Passing These Hours

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or it's characters

"Inuyasha, do you think you could give me a hand in the garden this afternoon?" Mrs Higurashi asked, as she meticulously scrubbed the lunch dishes. The hanyou had only been waiting for her daughter for an hour, and she could tell his patience was already wearing thin. He looked away from the staring contest he was having with the clock to meet her eyes. "Feh," he shrugged, "What do you need me to do?"

Mrs. Higurashi, deciding to take that as a yes, smiled cheerfully. "Well, I need to start turning the soil for this years' vegetables, and I thought a strong young man like you would be a big help. I have the seeds picked out already, but my back doesn't handle the shoveling as well as it used to."

Hiding a smile at the way his adorable ears perked up at her praise, she continued, "As soon as I'm done with these dishes I can show you where I want the garden."

Inuyasha nodded silently and went back to glaring at the clock.

A few minutes later, the bored hanyou was following Kagome's mother out to the shed and listening as she explained what she wanted done. He quickly became distracted by the shine in her eyes as she excitedly shared her gardening plans. As he watched her, a long forgotten memory surfaced...

A little boy with silver hair and puppy ears jumped and squealed as he happily helped his mother plant his first garden! "Look momma, look! I can dig the ground good!" he shouted, claws ripping into the soil."Yes you can, my son," a soft voice encouraged. A beautiful woman smiled at him gently. "I'm so proud of you!"...

Inuyasha looked up in surprise when he felt a hand on his arm. "Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

He nodded guardedly, shaking off the memory. "I better get started."

The woman thoughtfully asked no more questions, and after thanking him, headed back into the house to sort her seeds.

Inuyasha threw himself into his task with a vengeance, determined to make a large enough garden to feed Kagome's family for as long as they needed it. Thoughts of his childhood garden continued to plague him as he worked. He'd been so proud of that pitiful thing. It hadn't even lasted them halfway through the winter. He rammed the shovel into the ground and heaved like a man possessed. This time there would be enough.

He was panting by the time he stopped. And looked. And gulped. Although he was a bit fuzzy on exactly how big Kagome's mother had wanted her garden, he had a suspicion he may have gotten carried away. From the house, to the edge of the property, there was a ten foot wide swath of destruction. The hanyou's ears slowly lowered, as he imagined what Kagome's mother would say. He heard her coming toward the door and dread pooled in his stomach.

Mrs. Higurashi stepped outside and stopped, eyes widening at the sight before her. She gazed silently at her mangled yard, before glancing at the shamefaced boy. Her eyes softened when she caught sight of his drooping ears, and the tiniest of smiles graced her face. "Thank you Inuyasha," she said sweetly, smile blooming when he looked up in shock. "I never could have done this much on my own." She crossed over and gently squeezed his arm. "We'll have enough food to last us through the winter." Her smile was filled with sincerity, and Inuyasha felt himself straightening proudly. Both turned to quietly survey his handiwork before they were interrupted by Kagome's "I'm hooome"

Inuyasha quickly picked up the tools and returned them to the shed while Mrs. Higurashi went indoors to welcome her daughter.

That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Kagome's mother smiled in amusement as she looked out into the darkened yard. Shaking her head wryly, she crossed over to her shopping list, and added seeds to the list in bold letters.

A/N: The first time I posted this, I uploaded it wrong... Here is the whole version...