Take Two
Chapter 4
Kagome dropped her schoolbag just inside the door of the mini-shrine,
then kicked strategically at the strap, trying to decide if it
suggested being dropped suddenly. It had been much easier last
time, with Souta standing by to inform everyone where she’d gone, as
unlikely as it had seemed. But now she was unwilling to take that
risk with his life. She would have to do it this time on her own.
And at least this time, she was prepared. Her yellow bag,
carefully packed and hidden the night before, was still right where she
had left it, tucked into a dark and dusty corner. She hadn’t
dared go down off the catwalk last night. She’d gone through the
well with less before, but the timing would have been all wrong.
She couldn’t allow her family to think she’d run away. Now, with
a bag full of warm clothing and water bottles, she felt at least
marginally prepared.
The well was already chattering when she reached the dirt floor, bag
clenched firmly in hand. The seal on the well-cover shook under
the repeated onslaughts, and before she could think about it, Kagome
reached out and pulled it free.
The cover burst open, and Kagome got her first real look at the
Centipede Woman in the full light of day. The last time, she had
seen her first youkai at night or in the peculiar half-light of the
well. The slightly cynical 20-something in her reasoned that
direct lighting really wasn’t flattering to her opponent. “You
could use a chemical peel,” she muttered, apropos of nothing.
“How wonderful…” Mistress Centipede hissed. “My powers are
returning…”
Kagome squinted, nose wrinkling in the face of centuries old
demon-breath. “And a breath-mint. How often do you floss,
anyway?”
The demon grabbed at her, yanking her into the well. “My body is
coming back.” She stretched out a hideously long tongue and
licked Kagome’s cheek. “You have it, don’t you?”
Bag still clenched miraculously in her right hand, Kagome reached out
with her left hand and shoved the youkai away in a burst of
light. “Get OFF me. That’s DISGUSTING!” The creature
fell away, leaving only one detached arm to hang limp from Kagome’s
sleeve.
“No!” it howled from the darkness below. “I will not let you go…
Shikon… no… Tama…”
Reminded of the Jewel, Kagome clutched her arm to her side
convulsively, shuddering as the youkai hand slacked its grip and fell
away. “I can’t believe I almost forgot,” she murmured.
Then, the bone-littered floor of the well was under her feet, and she
stumbled to her knees. “Oof.”
She knelt there for a minute in the cool musty dark, considering her
options. If she went directly to the village, there was a chance
she could convince Kaede to believe her story, then go and unseal
Inuyasha before Mistress Centipede regrouped enough to attack at
all. And if she was going to be entirely honest with herself, she
needed the control the rosary would give her. Inuyasha would
never admit it, but she had saved his life and his sanity with it, as
much as it hurt his pride. He’d told her once, in a quiet,
blissful moment, how he’d panicked as a child, waking up to find the
prayer beads of his mother’s family fastened firmly around his
neck. She remembered sliding a hand up his bare chest to toy with
them before shifting to distract both of them quite thoroughly…
Kagome shook off the memory, rising to her feet and slinging the pack
over her shoulders. There was no time now to give into
reminiscing or adolescent fantasy, even if she did have a much better
images to fuel those kinds of thoughts. Face set in a determined
scowl, she grabbed the end of a trailing vine, and made her way, hand
over hand, into the empty meadow above.
The tree was only a few steps from the shrine, an actual part of the
property back home. It wouldn’t be out of her way really just to
walk past it and see him there. And it would bolster her
determination, to know he was there, just waiting for her to come, like
Sleeping Beauty in reverse. Her feet tripped lightly along the
game trail that would eventually become a well-beaten path, then
finally a series of paved walkways and raised courtyards.
Funny how it seemed to be a much shorter walk when it was essentially
her own backyard. But she kept the top of the great tree in sight
as she slipped along the edge of the shrine, until she caught a flicker
of tell-tale red in her vision. Dropping her pack at the foot of
the tree, she paused to look up and smile.
“Hello, Handsome.”
The sleeping boy pinned to the tree didn’t respond, and thank goodness
for that. If he’d started yelling at her then, there was no
telling how things would come out. Still, she felt she owed him
some kind of explanation for what was coming.
“I’m sorry about this, Inuyasha, but I’m going to have Kaede put the
necklace on you. I know you hate it with a passion, but there
were too many times when it saved your life. So it’s going on,
and it’s staying on. I just can’t risk losing you to the daemon
inside.”
Seeing him, talking to him, even if he couldn’t hear, only made the
temptation to reach out and touch him that much stronger. It was
Houjou touching her hand that had allowed his memories to break
through, and Kagome clung to the belief that her touch would do the
same to Inuyasha in this time. She curled her hands into fists,
trying to suppress the urge to run her fingers through his silvery hair
and stroke his velvety ears. But once he was awake, once he knew
her again, she knew she wouldn’t have the heart to collar him. So
for the moment, it was best to keep things as close to ‘normal’ as
possible.
“I’ll be back,” she promised with a tight smile. “I love
you. And I swear I’ll go easy on the ‘sits’ this time. But
you have to give Shippou a break, too.” She turned away with a
small chuckle, not realizing how much she was sounding like her old,
15-year-old self.
Kaede was blinking, tea ignored. “You are a miko?” she asked
again.
Kagome nodded, tugging at the hem of her short skirt. “I am,” she
said again. “I know my clothes are strange. I don’t have
time to go into it all now. I know about your sister Kikyou, I
know the history of the Shikon no Tama. I know everyone believes
Kikyou was betrayed by Inuyasha. But the thing I know, that you
don’t, is that the thief Kikyou was caring for, Onigumo, surrendered
his dying body to a horde of youkai in exchange for the ability to
deceive her. He hoped that if he injured her, and turned her
heart against Inuyasha, she would use the Jewel to save her life and
corrupt it. Onigumo harbored a terrible desire for Kikyou, to
possess and defile her. And Kikyou was so tired of her
responsibility. She just wanted to be an ordinary woman, with a
husband and children.”
“And Inuyasha?” Kaede asked. “What was his desire?”
She was taking it well, considering the strange things Kagome was
saying, so she felt safe taking the chance to reveal a few more
truths. “Inuyasha was tormented and abused by both his human and
youkai kin. Kikyou was really the first person who truly treated
him a person after his mother died. He craved the peace he found
in her presence.” The next part was probably the most painful for
Kagome to face. “He would have lived happily with her as a human
for the rest of their lives.”
Kaede was quiet for several minutes, sipping her tea and staring into
the distance. Finally, she set the cup down and sighed.
“There was an injured thief named Onigumo 50 years ago. And he
showed an unseemly interest in my sister. You know there is no
way you can prove these things you say, and yet I sense no lie from
you. What is it you need, child?”
Here it came, the really hard part. “I need help to protect the
Shikon no Tama. There’s one youkai after it already. Others
will be coming. I need someone strong and fast to protect
it.” To help me fix it if this
all goes to pot again. “Someone who’s not afraid of
anything.” She watched Kaede expectantly.
“You wish to awaken Inuyasha? Child, you do not know what you
ask. Kikyou-oneesama’s spell was designed never to break.
There is no way-“
She was cut off by screams and the sound of something crashing outside.
Jumping to her feet, Kagome ran for the door, catching up Kaede’s bow
and a quiver of arrows along the way. “I’m really sorry, but I
don’t have time to argue right now. I’m going to lead her toward
the well.”
She raced out of the hut, slinging the quiver onto her back and turning
to assess the centipede-youkai’s position. Nocking an arrow
quickly, she aimed and fired in the dying light, swearing under her
breath when the arrow failed to light up with purifying energy or hit
the intended target. “Damn teen-age body,” she muttered, turning
to run for the forest. “Have to learn every damned thing over
again, I suppose. Inuyasha’s gonna love that.”
Mistress Centipede slithered after her, and Kagome turned to shoot
again, her aim improving slightly as the arrow brushed across the
youkai’s cheek, cutting a fine line in her cheek, and her hungry
expression shifted to an angry glare. “Give me the Jewel!” she
screamed.
Kagome staggered back, then turned and stumbled the rest of the way to
the tree, throwing herself up the tangle of vines and crashing into
Inuyasha’s pinned body. His chest rose and fell under her shaking
hands, and she cautiously looked up into his face.
He sneered down at her.
“Hello, Kikyou.”
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Chapter 3
Chapter 5
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