Um…WOO!
I dunno; I'm just…overtired, overworked, and under motivated. With everything in my life, basically. Add on the fact that I was supposed to have this chapter up several days ago…
About that, I really have no excuse. I just didn't have the time, especially since I kept getting computer time taken away… and every time I got on, I forgot that I was supposed to be finishing this chapter…
Whatever.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and, frankly, I'm too goddamn tired to give a shit about it. However, I would like to thank my dear friend, Tsuki, for Beta-ing this and every other chapter! Without her, this story would make a lot less sense.
Last Time: Kaede put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she cried for her loss.
"It will be alright, child. Inuyasha and I will find a way to get you home."
This Time:
Inuyasha had been pouting in his room for no less than three and a half hours now.
'Who does that stupid girl think she is?' he fumed to himself, 'I save her scrawny ass from dying in that damnable well and she yells at me!'
By now, Inuyasha had once again worked himself up into a state that, in small children, would be known as none other than…
A hissy fit.
Here was the youngest son of the Kyuuhanshu of the Western Lands, and he was on the verge of having a hissy fit. Or, in actuality, another hissy fit. He had mentally raged about everything from Kaede being so nice to the girl, to his asshole of an older brother, to the rising costs of everything, to the fact that the girl smelled so damn nice.
'Wait…' Inuyasha halted himself mid-thought, 'where in the hell did that come from?'
And, for about the dozenth time since this topic had come into his mind, Inuyasha blushed.
Kagome stared uneasily at her reflection in the full-length mirror Kaede had pushed her in front of now. She knew that the style of clothing would have most likely changed over the past five hundred years or so, but this was just ridiculous.
"Kaede-obaasan…," Kagome begged, "can I please wear something else? This skirt just isn't…well decent."
And it was true, for the skirt didn't even fall to mid-thigh, no matter how hard Kagome tried to pull it down.
"It will be fine, Kagome. This is only temporary until we have the time to buy you new clothing," Kaede reassured. Again.
Kagome once again eyed her reflection dubiously.
"I hope you're right, Kaede-obaasan, because I don't think this skirt is long enough for me to keep my decency for long."
Dinner was a quiet affair; with Inuyasha still too busy sulking and Kagome too busy marveling to make much in the way of 'dinner conversation'. The odd trio seemed content to simply eat in silence, brooding or otherwise. Once Kaede had wandered off to wash the dishes and Inuyasha had returned to his room for more brooding, angry thoughts, Kagome made a spontaneous decision to explore the outside of her host's property.
She leisurely made her way towards the street, but decided against going any further and turned back towards the shrine. Reaching the giant tree she had spotted earlier, the Goshinboku according to its nameplate, Kagome wondered at the name of the peaceful place. The answer came to her in the form of a rather large engraved stone near the public entrance.
"Higurashi…?"
The power…it had returned, she could feel it. Soon…very soon, her body would be restored…
"Once I have it… The Shikon no Tama…"
A pair of eyes flashed red for a moment in the depths of the well, as the woman settled in to wait again. She had waited five hundred years; she could wait another hour…
Kagome stared again in shock at the name written in the stone slab. It seemed impossible, but…
"This is…my family name…," Kagome whispered brokenly, "Their shrine, then…?"
She looked around sadly, not seeing the timeworn shrine, but a small, cozy hut where her family was waiting for her; probably scared to death. Kagome jumped slightly as something furry brushed past her leg. She looked down, half expecting to see some strange monster, but only saw what had to be the fattest neko ever. Giggling more from nerves than actual amusement, Kagome mentally berated herself for being so easily frightened.
"Neko…just you, neko," she said, trying to calm her shot nerves.
Gathering the lump into her arms with surprisingly little difficulty, Kagome continued walking, finding herself being drawn back to the well she had come out of earlier that afternoon.
The door had remained open since that afternoon, and some of the remaining light filtered into the small shed. Kagome slowly crept down the creaky stairs, still awkwardly holding the flabby excuse of a neko. Suddenly, when she reached the bottom step, the animal launched itself out of her arms with surprising strength for one so fat. Kagome desperately tried to regain her balance to no avail, and fell to the bottom of the shed, hitting her head on the side of the well.
Inside the well, the eyes flashed red once more. The rattling of bones was the only warning before the skeleton of a centipede woman flew out of the well. Chunks of flesh slowly reappeared on the figure, making it seem even more unreal than it was.
"You girl… you have it, don't you?" the centipede woman hissed, "Give it to me! I must have it…Shikon no Tama!"
So… There she is… Mistress Centipede herself. I feel like such a…a…betrayer. I was actually finishing up this chapter while wearing a -gasp- Samurai Champloo shirt! Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought! And others, if you think its good…
Love,
Miji