Continuing this just for kicks.


Kagome is still reeling when she finally finds her sister. She spots her with her boyfriend, getting ready to head home. He lives on the opposite side of town, but of course he'll walk her to her place first. Kagome is used to it.

Kikyou-nee-chan sure can pick them, Kagome thinks ruefully. Before dating her, Inuyasha was the best-known student who was never actually in class. Even if he only graced the classroom with his presence every other week, people remembered him because of his striking platinum blond hair that he'd inherited from his foreign father. Hair so light that it appeared almost white was considered very unusual, and for a half-Japanese to have it was nothing short of striking. Of course he got noticed. The fact that he grew it longer than most girls didn't exactly help his obscurity any.

Kagome remembers that she'd had a crush on him back then. But all the girls had. She remembers giggling with the other girls making indecent jokes about him and the other cute boys. She remembers that that stopped when he started dating Kikyou. And she has quietly hated him since the day he kissed her.

She follows them, Inuyasha carrying both his books and Kikyou's, the two in easy camaraderie. They don't see her, they don't look back. They only have eyes for each other.

You would think, thinks Kagome, that with all the time he spends making goo-goo eyes at her, he would know how to tell her apart from her twin.

No one knows about Inuyasha kissing her. Even Inuyasha himself probably doesn't know. Kikyou-nee-chan is always saying that his vision is bad, he needs glasses. Probably why he fell so far behind in school. It's just like that. He walked up to her, put his arms around her, and before she could object, kissed her on the mouth. "Inuyasha-san!" she said in shock, and he said, "Kikyou-san!" teasingly.

He probably hadn't known yet that Kikyou even had a twin. Kagome remembers him looking a bit uneasy at their introduction later, but he never said anything.

It was the day he kissed her that she cut her hair. Inuyasha hasn't made another mistake yet, so it seems to have been worth it.

Still. That had been her first kiss. Kagome cannot forgive him.

She might forgive him more easily if he were ugly.

Up ahead, Kikyou passes out in a dead faint.

Kagome is by her side almost before Inuyasha is there. Inuyasha looks momentarily surprised, but doesn't question her presence. They're twins. They're always doing weird stuff like that.

"Should we get her to a hospital?" Inuyasha asks. There's a little panic in his voice. She's fainted before, but never while he was alone with her.

Kagome remains calm. "No, she's been to hospitals before. They can't find a thing wrong with her. The best thing is just to take her home. She'll wake up soon enough. Maybe even before we get there," she adds optimistically. She doesn't mention the state Kikyou is usually in when she does wake up.

Inuyasha nods. "I'll carry her and my books, can you carry her books?"

"Sure."

Inuyasha hands Kagome Kikyou's books, and with his backpack on his back and both hands free, he picks up Kikyou gently. They continue, with Kikyou over his shoulder, her black hair falling over his back like a shroud.

For a while there is nothing but their footfalls on the sidewalk, and the occasional awkward stares of passers-by.

"This way?" Inuyasha asks at a turn, as if he had not walked this route so many times before.

"Yes," Kagome says.

"So, uh, what do you usually do when this happens?"

"Just put her in a comfortable place to rest. She comes around soon enough. It can be as little as ten minutes, or as much as an hour. If it happens at school, they put her on the cot in the nurse's office."

"And the doctors don't know anything?"

Kagome shakes her head. "They couldn't find anything. But then of course Grandpa goes on about how it's not a physical ailment, she's on a spirit quest." She snorts, showing what she thinks of that theory. "The worst is that Kikyou-nee-chan believes him. Kikyou-nee-chan believes everything Grandpa says. There's a reason she's the favorite."

Inuyasha thinks on that a moment. "Spirit quest, huh? I wonder."

"Don't tell me you believe that kind of stuff."

"Well, I don't really know. It might be a load of bull, or it might not."

"Pfft. You and Kikyou-nee-san deserve each other."

"Well, I don't usually think about that kind of stuff much," Inuyasha says. "But considering those dreams she's been having lately, you have to wonder."

"Dreams?"

"She didn't tell you?" Inuyasha asks in surprise.

"No," Kagome says quietly.

Inuyasha looks uneasy. Whatever the strange politics are between twins, he clearly wants no part in it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she had weird dreams anyway," Kagome says. "With all those fairy tales Grandpa is always filling her ear with. All princesses and youkai and samurai and magical relics. Always spinning tales to impress people and sell stupid trinkets like that mermaid's hand or those ridiculous shikon no tama replicas."

Inuyasha suddenly looks more interested. "What was that you said? Shikon no tama?"

"Yeah, these little glass balls he's always trying to sell. Something about the history of the shrine. Don't ask him about it, you'll never be able to shut him up. At least not until he sells you a dozen."

They arrive the entrance to the shrine, and begin climbing the many steps. Kagome feels sorry for Inuyasha mounting all those steps carrying both Kikyou and his books, and besides, even the two loads of books she's carrying have her breathing heavily by the time they get to the top.

After that, they go inside and are greeted by her family. Inuyasha lays Kikyou down on her bed, and Kagome lies down there with her. Inuyasha seems to feel he's intruding on something, and goes downstairs, but she can still him talking with her family, even if she can't make out the words. That's loyalty, she thinks. He won't go home until he knows she's okay, even if he feels it's rude or improper to stay in the room with her.

Kagome and Kikyou lie facing each other on the bed, and Kagome closes her eyes and waits.

Finally, she hears a gasp like one surfacing after a long dive, and both their eyes open at once. Kikyou's eyes flit to her surroundings with a sense of unfamiliarity and terror, and Kagome clasps her hands silently.

With a soft breath like a sigh, Kikyou embraces her sister and cries.

Kagome says nothing, does nothing to comfort her other than simply being there. Always Kikyou has been the frail one, the precious one, the gifted or blessed one. Kagome is just Kagome, the spare twin, the one who holds Kikyou when she cries. If she feels envy or resentment, she has forgotten what it was like to live without it.

Only this time is different. This time Kagome is unnerved by an experience she can't explain. She shivers, thinking of the strange almost-blackout and her vision of the field of flowers, and it seems that even thinking of it in Kikyou's presence makes the imagery more powerful.

When Kikyou is calmer, Kagome tells her, "I'm going to tell Inuyasha you're all right. Come down and eat some dinner if you can, otherwise get some rest."

"Inuyasha's here?"

"He carried you home. Very macho."

Kikyou smiles and leans back on her bed. "Tell him I'll see him tomorrow."

Kagome nods and turns to go downstairs.

"Oh, Kagome," Kikyou says, and Kagome turns around. "Is that a new jacket?"

Kagome looks down in surprise. She'd completely forgotten that Kagura had lent her her jacket. "Oh, a friend let me wear it," she says. "I have to give it back."

Downstairs, she relays the message to Inuyasha, who looks relieved. As an afterthought she asks, "Do you know Kagura?" It's not unreasonable. They're both somewhat delinquent.

"Kagura, the principal's daughter?"

"Yeah."

"I know her. I think my brother's dating her or something."

"Oh really!" Kagome exclaims. This is more information than she thought she'd get. "I didn't know you had a brother. Does he go to our school?"

"No, he's older," Inuyasha says. "Only a half-brother anyway...it's a long story."

"I see," Kagome says. "The reason I mentioned Kagura is, she lent me this jacket, and I don't know if I'll be able to find her in school again, given we're in different classes, and despite living with the principal her attendance record is spotty."

"Give it to me," Inuyasha says gruffly, "she'll probably even be at my place tonight. She practically lives there these days." His tone leaves no doubt as to how distasteful he finds this arrangement.

"Actually, I wanted to return it to her in person."

"Okay," Inuyasha says, and heads off.

"No, wait, I meant," Kagome says nervously, "Is it okay if I go with you?"

"Look, I'm not walking you there, walking back here, and walking there again. I do need to sleep sometime."

"You don't have to walk me home, stupid. I'm not some delicate flower like my sister."

Inuyasha looks torn. "Isn't your mom going to freak if you go across town with some boy this late on a school night?"

Kagome rolls her eyes. "Moooom!" she calls loudly. "I'm going out. With a boy. To have hot, nasty sex with his brother and their friends. And do drugs."

"Okay, dear. Just be home in time to walk your sister to school, okay?"

Inuyasha blinks. "Wow."

"Yeah. I know. Let's go."

"I always thought your family was more...protective," Inuyasha says as they head out the door.

"They are. Just not with me."