Just a short one-shot on Kagome's backpack.
THISISTHESTUPIDLINETHATSEPERATESTHESTUPIDAUTHORSNOTESFROMTHESTORY
"Yo." Kagome said as she walked into Kaede's hut. Miroku nodded his head in greeting, but Sango looked quizzically at the young miko.
"Hi Kagome-chan," she replied back hesitantly as Kagome placed her backpack on the floor and plopped down beside it. Sango noticed her friend's backpack was a different color and seemed to be slightly smaller. Plus, Kagome didn't seem to struggle when she walked in with it on her back as she normally did.
"Hey Kagome?" she asked when her curiosity got the better of her. "Yeah?" Kagome answered. "Well, I was just curious to figure out-" "Why is your backpack a different color?" Shippo finished, obviously thinking Sango was taking to long.
Kagome blinked. "My…backpack?" she repeated slowly.
"Yes. I was wondering why your backpack looked different as well." Miroku declared. Kagome gave them all a "what-the-hell-are-you-guys-talking-about" look.
"You guys, my backpack doesn't look different."
"Umm…yeah it does Kagome."
Sango was getting worried. Kagome turned her gaze to the object of discussion sitting next to her on the floor. She stared at it for a few seconds, before looking back at her friends, who were staring at the backpack. They all seemed shocked as they scrutinized the backpack.
"I could have sworn it was…" Shippo mumbled under his breath. "We know Shippo." Miroku whispered dazedly. "We know."
"Umm…would someone like to tell me what's going on?!" Kagome demanded from her spot on the floor of the hut. "Well Kagome-" Sango began, but was interrupted by an angry half demon walking into the dwelling.
"Oi, wench!" Inuyasha declared. "When did you get back?!"
"I got back a few minutes ago, why do you ask?"
"What! How did I not know you were back?!"
"Why do you even care, Inuyasha? And don't say because you're anxious to go look for the jewel shards; you don't need to wait on me for that. You can go by yourself if you're so eager."
Said half-demon was shocked. 'How did she know that's what I was going to say?"
After rendering Inuyasha speechless, Kagome turned her gaze to Sango, who was studying her intently.
"Hey Sango?" Kagome quipped.
"Yeah?"
"What were you going to say about my backpack?"
"I can answer that!" Shippo called from his spot on Miroku's shoulder.
"Well, when you came in, your backpack looked different. Like, it was black with a blue and white penguin on it, and it looked smaller then it usually does. Plus, you weren't struggling with it like you normally do. But then, when you said it didn't look any different, it changed back to its big, bulky, yellow form."
Kagome just looked at him for a moment, but then she started giggling. The giggling became chuckling, then the chuckling became full-blown laughter. She couldn't breathe, and tears of mirth were streaming down her face.
Everybody just stared at her like she was crazy, but she merely waved them away as she desperately tried to gain control of her laughing fit.
Soon, her laughter calmed down and Kagome was able to breathe once again.
After the laughing died down, there was an awkward silence that hung in the air, blanketing the room in a thick tension. It was Shippo who broke the ice.
"Kagome, why did you start laughing when I told you about your backpack?"
This nearly sent Kagome into another laughing fit, but she managed to keep it in long enough to answer Shippo's question.
"Let's see, let's see. Where should I start? Oh, I know. Well, you guy's know how Grandpa is always giving my weird stuff that always has a long, intricate legend, that Grandpa says is mystical and crap like that, right?"
The group nodded their heads in unison, each remembering the time when Kagome had come back looking like a snowman; she was covered head to toe in white bulky clothing. In the middle of summer, no less!
"Well, anyway, Gramps told me that this backpack had always been magical and stuff, but I didn't believe him. Don't look at me like that guys; you've never believed him either. So, as I was saying, I didn't believe him. Nevertheless, I took it to Mom, because I just wanted to see if Gramps was right, because he was really serious about this one. When I did, she told me that if I'm thinking about something really hard, or very often, then the backpack will reflect what it is that I'm thinking about. About me not struggling with it, did you guys ever stop to think that maybe I just didn't pack as much stuff as I normally do, or that perhaps I'm just getting stronger? Yeah, I didn't think so."
"Ok," commented Miroku, "That explains it changing colors and having a penguin, but what about it turning back to yellow, or it getting bigger?"
"Oh, that." Kagome said, gesturing her hand in the air as though to wave off the thought. "Mom told me that there was an illusion on the backpack, so nobody else but the person in possession of the backpack could see it when it changed designs or anything. Apparently though, the illusion wore out a couple hundred years ago, but nobody used it after that, well, until Gramps gave it to me for my eight birthday, so the illusion still came back for a while. The illusion's wearing out again though."
"Oh…" Everybody said in unison.
"Yep."
"But that still doesn't explain why you laughed when we asked you why." Inuyasha grunted.
"Well, the reason I laughed was because," she looked at the backpack, "You guys should have seen what the backpack looked like earlier. Oh man, it was great. There was," Kagome started laughing again, "Inuyasha…" she couldn't finish.
"I'm sorry you guys," she said once she calmed down enough to breathe again, "but it was just one of those you had to be there moments. I can't explain it."
So, with that, the group let the subject go and resumed their hunt for Naraku and the jewel shards.
Nevertheless, Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder, when the illusion dropped completely, why he appeared on the backpack in a pink tutu so often…
THISISTHESTUPIDLINETHATSEPERATESTHESTUPIDAUTHORSNOTESFROMTHESTORY
Totally random, I know, but it was just kinda, you know, there, plus, I've wanted to write a one-shot for awhile now, so here it is!
Question: Should I write one-shots more? Or stick to long, intricate stories with complicated plotlines? Just curious…
Lots o' love, (that's how I'm signing everything now)
KIAKH