Hallo to all of you on this first day of February! (rabbit, rabbit). But
anyhoo, I must first apologize for the two months in which there hasn't
been any updatage. I had exams and then I had to get used to actually doing
work again. So that's my excuse. Also, I must let it be known that I am a
lazy bum and I fully deserve to have killer death monkeys thrown at me.
I won't reply to any of the reviews I got for the last update because I figger that y'all just want to get on with the story. I do not blame y'all but I just wanted to let y'all know that I appreciate all the reviews but I'm not replying this time. Maybe the next chappie, whenever that may be.
Disclaimer: I own a fat cat like Buyo, but, no, I do not own Inuyasha. However, soon I shall be the proud owner of a lovely 20" by 40" Orlando Bloom poster. So pooh on all of you! Back to the story!
Chapter number whatever, 'Where Are You Now?', by the wonderful Michelle Branch.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Maybe I'd be better on my own No one ever seems to understand me It's easier for me to be alone But there's still a piece of me that feels so empty
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome did go to the movies with Hojo that Friday. And then again on Saturday. And then they went to dinner on Sunday. The whole next week at school was spent next to each other in classes, the hallways, and in the library. A vast majority of the notes passed in class were gossip about Kagome and Hojo. Some of the nicer ones talked about how sweet the two of them looked next to each other. The others all speculated that perhaps they now had the reason for Kagome's long absence from school, that Hojo was now a dad. Kagome did her best to look happy in the spotlight, on the arm of the undeniably hottest guy in the school. She fooled them all, including Hojo. He had no clue why Kagome was going out with him. He was just amazed at his good luck and looked no farther than that. Their kisses were so real to him, especially after their timid first kiss outside the movie theater (a/n: hey, I didn't specify that her next kiss would be with Inuyasha. I only said that her next kiss would be a real one. Bwahahaha). Hojo never thought about how her eyes would become shadowed and she would lose whatever happy spirits she had had before he kissed her. He just figured that Kagome would eventually grow out of her shyness. After all, he was her first boyfriend and he prided himself on being the first to get Kagome to go out with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
I've been all over the world I've seen a million different places But through the crowds and all the faces I'm still out there looking for you
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome dashed out of her last class that Thursday, hoping against hope that Hojo wouldn't be standing out in the hall, waiting for her so that he could walk her home, just as he did every day, even though she argued that she could manage on her own. Hojo just turned her protests into a game and told her that, as her boyfriend, he had the privilege of walking her home. Kagome couldn't argue against that fact; she had to keep up the pretense of having fallen madly in love with Hojo. If she was with Hojo long enough, then she would eventually get used to him and never think about the person she had left behind 500 years ago. Hojo was nice and that was his biggest fault. He was just too nice, always looking out for her and taking the blame. They never argued and she never had a reason to yell at him. Kagome sighed, thinking of a certain somebody that had made her life a hell of a lot more fun. Then she remembered her plan to get home unattended by Hojo and sprinted out the main doors. Screw homework; she could just take a sick day tomorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all What is the chance of finding you out there? Or do I have to wait forever?
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome managed to get home all alone, despite almost being seen by Hojo as she snuck around some bushes. She quickly changed out of her uniform and into some sweats and an old t-shirt. Nobody, least of all the school administration, understood how revealing a miniskirt uniform could be. Or perhaps they did, and that was why the required uniform was consisted of a miniskirt and tight blouse. Musing over how perverted the administration was, Kagome walked down the stairs to the front hall. Just as she was about to open the front door, she heard footsteps and voices from the front walk. 'Dammit!', she thought. The voices were Hojo's and her now-former best friend's. She couldn't quickly escape to the kitchen or another room due to the fact that if she ran past one of the two windows flanking the front door, she would be spotted and her plan would be screwed. So she sat down with her back leaning against the front door and pulled her legs close to her body. If either of them looked in the windows, they would see her. Kagome started praying to all the gods she had ever heard of that neither of her unwanted visitors would look in and just keep pounding on the door. Luckily, the two visitors gave up and left, saying that maybe she was at the hospital. Kagome heard the footsteps running away from the house and Hojo yelling that maybe she was badly injured and would need him to help her in the emergency room. Kagome grinned; at least she had picked a sweet idiot as her boyfriend.
After two or three minutes, when the neighborhood had finally quieted down from all the ruckus caused by yelling teenagers, Kagome stood up and decided to go out the back door to the shrine. She opened the back door, tripped over her portly cat, Buyo, who took his opportunity to run inside, and brushed herself off. "Buyo, if you send me to the emergency room, I swear that I will feed you to Shippo," she told the cat. Buyo blinked at her and flicked his tail at her, as if to say, 'Bring it on. You can't even lift me high enough to drop me in that well.' Kagome stalked off exasperatedly and slammed open the door to the shrine. She walked in and immediately sobered once she closed the door, the effect of the dusty shrine never failed to remind her of the past. Kagome edged closer to the mouth of the well and peered in to the blackness. She fiddled with the last Shikon shard, which she had fashioned into a necklace. All it would take would be one little jump into the well and then she could be back in the happiest days of her life. But they wouldn't be happy anymore; somehow she had managed to screw up everything and that was why she had returned home. Kagome sighed at her dilemma and sat on the lip of the well with her feet dangling down into the blackness. Truth be told, she didn't feel so at home in her own time anymore. And she definitely didn't want to spend the rest of her life hiding from boyfriends. Also, if she never went back to the time 500 years ago, the Shikon Jewel would never be completed and the wars would continue for dominance. All of her friends might be killed by her selfishness. But if she went back, then she would have to deal with Inuyasha and the rift between them. If she went back and gave the last shard, then she would never be able to return home. Kagome sat there in the dark, lost in thought, and she never heard the door slide open or the paws that caused the wooden floorboards to creak under a massive weight. She heard a "mew" behind her that made her turn in surprise and the last thing she remembered was the feel of two paws pushing her off the edge of the well and down into the darkness. Buyo grinned and licked a paw, muttering about Kagome's indecisiveness. "Have fun, little one," he said as he left the shrine to investigate the chipmunk situation in the yard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
I write about the things I'll never know And I can't find a moment just to slow down It makes me think I'll never have the chance To figure out what it's all about So tell me what it's all about
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome woke up on the ground in the middle of the night. She sat up slowly and felt a bump throbbing on her head. The stupid cat had pushed her off the well with so much force that she had hit her head on the stone wall of the well. 'Oh, now he's definitely going to meet Shippo now,' she thought as she sat up and looked around. This was rather hard to do since the only light came from occasional bits of moonlight peeking from behind the clouds. But Kagome got her bearings eventually and headed off in the direction of Kaede's house. Perhaps Sango and Miroku were there, maybe even Inuyasha. At least Kaede could tell her where they were. She approached the house quietly, not wanting to wake up any villagers or let a demon know that she was there. A breeze blew through the village as she stepped onto the doorstep and she got goosebumps on her arms. Shrugging off the coincidence, she opened the door to Kaede's hut and stepped inside. Kagome blinked in the darkness, refusing to believe the instinct that she needed to get out of the house now. As her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she got wary, remembering how Kaede always kept a candle burning at night in case of a late-night sickness. Kagome listened hard for Kaede's loud snores but didn't hear anything. She did hear the door close behind her and felt the air move past her arm, as if someone had just walked by. Kagome shivered and rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them. Glancing around, she didn't see anything until someone stepped into a moonbeam from the window. Her face broke out in confusion at the anger in the person's golden eyes. In one step, he stood in front of her and grabbed her wrists in one hand as he covered her mouth with the other. He whispered in her ear, "Don't you dare move." Kagome tensed at the hatred in his beautiful eyes and tried to speak to him. He quickly brought the hand that was covering her mouth around to the back of her head and pinched a nerve. She collapsed, unconscious, to the wood floor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all And I still don't know Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never ever knowing at all What is the chance of finding you out there? And do I have to wait forever?
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome came to in a corner of the hut. Her wrists and ankles were tied up and there was a gag in her mouth. Inuyasha was not in the room but that didn't mean he wasn't nearby. She looked around in the early morning light coming in through the hut's dirty windows and blinked at the mess. There had been a fight in here some time ago; most of the furniture lay broken and battered. A layer of dust covered everything, showing that it had been quite a while since anyone had lived in here. Kagome suddenly remembered the huge time difference between the two worlds. A week in modern time was equivalent to about a month in this world. She tugged on the ropes but they didn't budge. She tried to scoot towards the door but she was held back by a pull at her waist. She looked down to see yet another rope around her waist that led to a ring in the wall, which hadn't been there when Kaede owned the hut. Kagome sighed as she realized that she would have to talk to Inuyasha and get him to untie her. Perhaps it wasn't Inuyasha who had captured her, maybe it was another dog-demon who resembled him. It was hard to see in the dark the night before and she might have been mistaken. With this somewhat reassuring thought in her head, the door opened and Inuyasha walked in. The thought in her head went 'poof' as she realized that Inuyasha really was the one who had tied her up. He looked at her with such fury in his eyes that she shrunk back as far into the corner as she could. He looked at Kagome menacingly and said, "Now, Kikyo. First you're going to tell me exactly why you shot me with a damn arrow."
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hi again! Well, yes, that is an evil cliffie. My apologies. Who know when I will next update? Bwahahahaha! I love you all! And if any of y'all were wondering, I DID get the new Dido cd for my birthday. I had mentioned that earlier and I'm listening to it right now, so, um, yeah.
*hey, is this long enough to make up for all my misdeeds? Probably not. hehehe
I won't reply to any of the reviews I got for the last update because I figger that y'all just want to get on with the story. I do not blame y'all but I just wanted to let y'all know that I appreciate all the reviews but I'm not replying this time. Maybe the next chappie, whenever that may be.
Disclaimer: I own a fat cat like Buyo, but, no, I do not own Inuyasha. However, soon I shall be the proud owner of a lovely 20" by 40" Orlando Bloom poster. So pooh on all of you! Back to the story!
Chapter number whatever, 'Where Are You Now?', by the wonderful Michelle Branch.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Maybe I'd be better on my own No one ever seems to understand me It's easier for me to be alone But there's still a piece of me that feels so empty
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome did go to the movies with Hojo that Friday. And then again on Saturday. And then they went to dinner on Sunday. The whole next week at school was spent next to each other in classes, the hallways, and in the library. A vast majority of the notes passed in class were gossip about Kagome and Hojo. Some of the nicer ones talked about how sweet the two of them looked next to each other. The others all speculated that perhaps they now had the reason for Kagome's long absence from school, that Hojo was now a dad. Kagome did her best to look happy in the spotlight, on the arm of the undeniably hottest guy in the school. She fooled them all, including Hojo. He had no clue why Kagome was going out with him. He was just amazed at his good luck and looked no farther than that. Their kisses were so real to him, especially after their timid first kiss outside the movie theater (a/n: hey, I didn't specify that her next kiss would be with Inuyasha. I only said that her next kiss would be a real one. Bwahahaha). Hojo never thought about how her eyes would become shadowed and she would lose whatever happy spirits she had had before he kissed her. He just figured that Kagome would eventually grow out of her shyness. After all, he was her first boyfriend and he prided himself on being the first to get Kagome to go out with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
I've been all over the world I've seen a million different places But through the crowds and all the faces I'm still out there looking for you
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome dashed out of her last class that Thursday, hoping against hope that Hojo wouldn't be standing out in the hall, waiting for her so that he could walk her home, just as he did every day, even though she argued that she could manage on her own. Hojo just turned her protests into a game and told her that, as her boyfriend, he had the privilege of walking her home. Kagome couldn't argue against that fact; she had to keep up the pretense of having fallen madly in love with Hojo. If she was with Hojo long enough, then she would eventually get used to him and never think about the person she had left behind 500 years ago. Hojo was nice and that was his biggest fault. He was just too nice, always looking out for her and taking the blame. They never argued and she never had a reason to yell at him. Kagome sighed, thinking of a certain somebody that had made her life a hell of a lot more fun. Then she remembered her plan to get home unattended by Hojo and sprinted out the main doors. Screw homework; she could just take a sick day tomorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all What is the chance of finding you out there? Or do I have to wait forever?
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome managed to get home all alone, despite almost being seen by Hojo as she snuck around some bushes. She quickly changed out of her uniform and into some sweats and an old t-shirt. Nobody, least of all the school administration, understood how revealing a miniskirt uniform could be. Or perhaps they did, and that was why the required uniform was consisted of a miniskirt and tight blouse. Musing over how perverted the administration was, Kagome walked down the stairs to the front hall. Just as she was about to open the front door, she heard footsteps and voices from the front walk. 'Dammit!', she thought. The voices were Hojo's and her now-former best friend's. She couldn't quickly escape to the kitchen or another room due to the fact that if she ran past one of the two windows flanking the front door, she would be spotted and her plan would be screwed. So she sat down with her back leaning against the front door and pulled her legs close to her body. If either of them looked in the windows, they would see her. Kagome started praying to all the gods she had ever heard of that neither of her unwanted visitors would look in and just keep pounding on the door. Luckily, the two visitors gave up and left, saying that maybe she was at the hospital. Kagome heard the footsteps running away from the house and Hojo yelling that maybe she was badly injured and would need him to help her in the emergency room. Kagome grinned; at least she had picked a sweet idiot as her boyfriend.
After two or three minutes, when the neighborhood had finally quieted down from all the ruckus caused by yelling teenagers, Kagome stood up and decided to go out the back door to the shrine. She opened the back door, tripped over her portly cat, Buyo, who took his opportunity to run inside, and brushed herself off. "Buyo, if you send me to the emergency room, I swear that I will feed you to Shippo," she told the cat. Buyo blinked at her and flicked his tail at her, as if to say, 'Bring it on. You can't even lift me high enough to drop me in that well.' Kagome stalked off exasperatedly and slammed open the door to the shrine. She walked in and immediately sobered once she closed the door, the effect of the dusty shrine never failed to remind her of the past. Kagome edged closer to the mouth of the well and peered in to the blackness. She fiddled with the last Shikon shard, which she had fashioned into a necklace. All it would take would be one little jump into the well and then she could be back in the happiest days of her life. But they wouldn't be happy anymore; somehow she had managed to screw up everything and that was why she had returned home. Kagome sighed at her dilemma and sat on the lip of the well with her feet dangling down into the blackness. Truth be told, she didn't feel so at home in her own time anymore. And she definitely didn't want to spend the rest of her life hiding from boyfriends. Also, if she never went back to the time 500 years ago, the Shikon Jewel would never be completed and the wars would continue for dominance. All of her friends might be killed by her selfishness. But if she went back, then she would have to deal with Inuyasha and the rift between them. If she went back and gave the last shard, then she would never be able to return home. Kagome sat there in the dark, lost in thought, and she never heard the door slide open or the paws that caused the wooden floorboards to creak under a massive weight. She heard a "mew" behind her that made her turn in surprise and the last thing she remembered was the feel of two paws pushing her off the edge of the well and down into the darkness. Buyo grinned and licked a paw, muttering about Kagome's indecisiveness. "Have fun, little one," he said as he left the shrine to investigate the chipmunk situation in the yard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
I write about the things I'll never know And I can't find a moment just to slow down It makes me think I'll never have the chance To figure out what it's all about So tell me what it's all about
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome woke up on the ground in the middle of the night. She sat up slowly and felt a bump throbbing on her head. The stupid cat had pushed her off the well with so much force that she had hit her head on the stone wall of the well. 'Oh, now he's definitely going to meet Shippo now,' she thought as she sat up and looked around. This was rather hard to do since the only light came from occasional bits of moonlight peeking from behind the clouds. But Kagome got her bearings eventually and headed off in the direction of Kaede's house. Perhaps Sango and Miroku were there, maybe even Inuyasha. At least Kaede could tell her where they were. She approached the house quietly, not wanting to wake up any villagers or let a demon know that she was there. A breeze blew through the village as she stepped onto the doorstep and she got goosebumps on her arms. Shrugging off the coincidence, she opened the door to Kaede's hut and stepped inside. Kagome blinked in the darkness, refusing to believe the instinct that she needed to get out of the house now. As her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she got wary, remembering how Kaede always kept a candle burning at night in case of a late-night sickness. Kagome listened hard for Kaede's loud snores but didn't hear anything. She did hear the door close behind her and felt the air move past her arm, as if someone had just walked by. Kagome shivered and rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them. Glancing around, she didn't see anything until someone stepped into a moonbeam from the window. Her face broke out in confusion at the anger in the person's golden eyes. In one step, he stood in front of her and grabbed her wrists in one hand as he covered her mouth with the other. He whispered in her ear, "Don't you dare move." Kagome tensed at the hatred in his beautiful eyes and tried to speak to him. He quickly brought the hand that was covering her mouth around to the back of her head and pinched a nerve. She collapsed, unconscious, to the wood floor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never knowing at all And I still don't know Where are you now? I'm trying to get by with never ever knowing at all What is the chance of finding you out there? And do I have to wait forever?
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome came to in a corner of the hut. Her wrists and ankles were tied up and there was a gag in her mouth. Inuyasha was not in the room but that didn't mean he wasn't nearby. She looked around in the early morning light coming in through the hut's dirty windows and blinked at the mess. There had been a fight in here some time ago; most of the furniture lay broken and battered. A layer of dust covered everything, showing that it had been quite a while since anyone had lived in here. Kagome suddenly remembered the huge time difference between the two worlds. A week in modern time was equivalent to about a month in this world. She tugged on the ropes but they didn't budge. She tried to scoot towards the door but she was held back by a pull at her waist. She looked down to see yet another rope around her waist that led to a ring in the wall, which hadn't been there when Kaede owned the hut. Kagome sighed as she realized that she would have to talk to Inuyasha and get him to untie her. Perhaps it wasn't Inuyasha who had captured her, maybe it was another dog-demon who resembled him. It was hard to see in the dark the night before and she might have been mistaken. With this somewhat reassuring thought in her head, the door opened and Inuyasha walked in. The thought in her head went 'poof' as she realized that Inuyasha really was the one who had tied her up. He looked at her with such fury in his eyes that she shrunk back as far into the corner as she could. He looked at Kagome menacingly and said, "Now, Kikyo. First you're going to tell me exactly why you shot me with a damn arrow."
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hi again! Well, yes, that is an evil cliffie. My apologies. Who know when I will next update? Bwahahahaha! I love you all! And if any of y'all were wondering, I DID get the new Dido cd for my birthday. I had mentioned that earlier and I'm listening to it right now, so, um, yeah.
*hey, is this long enough to make up for all my misdeeds? Probably not. hehehe