Chapter 5
By Nimrodel
***
Kagome felt like she was trying to swim upward in dark water, unable to reach the surface. All around her there was nothing, except for 2 points of light. One felt warm and safe, and she was trying desperately to get back to it, but the other was pulling her inexorably toward it. No matter how hard she tried to reach the warm light, she was drawn backwards to the other light. She felt lightheaded, and could almost swear she heard people calling her name...
"Kagome! Wake up, Kagome!"
Her eyes flew open. Glancing around, she saw Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kaede staring at her with concern and relief.
"Kagome-chan, you're awake! Thank god!" said Sango, throwing her arms around her. "We thought we had lost you, we couldn't wake you up..."
"Kagomeeee!" yelled Shippou,jumping into her lap.
Miroku contented himself, for once, by just sitting there relieved.
Kaede leaned over Kagome, feeling her head. "How do you feel, child? You fought the spell, and by all rights that should have killed you."
Oops.. "I've felt...better..." ...Kagome's head felt like someone had smacked it with a baseball bat, and she was too weak even to sit up. She groaned a little.
"Did you tell Inuyasha what happened, Kagome-sama?" asked Miroku.
"Yeah...he knows what's going on now..." I hope he's okay...he seems so uncomfortable in my world... The conversation they had was slowly coming back to Kagome. He had actually apologized to her about saying her home and family weren't important; he must really be feeling homesick. Kagome gasped...had he said what she thought she heard when she felt herself being pulled back to this time? Or had it just been her imagination...?
"Kagome-chan, are you okay?" asked Sango. "You just zoned out on us..."
"I'm sorry, I'm fine...just thinking about some stuff, that's all..." replied Kagome.
Sango looked at her with pity, seeming to get a hint of what it might be she was thinking about. "Don't worry, Kagome. You rest for awhile and get your strength back, and later on we'll start searching for Kikyo..."
Kagome smiled. "Arigatou, Sango-chan...but, do you think you could do me a favor?"
Inuyasha stumbled downstairs that morning, his head swimming. She really came to me, I know it...I wasn't dreaming... Knowing why the well didn't work made everything a little bit more bearable, mostly because he knew it wasn't permanent. Kagome and the others WOULD find Kikyo, and they'd get the arrow out, and everything could go back to normal...
Kagome's family was seated around the table, eating breakfast. Jii-chan completely ignored him, but Souta greeted him brightly. "Ohayou, Inu-no-niichan!".
Inuyasha gave him a weak smile. "Hey kid." He sat down at the table, taking a deep breath and getting ready to deliver his news.
"Inuyasha-kun, are you feeling alright? You don't look so good." asked Kagome's mom, a hint of concern in her voice.
"I..." He began, unsure of exactly what to say. "K-Kagome came to me last night..."
Everyone immediately went dead quiet, except for the sound of someone's spoon hitting their bowl.
"What do you mean, demon? Was she here?" asked Jii-chan urgently.
Inuyasha looked down. "Sort of...she said it was a spell, and that only her soul was here."
Jii-chan stared at him for a second, then turned away, disgusted. "Stupid, it was only a dream."
Inuyasha had known they'd probably doubt him, but he never expected this feeling of rejection. Kagome had always believed him..."No, I wasn't dreaming. I know it was real."
Jii-chan looked as though he was about to say something, but Kagome's mom cut him off. "Go ahead, Inuyasha dear. What did she tell you?"
Inuyasha looked down at the floor, suddenly very self-conscious. "She said the well was sealed, and that they were going to find the person who sealed it and get them to open it again..." He left out the part that the person who sealed it just happened to be his ex-girlfriend come back from the dead. He didn't think mentioning that would help matters any. "As soon as they do that, everything should be back to normal...oh, and she said to tell you that she's fine, and not to worry about her..." He bit his lip, expecting them to call him an idiot for believing what must obviously be a dream.
"I guess that means you'll be able to go home soon, ne, Inuyasha? Did she say how long she expected it to be?" Kagome's mom asked him.
He stared at her a minute in amazement before responding. She actually believed him..."Uh...no...she didn't. It might be a little while, but I don't think it'll be too long..."
"Well, don't worry. No matter how long it takes, you're always welcome here." replied Kagome's mom, shooting Jii-chan a stern look. Jii-chan grumbled but didn't say anything.
"T-thank you...I really appreciate it...umm...may I please be excused?" Inuyasha asked. He felt so unwelcome with Jii-chan glaring at him across the table, no matter how nice Kagome's mom was being.
"Of course. I'll leave some food in the fridge if you get hungry later on." said Kagome's mom.
"Arigatou." He said before quietly pushing in his chair and silently leaving the room.
Kagome smiled to herself as she put away her pocket knife. It was done.
"Kagome-sama, are you ready to go yet?" called Miroku.
Sango came running up to her. "Everything's packed, are you done whatever it is you had wanted to do?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded. "Good," said Sango, "Then we can get going. The sooner we find Kikyo, the sooner you get to see Inuyasha...what was it you had wanted to do here at the well, anyway?"
Kagome glanced down at where she had carved words into the wood. "Just leaving a message for someone." she grinned. Sango followed her gaze and smiled. "I see...well, let's get going then." Kagome stood up and walked over to where Kirara was waiting for them, transformed. She through her bag up on the cat-demon's back before climbing on behind Sango.
Inuyasha stepped into the the well house. He hadn't been in here since the day he found out it wasn't working, but now he needed some peace and quiet to think. Everything in this time was so different from what he was used to, at least the well was familiar...
He slumped down beside the well, resting his head against it. He felt so confused and alone...not to mention unwelcome. He knew Higurashi-san was trying her best to make him feel comfortable in this time, but there was no way he every would...at least not without Kagome. Tears pricked at his eyes. Why couldn't Kaogme at least be here with him...?
Her visit during the night had only made it that much more clear to him how much he missed her, how much she meant to him. He had had so little time to talk to her...
His hands ran over a strange groove in the wood. Curious, he picked away at the decades old dirt. He gasped when he saw that it was a message, worn down over the centuries but still readable. His claws dug into the wood and he felt tears running down his cheeks. There, in the wood, read the words:
Arigatou to everyone who reviewed, especially LinaNverse, who also mailed me about the story. ^_^ It made me so happy, thank you! Please click the review button at the bottom, I really really love feedback...and we all want to make me Nimrodel happy so she writes fluff instead of leaving nasty cliffhangers or something ^_^ I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!