These characters do not belong to me.

Choosing a Partner

Chapter 12

By Kenzie Kennedy

The first stop that morning for Kagome was her mother’s bedroom. Kagome climbed up on her mother’s bed, woke her, and told her all her troubles. Rimiko listened carefully and sighed. "I didn’t expect you to get this far so fast! Good job, dear."

"Good job?" Kagome asked blankly.

"It was at least a month before I got through that conversation with your father," Rimiko explained. "What he told me later was that he would not do any of the things you and I are asking was because he was afraid he would be sent back to the center."

"So what can I do?" Kagome asked.

Rimiko shrugged. "The same option I used. Take away the fear of going back to the center and take away the self-inflicted block on their emotions." Kagome looked at her not understanding. Rimiko sighed. "Marry him."

Kagome shook her head rapidly. "Uh-uh! I’m not ready."

Rimiko smiled. "It’s not unheard of. I was married at seventeen. Marry him and make him unafraid. Bed him later after you fall in love."

Kagome stared and shook her head. "Mo-ther!"

"Sorry, Kagome, but it’s the facts of life and one of the fringe benefits of being married. If he’s free, he can talk to you. If he can talk to you, maybe you’ll fall in love with each other. If not, you can divorce him with virtue intact and he’ll be free to take employment where he wishes." Rimiko sat back and looked at her daughter.

Kagome’s emotions ran across her face. Yes, she wanted Inuyasha to talk to her but wasn’t there another way?

After several minutes of running that through her brain, she looked at her mother. "Can I think about it? I want to talk to Inuyasha."

"All right, Kagome," Rimiko told her. "It’s time for me to get up for breakfast anyway."

***

Sango poked her head into the kitchen. "Rimiko, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, dear. If you don’t mind me flipping pancakes in the meantime."

Sango came into the kitchen and told her about her conversation with Miroku.

Rimiko sighed. "Both of you are so precocious!" Sango looked at her strangely. "You and Kagome had almost the same conversation last night. Now the advice I gave her is the advice I’ll give you. Marry him."

Sango’s jaw dropped open. "But… I want to get to know him first."

Rimiko flipped a pancake over and put it on a plate. "I know, dear. You can’t get to know him unless you marry him and you can’t marry him until you know him. It’s a problem. What I did was marry Kagome’s father, let him branch out a little bit, then got to talk with him. I found out I was in love with him and I waited until he was sure about me." She chuckled for a moment. "He was so funny trying to figure out how to court me." She calmed down and said plainly, "If you fall in love with him and he with you, then you can take him to bed."

"Rimiko!" Sango said shocked.

"Oh, goodness sakes. It’s not a big secret. You’ve both known about sex for years. How do you think you got here?" Rimiko poured a pancake.

"Is she trying to give you the lecture again?" Kagome asked. "Mom, the guys are out at the table. All four of them."

"All right. Once this pancake gets done breakfast is ready. So, have you thought about what I told you?" Rimiko asked Kagome.

Kagome ducked her head. "Yes."

"Good. I’ve told Sango the same thing. If you two agree on it, I’ll make sure we have a priest here. Or Kaede." Rimiko hummed a little tune as she waited for the pancake to finish.

Kagome looked at Sango. "You, too?" she asked. Sango nodded. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Married. At our age."

Rimiko flipped the pancake and waited a few seconds. "It’s not unheard of," she insisted. "What do you think girls get slaves for? It’s either that or go shopping for family raised ones. It’s completely normal and I don’t object one bit."

"Don’t arrange the wedding yet, Mom," Kagome said wryly. "I’ve still got to ask the guy." The girls enjoyed a laugh.

***

Kagome sneaked a look at Inuyasha as they walked to Kaede’s. No change in his expression. She sighed. She’d hoped to have shaken him a little bit, maybe enough to get him to talk or say something to her. Instead she’d frightened him back into his shell.

Kaede questioned him again on what he had seen yesterday while Kagome studied her lessons. When Kagome was finished, Kaede laid a charm around her neck. "Walk around a little," Kaede advised. "Inuyasha will protect you."

Kagome looked at the sword a little fearfully. "But what if he has to use the sword and people try to call the police?"

Kaede shook her head. "Mikos are allowed to be a little out of the ordinary, Kagome. Show the police how the sword works. If necessary call me and I will come to explain." She shooed the girl and boy out the door.

Kagome looked down at the ground. "Well, I suppose I could go walk in the park." She began walking down the shrine steps and took the path that would lead her where she wanted to go.

***

Once they reached the park without incident, Kagome relaxed a little. She sat in a swing while Inuyasha stood watching her. Some little kids were playing in a sandbox with their mothers nearby. There weren’t many kids her age around. In fact, Kagome noticed, there weren’t any.

"So, Inuyasha…" she said. "Do you want to push me?"

Inuyasha looked at her. "I do not understand, Kagome."

"Sit in the swing," she said, standing up. Inuyasha sat stiffly in the swing, swinging his sword into his lap. She grasped the chains and shoved. There were a few repetitions of this and then Inuyasha stopped.

"I understand, Kagome." He said. She sat and he pushed her.

Kagome was really enjoying herself. With Inuyasha’s strength, she hadn’t been this high on a swing in years!

She swung back and there wasn’t any push. She frowned and glanced over her shoulder. Where did he go?

"Kagome, watch out!" he yelled.

She faced forward and her eyes flew open. A huge bat-winged creature with a mouth full of teeth crashed down in front of her. Not thinking about it, she flung her hands into the position for a shielding spell. A physical manifestation of her power jumped between her and the thing. It bounced off the shield and into Inuyasha’s sword. It gasped its last breath on the ground in front of her.

Kagome’s heart was racing. "Inuyasha, are you all right?" she asked.

He nodded. "I am fine, Kagome."

Kagome spent a few minutes remembering how to breathe while a few of the mothers stepped forward to ask her if she needed to go to the hospital. She thanked them, but said no. "Are you a miko?" one asked.

Kagome smiled. "Yes. I’m sorry to put your children in danger. I didn’t know anything would attack me."

One of the mothers smiled. "With your powers and that sword your slave used, I don’t think they were in any danger."

"Kagome Higurashi," a soft voice said behind her.

Kagome turned and found herself face to face with the inspector Kikyo. "Yes?" she answered coolly.

"I felt the surge of energy and came to check," Kikyo answered. "Are you all right?"

Kagome nodded. "We got rid of it."

"We?" Kikyo raised an eyebrow.

"Inuyasha and myself," Kagome gestured to the hanyou.

"Kagome!" Kaede cried out. "Are you safe?"

Kagome turned happy eyes to the old woman. "I’m fine, Kaede."

Kaede kept moving until she was ten feet from Kagome. "Step away from her, Kagome."

Kagome looked at Kikyo startled, but stepped a step back. "Why?"

"Is the charm I gave you glowing?" Kaede asked, not taking her eyes from Kikyo.

Kagome checked. "Yes."

"She sent the monster then," Kaede said grimly.

"Don’t believe her, Kagome," Kikyo said urgently. "She could have spelled the charm to only glow around me."

Kagome stepped back, watching Kikyo warily until she stood beside Kaede. Kikyo’s eyes narrowed. "So…" she hissed, "that’s the way it is." She flung power at Kagome and ran. Inuyasha’s blade was suddenly in front of Kagome and it deflected the energy blades.

Kikyo was gone. Kaede sighed. "It is a good thing I gave you that sword, Inuyasha."

"Police! Put down the sword!" someone called out.

"Better put it down, Inuyasha," Kagome said reluctantly. Inuyasha put it down and the cop ran up to them.

"Are you ladies in danger? There were reports of a monster on the loose." He watched Inuyasha.

Kagome and Kaede both sighed and tried to explain the circumstances of Inuyasha’s sword. After fifteen minutes of talk, the police officer put it down to miko powers and promised to file the report.

*************************************

Saro: I know it wasn't much, but did you see Inuyasha's personality peek out just a little here?

Devon Masterson: They are going to take their own sweet time about becoming normal. Miroku gets the hang of it faster, though.

Aylee the Dragon: *cuddles the plushie* Thank you!

-Onimusha-: I believe someone has dibs on Orlando Bloom already.

ArtemisMoon: I know! The reviews on this are something else…

Like-anyother: Both Naraku and Hojo are there to make the other two guys jealous. They only have walk-on parts, though. One scene apiece.

lord whit wolf: Yes, this will be a lemon. But before anyone gets hyper, I'm not posting it on ff.net. It will be posted on my webpage and I will alert everyone to the page and when I've posted it.

Tari Of Nargothrond: No, I do not like jellos. They give me a stomachache for some reason.

Lian Leviathan: I enjoyed those quirky reviews of yours.