Chapter 2:
The Plan
Kagome came into the multipurpose room twenty-five minutes later, dressed in a tighter fitting Hakama and Haori than was worn in the Feudal Era. It was in the traditional colors, red and white and made from fire-rat fur, a gift from Inuyasha and Kaede before she left. Under her uniform (not known to the teen titans at the time) she wore spandex shorts red in color and a ¼ length white skintight top. On her back she had the Japanese symbol for miko written in black. Her sleeves were similarly designed, with black symbols which would help her channel her miko powers should she need to. On her feet she wore black boots similar to Sesshoumaru's but hers had a much thicker sole, and the toes were reinforced with demon bone; harder than steel.
Her hair was pulled back from her face tightly in a low ponytail, the two 'dragon-tails' that framed her face were braided and had two small silver charms on each that tinkled as she walked; the same charms were threaded through her ponytail. However you could still see the linguistic device that helped the wearer learn the language that was mainly spoken.
"Wow Kagome you look-" Beastboy started. At hearing Beastboy's amazement, Raven even put down her book to see what Kagome was wearing.
"That uniform looks wondrous cousin Kagome!" Star-Fire declared in admiration. "It looks like something a Garvakiain Nabnous would wear!"
"A what?" Raven and Kagome asked, both eyebrows up in confusion.
"Kagome, where did you get that outfit?" BB asked.
Kagome let a smile grace her face, making her eyes twinkle. "I got it from very good friends of mine; do you like it?"
"Girl that is one cool outfit!" Cyborg stated grinning giving her two thumbs up.
Raven looked at the back of it. "What does this symbol stand for?" She asked as Kagome turned for them.
"It literally means: Miko or in English: Priestess." Kagome said grinning as Robin handed over one of his masks. She put it on and suddenly she was mysterious, and sexy.
"Whoa…" Cyborg said.
"Watch out evil-do'ers… The Miko is in town…" Kagome said grinning.
"Yeah- but you're not allowed to participate…" BB said.
Kagome rolled her eyes at Beastboy, "Kill-joy…" But it was said with a smile on her face. "So- who's Aqua-lad?"
(A/N: Yes I know I'm mixing up episodes…)
Robin answered as he sat down at a control booth to the left of the couch. "Aqua-lad is another Super-hero-teenager we teamed up with to stop a Super-villain from taking over the ocean after we tracked down an ocean barge loaded with toxic waste that had been raided and was aground some fifteen miles from shore."
Robin tapped some keys and brought up the data on Aqua-lad.
"Hmm. Kinda cute…" Kagome said as she viewed Aqua-lad's stats. She heard another squawk from Beastboy and ignored it in favor of something that just caught her eye. 'He control's fish?' The frown only accentuated by the mask made her look downright pissed.
"Kind of a cute?" Star-Fire demanded, "He is a most handsome boy! Were I to be able to choose my husband, he would most certainly be it!"
Raven who had once again picked up her book and had been quite immersed in her dark poetry, put it down once more, but not before marking her page. She smiled dreamily at the picture of Aqua-lad before getting a hold of herself, making sure no one noticed, no one besides Kagome did; and getting up to pour a cup of herbal tea. She hoped that Kagome, Miko, wasn't one to kiss-and-tell.
"Um- what's wrong Ka- um… Miko?" Beastboy asked. His indignation puttering out in a rapid manner at seeing the hostile look on her face, at least he interpreted it as hostile.
"Hmm? Oh… You said something about Aqua-lad earlier and in his eh- abilities in the statistical information it says he control's fish." Her voice wasn't mad but it was full of questions that she was obviously trying to sort through.
"And you're wondering about the fish you had a water fight with earlier." Cyborg cleared up the issue. As he dropped a few dish towels on the floor to clean up Robin and her puddles from earlier.
"Well- yes…. Do you know of any other heroes that have the ability to control fish?"
"Hold on a second…" Robin said, as he tapped out some more commands into the database. "I got a hit off of one other; Aqua-Man. But why wouldn't he contact the Justice League?"
"Are any of their headquarters located near the water?"
A few more keys were tapped. "None. Why would a senior member of the Justice League contact someone with no powers what-so-ever?" Robin asked rhetorically.
"Let me guess- you're going to find out." Miko said a wry look gracing her masked face. Powerless. Yep, that was her…
Just ignore the fact that four weeks earlier she had returned after she and her old group defeated Naraku and his minions; and she had wished one of the more powerful artifacts back out of existence…
"Correction. We're going to find out. They contacted you for whatever reason. You are as of now an honorary member of the Teen Titans and are on active status." Robin stated.
"So- I'm as of now- an active 'member' of the Teen Titans?" At Robins nod, and her subsequent grin, Beastboy exploded.
"Dude! No way! What if she-"
"BB take a chill pill!" Cyborg said. "With the five of us around who's going to mess with your cousin?"
Beastboy gave Cyborg a glare that almost rivaled Robin's on a pissed day. Cyborg whistled and backed up with his hands in the classic: 'I surrender' pose.
"How's this BB…" Miko offered as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"I'll stay in the back close to Raven and Cyborg… That way I'll be out of everyone else's way, and knowing you guys from the latest news casts, you'll take the enemy out within twelve minutes or less… So there will be no reason for me to get involved if there is a fight…"
BB gave Miko a withering glare. She just took the gale out of his rigging with that placating stunt.
And the annoying thing was everything that she said she would do was what he planned on demanding her to do in the first place.
How was a guy supposed to get good and mad at his cousin if she placated him all the time?
When they got done with whatever this was, then she and him were going to have a heart-to-heart, cousin-to-cousin, sit down, and talk.
"Fine." BB said grumbling, "but someone owes me a tofu burger."
"Tofu burger?" Kagome asked, "I know my English isn't that good yet-" She turned to Raven, "What is a tofu burger?"
"You don't know?" Raven asked, an odd look on her face, her herbal tea halfway to her lips.
Beastboy saved her by answering. "It's something I tend have for lunch. I substitute all my meat products with Tofu!" He stated proudly. "Tofu waffles, tofu eggs, tofu hotdogs, tofu burgers, tofu bacon…"
"Tofu socks, tofu brains…" Raven muttered as she went back to her tea.
Star-Fire heard her and giggled, and Cyborg grimaced at that image but then after mulling it over for a second let out a chuckle as well.
"I have tofu with breakfast and dinner, we have firm or soft tofu, if we're having a traditional meal… We don't normally eat tofu-y stuff like that… Have you even tried anything made from veggies?" Miko asked the right side of her mask twitching in either horror, or grossed-out-ness.
"No; but they're really good, wanna try one Ka- Miko?" Beastboy asked when he again corrected himself with her name.
"Not until you try one of my traditional breakfasts and dinners."
"Will it have meat?" Was a question that Cyborg and Robin asked at the same time.
"The meat is optional…" Miko said to Cyborg with a smile; remembering his question from yesterday. "But in most cases you don't need it… Breakfast is breakfast, doesn't matter if you have yesterday's pizza for breakfast, just as long as you have breakfast."
"Speaking of breakfast, why don't we have lunch?" Cyborg asked as he dumped the wet towels on the kitchen counter, and opened the fridge. It was close to noon already.
"Um… Before we do that, can I hand this off? If I'm supposed to have a secret identity, this would give me away…" Kagome said smoothing the hard smooth plastic of the linguistic device.
"Hm… Unlike the situation where Beastboy wore a mask to hide his secret identity on top of being green, she is right Robin; it would allow whomever tapped her with the bugs to know that Kagome Higurashi really is the Miko." Raven stated, as she rinsed out her teacup.
"Right, I see the problem; okay, hand it over." Robin said to Miko, standing up and walking the short distance to the couch. "I agree; if you are going to blend in, and not be immediately ousted as a superhero, you shouldn't wear that."
When she handed it over to him, he switched the device to the opposing language and slipped it over his head after a few adjustments. Miko had a questioning look on her face before something made her nervously play with the charms in her braids.
"Hey don't worry about it…" Robin said in Japanese as he patted her shoulder. "This'll give me the chance to learn Japanese, I've always wanted to learn but I've never had the time…" At her slight nod, Robin gave her a reassuring smile and made his way back to the computer console. When he sat down, he switched the device to the 'off' position.
She was fidgeting, something was causing her senses to jangle. "Wait- We need to consider something…" Kagome said as she took off the mask.
The others looked at her questioningly, was her sixth sense kicking in again? Because if it was, then it was better than having radar.
"Is there something the matter cousin Kagome?" Star-Fire asked. Kagome didn't answer her, but something was clearly bothering her so, the rest of the Teen Titans approached and sat on different sections of the couch.
Kagome couldn't sit still so she stood up and started pacing before the couch. The Teen Titans watched her; she was rubbing the mask between two fingers in one hand and the other started to finger the 'v' of her haori. Her chest felt tight… Something would happen if they didn't take the necessary steps to prevent it; something bad.
"If you're going to wear that, we need to set off an explosion or something… I mean, it looks like you've damaged your eardrums… So we don't tip anyone off…"
It was true the device now looked like something swimmers wear to protect their eardrums and from getting water in their ears.
"And we need to figure out a way to have me, I mean Miko, to come on the scene, whoever it was that tapped my luggage is going to see Miko and will know that someone close to Beastboy arrived yesterday to stay with the Teen Titans…"
() * () * () * () * () * ()
They came up with several elaborate plans but in the end there was only one because it had they fewest holes in it. Basically they would go into the city, Kagome since she was 'sick' all the time would eat, drink, or smell something that would cause her to go violently ill and she would be rushed back to the 'T-Tower'.
In the mean time, the rest of the Teen Titans, minus Cyborg would go into the city to fight off whatever Super Villain that would appear and due to an explosion, Robin would lose his hearing (temporarily). With Robin and Kagome still in the sick-bay it would become necessary to have someone come in to help them; and so Cyborg would fly off in the 'T-plane' to get someone. The Miko would be flown in by Cyborg, and she would stay for several months. As was Kagome's original plan.
() * () * () * () * () * ()
Of course all plans go awry; Kagome was planning to go out one morning with the rest of the Teen Titans for breakfast at Jenny's, when another guest from Japan showed up. It was Hojo.
(A/N: Hold on people it's not what you think… Or for those of you who have read my other stories, is it?)
Hojo met with Kagome downstairs in the lobby of the 'T-Tower'.
"How are you feeling Kagome? And I was wondering if you were taking that Inukitbi-root my mother found for your Inusanrokuitis?"
"Oh- yes wonderful… Hojo…" Kagome said, above her, leaning on the railing were the Teen Titans.
"Oh my, your cousin Kagome certainly has a most multiplicitious array of diseases…" Star-Fire stated as she floated on her stomach looking down on Kagome and their newest guest.
"Multi-wha?" Beastboy said. "Was that another one of your Tamaranian word thingies?"
"BB, even I could tell that she was speaking English…" Cyborg said as he pushed off the railing to stretch his hands above his head.
Robin was wearing the headset that he took from Kagome and had it switched on, so that he was able to understand what Kagome and the newest guest to the 'T-Tower' were saying. The rest of the Teen Titans merely had a translation headset on.
Raven was getting annoyed with Beastboy and made a dark-energy patch to cover his mouth. "Would you be quiet? I would prefer to hear what they are saying and your yapping isn't helping me any."
Beastboy merely gave Raven a 'gimme-a-break!" look before bringing his attention back to the two Japanese teens below them.
Robin rolled his eyes and sighed before glaring at Beastboy in annoyance before turning his gaze back down to Kagome and Hojo.
"Yuka sends her regards…" Hojo said congenially, smiling, as if he knew something.
Kagome groaned quietly and smiled through the annoyance. "That's wonderful Hojo-san, thank your mother for the Inu…kit…bi…" She paused, "I didn't realize that you're so familiar with ancient mythology…"
"It seems my family line was most involved in a series of… combative situations. It's amazing how many times I've gotten smacked for the things I've said…"
Kagome tilted her head to the side and raised one eyebrow; "really, how far back does your family line go?"
"I can relate back over five hundred years…"
"Really? Somehow I don't find that surprising…"
"You shouldn't… after all- it was a toy horse that saved two children…" Hojo said with familiarity. "Have you had any more problem with your Inusanrokuitis? I hear it can be a real pain in the head… Constant headaches, hearing random men propose to you, developing the fondness to slapping people…"
He was leading Kagome somewhere, but the Teen Titans weren't sure exactly where she was being lead and they weren't sure they liked the idea.
"Is this a common disease for Humans to get?"
"I've never heard of it…" Cyborg said, mentally going over the medical database he had downloaded a copy of to his personal mainframe. "And neither has the medical mainframe."
"Then what form of diseases does she have?" Raven asked.
"My guess is: Is that she's never been sick… I'd bet you one of my uniforms, that every single one of her diseases were faked… That she's never been sick."
"But- she never said anything…" Beastboy said, his eyes were wide, betrayed. His own cousin, she never said anything… Not a word… How-Why would she-
"Hey Beastboy- maybe she had a good reason to lie about her health…" Cyborg said turning towards him with a pitying look on his face. "Maybe she was threatened- or maybe- I don't know-"
"HOW DARE YOU!" Kagome exploded downstairs in the lobby.
"Whoa." Raven said.
"I was not aware that humans could be so volatile…" Star-Fire said, with wide eyes as Kagome leapt onto Hojo.
"I am going to Kill you!" Kagome yelled as she reached her hands towards Hojo's neck. "Inusanrokuitis? Did you really think I wouldn't catch on?"
Hojo wasn't in that big of a rush to remove her hands from his neck, at least until she started jerking his head to start banging on the stone of the floor.
"Did you have any idea how much I wondered if any of you survived? And now I find out that you did and that you were impersonating-"
"I never impersonated… I infiltrated."
"Show me who you really are before I decide to slowly disintegrate you limb from limb…" Kagome threatened. And all in all it was a very effective threat as Hojo turned into a young man in his early to mid twenties. The red brown hair became a deep red and his brown eyes became a vibrant green. Two tails ripped through his pants and any other differentiations were too small to see from their height.
"What is he?" Beastboy asked, staring down at his cousin and the now unknown male.
A loud 'SMACK' sounded and the unknown male was clutching his cheek. He raised his head and looked Kagome right in the eye: "Hi Mom, how was your trip?"
"You're so Lucky that I never learned how to use the Hiraikotsu (A/N: Pronounced 'He-righ-cots' {thank you dubbed anime!}) or else I would-"
"Wow- Long time no see… I haven't seen you like this in five hundred years Kagome…"
"Shippo it's been four weeks for me since I saw you five hundred years ago, and I saw 'Hojo' less than two weeks ago… DROP it!"
She glared at him. For whatever purpose, she believed him to be channeling Miroku; he did grab her butt after-all…
"I KNEW- I shouldn't have left you with Miroku… You picked up way too many of his habits…!" Kagome said as she let his head hit the floor one more time with a solid 'Thump!'
"So- How's my favorite time traveling miko doing?"
"I'll let you know when I find her… As it stands she's not in Jump City yet… Which is where your, and I use this terminology loosely, tools-of-the-trade come in."
Okay- that's it for this chapter.
To all my reviewers: Thank you so much- You guys give me the fuel to keep writing and coming up with interesting ideas... I just got the 5 seasons of the Teen Titans, so I should be able to write my stories up, and have them actually fit the timeline...
You guys are the BEST! Please keep reviewing!
Tell me what you think: as it goes- Read and Review!
Jowashington