Chapter Eleven
The Well
Disclaimer: I think everyone gets the hint about not owning InuYasha –eye roll-
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Kagome woke up with a feeling of nausea, desperately trying to fight it to make it leave so she could get on with sleeping but her stomach wasn't listening and she slammed the bathroom door, shoving Souta out of her way.
Souta blinked a little bit and slowly opened the door to see his older sister emptying her stomach contents into the toilet. A frown crossed his features and he went in, crouching down, rubbing his sister's back.
"Sis, are you alright?" Kagome moaned a little. Souta sighed a little.
"I'll go get mom." With that, he left.
A few minutes later, Kagome had finished and felt better but not that great. Her mother came into the bathroom, two sets of curious eyes following her actions. They watched as their grandmother put some kind of strange object in their mother's mouth and felt her forehead.
They recognized that their grandmother was checking their mother for a fever since they had it done to them a few times. After a few minutes, a beeping sound made them jump and Kagome chuckled a little.
"Well, you don't have a fever." Her mother stated with a slightly suspicious frown.
"It's back to bed for you, though. Just to be on the safe side." Kagome nodded, too tired to argue. She fell asleep quickly and the older woman gently shoved the two younger children outside.
"Play outside until breakfast is ready." She told them sweetly, even providing them with a blue and pink ball to play with, much to their delight.
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The next morning was pretty much the same routine and Kagome was beginning to get a little suspicious. She was a smart girl and she was smart enough to learn from past experiences. Instead of staying in bed all day like she did yesterday, she dressed herself and even took a shower.
She met her mother in the kitchen and smiled. "Could you watch them for a little bit? I just have to run to the store really quickly." Her mom smiled and nodded a little, suspicious herself, having gone through two pregnancies already.
"Alright dear. Do you think you could stomach something light?" Kagome shook her head; just the smell of food was making her feel sick again.
"Sorry mom, I'll try and eat something later today." Her mother nodded and Kagome kissed her twins goodbye before heading to the store.
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Sometime later, Kagome paced the floor of the bathroom, watching the stick suspiciously. C'mon, c'mon! Hurry! The waiting is killing me!
Finally, something began appearing on it and she snatched it up and dropped it, leaning against the door for support. It was … positive. That meant … she was pregnant again! Quickly cleaning up, Kagome ran down the hall and the stairs, into the kitchen.
"Mom! Mom!" Her mother looked up from her cookbook and smiled, laughing a little.
"Congratulations, honey." Kagome paused.
"You knew?" This caused the older woman to laugh again.
"Kagome, I'm your mother and now I'm a grandmother. It's my job to know these things." Kagome smiled a little, nodding.
"I have to go tell everyone at the castle!" She called, running out to the well house and running down the stairs and jumping into the well. She was surprised when she hit solid ground. She frowned and did this a couple times over.
Panic began rising up in her. She couldn't get through. The well wasn't working anymore. Why wasn't the well working anymore? Her mind cried desperately. In a complete fit of desperation, she began digging but quickly tired of it and just broke down, kneeling in the well, sobbing.
Souta heard this and entered the well house, walking down the steps. "Sis?" He heard a desperate sob and looked into the well, a little surprised to see his sister down there.
"Kagome, what are you doing down there? Why are you crying?" He climbed in himself and crouched down in front of his sister, only to put his arms around her and have her clutch his shirt.
"Souta … the well … it's not working anymore … I can't get through … I can't see him … I can't go back … "
Souta kept his calm demeanor and hugged his sister tighter. He really had no idea why the well wasn't working and he didn't know if he could say anything to comfort her so he just held her shaking and sobbing body, not saying anything.
"It's okay, Kagome. We'll figure it out somehow. You've always been able to get back before so this shouldn't be a problem." Kagome only continued to sob, it seemed that she had started to cry even harder. Souta frowned and wondered if he had said something wrong.
What am I going to do? If I can't get through, how am I going to tell Sesshomaru and everyone else that I'm pregnant again? How am I going to be able to raise three kids on my own? I can't do this on my own! I can't! I can't! I can't!
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Kagome sat outside, on the bench under the sacred tree, with Kasei and Takara sitting on either side of her, both with their heads in their mother's lap, sleeping. Kagome was staring off into space as she gently stroked their hair. How was she going to do this? Her family couldn't take on three other family members permanently, it just wasn't financially possible …
Souta and grandpa were in the well house, trying all sorts of things that she knew wouldn't work. None of grandpa's charms or sutras or anything like that of his had ever work. She sighed, looking down at her children. It had only been a few days since she had both discovered that she was pregnant again with great joy and discovered that the well was "broked", as her daughter like to call it, with great sadness. Slowly, a realization that didn't make Kagome feel any better but almost renewed her determination came to her.
She would just have to take a job and find an apartment somewhere and live like normal people. Only … they weren't normal. Soon, she was going to have three hanyou's on her hands and she couldn't afford to home school them, especially if she was holding a full time job …
Kagome sighed again, looking up at the beautiful sky through the branches and leaves of the sacred tree. She didn't have a choice, she had to do it.
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The next morning, once Kagome had gotten over her morning sickness, she had a shower and put on her smartest clothes. That night she had typed up a resume, which was difficult since all she had been doing for the like nearly ten years was going back and fourth between here and the feudal era where she would sit InuYasha, bathe and talk with Sango, look after Shippo and fight demons. She had decided that it needed to be stretched a little
After she brushed her long hair and let her mother do a smart braid, she gathered her resumes in a folder and went downstairs, putting on her shoes. She smiled a little, crouching down and kissing her children.
"Alright, I'm off. I'll see you guys for dinner, alright?" Her mother nodded and waved.
Kagome waved back and was soon out of sight. Sighing a little, Kagome steeled herself and began rehearsing her prepared speeches that she was going to give prospective employers.
She literally went everywhere. She went to bookstores, coffee shops, candy stores, hospitals, grocery stores, and fast food restaurants. She had even tried her luck at various clothing shops and a couple ice cream parlors. She was very thankful that the majority of the people somehow saw her dilemma or something of it and agreed to give her a private pre-employed trial run and a couple of them even paid her out of their own pockets for her time and effort.
Kagome wanted to tell them to keep their money but she really couldn't afford it at the moment so she gracefully but guiltily accepted it. Everyone had accepted her resume and either said that they would keep it in mind or put it on file. She had gotten a couple hits, though. A local coffee shop near some decent apartments was hiring and she instantly got accepted there.
A local clothing store, just across the street from the coffee shop said that she was just in time because they were hiring for part time and were pretty desperate for people. Kagome had wanted full time but she decided that part time was better than no time so she graciously accepted.
She returned back to her mother's home, tired and hungry with an armload of stuff for her new jobs. She was sure that she could stay at her mother's until she got a place of her own, her mother even said that it was all right.
Walking in the door, Kagome sighed and gratefully took her shoes off and walked into the kitchen just to see Souta setting the table for dinner. He looked up at his sister and just before he could even get a word in, two little blurs nearly knocked him over they went past.
Kagome smiled, setting her things down and hugging her children. At least she wasn't alone.
"Were you guys good for grandma today?" They nodded and began telling different stories of the day at the same time. Kagome laughed, holding up her hands.
"One at a time, one at a time!" She said with a smile. They smiled too and Kasei went first.
"We got to go to the park today with Uncle Souta, mom!" Takara nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! And we got to see ducks and Kasei caught a frog but I didn't want to touch his slimy frog so I tried to catch a duck but it went into the water and grandma said I couldn't go into the water but Kasei got to keep his slimy frog until it was time to go." She pouted a little, reminding Kagome so much of herself at that age.
"Hey! My frog wasn't slimy! It was cool!" Kasei defended.
"It was not!"
"It was too!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Okay … time for dinner everyone!" Kagome broke in with a smile, knowing how long the argument could go on for. The kids ran to their seats at the dinner table as everyone else took theirs.
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After dinner and a bath, Kagome tucked the twins in with a story of a miko who fell down a well so very long ago …
Once they were asleep, Kagome smiled and tucked the blankets in around them and turned out the lamp, looking at them once more before closing the door. Kagome went into the kitchen to retrieve her dumped belongings, grateful that it was still a few days before she started her job.
"Are you sure you want to do this, dear?" Kagome's mother asked from the kitchen table. Kagome looked up and sighed a little, leaving her belongings and sitting down across from her mother and accepting the cup of tea she offered.
"I have to do this, mom. I don't know why the well isn't working and I doubt that there's anyone in this time that can even fix it, much less comprehend how a simple well can, well could, transport me 500 years in the past." Her mother nodded a little, understanding where her daughter was coming from.
"Well, you know I'll help you in whatever way I can." Kagome nodded.
"I know. Thanks mom." After a minute of just sipping tea, Kagome set her cup down. "Are you able to take them again tomorrow?"
A frown came across her mother's features. "I'm sorry I can't, Kagome. I have a very long list of errands to run with grandpa and Souta is in school all day tomorrow and he has kendo practice after school until dinner at least." Kagome sighed heavily, nodding.
"It's all right. I'm just glad and grateful that you've been able to look after them as much as you have." Drinking the rest of her tea, Kagome set her empty cup in the sink and gave a little smile.
"I'll just have to take them with me tomorrow."
"Are you sure, Kagome? I could always ask one of the neighbors you know." Kagome smiled at her mother's willingness and shook her head.
"No, it's alright. Anyways, I should turn in now since I've got such a long day ahead of me." Her mother nodded.
"Alright, dear. Good night."
"Night, Mom." She said before climbing the stairs to her room.
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A/N: Okay … now you know about the well being "broke" lol … I just had to throw that in there. It was too cute … along with the cute and funny argument between the twins. Also, I'm sorry that they're not overly mentioned in this chapter … actually … come to think of it, they were in almost every part of this chapter, haha … shows how much I know. Anyways, now you can see how Kagome fairs with two hanyou's who have never seen the business or really any other modern part of Tokyo before, while looking for an apartment.
A big thank you to all of my reviewers!