That Blue, Blue Sky

~Chapter 1

--

I groaned softly, curled into a tight ball on the cold ground. It was raining here, too. The cool water spurred me awake, and I opened my eyes slowly. I sat up, staring at my clothes. I was wearing a red hibakama with a black yukata; priestess clothes. I saw a blanket of black hair over my eyes, sticking to my forehead and eyelashes. I stood up and walked around slowly, aimlessly, bogged down with the weight of the water and my clothes. I found a puddle and stared at myself. My eyes were crystal blue and my hair was thick, too short to be long and too long to be short; around shoulder length. I had a carved bow and a quiver of arrows on my back. I turned away slowly from the puddle. This wasn't my body. It was more buxom and graceful than my other body. And I had black hair and eyes…not these exotic colors I had gained. What happened to me?

"SIT BOY!"

I heard a strange whining sound and then a crash as a girl came trudging over the hill that I was on. I stared at her as she dropped her umbrella and stared at me.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!"

I stared down at myself. There was blood coming from a shallow cut on my throat, but I didn't feel it and I wasn't dying. The girl stared at me a bit more before running away. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"

I held my throat tenderly, staring at the blood beginning to make a bright stain on my pale skin. I looked on as another younger woman with battle clothes, a monk, and a boy with small dog ears came up the hill. They all stared at me, shocked. I took my hand away from my throat and it was stained crimson. The boy with dog ears cringed, turning away with a saddened look in his eyes. I stared at them all and then smiled weakly.

"Inuyasha?" The girl in battle clothes asked.

"Hanabi…you were dead! You're just another Kikyo!" Then the boy with dog ears stormed away with the girl in the uniform following after him.

"My name is Yayoi…"

"Yayoi?!"

The girl in the uniform was rushing back up the hill with medical supplies when she tossed them down, wrapped her arms around me, and started sobbing hard. Blood dropped into her hair and I patted her back gently.

"Your hair is getting dirty…with my blood."

--

"So, you're Yayoi. I got it on my phone; you left voice messages to random people that you've known or that you had contact with. I was the third person out of the ten, I think."

"You were Sota's big sister…Kagome Higurashi. So you got it?"

"So, if I go back to the present, you'd be…"

"Dead. I came here."

"…w-why? What will Sota think?"

I smiled weakly, fingering the bandages on my throat. I shrugged; I didn't know what he would think. The dog boy was sitting in the corner, staring at me with forlorn eyes. He was quivering a bit; like he was afraid to talk to me. I stared back at him as his eyebrows furrowed.

"What the hell are you staring at?!" I stayed silent. I flipped my hair behind my shoulder and he snapped. "Stop trying to seduce me, you damn pile of clay! Stop trying to act like her!"

"Like who?"

"You don't even KNOW!" Then he ran out of the hut and into the rain.

"What's gotten into him…?" Kagome asked.

"He's acting out of character since Yayoi came along. Who's this Hanabi girl?" The monk asked.

"I don't know. Who's Yayoi exactly, Kagome?"

"I don't know her personally. But Sota does."

"Your brother, Kagome?"

"Yeah; the two of them were really close." Kagome said. "Oh, Yayoi, this is Miroku the monk and Sango the demon slayer. Shippo is still sleeping."

"Nice to meet you."

I frowned, rubbing my temples. This wasn't the life I had in mind. I had a dog mad at me and my best friend's sister was staring at a body that wasn't mine. I was trapped in a world with demons and half demons, and I had no idea about what was going on.

"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled from outside. "We have to head out of here; the barrier is making me sick."

"Barrier? Where are we?" I asked.

"…Mount Hakurei." Inuyasha answered quietly.

"Inuyasha, is something the matter?"

"It's none of your concern, Kagome."

Inuyasha barked once again for us to hurry up, and I stood up and obliged. Kagome captured Shippo and Kirara and the seven of us wandered away from Mount Hakurei.