A/N: Thank you for all your support and reviews! Once again, sorry for my late late update T_T

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or Inuyasha

Chapter 5: Part-timers

Kagome tossed and turned in her sleep; finally jolting up in bed with sweat trailing down her face. She tiredly reached for her alarm clock; which read 4:30 in the morning. Kagome groaned before flopping back down onto her bed again and burrowing into her warm blanket. Eventually, she sighed and rolled off. Might as well get the day started.

Walking by her drawer, Kagome paused and considered her options. With the increasing number of demons, it wouldn't be as safe here at home. She would prefer to keep it safe while it was with her.

Removing the numerous ofudas decorating the small box, Kagome took out a small, pink, seemingly innocent jewel and attached it to her necklace— where another charm of a bow and arrow also resided. Kagome put up a small, but powerful barrier around the Shikon Jewel so as to not attract any unwanted attention. Over the years, she had mastered the miko arts and was probably the strongest one you could find.

She then decided to get dressed for school, and by the time she finished, it was 6:00. There was still an hour before school. Her mother raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're unusually early." She commented.

Kagome shrugged in response. "Couldn't sleep."

As the girl munched on some toast, she though about her nearly empty wallet and sighed. That's when she got an idea.

"Ne, kaa-san…" she started.

"What is it?"

"Is it okay for me to have a part-time job?" she asked.

Her mother fell silent. Kagome cringed, waiting for a reprimand when suddenly, Kun-loon grabbed her hands and beamed down at her.

"That's a brilliant idea!"

Kagome sweat dropped. Her mother was so happy; she could see sparkles in her eyes and flowers twirling in the background. Quickly, she finished her meal and grabbed her bags; making her way to the front door.

"Thanks for the meal!"

Kagome stepped out the front door and called out a quick, "Ittekimasu!" before leaving. She was anxious to Tsukimine Shrine but before long, she was hopelessly lost. One of her strongest traits was her sense of direction. She had the ability to get lost just about anywhere, at any time, not matter what the distance. Kagome sighed. She had ended up in a random neibourhood and was currently standing beside a traditional house with low hedge bushes and a beautiful garden.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up. "Ohayou goziamsu. Are you lost?"

It was Yukito. Kagome inwardly chastised herself for not noticing his presence earlier, especially with Naraku on the loose again. Kagome blinked and realized that he was still waiting for an answer.

"Oh! Oyayou goziamsu. Um, I just got a bit lost." Kagome sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Do you know where Tsukimine Shrine is?"

"Just keep walking straight and turn right." He directed.

"Okay! Thank you!" Kagome paused before taking a step. "That reminds me— you were right about Touya-kun. He really doesn't hate me… I don't know what I was thinking."

Yukito's eyes widened. "Touya-kun?" he wondered but the girl was already gone. "When did they get so familiar?"

Meanwhile, Kagome stood at the entrance to Tsukimine Shrine. She whistled in amazement as she walked in. 'Our shrine was never this fancy…'

She walked into the courtyard, where a old man with a reclining hairline and weak holy powers was sweeping up the fallen leaves. As she approached him, he scowled up at her.

"Do you accept part-timers?" she asked politely; cursing whoever made the rule of respecting your elders.

The old man gave her an analyzing look, while Kagome kept her powers tightly under control. He wouldn't be able to detect them under any circumstances. Finally, he turned away from her.

"You have to have some kind of holy powers for a job here." He said with pursed lips. "It can be very dangerous at times."

Kagome smirked. He was probably just trying to scare her away. Grinning to herself, she formed a small ball of deadly miko ki in her hands and twirled it on her index finger, much like how you would to a basketball.

"Who says I don't have any powers?"

The old man gaped at her in surprise. "Y-you…" he stuttered.

Once he over came his shock, he introduced himself as Keiji Mizuki.

"My daughter is quite famous actually. Instead of becoming a priestess and carrying on our family legacy, she chose to become a sorcerer instead." He sniffed loudly. "Child doesn't know what she's doing." He muttered.

At that moment, Kagome felt a small burst of youki to her left and threw a small ball of miko ki at it. It was instantly purified.

"Have you noticed that the youkai have been increasing recently?" Kagome asked. "I used to never see them anywhere, and now, they're all over the place.

My. Mizuki nodded. "It seems as if they're coming out of hiding. The civilians of Tomoeda are in danger."

"This is all because of a half-demon named Naraku." Kagome stated angrily. "I thought I killed him last time too." She growled under her breath.

The old man raised an eyebrow at her. "Last time?"

Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. "It's nothing." She mumbled.

There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again. "So, about that part-time job?"

Mr. Mizuki blinked at the unexpected change of topic.

"You're hired."

"Yes!" Kagome jumped up in excitement and hugged the old man. "Thank you! I'm free Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school. I'll be here at 4:00 this afternoon."

Kagome ran off with a happy grin on her face.

Sakura opened the sliding door into her classroom with a cheery, "Ohayou goziamasu!"

Walking towards her desk, she recalled last night's events and sighed. Tomoyo smiled up at her in greeting. "Ohayou, Sakura-chan."

"Ohayou, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura turned at the sound of the door opening again and saw Syaoran entering the classroom. "Ohayou, Syaoran-kun."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"What happened last night after we left?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.

"Well, I explained everything about the Clow cards and the Sakura cards to Kagome-san. She seemed a bit surprised, but otherwise took it in stride."

"What about my sister?" Souta asked, catching the end of their conversation.

"E-etou… nothing!" Sakura said frantically. She glanced back at Tomoyo and Syaoran.

He gave them a weird look, but took the hint and went to talk to Chiharu and the others. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and continued talking.

"Kero-chan said to be careful, because we don't know anything about her. He also said that the monster that attacked us yesterday could be a youkai; but they went extinct hundreds of years ago."

Syaoran nodded. "Think about it. The youkai started attacking around the same time they moved into Tomoeda. There are no coincidences. It's possible that Higurashi-san might be the one behind all of this."

Sakura sighed. "In the Feudal Era, they had demon slayers and priest to kill the youkai. It was already hard for me to kill the one yesterday. I'm not sure if we can do it with my magic alone. I'm going to Tsukimine Shrine today to ask the priest about this."

"I'm coming too." Syaoran volunteered. "But he could be a phony too."

"I would also like to come." Tomoyo said. "We should also ask Hiiragizawa-san about this new problem."

"Unfortunately." A voice behind them said, "I do not know anything about it."

"Eriol-kun!" Sakura exclaimed happily. Tomoyo merely smiled while Syaoran glowered menacingly at him. Even a year apart hadn't changed his feelings for the reincarnation of Clow.

"When did you get here?" Sakura asked.

"I transferred back just today, actually." He replied with his trademark smile. "I'm in the class next door."

"I see!" Sakura said with a smile. "So, you mean you didn't have anything to do with what happened yesterday?"

The boy shook his head. "Iie. I heard from Ruby Moon, who was on a walk yesterday, when she saw you being attacked from some sort of monster." At this, his face turned grim. "But, if it really is a youkai, even for a human with exceptional magical powers; they are extremely hard to kill. We have to avoid them at all costs. Only human with special powers, such as priest or priestesses will be able to defeat them. I, myself, cannot."

Sakura frowned worriedly. "But yesterday—"

"Yesterday you got lucky; that was a weak one. Don't trust anyone," He warned. "I've heard that the more powerful ones can take on a human form."

A tense silence hung over the group. Sakura clenched her boyfriend's hand tightly.

"I'm sorry to break up our happy reunion." Eriol sighed sadly. "May I also accompany you to the shrine?"

"Ah, sure!"

At that moment, Chiharu and the others noticed Eriol and rushed over excitedly. "Hiiragizawa-kun!" Naoko called. They crowded around him and became asking questions, one after the other. Souta blinked; feeling a bit left out.

"Um, who's that?" he asked in confusion.

"That's Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun." Rika explained. "He was in our class during the first trimester last year before he went to England to study."

"Oh…" Souta murmured; jealously looking over to where Tomoyo and Eriol were laughing together.

Kagome stretched in relief. Finally, the last school bell had rung and she was free to go for the day! Suddenly, she remembered she had to go to work and her excitement deflated slightly.

"Oi! Higurashi!" Touya called. Some people looked on in surprise at their familiarity while others sighed in jealousy.

"Nani?"

"We're going to my house now." Touya said. "So you need to talk to Sakura or anything?"

Kagome shook her head and remembered yesterday's conversation. Sakura was going to the shrine today. Crap! Kagome hurriedly grabbed her books and shoved them into her backpack. She had to get there before Mr. Mizuki let it slip that she was a miko!

"Gomen. I have work." She blurted before dashing out of the classroom.

The two stared after her.

"Since when does she have a job?"

Kagome sprinted through the entrance to the shrine, making it there half an hour earlier and skidding to a stop right in front of Mr. Mizuki. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're early." He commented.

Kagome who was panting slightly, stopped to catch her breath. "I have a favor to ask you." At his nod, she continued. "Can you not tell anyone that I'm a miko? I don't want anyone else involved with the demons."

"Naraku, you mean?" he asked. Kagome nodded.

His eyes softened slightly. "You're a very kind person."

Kagome blushed and opened her mouth to protest; but stopped as she felt a bulky package being shoved into her hands.

"There's a bathroom in the main house. Hurry and get changed." He said gruffly.

Kagome grinned. "Hai!" she exclaimed. "And thank you." She added softly. As she skipped towards the house, Sakura and the others had just arrived at the shrine entrance. The four kids stepped in hesitantly.

"What if the priest is a phony?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Don't worry." Eriol soothed. "Kaho is a powerful magician right? So it goes without saying that her parents would have to have some sort of power. Besides that, I can feel his aura from here."

Sakura sighed in relief and walked into the courtyard, where and old man with sharp eyes was regarding them suspiciously.

"A-anou…" Sakura stuttered. "A monster attacked us recently. We were wondering if it was a youkai?"

Mr. Mizuki nodded his head. "They've bee coming out of hiding recently. The citizens of Tomoeda are in danger." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and she clenched her fist around her Star Key. "They'll keep attacking too unless the main culprit is dead."

"We have to do something." Syaoran said tensely.

Eriol shook his head. "They're too strong for us."

Mr. Mizuki nodded in approval. "This lad knows his history."

"You're a priest aren't you?" Sakura asked. "Can't you do anything about it?"

The man shook his head. "My powers aren't that strong. They're about as limited as yours."

Back in the bathroom, Kagome stared at herself in the mirror. Inside the package had been the traditional miko garb, socks, and some sandals. In short, she looked exactly like Kikyo. Even more so now, after she had matured. The girl sighed. 'I might as well stop stalling.' She decided as she headed outside.

The first thing she noticed as she reached the courtyard was that a blue-haired boy with glasses was watching her. A reincarnation. Kagome didn't know how she knew, but she was sure he knew she was one too. Smiling, she put a finger to her lips and walked out into the open space. Immediately, she was met with 2 pairs of surprised eyes and one narrowed gaze.

"Took you long enough!" Mr. Mizuki scowled.

Kagome rubbed her head sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"This is my part-time job." Kagome explained. "And is this the reincarnation of Clow Reed?" she asked; gesturing towards Eriol.

Sakura nodded. "How did you know?" she exclaimed.

Kagome grinned. "Just a hunch."

They all froze at that phrase. Eriol broke the silence by stepping forward and offering his hand. "Hiiragizawa Eriol." He stated.

"Higurashi Kagome. Nice to meet you." Kagome replied; stepping forwards to shake his hand.

Soon after, they all left. Sakura sighed glumly. "Does anyone know any modern demon slayers?" she asked half-heartily.

"The practice died out long ago, after there was no need for it anymore." Syaoran replied.

"And all the modern priests and priestesses powers have been diluted too much over the years." Eriol added. "Mr. Mizuki's is the strongest I've seen so far."

They sighed at the solution-less problem.

"He also said that unless the main culprit is dead, more and more youkai will start attacking everyone." Tomoyo said worriedly. "Is it possible that Higurashi-san is the one behind all this?"

"That's the most likely situation." Eriol sighed. "I couldn't sense her at all, meaning that she has enough power to hide her aura."

Syaoran started in surprise. "That takes years to master! Even I haven't perfected it yet."

"For now, let's keep and eye on her."

Deep in a dark cave, a mirror was being held; reflecting the events that had just happened. A deep baritone voice chuckled evilly; his blood-red eyes glimmered in the darkness.

'And now, they're turning on each other. This is going better than expected…'

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