The trio entered the house, only to be greeted with a smiling woman. Ralph's mother.
"Ah, you're back from school. And who's this?" Ralph's mum looked at Kagome.
"Hello, Mrs Rhodes!" Kagome smiled sweetly. "I'm Kagome Higurashi, I recently moved here and befriended your son." Mrs Rhodes looked at the girl in surprise.
"What a polite young girl. I hope you boys don't corrupt her." Mrs Rhodes sent the two boys a warning look. "Ralph, your father is in the living room, go and say hello." Ralph nodded.
"Will do, mum." He stated, walking over to a door and entering with Kagome and Henry following. "Hey, Dad." Ralph greeted. The man looked up and smiled at his son. Kagome was shocked at how they looked so alike.
"Hello, Ralph! Have a good day at school?" Mr Rhodes said. "And who is this? Don't tell me, you have a girlfriend now?" He smirked. Kagome and Ralph both blushed. Before they could deny it, Henry spoke up.
"Oh, no they're not. But I would ship it." He grinned.
"Shut up, Henry!" Kagome exclaimed, crossing her arms. Henry laughed.
"Only joking!" Henry held up his hands in defence. Kagome and Ralph both glared at the boy. Mr Rhodes chuckled, watching the three friends with amusement. Kagome moved a strand of hair behind her ear before turning to Ralph's father and bowing.
"I'm Kagome Higurashi and no, I am not in a romantic relationship with your son. We are only friends." Kagome insisted, sending a look to Henry who looked innocent.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome." Mr Rhodes replied, watching the girl straighten her back. "It's a bit of a shame, really. I wouldn't mind having a girl like you as a daughter-in-law." Kagome coughed awkwardly.
"Oookay, Dad, we're going." Ralph said, grabbing his two friends and pulling them out of the living room and up the stairs. "That was awkward."
"Your dad seems to like shipping us." Kagome shook her head in exasperation.
"Erm, shipping?" Ralph looked at Kagome in confusion.
"Well, there are things where people like the thought of two people being a couple. That's called a ship." Kagome explained. "Plus, it doesn't exactly help that you grabbed Henry by the arm but you grabbed me by the hand." Ralph paused and looked back at her again. Kagome raised an eyebrow and lifted her left hand which was being held by Ralph's right. Ralph quickly let go of her hand and released Henry's arm.
"Oh, that definitely doesn't help." He laughed nervously. Kagome released a quiet laugh of her own. Henry cleared his throat.
"If you two are done flirting, shall we head on?" Henry grinned mischievously when Ralph and Kagome blushed. They wordlessly entered Ralph's room in an awkward silence before discussing the strange way Margaret was acting.
"So, Margaret seemed like she wanted to keep me away from you guys all day. I wonder why?" Kagome hummed in confusion.
"I don't like it." Henry replied. "Ralph and I think she's up to something."
"Really?" Kagome looked at the two boys. "I wonder why?"
"We don't know and its really annoying." Ralph crossed his arms, concentrating. Kagome looked at him before sitting on his bed, swinging her legs. Ralph gulped softly as it processed in his brain. The only female to ever enter his room was his mother and now Kagome was in here and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He cleared his throat. "I don't like it either. She might be planning something bad."
"Aww, are you guys worried about me being used?" Kagome teased, still swinging her legs back and forth, the end of the fabric of her Black skirt fluttering at her knees. "That's sweet, you two, but I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, I'm not five years old."
"Yeah, but-" Henry was cut off.
"No buts. I'm a black belt and I can use a bow and arrows. Not to mention, since I was six, I've been learning how to use a katana and a steel fan." Kagome smiled brightly at the two boys. They looked very impressed.
"Woah, that's so cool, Kagome!" Henry said, grinning. Kagome giggled softly.
"Thank you, Henry!" She responded, her legs still moving.
"You've got to teach us." Ralph said in awe. Kagome tapped her chin, humming in thought and looking at the ceiling.
"That's a good idea, Ralph! It'll be fun." Kagome looked at him and sent him a smile. Ralph felt his cheeks burn at the look on her face. He covered it up by smiling at her.
"It would be great fun. I'd like to try and use a katana."
"Oh, it's absolutely wonderful! If you watch closely, it looks and feels like a sort of dance, twirling and dodging your enemies while thrusting your sword forward and around." Kagome spoke fondly, a distant sound in her voice and a far away look in her eye. She sighed blissfully. "I love to use a katana and a steel fan. I just feel so free when I practice."
"It sounds great." Ralph smiled gently at the girl.