Authors note: Hello all, and welcome to the grand opening of my story, Lies My Mother Told Me! I hope you all enjoy reading this. After finishing, I would absolutely LOVE it if you would leave your honest review. Flames will be used to bake my bread, I'll have you know! nn
Lies My Mother Told Me
Chapter 1
The rain was pouring down in heavy sheets, and the windows fogged up. A young woman placed a finger against a glass pane, and with a few quick strokes, she drew a smiley face. She gave a small smile of her own, and blew hot breath over her creation. It slowly faded back into the glass.
Picking up a fallen lock of long, raven hair, she idly began braiding the back-length strip. The sound of the jiggling door knob roused her attention, and she looked towards the door expectantly. As it swung open, a feminine voice called out, "Tadaima!" The girl jumped up from the window seat and a grin lit upon her face, she replied, "Mama, okaerinasai!" Her dark brown eyes shone with excitement.
"Is your uncle here yet?" The older woman called as she removed her shoes in the genkan. Her daughter shook her head, answering, "No, but Uncle Souta called a few minutes ago, and said he'd be here soon. Dinner's ready, though; I made Oden." Kagome gave her daughter a tired smile full of gratitude.
"Oh, Shiori, you're wonderful…" Kagome declared, wrapping an arm around Shioris' shoulders. Shiori gave a small, tinkling laugh in response, and smiled up at her mother. Kagomes' eyes landed on the small kanji written her daughters' left collarbone. It was the kanji for concealment, and glowed a light blue in Kagomes' magical sight.
The older woman had placed it there when Shiori was born. It hid her demonic characteristics that her father had given her. Kagomes' eyes watered a bit at the memory of him. She once again put up her mental blockade against the feudal era and everything it held. She looked back at her daughter, and for a second, she saw the large, furry ears atop her head, claws as sharp as knives, and those icy blue eyes staring back at her.
Kagome cringed away, and walked over to the couch to sit down. "Mom…are you felling ok?" Shiori questioned, sitting down beside her mother. Placing a hand to her throbbing temples, she shook her head. "I'll be fine… It's just another of my headaches." Kagome murmured. Shiori nodded, and stood up, "Alright… I think I hear Soutas' car outside, so I'm gonna go bring him an umbrella." Kagome closed her eyes and nodded.
As she stepped down into the genkan, she quickly slid her shoes on, and grabbed an umbrella. Shiori opened the door to the sound of roaring rain, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She opened the umbrella and walked into the downpour. The rain pounded relentlessly against her umbrella as she searched the shrine grounds with her eyes.
Shiori furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance; she could have sworn she heard something. Closing her eyes, she concentrated solely on the sounds and listened… There it was! A dull, relentless pounding sound was what it was. She let her feet carry her towards the sound. It intensified as she grew nearer, and Shiori furrowed her eyebrows, opening her eyes. The sound was coming from the well house. Stopping in front of the small, wooden structure, she placed a hand against the door. The door pulsated beneath her touch, and she quickly recoiled. As she cradled her hand to her chest, her grip on the umbrella loosened, and it fell to the ground with a small clatter. Her blue jeans and black tank top were soon soaked through; the hair in her hair ponytail sagged and clung to her.
With a shaky breath, she reached out towards the door knob and gripped it tightly. It began pulsating again and the pounding sounded so loud, she felt as if her ears would bleed. Shiori slid the door open so hard, it almost bounced back closed. She cautiously took a step inside, and the scent of damp wood and dust hit her nose. As she looked towards the well, a wave of fear hit her. Something was pounding on the metal lid that covered it, leaving persistent dents across.
Glancing down at the small key taped to the steps, her eyes quickly shifted back to the banging lid. She grabbed the key and stared at it for a moment, shaky breaths filling her ears. Licking her lips in anticipation, Shiori took a large step towards the well, and fell to her knees. A single, large padlock was all that held the titanium sheet across the well. Her throat went dry as she slid the key into the lock, and twisted. The lock popped open, and the pounding stopped. Timidly, Shiori slipped the lock out of its holding place and placed it on the ground.
The only sound was that of the pouring rain outside as it thudded against the roof of the shrine. Shiori stared at the Bone Eaters' Well, as her mother called it. Always, she had been scolded by her mother for even going near it. Her mother told her it was dangerous, but never told her why. Once, when she was about seven years old, she had wandered into the well shrine while she and her mother were playing hide and seek. She almost fell into the well, and that's when her mother decided to cover it up.
Shiori furrowed her eyebrows, and she pushed the lid off of the top of the well. Suddenly, a figure jumped up from the depths of the Bone Eaters' Well, with another quickly following the first. With a gasp of surprise from Shiori, she fell to the ground and watched the two beings. Both of them were men…of some sort.
The first had wild orange hair with a low ponytail and piercing green eyes. He wore dark blue hakama pants, and a black, long sleeved vest, held closed by a pair of strings. Razor sharp claws were in place of nails, and a fox tail in back. Handsome would be understatement.
The other person was another category all together. Green scales covered every inch of exposed skin. He only wore a pair of fighting pants, torn at the bottom. Threateningly, he flicked out his forked tongue out towards Shiori. "Don't you look simply delicious…" He hissed out, and Shiori backed away from him with a look of disgust.
A fist hit him square in the jaw, courtesy of the fox-man. Shiori cringed away, and scrambled to her feet. "Get out of here, you're in the way!" He shouted towards Shiori, and jumped away to avoid having his legs kicked out from under him. Shiori stood frozen as the fox-man pulled out a crescent blade, and turned it towards his foe. He lunged forward, aiming for the neck, but the other man dodged to the side towards Shiori.
Giving here a lustful smile, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and leaped over towards the well. "Sorry, Shippou, we'll have to continue this some other time. I believe I've found another form of entertainment." He said with a small smirk. "Kyongen, leave her out of this!" Shippou shouted, raising his crescent blade again.
Shiori raised her own fist, and brought it across Kyongens face. He barely even felt it. "Let me go! Let go now, you bastard!" She demanded, and trashed around helplessly. Kyongen gave a sly smile, and jumped down into the well. Shippou followed immediately after them.
Fear grew inside Shiori as a pinkish glow encircled the three of them, floating them downwards. Shippou rushed forward, and hooked the crescent blade around Kyongens' right arm. Pulling back with the weapon, he severed the arm and Kyongens' hold on Shiori. She quickly scrambled away from him as he cried out in pain. The ground met her as they all reached the end of their small journey.
Shippou made quick work of Kyongen, taking the crescent blade to the demons' neck. Shiori stared in horror as the thick, red blood seeped from the mans' wounds to pool at her feet. She gagged at the sight. "Are you all right?" Shippou questioned, wiping the sweat from his brow. Breath began to escape her; this was all too much. Strange, monster-like people jumping out of a forbidden well to attack/ save her were a bit out of the ordinary for her.
Taking a cautious step toward Shiori, Shippou reached out a hand to her. She instantly back up against the wall of the well, pressing herself as close as possible. "K- Keep away from me…" She murmured in fear. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Shippou demanded, "What?" "Keep away from me! You monster! I saw what you did to that man! You…you killed him!" Shiori shouted at him, growing a bit braver. He sighed in annoyance. "If I hadn't killed him, he would have either escaped from me and had his way with you, or killed us both. I would rather have blood on my hands, than have it seeping from my wounds, dealt by a weak demon." Shippou took another step towards her and extended my hand, adding, "Now, take my hand, and I'll get us out of this well."
Her eyes shifted from his hand to his face; his green eyes shone with general concern. Cautiously, she placed her hand in his, and he pulled her close to his body. A jolt of terror shot threw her mind as he did so, and he murmured softly, "Now hold on tight…" Shiori tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, and prayed she was doing the right thing by trusting this man. A small smirk played in the corner of his lips, and he leaped high into the air. Shioris' eyes widened, but she didn't cry out; this was almost...fun…
With a small smile in the corner of her mouth, she looked up at him; a blush instantly overcame her features. Sure, she might have been from a time when a kiss was thrown around as often as a pair of socks, but Shiori was a bit old-fashioned. The slightest contact from anyone of the male species made her blush. He removed his arm from her waist, and took a step away from her. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he questioned, "Weren't you human a minute ago?"
Shiori gave him a skeptical look, and replied curtly with, "And what exactly are you on? What else is there, besides humans?" With a roll of her eyes, she gave a huff of annoyance. Shippou raised an eyebrow at her, eyeing the top of her head. "Well, let's see… There are demons, like me, and, in your case, half demons." Shiori stared at him like he had just grown a second head. "What are you talking about?" She demanded.
Giving her a sly smile, he placed a hand on the top of her head and said, "It's not really worth trying to lie to me. The concealment spell on you disappeared when we went through the well." Shiori gave him an agitated look. "Ok, one, you're crazy; two, what do you mean 'concealment spell'; and three what do you mean, 'through the well'?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. Shippou sighed in annoyance, folding his arms across his chest. "I can see this is going to take awhile…" He said, and pushed her down onto the ledge of the well, sitting her down, "Now, listen to what I have to say, alright?"
She shot him a glare, and crossed her arms over her chest as well. Shippou kneeled on one knee, and looked her in the eye. "One; I'm completely sane, and it's you that I think has a couple screws loose. Two; the concealment spell was placed on your left collar bone by a miko with great power. Only those with the magical sight can see it. It was placed there to hide your demons characteristics from others. Sometimes, though, other priestesses can see the features, though. And three; this is the Bone Eaters' Well, in the Feudal Era. It transported us here, because we jumped through it. The only reason it worked was, because I implanted one of the few Shikon jewel shards left, into my right arm." He explained, and held up his right arm for her to see. Shiori squinted her eyes, and saw a faint, blue glow.
"I'm still confused…" She murmured, sighed heavily. Shippous' nose twitched, and he sniffed her, furrowing his eyebrows. "Honestly…? So am I… You smell like Kagome and…Kouga…" Tilting her head to the side, she questioned, "Who's Kouga? And what do you mean, I smell like them?" Another sigh escaped his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You have too many questions, and there's only one place I can think to get them answered…" With that, he pushed them both over the lip of the well, and back into the future. It was time to get some questions answered…
Authors note: Soooooo? What'd you think? Don't worry, I'll have another chapter up soon! nn