InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Underground ❯ Chapter 2

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"We aren't supposed to be out here, Miroku," Kagome stated, watching her brother quietly exploring the outsides. She stood not far from the glass doors of their haven home, not daring to go further than the curb. She looked up at the midnight sky above, admiring the twinkling stars, before turning her gaze back to Miroku's now retreating form. Her eyes widened as he began walking further down the sidewalk in the direction of the Yamanaka.

"Is he nuts!?," Sango yelled.

"What are you doing?," Kagome yelled. He turned quickly and put his finger to his mouth, signaling for her to keep quiet, should she wake someone. Biting down on her bottom lip, she turned to her left to look at, Sango. She sighed, and grabbing Sango's hand and pulling her along, they ran after Miroku's form. Kagome looked left and right at the crumbled buildings, not noticing Miroku had stopped until she bumped into him. He was looking down a street that had not yet been explored by our people, noting there was no railway. He grinned and began walking down this unknown street. Kagome's breath hitched as she watched him continue on, something bad was going to happen, she could feel it. Running after her brother, the two girls soon caught up with him as he stopped to inspect a random building.

"Miroku, please lets go home, it's scary down here, our people haven't been here yet, it could be full of rouges or worse those from the inside," She said fearfully, tugging at his shirt. He swatted her hand away and gave a big sigh, turning to look at the two girls.

"Kagome, there are no rouges, and those from the inside have better things to do then mess with a few outsiders," He said, he turned his gaze back to the building and walked toward the entrance.

"This is an old service station," He stated, pulling open the glass door, and stepping inside. Kagome looked around and the eerie abandoned streets before pulling Sango along and high tailing it after Miroku, not wanting to be left exposed to the outside. They stepped quietly inside the abandoned establishment, and walked past the isles looking for Miroku.

"Miroku?," They called out into the dark. He poked his head down the isle they was standing in and motioned for them to come forward, which they complied. Sango wrapped her arms around herself, and stuck close to her friends, convincing herself that Miroku was off his rocker for dragging them out here. Miroku was looking into the glass coolers that held bottles and cans of old and expired drinks.

"We can't use any of these, they are two old and have gone bad by now," Sango stated. Miroku nodded in understanding but pointed out something else inside the depths of the glass cases.

"Yes, caffeinated and dairy drinks, but look," He said, finger extended. Both girls looked through the glass doors, and spotted just what he had been looking at. At least a hundred different kinds of bottled waters.

"We can use these," He said, pulling open the glass door.

"Yea but how are we going to get all these home?," Kagome asked.

"We can carry some with us, and then when we get back, we can tell them what I found, and they'll return with baskets to put them in," Miroku said smartly.

"Yea, but we'll also get in big trouble for coming out here," Sango said.

"They won't be once they see how much fresh water I found!," Miroku chirped proudly. Both girls gave in, and used their nightgowns as baskets to cradle as many bottles as they could carry, while Miroku stuffed the big pocket of his hoodie with a few, and carried as many as he could in his arms. They exited the establishment and began their way back home, carrying home the spoils of their discoveries. The sound of rock sliding across pavement, ridded them of their excitement, the three stiffened as the heard the shuffling of feet heading closer. Kagome gulped and stood perfectly still, terrified to make any sudden movement. Sango looked around frantically, not willing to take the chance of being killed by rouges or soldiers, grabbed both friend's hands and sprinted towards their safe haven. The sound of their feet pounding into the pavement as they took off down the paved streets, caught attention of the intruders fast. There was no need to search any longer, they had found what they were looking for.

They reached the doors of their haven, and ripped them open running up the flight of stairs onto the living floor, the group splitting, Sango running for her home, while Kagome and Miroku sprinting towards their own. Miroku pulled open the door and ran for his parent's bed, shaking his father awake. Koichi bolted up alarmed and grabbed his son's arms looking at him with intense confusion.

"Father, there are intruders...they followed...I-I'm so sorry, father I just..I just wanted to..," Miroku said between sobs. Kagome watched behind her fingers, soon their door was opened by two other men, who had fire arms in hand, apparently Sango had gotten word out faster then they had. Koichi bolted from his bed, ignoring the questioning pleas from his wife walked out of their home, the two men in tow. Elaine wrapped her arms around her son and held him close, he told her what happened and cried into her nightshirt. She stroked her son's hair lovingly and shh'd him trying to get him to calm. Kagome still stood quietly, until the cries of her younger brother came. She walked over to the crib that was occupied by the families latest edition. The little red headed toddler clung to the bars of his crib, calling out for his mother. Kagome walked over and lifted him free of his crib and cuddled him to her chest, while he nuzzled his little face against her shirt.

"There there Shippo-kun," She cooed, patting his back gently. She returned with him to the bed Elaine and Miroku sat, Elaine still comforting her oldest boy. Kagome took a seat beside him, the little child still nestled against her. Elaine wrapped her arm around Kagome, drawing her closer to Miroku and herself.

"It will be ok, children," She cooed, swaying a little to rock them into comfort. She tried desperately to shield her ears of the gunshots coming from outside the walls of their home, but the tears that slid down her cheeks realized this was real. Letting loose her grip of her children she stood before them and gazed upon them.

"We have to get you three out of here," She said quietly.

"What about Sango-chan and Kohaku-chan?," Kagome said worriedly, knowing well her friend and her family were huddled together in fear, as they were just a few short moments ago.

"Sango-Chan and Kohaku-chan too," Elaine said, "The men are holding them down outside, we are going to sneak you children and Sango's mother out the back way on the first floor, and you will follow the railways to escape,"

"What about you?," Miroku cried out.

"I have to stay and make sure your father gets away, and then we will follow," She said assuringly. Miroku fought hard to hold back his tears, he knew it was his fault this was happening, if anything happened to his parents, and their people, he would blame himself for eternity. Elaine gave each child a peck on the cheek, before exiting their home.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome, I should have listened to you," Miroku cried, his face was buried in his hands, his body shaking violently.

"Don't blame yourself, no one could have known this would happen," She said softly, rubbing his back trying to comfort him.

"No, the rules were made for a reason, and I was too stupid to follow them, I was just so caught up in proving to dad I was as good as " He said. Kagome sighed and looked down at her feet, she knew she would not be able to convince him otherwise at the moment. Elaine entered once more only seconds later followed by Sango, and her mother, who was carrying her younger brother Kohaku. Taking Miroku's hand she led them out of the home quietly, down the stairs, and onto the lower level. They stopped at the bottom the glass doors leading to the outside, giving them a clear view of the battle outside, the soldiers were outnumbering them quickly. A small sob from Korin awakened the realization, that soon the soldiers would reach the inside, and if they didn't hurry it would be too late. Moving quickly and silently they ran across the vast floor, past the fountain and into the clothing department. One last gun shot sounded followed by the shattering of glass, and then hurried footsteps running in search of the rest of them.

"Check every store!,"

Elaine gasped, and pulled Miroku forward, running down the eggshell colored floors towards the back entrance. Finally reaching it she shoved it open and sped out the others right behind her. She looked at the railway that ran at three different directions, changing her original plan in her head she turned and looked at them.

Run down the unrailed street, I'm going to distract them, they will suspect you to follow the trails we made ourselves, knowing where they go, they won't catch on," She explained.

"Mom no, they'll kill you," Miroku sobbed, encircling his mom's waist.

"No, it'll be ok love, we escaped before, we can do it again, your father and I will find you," She said kissing his forehead, knowing very well this would become of it, "Now run! Hurry, run now,"

Korin shifted Shippo on her hip, then grabbed Sango's hand, Kohaku grasping hers, taking off down the street. Kagome looked back at Miroku still holding onto his mother, and tugged at his arm.

"Miroku, come on, hurry they'll come, Miroku," She screamed.

"No, I'm not leaving mom," He sobbed. Kagome continued pulling at his arms trying to loosing his hold when the sound of oncoming footsteps from her side made her jump. She watched as a masculine figure ran forward, she knew this would be the end, they had found them, but as the figure approached her fear subsided a fraction, seeing Koichi running for them, another man close behind. Ripping Miroku from Elaine's side he handed the kicking and screaming boy to the other man, who clamped his hand over the Miroku's mouth, and swung the distressed teen under his arm, before running forward, nudging Kagome and running the direction Korin had. Miroku watched in tears as his father and mother ran forward down the railed street right as three soldiers kicked down the glass door, shooting in their direction, tried to scream out but the man's hand that was clamped tight over his mouth only muffled his call. Tears fell from his eyes, knowing full well his parents wouldn't be coming after them after all. When they caught up with Korin and the others, whom were catching their breaths in the alleyway between two buildings. Now being a great distance from the battle scene, the man sat Miroku down and taking a deep breath leaned against the wall.

"That was one hell of a run," He sighed. Kagome approached Sango, who was leaning against the wall beside her mother, and sat down next to her.

"Where do we go now?," She asked to no one in particular. Korin turned her gaze from the ground to the girl, and then to the man across from her. He caught her questioning look and shrugged. Kagome pulled her knees closer to her chest and laid a cheek against her kneecaps. Feeling a wetness slide down her cheek and onto the ground, she suddenly wondered how that tear had escaped without her knowing, but then the feel of two other mysterious drops hitting her head, she realized it was just rain. Lifting her head towards the dark and cloudy heavens, the rain splattering against her skin.

"We'll have to find some kind of shelter for now," The man said. Korin nodded, using the wall to pull herself up, and stood taking Kohaku's hand in her own and turning back to the man, who was now checking the streets to see if they had bothered to search this street. Seeing nothing he emerged from their hiding spot and continued on down the empty foggy street.

"Should we really be walking the streets after all that, what if they are still out here?," Korin called after him.

"We should move now, while it's raining, the fog will help as cover until we find a safe place to hide," He retorted back. Sighing Korin trudged forward after the man, pulling along with her, her children, allowing the rain to wash over them. Miroku, not moving his gaze from the ground, slowly trekked after them, his wet bangs clinging to his face, hiding it from the world. Kagome stood alone in the alleyway for a moment or two, gaze fixed on the end of it where everyone had exited from, her long ebony hair clung to her form, as did her blue and white nightgown. Slowly she made her way down the ally and out into the street, she could see the brief outline of her brother's form just ahead. She looked back in the direction of what they had called home only an hour before, then back up at the heavens continuing on after the others, her head hung, she sang quietly to herself.

"I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining,
And I believe in love, even when feeling it not,
And I believe in God, even when God is silent,
And in the suffering and moments of despair,
My heart cries for shelter to know someone is there,
There will someday be sunshine,
There will someday be happiness,
There will someday be love,
There will someday be peace,"
The rock clattered across the pavement from its original spot only a few feet away from the young girls foot. Kagome continued walking after the group, their forms still outlined in the fog. She silently wondered how long they would walk until they found a safe place, they'd been walking for hours now, her feet were becoming sore. Screaming broke her from her daze, followed by a gun shot and numerous voices shouting inside the mist ahead. Her breath hitched and she turned and ran back to the alleyway she had just passed running down it and stopped at the dumpster. She stared at it a moment before pushing the lid open and scrambling inside, letting the lid close on her, surrounding her in darkness. Her breath grew heavy, panic still surging through her body. Pulling her knees to her chest, she hugged them tight, closing her eyes so even in darkness she could not see the world around her. She soon lost count of the minutes she had spent in the darkness of her smelly safe hold, but the sound of quickly nearing footsteps made her forget all thoughts. They grew nearer and nearer down the alleyway, Kagome sinking lower hoping they didn't grow smart on her and check. She sighed a relieved sigh hearing the footsteps run past her hiding spot, curiously she pushed the lid up a bit to peak out, and gasped seeing none other than Sango and Kohaku about to make their way to the street. Looking in the direction Sango had just come from and seeing no followers she quickly shouted out to Sango, who halted on her heels and turned, seeing Kagome’s head poking out from the dumpster. She grabbed Kohaku’s hand and both quickly made hast towards the iron green contraption, and quickly joined Kagome inside. Sango's arms tightly wrapped around her friend as heavy tears fell from her eyes, her body shaking profusely.

"Kagome-chan I don't know where they are, h-he told us to run, and mom, m-mom and I ran, and....and they shot her, they shot my mom Kagome," She sobbed. Kagome's heart went out to Sango, knowing all too well the feeling her friend was feeling now. Though she had never told her friend of her real mother, Sango knew as well as she did Koichi and Elaine were dead, and they were as close to parents to her as her own mother had been. A sudden shock hit Kagome, and she snapped her head forward.

"Sango-chan, what about Shippo-kun, your mother was carrying Shippo, what's become of him?," She asked frantically.

"I grabbed him when my mother fell, and carried him until that man caught up with me, and he said he would take him, and for us to run as fast as I could and hide," She explained.

A screech of metal snapped them from their conversation, both staring wide eyed at the lid beginning to rise, arms becoming more tightly encircled around each other.

"There you are, you guys should be more quiet, they would have heard you had they followed you down here," A voice came. The three children looked up to see the man from earlier, who slowly lifted and placed a shaking and terrified Shippo into the dumpster with the three. He then did the same helping an equally horror stricken Miroku into the dumpster, before pulling one leg over the edge and into the dumpster, and pushing himself into it as well.

“We need to stay quiet, the soldiers are still about,” He whispered to the children. Kagome pulled Shippo closer to herself, wrapping protective arms around him tightly, rocking him gently to relax the tense little child. Miroku whom had settled in one of the corners, knees held close to his chest, turned to the mysterious man.

“What is your name?,” He asked quietly. The young man turned his attention to the young boy and sighed, ruffling the teen’s hair.

“Kouga,” He answered. Miroku nodded, acknowledging Kouga’s answer, before laying his head down and closing his eyes.

“It’s best we try to sleep, easier to stay quiet,” Kouga suggested, crossing his arms to lean against the cold metal walls. Kagome nodded, still rocking the frightened child, Sango’s arms tightly around Kagome’s petite form, Kohaku‘s face buried in his sister‘s shirt. Kagome shifted her weight to lean against Sango, who did the same. She looked down to take notice that the tiny child in her arms had fallen into a deep slumber, the soft sounds of his breathing echoing off the walls of their tiny shelter. Kagome remained awake after all the others had drifted off, her eyes focused on the lid above them, not willing to let her guard down should the soldiers find them. But it didn’t last for too long, before sleep finally claimed her.

Kagome’s eyes fluttered open to take in her surroundings, which when became clearly in focus, noticed their hideout was short one body. Kouga had disappeared. Miroku was still hunched in his corner, but now fully awake, dragging a finger across the bottom beneath him. Sango sat leaned against the green wall, watching Miroku’s actions intently, while Kohaku and Shippo still remained snoozing quietly.

“Where did he go?,” Kagome asked softly to no on in particular.

“Dunno, he left about half an hour ago, said he’d be right back,” Miroku informed her. They waited around another half an hour, before Kouga finally did return, bringing back with him bottles of water for everyone.

“Kaggie, me hungy,” Shippo whined, pulling at Kagome’s shirt. Her frown deepened, the realization they were without food set in. What would they do now without their constant supply of food? How would they survive?

“We all are little man, I’m trying to figure that out myself,” Kouga responded. Silence fell over them for a short while, each speaking aloud in their own minds, trying to solve their current situation.

“Why did the soldiers come here? Didn’t they finish destroying our city already? What is left from them to destroy?,” Kagome suddenly blurted out.

“That I’m trying to figure out as well,” Kouga admitted, “But anyhow it’s safe to come out of hiding, I made sure to follow the soldiers from a distance to make sure they left for good, they’ve gone past the wall,”

“There is food inside the wall,” Kagome said blankly.

“Well duh, of course they have food, they’re living it up inside those walls while we starve,” Kouga mumbled.

“There is food inside the wall,” She repeated,” And you know where the entrance past the wall is, what if one of us went inside the wall?,”

“Are you fucking nuts?,” Kouga yelled, making the children jump in response.

“I’m pretty fucking sure they would notice a Japanese man and a bunch of kids sneaking around inside their city, especially since we don’t even speak their damn language,” He ranted.

“Miroku and I do, Shippo too!,” Kagome corrected him, “Elaine was American, and Miroku is different looking from us, his eyes are not like our own, neither are Shippo’s,”

“Yea, Miroku-kun could pass as one of them easily,” Sango added. Kouga looked the young boy over, the girl did have a point, though his eyes were a slightly unnatural violet, they weren’t the eyes of a child of Asian decent, with the right attire and appearance he could easily walk into their world unsuspected. Kouga sighed and crossed his arms, giving the boy one last glance before leaning back against the brick wall of the alleyway.

“He’ll need clean up, new clothes and such,” He said, “We’re still in the city district, so there is bound to be plenty of clothing stores, also a place with bath supplies,”

“We can split up and look for clothes while you look for someplace to get bath stuff,” Sango suggested.
“There are too many of us, if for some reason they come back, it would be harder for us to hide six people,” Kouga said, “Besides, you girls don’t need to be out there, it’s too dangerous,”

“I’ll go look for clothes, you get everything else we need, Kagome and Sango can stay and watch Kohaku and Shippo,” Miroku stated.

“Good idea,” Kouga agreed, “You girls continue hiding here until we get back, then we’ll work together on making the kid presentable, then we’ll journey together to the wall,”
He helped Miroku out of the dumpster, before closing the lid back over top of the girls.

“Let’s hurry, we won’t last long without food,” He informed Miroku, who nodded in response, before each went their separate way.

Kagome thought it seemed like forever before the lid shrieked open revealing Kouga and a very clean looking Miroku behind him.

“Kid cleans up nice, “ Kouga said with a chuckle, “Let’s get this over with,”
He helped each person out of the dumpster so they could begin their journey to the feared wall leading to the outside world. By sunset they reached the spot that Kouga saw the soldiers disappear into the wall.

“There is no entrance way,” Kagome stated.

“No, but there is that hole in the wall,” Kouga said, pointing to fairly large hole in the wall.

“So those soldiers didn’t have permission to be here, they snuck out?,” Sango asked.

“Looks like it,” Kouga answered.

“But why? What reason do they have to bother with the likes of us, didn‘t they leave us here to die?,” Kagome thought aloud.

“Who knows,” Kouga mused, patting Miroku on the shoulder.

“Alright kid, now or never,” He coaxed.

“Yea,” Miroku sighed, walking to the hole, being careful to slide through, and disappearing on the other side. Kagome squatted beside the hole and watched her brother’s legs disappear into the crowded city beyond the walls of the ruins.

Miroku gulped, he looked upon all the strange faces, walking down the streets of this unfamiliar city. His eyes searched the masses of buildings and hover transporters soaring through the air, it reminded him so much of the past. He continued walking down the paved sidewalk, nervous feeling about a million eyes all on him.

‘Do they recognize me? Do they know that I’m not one of them,’ He worried inside of his head. His head looked left and right, still feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, eyes searing into his back. He continued walking not really sure what he was supposed to be looking for, until the mouth watering aroma of freshly cooked hotdogs tickled his nose.
‘I remember that smell, every time we walked past the park..’ His gaze sought out the creator of the familiar smell, until his eyes landed upon an unsuspecting hotdog vendor boredly leaning against his cart under the mild shade of a tree, fanning himself with a thin stack of napkins. He made his way toward the cart and glanced at the vendor, going still unnoticed by said vendor. He looked around, the day was slowly slipping away the streets uninhabited, Miroku suspected soon the vendor would be packing up for the day. The lid covering the hotdogs was removed, unleashing the delightful aroma. Keeping a careful eye on the vendor he slowly moved a hand towards the warm delicacies. He stopped mid-stretch when the vendor slapped down the napkins with a thud, and stood. Miroku quickly ducked down using the cart as a shield from the man’s sight. He peaked beyond one corner and watched the rather large man stretch and scratch his posterior region, before giving a great yawn.

“Once again half a cart remains, this job is getting expensive,” He mumbled to himself. He was growing tired of having to eat the remaining hotdogs day after day, he knew his family was as well, not to mention sitting outside in the hot weather was triggering his allergies.
‘Speak of the devil’ He thought, feeling pollen gathering in his nostrils tickling the inside, before letting out a great sneeze. Miroku screamed and fell backwards at the loud and terrifying sound.

“What the hell, what do you think your doing you little brat,” The vendor questioned ever so rudely.

“Me and my friends are playing spies, I was hiding,” Miroku explained, using a familiar experience.

“Oh,”

“Hey mister, do you think I could have a few of those?,” Miroku asked, pointing at the leftover hotdogs.

“For a dollar each,” He replied.

“But your not gonna sell them anyway!,” Miroku retorted angrily.

“Listen kid, you want free food you go tell your mommy to make you some, out here, you need money to get what you want,” The vendor snapped. He had definitely struck a nerve, Miroku’s face drooped in remembrance of the loss of his parents, a lone tear escaping his eye.

“Hey kid, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I gotta make a living you know,” The vendor said in a softer tone.

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have expected to get anywhere without money,” Miroku said sulkily, “We’ve gone without food before,”

“What are you going on about?,” The man asked.

“I wasn’t playing hide and seek, I was going to steal some hotdogs for my brother and sister, we’ve been parentless since the big war, but it’s ok we’re used to going without food for long periods of time,” Miroku explained somewhat truthfully. The man’s face fell with pity and sadness for the young boy.

“That’s a mighty shame, those damn Japs took a lot of lives, shoulda just gave up, least they got what they deserved,” He growled, causing Miroku to flinch.

“Yea,” He said half heartedly, looking back at the wall he had just come from not too long ago.

“Here,”

Miroku turned to see the man pushing a rather large grocery bag full of hotdogs and buns in his direction.

“Huh?,”
“What kind of guy would I be if I let three kids starve, besides, my kids are getting pretty tired of eating leftovers every night,” He chuckled, “Tell you what, whatever leftovers I have from now on, you and your siblings can have, as long as you bring the other two by tomorrow so I know you aren’t just playing me for a fool,”

“Ok, I’ll bring my little brother, but my sister is ill and too weak to walk, but when she is better I’ll bring her too,” Miroku complied. The man frowned and handed the boy two different colored tubes of ketchup and mustard.

“Give her my regards, and tell her to keep it easy, see ya kid,” He said, waving Miroku off. Miroku headed in the opposite direction than the wall keeping the suspicion down. He walked along a different street invisible to the vendor but still able to watch him pack up his cart and push it off into the distance. Once the vendor had disappeared completely he walked back towards the park letting night fall hide him from human eyes. He snuck through the darkness returning to the hole in the wall and slipping through, to be greeted by his friends.

“Miroku, I was beginning to worry something had happened to you,” Kagome cried, hugging her brother tight.

“Nah, it was easy,” He assured her. Kagome’s eyes moved to the bag in his hands and pointed at it questioningly.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” He said, answering her gestures, he opened the bag and revealed the spoils of his victory.

“Oh wow,” Sango squealed excitedly.

“Come on, lets find some shelter so we can eat,” Kouga suggested. The walked a few minutes before reaching a vacant store. After busting the glass of the locked doors in, they carefully walked inside and retreated to the counter to distribute the food. Kouga emptied the contents of the bag onto the slick counter top and let each person help themselves to the meal. Kagome settled herself on the floor, leaning back against the counter, taking a bite of her hotdog. The sudden burst of flavor and deliciousness was enough to make her eyes roll back.

“These are so good,” Kagome practically moaned out.

“Yea,” Sango agreed, “How where you able to get so many?,”

“The man selling them had so many left over, and he was going to simply throw them out and they’d be wasted, so I talked him into giving them to me and my poor family, consisting of me, Shippo, and Kagome. I told him pretty much of the situation we’re going through now, without the being from outside the wall part. He said he’d give me the leftover hotdogs everyday,” He explained, earning a gasp from Sango.

“Everyday!,” Sango cried.

“Yea, but he said I had to bring my family with me, to convince him I’m not lying and just trying to play him for free food, so I’m bringing Shippo with me, I’ve told him Kagome is ill and unable to walk, since she is not able to safely leave the wall,” He said.

“Wow, you came up with that just then?,” Sango asked.

“Yea, it just came as I said it,” He explained.

“Well, we have a guaranteed food source, I’m sure we can use this or if not another building for shelter, so I guess this is home guys,” Kouga said.
“To home,” Miroku said, lifting his half eaten hotdog.

“To home,” the others followed in toast, doing as one would with a glass of wine. After eating their fill, they settled down, spending some time making conversation, and preparing their beds. Kagome sat awake for awhile, still leaning against her spot by the counter, Sango laid beside her snuggling closer to the purple blouse she was using for a pillow. She couldn’t help but let out a giggle at her friend, as she stroked the hair of the little boy who’s head laid in her lap. She listened to his smooth steady breathing while she caressed his tangled orange locks.

“It’ll be ok, you know,”

Kagome moved her gaze to the young man across from her, who was using his elbows to prop himself up to look at her.

“I hope so,” She said.

“It will,” He repeated. She nodded in defeat and, leaned back against the hard surface, trying desperately to make herself comfortable. She let out a heavy sigh, and let her shoulders droop, admitting defeat to the night, and closing her eyes.

Sango cringed as the sunlight burned her eyelids, as it poured in through the dusty windows. She opened them unwillingly, her deep chocolate eyes strained to take in the blurry surroundings, blinking ferociously. She pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and giving a great yawn. She looked down and tried to suppress a laugh, seeing her younger brother with his mouth wide open, causing a gurgling sound to erupt from it. She slid her hand under his head and removed it from her thigh, gently placing it on the purple blouse, she had been using for a headrest. Carefully and quietly she used the counter to pull herself up to a stand, and carefully stepped around Kagome’s legs. She looked around the store, confused on what exactly she was supposed to do now. She decided upon checking out the clothing, since obviously there would be nothing to do anyway until everyone else was awake.

She walked over to the junior miss section, flipping through a rack of assorted shirts. She pulled a plain white tank top from the rack and held it to her imagining how it would look. Giving it a maybe she sat it on top of the rack and continued flipping through for other possibilities. After a few minutes of picking through a few other racks she grabbed the white tank from it’s perch and tossed it over her left arm with the other two choices. She moved on to the rack with the pants, shorts, and skirts. Immediately she grabbed the denim washboard skirt with rhinestones decorating the pockets, and it was quickly joined by a pair of white denim Daisy’s.

After deciding to go with what she had for now, she walked over to the changing room, and tossed the items under the stall and then crawled under after them. Using the bench to pull herself up, and sitting down on the bench, she began pulling her dirty nightgown off over her head. She removed the white tank from it’s hanger and pulled it down over her and stood and observed her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes landed upon her chest, where her nipples where being greatly exposed through the light fabric. Her face flushed, these newly growing appendages where making things harder, it seemed lately she couldn’t wear anything that made them go unnoticed.

After the first starting of her period, life had ended in Sango’s perspective. Her mother had told her it was normal at her age, that it was just the start of becoming a woman, but Sango was quite sure it was some kind of curse upon her person. Kagome and herself were very close to the same age, and Kagome wasn’t going through any of these weird changes. Kagome who still maintained her child-like body, not an awkward part on her. Sango looked upon the rest of her form, her chest was not the only thing that seemed to be growing outward, she turned to the side to observe her bottom which had indeed gotten bigger and rounder. She removed her panties, and let them pool at her feet, and observed the small patch of brown hairs shadowing her privates. She felt tears threatening to fall, she felt as though she was some sort of freak. Her hips and thighs had grown wider, her straight and narrow middle had now sunk in, and now resembled an hourglass. Hair was now growing in odd places, and she noticed after long periods without washing she began to give off an odd smell. All these changes had made her horribly self conscious, she was afraid to get too close to anyone else when they sat together, in fear someone might notice and comment upon her mutations. Her thoughts were cut short by a knock on the wooden door, followed by Kagome’s voice.

“Hey Sango-chan, I’m coming in ok?,”

“No! Wait, I’m undressed,” Sango said, picking her discarded panties up off the floor and shoving a foot in and then the other pulling them up her long legs.

“What are you doing, we’re both girls, we have the same body,” Kagome said. Sango froze, Kagome lay halfway in and out of the dressing room watching her desperately trying to cloth herself. Sango frowned and turned away from her friend, she was wrong, they were not the same, Kagome was a beautiful normal girl, and she was a some sort of weird beast. Kagome pulled the rest of her body under the door and stood wondering why her friend turned her back, what was she trying to hide?

“Sango-chan, douka shimashita ka?,” Kagome asked worriedly.

“Machigattemasu,” She replied.

“Nani?,”

“You’re wrong, we do not have the same body, Kagome-chan I think there is something wrong with me,” Sango whispered, her voice was shaking, even though she could not see Sango’s face, she knew her friend was on the verge of tears.

“There is nothing wrong with you,” Kagome assured her.

“But there is, my body is mutating, I can’t wear clothes without my chest getting in the way, and there is hair on my body that wasn’t there before, and I smell funny, and every month I bleed from down there,” She said, gesturing downwards.

“There is nothing wrong with you, Sango-chan,” Kagome said once more, sitting down on the bench in front of her friend.

“How can you understand, you are the same as you’ve always been, your chest hasn’t swollen, and you aren’t hairy and gross, I’m a monster, Kagome-chan, a monster,” Sango cried. Kagome frowned, Sango wouldn’t look her in the eyes, but even beneath her bangs the tears still spilled onto the floor. Kagome knew she would have to show Sango she was not what she thought. Kagome pulled her dress off over her head, and pushed her panties down and stepped from them.

“Sango-chan look at me,” She said quietly.

Sango hesitated, but moved her gaze from the tiled flooring to her revealed friend, and gapped at the sight before her. Kagome stood exposed to her, her chest, though not nearly as swollen as her own, were indeed beginning to grow, her tiny form was indeed curved, her hips wide, and her bottom quite large and round, she’d never noticed before, since Kagome always wore such loose dresses. Between her thighs was a small triangle of black hair, she truly was the same, not exactly, but enough to make Sango comfortable with her own body.

“I guess we are the same, just in different ways,” Sango said in a relieved tone.

“It’s normal Sango, my mom said that once you begin to bleed each month, you’re old enough to have babies, and that means you’re a woman, and you go through a lot of changes” Kagome explained.

“My mother said that too,” Sango said, taking a seat next to her friend, “I’m glad I’m not alone,”

“Yea me too,” Kagome said, wrapping her arms around Sango.

“So, do you want to go with me to the store,” Kagome asked.

“What for?,” Sango asked.

“I really need a bath, and there is a Bath and Body shop next door, so I figured if we get enough water bottles we could use them to wash ourselves,” Kagome explained.

“Good idea, I’ll come!,” Sango chirped.

“Here you can wear this shirt, my chest stretches it too much, and you can see right through,” She said, pulling off the white tank top and handing it to her friend. Kagome smiled and pulled it down over her head and stood.

“Does it look ok?,” She asked.

“Better than it did on me,” Sango laughed. Kagome smiled and picked her panties up off the floor, and slid them back on. Sango grabbed a purple tube top off the bench and pulled it on, and then grabbing the white Daisy’s she pulled them up over her legs and buttoned them. Standing up she spun around, and smiled while watching herself in the mirror.

“How do I look?,” Sango.

“Super sexy,” Kagome said, her own reflection joining Sango’s in the mirror. Clad in the white tank, and a washboard skirt, “Let’s get going,”

“Ok,” Sango agreed. She followed in Kagome’s pursuit under the door of the dressing room and into the main lobby.

“The others are still asleep, let’s not wake them, we won’t be too long,” Kagome suggested. They walked out the double doors, and made their way next door to the bath and body store. Grabbing a long iron rod, Kagome swung it with all the force she could put behind it, into the glass of the door. They stepped carefully past the broken glass and into the dark and empty building. They separated ways to scope out the contents of the store. Kagome walked along the white shelves some knocked over, the contents of the shelf spread across the dusty floors. She picked up a few bottles and open them, taking in the sweet scents of the products, occasionally spraying a favored perfume on her body. She carefully stepped around a fallen display shelf and found herself upon the bath products.

“Kagome-chan,”

Kagome turned her attention to Sango, who was standing next to a large tin tub full of an assortment of lotions.

“If we empty this we can fill it with water and use it for a bathing tub,” Sango explained.

“Oh! Good idea Sango-chan,” Kagome squealed in happiness. Kneeling down at Sango’s side, they both began emptying the large tub of it’s contents.

“There, we can put the bath supplies in here and use the tub to carry them back,” Kagome said.

“Alright, so what all do we need besides, shampoo, conditioner, and soap?,” Sango asked.
“Um, see if there is any of that children’s shampoo products, the no tears stuff, for Shippo-kun,” Kagome said, “Bath toys or something too,”
“Hai,” Sango agreed. They both continued rummaging through the store, basketing their choices, filling the tub halfway before they decided they were finished.
“Is that all we need for now?,” Kagome asked.
“I’m pretty sure,” Sango answered.
“Ok, well then let’s head back before they wake up and start worrying,” Kagome suggested. With each girl grasping the handles on each side of the tub, they lifted it and made their way to the entrance, being careful to step around the broken shards of glass. They continued on down the sidewalks, looking left and right at the buildings they passed.

“Kagome-chan, there is a service station over there,” Sango pointed out. Kagome looked ahead and saw what Sango had been talking about, a dark gloomy building still stood, the fog made it almost seem, in Kagome’s opinion like something out of a horror movie, but the more she thought of it, lately her whole life seemed to be just one big horror movie. They continued walking, finally reaching the shattered doors of the station. Kagome let her end of the tub, letting it clank against the pavement, and reached for the doors. Discovering it unlocked she opened it, saving them the dangerous task of crawling through the broken glass. Sango followed Kagome through the store, dragging the tin tub behind her, as they made their way to the back.

“You think this will be enough water?,” Kagome asked.
“I don’t know it might only be enough to fill the tub once,” Sango fretted.
“Well, we might as well take it all, maybe we can find another service station or something,” Kagome said. Sango nodded and helped Kagome load the bottles into the tub, they piled as many as the tub could hold, until only a few bottles remained on the shelves.
“We’ll have to come back,” Kagome informed, “Let’s just get this back to the shelter, and we’ll make another trip,”
They struggled to lift the now increasingly heavy tub, slowly shuffling their way out of the service station and home bound.
“This thing is getting heavier by the second I think, Kagome-chan,” Sango laughed to herself.
“Hai, it’s doing it on purpose,” Kagome said, joining in on the joke.
Once they reached the shelter Sango backed through the self made hole, and then grasped the handle while and moved the tub inside while Kagome ducked in through the hole.

“Where the hell have you two been?,”

They sat the tub down and glowered at the owner of the voice, Kouga, who stood before them searing with anger, his hand’s on his hips like an angry mother.

“Do you know how worried we were when we found you guys gone, you could have at least told me you were going out, it’s unsafe,” He bellowed.
“We weren’t gone that long!,” Kagome retorted.
“That isn’t the point, anything could have happened out there, use your heads next time,” Kouga spat. Kagome clenched her teeth to prevent anymore words from flying out before she regretted them.
“We went to get bathing supplies and water for our baths, there is still water left at the station, we came back to drop the load and go back,” Kagome informed him, deciding it better to just ignore his rant.
“You’ll be staying here, I’ll go back and get the rest,” He snapped.
“Fine, since your going, then you can find another source with water,” Kagome retorted, turning on the balls of her heels and walking away.

‘That girl has some nerve..,” Kouga thought to himself, he shook his head and dumped the tin tub over letting the contents roll in all different directions, after doing so grabbed the now empty tub and exited the hideout.
Sango, who was not sure of what had just happened remained standing, watching the freed bottles roll around. Had Kagome really just snapped at Kouga like that? She turned to look at Kagome who was flipping through the clothes rack of the junior misses’ section, and let out a stifled giggle.

“Stupid girl, snapping at me like that, who does she think she is,” He asked no one in particular, fuming as he walked along the road to the station, he was still tweaked that the girl had the balls to yell back in his face. He continued grumbling on about how the ‘arrogant little brat’ as trekked on, spotting the station he jogged toward it wanting to get his over with as fast as possible. In his pursuit his never once noticed the flash of silver that shot past.

Honki nano- Are you serious?
Douka shimashita ka- what is wrong?
Machigattemasu- You’re wrong
Nani- What?