Author's Note: Here's the next chapter for my story! I guarantee it'll be
much more interesting than the last. I've been wanting to write this and
future chapters for a while now.
Disclaimer: I sent out my secret agents all decked out in their tranquilizers and leather cat-suits to find me Inuyasha and Co., but so far I haven't heard from them yet.
Chapter 11: Down the Well and Into the Future.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha and Kagome stood before the well silently. The group had reached Kaede's hut last night, and after a good night's sleep, the couple was ready to jump down the well.
Well, at least they thought they were. It seems Kagome had forgotten all about the whole family-Inuyasha-face-off. And frankly, now that both of them realized that was going to happen, they were scared.
Inuyasha glanced at his mate, trying to figure from her features if she really was going to make him go through with this. She met his gaze and gave him a shaky smile, grabbing onto his hand and squeezing it tight, "Let's go, shall we?" He nodded nervously and they both swung their legs over the rim of the well, plunging into the darkness.
~*~**~***~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they looked up and saw the well house roof, Inuyasha instinctively wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell in the air. By the one whiff he had gotten, though, he had picked up on the scent of Kagome's family. They were all here. Great. Just great.
Kagome took a deep breath, and tugged on Inuyasha's shirt sleeve, causing him to look at her. "Let's get out of this well," She suggested. He nodded, and after wrapping his arms around her, pushed off the dirt floor and leapt out of the well gracefully. She began opening the door, ready to face the world, but hesitated when she felt Inuyasha's fingers curl around hers. She couldn't stop the small smile that crossed her features. With that she shoved at the door, and stepped into the light.
Inuyasha allowed himself to be pulled by Kagome's smaller hand towards the house. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled, and he got the distinct feeling he was being watched. He glanced around, seeing nothing at first, but stopping in his tracks when he saw Mrs. Higurashi watching him intently from the kitchen window.
Her face was blank, but her eyes were wide and alert. She clung to the windowsill tightly, and she was leaning forward, as if trying to get a better look. Kagome, feeling him stop, turned and followed his gaze to see what was wrong. Then she, too, stood still.
Time seemed to freeze right then and there. They stood for seconds, minutes, days it seemed.
Suddenly, Kagome's mother disappeared from the window. Reality came crashing down again, and Inuyasha felt a slight twinge of panic course through him, though he did his best to keep his face neutral and squelch his fears.
Mrs. Higurashi appeared in the yard before them. She glanced at Kagome, and gave her a kind smile, before looking at him again. She looked at his eyes, as if searching for something. She didn't yell, or smile, she just searched silently. He wondered what she could see. Anxiousness, curiosity, longing, and other multiple feelings coursing through him? He wouldn't be surprised. Mrs. Higurashi was a pretty amazing woman.
Finally, she stopped trying to search his soul. He wondered if she had found what she'd wanted to find. Then she smiled gently. She had.
She strode up to him. "It's nice to see you again, Inuyasha. We don't see much of you these days," She gave him a quick hug, shocking him, "You know you're always welcome here."
When he let go, he could only stutter, "Eh.A-Arigatou," quietly.
With that over with, they trekked back into the house. The two Higurashi women whispered about numerous things ahead of him that Inuyasha couldn't quite catch, but he he heard "gender" very distinctly. What the hell could they be talking about that contained the word "gender"?
The second they entered the kitchen, Kagome was nearly forced into a chair by her mother and fussed over. She looked bored, as if this was an everyday occurance, but Inuyasha sat, bewildered at everything that was going on.
"- and you'll need some new clothes, because most of yours are a little tight on you. Have you been feeling all right? Can you feel it yet? Have you talked about names? I once had a cousin named-,"
Kagome just sat, nodding her head, not voicing an answer to any of her mother's questions.
"Inuyasha!"
The hanyou turned to see a boy in navy blue pajamas standing in the doorway. "Hey, Souta," He said.
Souta darted up to him, "Hey! When did you get here? I haven't seen you for a long time."
"We just got here a second ago, Souta," Kagome said.
"Hey, Kagome," he greeted his sister.
Suddenly, he grabbed Inuyasha's hand and jerked him forward into the next room. "C'mon, Inuyasha. Now that you're my older brother, you need to learn how to play video games properly." With one last look at the two women sitting at the table, they were out of sight.
Kagome smiled and Mrs.Higurashi shook her head. "Uh-oh," Kagome laughed, "He's getting Inuyasha into video games. We may not see them again for days."
Her Mother nodded in agreement then leaned forward and lowered her voice, "Kagome, I gave her a call. It's all set up."
"Good. Now I just need to work it out with Inuyasha."
"That shouldn't be to hard with that spell you have over him, honey."
Kagome shifted in her seat, "Umm, Mom, I can't use that spell anymore. Inuyasha and I came to an agreement that I wouldn't use it unless there was an...emergency."
Mrs.Higurashi raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on what kind of emergency she might mean. "Well," She said, " I guess you'll just have to talk to him, then. In any case, we'll be leaving tomorrow."
"Thanks," Kagome said, "Now, More importantly, do you have any Chocolate? Ice cream would be good, too. I crave some sweets!"
Her mother sighed, "I guess I should go to the grocery store."
*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At that moment, Souta and Inuyasha were completely absorbed in their video game.
"Ern, Come on!" Inuyasha grunted.
"I'm gonna kick your butt, Inuyasha!"
"Yeah, Right. It takes more than a couple of lost points to take me down."
BOOM!
Something on the screen glowed and exploded. Inuyasha's character lay defeated.
"NO!"
"HA HA! TOLD YOU!"
"Next game is mine!" Inuyasha challenged.
"In your dreams!"
Just then Mrs.Higurashi decided to interupt the 'battle'. "Souta, Inuyasha, I'm going to get some groceries. Have Kagome call me if you need anything."
"Wait! I want to get some comic books. Let me come!" Souta jumped up and ran to the car without even waiting for his mother's reply. Mrs.Higurashi followed him and shut the door behind her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome searched through the cabinets for some sort of sugary snack. "Oooh! Rice candy!" It was gone within minutes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*
Souta and Mrs.Higurashi rolled along the isles of food with their cart. Souta's nose was buried deep in a video game magazine, and a comic book was under one of his arms.
Mrs.Higurashi strode along, grabbing this and that and placing it in the cart. Then she felt someone tugging at her shirt. She turned around and saw Souta pointing down the aisle. "Hey, Mom. Aren't those Kagome's friends?"
Sure enough, there were Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka standing at the magazine rack. They were nudging each other and looking at the two of them. Mrs. Higurashi waved politely and they strode over.
"Hello, Higurashi-san," Ayumi greeted.
"Hello, girls," She smiled at each of them in turn.
"How is Kagome?" Eri wondered.
Mrs. Higurashi sighed, "Exhausted. And hungry, as you can see." She gestured to the cart full of food.
The teenage girls looked at each other. "Well," Yuka cleared her throat, "We better be going. Will you tell Kagome-chan we said hi?"
"Of course."
With that they hurried off.
*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It is kind of suspicious. I mean, why would she need all that food if she had pneumonia?"
"I thought it was yellow fever."
"Same difference."
"Tell me again what happened."
"My brother heard her brother, um."
"Souta."
"Yeah! Well he was on the phone with his mom, and he was blabbering on about it. He didn't even notice him standing in the same room, and it was our living room, too!"
"Guys, we can't believe a rumor from a little boy. We need to talk to Kagome ourselves."
"What if it's true?"
"Then we'll just, I don't know. Talk it out with her I guess."
"So we're not mad at her, then?"
There was a pause.
"Not yet."
With that they hung up the phone with a little 'click'.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'M BACK!!!!! I've been at camp for three weeks straight, and I just got back today. Ah, the joys of technology! Well, I think I've left you with a bit of a cliffy, but don't worry. You won't have to wait long. Review! Sayonara!
Disclaimer: I sent out my secret agents all decked out in their tranquilizers and leather cat-suits to find me Inuyasha and Co., but so far I haven't heard from them yet.
Chapter 11: Down the Well and Into the Future.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha and Kagome stood before the well silently. The group had reached Kaede's hut last night, and after a good night's sleep, the couple was ready to jump down the well.
Well, at least they thought they were. It seems Kagome had forgotten all about the whole family-Inuyasha-face-off. And frankly, now that both of them realized that was going to happen, they were scared.
Inuyasha glanced at his mate, trying to figure from her features if she really was going to make him go through with this. She met his gaze and gave him a shaky smile, grabbing onto his hand and squeezing it tight, "Let's go, shall we?" He nodded nervously and they both swung their legs over the rim of the well, plunging into the darkness.
~*~**~***~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they looked up and saw the well house roof, Inuyasha instinctively wrinkled his nose at the putrid smell in the air. By the one whiff he had gotten, though, he had picked up on the scent of Kagome's family. They were all here. Great. Just great.
Kagome took a deep breath, and tugged on Inuyasha's shirt sleeve, causing him to look at her. "Let's get out of this well," She suggested. He nodded, and after wrapping his arms around her, pushed off the dirt floor and leapt out of the well gracefully. She began opening the door, ready to face the world, but hesitated when she felt Inuyasha's fingers curl around hers. She couldn't stop the small smile that crossed her features. With that she shoved at the door, and stepped into the light.
Inuyasha allowed himself to be pulled by Kagome's smaller hand towards the house. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled, and he got the distinct feeling he was being watched. He glanced around, seeing nothing at first, but stopping in his tracks when he saw Mrs. Higurashi watching him intently from the kitchen window.
Her face was blank, but her eyes were wide and alert. She clung to the windowsill tightly, and she was leaning forward, as if trying to get a better look. Kagome, feeling him stop, turned and followed his gaze to see what was wrong. Then she, too, stood still.
Time seemed to freeze right then and there. They stood for seconds, minutes, days it seemed.
Suddenly, Kagome's mother disappeared from the window. Reality came crashing down again, and Inuyasha felt a slight twinge of panic course through him, though he did his best to keep his face neutral and squelch his fears.
Mrs. Higurashi appeared in the yard before them. She glanced at Kagome, and gave her a kind smile, before looking at him again. She looked at his eyes, as if searching for something. She didn't yell, or smile, she just searched silently. He wondered what she could see. Anxiousness, curiosity, longing, and other multiple feelings coursing through him? He wouldn't be surprised. Mrs. Higurashi was a pretty amazing woman.
Finally, she stopped trying to search his soul. He wondered if she had found what she'd wanted to find. Then she smiled gently. She had.
She strode up to him. "It's nice to see you again, Inuyasha. We don't see much of you these days," She gave him a quick hug, shocking him, "You know you're always welcome here."
When he let go, he could only stutter, "Eh.A-Arigatou," quietly.
With that over with, they trekked back into the house. The two Higurashi women whispered about numerous things ahead of him that Inuyasha couldn't quite catch, but he he heard "gender" very distinctly. What the hell could they be talking about that contained the word "gender"?
The second they entered the kitchen, Kagome was nearly forced into a chair by her mother and fussed over. She looked bored, as if this was an everyday occurance, but Inuyasha sat, bewildered at everything that was going on.
"- and you'll need some new clothes, because most of yours are a little tight on you. Have you been feeling all right? Can you feel it yet? Have you talked about names? I once had a cousin named-,"
Kagome just sat, nodding her head, not voicing an answer to any of her mother's questions.
"Inuyasha!"
The hanyou turned to see a boy in navy blue pajamas standing in the doorway. "Hey, Souta," He said.
Souta darted up to him, "Hey! When did you get here? I haven't seen you for a long time."
"We just got here a second ago, Souta," Kagome said.
"Hey, Kagome," he greeted his sister.
Suddenly, he grabbed Inuyasha's hand and jerked him forward into the next room. "C'mon, Inuyasha. Now that you're my older brother, you need to learn how to play video games properly." With one last look at the two women sitting at the table, they were out of sight.
Kagome smiled and Mrs.Higurashi shook her head. "Uh-oh," Kagome laughed, "He's getting Inuyasha into video games. We may not see them again for days."
Her Mother nodded in agreement then leaned forward and lowered her voice, "Kagome, I gave her a call. It's all set up."
"Good. Now I just need to work it out with Inuyasha."
"That shouldn't be to hard with that spell you have over him, honey."
Kagome shifted in her seat, "Umm, Mom, I can't use that spell anymore. Inuyasha and I came to an agreement that I wouldn't use it unless there was an...emergency."
Mrs.Higurashi raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on what kind of emergency she might mean. "Well," She said, " I guess you'll just have to talk to him, then. In any case, we'll be leaving tomorrow."
"Thanks," Kagome said, "Now, More importantly, do you have any Chocolate? Ice cream would be good, too. I crave some sweets!"
Her mother sighed, "I guess I should go to the grocery store."
*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At that moment, Souta and Inuyasha were completely absorbed in their video game.
"Ern, Come on!" Inuyasha grunted.
"I'm gonna kick your butt, Inuyasha!"
"Yeah, Right. It takes more than a couple of lost points to take me down."
BOOM!
Something on the screen glowed and exploded. Inuyasha's character lay defeated.
"NO!"
"HA HA! TOLD YOU!"
"Next game is mine!" Inuyasha challenged.
"In your dreams!"
Just then Mrs.Higurashi decided to interupt the 'battle'. "Souta, Inuyasha, I'm going to get some groceries. Have Kagome call me if you need anything."
"Wait! I want to get some comic books. Let me come!" Souta jumped up and ran to the car without even waiting for his mother's reply. Mrs.Higurashi followed him and shut the door behind her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome searched through the cabinets for some sort of sugary snack. "Oooh! Rice candy!" It was gone within minutes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*
Souta and Mrs.Higurashi rolled along the isles of food with their cart. Souta's nose was buried deep in a video game magazine, and a comic book was under one of his arms.
Mrs.Higurashi strode along, grabbing this and that and placing it in the cart. Then she felt someone tugging at her shirt. She turned around and saw Souta pointing down the aisle. "Hey, Mom. Aren't those Kagome's friends?"
Sure enough, there were Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka standing at the magazine rack. They were nudging each other and looking at the two of them. Mrs. Higurashi waved politely and they strode over.
"Hello, Higurashi-san," Ayumi greeted.
"Hello, girls," She smiled at each of them in turn.
"How is Kagome?" Eri wondered.
Mrs. Higurashi sighed, "Exhausted. And hungry, as you can see." She gestured to the cart full of food.
The teenage girls looked at each other. "Well," Yuka cleared her throat, "We better be going. Will you tell Kagome-chan we said hi?"
"Of course."
With that they hurried off.
*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It is kind of suspicious. I mean, why would she need all that food if she had pneumonia?"
"I thought it was yellow fever."
"Same difference."
"Tell me again what happened."
"My brother heard her brother, um."
"Souta."
"Yeah! Well he was on the phone with his mom, and he was blabbering on about it. He didn't even notice him standing in the same room, and it was our living room, too!"
"Guys, we can't believe a rumor from a little boy. We need to talk to Kagome ourselves."
"What if it's true?"
"Then we'll just, I don't know. Talk it out with her I guess."
"So we're not mad at her, then?"
There was a pause.
"Not yet."
With that they hung up the phone with a little 'click'.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'M BACK!!!!! I've been at camp for three weeks straight, and I just got back today. Ah, the joys of technology! Well, I think I've left you with a bit of a cliffy, but don't worry. You won't have to wait long. Review! Sayonara!
