In the Other Side of the Well
Chapter 3
Kagome shook her head, trying to clear and organize her mind of everything that had happened thus far. Coming out of the well like she usually did, she had expected to be climbing out into her old jinja. But, instead, she had ended up in some crosswise-whacked, unexplainable version of the Feudal area, where Kikyou was nice, and further more nicer to Inuyasha and without the whole: "Inu-Yasha-I-love-you-but-I-will-kill-you-for-betraying-me-and-I-don't-give-a-damn-if-it-was-Naraku-because-I'm-one-of-the-villians-and-it's-my-job-to-kill-you-and-take-you-to-hell routine!"
What was more shocking on her part, was Inuyasha. Kagome groaned and rubbed her forehead in frustration. Inuyasha?! What was wrong with him?! He was, a crybaby! Someone so dependent on Kikyou, someone who giggled—Kagome cringed (C'mon people, Inuyasha…giggle…you would cringe too)—someone who acted like an immature(Okay, he was always immature, she admitted), 3-year-old! He was a totally different person! He was too…too…not-Inuyasha! And…Kagome lifted her head to look at the two who were leading the way in front of her.
"Inuyasha," Kikyou sighed from ahead, apparently exasperated. "Stop skipping."
"Oh my god…" Kagome buried her head in her hands quickly. "I'm never going to get that out of my mine." What was wrong with this place? Sighing, Kagome lowered her hands and lifted her blue-gray eyes (but not to Inuyasha and Kikyou, she couldn't bear the sight of Inuyasha skipping, and humming, and picking flowers claiming them to be for Kaede). At least, there's one person, Kagome thought. Kaede would know, Kaede always knew.
Kikyou was leading them on a different route, Kagome noticed, one next to the forest that lead them behind the village. Kagome had been here several times before, mostly because Inuyasha liked to use this trail to follow the youkai that were running in and out of the village. It was the fastest shortcut to getting around and keeping an eye on the village at the same time.
Not too long after, Kagome saw the familiar white smoke of the old home she had been welcomed too many times before after a long, hard, and tiring battle with youkai. Her heart thumping in her ears, Kagome resisted the urge to run foreword and throw open the door, wanting to sit down in front of the fireplace and spill out to Kaede everything that had happened just like she had done the many times before.
"We're almost there," Kikyou said, but she did not turn around. "Are you sure you're a friend of Kaede's?"
Kagome nodded earnestly, gripping the strap to her backpack tighter. "Hai, a very good friend…"
Kikyou arched an eyebrow, as she looked to Kagome over her shoulder. "I didn't know Kaede to have a friend at your age," she said. "How did you two get to be friends?"
"Er…" Kagome paused, trying to think of an explanation. She had already gotten he gist that Kikyou would not believe her if she said anything about being reincarnated and finding a sealed Inuyasha on the old tree near the well. She thought it best not to mention it again for some time, not until she met Kaede and she could get some sort of explanation for this, anyway. "Er, she told me I looked like someone she knew, and after that, I started asking her about that person, and, we, yeah. That's it," Kagome decided. "Yes, that's how we met."
Kikyou's eyebrow arched higher, but she nodded and turned back to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, if you keep picking those flowers, their owner is going to come after you," Kikyou warned. "Remember the last time?"
Inuyasha paused in his skipping, humming, and picking flowers (to Kagome's brief relief), to look at Kikyou and scowled. "Yes, he nearly brought my brother."
Kagome's eyes lit up as she looked between the two. "Brother?"
"Inuyasha has a half-brother, he's quite well known in these parts," said Kikyou grimly, and a heavy line of dislike weighed down on her brows.
Sesshoumaru? The Sesshoumaru?? So Sesshoumaru was still the same, Kikyou and Inuyasha disliked and loathed him from every deep hate they held within themselves. At least, Kagome thought. One thing was the same.
"Here we are," said Kikyou, wrenching Kagome out from her thoughts again. "Kaede's inside." She lifted an arm and pointed a finger to a small, but cozy looking home where the white smoke Kagome had seen earlier came from. A grateful feeling washed over Kagome, and the look of dreading vanished from her face, replaced by one of glee. Finally! Kaede! She started to run past, forgetting Kikyou and Inuyasha were there along with her.
"Kaede-obaachan! Kaede-obaachan!!" shouted Kagome. The small sheet of straw that covered the houses' front lifted slowly, and Kaede stepped out onto the dirt ground below her.
Only, it wasn't the Kaede Kagome had expected to see.
"Nani yo?" she said irritably, stamping her hands on her hips in a cockish way. "Who's calling me 'Obaa'?!"
Gods, if things got any worse than this Kagome might as well drown herself in a cup of water (XP she won't trust me—but she comes very close—and things do get much worse).
There she stood, Kaede. Not old, fat, wrinkled and grumpy, as Kagome expected and wanted her to be, but young, thin, smooth, and…beautiful…? (the grumpiness remained, she was just called a grandmother for heaven sakes.) Kagome's mouth dropped open, she couldn't help it, it was an automatic. What the hell?!
"Kaede," sang Inuyasha, and hopped—Yes, he hopped.(Fine addition to skipping, no?)—over to the young mistress. "I've got presents for youuuuuu!"
Kaede's grumpy face instantly lit up as she held her hands behind her back as well and smiled at Inuyasha. "Yes?" she asked eagerly.
Inuyasha smiled secretly and nodded like a little boy. "Yessss," he continued to sing. "Guess what it isssss?"
"Kami-sama," Kikyou muttered from behind at the sight of the two.
Kagome, at this time, had no thought or feelings on this what so ever. Her body felt numb—very numb—and her ears seemed to be ringing with the same words over and over again.
"Who's calling me obaa?!"
Kagome shook her head, as if trying to shake something off. No way, no way, no way, NO WAY.
"Let's see," started Kaede, looking thoughtfully up to the sky. "Maybe…herbs?" Inuyasha giggled—Kagome still cringed, but remained numb and frozen—and shook his head. "A new bow?" Inuyasha shook his head yet again. "I don't know," Kaede said finally, giving up. "Tell meeee!" she whined.
Kikyou groaned in disgust yet again.
"Are you readdddyyyy?"
Kaede nodded. "Yes, yes!"
"Are you surrrreeeee?"
"YES!"
"Are you realllllllllyyyyyyyy?"
"God damn it, Inuyasha—" Kikyou sniggered slightly. "—Just tell me, damnit!"
"Alright, alright!" Pulling his hands out from his back, Inuyasha thrust the flowers into Kaede's face. "TA-DAH!!!!"
The event that will happen next is probably something people would die to actually see. Not exactly because they would approve of it, but because of it's stupidity and far-fetchedness of it. Alright? So, those of you with weak stomachs, hatred for those who change characters too much, and a madness that makes you want to kill anyone who comes between Inuyasha and Kagome, I suggest you do not read beyond this point.
You have been warned.
"OH MY FYCKING GOD!" shrieked Kaede, jumping so much that she was nearly vibrating. "THOSE ARE THE MOST GOD DAMN BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!! I COULD KILL YOU FOR IT!!! HOLY SHIT (Shit isn't holy, so stop saying it, people -__-;) THESE ARE AWSOME! I COULD HUG YOU FOR IT!! HELL! I COULD KISS YOU!!!"
Kagome was abruptly twisted out from her numbness by this sudden outburst. Sputtering, Kagome's jaw dropped further and she stared at Kaede with complete horror, her face turning various shades of red, and white (White has shades??). "She can say that?!?!?"
Beside her, Kikyou was nearly having a heart attack. Rolling on the ground and howling with laughter, the used-to-be miko of calmness and cool head was laughing so much that tears were spilling from her eyes and creating a whole lake beside her.
"Oh my—Oh Kami-sama—that's hilari—Oh my Kami-sama!" Kikyou managed between gales of laughter. "This is great—oh this is hilarious—priceless—excellent—great—I—she—Inuyasha—Oh Kami-sama—" Suddenly Kikyou's face began to turn shades of blue in which Kagome did not think people could turn into. At once, forgetting the madness that was happening between Inuyasha and Kaede, Kagome dropped to the ground and began to shake Kikyou roughly.
"Kikyou?! Kikyou! Kikyou!" Kagome shook the miko by the shoulders. She wasn't getting enough air!
Through all this, Kikyou was still howling with laugher, although now, the tears coming from her eyes were the result of the burning in her lungs. "That's—that's really funny—oh my lungs—but—really—Kaede—she—Kami-sama, my lungs they—Oh this is priceless—"
"I get it!" Kagome yelled, above the noise. "You're dying here! Cut it short!"
"I—" gasp. "—can't—it's too—" gasp "—funny—my—" gasp "—lungs, they're—" gasp "—cracking—oh, my—help—" gasp "—me—just—" gasp. "Oh Kami-sama look at Kaede's—" gasp. "—face!!"
"Oh hell," Kagome muttered, and took a deep breath; about to do the one thing she needed to do to help Kikyou breathe again. Kagome wet her lips, knowing she would regret and hate herself for this. She took in another deep breath and stared at Kikyou's face. Would she really have to? She had seen people do it on TV…but…usually they were men and woman, and, this was a girl…this was Kikyou!
No, just do it. You have to save her! Taking another big breath, Kagome bit down on her lip, closed her eyes, held Kikyou's face by her chin, and bent to do the dreaded.
She slapped her.
Hah. Some of you thought CPR, didn't cha?
At once, Kikyou wheezed and ceased her laughter. Drawing into on deep, long breath, the miko filled her lungs greedily before she released the excess air and began to gasp uncontrollably. Kagome slowly stepped away from the miko as she slowed her breathing down to a normal rate, and pushed herself up to her feet.
"Thank you," were the words out of Kikyou's mouth as she brushed herself calmly, as if none of this had ever happened.
Stunned, Kagome nodded. "You're…welcome."
Now back to Kaede and Inuyasha.
"OH MY GOD! CAN I KISS YOU?!"
Kagome sputtered, it was now her turn to be short of air in her lungs. What in the world?!?! Kaede?!?!?! Kiss Inuyasha?!?! Sure, Kaede here was young and beautiful, but, still!!!! It was still wrong!!!
"There, there," Kikyou said reassuringly, thumping Kagome's back to help her breathe. "Breathe, now, breathe."
"They can do that?!?!"
Kikyou shrugged. "All the time."
Kagome—unintentionally—vomited.
"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww," said Inuyasha, making a face and pointing at Kagome. "Nastyyyy!"
"Nasty to you!" Kagome said between throw-ups. Kikyou continued to pat the girl's back as she muttered things under her breath so only Kagome could hear.
"I know, I know, I understand the feeling," she said sweetly. "They disgust me too. There, there, throw it up all, don't hold it back, express yourself, go on, good…there we go!"
After managing to ceased her sightseeing of her past meals, Kagome groaned and pulled herself up weakly, holding her stomach. "That's gross…" she whined.
Kikyou nodded, continuing to thump her back. "Well, it came from inside you, you know."
"No, I mean, those two," Kagome said, groaning further and crouching down on the ground, holding her stomach tighter, Kikyou still continued to thump her back. "I think I'm going to be sick, again."
Kikyou sighed and bent down next to Kagome. "Yes, they have that effect."
"No," Kagome snapped unintentionally. "You're hitting me too hard."
"Oh," Blinking, Kikyou lifted her hand up and away. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Kagome said, waving it off. She then lifted her head to look at Inuyasha and Kaede. Thankfully, they had not kissed, instead had chosen to hold hands and run around in circles. Kagome groaned further. This wasn't what she had expected! She had expected to see Old Kaede! The obaa! She had expected to tell her everything and the two would smack some sense into Kikyou and Inuyasha, and then Kagome would understand what was going on!
But noooooo! Fate liked to mess around with her—actually the author does, but that's fate to her :D—and now she as the single sane person among a bunch of lunatics! Furrowing her brows, Kagome thought back on what might have gone wrong to end her up in a place like this.
She remembered the fight with Inuyasha, waking up in early morning and chasing a youkai. She had lost the hard the youkai had carried, and Inuyasha had gotten so angry, that he had began to yell at her. Then, during the argument, Kikyou had come up. Kagome had gotten mad, and stomped to the well. Inuyasha had followed her, and she had given him another of her rapid fire of 'osuwari'. Then, she had jumped into the well, the well had glowed red, and when she came out, instead of home, she was…here.
Kagome frowned, staring at the ground. What had gone wrong—wait a second. Rewind! The well. Kagome drew in a sharp breath and stood up, turning her head to look into the forest where the well was. That was it, the well had glowed red! Not blue! Something was wrong with the well! The well had brought her here!
And now a word from the author:
O_o Dum dum dum!! And so a major-corny plot unfolds within this insane and out-of-character story! Oh by the way, hi. |-D Been a while, yeah? If you people find this story stupid and worthless, then, yeah, well thanks. o_o that's why the story was written. Well, stayed tuned for ze next chapter, I hope you found this one funny, oO; I kinda did, and I'm the one writing it ee; Anyway, until ze next chapter, Happy 2004, and chow!
-Silent Knight