Kagome and Inuyasha made their way out of the forest with some
awkwardness. They didn't really talk about much after that strange noise,
which was fine with Kagome. It was hard to admit, but she missed the mean
Inuyasha. The new, nice one was boring. They had made it all the way to the
well, when Inuyasha turned to her.
"Tonight's the new moon, Kagome."
Kagome's eyebrows flew up. "Oh? I guess I should have remembered that... I totally forgot. I'm sorry Inuyasha."
"Don't be sorry."
Kagome wanted Inuyasha to get mad at her, just to get things back to normal. "Can I call you 'Inu?'?"
"If you want to."
Kagome had it. "Inuyasha, I'm going to ask you one last time. What is your problem today? It seems like you're trying to scare me by being nice, or something!"
Inuyasha bristled. "Jeez, Kagome! I only wanted to turn over another leaf for you. Miroku, Sango and Shippo got on my case today about how I'm such a bastard to you. And I got to thinking, and I realized that they were right. You deserve better than that, and I'm not exactly nice to you, and-"
"Inuyasha! Don't you get it? I like you for who you are, even if you are mean sometimes. You shouldn't change for me just because you think it'll make me like you more."
"Now WHO ever said anything about ME wanting you to like me more?"
"Well, then what DID you mean, Inu?"
"DON'T call me INU!"
"You SAID that I could!"
"That was before you told me I could be a bastard to you again."
"So you DO want to be a bastard again! Well FINE!"
Inuyasha was incredibly mad. He wanted her to shut her pretty mouth so much, he did the only thing he believed would keep her quiet. He kissed her. Kagome, surprised at the sudden action, felt her knees buckle. She reached out to brace herself on the well, but found herself falling backwards into it, taking the still-attached-to-her-mouth Inuyasha with her.
They floated down through the light, and landed with a thud at the bottom of the Higurashi well. They were both panting with a mixture of shock and surprise.
"WHAT did you do that for?"
"Well, I wouldn't have done it if YOU hadn't gone and kissed me!"
Silence. They couldn't see each other anyways, since it was dark.
"Inuyasha, why DID you kiss me?"
"I couldn't think of any other way to make you shut up."
Kagome got up off of the floor of the well. "Oh. Well... I'll forgive you."
Inuyasha got up as well, in his general angry style. "Oh, good, everything's better now since you've pardoned me. WENCH!"
"SIT!"
THUD followed by "OW! BITCH!"
"QUIET, INU! My family's sleeping." Kagome began to climb the well ladder, smirking because she finally had her mean and grumpy Inuyasha back. She could hear him groan as he hoisted himself off the ground. She could hear him muttering evil curses under his breath.
"What's that you're saying, Inuyasha?"
"Feh. Nothing that would interest you, woman."
"Inuyasha... I'm warning you. You don't want to hit the ground by falling off of a ladder, do you?"
"Sorry...Kagome."
"Better. Now let's go get Shippo's Pocky."
"Don't forget my ramen! By the way...thanks for the ramen, Kagome."
Kagome smiled. "It's no problem Inuyasha. Listen, I'm sorry I had to provoke you like that. I had no idea that my punishment would be so..."
Inuyasha smirked. "What is it you're saying? You LIKED my shut up tactic?"
"Well... it scared me at first, but... it was... a change, to say the least... At least you didn't draw the Tetsusaiga on me..." She then realized the dirty connotation that held, and blushed. Luckily the sun had disappeared behind the hill.
"Do you want me to draw the Tetsusaiga on you? Because that could be arranged." He brushed the sword's hilt with his claw. Kagome hit him playfully on the shoulder as they made their way to the door of her house.
"What? Was it something I said?"
"Inuyasha, just... never mind. I need to remember where I dropped your stupid ramen."
They walked into the entry hall, Inuyasha looking at all the strange contraptions. Kagome and Inuyasha walked into the kitchen to find grandpa enjoying a bowl of noodles, thankfully, not ramen.
"Uh, hey Grandpa, when I was here about an hour ago, did you see me drop my other bag of ramen anywhere when I came inside?"
Grandpa looked confused. "I thought Hojo brought it to you!"
Kagome looked confused. "Hojo? Oh no! I must have left it on the counter at the grocery store. Well, I'm glad he dropped it off...where did he put it?" she asked, rummaging around the cabinets.
"He took it out to the well house for you."
Kagome froze. She stole a glance at Inuyasha, who was eyeing Grandpa suspiciously.
"So, old man. What you're saying is, you sent some kid out to the well house with MY ramen? Well? Where the hell is he?"
"How should I know? I'm just the messenger. He did mention something about Kagome having a ramen-obsessed boyfriend... I'm assuming he was talking about you, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha reddened. He looked nervously over to Kagome, changing the subject. "Well? Where do you think he went, Kagome? Surely he didn't fall into the well."
Kagome shook her head. "The only way he could have fallen through to the other side is if he had a jewel shard in his possession, and I'm pretty sure that he...hmm."
"What is it."
"Well, I'm just thinking... You know how I'm supposedly a reincarnation of Kikyo, right?"
"...Right."
"And I had the sacred Jewel inside of me because of her. Well... what if... No, it couldn't be possible."
"What is it, Kagome?"
"Well, what if... what if Hojo really DID fall through the well?"
"But you already said that he couldn't! You didn't give him a shard, did you Kagome?" Inuyasha asked angrily.
Kagome fervently shook her head. "No... but what if he was a descendant of a demon who had a shard? I mean, it's a crazy theory. But, I'm usually right about things like that. You know what? I think the human you smelled WAS Hojo. He told me today how much dogs hate his scent..."
Grandpa had given up on the conversation at this point and made his way upstairs.
"Yeah? And what's your point?"
"Well, I'm just trying to think... What demon has a scent that you can't stand?"
"Koga," the man said, hoisting Hojo to his feet from where he had fallen.
Hojo jumped. Kagome had talked about a Koga. This is the neighborhood kid who had kidnapped her. Although he barely looked like a kid. "Your name is Koga?"
"Yes. I'm the leader of the wolf tribe."
Hojo decided this Koga person made him nervous. "W-well... where's your pack?"
"I sent them off hunting. I smelled a scent that I couldn't resist. The scent of the one you speak of... Kagome."
Hojo gasped. "Were you planning on kidnapping her again?"
Koga looked confused. "Well... no, I just wanted to see her. Of course, she would probably have dog-boy with her. Stupid ramen-obsessed idiot..."
"RAMEN???"
"Yeah, Dog boy LOVES ramen. Why, do you know him?"
"No..." So it HAD been Kagome he had heard with the dog. "Um...what's his name again?"
"Ugh. Inuyasha. I can't stand that fool. I don't know why Kagome even follows him around. If she should be finding shards for anyone, it should be me," Koga drawled, looking bored.
"Shards? What are these shards I keep hearing about? Some sort of monster tried to bite my arm off and told me to give them my shard!" Hojo was thoroughly confused.
Koga furrowed his eyebrows. "YOU have a shard, human? In your arm? That's odd... I have an arm shard as well. But I'm not sure if I believe you really have one... So punch me."
Hojo was confused. Why was this man, who claimed to be a wolf and had kidnapped Kagome in the past, asking him to punch him? "Uh...okay."
Hojo, who had never thrown a punch in his entire life, drew back his fist and lay it into Koga. Koga stumbled, but didn't fall backwards. Hojo's fist stung from Koga's hard stomach.
"Jeez, kid, I guess you do have a shard! How is it you know Kagome but you don't know Inuyasha? I'm intrigued."
Hojo shook his head in confusion. "Well, I go to school with Kagome. In the future, I suppose. I accidentally fell into her well. And I brought her this... wait... where's the bag?"
Hojo had lost track of Kagome- er, Inuyasha's ramen. Now that he thought about it, there had been some Pocky too.
"What is it you're looking for, human? What's your name?"
"Hojo."
"Hojo... I like you. You have a good smell about you. You're a little slow, I'll admit, but not everyone's smart like me. I've decided to help you find this bag you're looking for. And maybe we'll find Kagome on the way."
Hojo nodded. He couldn't help but feel protected buy Koga. He knew that Koga could smell Kagome, and would be able to help him find everything he was looking for. Including Kagome...
"Tonight's the new moon, Kagome."
Kagome's eyebrows flew up. "Oh? I guess I should have remembered that... I totally forgot. I'm sorry Inuyasha."
"Don't be sorry."
Kagome wanted Inuyasha to get mad at her, just to get things back to normal. "Can I call you 'Inu?'?"
"If you want to."
Kagome had it. "Inuyasha, I'm going to ask you one last time. What is your problem today? It seems like you're trying to scare me by being nice, or something!"
Inuyasha bristled. "Jeez, Kagome! I only wanted to turn over another leaf for you. Miroku, Sango and Shippo got on my case today about how I'm such a bastard to you. And I got to thinking, and I realized that they were right. You deserve better than that, and I'm not exactly nice to you, and-"
"Inuyasha! Don't you get it? I like you for who you are, even if you are mean sometimes. You shouldn't change for me just because you think it'll make me like you more."
"Now WHO ever said anything about ME wanting you to like me more?"
"Well, then what DID you mean, Inu?"
"DON'T call me INU!"
"You SAID that I could!"
"That was before you told me I could be a bastard to you again."
"So you DO want to be a bastard again! Well FINE!"
Inuyasha was incredibly mad. He wanted her to shut her pretty mouth so much, he did the only thing he believed would keep her quiet. He kissed her. Kagome, surprised at the sudden action, felt her knees buckle. She reached out to brace herself on the well, but found herself falling backwards into it, taking the still-attached-to-her-mouth Inuyasha with her.
They floated down through the light, and landed with a thud at the bottom of the Higurashi well. They were both panting with a mixture of shock and surprise.
"WHAT did you do that for?"
"Well, I wouldn't have done it if YOU hadn't gone and kissed me!"
Silence. They couldn't see each other anyways, since it was dark.
"Inuyasha, why DID you kiss me?"
"I couldn't think of any other way to make you shut up."
Kagome got up off of the floor of the well. "Oh. Well... I'll forgive you."
Inuyasha got up as well, in his general angry style. "Oh, good, everything's better now since you've pardoned me. WENCH!"
"SIT!"
THUD followed by "OW! BITCH!"
"QUIET, INU! My family's sleeping." Kagome began to climb the well ladder, smirking because she finally had her mean and grumpy Inuyasha back. She could hear him groan as he hoisted himself off the ground. She could hear him muttering evil curses under his breath.
"What's that you're saying, Inuyasha?"
"Feh. Nothing that would interest you, woman."
"Inuyasha... I'm warning you. You don't want to hit the ground by falling off of a ladder, do you?"
"Sorry...Kagome."
"Better. Now let's go get Shippo's Pocky."
"Don't forget my ramen! By the way...thanks for the ramen, Kagome."
Kagome smiled. "It's no problem Inuyasha. Listen, I'm sorry I had to provoke you like that. I had no idea that my punishment would be so..."
Inuyasha smirked. "What is it you're saying? You LIKED my shut up tactic?"
"Well... it scared me at first, but... it was... a change, to say the least... At least you didn't draw the Tetsusaiga on me..." She then realized the dirty connotation that held, and blushed. Luckily the sun had disappeared behind the hill.
"Do you want me to draw the Tetsusaiga on you? Because that could be arranged." He brushed the sword's hilt with his claw. Kagome hit him playfully on the shoulder as they made their way to the door of her house.
"What? Was it something I said?"
"Inuyasha, just... never mind. I need to remember where I dropped your stupid ramen."
They walked into the entry hall, Inuyasha looking at all the strange contraptions. Kagome and Inuyasha walked into the kitchen to find grandpa enjoying a bowl of noodles, thankfully, not ramen.
"Uh, hey Grandpa, when I was here about an hour ago, did you see me drop my other bag of ramen anywhere when I came inside?"
Grandpa looked confused. "I thought Hojo brought it to you!"
Kagome looked confused. "Hojo? Oh no! I must have left it on the counter at the grocery store. Well, I'm glad he dropped it off...where did he put it?" she asked, rummaging around the cabinets.
"He took it out to the well house for you."
Kagome froze. She stole a glance at Inuyasha, who was eyeing Grandpa suspiciously.
"So, old man. What you're saying is, you sent some kid out to the well house with MY ramen? Well? Where the hell is he?"
"How should I know? I'm just the messenger. He did mention something about Kagome having a ramen-obsessed boyfriend... I'm assuming he was talking about you, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha reddened. He looked nervously over to Kagome, changing the subject. "Well? Where do you think he went, Kagome? Surely he didn't fall into the well."
Kagome shook her head. "The only way he could have fallen through to the other side is if he had a jewel shard in his possession, and I'm pretty sure that he...hmm."
"What is it."
"Well, I'm just thinking... You know how I'm supposedly a reincarnation of Kikyo, right?"
"...Right."
"And I had the sacred Jewel inside of me because of her. Well... what if... No, it couldn't be possible."
"What is it, Kagome?"
"Well, what if... what if Hojo really DID fall through the well?"
"But you already said that he couldn't! You didn't give him a shard, did you Kagome?" Inuyasha asked angrily.
Kagome fervently shook her head. "No... but what if he was a descendant of a demon who had a shard? I mean, it's a crazy theory. But, I'm usually right about things like that. You know what? I think the human you smelled WAS Hojo. He told me today how much dogs hate his scent..."
Grandpa had given up on the conversation at this point and made his way upstairs.
"Yeah? And what's your point?"
"Well, I'm just trying to think... What demon has a scent that you can't stand?"
"Koga," the man said, hoisting Hojo to his feet from where he had fallen.
Hojo jumped. Kagome had talked about a Koga. This is the neighborhood kid who had kidnapped her. Although he barely looked like a kid. "Your name is Koga?"
"Yes. I'm the leader of the wolf tribe."
Hojo decided this Koga person made him nervous. "W-well... where's your pack?"
"I sent them off hunting. I smelled a scent that I couldn't resist. The scent of the one you speak of... Kagome."
Hojo gasped. "Were you planning on kidnapping her again?"
Koga looked confused. "Well... no, I just wanted to see her. Of course, she would probably have dog-boy with her. Stupid ramen-obsessed idiot..."
"RAMEN???"
"Yeah, Dog boy LOVES ramen. Why, do you know him?"
"No..." So it HAD been Kagome he had heard with the dog. "Um...what's his name again?"
"Ugh. Inuyasha. I can't stand that fool. I don't know why Kagome even follows him around. If she should be finding shards for anyone, it should be me," Koga drawled, looking bored.
"Shards? What are these shards I keep hearing about? Some sort of monster tried to bite my arm off and told me to give them my shard!" Hojo was thoroughly confused.
Koga furrowed his eyebrows. "YOU have a shard, human? In your arm? That's odd... I have an arm shard as well. But I'm not sure if I believe you really have one... So punch me."
Hojo was confused. Why was this man, who claimed to be a wolf and had kidnapped Kagome in the past, asking him to punch him? "Uh...okay."
Hojo, who had never thrown a punch in his entire life, drew back his fist and lay it into Koga. Koga stumbled, but didn't fall backwards. Hojo's fist stung from Koga's hard stomach.
"Jeez, kid, I guess you do have a shard! How is it you know Kagome but you don't know Inuyasha? I'm intrigued."
Hojo shook his head in confusion. "Well, I go to school with Kagome. In the future, I suppose. I accidentally fell into her well. And I brought her this... wait... where's the bag?"
Hojo had lost track of Kagome- er, Inuyasha's ramen. Now that he thought about it, there had been some Pocky too.
"What is it you're looking for, human? What's your name?"
"Hojo."
"Hojo... I like you. You have a good smell about you. You're a little slow, I'll admit, but not everyone's smart like me. I've decided to help you find this bag you're looking for. And maybe we'll find Kagome on the way."
Hojo nodded. He couldn't help but feel protected buy Koga. He knew that Koga could smell Kagome, and would be able to help him find everything he was looking for. Including Kagome...