"Oi," a deep voice called, snapping Kagome out of her contemplation over her bento. It was Doumeki.

"Hello Doumeki-san," Kagome greeted with a smile. "How are you today?" she asked.

Doumeki shrugged. "Well enough," he answered. "But Watanuki has asked to use the temple my family keeps for a ghost story night."

Kagome's happy smile of greeting gentled. "Did you agree?" she asked.

Doumeki nodded and shrugged. "Yeah," he answered. "But I was wondering if you would be interested in coming," he said. "The few stories we've traded at archery club... I'm sure you have more than that. I'd like to hear them."

Kagome blushed a little. Hey, she was sixteen again! So what if she'd been twenty-five not long ago!? She was back to teenage hormones all over again! A little slack for the girl faced with the handsome young man, please. "I- I do," she agreed. "I'd love to come," she answered.

Doumeki nodded, and even smiled a little. "Watanuki's boss from his part time job is making the rules for this, from what I could make out from Watanuki's ranting. She's insisting on kimono, and a few odd things like having a bowl of water, candles, and incense. I don't know what she's up to, but Kunogi-san will be there too, so you won't be the only girl."

Kagome smiled in answer. "You haven't told me what time, or how to get to the temple your family cares for yet, Doumeki-san," she pointed out.

Doumeki blinked, as though surprised that he'd forgotten, and nodded. "Seven," he said. "And I'll photocopy a the street-directory from the library, and give it to you at club after classes," he promised.

"Okay," Kagome agreed with a satisfied nod. Seven... that would have her out late. If Doumeki lived near to the school, then that would be another hour after the ghost stories on the train back home... Well, there wasn't any school tomorrow at least, so she wouldn't have to worry about missing sleep to be on time to class, or missing class if she accidentally slept in after a late night out.

There was the concern of what might happen if someone unsavoury decided to accost her on her way home afterwards though...

"You may stay the night at my home," Doumeki offered, apparently thinking along the same lines as she was. "I recall you said your family's shrine was an hour away by train. It would be safer for you to stay over than travel alone at night," he added, the barest hint of a blush tingeing his cheeks.

Kagome smiled sheepishly and blushed a little herself. "Ah, arigato, Doumeki-san," she answered gratefully. Just because she could take care of herself didn't mean she wanted to have to.

~oOo~

"Haha, is my obi knot straight?" Kagome asked as she walked into the kitchen, her yukata all in place – except for the knot of her obi.

"You're going out?" Mrs Higurashi questioned, even as she wiped her hands and moved to walk around her daughter and check the knot. "It's a little crooked Dear, hold still," she advised.

Kagome raised a hand to hold her yukata in place, but otherwise remained unmoved as her mother tugged and tucked a little. "I was invited to join in a ghost story night with some of my class mates," Kagome answered as her obi was tugged at. "And since it's an hour away by train, and there isn't any school tomorrow, I was also invited to stay the night. That's... alright, isn't it?" she checked.

"Of course Kagome," her mother answered with a smile. "You know I worried last year when you didn't do this sort of thing with your friends. I'm glad you're making new friends now and doing things with them. There, it's straight."

"Thank you," Kagome said, and turned to give her mother a kiss on the cheek – which her mother returned.

"It's a very pretty knot Kagome," Mrs Higurashi complimented. "You did well to tie it yourself, and your hair is lovely. Where did you learn to put it up like that?"

Kagome blushed. "It's just an exaggerated butterfly knot," she protested, "and a knot-bun with a few strands left out on purpose. It wasn't hard."

"It's still lovely," her mother insisted. "Are you taking snacks? An hour on the train, you'll miss dinner."

"I have a few dried fruit bars that I'm going to eat on the way," Kagome answered with a smile. "I think it's a bit too hot still, even in the evenings, to want much more than that."

Mrs Higurashi nodded in allowance. "Alright," she agreed. "Have you packed what you'll need for staying over night at your friend's house?"

Kagome nodded. "Pyjamas, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, clean things for the morning, and paper to wrap the kimono and obi in when I take them off," she counted off.

"Alright then," Mrs Higurashi said with an approving nod. "Be safe, and have fun."

"I will," Kagome answered, and kissed her mother's cheek again before she hurried out of the kitchen to collect her things and head for the train.

~oOo~

"Don't I know it!" Kagome heard as she approached the temple indicated by the map Doumeki had given her. "She's so cute, there are going to be guys falling all over her!"

And then she could see them.

"That's not what I meant," an older (but by no means old) woman informed the teen.

This must be Watanuki's boss who Doumeki had mentioned. There was something about her though... something that reminded Kagome of... Sesshoumaru, actually. But the woman wasn't a demon. Or... not as such... There was definitely something about her though.

"Oh, more company?" the woman asked, turning slightly when she noticed Kagome.

Kagome smiled as she approached. "Doumeki-san invited me," she answered. "I'm Higurashi Kagome."

"Ichihara Yuko," the woman replied with a friendly smile of her own. "Just call me Yuko."

Kagome nodded, and looked down. "And who is this?" she asked, squatting a little so that she could look into Yuko's basket – and at the cute little black creature that sat there.

"I'm Mokona Modoki! Shake!" the long-eared puff-ball answered, and extended a paw.

Kagome giggled, and accepted the paw. "Shake," she agreed, very aware that Watanuki and Yuko were both staring at her – Watanuki in surprise, and Yuko in curiosity. She decided to ignore them though. If they wanted to know something, they could ask. "I look forward to hearing your ghost stories tonight, Mokona-san, but for now I hope you will excuse me while I go talk to Doumeki-san?"

Mokona nodded. "Okay! See you soon – um..."

Kagome smiled. "You call me Kagome-chan, okay Mokona-san?" she said, making it clear that such a liberty was not open to the other two. Or at least, not yet.

"Kagome-chan," he agreed with another, resolved nod.

Kagome nodded back and straightened up.

"Yo," Doumeki greeted her.

"Higurashi-san, hello!" Kunogi joined with a smile. "Watanuki-kun didn't tell me you were coming."

"Doumeki-san invited me," Kagome answered the other girl. "Is there somewhere I should leave my bag?" she asked Doumeki.

"Aa," he said with a nod. "I'll show you where, and fetch the things Yuko-san wanted for tonight."

Kagome smiled, and followed behind the tall boy without a word.

~oOo~

"Ah look," Yuko said wistfully as they settled in the room Doumeki had led them to for telling ghost stories in. "It seems as though the sky is about to break and fall. The wind itself feels soaked. The perfect atmosphere for telling ghost stories."

"Oh yes," Kagome mumbled to herself. "Right next to the preparation room. Perfect." She knew the layout of temples after all. She knew which part of it they were in and what lay behind the shoji screen to the next room.

"Place that over there," Yuko instructed Watanuki with a gesture from a bowl of water to a corner of the room. "We'll use it in place of the 'suibon' water trough. Next, these candles," she continued, and once she had one in a holder she lit it. "Light the others from this one, and then each of you walk them out to a corner of the room and place them in the candle stand there."

Kagome smiled to herself in reminiscence as she followed Yuko's instructions. She'd lost count of the number of times she, Sango, Miroku and Shippo had set up wards like this in old huts on the night of the new moon, to keep InuYasha safe. Without a word from Yuko, Kagome pulled the sharp little razor she had carried in her sleeve (and used to purify a demon with on the train ride to get here tonight) and sliced open the tip of her left pointer finger. With blood on the blade, she set it in the sand of the incense bowl, and then dripped a few more drops on the sand for good measure.

"I wasn't planning to be so formal tonight," Yuko commented softly.

"Always be properly formal, Yuko-san," Kagome answered her. "It's safer that way." And then she stuck her bleeding finger in her mouth to stem the flow and subtly use her powers to heal the cut – the way Sesshoumaru had taught her to.

"Well, then it seems the preparations are complete," Yuko decided.

"You need to make preparations to tell ghost stories?" Watanuki asked.

Yuko nodded. "There could be more," she allowed, "but we also could have left it at the water bowl and the candles. Higurashi-san surprised me by knowing that we should have a razor. Still, all the players are present. Now, shall we start the hundred ghost stories ceremony?"

"I've already bled on the razor," Kagome said with a nod. "So I'm going first."

That decided, everyone sat down to listen.

"A long time ago," Kagome began softly, and cast her mind back to the legends she had lived and learned of in the past. "In the time when the warring shoguns ruled Japan, there was a warrior priestess called Midoriko who was known far and wide for her ability to purify the souls and spirits of demons, rendering them powerless. Because of her power, Midoriko was feared by demons, and as with humans, what they feared, they quickly hated."

Kagome watched as those around her were engrossed in her story, and how they nodded in understanding of the nature of fear that breeds hate.

"A wicked man, called Magatsuhi, desired to have her for his own or deny the world of her presence entirely," she continued. "He became a demon out of his desire for the priestess, a creature of hate and lust that absorbed the bodies of other demons to make himself stronger, and with many other demons at his side, Magatsuhi ambushed Midoriko."

Kunogi gasped, eyes wide, shocked.

Watanuki broke out in a sweat.

"For seven days and nights, they fought without rest. Every demon that Midoriko cut down, Magatsuhi absorbed into himself until finally it was just the two of them. Magatsuhi swept her up, and would have eaten Midoriko as well, his love for her forgotten in his lust for her power," Kagome recited.

Yuko leant forward, eager to hear what happened.

Doumeki had long given her his full attention.

Even little Mokona was intent on her tale.

"Midoriko, in one final attempt to defeat Magatsuhi despite her own great injuries, forced out his soul and her own soul from their respective bodies. Both of them died, but their souls combined to create the Shikon no Tama, where they remain imprisoned, battling for eternity, their souls condemned to never be released to the afterlife," Kagome finished.

"Wow," Kunogi breathed.

"You're really very good at telling these stories, Higurashi-san," Yuko complimented. "Where did you hear that one?"

Kagome smiled a little as she reached for the incense. "It is the beginning of a legend that is closely tied to the shrine that my family are the keepers of," she answered. "It is no mere tale, but truth," she added firmly.

Watanuki was still shaking.

"In any case, there was certainly one person who felt the story's full effect," Doumeki commented as he sent the other boy a pointed look.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Watanuki demanded, snapped out of his fear by anger.

"It means what it means," Doumeki answered blandly.

"I was not scared!" Watanuki protested.

Yuko clapped twice, calling them back to task. "Who's next?" she asked.

"That would be me," Doumeki said. "My grandfather told me this story."

They all settled down, back into their places, to listen.

"He was out on his rounds, visiting the temple regulars, when he saw a woman at a crossing. Her hair was thin and ragged, she showed no interest in anything, and she gave off an aura that he didn't like. My grandfather only watched her out of the corner of his eye, and he whispered to himself 'she looks like a ghost'. She turned to him, and asked 'how did you know?'"

Watanuki gasped, hands up over his mouth as he shuddered where he sat.

"Was your grandfather the main priest at this temple?" Yuko asked.

"Hai," Doumeki agreed with a nod.

"Did he see many spirits?" she pressed.

"I'd guess so," he allowed. "I heard lots of stories like that one."

"Then ...that blood flows in you, too," Yuko informed him serenely, a mysterious smile on her face.

Kagome smiled as well. "Goodie," she said. "Someone new to train with."

"Eh?" the boys questioned together, but before Kagome could answer, there was a noise from the next room. A room that should have been silent.

"What's that? Is there someone in that room?" Watanuki asked, distracted.

"If you put it that way," Doumeki answered, "yes."

"What's with the vague answer?" Watanuki grumbled. "Is it a family member?"

"No. A supporter of the temple," Doumeki answered. "Or rather, his remains."

"What's that?" Watanuki asked weakly.

"A corpse waiting for the funeral rites, Watanuki-san," Kagome explained plainly. "All shrines and temples perform such duties. Don't get upset about it."

"A corpse?!" Watanuki yelped. "Uh... uh, is there a mourner in there with them? A window open making that noise?"

"Just the remains," Doumeki said. "And there are no windows in that room."

Kagome sighed sadly. "The reason for that is a really sad ghost story," she offered. "A really good sad ghost story."

"As I said," Yuko stated with a wicked smile. "All the players are present."

"When you said 'players', did you include some restless corpse?!" Watanuki demanded, near hysterically.

"Watanuki-san, calm down," Kagome ordered. "It's fine as long as you don't try to leave. Yuko-san made sure of it."

"Huh?"

Yuko smiled again. "Indeed. While the ceremony is in progress, no one is allowed beyond the wards," she explained.

"Wards?" Watanuki asked, fear lost for a moment in his confusion. Only a moment though.

Yuko nodded. "The four candles on their stands. They're wards. Strengthened by Higurashi-san's blood on the razor. This room is protected by that power, but I cannot speak for the world beyond them," she warned her employee. "Until the hundred ghost story ceremony is over, you can't leave."

"Does that mean we actually need to tell a hundred stories?" Kunogi asked, somewhere between curious and nervous.

"If we were being formal, then yes," Yuko agreed. "But we aren't really, so four rounds should suffice."

"Four stories each?" Doumeki clarified.

"Hai," Yuko answered. "They say a four-count is a count that can communicate with the underworld."

"I've never heard that before!" Kunogi said, wide eyed as she shifted closer to Yuko, wanting to hear more.

"They don't put four on room numbers in hospitals," Yuko pointed out.

"Oh, they don't!" Kunogi agreed. "I'd noticed that, but never knew why."

"A long time ago, they called a crossroads that went to four different places by the characters for 'four worlds': 'Shikai'," Doumeki said.

"But if you change the character for 'four' to 'death', Shikai can take you to the world of the dead," Kagome contributed.

"That's what they believed," Doumeki finished with a nod.

"Knew," Kagome corrected softly. "They knew. Today, people just don't see as well as they used to." Then she looked over to where Mokona was sitting in the basket. "Well, most people," she corrected.

"What is with all this calm conversation?!" Watanuki demanded.

Kagome waved him off. "We're safe, Watanuki-san," she reminded him. "The wards will keep out any hungry spirits."

"But if we let the place get any more active, then..." Yuko mused, deliberately trailing off.

"Then?" Watanuki asked, settling down into worrying like a normal person.

"Himawari-chan, are you alright?" Yuko asked, ignoring her employee and his fears.

"I'm fine," Kunogi answered. "If we started something, we'd better finish."

Youko chuckled. "Such a good little child," she cooed, catching a finger under Kunogi's chin, and giving her an approving look – an action that sent Watanuki into another fit. "In any case," Yuko said, sitting back. "Shall we resume?" she suggested.

Kunogi took her turn, telling them about a hotel that had an unaccounted-for room, and that when it was finally found, the shut up room had red writing all over the walls begging 'father please let me out!'

Watanuki was, again, very effected by the story, but took his turn just the same – telling about a boy who had talked to him through the window of the nurse's office, but the window was on the third floor and there was no way the boy could have been there.

"It is strange," Kunogi observed as Watanuki lit a stick of incense. "I wonder what that kid was?"

"He was a ghost," Doumeki and Kagome both answered at the same time.

"You can see spirits?" Watanuki asked.

"No. Not at all," Doumeki answered immediately.

"Oh," Watanuki said, slumping a little.

"Just because one can't see spirits doesn't mean one can't deal with them," Yuko said slyly. "But it's the end of the round, and that means it's my turn. Now... that thing showing on the paper shoji door behind me," she said, not even turning to look. "What do you think it is?"

Kagome's eyes widened in recognition. It had been so long ago, and it had been a different one, but she knew what that was. "The Unmother," she breathed.

The room began to shake – but the water in the bowl was still.

"Watanuki-kun, behind you!" Kunogi cried in alarm.

"Huh?" Watanuki turned. "AH!"

A thump, one of the stands fell, breeze rushed through...

"And the wards are snuffed out," Yuko noted, as every candle flame was doused.

Arms reached through the shoji and grabbed onto Watanuki, naturally causing him to scream.

"Watanuki-kun!" Kunogi cried in fear and distress, rising to her feet. She wanted to do something to help, but didn't know what to to. Tears began to fall down her face. "My bad luck," she whispered, horrified. "Ah! Higurashi-san! Behind you as well!"

Yuko instructed Doumeki to take the display bow and draw it.

"But I don't have any arrows," Doumeki objected, even as he took the bow down. "And who do I -"

"Watanuki-san," Kagome answered, cutting him off as she drew a decorative but sharp stick from her bun.

"It's alright," Yuko assured him. "Alright for you."

Doumeki drew back the bow. Kagome raised the stick in her hand. He released. She plunged it down into the demon she did not even turn to identify. It did not have Sesshoumaru's aura, therefore she wasn't killing anyone she knew and cared for. Just another minor demon after the jewel at her neck.

In front of them all, the many arms coagulated and were drawn forth from the shoji by Doumeki's power. Behind her, the demon turned to dust. Between the two, where Yuko sat, both were drawn in, until...

"Thank you," Mokona said with a smile as he patted his stomach. "It was delicious."

"Blech," Watanuki objected, shifting away from the black puff-ball.

"Eh?" Kunogi asked, surprised. She had been under the impression that Monoka was just a stuffed toy.

"Huh?" Doumeki questioned.

"You're welcome, Mokona-san," Kagome answered, a smile on her face.

~oOo~

"It's a latent psychic power," Yuko said, explaining how Doumeki was able to exorcise the spirits, to fire with no bow on his arrow, but rather his 'chi' instead. "You don't control it with your will."

"I do," Kagome countered. "Took a lot of training," she added, "but it's possible."

"That would follow," Doumeki agreed. "A long time ago, my grandfather used to exorcise evil spirits. My father tried to as well, but he couldn't."

"Ne, ne, Higurashi-san," Kunogi asked, shuffling a little closer to her. "It's really terrific, isn't it? That Doumeki-kun can do these things?"

Kagome smiled back at the excitable girl. "Hai," she agreed.

"I'll get some drinks," Doumeki said, getting up from the porch where they'd been sitting – eating watermelon provided by his mother. "Is tea alright with everyone?"

"Yes... but, if you could..." Yuko answered, a hesitant smile on her face.

"I want beer!" Mokona cheered.

"Beer, huh?" Doumeki said.

"Ask politely, Mokona-san," Kagome scolded, tapping him on the blue jewel on his forehead.

"Please," Mokona said.

Kagome nodded. "Better," she approved. "Do you want some help, Doumeki-san?" she asked.

"Sure," he agreed, a slight smile on his face.

Kagome smiled back and got up from where she'd been sitting to hurry after him.

"So..." Doumeki said once it was just the two of them away from the others. "What was your first time using your spiritual powers like?" he asked.

"A centipede demon tried to kidnap me," Kagome answered. "I screamed, and tried to push her off me. There was a flash of light that made me close my eyes, and when I looked again all that was left of her was an arm." All true. It just left out that the demon had successfully dragged her from her home through a well with a time-portal in the bottom that had taken her back to the Sengoku.

"Why would -?" Doumeki half-asked, confused.

Kagome shuddered involuntarily. "Best you don't know," she answered. "At least for now," she added. "Maybe some day I'll tell you the whole thing."

Doumeki nodded in acceptance, and pushed open the door to the kitchen.