Summary: She's done it! The jewel is finally complete and she can put fighting demons in the past as last! With a sigh of relief, she turns her focus to her future. Able to resume her school life, she somehow gets dragged into the world of "S" by classmate and new friend, Reki. Meanwhile, Kojiro is forced to realize that his baby sister isn't a baby anymore.

Pairing: Undecided

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Jewel is still around, but it's dormant.

Chapter Three

After school that day, Kagome headed home to the shrine in order to change from her school uniform into some more casual attire. She opted to change into a thigh-length blue t-shirt and a pair of black elastic shorts beneath. She combed her hair up into a high ponytail, only to let out a gasp when she felt something snap at her neck. She heard the jewel clatter to the floor, and her expression soured some as the chain that once held it fell into two pieces, having gotten swept up in her brush as she combed out the back of her hair. She paused, gazing at herself in the mirror for a moment, hair tugged up into one hand and her brush in the other, before sighing and tying the pink ribbon she had at the ready into her hair to keep it up.

Once done, she crouched and picked up the once whole necklace, looking to see if there was any way she could salvage the chain. With a defeated sigh, she realized that it was beyond repair, the hooks for it broken off into little tiny pieces that she couldn't find in her rug. She stood back up and set the broken chain on her desk, the marble-sized jewel cupped gently in her palm.

"Do I have anything else I can put you on?" she asked herself, speaking out loud to the jewel as if it had the capacity to give her an answer. She pouted. She didn't want to leave it behind. Among everything else, by now the jewel felt like an extension of her. Sure, it was just a simple trinket now, but she'd become unexpectedly attached to it. It didn't feel right to leave without it on her person somehow.

Just as she was about to give up, a faint memory flashed through her mind, and she perked up.

"Oh!" she gasped, tightening her grip on the jewel as she whirled around on her heel, spinning to face the opposite direction. "That's right… I have that charm bracelet he gave me forever ago…" she trailed off softly. But did she even want to use it? The thought brought a troubled feeling to her, one she couldn't shake so easily.

At the thought, Kagome let her gaze drift over to her bed, and she slowly urged herself forward towards it. She sank down on the plush covers, bending over just long enough to reach beneath her bed and tug a small, blue and white box out from the space below it.

It wasn't very large, about half of a shoebox in terms of width and length. It was decorated with an obsessive abundance of stickers. Most, if not all of them, were some sort of flower or butterfly. A few hearts littered the mass, the occasional pink and red symbol peppered in very sparingly.

There was a bit of hesitancy within her as she looked it over, blue eyes carefully gazing at the white ribbon that kept the lid in place. She'd sealed it with a ribbon long ago, almost as if it had been a promise to her grown self that she'd never open it again.

She suddenly felt so uncomfortable. Memories she thought where long gone resurfacing long enough to make her heart clench from her chest. It was unexpectedly painful, considering they'd laid dormant for so many years already.

She felt silly. What was the big deal?

She let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding before urging herself to grip one end of the ribbon, giving it a gentle tug to undo it as she did. It unraveled without any defiance, both ends fluttering out against her legs. Kagome gripped the lid and removed it, setting it to the side as she gazed in at the contents stored in the box. She abruptly froze, her hand falling to hover over what lurked inside.

Again, what was her problem?

Kagome narrowed her eyes, urging herself to do something. Her eyes narrowed and she reached into the box, fingers gripping a small stack of photos. She removed them and dropped them on the bed beside her, not paying them any mind even when they scattered. Once they were moved, she found what she'd been looking for.

A silver chain charm bracelet rested innocently at the bottom of the box. It only had two charms on it. The promise of more to put on it had faded away, never to be fulfilled. She gripped it, fingers gently curling around the cold metal as she pulled it free from its place.

The first charm was a set of roses intertwined, one red and one blue.

"See?"

She was seated on the skateboard, her hands occupied by the simple white box that once held the bracelet. She stopped playing with the ribbon long enough to look up, blue meeting deep ruby. He crouched beside her, holding the bracelet in his hand, his other bracing himself up. The sound of it jingling caught her attention, and she abruptly looked at it, causing him to laugh.

It was a kind sound. She was always met with it, his kind disposition towards her never seeming to sway no matter his mood or if something had gone wrong.

"These match you and I," he said softly. She understood what he was getting at. The red was a match to his eyes, just as the blue was a match to her own. "So when you look at it, you'll know you're in my heart."

The second charm was the same size, but the shape of it differed greatly. It was a golden heart with a silver key attached to it. The key had a heavy golden border all along it, and the heart harbored a matching slot for a keyhole.

The bracelet shifted some as he reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled a much smaller, white box out and opened it for her to see, and a hushed whisper of awe fell from her lips. He chuckled in response as he took her much smaller hand in his own and easily clasped the bracelet around it. Once it was on her wrist, he attached the second charm to it, flicking them both with his fingers once it was properly attached.

"Do you know what this one means?" he asked, gently tracing over the heart-shaped charm, and when she shook her head he chuckled. "It's a promise from me to you," he said, his tone soft.

"Promise?" the confusion-laced response made him nod. Without warning he stood up and gently ruffled her hair.

"Yeah."

She could remember the smile on his face as he said those words, the meaning behind them lost on her even now. Her gaze lingered on the bracelet for a few more moments, her grip on it tightening until she shook her head forcefully.

"It'll have to do until I can get a new chain for a necklace," she said softly to herself, and she wasted no time in clipping the jewel into one of the hooks meant for charms. It was slightly larger and heavier than the other two on it, but it would suffice.

Kagome turned to retrieve the photos she'd tossed to the side moments before, only to freeze when the one on the top caught her eye. She slowly recovered from her little bout of shock, her expression hardening some as she reached to pluck it from her bed. An unreadable glint lingered in her eyes as she carefully handled the photo.

She had to have been no older than eight at the time, but she remembered it perfectly.

Because of how other children, outside of her friends, treated her as a child, she never liked being around them. Each time, they'd always end up forcing her into playing that stupid "Kagome Kagome" game and she hated it. It was that time that she first started to learn how to skateboard, until she gave up after falling too many times. That was how she even met him. Her brother had been friends with him.

The photo staring back at her bore holes into her flesh. Tears pricked in her eyes as she familiarized herself with it.

She was being carried piggyback and looked to be half asleep when the photo was taken. Her arms wrapped loosely around his neck, fingers gripping that white jacket he so often wore as if it'd do anything to keep her in place should he move his arms from where they braced her smaller frame on his back. He was smiling, genuine and soft, deep blue hair peeking out from under his black hood, ruby eyes shining as he looked only partially at the camera that had taken the picture. A few bandages covered the skin on her knees and arms, the signs of her trial and error on a skateboard so long ago.

One of her last memories of him. Hiding underneath an awning during a surprise rain shower. Out of everyone to carry her tired body, she demanded it to be him, and he obliged with a laugh. Her brother begrudgingly accepted and relented if only to appease her shift in favoritism.

She didn't expect, let alone realize in her young mind, that the last time he said goodbye to her would really be the last. Had that played into her resistance to keep trying to learn…? She wouldn't discredit it entirely. It was likely that it contributed, but she didn't want to stop and try to put the thought into a proper place.

She shook her head and gathered up the rest of the photos, shoving them all back into the box. She replaced the lid and tied it back up, kicking it back under her bed without a second thought as she stood up.

The past was the past, and that was where it was meant to stay. She knew that, far better than anyone else.

"Mama, I'm heading out now!" she cried as she bounded down the stairs.

"Tell Reki I said hi~" she called back with a soft giggle. Kagome refrained from rolling her eyes as she put her shoes back on, grabbing her skateboard from the place she'd put it once she got home that day.

"Yeah, sure, I will," she responded.

She never even had to say where she was going, and her mother knew.

As she left through the door, a familiar weight landed on her shoulder, and she glanced to her side to spot Kirara taking up her usual perch. Kagome beamed at her, reaching up with her free hand to scratch between her ears.

"Of course you can come along," Kagome said with a gentle smile. "I wasn't gonna leave without you."

"Guess who came for a visit!" Kagome called out as she shoved the door to the skate shop open. On cue, Oka looked up from where he leaned against the counter, his eyes landing on the feline perched on her shoulder.

"Oh, Kagome, you decided to stop by today," he said, glancing at her and to Reki as the boy turned to look her way, too. "It's been a while since you came around." Kirara sat up and stretched, soon leaping from her shoulder and onto the desk, approaching Oka as he reached to pat her head.

Kagome let the door close behind her as she nodded. "Yeah, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi couldn't hang out with me today." She often would come by to meet up with Reki once he got off work, but on the days where she didn't have other plans, Oka invited her to loiter around his shop to keep things lively. Of course, she was happy to do just that. It felt nice to be wanted around, after all.

"Reki was just talking about the transfer student you two got in your class," Oka said, and Kagome perked up as she approached the counter as she nodded. Kirara leaped back into her arms. A second later, a second bundle of fur followed suit, and Kagome smiled at the pair, alternating between scratching them.

"Oh yeah," she said. "His name is Langa."

Reki nodded. "He seemed a little spaced out, don't you think?" he asked out loud, and Kagome hummed.

"A bit, yeah," she responded. "He seems nice though, so I wouldn't worry about that too much."

"You mentioned he was returning from overseas, right?" Oka asked, glancing down at what occupied his attention and scribbling something down. A second later he looked back at the pair scattered through the shop. "Were there any language difficulties?" he asked.

"No, he could speak Japanese," Reki responded.

"Yeah," Kagome paused in scratching the two animals she held. "His mom's Japanese, so all that was okay," she said. Reki glanced over his shoulder.

"Huh? How'd you find that out about him?" he asked

"What do you mean, how did I find out?" Kagome rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter as she cradled Kirara in her arms, paired up with Sketchy, Oka's fennec fox. They leaned into each other, savoring the caresses of her deft fingers. "How do you think? I asked him, Reki," she said flatly, her expression deadpan. Oka chuckled at her response and Reki rolled his eyes. "We didn't have a long conversation or anything like that," she said then. They'd spoken for maybe five minutes after school, but it'd been long enough for her to learn a little bit about him.

000

"You should take a little break," Kagome chided softly as she watched Reki test out his board right outside the shop. Her brows furrowed when he didn't seem to listen to her worries, and she sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm fine," he responded, smiling over his shoulder at her. "I keep telling ya' that."

"You say that, but your arm is still injured, you know," she huffed. "At least hold off until the bandages can come off, Reki."

"You worry too much," he grumbled. "I'm perfectly fine- ah!"

Reki stumbled forward when he abruptly lost his footing, and Kagome flew into motion, couching beside his crumbled form with worry alight in her eyes.

"Ugh, this is what I mean!" she growled at him, her frown doubling when he winced as pressure was put on his injured arm. "You should've waited at least one more day… sheesh unbelievable…" she grumbled to herself, helping him back up.

"I-I'm fine," he responded weakly as he got back up, whipping his head from side to side as he shook off the stars flickering into his vision. The sight of his skateboard racing away with the momentum of his fall caught his attention, and his eyes widened and he yelped. "Shoot!"

Before Kagome could ask what was up, he was already barreling after it, leaving her behind dumbstruck. A second or two later, she kicked herself into motion and went running after him.

"H-Hey, wait up!" she cried, rushing after him.

She caught up and bypassed him quickly, much to his surprise. Kagome heard, very faintly, as he gave her an encouraging cheer as she bounded ahead of him. Her time spent running for her life did wonders for her stamina. Not many people expected her to be as fast as she was, most often.

She had almost caught up with the runaway skateboard when a familiar head of light blue hair entered her line of sight. Too close to him to stop aptly, she did the next best thing.

"Look out!" she cried, but all that did was cause him to come to a halt and look in her direction. Kagome stumbled over her own feet as she tried to stop, and she ended up tripping and colliding with him. Without warning, they both tumbled to the ground, a low whine coming from both parties.

Kagome sat up slowly, rubbing her mussed hair back into place as she moved. She looked at the boy she'd collided with, an apologetic sheen entering her eyes as he collected himself from the unexpected collision.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I tried to catch myself, but I think we both can tell how well that went," she added with a weak sigh. Langa looked at her, the surprise steadily fading from his expression.

"It's okay," he said after a moment's delay. Guess that's what he got for stopping right in her path. Before he could say much else, a glint appeared in her eyes and she sprung up abruptly.

"Aha! Got it!" she exclaimed, just narrowly catching the runaway skateboard with a proud air surrounding her. She smiled and stood up, dusting herself off. She felt his lingering stare, and she let out a curious hum.

"A skateboard?" Langa looked at the object she held, and she offered him a gleaming smile.

"Yup!" she responded brightly. As if on cue, Reki stumbled up behind her, almost out of breath.

"Man, you're fast. You sure you never ran track in your life?" he exhaled, resting a hand on his chest. A second later, he smirked at her. "Though, I see stopping gracefully isn't your thing, is it?" he asked. Kagome glared at him, cheeks puffed out in a pout. "Kagome kinda has this way of barreling into people's lives, so don't sweat it, transfer kid," he said, talking to Langa.

"Oh, come on! You make me sound like a klutz," she huffed. Reki arched a brow.

"I mean, you kinda are?" he chuckled. "Have you seen yourself?"

Reki looked away from her, turning towards the bluenette observing them with a befuddled expression. At the sight of his expression, directed at him, Reki stiffened some. "Y-You recognize me, right? Kyan Reki," he introduced himself, and when that expression deepened, he set a hand on his hip and glared. "We're in the same class. I'm in the seat beside you and behind her," he said, jutting a finger towards Kagome. She rolled her eyes.

"Sorry…" the bluenette responded after a pause. Reki shrugged and plucked the skateboard from Kagome's hands, keen enough to notice the other boy's lingering gaze on it.

"Wanna give it a try?" Reki offered, nodding to the skateboard in his hand. Langa looked from the skateboard and to Reki.

"Oh, no, I'll pass," he said, and Reki rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on," the redhead said. "I saw you totally fixed on it."

With a little bit of pestering on Reki's end, Langa eventually complied. That's how Kagome ended up standing on the street corner beside Reki as the new figure gazed down at the skateboard now on flat ground. The moment he tried to stand on it, however, he ended up flailing and falling backwards onto the ground. Kagome covered her mouth as she looked down at him while Reki doubled over as he laughed.

So that's how it looked when someone fell like that…

She didn't want to laugh, because she knew how it went, but at the same time she wanted to laugh for that same exact reason. She stifled it back and crouched to look down at Langa as he lay sprawled out and slightly dazed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"Y-Yeah…" he mumbled.

"Y-You didn't even move an inch before you fell!" Reki choked out between his laughs.

As he picked up on the sound of Reki's laughter, Langa's expression shifted into a glare as he looked up at him. He moved a bit, leaning up on his hands as he glared at him. "Those things aren't made to be stood on!" he snapped at him as Reki slowly quieted down.

"Eh?" Reki tilted his head to the side as he went to retrieve his skateboard. He flipped it upright with his foot and hopped on it. "Sure it is!" he responded. "Watch this," he said. When he began to skate towards him, Langa fell back, only to stop and watch, wide-eyed, as Reki easily managed to jump over his form. When he landed, he looked back at Langa with a smile. "see? It's easy when you know what you're doing."

"Yeah…" Langa trailed off, a look akin to amazement on his face as he sat up.

Reki smiled and approached the pair beside each other. "Well, I work part time at that shop up there," he said, motioning to the direction of the skate shop. "If you want, I can pick out a good beginner's board for you and help you learn?" he offered. "I helped Kagome learn, too."

"Don't worry, he laughed at me the first time he saw me fall, too," Kagome said, patting Langa's shoulder.

"What's your hourly wage?" he asked abruptly, stunning Reki into a silence when he seemed to ignore everything else past his first sentence.

"Huh?"

"I'm looking for a part-time job," Langa said. "Preferably with a good hourly wage."

"Why?" Reki asked. "You got something you want?"

Kagome looked between the two for a moment before a lingering gaze on her caught her focus. She tensed up for a moment before letting her stare wander upwards to a building on the other side of the street they stood on. Upon doing so, she caught sight of a figure watching from the window, and she nervously looked around.

… were they technically loitering here or something?

Something about the figure felt familiar however. Long pink hair pulled into a low ponytail over the shoulder, indifferent gold eyes watching her. Wait a second… wait a damn second!

She did know that person!

"Hey, Kagome!"

She was forced to resurface from her thoughts when Reki shook her by her shoulders. She glared at his face and swatted his hands from her. "What?"

"You were all zoned out there," he laughed. "We're heading back to the shop. Come on," he said. Kagome almost fell into step, only to stop herself a second later.

"I-I'll catch up," she said, offering him a gentle smile. When he looked like he was about to ask why, Kagome nodded to the pink blossoms littering the trees they stood around. "I wanted to take some photos of the trees," she said, pulling her phone from her bag. "I'll only be a moment, but don't let me hinder you guys any~!"

Reki shrugged and looked at Oka, who seemed to have come to find them during her dazed state, and Langa. "Whatever," he said a second later. "Don't take too long, though."

Kagome nodded. "Of course!" she called as they left. "I'll catch up in a moment."

She wondered if she wanted out here, if he'd get the hint and come outside? Would she have to go inside on a hunch? What if she was wrong though? She doubted that, but still…-

The sound of a door opening caught her attention, and she turned towards the noise as that figure came into her line of view again. A faint gleam of confusion appeared in her eyes as she met a golden gaze framed by glasses. A second later, it faded and she smiled. "Ah~ So, that was you after all," she said, a faint tint of thoughtfulness lurking in her tone.

"I wasn't sure if it was you at first," he responded, burying his hands in his sleeves as he approached her. "Then you smiled, and I knew there was no mistaking it," he added as if correcting himself. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Gotta say, without all those piercings I remember, you're not as intimidating." She paused, tapping her chin with a finger as she thought it over. A small smile appeared on her face when he looked at her with a mild glare. "On second thought… maybe not so much," she hummed, stifling a giggle. "Although, I like the glasses. It's a good look on you," she concluded. His glare shifted into a mild smile.

"Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that you're not as annoying as your gorilla of a brother," he commented, and she giggled before she could stop the sound from slipping free.

"I guess I should take that as a compliment?" she scoffed. When he nodded she could only roll her eyes. In the distance, she could feel the confusion in Reki's arua, and she knew she should be on her way back to the shop before he came looking to make sure she was okay. She glanced down at her feet and sighed. "Well, I'm needed elsewhere, so I should go," she said as she started back down the street

"Don't let me keep you," Kaoru responded, his tone calm. "Time for you to scurry off, little girl."

"I swear… don't make me come back to bother you later," she threatened, tone dry. He chuckled in response. "I'll do it, too! You know I will."

"Oh, well, in that case, be sure to check the hours before coming by," he responded as he waved her off, not perturbed in the slightest by her threat. "Now, off you go."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him before heading back to the skate shop.

Auroua-chan: So, we're 3 (technically 4, counting the Prologue) chapters in. Obligatory notice that this won't be canon to either series. Although, it will be more so for Sk8 with some straying here and there as usual.
Any OoC is intended more often than not, another friendly reminder.
Canon ages for Joe, Cherry, and Adam are lost on me, so for this story I'll likely have them around 26-28 or something like that. Timeline for past events in SK8 (affecting those three might stray a bit here and there more than other areas for story purposes, too!)

Anyway, that's it for now. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed! Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~