Sorry about the wait you guys, I appreciate all your wonderful reviews, and hope to see many more in the future ^-^
*DISCLAIMERS* I DON'T NOW, NOR WILL I EVER (sadly) OWN INUYASHA, OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS! I just borrow them.
Now that that's outta the way, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Chapter 3
Last Time
"You know what?" Sango asked rhetorically, "We don't need this. C'mon Kagome, let's go." She said, turning around and stalking off, with Kagome following obediently.
Now
As she walked, Kagome started silently crying.
How could they do this to us? She asked herself, not for the first time.
Wiping a tear away, she kept walking until she got to the well. Sitting at the base of it, she wrapped her arms around her bent legs and rested her head on her knees. That's how Sango found her a few minutes later.
"There you are," Sango said, sitting down beside Kagome, and wrapping her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "I thought you ran off on me." She teased, trying to lighten Kagome's mood a little.
"I'm sorry Sango. I just couldn't stay there any longer." Kagome said, wiping away the last of her tears. Looking at Sango, she felt bad. Yeah, she had been betrayed by Inuyasha, but Sango had also been betrayed by the man she supposedly loved, and here she was, acting like a big baby, with Sango trying to console her.
"I understand." Sango said. "Would you like to go get some tea, to get your mind off of it?" she offered.
"Oh Sango, I'm such a horrible friend. You must think I'm very childish." Kagome said, once again resting her head on her knees.
"Now, what makes you say that, Kagome?" Sango asked, puzzled by the little outburst.
"Well, I mean, here I am crying over Inuyasha, and you're having to help me, when you were betrayed just as much as I was." Kagome answered, looking over at her 'sister'
When she said that, it dawned on Sango, just what she meant by that. Understanding what the problem was, Sango went about correcting it.
"Now Kagome, honestly, I'm not really hurt by what Miroku did. Surprised, sure, but not hurt. You see, contrary to what most people, including Inuyasha and Miroku themselves, I never saw Miroku as anything more than a good friend. A brother at the most." She said, rubbing Kagome's back. Seeing Kagome's disbelieving look, she continued. "No, really. I just acted interested for his benefit. I've just never liked the way he was so touchy-feely, or the way he acted around other women, you know, always asking them to bear his children and such."
"Oh, okay. I guess I understand." Kagome said. Then, to lighten the mood, she leaned over and whispered "At least now we know the 'will you bear my child' line was just a cover up. No wonder he asked every woman he saw. He didn't want anyone so suspect anything" she giggled, feeling a little better.
Just then, she sensed the guys coming toward them. Knowing she couldn't handle seeing them right now, she started to think of a way to get away fast enough to avoid them. Suddenly, she got an idea.
"Sango, how would you like to come with me to the future for a day or two?" she asked quietly, while standing back up.
"Um… sure, Kagome, I'd love to, but you just got back from there. Did you forget something?" Sango said, also standing back up.
Kagome leaned over and whispered in her ear "No, but the guys are coming, and we can't go anywhere else without them seeing us. I honestly can't deal with another confrontation right now."
Understanding, Sango said "oh, okay then, sure, let's go." Taking Kagome's hand, they stood up on the ledge and jumped down the well. Once they were on the other side, they climbed out of the well. Walking over to the well house door, Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and dragged her outside, where she was met with the familiar sight of her grandpa sweeping the shrine steps.
"Hi ji-chan, this is my best friend, Sango. She'll be staying with us for a day or two."
Looking up and smiling, Kin Higurashi stopped sweeping long enough to bow respectfully to Sango, which she immediately returned, saying "Arigato, Higurashi-san, for letting my stay at your beautiful home."
Straightening, he said "Please, call me Kin. And you are welcome here as long as you like."
Grabbing Sango's arm, Kagome led her to the house saying "C'mon, I'll introduce you to mama and Souta, my little brother. I'm sure you'll like them."
Walking into the house, Sango was amazed at the size, as well as the furniture, the likes of which she had never seen before. "Wow, Kagome, your family must be really wealthy!" she exclaimed, "I've never seen a hut this big before!"
"Nah, not really, this is about the normal size hut in this era." Kagome said, walking into the kitchen, where she saw her mother cooking dinner.
"Hey mama, this is Sango, the tajiya I've told you about. Is it okay if we stay here a day or two longer before heading back?" she asked.
Atsuko Higurashi turned and smiled as she saw the two girls looking at her. Bowing, Sango said "Hello Higurashi-san, it's nice to meet you. Your home is very lovely."
Bowing back, Atsuko said "Thank you. You are welcome to stay as long as you girls like. Please, call me mama. From what my daughter has told me, you two are as close as family, so please allow me to treat you as such, and vice versa." Straightening back up she smiled when she saw Sango blush.
"I would like that very much, thank you." Sango said.
Looking at the clock, Atsuko said, "It's almost time to pick Souta up from soccer practice. Kagome dear, would you and Sango mind running down the street to walk him home? I'm in the middle of cooking dinner, and don't want to leave it alone for too long."
"Sure mama, we can do that. Since the grocery store is beside the soccer field, would you like us to bring you some things home?" Kagome asked.
"Not to my knowledge, no, but if you want, you can take my credit card, and shop a little while you're there. Maybe stock up on more snacks or something."
"Sure, mama, that'd be great. Let us change clothes, and we'll head down there."
"Okay, dear. My card is on the table. Just make sure to put it back when you're done." Atsuko said, turning back around to stir some rice.
"K, thanks mama." Kagome said, taking Sango up the stairs to change.
Sango and Kagome both wore the same size clothing, so it wasn't long before they were back down stairs. Kagome wore a black t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of comfortable tennis shoes, and Sango dressed similarly, but with a pink t-shirt. Both girls had their hair pulled back in a high pony tail.
"Bye mama, we'll be back in a few hours." Kagome called from the living room.
"Ok dear, make sure to take your cell phone with you, just in case." Came her mother's reply.
"Don't worry, I have it." Kagome called as she pulled the door open so let herself and Sango outside.
"Kagome, will you tell me about your time? I have never seen such wondrous things before, and am quite curious as to how they work." Sango asked, as they walked down the shrine stairs.
"Sure Sango, what do you wanna know about first?" Kagome asked.
The next few hours were full of Q&A about the future. After they picked up Souta from soccer practice, the three of them went to the mall, where Kagome and Sango bought more supplies. They also decided that while they were here, and since they would be traveling without the men, they would need more protection, so they found an armory, where Sango got a new katana and some ninja stars. Kagome got a katana also, as well as a new bow and a quiver of arrows. Afterword, they were all feeling hungry and tired, so they decided to head back to the shrine.
After dinner, Kagome showed Sango how to work the shower, then took one after the other girl had finished. Now, they were sitting on Kagome's bed planning on what to do after they return to the feudal era the next day.
"Sango, where do you want to go first, when we get back?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know, I was thinking about just doing what we've been doing," She replied "you know, just going from village to village, looking for clues about Naraku's whereabouts."
"I don't know…" Kagome said doubtfully, "we haven't had very much luck with that tactic, as of yet… I guess we could try that for a while… if it doesn't work, we could always come up with a plan B later."
Kagome worried her lip for a second, before asking something that'd been on her mind since they'd bought their weapons earlier that day.
"Sango…" she said hesitantly. When Sango looked at her questioningly, she continued, "When we get back, will you teach me how to fight?"
Sango smiled understandingly. Up until that point, the only weapon Inuyasha would let Kagome use was her bow and arrows. He would always holler at her when she would ask him to teach her how to use a sword, or hand-to-hand combat, saying that she was too weak, and would only get hurt.
"Of course, Kagome, don't think I will go easy on you, though. You may be my sister, but you won't learn properly if I go easy on you, understand." Sango said in a reassuring, yet firm voice.
Kagome threw her arms around the older girl's neck. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise. And don't worry, I wouldn't want you to train me any other way." She said happily.
With that worry out of the way, the two young women talked about other subjects, and went ahead and packed everything they would be taking back through the well with them in the morning. Around midnight, they decided to go to sleep so they could leave early the next morning.
