LOVE OR DIE

(Garota Inu)

2. For the second time.

First time.

It's the only thing that is running inside Kagome's head: things that happens to people for the first time. Like first time falling over, first time confessing, first time being confessed to, first time sleeping over, first time going out with friends, first kiss, first time taking a bus on your own, first time getting an F, first time getting an A+… Things can happen to one time and time again, but things can happen to one for the first time only once. For everyone! That's the damn logic! At least, it should be. But not for her, no, never for her. She is Kagome Higurashi, for God's sake! The girl who was born with a legendary jewel in her left side, the girl who has a dimensional portal in her front yard; the girl who can turn youkais into ashes with a touch, the girl who rather be five hundred years in the past, fighting to the death instead of the safety of her own era, studying to have a good life, the girl who has the heart to love a demon that hasn't got one… And here she is: at the bottom of the well with Mistress Centipede's arm serving as an indicator of exactly when she is.

In the feudal era. For the first time.

Again.

Getting out of the well for the second first-time proves to be a lot easier than it was the first first-time. Finding her way to the Goshin Boku is as automatic as breathing. Too many times walking down that path made it so natural that Kagome is sure she could do it with her eyes closed. But years of feudal era could never prepare her for what she sees, when she pushes the last foliage out of her way.

Inuyasha's face. Without all the stress of shard-and-Naraku hunting haunting it.

Maybe living with him every day for almost five years kept her from noticing the change, from noticing just how much Inuyasha actually went through. And now that she's noticed, Kagome sprints towards his body and crushes him in a protective hug, caressing his hair, his ears, breathing his godly, musky scent of pine mixed with vanilla; drinking Inuyasha in before he wakes up and starts calling her names and trying to rip her throat out.

For a moment, Kagome considers not freeing Inuyasha and going on the Kill-Naraku Journey on her own. He doesn't have the jewel – she does –, so she could take him without big problems, right? Besides, that is the right thing to do, isn't it? That would prevent a lot of people from dying and it'd be EXTREMELY, unforgivably selfish of her if she doesn't kill him now just to have the journey as an excuse to solve her love issues… Besides, without Inuyasha, it'd be sooo much easier, because she'd get more help from people than she would if she had a hanyou traveling along.

Yeah, a lot of things would be a lot easier.

But she is freeing Inuyasha.

Kagome smiles a little. Of course she's going to break the seal – God could kill her if she doesn't –, but the miko just can't help but wonder: what if she doesn't? What would happen, what would not? It's something that makes one curious, dying to know, but it also is something Kagome'll never know. She caresses his ears and bangs. "I'd never do that to you.", she whispered. "But I won't stay here to be captured for those brutes again. You don't know but one of those sirs grabbed my butt. Thrice!"

Kagome goes to hide behind some bushes and crouches down at the same time the villagers appears from the trees. One of them glances at Inuyasha and halts, smirking. "Look at the bastard. – Serves him right.", he said.

The other three nod their head in agreement and one even spits on the ground. "That's for all the bad things he did to our village and for trying to steal the shikon."

"Fleabag.", one of them disdains. Kagome rolls her eyes. They probably weren't even born that time.

"Is he really unconscious?" The one who started the insult-the-hanyou party asks suddenly, and Kagome feels a chill on her back, not liking his tone.

"Kaede-sama says he's sleeping and dreaming, but not sure."

The brute chuckles. "Well, let's find out." He says and pulls a knife from his belt.

She knew it! 'Oh no, you won't!'

Concentrating very hard, Kagome spreads a huge, powerful and above it all, threatening aura out to fill up the whole clearing. It won't harm them, but it'll scare the hell out of them!

The men's whole bodies tremble and the bastard with the knife falls on his butt, but they still don't go away. Grimacing from effort, Kagome intensifies the thing and even shakes the bushes a little to fool them and this time she gets results. Better ones than the expected, in fact: one of them dropped the bow that they used to shoot her the first time.

"That's for harassing me." Kagome picks up the bow. "I know you haven't now, but you would." Turning around to look at her hanyou soon-to-be-friend, Kagome decides she's taking advantage of her knowledge about the future and making things a bit easier for him. Where and when she can, of course, she can't risk ruining the future after all.

"Be right back, okay? – Going to kill a centipede."

And her old-Inuyasha wouldn't have believed if he saw how easy she killed it. It can't even be called a battle, just villain-talk, a dodge and a shot. And putting aside the talk being utterly boring, Kagome had to be thankful for it, for it made her think and have an epiphany; a very simple and refreshing one. There is no 'ruining the future'. The future she knows, she's not going back there. She wasn't sent back in time. Time went back again. If she is to make things different it would affect nothing, no one would have his/her life changed.

Only her.

And, for that reason, Kagome is now at her bedroom, packing her huge yellow backpack before going back to wake Inuyasha up. 'Just because I was unprepared the first time doesn't mean I have to be now, right?'

It was funny seeing her family four, almost five years younger. It's the same with Inuyasha: she hadn't noticed time touching their appearances, but now that she saw them, she was really surprised. Kagome catches a glimpse of her reflex in the mirror and freezes her movements at once, looking startled at the teenager girl in there. God, she didn't know she was that thin and her hair that short… Kagome is used to her old self now, the one that has a little more muscles and flesh in her body, more scars and long hair that cascades until her hips. She already misses her hair…

Finally deciding this is the wrong time to be musing about hairstyles, Kagome opens her jewelry box looking for a good and not-so-girly necklace. Since Kaede isn't going to be disturbed about a possible disguised female fox youkai today, Kagome is in a desperate need of a kotodama. Kaede taught her how to enchant one once and she only needs a necklace now.

'Girly – Girly – Ugly – Small – Too simple – Girly – Gi–'

She halts her hands at one in particular. Her favorite since childhood. It's not that large, but surely would fit in him. It's simple, but pretty. A simple three-string, black suede necklace that carries a tiny silver plate that reads LOVE in English. It was a gift from her father. He gave it to her when she was seven, right before traveling and dying. He'd said he had made it with the idea of, if her grandpa approved, making many others and putting them on sale, since people nowadays love English, and decided to give the first one to her.

He never got to make a second.

Fighting a tear away, Kagome makes up her mind. It's going to be this one. She loves Inuyasha with her entire being, it's not girly or ugly and it'll fit in him; and she loves the idea of seeing her hanyou using it.

With everything she needs packed, Kagome darts downstairs and, promising a later explanation to her mother, jumps in the well. Soon the warm blue glow comes to welcome her back and take her five hundred years back in time. Can it be more abnormal? Any freakier? Yes, it sure can. But she loved it.

Inuyasha's always pampered her in a certain way. Always carrying her on his back, never letting her feel cold at night, making sure there's always food for her, always being there to help her up and out of the well… Getting out of it will never be easy without him, but she managed and ran back to the ancient tree.

What she's supposed to do now is not difficult: Kagome just has to make everything easier for Inuyasha and make Sesshoumaru fall for her hard enough to confess, but there were always doubts – little and big ones. Should she let Kaede alone? Should she tell Inuyasha about the Jewel in her body? Should she let Kikyou be resurrected or rest forever? So many questions… But thinking better about it, without the shattering of the jewel lots of battles aren't going to happen or are going to be a lot easier. There'll be no Yura, no Tsukumo's toad, no Thunder Brothers, no super-powerful Naraku, so maybe Kikyou should keep resting––

Realization downs on her with such strength Kagome gasps. No Thunder Brothers means… She isn't going to meet Shippou. Just the thought made her eyes sting and silent tears run down her face. Her little kitsune… What should she do? "I don't want that…!", the girl sobbed. What would her days be like without that boy? She wondered. Kagome shook those thoughts away, willing away the sadness that threatens to overcome her. After all, she could find a way to meet with him. Yeah…

Kagome pushes the last bushes aside and how great is her surprise when she enters the clearing to find Inuyasha wide awake and trying to break free. He turns his flaming, troubled eyes to her and growls at her like never before. It's so strange the she has to swallow back a huge laugh, but in a situation like this all Kagome can think to say to him is pretty obvious.

"If you call me Kikyou, I'm sooo not pulling that arrow out…"