Hojo Express

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru said her name when he saw the rays of morning light creep through the cracks of the well's shed, "it is time to get up."

As predicted Kagome was being stubborn. She hadn't left the well's side despite his offerings of encouragement the night before. This was just like their first day in her world all over again. They were back to square one, and all because that Amethyst bitch just had to discuss the theory of time travel and once again made the point that InuYasha wasn't part of Kagome's story anymore. It would have better if she'd just stayed put in the shed while he confronted the demoness, but she just had to interfere only to be forced into a state of weakness. This was pathetic in his eyes. How could Kagome not see that her unwillingness to accept her position was just self sabotage?

Kagome couldn't hear him. She'd lost consciousness a few times that night just to give herself a few breaks from her own thoughts regarding the situation and Sesshoumaru's companionship. Of course, when she could dream it was more of the same. More of being alone in the darkness with the sacred jewel taunting her and telling her InuYasha wouldn't come for her. Fear was what Kagome was trying to fight off. Fear that she really couldn't see InuYasha anymore, and now she was left with only herself to blame. The only way back to him was the well, and it wasn't opening up for her, because she didn't love him enough.

As she turned to stare into the depths of the well again Sesshoumaru could tell they were indeed back to the beginning of all of this. If that were the case he'd summarize his feelings once more before trying to put an end to this.

"You were entitled," he told her, "we defeated Naraku and you believed by doing so you earned some sort of ideal ending with my brother. Due to circumstance he is gone now and you must adapt to your surroundings. That is reality. You either accept it or waste your short human life by this well. That is all there is for you now Kagome. Perhaps you can will that well open one day, but not like this as you are now."

"We had problems," Kagome was speaking to herself not taking her eyes off the well, "it wasn't perfect. I should have never expected it to be perfect, but when you have a whole three years of your life imagining what things could have been like I can't be blamed for wanting a fantasy that couldn't come true. I wanted us to live under the same roof and have a family together, and when I couldn't have that it created distance between us. He just wanted to protect me, so I can't blame him. I couldn't be angry with him, so I wasn't true to myself. I tried to avoid every little fight and eventually it all became dull. You're right. I was entitled, and now I'm being punished. I know it's me who needs to change and fix things, and I can't. I'm helpless and stuck here."

Sesshoumaru stood up and crossed his arms, "He was trying to protect you?"

Kagome felt really out of it, so perhaps that was why she had no problem discussing an intimate fact about her and InuYasha's relationship in front of Sesshoumaru.

"When we were together the first time his eyes turned red," Kagome told him, "he growled a lot and couldn't hear me. The demon part of him took control in the moment, and when he realized it he didn't want to be with me like that anymore. He was afraid of hurting me. So no more of that. No plans for pups. We were just the way we were and had always been for along time."

So that was the truth then. Kagome had only mated with InuYasha once, and no more than that. In Sesshoumaru's opinion she was barely a claimed woman then. It was almost as though she were still a naive virgin.

"If your relationship with my brother became something mundane he is the one to blame," Sesshoumaru replied, "he's lost control around you before without much damage being caused. Those were in high stress situations. He wouldn't have hurt you, but yet decided to live in fear of doing such a thing. Fear is what manipulates the two of you, something that has forced the two of you into a stasis. You both go into battle without much thought of the consequences, but overthink everything when it comes to your own emotions. Pathetic."

"You're one to talk. You think being all large in charge and talking to me so coldly masks your bullshit? It doesn't. You just mask everything in confusion. Why are you so quick to adapt to my world and move on from here? It's because you're afraid isn't it? It's barely been a week and you want us to move past all of this because you don't even want to think about Rin and how she feels. You're running away."

Sesshoumaru released a growl, "You're becoming too forward woman. I am not deceptive in my actions or thoughts. Rin is in a safe place and needs to not be concerned with me. She is better off. Just as she would have been if she'd never come across me. She concerned herself with me only to find herself mauled by wolves. She followed me into the nether world while I tried to learn more about mastering the meido technique only to die again. I will not see that girl die again, or die because of me."

Perhaps Sesshoumaru wasn't that deceptive in his words. He made everything clear now. He wasn't afraid of failing or facing his feelings about abandoning Rin. He wanted to be away from Rin, so he didn't have to see her fate. He'd made it clear that he didn't believe in deserved or earned happy endings, so probably didn't believe Rin would truly have the ideal life as a normal human girl. He didn't want to be with her through her hardships so he couldn't blame himself for the outcome. It was kind of ridiculous, but with what she just admitted about how she let her and InuYasha's relationship suffer she was in no place to judge him.

"We're both screw ups," Kagome confessed.

Sesshoumaru didn't exactly know what a screw up was, but he was sure it wasn't something positive.

"He is still the one to blame and should be the one left with regret," he told her, "it is a shame the responsibility of opening the well has fallen to you. This should be on him, but as I said nothing works out the way you think it should. Sometimes you lose things and they cannot be replaced."

"Once again tough talk coming from a man that couldn't accept not inheriting his father's sword."

"Is this another con? You bringing that subject to light again? I wield the Bakusaiga now for I could let go and move on. The Tetsusagia is of no interest to me anymore, nor is that world if the gate is closed. We adapt."

"I was wrong," Kagome thought to herself, "but you are running away Sesshoumaru. That's what this is, but you aren't completely selfish in what you're doing. You blame yourself for Rin's deaths, and if you do have to go back you don't want to come back the same person you left as. You want to adapt into something new don't you? It'd be almost admirable if you weren't such a jerk."

"I do not wish to talk about Rin or my father's sword any longer," Sesshoumaru continued, "you've had your prolonged moment with the well and now it time to start your day. I will fetch your bottle of water and we will start. I have a desire to brush my teeth again."

He wanted to get her a bottle of water because he believed her curing her morning dry mouth was part of her routine. He wanted her to stay on routine to help her adapt. Once again if she were the one in the position of being an unbiased observer she'd almost find his mild concern for her kind of cute.

"Take your time," Kagome shook her head feeling tired, "I just need a bit more time."

"I doubt you'll will the well open in a matter of minutes while I complete this task."

"This has nothing to do with the well. I'm just tired."

The moment Kagome focused on her own fatigue and what it meant her body responded as she began to feel nausea. Her stomach continued to ache before she heaved her face into the well and let vile dribble down her chin and into the depths of the well. She was actually experiencing morning sickness, and this soon into the pregnancy.

Sesshoumaru rose an eyebrow watching her, "If the well has a mind of its own I doubt it will work for you now. Not after that offering."

"Shut up," Kagome told him with a labored breath, "just go somewhere else. Is some space really too much to ask for?"

"You no longer have the luxury of privacy," he returned to her side to insure she didn't somehow slip face first into the well, "not while you carry that pup."

"One shower slip and you're convinced I'm a walking talking accident. Great. Thanks baby."

Her eyes widened as she reflected on her own words. This was the first time she'd acknowledged the life growing inside of her without being provoked or prompted. Every time she felt loss for InuYasha she was reminded that she needed to be strong for another who would be born soon. She was going to be a mother. She had pulled herself away from the well before for the sake of tending to Sesshoumaru's needs for morality sake, but now she had to pull herself away because she had a responsibility. She didn't choose this pregnancy, but she did choose to keep and care for the pup, and it was up to her to follow through.

"You'll recover," he told her helping her get on her feet, "and leaving you on the ground will not cure you. I have not spent any time around the ill, but fresh air will help."

"Really the great Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't know of any herbs or remedies that will cure what ails me? What a let down."

"Are you mocking me again woman?"

"Yes, because I guess finding a bit of humor in this is the easiest cure to grab on to. Alright let's go. Let's see what wonders of this world I can share with you today."

They'd rehashed a lot of things already, such as Kagome's feelings towards InuYasha and her hope that the well would reopen, but she was okay if they never discussed Sesshoumaru's behavior from the night before ever again. She tried to forget about him asking if he could rut her and his attempted power play with the Mokomoko that followed. Revisiting that would get them nowhere, but she was still going to keep to the declaration she'd made. This was his last chance to not provoke her. If he did she would have to find a way to create some sort of distance between them or find a way to punish him. Neither of those options would be easy, but it also wasn't easy being emotionally abused by him every night.

If she was going to wear humor as a mask to hide from her fear and her pain perhaps she could also use it as a shield against Sesshoumaru's cruel moments. He couldn't degrade her in serious conversation if he didn't think she was taking it seriously.

"I won't bring up Rin anymore if it upsets you," Kagome spoke genuinely before her tone went back into that of a mocking one, "but we both know that Jaken is the one you truly miss."

"I do not," he said coldly.

"It's okay Sesshoumaru," Kagome smiled at him despite still feeling very uncomfortable with her sickness, "get me a staff and I'll be your new Jaken. So my Lord Sesshoumaru what is that we should to do today? Shall I get on my knees and scrub your boots, or perhaps intimidate the city folk into giving you a fresh pair of Nike's to pull your look together. Unless that style displeases you than I shall humbly fall to the ground and beg your forgiveness my Lord."

"Stop," he said clearly annoyed.

Kagome gave him an honest smile as she was happy to strike a nerve with him for once. One of the cons he'd listed while trying to figure out if he should rut her or not was how she annoyed him. That was a small weapon that could be used against him to protect herself. It was a small weapon, but still a weapon.

"But my Lord I only wish to please you," she continued despite his warning, "these last few nights I've lost sleep over worry that you'll starve to death in my world since you still haven't eaten anything."

"I will deal with hunger when that problem arises. It will be sometime before I grow hungry. It is you who needs to eat. Also Kagome keep in mind that I do not allow Jaken to annoy me for long before dispensing punishment. I will not strike you, but I will not take it for long."

It wasn't the way she was talking that bothered him. Hearing her talk about falling to her knees and wanting to please him wasn't what was upsetting to him. What irked him was memories of that imp. Sesshoumaru ended his last conversation with him by kicking him a good distance. He had no regrets about that, but the kick had been the result of Jaken daring to question why Sesshoumaru had become so interested in the Bone Eater's Well. From Jaken's point of view it would seem like Sesshoumaru disappeared from the world due to his own curiosity proving the imp right to have concerns. Sesshoumaru didn't like the idea of Jaken feeling as though he'd been right to be concerned about something.

"Oh Sesshoumaru please punish me for my arrogance," Kagome continued her taunting, "give me all that I deserve."

"Be careful with your words," he shook his head almost feeling compelled to chuckle, "you might regret them."

Kagome walked out of the well shed while leaning on him for support as she trained her body into overcoming fatigue and nausea. The plan was to get to the bathroom where they could freshen up and truly come up with at least something constructive to do for the day to keep her mind off the well and why it wasn't opening for her. That was all they needed to do was get back inside the house, but of course, that simple feat wasn't as easy as she'd hoped it'd be.

She heard something fall to the ground behind her before a familiar voice called out to them.

"Kagome?" the man gasped, "is that really you?"

Sesshoumaru held his cold composure while Kagome nervously turned around to see someone she'd never thought she'd ever see again. She could still identify him by voice alone, but it still felt unreal to see him while leaning her weakened body against Sesshoumaru of all people.

It was just Hojo, but despite her friend from middle school having not much overall impact in her life he always managed to serve as a reminder of her old life and how things could have been if not for the adventure she found in the other world. A life that was pretty plain and nothing special, but Kagome labeled that thought pretty cruel the moment it came to her. Hojo was the typical nice guy who deserved way better than getting mixed up in her drama and probably kept some other girl really happy. If she were to ever find herself falling for a human man in her own world Hojo would be ideal, but he was no InuYasha. Even her relationship with InuYasha turned out to be no satisfying romantic fairy tale, so she could really find no fault in having fond thoughts about Hojo.

"Yeah it's me," Kagome tried to produce a warm smile, "it's been a long time Hojo. Sorry if I look like a mess right now. I just woke up."

"It is kind of early I guess," Hojo nervously put his hand behind his head, "but you look just as- well fine I guess- as you did when I last saw you. By fine I mean healthy of course. Nothing objectiving."

"I get it," Kagome gave him a nod studying him further.

Really not much about Hojo had changed since she last saw him when she was in high school. He still had his boyish looks and same haircut. Only thing that was different was an extra inch in height and a university uniform.

Hojo knelt down to grab the basket that he'd dropped when Kagome emerging from the well house surprised him. Kagome didn't even need to ask about the bag's contents to know what it was.

"Remedies from your family's shop?" Kagome inquired.

Hojo gave a nod, "Yeah it's pretty much same old same old for me. What about you? Where did you go Kagome? Did you really get married? Is this your husband?"

When Hojo referred to Sesshoumaru Kagome knew she had to devolve into her old ways of brushing Hojo off as soon as possible for the long term. She couldn't have any of her school friends around her at this time. Not only would Sesshoumaru's presence raise a lot of questions, but so would her state of pregnancy if it was indeed going to proceed at an alarming rate. The major reason she needed to babysit Sesshoumaru in the first place was to shield her own world from the existence of demons and anything supernatural to prevent bad consequences befalling her family, but now it was her who needed to hide herself from anyone that would ask too many questions.

"Not him," Kagome quickly asserted, "he is my brother-in-law. My husband couldn't make the trip up here, but Sesshoumaru didn't want to miss the chance to take a trip to Tokyo. He's never been before."

"Nice to meet you Sesshoumaru," Hojo gave a greeting with his usual smile, "so it was all true then? You really did go off overseas to elope?"

Kagome had to be really careful with what she did or said next. This was a challenge, but at the same time the challenge of stopping Hojo from learning too much about her situation brought her a bit of nostalgia. This was no different than all the times her grandpa called into her school with stories of great illnesses she had to pretend to be suffering from only after learning from Hojo what the illness actually was. What had her family told her friends about her sudden disappearance? Kagome didn't even know, but she couldn't act in a way that would ruin the manufactured story.

"Kind of sort of," Kagome dismissed it shaking her head, "I gotta get a shower in and get ready for the day. Maybe we'll catch up soon."

"I don't care if you think you smell or look like a mess," Hojo proclaimed gripping the basket tightly, "I'm just happy to see you again. I really thought that you left us. Did you tell our friends yet? Maybe we can all drop by later."

Sesshoumaru did not know who this boy was, but wasn't thrilled with Kagome having company. When not assisting him in understanding this new world he needed her to follow everyone's advice and focus on herself, and reintroducing herself to these walking and talking distractions was not suitable. However, Sesshoumaru remained silent. He was aware enough to know that offending an acquaintance of hers would be another one of those upsetting actions he was trying not to do anymore.

"Maybe," Kagome's voice showed she wasn't committing to anything, "I don't know how long we're staying. Depends on Sesshoumaru's schedule. So is that stuff for my mother? I can give it to her if you need to get back."

Hojo's grip tightened on the basket, "That'd be nice but I have to get it to her myself. She's the client after all."

Out of all the things Kagome felt guilt for she didn't think she'd regret her previous treatment of Hojo. The basket he had to deliver in order to get paid was the same kind he'd always given her for free when he worried about her and her various fictional illnesses. She never even gave him a genuine thank you for the thought or considered taking the remedies to the feudal era with her. Everyone was right. She liked to think of herself as being selfless and caring to everyone around her, but when it came to her 'friends' of her own world she'd been quite neglectful and dismissive of them for so long as though they were a nuisance. Even during high school when she should have been enjoying a peaceful existence she could never even be bothered to have genuine conversations with them.

"How much does she owe you?" Kagome tried to ask, "I know where the take out money is hidden. I can take care of it, and maybe a nice tip for the handsome delivery boy."

Hojo flashed her a smile, "It's okay Kagome really. Don't trouble yourself. I need to talk to your mother anyway. I'll keep your compliment in mind though."

"Your mother is often awake at this hour," Sesshoumaru was the one to interject, "just tell her this boy is calling upon her."

Sesshoumaru was trying to get Kagome to end the meaningless conversation and get them back in the house so he could be spared from it. The sooner this boy was gone the sooner they could get back to business.

"I'll get her," Kagome sighed knowing Sesshoumaru must've been bored, "be right back. It's nice seeing you again Hojo."

"You to Kagome. Hopefully it won't be the last."

Kagome walked with Sesshoumaru back in the house. The demon wanted to ask her something about the boy, but they had no privacy for her younger brother and his dog was milling about the kitchen. The siblings still hadn't talked to each other since they told each other off about their attitudes.

"Mom up and around?" Kagome asked her younger brother awkwardly, "Hojo is here with a delivery."

Kagome was surprised by the devilish smile that developed on Souta's face, "Hojo you say? Would have loved to see his face when he saw you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome's cheeks filled with a blush.

"Means he's an idiot," Souta then grimaced, "mom probably didn't tell you did she? What that asshole did?"

Kagome still felt uncomfortable with Souta's free use of curse words, "That phrase and Hojo don't go together. What did he possibly do?"

"There is a lot you need to catch up on. I guess you can't be blamed. Everyone was kind of an idiot I guess thinking there would be no consequences for you just up and leaving without any sort of warning the way you did. All your other friends seemed to accept what you did, because they all knew about InuYasha after all and met him, but Hojo didn't believe any of it. After about the billionth time of him coming around and asking about where you went he got the police involved."

"The police!?"

"Yeah. He filed a missing person's report and everything. It did seem fishy that you disappeared without a trace so of course they investigated, but since they had no proof of anything and you were an adult they eventually dropped it. It wasn't easy on mom though. She kept trying to sell the story about you going overseas to elope, but there really wasn't any evidence of it. I tried to get her to make fake texts and e-mails but she thought that would get her into deeper trouble. Point being she got all stressed out, it's all Hojo's damn fault, so why she buys remedies off of him and his family like it's no big deal is a mystery to me. I'm just glad he saw you in the flesh. He better apologize."

"Yeah he better," Kagome agreed, "I don't blame him for thinking it's fishy but he had no right to accuse my family of anything. That's probably why he wants to talk to mom face to face."

More guilt. Guilt and sadness seemed to be all Kagome had been able to feel since returning to her own time, so how everyone expected her to only worry about herself was a mystery. She'd been only thinking about herself for a long time and that's what got them all into this mess. Of course there were consequences from her just leaving the day of her high school graduation. It had to look very fishy that a young woman like her just went missing with no evidence. She was both angry at Hojo for doing anything that caused her family problems, but at the same time tried to be understanding.

"What are police?" Sesshoumaru asked the both of them.

She couldn't feel too guilty about talking over Sesshoumaru's head. It would be a long time before he could fully understand their discussions, so that wasn't something that could be helped.

"People that uphold the law," Kagome informed him, "they probably thought I got murdered or sold to a whore house or something so came around to look into it."

"Is not selling you to a whore house a self imposed law or real law?" Sesshoumaru continued.

"Real one. You break a real one the police come for you and throw you in prison. That could have happened to my mother if they had enough evidence."

"Why not let you go to a whore house then? It'd still be a punishment."

"Why are you so caught up on this whore house thing? Since when have you become so perverted Sesshoumaru?"

"A prison is a prison."

Kagome's mother picked an odd conversation to walk in on. She was still wearing her pajamas, so clearly it was still too early for her.

"Oh Kagome you're up," their mother greeted them all with a smile, "you and Sesshoumaru doing okay out there? I still can't convince you to give that shed up?"

"I'm not worried about that now," Kagome crossed her arms, "Hojo is here with a delivery. Mom is it true? Did he really call the police on you about me?"

It was obvious her mother wasn't ready for such an in depth conversation as she was caught off guard by her daughter's serious tone early in the morning. She didn't greet the early verbal assault in the same manner taking a moment to release a yawn and rub her eyes.

"That?" she asked, "that was a while ago. Hojo apologized and everything is okay now."

"It's just okay?" Kagome seemed frustrated that no one was taking it seriously other than her and Souta, "it's not okay. If I'd known I was going to cause you trouble I-

"You wouldn't have left?" her mother asked, "nothing would have stopped you sweetie. I made it clear when you left that I understood. You went to chase what you wanted and there was no reason to stop you. If this kind of thing was that big of a deal I wouldn't have let you go. Dealing with that mess was just a small consequence to pay for your happiness. I did it for you and I'd do it for Souta. You're going to be a mother soon Kagome and you'd probably do the same."

"You always have an answer for everything," Kagome seemed disappointed.

Everyone including Sesshoumaru caught on to Kagome's disappointment. She knew she was caught and unable to explain herself. When it came to her leaving her guilt just couldn't wash away. She felt guilty on the other side of the well, she felt the same now that she was faced with her loved ones again on this side, and now it was worse when she considered the feelings of InuYasha and her friends. Was she trying to drag others into her guilt as a way to make everyone else aware she wanted to atone for her sins? This whole thing was making her nothing more than a bundle of emotions, so if her mother was expecting her to calm down and act somewhat normal it wasn't going to happen.

"Of course I do dear," her mother gave a nod with a smile, "you just need to think with your head over your heart sometimes. Can you blame Hojo for what he did? He cares about you a lot, and seeing you disappear without warning probably concerned him."

"He still shouldn't have been suspicious of you of all people," Kagome noted quietly in defeat.

"Who should he have been suspicious of? InuYasha? I don't think think he was ever properly introduced."

"He had more of an introduction to Sesshoumaru than he ever did InuYasha. When I disappear again at least he can be the one accused of foul play."

"Hm," Sesshoumaru thought about it, "let these police come for me. They will meet the same end as any human soldier who has challenged me."

"I hope for all our sakes we don't have to see you in a standoff with the police," Kagome gave a smile glad for Sesshoumaru being a distraction from her pain again, "that's why we have to keep you here. Anyone from my world would think you are a suspicious individual."

"Suspicious?" he asked, "so in order to adapt and escape trouble in this society I should blend in is what you're suggesting? These clothes you gave me breeds a suspicious aura. They are not natural. I will wear my regular garb if we travel outside the shrine."

"How did you flip that around so wrong? If you want to blend in you need to wear clothes from our time not yours. It doesn't matter. You're not going out period. It's the hair, the markings, and just you being you that makes it impossible."

"InuYasha just covered his ears," Souta recalled, "and when he didn't he looked like a cosplayer. So why so rough on Sesshoumaru? Put him in a leather jacket and he is set."

"No," Kagome was trying to make everyone understand without fully explaining the kind of creature Sesshoumaru was, "he isn't the same as InuYasha. InuYasha just plain didn't care about the sights and sounds so didn't look like a fish out of water. Someone as observant as Sesshoumaru will call attention to himself somehow."

"I do not care either," Sesshoumaru made sure to tell her, "what difference does it make if a mere human takes issue with my appearance? If they offend me they will pay for their ignorance. This clothing is an issue for if I cannot secure my sword properly and if I must hold on to the blade it could be seen as a threat by an onlooker. That is what would invite attention."

"No one in this time cares about how you hold your sword. Carrying a sword around period is the issue."

"Wear it on your back," Souta suggested, "it's a katana isn't it? The heroes in anime and manga have their sheaths on their back sometimes. You just need a strap to put your sheath on."

"That is a possibility," Sesshoumaru was actually considering it, "drawing it from that position would be something new to get use to but it wouldn't be too much of an issue. I will take it into consideration."

"You're not taking it into consideration," Kagome interjected, "you're not going out among humans brandishing your sword. You're not ready and I doubt you'll ever be."

"The boy offered me a solution to a problem. That is more than you've done for me as of late Kagome."

"You really want go down that road Sesshoumaru? You said that before than got mad at me when we did have a solution to a problem and then proceeded to make more problems. So don't you even start."

"Woman you will not tell me what I can and cannot do nor will you take that tone with me again."

"Just make out already," Souta broke the tension with an eye roll, "him calling you woman and you constantly nagging him makes you both sound like an old married couple. By the way he talks and acts he is different, but the way you two fight is pretty much you bullying InuYasha all over again."

"I never bullied InuYasha!" Kagome made sure to state embarrassed to have her and Sesshoumaru labeled as a married couple.

"Demons such as myself do not attach themselves to wenches such as her," Sesshoumaru made sure to inform Souta.

Kagome shot Sesshoumaru a glare. He was making it sound like such a thing was beneath him despite being the one asking to rut her the night before.

"Every time I was around you and InuYasha you were yelling at him," Souta recalled, "but when it was just me and him he was pretty chill. Don't know what your problem was."

"Great I'm the villain again," she shook her head, "you are making it seem like I just come around to yell at everyone. Just ignore that InuYasha and Sesshoumaru go out of their way to irk me time and time again. That's fine little brother thanks."

"Just calling it as I see it."

"Souta stop picking on your sister," their mother shook her head as she approached the front door, "InuYasha still married her so I don't think anyone was bullying anyone. Well I can't leave Hojo waiting long and you need to get ready for school Souta."

"And you need to get ready for work," Souta mocked his mother, "don't know why you always have Hojo make deliveries so early."

"My remedy package I order has some special tea mixes," she made sure to inform them, "it's how I start my day."

Their mother left them alone with Sesshoumaru in the kitchen. Kagome leaned against the counter and also thought it was odd the delivery was being made so early in the morning, but her mission at the moment was to continue limiting her family's exposure to the demon Lord. It was best to not allow Souta to observe exactly how different from each other Sesshoumaru and InuYasha really were.

"You want to brush your teeth again right?" Kagome made sure to ask him, "let's get going."

"And you wish to bathe?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

"Why do I smell?" Kagome asked keeping in mind his acute sense of smell despite not concerning herself with her scent when she was on the other side.

"You were planning to bathe last night as I recall. Your scent does not offend me. Though I am not concerned with your comfort."

"There is a lot of things you say you're not concerned with before showing me the opposite. So thank you Sesshoumaru. I will take that bath. I mean with your leave of course my Lord. How kind of you to be concerned with your lowly vassel."

Sesshoumaru let out an irritated growl as she had returned to mimicking of Jaken to bother him. Souta rose an eyebrow and would just prefer to not have the awkward moment of his sister talking to a man that way prolonged.

"I probably should get ready," Souta shook his head, "but mom dug out your stuff that she did save to see if you wanted any of it."

He pointed at a cardboard box on the counter before taking his leave. Kagome quickly went through the contents finding some paperwork and keepsakes from her former life.

"So you yelled at and commanded InuYasha around in front of your family?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

Kagome glared at him again, "Why does everyone think that? InuYasha was the one that was always messing up. Either seeing Kikyo and being weird about it or bothering me when I asked him not to. I don't know how I managed to get into a high school while dealing with Naraku and the jewel shards and InuYasha being able to come here didn't make it any easier."

Speaking of InuYasha, Kagome was happy to see a very familiar locket. It was the one she made for InuYasha before all that drama went down with Kaguya and Naraku's fake death. Of course, him wearing it didn't last long as he said he thought it was too mushy and she took it back to keep safe for a later day so he didn't lose it. Now it was her who had it, and that was fine. It was still hard to accept that her and InuYasha weren't only separated by time, but he was in a completely different world. The locket had a picture of both her and him on each side, so she was able to see his face again. That gave her a little bit of strength for the time being.

"I'm trying to find a way back InuYasha," she told him running her fingers over the picture, "I just need some time. Wait for me okay- what are you doing?"

Sesshoumaru seemed to be doing some rummaging around of his own. He'd opened one of the drawers under the countertop and discovered where they kept the chopsticks as well as the silver wear. He'd pulled out a few of them and was seemingly trying to stab himself with a fork.

"What kind of weapon is this?" he asked continuing to poke his skin with the fork.

"Why would you think that's a weapon?" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"It was near this," he then pulled a small yet sharp knife that was used for cleaning and cutting fish as well as a butter knife, "but this other blade seems ineffective."

"Those are all for food Sesshoumaru," Kagome closed the locket, "the dull knife is for spreading butter or whatever else needs to be spread and the other one is a fork."

"Trident," Sesshoumaru corrected her holding up the fork and staring at it, "I know what it is. I just do not know why it's so small and dull."

"You don't know what it is. It's a utensil from the west that's easier to eat food with than chopsticks. You pierce your food and bring it to your mouth."

"I am from the west and have never seen anything like this. So indeed this is a different world."

"Not your kind of west- just calm down for a moment will you? We haven't even started our day."

"No we haven't. You have yet to drink a bottle of water."

"You're a strange one," Kagome sighed closing the locket watching as Sesshoumaru continued to open and go through drawers pulling out items of interest.

The next drawer he explored was the proclaimed junk drawer where random things were just thrown. He pulled out a box of toothpicks, nails, and batteries to ask questions about later but seemed far from finished. Kagome asked him to settle down again, but it wasn't long before he pulled the whole drawer out and flung all of its contents on to the ground making a loud crashing sound.

"Okay Sesshoumaru stop!" Kagome scolded him, "you're being rude. You better put all of that stuff back. Why would you think trashing the place is a good thing to do?"

"Quiet," he growled at her still having a problem with taking her orders, "I'm looking for the source of that smell."

"What do you smell?"

He didn't answer as he examined the empty drawer in his hand before shaking it further and the piece of wood that Kagome thought was the bottom of the drawer fell out, but to her surprise that action didn't leave an empty frame. Instead it exposed another layer of the drawer and some sort of metal box.

"The drawer had a false bottom?" Kagome asked in disbelief as she couldn't have expected to find any mysteries within her own home.

"You did not know this drawer was hiding something?" Sesshoumaru seemed amused that he'd discovered something Kagome did not know about, "so someone is being deceitful then? It is not you this time."

Kagome looked at the box. It seemed familiar as though she'd seen it in another part of the house before when she was younger, and curiosity was eating at her as she wondered why it was in the kitchen being hidden from everyone else. Sesshoumaru, however, was the one that was holding it and wasted no time in solving the mystery by opening it up. Once Kagome saw the contents she had a hard time believing such a thing could be found in her family's house.

Bundled up in a plastic sandwich bag was what looked like a good amount of green leaves that Kagome quickly recognized as marijuana. She wanted to deny it, but it was hard to when the bag was next to a couple of glass pipes as well as some sort of scale and a few other suspicious instruments.

"Weed?" Kagome asked still not accepting the discovery.

"Weed?" Sesshoumaru asked confused as to why herbs were being hidden, "is this some sort of remedy? I do not like the smell. It offended me, so I wished to find it."

It was just a herb, that should have been how Kagome viewed this whole thing especially after spending a lot of time in the other world harvesting plants for medicinal purposes, but at heart she was still a conservative young citizen of Japan that was disturbed by having drugs hidden in her home.

"Offensive indeed," Kagome snagged the box from him, "this isn't good. The police obviously aren't a threat to you, but if they found this here we'd all probably go to jail for a while. This isn't something people are allowed to have."

"Isn't it just an herb?" Sesshoumaru did not understand why humans having dried plants in their home would be a problem with anyone, "so it is not a self imposed law, but a real law? Is it because it smells bad?"

"No," Kagome shook her head, "you smoke it and you feel funny. It's against the law to have it so obviously it's not good. Especially this much. We have to get rid of it before anyone finds out. It's already bad enough that people thought my family might have done something to me when I disappeared, and now this?"

Sesshoumaru still didn't see why Kagome was getting bothered by this of all things, especially when she posed as a miko for so long. He'd never seen or smelled this kind of herb before, but didn't understand why it was any different from the other ones humans bothered themselves with.

"I do not understand the complication. Once I separated the scent of this from the others I was able to pinpoint it better. The boy reeked of it."

"The boy?" Kagome's heart dropped, "Souta? Souta is involved with this stuff? He's doing drugs. That's why he's being so moody isn't it?"

Kagome recalled something Sesshoumaru had said during one of their journeys to the bathroom. He'd mentioned that he could smell someone burning herbs, and since that practice wasn't used for any of her grandpa's rituals it must've meant that someone in her home was smoking weed. Souta was the prime suspect, but he would have already been in school by the time that Sesshoumaru noticed the smell the first time.

"That is not the boy I'm talking about," Sesshoumaru was about to tell her but watched as Kagome's mother returned into the house holding her basket of remedies looking at her kitchen with fear plastered on her face at both the mess on the floor and Kagome holding the bag of cannabis.

"Mom?" Kagome had worry on her face before watching as Sesshoumaru swiftly went to her mother's side and retrieved the basket, "what are you doing now?"

"The brown haired boy," Sesshoumaru growled sick of being questioned constantly, "he is the one that smelled of it as does this basket."

"Hojo?" Kagome felt relief that she was wrong to suspect Souta but was still left confused watching as Sesshoumaru removed all the boxes of teas and powders from the basket to reveal a new bundle of cannabis hidden on the bottom.

This had to be a dream. Kagome could swallow that she'd gone through a well to a different time or world where supernatural creatures dwelled but yet couldn't believe what she was discovering in the here and now. It had to have been her mother that was keeping and doing drugs; drugs that had been delivered to the house by Hojo of all people. Hojo was a drug dealer? Was her mom a drug dealer? The amount of weed that was being kept in the box and the basket was too much for one person to be using recreationally. What exactly was the understanding Hojo and her mother had come to when the investigation into Kagome's disappearance was dropped?

"Mom?" Kagome asked.

For once Kagome's mother took on a stern voice, "Kagome this doesn't involve you."

"Great," Kagome thought to herself, "this whole time I thought my mom was so understanding and accepting of the things I did because that's just the kind of person she is. Was that true? Or is it because she's been blazed out of her mind this whole time?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes darted between the two women before he did as Kagome asked of him earlier and began to repair of the drawer of miscellaneous items and put them back while fighting the urge to ask what the items were.

"Stupid woman," Sesshoumaru thought to himself, "she's getting worked up over a herb of all things. There is a sword of destruction and calamity hidden underneath the shed, but this simple plant is what she and the humans of this world are disturbed by? At least her mind is on something other than InuYasha for once, but those matters are equally stupid and not worth the tears or fear on her face. Perhaps this is just what I need to get the matters to progress. If she involves herself in the strife with her family in this world than perhaps she can accept her own world again, and once she does she can truly start fulfilling my needs."

(End Chapter)

AN: Just blaze. I'm actually going to use Hojo in this story as a real character. First time ever for me even though I did have plans in Dragonsbane, but whatever that's a dead story now. Get hyped.