Chapter Eleven: Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask

It was a beautiful day in the Feudal Era. The sun was shining, birds were singing and the trees swayed in a brisk breeze which kept things from being too hot. Kagome got her bike through the trees out into the clearing. There was the well.

It might have been only a day or two but it felt like almost a year had passed since she had been home. Looking around, she saw nothing. 'Clear.' she said. Then she began peddling frantically forward towards the well.

She realized too late that she was going at it very quickly and wouldn't be able to stop. Then she slammed into the well and was thrown forward towards the woods. For a moment she was surging toward a tree and then Inuyasha appeared, catching her easily.

She realized suddenly she was being held in a bridal fashion and blushed. Then the moment and he put her down. 'So, what's the hurry?' he asked. 'And where is the sacred jewel?'

'In my era girls go to school!' she said 'And it just so happens that this girl has a huge final to study for! My attendance is so bad I might fail the test even if I ace the exam.'

'Great, where is the sacred jewel?' he asked,

'Were you even listening to me?!' cried Kagome.

'That jewel is evil.' said Inuyasha 'I am not letting you take it through to the future. You'd be eaten by the first demon you ran into.'

'There aren't demons in my time!' said Kagome.

'Oh yeah, because I'm sure you'd notice them if there were.' said Inuyasha 'Just because you don't notice important details doesn't mean I don't.'

'And I'm supposed to trust you to hang on to the jewel is that it?'

'No, you'll trust Kaede.' said Inuyasha 'Or Tsubaki. Or one of the other innumerable priests who are both more qualified and more intelligent than you. I mean, really, now that Tsubaki is back you're even more of a third wheel than Shippo-'

'Sit.' said Kagome.

Inuyasha hit the ground hard.

'Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!' cried Kagome. Then she rushed over to the well. 'Stay boy, I'll be back in three days and don't even think about following me.' Leaping in, she went back to the future.

Almost at once she was splashed with something cold and sticky. 'Ugh, what is this stuff? It smells like saki.'

'Kagome!' cried her grandpa above her. 'It's you! I knew my prayers would be answered!'

'Thanks for worrying about me gramps.' said Kagome through gritted teeth. 'You don't know how much it means to me.' Then she sneezed.

'See Sota, I told you it would work.' said grandpa 'And it only took three days of nonstop work.'

'Hey, she's back!' said Sota. 'You really did it gramps!'

'No time like the present then, to shave your head and start training for the priesthood.' said gramps.

'Shave my head?!'

'Of course, time to pass the torch.'

'I want to be a famous soccer player!'

'Soccer? What kind of a job is that?'

'Very interesting!' snapped Kagome 'But can we finish this conversation after you've helped me out of the well?!'

'And mom wants me to be doctor.' said Sota.

'A doctor?' asked gramps 'Well I suppose you could be a doctor on the weekends. But we're still going to start your training for the priesthood today.'

The next morning, after a long shower Kagome sat down to a breakfast. Buyo was avoiding her since the cat didn't like the scent of saki and she still hadn't gotten all of the stuff out. Even so, it was just nice to be eating proper food for breakfast.

'Here's your new school uniform Kagome.' said Mom as she entered. 'I'll put it in your room for you.'

'Thanks, Mom.' said Kagome. 'Looks good.'

'Where's that dog guy Inuyasha?' asked Sota 'Didn't you bring him home with you?'

'Of course, I didn't!' she said, feeling a twinge of irritation. 'I've got better things to do than spend my time babysitting a demon all day.' And she took a bite of her bread. 'My life is getting a bit too complicated. I've lived here at Higurashi Shrine since she was four, after the divorce.

There was gramps, mom, her little brother Sota, and her, your average high school girl. But that's where things start getting weird. There is a hidden well on the grounds that leads to the Feudal Era. Not to mention all kinds of monsters that are after the shards of the Shikon Jewel. Now, all of a sudden, my life is anything but average.

I keep thinking I'm going to wake up to find out it's all a bad dream or something. But it's not a dream. It's very real, and I'll just have to find a way to deal with it.'

'Sis, you know we can hear everything you are saying right?' asked Sota.

'Aw, shut up.' said Kagome.

It may have taken her a while but she was back at school. Running to meet her friends Kagome couldn't wait to have a normal conversation. Everything had been about Shikon Jewel Shards and demons for too long.

'Hey, wait up guys!' called Kagome.

Her friends looked up in joy. 'Kagome!' said one. 'You sure you're feeling well enough to be at school?'

She blinked.

'We heard about your accident with the cat.' said another 'That is one nasty place to get bitten.'

'How's your back after that fall out of bed?'

'Before you put your back out you were away for some lime disease tests. Got the results yet?'

'And what about that case of ringworm?'

Couldn't gramps have just told them Kagome had a cold? Why could nothing ever be simple?

And then she saw him. He came riding up to her on a bicycle, the sun shining down from above on him. He had brown hair and bright innocent eyes. 'Hey, Kagome!'

Kagome turned to him. Who was he again?

'How are you making out with those bunyons?' asked the boy.

'It's Hojo, the mega-hunk…' said one of her friends.

Hojo, right.

'Wow, talk about a double whammy.' he said 'Bunyons and gout?' And then he pressed a bag into her hands. 'Here, this is from the shop. You know, for your… ailments. Mom wrapped it up, hope you like it.' And then he rode off.

Instantly her friends were all around her. 'Kagome, are you going out with Hojo?'

'Of course not.' said Kagome 'I haven't got the time.'

'Did that guy totally have the hots for you or what?' said another.

'Huh?' said another 'Yeah.'

What were her friend's names again? Best not to ask, it might make them release how interchangeable they were.

'So has Hojo ever even talked to you before?'

'Not really.' said Kagome.

'Oh no, maybe she likes someone else.'

'Come on, I don't like anyone.' said Kagome.

'If you did what would he be like? The athletic type or the intellectual type?'

'I dunno,' said Kagome 'he definitely wouldn't be aggressive. And not borderline psychotic. He wouldn't go into bloody fury rages. He'd be kind and understanding, and he'd bring me flowers and write me poetry.

Someone the exact opposite of Inuyasha. That's the guy for me.'

'I'll… take that as an undecided.' said one.

'Maybe she is still sick.' said another.

Inuyasha was in legitimate pain, not that anyone cared. It hurt to move and his body had yet to fully regenerate.

'Stuff sitting about on ye duff.' said Kaede 'Stop lazing about and seek out some information on the sacred jewel.'

'In case you hadn't noticed by backs still out of commission from all those sit commands!' snapped Inuyasha 'Oh you just wait until you get back Kagome! You're going to pay for this!'

Kagome's grandfather made his way up the shrine steps carefully. As he did he caught a scent and tensed. 'Huh? Something is smoking.' He followed it. 'The storehouse is on fire!'

He rushed up to the door in a panic and opened it. There on the far side, he saw the box. It had been passed down to him from his father, and to him from his father. It was sealed with many notes and now it was on fire. The shelf it was on gave way and it fell to be consumed in the flames.

Leaving only the mask.

'This is terrible!' cried the man. 'The Noh Mask has burned through the talismans which have sealed up its evil for generations!'

The mask arose. 'I must have a physical body…' said a rasping voice.

Grabbing the bucket of sacred rice wine he always kept, he poured it over his head. Then he drew out talismans of his own. He was afraid. His hands were trembling. So he spoke to work himself up. 'My great, great, great grandfather exorcised that terrible mask for a no actor who brought it to him. It was called the flesh-eating mask and was rumored to have incredible wicked powers.

I must do everything possible to seal it up again!' Then rushing forward he channeled his powers and hurled the seals. It hit the mask, and there was a flash. Then they were consumed in flames.

'A body…' rasped the mask 'I must possess a body!' It swooped at him, and he fell to the ground. Dodging and weaving was all the old man could do to save itself.

Then the mask landed upon an ancient suit of armor. The suit came to life at once. Yet soon it fell to pieces beneath it. 'A body… I must have a real body!'

It was looking for human flesh to devour and wreak havoc upon the world. He had to stop it. Raising his spells he prepared to try again. Then he felt an impact on his head and fell to the ground beneath a beam. The mask lunged.

Kagome was walking back when she saw a bunch of boys hanging out together. As she approached she listened to their conversation:

'Hey, did you hear? Higurashi Shrine's on fire!'

'Come on! Let's check it out!'

'Yeah!'

And they rushed off.

Kagome gasped. Then she ran the rest of the way. What she found was a crowd of people behind a row of firetrucks and red tape. Kagome ducked under it.

'Let me through, I've got to get in!' she cried.

'Hey you, this area is off limits!' said a policeman.

Kagome paid no attention. She raced up the steps breathlessly. Was everyone alright? Sota wouldn't have been there, and Mom was probably at work. But what about Grandpa?

She found mom talking with a policeman. As she approached the officer walked off. 'Mom, what's going on?'

'Kagome,' said Mom.

'Where's the fire?' asked Kagome.

'The old storehouse caught on fire.' said Mom 'And grandpa was trapped inside in the smoke.'

'Grandpa's hurt?!' asked Kagome. If only she'd been here.

'Oh don't worry.' said Mom 'He suffered from a bit of smoke inhalation, but the doctors say that with two or three days in the hospital he should be good as new. I was just going to go check in on him and see how he's doing.'

'I'm going with you!' cried Kagome.

Mom put a hand on her shoulder. 'Kagome, you stay here and wait for Sota. Someone's got to explain things to him.'

Kagome hesitated. 'Yeah, okay.' Her senses were screaming in a way they only did in the Feudal Era. How could a fire start in the storehouse? Something about this doesn't seem right? Still, she couldn't go in while the firemen were checking the place out. It wasn't safe.

Sota came back and when he arrived he was sprinting and in a panic. 'Kagome!'

Kagome kneeled down and hugged him. 'Don't worry, Sota. It only happened in the main shrine and nobody was seriously hurt.' Though it might be worse than the medical staff thought with Grandpa, he wasn't as young as he used to be.

And then a firetruck drove and smashed right into two police cars. Turning back it drove off down the street at a speed which was almost certainly illegal. Bystanders and firemen alike could do nothing but leap aside. Then it was off.

Police reports came on later, saying that a firetruck was running riot through the streets. The number of injured still hadn't been confirmed, since everyone who crossed its path so far had disappeared. Kagome had a horrible feeling about it all as she made her way to the hospital.

There she found Mom waiting.

'How's Grandpa?' she asked 'Is he awake yet?'

'He's still unconscious.' said Mom 'But the doctors a little baffled. He says it's nothing serious so he expected grandpa to have woken up by now. Still, it's just a matter of time. Let's not forget his age is a factor.'

Kagome looked down and saw in her mother's hand several pieces of paper. They had seals written on those. 'What are those? Let me see.'

'These?' asked Mother 'They're talismans. The firefighters found them plastered over his face and in his mouth. Poor father. Something must have really spooked him.'

'Ugh…' said Grandpa from where he was lying. 'Beware of the flesh-eating mask… Beware the ancient flesh-eating mask…'

Later that night Kagome returned home for the night. It was just her and Sota tonight since Mom meant to stay at the hospital and wait for Grandpa until he woke up. As she did her homework, a door opened and Sota came in, dragging his covers and Buyo with him with a plaintive expression on his face.

'Sis, got any room for Buyo and me to sleep here?' he asked.

'No chance,' she said 'you can stay in your own room.'

'Please, sis…'

'Don't be such a scaredy cat.' said Kagome. 'I'm going to be up all night studying for a test. The only thing you should be scared of are the dust bunnies under your bed.'

'Grandpa was scared.' said Sota 'He covered his face in those written spells. Something creepy happened in there sis, I just know it.'

Kagome looked up at how serious her brother's voice was. And she could not shake the feeling that he was absolutely right. Maybe it was the part of her that was Kikyo. Or maybe just a sixth sense. Whatever it was, she'd learned to trust her instincts.

What had Grandpa said? Beware the flesh-eating mask?

On her desk, the sacred jewel gleamed and it did not look at all pleasant. The window was shaking with a howling wind. Something was wrong. They'd never had trouble like this at the shrine before so why now? Why after all these generations?

The jewel shards. Of course, it was because she brought the jewel shards back.

The sound of police sirens became audible in the distance. The chaos by that rogue firetruck was still going strong. But how could that be? Then came the sound of shattering glass and screams. People were dying, and she couldn't do anything.

Where was Inuyasha when you needed him?

Then her window blew open into a thousand tiny shards of glass as the top of a firetruck plunged through it. Kagome grabbed Sota and pulled him down just in time. Looking up she saw a mass of black ooze coming out of the top, and on top of it was a no mask.

A noh mask. It must have been the flesh-eating mask which Grandpa had been talking about in the hospital. And it was reaching for the shikon jewel. Without thinking Kagome ran forward and snatched it, before grabbing Sota and running.

'Come on Sota, this is no time to zone out on me!' cried Kagome. 'We've got to get rid of the mask! I have to call Inuyasha! He's the only one that can help us!'

'Kagome,' said Sota 'look at your fingers. Your fingers are bleeding.'

'Forget it.' said Kagome 'I got cut on the glass, that's all.'

Then a shadow passed overhead. Kagome looked up just in time to see the mask descending upon them. She and Sota leaped in opposite directions as both hit the ground. The mask formed itself upright.

'The jewel shards!' It cried 'Give me the jewel shards!'

It had a jewel fragment on its forehead. That was why it was after these shards. She had to get the jewels out of here and out of danger. 'Sota! Run to the hidden well and get Inuyasha! Tell him that there are more jewel shards here! That should be enough to get him to cross over and help us!'

And she sprinted off as quickly as she could, feeling the mask following her at every moment.

Sota was terrified out of his mind. He wanted to run to a corner and hide, but sis was counting on him. As the mask rushed after Kagome he ran to the well and pulled open the door. Rushing in he came down to the center and looked down it. It was a long drop and it was very dark at the bottom.

He had to go down there. Kagome was counting on him. 'I can handle this.'

He leaped. He fell down into the well and hit the bottom, banging his knee in the process. He almost cried, but he knew there was no time. Instead, he began to dig with his bare. 'I have to get through the well, sis is in trouble!' he cried 'A mask attacked her and he's the only one who can help!'

He felt tears coming to his eyes. Then the ground began to glow and out of it came a figure. He was shrouded in a red robe and carried a huge white sword in one hand over his shoulder. Sota stared in awe. 'It's you… Inuyasha.'

'In the flesh, kid.' said Inuyasha 'Now what's this problem you need help with?'

Sota explained quickly and before he was finished Inuyasha had slung him over his back and was leaping from building to building in the city. Sota held on tight as he did so.

'Hang on tight kid,' said Inuyasha 'it's a long way down.'

'I guess I wasn't strong enough to pass through the hidden well.' said Sota.

'Good for you.' said Inuyasha 'In my world, there are plenty of monsters who'd just love to have you for lunch. Though you could probably take Shippo no problem.' He leaped onto a car and landed on top of it with catlike ease.

'Do you even know where to find my sister?' asked Sota.

'Sure, I'm not human, remember.' said Inuyasha. 'I can sense for miles around with this nose.'

'She said she cut her hand on some glass.' said Sota.

'Don't have to tell me that.' said Inuyasha 'I could smell it back in the well. Fear not, I'll rescue Kagome before she gets in any real trouble.'

Sota remembered when he'd asked Kagome about Inuyasha earlier. She'd said he was mean, and a showoff and a total egomaniac. A complete pain. This couldn't be the same guy she was talking about. Sure his outfit was a bit out of date, but he was awesome.

Kagome had led the mask to the top of a huge skeleton of a building. The sky was beginning to light up with the coming of mourning, and she was tired. This was probably not her brightest idea, but she'd been desperate. She panted as she stopped for breath. She just needed a minute.

Inuyasha wasn't here yet. What was taking him so long?

Then the mask swooped down from above. Kagome fled along the catwalk to buy herself yet more time as the thing landed. Yet it soon moved to cut her off. Up it loomed.

'Grant me the shards of the shikon jewel!' It snarled.

'Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!' said Inuyasha.

The mask's body was cleaved in twain by his claw as he landed and both sides went in opposite directions. The side without the mask collapsed into nothingness with a foul stench. The side with the mask reeled as Inuyasha landed by them.

'Nice timing.' said Kagome.

'Are you alright?' asked Sota.

'Sure,' said Kagome with a smile 'I'm fine.'

Sota ran to her, crying. Inuyasha looked up in surprise. 'Hey, what's with all the tears? I thought you said you weren't afraid?'

'It's alright.' said Kagome, hugging Sota. 'Inuyasha's going to destroy that monster for us and it'll all be over.'

'Ahem,' said Inuyasha, arms crossed. 'before we get on with my little rescue mission here, this might be a good time for me to say I told you so.'

'What?' said Kagome.

'I told you that bringing the shikon jewel shards into your world was a terrible plan, but did you listen? No.' said Inuyasha 'So yeah, you're an idiot, I'm smart and we're going to listen to what I say from now on.'

'Well you don't have to be such a jerk about things.' said Kagome.

'Whatever,' said Inuyasha. 'you didn't have to put my back out with all those sit commands, but you did anyway.'

'Alright, fine, I'm very sorry.' said Kagome.

'You make it sound like your apologizing for stepping on my foot.' hissed Inuyasha. 'Whatever, let's get this over with.'

'Are you sure you can take that thing though?' asked Kagome.

The mask surged at Inuyasha from behind just as the first light of dawn rose over the horizon. Inuyasha drew his sword and slashed with a blow too fast for Kagome to follow. The mask hesitated. Then it fell apart and its flesh seeped downwards.

'Yes.' said Inuyasha, reaching out to catch a sacred jewel shard. 'How in the hey did this thing get into the future?'

'You destroyed the mask!' cried Sota 'You did it!'

'Sure thing.' said Inuyasha.

The sun was rising high now and bathing the world in new light. The morning was officially here. Kagome stepped forward. 'Inuyasha…'

'Oh hey Kagome, how is your hand?' asked Inuyasha.

Okay, this was weird. When did Inuyasha start being so nice? Not super nice, but kind of nice. Maybe it was just the morning light, but he looked pretty cool standing there with his sword. Wait a minute…

'Morning light!' she cried. 'Oh no! It's morning already and I haven't studied for my test!'

She rushed off.

'Hey, where are you going?' asked Inuyasha.

'Thanks, Inuyasha, it's been a slice!' said Kagome 'See you when I see you! And I'm going to be super mad if you're still here when I get back!' And she rushed off.

Still, if the looks Sota was giving Inuyasha earlier were any indication he had a new admirer.

She was never going to remember her schoolwork in time.

Authors Note:

Okay, this chapter took forever to come out and I have no excuse. The truth is that the Flesh Eating Mask subplot just didn't provide many opportunities to have anything happen differently. So I really lacked motivation. I can't believe this one chapter took more than half a year to come out.

Here's to hoping the next one is more timely in its arrival.