Author's Note- Chapter revised 8/12/06
Ah and here's a fanart from the end of chapter 3 that my beta reader Tailfluffgirl drew if you're curious:
www. deviantart. com /view/ 6576489/
Anyway- read, review, and enjoy.
Japanese guide-
Tadaima- I'm home.
"The Beginning of Tomorrow"
Chapter Seven
Under a Mother's Care
By Kelly O'Connor
"Mama, guess what!" The young boy bounced into the kitchen, a pencil and a textbook held to his chest with one arm.
"Souta?" Mrs. Higurashi turned to him from the counter where she was preparing lunches for him and Kagome. "Shouldn't you be finishing up the homework you didn't get done last night?" She gave him a stern but gentle look and Souta scratched the back of his head.
"Well I was but…" He paused and a wide grin made its way across his face, "I looked outside… and I saw Kagome-neechan and Inu-no-niichan. They were talking to this woman. But I couldn't hear them, and then she flew away on a giant feather!" Souta gestured animatedly. The dark haired woman raised her eyebrows.
"Is that so, Souta?" She closed up one completed Bento box. The young boy nodded.
"Inu-no-niichan looked angry at her, but Neechan said something to him and he calmed down and came inside with her."
"Oh that's good," Mrs. Higurashi smiled lightly, pleased. From what she was picking up, getting the Hanyou to cooperate wouldn't be near as much trouble as she originally thought… within time. "Where are they?"
"They're upstairs. Kagome-neechan went up to her room and Inu-no-niichan followed." The young boy shrugged. The dark haired woman smiled lightly.
"Souta, go finish up your homework, please?" She asked. He sighed and clenched his textbook a little tighter.
"Okay Mama," Souta replied and made his way to his downstairs room. Mrs. Higurashi looked after him as she closed up the two Bento boxes. With a wry smile she then left the kitchen and walked up the steps to check on the pair of teenagers in her daughter's room.
"Dear," the older woman ventured as she knocked on the door.
"Come in Mama," Kagome replied quickly, exasperation clear in her voice.
Mrs. Higurashi tapped her chin at her daughter's tone and shrugged, opening the door and walking into the room.
Kagome sat at her desk, finishing up a bit of last minute homework. Periodically she glanced back at InuYasha- who was sitting on Kagome's bed with his legs crossed, looking both nonplused and irritated. Mama Higurashi couldn't help but feel that she didn't recall seeing him yet without a look of poorly hidden confusion written clearly on his face.
"Ah, Kagome, are you almost ready for school?" The older woman inquired. The schoolgirl closed up her textbook and placed her pencil on her desk.
"Yes I am Mama, I just finished the last of my geometry," she replied in relief. Mama pressed her fingers to her forehead when she saw Kagome glance at the Hanyou with a slightly somber look.
"Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi walked over and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "He'll be fine," she whispered, "I'll do everything in my power to accommodate that boy and make him comfortable."
InuYasha's ears perked up at the conversation and he let out a "Keh" from behind the two as he crossed his arms in faux annoyance.
"Mama!" Kagome pointed out. "He can hear you!" The older woman covered her mouth and looked back at the Hanyou sheepishly.
"Oh dear, I forgot," She shrugged. "I'm sorry about that, InuYasha."
"Whatever," he retorted. Mrs. Higurashi moved over to the bed and sat down next to him.
"But I mean it," she reaffirmed. "If there is anything you need, just ask okay?" Kagome frowned, knowing what InuYasha would probably request.
"Oi, fine then, do I have to stay inside?" The Hanyou grumbled. Kagome slapped her palm to her forehead.
"InuYasha, not this again…"
"Why not? She asked what I wanted!" He retorted. Mrs. Higurashi sighed.
"I'm afraid for now you'll have to stay inside InuYasha. In time, once you're more used to it…"
"Bah, you too?" InuYasha snapped. "I don't see why you have to hide me. That Kagura was a youkai and she didn't have to…"
"InuYasha!" Kagome ground out and clenched her fist. "Please, not this again!"
Mama gestured Kagome to calm down and placed her hand on the Hanyou's shoulder. Startled by her touch, he looked up into her eyes, brimming with motherly concern.
"We're not trying to hide you. We're trying to protect you," the woman smiled at him.
InuYasha was struck speechless. The warm look in her eyes combined with her sincere words. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine it was his own mother placating him in such a manner.
"Keh- fine," InuYasha resigned, unable to muster up the will to argue with this woman.
Kagome simply blinked. Mama always does know exactly what to say I guess.
"Good. Now Kagome I think its time for you to head off! Your Bento box is on the kitchen counter."
"Uhh right," she grabbed her backpack and slung it on her back. "InuYasha," she walked over to him and gave him a weak smile. "I'll be back as soon as school is over, I promise."
The Hanyou let out a sound of supposed unconcern, and Mrs. Higurashi laughed lightly.
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Once Kagome and Souta had left, InuYasha quickly began showing obvious signs of boredom. He'd been lounging lazily in the living room for at least a couple hours, barely moving. Jiichan was in the shrine most of the day, and Mama was staying in the house with InuYasha.
Not wanting to overwhelm him, Mrs. Higurashi avoided turning the television on despite the fact that it may have brought him a bit of entertainment. When late morning came around, she ventured into the living room and sat down on a cushion across from the bored Hanyou, a bowl of Ramen in her hand.
"InuYasha?" He looked up in acknowledgment of her presence. "Are you hungry?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as she gestured to the Ramen and chopsticks she held in her hands.
InuYasha frowned and nodded. Mama slid the bowl over the table so he could reach it.
"Kagome told me you really liked Ramen, so I decided you could eat that today." A smile crossed her features when she saw that the young boy had already started in on his early lunch. "Of course you won't be able to eat that for every meal but…"
"Why not?" He glanced up from his bowl disappointed.
"Well ah… because we don't always eat that for meals, and as part of our family, we'll want you to eat dinner with us." Mrs. Higurashi adjusted her legs to a more comfortable sitting position.
The teenager dropped his chopsticks and went completely silent, at her words. Family? He cut off his thought with a huff and let out a weak "Keh" as he went back to his noodles.
"Once you're used to this era more, InuYasha," Mama Higurashi explained, recalling his boredom upon her entrance into the living room. "You can help around the shrine when Kagome's at school. And when you're more comfortable, I'll even start giving you a bit of an education when she's attending class."
"Huh?"
"Well since you're here in our era now, you'll need to learn, gain knowledge. I don't know how much you already know but… don't worry about it for now." InuYasha set his empty bowl on the table.
"Hmph, What do you want me to learn anyway?" The Hanyou asked, feigning indifference, although he was clearly curious. Mrs. Higurashi tapped her chin in thought.
"Well ah, I'll have to teach you about how everything works now, but that will come in time," she paused. "And… do you know how to read or write at all?"
"Yah! ...Kind of..." He groused. The dark haired woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh, then I suppose I've gotten the wrong idea," she smiled, curious as to how a boy from that era had learned such things.
"You and everyone else!" He snapped in return. "Dammit! I'll have you know my Mother did teach me things, I'm not an idiot!" The Hanyou finished, attempting to mask his hurt with animosity.
He was even surprised at his outburst, but this woman was unearthing memories of his own mother the more he spoke to her. Mama Higurashi scooted back a bit in shock at the poorly concealed distress in his voice.
"That's not what I meant InuYasha," Mrs. Higurashi looked down in slight shame. "I'm sorry. I wasn't meaning to judge you." InuYasha turned away, his amber eyes distant. ""Would you like to talk about it?" The woman tentatively asked, "You don't have to but..."
"It's not like that..." He said softly, and then balling his hand into a fist, he continued, "Keh! Just forget it!"
"All right, but if you ever need someone to talk to about it then, I'm here." Mama reached over for InuYasha's empty bowl and stood up, preparing to leave the room.
Sighing deeply, he looked down, focusing his gaze on an empty spot on the table.
"Because I've been on my own since I was young…" The boy began quietly. Mrs. Higurashi slowly turned around to listen. "Mother did what she could while she was… before I lost her."
His eyes darkened as memories coursed through his mind. Filled with sympathy, Mama made her way over to sit down next to the boy, once again placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Mrs. Higurashi bit her lip as a thought came to her.
"Your mother… was she human InuYasha?" She deducted, figuring by his very human behavior that he was clearly raised by one. InuYasha frowned.
"Yeah, so what if she was!" He growled in frustration. She smiled gently and reassured him by squeezing his shoulder once more.
"There's nothing wrong with that. Thank you…" She stood up and gave him a pat on the back. InuYasha just nodded, feeling somewhat subdued. "If you like, I can leave you alone now."
"Hmph, you can if you want," he retorted with a false edge to his voice. Mama cracked a smile and headed to the kitchen, leaving the boy to his thoughts.
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Kagome yawned and tapped her pencil on the desk as her history teacher tied up his lecture. Glancing up at the clock, she grinned. Class would be out any moment, and her group wasn't assigned the duty of cleaning up the room that day.
She wanted to go home; she'd wanted to go home ever since school started that day. InuYasha wasn't exactly the best of company, but leaving him behind left her with a feeling of guilt that pooled in her stomach the entire day.
I'm going to have to get over it. I'll have to do the same thing every day.
"Class dismissed," the Sensei interrupted her thoughts. Kagome quickly grabbed her books and scrambled up and out the door, making a beeline for the school exit.
"Kagome-chan!" A feminine voice called her name. Kagome whipped her head around to see her three closest friends; Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi approaching her. She sighed in exasperation.
"Hey," she replied simply as they reached her. "I'm on my way home so I can't really stay and talk…"
"But Kagome-chan," Yuka, interrupted, pushing a piece of her short black hair out of her face. "Don't you remember what today is?" Kagome blinked.
"Ah… no?" She answered, something tickling at the back of her mind. However, the events of the past day had made her forget. Ayumi smiled wistfully.
"We're supposed to go study with Houjo-kun today!" The wavy-haired girl swooned.
"Oh well, I have to go home. I'm really sorry you guys!" Kagome turned around to walk off. She genuinely felt bad leaving her friends behind, but the call to go home like she had promised InuYasha was stronger.
"Kagome-chan!" Eri ran up next to her. "Do you really want to miss this? Studying with Houjo-kun is a great opportunity. You know how much he likes you!" Kagome rubbed the back of her head.
"And I've told you I'm not interested in him," she shrugged. "You three should go since you all like him so much."
Kagome glanced around the hallways, noticing that they'd completely drained of students.
"Look, I'm really sorry but I have to go home early. I promised a… umm friend that I'd come home right after school to see him."
Her eyes widened when she realized the slip up in mentioning the gender of said 'friend.' The three girls could be far too observant for their own good, and Kagome knew this.
"So I'll be going now, bye!" She clutched her textbooks to her chest and turned back around, jogging out of the school as quickly as possible.
Yuka smirked once Kagome had exited the school. "Did Kagome-chan just say he?" Eri nodded.
"I wonder who she could be going home to see…" She pushed her yellow headband back a bit. Ayumi's mouth formed a surprised 'O.'
"You don't think she could be talking about Houjo-kun do you? Maybe he just wanted to study with…" She was cut off when the figure of a sandy haired teenage boy walked up next to them.
"Have you three seen Higurashi?" He asked, oblivious to the discussion that had just occurred regarding him.
"I guess she didn't go with Houjo-kun," Yuka smacked her hand to her forehead.
"Ah, no… that's why I'm looking for her." The schoolboy blinked innocently. Eri laughed nervously.
"I think we're going to have to study without her today," she clarified, and with that- Houjo let out one very dejected sigh.
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InuYasha leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, his foot tapping the floor absently. Surprisingly enough, after Mrs. Higurashi left the room, his mind had been fairly void of thought. His discussion with her had briefly brought back memories of his time with his mother, but as with any other time those had come up, he'd buried them as soon as he could.
The rest of it, he was just having trouble processing at the moment. Kagome and her mother- were so open, kind, and accepting of him. He thought it was something they'd stop doing within a short period, but their behavior was instead becoming consistently more warm and welcoming.
InuYasha was half afraid they may cause him to accidentally let his guard down, something he didn't want to ever do again- not when the last time he'd done it had resulted in the betrayal that still seemed like yesterday to him.
What was currently confusing InuYasha most though, was an issue regarding Kagome. Namely that, for some reason he could simply not put his finger on, he found himself anxiously awaiting her return from 'school.'
It's not as if I like being around her… Keh, it's just really boring here by myself, he tried to convince himself, but to no avail.
Mrs. Higurashi had mentioned something about her being home at a certain 'time,' but InuYasha had no idea how to tell modern time, so that was completely lost on him.
Whatever, she still better hurry up.
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Kagome stretched her arms as she walked up the extensive shrine steps to reach her home.
I wonder what Mama had InuYasha do all day… She thought for what must have been the hundredth time that afternoon. He must have been bored; I hope he didn't drive Mama insane when he was cooped up in the house. The schoolgirl tapped her chin and smiled lightly. We'll go outside. That will hopefully appease him a bit.
With a smile she hopped up the last few stairs and quickly crossed the yard, pausing momentarily before creaking open the front door.
"Tadaima!" Kagome called as she walked into the house, slipping off her shoes in the process.
Mama Higurashi greeted her with a motherly hug before gesturing her towards the living room, but InuYasha had already entered the foyer before she could move.
"Kagome!" Unbidden, a small smile crossed his face, happy she was home although he couldn't admit it to even himself. However, that smile was abruptly replaced with a frown. "Oi! Took you long enough," he snapped sourly, but Kagome noticed what he didn't even seem to realize he'd done.
"What did you just say InuYasha?" She glanced at him warmly. The Hanyou blinked.
"Uhh, I said 'It took you long enough,'" he replied in bewilderment.
"Before that," Kagome clarified. "You said my name!" The teenager grinned. InuYasha balked. "That's the first time you've called me by it."
"What no I… Keh!" The young boy cut himself off. Damnit, I didn't even realize I'd never said it…
"Nice to see you too, InuYasha," she said amiably, eliciting a grumble from him. "You didn't bug Mama too much did you?" Mrs. Higurashi gestured in the negative.
"Oh no, no Kagome, he was very sweet!" She clarified. InuYasha huffed and turned to leave at that comment, but Kagome stopped him.
"Wait, InuYasha!" The schoolgirl called. The teenage boy turned around and glared at her.
"What is it?"
"You wanna go outside?" She slipped her backpack off.
"Huh?"
"Well you've been cooped up inside all day, I figured…"
"Do I have to wear that thing over my ears?" InuYasha interrupted, gesturing with his hand towards his head. Kagome shrugged.
"Usually you will, but the Shrine is closed for the day. So there's no reason." He crossed his arms.
"Oi, fine let's go."
"Good, I can even take you on a tour of the shrine!" Kagome suggested as she walked out the door with InuYasha following.
"That sounds stupid," he complained. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Oh well it's better than staying inside all day isn't it?" She retorted. InuYasha went silent for a moment before settling on a simple "Keh."
Mrs. Higurashi watched the pair from the doorway as they crossed the shrine yard, still bickering. A genuine smile spread across her features.
They're at ease around each others. He's already growing comfortable around her. I think… that this is going to end up being the best thing that could possibly happen to both of them.
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