WARNING: Very short, very weird chapter!!
Chapter VII: Returning Home
Kaede sat down on a boulder, waiting for Kagome and Naraku to return. Her dark eyes were downcast in worry. "Kagome-chan, please be alright."
"Kaede-san?"
Kaede slowly looked down to see Kiochi holding a basketful of freshly harvested rice to her side. "Lady Kiochi, they are still not here yet."
"Do not worry, child, they will come back, I know it," the soft-spoken miko replied. "Have faith in Naraku-san."
"And what of the Shikon no Tama? That will surely endanger Kagome-chan!"
"We can only pray for their safety... Kaede, have you seen Kikyou anywhere? I have not seen her for a while now." Kiochi carefully set down the rice and sat down on the boulder also. "Have you told her that Inuyasha-sama's brother had come here to kill her?"
"Yes, I've seen her around, and yes, I told her about Sesshoumaru. Although... she did not seem the least bit alarmed.'"
---Yesterday night
"Kaede, have you seen Naraku-kun?" Kikyou called out to her sister, who was practicing her archery, as usual. Kaede wanted to shudder at the way Kikyou addressed Naraku. 'Naraku-KUN?' "Yes," the young soon-to-be miko replied dryly.
"Well? Where has he gone?"
"To go find Kagome-chan."
"That girl? Ugh. I am not fond of her...," Kikyou's eyes burned with some sort of negative emotion, coldly, the drop out miko cast her dark eyes towards Kaede. "Why is he looking for her?"
"Kagome-chan's been missing for quite a while. We are sure she did not go back to her time," Kaede answered, letting her arms go down to her sides. She turned to face her sister.
"Do you mind telling me just what has happened that caused her to disappear and expect Naraku to come save her?"
"Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru had come here to kill you. Unfortunately, he stumbled upon Kagome-chan and thought her to be you. Then he tried to kill her, and Onigumo-chan came and saved Kagome. But as a result, Sesshoumaru inflicted a wound onto Onigumo-chan's shoulder and poisoned him into unconsciousness for a while."
Kikyou gasped. "Naraku-kun was hurt?!"
"...Hai," Kaede cast a smug look towards Kikyou, noticing the feigned sign of worry. "Kagome-chan went to the village to retrieve some herbs for him. Later, when the herbs were given to Naraku, who was still unconscious, Kagome started to dwell in guilt, saying that it was all her fault that he was injured. She decided to take a walk to contemplate her feelings and just disappeared."
"Hmph. So the girl of the future had gotten herself lost, Naraku's looking for her with a possibly still injured shoulder, and Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru, had come here to kill me? Is that all?"
"What? Are you not the least bit worried that he might come after you again?!"
"Of course not. I will just kill him as well. I have been told to kill anyone in the way of the assassination. That includes the hanyou's brother, Sesshoumaru."
"I don't believe that Sesshoumaru is as vulnerable as his sibling, Kikyou. Take heed of this warning, steer clear of Sesshoumaru's direction."
"I am not the least bit threatened." Kikyou cast a last cold glance towards Kaede and went on her way back to the village to have some 'friendly' conversation with a few males, yet her mind was not clear of any thoughts about Naraku, Kagome, or Sesshoumaru.
---Present time
Kaede looked up at the gray sky. "She wasn't the least bit alarmed..." her eyes soon had a faraway look, as she started to ponder about things. Kiochi carefully brushed her long blue-raven bangs behind her ears and jumped down from the boulder, the rice basket held firmly at her side. 'Kaede has been acting more observing lately...'
She looked up at the distracted Kaede thoughtfully. 'Kaede.. you are so mature, even more so than your elder sister. But... perhaps you are growing up too fast, my child.'
*
Two figures sat in a small dim room. One was Kikyou, the other was a shady figure dressed in black and crimson robes. His face was not discernible, for he wore a hood that shaded almost his whole face. All that was visible was a pair of bright blue eyes coming from the dark depths.
"So, Sesshoumaru had tried to kill you?"
"Hai. He will corrupt your plans if he shall succeed in doing so."
"I see. He thought that girl from the future was you? And what will you do about it?"
"I will kill him."
"Very good. I want to show you something," The shady figure stood up and walked out of the dim room. Kikyou tensed nervously, waiting for him to return. He came back in a few minutes, carrying a few arrows. He sat down on the floor across from Kikyou and set the arrows down on the low table.
"These, my friend, are made of the same stone as the dagger Hitomi had used upon Inutaisho. You will not be able to eliminate Sesshoumaru very easily with a dagger, for it would prove to be too slow. These arrows had taken a few months to make."
Kikyou ran a finger down the arrow's point. She had barely touched the blade, and yet a deep cut formed on her finger. She gasped in alarm. The man chuckled. "Powerful, isn't it?"
Kikyou nodded silently and turned her brown eyes onto his shocking blue eyes. "I will not be able to kill Sesshoumaru alone, though. My archery skills are," Kikyou paused, embarrassment written clearly all over her face, "in poor condition, and even if I was a skilled archer, I doubt I would hit him. His speed is indescribable, after all."
"Do not worry, dear Kikyou. I have a small plan for our little demon that would make it simply impossible to miss."
Kikyou nodded once more and left with the arrows, although somewhat confused. The man who was now alone smirked. 'My friend, Inutaisho. How I wish you were still alive to witness the pain your noble son will go through... physically and mentally.' His bright blue eyes flashed in malevolence. 'Both your sons will die by human hands, just like you had.'
~
Naraku halted right infront of the shrine and looked sideways at Kagome, as if signaling her to get off his back. He was relatively surprised to see her sleeping soundlessly. Gently, the hanyou nudged her a little. She yawned. "Uhh.. we here already?"
Naraku nodded as Kagome got off him.
"Sorry.. the way you were running sort of lulled me to sleep or something," Kagome said sheepishly. She yawned once more. "I need to go see Kiochi and tell her what happened to the Shikon Jewel. Are you coming alo-"
"Naraku-kun, you're here!" Kikyou ran out of the shrine, wearing, (to Kagome and Naraku's surprise) a miko outfit. She stopped right infront of Naraku and looked up at him worriedly. "Kaede told me everything. How is your shoulder?"
Kagome smiled weakly, noticing how Kikyou was ignoring her presence entirely. 'Maybe I should leave these two alone now.' She walked up the steps of the shrine, entered, and was tackled by a blur of white and red. She looked down to see Kaede hugging her. "Kagome-chan!!! We were so worried!"
"Kaede..." Kagome hugged the girl back. When they parted, Kagome nervously put her hand into her pocket, fingering a bottle that contained 11 shards. "Where is Kiochi-san?"
"She's in the village, I don't she'll be back in a while. A strong monster is currently running around the village, and Lady Kiochi is tracking it down. Why do you wish to see her?"
"No reason," Kagome answered shortly. 'I'll just tell her later, with Kiochi-san. Since Kiochi-san isn't going to be back for a while, I might as well go back to my time, if only for a little while. I need to see my family again.' "Kaede, I'm going back to my time for a little bit, okay? If Kiochi gets back before I get back, could you tell her where I am?"
"Sure."
"Alright, then! I'm sorry I'm leaving so suddenly, I really need to see my family again. I know I've only been here a few days, but I told them I'd be here for only one. They must be worried sick about me."
"Okay. I'll tell Lady Kiochi everything."
"Thanks, Kaede! Oh, and by the way, if you see Sesshoumaru, don't attack him, 'cause he's sorta not our enemy anymore. Bye!" with one last hug, Kagome ran out of the shrine, leaving a very confused Kaede.
She ran down the wooden steps and noticed Naraku and Kikyou were no longer where she had left them. She shrugged and decided that Kaede can tell Naraku where she is. Excited on going home, Kagome began to sprint the direction of the Bone-eater's Well. 'I'm going to see them again! Mom, Grandpa, Souta... wait a minute! I forgot to tell Sesshoumaru!!' Kagome stopped running to her destination hesitantly and sighed. 'I guess my family can wait. He'll be here in a few-'
An unexpected wind blew, and Sesshoumaru appeared a few yards infront of her. Kagome stared with twitching eyes. "Wow. THAT was fast."
Sesshoumaru didn't reply and set Rin down, who had been currently riding on his back. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she madly dashed at Kagome, who thus gets tackled the second time that day. Kagome looked down and patted the little girl in the head.
Satisfied by the small gesture, Rin pulled away. "Rin was worried about Okaa-san!! Okaa-san, don't leave Sesshoumaru-sama's side, he'll protect you forever and ever!" Rin blurted, a wide, innocent smile visible on her face.
Kagome twitched again at the mention of 'Okaa-san' and remembered she had agreed to be Rin's new mother.
"'Okaa-san?'" Sesshoumaru queried, raising an eyebrow.
"Ahh, I uh, agreed to be her mother, that's all," Kagome said rather too quickly. Sesshoumaru noticed this, and turned to Rin. "Rin, why did you call her 'Okaa-san?'"
"Kagome-chan is Rin's Okaa-san, like Sesshoumaru-sama is Rin's Otou-san!"
Sesshoumaru's cold, hard expression didn't change one bit. "Rin."
"Hai?"
"I..." 'am not your father, nor will I ever will be.' "Go play. Do not go to far."
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
Kagome kept her eyes on Rin, who merrily skipped away. She looked up at Sesshoumaru.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way or anything, I just couldn't say no to the girl when she asked me to be her mother! And I bet you were going to tell her off, when she did the face."
"What absurdity do you speak of?"
"The puppy dog face! Although I don't think she was even trying. Admit it, she's just too cute to reprimand harshly," Kagome stated. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You already did."
"Tch! You really are the arrogant type, aren't you?"
"Perhaps."
"Why exactly did you take in Rin?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes had a thoughtful glisten to it. 'That is a rather complicated question.' "She," Sesshoumaru paused, as if searching for the right words, "Is different. Not only is her smell, but her aura, I suppose."
"I see. And what about traits?"
"...traits?" Sesshoumaru was actually more than slightly but less than mildly interested in this small conversation.
"You know, their personality. Personally, I think Rin's traits are extremely adorable, and that's putting it lightly."
"These 'traits' as you say it, are nothing but a show of human emotion. And I believe," Sesshoumaru added coldly, "that human emotions are nothing but objects in the way. That is another quality humans contain that makes them weaker."
"That's your opinion. Another question? Did you judge me by scent and aura, too?"
Sesshoumaru looked more thoughtful with this question than the last. "You are more.... complicated than most humans." 'Interestingly complicated, no doubt,' he added mentally.
"Hey! Whaddya mean, COMPLICATED? Oi, am I annoying or something?" Kagome suddenly felt a bit self-conscious and sighed. "Oh, never mind. Each question I ask will only draw more questions."
Sesshoumaru kept silent in reply, as usual. Kagome turned so her back was facing Sesshoumaru. "I'm going home, but I'll be back in two hours or so," Kagome sharply turned her gaze back to Sesshoumaru, a big smile clear on her face. "Hey, if you want, you can come with me and I'll show you where I live!"
The dog demon nodded, and followed Kagome into the forest. "You do not live in the human village?"
"No.."
Sesshoumaru nodded once more, a bit perplexed by the fact that Kagome was leading him into the forest. 'Conceivably she lives in the forest?'
"Here we are!" Kagome paused from walking and turned to Sesshoumaru once more, her hand pointing at a well in the middle of the clearing they were at. "That's where I live!"
"I see."
"What?! You're not even the least bit surprised?!" Kagome exclaimed. She had expected to see him just a little bit astounded. "Why not?"
"You fool, do you really suppose that I would actually believe you live in such a place? I have more logic than that," he lazily sauntered over to the well and looked down upon it. Thoroughly, he inhaled the aroma that hung around the well. "You've past through this well many times. In that case, this well is some sort of dimensional portal, in my theory."
Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru. 'Darn it!! He's right...' Scoffing, she crossed her arms and averted her gaze. "Hmph! That's a no-brainer."
"What kind of dimension does this well intersect with?" he asked blankly, looking down the well once more.
"The future, about 500 hundred years into. If a day passes here, then a day passes in the future also. To get through this well, I need the Shikon Jewel." Kagome took out the small bottle filled with Shikon shards. "I think it might work with shards also..." she walked over to the well and was about to jump in. "I'll be back, in two or three hours. Don't pick any fights with Naraku while I'm gone. I know how you two don't get along that much."
Sesshoumaru nodded once and turned to leave. Kagome jumped into the well, taking the simple nod as a confirmation.
~
Naraku sat down on a tree, monitoring Kikyou, who was practicing archery, trying her best to get a bulls-eye. At an average, he'd say she was very mediocre. Only two arrows had actually hit the bulls-eye, and many hit the outer ring. Some of the arrows didn't even make it to the target. Naraku wanted to yawn out of boredom. Watching her practice was as monotonous as watching absolutely nothing. Obviously uninterested, the dark haired hanyou felt his eyes slowly closing.
Kikyou noticed this and felt slightly irritated. 'Naraku, you're supposed to watch me practice!!' she protested in her head. Without thinking, she aimed the arrow straight at Naraku who was napping on the tree, and shot. (Stupid, stupid attention-wanting Kikyou) As if on accident, she gasped and called out. "Naraku-kun, look out!"
Opening one eye, Naraku lazily caught the arrow between his middle and forefinger. Idly, his gaze turned to Kikyou. "What was that?"
"I missed. I'm so sorry, I didn't hurt you, did I?" Kikyou pouted childishly. Her hands were on her hips and she was leaning forward. He's seen that pose before... ah, yes. Kagome was the first one he'd ever seen do that. 'Is Kikyou possibly trying to imitate her?' After all, Kikyou had never acted that way before. 'Amusing. She is trying to catch my attention by feigning Kagome's personality.' He let out a small hardhearted chuckle. Kikyou in return took that chuckle to be a positive reply and continued to act inanely like Kagome.
The fact that she was trying to act like Kagome was starting to pester him.
With a look of annoyance, Naraku broke the arrow in his possession in half using his middle and forefinger. "That's new. You missed the target by a few yards. Possibly, you need more practice than you thought."
Getting up from his sitting position, he glanced at Kikyou one more time. "Maybe you should train alone for awhile. I'm afraid if I stick around any longer I might wind up dead and lodged with arrows."
Kikyou could only stare, dumbstruck, as Naraku casually walked away. 'He's starting to lose interest in me. It is that girl, Kagome's fault. After I kill this Sesshoumaru, I shall eliminate her as well, if she gets in my way any longer.'
~
'Why Kikyou had decided to take up on archery once more? She is a strange one, always doing things to surprise me,' Naraku thought as he walked through the green forests. 'Now to go find the girl..'
~
Kagome landed on the well bottom gently. She looked up and heard voices, Souta's, her Grandfather's, and her mother's. "Are you sure this will bring her back, Otou-san?"
"Of course! We make a small offering to the well, and it's bound to give us back our Kagome!" replied her grandfather's voice.
"Does it have to be Sake? Why can't it be one of your ancient historical artifacts? I don't think the well's an alcoholic," her mother retorted.
"It's not for the well! It's for the spirits of the well. And what do you mean, 'why can't it be one of my ancient artifacts?!' Are you completely out of your mind?!"
"Oh, so are you saying some piece of trash is more important than your granddaughter?!"
"Could you two just be quiet and do it already?!" shouted Souta. The bickering adults stopped bickering and looked down the well.
Kagome sighed. 'Finally they stopped talking. Maybe I could get their attention now.' "Mo-"
"O, Great Spirit of the Well, I grant you thy Rice Wine, if you would only give back my beloved Granddaughter!"
Kagome felt her blood at boiling point and was about to yell something when she was suddenly drenched in liquid. 'Okay, keep it cool, girl. This is only... sake.'
"MOM, GRAMPS, SOUTA, I'M DOWN HERE!!!" she roared angrily.
"Kagome? Oh Kagome I was so worried!" her mother's voice called from atop the well.
"I told you it would work! I should be the most powerful priest in all of Japan!" her grandfather boasted.
"Oh yeah sure, you're the most powerful priest, the most powerfully freeloading priest!" her mother added hotly.
"It's not MY fault there is no pay for being a priest," her Grandfather muttered. "I should be a saint for doing such good deeds for free."
"You really ARE cheap! This is the first time one of your 'deeds' had worked after all. Mother was right! You could never get a decent job, she was smart for leaving you..." Mrs. Higurashi ranted on. Soon there was a big argument between Kagome's Grandpa and Mrs. Higurashi.
Kagome sighed and slid down against the wall of the well, landing on her rear rather painfully. "Well, they weren't as worried as I thought they'd be." She sighed. 'From the way this argument looks, I won't be able to see the surface of this well for a few days."
~
RPG-girl:
Well. This was a rather short, strange chapter. No romance or action or anything. Just a weird chapter.
I've decided to let some characters from the series make an appearance. That means Shippou, Sango, Kouga, as well as our favorite little perverted monk and more. I think I'll make each character make an appearance in their own chapters. A reviewer pointed out that none of these characters, (Sango, Shippou, Miroku, etc) should be born yet. But since this is AU, they will be! ^_^
Someone sent me an email yesterday, saying how I made many mistakes according to the storyline. Let me make a few things clear.
1: I know Inutaisho had died sealing off Ryuukotsusei.
2: I know that fluffy boa around Sesshoumaru's arm is not actually a tail, it'd just be fun to picture it as such!
3: This fic is an AU. AU. AU. AU. AU. How many times do I have to repeat that?!
Woo. Sorry, my fuse is kind of short because I've been having a bad day today. I'm so ashamed to be having to take it out on the lovely reviewers out there. Gomen nasai!! One of the reasons is because I got a B on an exam. B's are evil. Another reason is because my younger sibling took my very beautiful, very loved kimono to her school to show it off and got it all dirty. -_-
I'll be quiet now and do the review responses!
Review Responses:
L o k i: Frankly, I don't know what attribute I gave him that makes him so attractive either. Maybe I gave him a little bit of Sesshoumaru's personality or something. Ahh, I love your review, L o k i-sama! Very flattering! I'm honored to be getting praise from someone who doesn't give praise easily (and of course, someone who happens to be a great fanfic writer, don't think I didn't check out your author's profile and saw all those amazing stories). I'm glad you like my story, and thank you so much!
Mar: here is the update! I'm glad you love it and thank you for reviewing again!
Lily1121: Here's some more! Thank you for loving this story!
Cin of An Angel: ^_^ Everyone's going to make a 'cameo appearance', in case you were wondering. Inuyasha IS clueless, isn't he? Poor guy doesn't know Kikyou's going to try to kill him. He doesn't know she's been two-timing him either. Don't worry, though, good things will come his way! And, plus, do you really think the triangle between the main characters of the story is going too fast? Gomen, I'll slow down a bit! Thank you for reviewing!
Faith: Don't take that last review reply as a spoiler. I was merely stating that Sesshoumaru and Kagome are my favorite couple, but that doesn't mean this fic's definitely going to end up Sess/Kag. It might, but it also might NOT. Thank you for reviewing!
Kimusume kaoru: Here's the next chapter! It's not much, but this is it! Could I say something that's kind of out of topic? Okay, "I LOVE SANOSUKE, KENSHIN AND AOSHI!!" Ahem... sorry about that, I couldn't help it. Thank you!
Anim8teen: Here's the update. Thank you for reviewing.
Yuma: ACK! After reading your review, I sort of snapped and typed faster. Well, at least now you wouldn't hunt me down and skin me alive... would you? Thank you so much for reviewing!
Fawnsess: Oy, Not again!! *melts into a puddle* NOOOOO!!! Ahem. Thank you for melting those JUVENILE monkeys! And reviewing! ~
RPG-girl: *Looks up at reviews* Well, from the looks of it, the machine in me that makes me say 'thank you' isn't fixed yet. I'm definitely going to put those monkeys in the timeout room. Gomen nasai for saying this, but I won't update until I at least get ten to fifteen reviews.. come on people, just ten or more reviews per chapter, okay?
Sayonara!
Chapter VII: Returning Home
Kaede sat down on a boulder, waiting for Kagome and Naraku to return. Her dark eyes were downcast in worry. "Kagome-chan, please be alright."
"Kaede-san?"
Kaede slowly looked down to see Kiochi holding a basketful of freshly harvested rice to her side. "Lady Kiochi, they are still not here yet."
"Do not worry, child, they will come back, I know it," the soft-spoken miko replied. "Have faith in Naraku-san."
"And what of the Shikon no Tama? That will surely endanger Kagome-chan!"
"We can only pray for their safety... Kaede, have you seen Kikyou anywhere? I have not seen her for a while now." Kiochi carefully set down the rice and sat down on the boulder also. "Have you told her that Inuyasha-sama's brother had come here to kill her?"
"Yes, I've seen her around, and yes, I told her about Sesshoumaru. Although... she did not seem the least bit alarmed.'"
---Yesterday night
"Kaede, have you seen Naraku-kun?" Kikyou called out to her sister, who was practicing her archery, as usual. Kaede wanted to shudder at the way Kikyou addressed Naraku. 'Naraku-KUN?' "Yes," the young soon-to-be miko replied dryly.
"Well? Where has he gone?"
"To go find Kagome-chan."
"That girl? Ugh. I am not fond of her...," Kikyou's eyes burned with some sort of negative emotion, coldly, the drop out miko cast her dark eyes towards Kaede. "Why is he looking for her?"
"Kagome-chan's been missing for quite a while. We are sure she did not go back to her time," Kaede answered, letting her arms go down to her sides. She turned to face her sister.
"Do you mind telling me just what has happened that caused her to disappear and expect Naraku to come save her?"
"Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru had come here to kill you. Unfortunately, he stumbled upon Kagome-chan and thought her to be you. Then he tried to kill her, and Onigumo-chan came and saved Kagome. But as a result, Sesshoumaru inflicted a wound onto Onigumo-chan's shoulder and poisoned him into unconsciousness for a while."
Kikyou gasped. "Naraku-kun was hurt?!"
"...Hai," Kaede cast a smug look towards Kikyou, noticing the feigned sign of worry. "Kagome-chan went to the village to retrieve some herbs for him. Later, when the herbs were given to Naraku, who was still unconscious, Kagome started to dwell in guilt, saying that it was all her fault that he was injured. She decided to take a walk to contemplate her feelings and just disappeared."
"Hmph. So the girl of the future had gotten herself lost, Naraku's looking for her with a possibly still injured shoulder, and Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru, had come here to kill me? Is that all?"
"What? Are you not the least bit worried that he might come after you again?!"
"Of course not. I will just kill him as well. I have been told to kill anyone in the way of the assassination. That includes the hanyou's brother, Sesshoumaru."
"I don't believe that Sesshoumaru is as vulnerable as his sibling, Kikyou. Take heed of this warning, steer clear of Sesshoumaru's direction."
"I am not the least bit threatened." Kikyou cast a last cold glance towards Kaede and went on her way back to the village to have some 'friendly' conversation with a few males, yet her mind was not clear of any thoughts about Naraku, Kagome, or Sesshoumaru.
---Present time
Kaede looked up at the gray sky. "She wasn't the least bit alarmed..." her eyes soon had a faraway look, as she started to ponder about things. Kiochi carefully brushed her long blue-raven bangs behind her ears and jumped down from the boulder, the rice basket held firmly at her side. 'Kaede has been acting more observing lately...'
She looked up at the distracted Kaede thoughtfully. 'Kaede.. you are so mature, even more so than your elder sister. But... perhaps you are growing up too fast, my child.'
*
Two figures sat in a small dim room. One was Kikyou, the other was a shady figure dressed in black and crimson robes. His face was not discernible, for he wore a hood that shaded almost his whole face. All that was visible was a pair of bright blue eyes coming from the dark depths.
"So, Sesshoumaru had tried to kill you?"
"Hai. He will corrupt your plans if he shall succeed in doing so."
"I see. He thought that girl from the future was you? And what will you do about it?"
"I will kill him."
"Very good. I want to show you something," The shady figure stood up and walked out of the dim room. Kikyou tensed nervously, waiting for him to return. He came back in a few minutes, carrying a few arrows. He sat down on the floor across from Kikyou and set the arrows down on the low table.
"These, my friend, are made of the same stone as the dagger Hitomi had used upon Inutaisho. You will not be able to eliminate Sesshoumaru very easily with a dagger, for it would prove to be too slow. These arrows had taken a few months to make."
Kikyou ran a finger down the arrow's point. She had barely touched the blade, and yet a deep cut formed on her finger. She gasped in alarm. The man chuckled. "Powerful, isn't it?"
Kikyou nodded silently and turned her brown eyes onto his shocking blue eyes. "I will not be able to kill Sesshoumaru alone, though. My archery skills are," Kikyou paused, embarrassment written clearly all over her face, "in poor condition, and even if I was a skilled archer, I doubt I would hit him. His speed is indescribable, after all."
"Do not worry, dear Kikyou. I have a small plan for our little demon that would make it simply impossible to miss."
Kikyou nodded once more and left with the arrows, although somewhat confused. The man who was now alone smirked. 'My friend, Inutaisho. How I wish you were still alive to witness the pain your noble son will go through... physically and mentally.' His bright blue eyes flashed in malevolence. 'Both your sons will die by human hands, just like you had.'
~
Naraku halted right infront of the shrine and looked sideways at Kagome, as if signaling her to get off his back. He was relatively surprised to see her sleeping soundlessly. Gently, the hanyou nudged her a little. She yawned. "Uhh.. we here already?"
Naraku nodded as Kagome got off him.
"Sorry.. the way you were running sort of lulled me to sleep or something," Kagome said sheepishly. She yawned once more. "I need to go see Kiochi and tell her what happened to the Shikon Jewel. Are you coming alo-"
"Naraku-kun, you're here!" Kikyou ran out of the shrine, wearing, (to Kagome and Naraku's surprise) a miko outfit. She stopped right infront of Naraku and looked up at him worriedly. "Kaede told me everything. How is your shoulder?"
Kagome smiled weakly, noticing how Kikyou was ignoring her presence entirely. 'Maybe I should leave these two alone now.' She walked up the steps of the shrine, entered, and was tackled by a blur of white and red. She looked down to see Kaede hugging her. "Kagome-chan!!! We were so worried!"
"Kaede..." Kagome hugged the girl back. When they parted, Kagome nervously put her hand into her pocket, fingering a bottle that contained 11 shards. "Where is Kiochi-san?"
"She's in the village, I don't she'll be back in a while. A strong monster is currently running around the village, and Lady Kiochi is tracking it down. Why do you wish to see her?"
"No reason," Kagome answered shortly. 'I'll just tell her later, with Kiochi-san. Since Kiochi-san isn't going to be back for a while, I might as well go back to my time, if only for a little while. I need to see my family again.' "Kaede, I'm going back to my time for a little bit, okay? If Kiochi gets back before I get back, could you tell her where I am?"
"Sure."
"Alright, then! I'm sorry I'm leaving so suddenly, I really need to see my family again. I know I've only been here a few days, but I told them I'd be here for only one. They must be worried sick about me."
"Okay. I'll tell Lady Kiochi everything."
"Thanks, Kaede! Oh, and by the way, if you see Sesshoumaru, don't attack him, 'cause he's sorta not our enemy anymore. Bye!" with one last hug, Kagome ran out of the shrine, leaving a very confused Kaede.
She ran down the wooden steps and noticed Naraku and Kikyou were no longer where she had left them. She shrugged and decided that Kaede can tell Naraku where she is. Excited on going home, Kagome began to sprint the direction of the Bone-eater's Well. 'I'm going to see them again! Mom, Grandpa, Souta... wait a minute! I forgot to tell Sesshoumaru!!' Kagome stopped running to her destination hesitantly and sighed. 'I guess my family can wait. He'll be here in a few-'
An unexpected wind blew, and Sesshoumaru appeared a few yards infront of her. Kagome stared with twitching eyes. "Wow. THAT was fast."
Sesshoumaru didn't reply and set Rin down, who had been currently riding on his back. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she madly dashed at Kagome, who thus gets tackled the second time that day. Kagome looked down and patted the little girl in the head.
Satisfied by the small gesture, Rin pulled away. "Rin was worried about Okaa-san!! Okaa-san, don't leave Sesshoumaru-sama's side, he'll protect you forever and ever!" Rin blurted, a wide, innocent smile visible on her face.
Kagome twitched again at the mention of 'Okaa-san' and remembered she had agreed to be Rin's new mother.
"'Okaa-san?'" Sesshoumaru queried, raising an eyebrow.
"Ahh, I uh, agreed to be her mother, that's all," Kagome said rather too quickly. Sesshoumaru noticed this, and turned to Rin. "Rin, why did you call her 'Okaa-san?'"
"Kagome-chan is Rin's Okaa-san, like Sesshoumaru-sama is Rin's Otou-san!"
Sesshoumaru's cold, hard expression didn't change one bit. "Rin."
"Hai?"
"I..." 'am not your father, nor will I ever will be.' "Go play. Do not go to far."
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
Kagome kept her eyes on Rin, who merrily skipped away. She looked up at Sesshoumaru.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way or anything, I just couldn't say no to the girl when she asked me to be her mother! And I bet you were going to tell her off, when she did the face."
"What absurdity do you speak of?"
"The puppy dog face! Although I don't think she was even trying. Admit it, she's just too cute to reprimand harshly," Kagome stated. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You already did."
"Tch! You really are the arrogant type, aren't you?"
"Perhaps."
"Why exactly did you take in Rin?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes had a thoughtful glisten to it. 'That is a rather complicated question.' "She," Sesshoumaru paused, as if searching for the right words, "Is different. Not only is her smell, but her aura, I suppose."
"I see. And what about traits?"
"...traits?" Sesshoumaru was actually more than slightly but less than mildly interested in this small conversation.
"You know, their personality. Personally, I think Rin's traits are extremely adorable, and that's putting it lightly."
"These 'traits' as you say it, are nothing but a show of human emotion. And I believe," Sesshoumaru added coldly, "that human emotions are nothing but objects in the way. That is another quality humans contain that makes them weaker."
"That's your opinion. Another question? Did you judge me by scent and aura, too?"
Sesshoumaru looked more thoughtful with this question than the last. "You are more.... complicated than most humans." 'Interestingly complicated, no doubt,' he added mentally.
"Hey! Whaddya mean, COMPLICATED? Oi, am I annoying or something?" Kagome suddenly felt a bit self-conscious and sighed. "Oh, never mind. Each question I ask will only draw more questions."
Sesshoumaru kept silent in reply, as usual. Kagome turned so her back was facing Sesshoumaru. "I'm going home, but I'll be back in two hours or so," Kagome sharply turned her gaze back to Sesshoumaru, a big smile clear on her face. "Hey, if you want, you can come with me and I'll show you where I live!"
The dog demon nodded, and followed Kagome into the forest. "You do not live in the human village?"
"No.."
Sesshoumaru nodded once more, a bit perplexed by the fact that Kagome was leading him into the forest. 'Conceivably she lives in the forest?'
"Here we are!" Kagome paused from walking and turned to Sesshoumaru once more, her hand pointing at a well in the middle of the clearing they were at. "That's where I live!"
"I see."
"What?! You're not even the least bit surprised?!" Kagome exclaimed. She had expected to see him just a little bit astounded. "Why not?"
"You fool, do you really suppose that I would actually believe you live in such a place? I have more logic than that," he lazily sauntered over to the well and looked down upon it. Thoroughly, he inhaled the aroma that hung around the well. "You've past through this well many times. In that case, this well is some sort of dimensional portal, in my theory."
Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru. 'Darn it!! He's right...' Scoffing, she crossed her arms and averted her gaze. "Hmph! That's a no-brainer."
"What kind of dimension does this well intersect with?" he asked blankly, looking down the well once more.
"The future, about 500 hundred years into. If a day passes here, then a day passes in the future also. To get through this well, I need the Shikon Jewel." Kagome took out the small bottle filled with Shikon shards. "I think it might work with shards also..." she walked over to the well and was about to jump in. "I'll be back, in two or three hours. Don't pick any fights with Naraku while I'm gone. I know how you two don't get along that much."
Sesshoumaru nodded once and turned to leave. Kagome jumped into the well, taking the simple nod as a confirmation.
~
Naraku sat down on a tree, monitoring Kikyou, who was practicing archery, trying her best to get a bulls-eye. At an average, he'd say she was very mediocre. Only two arrows had actually hit the bulls-eye, and many hit the outer ring. Some of the arrows didn't even make it to the target. Naraku wanted to yawn out of boredom. Watching her practice was as monotonous as watching absolutely nothing. Obviously uninterested, the dark haired hanyou felt his eyes slowly closing.
Kikyou noticed this and felt slightly irritated. 'Naraku, you're supposed to watch me practice!!' she protested in her head. Without thinking, she aimed the arrow straight at Naraku who was napping on the tree, and shot. (Stupid, stupid attention-wanting Kikyou) As if on accident, she gasped and called out. "Naraku-kun, look out!"
Opening one eye, Naraku lazily caught the arrow between his middle and forefinger. Idly, his gaze turned to Kikyou. "What was that?"
"I missed. I'm so sorry, I didn't hurt you, did I?" Kikyou pouted childishly. Her hands were on her hips and she was leaning forward. He's seen that pose before... ah, yes. Kagome was the first one he'd ever seen do that. 'Is Kikyou possibly trying to imitate her?' After all, Kikyou had never acted that way before. 'Amusing. She is trying to catch my attention by feigning Kagome's personality.' He let out a small hardhearted chuckle. Kikyou in return took that chuckle to be a positive reply and continued to act inanely like Kagome.
The fact that she was trying to act like Kagome was starting to pester him.
With a look of annoyance, Naraku broke the arrow in his possession in half using his middle and forefinger. "That's new. You missed the target by a few yards. Possibly, you need more practice than you thought."
Getting up from his sitting position, he glanced at Kikyou one more time. "Maybe you should train alone for awhile. I'm afraid if I stick around any longer I might wind up dead and lodged with arrows."
Kikyou could only stare, dumbstruck, as Naraku casually walked away. 'He's starting to lose interest in me. It is that girl, Kagome's fault. After I kill this Sesshoumaru, I shall eliminate her as well, if she gets in my way any longer.'
~
'Why Kikyou had decided to take up on archery once more? She is a strange one, always doing things to surprise me,' Naraku thought as he walked through the green forests. 'Now to go find the girl..'
~
Kagome landed on the well bottom gently. She looked up and heard voices, Souta's, her Grandfather's, and her mother's. "Are you sure this will bring her back, Otou-san?"
"Of course! We make a small offering to the well, and it's bound to give us back our Kagome!" replied her grandfather's voice.
"Does it have to be Sake? Why can't it be one of your ancient historical artifacts? I don't think the well's an alcoholic," her mother retorted.
"It's not for the well! It's for the spirits of the well. And what do you mean, 'why can't it be one of my ancient artifacts?!' Are you completely out of your mind?!"
"Oh, so are you saying some piece of trash is more important than your granddaughter?!"
"Could you two just be quiet and do it already?!" shouted Souta. The bickering adults stopped bickering and looked down the well.
Kagome sighed. 'Finally they stopped talking. Maybe I could get their attention now.' "Mo-"
"O, Great Spirit of the Well, I grant you thy Rice Wine, if you would only give back my beloved Granddaughter!"
Kagome felt her blood at boiling point and was about to yell something when she was suddenly drenched in liquid. 'Okay, keep it cool, girl. This is only... sake.'
"MOM, GRAMPS, SOUTA, I'M DOWN HERE!!!" she roared angrily.
"Kagome? Oh Kagome I was so worried!" her mother's voice called from atop the well.
"I told you it would work! I should be the most powerful priest in all of Japan!" her grandfather boasted.
"Oh yeah sure, you're the most powerful priest, the most powerfully freeloading priest!" her mother added hotly.
"It's not MY fault there is no pay for being a priest," her Grandfather muttered. "I should be a saint for doing such good deeds for free."
"You really ARE cheap! This is the first time one of your 'deeds' had worked after all. Mother was right! You could never get a decent job, she was smart for leaving you..." Mrs. Higurashi ranted on. Soon there was a big argument between Kagome's Grandpa and Mrs. Higurashi.
Kagome sighed and slid down against the wall of the well, landing on her rear rather painfully. "Well, they weren't as worried as I thought they'd be." She sighed. 'From the way this argument looks, I won't be able to see the surface of this well for a few days."
~
RPG-girl:
Well. This was a rather short, strange chapter. No romance or action or anything. Just a weird chapter.
I've decided to let some characters from the series make an appearance. That means Shippou, Sango, Kouga, as well as our favorite little perverted monk and more. I think I'll make each character make an appearance in their own chapters. A reviewer pointed out that none of these characters, (Sango, Shippou, Miroku, etc) should be born yet. But since this is AU, they will be! ^_^
Someone sent me an email yesterday, saying how I made many mistakes according to the storyline. Let me make a few things clear.
1: I know Inutaisho had died sealing off Ryuukotsusei.
2: I know that fluffy boa around Sesshoumaru's arm is not actually a tail, it'd just be fun to picture it as such!
3: This fic is an AU. AU. AU. AU. AU. How many times do I have to repeat that?!
Woo. Sorry, my fuse is kind of short because I've been having a bad day today. I'm so ashamed to be having to take it out on the lovely reviewers out there. Gomen nasai!! One of the reasons is because I got a B on an exam. B's are evil. Another reason is because my younger sibling took my very beautiful, very loved kimono to her school to show it off and got it all dirty. -_-
I'll be quiet now and do the review responses!
Review Responses:
L o k i: Frankly, I don't know what attribute I gave him that makes him so attractive either. Maybe I gave him a little bit of Sesshoumaru's personality or something. Ahh, I love your review, L o k i-sama! Very flattering! I'm honored to be getting praise from someone who doesn't give praise easily (and of course, someone who happens to be a great fanfic writer, don't think I didn't check out your author's profile and saw all those amazing stories). I'm glad you like my story, and thank you so much!
Mar: here is the update! I'm glad you love it and thank you for reviewing again!
Lily1121: Here's some more! Thank you for loving this story!
Cin of An Angel: ^_^ Everyone's going to make a 'cameo appearance', in case you were wondering. Inuyasha IS clueless, isn't he? Poor guy doesn't know Kikyou's going to try to kill him. He doesn't know she's been two-timing him either. Don't worry, though, good things will come his way! And, plus, do you really think the triangle between the main characters of the story is going too fast? Gomen, I'll slow down a bit! Thank you for reviewing!
Faith: Don't take that last review reply as a spoiler. I was merely stating that Sesshoumaru and Kagome are my favorite couple, but that doesn't mean this fic's definitely going to end up Sess/Kag. It might, but it also might NOT. Thank you for reviewing!
Kimusume kaoru: Here's the next chapter! It's not much, but this is it! Could I say something that's kind of out of topic? Okay, "I LOVE SANOSUKE, KENSHIN AND AOSHI!!" Ahem... sorry about that, I couldn't help it. Thank you!
Anim8teen: Here's the update. Thank you for reviewing.
Yuma: ACK! After reading your review, I sort of snapped and typed faster. Well, at least now you wouldn't hunt me down and skin me alive... would you? Thank you so much for reviewing!
Fawnsess: Oy, Not again!! *melts into a puddle* NOOOOO!!! Ahem. Thank you for melting those JUVENILE monkeys! And reviewing! ~
RPG-girl: *Looks up at reviews* Well, from the looks of it, the machine in me that makes me say 'thank you' isn't fixed yet. I'm definitely going to put those monkeys in the timeout room. Gomen nasai for saying this, but I won't update until I at least get ten to fifteen reviews.. come on people, just ten or more reviews per chapter, okay?
Sayonara!