Summary: Kagome left Japan to stay with her Uncle following the end of her time traveling. It was supposed to be a new beginning, so why, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it, does she still get swept up in the supernatural at every turn? From demons to vampires and werewolves… she never really could catch a break. She could never escape it, but maybe she could learn to embrace it.

Pairing: Undecided.

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Flashbacks/Past are written in bulk Italics.

Chapter Three

Just like always, she wasn't able to go back to sleep after she'd woken up from her nightmares. When the room became too small, she opted for heading outside. A few seconds of surveying the activity of the house told her that Charlie was up in the den, so that prevented her from leaving that way. She didn't want to be met and questioned as to why she wanted to take a walk at four in the morning.

That left her window.

She glanced at it after putting on her shoes. There was a tree right beside it, though there was a little of a drop to the closet branch that'd be able to support her easily. She climbed up onto the window as quietly as she could so her legs dangled out, and she scooted a bit closer to the tree branch. She braced a hand securely on the window's ledge before she decided to jump. She landed on the thick branch, leaves shaking a bit before settling back down. Once she was safely there, she finally let go of the window's ledge.

It wouldn't be hard to get back in that way, and Kagome was relieved. That meant she had an easy way out whenever she needed it. With a soft sigh, she carefully maneuvered herself down the rain-wet tree. Once down entirely, Kagome ignored the rain that was still falling as she made her way into the treeline in the distance.

The woods were alive with the sounds of nature, and, upon getting herself lost deep enough in the lush greenery, she came to a halt. Something rubbed against her skin in the wrong way. Though mostly washed away by the rain, an unfamiliar aura still stood out. It was similar to the one she'd felt around the inhuman beings from school, but it was still different. She frowned and tried to focus on it, to no avail. It wasn't fresh, and it was already practically gone.

It rubbed her the wrong way- all of it.

Perhaps the lack of sleep showed on her face the following morning because when she finally made it downstairs, Bella gave her a concerned look from the other side of the kitchen. Kagome paused in the doorway and met her stare for several, long and quiet seconds.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked, eventually breaking the silence. Kagome took a second to respond, thinking carefully about her answer to the question at hand. It came down to being truthful or telling another lie, and she chose the lie.

"I'm fine," Kagome responded as she approached the kitchen table. Once there, she gathered up her textbook and notebook she'd left there last night. Though she felt guilty about having to lie, it was better than being truthful in this situation. She didn't have to look up to know Bella was skeptical about her response, but the other girl didn't push. She often didn't, and that was one of the good things about her sometimes. Once Kagome had put her things in her bag, and finally looked back at Bella. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and set her glass in the sink to wash later before following the other girl out.

Kagome could tell there was something on Bella's mind throughout the ride to school, and when they got there, Kagome quickly pieced it together. She was scanning the parking lot for any sign of Edward with a scowl present on her face. The entire day soon passed, with no sign of him.

"I told you just to ignore him," Kagome reminded from the seat beside her at the courtyard table. Bella jumped at the words, turning to look at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, and Kagome gave her a deadpan look.

"Cullen," she remarked dryly. "I told you it'd be better just to ignore him. Why waste your time on him if he's just gonna be rude?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bella said, and Kagome knew it was a lie. When Kagome arched a brow in response, Bella knew she'd been seen right through. "I just want to know what his problem is," she admitted after a pause.

"If I were you, I wouldn't waste the time or effort," Kagome retorted.

"Well, you're not me," Bella responded. "I wish I could think like you," she added with a sigh. "Nothing seems to bother you, you know?"

Kagome was silent as she glanced back down at the textbook she had out in front of her. The assumption was horribly false, but she'd rather not reveal that aspect. After a moment, Kagome forced a laugh. "I'd just rather focus on other things."

It was later that following night that Kagome found herself sitting up, wide awake even long after telling Charlie that she was going to bed. She was seated at her desk with the desk light turned on. Her attention was glued to the material in front of her as she carefully repeated the same sigil over and over again on the small squares of paper. Once she was done with one, she let her hand rest against the paper as a small burst of her energy was absorbed by the sigil. The black ink promptly turned blush pink against the stark white of the paper. It was quiet as she worked. Sweat had started to dab at her brow the longer she pushed her energy into more and more of the sigils.

Once she decided she had made enough for now, she stood up from her seat and went over to the closet. She dug through the stuff there until she uncovered a small box. It was just a simple jewelry box, but she didn't use it for the intended purpose. She returned to her desk with it in hand, and, upon sitting back down, she undid the metal clasp that held it shut. Inside was a spool of twine. Infused with it were strands of black and silver. It was special, made specifically for protective means.

She unwound a generous amount before sectioning it off into equal portions. From there, she worked on attaching the sigils to it. Before long, she'd finished the task at hand, and she didn't bother to pause as she collected them up and dropped them into a hollow and empty bag that she then set over her shoulder. She shifted her attention to the window in her room once again, and she quickly made her escape from the confines.

She was swift and focused as she mapped out a perimeter, leaving her sigils in place against the trees she chose. After about half an hour of walking, she made it back to her starting point. She had dispersed her sigils evenly along the path she chose.

She paused against the first tree, setting a hand on the slightly damp wood. A short chant was uttered under her breath. Once she fell silent, a transparent pink glow formed from each sigil, spreading and connecting with the neighboring ones. She pulled her hand away, and it faded from view, though she could tell it was still in place.

She glared out into the trees as she stepped away at last.

It should act well enough as a warning. Should anything she deems as unwelcome try and intrude, they'll be met by her barrier. If aggression was their next step, then she'd know for sure who it was and she'd handle it. Her barrier would capture some of their aurae, either way, so she'd at least know who came around uninvited.

The days go by, and Kagome is relieved by the lack of Edward's presence. His equally as strange siblings are still there, but none of them seem interested in taking the risk of coming near her. She can feel them watching her over the distance, but she never offers them a shred of attention. They might not appear to be malicious to her, but that didn't mean she was willing to have them around her. It was nice that they seemed to get the hint- for now.

Kagome was aware that she was a beacon for the supernatural- both the side that wished to hurt her and those who didn't wish to cause any harm at all to her. She'd rather just not deal with it, at all.

000

"Ready to go?" Bella asked the raven-haired girl coming down the stairs. Kagome gave a nod and bounded down the rest of the way. It was colder that morning, and, paired with the water, it spelled for ice. When the door was opened, it revealed just that.

Ice covered the pavement in uneven splotches. It's still raining, making the grass a soggy mess of mud and half-frozen puddles. Bella shivered, pulling her coat tighter around her as she sighed.

"Great," she grumbled. Kagome glanced at her, sharing her malcontent with the weather. Granted, she also wasn't as uncoordinated as the older girl.

She isn't unaware of the feeling of something watching from the treeline, and she frowns as she looks around to try and map out just exactly where it is. Whatever it is is keen on avoiding the barrier she'd put in place days ago. Whether it was because it wished to avoid stepping on her nerves, or if it was for a more calculated reason, she wasn't sure. Through the soggy air, she thought the aura was familiar, but due to the rain washing it away practically, she couldn't tell. If it'd only gotten a bit closer, then maybe it'd leave a remnant of it in her barrier, but, until then, she couldn't tell much about it…

Before they could head down the stairs, Charlie pulled into the driveway driving Bella's old truck, much to the girl's confusion.

Bella moves first, heading down the stairs as she's focused on Charlie getting out of the truck. "Dad, it's okay, I can drive myself to school," she said. Once off the stairs, she lost her footing and she fell back on her ass with a thud.

Kagome looked down at hearing Bella slip, and she cautiously made her way down the stairs after her. At the same time, Charlie slammed the door to the truck shut as he made his way over, as well.

"Bells, you okay?" he asked as he held her back up.

Bella gave a wry smile as she brushed herself off, though her clothes were still wet from the fall. "Ice really doesn't help the uncoordinated," she muttered. Charlie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," he said, "that's why I went ahead and got some new tires put on your truck. The old ones were practically bald. Bella looked at the tires on the truck after he said that.

"You got me new tires," she repeated what he said, "no one's ever done that before." When Charlie looked at her, clearly confused, she shook her head to brush her words off. "It's nothing," she eventually said. He gives her another look before going off, walking over to his cruiser.

"I'm gonna be late for dinner," he said. His words caught both of their attention. "I gotta head down to Mason County. A security guard at the Grisham Mill got killed by some kind of animal," he explained.

"An animal?" Bella asked. Charlie nodded.

"You're not in Pheonix anymore, honey," Charlie continued. "They've been hunting it for a week with no luck. Thought I'd lend a hand." He looked away from Bella and to Kagome. "So, for now, just avoid going for walks in the forest," he said. "They don't know where it is right now."

Kagome wasn't as worried about it as he was, but she didn't let him know. Instead, she nodded. "I'll stick to populated streets." He gave a wry smile in return.

"Be careful," Kagome said, and Charlie nodded.

"Always am."

"Also…" Bella spoke, "thanks for the tires," she said. Charlie looked at her. It was silent for a few seconds before he responded.

"No problem, Bells," he said. He headed inside, leaving just the two of them out there. Kagome looked at Bella as they realized it was time to leave.

000

Kagome allowed. herself to be pulled into the ground that consisted of Mike, Eric, Jessica, and Angela. Doing so, she's able to pull Bella into it, too. She had hoped that it'd do something to distract her from Edward, and, the more he fails to show, the more it seems to work.

"Wait, so you're into archery?" Mike asked as they made it to biology that day. Kagome glanced up at him with a nod. When they walked through the door, however, she nearly paused in her steps upon realizing that Edward was in his seat already.

He hadn't been here earlier, that much she knew. He'd completely been absent from their prior class together- as well as lunch

"Y'know, I'm always going on that they need to make an archery team or something here," Mike continue to ramble in her ear, but she'd tuned him out as she leveled an icy look on Edward. He looked at her, and she didn't miss the way he straightened up in his seat some under her glare.

She also didn't miss the way Bella tensed up from her other side before she went ahead to her seat beside the inhuman boy.

She made her way to her own seat, Mike following behind her as he spoke. He was still unaware that she was paying no attention to the words he said.

During class, Kagome kept her focus on the pair in front of her even as she worked on the assignment. She offered Mike short responses when it was related to the assignment they were working on together, but she didn't bother to respond when the topic dipped off-subject.

Though she couldn't hear what was being said, she could tell that they were talking about something. That he was actually trying to have some sort of conversation with Bella. It was still tense, but not for bad reasons, at least. That still didn't mean she wouldn't keep a close eye on it for any escalations.

When the bell rang, Kagome gathered her stuff up like everyone else. She noticed Edward had left the room before the others, and she approached Bella, who was still putting her stuff in her bag.

"How did it go?" Kagome asked once Bella saw she was there. Bella shrugged in response.

"Better, at least," she stated. "We actually talked," she said and Kagome nodded.

"Yeah?" she hummed. She knew Bella was unaware of how she'd been observing- but she knew Edward had been well aware. He'd glanced back at her plenty of times. They picked up their bags and made for the door. As they walked out, Kagome came to a stiff halt before Bella, who almost ended up running directly into Edward.

He looked between the two of them before looking at her, golden eyes clashing against sapphire.

"I just realized I hadn't had the chance to introduce myself to you, yet," he remarked. Kagome arched a brow in response. Bella looked at her, and, so, she had to hide her annoyance at the matter. "My name's Edward," he said before nodding at her. "You're Kagome, right?"

It was quiet between them despite the way the hallway around them was abuzz with noise. After a moment, Kagome decided to answer.

"Yes," she said as she attempted to be polite to him in front of people. He had an intrigued smile on his face as she spoke. "It's nice to meet you," she continued, a beaming smile on her own face. He gave no inkling that he could see through it, even though he clearly could.

"Welcome to Forks," he said, and Kagome nodded her thanks. A moment later, she took Bella by her arm.

"We should be going now," she said. She was met with no refusal as she pulled her away.

"I guess he can be nice," Bella whispered to her, and Kagome bit down on her scoff. She rolled her eyes in response as they headed outside. The rain had at least decided to finally stop, at least.

They made it to the truck, and Bella got into the driver's seat as Kagome circled around to the passenger side. Just as she was about to open the door, the sound of screeching tires came from the parking lot behind her. She turned, and, when she did, she spotted the van hurdling directly towards her. She couldn't move in time, so she reacted instinctively, allowing a clear barrier to form around her to shield her from the collision. She froze as she waited for the strike against the barrier, but it never came. The sound of metal hitting metal came, and she opened her eyes. When she did, she realized that another force entirely had stopped the collision against her barrier.

She quickly searched for the source. Her eyes met the honey-yellow of Edward's own. She didn't bother to hide her bewildered expression as she let her barrier drop. He seemed to mirror her expression as well. Clamor came from the rest of the parking lot, and he used the sudden rush to slip out of sight. Bella maneuvered over to the passenger seat and pushed the door open to get to the side she was on.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing she asked as she got out on her side. "That was Edward, wasn't it?" she asked then, referring to the person who'd just been there moments ago. She hadn't seen differently, had she?

Kagome was silent as more people came to join- going to both the driver of the van and to her side.

"Hey, you hurt?" Mike came up on her other side.

Kagome shook her head, trying to diffuse some of the energy there, to no avail. As she was helped up, she took the chance to scour the place for Edward. She spotted him over the distance, looking her way.

She was grateful he'd tried, but…

Why?

If anyone else had seen it, then… They could figure out that he wasn't what he seemed to be. She could've come up with a lie all on her own as to how she'd been safe from the collision without him running to her aide.

Looking at him, he seemed to realize the same exact thing as she did.

Auroua-chan: Finally got this chapter done. I don't want them to be too short.

Next chapter will have Kagome meeting Carlisle. She won't dislike him, but she'll be wary at first. (Not that he'd be offended.) Once she gets closer to the Cullen's then she'll befriend Alice quickly, too. Jasper is also another who she'll get close to.

With the pairing, Sam, Jacob, Seth, or Paul are the current options I've got rotating in my head. (Though, with some of them it will change a few things.) Each of them, I can see Kagome working with them so well and balancing their personalities out. I'm still not decided on it, but those are the top choices at the moment. I'm not against a little Sess/Kag or Kou/Kag hints here and there, but she'll probably be paired with someone from the wolfpack. I have my personal favorite of the leading options.

In the upcoming chapters, anticipate certain demon allies of Kagome's to make an appearance.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Reivew&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~