Chapter 2 - Sit Boy

Previously…

"Hello Kikyo. Playing with bugs now are we?"

I froze at the familiar taunting voice that I knew far too well. I shakily looked up and saw that I was lying at the base of the sacred tree. InuYasha was awake. His golden eyes glowed, baring down at me with an intensity that almost frightened me.

"Oh...so you're awake." I sat up. I felt rather proud at how casually I said that. Like we were old buds or somethin'.

"Why are you taking so long to kill it? Just do her like you did me," InuYasha said.

I sucked in my breath so quickly that I accidentally inhaled my own spit. I coughed loudly and banged on my chest to relieve myself. My face was flushed red. Okay… that could have been taken out of context way too easily. 'I won't be doing anyone anytime soon, thank you very much!'

InuYasha stared at me weirdly as I struggled to breathe. But then he laughed, finding my sorry state to be hilarious. "You look pretty dumb there Kikyo!" he mocked. "The Kikyo I know wouldn't waste her time."

Regaining my composure, I stood up- wiping my mouth. "Says the dog boy who's pinned to a tree like a Christmas decoration." That earned me a glare which I ignored. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Kikyo."

InuYasha was about to retort when he stopped and looked up. "She's here."

Mistress Centipede burst from the tree top with her arms reaching out for me. I yelped and staggered backwards. My ankle got caught on a protruding root and I fell down on my back. "Ew, get away from me!" I cried.

Spears impaled the demon in the side right in the nick of time. I breathed in relief when the villagers showed up. "Good! Now pull!" one of the villagers, who I guessed was the head leader, shouted. They pulled on the ropes and began to drag the monster away from me.

"Thank God," I muttered. The rescue was only temporary but I was still grateful.

"You're pathetic, Kikyo," InuYasha sneered.

I rolled my eyes. Oh, here we go again. "Are you deaf?" I got up and walked up towards him. "I just told you that my name isn't Kikyo. Have you been asleep for so long that you can't even tell the difference?"

"And I'm saying that you've got to be her, cause if you're not- there's no way that you could smell so-..." InuYasha stopped and stared at me. I crossed my arms, waiting for the lightbulb to flicker on. He leaned his head forward and instead of sniffing me like he did in the show, he looked me right in the eyes. Instead of Kikyo's dark brown eyes, he was met with my evergreen ones. He pulled back in bewilderment. "You're… not her…"

I grinned at him in triumph, "So he can be taught. The name is…" I paused. Should I give him my real name? I wasn't Kagome, but… InuYasha was the only one other than myself who could travel through the well. If he called me by my real name around Kagome's family then I would have a lot of explaining to do. That would be a great deal of trouble, especially since I didn't understand the situation very well myself. "Kagome," I said at last. "My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me. Got it memorized?" Lies, body snatching, line stealing, and pop culture references, I was so going to hell for this...

InuYasha frowned at the pause that I had made but did not think much of it. He snorted and looked away from me. "You're right, Kikyo was cuter. Much cuter."

I glared at him, "you're just mad 'cause you couldn't tell the difference."

"Could so!" InuYasha retorted.

"Could not!"

"Could so!"

"Could not!"

"Could so!"

"Could so!"

"Could not!"

"Okay, fine." I turned away and shrugged.

"Wait… what?"

I could have smacked myself for getting sidetracked in a petty argument with InuYasha because before I knew it, Mistress Centipede had torn herself away from the villagers and now was pulling me away! I grabbed at the nearest thing which happened to be InuYasha's tresses. "No! Stop! Let go!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! You let go!" InuYasha yelled at me.

"Not happening!"

"Give me the sacred jewel!" Mistress Centipede shrieked.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed at the mention of the jewel.

"No!" I yelled back in defiance. "'No' means 'no' which means 'NO'!" I kicked my legs uselessly.

"Then I shall devour you whole." The demon's jaws opened wide, practically splitting her face in half. Her fangs lengthened and I couldn't help but watch in horror. "Shikon jewel and all!" She lunged at me.

Releasing InuYasha with one hand, I thrust it towards Mistress Centipede. Again, I felt the energy well up into my arm and out of my palm- forcing her to recoil. The power tore off Mistress Centipede's arms and I tumbled down to the ground, landing rather hard on my butt. "Ow!" I rubbed it with a wince. I was going to have so many bruises…

A pink light shone out of my side and instantly got up onto my feet. I did not plan on having a chunk torn out of my body! I saw Mistress Centipede charging back at me, jaws agape. I put my feet shoulder width apart, holding my ground. I readied my hands and prepared to give her another blast in the face. I felt the power well up in my arms and the jewel shone brighter.

That was when it happened. A splitting headache made me gasp out loud. I clutched at my head and my legs felt weak. It took all of my strength not to fall to my knees. Emotions ran through me, ones that I clearly knew weren't my own. Fear...desperation...frustration… they were all things that I already felt, but these ones were… extra.

This moment of distraction is what sealed my fate. I felt the air knocked out of my lungs as Mistress Centipede barreled into me. Her fangs snagged around my middle and I felt pain as they sunk in. With little effort, I was thrown into the air like a lifeless ragdoll. I was in shock. The outside of my vision began to form black spots and I felt a massive panic. I felt myself going under! The headache throbbed as if pushing my consciousness away.

Whether it was instinctual self-preservation, insane willpower, something else or all of the above, I fought back the foreign emotions- pushed them back to the far reaches of my mind. I knew that if I was knocked out, I would probably never wake up again. The headache dulled into nothingness and my vision grew clear again. The battle with myself was won.

I didn't have time to notice that the jewel was torn from my body. I cried out and grunted as I tumbled back down the centipede's exoskeleton until I hit the ground. I lay there, stunned. My body trembled uncontrollably.

"Give me the jewel, quick!" InuYasha urged me. "Hurry!"

I could barely comprehend his words. I was in pain and terrified. The jewel lay in front of me, gleaming almost innocently while it was covered in my blood. My fingers shakily reached for it, as if I was unable to believe that it existed.

Mistress Centipede moved fast. She wrapped her body around us and pressed me firmly against InuYasha, rendering me completely helpless. "I heard that some half-demon spawn was after the sacred jewel," the demon purred, eyeing InuYasha with interest. "It's you, isn't it?" she cackled.

"Half's all I need to kick your scaley hide. Anything more than that would be a waste of my time," InuYasha sneered.

I didn't say anything. My mind was blank with fear and couldn't focus on the discussion around me. I didn't even catch the moment when the demon swallowed the jewel. I didn't know what happened to me. What was that headache? It was unlike any other that I had experienced before. And those emotions… what were they? I felt like I was losing control… Honestly, that moment frightened me more than the fatal situation that I was currently in. Pain snapped me out of my stupor and I cried out. I was being crushed to death!

"Hey… can you pull out this arrow?"

I looked up at InuYasha. Wordlessly, I reached up to grab the arrow that was in his chest. I didn't even hesitate.

"Nay child! Once the arrow is removed, then InuYasha will be free to destroy us all!" I heard Kaede yell from behind me.

My hand gripped around the arrow. "If this arrow… isn't removed now… we all will die anyway…" I croaked, barely able to breathe. I looked at InuYasha in the eyes. He was watching me carefully. I gave him a pained smile. "With you, we'll have a chance… won't we? Will you save us?"

InuYasha stared at me, emotion void from his face. "How about you quit yapping and start pulling?"

I grinned. That was the closest to a 'yes' that I would ever get. "As you wish." My grip tightened around the arrow and I pulled. The arrow didn't move but began to glow a bright light. The harder I pulled the brighter it became. With a final yell and tug- the arrow disappeared from my grasp and I collapsed back against InuYasha, out of breath. I closed my eyes as I felt the spell around him break… pulse after pulse.

He was free. The rest was up to him.

InuYasha began to chuckle quietly and it gradually grew into loud bursts of maniacal laughter, "AHAHAHAHA!" The fully transformed Mistress Centipede must have realized that she was in big trouble because she screeched and squeezed tighter. I felt my spine popping and my ribs threatening to crack. Luckily for me, InuYasha wasted no time. With a slash of his claws and his impressive strength, the demon was torn away from us both.

I was thrown back and I gasped for air. I managed to sit up in time to see InuYasha land expertly onto his own two feet.

"Wicked child!" Mistress Centipede hissed angrily.

InuYasha whirled around, sparks of fifty years worth pent up energy emitted from his claws. "Nasty hag!" he taunted with a devilish grin. The supernatural beings charged at one another and InuYasha readied his attack. "Iron reaver soul stealer!" And just like a knife through butter, InuYasha sliced through Mistress Centipede's body from head to tail. He burst through the other side of her and her body fell to pieces.

I got to my feet with some difficulty. I had to find the jewel before Mistress Centipede reassembled herself. For a brief moment I wondered if I could see the jewel like Kagome. To my relief, I saw the bright glow of the jewel in one of the larger twitching pieces. Ignoring my own revulsion and desire to retch, I stuck my hand into the lump of gooey flesh and plucked out the jewel. Without the power of the trinket to sustain its life, the flesh dissolved into vapor, leaving nothing but bones behind.

I sighed. It was over… Well… almost. I still had InuYasha to deal with. I looked over to Kaede who stared at me with amazement. I gave her a weak smile. "I don't suppose I can just leave this thing with you, huh?"

"Nay," the old woman shook her head, refusing it. "The jewel rightfully belongs to ye."

"I was afraid as much…" my fist tightened around the accursed object.

I heard the crunching of bones and I turned to see that InuYasha took a step in my direction. I stiffened. "If you want to be rid of the jewel so badly, why don't you hand it over to me? I'll take good care of it for you," he said maliciously.

The smile vanished off my face. In his mind, he had been betrayed only recently. He was hurting and he was angry, and InuYasha was about to take out that anger on me. I took one step back. "Why? So you can become a full demon? Sorry. You may have saved us from that monster and I am very grateful- but I can't give it to you." I didn't want to imagine what would happen if it granted his wish this early on.

"I'm not asking if you can or can't," the half demon growled. "I'm telling you to hand it over before I start sharpening my claws on you."

My frown deepened, "Look, no good will come of you having this jewel." I wanted him to understand. "Threaten me or not, trust me when I say that you don't want this."

"Hmph! Like you would know what I want," InuYasha said. "I'm getting tired of your stalling. I will not say it again. Give me the jewel or die."

"Ye musn't give him the jewel, child," Kaede warned me as she came up to stand next to me, offering me support. "Lest we all be doomed."

"Then you need to come up with something fast," I replied back- trying to hint to her that she ought to pull out those magic beads of hers. "Either I give him the jewel or he kills me for it. If you ask me, it's already a lose-lose situation." I saw the patience in InuYasha dwindle. I was out of time, so I met his eyes with defiance. "Very well. You want the jewel, dog boy?" I tossed it into the air and then caught it with one hand. "Then come and fetch."

Anger flashed in his eyes and his legs readied to spring. "You asked for it, wench!" InuYasha charged. I turned around and ran. However it was dark and so I did not see the bones that lay before my feet. I cried out when I tripped. I felt the air being cut over my head and I fell to the ground. I watched as several unfortunate strands of Kagome's black hair fluttered away. The bones that saved Kagome from being beheaded saved me this time too. I got back up and scowled at InuYasha. I used to think that he was holding back in the show… trying to frighten Kagome into giving up the jewel…

I couldn't help but wonder if he did actually intend to murder me.

InuYasha smirked at the look on my face. "Want me to scratch your back?" He flexed his hand and his joints cracked. I suppose he anticipated for me to start pleading for my life- to trade away the jewel.

"You scratch mine and I scratch yours!" I shot back. It was an empty threat but the surprise on InuYasha's face made it worth it. He did not expect me to have the courage to talk back after that attack.

"Well aren't you feisty?" he sneered.

The village men (bless their kind souls) tried to save me. They shot their arrows at InuYasha, but without any spiritual power they might as well have been throwing sticks at him. InuYasha easily cut down their arrows before slicing down two giant trees. The villagers scattered in fright, avoiding being crushed to death.

While InuYasha was distracted, I fled deeper into the forest. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kaede pulling out the infamous necklace from her kimono. Good… that was very good.

I had to hand it to Kagome. She was far more fit than I was. I wouldn't be able to run this much for this long in this condition in my original body. Granted, my older body had longer legs so it could move faster, but my stamina was a pitiful one.

It didn't take long for InuYasha to catch up to me. "Prepare yourself!" I heard him yell from behind me. At least he had the decency to warn me when he was going to strike. He slashed down at me and I threw myself to the side away from harm. I landed roughly on the ground and I winced. How was I not black and blue all over yet? I glanced up to see long gashes implanted in the soil where I once was.

"Damn…" I muttered.

Seeing that I was nothing more than a sitting duck at this point InuYasha charged down at me again, "Ha! Now it's mine!"

I tried to move away only to feel a tree against my back. My hand clenched tightly around the jewel. 'Anytime now Kaede!' I yelled in my head.

As if an answer to my prayers, the glowing beads came to my aid. They shot towards InuYasha and formed into a necklace around his neck. InuYasha came to a halt in front of me and grabbed at the beads in confusion. "The heck are these?" he asked.

This was it...

"I'm giving you one chance to stand down, InuYasha." I warned him as I leaned against the tree, trying to hold my own weight. I had to give him a fair chance. "Forget about this jewel and leave me alone."

InuYasha let out a snort and began to slowly make his way towards me. He knew I could barely move. "Ha! You're threatening me now? I don't know if you're brave or plain stupid. What are you going to do to me? Talk me to death?"

One step closer… two steps…

I took a deep breath and yelled the one phrase… the one word… that InuYasha would fear for the rest of his life. "SIT BOY!"

The beads activated and InuYasha was pulled headfirst into the ground with a yelp. The sound echoed across the forest, farther and farther away until all was quiet again.

"Sometimes words are all I need," I stuck out my tongue at him.

InuYasha sat up with his face covered in dirt. "What the heck is this thing?!" He tried to pull it off but to no avail.

Kaede walked over to me and offered me her support to stand. She looked over at InuYasha with a calm look on her face. "I'm sorry, InuYasha but even you lack the power to remove it."

"We'll see about that!" InuYasha spat furiously at the old priestess. "I'd go and finish you off if you didn't look half dead already!"

Kaede shook her head. "The word please."

All eyes went on me. I opened my mouth and got ready to say it. InuYasha looked at me with alarm and I stopped. No. I wouldn't. This wasn't the way. I closed my mouth and gave InuYasha a firm glare. "Listen to me, InuYasha and you listen good. If you attack me or anyone else who doesn't deserve it, I'll use the word against you. If you try to steal the jewel away, I'll flatten you. If you purposefully endanger me, others or anything that I care about, I'll break your face. That is a promise."

InuYasha growled, baring his fangs at me. His resentment grew but he didn't do anything. What could he do now that I had power over him?

"But I also promise that I will not abuse you."

InuYasha's growling stopped.

I gave him a kind smile and I saw his confusion grow. "I will not use the word out of anger. I will not use it as a means to get my way. I especially will not say it out of sheer amusement."

I got odd looks not only from InuYasha but from the villagers as well. Here I was being civil to a violent half demon that had tried to slaughter me. I guess it was kind of strange, but I felt that InuYasha needed this. He needed some sort of respect and compassion while at the same time letting him know where the line was. InuYasha suffered so much in his lifetime. I was not about to add to it.

With the whole incident over, we decided to go back to the village so Kaede could tend to my injuries.

InuYasha stood there frozen with his eyes baring right into the back of my head like he couldn't begin to understand me. His feet slowly began to move and he followed while keeping a reasonable distance away.

Kaede had made me drink some vile medicine so it could knock me out while she stitched up the wound in my side. At first I was scared that I would be resistant to the concoction but before I knew it, I was out cold.

I found myself in the forest once more. Before me was the sacred tree and it was surrounded with glowing lights that reminded me of Kikyo's souls in a way. It was really pretty. I stood there staring at the tree when I realized that I wasn't alone. I turned around and saw Kagome standing there behind me. The real Kagome. Her body was shining a blue color, sort of like how it looked when Kikyo placed a spell on her when she did not want Kagome interfering with her dragging InuYasha to hell. I looked down at myself. I was the same way too. Kagome did not look happy at all.

"Kagome…"

"Who are you?" She demanded angrily as she stomped over to me, "What did you do to me?!"

I backed away from the girl, suddenly feeling nervous. "I… don't know," I admitted. Even though she was only 5'2" compared to my 5'7", she still wasn't someone I wanted to find myself on the bad side of.

"What do you mean you 'don't know'? You've possessed me or something!"

I winced at the accusation. So… Kagome was still conscious somewhere within me. That sort of made things worse and far more complicated. "Honest, I have no idea why I'm stuck in your body. I just woke up one day and was you." I held my hands up in surrender, after all she had all the rights in the world to be angry with me. "I'm sorry."

Kagome placed her hands on her hips, "Sorry doesn't cut it. You nearly got me killed!"

"To be fair, you would have gone through the same thing even if I wasn't here."

"Yeah? And how would you know that?" she snapped.

I shrugged. "I just know. On your fifteenth birthday, you get pulled down the well and into the feudal era of Japan. You free the half demon InuYasha, break the shikon jewel and then travel around the country with him in order to regather all the fragments. All the while you go back and forth from your world while trying to pass your middle school exams. Where I am from, your life is an anime and manga."

"You expect me to believe that?"

I deadpanned, "Girl, you are currently under possession by me and have fallen into the world of demons. How is anything of what I told you beyond believability?"

Kagome slumped down onto one of the tree's roots and put her head in her hands. "I don't know...I just don't know what to believe anymore. I should be back home with my family. Mom, grandpa, Souta… they don't even know I'm gone!"

My face softened. I couldn't help but feel bad for Kagome. She was only a ninth grader. A kid. Of course this would be hard for her. I sat down next to her and entwined my fingers together in my lap. "Me neither…" I offered gently. I looked over to her sadly, "Kagome… I really am sorry. I didn't mean to possess you."

Kagome lifted her head and her eyes were filled with tears. She grabbed me by the arms and shook me desperately, "then give my body back to me! If you're truly sorry, then you will go away!"

My own eyes began to sting from empathy. I could feel her emotions just as strongly as if they were my own. "I don't know how," I replied weakly. "Maybe you can force me out? Since you are the true owner of this body, you should be able to take control."

Kagome's head lowered and her hands went slack from my arms. "I tried that already."

I blinked, "you did?"

"Yeah. But you shoved me back."

I remembered the unexpected headache that I felt when I was faced with Mistress Centipede. Was that Kagome trying to take control? I shuddered at the memory. It was one of the worst feelings that I had ever felt. The feeling that I was losing myself. By instinct, I had pushed Kagome's soul back down, my own soul fighting for dominance. Fighting for the chance to live. Was my spirit somehow more powerful than Kagome's?

"It's only natural," another voice came from in front of us. Kagome and I looked up to see a priestess standing over us. She was incredibly beautiful. I knew instantly that this was Kikyo. She looked down at us with indifference like we both were nothing special. Her piercing eyes met mine. "As our reincarnation, you are more accustomed to us. Therefore, overpowering Kagome was nothing to you. We don't have that luxury of being used to your soul being one of ours."

"Who are you?" Kagome asked nervously.

"She's Kikyo," I answered quietly. "She's you from a past life."

Kagome groaned and leaned her head back against the tree. "Oh great. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder. How many people do I have living inside of me? Am I a schizophrenic?"

I sighed and looked up at the wise priestess. "So now what?" I asked her. "Am I just stuck living as Kagome for the rest of my life or what?"

"The only easy way for you to leave this body is if you die," Kikyo answered. "Of course, we will be lost to this body as well."

That was just peachy and I sighed again. I had no plans on dying anytime soon. There had to be a way back home. There just had to be…

Wait…

I stood up suddenly, startling Kagome. "Hold on a moment. There's another way, isn't there?"

Kikyo tilted her head slightly, "what are you suggesting?"

"I have the shikon jewel in my possession. If I wish on it to return to my body, things will return to normal!"

Kikyo's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure about that? It is true that the jewel holds great power and would be able to grant your wish, but are you willing to take the risk? Your wishing to go home will not purify the jewel and may cause more harm than good. You could end up bringing the jewel back to your world instead. It will change the course of fate."

Kagome looked between me in Kikyo with wide eyes, trying to understand what was being discussed. She had no idea what the jewel really was.

"What other choice do I have?" I looked down at Kagome who was watching me with interest and...respect? "This body isn't mine to keep. I have no right to take Kagome's life from her. Besides, even if I do end up taking the jewel with me… isn't that the best for your world?"

"Is it the best for yours?"

I paused and thought about it. If the shikon jewel followed me back to my world… what would the consequences be? There were no demons in my world. At least… none that I was aware of. Kagome's modern world wasn't aware of demons either. What if my world was the same way? What if there was a great evil that would be after the jewel and cause a nuclear war or something?

Light shone from the tree tops and we looked up. The sun was emerging and the world around me started to fade away. I realized that I was starting to wake up

"Think about this carefully," Kikyo told me seriously as her body began to turn translucent. "Do not take the jewel's power lightly."

"Wait!" Kagome grabbed at my wrist. Her own hand was see through. "Who are you really? You know my name. I don't know yours."

I gave Kagome a small smile. She didn't look like she was angry with me anymore. "My name is Anna. It's nice to meet you, Kagome."

The dream around me vanished.

A/N: Well then! How about that? What will happen next? Even I don't know. Lol!

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