It was a bright, cool autumn morning in feudal Japan. The sun was high in a perfect, crystal-blue sky full of big, puffy white clouds, shinning down on a forest of trees decked out in cheerful autumn reds and yellows. Except for the chirping of a few birds, there was not a single sound to disturb the early-morning tranquility...

...at least, not until Kagome shouted “sit!”

A shower of leaves came fluttering down as Inuyasha’s face hit the ground. “You bitch,” he snarled as he picked himself up.

Kagome pretended she hadn’t heard, and turned around to finish tying the handlebars of her bicycle to the rope and pulley system she’d rigged up above the well. “I’m only going to be gone until Saturday,” she reminded the hanyou. “You’re a big boy; I think you can survive five days without me.”

He spat out a mouthful of grass. “Why five?” he demanded, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Usually you never take more than three.”

“Usually I don’t have final exams,” Kagome replied. “I have to take all these tests, or I’ll be held back a year.”

“So what?” asked Inuyasha.

Shippou, who had been sitting on the rim of the well watching the argument, leapt into the nearest patch of shrubbery as Kagome whirled around to look Inuyasha in the eye. “So what?” she echoed, unable to believe she’d just heart that. “What do you mean, so what? I’ll have to take the tenth grade all over again! All my friends will move on a year and I won’t, and everybody will think I’m a moron, that’s so what! I’m not planning on spending the rest of my life chasing after bits of the Shikon no Tama, you know. I have to think about my future! Sit!”

He swore as he was forced to do another nose-dive.

“Now stay,” Kagome added firmly. “Good boy!” She lowered her bicycle into the well, and turned to Shippou, who was peeking nervously out of the bushes. “Shippou, keep an eye on him while I’m gone, would you? Make sure he behaves himself.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Shippou.

Inuyasha looked furious. “I do not need to be babysat!” he raged. “Especially not by a child!”

“Why not?” asked Kagome. “He’s a lot more mature than you are!” She climbed up onto the rim of the well and swung her legs over the side. “I’ll be back first thing on Saturday morning, all right?” And without waiting for a reply, she dropped out of sight.

“You’d better be!” Inuyasha grabbed the edge of the well and shouted into it, “or I’m going to come and get you!”

But Kagome was gone.

---

For some reason – Kagome had no idea why – the seasons in the feudal era were not quite in sync with those in her own time. Instead, they seemed to be off by about four months, so that late autumn ‘then’ was early summer ‘now’... and the dark interior of the shed was baking hot and stuffy. Even with a matching pulley on this end, getting her bike out of the well was sweaty work; by the time she’d dragged it to the top, her hair was sticking to her neck and she badly wanted a bath.

“I’m home!” she announced as she opened the back door... and let out a wonderful smell of cabbage and bacon cooking. Her stomach growled.

“Hi, honey!” Mrs. Higurashi called from the kitchen. A moment later she appeared around the corner, drying her hands on a towel. “How was your weekend?”

“Oh, about the usual,” replied Kagome. She’d fought a few youkai, recovered a couple of Jewel shards, and met some people who, in modern-day Tokyo, would probably have been considered insane... all in a day’s work, really. “Do I smell okonomiyaki?” she asked.

“That’s right,” said her mother, smiling. “We’re just about to have lunch. Come and sit down.”

Kagome’s mouth watered... but she really needed to wash. “I think I’ll take a bath first,” she said. “Just start without me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll be quick,” she promised, and hurried up the stairs.

It was difficult to hurry, however, when it was such a hot day and the cool water felt so nice. Kagome didn’t get to bathe nearly often enough in the feudal age – she and her friends spent so much time traveling that most washing had to be cold river water and no soap. Only rarely were they able to stop in towns where there were proper bathhouses... and when they did, Inuyasha complained endlessly about the delay.

Inuyasha. Kagome slouched in the tub, sinking into the water up to her chin. That jerk! What on Earth was the matter with him? He was like a... she resisted the temptation to use the phrase ‘lost puppy’... he was like a little kid who didn’t want Mommy to leave him at the daycare. Kagome had a life and responsibilities in her own time... Miroku, Sango, and even Shippou accepted that she needed to come and go. Why couldn’t Inuyasha?

An idea occurred to her that perhaps she ought to just stop telling him when she was planning on leaving. That way, she could just slip out while he wasn’t watching, and not have to listen to his ranting and raging. Yeah, right; that would seem like a great idea... right up until she came back. The silly idiot would pitch a fit the next time he saw her, and would probably start keeping a constant watch. With his sensitive ears and nose on her all the time, Kagome would never manage to sneak past him again.

What he needed, she thought, was to stop his whining already and get a life... or failing that, at least a hobby; something to keep his mind off of things while she wasn’t there. Maybe he should take up origami or something.

“Kagome!” Mrs. Higurashi called. “Your okonomiyaki is getting cold!”

“I’m coming!” Kagome replied. Reluctantly, she dragged herself out of the bath and put on some clean clothes. “Stupid jerk,” she muttered, watching the water go down the drain. It would just serve him right if she came back late... or even not at all.

As she stumbled downstairs, Kagome remembered why she didn’t usually take a bath right after coming home from the feudal age – somehow, the combination always seemed to leave her exhausted. She was yawning as she entered the kitchen, where her mother, grandfather, and brother were kneeling on three sides of the table, working their way through plates of okonomiyaki and rice.

“Ah, there you are!” Mrs. Higurashi smiled. “We were starting to wonder if you’d drowned! Here... I tried to keep it warm for you.”

“Thank you,” replied Kagome, accepting the offered food. She poured herself a glass of water, and sat down opposite from Souta.

“So, did anything exciting happen this week?” her mother asked.

“Well...” she thought for a moment. “Shippou made a friend. He got this letter, you see, inviting him to participate in a duel...” she alternated between mouthfuls of her lunch and relating the story of how Shippou and the little thunder yasha had fought over the crayons. “It was so cute!” she added, smiling as she remembered the girl and her adorable pet dragon. “They wore each other right out, so then he surrendered and gave her the box. I promised I would bring him another one when I got back.”

Mrs. Higurashi laughed delightedly. “You’ll have to bring some more of these people home with you sometime, Kagome,” she said. “I’d love to meet them all.”

“Er... I’m not sure I can,” said Kagome. “I don’t know if anyone besides me and Inuyasha can use the well.” Probably a good thing if they couldn’t, she thought, as a half a dozen rather dreadful mental images ran through her head. She could only imagine what her friends might do if she brought them to her time; Shippou would probably stay out of trouble just so long as he had candy and crayons, but the others... it was hard to avoid picturing Sango trying to carry her boomerang through a shop and sweeping things off the shelves by accident. Or worse, Miroku at school, surrounded by girls in short skirts and flirting with anyone within earshot!

“Maybe you ought to take a camera with you next time,” Souta suggested. “Then we could at least see pictures of them.”

“Oh, now there’s an idea!” said Mrs. Higurashi. “What do you think, Kagome?”

Kagome nodded. “Maybe I’ll do that,” she said, wondering how Inuyasha would react to getting his picture taken. A scene from Fushigi Yuugi rose unbidden to mind; Tasuki pointing at a photograph of himself and shouting, “that’s not me! That’s an imposter!”

“Then remind me to look for the camera this week,” her mother said. “We’ll need to buy film, too... I don’t think we have any.”

“I’ll try to remember,” Kagome picked the last few grains of rice out of the bottom of her bowl and put them in her mouth, then yawned. “I need to study this afternoon, but first I think I’d better take a nap.”

Her mother stood up and started gathering up the empty dishes. “Yes, you sound like that would be a good idea,” she agreed. “We’ll not disturb you, then. Come on, Souta... help me with the dishes.”

“But I’ve been doing it all weekend!” the boy protested. “Kagome’s home now!”

“Kagome’s had a rough few days and she’s tired,” said Mrs. Higurashi firmly. “You head for bed, honey. We’ll clean up.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Kagome stood and stretched, then headed upstairs for what she felt was definitely a well-deserved sleep.