"Are you sure that's all she said Ranma? That she was in a hurry and sorry for abandoning us?" She couldn't believe Kagome had come and gone while she was shopping, especially without some sort of explanation.
"Well, that was most of it," Ranma replied moodily. Akane had returned with Kagome's mother to find him furiously pacing in front of the well house and throwing the occasional futile punch or kick. He'd restrained himself long enough to politely give Mrs. Higurashi Kagome's message, but as soon as she went indoors, carrying all the shopping bags, the ranting began. According to him, Kagome had flounced out of the well, ignored him completely, refused to answer his questions, and then jumped back into the feudal era.
"She said something about a Naraku, and a Ryu what's his face, and that you would know what she was talking about."
Akane scrunched her eyebrows in thought, "I'm not sure about Ryu... half a name isn't really enough to go on, but Naraku... I think he's the demon who set Sesshomaru on them."
"So he's bad news." Ranma threw his hands in the air. "I could've guessed that." Akane watched, suddenly nervous, as a desperate almost fanatical gleam entered his eyes.
"You've got to help me Akane! I've gotta know what's going on back there! Kagome's being stupid and won't tell me anything, but you'll do just as well!"
"Ranma you baka, that's no way to ask for help!" Akane's anger overcame her unease, and she stomped off towards the house, leaving Ranma to chase after her.
Akane absentmindedly scritched Buyo behind the ears as she sat in Kagome's room; "Thank goodness you're in here," she said. "I couldn't take much more of Ranma's interrogation, and this is the only room he won't dare come in. Maybe I should get a cat when I go home, or I could just take you with me."
When it came right down to it she hadn't had the heart to refuse Ranma's request, well... more like demand to know more about the feudal era. For one thing he wouldn't stop pestering her, and for another he actually had a point. After all, they ought to know as much as possible before they went charging into danger.
Predictably, he'd been completely unsatisfied with her quick summary of Kagome's adventures thus far, and the various accumulated allies and enemies. There was just so much she could tell him after all. It wasn't her fault that she knew more about Inuyasha's eating habits than Sesshomaru's range with an energy whip... or that she and Kagome had spent as much time comparing love lives (and the lack thereof) as they had assessing the danger of a bunch of scattered jewel shards.
Frankly, she doubted he'd have been satisfied even if Kagome had filled him in personally, that might have been why she'd pawned him off on her. At least she and Ranma shared one thing right now; irritation with Kagome.
She, however, wasn't going to stand guard at an empty well for three days. If Ranma wanted to mope around, fine. She'd find something challenging, intimidating, terrifying to train in, something to stretch the limits of her capabilities in never before seen ways. She would seek out a new sensei, and master the art of housekeeping!
Or... at least cooking and sewing... actually she'd settle for mastery of mending. Reflecting on her shopping trip with Kagome's mother Akane smiled. She was sure that Mrs. Higurashi wouldn't mind taking their plot a couple steps further, extending her sewing adventure into a little kitchen experimentation as well. Even better, Ranma hadn't had a chance to belittle her cooking skills yet, so she'd be starting with a fresh slate!
Disregarding her borrowed robes, Akane strode purposefully from the room. Truth be told, the outfit was growing on her. It was completely impractical for her brand of martial arts, way too much fabric, and a little too big, but it sure was commanding.
She felt strong, imperial, and almost graceful wearing the red and white garb, and heaven knows she'd need a confidence booster if she was to attempt cooking. Shaking off the last vestiges of hesitation, Akane started her hunt for Mrs. Higurashi.
It didn't take long to find the woman; she'd headed straight for the laundry room in the back of the house which also served as sewing room and storage space. Thanks to its multiple purposes the room was larger and brighter than your average laundry room, and had a long, tall table dominating an entire wall along with the sewing machine.
Cabinets filled up most of the remaining space, no doubt filled with a combination of fabric, pointy implements of sewing torture, and cleaning supplies. Squashed into another corner the washer and dryer looked rather forlorn, accompanied only by a pile of school uniforms. Mrs. Higurashi had her back to the door as Akane entered, and was laying out the burgundy, navy, and forest green silks they'd just bought.
Her attention caught by the unusually large pile of dirty white and green uniforms, Akane wandered over to investigate the messy heap. A closer inspection revealed that each was damaged in some way. Some were burned, some ripped, and one looked partially melted, perhaps from acid. Obviously, Kagome went through a lot of clothes. Akane couldn't bring herself to feel any sorrow over the destruction of such ridiculously short skirts and irritatingly shaped shirts, but she felt some measure of pity for Kagome's mother who had obviously spent a great deal of time trying to salvage what she could out of the tattered clothing.
Akane's half hearted contemplation was brought to a close by the rustle of paper. She turned to find Mrs. Higurashi pulling out a stack full of... stuffed envelopes... from one of the table drawers. Curiosity peaked, Akane approached as Kagome's mother laid out the envelopes, noting that each had various styles of clothing sketched on the front.
"What are those?"
"Patterns"
Thus, Akane's Introduction to the Household Arts began.
A/N: This is the chapter I got stuck on right before I stopped updating altogether. I planned to embark on a grand tour of cooking, sewing, and housework while Kagome ran around in the feudal era, and instead lost all inspiration and inclination to continue... I've decided not to dwell on Akane's experiences after all, so as to continue on with the story, but I thought you all might be curious about what happened when Kagome left... so here is another short chapter to occupy you all while I work on the next bit of the story.