Me: Wow, here's the second chapter already! It's longer too.
Thanks to all my reviewers, and to Miroku's Child-bearer, this isn't a Kag/Mir fic (sorry to burst your bubble – I just read over the chapter after I put it up and realized how that line sounded). If you're wondering about couplings, I think this will just be a regular canon coupling fanfiction.
Also, are you sure about those facts? Hm, I guess my source isn't too reliable. Where do you get your resources from?
Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 2: The Invite
Kagome sighed, tossing various things into her bag. She was presently up in her room, packing for another trip into the Sengoku Jidai. She wasn't sure why she was bothering to do so though – she would be back soon enough if things worked out. How she was going to explain her situation wasn't something she was exactly prepared for either. She hauled her backpack over her shoulder, and proceeded to head downstairs. Kagome went into the kitchen, where the rest of her family was.
"Um, Mom?" Kagome said unsurely as she stopped just inside the doorway.
"Yes? What is it dear?" Her mother looked up from the dishes she was sorting out. Souta was sitting at the table watching her, while their grandfather was reading the paper.
"Er... well... is it okay if I bring someone back from the Sengoku Jidai with me?"
"You mean Inuyasha? He usually comes whenever he wants to, doesn't he?"
"Inuyasha?" Souta's face lit up. "Is he coming again?" Kagome's brother was filled with sudden excitement.
"No, it's not Inuyasha – it's someone else."
"Someone else?" her family echoed.
"Aw..." Souta slumped down in his seat. "Not Inuyasha?" he said to no one in particular.
Kagome frowned. "Hey, my other friends are just as interesting as Inuyasha!"
"But Inuyasha is so cool," Souta complained. "He's part youkai, can fight, leap far distances – how can anyone from the Sengoku Jidai be more interesting than that?"
Kagome put her hands on her hips. "Well for your information, one of my friends has a curse placed on him where he has a powerful kazaana in his right hand."
"A kazaana?" Souta looked up from where he was sitting.
"Yeah, he can suck up stuff into his hand," Kagome clarified for him.
"Really?" Souta looked interested again. "Is he the friend you're bringing?"
"Er – well, no..." Kagome glanced to the side.
Souta's face fell again. "No?" he said in a slightly whiny voice.
"The friend I'm bringing is a girl, and – "
"A girl?" Souta interrupted his sister in the same tone as before.
"Yes, and she's a taiji-ya," Kagome continued with a point she thought Souta might find interesting.
"A taiji-ya?" Souta raised an eyebrow at her. "What does she exterminate?"
"Well... youkai," Kagome said plainly.
"Youkai? Like Inuyasha?"
"No, she only does it to youkai who bother humans," she explained.
"Hmm..." Souta looked back at the table he was sitting at. "She doesn't sound nice though."
"Not nice!?" Kagome said in shock. "I haven't even described her personality yet! How can you say something like that?"
"Kagome, if you're going to be bringing your friend here you should get going," her mother advised her.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kagome turned to leave. "I'll be back soon!" she said to her family before she left.
"And Souta," their mother continued after Kagome had left, "Try to be nice to Kagome's friend."
Souta propped his chin up on his arm, gazing drearily at the table. "Yes, Mom."
Kagome leaped into the well with a grunt, the familiar bluish light engulfing her. As it began to fade, she landed softly back onto solid ground. She climbed back out of the well, swinging herself over the side. After a second of gathering her bearings, she went of in search of the others. She found them as she expected to, sitting around outside Kaede's house.
"Kagome!" Shippo ran up to her. "Welcome back!" the young kitsune said with a grin.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure I'll be back for long," she smiled down at him.
"Huh?" Shippo blinked up at her, a flash of disappointment on his face.
"What do you mean you won't be here for long?"
Kagome looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Inuyasha was sitting up on the roof of Kaede's home. He jumped down to land squarely in front of her.
"We have to continue looking for the Shikon shards," he frowned at her. "There's no time to waste with Naraku and his minions lurking about!"
"Sorry, but I can't stay – at least – I'm not sure if I can," Kagome informed him vaguely.
"Not sure?" This time it was Miroku who spoke from the porch. "What do you mean by that, Kagome-sama?"
"Well, it depends on..." Kagome trailed off, glancing to the side.
"On what?" Inuyasha demanded.
Kagome looked back at him, then behind him at Sango. She was sitting beside Miroku; Kirara curled up in her lap. Sango straightened up when she found Kagome's gaze rest on her. Kagome walked around Inuyasha, whom found this slightly annoying. She stopped in front of Sango, everyone's eyes on Kagome.
"Sango-chan, I was wondering if..."
"If what, Kagome-chan?" Sango looked up at the girl before her.
"You're not going to ask her to marry you, are you? Because I've already got dibs on that," Miroku cut in. This remark earned him a pounding from both girls.
"As I was saying," Kagome continued while Miroku lay unconscious on the floor, "I wanted to ask you if you'd... come back with me to my time."
The others' eyes widened at this, and Miroku was miraculously able to sit back up to say, "So you are interested in her! You're just starting off small!" aaand in two seconds was back on the ground.
"But why do you want me going with you to your time, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked her friend, ignoring the smoldering monk next to her.
"Well... I kind of let it slip to my friends about knowing you guys – nothing like how you're from the Sengoku Jidai, just about how I have friends whom they've never met before."
"So what's the big deal?" Inuyasha said from behind.
"The big deal is that I have to get them to meet one of you – specifically Sango-chan."
"Oh... but... I thought only you and Inuyasha could travel through the well," Sango voiced.
"I know, but I thought that if I could bring stuff like my bag back and forth through time, then why not people too?"
"That sounds logical." Miroku all of a sudden was sitting back up. "Yet, you've never tried this before, have you Kagome-sama?"
"No, but..."
"But," Sango stood up, hoisting Hiraikotsu up over her shoulder, "we'll never know until we try."
Kagome turned her attention to the taiji-ya. "So, you mean... you'll come, Sango-chan?"
"Of course," Sango smiled at her, "If it will help you out, Kagome-chan."
Kagome's face brightened. "Thanks, Sango-chan!" She gave her a friendly embrace. "You're the best!"
Kirara "mewed" up at the two girls questionly. Kagome glanced down.
"You can come too, Kirara!" she smiled.
"Can I have a hug?" Miroku asked innocently.
"Not with your track record," Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Miroku suspiciously.
"What about me?" Shippo went up to the girls. Kagome smiled down at him. She picked him up and gave him a warm hug.
"That's not fair..." Miroku groaned.
"Are you really going to leave me behind with these two?" Shippo said with a hint of despair.
"We need you to keep an eye on them for us," Kagome whispered with a wink. "Think you can do it?"
"Yeah!" Shippo nodded.
"Great!"
"Wait a second," Inuyasha interjected. "How long are you going to be gone for?"
"They only want to meet her, so it should only take about two days or so," Kagome replied.
"Two days or so?" Inuyasha mimicked. "Do you know what can happen during that time?"
"Well I haven't planned it out yet, but – "
"Not what you plan to do on your holiday!" Inuyasha growled. "I mean here! Naraku could end up taking over the whole country!"
"Don't be so melodramatic, Inuyasha," Kagome sniffed. "Come on, Sango-chan." She grabbed Sango's hand and began leading them away from the others.
"Hey, wait! I'm not done yet!" Inuyasha scampered forward to catch up with them. Miroku and Shippo followed them from behind.
"Inuyasha, I doubt that Naraku will be doing anything sinister anytime soon," Kagome insisted as she dragged Sango along.
"How can you say that?"
"Because he's busy recuperating after that bashing his body got last time!"
"Which is why we should go and look for the shards instead!"
"Inuyasha, look!" Kagome stopped once she was just a couple of meters away from the well. "My friends want me to bring Sango-chan; I'm bringing Sango-chan. If I don't, they'll bother me until who knows when!"
"Naraku and the Shikon no Tama are more important!"
"If they find out about my double life, it'll be trouble!"
"More than what could possibly happen here – Ugh!" Miroku had smacked his staff on the back of Inuyasha's head.
"Inuyasha, just let them go," Miroku said sternly. "You're blowing this all out of proportion."
"Grrr... I – "
"Osuwari."
"Gyah!" Inuyasha soon found himself facedown in dirt.
"I don't have time for this right now," Kagome said with annoyance. "My family's expecting me back soon, so we've got to go." She looked over at Miroku and Shippo. "See you guys in about two days!" she smiled at them warmly.
"Bye!" Sango waved. "Shippo-chan, I'm counting on you!"
"Okay!" Shippo waved back.
Miroku glanced down at the kitsune. "What's she counting on you for?"
"Oh, nothing!" Shippo grinned.
"Hrm?" Miroku blinked.
Kagome and Sango gazed down the empty well.
"Ready, Sango-chan?" Kagome looked beside her.
Kirara jumped up onto Sango's shoulder. "Yeah," Sango nodded in response.
"Alright, hang on!" Kagome grasped Sango's hand and stepped onto the well's ledge. Sango followed, and they both leapt into the well.
"Hey, wait!" Inuyasha reached out an arm from his spot on the ground. However, the two girls and Kirara had already disappeared from the Sengoku Jidai.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Me: Okay, that's that! Leave a review, onegai!