Kagome sighed. It had been two days since the bath incident, and they were planning a trip to the beach. Shippo, Sota, and Miroku were excited. Kiara was hiding under the couch. Sango wasn't sure if she liked the idea of the bikini Kagome had given her to wear. InuYasha and Sesshoumaru were ignoring the commotion, sitting up in a tree to avoid Sota and Shippo, and discussing what they knew about Naraku. Kagome was in the middle of everything, coaxing Hojo to provide transportation, assuring Sango that the bikini looked great, telling the little ones to calm down, and trying to collect the things they were taking along.
"Guys, can you all get in here so I can get a quick headcount and figure out who's riding with who?"
"I'll go catch Sota and Shippo." Sango offered.
"Miroku, get Kiara out from under there, and get in here. InuYasha! Sesshoumaru! GET IN HERE!" Within ten minutes, they were all assembled. "Okay. Counting Hojo, there are 8 of us. I can-"
"Hey, Kagome, Hideki's girlfriend called. She says she'll drive if you want to keep an eye on your group." Hojo said, waving the phone at her.
"Great. Tell her that'll work great!"
"Got it. Kasumi, Kagome said that sounds fine. Five minutes? Awesome. See you then." He hung up.
"Okay. Kasumi can take five, and Hojo's-"
"Kagome! Satoru's mom called and said she'll take me'n Shippo! Can we take Kiara?"
"Yes, you can. That leaves six of us, so…Sesshoumaru and Miroku, you two will come with Kasumi and me. InuYasha, you and Sango will go with Hojo."
"Why am I getting stuck with InuYasha?" Sango wanted to know.
"Because, if I put you with Miroku, you'll probably kill him before we get to the beach. If I put InuYasha and Sesshoumaru together, who knows what will happen. If you and Kasumi are in the same car…well…let's just hope that doesn't happen."
"Kagome, change of plans. Hideki is going to drive. Kasumi has to watch her little sister."
"Okay, fine. Oh, look. There he is now." A white pickup pulled into the driveway. Out hopped a tall blonde, waving and motioning at the truck.
"Come on! What are you guys waiting for? Do you want me to carry you to the car?" Laughing, Kagome herded a rather reluctant Sesshoumaru and an excited Miroku into the truck. Seating was as follows: Drivers seat-Hideki. Passenger seat- Miroku. Behind driver- Kagome. Behind passenger- Sesshoumaru.
"Lady Kagome, are you sure this thing is safe?" Sesshoumaru asked, tapping the window curiously.
"Yes Sesshy, I'm sure."
"If you say so." Sesshoumaru mumbled, and fell quiet. Miroku, however, was far from silent. He chattered incessantly, wanting to know all about a teenage boy's life in this time, how the truck worked, and if there would be many beautiful women at the beach. Hideki answered as best he could.
The drive to the beach was a long one, as Kagome told everyone before hand. About half an hour into it, she noticed that Sesshoumaru was acting a bit strange. He wasn't being as quiet as before. A soft, low whine was coming from him.
"Sesshoumaru? Is something wrong?" Kagome asked.
"I…I'm not feeling well…Lady Kagome," he answered haltingly, eyes still fixed on the scenery outside.
"Not feeling well how?"
"My stomach is…is bothering me." He murmured. Kagome was about to respond when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kagome, it's Hojo. We've got a slight problem here."
"Problem how?"
"InuYasha isn't feeling too good. Says he has a stomachache. We're going to slow down, maybe stop for a minute or two. You guys keep going, and we'll catch up."
"Okay, see you at the beach."
"Got it." Kagome hung up.
"What was that about?" Hideki wanted to know.
"Oh, InuYasha isn't feeling well. Hojo said that they're going to stop for a bit, but for us to keep going."
"Okay then." Hideki turned his attention back to the road, and Kagome turned hers back to Sesshoumaru. He looked utterly miserable, clutching his stomach and slumping down in his seat.
"Sesshoumaru?"
"What is it?"
"Do you want to stop?"
"I don't wish to deprive you of your trip."
"Are you feeling okay?"
"As I said before…my stomach is bothering me."
"Are you going to throw up?" Sesshoumaru nodded unhappily.
"I-I think so."
"Stop the car!" Kagome said quickly. Hideki did, pulling over onto the side of the road. Sesshoumaru struggled with the door for a moment, and then got it open and scrambled onto the grass. Kagome was right behind him.
"Kagome? What's wrong?"
"I think he- Eeeep!" Sesshoumaru settled the matter by falling onto all fours and throwing up.
"You think he's carsick, right?"
"Mmmm…well…kind of." Kagome responded, delicately pulling the ill youkai's hair out of his face.
"Kind of how?"
"I should have thought of this before. Hojo told you about what he is, right?"
"Right."
"Have you ever seen a dog who could ride in a car with the windows up? I think that's what was wrong with InuYasha too, only it's worse for Sesshoumaru because he's a pureblood. Poor guy."
"Then we should keep the windows down. That always worked with my dog." He patted Sesshoumaru's shoulder sympathetically. "For me too, now that I think about it." He added thoughtfully.
"Good idea. Sesshoumaru? Are you feeling better now?"
"I think I should stay out here for a little longer."
"Okay." Kagome pulled out her cell phone. "Hojo? Keep the windows down, and InuYasha should feel better." They stayed on the side of the road for the next ten minutes, and then drove off again, all windows rolled fully down. Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the trip with his head in Kagome's lap. Later, Sango said she ended up with InuYasha doing the same thing with her.
"So Kagome, what have we learned today?" Hideki asked, grinning.
"Dog demons and long, hot car rides do not go well together."
"Very good."
"I'll definitely remember this in the future. I'm sorry Sesshoumaru."
"It's all right Lady Kagome. Are you sure you don't mind me doing this?"
"Of course not. InuYasha does it sometimes, when he's tired or hurt. Mind if I do this?" She ran her fingers gently through his hair.
"Not at all."