So wow. :P Ridiculous response, you guys. I'm loving all the reviews. ^^ I read and appreciate each one, even if I don't reply, I promise. New chapter yay!
Sometime that afternoon, Kagome had bathed and dressed in the new clothes that Koga had brought her. Rin even tried to give her one of her kimonos, but Kagome staunchly refused. She did accept the dinner invitation though for later that week. She was busy unpacking what the wolf tribe had given her, oohing and awwing over everything. She was ecstatic that anyone thought that highly of her, even after it had been nearly four years since she'd ever seen anyone besides just Koga or his sons. Koga told her that they still thought of her like a pack sister, and she smiled happily about it. She had the house to herself, and the sounds of construction in the back didn't bother her. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep that night unless Sesshomaru was in the house though. Who knew what kind of forest animals might come in?
She carefully made up a bed out of the furs and blankets, just big enough for her and Atsuko. She might just have Atsuko sleep at Sango's again that night, just until the construction was done. It was probably going to be rather drafty and Kagome didn't want the girl to get sick. She folded the clothes into one neat pile and left them inside one basket, and tried out the bow. It was immaculately made. She would have to ask Koga who had made it and give them a special thanks. She left all of Atsuko's new things, as well as what was left, in the other basket, and anything else wound up in the last basket. There was a length of rope, empty jars, jars of healing herbs, small portions of fruit and vegetables, and a few letters of condolences. She sat down on the makeshift bed to read the letters and jumped as she noticed that Hakkaku was standing in the opening nearest the back of the house, staring at her.
Laughing nervously, she said, "You scared me."
He smiled and apologized quietly, and then told her, "Y'know, you must get lonely sometimes, with just the villagers." His tail twitched and he fidgeted slightly with his wrist bracers.
Kagome immediately went on guard, and fought a blush. "I've got Atsuko, and friends," she said, trying not to sound defensive. She knew what he was getting at, but she didn't need him to know that. She did not want to have wolf guts on the inside of her new house, which was what would happen if he attacked her. She didn't know why she believed that, but she believed in it full-heartedly. She could picture the blood now.
"Well, yeah," he said, and shrugged his shoulders. He tried to look manly and sexy. She could tell by his posture and stance towards her, and the heat in his eyes. Her eyes narrowed as he continued, "but you're not screwing any of your friends, eh? Come on, Kagome, you've gotta be dying for it by now." He took a step forward, and she held up a hand in warning.
She scowled thunderously at him. "I wouldn't come any closer, Hakkaku. I'm not afraid to use my power, and I actually know how now. Besides, I tell Koga and your hide is tanned," she threatened. The look on his face darkened in offense. "Or I could tell Sesshomaru. He wouldn't be so nice." She dared him to come closer, almost wanting to shout for Koga, who was simply closer than Sesshomaru at the moment, otherwise she'd shout for him.
Hakkaku snorted at her and turned his back to her. Kagome watched him walk back to the back of the house, and shuddered. Sesshomaru came around the corner, his face blank. She looked up at him brightly from her sprawled spot on the floor. "Did you hear all that then?" she asked. He grunted. "Don't hurt him. He didn't touch me." She looked down at the letters. "I'll just tell Koga to bring Ginta next time instead," she said airily as she began to read the letter.
Sesshomaru's lip curled. "Disrespectful hound," he growled. Kagome just smiled at him and shrugged. She should've really been used to it in her time. She just hadn't been there in half a decade. She frowned, but shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. The less she thought about home, the less she missed it. Sesshomaru swept out of the room.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" an annoyingly grating voice crowed from the forest. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Sesshomaru sighed from across the room as Kagome groaned on the makeshift bed. Atsuko was sleeping at Sango's still. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome rolled over and tried to pull the blankets up, but there weren't really many to pull up. She sighed and opened her eyes, looking across to Sesshomaru. He appeared to be trying to disappear against the wall. She grunted at him, too early for sleep. He looked at her and rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and finding Jaken running about the construction site, never thinking to look inside.
He came back in a few minutes later and told her, "I must leave."
On some conscious level, Kagome felt flattered that he actually told her before just leaving. She sat up and looked at him sleepily. "When are you coming back?" she asked. Jaken started to mumble something irritable and anti-human, but Sesshomaru kicked him before Kagome could decipher what he was saying.
Sesshomaru answered tiredly. Kagome could read from his posture that he didn't actually want to go anywhere. "A few weeks. Perhaps more. Political problems," he said shortly. "Jaken, I'm leaving you in charge of the construction while I'm gone. Furnishings have been ordered, Kagome will be placing them all, and she can tell you no. Have I made myself clear?" Sesshomaru knew from experience that you had to be sure with Jaken. Sometimes he would gripe and complain, other times he would take his duty seriously.
Jaken looked aghast. "You're going to leave me with the human filth?" he whined. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. Jaken bowed at the waist and he agreed immediately, not wanting to further invoke the wrath of his Lord.
Kagome frowned. "Can it wait until Atsuko gets up? She'll want to say goodbye to you." She rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake up more than she already was, and she shook her head. Sesshomaru grunted, and Kagome couldn't tell if that was a positive or a negative before he left the house.
Atsuko trudged into the house, followed by a yapping Jaken. Kagome had just finished changing and was about to go and greet Koga and the others that she was sure he was bringing back today, and to tell him about Hakkaku since she hadn't gotten the chance the day before. She looked over her shoulder as she folded her clothes into a pile beside the basket, the dirty pile. Atsuko stopped in her tracks, Jaken nearly running into her back, and pointed at him, declaring loudly, "I don't like him! I want Uncle Sesshomaru to come back now!"
Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" she asked suspiciously. Perhaps having her sleep over at Sango's was a bad idea. The girls tended to chatter late into the night. Atsuko just glared at her. Kagome sighed, and looked past her, at Jaken. "Jaken, leave Atsuko alone. She's not like Rin," she said authoritatively. She knew that Sesshomaru had given her some power over Jaken.
Jaken huffed. "At least Rin didn't complain so much!" he griped, and folded his arms.
"Don't you have some construction to be overseeing?" she snapped. He jumped to attention and left the house swiftly. Kagome groused under her breath, and looked at Atsuko. She looked upset, her little arms folded over her chest and the most adorable scowl planted on her face. Kagome smiled at her and asked, "You miss your uncle, don't you?" she asked.
The little girl tried not to, but wound up wailing. Kagome gathered her up into her arms and rocked her, telling her that he'd be back soon. "Shh... Don't you want him to be proud of your behavior while he was gone?" she asked. Kagome wasn't used to being able to pull this kind of card. Usually it was a 'don't you want Daddy to think you've done well?' card, but Atsuko didn't have a daddy. While she stopped to ponder that, Atsuko was wondering about her statement. She abruptly stopped crying and inhaled shakily, as deep as she could, her chest puffing out with the effort.
Slowly, she nodded. Kagome smiled brightly. "There, now, that's better. Go and see if you can help Rin with some chores today. I've got a lot to do for the new house, okay?" she said softly, and nudged the girl off towards the village. It wasn't far enough to be dangerous. She heard some shouts from the edge of the construction site, and took a guess. She followed the sounds of argument until she found Jaken trying to ward off six demons from the wolf tribe, and Koga. She rolled her eyes and yelled, "Jaken! They're here to hustle on finishing the house!" Jaken jumped when he heard her, and scowled thunderously in her direction. She put her hands on her hips and put on her most threatening, motherly face.
Ginta ran into her full-force and hugged her so hard that she was lifted on the ground. "Sister!" he said happily, and set her back down to look at her. "You look beautiful! How are you?" He rushed into a long list of other questions, and Kagome had a hard time keeping up.
Koga eventually pulled him away and told him to shut up, smiling at Kagome. "We should have the house finished by tonight, Kagome. And Kai is going to build you and Atsuko beds too." he said, jabbing a thumb at one of the demons behind him who had a bowl-cut and a bald spot.
She smiled brightly, and hugged him. "Thank you again for all of this, Koga," she said cheerfully. She was blatantly ignoring the feeling that she was missing something. She turned to Jaken and glared at him. "Koga's in charge of the house. You get the rest of the site. Got it?" Jaken mumbled something about filthy humans, and Koga kicked him before Kagome could. Kagome giggled and Jaken stayed out of Koga's way for the rest of the day, but made a note to tell his Lord that the wolf was an asshole.
For the rest of that day, Kagome was cheerful and happy. She did some laundry, gathered some herbs, and looked into what monetary supplies she had kept in her backpack. She wanted to get some fabric and make some blankets, but doubted that she'd be able to get any for a few weeks at least. She'd have to travel to a bigger city to get to the market, anyhow. Koga left after sundown, and, as he said, the house was completely finished. It could use some paint, but Kagome was going to wait on it. It was only one story, contrary to the two-story house in her time, but she didn't need anything bigger than that. According to Jaken, the furnishings were going to start arriving the next week, so she was to make due until then.
Jaken refused to stay in the house like Sesshomaru had done, and it was frightfully empty that night. The doors didn't lock, and, aside from the construction workers' camp just outside the site, Kagome was alone. She hoped that Sesshomaru would've chosen workers that would protect her if needs be too, but also wouldn't doubt that most demons would have no problem watching her get eaten by a bear. It was those thoughts that had Kagome sleeping with her new bow, arrows, and a knife beside the the bed. She had Atsuko still sleeping in the same room as her for the time being too, though she had her own room. In fact, there were four other rooms too that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with. They were a dining room, office, her grandfather's bedroom, and the guest bedroom in her time, but none of those things really counted yet. She guessed she'd make them into guest rooms. As a priestess, she was supposed to care for travelers and the wounded every now and then, right?
The next day, she felt worse. Koga wasn't there to cheer her up, and Atsuko had gone off with Rin again. With so few belongings, there really was nothing for her to tidy up, and there was no laundry to do. She frowned and decided that today she'd go rummage through the ashes of her ruined hut. She approached it logically, resolving to dig where there was most likely going to be the remains of something. She was sure that a few things in the front room kitchen area would still be fine - like her stew cauldron and pots. What else would she find in the ashes though? She frowned as she stood in front of the pile, and put her hands on her hips, wondering. She'd really need a bath after this. She sighed, and set to work.
D: Sesshomaru is gone! OH NOES, HOW WILL THEY ROMANCE NAO? Don't forget, dear readers, that absence makes the heart grow fonder...