Hey all! Once again thank you for the kind reviews, I really think about
them when I write, so remember - your opinion does matter!
I have to apologize for bringing Kikyo into the mix, but there IS a reason she's part of the Inuyasha cast, and she does deserve a part in every AU story. I don't personally like the woman very much, but I don't believe she is the epitome of evil either. Don't fret though; I'm a huge Inu/Kag supporter, so no worries in that area.
Someone pointed out to me that the story is a lot like MIB. hmmm; well, I've never actually seen Men In Black, only Men In Black 2, although even from that movie I can make a good guess as to why my fic would remind you of that scenario. (And here I thought I was only copying off one story line! Sigh.) Well, whatever, I promise you 'Bitten' won't follow that plot much further since it sort of branches off into its own category of 'really weird Inuyasha-ness' after this chapter. In any case, I hope you enjoy the fic, and don't forget to review, please!
ALSO- although I doubt anyone noticed, I made a mistake with the timeframe last chapter: It was Saturday, and the next day it was Monday. um, okay, we're just going to pretend that never happened and get on with it. Today is Monday in Kagome's world, and starting tomorrow it's Tuesday - All is good. No one really likes Sunday anyway.
I don't own Inuyasha. or One for The Money. or MIB..
*
Bitten
By Rio Grande
Chapter Four: My So Called Life (Of which I don't own either!) (But that's a terribly wonderful show as well.) (God I have to start getting some original ideas over here.)
*
"So, remind me again how you found out that I'm working as a secretary for the FBI when I haven't actually told anyone yet?" Kagome asked, letting herself be seated at the family table with an almost imperceptible sigh of anguish, as her mother came into the room holding a pot of steaming noodles, and a worried expression etched onto her features. Next to the college student, her fifteen-year-old brother, Sota, was beaming excitedly, impressed beyond words that his stupid elder sister was finally doing something COOL with her life. Hey, maybe she actually knew James Bond now or something! On Kagome's other side, her withered old grandfather, and head priest of the Sunset Shrine, was muttering darkly over his tea, horrified beyond words that his favorite granddaughter was undoubtedly partaking in unspeakable things such as alien experimentation now. Damn scientists. damn National Security!
"Well, your Aunt Kimeko is friends with Ms. Taka, you remember her from across the street all those years ago don't you? Oh, she moved down to the west side, and I miss her holiday cookies, they were always so good!- anyway, Ms. Taka's husband Shiji is a police officer whose old partner Mr. Watasa has recently become a member of the FBI criminal investigations unit and heard that a young girl named Kagome Higurashi had just been offered a job in one of the more private criminal investigation units that even he's not permitted to work on! And of course he remembered your name from the winter pageant and you living at the shrine, so he went home and told his wife who also remembered you and immediately called her good friend Aunt Kimeko who was so surprised she came home straight after her work at the children's daycare center down on 40th street and called me while I was making dinner- and you can imagine how startled I was!" her mother said, laughing lightly. Kagome stared at her mother, head spinning. The woman tended to get off track while talking.
"I. see." Kagome said, nodding slowly, not really understanding at all, but knowing better than to doubt the intricate and reliable system that was the mother's gossiping unit of Tokyo.
"What part of the FBI are you working in Kagome that's so secret Mr. Taka isn't permitted to know about it?!" Sota asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Oh.. You know. just detective. stuff." Kagome cautiously got out, wondering how to put this without revealing some rather disturbing parts of her job.
"Sounds fishy to me," her grandfather said, leaning down to quickly loose himself in his ramen as Kagome's mother came around and served everybody some.
"Oh, well, it's not!" Kagome quickly assured him, having no desire to have Grandfather Higurashi breathing down her back about this job for months to come. "I mean, all I do is sit there and take calls and file all day! It's nothing major! I'm hardly trained so I couldn't be doing anything dangerous," she said, lying. Well, not really lying. She really wasn't trained, but she was going to be, for some reason, doing incredibly dangerous work.
"Well that's a relief," her mother said, pleasant smile now firmly back in place.
"Well that's a let down," her brother said, posture slackening as he dug into his ramen. Kagome sighed, you just couldn't please everyone!
'Oh my God. I forgot I have to tell them about Shippou.' Kagome realized with a start, eyes widening. Hmmm. how to approach this one? She was still in shock herself over the whole thing, and still trying to remember how Kaede had convinced her to go along with all this. It was going to be a drastic change to her lifestyle, no matter that Shippou wouldn't actually be living with her all day, just mainly in the evening. How could she calmly inform her family of the new, odd happenings in her life if she still hadn't completely come to terms with them herself?
(A/N- Did you know, I totally made up that whole, 'she's going to live with Shippou' thing on the spot? Ah well, it turned out okay.)
"Sooo. I'm adopting a kid," Kagome decided upon starting off with.
Grandfather Higurashi began choking with a noodle half way down his throat, spitting out the rest of the contents in his mouth across to Sota who squeaked with disgust and consequentally knocked his glass of water over so that it spilled onto Kagome and she had to jump up from her chair, napkin in hand. Kagome's mother seemed to freeze up completely, halting with her spoon in midair en route to her mouth, eyes going as wide as ping pong balls.
"WHAT." The family chorused together, staring pointedly at the twenty year old.
"Um- okay, so I phrased that wrong. I'm. going to have a child live with me in the evenings because his mother, my . friend, is currently out of town," she said, struggling to come up with a suitable lie on the spot. This seemed to sit better with the family though, and her mother let out yet another sigh of relief as Kagome began to sponge off her skirt, returning to her seat.
"But, Kagome, are you sure this is a wise idea, what with your college studies?" her mother asked, still wary. Sota made a 'bleck' noise as he wiped off the guck his grandpa had spat at him when he choked on his noodles.
"Oh. it should be okay. I mean, classes are over in a week for winter vacation, and I only have one more final after I take the Ancient Japanese one tomorrow," Kagome explained, even though personally she tended to agree with her mother. She was far from prepared to be living with a child, be he demon or no.
"Oh Kagome, I don't know." her mother said, trailing off anxiously. Kagome sighed. Just another family dinner!
"How long is he staying with you? And what is this friend of yours doing so that she can't take care of the child, or at least hand it over to some relatives?" Grandpa Higurashi asked speculatively. Kagome pulled on her collar, and gave off an awkward smile. Hmmm.
"Well. actually, she's in the hospital."
"Oh, how awful!"
".For bunion surgery."
".Ew."
"In England, that's why I said she'd be out of town. so she'll be gone awhile."
"That's odd,"
"And he has no other living relatives," Okay, not a total lie. "And she knows I'm really responsible so she let me take care of him while she was getting the operation," Lie. Right there, lie!
"Well, I suppose if it's unavoidable." Kagome's mother sighed, resigning herself to the fact that her daughter was going to be undoubtedly responsible for the death of a young child within the next few days.
"What's his name?" Sota wanted to know.
"Shippou Kit," Kagome was quick to reply. Finally, a question she knew the answer to!
"Hm, that's odd, I don't know any of your friends who have the last name Kit." Her mother said, frowning. Erk!
"WELL. that's because I met her at school and she's so busy with her son we don't have time to hang out much. out of school. And she's never been to this house," Kagome said as casually as she could, drowning out half her words in her cup.
"Well, hopefully I'll get to see the little boy before too long. Is he cute?" Ms. Higurashi pressed.
"Yeahhhh." Ah! Shippou had a tail! And yellow eyes! What was she supposed to do if people wanted to see the phantom child who was living with her? This would have to be brought up with Kaede.
"Oh, good!" her mother giggled, clapping her hands together.
The rest of the meal continued with a relative degree of normality, accompanied by only the occasional outburst from Kagome's grandfather, an unimaginably old man who was very dedicated to his temple but admittedly loony. The meal consisted of ramen, sautéed vegetables and chicken. Everything reminded Kagome so much of home, and of a time before her life had disintegrated to easy-mac, that she ended up leaving with a whole lot of food in some little containers, for tomorrow's dinner no doubt, since she could easily see herself being too tied up with studying for that last final and writing up that report Kaede had requested, to be bothered with little things like proper nourishment.
"Bye Kagome, come visit again soon! You hardly visit anymore now that you've moved out!" Kagome mother said as she led her only daughter out of the house around two hours after she had first entered.
"I like it!" Sota said, putting in his two cents from where he was stretched out on the couch playing gameboy. Kagome stuck out her tongue at Sota as she left.
"Get a life! And, sorry Mom, but it's school! And now with this job."
"I wish you had conferred with me about that job before you took it!" Ms. Higurashi admitted, while grandpa nodded gravely behind her. "How much are you getting paid, anyway?"
"UM-. well,"
"Well, don't you know? For Pete's sake you MUST know how much you're getting paid," Grandpa Higurashi huffed, furrowing his brows together.
"How will you support Shippou? Or is your friend giving you money for that?"
"Of course I know how much I'm getting paid! I just. forgot!" Kagome said, shrugging helplessly. "And. yeah, she's paying me," 'She' had better be.
"Oi, and this girl lives alone," Grandpa moaned, rolling his eyes heavenwards. He had TOLD her to just live at home, but nooo. Kagome laughed uneasily, and quickly backpedaled out of the house.
"Well, have to be going, more studying and stuff, see you later- bye!" Kagome said hastily, clutching her Tupperware to her as she exited, and dashed down the shrine steps at break neck speeds, heading towards the Ford Escort with a purpose in her steps.
"How much do I get paid? Honestly, come on Kagome, why didn't you think of that?" Kagome asked, smacking her head as she plunked herself into the car, and grabbed her keys from her jacket pocket. "Momma's going to think I'm a total ditz now, too! And I don't want to KNOW what grandpa thinks,"
As Kagome reached one hand over to turn on the ignition, a spot of red caught her eye. Frowning she brought her right hand up to her mouth, watching as a paper thin cut across her palm began to bleed.
"Hm, must have got a paper cut on something," she said, cocking her head, and sucking on the cut gently. It was funny, but something felt. off, suddenly, in the air. Kagome sat in total silence for a second, staring off into nothingness. before shrugging the sensation off. "Must be the stress. I'm definitely overworked," she decided firmly, even though she had technically been working for the demon FBI for a grand total of: One day. Hardly.
Kagome drove home in the artificial light of Tokyo's streets quickly, and traveled into her apartment with her little Tupperware in a total daze. The elevator ride was like a dream, and by the time she had put her jacket and keys away, not to mention slipped into an oversized tee shirt, she was already dead on her feet. Buyo, having wizened up from last time, quickly rolled out of the way as Kagome came crashing down on her bed head first, and didn't rise from that position. Buyo gave his master the once over, before sighing and heading off to meet the 'family' down in the ally for a little 'talk'. Honestly, they were coming to him on this day, on this day of his nap, asking for favors.
*
"Engh?" Kagome asked no one in particular, as her eyes snapped open to the sound of her alarm going haywire next to her head. She lay in bed, listening to the alarm for a little longer, a bit confused, generally. Why was she up so early? Classes didn't start for another two hours on Tuesdays, and from this apartment it only took ten minutes to get to class, one of the reasons she had bought it. So why. "Ohhh, right," Kagome sighed in her croaky morning voice. Today was the day Shippou came to stay with her, and she had set her alarm clock to wake her up earlier than usual, previously, so that she could get the house set up all nice. She wouldn't be returning to it until later that day with Shippou himself, after all.
The woman slid out of bed and crawled over to the coffee machine, realizing she wouldn't be able to think over anything properly until she had gotten her daily caffeine intake.
"Ahhh, much better," she found herself hissing a few minutes later over a steaming mug of dark coffee. Okay, so, Shippou. What was it going to be like having him stay at her house? She knew he wasn't young enough for diapers, but was he old enough to avoid all of those hard questions, like: Where do babies come from? And: Why do we die? Also, what would it be like living with a kid who had recently experienced possibly the most traumatic moment of his life? And were there special things about demon kids she should be aware of? Kagome frowned and firmly set her mug down. Above all, she had to focus on helping Shippou, and not worry about her own life. That kid deserved it!
"What do you think Buyo, is this a good first impression outfit?" Kagome asked a bit later, standing in front of the mirror and observing herself while Buyo marched around her feet, trying to get her attention. Fooood, he wanted fooood!
Kagome wore black tights again, this time with a dark denim mini skirt (It wasn't too cold yet, dammit!) and a comfortable off white sweater with a navy blue stripe across the middle. Black boots adorned her feet, and she had a little clip on the left side of her head, the rest of her raven hair flowing freely around her shoulders. Not much make-up, but she had brushed her teeth and taken a shower earlier, so Kagome figured she was fit to go out in public.
"Meoowww,"
"Yeah, I thought so too. Well, good then. And I've already cleaned the apartment so now all I have to do is go to class. where I'll have to take my second to last final, and do really well on it. then I go pick up to the office to see Shippou! Not to mention do some miko training with Miroku - Then I go back to school because I have a Literature class, where we'll be doing virtually nothing since the finals are over in that course and this is the last class before vacation, at 1:25. and then I go back to the office to pick-UP Shippou and take him back here, after I've worked for a while at the office, of course. Oh God Buyo kill me now!" Kagome moaned, while grabbing the box of kibbles for Buyo, and pouring a healthy amount into a bowl for him.
Seeing as how Buyo didn't look especially inclined to help Kagome with this request, Kagome settled for standing back and watching Buyo happily much away at his food. After getting a questioning glance that seemed to state 'Well, what are you looking at?' from the self-conscious feline, the college student decided maybe it was just time to grab her messenger bag and leave.
"See ya later tonight Buyo!" Kagome called over her shoulder as she left the apartment, heading over to Tokyo University for her Ancient Japanese History Final. She HAD studied for this one, right?
'I'm so screwed.'
*
As Kagome stumbled along on her way to Tokyo University (A/N- don't really know about Japanese colleges, lets just pretend this ones a perfectly fine, mediocre one, okay?) digging around in her bag for notes and last minute study tips, she hardly noticed as someone came up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Ah!" Kagome gasped, spinning on her heal to see who it was. "Oh! - Hojo." Kagome sighed, relieved it was just her old friend, smiling down at her.
"Hey Kagome," he said companionably, nodding his head. Hojo was cute, as far as male airheads go. he had light, silky hair and was pretty tall, though not exactly the man of steal, like say. Inuyasha, but he wasn't a wimp either. Just very, very sensitive. Kagome nodded her head back at him, for the first time noticing a girl behind him.
"Oh, Kiki!" Kagome exclaimed, cocking her head as her sporty friend stepped forward, smiling widely as well. "What are you doing here? You don't have any classes this morning, do you?"
"No, I just spotted Hojo on his way to school and thought I'd meet up with you here," she explained, leaning against one of the many trees that decorated Tokyo University's campus. As far as campuses went, Kagome wasn't naïve to the fact that her college's wasn't exactly spectacular, but it was home.
"Oh! Well, hi." Kagome said dully, it still being far too early in the day for proper small talk.
"Keiko and I were wondering if you wanted to come to dinner with us tomorrow night- we're going to the new sushi bar on 30th!" she explained.
"I'm coming too," Hojo pointed out helpfully.
"I'll see, I don't really know yet. Actually, I just got a new job so." Kagome said, trailing off, and not wanting to admit that the real reason she might not be able to make it was because she had a little demon to watch over.
"A job?! Really? Where." Kiki said, as if it was unfathomable that anyone with a brain in their head would really want to hire Kagome to work for them. The girl was sweet, but the last intern job she had taken had ended up with a small explosion in a law firm's conference room, due to an old VCR and a particularly violent cup of iced coffee, not to mention a hopping mad VP. Kiki shuddered unpleasantly as she remembered how horribly that job had gone over.
"I've taken a job at the FBI," Kagome admitted with a sigh.
"Whoa! Way to go Higurashi!" Kiki exclaimed, clapping her friend on the back with a slightly awed expression on her face.
"You're not doing anything dangerous are you?" Hojo asked, looking generally concerned.
"No, just secretary stuff." Kagome conceded.
"Well how much are you getting paid?" Kiki wanted to know.
"Um. they haven't decided yet," Kagome decided to say. Since really, they hadn't! She hadn't even discussed a payment with Kaede yet, even though the old woman had promised Kagome compensation for her services, especially now with Shippou.
"Really? That's odd," Kiko said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "You better get that checked out. Well, I have to fly babe! Good luck on your final, you too Hojo!" Kiki said, touching Hojo on the arm briefly before she trotted off in the direction of the gym, waving jovially.
"Bye!" Kagome and Hojo called, waving her off, before turning to walk into the History building, slightly unenthusiastic expressions suddenly coming over their faces.
"Soo. did you study?" Kagome asked as she traveled up the staircase.
"Why, of course! Didn't you?" Hojo asked quickly, glancing at his (unrequited) one and only.
"Oh - well, yes! I mean, God, DEFFINITELY. I was just, um, you know, making sure YOU were prepared," Kagome muttered unconvincingly while giving herself a series of vicious mental head smacks.
"Say, Higurashi." Hojo murmured softly after a moment. Kagome turned to look at the man quickly - usually when he spoke in that tone of voice it meant he was about to ask something important.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if. if you would want to go on a date with me, sometime this weekend. You know - because it will be vacation and all of our finals will be done and such." he said, adorably hesitant, even though this had to be about the, what, two billionth time he had ever asked Kagome out in his life, starting in Kindergarten, Ms. Mako's class.
"Um, well." Kagome said, frowning lightly. On the one hand, it wouldn't hurt. She didn't have to work on the weekends, and it WOULD be vacation, and Hojo looked so desperate! - on the other hand, Kagome was positive she had made it clear last year that this awkward relationship between the two of them just wasn't going to float, about a year ago now. "I don't know Hojo," she said softly as they neared the classroom.
"Oh, well, I see! Of course, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I know we've discussed it and." Hojo said, blushing a bit and rubbing the back of his head bashfully. Kagome's heart melted a bit.
"It's just, I don't want to lead you on anymore Hojo," she admitted, eyes wide as she tried to get him to understand her point of view. She just didn't LIKE like him!
"No, I understand, don't worry, it's fine." He said, waving off her explanations, and slipping into the classroom. Kagome sighed contritely, before turning around to enter the class, forcing her mind off Hojo's pitiful expression, and onto those Ancient Japanese notes she conveniently forgot to study, what with the burning demon apartment and new spiritual powers.
*
"Breath in Kagome. you're too tense."
'You'd be tense too if you'd just failed your final.'
"Keep your eyes closed! No one's about to walk in here and start laughing at how funny you look!"
'Jeez, that option hadn't even crossed my mind, but thanks for getting me all worried about it,'
"Feel the power running through your veins and embrace it."
'Ooomm..'
"Dig deep inside and find that hidden surplus inside you! Bring it out!"
'Oooommmm..shalalala.'
"Kagome, I know your power's there! Why can't you use it?"
'I don't know! Stop asking such hard questions!'
"All right open your eyes. I think we're going to have to try a different approach." Kagome sighed thankfully and cracked her gray eyes open, stretching lightly as she did so. Miroku, dressed in some baggy pants and a t-shirt, had been instructing Kagome on mediation styles since she had entered the office that day. First they had worked on simply letting all of the thoughts out of her mind, and just focusing on her 'inner self'. Then they had practiced imaging actions in her head while she was meditating. Then they had imagined her bringing the power OUT of her body, and using it . and that's where they had stopped. Kagome could feel the power in her, knew it was there; she just. just. couldn't. grab it, was maybe the term she was searching for. It was an odd feeling, knowing you had all this power inside you. She had never had it before, and now that she did, she wasn't overly sure what to do with it. And for that she was totally thankful for Miroku and Kaede's instruction. However, something seemed to be going awry with Miroku's lesson, Kagome could tell from the distraught look on his usually mild-mannered features.
"Kagome, you DO feel the power in you, right?" Miroku asked, staring levelly at her, just to be sure.
"Yeah! We already went over that bit, remember? When we were digging inside ourselves and-"
"Yes, yes I remember, but if we've already been through that, then you should technically be able to just use that power as you please. It shouldn't be unobtainable to you," Kagome had nothing to say to that, so she decided to just watch the variety of emotions pass through her mentor's features in silence. "Ah, maybe it's just me," Miroku sighed finally, stretching his arms above his head,
"You?" Kagome repeated, confused.
"Yes. You had been excelling so fast in all of the other lessons today, and with all of those stunts you apparently pulled in that burning building with Naraku, I had been pushing you faster than I rarely push any other pupils under my instruction," the young priest/agent admitted. Kagome cocked her head.
"Everyone keeps saying I'm doing so good, but I really don't think I have any true control over my powers," she said hesitantly. "They just sort of come to me when I'm half crazy with desperation, you know? Of course, I haven't had them for long, really, so I don't know."
"No, no that could be right." Miroku said, shaking his head. "Some people. some people with an extraordinary amount of power never are able to totally harness their gifts. They just come to them when they need them, and get stronger the more dire their situation is. Of course, you're also right that we can't be sure yet. You're so green with your powers, we really can't assume anything until you've tried them out some more,"
".So that means more lessons, then?"
"'Fraid so,"
"Darn."
"Kagome!!" A loud, angry voice boomed, stomping down the hall. Kagome winced, and Miroku frowned. Who was that? Before either person still sitting cross-legged on the ground had a chance to voice their worries, the door to the room was slammed open, lock be damned, and in the doorway now stood a very angry, suddenly very tall Inuyasha, with a tiny kitsune hanging off his long silver hair by his teeth, swinging around so violently he seemed to be giving himself whiplash, growling deliriously in a very high pitched voice none-the-less.
Kagome stared, shocked at the odd appearance of the hanyou, before snorting quietly into her hand, trying to hold back giggles. Inuyasha looked so funny!
"What are you laughing at?" Inuyasha snapped, folding his arms, Shippou still swinging around his head. "Come over here and take this brat! He's under your charge now, isn't he?!"
"Well, yeah, but."
"Well, then come get him! The little whelp's been hanging around me since I came in! Babbling about revenge and how he's going to kill Naraku. He's driving me crazy, and he has the energy level of the Duracell Bunny!" Inuyasha complained, finally plucking Shippou off his hair, and holding the demon away from himself as though he smelled like something rancid. Kagome sighed, taking pity on Inuyasha who obviously didn't know how to behave around kids, cradling Shippou, who immediately calmed down, in her arms.
"Hey," he said in his cute little voice after a moment of confusion. "You're that girl from the other day,"
"Yeah," Kagome said, smiling. "That's me. I'm also the one you're going to be living with," she added as an afterthought.
"Oh," Shippou said, nodding in understanding. "That's cool." Kagome smiled some more, and then put Shippou down, watching as he clung to her leg and hid behind her, using her as a wall for when Inuyasha got pissed again. "And what's your problem man!? You're the biggest grouch I've ever met!"
'Well, at least the little guy doesn't appear to be terribly depressed.' Kagome said, looking at the bright side of things as Inuyasha's face turned numerous different shades of red.
"Why you little-! What did you expect?! Barging into my office with your little kitsune tricks at six thirty in the morning, bothering me when I'm trying to work on the very case you're so passionate about, and then pulling on my hair and sitting on my head when I don't listen!?" Inuyasha cried, apparently fed up beyond reason.
"Well you were ignoring me!" Shippou explicated.
"You get here at 6:30 in the morning?" Miroku asked, looking shocked.
"God," Inuyasha groaned, rubbing his face and shaking his head. "I don't need this,"
"Want some coffee?" Kagome offered generously, proffering some coffee from the superior coffee-making machine, of which she had been nursing for a while, waiting for it to cool down to a reasonable level of hotness.
"No thanks," Inuyasha replied, in a relatively polite tone. "Don't drink the stuff."
"Is that a demon thing too?" Kagome wanted to know, finding no other plausible reason as to why a normal person wouldn't drink coffee.
".No. Listen I have to go work now, will you just keep him out of my hair? Literally?" Inuyasha pleaded, a pained look coming over his attractive features. Kagome sighed, she always was a sucker for pretty boys.
"Fine. I should get to know you anyway, if we're going to be living together, hu?" Kagome said, turning her attention over to the little demon at her feet.
"Yeah, definitely!" Shippou agreed, making a little popping sound, and then transforming into a small balloon with arms and round eyes, floating up so he was eyelevel with a rather stunned Kagome, and then zooming around her head to the tune of a little 'pffff'ing sound he emitted. Kagome giggled and Miroku smirked and the child's antics.
"Hmph, kitsune," Inuyasha huffed, spinning on his heal and exiting the room. Kagome frowned after him. He was still in an exceptionally bad mood. how annoying.
"Yeah. so. um, how are you feeling? I mean, you're all right Shippou?" she asked, phrasing the question delicately after Inuyasha was out of sight, and Shippou transformed back into his normal state at her feet. She had been thinking about how she was going to help this little guy all day, and she was determined to do this right.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to get revenge for my parents by ripping out Naraku's guts and then strangling him to death with his own innards," Shippou confided in the college student, his tone completely childish and innocent the whole time.
"Right. Of course. Why didn't I think of that," Kagome said, staring blankly ahead. Of course she would have to get the freak child.
"So, what are you guys doing?" Shippou inquired, glancing at Miroku who was still seated on the floor in a meditative position.
"We were practicing mediation and miko skills, Shippou. Would you like to join us?" Miroku asked politely.
"Wow, really!? That sounds cool, I've never done any magical stuff before," Shippou said, jumping up and down excitedly. Kagome studied him carefully. Huh, Inuyasha was right. he was like the Duracell Bunny.
And as Kagome, Miroku and Shippou all began to resume practice, Kagome noted that as Shippou did everything with a childlike curiosity, he really was a child at heart, and probably all that weird stuff he said before was just because he had been forced to grow up so fast with all the terrible stuff that had happened to him recently. Probably.
*
A few hours later, after mediation lessons were over, and Kaede had taken Shippou away for some personal stuff about possessions and wills, and after Kagome had scheduled a time to talk with the elderly woman tomorrow about payments for herself and for supporting Shippou, not to mention addressing the little detail about his appearance, and then after Kagome had taken a minute to swing by the cafeteria to grab a bight to eat while ogling at the array of very odd demons assembled in the dining hall provided, she finally found herself wandering down the hall slowly towards her office, where she decided she had better start that report for Kaede. Luckily, something interesting caught her attention before she could make it to the computer.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, touching the agent lightly on the elbow as she approached him. He quickly snapped his head over to her, golden eyes piercing and angry. He stood assembled with many other grave looking agents, surrounding the demon detaining room Kagome remembered from her first day at the offices. It looked as though everyone were investigating a crime scene. Kagome shuddered as she heard the familiar sound of angry demons howling away in their cells. "What's going on?"
"Oh, it's you," Inuyasha acknowledged, turning back to the scene. "It's. nothing. We've just lost a demon, is all," the hanyou muttered as casually as he could.
"'Lost?'" Kagome repeated nervously.
"Well, she broke out, really," he admitted almost sheepishly, as though it was his fault. "We just can't freaking find out HOW! These cells were supposed to be impenetrable!"
"Which one broke out?" Kagome asked fearfully, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the heads of agents investigating the destroyed cell, imagining one of the uglier demons she had spotted before, lurking around the offices, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting agent.
"Yura,"
"Eh?" Kagome squeaked, coming back down to stare Inuyasha in the eye. That creepy woman with the weird vibes and deceptive smile? "But she was the most heavily surveyed! I don't understand."
"Neither do I," he huffed, folding his arms gravely. "And I've been thinking about it all morning. I just didn't want to worry Shippou with it by coming here."
'That must have been why he was so aggravated this morning. He didn't want to scare Shippou, but he had to examine this crime scene, so he waited and waited. that's so sweet!!' Kagome mentally gushed, a goofy little smile coming over her face.
"What's THAT look?"
"It's nothing! Nothing!" Yeesh.
Suddenly, Kagome bit her lip as she remembered she had wanted to ask Inuyasha about something earlier, and had forgotten. Kikyo. She had wanted to ask him about his ex-partner, even though she had been forewarned by Kaede that he didn't like to discuss the subject. But Kagome HAD to know! It was strictly about business after all. Kagome wanted to know precisely what had happened to the miko, and if she too was at risk of being shipped off to America. The thought that Inuyasha had a partner who was almost killed it appeared, under shady circumstances, honestly bothered her.
"Um!" Kagome started.
"Yes?" Inuyasha asked, turning to look down at her. But as the girl looked into his inquisitive gold eyes. she realized that maybe her reasons for wanting to know about Kikyo weren't so innocent. It was true, Inuyasha and Kikyo had been involved romantically before. and it was possible that Kagome was also developing a crush on the brute. and it might disturb her just a little bit that she apparently resembled Kikyo a lot. It might make her feel sad to think that all those times when Inuyasha had been kind and considerate to her, he was only doing it because her face reminded him of someone he had loved, and not of a girl he could grow to love.
"Never mind," Kagome mumbled, staring at the floor, frowning.
"Riiight.Anyway, don't you have a college course to get to or something?" Inuyasha mumbled irritably, leaning against the wall while he spoke, and choosing to let the other agents work their butts off on this one case. He already had another substantial one on his hands right now, and honestly he didn't need this little disturbing turn of events to distract him. He had brought the woman in once, what more did they want from him?! Inuyasha stopped to watch Kagome as her eyes expanded to the size of beach balls at his comment.
"Oh my God!" she cried, whipping out her watch, staring at it fearfully. "I have to be there in like fifteen minutes! Thank you so much for reminding me Inuyasha. Good luck with Yura, I hope she doesn't come after you and try to decapitate you. bye!!" Inuyasha stared blankly at Kagome's rapidly retreating back as she galloped away; processing everything she had quickly spat out in silence.
"Oh. Yeah. Thanks. I'll watch out for her," Inuyasha said, a little late as he heard the distinct sound of a door slamming in the distance.
*
"So, what kind of food do you like to eat?" Kagome called into the living room, connected to her small kitchen, as she rummaged through the cabinets, looking for some suitable demon food. Heyy, what about Easy-Mac!?
"Ummm. I don't know. Anything I guess," A suddenly shy Shippou replied from her couch, head bowed, and being oddly demure. Next to him, Buyo eyed the kitsune warily. What sort of an animal was THAT?
"I like the way you think, kid," Kagome said pleasantly. Easy-Mac it was.
The entire day had been exhausting for the girl. On top of all that work in the morning, her Literature course had been a real bore, and she had nearly fallen asleep in it, trying to listen to her professor's ridiculously unexciting blather. Then she had tottered on back to the office, really started to get into writing that report for Kaede, admittedly glorifying the whole apartment experience a bit, before Inuyasha had slammed into her office. Shippou once again hanging off his long hair. He had hurled the small demon at Kagome with a dour expression on his face, commented on the fact that the Yura case had made little to no progression, and then slammed his way back out of the room.
A little while after that Kagome had driven Shippou home, some hours later, noticing how, when they were alone, he seemed to be a bit shy about her. A trait she found simply endearing. However he was still showing little signs of depression, which was surprising considering the turn his life had recently taken.
And now her day was about to get a whole lot more stressful, because she found, to her total horror that they were.
Out of Easy-Mac. (Dun dun DUN.)
Not to mention all other victuals. In short, it was looking like Kagome was going to have to take a quick step out to the grocery store, and scrounge up some food for her newly acquired child.
'Dammit!' she sighed, grabbing her coat. 'Why didn't I notice this earlier? I cleaned the house so thoroughly even my clothes smell like Windex. but I forget to buy food. God. Not a good start,'
"Hey Shippou," she called, jogging into the room with her keys in hand. "Looks like the only thing in the fridge is butter, eggs and orange juice, and unless you want a really messed up omelet. I think I'm going to have to go buy us some stuff and the grocery store down the corner. You wanna come?" she asked amiably, putting out some major friendly vibes. She was good at that.
The little demon who, for the first time Kagome noticed, was starting to look a little weary, shook his head negatively. It had probably been a very hard day for Shippou too, Kagome realized with a start. More exhausting then for her, no doubt! Poor thing probably just wanted to sleep! Kagome's eyes shimmered, and she nodded understandingly.
"I see.well, why don't you just rest, and watch some T.V?" she offered, slipping into her jacket. "I'll be back in ten minutes max. and you have my cell phone number. you're okay alone, right?" she questioned.
"Yeah," Shippou assured her. "Us demon kids are smarter than normal human ones," he pointed out, look a wee bit proud.
"Right, of course," Kagome agreed, walking towards the door. "Well, see you in a sec!"
She quickly hopped into her elevator, being on the fourth floor of her apartment, and zipped out as soon as the doors open, determined to make sure Shippou didn't have to be unaccompanied for any longer then absolutely necessary. She felt guilty enough for leaving him alone already!
'So, what to get,' Kagome thought as she rushed along the darkened street that night, making a grocery list in her head. She didn't have much money, so better make it short. 'Milk, cheese, bread, peanut butter and jelly, because everybody loves that, ramen, Easy-Mac, obviously, maybe some broccoli because I have to start eating healthy now for Shippou, and.' Kagome trailed off, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the almost completely vacant street, eyes wide, and staring out into the distance.
"Hey." she breathed softly, swallowing. "Something's. wrong." And indeed something was wrong. Kagome felt in the pit of stomach an uncomfortable and dark power swirling around her, leaving her shivering and scared. Something was amiss in the area, and she couldn't see it. had no idea what was behind it. but her miko powers were alerting her to the fact that there was definitely something unnatural happening roughly around her.
Quickly, the raven-haired girl swung around to look at her apartment, making sure everything was right there, and that Shippou wasn't trapped inside her flaming house right now.
"Ouch!" she hissed, touching her face as she felt something slice across it while she turned around. Blood dripped down her fingers, and she felt a long, paper-thin cut across her cheekbone. just like the other night with her hand. "What's this?." she wondered aloud, eyes darting about as she searched for whatever it was that had sliced her. She sucked in a breath, and took a cautious step back, and something most definitely caught her eye, and gave explanation to why she had just been cut.
Strings. Everywhere.
Long, thin, razor sharp strings stretched out like a large spider web all over the block. The were hung around like a tight cat's cradle, and Kagome sensed something odd about them. They were unnaturally deadly, and felt a little off. Almost as if they weren't strings. kind of as if they were more like.
"Hair," Kagome breathed in horror.
"La, so you can see it?" In truth, Kagome didn't really WANT to turn around to find out who had just said that, her natural instincts encouraging her to run, and not be bashful about it. but her curiosity won this battle, and she found herself soon cautiously peering behind her, eventually coming to gaze up at an attractive woman balancing on some of the hair, with even more wrapped around her fingers and splaying out around her. She was staring back at Kagome with some degree of innocent curiosity, although Kagome knew for a fact that this person was, in particular, anything but innocent.
It was Yura.
'Oh God... this isn't happening. not now. why did the crazy, escaped psychopath have to come after ME?! She doesn't even know who I am!' Kagome mentally whined, backing up, only to wince as she backed up into almost transparent hair, that bit uncomfortably into her back. Yura gave off a small smile and cocked her head to the side.
"Well. I suppose mikos COULD see my hair, no matter how weak they are," Yura acknowledged, as Kagome's mouthed open and closed like a fish out of water. No! She wanted to keep her head! After a long stretch of silence, Yura swung down to just in front of Kagome, balancing on her hair like an acrobat, looking her right in the eyes. Yura's eyes being frighteningly bottomless. "You are Kagome Higurashi. are you not?"
"Y-yes!" Kagome got out, deciding it was time to get some backbone, and sort things out now. "And you're Yura, right?" Just to make sure.
"Why yes! That's me!" Yura giggled, looking unreasonably pleased. "Yura of the Hair, if you want to get technical about it. but I won't be offended if you don't remember that name, since I'm about to end your life," she droned on, casually, in a tone that suggested she could have just as easily been discussing the weather.
"What?" Kagome gasped, as the busty woman, wearing that little black outfit still, reached for the sword at her waist. 'God, she really is heartless!' Moving quickly, Kagome dived under the hair blocking her way, and behind Yura, before the crazy demon had a chance to slash her. Yura swiped the air where Kagome really should have been, as the girl in question made a run for her life, slipping around hair and dashing down the street, in the opposite direction of her apartment. She had to get this woman away from Shippou!
"It's no use running!" Yura cried, taking her dangerously pointed sword and aiming it at Kagome, now a good few yards ahead. The sword whizzed forward, and sliced into the brick wall Kagome turned behind, now embedded deeply into it. Yura frowned lightly, and swung over to it, effortlessly wrenching it out of the brick. "Come back, I must kill you!" she explained sincerely, turning a corner, eyes glinting maliciously. She was enjoying this.
However, the level of entertainment took a major nosedive as Yura found to her disappointment that Kagome had disappeared on the new block, and her demon senses could not detect her anywhere.
"She must be using her miko powers to hide from me," Yura decided, chuckling darkly, yet at the same time childishly, to herself, in the dark of the street, face illuminated by the orange tinted streetlights.. She nodded her head slowly.
"That's all right, miko girl! I'll find you anyway!" she assured the unoccupied street, slinging her sword over her shoulder, and swinging up into the air, laughing loudly so that the sound reverberated from all the buildings and made the chuckle sound much more deadly than it had originally.
Yura was going to kill Kagome Higurashi.
Meanwhile, Kagome, having dived under a wonderfully concealing minivan, and was indeed using her new powers, suddenly obtainable to her again now that she was in a very life threatening situation, winced as she watched a stray mouse get skewered on Yura's hair while dashing unawares down the block, in search of food. If what Yura said was true, and if people weren't supposed to see this deadly hair. how many innocents would be sliced in half tonight on account of this madwoman was after HER? The thought was devastating, and Kagome realized that if she was going to take this woman down.. She was going to need help. She couldn't let Yura run amuck!
And surprisingly, the only person she found really came to mind when she needed aid in a situation like this. was the person who had saved her last time a demon had been out for her blood. Inuyasha.
'Please Inuyasha! I need help! This woman's going to kill me! Where are you?' Kagome thought desperately, sliding cautiously out from under the silver minivan, and dashing off into the night, wishing she had something more substantial than that pepper spray on her to scare Yura away with. Where was her partner when she needed him?
'Well, he's probably out searching for Yura anyway, so maybe that means we'll run into each other!' she thought hopefully, chest heaving as she ran, keeping both eyes peeled for any unhinged, slutty maniacs flying around the city on strands of hair, wielding an ancient sword. Sounded easy enough to spot. Especially when they were looking for you. 'If Yura ends up killing me. I'm going to be pretty pissed off,'
*
Author's Notes:
Review review review! Okay, now that we have that clear, I want to pose a question to all you readers out there, that has been bothering me, especially because I am considering writing a new story that involves it. Only once I'm pretty far into this one, rest assured, but. Why was Kikyo in hell? I mean, she WAS a priestess, and she DID lead a pretty honorable life. I'm not so sure killing demons qualifies as a hell-worthy crime, and when she pinned Inuyasha to the God-tree she didn't actually murder him. so why is she in hell? I don't actually know about whatever sort of religion we're following here, maybe there IS no alternative but hell for an afterlife, (You're listening to a naïve agnostic right now, obviously.) but it's sort of been bugging me, and I'd appreciate it if someone could educate me here. But, if you do reply to this, please don't say something like 'Because she's a stupid bitch and Inuyasha and Kagome belong together!!!' because that really doesn't have anything to do with it. Of course, I could be acting really stupid right now, and there could be some obvious reason as to why Kikyo's in hell that I don't remember. maybe she went to hell because she died with vengeful emotions. (Even though I thought she died wishing she could just be with Inuyasha. who she might have assumed had gone to hell. and that's why went there.) Okay, I'll stop. I'm just confusing myself. But I really do want to know, and I really do want you to comment about this story as well, because I really take all of your reviews to heart! (Thanks to whoever pointed out I was spelling Naraku wrong!) Until next time, (Two weeks? Three max.)
Rio Grande~ *
I have to apologize for bringing Kikyo into the mix, but there IS a reason she's part of the Inuyasha cast, and she does deserve a part in every AU story. I don't personally like the woman very much, but I don't believe she is the epitome of evil either. Don't fret though; I'm a huge Inu/Kag supporter, so no worries in that area.
Someone pointed out to me that the story is a lot like MIB. hmmm; well, I've never actually seen Men In Black, only Men In Black 2, although even from that movie I can make a good guess as to why my fic would remind you of that scenario. (And here I thought I was only copying off one story line! Sigh.) Well, whatever, I promise you 'Bitten' won't follow that plot much further since it sort of branches off into its own category of 'really weird Inuyasha-ness' after this chapter. In any case, I hope you enjoy the fic, and don't forget to review, please!
ALSO- although I doubt anyone noticed, I made a mistake with the timeframe last chapter: It was Saturday, and the next day it was Monday. um, okay, we're just going to pretend that never happened and get on with it. Today is Monday in Kagome's world, and starting tomorrow it's Tuesday - All is good. No one really likes Sunday anyway.
I don't own Inuyasha. or One for The Money. or MIB..
*
Bitten
By Rio Grande
Chapter Four: My So Called Life (Of which I don't own either!) (But that's a terribly wonderful show as well.) (God I have to start getting some original ideas over here.)
*
"So, remind me again how you found out that I'm working as a secretary for the FBI when I haven't actually told anyone yet?" Kagome asked, letting herself be seated at the family table with an almost imperceptible sigh of anguish, as her mother came into the room holding a pot of steaming noodles, and a worried expression etched onto her features. Next to the college student, her fifteen-year-old brother, Sota, was beaming excitedly, impressed beyond words that his stupid elder sister was finally doing something COOL with her life. Hey, maybe she actually knew James Bond now or something! On Kagome's other side, her withered old grandfather, and head priest of the Sunset Shrine, was muttering darkly over his tea, horrified beyond words that his favorite granddaughter was undoubtedly partaking in unspeakable things such as alien experimentation now. Damn scientists. damn National Security!
"Well, your Aunt Kimeko is friends with Ms. Taka, you remember her from across the street all those years ago don't you? Oh, she moved down to the west side, and I miss her holiday cookies, they were always so good!- anyway, Ms. Taka's husband Shiji is a police officer whose old partner Mr. Watasa has recently become a member of the FBI criminal investigations unit and heard that a young girl named Kagome Higurashi had just been offered a job in one of the more private criminal investigation units that even he's not permitted to work on! And of course he remembered your name from the winter pageant and you living at the shrine, so he went home and told his wife who also remembered you and immediately called her good friend Aunt Kimeko who was so surprised she came home straight after her work at the children's daycare center down on 40th street and called me while I was making dinner- and you can imagine how startled I was!" her mother said, laughing lightly. Kagome stared at her mother, head spinning. The woman tended to get off track while talking.
"I. see." Kagome said, nodding slowly, not really understanding at all, but knowing better than to doubt the intricate and reliable system that was the mother's gossiping unit of Tokyo.
"What part of the FBI are you working in Kagome that's so secret Mr. Taka isn't permitted to know about it?!" Sota asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Oh.. You know. just detective. stuff." Kagome cautiously got out, wondering how to put this without revealing some rather disturbing parts of her job.
"Sounds fishy to me," her grandfather said, leaning down to quickly loose himself in his ramen as Kagome's mother came around and served everybody some.
"Oh, well, it's not!" Kagome quickly assured him, having no desire to have Grandfather Higurashi breathing down her back about this job for months to come. "I mean, all I do is sit there and take calls and file all day! It's nothing major! I'm hardly trained so I couldn't be doing anything dangerous," she said, lying. Well, not really lying. She really wasn't trained, but she was going to be, for some reason, doing incredibly dangerous work.
"Well that's a relief," her mother said, pleasant smile now firmly back in place.
"Well that's a let down," her brother said, posture slackening as he dug into his ramen. Kagome sighed, you just couldn't please everyone!
'Oh my God. I forgot I have to tell them about Shippou.' Kagome realized with a start, eyes widening. Hmmm. how to approach this one? She was still in shock herself over the whole thing, and still trying to remember how Kaede had convinced her to go along with all this. It was going to be a drastic change to her lifestyle, no matter that Shippou wouldn't actually be living with her all day, just mainly in the evening. How could she calmly inform her family of the new, odd happenings in her life if she still hadn't completely come to terms with them herself?
(A/N- Did you know, I totally made up that whole, 'she's going to live with Shippou' thing on the spot? Ah well, it turned out okay.)
"Sooo. I'm adopting a kid," Kagome decided upon starting off with.
Grandfather Higurashi began choking with a noodle half way down his throat, spitting out the rest of the contents in his mouth across to Sota who squeaked with disgust and consequentally knocked his glass of water over so that it spilled onto Kagome and she had to jump up from her chair, napkin in hand. Kagome's mother seemed to freeze up completely, halting with her spoon in midair en route to her mouth, eyes going as wide as ping pong balls.
"WHAT." The family chorused together, staring pointedly at the twenty year old.
"Um- okay, so I phrased that wrong. I'm. going to have a child live with me in the evenings because his mother, my . friend, is currently out of town," she said, struggling to come up with a suitable lie on the spot. This seemed to sit better with the family though, and her mother let out yet another sigh of relief as Kagome began to sponge off her skirt, returning to her seat.
"But, Kagome, are you sure this is a wise idea, what with your college studies?" her mother asked, still wary. Sota made a 'bleck' noise as he wiped off the guck his grandpa had spat at him when he choked on his noodles.
"Oh. it should be okay. I mean, classes are over in a week for winter vacation, and I only have one more final after I take the Ancient Japanese one tomorrow," Kagome explained, even though personally she tended to agree with her mother. She was far from prepared to be living with a child, be he demon or no.
"Oh Kagome, I don't know." her mother said, trailing off anxiously. Kagome sighed. Just another family dinner!
"How long is he staying with you? And what is this friend of yours doing so that she can't take care of the child, or at least hand it over to some relatives?" Grandpa Higurashi asked speculatively. Kagome pulled on her collar, and gave off an awkward smile. Hmmm.
"Well. actually, she's in the hospital."
"Oh, how awful!"
".For bunion surgery."
".Ew."
"In England, that's why I said she'd be out of town. so she'll be gone awhile."
"That's odd,"
"And he has no other living relatives," Okay, not a total lie. "And she knows I'm really responsible so she let me take care of him while she was getting the operation," Lie. Right there, lie!
"Well, I suppose if it's unavoidable." Kagome's mother sighed, resigning herself to the fact that her daughter was going to be undoubtedly responsible for the death of a young child within the next few days.
"What's his name?" Sota wanted to know.
"Shippou Kit," Kagome was quick to reply. Finally, a question she knew the answer to!
"Hm, that's odd, I don't know any of your friends who have the last name Kit." Her mother said, frowning. Erk!
"WELL. that's because I met her at school and she's so busy with her son we don't have time to hang out much. out of school. And she's never been to this house," Kagome said as casually as she could, drowning out half her words in her cup.
"Well, hopefully I'll get to see the little boy before too long. Is he cute?" Ms. Higurashi pressed.
"Yeahhhh." Ah! Shippou had a tail! And yellow eyes! What was she supposed to do if people wanted to see the phantom child who was living with her? This would have to be brought up with Kaede.
"Oh, good!" her mother giggled, clapping her hands together.
The rest of the meal continued with a relative degree of normality, accompanied by only the occasional outburst from Kagome's grandfather, an unimaginably old man who was very dedicated to his temple but admittedly loony. The meal consisted of ramen, sautéed vegetables and chicken. Everything reminded Kagome so much of home, and of a time before her life had disintegrated to easy-mac, that she ended up leaving with a whole lot of food in some little containers, for tomorrow's dinner no doubt, since she could easily see herself being too tied up with studying for that last final and writing up that report Kaede had requested, to be bothered with little things like proper nourishment.
"Bye Kagome, come visit again soon! You hardly visit anymore now that you've moved out!" Kagome mother said as she led her only daughter out of the house around two hours after she had first entered.
"I like it!" Sota said, putting in his two cents from where he was stretched out on the couch playing gameboy. Kagome stuck out her tongue at Sota as she left.
"Get a life! And, sorry Mom, but it's school! And now with this job."
"I wish you had conferred with me about that job before you took it!" Ms. Higurashi admitted, while grandpa nodded gravely behind her. "How much are you getting paid, anyway?"
"UM-. well,"
"Well, don't you know? For Pete's sake you MUST know how much you're getting paid," Grandpa Higurashi huffed, furrowing his brows together.
"How will you support Shippou? Or is your friend giving you money for that?"
"Of course I know how much I'm getting paid! I just. forgot!" Kagome said, shrugging helplessly. "And. yeah, she's paying me," 'She' had better be.
"Oi, and this girl lives alone," Grandpa moaned, rolling his eyes heavenwards. He had TOLD her to just live at home, but nooo. Kagome laughed uneasily, and quickly backpedaled out of the house.
"Well, have to be going, more studying and stuff, see you later- bye!" Kagome said hastily, clutching her Tupperware to her as she exited, and dashed down the shrine steps at break neck speeds, heading towards the Ford Escort with a purpose in her steps.
"How much do I get paid? Honestly, come on Kagome, why didn't you think of that?" Kagome asked, smacking her head as she plunked herself into the car, and grabbed her keys from her jacket pocket. "Momma's going to think I'm a total ditz now, too! And I don't want to KNOW what grandpa thinks,"
As Kagome reached one hand over to turn on the ignition, a spot of red caught her eye. Frowning she brought her right hand up to her mouth, watching as a paper thin cut across her palm began to bleed.
"Hm, must have got a paper cut on something," she said, cocking her head, and sucking on the cut gently. It was funny, but something felt. off, suddenly, in the air. Kagome sat in total silence for a second, staring off into nothingness. before shrugging the sensation off. "Must be the stress. I'm definitely overworked," she decided firmly, even though she had technically been working for the demon FBI for a grand total of: One day. Hardly.
Kagome drove home in the artificial light of Tokyo's streets quickly, and traveled into her apartment with her little Tupperware in a total daze. The elevator ride was like a dream, and by the time she had put her jacket and keys away, not to mention slipped into an oversized tee shirt, she was already dead on her feet. Buyo, having wizened up from last time, quickly rolled out of the way as Kagome came crashing down on her bed head first, and didn't rise from that position. Buyo gave his master the once over, before sighing and heading off to meet the 'family' down in the ally for a little 'talk'. Honestly, they were coming to him on this day, on this day of his nap, asking for favors.
*
"Engh?" Kagome asked no one in particular, as her eyes snapped open to the sound of her alarm going haywire next to her head. She lay in bed, listening to the alarm for a little longer, a bit confused, generally. Why was she up so early? Classes didn't start for another two hours on Tuesdays, and from this apartment it only took ten minutes to get to class, one of the reasons she had bought it. So why. "Ohhh, right," Kagome sighed in her croaky morning voice. Today was the day Shippou came to stay with her, and she had set her alarm clock to wake her up earlier than usual, previously, so that she could get the house set up all nice. She wouldn't be returning to it until later that day with Shippou himself, after all.
The woman slid out of bed and crawled over to the coffee machine, realizing she wouldn't be able to think over anything properly until she had gotten her daily caffeine intake.
"Ahhh, much better," she found herself hissing a few minutes later over a steaming mug of dark coffee. Okay, so, Shippou. What was it going to be like having him stay at her house? She knew he wasn't young enough for diapers, but was he old enough to avoid all of those hard questions, like: Where do babies come from? And: Why do we die? Also, what would it be like living with a kid who had recently experienced possibly the most traumatic moment of his life? And were there special things about demon kids she should be aware of? Kagome frowned and firmly set her mug down. Above all, she had to focus on helping Shippou, and not worry about her own life. That kid deserved it!
"What do you think Buyo, is this a good first impression outfit?" Kagome asked a bit later, standing in front of the mirror and observing herself while Buyo marched around her feet, trying to get her attention. Fooood, he wanted fooood!
Kagome wore black tights again, this time with a dark denim mini skirt (It wasn't too cold yet, dammit!) and a comfortable off white sweater with a navy blue stripe across the middle. Black boots adorned her feet, and she had a little clip on the left side of her head, the rest of her raven hair flowing freely around her shoulders. Not much make-up, but she had brushed her teeth and taken a shower earlier, so Kagome figured she was fit to go out in public.
"Meoowww,"
"Yeah, I thought so too. Well, good then. And I've already cleaned the apartment so now all I have to do is go to class. where I'll have to take my second to last final, and do really well on it. then I go pick up to the office to see Shippou! Not to mention do some miko training with Miroku - Then I go back to school because I have a Literature class, where we'll be doing virtually nothing since the finals are over in that course and this is the last class before vacation, at 1:25. and then I go back to the office to pick-UP Shippou and take him back here, after I've worked for a while at the office, of course. Oh God Buyo kill me now!" Kagome moaned, while grabbing the box of kibbles for Buyo, and pouring a healthy amount into a bowl for him.
Seeing as how Buyo didn't look especially inclined to help Kagome with this request, Kagome settled for standing back and watching Buyo happily much away at his food. After getting a questioning glance that seemed to state 'Well, what are you looking at?' from the self-conscious feline, the college student decided maybe it was just time to grab her messenger bag and leave.
"See ya later tonight Buyo!" Kagome called over her shoulder as she left the apartment, heading over to Tokyo University for her Ancient Japanese History Final. She HAD studied for this one, right?
'I'm so screwed.'
*
As Kagome stumbled along on her way to Tokyo University (A/N- don't really know about Japanese colleges, lets just pretend this ones a perfectly fine, mediocre one, okay?) digging around in her bag for notes and last minute study tips, she hardly noticed as someone came up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Ah!" Kagome gasped, spinning on her heal to see who it was. "Oh! - Hojo." Kagome sighed, relieved it was just her old friend, smiling down at her.
"Hey Kagome," he said companionably, nodding his head. Hojo was cute, as far as male airheads go. he had light, silky hair and was pretty tall, though not exactly the man of steal, like say. Inuyasha, but he wasn't a wimp either. Just very, very sensitive. Kagome nodded her head back at him, for the first time noticing a girl behind him.
"Oh, Kiki!" Kagome exclaimed, cocking her head as her sporty friend stepped forward, smiling widely as well. "What are you doing here? You don't have any classes this morning, do you?"
"No, I just spotted Hojo on his way to school and thought I'd meet up with you here," she explained, leaning against one of the many trees that decorated Tokyo University's campus. As far as campuses went, Kagome wasn't naïve to the fact that her college's wasn't exactly spectacular, but it was home.
"Oh! Well, hi." Kagome said dully, it still being far too early in the day for proper small talk.
"Keiko and I were wondering if you wanted to come to dinner with us tomorrow night- we're going to the new sushi bar on 30th!" she explained.
"I'm coming too," Hojo pointed out helpfully.
"I'll see, I don't really know yet. Actually, I just got a new job so." Kagome said, trailing off, and not wanting to admit that the real reason she might not be able to make it was because she had a little demon to watch over.
"A job?! Really? Where." Kiki said, as if it was unfathomable that anyone with a brain in their head would really want to hire Kagome to work for them. The girl was sweet, but the last intern job she had taken had ended up with a small explosion in a law firm's conference room, due to an old VCR and a particularly violent cup of iced coffee, not to mention a hopping mad VP. Kiki shuddered unpleasantly as she remembered how horribly that job had gone over.
"I've taken a job at the FBI," Kagome admitted with a sigh.
"Whoa! Way to go Higurashi!" Kiki exclaimed, clapping her friend on the back with a slightly awed expression on her face.
"You're not doing anything dangerous are you?" Hojo asked, looking generally concerned.
"No, just secretary stuff." Kagome conceded.
"Well how much are you getting paid?" Kiki wanted to know.
"Um. they haven't decided yet," Kagome decided to say. Since really, they hadn't! She hadn't even discussed a payment with Kaede yet, even though the old woman had promised Kagome compensation for her services, especially now with Shippou.
"Really? That's odd," Kiko said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "You better get that checked out. Well, I have to fly babe! Good luck on your final, you too Hojo!" Kiki said, touching Hojo on the arm briefly before she trotted off in the direction of the gym, waving jovially.
"Bye!" Kagome and Hojo called, waving her off, before turning to walk into the History building, slightly unenthusiastic expressions suddenly coming over their faces.
"Soo. did you study?" Kagome asked as she traveled up the staircase.
"Why, of course! Didn't you?" Hojo asked quickly, glancing at his (unrequited) one and only.
"Oh - well, yes! I mean, God, DEFFINITELY. I was just, um, you know, making sure YOU were prepared," Kagome muttered unconvincingly while giving herself a series of vicious mental head smacks.
"Say, Higurashi." Hojo murmured softly after a moment. Kagome turned to look at the man quickly - usually when he spoke in that tone of voice it meant he was about to ask something important.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if. if you would want to go on a date with me, sometime this weekend. You know - because it will be vacation and all of our finals will be done and such." he said, adorably hesitant, even though this had to be about the, what, two billionth time he had ever asked Kagome out in his life, starting in Kindergarten, Ms. Mako's class.
"Um, well." Kagome said, frowning lightly. On the one hand, it wouldn't hurt. She didn't have to work on the weekends, and it WOULD be vacation, and Hojo looked so desperate! - on the other hand, Kagome was positive she had made it clear last year that this awkward relationship between the two of them just wasn't going to float, about a year ago now. "I don't know Hojo," she said softly as they neared the classroom.
"Oh, well, I see! Of course, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I know we've discussed it and." Hojo said, blushing a bit and rubbing the back of his head bashfully. Kagome's heart melted a bit.
"It's just, I don't want to lead you on anymore Hojo," she admitted, eyes wide as she tried to get him to understand her point of view. She just didn't LIKE like him!
"No, I understand, don't worry, it's fine." He said, waving off her explanations, and slipping into the classroom. Kagome sighed contritely, before turning around to enter the class, forcing her mind off Hojo's pitiful expression, and onto those Ancient Japanese notes she conveniently forgot to study, what with the burning demon apartment and new spiritual powers.
*
"Breath in Kagome. you're too tense."
'You'd be tense too if you'd just failed your final.'
"Keep your eyes closed! No one's about to walk in here and start laughing at how funny you look!"
'Jeez, that option hadn't even crossed my mind, but thanks for getting me all worried about it,'
"Feel the power running through your veins and embrace it."
'Ooomm..'
"Dig deep inside and find that hidden surplus inside you! Bring it out!"
'Oooommmm..shalalala.'
"Kagome, I know your power's there! Why can't you use it?"
'I don't know! Stop asking such hard questions!'
"All right open your eyes. I think we're going to have to try a different approach." Kagome sighed thankfully and cracked her gray eyes open, stretching lightly as she did so. Miroku, dressed in some baggy pants and a t-shirt, had been instructing Kagome on mediation styles since she had entered the office that day. First they had worked on simply letting all of the thoughts out of her mind, and just focusing on her 'inner self'. Then they had practiced imaging actions in her head while she was meditating. Then they had imagined her bringing the power OUT of her body, and using it . and that's where they had stopped. Kagome could feel the power in her, knew it was there; she just. just. couldn't. grab it, was maybe the term she was searching for. It was an odd feeling, knowing you had all this power inside you. She had never had it before, and now that she did, she wasn't overly sure what to do with it. And for that she was totally thankful for Miroku and Kaede's instruction. However, something seemed to be going awry with Miroku's lesson, Kagome could tell from the distraught look on his usually mild-mannered features.
"Kagome, you DO feel the power in you, right?" Miroku asked, staring levelly at her, just to be sure.
"Yeah! We already went over that bit, remember? When we were digging inside ourselves and-"
"Yes, yes I remember, but if we've already been through that, then you should technically be able to just use that power as you please. It shouldn't be unobtainable to you," Kagome had nothing to say to that, so she decided to just watch the variety of emotions pass through her mentor's features in silence. "Ah, maybe it's just me," Miroku sighed finally, stretching his arms above his head,
"You?" Kagome repeated, confused.
"Yes. You had been excelling so fast in all of the other lessons today, and with all of those stunts you apparently pulled in that burning building with Naraku, I had been pushing you faster than I rarely push any other pupils under my instruction," the young priest/agent admitted. Kagome cocked her head.
"Everyone keeps saying I'm doing so good, but I really don't think I have any true control over my powers," she said hesitantly. "They just sort of come to me when I'm half crazy with desperation, you know? Of course, I haven't had them for long, really, so I don't know."
"No, no that could be right." Miroku said, shaking his head. "Some people. some people with an extraordinary amount of power never are able to totally harness their gifts. They just come to them when they need them, and get stronger the more dire their situation is. Of course, you're also right that we can't be sure yet. You're so green with your powers, we really can't assume anything until you've tried them out some more,"
".So that means more lessons, then?"
"'Fraid so,"
"Darn."
"Kagome!!" A loud, angry voice boomed, stomping down the hall. Kagome winced, and Miroku frowned. Who was that? Before either person still sitting cross-legged on the ground had a chance to voice their worries, the door to the room was slammed open, lock be damned, and in the doorway now stood a very angry, suddenly very tall Inuyasha, with a tiny kitsune hanging off his long silver hair by his teeth, swinging around so violently he seemed to be giving himself whiplash, growling deliriously in a very high pitched voice none-the-less.
Kagome stared, shocked at the odd appearance of the hanyou, before snorting quietly into her hand, trying to hold back giggles. Inuyasha looked so funny!
"What are you laughing at?" Inuyasha snapped, folding his arms, Shippou still swinging around his head. "Come over here and take this brat! He's under your charge now, isn't he?!"
"Well, yeah, but."
"Well, then come get him! The little whelp's been hanging around me since I came in! Babbling about revenge and how he's going to kill Naraku. He's driving me crazy, and he has the energy level of the Duracell Bunny!" Inuyasha complained, finally plucking Shippou off his hair, and holding the demon away from himself as though he smelled like something rancid. Kagome sighed, taking pity on Inuyasha who obviously didn't know how to behave around kids, cradling Shippou, who immediately calmed down, in her arms.
"Hey," he said in his cute little voice after a moment of confusion. "You're that girl from the other day,"
"Yeah," Kagome said, smiling. "That's me. I'm also the one you're going to be living with," she added as an afterthought.
"Oh," Shippou said, nodding in understanding. "That's cool." Kagome smiled some more, and then put Shippou down, watching as he clung to her leg and hid behind her, using her as a wall for when Inuyasha got pissed again. "And what's your problem man!? You're the biggest grouch I've ever met!"
'Well, at least the little guy doesn't appear to be terribly depressed.' Kagome said, looking at the bright side of things as Inuyasha's face turned numerous different shades of red.
"Why you little-! What did you expect?! Barging into my office with your little kitsune tricks at six thirty in the morning, bothering me when I'm trying to work on the very case you're so passionate about, and then pulling on my hair and sitting on my head when I don't listen!?" Inuyasha cried, apparently fed up beyond reason.
"Well you were ignoring me!" Shippou explicated.
"You get here at 6:30 in the morning?" Miroku asked, looking shocked.
"God," Inuyasha groaned, rubbing his face and shaking his head. "I don't need this,"
"Want some coffee?" Kagome offered generously, proffering some coffee from the superior coffee-making machine, of which she had been nursing for a while, waiting for it to cool down to a reasonable level of hotness.
"No thanks," Inuyasha replied, in a relatively polite tone. "Don't drink the stuff."
"Is that a demon thing too?" Kagome wanted to know, finding no other plausible reason as to why a normal person wouldn't drink coffee.
".No. Listen I have to go work now, will you just keep him out of my hair? Literally?" Inuyasha pleaded, a pained look coming over his attractive features. Kagome sighed, she always was a sucker for pretty boys.
"Fine. I should get to know you anyway, if we're going to be living together, hu?" Kagome said, turning her attention over to the little demon at her feet.
"Yeah, definitely!" Shippou agreed, making a little popping sound, and then transforming into a small balloon with arms and round eyes, floating up so he was eyelevel with a rather stunned Kagome, and then zooming around her head to the tune of a little 'pffff'ing sound he emitted. Kagome giggled and Miroku smirked and the child's antics.
"Hmph, kitsune," Inuyasha huffed, spinning on his heal and exiting the room. Kagome frowned after him. He was still in an exceptionally bad mood. how annoying.
"Yeah. so. um, how are you feeling? I mean, you're all right Shippou?" she asked, phrasing the question delicately after Inuyasha was out of sight, and Shippou transformed back into his normal state at her feet. She had been thinking about how she was going to help this little guy all day, and she was determined to do this right.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to get revenge for my parents by ripping out Naraku's guts and then strangling him to death with his own innards," Shippou confided in the college student, his tone completely childish and innocent the whole time.
"Right. Of course. Why didn't I think of that," Kagome said, staring blankly ahead. Of course she would have to get the freak child.
"So, what are you guys doing?" Shippou inquired, glancing at Miroku who was still seated on the floor in a meditative position.
"We were practicing mediation and miko skills, Shippou. Would you like to join us?" Miroku asked politely.
"Wow, really!? That sounds cool, I've never done any magical stuff before," Shippou said, jumping up and down excitedly. Kagome studied him carefully. Huh, Inuyasha was right. he was like the Duracell Bunny.
And as Kagome, Miroku and Shippou all began to resume practice, Kagome noted that as Shippou did everything with a childlike curiosity, he really was a child at heart, and probably all that weird stuff he said before was just because he had been forced to grow up so fast with all the terrible stuff that had happened to him recently. Probably.
*
A few hours later, after mediation lessons were over, and Kaede had taken Shippou away for some personal stuff about possessions and wills, and after Kagome had scheduled a time to talk with the elderly woman tomorrow about payments for herself and for supporting Shippou, not to mention addressing the little detail about his appearance, and then after Kagome had taken a minute to swing by the cafeteria to grab a bight to eat while ogling at the array of very odd demons assembled in the dining hall provided, she finally found herself wandering down the hall slowly towards her office, where she decided she had better start that report for Kaede. Luckily, something interesting caught her attention before she could make it to the computer.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, touching the agent lightly on the elbow as she approached him. He quickly snapped his head over to her, golden eyes piercing and angry. He stood assembled with many other grave looking agents, surrounding the demon detaining room Kagome remembered from her first day at the offices. It looked as though everyone were investigating a crime scene. Kagome shuddered as she heard the familiar sound of angry demons howling away in their cells. "What's going on?"
"Oh, it's you," Inuyasha acknowledged, turning back to the scene. "It's. nothing. We've just lost a demon, is all," the hanyou muttered as casually as he could.
"'Lost?'" Kagome repeated nervously.
"Well, she broke out, really," he admitted almost sheepishly, as though it was his fault. "We just can't freaking find out HOW! These cells were supposed to be impenetrable!"
"Which one broke out?" Kagome asked fearfully, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the heads of agents investigating the destroyed cell, imagining one of the uglier demons she had spotted before, lurking around the offices, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting agent.
"Yura,"
"Eh?" Kagome squeaked, coming back down to stare Inuyasha in the eye. That creepy woman with the weird vibes and deceptive smile? "But she was the most heavily surveyed! I don't understand."
"Neither do I," he huffed, folding his arms gravely. "And I've been thinking about it all morning. I just didn't want to worry Shippou with it by coming here."
'That must have been why he was so aggravated this morning. He didn't want to scare Shippou, but he had to examine this crime scene, so he waited and waited. that's so sweet!!' Kagome mentally gushed, a goofy little smile coming over her face.
"What's THAT look?"
"It's nothing! Nothing!" Yeesh.
Suddenly, Kagome bit her lip as she remembered she had wanted to ask Inuyasha about something earlier, and had forgotten. Kikyo. She had wanted to ask him about his ex-partner, even though she had been forewarned by Kaede that he didn't like to discuss the subject. But Kagome HAD to know! It was strictly about business after all. Kagome wanted to know precisely what had happened to the miko, and if she too was at risk of being shipped off to America. The thought that Inuyasha had a partner who was almost killed it appeared, under shady circumstances, honestly bothered her.
"Um!" Kagome started.
"Yes?" Inuyasha asked, turning to look down at her. But as the girl looked into his inquisitive gold eyes. she realized that maybe her reasons for wanting to know about Kikyo weren't so innocent. It was true, Inuyasha and Kikyo had been involved romantically before. and it was possible that Kagome was also developing a crush on the brute. and it might disturb her just a little bit that she apparently resembled Kikyo a lot. It might make her feel sad to think that all those times when Inuyasha had been kind and considerate to her, he was only doing it because her face reminded him of someone he had loved, and not of a girl he could grow to love.
"Never mind," Kagome mumbled, staring at the floor, frowning.
"Riiight.Anyway, don't you have a college course to get to or something?" Inuyasha mumbled irritably, leaning against the wall while he spoke, and choosing to let the other agents work their butts off on this one case. He already had another substantial one on his hands right now, and honestly he didn't need this little disturbing turn of events to distract him. He had brought the woman in once, what more did they want from him?! Inuyasha stopped to watch Kagome as her eyes expanded to the size of beach balls at his comment.
"Oh my God!" she cried, whipping out her watch, staring at it fearfully. "I have to be there in like fifteen minutes! Thank you so much for reminding me Inuyasha. Good luck with Yura, I hope she doesn't come after you and try to decapitate you. bye!!" Inuyasha stared blankly at Kagome's rapidly retreating back as she galloped away; processing everything she had quickly spat out in silence.
"Oh. Yeah. Thanks. I'll watch out for her," Inuyasha said, a little late as he heard the distinct sound of a door slamming in the distance.
*
"So, what kind of food do you like to eat?" Kagome called into the living room, connected to her small kitchen, as she rummaged through the cabinets, looking for some suitable demon food. Heyy, what about Easy-Mac!?
"Ummm. I don't know. Anything I guess," A suddenly shy Shippou replied from her couch, head bowed, and being oddly demure. Next to him, Buyo eyed the kitsune warily. What sort of an animal was THAT?
"I like the way you think, kid," Kagome said pleasantly. Easy-Mac it was.
The entire day had been exhausting for the girl. On top of all that work in the morning, her Literature course had been a real bore, and she had nearly fallen asleep in it, trying to listen to her professor's ridiculously unexciting blather. Then she had tottered on back to the office, really started to get into writing that report for Kaede, admittedly glorifying the whole apartment experience a bit, before Inuyasha had slammed into her office. Shippou once again hanging off his long hair. He had hurled the small demon at Kagome with a dour expression on his face, commented on the fact that the Yura case had made little to no progression, and then slammed his way back out of the room.
A little while after that Kagome had driven Shippou home, some hours later, noticing how, when they were alone, he seemed to be a bit shy about her. A trait she found simply endearing. However he was still showing little signs of depression, which was surprising considering the turn his life had recently taken.
And now her day was about to get a whole lot more stressful, because she found, to her total horror that they were.
Out of Easy-Mac. (Dun dun DUN.)
Not to mention all other victuals. In short, it was looking like Kagome was going to have to take a quick step out to the grocery store, and scrounge up some food for her newly acquired child.
'Dammit!' she sighed, grabbing her coat. 'Why didn't I notice this earlier? I cleaned the house so thoroughly even my clothes smell like Windex. but I forget to buy food. God. Not a good start,'
"Hey Shippou," she called, jogging into the room with her keys in hand. "Looks like the only thing in the fridge is butter, eggs and orange juice, and unless you want a really messed up omelet. I think I'm going to have to go buy us some stuff and the grocery store down the corner. You wanna come?" she asked amiably, putting out some major friendly vibes. She was good at that.
The little demon who, for the first time Kagome noticed, was starting to look a little weary, shook his head negatively. It had probably been a very hard day for Shippou too, Kagome realized with a start. More exhausting then for her, no doubt! Poor thing probably just wanted to sleep! Kagome's eyes shimmered, and she nodded understandingly.
"I see.well, why don't you just rest, and watch some T.V?" she offered, slipping into her jacket. "I'll be back in ten minutes max. and you have my cell phone number. you're okay alone, right?" she questioned.
"Yeah," Shippou assured her. "Us demon kids are smarter than normal human ones," he pointed out, look a wee bit proud.
"Right, of course," Kagome agreed, walking towards the door. "Well, see you in a sec!"
She quickly hopped into her elevator, being on the fourth floor of her apartment, and zipped out as soon as the doors open, determined to make sure Shippou didn't have to be unaccompanied for any longer then absolutely necessary. She felt guilty enough for leaving him alone already!
'So, what to get,' Kagome thought as she rushed along the darkened street that night, making a grocery list in her head. She didn't have much money, so better make it short. 'Milk, cheese, bread, peanut butter and jelly, because everybody loves that, ramen, Easy-Mac, obviously, maybe some broccoli because I have to start eating healthy now for Shippou, and.' Kagome trailed off, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the almost completely vacant street, eyes wide, and staring out into the distance.
"Hey." she breathed softly, swallowing. "Something's. wrong." And indeed something was wrong. Kagome felt in the pit of stomach an uncomfortable and dark power swirling around her, leaving her shivering and scared. Something was amiss in the area, and she couldn't see it. had no idea what was behind it. but her miko powers were alerting her to the fact that there was definitely something unnatural happening roughly around her.
Quickly, the raven-haired girl swung around to look at her apartment, making sure everything was right there, and that Shippou wasn't trapped inside her flaming house right now.
"Ouch!" she hissed, touching her face as she felt something slice across it while she turned around. Blood dripped down her fingers, and she felt a long, paper-thin cut across her cheekbone. just like the other night with her hand. "What's this?." she wondered aloud, eyes darting about as she searched for whatever it was that had sliced her. She sucked in a breath, and took a cautious step back, and something most definitely caught her eye, and gave explanation to why she had just been cut.
Strings. Everywhere.
Long, thin, razor sharp strings stretched out like a large spider web all over the block. The were hung around like a tight cat's cradle, and Kagome sensed something odd about them. They were unnaturally deadly, and felt a little off. Almost as if they weren't strings. kind of as if they were more like.
"Hair," Kagome breathed in horror.
"La, so you can see it?" In truth, Kagome didn't really WANT to turn around to find out who had just said that, her natural instincts encouraging her to run, and not be bashful about it. but her curiosity won this battle, and she found herself soon cautiously peering behind her, eventually coming to gaze up at an attractive woman balancing on some of the hair, with even more wrapped around her fingers and splaying out around her. She was staring back at Kagome with some degree of innocent curiosity, although Kagome knew for a fact that this person was, in particular, anything but innocent.
It was Yura.
'Oh God... this isn't happening. not now. why did the crazy, escaped psychopath have to come after ME?! She doesn't even know who I am!' Kagome mentally whined, backing up, only to wince as she backed up into almost transparent hair, that bit uncomfortably into her back. Yura gave off a small smile and cocked her head to the side.
"Well. I suppose mikos COULD see my hair, no matter how weak they are," Yura acknowledged, as Kagome's mouthed open and closed like a fish out of water. No! She wanted to keep her head! After a long stretch of silence, Yura swung down to just in front of Kagome, balancing on her hair like an acrobat, looking her right in the eyes. Yura's eyes being frighteningly bottomless. "You are Kagome Higurashi. are you not?"
"Y-yes!" Kagome got out, deciding it was time to get some backbone, and sort things out now. "And you're Yura, right?" Just to make sure.
"Why yes! That's me!" Yura giggled, looking unreasonably pleased. "Yura of the Hair, if you want to get technical about it. but I won't be offended if you don't remember that name, since I'm about to end your life," she droned on, casually, in a tone that suggested she could have just as easily been discussing the weather.
"What?" Kagome gasped, as the busty woman, wearing that little black outfit still, reached for the sword at her waist. 'God, she really is heartless!' Moving quickly, Kagome dived under the hair blocking her way, and behind Yura, before the crazy demon had a chance to slash her. Yura swiped the air where Kagome really should have been, as the girl in question made a run for her life, slipping around hair and dashing down the street, in the opposite direction of her apartment. She had to get this woman away from Shippou!
"It's no use running!" Yura cried, taking her dangerously pointed sword and aiming it at Kagome, now a good few yards ahead. The sword whizzed forward, and sliced into the brick wall Kagome turned behind, now embedded deeply into it. Yura frowned lightly, and swung over to it, effortlessly wrenching it out of the brick. "Come back, I must kill you!" she explained sincerely, turning a corner, eyes glinting maliciously. She was enjoying this.
However, the level of entertainment took a major nosedive as Yura found to her disappointment that Kagome had disappeared on the new block, and her demon senses could not detect her anywhere.
"She must be using her miko powers to hide from me," Yura decided, chuckling darkly, yet at the same time childishly, to herself, in the dark of the street, face illuminated by the orange tinted streetlights.. She nodded her head slowly.
"That's all right, miko girl! I'll find you anyway!" she assured the unoccupied street, slinging her sword over her shoulder, and swinging up into the air, laughing loudly so that the sound reverberated from all the buildings and made the chuckle sound much more deadly than it had originally.
Yura was going to kill Kagome Higurashi.
Meanwhile, Kagome, having dived under a wonderfully concealing minivan, and was indeed using her new powers, suddenly obtainable to her again now that she was in a very life threatening situation, winced as she watched a stray mouse get skewered on Yura's hair while dashing unawares down the block, in search of food. If what Yura said was true, and if people weren't supposed to see this deadly hair. how many innocents would be sliced in half tonight on account of this madwoman was after HER? The thought was devastating, and Kagome realized that if she was going to take this woman down.. She was going to need help. She couldn't let Yura run amuck!
And surprisingly, the only person she found really came to mind when she needed aid in a situation like this. was the person who had saved her last time a demon had been out for her blood. Inuyasha.
'Please Inuyasha! I need help! This woman's going to kill me! Where are you?' Kagome thought desperately, sliding cautiously out from under the silver minivan, and dashing off into the night, wishing she had something more substantial than that pepper spray on her to scare Yura away with. Where was her partner when she needed him?
'Well, he's probably out searching for Yura anyway, so maybe that means we'll run into each other!' she thought hopefully, chest heaving as she ran, keeping both eyes peeled for any unhinged, slutty maniacs flying around the city on strands of hair, wielding an ancient sword. Sounded easy enough to spot. Especially when they were looking for you. 'If Yura ends up killing me. I'm going to be pretty pissed off,'
*
Author's Notes:
Review review review! Okay, now that we have that clear, I want to pose a question to all you readers out there, that has been bothering me, especially because I am considering writing a new story that involves it. Only once I'm pretty far into this one, rest assured, but. Why was Kikyo in hell? I mean, she WAS a priestess, and she DID lead a pretty honorable life. I'm not so sure killing demons qualifies as a hell-worthy crime, and when she pinned Inuyasha to the God-tree she didn't actually murder him. so why is she in hell? I don't actually know about whatever sort of religion we're following here, maybe there IS no alternative but hell for an afterlife, (You're listening to a naïve agnostic right now, obviously.) but it's sort of been bugging me, and I'd appreciate it if someone could educate me here. But, if you do reply to this, please don't say something like 'Because she's a stupid bitch and Inuyasha and Kagome belong together!!!' because that really doesn't have anything to do with it. Of course, I could be acting really stupid right now, and there could be some obvious reason as to why Kikyo's in hell that I don't remember. maybe she went to hell because she died with vengeful emotions. (Even though I thought she died wishing she could just be with Inuyasha. who she might have assumed had gone to hell. and that's why went there.) Okay, I'll stop. I'm just confusing myself. But I really do want to know, and I really do want you to comment about this story as well, because I really take all of your reviews to heart! (Thanks to whoever pointed out I was spelling Naraku wrong!) Until next time, (Two weeks? Three max.)
Rio Grande~ *