A/N: Several people to thank for the last chapter's reviews: Princess Aziza, Rukia's Reflection, xxdarienchibaloverxx, LadyCash, Inulover1993, "Guest," Dragon and Sword Master, and Taraah36. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists. I cringed when I saw how long it had been since I'd updated this. Like my other stories, it's been far too long and I deeply apologize. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
A Little Vacation
Ch. 14
Birds chirped as two shard hunters woke from a deep, dreamless sleep. The two females sat up almost in tandem, their faithful guardian still perched on the window sill. She paused in her perusal of the birds, thoughts about hunting the small creatures momentarily put aside in favor of checking on her charges. "Mew," she greeted, warm ruby eyes smiling as best they could.
"Good morning, Kirara. Did you sleep well?" Kagome asked, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up faster.
"Mew!" the nekomata agreed, although she didn't need as much sleep as the two humans in front of her. She'd dozed all night, some of her time spent looking out the window at the monk and dog demon asleep on the pavement below.
"Did the boys come back last night?" Sango asked, standing and stretching.
Kirara cocked her head to the side, unsure of how to get her point across. Sometimes not being able to use human speech was a problem. Standing, she pawed at the latch on the window, satisfied when it gave and she was able to push the panel enough to show what she wanted. Both girls joined her and gazed at what she was trying to show them.
"Well, I'll be… Guess Mama locked them out."
"I can't decide whether it's sweet that they stayed close, creepy that they tried to get in by the window, or just be annoyed at their idiocy." Leaning against the sill, Sango gazed down at their men, one hand flexing in a manner that told her companions that she was itching to hit something, or rather someone.
"Maybe we should wake them up," Kagome mused, pointedly ignoring the choices put before her. We could use that bucket Mama had last night."
"You want to throw it at them?" Sango questioned, straightening.
"I was thinking we'd dump some water over their heads."
"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea." Leaving the window ajar, Sango followed her out of the room, missing the sounds coming from her friend perched on the sill. Kirara purred in delight and amusement, waiting with anticipation at what was about to happen to the two shard hunters outside. Hopefully the girls would get back before Inuyasha became conscious. She really wanted to see how Miroku and Inuyasha would react. They'd surely be angry at first but eventually they'd thank her for making them stay outside.
After all, if they were going to get water dumped on them, it was better to be outside, wasn't it?
Inuyasha slowly woke, allowing all his senses but his sight to tell him where he was before opening his eyes. Finding that he didn't have a blinding headache nor did his stomach feel like emptying itself of whatever dinner remained, the half demon sat up and looked around. Miroku was next to him still asleep and he could hear the old priest still snoring under the Sacred Tree. "Thank heavens for demon blood," he said out loud, about to get up.
"Argh…!" Miroku groaned, lurching upwards and grabbing his head in pain.
"Something wrong, monk?"
"Shut up," his friend hissed, clearly not as free of after effects as he was.
"I'm sorry; I didn't realize that such an experienced drinker would be hung over." Inuyasha snickered, unable to keep the glee out of his voice.
"Shut up," Miroku reiterated, his stomach feeling like it was going to heave at any moment.
"Alright, alright. Let's see if Higurashi-san will let us in," the half demon said, about to get to his feet. Noise from above drew both men's attention to the window, movement on the other side of the glass telling them that the girls were awake.
"Careful, Kirara, you might get wet," Kagome's voice drifted to them on the breeze. A small mew followed the statement and Inuyasha's ears laid back in trepidation.
"Wet?" he whispered.
"Eh, maybe we should…" Miroku couldn't finish his sentence and trailed off on a groan.
"Alley-oop," they heard and stared in horror at the large bucket of water that appeared over the edge of the sill. Water rained down over them in a torrent, making both men sputter and groan.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Must you shout?" Miroku complained, his headache worsening with the cold water.
"Sorry," he muttered, still too angry at his miko to sound entirely apologetic.
"Oh, Inuyasha, I didn't realize you were awake." Kagome looked over the sill at them, a cheeky smile gracing her mouth while laughter sparkled in her eyes.
"Too bad," the hanyou heard Sango mutter before she too appeared at the window. Kirara perched on her shoulder, satisfaction clear in her eyes. "So, is the monk alive?"
"Sadly," Miroku answered right before he lost the last of his stomach's contents.
"Serves you right," the slayer returned before pulling her friend away from the window. "Come on, Kagome, you have to get ready for school and I think I hear your mother calling us for breakfast. Just let the guys dry out there."
Inuyasha waited until they left before turning to look at his drinking buddy. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he grabbed his shirt and began squeezing water out of it. "Just stay still and I'll go ask Kagome's mom for something to settle your stomach."
"I assure you, Inuyasha, I have no intention of going anywhere."
"Keh," he replied and went to knock on the kitchen door. Mama answered and after one look at his condition, pulled him inside despite his wet clothes.
"So that's what the girls did with that bucket of water, I did wonder. Where's Miroku-kun?" the older woman asked, handing Inuyasha a towel so that he could dry his hair.
"He's still outside. Lost the rest of his dinner from last night all over your flowers," the hanyou replied, ignoring Kagome's grimace when she came into the kitchen.
"I see. That poor dear. I suppose I should have warned him. Father is rather well known for his ability to drink his weight in sake. Not many can keep up with him."
"Reminds me of that old mentor of his," Sango said, leaning against the door jamb while two young boys wandered sleepily into the room.
"Oh, did Miroku do something stupid again?" Shippou asked, hopping up onto the nearest chair.
"Keh," Inuyasha commented. There was no need to give the fox cub ideas for pranks.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Sango replied, sitting across from him casually.
"Figures. Why are you all wet, Inuyasha?" the child persisted, sensing a good story.
"Someone decided it would be a good idea to dump a bucket of water out of the second story window without looking," he said.
"Oh, we looked," Kagome said, missing Inuyasha's meaningful glance towards the kitsune.
"You mean you did it on purpose, Kagome?" Shippou asked, his emerald eyes wide with disbelief. He'd never known her to do something so mischievous. It was positively kitsune worthy.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can go around doing it to anybody you feel like, Shippou," Kagome warned. "Sango and I just used it as punishment. The guys tried to crawl in through our window last night after getting drunk."
"You take the fun out of everything," Shippou muttered. "Where's Miroku?" he asked out loud instead, hoping that the teens would be too distracted to see him plotting.
"He's still outside, sick to his stomach," Inuyasha said, still trying to sop up the water out of his clothes with the towel. "You don't happen to have anything that would help him, do you, Higurashi-san?"
"Hmm, I think I might be able to whip something up. Go give this to him so he can dry off and I'll see what I can do. Kagome, you and Souta get a move on. I don't want you to be late for school."
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused and went back to eating with Shippou and Sango.
Inuyasha wandered back outside and found his friend still kneeling over the closest rosebush. "Oi, take this for now. Kagome's mom said she'd get something for you."
"She's an angel in disguise," the monk murmured. He kept his eyes closed so that the bright sunlight wouldn't make his headache worse.
"Don't I know it; I'm going to try to get the old man into the house so just sit tight."
"You needn't worry, Inuyasha. I have no intention of going anywhere," Miroku assured his friend. He wasn't entirely certain he'd be able to get up, never mind walk.
"Keh," the half demon uttered and went to go check on Kagome's grandfather. The old priest was still snoozing under the Scared Tree so he picked the old man up as gently as he could and carted him into the kitchen.
Kagome and Souta were already at the front door getting their shoes on and Sango was busy with the last of her food while Shippou had been excused to go play with Kirara. The family matriarch was still at the kitchen counter making some cocktail he assumed was for Miroku so he didn't bother to ask where the priest's room was, just allowed his sense of smell to lead the way.
After depositing the still inebriated man onto his futon, Inuyasha returned to the kitchen, a shouted goodbye his only indication that Kagome had decided to let him know that she was leaving for the day. Sango was doing dishes, a content expression on her face that he hadn't seen often. "So, are you satisfied with yourself?" he asked, taking the glass of "tonic" that Higurashi-san handed him.
"This is quite enjoyable," the slayer answered, deliberately misunderstanding him.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he said and left to go give Miroku whatever concoction the older woman had handed him.
By the time Inuyasha was able to sit down to eat breakfast, Miroku had hobbled in, his clothes still wet and his face pale but he no longer looked like he was going to keel over. "Food's good as always, Higurashi-san," the half demon complimented.
"Thank you, dear. Do you children have anything in mind for today?" she asked in return, sitting down at the table with another cup of tea.
"We were thinking of trying to go to someplace called a 'library' but I don't think Miroku's up to doing anything but sleep." Sango had joined her hostess, a cup of tea in front of her. The dishes had been finished and now sat in the drainer to air dry.
"Perhaps it's best that you take it easy today. I don't imagine Father is going to be doing very much either. If you're up to it, maybe you could help me take care of the shrine grounds. It's a large place and I know Father will feel awful if it isn't kept clean."
"Don't see why not," Inuyasha answered. He'd been around shrines often enough to know what to do.
"An inspired choice," Miroku finally added. "I belief I will take your wonderful advice and go seek my bed." He cleared his place, leaving more dishes for Sango to do much to her chagrin. They heard him wander upstairs to the spare room and then silence.
"Poor boy, maybe I shouldn't have locked you outside last night. I hope he isn't coming down with something," Higurashi-san fretted.
"I doubt it," Sango dismissed. "He's been known to drink now and then. I think he just went up against someone who could hold his liquor better. And we've camped out in chillier weather. He'll be fine. Let me go wrangle Shippou and we'll start sweeping the walkway. By the time Kagome and Souta come home, the shrine will be as good as new."
"Thank you, dear, I appreciate the help. I'll finish the dishes so you go on and find that cute boy. There probably won't be many people wandering around the grounds this early but you never know and I wouldn't want him to get into trouble for not being in school."
"Thank you," Sango replied and went to find one kitsune cub. Who knows what he was into and she didn't think the elder Higurashi woman would take it kindly were one of the shrine's worshipers to be taken in by one of the child's pranks.
Inuyasha finished his breakfast as quickly as he could while Kagome's mom calmly drank her tea, her considering gaze disconcerting him as it usually did. "Is something the matter?" he finally asked, unable to stand the odd silence any longer.
"No, dear. I was just thinking that despite last night's binge, you're looking remarkably better than when you first arrived."
"That's the demon blood. Once I got a good night's sleep or two, my body naturally got back to normal. Or almost normal. The humans are looking better too and they take a lot longer to recover."
"This vacation has done you all a lot of good and I'm glad Lady Kaede found a way to send the others here."
"Yeah, me too. Still don't know where she got those necklaces from though. If that spell hadn't made it clear that they were going to be able to return to the past, I would have thought that it was an elaborate plan by Naraku to get rid of us."
"You mean that spell wasn't hers?" Kagome's mom furrowed her brow in concern.
"No, and that should probably worry me."
"Maybe some god or goddess has interfered on your behalf."
"Great, a busybody kami. Just what we don't need."
"You never know, dear. The kami are often at work in things we don't see."
"Well, whoever did it; I'm grateful all the same."
"Me too, dear, me too."