I'll let you leave with your life." She glowered darkly at him. Her eyes were hidden by her bangs. She knew that they would show her amusement if he saw them. This was actually a lot of fun. It reminded her of the good old days. Granted hunting down old pervs was quite a step down from hunting down demons. But, she would take what she could get. She smirked, the little grin adding to her creep factor. She had an idea that would really scare him. Maybe then he would think about who he stole panties from. She reached into her boots, the ones that she always wore, no matter what, and pulled out a large field knife that she kept stored in a little sheath inside the boot. She held it to his throat and looked on in amusement as he squirmed. "Now, are you going to hand them over? Or am I going to have to carve you up like a Christmas ham?"
Akane nearly jumped out of her skin when Kagome suddenly appeared next to her. "Did you get them back?" Akane asked. Kagome had been up there for nearly five minutes.
Kagome grinned widely at her cousin and nodded. "Yup! And I don't think he'll be bothering me ever again."
Akane doubted it, but she didn't express these thoughts to her cousin. Who knows, Maybe he wouldn't do it again. "Ok. So what do you want to do today?" Akane asked.
"I was thinking you could show me to the library. I have some research to do." Kagome looked to her cousin seriously. She wanted to help Ranma and his Father. It was her duty as a Miko to do so.
Akane nodded. "Ok. I'll take you to the library. Let's go back home first though. I have to tell Kasumi where we're headed." Kagome nodded and followed along behind Akane.
They got back to the house and Kagome put her underwear back where they belonged. Then she grabbed her yellow backpack and slung it over her shoulder. It would look weird, but she was still feeling an odd disturbance in the air. It couldn't hurt to be prepared.
Kagome met up with Akane downstairs. She was arguing once again with Ranma. Kagome looked at the two in amusement. Even if they couldn't see it yet those two were meant to be together. Kagome cleared her throat, stopping Akane mid-yell. Ranma looked at her, blushed, and then turned away. Akane looked from Ranma to Kagome in suspicion. Kagome's eyes widened as she finally got the picture. Ranma couldn't like her. She would have to take him aside and explain that she would not, could not, like him like that. "So…" Kagome began uncomfortably. "Ranma, we're going to the library. You're welcome to come with us. I need to do some research if I am going to break your curse." Ranma nodded, not looking at her. Kagome felt a sense of dread settling in her stomach. She could only hope that he wasn't too far along on his crush.
The three walked on in silence. Akane occasionally pointed out places in the city that Kagome hadn't seen yet; the new park, a new museum, the place where the carnival sets up. Kagome attempted to break the silence, but her conversation was killed with one swift look. "Ok, here's the library." Akane stopped at a large building with thick glass windows. Kagome could see little sitting areas for studying and reading. As they walked in, Kagome took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of the library. It smelled like new mixed with old. Old tomes that hadn't been cracked open in years, combined with the scent of new books that appear every day on the shelves. Akane and Ranma looked over at the large bookcases with a feeling of dread. It would take forever to find what they were looking for. Kagome rolled her eyes at the two. Surely they didn't think that she would make them look through every book in the library. Kagome walked over to the librarian. She was an old harsh looking woman who looked down her nose at Kagome. Kagome bristled but didn't let it show.
"Hello Ma'am. I am looking for a particular section of books; could you show me where they are?" Kagome spoke softly, but firmly. Sesshomaru had taught her how to behave like a business woman. She would put his lessons to use now.
The librarian huffed but nodded. She stood and slowly made her way from behind the desk. "What books are you looking for?" the woman's tone was clipped and hard.
"I'm looking for anything about the curses of the Jusenkyo springs in China." Kagome decided to forgo the niceties and spoke coldly. The librarian seemed to pause at the cold tone, but then shrugged off the chill. She led Kagome up stairs to a long wall of books. Once there she pointed to the middle of the shelf.
"All that you are looking for is in that middle section there. " The librarian stalked off, and Kagome looked to Ranma and Akane.
"I wonder who pissed in her cornflakes this morning." Kagome said, trying to lighten the mood. Akane and Ranma cracked a smile. "Ok, so now we just need to start looking for all the books that we need. Do either one of you have a library card?" Kagome sighed as both of them shook their heads no. Great, it looks like she would have to speak at length to the stuffy librarian.
The group spent nearly two hours looking through book after book in hopes of finding something about the cursed springs. Kagome had managed to find a few about it, but nothing that explained why it happened or to whom it had happened to; and absolutely nothing about a cure. So far, they had looked through about fifty books on the subject, but only four made the cut.
"Ok guys, I think it's about time to pack up shop." Kagome sighed looking at their meager findings. "I'll read through these and we can come back if these aren't enough." Kagome watched as Ranma and Akane nearly ran for the exit. Kagome rolled her eyes at her friend's melodramatic tendencies. She put in an application for a library card and suffered the company of the sharp librarian for far longer than she wanted to. Kagome put all of the books into her backpack and escaped the clutches of the cold woman. The bright sunshine felt good on her chilled skin. But as she looked around, she realized that Ranma and Akane were nowhere to be found. Kagome sighed and stayed put for a few minutes. Then she decided that she was just going to have to walk back to the dojo on her own.
She wasn't far from home when sounds of combat made her freeze. Without realizing what she was doing, Kagome went down into a crouch and crept into the bushes. She shook herself out of it and stood up. She forced herself to walk calmly into the fray. Ranma was running from Akane and her mallet. Kagome rolled her eyes at the two of them and clapped her hands, trying to get their attention. "Hey. Guys!" Kagome spoke a little louder. When they continued to ignore her, she snapped. "SHUT UP!" Kagome yelled loudly. The two combatants froze in their place. "Thank you."
"Hey Kagome, where were you?" Ranma asked her.
Kagome's eyes twitched in annoyance. "Whatya mean 'where was I'? You two left me at the library. Did you forget that you have to check out books to get them?" There flushed faces proved that they did forget. Kagome calmed herself down and took a deep breath. After she exhaled, Kagome continued, "I had to get a library card. When I finally got out of the library, you two were nowhere to be found." Kagome huffed in indignation.
Akane and Ranma both turned redder. "Sorry Kagome." They both muttered.
"It's ok. Just remember, I don't fully know my way around anymore. It'll be easy for me to get lost until I learn my way to things." Kagome said. The trio stood awkwardly until Kagome rolled her eyes heavenwards and spoke up. "I'm going to get started reading these. I'll be on the front porch. Try to keep it down if you don't mind." They both nodded, silent.
Silent, until Kagome left the room, at least. They began to bicker again in rather hushed tones.
"Man-child"
"Tomboy"
"Ugly!"
"Uncute!"
They were shouting again. It wasn't until Kagome popped her head back into the room and glared her best icy stare that they quieted again. "Do I need to put the two of you into time out?" Kagome spoke darkly. The two shivered at the tone of voice and shook their heads. "Then separate into different parts of the house and keep it down. If I'm to learn how to break this curse, I need to concentrate on the matter at hand." Kagome squinted at the two of them and growled menacingly. Then she brought her head out of sight and padded back to the porch.
Ranma and Akane looked at the door, still in their own reveries. Then they looked at each other, glared and stomped off in opposite directions. Akane went to her room and lay on her bed. She sighed into her pillow and frowned. 'Why did he have to be such a jerk?' Akane got up and went to her desk. She looked into the mirror and wondered, not for the first time, if she was pretty. She knew that she was a bit more mannish than most girls, but she couldn't help it. She liked sports. She studied her face. Her brown eyes, eyes that she thought were horribly plain. Her lightly tanned skin, which she thought was a shade too dark. Maybe Ranma was right. Maybe she wasn't cute, or pretty. The man she wanted would never like her then. She thought, maybe if she grew her hair out it would change things. Obviously not. She was still and uncute tomboy. Akane got up and lay back on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and let herself cry.
Ranma had his ear place on the wall adjoining Akane's room to his. He could faintly hear her crying. His guilt was overwhelming. He wasn't sure why, but whenever she looked at him, something put him on edge. He looked over his shoulder and winced at the look on Kagome's face. It was blank, but her eyes told a different story. Ranma was sure she wanted to kill him. "I-I'm sorry." Ranma looked down.
"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." She spoke, using an icy tone that rivaled Sesshomaru's. Ranma cringed at the thought of apologizing to Akane. She would just throw it back in his face. As if she could read his thought Kagome said "I'll talk to her first. Make sure she is willing to accept your apology." With that, she turned on her heel and made her way to Akane's room.
Akane was startled from her crying fest by a knock on the door. At first she wasn't going to open it. But a voice on the other side made her reconsider. "Akane, it's me. Let me in." Kagome was on the other side. Akane got up and made a futile attempt to calm herself. She opened the door, her eyes still red, her cheeks flushed. Thankfully, Kagome didn't say a word. She just opened her arms and gave Akane a hug. She held her while she cried and finally calmed. Kagome stroked her back and murmured words of comfort in her ear until she got herself under control.
"Akane, if Ranma were to apologize for his harsh words, would you accept it?" Kagome asked, once Akane had gotten herself calm. Akane froze. Would she accept it?
"Why do you ask?"
"He feels badly about the harsh words he used. He wishes to make amends." Kagome spoke softly. Akane sat there for a moment thinking it over, and finally she nodded. "Good." Kagome smiled at her cousin. "And I think you should also apologize to him. You used some pretty harsh words too, y'know?" Before Akane could speak, Kagome had walked out the door. Ranma was waiting on the other side. As she walked out she winked and whispered good luck. Ranma walked into Akane's line of vision.
"Ah…Akane?" Ranma started fidgeting. "I'm…"
"I'm sorry." They both spoke the words at the same time. Ranma was stunned.
"Why are you sorry?" Ranma looked confused.
"You weren't the only one who's at fault." Akane wouldn't look at him.
"Uh…thank you." Ranma said. Akane turned her head to look at him. Her eyes shined, still lightly rimmed red. Ranma felt his heart speed up. He turned around and started to walk out the door. "Y'know…you're…cute." He felt his face heat up.
"It's ok." Akane said.
"Huh?" Ranma turned to look at her.
"You don't have to try to flatter me. I already forgave you." Akane shrugged not looking at him anymore.
Ranma looked at her shocked. "I ain't trying to flatter you. You can be cute sometimes." He spoke, his voice incredulous.
Akane looked him in the eyes, searching for truthfulness. Then, she smiled, a wide smile that lit up her whole face. "Thanks…Ranma."
Ranma was still reeling from the smile. He nodded and stepped out of her room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the door, his face reddened.
"So how did it go?" Kagome asked, even though she heard the whole thing.
"Fine" Ranma said simply. Kagome raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. She left him, still standing there. She smiled in triumph when she got back to the porch. Her plan was working rather well. Those two would be together, even if it killed them.
