Notes: For my sister.

Along Came a Spider

Chapter 1

Rheumatism, her grandfather had said. Really?

"I am not that old," Kagome grumbled to herself as her feet touched the bottom of the well. There was a moment of suspension and she felt the brief delight of the weightless transfer through time. Then gravity asserted itself and she nearly fell on her butt from the weight of the first aid kit in her hand. Fortunately, the materialized vines along the walls were so close that she didn't have to think about grabbing them. Especially when her mind was still stuck in the present time.

She got the whole illness thing, she really did. She even understood why she couldn't use the same illness as an excuse every week. But when her grandfather started using the dictionary of medical diseases for inspiration, didn't anyone else think it was getting a little too ridiculous? He might as well tell the school she had was in the process of moulting or had grown a club foot.

Kagome sighed. Her life was pretty ridiculous. She looked up reflexively, like she always did, and felt that momentary relief at the sight of the blue sky stretched above her. Telling her teachers she had rheumatism or malaria or whatever other disease her grandfather liked to use was probably no less ridiculous than telling the truth. That instead of sitting in geometry class prepping for high school like a good student should, she was actually traipsing back in time to the feudal era to fight demons. "Yeah, I'm looking for this jewel...well it came from my body...umm...demons want it."

Yeah that would go over well. She was having a hard enough time thinking up excuses for Inuyasha as it was—

Kagome caught herself. No, she really wasn't going to think about Inuyasha right now. She had just spent the last hour trying to not think about him, and that was enough thinking about not consciously thinking of him. She—was confusing herself. Inuyasha was confusing her too, the jerk.

She was not thinking of him.

With that settled, Kagome tackled the torturous task of manoeuvring the heavy first aid kit without crushing herself in the process. There were a few close calls, but eventually she was able to push its deadweight over the lip of the well and drag herself up.

A heat wave seemed to roll over her as she crested the well, making her pant. It was hot, way too hot. Quickly, she scrambled out of the well to the shaded pathway and began her slow trek towards Edo village.

Back in the present, the weather was sunny and hot but in the feudal era it was downright muggy. If not for her skirt, Kagome would have felt more than a little suffocated.

It was times like these that Kagome knew she had made the right decision in wearing her own clothes. Sure it was time consuming and a bit annoying making sure she had the correct mosquito repellent on at all times, but she didn't have to worry about heat stroke like one did wearing a full length kimono. Her middle school outfit also had other benefits as well. For one, people didn't mistake her for someone else. Or, at least they didn't unless they happened to look closely at her face…

Kikyou.

Kagome paused briefly as she walked the village perimeter, looking up from the tops of her shoes to glance at the crest of the Goshinboku peeking from the top of the forest. Before she had made a quick stop to her time, she had been kept busy all day here in the past, running between huts with Kaede making last minute checks on the recently wounded. However since noon her eyes kept drifting to the tree. Her tree, the tree she had played hide and seek under as a laughing toddler, whose boughs had sheltered her in the summers of her childhood.

Yet here in the past the Goshinboku was younger, stranger. It did not know her. More importantly, it seemed to be the center of so many painful memories, none of them hers.

Kikyou.

Kagome shook her head and continued down the well-worn path. Just yesterday that name had held little more than a vague familiarity. The name of a dead person she was sometimes confused with and part of a complicated mystery that had brought her to this era. Kaede rarely spoke of her, and Inuyasha not at all. It was obvious there was a painful history there between them about this woman, and three people involved was already complicated. Kagome had figured she would know if it was necessary. Some memories were better left buried.

Too bad the youkai witch from yesterday hadn't agreed.

Kagome clenched the first aid kit to her chest a little more tightly, returning her gaze to her shoes. Her recent trip to the present had been short—mostly because she hadn't planned to even go back for a week or two. She had taken the opportunity to stuff her first aid kit with bandages and ointments that were lying around the house, but it hadn't been necessary. She had spent most of the time padding restlessly through the house, arguing with her grandfather, and finding excuses not the think about a certain fair haired hanyou…

Feeling the burn in her back, Kagome sighed and angled a wrist to wipe the sweat from her brow. Actually, a timely appearance from Inuyasha sounded really good right about now. He didn't offer his help often, but sometimes she could cajole him into taking her load with a bribery of food. Unfortunately, Inuyasha was likely long gone with an ailing Kaede, heading towards the mountains to rescue Kikyou's ashes.

"It's nothing," he had muttered, eyes askance.

He wouldn't look at her. It had hurt that he wouldn't look at her, in ways she hadn't thought possible. Come on, he was only a guy! One she hadn't even known for very long. As always with Inuyasha, her hurt had turned into anger, and her mouth had just spewed.

"I know! It's because I look like Kikyou! That's why you don't like me, right?"

Watching Inuyasha's expression change had been like watching a car crash into a tree. His eyes had widened, a spasm of pain that made his lips twitch, his fingers curling into a fist. She had felt like she was falling into the pool of his gaze, until she realized that her wrist was in his hand and she was falling towards him.

"It's not like that," he had said, the warmth of his hand seeping into her cold one, the amber of his eyes drawing closer with each breath.

"Stupid jerk," Kagome muttered, fighting the blush in her cheeks even as she scowled at the memory. What wasn't like what? Did he expect her to read his mind? He had never fully explained his relationship to Kikyou, playing it off in the brief moments he did explain as antagonism between hated enemies. Yet the look in his eyes as he held her hand had hinted at the opposite, and had made her curious and dreadful and more than a little exasperated with him.

It was now even clearer why he had been avoiding her gaze this morning, but if he couldn't be honest with himself, he could have at least spared her from feeling guilty! All through the night she had worried he would resent her for the face she resembled.

Not that the realization Kikyou might have been Inuyasha's love did much to make her feel better. Trading the face of his murderer for the face of his dead lover seemed more a step down than a step up. Maybe he did resent her...and the thought made Kagome feel depressed.

That was why when Inuyasha had stood holding Kaede's horse and pointedly not looked at her, she had mumbled a half-baked excuse and hurried to the safety of the other side of the well. She hadn't been able to bear the thought that any comfort she could offer him was tempered by her presence.

Kagome sighed. She was despicable. There was no way she could lie to herself and put all the blame on Inuyasha. He couldn't help what he felt any more than she did. He had been trying to honest with her, in his own way—and she had run away from it.

She should have gone with him.

"Kagome!"

Kagome looked up, blinking to see a ball of fluff streak down the path. Shippou skidded to a stop at her feet, panting a little.

"You're back!" he cried happily, hugging her leg. "I thought stupid Inuyasha had made you mad again, and you weren't going to come back until he apologized."

Kagome smiled brightly at him. Fortunately he wasn't at that age yet where he could tell it was a bit forced. "Sorry Shippou, I didn't mean to worry you. I just had to make a quick trip back to my time to get some more bandages. We've been using a lot today."

"Oh I see," Shippou said, scampering up the back of her skirt and shirt to perch himself on her shoulder. "You're always so thoughtful," he added, rubbing his head against her cheek.

"Oh, don't be silly," she said lightly, feeling her heart sink. Here she was feeling sorry for herself and making up excuses to run away from her problems, when there were people patiently waiting for the help she could provide. And if Kaede was leaving or had already left, they would need her more than ever.

Wait...what if Kaede had not left yet? What if she and Inuyasha were waiting for her at the hut?

The thought made her nearly drop her package. She felt a second of intense panic before she forced herself to be calm. She didn't know, so she would have to ask. Forcing her feet to take another step, she turned hesitantly to Shippou who was entertaining himself by braiding a piece of her hair.

"So," she coughed, her throat like sand paper, "Where exactly is Inuyasha anyway?"

Shippou stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he wrestled with a wayward strand of hair. "Oh," he said absently. "Inuyasha and Kaede left a little while ago. Inuyasha had wanted to wait, but Kaede convinced him that it would be better if you stayed here with me anyway."

Kagome's shoulders slumped. "I see." So he had been waiting for her. She wanted to curl under the nearest rock and possible never come out again, with how low she was feeling.

"But," Shippou hesitated, he looked up at her profile with a curious expression. "Inuyasha was acting really strange. He didn't growl or hit me or anything, just sat in his corner and stared out the window for a long time. Afterwards, he told me to tell you to take care of things while he was gone, and then he just...left. Kaede said it was his way of apologizing, but it didn't really look like it."

Kagome frowned slightly. "Well, if he was acting that strange, we better do as he says, huh?"

Shippou snorted. "No way."

Despite herself Kagome laughed, tilting her head against his. "You little squirt! With an attitude like that, no wonder you and him don't get along!" When he preened at her attention, she rolled her eyes. "Well I for one think Inuyasha had a good idea. Without Kaede around, I'll have to pick up the slack. I'm pretty sure Hirotomi's bandages will need to be changed when we get back. They had looked pretty dirty when I left this morning."

As she picked up her pace to a steady trot, she heard Shippou grumble,"It's a lot more fun when you guys are angry at each other."

She had to disagree. She couldn't think of anything less funny.

"Miss Kagome, I found something!'

Kagome looked up from examining the leaves of a large shrub. Either it was the type of laurel that was good for steeping and administering in a poultice, or it was the kind that purged a stomach of its contents. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes...

One of the village children, Suki, was waving her hand wildly between two tree trunks. Several of the children including Shippou were abandoning their search spots and gathering around the girl. With a sigh, Kagome dropped the leaf—-it was better if she double checked with Kaede anyway—-and turned to her little shadow. Little Toto, who was crouched beside her mimicking her examination of the leaves, looked up at her motion

"What do you think your sister's found?" she asked. Toto cocked his head to the side, then favoured her with a wide toothy smile. As always, her heart melted into a puddle.

"You need to speak sometime you know," she admonished with a smile, then took his hand. "All right, let's go see what has got Suki excited."

It had taken several months before the village had accepted her presence, but it hadn't taken the village children long to see her as a potential playmate. Many of the children were hardly four or five years old and starved for attention. Stuck at the priestess Kaede's home while their parents toiled the fields, they had latched on to Kagome with ease. After that, the villagers had become far more friendly...and had stopped treating her like a walking memorial.

Until yesterday, anyway.

Kagome sighed sharply. Only a few hours before, she and Shippou had run into the priestess's abode only to find an unexpected visitor on its doorstep. The headsman of the village, a greying man in his 50s who still retained much of the muscle he had developed over the course of his life, had been sharpening a blade when she approached. She had bypassed him nervously, thinking he was merely taking a rest on Kaede's stoop, but when he began to follow her as she made her rounds, she realized he been assigned guard duty.

For the first ten seconds, it had been slightly flattering. After that, it was just down right annoying. She was perfectly capable of walking through the village without getting injured, maimed, or kidnapped. Just because Inuyasha wasn't there did not mean she couldn't defend herself.

The worst part of it, though, had been when she had stumbled on a pile of sticks rounding a house corner and the first thing the man spoke (probably the first time she had ever heard him speak) was, "Are you all right, Lady Ki-gome?"

The glare she had sent him over her shoulder must have did its job; after that, he backed off and started trailing behind her with a wide distance between them. He had skulked off somewhere an hour ago. That suited her just fine.

"What did you find, Suki?" Kagome asked, wiping the sweat from her brow as she approached the group. She felt several small hands latch on to her skirt as the kids crowded near her.

Suki was beside herself with excitement. She grabbed Kagome's hand the moment she came in view and started dragging her and the gaggle of children towards a small deer trail.

"So I know you said to not go too far, but I found this little trail while I was looking for your grass weed and I wanted to see what was down here. Boy, was it a good thing I did because I found something amazing!"

Kagome pulled up short, frowning. Suki at seven was one of the oldest of the group and also the most adventurous. She was always getting into trouble for wandering off. Usually, Kagome was hesitant to reprimand her too harshly—soon enough, she would be joining her brothers on the rice patties, and her adventuring days would be over.

But today was a different story. Just yesterday, the village had been invaded by a witch and the graveyard, one of the most protected areas in the entire village, had been completely destroyed. It was a stark reminder that the forests around the village were far more dangerous than the front yards of present day Tokyo.

"Suki," Kagome said with disapproval, and then a glance at Shippou who was supposed to be helping her watch over the kids. Both he and the little girl flushed.

Shippou kicked his foot and looked up at her with wide, trembling eyes. "I didn't let her go alone! It was just on the ridge over there, still in sight of the house."

Beside him, Suki was nodding vigorously. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I won't do it again. I just wanted to see what was down this trail. There weren't any demons, I promise!"

A few feet a way, the trail opened into a clearing. Looking behind her, Kagome could clearly see the roof of Kaede's hut, still in plain sight. One of the teenage boys assigned to watch them who was leaning heavily against a wood pile, gave her a little wave and went back to his pipe. Sighing, Kagome checked the quiver and arrow she kept habitually on her shoulder.

"All right boys and girls," she said, causing many of the children to yip in delight. She motioned to Suki. "Lead the way."

Fortunately, Suki hadn't been lying when she said their destination was close by. She took the group over to the other side of the clearing, where the nearby river had bled off and created a baby pond. Suki sank to her knees in the bank as Kagome checked that the kids we're clear of the water. She was almost caught off guard when Suki suddenly appeared before her and thrust a flower at her chest.

The other kids oohed and awed as all eyes turned to what the younger girl held in her fist.

"Its a Moon Flower!" Suki exclaimed proudly, then motioned for Kagome to take it from her. After a moment, Kagome hesitantly accepted the delicate blossom into her palm.

It was very beautiful. Probably one of the prettiest flowers she had seen thus far. It had a delicate thin green stalk, bent and frayed where Suki had ripped it from the ground, that rose into five thin curling petals. Sky blue in color, it had speckled brown spots like a bird's egg. Long, yellow tipped stamens protruded proudly from it's center.

Kagome touched a pale blue petal, marvelling at the softness on her finger. It looked to her like a common honeysuckle, but what did she know, she was no plant expert. She was about to praise Suki for her find when Shippou hoped on to her shoulder and scrunched his nose.

"That's not a Moon Flower," he informed Suki importantly.

Suki recoiled as if struck. Her expression was one of betrayal when she turned attention to Shippou. "Y-yes it is! Mom told me stories about what it looks like and it looks just like that!"

Shippou was about to open his mouth to argue when Kagome coughed and nudged him into silence. Turning back to the pouting girl, she smiled kindly. "I've never heard or seen a Moon Flower before," she said. "What does it do?"

With Kagome's attention returned to her, Suki regained the shiny-eyed happiness of before. She clasped her hands together and sighed dramatically. "Mom says that when you pick the petals of this flower and repeat a wish, when the last petal falls your wish will come true!"

Shippou snorted, causing Kagome to nudge him off her shoulder. Geez, that boy was picking up some pretty bad habits from Inuyasha. She returned the flower back to Suki with another smile. "Well, since you found it, Suki it only makes sense that you be the one to make a wish. Go on."

Kagome took a step back as the children gathered around, each trying to get a look and touch the pretty flower. Suki stood in the middle of the crowd preening and beaming and casting smug looks at a sulking Shippou. Kagome shook her head, amused.

She had remembered playing similar games as a child. As a little girl, her grandfather had been the best story teller ever, and she had loved listening about the history of the little charms they kept around the shop. She bet that if she went home and dug around the roots of the Goshinboku, she would find buried Shikon jewel key chains hidden in her old hiding places.

So the Moon Flower, was it. She hadn't heard of that one before. Rubbing her hip idly, she wondered if it was merely a bedtime story told to children or if it had historical significance. Now a days she was more cautious about dismissing superstitions. She had once thought her grandfather's stories were silly tales too, but then the real Shikon jewel popping out of her body had corrected that assumption straight away...

"Miss Kagome!"

Kagome turned around looking back down the path they had come. It was the teenage boy from earlier. He was jogging down the path, eyes squinting around.

"Over here," she called, waving a hand. He pivoted in her direction and as he approached, she blinked to see an expression of relief on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly when he reached out to grab her elbow.

He shook his head. "Nothing at all, miss. Rumors have been flying since the attack on Lady Kikyou's grave, and passer-by are starting to ask questions. With the priestess gone, the headman thought it might be better if you returned to the village."

At her nod, he sighed in relief and let her go. Reaching for the hands of two of the children, he began to lead the way back to the village.

"Shippou, Suki, please grab the little ones." she said, looking around to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Children, make sure your holding someone's-"

A chill shuddered down her spine.

Kagome whirled around instinctually, pushing Toto behind her as she pulled the bow from her shoulder. Her eyes fastened to the other side of the clearing. When nothing stirred in the clearing but the trees in the wind, she slowly released the feathered tip of an arrow and dropped a hand to her side.

None of the children noticed her abrupt cutoff, too busy bickering. Shippou approached her from behind, holding the hand of one of the girls. Noticing her tense stance, he straightened and followed her gaze, nose twitching.

"Kagome?" Shippou asked, tugging on her sock. "What's wrong?"

Not answering, Kagome scanned the edge of the trees with narrowed eyes.

For a moment she had thought she had seen something white fleeing into the woods. For a moment, she had thought she had heard a name.

Kikyou.