InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Ally ❯ Introductions and Interrogations ( Chapter 13 )

Unexpected Ally

 

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi; Unfortunately, I am neither one of them. Pity me!

 

Chapter 13: Introductions and Interrogations

 

“That's it,” Yuusuke exclaimed, losing his patience, “I'm going after them.”

 

“Just wait a little longer, Yuusuke,” Kurama instructed the boy calmly, sitting on a park bench facing the main fountain in the park.

 

“We've been waiting long enough, kitsune,” Hiei commented from where he lay in the grass beside the bench. “What makes you think Inuyasha will actually return with the girl?”

 

“Kagome said she'd be here, and I believe her. She's only fifteen minutes late, let's just wait a little longer.”

 

Yuusuke paced circles around the fountain impatiently.

 

“Oi, Urameshi, you're makin' me dizzy,” Kuwabara complained from his seat on the edge of the fountain.

 

The dark-haired boy sat down next to his friend on the fountain, crossed his arms and started tapping his foot as he continued waiting. The other three boys did their best to ignore the irritating action, but their patience was wearing thin. Even Kurama's tolerance of the boy was waning as he felt Youko begin to stir from his long slumber within his mind.

 

(What are we all sitting around for?) The kitsune asked his host.

 

`We're waiting on Kagome.'

 

(Kagome? She's back?)

 

(Aa, we saw her just this morning and made plans to meet her here after school.)

 

If it was physically possible, Youko would have made Kurama jump up and run a lap in celebration. As it was, he was still exhausted from the energy he'd used to change forms early that morning, so he tried to be content in letting out a whoop as he leapt within their soul.

 

Eavesdropping on his friend's mind, Hiei added his voice to the mix. `Honestly, fox, this girl is having an adverse effect on your sanity. You're becoming more and more like a kit everyday! What happened to your dignity?'

 

Youko turned his nose up and sniffed at the comment, (You're just jealous.)

 

`Of whom, exactly?'

 

(Kagome; me; you choose.)

 

`Hn,' Hiei remarked dryly. `I'm certainly not jealous of anyone that has to deal with that onna.'

 

(It's settled, then. You're jealous of Kagome because you know she'll have me before you do now.)

 

Ignoring the implication, Hiei replied, `Aren't you forgetting something, Youko? Like Inuyasha?'

 

(Merely a slight inconvenience.) Youko claimed, mentally waving his hand to shoo away Hiei's remark.

 

`He's not actually with Kagome, though, is he?' Kurama interjected, `Yuusuke said that Houjou guy you saw at her school was her date at the beach party, Hiei. If she was with Inuyasha, I doubt he'd be letting her go on dates while he's right there.'

 

(Oh, is that so? This may be even easier than I thought.) Youko gloated.

 

Just then, Inuyasha leapt into the park carrying Kagome on his back. Kurama had to stifle a growl from Youko before it escaped his throat as the kitsune noticed the way Inuyasha held Kagome's bare legs to keep her on his back.

 

All four Tantei stood to greet the girl as Inuyasha set her down on wobbly legs a few paces from where they stood. Kagome smoothed down her uniform and adjusted her backpack before combing her fingers through her messy hair. The Reikai boys were about to say hello when they all noticed the look on her face. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line, jaw set so her teeth were clenched, and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She had a fire in her eyes, directed towards the hanyou. She didn't even seem to notice that anyone else was there.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

“Baka! Baka, baka, baka!!! What did I tell you?!!” Kagome screamed at Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha put his hands up in a gesture pleading for her to calm down. “Kagome, I'm sorry. You were late and we had to hurry! It's not my fault, you know! It's easy to forget all your stupid rules!!”

 

Kagome's eyes grew wide at his words, quickly narrowing practically to slits as she grew angrier. “Inuyasha, O—''

 

“No, Kagome, you can't! I'm sorry!” His words were lost as she bellowed the rest of the command.

 

“—SUWARI!”

 

Inuyasha's prayer beads lit up at the command, yanking him to the ground with the force of Kagome's wrath. The bricks that made up the path cracked underneath him as he slammed into them. “K-Kagome…” the inu-hanyou croaked out, twitching as he struggled against the spell. Luckily, she'd only sat him once and the spell wore off quickly. Springing back to his feet, he exclaimed, “What the hell was that for?!”

 

Kagome had been walking away from him, finally seeming to notice they were in the park, but turned back at the sound of his raised voice. Putting her hands on her hips, she got in his face, “You know what it was for, dog-boy! Next time, maybe you'll watch where you're jumping and not cause a five-car pile-up by landing in front of a car! You nearly gave me a heart attack!!” She placed her hand on her chest to feel the still-erratic pace of her heart, demonstrating her point.

 

“I said I was sorry, what more do you want? You didn't hafta `sit' me for it! Besides, didn't your mom say not to `sit' me in public?!”

 

Kagome's death glare left her face, and she covered her mouth as realization hit. She had just `sat' Inuyasha in the middle of a park, in broad daylight, in front of a group of people that were about to question her about her powers. `Well, I guess I'll hafta tell them about that as well now.' She thought, mentally kicking herself.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

All four Spirit Detectives' eyes went wide as Kagome yelled `osuwari' and Inuyasha crashed to the ground.

 

“What the hell just happened?!” Yuusuke exclaimed.

 

“Is that one of her powers?” Kuwabara wondered aloud.

 

“That's a pretty fucked up power,” the dark-haired boy replied.

 

Hiei spoke slyly to Youko, `It looks as though she could keep you in your place, kitsune.'

 

(Ohhh, if only she would.)The silver fox purred.

 

Hiei rolled his eyes. `I was wrong, Kurama, he's not a pervert. He's a masochist.'

 

Kurama was ignoring both of them, preferring to pay attention to the scene that was still playing out between Inuyasha and Kagome. He watched their body language, looking for signs of the nature of their relationship. He could see they had a close enough relationship for her to yell at him and not be in danger, but whether it went beyond that Kurama couldn't be sure. He decided he would take his chances with the girl the first opportunity he had. Kurama had to admit, it wasn't only Youko that was interested in her. The silver kitsune's obsession had slowly but surely seeped into Kurama's emotions as well, and he knew he had to at least try for her. After all, Youko was right, he couldn't stay a virgin forever, and, quite frankly, he didn't want to.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

When Inuyasha and Kagome finally settled down, they walked together to the fountain where the four boys they'd come to meet stood. Suddenly, a girl with blue hair and a pink kimono appeared out of thin air in front of Kagome, causing her to jump back against Inuyasha in surprise.

 

“Hi!” The girl greeted them cheerfully, apparently unaware that she'd just given the girl her second near-heart attack of the day. “Higurashi Kagome, ne?”

 

“H-hai…” Kagome replied uncertainly. She was even more confused when she realized the girl was floating in midair on an oar.

 

“I'm Botan,” the blue-haired girl said, grinning.

 

“What're you doing here, Botan?” Yuusuke asked as he walked up behind the ferry girl.

 

“Oh, hi, Yuusuke,” Botan greeted, “hey, guys.” She waved to the other three boys that were approaching her as well.

 

“Hello, Botan. We weren't expecting you.” Said Kurama.

 

“Well, you told Koenma you were going to be meeting Kagome-chan here, so he sent me to come get you so she can be questioned in Reikai.” The girl answered.

 

At these words, Inuyasha quickly put Kagome behind him protectively. “You're not taking Kagome anywhere. She said she'd meet you here to answer your questions, and this is exactly where she's stayin'.”

 

“You must be Inuyasha,” Botan stated, unaffected by the hanyou's anger.

 

Inuyasha growled at the smiling girl, “How the fuck does everyone know us, but I barely know these two bastards, Yuusuke and Kuwabara?”

 

“Now, now, there's no need for foul language, Inuyasha. It's simple,” Botan answered, “Ever since the boys realized you two, or, more precisely, Kagome-chan, were who they were looking for, we've all become familiar with your names in Reikai.”

 

“And why, exactly, have you been looking for Kagome?” Inuyasha demanded to know.

 

“Well, we'll get to that in a bit. First, I need to escort you all to Koenma's office so we can conduct this properly. So, please, follow me.” Botan jumped off her oar, grabbed its handle with two hands, jabbed the end into the air above her head, and dragged it down to her feet. Suddenly, the world ripped slightly and a hole slightly larger than a person appeared.

 

“Get back, Kagome!” Inuyasha ordered as he drew his Tetsusaiga from its invisible scabbard. He aimed the mighty sword at the portal, ready for anything.

 

“Whoa, where'd that sword come from?!” Kuwabara exclaimed.

 

“That's my business, isn't it?” Inuyasha bit out, still prepared for battle.

 

Botan sweatdropped. “Don't worry; this is a Reikai portal, not a Makai one. See? You can come look in it yourself.”

 

Inuyasha cautiously peered into the portal and saw, instead of the swirling black he was used to, pink sky and yellow clouds above a long stone path leading to what looked like a castle. He took a sniff and realized it didn't smell of foul miasma as the others had, either. Not to say it smelled good, as it vaguely reminded him of Kikyou's stale earth smell after her resurrection; but it was tolerable. Still, he didn't quite trust it.

 

Raising an eyebrow skeptically, Inuyasha spoke to the group. “We're not going near anymore `portals', so you can get that idea out of your head right now.”

 

Finally, the unflinching cheerfulness of the ferry girl slipped a little as she frowned. “Oh, dear, this won't do at all. Koenma-sama will be very cross if I can't deliver Kagome-chan for questioning. Perhaps… hmm, no… maybe… ah, that won't work either…”

 

“Surely Koenma won't mind if we discuss things right here,” Kurama suggested.

 

Botan looked at the redheaded boy, “But he really wanted to be there for it. She was his responsibility, after all.”

 

“Hey,” Kagome interrupted, “hello, over here, remember me? Don't I get a say in this? I don't even know what you guys are talking about, but you suddenly think you can make decisions about me? Who are you anyway?!”

 

Kurama laughed nervously in apology. “Ah, sumimasen, Kagome-chan. Let us introduce ourselves. I am Kurama,” he said, gesturing to himself with a hand on his chest and a small bow, then pointed out the others, “That's Hiei, and I believe you've already met Yuusuke and Kuwabara-kun.”

 

“And you're… Botan?” Kagome asked the pink-kimono-clad girl.

 

“Hai, that I am!” Botan agreed, her smile returning.

 

“So what is it that you all do? How do you have such strange powers?”

 

“One could say you have strange powers, as well, Kagome-chan,” Kurama countered smoothly.

 

“Are you gonna stand around chatting all day, or can we get this interrogation over with?” Hiei piped up irritably.

 

“Yes, won't you please come, Kagome-chan?” Botan pleaded.

 

Inuyasha got in the girl's face, growling through clenched teeth, “She's. Staying. Right. Here!”

 

Botan sighed dramatically. “Okay, just wait here, I'll be right back.” And with that, she hopped back on her oar and flew through the portal, which closed soon afterwards.

 

Yuusuke took a look around at everyone and said, “Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable while we wait.” He walked back over to his spot at the fountain and sat down. Kuwabara did the same, and Hiei returned to his spot in the grass, sitting with his arms resting on his bent knees.

 

Kagome started to follow suite, but Inuyasha grabbed her arm to stop her. Kurama, once again, had to control Youko's possessive reaction. Kagome momentarily felt a small twinge of extra youki and looked around curiously, trying to feel where it was coming from. She was very confused when it seemed to have come from Kurama, because it felt different from the youki she'd already noticed from him. Deciding she must've imagined it, Kagome turned to address Inuyasha.

 

“Inuyasha, stop being ridiculous. What harm is there in si—” she caught herself before finishing the spell word, and quickly reworded herself, “waiting with them? They haven't tried anything yet, even though they've had plenty of chances. Maybe they're not so bad.” She pulled her arm out of his grasp and walked over to the bench to sit down.

 

“Keh!” was Inuyasha's only reply. He glared at Kurama as Kagome passed him. Something about the kitsune didn't sit well with Inuyasha, but he wasn't sure what it was. Finding nothing he could legitimately complain about at the moment, he decided to follow Kagome.

 

Hiei eyed Inuyasha suspiciously as he sat beside Kagome. He knew he'd sensed youki from him earlier that morning, but all traces of it were gone now; hidden once more. He thought of the way Inuyasha's sword had been invisible until he'd drawn it, and grew even more irritated. `How is hedoing it?' He thought to himself. Hiei tapped into the powers of his Jagan eye, planning to creep into the hanyou's mind to search for his own answers. Just as he did so, however, Botan popped back into Ningenkai. She had a passenger on her oar as well.

 

“Oi, Botan, you brought the toddler with you?!” Yuusuke complained when he saw the Junior Ruler.

 

Botan looked reprovingly at the boy. “I told you he wanted to do the interrogation, and since they won't come to Reikai, he decided to come here.”

 

“Right,” Koenma agreed, “And don't call me toddler!”

 

“Feh, whatever,” Yuusuke replied noncommittally.

 

Koenma walked over to where Kagome sat and looked the girl over. “Higurashi Kagome?”

 

“Hai,” she answered, trying not to laugh as the pacifier in his mouth bobbed when he spoke.

 

“Who the hell are you?” Inuyasha barked, scowling down at the chibi.

 

“I am Koenma. You must be Inuyasha,” Koenma stated, crossing his arms as he inspected the hanyou as well. “I will be overseeing the questioning of Kagome—''

 

“Wait, you're doing the questioning?!” Inuyasha exclaimed incredulously. No way was a pacifier-sucking toddler really in charge of this shit.

 

“Yes,” Koenma replied irritably, “Now, why don't we find a spot where we can all sit down and conduct this comfortably?”

 

“There are some tables over there, Koenma,” Kurama suggested, pointing to a section of the park set up for convenient picnics. “There aren't too many people in that area, either, so we'll have plenty of privacy for our discussion.”

 

The group walked to the tables, though Inuyasha needed a bit of coaxing, and everyone sat down. The Yuu Yuu boys sat on one side, Inuyasha and Kagome sat on the other, Botan sat beside Kagome, and Koenma stood on the table so he'd have a better vantage point for running things.

 

“First of all, let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Koenma,” Koenma said, bowing. “Botan, here, is one of my assistants in the Reikai offices and she is also a Spirit Guide. Do I understand correctly that you have never heard of Reikai?”

 

Kagome nodded while Inuyasha just stared at the toddler that seemed to be in charge of the full-grown boys he sat across from.

 

“Okay, well basically, Reikai is the Otherworld, or Spirit Realm. We're in charge of everything concerning death, judgment, and reincarnation. It is also my job to make sure the barriers between the three worlds are not breached, and when they are I assign detectives to investigate the matter and fix it. Occasionally, there are other cases the detectives are assigned to as well. Yuusuke, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara are the current Reikai Tantei.”

 

Inuyasha snorted a laugh, “Are you trying to tell me a baby sucking a pacifier bosses around these four guys, rules over some Spirit Realm, and controls everything that goes on in other realms?”

 

Koenma's mouth twisted into a scowl behind his pacifier, and he wagged his finger at the hanyou, “Listen here, I'm no baby.”

 

“You look like one to me,” Inuyasha interrupted. “And what's with that damn pacifier? You don't even bother taking it out to talk! Why don't you let the big people handle this?”

 

Koenma growled frustratedly, “My pacifier is none of your concern! It serves a greater purpose than what it appears. And this body may appear young, but let me assure you, I am several centuries old. I am perfectly capable of handling matters my father doesn't see fit to concern himself with personally.”

 

“Your father?” Kagome asked, preventing Inuyasha from continuing the argument. She also thought the appearance of the boy questioning her was weird, but considering the things she'd seen in the past year or so, the shock was mild.

 

Botan answered her, “Hai, Enma Daioh-sama is the Supreme Ruler of all of Reikai.”

 

Kagome looked at the boys sitting across from her, “And you work for him?”

 

Kurama answered her, emerald eyes capturing sapphire, “Koenma has assigned us to assist Yuusuke as the official Reikai Tantei.”

 

Kagome was mesmerized by those sparkling green eyes for a moment before she came to her senses and addressed Koenma. “You said `three worlds' but you've only mentioned Reikai. What are the other two?”

 

“Ningenkai, or Human Realm, and Makai, or Demon Realm,” Koenma answered simply.

 

“Why haven't I ever heard about them before?” Kagome wondered aloud.

 

“We were wondering the same thing,” Botan answered. “Normally, knowledge about the existence of Reikai and Makai is kept from humans. However, seeing as how you have strong reiki, and you're friends with Inuyasha, it's a bit confusing that you both seem to be in the dark about these things.”

 

“Yes,” Koenma agreed, “So, now that we've introduced ourselves, why don't you tell us about you?”

 

Kagome felt a bit apprehensive. She was being questioned by the son of the Great King of Reikai and his Reikai Tantei, yet she couldn't be sure if it was completely safe to tell them the whole truth. She'd never told anyone in her time the whole truth before, and she wasn't about to start with these people she'd just met.

 

“Ano… that is… what do you want to know?” the raven-haired girl asked tentatively. Maybe if she simply answered questions she could merely leave out the subject of time travel rather than trying to blatantly lie about herself.

 

“Well, why don't we start with how you came into your powers?” Koenma suggested.

 

“Okay, well it was a little over a year ago, on my fifteenth birthday,” Kagome began, “I was on my way to school when I was attacked by a large centipede youkai. She grabbed me and I panicked and tried to protect myself with my hands. I saw a pink light flash and suddenly the arms that had been holding me had detached and I fell away from her. I guess that's when I got my powers.” She finished with a shrug.

 

`Okay, so far so good,' Kagome thought as Koenma nodded to her explanation.

 

“How exactly did you become friends with Inuyasha?” Hiei asked suddenly.

 

Kagome paused. `Okay, how can I explain this one?' She stole a glance at Inuyasha, but found no help there as he seemed to be waiting to hear her answer as well. Sighing, she answered, “Inuyasha happened to be in the right place at the right time and helped me kill Mistress Centipede. Ever since then, he's stayed with me to protect me.”

 

Hiei scoffed at this. “So you just decided to hang around a ningen onna out of the goodness of your heart?” he asked Inuyasha skeptically.

 

“What's so hard to believe about that?!” Inuyasha demanded.

 

`Heh, that's not what you did anyway, Inuyasha,' Kagome thought to herself.

 

Hiei narrowed his eyes at the hanyou. “It's not in a youkai's nature to do such a thing.”

 

“I thought Kurama said Inuyasha is a hanyou,” the formerly silent Kuwabara piped up.

 

“Aa, you are an inu-hanyou, ne, Inuyasha?” Kurama asked, knowing the answer already.

 

Inuyasha nodded.

 

“Ah, is that why you were in Ningenkai undetected? Did you have a human mother that had you in Ningenkai?” Kuwabara proposed.

 

`Ooh, an easy out!' Kagome rejoiced to herself, and elbowed Inuyasha slightly to encourage his answer.

 

“Y-Yeah,” Inuyasha said, stumbling on the word when Kagome elbowed him. He flashed a glare at her before anyone else noticed.

 

“I got a question for ya,” said Yuusuke, looking at Kagome. “If you got your powers over a year ago, how come it wasn't picked up on the monitors until just a few weeks ago?”

 

Kagome didn't know how to answer. She knew why it wouldn't have been detected; she'd only been using her powers in Sengoku Jidai. She wasn't about to volunteer that information, however. “I don't know. I mean, I haven't really gotten the hang of my powers yet, so I didn't really start using them until recently when I started getting attacked.” Kagome hoped her answer was good enough to appease them.

 

“Do you know why you're being attacked? Or who's behind the attacks?” Koenma asked.

 

Inuyasha growled, “You think if we knew we'd be sitting here talkin' to you idiots instead of finding the bastard that's behind the attacks?!!”

 

“Oi, chill out, Inuyasha,” Yuusuke said. “We've been trying to figure out what's been going on, so it was worth a try to ask.”

 

“So you have no idea why they were after you?” Kurama inquired.

 

Kagome shook her head wordlessly.

 

Hiei raised a brow, the Jagan sensing she wasn't being completely truthful. “What about whatever it was that you thought we were trying to steal this morning?”

 

This sparked Koenma's interest, “Eh, what did you think they were going to steal?”

 

“N-Nothing,” Kagome stuttered, “I was tired; I didn't know what I was saying.”

 

“You weren't too tired to shoot an arrow at me,” Hiei replied bitterly.

 

Botan decided to intervene. “Kagome-chan, you don't have to worry. Whatever it is, we won't take it from you, but we need to know so we can put an end to these attacks.”

 

Kagome dropped her head in defeat. She'd slipped up and given them enough information to make them curious; she might as well tell them now. “The… the Shikon no Tama.” She answered, still hesitant.

 

Koenma, Kurama, and Hiei all gasped.

 

“That doesn't exist anymore,” said Koenma, sucking slightly on his pacifier.

 

“Keh, you think she'd make up something like that?” Inuyasha questioned irritably.

 

“How did you come into possession of the Shikon no Tama?” Kurama asked, the eagerness of Youko's voice seeping into his own a bit.

 

“I… I found it,” Kagome lied, “When Mistress Centipede attacked me, I found it after Inuyasha killed her for me.”

 

“What's the Shikon no Tama?” Kuwabara wanted to know.

 

“It's a very powerful jewel that hasn't existed for over 500 years.” Koenma answered.

 

Yuusuke looked at Kagome, “And you found it?”

 

Kagome could feel herself starting to sweat under the pressure. She nodded.

 

Inuyasha saw that the questioning about the jewel would be endless unless he did something. Realizing his anger hadn't deterred their curiosity, he decided to use a different tactic. He changed the subject. “You said before that you were looking for Kagome. What for?”

 

“Well, it's a bit complicated, Inuyasha,” Koenma began. “Basically, when her reiki showed up on the monitors in my office, it reminded me of a case that had never been solved. I sent Yuusuke and the boys to find the owner of the reiki, in hopes that it would solve the case, and the owner just happened to be Kagome.”

 

“So your case is solved now?” Kagome questioned Koenma.

 

“Well, we do still need confirmation. Botan, if you would please…” Koenma addressed the girl, handing her a strange device that looked to Kagome like a cross between a taser and the dragon radar from Dragonball Z.

 

It had several buttons and dials on it, and the device beeped when Botan pushed one of the top buttons. The lights under the radar screen each flashed once to test that they were working. One light flashed blue, the second yellow, the third red.

 

“Kagome, will you please stand up for me for a second?” Botan asked after she'd made sure the device was working properly.

 

Kagome did so, though she looked confused, and grew even more confused as the blue-haired girl turned a dial and pointed it at her. The taser-looking prongs at the top glowed blue momentarily and Kagome felt apprehensive before Botan began sweeping it over her. She started at Kagome's head, holding the radar a few inches from Kagome's body, and swept it down slowly. It reminded Kagome of the way she'd seen security guards sweep for guns. No sound came from the device, though the yellow light flashed steadily. Suddenly, when Botan ran it over her heart during her second sweep, it began beeping and flashing blue. Kagome jumped in surprise from the sudden noise and light.

 

All four Spirit Detectives had to quickly grab hold of Inuyasha before he was able to snatch the noisy object and destroy it. Botan didn't even notice the disturbance as she brought the screen up to her face to see the reading there. She pushed two more buttons, turned another dial, waited for the prongs to glow, and repeated the scan of Kagome. Once again, nothing happened until she brought it over Kagome's heart. She pushed a button to save the data, and said, “Koenma-sama, are you sure this works properly?”

 

“Well, it is a prototype, Botan, but it was working just fine when we tested it this morning.”

 

“What is that thing, anyway?” Yuusuke wondered.

 

“It's for measuring ki,” Botan answered. “The yellow light indicates normal ningen life force, the blue indicates reiki, and the red is for youki. This screen here tells me the strength of the ki. It's odd, though, because Kagome-chan has an extremely high reiki level, but it seems to only be concentrated in the center of her soul. Normally it would be spread throughout the entire soul and gradually intertwine itself with the body.”

 

“What is the reading?” Koenma asked.

 

Botan brought up the screen with the two sets of saved data and showed it to the miniscule ruler. Koenma looked at the readings, eyes widening, then walked across the table to where Kagome now sat. He looked in her eyes, drawing his face ever closer as he seemed to search for something there. Then, just as his pacifier touched her nose, he gasped and pulled his face back as he apparently found what he'd been looking for.

 

“Kikyou-sama!” he exclaimed, though barely above a whisper in his shock. In theory, he'd been expecting this, but it was still surprising to finally find her within this young girl.

 

Both Kagome and Inuyasha gasped as well at his words. Kagome scrambled off her seat, away from the wide, childlike, brown eyes still staring at her. Inuyasha stood and grabbed Koenma by the front of his shirt, yanking him up to his face to demand, “How the hell do you know that name?!”

 

“Oi, you put him down!” Botan yelled, smacking him in the back of the head with her oar. “For Kami-sama's sake, show some respect!”

 

Inuyasha instantly dropped Koenma and got in Botan's face, “Temee…”

 

Yuusuke and Kuwabara quickly held Inuyasha back and Botan helped Koenma up. Kurama and Hiei were the only ones with their attention on Kagome, who seemed to be in some sort of shock. Her face was blank and her eyes seemed glazed over in some sort of haze, seemingly unaware of anything that was going on around her anymore as she stared blankly past the two youkai. Hiei saw Kurama's concerned frown and instantly made his decision.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

It seemed to happen in slow motion to Kagome. Koenma's big, watery, brown eyes widened as they bored into her eyes. “Kikyou-sama!” Kagome's heart dropped to her stomach, and her stomach, in turn, decided to leap into her throat. She couldn't breathe, she could barely move, yet somehow she managed to stumble off the bench and regain her balance on her feet a few feet away. Everything around her blurred as she mentally repeated to herself, `No, no, no! Not here, too! Isn't it enough that I have to live in her shadow in Inuyasha's time?!'

 

Kagome suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness, believing she would never be able to be just Kagome ever again. She felt suffocated by the crowd of people that would now surely start asking her questions about Kikyou, and she couldn't stand it anymore. Kagome didn't even stop to think, she just let her body move on its own. She ran.

 

End Chapter 13

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

A/N: Omgoddess!!! Soooooooo sorry it's been so long!! Quite the busy summer it's been, family and my 2-yr-old and visitors, blah blah blah. Yeah, anyway, I won't bore ya with my excuses, just know I'm sorry!!!! *sweatdrops* Plus, my lateness probably won't end here… gomen! But I am still writing this, don't worry, you'll just hafta try to put up with my snail's pace updates for a lil bit though.

 

Anyway, I wanna thank everybody for their reviews and for continuing reading!! Please stay with me! I don't wanna take any longer to put this up, so not gonna do individual replies now. Maaaaaaaybe next time…

 

As for Japanese definitions… don't think I have any new ones in here… if I do, sorry again. Just let me know. ^__~