Day 4: Red Thread / Red

Kagome sighed as she opened the door to her room and saw no red-clad hanyou inside. It seemed he was still angry at her after their last sit session. She felt really bad, especially because she had sat him a bit too many times and he had not deserved that many faceplants. She sat on her bed and sighed again, reaching for her pillow to hug it to herself.

It was the fourth evening she was in the future and he had not came for her.

She curled on her bed and pressed her face in the pillow. She missed him and her anger was long gone, so why was she still here? Nothing held her, she could just go and jump in the well, find him and make peace, right?

The truth was she was afraid. What if she overused the beads? What if he was tired of her and decided to find a miko who wouldn't subdue him and could see the jewel shards like Kagome could? Maybe this was why he had not came for her?

Not knowing for sure was a bad thing, but going there and seeing for herself the hanyou and the undead miko together would break her heart.

He was bound to come for her... Or at least for the shards she had.

Kagome closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, tired after four days and nights of worrying.

She missed the silent sound of a window being slid open. She missed the feeling of a blanket being spread over her. She even missed the silent sigh of a person who sat down beside her bed, worrying how to approach the miko who for sure still held a grudge.

The said miko woke up the next day after a peaceful dream in which all her friends from both sides of the well were chasing after Sesshomaru who was fleeing with a huge steak they were supposed to have for dinner. And the only noise she could hear was this odd half-growl, half-purr Inuyasha was sometimes producing deep in his throat.

Kagome sat up and was about to get dressed when she saw something strange. A red thread was stuck to a nail head protruding from the back of her desk chair. The miko blinked, sleepily wondering if pieces of furniture could have red strings of fate like humans did. She decided to see where the thread would lead her and quickly saw that it was headed towards the half closed window. Frowning the girl stood up and walked to the window to follow the thread with her sight.

It was leading straight to the well house.

Kagome picked up a pencil and started to wrap the thread around it. Of course she didn't jump out of the window, she dropped the pencil and then ran downstairs to pick it up again and walk slowly. wrapping the thread along the way.

The thread went into the well. Kagome, now really curious, jumped in, not even thinking much about her pajamas or the fact she should be sad and worried about Inuyasha. It was like following Yura's hair.

After crossing the time portal Kagome realized that she had to climb out of the well. She was about to grab the vines she was using as a ladder when she heard voices from above.

"Stupid Inuyasha! You were supposed to bring Kagome back!" exclaimed Shippou.

"Feh, what for? So you can whine to her for no reason and have her sit me?" the miko on the bottom of the well almost dropped her pencil. That jerk! He was so much stronger than the kid, he had no right to abuse him! But what if there was a grain of truth in his words and she was really abusing the beads?

"You deserve to be sat, stupid hanyou! You always run to Kikyou and make Kagome sad!" Kagome bit her lower lip. Why did Shippou bring Kikyou? Inuyasha had the right to see his beloved... Kagome didn't have time to finish her thought. Actually, her brain ceased to work when she heard Inuyasha yell at the little fox.

"Do you think I'm going to her cuz I like it! I'm honor-bound! Something a spoiled brat like you won't understand! I'd rather stay with Kagome and the rest of you, cuz you ain't stink like an open grave!" she could imagine Inuyasha shaking his fist at the boy as Shippou called him an idiot. Then she felt a sharp tug to the pencil she was holding firmly in her grasp. "What the fuck's wrong with this?"

Kagome didn't know how she managed to climb out of the well. For her she was standing on the bottom of the well one minute and the other she was sitting on the wooden structure. Her eyes rested on the two youkai nearby. The hanyou was positioned against the sitting under a tree, Shippou was sitting up a tree limb above Inuyasha's head. The former was holding his sleeve - or rather what once had been the firerat's sleeve and now was practically half-gone. The latter noticed the girl mechanically wrapping a red thread around a pencil and squealed happily.

"Kagome!" he jumped towards her, but stopped halfway when she didn't look at him or spoke to him. Her eyes were fixed on the hanyou, who was now looking back at her, a mild scowl on his face. "Kagome...?"

The miko glanced at the thread she was holding and then followed its path straight to the end of Inuyasha's sleeve. It seemed the whole world was waiting for her to speak.

"Shippou, go to Kaede's, okay?"

"Okay, Kagome," the kitsune knew when not to argue with the miko. He wanted to see her deal with Inuyasha, but decided it was better to follow her words. It wouldn't be wise to get on her bad side. Kagome waited long enough for the boy to leave the hearing range. Inuyasha looked as if he was ready to flee.

"You were in my time," Kagome stood up and walked to join him under the tree. She slid the collected thread off her pencil and into Inuyasha's lap, observing in amazement as the robe started to restore itself.

"Feh," he shrugged. "Your bother said you were still upset and yesterday you were already asleep."

"So you stayed the night and left just a few minutes ago?" she looked up in his face, but he looked away.

"And what of it? I'm your protector, I have to make sure you're safe. I couldn't sleep away from you anyway," he tried to sound indifferent, but she knew he was embarrassed and tense. She decided to change the subject and approach him about the overheard quarrel with Shippou later, after thinking over it herself.

"I'm glad you came," she confessed. "I thought you hated me and didn't want to see me again. Anyway, let's go back home and have some breakfast."

"What? You just came here and you want to go back?" he looked at her with a scowl. She giggled.

"I need to change my clothes."

"Feh, why didn't you do it before coming here?"

"I was led to you by the red string of fate," she replied with a happy smile and stroked down his newly repaired sleeve before standing up and walking towards the well.

She didn't see the deep blush that covered his cheeks.

A/N: It's ugly, I know