Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of the Chaotic Souls ❯ And So, the Bubble Bursts ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Six

And So, The Bubble Bursts

Kagome left Meiou High the moment the bell rang. She ran over to her brother's school and waited, as kids started filing out in a not-so-orderly fashion. Excited at being released from their school, mobs of kids dashed in all directions, talking and laughing with their friends.

Kagome stood by the streets, well away from the mob, but still within a close distance to see her brother. Souta came out of the school with Kudosai and Koji, scanning the crowd with his intelligent dark-blue eyes. Her little brother had much more blue in his eyes and less of gray. They sparkled happily, as he listened to something Koji said.

Kagome waved when she caught eye contact with him, and he quickly waved back. Saying a hasty good-bye to Kudosai and Koji, he crossed through the mob and smiled up at Kagome. "Hey, sis! Where's momma?"

"I told mom I'd pick you up today," Kagome replied. She shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other.

"Really? Why?"

They watched as a car zoomed before them, just as the light changed from yellow to red. A few seconds later, the light changed for the pedestrians and everyone began crossing the intersection. "I had nothing to do after school today and thought I'd save momma the trouble."

"Oh..."

"Souta..." They walked quietly for a moment. The shrine was just up ahead. "Has anything been going on lately?"

Souta turned his innocent eyes on his sister, a bit of confusion mixed in with everything. "Iie*, nee-chan*. Dôshite*?"

"It's nothing."

~*~*~*~

"Momma! We're back!!!"

Kagome watched her little brother run into the house, his blue backpack flapping behind him. He ran into the kitchen, dumped his bag onto the ground, and proceeded on stuffing himself on the snack their mother had prepared for them. "Arigatô*, Momma!"

"Souta, slow down!" Mrs. Higurashi laughed, seeing her youngest child like this. "You're going to choke!"

Kagome shook her head, and grabbed the sandwich their mother had set for her. "Thanks mom!" she said, kissing her mother on the cheek. "I've got some studying to do, so I'll go up."

"Alright..."

Kagome turned back, hearing uncertainty in her mom's voice. "Momma? Is something wrong?"

"Eh? Oh, iie." Mrs. Higurashi turned back to her cooking. Kagome frowned for a moment, before shrugging. It probably is nothing.

She went up to her room, plopped the sandwich onto her mouth, and carried her laptop from her desk to her bed. She inserted the wireless connection into its slot, and plopped down onto her bed. The laptop made beeping sounds, as it booted up. Finally, a screen showing three users appeared. Kagome clicked onto her name, and typed in her password.

Her greeting screen came up. A picture of a guy and girl holding hands appeared. The girl had long reddish-brown hair flowing up, with a dangling pendant over her forehead. Her eyes were closed serenely with a complicated gown wrapped around her. The posture of her counterpart was the exact mirror image of her, but for the way he looks. His silver locks flowed over his head as well, merging with her reddish-brown locks. Over his head was a band of pure gold, along with a Chinese robe draped over his features. On the right, beside the two, was a poem Rin had written for Kagome, when she'd first started taking on painting.

"Don't walk before me, I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Walk beside me, and be my friend..."

A few seconds later, the screen was gone, replaced by her wallpaper and desktop icons. This was a picture she took with her friends before she'd fought that final battle against Naraku. Originally, they'd had their posing all perfectly and in a much dignified way. But, when Kagome had rushed back to beat the timer, she'd accidentally tripped on Miroku's staff.

At the time, Kagome had managed fall over Miroku and landed on InuYasha. His eyes popped open, as he tried to prevent himself from being squashed over completely. Sango tried to stop her friends' falls, so she'd grabbed onto Kagome's hand and had ended up in prime position for Miroku's wander hands. His expression was that of a man in heaven. He bent over Sango, his hands touching her bottom, with his staff held loosely on his other hand. Shippo had managed to evade all this, and had clamped himself onto InuYasha's left ear, seeing as the hanyou's hands were all tied at the moment.

Her fingers reached out and gently touched the screen. You guys...

Her heart clenched and she suddenly stood. She walked over to her nightstand and grabbed the phone. Punching several numbers from memory, she soon heard the ringing on the other side. A few more rings, before a perky "Moshi moshi*!!! Enustik Residence!!"

"Chidori-chan!!"

"Auntie Kagome!!"

Chidori was the youngest of Shippo and his mate's children. At the age of forty, she was no more than three in human terms. "Ogenki desuka*, Chidori-chan?"

"Very good!!!" Chidori replied, her little girl voice drifting comfortingly over to the phone. "How is Auntie Kagome? Is Auntie Kagome coming to Chidori-chan's house and play?"

"Oh, another time, alright? I have lots of work to do."

"Hai*..."

"Chidori?" Shippo's deep voice called from the background. "Who's on the phone?"

"Guess, daddy! Guess!!"

Kagome smiled, and leaned back onto her bed. "Hm...is it your friend, Masika?"

"No daddy! No!!!

"Chidori, can you ask this person if the calls urgent, before we continue the game?"

"Hai...Aun...erm...is this call urgent, please?"

"No, Chidori. Torture your daddy all you want."

"HAI!!!" Kagome heard her granddaughter turn back to her father. "Iie, daddy!! Guess! Guess!!"

"Uhm...hm...who could this be? Can daddy have a clue?"

"Uhm...she's very pretty...and nice...and she always plays with Chidori-chan...and she's very nice to daddy...and she's always coming to our house..."

"Hm...could it be...your Auntie Kagome??"

"Hai daddy!" A few moments later, "Here!"

"Moshi moshi? Kagome kaa-san*?"

"Hi Shippo!!"

"Kaa-san!! How've you been?"

"Well, I was just turning on my LP and well...I had the urge to call."

"That `crashed' picture again?"

"Yea..."

"Hey, Kagome kaa-san...Masuki's pregnant..."

"Another one?" Kagome laughed. "When's the party?"

"A week from now." Jubilant joy rang in Shippo's voice, and Kagome's heart clenched again. Her small kit has grown so much... "You WILL be there, won't you?"

"Course, Shippo! Why sound so hesitant?"

"Hm? It's nothing, Kagome kaa-san. Say, how's HS anyhow?"

The beeping from Kagome's laptop caught her attention. Frowning, she crawled over to her bed and viewed a message:

Someone has sent you an S-class message from Timbuktu. Please click enter to accept this message.

S-class? Kagome clicked enter.

Please log on to an internet connection to receive this message.

"Shippo? I gotta go."

Shippo's worried voice rang over the phone. "Is everything OK?"

Kagome barely heard her pup. "I'll find out," Kagome replied, as she clicked the connection off.

~*~*~*~

Up in the far side of Kyoto, Shippo frowned. His surrogate mother had sounded so far off, distant, as she murmured her "I'll find out."

Masuki walked out of the kitchen, holding one of the twins in her arm, and letting the other toddle along. She was beautiful, in Shippo's eyes with auburn hair and blue-black eyes. Her stomach was flat, showing no signs of pregnancy as of yet. Walking over to Shippo, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Everything alright, koi*?"

Shippo bent down, and hoisted the other twin onto his arms. He tapped his son's nose for a moment, before turning back to his mate. "I'm not sure."

~*~*~*~

Kagome kissed her mother, and headed out the door. She'd told them not to worry and to have dinner without her. The sun had just set, leaving the sky in a dusty lavender. A cooling breeze ruffled her hair and her eyes seemed darker, because of the darkness surrounding them.

Her hands were held poised before her heart, palms facing one another. Her eyes shut, as she willed her powers to begin. As an "ancient" from before the time of the realms, Kagome has access to any and all of the three realms.

A ball of pure darkness appeared on the space between her hands and she quickly threw it before her. The moment it reached free of her hands, the sides of the circular ball began to stretch. Wider and wider it grew, until Kagome was able to walk right through it.

The hole through the realms closed the moment Kagome stepped through. Inside, she reached a barrier of golden power, a net of sorts. This barrier was the only source of light in the never ending dark abyss. Reaching a hand into the net, she allowed her fingers to touch a portion of the squares.

It flickered in her fingers, jarring her skin a bit, before it recognized her presence. Its streams of electrical powers merged with the rest of the threads of power, until the hole was large enough for her to pass through.

The moment she passed the barrier, she crossed the threshold that held the boundaries of Makai*. The passage of darkness darkened, before lighting into the familiar grounds of the Demonic Realm.

A sky of pure red and gold hung high. No clouds drift, as it does in the Nigenkai*. Instead, crackles of gold thunder crash from the top to the bottom, lighting fires and splitting rocks. One drifted too close to Kagome and was jarred off course from the field of power the miko had built around her.

Trees surrounded this area, marking her entrance in the Forest Lands. Kagome looked around the area, checking for any unaccounted youki*. The Forest Lands was a sacred land in Makai, built, originally, in Sesshoumaru's own Western Lands. As the eldest "Ancient" of Makai, Sesshoumaru was able to uphold his land. No youkai within the Forest Lands could pass without the permission of the Lord. If, by some mishap, they did manage to pass, their youki would scream warnings and nearby youkai* was obligated to destroy the demon...

"Lady Kagome," a demon appeared from the corners of a pine tree. "Lord Sesshoumaru has been awaiting your presence..."

Kagome nodded. "Lead."

~*~*~*~

Kagome walked through to the palace of the Forest Lands. Her long ebony locks swung behind her, shifting from one side to the other, as the palace guards bowed their respect to her. Servants, guards, maids, they all stopped to pay respect. Finally, she walked over to Sesshoumaru's study. The door was slightly ajar, so Kagome entered without knocking.

She found the demon lord staring out the window, his long silver locks stilled behind him. His arms were locked behind his back, as he viewed Makai.

"Knock next time," he said without turning to her.

"What's the urgency, Fluff-chan?"

He didn't turn and scowl at her, as she had expected him to do. Instead, he turned and settled tiredly onto the chair of his study. His eyes were worried, wary-tired. Whatever has happened, it's taken a serious toll on her friend.

"Sess...what happened?"

"Rin." Sesshoumaru sighed. "Rin's disappeared."

VOCABULARY

Iie: No

Nee-chan: Sister

Dôshite: Why

Arigatô: Thank you

Moshi moshi: Hello {on the phone}

Ogenki desuka: How are you?

Hai: yes

Kaa-san: Mother

Koi: {my} beloved

Makai: demon realm

Nigenkai: human realm

Youki: demonic energy

Youkai: Demon

Author's Corner

Yuki: Oh, yes. SOOOOO sorry for the wait on this chapter!!! I had more schoolwork than usual, so I had to push back my fics to concentrate on them.

Hachi: She isn't just using an excuse this time-she really did got drowned on all her homeworks, projects, term papers, tests and exams. @@ Oh, MY brain hurts thinking of all of them...

Yuki: Not to mention, all the regents I have to take at the end of the school term...

Hachi: So excuse Yuki's lapse in the past month!! Oh, and the next fic to be posted will be "Hacked!" The date is still somewhat sketchy, but it WILL be posted within the month!!

Yuki: And, I must admit to my idiocy...T.T() You see, I made the horrible mistake of posting the wrong chapter...I skipped chapter six, and went straight to chapter seven because my mind (apparently) was dead...

Hachi: So instead of the usual one chapter, you instead get two!!! ^^ Think of it as a compensation for the long wait...though, I prefer to remember it as Yuki's idiocracy...!!!

Yuki: Hey you!!!!

Hachi: O.O OK, all said, enjoy the next chapter!!

Lots of greets,

Yukisora and Hachigatsu