Chapter 19

It was Toga and Izayoi, as well as Mrs. Higurashi. "Thank you for coming in." Totosai greets them. "Yes. Thank you for calling us." Ai Higurashi bows to him in respect before turning to see her daughter in a disappointing look. "Mom. I really wanted to tell you about this, but…" Kagome tries to explain to her but Ai raised her head. "No buts young lady. We're going home. And Mr. Totosai." Ai grabs her daughter's hand a bit rougher than usual, pulling her out of her seat. "I would appreciate that you cancel this student exchange program as well."

"Mrs. Higurashi. I cannot do that." Totosai declines her seriously. Ai looks at him suspiciously. "What are you talking about? I have every right to remove my daughter from this and send you back to Sakura Hills. I will not tolerate this." Ai said to him with an upset look with anger in her eyes. "And why not?" She challenges him while narrowing her eyes.

"It's because Mr. Takahashi that came up with this in the first place." Totosai said to her calmly. Ai turns her head to see Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi standing behind their son's chair in silence. "Who in their right mind gets to decide what they want to do to with my daughter? What game are your playing here?" Ai releases her daughter's arm before crossing her own arms. Izayoi really wants to say something to calm the enraged mother.

"It's because of the Council that runs not just Sakura Hills but also Shikon High." Toga steps in front of her with a business tone. "And I'm the head leader of the group." He gives her the information that she didn't know about. "So let me get this straight. You think that my daughter is suited to be your son's mate, so you plotted to devise this Student Exchange Program to make sure that they are in the same school?" Ai questions him with one eyebrow raised.

"That's only half of what he is saying." Totosai said before Toga did. "We're also after someone who's supposed to be part of the exchange program, but she isn't who she really is." Ai is getting confused at this point. "What's going on here? Is Kagome in danger?" She asks the elderly man. Toga comes to Ai. "I sent one of my workers to find out about the girl and he came back with the results. You see here…" Toga gives Ai the information, as well as Kagome. Ai blinks her eyes with shock. "What does this have to do with the program?" Ai asks him. Toga keeps his posture relaxed. "It turns out that this girl is actually dead. The girl that my son was with was not the mate that the council is looking for."

Ai didn't see this coming. Neither did Kagome nor Inuyasha. "So, Kikyo isn't the one for me. It was Kagome." Inuyasha asks his father to be sure. Toga nods. "Yes, Inuyasha. We had to be sure that she's the one for you." Izayoi pressed her hand onto his shoulder in a comforting way. But hearing this, Kagome feels something bad about it. She decides to leave. "Kagome? Kagome what are you going?" Ai asks as she sees the daughter leaving the room. "I've been used." That's all she said to her with a look of humiliation and betrayal with her bangs covering her eyes as tears are trying to stay in place. Inuyasha is about to go after her, but Ai gets in his way. "No more of this. Kagome is to be sent back to Sakura Hills. No more of this." Ai tells everyone angrily in the room before leaving the room and going after her daughter.

Totosai shakes his head. "My Lord. My Lady. I know how upset Mrs. Higurashi is. But she doesn't understand the reason behind the program. We need to bring her to the Council room as soon as possible. Inuyasha you should know that it wasn't your mother who told Kagome's mother, but someone else found out and told her. We just don't know who it was. Maybe you could ask her yourself when she calms down." He tells the family. Toga nods his head. "I agree with you Totosai. I'll make sure that this is just a misunderstanding once we bring Kagome and her mother to the council. The thing is that humans don't know much about the council. When I brought Izayoi to the council, I had to be very thorough to let her know how it works.

The moment Kagome and Ai get inside family car, Ai speaks first. "Kagome. Why would you agree to be a mate to a demon?" Kagome can tell that her mother isn't liking this one bit. "It was not like I wanted to be one." Kagome answers her truthfully. "Then why did you do it?" Ai asks as she keeps her focus on the road. "It hasn't happened yet." Kagome responds to her. Ai glanced at her. "What hasn't happened yet?" She presses her question with the emphasis of the last word. Kagome sighs deeply. "The thing is that I have to accept his terms, however there has to be a time that he has to leave a mark on my…" Kagome just couldn't finish the last part.

As such Ai turns to a street that Kagome doesn't know. "Um mom? Where are we going? This isn't the way home." Kagome asks her mother as she can see that they're leaving the neighborhood." That's when Kagome notices something odd about Ai. "Well, Kagome. I'm waiting." It wasn't Ai's voice that asked. It was a male's voice. "Naraku? What are you doing?" The seatbelt constricts around her to the seat.

Not just that, the woman turns into Naraku. "Ah, Kagome. Why would you pick him instead of me. I thought we knew each other." Naraku asks him with mockery in his sinister voice as well as locking the doors. Kagome tries to go into her purse to get her smartphone. "Don't bother. There's no service out here." Naraku states to her as they approach a cabin in the middle of the forest. The car stops, Naraku gets out of his side and gets to the other side to get Kagome out even though the seatbelt has her unable to move.

"Don't worry, Kagome. I'll let you live. Besides it was your mother's request." Naraku grins as he carries the girl into the cabin. He opens to see Ai waiting for him while being tied up to a chair. "Ok, Naraku. You brought my daughter here. Now let me go." Ai demands him. Naraku chuckles. "You should know something about Ai Higurashi. You should never make deals with me." He retorts as he ties Kagome to another chair across the room. Ai doesn't have anything else to say to him. "I mean let's face Ai. The Student Exchange Program was the perfect opportunity for me to take get what I want." A female voice said to them.

Kagome and Ai look to see it's Kikyo. "And what is it that you wanted?" Kagome asks her. Kikyo grins. "Ah, Kagome. It's shame I never got to meet you in person when the Program began. After all we almost look alike." Kikyo walks around the captured girl. Kagome can clearly see that there's a few traits between them. "You going to Shikon while I went to Sakura Hills was what I wanted. You know fully well how both schools are almost identical to each other. Kind of like you and me." Kikyo said to her. "And I happened to find out who else went to Sakura Hills before you as well."

Kagome looks at her mom, Ai just shrug her shoulders. "Ah, Ai. How could you forget what happened back then." Naraku tossed a book in front of her, and the book opens up to a page showing her. Ai blinks in surprise. "I take you know exactly what I'm talking about." Kikyo said to her. Ai nods to her. "You died from a drug overdose." Ai simply tells her. "Hmm. That would've been the case. But the media didn't want us to know the skeleton in closet." Ai looks up to Kikyo. "I guess you forgot about that time. After all, you were in a accident that caused you amnesia and made you forget about it."

Kikyo pulls out a dagger from her pocket. "You know forgetting one's death is one thing. But seeing one in front of you is something." Kikyo walks up to Kagome and pressed the dagger to her neck. "No don't." Ai screams at her. "Don't do what? Kill someone so dear to you. After all, we were best friends until my death." Kagome blinks her eyes in shock. The dagger nicks Kagome's neck, a seep of blood coming. "Please." Kagome murmurs as her vision gets dizzy.

Naraku looks outside. "Kikyo, we need to get going." He seriously tells her. Kikyo nods. "That's too soon for them to find us that quickly." She said as she puts away the dagger. Ai tries to see what's going on but can't get a good look. All they can see is Naraku and Kikyo leave the cabin, leaving Ai and Kagome back inside. It doesn't take long for the newcomers to enter. "Kagome." Kagome tried to see, but she couldn't stay conscious. Ai sees Inuyasha along with his father. "Ai. Are you okay?" Toga asks he cuts the ropes with his claws.

Inuyasha does the same but Kagome doesn't move on her own. "She's been nicked." Ai tells him. Inuyasha nods and moves the shirt off her right shoulder. He places his hand onto the junction where the shoulder and neck meet. He closes his embers eyes and concentrates his energy to the spot. Ai is about to stop whatever Inuyasha is doing. Toga takes her shoulder. "Don't. He's healing her." He tells her. Ai silently observes.

It doesn't take much of Inuyasha to heal the nick on Kagome's neck. Kagome moans as she falls forward, Inuyasha catches her in his arms. "Will she be ok?" Ai asks him worriedly. Inuyasha nods. "She's ok. But there's something in her." Inuyasha said to her. "What happened?" Ai asks him. "Somehow there's a poison in her system." Ai gasps. "I'm going to do my best to get it out." Inuyasha said as he carries her out of the cabin. Ai looks down in uncertainty. "Ai." Toga comes to her. She looks at him. "There's something you need to know." Toga decides to tell her about what Inuyasha told him.