-1Counterbalance

Chapter 2: The first trip into the book!

By: Kaguya's Chaos

Kagome watched as the bright red bird disappeared. She blinked rapidly asking herself if that was really real or if her exhaustion was finally catching up to her. 'Was that a demon?' She wondered to herself and was snapped out of her thoughts when Souta came back up to her side.

"They didn't have the book I was looking for but they have a lot of others that I could look at..." He trailed off as he realized that Kagome wasn't really paying attention. She was looking at the "off-limits" sign on the "forbidden" stairs. "Uh, Kagome? What are you-?" Once again he was cut off as Kagome turned to him sharply.

"Souta! Did you see the big bird, thing?" She asked, as she looked him in the eye. Souta blinked a few times and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, sis. You really have lost your mind!" He said shaking his head. Kagome sighed and silently agreed with him. 'Maybe I have lost my mind.'

Souta shook his head again and started walking into the rows and rows of bookshelves that made up the huge library. Kagome sighed and followed already feeling bored. 'Well, at least Inuyasha isn't here to harass me.' She brightened a little at the thought of what the dog-eared hanyou would do. 'I can see it now. There Inuyasha is, waving his sword around, demanding to know what the heck all these books are and why they are here.' She was abruptly brought out of it when she ran right into someone.

The old man fell to the floor, as did Kagome. It took a while for both to realize that they had bumped into someone and were now lying on the ground. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" They both said at the same time and got up off the floor. The old man picked up his books and Kagome walked away, turning ten different shades of red.

Kagome walked along for a while and stopped realizing she had no idea where she was going. 'Ah! Dammit! Where the hell is Souta!' Kagome looked around and had decided to go back when she noticed she was in the front lobby again. 'Wow. I didn't realize I had come back this way.' She blinked again and shrugged deciding to go in search for her errant brother.

Kagome took some steps toward the front desk when she felt the strange rush of energy again. She swung around to stare at the steps and once again saw the bird.

Follow me.

'Oh, what the hell...?' She thought and followed after the disappearing red flash. It was amazing no one saw the girl go up the 'forbidden' stairs. Well, almost no one. Souta watched as his sister walked up the stairs as if in a trance. 'What the heck is she doing?' he thought as he raced after her.

Again it was simply amazing no one saw the two go up the steps! Both made enough noise to draw the attention of the person at the front desk and yet no one saw.

Kagome reached the top of the stairs and saw a door at the end of the hall. She approached it and read the sign on the door. 'DO NOT ENTER'?

She pushed open the door and shrugged letting a smirk appear on her lips. 'Well, I never could follow instructions very well.' She thought about the whole well incident and her grandfather's warnings, as she walked along the isles of books, almost mechanically. As she reached one of the many rows, a strange aura called out to her. She looked along the shelves and approached the feeling, to find that it came from a book.

The book's name was Universe of the Four Gods, Kagome found out as she picked it up. Kagome's eyes took in the sight of the small leather bond-book. 'It doesn't look like anything special.' She thought as she turned it over to inspect it thoroughly. 'It just has a really strong demonic aura.' Her thoughts were slight sarcastic as she lifted her hand to open the book up.

"Kagome! What are you doing up here! It's restricted!" Souta's voice brought Kagome out of her trance. Without really thinking about what she was doing, Kagome carried the book out with her. Souta didn't really notice the book and lead the way down the stairs. No one said a thing to him or her as they left.

:lmao! She took the book:

Kagome packed her big yellow bag two hours later. Inuyasha would be coming later, but she wasn't going to take her chances and pack later. As she stuffed her clothes into her bag she noticed a book lying on her bed. 'What the hell...' Kagome scrunched up her eyebrows as she picked it up to see what it was. With a dawning sense of horror, she realized it was 'The Universe of the Four Gods'.

'Ah man! I stole a book from the library!' Deciding that she should return the book she went to the door of the room. Before she got there she had a sudden desire to take a peek into the book. 'Well, might as well. Looking at it won't hurt any.' She went to her desk and sat in the chair as she opened the book. She felt it drop from her fingers as a blinding flash of pinkish light filled her vision. 'This is like the well.' She thought with fear as her world then went dark.

:In the book we go:

Kagome felt the heat of the sun on her back and the right side of her face as she shifted her body. She felt lethargic and heavy, as if her strength had been sucked out of her. 'Ugh. What happened?' she asked herself as she sat up. Her eye's widened as she took in the wasteland she found herself to be in. Dry cracked ground lay in front of her and a few dead-looking trees decorated the horizon.

As she looked about herself she remembered all about the book and the flash of light. "Where am I!" Kagome yelled out in frustration. She spun around when a hand landed on her shoulder. An ugly face leered in front of her, making her take a step back.

"She's a pretty one, eh?" A scruffy voice said, from behind her and two arms hoisted her up. She let out an 'Eep!' and started to struggle. The other came forward to help as they began to take her towards a waiting cart. Kagome struggled harder as her panic rose.

There was a sound of flesh hitting flesh and suddenly Kagome was free. She fell to the ground with a thump and looked up to see the two ugly slave-traders running away. Kagome stood up and dusted herself off. She turned around when she heard a deep voice talking.

"Are you alright?" Kagome stared up into the face of the handsome young man that saved her. His eyes widened as he got a good look at the girl he'd just saved. Raven's wing hair fell around a pretty face. Stormy blue eyes looked up at him, making him want to drown in them. Her lush pink lips were parted in a small smile of thanks. Her clothes...were strange. A weird sort of shirt without sleeves hugged her frame and fell over a pair of durable pants. The top was a light pink and the pants were a dark blue.

While the young man looked over Kagome, Kagome was looking at him. Dark blue hair fell down his back, tied into a low ponytail by a ribbon that wound around the strands. Bangs fell messily into startling blue eyes and over a gorgeous face. 'Is he wearing Chinese clothes?' She wondered as she brought her gaze back up from his body.

Their eyes met and held and a blush stained both of their cheeks. Kagome looked away in embarrassment, as did he. A few minutes later both looked back up, their composure restored.

"Um, thanks for saving me. I really appreciate it." She said smiling. She then stared in puzzlement as he held out his hand. "Uh."

"You can show your appreciation by paying me!" The boy said grinning widely. Kagome sweat-dropped and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I have no money." She said, her expression never changing. The boy's shoulders slumped and he murmured to himself.

"Jeez. I helped for nothin'." Kagome felt her eyebrow twitch and the vein in her forehead pulsed. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when she felt her throat wouldn't work! She watched as the young man walked away. She moved to bring him back, but her body wouldn't obey. She raised her hands and gasped as she saw right through them.

Without a sound the young girl disappeared from the deserted wasteland.

:Out again:

Kagome opened her eyes to feel hands shake her shoulders. Inuyasha stood over her slouched figure with an angry look on his face.

"What the hell kinda tricks are you pulling, wench?" he half shouted at her. Kagome blinked in confusion when she remembered the boy and the strange land. "I came up hear earlier and I couldn't find you at all! So I went downstairs to see if you were there when suddenly your scent came back! And here you are sound asleep! What the hell kinda magic was that!"

Inuyasha ranted on and on about this and that while Kagome thought over what he said. 'So, it wasn't a dream. What kind of book is this?' Kagome lifted the said book up and ignored Inuyasha's question of what she was doing. She inspected the book's front cover as if it would give her the answers she wanted. Suddenly, the book was snatched from her and thrown into the large yellow bag.

"You can read it later!" Inuyasha snarled as he picked up the bag and grabbed her arm. Kagome said a hurried good-bye to her bewildered family as she was dragged into the well and into the past.

:XP:

KC: Well, my beloved readers, I'm afraid that that will be all for the day.

Hotohori: What? I haven't even come into the picture yet!

KC: Well, uhm...maybe in the next chapter, yes?

Hotohori: Maybe? What is that supposed to mean?

KC: Eheheheh! Uhm, I'm sorry to say, that I don't have any review responses to give ya'll, but I'd like to thank all of you from the bottom of my weirdified heart! I know, weirdified isn't a word, but it works!

. Remember! Caffeine is your friend! Love you all!

KC