Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl (In Feudal Japan)
Your feet pushed against the pavement as you kept up with Kagome. You were practically choking on all the air you were trying to breathe in; it was all so unexpected. You looked around to see what set the sirens off. You saw a masked figure and looked at Kagome.
"Dude, what the fuck is going on?" You said, exasperated. Your feet were still scraping on the pavement as you ran.
"My grandpa was attacked! That thing that attacked him wants the jewel shards!"
"Jewel shards? How did something that wants jewel shards get into the modern era?!" Your head was racing, you had so much you wanted to say, and you wanted to say it quickly and precisely, but it was difficult when you're running like you're about to die (which you are), plus you're running off of zero sleep.
"I'm not sure...but we need help! Like now!" She said as her legs continued to extend infront of her, you guys were running fast at least.
Inuyasha could help you. But how in hell was he supposed to get here? You had just figured out that you could travel between worlds, you could go back, maybe? Inuyasha was so stubborn, though.
"I have an idea..." You said stopping, you were breathing hard, gulping down air. Your face was hot, and you felt your sweat rolling down your body, somewhat cooling you down.
"Inuyasha...I could go get Inuyasha...take Sota, and run...and guard the shards. I'll get help," you tried to be steady in the way that you were speaking, man, you needed to do more cardio.
"Yeah...yeah, please be careful!" She shouted, her voice echoing off the rocks by her home. You sighed and began to run back towards Kagome's home. The creature was following Kagome, so you'd be safe. You had to move quickly if you wanted Kagome to be safe, too.
You were moving faster than you ever had in your life; you could feel your heartbeat pounding against your chest as you ran, and you felt your shirt dampen with sweat as you made it closer and closer to the shrine at Kagome's place.
By the time you made it to the sacred site, your legs felt like lead, and your vision was slightly blurred. You took a couple of seconds to catch your breath before looking down into the gaping black hole that was the well. It was almost unfathomable that something so wondrous and beautiful was inside that scary cavern. But you had to go. inside if you wanted to reap any rewards.
"Okay...here goes nothing!" You hyped yourself up as you sat on the edge of the well. You closed your eyes before letting yourself be consumed by the darkness of the well. You became alert once you felt the cool breeze of the well over your skin, your eyes now coming open.
It was that same darkness from last time. Not that speckled star wormhole that Kagome had described as her experience. Maybe you had some sort of damage? You didn't know. What you did know was that you had to scramble back to the feudal era, and quickly. It was like the well could feel your urgency; it didn't feel like you were stuck in molasses, the movement felt fluid. It gave you a sense of hope, and you felt as if everything was going to be okay. Somehow.
You felt yourself land on the soft padding of dirt that floored the well. Wow, that was way quicker than last time! You needed that speediness to last. You gripped the vines attached to the well, scaling your way to the lip of the structure. You slid yourself over the side and began to run through the woods.
"Inuyasha!" You called out as your feet guided you towards the village. You could hear your voice getting muffled by the trees. You shouted louder until you could hear the crunch of leaves behind you.
"Jeez! What are ya yelling for? I thought you left to go 'study' or whatever," Inuyasha said with blaring sarcasm, his words biting you as he spoke. You placed your hand on his shoulder as you struggled to breathe. You'd done so much running in such a short amount of time that it almost killed you.
"Help...need your help," you managed to spit out. There on his face, you saw...concern? Maybe for you, or maybe for Kagome. "Please." You were taking deep, shallow breaths, your eyes wide. Even though everything always seemed to be alright in these situations, you couldn't help but worry; you were a very anxious person. He placed an uncharacteristically gentle hand on you before guiding you to the well.
Good thing he was essentially reading your mind; you were too tired to speak. In more ways than one. You were completely drained, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Plus, you still have your finals tomorrow. Inuyasha wordlessly threw you on his back, and your nails dug into the warm fabric of his dress.
"It'll be fine. Okay? I'll save you and Kagome before you get into any real trouble," He said gruffly.
"Okay," you said back quietly. You let your head rest on his shoulder, and you finally felt a sense of calm for the first time in 48 hours. You shut your eyes tight, feeling the breeze of the well tickle your skin.
You could feel the pull of time sucking both of you back to the modern day. You thanked whatever was out there for the sense of urgency that was continuing to be displayed. The strength from Inuyasha's legs shot you out of the well. You could hear him sniffing before his feet carried him and you into the night sky.
"Thank you." You said softly, calmly. You were extremely tired, and your entire body felt heavy. You trusted him to take care of everything. Your eyes struggled to stay open, but you kept them open anyway. The night sky was pitch black, but illuminated by the stars of the abyss. The cool night air was brushing your skin, and it didn't help that you were traveling through the sky so quickly.
You were rapidly approaching a building that looked to be under construction. You squinted and could see the massive black figure from before. It looked to be engulfing the building with its mass.
Using his strength, Inuyasha hurled himself at the massive figure, cutting it in half with his claws. You could see the black goop blowing past as Inuyasha made a steady landing on the ground. You unhooked your fingers from his back and hugged Kagome tightly.
"Are you alright?" You asked her gently.
"Yes! I'm just glad this is going to be over soon, now that Inuyasha is here!" Kagome cheesed at him; her smile was always a beacon in these harsh situations.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't you two think that I deserve an apology?" Inuyasha's biting words were back. As if now was the time to be bickering! You rolled your eyes.
"What are we apologizing for?" You asked flatly. He gawked at you, and then gawked at Kagome. He couldn't look more offended if he tried to.
"What?! Kagome put my back out shouting all those incantations at me before you left, and you just sat there and laughed!" He pointed at you. You thought about the memory, although it wasn't long ago, you covered your mouth and started silently chuckling.
"Look! You're laughing again! Maybe I should just go back!" He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.
"Oh, stop being such a child!" You shot back. You regret trusting him earlier. He has these moments where he really could be a hero, but right now, he was being so immature that you couldn't even bring yourself to care! You opened your mouth to start arguing with him before Kagome cut you off.
"Fine, fine! We're sorry, okay? Look, the monster has a jewel shard-- don't you want to add it to our collection?" Kagome said with a coaxing tone. Inuyasha's body remained rigid, but you could see his ears twitch slightly. But he remained there with his arms crossed.
"Look, the monster!" Sota shouted out, pointing behind you, and all three of you whipped around to see the monster repairing the bonds of the black goo that Inuyasha had severed earlier.
"Inuyasha! Aim for the mask! The jewel shard is in the forehead!" Kagome shouted. You put an arm in front of Sota, shielding him from whatever the hell was about to happen.
"I am the ancient Flesh Eating Mask, centuries ago I was carved from a tree that was embedded with a shard of the Shikon Jewel. Since my creation, I have craved human flesh and devoured my victims! Now I wish to have a living body, one that will not rot." What? The brothers monologuing, you got, but masks monologue too? You wondered if this would be a regular thing. Dramatic monologues were eating up ass-kicking time.
"Yeah? Well, it's time for you to lose some weight!" Inuyasha always had some shitty one-liner before he killed something, but hey, at least he got the job done, so you held your tongue. There would be time to poke fun later. Inuyasha sprang off his feet and punched the mask in the face. "What the--" the mask had teeth that wrapped around Inuyasha's fist, the teeth sinking into the soft flesh.
You watched as Inuyasha got pulled into the massive black sludge, his form disappearing from your sight. Your face twisted in horror. Fuck. What were you supposed to do now?
"Inuyasha!" You called out, your voice cracking. Before you could do anything, the mask detached itself from the goo and came hurling right at you and Kagome. Before you could even think, your feet were moving, you snatched the shards from Kagome, and just started to run.
"Be careful! It's right behind you!" Kagome shouted, you picked up the pace, running as you never had before. Until you couldn't. You were at a dead end; if you ran any further, you would be a pancake on the street. Fuck. The mask was hurling at you, practically touching your face. You closed your eyes, squeezing the bottle of jewel shards in your hand. You were ready for the worst.
"Watch out!" You opened your eyes and were met with Inuyasha cutting through the goo, and then cutting through the mask. The light was practically blinding as he cut through the mask, the jewel shard emitting that enchanting light you'd seen in your dreams. It's like it followed you everywhere.
"You did it!" You ran to Inuyasha and threw your arms around him before you could even process what you were doing. "Thank you!" Then you realized the position you were in. "Sorry..." you peeled yourself off of Inuyasha.
"Yeah, yeah. Ya got the jewel shards?"
Ouch. Okay, not exactly what you wanted to hear.
"Yeah." You said flatly, and he thought that he deserved an apology. He was always so insensitive to young girls' feelings! The sunlight of the morning cut through the harshness of the moment, and another feeling set in. Panic. Your final was today, and you'd only studied two subjects.
"Kagome. What day is it?"
"Oh no!!! We've got to go!" Kagome grabbed your hand, and the two of you booked it back to her house.
"Outlook on us passing this exam?" You looked at her and asked.
At least the two of you were safe, and Inuyasha was being nice, kind of? He was such a convoluted being, you didn't even know where to start with him. He was so comforting earlier when he could tell you were down, but the second you got your fire back, he wanted to bicker with you! It's fine, but for now, it was time to take this exam. You closed your eyes and prayed that good luck would find you on your exam, because it hadn't seemed to find you anywhere else.
a/n: hi i've been on my academic grind...i am back hello! i hope that you guys enjoy reading, luv ya! bye bye!
