The next day is spent in much the same way. Kagome definitely seems to like the cartoons better for now, which makes sense given all she's been through. There's something about animated characters that just brings you back to a time when things were easier, though for her that was even longer ago than it should have been.
"So," I begin, setting a grilled cheese sandwich down in front of her. She has the smallest of smiles on her face as she takes a bite. Her eyes close and her aura flares bright yellows and pale oranges in happiness. I smile to myself, making sure to keep my eyes on the tv screen. "Got a favourite show yet?" I notice her cheeks flush from the corner of my eye and smell her slight embarrassment.
"Ren and Stimpy…" she admits, softly. I can't stop the laughter that tumbles out of me.
"Seriously? I would have thought for sure it would be that Ami Yumi whatever."
"There's something to be said for mindless cartoon violence." I smirk at her defence.
"I never said I didn't like it, just didn't think it'd be your favourite."
"Yeah, well, what's yours?" She counters, a bit more of a teasing edge to her voice. It had been making more of an appearance, enough to remind me of the Kagome I had known 500 years ago. I smile at the thought.
"Family Guy, obviously." She rolls her eyes in response, half of her sandwich already gone.
"Of course, the one with the deformed baby and the idiot father."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, noticing the smirk tugging at her lips.
"Oh nothing," she quickly replies, "just, you know. Simple things for simple minds," she teases, clearly fighting back a smile. I scoff in derision, finishing off my sandwich and grabbing a handful of chips.
"Hey! I thought we finished going over how brilliant I am."
"Right, right, Mr. Expired Ph.D. over here." She giggles a bit at the end and I feel my heart miss a beat at the sound.
"I think I liked it better when you were making fun of cartoon characters." She chuckles, shaking her head, and quickly takes another bite. "I actually got something to talk to you about." I see her stiffen out of the corner of my eye. "I've got some things I need to do tomorrow, groceries and I have to go down to the reserve building at the bottom of the mountain." Upon hearing it isn't anything serious, she quickly relaxes, once again breathing. "You're perfectly safe here, but I'd rather not leave you alone just yet, so I wanted to ask how you would feel about me leaving a couple of my wolves here with ya." She looks over at me, surprised etched into her face.
"Wolf wolves or…?" I chuckle a bit, leaning back into the couch.
"A couple of my original pack mates who prefer to stay in animal form. You'd probably recognise them if you saw them." Slowly, she nods her head. "I wanted you to meet them tonight so they don't spook you walking around the house tomorrow, that okay?" She nods again, slightly more sure of herself this time. "Great, I'll let them know. Be right back," I promise with a smile before heading out the front door. I don't have to walk too far before three light brown wolves approach, heads bowed in respect. "She said she's alright with it, so you won't need to stick to the shadows tomorrow. I want you to let her get to know you a bit, I'm not asking ya to talk to her or nothing, just let her get comfortable being around you guys." They bow their heads again, understanding their orders. "Let's go." At my command, they follow a few steps behind me. Once we reach the front door, I signal for them to wait outside and let myself in to find Kagome washing our dishes. "Who said you were supposed to get up?" She startles at my voice, nearly dropping the plate in her hand, and I grimace, cursing myself. Way to go, idiot.
"Sorry, I just, you've been doing everything and I feel bad, I'm not doing anything to help -"
"You aren't doing anything because you're my guest. You're not supposed to do anything." Seeing her face fall a bit, I sigh. "I appreciate you wanting to though. Trust me, when you're here tomorrow, you can clean up all day if you want." I smirk, trying to lighten the mood again. It seems to work as her cheeks flush a bit, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Come on, I got some friends I want you to meet." She quickly dries her hands and follows me to the front door, shivering at the cool air. I grab one of my coats from the rack by the door and wrap it around her. She smiles gratefully as she slips her arms in. I let out a low whistle and the three wolves take slow steps towards us. Kagome's eyes widen as she looks at each of them in turn, focusing on each detail as I imagine she tries to remember seeing them before. "That's Minako," I tell her, pointing at the slim wolf on the far left with a small scar on her nose. "Eri," I nod at the darker brown wolf with bits of grey around her eyes. "And the big guy's Dai." The broader male holds his head a bit higher, the scar around his right eye illuminated in the light. I catch Kagome's eyebrows lower in concern.
"He didn't have the scar last time," she recalls, silently asking what had happened. Dai seems pleased that she at least remembers him, he had been particularly fond of Kagome back in the day.
"We've had our fair share of battles," I remind her, trying to keep the tone light so as not to worry her. Minako looks from me to Kagome and back, asking silent permission, and I nod my consent. She takes slow steps towards Kagome, head lowered to appear nonthreatening. Once she reaches Kagome's feet, she gently sniffs her hand before placing it upon her head just between her ears. Kagome gasps quietly before sinking her fingers into her soft fur. Immediately, all of the tension leaves her shoulders and she drops to her knees, using both hands to lift Minako's head back up. She looks her in the eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.
"You're a strong wolf, Minako," Kagome whispers, "you won't lower yourself for me." Minako smiles and nods, pushing her head against Kagome's hands to encourage more petting. Eri quickly trots over, claiming Kagome's other hand, much to her enjoyment. Soon, Kagome is smiling and talking to the two wolves as though she had known them her whole life. I can't help but smile at the sight, thinking how well she fits into our lives, how well she's always fit. Dai walks over to me and sits, seemingly chuckling at the girls on the floor.
"I know, she's a natural." He nods his head, watching with me for a few moments longer. "Go on and say hello." He takes his time approaching the happy reunion and, once he does, Kagome quickly releases the two girls to rub his ears. The big man melts upon contact, practically falling into her lap, forcing a laugh from the small girl. Minako nuzzles Kagome's neck while Eri curls up next to her on the floor. I chuckle a bit as I crouch next to the four of them, noticing Kagome's teeth have started chattering.
"And people say wolves are scary," she comments, shaking her head in disbelief.
"We can be when necessary," I assure her. She jumps a little at my sudden presence before smiling up at me. "Why don't you come back inside? I'll start a fire." Her face falls as she looks down at the wolves surrounding her. All four of them glance up at me with sad eyes, but it's only her's that make me cave. I roll my eyes, opening the door a little wider, gesturing for everyone to come inside. The three wolves quickly run in before I can change my mind and Kagome smiles, struggling to get up. I hold out my hand, noticing once again how much smaller her hand feels in mine than it should, and help her to her feet. Inside, the wolves are sniffing everything Kagome's touched in the last two days. Eri gets too close to her teacup, sneezing at the strong aroma, pulling another laugh from Kagome.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to leave that out." Eri shakes her head, trotting off to continue exploring. "Are they not normally allowed inside?" I shrug my shoulders as I pick up the dishes that had been left in the sink.
"Not unless it's too cold out, they tend to get into everything." I glare at Dai, who currently has his head in the trash. He backs up quickly, guilt shrouding his scent, until he backs into Kagome. I narrow my eyes at him as she scratches between his ears, Smartass. Kagome seems to notice she's just been used to avoid getting yelled at and quickly stops petting him, not so subtly signalling for him to run. Dai takes off towards the bedroom where the girls disappeared to and I sigh. "You know, he's supposed to be the better behaved of the three." She laughs again, sitting at the counter.
"Why? You know girls are better," she counters, clearly teasing. I snort a bit, shaking my head. "I remember them." She sounds so proud of herself, I can't help but smile at her over the counter.
"They know." Her aura had flared in recognition upon seeing them. Once I reminded her of their names it was like watching old friends. "They missed you too."
"Is this you saying you missed me?" She asks, still teasing. I glance over to find her leaning on the counter, smile still in place from watching the wolves wreak havoc. Every damn day for the last 500 years.
"You doubt it?" She rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "So, think you'll be okay with these hooligans while I'm out tomorrow?" She watches them jump over the couch, smothering her laughter with her hand as I glare at each of them in turn, silently daring them to mess up my furniture. They immediately settle down and lay on the floor.
"I think we'll be just fine." I shake my head at them, drying the dishes.
"I'll make sure lunch is in the fridge, I should be back in time for dinner but I'll get something ready just in case," I promise, already scavenging in the fridge to see what's available.
"You do realise I know how to cook, right?" I chuckle, closing the fridge behind me, and lean across the counter from her.
"You realise the only thing I've seen you make is instant ramen, right?" She laughs a bit, biting her scabbed lip.
"Okay, that's fair. But I can make more than that," she assures me. I arch an eyebrow at her in response.
"Name three things you can make tomorrow with what's in this house and I'll think about it." Her eyes light up a bit at the challenge and she rushes around the counter, opening cabinets, peering into the fridge and freezer.
"An omelet and rice would be easy enough, and they can be bland which I've noticed we've been doing with my other mini-meals." I nod my head in approval. "Ramen can be easily toned down and you have enough in here to make at least one serving."
"No instant crap, you need real food during recovery." She rolls her eyes at me again.
"I meant real ramen, you don't have instant here." I feel my eyebrows lower in confusion, not recalling when I had bought actual soba noodles. "Back corner of the fridge, still have another week before they go bad," she states, proudly. I look down at the floor in an attempt to hide the smile betraying my stern facade and nod my head for her to continue. "Worst-case scenario, if you aren't back with a better plan, I can have more rice, some veggies, and some of the chicken you have in the freezer. You can boil frozen to speed up the thawing and it helps keep some of the flavour without needing as much seasoning." She crosses her arms over her chest, looking extremely satisfied with herself.
"Alright," I concede, "you win." I back out of the kitchen, heading back towards the couch, her quiet footsteps following close behind. "Do a good job and maybe you'll be cooking for both of us at some point." I wink at her sending another blush across her cheeks. Once she sits on the couch, all three wolves run over to demand her affection. I let out a low growl, warning them not to be overbearing, before she shakes her head.
"They're fine," she chastises. We all look at her in shock. She shouldn't have been able to hear that, I look at her in wonder and notice the others doing the same thing.
It is the proximity, my beast informs me, the claiming is making her one of us. I shake my head, silencing him for now. Kagome starts nodding off a little after midnight, so I usher the wolves back outside and help her get settled into bed. She's already asleep when I take up my seat by her bedside, and I brush her bangs out of her face. She hums a little at the contact and seems to relax further into the pillows. She knows she is safe with us, my beast hums in response, even if she does not know why. My thoughts are drawn back to our last conversation that skirted dangerously close to this topic.
"Do you know why," she doesn't finish her question. She doesn't need to.
"He was trying to mate you. But he couldn't, something stopped him from marking you. It's probably why he was so… persistent. It wouldn't take."
"Why?" Her small voice floats up to my ears.
I sigh heavily, rubbing my face. First, we heal her. Then we deal with the more complicated questions. Sensing my own frustrations, Kagome begins to toss a bit. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to relax, it's nothing we'll have to deal with for a good bit of time yet, and take her hand in mine. She instantly relaxes at the contact, turning to face me in her bed. I grab my book from the nightstand, opening it to where I'd left off the night before.
Around six o'clock the next morning, I carefully remove my hand from her hold and ease my way out of the room, stealing one last glance at her still-sleeping face. I take a quick shower and get dressed before pulling out a pen and paper. I leave a note on the counter for her to find next to an empty bowl and the container of oats. Opening the front door, I find Minako, Eri, and Dai already waiting. I smirk, kneeling down to give each of them a good rub down.
"Morning, guys," I greet them, voice still a little thick from sleep. "Alright, nobody wakes her up, let her sleep as long as she can. I want one of you to lay with her while the other two patrol until she's up and about. Eri, you have the most experience with trauma, would you mind?" She shakes her head, skirting around me and into the house. "Bedroom door's already open," I call out to her. Facing the other two again, I find them both pouting a bit and fight the urge to laugh at them. "Once she's up, you can all take turns being inside with her. Just make sure one of you is out here at all times, got it?" They nod their heads in understanding. "Thanks again, I appreciate it. Remember, first sign of trouble, come get me." They nod one more time before taking off in opposite directions to scout the area again.
I shut the door, locking it, and get into my Jeep, starting the engine. When I turn to back out, the scent of lavender and vanilla wafts up to my nose. Looking at my shirt in quiet amusement, I take a slightly deeper sniff finding Kagome's scent lingering on it. I smirk, shaking my head, and back out of my spot before driving down the mountain. Upon arrival, I find Ginta and Hakkaku already waiting outside the office. They perk up at seeing my Jeep and run over to my parking spot.
"How's she doing?" Ginta asks immediately. I chuckle a bit, shaking my head.
"You mean my new dog?" I ask, making it clear we aren't to discuss Kagome directly in case any ears are listening. They quickly get the message and nod their heads in unison. "Better, got her eating a bit more and she seems more comfortable in her new home." I unlock the office door as they follow me inside. "That stuff you brought over was perfect." They exchange excited smiles, forcing a smirk from me. "I've got a few of the wolves keeping her company while I'm here, so hopefully they keep her out of trouble."
"That's great! I'm glad she's adjusting," Hakkaku comments while checking the mailbox for bills.
"Yeah, you had us worried when we heard about her last… home," Ginta sneers. No one in their right mind would consider where she'd been a home, but we had to keep the story going. "Maybe we'll get to visit sooner than we'd originally thought?" He suggests.
"Let's see how she does today. I left Dai, Minako, and Eri with her." They both nod their heads, remembering how well Eri had done with other people we had encountered over the years who had been through similar situations. Minako has this quiet confidence that's contagious to those around her, knowing when to help and when to encourage them to handle things on their own. Dai… after he lost his wife, he became the unofficial protector of all injured pack. I have every confidence nothing would get passed him. She'll be fine, I assure myself. The phone rings, signalling the start of the workday. She'll be fine.