Plans
******
"Hey. Why do you smell like my bastard brother!?"
"Ah, well, he kinda helped me..." Kagome said warily.
"Sesshoumaru helped you?"
"Yeah." She didn't elaborate.
Kurama found that he did not like it when she ignored him. He liked it less when she hugged the white haired hanyou. But he couldn't stand that some strange male had been close enough to leave such a strong mark of his scent on her skin. Once Inuyasha had commented on it, his foxes nose picked up the lingering scent of this other male. He felt like growling again.
Hiei stared at him knowingly. He forced his reactions aside and ignored the Koorime. Youko was getting possessive. This was not good.
"Come on inside," Kagome sighed. "All of you are welcome..."
Welcome...Hiei remembered that word. It was strange how fulfilling it could be to be welcome somewhere. He glanced up. Sure enough, her window remained half open. He smiled sadly. It was almost depressing when you realize what you have been missing in your life.
They trooped after her again and settled themselves into various chairs, cushions, and niches in the furniture. Boton slid into place next to the dog demon, who turned his amber eyes on her for a second and colored lightly. That was hopefully a good sign...she thought. She noticed that one ear remained cocked in her direction while the other twitched at the sounds in the room.
Kurama waited until Kagome chose a chair to sit at before crowding in behind her. As much as he wanted to fight it, he didn't feel like sharing her at the moment. She scooted over so he could perch on the wide arm of the chair. He accepted with a smile. At least she likes my company, he thought, green eyes softening. Hiei stood at the opposite wall, watching with amusement.
"So, what happened?" Yusuke, ever the blunt individual, asked.
Inuyasha quickly explained the first part of the attack and allowed Kagome to take over. He was surprised when she didn't make him out to be the biggest jerk to ever live, when he knew he deserved it. Kagome explained the rest of her adventure.
"You act like you don't know anything about it this time," Kagome said.
"That's because Koenma doesn't have the orb thingy anymore." Kuwabara nodded wisely. "It broke."
"Oh..."
"Oh! Koenma!" Boton stood up and vanished abruptly.
Inuyasha yelped and stared at the cold place where the girl's leg had been pressed casually against his own. "Does she always leave like that?"
"Usually." Kurama spoke for the first time since Youko had calmed. His voice was soft and contained again. Inuyasha looked him over carefully, noting the close proximity to Kagome. He resisted the urge to bare his fangs at the red head.
"I think we should take a few days to recover before we go looking again," Kagome sighed. "I was gone longer than I had intended to be and now I have a lot of catching up to do." She rubbed her tired eyes. "And finals are in...two and a half weeks."
Inuyasha actually didn't argue. He was so tired himself, he'd welcome the break. "Stay as long as you need, Kagome. The shards will still be there in two weeks."
She looked at him in surprise.
"If anything happens, I'll come and get you." He looked at the red head swiftly, a dare in his amber gaze. "And I'll come and check on you."
"I'll visit as soon as I catch up on most of my school work,"she offered brightly. "When summer starts I can stay longer."
"How long you stay doesn't make a difference if Naraku stays hidden. We can't do any thing until that bastard shows himself," he growled in frustration.
A sudden flash and unearthly pop sent his hand to his sword hilt in record speed. Boton calmly settled into her former spot without a concern for her exit or entrance. Inuyasha glared at her.
"Don't do that!"
"Huh?" she blinked prettily up at him. He blushed again. Definitely a good sign!
Inuyasha flipped his ears back in annoyance. "Feh!" but the dark stain on his cheeks remained.
"What of that last shard? The one still in spirit world?" Yusuke brought up, "We still need to go after that."
"I'd like to try to do what I can to find the other shards in the past, first," Kagome sighed. "That last shard is inaccessible to Naraku, but the others we could still lose to him if we keep waiting."
"Hn." Hiei agreed. She gave him a half smile.
"I'll go back and hunt shards one last time before I will turn my attention to that one."
Inuyasha stood up. He felt crowded and tired. His nerves were frayed and his body exhausted. "I'll come see you tomorrow," he told the girl. "Will you be okay now?"
Kagome nodded. "Oh! Inuyasha, please don't attack your brother. He really did help me."
Inuyasha glared at her, unwilling to admit that he didn't think he had the energy to fend off Shippo at that moment. "That depends on him," he growled. "How did you get so beat up if he was so nice to you?"
Kurama looked down at her bruised and scratched form. He'd been wondering the same thing.
"This? I did this to myself," she confessed.
Kurama looked at her in disbelief. He raised a hand to the welt on her cheek. She put a hand over his and turned a rosy shade of pink. "I ran into a tree," she admitted.
Hiei laughed out right, her glare not concerning him in the slightest.
"Was it a demon tree?" Kuwabara asked.
Kagome wished she could say that it was but her luck was bad enough as it is. "No. Just a regular tree. A big tree..."
Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head at her. "It's not the first time..." he muttered.
"So sorry I can't see in the dark like you can!" she grumbled back. "And this time I was just going to fast to stop. I was trying to keep you from giving my mother a heart attack," she reminded him.
"By throwing yourself at a tree?" Her mother asked from behind her. "That is kind of silly, dear. Hurting yourself in a rush to tell me that you are not hurt, seems illogical."
Mrs. Higurashi looked sweet and composed. Like her normal self except for the faint shadow of worry in her brown eyes. "I'm okay, mama. Really I am," Kagome assured her. She smiled grandly at her daughter. It was easy to see where Kagome got her resilience.
"Keh!" Inuyasha stretched and left abruptly.
"Oh, dear!" her mother sighed.
"Don't worry, mama, he's always like that."
"Such a sensitive boy..." her mother nodded.
Kagome almost choked on her newly acquired cup of tea. Kurama used this as an excuse to rub her back. His hand stilled but remained after she regained her breath.
"Thanks..."she gasped.
He smiled down at her. Kagome saw her mother stare intently at Shuuichi/Kurama and nod her approval. Kagome had the sudden urge to crawl in a hole and hide. Her mother would now be pestering her nonstop about her new "suitor." Kurama, you don't know what's in store for you now...When she gets an idea in her head... Kagome lamented in her mind. Before she knew it, her mother would be inviting his family over for dinner and tea to discuss how wonderful their children were. It had happened before. With Inuyasha, who had no parents alive, Mrs. Higurashi just enticed him to stay and visit with every chance she got...and she bribed him with food. Kagome moaned and dropped her head in her hands.
"Are you injured?"
She looked up into concerned green eyes.
"Other then a few scrapes and bruises, no."
He looked oddly disappointed...Kagome decided to let that pass for now.
"Actually," she yawned delicately. "I'm just tired and hungry. Sesshoumaru keeps up a strong pace. I don't see how Rin takes it."
"The little girl?" Boton asked, remembering the visions of Kagome's memories.
"Yeah. Though in truth, I believe she ran circles around all of us..." Kagome chuckled.
"We had best let you rest." Kurama stood, "I'll be back to check on you as well."
"Don't hesitate to call on us," Yusuke reminded her.
Kagome nodded happily and waked them to the door. When they had all filed out, Kagome ran to comfort her family before falling into a mercifully deep sleep.