All At Once: Chapter 5
Summary: Overcoming the loss of the ones she loves, rape, and an unexpected pregnancy finds Kagome just barely holding on. Will Inuyasha be there for her? Or someone completely unexpected? Or will she be alone to watch her world start to crumble all at once?
Disclaimer: I own nothing
'Thought'
Flashback
"Talking"
Kagome, with Souta behind her, knocked on the apartment door. The young girl shifted her weight back and forth and bit her bottom lip. Souta could tell his sister was a little more than nervous and maybe still a little bit angry, as to why he still had no idea. It had only been an hour and half since they left Feudal Japan.
When Kagome had finally come to the well Souta could tell she was mad. He noticed her fists were in tights balls at her side and her mouth formed a horizontal slant on her face. It was quite comical, if not equally terrorizing. He was just about to ask her why she was so upset when she grabbed his hand and yanked him into the well. From that he guessed she didn't want to discuss it.
The door swung open and a middle-aged woman stood in the doorframe. She looked worn and tired, and maybe just a little annoyed. The elderly woman was so short she had to tilt her head to see the two. When her eyes finally focused on who was standing before her the women glowed. Her face now adorned a smile, which made her eyes disappear. The elderly woman motioned with an extremely wrinkled hand for her guests to come in.
Kagome lugged up her yellow pack and walked quickly and quietly into the small apartment. She looked behind her to make sure Souta was following. Kagome noticed the old woman looking Souta up and down, almost inspecting him. Kagome sat her yellow bag down and then smiled to the woman.
"Miu, would you mind if Souta and I stayed with you for a while? After the…incident, we don't have a place to go. I know I'm asking so much of you, but we would rather not stay at the shrine-" The woman, Miu, waved away her words and replied in a soft, yet somewhat rough, tone, "No, no problem at all. Stay as long as you wish, I understand dear. You take Kenta's room?" She was nodding furiously so Kagome could only smile and nod as well.
Miu helped them take their things to their new room. When they walked into said room Kagome was relieved to see how spacious it was. Sure, she wouldn't have minded sharing a small room with Souta, but a girl's gotta breath. The room was a pale blue with a natural hard wood floor. There was a modest sized closet, a waist-high bookshelf, and an old dresser. The first thing Kagome noticed was the single bed up against the wall. She pointed this out immediately. Miu just smiled and raised a pointed finger. She then turned swiftly out of the room, leaving the siblings with a dumb-founded expression on their faces.
To Souta and Kagome's relief, Miu came back moments later with a cot. Swift hands unfolded it and the younger two noticed it was a pasty brown with an ominous odor emanating from it. Kagome swiftly pointed a finger at Souta. He looked at her and was about to rebel when; instead, he gave a sigh. It was hard for Kagome to miss his eyes flickering to her belly. Ignoring this, Kagome gave a victorious smile and threw her bag on her new bed.
Later that night, Kagome was sprawled out on her newfound mattress. The dull blue pillow enveloped Kagome's petite head, but she embraced it. Her mind mentally reviewed the events that had unfolded these last couple of days. She couldn't help but feel so much less pressure now that she and Souta had a place to stay for a while. Kagome was confident that Miu would help her out, and she was also surprised she hadn't thought of the old woman sooner.
Kagome had met Miu only a dozen or so times, but each time they did she had been very kind. Miu had been a friend of Kagome's grandmother. Kagome remembered her grandmother tell stories of herself and Miu, they had attended college together and got into quite a bit of mischief. They kept in contact all the way up until Kagome's grandmother died. Miu had only one child, Kenta, who had moved away quite some time ago. Kenta's father had passed away a year or two after he moved. Miu was the perfect candidate for hospitality.
A curious smell wafted under Kagome's nose. She lifted her head and could then hear Miu cooking up a storm in the kitchen, which made her feel guilty. So, she sat up and quickly stretched before going to the kitchen to see if she needed help. Miu agreed and Kagome got to work chopping up carrots and peeling potatoes.
It wasn't long until Miu had struck up a conversation. "So, how long do you plan on staying?" Kagome cringed just thinking about it. She had gone over what she would tell the woman numerous times in her mind. But now that the time had come she didn't know if she wanted to lie to the woman. It was because of her kindness they now had a place to stay, she deserved to know the truth. Didn't she?
"Well, there is only one more month of school left and then I graduate. After that I have this…internship in a city only a couple of hours from here. So, I will be back on some weekends. As for Souta…well, until I get enough money to buy a place of our own, do you mind…if he could stay here? I know, it's so much to—," Kagome's pleading was cut off by a simple, "He can."
Through this whole conversation the woman's back had been to Kagome. The hunched back turned and Kagome saw a smile on her face. A smile that said so much more than any words could.
"Souta, come. Supper is ready."
Kagome tapped her pencil against her desk then bit on the eraser. She looked around the classroom and to her annoyance found that everyone was focused on his or her test. Her teeth ground together but she tried to start hers. After a few questions had gone by Kagome had had enough. Her hand rose swiftly into the air. The teacher looked up and called her up. Kagome quickly left her seat and went up to the teacher. Below he breath she asked for permission to use the rest room. The teacher sighed and agreed.
Kagome rapidly walked out of the classroom, nearly ran through the hallway, down the stairs and took a sharp left. Then Kagome stopped and looked through the window into a classroom. Sitting in the second desk in the third row, was Souta. Kagome sighed and leaned against the door, making sure it made no noise against her weight. She waited until she got his attention, and gave a minute wave, then left. An unfinished test was waiting for her.
It had been three weeks since they had moved in with Miu. The last week Kagome has gotten sick almost every morning. Before the wave of nausea hits her Kagome turns on the shower. She didn't want to worry Miu, or have her asking twenty questions. The last thing Kagome needed was more questions. When she and Souta finally went back to school they received lots of sympathy. Kagome thought that she could handle all the memories, which she did, but what she couldn't handle was being away from Souta. Not being able to see him bothered her more than she thought possible. This made her realize that she couldn't be away from him for too long, or else she got worried, even when they were in school.
It finally occurred to Kagome that Souta would have to go back with her. This decision did not cause more stress, which she thought would happen, but instead, it allowed her to breathe a lot easier. Then again, what would she tell Miu? She decided that she would think about that later, what she did need to think about was actually getting through the rest of school. There was only a week left. It almost annoyed Kagome to go to school. Why bother? She wouldn't even need to take the entrance exam since she had no intention to further her education, even though that was what her mother and grandfather had wanted. It was really impractical for her to continue on into high school. Although it pained her to disobey their wishes, she really had no other option. Kagome was sure that her mother and grandfather would have understood her situation.
Kagome turned the knob and entered the classroom, bent on completing the test.
Kagome woke up early one morning, to the same pain she was hardly accustomed to. She rushed to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and hung her head over the toilet. 'Ugh! When is this morning sickness going to end?' Kagome put her hair in a high bun to get it out of her face. She pushed herself up off the floor and washed her face. Her nose picked up the smallest scent from the soup and she was back on her knees gripping the toilet bowl. Kagome felt so hot she was all but forced to take a cool shower.
While conditioning her hair Kagome thought back to last night, which had been her graduation. However, Kagome didn't do any celebrating. Instead of eating cake and thinking of her next step in her education, she came home and went to bed. Her stomach had felt anything but happy. Kagome did realize, on the other hand, that she was free. She had completed school, a feat in itself. Most teenagers would view this as a huge relief, but Kagome saw it only as a small stepping-stone. 'Now all I have to think about is raising a baby,' she thought sarcastically.
As if to confirm her worries, she fumbled out of the shower (extremely naked) and flung her head towards the toilet. She wanted to be strong; she wanted to act as if this wasn't bothering her. Kagome was born a carefree and loving person. Many people would describe her as an optimist, but her heart was feeling so heavy. Her eyes were always swollen from her tears. Her once toned body was in shambles, worry and depression having their way with her. Kagome knew she needed to find strength somewhere, but she was lost as to where. She wiped her mouth and stepped back under the cooling water.
Today was the day; today was the day that they would return to Feudal Japan. Kagome had told Miu that the place where she was interning would allow her brother to stay with her, which Miu had believed. So, before Kagome had crashed last night she packed her and Souta's belongings, which were small in scale. She wanted to arrive back early, for reason's unknown to her.
I am on a roll. Two updates within 7 hours. Phenomenal.
BTW, I would just love to say: THANK YOU! Thank you so so so much for taking your time to read my humble story. It honestly means so much to me.
Please review. I really, really, really do love it. More than most flavors of Starbursts. –mel
PostScript: If I make any sort of error regarding Japanese customs, please inform me right away. It's one of my goals to keep this story as accurate as possible. Thanks again!