Chapter 16

"Sis! Breakfast is ready!" Souta's voice came from the kitchen. The smell of bacon drifted through the closed door to Kagome's room and birds chirped so loudly that their daily song pushed through the shut window and reached Kagome's ears as she lay on the bed.

She turned onto her other side and blinked several times to get used to the new lighting. She groaned softly and rose a hand to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?"

Kagome sat upright at hearing the pained yell from the kitchen. She recognized the voice but hadn't expected to hear it. Then she remembered.

"Inuyasha?" She said, thinking aloud, as she let her legs dangle over the side of her pink bed.

Yes. She had heard his voice in the kitchen. He was always up so early.

"I told you it was hot!" Souta replied to the hard headed half demon. A growl was heard soon after.

Kagome lifted herself up and stumbled slightly as she felt her feet connect with soft carpet. She slipped over to her door, her feet still wobbly. She could barely think, she was so tired. What day was it? What time was it? She pulled open her door and stepped into the short hallway. She blinked several times before heading down the flight of stairs and into the kitchen.
"NO, STOP! THAT PIECE IS MINE!" Souta yelled, tugging at a piece of bacon in Inuyasha's hands.
"Heh! Not anymore, kid!" He replied and stuffed the strip of meat into his mouth, his ivory fangs dripping with saliva, showing how ravenous he was.
"Now, boys, calm down! It's just bacon! There's plenty more!" Grandpa said, trying to settle the two. It was obvious that it wasn't going to work.
"Mmm..." Kagome muttered, stepping further into the room.
"It's about time!" Inuyasha called to her, his mouth full. Souta didn't even acknowledge her, he was still fuming over the stolen strip of bacon.
"Good morning, Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi said quietly as she wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and took a seat at the table.
"Morning, Mom! What time is it?" Kagome asked, running a bony hand through her tangled black hair.
"I dunno. Who cares? All I know is, you've been sleeping for hours." The hanyou replied before her mother could give her the time.
"7:45." Her mom answered, not even having to look at the clock. Obviously, she had been checking.
"WHAT! OH NO! I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL! NO! AND I HAVE A TEST TODAY!" The, now wide awake, miko cried as she ran back upstairs and soon returned with her hairbrush running rapidly through her hair.
The entire family watched, wide eyed, as the young girl raced around the room, smoothing her school clothes, brushing her hair, and stuffing bacon into her mouth at the same time.

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'Oh noooo...I don't understand any of this!' Kagome thought as she tapped her number two pencil rapidly on her desktop. Her brown eyes were glued to the three pages of math in Japanese in front of her face.
'Why didn't I study this!...Wait...I fell asleep before this lesson! Agh! But...if I fell asleep, how'd I get in my bed...did he...NO! STOP! FOCUS!' She scolded herself and stared harder at the chalk white paper.
Frustrated, she let her pencil fall from her grip and her head fall to the desk.

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"Hey! Kagome! How'd you do on your test?" Asked Yuka and Eri at the same time. Ayumi lagged behind them.

"Not so hot…" Kagome replied, turning slightly to look at them as she trudged down the long hallways with her large yellow book bag on her back.

"What do you mean? You didn't even get the results back!" Ayumi shouted, breathless

"Yeah…well…I didn't exactly know any of the answers…so…" She replied, her expression very solemn. She stretched out a pale arm and trailed her fingertips across the surfaces of the gray lockers as she passed them.

"I'm sorry, Kagome! You've been out a lot…maybe the teacher will understand and let you take it again!" Ayumi offered a comforting suggestion.

"…Maybe…" The sad miko replied, dropping her hand to her side.

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"Welcome home, Kagome!" Ms. Higurashi called as her daughter trudged through the kitchen, obviously still upset.

"Mmmm…." She said softly, as she ran into her room, tears almost coming to her eyes.

"Little kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!" Inuyasha taunted. Kagome's eyes lifted and widened at Inuyasha as she found him kneeling on the ground, pulling at her cat's short, chubby legs. He quickly jumped up at hearing her entrance and his arms immediately crossed over his chest.

" 'bout time!" He said to cover it up, his cheeks turning red and he fidgeted nervously.

Buyo lay on his back, spread out over the ground and staring up at Kagome and Inuyasha with an irritated expression.

"Um…" Was Kagome's only reply. She couldn't manage words. She was still to upset about the test.

The caught hanyou fidgeted once more. The small pink on his cheeks soon reddened and spread across his entire face. He always hated being caught as a softy.

"Kagome? Are you alright? You didn't seem too happy when you walked in…" Kagome's mother asked, popping her head into the door.

Kagome turned to her mom as Inuyasha's muscled arms dropped to the sides and his amber eyes raised to Mrs. Higurashi's. Buyo hopped up and trotted out of the room.

"I'm fine, Mama…" Kagome retorted rather angrily.

"Well…Why don't you two go for a walk or something? You know that field of daisies is just down the road, in the park. You've never been there. It's a good time to check it out on such a nice spring day!" Her mama offered, stepping slightly out of the room.

Kagome could smell food cooking downstairs. She looked eager to get back to it and Kagome didn't want to let the house burn down so she nodded instead of pulling the conversation further.

She heard Inuyasha growl softly as her mom left the room and a long silence fell upon them. She slowly turned her brown eyes back to him.

"C'mon…let's go, It'll do us both some good…" The hanyou said, his handsome face still mildly red.

Again, she nodded as she stepped over to her bed but then realized that her backpack was still on her back. It was so light that she hadn't even noticed that it was there. She hadn't brought any books home except her art book. It was like she was planning on going to the feudal realm and not going to school.

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"So…where is this place again?" The inu hanyou asked as he strode down the paved sidewalks, a few feet ahead of Kagome. He always had to be the dominant one

"I'm not really sure…just down here, I think." The miko said softly, in a somewhat better mood than before as she perked up a bit to pick up pace. She followed, obediently to Inuyasha's side. The thought pricked up in the back of her mind to let her hand graze his or let their arms bump, just an excuse to touch his soft skin, but soon enough a breeze blew by to swipe the idea from her mind.

The two walked swiftly and slowly, as if savoring every moment of being by each other's side. Though, the both of them still seemed so awkward walking along like that. Kagome constantly straightened her tan undershirt that was trapped beneath her brown jumper. She never let a second alone without pulling down the end of her skirt until, finally, they came upon the large field.

Bright yellow daisies invaded the tall grasses, un-mowed for so long, like miniature balls of sunshine that had rained down from the sun. The yellow petals swayed with the large blades of green grass in the churning winds that twisted and blew at anything it could.

"Well…we're here…" Inuyasha stated quietly, lacking the knowledge of what to do or say at a time like this. Whenever Kagome's pretty little candy lips turned into a frown and she lost that sparkle, that little perk, it always stumped him. It always put a damper on his own mood and he felt as though it was just his duty to cheer her up.

Kagome nodded dumbly. The third nod of the day as she stepped ahead of Inuyasha and trudged into the field. She waded carefully and daintily through the crowd of daisies that stretched even higher that her waist.

Inuyasha stepped after her, stomping through the daisies, not really caring. So what? There were tons of daisies in the feudal era. It wasn't such a special sight to see the field of an almost solid yellow. Kagome immediately shot him an angry glance. He stopped short and his features softened. She was really mad and he knew he wasn't helping. He chose not to say anything.

They walked further into the field until they were completely surrounded by swaying daisies on all sides. Kagome turned to him to give him another odd look. One of pure sorrow and sadness, even frustration, mostly in herself.

"Kagome? Are you…Okay?" He asked, his voice soft and calm for once, trying not to upset the miko even more. That would only set into a whole rumble of arguments. Though, there was no way to avoid this one.

"Define: 'Okay'!" She suddenly snapped back, her fists clenching and her nails digging into her flesh. Inuyasha flinched at her sudden outburst. That was something he would do. Not sweet, perky, happy go lucky Kagome.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked, his voice shaking somewhat. He didn't even know why. Why was he reacting this way?

"WRONG? YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT'S WRONG? I'LL TELL YOU! I HAVE TO TRAVEL ALMOST EVERY DAY FROM YOUR ERA TO HERE AND FROM HERE TO YOUR ERA," She shouted to the world, for everyone to hear.

"Sh! Kagome! Not so loud!" The inu half demon cried, but the miko wouldn't stop. She just rambled and rambled until it plucked the short tempered hanyou's last nerve. His fists clenched as well as both their frustration grew.

The sky had darkened long ago, giving way to a startling cold breeze that rattled the trees nearby, shaking dried leaves from their crisp branches. The heavy clouds threatened a cold beating of rain.

"Kagome! Shut up!" He cried to her.

"AND BACK AND FORTH AND BACK AND FORTH AND,"

"…Shut up!"

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! MY FAMILY MISSES ME AND I MISS THEM BUT I'M STAYING FOR YOU,"

The thick clouds inched along the sky, their bellies about to burst. With every word that the two screamed into the air, it brought another tiny crystalline droplet down to the earth. One after another, disturbing the happy dance of the daisies as they seemed to waltz around Kagome and Inuyasha in the wind.

"KAGOME!"

"MY BROTHER HAS TO TAKE ALL OF MY RESPONSIBILITES UP FOR ME AND,"

"SHUT UP!"

"THEN THERE'S SCHOOL! I'M COMPLETELY FAILING MY CLASSES BECAUSE YOU KEEP BOTHERING ME WHILE I'M STUDYING AND BECAUSE,"

To add to the heavy sheets of rain that splashed down from the ripped clouds above, a sudden tear trickled down Kagome's face. One after another, tears and droplets of rain danced down the miko's face. It was hard for Inuyasha to tell the tears from the rain. Was there a difference? Were they both not cried from a sad soul? Tears, from Kagome, and rain from the saddened heavens above. It was hard to see Kagome's face at all anymore through the constant spatter of rain.

"SHUT UP! STOP YELLING AND BE QUIET FOR JUST ONE SECOND, KAGOME!"

"I HAVE TO SWITCH BETWEEN WORLDS OVER SOME STUPID JEWEL THAT YOU WANT TO TURN YOURSELF INTO A FULL DEMON WITH! I DON'T EVEN WANT THAT! AND THEN THERE'S,"

"SHUT UP KAGOME, JUST SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Inuyasha screamed, so desperate to stop her tears, stop her screaming. He would do anything. Anything.

Suddenly, he thrust himself forward and seized the thin girl by the hips. He pulled her fragile body against his in a tight embrace, the hanyou's last attempt to stop her tears and howls of sorrow. His arms moved around her tiny waist and his claws nearly dug into her skin underneath her clothing. He just wanted it to stop.

"I'm just…so sick and tired…of, of playing the role of a h-happy girl…that no one knows." Kagome muttered, her words muffled as her arms raised to cling to the front of his haori.

She sobbed loudly into his soaked red fire rat robe. The heavy sheets of cold rain soaked them both to the bone as they stood there, Kagome's face pressed into Inuyasha's chest, her sobs muffled by his big kimono. The hanyou's face was lowered to her head and inhaling the fresh scent of her hair. Strawberries and Sakura Blossoms. It calmed the both of them. He savored every single moment of this, as did Kagome.

A startling flash of lightening and crack of thunder seemed to shake the Earth beneath them, making Inuyasha stumble on his feet from the sudden flash and sound. The hanyou stumbled, feeling his arms slowly slipping from around the miko. He held her fast to him, never letting go as he tumbled to the ground, bringing the sobbing girl right down with him.

The just lay there, not seeming to care anymore. Kagome had said that she was tired of playing the role of a happy girl that no one knows. Now he had a chance to pull her away from that stereotype. She was crying, so she wasn't happy and she was with him, lying in his arms in that huge field of crowding daisies that hung over them like hovering falcons, closing in for a feast. He knew her. Now she could stop crying. He couldn't take the screaming, the crying. Each tear she shed sent a strike of guilt through him and choked a thousand words in his throat. Anything…anything at all to silence her cries.

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Hmmm...Pretty...ending, that is.

I redid this awhile ago so it's a BIT up to date. Not my best, still. But it's better than it was before, TRUST ME!

Wow...