500 Years
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns the Inu characters, not I.
Kagome slowly woke up. She stretched against the soft mattress under her, smiling at the warmth surrounding her. Maybe Inu-Yasha had been right. Maybe all she had needed was a bath and a night in her bed. Wait, where is Inu-Yasha? she wondered, opening her eyes. The miko sat up, searching her room for the hanyou.
"Finally awake, wench?" he growled from his usual place on her windowsill. "You slept the day away," he added.
With a small smile of amusement at his words, Kagome glanced at the clock on her desk. "It's only ten O'clock, Inu-Yasha," she replied.
"You missed breakfast," he grumbled, turning his face away from her. Chuckling softly, Kagome threw her covers off and slid her feet to the ground.
"I'm sure Mama'll let you have some breakfast if you ask nicely," the miko added as she got to her feet.
"Feh," Inu-Yasha muttered as Kagome collected clothes to change into.
"I'll be back in a minute," she called over her shoulder as she left her room. She couldn't help smiling as the hanyou just grunted in reply. Closing the door behind her, Kagome used the bathroom, changed out of her PJ's, and brushed her teeth and hair before pausing to look into the large mirror above the sink.
She didn't look any different, not really. She touched the small bags under her eyes, but those were just because she was tired. She leaned back to look at her whole face again. Her birthday was next week. She'd be seventeen, but she didn't feel that old. Even now, she still felt like that clumsy fifteen year old who had fallen down a well and landed 500 years in the past.
Her gaze lowered to her left arm where the wound from the youkai was still wrapped and slowly healing. Why Inu-Yasha had ignored the scent of blood so long that day didn't make sense to her. Maybe it was surprised I had taken care of myself… or he was mad that he had kissed me. Whatever the reason, did it really matter anymore?
Kagome jumped when someone pounded on the bathroom door. "Oi, wench, you done yet?" Inu-Yasha called through the wood.
"Y—yeah, give me one more second, Inu-Yasha," she called back, cleaning up the small mess she had made. Running her fingers through her hair, she opened the door to meet the hanyou in the hallway. "Did you eat yet?" she asked with only a slightly forced smile.
"I was waiting for you."
"Really?" she replied, moving downstairs, the hanyou right behind her.
"Feh, you act like it surprises you," he growled, and in Kagome's mind she could almost see him crossing his arms into his sleeves, with a pout on his face. She couldn't help laughing softly, trying to block the sound with her hand. "Oi, wench, what's so funny?" Inu-Yasha snapped as they walked into the kitchen.
"It's nothing, Inu-Yasha," she answered, turning to smile at him over her shoulder.
"Feh."
"Ah, good morning, Kagome, Inu-Yasha," Mrs. Higurashi greeted. "You two must be hungry. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Good morning, Mama," Kagome said in return, reaching to press a kiss on the woman's cheek.
"It ain't morning anymore," the hanyou grumbled. The miko shot him a quizzical glare.
"So does that mean you don't want breakfast?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Feh," came his answer. Rolling her eyes, Kagome turned to her mother again.
"We'll have whatever you'll give us," the miko answered with a smile.
((Without You))
"I need to go shopping. Are you coming with, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked as she finished washing off the bowls she and the hanyou had used for breakfast.
"Feh, you don't think I'd let you wander around alone, do you?" he replied, taking the wet dish she held out to him and running the damp towel over the surface. "Besides, I don't trust those car things," he added in a mutter
"You do realize that I've lived here my whole life, right?" the miko pointed out as she let the water out of the sink and dried her hands with the free end of the cloth he held.
"Feh," was his only reply as he set the bowl with the other he had dried. "I'm coming with you," he added, watching as the miko turned to get her purse.
"Mama, Inu-Yasha and I are going out. Do you need anything?" Kagome called up the stairs.
"If you could get some grape leaves it would be a great help. I need them for dinner," Mrs. Higurashi answered, coming to stand at the top of the steps.
"No problem." Kagome smiled. "We'll be back in a little while. Come on, Inu-Yasha," she added, making her way back into the kitchen and out the back door. The hanyou was right behind her. "Thanks for putting the hat on," the miko said as they descended the shrine steps.
"Feh, someone had to remember," he muttered, crossing his arms into his haori again. Chuckling softly, Kagome slid her arm through his to lock elbows. She just smiled at him when he darted surprised eyes to her.
"I take it you want more Ramen?" she asked needlessly. The day the hanyou didn't want Ramen was the day Miroku stopped rubbing girls' butts. Kagome smiled at the thought.
"Feh," Inu-Yasha grunted, drawing her back to the present.
"Come on, we can get Mama's grape leaves in here too." The miko moved quicker to pull the hanyou into a door on their right. She swore she heard him groan. She turned to glance at him over her shoulder. "Hey, you're the one who had to come to protect me from the big bad car, remember? Don't complain to me," she said in a joking voice.
"Feh, shut-up wench," he muttered. Kagome turned back to the aisle with a laugh.
"Here, pick out some Ramen, I need to get some candy for Shippo," she added, waving her hand in the direction of the different Ramen flavors.
"That runt don't need any candy. He's weird enough as it is," the hanyou commented as he leaned down to examine the different cups of dried food.
"Inu-Yasha! How could you say that about Shippo?" Kagome demanded, giving the hanyou a glare.
"Feh," he answered with a shrug, not taking his eyes off the shelf. Growling in a tone rivaling Inu-Yasha's, the miko strode further down the aisle to grab some Pocky and suckers for the kit.
"I can't believe him," she muttered to herself as she gathered the food into her arms. "He's such a jerk! When he… I thought… It's a wonder that he—"
"Wonder he what, wench?" Inu-Yasha asked darkly just behind her. Gasping, the miko jumped, dropping half of the things in her hands. Blushing at getting caught grumbling about the hanyou, she knelt down to gather her things again.
"Do you always have to sneak up on me, Inu-Yasha?" she muttered.
"I didn't sneak, you just weren't paying attention. Now, it's a wonder that he what?" Inu-Yasha pressed. As she straightened again, the hanyou took the different candy from her so she had her hands free.
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking out loud," Kagome replied, waving away the words.
"I see," the hanyou said, turning to walk down another aisle with the miko behind him. "Now why does that scare me more?" he added under his breath.
"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome shouted, grabbing his haori sleeve to stop him. The shift loosened some of the packages of Ramen and it was like a landslide of instant noodles and candy onto the floor.
Both hanyou and miko stared at the mess with wide gazes until Kagome began to giggle. Inu-Yasha turned suspicious eyes to her as she began to laugh harder. "What is it, wench? This is not funny," he growled out. The miko shook her head as she covered her mouth with her hand. Surprised, the hanyou watched her, a smile slowly growing on his face too. Oh Kami, it's contagious! he thought as he began to chuckle. He completely ignored the stares they were getting as what looked like two teenagers laughed over Ramen and candy all over the floor.
"I'll go get a basket," Kagome finally gasped out, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"Whatever you say," Inu-Yasha replied, smiling as the miko hurried off to find the basket to put all of their things in.
((Without You))
"Well, that went well," Kagome commented as the two made their way back to the shrine.
"Feh, I thought you didn't want attention drawn to us. Why is it I have to wear a hat then?" Inu-Yasha grumbled back, shifting the bags he held to glower at the miko.
"Well, the point is to not draw too much attention to the fact that you're from 500 years in the past, but we just looked like stupid teenagers. Some of the older people were even chuckling at our misfortune." She chuckled herself as she thought about it.
"Feh, I still don't see what was so funny. And you like when people laugh at you?" he pressed.
Shifting her own bags, Kagome smiled and shook her head. "They weren't laughing at us, they were laughing with us. There's a difference."
"I've never seen one," he grunted, turning to look anywhere but at her. It was then that Kagome realized what he meant.
Oh, Kami, Kagome! How could you say that when you know Inu-Yasha has no idea the difference! He only knows how it feels to be laughed at for being a hanyou. Well, you'd better fix this. "Hey, Inu-Yasha," the miko started, thinking fast.
"What now, wench?" He didn't turn his gaze to her.
"Well, I was thinking we should do something before we go back," she answered as they began walking up the shrine steps.
"Like what?" he snapped, opening the door for the miko. She walked in and glanced around the room as she set the bags down.
"Hang on, I need to see something," she replied, shaking her arms out before scooping the newspaper off the table. Opening the paper to the entertainment section, he watched her scan the pages. "How would you like to see a comedian?" the miko asked, lifting bright eyes to him.
"A what?" he asked in confusion. Kagome smiled bigger, setting the paper down on the table again.
"Come on, I'll show you, but we've got to hurry. The show starts in twenty minutes." She grabbed his hand and dragged him out the back door again.
"Now where are we going?" he called after her.
"To the comedian, just follow me." It took them only a few minutes to reach the small theater where the show was being advertised. She paid for both of their tickets, and laughed at the hanyou's face filled with surprise as they made their way into the cool, dark room. They sat down in the dark red, cushioned chairs. Inu-Yasha darted his gaze around the large rectangle, looking for trouble, Kagome was sure.
"How long do we have to sit here?" the hanyou finally grumbled, crossing his arms and sitting back in the seat. Before Kagome could answer, the lights dimmed and the curtain pulled apart to reveal three men sitting on stools. Instantly the crowd cheered and clapped.
"It's starting."
"What is?"
"Just watch and find out," Kagome replied with another smile, reaching over to grab his hand in hers. He jerked around to stare at her, but the miko kept her gaze on the men welcoming them to the show. I hope he likes this… She smiled, knowing that he had to. He was already watching the men closely, his hand holding hers in return.
"So, you know you've got to do some here's your sign things, you've got to," one man started. The crowd cheered and laughed.
"Alright, well, as most of you probably already know, my pet peeve in life is stupid people. I think that they should have to wear signs so people know their stupid. But anyway, my son and I were out flying kites in the park, and a guy comes up and asks "Hey, are you all flying a kite?" and I say back, "Nope, we're fishin' for birds." The crowd, along with the other two guys on stage, laughed and cheered again at his words. "Here's your sign," the first man added, shaking his head.
Kagome swore her heart had stopped as Inu-Yasha chuckled next to her. She couldn't help grinning like a crazy person as she looked at the hanyou out of the corner of her eye.
"Fishin' for birds," he repeated, still smiling. The miko turned her attention back to the men on stage, her mood bright. Maybe this really had been a good idea.
((Without You))
"You can't possibly need all of this stuff!" Inu-Yasha growled the next morning, slinging Kagome's now full yellow backpack over his shoulder.
"It's mostly food for you guys," the miko replied. He gave her a doubtful look.
"And those eight text books of yours are going to feed us how? Kindling for the fire?" he snapped back. She opened her mouth to reply loudly, closed it, and then smiled sadly. It was then Inu-Yasha realized what he had said. Baka, baka, baka! he yelled at himself.
"I'm almost done with school, and then I won't need them anymore." She turned her back to him then.
Aw, hell. "Kagome," he called softly. He reached out to touch her arm, and she turned to him with a small, but real again smile.
"Are you ready to go back?" she asked. The hanyou paused before nodding slowly. "Bye, Mama," Kagome said as Mrs. Higurashi entered the kitchen.
"Oh, leaving already?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, we've got a lot of work to do," the miko replied.
"Well, be safe."
"Of course. Bye, Mama!" Kagome called, waving as she and Inu-Yasha left the home and entered the well shrine. Wrapping his free arm around the miko's waist, the hanyou jumped down the well into the warm pink light that took them to the past.
A/N Disclaimer: I do believe Bill Engval (spelled right?) owns the rights to the 'here's your stupid sign' lines, but I got the idea from a Blue Collar skit on Limewire, so yeah, don't sue me for that either, thanks a bunch.
I was asked for fluff in Kagome's time, so I gave some fluff. I promise next chapter will be getting back to some action, so don't worry for those of you who want some action, it's comin'! Now, review for me people! Make me a happy, if not swamped, college student. Thanks again!