CHAPTER SIX
Ayame
Even though Sakura and I just left here, it felt good to be back in the present. I didn't have to worry about anything and I could let my guard down for a change. Instead of going home first like usual, Sakura and I teleported to Kagome's house so she could pack her bags with what she needed.
"Wow, you got here a second faster than I did." Kagome climbed her ladder to get out of the well and I hopped in to get her bike up afterwards.
As we followed her out of the shrine and towards her house, I nudged Sakura to put her ears away. She quickly made them and her okurimono marking disappear and her eyes turned brown again. She smiled her thanks. Once she was herself it was easy for her to forget to transform back to human form when needed.
"I'm home!" Kagome walked into the house and removed her shoes. Sakura and I did the same to show our respects.
"Hello, Kagome. Back so soon?" Her mother said as we walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I need more supplies before we head out tomorrow. Mom, these are my new friends Sakura and Ayame Tsuyotomi.
Kagome's mother smiled at us and we waved our hellos.
"Did you say Tsuyotomi?" We turned to see a short old man turning the corner into the kitchen.
Kagome sighed and had a silly annoyed look on her face. "I did, Grandpa."
"Are these really the Tsuyotomi sisters?"
"Yes, but please, no talismans." Kagome held her hands up in our defense. "They are, of course, good demons."
"Do talismans really work?" Sakura whispered.
"When they come from Miroku himself, they do." Kagome gave a nervous laugh.
"I have so many questions!" Kagome's grandfather held a finger in the air.
"Grandpa, they have groceries to get and they have to get back to the Feudal Era. That will have to wait." She said, reluctantly.
"Although, one of your questions has already been answered. The time travel part of our legend is true. You see we're here, right? We just can't travel through the well as Kagome can." I smiled and followed Kagome to her room, leaving her grandfather in awe.
"So beautiful." I heard him mutter.
After gathering the needed ingredients for tonight's dinner and some days ahead of us, we took Kagome to a small house right outside of the city that was built just for us by our parents when they were alive. I remember coming here as a child when they wanted to get away from the feudal world. This is where Sakura and I retreated to when we left for a long period of time to get our heads together.
A sense of calmness rushed over me as I entered the house. The air smelled of oranges and the AC blew cold air throughout all of the rooms. It was a one-leveled three bedroom two bathroom house with an attachment out back that Sakura spent a lot of time in when she was doing her paintings. For it to be small on the outside, it was pretty spacious inside.
"This is neat." Kagome looked around and joined me in the kitchen as I started to season the seafood for dinner. She watched as I had thawed the seafood through its plastic packaging with my hands. The curious look on her face was too cute. "Can I help?"
"Sure. Would you mind chopping the vegetables and heating those two pans with a little oil?" I asked, motioning to the stove.
"So, what are you making?"
"A seafood medley Lo Mein. It's Sakura's favorite. I hope it cheers her up some. She seems out of it."
"Oh. I've never heard of Lo Mein before. What is it?"
"A Chinese noodle dish. You can make whatever kind you want. Vegetable, seafood, chicken, beef. I'm making more than enough. You're welcome to however much you want." I offered.
Kagome smiled and poured olive oil into a pan and turned on the stove to medium heat. "Thank you."
There was silence for a moment and I heard the shower water come on a few minutes after the washing machine in the hallway closet started up.
"I really hope Sakura will be alright. Inuyasha really can be such a jerk."
"Trust me, she'll be fine. She can be the ultimate asshole too. These circumstances are just lame right now." I laughed. I stepped over to the stove and began placing shrimp, scallops and chopped lobster into the heated oil. "So, tell me, how long have you all been in search of Naraku?" I asked, preparing the noodles.
Kagome stopped chopping the vegetables and looked into the air and thought about her answer. "I'd have to say it's been about a year and a half now." She finished the vegetables and stood to the side and let me finish cooking the rest of the food. "We've come across him and fought before, but that was nothing really since he ran away. So after that, it's been a while."
"I'll say." I flipped some of the scallops over, keeping a close eye on them so they wouldn't burn. "Since Sakura and I will be helping you, maybe it won't take much longer."
"I hope not. We should be getting closer because we've collected most of the jewel shards." She pulled a small bottle out of her shirt that was tied to a thin rope around her neck and looked at the jewel shards that were in her possession so far. "Collecting even more will lead us to Naraku or the other way around since they're what he's after."
I removed the scallops from the pan and threw the vegetables in to replace them and shuffled all of the ingredients together. "Could you chop those for me?" I asked Kagome of the scallops.
She nodded. "Sure. This stuff really smells good."
She was boosting my ego. I knew I could cook but I still loved to get compliments. "Wait till you taste it."
While I finished up the meal, I got to learn Kagome a little more. She was a really sweet girl. Very charismatic and intelligent. At only 17 years old the only flaw in her life is traveling back and forth between the present and the past. Her grandfather would come up with all sorts of illnesses to excuse her absence from school while she traveled to the Feudal Era to help collect the jewel shards and fight by her friends. Loyalty was definitely a strong characteristic in her personality.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" As soon as the question slipped out, I regretted it. It was very unlike me to ask personal questions to someone I just met. Being back home was starting to make me very comfortable. Because I didn't have anything to worry about and I let my guard down, I acted a lot like my sister. I shook my head at myself and looked over to see Kagome blushing and playing with her fingers.
"Nope. No boyfriend."
"But…you like someone?"
"Well, there's actually two people."
"Playa, playa." I smiled, making her laugh.
"One guy is here. His name is Hojo and he goes to my school. He's really sweet. The only thing is, he isn't as tough as I would wish for him to be. But, that's okay I guess. There isn't really any trouble in the time and when there is, he at least tries to be tough. I'll give him that much. The other guy is Koga. He's the leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe back in the Feudal Era. He's arrogant as ever, but he protects me and he's funny. His friends already call me their sister."
She gushed over him. She must like this guy the most. It's almost too obvious. "Will you stay here in the present once the jewel is full again?"
She gave a small sigh. "I'm not really sure. I love being in the Feudal Era but I miss being home. I guess it's just one of those things I'll have to figure out along the way." She shrugged. "What about you?"
I flinched. "What about me?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?" She poked.
"Heheh, hell no! No boyfriend for me."
Kagome crossed her arms and bumped her hip against mine. "Oh? You have your eye on someone as well?
I turned off the stove and mixed the seafood, veggies and noodles together and added a seasoned sauce to top everything off. "A boyfriend is the least of my worries." I shook my head. "If he comes along, I'll be sure to let you know."
"Mm, I feel so much better! That shower was the best! I smell seafoooood."
Sakura came around the corner dressed in a large white long-sleeved t-shirt with black designs on it and some jean shorts.
"If you didn't have a nose you'd still smell food." I sweat-dropped. She tried to sneak a piece of shrimp from the wok but I popped her hand with my metal chopsticks. "Hands off. We're about to leave."
"Aw, but it's my favorite." Her ears drooped low with her shoulders.
"Which is why I made it, but wait until we get back to the Feudal Era. I made enough for the rest of our new friends, too."
Sakura crossed her arms and turned to leave as I put a portion of Kagome's food in a bowl for her.
"Thanks, Ayame."
"Don't mention it."
"I gotta get going. See you guys in the morning!"
"See ya later, Kagome!" Sakura and I waved at her from the front door. "Now, I'm going to take my shower. Don't touch any of this food or I will kill you…and you will go to bed hungry." I threated Sakura. She was lying on the couch eating a container of potato chips and reading a book. She tore her eyes away from the page long enough to laugh at what I said and stick her tongue out at me.
"I mean it, Sakura!" I said, going into my room.
"Yeah, yeah!"