Owarinai Yume
Wow, it's been a long time since I updated! And I'm so so so so so so so times a million sorry for it! Will you forgive me? ::gives big puppy eyes::
Ch. 2The next twenty-four hours went by surprisingly fast and before they knew it, the inseparable trip found themselves walking the park in which the archery contest was to be held. Spring was upon them and the temperature seemed just right. Not too hot, not too cold. The swallows chirped gaily in their nests and flowers bloomed beautifully in the fields. Yet, neither Ayame, Rika, or Haruka paid mind to any of it. They were all anxious to see their teacher in action.
A brisk stroll and a few minutes later, they came to a stop at Sakura Park, the very center of Tokyo city. They could see lanes and targets had been lined up across the vast field. Contestants, about a score or so of them, busied themselves in readying for the tournament while the crowd busied themselves in arguing over seats.
Though all the contestants wore the same uniform for the competition, one face stood out.
"Higurashi-san!" Haruka called out.
Kagome's head whipped in their direction and she waved. They hurried over.
"Higurashi-san!" Haruka repeated, "How are you doing today? Are you ready?"
Kagome smiled, "Yes, I believe I am, thanks. Though you three better find yourselves a seat before the mayor starts the contest." She advised. They took her suggestion and, after much struggle, found themselves a relatively good seat in the bleachers.
The mayor, who was a pompous kindly old man, took to the stage. He was short and it took some adjusting to the microphone for him to begin to initiate the contest. With a light tap for testing, he cleared his throat importantly, "Konnichiwa, minna-san. This will be the 1st annual archery contest. The rules will be as follows: For the elimination round, the first ten contestants who hit the bulls-eye or the ring around it, will get into the actual competition. After that, for the first round, each contestant will be given ten arrows and whoever misses to hit the target with even one arrow will be eliminated. In the second round, the contestants will be given again, ten arrows, but if even one arrow fails to hit the target or hits the most outer ring of the target will be eliminated. And so the rounds after that will continue in that pattern until, in the last round, the remaining contestants must strike the bulls eye with all ten arrows." He paused to draw in a long breath. His hand rose in the air.
"Now, let the tournament begin!" His hand dropped and at the same time, loud horns burst out.
Kagome took her time while the other contestants rushed forward to string up their bows. She examined her arrows critically, testing them for balance and how straight each were. The arrows were made of wood with dulled metallic tips, nothing that would have been able to compare to the deadly points of the arrows of the Sengoku Jidai, but then again, she wasn't about to kill a youkai at the moment.
When she had selected the perfect arrow, she strung it to her bow expertly, oblivious to her opponents whom had no such skill in their reckless attempts to tackle the bulls eye. Skillfully, she pulled the string taut and shut one of her eyes, lining the arrow slightly above her target and released the arrow with certainty…
Thunk!
The trio of girls gaped in awe at the woman's skill and joined in with the smatter of applause that went around the stands. She had managed to nail the bulls eye in just one shot. With poise, the archer strode to the bench off to the side and sat down with composure. Some of the other archers turned to look at her, a certain envy in their narrowed gazes, but Kagome pretended to not notice.
Before long, other contestants joined her one the bench until one last woman of around her mid-twenties managed to pin her arrow to her target successfully. The horns blared again to signal the end of the elimination round.
The mayor stepped forward again, "Very good, very good! Now we will proceed to the second round. Are you ready, contestants? You will not be permitted to miss the target at all!" He waved his hands dramatically. The people with the horns took that as a sign for the next round and they blasted the horns.
Not until the loud clapping had subsided were they able to hear the mayor shout… "No! Not yet! I wasn't finished!"
The horn blowers shrugged their shoulders sheepishly at one another.
The mayor continued, "The contestants will be able to choose their arrows. We have a variety of them, each can choose which style will best suit them. Be warned however, only the advanced may use the sharp-tipped arrows."
Kagome walked to the stand where the arrows were. She once again took her time pondering the quality of the arrows. Inspecting the dull-tipped ones before turning her attention to the sharp-tipped ones. In the end, she chose the sharp-tipped wooden arrows. They had a similar build to the ones from the Sengoku Jidai.
The horns, which the girls were beginning to tire of, blew loudly and the second round began. Kagome took less time to shook her arrow this time, she had, after all, chosen which ones she wanted. Most of her ten hit the bulls eye while several flew to the larger ring around it. Satisfied, she turned her attention to the other competitors. A few had struck out, and even less had been able to hit the bulls eye with consistency.
Before long, that round had ended as well. The rounds continued until the very last round. All other rings were out of bounds now. Only three contestants remained. Kagome was slightly sweating. The thick kimonos that the competition had required them to wear didn't help cool her off from the hot weather.
The horns cued the last round and she fit her arrow to her bow, her gloved hands caressing the wood and wire. She couldn't lose now.
She aimed and shot, her arrow flying true. Before she had even looked up to see if she had made it, Kagome had strung up another arrow. The time passed fleetingly and before it had registered in her mind, she was on her second to last arrow. She hit the middle perfectly, the middle of the middle. But she took no note and groped around in her straw basket on her back for another arrow. To her surprise, she could only find one more.
Slowly she pulled it out and looked at it. This was it. The last arrow. This was the first time she had ever entered any kind of archery competition, and now, more than ever, she wanted to win. If only for Inuyasha.
To her left, the only other participant was stringing up her last arrow as well. She glanced to her right, their gazes locking for a moment. It was all or nothing now. Kagome turned her attention to her target and discovered a slight problem. The bulls eye was crowded with arrows. There was no other room for another arrow. Apparently, the mayor hadn't thought of this problem. Her opponent seemed to have encountered a similar problem.
But Kagome didn't care. The only thing that mattered now was winning. Her vision blurred and focused. The environment changed. She was back in the woods of the feudal era. Inuyasha was behind her, holding her in his arms, helping her position her arrow. And before her was a monster. A large centipede youkai, like the one she had fought when she first met Inuyasha. The sparkle of the sacred jewel within its belly was the bulls eye.
She heard not the roaring of the crowds or felt the tension of the moment. It was almost as if time had stopped… just for her.
But she was in her own world, with Inuyasha beside her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, his breath puffing on her skin, and his arms moving over her sides. She could smell his wild forest scent. Her arms moved to pull the bow as much as it would bend, her eyes riveted on the shimmering glow of the Shikon.
With an audible twang she released the arrow. It sped to her target, and as much as she tried to suppress it, a faint glow flared from the tip. To her great distress, Inuyasha's presence faded. Her senses came roaring back to her and she blinked.
People were screaming from the stands, and a few came over to congratulate her, including the mayor who was bearing a large golden trophy. Kagome, in confusion, faced her target and her mouth almost hung open.
Her arrow, in her immense concentration, had shot so powerfully that it had split the previous arrow in half to embed into the board.
She was suddenly aware of the three girls that surrounded her in a semi-circle.
"Oh my god, Higurashi-san! I can't believe you were able to do that! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!" Haruka squealed.
Kagome's soft blue eyes warmed and she laughed, "Thank you Haruka-chan, but don't call me Higurashi-san. It makes me feel old. Just call me Kagome."
The girls encompassed her in an even smaller circle and bombarded her with praises and questions.
And Kagome couldn't stop smiling for even a second.
*
By the time she got home, Kagome was exhausted. Apparently, the archery contest was a big deal and many people had attended. Everywhere she turned, someone was there to congratulate her. She slumped into her room in her small apartment and carefully placed the trophy next to the pictures of Inuyasha she had.
Thankfully, the girls hadn't questioned her on what they wished to know the day before, seeing how tired she was, and let her off easy. But she could see the promise in their eyes.
But she still couldn't stop smiling.
She was sure of it! She was positive. Inuyasha had been with her in those last few moments of the contest. She could feel his youki, his aura was one of a kind. She couldn't have mistaken anything else for it. And his scent had covered her so completely, she knew she couldn't have imagined it.
With that thought, she drifted off to sleep, and fell into the world of unconsciousness, where her beloved waited for her with open arms and a tender smile.
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Now how'd you think of that? I'll try to get out another chapter soon. My inspiration for this story has gone up again! Just as a warning, this story will probably be very short. I predict maybe a range of 6-10 chapters. But anyway, PLEASE, don't forget to review, or I just might NOT post another chapter ^_~
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Review Responses~*~*~
Emi: OH MY GOD!!! I'm so sorry I kept you waiting for so long! And after you said you would say you would patiently wait for the next chapter. V_V I'm ashamed of myself. Thanks so much for your review! I hope you can review this one too.
Elbereth: Yup yup! The Shikon was what sent her back. Sad ain't it? I really hope that doesn't happen in the end. Have you ever seen Druihd's picture of her predicted ending? It's sooooo sad!!! T_T In case you've never seen it, the link is . So sad!!!!
Kage no Yoake: Nah, Inu won't be coming back as a reincarnation and this is definitely an Inu/Kag fic. But that's all I'm going to tell you! ^_^
i fly on dreaming wings: What a pretty name! LOL. And thank you! I won't be giving up on this one (hopefully) I'm glad you think it's promising!
Kouga-chan: Thank you! I can't tell you anything else, or it'll give it away! Hope you review again!
Inuyasha-demonbride99: Hmm… I'll have to say, it was probably you who helped be get off my lazy @ss to get this chapter written! I hadn't gotten a review in a while, and I just didn't feel like writing it, so thank you! Hope you review again! ::blows kisses::