InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny Can Wait Five Hundred Years ❯ The Strange Fabric and the Odd Employee ( Chapter 2 )

“Oww! You have quite an arm there.”

Kagome, broom still raised, stared at the man on the ground rubbing his head. He seemed to be relatively young, only a few years older than her. His dark hair was short, but she could tell it was long in the back. Dressed in jeans and a shirt with a light jacket over it, he seemed like a local university student. But what would he be doing at the shrine this late at night? And how did he know my name? What if he's a stalker?!

Giving the man one last whack with the broom, to make sure he stayed down, Kagome ran at breakneck speed back to the house.

“Mama! There's a stalker following me!” she shrieked, almost bursting through the doors to the dining room.

“Slow down dear, I can't understand you,” her mother said soothingly as she stood up from the table to see what was wrong.

In a rush, Kagome described the person and how he knew her name. When she finished, her grandfather spoke up. “Don't mind him, Kagome.”

Kagome felt her eye twitch. “I was almost attacked and all you can say is `Don't mind him, Kagome,'?!”

Her grandfather calmly continued eating dinner. “That was Miruk, the young man I told you I was meeting with today. We sent him out to get you so you wouldn't miss dinner.”

Kagome stared at him. You mean I knocked out someone jii-chan hired to work at the shrine? That might cause a few problems.

Kagome's mother volunteered to go make sure Miruk was alright while Kagome sat down, staring at the table.

When her mother and Miruk came in, a few minutes later, Kagome stood up and bowed. “I apologize for my reaction earlier.”

“It's alright,” said Miruk, grinning slightly, “Most women I meet have similar reactions.” He sat down in the empty space across form Kagome.

Dinner was a silent occasion. Kagome was still a bit embarrassed about before, and nobody else seemed to have anything to say. Suddenly, Kagome remembered her dream and the strange fabric she found.

Deciding against mentioning the dream (her grandfather might try to exorcise spirits out of her like he did when she was five); she pulled the scrap out and handed it to her mother. “Mama, have you seen anything like this before?”

Her mother inspected it. “No, I've never seen cloth this durable before.” She looked at Kagome, “where did you find it?”

“Caught in the vines around the Tree, Kagome stated.

“It might belong to the demon inside,” her grandfather suggested. “If it is, you should put it back before it curses you.”

“How can a demon curse Kagome if it's sealed in a sacred object?” Souta asked.

Miruk took the scrap from Kagome's mother, and inspected it closely. “It reminds me of the legends my parents would tell me of fire rat cloaks.” He looked up at Mrs. Higarashi. “Would you happened to have a lighter or a match I could use?”

Nodding, she stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.

“You're gonna burn it?” Souta asked, looking excited.

Miruk nodded. “Fire rat cloaks can repel fire, and I want to see if that is what this is.”

Kagome sighed. Horary, another person who believes in the old myths.

When Mrs. Higarashi returned with a box of matches, Miruk took one and lit it. He dangled the fabric over the flame.

Kagome, whose hand had been near her glass in case Miruk caught fire, gasped. The fabric, instead of catching fire, flapped slightly as the flame moved around it.

“Well, seems like you've made some sort of discovery, Kagome,” her mother said as Miruk put the flame out.

“Yes, imagine finding something as rare as that at our shrine,” her grandfather said excitedly.

“Can I have it?” Souta asked.

“I believe the one who found it should keep it,” replied Miruk. He gave the fire rat fabric to Kagome. “Maybe it'll bring you luck.” He flashed a grin at her that reminded her of when she saw guys flirting with her friends.

That might explain the whole arm over the shoulder thing, she thought, thank goodness he won't be living with us.

“Oh yes, I almost forgot,” her grandfather spoke up, “Miruk, it won't do for you to be constantly going back and forth between your apartment and the shrine. Would it be a problem if you moved here? We have a spare room that you could use.”

Gah!

“Thank you, but I don't wish to be intruding.”

Thank you, God.

“Don't be silly,” Mrs. Higarashi said, “working at a shrine is an almost twenty four hour job.”

Mama!

So I guess some myths do have facts behind them, Kagome thought to herself.

It was sometime after dinner, and Mrs. Higarashi was showing Miruk to his new room, Souta was playing one of his video games, Jii-chan was re-reading the day's newspaper, and Kagome was taking a bath.

She grabbed the scrap from where she had left it on the side of the tub.

Or maybe Miruk is just a very good magician. She still found it hard to believe cloth of any sort could repel fire.

She put the scrap back and leaned back in the tub. Tomorrow after school I'll go look around the Tree some more.

Just as she was about to drift off into a half-sleep when she heard something from beyond the door. It sounded like the popping noise that joints make occasionally when stiff. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself, Kagome stepped out of the tub and flung open the door.

Nobody was there.

Huh...I could have sworn someone was hanging around outside the door. Moving back inside to grab her things, Kagome then headed to her room for bed.

When she was gone, Miruk dropped down from the ceiling where he had pressed between the two hallway walls. Whistling, he headed off towards the room he was staying in.