Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Inuyasha.
AN: I wanted to finished chapter 3 before I posted this, but I decided to post it now cause I felt like it. I need to go back and tweak chapter one, because I found a problem. If anyone can find it I'll give you a cookie for being sharp (cookie not included). Thanks to those of you that reviewed so far!
Chapter 2
History Trip
Kagome ran frantically through the kitchen shoving different things in her yellow pack. It was already stuffed full with supplies and now Kagome was just trying to fit extra Roman and chocolate in. She wasn't really paying attention to anything. The only sounds she heard were her own questioning thoughts. Inuyasha is going to be so mad! What do I tell him? Will he let me come back to say goodbye to Ariana?
It had been two days sense Ariana came to visit. Kagome told Inuyasha she'd be back yesterday after her test, but she just couldn't leave Ariana. So far, Kagome planned to explain the situation to Inuyasha and get back to her own time fast enough to spend the rest of the weekend with Ariana. It could work. All Kagome needed was a miracle.
Throwing her heavy yellow back over her shoulder, she ran out the back door. The sun was just begging to rise covering the world in pinks and purples. The morning seemed too peaceful and perfect that Kagome was already expecting the worst. She finally reached the mini-shrine but didn't realize the shadowy figure that followed her. Taking her place on the edge of the well, she readied herself to jump in when a voice startled her.
"What are you doing?" Kagome's heart gave a jolt at the unexpected sound of Ariana's voice. Kagome turned to be face to face with Ariana. Again she was startled and lost her balance. Kagome could feel Ariana grab onto her backpack, but it was too late. The two girls plummeted into the bone-eaters well. They landed at the bottom of the well with a loud thud. It was the hardest landing Kagome had ever experienced. She could already feel her butt begin to throb. Hopeful, Kagome looked up praying that the portal didn't work, and that they were still in modern day Japan. There was no such luck everything was blue skies above.
"Damn," Kagome muttered under her breath being in a curse worthy situation. Immediately, her mind began to race with desperate questions. What do I do? Do I tell her she's dreaming? Do I tell her the truth? Oh no! What about Inuyasha? At this point, Kagome was panicking. She'd never been in this kind of situation before. Man eating demons she could handle but explaining to Ariana that they were now in the feudal era and still think her sane was going to be hard.
Well so far Inuyasha hadn't poked his head into the well yet. That was a good sign right? Kagome looked down at Ariana who was at her feet. Her eyes were closed, and she was rubbing her forehead.
"Are you all right Kagome?" Ariana asked in a groggy voice getting to her feet on shaky legs. "Wow that was a hard landing. I suppose it didn't help with me landing on top of you?"
"No, but I'm fine," Kagome assured pushing herself up off the floor of the well. "But why did you sneak after me?" Kagome demanded suddenly slightly annoyed.
"I was sneaky?" Ariana pointed an unassuming finger at herself.
"Yes," Kagome nodded.
"Hang on, I wasn't the one that got up ay the crack of dawn, got dressed quieter than a mouse, and then stuffed her backpack full of ramen and chocolate to dash off to jump in a dry well!" Ariana argued making her point very clear.
"Ok, but you still could have made your presence known. You didn't have to sneak after me," Kagome defended.
"Actually, I wasn't trying to be sneaky. I heard you get up so I got up too. I decided to get dress but by the time I got to the kitchen you'd already stuffed the last of your ramen in your pack and bolted out the door. I followed and the next thing I knew, you were about to jump into the well," Ariana explained.
The two girls stood silently side by side starring up at the clear blue sky. Kagome noticed Ariana scratch her head in confusion, and Ariana started to climb out of the well before she had a chance to stop her.
"Hold up!" Kagome cried as she rushed to the well wall were the vines grew. With the heavy yellow sack on her back, Kagome gradually made it out of the well. Please be alive! Please be alive! Kagome was worried because if Inuyasha was outside she wasn't sure how he'd handle the situation. Much to her relief, Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. Kagome spotted Ariana just a few feet from the well. Ariana turned in circles as she stared in aw at all that surrounded her. For an instant, Kagome felt herself smile. She was no longer the only one that clashed with this time so harshly. Ariana screamed modern. She was wearing low-rise denim Capri's and a black belt with a modern day car-seat belt clasp. With her white lace tank top that showed most her stomach, Kagome now noticed a tattoo on her lower back. It wasn't large, but it sat on the center of her spine. It was some type of star, but there was an elaborate design to it. And of course she wore her trademark Adidas tennies and French braid pigtails.
Kagome couldn't push the feeling of dread away. A knot formed in her stomach as she watched Ariana observe her obvious different surroundings. It felt strange to share her secret with someone. Her family knew everything, but that was different. Ariana was just a girl from the United States that happened to follow her down the well. She was a friend, but she still wasn't her best friend. Was it that big of deal?
"Wh… where did the shrine go? Better yet… where are we?" Ariana asked. Kagome averted her eyes from her friend in hope that a good idea would come to her. Just hit her on the head and dump her back down the well. Kagome quickly shook her head. No! That's horrible! Scratch that idea. The truth will have to do. If she doesn't believe me…
"Kagome?" Ariana inquired tentatively. Kagome came out of her thoughts to meet Ariana's questioning gaze. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes, but I have something to share with you. Believe what you will," Kagome practically announced.
"Shoot," Ariana replied.
"Let's sit," Kagome recommended. They both went to a near by tree. Kagome took her seat at the base of the tree, back against the trunk and her knees close to her chest. Ariana sat in front of her giving Kagome her attention. "About a little more that a year ago," Kagome started. "I was dragged into that well by a demon and came out here, Japan five hundred years ago," Kagome shook her head at how ridiculous her own words sounded even to herself.
"Your story's lacking in credence," Ariana said in a bored tone.
"How else are you going to believe that you just went down the well at the shrine and now you're in the middle of nowhere?" Kagome asked bitterly. Ariana's expression went blank as she seemed to go deep in thought. Kagome put her palm to her forehead in frustration when Ariana didn't reply. Here's where it gets complicated.
"I think I'll just wait till I'll wake up," Ariana laughed.
"You're not dreaming!" Kagome tried to tell her.
"Wait, if I get my history right. Then you're telling me that we are in Sengoku Jidai just because we fell down a well?" Ariana placed her chin in her hand as she continued to think.
"I know it's difficult to believe."
"Difficult isn't even the half of it. How is it possible to travel 500 years into the past? There is no way!"
Kagome took this time to explain all the prier events that lead to this day. She went into detail about Inuyasha. How she is a reincarnation of a dead pritesst named Kikyo. All the shard hunting she's done with her group, the different demons, Naraku and anything else Kagome could think of. She even took the time to answer any of Ariana's questions as she came up with them. It was surprising how well Ariana began to take to her tale. Hours passed by the time Kagome finished. She didn't even realize how much she'd done through out the year until she said it out loud in detail. Ariana was no longer sitting, but pacing back end forth in her own little world.
There was still no Inuyasha when Kagome finished, and she thought it best if she get to the village to check in.
"Would you like me to take you home, or would you like to come to the village with me?" Kagome asked.
"I would like to see this village," Ariana answered truthfully.
"All right then follow me!" Kagome stood and once again hoisted her pack over her shoulder. Ariana followed wordlessly in Kagome's suit.
"Isn't that the God Tree?" Ariana asked as they passed the tree.
"Un-huh," Kagome answered. The village came into view only a few minutes later. Kagome's worry started to build up as she thought of how she was going to explain Ariana to everyone and then the question was where on earth was Inuyasha? It wasn't like him to keep her waiting. Something reassured Kagome when she spotted Kaede's hut in the distance. Everything was the same and nothing appeared to be wrong. Kaede emerged from the herb garden as the two girls reached her hut.
"Good morning Kaede!" Kagome called to the old woman.
"How was your trip home child?" Kaede asked Kagome when they stood in front of her.
"It was fine," Kagome shrugged. "It felt good to sleep." Kaede smiled in understanding.
"Who is your friend?" Kaede questioned noticing Ariana.
"This is Ariana," Kagome introduced almost forgetting Ariana was behind her.
"Ye come from Kagome's time, do ye not?" Kaede asked Ariana.
"Yeah!" Ariana answered happily. She smiled enthusiastically as she bounced up and down. "Everything here is so amazing and peaceful."
Again Kaede smiled sweetly to Ariana. Kagome glanced over her shoulder to Ariana and then back to Kaede. By her expression, Kagome could tell the old woman was thinking the same thing Kagome couldn't answer. How did Ariana get through the well?
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"Indeed this is strange," Kaede pondered out loud. The three of them now sat in her hut after a light lunch.
"I thought only Inuyasha and I could go through the well?" was Kagome's thought. The two stared at Ariana, but she was too busy looking around the hut to notice.
"Why is it that girls in your time feel the need to wear such little clothing?" Kaede wondered out loud. Kagome opened her mouth to try to answer, but was cut off.
"It sooooo hot out side! Haven't you noticed it's summer? You're not supposed to wear layers of clothes! Aren't you hot with all that on?"
"No, I wouldn't say I was hot child. I'm used to it ye could say. It wouldn't be proper to wear lighter clothing than this," Kaede answered in an amused tone.
"You haven't seen Inuyasha lately have you?" Kagome remembered. Kaede nodded.
"Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and Shippo all went in search of Jewel Shards last night." Kaede answered. Kagome's brow knitted together.
"They went without me?" Kagome was hurt that they'd leave her behind.
"There was a sudden report of a demon in a nearby village. They had no time to get ye." Kaede added after seeing the young miko's distress. "They should be coming back any time now." Kagome seemed to relax at Kaede's words.
"I suppose we should be getting back to our time," Kagome sighed as she looked back at her friend.
"But I don't want to go yet! Please let me stay!" Ariana cried.
"Why would you want to stay? I've told you how dangerous it is here," Kagome more or less wondered out loud.
"I think you are forgetting that I fear nothing," Ariana boasted. "Plus, everything you described sounded like a blast! How could I pass up this once in a life time opportunity?" Leave it to Ariana to think a life-threatening situation was fun. Kagome remembered when she'd first met Ariana.
"Kagome, this is Ariana," Ms. Higurashi introduced her daughter. Kagome stared at her new exchange student. She was from America and she looked it. The girl had on bran new Adidas sneakers and her hair was warn in French braid pigtails, the same as today. Ariana's bright green eyes glittered as she shook Kagome's hand.
"It so cool to finally met you!" Ariana said excitedly and gave a warm smile. Kagome couldn't help but smile back. "We are going to have so much fun," Ariana continued to talk as they walked out of the airport. "We have to go skydiving, bungee jumping, dirt biking, oowh and we must go surfing! I've never tried that before. I live in Montana. It's nowhere near the ocean. But I go snowboarding all the time! Have you been snowboarding before?"
Kagome just shook her head starring dumbly at the girl.
"You must! It's the most fun you'll ever have!" Ariana grabbed Kagome's hand and dragged her as they caught up to Kagome's mom. What was wrong with this girl? Half the things Ariana listed would surely send Kagome to an early grave let alone be fun! Ms. Higurashi noticed Kagome's lack of words. It wasn't like Kagome not to be talking as much as Ariana was. Kagome caught her mom's eyes and gave her a pleading look that asked for help. Her mom just mouthed for her to say something. So Kagome said the first think that to her mind.
"Why are you so hyper? Do you have ADD or something?"
"Kagome!" her mother scolded. Ariana just giggled not taking Kagome's comment to offense.
"Yeah, I do," Ariana shrugged.
Sometimes it was hard to believe Ariana had AD/HD. At times she was perfectly calm, when she had the proper medicine that is. Kagome turned her attention from her thoughts back to the Ariana pacing through the hut. She tapped on her stomach like a drum and was humming some type of tune to herself. Kagome wondered if Ariana had taken her medicine that morning.
"Are you sure you want to stay?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah! Come on Kagome?"
"Ok, then you can stay," Kagome decided. Ariana smiled radiantly with glee. It might just be fun to have a modern friend with her. There was still a part of her that told her she should ask her other companions first, but they weren't here, and Ariana was always a delight to have around.
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"I'll be back in a few hours," Kagome informed Kaede before leaving the hut.
"I will be sure to inform Inuyasha of your arrival if he shows up," Kaede assured. The two girls left from the hut out into the hot afternoon. Ariana now noticed her reactions to a lack of medicine in her body. Kagome could see she was struggling against herself not to bounce around like a five year old. It was always a mystery to Kagome how Ariana was so smart, because her mind and body weren't always in control. Kagome smiled as Ariana's walk started to have more of a skip to it.
"Do you have any sugar?" Ariana asked now fully skipping at her side.
"No, I left my pack in Kaede's hut. Why on earth would you need sugar? From the looks of it, you are going to get hyper enough as it is," Kagome assumed. Ariana smiled thoughtfully.
"Well that's what a lot of people think. They think if you give a hyper kid sugar then it will make then even more hyper. But in reality, if you give a kid enough sugar, it can boost their energy over the top to make them calm," Ariana spoke her wisdom.
"I never thought of it that way," Kagome realized.
"Not a lot of people do because they don't understand that Ritalin acts the same as the sugar, give or take a few details," Ariana laughed.
"Do you ever wonder why you're so smart?" Kagome let the questions fall from her mouth before she realized what she said. Ariana wasn't mad; she just smiled like always. It was something Kagome noticed with Ariana; she didn't take things to offense most of the time.
"That's an easy enough question. When I was four, my disorder drove my parents nuts. They refused to speak to me at times, because I'd forget everything they said. So my dad hired a private tutor as a way to force my short-term memory to function properly. The plan kind of back fired, because I took to learning quite fast. I didn't forget the things I learned, and I found myself not straining to pay attention. Every now and then I'd get uncontrollable urges to run around the room, but that was just the predominately hyperactive-impulsive type of AD/HD," Ariana paused. Kagome took the time to swallow Ariana's jumble of words at the end.
"But like I said, my parents plan back fired. I could concentrate on learning, but I still couldn't remember simple daily information. I believe that it is because learning makes me think, and thinking slows me down enough to pay attention. That's my own little theory whether it's right or not is beyond me. Well finally my parents did the last think they could do and started to pump me full of drugs." Ariana's voice turned bitter and her eyes glassed over.
"Wow, you lived with me for a year, and I never asked you these questions before," Kagome thought out loud trying to steer Ariana out of her sudden sour demeanor. She's always so happy, but when she talks about her family she gets depressed. Kagome observed her friend as they got nearer to the forest border.
"It doesn't matter. Does it?"
"I guess you're right, but it's interesting to hear," Kagome said honestly. Ariana was such a complex person to know. One minute she could be serious and thoughtful and the next minute, carefree and adventurous. Overall, the only word to describe Ariana would be spontaneous. You never knew what she was going to throw at you next.
"Enough talk! Come on, I'll race you to the well," Ariana took off into the woods. Kagome attempted to follow, but a familiar voice stopped her.
"Kagome," Sango called. Kagome turned to see Sango and Kirara running to catch up with her. "It's good to see you back," Sango's warm tone met her ears.
"It's good to be back," Kagome said. "Where are Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippou?"
"They are already at the well waiting for you," Sango answered.
"Oh no," Kagome gasped.
"What?" Sango asked confused.
"Ariana!" and with that Kagome sprinted in the direction of the well.
AN: Again this was a character-building chapter. Sorry if I'm taking a while to get to the plot of this story! I feel for this story to be good, I just can't jump into it. So hang tight.