Lunch consisted of miso soup and rice balls. Just as they all started to eat, Asako asked her daughter a question, "Kagome?" "Hmm," answered the girl with a mouthful of food. "How long have you been a hanyou?" wondered her mother. "Umm...about 2 1/2 months," replied the female half-demon. "Did it hurt to become one?" asked Sota. "A little at first, but if I had had to go through it again, I would." answered his sister. Both hanyous glanced at each other and smiled. The gesture wasn't lost to the other teen couple, they stared at them with blank looks. "I've had to adjust to the changes, the claws, the fangs, they're okay, but the enhanced sense of smell has really taken me some getting used to. Like right now, I can smell the faint scent of a girl coming from Sota." explained Kagome.
Almost immediately the little boy's face went red. "I went to see Hitomi this morning! Isn't it okay if I go see my girlfriend?" he shouted. Everyone else laughed. "Hey, Akane," asked the female hanyou, turning her attention to the other girl, "Would you like to go with me to the market to help pick up supplies?" "What for?" wondered her cousin. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who had stopped eating as well. I guess it's okay to tell them. she thought. The male half-demon nodded at her as if he thought the same thing. "Akane, you remember when I told you of the feudal era and all those wars that were fought in that time?" asked Kagome. "Yeah," replied the short-haired girl, unsure where this was going. "Well... that's where Inuyasha is from." finished Kagome.
Both Ranma and Akane looked at her like she had grown a tail to go along with the rest of the changes. "You're not kidding, are you?" asked the black haired boy. "No, she's not," replied the silver-haired half-demon. "That's where I've been, helping him and some friends out." said Kagome, lowering her eyes. Akane looked at her fiancee and then back at her cousin saying, "We believe you." Kagome gasped as she brought her head up, "You do?" "Hey, we've had to deal with some weird stuff before, so it's not that big of a surprise." said Ranma. "So, you'll help me with the shopping, Akane?" repeated the female hanyou. Her cousin nodded and smiled at her. "Thanks." said Kagome said.
Akane smiled at her cousin. Suddenly, Kagome stood up, covered her mouth and fled the room. Akane, Ranma, Asasko, and Souta exchanged confused glances. Inuyasha stared hard at the table, trying to avoid the glance of the others. Kagome came back and she was shaking. "Here," Inuyasha said, removing his haiori and placing it on Kagome's shoulders, "this might help." Kagome nodded in thanks. After a few minutes, Asako cleared the plates. Kagome stood up. "Lets get ready to go, Akane." she said.
Kagome had changed out of her school uniform and into a flowery dress. She also put on a sun hat to cover her dog ears. "I understand now why Inuyasha always hated to wear a hat," she said, lifting it up to scratch an ear itch. Akane was with her in her room and giggled at her cousin. As they were leaving the house they said to Ranma and Inuyasha, "You boys behave yourselves until we get back." Both young men agreed.
The first place the two girls stopped at was the market. "What kind of food does Inuyasha like?" asked Akane as they entered the store. "He calls it 'ninja food'," answered Kagome with a laugh. "'Ninja food'?" repeated her cousin, sounding perplexed. When they turned a corner Akane understood what the other girl meant. Standing in a nicely done display was boxes upon boxes of instant ramen of every flavor. The short-haired girl couldn't hold in the laugh that rose up inside her.
"We'll pick these up later, there are other things I want to get first," said Kagome, bypassing the display. The other things she talked about consisted of bandages; both disposable and cloth; medicines and other medical things, other food items and a pack of crayons. "Who are the crayons for?" wondered Akane. "A friend of ours, he lost the last pack I gave him," responded Kagome, turning into the beauty products aisle. "Another friend asked me to pick up some things for her," explained the female hanyou, putting some shampoo and conditioner in her basket.
The two girls slowly walked down the aisle as Kagome added a few more things to the supplies. She looked over at Akane and saw her cousin was busy seeing which color nail polish would look good on her fingers and the female half-demon quickly grabbed a pink box and hid it in among the rest of the stuff. But what she didn't know was that Akane; trained to notice little movements by her opponents; saw the quickly added product out of the corner of her eye.
A pregnancy test? she thought, why didn't she say anything? Maybe she's not sure if she is yet. I'll let her say something first. "All done?" asked Akane, putting down the nail polish. "Yeah, let's go back and get the ramen for Inuyasha," said Kagome, walking away. Phew, she didn't see it. I need to be sure before I tell anyone. It's a good thing Inuyasha agreed with me we needed supplies so I could get the test, or else we would've known for sure in a few more months, thought the female hanyou.
On the way back, Akane was doing her best to keep from asking her cousin about what she'd seen. Akane bit her lip. Resist urge to ask. Resist urge to ask. Kagome turned and looked at her cousin. "What's wrong?" she asked. Akane didn't say anything, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she'd blurt out her question. She just shook her head. Kagome looked skeptically at her. "It's nothing." Akane said. Kagome was nervous now. Did she see it? She wondered. "Akane," Kagome said. "Hai?" her cousin answered, still biting her lip. "Did you..see it?" asked the nervous hanyou. Akane pretended to be innocent. "Did I see what?" Kagome crossed her arms. "Ok," Akane said, "I did see it, but I won't tell anyone." Kagome sighed. "I think Inuyasha knows already. Nothing gets past that nose of his." Akane giggled. With that over with, the two girls chatted the rest of the way back.
