Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kuroko no Basket. They belong to their respective authors and creators.

The Battlefield of Basketball: It's Just Began

Chapter Five: Relearning Life

Tokyo, Japan

April 10th

"The last few weeks have been rough," Kagome huffed, even as she continued jogging through the forest. Kirara was draped over her shoulders in her smaller form like a furry weight.

A purr was her only answer. She smiled while swerving around a fallen tree. It had been nearly a full month since she had returned and she'd thrown herself into her year-end exams, then starting at her new school and trying to get used to the schedule. While also helping out more around the shrine and retraining her body to battle-fitness, she had barely given herself time to think. Being fighting-fit may not be needed in this era anymore, but she couldn't let all the hard work she and her old teachers had done go to waste!

'Still, I'm thankful that working at the shrine counts as a cultural after-school activity. I don't think I could handle a club right now. Plus,' she tripped over her own foot and winced as she caught herself on her hands and knees before she face-planted again as Kirara jumped off. 'I really don't want to have people paying close attention to me right now, which would happen with any sports club and even some of the others as well if I joined.'

Kagome sighed and flopped over onto her back starring up through the green leaves at the blue sky. 'My body is definitely doing more than just going through a growth spurt,' she fingered the ridges under her shirt, the scars from Mistress Centipede were back as if they'd always been there. They had just appeared one morning. She'd nearly shrieked in the bathroom when she saw them. 'I'm also taller. It's like my body is trying to get back to what my soul considers normal.'

'That would make sense, Kagome-chan. Even your soul body had scars and your original body, with all its scars, was around for over 500 years, even if it was in stasis the whole time.'

'Hai, though it's a pain. I'm going to have to wear long-sleeved shirts nearly all year round! I won't be able to explain half the scars on my arms if they all come back!'

'You could always work out a glamour spell and put it on a piece of jewelry. In fact, you may want to start on that soon.'

'Nani!? Do you know something I don't!?'

'Your powers aren't contained, Ka-go-me. At least not completely. Unless you want any hidden youkai to panic or even jumpstart any hanyou with latent talents nearby, you need to figure out how to hide, not just your physical changes, but also our abilities.'

'Kuso! Why didn't I think of that sooner!'

'Eto, you've been trying not to think lately, Gome-chan.'

"Heh, true."

A curious headbutt to her cheek jolted her out of their conversation. Kagome scratched Kirara behind her ears even as she started to sit up. "I'm okay, just talking with the two crazies in my head."

'What a compliment! I would say you are cruel and malicious, but I doubt you would consider those as merits to praise.'

'You'd be right about that Naraku. And that wasn't a compliment! You're crazy! Yuuto's crazy! Hell, I'm crazy at this point!'

'Only a little, Kagome-chan! All the best people are anyways!'

'Ugh!' Shaking her head, she started to powerwalk back towards the Sacred Tree with Kirara resting in her arms. 'Back to the subject at hand, I'll try to work on a sutra or spell that can last in the short-term while I try to figure out something that will work for me in the long run. I can't use a kitsune spell like the youkai do, though I might be able to take the ideas they use and play around with my powers to see what will work.'

'Don't forget you can use our abilities as well, which could hide you in plain sight even better to any youkai that meet you. You won't feel like a miko to them.'

'That's an awfully nice gesture, Naraku…what do you want?

'Kukuku, want, my dear Kagome? Could I not just desire to help you since your soul and body guard my own soul?'

'Yeah, no. You aren't that nice, even all these centuries later. You always have a reason for everything you do. What is it this time?'

'That's for me to know and you to puzzle over, Ka-go-me.'

'Yuuto! Help me out here! What's he planning?'

Giggles could be heard before he replied, 'Maybe he just doesn't like the idea of sharing you with more people.' His voice darkened, 'I know I don't.'

She could only sigh at that. Even all these years later, they were both still so possessive of her attention. Spending too much time with her brother or her friends caused them to start interrupting with snarky commentary about everything around her. She had to control the expressions that crossed her face, but thought that she often had some strange grimace or twitch happening. She could cut the connection, but then they would sulk and complain for hours afterwards. Plus, she felt guilty when she did it just because they were annoying her.

Coming up to the Goshinboku, Kagome gave Kirara one more quick scratch before setting her down. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kirara! I need to do some shopping tonight and don't know how long it will take!"

"Mrrr-eow." Kagome smiled as the nekomata headed towards the woods and she turned stepping back onto her family's shrine. Heading inside to change for class, she sent one last thought to both her companions, 'You'll need to get used to sharing my attention, especially now that I'm back around other people. You're both important to me, but you don't get to come between me and my other precious people. You won't like what I do if either of you try to sabotage my other relationships. Clear?'

'Crystal.'

'Why did I think this would be easy?' Kagome frowned at the displays. 'I haven't played basketball seriously in years and don't know which shoes or balls would be best for outdoor use.'

She glanced around before shaking her head, 'And won't you know it, they're really busy today too!'

Slowly moving to the next aisle, she glanced towards the front of the store looking for a worker and walked right into something, bouncing off it and losing her balance! 'Kuso! Not again!'

Before she could hit the floor, a tan hand grabbed her arm and yanked her upright. Thankfully, she was able to catch herself before crashing back into the person she hit.

"Sumimasen!" She bowed. "I am so sorry for bumping into you! I should have been paying attention to where I was going!"

"Maa, it fine."

Looking up, Kagome noticed the dark blue hair and lazy eyes as her senses jolted. There was something other about this boy. She also noticed the basketball he had under one arm and the jacket for a Tokyo high school team. Kagome bit her lip, tugging on a piece of hair, "Ano, I hate to impose, especially after I just crashed into you; but could I get your advice about a good brand for athletic shoes and outdoor basketballs?"

He lifted an eyebrow before looking her over with a quick glance, taking in the jeans and light sweater she was wearing with a pair of regular shoes. "You play?"

She huffed at the skepticism. "It's been a while, but I want to start again. It will be good training and," she smiled, "I'll be able to play with my cousin once we see each other again!"

He sighed, "I have to wait for the front to clear up anyways, so I'll show you the brands that are better than others. "

"Arigato!" Kagome followed him back a few aisles as he pointed out several good shoe brands. Looking them over, she grabbed a pair in her size and price range. Next, they headed towards the basketballs. While there, with him explaining the different options, she glanced at him with a smile, "Are you any good?"

"Ha?" He cut off his sentence in surprise.

"Are you any good? You love the sport, right, and I'd already guessed you were on your school's team, but are you any good at the game?"

He just stared at her for a moment before a smirk crossed his lips, "I'm the best."

Kagome flicked another glance at him even as she considered two different balls, "You don't sound very happy to be the best."

He waved a hand as he turned towards the front, "The only one who can beat me is me. There's no challenge anymore."

"Well, when I've gotten some practice back in I'll have to look you up! We could have a one-on-one! See who wins!"

He paused, "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a girl."

Laughter burst out behind him and he turned to see her smiling at him with a hard glint in her eyes, "I'm not that bad. I'd make sure you'd lose if you did. So don't you dare take it easy on me when we play!"

His spine straightened as fiery blue eyes glimmered up at him, they looked rather familiar. She had Tetsu's eyes, filled with determination and competitive drive to never quit.

"Just be prepared for me to beat you, neko-chan. I never lose."

Kagome smiled, "Well, we'll just have to break that streak."

He scoffed and headed out as she turned back towards the two basketballs. 'What an interesting person! Did you two sense anything about him?'

'Hai! It's funny he called you neko-chan, Kagome-chan! I think he had some leopard youkai in his bloodline. He feels a little like a big cat to me.'

'I agree. It reminds me of the leopard cat tribe all those years ago.'

'Did it feel like his youkai blood was active? I couldn't quite tell if it was fully awakened. Maybe close? He must be at least four generations removed from the original youkai, if not more. So why is it that noticeable? There must have been a trigger of some kind! But there shouldn't be in this era anymore.'

'It would be interesting to keep an eye on him, perhaps it is because of this sport? Isn't it rather competitive? Youkai thrive on fighting and bloodshed, this may be the closest thing to the battles that once raged across Japan.'

Kagome made her choice of basketball and headed towards the checkout. 'Good point. Maybe I should check out the Inter High games at some point. See if there's anything or anyone else there that will catch my attention.'

'Sounds like fun! You can't train all day, Kagome-chan! We could make a day of it!'

She smiled as she got in line. 'Maybe. We'll have to see what the next few months are like first.'

May 20th

"I'm going to be so late!" Kagome muttered to herself as she rushed around sweeping the courtyard clean of dirt and debris. She hadn't been able to find time to go to any of the Inter High preliminary games and the way this day was turning out, she likely won't be able to make it today either.

'You're training too much, Ka-go-me. Your body needs to rest. Particularly after you decided to work on combining our abilities. Your human body hasn't made all of the changes needed to handle our powers without issues.'

'You started bleeding from your nose and coughing up blood from the strain. Even though you were able to heal any of the issues, I don't like it. It wasn't a good idea to mess around with both Naraku's and my powers at once.'

She slowed down her frantic rush to finish her chores and sighed. She wasn't going anywhere today. Resting her head against the broom handle, Kagome whispered, "I'm just impatient. I want to be able to do what I could just a few months ago now. And I've been able to play basketball on the street courts to relax and have fun these last few weeks, plus go out to eat with Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka. I haven't been training all the time."

'…'

'Alright, alright I get it.' Shaking her head, she looked around to see what else still needed to be done. She noticed her Ojii-san had come out at some point and was up on a ladder working on a tile on the shrine roof that had come loose after the crazy storm last night.

'That looks dangerous.' She started over to help, but was only halfway there when the tile he was working on jerked free. He lost his balance and toppled off the ladder! "Ojii-san!"

With a quick jolt of power to her muscles, she crossed the rest of the courtyard instantly and caught him before he hit the ground. "Ojii-san! Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"

"I'm fine Kagome. Set me down."

She made sure he had his feet under him before going to pick up the fallen ladder. "Ojii-san, you should have just called me! I could have worked on the tile after I was done with the sweeping!"

She turned to look back at him, only to find him with a hand on his chin frowning at her, "Ojii-san?"

"Kagome, how long have you had spiritual powers?"

"EH? Wh…wha…what are you talking about?!"

"You should not have been able to catch me. I caught a glimpse of where you were when I fell. An ordinary human would not have been able to get to me in time."

"It could have just been adrenaline. I didn't want you to hit the ground and my body gave me what I needed."

"Hmph, it did at that. I felt the jolt when you caught me," He snapped his fingers and she startled when a deep blue spark glittered for a moment between his fingers. "It pushed against my abilities."

"Nani?! Ojii-san? You have spiritual abilities? Since when?! All of them have died out over the last few centuries! I'm the last one! Or at least, I thought I was."

"Youth today. So naive," he huffed. "I have nowhere near what the monks of old had, just enough to bless a minor sutra. Nothing more."

He motioned for her to follow him as he headed back to the house, "But you, granddaughter, have power. A wellspring of it." He flicked a sharp glance at her, "And you've known about this for some time. Your abilities are too refined to be newly awakened. How long have you been training yourself?"

She sighed, "Depending on your perspective, a little over two months or lifetimes."

"Reincarnation?"

A pained laugh escaped her, "No, nothing so simple."

A tired smile rested on her face, "Would you believe me if I told you I'm over 535 years old, Ojii-san?"

He looked into old blue eyes, similar to what he saw in the mirror each morning. Only hers looked cold and tired in a way that he couldn't put his finger on. "I would hear your story before I make any judgements, granddaughter."

"Well, let's get Mama and I'll make some tea." She tugged on a strand of hair. "I'd rather only tell this story once."

"Very well. I will wait for you both in the living room."

Kagome was thankful Souta was out playing soccer with friends. This wasn't something he needed to hear, ever, if she had a say. She poured each of them a cup of jasmine tea and for a moment simply breathed in its fragrance. Taking a sip, she said, "I know I've acted rather oddly these last few months."

She sighed, "I'm not sure where to start with all that's happened."

"Begin at the beginning, wherever that may be, Kagome."

"We'll listen to all you have to say, Kagome-chan."

"Alright," She closed her eyes and pictured it, "It started on my 15th birthday when I went to find Buyo in the well house and a centipede demon burst out of it and drew me down into a whole new world…or perhaps it would be better to say an old world, over 500 years into the past…."

"I bargained with the Shikon no Tama, or Yuuto as he chooses to be called, to fix what my actions in shattering the jewel caused. Part of that was having Naraku and I take over as his guardians and freeing Midoriko and Magatsuhi from their eternal battle. But when the last bargain was enacted and I went back through the well, something went wrong."

It had been a long story, even abbreviating or skipping whole fights, did not change the fact that she was going through five years of memories. There had been several pots of tea and they had even stopped at one point for dinner and to wait for Souta to go play video games in his room.

Kagome looked out the window towards the well, "Yuuto used part of the well's power to finish the final bargain, but he sapped its strength. There was enough to keep the well's ability stable, but not enough to instantaneously send us back to this time like it should have. We were stuck outside of the stream of time, waiting for time to catch up with itself. I did what I could to protect the youkai and we all kept busy learning what we could from each other."

She gave a wry smile, "It's been interesting to see history firsthand. Seeing the truth behind so many events and what really happened during important historical moments. It's been fascinating to find where the history books say something different about an event."

There was silence as her mother and grandfather ruminated over what she had told them. And also what she hadn't. She mentioned bargains, but not what they were or what she paid for them. She said nothing of the emotional toll it must have taken to be an outside observer to life. To be unable to truly live and just watching as her feudal friends lived and died.

Jigen frowned and glanced over at Miku. They shared a quick concerned look. Kagome had been very mature these last few months but also distant to everyone around her. It was subtle, but there, if you'd known her before and were paying attention.

"Do you believe me?"

"You could not have created so elaborate of a tale. Nor have I known you to lie. Your face and eyes always betray you. This explains much of the last few months. Naturally I believe you."

"Of course I do dear." Her mother gently tugged her into a hug, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. But I'm so proud of your strength and courage. You did well!"

It felt like a barrier inside her crumbled and she could breath again. It was so good to tell them, to share what had happened. Even if Kirara was the only one to actually remember, the truth was now part of her family's memories too.

"Naraku and Yuuto saved a part of Inuyasha's forest as a surprise for me. It's connected to the Goshinboku. Kirara and her family are hidden within, along with other minor youkai, I…I can show you tomorrow. You can get a glimpse of what it was like back then! It's been untouched by humans for centuries now."

"We'd love to see it Kagome-chan. Let's get some sleep first. It's been an emotional day for all of us." Kagome pulled back and wiped at her cheeks, even as a small smile curled up her lips, "Hai! Thank you both for believing me!"

"Of course Kagome. Have a good night."

"You too, Ojii-san, Mama." Giving her mother another tight hug and a quick one to her grandfather, she headed upstairs, giddy with relief. They believed her! They believed her! Flopping onto her bed, she gave a soft laugh. "I didn't expect it to be that easy. I thought they would have questions, and I'd be dealing with disbelief and concerns for my sanity."

'You forgot were you come from.'

'Huh?'

'You've always been unique Kagome, with your kindness as well as your belief in second chances. You had to have gotten it from somewhere. I'd say it was from them. You learned well and we've benefited from it.'

She giggled, 'True, I learned from the best. It's nice to be reminded that others are like that and will have my back.'

'Plus, we'll always be here. Even if they hadn't believed you at first, you could have just given us some free rein and it would have solved the problem.'

'How about, no. You might scar them for life with whatever you decided to do.'

'Kukuku, would I do that to your family?'

'Yes.' She and Yuuto both deadpanned before dissolving into laughter. Naraku huffed.

Smiling she got up and headed towards the bathroom. Cutting their connection as she got ready for bed, 'I think I'm ready to get in touch with Tet-kun and see if he can meet up with me. I don't know if I'll tell him what happened, but it would be nice see each other again, not that I've tried too hard these past few months. But texting and even phone calls just aren't the same as talking in person.

'I wonder how he's doing? We haven't been able to meet up in years. I know his team won their middle school championship game again, but when I congratulated him over text he didn't respond for days. I was getting really worried when he finally answered. I know he's going to a high school in Tokyo, but he hasn't told me where. I'll have to get it out of him over the next few months and head over to say, hi. I'd love to play some basketball with him again!'

She curled up on her bed with a smile. 'I feel like my life is finally starting to get back on track!'

Quick Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait, but hopefully the next one will be much shorter. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me this long! Also a big thank you to all who have liked and commented on this story over the years!