Six
Kagome originally intended to shop at Wallmart. However when she pulled up in the crowded parking lot it was obviously a bad idea.
Inuyasha was calm and quiet but it seemed unfair to expose him to a mob. He was dressed in jeans and an old Guns N' Roses tee-shirt of Hojo's. He wore a beach bum kaki hat over his ears and his hair was tied back. There was no disguising his teeth, claws or eyes but she decided to let it go. After all she'd seen stranger fully human people at Wallmart many times before.
He sat in silence as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove fifteen minutes to a tiny Piggly Wiggly on Johns Island. The store was older, the staff more polite and it wasn't as crowded.
Inuyasha had been to stores before but not one like this. He laughed at the name which didn't translate into Japanese all that well.
They made it into the store and through the automatic doors without incident. Inuyasha was intrigued by them but he worked to maintain an air of disinterest. His eyes rounded at the sight of the aisles and seemingly endless rows of food.
I'd forgotten. He's known hunger. The store must be overwhelming. It's much bigger than the tiny corner market we visited back home.
They ran into a colleague of Kagome's by the paper towels. She introduced Inuyasha by name to Jack Cagle who immediately offered his hand. Kagome explained the language barrier.
I hate this! Jack thinks he is slow or stupid because most Japanese people speak at least some English.
Inuyasha cleverly hid his claws by clasping his hands behind his back and giving a polite bow. Charmed Jack responded in kind.
"What a gracious guest you have Kagome. Are you related?"
That's Southern for, are ya living in sin with this ignorant stranger? Keh! There is no peace here. Monday everyone will think he is the reason I stay home every weekend….
She blushed. …and now they would be right.
"Oh no Jack, Inuyasha is an old friend from a remote providence of Japan. We spent summers together when we were children."
"Inuyasha, hmmm. Is he named for the Japanese medieval folk hero? I've had the privilege of sitting in on some of your lectures and the tales of Inuyasha who seeks the Shikon no Tama are wonderful. "
Ah so my Japanese history class is quite the attraction. Inuyasha is so pissed that we are talking about him and the Shikon no Tama. Lucky for Jack the Tetsusaiga is home on my dining room table.
Jack leaned in and put his hand on Kagome's bare arm. She saw Inuyasha frown and rock back on his heels.
Thirteen years or thirty years but he is still jealous.
"Flattery will get you nowhere Jack. In this case though his name is mere coincidence. It's a family name." She smiled down at the short man.
"Yes but its funny because I was so intrigued by your lecture I did a little research on my own and learned the tale mentions a girl Kagome. I know ya'll were hounded about that back home in Japan!"
What? Is he really smart or just really dense?
Kagome humored him with polite laughter. "Yes we get that allot. He is really sick of it so I'd appreciate it you kept that to yourself."
"But of course!"
"It was lovely seeing you but we have a lot of shopping left. See ya Monday!" Kagome looped her arm through Inuyasha's and gave Jack a quick wave before zipping away to the next aisle.
"Keh, what an ass."
Inuyasha's tone said it all, Kagome answered without even glancing up. "Yes but you handled him really well. Charleston isn't as big as Tokyo and we will often run into people I know."
He paused to sniff a box of gelatin powder. "This box reeks of bone marrow…what is this stuff?" He peered down at the strange English writing and threw down the box in disgust.
"Damn it Kagome! I can't live here like this. No one speaks our language and the writing is fucked up." He flattened his ears and his hat fell down on his forehead.
Kagome bent down to retrieve the box and was reminded of the times she'd done the very same thing thirteen years ago in a very short skirt "I know you are upset. I am sorry I brought you here... but Inuyasha I couldn't leave you in the Tetsusaiga. There is no way back else I would gladly help you leave."
She reached out to him and righted his hat on his head concealing his ears. Inuyasha put his hand on her arm to stop her from taking her hand back "No. I... It's good to see you."
Kagome smiled. Inuyasha the man, thank you for that white lie. But you can't hide your pain from me.
"I have ordered you something that will teach you English. I don't know how long we will be here and it will make things easier."
He straightened his spine and glared down at the offensive gelatin desert box. "I've slain a dragon. I defeated Naraku. I've been banished twice and always come back. This will a piece of cake!"
"Good. Now we are almost to the ramen noodle aisle…"
His face lit up and he left her standing alone by the shopping cart. No doubt he would find his beloved noodles by scent alone and alarm some old woman in the process. Kagome held the gelatin box and studied its silly English name and the picture of an ice cream dish piled high with unnatural wobbly green Jell-o cubes.
Inuyasha. How many times will I give you my heart? I am so stupid. We have nothing in common and things are just as they were.
Even so he didn't deserve to stay in that sword forever. But what if that is his fate? To be bound to a sacred object, but I keep running defense against fate and this is my punishment, reaping what I've sown. To love what I shouldn't and to be where I'm not wanted. Can he forgive me for interfering? Until yesterday he knew nothing of his separation from his time or loved ones. Today he is awake and vulnerable to pain.
"Lady! What's your damage? Move your cart! Some of us are trying to shop here!" Her head jerked up.
A large bald man with a boisterous New York accent loomed over her. She pushed her cart away and ignored him. She heard an elderly woman hiss under her breath as she passed. "He's not just visiting…Damned Yankee."
Inuyasha found Kagome by the meat counter; his arms piled high with Ramen noodle containers of all shapes and sizes. He unceremoniously dropped them into the cart. She heard his stomach give an audible growl.
"Inuyasha man cannot live on Ramen alone. I am getting us some steaks and fish too."
He nodded and plucked a bag of fresh vegetables from the cart and gave them a suspicious sniff.
"I don't recognize half of these but they smell okay."
"I found a daikon for you." She handed him what looked like a giant white radish. He examined it then tossed it back into the cart.
"Everything here is so big."
"Heh-heh, it's the miracle of modern farming."
"If you say so…"
Kagome spotted the New Yorker and saw he was waiting behind them in line for the butcher. Wonderful.
Inuyasha dug through the cart and pulled out the items Kagome found in the International food aisle. He was older than some of the food but still recognized the writing and was scrutinizing each box. She smiled at the sight of his happy face. "See, that's Miso soup, it's like ramen without the noodles, and rice noodles, sushi rice…"
"Hey lady! Don't you EVER pay attention? The goddamned line is moving without you!" I don't have to look up to know who said that.
Kagome saw Inuyasha's ears move under the hat. He turned slowly to face the man and answered him in English with a strong New York accent. "Hey buddy ya got a problem with that?"
Kagome nearly fell over. How in the hell?
Inuyasha gave the man a full on hanyou grin bearing every sharp tooth in his head. The man ducked his head and glanced away. That's the last we will hear from him.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked in fast Japanese. "How did you do that?"
A slow smug smile lit his face. "I saw him in the noodle aisle and heard him say the same thing to someone smaller than him. So I figured it would work on him."
Hmm? Maybe there is a place for Inuyasha in my world after all.
Inuyasha carried in the groceries while Kagome started cooking. He was strong enough to carry everything in a single trip and when he was done he put on the kettle to heat water for his ramen. He slurped a cup of noodles while Kagome prepared a real meal of salad and sea scallops. She watched him devour the noodles and knew he'd have no trouble with a salad, an entrée and no doubt a generous helping of dessert.
Kagome set the table and put out her wine glasses. They were an early wedding gift from Hojo. Until today she'd kept them put away in the box they came in. Now it seemed silly to never use them.
Inuyasha sniffed her glass of wine and she wasn't surprised when he found a cold bottle of beer more to his liking. They sat over an American meal of salad and grilled scallops eating with chop sticks as Inuyasha had scoffed at the forks.
Well his manners haven't improved, that's for sure. At this thought she saw him glance up and for a brief moment seem embarrassed. Then he was thoughtful.
"Kagome, what do you doing here by yourself?"
"I teach history at a local college."
"Japanese history?"
She looked down at her wine glass. "Yes."
"The Cagle man at the Pig store, he'd heard of me. Do you talk about us and the quest?"
Unexplainable embarrassment burned her face. "Yes but I am really continuing Miroku's work. He made detailed scrolls describing our journey. They are obscure but very good."
"Hojo found my Tetsusaiga for you?"
She nodded.
"You never really left us did you Kagome?"
"No. But how could I? I knew no other girls who have traveled through time. It was an extraordinary life changing event."
He snorted. "You should be married with brats."
"I almost was but it wasn't meant to be." She paused. "I've released you from the sacred tree and now the sword. I wonder what that means?"
He laughed. "That you are too nosy for your own damned good."
"Who did you leave behind this time Inuyasha?" She tried to hide how much his answer would mean to her.
"Graves and a bitchy half brother," he muttered.
"Weren't you ever married? Any children?"
"No. I am a half breed. Sesshoumaru forbid it. That's why we fought but even once I defeated him it would have been difficult."
"I'm sorry…"
Inuyasha stood from his chair and leaned across the small kitchen table.
"No Kagome!" he ordered.
"What!" she spat back.
"You want what you shouldn't."
She leapt to her feet and railed back at him just as she had as a girl. "Why? This is a second chance. A new beginning!"
"I've already seen enough of your world to know babies with sharp teeth or dog ears aren't normal. All of my beginnings ended the day Kikyo pinned me to the tree with her sacred arrow."
"And what will become of you? Kikyo is gone. I am her reincarnation but just that. Not her. You want me to put you back in the sword so some other woman will find you?
Kagome didn't wait for his answer. "My blood brought you forth. Think about that! So in the future who is to say it won't keep happening again and again. Except next time it will be my reincarnation, another woman who isn't me but is! Maybe our souls will keep finding each other and you will always push me away."
This was the part where she would turn run and jump back down the well and hide out in her modern home. But this time there was no well or hiding place. Kagome stood her ground.
He glared at her. "That changes nothing."
"Really? So what do I do with you then? Tell me Inuyasha. What do you want?" She sat back down and drained her wine glass.
His clawed hand snatched the glass away from her. "I want you to have a clear head."
"Go to hell."
"I see. You would hide me here in your world. What am I then, a pet?"
She smiled wickedly. "Bad dog."
He bit back a growl and sighed. "Kagome, does the jewel exist here?"
She looked up at him incredulously. "It has always been about the Shikon no Tama."
"Yeah it has."
"Well I don't have it."
"Yes you do."
"So what? You just told me you don't fit in here and now you want to use the jewel to do what? Become full yokai? We are running in circles."
He said nothing so she filled in her own blanks. "You want me to send you back to the time you were sealed into the sword. I guess we can try."
He stepped up beside her and squatted down to rest on his haunches. "No. I don't want to go back. Everyone is gone. It was violent and dark. Graves and war. I don't miss them."
"What then?"
"I'd like to become human."
She was speechless then skeptical. "Why?"
"As a human I can die a mortal death and never be sealed away again."
She felt the edges of her heart begin to crumble and close off from the world. "How do we do it?"
He stood. "I think the Tetsusaiga is the key."
"Okay but we do this in the backyard, not in my house."
It was night and the moon rode high in the sky bathing them in her light. Kagome sat in a lawn chair watching Inuyasha examine the Tetsusaiga. Her head was disappointingly clear. She longed for a glass of wine but did not want to listen to Inuyasha's wrath.
The Tetsusaiga recognized its owner and warmed to his touch. Inuyasha spun around the yard brandishing the ridiculously huge, phallic sword. At first he tried waving it at her but this accomplished nothing and she'd retreated to her comfy lawn chair.
I wonder what he expects of me. The jewel might be inside me. Does he intend to cut it out? Considering how often he has saved me that seems unlikely.
"Kagome, come here."
