InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Naraku's Location: Revealed! ( Chapter 19 )

AN: Whee! I got the first Inuyasha movie! (Kinda late, I know… but whatever. I got it! Blew all my synapses out watchin' it in English, then Japanese with subs. Yay!)

 

I noticed that the story isn't quite as fast-paced as I intended… so I'm thinking about picking up the speed. (Just so's ya know, and it I do. Actually, hanging pace at this point would be kinda weird.)

 

Okay! Response time:

 

Angel 4 life: Thank you! (And such high praise, at that… Wow!) Sorry, I don't mean to keep you waiting, and again, thanks!

 

Tiamath: Haha! You're completely right, though. Ayumi, Yuka and Eri are so obliviously stupid! I find it rather infuriating, myself. (The truth is right there, under their noses, and they're too thick skulled to notice regarding the real deal.)

 

Animekitty07: Thank you! (And congrats on the word change… hehe). I'm glad that the sit think works out. One note: Kagome doesn't know that yet because she hasn't tried to sit him again so far. That'll come up in the next chapter, perhaps this one. Not sure, as of now.

 

Taberah Blanc: Haha, but seriously; we all have our moments, ya know? Ooh, medication. Sounds serious. I agree with you completely: the floor's the same stuff as the chair - or at least similar- so it the thing can go through the chair, why not the floor? And …Wow. I don't think I could pick up a bed, myself…

 

Auxana: Hehe! Yeah, not having an actual deadline or anything is wonderful. Especially when I'm writing so much. Thank you! And I do write whenever I'm on the computer, and I'm on the computer pretty often, so I guess that's a good thing productive-wise (though not exercise-wise…).

 

fluffyrachel: But of course Shippo is evil! He's a cunning, devilish mastermind…. Looks are very deceiving in his case; a cute little fox-demon, right? WRONG! Actually, I don't really plan the story out at all, which is not very good. I know where the story is going and about how long it's going to be, but in between… there's a lot of grey area. (In fact, when I start a chapter I have no idea what to write…) Updates! Hm… Probably about as frequently -or infrequently, in some cases- as they've been so far. It depends on where I go, what I do, and if my parents will let me drag my computer along. (My computer is very compact and portable.)

 

rin sama1989: no prob, I like to answer questions, no matter how random they are. I've never seen any fics in which those two -Kagura and Kaede- are related, so that's where that came from… and Kagura's definitely going to be pissed when she finds out that she went all the way to Tokyo for no reason. Hehe. Sorry about the Tsubaki thing! I guess she didn't really need to die, but it was kinda helpful. I didn't want to have her attack the last chapter because Kagome's friends would cause problems in that regard. I didn't really consider a Kouga/Kagura pairing… At this point, I think that there's too much enmity between them. As of now, it's possible that Kagome's buddies will find the Inu/Kag thing going on there, but as of now, I'm not completely sure… And if they do find out, Eri doesn't like Inuyasha because she loves Shippo and he hits Shippo and stuff. She wouldn't try to hook 'em up. Yuka might and the same goes for Ayumi, but I'm not completely sure right now.

 

PippetJimmy: In regards to the review thing: reviews are greatly appreciated and I love them very much, but don't feel bad! I hope that you don't feel like it's an obligation or chore; that would make me feel like a demanding tyrannical sort, which I try not to be. And of course, life before fanfiction! (Unless of course, one's life is fanfiction… [whistles casually; of course that's not me!]) And thank you!

 

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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. No, I lied. I do own Inuyasha- in the form of manga and a DVD! But I can't take credit for coming up with the story's plot and the concepts therein. So I don't own it, own it, I just… own it. Some of it.

 

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Haunted

 

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Chapter Nineteen:

 

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"Get well soon, okay?" Mrs. Higurashi stood up and patted her friend on the arm. "I'll be back tomorrow." She smiled and assembled her things. In the hospital bed, the brown-haired woman rolled her eyes.

 

"Look, Umeko, I know that you've got better things to do than sit around in a hospital for hours each day and watch me veg. Go home!" Yuri grinned and waved. Mrs. Higurashi shook her head.

 

"I'm not going anywhere," she promised. "This is more important than sitting at home and gardening." Her smile widened. "Plus, when was the last time I was in the area? I've got some tourist sites to visit!" Mrs. Higurashi waved as she left, closing the door gently behind her.

 

Yuri sighed. "Umeko, you're crazy," she commented to the empty room. "It's already been a week!" She'd need to go home sometime, even if her daughter and the others were perfectly capable of staying home by themselves.

 

A brown-haired head stuck itself through the door. "Mom?" Yuri's son Takai stepped into the room and settled himself in the chair just vacated by Mrs. Higurashi. "What's up?" He leaned over in the chair and rested his chin on his hands.

 

"Oh, everything!" The invalided woman ruffled her son's hair affectionately. "Guess who stopped by? A psychiatrist!" The poor man had gotten the wrong room and was very lost. She winked at Takai. "Did you tell them that I was crazy again?"

 

"Yup!" The brown-haired boy grinned back. "Oh, guess what? I found a dead mouse in the backyard! It was disgusting!" Yuri winced. "I think we have raccoons in the yard again. Dad says we should put the repellent out again, but it scares Masi away too." The invalided woman smiled slightly. Masi was a large fat stray that Takai had taken a liking to.

 

"Well, that's too bad. I guess Masi will just have to go around the front to get his food, won't he?" Takai nodded. "Where's your sister?" Normally, Tori arrived before Takai. Her school was closer.

 

"She had a makeup exam." The brown-haired boy leaned closer. "She failed her history exam!" Yuri shook her head. Takai and Tori had a very competitive relationship, both of them constantly trying to outdo the other.

 

"I see. Oh! I have to call-" Yuri glanced at the table. "Takai, could you hand me the phone?" The young boy handed it to her and picked up the Gameboy he left in the hospital for his visits. The phone beeped as Yuri's fingers pressed buttons, and she put the phone to her ear.

 

"Hello? No, it's Yuri." She paused. "Yes, that Yuri." She nodded and sighed. "Can I talk to Haru, please? Thank you." She smiled as Takai concentrated on his game, a frown creasing his forehead. "Hi, Haru! No, I'm good! I was just calling to say thank you for flowers, I really appreciate it…"

 

Neither of them noticed as a large white feather swooped by the window, a scarlet-eyed woman sitting upon it and a strange bulky package covered in sutras held in her arms.

 

Kagura smiled grimly. "Almost to Tokyo…" And she finally found a solution to the sword's destructive influence; she'd covered it in sutras of containment and sealing. She glanced back at the scrap of paper in her hand with a frown.

 

The wind swirled around her, cool and sharp despite the day's heat. She was making good time. It had taken her less than two hours to get to where she was now, and it would probably only take her another half. She looked with distain at the snaking line of traffic far beneath her. Unlike the people in their cars. She didn't have to worry about traffic. And from this height, her feather looked like a little speck of cloud. No one would notice if she flew into the city. All she had to do was land on the top of a skyscraper and go down. "Sunset Shrine," she murmured. The wind witch tucked the scrap of paper into her pocket.

 

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He'd only been in the car five minutes, but it felt like an eternity already. After the initial novelty of riding in the strange vehicle wore out, Inuyasha began tapping his foot evenly against the floor of the car as the telephone wires rushed past the window. Sango heaved a frustrated sigh. "Will you stop that tapping? Please?"

 

The hanyou shot her a mutinous glance and stilled his foot. "How long does it take to get to Maebashi?" he complained. "By now, Kouga will have… have…" What would Kouga do? "Driven them all away with his stench," he finished lamely.

 

Sango rolled her eyes and glanced in the mirror. "Why do you hate Kouga so much? It's not like he'll steal Kagome from you." Inuyasha whipped around and confronted the small kitsune in the back seat.

 

"You're here, Brat?" Amber eyes widened in surprise. Shippo nodded smugly. A low growl emitted from the hanyou's throat. "And what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded hotly.

 

Sango snorted and kept her eyes on the road ahead. "You can't be serious," she muttered under her breath. Inuyasha slumped back in his chair, his chin jutting out stubbornly.

 

"Just forget I said anything," he grumbled. "It's not like you ever listen, anyway." Sango gritted her teeth. Sometimes Inuyasha acted with the maturity of a child half Shippo's age. Now was one of these times.

 

"Just forty-five more minutes," she muttered under her breath, brown eyes focused on the road. "No wonder Miroku asked me to drive." She had a few things to say to him when they got back…

 

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"Don't play stupid, Kagome!" Eri glared at her friend, frustration sparkling in her brown eyes. The shopkeeper glanced at the schoolgirl with a small amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Who's the other guy?"

 

Yuka interjected. "Is it someone who you've met here?" The three of them watched Kagome carefully. The black-haired girl sighed and toyed with the plastic spoon on the table.

 

"Can we talk about something else, please?" She looked from one to the other. All three of them stared back unrelentingly. "Look, I just have other priorities." It wasn't a lie, either; in their spare time, Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha -until he got frustrated- were looking through the old scrolls left in the house, searching for Naraku's location and more information on his background. She would be doing the same as soon as her friends left.

 

"…Kagome," Eri said warningly. "Stop trying to avoid the subject! And just tell us the truth!" The man behind the counter looked up in surprise, the schoolgirl's piercing tone jolting him from his business.

 

"I am!" The black-haired girl protested. "I have very, very important things to worry about!" Though honestly, she hadn't done much worrying at all. She couldn't begin to truly comprehend what Naraku was, no matter what the others said of him and what she read from the scrolls at night while her friends were sleeping in their respective rooms. It all just seemed so distant and unreal. In today's day and age, it was hard to believe that just one demon could pose such a great threat as Inuyasha warned.

 

"What?" Ayumi asked curiously. "You're not that behind in schoolwork, are you?" Kagome shook her head. "Well, then what is it?" The others leaned in closer, curiosity burning in their separate gazes, replacing the anger that had been there before.

 

"I…" She desperately wanted to tell them. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi were her close friends, three of the few people that she could tell everything to. But not this, no matter how much she wanted to just talk. They wouldn't understand, would they? Kagome took a deep breath. "I-"

 

"Kagome!" Sango slammed open the door to the ice cream shop, fury burning in her eyes. The small bell over the door jangled clamorously. "Let's go!" She stomped forward.

 

"Sango?" Kagome queried. "What's wrong?" There was a crash from somewhere outside. She got to her feet quickly and peered over the exterminator's shoulder. "What on Earth was that-" her brows snapped together with an almost audible click. "Inuyasha…! It's always him!"

 

The other three watched with awe as well. "You mean he doesn't this a lot?" Eri asked blandly. "Fighting with Kouga?" She blinked. "Whoa! Do they take Karate or something?" Ayumi almost had her face pressed against the glass of the window. The shopkeeper looked up from the counter that he was cleaning with interest.

 

"I suggest that you go do something," Sango said crisply. "No matter how many times I tell them to stop, they just don't listen." She ground her teeth with frustration. "They're like infants."

 

Kagome was already out of the door and hurrying across the street, screaming at the two of them. Sango shook her head again. "Idiots." The three schoolgirls looked at her with surprise, then back to the fight.

 

"Wow," Yuka said flatly. "I've never seen anyone move that fast." Sango blinked and laughed nervously.

 

"Well, they've taken… some special training," she said lamely. "Been practicing for years, I think." The others nodded and accepted her excuse without question. Sango shook her head. How gullible could you get?

 

"Stop it!" Kagome stomped up to the two of them, pushing through the small crowd that had developed around the two of them. "Inuyasha!" she tried desperately, peering over a spectator's shoulder.

 

"I'm busy!" the hanyou snarled in reply. "Talk to me later! Bastard!" He punched Kouga in the stomach, and the disguised wolf-demon snarled in return, fist raised. The two of them leaped over the back of a truck and rushed down the street.

 

Kagome chased after them, fury flashing in her brown eyes. "Inuyasha!" What was it that she'd said before? "Sit!" Nothing happened, and she frowned. What did she do, exactly? What had happened? She jumped over a fire hydrant and skirted around a street vendor selling hats. The beads flashed and Inuyasha did a face-plant into the ground when she grabbed the prayer beads and told him to sit. "That's it!" She looked up as Kouga leaped high into the air, over Inuyasha's head. Moment's later, the hanyou was up in the air with him, both of them snarling insults.

 

The black-haired girl stopped abruptly. How on earth was she going to get a hold of those beads? "Whoa!" Kouga landed heavily in a crouching position a few scant inches away from her.

 

"Hah! Wimp!" the black-haired demon taunted. "Is that the best you can do? No wonder you died!" He leaped away as Inuyasha landed, fist extended and the malicious intent burning in his gold eyes.

 

Yes! Kagome ran forward and grabbed the prayer beads, nearly choking the disguised half-demon in the process. "Kagome! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, eyes still on Kouga. "Let go!"

 

"Sit!" Kagome demanded. The beads were wrenched from her grasp as Inuyasha went plummeting to the ground, an outraged exclamation causing passerby to cover their children's ears.

 

"Kagome," Inuyasha said slowly, voice filled with barely contained rage. He sat up and glared at her with amber eyes smoldered with accusation. "What the hell was that for?" he burst out, poking a finger in her face.

 

The large crowd fell dead silent, all of the people staring with shock or amazement registering upon their faces. A little boy dropped his lollipop onto the ground and it hit the concrete, shattering into little pieces. Someone coughed, and the three of them turned, Kagome laughing nervously and babbling nonsensical excuses, Inuyasha still huffing angrily, and Kouga looking nonchalant as he meandered towards his car, long black ponytail swinging casually.

 

"-a play! We're rehearsing! It's judo, too! A judo-play, with losta special effects! That's all it was, and you just can't see all the string attached. I mean, there aren't any strings, because he's acting. And that's all. It's all an act!" Kagome exclaimed triumphantly. "So you can all go home and take nice long showers or watch TV and forget that you were ever here and that this happened! Not that it's really that important," the black-haired girl broke into a series of nervous giggles. "I mean, it's just a play. But it's private and none of you can come to see it. Okay, bye!" Her face red and heart fluttering in her chest, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and dragged him away, leaving the stunned crowd staring dumbly after them.

 

"You're the one who's 'special', not the effects," the hanyou grumbled under his breath. "Do you honestly think that they bought a single word that you said? What a load of crap!" He snorted derisively, oblivious to the way that Kagome's eyes narrowed as her chin jutted stubbornly.

 

She whirled around and grabbed at the prayer beads. With reflexes twice as fast as hers, if not faster, he intercepted her hand. "Oh, no! You're not doing that again!" Amber eyes glared into brown in a fierce battle of wills.

 

"Well will you quit acting like such a jerk? I was just trying to calm things down and neither of you were listening! People could've been hurt and you were drawing suspicion! Don't you have any self control?"

 

"Oh, me!" Inuyasha retorted. He still hadn't let go of her hand. "What about you? What kind of sadistic sicko are you? Squashing people into the ground like that! And why me?" His other hand shot out and poked a finger in her face. "Why not Kouga?"

 

Kagome grabbed the offending hand and shot back a scathing reply. "If you're hearing's so superior to mine, then how come you didn't hear me screaming at you to STOP?" Brown and amber eyes clashed. "I was yelling as loudly as I could! Don't tell me that you didn't here!"

 

"I was a bit preoccupied at the moment, in case ya didn't notice!" Inuyasha's chin jutted stubbornly. "I don't have time to listen to your whining, so shut up!" There was a pause, and Kagome turned away furiously, tugging her hands away from his as she stomped down the street, eyes stinging.

 

"You… jerk!" She didn't even turn to shout the insult, and just continued down the street, her brown shoes scuffing the pavement as she furiously blinked back hot tears. She didn't want to cry, and especially not over him! Kagome looked up, searching for the car. Through the window of the ice cream parlor, her friends watched her with wide eyes as Sango sighed heavily, looking peeved.

 

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(><)

 

"Are they done yet?" she wondered aloud, earning a curious look from the other three. Kagome's distant figure grabbed Inuyasha's other hand as it came into range of her face. A few moments later, she was stalking off, clearly furious. Sango found herself wondering what ridiculously rash and idiotic comment Inuyasha had made this time. She shook her head one more time, dreading the hour-long car ride -if she went over the speed limit, half an hour, she'd found- and walked through the ice cream parlor's door, the bell declaring her exit.

 

Ayumi stared out the window, her breath frosting the glass. Slowly, she turned away to stare at the other two. "Hey, weren't they just…?" She trailed off, unsure. The other two turned, confused at the cryptic statement.

 

Suddenly, Eri's eyes lit. "Oh… hey!" she exclaimed crossly. "How could he be the other guy?" She glared out the window at the irate hanyou. "He's loud, selfish, rude, abusive-" Shippo's innocent green eyes came to mind, "-and above all, a completely unsuitable boyfriend, for anybody!"

 

Ayumi shrugged noncommittally. Disagreeing with the other girl was probably a dangerous thing to do at the moment. "Oh, I dunno," she said with a shrug. "He's not all bad." Eri looked at her with surprise and Ayumi hurried on. "I mean, he's not hideous, but his eyes and hair are a weird color. I wonder, is he albino or something? They usually have the yellow eyes, right?"

 

Yuka stared back out the window at the disguised hanyou in question. "He's such a child though. In all time we've spent here, have you seen him do anything good? All he does is sit in that room with the other two and chase Shippo around, yelling and stuff."

 

Eri nodded. "He's always after Shippo!" She watched as the white-haired figure trudged up the street, head lowered as he stared at the sidewalk, a bad-tempered frown on his face. "What's his problem?"

 

Ayumi chose not to try and answer the question. "But I do think that she likes him," she admitted. "They were holding hands." A very couple-ish thing to do, in her opinion.

 

Yuka snorted. "And then she shoved him away and ran down the street." She glanced at Ayumi. "There was nothing romantic there. They were just yelling at each other. More like enemies than anything else." She shrugged and looked for the car. "We are going home now, right?"

 

The other two nodded quickly and hurried down the street after Yuka. The shopkeeper looked up from the already-clean counter that he was wiping yet again, and smiled with a rueful shake of his head. Kids. Their lives were one drama after another.

 

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"There's not enough room in the car," Sango commented. She glanced at Shippo accusingly. "If you hadn't decided to sneak a ride…" She trailed off, and the kitsune grinned and waved.

 

"Shippo can sit on my lap." Eri smiled winningly at the ginger-haired boy. "Shippo didn't mean to cause trouble, did you?" she cooed. The little boy shook his head fervently, the epitome of innocence as he sucked on a lollipop that the schoolgirl had given him.

 

"Well, let's go." Kagome's voice was clipped and angry. Sango looked at her in surprise. "But, what about Inuyasha? He's not here yet-" Kagome slammed the car door and sniffed.

 

"Who cares about him?" Eri nudged Ayumi, a look of "see? I told you!" in her eyes. "He shouldn't have home anyway. There's not enough space in the car." Sango looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. Inuyasha could get himself home faster than the car, if it came down to it. He wouldn't get lost; his nose would guide him.

 

"…Okay. If you say so, Kagome." She stared the engine and pulled out of the parking space. With one backwards glance, she drove down the road and turned onto the freeway. "You know, he's not going to be happy when he gets back," Sango commented.

 

"As if I care!" Kagome sounded remarkable similar to a certain hanyou. "He's a rude, insolent, callous jerk and he deserves it!" Sango sighed and glanced in the rearview mirror to check for Inuyasha. No one was coming. She sighed in relief.

 

"What did he say this time?" Sango asked wearily. In the back seat, the three schoolgirls and Shippo were unusually quiet as they listened intently. Kagome ground her teeth as she answered.

 

"He said that I was wasting his time by talking to him," she said furiously. "Can you believe him? He spent the last five hundred years doing nothing, and now he tells me that talking to me is wasting his time!" She laughed bitterly. "Does that make any sense to you?"

 

Sango shrugged. "Don't get me involved in this war…" she muttered. "I don't have anything to say." She was going to kill Miroku when she got back for sticking her in this car…

 

"Oh, and you're so mild-tempered in comparison, right Kagome?" Inuyasha's sarcastic voice came through the window. In the back seat, everyone jumped in surprised and looked out the windows.

 

"Where is he?" Eri asked. "I don't see any cars or anything!" She glanced at the front of the car. "Is there some sort of speaker phone in here?" Sango shook her head.

 

"He's on the roof." She pointed up to the ceiling, and they looked up in surprise. Kagome ground her teeth furiously, fists clenched tight in her lap.

 

"What?" Eri exclaimed. "But isn't that illegal?" She winced and looked at the other two. "If we get pulled over, it's not my fault," she told them. Ayumi and Yuka nodded in agreement.

 

"What, can't you ride in a car like a normal person?" Kagome asked sourly. Sango sighed. This was going to be a very, very long car ride… She sped up a bit, knocking Inuyasha back in the process.

 

"Whoa! Sango, watch it!" To Kagome, he said, "What makes you think that I want to be in the same car as you? Besides-" Kagome cut off his reply by rolling up the window.

 

"I can't stand him!" she huffed. No one said anything in reply. Sango drove in silence, the only sound being that of the car's engine. "I mean," Kagome burst out, "he's such a pig, and he doesn't care about anyone else's feelings! He's obnoxious, narrow-minded, rude, insensitive, loud, stupid-" she took a deep breath before continuing. "And he has the biggest ego in the world!"

 

"Yeah!" Eri agreed whole-heartedly from the back seat. "And he's always hurting other people." The other two rolled her eyes. Eri didn't even know Inuyasha, really. He was holed up in that room with Sango and Miroku most of the time. Ayumi glanced at their driver with a wry smile. Sango did not look very happy. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.

 

"It's mutual, Kagome!" Inuyasha howled from the roof. His voice was muffled, but clearly angry. "You're the one who keeps encouraging that mangy wolf, not me! And then there's Hojo," he sneered. "And you don't do anything about it!"

 

Furiously, Kagome reached over with her foot and stepped on the brake pedal with a screech. Everyone was flung forward with exclamations and screams. "Kagome! What are you doing?" Sango stared at the younger girl with exasperation.

 

Without replying, Kagome opened the door and got out. The only sign of tension was her clenched fists and her narrowed eyes as she approached a furious Inuyasha, who'd fallen off the car's roof in the abrupt stop. He stood up and dusted off his haori, glaring at her bitterly.

 

"Inuyasha," Kagome's voice was almost sweet as she came closer, until she was standing just a few inches away. She reached up and amber eyes widened in surprise, anger melting away. Her hand went to his neck. "Sit." Her hand glowed -or was it the prayer beads? - and Inuyasha went crashing to the ground.

 

"You-!" Kagome turned and went back into the car. She slammed the door and calmly turned to Sango as Inuyasha shouted outraged insults in the background.

 

"Let's go," she told Sango. With an apologetic glance at the hanyou on the ground, the exterminator decided to do as Kagome said. If she waited, the ride back would only be agony for both of them. At this point, Inuyasha would probably rather walk, anyway.

 

Inuyasha glared at the car as it raced away down the highway without a backward glance. He sat up and dusted the gravel off of the front of his haori. For a moment, he just stood there, staring after the car, as it became a speck in the distance. A few minutes it disappeared over a hill in the distance as the sun sank lower on the horizon.

 

His anger dissipated, leaving only a forlorn hurt and bitterness in its wake. "Kagome, that's going to cost you," he promised the darkening sky and the sinking orange disk that lit the sky a rainbow of hues. But he was blind to the beauty of the sunset; in his mind's eye, he could still see Kagome as she stepped closer, her eyes deceptively gentle as she reached up and grabbed the necklace. The feeling of betrayal left a sour note in his mouth as he finally turned and walked away, away from the road and towards the forest. It might've been five hundred years since he'd been out here, but he still recognized the terrain. For all the time that had passed, it hadn't really changed that much. Somehow, that comforted him. While he'd been slightly conscious of all the changes that were going on while he was locked away, he hadn't realized he was so out of touch with everything until Kagome and the others showed up. It wasn't just technology that had changed; it was people's minds. Five hundred years ago, he would've been killed on sight. Today, demons were the minority, hidden among humans and secretly living their lives.

 

He stepped over a fallen tree branch and stepped onto the damp grass. Shadows lengthened, inch by inch, as he wandered deeper into the forest. Small animals rustled in the long grass and leaves rustled with the wind as he ventured on, his exceptional eyesight guiding him even when the sun faded completely.

 

He wasn't going back to Kagome for a while. Let her come to him, begging for him to come back. He wasn't going back until she apologized, even it took

 

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(><)

 

"Inuyasha or not, that was a pretty harsh thing to do, Kagome," Eri admitted grudgingly. While she there wasn't any lost love between her and the disguised hanyou -she despised him, he couldn't care less- she still couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him. He'd have to walk all the way back, something which took an hour by car would take a person on foot about a day.

 

"And how'd you do that trick with his necklace?" Ayumi asked, eyes burning with curiosity. "I've never seen anything like that before." Kagome blushed and thought quickly.

 

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, fumbling with her food for a moment. "I just grabbed 'em and pulled on 'em really hard so that he fell over." She reached for the stir-fry that Miroku had concocted -it was pretty good, albeit strange- and dumped some more on her plate.

 

"Really?" Yuka asked dubiously. "But it didn't look like it at all. It looked like the beads pulled him down to the ground." She paused, thinking back. "He made a crater, almost."

 

Kagome shrugged. "No, I just threw it on the ground." She was feeling rather guilty now… it had been three hours since the incident, and he should've been back by now, spitting mad and ready to gut her. She almost thought that she deserved it, if he did.

 

"Kagome?" She looked up. Ayumi fiddled with the chopsticks on her plate, staring at the spiral pattern on the china. "Do you… do you like him?" She looked up, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

 

"Hey Ayumi, why are you blushing?" Yuka asked curiously. "I thought that you liked Miroku." It was just them at the table; the other three were back in the library for some reason again.

 

Ayumi shrugged. "Because if I'm wrong, I'll have made a fool of myself." She looked back at Kagome, who was now staring thoughtfully at her plate as Ayumi had done just a few moments before. "Well?"

 

Kagome looked up with a sigh. "Look, he-"

 

"Kagome!" Shippo danced into the kitchen with wide green eyes bright. "We found it, we found it!" he sang. "We found it!" he laughed happily and dashed out of the room. "WE FOUND IT!"

 

Kagome smiled, her earlier confession forgotten. "You did?" She got up from the table and rushed out of the room without explanation to her friends.

 

Ayumi blinked and looked at the open door. "Huh?" she asked, confused. "Found what?" Eri shrugged as Yuka stood up, peeking through the doorway as Shippo's whoops of joy echoed down the hallway, mingling with Kagome's eager questions and chatter.

 

"When? How?" she laughed breathlessly. They burst into the library, stirring up the dust from the floor and filling the large room with echoing noise. She sat down next to Sango and looked over her shoulder as she poured over an old document.

 

"Just found it," Sango told her, a wide smile on her face. "Ah! …Huh?" She frowned. "Where's that?" She put down the scroll with disappointment.

 

Miroku took the scroll from her and looked over it. "It's by Mito, I believe." he said finally, "It was a Tokugawa Domain in Feudal Japan, not too far from here. That's where Naraku is." He paused. "Well, it's pretty far, but not as far as Kyoto, and in the opposite direction."

 

Sango nodded. "I'll go pack." She stood up and headed towards the door when Miroku's arm shot out and stopped her.

 

"We have to wait for Inuyasha, remember?" His purple eyes danced with mild amusement. "And Kagome's friends have to leave before we do." He sighed. "And we should get a bit more organized. We can't just go dashing off willy-nilly without telling anyone." He looked up at Sango. "Can you imagine Mrs. Higurashi's reaction if she were to come home to an empty house?"

 

Sango stopped and sat down again. "You're right," she admitted. "I guess I'm used to running off without a moment's notice, that's all." Sango looked at Kagome. "Did you just run off and leave your friends at the table?"

 

Kagome blanched. "Whoops! They're gonna think I'm nuts…" she rushed out of the room again and hurried back to the kitchen. "Hi, guys! Sorry, but Shippo and the others finally found some stuff that we'd packed up, but never found after we unloaded." She mentally congratulated herself for the quick and plausible lie.

 

"Kagome?" Eri asked in a squeaky voice and pointed out of the window. The other two stared, at a loss for words as Kagome peered out with them.

 

Brown eyes widened in shock. "What is-" she cut herself off and steeled herself with resolve. "Come on!" She urged them out of the room. "Hurry!" Kagome glanced over her shoulder again.

 

They stumbled out of the room, Kagome pushing them from behind. "Kagome? What's going on? What is that… thing? What-" A flurry of questions clamored to be answered.

 

Kagome merely shook her head. "Go right to your rooms. I'll be right there, okay? Now!" She shooed them off without waiting for a reply and raced to the library, where the others were learning more about Naraku. "Sango! Miroku!" she gasped, doubled over as she gasped for breath. It was not a good idea to run after eating so much food. She stood up as the others looked at her curiously. "Kagura, in the yard-"

 

Sango scrambled to her feet, murder in her eyes as Miroku put the scroll down carefully. "Has she done anything yet?" the monk asked as they rushed down the hall. Sango collected Hiraikotsu from it's resting place against the wall and tossed Miroku his staff.

 

"No, not yet," Kagome admitted. "It was Yuka and the others who saw her feather. I don't think they have any idea of what's going on. She was just landing," She paused at the door and cautiously slid it open. A cool breeze drifted through the open space as crickets chirped quietly.

 

Sango flicked on the backyard light, illuminating a Kagura as cool and collected as ever. "Well," the wind witch commented dryly. "You certainly took your time getting here." Scarlet eyes swept the group. "And where's the dog?"

 

"None of your business!" Sango snapped sharply. "If you've come here for a fight, you've got one standing in front of you." White knuckles gripped Hiraikotsu tightly and brown eyes flashed with the promise of injury.

 

"I'm not the one looking for a fight," Kagura said dryly, scarlet eyes mocking in the dark. She stepped into the small patch of illumination provided by the porch light and lowered her fan. "I'm here on business, with a Mr. Higurashi." She glanced at Kagome. "Imagine my surprise when I realized that you were related. I went all the way to Tokyo looking, and here he was, under my nose the whole time." She shrugged. "Is he here?"

 

"Not at the moment," Miroku replied warily, his arm out to keep Sango back. "What 'business' do you have with him?" Purple eyes were wary as the regarded the elemental demon.

 

Kagura regarded him for a moment. "Well, you're a monk, so you might be able to help," she replied cryptically. "I'm assuming by now that you realize that Naraku's coming. I did some research; your dog friend knew Naraku." She paused. "Am I right?"

 

Miroku nodded brusquely, and she continued. "Well, I can kill him, if I get a powerful priest or priestess to lay a spell on the object he's using to unseal himself. It should purify him from existence."

 

Sango looked at her suspiciously. "And why should we trust you?" Her voice was harsh and her muscles tense. Standing here, before the murderer of her family without doing anything went against all the emotions bottled up in her chest; her eyes glittered.

 

"Fine then. Don't," Kagura replied nonchalantly. "Naraku will come back, and he'll kill you all." She pointed to Sango. "Especially you. Your family is partially responsible for his sealing in the first place. That's why he had your family killed."

 

"You killed my family!" Sango hissed. "You told me yourself! Don't pretend that you're so innocent!" Hiraikotsu was raised before she knew it. With shaking arms she lowered the formidable weapon.

 

"No," Kagura shrugged. "I made sure they were dead before we left. Naraku got his other underlings to do it. I just put the stupid green sign on the doors." She snorted and waved her fan idly. The stuffy air stirred slowly, like a great snake winding about its prey.

 

"Oh…" Hiraikotsu's end hit the ground with a dull thud. Sango sighed heavily as tension lifted and the knot in her stomach came undone. Naraku was her enemy, and he would die. "What do you want from us?"

 

Kagura watched them with a bored expression. "I want a strong priestess or priest to cast spells on the sword to kill Naraku." She glanced at Miroku. "You're a monk, correct? Why don't you do it?"

 

Miroku shook his head. "My powers will not be enough for someone like Naraku." He glanced at Kagome. "She could to it." Kagome blanched.

 

"Her?" Kagura asked incredulously. "Her aura is barely there; she's got nothing!" She waved her fan in dismissal. "Well, can you at least give me a contact?"

 

"Kagome can do it," Miroku stated firmly. "Or haven't you detected the… spell on her?" If it was even a spell… Kagome had done such strange things with the thing that he wasn't sure what it was any more.

 

"Spell?" Kagura peered at the schoolgirl with piercing scarlet eyes. "That's as spell? What on earth did you do to it?" She snorted. "What sort of half-baked idea was that?"

 

"It… went wrong," Kagome replied stubbornly, arms crossed over her chest. "But it works! And I haven't had to renew it in a few days," she added.

 

"She posses a unique way of doing things, and strong powers," Miroku told the wind witch. "She doesn't have any training, but I can walk her through the steps, if you hand over this sword."

 

Kagura stared at him piercingly for a moment, then nodded curtly as she stepped out of the light. "You'll have it tomorrow," she promised and disappeared with a heavy gust of wind.

 

"Very dramatic, isn't she?" Miroku commented after a moment. He turned to go back in the house. "You're friends will need an explanation-" he stopped dead in his tracks.

 

Standing in the doorway were Eri, Yuka and Ayumi, their expressions unreadable. Shippo stood in front of them. "I'm sorry, Kagome! I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen!"

 

Kagome took a deep breath and glanced at the other two, her mind a roaring blank. What could she say? "How long were you there?" she asked finally and stepped inside the house, Miroku and Sango following after her.

 

"The… the whole time," Yuka said softly. She looked at the ground. "What are you… doing?" she finished and looked up. "It's like some bad joke," she said dazedly. "Swords and magic, priestesses and spells, people that fly away on feathers…" She laughed feebly.

 

Sango and Miroku left the room after exchanging a brief glance. Kagome smiled reassuringly, though she herself had no idea what she was going to do or say. "It's a long story, but I'll tell you, okay?"

 

Sango and Miroku reappeared with some sutras. Silently, they approached the three schoolgirls from behind and slapped the parchment on their backs. They collapsed, like puppets whose strings had been cut.

 

Kagome looked at them questioningly. Miroku glanced up from the three girls. "Forgetting spells," he explained. "For the last fifteen minutes."

 

Kagome nodded and swallowed hard, relief sweeping over her as she sat heavily on the couch. "When will they wake up?" She glanced at Ayumi. She looked as if she was sleeping.

 

Miroku shrugged. "Soon, I should think." He paused and frowned. "Shouldn't Inuyasha be back by now?" He glanced conspicuously at Kagome, who flinched guiltily.

 

"Yeah," Sango agreed, frowning slightly. "He's half demon; he should be able to run forever." She glanced at Miroku. "Maybe he got lost?" It was highly doubtful, but it was a possibility.

 

Kagome looked guiltily at the ground, wishing that she could find him and apologize, not to mention that she was more than a bit worried about the hanyou. As stubborn as she might be, she knew when she was wrong, and she was definitely wrong.

 

Miroku noticed her expression and smiled slightly. "I'm sure he'll turn up, Kagome," he assured her. "He's probably moping and grumbling as he walks home." He smiled slightly at the picture.

 

Sango patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "He'll turn up, you'll see." She glanced down at the three schoolgirls again, then at Miroku with exasperation. "Don't you know when they'll wake up?"

 

Miroku shook his head. "There's no specific increment of time mentioned in the spell…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably and the demon exterminator glanced at him sharply.

 

"In other words, they could sleep forever," Sango replied dryly and shook her head. "Well, we might as well put them in their rooms so when they wake up it'll all seem like a dream."

 

Kagome nodded, forgetting her guilt for a moment. "Good idea," she told Sango. She grabbed Eri underneath her arms and dragged her to the edge of the room, gasping with effort.

 

"Hey! Not you!" the demon exterminator berated Miroku. "All you want to do is touch them while they're sleeping!" She bent over to pick up Ayumi and found something rubbing up against her but. She whirled, face red. "What about our agreement?" she demanded. "You lost the bet!"

 

Miroku grinned at her. "It just ran out. Six weeks are over!" His grin widened and Sango backed away, a worried expression on her face.

 

"Hey!" she protested. "Back off!" She glanced behind him to Kagome as she struggled with moving Eri. "Kagome, I could use a little help!" It wasn't that Miroku was really doing anything; he was just standing there, grinning unnervingly at her.

 

He put his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm not doing anything, Sango. You have nothing to fear from me." He walked nonchalantly out of the room.

 

"Of course not," Sango muttered sarcastically as she hauled Ayumi onto a transformed Shippo, who took her upstairs. "Nothing to worry about at all."

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

"Mm?"

 

Yuka blinked sand from her eyes and yawned heavily. She sat up and rubbed her head, sleepy eyes wandering about her room bemusedly as a weary brain revved up for the day. Strange images flashed through her mind but they disappeared before she knew what they meant, leaving behind a feeling of something important having been forgotten. She shrugged and got up. Dreams were often like that.

 

She wandered down the hallway in her pajamas and headed to the kitchen with another gigantic yawn. She rubbed her eyes and stumbled down the stairs, where Ayumi was dozing on he couch. Yuka smiled at her friend. Ayumi had a tendency to wake up and fall asleep again.

 

"Hi!" Kagome greeted her cheerfully from the kitchen, wide awake and already dressed. "Miroku's just making some… food!" she told her fried brightly.

 

Yuka mumbled a reply, still not truly awake. She slumped over in a chair and looked at the black-haired man through half-lidded eyes. Miroku turned with a sunny smile. "Hello!" he greeted pleasantly. "I hope that you've enjoyed your stay here," Miroku told her with a pleasant smile. "It was a pleasure to have you."

 

Yuka nodded in reply and yawned again. "It was great." She glanced at Kagome as she pulled out plates. "It's been really interesting. I didn't know that the house was this big." She waved vaguely, and Miroku nodded, his attention still directed at the pan on the stove.

 

"That's right!" Kagome acknowledged with a start. "You're going home today, aren't you?" She'd been worrying over Inuyasha, a foolish occupation. Knowing him, he was just fine, and had decided to hunt down Kouga and finish their fight.

 

Yuka nodded. "Yup." She got up and looked over Miroku's shoulder at the pan. Dubiously, she asked, "What is that, exactly?" She sniffed at the pan.

 

"I'm trying something new," the black-haired man replied, and adjusted the heat of the stove. The contents of the pan hissed.

 

Kagome snorted into her cereal. "You always try something new," she commented and wiped mild off of her chin with a paper napkin. Miroku shot her a wounded look.

 

Eri wandered into the kitchen with an exhaustive yawn. "Hi guys." She opened one bleary eye. "Where's Shippo? I wanna say goodbye to him before I go." She had to leave rather early with Yuka, and Ayumi was going later because she was supposed to visit an aunt.

 

"Hey Eri, when's your mom coming?" Yuka asked her friend as she watched Miroku clear out his pan into a large bowl and place the steaming pan in the sink.

 

"Uh…" Kagome supposed that if she listened closely enough, she might here rusty gears turning squeakily in motion. "I think… like, ten? Nine-thirty?" She shrugged and poked at Miroku's concoction. "What's that?"

 

"Food," Miroku replied vaguely and left the room. "Sango, Shippo! Inu- I mean, foods ready!" he called up the stairs as he dried his hands on a dishrag. He frowned. "Where on earth is Inuyasha?" he asked himself. "The idiot probably got lost."

 

"Who's an idiot?" Ayumi asked curiously, having caught only the end of his comment, She blushed slightly when Miroku turned towards her.

 

"Inuyasha," he sighed and glanced at the kitchen. "She won't admit it," he confided to Kagome's friend, "but I think Kagome's more than a little worried about him."

 

The schoolgirl shrugged. "But she did leave him there in the dust," she pointed out. "It's her own fault that he's not here." She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

 

"But it shouldn't take him this long to get back," the black-haired man countered. "He could've been back last night if he wanted to, I think." He shook his head. "I imagine that he's being stubborn."

 

Ayumi looked at him curiously. "What's that mean?" She continued on. "Wouldn't it take forever to walk that far?" She wasn't expecting his response; Miroku shrugged evasively and hurried back into the kitchen, leaving a very confused schoolgirl behind him. "What did I say?" she wondered.

 

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

 

"Bye!" Kagome waved cheerfully as Eri and Yuka left in Yuka's mother's car. The van pulled away with the crunch, the two inhabitants waving madly, big grins on their faces.

 

"SEE YOU!" Ayumi shouted one last time and smiled before heading back inside. She turned to Kagome. "So, whaddaya wanna do?" She frowned; Kagome was looking distractedly into the distance, biting her lip as she did so. "Kagome?" She waved a hand in front of her friend's face.

 

"Huh?" Kagome was startled out of her reverie. "Oh! Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked apologetically.

 

"Where do you suppose he is?" Ayumi pondered. She glanced slyly at Kagome. "You must be worried."

 

Kagome nodded in the positive. "Of course I am!" she confirmed. "He's out there somewhere, probably lost or something, and it's all my fault!" She bit her lip again and turned to her friend. "I feel bad about it now, really."

 

Ayumi nodded sympathetically and stared at the horizon with her friend. "Maybe you should call the police," she suggested. Her idea was met with refusal so strong it was almost violent.

 

"No!" Kagome shook her head. "No… that wouldn't help. He's just upset because of what I did." She colored slightly. "He did deserve it, though!" But there was a note of doubt in her voice even as she made the statement; she'd gone over the top. Her anger had boiled over and he'd pushed her beyond the limit, but that didn't mean that he deserved what he got. She sighed. "Well, we might as well go back inside." She glanced at Ayumi, who nodded in agreement.

 

Neither of them noticed the white feather as it careened overhead and landed sloppily in the backyard.

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

 

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