Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox ❯ Hiei ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Paradox

Author: Somnambulicious

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer:
I don't own either
Inuyasha or YuYu;
Someone else does.

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

Chapter Three: Hiei

Hiei sat in the crook of a branch on the Goshinboku and watched yet another family dinner at the Higurashi house. It was Thursday night, and he'd spent the last two days following the girl as she went to school, to the dojo, and back home again. The only thing he had to report to Koenma thus far was that the girl's life was supernaturally boring.

Hiei couldn't even read the girl's mind -- not that he really wanted to. She had some sort of mental defense, and all he could catch was the occasional stray thought or image. Silver hair and amber eyes...a flash of purple robes...a bushy orange tail...spiders...

He rolled his eyes as the girl and her brother argued over who had to do the dishes tonight. Mama Higurashi came to the rescue by telling the boy -- what was his name? Souta? -- that he should do the dishes, as Kagome had to pack.

Pack? Is she going somewhere? he wondered. This was the first interesting development in the girl's life thus far. At the very least, he was in for a change of scenery. He listened to the girl and her mother discuss what to pack.

"I bought some extra bandages and antiseptic this time, so you can leave some with Kaede. After what happened last time--"

"Thanks so much, Mama. You're the best!" Kagome said, squeezing her mother in a heartfelt hug.

"Here's a couple of clean towels and changes of underwear. Did you remember to take the extra blankets I sent last time?"

"Yes, Mama. Hmm, let's see. Sweets for Shippou, potato chips for Inuyasha, soda for Miroku... What can I bring for Sango?" Hiei's ears perked up when Kagome said that last name. Wasn't that the name of the person who was training her?

"Oh, I have the perfect thing! Come on, I think they're in my closet," said Mama. The woman and her daughter walked down the hallway to the woman's room. Hiei shifted to another branch to get a better view through the window. "Let's see... Oh, here they are!" she said, pulling down a box from one of the shelves.

"Athletic shoes?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, sweetie, they're crosstrainers. I bought them a couple of years ago when I signed up for an aerobics class, but I only went to two classes. I hope they fit. They'd be a whole lot more comfortable than the zori Sango wears."

"Oh, and they're coral pink! They'll match Sango's armor perfectly!" Kagome said, clapping her hands. Armor? Hiei thought. Perhaps the fox was right all along. I don't think there's a whole lot of humans running around in armor these days. Especially...wait, pink armor?

"Oh, Kagome, speaking of armor, I've got something to show you," Mama said, leading her daughter downstairs.

"Oh! Did you finish it, Mama? Did you?" Kagome asked excitedly.

"I think so, dear. We just have to make sure it fits correctly," Mama replied, pulling what looked like black fabric out of a box in the living room. Hiei moved in for a closer look, peering directly through the window.

Kagome took the bundle her mother offered and unfolded it, revealing a one-piece black catsuit with green trim along the high collar. Her mother reached in the box and pulled out a pair of soft black boots and a green obi. Mama had replicated Sango's uniform from a photograph Kagome had taken.

"Oh, Mama," gasped Kagome, her eyes glistening with happy tears, "it's beautiful! Thank you so much!" she cried, hugging her mother around the waist. Mama laughed.

"Go try it on, dear. Hopefully Sango has finished the armor that goes with it."

"Okay," said Kagome, rushing up to her room to try on the new outfit her mother had so carefully sewn for her. She pulled the curtains shut, much to Hiei's annoyance. Hn. It's not like I want to see her naked anyway.

Several minutes later, Kagome walked back into the living room, this time wearing the catsuit, obi, and boots.

"It fits perfectly, Mama! You are such a great seamstress!" she said happily.

Now it was Mama's turn for her eyes to tear up. Her little girl was growing up so quickly. "Kagome, I'm so proud of you," she said, beaming. "And I know your father would be, too."

"Thank you, Mama. Thank you for everything," Kagome said.

"Well, you should probably finish packing. Oh, and I almost forgot! Matsumoto-san and his family are coming over for dinner tomorrow night."

"Okay, then, I'll probably bring my stuff with me to school so I can go straight to the well after kung fu class. If I let Kimi see me, she'll want to talk for hours, and we can't have Inuyasha barging in when I'm late."

Mama laughed, recalling the eleven-year-old Kimi's idol-worship of Kagome. "I'll try to make sure they don't see you, dear." With that, Kagome went upstairs to change into her pajamas and finish packing for her trip to the Sengoku Jidai this weekend.

Hiei leapt further up into the Goshinboku and pondered this latest development. So she's leaving tomorrow after the fox's class. And someone is coming to get her? Someone named...Inuyasha? Dog demon? Hiei frowned at the thought. What would someone named dog-demon have to do with a taijiya-in-training? And the bandages...her mother said something about 'what happened last time.' That must have been when she was injured. Hiei allowed a slight smirk to grace his lips. Things were finally going to get interesting.

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

When Kagome left the women's locker room and entered the dojo the next evening, she was surprised to see a new face in the class. A tall, orange-haired man was standing next to the sifu. He stared at her for a moment while she stretched, and then he leaned over to whisper in Minamino's ear.

Kurabara had been complaining to Kurama about Koenma's paranoia, sending them on nonsense missions, but he was shocked into silence when a short girl wearing pigtails walked in. Kurama looked at his friend, who was staring at his best pupil.

"Kurabara? Do you sense anything from her?" he asked.

Kurabara was silent for a moment before he leaned over and whispered to Kurama. "Is that her? Is that the exterminator girl?"

Kurama nodded. "Do you sense anything from her?" he asked again.

Kurabara's eyes were widened in awe. "I've never felt anything like it before. Her spirit, it's strong like a demon's, but there's something weird about it. Her aura is..." he struggled to put his thoughts into words for a moment, "it's like Genkai, but not." He shook his head. "It's calming, and...pure?" The last word was more of a question than a statement.

Kurama nodded and frowned. He had half-hoped that Kagome would turn out to be just a normal teenager, for her own sake. She seemed like a nice enough girl, and he didn't like the thought of her being drawn into Koenma's paranoid schemes, but if she had the kind of spiritual power Kurabara said she did, he didn't see any way around it.

Kurama stepped forward and bowed to his students. "All right, class, I have a treat for you today. This is my friend, Kurabara Kazuma," he said, motioning to the man at his side, "and he will help me with the class today. We will perform a sparring demonstration at the end of class." The students looked pleased at his announcement. "Now, let's start with a warm-up jog."

Meanwhile, Hiei snuck into the women's locker room and easily picked the lock to Kagome's locker. He pulled out the large yellow bag and dumped the contents out on the floor.

Books...cup ramen...soda...more cup ramen...six boxes of pocky... He pocketed half of the pocky before continuing his survey of the bag's contents. Clothing...bathing supplies...what's this? He picked up a small cardboard box and frowned at it. 'Feminine protection?' A weapon of some sort, perhaps? He tore the box open, and several paper-wrapped tubes fell out. He opened one and was even more confused at the sight of a cardboard tube with a wad of cotton stuffed inside. What's she going to do with this? Throw it at someone? He snorted at the thought and continued his survey.

Paper and pens...a mirror... He found a small plastic box and opened it, sniffing at the contents. Smells like the stuff human women wear on their faces. He closed the make-up box. Bandages...medicine...three lighters...chopsticks...cooking supplies...a flashlight...a knife...a wakizashi, mediocre quality, and...a sleeping bag? Hiei frowned as he considered the items Kagome had packed. It's almost like she's going...camping?

He stuffed the items back into the oversized backpack and reached to put it back in the locker, but stopped short when he saw another bag inside. It was about a meter and a half long, with a drawstring at the top. What's this? he wondered as he pulled the bag out.

Reaching into the top of the bag, he pulled out an unstrung bow and a quiver full of arrows. Hn. The fox did say that she knew kyudo, he thought as he moved to pull one of the arrows out of the quiver. A flash of blue light and a searing pain on his fingers made him pull back with a muttered curse.

"Hamaya," he whispered, scowling at the offending arrows. A very interesting development, indeed. He was actually looking forward to seeing where the girl was going with this odd assortment of items in tow. He put everything back into the locker and made sure to lock it once again before leaving the locker room.

Kagome found the sparring match between Minamino and Kurabara to be quite entertaining. She could tell that Kurabara was a great fighter, but he relied far too much on his brute strength, allowing Minamino to take advantage of his overextensions and failure to block. Once the match was over, she waited for the rest of the students to leave so she could begin her private lesson.

"Do you mind if Kurabara sticks around to watch?" asked Kurama. "I'd like his opinion on your fighting style."

"Of course I don't mind, sifu," she said, smiling at Kurabara. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Kagome, by the way. Higurashi Kagome."

Kurabara took her hand and shook it. "I'm Kurabara Kazuma, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kagome," he said.

Kurabara stepped back as Kurama moved in front of Kagome. "I want you to strike at my head with your right fist, and I'm going to block you. Then kick with your right leg like this," he said, demonstrating with his knee high and his right foot at a 45-degree-angle at her hip, "and grasp my arm, and push, like this," he said, demonstrating. "You want to get my knee to lock, and then you can pull me down onto the mat. Got it?"

Kagome nodded. "I think so," she said. They went through the movements a few times, Kurama correcting her form slightly. He stopped when he heard Hiei's voice in his head.

'Fox.'

"Kurabara, would you mind taking over for me for a moment?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know," said Kurabara, frowning. "You know how I feel about fighting girls."

Kurama sighed and Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's just practice, Kurabara. You don't have to actually hit her."

"Okay, I guess so," said Kurabara, taking a fighting stance across from Kagome.

Kurama leaned against the wall and watched the two practice while he talked to Hiei.

'What's up, Hiei? I haven't heard from you since we talked to Koenma.'

'Ch. I was busy, if you recall.' The girl might prove to be interesting, but Hiei still wasn't happy about how he'd been duped into following her by the fox. 'I've got news,' he said cryptically.

'Yes?'

'She's leaving after class today, going somewhere with the woman named Sango and someone named Inuyasha.'

'Dog demon? That's...not good.'

'Her bag is full of camping gear, and she also has a quiverful of hamaya.'

'Hamaya?' Youko gasped, and Kurama felt him shudder. 'Is she a miko?'

'Could be,' mused Hiei. 'She does live at a shrine, and Kurabara said she was powerful.'

'I see you've been stalking us as well,' Youko said, grinning. 'Are you enjoying yourself?'

'Hardly. Humans are so boring. The most exciting thing that's happened to the girl so far is the outfit her mother made for her.'

'Outfit?' asked Youko.

'It looks like one of the taijiya outfits, without the armor.'

'Anything else, Hiei?' Kurama asked.

'No. Like I said, the girl is boring. If this camping trip doesn't turn anything up, I'm not following her anymore.'

Kurama's attention was drawn away from the fire apparition when he saw Kagome staring in horror at something across the room. Kurabara was scratching his head, trying to figure out what had spooked the poor girl.

"Kagome? Is something wrong?" Kurama asked.

"That-- That hornet on the wall over there..." she whispered. "Kill it. Please."

Kurama turned and looked at the spot she was staring at, and sure enough, there was a large hornet high on the wall. He took a shinai off of a stand and walked up to the hornet, which didn't move as he approached. Leaping up, he struck at the insect with the shinai, and the hornet fell onto the floor in two pieces.

Kagome crept forward and stood behind Kurama, clutching at his arm. She peered around him at the bug on the floor. "Is it dead?" she whispered.

Kurama looked down at the hornet. "Yes, I believe it is," he responded. He was amused at the thought that this tough little maybe-taijiya-in-training was frightened of a bug. Kagome released his arm and crouched down to get a closer look at the hornet. Her fears were confirmed, and Kurama could barely hear her whisper in horror.

"Saimyoushou." She started to shake, and Kurama and Kurabara stepped forward in alarm.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Kurama asked. 'Saimyoushou?' What is she getting at?

"That insect..." her voice trailed off, and she suddenly stood. "I've got to get home! Bye!" She turned heel and ran into the locker room. Seconds later, with her bags slung over her shoulders, Kagome sped out the front door.

"What was that all about?" asked Kurama. He turned to see Kurabara stooped over the dead insect. "Kurabara? What's wrong?"

"That insect, it's not normal," he said, straightening to look at Kurama. "The spiritual energy was youki."

"Youki? Maybe that's what got through the barrier the other night."

'It seems that Yuusuke may have been right.' suggested Youko.

"Then how did Kagome know what it was?" Kurama wondered out loud. Nobody had an answer to that.

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

As Hiei followed the fleeing girl, he could hear her muttering to herself.

"What the heck is a saimyoushou doing here? Did it follow me through the well?" Hiei caught a stray emotion from the girl when she said that -- fear?

Kagome was terrified. She cursed herself for not even being able to kill the stupid bug. Some taijiya apprentice you are, Kagome. But she'd been too shocked, too overcome with worry for her family to strike out at it. Thank the gods that Minamino was there. She shuddered at the thought of being watched by one of Naraku's servants.

Naraku... Was he here? Did he come through the well? Maybe it's just a stray, maybe it has nothing to do with Naraku, she tried to tell herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding hanging over her head. It was too much of a coincidence. She had to get home, and quick.

She raced up the shrine steps despite her exhaustion, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her family through the window, sitting down at the dining table with their guests. I've got to tell Inuyasha and the others now, she thought, and headed for the well house.

Hiei could feel the girl's relief when she looked through the window at her family. Did that insect scare her that much? he wondered. He saw her turn away and walk toward one of the smaller buildings on the property. Wait, isn't she supposed to be going camping?

He watched her enter the wellhouse and shut the door behind her. There was a sudden surge of spirit energy that startled the fire apparition, and then he couldn't sense the girl's presence anymore.

Hiei threw the door to the wellhouse open and rushed inside, heedless of the consequences if the girl saw him. From what he could see, there was a wooden structure in the middle of the building, and...nothing else. If the girl was inside, then she must have been in the box.

He stepped forward and peered down into the depths of what appeared to be a dry well. The aroma of old magic, powerful magic, hit him hard, but he couldn't see anything at the bottom. She's gone.

He was about to turn and leave to look for the girl when an unlikely possibility occurred to him. The well...could it be a portal of some sort? He suspected that if it was a portal, it would lead to Makai. That would explain a lot about the odd girl. Without another thought, Hiei leapt into the well, and--

Nothing.

He landed softly on the dirt at the bottom of the dry well and cursed. The girl was gone, gone to somewhere he couldn't follow. He jumped back out of the well and went to the Goshinboku, settling in for a long wait. She has to come back sometime, he thought.

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

The silver-haired hanyou was waiting for her when Kagome climbed out of the well in the Sengoku Jidai. "Inuyasha, thank the gods you're here!" she cried when she saw him.

"Keh. Where else would I be? You said you were coming back tonight," he replied, crossing his arms.

"No, you don't understand," said Kagome. "Have you sensed Naraku or any of his detachments near here lately?"

Inuyasha frowned. "You know I would have come for you if I did."

"This is very important. Do you smell anything off about the well? Like maybe something besides us went through?"

Inuyasha's frown deepened, and he leaned forward to sniff around the well. "No, I don't. Kagome, what is all of this about? You think something went through the well?"

"I'll tell you, Inuyasha, but I want to tell the others as well. Come on, let's get back to the village and I'll fix us some ramen." Inuyasha couldn't argue with that, so he grabbed her backpack and followed her to Kaede's hut.

Over dinner, Kagome told her friends about the saimyoushou she'd seen at the dojo. Nobody knew what to make of it, especially since Inuyasha couldn't smell that anything had been near the well lately.

After dinner, Sango told Kagome that she wanted to speak with her alone, and the girls left the hut and headed to the edge of the forest. Sango carried a cloth-wrapped package with her.

Sango took a deep breath before addressing Kagome with what sounded like a prepared speech. "Kagome, you've been training with me for a year now, and you're made a lot of progress. I've never had an apprentice before, other than those two ninja girls--" she grimaced at that thought "--and, as you know, I am the last of my clan of taijiya." She paused at that, and Kagome noticed that she didn't say anything about Kohaku. She took a deep breath before continuing. "A few days ago, you earned your first battle scar, a momentous occasion for us taijiya. In the village, those who bravely fought their first battle against youkai and fared well were invited to join us. As the last of my clan, it is my place to offer you this. Kagome, would you like to formally join the ranks of the taijiya?" Sango nervously lowered her eyes, afraid her offer would be rejected.

Kagome gasped. She knew what this meant. If she accepted Sango's offer, she would be adopted as a formal apprentice. She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes. "Sango, I would be honored to become a taijiya," she answered, and when Sango lifted her eyes, Kagome could see the tears spilling from the taijiya's eyes.

"Oh, Kagome! You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that!" Sango cried as she enveloped Kagome in a bone-crushing hug. She stepped back and wiped the tears from her eyes. "If I didn't have an apprentice, and something were to happen to me, the ways of my clan..." She didn't have the heart to finish that thought.

"Sango, I promise I'll be the best apprentice taijiya ever! I'll work extra hard, you can count on it!"

"You'd better," Sango said with mock seriousness. Then her eyes twinkled, and she lifted the cloth-wrapped package off of the ground and handed it to Kagome. "I guess you can have this, then," she said softly.

Kagome unwrapped the package to find a set of green armor inside, just like Sango wore, and her face lit up in delight. There was also a mask and a couple of seashells that would fit under the shoulder guards. Kagome peeked inside the shells, but to her disappointment, they were empty. She gave Sango an inquisitive look. Sango shook her head.

"You're going to have to make the poison yourself as part of your training."

"Thank you so much, Sango," Kagome said, giving her friend yet another hug. "You're the best sensei ever!"

Sango laughed. "Thanks. Now I believe a certain hanyou wants to talk to you." She turned and yelled at the tree where she sensed the hanyou's presence. "Right, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha leapt down from the tree where he'd been listening to their conversation. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, Kagome," he said, grabbing her arm to lead her further into the woods. "I want to talk to you."

"Thanks again, Sango!" Kagome yelled, waving to her friend. Inuyasha was silent as he lead her to the Goshinboku. He sat down on the ground at the base of the tree and motioned for her to sit next to him. It was then that Kagome noticed the oblong wooden box Inuyasha had carried with him. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look.

"Kagome," he began, "I've been watching you train with Sango, and you're not a bad fighter, but I still don't like the idea of you rushing into battle like you did the other day." Kagome opened her mouth to protest that statement, but Inuyasha continued before she could speak. "But I know I don't have any say in the matter. You're going to fight no matter what I say or do, so I figured you might as well have a decent weapon." He motioned to the box at his side. "Go ahead, open it up."

Kagome pulled the box into her lap and noticed that it was covered in ofuda. Strangely, the ofuda seemed to be sealing something in, instead of keeping people (or youkai) out. She carefully lifted the lid, and then gasped at what she saw inside.

The wakizashi was absolutely beautiful. The petite hilt, wrapped in blue fabric, fit nicely in her hand. She lifted it carefully out of the box, gazing in awe at the highly polished wood scabbard. A green ribbon was tied around it just below the hilt of the sword. Grasping the scabbard in her left hand, she used her right to slowly draw the sword. The metal sang as she drew it, sending a shiver down her spine. She stared at the finely honed blade for a moment before addressing Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha? This wakizashi, it's...special, isn't it?"

Inuyasha nodded in approval. "Good. I'm glad you noticed. Remember the hamaya you shot at Naraku," he asked, before he added, "the one that hit?"

"Yeah," said Kagome, rolling her eyes at his choice of words.

"I asked Sango to save it. Thought it might come in handy. Part of this blade," he said, motioning to the sword in Kagome's hand, "was made from that arrowhead. We found a swordsmith monk in a village north of here who forged the blade for you. It was tempered in honey from the bees of the holy mountain, Hakurei. And I made the scabbard from the wood of the Goshinboku. We hoped that you would be able to send your miko powers into the blade, like you do with your hamaya." He glanced down at Kagome, only to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey, what's wrong? What did I say? Why are you crying?" His ears flattened against his head, and he cowered back, suddenly afraid that she was going to 'sit' him.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, launching herself at him for a hug. "This is the nicest thing you're ever done for me!"

Inuyasha gently embraced her. "Yeah, well," he said gruffly, "maybe you won't be so useless now."

Kagome pulled back and laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, maybe I won't."

"Well, why don't you try it out?" Inuyasha asked, pulling Kagome up to stand. "See if you can make it a hama-wakizashi."

Kagome closed her eyes and felt the power within her pulse, pushing at her hand as it did when she nocked a hamaya. She let it flow freely into the blade of the sword without really knowing how she did it. Kagome heard Inuyasha step back from her and opened her eyes.

She lifted the sword, her eyes widening in awe. A blue glow surrounded the blade, and when she swung the sword experimentally, tiny blue flames trailed behind it.

"Looks like it worked," Inuyasha observed, carefully staying out of the blade's reach. "But now that you've got a decent sword, don't think that you can just run around attacking every youkai that pops up. Let the more seasoned fighters handle things," he said.

"I will, Inuyasha." She was too pleased with her gift to feel angry at him. She sheathed the blade and sat back down. Inuyasha settled beside her. They sat in a companionable silence for a while before Inuyasha spoke.

"Kagome," he said, gazing up into the branches of the Goshinboku, "what are you going to do when this is all over? When the jewel is complete and Naraku is defeated?"

Kagome shrugged. "I guess that depends on the well. Whether I'm trapped on one side or the other, whether I can travel back and forth."

"What if you had to choose?" he asked quietly. Kagome patted his arm as she answered.

"I told you I'd always be with you, Inuyasha. I won't go back on my promise."

Inuyasha turned his gaze from the tree to look at her. What he had to say pained him to no end, but it had be said. "Kagome, I can't be with you, not the way I want to, not as a lover. Part of me belongs to Kikyou. It always will. I don't want you to throw your life away waiting for me, and I couldn't give only a part of myself to you. You deserve more than that."

Kagome fought back the new tears that threatened to fall. She knew this. She knew it, and it hurt, but a part of her was thankful to him for saying it. She'd been waiting for him to say something for years now, so that she would at least know one way or the other. She didn't harbor the same feelings of hatred she'd had toward Kikyou years ago. Time had tempered her, softened her feelings and allowed her to sympathize with the undead miko. And she respected the sanctity of Inuyasha's promise to Kikyou, even if she thought it a rather stupid promise to make.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, "thank you."

"What? Why?"

"Thank you for telling me. I know that was hard to say, but I needed to know. But I still won't leave you. You're my best friend, Inuyasha, and I'll always be by your side."

Inuyasha's heart soared at her words. He had been so afraid, so very afraid that she'd yell at him, get angry at him, leave him. He didn't ever want her to leave. She meant so much to him, the first person to ever accept him and love him as he was, his first and best friend.

"Just as long as you don't fall for that Houjou guy. He's too wimpy for ya," Inuyasha said, and Kagome giggled at him.

The miko and the hanyou sat under the Goshinboku, watching the twilight fall for a little longer before they walked, hand in hand, back to the village for supper.

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

On Sunday night, a bruised and exhausted Kagome walked back to the well with Inuyasha. They had heard nothing: no rumors of shards, no scent of Naraku, nothing. So Sango had insisted that Kagome train even harder all weekend long now that she was an official apprentice taijiya. If Kagome had thought Sango's training methods were tough before, it was a piece of cake compared to what Sango put her through now. Not even the bribe of well-fitted and highly appreciated athletic shoes had alleviated Kagome's suffering.

She wore her taijiya uniform and armor proudly, with the new wakizashi hanging from her obi. She wanted to show off her new outfit to her family. Kagome left her old sword back in the village with Kaede. It never hurt to have a backup.

Kagome stopped in front of the well and smiled at Inuyasha. Their relationship had improved by leaps and bounds since their discussion. Kagome didn't have to wonder about his feelings anymore -- she knew he loved her as a friend -- and Inuyasha didn't have to worry about her leaving him.

"So, you'll be back on Friday night again?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes," Kagome said. Going to the Sengoku Jidai on Friday nights meant she missed a half-day of school every Saturday, but she was willing to make that sacrifice. "And you'll come get me if you hear anything."

"Of course, Kagome," he replied, smiling warmly at her. "I'll be waiting for you. And don't forget to bring the brat more pocky."

"Yeah, I will. I could've sworn that I packed more than just three boxes," she replied.

Kagome gave him a quick hug before jumping into the well. As the blue light of the portal swelled and surrounded her, Kagome's thoughts turned to her schoolwork. She'd have to make up a test tomorrow, and there was that history paper that she hadn't finished yet...

So it was that Kagome was off-guard when she looked up to see a pair of bright red eyes staring down at her from the well's edge. She gasped, and her hand flew to the hilt of the wakizashi at her side.

"Woman," said an eerily calm male voice, "you have some explaining to do."

Edited 17 May 2005