InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Falling ❯ Chapter 5

“Oden!!!” Kagome squealed. “No one makes good oden in the past!”

 

“This is very good, Mrs. Higurashi. What's it made of?” Kikoru did not inherit her father's eating habits, but she did catch his appetite.

 

“Chicken,” she replied. “I'm glad you like it.”

 

“Demons eating at my table! Bah! What is the world coming to?” Jii-chan glared at the offending girl. “And a half-breed, no less!”

 

She replied with a single-fingered salute. “Damn you, old man. Why don't you ever look past people's `faults'? Kagome,” Kikoru turned to her friend, “now I know where you get your stubborn streak. Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Higurashi.” She walked into the yard, then hopped into the Goshinboku, having dubbed it her sanctuary upon arrival.

 

She snuggled into a niche in the tree, remembering the years she had played under it, spoken to her mother, to her `father' while he slept. The memories soon sent her into a contented doze.

 

Kikoru rose an hour later to watch the sunset, then went back up to her room through the window. She collapsed on the bed, then grabbed her satchel and pulled out a sprig of chickweed to snack on, suddenly feeling much better with food in her stomach again. She fell onto the bed, slipping easily into a deep and dreamless sleep.

 

She awoke before dawn to a very itchy foot. Upon scratching her heel, she found a pointed end in it. Kikoru dug it out, wincing a bit with the pain, and staunched the blood flow. She then limped to the adjoining bathroom and rinsed off the object.

 

The light shone through the offending thingamabob and danced along the opposite wall. The crystal was a light pink, and sharper than a blade. She ran to Kagome's room on silent feet and slid open the door.

 

“Kagome!” she whispered, prodding her. “Kagome, wake up!”

 

“Nnrgh…” She rose, rubbing her eyes. “What is it, Koru-chan?”

 

“I found a shard!” She held it up, and a pink glow emanated from it now that it was near its brethren again.

 

“Where?” Kagome was really awake now. “How did it get here?”

 

“It was in my foot! I don't know, but I think it's been there for a while.”

 

“Give it here; I'll put it away. Now go back to bed! It's not even dawn!”

 

“Alright. Sleep well.”

 

“Nigh…” Kagome couldn't even finish a proper benediction without falling asleep first. Kikoru covered her up, then leapt out the window into the Goshinboku. It seemed sleeping was easier in her old friend than that cushy bed. When sleep claimed the girl again, she dreamed she slipped from the Goshinboku's limbs into the accepting arms of her father.

Kikoru stumbled into the house well after sunrise the next morning. She hadn't slept so well in a long while, and was quite content to watch Mrs. H deal with her father as only Mrs. H could. Watching the two of them argue was almost as much fun as watching Miroku seduce Sango, though with nowhere near the shock value.

 

Jii-chan would start off muttering something about a demon in the house. Mrs. H would make some comment about Jii-chan's apparent lack of brains, and he would return with some insult about her inability to raise children. Of course, this would hit a nerve, so she would end up chasing him around the house with a frying pan. By the time the two made it back to the kitchen, they were huffing and puffing and laughing so hard they'd fall over. They'd sit and recover a while, then Kikoru would comment on something or other and set Jii-chan - and the cycle - off again.

 

This hum-diggery lasted for a good three hours, during which time Kikoru slipped out to the yard after her lunch. As funny as the two were, she was about laughed out. As she emerged from the house, InuYasha pounced on her. “Where is she?” he demanded, impatient to have them home already.

 

“You're a bloody mother hen!” Kikoru told him matter-of-factly, brushing by him to settle against the Great Tree. “You two agreed on a week. It's only been four days.”

 

InuYasha merely glared and stalked over to sit beside her. “I didn't agree to anything.” He was pouting. The great son of InuTaishou pouted. Double-yew Tea Eph? (Don't ask her what it meant. She'd just heard Kagome use it a…few…times.)

 

“But you didn't exactly tell her you didn't, either,” Kikoru pointed out. She'd been there, after all. InuYasha just glared. “What? Women don't understand men. It's a fact of life.”

 

“Yeah, well…”

 

“Deep subject there. Any reason you mentioned it?” she prompted, raising an eyebrow.

 

He sat dumbfounded. “Wha?” It took a moment (or ten) but realization finally dawned. “Oh. Yeah. Guess I'd better go, then, since she's not back yet.”

 

“ Gosh, Dad, we'll miss you,” came the not unexpected quip.

 

InuYasha merely muttered something to the effect of “Ungrateful wretch”, but Kikoru deigned ignore it since he jumped back down the well soon after.

 

Kagome returned about an hour later, wiped out from her finals and having to explain away various rumors about her latest absence. She crashed for a bit on the couch, and when she woke, Kikoru told her what had transpired. Kagome nodded and said, “He'll be back.”

 

And, sure enough, InuYasha returned the next morning, screaming about getting back now. Kagome knew better than to argue. He'd put up with five days. It was the most she'd gotten out of him since they met, and she'd just have to be content. When he began ushering them, though, she had to put down the proverbial foot - or in InuYasha's case, dog. “Sit.”

 

“He must really like eating dirt,” Kikoru murmured on the way back to the house.

 

“Come to think of it, I do have an extra subduing necklace somewhere,” Kagome replied, only half jesting. Kikoru made a face which dissolved them both into giggles. “Come on, get your things.”

 

The girls made it back downstairs in twenty minutes flat, Kagome lugging her huge yellow duffel behind her. Kikoru had to be content with her bespelled leather saddlebag.

 

“You don't carry much around, do you?” Kagome asked her after saying goodbye to her family.

 

“Not really. An extra set of clothes. Mostly herbs.” She showed off the inside. The walls of the bag were lined with herbs - vials, tinctures, dried plants, living plants. Kikoru had long ago learned the art of keeping a plant alive in her bag. It meant she couldn't have her power completely charged at any one time, but it was a give and take cycle, and she didn't use that much of it anyway. She liked fighting with her hands more.

 

They were almost to the well when Kagome swore. Loudly. “I left my bow,” she deadpanned, already striding toward the house.

“Kagome!” Kikoru stopped her and swiveled her toward the well. “I'll get it. InuYasha will shit bricks until next week if you don't get there soon.”

 

Kagome saw the logic in this and sighed. “If you're sure. But hurry!” Kikoru nodded and was back at the well house as Kagome jumped in. She tossed the bow in and Kagome caught as she was enveloped in purple dust, both disappearing a second later.

 

Not wanting the magic to be gone, Kikoru took a dive after her friend, closed her eyes, and hit the ground rolling. When she came to a stop on her back, she opened her eyes, glad to be - wait. A roof? What happened to the sky? And the ladder was still - oh. She swore. Profusely. She'd given Kagome the shard only last night. The shard that allowed her access to the well's magic. The shard that was supposed to get her home.

 

The shock of being stuck here sent her into such a fury as Kikoru had never known. She railed the gods, cursed in every language she knew, pounded on the floor, even went so far as to jump in five or ten times. But nothing worked.

 

She hadn't yet tried her powers. Maybe she could force the gates of time open? She punched the floor of the well experimentally, imbuing her fist with a detachment of her aura. Silvery-green pockmarks soon dotted the floor. She couldn't stop. Her hands were bloody, battered, and bruised, and she couldn't stop. The door of the well house creaked, and Souta poked his head in. “Koru-chan?” he asked softly. He didn't want her to turn on him with those punches.

 

This seemed to break her spell. She sat back on her heels and gazed at the destruction she'd wrought. Holes littered the well, not just on the floor anymore. Silver-green was everywhere. It had to be at least three inches thick in some places. “Sorry, Souta.” She stood up and retracted her aura. Not that it did her any good. Every demon within a hundred miles would know exactly where she was. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She'd put the family in danger. And for what? What if she'd gotten through? Who would have protected them then? She was an idiot.

 

Kikoru sprang out of the well, ignoring the ladder completely. “Go back in the house, Souta,” she murmured, waving him off. “I'm fine.” He nodded, knowing better than to argue. Smart kid.

 

By the time the lid was back on the well and the doors were sealed again, Kikoru was ready to face the family, her disgrace hid firmly behind a mask. She focused so much on her predicament, however, that she completely forgot her training and walked right into a pair of fellows striding purposefully toward the well.

 

“Oh.” Such articulation! Kikoru amazed even herself sometimes. She recovered quickly. “How can I help you two gentlemen?” Their timing was too perfect to be coincidence. They must have come to investigate her tantrum. Thank the gods she'd remembered her glamour when Souta had arrived. “You smell like roses,” she told the taller one before she realized she'd spoken. Idiot.

 

“Why thank you,” he replied, bowing slightly. “This is Jaganshi Hiei, and I am Tsukoya Shuichi.”

 

“It's good to meet you,” she said, bowing in return. She didn't give her name. Instead she rephrased her earlier question. “Why are you here?”

 

“Don't be arrogant, woman.” The shorter one - Jaganshi? - possessed the most intriguing head of hair she'd ever seen: short, black, and gravity-defying, with a little white offset starburst. His arm looked like it'd been burned a while back; the wrappings looked hospital grade.

 

“It speaks?” Kikoru shot back. Her eyes never left Tsukoya's. “You might want to try feeding it fewer insults, Tsukoya.” As if she knew how to raise a pet!

 

The short one growled menacingly. Or at least tried to. His partner was laughing too hard for it to be very effective. “Onna, we are here to-”

 

“See the well,” Tsukoya interrupted. “We've heard so much about it.” She didn't miss the slight wince as Tsukoya stepped on the shorter man's foot.

 

“I can't help you there,” Kikoru confided. “I'm visiting. I think it was built in the fourteenth century, but don't quote me. Apparently it's been known to have a demon or two inside, if you believe such nonsense. `S why they call it the `Bone Eater's Well'. But again, that's all hearsay. You'd wanna talk to Jii-chan. He's been monk here for a good long while now.”

 

“Alright, thank you for your help. We might be able to stop by tomorrow before we head out of town.” Again, Tsukoya seemed to speak just before Jaganshi could open his mouth. Seemed like they'd been together a while.

“It's no problem. I think they open it for tourists about nine or so. Have a good night!” Kikoru turned toward the house, her dismissal obvious, listening intently for their fading footsteps. Once she judged they'd started down the many steps, she scrambled up the trunk of her sanctuary.

 

“Hey! Onna!” Jaganshi's voice floated up to her. Apparently he hadn't followed his partner. Kikoru just ignored him. He'd go away eventually.

 

`Eventually', however, was more than she could stand. “What?” she barked, throwing an acorn at his head. “Gods above, man, go home. At least you can!” She wouldn't cry. She'd promised herself - damn. Kikoru wiped away the angry tear threatening to fall.

 

“What?” His confusion was more than evident.

 

“You lummox! Go home, I said! Sweet gods, I wish Father were here. He could take me home.” She wiped another tear. What was with her? She usually never cried!

 

“Where is your father?” Tsukoya asked from below her. Gods, why couldn't they just leave?

 

“Dead, dead, dead. All of them dead.” Cue the madness. Was she really this pathetic?

 

“Gods above. You poor child…”

 

“I don't need your pity. Cherish your families, kids. Sometimes you never get the chance.”

 

`Come on, Kurama. We're done here.' Hiei said.

 

“Gee, shrimp, really? You were done ten minutes ago.” Futilely, she tossed another acorn at them.

 

`You're a telepath?' Hiei sent, shock evident in his mindvoice.

 

`Well you did send it on an open channel, youkai. Leave. Now. Before I get even more pissed.' And, surprisingly, they did.