"A - me - ri - ka?" Inu Yasha blinked, confused. "Where in the seven hells is that country?"
"It's far east," Kagome explained. "Across the ocean from Japan."
"I've heard of the lands to the east." Miroku rubbed his thumb pensively against his walking staff. "All wilderness and some primitive people. My question is, how did all the other shards manage to stay here in Japan and that one finds its way all the way over to those lands?"
"Who knows." Chikara shrugged. "Perhaps a youkai or mononoke got a hold of it here and then traveled over to the foreign country."
"Perhaps," said Miroku. "But then, why would it be in a painting, as you said, if it was in the possession of a traveling monster?"
"Who cares?" Inu Yasha interrupted. "Now that we know where that shard is, let's go get it!"
"Hold on!" Kagome slammed her hand on the hardwood floor. "I may live in a time period where crossing the ocean by air is all the norm, but it's really expensive to travel like that!"
"You can travel -" Kaede started.
"-by air?" Shippo finished.
"Yes." Kagome nodded. "But the cost of traveling that way is very expensive. How would we come up with the money for that? And for all of us?"
The group stared at the floor, brainstorming in hopes of finding someway to come up with the kind of money needed for such a trip. Sango sighed sadly as she emptied 5 coins from her purse onto the floor.
"I know it isn't much, Kagome," the youkai taijiya began. "and the currency is probably different in your time, but here's all I can offer."
"Thanks, Sango." said Kagome warmly as she picked up one of the gold pieces the other girl had placed on the floor. "but in my time, this would probably be -"
Kagome stopped suddenly in mid sentence. Of course! The coins would probably be next to nothing here in the Sengoku Jidai, but a historical piece like this would be worth a large chunk of change if sold to a modern day museum! A bright grin lightened up her face.
"What are you grinning about?" Inu Yasha eyed her.
"This is perfect!" Kagome cried. "If I sell these to a museum in my time, we can have enough money to go to America!"
"Are you serious?" Sango couldn't believe what she was hearing. That pocket change of hers was worth something?
"Yes!" Chikara squealed. "Museums pay tons of cash for ancient artifacts like this! We'll have enough to go, see the sights, come back, and still have some cash left over!"
"WOW!" cried Shippo. "I bet even the emperor doesn't have THAT much money! Uh… but… what's a museum?"
"It's a place where things of the past are kept and put on display for people of the modern day to see." Kagome explained.
"Why would they wanna do that?" the fox demon scratched his head.
"To see what the people of the past used in their everyday lives." Kagome pulled Shippo onto her lap. "We believe that learning about the past is a way to improve our future."
"Here." Kaede added a coin to the pile on the floor. "Just in case Sango's money doesn't sell for enough."
"I shall contribute as well." Miroku reached into the leather bag in his robe and pulled out 3 coins. "I hope this helps."
"Thank you so much, everyone." Kagome smiled. "The next step is sell them in my time. I can't thank you all enough."
"Think nothing of it." said Sango. "Besides, we need to get that Shikon shard together."
Chikara got up and headed for the door. Kagome carefully gathered up the gold coins and carefully placed them in her pocket. Inu Yasha, who had been sitting silently and staring at the floor, looked up suddenly at Chikara.
"Where do you think you're going, girl?" the dog demon growled.
"I have my own way of getting to America." Chikara replied. "It won't involve you spending the money you get from the museum. Besides, it could be dangerous having too much contact with you guys here in the past. Sayonara!"
With that, Chikara waved her goodbye and dashed off.
"I wonder how she'll be getting to Amer'ca." said Shippo.
"Feh!" spat Inu Yasha. "Who cares? As long as WE get to that weird country, I could care less about her!"
"Inu Yasha!" Kagome frowned. "Don't you even care that she's…. uh… ours?"
"There's no way that little whelp is related to me!" he barked. "Why would I want to have a kid that's only going to grow up and live a miserable life? I know I did!"
"It can't be that bad now, Inu Yasha," Kagome continued. "Can it?"
"You have no idea girl!" Inu Yasha blew a stray lock of hair out of his face. "It's not like it matters anyway anymore."
Kagome would have continued the conversation, but by Inu Yasha's tone and the topic at hand, she figured it would be a conversation best discussed in private. She gathered up her gear and prepared to leave.
"Ready to go back, everyone?" she smiled.
"As ready as we'll ever be!" Sango got up.
"Oh boy!" Shippo jumped up. "We're going back to Kagome's world!"
"Oh, calm down, Shippo!" Inu Yasha grumbled. "It's not like we're going to one of those human festivals or anything like that."
"You're right." the fox demon replied. "It's better than a festival! It's Kagome's fantastic world!"
Inu Yasha sweatdropped disgustedly. Sango and Miroku couldn't help but laugh. Even Kaede chuckled a bit.
"We hate to leave you so soon, Kaede-bachan, but-" Kagome began.
"I understand." the old woman smiled. "Just be sure to get that Shikon shard and return safely."
"We will!" Kagome nodded and led the others outdoors. "Take care, Kaede-bachan!"
"And you as well!" Kaede waved.
***************************************************
"You're just going to SELL those ancient artifacts!?" Grandpa Higurashi exclaimed when he heard the plan. "And to top it all off, you're going to America!? I can't allow it!"
"But Jii-chan!" Kagome protested. "We need to get that shard before some dangerous youkai does!"
"I'm more than reluctant just letting you jump through that well back and forth," Grandpa stated. "Nevermind flying off to America!"
"Please, Jii-chan." Kagome pleaded. "This is really important!"
"I don't like this idea one little bit." the old man tugged at his beard. "You probably don't even understand a word of English!"
"Yes, I do!" Kagome smiled. "I've been studying English for awhile now."
"When!?" Grandpa demanded, somewhat surprised that Kagome had had any time at all to study, nevermind the English language.
"Jii-chan," Kagome explained. "That's what I have been studying! I've been taking a class in school to learn English, and I've been studying both here and in the Sengoku Jidai. Please, Jii-chan? I promise I'll bring back something for you, Okaa, and Souta!"
The old man folded his arms and closed his eyes, grumbling. The others watched him anxiously, waiting for an answer.
"Very well…" Grandpa Higurashi relented. "But I want you back within a week. Understand?"
"Yes!" Everyone nodded simultaneously.
"Here." Grandpa began loading Kagome's arms with things he wanted her to take with them. The luggage included anti-evil tags and various good luck charms.
"Jii-chan, what am I going to need all this stuff for?" Kagome sweatdropped.
"To keep you safe in that foreign country." Grandpa replied. "I can't have my only granddaughter traveling so far away unprotected."
"We'll keep her safe, Higurashi-sama." Sango reassured him. "After all, from what Kagome's told us of this world, we won't have to worry about demons attacking us, and things don't get much more dangerous than that!"
"Thank you." The old man nodded. "And be careful. All of you."
************************************************************
One of Kagome's first priorities after selling the artifacts was to buy her friends some modern day clothing. After all, she couldn't have them walking around in their Sengoku Jidai attire. She took Sango with her to the mall and bought some clothing and whatnot.
"These styles are so different, Kagome!" Sango blinked curiously as she held up a pair of jeans.
"Do you like those?" Kagome giggled. Her friend's awe was rather amusing.
"Isn't this clothing suitable more for a man than a woman?" Sango turned the jeans over to inspect them further.
"Both men and women wear this kind of clothing." Kagome explained. "Girls wear shirts and jeans about as much as guys do. It's the modern style."
"If you say so." said Sango. "I guess I will try one of these then, if it's not too expensive, of course."
"Not at all!" Kagome assured her friend. "Remember, this is nothing compared to what we got from the museum. Get whatever you like! Now, is that in your size?"
"I don't know," Sango puzzled. "How can you tell? Is there a place I can try this on?"
"Sure, over in the fitting rooms." Kagome pointed. "But since you're about my size, we'll take this pair instead of the one you've got there. And how about if we pick up a shirt before we go in?"
"If it'll save us time, sure." Sango answered.
The girls spent the day shopping and picking up various things for the trip. Sango had been very reluctant to leave her enormous boomerang at home, but Kagome assured her that nothing would happen to them that required its use. Spent from the long day, they returned home to find Souta trying to teach Shippo how to play video games. Inu Yasha was slurping noodles out of a cup of instant ramen. Miroku and Grandpa were engaged in a game of shogi at the kitchen table when they came in.
"How was your trip to the mall?" Kagome's mother asked when the girls came in the door.
"Exciting!" Sango cried. "I never realized how big and bright this time period was!"
"I'm not surprised!" Kagome's mother laughed. "Inu Yasha and the others have been pretty amazed with the modern day as well."
"Oh come on!" cried Shippo. "I hit your character five times, and he hasn't shed a drop of blood!"
"It's a game, Shippo." Souta laughed. "It isn't real, and most games don't have that much blood in them."
"I must admit, you're very skilled at this game!" Grandpa commented.
"It's a game I played many times as a child." Miroku explained. "I'm glad to have a worthy opponent like you."
"Where are they going to sleep tonight, Okaa-san?" Kagome asked.
"Your Grandpa and I have extra beds that your friends can use." replied Kagome's mother. "The boys can sleep either here in the living room or in Souta's room."
"Can I sleep in Kagome's room, Higurashi-san?" asked Shippo.
"No," Ms. Higurashi replied. "But like I was telling Kagome, you can sleep in Souta's room, if you'd like."
"It's just that normally I sleep next to Kago-" Shippo was cut off by Kagome's hand over his mouth.
"What was that?" Ms. Higurashi glared at her daughter, raising an eyebrow as if to demand an explanation.
"He's just a kid, Okaa-san." Kagome smiled nervously. "And besides, he sleeps outside of the sleeping bag, just leaning against me."
"Alright." Kagome's mother sighed. "But while he's in this house, he's going to sleep in Souta's room, ok?"
"Ok." Kagome sighed in relief.
No one seemed to notice Inu Yasha smile at that conversation. For once, he wouldn't have to just sit by and watch as that puny little fox rested with Kagome instead of him. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn he had just admitted to himself that he was jealous of Shippo. Imagine! Being jealous of that little puke! And at the same time, why did he want to even be near that girl! The thought enough was absolutely crazy!
Everyone eventually settled in for the night. There was still another day of shopping to do ahead of them for the boys of the group, and with Inu Yasha in tow, Kagome could already see it was going to be a very long day!
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This is Chapter 6. Where would you like to go next?
