Disclaimer: Ownership? Nay to Inuyasha and nay to The Mall and Misery by Broken Bells.

Chapter 2

The Mall and Misery Part I

Oh she lies half burning
From the biting cold
If only to learn
What you've never been told
There's a real world
Somewhere a good girl
Lives and breathes

3 days. It's been 3 days and nothing. Not even a clue as to if he's bothered to check on me. Which is weird, because I didn't tell him I was leaving this time. So really, he should have come badgering through the well the moment he found out I had left. But then again, he did leave first, and he can't possibly think I wouldn't figure out why, so maybe he's just giving me some space…

Yeah right. That'll be the day, when Inuyasha freely displays compassion towards a human being.

This calls for another one of my patented sighs. I hate to admit it, but I'm bored. Like bored out of my mind. And yeah sure, before I was pretty upset with him, even angry at some times, but in the end the need to just be near him trumps every other emotion. He's the only one who brings that little spark into my life, makes me want to actually do something with it. When I'm with him, everything's in its right place. But I'm not with him right now. And I'm feeling it. It's like everything here in my time is in perfect order, but I feel like a jumbled mess, a puzzle whose pieces have been wrongly forced together. Hence, the boredom.

"He's probably really pissed at me," I whisper to Buyo, who has decided that napping on my lap is a great way to spend the entire day. Damn, he's heavy. And, my foot's fallen asleep, too. I wiggle my toes, feeling the numbness prickle the nerves and try to heave Buyo off of me. Which turns out to be a much harder feat then it should be.

"Buyo," I whine. "You're too heavy. I gotta tell Mom to stop feeding you so much."

After much pushing and shoving I finally manage to get him off of me. But as soon as I stand up and get off the bed, a short little black-haired figure zips into my room, crashing into me.

"Kagome!"

Arms wrap around my torso, throwing me slight off balance.

"Souta! What's the rush?" I ask as I return the hug, ruffling his hair in the process.

"Well you're going back today, aren't you? I have to say goodbye to you now since Gramps is taking me to the mall so I can get some new shoes," he mumbles into my shirt.

I let go of him.

"Who said I was going back today?" I frown.

"Well Mom's been making lunches for you and your friends, so I just thought-"

"She is?" I interject loudly.

Souta looks up at me strangely. "Yep," he responds, nodding slowly.

I stare back down at him, thinking. I guess I probably should go back today, I mean today's as good a day as any. And I don't want Mom to have gone to all that trouble for nothing. Plus, I ought to be getting back anyways, since I've waited this long for Inuyasha to come, and for what? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If I leave it up to him he won't come to get until sometime next week. Him and his stupid pride.

"Well, I better start packing then." I say, my mind made up. "It's going to take me at least an hour to get everything together."

"You mean, you haven't started yet?" Souta asks incredulously.

"Nope, not yet." I walk over to my desk to gather some of my textbooks. "I was studying earlier." I pick one of the books up to illustrate my point.

"Oh, I thought you'd already gone out earlier to pick up some more ramen for Inuyasha." Souta utters, handing me my backpack.

"Why would I do that?" I ask.

"We don't have any left." Souta answers. "But Gramps and I can pick some up when we we're at the mall if you don't mind waiting."

I glance around the room, weighing my options. If I wait for Souta and Gramps, I'm gonna be here for awhile. And I do not want to hear it from Inuyasha.

"How about this? I'll take you to the mall instead of Gramps, that way you can get your shoes and I can get some ramen, and in return, you help me get my stuff ready." I decide.

Souta smiles up at me. "Sure thing, sis!"

In no time at all I have my bag packed and ready to go, so all that's left is the ramen for Inuyasha.

"He'd better appreciate this," I mumble under my breath as we maneuver through the busy streets and crowded subway station. We get off the train and head into the mall.

"OK. The grocery store is just down there," I tell Souta, pointing down 7 stores. "I'll just be 5 minutes, got it? So try to make your choice quickly alright? I don't wanna be here too late."

He agrees and rushes off, so I begin the short walk to the grocery store. I walk slowly, letting the sounds and smells of the mall surround me. Closing my eyes I can hear all the people chattering, the subtle beeping of cash registers as purchase after purchase rings through. The scent of fast food fills my nose, wafting up from the food court one level below. But while 2 of my 5 senses are enhanced for the moment, one of them unfortunately is not. My sight is pretty much down and out for the moment and explains why 3 seconds later, I collide right into someone.

I hit the ground and a dull pain flows through my knee, causing my eyes to flutter open. A man in a suit, holding a cell phone stares down angrily at me.

"Watch where you're going!" he says, cursing as he walks away.

"Gee, sorry. And thanks for helping me up." I mutter sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Then a hand appears in front of my face. I look up to see a lady, probably in her mid-twenties, wearing a purple sundress. She smiles down at me.

"Are you OK?" she asks.

I grasp her hand as she helps pull me up. "Yeah, I think I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"Oh, it's no problem. I must say, that was rather rude of the man though. I know you had your eyes closed, but he wasn't looking where he was going either. Was too busy texting on his phone, I suppose. But enough about that. Here, come with me and we'll get you patched up." She says, gesturing towards the nearest store on the left.

"But I'm fine." I say, confused.

"On the contrary, you appear to be scraped up a bit from that fall of yours. Your knee is bleeding." She points at my right knee, slightly amused.

Looking down I see that she is in fact right, I am bleeding, but not very much. Nothing major, just your average scrape on the knee. But I don't want it to get it infected. So I follow her into the store.

Glancing around at the dim interior, I see I've entered some sort of New Age shop. It's filled with books on astrology, birth charts, constellation maps, tarot cards, the whole shebang. A few people are in the store, browsing titles on the shelves; others are looking at tapestries of mythological creatures with intricate patterns. Along the wall there are swords and daggers, even a few staffs like Miroku's, and hundreds of candles light the displays like little centerpieces. Charms and amulets are scattered around the store, as well as sculptures and statues of griffins, sphinxes and other creatures. Just breathing the air in here, the smell of incense tickles my nose. Now I'm thinking that maybe this is more than just a New Age shop.

"What kind of store is this?" I ask, as I follow the lady to the back desk.

"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of everything really. Pretty much anything to do with the supernatural you'll find in here. I've got things involving magic and astrology all the way to botany, mythology, demons and everything in between. I've always been interested in that kind of stuff, so here I am, with a store devoted to it all!" She explains passionately, arms open displaying the store. "But, enough about me. What's your name, hon?" she asks.

"Kagome."

"Well, Kagome, I know I've got some bandages around here somewhere. So why don't you browse a bit while I look for them?" she suggests, fiddling with some sort of feathers as she sifts through a drawer.

I nod and walk towards the first little aisle of bookshelves. Just skimming over the titles I can tell that she wasn't kidding when she said she's got a little bit everything. One large brown book is titled simply Plants, yet right beside it is Aqua Vitae: A Complete Guide to the Mythical Beings of the Western Element bound in a small blue cover, yet spanning at least 2000 pages.

I walk down the next aisle, gazing at the familiar sculptures of dragons and sphinxes and the not so familiar ones. Spotting a rather bizarre looking sculpture, I peer down, taking the sight in. The creature sits on its hind legs, which appear to be a hippo's. Its front legs look like those of a leopard, with spotted fur, yet it also has a lion's mane. The face is definitely the most interesting part, a sort of cross between a dog's snout and a crocodile. It's looking up, standing beside a pole from which 7 chains hang, bronze coins with odd symbols at the end of each one. Curious, I read the tag attached to it:

Ammit the Bone Eater:

Dwelling in the House of Ma'at,
Ammit eats the hearts of men whose hearts are heavy from sin.
Serving the whims of the gods, she condemns the wicked
And casts them forth into oblivion.
Considered a demon by most,
she destroys evil as a force of good.

Huh. Creepy. I drop the tag and move onto the next aisle, where jars of herbs and spices expel their fragrance into the air. A little further down the aisle, a small wooden wheel lies, with the words The Wheel of Fortuna engraved around the rim. A dozen candles are spread around it at equal intervals, and rune-like symbols are written at each point. I walk towards it, wondering what the symbols mean, when a flash of light glares in my peripheral vision. Turning my head, I see a miniature mirror, hanging from a chain behind the wheel.

I poke my head behind the wheel and find the chain hooked on the back of it. Unhooking it, I stare at the little mirror in its tiny ornate frame before realizing there are two other charms on either side of it. A little sword with an anchor-like hilt is on the left. Sharp to the touch, it's a stark black, most likely made of obsidian. To the right is a curved jewel made of jade, much like the ones around InuYasha's subjugation necklace. And after taking a looking closer at the mirror, I can tell the frame is made of what looks like sapphire.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" says a voice from behind me.

I jump and whirl around to see the lady is back again, holding a bandage. She gestures towards the necklace in my hand.

"What you are holding is the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Or rather, a very miniature interpretation of it, as no one but the Emperor and certain priests have ever cast their eyes upon it. You see the three charms? Each one is one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan. The Sword is the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi or the "Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven", which symbolizes valor and represents the stars. The Mirror is known as the Yata no Kagami or "The Eight-Hand Mirror" representing truth and wisdom, and stands for the sun. And the Jewel is called the Yasakani no Magatama or "Eight Shaku Curved Jewel" signifying compassion and generosity, symbolizing the moon."

"Why are they so sacred?" I inquire, staring at the charms.

She smiles at me. "There's a legend about that actually." She walks over to the nearest bookshelf and pulls out a thin scarlet book.

"Hmm, let me see." She flips through the delicate pages. "Ah. Here it is." Taking a deep breath, she begins.

"Long ago, there was a god named Susanoo who had claim over storms and the sea. He had a sister named Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and they were always quarreling about something. One day, Susanoo took their quarreling to new heights and got extremely angry with Amaterasu. In a fit of rage he destroyed all of her rice fields and killed one of her attendants. And so, fearing for her life, Amaterasu hid and ran into a cave, taking the sun with her and plunging the world into a perpetual darkness.

But with the sun gone, no one could see, so the gods devised a plan to bring Amaterasu out of hiding. They hung the Eight-Hand Mirror and Eight Shaku Curved Jewel in a tree near the cave. Amaterasu was a curious thing and went to inspect the objects after seeing her reflection in the mirror. And when she came out of the cave she brought light to the world once more.

Susanoo, on the other hand had been banished from Heaven due to his anger, and was sent down to Earth, where he met a man named Ashinazuchi, who claimed that Orochi, the Eight-Forked Serpent had eaten seven of his daughters and was coming back to eat the last one. Susanoo then tricked Orochi into drinking eight barrels of sake, which made the serpent very drunk and easy to kill. When he cut off the tail of the serpent, he found the Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven inside, and presented it to Amaterasu in retribution for his heinous act. She accepted his apology and he was granted access to Heaven once more." She finishes.

Closing the book, she sets it back on the shelf. I take one more glance at the necklace and then hand it to her in exchange for the bandage still in her hands.

"It was hidden behind that wheel." I explain, tilting my head. "You should display it somewhere in the front. It's too beautiful to be hidden here in the back. And the legend behind it is so amazing."

I bend down, and peel the paper off the bandage. Securing it on my knee, I stand up, ready to leave.

"Thanks for all your help, I really -"

I stop speaking as she leans towards me and drops the chain around my neck. Smiling she says, "No thanks necessary. I want you to have the necklace though, free of charge."

My hands immediately draw up to the 3 charms. "I couldn't possibly accept this without paying for it." I respond, despite the warm feeling I have now that the chain is around my neck. I couldn't part with this thing even if I wanted too.

"Nonsense!" She bats her hand in the air, as if shooing away a fly. "It was made for you. I saw the way you looked at when you first glimpsed it. It called out to you. It was yours before I even gave it to you."

"Thank you." I mumble quietly, still entranced by the necklace.

"And now it would appear you have to leave."

I look up to see Souta just outside the store, holding a shoe box. Oops, almost forgot him.

I turn back to thank the lady once more, but she's with an actual customer, explaining another story. She winks at me though as I leave.

"Hey sis, what were you doing in there?" Souta asks.

"I fell and the nice lady gave me a bandage." I answer. I didn't even get her name.

"That sure was nice of her. But where are your bags?" he asks, looking back into the store as if I left them there.

"What bags?"

"The grocery bags full of ramen! Geez, Kagome, you didn't get them yet? You have got to be the most forgetful person I know." he says exasperatingly.

"Hey! I don't forget everything! I just have a lot of things on my mind. And I don't see you jumping back and forth between the Feudal Era and the present!" I argue back.

"I would if I could, but I can't. And speaking of the Feudal Era…" Souta pauses, looking at his watch. "It's almost dinner time."

"Shoot! Inuyasha's ramen!"

Sprinting off to the grocery store, I leave Souta behind me in the dust.