InuYasha Fan Fiction / Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Enter the Witch and the Miko ❯ Chapter 7

When they had arrived, Kagome chucked her backpack up and over the top of the well and started to climb, since this wasn't anything new to her. Robin took a little longer to adjust. But in the end, she followed Kagome.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“We're in the Feudal Era of Japan,” Kagome replied. “I wasn't actually in the U. S. on vacation; I came here.”

“I knew you weren't in America, but I didn't think of this. I didn't know such a thing was possible.”

“Yeah, it's a bit strange until you get used to it. Come, we can stay at the village where I usually stay. I don't think the others will be up, but we can still find a bed to stay in.”

They hauled their stuff up the trail, Kagome leading since she knew the way. She could tell that Robin was surprised; the gasp behind her said what the person didn't. They continued down the trail and past the dark huts where the villagers stayed. Kagome stopped in front of Kaede's hut, but Robin, not expecting her to stop so suddenly, ran into her and they fell in a heap. The noise woke the old miko, and she went out to investigate what was making the racket outside her hut when good people were trying to sleep. She didn't seem very surprised to see two people in a tangle at her doorstep. She was surprised by who it was.

“I was not expecting ye to bring a friend with ye, Kagome,” she said as she started a fire.

“Forgive us for interrupting your rest, ma'am,” said Robin, ever polite. “I am Robin Sena.”

“Welcome, Robin. Normally we don't have visitors this late,” Robin blushed, “but since it is Kagome, that is only to be expected. I suppose there is a reason you are back so early,” said the shrewd old woman.

They quickly filled her in on what had happened. While she sympathized with them, there was nothing she could do about it.

“Kagome, ye know that if ye leave for good, Inuyasha won't remain in this world.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I don't see how we can stay, though.”

“Sleep on it. Things don't seem quite as impossible in the morning.”

“Are they awake, Kaede? If they aren't, then we can just sleep out here. We'll get up before them anyway.”

“Very well. I will get the spare mats for you.”

When the old miko was gone, Kagome said to Robin, “They're all late sleepers. We'll get up in plenty of time to be cleared up before they even open their eyes.”

When Kaede laid out the mats, they shoved the belongings they had taken with them to the side and laid down on the mats. Robin still looked a bit nervous, but Kagome was tired and said a quick “Good night” before falling fast asleep.

When she woke in the morning, she saw that Robin had finally fallen asleep. Looking at the wall where they had thrown their stuff the night before, she sighed, got up, and started to put them in some sort of order. Sometime after she started, Robin woke and, seeing what she was doing, helped her put things back in their proper bags. They heard the sound of the door to the bedroom swish open, and a tired-looking Shippo came out. He didn't even look up, just walked right past them. Kagome stared after him for a minute, then asked indignantly, “So I don't even get a `Hello Kagome'?”

Shippo did a double take before pouncing on her. “Kagome!” he cried. “You're back! We weren't expecting you back so soon. Normally you stay away for about a week before coming.”

She shushed him. “We don't want to wake up the others, do we, Shippo? Remember what happened last time you woke everyone up?”

He swallowed hard as he thought of the chasing and pounding he had gotten from all the others. They were grouchy and hit really hard.

He looked past Kagome and saw a new girl standing in the shadows of the hut. “Who are you?” he asked, his innocent eyes wide with curiosity.

“My name is Robin,” she replied. “I'm staying with Kagome for a while.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Shippo,” said the young fox. “I was just on my way to see if the other children were up and wanted to play. May I, Kagome?”

She laughed and answered him, “Yes, Shippo, you may. You don't have to ask permission while we're still in the village, you know.”

“It's just habit now,” he responded and skipped out the door.

Robin said behind Kagome, “I was thinking last night after you went to sleep. What if your mother does sell the shrine?”

Kagome shuddered. “Don't even think about it.”

“No, no, I was just wondering. If I said that I knew some people who would buy the shrine, what would you say?”

“It depends on the people. Why?”

“If I could get a hold of some people I knew in Italy, they would probably be interested in something like that. They can afford to own it and not live in it. They would make money because of the tourism, and I could try to convince them to let me stay on as caretaker.”

“What about Solomon?”

“These people don't know about Solomon. Few people actually do. I would have to have a different name, but that wouldn't be so bad. And if you wanted to use the well, then you know I won't stop you.”

“I don't want to share a roof with that man my mother is infatuated with,” Kagome said flatly. “I refuse to do it.”

“You could always stay and help me with the shrine. After all, a Higurashi should stay in it. But there's no guarantee that they'll want it. I'll have to think about what I want to say, and I have to wait for them to get back from their trip to South America.”

“I see. Well, that's more hope than I had to start with. Thank you for bringing it up, Robin. You've given light to a dark horizon.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Robin finally got bored and asked, “Is it alright to look around the village for a bit?”

“Yeah, but it's easy to get lost, so let's go find Shippo, and he'll show you around.”

“I wouldn't want to stop him from playing with the other children,” said Robin.

“Don't worry, he's used to it. Besides, he likes doing stuff like that.”

They found Shippo with Kirara supervising again. Kagome introduced Robin to Kirara so that the fire neko wouldn't attack her. She then asked Shippo to take Robin on a tour of the village, which the child was very happy to do. Maybe a little too enthusiastic, but he was like that about everything. Leaving Robin with the hyper kitsune, she went back to the hut to wait for the others to wake up.

Arriving at her destination, she was in the door just before Miroku came out. He didn't realize it was her and seeing a pretty girl he didn't recognize, he magically appeared before her and clasped her hand, saying, “Excuse me, my dear, but would you please bear my child?”

Unfortunately for him, Sango heard him and rushed out, proceeded to beat him with Hiraikotsu, then growled at Kagome, since she didn't see her, “Please forgive this lecherous monk; he's already taken.”

Kagome answered cheerfully, “That's okay, I already knew that.”

Both Sango and Miroku cried, “Kagome!” and rushed over to her.

“We weren't expecting you back so soon,” Sango said.

“I know, that's what Shippo told me,” she replied.

Miroku looked sheepish and said, “I do apologize for not recognizing you, Kagome. I wasn't fully awake yet.”

“I figured as much,” she said. “You know it's a good thing Inuyasha didn't see you do that.”

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, he made it clear that I would be a dead man if I ever tried that again with you the first time we met. I remember it well.”

“Just to let you guys know, I've brought a friend with me. Her name is Robin. She's being shown the village by Shippo right now, so I don't know when they'll be back.”

“I see. Houshi-sama and I need to find some herbs for Kaede today. We might as well go right now. This promises to be a hot day, and if we don't want to be burned, we had better go now. Coming, Miroku?”

“Coming, Sango-dear.” She left the hut and he followed.

Now either Inuyasha was sleeping on the roof, he slept in the forest, or he's still asleep in the room. Walking into their sleeping room, she found that the last thought was the right one. That lazy hanyou! He's getting old! Sleeping in isn't like him. Oh, well. I'll just have to get him up myself. Feeling like she had done this only two days ago, she sat down next to him. This time he was stretched out on the floor and was sleeping like a normal person did.

“Inuyasha, it's time to get up.” He didn't move. She shook him and said again, “Get up lazy bones, the day won't wait for you.”

After five minutes, he groggily opened one eye. His eye met hers, and he murmured, “This isn't real. I'm still dreaming.”

She smiled wickedly and got up to open the window. He groaned in pain and covered his eyes as the sunlight hit them.

“Oy, what was that for, wench,” he shouted, his arm still over his eyes.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. “Don't call me `wench'!” she yelled back at him.

This began their usual shouting match. The villagers all learned to ignore it, and went about their business. In Inuyasha's Forest, where Sango and Miroku were looking for Kaede's herbs, they heard the shouting competition clearly. They just shook their heads and Miroku sighed, “Things are back to normal.”

 

~*~

 

Robin had been following the ka kitsune the entire day. She was introduced to everyone in the village and he showed her just about everything that was within its borders. Her head was swimming at the end of the day. When Shippo returned them to the hut, there were three more strangers by Kagome. They all looked at Robin and Shippo when they entered. They were dressed differently than the other villagers, so she knew she didn't meet any of these people.

“”I showed her everything,” Shippo announced proudly. “And she met everyone in the village.”

“I don't recall meeting anyone new,” remarked Miroku.

“Nor do I,” added Sango.

“Oh.” Shippo seemed to deflate, but then he glared at them, saying, “You weren't in the village! Last night I heard Kaede asking you to look for herbs, and you both said you would look tomorrow.”

Miroku looked at him guiltily and said, “You caught us. We were in Inuyasha's Forest the whole day.” Sango nodded confirmation to his statement.

Kagome was looking around for something and, not finding it, asked, “Where's Kohaku? Shouldn't he be here?”

Kaede answered her. “We were in need of more food that isn't grown here, so I sent him to buy some in one of the neighboring villages.”

“He went by himself? He isn't fully recovered yet! Wouldn't Sango go with him at least?”

This time Sango gave the reply. “He wanted to go himself and not have to rely on someone else. I would've sent Kirara with him, but he wouldn't take her.”

While they talked on about some person, the white-haired boy sitting next to Kagome looked at Robin and said, “You know, you're welcome to come by the fire.”

Almost reluctantly, Robin moved out of the shadows and sat by the fire. Immediately Miroku planted himself in front of her and, clasping their hands together, said, “My dear, you are absolutely beautiful. Would do me the honor of bearing my child?”

Sango stopped talking to Kagome, started whacking him with Hiraikotsu, then said to Robin, “Don't listen to him. He says that to every pretty girl he meets. And besides,” she added protectively, “he's already taken.”

Robin sweat dropped and assured her, “No, I would never dream of taking your man.”

Sango's head grew huge and added horns, and she screamed, “Who said he's my man? Did I say he was my man?”

Everyone cowered in the back and Kagome said in a nervous voice, “Um, Sango?” The `demon' Sango turned her fiery eyes towards the rest of the group. They all cringed, but Kagome kept going in a shaky voice, fearing for her life. “Well, uh, you see, Miroku is your man.”

Her head shrunk back to its normal size. She looked sheepishly at them and said with her hand behind her head, “Oh, yeah, he is my man.”

Everyone did the classic facevault. She turned to Robin and apologized about yelling at her. After forgiving her, Robin turned to the others. “I am Robin Sena,” she introduced herself.

“I'm Sango. Nice to meet you. Um, sorry about the yelling and all,” Sango said. “The guy on the floor is Miroku. He's a monk, but I doubt you could find a more lecherous one.”

“She already knows me,” stated Shippo.

The white-haired boy said nothing. “Don't feel like talking, Inuyasha?” asked Kagome.

He still said nothing. Kagome huffed and said, “All right, I'll introduce you. Robin, this is Inuyasha.”

Isn't that what the forest is called? “You must be an important person to have a forest named after you,” she said to him.

That got him to speak. “They only named it after me because that's where I was pinned to the Goshinboku for fifty years.”

“You don't look to be fifty years old,” she replied, not wanting to call him a liar to his face.

“I was trying to steal the Shikon Jewel, and the priestess guarding it pinned me to the tree with her arrow. I didn't age, so when it was pulled out I was still the same age I was back then.”

“What is the Shikon Jewel?” asked a confused Robin.

“It grants a wish, like a genie. It's supposed to disappear when the wish is made. However, since no one has ever made a wish on it, we don't know if that is true,” said Sango. “It was created in my old village. A powerful woman named Midoriko was fighting demons that had merged together, and she couldn't defeat them. Instead, she forced their souls out of their body. In doing so, she also forced out her own. In the Shikon no Tama, the fight still goes on between Midoriko and the demons. Her whole soul wasn't trapped, and was reincarnated into Kikyo, the guardian of the Shikon Jewel, and when she died, it was born again into Kagome. Until the Jewel disappears, her soul will not find peace.”

While the explanations and introductions were going on, the shadows lengthened into night. When Shippo fell asleep where he sat, Kaede announced that it was time for “ye younglings” to be in bed. They didn't argue with her, and slowly made their way to the bedroom. Only Kagome and Robin stayed out.

“Are ye not going with the others?” asked Kaede.

“I don't think we should. Robin doesn't know them very well, and I should stay with her because I'm basically the only one she hasn't met today. Or did you want to stay alone?” Kagome asked.

Robin hurriedly assured her, “Yes, please stay. I still don't know what's going on; it's a bit much for my mind to accept at the moment.”

They got out the mats and lay down. They heard Sango's voice asking, “Kagome, are you and your friend not coming?”

Kagome called back, “We're staying out here tonight. We'll see you in the morning. G'night guys.”

Five hours later, Robin was still awake, listening to the nightlife. She tried to sleep, but she wasn't as tired emotionally as she was last night, and the new things that happened wouldn't let her tired body rest. Okay, let's try counting sheep. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…

 

~*~

 

Kagome knew she was dreaming. She had had this dream many times before, and each time it was a nightmare. Oh, it started out innocently enough. She was in a world that was mostly devoid of color except for blue. Now, she was still her normal color, but almost everything else was blue, even the mist surrounding her. The ground where she stood was white that had blue lines being perpendicular to one red line. There were three big black gaping holes evenly spaced near the edge of the plain where she stood. It seemed barren, but that's not true. Evil beings lived here. It seems quiet. But then they come. She knows they're coming, but not from where. Uh-oh. There they are! RUN! It's too late; she can't outrun them. She'll try anyway. They began to catch up with her. They're coming for her. She can see their shapes now. It's terrifying. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

 

~*~

 

Robin watch as Kagome tossed and turned in her sleep. She had given up on counting sheep, and was staring at the ceiling when Kagome began to thrash around in her sleep and moan quietly. Curious, she continued watching. Kagome started to speak, repeating, “No, stay away from me…” Wondering if she should wake Kagome from this nightmare she was having, she decided to do nothing and see what would happen next. She began to pant, like she was out of breath. Finally, she said something that enlightened Robin as to what the nightmare was about. “I can't stand Geometry!”

Robin sweat dropped. All that fuss about math? Looking back at Kagome, she found that she had mostly stopped moving and was more peaceful than a few moments before. Time to start counting sheep again. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…