AN:

Some events do not line up chronologically with the anime. I mixed it up a bit so that I felt it flowed from one experience to the next better. I'm hoping to make the story feel more real and less anime/manga-scattered-scenes-everywhere-ish.

-Ele

… … …

Disclaimer: Not mine! Just playing with their concepts… Many thanks to the creator for allowing it.

… … …

Posted: 4.19.2021

Edited: Unedited

… … …

Redux

Chapter Three

… … …

Wakefulness came abruptly and early. The world was cast in varied grays, the morning sun having not fully crested the horizon. Drenched in a cold sweat and heart pounding, Kagome rose. She planted herself in the doorway, watching the sun rise as she waited for her humble hostess to wake.

The thought crossed her mind that she could go take a look at the well on her own, but anxiety kept her glued to her spot. What if she couldn't figure anything out? It's not like she had any idea what she was looking for. It couldn't be as easy as just jumping back in and poof being back at home.

Not that it seemed likely that staring at the thing or looking around the clearing around it would yield any clues, either.

'What if I can't get back home at all?' She wondered. 'I doubt that anything I've learned in school or at home would help me make a life in this era.' Trembling fingers pulled the jewel from where she'd tucked it into the little waistband pocket of her skirt. 'Maybe Kaede would teach me to be a real miko, like her..'

"If there truly is no way to return you to your own time and place, Kagome, I shall be honored to teach you the ways of a miko- if that be your wish."

"Oh! You're up!" Kaede was sitting beside her, just inside the doorway, with her back against the wall. Kagome hadn't even heard her wake up. "I said that out loud, huh? Well.. I guess it would make sense for me to be a miko if I really do have reiki like one and I have to protect this jewel and all."

"I believe that if it came to it, you would make a fine miko, like my own sister who came before you." Kaede turned and placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "However." She squeezed the shoulder overly tight. "I do not believe that you should give up hope. You have yet to even begin trying to solve the problem that you are nearly being defeated by. Whatever world or time you hail from, child, keep hope and fight for what you need or want. Not all can do so, but those who can are the ones that live lives worth living."

The words hit Kagome like a tidal wave, bowling her over and reaching into her mind and her heart in a way that nothing else truly had in the last two days. She really had been pessimistic about it all, letting her fear and confusion lead her around since the moment that Mistress Centipede had dragged her into the swirling light of the well.

She shot to her feet, the wisdom still echoing around in her soul. Determination settled across her shoulders, a heavy but comforting feeling, and she didn't bother to hide behind a fake smile when she looked at Kaede this time.

"Alright then. Let's get over to that well and see if we can figure it out!"

She made it about three steps away before she registered the warm laughter coming from behind her. Kaede was pushing herself up to her feet, sending her a clear look of pride and approval.

"Before that," Kaede gestured for her to follow. "Come back inside. I have something that you might appreciate."

Inside, she was handed a fresh haori and hakama set in the traditional red and white of a priestess for the era. Suddenly very conscious of the rips and tears in her uniform, Kagome gave her thanks wholeheartedly.

"If I can get back home, I'm sure that my family will be panicked enough without showing back up with my uniform shredded." Kaede nodded in agreement. "Hey! Do you think I could get a bath somewhere? Optimistic, right!? The less ragged I look when I get back home, the easier it should be to explain everything to everyone." She picked at some flaking …something unidentifiable… leftover from Mistress Centipede and then covered in dust and dirt that had caked on part of her thigh.

"Regrettably, Edo is much too small and poor to have any sento or suefuro. The river is where we bathe ourselves."

Kagome looked over to the river in contemplation. Sure, the beginning of may wasn't the warmest- but it wasn't the coldest, either. Just a quick dip to rinse away the worst of the dirt and gunk wouldn't be the worst experience in the cold water.

"Well, anything is better than nothing." She gathered the gifted clothing and set out to the river in search of a secluded part of the bank where she might be able to get a little privacy. "I'll be back super quick, I promise!"

Luckily, her search for privacy was fairly short. The time of year and the lack of development meant that the lush vegetation was allowed to thrive.

Unluckily, as Kagome picked her way through the flowers and ferns with worries about snakes or other various hungry animals, the wildness of the plant life was hiding a danger much worse than she fretted over.

True to her word, Kagome did her best to make her time in the river short. She waded in, stripping off her ruined uniform as she went. The bundle of white and green was piled onto a large nearby stone that jutted proudly from the water, the jewel sitting neatly atop the cloth.

She sank to her knees in the chilly current and splashed water over her skin, scrubbing furiously and sending the unwelcome grunge floating downstream. Her hair was dipped briefly, just long enough to wet and loosen the chunks that matted the strands.

She passed off the rustling foliage as the wind as she redressed in the, blessedly warmer and tear-free, miko garb. Just as she was tying the last of the fastenings, a pair of hands shot out of the thick ferns. Incredulousness flooded her system at the fact that she had been pulled into danger yet again from behind.

She was carried through the dense plants along the riverbank to the forest and to what looked like an abandoned gassho. Before being dragged into the building, Kagome caught a glimpse of Goshinboku, peeking through the tree line nearby. At least that gave her some sort of idea of where she had been taken. Now she just had to get away.

She was tossed to the floor in front of the biggest man she had ever seen. He was easily as wide as he was tall and when he stood, he towered a full head and shoulders over any of the other bandits. His face was eerily void of any expression, his skin sallow and waxen, and the smell of rancid meat clung to him in abundance, burning at Kagome's throat when she drew a breath.

"We brought the girl, boss! Just like you wanted!" One yelled.

Another spoke up just as the first one finished, his words making Kagome's skin crawl.

"Hey, can we have her when you're done with her, boss? She's pretty under that preistess getup. Nice and soft looking."

The giant man lumbered to his feet, utterly ignoring the rest of the men and advancing toward Kagome in heavy, lurching, uneven steps.

"Give me the jewel of four souls!" He demanded.

If she wasn't once again terrified, she might have closed her eyes in either resignation or exasperation. As it was, she made due with scrambling to her feet and backing away quickly, trying to put as much space as she could between herself and the huge man. There was definitely something off about him- something other than his obvious criminal nature.

Two of the men grabbed her again as their leader approached, one on each side, holding her by the elbows and shoulders and thrusting her forward. Even they looked somewhat confused when he drew his katana from his side. It'd be simple enough to take the jewel off her without the mess of killing her if he really wanted it that bad- not that they were going to object if killing her is what the boss had decided on doing.

Everyone in the gassho was stunned when the blade sliced through the bandit on Kagome's left side though. Voices flared around her, confusion, objections, and outraged curses coming from the group of thieves.

She shrugged off the now-loosened grip of the second man and ran to the other side of the room, far away from the next swing of the blade that had cut down one of her captors. Inevitably, he would follow, though.

A few of the bandits took off over the rubble that sat under a collapsing window high up on one wall, the rest either too stubborn or too stunned to follow their comrades. Two of the remaining had pulled out their own blades, though they made no move to fight.

Kagome crouched into a hasty duck as the leader lunged and swung his katana through the air right where her head had been only seconds before. She counted her blessings that the combination of her limited reflexes and his awkward, slow and clumsy attacks were keeping her alive.

She glanced behind her at the dozen or so bandits. Sure, they were crude and rude and criminals, but she didn't want to see them die, not really. They were still people, too. And they looked just as scared and confused as she felt.

She rested her palm over the warmth of the jewel in her pocket and remembered Kaede's words. She didn't really know how she could fight in any situation, she'd never had to do anything remotely close to this before- but she could try her best to distract him and maybe lead him away from the rest.

"It's me he wants! Me and the jewel. If I lead him away, then you guys will be safe!" There was a beat of absolute silence as her shout was registered and they bandits looked at each other. "Just help me get behind him, to the door!"

One of them took a step toward her, his eyes still focused on the danger.

"How?"

"I don't know! We have to get him out of the way! Far enough that I can run around him and get out!"

"Okay! Okay, get his attention again! Lead him to the corner and then we'll try to keep him there so that you can run!"

"Got it!"

She only hesitated briefly, thrusting her hand into her pocket and waving the jewel over her head."

"Hey, ugly! Is this what you want!?"

She darted to the farthest corner of the room and was rewarded with a gurgling roar from the giant. His stumbling gate picked up a bit of speed as he made his way to her corner, the other men bustling near the wall, keeping in line with him as he went.

"Now!" One of the bandits shouted.

In a mad dash, they all made for the bulky form of their leader. The impact sent them all to the floor in a heap and Kagome scrambled around the pile, heart racing against her ribcage. She made it nearly to the door when her foot found a rotting floorboard. It cracked and she went tumbling to the floor.

The Shikon-no-Tama flew from her palm when her wrist connected with the floor and bounced once, twice, and rolled right out the doorway ahead of her. Her vision narrowed to the little pink ball just outside of the gassho's doorway and she froze. She'd had the thing for two days and now she'd lost it and was probably about to die, too

… … …

…