Chapter 4
Quality Time
Later that day school let out and it was raining harder than before. Kagome and Kuwabara exited their classroom and went to their lockers to get their things to go home. Luckily, their lockers were side by side. By this time it was raining harder than ever. Kagome was still a little embarrassed from what happened earlier. That was all she could think about that whole day. She slowly got her things and headed out the door.
Being that she was the last one to leave, the janitors locked the door behind her. She took a few steps into the rain when she realized she had forgotten her umbrella! She quickly ran to the door and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.
"Please open the door!" she yelled, banging on the glass door. No response. There were about four or five janitors standing in front of that door mopping floors with their backs turned acting as if they couldn't hear her. After about ten minutes of trying desperately to get the janitors' attention, she finally gave up. So there she was, alone, in the rain, soaking wet, about twenty blocks from home. Well, she thought. I'm not going to get home just standing here. So she set off towards home on foot, soaking wet.
"Higurashi-san!" she heard a familiar voice say. She turned to see you-know-who standing there holding an umbrella, happening to be Kagome's.
"Kuwabara-kun!" said a relieved Kagome. She ran up to him and gratefully took her umbrella. "It was lying on the floor by your locker. I figured it was yours." He said.
"Thanks," said Kagome. "Why are you still standing out here? It's raining. Shouldn't you be at home?"
"Well, yeah," replied Kuwabara. "But I saw your umbrella on the floor by your locker so I figured you were already gone so I went outside to look for you to give you your umbrella so you wouldn't end up walking home soaking wet."
"Well, that's sweet," replied Kagome. "But what about you? You'll get drenched without an umbrella!" Kuwabara chuckled. "Heh. Like I'm not already. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
---
Drip, drop, drip.
The raindrops fell down on Inu-Yasha as he still lay on top of the school building. By this time he was soaking wet as well. The lightning flashed, followed by loud thunder, which definitely woke the dog demon up. His eyes snapped open. "Oh shit! I forgot about Kagome!" he instantly said. He quickly jumped off the building. He tried to snuff out Kagome's scent, but the smell of the rain covered it up.
"Damn it!" he said. "NOW how am I going to find her! I have to get out of this rain before I drown." He raced to Kagome's house to get some shelter. When he got there, he hid in the shrine in the backyard to keep himself from being noticed.
---
"Kuwabara, you'll drown out here!" exclaimed Kagome.
"Don't worry about me, Kagome," he replied. "You should be more worried about yourself than about me, and if anything happens to you, I'll be right here." He took her hand in his. "Please let me walk you home. I can't leave you out here by yourself. It's dangerous out here. Something might happen, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Kagome nodded and held his hand in hers as they walked the rest of the way in silence. Kagome didn't even notice she had dropped her umbrella and left it there on the ground while she was talking to Kuwabara!
When they got to Kagome's house, Kagome noticed that her mother's car was missing. Hmm, mom's not home yet, she thought. She probably got caught in another traffic jam picking Souta up from school. Grandpa's probably asleep. It wouldn't be any use trying to bang on the door 'cause Grandpa sleeps through EVERYTHING. How am I going to get in?
"Is something the matter, Kagome?" asked Kuwabara. "Yeah," she replied. "My mother's gone, and I have no way in."
"What a bummer," said Kuwabara. "Tell ya what. You can come to my house and…" A loud clap of thunder interrupted Kuwabara. Kagome was so scared and surprised that she instantly clinged to Kuwabara, holding him tight. Kuwabara couldn't help but grin "like a blubbering idiot."
That grin turned to look of shock and concern when a giant bolt of lightning hit a branchjust above the two.
"KAGOME! LOOK OUT!" he yelled, pushing her out of the way. "Hey, what was that for…!" she began, but her sentence was cut off when she saw Kuwabara laying face down on the ground under a large tree branch about three times his size screaming in agony and pain. She instantly knew what had happened. That bolt of lightning had hit the tree branch and he pushed her out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt.
"KUWABARA!" she exclaimed.
She ran to him and pushed the branch off him. It took nearly all of her strength to do so. "A-are you o-okay?" she said, her voice cracking. Kuwabara didn't answer, but slowly got up and leaned against the tree the branch had fallen from for support.
"K-Kuwabara?" Kagome said. She was on the verge of bursting into tears. "Kuwabara, talk to me!"
"I'm all right, Kagome," he said weakly. "Listen, we have to get some shelter. Why don't we just go to my house? It's just around the corner and plus we'll probably catch pneumonia if we stay out here any longer."
Kagome nodded as they both got up and walked to his house.
Flashback
"KUWABARA!"
Inu-Yasha knew that voice from anywhere. "Kagome. She's nearby." He whispered to himself. "But where?" The rain lightened up a little as Inu-Yasha exited the shrine again and tried to sniff out her scent. Inu-Yasha was right. Kagome was nearby. He heard her voice again.
"Kuwabara, talk to me!"
"She's definitely nearby," he said. "And who the heck is Kuwabara?" he thought. Inu-Yasha followed the sound of her voice. He found himself outside again, but by the time he got to the front yard, she was gone again.
He looked to the left. Nothing. He looked to the right. Nothing. He was about to leave and go back to his time, giving up, but before he did, he looked up at the sky, and said, "I'm sorry, Kagome."
End of Flashback
He was just about to turn and leave when two silhouettes caught his eye. He could recognize one of them from anywhere, just like the scent. It was Kagome, and the other one was some tall guy he didn't recognize. She was only down the street. But what was she doing there? It was raining like crazy outside! And more importantly, who was that guy she was with? Inu-Yasha followed them.
"Shizuru-san! Shizuru-san!" said Kuwabara when they finally got to his house. He had been banging on the door for a good minute or so. "Open up the door!" After about 2 minutes she finally answered.
"Where the hell have you been!" she said, lighting her cigarette. "And who's your friend?"
"It's a long story," said Kuwabara. "Please, just let us in and I'll explain."
"Alright, fine," said Shizuru. "Let's get you two inside and dried off."
"So your name's Higurashi-san, huh?" she said to Kagome after about 20 minutes of getting the two dried off and in some dry clothing. They were all in the back room of the house. Kuwabara wore a red T-shirt with some dark blue jeans while Kagome wore some of Shizuru's old clothing. They fit her just right. She wore a pink sweater (just like the one she wars in the beginning of the first episode) with a long khaki skirt. By this time it was pitch black outside and raining harder than ever.
Kagome nodded her head. "Yes, ma'am." Shizuru chucked. "You don't have to call me 'ma'am'. I'm only 17. So what happened here?"
Kagome and Kuwabara explained everything from their first meeting to the book-in-the-hallway incident to the umbrella-in-the-rain incident.
"Oh, I see," said Shizuru as she lit herself another cigarette. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Have fun, little brother!" She said, winking at Kuwabara as she got up to leave. "I have my own little lover to attend to."
"We're NOT lovers!" yelled Kuwabara. "Sure, whatever, bro," she said, winking at him as she left the room. "Sisters are so stupid," he mumbled to himself. Kagome just rolled her eyes and grinned. "Wait a minute…what lover?"
---
Inu-Yasha found himself at the Kuwabara household minutes after following Kagome's silhouette. Something told him to just bust in and apologize to Kagome, but he couldn't. He'd probably get killed in the process. He climbed up a nearby tree and peeked inside the window.
What is she doing in there? he thought. Kagome found a nice comfy spot on the couch and decided to lie down. Her hair hung over the arm of the couch, slightly curling fromstill having water init. She looked up at the ceiling and couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Inu-Yasha's time. How were Sango, Shippou, Miroku, and Kaede doing? She could care less about a certain selfish, half-ass dog demon. Little did she know that that certain "half-ass dog demon" was outside watching her.
Kuwabara was puzzled. "What lover?" he thought to himself as he got up and quietly followed his sister into her room. He didn't go in, but he stood by the door and started eavesdropping.
"Ah, I've been waiting for you," said a very familiar voice that Kuwabara couldn't quite put his finger on. "I missed you. Come here and give your big daddy some sugar."
"That is SO lame!" said Kuwabara. "Who uses THAT line anymore?"
Kuwabara couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't help take a peek inside the door… to see a certain black-haired boy he got into that fight with kissing on Shizuru!
"GET YOUR GRIMY HANDS OFF MY SISTER!" he yelled as he bust down the door and started beating the crap out of that black-haired boy.
"Kazuma! What the hell are you doing! Leave him alone!" yelled Shizuru as she pulled Kuwabara off the black-haired boy, now with bruises all over his face.
She then turned to him. "Derrick, Derrick, are you alright?" Derrick, being the black-haired boy, looked up and said, "I'm fine." "You'll have to excuse my brother, Kazuma. I don't know what's gotten into him."
"But Shizuru," started Kuwabara. "He's a bad guy! He…" Shizuru interrupted him. "Oh, yeah?" said Shizuru. "What makes him so bad? You don't even know the guy and you're already jumping to conclusions!" "No, I'm not!" said her brother. "Let me explain."
"I'm listening." Shizuru was slightly ticked off.
"Okay, see what happened was I was walking down the street and I heard a girl scream so then I went to see what it was and I saw HIM (–he pointed to Derrick—) hitting Kagome in the face over some stupid beer bottle and he had her by the neck punching her and stuff so he punched me in the face and I punched him back and knocked him out (–he then smirked--) and then…"
Shizuru interrupted him again. "Kazuma, you aren't making any sense!"
"Baby, let me explain," said Derrick calmly. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. First, I would NEVER hit a female. And second, I don't even drink!"
THAT LIAR!
"I believe you, honey," said Shizuru, love struck. "See, Kazuma? He's not so bad." (And you would think Shizuru was smarter than this. -.-')
"But Shizuru, HE'S LYING!" said Kuwabara. "I saw him hit Kagome himself! He's the guy who hit Kagome and that's how…"
Derrick butted in. "Shizuru, please believe me," he said, cupping her face with his hands.
"He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'd never hit a female. They're my life. You're my life." He leaned in and softly kissed her lips making her heart flutter.
Well, that worked!
Shizuru couldn't help herself. She pounced on him and they both started making out on the couch.
"Yuck," said Kuwabara. "I rest my case. I'm outta here. …Freakin' Americans…"
---
"Hiei-kun, get down from there!" yelled Kurama. "It's raining out here, and you'll get drenched!"
"Yes, Hiei-kun," said Yukina, his sister. She had come to the living world to pay a little visit to everyone. "Please come down. I want to see you again."
"Yeah, Hiei-kun," said Yusuke. "Get your ass down here! We don't have all night, you know."
"This is hopeless," said Genkai. "Let's just leave him here and get going."
"It won't be the same without you, Hiei-chan." said Botan cheerfully. "Save that fairy-tale shit for Kuwa-baka," snapped Hiei.
"We're going to be late," said Keiko, looking at her watch. They were all about ten blocks or so away from Kuwabara's house, close to Yusuke's school. They were all going to go to Kuwabara's house for a nice little in-house reunion/picnic.
Well, anyway, they were all headed to Kuwabara's house but Hiei—being a stubborn-ass, as always—wouldn't come down from that tree he's always sitting in.
"If this reunion has anything to do with that buffoon then I'm not going." continued Hiei. "I have better things to do with my time than waste it with you stupid humans."
Genkai rolled her eyes. "That's it. I am NOT about to waste my time waiting on his stubborn ass. It's raining out here, and I'm not drowning out here because of him. See ya."
Genkai left and headed to Kuwabara's house. Botan, Keiko, Yukina and Yusuke soon followed.
Kurama stayed behind. "Are you sure you don't want to go, Hiei? You should, you know. It'll be fun!"
"I don't need your advice," said Hiei coldly. "Like I said, I have better things to do with my time."
Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Suit yourself then." He soon followed and caught up with Genkai and the others.
---
"Man, what has gotten into Shizuru?" said Kuwabara. "This isn't making any sense. I bet she's barely even knows the guy…Ehhh, I'll get to that later. I have more important things to worry about…like the party! Oh no! I totally forgot!"
Kuwabara rushed to the kitchen and got to cooking. He made sushi, rice, ramen, and just about anything else you could eat on a in-house picnic. Pretty soon the mouthwatering scent of food filled the air.
Mmmmm…something smells good, thought Kagome. I could use something to eat after all this thinking…especially about a certain dog demon I'm not mentioning. I hope they've got something good to eat here.
She was going to get up, to find something to eat, but a huge wave of sleepiness overcame her and she found herself rolling over on the floor,landing with a loud thud,and snoring softly in a deep sleep.
The phone rang. Kuwabara had just gone doing all that last minute cooking and rushed to get it. It was Yusuke, of course. "It took ya long enough," he said when Kuwabara answered the phone.
"What do ya want, Urameshi?" said Kuwabara.
"Well, for starters, why don't you let us all in! Me, Genkai, Kurama, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina have been…"
As soon as Yusuke said "Yukina", Kuwabara hung up the phone, rushed to the door, opened it and let everyone in. "It's so nice to see you again, Kazuma." said Yukina sweetly. She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Again, Kuwabara couldn't help but grin "like a blubbering idiot."
"Where's the food?" said Yusuke hungrily, rubbing his stomach.
Keiko shoved him. "Yusuke!"
"What?" replied her hungry boyfriend. "Can't a guy ask for some food? I'm starved!"
"I agree," said Kuwabara and Yukina at the same time. They then looked at each other and smiled.
"Let's eat!" said Kurama happily.
They all went in and sat down at the table. Even Shizuru and Derrick finally quit making out and came to sit at the table. They were all about to dig in when Kuwabara said, "Oh! I'll be right back. Don't dig in quite yet, ok?" He left.
Yusuke ignored him and started to reach for some ramen but was immediately stopped when someone slapped his hand. "Don't…even…think about it!" said Keiko sternly.
"Damn it!" scowled Yusuke.
---
Inu-Yasha was still sitting outside, soaked.
Forgive me, Kagome, he thought. I'm so sorry I yelled at you. Just… come… back to me…
The demon couldn't take it any more. Tears started rolling down his face.
I guess that's what I get, then… How could I be so selfish?
His tears mixed in with the rain falling on his face. He was in a fit of sadness and rage, mad at himself for letting his wants and needs get in the way of his true love.
How could I put a jewel... a stupid glowing jewel before her? That jewel's nothing to me now. It would be nice to be a full demon… but what good would it do if that demon doesn't have anyone to protect? I guess she's better off here… without me.
With that, the anguished and disappointed demon headed off to his own time, never to come back.
