Kagome trotted across the yard of her temple home, shouldering her heavy yellow backpack stuffed full with everything she could or would need on her next trip. The bottom was squared out by several text books the schoolgirl knew she would need to read through thoroughly before returning for several tests she’d tried to put off until the last minute. Shippo needed a new set of crayons and paper for his entertainment and InuYasha always wanted more food that the feudal ear couldn’t provide- particularly ramen.
The morning sun blinded her, forcing the girl to shield her face against the light. The thousand year old tree that stood on the edge of her family’s shrine held some very talkative meadowlarks that flew to and fro, squawking at the black crows that shifted on the telephone wires. She paused to stare at it. Though the tree had healed since the Feudal Era, sometimes she thought she could see the exact spot where InuYasha had been pinned.
She entered the little temple that held the hidden well. The shade allowed her to drop her hands from her forehead and she let her cocoa eyes adjust to the dim light. She tiptoed down the stairs to the well edge before swinging a long leg over the rim. Her foot searched for the ladder rung. She found it with a victorious “ah!” and slowly made her way down before dropping down to the well floor. A violet light enveloped her and she felt weightless for a minute, dropping through the nothingness that allowed her to travel between present day Tokyo and feudal era Edo.
Her feet touched down on the other side. She sighed contently and smoothed her green pleated skirt before climbing up the rope ladder, double checking the shards that were in a jar she wore around her neck was secure. She hopped over and smoothed her skirt a second time, tightening her red tie on her sailor’s school uniform. Several times she wondered why she didn’t bring pants and a different shirt, but she found herself comfortable in this outfit. Plus, she was very recognizable in such unusual clothing. Such a bright green and short skirt wasn’t typical in the era. Sometimes, though, that got her in trouble. More than once she drew a little too much attention. She’d tried donning priestess uniforms, but then she looked like Kykio and that hurt her and InuYasha too much.
Kagome found the dog boy sitting up against the well wall. His hands tucked into the sleeves of his fire rat robe, cross legged, with his sword, Tetsusaiga, across his lap. The hanyou looked up at her arrival, white dog ears twitching.
“Took ya long enough,” he said with a scoff. His golden eyes narrowed.
“I said I’d be gone two days, InuYasha,” the girl responded without even glancing at him, “and I’ve been gone two days.”
The half dog demon gave a grunt and held out an expectant hand revealing rough palms and long sharpened nails. Kagome reached back into the top of her canary sack and grabbed the box of noodles that she had placed on top especially for this reason. She tossed it to the white haired boy.
“Patience is a virtue, InuYasha,” she said. “One that you obviously lack.”
The dog demon was too entranced with the food to pay attention to what she said (not like he’d understand anyway, she thought). He shoveled the noodles into his mouth, following her back to Kaede’s, where Sango, Miroku, and Shippo waited. InuYasha tossed the empty noodle carton over his shoulder and said something about Kagome’s ‘sluggishness.’ She wanted to reply with something along the lines of “no wonder my world is ruined when you’re already throwing trash around.”
Kagome set her jaw instead. She didn’t need InuYasha ridding her ass. She hadn’t had a good morning and she didn’t need the hanyou to point out her dire need of an attitude adjustment. She’d had a difficult time falling asleep and when she did, she’d been woken up by a thunderstorm that kept her awake for nearly an hour. By then it was already sunrise and it was impossible to sleep with Souta and grandpa arguing downstairs about the boy accidentally breaking some priceless ancient object or another. She’d grabbed her breakfast quickly, ignoring her brother and grandpa, though listening to them had ruined her appetite. Kagome had grabbed her backpack, barely gave a good-bye to her mother and left. Needless to say, the girl was not in a good mood.
She walked into Kaede’s hut and sat next to Sango, still ignoring InuYasha’s harassment. Kagome sighed. Was it possible to feel trapped under such an open sky? There were no skyscrapers or cars. No people or noise. But she felt bored. How could a sixteen year old girl feel jaded when everyday she was chasing after one oni or another? Traveling all over Feudal Japan wasn’t exactly an ordinary teenage life but yet…she needed something new. What at first had been comforting, the pattern they’d fallen into had turned into a rut. She rest her head in a hand as she watched her InuYasha and Shippo argue as Sango attempted to stop them and Miroku’s hand stealthily inched towards Sango’s butt. Sometimes, she felt guilty about feeling so unhappy with the cards she’d been dealt but feeling this way was part of growing up, right? That’s what she kept telling herself. Things will get better.
“Is something wrong, Kagome-chan?” Sango finally asked turning to her friend.
“No, Sango-chan,” she responded. No point in trying to explain to them. InuYasha will just yell and Sango and Miroku won’t understand.
The slap echoed around the hut as Sango’s open palm made contact with the monk’s face. The yelling ensued of ‘lecherous monk!’ and ‘you deserve it.’ Kagome sighed. Will things ever change?
______________________________________*_______________________________________
The next day, the company found themselves heading west. The little Kitsune and InuYasha argued, chasing each other around and arguing over Shippo’s rude actions towards the ‘older’ and ‘ more mature’ hanyou.
“Leave him alone, InuYasha!” Kagome yelled feeling a headache coming on. She told herself that she’d dig out painkillers next time they stopped.
“What’s your problem, Kagome?” InuYasha spat.
Kagome opened her mouth to tell InuYasha that he was annoying the hell out of her. But at that time, she felt the unmistakable tingle through her body of a sacred jewel shard on a direct route towards them. She pointed behind him at the colossal hebi demon.
“The shard’s in his forehead!” Kagome told Sango and Miroku as they flew up on Kirara. The snake spat angrily at the half demon that swung its sword at the coils of its monstrous body. Kagome fired an arrow yelling her trademark phrase “hit the mark!”
The arrow struck the soft scales of its forward, loosening the shard from its spot and sending flying into the air. The snake, without the source of its power, shrunk into its original form: a small little garter snake.
The shard twirled in the air before dropping into the long legged clutches of Naraku’s Saimyosho. They watched the wasp from hell fly over the hills before InuYasha turned to the teenager.
“Way to go, Kagome!” he yelled. The boy took his anger out on the nearest object, giving it a swift kick. Kagome watched as the yellow bag she had dropped at her feet sailed through the air, landing somewhere over the next knoll.
InuYasha watched in silence for a moment before muttering a not so sorry apology. “I’ll go get it,” he muttered tensing his legs to run.
“No,” she said blocking him with a hand. She sighed. “I’ll go.”
Kagome made her way up the hill, scanning for her bag. Stupid InuYasha with his lack of self control. Stupid Naraku. Stupid Saimyosho. Stupid jewel shards. She parted a bush, looking for her shoulder bag but didn’t find it. She wadded through the knee length grass checking around her. She found herself at the edge of dry river bed and skidded down the side, her shoes sending up dust and dirt, staining her white knee length socks.
She looked up and down the parched waterway but saw nothing other than barren ground. Her eyes fell upon a tree on the far bank edge. Half its roots hung down the reservoir while the other remained attached to the upper edge. The space between the two showed a gaping hole leading under the tree.
‘My bag probably flew in there,” she thought. “I’ve looked everywhere else.”
She tucked her head under the roots and started in.