InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Ties that Bind... ❯ Daimon High School...? ( Chapter 3 )

Wow...I can't believe I'm actually already on Chapter 3 of this story...I've been slaving away at it whenever I get the time...so please bear with me! I do apologize for making the first 2 chapters so short...I was so anxious to get them up for y'all to read that I...well, kinda flew through 'em. However, I'm hoping this next chapter will satisfy any of you who are wondering when I'm going to upload some longer chapters (believe me, I know how frustrating that can be o_O). So, without further ado...

*goes sprawling* Hey...who would do something like that...? Sesshoumaru!

Sesshoumaru: *smirks down at the girl, sprawled at his feet* I, Sesshoumaru, felt that I must do something to...how would you phrase it? "pay you back" for your lack of disrespect at the beginning of the last chapter, and because you took away my new playtoy...he finished, trailing off so that she couldn't quite catch that last part of his statement, although she could make a pretty logical guess...

*grins impishly, hooking a foot around the unsuspecting youkai's ankle (and a very nice ankle it is, let me tell you!), sweeping him off his feet and onto the floor beside her* Now, on that note, I'm going to get on with the story--and while you're reading it, I'll be tickling our little friend Sesshy here until he screams for mercy...*grins impishly*

Sesshoumaru: *looks at her blandly* You are welcome to try, human, but I, Sesshoumaru, think it shall be you screaming for mercy...

*goes wide-eyed* You promise? *Closes door in reader's face* Read the story...now! *giggles insanely*

---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------

Picking herself up off the ground gingerly, Kagome looked around. Seeing a series of buildings, she headed towards what looked like the school's entrance. Reading the sign that hung over the entryway were the words "Daimon High School". Daimon High School? What on earth's that? I've never even HEARD of it...

She was jolted from her reverie by a swiftly moving object.

"Oof!" was all she could manage before she hit the ground...again.

"I'm soooo sorry! I was trying to avoid Daisaku, and so I wasn't paying attention to where I was going...say, I don't recognize your school's uniform...you're not from around here, are you?" The girl asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. "By the way, I'm Ryoko Mitsurugi...what's your name?"

Looking up into the girl's face, Kagome picked herself up, realizing just how tall the elegant looking redhead really was. "Kagome..." she began, a slightly dazed look on her face as she tried to register everything that the dynamic, energetic girl was saying to her.

"Hey Sasquatch! Long time no see!" A deep, distinctly male voice cut in.

Ryoko closed her eyes briefly, a grimace crossing her face. "Haven't I told you not to call me that, you...mountain monkey?! How many times do I have to tell you...my name's RYOKO...yeesh."

"OK then, how about a K-Fight to settle it? If you win, I'll never call you Sasquatch again...even though you ARE too tall for a girl anyway..." he said, a demonic twinkle entering his eye.

"Dream on, Shizuma!" Ryoko retorted, rolling her eyes dramatically. "You know I don't waste my time on battles that serve no higher good...baka" she finished, turning her back on the now fuming Shizuma. Linking arms with a still befuddled Kagome, she led the other girl into the school.

This place is so weird...I've never seen anything like it. Kagome thought to herself. And what IS a K-Fight, anyhow? And...where am I? Sighing softly to herself, she realized she'd have to put those thoughts on hold and simply make the best of her current situation...in whatever ways possible. Ah well...means I have a longer wait before I have to deal with the problems of Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru...combined.

"OK, this is the cafeteria, and here's the kendo hall..." Ryoko explained, rattling off short comments about the teachers of each class as they went.

"Ummm...Ryoko?" Kagome tried, somewhat reluctant to halt the girl's ongoing chatter. "I have to go...I'll see you around, OK?"

There's something not quite normal about that girl...she almost feels like she may have more latent power than she knows how to unlock...Shaking her head slowly, Kagome decided that her best course of action was to get to know her...new surroundings better before deciding upon her course of action.

Some hours, and a lot of walking later, Kagome sat down on the curb in front of Daimon High School and puzzled over what to do. Maybe I should try re-tracing my steps...I used my miko powers on that youkai, and something went wrong...but why would I be transported here? Maybe it was some sort of mistake...so, if I were to use my miko powers again, focusing on getting back there, maybe I could reverse the process...Getting to her feet, Kagome looked around to see if anyone was around. No...guess they're all in class...then there's no better time to try this out than now, when I can at least ensure that no one else gets hurt...

Drawing her power up through her body, Kagome felt the familiar waves coursing through her. Now, to try to get myself transported back to the Sengoku Jidai...and from there, I can head for home, until I decide how I'm going to handle the mess I've gotten myself into...Her thoughts trailed off as she touched the mark Sesshoumaru had given her such a short time ago. She could feel herself reaching for the tree where she'd originally found Inu-Yasha, trapped by Kikyou's arrow...the most familiar place in the Sengoku Jidai that she could remember, other than Kaede's hut. Suddenly, an identical white flash filled her vision as the power flowed from her fingertips, but something went horribly wrong--she could feel the energy arcing back into her body, pulling every muscle tauter than a bowstring, she was in such agony that she couldn't even scream...

At the same time...

Heading for the entrance of Daimon High, Ryoko wondered at the weird feeling that was stirring in her chest. What on earth...? Why do I feel so drawn to where I bumped into that new girl this morning? I have to get going or I'll be late for kendo practice...but if I don't see what's wrong, and something bad happens, I'll never forgive myself...Shaking her head at her own musings, Ryoko rounded the corner, just in time to see a bright white flash envelope the girl she'd met that morning. Hey...that's the new girl...Kagome, if I remember correctly--and she's in trouble! But what's going on? I've never seen anything like that blinding white light that's pouring from her body...but it looks like she's going to die if I don't find some way to help...

Suddenly, Ryoko could feel an odd sort of feeling niggling at the bottom of her stomach. What's going on? Was all she had time to think before the pendant she always wore around her neck began to glow an eerie blue. The niggling feeling intensified as she reached for the other girl's wrist. Her...muscles are pullled so taut that it's a wonder that don't snap! Even as she grasped Kagome's wrist, the other girl's body went limp for an instant, before the pendant Ryoko was wearing began to pulse, as did the jewel Kagome was wearing around her neck. The two pendants began to pulse in time with one another, as the blue light being emitted by Ryoko's necklace slowly surrounded Kagome's still form. Just as Ryoko began to think that she'd been too late, she watched in wonder as Kagome's chest began to stir, and the other girl began to breathe again, upon which the feeling of...some foreign power within herself abated from Ryoko's suddenly exhausted body. Guess I won't be making kendo practice today, she thought to herself, even as she collapsed beside the other girl, her last conscious observation being a familiar face bending over the pair...

Back in the Sengoku Jidai...

Where in the seven hells IS that bitch? Inu-Yasha was really worried now--not that he'd admit it to anyone else. He'd gone looking for the girl, and had found her scent mingling with that of his brother for a period of time, before separating again...and then, it had just...vanished. He was yanked out of his musings by the rippling of power that tore through the air. Kagome? he wondered, even as the pulse of power vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Somewhere distant...

Kagome woke up slowly, clawing her way through a veil of darkness to emerge slowly from unconsciousness. Looking around, she wondered if she'd been transported to another unfamiliar time and place, until she noticed the red-headed girl, Ryoko, stirring on the floor beside her.

"Took ya long enough to wake up," a voice commented from somewhere nearby. "I was beginning to wonder if I was gonna have to carry you two over to the hospital," the slightly familiar, intensely masculine voice continued.

Ryoko groaned, sitting up slowly and looking directly at Kagome.

"How on earth did we get here? I don't remember anything after..."

"I found you two passed out on the street, and decided to bring ya back to my place since I don't know where ya live," Shizuma said, grinning slightly. "And let me tell ya, you're no lightweight, Sasquatch...you're lucky I didn't have to resort to dragging ya here!".

Shooting the fighter a killing glare, Ryoko turned back to Kagome. "Well, I don't know about you, but I've had about enough excitement for one day--you can stay with me and my aunt for tonight, and see if we can't figure out what made us...pass out like that." she said simply, obviously of the same mind as Kagome, wanting to involve as few people as possible in the whole thing. Bowing and murmering a quiet "Thank you" to the man who'd helped them in their time of need, the two girls headed back to Ryoko's place. Ryoko immediately led the other girl to her room, closing the door behind them. The door had barely clicked shut before she turned and asked the questions that had been leaping about in her head since she'd regained consciousness.

"What exactly was that white light...and what were you doing to put yourself at that kind of risk?"

Staring at the floor, Kagome began to speak, somewhat reluctantly.

"It's not very easy to explain," she began. "And a lot of what I say may come across as being rather...unbelievable, to say the least. So, maybe I should start at the beginning...On my 15th birthday, I went out to the well behind the shrine that I live at with my mother, grandfather, and younger brother, when I fell in, and was somehow transported back to the Sengoku Jidai. From there, I met a dog-demon named Inu-Yasha, and..."

Some time later...

"And that's what happened--how I ended up here. So, I decided to attempt to use my miko powers to enable me to return to the Sengoku Jidai...but something prevented me from doing so...the process went horribly wrong--more wrong than it did to bring me here to begin with..."

She paused, finally looking up from the floorboards to see how Ryoko was reacting to her farfetched story. "I'm still not sure what exactly I'm here for...or even what I should do. Should I continue trying to return? Or should I make the best of things? I can't help but feel that I haven't finished repaying my debt to Inu-Yasha and the rest of the group, since we never finished collecting the pieces of the Shikon No Tama, and if I remain here, we never will..."

Blinking slowly, Ryoko asked the other question that had been teasing at the edge of her thoughts. "Why did I feel like the white light was striking a chord inside of ME? It seemed to draw something out of my body, which it used to bring you back from what appeared to be death--you'd stopped breathing and everything!" She finished, a slight look of panic in her eyes as she awaited Kagome's reply.

Hesitating slightly, Kagome took the other girl's hand with her own, squeezing slightly, as though trying to offer comfort. "The best guess I can make is that you have some sort of miko powers of your own, you just haven't...developed them to date. I would assume that this is what I sensed when I first met you--I could tell that there was something not quite "average" about you, if you know what I mean," she said.

"OK, say I DO have these "miko" powers you keep talking about...where do I go from there?" The girl asked, swallowing nervously. "I mean, I have to learn how to control them, right? Like you learned to do from that old woman in the other world you were telling me about?"

Nodding slightly, Kagome looked at the other girl sympathetically.

"But...who can teach me what I need to know to be ABLE to control it?" Ryoko asked, looking as though she were wishing she could go beat something up and be done with the whole issue.

"Do you know how to use that bokken you carry?" Kagome asked, looking pointedly at the weapon that never left the other girl's side. "And...if so, that would mean you know how to handle a real sword, correct?"

Nodding slowly, Ryoko shot Kagome a slightly puzzled look, as though she couldn't figure out what thought pattern the other girl was following.

"Well then...if you'll teach me how to defend myself with one of those, I'll help you learn all you need to know concerning your newly-awakened miko powers." She stated simply, giving the other girl a small grin.

"Sounds fair enough for me--but if I'm going to teach you how to be a warrior, you'll need to do whatever I tell you, at least concerning your training. There'll be times when you want to give up--physically, getting into that kind of shape is very demanding...Hitomi's tried to accompany me on my morning workouts a couple of times, but it's definitely...not for the faint of heart." Ryoko said, finally beginning to look as though she was feeling in control of herself again.

"Agreed." Kagome stated, holding out a hand for the other girl to shake, the tentative seeds of friendship already beginning to take root within the pair, both of whom had faced their share of trials in their relatively short lives, but who were determined to live their lives in control of their own destinies--at least, as much in control as they could...

---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------

WHEW! Glad that's finally over--I've been writing like a demon whenever I get the chance to try to finish this chapter up for y'all...hope you like! It's not completely done yet--I still have to have my sister check over it, since she's better at picking up the small mistakes I make concerning details than I could EVER hope to be...but I'll have her look over it tomorrow, so the complete, correct version should be uploaded VEEERY soon! Thanks to all of you that've taken the time to read it to date--and don't forget to leave comments and suggestions--I'd love to hear what you all think/hope is going to happen next in this story!

-Vashtya