Chapter 3. July 1996 Falling down to another world
"Nee-chan?"
Kagome, who was on her way to school, stopped at her brother's call. Souta's head was peaking outside of the shrine which concealed the old well that was part of the Sunset Shrine
"What are you doing in here?" she asked "You know you're not supposed to play in the shrine!" she added, more by habit than anything else
"Yes, but it's Buyo, I think he's inside!"
"Then why don't you go and get him?"
"It's creepy inside here." the young boy protested
"Then send a shikigami, I'm going to be late for school! On the last day!"
"But..."
"Oh alright, I'm going!" she sighed, knowing it couldn't be helped – it was her little brother after all, and he had very effective puppy eyes
"There's some sounds coming from down here." Souta whimpered
"It's just the cat." she affirmed, trying to reassure him – and herself
But with each step she was taking within the shrine, she was becoming more and more persuaded that the noise was coming from inside the well...
Then, a mewling sound was heard, and Buyo was there, casually rubbing against her leg. With a sigh, Kagome picked up the fat cat who'd been with her ever since she healed him as a child, and started to climb out of the shrine.
And the next moment, the noise coming from the well became louder, and Buyo jumped out of her arms, while she felt herself dragged into the well – and into darkness. The inhuman silhouette that was grabbing her smiled creepily "What a marvelous power! I can feel my body regrowing!"
Feeling panic rising, she started to struggle, trying to get out of the monster's grasp. And suddenly, a bright light was coming out of her hands, glowing like when she healed people yet much stronger – only it didn't heal, clearly, as the thing started to scream in agony and let her go with a furious shout "No! I won't let you go, Shikon no Tama! You'll be mine!"
As the monster faded into darkness, she felt herself falling down – and the next moment, she was on the ground, in what seemed to be the bottom of the well.
Kagome would have been tempted to class all that had just happened as a dream, or rather a nightmare – except there still was one of the multiple arms of the centipede-lady laying on the ground. That, and far too much light for the inside of the shrine, not to mention the fact Souta wasn't answering any of her calls.
Taking a deep breath to prevent herself from panicking, she took a look around herself- realizing with a bit of disgust that the ground was half-dirt half-bones, and spotting some sturdy looking ivy, started climbing up.
"Well," she commented, looking at the vegetation around her as she finally climbed out of the well "No wonder Souta wasn't answering back." not too far she could spot a shape far more familiar than the rest of the environment around her "Ah! The Goshinboku!" she realized, starting to dash toward the tree
Her mad dash was broken when, arriving near the familiar sacred tree, she realized that there was a human silhouette pinned to it, half hidden away by some kind of creeping plant, and looking fast asleep.
Nothing was making sense.
The boy – he didn't look much older than her – looked asleep, yet he was pierced by an arrow, and had been there for so long that plants were starting to grow over him. Logically he should be dead...
That's when she realized he had dog ears on his head – she reached toward them impulsively, marveling at how soft and cute they were.
Then, menacing voices were heard, and arrows flew around her.
"What are you doing here, intruder?"
She immediately held her hands up in surrender, seeing half a dozen men pointing all kind of make-shift weapons toward her. Within moments, she was tied up and dragged to what looked like a small village, like one would see in some period drama. The villagers were lurking around her as she was left to wait for someone – and soon, an old lady holding a sturdy bow made her way toward her
"So you were found in InuYasha's forest eh?" the old miko affirmed rather than asked
"I'm sorry, miko-sama, but I've no idea of where I am." she stated calmly but humbly – the old lady didn't look trigger-happy like the other had, better have her on her side
Said miko took a closer look at her face, before gesturing to a man to let her go "This is no youkai." she reassured them
Within moment, the villagers ha gone back to their normal activities, and the old woman was gesturing for her to follow, leading her to one of the huts.
¤.¤.¤
"You," she explained while serving two bowls of stew "look a lot like my sister did. She was a powerful miko, entrusted with a sacred jewel. And she died fifty years ago."
"And just because of that you're going to trust me?"
"Of course not." the old woman smiled "I'm a miko too, just like you said. I am able to recognize youkai even in hiding."
And there it was again – that word.
Youkai.
Her mind jumped back to the monster in the well, and the boy in the forest. Then even further away, to a long, nearly forgotten memory, of a night when a friend had helped her make peace with her father's death...
There was no point in denying it – she wasn't in Tokyo anymore.
"Like I said, I don't know where I am. I fell in a well at home, and got out it the middle of this strange forest... Could you maybe tell me where I am?"
The miko looked at her suspiciously "You don't seem very afraid from someone lost."
"I'm trying to stay calm and rational. And honestly, it's not easy, so pointing it out won't help the matter!" she retorted hotly "My little brother is probably still waiting for me out of the well-house at home and wondering what happened to me! Then when he realize I've disappeared he'll call mama and jii-chan, and everyone is going to be worried, and I don't even know if there's a way home!" she blurted, panic rising as she started talking
"Calm down child," the old woman laid a reassuring hand on her arm "I'm sorry, but we have to be careful in these days and age." she would have said more – but outside, screams were heard, and panic was rising
Both rose hastily – and once out of the hut, were met with fleeing villagers, and a large, familiar monster tearing a woman up. As soon as the youkai's eyes feel on her, she dropped her prey, eyes narrowing "You! Give me the Shikon no Tama!"
And there it was again, Kagome thought – she had no idea of what the monster was talking about, but one thing was clear: it was after her.
"Nothing is working against it!" one of the villager was reporting to the old miko
"We must drive it to the bone-eater well then." the priestess affirmed
"It's the one I came out from, isn't it?" the bones in it made more sense suddenly
"From what you said, probably yes." the miko confirmed "There's only one abandoned well in InuYasha's forest."
"The forest is this way isn't it? The same way that light is coming from?"
The miko's eyes widened at the question – but Kagome didn't realize it, more focused on her target "Hay, it is."
Kagome looked around, and threw a rock at the rampaging monster to ensure she kept it's attention on her – then started running, wishing she had been wearing her training clothes, rather than her rather unpractical school uniform and shoes.
Rushing through the greenery with the youkai still demanding about a jewel she didn't know a thing about, Kagome hadn't realized the sleeping boy from earlier was now wide awake – that is until he snorted "What are you doing playing around with that wimpy centipede? Just settle it with one arrow, Kikyou, just like when you killed me!"
"Well," Kagome couldn't help but comment, still overwhelmed by the unlikely situation "I liked you better when you were asleep."
"Here it comes." the dog-eared boy commented after spluttering for a moment at her candid comment
Indeed, a few seconds later, the centipede was rushing in the clearing, hand clawing toward Kagome – the girl dodged, if barely, and felt herself really grateful for Saiyuri and Tsukiko's merciless physical conditioning. The next moment, several arrows landed on the beast's body, ropes tied to them, and the villagers were starting to drag it toward the well.
"How disappointing, Kikyou."
"I'm not this Kikyou person." she snapped "And it's not like you were a great help, mister I'm stuck on a tree!"
"You're the one who did that!" he hotly answered – before stopping himself, and sniffing "Uh. You're not Kikyou..."
That's what I just told you!" Kagome answered, growing annoyed with the boy
"Kikyou is far more dignified. And beautiful."
What ever she would have answered was lost, as the youkai who had been under control a moment before was once more on a rampage, fours arms grabbing at her body – Kagome did the first thing she could think of, and grabbed the annoying boy by the hair.
"Let go!" he protested
While she did feel bad about it – it must have hurt after all – she wasn't about to let go either, not when some kind of strange monster was trying to make her its dinner!
"Give me the Shikon no Tama!"
"I've still no idea what you're talking about!" she answered back, feeling the anger and fear she had done her best to manage getting the better of her "So won't you cut it out!" with her shout, she felt the same energy that had awakened earlier – and reacted on instinct, throwing it toward the centipede with on gesture of her hand
That was twice now that she'd done it – she'd have to ask Saiyuri or Tsukiko about it.
If she ever managed to get home.
Only this time, the youkai wasn't as surprised, and attacked back far faster, biting into her side with elongated fangs – blood splashed, far more than she'd thought, and she felt something fell out from between her fingers that were trying to assess the wound. A small, translucent pearl, pulsing with untold powers – and looking a lot like some of the memorabilia the shrine sold, now that she thought about it.
Wait! Wasn't Jii-chan the one who told her about the Shikon no Tama?
Suddenly, several things were starting to make sense all at once – except of course, this wasn't the moment to stop like that, she had been going into shock probably because of her wound – and was dragged out of it by the annoying boy's voice urgently shouting "It's mine! Give it here!"
"Eh! I'd heard about some hanyou brat going after the Shikon no Tama!" the centipede mocked while coiling around them – trapping them and approaching the jewel at the same time
"Tch. I may be a hanyou, but a youkai like you is nothing but a small fry to me!" InuYasha bragged
This was no good, Kagome realized – and right now, there was nothing she could do.
But then again – there was this loud-babbling about how strong he was...
"You better not been all bark and no bite, dog-boy!" she threatened, before grabbing the arrow that was keeping him stuck to the Goshinboku
"Child! Don't!" the old miko warned – too late
"Bah! It's that or we all die, babaa!" InuYasha commented, as power flew back into him just as the centipede was gulping the Shikon no Tama
In one burst of power, he'd broken out of his wooden prison, dragging the centipede with him before rushing at it, claws gleaming "Sankon Tessou!"
As the centipede fell to the ground, Kagome felt, behind her annoyance, a bit of grudging respect grow for the hanyou, who clearly hadn't been all talk after all. Then, she realized the bits of flesh were still moving, as if they were trying to regroup.
"We must retrieve the Shikon no Tama or it will regenerate itself!" the old miko explained "Do you see something glowing?"
Kagome looked around – soon founding what she'd been told to look for and grabbing it, recovering the little piece of jewelry that had caused so much grief.
"So this was inside of me uh? And it gives more power to youkai?" Kagome wondered
"Exactly! Now be a good girl and give it to me, if you don't want to finish under my claws!"
"You mustn't!" the old miko contradicted
"I'd already guessed as much." Kagome confirmed while jumping out of the boy's claws – it really looked as if he was trying to kill her
To think she had been impressed by him seconds earlier!
She managed to avoid several attacks – she wondered if the centipede had been that bad, since she was able to avoid him, or if he wasn't putting in his all. Then, a necklace passed her by, glowing with holy powers, and landed around the hanyou's neck.
"You've got to subdue him!" the old miko called – why she didn't do it herself, Kagome didn't really know – but what she did understand was that she had something to fight back with
"Eh! Subduing me? A pathetic girl like you! As if!"
Instinctively, she called the first word coming to her mind when she eyed the violent hanyou...
"Osuwari!"
She felt her own powers answer to her call and mingling with the necklace, and dog-boy was dragged to the ground, quite violently.
Subduing, then.
Another thing to ask Saiyuri and Tsukiko, clearly.
Soon, they were all heading back to the village, a sullen InuYasha tagging along, and Kagome was back in the miko's hut "I'll take a look at your wound, child."
The old woman sighed while cleaning the blood "It is quite a problem, for the Shikon no Tama to have resurfaced after all this time."
"The centipede seemed to felt it even when it was hidden in me and I didn't know about it." Kagome mused "Others will come after it, right?"
"Any being, human or youkai, with evil in their heart, will covet it." the miko sighed "For it is said that the Shikon no Tama can answer your every wish."
"Uh. So why do you want it, dog-boy?" Kagome asked InuYasha "I mean, you seemed strong enough to me."
"That's because he's a hanyou."
"Shut up babaa! What do you know about this!"
"You didn't recognized me then. I thought as much... You were stuck against this tree for fifty years, InuYasha. I'm Kikyou's little sister, Kaede."
"You've sure grown old! I bet Kikyou is even more hideous now!"
"Kikyou-onee-sama died one the day you were sealed, and was burned with the Shikon no Tama." the old miko stated calmly
"I see." the hanyou muttered, a bit insincerely in Kagome's opinion "Serves the bitch right."
"It's a bit early to be happy," Kaede corrected "I think this young girl maybe Kikyou-onee-sama reincarnation. It would explain how the jewel found it's way in your body."
¤.¤.¤
By the next morning, Kagome was already getting tired of the worshiping and awed look the villagers were giving her. She wasn't anybody's reincarnation, she simply was herself! Even InuYasha was avoiding her, muttering about the fact she was nothing like Kikyou.
He really did have the miko in high esteem for someone who had been cursed by her...
"You do realize I'm not her, right? Reincarnation or not, I'm Kagome, not Kikyou." she pointed out while throwing him a few vegetables that had been offered by the villagers
"Keh! Kikyou or not it doesn't change a thing! I'm going to get the jewel!"
"Well, I can always subdue you if try to attack me." she pointed out, before shrugging and getting back to look at the scenery around her
To think this large forest and little village would one day grow to became the large, bustling city of Tokyo.
The past was dangerous – but at least it was beautiful, too.
It was only later that evening that she decided to start and look for a way home – in other words, she was going to the old well. It's what took her here, it was her best shot at going back home, wasn't it?
She wasn't even near the well when she was knocked out in the back – when she awakened, not too long after, she was in a bandit hideout, their leader lazily gulping sake before stating "Girl. You've got the Shikon no Tama. Hand it over."
She tried to resist, but restrained by two thugs, it wasn't easy – and the leader soon found the necklace around her neck to which the jewel had been strung. This wasn't good.
"Well, I've got no more use for you." the man stated, rising his sword
At that moment, Kagome was pretty sure she was going to die here, alone and stranded in the past and she closed her eyes. Then her eyes opened wide back as she felt blood spraying her, but clearly not her blood, as one of the man holding her had let go, and was now screaming in agony.
"Uh. I missed. My bad."
At that, the other thugs started to realized that something was wrong with their leader, as the man started hacking around without a care, beheading one of his own underlings while laughing. Taking advantage of the chaos, Kagome soon found a spear that would work well enough for her. It wasn't a naginata , but right now she couldn't afford to be too picky.
Now that she wasn't weaponless anymore, Kagome felt far more at ease, the countless hours of sparing helping her if only a bit – this was far more violent, and bloody, and it really confirmed to her that she hated fighting, but Tsukiko had been right all these years ago, and sometime not fighting meant dying, and she had no intention of dying just yet.
And the man while violent, wasn't good. Sure enough, he was stronger than her – but he was moving haphazardly, and was just waving his sword around.
While she didn't want to kill him, aiming at his shoulder was easy enough, and soon, she was striking. Except that instead of burying in flesh, her weapon merely cut open what had been a flesh puppet.
The man wasn't even alive, a three-eyed crow was nestled within the corpse's chest, and tried to fly when it understood it wouldn't win – just as InuYasha arrived.
"Tchh. A fucking shibu-garasu." he stated
"He's got the Shikon no Tama!" shouted Kagome, making InuYasha swear once more
Looking around him, he grabbed a bow and some arrows lying about, then turned toward Kagome "Climb on my back, we're catching up." he stated, handing her the weapon – before instructing as soon as they were outside "Shoot it."
"Are you stupid? We're moving, and I haven't touched a bow in years!"
"Kikyou was a master of the bow, you can do it!"
"I'm not Kikyou, dammit dog-boy!" she retorted while trying anyway
Without any surprise, the arrow, while it flew, didn't reach her target. Really, what had the hanyou expected, some kind of miracle?
"Wow, you're really useless."
"You aren't the one that pushed the bird enough that it had to flee."
"I ain't the one that got kidnapped either."
Kagome had not retort for that – she still felt bad about having been caught so easily. Meanwhile, the crow had swallowed the jewel, and his form was starting to become more monstrous. They were now nearing a watercourse, where villagers were working – and the youkai dropped in, catching a child in his claws.
"The child..."
"Shibu-garasu prey on humans. It's going to feed." InuYasha affirmed blandly "But at least right now it can't defend itself, since it's claws are full!"
Seeing that he was preparing to attack, Kagome jumped a second before, forcing the crow to let go of his prey – and at the same time, the hanyou's attack hit it, nearly half of it's body being cut apart.
"What were you thinking, you damn bitch!"
"Well I had to save the kids while you were taking care of the crow, didn't I." she stated easily "It's still got the Shikon, it's under its wings!"
But both could see that the crow was fast getting away – too fast to catch back. Eyes searching around, Kagome was hit by an idea, and the next moment, she was drawing her bow once more, far more at ease now that she was on the ground, but more importantly certain that she would hit this time.
After all, the bits of the youkai were eager to be reunited with the main body.
And indeed, the arrow found its target, the body of the crow disappearing, as a shower of light illuminated the sky.
¤.¤.¤
A moment later, both hanyou and human girl were rushing toward the direction the youkai's body had disappeared in, where Kagome could still faintly feel the aura of the jewel. Much less powerful than earlier.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" she whispered anxiously
Of course, said feeling was confirmed within minutes, when upon encountering the shibu-garasu's animated head, they realized that only a fragment of the Shikon no Tama was left in it.
Kagome's arrow had shattered the mythical jewel.
"Dark times are coming." Kaede sighed as Kagome showed her the sliver they had found "Your purifying arrow shattered the crow's body, and because the Shikon no Tama had started to be assimilated by the youkai, it shattered too. There could be countless shards all over the country, and even one shard could spell disaster in the hands of a powerful youkai."
Kagome dropped her head in shame – while it hadn't been her intent, she was at fault in this, and as such couldn't well go back home and act as if nothing had happened.
"InuYasha, Kagome, both of you must combine your powers and find back every last shards of the jewel."
Kagome sighed. It couldn't be helped, could it?
"Alright, I'll help. But first I've got to check if I can go home the same way I arrived. I can't let my family worry about me."
"Go home and stay there! It's not as if I need a fake look alike like you after all! I'll get the jewel myself and become a youkai!"
Another sigh.
A whisper.
"Osuwari." well – it wasn't really mature, but she really felt better, seeing the hanyou face-planting
She just knew that the brash attitude was mostly a front – InuYasha may always look grumpy, and sound insulting, his eyes weren't unkind after all...
"InuYasha, you can't see the Shikon shards." Kaede reminded, before offering Kagome a kind smile "I understand you wish to see your family, but maybe not tonight?"
Kagome took a good look at herself – she was tired, dirty, and even bloody, and right now she wanted nothing more than to get some sleep.
Tomorrow morning, then – after washing herself.
And so, a few hours of sleep later, she was awake, and bathing in the river – and the water was ice cold, even in the middle of the summer. It was only her third day here and she was already missing modern accommodations. This was going to be some adventure...
"Tch. Bathing isn't gonna make your stench go away."
Her eyes widened.
"Osuwari! You damn pervert!" she screeched – before taking advantage of the fact he was still face into the ground to get out of the water and get dressed in the miko outfit Kaede had provided.
InuYasha was looking at her strangely – and within minutes, as Kaede was called away to care for a sick child, was demanding "Take them off!"
Kagome was so shocked that she forgot to subdue the hanyou.
Then it clicked – the woman she supposedly resembled had been a miko, hadn't she?
"How many times do I need to say that I'm not Kikyou?" she wondered acidly – still, getting a change of clothes did seem a good idea, if he was going to act like a kid each time she was dressed like this
"Just go away! It's not like I can't manage on my own!"
"How hard-headed are you? Kaede-sama told you only I can sense the shards! Besides, it's my fault the Shikon no Tama broke, even if I didn't mean it. I'm not going to let people suffer because of my mistake. So you're stuck with me for now!"
Saying this, she stalked toward the forest, never seeing the small widening of the hanyou's eyes at the affirmation. Then, he realized she was getting away and rushed to ward her "Hey! Where are you running to after talking big like that?"
"I told you yesterday, I'm going home to explain things to my family and get some supplies!"
"Then leave the shards here!"
She eyed him dubiously – sure she was just going to let the boy who had clearly stated his intent to stole the jewel keep the shards. Did she really look that stupid?
"No way." she denied flatly
Grumbling, InuYasha turned away from her – Kagome shrugged, and soon enough she was back to the clearing where the old well was.
And feeling that something was off...
That's when she spotted the spider-webs; and realized they couldn't be spider-webs in the same moment. She started looking around her suspiciously – so far she had already been attacked by two youkai, and was wearing the shard of a mystical artifact that they were apparently attracted to...
"Oh! You can see my hairs, uh?" a haughty laugh "But seeing them isn't enough girl. Still, I'll give you a boon... I'm Sakasa-gami no Yura. Don't feel obliged to remember it, I'm going to kill you anyway."
The young looking woman that had just said that had short hair and was wearing a yukata so skimpy it looked more like a negligee – and most importantly, she was negligently walking on one of the hair entangling the clearing, several meters above the ground, and looked ready to attack...
"Now, why don't you hand me this Shikon shard of yours?" she suggested with a wide smile
Kagome didn't have a lot of time to think – trying to call to her the feeling of the purifying light she'd used the day before, she stepped back at the same time.
She felt the energy rise to her call, then waver and flicker out of life – but it had been enough to make the girl jump away from her for her second, she then started to laugh as her holy powers flickered down "Not even able to use your own powers! Truly a pathetic child!"
It didn't matter, Kagome had felt the edge of the well under her hands. The villagers had called it the bone-eating well, she recalled, and that's where they had tried to drop the centipede to get rid of it. In other words, while it may be a way home for her, it also apparently was a deadly trap for the youkai.
She let herself fall backward, seeing the hair trying to follow but getting burned by the purifying light that she forced to flare around her hands once more.
And her back hit the ground, pushing the air out of her lungs and making her gasp in pain.
But she didn't really care...
The bottom of the well was darker, and there weren't any forest sounds anymore.
She sighed and didn't jump back on her feet right away, too drained from the adrenaline to care about the fact she was literally lying in old youkai bones.
Then a young and excited voice was heard "You felt it too didn't you, Jii-chan? It's the same as when Kagome disappeared! I'm sure she's back!"
Souta.
A small smile lit her lips at that last confirmation– she was home.
In the back of her mind, the idea that the youkai could be attacking the village back in the past was nagging at her. But she had the jewel shards, not them, so she shouldn't – and well, InuYasha was there, and he may be bad tempered, he didn't feel evil. Hell, he wasn't even attracted to shards like all the youkai that had attacked her had been... so he would definitely help.
Hopefully.
Finally, felling better simply by hearing her brother's voice, she picked herself up, loudly announcing her presence before looking around for a way up – she didn't have to wait for long, as a rope-ladder was dropped toward her. Not wasting time wondering about where they'd gotten it, she quickly climbed her way out of the well, happy to be back in her own time.
With familiar surroundings around her, the past three days seemed nearly unreal – but the wound on her side and the shard pulsing around her neck made it impossible to forget it had really happened.
"Welcome back, child." Jii-chan smiled
¤.¤.¤
Tsukiko was there, visibly having stayed with her family the whole time of her disappearance, and within minutes they were in the kitchen, and she started to explain what had happened, wondering if they would think her mad, yet doubting it. Her mother was the only one she hadn't ever seen displaying unusual abilities after all...
They – didn't seemed that surprised, she realized as they listened to her tale.
And finally, as her tale concluded, Tsukiko approached her "Let me take a look at your wounds."
She was surprised – but then again, was there a point in her friend hiding her healing talent to her mother when she had just came back from the past?
A warm light was soon doing its job, the bruises disappearing slowly, before Tsukiko focused on the place where the jewel had been.
"This is going to scar." her childhood friend said in a low voice
"There's no helping it, isn't it?" Kagome sighed, not really surprised – while not big, the wound had been quite deep, and somehow she rather doubted that magical wounds healed like normal ones
"I'm very proud of you." Jii-chan finally stated, while Natsumi was still looking at the healed bruises, a bit awed "The Shikon Legend is one you never seemed to remember no matter how many times I told it to you, but I guess it makes sense now..."
"How so?" Kagome wondered, realizing that she had indeed heard Jii-chan talk about it numerous times, now that he was telling it – and yet she still couldn't remember what exactly he had said about it
"Hearing about your own fate before it happens isn't possible. Not as long as Fate herself doesn't allow it." Tsukiko stated simply "Your choices and actions must be your own, not imitations of what you heard you did..."
It made sense, Kagome decided – in a twisted kind of way.
"What now?" she wondered
"Well, now you do exactly what you told you'd do." Tsukiko said with a smile "You gather the Shikon shards." a sigh, and her eyes zeroed on the shard hanging around her neck, surprising Kagome – she had thought only the youkai with evil intentions could feel them "Speaking about it..."
"We're going to have to strengthen the shrine's wards." Daisuke nodded, visibly following her friend's thoughts "Even I, with my feeble reiki, can feel this shard, so all the corrupted beings will flock to it if we let them."
"You... can feel it?"
"Every being with a speck of holy powers can feel it." her grand-father snorted "I don't know why it seems to be different in the past, maybe the teaching methods for the holy servants have changed…" he shrugged
"So... You're talking quite freely about your powers?" Kagome asked "Is it because I was sent to the past?"
"Indirectly, yes." Tsukiko explained "As you've just learned, there is more to the world than you knew... Youkai, miko, wizards... All of them exist in the past. And they still do here."
"It wasn't a dream wasn't it? That Kyu-bon night?" Kagome asked softly, hesitantly
Tsukiko smiled, and as if she had only been waiting for her to ask, her appearance seemed to unravel under her eyes, black hair bleeding into white, ears turning elfin, green eyes gleaming gold, the outline of a blue moon and red claw mark adorning her face.
Tsukiko didn't have dog ears – but she had three tails casually waving around.
Even her clothes had changed, as she was now wearing a more traditional outfit, and had two blades tied at her waist.
"Youkai."
It wasn't a question, but rather an affirmation, but it made her grand-father chuckle "Not any youkai, Kagome-chan." he corrected with an amused smile "This is Taishou Tsukiko-hime, heiress of the House of Moon, daughter of the Lord of the West, one of the four Daiyoukai leading Japan's youkai population. Of of the most efficient Huntress in Japan..."
"So cool!" Souta commented, trying to sneakily take a hold of Tsukiko's tail, only for the appendices to move out of his way with a flicker
"She is also the only youkai in existence able to use holy powers, in other words, reiki." Daisuke finished
"Why didn't you say anything before?" the young girl wondered
"Laws are in place, and all magical beings are to obey them. As a priest, I was allowed to talk about my powers with my parents as a child, then my wife when I married. And of course any child I had could be told, and could potentially inherit my gift." the old priest explained
"Tou-san... He was a priest too, wasn't he?" Kagome realized, thinking back to her memories of her father healing her scrapes
"He was," her mother nodded "but he didn't want to take over the shrine. Which is why he never told me, or you."
"You weren't allowed to tell us? Even though we're family and lived together?" Kagome realized, turning toward her grand-father "It's stupid!"
"All laws aren't perfect." Tsukiko nodded "But then again, we're a lot better off than magical England, for example, where laws are far more restrictive. Or even Hong-Kong, which is a lawless chaos compared to us..."
"But when the well took you, it caused a surge of power that alerted the ministry, and so someone was finally sent, and seeing the situation, gave his authorization for full disclosure."
"I've even been invited to a magical school!" Souta shouted with glee "Kaa-san said I could go when I'm older!"
"How come I was never invited then?" Kagome protested a bit childishly "I heal better than you!"
"My shikigami are better, though!" her brother retorted with a grin
"Your powers are sealed." Tsukiko explained "You were a better healer than me at five year old, so you don't lack power... But even near you, I don't feel it. This is probably something the Shikon no Tama did to you."
"But... Why?"
Tsukiko shrugged helplessly "I couldn't tell you. Maybe the jewel was trying to protect itself, or even yourself..."
¤.¤.¤
Kagome would have asked more questions, but the ookami turned her head toward the door, tails twitching, before stating "Someone came through the well."
The next moment, InuYasha was barging in "Hurry up, damn lazy girl! We've got problem!"
"Uh? InuYasha?"
Tsukiko's eyes widened – not only at the name, but at the scent too...
This...
This was her father's half-brother!
She didn't have time to linger on the thought, as her eyes fell on something – hair, infused with youki, attached to his clothes.
"These hairs!" Kagome recognized at the same time
"He's given a way in to the enemy." Tsukiko nodded "And since he arrived within the wards, they didn't react, we'll have to change that… Don't you feel the foreign youki stuck on your clothes?" she asked toward the newcomer, a bit surprised at the brash attitude of the hanyou – she had after all only heard stories about him
"What are you talking about?" Natsumi wondered
"We're under attack." the Moon Hime stated calmly, rising up from the table and following the hairs out, Kagome following her "You know this is going to be dangerous." she couldn't help but warn her friend, while sliding Kiba out of it's sheath
"Well, even if it wasn't Fate's plan for me... It's my fault, isn't it? So I've got to fix it."
Tsukiko smiled approvingly, while hacking at the hair multiplying around them "Good answer."
[Life Quest Complete! The will to fight...
Kagome has found the resolve to be the Shikon Miko
Reward: +50XP, Kagome gains +50XP, Kagome gains Chaos Game 3.0]
[Hunting Complete! Mistress Centipede
Reward:+25XP,+1 Hunting Trophy]
[Hunting Complete! Corpse Dancing Crow
Reward:+25XP, +1 Hunting Trophy]
[Level up! Kagome is nos level 42!
+1PP, +2CP, +3SP]
Kagome's eyes widened at the notifications appearing in front of her eyes for the first time.
"Well, that's one way to break it." Tsukiko sighed, mentally rolling her eyes at Chaos' enjoyment of unexpected situations that was evident in the situation
"What is this?"
"A little help from the Gods." the ookami answered "But this isn't really the time..."
"Right!" the other girl realized – they were now nearing the shrine, and she realized that while Tsukiko was fighting with grace, and a certain nonchalance, Padfoot by her side protecting her back, InuYasha was struggling far more than she'd have though given how powerful he'd seemed to be the days before
He didn't see the hair she realized as she watched him fighting – and even worse, there didn't seem to be any end to the hairs, they only started to grow out again when Tsukiko cut them.
But they were all coming from the same direction – the well of course, they had crossed over with InuYasha...
"Cutting the original hair that crossed over should put an end to this!" she realized
Both Tsukiko and InuYasha heard, and started to cut a path throughout the hairs, working surprisingly well together for two people hadn't ever met before, and soon getting to the well's shrine, where Kagome spotted the only hair coming through the well.
"Here it is!"
"Get rid of it, I'll cover you."
"How?"
"Just purify it." a sigh "Right, your reiki is mostly sealed. We really have to change this."
Tsukiko, Kagome reflected, was rather calm for someone fighting for her life – but then again, now that she took a closer look at her friend, she didn't look like she had a hair out of place, and Padfoot had the same doggy grin he usually wore when playing. She wasn't fighting for her life, Kagome realized – she was fighting defensively, and letting her do the attacking job.
Letting her fix her mistake.
That was pretty usual of her childhood friend, come to think of it – Tsukiko was always ready to help her with good advice, but preferred to let Kagome try things by herself, staying by her side to help her back up if she fell. She took a look a the hair – well she didn't have a weapon, but she did have a hanyou, who was incidentally the one to bring the attacking youkai here.
But then of course, InuYasha couldn't see the hair.
That, she realized, was a problem solved easily enough given how dangerous those hair were – dashing forward, she grabbed the one string coming out from the well, letting it bite into her palms, blood running along.
InuYasha's eyes widened "I see it!" he exclaimed with a feral smile, jumping, and cutting out the string. Around them, all the animated hair fell to the ground like puppets, before sizzling and disappearing.
"Let's go!" InuYasha decreed, ready to jump back into the well as well "The bitch is still alive on the other side, and she's controlling all the village's girls!"
Kagome's eyes widened at the statement, and she felt a stab of guilt – she had been so sure the youkai would go after her, rather than the villagers...
¤.¤.¤
"Let's go then." Tsukiko stated, drawing InuYasha's attention to her – he had been far more busy with fighting earlier
"Who the hell are you, you bitch?"
"I do hope this is a rhetorical question." Tsukiko commented "Because I'm pretty sure you can recognize me by my smell and my marking."
"This is the future right?" InuYasha realized "So... you're the bastard's daughter!"
"If I do recall correctly, oji-san, chichi-ue isn't the bastard of the family." a shrug "Not that it really matters nowadays, blood is blood after all." her smile grew both colder and wilder "Still, I would rather appreciate it if you avoided insulting the Lord of the West on his own territory."
"Oji-san!" Kagome repeated, startled
"Why, yes." Tsukiko nodded with an amused smiled, "But this isn't really the time here again, after all oji-san did just say there were damsels in distress to rescue."
"Don't call me oji-san!" the hanyou protested, looking both annoyed and embarrassed "I mean you're probably older than me if you're already three-tailed!" a snort "May be you're even older than the bastard..."
"He's not going to stop calling chichi-ue a bastard, eh?" Tsukiko sighed, looking slightly annoyed at the realization
"If it makes you feel better Tsuki-hime, he tends to insult everyone." Kagome revealed with an amused smile
"Ah well..." then realizing what he'd said "And I'm not older than you, use your nose! I'm not even in my first century!" she protested – no matter the specie, one just didn't say things like that about a lady's age
InuYasha, who was getting ready to jump into the well, tripped – and fell, while protesting "Bullshit!"
"He just called me old." growled Tsukiko, vexed "I can't believe the nerve of him!" she turned back toward the arriving priest "We're heading out, Daisuke-kun."
"Take care of my grand-daughter, Tsuki-hime."
"Always, old friend." promised the youkai with a smile, before jumping in the well, and disappearing with a flash of light, her trusty familiar in tow
"I have to go, jii-chan." Kagome repeated, both feeling guilty at the obvious worry she was causing her family, and the people that were suffering in the past because of her
"We know Kagome-chan." a smile "We understand. Now go!"
She jumped too.
Both Tsukiko and InuYasha were waiting for her at the bottom of the well, five hundred years in the past. The youkai pressed something in her hands, just as the hanyou dropped something on her head.
InuYasha had lent her his haori she realized, as he commented "It's Hi-nezumi's fur, it'll protect you since you're so weak."
Tsukiko grinned approvingly, then jumped out of the well beside the hanyou, taking the miko along her – and Kagome's eyes briefly widened when she realized Padfoot was already waiting for them in the clearing.
"Well, here's our welcome committee." Tsukiko commented, before dropping Kagome on InuYasha's back
"Eh!" the hanyou protested
"Don't tell me you aren't able to carry one young girl?" the youkai teased, making him grumble, but carry the miko – Kagome marveled at her friend's way with words, amused at how easily InuYasha had been manipulated into carrying her
It was only logical in the end – InuYasha was faster than her, while she could see the enemy's weapon – while Tsukiko visibly could do both but was inclined to let them do the work and merely act as a back-up...
The three companions rushed ahead, Padfoot trailing faithfully alongside his mistress, following the hair threads until they arrived to what looked like a giant hair-ball.
"Oh my, what splendid preys I've caught!" and indeed Yura was here, apparently already convinced of her future victory "You've already been talked about among the Oni, InuYasha! The hanyou's who's a lap-dog to a miko... and a baby Daiyoukai working with humans, what a shame. Both of you have beautiful hair, I'll make you part of my collection!"
With that, hair rushed around to attack them, and each dodged in a different direction.
While Tsukiko was leisurely dodging the hair, making their opponent temper grow, InuYasha, even helped by Kagome indications, was at a disadvantage, having to be led rather than being able to see the attacks coming at him. He was helped, at least, in the fact that the attacks coming at him were far less dangerous for a hanyou than they were for a human, not able to cut through his skin like they had done for the miko earlier...
Finally, fed up by the lack of results her attacks were having, the Oni drew the blade that had been stashed at he side – cutting from afar a large wound across InuYasha's chest, where his haori was no longer protection him.
"This," the Oni bragged "is my beloved sword Benigasumi! It can cut through flesh, without damaging any hair!" a satisfied smile "In other words," she told InuYasha "I can cut you while keeping you tied!"
She prepared herself for her next attack – then stopped in her tracks, as a large amount of her hair had been cut in one swipe.
Kagome, standing by InuYasha's side, and protected by the clothe he'd lent her, was standing defiantly.
"What is this?" the surprised Oni wondered, watching as the young miko, who'd seemed devoid of any talent earlier, was now swiftly cutting through the hair coming toward her
The girl, who'd looked harmless, and weaponless, a moment earlier, was now looking quite at ease with the simple yet curiously effective naginata she was using. Even InuYasha, trapped as he was in the web of hair, couldn't help but feel impressed – maybe the girl wasn't quite as useless as he'd deemed earlier after all...
"What a curious choice of weapon for a miko." Yura commented "No matter," she added "it wont prevent me from killing you, girl."
"Just try it." Kagome retorted with more confidence than she really was feeling, cutting through a number of threads that were making up the heart of Yura's web, and still wondering how the tanto Tsukiko had given her earlier was suddenly a light and practical naginata that just fit in her hand as if it had been made for her
"Very well! Oni bi gushi!" with a wave of her hair-comb, waves of fire were shot at the miko, making her laugh "Not even the marrow of your bones will be left!"
"You bitch!" InuYasha screamed as flames engulfed the annoying girl he'd know for only a couple of day
His own claws dug into his wounds, blood spilling around – and making the hair visible, and the next second he was free, using his own blood to see the Oni's weapon. One more attack and he'd freed himself, taking off one of Yura's hands in the same strike.
The furious Oni's attack were suddenly a lot more intense – skulls as well as hair rushing toward the hanyou.
And never getting to him, neatly cut by a beautiful blade.
"I can't believe you focused on one enemy when three people came to attack you." Tsukiko commented, looking both disappointed and bored "Are you really that stupid?" she wondered, her weapon dancing around her in the efficient and elegant way of someone used to fight with a blade
Yura opened her mouth to answer - before turning the other way quite suddenly.
"Eh." InuYasha guessed "So there's something out there she doesn't want found, isn't there?" with one powerful jump, he caught up with Kagome, not as dead as he had feared, just as the girl took hold of a skull victoriously
"All of her attacks," she claimed "they are coming from here!"
With a swift move of her naginata , the skull was broken into pieces – and with an unearthly scream, Yura's body seemed to break down, her hair decaying on the ground, and the Oni dying in front of their eyes.
"Tch. The coward had hidden her soul away." InuYasha understood, not congratulating the young miko, yet still very impressed
Kagome was soon rushing back toward Tsukiko and Padfoot, and giving back his clothing to the hanyou "Thank you, InuYasha. Without this haori, I would've surely died." then she turned toward Tsukiko "And this..."
Tsukiko snorted "Don't try to give me this back," a shrug "after all you missed your birthday."
"Besides," InuYasha snorted "this is a weapon capable of channeling reiki. It's useless to a youkai."
But Tsukiko was able to channel reiki, Kagome remembered as she eyed the weapon speculatively – even if InuYasha clearly hadn't caught on. Still, Tsukiko hadn't said anything, so she would kept her friend's abilities hidden for now she decided while pocketing the tanto.
Anyway, they still had a lot of things to talk about...
[Hunting Complete! Yura of the Reverse Hair
Reward:+25XP, +1 Hunting Trophy]
Yes, Kagome thought, eyeing the game like window speculatively – a lot of things to talk about...
"Let's check on the villager first!" she decided out loud – then, she didn't say, they'd talk
InuYasha looked ready to protest for a moment, clearly still wanting some answer about his new found niece, but after a menacing glare from Kagome and the first two syllables of the subduing spell, he relented.
¤.¤.¤
It was only several hours latter that they were finally able to get back to Kaede's hut, the old woman having spent quite some time helping the villagers despite having been hurt herself.
Then, Tsukiko explained about how the magical world had hidden itself away in different ways all around the world, how all magical beings now cooperated and stayed hidden in the modern world, going on to explain how Mahoutokoro provided for all its different students.
"So... I guess Jii-chan already knew you were a youkai, judging from how he spoke about it?"
"He was finishing his advanced studies as a priest when I started my first cycle of study as a youkai."
"When you say he was finishing his studies..." Kagome wondered
"He was in his early twenties." Tsukiko nodded, amused
A beat.
"Eh?!"
"Don't shout, stupid girl!" InuYasha protested, ears flattening on his head "What's the big deal?"
"But... it means... you're old, Tsuki-chan?" Kagome finally asked
All three around her laughed. Even Padfoot looked as if he was finding her question amusing.
Finally, it was the old miko who said "Youkai live much longer than humans, child. But it also means they don't age the same way."
"The bastard's daughter said she wasn't even a century old earlier. In other words, she's not old, she's a fucking infant!" Inuyasha explained in his own unique way
"I'm not a pup anymore, I've started my second growing spur!" the girl he was talking about protested with a slight blush on her cheek
"Well then you're not a baby, just a child!" mocked the hanyou, earning himself yet another dark glare from his newfound niece
They went on to explain about youkai age in comparison to humans – Kagome learning that InuYasha was well over two centuries, for example, and that even here in the past Tsukiko's father was twice as old, yet was regarded as very young for a youkai of his stature.
Of course, InuYasha refused to explain what 'his stature' was, but since her grand-father had explained a bit earlier about how Tsukiko's father was someone very important, she guessed it must already be true. She'd learn more about it later, when the hanyou wasn't grumbling as loudly.
Now that she had a bit more background about what had been going on around her, came the questions that had been bothering her for hours.
"So... what's the deal with this... Chaos Game?" InuYasha, who didn't know what she was talking about, looked nonplussed, as did Kaede, while Tsukiko stretched lazily, and snuggled herself comfortably against Padfoot before starting to explain
"You, Kagome-chan, are touched by Fate. One of her chosen Hero, whose life will have an impact on the very world we live in."
"Eh? Me? No way! I'm just..."
"You are." the she-wolf stopped her protests easily "But it only means you have the potential for greatness, not that you already are."
"I don't want to be a hero."
"Of course not. What intelligent person would want to be a hero?" Tsukiko shrugged easily "But you've already started."
"What do you mean?"
"You decided to own up to your mistake and get back the Shikon no Tama, didn't you?"
"Yes..." Kagome hesitantly answered, wondering where the youkai was going with that
"Well there you have it, Shikon no Miko." smiled her childhood friend "You've already started your quest."
"Oh... It's a bit like what Jii-chan was saying then? I have been chosen for this? But what if I hadn't wanted to do it?"
"Then you'd have doomed the world to an age of chaos." a shrug "It sounds bad like this, but it has happened from time to time. That's one of the risk with mortals having free will."
Kagome stayed silent for a while, thinking about it.
While she really didn't see herself as a hero, she had accepted to be the Shikon no Miko, as Tsukiko had titled it. If that meant that by doing that, she stayed on he path that had been intended for her to walk, then so be it – it's not like she wanted to create an era of chaos, that was precisely why she had decided to gather the shards back.
Then she realized something...
"What's the link with Chaos Game?"
"I was coming to that, we just got side-tracked." Tsukiko teased "Like I said, you have been chosen by Fate. I was one of her chosen one too, a long time ago."
Tsukiko's smile dimmed, and she barely reacted to the surprise around her as she thought out her next words "I was born a witch, in times where a dark wizard was wrecking chaos, and before I was even born, a prophecy had been made saying that only I could kill him. I grew up unprepared, had to fight the man year after year with only my two best friends by my side, survived each time only by shear luck." her eyes darkened "And I killed him at seventeen."
Kagome couldn't look away, as Tsukiko golden eyes had bled into an ethereal green "When I died, I was given the chance to avoid something like what happened to me. To avoid children being thrusted into a bloody destiny without even a life-line or a basic idea about what they were doing...I've been reincarnated thrice since then, and each time I did what I could..."
"To prepare them… Us..." Kagome amended, as she understood suddenly – why her friend had always pushed her, in her studies, in her training, making her learn to think for herself since quite young, never letting herself become complacent "Is this why you befriended me?"
"While it is easier helping you as a friend, it wasn't a necessity." the youkai denied "I've vowed to help other heroes, but I do want them to be good people. If you weren't someone I could respect I wouldn't have become your friend, I'd have just helped from afar."
Kagome smiled, reassured – and not doubting her for a second, because she had already seen how cold and aloof Tsukiko could act toward people she didn't like.
"As a boon for accepting to help the other heroes, the gods gave me one gift."
"Chaos Game?"
"Chaos Game." there was laughter in her eyes "he thought it funny to make my life into a game. It works like most RPG, and once you're used to it, it's really helpful."
¤.¤.¤
Tsukiko had spent most of the evening guiding her around the different Systems unlocked in the game – Kagome had mainly see her little brother playing fighting games on his console, so she needed a bit of time to become used to it.
The Party System had made Kagome ask about adding InuYasha to it, since he was to be her partner on her search for the shards – and the brash boy had of course bragged about the fact he didn't need any help to be strong. Then, Tsukiko had claimed that he was to stupid to understand something as complicated, and the next second he was added to Chaos' Game as a member of a Shikon Shard Hunting Party, and Kagome was silently laughing at how easily the hanyou had been manipulated once more.
As for explaining him how Chaos Game worked – Tsukiko hadn't been that far off by saying he wouldn't understand a thing, he didn't have the basic understanding of video games the two modern girls had on their side to help themselves navigate the god's gift. Thankfully, his stubbornness was more than enough to help him painstakingly learn to understand the basics of Chaos Interface.
Kagome had been surprised by how patient her friend had been toward the hanyou, which she knew to find annoying with his habit of insulting her father, until she softly explained while he was busy trying to learn, that she already had to explain the game to several young children in hers previous lifes.
The young miko had realized with that explanation how lucky she was – that she hadn't fallen into this well earlier, or with her little brother.
It wasn't until the next day, as she was woken up early by Tsukiko for a bit of training, that she realized "I'm going to miss school quite a lot, eh?"
"You are." nodded the wolf while they went through their kata "It would be easier for you to drop out."
"Eh!"
"Mahoutokoro, the school Souta has been invited to is used to all sort of strange circumstances from its students," Tsukiko explained "they are agreeable to take you as a part-time student. They'll give you packets to study, and you'll be tested from time to time when we go home."
"I'd have to study alone here?"
"Well, that's what you're going to have to do in any case. And it's not like I can't help you, I have been through school several times already." a grin "And I already plan to drill you on your practical miko knowledge now that you're allowed to by the government!"
Kagome eyes widened - this had been something she had been waiting for ever since Souta had animated his first shikigami years ago. She jumped in the air in victory with a happy shout – making InuYasha grumble, as always.
After early training, the two girl had gone back to the river for a bath, Kagome complaining once more about the cold water, and Tsukiko laughing at her antics. While she had decided to do her best in the past, the young miko was still a modern girl, used to accommodations that were considered completely alien in this time period, whereas the youkai already had to adapt herself to different situation several times...
"Keh! Bathing again?" InuYasha was heard complaining "It's not going to make your stench go away!"
"Osuwari!" Kagome shouted heatedly, before turning toward Tsukiko "I can't believe this pervert is peeping again!"
The youkai shrugged, unconcerned, "What's the big deal? He's pack after all..."
"Uh?"
Both InuYasha and Kagome were surprised at the easy admission – one because he didn't expect this kind of acceptance, the other because she didn't even know what it meant...
¤.¤.¤
"InuYasha is half-dog, obviously, and I'm half-dog half-wolf." Tsukiko explained, seeing her friend didn't understand "We aren't humans Kagome-chan, not only because we have stronger senses, or can use youki, our society and traditions are different too."
"What's being part of a pack has to do with peeping?"
"Well a pack live and does everything together. You can compare it to a family, but it's different. We live, eat, sleep together. Nudity really isn't that big of a deal when you've bathed with the other regularly, and it doesn't have to be promiscuous either."
Kagome was really surprised at the description – but it was clear that Tsukiko wasn't lying, she really didn't see the problem in being naked in front of the boy, and from the way he was acting toward her, it seemed he didn't really care about it either "Why would you accept me as pack that easily?" he huffed, his apparent annoyance not hiding the trace of longing Kagome could guess underneath
"You're blood."
"Never forbid the bastard from trying to kill me."
Tsukiko laughed "Oh InuYasha, how else is he supposed to teach you?"
"Er..."
Tsukiko eyes widened as she saw he really didn't understand. Then she sighed "Oh, I guess you did most of your growing up with you mother, so your instincts really aren't as strong as ours."
"What would you know!"
"I've been human three times already, oji, of course I know!" she laughed, making him grumble once more at being called uncle "But father is full youkai, and at this point in time never had any cause to mingle with humans, so he's acting on youkai standards, not human ones..." she sighed – if InuYasha had been looking at her father's action as a human, it was no wonder he hated him
"So why would trying to kill his brother be normal?" Kagome wondered
"Us youkai are much more resilient than human, and heal a lot faster too. So the better education method was considered for a long time to beat it into you until you understood. Since we're about five hundred years in the past, it's still the favorite education method."
"It's barbaric!" the teenaged girl protested, eyes widening – before remembering that her friend was usually able to explain things that revolted her
And once more, she wasn't to be let down "It's more of a necessity. Beating someone within an inch of his life is the fastest way to teach him to survive, and in this era, the tensions between several youkai species are so high that children have to learn to survive the earliest possible. Better half-killed by your father in training than killed for real during an attack of an enemy clan because you weren't trained hard enough..."
Put like this – Kagome sighed, even without knowing youkai and magic to be real, this era was considered by many as the bloodiest of their history, with countless lords bickering to gain a bit more territory to their name, with warrior dying for them, and peasants having to survive multiple destruction of their crops, or requisitions of the food for the higher class...
"With Inu no Taishou dead, father became the de facto alpha of our family, and as such ensuring InuYasha's survival is part of his responsibilities..."
"Tchh. As if I needed his help!"
Neither girl remarked on the fact he didn't call Tsukiko's father a bastard for the first time, but they didn't miss it either.
Kagome felt a pang of sadness – InuYasha's brashness, it seemed, was a barrier to protect himself from loneliness, and she could see that he had been clearly interested in Tsukiko's explanation, even if he'd put on an uninterested act.