InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Regrets and Regress ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anybody in any way, and I know it. In fact, this makes me rather upset. But let's just pretend I do, 'kay?

 

 

Haunted

 

 

Chapter Five: Regrets and Regress

 

 

Fifty years ago, Miyagi Kagura was a normal mortal. Well, not exactly normal, She was rich and independent, proud and strong. She'd headed and profited from many archeological expeditions. Fifty years ago, archeology had been about searching for treasure, getting rich. And ironically, it was what had caused an abrupt end to her life.

 

_|__|_

(• . •)

--( • )--

(_____)

 

"Boo!" Mr. Higurashi blinked and looked up from his reading. Shippo stood before him, one of Souta's old plastic water guns in hand and a smile of anticipation gracing his features.

 

The old man blinked. "What is it that you want?" He ventured after a moment. Shippo just stood there a disappointed look on his face. He lowered the pistol and hung his head dejectedly. Walking back into the house from where Mr. Higurashi sat in the garden, he walked in on Miroku and Sango.

 

As would be expected, Sango was just leaving, looking rather upset as she stormed away. Almost as an afterthought, her head popped out from around the doorway to yell at Miroku. "I hope that teaches you!"

 

If it was possible to have a skull of titanium or an equally powerful alloy, Miroku was one of the specially gifted. Not only did he take Sango's punishments in stride, but he didn't seem much worse off for it. The violet-eyed man was reclining on the couch, one hand to his head and eyes unfocused. He turned to Shippo with a wince. "I don't think that that was really necessary." He informed the child.

 

"What'd she hit you with?" Shippo asked. After four days of similar behavior from both of them, he'd grown quite accustomed to their antics. She'd hit him from everything from the nearest newspaper to throwing rocks at him when they'd been outside. Nevertheless, Shippo thought, they seemed to be relatively companionable otherwise.

 

"She brutally attacked me with my own staff," Miroku replied mournfully, pointing at the long golden rod on the ground where Sango had left it. "And that's a priceless family heirloom!" He exclaimed. "She probably bent it with all he force she used to brutalize me."

 

"If anything bent it, it was probably your iron head." The scathing remark came from above Miroku's head. Both he and Shippo looked up to see Inuyasha floating above them.

 

"Your cruel remarks deeply wound me, Inuyasha." Miroku sighed regretfully at the poltergeist. Inuyasha floated lower until his feet were almost touching the ground. He snorted and Shippo idly aimed the water pistol at him. Naturally, the stream went right through him and onto the carpet. Inuyasha growled, and made a swipe at the kid. Just as naturally, he didn't touch him.

 

It wasn't that he couldn't feel the water as it passed through him- he could, in a vague way. It was like a sort of tickling almost, a strange sensation that made him want to shudder. It was unpleasant, but not painful. It was as if he knew that something was touching him, going through him, but he couldn't really feel it. He was numb. And it was just another thing to remind him that he wasn't really alive at all. He growled and made another swipe at Shippo in frustration. When was Kagome coming back…?

 

(\ /

(• .•)

_(><)_

 

She wanted to go home. She just wanted to go home. She didn't want to sit out underneath the awning of the shop and eat her ice cream. She didn't want to be listening to Hojo prattle on about what she was missing at "home" and how everybody missed her. "Kagome?"

 

She was startled out of her reverie by his voice. "What?" Hojo was nice, but so… dull in comparison to the vivid personalities currently occupying her house. She found herself wondering what they were doing right now…

 

"Kagome?" Hojo asked again, sounding slightly concerned now. "Are you all right?" Kagome looked away from her ice cream and at her "date".

 

"I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I just spaced out for a moment. What were you saying?" She focused her attention at him.

 

"Are you feeling okay, Kagome?" He asked seriously. "Maybe we should go inside. It's cooler there." Kagome shook her head at his proposal.

 

"I'm okay." She said. "What was it you were saying?" She asked again and took a large spoonful of ice cream. And so, Hojo went on another monologue on Tokyo, and Kagome found herself reliving the incidents that led her here in the first place…

 

(\ /

(0.0)

_(><)_

 

Earlier that day:

 

"Hello?" Kagome walked into the living room and answered the phone. It was Eri, one of her close friends from Tokyo.

 

"Hey, Kagome!" The other girl replied from the other end. "What's up? How's the new house?" Kagome grinned and sat on the couch and prepared for a long conversation.

 

"Not a lot, Eri." She responded. "The house is pretty cool. It's pretty old and big, and Grandpa keeps getting lost because he spends all his time in his room." She grinned. The senior only left his room to eat, use the restroom, and get more to read. What he was reading, she had no idea.

 

"Sounds pretty boring." Her friend commented. Inuyasha drifted through the sliding glass door and into the room. He moved into a cross-legged position a few feet above the ground and floated around the room.

 

"Nah, it's not too boring." Kagome said. And it really wasn't. There was Shippo and Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha… Between the five of them, herself included, life was actually pretty interesting. "We've got some people renting rooms,"

 

"What's that like?" Kagome watched as one of Inuyasha's ears flicked in her direction. She wasn't sure about how good his hearing was… was he eavesdropping?

 

"Pretty interesting," She admitted with a grin. "We've got a kid named Shippo, he's a real mischief maker, and then Miroku was next-" She broke off as Eri asked her to describe them.

 

"Well, Shippo's really cute," She admitted. A white ear flicked towards her again, and the poltergeist frowned just as whenever she complemented Shippo. Inuyasha was eavesdropping! With an irritated frown, she waved for him to leave. He rolled his eyes and drifted slowly through the wall to another room. "He's about eight he says, but he's so small that I think he's probably about six or five."

 

"What about Miroku?" Eri asked. To someone on the other end, Eri said, "Not, now Mom. I'm on the phone. Kagome. Yeah, she moved."

 

"Anyway," Kagome resumed. "Miroku's about twenty-ish. I never asked. But he's tall, has purple eyes and black hair that he ties into a ponytail-"

 

Inuyasha's head drifted closer into the wall to catch what Kagome's friend said. "Ooh! He sounds cute!" The poltergeist shook his head. Girl-talk. How… boring.

 

"He's nice, but I don't like him that way," Kagome replied. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "He's a perverted hormonal maniac! Or at least, he acts like one…"

 

Inuyasha stayed partially in the wall for what seemed like ages but was probably only half an hour or so. How girls could talk… And about the most uninteresting subjects at that! Who cared who liked whom and who broke up with whom? He certainly didn't, but from the way Kagome answered it sounded as if it was really important…

 

And that's when the conversation got interesting. "…speaking of Hojo, I heard that he's going to come up and visit you!" Eri giggled excitedly. Inuyasha frowned and stuck his head through the wall to see Kagome's reaction. Fortunately for him, she didn't see him. And she was smiling slightly.

 

"That's so nice of him!" She said happily. "It'll be so nice to see someone from school again." Her smile became a confused frown as Eri continued. Then she blushed. "I have had a date before, Eri! It's not…" She trailed off with a look of horror on her face. A similar one was on Inuyasha's features.

 

"Yeah, I'll go…" Kagome replied, slightly dazed. "Yeah, you go tell him. I'll see him on Thursday then, right? What? Tonight!" Eri answered in the affirmative on the other side. "Okay, then." She nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. " Looks like I've got about half an hour, then! You know, you could've told me sooner, Eri. See you later."

 

"See ya!" The girl's cheerful voice echoed from the phone as Kagome hung up. She sat for a moment, playing with the telephone wire.

 

With a feeling of injustice and anger, Inuyasha melted through the wall and glowered at the girl. "Hi, Inuyasha." Kagome waved at him and continued fiddling with the wire.

 

"You're not going." He said flatly and crossed his arms over his chest mulishly. No way in hell was she going on a date with some stupid guy from her old school.

 

"What?" Kagome asked incredulously. "And who are you to decide that?" She asked. Her expression suddenly became much more angry. "Were you listening to me talk on the phone?"

 

"That's not the point-" Inuyasha interrupted. The conversation wasn't going where he wanted it to…

 

"Well, it is now!" Kagome said furiously. "I can't believe you! I was trying to have a nice conversation with my friend who I haven't seen in months!" She shook her head hopelessly. "And you, you have the… the audacity-" She paused for breath, and the angry poltergeist broke in.

 

"I told you, that's not what we're talking about!" he growled, yellow eyes flashing and peach cheeks flushing in anger. "You're NOT going with him!" Part of Kagome watched in fascination as color oozed from his eyes and started to color in the rest of him. The rest of her was busy arguing with the belligerent poltergeist to notice.

 

"And why not?" She hissed back. "You don't have any voice in the decision! It's my choice, not yours! You can't control every aspect of my life!"

 

"And I'm not trying to!" He shouted. "I'm just telling you that you can't go!" The color was turning the fabric over his stomach red, and the tips of his sleeves were vibrant with color. "Why don't you get that?!"

 

"I do!" Kagome answered back angrily. "But it's my date, my life, my choice! NOT YOURS!" She paused for breath and the two of them stared at each other hotly. If she'd cared to notice, Kagome would've seen that his pants were the same color as his red haori.

 

Kagome suddenly turned away and stormed to the front door. She slid on a pair of sandals and opened the door, declaring loudly enough for the entire house, "And I'm going right now!"

 

"You're not going!" Inuyasha howled, but there was nothing he could do. Slowly, the color drained from his spectral form, leaving him upset and frustrated with nothing to do. When Shippo nervously skittered into the living room a few minutes later, Inuyasha would've bit his head off if he could. "What do you want, Brat?" He snarled.

 

Shippo summoned up his courage and asked tremulously, "Where'd Kagome go?" Bad question. Bad timing. Yellow eyes flashed and Inuyasha pointed towards the door.

 

"OUT!"

 

(\ /) (SOUR APPLE!!!)

(›_‹)

_(›‹)_

 

The scrolls. How she hated them, hated finding them. If only she'd passed them by, moved on to something else as she made the bookshelves. If only she hadn't gone underground. If only she'd believed the stories that the scrolls told. The story, written down by a dying priestess as a word of warning to the rest of humanity. If only she'd stopped to think. If only, if only…

 

If only she hadn't gone into the cave. That's all it led down to really. Just the fact that nothing and no one lived or talked about the little mound of earth that was barely a hill should've dissuaded her. The hate, the malice that was tangible, throbbing in the air as she reached the entrance should've stopped her. The force of it made her nose bleed and her teeth ache. But no. Kagura sneered in self-disgust of the person she had once been. She'd had to be brave, reckless, greedy, and above all, foolish.

 

So foolish.

 

She'd been young for an archeologist, in her late thirties. She'd heard a rumor about a house in the middle of nowhere. It was said to have some sort of historical significance, with an old shed in the back and the foundations for a town somewhere in the forest.

 

Kagura bought the house. After a thorough investigation of the property, she'd decided that the claims by the locals were, to be blunt, absolute bullshit. But, being as resourceful as she was, Kagura just couldn't leave it at that. She decided to sell it. She had the house revamped, the carpets re-laid, the floors repaired. She'd been in the process of building shelves and putting in some old scrolls that she'd found when she discovered the story that changed her life.

 

Or, to be more exact, destroyed it.

 

_|_|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(___)

 

All in all, the date had gone well, Kagome decided as Hojo bid her goodbye on her doorstep. It hadn't been particularly interesting, but it had been nice to hear about everything that was going on at her old home. She waved as Hojo walked down the street to meet the cab that he'd called earlier. Kagome closed the door and came face to face with an edgy Inuyasha. "Hi…" She greeted.

 

"How was your date?" He practically spat. His fists were clenched tightly, and there was just a hint of bright amber in smoldering in the depths of his eyes.

 

"It was okay," She replied warily, unsure of how Inuyasha would respond. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

 

"So is he a good kisser?" Inuyasha asked venomously. He turned around, back towards her as Kagome spluttered behind him indignantly.

 

"I didn't kiss him!" She protested. "And he didn't kiss me!" Inuyasha's back was still to her stubbornly. He was like an infant sometimes…

 

"Really?" He asked angrily. His ears flicked in agitation, and there was pale rose on the inside of them. "Then why do you stink of him?"

 

"Huh?" He had a really good nose… "What do you mean? He didn't touch me." Kagome pondered for a moment.

 

"Oh, really?" His back was still to her, but his hair was turning that snowy bluish-white. "Well, I think you're lying. Why else would you reek of that idiot?"

 

"Hojo's nice!" Kagome defended. "I mean, he's not very interesting, and he's really oblivious, but he's polite, at least! Unlike you! I'm not lying, either!"

 

Now the fabric of his haori was a deep blood red. "He's a weak, simpering idiot!" Inuyasha shot back. "And you are lying. His stench is… it's all over you!" He did turn around now.

 

"I'm not lying!" Kagome shouted. Wordlessly, Miroku entered the living room, paused for a moment, then went back the way he came with a sigh. "He just let me borrow his jacket!"

 

"Liar! Why in all the hells would you need a jacket in this weather?!" Inuyasha yelled back. "And if you think I'm going to believe something that stupid then you're just as idiotic as him!" Sango headed towards the door from outside, then turned around abruptly as she noticed the fight ensuing, just as Miroku had.

 

"I'm not stupid! You are! He did lend me his jacket! I was cold after eating the ice cream!" Kagome all but screeched. She was so mad right now…

 

"Oh, what a perfect first date!" Inuyasha snorted. "Ice cream! That stuff's as sweet and melty as him, I'm sure!" The tips of his sleeves were turning red as he talked.

 

Kagome sputtered for a moment. "I hate you!" She finally spat. She stomped up the stairs. "Don't you dare follow me, you, you big jerk!"

 

"Who says I want to be anywhere near you?!" Inuyasha roared. With a violent burst of sparks and thick cloying smoke, he disappeared with a loud bang. Shippo stuck his head into the room. The fire alarm immediately went off.

 

The poor child took one look and hollered for the only sane adult in the house. "Miroku! Help!" He wailed, then coughed.

 

Miroku raced into the room, but there was nothing there but thick smoke. He stepped out into the hallway again and took a deep breath, plunging into the room and opening the sliding door to air out all the smoke. He hurried into the kitchen to tie a dishcloth over his face before continuing.

 

Sango dashed out of the forest and hurried up the hill. "What's going on? I heard the alarm!" She coughed as she inhaled some smoke and Miroku handed her another rag.

 

"I think Inuyasha got mad." Miroku stated vaguely as the two of them preceded to air out the room.

 

(\ /

(' . ')

_(v v)_

 

Fifty years ago…

 

Kagura stood on top of the mound of dirt that no one else dared to touch and snorted. What was so terrible about it? The soil was probably just bad and plants couldn't grow on it. She didn't believe in mysticism or legends. For her, the only truth was science. The woman grinned as she caught sight of what she was looking for.

 

She headed down the slope and picked up her gear before heading towards a large boulder. She circled the large smooth stone and spotted what she was looking for. Bingo. She scraped the dirt off a dark smooth surface and lifted the piece of slate with a grunt. Kagura dragged the large heavy trap door of sorts over to the side, reconsidering her decision to not hire a team to help her.

 

Wiping the sweat off her brow, Kagura looked into the dark hole and pulled a flashlight out of her backpack. She pointed the powerful beam of light down the dark tunnel. There were the steps mentioned by the scrolls. She scooted into the small opening and pulled her backpack in after her.

 

Kagura stared into the darkness, her flashlight illuminating the narrow path ahead of her. Just as the scroll had indicated, there were stones lining the path, but time had worn them smooth and covered them in dirt. So far, so good.

 

 

(\ /

(0.0)

_(><)_

 

Kagome didn't come down for dinner. When Miroku knocked on her door and asked her if she wanted anything to ear, she replied flippantly, knowing that Inuyasha would hear her. "Oh, I'm not hungry. Hojo treated me quite well. He's so good about those kinds of things." Miroku turned his head to look at the poltergeist, who "just happened" to be passing through the hallway. The spectral figure ground his teeth resentfully.

 

"Yeah, I'm sure she pigged herself out." He snarled, making sure Kagome would hear him through the door.

 

"Go away, Inuyasha." Came the scathing reply. "I've got better things to do than argue with you." As a matter of fact, she was lying on her bed and rereading a book.

 

"Yeah, like daydream about that pathetic fool Hojo." Inuyasha retorted. "I can't help but wonder what he sees in an idiot like you. Of course, he's so stupid, he probably doesn't notice if he's eating ice cream with an eggplant or an annoying whiny bitch."

 

He was surprised when Kagome simply sighed, instead of blowing up. "Don't you have anything to do, Inuyasha? Or does your whole existence revolve around bothering me?" There was an angry tension behind the remark.

 

"Well, aren't you the self-centered brat." He sneered as he moved away. "Well, you can just rot into your room until the next millennia." He was halfway down the hallway when Kagome replied so softly that he barely caught what she was saying.

 

"And you probably will." There was no anger behind the remark, not spite or malice. The comment was almost sad, regretful, but it seemed to sting more than any other of the things she'd said thus far.

 

Probably because it was the truth.

 

 

(\ /

(•_•)

_(><)_

 

She gasped in spite of herself. Seeing was believing, and Miyagi Kagura was definitely seeing. This discovery required that she completely reevaluated her beliefs. What else could she do when hundreds of "sacred sutras" which she'd snorted at before were glowing, lighting the entire cave in an unearthly and slightly ominous golden aura? And it was more than that. Some of them were floating in the air.

 

At that moment, Kagura completely forgot about treasure and money. That was when she stepped into the cave, instinctively avoiding the powerful sutras. As she passed by the ancient spelled paper, the kanji on them would glow brightly as if warning her to stay away. The ache in her bones that had started as she reached the cavern became stronger and pressure seemed to be building up behind her head into the migraine of the century. But still Kagura plodded on. She felt drawn to the tall earthenware earns that sat in the middle of the room, the sutras thickly clustered in the air around them. They were placed far apart, but still in the middle of the large chamber. They were both unpainted and unmarked, but one was the pale brown of beach sand, and the other was the deep ebony of cherry tree wood. In all other ways, they were identical.

 

Gingerly, slowly, Kagura drew closer to the two urns until she was only inches away from the dark one. Her hand unwillingly strayed towards the edge of the urn between a pair of the sutras. Alarm bells went of in her head. "Don't touch it!" Her instincts screamed, but she was unable to move her hand away.

 

The golden light suddenly surrounded in a flash that promised death, but when she opened her eyes, blinking spots from her vision, she was still intact. Her hand strayed nearer to the mouth and she struggled to snatch it away. For the first time in her life, Kagura's mind was blank with panic.

 

And she had good reason to be.

 

(\ /

(0.0)

_(><)_

 

She couldn't sleep. All night, she tossed and turned, her mind unable to relax. All she could think about was their fight that afternoon. Or rather, their two fights. Kagome had no idea of why they'd been fighting. Why did he care if she went on a date with Hojo? She shouldn't be the one feeling guilty. When she'd gotten back, it was clear that Inuyasha was upset. Very, very clear. And when he'd turned around to yell back at her, when she had run up the stairs, furious, she couldn't get the look on his face out of her mind. He was furious. There was nothing new about that. The thing that alarmed and disturbed her so much was that at that moment, his face had been flushed peach and tinged in rose. But that was normal. It was definitely not normal that his eyes stayed the same hollow grey color and the look in them had been almost… pained.

 

Although Kagome had only known the poltergeist for about a month, she felt as if she'd grown up with him. In a way, she had. When she'd first met him, he was rude, hollow, distant. Now, he was rude, vibrant and lively. She'd seen him change from the depressed hollow shell he had been into a …a… Kagome remembered that she was mad at him. A rude, nasty, violent jerk. That was right. He had no right to decide whom she dated. But the formerly passionate argument had dwindled into a hollow repetition in her mind. Didn't she want to go out with Hojo?

 

A few weeks ago, she'd jump at the chance. He was nice, polite, friendly, trustworthy, loyal and honest. The perfect boyfriend, or even just friend. Only a few months ago, she would've been excited and joyful, and if she was going to be sleepless, it would be out of exaltation. She remembered a time- with some embarrassment- when she'd nearly idolized Hojo. It had been last year. The once charming and interesting, but tame boy that she'd liked was now boring and lacked variety. What had changed? Hojo talked the same, walked the same, smiled the same. He hadn't changed one bit.

 

It was she, Kagome who'd changed. Was it really only a few months ago that she'd watched Hojo's every move, every friendship, every girlfriend, with jealousy? She stared up at the ceiling with a growing sense of wonder. Amazing what a month and a half did to ones feelings. What was the saying? "Out of sight, out of mind." She murmured aloud. She shouldn't feel so disappointed. After all, there were still quite a few girls- according to Eri- that would love to go out with the perfect boy. Because really, that's what Hojo was. Good grades, good manners, good looks -not great, she thought critically- good habits. Good catch. Great catch. So why was she feeling so… empty?

 

Why was she still thinking about Inuyasha?

 

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(___)

 

Why was he still thinking about Kagome?

 

An audibly growl echoed out of a certain small urn in a shed. He couldn't sleep. Normally when he popped into his urn, he just went blank, immediately asleep. But lately he'd become more alert, more alive. Although he thought it was great news, there were clearly some side effects. One of them being that he was now unable to sleep.

 

And he couldn't keep the events of the afternoon out of his head. Feircely, he began thinking about chickens. Unfortunately, all the thoughts he had on the subject were that they were stupid and weak, which got him thinking about that Homo fellow, which got him thinking about Kagome and the argument. If he could, he would've banged his head against the walls of his urn.

 

He willed away the anger and slight feelings of guilt that swept over him again as he turned his thoughts forcefully on the strange plate with the wacky designs on it that Miroku had used for dinner last night. It had been glazed pottery with blue rings around the edges and a painting of a chicken on it…. Dammit!

 

Inuyasha had content himself with banging his head against the palms of his hands as once more his thoughts went onto Kagome's angry face and emotional brown eyes… Dammit again.

 

(\ /

(• .•')

_(><)_

 

Sweat gleamed on Kagura's forehead as her hand came closer, closer… A kanji character flashed into life on the urn with roar. This time the magic, it wasn't harmless. Kagura's mind went blank, but this time with pain. She tried to look down at herself to see how badly she was injured, but all was black. She could feel blood trickling down from her abdomen and exhaustion swept over the unfortunate archeologist and she fell to her knees, too weak to even bring her arms up to soften the fall. She tumbled to the ground in a ragged broken heap on the cold dirt. Somehow, one of her hands brushed the urn.

 

And that was when Kagura the wind witch was born.

 

 

| |

__|____|__

--( • )--

(____)

 

"We need more pickles!" Mr. Higurashi's voice rang through the house. Everybody heard him, but no one answered. "Hello?" The senior tried again. "I said, we need more pickles!" The young man was somewhere out, probably harassing the girl. The old man looked out the window.

 

That poltergeist fellow was floating about outside. After that fight with his granddaughter, he'd refused to come inside. Kagome had refused to go outside. Good riddance… Mr. Higurashi thought to himself. The two of them hadn't talked for two days. The kid was walking next to the poltergeist, following him around and trying to get him to apologize to Kagome so she'd stop being all mopey. Hmmm… She probably just needed to get out and do something. "Kagome!" He shouted and tucked the scroll he was reading into his sleeve.

 

The girl reluctantly replied. "Yeah?" She put down the book she was rereading and stuck her head out of her door, reluctant to leave her room. She hadn't since breakfast.

 

"Kagome!" The senior hadn't heard her. "Kagome? Could you come here?" With a sigh the girl complied, descending slowly down the staircase into the kitchen.

 

"Yes?" She asked. She noticed the pickle jar in his hand and guessed what he wanted to see her about. "Need more pickles?" She asked.

 

"How'd you know?" He asked in surprise. She merely shook her head and headed for the front door. "Wait, Kagome!" Her grandfather shouted after her. "Do you know the way to the store?" He stuck his head out of the kitchen.

 

"Of course!" Well, she had a general idea. Kagome had gone to town several times to get groceries with Miroku and Shippo. She hadn't paid much attention to the direction she was going because she was focused on Miroku and his roving hands. The town was pretty far away, and she knew where it was in a vague way. She'd find her way. She didn't feel like company at the moment.

 

Mr. Higurashi shrugged and wandered up to his room to read some more.

 

(\ /

(0.0)

_(><)_

 

Kagome was lost. It was getting dark, and she knew that she'd be at the town by now if she had taken the right way. But clearly, she hadn't. She was walking on the side of a road, her feet rubbed raw by her choice of footwear: flip flops. The sun was just starting to sink, and she fought the rising panic that was slowly eating at her. As soon as she realized she was lost, she'd turned around to retrace her steps, but somewhere she'd taken another wrong turn, and now she had no idea of where she was. And she couldn't even ask anyone for help or use of a telephone because she was walking by rice paddies. They were dry with the summer and no one was working in them.

 

She looked back at the sunset. Was it just her, or did it sink a bit? The panic rose in her and she started to run in what she thought was the right direction. After a few minutes of sprinting, her ragged breath gave out to small sobs. She was very, very lost indeed. And no one even knew that she was gone. Her grandpa- although he was sweet and well-meaning- had surely forgotten by now that he'd sent her out for pickles by now. Everyone else thought that she was moping somewhere and wouldn't be worried until tomorrow. She tripped and sprawled onto the dusty path that she had blindly tuned on to in her panic. She looked back at the sunset and she felt her throat tighten in misery. The bright crescent of orange had nearly disappeared to be replaced with a rainbow hue.

 

The small ane part of her mind marveled at the beauty of it but the rest of her was in terror. She was in the middle of nowhere with no food and drink. She was desperately cold despite the running in a sleeveless short summer dress that was certainly not meant to be worn in the evening. She was going to sleep in the dark, cold and hungry, She'd probably get mugged or attacked for the little money she had on her for buying pickles. Things didn't look good at all.

 

 

 

Kagome desperately wished for a watch. How long had she been walking? It felt like an eternity, but she was well aware that panic and stress had certainly stretched the way she perceived time.

 

(\ /

(•_•)

_(><)_

 

Despite Kagome's thoughts on the subject, someone had noticed that she was gone. Inuyasha lifted his nose to the air again and his frown deepened. Where was she? Kagome's scent was hours old. If she'd gone for a walk, it was an awfully long walk. But he doubted it. Most people- especially defenseless ones like Kagome- didn't go walking around in the dark. It was just asking for trouble. Little alarms went off in his head and Inuyasha finally swallowed his pride and approached the house.

 

He melted through the walls and into the kitchen where everyone but Kagome was eating. The alarms trilled louder. "Anyone seen Kagome?" He tried to act casual, but the flickering in his eyes betrayed him.

 

With a frown, Miroku put down his chopsticks and thought for a moment. "I can't say that I have…" He said slowly. "I thought that she was in her room. That's where I saw her last."

 

"And when was that?" There was now a definite edge to the poltergiest's voice. The rest of the household sensed his agitation and stopped eating.

 

"That would be last night." Miroku admitted. Food forgotten, he looked at Inuyasha, who was now pacing circles in the air. "Is something wrong?"

 

He didn't answer. "What about you?" Shippo shook his head. "You?" Sango shook her head as well. "You?" Mr. HIgurashi started to shake his head and then stopped abruptly.

 

He swallowed his food slowly while Inuyasha twitched impatiently. "I sent her off for pickles." He said calmly. Well, that was a relief. But wait…

 

"Old man…" Inuyasha said slowly, his eyes turning a molten gold. "when did you send Kagome off for pickles?" Miroku broke in with a frown on his face.

 

"Surely you didn't send her off this late at night?" He asked incredulously. The senior thought carefully. Slowly. Too slowly. Inuyasha's foot jiggled in impatience. Time was wasting, here…

 

"This afternoon. Around one or so." Mr. Higurashi said calmly. All mayhem broke loose. Sango sat up abruptly.

 

"What? But that was hours ago!" She got up from the table. "She should've been back by now! She should've been back by five, at the latest!"

 

Ever the cool-headed thinker, Miroku hurried away and went to the phone. Catching onto the atmosphere as Inuyasha started cursing blackly, Shippo began to cry a bit.

 

"What happened to Kagome…? When is she coming back? Where did she go?" He sobbed. Sango picked him up and held him in her arms as she questioned the old man furthur.

 

"Does she know how to get to the town?"

 

"Well, she said that she did…"

 

"She did?"

 

"I think so…"

 

"KAGOME! COME HOME! WAAAAAAAHHHH! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

 

"Gods damn!"

 

"She left about one, we haven't seen her since. Kagome Higurashi. Black hair, about five foot four, I think. Nice figure… I mean, thinnish…"

 

"KAGOME…! WHERE ARE YOU…?"

 

 

AN: there you have it. I would appreciate it if you let me know what you think? OOC? Any tweaking nessesary? Anything else? Should I make the chapters longer? I feel as if they're a bit on the skimpy side… Anybody got some popcorn? Can I have some?

 

No fear! Tell me!