Kagome loved waking up in the Feudal Era. The rising sun that woke her up gently with its slowly strengthening light, the dawn chorus of the birds, and the restorative rest that came with going to sleep as soon as it was dark out…they were all so much nicer than the busy bell of her alarm clock.
But nothing could compare a medieval futon to her bed.
Kagome groaned into her pillow and fumbled for the alarm clock on her bedside, hoping to turn it off without actually having to open her eyes or move her face. It screamed shrilly out of reach. Kagome dropped her arm and listened to its ringing for a few more minutes before mustering the strength to raise her torso from the bed.
The door of her room opened as she managed to silence the clock.
"Morning Sis," Sota called cheerfully from the doorway. He was already dressed for the day with his backpack in hand, the little shit.
"Sota!" Kagome shouted, throwing a pillow at her little brother's head. It flopped against the door ineffectually. "What have I told you about opening my door without permission?"
Sota grinned, and closed the door a fraction of an inch.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "But Mom sent me up to tell you that breakfast is on the table. I don't know why you set your alarm so late."
"None of your business," Kagome grumbled. "Now get out and close the door or I throw something heavier." Sota just stuck his tongue out, but then acquiesced and left, closing the door behind him.
Okay, Kagome thought as she went through the familiar morning routine of getting into her uniform and packing up her studying materials from the night before. I have one day—and possibly less, if Inuyasha comes to get me in the middle—to absorb as much school work and information as possible. And she knew she couldn't extort any more time out of him as she had in the past. Though the gang had no idea where Naraku was, the stakes were higher than ever, and Kagome knew they needed to find him as soon as possible.
"Kagome, breakfast!"
"Right, coming Mama," Kagome called down, shaking herself out of her thoughts. She'd go home with Inuyasha when he came to get her, but until then she'd put the thought out her mind. It wouldn't do to be distracted from her school work in the two days she had.
She hopped down the stairs to the kitchen and took her usual seat at the table.
"Good morning Kagome," her mother smiled at her, setting a plate of fish and rice in front of her. "How did you sleep?"
"Wonderfully, thank you," Kagome said with a grateful smile up at her mom. God, it was wonderful to be able to eat fish that had been cooked on a burner instead of a campfire. She murmured an itadakimasu and dug in.
"Is Inuyasha going to be coming over today?" Sota asked eagerly, leaning on the table, just as Kagome put a big helping of rice into her mouth.
"Prorolly," she answered before swallowing. "I mean, I told him not to come until tonight at the earliest, so he's probably going to be here around midday. Don't let him follow me to school, alright? I have four tests to make up, and really don't need the distraction."
Sota shrugged. "I can't do anything, I'm going to be at school too."
Both Higurashi kids looked expectantly at their elderly grandfather, who was fastidiously avoiding their eyes.
"Well I don't dare put him to work around the shrine," Grandpa protested. "You remember what happened last time I tried that!"
"Mmm," Kagome hummed. She supposed the fact that he'd destroyed only three precious antiques instead of the whole storehouse was a blessing. Inuyasha's talents lay more in breaking things than in preserving them. "Fine, I guess you're right. And Mama's going to be at work until five…"
"Just send him to the florist when he shows up," Mama Higurashi offered. "I'm sure Ms. Rekihara will be okay with me leaving early."
Kagome was about to voice her doubts about letting Inuyasha try to navigate the city by himself when she saw the clock on the wall.
"Crap, I'm late!" She moaned. Some things never changed. "Thanks Mama, I really appreciate it. I'll make sure to rush home today." She hugged her mother in thanks, grabbed her bag, and raced out the door.
The smell was always the first thing Inuyasha noticed when he jumped through time. The sour odor of what he'd been told was gasoline, and other noxious gases, pervaded the air, even in the seemingly unpolluted shrine grounds.
He jumped out of the well and exited the well house. Inuyasha didn't even bother entering through the house's front door, but instead jumped straight to Kagome's window.
She wasn't in there. He hadn't really expected her to be. But Inuyasha opened the window and went in anyway, breathing in the smell of the room. Kagome's scent washed over him and he breathed in deeply, relaxing, not even realizing how tense he'd actually been. She'd only been away for a little over a day, but it already felt like forever. He knelt down next to her bed and put his face in her pillow…
"Oh Inuyasha, welcome back!" Grandpa Higurashi wheezed out, noticing the home invader as he passed the door to Kagome's open room. "What are you doing?"
Inuyasha stood upright. "Uh, nothing," he said. "Hey, Old Man, where's Kagome now? Is she still at that stupid school?"
"Uh," Grandpa stalled, mind creaking furiously. "Hmm, well, no, she's not at school. She's on a…field trip. To, hmm, to Guam. Yes. She told me to tell you that you should go to the florist down the road, where her mother works."
"What the hell is Guam?"
Grandpa backed away nervously. Lying to the teachers about Kagome's illnesses on the phone was fun. This was not. "Somewhere far, far away. Just go to the florist." He fled, sure that Inuyasha would see through his lie if he kept at it.
Inuyasha snorted. "Far far away" was very different for him than for regular humans. And even if he believed the old man—which wasn't a sure thing—it would be much simpler to just follow his nose from the school than to try to find Kagome through her mother.
"I'll just follow her to Guam," Inuyasha called down the hall, grabbing the baseball cap Kagome kept for him and perching on the windowsill. "See you, old man!"
Grandpa didn't hear him. His ear was too busy listening to the school's hold music. Hopefully his message would reach Kagome before Inuyasha did.
Sachi walked through the forest. There were grown men in her village who would be wary of walking in Inuyasha's Forest without any human protection, but that didn't bother Sachi. There was nothing in the wood that could harm her. The greatest danger to her were the twigs that dug into her bare feet.
Because Sachi wasn't alone.
"What was wrong with that stupid fox?" she grumbled, the salty lines on her cheeks a stark clean within the general grubbiness of the rest of her face. She's been crying earlier, the tears of indignation that came easily to a seven-year old, but her eyes were dry now. Now she was just confused.
What was wrong with the stupid fox? one of Sachi's friends echoed. She felt a breeze as her friend circled her, raising pleasant gooseflesh on her arms.
"He was a demon, wasn't he?" Sachi asked. "He was. He had a tail. And he transformed into a giant pink bubble."
None of her friends responded, but Sachi felt a puff of breath that smelled like a confirmation. They agreed that the stupid fox was, in fact, a demon.
"If he was a demon, why didn't he want to be my friend?" Sachi asked. "All demons want to be my friend."
There are many kinds of demons, Sachi.
"I hate him," Sachi mumbled. "I want him to be my friend."
We can help you, Sachi. We can help him become your friend, if you would just grant us a gift.
Suddenly the voices were clamoring around her, begging, asking her for a gift. In the past, some might have yelled at her, commanded her to give them what only she was able to provide, but she quickly disabused them of that notion. They had to ask her nicely, or they would receive nothing. Sometimes, no matter how polite they were, Sachi wouldn't give them anything.
But they stayed, Sachi knew, because they loved her. And she loved them.
"Alright, I'll give you the thing," Sachi said. "And you'll make him my friend? I know," she said as a thought struck her. "The priestess who comes through the well and brings him yummy food. If she's not around, he'll be my friend. I'll share my food with him."
Yes, many friends answered, voices on the wind. We'll get rid of the priestess. Now give it to us! The dark trees around her rustled with the movement of unseen creatures as they crowded up around her.
Sachi held out her hands and concentrated, and felt rather than saw the purple light of youki emanating out of them. Demons and ghosts—her friends—crowded around them, desperate for it. She managed to hold it out for thirty seconds, her friends shoving and crowding each other (though not her, never her,) before the light gave out.
"That's enough," she panted. "I'm tired now. Karukufumu, take me home." Sachi had a lot of friends, but Karukufumu was the first. He was the one who'd taught her to produce youki, and he was the one who made the rest of her friends invisible. Sachi herself had never seen him, but she trusted him most out of all the other demons.
The wind swirled around Sachi and picked her up with a touch as soft and delicate as rabbit fur, carrying her homeward.
"Higurashi, phone for you."
The whole class swiveled as one to look at Kagome, who stood up once the office secretary had relayed her message.
"Do you know what it's about? Who it's from?" Kagome asked as she joined the secretary in walking towards the office, her imagination instantly cranking out a hundred horrible tragedies that would cause her to get called out of class. Mom is dead. Sota is dead. Gramps is dead…
"No clue," the young secretary shrugged. "I'm just delivering the message." The two walked in silence towards the administration office while Kagome tried to tell herself to calm down. It was probably nothing.
"That one," the secretary said, and directed her to one of the several phones used by the office administrators. Kagome picked up the receiver, her blood pounding in her ears.
"Hello?"
"Kagome," Grandpa's voice wheezed over the telephone. "Bad news."
"What? What is it?!" Kagome asked desperately. "What's wrong? Is everyone okay?"
"What? Something's wrong?" Grandpa gasped, horrified. "Did something happen, Kagome?"
"Tell me why you called me, Grandpa!" Kagome snapped.
"First tell me what's wrong, Kagome."
"That's what I'm asking you!"
"No. Nothing's wrong," Grandpa said, sounding hurt. "There's no need to take that kind of tone with me."
Kagome managed to resist the impulse to bash her head on the desk. "Grandpa," she said, slowly and clearly. "What's the bad news that you called me about?"
"Oh that, yes. Inuyasha's here. And I think he's heading towards your school. I tried to divert him to your mother, but I don't think he bought my excuse."
Kagome rolled her eyes. The fact that the man who had excused her from school with "Alice-In-Wonderland Syndrome" was unable to come up with a convincing reason to keep the tenacious Inuyasha from following her to school was about as surprising and unexpected as Miroku rubbing Sango's ass. "He does that every time I come back from the past, Gramps," Kagome sighed. "Why does it suddenly mean pulling me out of class to tell me?"
"Well, you seemed so insistent this time, even going so far as to make a plan for where he should go," Grandpa sighed. "I thought it was more important than usual, and that you might want to know."
Kagome gave a little laugh through her nose, and her fear-stiff spine relaxed. "Oh Gramps," she said. "I appreciate the thought. But today was no more important than any other day he interrupts me at school."
"Alright," Granpda replied. "Good luck with your makeup tests. I hope that boy doesn't distract you too much."
"Me too Gramps, me too."
"He may be there already," Grandpa suddenly realized. "He left nearly ten minutes ago; your school had me on hold for quite a while."
Crap, Kagome thought. She had to get there before he caused too much trouble. "In that case, if he isn't here already he will be soon. I'd better go and do some damage control. I'll see you later."
Kagome hung up the phone and started speed walking back to the classroom. Who knew what sort of trouble Inuyasha could get up to in the modern world, especially around her classmates. Maybe if she Sat him enough times he'd go wait patiently at home. Or better, the feudal era. Yeah right!
But despite her frustrated thoughts, a small smile bubbled up onto Kagome's lips. She hadn't seen her rude, violent, oblivious half-demon for almost two days. And the thought of seeing him again soon, even when he was making her life complicated and difficult, had her unconsciously humming as she walked back to class.
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for holding out for this story for so long, but your loyalty will be duly rewarded! (69AnimeFreak69, Kyroo Echoes, and PrincessBinas especially, for being faithful reviewers. )I've been bitten by the Fanfiction bug, and all of a sudden started to spend all my time on this story. I don't know for how long this obsession will go on, but as it is, I've written about two chapters after this. So for a while, at least, I hope to be able to post on a more regular schedule.
Second on the agenda: I spell the names Sota and Kilala, not Souta and Kirara, but I understand that there are people for whom spelling can be a dealbreaker. If you really really really need the names to be spelled a particular way, I can change them. I don't care that much, this is my preference, so it's what I'm starting with.
ALSO, I'll be changing the name of the story to Just a Dream, so if you see a story update in your inbox that you don't recognize, remember this.