Familiar Stranger

Chap. 5

Kagome was awakened by a loud crash from downstairs.

She quickly got out of bed and ran down the stairs.

"What happened!" Kagome asked in a panic.

"Huh, oh. Buyou knocked down a lamp with his fat stomach." Souta said.

"Oh, stupid cat."

'Meow' Buyou walked up to Kagome and rubbed against her leg.

"Hey, where's dad?" Kagome asked.

"He went to work about a hour ago."

"Oh, do you know what time he'll be home?"

"He said he'd be back around dinner."

"Great!"

"What? Why is that?"

"It's great because, now I can so Inuyasha for the day." She said with a smile growing on her face.

"Oh."

With that said she hurried upstairs into her bathroom, and turned on the shower. About fifteen minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom, into her bedroom, with only a towel covering her.

She quickly got dresses into her usual school uniform and brushed her long wet hair. She grabbed a hair dryer and started to blow the hot air onto her hair.

It took her about seven minutes to get most of it. 'I'll let the rest air dry.'

She then grabbed her empty yellow bag and headed downstairs.

'I better get some more supplies.'

She hurried into her kitchen and opened the cabinets.

'Sango and Miroku will eat basically anything. Inuyasha likes instant noodles. And Shippo loves candy.'

She grabbed a few lollypops that she had hidden from Souta, and a couple bags of different flavored potato chips.

Kagome closed the cabinet she was in and open the one right next to it.

She pulled out a couple packages of Ramen noodles and put them into her bag. 'He would be lost without them.'

"Ok that should be it for now." She pulled the bad over her shoulders and headed for her front door. "I'm leaving now Souta. I'll be home later."

She heard a faint Ok and closed the door behind her.

"Ok, time to go see everyone!" She walked over to her well house and opened the door. Then she took a running start and jumped into the well, crossing over into a different time.

Kagome was sitting at the bottom of the Bone Eaters well in the cold dirt.

She wasn't going to sit there all day, so she started to climb a vine growing out of the side.

'I should really put a ladder in here.'

When she finally reached the top, she climbed over the lip and sat there. Just feeling the cool breeze go through her hair. 'I love it out here. It's so refreshing.'

She was about to start walking, when she heard rustlingin the bushes behind her. She turned around and smiled at what she saw.

"Hey Inuyasha! It's nice to see you."

"Her Kagome. I thought I smelled your scent. You're back early."

"Yah, but I'm only staying for today."

"Huh, why?"

"Well. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later. I want to see everyone first."

"Ok."

With that said, they both headed for Kaede's village.

A 'SLAP' echoed through the village as soon as Inuyasha and Kagome were walking in.

"That monk." Inuyasha said, signifying that he knew what it was.

Kagome only smiled and kept walking.

"How dare him!"

They both saw Sango walking away form Kaede's hut with a bright red face, and steam coming out from her ears.

"Hey Sango!"

"Oh, Kagome, you're back." Her anger instant went away. "Hey everyone, Kagome's back!"

With that said, Shippo came stampeding out and lunging towards Kagome.

"Kagome! You're back! YAH!"

He was now hugging her tightly around the neck.

"It's nice to see you too." She let out a small chuckle.

Then came Miroku, with a red hand print mark on his left cheek.

"Kagome! Welcome back!"

"Hi Miroku."

"Kagome, do you have anymore of that sweet stuff you always give me?" Shippo asked.

"Yup."

"Ok, I'll take some and tell you everything that has happened."

"Alright" Kagome said while handing him a grape lollypop.

"Thanks. Ok" With a big inhale, "Well, we stopped at a village and there were lots of beautiful women there. It was Miroku's dream come true. If I counted right there must have been over a zillion of them. And Miroku flirted with them all. Sango got really really mad this time and hit him on the head with her boomerang. If you look on the back of his head, he probably still has a couple of lumps still there."

Miroku sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's true. I was hit for every young lady there."

"Excuse me," Shippo shot Miroku a death glare. "I am the one telling the story!"

"My apologizes, go on."

"Ok, then I was at the well with Inuyasha, and he THREW ME INTO A TREE! SIT him Kagome!"

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, then Shippo, then back at Kagome. He wasn't scared of any demon, but he was scared of one word that was about to escape Kagome's mouth.

He blocked his ears and waited for his body to hit the ground. But it never came. She didn't say the word.

He looked at her relived and confused.

"Not right now Shippo."

"What? Why?"

"The last thing I want to do right now, is make anyone mad at me. Especially since I'm only here for one day. Maybe at a later date."

"Fine."

Shippo then started to finish his story, about Sango's beatings; Miroku just being Miroku; and Inuyasha being mean to him.

When he finished, the group met up with Kaede.

"Hello Kagome."

"Hi Kaede."

Kaede was going to say something, but was cut off by Shippo.

"Her Kagome, what's for lunch?" He had already eaten his lollypop, before he began his story. (He ate it one bite. It's possible.) "I'm hungry."

"Well, I brought some bags of chips, and instant noodles."

This caught Inuyasha's attention.

"Ninja food!" Inuyasha said, with an ear to ear grin.

"Uh, I'll take some of those chips."

"Ok, here you go."

She pulled out a bad of regular flavored potato chips. As soon as Shippo saw the bag he ripped it out of her hands and tore the bag open.

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp.

"Yumm….."

"You little pig!"

"Shut up Inuyasha, I am trying to eat."

"Err… Don't eat all of them!" He then grabbed the bag out of the little fox's hands.

Gasp, "Inuyasha! You jerk! Those are MINE! Give 'em back!"

"No!"

"Kagome!"

"Inuyasha give them back to him."

"Why, so he can eat all of them?"

"Just give them back."

"No! I want some too!"

"Hmm… how 'bout this. You give them back, and I'll start to boil water for noodles."

"Let me think for a sec…OK! Take them." He threw the bag of chips into Shippo's face.

"Inuyasha! YOU BUTT HEAD!" Shippo scram as loud as he could. "YOU smashed MY chips!"

"It wasn't me. It was that big head of yours." A small smirk crept onto his face.

"Kagome!"

"Enough!" Shippo just eat the chips, they're fine. And Inuyasha, come with me we're eating by the river today."

"Whatever." Inuyasha said trying to sound annoyed.

"Shippo can you stay with Sango and, hey where'd they go?"

They had left while Inuyasha and Shippo were arguing about a bag of chips.

"Anyway, go find them. And share your food."

"Ok, bye Kagome."

"Come on Inuyasha. I want to talk to you about something important."

"Alright."

With that, they both walked over to the river and sat down. Kagome was sitting down looking at her reflection in the water. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was sitting at a trunk of a tree watching Kagome."

"Hey, when am I going to get my food?"

"After I talk to you."

"I can eat and listen at the same time."

"No you can't." Kagome said now looking at Inuyasha.

"Can to."

"Can not."

"To!"

"Not! Hey this isn't what I wanted to talk about."

"Ok, well then spit it out."

"Ok." She said softly looking back at her reflection.

"When I went home yesterday, I got a surprise. One you wouldn't expect."

"What happened? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No. Well maybe a little. But not physically."

"Kagome pain is pain. Physical or mental, it still hurts. Now tell me who hurt you."

"My dad came back."

"What?"

"My dad came back into my life."

"Oh, and he's the one who hurt you?"

"Well, not exactly," a tear slid down her cheek. "When I saw him, all the memories came back. All the pain I had when he left, just rushed back into me again. And it hurts me to see him again, after so long had gone by." Another tear fell, followed by another.

Inuyasha knew she was crying without even looking at her. He could smell the salt in her tears. Along with the sorrow in her voice. And he hated it. He hated to her cry. He hated to see her in any kind of pain.

He got up and sat next to her.

He looked at her and noticed that she had been crying harder than he expected.

He then did the unexpected.

He turned his body towards her and grabbed her into a gentle hug. Wrapping his arms around her warm body. Pulling her closer to him.

She had hugged him before, but not like this. This time it meant something.

It meant that he cared, and he was trying very hard to comfort her. And she loved him for doing that.

She didn't say anything, just cried softly into his chest.

"I'm here for you Kagome. I won't anyone hurt you again. I promise you." He whispered into her ear.

"Thank you Inuyasha."