InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Seal ❯ The girl that was not Kikyo ( Chapter 2 )

Hello, we meet again!

I can't believe I actually got some reviews!! It's my very first time!! You won't believe the pleasant tingling you feel when you read that someone actually liked your story. It's kinda hard to believe. Thank you, thank you, this humble author treasures you all (I really do!!). I'll do my very best!!

And now on with the show!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story (if I did I'd be rich, filthy stinkin rich. I'd be off to the Bahamas and… and… and I better come back down to earth as they aren't mine) ; Inuyasha and co all belong to Miss Rumiko Takahashi. Just having plain fun writing about them. ;-P

The Seal

Part 2: The girl that was not Kikyo…

Later found Kagome in a villagers hut. The old miko Kaede's hut to be exact. She was still depressed, still sniffing a bit, but her ties were gone. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd gotten free, or when they'd done it, she'd been a bit too occupied with crying her heart out. 'Great first impression, Kagome,' she admonished herself, rather embarrassed, 'acting like such a cry-baby. How old are you? Five?' "Are you alright child?" a voice interrupted. "Huh?" Kagome jumped, turning to Kaede, who was passing her a bowl of soup. "Yeah, fine! Sorry 'bout that. Nothing wrong." Kagome winced at her own comment, 'I am an idiot!' Trying to lighten the mood, she tried again, "I don't suppose this is Tokyo?" She knew this wasn't Tokyo, Tokyo wasn't even built yet, but it might build some trust. "I never heard of the name. Is that the land of your birth?" Kaede asked. "I… guess so," Kagome stuttered, 'well it is… sort of.' "So tell me Kagome," Kaede began. Kagome closed her eyes, 'Please don't ask how I know you.' "How is it that you know my--"

Just then a ruckus was heard from outside. 'Saved!' Kagome cheered mentally, releasing the breath she'd held. Her joy was short-lived as a dead horse came crashing into their hut. A demon, the very demon who had started this whole mess, was ripping the village to shreds. It was huge, part giant centipede insect, part six-armed woman, and it was heading her way. As Kagome gasped, their eyes locked, and for a moment time stood still. 'No. She wants *me*.' "Give me the jewel of four souls," the monster bellowed, braking the moment. "The jewel?! You have the *jewel*?!" Kaede asked in disbelief. Paying no heed to the miko, Kagome followed the only clear thought in her head, 'Run.' And run she did.

***

He could hear the forest. He could feel the wind. He was awake. Why was he awake? He had died, he *remembered* dying. The arrow was there, he could see it, feel it. Why was he alive? How long had it been? What time was it? Some time must have past for the goshinbuki to have grown around him as it had. More and more thoughts whirled around his mind, questions that needed answering. But *not* now. *Now* he could smell a smell that he had hoped never to smell again. The woman that had killed him… Kikyo… was coming this way.

***

It was closing in on her. "Give me the jewel of four souls." "I don't have no jewel of four souls!" Kagome screamed back, running for her life towards the goshinbuki and the well. 'Well, it *is* true, after all,' she thought to herself. As the centipede-woman swooped down on her, Kagome found herself bitterly wishing she had practiced running a bit more often. "Why toy with second-raters like Mistress Centipede?" asked an arrogant voice from above. "Who?" Kagome looked up from her hiding place between the goshinbuki's roots, for the source of the voice, and froze. "Inuyasha?" 'He's *alive*,' was all Kagome could think, starring at the smirking youth. "Destroy her with a single blast, Kikyo! After all, you did it to me," Inuyasha urged, traces of bitterness lingering in his voice. 'Kikyo? He thinks I'm Kikyo?' "Whoa! Hey baka, my name's K-" Kagome began, but was interrupted mid-sentence. "She's coming." And then, low and behold, the monster woman attacked again.

It got a bit tiring dodging the centipede all the time, and each time the monster was just a little bit closer to catching Kagome. Inuyasha didn't offer any help of course, being pinned to a tree, and being his usual chipper self, kept sending snide little comments towards her handling of the blessed beast. Luckily the villagers caught up with the battling duo, just as Mistress Centipede grabbed her.

'No!' she thought as she felt the cold hands of the monster settling on her shoulders, bitter tears trailing down her chin, 'Not now!' And then her prayers were heard as spears dug into the centipedes flesh, making her loose her grip on her pray. "I'm saved!" Kagome couldn't believe her luck, as she scrambled out of the demons grasp. "Really, Kikyo, I'm disappointed," Inuyasha tsk'ed, from his perch on the goshinbuki. Kagome had had enough of his criticism, not helping at all, and calling her Kikyo of all things. "Listen you! I'm not Kikyo, never was, never will be!" she snapped at him. "Feh! Do you expect me to believe that I wouldn't know the *stench* of the girl who-" and then he took a closer look, and a closer sniff. "You're… you're *not* her…!" 'Finally!' she thought. "Get it now? My name's Kagome! Ka-go-me!" And the boy had the audacity to snort at her. "I'm a fool. After all, Kikyo looked intelligent…" and as an afterthought, "… and pretty." 'You!!! Not pretty… of all the things…' forgetting the monster for the moment, Kagome took the time to grumble, something she would sorely regret.

The villagers were having their own troubles with the monster. Strong as it was, it had already injured several of them, and they were born farmers, not fighters. As it pulled at its ropes, more spears fell out, and yet again it was free to seek its pray.

"Yeek! Let me go!!" she cried, grabbing onto Inuyasha for support when the monster yet again nabbed her, something he seemingly didn't enjoy too much. "You let *me* go!! Ouch, ouch, owowowow!!" Kagome had to agree with the boy, that holding onto his hair had to hurt, but there was nothing else to hold on to, the villagers were tired and hurt, and too weak to offer any resistance. "This body is so weak. I will devour you whole, shikon no tama and all," Mistress Centipede grinned at them, fangs elongating in anticipation of the kill. 'No, not that,' Kagome thought. "The jewel?" the pinned down boy asked in surprise, interest returned. The monster, locked on to Kagome's position, dove towards its target, its aim true. "No!!" 'Not now,' Kagome squeezed her eyes shut in denial, 'If only…' And then… she glowed bright, and the monsters arms fell off.

Kagome relaxed, breathing out in relief 'I'm safe.' And was thus bitten by the monster.

***

Time slowed. Blood spurted. Kagome fell. And a forgotten jewel came into sight again.

***

Kagome gasped. All was lost. The jewel was found, yet again. All for nothing. All for nothing. Someone would take it, and it would start all over again. And it hurt so much…

The monster was gloating, "I knew, I knew, I knew you were hiding it!" Kagome was eyeing the jewel as well, 'If I could just get it before--' "That jewel is *mine*!!" And all else looked up, finally realizing that the dead boy was not so dead after all. "Inuyasha is *awake*?!" Kaede gasped, "But that's not possible. The spell was meant to never brake. How?!" 'Now! While nobody's watching,' and Kagome ran for the jewel, for all her worth, 'Please, just this once. Just this once!' Forgetting blood-loss, forgetting the dangers nearby, forgetting that she was tired, she dove for it, all else forgotten. And failed, slammed into the goshinbuki by the centipede.

"I've heard of such a hanyou. Inuyasha who seeks the shikon no tama. At last we meet," the demon purred, while coiling around the tree, grinding Kagome into Inuyasha. "Don't insult me, Mistress Centipede. If I'd wanted, our meeting would've been very short… and your last." Inuyasha smirked at the gloating beast. Taking no heed to the taunt, Mistress Centipede inched closer to the shikon no tama, passing just a quick glance at the silver-haired hanyou, "You cannot move, can you, demon boy? That's quite a spell you're under. All you can do now, is watch." And as Kagome continued to watch, the bloody jewel was swallowed, 'No!'

As Mistress Centipede's transformation took place, turning into a more grisly monster than before, Kagome felt herself breathing out in relief, 'They don't know. There's still hope.' "Hey," her thoughts were disturbed by her entrapped neighbor, "This arrow, can you pull it out?" 'What?! Oh! It might just work.' Struggling to get loose, in hope of retrieving the jewel, Kagome wrenched an arm loose, 'I will not go back! Never again!' "Live again, Inuyasha!!" she cried out as the arrow that held him was ripped loose, and desolved, 'Live and be free!'

What followed was one of the shortest fights Kagome had ever seen. It was nearly anticlimactic. Inuyasha just hopped down from his tree, flexed his claws, and mowed down the boosted monster in one strike. 'I had no idea he was *that* powerful,' Kagome smiled to herself as she marched through the entrails, grabbing her jewel on the way.

Kaede came hobbling over to her as fast as her old legs could go, "Kagome! Guard the jewel, it must not enter demon hands!" 'What on earth are they talking about? Demon hands? What does that matter?' Kagome cast a puzzled glance at the old miko, "You think it gives power to demons?" '*snicker* Man have they got it wrong.' "Exactly. Meaning there's no point in a mortal keeping it," Inuyasha smirked, stalking over towards them flexing his claws, "So be a good little girl and hand it over, unless you'd rather feel the caress of my claws!" 'You gotta be kidding me. Not again,' Kagome eyed the demon boy warily, "No! The jewel is *mine*." Apparently that was not the thing to say, as Inuyasha a millisecond later pounced at her while growling, "Do you think I'm too gentle, little girl? Not when YOU STINK OF THE WOMAN WHO KILLED ME!!" "Yeeeeek!!!" 'Of course I smell like Kikyo, she-' Kagome dodged another blow from the enraged hanyou, he was getting closer and closer, and she was tired, and hurt, and really, really depressed… 'He'll win…' was her last thought as she sank to the ground, exhausted, 'The gods must really hate me…!'

Kaede saw when the young girl gave up, just sinking to the ground, waiting… It couldn't end this way. That power, the jewel, her resemblance, there was no other answer to who she was… Hastily she whipped up a beaded necklace, aiming carefully…

Kagome sat there, looking at her approaching doom, 'So this is it. That's all I get? 15 lousy years?!' And then hope struck, in the form of a necklace. As the necklace settled on the unsuspecting hanyou, who was still too busy charging her, Kaede screamed to her "Child! Utter a subduing spell! Any word to subdue him!!" And as Inuyasha made another snide remark, Kagome scrunched her brows in anger. He would not get the jewel. Not now when she… It wasn't over yet!! "Sit!!" The boy fell to earth like a sack of potatoes. She nearly felt sorry for him. Nearly…

***

Kagome learnt a great many curse words that day. Inuyasha didn't learn after the first subduing, or the second, or third… Come to think of it he still hadn't learnt, he was just too bruised to keep attacking. Currently they could be both found in Kaede's hut. Kagome, because her wound needed tending, and where else could she go? And Inuyasha, well he followed the jewel, and since he didn't pose any threat, they let him in.

Kagome was at the moment musing over how in the world they had come to believe that the jewel gave power to demons, ignoring the lecture that old miko Kaede was currently giving. Turning her gaze to the revived Inuyasha, a thought struck her, she'd always wondered… and since he was there she might as well ask: "You. Why do *you* want the jewel? You're strong. You took out Mistress Centipede in one stroke. Why do you need more power?" No answer sprang forth from the sulking hanyou, so in the end Kaede decided to enlighten her: "He's only half a demon." 'Half a demon? What's the other half?' In speaking of his heritage, Inuyasha was roused from his corner. Smashing the floor to pieces, he gritted out "Oi, baba, you've been acting awfully familiar since we met. Do you think you know me?" Surprise settled on the miko's face, "Then you really don't know? You don't know Kaede, the little sister of the woman who enchanted you?" "It's been 50 years, Inuyasha. Mortals grow old," Kagome chipped in, having already had this discussion with Kaede earlier. 'They're old, eh? Good riddance,' Inuyasha gloated to himself, "Hmph, then Kikyo must be even more withered than you! Heh! What a bore you mortals are!" "My elder sister is dead… Died the very day she put that spell on you," Kaede whispered quietly. 'How will he take it?' wondered Kagome as she silently observed the hanyou's rapidly changing moodswings. He kept shifting between somber, bitter and a carefree gloating. "So, the little witch kicked it, eh? Nice to hear some good news." 'Yep, that sounds like something Inuyasha would say…' Kagome sweatdropped.

Kaede apparently didn't like his reaction, as she was quick to burst his bubble. "Inuyasha, I wouldn't start celebrating just yet," she cast a glance over at Kagome, "There is the matter of reincarnation. Don't you agree, Kagome?" 'You gotta be kidding me…!' Kagome mentally snorted, 'Me be Kikyo… Although, this might work to my advantage…'

-

Praeceps:

This is it for now. I have some parts already written, but there are some paragraphs that I don't like. I'm at the moment trying to fix them. To be perfectly honest I'm being rather naught. (I'm supposed to be up in my room reading for my exams, but as you can see I'm not. *ehehehe* tiptoes away from glaring parents.)

I really appreciate when you tell me what you think. I'd like to hear some suggestions if you're bothered, but it's no biggie. Flames would be best avoided. (but I haven't got any yet, maybe I'm lucky)

Well that was all, for today at least, toodles!! ;-D