Moi-Moi: Did you guys know that the plots for these stories came from some head canons I thought up and posted on Tumblr? I've had the ideas for years and am FINALLY writing them out. It's pretty exciting. ;D
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Kagome sighed loudly before shutting her book and resting it on her nightstand. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her back against her headboard. Why couldn't she find anything that worked? She must have read enough books to fill a large library with, but she couldn't find any tricks to help her control her magic. In the middle of her staring match with her ceiling, there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called out to her visitor.
Kimiko poked her head into the room with a small smile on her face. "Hey, sweetheart. How are you?" Kimiko asked while slipping into the room.
"The book didn't help, mama. I still have no idea what I'm doing wrong," Kagome sadly informed her mother.
Frowning slightly, Kimiko moved over to her daughter before sitting on her bed. Patting her foot softly, Kimiko offered an encouraging smile. "I can only imagine how difficult this is getting. Normally, we learn control in a much more relaxed environment," Kimiko said.
"I am relaxed... Well, I'm relaxed when I'm not stressing out about how much I'm not learning control over my magic," Kagome replied.
Kimiko smiled with a small chuckle. "No, sweetheart. I mean that most young witches don't try to learn control while constantly exposing themselves to ghosts."
Kagome's brows furrowed in thought. "You think that me being around Danny is messing with my magic?"
"Not just Danny. Vlad is here almost every day," Kimiko explained. "Having them around is drawing out your magic and making it very unpredictable."
"Is that why you wanted to visit family this summer?" Kagome guessed.
"I thought it would be best to spend some time away from the ghosts in your life while you're gaining control," Kimiko started. At Kagome's relenting nod, Kimiko frowned. Despite not wanting to leave her friends, Kagome would willingly leave town to learn control of her magic. "But, I've decided that we're going to stay in Amity Park for the summer."
Kagome sat up quickly with surprise on her face. "We are? Why? You just said-"
"I know. I was completely considering leaving for the summer, but I changed my mind," Kimiko explained. "It had a lot to do with how much you're struggling. At first, I thought you just needed to learn control. But then, I got another idea."
Kagome watched her mother reach into her pocket before pulling out an old, wooden box. The box didn't have a latch or any means of opening it. Upon closer inspection, it didn't even look like it could open. Maybe it was just a block of wood? There were some words carved into the dark wood lid, but Kagome couldn't understand them. Archaic Latin wasn't one of her strong points.
"I don't think that what you're going through is the usual lack of control we face while still learning. I think your lack of control is due to you being a lot stronger than we first thought," Kimiko went on before waving a hand over the box.
Kagome's eyes widened when a silver latch suddenly appeared on the side. 'Magic is so cool,' she thought. She didn't say these words out loud. She didn't want to ruin the serious vibe her mother had set. Anxiously, Kagome waited for her mother to open the box.
"I don't think it would be possible to teach you how to fully control your magic. There's simply too much power to contain. But this can help you," Kimiko said and lifted a silver chain from the box. She allowed Kagome to examine the chain and teardrop-shaped, sapphire pendant before saying, "This gem has been used by many witches before you in order to help them maintain control and properly channel their magic. Think of it this way. Right now, you're like power outlet with virtually unlimited energy."
"So, this is one of those plastic caps you stick in the outlet so babies can't stick their fingers in and shock themselves?" Kagome asked and pointed to the necklace with a wary expression.
Kimiko smiled. "No. It's more like an extension cord. It'll help you direct and control the flow of power you're experiencing," Kimiko said while unclasping the chain and reaching around Kagome's neck. Kagome leaned forward to make it easier. "Who knows? Maybe one day when you've had more experience you won't need it anymore and you'll be able to maintain control on your own."
Once the new weight was on her chest, Kagome glanced down to observe the sapphire hanging from her neck. She ran her finger along the gem with a small frown. "I don't feel any different."
"You will when you try to use magic," Kimiko replied. "I'm almost jealous. It's such a pretty gem. It suits you."
Kagome smiled brightly. "Thanks, mama. I'm gonna try it out," Kagome said eagerly and faced the white bookshelf on the other side of her room. Placing her hand out with her palm upwards, she focused on one of her small, fiction novels. Not even a second had gone by before the book had flown off the shelf and landed firmly into her waiting hand. Kagome's jaw dropped. "It's never made it to my hand before! It's usually flying around the room by now or almost taking off Danny's head! It worked!"
Kimiko smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm, but a frown slipped onto her face. "Is that how your window broke last month?"
"No. One of my shoes had gone through the window," Kagome replied nonchalantly before dashing over to her vanity. She observed the gem with a bright smile. "Thank you so much, mama. I promise I won't lose it."
"I know you won't," Kimiko replied and walked over to Kagome. Kimiko decided not to bring up the window again. It was fixed and it looked like another one wouldn't be broken for some time. What was even better? It looked like this was the end to all the fire alarms going off in the house as well. Hugging her daughter quickly, Kimiko pecked her cheek and said, "Danny's on his way upstairs. You can give him the good news."
Kagome frowned in confusion. She watched her mother head towards the door before pulling it open. Kimiko's face lit up in surprise. "Oh! Hi, Danny. I didn't know you were here," Kimiko said. Kagome narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Hey, Ms. Takahashi. I just let myself in since the door was open. I hope that was okay," Danny replied and slipped into the room.
"It's perfectly fine. If you kids get hungry, there are snacks in the fridge," Kimiko said while leaving. Before slipping out completely, Kimiko gave her daughter a wink that Danny missed. Kagome shook her head with an astonished look.
"Hey, Kagome. Did your mom say anything about leaving?" Danny started with a nervous but still slightly hopeful look.
Her mother had sensed him coming. How long had she been able to do that? When would Kagome be able to do that? "Uh... She did. We're not leaving after all," Kagome answered with a smile.
"That's great!" Danny exclaimed with a bright grin. "What made her decide to stay?"
"Well, she wanted us to leave to give me a chance to get my magic under control without ghosts around," Kagome said.
"What do ghosts have to do with it?" Danny asked with a confused expression.
"Well, it's like this... You remember all those times I accidentally shocked you with my powers and then it made you start to change into your ghost half?" Kagome started. When Danny nodded, she continued on, "Just like my powers made you lose control of yours, your powers were making mine get out of control. It's like we were triggering defense mechanisms in each other. You would change into your ghost half so you could better defend yourself against me and my magic was overflowing to try to fend you off."
"But, I'm not afraid of you. A-and I wouldn't fight you," Danny argued and took Kagome's hands in his.
Staring at Danny's bright blue eyes, Kagome couldn't help but smile. "I know that. But it's like I told you. Ghosts and witches don't usually get along," Kagome said took her hands out of his. Instead, she patted his shoulders with a shrug. "It's okay though. My mom gave me some much needed help," she smiled and lifted her chin in order to fully show off her new accessory.
"She gave you this?" Danny asked and held the blue gem that was bigger than a nickel. "What does it do?"
"It's going to help me properly channel my magic so that it doesn't get out of control," Kagome replied with a bright smile. "I already tried it out. I got a book to come off the bookshelf without flying around the room or breaking anything!"
"That's awesome! Can I see?"
Kagome smirked before quickly grabbing a large book from her bookshelf. Danny watched her rest the thick-spined book onto her bed, take a seat on her bed and flip it open. When she gestured him over, he quickly sat next to her and looked down at the book. "It's all in Japanese," Danny said with a frown.
"It's a family grimoire. I don't know if other families do this, but my family has kept a pretty good record of the different spells we've used. It's our traditions. You're supposed to hold onto it until your kids are ready to start practicing magic. Then you pass it onto them. But before then, you're supposed to add a chapter with spells that you invented," Kagome explained and flipped through the pages. The initial pages had been an old, yellow color, but the further they went along, the whiter and newer the pages looked. "See? Here's my mother's chapter. It's mostly just ghost wards, but she has a few healing and locator spells."
Danny felt like a kid relying on pictures to determine what the words on the page meant. The pictures all looked like they had been drawn on by past owners.
"There's a few recipes for potions, but I've never tried those. I'm not even sure where I would get five pounds of ladybugs," Kagome remarked. Suddenly, she turned to Danny with a bright smile. "Pick one. We'll give my magic a test drive."
"Even though I can't read what they are and could be picking something that will make your hair turn blue?" Danny said with a raised brow.
"Then, my hair will match my necklace. I happen to think that I look great in blue," Kagome responded with a confident smirk.
"You do," Danny said without hesitation. After a few seconds, his eyes widened anxiously. "I mean... You do? I... Uh. I hadn't noticed," Danny said before looking away to stare intently at the book. Before he could dig himself into an even deeper hole, Danny quickly flipped to a random page and pointed to the spell on that page. "Try this one."
Kagome scratched at the back of her neck sheepishly. Since Danny was trying his best to avoid the mounting awkwardness, Kagome decided that she'd ignore his slip up. Kagome glanced at the page before smiling and hopping off the bed. "Be right back!" she called out behind her before disappearing from the room. Danny watched her go confusedly before sighing loudly. Holding his head in his hands, he lamented his slip of the tongue. 'Sixteen-year-old, half-ghost superhero and still can't talk to a girl,' he thought.
"Back!" Kagome exclaimed as she suddenly re-entered the the room. "I got this from the back yard."
"A pebble?" Danny asked dubiously. "Uh, just for clarification purposes, but what kind of spell did I choose?"
"Just watch," Kagome said and reclaimed her seat next to Danny. She held the grey pebble in the palm of her hand before covering it with her other hand. She closed her eyes in concentration. Danny watched her curiously before glancing back at the book. There were no pictures this time to help him guess what she was doing. He could hear her muttering quietly in Japanese for a few seconds before she opened her eyes with a smile. Pulling her top hand away, she revealed her hand's contents.
"That is pretty cool," Danny said as he stared down at the miniature, white dove in her palm. They watched it shake its legs out before flying out of her hand to rest on her windowsill. "Can you only do birds?"
"I just chose a bird. We can try something else," Kagome suggested with an eager smile. Danny returned the look wholeheartedly.