Chapter 6.- Third and it's settled

2005, before deviations

Once upon a time, before falling 500 years into the last, Kagome had been a pretty good student.

It's not like she'd ranked first in the country, but her grades had always been good enough for her mother not to worry about sending her to cram school. As long as she paid attention to her teachers during class and reviewed her notes a couple of times a week or so before exams, the priestess could usually place high enough on the list for everyone to be happy. Going to school had been fun, even if it was mostly because she could spend some time with her friends…and then Mistress Centipede dragged her down the well and into the Warring States era.

At first, classes had been a nice reminder of what normal felt like; she could relax in the safety of her school while trying to catch up with modern life. Before she knew it, however, the only thing the girl could think about was the ticking clock on top of the blackboard. Sitting still became more difficult because every day she spent in the modern era was one more day Naraku could hunt for the Shikon shards unchallenged.

Centuries ago or not, the lives on the line were real to her.

Perspective changed everything, and it only went from bad to worse.

Learning how to solve a math formula suddenly didn't feel nearly as important when her friends were waiting for her on the other side of the well, ready to go back to their chase. Still, Kagome was born and raised in the modern era; she was very much aware of why her studies were vital. Even without considering what failing grades could do to her family's reputation, not finishing her schooling could determine what jobs she could apply for. To say her future may as well depend on the school she got into after graduating wasn't too much of an exaggeration. No one needed to remind her that dropping out was not an option…and yet, those words felt hollow. It didn't matter how much she tried, the miko couldn't bring herself to care about the way her literature teacher was glaring at her as she forgot to stifle a yawn.

Sleep had become a tricky thing after her time hopping began. It wasn't exactly easy to sleep for a full night when the images haunting her dreams were a little too detailed not to wake up, her heartbeat pounding in her ears and her lungs reaching for air. All her efforts in getting a handle on her unwelcome dreams were thrown off a cliff the day she got stuck on this side of the wall and new scenes were added to the nightmares. Trying to concentrate on poetry while fighting insomnia wasn't an easy task, because at the end of the day, it didn't really matter.

The future she wished for was taken away from her grasp by misguided intentions.

Working in an office would surely drive her mad. Valuable or not, nothing in those jobs that appealed to her. And the ones that did weren't options for her. Her role would end with Kagome taking over the shrine, and there was no real need for a college degree for that. Modern priestesses didn't hold even half of the duties and responsibilities they once did; in many ways, they were nothing but glorified sales women. Far from the most fulfilling work she could find, it'd still be leagues better than her alternatives. After all, the shrine's ownership was bound to pass to her. Souta had no interest in the position, and Gramps would get a heart attack at the mere idea of the Higurashi shrine falling into the hands of someone from outside their bloodline. Stressing herself by trying to keep up with her classes was beyond senseless….but her mother wanted her to try her best to re-adjust to her current time. Her family expected her to go back to who she'd been before the Shikon.

Enduring the dull droning of her teacher's voice felt like a task the girl could no longer handle, though.

Despite not moving a muscle, Kagome had never felt so tired after hearing the teacher wishing them a good afternoon, but her part as the former honor student trying to catch up after a year of sickness wasn't over for the day yet.

Pasting a smile on her face, the girl barely remembered to bite back a wince as she turned around and saw her friends rushing to swarm her, concerned expressions evident on their faces. Chatting with them while they walked out was supposed to be something she looked forward to. Now all she felt was exhaustion because one look at their faces was all she needed to look to know what they were about to say. After all, despite apologizing for leaving her behind when she was in a tough spot first thing in the morning more than once, they offered her a repeat performance at lunch break. As if there was anything they could've done to help. Three well-behaved, non-athletic 15-year-olds who spent most of their free time watching movies and going to the mall wouldn't have any idea of what to do. Street fights were not something nice girls got themselves involved in.

Cynical words threatened to push past her lips the first time the miko heard their undeniably genuine apology. Biting her tongue, Kagome managed to stiffly deliver the appropriate lines as she accepted their feelings. The irritation she felt was no one's fault but her own; her actions from last afternoon were more than a little out of character for her. Awkwardness tainted her lines when she reassured her friends that no, she didn't get hurt, and everything was really okay. Kagome was the one who told them to run away…that those three would've been nothing but deadweight was something that better left unsaid. Guilt-laced whispers forced the miko to stick to the script and accept each repetitive word. Each one yet another reminder of how bad of a fit she was for her role.

Her actions were the ones that broke the script, however, so ignoring them wasn't something she could do right now. Instead, she smiled and insisted they'd helped her enough by calling the police.

"We can walk you home, you know," Eri said, her smile warm and persistent. "The shrine isn't that far anyway."

"I'll be fine, really. Besides, some other guys jumped in and fought those jerks off, I don't think they'll hang around this area." The words sounded like something she would've said one year ago. They should be good.

"Geez, good time that no-good-boyfriend of yours chose to vanish," Yuka scoffed. "I swear, that…"

"Yuka-chan!"

"Oh, sorry. It's just…"

"It's fine." Kagome bit out, her tone a bit too stiff, a little too wooden. "But him moving away can't be helped. No point in dwelling on it, really."

An explanation had been needed when the girls inevitably asked about what happened to her delinquent boyfriend. They may have only met him a couple of times, but the hanyou's presence was way too strong for her classmates to forget about him. Still, their questions left her grasping for an answer. There was, of course, an easy excuse that'd keep them quiet. Nosy as they were, none of them would ever dare to keep probing if she just said the silver-haired male had passed away. It wouldn't even be much of a lie. When they asked about him, however, the miko couldn't force those words out. Moving away because of a family situation had been the next best lie, even though it left too many holes for the girls to question.

Concerned glances were thrown her way before Eri coughed.

"Ahem, as I was saying."

"R-right," Yuka tried to go back to their earlier conversation. "It's not a big detour. We can go with you."

"Oh, we can play word games on the way," Ayumi added, clapping her hands.

"I don't need a babysitter!" Those assholes had been nothing but a bunch of human wannabe gangsters. Compared to even the weakest youkais, they were a joke. "They weren't even that strong."

Silence rang loudly in her ears, followed by shocked stares as her three friends stopped walking, feet rooted to the spot by her loud outburst.

Crap.

Higurashi Kagome was supposed to have more patience than this.

Raised in a loving home by a caring family, her role was meant to be kind, and gentle, and patient. It wasn't something she struggled with before. And yet, for the last few weeks even chatting with her old friends felt like nothing but a chore. An annoying task that needed to be done. Snapping at them still wasn't fair. Infuriating as their comments were, they came from an honest place. So many times before, the girl had bit her tongue and dug her blunt nails into her palms while praying the white sleeves of her uniform didn't end up stained red. She had the experience, the practice, so there was no excuse for missing her cues. It wasn't even that different from having to field questions about her fake illnesses. It really shouldn't…oh right. This wasn't the first time her patience seemed to run out quicker than usual. Whenever she stayed in the Sengoku era for long periods of time, coming back felt different. Even breathing appeared to be harder, somehow. As if the stench of the polluted smog invaded her lungs and made it impossible not to notice how much the smell penetrated everything around her.

Mikey's friends took a bit longer to get used to her odd actions, unlike their leader's seamless acceptance, but they seemed to take to her all the same. They cared for the script as little as the blond delinquent did, and Mikey himself clearly enjoyed it whenever she decided to ignore the setting and acted out of character. Whenever she was with him, there were no cues for her to miss. And she craved the feeling.

Not that the realization would help her get back in character. Especially considering how badly she flubbed her lines.

"Well, I mean…" Kagome looked down, doing her best to look ashamed. "I wouldn't want to trouble you girls. I mean, the shrine is opposite the shopping district, they're not going to be lurking around." Forcing a smile to her lips, she rushed through her excuse. "It didn't look like the group that helped me out was struggling, so I don't think those jerks will get this far; they're probably not that brave.

"Worst case scenario, I'll just run straight home. Might even help me get back in shape after spending so much time stuck on a bed."

"It wouldn't be a bother, we can just…!" Yuka seemed to buy it.

"Oh, they do say cardio is good for your health!" Ayumi jumped in, taking Kagome's words at face value.

"And I guess your health hasn't been that bad lately…" Trailing off, Eri glanced at her.

"Even then, it's still…wait…" the other girl's voice stopped as she turned to look at something. "Are those…"

Grateful to take any chance to distract the girls and change the topic, the priestess leaned around her friends to get a better look at what stopped them only to fail to suppress her laughter. Because standing at the entrance of her school, sticking out like a sore thumb with a neon sign pointing at them, were the couple of blonds that fate had apparently determined to throw her way. Their modified uniforms screamed to anyone around them that both of them were outsiders. As if the wide berth everyone else was giving them wasn't enough.

Just a glance and every worry about playing her role melted away, her mind now far too occupied trying to figure out how those two managed to find her school. Sure, Kagome had guided them to the shrine herself, but with no way to know if she'd be able to recover her phone, Kagome didn't think to give them her number. They'd pick her up from the shrine when Friday came around anyway. And she most certainly didn't tell any of them where her school was.

Her mother could've told them where to find her, of course, but that particular scenario wasn't all that likely, Mikey was bold enough to call the shrine, but Draken was clearly far more sensible. So the only way they had to know where to go was if they used the exact same method the assholes from Minami and tried to look for her uniform among the schools in the area. If she was being entirely honest, her friends' obvious concern was probably far more warranted than her current feelings The shorter blond's actions were definitely pushing privacy boundaries, but all she could feel when looking at the duo of delinquents clearly waiting for her at the gates was…warmth.

Spending a year surviving a string of life-and-death situations taught her to trust her instincts, and there was no doubt in her mind that taking his hand yesterday meant way more than just agreeing to hang out for a couple afternoons. That's why Mikey was here. Where worry should have started to settle within her, satisfaction was spreading instead. Yesterday's encounter made one thing evident, she wanted to be around them, near him.

The urge to abandon this botched storyline, the stage as a whole, overpowered any concern she might have.

"Oh, they're not the jerks from yesterday." Her smile was easier now. "Actually, they're the guys who helped me out. No need to worry."

"Aren't they still…delinquents?"

"Sure, but I don't think they're here to cause any trouble," Kagome said, doing her best not to snap again. "They were quite friendly."

"You talked to them?!" Although Eri didn't seem to mind making a scene.

"Figured it was rude not to say thanks." Her expression wasn't quite right, but it was better than before, right? "They could've just ignored me and let me deal with the others alone."

"Kagome-chan, you can't just talk to people like that!"

People like that… good girls did not associate with delinquents. Higurashi Kagome shouldn't talk to troublesome people.

It wasn't in her role.

Blunt nails dug into her skin.

Getting into fights was enough for humans of this era to justify shunning others. It didn'tmatter who they were fighting or why; the mere fact that they were willing to throw a punch was enough for this society to label them as violent and dangerous. Bitterly, Kagome couldn't help but wonder how the girls would react if they knew how many battles she'd gotten into. Unlike street brawls, bloodshed was the expected result of her fights. Just because the miko didn't enjoy hurting othes didn't mean she couldn't understand that sometimes, it was necessary to strike back or simply hit first. Not everything could be resolved with pretty words and polite requests. Even Sango and Miroku didn't hesitate to abandon diplomacy when it was clear it would get them nowhere.

"They were just trying to help me," Kagome said, her voice too clipped for this to last for long. "Anyway, I better find out what they're doing here."

"Wait, Kagome-chan!"

Rushed exclamations went ignored as the priestess turned on her heel, almost sprinting to get away from her friends. If she kept listening to what they had to say, Kagome wouldn't be able to keep biting her tongue. She knew their lines and didn't care for them.

Not when with every step she took away from the blinding spotlight, ignoring her cues, made her feel lighter. It was such a simple thing, but already, her expression was relaxing, and her smile was becoming more genuine as the distance between her and the pair of delinquents grew smaller. The hushed whispers and wary glances directed her way went ignored. Her suspicions about who the mastermind behind this impromptu visit all but confirmed when Mikey grinned widely at her while Draken almost winced before giving her a tight smile. It took more than it should not to burst out laughing. Really, common sense dictated Kagome should scold the delinquent duo instead of returning their greeting, but she waved at them all the same.

"So, whose school is close by? That's how you found me, right?" Discarding her lines, Kagome didn't bother to hide her amusement.

"Mitsuya." Mikey didn't miss a beat. "His school isn't that close though, so we had to look around."

"Sorry for just dropping in unannounced."

"I don't mind it." They'd been more than just a convenient excuse for her to escape the situation."But what was the plan if I was part of a club?"

"We would've barged in after we got bored enough, probably."

Unapologetic, no matter how much she tried to study his expression, Kagome couldn't find an ounce of shame in his face. Not even after admitting he was willing to break into her school for basically no reason at all. But Kagome was starting to figure how the delinquent leader worked, and she couldn't say she was shocked. Acting as he pleased, not caring about consequences. Even taking into account all the people she met during her travels, Kagome was confident she'd never met anyone who'd lived as free as the blond. It'd be a lie to say a part of her wasn't envious. The impulse to just throw away her role and do whatever she wanted, uncaring how her actions would affect her family, grew stronger with each passing day.

"Good thing I'm not in any clubs then. You would've given my teachers a panic attack," she laughed, right hand pushing a strand of raven hair back. "So, what prompted this bit of stalking?"

"Emma's been nagging me lately, so I figured I'd get her off my back with a gift. Thought you'd have a better idea of what to get her." His voice didn't falter despite her wording and Draken's wincing.

"Only if you're free," Draken rushed to add. "We don't want to impose."

"Hmm, I guess I have the time. Where are we going?"

"It's not that far." Getting back on his bike, the boy grinned. An open hand was in front of her again, the motion confident, as if he'd known she'd follow from the start. "Get on then, Me-chan."

They were talking right at the gates of her school. Dozens of worried eyes had already been on the delinquents by the time she came out, attracted by the bleached hair and impossible-to-miss motorcycles. By now, the number of people looking at the odd group had likely doubled. It wouldn't take long for rumors about the formerly 'sickly girl' being seen acting friendly with members of a biker gang to begin to spread to other classes.

She was bound to attract unwanted attention to herself. Her already damaged reputation would suffer yet another hit. If she took Mikey's hand right now and got into his bike in front of everyone, it might even create enough of a scandal for one of her teachers to try and stage some sort of intervention. Then again…forcing herself to find a way to justify her rejecting that hand would only end up with her being tied to the stage that was asphyxiating her. Even if the school called the shrine, her mother already met both boys, and if the older woman was willing to remain open-minded despite Inuyasha's crassness, she was likely to accept the people who'd helped out her daughter. Besides, Kagome had already made her choice yesterday, hadn't she?

Making sure her bag strap wouldn't slip off her shoulder, the girl hurried to take out her phone, typing a quick message to let her mother know she'd be home late. Looking up at the waiting eyes of the delinquent leader, the miko could spy a bit of satisfaction. Without a sliver of hesitation, she climbed behind the grinning blond. The vague familiarity that accompanied the motion brought a smile to her lips as she wrapped her arms around Mikey.

Impulsive wasn't enough to describe her actions right now, but the rush of adrenaline from discarding her script was too much for her to stop.

And really, she'd truly missed the speed.

Now that she wasn't distracted by police sirens or thinking about the implication of being targeted by a delinquent gang, there was no way Kagome could miss it.

It was hidden, buried under his cheerful demeanor and bright aura, but there was definitely something else. A darkness was slumbering within the boy. Honestly, if it wasn't for her ability to detect auras, the girl wasn't sure she would've noticed. But humans hiding dark desires wasn't something new, it only surprised her that they seemed to be so well covered. For one whose actions were apparently guided by whims, Kagome couldn't deny being curious about what he'd do when that darkness woke and tested his self-control. Regular humans shouldn't be capable of noticing her powers, but maybe he could feel the effects of her presence and it was inciting his interest. It was certainly prompting her curiosity.

There was also that. That something else she couldn't quite name she felt when she fully focused on him for long enough, something not quite human in nature.

Well, it didn't really matter.

So many of the people she'd come to love would never be what anyone could call a good or normal person, but she'd loved them all the same. It didn't matter if the boy was hiding some sort of complicated past or even if today's meeting was far more calculated than it originally looked like; now that he'd been so blatant in his approach, the girl just didn't have the will to push him away and go back to playing the good student. She wanted to remain close, even after this mess was over. Though she was admittedly curious about how much of this was planned beforehand. Finding where she studied took a little too much effort for this to be just a whim. And even if he didn't consider what showing up would do to her public image, Draken would've warned him, but the shorter blond went through with it anyway.

Her curiosity could wait, though, because she needed her full concentration to keep from bursting out laughing at how absolutely out of place they looked, standing in the middle of an accessory shop Mikey's sister apparently liked to go. Especially considering that while the delinquent leader still looked entirely unconcerned, the taller blond looked as uncomfortable here as he did at her school. Really, to go this far just for an empty excuse…

Taking her time to walk around the small shop, Kagome let her gaze wander around while pretending to pay attention to the assortment of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings on the glass display. A part of her wondered if she should repay the favor and test for how long they'd be willing to wait and follow her around just to keep up this ruse before dismissing it. It'd be fun, no doubt, but the girl had spent so much time in the feudal era and with her studies that she still really hadn't managed to catch up to new fashion trends. Shaking her head, the miko stopped in front of one of the displays. Eyeing a thin, white bracelet with a reasonable price tag before glancing back at the two boys.

"You do realize I have no clue what kind of style your sister likes, don't you?" Resting her hand on her hip, the girl raised an eyebrow. "What if our likes clash?"

"Huh…that's."

"Well, you see…"

"Here." With a laugh, Kagome grabbed the thin chain and threw it at him. "This should be neutral enough, so now that we're done with your excuse, where do we go?"

"Since when?" Mikey's voice was laced with anticipation.

"Did I notice?" Again, she laughed. "You're kidding, aren't you? Tracking me and waiting around just for this is way too much work to be worth it."

He didn't bother to lower his voice as he joined her, and Kagome could only shake her head. The tattooed blond looked outright mortified, and they were attracting so many eyes, but the sound was too contagious to resist.

Anyone else would likely get a little freaked out.

The girls would certainly try to put as much distance from the delinquent as humanly possible. The level of interest he showed was a little too intense considering this was just their third meeting. But intense personalities were the norm when talking about youkais, and the priestess had quickly gotten used to it. Normal people, safe people, didn't act this way... and they were undeniably boring. Until just a month ago, risks were another part of her everyday life, Kagome could handle intense.

Judging by how the taller blond could only face-palm as Mikey offered his hand to her once more, it didn't even look like she'd be the one who'd struggle the most with the tentative new status quo. Giving Draken a reassuring smile, the girl was happy to follow the impulsive delinquent to pay for her random pick and go back to the streets. The new set of apologies was waved away without a second thought. Even when it became evident that Mikey didn't seem to have much of a plan beyond getting her to spend time with them. Walking aimlessly through the streets was more than enough for the whole trip to feel worth it, though it seemed the blond had no intention of bringing her home just yet, as he pulled her towards an arcade with Draken sighing tiredly in the background.

So, testing if she'd come along with them was the reason for this impromptu outing in the first place. Good to know.

It really should bother her. Mikey was pushing every boundary he could find, instead, what was rising inside her was the urge to meet his expectations and test his in return. In place of complaints, what left her lips was laughter as she followed the two boys from one game to another, watching the delinquent duo joke around while coming up with random rules and slightly absurd competitions. Souta had always been more into games than her. She used to play with her brother every so often, one of the many things that were left to the side during her travels, so whatever skills she'd had were likely long gone. Following them around shouldn't be nearly as entertaining as it was, yet just knowing there was no need to filter her reaction made this feel completely different.

"Here, Me-chan."

"Oh, no, no."The girl shook her head as the boy moved to give her a seat. "If my brother is to be believed, I'm completely hopeless."

"Crap, are we boring you?"

"It's not like that." Honestly, even if she didn't like games, spending time away from the stage was more than fun enough to justify this outing. "I guess I didn't have the time for it; things got really busy back then."

"Why?"

Vague answers only earned more questions about things she couldn't talk about. That's why she usually spouted her lies and followed her script. At this point, lying about the time spent on the other side of the well didn't really carry any guilt anymore. Even if she were to try and tell the truth, no one aside from her direct family would believe her anyway, and her family didn't need to know the gory details behind her fairytales. And yet, lying to this boy, who was basically a stranger made her insides twist themselves into knots.

Plus, it only felt fair to push him a bit too. The blond was used to getting his way, but could he take non-answers? If she had to go back to playing her role, then…

"So you don't hate games, but you didn't love it either," Mikey hummed as he settled back down and kept playing. "Did I get it right, Me-chan?"

"I…guess so."

Black eyes shifted from the game to her, all of his attention focused on her for only an insttant. A part of her could see the tattooed delinquent starting to turn around, a cautious look on his face. This conversation was steadily moving away from the casual tones it began with. Kagome didn't care; she was curious too.

"In that case…" the boy trailed off. "What have you done lately that you do like?"

"That…I wonder…since everything was pretty hectic, I didn't really have the time for my studies, so my grades kinda…fell off a cliff into a crater and started to dig even deeper. I barely managed to pass my final exams last year. Haven't had the chance to do anything other than study." Her smile didn't falter.

After coming back to the modern era, Kagome had been consumed by her desperate attempts to get her grades back up. Combined with her constant floundering on the stage, failing to play the character that once felt so natural to her left her with no free time. If she was being entirely honest, the miko wasn't sure if any of her old hobbies would give her any significant satisfaction anymore. Her outing with the girls proved at least some of her tastes had changed in the last year. Were she asked to write down a list of things she'd like to do, her odds of ending with more than a blank piece of paper were ridiculously high. Most of the things that crossed her mind weren't things the priestess could even try to do in this time period, and the few she could (like archery) were things that could potentially worry her family.

"Wait, hold on." Finally, Draken jumped into the conversation. "Are we interrupting your studies?"

"Oh, well, I was planning to study for a bit, but it's fine. School just started, and I won't be struggling with managing my schedule anymore." The girl waved her hand carelessly.

"Besides, she already passed her exams, didn't she?" Black eyes glanced at his friend for just a second before focusing back on her. "You can just hang around with us while you figure out what you want to do."

"Don't blame me if I take your word for it, then…in the meantime, I'll just try to distract you both."

"Huh?"

Not giving the blond any time to react, the girl smiled and threw her arms around the shorter boy's left arm, pushing him a little as she went to sit beside him.. it was a cheap move, physically creating a distraction , but the other boy took advantage of, initiating a combo while Mikey scrambled to take back the controls. Her answer had been more than a little vague; her wording had to have made more questions come to life. But where Draken seemed worried about small details, the delinquent leader appeared happy to wave everything away. There was curiosity in his eyes; it was impossible to mistake, yet it was clear he was in no hurry to pursue any answers.

There was something to his simple words that made them feel far more reassuring than anything her family had said to her. There were no suggestions or expectations of what she should be doing, only an open invitation. Perhaps invitation wasn't the right word for it; her instincts were warning her that even if she were to back down now, Mikey wouldn't let her get back any sort of distance between them back. Choosing to ignore the warnings in her head was as easy as grabbing his hand had been yesterday.

For better or worse, her path was now intertwined with both, Mikey and Toman.

"Hey!"

"You did tell her to do whatever she wanted to," Draken said, his voice finally free of worry once more.

"Not like that, you cheaters!"

Laughter came and went as the conversation began to flow again, interrupted every so often by a combination of fake warnings and threats that often left them messing up the timing for their counters. Bits and pieces of interesting trivia about her life slipped by as they kept talking. It was all just as vague as her previous answer, but something told her Mikey wasn't about to forget any of it. If she ever were to change her mind and decide keeping her secrets was more important than avoiding telling her lies, this would certainly make things more complicated. Still, Kagome couldn't bring herself to mind it; honestly, it was fun. And while she didn't think the blond delinquent would be keeping the sort of unbelievable secrets as she did, the miko was also learning about the shorter delinquent's life as she lost herself in their casual conversation.

To the point that the miko seemed to lose track of time while they jumped from one game to another, eventually finding a couple more physical games she could join in without potentially humiliating herself. Snacks kept them from leaving, and other than the few times the girl excused herself to text her mother that she'd be getting home much later than expected and not to go ahead and eat without waiting for her, the three of them had stuck together, not once feeling forced back to the spotlight failing to follow her cues. Aside from waving away Draken's worries, she'd somehow managed to forget allabout her role and even the stage itself. It was almost as if she was back in the Sengoku era, not having to worry about how she'd be perceived by those around her. So when they mentioned going to eat at a burger joint close by, the miko didn't wait a second to agree and follow suit, going as far as absentmindedly adding how as far as she was back before midnight, there'd be no issues on her family's side.

Spending so much time with these two, with Mikey, was likely a bad idea.

Just two relatively short meetings had left her craving more. If this really was the same as when she stayed on the other side of the well for too long, then today would make going back to her script even more difficult than it already was. This was more than likely a mistake.

Riding on the back of Mikey's bike while the wind made a mess of her loose hair was the most free she'd felt ever since the well closed. These were the sort of speeds Kagome had only experienced on the back of some of her friends' backs. So she didn't complain about the couple of extra detours despite how dark the sky was by now. Besides, there really was something charming about the artificial neon lights of the city blur in front of her eyes, slowing down at times to let her see one particularly nice city landscape. With her arms wrapped around him, Kagome idly wondered what his next action would be. Meeting him again tomorrow was almost a certainty, but she was sure the boy wouldn't be content with just that for long.

Kagome's smile didn't falter, though she already missed his warmth just by getting off the bike. Though neither boy refused to follow her up the shrine steps.

It was her move now.

With an amused grin on her lips, the girl extended her open hand at the delinquent leader.

"Me-chan?"

"I figured it'd be easier for you to pop out of nowhere if you could text me. Make sure you know where I am." She could see his eyes widening, intrigue almost making them shine. "Or were you planning not to meet up until Friday?"

"You have to be the most understanding girl I've ever met," Draken laughed, shaking his head.

"Let's just say I've been around some unusual people," More vague words and non-answers. "My bar for shocking is pretty high."

"Oh, you're far more unusual than I am, Me-chan. That's why I'll see you tomorrow," Mikey said, placing his phone in her hand.

Kagome could only huff at his bright grim, more for show than anything else. Not really trying to hide how she was actually looking forward to tomorrow.

A/N: Happy pride month everyone!

And sorry for the slight delay, there was a bit of a hail storm a couple of days ago (in June because why not) and the infrastructure of the entire city chose to just…break…the wind wasn't even that bad, you guys, nowhere anywhere close to a hurricane, but anyway… I somehow managed to get this out.

A little bit of a correction, captain of the fifth division at this time is Muto, his presence just wasn't strong enough and I kinda forgot to double check, my bad, oops. Haruchiyo is the vice-captain right now. Thanks for bringing it up!

Also her archery is going to show up sooner or later. At this point in time she's just overly worried about how that could be seen as getting stuck to the past.

In an case, Kagome is certainly struggling…sure there're people who are naturally more resilient and can adapt to tense situation, but in this case things arre pretty extreme. We're not talking about just one shocking or stressful situation, it's one traumatic event after another happening at a break neck speed if we stick to the intended timeline of a single year, for her to not even deal with nightmares would be more than just a little amazing. The only way for her to act the same at the end of her journey asa she did at the start is if something fundamentally changed, In this case is because she sorta normalized everything going on around her. Getting attacked, nearly assaulted, having control of her body stolen, if it's just another part of her life then there's no need to be overly paranoid or freeze in fear of potential consequences. This version of Kagome is not one that gets appalled by violence or cruelty.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/comments/criticism is greatly, greatly appreciated.