A/N: This is going to be a looooong one, guys. Enjoy!
Kagome woke to the buzzing of an alarm clock. "Somebody kill that thing." Becca groaned, burying her head under her pillow. Kagome reached over and felt around the table between her bed and Becca's. She found the alarm and promptly hit the snooze button. "Thank God." Came Becca's muffled praise. On a normal day, Kagome would have collapsed and tried to get some more sleep, but today was different. She was going to a new school in a new country. She was definitely not getting back to sleep anytime soon. So, instead, she got out of bed and opened the closet she shared with Becca.
Out of habit, she reached for her uniform. "Kags, jeans and shirt." Came Becca's groggy voice, napping Kagome back into reality.
"Oh…duh." Kagome said sheepishly, putting the uniform back and taking out a pair of jeans. She grabbed a long-sleeved navy-blue T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.
Halfway down the hall, the phone started ringing, accompanied by curses from the other four occupants of the apartment. Kagome quickly answered the phone. "Moshi Mosh---hello?"
"Hey, can I talk to Becca?" came a male voice from the other end.
"Sure, hold on a second." Kagome said taking the cordless phone into her and Becca's room.
"Bec, it's for you." Becca cracked an eye open and looked at Kagome, then at the clock. She heaved a sigh and took the phone from Kagome.
"Paul, it is six-thirty in the morning, what is it?" Becca snapped, getting out of bed and walking groggily to the closet.
"There was a mugging outside of an alleyway at Hunt Street. The victim was killed, and the Gut Dusters need you to come check this one out before they clean. There's something you need to see." Becca pulled on a pair of pants and Kyoinu's "I Love Dogs" T-shirt.
"Fine. Gimme ten. I need to get everything ready for school first." Becca said, hanging up the phone.
Running a brush through her hair, she walked into Chris' room. "Hey, get up. I need to take off." Becca said as she brushed out her hair and started braiding it. Chris mumbled something incoherent and turned over so his back was facing Becca. A vein in Becca's head pulsed and she chucked her hairbrush at Chris' head. She hit her target with a satisfying whack.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Chris demanded, sitting up and glaring at Becca.
"I need to leave. Somebody fucked up and guess who has to clean up the mess?" Becca asked, going into his closet.
"You couldn't wake Lyndsi up for that? And what are you stealing from my closet?" Chris asked, getting u9p and stretching.
"If I had woken up Lyndsi, then I wouldn't have been able to throw my brush at her when she didn't wake up. And I am taking my Stewie sweatshirt back because it's the only warm sip-up hoodie I have and you never gave it back." Becca pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you at school." Chris said, walking into the kitchen.
"Make sure Kagome waits for me so I can check her in with the Admin, okay? I should be there by 7:30 the latest. Bye Kags!" Becca yelled as she shut the door and zipped up her hoodie against the chilly October morning. She flew as fast as she could to where Paul had told her to meet him.
From what Kagome had said, if Akagi had been anything like Naraku, it would have taken them four years instead of four months to defeat him. She was thankful to be home and not getting hypothermia in the Sengoku Jidai.
All train of thought halted as Becca rounded the corner to the scene as she skidded to a halt. On the ground was a cat youkai, female, who's jugular had been sliced with a claw. "Damn it." Becca swore.
"Excuse me, this is a closed crime scene." Came a voice from behind her. Becca whirled around to find a lizard youkai dressed in a police uniform coming toward her.
"It's okay, I'm authorized." Becca said, flashing her badge and I.D.
"Okay." Came the reply. Becca walked over to Paul, who was looking for evidence around the body.
"Okay, my raccoon partner. Why the hell am I here?" Paul looked up and pointed grimly down the alleyway.
"What do you make of that?" he asked.
Becca walked down the alleyway and gasped. On the brick wall were marks that Becca had seen in enough trees to know what they were. "It means that your suspect is dead. Those markings are from Tetsusaiga, the sword forged by the great Inu no Taisho. This huntee has already been hunted. Just give the poor girl a proper burial." Becca said, walking back towards Paul.
"You mean that there's a maniac on the loose with a sword?" Paul questioned nervously.
"No, I mean that there's a trained hunter that's been doing this longer than you've been alive. Your suspect was lucky enough to meet a legend. Now, I've got to get to school before I'm late on my first day back. Something tells me it's going to be an interesting day. Bye Paul." Becca said, taking off as fast as she could to school. This was a good sign. It meant that at least Inuyasha was still alive.
Taking a shortcut through the park next to the school, she slowed her pace to a walk. Kagome stood at the front door, looking nervous. She had Inuyasha's hat on, along with one of Becca's backpacks. "Hey, Kags, you ready?" Becca asked, talking in Japanese to make Kagome a little more comfortable.
"You know, I've faced youkai with hair that'll slice you in half, and youkai that have tried to make me into a stew. I shouldn't be nervous." Kagome said with a shaky laugh.
"You know what, it's different. But, you'll have more fun here and you don't have to go to school on Saturday. No uniforms either!" You'll be fine!" Becca said, giving Kagome a reassuring hug. Kagome took a deep breath.
"All right, let's go. I want to get this over with." Kagome said, allowing Becca to lead her into the building.
"Hey Ms. Tucker. I have two schedules to pick up. One for Kagome Higurashi, and one for me." Becca said cheerfully. The secretary shuffled through papers on the counter and produced two sheets.
"Here you go. Becca, Mrs. Gerber has been looking for you. We have three other new students who need a tour of the building. They're also Japanese. Mrs. Gerber will fill you in." Ms. Tucker said, turning to answer the phone.
Becca led Kagome to her locker, which was right next to her own. "All right, who do you have first block?"
"Gerber."
"Really? That means we have the same first class." Becca explained, shutting her locker. "C'mon, I'll go introduce you to her." Becca said, grabbing Kagome's hand and leading her upstairs and knocking on the history office door.
A teacher opened the door and promptly breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God! I thought I was going to have to go try and hunt down Ms. Karten." The blonde woman said, dragging Becca into the office by the hand. Kagome followed cautiously behind them.
"Mrs. Gerber, this is Kagome Higurashi. She's new." Becca said as she was dragged along.
"Nice to meet you. Here we are." Mrs. Gerber said, walking into an empty classroom next to the office.
"Samantha, Shawn, and Mike, this is Becca and her friend Ka—Ka---"
"Kagome." Becca supplied, finding Kagome's hand and grasping it.
"Sango?" Kagome whispered.
"No, that's Samantha." Mrs. Gerber corrected her. Becca could only stand there in shock as she stared at the three other new students.
Samantha looked exactly like Sango, with her hair pulled into a high ponytail. Mike looked like Miroku, without the ponytail or beads of monk-hood. Both Becca and Kagome couldn't find the "Hentai!" prayer beads that should've adorned his neck. The third, Shawn, wasn't familiar at all. His copper colored hair was mid-back length and tied back. "Well, while you get acquainted, I need to talk to Mr. Briggs about something." Mrs. Gerber said, excusing herself from the room.
"Who found it?" Becca asked quietly. Samantha looked up and smiled.
"Inuyasha. Kagome! I've missed you!" Samantha said, charging at Kagome.
"Sango?" Kagome asked yet again.
"Yep!" Sango said cheerfully, squeezing Kagome as tight as she could. Becca walked up to Shawn and searched his face.
"Who're you?" she asked.
"Oh sure, you remember them, but you don't remember me?" He asked, removing a gold moonstone set bracelet from his wrist.
A fluffy foxtail appeared out of nowhere and his ears became pointed. "Shippo!" Becca cried, throwing her arms around his neck. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as Shippo's concealment fell.
"Shippo-chan? Shippo-chan!" Kagome cried, nearly knocking over in a giant hug.
"Miroku." Becca said, extending her hand. Miroku took it and shook.
"So, are you working for Carl? I take it that's why Fluffy was there." Becca said, as the group headed for Mrs. Gerber's classroom now that the hug fest was over.
"Bec, we've been working there for years. I'm the reason why Paul's there. He's Hachie's grandson." Miroku said, wrapping his arm around Sango's waist.
"So, where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly.
"We haven't seen him since the 70's. Both of them too off to California." Sango explained.
"Well, one of them's alive. Inuyasha probably. There was a mugging this morning. Female cat youkai, murdered. Down the alleyway were scars from Tetsusaiga. They were fresh in the brick wall and cement. By the way, where's Lady Kaede?" Becca asked. All three exchanged glances.
"Kaede…opted not to take the potion. She wanted to live out her life. She said the reincarnation cycle had to move on." Miroku said sadly. Kagome looked like she was on the verge of tears until something registered in her mind.
"What potion?" She asked as they entered the classroom. Becca opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the students in the classroom.
"Hey, let's ask them! Do you know what those are?" asked Ariel, her short black hair spiked in the back.
"Jeez, nice hello, Ariel. Do we know what what is?" Becca asked.
"Those things in the corner." Said another girl, pointing to a corner near Mrs. Gerber's desk.
"What the hell are you guys---" Becca trailed off as her jaw dropped. In the corner was Hiraikotsu, Miroku's staff, and a set of bow and arrows.
"Hey Becca, what are they? They look like the props from that shrine we saw you at. Except that boomerang this is heavy." Will said, collapsing in his seat.
"Will, you can barely even lift your own body weight, nevermind a huge boomerang." One of the other guys retorted.
"Shut up, Terrance." Was Will's "Brilliant" comeback.
Any further verbal abuse on Will was cut short when Mrs. Gerber walked into the room. "Good morning!" She said cheerfully.
"Yo, what up Miz G." Terrance called from the back of the room.
"Morning Terrance. Now, where's Charles?" Mrs. Gerber asked as she looked over the attendance sheet.
Half of the class' fingers pointed to a blonde guy fast asleep in the corner. "You guys never learn…" She said morosely, picking up a piece of chalk and taking aim.
"Goddammit!" Charles sat up quickly, a red welt on his forehead.
"Cheesy Chaz, you should have learned not to fall asleep in Mrs. G.'s class by now." Becca chastised.
"Did she just throw a piece of chalk at him?" Kagome questioned quietly.
"I told you, we're barbaric." Becca said with a wink.
"Oh crap. That means you and your weird friends are back." Charles groaned.
"You're really stupid, you know that? I have two easily accessible weapons over there and you're running your mouth. Not too smart, huh baka?" Becca shot back. This made Charles pale. His reaction drew a satisfied smirk from Becca.
"ALL RIGHT!" Mrs. Gerber hollered, making everyone jump. "This is Samantha, Mike, Shawn, and Kagome. They're exchange students from Japan. They are to be treated with respect. Do I make myself clear?" Mrs. Gerber demanded. Everyone nodded. "Alright, we're going outside to show you some ancient weapons Mike, Samantha, and Shawn brought in. They're going to give us a little demonstration." The teacher continued. "So, please listen to any safety rules they may have."
Becca raised her hand. "Can I list a couple?" she asked. Mrs. Gerber nodded. "Okay. If someone says 'duck', or something like that, hit the ground. Oh, and if by any chance, Kagome yells out 'oswari', eat some grass…it's good for you. Got it?" Becca asked. The class nodded again.
"Okay, Terrance, can you grab the boomerang? Ariel and Kira the staff and bow and arrows?" Mrs. Gerber voiced.
"Okay." Came the three voices.
Terrance walked over to Hiraikotsu and attempted to lift it. "Son of a bitch!" Terrance swore.
"Inuyasha's not here, but I'm close enough." Shippo said.
"Shippo!" Miroku hissed, grabbing his staff from Kira as she passed and smacked the kitsune across the head with it. Sango shot both of them a glare and walked over to Terrance.
"Here, let me get that." She said, hefting it with practiced ease. Terrance's mouth dropped open as he stared at the taijiya in shock.
"Terrance, don't think too hard on it," Becca said, clapping him on the shoulder in reassurance. "You'll hurt yourself." "Wha---but---HEY!" Terrance spluttered after her.
As the class assembled outside, Sango and Miroku lined up, with Shippo as the monk's target. Becca stood to the side so she would be able to catch either of the weapons if they went off course. Kagome stood next to her, looking a little confused. "Hey! What're these for?" Ariel hollered, holding up the bow and arrows. Sango glanced at the arrows, then turned to Kagome.
"Kagome-chan! Those are for you from Lady Kaede to 'defeat the youkai of the future'." Sango called to the miko in Japanese. Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes as she took the ancient weapon from Ariel and stood over next to Sango.
Miroku stepped forward. "Okay, this staff was wielded by a very---"
"---Perverted---" put in his four friends.
"---Skilled monk about 500 years ago." Miroku explained as the class chuckled. "It could deflect any attack with its holy powers." He finished.
"What else can it do?" someone yelled out from the crowd, clearly not impressed.
"Well, when it's thrown, it can knock a target off its feet." Miroku said, hurling the object at Shippo, who had been running back and forth like an idiot. The staff his him across the midriff, sending him about ten feet backwards. Shippo's arm rose up from his place on the ground, and he flashed a thumbs-up signal.
"I'm okay!" he yelled as Miroku jogged over to him.
"Now, this is Hiraikotsu, a giant boomerang bone. In the same time period as the monk's staff, it was used to kill anything it its bath. It's extremely heavy and powerful, and can slice anything in half with one hit." Sango said as Becca ran out to catch the giant bone if it went too far. "Ready?" Sango called out. Becca nodded and braced herself as Sango let the boomerang fly. Becca started running as it went sailing over her head. She managed to catch it before it made it to the parking lot. Bracing herself, Becca heaved Hiraikotsu back to its owner. Sango thought it with ease as Becca slowly made her way back to the group and collapsed next to Shippo, who had sat down at the sidelines.
"I'm done. Use the monk for venting now." She announced and Shippo nodded in agreement.
"I would, but it's Kagome's turn." Sango said sadly, causing Miroku to sigh in relief. All eyes turned to Kagome expectantly.
"Ummm…you remember the 'Legend of the Hanyou', right?" she asked. Most of the class nodded. "Okay, this bow belonged to the miko in that story. It was a gift to her from a very dear friend. It has holy powers just like the staff, except the holy arrows can disintegrate a foe with a single shot if one has good aim. But one has to be either a monk or a miko. Coming from a shrine, I have been trained as a miko. Let's see how good of an aim I have." Kagome said, taking aim at the bull's eye that had been set up on the front of a hay bale.
Concentrating on the target, she let the arrow fly. It hit the bull's eye dead center. Kagome stepped back as the target exploded. The class behind her gaped at the ash that had previously been the target. Her friends began to clap, and it took a couple of minutes for the others to join in, but soon, Kagome was showered with applause.
Two blocks later, everyone sat at the lunch table, waiting for Kagome and Becca to get their lunches. Kagome walked into the cafeteria first, talking animatedly to two extremely familiar people. Becca followed behind, talking to a red-haired guy. The crew did a simultaneous double take, then promptly charged Sango and Miroku, squishing Kagome in the process.
"Nobody every notices me." Shippo said sadly.
"It's okay Shippo, I still love you. Come on, I'll show you to the table." Becca said as she led the kitsune to the crew's abandoned table.
As soon as she sat down, a tall, redhead girl sauntered over to them, her eyes on Shippo. "Hi Becky!" She screeched perkily.
"Oh no…" Becca groaned, switching over to Japanese.
"What?" Shippo questioned as the girl steadily made her way toward them.
"She's like one of Naraku's nasty spawn. What do you want, Victoria?" Becca snapped, switching from Japanese to English.
"Jeesh, you think you could be a little nicer to your BFF." Victoria said snottily as Shippo raised an eyebrow.
"You're ability to call me that expired when you ripped my feelings to shreds. Was that dumbed down enough for you?" Becca replied hostily. But this time, the girl ignored her, and turned her attention to Shippo.
"Hi, I'm Victoria, Toria for short." Victoria said, extending her hand.
"And he's too old for you. Now go back to your sewers where you belong." Becca spat, shoving the girl away.
Victoria huffed away, and zeroed in on a new target. Sauntering over to Miroku, she did the same thing she had done to Shippo. To everyone's surprise, Miroku wrapped an arm around Sango's waist, and Sango rewarded him with a kiss on the lips. "Now that's new." Becca observed as Victoria stomped away.
"Oh, you mean the non-groping?" Shippo asked, his mouth full of burger.
"No, I meant the kissing part." Becca said, staring at the couple in disbelief.
"Oh, not really. They got married about 100 years ago." Shippo explained.
"Wow…" Becca whispered.
"Tell me about it. When he finally popped the question, the rest of us almost jumped up and down in relief." Shippo said, rolling his eyes.
After what seemed like hours, everyone finally returned to the table. "Hey, Kags. I'm going to a college Monday during the day for a trial class. Mrs. Gerber signed you up too because it's a mythology class and you have good grades in mythology." Becca explained suddenly, munching on a fry.
"Okay…that sounds fun." Kagome said slowly, munching on her own lunch.
Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my God, I forgot to tell Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka I was leaving!"
This caused Lyndsi to realize something too. "And I forgot to tell Damien!" She gasped.
"Ummm…can't you just call them?" Shippo pointed out. The two girls seemed to calm down as the kitsune's statement sunk in.
"Oh yeah…" Kagome said sheepishly.
The table lapsed into comfortable silence as everyone munched on their food. "Why am I in chorus?" Kagome asked suddenly as she looked over her schedule. The crew looked at Becca for an answer.
"Well, I thought it would be a good idea since most of us are in there anyway. Plus, it's fun!" Becca said.
"Okay…is our chorus teacher that blonde lady that Inuyasha almost attacked?" Kagome asked. Becca blinked in surprise and looked at Kagome oddly.
"You remember her? No, that's Mrs. Lister. She's the music teacher at the Junior High School." Becca explained.
All other conversation was cut short when the bell rang.
A/N: TADA!!!!!! Took me long enough, ne? Yeah…I kinda dropped off the face of the Earth...but I think I'm back now!!!
Review!
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