Only Warning: English Dub
The Higurashi Shrine is a large piece of property, alternatively known as the place where Kagome and Kaori live with their small family in the modern era of present day. The shrine is owned by their grandfather, a priest. Although it is not quite popular (at least, not enough to be a major tourist destination), it is well known to the locals; people often come here during the summer festivals. Furthermore, it holds a reputation for being effective with dispelling bad omens from items or events, therefore, on occasion, there will be someone who visits after traveling a great distance.
There are several structures in the shrine grounds; about nine in total. The shrine has four red torii gates, which are positioned at three locations; one before the steps which climb upward to the main entrance of the shrine, another at the end of the staircase, and the last two on either side of the area where it leads to the modern household. The main shrine is at the center and it is the biggest structure. A small wooden temple is at the angle of the main shrine; it covers a rusted well. A storage building is adjacent to the shrine, storing many artifacts, especially ancient ones. A small white office building stands by the right of the shrine; it's where they sell charms and other items. The modern house behind the shrine is inhabited by the Higurashi family of five; a mother, two sisters, a brother, and a grandfather, plus a pet cat.
Overall, it's glorious.
Inside the Higurashi household, eighteen-year-old Kaori is sleeping on the floor, inside her younger adoptive sister's bedroom. She's lying on a heavy blanket, curled in a fetal position. She dreams peacefully, a thin sheet covering her body. She makes no sounds; if not for the movement of her breathing or the warmth in her cheeks, one can mistaken her for a corpse if they are stupid enough. Her hair, cross between aquamarine and teal in color, which usually runs past her shoulders, hangs across her porcelain face; it doesn't falter her snoozing, even with some getting in her mouth.
Only recently, when she turned eighteen a month before, did this behavior begin. She no longer slumbers in her own bedroom, preferring to stay with Kagome or Sōta at night; this new routine went unnoticed by the entire family for a brief time before, one by one, they began to catch on, but none of them thought negatively of it (and still do not). The reason remains a strange mystery to them all; even Kaori herself doesn't understand why she suddenly doesn't like sleeping alone.
Slowly, the door creaks open. Entering the bedroom is Sōta, the younger brother of Kaori and Kagome. He puffs out a breath as his brown eyes spot his adopted sibling, sleeping soundlessly on the wooden floor. He shakes his head, black hair swaying slightly; his distinctive bangs on his right side shift. He approaches her at a slow pace, then kneels directly beside her. He reaches forward and begins to roughly shake her.
Kaori groans, slowly awakening. She grunts as she sits up, hair falling from her face in a messy manner; the thin sheet slides down her back. Her pajamas are wrinkled. She stretches before rubbing the back of her head, opening her eyes, revealing their match with her hair. She stares at him groggily. "Sōta?" She blinks, vision clearing slightly. "Couldn't you tell that I was trying to sleep in?" She rubs her eyes. "What do you need?" She sounds grumpy.
He sheepishly grins. "Sorry," he apologizes. He glances at his pale hands, which rest on his knees, and starts pouting. "I'm really bored; there's nothing to do."
She rubs her eyes again before glaring at him, almost fully awake by this point. "Seriously? You woke me up just because you're bored?" She huffs, shaking her head. "So not cool." She criss-crosses her legs and props her elbow on her knee, fist against her cheek. She gives him a dark look. "What the hell made you think I could do something about it?" He shrugs. She sighs. "I can't just magically wish away your boredom, you know. Jeez." She lays back down on the blanket. She covers her face with the thin sheet, intending to ignore him and sleep more. "Why don't you go and bother Kagome? That usually keeps you entertained."
"But she's mean!" he exclaims, throwing his arms in the arm. "I thought she was gonna strangle me last time!"
"She still might," she mutters. "She's part she-beast." A few seconds pass. "Wait a second." She sits back up, eyeing him. "Didn't you say I was the mean one the other day?"
His cheeks turn red. "Well, yeah, but she's worse."
She snorts. "Yeah? Give an example, then, o' wise one."
He looks panicked. "Uh!" He stands up and does frantic movements. "She tried to strangle me, remember?! You just say really mean words!"
She raises an eyebrow. "You're exaggerating again, but fine; she's worse." He beams; her comment must've really made him happy. The annoyingly impatient twat; she loves him dearly. "However, continue waking me up on days I wanna sleep in, it'll be me trying to kill you instead." An exaggeration, but also a clear threat.
He gulps. "U-Understood!"
An awkward silence fills the air. They stare at one another; one contains slightly suppressed fear, the other has irritation yet adoration. After about two minutes, Sōta is the one to break eye contact first; he begins heading back to the door, his goal not really accomplished and yet it also sort of has been.
"Was that all?" she asks, not really caring.
He pauses at the door and briefly turns to look at her again. "Yeah, that was it." He makes an effort to leave but a few paces down the hall, he stops and goes back into the room. "Well, there is one other thing."
"Proceed," she replies, sighing.
"...Well..." He shows a lot of hesitation but, eventually, he gets his words out. "I noticed that, lately, people have been a lot meaner to you, and you as well to, well, everyone else... But they're wrong; you're not an abnormality. Like Mom says, people are just born differently sometimes... So, uh, I think you're really cool and they're dumb..." He turns red again. "D-Don't tell Kagome I said that; she doesn't like it when I say bad things about her friends."
Genuinely, she smiles; she's not sure if he sees it or not because she's laying down again. "I won't tell; I say a lot of bad things about them, too." She sits up for the final time. "Thank you, little one." With a huff, she stands. "Now, begone already; I need to get dressed."
Sōta finally leaves the bedroom. Kaori approaches the door and closes it for privacy. Afterwards, she walks towards a trunk in the corner of the room and opens it, pulling out some of her clothing, which she placed there at some point during the last month. Putting on a casual outfit (which consists of a black bra underneath a pink knit sweater that doesn't go above her shoulders and jean shorts, hidden underneath the sweater top, alongside black knee socks and some fluffy white boots) that fits her petite figure, she leaves the bedroom, too.
She wanders around the shrine, in search of her adoptive sister. Eventually, she manages to locate her, and their grandfather, inside the office building. She slowly approaches from the side, watching them with slight curiosity.
Kagome has somewhat pale skin and a slender, yet curvaceous figure with well-toned thighs. She has long, wavy black hair and big brown eyes, and is wearing a pink sweater and blue pants. Their grandfather, otherwise known as Grandpa or Gramps because that's what the sisters refer to him as, has fair skin, black eyes, gray hair (including facial), and always wears a garment that identifies him as a traditional Japanese Shinto Priest.
Her adoptive sister is holding a key-chain that has a mini-plaque of Japanese characters and a purple orb dangling at its bottom. She doesn't hear the beginning of the conversation, but does hear something Kagome says in response. "Shikon no Wha?"
Kaori blinks, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell did I walk into?" She positions herself behind Kagome. Neither have noticed her arrival, even when she attempts to make her presence known; everyone is always telling her that she's gained a habit of sneaking up on people, but despite her many tries to be as loud as possible when entering a room, no one ever notices her right away. She's standing right in front of her adoptive grandfather, for goodness sake, and he still hasn't acknowledged her.
"Shikon no Tama, my girl," Grandpa Higurashi corrects. "The Jewel of the Four Souls."
Kagome looks at the key-chain. "You don't actually think tourists are gonna buy these dumb key-chains, do you?" The item doesn't look pleasant, so she doesn't see the appeal that it could possibly have. Long story short, or short story shorter, the key-chain looks like a piece of junk.
"They might," Kaori comments, in a better mood than before. Kagome jumps and turns her head to give her a glare, finally aware of her presence in the building. Kaori continues speaking. "Tourists go crazy over these sorts of things. It's like some sort of collectible to them. They see it, they want it, they get it, and then, they forget all about it within a few days and only remember it during spring cleaning when they accidentally find it again. Happens all the time. I assume."
"That is not just some key-chain that'll get lost somewhere, dear girl. That crystal there at the end is a replica of an ancient jewel, which-" Grandpa Higurashi pauses when he hears the key-chain jingle. He opens his eyes, which had been closed for some unknown reason (to the girls, anyway), and watches as their overweight cat, Buyo, paws at the orb of the key-chain Kagome holds. "Hmm?" He stares at the cat and Kagome; Kagome moves the key-chain away from Buyo, who continues to reach for it.
"How cute," Kaori states, smiling at their silly cat.
Grandpa Higurashi clears his throat and coughs, catching the attention of Kagome and Kaori. "As I was saying," he begins, completely missing when both girls turn their attention back towards Buyo; if the old man would keep his damn eyes open, he'd know. "That crystal is a replica of an ancient jewel, which-" He pauses again, reopening his eyes. He spots Kagome moving the key-chain around with Buyo still trying to reach for it.
"Buyo really wants that crystal," Kaori remarks, crossing her arms. "Maybe some cats will come and visit this time. I'd rather be surrounded by them, honestly." She isn't exactly a people person.
"Yeah," Kagome replies. Her face brightens seconds later. "That would be so much better than having a bunch of strangers around. Maybe Buyo can make a friend."
"Uh huh, a 'friend', yeah," Kaori agrees.
"An ancient jewel-" Grandpa Higurashi is unable to give his factual statement, again; Kaori and Kagome don't particularly care enough to hear it.
Kagome stops teasing Buyo, clenching onto the key-chain as she stares at their grandfather, hope in her eyes. "You do remember it's my birthday tomorrow, right?" she asks, sounding eager. He releases his hold on the key-chain he'd been holding the entire time, which Kaori only just noticed, letting it land in front of Buyo. He grunts in frustration; the two of them never listened to their history.
"How can anyone forget your birthday when you're constantly reminding us about it every other hour of every day this entire week?" Kaori questions. She doesn't get an answer; Kagome just ignores her.
Grandpa Higurashi chuckles. "I'd planned to wait another day, but-"
"So, you did get me something!" Kagome exclaimed. "Hand it over!"
"You're going to regret that," Kaori lowly comments.
Their grandfather pulls out a box and hands it over, a ribbon wrapped around it to keep it closed. Kagome quickly tears it off and throws the lid across the room. She pulls out a reptilian foot; instantly, she scowls. She stares at her gift blankly, heavily displeased. Kaori laughs aloud at her expression; she did try to warn her.
He starts talking again, their grandfather, in another attempt at giving them history lessons. "That, my dears, is an authentic mummified hand of a water-imp, which-"
Kagome wastes no time getting rid of the gift while additionally interrupting their grandpa again. "Here, Buyo," she says, holding it out to him. "Eat." Their cat immediately bites down on the artifact and starts walking away with it. Kaori snorts at the way he struts; the fat boy has sass.
"Waaah!" Grandpa Higurashi exclaims, falling forward as he attempts to grab the artifact back. "That's an antique!" He stares angrily as Buyo continues walking off nonchalantly.
"I love that cat," Kaori comments, watching Buyo. She stares at the gift in his mouth for a second before looking towards their grandfather. "So, that's a hand, huh? I honestly would've thought it was a foot. Maybe there's no difference between the two. We'll never know. You only seem to have a hand for hands." She snorts. "See what I did there? No? You have talented hands and you like collecting hands; it's supposed to be funny." Grandpa Higurashi glares at her. "Too soon?"
He says nothing and starts chasing after the cat, trying to get the artifact back; Buyo constantly runs away. Kaori giggles at the sight. Kagome zones out, deep in thought. "Replica this, authentic that. Here, everything's got a story. The pickles we eat for dinner, the noodles we eat for breakfast, the thousand-year-old sacred tree, and the legend of the hidden well. I hear these stories every day of all my life and I'll never believe any of it. Not ever."
"Kagome!" Kaori yells into her ear, rudely bringing her out of her thoughts.
"What?!" Kagome yells back, rubbing her ear, glaring at her adopted sister. "Did you have to be so loud?!"
"Yes! It's not my fault your ears are broken!" Kaori huffs and scoffs. "Anyways, excuse me, princess. If you hadn't been staring at the wall for the last five minutes, I wouldn't have to yell at you. You were missing out on the epic battle between Gramps and Buyo. You even made me miss a few minutes of it; I was trying to snap you outta your weird trance thing you had going on." The "battle" continues in the background but neither turn to watch it.
"What? Really?" Kagome questions, blinking in surprise. "Huh. I didn't realize."
"No shit." Kaori crosses her arms, shifts on her feet, uncrosses her arms, and puts her hands on her hips. She tilts her head. "Exactly what were you thinking about?"
"Well," Kagome starts. She pauses for a split second, glancing towards Gramps and Buyo. She cracks a smile before looking back at Kaori, who is still staring at her with curiosity. "I was only thinking about all the crazy stories Grandpa tells us."
"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. You still don't believe them, then?" Kaori guesses.
"Uh huh." Kagome narrows her eyes. "Are you implying that you do?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Kaori responds. "The things he shows us all the time could be fake but they also could be real. Who knows. There's always some truth behind stories, which includes myths and legends. People just add their own stuff to spice it up, sometimes anyway."
"...So, you do believe in that junk?" Kagome asks, giving her a weird look.
"I don't fucking know, damn!" Kaori exclaims, throwing out her arms. "Maybe they could be true; like I said mere seconds ago, there's always some truth behind stories. We don't know what happened years ago; it was long before our time. Maybe the stories were never altered, maybe they were. Anything could've happened. Demons could've roamed freely back then." She looks exasperated. "So, to answer your question in a nicer way, yes and no; I do and I don't." She changes the subject. "Are you excited for tomorrow? Of course you are; you don't shut up about it." She crosses her arms. "You're only fifteen once; I can understand the excitement of...getting older." She's lying.
Kagome smiles, clapping her palms together. "Did you get me a present? One that I'll like better than Grandpa's?"
Kaori looks worried. "Uh..." She completely forgot about getting a gift. She kept procrastinating, not wanting to enter town, and, in the end, she just forgot about it. Oopsie.
Kagome is crestfallen. "You didn't get me anything, did you?"
"Uh..." Kaori panics. "I got you the... gift of... adopted sibling... eternal love?" She laughs nervously.
Kagome scoffs, finally standing up. "That's a pretty lame gift." She walks out of the building.
"What?! Lame?!" Kaori follows, pouting. "There is nothing lame about adopted sibling eternal love! Would you rather have the gift of, uh," she snaps her fingers, "adopted sibling rivalry or hatred or torture or, uh, another negative word that I can't think of right now?! I'll gladly give it to you! Somehow!"
"I was just joking," Kagome says, rolling her eyes at Kaori's dramatic rant. She turns around. Suddenly, she hugs her, just because. Kaori tenses a little before relaxing slightly; she's not a large fan of hugs, especially ones that just come out of nowhere.
"Would you stop hugging me out of fucking nowhere? I hate it," Kaori complains, not hugging back but patting Kagome's shoulder awkwardly because she's a bit uncomfortable. "And you weren't joking; you're just scared of what I might do in retaliation for your mean words."
Kagome responds defiantly. "I'm never going to stop hugging you and I am absolutely not scared of you." She stops hugging Kaori. "Except maybe that one time; you didn't have to break his fingers."
Kaori scoffs. "I did too; his hand was aiming for...a place it shouldn't have been heading towards in the first place."
Kagome doesn't look like she believes Kaori's story of defense. "If you say so." She pushes her shoulder. "I'll let you off the hook this time about the present, but next year, I expect something amazing."
Kaori sighs, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Next year."
Another becomingly beautiful morning arrives in Japan's popular, and fairly engaged, capital. Most of the city's residents are already out of their respective households, roaming the crowded streets by foot or vehicle; some uniformed students are walking together to their schools, other pupils are taking a public bus, and office workers are either waiting in line within traffic, patiently or with irritation, or are strolling hurriedly down the various sidewalks, brushing shoulders with others walking along the same path.
One person in particular stands out from the rest of the residents in the active city; Kagome is rushing out of her household, dressed in her school uniform (a simple white-green sailor suit), and has just become fifteen years of age. Certainly, it's going to be a morning of grand interest for her and her loved ones, one they will not and cannot possibly ever forget.
Kagome jogs away from the entrance of her home, her bag knocking against her back constantly. Not even thirty seconds later, she skids to a stop as she locks eyes with Kaori; she's standing, with confidence, in the middle of Kagome's pathway, determination in her eyes and hands on her hips. She's smirking, wearing a slightly more appropriate attire than usual; a long-sleeved black sweater, which barely covers her shoulders and navel, mini jean shorts, black knee-socks, which cover most of her bare legs, and white flat shoes. It's quite the surprise, seeing her up so early.
"About time you finished getting ready, sister dearest," Kaori says with faux sweetness. "No matter; we still have plenty of time to get you to school." Turning on the heel of her shoe, she faces the opposite direction of Kagome and points forward, towards some general direction; the school is probably that way, somewhere, maybe. "Onward, to the land of persons, we go!" she exclaims with a little enthusiasm. "I shall conquer them all!"
Reaching outward, Kagome grabs onto Kaori's elbow when she makes the move to walk forward, preventing her from actually taking that first step. She's confused by the sudden behavior of her adopted sister; Kaori never walks her to school because of her strong dislike for strangers. Is she doing it because it's her birthday? Is she making up for not having a gift by forcing herself into doing this? The latter seems likely; she's trying too hard to hide her discomfort.
Kaori hums, watching her, an eyebrow raised. She, then, eyes the hand that's still holding onto her elbow. "Something up?"
"...Hey, um, Kaori?" Kagome speaks with hesitation.
"Yeah?" the adopted sister in question responds, sounding out the word for a short time. She looks away from Kagome's hand, gazing back at her face. When she doesn't say anything more, Kaori becomes a bit irritated. "Uh, what is it? Spit it out already; you're throwing off my "positive" groove."
Hesitating further, Kagome releases her grip and drops her arm back to her side. "Uh..." she mumbles. "Well... I think that, ummm, maybe you should just stay home, you know, like you normally do..." She rubs the back of her head nervously. "You don't have to do this just because you forgot my gift; I already said you're off the hook."
Kaori narrows her eyes and fully faces her, crossing her arms. "Why don't you want me to go with you? Is something going on at school that you don't want me knowing about?"
Kagome frantically shakes her head. "No!" Immediately recognizing her mistake, she tries to rectify it. "Uh, I mean, no. No, no; nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. It's been boring there, like always. Promise."
"I wasn't born last night," Kaori states flatly. "Get out of your gigantic head and use your words. We don't have all day."
"My head isn't big!" Kagome yells, her hands soon on either side of her head, frantically feeling it. "Is it really, though?! It does feel larger than usual! I knew I shouldn't have eaten those extra servings yesterday! My head is swollen!" She rambles about her worries for another minute before she notices how amused Kaori is. Dropping her hands from her head, she glares. "That wasn't funny! You know that I'm very sensitive about my body! You can't just say that and expect me to be calm about it!" Kaori snorts; Kagome huffs. "You can be so mean sometimes."
"Most times," Kaori corrects. "So? Your reasoning?"
"..." Kagome sighs. "To put this mildly, my friends... Some of them tend to say, uh, rude things about you."
"Oh, that," Kaori comments flatly. "You made it seem like it was something serious." She shakes her head slightly. "You really thought I didn't know about that? I mean, who the hell doesn't talk about me in this city?" she counters. "I have ears and, sometimes, people don't know how to whisper." She gestures. "The comments are always the same: 'how can a well respected family raise a girl like her', 'I feel so sorry for the family', 'she must be a troublemaker', and 'with hair like that, it's no surprise she's so rebellious'. And that's just a few of them, but they all revolve around my hair color, no real surprise there."
Kagome grimaces. "Yeah..."
"The point is that none of this is new to me, Kagome," Kaori states. "I've learnt to accept it." Kagome rubs her arm in discomfort. "You shouldn't dwell on something that hasn't bothered me in ages. I'm fine. And I'll still be fine when we see those bitches."
Kagome looks unamused by the word in which her friends were described. Kaori smirks. Kagome, after a moment, rolls her eyes and grins. "Yeah, you're right; not about my friends being...what you said, but about the 'don't dwell on it' part." She claps one. "Now, with that outta the way, let's get going! I can't be late!"
She jogs around Kaori and, with her adopted sister following suit, starts heading off. However, they don't get very far; the sisters spot Sōta standing near the entrance of the hut, which seals off the Sacred Well. In the young male's hand is a bowl of cat food and fish bones; no wonder their cat is fat. It's obvious, to Kaori, that he's trying to feed their pet before school; Kagome, on the other hand, thinks he's messing around the Well. "You're not supposed to play in there," she sternly says, approaching him with Kaori.
"I'm not," he replies with a worried expression. He glances back into the open hut, gazing into the darkness within. "It's the cat," he explains, saying precious little about the situation, though it's pretty self explanatory.
The sisters eye one another before taking a step closer to the entrance of the hut. They peer inside, standing close behind their brother. "Did he go into the well?" Kagome asks, slightly concerned for their beloved pet but mostly uncaring since cats wander.
Kaori gives her an unimpressed look. "The well is closed; it makes more sense for him to go down to it, not into it." Kagome glares at her but says nothing. Together, the three move further inside and stand at the edge of the staircase. "Are you certain Buyo came in here?" Kaori asks Sōta.
"I don't know where else he could be," he answers, crouching by the stairs. He calls out to their pet, to no avail; Buyo didn't want to show his presence. After calling an additional three times, with Kaori's assistance, he starts becoming more anxious, peering down towards the squared well.
With the dim lighting from the sunlight shining in, a small portion of the hut can be seen and it's a sight that kind of scares Sōta, understandably because he's a child. The hut isn't large, containing only the well, a wooden fence, and staircase; the fence is surrounding the upper level, blocking off everything but the staircase that descends to the well, which is covered in planks and a single charm.
Kagome sighs, crouching beside Sōta. She rests her elbow upon her knee as she stares at him, hand resting against her cheek. "So, go down," she instructs, like it's the obvious thing for him to do.
He continues frowning, fearful and anxious. "Why do I gotta be the one?"
"Yeah," Kaori butts in, leaning forward, arms on the wooden fence as she remains standing to her adoptive sister's right. "Why does he have to be the one, huh? Why can't you? Too chicken, birthday girl?" She stares at Kagome with narrowed eyes. "Only a coward would make their kid brother go down there."
Kagome removes her hand from her face, looking up at Kaori with a glare. "I'm not a chicken or a coward."
"Those mean the same thing in this context," Kaori points out. "So, it's unnecessary to use both terms."
Kagome rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I only suggested it because he's the one that's looking for Buyo."
Kaori glares back more intensely. "Excuse you, but I'm looking for him, too. Which means I'll be the one heading down, I suppose." She gets off the fence. "Since one of us has to be an adult here."
"You're eighteen; you are an adult," Kagome retorts. "Or, at least, you're close enough to being one, compared to us."
Suddenly, from below, the sound of scratching can be heard. Unbeknownst to them, the noise isn't coming from outside the well; it's coming from inside. As quickly as it comes, the noise ceases. However, it doesn't stop Sōta from jumping eight feet into the air as he dives behind Kagome.
"Aah! Something's down there!" He shakes with fear, shiver running down his spine. Surprisingly, his backpack didn't fly to the moon from all of his flailing.
Kagome rolls her eyes again. "Uh, yeah; the cat."
Kaori crosses her arms again. "Look, I know it's your birthday and all, but now really isn't the time to be acting like-" She glances at Sōta. "Like your friends." Whom she called bitches earlier. She gives Kagome a pointed look.
Kagome understands her meaning and glares at her again. "I was stating a clear fact! Obviously, it was Buyo! He has claws! Claws are for scratching, and so, he scratched the well! Perfect explanation for the noise!"
"And what a weak explanation it is in regards to your attitude," Kaori remarks. She brushes past her, heading down a step. "Come on, then, birthday b. You're gonna help me find Buyo." She glances back towards Kagome. "And if you refuse, I'll destroy your most prized possession. If you don't have one, I'll convince Mom to show your friends your baby pictures. I'm sure that'll be awfully embarrassing, huh?"
Kagome continues to glare but nods.
Together, they walk down the creaking staircase, only stopping their movements when they're in front of the old well. Kaori hums to herself as she glances around, frowning when she can't seem to find their cat. "Buyo?" she gently calls. Then, Kagome suddenly releases a high-pitched scream beside her. Kaori releases one of her own a half second later, spinning to face Kagome.
Upstairs, Sōta's yells of fright can be heard as he lands on his ass.
Thankfully, it's just a false alarm; Buyo is brushing against Kagome's leg.
"Jeez, Kagome!" Kaori exclaims, placing a hand against her chest. "You gave me a heart attack and a half with that scream!" Without a word of apology, and very nonchalantly, Kagome picks up Buyo, holding him like one shouldn't hold a cat.
Back upstairs, Sōta's fear quickly masks into rage; she frightened him for nothing. "You scared me!" he yells. "You made fun of me because I'm scared, but then, you're all 'aah', too!" he criticizes.
Kagome turns her back to the well, facing the staircase. She looks up at him. "Look who's talking; you didn't even want to come down here."
"What child would?" Kaori questions, turning towards the staircase, too.
Because their backs are towards it, neither sister spots the sudden light emitting from the closed well. Sōta, however, does. "Behind you!" he yells in fright, standing and pointing.
Kaori quickly turns and stares in shock as the planks on the well rumble. "What the hell?" she mutters. Suddenly, a vortex of energy surges, breaking the planks of wood and destroying the charm alongside them. "What the hell?!" she repeats, only louder. Beside her, Kagome has yet to see the damage inexplicably occuring.
Within seconds, the vortex of energy transforms into multiple arms and hands. Two grab onto Kagome. They start pulling her inside the well. Buyo, who'd been in Kagome's arms, jumps away from his owner, escaping as he runs up the staircase to the terrified Sōta. As Kagome is pulled into the well, Kaori instinctively grabs onto one of her arms, causing herself to be dragged inside, too.
Within the mystical void, Kagome and Kaori are forced to float alongside the creature that has dragged them there. Kaori is the first to lock eyes with it, considering she's actually facing it unlike Kagome; her eyes widen in added shock as she stares at what appears to be a half-naked woman with multiple arms, six to be exact, and bones for a lower half. As she tightly holds onto Kagome's arm, she watches helplessly as the creature forces Kagome to look at her. Kagome releases a squeal of fright upon seeing the creature herself. The sisters are dragged further into the mystical void.
"Alive," the creature says, her voice echoing and sounding slightly demonic. "Oh, to be alive once more." The female creature's lower body starts filling out, replacing bones with a long centipede body. "Already, my strength returns." The she-beast stares at Kagome, ignoring the presence of Kaori. "You have it, don't you? Give it to me." Sticking out her long pointed tongue, she licks Kagome's cheek.
"WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?!" Kaori screams. "LET HER GO!" Although she is frightened, she's far more concerned for Kagome's safety. She grips her adoptive sister's arm tighter, refusing to leave her to the mercy of this monster.
"LET GO OF ME ALREADY!" Kagome screams. "I SAID LET GO!" Struggling in the creature's grasp, she manages to push herself, and Kaori, away by pressing her palm roughly against the she-beast's face. As her hand moves away from the creature, a bright pink (maybe purple) light bursts from her extended palm. The she-beast is knocked away from the siblings.
"W-What the hell is going on?!" Kaori exclaims, staring at Kagome's glowing palm. "Why is your hand glowing?!" How her screaming has downgraded to yelling is unknown.
"I-I don't know!" Kagome yells. She doesn't understand it either. The void, the monster, the glowing in her hand; she doesn't know what's happening.
"Wretched girl," the she-beast calmly says. "I must have the sacred jewel." Without another word, the creature vanishes into the seemingly endless void below, leaving behind one of her arms, which is still attached to Kagome.
Holding onto one another tightly, Kagome and Kaori continue falling through the void, not knowing where they'll end up. Suddenly, a pink light emits from Kagome's abdomen, surprising them but neither speak a word. The human-like arm finally releases its hold on Kagome as the light inside her vanishes. Together, they land gently onto the bottom of the well, the endless void nowhere in sight. They catch their breath, looking up towards the opening of the shaft.
"Are we inside the well?" Kagome asks. "Did that...really happen? We must've imagined it, right...?"
Kaori looks away from the well's only entrance and exit, glancing at Kagome. "First off, yeah; I'm almost certain we're in the well. Secondly, if that were true, how the hell would we have imagined the same thing?" She huffs. "That was very real, Kagome. There's no doubt in my mind," she says, voice shaky; she's startled but she's not in denial, at least, unlike someone.
Kagome continues staring up. "Maybe we bumped our heads on the way down?" she suggests. She feels Kaori's hand on her shoulder. When she looks at her, Kaori points towards the broken human arm of the creature; it's laying on the ground beside them. Kagome stares at it and makes a face of horror. "Okay, maybe not. Either way." She looks back up and stands. "Hey, Sōta!" she yells. "Get Grandpa!"
"What the hell can Gramps do that we can't?" Kaori questions, confused. Seconds later, she realizes that their younger brother hasn't answered back. "Hmm. I guess he ran away. I can't say I blame him; that was pretty scary." She stands, looking at the vines growing on the wall. "I suppose we'll have to climb."
Kagome groans.
Together, they grab onto a vine and begin pulling themselves upward. Halfway up, a white glowing butterfly flutters near them and they pause to stare at it before it flies away. They eventually make it to the ledge, but when they pull themselves up and over, they're met with a huge surprise; the interior of the hut is no more, completely gone. Instead, a lush greenery is seen. Sitting on the ledge, Kagome and Kaori take in their new surroundings.
"I could be wrong, but Toto, I think we're not in Tokyo anymore," Kagome remarks, glancing around as she stands. Kaori manages to crack a smile; however, it turns into a frown when Kagome keeps talking. "Grandpa? Mom? Are you there? Sōta?"
After face-palming really hard because Kagome's denial has gone straight into stupidity, Kaori starts speaking. "For the love of all that's holy, how is that gonna help us?! We aren't home anymore, Kagome! They aren't here!"
"I know that!" Kagome yells, glaring. "But it's worth a try!" Kaori shakes her head at her delusional adoptive sister. In a matter of moments, they're walking through the forest area, birds tweeting loudly; everything seems pleasant enough. "Sōta? Buyo? Mom? Grandpa?" Kagome calls again.
Kaori quickly becomes more annoyed. "Seriously? I just told you; we're not home anymore. Why are you continuing with-? Ugh!" She wishes she'd gotten stuck here with Sōta instead.
Kagome stops walking, gazing around the forest. "It's like the family shrine isn't even here."
"No shit, Sherlock," Kaori deadpans, standing behind her. "It's almost as if we're not home." She glances upwards as she stares ahead and blinks in surprise. "Kagome, does that look like the Sacred Tree to you?"
Kagome looks and cheers. "That means we're practically home!"
Kaori stares at her, growing more frustrated by the second. "Uh, no. It means this place has a tree similar to the one we see all the time." Without another moment of hesitation, Kagome sprints towards the towering tree. Kaori quickly follows with a groan. Kagome pushes past some bushes as she hurries but pauses in her movement immediately afterwards. Kaori rams into her backside by accident; Kagome doesn't react to the sudden impact. "Ooof!" Kaori steadies herself. "What the hell? Why'd you stop?" She glances past Kagome. Her eyes widen.
A male with silver locks for hair is pinned to the tree, roots growing around him; he's been there for a very long time. He appears to be wearing red robes and, by the looks of it, has white ones underneath. Pierced through his chest is an arrow. His eyes remain closed. His dog-like ears are motionless. He seems to be permanently unconscious than deceased; one would think his body would have deteriorated with time if he was actually dead. "Is that a...boy?" Kagome wonders aloud.
"Whoa," Kaori comments under her breath. She steps around Kagome. Walking up to the tree, she climbs one of the roots so she can get a closer look at the intriguing male. Her adoptive sister follows suit. Immediately, his dog-like ears catch their attention. Especially Kaori's. "They're so cute. Reminds me of a dog," she thinks as she stares. Her concentration is broken when Kagome's hand grazes her cheek; Kagome has grabbed ahold of one of the ears. Unable to help herself, Kaori does the same, gently grabbing the other. Together, they rub an ear of the fascinating unconscious male.
Kagome releases her hold first, slouching over afterwards. Kaori follows suit, without slouching. "Well, that's outta our systems now," Kagome comments. Kaori hums.
Out of nowhere, a group of villagers, all male (by the looks of it), appear with bows in hand, arrows drawn. Without hesitation, they fire; Kagome immediately cowers into the unconscious male as Kaori places herself in front of Kagome. Luckily, the arrows miss and, instead, the sharp edges pierce the trunk of the tree, missing the boy, too. Within seconds, the villagers are rushing them before they can recover.
In a short amount of time, the sisters find themselves sitting beside each other on a straw mat in a village square, their hands and ankles tightly bound. Around them, the villagers glare.
"You didn't have to tie us up, you know," Kagome complains.
"Would you shut up already?" Kaori hisses, keeping her voice down. "You'll just make things worse."
Completely surrounded, they have to endure the gossiping.
"Girls with strange clothes."
"Are they foreigners?"
"Y' reckon it's war?"
"Of course it is and right in the middle of rice-planting season, too."
"Could they be Kitsunes in disguise?"
"Them shape-changing foxes are a lot trickier than that."
"Surely, the one with the blue hair is a demon."
Kaori blinks. "Demon? Me? They think...I'm a demon? Because of my hair? Seriously? I get enough hate about it at home." Seconds later, she recalls the male pinned to the tree. "Wait, that boy, is he a demon, according to these...people? I suppose that explains his really cute ears." She shakes her head, realizing something. "Why am I so nonchalant about this?! None of this is normal! What the hell is going on?!"
"Make way for High Priestess Kaede!"
An old woman approaches the bound sisters, holding a bundle and bow. She has a black eye-patch over her right eye and is dressed in the clothing of a typical priestess. With her is one of the villagers; he appears to be her assistant.
Kaori stares at the elderly woman with slight curiosity; Kagome stares at the old lady with annoyance. Once the two are standing before them, the elderly priestess hands her bow to the man. Afterwards, she reaches into her bundle for some powder-like substance, tossing it onto the siblings several times. Kagome struggles with her bindings as she tries to avoid the mysterious powder; Kaori just sits there, extremely stiff as she wonders why it's stinging her skin. "Demons, begone!"
"Hey!" Kagome yells, more of the substance landing on her head. "Quit that already! We're not demons!"
Kaori grits her teeth when her skin stings some more from the powder. She speaks when the sensation subsides. "Yeah. As hard as this may be for you to believe, we're humans." She holds back a hiss when more powder is thrown on her. "Damn it, would you stop?!" she yells, irritated.
Kaede pauses and stares at them. "Are ye not?" she questions, confused. "Then, why were ye found in the forest of Inuyasha?" Neither female can properly answer; they don't know how to explain themselves without looking insane.
"She could be a spy from another village," the male beside Kaede suggests.
Kaede looks at him briefly. "In that case, they would be fools. Who would invade such a poor village as ours?" She looks back towards them. Kagome is staring at her angrily; Kaori is slowly relaxing, as things appear to be a big misunderstanding. Staring at Kagome for a moment, Kaede's functioning eye widens. "Let me have a good look at ye." She grabs onto Kagome's chin. Quickly, she turns the girl's face left and right, examining her. "Look clever, girl, or be ye a half-wit."
Kaori bites her lower lip to keep from laughing. Kagome glares at Kaede. "Why you...!" she thinks.
Kaede releases her hand from Kagome's face but continues staring. "It's there, though I know not why." She can see a resemblance between the girl and her deceased sister. She certainly hadn't foreseen this. As she continues to stare at Kagome, the female in question stares back in confusion before glancing at Kaori. Kaori shares a glance and shrugs, just as confused.
Nightfall comes within a matter of hours, time moving differently than what the sisters are used to; at their own home, daylight is most definitely still around. Hiding in their homes as the full moon brightly shines, many of the villagers are taking rest or having a late supper. Inside the wooden household of High Priestess Kaede, the elderly woman kneels before a large black pot of steaming stew, stirring the food with a wooden spoon, a bowl in her opposite hand. Beside, and across, from her, Kagome and Kaori are also kneeling, neither restrained with rope; not long after the earlier situation, they'd been set free.
Scooping some stew, Kaede pours it into the bowl, then offers it to Kagome, chopsticks in hand, too. Rubbing her sore wrists, Kagome glances at the elderly priestess when the bowl of beef and vegetables, submerged in liquid, is gestured at her. "Wow," she comments, smiling. She grabs the bowl and chopsticks eagerly. "That looks great. Real food." Lifting the bowl to her lips, she sips some of the juice.
Kaori patiently waits, fumbling with her clothing as Kaede fills another bowl. When the dish is offered with a pair of chopsticks, she gently takes them. "Thank you, High Priestess," she states, expressing her sincere gratitude. She doesn't hold the earlier situation against her or anyone; it was a very confusing situation, after all, and not just for the sisters. Following Kagome's lead, she takes a sip and, in a matter of a minute, only the beef and vegetables are left to enjoy. Using the chopsticks, she grabs a piece of beef. Before she can eat it, she lightly burps. Covering her mouth briefly, she blushes in embarrassment. "Excuse me," she says, smiling sheepishly at Kaede before finally eating the beef.
Kaede stares at the feasting siblings with a neutral expression. "Bear us no ill will, children, for though I now see ye mean us no harm, in these troubled times of war, no stranger may be welcomed among us without deep distrust," she explains, apologizing. Desperate times call for desperate measures, though the sisters aren't sure if that saying exists here in this time.
Swallowing another piece of beef, Kaori gives a short nod. "We understand." Picking up an onion with her chopsticks, she eats it slowly, eyes softening their gaze as she looks towards the wooden floor of the hut. "I suppose it makes sense. Because of their struggling with this war of theirs, it's no wonder they reacted like they did. This place is far too dangerous. I wish we could leave, though this place is rather interesting." She sighs, putting more onion slices into her waiting mouth.
Kagome lowers her bowl, finishing her slurping. She frowns, thinking about Kaede's words. "We really aren't in Tokyo anymore, are we?" she asks gently, sad. She misses her home and really wants to return to it.
"To-ky-o?" Kaede repeats, staring at Kagome. "Never heard of it. Is that where your people are from?"
Kagome blushes, responding sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, and we really should get going." Turning her attention from Kaede, she starts eating what remains in the stew. "However, I've no idea how we're gonna get back." Deciding not to stress about it too much, she quietly enjoys her supper.
"Eventually," Kaori mumbles. Putting down her empty bowl and chopsticks, she rests her hands on her thighs, glancing around the hut, having nothing better to do.
Kaede turns her gaze to Kaori. "Is it common of your people to have such hair? Ye be mistaken for a demon here, though ye may already realize this."
Humming, Kaori glances at Kaede, hesitating. "...Well..." She isn't certain how to explain, so she goes with what comes to mind first. "Our...people change their original hair sometimes, to make themselves stand out and be unique. Eventually, it returns to its...natural state." She sighs. "No one is born with hair like this. I'm the only abnormal one in that, as far as I'm aware." She looks away, returning her gaze to the wooden floor. She doesn't say anything else, nor waits for a response that never comes.
Meanwhile, a centipede-like demon burrows through the grass, moving at an impossible speed. It rams through a wooden fence and crashes into a hut, destroying both with ease. As it continues with its viciousness, it demolishes several more huts, plowing further into the village. Soon, a multitude of villagers run across the land, some injured, some may even be close to death. One villager sounds the bell, raising awareness to all that haven't heard the destruction.
Because of the commotion, Kaede and the sisters rush outside.
The she-beast appears in their line of sight. In her mouth, she holds a horse, which appears to still be alive. Several of the villagers fire arrows at her, trying to defend their homeland, but the demon swipes them away with her tail, annoyed by their interference. Catching sight of the sisters, namely Kagome, she flings the horse in their direction, missing them, and Kaede, by very little.
"It's that thing!" Kagome exclaims, looking at the she-beast.
"Why can't it leave us alone?!" Kaori yells, throwing up her arms. "What the hell does it want now?!"
"Give me the sacred jewel!" the she-beast strongly demands. She, then, attempts to attack. She swoops towards the three. Thankfully, she misses her target; the three duck down. She swoops back around, missing still.
"Again with the 'give me the sacred jewel' nonsense!" Kaori exclaims, briefly mimicking the she-beast's attitude and voice very poorly. "We don't have it, you ugly bitch!" She sits up on the ground, on her knees. She hears Kaede and Kagome conversating but cannot comprehend the words said. "Would you two shut up?! Talk later! We have bigger things to worry about, literally!"
The she-beast, quickly dubbed as Mistress Centipede, continues her rampage. Without halt, the villagers continue firing arrows at her, never giving up. In retaliation, she spins her body and swipes her tail, diving at the men, knocking them across the village every which way. Those that haven't been attacked are forced to retreat. Quickly, two villagers approach Kaede, Kagome, and Kaori as they stand back up.
"Spears, arrows, nothing's working!" one of the men yells to Kaede.
"We must lure it to the dry well," Kaede states with authority.
Overhearing, Kaori turns her attention towards her adoptive sister. "Kagome, that thing is after you, yes?"
"Mmm hmm," Kagome hums.
"Glad we're on the same page; we're gonna lead it away," Kaori states.
"We?!" Kagome exclaims in surprise. "Don't you mean me?"
Kaori gives her an annoyed look as chaos reigns around them. "Did you really think I'd let you do it alone? Screw that; we're doing this together." She glances back towards the commotion of battle. "The dry well they speak of must be the one we climbed from; we can bait it there."
Kagome nods, having no time to argue. She looks at Kaede. "Which way is the forest?!" They're surrounded by the woods. However, she doesn't wait for a response; she glances around at the woodlands, quickly spotting something that stands out from everything else. "Where the light is shining, right?!"
"Hmm? What light?" Kaori questions, looking around. "I don't see anything." Kagome takes off in a sprint. "Kagome! Wait!" Kaori follows after her, catching up quickly and keeping the same speed.
As the sisters run through the village, Mistress Centipede swoops down again, plowing through Kaede and a multitude of villagers, trailing after them. Still running, Kagome and Kaori jump into a shallow pond, continuing to lead the she-beast away, trying to prevent the village from being completely destroyed. Kaede and a number of villagers get onto horses to follow behind.
Kagome starts panting heavily as she sprints through a lone path with her adopted sister; Kaori isn't tiring out but she has slowed down, to put herself directly in the she-beasts sights if she attacks again and to follow Kagome since she seems to know where their heading. Kagome stares at the forest ahead, struggling to catch even breath, a psychedelic-colored sky above the woodland; if Kaori looks, she'd see nothing.
"This was the worst idea I've ever had!" Kaori yells, running closely behind Kagome. "What are we supposed to do when we get there?! What if we don't make it?! We really should've thought this through! Then again, we had no time!" She realizes she's starting to ramble out of nervousness. She glances back, only to see Mistress Centipede gaining on them. "Holy shit!" She picks up speed, passing Kagome; as she does, she picks her adoptive sister up with ease and throws her over her shoulder.
"Kaori!" Kagome exclaims, caught off guard. Then, she shrieks. "Aah! It's right behind you!"
"I know!" Kaori yells. Without much effort, she carries Kagome as she runs faster, only slightly outrunning the she-beast chasing them. Neither sister thinks about how this is possible for her to achieve; they have more pressing things to focus on. "Where the hell is Kaede?!" Then, something crosses her mind. "Which way, Kagome?!"
"Keep running for, uh, maybe a hundred more steps before turning right!" Kagome somewhat poorly instructs.
"Got it!" Kaori yells, picking up her pace.
"Someone, anyone, please save us!" Kagome yells from Kaori's shoulder. "Whoever you are, please! Somebody, just help us!"
Kaori keeps sprinting, heading up a slope of tall grass with the she-beast hot on her trail and Kagome screaming in her ear to run faster. Consistently, Mistress Centipede asks for the sacred jewel; Kagome denies having it, each time she's 'asked'. As Kaori reaches the top of the slope, the she-beast lunges, crashing into the ground directly behind her, causing her to fly forward into the forest. She loses her grip on Kagome, who goes flying herself. They flip a few times before landing; Kagome gets a rough landing to her abdomen, directly in front of the sacred tree, and Kaori lands behind her, on her back.
"Hello, Kikyō. Playing with bugs now, are we?"
"Huh?" Kagome blinks and glances up. The boy pinned to the tree; he's staring her down intensely. "Did he just talk?" she wonders in her head, sitting up on her knees as she continues watching him. She ignores the commotion behind her; Mistress Centipede is destroying things a short distance away and Kaori is grunting in pain as she stands. "So, you're alive?"
"Who in blazes are you talking to?" Kaori asks, stretching, hands on her lower back and eyes closed. Sighing, she opens them, turning to her adoptive sister, then stopping short when her eyes land on the boy first. She stares at him, surprised. "What the hell?!"
The boy turns his gaze towards Kaori. A split second later, he appears slightly taken aback. Kaori hums, tilting her head at him, curious. His sniffs at the air, catching her scent; what can only be known as envy enters his eyes and he glares at her. Now, it's Kaori who is taken aback and she immediately breaks eye contact.
"Dude, I don't know what I ever did to you," Kaori starts, avoiding his eyes. "But stop staring at me like that. And I don't care if you just woke up; it's rude."
Her words snap him out of his trance and, once more, his attention is on Kagome. His eyes stay narrowed. Then, he smirks. "Why are you taking so long to kill it? Just do her like you did me." He glances at Kaori briefly. "Or are you waiting for your broken feline to assist you?" he asks with clear disgust.
"...Broken feline?" Kaori ponders, confused.
Something in the boy's expression, and eyes, changes when he looks back at Kagome; the emotions are crossed between concern and confusion, but they only last for a second before returning to indifference. "You look pretty dumb there, Kikyō." His smirk reappears. "The Kikyō I know wouldn't waste her time." He glances back towards Kaori and acts like he has something more to say but keeps his mouth shut.
Kaori has turned her attention back to the boy. She seems annoyed; her eye twitches each time he glances at her. "Who the hell is Kikyō?" she asks, brushing dirt off her clothing. Like Kagome, she seems to have forgotten about the she-beast giving chase. "Whoever she is, you either really hate her or really like her. Or both."
"Your cat doesn't even remember your name, Kikyō," the boy says. "You should tighten your leash."
Kaori's eye twitches again. "If he calls me a cat one more time...!" She freezes. "Wait, why does he keep calling me a cat...?"
Kagome glares at the boy. She stands, fists clenched at her sides. He has irritated her, too. "Kaori's not a pet or a cat; she's my sister! And whoever Kikyō is, she's not me because my name is-!"
Mistress Centipede lunges at them from the tree's leaves, trying to grab onto either female but both leap out of the way, dodging the attack (for the most part); the she-beast manages to graze Kaori's arm with her sharp nails, catching mostly her sweater sleeve and partially her arm, leaving a scratch that draws some blood.
The damage to her clothing doesn't go unnoticed by Kagome. "Are you alright?!"
Kaori answers with sarcasm. "Oh, no, I'm totally fine; it's not like I was just attacked by a half-naked bitch from hell or anything." She glares at Kagome as she sits up. "Of course I'm not alright! I mean, I'm not hurt much, it's just a scratch really, but I'm not okay! Nothing about this screams okay!"
Kagome whimpers. "S-Sorry..."
An involuntary shriek escapes the sisters; Mistress Centipede approaches them from above, arms extended. Suddenly, a few grappling hooks fly through the air and ensnare the she-beast, digging into her side. A few more hooks fly into her centipede lower half. The villagers finally make a physical appearance, stepping out of their hiding places. Working together, the townsfolk pull on the ropes of the grappling hooks, reeling in the she-beast.
Kaori sighs in relief. "About damn time."
"You're pathetic, Kikyō," the boy smartly comments.
Kaori groans. "Right, he's still here..." She picks up a twig and throws it at him; it bounces off his nose and, while it didn't do anything to him, it certainly annoyed him. "She's not Kikyō, dude! And stop saying that name every sentence you say! We get it; you like whoever that is, or hate them, or both! We don't care, you obsessive lunatic!"
Kagome, fed up with him as well, stands and faces him. "Look, I'm telling you that I'm not her! Whoever she is!" She climbs one of the roots, like she did earlier with Kaori, and gets in his face.
"And I'm saying you got to be here because if you're not, there's no way that you could smell so-" He pauses, studying her face. He sniffs at her scent. "You're not her," he remarks, sweatdropping.
"We tried to tell you," Kaori comments from nearby, watching.
"My name is Kagome. Ka-Go-Me." She stares at him angrily.
He turns his head to the right, looking away from her. "You're right. Kikyō was cuter, much cuter," he grumbles.
Kaori, despite the situation, laughs. "Ouch," she mutters. "Thanks for the confirmation, dude; you definitely liked the girl." Then, her eyes widen; the she-beast is heading right towards her adoptive sister. "Kagome, look out!" she yells but her warning comes too late.
Mistress Centipede grabs onto Kagome's torso with her many hands and lifts her. Without hesitation, the female in distress grabs onto the boy's hair, so she doesn't get pulled away. "Aah, let go of me!"
"Ow, ow, ow!" the boy exclaims. "You let go!"
"Inuyasha has revived!"
Kaori, helplessly watching from the sidelines, overhears the villager. "So, he is Inuyasha," she whispers. "I wasn't sure." From the corner of her eye, she sees that Kaede has arrived at the scene. Additionally, she notices that the villagers are just standing around now, just as helpless as herself.
Mistress Centipede prepares to attack Kagome with her sharp teeth. Distressed, Kagome raises her hand towards the she-beast. "Stop it!" A force emits from her palm and hits the she-beast, causing her to release Kagome. Because of this, Kagome lands roughly onto the ground in front of the tree and a few of Mistress Centipede's arms drop before her. Everyone, except maybe Inuyasha and the sisters, is in awe of what happened.
Then, a light emerges from the side of Kagome's torso, coming from within. "What's happening now?" she quietly wonders.
With haste, Mistress Centipede lunges at Kagome again, teeth sinking into her side as she lifts her target into the air. Moments later, the she-beast tosses her towards the sky. Whilst in midair, the glowing object exits her body, along with some blood, and it's revealed to be a pink jewel. She lands on the ground again. The jewel lands in front of her.
Nearby, Kaori stares in shock for a second before snapping out of it and running to her sister's side. Up close, she sees what it is. "Kagome, doesn't that look a lot like the jewel Grandpa showed us yesterday? The one from the key-chains?"
Before Kagome can reply, and before anyone can do anything, Mistress Centipede circles her body around the Sacred Tree, and the sisters, several times before squeezing, pressing them into Inuyasha. The jewel remains on the ground, unguarded.
"This is too close for comfort," Kaori grunts. Her head is leaning against Inuyasha's shoulder; when she moves, she accidentally headbutts him.
"Ow!" Inuyasha growls, baring his teeth at her.
"Don't you growl at me!" Kaori hisses, glaring at him. "I didn't ask to be pinned against you with my sister!"
Behind the tree, Mistress Centipede emerges. "I heard some half-demon spawn was after the sacred jewel. It's you, isn't it?" She laughs maniacally.
Kaori blinks, staring at Inuyasha, who is glaring at the she-beast. Beside her, Kagome is looking at him, too, and she mutters something, but Kaori can't quite catch it. "I'm not even going to think about how that's possible," she thinks. "I've seen television; I'd rather not know."
"Half's all I need to kick your scaly butt," Inuyasha declares. "Anything more than that would be a waste of my time."
"Listen, you talk big but can you back it up?" Kagome asks. Inuyasha looks at her in surprise, humming in question. "Can you or not?"
"Kagome, I'm sure he's very capable of kicking ass and taking names, but he can't really do anything when he's pinned to this tree by the arrow and this demon...thing," Kaori remarks. "We can't do anything either, not that we would've been much help anyway..."
"The Neko is right," Mistress Centipede retorts. "You're powerless to stop me."
"What is with everyone calling me a cat?" Kaori thinks. "...Actually, they must be thinking I'm a demon. Yeah, that would explain it." She glares at her hair. "This is your fault."
Mistress Centipede swoops down beside the jewel. With her tongue, which is abnormally long, she grabs it and, then, swallows it. All around, the villagers panic. The fallen limbs of the she-beast reattach themselves. Shaking furiously, her skin melts off, revealing a grotesque rotten skeleton-like torso and face. "At last, my power is complete. Rejoice, rejoice!" She tightens her body, squeezing Kagome and Kaori; Inuyasha remains unaffected.
In a serious tone, Inuyasha speaks to Kagome. "Hey, can you pull out this arrow?"
"Huh?" she quizzes, gazing up at him.
His tone switches from calm to fierce. "Look, can you pull out this arrow or not?!"
"So you can kill us all afterwards? No way," Kaori retorts. She glances at the she-beast that's currently trying to kill them and is getting steps closer to succeeding. "...Hey, Kagome, can you pull out the arrow or not?" she calmly repeats for Inuyasha. If his half-demon nature is true, he'd be easier to deal with than the full bloodied one.
"I-I don't know." Kagome reaches for the arrow, grunting in pain from Mistress Centipede's squeezing.
"Nay, child," Kaede protests from nearby. "Once the arrow is removed, then Inuyasha will be free to destroy us all."
"Don't be stupid, you old hag!" Inuyasha exclaims. "At least with me, you've got a chance, whereas this thing is gonna eat you." Mistress Centipede roars. Inuyasha looks down at Kagome. "And what about you? Are you ready to die yet?"
Kaori groans and not from being squeezed. "For the hatred of all things unholy, somebody just do something other than talking!"
Although she's unsure of many things, Kagome grabs hold of the arrow. "I choose to live!" Pulling, a light emits from the arrow and it soon disintegrates, the spell of sealing shattering.
"Neat trick," Kaori compliments before hissing at the tightening grip Mistress Centipede has.
Kagome stares nervously up at Inuyasha, who is silent. "Um, uh, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha suddenly starts laughing hysterically.
"I knew he was insane," Kaori comments.
Mistress Centipede fully tightens her hold on them, intending to crush them against the tree, but seconds later, Inuyasha breaks them free, destroying the she-beast's body which has exploded into pieces. Kagome and Kaori fly towards the ground; Kagome lands first, then Kaori lands on top of her, both grunting upon hitting the ground.
Somersaulting to the ground, Inuyasha smirks at Mistress Centipede, who is very angry with him. "Nasty hag!" The she-beast rushes at him. Brandishing his claws, he attacks, too. "Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!" His claws connect with Mistress Centipede's mouth and, from there, he begins splitting her in two before safely landing on the ground. The she-beast's body scatters across the ground upon her defeat.
Kaori and Kagome are kneeling on the ground, watching, completely awed by the brief performance.
"Holy shit," Kaori whispers.
"Well, now we know. He is strong," Kagome comments.
"And we are doomed," Kaori adds.
A body part lying beside them twitches, making Kagome shriek. The sisters stand up quickly. Kaori pushes Kagome behind her as several of the villagers run up to them, including Kaede. "Find the glowing flesh quickly," the elderly woman instructs Kagome. "That's where the jewel will be. It must be removed at once, lest the flesh of Mistress Centipede revive."
"What?!" Kaori exclaims, twirling to face Kaede. "...What?!"
Kagome is panicked, too. "Whoa, whoa, tell me you're joking."
"She's not," Kaori immediately answers. "Find the damn jewel! Hurry! I've had enough of this ugly bitch!"
Kagome quickly glances around at the severed body parts of the she-beast. Just as quickly, she spots a familiar glow and points. "There! It's that one!" With haste, Kaede approaches the twitching flesh and removes the jewel from the creature. Immediately, the flesh of all the body parts disintegrate, leaving behind bones. Kagome watches in awe briefly before turning to her adopted sister. "...Are you regretting this morning yet?"
Kaori snorts, smiling widely. "Nah. Your surprise birthday party has been very interesting." Kagome covers her mouth, to contain a giggle, only for it to slip through anyway. "These special effects are wild." Kagome hits Kaori's shoulder before leaning against her arm, shaking in laughter, mouth still covered.
Kaede approaches them, holding out the jewel. Kagome, wiping away her teary eyes from the silent laughter, holds out her palm, confused. Kaede drops the jewel into her hand. "Only ye may possess the sacred jewel."
"I'd like to know how it was even in your body," Kaori says, eyeing the jewel.
"Me too," Kagome says. "Why would I have a jewel wanted by demons?"
As if on cue, Inuyasha steps forward, moving closer to the three women. He crushes a bone beneath his foot. "Exactly." He stares at Kagome threateningly. "Humans can't use it, so why bother to keep it?" He brandishes his claws again. "If you hand the jewel over right now, I won't have to start sharpening my claws on you."
"What?" Kagome mutters. "What?" she repeats, in a normal tone. "What?!" she echoes one last time, yelling. "You mean, you're not the hero?"
"What made you think that?" Kaori wonders, side-glancing at her. "Kaede warned us. Even Inuyasha himself warned us; he didn't exactly deny that he'd attack all of us." Kagome looks at her with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression. Kaori sighs, looking back at Inuyasha. "Unfortunately, this isn't some fairy tale; there's no knight in shining armor coming to rescue you." She pauses. "Us," she corrects. "This is our new reality. You'll need to make a habit of listening to Kaede."
Surprisingly, Inuyasha didn't make a move to attack during Kaori's 'speech'. Kaede shifts, willingly placing herself between him and the sisters. Kaori follows suit, putting herself in front of Kagome.