Chapter 7

Half way to the bathhouse Shippou stopped the three girls. The small break was welcome by Mayumi. She was having a hard time trying to answer all the questions that Kagome had. Most of the questions were concerning the hairstyle she wanted after her bath. The questions wouldn't of bother her much if she only knew what were the hairstyles that she was being asked about.

"Kagome!"

"What is it Shippou?" Kagome turned to face the young fox.

"Miroku said to give you this. He wants you to buy Mayumi new clothes." He laid an expensive looking necklace in her hands.

"Where did he get this?" Sango starred at the necklace.

"He said it was a family heirloom. Well I got to go help Inuyasha buy the supplies. He might get ripped off if I'm not there." The young fox ran off in the direction he had come.

"Family heirloom?" Both girls said in unison. They turned to each other and started to laugh.

"It seems that you gotten on Houshi-sama's good side." The girl turned away from Sango's smiling face.

"Are you blushing? You are! That is so cute. Isn't it Sango-chan?" Both girls giggled as the embarrassed girl tried to hide her red face from them.

"You don't need to be embarrassed you're among friends. Come on. Lets buy you some clothes then we'll clean you up. But first lets go sell this necklaces for money." Kagome lead the way towards the merchant stands.

The day seemed to drag on forever for the small girl. They were going on two hours now and still she had nothing to wear. Kagome just couldn't decide on what would best look on the small girl. 'Why won't she believe me? I really like all of them. Well, maybe not the yellow one. But it's still better than what I have now.' She followed Kagome as she made her way back to a stand that they had already been to. 'Not there again. This is taking forever. Maybe her friend can put an end to this. ' She looked around and found that Sango was a few steps behind them. She slowed down and waited for her to catch up. 'Should I bother her? She seems busy thinking of something. I wonder what?'

"Isn't this fun. Just us girls shopping. It kind of reminds me of my friends back home."

Kagome stopped to let the others catch up. She noticed that her friend seemed lost in thought. She had forgotten all about asking her what had happen earlier with Miroku. She was about to ask when she spoke up.

"It is fun but we should really hurry up. The others might be waiting for us. It's well past noon." Sango looked at her friend and smiled.

"You're right but its hard to chose just one. I really like the kimono that we saw back there. But I also like the one here."

"Well… Miroku-sama never said to buy just one." Both older girls turned to look at her. She was about to apologize when Kagome spoke up.

"Your right. He never did say just one thing. Ok girls lets get some serious shopping done." She smiled at the small girl. Motioning her friends to follow she walked toward the clothing stand. Mayumi was going to follow her when Sango spoke up.

"He never said how much to buy. You're very perceptive… like Houshi-sama. But he can be such a … Why must he be like that?" Mayumi stared at Sango, who seemed to be talking to herself.

She wasn't sure whether to speak up or stay quiet. She knew that what she had heard was not meant for her but she was curious. 'Was she thinking about him this whole time? Does she like him?' Her curiosity was too much for her and she spoke up.

"You like him?" Mayumi smiled at the look of surprise she had.

"Oh. I…I was just…" Sango tried to come up with an excuse.

Sango smiled nervously at her. 'Oh, no! He is going to find out. I won't be able to face him again. He is going to think I like him in a special way. And I don't. … Do I? … What I'm I going to do?' She started to comb her hair nervously with her hands. People were starting to look at them. She stood there looking at the small girl not knowing what to do. Kagome noticed her friend's worry look and approached them. Before she reached them Mayumi spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I just… I won't tell anyone." She lowered her head.

"Sango-chan? What is wrong? Are you ok?" Kagome looked worriedly at her friend who continued to stare at the small girl.

"I'm ok. We were just talking about… how…"

She hated to lie but she couldn't tell her friend the truth. The only problem was that she was never good at it. She didn't know what to say that would sound believable. In that moment the young girl noticed the yellow kimono in Kagome's hands and spoke up.

"I really don't like the yellow one. … I should have told you earlier but I didn't want to disappoint you. You seemed to really like it. I'm sorry." Mayumi looked at the older girl.

"No don't be sorry. These clothes are for you. I'll just return it. But which one do you like?" Kagome seemed relieve to hear that the problem was just that.

"The white and blue one. And the purple with white was pretty." She felt embarrassed to sound picky.

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I liked those too. I was just not sure if you liked combining colors since your kimono is one color. Let me return this one for the white and blue one. In the meantime go get the purple one with Sango. We need to hurry or the boys will get mad for taking so long."

She smiled at the girl and handed her friend some money. With her mind at ease she left them to return her previous buy. Both girls stood there in silence.

"Thank you… You didn't need to lie for me but thanks anyways." Sango smiled weakly at her.

"I didn't lie. I really don't like yellow. Well actually I do but not that shade of it." The small girl smiled happily at her.

"But…She asked…and you…" She paused to think.

"I know it looks like I mislead her but it wasn't on purpose. I just saw the kimono and spoke up at the wrong time."

"No its ok. It's just that it seemed like something he… Never mind." She looked down at the younger girl and smiled.

She began to walk towards the merchant stand. The girl stood there a moment longer before following the older girl.

"He likes to mislead people?" She asked when she reached the older girl's side.

"No. At least I don't think he does. He just … I really don't understand him. Let's not worry about that now. Lets talk about something else." She didn't know why she had answer her question. She only knew that it seemed right. "Ok… So what is your favorite color?" She smiled knowing the answer ahead of time.

"Violet"

She had dropped the subject since she would probably never see her again after today. As they made small talk she knew that he was trying to find her a new home. She was grateful for what they were doing for her. But she didn't want a new family. She had already made up her mind that she would leave this town the second she got a chance.

It was two hours pass noon and the girls hadn't come back yet. Inuyasha paced back and forth in front of the inn. Shippou and Kirara played fetch with a small ball as they waited to leave. Miroku for his part waited patiently for the girls to return.

"I'm going to go find them. Their taking to long." Inuyasha started to leave.

"Don't bother them. Let them enjoy themselves for once." Miroku moved to block his friend.

"We don't have time for this. We need to get going before it gets too late."

"I know that Inuyasha. Give them a little bit more time. If they don't show up I'll personally go find them."

Before Inuyasha could answer the girls appeared. They seemed to be in a good mood as they approached. Both older girls cheerfully chatted with the younger one. Miroku from where he was noticed that besides the white and blue kimono that Mayumi wore they had bought several other things.

"Where the hell were you all. And why did you take so long. We should have been on the road by now." Inuyasha approached them angrily.

"Don't yell at us. We were just doing what we were told to do. And besides it's not that late." Kagome gave him a cold stare that froze him in mid step.

The rest of the group soon joined them. Miroku studied the small girl while his friends argued. He couldn't help notice how well a job the girls had done on her. Her hair that he had thought to be dark was actually a light shade of brown. And her skin was a nice creamy color that made her look younger than before. The white and blue kimono seemed to compliment her blue eyes perfectly. Even her new sandals seemed to add to her child beauty. After a moment he realized how nervous he was making her and decided to speak.

"You look beautiful. Your new family is going to fall in love with you."

They noticed the sad face she made when he mentioned the new family she was going to stay with. He was about to reassure her that there was no need to be sad when Kagome asked him a question.

"Here is what's left from the money we got from the necklace. It's not much because we kind of bought several things. You don't mind? Do you?" She smiled happily at him.

"Of course not. What better use for money is there than to enhance the beauty of a young girl."

"I knew you wouldn't mind. That is why I bought something for myself." She proudly showed him the piece of silk she had bought to use as a scarf.

"That is going to make a beautiful blouse. That is what you call what you are wearing. Right? " He smiled mischievously at her.

"What? This isn't for a blouse. It's not enough material and besides that it's transparent." She blushed when she said the last word.

"Houshi-sama you should really watch what you say around children." Sango gave him a hard hit to the head.

"Your are absolutely correct, my dear Sango. But what did I say to earn your caring touch?" He rubbed the spot that she had hit with one hand.

He noticed that Mayumi was trying not to laugh and winked at her. He was glad that his antics had made her laugh. He didn't want to leave knowing that she was sad. Sango turned to look at the small girl that was turning red from trying not to laugh. "Did he do that on purpose to cheer her up?" She started to feel bad about hitting him so hard. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. Surprised she turned and bumped into him. She found herself wrapped in his arms. As she looked into his eyes she felt her face start to heat up and took a step back from him. With her head lowered she noticed that everyone was looking at her with big smiles.

"Sango did you buy something as well?" He asked her trying to act like nothing had happen.

"She didn't want to but I kind of forced her too." Kagome spoke up.

"Sango. You don't need to feel embarrassed. I'm glad the family heirloom when to good use." He smiled when he heard her laugh.

"Family heirloom?" She asked him and everyone started to laugh except for Mayumi. She wasn't sure what was so funny.

"Do you want proof of my inheritance? Or are you going to show me what you bought?" He smiled at her.

"I just got a new ribbon for my hair. I hope you don't mind." Her voice was still cheerful from her laughter.

"Of course I don't mind."

He looked at the white ribbon in her hand. 'She could of bought anything and yet all she got was a simple ribbon.' He smiled at her as he realized something. His heart had chosen the right woman for him. After a moment he returned his attention to the small girl.

"Mayumi come with me. The family I found you is waiting. Let me tell you a little about them while we get there. They're a small family of three. They have a small daughter around your age so…"

He led the group with the small girl by his side. As he described to her the family that awaited her, he noticed how she kept looking around. He didn't know why but it bothered him. 'Why is she looking around? Is she scared? There is no reason to be scared so why…' He stopped all of a sudden and looked at her. Everyone behind them stopped and looked at them. Mayumi at first made eye contact but soon turned away.

"What's wrong Houshi-sama?" Sango asked him

"Nothing is wrong. I just…never mind lets go."

They started to follow him once more. When he reached the house he stopped. He went in and returned with the small family. He quickly introduced them to Mayumi. After the young woman finished complimenting Mayumi on her beauty he kneeled before her. She continued to avoid looking straight at him. 'She wouldn't. Would she?'

"So what do you think about your new family? Aren't they very nice?"

"They seem very nice. Thank you for your help." She briefly looked straight at him.

"I'm sure you'll be happy here. Don't you think so too?"

She gave him a small smile. He was about to ask her again when Inuyasha interrupted.

"Miroku we need to leave." His impatience was evident in his voice.

"Yes of course. I guess it's time for us to part."

"I'm sorry for…how we meet." She looked at him

"Oh that. Don't worry about that. I'm just glad I've helped you find a new home. I guess this is goodbye my young lady."

He stood up and smiled at her. The girls finished saying goodbye and the group began on their way. Inuyasha lead the way as usual while Miroku trailed behind lost in thought.