Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, just the video game and the two posters I bought… :o)  But I DO own Hoonomei. He's still mine. :o)

Chapter 10: Final preparations

"Mom! There's too much stuff here!" Kagome, who had taken a nap after spending the day at home catching up on her latest homework, stared at the piles of books, games, toys and new clothes all over the living room.

"I told you I was getting some things for you this morning."

"Yeah, our old toys and books. And maybe some history books for me. But clothes?"

"Sweetie, she's a little girl. She might need clothes."

Kagome grumbled, "I don't think Sesshoumaru's letting her walk around naked…"

"Don't worry, sweetie. If she doesn't want them, I can return them. Just take a few for now." She smiled at her daughter and went into the kitchen.

Kagome sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll take a few clothes with me." Plus the books, and the toys, and some games… Why did I let Miroku talk me into this?

Souta bounded in the door. "Mom, I'm home! Hey, sis! You're home. What's up?" He looked around the living room. He picked up a beginner's book. "Wow. Are you teaching Inuyasha to read?" He then saw the pile of clothes. "Oh, playing dress-up with him. Can I come watch?"

"Souta!"

Souta grinned and went upstairs. Kagome shook her head and sorted through the clothes. Imagine that! Inuyasha playing dress-up… An image of Inuyasha wearing the long yellow dress she had in her hand burst forth. She laughed.

The image changed. A raven-haired little boy holding a golden-topped staff slightly taller than his head stood outside a wooden hut, while a dark-haired little girl in a green and white sailor uniform, complete with a red kerchief around her neck, ran barefoot through a field covered with wildflowers. A young kitsune chased her, changing his shape as he ran. A teenage girl, dressed in a yellow and orange-checkered kimono, sat next to an old toad talking quietly but watching the children. A third figure stood in the field, his white hair flowing in the breeze. The two children ran in endless circles around the figure. The teenager shook her head and grinned. The toad shook his staff at the kids' antics and was rewarded with a slight smack and a hug from the teenager. Another staff, identical to the one the boy held except for its larger size, rested next to the door of the hut. On a peg in the wall hung a weathered yellow backpack. The laughter died in Kagome's throat.

The image changed again. An older Kagome now stood outside the university, her long hair tied back into a ponytail. She looked around. A dark-haired young man dressed in black jeans and a blue polo strode up to her and took her hand in both of his. His lips moved as he said something to her. She blushed, giggled and slapped his hands away. His head dropped dejectedly, but he raised his face again and grinned. He picked her up and spun her around a few times. She laughed…

The dress slipped from her hands. It floated downward, forming a round golden sun on the floor.

*****

"Inuyasha, she will be back soon. Stop pacing."

Inuyasha growled in reply. He looked out the window towards the path that led from the well. He paced the length of the hut again.

Kaede sighed and shook her head. She glanced at the rest of the group. Sango sat next to Miroku in the far corner of the hut, her boomerang held tightly in her hands. Kaede noticed that the monk flinched every time Inuyasha walked by him. Who can blame him, after Inuyasha's behavior this morning? The old woman had seen Inuyasha upset before, but even she had been shocked at the half-demons' behavior.

"Where were you two last night? Where's that bastard? Did he hurt her?" Inuyasha grabbed Miroku and shook him.

"Kagome will explain everything when she comes back—" Inuyasha shook him again.

Sango grabbed Inuyasha's haori. "Inuyasha, let him go!"

"Leave me alone, wench!" He ripped Sango's hands off his clothes. He turned to Miroku, who had crawled a few feet away from him. " What do you mean, 'come back'?"

"She had to leave for home. She had no clothes, since Sango had her extra ones—"

Inuyasha growled. "And another thing! Why didn't she have her clothes? What the hell happened?"

"She will explain everything as soon as she—"

Inuyasha turned to the door. "I'm going after her!"

Thankfully, Sango had grabbed her giant boomerang and knocked the half-demon unconscious.

Kaede suppressed a sigh. Since Inuyasha had woken up, he had been pacing and grumbling the entire day. And glaring at Miroku for sealing him inside the hut.

From the sound of their childish voices, Shippou and Hoonomei were still outside playing. Until Shippou screamed, "Kagome!"

*****

Kagome came out of the well wearing a stuffed green backpack. She glanced around, and then listened for a minute. "Hmmm. No one came to bother me at home, no one's screaming at me, no one's yelling about the jewel shards…" She shrugged. "Guess Miroku finally killed Inuyasha…" She grinned and walked down the familiar path towards Kaede's.

As she came into the village, she spied Shippou playing with another child. As she walked closer, she noticed that Kaede's hut was gone, and that the other child was a demon. Shippou turned and saw her. "Kagome!" He ran towards her and launched himself at her waist. The other child followed but hung back and didn't look at her.

"Hello, Shippou! And who's your friend?"

"This is Hoonomei. He's a cat demon. He came back with Sango, Kirara and Inuyasha." He leaned in closer and whispered, "Miroku sealed Inuyasha in the hut. He was very upset when he came back and found out you had left again." Shippou shook his head. "He was very bad today. He deserves to be 'sit' a few times."

Kagome laughed. She out Shippou down and knelt. "Hello. My name is Kagome."

"I-I'm Hoonomei."

"Pleased to meet you. Welcome to—"

"What the hell is wrong with you, leaving like that?"

Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep, soothing breath. She opened them and smiled at Inuyasha. "Hello to you too, Inuyasha."

"What he meant to say is, 'I was worried about you, Kagome.' " Kagome smiled at Sango. "Well, he wasn't the only one."

Kagome winked at her friend. "I know what he meant. And I didn't mean to worry you guys. But now that you know what happened—"

"Um, Kagome, we still do not know what happened."

"What do you mean? Didn't Miroku explain?"

Shippou shuddered. "After what Inuyasha did to Miroku, he refused to say anything except, 'Kagome will be back soon. She will explain.' "

Her jaw dropped. She stood and went into the hut. The others followed her inside.

Kaede sat in the far wall. Miroku knelt next to the fire, staring intently at the flames. When the door opened, he looked up gratefully. "Hello, Kagome. Welcome back."

"You didn't tell them anything?"

The others had followed her inside and were now sitting around the fire. They looked at Miroku. The monk shook his head. "I wanted you to be here when I told them."

Sango leaned towards Shippou and Hoonomei and whispered, "Probably so she could 'sit' Inuyasha if he got upset…" Shippou and Hoonomei giggled until Inuyasha glared at them.

Kagome sat down next to Miroku. "Gee, thanks a lot… And keep those hands where I can see them." Miroku moved his wandering hand back into his lap and waited. The group watched them and glanced at one another. Kaede shook her head. Inuyasha growled.

Miroku glanced at Kagome and cleared his throat. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He started to sweat. The speech I had practiced is gone… I cannot remember it…He looked at Kagome.

She groaned and shook her head. "Fine. I'll tell them." She looked at the group. "Miroku has a half-sister. And she's coming tomorrow."

© 7/27/03, M.A.R.

Aphiopsyduck: Short chappie, I know… :o)  Btw, I'm trying something new, so if the formatting is weird, that's why. :o)  Hmmm… Let me know if the images work, or if I should have done something different to them. It's easy to do italics and bold, but how does one make paragraphs of text stand out, when they're not really thoughts?

Oh, and be forewarned. Coming up soon is the chapter that has a LOT of swearing, thanks to my computer crashing and losing part of chapter 12. *shakes head*  Bad computer! Bad!

Personal to fallen-angel: I'm sorry I haven't read the latest installment on your fic, so we're even. :o) Personal to Mala Valvah: I hope so. I'm fighting with the direction the story wants to take. :-P

Recommendations: Two more Mir/Kag stories for you guys. The BreakUp Diaries by Massao-na-Mizu: drop by and check it out. Everything He Needs by Celtic*Lady*Knight: I just started on this one; it's an AU, but it seems interesting. :o)

(More or less) Permanent A/N: *sweatdrops…*  Ehehe…  First fanfic… If nothing else, it's a test run, since this will be my first real fanfic posted anywhere. I don' really know where it's going though, so please bear with me. Reviews are welcome, and flames will be used on undead mikos who refuse to leave our heroes alone. :o)