Title: The Jomon Bow

Author: The Painted Lady

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I will return them to her, washed and pressed, when I am finished torturing them.

Chapter One: Discovery

Kagome sighed in boredom as she leaned back in her chair, balancing neatly on its back legs. The classroom seemed hotter and stuffier than usual, the history lecture more dry and tedious than she could ever remember. Since she had become an active participant in 'history', the class had become increasingly dull.

"The Jomon people of ancient Japan were little more than sustenance farmers, depending heavily on the meat that the hunters would bring back to the small villages…"

Kagome only half listened to her teacher, her attention held by the sun shining brightly on the school commons. She desperately wanted this class to be over, because this was the last day in the week that she would be staying in her time. She knew that Inu Yasha was probably at her house right now, waiting for her to get home so they could go down the well and continue the adventure for the shards of the Shikon. Badly missing her friends from the Feudal Age, Kagome tried to will the clock on the wall to go faster. For the Nth time she checked the timepiece, but to no avail. The clock had shown that only fifteen minutes had passed since the beginning of class.

"Higurashi, balancing is for gym Class, not History. Please treat the chair as you would any other and keep it on the floor."

With a scarlet flush, she plopped her chair back into its proper position and tried to pay attention to her teacher. As the lecture continued, Kagome stifled a yawn and dutifully took notes on the remnants of the Jomon people.

"The only artifacts that remain from this period are clay pots and vases, designed with a chord like structure, as you would guess," Mr. Tanuki chuckled over his own little joke, completely oblivious of his drowsy audience. Not only was the room muggy, but he had drawn the blinds to better portray his PowerPoint presentation. The dark, combined with stifling heat, made even Eri, the smartest girl in the class, inattentive.

Flipping to the next screen, the teacher continued, "Oddly enough, the only other know artifact is this. It is called the Jomon Bow."

At the word 'bow', Kagome's head shot up from her near slumber, and her pen became poised over her paper, ready to take down any information. She looked up at the overhead, and saw this bow that Mr. Tanuki was speaking of. It was black, with a red chord like design seen on most of the containers from the previous slides. However, it was not strung, and looked old and fragile, as if it would fall apart if introduced to a strong wind.

Mr. Tanuki sighed and inwardly grimaced as he noticed the 'Higurashi girl' start to pay attention at the mention of the weapon. To him, it seemed that the only thing his students were interested in were the bloody battles and dangerous weapons that history had to offer. If a student would have been interested in the unexplained migration of sea sponges last year, he would have been thrilled.

"The Jomon Bow is somewhat of a mystery," He continued, "But there is a legend that surrounds it. The myth says that it once belonged to a powerful sorcerer. When an evil Lord came to take over his lands, he charmed it; made it extremely powerful. Supposedly, it could destroy anything it hit."

He didn't hear Kagome's excited intake of breath.

"The Lord was crafty, he knew that he couldn't get near the sorcerer while he had the bow. So he sent and assassin to deal with him. This assassin killed the sorcerer and his family, and took the bow to his Lord. The evil Lord then used the bow against his enemies, and became the most powerful warlord in ancient Japan. However, the sorcerer's apprentice survived, and cursed the evil lord. The Lord disappeared, and the apprentice took the bow. Sadly, the bow had become filled with the Lord's wickedness, and the young man guarded the Jomon Bow, waiting for someone worthy enough to wield it."

Instantly, Kagome's hand shot into the air.

"What happened to the apprentice?" she queried.

"No one knows, for sure," Mr. Tanuki answered, "Some believe that he became a hermit and guarded the bow, others think he abandoned the bow for a woman. Most scholars, myself included, think that this legend was concocted the explain away the existence of such a bow."

Deflated, Kagome let her hand fall into her lap. She had gotten so excited about the bow, and couldn't stop herself from asking the question. Blushing under Mr. Tanuki's gaze, she raised her hand again, this time more hesitantly.

"If there is no explanation of the bows existence, then how did it come to be there, at that point in history?"

With a slightly irritated look, the teacher answered, "I do not know. But," he hastily continued as he saw Kagome was going to interrupt him again, "The bow is on display at the Museum of History in Tokyo. Perhaps someone there will be able to tell you more."

Nodding her head, Kagome sat back in her chair, well aware of the stares that her fellow students were casting in her direction. This was the first time all year that she had willingly participated in class, and Ayame wondered on it. 'She's interested in a crummy old bow?' she thought to herself.

As the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Kagome, Eri, and Ayame exited the sweltering classroom and left the school building arm in arm. While her two friends chatted amiably, Kagome was lost in thought.

"A bow that can destroy anything? If I could get a hold of it, this would greatly help in our quest against Naraku. But how to get it…"

Her thoughts left her as Eri waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Kagome, anyone home?"

"Wha…" she said intelligently.

Ayame and Eri started giggling, "Houjo just walked past you and tried to talk to you, but you just kind of ignored him," Ayame said in between fits of laughter. "He was absolutely crushed! You should have seen his face!"

Normally, Kagome would have turned around and apologized to Houjo, but her mind was still reeling over the implications that the bow held for her.

"I really have to run home, guys," she stated, breaking the contact between her two companions. "There's something I need to take care of." She was remembering now that Inu Yasha would more than likely come looking for her if she was late, and explaining him away to her friends, again, didn't seem like a fun time.

"Awe, Kag! We were going to go to WacDonald's and grab a bite to eat."

"Sorry!" she called over her shoulder as she took off in the direction of her house. "I gotta get home, I have something important I need to do!"

As the two friends watched her retreating form, Eri looked at Ayame and said, "People come and go so quickly here!"

"With that, they turned and headed for the WaDonald's to disscuss their friend's strange personality.

End Part

A/N: So, what you think? This will start to get better soon, I promise. Lots of adventure and action! It jut takes a while for the plot to develop, but if you stick around, it will start to get more interesting, I swear! The little 'joke' that Mr. Tanuki thought he made was that the word "Jomon" literally means "Chord-Like". I'm not sure if I have researched this time period correctly, but the Jomon people did exist, though in a much earlier time than Feudal Japan. Also, a cookie to anyone who got the "Wizard of Oz" reference!

Well, Feed the Beast peeps! Push the little blue button!