I'm a Normal Girl, Honest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Summary: Kagome has done everything to hide her time traveling, but what happens if one day, in modern times she is forced to make a choice. To protect and be revealed or stand by and do nothing?
Chapter One: On That Fateful Day
"speech"
'thoughts'
'Here I am, a sixteen year old girl living two completely different lives. In one I am…. er was a great student and got great marks, am a loving daughter and live in a shrine. I have three great friends, Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, and someone even has a crush on me. Sounds great doesn't it? Well that's just part of me.
My other life is down a well in Feudal Era Japan, hunting for jewel shards with Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kilala, and Inuyasha. We fight demons and have to collect all the pieces of the Shikon no Tama before Naraku gets them. I have a bow and arrow, purification powers, and deal with things that are in fairy tales. Like demons, and curses, and time travel. I've also seen things that no one in this day and age should see, battles, wars, bloody massacres, dead bodies are far as you can see, and more hurts to my friends and myself then any modern person should see. But here I am, I'm here, in school, back again until my next "illness" strikes again and I'm "incapacitated" so I can't go to school.
"I wonder what Miss Flanders would say if I handed this into her" Kagome Higurashi muttered under her breath.
She was sitting in her eleventh grade English class writing a report on "My Life According to Me". As she looked around she saw the rest of her classmates writing busily on their assignments. Yuka was looking up at the ceiling as though she expected inspiration to come from there. Eri was writing furiously as she tried to fit the most into the time allowed. Eri always got top marks on everything. She used to be like that. And Ayumi, Ayumi was… well it looked like she was doing her assignment but Kagome could see that she was gazing hungrily at Ryan sitting in the corner.
"Okay class, you have ten minutes left to complete your assignment", said Miss Flanders from her desk.
With a muttered explicative Kagome crumpled up her paper in front of her and pulled out a new sheet of paper. 'Okay girl, you gotta think on this one, what's can you get written in ten minutes? Come on think, think, think, there has to be something to write about. After sitting there for a couple of seconds it occurred to her, a proverbial flash of light.
"Aha, it's perfect. Miss Flanders will surely love this." Kagome began to write and as she finished the last line the bell rang.
"Phew, finally it's done and I think I'll get a good mark on this" said Kagome happily giving herself an imaginary pat on the back.
After she handed in her paper and started out for home Eri came up to her and asked her if she was feeling better after her latest bout of influenza, and then Hojou came up asking about her broken arm at the same time.
"But your grandfather told me you had broken your arm while falling down the stairs" questioned Hojou.
"Yeah" answered Eri. "And he told me you were sick at the exact same time. What's up Kagome?"
"Oh, uh well you see," said Kagome as she frantically searched her mind to answer this dilemma.
"She was sick with a cold and she fell down the stairs because she was delirious" interrupted Souta as he walked up to the little group.
"You poor thing" cried Hojou. "I'll get you some cream that is supposed to soothe aching muscles."
"That must have been quite an experience," added Eri
"Yeah it was" said Kagome blandly. 'If he is going to make up these things, why doesn't he keep his stories straight!' she thought angrily.
"Come on sis, since you're feeling better mom said that you can have your friends over for dinner."
"She did?" replied Kagome. "Cool, well Eri and Hojou to I suppose can you guys come over tonight?"
"I can," answered Eri
"No, I'm very sorry Kagome, but me and my family are going out for a vacation this weekend, so I won't be able to make it."
"That's to bad Hojou, another time perhaps?" 'Thank God, he is nice, but uh such a bore. I've had more stimulating conversations with Koga.'
"Oh your offer is most generous Kagome, bye now," replied Hojou as he biked away.
"I guess I'll see you at around six then Eri, if you see Yuka and Ayumi invite them along as well okay" said Kagome as she walked off towards home.
"How did you think up that so quickly Souta, and better yet, how does everyone keep believing these mysterious illnesses I keep contracting?"
"Don't look at me Kagome, I have no idea."
The rest of the journey home continued in silence except that Kagome kept getting the feeling like she was being watched or followed. When she commented on it to Souta he said that it was probably just a stray dog following them. When Kagome turned back to look though, there was no one there but she thought she saw a shadow move out of the corner of her eye.
"Mom we're home!" yelled Souta as they walked through the door.
"How were your days?"
"My English report was entertaining, I wrote about living in a shrine and a peculiar legend about a girl who could time travel by jumping through the well that is connected to this shrine" chuckled Kagome. "I wonder who its could be about?"
"Kagome, you're taking needless risks with stories like that. We've had the school board on us demanding to see you when you've been gone. If your little adventures are discovered there is no telling what will happen," scolded Mrs. Higurashi.
"All right Mama, I'll be more careful here". 'Not like I need to do that enough in the Feudal Era. Just lat week I saw my what it is now? My hundredth battlefield, full of dead bodies from humans and demons alike' thought Kagome and she suddenly blanched. Swallowing quickly and pushed the thought out of her mind.
"I'm going up to do my homework until my friends come over okay mom."
"Okay sweety, I'll call when they're here"
Kagome raced upstairs and ran to her room shutting the door tightly behind her. Panting heavily she tried to push all the things she'd seen out of her mind. The bodies, the blood, the horror.
She knew that Sango and everyone tried to block her from the most of it, but the amount that she had seen was enough to haunt her. She was taking to waking up in the middle of the night because of horrible nightmares. Bags were appearing under her eyes because of her lack of sleep. But she could never tell her parents, her friends, she couldn't tell anyone about the things she saw, and the things that haunted her.
She pulled her homework out of her bag and tried to concentrate on it, but double displacements and combustion reactions just weren't on her mind at the moment. As she mused about the importance of science in her time and the complete lack of it in the Feudal Era she thought about when she last left, what had just happened.
She looked up to the sky and saw the bat demon swooping down to attack her. Suddenly she saw a flash to her left and was pushed forward. Looking over her shoulder she saw Miroku with his staff making a barrier around the four of them.
She pulled an arrow out of the quiver on her back and fitted it to the bow. She aimed and let the arrow fly, but the demon somehow knew it was coming and evaded it easily.
Inuyasha called to her to stay back behind the barrier and let him deal with it. But she couldn't she couldn't safety there in safety while her friends, no, not her friends, her family were in danger. Sango, the sister she never had, as she flew around with Kilala and her boomerang whirling towards the demon loping one of its wings off. Kagome envied her strength. She had been through so much, and somehow found the strength to go on.
Miroku, the lecherous monk she had grown to love. His less than honorable quirks made him who he was. And she saw him there now, making a barrier with his own spiritual energy. Something found only in stories. But here it was, and he was using it to help them.
Inuyasha, with the fabled sword of tetsusaiga swinging it with ease like it was nothing while it was double his size. A demon, well more exactly a half-demon, a rude, arrogant, crude demon. That's what the stories say. But Kagome had seen his other side. The kind gentle one, the one that craved to protect the people he called his friends. The one that showed now as he leapt about slashing at the demon, that was more than ten times his size, regardless of his own safety.
This was the reason why Kagome couldn't hide behind, the reason why she had to fight. These people had accepted a girl from a time period of more than five centuries in the future, a time when she wasn't even always accepted. They had been through so much together, making their bond all the stronger. They were her family as much as Souta, Mama and Grandpa. She loved every single one of them, and could never imagine being without them.
She saw the injured and very pissed bat demon swoop down to attack Inuyasha and she knew, knew from watching these battles countless that he could not avoid it.
Sango cried and tried to distract the demon on Kilala, but with its one remaining wing it flung her crashing towards the ground. Miroku seized up and ran to help Sango. With a practiced efficiency no girl of sixteen should know, she pulled out an arrow and shot it right towards the jewel in the demon. As fast as she was though, the demon was faster and it attacked Inuyasha with its massive talons.
While Kagome went to check on Inuyasha, to check to see how bad his wounds were she looked about and saw that Sango was bleeding but all right and Miroku was none worse for wear, for a man whose death came with each passing day. It suddenly occurred to her that this was the strangest thing in the world.
Here she was, in Feudal Japan with a demon, a monk, a demon exterminator, and she a Miko. She knew how to find the time by looking at the sun; she knew the traditions of a Japan five hundred years ago and had grown to love them Firing arrows, making arrows, and purifying demons had become second nature to her. She had walked across Japan searching for jewel shards while a half-demon named Naraku searched out to kill them. People and demons in this era had tried to kill her; she had a hit out on her life. A hut on the edge of a forest had become her home, and an old woman her mentor. She knew how to handle most injuries with herbs, and some medicines from her time. For the number of times she had to tend to her friends injuries and they, hers. She had been shot at, possessed, had her soul taken out, attacked by anything, and everything during one year of her life. All in all she was pretty sure she was the strangest sixteen-year-old girl she was sure of it.
And yet, this had somehow become normal. Battles with demons, tending to the wounds of her friends, and walking around looking for a fabled jewel and being hunted by a demon that wanted to kill her. Living off the land –or in her backpack- sleeping in inns because of "ominous black clouds", and facing death every day with only a bow and arrow and the trust in her friends. This was her life, and she loved it.
Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she yawned smacking her lips. She looked about disorientated at first, but then she recognized her room but looking out her window the sun seemed to be in a different spot than before…
"Oh my God, it's almost six o'clock and I haven't done any of my homework!" she screamed.
"How could I fall asleep at a time like this? My time here is for studying, not sleeping" she groaned. "Oh well, not much I can do now, I guess I'll go down and see if dinner's almost ready."
Walking down the stairs and smelling the delicious smells of stir-fry she rubbed her eyes and mentally berated upon herself about going to sleep. 'Maybe all those sleepless nights are catching up on me'.
"Did you finish all your homework Kagome?" asked her mom as she walked into he kitchen.
"Yep almost all of it" she lied.
"That's good dear, I know how hard it is living two lives but I'm proud of you"
"Thanks mom"
The doorbell rang and she ran to grab it. "Oh there's the door I guess it's my friends are here already."
As she walked she heard what sounded unmistakably like giggling, lots of it. "Uggg" she groaned. 'Why do they giggle so much, are they that scatter-brained that all they can do is laugh at boys and clothes. They have no idea, no idea about anything' she mused.
As she opened the door Eri and Yuka screeched about seeing her while Ayumi calmly said hello and inquired about her health.
"Oh I'm doing great" said Kagome "never better". "Now, who's ready to eat?"
After a hearty meal they retired out to the Higurashi's backyard and the three girls stared in awe at the God Tree.
"Wow, it's so big" Ayumi said awed by its massive bulk
"I've seen it once before, but it still is pretty amazing huh Yuka" said Eri.
"Yeah" Yuka agreed. "Hey, Kagome what's this carved here, it looks like a heart with an "S" and an "M". It's in that part of the tree that looks kinda different"
Kagome coughed on the tea she was drinking and looked closely at the tree. The less worn part of the tree she knew was from Inuyasha being pined there for fifty years, but the "S" and "M" were something new. Then she remembered a couple of months ago.
"My dear Sango, if this tree is still there is Kagome's time then I must place a symbol on it, one so that she will never forget us" commented Miroku one day as they were staying in Kadae's village to rest for a couple days.
Kagome was rather shocked but she agreed but warned him not to leave anything to incriminating on the tree for future generations.
After carving at the tree for a couple of hours he announced that he was ready to unveil his "masterpiece". When the four of them walked up to see, all they saw was a tribute to Miroku and his love, a heart with an "S" and ad "M". "You stupid monk" growled Inuyasha "this is supposed to help Kagome remember us not-". He stopped after he saw Kagome keeled over in fits of giggles.
"No, Inuyasha, keep it. I'll always remember you Miroku, the monk who gropes every woman's butt. And Sango the demon slayer who can hit the hardest out of all of them and could stand by him through thick and thin. All the times you've asked girls to bear your child and all the times you've been hit for it. And you Inuyasha, I'll remember you as you protected me from the evil monk who tried to kidnap me and was so angry after he professed his love to me" chuckled Kagome.
"Keep it and I'll never forget"
As she looked at the mark carved lovingly into the tree, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She saw the reflection of another girl in those marks, one who didn't exist here but five hundred years in the past.
When her friends started to look at her curiously she said it was probably just some kids playing around and professing their love for each other. And her friends accepted it, they accepted it just as they accepted her as a complete Kagome and never suspecting that a part of her would ever be in the Feudal Era and never come back.
As they walked back to the house after a suggestion of ice cream Kagome felt it, she felt it as she did so many times in the past. The presence of a demon, a strong one. Gasping she whirled around and started running towards the well. Before she could reach it though the well house cracked and split open from in the inside revealing a massive demon. She kept running ignoring the screams of Eri, Yuka and Ayumi, and the shocked looks of her mom and Souta. Her bow was there and she had to kill that demon.
With no fear she went up until she was right beside it and grabbed her bow and quiver. Slinging it onto her back she went to protect her family and friends. When she got back far enough she pulled out and arrow and like so many times before she shot it straight at the demon and a blue light shone out of the tip crashing into it. But instead of purifying the demon, the arrow fizzled out and the demon ran out towards the street.
Racing after it she thought as to why the arrow didn't stop it. She was strong spiritually and could kill almost all demons with her powers but this one didn't even seem fazed. If she were back in the Feudal Era Inuyasha would have his tetsusaiga, Sango her boomerang, Miroku his staff and wind tunnel, and her, her arrows. Here it was just her and the bow. She had to find some way to kill the demon before it got to any innocent people. Thinking quickly she pulled out another arrow and focused as much energy into it as she could and shot. When the arrow hit she saw the demon stumble a little and she knew that more power would be needed then ever before to destroy it. The problem was, using these arrows sapped so much of her strength that she didn't know if she would have enough power to kill it.
As the demon charged through the residential streets of her suburb she kept up a fairly steady stream of arrows, launched with as much power as she could and it seemed to be working.
"He seems to be weakening, I think I'll only need a few more" panted Kagome as she ran after it stumbling a little. 'But do I have the strength to do it?' she wondered.
The demon stopped suddenly and Kagome saw her chance, tapping into her last resources she put more power in her arrow then she ever had before. The light of the arrow almost blinded her but she hoped that it would be enough; she had nothing else to give. Her last sight before she fainted from exhaustion was the demon dissipating and her family and friends running up looking scared for her life.
TBC
Author's Notes
This story is supposed to emphasize how dangerous the Feudal Era of Japan was and how Kagome is affected by it. Some of the things she's seen would scare me so I decided to write about it. She may be OOC but I wanted to do a more grown up Kagome because in the manga she becomes much more mature but the episodes I don't think show that. No Shippo because, well he bugs me so I'll not put too much of him in this story but don't worry it won't be all of Kagome in her time. She'll be going back quite soon, sometime about next chapter.
Please read and review no please please please read and review I want to know if my stories good, bad, crap, total crap? Offer me any suggestions or anything you want.
Until next time.
P.S. If anyone would like to beta this I'd be most grateful for your help!
Sneak Preview of Chapter Two - Sorry…
"Kagome did what?" said a shocked Souta
"She accidentally hit a man and killed him," replied Mrs. Higurashi sadly. 'How are we going to explain this?' she wondered looking at Kagome lying in the hospital room.