Hey guys! Sorry it took two weeks! The scenes kept mashing together then they didn't want to mix then words didn't want to work. *sigh* But! I did update before Friday! With the holiday coming up this weekend, I am still going to try and update but, as a warning, we might not update!

My dear sweet co-author and vhenan, Fenrae-l, made two beautiful pieces of art in our inspiration for this story. Her art blog is fenrael-art on tumblr. ^^

Reviews will be at the end of the chapter this time!


Timeline: 2 months and 2 weeks


V.

It takes another two weeks before she gets a call from the hospital one morning to come in. She's expecting them to have everything taken care of so she takes with her a change of clothes alongside her scrubs in a travel bag, only to be told that there are still some problems. The receptionist doesn't have any information and every time she talks to a doctor, they write her off as a visitor for one of the patients, telling her to be patient and wait in the sitting room. Luck has her seeing the Resident Chief and his recognizing her gets her invited into his office to talk. The company lawyers don't take long to show up and its hours before she steps out the doors again.

Halfway into heading home, with her travel bag digging a line into her shoulder, she gets hungry and grabs a light lunch. From there, the nice sunny day she woke up to has been overrun by clouds, cooling her heated skin.

She drops her bag just next to the door and heads back out.

Distant thunder rumbles just outside the city, bolts of lightning giving her a nice scenic view as she keeps herself occupied wandering the blocks around Jos—their apartment complex.

The little park a few blocks away keeps her attention most days, just like today, when she feels nostalgic. She stops to cleanse the little bit of land and the small, man-made pond engineered into it when she throws away her trash, feeling the buildup in her body die down. Besides healing, it was the only other way she knew to keep her power from getting too pent up.

Next thing she knows, however, is being stuck standing under an awning as it pours down around her. The weather report had said the rain wouldn't hit until tomorrow morning at the earliest, so she hadn't taken precaution and grabbed her umbrella...or well, Joseph-kun's umbrella. Hers had been given to a man she saw sleeping in a sodden box just the other day.

Cupping her hands against her mouth, Kagome blew into them to try and warm her freezing fingers.

Krimson City didn't get rain quite as bad as Tokyo, but it did get cold like Tokyo and this late into fall had her teeth chattering against each other.

The jingle of her phone distracted her and she backed up away from the edge of the awning as she pulled it from her pocket.

Called the receptionist to see what time you were off, and they said you weren't working yet? - Joseph

Yea, some paperwork got mixed up somehow. They said they would call if anything changed and they'd have their legal team look into what happened. どうして?She hit send and leaned back against the wall, absently listening to a little girl begging her mom to go to Circus World as they walked by.

Her eyes slid back to her phone, fingers sliding to unlock the screen to see what Joseph-kun had to say as it pinged again.

I was just at the apartment and you weren't there? - Joseph

She frowned, wondering why he put a question mark at the end. I went for a walk.

It's raining. - Joseph

Why… why did she want to hit him so badly right now? She blew out a frustrated huff and tapped on her screen. I do know that.

The sharp crack of lightning stole her attention for a moment and Kagome looked up, grimacing as the rain started coming down harder. That wasn't good. She'd been waiting for when the rain would lighten so she'd could book it back to the apartment. It could still be done… there was just a higher chance she'd get sick or turn the wrong way.

A sharp gust of wind had the rain hitting her directly and she - as well as anyone else nearby - shrieked from being drenched so suddenly. It plastered her hair to her neck, leaving her fingers aching as she gripped and wrung her shirt of water. With a little shake, she slipped into the little shop she'd been taking refuge in front of and wandered around until she found the bathroom, all the while pulling at her pants.

She set her purse and phone on the counter to grab some paper towels to dry herself off. It, obviously, didn't work very well and the little shivers started getting harder as the cold set in. Her hair got pulled up into a bun to stop the water from running up under her shirt to trail right down her spine in cold little lines.

She did a little bounce and hop, rubbing her arms, to get her blood flowing then grabbed her phone. There were two new text messages Joseph-kun but she didn't bother reading them as she unlocked the screen and went for the dialer.

It rang twice before he picked up.

"C-could you come get me?"

-"I was already coming, where are you exactly?"-

"Hold on." She sniffed and balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear to throw away the used paper towels. She hoisted her bag back up onto the other shoulder and headed back out the shop. The cold sunk under her clothes, rain coming down harder now. "I''m-"

-"Did you just walk out of a shop that has an awning?"-

"Yeah, how did—"

-"You're pretty much the only one outside right now so I spotted you pretty easily."-

She didn't even have time to glance around before his black Classic pulled up along the curb, the blurred image of him leaning down enough to wave at her from the driver's seat.

Kagome hung up and put her phone in her purse, clenching at the strap only to have to wait when a large group spilled out of the store after her before sprinting for the passenger door. It slammed behind her and she put the seat belt on before picking at her clothes and hair. Under her, an oversized towel covered the entirety of the back and headrest with another half-folded towel on the seat, protecting the vinyl and soaking up the water.

She glanced over at Joseph-kun when he didn't immediately start driving to see him reaching back into the back to grab something. Her whole entire body perked up when she saw it was another towel and she immediately pulled down her bun and threw it on her head. She mussed up her hair, twisting and bunching until she was sure it wouldn't stick to her anymore. Then it was all dabbing her face, neck, and arms. Getting sick was the last thing that needed to happen when there was no set day that she would be starting work.

Goosebumps skittered along her skin when warm air suddenly spilled out of the vents but she welcomed it, cupping her fingers in front of them.

"Since you were supposed to start working, I was going to see about bringing you some food," Joseph-kun's voice was quiet, almost tired, just barely heard between the heat and rain beating down on the car, "but since you're not and now that you're wet, how about we just eat in tonight?"

Kagome glanced over at him, taking in the loose way one hand gripped the steering wheel while the other rested on the doors' armrest. His shoulders were tense, higher up than usual, and he barely moved as he drove. He didn't usually focus so much when he was driving. "How about a massage after, hm, Jyosi-kun?"

His stop at the red light was a little sharp and she absently readjusted the belt strap from where it chafed her shoulder as he glanced at her. Rain beat around them, blurring the lights and muting the sounds of the others car. It heightened the quiet that fell around them as she waited for his answer.

A little laugh slipped from him finally, shoulders only relaxing a little. "Sounds good. Food should be here by the time you're done soaking."

End.


どうして - Why

Review Responses

bluephoenixflame98 – um… I'm sorry? ^-^;; xp

LovelyPolkaDots – Maybe not bothered but probably just relying on what he's used to doing when they mess with each other. She wasn't wearing a bra and while some slang will fly over her head, she's probably heard bits and pieces from College and Shrine Tourists. His cautious nature would be slightly shocking compared to what she was used to when she was in the past, but I think the intent would be understood.

Cooking would definitely be a little harder considering the wide range of spices for American dishes verses the spices, herbs, etc. used for Japanese dishes. Depending on what she could get, depends on if she was cooking, if they were doing take-out, or if Joseph was feeling up to cooking. There will be appliances she doesn't get so she'll just wait for Joseph to get home.

Joseph would have made mention to Sebastian of someone coming to live with him since they varied on and off on who's place they would be at during difficult cases.


Don't hesitate to let us know if you see any grammar mistakes or anything, this scene turned out a lot longer than we were expecting it too! We're hoping to touch up on some other stuff that hopefully answers a few questions we didn't really go into detail on ^-^;;;

R&R!
(Please? lol)