Fly By Night
By Vladygasckgyn
Disclaimer: It should be obvious at this point in time. I don't own anything but pocket lint, sadly enough.
A/N: I am so sorry about the long update. I know, you've heard all the excuses already, so I won't bother. Let's just say that this chapter didn't - and still doesn't - quite meet my standards, but I don't know how to make it any better. So, I apologize. Many thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 9
Kagome walked in the front door to the shrine, exhausted.
'Those steps are a bitch.'
She placed her hand on the door but abruptly froze, her previous exhaustion forgotten for the moment. She pulled the door open carefully, glancing around for any signs of an intrusive presence.
'Strange...but I was sure I felt something...' She closed the door without a sound and walked around to the God tree. 'It's probably nothing, but still...'
Kagome let out a breath that she hadn't been aware of holding when she saw nothing amiss near the tree. She turned around to go back inside when the voice of her nightmares permeated her thoughts.
'Kagome...it would seem that I have found you, my little miko...'
She whipped around immediately at the sound, snarling.
"Naraku!"
'So this is where you've been hiding...'
"Naraku, you bastard! Show yourself!"
'All in due time...you still possess some of my shards. I'm going to need them...'
"Fuck off you androgynous little half-breed bastard."
'We will meet again, miko.' With that his presence withdrew, and the clearing was once again silent save for the thunder rumbling in the distance. Kagome dropped to her knees, her weariness coming back full force.
"What the hell was that?! Surely he couldn't have found me..."
She somehow managed to drag her weakened body up the stairs to her room, collapsing in her bed still fully clothed.
'I will protect my family at all costs.' This was her last coherent thought before finally succumbing to sleep.
-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-
The spirit detectives were all crowded around Kurama's living room table, deep in conversation. Needless to say, they were all rather...unsettled... by the day's events concerning Kagome and her seeming fondness for the heat of battle.
"I'm telling you, Urameshi, it just isn't right! No girl should be able to fight like that! It just isn't natural!"
"You know, I seem to remember you saying something about how she's 'too nice' to fight, or something like that. So tell me, what made you change your mind?" Yusuke wryly commented, letting out a small snort of laughter at Kuwabara's sheepish expression.
"He has a point, Yusuke. Surely you can't mean to tell me that you find nothing unordinary about her admittedly formidable skills with the sword? Even with the knowledge of what she has told us, and I am certain she hasn't told us absolutely everything, it just doesn't fit. The way she fought...it was almost desperate. Did anyone else notice that?"
"Hn."
Kurama glanced sharply at Hiei but, not knowing whether to take his reply as agreement or denial, turned back to the others.
"Well I'm sorry Kurama, but I maybe I was too busy pissing my pants to notice anything other than the insanity on her face when she looked at me!" Yusuke shook his head briefly. "Seriously...she looked almost demonic out there; it's the first time I've seen her actually happy, when she was slicing and dicing body parts off of the demons."
"Well, I have already spoken to Koenma, and unfortunately he hasn't been able to gather any more information regarding her than we have. So all we can do is wait for her to come to us. She'll tell us when she's ready...hopefully." Kurama rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously as Yusuke rolled his eyes at his optimism.
"Yeah, sure, I can just see it happening. One day she's just gonna waltz up to us and spill everything, begging us to forgive her for not confessing all sooner." Here Yusuke let out a bark of laughter. "Right Hiei?"
He glanced over at the window sill that was Hiei's customary perch when he received no reply.
But he was gone.
-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-:-'-:-
-: the Next Morning :-
"Kagome! Are you awake, sweetie?"
'Dammit...' "Five more minutes mom... Can I just stay home from school today?"
"Oh, no honey! Today's Saturday. You need to hurry and come downstairs anyway though. There is a very nice-looking young man waiting for you."
"Eh?" Kagome was having trouble shaking off the sleep-induced fog her thoughts were shrouded in, and was having trouble understanding her mother. Then it hit her, and she sat straight up, fully realizing the implications of what her mother said. "A man? What does he look like? Tell me!" 'Could it be Naraku?'
"Well, he's rather tall, and very handsome. He has very long silver hair and was wearing a suit..." Kagome breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the comment about the hair.
"Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes, mom." Her mother beamed.
"Wonderful! Like I said, he's a very nice looking man... You know, I've always wanted to be a grandmother. Do you think perhaps...?" Kagome sweatdropped.
"Mother, you are pushing both your luck and my patience."
"Sorry, sweetie! Try to hurry up, though!" Kagome rolled her eyes at her mother's exuberant form and trudged over to her closet for something to wear.
'Black, black, black...I suppose I'll be wearing black then.' She smirked.
She made her way downstairs, her mother's voice drifting towards her. Kagome walked into the kitchen and saw her mother talking to the man, whose back was turned to her.
"Oh, Kagome! You're up!" Her thoughts, however, weren't on her mother. They were on her guest, who was slowly turning around to face her. Her eyes widened as his face came into view.
"Hello Kagome."
A/N: Again, I apologize. I'm turning into one of those authors that takes forever to post crappy chapters. Anyway, I'll let you make what you will of this chapter, so don't send me angry reviews about not understanding, because you're not supposed to. Can anyone guess who "the guy" is? Lol. On to the review responses!
DarkAngel Kagome: Thanks! I'll continue to write, and hopefully the updates will be more consistent.
Micheleclover: Lol, I'mleaning towards that idea.
Miku: Thanks, though I probably won't be keeping her that way.
Why?What?Shutup: Many thanks.
Kuramasgal: Interesting, huh? Thanks, and I will.
evildustbunny18: Nice name! Lol. I figured that some comic relief would be welcome.
blazingsunstar: Thanks, although I can never tell if that's a sarcastic "kool" or not. Lol.
LaDyPnAi: O.O Okay, to answer your comments/questions: 1. I didn't really think that Hiei was showing a lot of emotion, but I'll work on it. 2. Kagome will be coming around to him soon enough. I'm trying, lol. 3. I hadn't given Shippo a whole lot of thought since he isn't really in the story...yet... Thanks!
Pixie-stickjunkie: Thank you very much!
Elementsofmine: Lol, thanks. I've never been much of a writer, but your compliments make me feel a lot better. I canonly hope that I don't disappoint, and that my chapters will get better with experience.
SacredKoorimeKitsune: Yes, this most definitely will be a Kagome/Hiei story, since it's my favorite pairing.I'm just not quite sure how to get thetwo together... Thanks for your support!
Fabled: Thanks! I like her that way too, but it seems not many other people agree.Lol.
Lady Kage-Yume: Okay, I'll try, andthanks for reviewing!
Cosmos270: Alright, and I'm sorry for slacking off. I'll try to do better next time!
Did I miss anybody? Well, thanks for all those who reviewed, and those who didn't. (I too am guilty of not reviewing...)