5 – The first day of work
"Wake up, my son."
...
"Inuyasha, up!"
Inuyasha opened his eyes and saw his father sitting beside him. The boy sat up and yawned a few times.
"Now what?" he asked, getting up, scratching his ear with his foot.
"Today's the day – your first day of work!"
"You get transferred to the world of the living through Light Portals. There are lots of them, even I don't know how many. But it's not about where the Portal is, but who is going through. We people of this castle use the same Portal", Inutaisho told his son as they walked through the castle. "It might be a bit difficult at first, learning to fly and not getting seen, but don't worry, you will learn."
"Aren't there any schools or such for that?" Inuyasha asked.
"No. Everyone must learn it all by themselves. Believe me, I was all thumbs too when I came here!" Inutaisho laughed, but somehow Inuyasha didn't really believe that.
And so they arrived to a huge, crowded rock. Inutaisho led his son with him to the queue. The queue went forward fast, and in no time Inuyasha was standing on the top of the rock, looking down – there was nothing there! Lord knows how deep it was. As if you were standing above clouds. Inuyasha's ears went drooping.
"You're telling me to jump off a ciff into the void?"
"You kept jumping down a dried well too!" Inutaisho laughed and pet his son's back. "Or are you scared?"
"Hell no!" And so Inuyasha closed his eyes, took deep breath, jumped off the cliff and disappeared. Inutaisho smiled. He was proud of his son, as he had seen many young souls going for their first protection days – they never got down the Portal for the first time this easy!
Inuyasha felt weird. What had happened? He felt tranquil wind... but still weird. He opened his eyes – and there he was, laying on the roots of the Goshinboku. Not the feudal Goshinboku, but the one growing in the middle of the Higurashi temple. There were some candles on the roots.
Inuyasha got quickly up and for a while just turned around and round, looking up and down... Then he sniffed the air. Wow! His sense of smell was more keen than ever! But it wasn't the feeling that 'called' him. He just felt like something was waiting for him in there – the Higurashi house.
Inuyasha got up, but suddenly started rising from the groungd. He was floating like a bubble and couldn't control himself. He span around, flailing. Oh God this was embarrassing! Maybe it was better that nobody saw him!
It took a while, but finally Inuyasha managed to float into Kagome's room. The window was open – Kagome wanted to make sure if Inuyasha would come, he was welcome and would get in.
Inuyasha floated in. And there she was, packing her school bag.
"Darling, shouldn't you rest for a few days?" Mrs. Higurashi pleaded.
"Yeah you should!" Inuyasha barked, when something creepier than ever happened – Kagome walked through him.
"BAH!" Inuyasha flinched and shook himself like a dog.
"No, Mama... I must... Get over this."
Kagome left the house. As her junior high was next to the elementary school there her little brother Souta was in, they walked hand in hand all the way.
"I'm very sorry for you, sis", Souta said, sad. "I know I can't feell your pain, but I did like Inuyasha too..."
Inuyasha was following the duo, floating a few meters above Kagome. He was feeling very nervous. What was he supposed to do? What would a skilled "guardian angel" do?
Kagome and Souta arrived to the lights. They stopped when the lights were red for them... But suddenly she was about to take a step towards the cars driving through fast.
"Kagome! Hey! No!" Inuyasha screamed, even knowing nobody would hear him. But then Inuyasha felt something inside him, some kind of a power...and Kagome stopped, stood still for a moment, and retreated.
"Sis! What did you think you were doing?!" Souta shouted, pulling his sister's sleeve.
"...I dont know."
"But I know! You tried to kill yourself!" Inuaýasha shouted, trying to do his best getting heard... no good. But something had just happened. Was it Inuyasha who had stopped Kagome from committing suicide?
Inuyasha followed his progete all the way to the school. The girl walked in and found her way towards her class. Then suddenly...
"Kagome!" a girl's voice sounded behind her. She turned around and saw her three friends. "Nice to see you!"
"Thank you..." Kagome said with a sad face.
"Hey... Are you alright?" Yuka, one of the girls, asked, worried.
"What a stupid question!" Inuyasha snorted and circled the girls through the air.
Suddenly Kagome started crying. The trio got startled and started rushing.
"Uh, it's...it's okay, Kagome!" Ayumi, the girl with curly hair, said. "What should we do?" she asked in Eri's ear.
"Should we take her to the nurse?" Eri suggested. "Maybe she's still weak from her pneumonia..."
'Pneumonia...' Kagome sighed in her head. That must have been the latest excuse of Kagome being out of school her grandpa had made up.
And so Kagome was escorted through the school to the nurse.
"Take care", Yuka said as she Kagome's other friends left. Kagome was sitting on a chair in front of the nurse, looking simply horrible. And Inuyasha noticed that.
"Aww, Kagome, please don't..." he sighed and sat down on the floor next to the chair in his dog pose like a dog beside his owner. But of course, the girl burst in tears.
"Hi there, Kagome", the nurse said with a gentle voice, stroking her hair. "I can see you are not here for somatic reasons."
"M-hmm..." Kagome nodded, wiping her tears in her shirt's sleeve.
"Is there maybe something oppressing you?"
Kagome sat still, staring at the floor.
"Yes", she finally said.
"Has something bad happened?"
"...Yes."
"Would you like to tell me about it?"
For a while thought should she tell or should she not. When finally:
"I lost my dearest friend..."
"Just 'friend'?" Inuyasha mumbled, maybe a bit grumpy.
"No... Maybe... my love."
"...Love...?" First Inuyasha's ears shot up, but then went drooping.
"I'm very sorry to hear that", the nurse smiled sadly. "Have you done something self-destructive?"
"Yeah, kinda..." the girld mumbled. "But... Nothing serious", she lied.
"... I can see you are not well. I can see it right through you. You must understand this is serious", the nurse said and turned towards her computer screen. "I'll send a referral to a youth psychiatrist. They can help you. And now I will send you home for a few days to rest."
Kagome didn't resist. She took her backpack and started finding her way out of the school. Inuyasha was walking right by her side. Then he remembered this moment last summer: when they were walking on the grassy hill together, holding hands, feeling the wind in their hair... But when Inuyasha tried to grab Kagome's hand... now it just went through.
"Kagome..." Inuyasha whimpered. This job was sure a lot harder than he had ever thought!
Then they arrived at Kagome's home. Inuyasha floated above the girl. She opened the door and closed so that it went straight through Inuyasha's head. He let out a howl, but nobody could hear it.
"I'm home..." Kagome said miserably.
"Hello, darling", her mother greeted. "You came home early..." she saw her daughter taking off her shoes. The girl took a few steps towards her mother, and turned her eyes to her's. After staring for a while, she burst in tears and rushed into her mother's arms.
Inuyasha followed this scene from a few meters away.
"Kagome..." Inuyasha mumbled, feeling so sorry for her. He never wanted to cause this much grief to any of his friends. Never!
Kagome spent a long time cuddled in her mother's arms.
"I can't bear my life anymore!" Kagome cried. Mrs. Higurashi tightened her hug.
"There is maybe nothing I could say that would ease your pain..." she shushed. "But I made ramen for dinner. He did like ramen didn't he?"
"Bon appetit", Mrs. Higurashi said quietly, and everyone started eating. Inuyasha was sitting under the table by Kagome's feet. He was sniffing the air – oh if he only could eat that ramen! But oh well, he could get all the ramen he wanted back in the Afterlife.
Now Kagome had changed to her pajamas. She walked to the bathroom, starting to brush her teeth. Inuyasha had followed her all the way.
After brushing her teeth she wished her family good night and got into her room, turning the ceiling lights off, and the smaller desk lamp on. She sat on her bed, grabbed one of the photos and sighed.
"Inuyasha..." she mumbled.
"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha twitched. "Can you hear me-?" but he was interrupted with this:
"I wish so much that you are now in a better place."
Inuyasha's eyes were like saucers. The girl laid down, and Inuyasha stroke her, even though his hand just went through her shoulder.
"Don't be afraid. I will protect you. I'm your angel", Inuyasha whispered in her ear.
After Kagome fell asleep Inuyasha returned to the Afterlife through his portal, which was in front of the Goshinboku in the Higurashi shrine. Inuyasha floated to it and set on his feet on it's roots, closing his eyes and touching the tree's trunk. And when he opened his eyes next time, he was standing on the edge of the same rock which he had jumped off this morning. He was back home.
"Inuyasha!" called out a young man's voice. Inuyasha turned around and saw Zaki.
"Hiya", Inuyasha waved his hand.
. "Well, how was your first day of work?" Zaki asked.
"Hm... It was more... harder that I'd ever thought", Inuyasha mumbled. "It's so hard to see her suffer."
"That is just what makes our work matter. But don't worry, it will be okay, you will learn."
Inuyasha and Zaki walked back to the castle together. Their ways diverged at the main door, since Zaki lived on the other side of the castle. Inuyasha found his way to his family's room, opened it's door and got in.
"Hi, Mom and Dad", Inuyasha greeted.
"Hello!" Inutaisho lift his hand as a greeting. "Well, how was your first day?"
Izayoi pet the floor next to her, and Inuyasha sat there in his dog pose.
"Good but... Kinda hard."
Izayoi stroke her son's dog ear.
"I don't know how you feel, since I have never had a protege. But I Have seen you suffer..." she said.
"Oh yea, I was wondering why aren't you working! Why is that?" Inuyasha asked eyes wide.
"There are three types of souls: weak, normal and strong. While you and your father are both strong, I am just weak."
"Mh... Yea. It was very hard. Maybe it's better that you don't do it", Inuyasha nodded.
There will be humor coming in the next chapet, believe me! Please review! ;)