Disclaimer:.Yeah right, and I just bought the moon on e-bay.
AN: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!! I got all KINDS of reviews!! I'm just. so. PROUD!!! It makes me so. so HAPPY!!!... sorry.. Grammies moment. But seriously!! I LOVE you guys!! Very cool reviews! Lovely lovelies... again. don't ask.
"Mom?" Kagome smiled, though her mother was facing the opposite way, Kagome had a strange feeling she knew about it, "Thanks."
~*~*~*~* Two hours later *~*~*~*~
RING....
Kagome glanced up from the school work she was catching up on to the phone by her bed. That would be Ayami... According to her mother she called at eight every night.
RING
Sighing, Kagome set down her books and swung her legs over the sides of the bed. She slowly pulled herself from the bed and walked across the room.
RI.......
"Konnechewa, Ayami..." (AN: Tell me ALL my misspelling so I can get it right next time, please)
"Oh, Kagome!! How did you know it was me?" Kagome rolled her eyes and spread her legs, bending down until her torso and legs were parallel. She did these stretches once every two hours, and much more complicated ones before she trained.
"Oh... lucky guess..." Kagome muttered, bending over backward as far as she could.
"You'll never guess who's hair got covered in that... green... whatever it is at lunch today!"
"Mmm?" Kagome pretty much zoned out from there. She wanted to do something for Youko before he... left... She could... ugg... What could she POSSIBLY give him the he wouldn't already have??? Kagome suddenly smiled.
"Hey, Ayami?" Ayami, cut off from her ramblings, seemed a little angry as a 'hmmph' was heard on the other end, "I gotta go, do you think you could come over in about three days? I'm going over to my... er... aunts house. Her son's got diabetes and he's nervous about it so they thought with me being out of school with it and all, I might be able to help." Thank you, Youko!
"Oh? Oh! Sure! I can probably come. Is the rest of the gang going to be there?" ( AN; I know Yuki and Ayami but what's the name of the last one?) Ayami asked excitedly.
"Well... I want them to go but I haven't got the time to call them. Can you ask them for me? I really got to go..." Kagome felt the anticipation crawl up her spine at the thought of his gift.
"Oh sure I was going to call the anyways," Ayami was never brought down by anything. A slow smile came on Kagome's face as she admired the girls ignorance.
"Thanks. I'll see you in a couple of days," Kagome knew this would get her friends hopes up, only to come over and see Kagome crying and depressed. She suddenly felt guilty, knowing her friends curiosity would most likely chew her away when she got no explanation as to why she was acting that way.
"Okay. Bye!" as soon as the dial tone came to her ear she hung up the phone and ran to her closet. she pulled out a gray sports bag and tore out of the room. She avoided her family if she could. She didn't want to stop. She soon reached the basement where she crawled over drawers and table tops, boxes and coat racks. When she reached an old and decaying dresser she slid behind it and pushed hard on the wall.
She wasn't surprised when the wall moved over to show itself as the entrance to a large room with concrete floors showing only in the tiny cracks between rugs and pillows which littered the floors. The cracks of cement proved to be a foot apart in a large circle around the entire room. She ran into the center of the circle and threw the bag down, ignoring the sounds of the entryway closing behind her.
Kagome ripped the bag open, pulling out the twenty Miko Candles and setting them in each of the cracks on the floor. When she was finished she hastily flicked her wrist, each of the candles in turn lit themselves. She reached into the bag again and pulled out a miko garb, ten small bowls, ten bottles of water, a necklace with an emerald leaf on a silver chain, and two stilettos.
She jumped out of her modern day clothes and threw them into a bare area outside the circle, and quickly dawned the miko garb. She put the ten bowls in a ring inside the ring of candles and filled each with a bottle of water. Then she gingerly clasped the emerald necklace around her neck and put a stiletto in each hand.
She reached into herself and started to stretch and kneed her power. She felt it grow within her and reveled in it. She leaned over and placed the stilettos in an X shape on the rug. She straightened her back again and clapped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. Words came to her lips that she had learned long ago, but never had the courage to speak.
"I call upon the gods to council my soul. I ask only that, for my cause, you take a piece of my spirit and soul and weave it into the very being of the jewel around my neck. I call upon the god of fire, shall he burn a mark upon me. I call upon the goddess of earth, shall she dig a trench around my heart. I call upon the god of water, shall he was the fear from my soul. I call upon the goddess of Air, shall she breath life into me. I call upon the gods of fire and water, the goddess's of earth and air. Though you appose each other, I pray that you unite in me. God of fire, god of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God of fire, god of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God..." as Kagome's words echoed around the room, four voices began to chant along with her, one voice per title.
The flickering flame of the candles began to grow until they became towers of fire. The water in each of the bowls flew from their containers and took the shape of dragons who began to fly and circle the room. The air all around the room began to slowly revolve, then speed up into a tornado of whirl-winds that pulled at Kagome's hair and the wrinkles in her miko garb. The cement began to crack apart as plants and dirt pushed themselves into the room, where they crawled over the floors and walls to make their presence known.
"Why hath thou called, young miko?" a surreal voice echoed across the room. Kagome's eyes snapped open but she didn't observe the surroundings. She knew that would make her look unserious of her proposal, and she was anything but unserious about this.
"I have called upon you, gods of the elements, to ask you to bind me to the man I love, through this necklace, so that I may carry his soul onto the next life with me. I also ask you bind the necklace to his soul when it touches his skin, and let it charm the plants in which he charms."
"Does thou know that the thieving kitsune is to fall into the clutches of the god of torment for all eternity?" The voice sent a chill down Kagome's spine, but she kept her expression rock solid.
"Yes," Kagome replied, voice still monotone. There was a moment of silence before she heard the gods reply.
"Thy bravery is both rare and priceless, and thy love is pure. We like not the choice of lovers, but trust in the goddess of fate that this is right. Thy power gives you the strength, and thy soul makes you worthy. You shall have what you wish and more." Kagome was surprised at this, she had never heard of the gods giving you more then what you asked for. Hell, she'd only heard of two miko's even getting what they asked for in the first place.
"I... do not understand. What more do I need?" Kagome asked, voice no longer monotone but rather confused.
"You are the first worthy of this gift, young miko. The only creatures we grant gifts come to us without fear, but rather acceptance and anticipation in thou heart. You hath no fear of us. You are fates child, kindness's pupil, and our friend. None who hath asked before have come with such recommendations."
"I... I still.. How did I earn these... recommendations?" Kagome heard a small laugh from the voice.
"Modest. You are worthy, young miko. You are child of fate because you are her most favored. Your spirit, strength, and unending trust earned you that. You took in an orphaned child, a youkai orphan who attacked you no less. This earned you the god of kindness's respect. You have become our friend because you, and you alone wish to disturb nothing unless we urge you to. As a flame tells an animal to run, as the heavens turn gray to warn you of a storm, as the water licks your feet to tell you a ship is coming, as the earth rumbles before she blows her fire to the heavens. Most creatures have lost the will to look for our encouragement, but you... you wait for us to signal."
"When... when did I do that?!" Kagome whispered. She didn't think of herself as anything like the saint they presented her as.
"Did you not wait for the tree to pulse beneath your fingers before you took the arrow from the hanyo's chest? Did you not avoid your daily bathing ritual when the water almost seemed to throb in anger? Did you not keep from trudging on the earth that housed the dead for fear you'd disturb the souls she took on? Did you not fear going on in your quest when the wind howled her disagreement?" Kagome thought back to times like those. Yes, she had been unexplainably nervous at times like that. Like as if she didn't think she had the right to disturb those things.
"I'm not sure I deserve these praises. But I do not understand what you do, and will let you make your choice." Kagome whispered, utterly astounded at how often she had been near gods and goddesses and not even known it. She took a glance around the room, watching the blue flames lick the ceiling above her, and yet they didn't spread. The water dragons curled around the flames and circled her torso and arms. The air almost seemed to dance as it swirled noticeably around the room. The leaves on the vines that grew on the wall seemed to be prickling in conversations she couldn't hear.
"You will understand eventually, little miko. We must warn you though. Since thy love has brought thou to this choice, thou shall have to test that very thing. You will have to enter the Maze of Uncertainty. There you will be brought to test everything you are. Your honesty, your kindness, your strength... your love. If you can go through this maze intact, you will be stronger in every way. And you will also gain a gift from each of us." The voices had seemed to slowly separate during that last sentence. Kagome was surprised when each began to speak separately.
"I," the first was the deep voice of a male, "god of water, will give you the first born on my prize water dragon Splash to summon when you wish for her or are in need of her assistance."
"I," female voice, "goddess of earth, will give you the unicorn Quartz of my best pack. He will come to you only when you need him. You need not summon him."
"I," again, a male voice, "god of fire, will give you the fire cat Scorch. He will stay by your side always, as a friend and companion."
"I," the last, a female, "goddess of wind, will give you the aid of the fairy , Silver Star, to be your guide and advisor." Again, the voices seemed to unite.
"We will give you these gifts, young miko, because you are meant for great things. But be warned, if you treat these creatures as toys, or things under your control, we will take them from you, and you will loose our favor." Kagome bowed her head.
"I accept the punishment in the maze, the gifts, and the warnings, and I thank you." Kagome replied. The fire retreated to the small flames on the candles, the water dragons jumped into the bowls, the plants retreated and pulled the cement back into place, and the air stilled. For a moment Kagome thought she had done something wrong, but then a bright light flashed.
"We wish you well, young miko..." and with those words still echoing in her mind, Kagome collapsed.
(AN: I can be evil!!! No... I'm not going to tell you what happened in the Maze of Uncertainty... though I'm going to bring it up A LOT in the later parts of the story. And by the way, for those who don't know... a lot is two words... if you don't believe me take if up with my language- arts teacher... she's very strict about such things... -_-++............. sorry... weird moment... Thanx to all the reviewers out there!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Your the highlight of my day!!! ^_^)
~*~* When Kagome leaves the Maze of Uncertainty*~*~
As the darkness began to subside, Kagome tried pointlessly to open her eyes. It took her a few minutes, but as soon as she cracked her eyes open, her head went reeling. She immediatly closed them again and reached her hand up to rub her temple.
After this one... painful experience, Kagome found it easy to pull herself into a sitting position. At first she was totally confused on what had happened to her, but as it all came rolling back, she smiled.
"Definitely not something I'll forget for a while..." (AN: hehehe... k, I'll stop...) She began to pull herself up, wincing every-time her muscles made a sharp protest to it. She felt like she had lain in that same spot for a century. She couldn't help but examine the stray locks that fell into her eyes for any sign of grays.
When she finally pulled herself up she observed the room. Nothing had changed. In fact, the candles, bowls, and stilettos had disappeared. The only remnant of her little 'experiment' were the cracks in the cement and the miko garb she still wore. Well, that and...
Kagome reached her hand to her forehead, tracing it all the was up to an inch before her hairline. When her fingers began to trail the six-sided star jewel embedded on there, her smile broadened to a grin. She was a Guardian now. First class. (AN: I'm being a LITTLE nice, so I'm gonna tell you what this is)
This had all been explained to Kagome in the end of the maze. Guardians were the people or souls appointed to work directly for the gods. They went in class's for how effective they could be. Midoriko had gone into the maze in her final moments, and had been appointed third class, and a seat by the gods in the afterlife.
Third class was pretty high actually. There were seventy three classes. First being a major effect in the timeline, think the next queen of England. Thirty being a man pushing the next Hitler in front of the train tracks. Seventy three being a woman taking in and taking car of a little orphan girl who is to be a senator who makes the tie braking vote on surrendering or fighting on.
Problem was... no Guardian, first or seventy third class, knew how he/she was meant to effect the future. And Kagome was clueless as to why she had been selected as a Guardian, let alone first class.
Not that Kagome had any qualms to being a Guardian. The benefits were heavenly and it was the greatest possible honor... but she was just a little confused. How was she supposed to do some sort of legendary thing when she had no clue what it was? Let alone where she was supposed to go, when she needed to go there, what did she need to do it and all those little details.
Yet Kagome's smile had only broadened with her thoughts of the 'benefits'. Ah yes, and what benefits they were...
~*~*~*~* few minutes later, or whenever Kagome gets her bearings*~*~*~*~
Kagome slowly trudged up the stairs toward the laundry room, trying to imagine what she could possibly tell her parents about why she had been down there for so long. She suddenly froze. What if... what if she had been in there longer then she had thought and two days had already...
Tearing up the last of the stairs Kagome finally burst into the dining room, coming onto the scene of her family eating dinner. She tried to speak but found it useless while she was in the middle of gasping for breath. So, waiting a moment, she prepared again. She briefly noticed how noodles still hung out of her little brothers mouth, and how her jii-chan had not finished moving his chopsticks, leaving them halfway between his mouth and the plate, before trying again.
"ItriedthisoldmikoincantationtocallonthegodsandI'mnotsurehowmuchtimehaspasse dandIreallyREALLYneedtoknow..." Silence. Total silence. Then the clunck of jii-chan's chicken hitting the plate.
"... What?..." Souta spoke through the noodles. Kagome face faulted and tried to calm herself down.
"What day is it?" She finally asked, annoyance showing clearly through the tightly restrained words. Souta rolled his eyes and finished eating his noodles, intending to say a rather sarcastic remark about his sisters cense of time, but his mother beat him to it.
"Dear... are you alright?" Kagome sighed. She couldn't have been missing long... they still didn't know she had left. But she still felt doubts.
"Just tell me what day it is..." she had said this a lot calmer then how she had snapped it the first time, but you could still tell she wanted to know.
"Did you hit your head when you ran into the basement? I mean, it could be brain damage..." Kagome glared at her brother.
"Okay then... how long ago DID I run into the basement," she continued before her grandfather could protest, "Just for the sake of argument..." her little brother's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he answered her anyway.
"About fifteen minutes ago..." Souta answered slowly. Kagome felt a giant burden pulled off her shoulders.
"Ah... thank the gods," Kagome immediately covered her mouth before starting to giggle. She'd have to be a lot more careful before saying those words anymore. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed the stares of her family.
Yep... they'd definitely think her crazy now...
Kagome sighed and walked to her bedroom. She had places to go and people to see. And a very important present to give away.
AN: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!! I got all KINDS of reviews!! I'm just. so. PROUD!!! It makes me so. so HAPPY!!!... sorry.. Grammies moment. But seriously!! I LOVE you guys!! Very cool reviews! Lovely lovelies... again. don't ask.
"Mom?" Kagome smiled, though her mother was facing the opposite way, Kagome had a strange feeling she knew about it, "Thanks."
~*~*~*~* Two hours later *~*~*~*~
RING....
Kagome glanced up from the school work she was catching up on to the phone by her bed. That would be Ayami... According to her mother she called at eight every night.
RING
Sighing, Kagome set down her books and swung her legs over the sides of the bed. She slowly pulled herself from the bed and walked across the room.
RI.......
"Konnechewa, Ayami..." (AN: Tell me ALL my misspelling so I can get it right next time, please)
"Oh, Kagome!! How did you know it was me?" Kagome rolled her eyes and spread her legs, bending down until her torso and legs were parallel. She did these stretches once every two hours, and much more complicated ones before she trained.
"Oh... lucky guess..." Kagome muttered, bending over backward as far as she could.
"You'll never guess who's hair got covered in that... green... whatever it is at lunch today!"
"Mmm?" Kagome pretty much zoned out from there. She wanted to do something for Youko before he... left... She could... ugg... What could she POSSIBLY give him the he wouldn't already have??? Kagome suddenly smiled.
"Hey, Ayami?" Ayami, cut off from her ramblings, seemed a little angry as a 'hmmph' was heard on the other end, "I gotta go, do you think you could come over in about three days? I'm going over to my... er... aunts house. Her son's got diabetes and he's nervous about it so they thought with me being out of school with it and all, I might be able to help." Thank you, Youko!
"Oh? Oh! Sure! I can probably come. Is the rest of the gang going to be there?" ( AN; I know Yuki and Ayami but what's the name of the last one?) Ayami asked excitedly.
"Well... I want them to go but I haven't got the time to call them. Can you ask them for me? I really got to go..." Kagome felt the anticipation crawl up her spine at the thought of his gift.
"Oh sure I was going to call the anyways," Ayami was never brought down by anything. A slow smile came on Kagome's face as she admired the girls ignorance.
"Thanks. I'll see you in a couple of days," Kagome knew this would get her friends hopes up, only to come over and see Kagome crying and depressed. She suddenly felt guilty, knowing her friends curiosity would most likely chew her away when she got no explanation as to why she was acting that way.
"Okay. Bye!" as soon as the dial tone came to her ear she hung up the phone and ran to her closet. she pulled out a gray sports bag and tore out of the room. She avoided her family if she could. She didn't want to stop. She soon reached the basement where she crawled over drawers and table tops, boxes and coat racks. When she reached an old and decaying dresser she slid behind it and pushed hard on the wall.
She wasn't surprised when the wall moved over to show itself as the entrance to a large room with concrete floors showing only in the tiny cracks between rugs and pillows which littered the floors. The cracks of cement proved to be a foot apart in a large circle around the entire room. She ran into the center of the circle and threw the bag down, ignoring the sounds of the entryway closing behind her.
Kagome ripped the bag open, pulling out the twenty Miko Candles and setting them in each of the cracks on the floor. When she was finished she hastily flicked her wrist, each of the candles in turn lit themselves. She reached into the bag again and pulled out a miko garb, ten small bowls, ten bottles of water, a necklace with an emerald leaf on a silver chain, and two stilettos.
She jumped out of her modern day clothes and threw them into a bare area outside the circle, and quickly dawned the miko garb. She put the ten bowls in a ring inside the ring of candles and filled each with a bottle of water. Then she gingerly clasped the emerald necklace around her neck and put a stiletto in each hand.
She reached into herself and started to stretch and kneed her power. She felt it grow within her and reveled in it. She leaned over and placed the stilettos in an X shape on the rug. She straightened her back again and clapped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. Words came to her lips that she had learned long ago, but never had the courage to speak.
"I call upon the gods to council my soul. I ask only that, for my cause, you take a piece of my spirit and soul and weave it into the very being of the jewel around my neck. I call upon the god of fire, shall he burn a mark upon me. I call upon the goddess of earth, shall she dig a trench around my heart. I call upon the god of water, shall he was the fear from my soul. I call upon the goddess of Air, shall she breath life into me. I call upon the gods of fire and water, the goddess's of earth and air. Though you appose each other, I pray that you unite in me. God of fire, god of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God of fire, god of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God..." as Kagome's words echoed around the room, four voices began to chant along with her, one voice per title.
The flickering flame of the candles began to grow until they became towers of fire. The water in each of the bowls flew from their containers and took the shape of dragons who began to fly and circle the room. The air all around the room began to slowly revolve, then speed up into a tornado of whirl-winds that pulled at Kagome's hair and the wrinkles in her miko garb. The cement began to crack apart as plants and dirt pushed themselves into the room, where they crawled over the floors and walls to make their presence known.
"Why hath thou called, young miko?" a surreal voice echoed across the room. Kagome's eyes snapped open but she didn't observe the surroundings. She knew that would make her look unserious of her proposal, and she was anything but unserious about this.
"I have called upon you, gods of the elements, to ask you to bind me to the man I love, through this necklace, so that I may carry his soul onto the next life with me. I also ask you bind the necklace to his soul when it touches his skin, and let it charm the plants in which he charms."
"Does thou know that the thieving kitsune is to fall into the clutches of the god of torment for all eternity?" The voice sent a chill down Kagome's spine, but she kept her expression rock solid.
"Yes," Kagome replied, voice still monotone. There was a moment of silence before she heard the gods reply.
"Thy bravery is both rare and priceless, and thy love is pure. We like not the choice of lovers, but trust in the goddess of fate that this is right. Thy power gives you the strength, and thy soul makes you worthy. You shall have what you wish and more." Kagome was surprised at this, she had never heard of the gods giving you more then what you asked for. Hell, she'd only heard of two miko's even getting what they asked for in the first place.
"I... do not understand. What more do I need?" Kagome asked, voice no longer monotone but rather confused.
"You are the first worthy of this gift, young miko. The only creatures we grant gifts come to us without fear, but rather acceptance and anticipation in thou heart. You hath no fear of us. You are fates child, kindness's pupil, and our friend. None who hath asked before have come with such recommendations."
"I... I still.. How did I earn these... recommendations?" Kagome heard a small laugh from the voice.
"Modest. You are worthy, young miko. You are child of fate because you are her most favored. Your spirit, strength, and unending trust earned you that. You took in an orphaned child, a youkai orphan who attacked you no less. This earned you the god of kindness's respect. You have become our friend because you, and you alone wish to disturb nothing unless we urge you to. As a flame tells an animal to run, as the heavens turn gray to warn you of a storm, as the water licks your feet to tell you a ship is coming, as the earth rumbles before she blows her fire to the heavens. Most creatures have lost the will to look for our encouragement, but you... you wait for us to signal."
"When... when did I do that?!" Kagome whispered. She didn't think of herself as anything like the saint they presented her as.
"Did you not wait for the tree to pulse beneath your fingers before you took the arrow from the hanyo's chest? Did you not avoid your daily bathing ritual when the water almost seemed to throb in anger? Did you not keep from trudging on the earth that housed the dead for fear you'd disturb the souls she took on? Did you not fear going on in your quest when the wind howled her disagreement?" Kagome thought back to times like those. Yes, she had been unexplainably nervous at times like that. Like as if she didn't think she had the right to disturb those things.
"I'm not sure I deserve these praises. But I do not understand what you do, and will let you make your choice." Kagome whispered, utterly astounded at how often she had been near gods and goddesses and not even known it. She took a glance around the room, watching the blue flames lick the ceiling above her, and yet they didn't spread. The water dragons curled around the flames and circled her torso and arms. The air almost seemed to dance as it swirled noticeably around the room. The leaves on the vines that grew on the wall seemed to be prickling in conversations she couldn't hear.
"You will understand eventually, little miko. We must warn you though. Since thy love has brought thou to this choice, thou shall have to test that very thing. You will have to enter the Maze of Uncertainty. There you will be brought to test everything you are. Your honesty, your kindness, your strength... your love. If you can go through this maze intact, you will be stronger in every way. And you will also gain a gift from each of us." The voices had seemed to slowly separate during that last sentence. Kagome was surprised when each began to speak separately.
"I," the first was the deep voice of a male, "god of water, will give you the first born on my prize water dragon Splash to summon when you wish for her or are in need of her assistance."
"I," female voice, "goddess of earth, will give you the unicorn Quartz of my best pack. He will come to you only when you need him. You need not summon him."
"I," again, a male voice, "god of fire, will give you the fire cat Scorch. He will stay by your side always, as a friend and companion."
"I," the last, a female, "goddess of wind, will give you the aid of the fairy , Silver Star, to be your guide and advisor." Again, the voices seemed to unite.
"We will give you these gifts, young miko, because you are meant for great things. But be warned, if you treat these creatures as toys, or things under your control, we will take them from you, and you will loose our favor." Kagome bowed her head.
"I accept the punishment in the maze, the gifts, and the warnings, and I thank you." Kagome replied. The fire retreated to the small flames on the candles, the water dragons jumped into the bowls, the plants retreated and pulled the cement back into place, and the air stilled. For a moment Kagome thought she had done something wrong, but then a bright light flashed.
"We wish you well, young miko..." and with those words still echoing in her mind, Kagome collapsed.
(AN: I can be evil!!! No... I'm not going to tell you what happened in the Maze of Uncertainty... though I'm going to bring it up A LOT in the later parts of the story. And by the way, for those who don't know... a lot is two words... if you don't believe me take if up with my language- arts teacher... she's very strict about such things... -_-++............. sorry... weird moment... Thanx to all the reviewers out there!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Your the highlight of my day!!! ^_^)
~*~* When Kagome leaves the Maze of Uncertainty*~*~
As the darkness began to subside, Kagome tried pointlessly to open her eyes. It took her a few minutes, but as soon as she cracked her eyes open, her head went reeling. She immediatly closed them again and reached her hand up to rub her temple.
After this one... painful experience, Kagome found it easy to pull herself into a sitting position. At first she was totally confused on what had happened to her, but as it all came rolling back, she smiled.
"Definitely not something I'll forget for a while..." (AN: hehehe... k, I'll stop...) She began to pull herself up, wincing every-time her muscles made a sharp protest to it. She felt like she had lain in that same spot for a century. She couldn't help but examine the stray locks that fell into her eyes for any sign of grays.
When she finally pulled herself up she observed the room. Nothing had changed. In fact, the candles, bowls, and stilettos had disappeared. The only remnant of her little 'experiment' were the cracks in the cement and the miko garb she still wore. Well, that and...
Kagome reached her hand to her forehead, tracing it all the was up to an inch before her hairline. When her fingers began to trail the six-sided star jewel embedded on there, her smile broadened to a grin. She was a Guardian now. First class. (AN: I'm being a LITTLE nice, so I'm gonna tell you what this is)
This had all been explained to Kagome in the end of the maze. Guardians were the people or souls appointed to work directly for the gods. They went in class's for how effective they could be. Midoriko had gone into the maze in her final moments, and had been appointed third class, and a seat by the gods in the afterlife.
Third class was pretty high actually. There were seventy three classes. First being a major effect in the timeline, think the next queen of England. Thirty being a man pushing the next Hitler in front of the train tracks. Seventy three being a woman taking in and taking car of a little orphan girl who is to be a senator who makes the tie braking vote on surrendering or fighting on.
Problem was... no Guardian, first or seventy third class, knew how he/she was meant to effect the future. And Kagome was clueless as to why she had been selected as a Guardian, let alone first class.
Not that Kagome had any qualms to being a Guardian. The benefits were heavenly and it was the greatest possible honor... but she was just a little confused. How was she supposed to do some sort of legendary thing when she had no clue what it was? Let alone where she was supposed to go, when she needed to go there, what did she need to do it and all those little details.
Yet Kagome's smile had only broadened with her thoughts of the 'benefits'. Ah yes, and what benefits they were...
~*~*~*~* few minutes later, or whenever Kagome gets her bearings*~*~*~*~
Kagome slowly trudged up the stairs toward the laundry room, trying to imagine what she could possibly tell her parents about why she had been down there for so long. She suddenly froze. What if... what if she had been in there longer then she had thought and two days had already...
Tearing up the last of the stairs Kagome finally burst into the dining room, coming onto the scene of her family eating dinner. She tried to speak but found it useless while she was in the middle of gasping for breath. So, waiting a moment, she prepared again. She briefly noticed how noodles still hung out of her little brothers mouth, and how her jii-chan had not finished moving his chopsticks, leaving them halfway between his mouth and the plate, before trying again.
"ItriedthisoldmikoincantationtocallonthegodsandI'mnotsurehowmuchtimehaspasse dandIreallyREALLYneedtoknow..." Silence. Total silence. Then the clunck of jii-chan's chicken hitting the plate.
"... What?..." Souta spoke through the noodles. Kagome face faulted and tried to calm herself down.
"What day is it?" She finally asked, annoyance showing clearly through the tightly restrained words. Souta rolled his eyes and finished eating his noodles, intending to say a rather sarcastic remark about his sisters cense of time, but his mother beat him to it.
"Dear... are you alright?" Kagome sighed. She couldn't have been missing long... they still didn't know she had left. But she still felt doubts.
"Just tell me what day it is..." she had said this a lot calmer then how she had snapped it the first time, but you could still tell she wanted to know.
"Did you hit your head when you ran into the basement? I mean, it could be brain damage..." Kagome glared at her brother.
"Okay then... how long ago DID I run into the basement," she continued before her grandfather could protest, "Just for the sake of argument..." her little brother's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he answered her anyway.
"About fifteen minutes ago..." Souta answered slowly. Kagome felt a giant burden pulled off her shoulders.
"Ah... thank the gods," Kagome immediately covered her mouth before starting to giggle. She'd have to be a lot more careful before saying those words anymore. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed the stares of her family.
Yep... they'd definitely think her crazy now...
Kagome sighed and walked to her bedroom. She had places to go and people to see. And a very important present to give away.