A/N: Well, this is getting out faster than before because I've got a beta now! Yup, and I'm really happy that she decided to do this. Maybe now my chapters won't be all over the place with spelling and grammer (as people have commented before...) So this is my first beta-ed chapter, and much thanks is due to her! Thanks, Susan!
wee-little-kitsune: You'll find out for both questions.
Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85: You like Koga-kun, I take it? Well, I do to, but I just had to give him a hard time. (n.n) Anyways, I put in a Yuuki scene here, so you find out what happens to him.
ranchan23: I hope so.
Kagome-reincarnation: I'm twisted in that way, too. I think that many scenes where Koga is beaten up are funny. That's just the way we are, I guess. Ne?
Black Hands: Read and find out.
Water Block: I actually loved the book. I was right with who died and the HBP identity, too. I hope that jerk on Gaia has a horrible week for giving away spoilers. I hate people like that on Gaia. Or anywhere, really. But mostly Gaia.
atamagaokashii Ookami: I think I said before that I only answer reviewers if they ask a question or make a comment that sparks into my head and I just HAVE to answer. If I don't say anything, I still put your name down under my thanks. And, if I am not mistaken, I did answer your last review. Kagome and Youko will get together when they're good and ready.
kimonoprincess: O.o I take it you're a rabid Koga fan, huh? The reason I put Koga with Kikyo...besides the fact that it's easier for me to work a romance story with most pairings already made and they were the last two that didn't have a significant other? Well, Koga origionally wanted Kagome to be his woman because she could see the Shikon shards. Kikyo can do the same thing, plus looks so much like Kagome that I don't think Koga would complain...much. I think that Kikyo just wants a nice, strong youkai to take care of her. Koga fits that bill. Plus, I just think that they look cute together... (n . )
Thanks WhyWhayShutup, Hoshiko Megami, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Inu-babe666, Kimpatsu no Hoseki, AnimeMoonlightGoddess, BlueMonkey89, vixenia, and Ryukotsusei.
Now, how about another chapter?
Floating, Flying. They were both the same. The only difference Kagome could see would be that flying was more exhausting. Like, with floating, something was obviously keeping you from falling. A spell, a charm, something. With flying, you had to have wings. If you had wings, you had to use them. Using them exercised muscles. Muscles meant strain. Strain meant exhaustion. So flying was exhausting.
Beep.
Okay, so Kagome was floating. It was a
great view. She was at least ten stories above the ground in a clear blue sky.
There were no clouds, and so Kagome was able to look down on the landscape
without anything blocking the view. Rolling green hills gave way to a pin-sized
forest off in the distance. Turning her head, Kagome could see a small village.
Rice fields surrounded the small
huts, and as Kagome watched as
the fields were being tended by women and men alike.
Beep.
Kagome began to turn with the gentle breeze. Soon she was drifting to the town, her old high school uniform fluttering with the wind. Children laughed and played as young mothers kept a watchful eye on them. Those who weren't helping with the harvest were tending to minor repairs in the huts and other buildings. Just when Kagome came over the first ring of houses in the village square, everyone dropped what they were doing to rush towards what appeared to be a temple.
Beep.
They all scrambled for places at the bottom of the long, stone staircase. Everyone had their eyes fixed on the old temple at the top of the hill. The temple was old and rundown. Paint was peeling and the wood molding. The tiles of the roof were crooked and would most likely let leaks in during the rains or snows. Everyone cheered and gasped, drawing Kagome's attention to the creaking rice-paper door. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as it continued its slow progress, until finally a young woman stepped out of the temple.
Beep.
Kagome had really never seen a better-looking woman. She was,
apparently, the priestess of this village. That confused Kagome, because both
the scenery and the people were out of place in modern day Japan. Shrugging it off,
she continued to watch the priestess. The young woman had the most beautiful
black hair Kagome had ever seen. The breeze brushed it just past her shoulders,
revealing a pale but lovely face that would make any man sweat. Her garb was
the traditional red and white robes of the Sengoku Jidai priestess, leading
Kagome to believe that this was the past. As she shifted to get a better look,
crystal blue eyes met grungy brown ones as Kagome's and the unknown priestess's eyes met.
Beep.
And then Kagome was falling. Air rushed past her, whipping her own hair into her face. Her eyes stung as they were lashed with debris carried on the wind. Kagome opened her mouth to scream. Nothing came out. It was as if some high ranking deity had decided that Kagome had no more use for talking and had super glued her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Kagome squirmed in the air as she tried desperately to float again, preferably before she hit the ground. The only thing she succeeded in doing was to flip completely around so that now she was falling face-first. Now Kagome was panic-stricken. All of the memories of falling from high places and her own phobia of heights came flooding back. There was nothing she could do now. She would hit the ground and all would be gone. No more pizza, no more parties and no more Kagome. She was falling fast, and the ground was rushing to envelope Kagome into its arms. Kagome could practically hear the earth moaning 'Just a few more moments...'
Kagome jerked awake and screamed. Thrashing around, she felt a stab of pain in her left hand that she paid no heed to. It had happened. She knew this day would come. It was ragnarok. The apocalypse. The end of all things Kagome. And now she was nothing but a nice, juicy, Kagome pancake.
"Kagome! Kagome, will you shut up and calm down?"
Kagome refused to heed the pretty but masculine voice that rang a note in her ever-so large memory bank. Nothing would stop Kagome from voicing her opinions. It was a free country, dammit! She could do whatever she well pleased, even if it meant she kept sleepers awake and startled lovers out of their wits. Even if it meant she ruined her gorgeous voice, it was a sacrifice Kagome was willing to make to let people know that the end of the world was upon them!
"Kagome!" the voice insisted. "Shut the hell up!" Apparently it was time for Kagome to cash in, for she recognized Koga's straining voice.
Kagome snapped her mouth shut. Slowly opening her eyes, Kagome's blurry vision was filled with white. That was it. White. The color of death.
"I'm dead!" Kagome screeched, throwing her face into her hands. "Dead, dead, dead!" Kagome continued to scream 'dead', completely ignoring the telltale signs of someone approaching.
A harsh slap stopped Kagome's chant. Kagome gulped loudly and sniffed, staring at an annoyed wolf demon. "K-Koga?"
Koga, wearing a white hospital gown and looking none too pleased, said sarcastically "No, it's the tooth fairy. Of course it's me!" Grimacing, Koga hobbled back to the bed next to Kagome, clutching his stomach. Easing himself back into bed, Kagome wracked her brain to remember the past days event's.
When she remembered, she immediately felt like crawling in the darkest, deepest cavern possible and dying. How could she do that to a friend? That was worse than the lot of them keeping the secrets from her. "Koga..." she began.
Koga waved a heavily bandaged hand and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's no worse than when Kikyo has a bad day."
Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when the door to the room clicked open. In walked Sango, wearing a white blouse and brown skirt that reached just below her knees. Her black heels clicked softly on the tiled floor, her white lab coat fluttering happily behind her. Looking up from her clipboard, she smiled. "Well, Kagome, I see you're finally awake."
Kagome flushed with shame and looked away. "I'm sorry."
Sango shook her head "I've dealt with worse, and it really wasn't your fault." Kagome looked at Sango with a surprised look "Well, you are a new miko. And going this long without your abilities manifesting themselves... It's a wonder you didn't level the country. With that much power, you must've attracted hundreds of demons to your house. That is, you would've, if something hadn't stopped you." Sango was now standing next to Kagome's bed. Setting down her clipboard, she took Kagome's head into her hands and began to examine her eyes. "You've been out for about a week, give or take. Koga will be fine. A little sore, but fine. As for where you are, you can probably guess."
Kagome nodded mutely as Sango began to check her eyes "What happened?" she asked softly.
Koga cleared his throat "You mean, after you knocked me into last Tuesday?" he asked.
Sango narrowed her eyes at him "She already feels bad enough. Don't make it worse." Feeling Kagome's neck, she related the story.
After Kagome had collapsed, and Koga was as stable as could be gotten at the moment, Yuuki had leapt in front of the young Miko. Sango found that somewhat odd behavior for a fox, but she wasn't an expert so she let it slide. After some time, what seemed like hours, the medics made a hasty entrance into Kagome's house. They had messed up her stuff a little in order to get to Koga and Kagome (Sango hurried to reassure Kagome that nothing was broken), but only completed half of their intended rescue mission.
Apparently Yuuki took it into his head to protect his mistress from all evil. That is to say, nobody could get within two inches of the unconscious girl. The first priority was Koga, as he was the more serious of the two. After he had been taken away in one of the ambulances, it was time to go after Kagome.
In the end, it took four buff men and a lot of tranquilizer to get to Kagome. Sango had taken Yuuki to the side and made sure that he wouldn't be trampled, trod on or otherwise injured in the wake of chaos. Kagome had been completely drained and was going off of reserves Sango didn't think anyone had. It took much more time to stabilize her for travel than they had thought, and by then Kagome had started to waver on the edge of a coma.
Kagome shuddered. "I'm glad that you got me here quickly then."
Sango nodded and made a note on her clipboard. "Now, all that you need is rest and training."Kagome began to nod, and then realized what Sango had said. "Training?"
My head... Youko shuddered and kept his eyes closed. I think I've been bruised in places I didn't even know existed.
Suuichi shook his head. Well, that's what you get for overreacting.
Youko sighed. I didn't overreact. In case you hadn't noticed, three of those paramedics were high-level youkai. The others were apparitions, and one of them had an aura that screamed 'I'm a stalker, shoot me!'I had noticed, but that was no reason for protecting Kagome that vigorously. Suuichi narrowed his eyes. Unless...it's more than a crush this time?
Youko snorted and shifted to a more comfortable position. Hardly. She's a miko, that's cause enough for demons to want her. An untrained miko can be manipulated easily.
Right. That doesn't surprise me. Youko gave his human half a curious look. First off, didn't you notice that her injuries healed about as fast as a B level demon? Second, there was the fact that she was uneasy in front of that baboon, Nakura or something. Then there was the time when she unconsciously tracked our spirit energy and ran into us-
So that's how she found us, Youko
said in wonder. I'd been wondering.
-and
caused that big fuss. Get my point?
Youko nodded. Suuichi lapsed into silence and Youko was left to his thoughts.
It really shouldn't have surprised him that Kagome was a miko. Let's face it, there was obviously something special about her or she wouldn't have agreed to take them in. That in itself was a feat. Foxes, by nature, were no good in captivity. Add to the fact that this particular fox was a combination of two spirits in one mortal body...
Why did he protect her like that? That was something that even Youko himself couldn't figure out. Suuichi was wrong. Youko didn't get crushes; he got urges. Had flings. That sort of thing. Youko was the only demon in history that could not, in a million years, ever fall in love. Especially with a human. That sort of thing was for lesser apparitions.
At least, he thought it was.
End Chapter
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