Chapter 07 – Friends

"Is this your way how to come for a visit?" Sesshoumaru asked just to attract his attention. Inuyasha was standing in front of the entrance door which was now broken into pieces. He looked at us and responded without thinking.

"I didn't come for a visit, I came for Kagome!" He shouted.

"He doesn't get it, does he?" Shippo sighed.

"Seems so." I answered him in the same way.

"What are you talking about and who are those guys?" He asked me angrily.

"Jaken, take care about the door." Sesshoumaru ordered, ignoring Inuyasha's question.

"Yes, My Lord." He bowed and rushed somewhere into the house.

"Would you mind to stay here for a while? It's been a long time, since we last saw you." Sesshoumaru now turned to Inuyasha and waited for his answer. Though, Inuyasha didn't answer and just stared at us with wide eyes.

"Judging by his expression he finally got it." Shippo commented and I chuckled.

"Ok, I am quite tired so I am going to sleep. I am sure you have a lot of things you want to talk about. Wake me up in the morning." I yawned and left without waiting for their response. I fell asleep almost instantaneously and when Inuyasha came to wake me up in the morning, I felt like if I slept only a few minutes.

It was still dark outside, when we left the house and now we were walking through the city in silence.

"Why are you so grumpy, Inuyasha?" I broke the silence after a while.

"Yesterday you went to sleep only to keep me there, right?" He stated.

"I really was tired, but I would have managed if I had to." I said thoughtfully.

"I thought so..."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" I smiled at him, but he just growled.

"Will you tell me what were you talking about?" I tried to keep conversation.

"If you didn't go to sleep, you would have known that." He started to yell at me, so I responded him in the same way.

"If I didn't go to sleep, you would have forced me to leave with you and you wouldn't have talked at all." This argument would have probably continued much longer, if we wasn't stopped by the voice from behind us.

"Why am I not surprised, that you are arguing again already. You didn't even notice me approaching." Shippo stood there with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha yelled at him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"You left so early, that I didn't have the chance to say goodbye, so I decided to go to see you off." He smiled and Inuyasha growled. I am sure he intended to leave early exactly because he wanted to avoid them.

I chatted with Shippo cheerfully and Inuyasha was just following us in silence. We parted with him in front of the shrine and when we came to the well, Inuyasha finally said something.

"I can't stand him." He complained.

"Whom?" I asked. It was so sudden that at first I didn't have the slightest idea who is he talking about.

"Both of them." He stated and I finally realized what does he mean.

"Why? They were so nice all the time." I smiled at him, but he just frowned.

"That's the problem..." He looked away from me and I chuckled.

"So that's how it is. You just don't know how to deal with them, when they aren't acting like you are used to." He didn't respond.

"Is there something else?" I asked.

"It's nothing." He answered sighing. So there is something, definitely.

"What is it?" I demanded his answer.

"I already said that it's nothing." He now yelled at me and then jumped into the well. I decided, that it will be better not to bother him about it, at least for now, and followed him.

"Kagome, I am so glad you're back! Sango told me that you think that we abandoned you, but it's not true, we would never do such thing." Shippo cried running towards me.

"It's okay Shippo, I already know that." I tried to calm him down with smile.

"But, how?" He asked confused. I thought about it for a second and then told him kindly.

"One day you'll understand." Shippo just nodded to me, but I paused. Damn, I'm already even talking like Sesshoumaru.

"Kagome?" Miroku stepped closer to me after a while of walking.

"Hmm."

"What happened in your era? Inuyasha is acting strange since you returned." I looked behind us, Inuyasha was lagging behind all the time and he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"I don't know." I answered. "At first I thought, that it has something to do with the fact, that he met there with Sesshoumaru, but if it was only this, he would be more likely angry than this. They must have told him something, but I don't know what."

"They?" Sango joined the conversation.

"Yeah, Sesshoumaru or Shippo, or both of them. I went to sleep, so I didn't hear what they were talking about."

"Wait, you mean, Shippo is in your era too?" Miroku whispered with his hand covering his mouth, so the little fox walking at the front with Kirara, won't hear him.

"Yep." I smiled. "It was him, who told me what happened here after I left and he really helped me to improve my mood. And of course, he isn't a child anymore. Actually, he grew up into a really handsome man." I grinned at their startled faces.

"What handsome guy? Did you meet someone Kagome?" Shippo was standing in front of me with curiosity. Is this some kind of his ability to sneak so close to me without being noticed?

"It's just a friend of mine from my era." I answered him. I already confused enough people around me, so there's no need to do the same to him by telling him about his older self.

"Maybe we should start to search for a place where to spend the night." I looked at Sango questioningly. It was hardly noon right now, there's enough time until the nightfall and we can always just sleep outside. Not that I would prefer sleeping outside, but it wouldn't be for the first time.

"You're right." Miroku answered. "Tonight is the new moon, the night when Inuyasha loses his powers. It will be safer if we will stay somewhere inside." New moon, that's right, there was so many things happening around me, that I completely forgot about it.

"Yeah, but now we have Kagome, who can protect us." Shippo said happily and I smiled at him in agreement, but we were both stopped by Inuyasha.

"Because she can fight now doesn't mean that she has to." Inuyasha hit him to the head and he quickly hid behind me.

"Why did you do this Inuyasha?" I snarled at him. "He didn't say anything wrong. And don't make decisions for me. I can decide by myself what to do."

"Ok, that's enough you two." Miroku cut in and we both looked at him. "Quarrels won't solve anything. By the way, how can we be so sure, that you two don't lose your powers at the same time? Kagome, you discovered your powers just recently, but you are still a half-demon. It means that even you will be losing your powers in certain time. Do you know when?"

"No." I answered after a short while of thinking. "It didn't happen yet, but I don't think it will be tonight. I don't feel weaker than any other day." But that question started to bother me. When is it? The time when I will lose my powers?

"Well, as long as we don't know it for sure, we can't rely on Kagome's powers. And Inuyasha is right." Sango now turned at me. "You don't have your powers for long and I guess that you are not still completely used to them, so you shouldn't rush into the fight yet."

"Yeah, I know, and I am not going to rush into the fights, but I am not going to stay away either." I said firmly.

"It probably can't be helped, you are too stubborn to make you change your mind." Sango giggled and I joined her.

"Ok, let's go. You don't want to stay here all day, do you?" Inuyasha went around us and took the lead. Me and Sango glanced at each other with smile and then followed him.