Replaced

A Different Reason

Chapter Two: Shikon no Tama

Dropping the ugly yellow backpack she used only for large amounts of homework on her bed, she flopped into her chair and reviewed all of her assignments. Teachers should know that teenagers didn't need great quantities of busywork to occupy their minds over the weekends.

"Excuse me! I do have a life." She muttered as she started on her math. She was soon immersed in x's and y's and squares.

Souta popped his head in.

"Hey Kagome, Grandpa said that there was going to be a storm tonight, but the forecast says clear skies. Isn't that weird? Also, he's going to tell us a story." He paused significantly.

When Kagome didn't react, he shook his head and said,

"It's going to be about that old well and that tree with the hole in it. Don't you think we should take notes or something?"

Kagome finally shifted her position to face him.

"Souta, are you sure you want to go back down the well? I'm not sure about it anymore. It could be dangerous."

Souta stared at her.

"You've got to be kidding, we already went down. If there were some curse thingy, don't you think we have a right to know what's going to happen to us as a result of?" he was only half-joking.

"Do you have any idea how much homework I have to do! If I'm lucky, I'll finish it by Sunday and have some free time."

All he did was raise his eyebrows. That did it. Kagome slammed her pencil down and marched downstairs and plopped herself down in front of her grandpa. He looked at her, a little startled, but when Souta came humming down, he understood, although not the measures taken to persuade her.

"Let's start Grandpa!" Souta exclaimed, dropping down on a cushion and staring up with devoted eyes.

He leaned forward and began in a low voice.

"Tonight, I am going to tell you about the Sacred Shikon Jewel like my grandfather told me.

"The Sacred Jewel of the Four Souls was made in the Miko Midoriko's body. At the time, she was fighting against many other powerful demons. She destroyed them by purifying their souls. She was powerful, and all demons knew it. But this time, she knew that she could not win."

He paused significantly.

"In order to gain time, she forced her soul along with those of the demons into what became known as the Shikon Jewel. A legacy came, each time that a pure miko would unwittingly shatter it, and be forced to recover the pieces. When the shards were put back together, depending on the miko and her companions, a wish would be granted. If they had been good to people and acted nicely, the wish would be granted, exactly how to wished had wanted (unless it was a evil wish). If they had committed evil doings, the jewel would misinterpret their wish, and the demons within would gain in power.

"The thing about the wishes was that you never knew if they would be read correctly or not. There was a certain risk involved when you made the wish. It is so that only 4 out of the hundreds of mikos have made a wish."

"Grandpa, were they good or bad wishes?"

He sighed and leaned back. Evidently, no one knew if they had been good or evil.

"Well, anyways, the legend has it that our well can become a time portal to the feudal era. That's why we keep it stocked with some essentials of life. If danger ever struck, that would be where we would go."

Later that night

Kagome snuggled into her pillow. It was raining quite hard outside, despite the weather forecast. It was only 8, but she was tired. Tired enough to go to bed without finishing her homework as planned.

There was nothing to say or warn of the bloody killing that would take place the next night.

The next morning

Souta pounced onto Kagome's bed and shined a strong flashlight into her eyes as she blinked sleepiness away.

"Souta! Just why..." she murmured softly. "Where did you get that flashlight? I've never seen it before."

"From the room in the well, of course. Where else? Do you really think that mom wou-"

"The well!" she whispered, staring at him while choosing her clothes. She assumed that he had put some things there, and picked out a top and a short skirt.

"Yeah." He replied, then plowed on. "Mom says that you should dress nice because we're having guests. A lot of guests."

Kagome dropped her current mini and rummaged around for a longer skirt. Guests meant pasting a smile on her face and acting pretty.

"Answer me. Why did you go back into the well?" she asked firmly.

Souta sighed, obviously annoyed.

"I wanted to see what else was down there. I even added some of your junk to the pile for fun."

"What!" she didn't think that he would extend his packrat characteristics to her property as well.

Kagome had finally escaped from the tedious Hojo. He was the worst of the lot. He always insisted on following her, but luckily seemed to be too timid to make any passes yet. She didn't doubt that if he was with his friends, there would be some feeling going on. Souta had disappeared again, assumingly back to the well. His friends weren't able to come, so he had no one to play with. Today, Kagome would have gladly entertained him herself, but she was tied to playing hostess to her mother's guests. They were business colleagues and family friends, which only served to distance themselves from Kagome.

It would be improper to follow a girl to her room. Kagome couldn't believe that it had taken her so long to figure out a solution. She walked to the window for some fresh air, and shrieked in reflex at the gruesome face that grinned at her.

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