Enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Comings and Goings
"Onee-chan." Kaede turned to find her older sister standing before her eyes, her silver soul catchers swimming through the air. "Why have ye come to me?"
"I have seen you walking through the forest. Why have you not stayed at the village? You never remain wandering the forest at night." Kaede's heart was lifted to find some, although not much, compassion hidden within her sister's tone.
Releasing a sigh, as she knew of the reaction she was sure to receive, Kaede began. "Sister, ye must leave Inuyasha alone." What little warmth was left in Kikyo's eyes dissipated quickly. Kaede noticed this and watched as Kikyo's body stiffened.
"That name. . . It brings so many memories and feelings of hatred. And yet, you continue to welcome him in your home, in our village. The demon that was responsible for the heartaches of our youth."
"Ye knows that it was not Inuyasha that killed ye, but Naraku. Let Inuyasha try to live and search for the shikon shards. He and Kagome-"
"Silence!" Kikyo's eyes flashed at the sound of Kagome's name. "She has taken him from me in more ways than one. That weak reincarnation has but whispers of my power, yet she somehow has a hold over his heart. Although, they are both unaware of that fact and neither would dare admit to it."
"Onee-chan."
"Allow me to finish, Kaede. I realized long ago that Inuyasha was not the central cause my death, but Naraku. I allowed my distrusting heart to control my head. Inuyasha has suffered as much as I have, if not more. He has had to live with my death, as well as the shadow of myself." At this, Kikyo paused. "Our feelings for each other were not destined for this world. This Kagome...she is good to him?"
Kaede nodded. "She puts up with more of his antics than the rest of that group can."
"I see."
Kikyo, although while alive had always been a closed person, never revealing her emotions to anyone, seemed to withdraw further into the dark mystery of what was left of her soul.
"Perhaps I never truly loved him. It is obvious what I must do." Kikyo turned from her sister and began to walk away.
"Kikyou-onee-san, what does ye intend to do?"
"My specific actions do not concern you, Kaede. But I suppose it will comfort you to know this . . I do not intend any harm to Inuyasha . . . or the girl Kagome, for that matter." Kikyo's soul catchers circled around Kikyo and carried her into the twinkling night sky. "Goodbye, Kaede. I wish you well, little sister."
"Hi Hojo!"
"Hi everyone! I'm glad to see that you're feeling better, Kagome!" Hojo began to walk to the group of girls, a backpack slung across his shoulder and his hands clutching the handlebars of his bike. Ayumi turned to Kagome.
"Sorry about this." She whispered. "It was Yuka and Eri's idea." Kagome sighed and plastered a fake smile on her face. The day was getting stranger as it went on. 'I never did figure out how I go to my bed last night…I should have been studying!'
"Hi Hojo. Are you ready to go?" Yuka asked. He nodded and mounted his bike. Soon, the group of friends was speeding off following the chosen leader, Yuka. When they reached a stretch of flat land, Hojo fell back to talk to Kagome.
"It sure has been awhile since you've been in school. I'm surprised that you were able to come on the bike ride with your recent condition." Although she knew he was genuinely concerned, his words only frustrated Kagome more.
"It wasn't that bad." 'If only I knew what IT is!"
"Well that's good. Your grandfather said that your diabetes had taken a turn for the worse and that he wasn't sure when you would be able to come home."
Kagome sighed again. 'Wow. You really are more dense than I thought! Diabetes is an old person disease mainly! And does it look like I've been in the hospital recently?!?'
Ayumi must have seen how annoyed Kagome was getting, because she soon dropped back and suggested that the group stop for lunch soon. The ravenous looks on Eri and Ayumi's faces sealed the deal. When a dry clearing was found, the group settled down and began feasting on the array of sandwiches. Surprisingly, Hojo entertained the girls with re-enactments from their latest school play, twisting the characters around to make them funnier than before.
'Hmm. This isn't as bad as I thought it would be with Hojo joining us. I just hope that he doesn't ask me out on a date! Doesn't he get that I don't like him? But, it's not like I have anything to look forward to with Inuyasha. He's still hung up on Kikyo.' Kagome pushed that disheartening statement to the back of her mind. After all, it wasn't every day she got to catch up with her old friends.
The sandwiches were quickly gone. After playfully arguing over where to go to next, the friends gathered up their belongings and headed off to their next destination.
'She saw me with Kikyo.' Inuyasha remained where Kaede had left him moments before. 'But why would that upset her? It's not like she could ever want to be with me. Not a hanyou.' Sinking back to the floor, he tried to remember exactly what Kagome had said.
- flashback -
After Kaede had left the hut, Inuyasha flicked his ears in the direction of Kagome's voice. He listened to the conversation between Kaede and his Kagome unfold. 'Wait, MY Kagome?' A small smile played on his lips. 'Maybe one day.' Kagome had just greeted Kaede.
"Child, ye have returned."
'Well duh, you baka. What else would she be, a ghost?!'
"I see. When will ye come back?"
'She's not staying?'
"I don't know. It depends on Inuyasha. He needs to understand why I left, and I'm not going to help him."
- end flashback -
"Feh. What am I doing going soft over a human? Of course, I did that when I was with Kikyo too. That's the problem." Lost in his own thoughts and worries, Inuyasha didn't notice the four scents that were wafting into the hut. The group's voices, however, soon reached his sensitive ears and snapped him out of his daydreams.
"We're finally back! It took too long this time." The young fox kitsune was leading the group back into the village. Miroku and Sango were following, and Kirara was perched on Sango's shoulder. "Sango, when will Kagome be back?"
"Shippou, you must stop asking that question," Miroku lighting reprimanded the young child."
"I don't think she'll be back for awhile," Sango sadly answered. "She must have been pretty upset. Miroku nodded in agreement.
"That meanie, Inuyasha! He drove her away!"
"I do not believe he understands Lady Kagome's feelings for him," Miroku stated.
"She's probably really mad at him!" Shippou replied, balling his hands into small fists.
"I don't think so, Shippou. She really cares for him; more than any of us know." Sango looked at Shippou, bleakly smiling. "She'll come back though, don't worry." Silence carried the group to Kaede's hut.
Inuyasha had finally moved. He was now sitting by the fire, starring blankly into the flames as thoughts ran through his head. 'She has feelings for me? More than they know? Could she possible love me? No, not a dirty-blood hanyou...I've got to go to her.'
"What is he doing?" Sango whispered to Miroku.
"I expect he's thinking about Lady Kagome's disappearance down the well."
"Hmm." Sango nodded in agreement. Once all three members of the traveling group had made their way inside, the supplies were removed from their backs and placed against the wall by the door. They all eyed Inuyasha warily as they sat down. Only Shippou had seen him like this before; after Inuyasha had sent Kagome "home for good" after Sesshomaru's attack, when Naraku helped him. After several hushed minutes, Inuyasha abruptly stood up and walked silently out of the hut.
"I guess his back is feeling better," Sango said, smiling.
Inuyasha bounded off in the direction of the well. Looking towards the sky, he noticed the position of the sun. 'Good. The sun hasn't even reached the tips of the trees. I'll have plenty of time to talk to her before the sun sets.' Reaching the well, Inuyasha jumped immediately, not noticing the old miko who was reaching the clearing.
Inuyasha's feet touched down in the now-covered well. Smelling the breeze that was blowing into the shrine's building, he picked up all of Kagome's family's scents but hers. "Huh?" He quickly slid open the door and stepped into the fading sun's rays. "Good, she's still home," he said as her scent finally filled his nose. He jumped to the balcony outside of her window and pushed the window open. "She's asleep!" he said incredulously. "It's not even dark out!" He looked to the girl who had brought him to this time. Kagome was asleep, her head resting on her arms, propped upon the opened algebra book. "I tried to tell her those spells would do something strange to people." Shaking his head, he easily lifted the sleeping teenager and carried her bridal style to her bed. Blushing, he said "She must have been really tired. This usually wakes her up." With one hand he pulled the covers down and placed Kagome on the bed. He tucked the covers underneath her chin and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. He pulled his hand back as if he had been burned when he realized what he was doing. 'But she's so calm and assured when she sleeps. It's as if she doesn't think anything could harm her when she sleeps. Well, she knows that I'll protect her from anything. Whoa! Where did that come from! I shouldn't be saying that. I love Kikyo! Don't I? Feh, stupid girl for making me feel this way.' He looked back at Kagome who was now faintly smiling. 'I wonder what she's dreaming about.'
". . . yasha . . ."
"Huh? She's dreaming about me?" A grin spread across his face. "I'll be back tomorrow, Kagome." With that, he crawled onto the balcony, closing the window behind him.
Back inside the room, Kagome was finishing her dream.
"...why did you go to her, Inuyasha? Why?..." the smile turned to a frown. Kagome sat up strait, clutching the blankets to her. "What was I dreaming about?" she wondered. "And how did I get to bed?"
"I can't believe that we forgot about the festival! This was such a good idea, Ayumi," Yuka said, leading the group to the nearing festival. They could see the tips of the rides drawing closer with each rotation of the pedals. "There it is!"
"Wow. This is even better than last year's festival! There are a lot more rides," Eri noted as the teenagers pulled into the parking lot. Hojo found a bike rack and soon the bikes were secured.
"Well, let's go!" Kagome was bursting with excitement. She had missed the carnival last year, preoccupied with fighting a water demon that had two shards of the shikon jewel. They all went to the ticket window and each bought five ride tickets. "What should we do first?" There was a seemingly endless array of activities: games, food, a ferris wheel, go carts, bumper cars…
"Let's go on the ferris wheel. That way we can see everything there is to do." Everyone agreed with Hojo's suggestion and dashed off to join the growing line at the ferris wheel. After a brief waiting time, the line began to move and people filed into the waiting seats. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi claimed one basket, leaving Kagome with Hojo. Eri just grinned and waved, but Ayumi shot Kagome a sympathetic smile.
'At least someone understands that I don't like him. I wish Yuka and Eri would stop trying to set us up.' She looked at Hojo who was smiling broadly and waving back to Eri. 'Poor Hojo. He just doesn't get it!' The ride jolted to a start and Kagome was thrown out of her thoughts. "Oww," she said, rubbing her sore head that had just hit the hard backing of the seat…
"Are you alright?" a concerned Hojo asked.
"I'm fine." The remaining ride to the top was uneventful. The wheel slowed to a stop and the pair turned to the side of the basket. "Wow, look at all this stuff!"
"It's great, isn't it? Too bad you couldn't come last year. We had a lot of fun. But your asthma was really bad that day."
:gulp:
'Jii-chan...' "Yeah, too bad." The ride continued and Kagome and Hojo finished the ride in silence. 'This festival is nothing like the ones in the past. All of the vendors with their cloth and sake and jewels…I think I prefer our festival in the village.' Returning to the ground, Kagome quickly suggested their next step. "Who's up for bumper cars?" The building had caught her attention when she was up in the air. Besides, what better way for her to get back at her friends for leaving her with Hojo? They were going to pay...She took off in the direction of the cars and beat her friends to the line. They followed, panting as if they had just run a mile.
"Kagome, how :pant: did you pant learn to run :pant: that fast?" Eri clutched the line bar with the last word.
"Umm..." 'Well you see, I've actually been fighting demons these past few years, and have had to run away more times than I can count and a half- demon pushes us to walk unreasonable amounts each day and...' "I've just tried to stay in shape when I haven't been sick." Her friends accepted this rather lame lie quickly enough as Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. They had soon recovered and were ready to go. Their turn came and each of them piled into separate cars, much to Kagome's relief. The cars were activated and the war began. Kagome was the undeclared champ. She attacked everyone in range. By the end of the game, they had been hit so many times that they lost count. She was about to go after Yuka again when the ride ended and her car lost its power. "What's wrong? Can't take a little competition?" she taunted. Laughing, she led the way out of the ride and into the fresh air.
"Lets take a break from the rides," Eri suggested. Everyone but Kagome nodded their heads vigorously.
"Ok then. I saw some neat little stores when we first came in. Let's go shopping!" Ayumi said. Hojo groaned, but followed as the girls led him into the first shop they came to. Luckily for him it was a candy store. Jars of sweets lined the shelves of the little shop.
'I bet Shippou would love some of these. I'll have to take some back for him.' Kagome found a jar filled with Jolly Ranchers and picked out several cherry and watermelon candies. She passed over all the chocolates remembering her last experience with chocolate in the feudal era...
- flashback -
"Did you bring me something, Kagome? Please please please?" Shippou begged. Kagome smiled down at the young kitsune.
"Of course I did! But you'll have to be careful. It can get pretty messy and sticky, ok?" Shippou nodded his head vigorously and jumped down from his place in Kagome's arms. Following her to her oversized yellow backpack, he held out his hands and closed his eyes. "Here you go!"
Shippou opened his eyes to find a strange dark brown bar in his hands. "What's this?" he asked.
"It's called a chocolate bar. You eat it. Go on, try a little bit," Kagome encouraged. Shippou hesitantly nibbled a corner of the chocolate. His eyes lit up and he quickly stuffed the rest of the bar into his mouth.
"Yummy! That was really good! Do you have anymore?" Shippou asked hopefully. Kagome nodded and pointed to a rather large bag sitting, opened, by her backpack.
"But, you aren't allowed to have anymore until after dinner. If you eat too much of it, you'll get sick. I wouldn't want that to happen. Do you promise not to eat any more of it right now?"
"I promise," Shippou said. Kagome smiled at him and walked off to talk to Sango. She was so busy catching up with her best friend that she didn't even notice a little fox tiptoeing to her bag and swiping the bag of chocolates.
Inuyasha's return from his hunt was announced with several cries from both him and Shippou.
"Come back here, you little runt!"
"Nah nah nah! You can't catch me!" Shippou taunted, sticking his tongue out at Inuyasha. Inuyasha pounced at him, but Shippou leaped out of the way just in time.
"What's giving you all of this extra energy!" Inuyasha yelled.
'Oh no,' Kagome thought. 'Shippou must have eaten more chocolate and the sugar made him hyper!' Thinking fast, Kagome did the only thing she could to subdue Inuyasha long enough to grab Shippou. "Sit boy!" she yelled.
"Come back here -gah! Umph" Inuyasha slammed face first into the ground, pulled down by the prayer beads around his neck. Kagome picked up a bouncing Shippou and looked at him sternly.
"Shippou, did you eat the chocolate even though I told you were not allowed to have anymore until after dinner?" She looked straight at him, not even blinking. He squirmed under her gaze.
"I only had a few more..." he admitted.
"Even though I told you that you weren't allowed to have any?" Kagome continued. Shippou sadly nodded his head, looking down at the ground. "I see." Kagome sighed. "Well, I'm going to have to punish you, Shippou. The candy makes you hyper and you ate it even though I told you not to. You are not allowed to sleep in my sleeping bag for three nights, and I am not going to bring you any more chocolate. Do you understand?" Shippou sniffled and nodded his head. "Ok then. I need to start making dinner. Why don't you go and get me some more fire wood?" She placed Shippou down and began to set up for their meal.
- end flashback -
Kagome sighed as she remembered how upset Shippou had been that night. She had to admit, it was lonely in that sleeping bag without the kitsune to cuddle with.
"Is everything alright, Kagome?" Hojo asked.
"Huh?" Kagome's head shot up at the sound of her name. "Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks for asking, Hojo." Hojo nodded and continued browsing through the candy store.
'I guess I'll have to be careful when I think about my adventures. I don't need to make them more suspicious. It's bad enough I miss so much school!'
Kagome brought her candies up to the front and paid. Walking outside, she was met by her friends who were anxious to continue their adventure at the festival.