Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, and in truth, I only own the interpretation of a certain narrator and some characters and perhaps bits and pieces of the nonexistent plot. Also, this is melancholy and kind of about Christmas but not really.

Pulling away the gooey-strand, Kagome grimaced before letting her wet hair fall limply against her shoulder. Vile, gooey substances were, Kagome decided, too much. Closing her eyes, Kagome pondered what she had ever done to deserve this. Striding to InuYasha, Kagome almost grinned when she saw how InuYasha's ears were pressed tightly to his head.

"InuYasha, take me to a hot spring please."

"Ah," InuYasha paused, "It might take awhile…"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, and InuYasha hastily backpedaled.

"Erm," InuYasha squirmed before settling, "It's a long walk."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem, InuYasha," Kagome said with a cheery smile, "You'll be carrying me."

If InuYasha hastily opened his mouth to retort, no one knew, because Kagome had already said, "Sit."

Sighing, Kagome stared deeply into the pool of water. What she was staring at, she didn't know, but maybe it didn't matter. So she just let her fingers keep skimming the warm hot spring water, distorting her reflection in the water. Like the rippling water, her thoughts were everywhere and nowhere at once, directionless.

Bath time, Kagome reflected idly some time later, had been her favorite time as a child. Partially because of her love of water, of the ocean, but it probably had more to do with the way her Mama always sung to her, the gentle way her Mama would gather her hair. "It's very important to stay very clean," her mama would murmur, as she gently washed behind her ears.

"Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the basket," Kagome sung, watching the idle movements of her fingers across the water.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been in the hot spring when she finally returned to Kaede's hut. It had probably been a very long time. Raising her hand, Kagome studied her raisin-like fingers.

In the back of her mind, she heard InuYasha's blustered complaining. "Sesshoumaru just finished off the demons so quick! All I got was one measly water demon! It wasn't even his fight," he insisted, crossing his arms with a 'keh.'

"At least," Kagome said with a sly twinkle in her eye, "Sesshoumaru-sama isn't messy in his fights…" With a conspiring wink to Shippo, she continued, "It's a sign of maturity. You, as his younger brother should follow Sesshoumaru-sama's example."

InuYasha's face was aghast, and the rest of the night, all that could be heard was InuYasha's posturing and light-hearted complaining. His cheeks were flushed as he denied that Sesshoumaru could ever be better-

Kagome turned away with an impish smile. However, the longer she stared into the fire, the more nostalgic it became. This, Kagome remembered, was exactly how Souta would get whenever Kagome beat him on his videogames. Staring out to the stars, Kagome wondered what exactly was going on over there, on the other side of the well. Was Jiji well? Souta? Buyo? Mama? Turning away quickly, Kagome blinked away the water in her eyes. It was just the smoke from the fire, she told herself.

Original Posting Date: December 29, 2017

Prompt: N/A

Word Count: 496

Note: Thanks to all you guys that support the story :3 Though maybe I should stop mentioning that I don't really know anything about InuYasha... Well, please comment and enjoy! Happy holidays! Also, in the end, Kagome is still a big sister ;)
***I have the dreadful habit of writing for fandoms I know nothing about. Let it be known: I have never actually read the InuYasha manga or seen the anime.