Fan fiction, by Krista McGrath

Fan fiction, by Krista McGrath.

Chapter 1

Kagome was trudging home after an unbearably long day of school, a vacant expression plastered across her rather pale face. Two large, circular bruises were positioned on her right upper arm, and were highly noticeable due to the tinge of loud black and blue colouring. She hadn't been paying much attention in Physical Education as her thoughts had been wandering elsewhere, and she had been hit not once but twice on her arm with heavy dodge balls. They had given her such a fright that she had shouted "InuYasha!" in a pleading, desperate sort of voice, which thoroughly embarrassed her. A new girl called Krista had been the one who had thrown them, and Kagome had seen she was trying hard not to laugh. She feared her friends Ayumi, Eri and Yuka might actually believe Grandpa's excuse of her having Dissociative fugue if she kept her antics up. Houjo somehow found out off Grandpa, and had immediately presented her with a kind of therapeutic headscarf that he was certain would help her concentrate better.
'It's no wonder they will all believe Gramps, I mean come on, I'm a wreck!' she thought, as she passed by a shop window. She observed her reflection critically, and she groaned at what she saw.
Her raven coloured hair that was usually so bouncy and full of health cascaded in thick, bunchy tendrils down her back. Relatively fresh scratches were present on her arms, legs, face and hands, and her eyes were heavy from lack of sleep.
All in all, she did not look herself, or in very good health. Even her school uniform that she wore with such pride was rumpled and torn in places, as though she had worn nothing else for quite some time.
"I look like death warmed up…" she said quietly, turning away from the window and continuing on her way home.
Kagome yawned widely as she dragged her feet along the pavement, and a passer-by noted that each step she took appeared cost her great effort. The elderly man shook his head slightly as he passed her, "Stupid kids, when will they ever learn to take care of their bodies?" he muttered to himself, craning his neck over his shoulder to watch her pass by.
She sighed miserably, and tightened her grip on her large schoolbag that hung over her left shoulder, as her right arm was causing her too much pain to share much of the burden.
'Boy, has it EVER been a bad day. First day back in my time for a week, and already I have tons of homework!' She mused, rounding a corner as she thought this. Kagome had been in the Era of Feudal Japan for longer than usual, and had spent many days and nights searching for jewel shards. It wasn't easy, when one was accompanied by a moody half dog-demon, a lecherous monk, and usually followed by one or two groups of demons that would stop at nothing to see you dead.
Kagome had almost arrived home, and her spirits lightened when she thought of her warm, comfy bed and bowl of hot food that her mother would have surely prepared for her. Kagome's mouth watered at the thought of her mother's famous oden. She was so happy, she started humming a little tune that sounded oddly like; 'How much is that doggy, in the window?' as she passed through her family shrine gates.

"Hey, mum! I'm ho- WHAT THE?!" Kagome shrieked, coming to a standstill in her family's dining room. There, sitting right in the middle of the table was Inu Yasha, the half dog-demon. He had tucked his arms into the sleeves of his kimono, and one of his legs was draped casually over the side of the large wooden table. The other he had tucked beneath him. Dark amber eyes narrowed slightly at Kagome's tone of voice, and he moved himself forward on the table, which allowed him to slide off the edge and land expertly on the floor. Walking forwards a few steps, he came to a stop right in front of Kagome and leant forward slightly, arms still crossed close to his chest. Inu Yasha's face was now mere inches away from Kagome's. She flushed slightly at his nearness but didn't pull away, and he eyed her critically for some time.
"Nice to see you too, you look like crap, by the way." He remarked, sniffing disdainfully. Kagome's mouth fell open in astonishment at his rudeness, and she returned his look scornfully. "Gee, thanks, you're a real Romeo." She said sourly, placing her hand on a stuck-out hip. "What are you doing here anyway? I've only been home for one day, and I'm tired."
"Who's Romeo?" InuYasha growled, ignoring her little whine. A slightly jealous tone had noticeably crept into his voice, and his brow furrowed with anger. 'I'll tear him from head to foot if he's done anything to hurt Kagome!' He thought, clenching his right hand into a fist and raising it in front of his face.
Kagome let out an exasperated sigh and let her hand drop from her hip, although she couldn't help feeling slightly flattered that he cared.
"No one, no one…" She said faintly, seeming to survey her nails. "But you didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"
"To come get you, of course! Why else would I be here?" He grunted, trying to calm himself down. Even if she wouldn't tell him right now who this 'Romeo' guy was, he planned to interrogate her about it later.
"Miroku said he felt a strange demonic aura pass through the village today," he commented, setting himself down in what he thought was a small wicker chair. Kagome had to suppress a violent giggle when she thought of how funny Inu Yasha looked, as he hadn't realized he was sitting in Buuyo's sleeping basket. Inu Yasha continued, none the wiser about how hilarious he looked. "-And he suspected it was a demon. I figured it'd probably have a Jewel Shard, seeing as a demon that big would probably not be without one." He said, shrugging casually, and he proceeded to tell Kagome the rest.
The demon himself, Miroku, Sango and Shippo had seen was around about eight meters tall, and it had two huge leathery wings that spanned almost double that. It was bird-like in appearance, although most unlike any bird they had ever seen before. It was bright orange in colour, breathed fire, and what was strangest of all was that it had a steady flow of human blood gushing from its eyes. It had been hovering over the Village the day after Kagome left, showering Inu Yasha and his friends with blood. The demon had announced that his name was Oetsu-Ketsueki and had attacked in a fierce rage, goring Sango in her right arm with its large clawed talons. Although Inu Yasha and Miroku had fought him for what seemed like hours, he appeared to regenerate any limb or loss of blood instantly. Oetsu-Ketsueki had launched himself into the sky, vanishing from view, declaring that he needed to devour more humans.
Kagome's eyes widened more and more at Inu Yasha's recall of the gruesome tale, and she was silent for a time, merely thinking this through. How were they supposed to beat a demon that could disappear into thin air, and regenerate like that? It just didn't seem possible…unless…
"You need me, to find the Jewel Shard it has." Kagome said thoughtfully, nodding her head. "And then we can beat 'im."

A tall girl of fifteen smiled at the handsome young man, and accepted the large bundle of brightly coloured tulips he had placed into her arms. She personally didn't like receiving flowers, but she reminded herself that these were not intended for her.
"Cool, Kagome will love these flowers, Houjo!" she said brightly, a huge grin plastered across her face. 'But I'll bet she'd be even more pleased to learn that they are from you.' she thought privately, her dark green eyes scanning his face. She was glad that he didn't seem to notice, and she raised her free hand to brush a stray tendril of hair out of her face. She always wore her dark brown hair in a high ponytail, and had two loose sections of blonde hair hanging down on either side of her face, but they tended to annoy her a lot.
Houjo smiled to himself, ignoring her discomfort and deciding to carry on the conversation. "Yes, I hope she does. But it's her health I'm worried about the most." He said quietly, his brow furrowing with worry. "She hasn't been herself lately, so inattentive and mysterious." Houjo was probably referring to the 'Dodge Ball Incident' that happened this morning in P.E, she knew. It HAD been rather funny, but she wasn't about to tell Kagome that. She hardly even knew the girl! All she knew was that Kagome tended to suffer from a lot of physical illnesses, and was away from school a lot. She felt immensely guilty for being the one to hurt her with the dodge balls, but she continued smiling, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself yet again.
"You're right, she's been majorly weird today. I'd better go and see her, as a matter of fact." She waved heartily to Houjo as she swung her leg over her motorized scooter, A.K.A her 'SpeeDEMA'. She was still not used to wearing these strangely short skirts they wore here in Tokyo, but she figured if it was the fashion, not to mention the compulsory school uniform, who was she to argue?
"Okay, let me know how she's going. Tell her the fragrance of the tulips is great for increasing nerve impulses!" He called, waving back. She placed the flowers carefully in the compartment under the seat, and covered them with her school jacket before closing the lid over it.
"And Krista… Wear your helmet!" he yelled as she revved her scooter. Krista gave him the thumbs up and crammed the helmet on her head, flicking the dark visor down over her face. "Tootles!" she yelled back, over the roar of her scooter as she sped off down the (luckily) desolate street. Houjo stood still for a few minutes until the deafening roar of her scooter could no longer be heard, and he shook his head good-naturedly. "She's a regular 'speed demon', that one…" he said, and he turned to his own pushbike and prepared for his much slower ride home.

Meanwhile, Kagome rushed frantically about her room, stuffing clothes, medicines and all sorts of interesting food into her oversized yellow backpack. Inu Yasha was perched nervously on the edge of her comfy bed, not even bothering to help, as he figured he would just get in the way. She was moving so fast that even Inu Yasha was becoming slightly dizzy just watching her.
She was talking almost as fast as she was moving as she threw various objects over her shoulder, which landed in a relatively neat pile next to the dog demon.
"..Oh, and I'll have to tell grandpa not to make up a lame illness again, it really ticks me off, ya know?" Inu Yasha practically had to dive to catch the heavy items that had suddenly been thrown with more force than moments before.
"…And I'll have to tell Souta to keep his pesky friends outta my room! They sure made a mess last time…should buy a lock or something."
Inu Yasha now had to dodge even more random objects, as Kagome was getting more furious with her temper and throwing force. These included a school shoe, a first aid kit and an empty goldfish bowl.
"Geeze, Kagome! Watch it! What are you so mad about anyways, huh?" He asked, throwing her a rather sceptical look. She sighed and lowered her hand, having been in the middle of hurling a rather lethal-looking tennis racquet in his direction. He eyed it nervously but said no more.
"What am I mad about? WHAT AM I MAD ABOUT?!" She yelled across the room. He flinched and scrambled across the bed, his eyes wide and concerned. 'Yes, that's what I'd like to know.' He thought.
"I'll tell you what I'm mad about," she continued, in a dangerously quiet voice. "You come back to my era, after I've only had one days rest. We were away for two weeks, Inu Yasha. Two weeks. Two weeks of running, fighting, worrying and shouting." She accused, her voice still perfectly calm. Kagome knew she was over-reacting, but this jerk never asked, he just commanded. He never said thank you, he just rudely shunned her away. Quite frankly, she was sick of it.
Inu Yasha's mouth was slightly open and his eyes bulged in disbelief, he stared quite unblinkingly. "W-WHAT?!" He spluttered, clenching his fists and drawing himself to as full a height as possible. This didn't make much difference, as he was still sitting on Kagome's bed. "Don't you get it? Our friends are in danger and I just assumed that you would want to help me…to help them!" He snorted and crossed his arms across his chest, looking at her cajolingly through lidded eyes. "Buu-uut, I suppose I assumed wrong," he said, giving her a searching look. "You don't care about Sango, Miroku, Kirara or Shippo." He stated, grinning slightly at her discomfort.
"O-Of course I do! I-I-I just…I'm just tired, is all. Stressed is more the word. Actually." She said faintly, self-consciously scratching her right arm. She stopped when Inu Yasha uttered a gasp and stood up, strode over to her and gently grasped her arm with a clawed hand. He examined it critically, and was silent for a long time.
She was very much surprised, and she stared at Inu Yasha like he was some sort of rabid dog (no pun intended). He glanced back at her with a worried look, and it soon dawned on her why when she let her gaze slide down to focus on her arm.
"The bruises." She muttered quietly, remembering how she had acquired them in the first place.
"Who did this to you?!" Inu Yasha said, his voice unusually high. "I'll rip 'em to shreds!" And he meant it, too. No one was allowed to touch Kagome, especially when he wasn't around to beat them up!
Kagome tittered nervously and wrenched her arm away from him. "It's nothing, I was just playing dodge ball... It's when people throw balls at you and you have to not let them hit you." She added, after seeing the questioning look on Inu Yasha's face. "It's sort of fun, but I wasn't paying attention... And this girl…Krista, I think her name was, got me twice." She explained. Kagome suddenly felt a certain fondness towards the girl, as the bruises she had inflicted seemed to be resolving Inu Yasha's issues, as well as her own.
Inu Yasha didn't know quite how to react to this, but he lunged for her arm again, wanting to confirm that she was all right. How could she have fun getting hurt? And why wasn't she paying attention? He shook his head, bewildered, deciding this day and age was just too strange for his liking.
"Well, uh, be careful next time, okay? Or just don't play it at all." He said, and she nodded solemnly. "I mean, it's not like I care or nothing." He added, pursing his lips and avoiding her eyes. Whoever this 'Krista' girl was, she would pay for hurting Kagome, of that he would make sure.
'There he goes, masking his feelings again…' Kagome thought, rolling her eyes. She was soon, however, unbearably aware that Inu Yasha had not let go of her arm, a fact he seemed to realize at exactly the same time as she did. He released his gentle grip hurriedly, a mortified grimace spreading across his flushed face. Mumbling something about meeting her down near the well, he rushed down the stairs in what seemed like less than a millisecond later.
Kagome was left all alone in her room, and feeling more that a little flustered herself. He had looked at her then like she was a disgusting slug or something, it was befitting as now she felt like one. This was simply just not her day!
Sighing heavily for what seemed like the millionth time that day, her head full to bursting with conflicting thoughts, she scooped up the rest of her things and stuffed them unceremoniously into her backpack. Her knees buckled slightly under the sheer weight of her burden, as she hoisted the heavy backpack onto her shoulders.
She in turn thundered down the stairs, her hair bouncing wildly with every step she took, and skidded to a halt on the carpet near the front door. Kagome wondered whether she had imagined it, but she was almost positive she had just heard the roar of a scooter pulling up outside her family shrine gates.

Inu Yasha stood stock still, his keen sense of smell picking up a strange, if rather foul smell. "What is that?" he spat, covering his nose with his red sleeve. "It smells kinda like those loud metal things that people ride in, but different."
He crept silently up to the hallway window, and crouched down in front of it, not wanting to be seen by whoever was out there. Kagome had told him many times about the reaction he would receive if anyone from her time ever saw him, and she had instructed him that he was only allowed to go out with something covering his ears. Even so, he felt curious enough to chance a quick glance through the window.
Inu Yasha's amber eyes widened slightly as he spotted a pale girl who was dressed exactly like Kagome (although her uniform looked somewhat newer and tidier than Kagome's), and he confirmed he was right on his hunch about the moving metal things. Well, more like on from what he could see, as the girl appeared to be sitting on a loud version of the weird things Kagome called 'bicycles'.
"Inu Yasha! Get away from the window now!" said Kagome in a hushed voice. She dropped her backpack hurriedly next to Inu Yasha, and pushed him to the ground, away from the window. "Do you want her to see you?"
Inu Yasha looked surprised to find himself suddenly on the floor, and he glared up at Kagome who was now looking out the very same window she had just pushed him away from. She placed both her hands upon the window still and crouched down low to the ground, so that if that girl was to look in the direction of the window she could duck quickly.
"Hey, what's the big deal? It's not like she's going to come in here!" he growled, crossing his arms and legs definitely.
Kagome uttered a rather loud gasp and pushed herself away from the window, getting to her feet as she did so. "I-It's that new girl! The one that-" Kagome stopped mid-sentence and self-consciously touched her right arm, shooting a slightly nervous glance in InuYasha's direction. She didn't want him to know that this was the very same girl who had given her the bruises. She knew by now how over-protective he could be when it came to things like this.
"The one that…What?" said InuYasha, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice. His eyes darted to Kagome's arm, and, putting two and two together, they narrowed dangerously into mere slits.
Kagome flinched at his expression, and was mentally kicking herself for assuming InuYasha to be so beef-headed. She decided to get out of there, fast, so as not to give him time to grow angry.
"What am I doing, hiding here like this? I should go out there and greet her, but you stay here, okay?" she whispered, stressing the last word. She rushed to the door and flung it open, not giving him the time to answer. He responded by throwing Kagome a look of pure loathing, but stayed where he was. 'Like a good dog.' Kagome thought, throwing him a brief smile before she closed the door behind her. Her chest fell as she let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't even realized that she had been holding it in.
"Hiya, Kagome!" called the brown-haired girl, putting the scooter's seat down. Kagome let out a startled 'eep!' and her eyes snapped open, noticing the girl was making her way to the front door. Her scooter was parked precariously on the curb, and it wobbled dangerously off-balance.
"Oh, hi!" Kagome said, her voice noticeably higher than usual. She stopped talking, and inhaled once, closing her eyes briefly. 'Okay, calm down, Kagome!' she told herself, taking a quick step forward. She motioned to the girl, silently requesting that she join her on the front step. "Kirsty, right?" Kagome asked, pretending that she didn't know. She had hoped that Krista wouldn't recognize her from the disastrous P.E class that morning.
"It's Krista, actually" she corrected her. "You don't…remember me?"
"Ummm…NO!" Kagome shouted, making a wild hand gesture in the direction of a nearby window. Krista let out a frightened squeak as she jumped back, and clasped her hands against her chest, almost crushing the beautiful tulips in her fright. What was with this chick, did she have a mental problem as well? She really must be as ill as Hojou had said!
Kagome quickly realized Krista's discomfort and abruptly stopped making her wild hand motions. She turned deftly back to Krista, an apologetic look etched on her face. Inu Yasha had crept nearer to the window, and had almost been spotted by her guest. Kagome had tried her best to signal InuYasha to stay away, but she could still see him creeping nearer and nearer to the front door, his eyes glimmering murderously.
Kagome quickly rearranged her face and carried on talking, as if nothing had happened to interrupt their pleasant little chat. "Um, I mean, why should I know you?" Kagome asked, putting on a false air of innocence.
Krista tittered and cocked her head onto one side, her long tendrils of hair annoying her again. "Well, I was the one who hurt you with those dodge balls this morning in Phys Ed. I gave you those…" She trailed off, her eyes flicking from Kagome's face to her right arm. Kagome gently placed her left hand on top of her bruises, trying to hide her shameful condition. "Oh, these little things?"
"Yeah, those." Krista replied, clearing her throat. "I thought you would remember me. I did hurt you pretty bad, judging by the way you cried afterwards." A nervous look was still visible in her bright green eyes, but they also held a touch of amusement. Kagome raised an eyebrow but said nothing; she hadn't been hurt that badly, and she hadn't cried...much. Inside the house, InuYasha clenched his fists and started to shake with fury. So, she had been hurt badly, he knew it! And that pale wench had made Kagome cry!
Krista blinked once and smoothed down imaginary wrinkles on her school skirt, growing uncomfortable with the prolonged silence. 'I shouldn't have mentioned that', she thought. She was well aware that she had just made a serious social blunder, why was it always so difficult for her to say the right thing? 'Maybe this is why it's so hard for me to make friends…' She thought, a lump beginning to form in her throat.
"Err, so anyways, I just came here to apolo-" She stopped talking in mid-sentence, hearing a low rumble coming from the other side of the door. It sounded kind of like…Growling, but different. It started low, then grew and grew into a vicious snarl.
"What is THAT?" She screamed, her body shaking slightly as she took a few hurried steps backwards.
Kagome looked mortified, and her hands flew to her mouth. "That's, uh, my dog!" She said, throwing her weight against the door and bracing herself against it. Krista could plainly see that she was attempting to keep something either very large or very strong inside, as whatever was making that horrible noise was pushing itself against the door too. And it was putting up quite a fight. "SIT BOY!" Kagome screeched, stepping away from the door.
Inside the house, the necklace around Inu Yasha's neck started glowing with an eerie purple light. Inu Yasha just had time to say "What th-?" before performing a huge face-plant behind the door. He drove into the carpet face first, cracking a floorboard as he did so. Both Kagome and Krista could feel a large shockwave shake the very ground they were standing on. He uttered a pathetic moan as he lay there. Immobile, but twitching ever so slightly.
"H-HOW BIG IS YOUR DOG?!" Screamed Krista, her eyes wide, and the tulips shaking as her body did.
"Umm pretty big, you know, about yei high" Kagome said, vaguely indicating the height of a smallish cow. She looked uncomfortable upon seeing the horrified eyes of her companion, and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. Now what would this girl think of her?! What would she tell everyone at school tomorrow?
"He's not that vicious, I mean, he's obedient to say the least." She said, attempting to joke.
"Perhaps…I'd better go." Said Krista, nervously eyeing the door. She could see the shadow of the 'dog' starting to move behind the tinted window of the door, and she didn't want to wait around to see what kind of beast Kagome had holed up inside her house. "But are you going to come to school tomorrow?"

"Muuurph, crap…" Muttered the Hanyou, his knees quaking as he tried his best to get up. Kagome screeched and yelled the command again, resulting in an even bigger impact as he crashed through the floorboards. Krista was almost beside herself with fear, she had never liked dogs, but this was getting ridiculous! So, not waiting for an answer, she ran to her scooter as fast as her legs would carry her, and sped off, not even bothering to put her helmet on. Her ponytail and blonde bangs whipped out behind her as she chanced a sceptical glace over her shoulder at the now shocked Kagome, who had not moved an inch.
Revving her scooter once again, she turned her head back to the road. "Weird." She muttered, her hand still grasping the wilting tulips. Was it just her imagination, or could Kagome's dog talk?

...

Okay, first chapter finished! CONGRATULATIONS if you read the whole thing, I value your constructive criticism!