A/N: Hi peoples! I was working on another fic but due to my very restless nature I dropped it when I got this idea, which I thought was much better! So please enjoy the story and R/R!!!!
Disclaimer: Even if I did own Inuyasha, why would I share him with any of you?!
Don't Say a Word
Chapter 1: Open Eyes, Closed Mouth
"WHAT?!" Inuyasha sputtered angrily, as Kagome scurried around the room gathering the odds and ends she had brought along with her to the Feudal Era.
"Only for a few days! Besides, I haven't seen Mama, Souta, or Jii-chan for over a week and I'm sure they miss me!" Kagome reasoned with him, folding some of the clothes she had brought along with her and placing them neatly in her yellow bag.
"Besides Inuyasha! Don't you want Kagome to stock up on more Ramen?" Sango added, knowing the weakness he possessed for the noodles Kagome brought back every time she went home.
At hearing this, Inuyasha's ears perked, which signified to both girls that the battle had been one.
"Only for a few days!" He cut in quickly, before they had time to celebrate.
"Don't worry Inuyasha, I wont be long!" Kagome replied happily, dismissing his attempts to discourage her.
"Why would I be worried about a dumb human like you!" he retorted, crossing his arms at the two girls.
"Oh Okay!" Kagome replied smartly, "Then I guess you won't mind if I stay for a month or two…"
"ONLY A FEW DAYS!" Inuyasha boomed at her, giving away his true intentions a bit subconsciously.
"I'm just joking…" Kagome said, rolling her eyes at him as she hauled her large, obviously over filled pack over her shoulder, proceeding to push aside the door hanging.
Lively shatter filled the forest, as the small group made their way towards the bone-eaters well. Sango usually saw Kagome off when she was leaving, and was glad to accompany her to the short walking distance to the well. Inuyasha on the other hand, was brooding childishly, lagging behind and shooting glares at the two girls who were laughing and joking merrily.
Even though it was nice for him to see Kagome in such high spirits, he did not nor EVER wanted to make it clear.
As Inuyasha walked on, a few feet behind Kagome and Sango, he noticed that their voices were hushed, and they were leaning suspiciously closer to each other.
"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Inuyasha called at them, annoyed at their girly antics.
"Why me of course." A sly voice replied, catching up to the group.
Sango rolled her eyes at the monk, who grinned and winked at her, causing a slight blush to creep up the young woman's cheeks.
"Kagome are you leaving already?!" Shippo cried, sitting on Miroku's shoulder.
Kagome turned, and walked back towards Miroku, lifting Shippo from his shoulder.
"Don't worry Shippo, I will be back in a few days!" She reassured the small kitsune, who squeezed Kagome around the neck.
Realizing that they had arrived at the bone-eater's well, she handed Shippo to Sango and tossed her bag over the edge.
"See you guys in a couple of days!" She called at them, waving merrily.
"You better be back here in a week or else I'll drag you out!" Yelled Inuyasha, who had been quiet the remainder of the walk.
Kagome smiled at him slightly and rolled her eyes, before descending down the dark well, back to her own time.
***************
"Mama! Souta! Jii-chan! I'm home!" She called as she removed her shoes and stepped through the door into her home.
Eager to see her family, she quickly dropped her bag and scooted down the hall.
As she neared the kitchen, she could make out a distinct male voice that was unfamiliar to her and her mother's quiet, agreeable voice answering back readily.
As she slid open the Shoji, and stepped into the warm kitchen, she finally saw the man to whom the voice belonged.
"Kagome! I'm so glad your back!" Her mother exclaimed, a huge smile crossing her jovial face.
As she reached out to embrace her daughter, the man gave a low chuckle. His voice was strange and deep, one that Kagome at once did not like.
"Oh My! Forgive me for being so rude.." Kagome's mother said rather hurriedly.
"Kagome, this is Mr. Toda." She introduced, pushing Kagome forward slightly.
"Kagome, I must say I have heard much about you." He said slyly, in a tone that Kagome did not like. He extended a large, knuckly hand and shook Kagome's hand in a rather daunting way.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Toda." She replied stiffly, retracting her hand rather quickly after he had shook it. He was a very tall, muscular man and his hand was about as big as Kagome's face.
"Mr. Toda will be staying for dinner Kagome, and I hope you two will become friends!" Her mother said, rather enthusiastically. Kagome merely smiled politely, for her mother's sake, and ran off to find Souta.
Kagome found Souta, sitting at his desk, doing his schoolwork. Souta, not realizing that she had entered, resumed doing his schoolwork as Kagome sat her self on his bed. The bed creaked loudly, and Souta jumped slightly and spun around.
"Hey Sis!" he exclaimed, genuinely happy to see his sister. "How long are you back for?" He asked, almost warily as if he had something else on his mind.
"Only for a few days, a week at the most." She replied, her eyes wandering to a large remote control airplane lying on the shelf next to his desk.
"Hey…where'd you get this?" She asked, picking it up gently giving it a once over.
"Oh! Kagewa-san gave it to me!" He explained, tapping his pencil on his desk.
"Kagewa-san?" She questioned, hoping with all her heart that it wasn't the intruder in her kitchen.
"Mama and him really get along well! This is the second time he has come over for dinner!" Souta explained, seemingly liking this 'Kagewa' person.
Kagome set the airplane down sharply, causing the shelf to rattle and shudder.
"Hey! Don't do that sis! It might break or something…" Souta cried, shaking his pencil at her warily.
Suddenly the door opened, and Mama poked her head through.
"Dinner is going to be ready in 10 minutes!" She said as she took off her apron, revealing a light spring dress with a pink floral design on it. "Kagome why don't you change dear. I made a special dinner just for the four of us!"
"The four of us?" Kagome questioned, looking to Souta who had set his airplane out on the floor to play with it.
"Where's Jii-chan?" She asked, noting that she hadn't seen him since she got home.
"He's out tonight…visiting Mr. Ichigawa in the hospital." Her mother answered hesitantly.
"Mr. Ichigawa is very sick and Grandpa went to go give him a batch of herbal tea he made." She continued, fluffing her hair with one hand, almost in the manner of a teenage girl getting ready for her first date.
"Mama you shouldn't have let him gone. Jii-chan could also catch the sickness" Kagome sighed, wondering if her mother had something else on her mind.
"I warned him against it but do you think he would listen to me? Speaking of Grandpa…. Why don't you wear that nice dress he bought you a few months ago? I haven't seen you wear it yet…" Her mother replied quickly, dismissing the fact that Kagome had pointed out.
Kagome simply nodded, and left the room, upset at the fact that her mother had let Jii-chan go to visit Mr. Ichigawa.
'What was she thinking??' Kagome thought irritably.
As soon as Kagome stepped into her room and closed the door, she immediately stretched out onto her bed and sighed.
'I wish that man would just go away.' She thought, not even taking time to rationalize the situation.
Realizing that dinner would be very soon, she begrudgingly got up and opened her closet, taking a blue and green spring dress off of a hanger in the very back of her closet.
After she had set the dress out, she again sat on her bed and began to scratch Buyo.
"Buyo Buyo…" She said, in a singsong voice as the cat purred madly, rubbing his face against her hand.
"I should have trained you as an attack cat! Then you would scare off that man downstairs…." She sighed and patted that cat once more, before a knock interrupted her relaxation.
"Sis! Hurry up! Dinner's ready!" Souta reminded her, not once ceasing the knocking.
"Hold on! I'll be out in a minute!" She called,
"Mama says to hurry up!" Souta replied, rapping a tune on the door.
"Okay, I said in a minute!" She yelled back at him, getting slightly agitated and the annoying tunes he was rapping on her door.
She quickly pulled the dress over her head and ran her hands through her hair to smooth it from when she had been lying on the bed.
"Here we go…." She muttered as she slipped on a pair of slippers and exited her room.
***********
"Kagome you're not eating." Her mother said quietly, ceasing the discussion she had been holding with 'Kagewa-san' for over 30 minutes.
"I'm not very hungry Mama.." Kagome replied, poking around her dish with her mother's 'special occasion only' chopsticks.
There was a slight silence and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Souta chewing his food in a way that little boys do.
"Souta eat with your mouth closed!" Her mother exclaimed, giving Souta a reprimanding look.
"Oh leave the boy alone." Kagawa interrupted a bit forcefully.
"Let boy's be boy's!" He exclaimed robustly, setting down his chopsticks and leaning back in his chair.
The way in which he had seated himself, eaten his food, and now leisurely sat in his chair made Kagome dislike him even more, as if he was actually welcome in her home.
"So Kagome…" He said suddenly, leaning forwards a bit in his chair.
"How do you like High school?" he asked, taking a small bowl of Sake from Kagome's mother as she handed it to him.
"It's fine." Kagome answered vaguely, receiving a reprimanding look from her mother.
"Are they teaching you any home economics?" He continued, setting down the sake cup, which was promptly refilled by Kagome's mother.
"They offer it but I am not taking it right now." Kagome answered, her reply a little more extensive.
"Hopefully you will come out to be just as accomplished in the household as your mother." He crooned, directing his gaze at Kagome's mother who blushed profusely.
Kagome could have thrown up.
"Actually I wish to become a doctor." Kagome said, setting down her chopsticks.
To Kagome's absolute disgust, the man let out a loud, ridiculing laugh and banged his fist on the table, causing it to shudder slightly.
"Leave the doctoring to us men!" He replied, winking at Souta who readied his wink just as fondly.
"You woman should just focus on being good housewives." He continued, giving and approval nod to Kagome's mother, who smiled nervously back.
Kagome was appalled. How could this man say such a thing?! And Mama! To agree and smile politely! Kagome could have overturned the table at the remarks this…intruder was making.
"Speaking of… The meal was excellent Seiko." The man continued, ignoring the glare's that Kagome was shooting at him.
SEIKO?!?!
'Why is he calling Mama by her first name?!?!' Kagome thought, panic and dread filling her up to her ears.
Her mother smiled sweetly, and became a bit flustered by his comment.
Kagewa just smiled ruefully, and stood up from the table.
"I must be going now, Good bye Seiko, Souta…Kagome." He said, stating her name in a very demeaning way.
"Kagome will you get started on the dishes while I see Mr. Toda off?" Her mother asked, putting on hand on Mr. Toda's arm and the other on the door handle.
Kagome nodded sullenly, and entered the kitchen glad that Mr. Toda was finally leaving.
*************
Kagome was washing the last dish when her mother walked in, her cheeks flushed from the evening chill.
"Kagewa-san is such a wonderful man!" her mother said, giving no time for Kagome to truly tell how she felt about him.
"It's nice having a man around to serve dinner to once in a while…" Her mother sighed, picking up a rag and smoothing it over a plate to dry it.
"What about Jii-chan." Kagome asked stiffly, placing the dish in front of her mother with more force than intended.
"Kagome…I know how you feel about things like this…but you couldn't possibly understand how I might feel." Her mother interrupted, putting down the rag and sitting down at the butcher-block in the kitchen.
"You know I get…. lonely sometimes." Her mother continued, wringing her hands in a nervous like manner.
Kagome remained quiet, and turned off the water picking up the rag her mother had abandoned. Kagome turned away from her mother and began to dry the dishes, as fast as she possibly could.
"Kagome I….." Her mother started, running her hands through her hair nervously.
"Jii-chan is old….he might not be around much longer and I….we…need someone to take care of us. Please Kagome…" Her mother stood as she saw Kagome set down the rag and make for the door.
Kagome had heard enough. She couldn't sit around and listen to her mother talk about Jii-chan's life span or the fact that they would need someone to 'take care of them.' She would not listen to any more.
Kagome quickly opened the shoji and closed it sharply, making sure that her mother knew that she did not want to be followed.
'Mama…. why are you so worried? We'll manage…. Somehow when that time comes…. we'll manage.'
***************
"Jii-chan, where's Mama?" Kagome asked as she entered the kitchen for breakfast. It was a very bright Sunday, and Kagome was in much better spirits than she was yesterday. She wanted to apologize for the way she acted yesterday due to the fact that she didn't want her mother to be upset.
Most of what her mother had said was true anyway, and the least that Kagome could do was to give him a chance.
"Ahh…She went to the park with Mr. Toda. I think she will be back soon." He replied, in a most unenthusiastic way.
At seeing the look on Kagome's face that she could not help one bit, he assumed that she felt the same way about Mr. Toda as he did.
"I advised her against it!" Jii-chan continued, setting down his teacup as he spoke.
"I don't trust that man…I am feeling bad omens coming from him!" He finally exclaimed, looking around the room in a suspicious way.
"Jii-chan…your imagining things again. The least we could do is give him a chance.." Kagome replied, lying to herself the entire time. She did not want to give this man a chance. But she had to, for the sake of her mother.
"Exactly what I say so I refuse to jump to any conclusions!" And with that, he stood and began to make say a ward to keep unlucky spirits away.
"Oh Jii-chan…!" Kagome laughed, shaking her head at her grandpa as she left the room.
"Bye the way! I'm going to go see a movie with Yuka today so I'll see you later!" She called back at him, sticking her head back through the Shoji.
"Ommmmm…..Alright…Have fun! Ommmmmm……." He replied, not once opening his eyes from his meditative state.
"Oh boy…" Kagome sighed as she closed the Shoji, and ran off to get ready.
****************
"Souta! Jii-chan! I'm home!" Kagome said loudly as she stepped through the front door.
"Hmm…. I guess no one is home." She concluded, peering into the family room and kitchen before starting to head upstairs.
Suddenly, she heard a loud noise coming from upstairs and raised voices.
'Souta probably has to TV too loud…' she thought, shaking her head slightly.
But the voices were that of adults, and at the sound of a male voice yelling, Kagome finally realized what was happening.
"Mama?" She called, suddenly bolting up the rest of the stairs, stopping quickly at her mother's door.
As soon as she stopped in front of the door, the voices went low and there was a few minutes of silence. Kagome laid her hand on the door, and was about to enter when the door was flung back, making a loud bam against the wall.
The scene that entered her wide eyes was one she would not forget.
Her mother was sitting in the corner of the room her hands over her face, random objects scattered the floor, many broken. But the most disturbing thing of all, was Mr. Toda, who was looming over Kagome with a most triumphant look plastered on his face.
Suddenly without warning, he shoved Kagome aside, and thundered down the stairs slamming the door behind him.
"Mama!" Kagome cried, as she dropped her purse and ran over to her mother's shaken form.
Her mother's face was teary, and she sported a small cut on her bottom lip.
"Mama…..what happened?" Kagome asked through clenched teeth.
"Kagome it was my fault…..I'm fine…It was my fault." Her mother replied shakily, picking up a small vase that had broken into two.
"Mama! How can you say that? It wasn't your fault! It's not your fault…" Kagome cried, grabbing her mother's hand.
"No Kagome it was my fault." Her mother replied quickly, not able to meet her daughter's eyes. Kagome could tell that something else was wrong, but hadn't the heart to ask her mother.
"I said something that made him angry so it was my fault! Kagome…please don't tell Souta or Jii-chan…. especially Jii-chan. Everything will work out….I know it will." Her mother said quickly, denying the true fearfulness that she felt.
At seeing the distressed state her mother was in, Kagome decided that it would be best if she remained quiet for now, for now only.
"Mama……" Kagome sighed, slowly standing to pick up the pieces of a shattered bowl that had scattered across the floor of her mother's room.
The fact that Kagome had decided to keep quiet would prove to be one of the biggest mistakes she would ever make.
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