A/N: Well, here's the first chapter, now revised for better viewing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, X-Men, the idea of mutants, or the Shinto religion. I'm a poor college student writing this for my own pleasure to escape the brutal truths of reality. Or schoolwork, take your pick.
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Chapter 1: Mistakes
By Kenkaya
"What the Hell makes you think I'll listen to you after you break into my house?!" Kagome screeched. Souta cowered behind her legs, peering out at the strange elfish woman.
The woman tapped a folded fan against her chin in a thoughtful gesture.
"Oh! Forgive me. I don't believe I introduced myself. My name is Kagura Kazuki. I work for a mildly prestigious business man named O.N. Gumo. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
Kagome snorted, "Heard of him? The man practically owns half of Tokyo! He's the Bill Gates of Japan for crying out loud! What could he possibly want from me?"
"You'd be surprised," Kagura smiled. Somehow the smile twisted, almost cruelly. Kagome made a mental note not to trust this woman. "You see," Kagura continued, "Gumo-san is actually an underground mutant himself."
Silence.
"Wow," Kagome blinked after the dramatic pause. "I wonder how he kept that one out of the tabloids."
"Oh, we have our ways," Kagura snipped. "The point is, my employer has taken an interest in you and your developing… abilities. I've come on his behalf. Please, take a seat."
"This isn't your house! You still haven't told me why you broke in. Couldn't you have waited outside or come at another time?"
"My dear," Kagura clucked her tongue condescendingly. "Anyone who works for Gumo-san knows you don't postpone an errand. You get it done right then and there and you certainly don't return without progress! Surely you didn't expect me to wait for you outside in the cold dark?"
"That's what you were doing in here," Kagome muttered. "All the lights were off and it's almost summer."
Kagura sent her a look that clearly said she was too observant for her own good. Kagome fumed at the woman's superior attitude. She suddenly became aware of the tightening grip on the pant leg of her jeans.
"Souta. Go upstairs and do your homework."
"But, neechan…"
"No buts. Go upstairs while I talk to Kagura," she said, deliberately not using an honorific on the older woman. Kagura narrowed her satanic ruby eyes at the blatant disrespect. Souta, unaware of the female exchange, grumbled and trudged loudly up the stairs to his bedroom.
"Now that the child is out of the way," Kagura gestured to a wicker chair across from the sofa where she sat. Kagome glared and took the seat reluctantly. She wanted answers out of this woman, and she wasn't going to get them by being repeatedly uncouth.
"Okay, I'm sitting. What do you want?"
"It's not what I want, child. My employer is the one interested in you. I personally don't give a damn. I'm just following orders."
"Boy, aren't we Mary Sunshine today?"
"As I was saying," Kagura interrupted pointedly. "Gumo-san, like ourselves, is different. He has managed to hide his more… unique talents from society and create quite a name for himself. Since he made his fortune, he has made it a habit to take in children like us who have been shunned for what we are. Children who didn't have the chances he did. You will live in a dorm with others of your own kind. There you will find acceptance, friendship, but most importantly, safety from the outside. You will be schooled on the premises with your peers in both curriculum and how to utilize your mutant abilities to their fullest potential. I assure you your life will be quite comfortable and you will never receive another opportunity like this."
Kagome stared at the woman. The offer was extremely tempting. She would never be hurt like she was with Houjou again, or pretend not to notice when people skidded around her in the school halls. Pretend not to see the whispers. Sanctuary; it all seemed so perfect. Too perfect. She might have completely overlooked the observation had she not taken an immediate distrust in the woman.
"What's the catch?"
Kagura blinked and gave her another 'too-smart-for-your-own-good' look. "Why, Kagome, there's no catch. You will be expected to work for Gumo-san, but I wouldn't necessarily call that a catch."
"What kind of work?"
"That will be arranged if and when you accept," Kagura sighed, already tiring of the saleswoman routine.
"Tell Gumo-san I'll think on it. Now if you don't mind leaving… my grandpa should be home soon and he's going to freak if he finds out a mutant broke into our home."
"I will relay your message and return in three days. That should be more than enough time to 'think on it.'"
The woman excused herself and floated toward the door. Kagome did not rise to accompany her. In the blink of an eye, she was gone with the wind.
Kagome sighed with relief and sunk into the chair, determined not to move for another few hours. Alas, school, with its demon teachers and heresy known as homework, beckoned. Kagome pulled herself out of the thin cushions with a very audible groan and plodded to her discarded backpack by the door.
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"Souta! Kagome, honey! I'm home!"
Kagome slammed her book shut on the evil math problem she was working on (true, all math problems were evil, but this one was especially so) and ran down to meet her mother. A blur passed her as she opened the door and Kagome muttered some nonsense about crazy boys who always bounced off the walls.
"Mama! How's Jiichan?!"
"Why don't you ask me yourself? I'm not dead yet!"
Kagome chuckled and skipped down to greet her family. Her mother, with cropped black curls and warm brown eyes smiled. Jiichan, his skin pasty from deteriorating health, enveloped her in his frail arms.
"Ah! Kagome! It's so wonderful to see you again. You're not still friends with that Sango character are you? Heard from her aunt at the hospital that she got involved with some mutant fellow. Dangerous things, these mutants. I still say they're disguised youkai who are finally showing their true colors! We must protect ourselves against their dark auras at all costs!" the old man shook his feeble fist for emphasize. Kagome lowered her head slightly and Mrs. Higarashi looked at her daughter with reassurance in her eyes. Souta simply remained silent as he was told to do in these situations.
Of all the family members, Jiichan was the only one still unaware of Kagome's strange attributes. The rest of the family agreed that the shock could be bad for his heart and withheld certain bits of information: such as the fact that Sango was one of the few friends who didn't abandon Kagome after the math class incident. Sango had given Kagome a shoulder to cry on when Houjou chewed out her heart. And Miroku, despite his wandering hands and lecherous ways, was a good man worthy of Sango's open heart.
But the old man continued to rant, empathizing with Sango's family for having their daughter seduced by a "youkai." As with Houjou, Kagome found herself pitying her grandfather. Pity for his ignorance and narrow mind that could never see beyond the ugly half-truth.
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Sometimes, Kagome wished her inheritance could be more on the lines of, oh, say… the Texas Oil fields. But no, she was the heir to an ancient Shinto shine and right now, she'd really go for owning the oil fields. At least then she'd probably have enough money to pay someone to lock the place down at night.
Since her grandfather's re-occurring illness surfaced about a year ago, more and more duties of the shrine fell on her shoulders. Hence, Kagome found herself outside at exactly 11:21 p.m., giving the property a once over before closing it completely down.
Shadows slithered suggestively across the paved stone. Faded moonlight accented the effect and Kagome couldn't help the shiver running down her spine. She hated this job.
A giant tree, Goshimboku, loomed into view. Its base was enclosed by a small mini-shrine, covered with weathered ofudas. Kagome knew, within the shrine's sacred protections, laid the mummified remains of a youkai pinned to the holy tree: one of the shrines main attractions.
She remembered Jiichan giving her her first view as a child. Most young girls would have shrunken from the sun-dried corpse, but not Kagome. She was strangely fascinated by the decaying corpse. Wrinkled brown skin stuck to the contours of his skull, eyes shut tight and sunken in. But what caught her attention was the pure silver hair, untouched by age, and two pointed, leathery dog ears that poked between the strands.
"No, Kagome!" Jiichan called as he yanked her childish form away. "You mustn't touch such an unholy object with your bare hands and no training! You never know what might happen! This youkai single-handedly destroyed the original shrine that was build here and was sealed by one of the great mikos, costing the woman her own life. You must never risk awakening him."
Kagome smiled at the memory. Jiichan had been so energetic back then, always bustling around the grounds and managing to keep her small body out of Inuyasha's Shrine, as the building was affectionately dubbed. Even now, as she secured the gate's padlock, she felt drawn to it. Hesitantly, she reached a tentative finger to trace the ancient brass lock…
Rustle.
Kagome turned. Nothing. Just the familiar dark images fabricated by her mind. Satisfied, she turned to begin her stressful trek to the main house.
Snap.
She whipped around, eyes darting. Again, nothing. God, she was getting paranoid.
A gloved hand grabbed Kagome's face roughly. Another foreign arm snaked around her waist, pinning her arms in the process. Fear. The emotion floored her senses as she felt her petite body crush into a wide, barrel chest.
"Well, well. What have we hear?"
Panic flooded her mind, banishing chaos. Everything was so incredibly focused; so frightfully clear. Without a second thought to comprehension, she slipped through his arms and ran. She didn't even feel the tickling sensation of shifting molecules like she usually did.
"Damn! He didn't tell us she could do that!"
Kagome fled, trusting blind instinct to lead her. She heard boots slap the pavement behind her, gaining fast. A peach shawl, thrown hastily over the shoulders of her thin pajamas earlier, fluttered to the ground. Her breath grew ragged. A sheen layer of sweat shone on her flushed face. Her mind was blank, running on automatic. All she was aware of was the large man pursuing her, and the looming outline of Inuyasha's Shrine.
"Kouga!" the man roared into a communication device hidden somewhere in the folds of his non-existent neck. "Get your wimpy ass here! NOW!"
The shrine. Protection. Safety.
The whoosh of heavy wind howled in her ears. There was no breeze tonight. She sprinted the final stretch with a spontaneous burst of strength, the unnatural wind lapping at her heels. As she phased through the planked wood, fingers slid through her lower back. A discerning tingle rippled through her tense muscles.
Thuck!
Kagome heard the speed demon's collision. Mind unable to reach her feet in time; she flew off the small viewing platform that encircled the shrine's interior. She cried out as she crashed through the ancient roots. Her hip smashed against the ground. Hard. That was definitely going to leave a mark.
With a start, Kagome realized she landed right beneath the youkai's perch. Moonlight streamed through cracks in the ceiling, giving the atmosphere an eerie glow. Snowy locks shone with a pearly luminance as she gazed into his preserved face once more.
Bang!
Her attackers were trying to break in! Kagome spared a glance at the shrine door before returning her eyes to the entrapped youkai. An inexplicable urge to touch his ears overcame her. Without hesitation, Kagome pulled herself onto the raised root at his feet and reached out to him. The appendage was still warm. Tenderly, she rubbed the leathery, grey hide between her fingers. He didn't look dangerous to her. If Kagome hadn't already known the story by heart, she would have sworn he was shot in his sleep.
Suddenly, Kagome began to question her grandfather's interpretation. She didn't know why, but she felt a sort of connection with him. Sympathy for his plight. Could he have been prejudged against? Like her? The vision formed itself so easily in her mind; a young boy, misunderstood and lashing out the only way he knew how: with anger. A self-righteous priestess, eradicating the danger the only way she was able: with extermination.
The flaking arrow shaft protruded from his heart and Kagome suddenly found the object offensive. Jiichan told her the priestess sealed him with enchanted sleep. Did he dream in his sleep? Did he have nightmares? Living a cycle of various nightmares, all exposing base fears, all tearing at carefully constructed walls… nobody deserved that.
Ba… bang!
The thugs continued to work on the shrine lock while Kagome contemplated. The arrow captured her focus. She was well acquainted with rejection and unjustified punishment. The lengths people went to just to secure their security sickened her. Nobody deserved this.
Chck! Cla… ta… clack!
The lock fell to the pavement outside. Kagome grabbed the arrow and yanked.
Boom!
The door slammed open. The wood of the shaft fell apart in flakes and splinters. The rest of the rotting remains floated to the ground as dust.
"Stupid bitch!"
A hand grabbed the back of her pajamas, surprising her. The man took advantage of the situation and threw her across to the wall behind him. She slid down to the platform with a groan and blinked her now blurry eyes. Everything pulsed and spun. Violently.
"Ooo! That was a little harsh, Manten."
"Shut up, wolf! I would have gotten us in here a lot sooner if…"
"You moron! That would have gotten the whole neighborhood's attention! What part of 'covert operations' don't you understand?"
Kagome cleared her head just in time to find the big guy leaning over her. The eyes through his black mask twinkled with sadistic pleasure. She coiled her muscles and prepared to phase to her escape, when her sight caught on the tree trunk behind his back. Her eyes widened.
"What the Hell's the matter with you, woman?!" the guy yelled to the paralyzed girl. She simply stared past him, too shocked with what was happening before her eyes.
"Uh… Manten…"
Manten turned to face the other masked man in black, smaller and more slender than him. He then realized what everyone was staring at.
An unearthly glow illuminated the youkai mummy, pulsing in rhyme with his heart. His face and limbs began to fill out, skin fading from a ghastly grey-brown to a healthier tan-pink. His ears turned the same pure white as his hair and flicked to life as sound reached them.
Kagome and the two thugs watched in horrid fascination as the decaying corpse transformed into a living, breathing creature before them. The boy stirred and his eyes snapped open. He pierced them with a gaze of savage amber.
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TBC…