Chapter Two: Wait a Minute, What Now?
Kikyou had dusted herself off and begun to get her bearings when she received her first surprise. The hand she was using to dust herself off was holding something. More specifically, something round, which seemed to be made up of several blue and gold paper strips. As she was staring at the strange object in puzzlement, the priestess felt an unfamiliar breeze around her legs, and looked down to receive her second surprise.
"A short, pleated kimono? Strange. It almost resembles the garb of the girl Kagome," she said to herself, and at that point received her third surprise.
"Like, Kagome? Why are you talking about, like, her?"
Kikyou whirled around to see Kagura. Or, upon closer inspection, someone who remarkably resembled Kagura. The face was right, and the two women were about the same size, but the similarities ended there. For one thing, the girl was dressed in the same outfit Kikyou was wearing. Her hair was in two strange pigtails, and her face was vacant.
"Kagura?"
"Like, yeah duh, who else would it be?"
"Where am I am why am I dressed in such a manner?"
The Kagura look-alike peered at her in concern. "Like, you're at Shikon High and you're in your cheerleader outfit. Duh! Why are you talking all weird? And what about that bitch Kagome?"
Kikyou simply stared at her, unsure of how to reply, when she was once again startled by a loud bell.
"Well, you'd better get to class. See ya!" And with that Kagura skipped off, leaving Kikyou dumbfounded in the midst of a current of students running every which way. To avoid being trampled, she rounded a corner and stopped dead, witnessing a sight that surprised her more than anything she'd seen so far.
A boy, who looked remarkably like Inu-yasha as a human, and a girl, who looked remarkably like Kagome, were apparently attempting to suck one another's faces off in the middle of the hallway. They were both dressed in the strangest outfits Kikyou had ever seen: black pants that seemed far too large, tight black shirts with characters she could not read on them, and several strings of chains each. In addition, their hair was streaked with all sorts of odd colors. In the midst of her confusion, Kikyou wondered why she was paying such attention to their clothing.
Finally she managed to say, "Inu-yasha?"
The couple separated and turned to stare at her. When they realized who she was, their faces took on identical expressions of hatred.
"Inu-yasha, what are you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing, bitch?" the boy who seemed to be Inu-yasha asked, sneering. Kikyou's eyes widened involuntarily. "I'm a punk now, and I don't need your slutty ass! Why don't you go run to Naraku or one of the other guys you cheated with, or did they realize what a slut you are?"
Kikyou stared at him in disbelief for a moment before responding. "Excuse me?"
Kagome, who'd been standing quietly next to Inu-yasha, stepped forward. "Why don't you leave us alone, you slutty-ass ho bitch!" Without further warning, she struck out, punching Kikyou in the face.
The priestess staggered back a few steps and attempted to put up a barrier. To her shock, she couldn't summon up any spiritual power. It was then that she realized her mouth was bleeding. I am alive, and I have no power. Can it be that I am in someone else's body?
Her thoughts were cut off by the false Kagome's next attack, which, fortunately for the priestess, she was more ready for. Kikyou barely dodged, and struck out with the pom-pom she was still holding while her opponent was off-balance. She noted with dissatisfaction that her body was much less powerful than it had been, but her anger and desperation were enough to knock Kagome to the floor.
Inu-yasha lunged forward then, and faced with the situation, Kikyou did the only sensible thing. She retreated.
"And just so you know, Mr. Hanyou, we are not going to tolerate any of your misbehavior here."
Inu-yasha looked around wildly. Where was he and why was Kaede lecturing him? The half-demon leapt to his feet.
The room he was in was rather small, with white walls and a dull, worn carpet. He had been sitting in a plastic chair in front of a large wooden desk. Kaede was currently behind it, watching him with a mixture of surprise and disapproval.
"Mr. Hanyou, sit down this instant."
"What? Kaede, what's with you? What the hell's going on?"
Kaede sighed. "Mr. Hanyou, you've already been expelled from twelve schools due to your punkness. I would think that you would want to try behaving a little better on your first day here at Shikon High. And watch your language."
Inu-yasha stared at her in shock. "Old woman, what is wrong with you? Don't you recognize me?"
"I've never seen you before today, and I would hope that you don't end up in my office again." To Inu-yasha's shocked face she added, "You have your schedule, and I've gotten a student to show you around the school. Here she is now."
The door burst open and Kagome walked in. However, "walked" didn't even begin to cover it. It was more like she sauntered, or perhaps strutted, with an arrogant expression that clearly said she owned the halls. Her hair was streaked with red and up in a messy bun, with two hanging strands that framed her face. She was dressed more peculiarly than normal as well: short black skirt, ripped fishnet stockings, black combat boots, a scarlet corset that hugged her perfect breasts—
"GAHH!" Inu-yasha screamed, startling both women in the room. Why was he thinking that? Before Kagome or Kaede could say anything, the half-demon blushed and strode through the doorway, mentally shaking himself, with Kagome in pursuit.
Why did he care what Kagome was wearing? Normally he wouldn't even know what color her hair was. Kagome, who'd caught up with him, grabbed his arm to demand an explanation. The half-demon felt himself beginning to get lost in her chocolate eyes, only snapping back to Earth when he realized he didn't know what chocolate was. At that point Kagome was already talking.
"Good, a punk. Lord knows this school has enough preps already, and I'm sick of punching people. You got a name?"
"K-Kagome?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's my name. Who are you?"
"Kagome, don't you recognize me? I'm Inu-yasha!"
Kagome stared at him cynically. "I've never met you before. And don't even start with the 'I've loved you all my life' crap, I get that enough from that stupid prep Kouga. You want the tour or not?"
Inu-yasha nodded mutely. He really had no clue what was going on, and maybe Kagome would come to her senses. The dog demon followed her down the hall. He briefly considered shaking her until she realized who he was, but decided against it. She was droning on about something or other; perhaps if he listened, he'd get some idea of where he was.
"And I'll introduce you to the gang. There's Sango Tajiya and Miroku Houshi (they're in eleventh grade like us), and there's Shippou Kitsune (he's a ninth grader), and there's Sakura Ravenwing."
"Sakura?" asked Inu-yasha.
"Oh yeah, she's a punk like us. She has ankle-length black hair with the ends dyed hot pink and emerald orbs—"
"Orbs?"
"Shut it. Her skin is pale and flawless, and today I think she's wearing a black hoodie with a simply witty saying on it, black and red striped tights—"
"Enough!" yelled Inu-yasha, covering his ears.
Kagome glared at him, about to say something, when a boy tapped her on the shoulder. Inu-yasha tried not to catalogue every item of clothing he was wearing, and then the boy spoke, at which point Inu-yasha could only see the world through a faint scarlet haze.
"Hey, Kagome. You're hot. Will you go out with me?"
"Shut the (censored) up, Houjo!" Kagome snarled.
The half-demon prepared to attack this Houjo person, but Kagome acted first, kneeing him in the groin. Inu-yasha winced, while his companion stepped on the prostrate body and continued as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway, this school is hell. We're the leaders of the Freaks. Those are all the goths, punks, stoners, skaters, etcetera. And so we're really popular with them, but all the preps call us outcasts. Whatever. We're actually in a band, and we're playing at a nightclub tonight. Want to come with us?" Before he could ask what a nightclub was, she continued. "Good. Kaede said that we have all the same classes. What a coincidence, right? Anyway, just stick with me and I'll keep the preps off you. Our first class is Home Ec. You talk?"
"Kagome, I—"
"Whatever. Come on."
Inu-yasha stared at the girl as they passed through the classroom door with a tide of other students. That clinches it. She dresses oddly, keeps talking about these "punk" and "prep" things, and actually fights for herself. There's no way this is Kagome. But where the hell am I and what is going on?
"Hey, Tajiya!"
Sango spun around, trying to calm her racing heart and coolly assess the situation. She was somewhere dark and loud, surrounded by racks of… items, and Kagome was standing there talking to her.
"Hello, Sango?" Kagome asked concernedly, waving a hand in her face. "Is something wrong? You're looking around like you've never been here before."
"Kagome, where are we?" Sango asked, forcing herself to remain calm. There had to be an explanation for her sudden appearance in this alien place. Perhaps an illusion of some nature? But Kagome only continued to stare at her in bemusement.
"We're at Hot Topic, the best store ever! You know, where you work?"
Backing against the wall, Sango continued to glance around her surroundings in alarm. Her Hiraikotsu seemed to have vanished; the demon slayer's feelings of anxiety grew when Kagome leaned forward and waved an armful of clothing in her face.
"Sango, are you okay? Remember, you were going to ring these up for me so I can finally turn punk?"
"Punk?" Sango asked in a slightly hysterical tone.
"Yeah, you know? To impress the hottest punk at Shikon High, Inu-yasha? We just bought all the outfits and you were going to streak my hair with silver and then you just blanked out for a second, and now you're acting all weird! Are you okay?"
Gradually regaining her composure, the demon slayer simply nodded. The most likely scenario was that she was under some sort of curse that was causing her to hallucinate, in which case the best idea would be to remain calm, go along with the visions, and wait for some clue as to how to save herself.
Kagome smiled at her. "Great! And after this, I can get my nose pierced just like yours!"
With a feeling of mounting horror, Sango reached up to her face and felt the formerly smooth skin riddled with strange metal objects. She turned and headed for what appeared to be the exit, Kagome yelling after her. Her escape was cut short, however, when a black-clad Miroku appeared in the doorway. Sango couldn't help but notice that his pants were very baggy and his shirt bore some sort of deformed rabbit.
"Sango?"
"Miroku, what the hell is wrong!"
The monk sighed with relief. "Calm down, Sango." He turned to Kagome, who was wearing her customary clueless expression. "Could I have a moment alone with Sango, please? I would like to ask her to 'hook up' with me."
Kagome squealed with delight. "Oh, this is so great! You two are so cute together, it's perfect! Okay, I'll leave you two alone, then!" Grinning madly, she skipped out of the store, swinging the clothing as she went.
A random customer stared after her, and then turned to Sango with an oblivious smile on his face. "Cool! Can I have free stuff, too?"
Instinct kicked in. "No," Sango replied. "Get out of the store."
She and Miroku walked to the back of the store, Sango feeling her facial piercings numbly. Staring downward, Miroku began to talk.
"Do you remember slaying demons in Japan's Feudal Era?" he asked. Sango nodded. "Okay. Do you know where we are now?"
"What!" Sango practically screamed, eyes bugging out. "I thought you knew!"
The monk held up his hands to placate her, eyes still cast downwards. "Please calm down. Let's simply review what we know."
"Okay," the woman began. "I was investigating the cave Kohaku led us to, and suddenly I was here in this store. Kagome was talking to me about 'streaking her hair' or something. She didn't seem to know anything about the Feudal Era. Then you came in."
Miroku nodded. "I was in a place apparently called 'the food court,' holding something called a 'burger.' Inu-yasha was dressed strangely and talking to me about how he hates Kikyou."
"What?" Sango asked, surprised. "Kikyou?"
"Yes. Then he began to lecture me about how I should 'hook up' with you, and that Kagome thought so as well."
"Hook up? What does that mean?"
Miroku grinned. "I have a few ideas—"
A slap could be heard above the music. "Keep them to yourself. What then?"
"He left, and I wandered off. Then I found you."
The demon slayer sighed and rubbed her temples. Miroku's eyes followed her movement. "Do you think maybe they've been cursed? Or we've been cursed?"
"I'm fairly certain I've heard Kagome mention both 'burgers' and 'hair streaks.' Perhaps we're in her time."
"That still doesn't account for Inu-yasha and Kagome's behavior. Hey, are you okay? You've got a weird look on your face."
"Um… Would you do me a favor? Please put your arms behind your back."
Sango's face grew hard. "Why?" she snapped.
"No, it's nothing like that! It's your armbands!"
"What?"
"They have sayings on them! And I have to read them, even though I don't know this language. I can't stop!"
"Okay," she said suspiciously.
The random customer who had been ordered to leave was still sulking in the doorway, silently cursing insensitive salespeople. A moment later, he was rather surprised to hear the following exchange:
"You weren't reading the armbands at all!" Violent slap.
"I swear, I was!"
"Then what are you staring at now, pervert!"
"I'm being forced to read your shirt several times! It's not my fault!"
"Yeah, sure! Eyes on my face!" Another slap.
"Sango, you're so cruel…"
About ten minutes later, Kikyou came to a halt, breathing hard; her body was in much worse shape than it should have been. The priestess glanced around, but she didn't seem to have been pursued. The room she was currently in was large and well lit. Strange hoops hung from the walls above the scuffed wooden floors. Deciding that the wide-open space didn't seem like a wise place to be if she was attacked, Kikyou headed for the nearest door.
The room it led to was smaller and filled with strange items. Shelves of brightly colored balls lined the walls, and nets were stacked in corner. Kikyou examined a few bats and rackets before her eyes settled on a pile of bows and arrows. For the first time since arriving, the priestess smiled.
Kikyou wandered the halls, feeling much safer but no less confused, when she heard a familiar voice. The room it was coming from was smaller and tiled, with stalls of some sort and a very large mirror on the wall. Kikyou walked in and questioningly touched the white basin below the mirror; water began to spray.
"But how?" she asked her puzzled reflection. Kagura, standing next to her, stopped applying her face paint in confusion.
"Like, you okay, Kiki? It's like you've never seen a sink before."
"A sink, you say?"
"Um… Yeah. Hey, why've you got a bow and arrow?"
Kikyou ignored the question. "Kagura, what do you know of this 'Shikon High'?"
Kagura giggled and returned to brushing on powder. "Like, everything. You know we're the most popular ones at Shikon High, Kiki!"
Kikyou, who knew no such thing and did not enjoy being addressed as Kiki, merely nodded. "Why does Inu-yasha seem to believe I have been unfaithful?"
"Ooh, you saw Inu-yasha? He is like so cute, isn't he? It's too bad he turned all punk and everything, he used to be sooo popular, too. Anyway, like, did you cheat on him?"
Kikyou stared in amazement. That someone could even ask such a question of her… "What do you think?"
"Oh, well, just apologize and say it'll never happen again, you know? Hey! Kiki, where are you going!"
Kikyou strode down the empty hall, the false Kagura in hot pursuit. The priestess noted that Kagura's strange high-heeled footwear seemed to be obstructing her movement; she would have felt much better about this if she were not wearing the same shoes.
"Kiki, wait! Where are you going! It's, like, against the rules to not be in class! You aren't skipping, are you? Kiki!"
Kikyou stopped short, the false Kagura barely avoiding colliding with her. Inu-yasha and Kagome were standing at the end of the hallway, blocking the exit. And they had apparently picked up where they left off when Kikyou interrupted them the first time. She idly wondered whether anyone in this strange place understood the concept of modesty.
Despite the fact that her arrows were blunt, Kikyou had no doubt she could kill or at least severely wound the two. But they might have been bespelled, and the priestess did not wish to wrongly execute Inu-yasha again. Or, she thought, they may not even be Inu-yasha and Kagome, only two foolish humans who bore a great resemblance to them. Either way, Kikyou decided that it was best not to engage them in combat.
"Please move aside."
The two looked up, and their faces took on the same hatred from earlier.
"Why don't you move, or do I need to rearrange your face, not that it could look any worse," smirked Kagome, raising a fist. Kikyou's eyes narrowed.
"I have no wish to fight. I ask only that you move aside."
Before Kagome or Inu-yasha could reply, a girl angrily stomped into the hall. Kikyou noted with mild interest that she, too, looked exactly like Kagura. Unlike the other Kagura, she was wearing a denim miniskirt and a shockingly pink top covered in some sort of glitter. Also unlike the other Kagura, she seemed fairly intelligent and incredibly angry. She whirled to face the stunned Kagome and Inu-yasha.
"You two will stop calling me slut, whore, or whatever else you've been yelling about and leave me the hell alone!" She turned to Kikyou. "You can stop calling me Kaggy and trying to paint my toenails!" She looked past Kikyou to the frightened Kagura. "And you people can damn well stop stealing my face and acting like idiots! Everyone got it?"
Kagome was the first to react. "You can't order me around, you preppy whore—oof!" She doubled over, Kagura's fist in her stomach. The false Inu-yasha charged, swinging his fists wildly. Kagura ducked and caught his chin in a vicious punch on her way back up, then kneed him in the groin. Finally, she kicked the both of them a few times for good measure. Kikyou was the next to speak.
"I assure you, you have mistaken my identity. I have never addressed you as 'Kaggy' or attempted to paint your toenails."
Kagura turned to her, surprise evident on her face. "Priestess, is that you?"
"I am Kikyou the priestess."
"Thank God. I thought you were another of them."
"Them?"
Kagura shooed away her frightened doppelganger and sat down next to Kikyou, sighing. "I'll explain what I know. This is Naraku's work, obviously. He somehow created this sort of alternate universe. And then he lured in Inu-yasha and his friends and a few others. I'm not sure where they are, but you've met their counterparts."
"Counterparts?"
"Yeah, the universe comes up with a kind of substitute for the person. But it can't get anywhere near the original for some reason. The real people are probably somewhere, but all I've found so far are substitutes. I've been wandering the halls for a while, trying to find the way out."
"There is a way out?" Kikyou asked.
"I don't know, but it's better than doing nothing." Further conversation was cut off by a scream from down the hall. Kagura got to her feet and sauntered toward the noise, Kikyou following alertly behind.
"Now you spin the dial to the right. No, to the other right," sighed the girl who Inu-yasha wasn't quite sure was Kagome. Perhaps, he reasoned, someone sealed him to a tree again, he was in the future, and this was yet another Kikyou-Kagome reincarnation. But that still didn't explain his clothing or what Kaede was doing here. He tugged at the plastic dial ineffectually. According to Kagome, something was supposed to happen now.
The girl sighed and reached over; Inu-yasha flinched. She'd already punched two people and kicked three, apparently for being "preps," and she'd laughed when he asked what they were.
"Are you sure you entered the combination right?"
"What?"
Kagome glared at him. "You know, the combination! The three numbers?"
"You mean I was supposed to put numbers in?"
She sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get to class; we're late as it is. You can just carry your bag." She added defiantly, "It's against school rules."
Normally Inu-yasha would have said something unprintable when confronted with the concept of rules, but he was tired and confused, not to mention trapped with a volatile girl whom he could not bring himself to fight against. Following her statement was a tense pause in which he realized she was testing him.
"School rules are… for losers?" he ventured, and sighed with relief when Kagome broke into a sunny smile.
"Good. Now I know you're not a prep."
"Oh, um, good."
"Right. Our first class is Home Ec. It's right through this door. There's no one interesting in here, though."
"Sure," agreed Inu-yasha, pushing open the door. A short, bald man looked up at them from behind a desk in the front of the room.
"Miss Higurashi, you're late again. That will be another detention."
She laughed and threw her bag onto a chair. "Relax, Myouga. I'm showing Inu-yasha here around. He's new."
"That's Mr. Myouga, and I suppose I'll excuse you today." He peered at them both over the top of his spectacles. "Mr. Hanyou, why don't you say a few words about yourself to the class?"
Inu-yasha, still too confused to protest, trudged to the front of the room. A sea of bored faces stared back at him, and he heard one girl whisper, "Oh, not another one."
Slouching and glaring at everyone, Inu-yasha said a few words. "My name is Inu-yasha. I'm at this school, I guess." He walked back over to Kagome, who sighed deeply and smacked her forehead.
"That's not how it's done! Let me show you!" Before Mr. Myouga could protest, Kagome was standing at the room's front, smirking smugly at her classmates. A few smirked back; others groaned and muttered rude comments under their breath.
"My name's Kagome Higurashi. Yep, rich Higurashi. I like skating, punks, and Hot Topic. I hate slutty cheerleaders, which is all of them, jocks, preps, and people who bully other people for being different. And today I'll tell you—"
"That's quite enough, Miss Higurashi," broke in Myouga. "We do not need another lecture on how to disembowel a cheerleader."
Kagome sighed heavily. "But this time I was going to tell them—"
"Please begin your assignment, Miss Higurashi."
Grinning to herself and waving at some of her black-clad classmates, Kagome walked back to where Inu-yasha was standing. The half-demon was busy examining the stove at his station and puzzling over the cooking equipment.
"Don't put your hand there; you'll burn it off," said Kagome, grabbing a bowl and spoon. "Now pass me the flour."
"What are you doing?" asked Inu-yasha curiously as she poured copious amounts of flour into the bowl.
"Cooking," laughed Kagome, throwing in a few cups of water. "Hand me that powder on the right. No, the other right. Thanks."
"Cooking what?" asked Inu-yasha, staring with a mix of curiosity and fear at the mixture, which was glooping ominously.
"Now if I told you that, it would ruin the surprise. Pass me that bottle."
The door swung open again, slamming against the opposite wall. Several students flinched; Inu-yasha and Kagome glanced up curiously. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Oh, it's that stupid prep Kouga."
Kouga, who Inu-yasha couldn't help but notice was wearing a football uniform, was struggling against a group of boys, all of whom were wearing the same uniform and expression of good-natured stupidity.
"Let go of me, you idiots! I don't want to go to your damn classes! I have to find Kagome!"
"But Kouga, you'll miss Home Ec!"
"Shut up and let me go! Kagome!"
Inu-yasha scowled and stepped forward. This, at least, was familiar territory, although the group of boys restraining Kouga was a new feature. At seeing his black clothing and chains, they all snarled and let go of their furious captive. Inu-yasha snorted and sized them up.
"What are you doing here, you mangy wolf?"
Kouga brushed himself off and glared at the surrounding team. "Shut up, mutt. Where's Kagome!"
"Like I'd tell you, you—"
"Kagome!"
Kouga, having spotted Kagome working at the stove, flew past Inu-yasha and attempted to grab her hands. "Kagome, I'll protect—ahh!" He staggered backward as a bowl of… substance hit him full in the face and exploded. Kagome yanked him up by his collar, punched him a few times in the face, and then kneed him in the groin for good measure.
"I am not your woman, you stupid prep! You don't own me! Now STOP HITTING ON ME!" She kicked him in the groin again. Inu-yasha, caught between laughing at Kouga's plight and falling into the Male Crotch-Protective Position, settling for simultaneously smirking and wincing.
Mr. Myouga, having finally pulled himself from his chair, rushed over to break up the fight. "Mr. Ookami, get to the nurse! Mr. Hanyou, you can take him."
"But—" Inu-yasha began to protest, and was cut short by the teacher.
"Just do it! Miss Higurashi, report to the principal's office immediately!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," muttered Kagome, glaring disdainfully at the wounded Kouga. "Let's get going." She grabbed Inu-yasha in one hand and her bag in the other and dragged them all into the hallway, cursing to herself.
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing; the last thing she remembered was following Inu-yasha into some weird cave, and when she woke up she was in an empty hallway. As far as Kagome could tell, she was in an American high school. She also seemed to be wearing a black T-shirt with silver flames and fishnet sleeves, which simply added to the surrealism of the place.
However, none of this was what had caused her to stop dead in her tracks. The real reason was the girl who had just bumped into her. The girl was tall, with long dark hair in two pigtails, and a mostly pink outfit that seemed to have been sprayed on. A group of similar-looking girls followed a few feet behind, their faces vacant. Kagome was about to speak up when the lead girl turned around.
Despite the general ugliness of her face and the expression of snobbish disgust on her features, the girl bore a strong resemblance to Kikyou. She rolled her eyes when she saw Kagome.
"Um…" Kagome was having a hard time speaking. "Kikyou? Is that you? Why are you dressed like that?"
The Kikyou look-alike sneered. "For your information, loser, I'm dressed like this because I'm actually hot, unlike you. I can actually get guys. Like, why are you even talking to me anyway?" Before Kagome could reply, she continued. "Like, whatever. Just keep your bitchy little hands off my Inu-yashie."
"Inu-yasha? Is he here?" Kagome asked eagerly. Perhaps he would know what was going on, and why Kikyou was acting so strangely. However, the words were no sooner out of her mouth than Kikyou whirled around and ran toward her, hatred in her eyes.
"I told you to stay away from my Inu-yashie, stupid punk! He's my Inu-yashie!"
Kagome screamed and threw up her hands in self-defense, certain that Kikyou was going to kill her. But when the attack never came, she opened her eyes cautiously and nearly fainted.
A different Kikyou, wearing a cheerleader's uniform and the intelligent expression Kagome was used to, had an arrow leveled at the ugly Kikyou. Beside her, Kagura was scowling and shooing away the false Kikyou's followers.
"All of you move! No, I don't know where! Think for yourselves! That's right, think! Go! Are you trying to test my patience!" There was a groan as she punched one of the generic followers. "That's right, move! All of you, move it!"
The Kikyou with the bow waited until the hall was quiet again before speaking to her counterpart. "You will cease harassing this girl and leave."
"I'm, like, sick of people looking like me! And I'm the captain of the cheerleading squad, not you! You'd better not touch my Inu-yashie—ahh!" An arrow hit the wall a millimeter to the left of the false Kikyou's head, and she took off running.
The remaining Kikyou turned to the trembling Kagome. "I take it you are the true Kagome?"
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!"
When Kouga and Inu-yasha left the apathetic Kagome at the door to the principal's office, she'd given Inu-yasha instructions to accompany, as she put it, "the damn prep" to the nurse's office and deny any accusations he made against her. Not wishing to return to the Home Ec. classroom and unsure of where else to go, he'd followed her directions. After a fashion.
"Hurry up, you stupid wolf!"
From the opposite side of the hallway, Kouga glared at him. "Why don't I beat you up and see how fast you can go in some damn human body!"
"Just try it!"
"Oh, Kouga! You're bleeding! What happened to you!"
Both males turned to see a girl in a cheerleading uniform running toward them. Red pigtails flying out behind her, she hurled herself at Kouga, practically crying with worry.
"Oh, Kouga! Who did this to you?" She whirled toward Inu-yasha, fists clenched. "Was it him!"
Kouga briefly considered saying yes and unleashing the girl on Inu-yasha, who certainly deserved it, but his pride overruled this notion. He shook his head. "No, it was… someone else, Ayame."
She squealed, green eyes bright with delight. "Oh, you remembered my name! Yay! I'll take you to the nurse now, Kouga!" She glared at Inu-yasha. "Shoo! Run along, now! Stupid punks around my Kouga…" The girl turned back to Kouga and giddily latched onto his arm, ignoring the wolf's struggles. "And one day, I will be your girlfriend, Kouga! Let's go!"
Inu-yasha watched them depart, torn between listening to Kagome and getting as far away from those two as fast as possible. The internal struggle did not last long, and after a moment Inu-yasha set off to find Kagome.
(A/N: aww, isn't that sweet? Now that kogas out of the picture, inu-yasha can be with Kogome! that is, till a certain evil prep shows up to ruin their love! But youll have to guess who it is!1 Mwahaha, im so evil, ne?)
Inu-yasha spun around. "What the hell was that!" The hallway was deserted, and he received no answer. "Naraku, is that you? Who's watching me!" The air remained quiet, and after a moment he shuddered and hurried off.
"Okay," began Kagome, sitting against the wall and trying not to succumb to hysteria. "Let me see if I understand this. I'm in some weird alternate dimension where all my friends attend an American high school and act nothing like themselves." Kagura nodded. "There may or may not be a way out, and two people who usually seem to hate me want me to help them look for it."
"That's about it," answered Kagura apathetically from her place leaning against the wall.
Kikyou, who was acting as a lookout for further attacks, chimed in. "There is safety in numbers, and you are the only one who knows anything about this 'high school.' Oh, and Kagome?"
"Yeah?"
"What is a cheerleader?"
Kagome laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah. A cheerleader is a girl who wears a short skirt and stands on the sidelines cheering for an athlete."
"So… You, then?" asked Kagura.
"Hey! Do you want my help or not?"
Kikyou watched the brewing conflict impassively. "One final question before we begin our search."
Temporarily distracted, Kagome turned to her. "Yes?"
"What, exactly, is a slutty-ass ho bitch?"
Kagome blushed. "Um, it's an insult."
"I had figured as much."
"It's not really important what it means," Kagome stammered. Even devoid of her powers, Kikyou was intimidating, and it was probably better not to offend her. Besides, Kagome did not relish the thought of explaining any of the concepts to Kikyou. The priestess's eyes narrowed, but she did not press for further details.
Kagura was the next to speak. "Okay, we want to get out. I've been wandering around the halls for hours, but I haven't gotten anywhere. We can keep looking here or we can try to see what's outside."
"I'd kinda like to go outside," responded Kagome. "I want to see if I can find some different clothes."
"As would I," agreed Kikyou.
"Outside it is."
The high school parking lot was dull and nondescript, the only noticeable feature being the graffiti covering the school walls.
"Okay," mused Kagome as her companions looked around in wonder, "We probably won't get very far walking, especially with the heels you two are wearing. So we should see if we could find bicycles or get a ride from someone." Not that I know where to go anyway, she mentally added.
"Bicycles? A ride?" asked Kikyou, who was curiously examining a motorcycle.
"Yeah, a bicycle's a kind of vehicle with two wheels. We use them to get around in my time. And there are also cars, which are like…" She paused, searching for the right words. "An improved kind of horse," she finished lamely.
"Hey, Kagome! Is this a 'car'?" yelled Kagura from across the parking lot. Kikyou and Kagome walked over to where she was standing.
The wind sorceress was indicating with a bemused expression a convertible. If the simple word "convertible" could even begin to describe it. It was black and shone the way that cars only did in wax commercials. It was also large enough to fill two spaces, with silver flames running along the bottom. The license plate read "PNKQUN."
"Yeah, this is a car. Man, it must've cost a fortune," gaped Kagome, examining it.
"Hey, maybe it's yours," commented Kagura. "You match."
Kagome looked from the silver flames on her shirt and baggy pants to the ones on the car. "Well, that's not really how things work here…" On a whim, she reached into her pocket and, somewhat surprised, withdrew a car key. It fit the lock perfectly. "Of course, logic doesn't really seem to work here."
When they were all situated, with Kagome in the driver's seat and Kagura next to her, Kikyou asked from the back, "Can you operate this vehicle?"
"Well… I know how. But you should probably fasten your seat belt." The priestess was already fumbling with the buckle.
"Okay," said Kagome nervously, mentally saying a prayer. "Here goes nothing."
"You were completely right; those teachers are assholes. Death to all gym uniforms, right?"
"Right," agreed Inu-yasha with genuine conviction. He was not sure of much at the moment, but one thing he was certain about was that no one, but no one, was getting him into shorts and a jersey.
Kagome smirked and grabbed a black messenger bag from her locker, slamming the door of the pink-clad girl next to her as she passed. "You're not actually going to do the detention, are you?"
"No," replied Inu-yasha, staring hungrily at the bag in Kagome's hand. She followed his gaze and laughed, tossing her black hair (which seemed to have acquired blue streaks over the course of the day) over her shoulders.
"Don't you have a lunch? I thought the Taiyoukais were the richest family ever."
"Taiyoukais?" he asked bemusedly.
She turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "You are Inu-yasha Taiyoukai, aren't you?"
"Oh, um, yeah. Maybe… Maybe my lunch is in that locker thing," he replied, still not taking his eyes from her bag.
"Fine, then I'll get the gang to share with you. School food sucks."
"Sucks what?" said Inu-yasha, who'd been meaning to ask; according to Kagome, most everything in the school seemed to do so. She shot him a disbelieving look.
"Look, Inu-yasha—oh, great."
Kouga, still in his football uniform, was waiting by the lunchroom door. When he caught sight of Kagome, his face became a mixture of lovesickness and fear, but he ran towards her anyway. She clenched her fists threateningly.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Kagome, I love you! Why did you—oof!" Kouga doubled over, having been kicked in the stomach. Kagome sneered at him.
"Do you remember what I told you last time you asked me out?"
"No," Kouga wheezed, straightening back up.
Kagome leaned against the wall, radiating barely suppressed anger. "I said to go (censored)(censored) yourself (censored) and then (censored) with a pineapple (censored)(censored)(censored)."
"Oh," said both Kouga and Inu-yasha faintly, faces red. Kagome laughed at their discomfort.
"So," she continued conversationally, shoving her way through the solid crowd of people in the lunchroom. Inu-yasha followed, growling, with Kouga trying to keep up behind them.
"Why are you following me around anyway, preppy boy? Are you trying to get your face kicked in?"
"No! No, I'm not!" Trying to keep up with the red-and-blue-streaked head weaving through the multitude in front of him, Kouga was acutely aware of his injuries. Just as he was about to pass out from the pressure of the crowd surrounding him, the wolf emerged into an area that was practically empty. He took a few deep breaths before glancing around.
He had apparently just stepped through some kind of invisible barrier. The students were crammed together like sardines right next to him, but they stopped abruptly about five feet from the lunch table next to which he was standing. Its black-clad residents were all glaring at him suspiciously; he turned to see all of the other students staring as well. Then the whispers started.
"Omigod, Kouga is standing next to the punk table!"
"The punk table! Say it isn't so!"
"But I thought he was the captain of the football team! My world is shattering apart before my eyes!"
Kouga noticed that Kagome, who was seated at the head of the table with Inu-yasha at her side, was watching him with slightly less hostility. He tentatively sat down across from her, completely mystified about what was going on; Inu-yasha glared harder at him.
"Wow, preppy boy, you actually sat down at the punk table. Are you just trying to piss us off or do you want to turn punk or something?"
Kouga briefly considered this and decided on the answer that was less likely to get him beaten up. "No, I, uh, want to turn punk…"
Kagome's face broke into a bright smile. "Great! We'll get you away from those preps! We'll skip out of school after this and head to Hot Topic!" She dug into her lunch with gusto; neither Inu-yasha nor Kouga touched their food, as they were too busy glaring at each other.
"Don't sit so close to Kagome, mutt," Kouga growled under his breath
"Shut up. I don't even think this is Kagome," Inu-yasha whispered back, yellow eyes narrowed and claw-less fingers clenching.
"You don't think at all! Just move!"
"Make me!"
All noise in the lunchroom suddenly ceased, and the air grew heavy with tension. Especially apprehensive was the Punk Table, around which the silence was centered. An shadow fell over the lunch trays. There was a moment in which it seemed the entire lunchroom was holding its breath, and then…
"Hello, Kago—"
"Shut the hell up, wolf boy! I could beat you any day!"
"Try me, mutt!"
The entire lunchroom sighed, and Kagome punched both males. The mysterious voice cleared its throat.
"Hello, Kagome."
The punk's voice was laced with bitterness. "What the hell are you doing here?"
(a/n: Mwahahaha! end chappie! im so evil, evil cliffie! who could the mysterious person b? Vote for who it is in your reviews, ill post the next chapter after 5 more reviews! So REVIEW or ill send the evil purple bunnie's after you!)
"There it is again! Where the HELL is that voice coming from!" yelled Inu-yasha, leaping to his feet. The surrounding punks stared at him.
"Uh, mutt, are you okay?" asked Kouga. "I mean, I knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were nuts."
The mysterious voice sighed. "Really, I don't know why I bother."