Ch. 4: Change of Heart
me: 21 reviews. Not too bad!
Kikyo: -applauds sarcastically-
me: gomen if I don't update. Its my last week of school, so ya know. but over the summer, I will update tons and make new stories
Kikyo: joy...
me: review please!
"Kagome!" A high pitched voice penetrated Kagome's skull as she walked into the main building of her school. Within two seconds, she was surrounded by her friends, all of whom looked overly excited.
"Kagome!" Ayumi squealed again. "Hojo-kun said he li-ikes you!"
"Oh really? That's nice." Kagome said offhandedly, pushing her hair behind her ear. Hojo was the last thing on her mind right now.
"Kagome Higurashi!" Ayumi scowled and put her hands on her hips. "What is wrong with you?! Honestly, the most popular guy in our whole school is practically in love with you, and you don't care!"
"I betcha it's the other guy again..." Yuka muttered. "He just doesn't leave you alone, huh Kagome?" Kagome frowned slightly, picking up her pace toward the school.
"Seriously though, Kagome. Hojo really likes you, and you are killing him by ignoring him!" Eri said dramatically. Kagome walked faster, willing herself not to think of Hojo, InuYasha, or anyone else for that matter.
"Well, would you say yes if he asked you out?" Yuka asked.
"Uh, I don't know, I'd have to think about it..." Kagome said unconcernedly. She was almost to the front gate of her school.
"WHAT?!" All three of her friends shouted the word in unison.
"Did I just hear what I thought I heard?!"
"Why on earth would you say that?"
"He is in love with you!"
"It's the other guy, right? He's ruining your life!"
"Yeah! What a complete jerk!"
"Kagome, dump him already! If you-" Eri stopped mid sentence, staring at Kagome. "Kag? Are you ok?"
"Don't...talk about him like that..." Kagome said angrily, her voice low and dangerous.
"Why not! He's making your life a living hell!" Yuka countered. Kagome flinched at the word hell.
"He's making my life a living hell?!" Kagome turned on her friends, her eyes flaming. "You three don't know the half of it! As a matter of fact, its me who's making his life hell!" And with that, Kagome stormed out of the school yards, with her friends silent behind her.
The sun was high in the sky by the time InuYasha awoke. The birds were chirping, the grass was green, and there was just natural good feeling all around.
It was enough to make the hanyou sick.
Somehow, it didn't seem fair that the world could go on after such loss. Kikyo was dead, for sure this time, and Kagome was probably never going to come back. In trying to save one of his loves, InuYasha had lost both. He wondered what Kagome was doing right now: probably fuming on her bed, with used tissues scattered all over her room.
She did cry a lot, that wench. It was amazing how someone who sobbed every time InuYasha received injuries, someone who screamed about spiders, and couldn't shoot an arrow to a target four feet away, had killed Kikyo. InuYasha glanced at the pile next to his tree. The clothes and bones were still there, untouched and sad looking. What should be done with them?
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Mrs. Higurashi watched as her daughter stomped into the house and put her books down on the table. "It's eleven o'clock...shouldn't you be at school?
"Yeah but... I think I need to stay home. I know I said I wanted to go, but I'm beginning to think it's a bad idea. It's just..." too soon, Kagome thought. It's too soon to face anybody. After all, she had just found out she was capable of murdering someone without a single thought to the consequences.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you home so early, so I said I'd go to work," Mrs. Higurashi said softly. "But if you need to find me, you know where I am." She gave Kagome a small peck on the forehead, and left for work. Kagome sighed with relief. Thank goodness her mom hadn't pressured her for details. Kagome stared out the window of the kitchen, firmly making sure her eyes didn't drift to the well...
But of course they did. And she stared at the well for quite a long time before making a very rash decision. Kagome ran upstairs, grabbing the pack she usually took to the feudal era. I just want to know what he's doing right now; he doesn't necessarily have to know I'm there...but I have to know what he's done since I've been gone.
She sprinted through her front door, jumping into the old well, as she had many times. The familiar time travel feeling comforted her, as she sailed through eras. Landing on her feet, Kagome looked up into the clear sky of the feudal era. She climbed up the well, carefully poking her head out to make sure InuYasha was not nearby. He wasn't. Kagome crept out of the well, blinking in the strong sunlight.
"Kagome-chan!" A high, slightly breathless voice startled Kagome. It was merely Sango and Miroku. Kagome started to wave, until a thought crashed into her.
Do they know what I've done?
"Kagome-sama!" Miroku looked at Kagome, a look of concern and anxiety drifting in his dark eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Miroku, Sango, is something wrong?" A sinking feeling entered Kagome's stomach as Sango and Miroku exchanged a knowing look.
"Well, Kagome, actually there is...something..." Sango started slowly. "Last night, we came across InuYasha, and he had quite a strange tale to tell us. Now, of course we didn't believe him at first- we'd never jump to conclusions like that!- but he showed us your arrow, and we thought that maybe..." Sango faltered, looking down at the ground. Kagome knew what it was instantly. Sango and Miroku, and probably Shippo and Kaede as well, wanted to know what had happened. Kagome felt hot, knowing her face was probably bright red. To buy herself time, she looked over the field, only to see a familiar fox demon racing to join them.
"Kagome!" Shippo leapt into her arms, his face breaking into a happy smile. Kagome couldn't help grinning, in spite of herself. Miroku and Sango, however, still looked stone serious.
"Kagome...could you please tell us what happened?" Miroku asked pointedly. Shippo looked up at Kagome quizzically.
"Oh come on, guys! Kagome probably had nothing to-"
"Shippo-chan..." Kagome cut him off. There was no point in pretending. "I did. I killed Kikyo that night, with one of my arrows." Kagome stared boldly at Sango and Miroku, who stared back, horrified.
"I-I thought InuYasha was lying..." Sango said, a look of disgust on her face. Miroku stared at Kagome as though he were seeing her for the first time. Shippo jumped out of her lap, a horrified expression on his young face. He backed away a little, still staring.
"Oh no..Shippo-chan, I didn't mean to..." Kagome held out her hands for the little youkai, but he just backed away more. She looked at Miroku and Sango for help. "You guys, please tell him I didn't do it on purpose!" But Kagome might as well have been talking to stone, for all the good they did.
"I never knew you were capable of such murder, Kagome." Sango said coldly. "I suppose spending time with InuYasha has made you more violent."
"I would expect something like this from Kikyo, not from you..." Miroku stated angrily. "I used to wonder how you, a kind girl from modern times, could be reincarnated from this priestess, so full of murder and anger. Now I have no doubt. You definitely have a connection with Kikyo." Sango nodded.
"Both of you can kill someone, and not look back." Sango finished the monk's thought, then scooped up Shippo. "Come on, Shippo-chan, let's go back to Kaede's." Kagome stared at Shippo, pleading with her eyes. The fox wouldn't look at her.
"She's like a monster, Sango..." Shippo said shakily.
"Shippo!" Kagome gasped at the fox's words. She rushed toward Sango, but Shippo let out a cry and burrowed deeper into Sango's arms.
"Don't let her hurt me," he sobbed. Kagome's eyes filled with tears, seeing Shippo so afraid of her. Sango shook her head.
"I won't, Shippo. Don't worry." And then Sango walked away, with Miroku at her heels. Kagome stared after them, a single tear dropping down her nose. Her friends, the friends who she had fought with against Naraku, were now disgusted and afraid of her. All because of the one decision, the one choice she had made....
To kill.
me: hoped you liked it! Please R&R!
Kikyo: is drunk on soda