Title: TMttF's First Attempt
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
This is TMttF's first attempt, I will not be completing it, I just felt like sharing my failures. I will post what I have, no more.
Kagome and Souta looked around the apartment for some hint as to where everyone might have gone after they had finished their talk. Tension was high, and all tension was directed at a person who wasn't even at the apartment. They found a letter directed to them from their mother on the last place they would have thought to look. On the fridge. "My precious gems" Kagome read and both snorted their disbelief. "Aunt Atsuko, Grandpa, and I have taken Yusuke to the doctor. He is very ill"
Kagome rolled her eyes and looked at Souta. "Souta, don't even believe that. He's got the flu bug and had over-exerted himself. I deal with that kind of thing all the time in the Sengoku Jidai. All he needs is rest and some healthy food, and this special medicinal herb that is put in tea that Kaede makes. He's not all that ill."
Souta began reading it aloud. "He is very ill and we are very worried. We didn't want to wake you two and Aunt Atsuko says to help yourselves to anything in the fridge and that you can watch TV. We will be back later after Yusuke's appointment. Love, Mama."
Kagome set the note on the island counter and they both looked in the fridge, their stomachs rumbling. They made themselves ham sandwiches using some of the previous night's leftovers and Souta grabbed a Cream Soda. Kagome got herself a glass of water. Both then sat down on opposing ends of the couch and watched some television. When they were done eating, Kagome washed their dishes, while Souta dried them and put them back where they were found.
After they had sat down to watch television again – one of Souta's favorite shows had come on and he wanted Kagome to watch with him (Samurai Jack), someone knocked on the door. After the first knocking, it became insistent and the person began pounding, hollering for Yusuke.
Kagome sighed. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She said and walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. She saw a girl with pink hair and a boy with orange hair. "May I help you?" She asked them.
The girl leaned over and whispered to the boy, "Did we get the right apartment?" He was too busy drooling to notice he'd been talked to.
"Yusuke isn't here right now." Kagome told the girl, eyeing the orange haired boy dubiously. He was inching closer and closer to her.
"Oh, where did he go, do you know?" The girl asked. "I'm Botan by the way!"
"Yusuke is not here."
Souta came to the door to see what was going on. "Who are you people, and why do you have blue hair?"
"I'm Botan and he's Kuwabara. We're Yusuke's...friends."
Kagome noticed the pause and raised her eyebrows. "I see." She said. "Well, like I said, he's not here right now."
Souta supplied the two with, "Come back another time, he's not here." Souta slammed the door shut and drug Kagome back to the couch sitting her down. "We're going to watch this whether or not you like it." He said forcefully.
Kagome grinned. "Alright, alright already."
The show, Samurai Jack, mostly was about a samurai who got sucked into the future and walked around on wooden shoes, chopping up robots with his katana. He was trying to defeat some tall demon-like guy – Kagome thought his name was something like Abu, she couldn't remember what it was. Kagome sat, pretending to watch the show. 'God... This is more like Samurai Lack!' She thought lamely. And the worst part was it seemed to be an all-night marathon of it.
Finally though, around three o'clock, Aunt Atsuko and the others got back. Kagome did her best not to explode at her mother for what Souta had said. Perhaps Souta had misunderstood, she convinced herself.
She looked over to Souta and saw his face. He looked very upset, and no doubt was going to say something irrational. She didn't blame him; she wanted to say something herself, but she placed a hand on his and squeezed it reassuringly. The look she gave him when he looked at her was one that told him not to mention that he'd heard what he had.
Soon, Yusuke was in his room, sleeping – probably because of a drug side effect; Kagome's mother called her and Souta to come sit at the counter with her and Atsuko. As Kagome and Souta moved to go over by the adults, Kagome whispered, "Let's give them the fit they're asking for. Take your cue from me." With a goofy grin on each child's face, they sat down at the island counter.
Naomi sighed. Waiting didn't make this any easier, so she didn't beat around the bush. "Kagome, you've got responsibilities on the other side of the well, I know you do... But I am going to forbid you from going through the well." Her voice faltered when she saw the fury building behind Kagome's eyes. "At least for a while." She practically begged. "Just stay with Aunt Atsuko for a while, please?"
Souta looked just as shocked as Kagome felt. Their mother never was one to lose her composure, especially in front of her children. "How long?" Kagome asked her mouth dry.
"One year..?" When Kagome frowned, she quickly changed her answer. "Ten months? Please Kagome?"
Kagome sighed. "I will stay away from the well for a while." She agreed reluctantly. She never agreed to staying away for ten months, just that she would for a while. Her mother seemed to accept this though – she knew she would get no more from Kagome.
Kagome soon found that her mother really did have this planned for quite some time. Atsuko cleaned out the third bedroom for Kagome and Kagome's things were moved from the trunk of the car to the third bedroom. Kagome found that her mother had packed all her favorite clothes, all her schoolbooks, and all her things from the Sengoku Jidai up and brought everything. So, Kagome unpacked in her new temporary room, having a new bed to make (Atsuko had given her red sheets and black comforter and pillow cases for the bed), a new dresser and closet to fill, a new bookshelf to litter, and a new desk to clutter. Her mother had at least been smart and didn't forget to pack the shards of the jewel of four souls. Kagome set those on her desk, right next to her silver desk lamp.
Kagome looked around her room when she had finished unpacking. The closet was full of clothes that required to be hung up. The bottom three drawers to the dresser were filled with clothes that required be folding and putting away – including Kagome's towels and wash clothes were in there. The top two drawers were filled with Kagome's various healing herbs and poisonous plants – each one either bottled up in a glass bottle or else in little clothes bags (some were even ground up after having been dried).
The bookshelf was littered with various charms that Kagome had made with Kaede over the years, and it even had a few rosary bead necklaces like the one that Inuyasha wore. The shelves also held some of Grandpa's old spell books, ones that he had given to Kagome in hopes that she would read them and aspire to become a shrine-girl. It would have even more once Souta mailed some of Grandpa's old tombs from the dark room in the basement. The last book on the shelf was a hard cover dictionary.
Next to the book shelf was a door that went out into the hallway – this room was meant to be another apartment, but halfway through making it, people changed their minds and just added a door to the main apartment instead of an entire kitchen and bathroom.
On the desk were Kagome's schoolbooks, all lined up neatly at the back of the desk, standing in between two book holders shaped like cats. Her pens and pencils were in the middle top desk drawer. Her notebooks were in the top left desk drawer. A few random things were in the other desk drawers.
Souta sat on Kagome's new bed, watching her while bouncing his racquetball on the plush carpet. It didn't bounce very well on soft surfaces, she noticed. "Kagome, I don't think you should leave the shards there."
"Hey, Souta... give me the letter for Inuyasha. I'm going to rewrite something." She took the letter from him, moving briskly over to her desk. "And where would you suggest I put them? I need to know where they are always."
Souta bounced his ball across the room; it landed on her desk, rolling for a moment, and then fell off to the floor. "Stick them in there."
"And if someone takes the ball, assuming it is just a ball?" She asked. She didn't bother to stop writing.
Souta sighed and lay back on her bed. "I never thought of that."
Kagome smiled. "Don't worry, Souta." She said moments later, folding the letter up and writing the same incantation on the outside as was on the other letter. She walked over to him and gave it to him. Once he'd taken it, she went and got the shards, taking them over to the bookshelf and pulling out the dictionary. The inside of the book was hollow. It was made to look like a dictionary, but really wasn't. She stuck the shards inside it.
"There. Now no one will find them. No one except you and me will know where they are. Satisfied?"
He nodded, sitting up to look at her. "'Gome... What if Inuyasha gets mad?"
"I have no doubt that he will. That's why he has to read this letter in his era."
"Okay..."
Their mother knocked on the door and came into the room. "Come on, Souta. We have to go."
Souta glared at Naomi until she left the room again, closing the door behind her. Kagome went and sat by Souta on the bed, wiping away a tear that forced its way out of his eye. "Souta, don't worry." Kagome said. "Everything will be alright. I'll be coming back soon, and I'll be back in the Sengoku Jidai even sooner, so you have nothing to worry about."
"I'm not worried!" He said defensively. But right after that, he hugged her. "Mother is a jerk; I'll make sure Inuyasha gets the letter."
Kagome chuckled and hugged her brother. "Good. Don't forget to mail me those old tombs, but take them from the dark room in the basement. Grandpa won't notice those ones are gone. He never goes down there."
"Okay." He got up and left the room, leaving Kagome to feel alone. It was strange, her relationship with her brother. She and he had the normal sibling disagreements, but they also were closer to each other than most were to their siblings.
She wished she had gone back with Inuyasha. If she had, she wouldn't be stuck here, away from him. She hugged her knees, lying down on the bed covers. She missed him already. It wasn't just the fact that Souta had left that had made her feel so alone. Souta was now her only way of communicating with Inuyasha. There was so much she had wanted to put in the letter. "I love you, Inuyasha" was one of them.
Kagome sighed as she woke up in her new room the next morning. She wished she was back at Kaede's village, arguing with Inuyasha; watching Sango and other villagers slap Miroku for his incessant groping; keeping Shippou from being beaten up by Inuyasha.
'Stop wishing; it won't change anything!' She berated herself, getting up to go shower. She took off her dirty clothes, putting them in the dirty laundry hamper and wrapped a towel around her body, exiting her room to go to the bathroom, knowing that no one would be up. Her new clock had said it was five thirty am, so she'd doubted that her Aunt would be up, and Yusuke was probably still too exhausted to get up.
She showered, unable to bathe because there was no bath. It was just a shower. Soon as she was done, she dried off mostly so that she wasn't tracking water all through the apartment, and went back to her room, dressing. She put on a blue tank top, layering that with a second tank top, white in color. Her pants were loose around the legs and form fitting around her waist, blue in color. She brushed her hair and left her room, looking in the cupboards for something healthy to eat for breakfast. She saw minimal healthy food, and frowned.
'Doesn't Aunt Atsuko know how to read health labels?' She wondered. Racking coughs interrupted her thoughts, and she looked towards Yusuke's room. It sounded like he was choking. She went over to his room, opening the partially opened door. Her eyebrows rose when she saw him.
He was lying on his back, coughing. He was hacking out blood, choking on it when it had no where else to go but backward. She hurried over to him, turning his head so the blood ran out. "This is ridiculous." She muttered. She saw a medicine bottle next to his bed on the bedside table. She looked at it. "Naproxen?" She took the medicine into the kitchen and threw it away. That would do nothing for him. It was only a pain killer, a fancier version of Tylenol. She went into her room, into the top drawer of her dresser, and took out a bag; tentatively sniffing its contents to be sure she had the right package. She did. She knew each of these bags by scent, knew what they were and what they did.
She went into the kitchen, boiling some water on the stove. She knew that micro waved water didn't have as much nutrients as when boiled on the stove because it heated so fast that the nutrients were mostly boiled out.
She listened to Yusuke's coughing while she made him tea using her special remedy herbs. She took it in by him then, waking him up so that he could drink it. She could tell he wasn't sleeping very well, having to cough so much, choking on the blood. While he drank it, she took his blankets and pillow cases off the bed, keeping one eye on him. The tea, she knew, would give him energy enough to make him feel better again, but he couldn't get up. He had to rest after drinking it. Though she couldn't let him sleep in his blood. She searched his closet, hoping to find extra blankets. She did. She remade his bed up with the blankets and took the empty mug from him. "Lay down." She told him.
He began to stand. "What are you doing here, Kagome?"
"Lay down." She said, more insistently, pressing him back down. "I'll tell you after you wake again. But for now you have to sleep. If you don't, I'll feed you something that will make you sleep for days." She threatened.
"Yeah, right. Little Kagome threatening me?" He laughed, starting to stand. "Let's see this thing you're going to feed me." He challenged.
"Alright." She said. She went to her room, taking out a second pouch from the top drawer, once again sniffing it tentatively. Smiling, she took out one seed from the pouch, breaking it in fourths. She didn't want to put him out for a half week, just a day. She took a fourth of the seed, putting the rest back in the bag, retying it, and placing it back in its place in the drawer. She closed the drawer and went back to Yusuke's room. He was searching through his desk. "I have it." She told him.
He looked at her, holding her hand up with a small piece of a seed. He laughed. "That? You think I'm going to eat some random seed?"
Kagome walked towards him, shaking her head. "No, you won't eat it. You'll swallow it as it is." She had reached him, and before he knew what was happening, she had already put it in his mouth. It fell back in his throat and he was unable to stop from swallowing it.
When it did nothing, he yet again laughed at her. "Really, Kagome. Stop playing."
Kagome shrugged, as though giving up. Seconds later though, his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell forward towards her. She caught his weight in her arms. He was surprisingly light, probably hadn't been eating properly for the past week or so. She helped him into bed, leaving him there, covered. She was glad for the fact that her herbs worked so fast.
Kagome sighed. She was hungry, and it was already noon. She decided to have a bowl of Frosted Cheerios, even though it wasn't the healthiest thing in the world. She promised herself that she would go shopping soon. Once she had eaten, she washed her dishes and the tea cup that she'd used to make Yusuke tea. Once she was done with that, she cleaned out the fridge, getting rid of everything moldy, everything outdated, and all the past few weeks of leftovers, including the previous nights.
Atsuko woke to see Kagome cleaning out the fridge and freezer. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm cleaning out the garbage." Kagome replied. "If I have to live here, I see no reason why I should open the fridge to see moldy mayonnaise and soda sprayed all over everything in the fridge."
"Oh, alright." Atsuko said dubiously.
"Don't worry, Aunt Atsuko, I will buy groceries to restock, just as soon as I finish cleaning."
Atsuko nodded, moving towards Yusuke's room. She peered in on the sleeping boy. Kagome had washed the blood from his face, and got as much from his hair as she could. "Would you keep an eye on Yusuke? I have to go to work."
"He'll be fine, Aunt Atsuko. I'm going to go shopping tonight yet. He'll be fine until I get back."
"Are you sure?"
"Atsuko," Kagome drawled, annoyed, "I know more about medicines that that doctor that you took Yusuke too – which actually isn't hard at all, since the doctor basically prescribed Tylenol. Yusuke will be fine, alright?"
Atsuko sighed. "The doctor said he might die if we don't give him that medicine."
Kagome tried and failed to hold back her laughter. "Atsuko, he's got a form of the flu, and he's over exerted himself. I have dealt with this many times. I gave him an herb that will sooth his coughing and help him fight the flu, and the seed of an herb that will help him sleep while the herb does its work. That doctor is a liar, and you are gullible. He'll be fine again in the morning."
"Are you sure?"
"Go to work, Atsuko." Kagome was having a hard time keeping herself patient.
"Alright. But take care of him." She gave Kagome a key to her apartment and then left quickly, her waitress uniform swishing with her movement.
'Did she hear a single word I said?' Kagome wondered as she finished the freezer and moved on to washing it and the fridge out. It took ten minutes to do. After that, she cleaned the cupboards and took out the garbage, placing it in the large bin at the very far end of the hall where the garbage was to go. When she got back to the apartment, she got her purse, turned off her bedroom light and closed the door, turned off Yusuke's, and closed the living room blinds. Then she got the house key from where Atsuko had set it on the counter and put it in her purse. Once that was done, she checked to see how much money she had left. Her mother had given her five hundred dollars, so that Kagome could buy whatever it was she needed (more proof that Naomi had planned this out for some time), and Kagome had put most of it in her hollow dictionary. She had put seventy dollars in her purse though. She was set to go shopping.
An hour and a half later, Kagome was back at the apartment, trying to juggle four paper bags of food and unlock the door at the same time. She dropped a bag on the hallway floor and it made a racquet. She found the door to be unlocked and wondered if she really had locked it before she left. She was sure she had locked it. She opened the door and picked up the fallen bag.
She set the bags on the counter and began putting away the groceries. When that was done a few moments later, and she had folded the bags and put them in the broom cupboard for temporary storage, she noticed a difference to the environment. There were four extra pairs of shoes by the door. She looked around the room and saw her bedroom door open. Now that, she knew she had closed. She went over to Yusuke's room, opening the door and peering in on him. He was still sleeping soundly.
'Strange...' She went into her room. Nothing seemed to be amiss. She looked carefully at her dresser. The top drawer was open a crack. That had been closed. 'Someone's been sleeping in my bed...' She thought dryly, thinking of the old Goldilocks story.
Kagome walked into the room, going to her drawer, but a movement from behind her caught her attention. She turned just in time to see a black haired figure rush at her and tackle her to the floor. Ironically, she thought, 'Someone's been sleeping in my bed, and they're still there...'
She thought it inappropriate to think such thoughts in her situation, and her next thought was of Inuyasha. 'Just shut up and let me protect you!' He had yelled at her, right after he'd gotten the Tetsusaiga. Well, he wasn't going to be able to protect her, so it was up to her now.
"Hiei!" She heard a female voice shout. "We don't even know for sure!"
She ignored the voice and shifted just slightly, as Sango had taught her so that she was able to use her hands and pressed down on a pressure point on the boy's back. He seized up, and she took advantage of the situation, flipping him onto his back and half sitting on his chest, hooking her thumb on a pressure point on his neck.
"Why are you here?" She asked him, her voice filled with fury. She had hardly moved in a day ago, and now she was being attacked! She realized that he had a presence that felt like Inuyasha's. She was sure that he was a demon. She said nothing about that though, only thought that she would have to be sure the shards were still in the dictionary.
Someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her off of Hiei, who sat up, rubbing his throat. "Let me go!" She demanded. She could use her miko powers, she knew, but if she didn't have to, she wouldn't.
A boy with red hair, slightly shorter than Inuyasha's, walked into her view. "My apologies." He said. "But we have questions for you."
"Uncivilized bastards." She yelled at them, Inuyasha's pleasant vocabulary making its way into her speech. "Let me go, now!"
When Kagome was not let go, she used her miko powers to make her skin burning to the touch, though it was hardly enough power to change her aura she knew. The person holding her was burnt and ended up losing hold on her. Kagome fell to the ground, catching herself and tripped the boy who had held on to her, not paying attention to who they might be. She then stood quickly and tried to run, but the boy in black was faster than her. He tackled her to the ground yet again, but this time she was face down, and she couldn't dislodge herself from her situation.
"What do you want with me?" Kagome growled into the carpet. She had no doubt now that the boy holding her was a demon. His red eyes only went to further her thoughts on that.
"Why did you poison Yusuke?" The boy holding her down asked. He didn't seem very concerned for Yusuke's welfare though.
"Poison him? Ha! What motive would I have to poison my cousin?"
"We're not the criminal masterminds here!" Kagome heard the most annoying voice say. She tried to see who spoke, and saw that it was a boy with orange hair. She recognized him from the day before. He and a pink haired chick had come to see Yusuke the day before. He was holding his hands and blowing on them as though he had been burnt.
"What are you doing breaking and entering?" Kagome said, before having her face shoved into the carpet.
"Hiei, don't be so rough!" A girl's voice said. Kagome couldn't see who had said it; the only thing she could see was the back of her eyelids, because if she opened them, the carpet would scratch up her eyes.
"Shut up, Botan." The boy, Hiei, said.
Kagome still didn't want to use her miko powers though. She knew she was in a bind, but she didn't want anyone in this era to know about her. "Let me go! I didn't poison Yusuke; I can explain the whole misunderstanding if I wasn't being choked by a rug!"
"Hiei, we should give her a chance to explain..." The voice sounded like the red haired boy.
"What, and let her try to run again?" Hiei growled.
"At least quit mashing my face into the carpet... I think you're giving me a nose bleed." Kagome mumbled into the carpet.
Hiei let go of her head, watching her back muscles for any signs of escape. She didn't try to escape, but rather tried to turn her head so that she could see her aggressor.
"What makes you think I poisoned Yusuke?" She asked.
The red haired boy answered, "In light of the fact that Yusuke seems to have been quite ill for at least three days now, and he's coughing up blood –"
"Damn it, he's doing that again?" she muttered.
"And the fact that you have quite a variety of poisons in your dresser, we have come to the agreement that you poisoned him."
"Stupid morons. He caught the flu and over-exerted himself. I gave him an herb to help his immune system fight the flu and help him dry out his lungs of all the blood. Then, because he wouldn't rest, I gave him a seed of an herb that would help him sleep."
"Hiei, let go of my cousin..." Yusuke was heard from the direction of the door.
Hiei grumbled about it, but he let Kagome go. She stood and rubbed her back, looking at Yusuke. "Why aren't you sleeping?" She demanded, but before she could say any more, he doubled over, coughing. Blood sprayed from his mouth and onto his closed fist.
Kagome frowned thoughtfully. 'For some reason, he is awake when by all rights he should be asleep until tomorrow afternoon. And the tea didn't work either, obviously... Well, perhaps a stronger kind?' She turned and looked at the pink haired girl who she recalled to be Botan. "You," She said, pointing to her, "go into the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil." She pointed at the red haired boy who she had yet to learn the name of. "You, help Yusuke back into his room. If his sheets are bloody, change them. There are clean ones in his closet." She pointed at the boy named Hiei. "You, go into the bathroom cupboard and get some washcloths. Lots of them. And get a bowl from the kitchen. Take it into Yusuke's room. A large bowl, mind you."
The orange haired boy piped up, "What do I do?"
"Stand there and look useful. That's probably about all you'll be able to manage anyway."
The boy got defensive about it, sputtering angry words, but Kagome ignored him, moving over to her dresser. She pulled out four different bags from the top drawer and three from the bottom, sniffing each in turn tentatively. When she turned around again, the three hadn't moved from where they were.
"Go! Now!" She told them forcefully, anger flashing in her eyes.
Unsure of what else to do, the three went and did as asked. Kagome took the seven bags of herbs into Yusuke's room, setting them on the desk near where Kurama and Hiei were changing the sheets on the bed. She then went back into her room, grabbing a book off the shelf. It was thick, probably six inches thick, taking it into Yusuke's room. She opened the book to a page she had marked with a piece of string because she never wanted to lose that page. She looked over the ingredients to the liquid that she was going to make, being sure she had everything right. She did. Sometimes her memory surprised even herself.
She turned to see the two boys finishing making the bed. "Good, put Yusuke on the bed on his back and if he starts coughing and blood comes out, catch it with a washcloth." She left to see how Botan was doing on the water. "Is the water almost boiling?"
"Yes, it is."
"Bring it in here when it is."
"Alright."
Kagome went back into Yusuke's room, sitting heavily in the chair by Yusuke's desk. The bowl was on the desk, along with several washcloths. Each time Yusuke coughed, the red haired boy would wipe the blood up.
Just as soon as the water arrived, Kagome began mixing together the powders and the crumbled dried herbs. She had Botan slowly pour some water into the bowl with the mixed together substances and slowly a sticky balm was made. After that, more water was added continuously until the balm became a liquid, steaming hot.
"Someone get me a tea cup." Kagome said, picking up the bowl of steaming liquid and taking it over to the bedside table. A tea cup was given to Kagome seconds later and she dipped it in the bowl, taking out some of the substance. She half straddled Yusuke, helping him sit up and putting the cup to his lips while saying, "Drink, Yusuke..." She poured some of the liquid down the dazed boy's throat, only to have it spit back up at her.
"No, Yusuke, don't do that!" She told him angrily. The others watched this for a moment, before Botan moved to help sit Yusuke up more.
"Thanks." Kagome told her. He was starting to get heavy. She tried again to give him the liquid, but again, he spit it up at her, shivering.
"Cold..." He said.
"I know, I know. This will make you feel better though. Drink it."
"Cold?" the red haired boy asked curiously.
"The reaction of the substances and the boiling water brings the temperature of the liquid as a whole down, as though it had been refrigerated for a day or so." Kagome explained. She again tried to give Yusuke some of the liquid but he spit it up yet again and Kagome began to get irritated. "Yusuke, quit fooling around!" Kagome told him, scowling. When Yusuke spit up again, Kagome put the cup in the bowl with the rest of the liquid, standing up and exiting the room briefly, her shirt soaking.
Kurama bent over the bowl, sniffing it. "Well, there is nothing harmful in there, at least." He told Hiei and Botan.
"Of course there isn't." Kagome said, coming back into the room. "Like I said; I wouldn't poison my cousin."
"You said he has the flu, right?" Botan asked.
Kagome knelt by Yusuke on the bed, a vile in her hand. She quickly poured some of it down Yusuke's throat; a small enough amount that he wouldn't be able to spit up before it got down completely. He began coughing and gagging and Kagome quickly readied the potion she'd made, pouring it little by little down his throat. He accepted the liquid, drinking it gratefully. "That is correct. He's over working himself, knowing my cousin. He doesn't go down easily, and because of that, he probably didn't let the first signs of the flu get to him."
"What did you just give him?" Kurama asked.
"A very vile tasting fluid so he would be more cooperative. He's acting in a daze right now, and when he recovers from the flu bout, he probably won't remember any of this, so don't bother trying to rub it in that he did this or that."
Soon Yusuke had drunk the entire potion and fell asleep. Kagome went to change because she was soaked from Yusuke's vain attempts not to drink the potion. Once she had changed, she went out into the living room, hands on her hips.
"So, tell me why exactly you decided to enter this apartment uninvited?"
Hiei scowled at her tone. "Who asked you?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Look, short stuff," She said, even though he was just as tall as her, maybe an inch shorter, "I could kick your ass from here to the Sengoku Jidai, so don't mess with me right now. I'm in a very foul mood considering you broke into my Aunt's apartment, attacked me, and accused me of poisoning my only cousin."
"Hn, I would like to see you try." Hiei told her, snorting his disdain.
Kagome narrowed her eyes at Hiei. "Don't push your luck, fire boy." She said threateningly. Hiei was mildly surprised she had said that, but took it as an attempt at an offensive name-calling. "Look, I want you all OUT of this apartment. Or else I'll make you get out."
Looming behind Kagome was Kuwabara, and Kagome knew this. Just as she sensed he was going to make an attempt to grab her, she ducked down, swinging around and sliding his feet from under him. She seemed to be doing a lot of tripping these days.
"Get out of this apartment!" She whispered furiously, turning her head to look at the others. "I won't say it again."
Botan sighed. "We're going." She dragged the others out with surprising strength.
Kagome sighed and plopped down on the couch once they were gone, napping while the TV played some rerun of some stupid sitcom. Every few hours she checked on Yusuke to see how he was doing, and was glad to see that his condition was improving. Finally at around ten thirty pm, she showered and went to bed.
She was awoken by a light tapping on her door. Kagome groaned and blinked open her eyes. 'Inuyasha? He must not be able to get into the window. Did I lock it?' She wondered before registering where she was. 'Oh yes... I remember now. Aunt Atsuko's house.' Grudgingly she got up and walked to the door of her room that connected with Atsuko's living room.
"Yes?"
Atsuko's face greeted her cheerfully. "Ah, Kagome! I want to thank you for whatever you did for Yusuke. He's back to his normal healthy gloomy self! I just wanted to be sure you are up though for your first day of school before I go to school. Yusuke will help you get to school and to your classes, as Naomi and I have scheduled him to have the same classes as you."
Kagome blinked, and then panicked. "Oh no! That's right! School! Thanks Auntie for the wake up!" Kagome called, slamming the door shut and dragging around the room. She tossed through her things, not sure what to wear to give the best impression. She decided to go casual/formal. She chose a light purple belly tank top, with a contrasting dark purple skirt that tapered down one side more than the other. She showered in a record fifteen minutes, brushing her hair and leaving it down after dressing, and grabbed a pair of purple sandals that tied to her ankles. Her final touches were some purple eye shadow, a light layer of eyeliner, a spray of her favorite perfume: jasmine and rose, and lip gloss. Finally, she grabbed her backpack, shouldering it and leaving the room. Atsuko was just leaving. "Auntie, where is Yusuke?"
"Oh, dear, he won't get up unless you force him to. I'll see you after I get home from my classes tonight, but don't wait up for me. I might be late. Bye hun."
"Bye Auntie." Kagome said, waving. She went over to Yusuke's room, peering in. "Yusuke?" She called in a quiet voice.
Yusuke sat on his bed staring at his ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. "What mom?"
Kagome giggled, forcing Yusuke to turn and look at her. "I'm not Aunt Atsuko, Yusuke!" She said.
Yusuke grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Why are you here?"
"I got here a couple days ago. I'm going to be staying here for a while because my mother is being a jerk. Come on, I'll explain it on the way to school."
"You're comin' to my school?"
Kagome nodded.
"Oh, well then I'll introduce you to a few people who are okay to hang out with."
Kagome laughed. "Still protective of me, just like when we were little, eh Yusuke?"
Yusuke had a grim look on his face as he looked her over while they walked to school. He didn't bother to grab a back pack or anything, she'd noticed as they left the apartment. "You're a lot better looking than the last time I saw you." He told her. "You're hotter. I'm not going to let some bozo come hit on my cousin who is weak and frail." He grinned then, playfully.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "If only you knew... I can fend for myself."
"Riiiight. That'll be the day."
Kagome chuckled. 'Yes... that will be...' She thought triumphantly as they neared the school. "Perhaps I will humor you. You never know."
"I suppose you don't. So... mom said you took care of me while I was sick. Thanks for that I guess."
"Well, someone has to." As they talked, 'catching up' on what they'd been up to in the past (both omitting many things like being a S.D. and traveling back and forth through a well to the Sengoku Jidai) few years since seeing each other, Kagome's mind wandered back to Inuyasha. She missed him a lot. She wondered what he was up to and if Souta had given him the letter yet or not. It all depended on whether or not Inuyasha had come from the past to get her yet, she supposed, but she wished she hadn't said for him not to come find her. She knew he could find her from miles away probably, but then she realized she was being selfish. She couldn't let him risk his life. She knew that up against weaponry of the future, he would be at a loss. Half-demon or not, he would probably die against modern weaponry, or else he would end up in a lab somewhere, poked, prodded, and pinned to a scratch board and tortured while scientists cut him up and experimented on him.
"Are you even listening to me Kagome?" Yusuke asked irritably.
Kagome threw herself back to reality. "Oh, sorry. Something caught my attention. What were you saying?"
Yusuke groaned. "I knew it! You still are mad at me from that snake I put in your sock drawer three years ago aren't you?"
Kagome shuddered at the memory, but smiled at him. "Actually, I was just thinking about something else."
Yusuke smirked knowingly. "Ah, I see. So, you have a boyfriend do you?"
Kagome blushed. "NO! It's nothing like that." She said patiently, with more patience than she would have thought possible. "I was thinking about... about an obligation that I have. That's all."
"Oh, okay. Though I'm not as stupid as that, you know. There's someone who you like isn't there?"
Kagome narrowed her eyes at her cousin. "Why should I tell you? I'm still single, and I don't like anyone in that way right now!" She lied about the second part, but the first part was all too true.
"Whatever. Let's go get your schedule from the office." He poked her side, right on the exposed skin. "But don't think I won't find out."
Kagome smirked on the inside. "Okay, Yusuke. I won't think that."
Yusuke scoffed at her 'innocent' tone. "You really haven't changed." He said grumpily. "You are still naïve as ever."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"..." He didn't answer, obviously.
Kagome's first class of the day was History. She walked into the room, a smile on her face. The teacher, 'Mr. Hakima', was a substitute that day for the real teacher, it seemed. Mr. Hakima introduced Kagome to the class, and Kagome grimaced inwardly at the faces on half of the class. The boys were drooling and the girls were looking murderous. 'What did I do to them?' She wondered. 'Did I do anything at all?'
"Class, this is Kagome Higurashi. She just transferred here from Harui school." Mr. Hakima said, smiling. "Go ahead, say a few words about yourself, miss Higurashi."
Kagome gulped. 'What to tell?' She plastered a winning smile on her face. "My name is Kagome Lynn Higurashi..." She said, not saying any more. Mr. Hakima only said to say a few words.
Mr. Hakima chuckled. "Thank you, miss Higurashi." He said. "You may sit between Mr. Akira and his sister." He said, pointing to two twins in the back of the room. Both of them had chocolate brown eyes, tan skin (tanner than normal Japanese), a mess of black hair, though the girls was longer than the boys, and both of them had red and silver highlights in their hair. They both wore all black, the girl with heavy black make up on her face.
Kagome bowed respectfully to the teacher and went and sat in between the boy and the girl. The girl turned to Kagome flashing a smirk. "You're new, eh?"
Kagome nodded.
"Alright, I'm Sheena." She said. "My brother's name is Haru."
Kagome smiled. "I'm Kagome..."
Haru looked Kagome up and down, or as much as he could while she was sitting. "Nice ass." He said, smirking. He leaned forward and pinched Kagome's butt.
Kagome sweatdropped. "Um... do you mind?" She said, not wanting to up and slap this boy, but at the same time wanting to do it.
Haru chuckled and let her go. "Just wanted to see if was as firm as your legs make it seem it will be."
"Are you satisfied?" Kagome asked, curious.
Haru nodded. "Yes. So, Kagome, where you comin' from?"
Sheena rolled her eyes. "You idiot. If you were paying attention, you would have realized that Mr. Hakima had said she was from Harui school district."
Haru chuckled. "Harui, huh? Well, it just so happens that I wasn't paying attention to Mr. Hakima. He doesn't deserve my attention. He's not a female, and he's not Mr. Matenkashi."
"Yeah…" Sheena said, starry-eyed. "Mr. Matenkashi is so hot, and yummy too! I envy his wife!"
"Who is Mr. Matenkashi?" Kagome asked.
Haru chuckled. "He's the real teacher of this class. He knows a lot of history and he explains it like he actually was there. He teaches a class mainly on Sengoku Jidai, which is really cool. Sheena and I are in that class. Are you?"
Kagome took out her schedule and looked at it, surprised to see she was indeed enrolled. "I guess so..."
"You'll have to work really hard. Mr. Matenkashi is really cool, but he's also very strict. If you can't keep a B average in that class, you are dropped from it." Sheena pointed out. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder.
Haru nodded. "This one is a required class, so people fail out of it all the time. Its just the regular history class."
"Why is Mr. Matenkashi not here?" Kagome asked.
Haru shrugged. "His wife is sick with the flu, but what is worse is that she's pregnant, so he's staying home to take care of her."
Sheena smiled. "His wife is really pretty."
Haru chuckled. "Yeah she is. She's six months pregnant, really big, yet still manages to look gorgeous!"
Kagome blinked. "Wow... From the sounds of it, you two have high respects for these two..."
Haru grinned. "Well, yeah. Mr. Matenkashi practically raised us!"
"So he's your dad or something?"
Sheena shook her head. "Naw. He adopted us, but when we're in school, we're supposed to call him Mr. Matenkashi. He's weird like that."
Kagome nodded, but really didn't understand, but for the sake of conversation, she would pretend. Unfortunately, Haru and Sheena could tell she didn't understand. Haru pinched her bottom with a grin. "I'll explain. We were orphaned at age three, and our dad knew Mr. Matenkashi so before he passed on, he asked Mr. Matenkashi to care for us as though we were his own."
Kagome raised an eyebrow at them both. "Mr. Matenkashi is like a father to you both, but you take passes at his wife, from the sounds of it, and you take passes at him? What kind of relationship do you have with them exactly?"
Mr. Hakima was currently trying to get the attention of the class, but was failing to do so. "Excuse me… Excuse me! Class… please, everyone would you please settle down and listen to me?" But to no avail. No one would pay attention to him. People were throwing paper airplanes around, and somehow his bottom had been glued to the chair so he couldn't get up.
A large group of boys were staring at Kagome who was unaware of the glances they gave her and the hunger in their eyes.
Near the end of class, Sheena and Haru were called to the office over the loud speaker, though the message was hardly heard over the din in the room. "Would Haru and Sheena Akira please report to the office. Haru and Sheena Akira, please report to the office."
Haru had heard it however, considering he was sitting directly under the loudspeaker. "Oooh! I bet Mrs. Matenkashi is having the baby!" Haru said, happily. "I hope it's a boy! Then I can teach him to beat up all the people who he doesn't like!"
Sheena laughed. "You dolt. Of course it'll be a girl, and then I will teach HER to beat up the people who SHE doesn't like!"
Haru pinched Kagome's bottom one last time as the bell rang to signal the end of the hour. "Hey, we'll catch up with you whenever, okay?"
Kagome nodded. "See you later." She said, smiling. She had a feeling that she had just made two very good friends.
Sheena took a piece of paper out of her notebook and gave it and her pen to Kagome. "Here, give us your phone number and we can call you to tell you the news, good or bad." She told her. Kagome grabbed the pen and scribbled down her Aunt Atsuko's phone number.
"That's not my phone number, mind you, that's my Aunt Atsuko's, so you'll have to ask for me. I'm living with my aunt now." She explained when they looked confused.
"Oh, I see." Sheena nodded. "We'll give you a call later on, okay?"
Kagome nodded, but then a thought struck her. "I don't think that Mrs. Matenkashi is having the baby though, unless it is premature labor, in which case I don't think the baby would survive…" She told them.
Haru scratched his head thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right... six months is a bit early..."
Sheena frowned, thinking a moment. The three and Mr. Hakima (who was glued to the chair so couldn't move unless he decided to look foolish and roll it down the hall) were the only ones left in the room. "Well, I don't know what it could be!"
Kagome shook her head, signifying that she had no clue either. "Well, whatever it is, I hope it is good news." She told them truthfully. "I hope you come back after you go to the office, but in the event that you don't, I'll see you whenever." She smiled at them and they grinned back.
"Of course! I could never leave someone as hot as you are alone for very long." Haru said, a hand snaking around Kagome's waist. "Kagome, you and my sister are two very gorgeous women, who'll have to fend off guys at every step, so I've got to keep my eye on you two!" His other hand went around Sheena's shoulders.
Kagome blinked. "Um... but she looks exactly like you. Don't you have that problem too?"
Haru smirked. "That's exactly why she has that problem; it's 'cause I'm so good lookin'!"
Kagome and Sheena laughed and both shrugged away from Haru, though it was more difficult for Kagome since Haru's arm was around her waist and not on her shoulders. She picked herself carefully from his grasp, giggling when he smirked and tickled her stomach as the office lady called him and his sister again.
"Would Haru and Sheena Akira please come to the office. Haru and Sheena Akira, please report to the office immediately."
Sheena chuckled and helped Kagome out of Haru's grip. "Come on, Haru. Leave Kagome alone. She's got to go to class, and we've got to go to the office."
Haru sighed and then pecked Kagome a kiss on the cheek. He grinned like a madman when she blushed. "We'll call you... or more to the effect of I'll call you. I've got your number now!" He began to laugh as her blush deepened, but Sheena stepped on his foot hard with her heel.
"You mean, SHEENA has her number, you moron!" She grumbled, speaking in third person for a moment. "You're truly dumb!" She dragged him away from Kagome, waving to her new friend. "See you, Kag!"
"Okay, bye." Kagome said and left as well, going to her next class while they went to the office.
The day passed smoothly until lunch. Haru and Sheena had not come back through the entire day, making Kagome wonder what was happening with her new friends. Even though Haru was a big pervert, and it seemed that both were obviously rebels (though they really didn't act like it all that much, or maybe that was just Kagome, not realizing what was happening), they both seemed to be very nice.
Kagome found Yusuke to be missing through the entire morning, but knew he skipped classes a lot. He was a smart boy, if he put his mind to things, he just preferred not to. At lunch, however, Kagome found herself at odds. She wasn't sure how she ended up behind the school, but now she was. She was surrounded by a group of boys, all were heckling her telling her how gorgeous she was, luscious, succulent, divine, scrumptious... the list of words went on and on. There were fifteen of the boys. Kagome knew she could handle two or three, four people if she was mad enough, but she knew she wasn't going to be leaving this secluded area behind the school unscathed, and by the sounds of it, she would probably not leave it a virgin either.
Her thoughts wandered unavoidably to Inuyasha. He always protected her. He always came to her aid. But today, he would not be coming. It stung to know that. But, she would not give up without a fight. No, she wouldn't. She knew Inuyasha would hate it if she did. She steeled herself as the boys began their advance towards her.
She fought well, giving one boy a broken nose (effectively bruising her own hand in the process), one a fat lip, she managed to kick two of them in the groin and trip another, until they all tackled her, pinning her to the ground. 'How do I manage to get into such trouble?' She wondered. 'Maybe it isn't Inuyasha that attracts the trouble, maybe it is me...'
Still, she wasn't going to give up. She screamed until someone covered her mouth with their hand, and bit their hand when they did, though they didn't let go of her. She struggled in their grasp, kneeing the one who tried to 'mount' her in the groin.
"Bastards, get off of me!" She yelled, but her voice was muffled by the hand covering her mouth. Just as she was about to use her miko power to save herself, she heard Yusuke's voice through the fray.
"GET OFF OF HER NOW!" Yusuke yelled. Heads turned in time to have a fist connected with face after face. Yusuke wasn't alone though. The black haired boy from the day before, and the red haired boy and the orange haired boy were with him. One of the boys backhanded Kagome so hard she saw spots and felt dizzy, and it made her miss seeing most of the fight. Moments later, Kagome could see properly again and she saw Yusuke finishing the fight off, rendering the last boy unconscious. Yusuke looked over to Kagome. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, going over to help her up.
Kagome nodded, slightly disheveled. "I was handling it." She muttered darkly under her breath, knowing the reaction she would get and knowing he wanted to hear it for reassurance.
Yusuke laughed. "Riiiight. You were handling it and I'm the queen of Shiba."
"Really? I didn't know you had a sex change!"
Yusuke sighed. "You're impossible, 'Gome." He said gloomily, helping her to stand. "I always had to watch you then, and now it looks like I have to do the same." He sighed. "I wish you weren't such a weakling." He actually hadn't meant to say that out loud but was surprised to see it didn't make her sad to hear that.
Kurama interjected with, "I wouldn't say she's a weakling, Yusuke. She nearly won in a fight the other day against us."
Yusuke's eyes widened marginally. "What were you doing fighting my cousin?"
"They broke into Aunt Atsuko's house and then attacked me, so..." Kagome trailed off, blushing.
Yusuke laughed, slinging a hand across her shoulders. "Well, I suppose that's something! Anyway, I'll introduce you to the guys. Suichi Minamino, Hiei, Kazuma Kuwabara, this is my cousin Kagome. Kagome, these are the guys."
"What's Hiei's last name?"
"I have no last name."
"YUSUKE!" A hurt voice cried. Kagome looked and saw a girl with short brown hair with a hurt expression on her face. She marched up to a frightened Yusuke and slapped him. "How could you!"
Kagome sighed, looking at her much disheveled state, listening to Yusuke blunder and try to find the source of a one mad Keiko Yukimura's pain as he removed his arm from her shoulder.
Finally Kagome looked at the girl named Keiko. "Hello, I'm Higurashi, Kagome. Yusuke's cousin." She put emphasis on 'cousin'. "Yusuke just helped me out of a tight spot is all, and we were talking." When Kuwabara cleared his throat, Kagome grudgingly said, "And they helped too."
Keiko looked relieved. "Oh, then okay. I'm sorry I slapped you, Yusuke..."
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, it felt like a mosquito bite anyway." Though the strong red handprint on his face said otherwise.
Kagome smiled at Keiko, a thought coming to her head. "Besides! If you were thinking Yusuke was cheating on you with me, then I would say my own boyfriend would be jealous too, but he isn't. So no worries."
Keiko smiled. "Who is your boyfriend?"
Kagome paled marginally. She hadn't thought she'd be QUESTIONED on it. "Um..." She let her eyes wander, and then got a really wicked thought in her head. 'Yusuke said on the way to school this morning that he didn't like girls like that... so... lets embarrass him to hell as revenge for shoving my face into a carpet.' She grinned, pointing to Hiei. "Him."
If you're wondering, this will not be completed. It's the first attempt at TMttF so I will post how much there is, but no more.