"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Oh I invited him for dinner," Mrs. Higurashi said, setting an extra plate at the table. "I hope you're hungry Inuyasha; I made a lot of food. Sota, Father, dinner is ready."
"Hey Inuyasha, I didn't know you were here," Sota said as he walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.
"Demon!" Kagome's grandfather yelled, throwing one of his "sacred sutras" at Inuyasha's head.
Inuyasha peeled the paper off of his head, looking more than a little annoyed. "Hey old man, I thought I asked you-"
"Grandpa you can't throw your sutras at Inuyasha every time he comes here!" Kagome exclaimed, her face flush with frustration.
"Sorry about that," Grandpa replied, "it's a reflex."
"Keh, good thing your stupid sutras don't work," Inuyasha replied, crossing his arms. "If it was one of Miroku's sutras then I might be in trouble."
"What do you mean they don't work?" Grandpa exclaimed. "These are sacred sutras that have been handed down through generations of this family."
"Grandpa we've heard this story before," Sota groaned, putting his head on the table.
"Now now everyone calm down. It's time for dinner," Mrs. Higurashi said, placing the last dish on the table.
"Food!" Inuyasha and Sota said simultaneously, picking up their chopsticks.
After dinner, Inuyasha followed Kagome upstairs, plopping himself on her bed.
"So what did you do today Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she sat in her desk chair.
Inuyasha's mind thought back to his long day. After he had retrieved his mother's ring and placed it in a more convient location, he spent the afternoon chopping down more trees for his and Kagome's hut. 'Keh by the time I finish building this hut, there won't be any trees left in the forest.' But Inuyasha found immense pleasure in building his own home. He had spent so many years without a place to call his own; building the house that would protect him and Kagome and maybe even their pups if they chose to have them filled him with happiness. Inu-demons took great pride in protecting their mates and Inuyasha was no exception, even if Kagome wasn't officially his mate yet. His demon side chose her and would except no one else, even if Kagome did reject him.
"Inuyasha," Kagome called, waving her hand in front of his eyes. "Earth to Inuyasha."
"What are you doing wench?" he asked, grabbing her hand gently.
"You zoned out on me when I asked what you did today so I was trying to get your attention," she replied, lacing her fingers between his.
Inuyasha tried to fight back butterflies as he felt Kagome's fingers interlace with his. "I didn't do much, just relaxed in the forest. How did your school thing go?"
Kagome sighed, shaking her head. "Not so good. Every time I think I'm catching up, they introduce something new and I'm completely lost again. I might need a miracle to pass my tests next week." Kagome's heart sunk at the thought of having to spend the entire summer in school. She wanted to be able to spend time in the feudal era with everyone and finally stop worrying about class.
"Do you think you can catch up to your class if you study really hard?" Inuyasha asked worriedly.
"Maybe. It'll take a lot of work but I think I might be able to pull it off. It just means a lot of days studying in the library and a lot of late nights studying," Kagome groaned.
"Well then get to work," Inuyasha said, unwillingly letting go of her hand. "I don't want you to complain all summer about your stupid school thing."
"You're right," Kagome sighed, going back to her desk. "Just don't fall asleep on my bed again."
"You weren't complaining when you were cuddled close to me," Inuyasha said softly, covering his mouth as it slipped out. 'I've been spending too much time around the monk,' he thought worriedly, hoping Kagome didn't hear him.
But she did hear him; she was in too much shock to respond properly to him. So she chose not to respond to him, trying to focus on her work instead.
Inuyasha and Kagome fell into an easy pattern that suited them both. Every day they would have breakfast together and Inuyasha would take her to school. While Kagome was at school, Inuyasha would go back to the feudal era and work on building their home. He enjoyed planning the layout of their home, where each room was going to be and how big everything would be. Once the sun set Inuyasha would go to the modern era and have dinner with Kagome and her family. After dinner Kagome would do some studying and Inuyasha would fall asleep with Kagome joining her when she was done her schoolwork. It was a simple schedule that worked for both of them.
When Kagome began her week of finals, Inuyasha didn't return back to the feudal era; instead he went looking for Mrs. Higurashi. "Mom," Inuyasha said uncertainly as he walked into the living room, still unused to calling her that.
"Yes Inuyasha?" she replied, coming down the stairs.
"I've brought Kagome's ring." Inuyasha pulled the small black box out of his robe, holding it out to her.
"Can I see it?" she asked, reaching for the box. Inuyasha nodded, hoping she would approve of the ring. Mrs. Higurashi gasped as she opened the box, alarming him. "Oh it's beautiful Inuyasha; Kagome will love it,"
Inuyasha sighed in relief, all of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely positive. All it really needs is to be cleaned properly. We can go now if you'd like," she said with a smile. "But you'd have to change."
"Into what?" Inuyasha asked cautiously.
"I bought you some clothes to wear; follow me," she said, walking back up the stairs.
A few minutes later...
Inuyasha left the shrine with Mrs. Higurashi, dressed in a loose fitting pair of jeans and a red shirt. His regular baseball hat covered his dog-ears. His hand rested protectively over the pocket that held Kagome's ring as Mrs. Higurashi led him down the street. He still couldn't get used to the weird things in Kagome's time: the weird smoky smell that always lingered in the air, the weird metal things that sped down the streets, the delicious and sometimes disgusting smells that surrounded them. Sometimes he wondered why Kagome always insisted on coming back.
"Inuyasha, we're here," Mrs. Higurashi said, stopping in front of a store Inuyasha had never been in before. The window front was filled with jewelery: gold bracelets, silver necklaces, multicolored jewels that Inuyasha had never seen before. He followed Mrs. Higurashi into the store silently, looking at the jewelery in the showcases. 'Would Kagome prefer something like these?' he wondered.
"Hello, can I help you?" an older man asked from behind the counter.
"We'd like to have a ring cleaned please," Mrs. Higurashi said, gesturing to Inuyasha. Inuyasha took out the ring box, setting it on the counter. He resisted the urge to grab the ring back as the old man reached for it, opening the box carefully.
"My, this is a lovely ring," the man said, looking closely at it. "It won't be a problem to clean it; you can pick it up tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Why can't you do it now?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.
"Because I have other orders that need to be tended to young man. You can pick it up at this time tomorrow and pay for it then."
"That sounds perfect," Mrs. Higurashi said, grabbing Inuyasha's hand. "We'll be back tomorrow then."
"But but but," Inuyasha stammered as he was pulled outside. "How do we know nothing is going to happen to Kagome's ring? That old man could be a thief for all we know!" he exclaimed.
"Inuyasha don't worry; you can trust him." Inuyasha growled softly, looking back at the store. "If the man turns out to be a thief you can destroy his store tomorrow okay?" she said, trying to pacify him.
"Fine," Inuyasha replied, turning away from the store.
"Come on I need to do some grocery shopping; you can carry the bags," Mrs. Higurashi said cheerfully. Inuyasha suppressed a groan. 'The things I'd do for Kagome and the family.' Inuyasha wondered momentarily when everyone stopped being Kagome's family and just started being family. He shook his head, following close to Kagome's mother and letting the thoughts drift away.
Author's note: Isn't this a cute scene with Inuyasha and Kagome's mom ^_^ reviews/comments/opinions are greatly appreciated.