InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Spider's Web ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

She hummed while she pushed the tiny pebbles around her dirt covered floor. Though afraid and ever weary, she had gone outside for a short time and found several items with which to make play toys to keep herself entertained. As always with her trips outside the safe hollow of Goshinboku , she had to be careful and fast in her expedition. To leave the hollow of the tree was to expose herself and she never knew when Nimetsuki Kaijuu would come back. Only when she was inside Goshinboku would she be completely safe...

The snap of a twig made her stiffen and she looked up, eyes wide. Crawling backwards until her back rested against the inside bark of the tree, she grabbed a pebble - her only weapon - and threw it as hard as she could out the tree house entrance. "Stay away from here Kaijuu!"

"Oww!" The voice was more like a growl and not at all like the voice of Nimetsuki Kaijuu. "That hurt!"

Regardless of the fact that the voice was different from the monster who hunted her, she was taking no chances. It could be a trick, after all. "You can't come in here! Goshinboku won't let you! The spirit of the tree will protect me," she shouted and threw another rock out of the hollowed door. "Jii-chan told me so, so you can just go away!"

"Oww! Stop doing that baka!" This time there was less growl in the voice and more whine. "That hurts! I don't even know you!"

"Then get out of my forest!" She threw another pebble, but missed her target and hit only the leaf covered ground. "Mine!"

There was a growl and thump, as if he had thrown something and hit the tree trunk. "I didn't want to be here anyway. I don't even know where here is! What'd you bring me here if you're just gonna beat me?"

At that she paused and dropped her next missile, looking slightly surprised. "Bring you here? Me?"

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

Higarashi Shrine, Tokyo, Japan, January, 1998

The steady beep of her alarm clock woke Kagome and she groggily eyed the timepiece before throwing the covers off of her as recollection of what day it was finally dawned on her. This was her first day at the university, something she'd been looking forward to for a while. She stretched and yawned from a night of near restless sleep before going to her bedroom window to look out across her grandfather's shrine. "Look out world...here I come."

In a hurry to get to the bathroom and dress, she frantically searched through her closet, tossing countless articles of clothing to her bed. She'd pick up later, after classes. Finally finding a thin bathrobe to cover her, she ran down the stairs towards the bathroom, yelling to her mother as she went. "Have you seen my blue sweater? I can't find it anywhere!"

"I washed it, dear. It's hanging in the bathroom." Her mother called back. "If you don't hurry, you're going to be late!"

Kagome's musical laughter drifted down the hall. "No worries!"

Nagare laughed and shook her head, going back into the kitchen to rush her son into going being as enthusiastic as her daughter. She was having no such luck.

"She is way too chipper for it to be this early," he grumbled into his egg and only scowled more when his mother smiled and patted his head.

"Well, if you spent three years doing nothing but lying in bed, you'd be happy to be up, too." She turned her back to him and sighed, trying not to recall the depressing days spent at her daughter's bedside after losing her husband. She'd almost lost her daughter as well but to a something she considered much worse than death.


"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," Souta argued, but his mother only shrugged and went back to what she'd been doing.

In another part of the house, Kagome grabbed her blue sweater off of the hanger and pulled it over her head, tugging her long, black hair from the neck of the shirt and shaking it into place. Racing so as not to be late, she grabbed her shoes, sliding them on as she ran, and her purse from the hall table.

"I'm gone, Mama! I'll probably stick around a little after my last class just to get acquainted with the campus, so don't expect me before dark...later if I can find someone to hang out with," she told the elder woman and practically bolted out the door, but not before the prerequisite kiss on the cheek. Parked along the street just down the stairs from the shrine was the old model car her mom and grandfather had purchased for her commutes to and from campus. It might not have looked like much, but it was more than she had expected.

Nagare chuckled and pulled the plate of half eaten eggs out from under Souta's nose as further inspiration for him to get going. At eighteen her daughter had more energy than she knew what to do with...now if only she would share some of that with her fourteen year old brother.

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

University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Despite the fact that she'd been running late, Kagome made it to class and sat in one of the empty desks towards the back of the room with only seconds to spare before the processor had shown up. Now, an hour later, she still sat there, staring straight ahead and fiddling with the small, pearl necklace. It had been a gift from her father for her fourth birthday. It was the last thing he'd ever given her, just weeks before he had died...

Shuddering at the memory, she silently scolded herself for having allowed her mind to drift to such things. Sitting up straighter, she focused her attention to the front of the room where the professor droned on about the course outline for that semester. There was no need to dwell on a past that she couldn't change when it was her future that was important. It was important that she focus on living her life; that was the best thing she could do for her father.

"And now, as a reward for your rapt attention during that little lecture...and because I had a little too much fun this weekend...you're free to go."

With those words, chaos had formed as students grabbed their books and stuffed them into backpacks as fast as they could in order to either get to their next class or to leave campus all together. Many left without saying a word, but some paused just long enough to thank Myouga-sensai for letting them out early. Kagome sighed and bent to pick up her own backpack not noticing that there were others still left in the room until she heard someone scream.

"Miroku-kun, I'm going to kick your ass if you don't keep your hands off of me!" A female voice screeched out and was followed by the stinging sound of skin against skin as her hand flashed across his cheek. Kagome looked around and saw them a few seats back, arguing.

"Alas, dear Sango," the boy said, shaking his head sadly, "such a task is impossible for me when confronted with such a lovely derrière as yours..."

The girl, tall and slim with long, black hair currently held in a high ponytail, turned beat red and clenched her fist in an attempt to keep from decking him. Kagome giggled and picked up the notebook that had apparently fallen to the floor and slid in her direction when the boy had lost control of his hands and approached the two. "I think this belongs to one of you."

The girl's face reddened even more, if it were possible, and took the notebook, stuffing it into her bag with fervor. "Yes, thanks. I didn't mean to throw it at you, but he startled me." She stuttered the apology and then gave the dark haired boy an icy glare while he simply flashed Kagome a charming smile.

Kagome laughed despite the warning look on the other girl's features. "Is this an every day occurrence or just in honor of our first day?"

Miroku wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. "I'll try to make sure she's not armed next time," he stated, answering her question in a round-about way. So this was something he did often.

"There shouldn't be a next time!"

Giggling again, Kagome bowed to both of them. "I am Higarashi Kagome, by the way. Is this your first semester or have you been here?"The girl shouldered her backpack and bowed slightly in Kagome's direction. "Nice to meet you, Kagome. I'm Shankaiyou Sango and that is Tekitabi Miroku. Keep an eye on him, though, his hands tend to wander to places they are not wanted." She sent another glare at the boy and then started walking towards the door with the other two in pursuit. "I started here last semester and had the unfortunate luck of meeting Miroku-kun."

"It is also my second semester, however, I think that our meeting was the pleasure of a lifetime, Sango-chan," he added, laying on the charm in order to brighten her mood.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm stuck with him for another three years...maybe longer than that. We're both med students."

Kagome's blue eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Really? So am I! Well...sort of. I'm going into child psychology. Maybe we'll have more classes together."

"Ah, two beautiful women to grace my presence. It's a dream come true, really. Kagome, would you - ump!" He groaned as Sango's elbow connected with his ribcage before he could finish his statement and was left behind to catch his breath as the other two women continued without him.

"Pay no attention to him, Kagome. When's your next class? There's a break room in this building where we can grab a cup of tea if you have time."