Mama Higurashi was busy in the kitchen when she heard her daughter curse from the bathroom just up the stairs. She briefly thought of going up there to check up on her, but knowing how her daughter was she just listened for a moment. Kagome would have called if it were serious, so maybe she was just upset and venting. Sighing, she went about her prepping dinner for that evening. She couldn't believe how the well had taken her daughter 500 years in the past and yet, it brought a smile to her face. Her daughter had told her of the young male that had come to get her that last time. Had told her the story that the older Miko had told her about the Hanyou and even having only met the male once in his rather tyrannical tactic to take Kagome back to his time she found herself smiling at the pair. There was something there, maybe just a friendly relationship, but it was something in the short time that the pair had known each other. She had felt that way about her late husband, her children's father, when she had first met him.
She sighed again, this time at the nostalgia of her past love. She had never married again, never dated again after losing him. He had been her first love, the man she had wanted to spend her life with, but he had been her best friend first. Another sound filled the semi-silent air. The sound of a something hitting the floor above her echoed thru the house and the curses of her daughter mixed in with the crash. Putting her knife down she rushed upstairs, the door still closed on the bathroom, and upon trying to open she found that it was locked. She knocked on the door, "Kagome? Are you okay?" A soft sound hit her ears, the sound of sniffles muffled by the door. "Kagome, let me in, honey," she said, still with her hand on the door. The girl on the other end didn't seem to move, just the sound of her sniffles was heard before the door lock clicked under her fingers. Turning the knob she found herself face to face with her rather distraught looking daughter and while concerned with checking to make sure her child was alright, her eyes weren't drawn to the drawer that was on the floor, but the hair that was currently strewn around and on the mess. Her brown eyes, so like her daughter's own moved back up to her face, those same eyes widening slightly at the sight of her daughter standing there. Her face was slightly red, her hair a mess of unevenness as it hung a lot shorter than it had before. "Kagome?" she questioned before opening her arms up to envelope her child in her arms.
At first she didn't move, her body tensing slightly before her small form shook softly. "I-I was just was tired of it," the raven haired girl stated, not clarifying why she had cut her own hair. Her mother wasn't upset about that though. She felt her daughter relax and hug her back, clinging to her mother as she let the tears fall. She pulled back after Kagome's tears slowed, her body stopping its shaking. Their eyes met, her own softening at her only daughter, and she smiled softly as she touched Kagome's cheek.
"How about we go to see my hairdresser," she stated, not really a question, but more of a choice given to rectify her attempt at cutting her hair. Kagome smiled at the idea and nodded.
Shippo stood on the edge of the well, Miroku with him as they stared into the dark depths of it. "She went down there?" the kitsune asked in disbelief. The monk nodded, his blue eyes taking on a violet hue in the early light. Behind him, in a tree overlooking the well, was a Hanyou who had his eyes closed, but for all to see was a scowl that twisted his lips. "And we can't go thru it? To her time?" the small fox inquired. The monk shook his head. It was a day after Kagome had gone home, and he had tried that night to go thru the well, only landing in a small puddle of water from the storm the day before.
"I have a feeling that someone we know can," he said pointedly, his eyes shooting over to the tree. Shippo shook his head, still a little angry with the Hanyou in question. He may not have known Kagome long, but he considered her a friend. Maybe more. "And although he won't admit it I believe that he wants to go and get her." The male scoffed at the monk's observation.
"She can come back whenever she wants," he spat, his voice harsh at the mention of the girl who had once again run off to her time. "She'll come back when she's good and ready." Even as he said the words he felt the anger rise. She had seemed so full of it when she had first claimed that she would stay and assist in putting jewel she had destroyed back together. He hadn't believed her words, but when the days turned to weeks and those into a full month he had begun to believe that she hadn't been just saying platitudes. The girl had gumption and she had grit. Even when she had seemed rather exhausted from riding her metal contraption and had refused his help it had shown a stronger will than most humans he had met. He was sure she hated him, even if she had been the first one to say that she thought he was stronger in his Hanyou form. He didn't believe that, but she had been so sure that he was better as he was. Shaking his head, he found his thoughts on the missing Miko, the dead one that had found life again. Not a real life.
"I want her to come back now," the kitsune whined softly. Miroku nodded. He had a feeling that even if she wanted to come back that she couldn't at this point. Maybe that was why she hadn't returned. According to the older Miko, Kaede, she often came back in a day or so. She had also stated that she felt the girl couldn't or wouldn't come back. In her wrinkled palm was the bottle with the shards, their light a brilliant pink in the darkened hut. He now put his hand in his sleeve, his own shards shifting around before he was able to grasp them. Kaede believed that the jewel was how Kagome could come to their world and without them she would be unable to, but somehow that didn't explain how she was able to go thru the other night. She hadn't had the shards with her so how had she gone home?
"Get down!" Inuyasha suddenly cried, jumping down from his tree and landing on the lip of the well, the tree he had just been sitting in splintering apart before them. Shippo ducked down low behind the monk as Inuyasha's golden gaze found the one that had attacked. Above them, floating in the air was a demon, his appearance similar to humans save for the red eyes that narrowed angrily at the trio before him.
"You must be the mutt that killed my brother," he hissed. He wore upper armor that curled around one of his arms, his pants flapping violently around his legs from the wind churning up around him. "Your disgusting scent was all over his body." Narrowing his eyes at the demon before him, Inuyasha's soft 'keh' was barely audible.
"He was holding onto something that wasn't his," he stated, almost uncaring in his tone. "I retrieved what he had and unfortunately for him that was the death of him." This seemed to anger the male before him even further, but he didn't move, just watched them for a moment. He was sniffing the air, his head cocking to the side to see the kitsune hiding behind the robes of Miroku.
"This kitsune or the shards my brother held?" he asked with a mocking tone. "Cuz those shards were ones that we collected, you scummy half breed." Inuyasha didn't like those words, never had, and tensing up he scoffed, his hands clenching into tight fists. "Ah, so you have my shards then, beast?" Without warning the demon flew down, the fire flaring at his feet as he dove down, his Raigekijin high over his head, the tip lighting up like the now dark skies above them. He knew without even knowing the demon before him that the rod wasn't going to feel great if it struck him. Drawing his sword out at the very second he would have been struck, he was thrown back, Miroku jumping back from the fray. It only left Shippo alone, the small fox hiding on the other side of the well as the pair flew over him. As soon as they were past he jumped into the well, hoping that there were some way to get Kagome to come back. Inuyasha may be strong, but they needed another person to enter the fray.
Inuyasha ducked down, the end of the rod locking with the Tessaiga, sparks flying over his silver mane, before he shoved him over him and into a tree. The demon refused to go down, kicking off the tree and back into the fight. Miroku rushed over to the well, making sure it was safe he also jumped in. There had to be a way to stop the demon from attacking, his flight a huge advantage in the fight. "Kagome uses arrows, right?" he asked the kitsune. The small fox shrugged. He hadn't seen her use it, tho she had a bow and quiver. "She's the reincarnation of the priestess and she used the bow and arrow."
"I've never really seen her use it," he stated. Above them the battle still raged on, the sounds of weapons clashing and sparks lighting up the skies with the lightning that sporadically flashed in the clouds. "The only time that I saw her wield it was when the other woman was in her body," the kitsune stated, softly, his eyes seeming to darken at that thought. This wasn't good. If she didn't wield such a weapon then how had she been helping them besides her sight. "She has power tho, I can feel it." Miroku glanced down at him, crouching down to touch the moist ground. The water was gone, the well now dry save for a little water in the mud below them.
"She is," he agreed. "And I have a feeling that we need her now, to beat this creature and to continue the search for the shards." He moved his hand over the soil, trying to figure out how the girl in question had managed to leave without the shard. "She went thru here, but I still can't figure out how." Shippo looked at him, unsure what the male was talking about.
"She just does, I guess," the kitsune stated, another clash of weapons lighting the area up so the darkness of the well was gone and they could see around the small space.
"Kaede said she had the jewel in her and that was how she believed Lady Kagome had come into this time," he whispered, still running his hand over the soil. "But she left the shards with Kaede so how did she go back?" The kitsune raised a red brow, his green eyes curious. He was finally getting what the male was saying. "She gave them to me, just in case Kikyo returned to get them. It had been the reason the woman had died over after all."
"You think that there's one here?" he questioned, his green eyes looking down at the mud below them, the darkness falling over the well now as the light from the clashing of swords moved away. Miroku nodded and the pair began to search the mud as the battle continued above them.
Kagome looked out her window, her homework spread out before her forgotten as she eyed the well house where her grandfather was currently doing something. She hadn't asked, still rather miffed about the other side. She hadn't gone out there in the day she had been back, opting to go to school where she wasn't a copy of someone. More like a mixed memory of emotions. She had no right to feel this way. They weren't anything but strangers. You know quite a bit about him for being a stranger. Fine, more like a renew acquaintanceship. They weren't friends, but they weren't strangers like he wanted to believe. She was surprised that he had not come to get her in this short time, but then again she wasn't the one he wanted to see. Too bad he can't see her anymore. Somehow she was sure the other woman had not died, even though his strangled cry had seemed to reveal that. She felt a slight tug at her heart. She could still see those memories that Kikyo had revealed to her, unwillingly or involuntarily, but still had leaked to her. They haunted her dreams, the feelings still bittersweet as she found herself once again in the role as Kikyo.
"Kagome," her mother called from downstairs. "There's a boy here to see you!" With a raised brow at who could be coming to see her, Kagome pushed back her chair before heading downstairs, her short hair tickling her ears as she walked down to see that it was Hojo, the male in question blushing lightly as he held out a basket full of misc items for her. She took a tentative step toward him, grasping the bottom of the huge basket.
"I was, well, I brought this from our store," he said, his voice low, shy and yet happy. He was always happy, cheerful in his demeanor. She smiled grateful for the items and yet knowing that she wasn't ailing from anything really found the display rather strange. Did she look sick or something? "There's fruits and other items that can alleviate the pain from the bunions and for your back, ya know." She nodded, but she didn't know all the ailments her grandfather had cooked up for her absences from classes.
"Thank you," she said, pulling the basket close to her, the weight of it staggering, but since her excursion to the other side of the well she had found that it wasn't too bad. At the thought of the well and the people that waited for her on the other side she winced, Hojo taking it to mean that she was either in pain or the basket was too much. He grabbed it back and looked for a place to put it, prompting her mother to invite him in. The trio walked further into the house, Hojo looking around after placing his gift on the table. Even though she had followed them, Kagome found that her mind was still on the past and what the group was doing in her absence. I'm sure Inuyasha is off looking for Kikyo or maybe looking for the shards without the others. Giving herself a mental shake she tuned back into the conversation, Hojo talking about all the items he had brought for her.
"We appreciate it," her mother said. "Wasn't he nice to do that for you?" her mother asked, her hand coming to rest on Kagome's semi clothed shoulder. She had opted with the temp being so great to wear another tank top, the color of it that of Inuyasha's fire-rat and a pair of jean shorts that rode low on her hips, but still came down to just above her knees. Nodding absently she agreed with her mother, but when her mother stroked her shoulder she came out of her thoughts just as Hojo asked her another question. Blinking she looked to him.
"I was wondering if, well, if you would like to go to the fair?" She seemed confused as to what he was talking about, but that was to be expected with her regular absences from school. "It just opened this week and well, it ends in a few days and all..." he faded off, blathering almost in his attempt to explain himself. She really wanted to, but a nagging in the back of her mind kept her from saying yes.
"Not today," she murmured. "I'm not really the best company today." She let him down gently, but she could see that it hurt, her not wanting to hang around him, but again he understood and with a forced smile he nodded. "Maybe another day...a rain check, you know?" He nodded again as he headed for the door, her mother staying back to give them privacy.
"Just let me know when you're feeling better," he stated with a smile before exiting the house. Closing the door behind her she turned to her mother. Her mother didn't say anything, her eyes telling her that it was okay for her to go back again. Grabbing her sneakers she pulled them on and headed to the back of the house. Rushing out the back door she headed for the well house, her grandfather still in it, tho it appeared that he was done with whatever he had been doing.
"Ew, grandfather," she said, covering her nose. "What did you do?" He grinned, explaining a bit of the ritual he was doing. "Trying to seal it? Why?"
"You don't need to go back over there, Kagome," he said. "It's too dangerous for you to be over there with all those demons and war lords." Shaking her head at his explanation she pointed out that Inuyasha was a half demon and that hadn't seemed to bother him. "Him? He's okay." Seeing the face he pulled when talking about the half demon male she found a smile lifting her lips. "He's not a bad guy and I trust that with his temper he can handle that spirited attitude you have." Now it was her turn to make a face.
"Then why would you try to seal it?" she asked pointing to the well. "If you trust him, that is." He looked down at the well, the darkness hiding how shallow the site was.
"Because it didn't seem like you wanted to go back, not after what you came back like," he said, his voice full of worry and sadness. That brought her up quick. "I know that women your age seem to be more moody, changing your mind at will, but you weren't yourself." Tears began to glisten in her chocolate orbs, some managing to spill over as she leaned in to hug her grandfather, a laugh bubbling forth.
"You're right and yet, I need to go back," she whispered, pulling back. "I need to complete what I promised I would do." He nodded, but when she leapt over the edge, she found herself still standing on the wet dirt at the bottom of the well, the smell of sake strong under her. It didn't work? Her eyes widened as she came to the realization that she might have screwed up.
"Kagome?" her grandfather called from above. "Why are you still here?" She grumbled under her breath. She had always felt that his stories and rituals were either not fully supported or failed to work like they had the first time he had attempted to seal the well. That brought a dry chuckle. "Seems your ritual worked or I'm missing something important." Either way she wasn't going to give up, she wanted to go back and she would do that...somehow. It suddenly struck her that every time she had come over she had had the shards with her or in the beginning the jewel itself. Touching the side where there indeed was a scar from the attack with Mistress Centipede that had revealed jewel inside her. She just had to get back, something was nagging at her. A feeling that something wasn't all well in the past.
Inuyasha found his attention was torn between his current situation and the faint scent of tears, the saltwater coming from the area of the well. "You should pay attention to me, half breed!" the demon bellowed as he brought his rod down, the metal fork ripping into Inuyasha's shoulder, blood spurting from the wound. It threw him back, the lightning arching off of it and following his body to the ground. The grass and dirt from the new hole he had added with his body flew around him, landing on him as he looked up at the dangerous demon.
"Why the fuck should I pay attention to a whining demon?" That raised a brow and narrowed two with his next words. "All because his brother's final words were that you would kill me? Ha!" It was the disrespect in his tone that egged the full demon on further.
"You fucking half breed scum of the earth!" he cried going at him again, his rod ready in front of him, Inuyasha throwing his blade out to guard against the now sparking fork at the end of the rod. Jumping back, the fork tearing the ground apart he noted that they were way too close to the well, said well shifting with the dirt and mud that split from the full demon's blast.
Meanwhile in the well, Shippo fell back, the mud caking his pants as he sighed. "I can't find anything, Miroku." The ground shook a bit and the pair felt the well shift with it.
"We need to hurry and get her back here before the well becomes a casualty of the fight above us!" Again, the kitsune whined that the dirt held no clues as to how the girl from the future had managed to go back without a shard. Suddenly, his eyes widened, his ears twitching as his nose sniffed the air. "What is it?" He watched the small fox nose the dirt now, his eyes closing as he tried to find whatever had caught his attention.
"It's her!" he whispered, his tone holding a happy note as he began to dig when a sudden light began to glow from the side of the well, a crack in the wood revealing a shard. As it grew brighter, the ones that Miroku had on him responded in kind, glowing with their pink aura. "I think she's calling them," the kitsune stated as he moved to remove the shard from the wall, Miroku stopping him.
"Wait, if that is the one that let her go thru the last time then we should probably wait until she gets back to us before removing it." Shippo nodded and took a step back as the glow became brighter and brighter. Above them, Inuyasha had drawn the demon away, aware that this was the stronger of the Thunder Brothers. He could see the shards that were in his forehead, but Shippo had been wrong. They had more shards than just two or three. Hiten had five now, his power stronger than it would have been before, but he wasn't worried about how many he had. No, he was concerned with the fact that two of the jewel shards were tainted a black tint, like that of the aura that had been around Kikyo and he felt his anger rise. He had no time to debate that as another swing of the forked weapon came down, just narrowly missing him.
"I'm done playing games with you," Hiten yelled. "I'm smelling another target," he said with a smirk. "I was told to find her and bring her back with me, tho I couldn't seem to scent her out until now." Inuyasha's nose twitched as the smell of Angelica and lavender wafting over the breeze, thru the smells of the earth and the lightning above him.
"You stay the fuck away from her," he hissed, a low growl following his warning. Hiten chuckled.
"Ah, I would have just killed her once she had fallen into my grasp, but another person has offered a reward for the strange wench." Inuyasha was shocked to learn that there was a bounty out for the female from the future, but he wasn't going to allow anyone to get her.
"She's not even here and she won't be back any time soon." He soon found that he was wrong as her scent grew stronger, the cries of a happy kitsune reaching their ears from the distance. The demon's smirk grew wider at the sound.
"Seems you were wrong about that," he said, powering up, the forked tip glowing as sparks flew around the middle end and began to form an orb of blue. The sparks still flew from it, glowing brighter as it grew in size. "Time to get my bounty!" Thrusting the orb at him, blinding the Hanyou for the moment, he took off toward the well.
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. More to come later!