3/15/04
Something New Chapter 2: The Next DayKagome blinked as she sat up, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying in a small room, covered in stiff hemp blankets. Throwing the covers back, she inspected her body. Her calves had been cleaned and bandaged, and she was robed in white night dressings. She grimaced as she turned her ankle.
'Note to self', she thought, 'Never kick trees.' It was a while before the fact that that she was alone, unarmed, and unclothed actually clicked in her mind. Standing unsteadily to her feet, she made her way to the hanging tatami mat, and pushed it back to leave the room.
It appeared that Sesshoumaru had taken her to an inn, as people were bustling about the place. There were women greeting guests, being the hospitable hosts that they had been taught to be. As she continued to survey the crowded room, she noticed that only the men were dressed for travel.
'I wonder where Sesshoumaru went.' She mused silently to herself.
"Hello, is there any way I can be of help to you, my lady?" Kagome turned and acknowledged a young, round faced girl, probably no older than fourteen years old. She had bright, tea-colored eyes, and tan skin, tanner than anything Kagome had ever seen before, except maybe the occasional tourist to the shrine in her time.
"Actually, there is. The lord that brought me here, where has he gone?" Kagome inquired. The young girl bowed.
"The lord has taken his leave. He paid for two more nights. We were asked to watch over you until you healed."
"Typical Sesshoumaru" Kagome grumbled. "What am I going to do now?" She rested her chin in the cup of her palm.
"Forgive me, my lady, but there was a request that you be given a weapon and clothing from our stores. Is there anything that you would specifically request?"
"Oh? Do you have a bow and a quiver of arrows? "
"Yes, we do. Please follow me." She stood and followed the girl to a small building away from the inn. As the swollen and splintered wooden door was pulled open, the smell of mildew and rot hit Kagome like a smack in the face.
'Eeeww, rancid!' Along one wall was a line of rusty katanas, the blades chipped and the hilts cracking under the hand of age and unuse. The dull metal was stained pink with blood underneath the rust, from what Kagome could tell. The girl stepped inside, waving her hand to get through he cobwebs. Kagome shivered at the thought of even passing the dusty webs, but stomached the feeling and followed.
"Here, this is the best one. Take all of our arrows, there aren't too many here." She passed Kagome the bow and quiver of arrows. Kagome looked at her, worry upon her face.
"Won't you need these, in case the inn should have o defend itself?" The girl smiled sadly and shook her head.
"I'm afraid this little village has seen the last of her days of war. Nothing will grow here any longer. Sand has engulfed us, deserting us from all of Nippon. We're merely a stop on a weary traveler's road now. How would a daimyo utilize this area for profit? I long to feel a breeze again, but I'm afraid hope has abandoned us." Kagome shook her head, and put her hands in the girl's shoulders.
"Never despair, unless you are certain of what the future holds, okay?" The girl nodded and smiled slightly. Suddenly, Kagome collapsed to her knees.
"My lady! You should go back to your room and rest!" She exclaimed as she supported Kagome back to the main building.
"You're right." Kagome sighed, and returned to her room with help from the girl.
"You were bleeding rather heavily when the lord who brought you here arrived. I must inquire, were you out kicking boulders?' She asked, slight humor in her voice.
"Close, I was playing footsies with random tree trunks." Kagome answered, laughing slightly.
"I see. Here we are, my lady. I shall return at sunset to help you prepare for bed." She bowed and turned to go.
"Wait! What's your name?" The girl looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"I am Karisu, my lady."
"I'm Kagome. No more 'My lady', okay?" Karisu laughed and nodded.
"Yes, Kagome"
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Silence took reign once more, and Kagome thought back to yesterday and the events that led her here.
"I can't believe I was actually reduced to a mere tool. No self-worth at all. He's probably always seen me as baggage. It doesn't matter anymore, though." She trailed off, unconvinced.
"The best I can hope for now is that I don't cross paths with Inuyasha for a while, at least, not until I can come to terms with my uselessness. Right now, I have no idea whatsoever as to where I am, or how far away I am from the Bone-Eater's well. It's only rational that I'm not focusing and killing myself over him, right? Ugh, I'm confused. Damn you, Inuyasha." She sank her head into the pillow and softly cried. Self-pity hit her hard. Soon, she was asleep, the throbbing in her shins replaced by the wrenching of her heart.
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It was high noon when Kagome awoke, feeling heavily burdened. She dragged her bruised body from beneath the blankets, and decided to inspect her newly acquired weapons.
The bow was made of flexible, sinewy yet sturdy wood, and what seemed to be dark horse hair. It seemed almost brand new, if that was the way to describe it. Her arrows were about two and a half feet long, constructed of oak and, for the first time since Kagome had started her adventure in the Sengoku Jidai, the tips were wrought of iron ore.
"This is amazing" She breathed, and fingered the smooth, cold tips.
A sudden flip of her mat caught her attention. There stood Karisu, slightly ruffled. She was smoothing her kimono, trying to regain her composure. She seemed winded.
"Karisu, you're early. Is there something wrong?" Karisu put on a pained smile.
" Ha, I'm being married off, that's all." She replied, irony coating her staccato panting.
"Is that allowed. I mean, you're so young!" Kagome stared at the girl.
"Well, the owner, Lady Hiashi, is my guardian. I was abandoned at this inn as a child. I'm now fourteen years of age, and I've been here since I was eight." Kagome began to feel helpless. Inuyasha had made it clear that she was good for nothing.
"The woman's a drunkard!" Karisu stated, exasperated. Kagome raised an eyebrow.
"She's getting rid of me. I'm too much of a hassle. I'm just dead weight." Kagome winced at these words. She was getting a weird sense of déjà vu. Tears were welling up in Karisu's eyes.
A light rapping came from the doorway. Karisu quickly straightened up and dried her face.
"Yes?" Kagome called. A teenage boy entered. He had light brown hair, much like Karisu's, and deep blue eyes. His skin was dark, and it reminder Kagome of Kouga. He was elegantly dressed, with a sword handing from his waist.
"Young Karisu, your mother requests your presence." He smiled at her, and Karisu gave him an uncomfortable smile.
"Yes, of course, Lord Hane. I'll be there momentarily. I must finish my nightly duties."
"Of course." He nodded, and bowed to Kagome, and left. She shot Karisu an inquisitive look.
"He seems nice enough. What's wrong?"
"I don't want to be reduced to a human incubator, good for nothing but bearing children and pleasing my husband. He'll be off fighting, leading brave men into battle, while I'm at home, nursing two children and gaining weight. What happens when he dies in battle, and I become widowed with six children? Or when I'm beyond my prime and he desires fresher fruit? Prostitution and rejection, that's what! I'd die inside, never again knowing the feel of a blade in my hands, or the freedom of being, well, free." She put her head into her hands, despairing.
Kagome saw herself in this girl. Her spirit was of the wind, impossible to chain, lost if smothered.
'I can't let her whither away' She thought.
"Karisu, when are you leaving to accommodate your husband's home?" Kagome asked quietly.
"In two days time, why?" The younger girl wondered.
"I know for a fact, that tomorrow, I'll be fully healed. Tonight, go to the storehouse, and arm yourself. Prepare to leave tomorrow at noon."
"Kagome!" Karisu gasped.
"I can't let you die here. You're too young to waste your life. We'll go away together, and live life, while we can. Will you help me complete the Shikon no Tama?" Karisu grinned.
'I won't let you be reduced to a tool.'
END Chapter 2Whew! That was long, eight pages long. I should probably give some sort of explanation. Well, I've been out of commission for a year now, right? When I first started writing this story, it was going a completely different direction. Kagome gave Rin the jewel, she met up with a wolf demon that led her to Kouga, and they fell in love, so on and so forth. I seemed so flat to me, so I gave up on it. Now, coming back, I'm going to continue, with a new plot. First chapter stands as is. So, there you go. Feel free to review as you please. Praise or flame. It's all good.
Side-Note: Karisu is not a self-insert. Go to a Dragon Ball Z story titled "Just 17" by Chris Chien. This is her, except she's different. I can't tell you how, or else it'd give away the story.
Oh, and it's not a DBZ crossover. Sorry.