Sometimes, I just get so sick of everything…

"So, what's this all about, Kagome?" Sakura asked. Miyako had taken us away from the morbidity of the stadium to a very grassy clearing amidst a dense forest of cherry trees. Unfortunately, it was summer, so the petals weren't falling. It was disappointing.

I let out one of my long, exasperated-sounding sighs. I do that a lot. Then I said, to everyone at once: "I'm sorry." Everybody stared at me without saying anything, so I continued. "It wasn't meant to end up like that…"

"Well, what /was/ it supposed to be?" Podge asked.
"Yeah! What was it?" Miyako added. Strangely, Ryou and the others were being very quiet. Apparently, they weren't too curious.

"I was trying to train you guys," I said, motioning to Sakura and my other guardians. "It was the best way I could think of, since you'd never seen Podge's Living Water, and you wouldn't expect it at a concert…"

Podge glowered at me. I felt terrible. "Lady Hexias, do you mean to tell me that you /used/ me?" he asked angrily. I hated to think that I'd used him, but it was true.

"I don't know what I was thinking," I said sadly, looking to the ground. I felt a tear slide down my left cheek, and I closed my eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Sakura, Steph, and Miyako all tried to put their hands on my shoulder at once. This instigated one of the noisiest arguments I've /ever/ seen. I was just surprised the conflict about my name hadn't arisen.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sakura yelled.
"What's it look like!" Miyako replied angrily. "I'm trying to comfort her!"

Steph folded her arms across her chest. "That's /my/ job! She's my best friend!"

Miyako and Sakura then said in unison: "She's my best friend, too!"
"God damn it!" Axel yelled. "/We're/ the ones who protect her!"
"So do I, you fucking moron!" Sakura cried.

"Guys…" I said, looking timidly up at them – I'm rather short – and wiping the tear from my cheek. I then felt someone else's hand on my shoulder. It was Podge's. I smiled weakly at him and said: "Thanks…"

He shook his head. I noticed that he looked kind of nervous. "Don't cry. Tears only convey weakness. Be strong, Lady Hexias!" He took his hand from my shoulder and then turned to Sakura and the others. "Now, now… Lady Miyako, let's not be rash…" I could tell he was trying to get them to stop, but I didn't know why.

Suddenly, a loud sound - an explosion - rang out through the woods. Several trees began to topple, and eventually fall. I felt myself being whisked away to safety, but I had to turn my head almost all the way around to see who it was. Auron's arms were the ones around my waist, holding me firmly so I would not be dropped. He always did pay the most attention to my safety.

"Thanks, Auron," I said softly. He nodded, then set me down gently and told me to stay put. I did as I was told and looked towards the others to see what was going on.

I then found out why Podge had seemed so anxious.

In the swirling, black smoke, I saw a number of figures. Among them were my guardians, Steph, Podge, and Lucia, and one more: Naraku. The /worst/ possible person to see. I glared at him, because I knew he could see me. As the smoke cleared, I saw him smile.

However, what's worse was that Podge was standing beside him, also looking directly at me. My narrowed eyes relaxed to seem befuddled as he took a step forward, pointing his cane directly at me. Everyone turned their heads to see what he was pointing at, except for Lucia and Naraku. They already knew.

"Podge…" I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me.

"Forgive me, Lady Hexias, but I'm afraid I have to do this." There was a terrible smile on his face. The celestial orb on his cane began to glow. "Aeroga Flame!" he roared. At that moment, I couldn't even begin to describe my fear. He was using one of his more powerful attacks against me. When I looked for a very brief moment at Miyako, she, too, seemed flabbergasted.

A violent, whirling tornado grew before Podge. I can still see the burning flames carried in the sharp wind. The attack was hurled directly at me, but it missed – it kind of danced around the clearing, setting all the grass on fire, even though it was still green. Miyako didn't do a thing, because the fire would only help her, and the same with Axel. The others, though, were very frightened. Sakura was trying very hard – but failing – to twirl her bo staff fast enough to deflect the tornado, and the others were actually working together to create a barrier. They should have let me help; I'm very good with magic.

When the raging, fiery storm finally receded, all that remained standing and unharmed was Naraku, Lucia, Podge, and myself. I truly hadn't been touched. Naraku scanned the area for a moment, seemingly satisfied with the results of the attack, then grinned at me again. I only glared at him in return.

"Kagome, you really should watch your temper," he said. He said it in a way that made me so unfathomably angry, my blood boiled. I was very tempted to use Ultima or some similar attack against him, but I couldn't. Podge and Lucia were still beside him, looking equally victorious.

"Podge, how could you?" I said pitifully. He shook his head.

"I do hope you can forgive me. However, I believe we have bigger fish to fry. Accept this as a little parting gift, would you?" A cloudy puff of miasma engulfed the three of them, and an enormous machina stood in their place. I remembered it; I had seen Podge working to repair it more than once. He called it the 'Experiment.'

I must say, he'd done a /very/ nice job repairing it.