Chapter Four: All Your Base Are Belong To Us
Two days had passed since Kagome had gone back through the well. Since then, Inuyasha had been uncommonly easy to find. For the most part, he kept near Kaede's hut, hands tucked in his sleeves as he sat on the roof. The hanyou was lost in his thoughts, wanting desperately to drag Kagome back to his era, but at the same time plagued my Miroku, Sango and Shippou's insistence that he give her a little consideration. Fine, he had told himself the night before. She can come back on her own, instead of me forcing her. That was being considerate, wasn't it?
Tiny scratching noises could be heard coming up the wall, followed by a small orange head peeking up to watch Inuyasha. Shippou hopped onto the roof and sat next to Inuyasha, tucking his hands in his sleeves like the hanyou. It seemed that the kit had been picking up some of his companions habbits and manerisms lately. All of the women around him hoped that he wouldn't pick up any of Miroku's habbits, though. "Whatcha waitin' for?"
"Kagome," came Inuyasha's terse answer.
Shippou raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha. "You're kidding, right? You're actually waiting for her to come back this time?"
The older demon glared at the little fox, but didn't raise a hand to strike him ... yet. "What do you mean I'm actually waiting this time? I always wait!"
"For about ten minutes!"
Inuyasha raised a hand in warning. Shippou squeaked and covered his head with his hands. "You know it's true! You can never wait around for her to come back!"
"Can too," the hanyou insisted. He crossed his arms again and turned his nose up. "Keh. Stupid kitsune."
"So you're waiting for her now? What if she doesn't come back?!" The worry was evident in his eyes. Shippou had already lost both of his parents once. He couldn't stand the thought of possibly losing Kagome as well, especially due to Inuyasha's stupidity. "What if you scared her away for real this time?!"
Shippou was rewarded with another glare from Inuyasha. "She'll come back. She has the jewel shards. Now shut up and go away, you little pest."
The little fox began to sniffle in a sudden Inuyasha-induced panic. "You'd better go get her Inuyasha, or else she'll forget about us!"
"She willl not! Stop it already!"
"You're so mean, Inuyasha!" Shippou began to wail and promptly leaped down off the roof.
"NOT YOU TOO!!!" The urge to chase the tiny demon and pound him into the ground was strong, but Inuyasha firmly reminded himself that he was trying to consider Kagome's feelings, and she wouldn't feel very generous if she came back to discover he had beaten Shippou black and blue.
Sango came out of the hut and glared up at Inuyasha. She hadn't spoken to him since the day Kagome left, being simply too fed up with his thick-headedness to attempt any conversation. "What have you done to Shippou this time, Inuyasha?"
Feeling besieged, he protested, "I didn't do anything!" with arms flailing as the wind picked up his long white hair.
Sango huffed and gathered up the bawling Shippou, taking him back inside the hut.
Kagome nibbled on the nail of her index finger. It'd been two days since she'd seen Inuyasha. That equated to two days since he was due to come through the well to take her back in time. At first she'd stayed at her home just to spite him for being such a jerk. Now she was beginning to get worried. Why hadn't he come to get her yet, or at least yell at her a little?
The girl's restlessness hadn't gone unnoticed. While Mrs. Higurashi was glad her daughter had a chance to rest at home and catch up on some schoolwork, she knew that Inuyasha's absence didn't sit well with Kagome. She sighed as she double-checked her daughter's bag, making sure it was ready in case the hanyou showed up.
Kagome tried not to act nervous in front of her family. She didn't want to worry them. It wasn't like this was the first time that she'd come home and he hadn't followed like a trained lapdog. However, given the circumstances, she'd honestly expected him to have come back by now. She sighed and pushed away her homework, unable to concentrate on it any longer. She was afraid it would take a lot more studying before she could come up with a coherent English sentence.
After a few hours, Mrs. Higurashi ventured upstairs to look in on her daughter. She knocked lightly on Kagome's door, softly calling her name.
"Come on in, Okaa-san." Kagome pushed away from her desk and leaned back, rubbing her eyes with her palms tiredly.
Her mother opened the door and stepped inside, taking in the homework on Kagome's desk. "How are your studies?"
"I'm working on this English homework but everything I come up with always sounds really ridiculous." She closed the book and glanced discreetly out her window. Still no sign of Inuyasha. No red or silver perched in the tree. No irate gold eyes peeking through her window. Nothing.
"You're distracted." It was an observation, not a question, and Mrs. Higurashi decided to have a seat on Kagome's bed. This discussion could take awhile.
"I am not," Kagome retorted. "It just doesn't make any sense. Listen to this." She pulled a piece of paper from the book and skimmed it until finding the right line. "'All your base are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time.' What is that supposed to mean?! I can't turn this in."
"You're distracted," her mother repeated.
Kagome sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, now that you're my new shrink, since I probably need one of anyway, why don't you tell me what's distracting me?"
Her mother smiled. "Inuyasha hasn't shown up yet."
"What?! I don't just mope around waiting for him to come tell me what to do, you know! I have better things to do with my time! Like... like homework!" She huffed and tried to look cross. How did her mother know her so well? Aside from that whole, "giving birth and raising her" thing, of course.
"But you're worried," Mrs. Higurashi clarified. "He normally would have come after you by now, right?"
Kagome sighed. "You're right. At least, after an argument like we had. I sat him four times in a row."
"That's a bad thing, right?"
"Er... for him, yes." Kagome averted her gaze guiltily for a moment. Well, he deserved it, she thought.
That's what she'd thought, but keeping track of Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship was difficult, even for Mrs. Higurashi. "Maybe he's trying to give you some space."
"Yeah right, like that would ever happen. I told you, to him I'm just a shard detector." And he has Kikyou, anyway, she thought sadly. He doesn't really want me. "I'm worried that he's gotten his fool self in trouble without me there to babysit him."
"Then maybe you should go check on him."
"I... guess I should. I'll go get my pack ready." Kagome stood and stretched, popping a few joints. "Thanks for being so understanding about this."
Something like sadness touched Mrs. Higurashi's eyes, but it was mingled with pride and motherly affection. "You have obligations to your friends. It would be wrong of me to keep you from them."
Kagome didn't miss the look in her mother's eyes. She wondered sometimes if her mother had any real idea of how much danger she was put (and put herself) in on a daily basis. She hoped that wasn't the case. She didn't want her mother to worry about her more than she already did. "You're right. It's my fault that the Shikon no Tama got shattered, so it's my duty to help them as much as I can."
"Kagome," her mother said, "that's not what I meant." She stood and took her daughter's hands in hers. "From what you've told me, it seems like they need your friendship more than your ability to find the shards." Trying to lighten the mood, she joked, "Someone has to teach those boys manners, after all, and your friend Sango can't do it alone."
"Well, they'd certainly have a lot more bruises if Sango tried to do it by herself, anyway." Kagome grinned and hugged her mother. "I wish you could meet them."
"So do I." Mrs. Higurashi returned the hug, then stepped away. "Let me know when you're ready to leave."
"All right. I just need to check the supplies in my pack and change clothes, then I'll be ready."
Nodding, her mother left the room and headed downstairs. She hoped she was right, that Inuyasha was just giving Kagome her space, and that something bad hadn't happened.
Kagome unzipped her big yellow bag to do a quick inventory of its contents. She realized that her mother had probably added some things, since she didn't remember packing a few of the extra items. She called a "thank you" down the stairs and quickly changed and brushed her teeth. Deeming that she was ready, she picked her pack up and made her way down the stairs. "It's time for me to go now, Okaa-san. I shouldn't hold up the group any more than I already have."
"Be careful, dear." Her mother embraced her, then handed her a container of freshly baked cookies. "I thought your friends might like some."
"Oh, thank you! I'll have to be very careful with these or Shippou will eat them all!" She grinned and waved. "I'll see you."
As Kagome walked out the door and towards the well house, her mother sighed and whispered, "Be safe."