CHAPTER 2:A BROKEN HOME
"Where in hell is she…?" Muffed Inu-Yasha, standing against a tree. "She only had one damn test… she's annoying, but she's not THAT stupid…"
"Actually…" said Miroku. "I think she had THREE tests."
"T-THREE?"
"Yep." Confirmed Miroku. "Three of 'em. I don't know why she has to do these things, but they're pretty important to her, evidently."
"You can't force her to do it!" Shippou yelled, pointing a finger at Inu-Yasha. "Don't be a jerk just because she won't do what you want!"
Inu-Yasha picked Shippou up by the tail, and threw him in a nearby lake. He bobbled up to the surface for air, kicking and gasping to keep himself afloat. Miroku, lending a hand, picked him out of the water near the shore by his shirt collar.
"Honestly!" said Miroku. "Did you HAVE to do that?"
"I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Yelled Shippou as he charged at Inu-Yasha. Miroku held him back by his shirt, however. "Let me at him!" He huffed, while still being tethered to Miroku.
"Oh no, please let him go!" said Inu-Yasha. "I would LOVE to see him try to take me on."
"GRR!" said Shippou, breaking free of Miroku's grasp. "I'll show YOU!"
Inu-Yasha then put his hand on Shippou's forehead. Shippou was swinging wildly with his fists, but didn't really get anywhere.
"You keep at it, fox." Chided Inu-Yasha. "Maybe you'll hit me sometime next century." Shippou, at this point, stopped flailing, and sat beside a nearby tree.
"Jerk…"
"Anyway…" Myoga popped up from Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "I think Kagome will probably be gone a few days. We should do something until then."
"Days?! Damn her…" Inu-Yasha set his back against a tree and scoffed. "Well, what are our options?"
"Not a lot." Miroku shook his head. "We can't move too far from here, because we don't know quite when she'll be back. There aren't a lot of inns around here…"
"Let's go back to the one we were last night! That place was pretty swanky…" Beamed Shippou, thinking of a warm, fluffy bed and a good meal.
"That wouldn't work." Said Miroku. "We can't afford to stay there, much less even a really cheap inn, and even though that innkeeper wasn't the brightest man in the world, if I came back and told him there may be MORE evil spirits, then even he would begin to suspect something."
His gaze fixated on the lake where Inu-Yasha had tossed Shippou previously. There were some fish jumping around in the lake, their scales shimmered in the early afternoon sun.
"We should set up camp here." Miroku said. "We'll fish for our food until she gets back, and set up camp."
"Genius." Said Inu-Yasha sarcastically. "Oh, except for the fact that we have NO POLES to fish with." He rolled his eyes.
"Hmm…" Miroku was deep in thought. "Shippou, could you turn into a fishing pole, by any chance?"
Shippou beamed. "Yeah! Just leave it to me!" With a loud "boom" and a puff of smoke, Shippou had become a fishing pole. Unfortunately, the rod was about the size and width of a small twig, and the line was about a foot long. Not quite the equipment for fishing.
"Um…Shippou?" Said Miroku, with a disappointing look on his face. "This isn't going to cut it…"
"I'll try again." Came a voice emanating from the pole. Another "Boom" and puff of smoke later, Shippou was a fishing pole that would actually work, although it looked sort of like a deformed stick.
"That's much better!" said Miroku. "But what about bait…?"
Miroku's gaze fixated on Inu-Yasha.
"Forget it." Inu-Yasha glared at Miroku. "There is no way in hell I am getting on my hands and knees and digging for worms." Narrowing his eyes, he turned away from Miroku. "How about I fish, and YOU dig for worms?"
"Fishing is a game of patience." Said Miroku. "And you just don't have any." Inu-Yasha couldn't argue with that.
"Feh. Damn it all…" and with that, he got on his knees and began to dig. Miroku burst into laughter. Childlike laughter was emanating from the fishing-pole, as well.
"What the hell are YOU laughing at?" yelled Inu-Yasha.
Miroku was in stitches. "You look like a real dog!" he said, then both he and Shippou burst into wild laughter.
"Shut up!" yelled Inu-Yasha. Everyone was still laughing. "I SAID, SHUT UP!" Miroku was rolling on the floor. Inu-Yasha picked up a clump of earth he recently dug up, and chucked it in his direction.
"Hey!" said Miroku, brushing the dirt out of his hair. "Fine, fine, just get us some worms, okay?"
Myoga was sucking on Inu-Yasha's chest. "Inu-Yasha sama-"
But he was met with Inu-Yasha's hand. "Shut up, flea…"
****
That night, everyone had their fill of fish, and were about ready to turn it in for the night. Shippou was already fast asleep; Miroku and Inu-Yasha were trying their best to drown out his soft snoring.
"A day." Said Inu-Yasha flatly.
Miroku sat up. "What do you mean?"
"She has one day to get back here, or I'm coming after her." Said Inu-Yasha. "And don't even bother trying to stop me."
"Do whatever you want. I guess we'll have to wait here in case she come back, then." and then he laid back down and drifted off to sleep.
Inu-Yasha sighed. "Get back here soon, Kagome. It's a lot harder to baby-sit these bastards without you…"
****
"Kagome? Yes, well…" Said the old man to the voice on the telephone. "I am afraid she has been ill lately…"
"Ill?" came the voice on the other line. It was Naota, calling as promised. "What does she have?"
"Um…" the old man panicked. "She has…"
Let's see… what HAVEN'T I used yet…?
"I fear she has Lupus."
"Lupus?" said the puzzled voice on the other line. Naota recalled that he should not heed Kagome's Grandfather's words on this matter.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Oh yes, quite positive." Came the voice on the other line. "In fact, she also has leprosy, which isn't helping ma-"
"Who's on the phone, grandpa?" asked Kagome, who had just happened to step in the room.
"It's… uh…"
"Did you tell him I'm sick?" She put her hands on her hips.
"Well… sort of…" Said Her Grandfather meekly.
"Give me that!" She demanded, snatching the phone from her grandfather. "Hello?"
"Hello, Kagome? It's Naota. From school, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember." She said. "It's only been a couple of hours, you know."
Naota flinched. What an idiot he sounded like! "Sorry…"
"I'm just joking." Kagome laughed. This guy needed to not be so uptight.
"Oh." Said Naota, giving a faint chuckle. "Um… where do you live?"
"Um… do you know where the Sunset Shrine is? On top of that hill?"
"You live near there?" said Naota enthusiastically. "I live near there, too, since we moved a while ago!"
"Actually…" said Kagome, rooting through the fridge for something to drink. "I LIVE there."
Naota laughed. "That's awesome! Can I come over now, or is this a bad time for you?"
Kagome found some sort of soda, and opened it. "Um… sure! Have you eaten dinner yet? I suppose you could eat with us…"
"Really? Thanks! I'll be over soon. Bye!"
Kagome smiled. "Bye!"
****
"One more time." Said Naota. "There are how many electrons in boron?"
Kagome was rubbing her forehead. This was almost as hard as math for her, and that's saying a lot. "Four?" she guessed.
"No. That's wrong." Said Naota.
"Oh well." She sighed. "I'll probably do okay on the test tomorrow. It's getting late."
"Yeah." Said Naota, and then he gave a long yawn. "We'll, I'd better go. My dad will be upset if I'm late."
"Naota… can I ask you a question?" Said Kagome.
Naota flinched. "Um… sure." He said. "What is it?"
"That pendant." She said, pointing to the stone that hung around Naota's neck. "Where did you get that pendant?"
Naota tightened his grip on the stone that hung on a necklace. "It was… a gift from my mother." He said meekly.
"Let me see-"
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" snapped Naota.
For a long time, there was silence. Naota was clearly attached to that pendant very much. He sighed, and regained his composure.
"I'm sorry." He said. "My mother is dead. This is what she left me before she died."
All the color flushed from Kagome's face. "That's a shard, no doubt about it…" she said to herself. "There's no way I can ask him for it. Not knowing this."
"How did she die?" she asked, hesitantly. She stared intently at Naota's face.
"My parents were… divorced." He began. "She found a new boyfriend after that, and they both died in a car wreck… she was in intensive care for a while before she died. That's when… she gave me this. She told me it would protect me."
"I-" Kagome's mind drew only blanks. "I'm so sorry…"
For a long time, they both just sat there, staring blankly. Neither knew what to say.
"I'd better go." Said Naota. He packed up his belongings. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Said Kagome, flatly. Conversation was still awkward. "Thanks for your help. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"
Naota nodded. "I also wanted… to thank you."
Kagome had a rather puzzled expression on her face. "Thank ME?" she said in disbelief. "I should be thanking you. I may ace these tests because of you."
"I mean to thank you…" he smiled. "For sticking up for me today." he said. "Most people don't do things like that for me…" he lowered his head.
Kagome was quick to rush by his side. "Hey, now!" she said. "That's everybody else's problem, not yours. You're a great person. That's what matters."
"It feels good…" Naota said between brief sobs. "To have someone say that to me…"
"I'll see you tomorrow." She said. "Don't forget what I told you, okay?" She smiled. Naota smiled back, and was on his way out.
****
Kagome was about to go to sleep when she noticed that Naota left one of his Textbooks here, his Chemistry Textbook to be exact.
"I should bring it to him…" Kagome decided. She looked up his name in the phone book, and found his address. He was right, it wasn't far from her house at all.
"Grandpa? I'm going to take this book back to Naota. I'll be home soon!"
Her Grandpa was fast asleep already, and snoring loudly.
"Never mind…" she said, and went off to find Naota.
****
"This is it…" said Kagome, as she stood in front of a plain house. It wasn't shabby by any means, just sort of plain and small.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
There were loud voices coming from inside the house. One was clearly Naota's father.
Kagome knew she had to stay and see what happens next. Maybe it would explain why Naota has such a rough time in general. She stood near the door, but away from any windows to avoid being seen, and listened…
****
"I said, where the hell were you?"
Naota cringed at the sight of his father's anger. "I was helping a friend study." He said firmly. "You don't need to be so upset with me."
"A friend, huh?" said the man. He was average height, with dirty, black hair and gruff stubble of hair on his face. His clothing was disheveled, he smelled of alcohol. "It's about damn time you got some friends. So what's this guys name, anyway?"
"HER name, is Kagome."
"A GIRL?!" Said the man gruffly. He rubbed his chin and shook his head. "You can't see her again." The man said.
Naota was crushed. "W-why?" he said, near tears.
"Girls are trouble, Naota. Look at me for example." He took a swig of a beer he had left out on the counter. "I loved your mother, and she used me. We got divorced, she got our old house and all my belongings." He took another drink, and sighed. "But I got you, so she would have to pay child support!" he beamed with pride.
Naota seethed with anger on the inside. "I was used." He said to himself. "He doesn't love me… he wanted revenge…"
"But then that bitch died in that car wreck, and couldn't pay anymore." He growled. "I swear, that woman has cheated me out of every-"
"SHUT UP!" Yelled Naota, in tears.
"You… little…" his father began lumbering towards him.
"Mother was better than you'll ever be!" He yelled. "Look at you! You're so pathetic! All you do is drink all day, to forget the fact that you're a loser!" He screamed with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.
"And Mother didn't leave you because she used you!" he protested. "She left because you were a fucking drunk!" Naota screamed this louder than he had ever screamed before. He was so angry; angrier than he had ever been in is whole life.
The next thing he knew, he was thrown into the wall. He felt his father's fist in his stomach, and he slumped to the floor. His father kicked him in the ribs; he tasted the bitter taste of blood in his mouth.
"You little shit…" said his father through clenched teeth. "How could be so ungrateful? After all I've done for you…"
"You never did anything for me… or mother…" he said faintly. His father kicked him again.
"GET IN YOUR ROOM!" he yelled, filled with rage. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT!"
Naota crawled back up on his feet, and made his way to his room. "Don't worry." He told his father. "If I had my way… I'd never see you again." Then he added. "You are not my father. Not anymore."
His father was about to chase after him, when the doorbell rang. He opened the door, and saw a black-haired girl; she looked as if she was in high school. "Um…" she said meekly. "Your son left this…" she outstretched an arm, holding a book. The man snatched it, and then practically slammed the door in her face.
****
"Why can't I do something about him?" Naota asked himself within the confines of his room. "I could do away with him, now that I have this…" he clutched the Shikon Shard that hung around his neck. "…but I'm too scared… too scared to stand up to him…" he began to cry for a while, then laughed at himself. "Look at me." He said. "He was right… I am pathetic…"
****
"That poor kid…" Kagome thought to herself, as she lay awake in her bed. "He must hate himself… so much… I can't imagine having to live with a man like that…" Tomorrow at school, she would tell him what she saw. And do everything she could to help him out.
But with the power a Shikon Shard can give a person, and with all the built-up rage Naota must have, she had to wonder… if maybe he really did kill that boy…
Authors Notes: Now you know a little about Naota. I wanted to portray him in a sense that the reader would be able to feel for him, and become somewhat attached to him as a character. Thanks for reading thus far. Let it be known that I am not writing this out of experience, my parents are still together, and although I try to portray it realistically, ultimately I don't know what it's like, so I apologize if I did a bad job portraying it. Thanks for reading.
