The Twisted Misadventures of Higurashi Kagome

An Inu Yasha story by Nami

All IY characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi

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Chapter 3

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Kagome emerged from the warm haze of sleep slowly. She was still halfway between dreaming and wakefulness when she felt eyes on her. She jerked awake, only to realize for the first time that she had fallen asleep against the wall and she was feeling very stiff.

She stretched and looked around the room, taking note of all the people there. Kaho was kneeling beside the fire, stirring the coals. The girl looked up at Kagome and smiled weakly, her chocolate-amber eyes flitting nervously to the corners to either side of Kagome. The young priestess looked and found, to her mild shock, that Inu Yasha and Sesshou Maru had taken up position in opposite corners and they were both watching her like hawks.

"Good morning, Kaho. Sesshou Maru, Inu Yasha." Kagome raised one hand to her throat; ascertaining that the Shikon no Tama still hung there, cool against her skin.

"Good morning, Kagome-san." Kaho greeted. "Breakfast will be ready as soon as I get the fire going again."

"That sounds fabulous. Thank you." Kagome pulled herself to her feet, placing one hand to her side. She winced slightly as she tried to stretch out her muscles. Inu Yasha and Sesshou Maru had both risen with her and they now moved towards her. Kagome waved them off, though.

"I think, Kaho, that I'm going to need you to changed this poultice for me." Kagome said, smiling a little guiltily.

"Of course, Kagome-san." The taller girl rose. "I have to go home to get what I'll need for breakfast, so I'll get the herbs and bandages, too." She bowed a little, glancing again from Inu Yasha to Sesshou Maru nervously before exiting the small hut.

"Now then, boys, I'm going to take a quick swim before I get dressed. I'll see you two when I come back." She grabbed a plain blue and gray kimono and left the house.

Kagome was not, however, the only one who had had the idea to go to the small lake near the village before breakfast. Touji was also there, up to his knees in water as he speared the fish that made their home in the blue waters.

"Oh! Touji-san!" Kagome blinked in surprise at his presence. The young headmaster looked at her coldly and returned to his work without greeting her. Kagome sat down on the bank, waiting for Touji to finish before she took her swim.

"What are you doing here?" Touji asked, not looking up from the water.

"I wanted a bath before breakfast." Kagome said, looking up at the trees above her.

"So what's stopping you?"

"My sense of modesty." Kagome said flatly.

"There's no one here who will care." Touji said, thrusting the spear into the water with one smooth motion. Kagome looked at him coldly.

"I know you don't like me much, Touji." She said, rising to her feet. "But there is no need for you to insult me."

"Why the sudden burst of modesty, anyway? You didn't seem to care that day in the forest."

"That was different."

"How?"

"I was still covered! It was just my arm! Look, forget it, okay? Just forget it." She walked over the edge of the water. "Kaho is alright. She was just a little shocked by Inu Yasha's appearance last night."

"Inu Yasha?" Touji snorted. "What makes you think that that person was Inu Yasha?" Another spear thrust. "For all any of us know, Inu Yasha is dead."

"I know Inu Yasha. I have known him in three separate lifetimes." Kagome said coolly. "That was him." Another fish was speared. "Anyhow, Kaho said that she would fix me breakfast and help me with my bandages again this morning."

"Kaho is the niece of the village protectress, sister of the headmaster, and our best archer. She is not your slave." Kagome blinked, taken aback.

"I never said she was."

"You certainly act like it. Why don't you have one of your demon suitors do all that for you?" Kagome frowned as Touji gathered his equipment and made his way back to the village.

"Touji-san--" Touji stopped, his back to Kagome. He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"Do not presume to speak to me directly, woman. I have no evidence that you are who you say."

"Hey!" Kagome jogged after Touji, grabbing his arm. "You can't talk to me that way!" Touji easily threw Kagome's grip off, shoving the short girl onto her back. Kagome gasped and felt her eyes water as the jolt ran through her abdomen. "Can you at least tell me why you hate me so much?" Touji didn't respond as he walked away silently.

After soaking for, she thought, a relatively short time, Kagome stepped out of the water and crossed to where she had left her kimono on a nearby tree limb. She could tell that her right shoulder blade was bruised and there was an ugly cut over her right shoulder. She held the kimono closed with her left arm, letting it drape off her shoulder, as she examined the cut.

It was nothing, really. It hardly hurt at all anymore. But it looked horrible.

"Kagome!" she started and pulled the kimono up when she heard Sesshou Maru's voice. She pulled the kimono tighter around her and was fumbling with the obi when Sesshou Maru walked around her.

"Sesshou Maru!" she greeted, smiling. She prayed silently that there might be some chance that he hadn't seen the cut, though she knew that that was impossible. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you. Kaho finished breakfast. What happened to your shoulder?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Your left shoulder is bleeding. It's soaking through the kimono."

Damn. Kagome finished tying off the obi and gathered her clothes and bandages. "It's nothing," she reassured him, "I cut myself on some rocks while I was swimming."

"In order to get a cut there, you'd have to run headlong into the rocks, Kagome-chan. And there's a patch of material from your gi on those thorn bushes." He nodded to a clump of thorn bushes. Kagome saw that there was, indeed, a piece of rough cotton spotted with blood on the thorns. She nearly groaned aloud.

"I tripped."

"Backwards?" Sesshou Maru asked incredulously. "Why won't you tell me the truth, Kagome? Do you still not trust me?" Kagome winced at his wounded expression and sighed.

"It's not that, Sessh. It's just..." she stopped and turned to him. "Do you promise you won't get angry? Do you swear it?" Sesshou Maru nodded. "Okay. When I got here, I met Touji. We talked for a while and ended up arguing. Sort of. Anyways, he pushed me and I fell." Sesshou Maru raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Let's go eat." Kagome said after a long pause.

The cool halls of the underground fortress filled with mist. The man moved through the mists easily, a air of terror clinging to him like his black cloak. He stopped in his movements as a figure stepped out from behind one of the pillars lining the hall.

"My Lord, the woman has arrived."

"Send her in." The man continued his trek to the sliding door. It was a strange sight, the Japanese room in the midst of all the gothic structures.

"Lord." the girl's voice was smooth. She was sitting near the dais, but she rose when he entered the room. Four torches dimly lighted the room.

"The mission was successful?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Good. The priestess has reached the village. The demons are with her, and we move out at first light." The girl giggled.

"This will be fun!" she said brightly. He smiled grimly and silently agreed.

"Yes, Yura, this shall be enjoyable for all of us."

Next Chapter: Kagome's much awaited explanation and a few new allies. =p

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Notes

So! Kagome's explanation wasn't in this chapter. Sorry! It'll be in the next, I swear!

Thank you everyone who reviewed and gave me suggestions. Don't worry, everything will be cleared up in the end. ^^