A/N: Hello all. I've decided that for now this is going to be in the form of Kagome retelling the beginning of the story. Kind of like flashbacks but not quite as nauseating:) Don't worry, I'm not going to be retelling everything and I am making changes. I just need to get through the initial introductions, etc. Bear with me. Since you all haven't run off by now, I take that as a good sign to continue.
Disclaimer: the only thing I own is this disclaimer... it's sad really.
Japanese words: I usually use Japanese only when it's necessary but I'll put some definitions here anyway.
Osuwari: Sit. Though it has been translated as 'sit boy' on Adult Swim, it can be used for girls as well so I will be using both 'osuwari' and 'sit girl' where I see fit.
Hanyou: Half-breed.
Youkai: Demon.
Baka: (Won't appear in this chapter but I use it frequently) dumb, stupid, idiot, jerk, fool- you get the idea. All depends on how you say it:)
Shikon no Tama: The Jewel of Four Souls, the Shikon Jewel, etc.
That should be all. On a further note, since we're all having a teensy bit of trouble picturing the gender switch- believe me, I share your pain- I've decided to throw in a little appearance description.
Inuyasha: Looks exactly the same except instead of the pants, his fire-rat robe ends just how it sounds, as a robe. In short, let's call it a fire-rat kimono. Hey, if it works for Kagura, I can make it work for Inuyasha! Everything else would be the same except for the addition of some more...ahem...feminine attributes in the upper region and minus the male attributes in the lower region. Sound ok??
Now the funny thing about anime is that nowadays you have to wait for them to tell you who's a girl and who's a guy because the guys tend to be so...feminine (not that I'm complaining about bishounen, mind you). I point this out because it should make it easier to picture Kagome as a male. Kagome looks –exactly- the same (minus the feminine attributes of course), but picture him in Hojo's uniform and there you go. The hair stays my friends. I never thought I'd live to hear myself say this but... Kagome's hot. I know, it's scary.
Anyhow, on to the story and yes, Hojo will indeed be making an appearance... as Kagome's female admirer:) I'm just having trouble turning "Hojo" into a girl's name while still keeping it recognizable. Oh and before I forget, when Kagome is dressed in Kikyo's attire, I have decided that it will be a white shirt with red pants. I'm glad these things are somewhat unisexual:) Please feel free to give suggestions for Hojo's name!
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So there I sat in contemplation while Lady Kaede bandaged my side. She was going on about something but I admit that my attention was elsewhere at the time- mainly on the 'trouble-making hellion.' Yeah, I think that's what Lady Kaede had called her.
I turned my attention back to the priestess, who started to explain the dangers of the jewel. In short, anyone or anything who felt like it, was going to have a go at it. Apparently, the Shikon no Tama grants its owner wishes and makes him/her/it more powerful, explaining why every bloody youkai from here to Timbuktu would come after it. Swell, juuuust swell. Which reminded me...
"So why are –you- here, miss?"
"Hand over the jewel." The girl has no manners. It's that simple.
"Aye it seems that the rosary's holding power has proved effective. Even if she nears the jewel we do not have to worry." I could have sworn that Lady Kaede was secretly smirking on the inside. And maybe not so secretly on the outside.
"So why do you want the jewel miss? You seem to be very powerful already. You don't really need it, do you?" I asked Inuyasha in my most polite tone. I told you, I'm a gentleman. It's not –my- problem she doesn't know how to handle that.
"Have ye not noticed? She is only a half-breed."
It didn't take a genius to see that Inuyasha had a strong dislike for Lady Kaede. How did she make it obvious? Well, for starters, the hole she punched through the floor would be a good sign...
"Listen here hag, you're talkin' like ya know me but I sure as hell never met you before so watch your tongue!"
"Ah, so ye do not recognize me. I thought as much. I am Kaede, the younger sister of Kikyo, who put the spell on ye."
"Kaede? So you're that little whelp that was always hangin' round Kikyo!"
"Aye. Fifty years have passed since ye last saw me Inuyasha."
"Shit you're old... If you're this bad, Kikyo must be pushin' a hundred or somethin'... Sure am glad I ain't a weak human like the rest of ya."
"Kikyo is dead. He passed away the same day that he shot the arrow that pinned ye to the tree."
"Hmm..." She went quiet for a moment. And –only- a moment. "So he kicked the bucket, huh... Keh, what a relief!"
"Do not be too happy yet, Inuyasha. I have come to the conclusion that young Kagome here is the reincarnation of my late brother." 'Yeah people, that's right, I'm still here in case you forgot,' I thought. Why did Inuyasha not seem too enthused about the fact that I was Kikyo's reincarnation? Why did –I- not seem too enthused about it? Call it intuition.
"It is not just your appearance and psychic abilities child, but the simple fact that the Shikon no Tama was within your body is irrefutable proof. You must protect the jewel Kagome. It is your duty." Yeah, I had kinda figured that she was leading up to that.
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I decided to take a little walk around the village. I also wanted to find Inuyasha. I felt kind of bad that we were on such miserable terms already so I thought I'd find her and clear the air a bit. Hopefully, she would have a good appetite 'cause I couldn't possibly finish all the offerings that the villagers had given me by myself. Aren't I a real charmer? I walked around for a while until I saw her, sitting on the branch of a tree. 'Now's as good a time as any,' I thought.
I threw a fruit up at her and she caught it with one hand. Damn, she was good. No, you don't understand, I threw it at her back. Aaanyway...
"Hey Inuyasha, come down! I'll share some of this with you."
"Huh? What's with all the food?"
"They're offerings from the villagers. Why don't you come down so we can eat together?"
I heard a soft 'feh' but she jumped down anyway and started nibbling on some stuff. Of course, she never took her glare off of me.
"You're up to somethin'. I know it."
"Am not." Would this face lie to you? "It's just... you really do hate me, don't you?" Nothing gets a girl like being blunt.
"You've noooooooo idea how much!" she snared at me. I didn't even realize that we were baring fangs at one another. Well, -she- was, at least.
"Listen girl, I already told you, I'm not Kikyo. He's the one you hate, not me." I somehow guessed that my logic was being wasted on this one. I was right. She jumped back up to her branch and wouldn't look at me. I was starting to get insulted by all this but I wouldn't give up, dammit!
"I'm Kagome, not Kikyo, so don't you think you could be a little nicer to me?" I'm a sensitive guy, ok?!
"Are you stupid or somethin? Listen runt, I don't care who the hell you are. In order to get the jewel I have to be merciless!!"
"Is that so? Well, in case you should decide to get violent again, all I need to do is say 'osuwari' and- "
*KERSPLAT!!!*
"Oh! Sorry!! That was unintentional." Darn. I'd forgotten about that. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes.
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After a very tiring day I went to sleep in Kaede's hut, the Shikon no Tama still in my possession, wondering how the heck I was going get back home. I had midterms coming up people, midterms!!! You think youkai are scary? Try taking my math tests. I woke up around midday the next day and decided to go for a little walk. Actually, I was planning on heading back to the well to test my theory. Theory= go back the way I came. It was so simple that it had a chance of working. So I made my way through the forest... How on earth could I have known that I was going to get kidnapped by bandits?!
It's wrong I tell you. You just don't kidnap a guy. But I knew what they wanted, and I wasn't going down without a fight. 'Fight with what?' you may ask. Well, I was still trying to figure that part out. I hit a few punches here and there and knocked a grand total of two idiots down but they were just too many. They grabbed my arms and legs until I couldn't move an inch. This was all, of course, after they made fun of my uniform. 'Now is as good a time to give up as any,' I figured. How was I going to get out of this one?
It got worse when the weird big zombie who was apparently the 'boss' started his rant for the jewel and slicing people in half. These guys weren't kidding around! Now the strange thing is, he was supposed to be aiming for me, but he seemed to be slicin' and dicin' everyone else. I felt kinda bad but hey, I would've felt a lot worse if I had been the one getting diced.
Suddenly, everyone switched to panic mode and started cowering behind me. 'I'm flattered but I'm really not as tough as I look,' I thought. Before I knew it, walls were crumbling down, statues were getting decapitated and I was being chased around by this big thug of a man. Then it occurred to me, since he was after the jewel and all, the only sensible thing to do would be... and seeing as it was as good an option as any... I chugged the stupid little pink thing right outside through the hole in the wall. Did my plan work? That would be a 'no.' The big bully towered above me and raised his sword. I closed my eyes, threw a few prayers here and there and... all of a sudden...
I was saved! ...by Inuyasha... by a girl... but still, I was saved! Man, that girl's my hero. Not that I'd tell her that, of course.
"Is the jewel safe!" I was touched by her overwhelming concern for my well-being.
"Huh?"
"Idiot, I'm asking you if the damn jewel is safe!!!!"
Was it safe? Well... Anyway, you know how I thought there was something wrong with that oaf? No not Inuyasha, I mean the 'boss.' Well it turns out that he was already dead...and being controlled by a crow demon. 'Gee, I feel much better knowing that,' I thought. But Inuyasha just ripped that thing right out. Unfortunately, she didn't bother to kill it.
"It got away! Aren't you going after it?"
"Whaddo I look like, a damn demon hunter? I can't go after every fucking one. There's only one of me, you know."
"But- "
"Don't 'but' me, boy! I'm doin' the fighting, so I decide! Now...about that jewel. WHA-!"
Ah yes, about the jewel indeed... Funny isn't it, how these little things can slip one's mind so easily? Inuyasha didn't think so. I made the crow demon happy, though. Tell me, why did everything insist on eating the jewel like it was the tastiest thing in the world? Maybe youkai are just 'special' that way.
"Is that the jewel in it's beak!!! What's wrong with you, you idiot!!!" I should have chosen not to answer that. But, of course, I did.
"I never said anything about having it on me!" That sounded just as pathetic then as it does now. But in a matter of seconds I was being dragged by Inuyasha towards a bow and a quiver of arrows. 'That's a good one, she expects me to use this?' I thought. Yeah, she did. Not only that, but she was carrying me, carrying –me-, piggy-back style, as we chased the stupid bird. How embarrassing... I'd never hear the end of this if the guys at school ever found out.
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"Come on boy, Kikyo was a master archer. If you're really his reincarnation, take it down in one shot!"
"I told you- I'm Kagome!" Still, I took aim. I gulped. I prayed that Kikyo would lend me some of his power. I was confident and determined. I fired and the arrow flew through the air!...missing the crow by a mile...down it sank...like a rock. Darn.
And speaking of sinking...
*OOMPH!!* We crashed to the ground faster than you can say 'osuwari.' For a girl, this Inuyasha wasn't very graceful.
"Ah... You weren't lying about Kikyo being a master archer were you?" I asked sheepishly, desperately clinging to the small ounce of dignity I thought I had left.
"You must be a klutz! Try it again!" So we tried it again. Hmmm, I think the rule says that it's the –third- time that's supposed to be the charm.
Inuyasha stopped and dropped me straight onto my bottom. Man, every bone in my body was sore after those first few days but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
"You stupid weakling! I don't care what the hag says, there ain't no way in hell you're his reincarnation!" And the little witch left me there! Can you believe it? I'd really tried my best! Good thing I didn't break an arm... or anything worse.
I'll fast forward 'cause it just keeps getting better. The crow decided to capture a little kid for lunch, all the while noisy chick is, as always, being noisy and flying after it. I yell at her to save the child first but does she listen? Of course not. The crow gets...dismembered (rather violently, might I add)...and the poor kid falls into the river. Even better, the crow starts piecing –itself- back together. How many crows do –you- know that can do that? But more to the point, I immediately jumped in after the kid and brought him back to shore. Sure am glad I took those swimming classes. Meanwhile, noisy chick was still raving about the jewel. I shot her a death glare. You'd better believe that she felt it. If I were anything less than a gentleman I'd tell her to just shut up and kiss my a-
"Aaaaaaaah!" So the crow decided to leave a present behind, huh? No, not that kind of present. It was actually it's leg that was still clinging onto the kid's back. You could practically see the light bulb on top of my head as I frantically borrowed a bow and arrow. Didn't I tell you I was smart? I tied the crow's leg to the arrow with the hopes that it would help it reach the demon. I took a deep breath and...fired. I hit my target alright. Oh boy did I hit it... Yeah, well...
Fine, so you want me to spell it out for you? I broke it! I broke the stupid jewel! That's right- shattered it into a hundred some-odd pieces. Did I not tell you that I'd never used a bow before?! Hey, all Inuyasha said was to get the jewel back. She never said anything about getting it back in one piece. I plead innocent. But, as always, fate was unkind to this Higurashi for the moment the crow demon's foot plunged into its body- not to mention the jewel- the sky was lit by a bright light. A bright PINK light. Already I could tell that me and that jewel were going to have problems.
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A/N: Since this chapter was going to be too long, I cut it about midway, that's why I've posted two chapters today. As you can see, I'm not sticking to the original story –completely-. Feedback would be much appreciated. Please don't review asking me to update my other story because I will do it as soon as I can. Other than that, see you all in the next chapter!
