Kagome smiled sadly, remembering times gone by. Seeing everyone staring at her expectantly, she continued her tragic tale.
...~*0*~...
Kagome followed the old priestess, looking around the village. "Hey, what's your name?" she asked. "Kaede. Now come." The now named "Kaede" had stopped in front of a hut. "This is my home." The hut had straw roof, some dangling off the side. The wood that made up the walls was falling apart in some places.
The girl walked in, looking at the little dwelling. Analyzing it for possible escape routes, weaknesses in the structure (aka, everywhere), if only out of habit. Gohan had taught her that much before he died, leaving Kagome, his girlfriend, Videl, Goten, and Trunks behind. Poor Videl had been devastated by his death. She knew he might never come back, but she wasn't really prepared for it. No one was. She joined Chi-Chi in her almost constant mourning, and Kagome hadn't seen her a lot since. She heard that she had a child though. She felt so bad for that kid…
Kagome sat down on the wood floor, watching Kaede cook. She smiled, for she was part Saiyan, after all, and the soup smelled really, really good. The old woman also reminded her of a strict grandmother; the kind that scolded you, but also slipped candy into your pocket before you went home. The only difference was the black eye-patch.
Kagome ate, trying to rein in her appetite at least a little bit, and sighed happily. Kaede was such a good cook! But then she heard a large crash south of the small hut, towards the woods, and the shouts of men, warning of danger. Footsteps thundered up to the door, fists desperately pounding. Kaede got up quickly and opened the door, revealing a man of about twenty-five who was hunched over and panting.
"Inuyasha's Forest… Mistress Centipede… Spears can't hurt…" he managed to say in between gulps of air. Kaede's face darkened. "I will grab my bow. Ye must go back and help." The man nodded and ran off once more, stumbling slightly as he went.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked. She hated feeling left out. Kaede looked at her and then said, "Come with me. I will show ye the Mistress Centipede." Left wondering what a "Mistress Centipede" was, Kagome followed the old priestess out of the hut into a more open area near the irrigated fields.
Kaede pointed to the woods Kagome first came out of. There was an eerie glow hanging over the trees, and it reminded Kagome of the flames of a dying city in areas around her home.
"That is Inuyasha's Forest. In there is the demon. I am too old to go in myself – will ye?" Kaede asked, sounding almost frustrated. Kagome nodded and Kaede handed her the quiver of arrows and bow.
Kagome shot off into the woods at almost inhuman speeds. The tree branches rustled from the wind created, leaves tumbling to the ground. She almost smiled, relishing in the speed, until she remembered her reason for going there in the first place. She kept sprinting, her black hair trailing behind her. Once she got into the thicker part of the woods, she saw the dog-boy stirring. He looked up and snarled at her, "Hey, Kikyo. Why are you running so hard? Something like a Mistress Centipede should be nothing to you, right? You did do this to me, after all."
Kagome looked at him and frowned. "Who's Kikyo? I'm Kagome. Ka-go-me! Get it right!" The boy almost laughed. "Keh, you're not fooling anyone with those funny clothes. You smell just like her!" She gave him an incredulous look, thinking only Saiyans and demi-Saiyans could use scent. Maybe he was an alien, too? That would explain the dog ears. Or at least make them less noticeable to her.
"Look, idiot," she said, enjoying the offended look on his face, "I'll say it slowly so you understand. I. Am. Not. Kikyo! Get it?" He sniffed some more and his eyes widened. Finally! she thought, He realized his mistake!
Kagome was so engrossed in the boy that she didn't hear the Mistress Centipede come up from behind her. Why didn't these things have ki? They use attacks that would normally warrant large ones, she thought as it crushed her against the tree and dog-boy, making her squirm. Normally, she would us a ki blast, but she had no room. She would endanger everyone from dog-boy to the men trying to shoot at the Mistress. Not that she cared if she hurt dog-boy.
The thing released Kagome, making her fall to the ground. She quickly got up to face the Mistress Centipede. It came after her and she tried to dodge, but her legs were asleep from being stuck to that tree for so long.
It bit into her side, the teeth sharp as knives and seemingly dipped in poison, for the pain was unbearable. She could hardly stand! Her hands trembled as she watched the demon transform, while shouting in a raspy, hard voice, "HA! I've finally done it! THE SHIKON IS MINE!"
Kagome was transfixed, eyes wide. Was this… her fault? Her arms fell to her sides; her mind somehow knowing that all hope was most likely lost, even though she had no idea what the "Shikon" was. She almost didn't hear dog-boy shout, "Hey, wench! Take the arrow out! I'll help!" She looked at him, mumbling, "How?" Surprising her by answering, he replied, "Just do it!" She thought back to every time she was afraid and all she remembered was… running. She couldn't do that anymore. Managing to get up, Kagome stumbled to the tree and grabbed the arrow. "I… I WON'T RUN ANYMORE!" she screamed as she removed the arrow from dog-boy's chest.
…~*0*~…
"It's funny…" Gohan said aloud, making everyone turn to him. "Funny?" his mother said in reply, "How is that FUNNY?" He jumped, moving back slowly.
"Mom, I just meant that it's funny how Kagome said she was always running then, but now she vaporizes King Cold and Frieza, no sweat." Kagome smiled at her older/younger brother – time travel was confusing! – and his always thorough examination of things.
"Well, a lot has happened since then…" she said, and continued with her story.
…~*0*~…
Dog-boy smirked at his newfound freedom. "Thanks, Ka-go-me," was all she remembered before passing out from the poison.
As she woke up, Kagome realized two things. One, her side was bandaged tightly and two, her whole body was sore. A headache formed as she tried sitting up, so she slowly went back to the pillow, receiving praise from an unseen boy. "That's better, lay down. Your head'll probably split in two if you sit up." "Too late for that," she grumbled, wishing she had some type of painkiller, especially now, knowing who had just spoken to her.
"I'm surprised you're up, though," he said, ignoring her other comment. "Most people would be down for at least a week after that." Kagome groaned. Great. Just great. "How long has it been?" she croaked. "Damn, you sound like hell. Anyway, it's been about three days." Kaede had walked in, cutting off dog-boy if he wanted to say anything else. "Consider yourself lucky that ye are not dead," the old priestess said, being able to hear the boy from outside the hut. "And this is Inuyasha, if ye were wondering. He helped me bring you here." Kaede turned, new basket for herbs in hand, and left the hut again.
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, smiling slightly, and fell back asleep.
...~*0*~...
A/N: And that's a wrap! I'm sorry this took so long, but I was on vacation for a week (if jelly, don't be. I got a fever 3 days into it, 2 days of a never ending headache, and couldn't swim for almost the whole week 'cause of it), and school has decided that on the 2 weeks that I have play rehersal til 5 that they're gonna give me more HW than EVER and yeah. So... SORRY I WAS SO LATE! *bows*