"Alas, alas!"
-and from the place of his death there rose the flower that still
bears his name,
to bend its head above the dark, fathomless depths of the pool....
-Narcissus, Retold by Natalie Baan
Chapter 22- Echo
Though the day was a warm one, the growing humidity in the air pressed heavily down on the earth like a blanket, warm yet stifling, a heavy hand pressing down on the backs of the people going about their daily tasks. Still, there was a slight chill in the breeze, distinguishable by the faint traces of gooseflesh it raised on Kagome's bare legs. She stood with her ankles crossed, leaning up against the side of the dugout, face turned aside and eyes distant, hair up in a ponytail. A crack split the air, and cheers rose from some students lining the fence, rattling it and making metallic shimmering noises.
"I love having convocations," Eri sighed, stretching and resting her hands behind her head, short, straight hair slipping through her fingers for a moment as she looked around. "It disrupts the whole day. Gym in the afternoon instead of history. All we had to worry about today was the geometry exam."
Yuka clapped her hands in delight as one of the faster boy students slid into first base, sending up clouds of dust and dirt as he was declared safe by the teacher. Distracted, she replied, "Still, it's pretty creepy what they talked about. Someone putting put a pipe bomb in the school. I heard that they're talking about installing cameras in the hallways. The convocation was probably just to keep people calm. I bet a lot of parents were calling in upset about it. Mom was almost ready to pull me out for the week. What about your mom, Kagome? You were in school the other day."
Silence.
"Kagome?" Yuka repeated, turning away from the game as another boy stepped up to bat, the pitcher winding up. Not liking being ignored, Yuka glanced at Eri, then at Ayumi, who was standing off to the side and watching Kagome curiously. "Yuka to Kagome, come in...."
The grey sky was dim, the clouds thickening in the colorlessness of the day, washed out and pale. Kagome bit her lip thoughtfully. Sango and Miroku would have been to Mugen by now, would have found something. Were they okay? Had they found Karasu? Found anything? She half hoped Inuyasha would disobey her command to not come down from his perch on the building and tell her anything he may know. The most likely thing would be for the two senshi and her friends to come around with any news, to let them know what was going on. Lunch had ticked by, and no word came.
"Earth to Kagome? Kagome!"
Only one more period after gym, and then she was free for the day. Still, she felt restless, leaning against the side of the dugout beside the baseball diamond, stuck wondering and worrying. Inuyasha shouldn't come down, but she wanted to know if there was any news. One more period after this, then she could know. Just another hour or so. It made her nervous.
"Kagome-chan?" Ayumi asked, stepping forward and peering around into her friend's faraway eyes, tentatively touching her arm. The contact startled her out of her reverie, and Kagome blinked. "Are you feeling all right? Your appendicitis isn't getting worse, is it?"
"Apendi...appendicitis..." Kagome groaned with a sigh, folding her arms over her stomach and shaking her head. Jii-chan strikes again. That must have been the last excuse for her absences. She just hoped that someday he would find some better way of telling her friends she was not able to come to school. At least before he started running into the fatal diseases. "Eh...no, Ayumi-chan...I'm fine...just...eh...."
"If you're not feeling well again, you should go to the nurse!" Eri scolded, shaking a finger at Kagome then placing her hands on her hips. "You've been here for a record of five days running. We thought maybe you were over whatever was always keeping you out."
"Yuka even thought maybe you were quitting school or something," Ayumi murmured quietly, bowing her head somewhat as she tucked a strand of wavy hair over her shoulder, fidgeting slightly. "That maybe that guy was keeping you away...."
"Guy?" Kagome repeated dully, not understanding. Then she blinked. "You thought what? He was keeping me..." Kagome almost laughed. Well, they were right, he had been. Though that wasn't exactly the problem they thought it was. What on earth could they think? That he was keeping her locked up somewhere? Or...Kagome blushed. Then got annoyed. Then angry. What, did they think he had gotten her pregnant or something? Or beaten her up? How many ways could a modern guy keep a girl out of school? Either suggestion was ridiculous. If someone tried to injure her, she was more concerned for them than herself. If Inuyasha got wind of that, he'd turn whoever it was into a carpet stain. That other option...Kagome turned a ghastly shade of white.
"Kagome? Hey! Come on, snap out of it, you've been spacey all day."
"W...wait a minute!" she managed to pull herself together, standing up straight and avoiding any splinters from the wooden dugout behind her. Another cheer rose from the onlookers as the ball whizzed through the air, sailing upwards. She tried to be calm about it and not to snap at them. Blurting out reality would make it seem like she had a mental problem, not a fake physical one. "How could Inuyasha keep me...."
"Inuyasha?"
"Inuyasha?"
"So that's his name...."
"What kind of a name is Inuyasha?" Yuka queried, puzzled. She was watching Kagome intently now, as the other girl scrambled to collect herself. "That's the name of the guy you've been seeing? That selfish, rude, violent jerk who's been cheating on you with his ex?"
Eri shook her head, exasperated. "Kagome-chan...you need to dump that guy!"
"I like his name..." Ayumi offered sheepishly, trying to cheer Kagome up a little, since she suddenly looked a little ill. "You never told us that before. But if he keeps cheating on you, that's bad, Kagome. All we're trying to say is that you deserve better than that."
"Eh...well...we...worked it out...." Kagome began lamely, deeply wishing that gym was over. Now. "And he does have good points...."
"Like always keeping an eye on you?" another voice called in, and that sent the four girls' heads perking up. The voice was male, slightly rough though not unpleasant. Most of their class was watching the baseball game, and not paying attention to the girls on the sidelines. Kagome was glad of that, since Inuyasha was emerging out of the trees a few lengths beyond the dugout. Fortunately he was in his human disguise, though she didn't see the small bulge of Usagi's Luna Pen tucked into the emblazoned pocket of the red jacket.
Yuka and Eri were openmouthed, while Ayumi was simply staring, a hand over her mouth at the approaching 'prep school student,' obviously a year or two older than they. Long, slightly unruly black hair and a confident, easy stride gave them a bit of pause. There was something in his way of carrying himself that made them wary.
Kagome didn't know if she should bless him or 'osuwari' him.
Of course, she couldn't do the latter in front of her friends without a tumult of questioning. Furtively, she glanced at the game, checking to see if the gym teacher was paying any attention. Seeing that the bases were loaded and the pitcher was winding up again, all focus was on the diamond, not Inuyasha's arrival on the scene. She was very glad Hojo wasn't around. That could be unpleasant.
"Yuka...Eri...Ayumi...this is..." she took a deep breath as he came to stand inside their ring, "this is...my boyfriend. Inuyasha."
Yuka and Eri pounced.
"Inuyasha! Are you still dating your ex-girlfriend?"
"What school do you go to? I don't recognize that uniform."
Inuyasha blinked, staring at them. "Who the hell are you and why are you asking me stupid questions?"
Yuka and Eri were dumbfounded for a moment.
"Ah...Inuyasha-kun," Ayumi interjected as politely as she could, "Are you visiting Kagome-chan? This is still part of the school day you know...."
"Yeah. I've got to talk to her a minute. It's important," he said, looking hard at her. "You still have...that necklace I gave you?"
Necklace? Shikon no Tama? Of course. It was under the top of her gym uniform. She wasn't about to leave that in her locker. Unconsciously, she lifted her hand to her neck, feeling the small lump of it at her throat. It was unlikely someone would try to steal it, but with Karasu running around and willing to attack schools, leaving it anywhere was a bad idea. If Inuyasha was asking about it, then something bad must have happened...Sango-chan? Miroku-sama? Shippou? One of the senshi? Was someone hurt? She had to get him away from her friends so they could talk.
"Necklace?" Yuka perked up, recovering before anyone else could talk. "You gave her a gift? Kagome-chan?"
"Ah...yes...a couple weeks ago..." she lied as best she could. "A necklace...since...um...."
"Since I broke up with my old girlfriend," Inuyasha told them, folding his arms stoutly and glowering at them. "Did you think I'd want to be with someone other than Kagome at once? What've you been telling them about me?" he glared at Kagome. "I wouldn't cheat on you."
Eri was looking between the annoyed Inuyasha and the slightly startled Kagome, trying to figure out what was going on. Kagome wasn't usually one to exaggerate, though Inuyasha was looking pretty offended. "So you're not cheating on Kagome?" she asked, still suspicious.
"Of course not," he sniffed irritably. "I love Kagome. I wouldn't do that to her."
Kagome stared at him a moment in utter disbelief. He loved her? He loved her. He loved her! Really? What? No. Yes...but...no. Wait a minute. That's not right. Inuyasha...Inuyasha wouldn't just say something like that out loud to her friends...not like that. Not offhandedly. Certainly not without telling her that in private first! Preferably with candles and romantic music or at least a sunset or something. A last minute declaration while being in life threatening mortal danger was another option. The last was the most likely situation, given their usual relationship, but still.
He was just standing there, saying it so casually! She watched him more narrowly, the way he folded his arms and stood with an annoyed expression. Details were exact; the same face, the same hair, the same attitude. The same sour expression on his lips, as though in a hurry and was being bothered by something petty. All were trademark Inuyasha. But....
Yuka, Eri and Ayumi seemed somewhat placated though, backing away a step and regarding Inuyasha again. "You're not hurting her? Because she really cares about you for some completely insane reason..." Yuka argued, still trying to assure herself that Inuyasha was sincere. "You're not going to be causing her problems?"
"Don't be stupid," he snapped. "Kagome," he growled faintly, "I need to talk to you."
Still had the attitude problem. That was Inuyasha all right. But...Inuyasha wouldn't just...say that. Not with all they'd been through. She remembered the way he had held her, how he sometimes would get slightly shy at some moments, slightly afraid, as though she would just stand and leave him. He relied on her for that, trusted her.
He still held feelings for Kikyou. He may hold her when they were alone, but that old feeling would not just fade away at the insistence of Yuka and Eri. He would not say he loved her until any lingering feelings and loyalties towards Kikyou were resolved.
Which of course, led her to one conclusion.
"I know. It's all right...Inuyasha, why don't we sit behind the dugout and talk?"
"Fine," he turned away for a moment, glancing over his shoulder when she did not move. "Oy. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied as easily as she could. Her friends were staring at her, confused and picking up on her hesitation. It wasn't him. It wasn't. Why don't we sit behind the dugout and talk? Why don't we sit behind the dugout and talk? Osuwari. He didn't osuwari. Who then? What? Would it attack her friends if she didn't play along? Where was the real Inuyasha? He should be watching. On the rooftop. She tried to stall. "Nothing, it's just that...."
A whistle blew loudly, shrill in the heavily humid air. Groans chorused up from the players on the diamond, and the class began to move, heading in towards the building reluctantly. "Yuka-chan," Kagome blurted quickly, "I need to talk to Inuyasha for just a minute. Cover for me, will you? It'll just be a moment, all right?" she asked, hoping that he'd agree. Her question earned a noncommittal shrug, and he turned, disappearing around the dugout to wait for her. "Please?"
"Kagome-chan..." Yuka began to protest, eyes straying to where Inuyasha disappeared, "he's...I don't know...are you sure you want to be alone with him? I know what he said, but guys lie...."
"Inuyasha doesn't lie to me," Kagome told her firmly, holding her shoulders for a moment and looking at her hard. "I know I told you he was selfish and violent...but not towards me, okay? And he never...never lies to me. It's not in him to lie. Understand? Cover for me for just a minute. It's important that I talk to him." Where was the real Inuyasha? Who was that thing waiting for her? A kugutsu? The others had been replicas of the Witches 5...there was no reason Karasu couldn't make one of Inuyasha if they could be recreated...and according to the others, they had known who they were, calling themselves by name. Eudial. Viluy. Same attacks. Same personalities. He didn't osuwari. She had to get her friends safe....
"Kagome?"
"I'll be there. Just give me a minute? Please? Trust me on this, okay?"
Ayumi put her hand on Kagome's, prying it off of Yuka's shoulders nervously. "We will. I'll...see you in next hour, right?"
"Yes, of course," she agreed hastily.
The three of them looked between themselves, sharing odd glances. Then they slowly turned, heading inside and following the rest of the class, trailing a bit and occasionally glancing backward to see if she was all right. After a long moment, they disappeared inside the school doors.
"Took them long enough," Inuyasha muttered as he leaned against the side of the dugout, coming back to the front. "What have you been telling them about me? They're all freaked out."
Not attacking yet. That was good. "Inuyasha...what's wrong? Are the others okay?"
"Karasu moved," he told her, folding his arms and grunting. "They didn't find anything. That's why we think she's out after the schools, coming after you. I need the Shikon no Tama. You're more vulnerable in there than I am. It's safer with me."
"But she'd expect you to take it if that happened," Kagome argued, still stalling for time. "Besides, I'm safer inside than outdoors. If you're on the roof, nothing will get by you."
"You think I can be everywhere at once?" he snorted.
Was he suggesting that he wasn't perfect? Oh, that was definitely not Inuyasha.
"I'm not sure. You always have been before. Why the change now?"
His eyes narrowed. "Give me the tama, Kagome. You don't have time to argue. Your friends will only stall for awhile."
"Maybe...but I'm not giving it to you. You know better than that."
"Dammit, Kagome, just give me the tama!" he reached out, heading for her throat. "It's not safe with you!"
"And it's not with you either! Who are you?"
Inuyasha's eyes flickered dangerously, sliding over her face, her neck, down her body and legs, then up again. "Don't be an idiot. Give it to me!" Seeing she was going to resist, he lunged forward, reaching for where she had clasped her hands over her heart. Inside her shirt, the jeweled end of the tama felt warm against her skin, sending prickling sensations across her flesh.
She slipped to the side as fast as she could,
but not fast enough. He caught her arm, and she felt heavy fingers digging
into her skin, leaving bruises in their wake. He jerked her downward towards
the ground and she fell, shrieking. "Inuyasha...Inuyasha!"
The humidity pressed down on his shoulders and back like a heavy hand, weighing him down onto the baked bricks of the school building he sat on. Legs folded, Inuyasha was sitting on the building's ledge, an elbow on his knee and chin in his hand, a slightly bored expression trying to falsify his interest in the ongoings of Kagome's 'gym class.' He still didn't understand what the big deal was about hitting the ball with the stick, though apparently it was good to hit it far. He could do better than any of these guys. Besides, watching Kagome walk around in her other odd uniform was particularly fun to watch from his somewhat closer position than the other day. The bouzu would probably get a nosebleed watching this. Unless Sango was around to whack him good. Why would this school place make girls wear such short pants to run around in?
He'd only been atop the building a few minutes that morning before unbuttoning the red jacket and the top of the stiff white collar on his shirt. The black silk tie the Luna Pen placed on him so neatly was halfway down his chest, the knot almost completely freed. With black hair and a human appearance, sheathed Tetsusaiga at his hip was the only thing that belied his being anything but ordinary. Other than, perhaps, the fact he was sitting on top of the school in the middle of the afternoon.
Kagome's team of people were walking off the field, and he saw her stop and lean against the little building off to the side, a couple other girls idly chatting around her while she looked off into the distance. He'd debated for quite awhile over whether or not to go down and talk to her. Inuyasha knew that she would be pissed if he showed up and caused trouble somehow...and there was always something he could screw up. The last couple days of not understanding half of what the modern things were was beginning to sink in, and it gave him a slight pause. This would be a good opportunity to talk to her. The trees swept along the sidelines, and if he came around that way, he could get close enough without being noticed by anyone other than the three chatterers in front of Kagome. Everyone was focused on the game. Apparently it was exciting somehow. Feh.
Late that morning, he'd been paid a visit by Sailor Uranus and Sango, the former carrying the latter up the side of the building across the street he had occupied until he noticed that Kagome was outdoors. They'd found Karasu's hideout, and found it empty. Which gave them information, but otherwise did them little good. She wasn't there, and there was no sign of where she had gone, though wherever it was, she had taken some things with her. Apparently, the four of them were making rounds to the various locations senshi and time-displacements were across Tokyo, giving updates and warnings as subtly as they could. In Inuyasha's case, that wasn't much of a problem, seeing he was alone. Just a matter of getting up to him.
So he waited and watched.
Until a faint tracery of raven wings flitted though his senses, the smell of bird mingling with the usual smells of this era: perfume and flowers, pollution and sewage. They overlaid each other, cascading pleasant smells against putrid ones, almost overwhelming. It was strange how Kagome's time could have so many great things, and at the same time, so many awful ones. Scent seemed to define the conflict. Good and bad both. He sniffed the wind, and lifted his head from his hand, turning around with narrowed eyes to see a black raven fluffing his feathers on one of the coolant vents of the roof. A hand stole to Tetsusaiga's hilt, and he was tempted to blast the thing there. Youkai.
"I'd hate to see my pet killed," a smooth, slightly bemused voice called to him, descending. Another raven was shifting form, feathers melting away into the figure of a lithe black haired woman, white skin starkly pale against the darkness of her dress. Karasu's feet touched the ground as her shift completed, heels tapping lightly against the roof's surface.
Inuyasha was on his feet, Tetsusaiga out and transformed, ready in case she moved.
Karasu arched an eyebrow, appearing somewhat bemused by his stance. "Put away the sword, hanyou, I'm not planning on attacking you."
"Like hell!"
She chuckled, shrugging and pushing a lock of hair back over her shoulder as Evermore flitted to perch on her hand. "Believe what you like, hanyou. I'm not here to play stupid games this time. Have you remembered me yet?"
Tetsusaiga was moved in front of him, both hands on the hilt and ready to strike. A raven youkai, over five hundred years ago from this point in time, weak and powerless, trying to steal the soul of Kaede-babaa as a child. She was casual in her attitude, cooly contemptuous as she watched him watch her.
"I see you do. Those scars you gave me that day lasted quite some time," she told him, reaching up to idly scratch Evermore's neck. "Though that katana of yours is quite the step up from some claws. I take it that Sailor Moon lent you that pen thing of hers? She hasn't used it in awhile...I assume that's how you're looking so remarkably human." She eyed him critically for a moment, appraising. "The black hair suits you."
"Glad you pay attention to how I look," he snapped, trying to figure out what she was doing. She sounded like she just wanted some chit chat, and of course that was ridiculous. He was right here, keeping an eye on her, and within easy hearing range of Kagome. If she shouted, then he'd come. Would she try to pull something with him right there? One of the senshi's schools then? With a kugutsu? Why though?
"Hm," she shrugged, looking slightly bored as he bristled. "Oh, calm down, hanyou. I am female after all. You're nice looking, but not really my type. A little too rough around the edges." She flicked her fingers at him, then paused and added thoughtfully, "You wouldn't happen to have an older brother, would you?"
Inuyasha snarled at her.
Karasu laughed lightly. "You mean you do? Ah, more's the pity...there are so few youkai around these days, I'd be delighted to meet another one."
"My bastard brother has nothing to fucking do with this!"
"Oh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "I'd say he would have quite a bit to do with this."
What the hell? Inuyasha suddenly had a horrible flash of the idea Sesshoumaru was behind everything somehow. That was insane, and he knew it. He would have known something like that. There was no scent of youkai in this era. Any traceries were so faint he could barely tell. Karasu was the only....
She watched the expressions flicker across his face, fury first, ending with a kind of blankness that closed him off, making him more difficult to read. Still, suddenly trying to control himself told her enough. "You have noticed it, haven't you? The lack of youkai in this era? Does it not bother you at all, hanyou? Halfling you may be, but still...I've seen you outside your disguise. White hair, claws, golden eyes and fangs. You protect the humans," she sighed, tilting her head and lightly running a fingertip over Evermore's beak, "so maybe you don't care about the fact our race is nearly extinct."
Nearly extinct. Nearly...extinct? Youkai, the various races of youkai...low level and high...extinct? Looking down the sharp edge of Tetsusaiga, he saw her standing there, watching him evenly out of black eyes. "Why should you care?" he threw back at her. "You go around and call yourself a fucking Death Buster or whatever shit the senshi are always babbling about. Why should you care?"
"I may be a Magus, but for five hundred and fifty years, I've been in the body of a youkai," she replied, still keeping the gaze steady. She did not move, but stood in place, motionless as tiny breaths of cool wind snatched at the hem of her skirt. "When I came here, youkai walked the land easily, taking what they wished when they wished. That was fun, and I enjoyed it." A small, pleased smile formed on her lips at the memory. "I lived as a youkai. Here, across the sea, in other lands. It's the same everywhere else, hanyou. Gone. All of us. Some humans have a few stray drops of youkai blood in them, though it's barely recognizable. The genes have become weak down the centuries. Haven't you wondered, hanyou, where the youkai have gone? There is no other world or safe haven for them. Killed, murdered, bred out, it doesn't matter. Down the centuries, there have been fewer and fewer. Humans think this world belongs only to them. Nothing else should have the right to walk it before them."
Inuyasha was glowering at her through her little speech. It grated on his nerves, making him feel uncomfortable. For most of his life, he had lived away from humans and avoided youkai, fighting for survival. As a child, he'd been ignored because of sharp claws and golden eyes, permanent marks of inhumanity. Half-half. Not one or the other. Something less than equal, something subhuman.
"You only survived because you ran away and hid," he growled at her, trying to ignore the annoying feeling she had a point. Not all humans were cruel. They weren't...she was wrong. She had to be wrong. She hid herself away to have lived when everyone else had died in order to survive. There was no other explanation. Coward, only stepping forward when ready.
She was already saying, "That may be. There's no shame in surviving. I came here to give you a choice, Inuyasha, hanyou of the sengoku jidai. If there was some way to return yourself to the past, you'd die out with the rest of them. Here, I offer you the chance to survive. Don't fight me, and I'll let you live in this era. Agree now, and I may even be tolerant enough to let that woman of yours live." Karasu kept her voice deadly even, eyes watchful as they faced off on the rooftop. He looked impassive, hard, though there was a tightness on his face as he fought to keep from reacting. "They can have their uses at times. I'm not trying to kill them all."
"Feh. What, not ready to kill an entire race?"
"I am not human!" she lashed back at him, icy fury beginning to simmer under the surface of her eyes. "I am not human. I do not slaughter my own kind for foolish reasons. I kill to feed, I kill to defend myself. I test and judge to see who my enemies are, and I prepare myself for them. I am not human. Killing a race is a human trait. You haven't seen the history of this world. They get worse as time passes. Ask your woman. Look in her history books. See what they've done to their world. You're from an era of war. The wars waged in the sengoku jidai are nothing compared to what I have seen. Fire that rains like hail from the sky, melting flesh from bone and killing millions in an instant. I've seen it. It happened in this land. The humans you protect do this to themselves."
She was insane. Had to be. Fire falling from the sky? Millions killed in an instant? That was ridiculous. He snorted.
"Get the fuck out of here."
"Ask her," Karasu repeated, the sharpness suddenly fading from her voice, becoming empty, hollow and unnaturally sad. "Just ask her."
"You're out of your mind."
Karasu laughed. It was a shrill, harsh sound, not quite human though not quite inhuman at once. "I will succeed where Pharaoh 90 and Mistress 9 failed. But I will do it on my own terms, for my own reasons. Humans are a disease on this planet, hanyou. I will do what is necessary." She lifted her hands and they turned black as they transformed, feathers pricking out of her flesh as she prepared for flight. Inuyasha brought back Tetsusaiga, searching for the swirling cloud of youki that would mark the place of the Kaze no Kizu.
Then a strangled cry reached his ears.
"Inuyasha...Inuyasha!"
Karasu's laughter sounded in the air around him, echoing though the silence pierced by the distant scream of Kagome.
As a second raven joined the first in the air,
Inuyasha leapt off the side of the school, running.
"Sankon Tetsusou!"
The clawing hands at Kagome's throat evaporated, leaving her choking for air as roots began to rain down around her, shredded by a slash of Inuyasha's claws. Distantly, she was aware of motion beside her, the sounds of fighting finished quickly as oxygen began to filter back into her lungs. Her fingers hurt, having been twined around the necklace holding the shards, keeping it with her and resisting.
"Kagome? Kagome!" Inuyasha's persistent voice hovered worriedly above her, and she looked up to see dark eyes meeting hers. Though deep blue, there were light gold flecks highlighting the irises, hard and intent. He was in the school uniform disguise, though tie was undone and jacket unfastened, rumpled. "Kagome?"
"Inuyasha...?" she blinked as he tried to help her up. Chunks of roots lay around her, and she focused on them for a moment, then Inuyasha again. "Inuyasha...osuwari."
Splat.
"What the fucking hell was that for?!" he began as he pulled himself back up, only to be cut off by Kagome flinging her arms around his neck and hanging on for a moment. "Oy...?"
"It looked like you...I just...gomen...I said it before, and when you didn't...it wasn't you. It was a kugutsu? Inuyasha, I'm so sorry I said it but I had to be sure...."
Slightly annoyed at having to sit again, he shrugged it off and wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands lightly on her shoulder blades, feeling them move beneath the fabric of her shirt. Her hair brushed against his cheek, and he lifted his head, setting his chin on top of hers. "You hurt?"
"No...no, I'm okay. It was going for the Shikon no Tama..." she shuddered, looking over Inuyasha's shoulder at the sliced chunks of kugutsu laying around them. Hopefully, considering that it was made of roots and earth, not much attention would be paid to the lumps laying around on the ground outside the baseball diamond. She pulled back a bit to look at him in the face. "Inuyasha...what happened? I thought you would have been sitting on the roof or something...."
A low growl escaped his throat, and even with the human appearance, Kagome remarked on how unnatural the sound could be, coming from him. In the sharp coolness of the breeze, she shivered.
"That Karasu bitch decided to pay me a visit. She talks a lot of shit for a bird youkai," he snorted, glancing towards the vacant rooftop. "That was a pretty lousy attempt to get at the tama in comparison to what she's done before. You sure you're fine?"
"Yes."
"It's not safe. She's here. Not just some kugutsu," he told her, gripping her shoulders and looking at her intently. "Sango and Uranus came up this morning and told me they went to some building by that Mugen place. It was cleared out. Uranus seems to think that means she's ready for whatever she's planning on doing. If she's after the tama, this isn't a good place to have a battle. We need to get out of here. Now."
Wide blue eyes stared back at him as he spoke, first getting ready to argue. School was almost out for the day, and it would be pointless to leave now. But if Karasu was here...right here...then the sooner she and the Shikon no Tama got out of the area, the better. Yuka, Eri, Ayumi-chan...they'd be wondering what was taking her so long by now. Everyone in the school...Inuyasha was right about that, at least. This was not a good place for a battle. If she was still around, they didn't have much time to lead her away. "Okay."
"Okay?" he repeated, surprised. She was actually agreeing to leave?
Kagome nodded, sighed once, then stood up, untangling herself from him. "Give me five minutes, ten tops. Meet me at the front of the school, where we met last time."
"Why not now?" he persisted a little peevishly, not seeing why they couldn't just go. There was no one around.
"Because I can't just disappear. People will wonder what's going on and look for me. Don't worry," she warned him as she backed away towards the building, suddenly clutching her stomach with a teasing wink. "I suddenly feel a case of acute appendicitis coming on. Just meet me, all right?"
"Oy!" he called as she turned and ran back
towards the school. Irritated, he dropped back onto his haunches. Ordering
him around again, right after he saved her life. Feh. Gratitude.
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This chapter was actually not a part of the original plan, and yet, ended up being relatively important. At least as far as Karasu's motives go...originally she was a lot more simplistic, and her goal was basically to one up the Death Busters (ie, A 'Ha ha, I beat them and you couldn't!' attitude). As the story progressed, Karasu started taking on some more motives and a better background. I think she's a stronger character this way.
And I got to have a chapter of all for Inuyasha and Kagome...for some reason that just seems so...rare...for me- considering how much I like them. Anyway, I'm trying to walk a fine balance between the ideal (their being together/a couple ^_^) and the reality (an angsty, if often humorous not-quite-together couple). I don't want to just randomly brush aside what's actually happening in canon. Which is why "Inuyasha's" declaration of love seemed very out of place to Kagome. If I was just ignoring everything in the manga and making them a super-happy couple...Kagome wouldn't have gotten that it was a kugutsu, and either would have lost the Shikon no Tama or ended up hurt. Both relatively bad things to have happen.
Kagome's friends crack me up. I'm glad I got to include them in a chapter somewhere...they finally get to meet this infamous 'boyfriend' Kagome's told them so much about. Yuka and Eri always seem to share a brain, so I had them act a lot alike- relatively aggressive. Ayumi seems like the slightly-ditzy-but-actually-quite-smart type to me, judging by the way she acts in the anime. I had fun with that scene.
As for the 'convocation' the girls are talking about, I'm not really sure how a school meeting would run in Japan. I based it off how things ran when I was in high school...in other words, it messed up the whole school day. If this is totally off base, I apologize.
Well, onto the next chapter. Til next storytime.
~Queen
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Coming up next, in Chapter 23: Storm-
Begining to seperate to their own ways, Ami, Makoto and Minako paused, glancing at her and hearing the anxiety in her voice. "Don't worry, Usagi-chan," Minako told her, trying to cheer her up. "Just go get Chibiusa-chan. We'll meet you at Mugen as soon as we can. Just you don't be late. You know how mad Rei-chan will get if you are," she winked, holding a finger to her lips conspiratorially. Usagi managed a feeble smile that grew stronger, slowly lighting her face gently.
On unspoken agreement, the four parted ways.