Chapter 21: Reactions
Kagome climbed out of the well and used the winch her grandfather had installed at her request to bring up her backpack. "Oh, I hope Mom can mend it again…"
"Is Kagome home?" She whirled and sped up the well house stairs, bursting out the door as her grandfather opened his mouth. "Thanks, Grandpa! I'll take it from here. " She smiled at her grandfather's bewildered expression. She gestured to Thomas and went back into the well house. "He must have missed me earlier. What's up?" When he didn't answer, she tried again. "Thomas?" She turned around.
Thomas was not paying attention to her. He was looking around the well house. "Why are you in here?"
Kagome looked back at him and blushed. "It's a good place to study." Lies, lies…
Thomas looked around once more. "But there's not enough light in here."
"Ehehe… Okay, you got me. To tell you the truth, it's a good place to hide from my little brother. But don't tell him!"
Thomas smiled. "Okay. I won't." His face suddenly turned serious. "Are you still mad at me?"
She chuckled. "No, of course not."
He released a breath. "So, how have you been?"
"Busy." She finished cranking the winch, and dragged her bag from the bucket. "Oh, how was your test?"
He blushed. "I passed."
She squealed and hugged him. "I knew it! I knew it! Congrats!" She yanked at her bag again, succeeding in pulling it out, and grabbed it gingerly. She went back up the stairs and out of the well house, followed by Thomas. "Well, come on in and tell me all about it."
*****
Miroku arrived at Kaede's, still dazed about Kagome's decision. Inuyasha walked in behind him, asking him endless questions about Kagome. Sesshoumaru and Sango were missing, and Kouga wasn't there either. Lady Kaede was inspecting the orange energy bubble which held the children. Rin sat patiently while Shippou and Hoonomei pounded on the bubble walls. "I am glad you are back, child. This is most peculiar."
"What's the matter, Lady Kaede?"
The old woman turned towards them. "This floated inside my home a while ago. I cannot do anything to let the young ones out. What do you think?"
Miroku went over to Kaede, ignoring the mutterings of Inuyasha. He looked at the bubble. "This looks like Kagome-sama's doing." He reached out with his hand.
As soon as he touched the bubble, it popped, and the kids fell to the ground.
Sesshoumaru arrived ten minutes later, dragging Kouga behind him and tossing him into a corner. Rin had rushed over and grabbed Sesshoumaru's leg, grinning at him and chattering about the excitement from the night before. Sango rushed in afterwards, asking about the three lost kids—but rushing over to Kouga's side after seeing him grabbing his head in the corner. Shippou and Hoonomei were asking Miroku what had happened, where Kagome was, and why were they inside that energy bubble.
Above the din, a lone voice was heard. "So Kagome's really gone? Permanently?"
All eyes turned to Inuyasha, who had pegged Miroku with a look. After everyone looked at him expectantly, Miroku sighed and nodded. He heard the soft whimpering of the three youngsters plus Kouga, Inuyasha's growl, and Sango's defeated sigh.
Miroku handed Sesshoumaru Kagome's note and let everyone know what she had said before heading outside again.
*****
The next few weeks blurred together. Kagome went to school every day as if nothing had ever happened. Her grades went back to where they were before she was dragged down the well by Mistress Centipede. Her friends remarked several times that they were glad she was finally cured of everything that had ever plagued her. They even tried to get her to go out with Houjo a few times.
For her own part, Kagome spent her spare time avoiding Thomas.
As she meandered down one of the many trails in the park close to her home, she thought back to her reasons to stay as far away as possible from "that cute exchange student" as her friends repeatedly referred to him. After that afternoon when he'd almost caught her coming out of the well, she had made sure she was either busy or unavailable whenever he came near her. Something about him worried her—some of his comments and behaviors, for example—and she didn't want him to know she felt that way. Just in case.
She came to her favorite part of the park, a secluded garden dominated by a waterfall that cascaded into a deep navy pool bordered by a low stone wall. The garden was unkempt this year, so fields of wildflowers had overtaken it. Kagome smiled to herself as she made her way over to the boulder closest to the falls. Putting down her sketchbook, she took off her shoes and socks and dipped her toes in the cool water. "Heaven…"
She grabbed her sketchbook and opened it to a blank page. Pencil in hand, she chewed on it for a while before making a few lines on the pristine paper. She glanced up several times and looked around before sketching some more on the paper. Satisfied, she switched to the next page and started sketching again.
She was on the fourth page when she felt the demon.
Kagome looked up and tried to pinpoint where the demon was and which direction it was moving towards. Shutting her sketchbook, she grabbed her shoes and socks and ran after it.
*****
Sango caught up with Miroku sitting at the base of the well. There he is again… "Miroku-sama, can we talk?"
He grinned up at her and clutched her hand. "Lady Sango, I am thrilled you're ready to accept to bear my child!"
*SMACK!* "Pervert!"
Miroku rubbed the latest bump on his head as Sango shouldered her boomerang. "I came here to have a serious talk with you, and you do this! Fine, I give up. Feel free to continue pining for her by yourself, houshi-sama. I'm going back to Lady Kaede's." Sango angrily turned away and stalked off, her raven hair flying behind her.
Miroku's grin vanished. He sighed deeply and frowned as he looked back at the well. " 'I apologize, Lady Sango, but I would rather be alone right now.' There, was that so hard?" He sighed again. "I should have said that instead, right? But no, I had to be my usual charming, annoying self. Great going, Miroku. You've finally alienated the only person in the group who was still speaking to you. You're back to being alone." He angrily stabbed his staff into the ground repeatedly, sending dirt and rocks flying in every direction.
"Keep that up, monk, and you won't have to worry about being alone for much longer." Miroku whirled and found himself facing Sesshoumaru. An angry Sesshoumaru, who was busy brushing dirt off his usually pristine clothes. Miroku cringed. "Welcome back, Lord Sesshoumaru. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Never mind that. Why are you here talking to yourself, monk?"
Miroku turned back to the well, then to the demon lord. "She's..."
"She has not returned yet." Sesshoumaru turned away from him and started towards the village. "Rin wants to see you. She is at the old woman's house." With that, he was gone. Miroku stood and slowly followed, kicking up everything in his path with his sandals.
*****
Kagome had managed to slip on her shoes as she stealthily followed her prey. The dark-haired woman seemed innocent enough, but Kagome had enough scars from several innocent-looking enemies to know better.
The woman crossed the street and went into a local clothing store. Kagome stopped briefly to put on her socks and followed her inside, catching up with the woman as she walked into the elevator. The woman shrugged and smiled apologetically at her as the doors closed.
Backpedaling, Kagome went up the stairs and searched for the woman. After a good thirty minutes, she gave up and left the store.
Night had fallen, and Kagome made a face at her watch. "When did it get so late? Mom will be worried." She quickly walked back through the park, which was not as inviting now as it had been earlier that day.
She was almost out of the park when two things happened. One was the strange energy she sensed nearby.
The other was the arm that grabbed her waist and the hand that covered her mouth, while a voice whispered in her ear, "One move and you're dead."
Her sketchbook and pencil case fell to the ground, unnoticed.
*****
© 12/07/03, M.A.R.
Aphiopsyduck: *drags a potato sack behind her...* Hello again, my faithful readers. I know it's been over a month since the last update, and I apologize profusely. But before you unleash your wrath upon me, the author, I would like to do something I thought I'd never have to do. Today, I'd like to introduce... my Muse. *throws sack down*
*sack struggles* You see, I was all set to update this chapter, when someone *glares at struggling sack* decided to go off on vacation. Without my knowledge. Which meant that, as much as I wanted to revise this chapter, which was giving me trouble, I was stuck. Extremely stuck. *kicks sack* I was forced to entertain myself with other things...
*sack bursts open* Damn you, Aphiopsyduck--
Aphiopsyduck: Now now, don't interrupt, Muse.
Muse: Go to hell, you imbecile. YOU wanted to play Animal Crossing ALL the time. And YOU wanted to play FF7. And YOU were the one watching anime all the damn time to boot. Whose fault was that?
Aphiopsyduck: I had class too! And besides, you're scaring the readers.
Muse: Hell, YES they should be scared. If they could look into your sick and twisted mind--Wait a sec. Stop calling me "Muse." I DO have a name.
Aphiopsyduck: And we will NOT mention it here. But anyways--
Muse: HELL no. I want a REAL name. Now.
Aphiopsyduck: *sighs* Fine. How does "Emerald Dragon" sound?
Muse: *cocks head* *shrugs* Eh. It'll work. For now.
Aphiopsyduck: Fine. As I was saying--
Emerald Dragon: Uh-uh, no way, MY turn. Tell them about the different stories you've either begun or edited while NOT working on this one--including the one that reached 50 pages.
Aphiopsyduck: They're not reading those. They're reading this one.
Emerald Dragon: *smirks* Then post them.
Aphiopsyduck: I will NOT!
Ahem! *both turn to a third figure* Will you both let it go? Your readers are fleeing in droves--what few you had already, that is. *turns to audience* I do apologize. They're always like this--which is why I told Aphiopsyduck NOT to bring--what name are you using now? Oh, yes--Emerald Dragon over. Ever. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of When Muses Attack--oh, wait, wrong story. *grin* I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter in When Plans go Awry, and that you return to read the rest of the chapters. *turns to author and muse* As for you two...
Aphiopsyduck: Eep! Gotta go! *runs and hides*
Emerald Dragon: I'm not afraid of you.
New voice: You should be. I'm the one in charge of anime and video games. *grins evilly*
Emerald Dragon: *sighs* Fine, okay. You win. But Aphiopsyduck'd better post at least three more chapters this week... *walks off*
New Voice: Don't mind them, they're always fighting. Anyways, I sincerely hope you liked this chapter. It seems our dear author realized part of this chapter would have worked better if moved to chapter 20, thus making that chapter longer--but by then chapter 20 had been posted, and so as to not confuse any new readers (and some returning ones) it was decided to leave as-is and maybe edit it in the future. As for the cliffhanger, the author would like to apologize and hopes that the readers will come back in a day or two to read on.
*smiles* As for any other questions there might be, please keep
on reading. All will be explained in due time. *looks at watch* Well, it
is now 2:28 am, and I need my sleep. By the time you read this, it'll be
either late afternoon Sunday or Monday night, depending on whether the
author can finish the final class paper due Monday afternoon and/or returns
from the other final at the local Alehouse. :o)
(More or less) Permanent A/N: *sweatdrops…* Ehehe…
First fanfic… If nothing else, it's a test run, since this will be my first
real fanfic posted anywhere. I don' really know where it's going though,
so please bear with me. Reviews are welcome, and flames will be used on
undead mikos who refuse to leave our heroes alone. :o)