Chapter 3- The Tutor from Hell

She could deal with dog ears. She could deal with Kagome skipping a couple lessons. But she could not comprehend how she, a normal, average, everyday, nothing-ever-happens-to-me woman had traveled 500 years back in time. Either this is a dream or I had way too much sake last night, Gao rubbed her temple as she thought to herself, Funny, one cup doesn't seem like much. I guess I'm a real light-weight.

"Hey, Gao person! Get up!" That's right, I had a cup of sake and went to bed, then had that weird dream. And that is the land lady here to collect this month's rent. See? No feudal Japan, just a bad dream. "Hey Gao! Wake up dammit! It's your turn to watch the fire!" Fire? What fire? I don't have a fireplace in my apartment. She rubbed her eyes, opening them slowly.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" It wasn't a dream! I'm still here!

"Inu Yasha! What the hell are you doing to my teacher!" Kagome asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"What did I do! Nothin'! She just gave me a heart attack! I was just wakin' her up 'cause it's her turn to watch the fire."

"It wasn't a dream?" Gao breathed hopefully.

"Feh, what are you, some kind of idiot? We explained it all to you yesterday, if you can't remember I'm not bothering telling you again." He snorted contemptuously and shoved his hands into his kimono sleeves, as if to assert his authority.

"Inu Yasha! Sit!" With a CRASH! Inu Yasha toppled over, and found that it was quite difficult to assert authority when face down in the mud.

"Whaffdahelpphdidyayedo?" His response was somewhat muffled by the fact that is quite difficult to speak when one's mouth is full of mud. Kagome took advantage of this to get in a few words of her own.

"Kon'an Sensei, I'm sorry he scared you. He really isn't that bad. Really. He can be almost nice sometimes." She helped her tutor to her feet and gave Inu Yasha one last 'sit' for good measure.

"Uh, Kagome?" Gao spoke slowly, slightly disturbed by the power Kagome had displayed. Kagome seemed not to notice the effect the 'Sit' had had on her teacher's formally arrogant demeanor, and smiled brightly.

"Yes?" Gao hesitated for a moment, then, at Kagome's encouragement, finished her train of thought.

"Can he breath with his face stuck in the ground like that?" They were both silent for a moment, then Kagome's eyes seemed to sparkle with the answer, and she spoke confidently.

" Hasn't killed him yet." To this, Gao said nothing, but silently gathered her things and went for a morning wash.

A few hours later

"So the pervert is Miroku, the fox is Shippo, dog boy is Inu Yasha and you are Sango?" Gao wanted to make sure she had it down so she could begin to grasp her strange situation.

"Yeah." Allot of confusion and little sleep (a.k.a. brainwashing ) had made Gao a little more receptive to the idea of being in the feudal era. Since Inu Yasha had woken her up, she had taken the time to learn the names of those in Kagome's group and their special abilities. She turned to Kagome, eager to explore this new knowledge further.

"And you, Kagome, have spiritual powers that enable you to see the Shikon no Tama?"

"Yes. I'm the only one that can do it. That's why I miss so much class and fall behind on all my tests- I'm trying to save Japan... er Feudal Japan... which is to say that I'm saving the future... which is our world... uh, yeah." Kagome blushed a deep red and turned away. "I know it is all very weird, but hey, it has to be true, I mean, you're here, right?" Gao contemplated this silently for a moment, then seemed to hit upon a solution. She motioned for the others to gather around and beamed at them, clearly under the impression that she was about to impart some wonderful news.

"But if what you have told me is true, there is no reason.." Everyone was staring at Gao intently. "why you can't continue your studies here." Gao finished with a big smile. "Okay?" SLAM Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Inu Yasha and Kagome all hit the ground as one, stupefied.

"But Kon'an-san," Miroku began, "Be reasonable. We face life and death situations every day. There is no need to add more stress to the mix."

"Yes," Sango chimed in, "You should just go back home and wait for Kagome to return. There really is no time for such things."

"My mind," Gao firmly stated, " is made up. Kagome will continue her studies here. If I can balance teaching, waiting, and studying, then she can certainly handle a little algebra and English when she's not fighting demons." Gao crossed her arms, and stared defiantly at them.

With a sigh, Kagome resigned herself to her fate while Sango, Shippo, and Kirara went off to scour the perimeter and Miroku and Inu Yasha excused themselves for a bath at the nearest hot spring (one kilometer away).

"That woman," Miroku paused to look around "is absolutely insane." He rested his back against one of the rock walls of the spring and gazed lazily into the night sky. Inu Yasha, never one to truly relax, continued to harp on the situation.

"What is wrong with her? Are all women from the future that screwed up? Feh, glad I don't live there. Between the nasty carbon bon dioxy side and the silly women I wouldn't survive."

"Kagome is one of those "silly" women." Miroku reminded him gently. Inu Yasha snorted and grumbled something he couldn't quite make out above the bubbling of the spring."Hmmm? What's that Inu Yasha? I can't hear you." Miroku leaned closer, smiling guiltily to himself. Inu Yasha sighed and threw up his hands.

"I just can't win, can I?" he said, eyes quietly begging for an answer.

"They're women," Miroku laughed, " it's not about winning or losing, it's about keeping your sanity." He stood up and shook himself off, enjoying the cool breeze on his skin.

"So that's a 'no' then?" Inu Yasha flopped back into the water and laid there, eyes closed, listening to the sound of the crickets chirping in the background. Miroku smiled at his friend one last time before heading up the bank to retreive his clothes.

"So that's a no then?"

"Huh?" Kagome faced the tutor from hell. Gao was in top form today, she had already quizzed Kagome on History, Science, Sociology, and American Literature. They had just begun math when Kagome's brain suddenly vacated the premises.

"So that's a "no", x does not equal 4?" Crap! What was I doing! Uh... okay I was daydreaming... crap! "Kagome, are you even paying attention?" Kagome sighed heavily and pressed her hands to her head as she leaned on the desk, staring at the textbook.

"Sorry Kon'an Sensei, it's hard to concentrate after so much... excitement." Well, it's not entirely false, Kagome thought, just a bit…exagerated.

"I understand. It must be difficult to have to cope with such new and interesting surroundings when you are studying." Kagome could scarce believe it- Kon'an Sensei was letting her off the hook? "Which is why I am going to grade you on every piece of work you do. That way, you're sure to focus." Or not.

"But sensei! I can't possibly keep up!" To Kagome's surprise, Gao sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Kagome, I'm not trying to torture you, really. But your mother assigned me to teach you. It is my responsibility to make sure you pass your exams. But there's more then that. Kagome, I know you like it here, but you can't stay forever." She lifted her head and stared at Kagome. "It's understandable, I mean, your friends are really nice, and this place is so beautiful... but it's not your place. Your place is 500 years from existing. It's like, if I say 'okay, sure, stay here, forget school' then I'm telling you it's okay to abandon your life in the future. I can't do that." Why do I care so much? Gao stared at Kagome, wondering… She's just a student, but I feel as strongly if she were my own kid sister or something. I'm just meddling, I should leave. They don't want me here, it's me that doesn't belong... but... it feels... so right here. Gao didn't know what she meant by 'right', but for some reason this place seemed unusually pleasant…like an old memory that needed revisiting.

"I know.."

"Hmm?" Gao said, startled. She had been lost in her own daydreams for once.

"I know." Kagome turned to gaze at the now brilliant stars overhead. Wow! We've been at it all day. "I know I can't stay here, but there are things I need to do before I leave here for good. I can't just walk away. They need me.." and I need him, Kagome thought guiltily, trying to hide her blushing cheeks from her tutor.

"Then... stay. For now. But Kagome, don't forget where you came from, don't forget who you are." Don't forget your world, she added silently.

Intermission

It was really hard for me to stop the chapter here, I'm trying to regulate the length, but it felt like I was cutting off my arm. This chapter went from lighthearted to serious pretty fast. As you can see, Gao is desperate to find a place to belong, and is reaching out (though slowly) to the people she just met. Kinda makes you wonder if she's never had someone be as open and trustworthy as Kagome and her friends. Gao will reveal more about herself in later chapters, so stay tuned