Author's notes: Yeah, thanks for the reviews! I was gonna have this chapter out earlier, but, you know, the newest Bleach episodes were out and circulating around in YouTube. I have to stay updated with the anime, after all :). Kirri Kitty asked me about the pairing for this story; yes, it totally slipped my mind, so I'll put pairings up this chapter: ichiXkag (major), and the rest are minor pairings: ishiXorih, mirXsan, inuX??? (Cant possibly spoil this).
Disclaimer: I still don't own it. 'Dem lawyers can back off.
That new girl, Higurashi, or whatever; Ichigo remembered her. She had to be the one he had seen at the market while he was buying cocoa powder for Yuzu. Even before entering the classroom, he had sensed her relentlessly fluctuating reiatsu. She was constantly releasing her power into the atmosphere; if Ichigo didn't know any better, he might have thought she was doing that on purpose to cause trouble or to get attention. He knew better, though. Even with just looking at her, to have made such easy friends with Inoue and Tatsuki so quickly, she wasn't someone to act like that crazy bastard Zaraki who was always looking for someone to fight (frickin Kenpachi…).
School had ended on an awkward note for the group of friends as Ichigo continued to glare at Kagome out of the corner of her eye. She in turn would proceed as if she didn't feel his heated stare. The girl was later introduced to Sado, the dark skinned giant she had spotted at the beginning of class. Nothing else was relatively exiting to recall, other than the funny look Higurashi had on her face when she had to crane her neck to see Chad properly.
When he had met up with the Chad and Ishida at lunch that time, he was bombarded by numerous observations and questions from his normally quiet friend. The obvious remark on the new girl's reiatsu and spirit threads was first to be pointed out. Ichigo and Ishida weren't able to feed Sado back anything for they themselves had no clue what to make of Orihime's new friend.
Countless questions followed. Orihime popped out of no where and inquired if they were making fun of Higurashi. When they shook their heads in a collective bout of chorused 'No, Inoue-san's' 'nah's' and '…', Orihime had so gently told them to at least whisper about her because they were loud enough to hear them from the other side of their tree trunk. Tatsuki punched a clenched fist into her open palm from behind Orihime after pointing at the topic of their conversation. Kagome continued to eat her bento on the other side of the tree trunk, having heard only bits of the boys' talk with her name in it.
Ichigo continued to walk silently back home from school, kicking stray rocks out of his path occasionally, while he buried his hands deeper into his pockets. He mused whether or not he should keep an eye out for Kagome; one never knows, for all he knew she could be a spy sent by Aizen.
That thought alone immediately made Ichigo growl. What if she was a spy sent by Aizen? That might explain why she had such unusual spirit threads. Suddenly feeling very cautious, Ichigo changed directions. He only hoped Urahara wasn't busy tonight because he had a lot of questions that needed answers.
"I'm back," Kagome slipped out of her shoes and trudged wearily to the kitchen where she knew her mother was waiting for her. She could hear noise upstairs and was certain Sota was already home pounding down on buttons on his game station.
Kagome found her helpful mother at the table. "Ah, Kagome," she said. She was in the middle of packing Kagome's giant yellow bag with candies and other goodies. "Inuyasha's waiting for you in the Goshinboku, dear."
"Thanks, mama, I'll tell him I'll only be a few more minutes. I'll just pack my text books and I'll be back to grab that." She pointed to the bag her mother was stuffing with a thankful smile as she rushed out to alert the temper mental dog demon of her presence.
She snatched her school books on her way out to the door before getting to the sacred tree. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha, come out, I'm back already."
Red seemed to drop out of the sky in front of her as she was suddenly nose to chest in dog demon. "Keh, took you long enough." Inuyasha grumbled, looking down at the petite girl.
"I just got back, you really can't blame me," Kagome said as she trailed back to the house. "My pack filled with ramen and chips are in the kitchen, Inuyasha. I'll just say goodbye to mama while I pick it up; you can wait for me at the well house if you want." Inuyasha shrugged with a disinterested, if slightly annoyed, sigh as he branched from her side to the dry well.
In minutes, both school girl and hanyou were in the well house. "Eh, smells like cat in here," Inuyasha complained as he heaved a hand to help support Kagome with her giant bag of school supplies.
"Buyo's around all the time, Inuyasha, and you never really minded Kirara, either," Kagome reminded him.
"This smell's different," Inuyasha grouched. "Don't smell like that fat cat or Kirara at all."
Kagome strained to keep her balance over the lip of the well while heaving her text books on her back. "There are such a thing as stray cats, Inuyasha." she said offhandedly without looking at him. She continued trying to balance herself on the narrow lip of the well.
He seemed a little agitated with her answer, but he grunted once more before swinging Kagome's yellow bag over his shoulder. "I'm fucking hallucinating, then," he groused. Together, they jumped down the glowing dry well into Sengoku Jidai. What neither of them knew was of a black cat hidden completely in the shadows, its luminous golden eyes watching of their every move closely.
"Higurashi Kagome; age fifteen, current occupation: high school student at Karakura High." Urahara counted off facts with his fingers. "Lives with mother, brother, and one crazy ojii-san; owns one fat cat-"
A tick formed at Ichigo's brow. When Urahara continued to list off pointless information, such as her cup size, Ichigo decided he'd had enough. "Enough, I've had enough!"
"Ah, but Kurosaki-san, you asked me of what I know of Higurashi-san, ne? Didn't you?" the man grinned under his stripped hat.
Ichigo continued to glare. He wasn't being taken very seriously, however, because he was currently cross-legged and was in the midst of being served tea by Ururu. Urahara took that moment to laugh at the funny tick in Kurosaki-san's left brow.
"Ano, Kurosaki-san, do you want a napkin?" Ururu asked when Ichigo pounded his fist on the table top angrily but only succeeded in spilling hot tea beverage onto his lap. He nodded painfully.
When she scurried away, the shop owner turned somber immediately. "Higurashi Kagome; age fifteen, current occupation: high school student and part-time time traveler."
Ichigo looked up at Urahara seriously then, having abandoned patting at his groin with a tissue. "Time traveler, eh, Urahara-san? How do you know?" he bent over the table to rest his elbows on his knees.
The older man tipped his hat so that it better covered his eyes. He leaned back with a long sigh, seemingly contemplating on what to say next. "Actually, I only just found out of her existence, and journeys, a while ago. Maybe while you were running around in Seireitei with the Bounto fiasco."
When Ichigo grunted, he continued. "When you were turned into a temporary shinigami, that girl, Kagome, fell down a dry well in her home grounds." Ururu returned with more tissue and another cup of tea for Urahara. "She lives in a shrine, and when she fell down that well, she was transported into a new world; a different era of time. I believe that dry well sends her back into time; five hundred years to be exact."
"Is there such a thing? Time traveling with a dry well; sounds impossible to me."
"It's very much true, Kurosaki-san, whether you believe it or not." Urahara said, taking a leisured sip of tea. Before Ichigo could make another remark otherwise, a sleek black cat slipped in through the opened sliding shōji door. Both male shinigamis turned to face the new arrival.
"Yoruichi-san!" said black cat nodded in greeting while making her way to sit on a side of the table.
"I was just telling Kurosaki-san of Higurashi-san. From what he tells me, she has moved into his class and is attending school with him."
"That so, Ichigo?" the feline turned her swift head to the shinigami representative. "I was just actually at her shrine grounds. I just witnessed her travel back in time with a youkai friend."
"A 'youkai' friend?" Ichigo clarified. "'Demon'?" he asked again.
"Yes, 'demon'. Dog demon to be accurate." Urahara answered.
"Do you think it safe to just let her time travel with a 'demon' friend?" Ichigo had seen hollows and a whole bunch of other crazy things, but demons? Did they mean the ones that lived in the underworld? "What if that friend of hers goes berserk and starts killing things on site?" hollows he could deal with, but demons might just be too much. "So you're saying that my classmate's a time traveler that travels through a dry well and makes friends with demons?"
"That about sums her up, I suppose." Urahara said, taking sips of his tea.
"This is insane." Ichigo said bluntly. He tried a different approach. "Okay then, what about her weird reiatsu and her spirit threads? And don't tell me you can't see them her mixed spirit threads, Ishida, Chad, and Inoue could see them, too."
"That I have yet to uncover, Kurosaki-san." The man in the green stripped hat said ominously. "I have a favor to ask of you."
Ichigo grunted. "What is it?"
"I'd like you to inform everyone else of what Higurashi-san…is doing, and watch her carefully. I still haven't determined whether she's and ally or enemy yet. Take cautious measures with her, if you please."
"She could have immensely strange powers if her reiatsu is any indication." Yoruichi added seriously.
"Got it." Ichigo nodded, getting up. He'd have to be careful around her just in case, and tell Ishida, Chad, and Inoue who she really is.
"If things get too out of hand, or if anything is leading to the destruction of the material world, we might have to bring Seireitei into this as well. In all the centuries I've lived, I've never seen a time traveler before once." Urahara followed Ichigo out the door, Yoruichi trailing leisurely after them, as if she was in deep thought.
"Playing with time might have side effects, and they may not be good." Yoruichi said quietly, mostly to herself, but the two shinigami were able to pick the softly spoken words being uttered. It was almost like a warning, Ichigo thought.
"Be careful, ne, Kurosaki-san? And don't forget what I told you."
"Roger, Urahara-san…" Ichigo trailed out the door, not bothering to look back at the waving shop manager, or the black cat. He knew something was up with Kagome from when he saw her at the market. His intuition was deadly accurate.
Terms:
Reiatsu: spirit force
Seireitei: the court of pure souls; where the shinigami and nobility live. It's supposed to represent heaven or nirvana.
Youkai: demon
Author's notes: eh, I may have left the story off with a sad note, huh? Hope you enjoyed it; reviews would be appreciated! I'll answers questions too, if you're confused at all. Constructive criticism would do, too.
Food for thought: Every rose has its thorns.