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Chapter Eight
It had been two weeks since the girls went back to Kagome's time & Kagome was surprised to see that Inu Yasha had let them have this long, but then again, it wasn't like him at all so she was starting to get worried. During the first day they were back Catriona got a tattoo since she was of age & Kagome went in the room with her to watch until she got grossed out & left to sit in the waiting room with her mother who simply gave her the old, "I told you, you wouldn't want to stay in there for long" & giggled. When the tattoo was finished, Catriona told the man who did her tattoo to get Kagome so she could see it. When Kagome saw it she gushed over it being so "cool". When asked if it hurt, Catriona shook her head & showed the tip of the gum she'd been chewing to ignore the pain & giggled with Kagome.
Now, two weeks had passed & Catriona no longer had to keep the multiple bandages taped to her back. She could actually wear a shirt on her skin, which was still a little sensitive, but didn't hurt as much as a few hours after she got it. The tattoo she got was a replica of Sesshomaru's moon, but instead of nothing between the two points of the crescent moon, she had them put a magenta star in the middle of the two points.
Kagome walked into her room where Catriona was laying in her sleeping bag since it was still early in the afternoon & both girls were still waking up since they'd stayed up late in the dark talking about what could be taking Inu Yasha so long to get them. She saw her friend was laying on her stomach, looking at the wrapped package infront of her face. "Still thinking of who gave it to Inu Yasha to give to you?" she asked.
"Yep," Catriona answered, looking up at Kagome who was now sitting on her bed. "Do you think we should go through the well today? Make sure everything's okay? We've already got things packed."
"I guess it couldn't hurt," Kagome sighed. "Maybe we should get dressed first, huh?"
"Yea, I'll take the bathroom so you can get dressed in here then when I'm done I'll just wait downstairs for you," Catriona said as she grabbed the package & put it in her bag, being careful of how it was placed in there before she grabbed a change of clothes from her suitcase along with her hairbrush, toothbrush, & toothpaste.
It wasn't long until both girls were done getting ready & had their bags on their shoulders. After saying goodbye to everyone in the house, the girls went outside to the shrine & stood by the well then Kagome saw why Inu Yasha hadn't come through for them. A protection seel had been placed on the well, "I'll be damned, the old man got one right," Kagome huffed as she tore off the paper, crumpling it before she tossed it to the ground. "Let's go Catriona," she said as she got on the edge of the well.
*~*
On the other side of the well, Inu Yasha was sitting in his tree, grumbling something no one had been able to hear over the past two weeks. As the days went by, no one could get him to budge from his spot. He was set on waiting here for Kagome to get back, with or without Catriona. He had tried several times but had tired of landing on the bottom of the well, bones scraping against his skin if he landed wrong. One time he'd fallen in & landed head first, leaving him with a lump for a few days. By now he was beginning to wonder if the well had closed up & he'd lost Kagome for good.
He was about to get down & try again when a familiar scent caught his nose & he looked down to see Kagome climb out of the well with Catriona following behind. He leapt down from the tree, trying to hide his excitement as best as he could. "Hey, what happened?" he asked, standing infront of them.
"Grandpa put a working seel on the well," Kagome answered, setting her bag down to hug Inu Yasha, something that shocked him some but he hugged back, catching the knowing grin that Catriona was throwing in their direction. He blushed & tightened his hold on Kagome until they broke apart. "I thought something had happened to stop you from coming back."
"No, I though the well had closed up after the last time we used it," Inu Yasha said as he picked up Kagome's bag & swung it over his shoulder as the three started walking back to the village.
"Did you find any hints while we were gone?" Kagome asked, walking in-step with Inu Yasha. "By now something had to have surfaced."
"You're right Kagome, something has surfaced," Inu Yasha said as he glanced at Catriona to see if she was listening. She was. "I found out from Myouga that a village in my brother's land is holding a celebration in a few days. Apparently the village adores Sesshomaru since he basically protects them. So they caught wind that he had stopped an attack that four demons were going to make at one time. He stopped it & now they're throwing a celebration in his name but what they don't know is Naraku has probably found out & could send one of his puppets, which will likely have quite a few jewel shards. We'll be there to collect should a puppet come along."
"But why would he send one of his puppets?"
"Because there's a small rumor hidden in everything. The rumor is, Sesshomaru might show up himself, but it's not for certain. If he does, only I'll know by his scent, should he stay hidden."
"So he's sending a puppet to destroy Sesshomaru for saving a village in his own land?" When Inu Yasha nodded, Kagome huffed. "Well that's about stupid."
"You're not the only one to think so."
"So, who all is going to go to the village?" Catriona asked.
"We're all going, but everyone has the option to stay behind," Inu Yasha answered as they entered the border of Kaede's village. "I know this has nothing to do with the original conversation, but did you ever open that gift?"
"Yea I did, like that night before I went to bed," Catriona smiled. "It turned out to be a very lovely kimono. Are you sure there isn't a way you could tell me who gave it to you to give to me?"
"I'm sorry Catriona, but I swore I wouldn't tell them."
"If I guessed could you tell me if I was right or wrong?"
"I could but I'm not gonna," he grinned before he disappeared into Kaede's hut with Kagome behind him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was the night of the festival at the village Myouga told Inu Yasha about & Miroku had been nice enough to ask Tanuki if he could give them a lift there, which he did. Miroku wore his usual monk robes, Inu Yasha wore his usual outfit, Sango wore a dark blue kimono that stopped below her knees. It had white stitching & a light blue sash to go with it. Kagome decided to wear an outfit she'd brought from her time. It was a dark green skirt that came down to her knees & dark blue sweater since it was a little chilly that night. Catriona, after many hours of nagging from Kagome, finally gave in & wore the kimono her unknown admirer had given to her.
Catriona looked down at herself, seeing that the kimono had been a perfect fit & stopped at her ankles. It wasn't constricting though, giving her full ability to walk without trouble. Who could've given this to me & why do they want to remain secret? She thought to herself as she walked with the group through the celebration. A few women swooned over her kimono & when asked where she got it, all she could tell them was an admirer gave it to her. "Do you think Sesshomaru will show up?" she asked Kagome who walked beside her.
"I don't know," Kagome answered. "I hope not though. I really don't like to be near him since he's always trying to kill Inu Yasha." I wonder if he will show, she thought to herself.