Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha or Ranma. They're Takashi-san's work.
Last chapter: The demon that called himself Kage simply vanished.
Ch 18:
Reunion
It had already been a three weeks since the battle with Kikyo. Kagome seemed to be back to her normal cheerful self and that, Ranma was grateful for.
Kagome had given Sesshoumaru the Gouka crystal the minute they exited the cave. Sesshoumaru decided that he would research the crystal, and provide better protection for it. Though he considered giving Kagome guardianship over the crystal, he knew that it would only attract more youkai to her besides the Shikon no Tama.
Sesshoumaru left them when they got to his traditional Japanese home, but not before Kagome stocked up on some supplies and said hi to Rin.
During their trip, Jaken was left with Rin to play dress up. When the trio returned, Jaken was dressed in heavy makeup. His green face was so powdered that it was the color of snow. His thin frog lips had messy dark red lipstick that were scribbled outside the lines. His eyebrows had been plucked and replaced with paint. (Does he have eyebrows?) He also was sporting some dark blue eye shadow. To put it simply, he looked like he had been through hell.
"Rin make Jaken pretty," Rin kept on saying as Kagome tried not to laugh. Ranma, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off like there was no tomorrow. Sesshoumaru looked impassive, but Kagome could tell that he was amused with Rin's actions.
_*_*_*_*_*5 days later*_*_*_*_*_
Kagome and Ranma had been traveling together for the past 5 days by themselves. The atmosphere changed with the absence of Sesshoumaru, and they were thankful for that. Though Sesshoumaru was a 'nice' person in Kagome's point of view, he wasn't that much fun to be around with for the entire evening. Then again he usually spent most of the time meditating or doing whatever he pleased by himself.
"Ne, Ranma-kun, do you want to return soon?" Kagome asked, looking to the sky.
It was twilight. The sky was a mixture of gold, ruby red, and violet. The sun was half way over the horizon, elongating the shadows. The moon appeared faintly in the sky, giving it a transparent look.
They decided to set up camp at a convenient, clearing 26 yards away from the main road leading into Inu-yasha forest. They were tired, and turning in early didn't sound like a bad idea. The clearing was big enough for at least two or three people.
The campfire sparked and crackled, embers flickering into the cool air. The red and orange flames danced around, their movement hypnotic. It didn't make sense to make a campfire during this time of day, but Kagome wanted to get a head start on dinner, which was the last few cups of instant ramen she had.
Ranma looked up from the campfire and into Kagome's eyes. He didn't answer her immediately, because he didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. After a moment of silence, Ranma grinned at her.
"Whenever you want," Ranma said, still grinning. He missed his friends and family, but he knew Kagome needed him more.
She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Kagome buried her head into her knees and made a muffled sound something like moan. She was a bit depressed from the events around the Gouka Crystal. All she wanted was to go back home for a break.
"After we go back to the village I want to go straight home," Kagome said, lifting her head up to look at Ranma. "So you're going to right?"
"Whenever you want," Ranma repeated. Abruptly Ranma grinned like the Cheshire cat. "I wanna know what Ryoga wished for. It'll be fun. Ne, do you wanna come with me? Think of it as a break from a break."
"That didn't make any sense," Kagome giggled. This just made Ranma grin wider. "Maybe... I'm gonna stay for four days and today's Wednesday. So I could go to school for Friday. Then I could stay over at the dojo for the weekend. We could go back to my shrine and come back here. Sound like a plan?"
Ranma nodded his head in approval. "Sounds like a plan."
"Well," Kagome said, getting up from the ground and dusting off her uniform's skirt. "There's a hot spring near here and I want to take a bath before it gets to dark. Ja ne." She took her bathing items and walked in the direction of the sun. The hot spring was a 5-minute walk from their camping area, so she didn't have to walk so far.
When she got there she immediately put down the stuff she was carrying, stripped her clothes, and stepped into the spring. Instantly, her sore, weather beaten, overused muscles relaxed.
'This feels so nice.' Kagome thought dreamily, drifting off into happy bliss.
_*_*_*_*_*Inu-yasha's group*_*_*_*_*_
"Shippo!" Inu-yasha growled grabbing the kitsune by the tail. "Don't steal my fish!"
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Sango, Inu-yasha's being mean to me!" Shippo cried.
"Inu-yasha," Sango sighed exasperatedly. "Put Shippo down. He needs the food more than you do."
"What, you-"Inu-yasha shouted, glaring at the taijiya, but was cut off by Miroku.
"There, there, no need to argue. We'll be meeting Kagome-sama tomorrow so don't start fighting," the monk said, wrenching Shippo from Inu-yasha's grip. Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inu-yasha as he was taken away from Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha growled in anger and was about to make an attempt to grab Shippo when he caught a familiar scent.
The first thought Inu-yasha had was, 'Kagome'. "I'll be back later," he told the others. With that, Inu-yasha jumped through the trees that surrounded their camp.
'Kagome's near by. Why hadn't I notice it sooner?' Inu-yasha sniffed the air again to make sure. Her scent smelled like jasmine and lavender due to the soaps she used, but now her scent was masked by something else: the subtle scent of a demon. Inu-yasha glared at a tree before him. He was still jealous because Kagome got to be a full youkai.
'It's not fair,' he kept on repeating. His thoughts were of a child who had been reprimanded for something he thought was right. Then again, he was acting like a child when it came to Kagome's curse. 'But, we found a clue to the cure. Then she won't transform into a youkai ever again.' Inu-yasha gave a huff.
That was when he realized that Kagome's scent came along with water. Inu- yasha abruptly stopped his jumping from tree to tree to reach Kagome. If Kagome's scent comes with steaming water, it means she's taking a bath. Inu- yasha slowly made his way to her. He was going to check on her just incase she was in danger or something.
He neared the hot spring. There was a thicket of bushes surrounding the spring, and he made sure he was up wind before continuing.
Kagome knew Inu-yasha was behind her in the bushes. She didn't bother getting up and shouting at him for being perverted, because the hot spring was so relaxing. Instead she called to Inu-yasha from her position.
"Inu-yasha, I know you're there," Kagome paused to hear if Inu-yasha moved. After a minute of silence Kagome shouted again. "Stop hiding! I know you're there!"
Inu-yasha didn't move. He stood there leaning on the tree's trunk for support. For a moment Kagome had sounded like Kikyo. That scared him. Kikyo... it had been a while since they had met. And the last time was when Kikyo had tried to claim Kagome's soul. Inu-yasha's heart plummeted, like he just fell from a steep cliff.
Inu-yasha heard Kagome give a huff of frustration and got up from the water. Then he heard the rustling of clothes and footsteps.
"Do whatever you want," Kagome said, looking over her shoulder. Her voice was cold and sharp. Inu-yasha knew she was glaring at him, but the reason he didn't really understand.
'Kagome had changed a lot.... but... did she kill Kikyo yet?' Inu-yasha thought. His head drooped. His hands were balled in fists and shaking from not knowing what happened. He didn't know if he should be relieved that Kagome's alive, or worried if she had killed Kikyo.
Kagome's footsteps died out. Inu-yasha knew he would see her tomorrow. And tomorrow, he would act as if nothing has happened. As if this encounter never happened.
His last thoughts were of Kagome and Kikyo as he left the hot springs.
_*_*_*_*_*Next Day*_*_*_*_*_
"Ohayo Ranma-kun!" Kagome greeted with a large smile. She had a nice sleep last night. Kagome thought that because of the incident with Inu-yasha, she would be tossing and turning with guilt or scolding herself for it.
"Ohayo," Ranma replied. "Do we have any ramen left?"
Kagome scavenged around her backpack looking for any sign of noodles. Luckily she found two more cups of instant ramen.
"Yup! I'll start cooking." Kagome said. She began cooking their breakfast.
With nothing to d,o Ranma decided to recap on the events that had happened so far.
'Let's see . . . Kagome came to me and asked for my help. Then we went to the Grounds of Accursed Springs. She got cured while getting the Shikon shard. Now we are traveling through Sengoku Jidai collecting the rest of the Shikon shards before that... what's-his-name...Nahu... no... Naru something...Naruto? No wait, that wasn't it... Naraku!'
Ranma had been so intent on his thoughts that he didn't feel Kagome tapping his shoulder.
"Ranma-kun!" Kagome practically screamed.
"Wha! Huh?!" Ranma looked around, a bit startled. "Yea?"
"The ramen's ready," Kagome said, placing a bowl of steaming ramen into his hands.
Ranma grinned and began to eat his breakfast.
"Inu-yasha and the others are near," Kagome stated after they had finished eating.
"Yeah, I notice,." Ranma said, softly looking to the road. "Let's hurry."
"Hai," Kagome agreed while packing their belongings. They left their camping area a few hours after sunrise.
_*_*_*_*_*Inu-yasha's group*_*_*_*_*_
Inu-yasha came back last night in a semi-bad mood. He didn't complain about Shippo. That made things more weird when Shippo nearly insulted Inu- yasha.
They had already reached Kaede's village, and now they were waiting for Ranma and Kagome. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo couldn't wait till they tell Kagome the good news. While Inu-yasha was... they didn't know, but, did that really matter?
Shippo ginned as he imagined how things would be like when he told Kagome.
_*_*_*_*_*Shippo's Imagination*_*_*_*_*_
"Kagome-"Shippo shouted, excitement clearly in his voice. "Kagome-sama, we found a clue that might lead us to a cure," Miroku interrupted. Shippo frowned. He wanted to be the one to tell Kagome.
"Hai." Sango agreed. She grinned as Kagome's face was plastered with a huge smile, joy and relief clearly shown.
"Yougatta (sp)" –[Thank goodness/What a relief]- Kagome sighed in relief, sitting down.. Shippo immediately running to her and sitting on her lap.
"Where's Ranma?" Shippo asked.
"He's looking around the village. He said something about a history project..." Kagome drifted off.
"Kagome!" Ranma said, entering the hut. "I just found-"Ranma was interrupted by none other than Inu-yasha.
"Oi!" Inu-yasha shouted, his comment directed to Kagome. "What's he still doing here?!" Inu-yasha questioned. He clearly meant Ranma.
_*_*_*_*_*End of Shippo's imagination*_*_*_*_*_
Shippo shivered, thinking of the next event.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted from the door. She was looking out and waving.
Miroku sat there patiently, his golden staff in front of him, resting on his shoulder. The rings on the staff lightly jingled as he shifted, so he could look at the entrance.
Shippo sat down from standing and turned his gaze from the wall he was staring at to the door. His tail twitched excitedly.
"Ohayo, Kagome-chan," Sango greeted as Kagome entered the hut.
"Ohayo mina -[everyone]-"Kagome greeted, a tired smile adorned her face. Ranma came in after her.
"Kagome, we found a clue to the cure for your curse," Shippo began excitedly. Kagome was about to comment when Shippo continued. "We met the youkai that made that spring. She said to go south. There's a temple that'll lead us to the youkai Kaede mentioned!"
"Speaking of Kaede, does anyone know where she is? I need to speak with her," Kagome said, glancing around the room.
"She's out helping a family cure their sick daughter," Miroku explained. "Oi, Shippo, you said there's a temple that'll lead us to the youkai. Where is it?" Ranma asked. He was beginning to feel left out of the conversation.
"It's in the south," Shippo replied. He was feeling so proud of himself for helping Kagome out in her time of crises.
"Miroku, have you heard of something called Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku -[Seven Elements of Heaven]-?" Kagome asked, looking at the priest in question. Miroku had his head down in thought and didn't answer her. "Sango?" The youkai taijya only shook her head.
"I remember it being mentioned," Miroku began. "Mushin-sama told me a story about it when I was a child. Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku are scrolls and books that tell of the ryuu –[dragon]- and ryuu youkai's origin."
"Yes, that's it!" Kagome said excitedly. Her eyes glimmered with hope. "Kyouran-san, Tenchi's onii-san, said that he found the Senkyou No Kasumi -[Enchanted Land of Mist]-, through the Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku.
"Senkyou No Kasumi? You mean the Dragon's valley?" Sango asked looking at Kagome directly in the eyes.
"Hai." Kagome said smiling. Her heart was swelling with happiness. She was going to find a cure!
"My father told me about it. My great-great grandfather found a village of ryuu youkai, and he brought back some documents mentioning it," Sango said.
"Do you still have it?" Kagome asked.
"It's in my village..." Sango said quietly, looking down at the floor of the hut. Kagome's heart plummeted like a balloon bursting.
"Gomen Nasai –[I'm very sorry]-"Kagome apologized.
"Iie -[No]- It's alright." Sango said looking up at Kagome.
Inu-yasha came in. He was outside listening to the conversation. He didn't want to tell Kagome the news, so he left it up to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.
"We can go to Sango's village while we go south. It's on the way anyway," Inu-yasha said wisely, trying to sound arrogant. He didn't want to let Kagome know he was still affected with their meeting last night.
"Ranma and I were thinking of going back home," Kagome said, looking at Inu- yasha. Inu-yasha was about to retort when Ranma interrupted.
"It's only for four days anyways." Ranma said, glancing at Inu-yasha before looking anywhere but him.
"Kagome, you have one of those tests things coming or something?" Shippo asked.
"No, I need to buy more stuff and I want to see my family again," Kagome replied, smiling at the kitsune in her lap.
"Fine, as long as he doesn't come back," Inu-yasha said, nodding toward Ranma's direction.
Ranma was about to retort, but Kagome beat him to it.
"Inu-yasha! Ranma is going to come back with me, whether you like it or not!" Kagome said sternly.
Inu-yasha only huffed and turned his face, not looking at Kagome.
"Let's go Ranma," Kagome said, getting up. She put Shippo down and picked up her backpack. "I'll be back in three days then. Ja Ne." Ranma and Kagome left the hut.
Miroku was sighing and shaking his head. Sango was lost in her thoughts of her family and village. Inu-yasha was still jealous of Kagome being a demon. Shippo was feeling like he had forgotten something.
Shippo ran out of the hut, remembering what he forgot. During the trip back he picked mushrooms for Kagome. Sango had told him the mushrooms he picked healed internal bleeding, and he wanted to give them to Kagome as a welcome back gift.
"Matte! –[Wait]-"Shippo shouted chasing after Kagome and Ranma. Both of them stopped, seeing the kitsune. They were at the Hone Kui no Ido –[Bone Eaters Well]-. Kagome had one of her legs swung over the rim and Ranma was standing a foot away. "Here," Shippo said breathlessly, handing some mushrooms to Kagome. "I found these and Sango said they heal internal bleeding."
"Arigato –[Thanks]-"Kagome said gratefully. "I'll buy something for you when I get home."
"Ja ne." Shippo said, waving, as Ranma and Kagome jumped into the well. A brilliant light of blue and purple appeared as the teenagers left Sengoku Jidai.
_*_*_*_*_*Higurashi Jinja *_*_*_*_*_
Ranma and Kagome climbed out of the Hone Kui no Ido. They were in the Higurashi Jinja –[Higurashi Shrine]- now.
They made their way out of the well house and into the courtyard. Nearing the steps to the shrine, Ranma and Kagome said their good bys.
"I'll see you on Saturday!" Kagome yelled after Ranma as he left.
"Jii-chan!" Kagome called as her grandfather walked through the courtyard.
"Aaah, Kagome! You came back!" her grandfather said, looking at the teen.
"Hai. Here," Kagome said, giving her grandfather the mushroom's Shippo gave her. She couldn't do anything with it so giving them to her grandfather was the next best thing. "They cure internal bleeding."
"Is that so? I'll save them for later then," her grandfather asked and went into the house.
Kagome walked into the house too. The first thing she saw was the clock and it was 5:43 in the afternoon. Kagome went up to her room and called one of her friends, Ayame.
It was 7 in the evening before Kagome hung up. They were discussing schoolwork and her health.
Kagome exited her room and wandered into the kitchen. "Good, Kagome, can you set up the table for dinner?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Sure," Kagome replied, and opened a cupboard. She took out the dishes and chopsticks and began setting up the table.
"What are we having?" Kagome asked. She smelled the delicious scent of food. It was a sweet aroma of fried tofu mixed with meat and peppers, but Kagome couldn't tell the rest.
"Fried tofu, eel, and mushrooms," her mother replied. (Yes, Asians do eat eels. Well I've only eaten it once. The taste is okay but there are too much veins and not enough meat for my liking)
"Ahhh!" Kagome's mother shouted in alarm. The mushrooms, which they had been cooking slowly, morphed into a huge mushroom with sickles for hands.
"What?" Souta asked entering the kitchen. "Wha!" he yelled looking at the creature.
Kagome's grandfather hurriedly entered the kitchen, exorcism charms in his hands.
"Be gone!" he shouted throwing the charms at the monster. The mushroom monster sliced the charms in mid air and roared. It lunged at Kagome's mother, its sickle arms outstretched.
"Mama!" Kagome shouted, tugging her mother out of the way. Kagome grabbed a kitchen knife while pulling her mother.
"Stay back," Kagome warned her mother. The monster turned his attention to the miko. It roared again and attempted to slash her.
Kagome saw the attack and dodged it. She did a back round house kick hitting what she thought were the eyes. The monster roared in pain, cutting wildly. The monster's blind slashing nicked Souta's arm, cutting through the cloth. A thin red line appeared.
This enraged Kagome. No one dares to hurt her family. With the knife in her hand, she lunged at the monster. The knife glowed a pinkish light. When it made contact with the mushroom monster, it disincarnated into nothing.
Kagome collapsed, panting from exhaustion. She shook her head and got up.
"Daijoubu –[Are you alright]- ?" Kagome asked her little brother.
"It's nothing. It should heal in a day or so," Kagome's mother said, examining the wound.
"Looks like dinner's ruined," Souta commented, looking at the mess in the kitchen. "Hey," Souta said, grinning with an idea forming in his head. "Let's order pizza."
Kagome's mother smiled at her son and nodded.
"I'll take a shower then," Kagome said going up the stairs to the bathroom. 'I wonder how I did that. I never used the purification technique without my arrows... Whatever, I'll ask Ranma. But for now, a bath would be nice."
End of Ch: 18
***
The last part was inspired when I was watching the episode when Kagome had her school's festival and food demons crashed it.
I would like to thank the people who reviewed, the readers who are still reading, and the new readers. Sorry for the long wait. But hey, at least I'm keeping my promise of updating at least once a month.
And I would like to thank Kris. She's going to finish editing the first 15 chapters soon. I'll make them into HTMLs so there could be bolding and italics and stuff.
The contest is still open. Vote for Ran/Kag or Ses/Kag. So far it's Ses/Kag: 32 and Ran/Kag: 66.
Last chapter: The demon that called himself Kage simply vanished.
Ch 18:
Reunion
It had already been a three weeks since the battle with Kikyo. Kagome seemed to be back to her normal cheerful self and that, Ranma was grateful for.
Kagome had given Sesshoumaru the Gouka crystal the minute they exited the cave. Sesshoumaru decided that he would research the crystal, and provide better protection for it. Though he considered giving Kagome guardianship over the crystal, he knew that it would only attract more youkai to her besides the Shikon no Tama.
Sesshoumaru left them when they got to his traditional Japanese home, but not before Kagome stocked up on some supplies and said hi to Rin.
During their trip, Jaken was left with Rin to play dress up. When the trio returned, Jaken was dressed in heavy makeup. His green face was so powdered that it was the color of snow. His thin frog lips had messy dark red lipstick that were scribbled outside the lines. His eyebrows had been plucked and replaced with paint. (Does he have eyebrows?) He also was sporting some dark blue eye shadow. To put it simply, he looked like he had been through hell.
"Rin make Jaken pretty," Rin kept on saying as Kagome tried not to laugh. Ranma, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off like there was no tomorrow. Sesshoumaru looked impassive, but Kagome could tell that he was amused with Rin's actions.
_*_*_*_*_*5 days later*_*_*_*_*_
Kagome and Ranma had been traveling together for the past 5 days by themselves. The atmosphere changed with the absence of Sesshoumaru, and they were thankful for that. Though Sesshoumaru was a 'nice' person in Kagome's point of view, he wasn't that much fun to be around with for the entire evening. Then again he usually spent most of the time meditating or doing whatever he pleased by himself.
"Ne, Ranma-kun, do you want to return soon?" Kagome asked, looking to the sky.
It was twilight. The sky was a mixture of gold, ruby red, and violet. The sun was half way over the horizon, elongating the shadows. The moon appeared faintly in the sky, giving it a transparent look.
They decided to set up camp at a convenient, clearing 26 yards away from the main road leading into Inu-yasha forest. They were tired, and turning in early didn't sound like a bad idea. The clearing was big enough for at least two or three people.
The campfire sparked and crackled, embers flickering into the cool air. The red and orange flames danced around, their movement hypnotic. It didn't make sense to make a campfire during this time of day, but Kagome wanted to get a head start on dinner, which was the last few cups of instant ramen she had.
Ranma looked up from the campfire and into Kagome's eyes. He didn't answer her immediately, because he didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. After a moment of silence, Ranma grinned at her.
"Whenever you want," Ranma said, still grinning. He missed his friends and family, but he knew Kagome needed him more.
She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Kagome buried her head into her knees and made a muffled sound something like moan. She was a bit depressed from the events around the Gouka Crystal. All she wanted was to go back home for a break.
"After we go back to the village I want to go straight home," Kagome said, lifting her head up to look at Ranma. "So you're going to right?"
"Whenever you want," Ranma repeated. Abruptly Ranma grinned like the Cheshire cat. "I wanna know what Ryoga wished for. It'll be fun. Ne, do you wanna come with me? Think of it as a break from a break."
"That didn't make any sense," Kagome giggled. This just made Ranma grin wider. "Maybe... I'm gonna stay for four days and today's Wednesday. So I could go to school for Friday. Then I could stay over at the dojo for the weekend. We could go back to my shrine and come back here. Sound like a plan?"
Ranma nodded his head in approval. "Sounds like a plan."
"Well," Kagome said, getting up from the ground and dusting off her uniform's skirt. "There's a hot spring near here and I want to take a bath before it gets to dark. Ja ne." She took her bathing items and walked in the direction of the sun. The hot spring was a 5-minute walk from their camping area, so she didn't have to walk so far.
When she got there she immediately put down the stuff she was carrying, stripped her clothes, and stepped into the spring. Instantly, her sore, weather beaten, overused muscles relaxed.
'This feels so nice.' Kagome thought dreamily, drifting off into happy bliss.
_*_*_*_*_*Inu-yasha's group*_*_*_*_*_
"Shippo!" Inu-yasha growled grabbing the kitsune by the tail. "Don't steal my fish!"
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Sango, Inu-yasha's being mean to me!" Shippo cried.
"Inu-yasha," Sango sighed exasperatedly. "Put Shippo down. He needs the food more than you do."
"What, you-"Inu-yasha shouted, glaring at the taijiya, but was cut off by Miroku.
"There, there, no need to argue. We'll be meeting Kagome-sama tomorrow so don't start fighting," the monk said, wrenching Shippo from Inu-yasha's grip. Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inu-yasha as he was taken away from Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha growled in anger and was about to make an attempt to grab Shippo when he caught a familiar scent.
The first thought Inu-yasha had was, 'Kagome'. "I'll be back later," he told the others. With that, Inu-yasha jumped through the trees that surrounded their camp.
'Kagome's near by. Why hadn't I notice it sooner?' Inu-yasha sniffed the air again to make sure. Her scent smelled like jasmine and lavender due to the soaps she used, but now her scent was masked by something else: the subtle scent of a demon. Inu-yasha glared at a tree before him. He was still jealous because Kagome got to be a full youkai.
'It's not fair,' he kept on repeating. His thoughts were of a child who had been reprimanded for something he thought was right. Then again, he was acting like a child when it came to Kagome's curse. 'But, we found a clue to the cure. Then she won't transform into a youkai ever again.' Inu-yasha gave a huff.
That was when he realized that Kagome's scent came along with water. Inu- yasha abruptly stopped his jumping from tree to tree to reach Kagome. If Kagome's scent comes with steaming water, it means she's taking a bath. Inu- yasha slowly made his way to her. He was going to check on her just incase she was in danger or something.
He neared the hot spring. There was a thicket of bushes surrounding the spring, and he made sure he was up wind before continuing.
Kagome knew Inu-yasha was behind her in the bushes. She didn't bother getting up and shouting at him for being perverted, because the hot spring was so relaxing. Instead she called to Inu-yasha from her position.
"Inu-yasha, I know you're there," Kagome paused to hear if Inu-yasha moved. After a minute of silence Kagome shouted again. "Stop hiding! I know you're there!"
Inu-yasha didn't move. He stood there leaning on the tree's trunk for support. For a moment Kagome had sounded like Kikyo. That scared him. Kikyo... it had been a while since they had met. And the last time was when Kikyo had tried to claim Kagome's soul. Inu-yasha's heart plummeted, like he just fell from a steep cliff.
Inu-yasha heard Kagome give a huff of frustration and got up from the water. Then he heard the rustling of clothes and footsteps.
"Do whatever you want," Kagome said, looking over her shoulder. Her voice was cold and sharp. Inu-yasha knew she was glaring at him, but the reason he didn't really understand.
'Kagome had changed a lot.... but... did she kill Kikyo yet?' Inu-yasha thought. His head drooped. His hands were balled in fists and shaking from not knowing what happened. He didn't know if he should be relieved that Kagome's alive, or worried if she had killed Kikyo.
Kagome's footsteps died out. Inu-yasha knew he would see her tomorrow. And tomorrow, he would act as if nothing has happened. As if this encounter never happened.
His last thoughts were of Kagome and Kikyo as he left the hot springs.
_*_*_*_*_*Next Day*_*_*_*_*_
"Ohayo Ranma-kun!" Kagome greeted with a large smile. She had a nice sleep last night. Kagome thought that because of the incident with Inu-yasha, she would be tossing and turning with guilt or scolding herself for it.
"Ohayo," Ranma replied. "Do we have any ramen left?"
Kagome scavenged around her backpack looking for any sign of noodles. Luckily she found two more cups of instant ramen.
"Yup! I'll start cooking." Kagome said. She began cooking their breakfast.
With nothing to d,o Ranma decided to recap on the events that had happened so far.
'Let's see . . . Kagome came to me and asked for my help. Then we went to the Grounds of Accursed Springs. She got cured while getting the Shikon shard. Now we are traveling through Sengoku Jidai collecting the rest of the Shikon shards before that... what's-his-name...Nahu... no... Naru something...Naruto? No wait, that wasn't it... Naraku!'
Ranma had been so intent on his thoughts that he didn't feel Kagome tapping his shoulder.
"Ranma-kun!" Kagome practically screamed.
"Wha! Huh?!" Ranma looked around, a bit startled. "Yea?"
"The ramen's ready," Kagome said, placing a bowl of steaming ramen into his hands.
Ranma grinned and began to eat his breakfast.
"Inu-yasha and the others are near," Kagome stated after they had finished eating.
"Yeah, I notice,." Ranma said, softly looking to the road. "Let's hurry."
"Hai," Kagome agreed while packing their belongings. They left their camping area a few hours after sunrise.
_*_*_*_*_*Inu-yasha's group*_*_*_*_*_
Inu-yasha came back last night in a semi-bad mood. He didn't complain about Shippo. That made things more weird when Shippo nearly insulted Inu- yasha.
They had already reached Kaede's village, and now they were waiting for Ranma and Kagome. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo couldn't wait till they tell Kagome the good news. While Inu-yasha was... they didn't know, but, did that really matter?
Shippo ginned as he imagined how things would be like when he told Kagome.
_*_*_*_*_*Shippo's Imagination*_*_*_*_*_
"Kagome-"Shippo shouted, excitement clearly in his voice. "Kagome-sama, we found a clue that might lead us to a cure," Miroku interrupted. Shippo frowned. He wanted to be the one to tell Kagome.
"Hai." Sango agreed. She grinned as Kagome's face was plastered with a huge smile, joy and relief clearly shown.
"Yougatta (sp)" –[Thank goodness/What a relief]- Kagome sighed in relief, sitting down.. Shippo immediately running to her and sitting on her lap.
"Where's Ranma?" Shippo asked.
"He's looking around the village. He said something about a history project..." Kagome drifted off.
"Kagome!" Ranma said, entering the hut. "I just found-"Ranma was interrupted by none other than Inu-yasha.
"Oi!" Inu-yasha shouted, his comment directed to Kagome. "What's he still doing here?!" Inu-yasha questioned. He clearly meant Ranma.
_*_*_*_*_*End of Shippo's imagination*_*_*_*_*_
Shippo shivered, thinking of the next event.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted from the door. She was looking out and waving.
Miroku sat there patiently, his golden staff in front of him, resting on his shoulder. The rings on the staff lightly jingled as he shifted, so he could look at the entrance.
Shippo sat down from standing and turned his gaze from the wall he was staring at to the door. His tail twitched excitedly.
"Ohayo, Kagome-chan," Sango greeted as Kagome entered the hut.
"Ohayo mina -[everyone]-"Kagome greeted, a tired smile adorned her face. Ranma came in after her.
"Kagome, we found a clue to the cure for your curse," Shippo began excitedly. Kagome was about to comment when Shippo continued. "We met the youkai that made that spring. She said to go south. There's a temple that'll lead us to the youkai Kaede mentioned!"
"Speaking of Kaede, does anyone know where she is? I need to speak with her," Kagome said, glancing around the room.
"She's out helping a family cure their sick daughter," Miroku explained. "Oi, Shippo, you said there's a temple that'll lead us to the youkai. Where is it?" Ranma asked. He was beginning to feel left out of the conversation.
"It's in the south," Shippo replied. He was feeling so proud of himself for helping Kagome out in her time of crises.
"Miroku, have you heard of something called Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku -[Seven Elements of Heaven]-?" Kagome asked, looking at the priest in question. Miroku had his head down in thought and didn't answer her. "Sango?" The youkai taijya only shook her head.
"I remember it being mentioned," Miroku began. "Mushin-sama told me a story about it when I was a child. Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku are scrolls and books that tell of the ryuu –[dragon]- and ryuu youkai's origin."
"Yes, that's it!" Kagome said excitedly. Her eyes glimmered with hope. "Kyouran-san, Tenchi's onii-san, said that he found the Senkyou No Kasumi -[Enchanted Land of Mist]-, through the Shichi Yooso No Gokuraku.
"Senkyou No Kasumi? You mean the Dragon's valley?" Sango asked looking at Kagome directly in the eyes.
"Hai." Kagome said smiling. Her heart was swelling with happiness. She was going to find a cure!
"My father told me about it. My great-great grandfather found a village of ryuu youkai, and he brought back some documents mentioning it," Sango said.
"Do you still have it?" Kagome asked.
"It's in my village..." Sango said quietly, looking down at the floor of the hut. Kagome's heart plummeted like a balloon bursting.
"Gomen Nasai –[I'm very sorry]-"Kagome apologized.
"Iie -[No]- It's alright." Sango said looking up at Kagome.
Inu-yasha came in. He was outside listening to the conversation. He didn't want to tell Kagome the news, so he left it up to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.
"We can go to Sango's village while we go south. It's on the way anyway," Inu-yasha said wisely, trying to sound arrogant. He didn't want to let Kagome know he was still affected with their meeting last night.
"Ranma and I were thinking of going back home," Kagome said, looking at Inu- yasha. Inu-yasha was about to retort when Ranma interrupted.
"It's only for four days anyways." Ranma said, glancing at Inu-yasha before looking anywhere but him.
"Kagome, you have one of those tests things coming or something?" Shippo asked.
"No, I need to buy more stuff and I want to see my family again," Kagome replied, smiling at the kitsune in her lap.
"Fine, as long as he doesn't come back," Inu-yasha said, nodding toward Ranma's direction.
Ranma was about to retort, but Kagome beat him to it.
"Inu-yasha! Ranma is going to come back with me, whether you like it or not!" Kagome said sternly.
Inu-yasha only huffed and turned his face, not looking at Kagome.
"Let's go Ranma," Kagome said, getting up. She put Shippo down and picked up her backpack. "I'll be back in three days then. Ja Ne." Ranma and Kagome left the hut.
Miroku was sighing and shaking his head. Sango was lost in her thoughts of her family and village. Inu-yasha was still jealous of Kagome being a demon. Shippo was feeling like he had forgotten something.
Shippo ran out of the hut, remembering what he forgot. During the trip back he picked mushrooms for Kagome. Sango had told him the mushrooms he picked healed internal bleeding, and he wanted to give them to Kagome as a welcome back gift.
"Matte! –[Wait]-"Shippo shouted chasing after Kagome and Ranma. Both of them stopped, seeing the kitsune. They were at the Hone Kui no Ido –[Bone Eaters Well]-. Kagome had one of her legs swung over the rim and Ranma was standing a foot away. "Here," Shippo said breathlessly, handing some mushrooms to Kagome. "I found these and Sango said they heal internal bleeding."
"Arigato –[Thanks]-"Kagome said gratefully. "I'll buy something for you when I get home."
"Ja ne." Shippo said, waving, as Ranma and Kagome jumped into the well. A brilliant light of blue and purple appeared as the teenagers left Sengoku Jidai.
_*_*_*_*_*Higurashi Jinja *_*_*_*_*_
Ranma and Kagome climbed out of the Hone Kui no Ido. They were in the Higurashi Jinja –[Higurashi Shrine]- now.
They made their way out of the well house and into the courtyard. Nearing the steps to the shrine, Ranma and Kagome said their good bys.
"I'll see you on Saturday!" Kagome yelled after Ranma as he left.
"Jii-chan!" Kagome called as her grandfather walked through the courtyard.
"Aaah, Kagome! You came back!" her grandfather said, looking at the teen.
"Hai. Here," Kagome said, giving her grandfather the mushroom's Shippo gave her. She couldn't do anything with it so giving them to her grandfather was the next best thing. "They cure internal bleeding."
"Is that so? I'll save them for later then," her grandfather asked and went into the house.
Kagome walked into the house too. The first thing she saw was the clock and it was 5:43 in the afternoon. Kagome went up to her room and called one of her friends, Ayame.
It was 7 in the evening before Kagome hung up. They were discussing schoolwork and her health.
Kagome exited her room and wandered into the kitchen. "Good, Kagome, can you set up the table for dinner?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Sure," Kagome replied, and opened a cupboard. She took out the dishes and chopsticks and began setting up the table.
"What are we having?" Kagome asked. She smelled the delicious scent of food. It was a sweet aroma of fried tofu mixed with meat and peppers, but Kagome couldn't tell the rest.
"Fried tofu, eel, and mushrooms," her mother replied. (Yes, Asians do eat eels. Well I've only eaten it once. The taste is okay but there are too much veins and not enough meat for my liking)
"Ahhh!" Kagome's mother shouted in alarm. The mushrooms, which they had been cooking slowly, morphed into a huge mushroom with sickles for hands.
"What?" Souta asked entering the kitchen. "Wha!" he yelled looking at the creature.
Kagome's grandfather hurriedly entered the kitchen, exorcism charms in his hands.
"Be gone!" he shouted throwing the charms at the monster. The mushroom monster sliced the charms in mid air and roared. It lunged at Kagome's mother, its sickle arms outstretched.
"Mama!" Kagome shouted, tugging her mother out of the way. Kagome grabbed a kitchen knife while pulling her mother.
"Stay back," Kagome warned her mother. The monster turned his attention to the miko. It roared again and attempted to slash her.
Kagome saw the attack and dodged it. She did a back round house kick hitting what she thought were the eyes. The monster roared in pain, cutting wildly. The monster's blind slashing nicked Souta's arm, cutting through the cloth. A thin red line appeared.
This enraged Kagome. No one dares to hurt her family. With the knife in her hand, she lunged at the monster. The knife glowed a pinkish light. When it made contact with the mushroom monster, it disincarnated into nothing.
Kagome collapsed, panting from exhaustion. She shook her head and got up.
"Daijoubu –[Are you alright]- ?" Kagome asked her little brother.
"It's nothing. It should heal in a day or so," Kagome's mother said, examining the wound.
"Looks like dinner's ruined," Souta commented, looking at the mess in the kitchen. "Hey," Souta said, grinning with an idea forming in his head. "Let's order pizza."
Kagome's mother smiled at her son and nodded.
"I'll take a shower then," Kagome said going up the stairs to the bathroom. 'I wonder how I did that. I never used the purification technique without my arrows... Whatever, I'll ask Ranma. But for now, a bath would be nice."
End of Ch: 18
***
The last part was inspired when I was watching the episode when Kagome had her school's festival and food demons crashed it.
I would like to thank the people who reviewed, the readers who are still reading, and the new readers. Sorry for the long wait. But hey, at least I'm keeping my promise of updating at least once a month.
And I would like to thank Kris. She's going to finish editing the first 15 chapters soon. I'll make them into HTMLs so there could be bolding and italics and stuff.
The contest is still open. Vote for Ran/Kag or Ses/Kag. So far it's Ses/Kag: 32 and Ran/Kag: 66.
