Dream A Dream
Chapter 3:
What We Have Here Is A SITuation
Revised: 4/21/05 - No more fangirl Japanese... and other things!
An Inuyasha Fanfiction
By:
Azurite - azurite AT fanfiction DOT net


READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS!

This is a doujinfic based off of Clara's "School Daze" fanfic. "What is a doujinfic," you ask? Well, it's a fic based off another fic, which is, in turn, based off a show (Inuyasha). What makes my fic different from Clara's is that mine is NOT an AU-- hers is. How's that going to work? Well read on!

Major differences between this fic and the Inuyasha series...
Souta is 12-years-old and in his first year of junior high (7th grade in Japan), rather than 9-10 years old and only in 3rd grade (elementary school). This means that he's only three-and-a-half years younger than Kagome in this fic, rather than five or six years younger.
On that note, Kagome is in 9th grade (age 15-16) at the start of the Inuyasha series. Since this is NOT an AU, and we can presume she and Inuyasha have been adventuring for some time now, she's 16 years old and has graduated to high school, or 10th grade (senior high, 1st year). But of course, the real details will be revealed as the story goes along...

Major differences between this fic and "School Daze" (aside from the fact that DaD is NOT an AU)
I spell 'Kikyou' instead of 'Kikyo,' and have changed Sango's "last name" from Youkaitarashi into Youtaijiya.
I changed the school name from 'St. Bernard's Special School' into 'Yumegaru Shiritsu' Gakkou (for the boys-only school) and Jyoshoku (for the girls-only school). They are abbreviated YSG and YSJ.

Oh, and of course, go check out Clara's website hopefully she'll update SD there first
http/ size=1 width=100% noshade>Author's Notes (The official ones):

(1) I don't own Inuyasha, or the of this fic. I do own, however, the idea to take SD and make it a non-Alternate Universe.
(2) Yes, I asked permission to use Clara's ideas, but once again, I'm changing some things around to make it true that the story is still Inuyasha—and not AU.
(3) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! ;;
(4) This fic will may alternate from 1st person (Kagome's perspective) to 3rd person (S/He said). A scene change without a change of POV is indicated by ONE horizontal rule. When I switch from one perspective to another, there will be TWO horizontal rules.
(5) Fallon-- thanks for the review! I don't know how often I'm planning on updating, since I tend to jump from fandom to fandom (such is my curse). I know Clara's up to chapter 16 on SD, but I can't say how often she updates or plans on updating, since I'm not her. ; Clara, if you're reading this, you have at least two fans that want you to write more soon! 3 3

"like, this is speech"
'and these are thoughts'
and these words are EMPHASIZED!


"All that we see or seen
Is but a dream within a dream."
--Edgar Allan Poe


"Mr. Kagome Higurashi, we have called you to the infirmary for a reason." The dean, the authority directly under Headmaster Kaede, paced about the small infirmary waiting room, with his hands clasped tightly behind his back. The way he kept striding back and forth, two long strides quickly covering the length of the room --over and over again-- I was starting to get more than a little nauseous, but worry for my brother was what kept me riveted to my chair.

Finally the dean stopped pacing, stopped right in front of me, and looked me dead-on in the eye. I gulped.

"Your brother has several contusions and terrible welts running down his back. Our nurse also noticed several old scars on his torso." The dean looked towards the nurse, who was biting her lip.

The dean kneeled in front of my chair, his hands on his knees as he looked at me in the eye as if I were some sort of child.

"Answer me truthfully," the man took a deep breath, swallowing, "Do... your parents abuse you?"

I blanched.

'What did he just ask me?'

"I-I don't just mean physical abuse, mind you... there are other types of abuse..." The dean started to stutter, rising onto his feet and starting to pace once more, every few seconds glancing at me. I think I was too much in shock to really think outside of that, my observations and my thoughts running rampant.

The temptation was there to angrily rise to my feet and demand to know what the hell was going on inside that pea-brained head of the dean's. Surprisingly, though, I kept my cool and remained seated. Rational thought told me that the dean was only looking out for Souta's welfare -the same as I was- and that until they realized that not ALL of their students were picture-perfect, they'd be deluded into placing blame for their problems elsewhere.

Still, it was fiddle-faddle-- Grandpa and Mama would never, not in five hundred years hurt either me or Souta.

"No, my mom and grandpa don't abuse us." I rose to my feet and gave the man a level look (or as best a 'level look' as I could manage, considering I was a good foot and a half shorter than him).

"I have noticed the other kids at this school hitting him, though..." I trailed off purposely, but didn't let my gaze wander. I wanted this man to know that I was serious. What I had seen was shocking, and horrifying, to say the least.

"Well, now, you have to understand that behavior like that is just child's play!" the dean muttered, pulling at his collar nervously. I rolled my eyes. He wasn't looking out for anyone but his reputation-- or more accurately, the school's reputation.

The dean paced faster now. I knew just what was running through his head at the moment as he anxiously looked at me.

'This could become a legal dispute-- the family might sue us!'

"Look, mister," I said, stepping forward and stopping the dean mid-pace, "The fact is, it's not just child's play anymore. You yourself questioned the amount of injuries my brother has, and now you're saying it's child's play!"

I was barely restraining the anger that threatened to boil over. I was clenching my hands together so tightly I could see my knuckles turning an unhealthy shade of white. But I didn't care-- it wasn't the fact that I'd thrown away so much to get here, to protect Souta-- it was the fact that I'd had to do it in the first place. If only this school was safe...!

I slumped back into the chair again, gripping the armrests as tightly as I could-- much like I had when Miroku had "driven" me to the ice cream shoppé. Only this time, I wasn't terrified for my life. I was terrified for my brother's.

"If this continues, then it won't be bruises anymore. It'll be broken bones. And after broken bones, who knows what's going to happen? Part of the reason why I came this school was for its well-known prestige, but the main reason was because of my brother."

Actually, the only reason I'd come to this school was because of Souta. It had just been a bonus that the Yumegaru Shiritsu school was considered very prestigious, an institute of higher learning. Private schools were hard to get into, and my family could barely afford sending Souta here as it was... but Father had had such an attachment to the place, and...

There was something else. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something else about YSG that was slipping my mind. But it was important, and it, like Souta, was the reason why I was there.

I stood up slowly, brushing my dark bangs from my brow.

"I don't want to get into the legal matters, but how do you think this would go over if these matters were made public? People will believe this school's unsafe to go to, and not only stop sending their kids here, but parents of current students would pull them out as well!" I paused to take a deep breath. I couldn't be around my brother all the time, and if the school didn't do something to protect Souta, there wouldn't be any other choice but to take it to the media.

"Sir, I don't want this to become a big deal, but if my brother continues to get these beatings, then I will have no choice but to bring this matter up to the police."

The man's face turned pallid, and he stopped pacing again, this time so he could sink into a chair across from me. He dropped his head in his hands, almost looking broken. He probably loved this school as much as Father had...

He let out a deep sigh and returned his gaze to my face.

"I understand why you are so angry about this." He smiled weakly. "I even understand why your brother didn't come to us about this problem." He sighed, then ran his fingers through his thinning hair.

"I've been the dean of this school for several years now, and we have come across matters like this before, I'm sorry to say. Sometimes, even more severe." He nodded to me slightly.

"At the next board meeting, I will bring up this topic. You may visit your brother now."

That was an excuse if I had ever heard one. I told myself then that he had better live up to his word, or I'd stay true to mine-- and make the matter public. To the police, to the media-- whoever it took. Nobody deserved to feel unsafe in their own school!

I bowed slightly to the tired-looking man, then exited the waiting room, stepping into a slightly larger one. My brother was lying, face-up, on the only bed in the room, eyes closed and seemingly asleep. The sheets were drawn all the way to his neck, protecting his small frame from the world.

Carefully, I shut the door behind me, then walked to my brother's side. Right as the door clicked into place, my brother's eyes opened.

"K-Kagome?" he asked, voice riddled with sleep. I dragged a stool up beside his bed, plopping down next to him. When I spoke, I dropped the facade that I was Kagome Higurashi, a boy.

"Hey there, Squirt. How're you feeling?" I asked, reaching over and carefully brushing his bangs from his brow. His eyes opened slowly, pools of brown hidden underneath purpled lids. I felt horrible for not stepping in and stopping those boys sooner. I was supposed to be here to protect Souta, and--!

"Like shit," he admitted weakly, trying to smile. I faked a surprised, reprimanding expression when I wagged my finger at him.

"Fsht!" I admonished, frowning. "Watch your language—you're only twelve." Souta was only twelve, but somehow he still amazed me with how fast he seemed to be growing up. He skipped an entire grade, and I figured it was his smarts that helped get him into YSG. After all, he was the youngest in his whole grade-- almost everyone else was 13, some were even 14.

Not like it was an excuse, but no wonder why he got picked on. Souta tried to act older than he really was in order to fit in, and somewhere along the lines, it backfired. Kids could be so cruel...

Souta moved slightly, hoisting himself up on trembling arms. It was apparent that doing so was hurting him, the way he was shaking-- who wouldn't be in pain after all that?

'Oh, Souta...'

To my surprise, my injured little brother suddenly threw himself into my arms, burying his face in my shoulder and trying to hug me as tightly as he could. I sat there in shock for a few moments before I returned his hug, reminding myself what bad shape he was in. He pulled back after a few moments, reddening slightly from his unusual display of emotions.

"Thanks, Kag-ga."

I smiled slightly when Souta called me by my old nickname. All of that felt like it was so long ago...

Souta frowned slightly after meticulously settling himself back into the bed, closing his eyes and adopting the most serious expression I'd ever seen on him.

"I s'ppose you realize now that a lot of kids here don't like me, and well... they beat up on me."

"Yeah, I kinda realized that," I answered sarcastically. I had been witness to... such brutality! Somehow I doubted that scene would ever fade from my mind.

"Why, though? Why do they do that to you, Souta?" I asked.

Souta looked away, making a motion seemingly like a shrug. He winced as the large bandage wrapped around his left shoulder shifted against his wounds, and I wasn't blind to the tears he held back.

"Well, Takeno just hates me for some reason. I think part of it is cuz me and Rin and Satsuki are such good friends, and Takeno had the biggest crush on the two girls for a while. I really don't know why, though. They treat another good friend of mine like this, too."

'Rin... and Satsuki...' I thought to myself. Those names were strangely familiar, and something in me suddenly wanted to protest-- "No, this is wrong, those people shouldn't be--"

'Shouldn't be what?' The thought ended. I didn't know.

He sighed, then shook his head. "I don't see why you had to come all the way down here, though. I can handle myself!" Yep, the Souta I knew was emerging once again. Ever since he'd come here, a year ahead of all the other students in his school, he'd believing he had to be "a big boy" and stand up for himself. He certainly didn't want me here, but I wasn't about to up and leave, not until I was sure...

'Sure of what?'

Sure of Souta's safety, of course, but something...

These thoughts, these strange wanderings in my head-- they had to stop. I was getting distracted from the matter at hand, and that was Souta. Souta was my number one priority, and the reason why I was here-- and...

I shot Souta a dark look, and he shrugged. I could tell he didn't want to talk about this anymore, because he immediately changed the subject.

"Hey. Are you going to the festival?"

"Most likely," I answered. "I'll probably be going with Miroku and Inuyasha and Eiji and Kouga, along with a couple of the girls from the other school." I shook my head, trying to rid my face of the smirk that had creeped up along it. Souta was the only one here who shared my secret, and if he'd been a little older, I could have told him in hushed giggles just how cute my companions were.

That was all ridiculous, of course. Souta was too young and had too many of his own problems to hear me wax on about cute boys. And I couldn't possibly tell Sango or Kikyou --certainly not Kikyou-- since they thought I was a boy. And it had to stay that way, for as long as necessary.

Souta shook his head in slight disbelief.

"I can't figure out how you so quickly made friends with some of the most popular guys in school." Then he blinked, looking up at me.

"Hey, that reminds me. Why didn't you just go to the all-girls' school across the street?"

I narrowed my eyes, cracking my knuckles dangerously.

"That you have to ask the old man. After I punt him sky-high, that is..." I grinned menacingly, smiling down at Souta, who was grinning broadly himself. He knew just as well as I did of Grandpa's "eccentricies" --probably greater than Miroku's, and Headmaster Kaede had sounded pretty serious about him. I probably had a lot more to learn about my new friend, but I was assured in my mind that no one, no matter how crazy, could be worse than my own Grandfather. Not after this stunt, anyhow.


"Kagome! Wait up!" a voice called, echoing down the halls of Yumegaru Shiritsu Gakkou.

Kagome stopped in the middle of the hall, turning to face Miroku, who was running towards her at breakneck speeds.

'He runs like he drives,' Kagome thought to herself in amusement, watching Miroku dodge around people or other inanimate objects, including that of the school's founder's marble bust.

He had a couple of close calls and tripped over Professor Myouga twice. Kagome watched in bafflement, not entirely sure how Miroku managed to stumble over the old man not once but TWICE. Still, the tiny professor just sighed and continued on his way, probably used to the rough treatment.

"Hey, Kag! Where were you during Art? No wait, duh, you were at the infirmary. The question is... why?" It wasn't as if Miroku had asked this right in front of Kagome. No, Miroku was the type to shout a question while careening down the hall at the speed of sound, screeching to a halt the moment he got within a meter of Kagome.

Right as he said 'why,' though, he stumbled forward, tripping over his own two feet and nearly bowling right into Kagome. over. He over-balanced, then fell on his butt.

"Hey!"

Kagome sighed down at him, her face plainly exasperated with the boy. In return, Miroku just looked up at her with these big, questioning eyes. Letting out a groan, Kagome grabbed his shoulder and hefted him up.

"I'll tell you why, later. I'm still a bit ticked about it..." Kagome's eyes shifted left and right, noticing all the classmates filtering around her, some looking backwards, wondering why a new student had been excused from classes ALL DAY without apparent reason.

Miroku nodded, respecting Kagome's unspoken request for privacy. So he abruptly changed the subject to something even MORE uncomfortable.

"Hey, hey! The festival's tomorrow! Are you going to bring a girl?" Being as he was, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Kagome, who was obviously startled by the interrogation. She rolled her eyes, looking away to cover up a sigh. Thank god Miroku had pursued the last topic in question, or more people than she cared to know about Souta would be aware of what had been going on with him lately.

"Since I know SO many girls around here..." Kagome said sarcastically, nudging Miroku in the shoulder.

"What about you? Finally going work up the nerve to ask Sango," Kagome smirked, "or are you just going to continue groping her? She might file for sexual harassment..."

Miroku stuck his tongue out at her.

"Hush, you. Anyway, our group never goes as dates. Inuyasha and Kikyou tried that a while back, and you don't even want to know how that turned out." Miroku shook his head and shuddered slightly, piquing Kagome's curiousity even more.

First Inuyasha being all vague about the subject, now Miroku? Just what had gone so wrong between Inuyasha and Kikyou that everyone was so tight-lipped about it? After all, Inuyasha and Kikyou could still stand each other's presence, but Kikyou still seemed determined to win Inuyasha back...

'Oh, believe me, I do...' Kagome thought to herself grimly. She wasn't sure what it was about those two, but something BOTHERED her, and she desperately wanted to know all about Inuyasha and Kikyou's past-- so that maybe it could be resolved once and for, instead of hanging in the air, as it was.

"Whatever. Anyway, when is the festival, and what time is it right now?" Kagome didn't like the feeling that the Kikyou/Inuyasha topic sent through her veins-- something strange and uncomfortable, but tingling with excitement too.

'Gah... I better not be attracted to Inuyasha, or that would just be... bad. Very, very bad.' Kagome knew she admired Inuyasha, but his personality was... well, less than fetching. And it wasn't as if in this situation, at this particular time and place, Kagome could afford to like someone. No, Souta's safety --that's what Kagome kept telling herself-- was the reason why she was here... not to hunt down potential boyfriends.

'Besides,' Kagome told herself, shaking her head slightly as she started walking down the hall with Miroku, 'I'm not at all jealous... probably. But I guess the weird relationship between those two intrigues me. She's so demure and quiet... he's so... not.'

"Well, it's already eight," Miroku murmured, shaking Kagome out of her reverie as he glanced at the hall clock, "and the others are already gone. But since I was such a good friend, I stayed and waited for you."

Kagome looked towards Miroku, an eyebrow raised in questioning. The tone of his voice had almost been despairing, as if everyone else had ditched poor Miroku, leaving him to wander around the school looking for companionship-- that is to say, Kagome.

But that wasn't the case at all, Kagome soon realized. It wasn't long before Miroku started asking her about what happened in the infirmary, and the girl-in-disguise realized that Miroku --excluding his habit of groping Sango (and undoubtedly other girls that were Miroku's 'type')-- was a curious sort. 'Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?'

"We don't have any classes tomorrow, can you believe it!" Miroku continued to prattle on, even when Kagome didn't answer to his incessant questioning regarding the infirmary.

"I'm so glad Kaede is the headmaster-- she's always thinking up these awesome treats for us. We didn't get anything like this when the grouchy Mr. Haimitsu was the headmaster..."

Kagome somehow managed to derive from Miroku's ongoing babble that the festival was going to start the following morning, when third period normally began. It would lasted until the end of the day, around 5:00 p.m.

Miroku informed Kagome that the event was supposed to be just like a normal carnival, complete with rides, too-salty, too-sweet food and cheesy magic acts.

"Don't get me wrong," Miroku continued without pausing for breath, "the beginning-of-the-year festival is the best part of the year! It's so fun..."

Miroku continued on talking as the two kept wandering, outside the main school building and into the growing dark. It was at the point when Kagome could no longer see the lights of the school that she bothered to ask Miroku a question.

"Hey, Miroku, where're we going?"

For a moment, Miroku looked positively evil-- the girl could almost see little devil horns sprouting from his fluffy brown hair, and a pitchforked tail coming from his uniform pants. And one NASTY grin. Kagome swallowed nervously, her eyes shifting left and right as she wondered what her new 'friend' had plotted for her.

'Well at least he can't try anything with me-- he doesn't know I'm a girl!'

But that didn't bring much relief, not after Miroku announced just WHERE they were going.

"Why, where we always go!" The evil look became more pronounced as Miroku's grin widened, and Kagome could almost imagine tiny, flaming skulls dancing around his head.

'Eep!'

"To the ice cream shoppé."

Kagome shot him a nervous look, waiting anxiously for Miroku to continue, but at the same time, she dreaded it.

"But the thing is, since it took you soooo long to return, and the others already left.." Miroku trailed off, sliding on the heels of his shoes towards a car Kagome recognized all too well.

'Oh no.'

"I'm.." Miroku was being deliberately slow, and it was driving Kagome mad.

'Oh God Almighty, please have mercy on me. '

"...driving." Miroku finished with a smirk, dangling his keys from his hand.

'NOOOOOOOOOOO!'


By some miracle, by some odd chance, the two got to the ice cream shoppé in one piece. But that didn't mean that Miroku was driving any better. Not a chance in hell.

In fact, being that he was probably still annoyed at Kagome for playing that "low-down, stinkin', no-good, bloody trick" on him, he probably drove about ten times worse than usual!

'I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes...!' Kagome thought once the car turned down the street where the ice cream shoppé was. 'How sad.'

Miroku didn't even have a chance to lock the parking break before Kagome had rattled the passenger-side door open and practically FLEW out of the car, throwing open the door of the shoppé and flinging herself -well, "himself"- behind Sango.

"I thought you guys liked me.." Kagome whimpered, barely making an effort to disguise her voice. She was trembling from her head to her toes, while all present, sans Sango, laughed hysterically. Sango just glanced at the stricken 'boy' hiding beyond her shoulder and blinked.

"Hey, Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, smirking to the point where he revealed two, pointed canine teeth. He snagged a fry from Kouga's tray, munching slowly, despite his dark-haired "friend's" glare and the way Kouga protectively encircled the tray with his arms.

Still hiding behind Sango like a coward, Kagome shot Inuyasha a dark, accusing look.

"Sure," Kagome muttered, still sore that no one had bothered to come to the infirmary and find her, "It'd be a lot easier just to outright tell me you hated me, instead of trying to KILL ME!" She shot Inuyasha a vicious glare, trying to channel every bit of anger and upset that had gotten choked out of her stomach from that last ride.

Inuyasha choked on the fry he had stolen from Kouga, partly from laughter and part from surprise. Kagome continued glared at him harshly, willing her deep brown eyes to inform Inuyasha that if he died from choking on that fry, she wouldn't grieve.

'In fact,' Kagome thought meanly to herself, 'I would celebrate.'

Kagome had no such luck, though. Eiji dislodged the fried potato from Inuyasha's throat by solidly whacking him on the back between his shoulder blades.

Miroku walked in a few moments later, grinning like the Cheshire cat and looking immensely pleased with himself. Sango was being quite apparent with her confusion over the whole matter, perhaps wondering why Kagome acted so strangely.

'Or maybe,' Kagome speculated, 'she's just tired of all this, knowing I'd react this way to Miroku's driving. She must be used to it.'

Out of all those present, it was Kagome's personal opinion that Sango was the most 'normal' and level-headed of all of them. To be sure, she'd only known the girl for a few days, and it wasn't as if they could be real friends --completely open and honest with one another-- but... the brunette had made a good first impression on Kagome.

'One day, maybe if I can still be friends with these guys after this whole ordeal with Souta is over...' Kagome wondered if she'd just be stuck going to school here for the next three years. And after that... what then? She couldn't protect Souta forever, even if she was going to the same school as him. A worried frown creased Kagome's face as she slid into the nearest seat-- that beside Kikyou.

A cold shiver ran down Kagome's spine when she sat next to Kikyou-- but the older girl paid Kagome no mind. Kagome couldn't shake the weird feeling, but she tried to be happy with the fact that Kikyou wasn't making a fuss.

The group sat and ate for a while, making mindless chatter, but somehow dodging the whole topic of why Kagome had been called to the infirmary for the entire day. She was relieved, and didn't care to bring it up herself.

And thus, another day as a boy ended for Kagome Higurashi.

'I wonder how long I'll survive.' Kagome smiled to herself, munching on a fry. 'Well, if I don't squelch this weird attraction to Inuyasha, that'll kill me. If not, then Miroku's driving should.'


"KAAAAAAAAAGOOOOOOOOMEEEEEEEE!"

"KYAAAA!" I screamed, bolting upright in bed.

'Souta!'

Needless to say, I ended up with my torso -and unfortunately, my HEAD- on the not-so-clean ground, surrounded by my blankets, my legs still tangled in the sheets and twisted on the bed.

When my vision finally cleared, it wasn't Souta screaming my name from a dangerously close distance. Oh no, because at least that would have been excusable. Instead, it was my too-cheerful roommate. I don't know why that, as a boy, irritation came to me easier; normally someone as chipper as Hojo would make me smile and nod-- and walk away, as fast as possible.

But I guess things are different when you're forced to 'turn into a boy,' are plucked from the entire life you know, and, according to 'duty,' go on some half-assed mission in a far away place.

'Now why does that sound so familiar?' I wondered, scratching my head. I wanted to close my eyes again, go back to sleep-- in my fluffy, UNTANGLED blankets.

"Nnn.." I plucked something undefinable from my hair, then glared as dangerously as I could, given that I was upside down and the blood was rushing to my head. Hojo was seated cross-legged on his bed, grinning like a banshee. My irritation was so great that morning, I had the sudden desire to claw his eyes out.

"Could we be a LITTLE more subtle?" I said, furiously, caustically, bitterly sarcastic. Did that convey enough emotion for you? Because really, that's how mad I was.

Hojo, of course, was completely oblivious to this, of course, and continued to grin blissfully.

"Sorry, Kagome! I just didn't want you to miss your first 'Welcoming Festival'!"

'Well, one thing's for sure,' I thought to myself angrily, attempting to detangle my legs from the sheets, and succeeding in falling to the floor completely. 'Hojo doesn't learn.'

What's probably not so obvious, though, is that I don't learn either. In fact, I'm quite stubborn when it gets down to certain matters. It so happened that I'd prattled on so much last night about meeting up with everyone early, and saying over and over that I'd be there, I'd be there...

"Omigod!" I somehow managed to fit those three words into one single breath, mushing them into one word of its own class. With amazing gymnastic skills I didn't know I had, I managed to pull off a backwards soumersault, somehow catching my sheets-- and everything attached to it, meaning my sheets, and the mattress itself-- and dragging them down with me, right onto me.

"I'm going to be late! Miroku is going to KILL me!" My hands darted out from underneath my formerly soft 'confinement' and tried to lift the mattress -and shove it back onto the box spring- as quickly as I could.

"Hoi! Kagome, don't worry! We still have two more hours until the festival actually starts..." Hojo said, still smiling. I still was trapped under the mattress when Hojo announced this, and as hard as it was, I managed to flip my body around slowly, my grin probably as demonic as Miroku's had been last night.

I stared at him in disbelief for a few moments.

"YOU WOKE ME UP TO TELL ME THAT!"

Innocent grin.

There was just no way this guy could be real. He had probably some truly evil personality under that 'innocent' and 'well-meaning' grin of his. I bet he didn't want to go to this school at all, and, got assigned here. Maybe his parents dumped him here, and they were off in Cantigua or somesuch.

Maybe Hojo had some deeply-embedded hatred for the school-- after all, it was an all-boy's school, and even though I'd gone to an all-girl's myself --why didn't that thought sound right?-- it was probably more likely that boys would go crazy from lack of frequent interaction with girls-- instead of the other way around. Or maybe, maybe Hojo had really wanted to be home-schooled, so he could live in the basement all the time and only have the cockroaches as his friends...!

Okay, so maybe I was a little bitter. Or maybe Hojo really was just a moron.

"I am going back to sleep," I informed him tightly, trying to resist the temptation to throw the mattress AT Hojo at that particular moment. I guess it was a rule of thumb --back at my house, I mean-- that I'm not a happy camper in the morning-- especially when I don't t get enough sleep, when I get tangled up in my sheets, when my mattress squishes me to a DIRTY floor-- and oh yeah-- when I'm stuck being roomies with an inconsiderate moron in an all-boy's school because I'm DISGUISED AS A BOY!

I then pulled the mattress up all the way over my head, using it as an overly-thick comforter, blocking the incoming sunlight from streaming into my eyes. I won't even sicken you and tell you just what was on the floor that I was lying on.

"On the floor?" Hojo asked, appalled. "Kagome, that must be uncomfor—"

"Hojo?" I groaned, voice muffled.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Shut. Up."

"Yes, Kagome..."

I woke up an hour and a half later to someone jumping on top of the mattress that I had been using as a blanket. Now, being stuck on a horribly uncomfortable, hard, sticky floor, still tangled in half my sheets, I wasn't up to being generous and polite to whoever it was.

Besides, whoever was jumping on the mattress felt awfully heavy. Considering my state of mind at the moment, 'heavy' meant anything that weighed a single KILOGRAM more than I did! I gathered that the only person possible to be bouncing on ME was Miroku, since after the third bounce, I started to hear a muffled and off-key V6 song. From the sound of the voice, I was quick to deduce that it was Miroku-- and he was quickly crushing my ribs with his incessant bouncing.

'I should probably tell him to work out more! OW!'

I poked my head out from underneatht he mattress, attempting to speak between Miroku's bounces that compressed my lungs and knocked the wind out of me.

"Ugh... we better... ack, my ribs... stop going to the ice cream sho --WATCH THAT KNEE!-- ppé.. because DAMN, Miroku... OWWWW! YOU'RE GETTING FAT!"

Miroku stopped bouncing, took one look at my undoubtedly red face, and proceeded to ground-slam me like he was some sort of wrestler. I yelped loudly, muttering all sorts of colorful curses and epithets, all the while glaring dangerously at the brightly smiling boy.

"You're as bad as Hojo," was my biting remark. Miroku responded by smothering me with a pillow.

"Do not speak the blasphemous name!"

"Feh," I cursed under my breath. It wasn't until I 'became a boy' that I really started swearing so much. Honest.

I was wriggling as best I could, trying to get out from underneath the mattress. Not an easy task, considering Miroku sat on top of my solar plexus --well, with 10 centimeters of mattress between him and me, but STILL-- and he kept smothering a pillow to my face. I thrust my hips forward, knocking Miroku off the mattress, and quickly wriggled out from under the pillow and mattress, glaring at Miroku for every yen I was worth.

He grinned back at me, trying to look innocent.

I was feeling quite unladylike at the moment (and all things considered, I suppose it didn't matter, since I was supposed to be a boy then and there) and cursed Miroku out a few more times before I attempted to stand. My chest was hurting like heck, wincing as I stood up on wobbly feet. Well, one thing was for sure, I was going to have some nasty bruises the next day.

"I'm going to go get changed," I grumbled, grabbing a few clothes I'd shoved into a plastic bag, and a pillow.

"Make my bed, will ya?"

With that, I threw the pillow I was holding, right into Miroku's face. Since Miroku wasn't paying attention, it smacked him right on the nose.

"Kaaaagooommeeee!"


I walked out a few minutes later, face freshly scrubbed clean, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a baggy navy-blue sweatshirt. Miroku the Idiot was still sitting on my mattress, which was still on the floor. I mock-pouted at him.

"I thought you were going to make my bed!"

"Bull crap!" was Miroku's intelligent answer. "Come on, we gotta go." He didn't give me time to protest before he grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of my room, slamming the door shut with his foot as he went along.

Once again, I was subjected to Miroku Express as he dragged me through the many halls. After several unsucessful attempts of trying to free myself from Miroku's iron grip, I sighed and resigned myself to fate.

Nothing was normal when it came to Miroku, anyway.

While he dragged me towards the front of the school, Miroku informed me that I wouldn't have to worry about his wild driving, since the festival was only a few blocks from our school and we would be walking. At this, I let out an overdramatized sigh of relief, and in turn, received an elbow to the gut. Stupid Miroku.


The festival was set up in a big concrete lot that looked awfully out of place here in Tokyo, but I guess since it was a residential neighborhood, it could be expected every now and then. You couldn't really tell that the place had once been a desolate lot though, since it wasn't empty at all-- it was packed from end to end with students, every free space filled with huge white tents and colorful streamers, booths, and the smell of cotton candy and kettle corn immediately filling my nose.

For some reason, Miroku and I met Kikyou and Sango at the festival entrance, instead of at their school. I assumed that everyone had decided to meet at the festival to save time. I had no problem meeting them there --maybe I was a bit disturbed by Kikyou, but that wasn't MY fault, she just gave off this vibe-- anyway, the thing that gave me the heebie-jeebies, as it were, were all the "glances" I was getting from various YSJ girls on our way there. They weren't looking at me like they knew I was a crossdressing girl --somehow that might have been more of a relief-- but they were... well, checking me out.

Quite openly, too. One particular girl eyed me up and down, smirked right at me when we made eye contact and licked her lips. I hope she was just trying to get off the stick that the cotton candy in her hand left on her mouth. I hope.

That was so embarassing though, I was bright red before I'd even been in the sun for twenty minutes. Good thing Miroku and them didn't notice.

I trained my attention on the festval once we got there-- pretty soon tuning out everything else. The sights, the sounds-- I couldn't remember the last carnival or festival that I'd been to. I felt like there was a hazy memory just escaping my mind, but the last, clear memory I had of anything REMOTELY like this was... gosh, almost when I was five! So long ago!

Mama loved to talk all about that time, though, and she usually started prattling about it when all my friends were over. Good thing I wouldn't have to worry about THAT happening with these guys. Hopefully. The whole story went that I'd been happily eating a cotton candy when a clown appeared out of nowhere and scared the bejeezus out of me. It so happened I was staring at a whack-a-rat game, and I snatched the huge hammer right off the machine and chased that clown around-- dropping my precious cotton candy in the process.My first --and last? I couldn't remember, for some reason-- time at the carnival.

'Once was enough,' Mom said every time I asked her. So that was it.

But now, here I was again, in the midst of all that wonder and excitement-- and it felt like it had been so long since I honestly had FUN with anyone. Filled with childish excitement as I was, I was oblivious to how 'normal' my friends were acting.

"It's a Ferris wheel!" I downright squealed. Bright and colorful, with large lightbulbs lighting up in various patterns as the wheel made its slow revolutions. I looked at the ride in awe for a few moments, stars in my eyes, before I noticed the extremely odd looks I was getting from my friends.

Major blush.

"Uh, uhm... sorry..." I cleared my throat, shifting from foot to foot, attempting to will the blood away from my cheeks, "I... uh --ahem-- haven't been t-to uh... a festival since I was... well, five..."

'As if THAT'S an excuse...!'

Blink blink. Silence all around. It wasn't as if Kikyou of all people was going to say something, so mostly the two gaping at me were Miroku and Sango.

"..." I shot them each a deadpan look, then stomped off towards one of the stands.

"Well, feh! If you guys are just going to stand there and gawk all day, I'm going to go... uh.. to this... tent here!" And I stomped towards the nearest white tent, decorated with purple and black streamers, a single red bow over the door-flap. It wasn't until later that I realized why I had such a strange feeling before tossing open that flap, but... well, back then, I was more than a bit naive.

That is where life got interesting. To say the least.


"Did Kagome just squeal?" Sango whispered to Miroku --even though I was only a few meters away-- who, in turn, shrugged. Sango paused, and her eyes widened slightly. Her cheeks flushed, and I immediately knew what happened. In a split second, she slapped Miroku's hand away with a scream, "PERVERT!"

Miroku pouted and rubbed his "poor, offended hand." It had been edging towards her butt, I realized with a laugh.

"Hey! Sango! I'm sorry! I can't help it though-- sometimes my hand has a mind of its own!" Somehow that didn't sound quite right to me, but I smirked anyway, waiting for them to join me at the tent-- whatever was inside.

I rolled my eyes as Sango came running towards me, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Kagome! Wait up! I prefer your company over Miroku the Idiot's, any day!" She jogged towards me, long brown hair bouncing in a ponytail behind her.

"Saaaangoooo! Hold on! I'm sorry, butt-- I mean, your butt was, well, it was... just there! It was calling out to meee!" I rolled my eyes at Miroku's antics. He was your typical teenage male...

I sighed and wondered how I got trapped with this bizarre group.


Kagome wandered into the tent, her eyes suddenly greeted with a big banner reading 'Welcome to the Magic Show!' Several students were scurrying around setting up various stage props and lights, while others were out in the 'pit,' busy setting up chairs for the slowly incoming audience.

Sango drifted in after Kagome, the former girl still trying to fend off Miroku and his 'advances.' Tagging along was Kikyou, who looked less than enthused to be present, followed by Inuyasha and Eiji.

Everyone sans Kagome was idly chatting to one another. Well, Kikyou seemed to be trying to strike up a conversation with Inuyasha, but he, like Kagome, seemed fascinated with the sheer SIZE of the tent. From the outside, it hadn't seemed like much, but inside-- well, it easily could have been the size of the YSG gym!

'I wonder if my house would fit in here,' Kagome wondered silently to herself. She started walking down a slope of stairs made from, like the rest of the floor and seats, wooden panels. Kagome found an empty row of seats and seated herself on the bench, soon after joined by Sango, Miroku, Kikyou, Inuyasha, and Eiji.

All around them, kids of other ages --probably students from the younger YSG and YSJ schools-- were sitting in their little crowds, throwing popcorn kernels at one another, or making jokes about the upcoming magic show. From where Kagome's group sat, one had a perfect view of the stage.

"I can't believe we actually came here," Inuyasha grumbled, settling himself down on the bench, "What the hell is with all this magic shit? Do you guys actually believe this kind of thing?" He shot a scathing glare at Kagome, but she was too busy being awed by all the lights and decorations to notice.

"Hey," Miroku said easily, draping an arm around Sango's shoulders. "We'll just have to suffer through it for the girls.."

Sango elbowed him again, and he winced and dropped his arm to his side, pouting at her.

"Well," Kikyou drawled to Kagome beside her, "You look like you're enjoying yourself.."

Kagome looked like she was about to say something back to Kikyou, but was beaten by Sango, who smiled sweetly and said, "Hey, Kikyou, let's not make this an unpleasant experience, okay? Have fun!"

Kikyou's porcelain expression cracked when she frowned ever-so-slightly, but she quickly turned away. Meanwhile, Sango and Kagome pouted. Kagome was half-tempted to stick her tongue out at the stuffy older girl, but decided against it.

'She sure has one hell of a grudge against me for no reason. I mean we just met... but I have to say, I get a bad feeling around her, too. Maybe she gets the same sort of vibe from me that I do from her. Nah, that'd just be too weird.' Kagome shook her head to rid herself of the pestering thoughts, and tried to focus on her friends around her, and the magic show due to in half an hour.

"Hey, Kagome?" Miroku asked, leaning behind Sango and sugesstively wiggling his eyebrows at her behind. Sango wasn't blind to the creeping movement his hand was making, and shot him a dangerous glare from the corner of her eye, quickly forcing the youth to keeping his appendages to himself.

Sango was seated between Kagome and Miroku, but, judging by the expression on her face, she looked as if she would have rathered to be seated next to anyone else. More likely than not, she would have preferred Kagome in the middle, so that Sango herself wouldn't be in groping distance of Miroku's "Roamin' Hands." Kagome merely smirked at Sango when the girl shot her a pleading, pitiful look.

"Yeah?" Kagome turned back to the stage, hoping she hadn't missed the setup of some strange prop that had something to do with how the magic "worked." She was just as excited as she had been earlier, only now her excitement shone through her sparkling eyes, rather than her jumping around and squealing.

Still though, in the midst of her excitement, there was another subliminal, distinctly nagging feeling that Kagome was getting. A similar sort of vibe that she got when she was around Kikyou, but... different. The girl-in-disguise swallowed, not realizing there'd been a painful lump obstructing her breathing.

Kagome didn't like the feeling she was getting-- not as it intensified and her shivers manifested into goosebumps, and the hair on the back of her neck began to stand. No, something very bad was about to happen...

"What do you think about this kinda stuff? D'ya think it's a whole bunch of fake shit?" Miroku's voice interrupted Kagome's train of thought, while she barely spared him a glance in his direction. If something bad was indeed going to happen, she had to play close attention to everything that was going into the "magic" of this show.

"Well..." Kagome paused, scratching the back of her neck, mulling over an answer, "The thought kind of creeps me out, you know? I wouldn't want anyone controlling me with hypnosis or whatever."

"Oh please," Inuyasha snorted, tossing up a popcorn kernel and catching it in his mouth. Kagome snatched one from the large bucket shared between all of them, and tried to do the same. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way Kagome intended, as the kernel hit the girl's nose and bounced to the ground.

In response, Inuyasha just smirked triumphantly, taking another kernel and repeating his previous action with it.

"You know the people who get 'hypnotized' are just faking it, for the sake of being in the spotlight. Heh, If I were up there, I'd prove to everyone here how dumb they're being, believing in this shit..."

The group, in the midst of their debate, didn't notice a pair of glowing red eyes narrow.

"La..." a voice whispered, "That girl is here. She may have changed her appearance, but it is the same one." The figure, shrouded in the darkness behind the curtains, cracked her knuckles.

"While I might have to thank her for helping bring me back... this time, I will be sure to finish her off-- once and for all!"


Time wore on easily, the half-hour disappearing into scant minutes. The magician that everyone was babbling about -Yuka? Yuna?- was nowhere to be found. Even the stagehands were exchaging nervous glances with one another. Was all their work to be for naught?

It was plain that even the audience was starting to get antsy at the prospect of an empty stage and wasted time.

"Maybe we should just go," Miroku muttered to Sango. "I mean, it's a waste of tim--" Before Miroku could finish his sentence there was a loud explosion from the stage, and once everyone's eyes were riveted there, a blossom --made of fiberglass strands?-- bloomed from the floor of the stage, shining various colors, the 'petals' parting to reveal a shadow standing in the center.

Several people in the audience were still gasping from the surprise that the explosion had made, while others were "oohing" and "aahing" at the beautiful effects the glowing "flower" made. No one noticed the stagehands huddled in the corner, muttering and pointing at the strange effect, even as it slithered back into the floor.

They had had no part in assembling such an effect for the opening of the show, and wondered just how it had happened. Magic, perhaps?

"WELCOME!" the shadow spoke with a female voice, the echo bouncing off the walls of the tent and the stage. The sound sent shivers down Kagome's spine. If she'd been feeling strange earlier, that feeling was multiplied hundreds of time. No, something definitely was not right here.

The stage plunged into darkness, and Kagome veritably squeaked, grabbing Sango's arm without realizing it. The girl turned and looked at Kagome in surprise, her expression curious, and when Kagome realized what she'd done -gotten far too close to blowing her cover- she snatched her arm away.

Despite the foreboding feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, Kagome told herself repeatedly that she shouldn't be afraid. If something was indeed 'wrong' with this magic show, she would have to find out what it was.

All of a sudden, the stage burst into sparkling light, the wooden planks reflecting multiple hues of orange, yellow, and gold. The audience gasped in plesant surprise, including a few from Kagome's own company. Smoke --or was it fog?-- wisped down the stage, pouring into the pits where the audience sat-- but when it was within a mere meter of the first person on the benches, it vanished into thin air. The audience did their job -oohing, aahing, and gasping in all the right places- but Inuyasha simply let out an unimpressed grunt. It would obviously take more 'special effects' than what this place had to offer to get his attention.

Kagome, on the other hand, had turned as white as a sheet.

'What... what was that just now? I saw...'

She couldn't explain it. Though everyone else had seen beautiful colors and shining lights, Kagome felt as if she'd closed her eyes and seen a dream on fast-forward. A vast, green forest, sparkling with an eerie and strange light. The slithering of vines on old wooden planks, of... strange... creatures on soft dirt. The click-clacking of... bones...

Sights and sounds that had nothing to do with the magic show, and yet Kagome had SEEN them, HEARD them and FELT them. They couldn't have been anything less than real, and yet... when she glanced up, there was nothing. No trees, no strange, dark-but-glowing light, no vines, no ...

"Hey, Kagome..." Sango whispered, poking the 'boy' in the ribs. "You look like you just saw a ghost!"

'No, not a ghost. Something worse.' Kagome thought. She rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the horrible illusion she'd just been subjected to. But even when her vision was cleared of the strange 'illusion,' she was still seeing things.

'H-Hair...?'

Hundreds of thousands of strands, glistening in the light the same way that 'fiberglass flower' had. Going every which-way, Criss-crossing, like a gigantic cat's cradle, with no end and no beginning.

"Th-there's h-hair.." Kagome stuttered. She glanced upwards for a moment, realizing that every single stage light was unlit. So the light was coming from... the hair? And it HAD to be hair, the way it was bending, twisting, and... Kagome didn't understand it, not one bit, but... There was simply no other explanation for it.

"Where?" Sango asked, her hushed voice belying her confusion. Kagome turned her stunned gaze from the stage to her friend beside her, watching as the tall brunette analyzed the stage, looking at it from various angles, but still not being able to see what Kagome saw.

Kagome's face paled even further as she realized this.

'Am... am I going crazy?' She looked at the stage again, but the hair -glowing- was still there, slithering.

The shadow emerged from the darkness behind the glowing strands that Kagome's friends didn't see. More smoke poured from the sides of the stage, giving a grand entrance to a youthful, scantily-clad girl with short brown hair. She had a strange sort of smile on her face, one that Kagome couldn't decipher. There was an odd sensation of deja vu throughout the whole ordeal, but before Kagome could attempt to place the magician-girl's face with a name or a place that she'd seen her before, the young woman bowed low, revealing a good deal of cleavage.

Catcalls and wolf whistles sounded from every end of the tent, including one loud holler of "I believe in magic!" Sango and Kagome exchanged a glance, rolling their eyes, while Miroku started to rise from his seat and cheer. Sango had to force the boy down with her arm, keeping his mouth shut with her palm. She was obviously restraining herself from NOT bashing Miroku over the head, just to get him to shut up for the rest of the entire evening.

"La Thank you for coming to my show. I am Yura, a..." she smirked, "hypnotist!" The girl lilted out with a smile. Kagome saw the glistening white of the girl's teeth, even from where she was sitting. The hair was still Kagome's primary distraction, but the girl's glittering teeth made Kagome wish the scantily-clad girl --who could be so open and flagrant with her feminity-- would get cavities.

"To get down to business, may I have two volunteers?" Yura looked out to the audience, her eyes grazing each and every bench. She drew a --it had to be fake, right?-- sword from a sheath at her side. The enclosure for the sword was attached to her hip with a colorful printed cloth that was the same blood-red color as the ribbon in her hair.

Several hands shot up, mostly males, but a few curious females raised their hands as well. Of Kagome's present company, it was Miroku who had raised his hand -or more accurately, wove it around madly, like he was signaling an airplane.

But Yura's attention didn't fall on Miroku at all. Rather, her gaze seemed to alight on Kagome specifically, and with her sword, she pointed right at the girl-in-disguise. Kagome swallowed hard, wondering if all the odd feelings she'd been getting all day were finally culminating in something.

Yura grinned viciously, licking her teeth before she spoke, "You! Young man, in the blue sweater, please come down!" Her gaze traveled to Kagome's right, her eyes widening slightly as she recognized Inuyasha.

"Bring your friend with you. The one with the long black hair."

Inuyasha froze, his face paling as he realized he was the one Yura was referring to. He shifted slightly -all his friends staring at him expectantly, He'd been waiting for the chance to prove to all his classmates and the festival attendees that magic and hypnotism was a bunch of bull. So why then, did he seem-- afraid? It was hardly his character.

Kagome was blinking in astonishment. She was still wary of the strange Yura girl and the hair that no one else but her could see. Was that the reason Yura had chosen Kagome? She supposed that there was no better way to find out than to go onstage-- even if it meant confronting someone potentially dangerous.

Kagome was about to rise, but she realized suddenly that Inuyasha had not. Since he sat beside her, Kagome clutched his arm, causing the boy to shoot her a startled look. Kagome glared at him, trying to cover up her fear that she'd slipped yet again.

"Hey," she started hastily, her voice gruff as she realized she had to keep pretending to be a boy, no matter what, "You said you wanted to go there and prove everyone how dumb hypnosis was.. well, here's your chance!"

Inuyasha favored Kagome with the same startled then unimpressed expressions, remaining firmly in his seat. Kagome played on what she realized was Inuyasha's weak point --his ego-- and released his arm, standing and starting to head down the aisle of seats on her own.

"Well, it's up to you," she muttered, smirking when Inuyasha couldn't see, "Chicken."

"Hey!" Kagome got her desired reaction, and Inuyasha leapt to his feet, following the short-haired 'boy.' "I ain't chicken! Hell, I'll prove to you just how not chicken I am!" With that statement, he stomped ahead of a surprised Kagome, then leapt onto the stage with agile grace that didn't look like it matched his body. Kagome blinked, then hurried after him and followed his example, though she ended up clambering onto the stage, rather than 'leaping gracefully' onto it.

'Well,' she thought resignedly to herself, 'no one ever said I was graceful...'

Once on stage, Yura moved closer to the pair, her smile unnerving to the both of them. Kagome was still curious about all the hairs surrounding the stage-- it seemed as though most of them were high above the stage, but Kagome swore she'd seen a few at eye-level as she'd gotten onstage.

For a moment, Kagome swore she saw Yura's deep brown eyes flash a glittering red, but then the vision was gone. No, Kagome was unsettled enough as it was, what with that weird vision she'd seen, and all those strange, glowing hairs...

Yura beckoned the two forward, and it was then that Kagome saw the hundreds of strands that were, indeed, at eye-level and below. For a moment, she was tempted to grab Inuyasha back, thinking that something dangerous would happen to him if he tried to pass through the invisible hairs. But he paid them no mind -he probably couldn't see them, Kagome mused- and when he reached those separating him from Yura, they mysteriously parted, disappearing and straightening themselves in a new formation.

The lights that the hairs emitted changed appropriately, now glowing in shades of green and blue. The audience gasped appropriately, continuing to be awed by the stage effects.

"Your name?" Kagome practically jumped in surprise, staring down at the microphone that had been shoved into her face. Yura's perfectly manicured nails were sharp and red, clicking against the metal of the microphone base.

"K-Kagome," she said clearly, trying to keep her voice low. A few loud -and obnoxious- cheers sounded from the audience. Kagome shot Miroku and Eiji glares worthy of melting steel. The noises ceased, but a wave of quiet laughter rippled through the audience, causing Kagome's cheeks to burn a faint red color.

"Inuyasha," the boy gruffly spoke when the mic was shoved into his face. He shot Yura a faintly annoyed expression, especially with the way Yura was looking at his hair. The girl was circling around him in an almost predatory fashion, but it didn't seem as if Inuyasha was all that unnerved. Perhaps he was used to this kind of behavior-- scantily-clad girls stalking around him, quite openly eyeing his hair and body up and down, for every centimeter it was worth?

"Ah, Inuyasha, tell me. What do you think about hypnosis?" She smirked, glancing at Kagome out of the corner of her eye. The girl-in-disguise swallowed, wondering just what Yura knew. She knew at this point that Yura was someone... 'she shouldn't be here... I didn't mean to--!' someone from her past.

'Yura, Yura, Yura...'

Kagome chanted the name in her head silently, wondering if the name would bring back any memories. When Inuyasha gave Yura his answer, it came to Kagome, in a sudden and startling flash, the same as before.

'Yura... Yura of the Hair!'

Kagome wasn't entirely sure where that epithet had come from, but it sounded so appropriate. Still, how could such a simple name have such a terrifying feeling attached to it? That same, unnerving, cold vibe... of wrongness.

"It's a load of bull crap," Inuyasha stated, taking a step back. Yura moved with adept precision, suddenly balancing on the tips of her toes so she could look Inuyasha level in the eye.

"Oh, really?" She licked her lips slightly, and waved her hands. No one else saw it, but Kagome did-- strands of hair creeping up from the stage, from the rafters. Thousands -no, millions- more strands than before, with greater sharpness and strength.

Inuyasha blinked again, looking faintly confused, and then seemed to drop into a sort of sleep. He was still standing straight up, but his arms had dropped to his sides, and his head lolled to one side. The fear Kagome had been holding back intensified tenfold.

'First the vision of that... place... then, all this hair that I can see, but no one else can. And now... Inuyasha! Wake up!' Kagome knew something was very wrong here, very wrong with this 'magic,' with this 'hypnosis,' with Yura herself. She just didn't know what it was.

Yura's expression was humorless as she turned to Kagome, her smile gone completely. Kagome realized with a start that Yura's eyes were now a bright crimson-- not their original brown, as she thought they'd been.

I must thank you for aiding in my ressurection, la. But even if your life doesn't end here and now, it will. And by my hand.

Kagome was frozen in place. The voice she'd just heard was most assuredly Yura's, though the girl's lips hadn't moved! The audience was silent, awaiting whatever magic Yura was about to cast on Kagome.

This illusion will last as long as you desire it, girl. And I do know that you are a girl. Curious, the way you have all changed yourselves. Is this what you wished upon your... friend, here? But no matter, I shall get my answers later. For now, I will do you a favor.

Yura moved towards Inuyasha, fingering a few strands of his hair, and then moving up to his neck. A strange glittering gathered there, purple, blue, pink, and black in color. For a moment, Kagome thought it was the hairs again, coalescing around Inuyasha's neck and maybe about to--

Don't worry, young one, not yet. This isn't a spell I've cast on Inuyasha. It's yours. I'm just... revealing it for you. Remember, girl? La... a subduing rosary around this one's neck, that can only be removed by your hand. Here even before we first met, all that time ago. Still here, but hidden by an illusion...

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and closed as she swayed in place, invisible hairs seeming to rock her from side to side. Between blinks, she saw the mass of hair all around her, saw them creeping around Inuyasha's shoulders to hold him in place... saw... was that Yura, plucking a strand from Inuyasha's head?

No, because when Kagome opened her eyes again, Yura was nowhere near Inuyasha, and he didn't look disturbed in the slightest.

Do you remember me yet, girl? Remember what you did ... how you killed me? You will suffer for that, even if it was you that brought me back... here. Now, just for some fun and games, shall we enchant your friend once more? Remember the spell you cast on him? Remember... and cast it once more... when I clap my hands!

Yura's "mind-voice" drifted into nothingness, and Kagome slowly started to regain the feeling in her body, awareness of the world slowly filtering back.

Kagome blinked rapidly, as did Inuyasha. When her vision cleared, Kagome could no longer see any hairs-- not on the stage, the rafters, not anywhere. Had it all been some sort of dream? Or had it been part of the hypnosis?

"Aren't you supposed to be.. uh.. trying to hypnotize us or something?" Inuyasha mirrored Kagome's confused look, now that he was completely awake.

The crowd "oohed" as they realized Yura's spell seemed to have work.

"Now, my friends," Yura smiled, "I have enchanted both Inuyasha and Kagome here. Yet neither of them remember what I have enchanted them to do. Shall we watch and see?" She smiled devilishly at the pair, exchanging glances from opposite sides of the stage.

"Mr. Kagome, Inuyasha has been a very bad boy," Yura smirked, especially when Inuyasha growled at her.

'She used an honorific for my name!' Kagome realized in horror. 'Was that on purpose, or... does she know--?' Yura was either implying she knew Kagome's secret... or she was just trying to be rude to Inuyasha by not using one for him.

"What do you tell him?" And then Yura clapped.

Kagome blinked, her mouth opened for her to speak She didn't even realize that her lips moved, and when she did, her voice was harsh and commanding.

"SIT!"

B-TAAAAANNG!

Kagome blinked as she saw Inuyasha's neck glow and then-- he collided face first with the ground, as if he'd been pushed by a weight.

Yura was staring at Kagome, her mouth open in a slight smile.

"La... you used 'sit' as a subduing spell? How amusing."

"A sub-wha?" Kagome's mouth fell open, wondering what the heck Yura was talking about. This was all too weird. But before she could mull on it much longer, the audience --especially the section where Miroku and company were seated-- went wild. Cheers erupted throughout the tent, people laughing and clapping.

After a moment, Inuyasha pushed himself up off the floor and glared at Kagome, his violet eyes narrowed dangerously.

"BITCH!" Kagome swallowed as she turned to face Inuyasha, wondering if his anger-filled insult had the connotations it was supposed to. But there was no way-- how could he possibly know...?

"Hey," Kagome shot back, annoyed and confused, "I didn't mean to! All I said was 'sit'..."

CRASH!

Once again, Inuyasha became personally acquainted with the floor-- face first. Kagome clamped her hands over her mouth, an apologetic expression on her face. She didn't know just what Yura had said or done to her, but there was definitely something was odd about all this.

"Sorry! Sorry, I mean... oops, look, I really didn't mean to--" But Kagome was having a hard time forming sentences, what with the crowd cheering so loudly and Inuyasha slowly twitching, turning his head slightly to face her and glare, ten times the glare from before.

'Inuyasha is going to kill me.' Kagome thought, swallowing.


"I must say," Miroku grinned impishly as the group walked out of the magic tent, "I've never known someone who used their face to 'sit'..." He smirked at Inuyasha, who winced upon usage of the S-word, but nothing happened.

I kept silent, with my hands shoved in my pockets. I was gazing at my feet somewhat forlornly-- after all, I'd messed up what was supposed to be a fun day out with my friends, by going and getting myself hypnotized to HURT one of them!

Inuyasha, for his worth, was staying as far away from me as possible, as I was him. But while I was upset and maybe even sad, he was boiling with unchecked anger. I figured I was a hair's breadth from incurring his wrath --the one Miroku had mentioned so casually while he gave me the tour of YSG-- if I so much as spoke a syllable.

"It's not funny!" Kikyou stated plainly, swatting Miroku upside the head. It was a very "unladylike" action, and something I didn't completely expect from Kikyou. But I was a little bit too involved in my own depression to think much about her.

"How would you like it if you fell face first into the ground after Kagome said 'sit'?" Kikyou continued, then she pressed her lips together, noticing Inuyasha's wince.

Still, nothing happened, so I figured the subduing spell --or whatever it was that Yura had called it-- could only be activated by me.

"Well, what do you think, Kagome?" Kouga asked. I was completely unaware of his devilish grin until after the fact. I looked up at Kouga forlornly, my voice plain and almost monotone.

"I think what we have here is a sit--"

SLAM!

"--uation.." I trailed off uncomfortably. This was not good.

"BIIIIIITCH!"

Definitely not good.


Whoo-hoo! Finally we get the non-AU-ness moving! I hope you noticed the differences between SD and DD-- especially with Yura's "speech." That will most definitely come into play later in the fic. The big changes will start happening from here on out-- events that happened in X chapter in SD might not happen until Y chapter in DD. Get it? Got it? Good.

I hope you liked-- let me know what you think! I managed to finish this up in a few days! Yay me!

See you next chapter! Azurite