Take Two

Chapter 3

“Kagome?”

Her mother’s voice was soothing, chasing away the last vestiges of her peculiar dream.  Propping herself up on her elbows, Kagome shook her head carefully.  “Oh, Mama. I had such a…”  Opening her eyes, her voice trailed off.

“Such a what, Kagome-chan?” Mama asked, adjusting her daughter’s pink blanket.

Damn.  I’m still fifteen.  “Uhm, a headache.  I had a really bad headache, but I think it’s gone now.  What happened?”

“That nice Houjou-kun brought you up the stairs.  The poor boy was very worried; he’s waiting downstairs to be sure you’re all right.  And it was quite a challenge to convince him to stay down there.  He was going on for a minute about parking himself next to your bed.”  Mama’s eyes were narrowing in that ‘tell-me-what’s-going-on’ look.

“Uhm…”  He’s going to be your son-in-law wasn’t going to go over well at all.  Not for a few years, at least.  “He’s just a friend, Mama.  I probably gave him a good scare, fainting on him like that.”

“And just why were you fainting?”  Her expression switched to ‘worried-mother.’   “Kagome, I hope you know you can talk to me about anything.  I’d rather hear something you might think is unpleasant rather than have you deal with it alone.”

“I know, Mama.  Everything’s fine.  I just… I skipped lunch studying, and I didn’t feel that great this morning to begin with.  It’s probably just a 24-hour bug or something.”  She sat up and slid her feet over the edge of the bed, waiting to make sure her head wasn’t going to start spinning again.  “I’m okay, Mama,” she insisted as her mother’s hand pressed her head, checking her for a fever.  “I should thank Houjou-kun for bringing me home.”  She stood slowly, then, once certain everything was going to stay where it belonged, headed for the door.

“Kagome-chan,” Mama started.

“I’m fine, Mama, really,” she insisted, slapping on her best fake smile before slipping out the door and down the stairs.


“Kagome?”

Inuyasha’s head was hanging out the living room door before Kagome was halfway down the stairs.

“Hai.  Daijoubu, Inuyasha,” she said before he could ask.  ‘Come on,’ she gestured, head tilting toward the door.  “I’m going out for some fresh air, Mama,” she called.

“Oh, Kagome, I don’t know…”

“I’ll be fine, Mama.  Houjou-kun will come with me.  We’ll stay on the grounds. I promise.”

“I promise to take very good care of her, Higurashi-san,” Inuyasha called, eyes locked on Kagome.  Grabbing her hand, he followed her down the hall before Kagome’s mother could protest further.


The bench was in its old familiar place, shadowed by the Goshinboku, and Kagome dropped onto it gratefully, watching through her lashes as Inuyasha stared at the great tree, going so far as to step over the low fence to place a reverent hand on the trunk.  “It’s almost exactly the same,” he breathed.  “I can never get over that.”  He stroked the rough bark once more, then his eyes met hers.  “What happened, Kagome?”

She shrugged helplessly.  “I don’t know.  This morning, I thought you’d forgotten everything, or you had never known it.  Then, what you said, ‘because of you is a wonderful reason…’”  She shivered slightly.  “I remember when you said it before.  Or will say it….  This is so damned confusing.”  She groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

He was beside her on the bench in an instant, rubbing a reassuring hand along her spine.  “I know.  To be honest, I don’t think I did remember anything before you mentioned the well.  Then it just started coming through in bits and pieces, and I knew I had to talk to you about it.  And when you touched me…”

“You felt that, too?”

“How could I not feel that?  Like sticking my hand in a light socket.  It all just hit me,” he explained.

“And I’m the one that fainted.”  Kagome let out an uneasy chuckle.  “So now what?” she asked, sitting up and pushing her bangs back off her face.

“Damned if I know.”  His fingers threaded absently through hers.  “The well, I guess?”  He stood, and she was pulled along with him.  “How much do you remember, Kagome?  Are there any holes you can think of, anything missing?”

Kagome cast her mind back over her past, pushing her bangs back once again with her free hand as Inuyasha led her across the shrine grounds.  “Not really.  I don’t remember every individual day, but I don’t think there are any major blank areas.  How would I know, anyway?”

“Yeah, I know.  How do you know you don’t know something?  Good question.”

“I don’t think we have time to ponder the theoretical possibilities, Professor Houjou.  What about you?  Any gaps?”

He nodded, mouth pressed into a grim line.  “I think so, yeah.  As you say things, they fit into place, but I don’t think I could drag up the memories on my own.”

“So it’s me, then,” Kagome said after a minute.  “Whatever is happening is centered on me, right?”

“I guess.  I only got through physics by the skin of my teeth, and that seems to be where this fits.”  He squeezed her hand softly.  “This is nice, walking out here and holding your hand.”  He pulled her closer.  “I don’t want to forget this moment.”

She could hear the unspoken hesitation.  “But?”

“But,” he agreed.  “But we have to do something about this.  As much as I like this, it’s not right.”

Kagome looked over to the hokora that hid the well.  “Yeah.  I know.  Are we sure this isn’t a really bizarre, realistic dream?”

Inuyasha’s cheeks flushed pink.  “When I’m lucky enough to dream about you, Kagome, this is definitely not what’s happening.”

Kagome felt her cheeks heat as well.  “Yeah.  I know the feeling.  Damn fifteen-year-old body.”

“No kidding.  Do you still have the Jewel?” he asked, dragging them back to the point.

Kagome rubbed a hand over her side and nodded.  “Yeah.  I don’t really want to get too close to the well yet.  Don’t want to set it off before I’m ready.”

“’You’re ready?’  You mean ‘we,’ right?”

She rolled her eyes.  “How’s that going to look, Inuyasha, the two of us disappearing at the same time?  I’m going to have to go alone.”

“Kagome…”

“No, Inuyasha.  Unless you can think of some other way to get everything straightened out, it has to be this way.  And I’m going to need you here, in school, so you can help me keep up.”  She smiled wanly, cupping his cheek.  “You’re a great teacher, Inuyasha.  I’ll need you here, to teach me.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.  Besides, how on earth could I manage two of you at once?”

Inuyasha grimaced.  “Especially if I’m going to be such a jerk again?  Kagome, listen, I don’t like this plan, but I can’t think of anything better.  If by some stroke of luck, I remember this on the other side, try to change things.  I don’t want to put you through all that pain again.  If I don’t…”  He stopped and took a deep breath.  “If I don’t, please, forgive me.  I never, ever, wanted to hurt you, I swear.”  The setting sun turned his hair the color of flames.  “I love you, Kagome.  I always have, and always will, love you.”  He leaned down, brushing her lips with a quick, chaste kiss.  “Do me one favor?” he asked.

Her face was on fire with the intimacy of the moment.  “What?”

“Try not to sit me so much?”

She giggled.  “I’ll do my best.”

“Good.”  He disentangled their hands, stepping back.  “Stay out here for a few more minutes.  I don’t want to have to say good-bye.  I’ll just get my bag from the house and go, okay?”

She nodded, trying to keep back her tears.  The raging hormones of a teen-ager were exhausting.  “Okay.  Ja ne, Houjou-kun.”

“Ja ne, Higurashi.  Call me when you get back.”

She nodded, only letting her tears fall when he was too far away to see them.

---

Chapter 2
Chapter 4

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