Disclaimer: Inuyasha I not own
Kagome felt weightless. She was floating. Looking down, she could see her own body. You're being forced to live again. Kagome heard a small voice say to her. 'What…aren't I dead?' She thought to herself. You live and then you die. Your body wants your soul. Your soul wants your body. Return. The voice was soft and emotionless. Kagome felt herself be forced back into her body…
Her eyes snapped open of there own will. She was gasping for breath, her lungs feeling as though they couldn't get enough oxygen. Strange people stared down at her, all of them looking at her curiously. Everything around her was alien and unfamiliar. "Where am I?" She managed to say.
"You're on my ship called Kirara." One of them said. Kagome saw that it was a girl who looked to be close to her own age. She shook her head in confusion. "Who are you?"
"Me?" Kagome asked. "I'm Kagome." She said after a moment. "Who are you? Why am I here?? Why am I not dead???" She sat up and placed her hands on her head.
"Um, what?" The girl asked looking at her in confusion.
"I am dead! I died!" Kagome screamed. She was in panic now. She didn't know why, but she felt like the fact that she was here was wrong, out of place. "But--how--why?" She whispered. 'I died! The Shikon killed me! I can't be alive again? Who are these people? Why am I here? Who was that voice talking to me? Where is my family?' "Where is Souta? Is he here?" She placed her hands on the edge of the strange box she was in, feeling her self being overwhelmed with feelings of confusion and disbelief. "He was right beside me, you know." She said after a moment.
"Who's Souta?"
Kagome then realized none of these people were wearing clothes from her time…and two of them looked different from normal. One had white hair and dog-ears, while the other had sharply pointed ears, was incredibly small, and with a bushy tail. Kagome laughed for a second, her laughter sounded high to her own ears. "Why am I here…" She closed her eyes and, despite her efforts, felt herself being drawn back into herself, a natural reaction when facing all of this. She fell backwards in dead faint.
All of them stared as the girl kept rambling on over how she was dead and asking questions like why was she here and other stuff like that. Then, she fell back down, fainting from everything that was going on around her. "Is she crazy or something?" Inuyasha demanded.
"I don't know." Sango said after a moment. "She appeared a little hysterical."
"Well, anyone would after seeing Inuyasha's face." Shippou laughed and scooted out of his reach.
"It just looked like she was confused." Miroku said thoughtfully. "She probably needs some rest. I'll take her to--"
"No." Sango said firmly.
"What? Don't you trust me?" Miroku smiled.
"I think I'd feel better if Inuyasha took her to my room." Sango said, not quite insulting Miroku, but she got her point across. Miroku simply laughed.
"Why me?" Inuyasha grumbled. 'I get stuck doing everything.'
"Because you can carry her." Sango said. "I don't think her waking up inside this coffin helped her too much. I need to take us to someplace where it is safe to stop, instead of in the middle of nowhere. Houshi-sama, could you check the capsule for any signs of who this girl is? And Shippou, you can come with me. I'll be back down to help the girl as soon as I can." Sango quickly took charge of the situation.
"Fine." Inuyasha carefully picked up the girl and left up the room, cursing on how this wasn't part of his job. He walked the short distance to Sango's private quarters and awkwardly tried to hit the panel to opened the door. It was hard while carrying someone and trying to make sure her impromptu clothing didn't slip off, even if she was surprisingly light. He finally kicked it, smirking as it slid open. He quickly placed her on Sangos bed, and as an after thought, placed a blanket over her.
'Strange person.' He thought to himself. 'She seemed like she really though she should be dead. She didn't exactly seem crazy though, even while yelling.' He couldn't help but think that. As Miroku had commented on, she simply seemed confused.
The girl was oddly pretty, for a human that is. Inuyasha mentally kicked himself as that thought crossed him. 'I could care less if she was good looking or not.' He reminded himself. Suddenly, the girl stirred.
Inuyasha looked down at her, expecting her to wake up any time now. That's when he noticed a strange mark on the very top of her forehead, where her bangs normally covered. It was so tiny that Inuyasha leaned in to get a closer look…and the girl, probably sensing his presence, snapped open her eyes. She screamed in surprise and promptly slapped him across the face. Inuyasha yelped as he leapt back and clutched his cheek with one hand.
"What the hell did I do to you, bitch!?" He demanded. She looked at him cautiously for a moment.
"You scared me." She said finally. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
"What the--I did no such thing! I am suppose to watch you." Inuyasha growled.
"Who are you?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing. "You look human, but your ears aren't normal. Neither is your hair."
"Well, you look human, yet you have an annoying attitude." He shot back. "I'm a hanyou, idiot."
"A…half…demon?" She seemed a bit surprised. "But…there is no such thing…" She seemed even more confused.
"Moron, of course there is such things. Even though humans normally mate with humans and youkai normally mate with youkai, it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen." He was completely offended. 'How dare she make fun of me like that!' He thought.
"Sorry, sorry." She said after a moment. "I…I think I'm a bit confused."
"Really now?" He laughed. The girl glared at him and sat up, clutching the blanket around her as she realized something. She turned a strange shade of red; a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"Where are my clothes?" She said tightly after a moment. "What happened here? Why am I in the bed with no clothes!?" She cried at him, as she slowly got out of Sango's bed, backing away from him.
"What?" Inuyasha was now the one confused. She seemed to be accusing him of something…it clicked. "Damn bitch, you think I took advantage of you, don't you!?" He cried, also backing away from her in embarrassment.
"Why else would I be in the bed without my clothes!!??" The girl yelled, reaching out to grab anything that she could get hold of and threw it at him. He was bombarded with books, some pictures Sango kept, and even a pillow or two when she ran out of hard things to throw. "RAPIST!" She accused.
The door suddenly slid open as the girl's yells attracted some attention. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou looked at both of them. "What wrong?" Sango leapt in, standing between the two of them.
"Tell her I am not a freaking rapist!" Inuyasha told Sango.
"What?" Sango asked, now turning a bit pink. "She thinks you…"
"Did you?" Miroku smiled at him innocently.
"Hell no! All I did was bring her in here!" Inuyasha screeched. "What kind of person do you think I am?" The girl, standing by the corner looking at everyone in her normal state of confusion, walked forward.
"So, nothing happened?" She said after a moment, sounding very relieved.
"NO!" Inuyasha yelled. "You were inside some stupid capsule like that! You woke up and fainted, so I brought you in here. Then you woke up again!" He couldn't help but feel insulted that anyone would even think that he would do that and it must have leaked out into his voice, since the girl spoke much gentler a second later.
"Sorry for jumping to conclusions." She said honestly. He sighed in relief.
"Okay, now that that's settled, Sango, you take care of her." Inuyasha walked out, Shippou following.
"If I could be of any assistance to you, in any way, just let me know." He heard Miroku say. "If you want, I could even father a chi--"
"OUT!" Sango yelled and the dull sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed to Inuyasha's ears. 'Ha, I'm not the only one to be slapped today.' He thought to himself, then glared at nothing in particular when he realized he had just put himself on the same level as Miroku.
Kagome looked at the strange girl who hit a button to get the door to slide shut, right after she slapped the man in the face. "Um…who are you?" Kagome finally asked.
"I am Sango." The girl said after a moment. "You're Kagome, right?" Kagome nodded. "I was wondering why you were in that capsule? Did a something happen and you had to evacuate your ship or your planet?" She questioned.
"Ship? Planet?" Kagome looked carefully at her surroundings. "You said I was on a ship…I don't suppose that it is one for the ocean, is it?" Kagome asked, half hoping it was.
"…Ocean…? No, we're in space." Sango looked at her in confusion, then sat down. "Hmm…the only ocean in this system is on the Zygot planet, and its acids would burn the hull of any ship. Did you come from that planet? Maybe in an area inland, where the water is cleaner?"
"What?" 'Zygot?' Kagome looked at her in surprise. "No…I come from Tokyo…on Earth."
"But…Earth was our home planet a century ago…it doesn't have any oceans any more. It's dead." Sango told her gently, and, by her voice, Kagome had the impression that Sango believed that she was a little bit…crazy.
"W-what?" Kagome slumped to the floor after hearing this news. "I--what do you mean? It can't be destroyed…a hundred years ago? How…why…" Kagome knew perfectly well how and why the earth would have been destroyed. The Shikon had that power…but she would have died as well. In fact, she thought she had died…but she was here, standing on some strange ship in the middle of space. Nothing was making sense. "Why…am I here?"
"We found you floating in the middle of space. That monk was checking out the capsule, so maybe he'll find out where you came from." Sango didn't seem to believe that she really came from earth. "What was the last thing you remember?"
"Well, someone had stolen the Shikon that had came from my body and was using its power. I saw a flash of light, pain, and then I woke up here. I thought I was dead." Kagome said softly. Sango's eyes widened a bit at this remark.
"You are saying that you are the Kagome from the legend?" She asked gently. "That isn't possible. That Kagome would be over a hundred years old…" Her eyes widened. "And…my monitor said you were over a hundred years old…but…that's impossible…" Kagome found her stomach tightening as she heard this information. She leaned heavily on her knees, the world once again turning her for a loop. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Sango looking at her comfortingly. "Look, I have no idea who you are, but don't worry about it now. Why don't you go use my shower? You can borrow some of my clothes and think about all of that later--or not at all."
"Thanks." She wearily stood up; the blanket still wrapped tightly around her.
"Just go through that door and press the blue knob." Sango pointed to a door on the side. "And here you go--sorry, I don't have anything better." Kagome looked down at the clothes. "It has all the necessities in there." Sango side glance towards the exit of her room. "If you want to leave, just go through that door. I need to pilot before we get too far off course." Kagome nodded and went to where she was directed.
She slipped out of the blanket and noticed that she also was covered in someone's red shirt-like thing. She sat it to the side and made a mental note to give it back to the person. She pressed the blue button and, instead of water, a misty like substance fell on top of her. It was oddly comforting but strange. It left her feeling clean and refreshed. She lingered in the shower for a while, trying to forget that outside this place, the fact that she was very much alone. She had no idea where she was, why she was here, or what had happened to her. So many questions rang inside her head, threatening to overwhelm her.
Sooner or later, she finally sighed and got out, the shower turning off automatically behind her. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her, then slowly turned around, catching sight of her in the mirror. 'I don't look any different.' She thought to herself. 'Wait…what is that?' She pulled back her bangs from her face and bent down to the mirror. A small mark was on the side of her forehead, so small that it could be easily dismissed. Oddly enough, though, it looked like it was in the shape of a spider. 'Weird…' She thought, faint chills running down her spine. 'I don't like spiders in the first place and now I'm seeing one on my forehead. Maybe I really am going crazy.'
Inuyasha watched as Miroku continued to look at the capsule the girl had been found in. "Found anything?" He asked after a moment, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Nothing really, only that I've never seen anything like it before.'
"Then again, you're just a monk." Inuyasha told him.
"Correct. I am simply a humble monk wanting to do what is best for this world." He smiled behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha turned around and saw that Sango had returned.
"Whatever, Houshi-sama." She sighed.
"What about the girl?" Inuyasha asked.
"She seems to be all right. She's healthy, only she thinks that she is the person from the Shikon legend." Sango smiled ironically. "The funny thing is, though, I can't tell that she is lying. Also, the readings said she was over a hundred years old. She thinks she is from earth, in Tokyo."
"But, shouldn't she be dead?" Shippou looked up at them. "I mean, humans don't live that long, do they? And she is young looking, not some wrinkly old woman."
"I have to agree with Shippou here. She definitely has the body of a teenage female." Miroku agreed. Sango glared at him.
"You're such a pervert." She told him.
"What did I say?" He asked, his eyes wide, though a small smile played on his lips. "On a more serious note, Sango is right about the readings. As I said before, she looked more confused then insane. I think it would be for the best if we don't ask about her past until she gets accustomed to us. If she is truly form earth, she may find many things strange, and it wouldn't hurt for us to make her feel as comfortable as possible." He said honestly, one fist unconsciously tightening. Sango searched him for a hidden meaning, but seemed satisfied that he seemed to be truthful.
"I misjudged him…just a bit." She muttered, though Inuyasha was sure that only his quick ears caught those words.
"Are we going to keep going to the planet then?" Asked Shippou, hopping up onto Sango's shoulder. 'I bet that's the only way people can see him.' Inuyasha laughed to himself mentally and reminded himself to bring it up later when Shippou became especially annoying.
"It is up to you. You paid me to take you to the planet, but we could stay tight for awhile if you want.' Sango told him.
"I think we ought to stay here form the time being. If the girl came from this region, maybe something will come back looking for her." Miroku commented. "I don't mind, not while I'll be in the company of two lovely females." A hint of sadness echoed in his eyes, but it was hardly noticeable and quickly left him. "I doubt my problems will be solved at any planet anyway."
"I can stay too." Shippou announced.
"Then we'll stay put for a few days and hope that something comes up." Sango said, smiling slightly.
"Hey, don't I get any say in this?" Inuyasha demanded.
"No, because I pay you to work here." Sango reminded him. "You go with the ship."
"That's no fair!" He yelled. Sango sighed.
"Fine, what do you want to do, Inuyasha?"
"Um…stay I guess." He thought for a second. He just wanted to get as much say as a perverted monk and a little kid did. The actual decision was something he could care less for. It could go either way.
"Then why were you arguing?" Sango asked him, then shook her head. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know." She walked past them to the room where she could pilot the ship, Miroku, after a moments thought, following. Since Shippou was still perched on Sango's shoulder, Inuyasha suddenly found him very alone. 'Feh, who needs them anyway?' He scoffed at himself. 'I've been alone most of my life. I don't need constant company like humans do.'
"Hey."
"EH-What!" Inuyasha cried, spinning around, surprised to find the new girl standing behind him. She had interrupted his thoughts and practically scared him to death. "Don't sneak up on people like that!"
"I think that was my line a little while ago." She told him.
"Well…you shouldn't." He told her, crossing his arms in defiance.
"And you shouldn't be so jumpy." She said evenly, not missing a beat. She held out his red shirt that he had placed on her earlier. "Is this yours?" She asked, looking at the color of his pants back to the object in her hands.
"Yes." He snatched it away from her and quickly put it back on.
"Thank you."
"It was nothing." He said, a bit embarrassed that she was thanking him for such a trivial matter.
"And, sorry." She told him, her head lowering a bit. "I shouldn't have accused you of…well, I shouldn't have accused you earlier."
"You're right, you shouldn't." He told her.
"And also sorry about offending you about the hanyou thing…I mean I didn't even know youkai existed." She said after a moment. Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh at this. "It's not funny!" She cried.
"Come on, youkai's and humans have been together for at least ninety years, especially after that damn planet earth was destroyed…" He quickly closed his mouth realizing the agreement he made not to bring up those subjects. The girl herself seemed a little taken back by the comment.
"Well…then…" She stopped also seeming not to know what to say.
"Ah, I see our mysterious woman has joined us." Inuyasha and the girl turned as a new voice came in. "And Inuyasha is hogging you all to himself too." Miroku smiled. The annoying rat was now perched on his shoulders, looking at the new girl curiously.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded. "Unlike you, my goal in life isn't to hit on every bitch I meet!"
"Bitch!" The girl cried out behind him, obviously insulted.
"Oh, don't mind dog face here." The fox chirped. "He is mutt after all."
"Shuddup you chipmunk!" Inuyasha growled. "You want to say that again to my face?"
"Mutt, Mutt, Mutt, Mutt…EEEEeeyyiii," The fox screamed as Inuyasha dove for him.
Kagome watched as the strange silver hair boy began to chase after the fox around the room. The other guy looked on with mild amusement for a second, then scooted closer to her. "I am sorry for my companions here. I am Miroku, a humble monk." He bowed to her. "You are Kagome, correct?" She nodded.
"I'll get you, you lab experiment!" The fox leapt onto her shoulder and then onto Miroku's as the strange boy thundered these words. He shoved between them, growling angrily.
"Nyah, nyah! Your too slow!" The fox taunted. "You're the idiot who can't even put a space suit on right!"
Miroku sighed and took her hand. "Let us go to a quieter place." He said, putting on a warm smile.
Kagome ducked as the boy threw a large metal object over her head towards the fox. "That might be the safest." She followed him out of the small room back into the hallway that she had gone down after leaving Sango's room. "Who were those two?"
"The kitsune is Shippou, and the other is Inuyasha." He responded.
"Do they always fight like that?" Miroku nodded. He suddenly took a step back and looked at her appreciatedly.
"Did you get those clothes from Sango?" He questioned. Kagome nodded and looked at them herself. It was a simple kimono with a light purple hue. "It fits you very nicely."
"Um…thanks…" She couldn't help look at him suspiciously, suddenly recalling that Sango had slapped him earlier. The ground beneath her began to vibrate and Kagome felt herself slide back down the hallway.
"We must be landing." Miroku commented, reaching out to steady Kagome with one hand. The ship sudden jolted and Kagome found herself pitched forward into Miroku's waiting arms. "You all right?"
"Yes…you can let go now." Kagome said glaring up at him slightly as his hands began to wander.
"HOUSHI-SAMA!" The door was suddenly thrown back by a very angry pilot. "What are you doing to our guest!!"
"I was being a perfect gentleman." Miroku let go held out his hands in innocence. She looked at him skeptically for a second, then turned around to where Inuyasha and Shippou were standing.
"I thought you both knew better than to leave houshi-sama with any girl without supervision!!" Sango glared at them.
"Feh, I'm not a lechersitter." Inuyasha grunted in annoyance.
"Now, now, it wasn't like I was trying anything." Miroku said pleasantly. "I was just getting aquatinted with our guest. You make it sound like I am a danger to have it round." Sango just looked at him.
"Well, anyway, I just landed on an asteroid not far from where we found you." She looked at Kagome. "Just in case someone does come looking for you and that capsule you were in."
"Um…thank you." Kagome wasn't sure how to respond to that. Newly souled in a body of death. A voice suddenly filled her ears. "What?" 'It's the same voice from earlier…' She realized.
"Kagome?" Sango asked in concern. The others around her also were looking at her curiously.
Run. He comes for you. "Who? What comes for me? Who are you?" Kagome began yelling. "And why the hell are you in my head?" She screamed as a flash of blinding light filled her head, very similar to that light she had felt and saw the day she died…'What's going on?' She asked.
"Kagome?" People were calling her name. She opened her eyes to find herself curled into a small ball on the floor. The new people were circled around her, all looking at her with different expressions of pity. 'Pity? They must think I'm crazy.' She sat up slowly.
"Sorry." She managed to say, feeling embarrassed about falling like that.
"You said you were hearing something?" Miroku asked.
"It's nothing. I guess I am feeling a little confused by all of this." She forced out a weak laugh. "Maybe I should lie down for awhile."
"It you would like some company, I would be ha--" Sango shoved Miroku's face onto the ground before he could finish.
"You can use my room." Sango said, glaring at the monk.
"Thank you."
"Inuyasha will stay outside the door if you need anything."
"WHA-? I didn't agree to that!" Inuyasha cried.
"Who would you suggest then? Miroku?" Sango glared at him.
"Why does anyone need to! She has managed to get just fine from your room to here!" Inuyasha growled. Sango pulled him forward and whispered something into his ear. "Fine!" He stomped past Kagome. Not sure exactly what she should do, she followed him, glancing back only once to find the other people watching her. 'I don't know what is going on, but I am not making myself appear any more sane by claiming to hear voices.' She thought to herself. 'But what did it mean when it said to run?'
Thank you very much for reviewing, M!! Other people, please review too!!!