Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl (In Feudal Japan)
chapter nine
word count: 2,525
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Finals...whooped your ass, to say the least. That's nothing compared to what your parents are going to do to you when they find out that you only passed two of your finals...you'd gotten a strongly worded letter that said if you didn't get your grades up, you were going to have to come on their anthropology trip. Eternally boring, and after everything you'd found out over the last couple of weeks, you couldn't risk getting snatched away. So there you were, locked up in your house, hitting the books. You begged your professors for a second chance, and they granted you one...so maybe you could pull through. Kagome had called your landline about a 100 times.
"You're sure you can't come with me?"
"Not if you ever want to see me again, no. Tell Inuyasha that I said to be nice."
"I will. Will you be able to come out in a few days?"
"Maybe. I'm a pro crammer, so I hope so. I'll see you soon."
"Not soon enough, but I'll see you. Bye, Y/N."
The next week, you studied so hard and retook so many tests that you had skyrocketed yourself to the top ranks. There was not a single day that your head wasn't buried in a book. You could barely believe it worked...you silently hoped your teachers would keep being this easy on you. When Kagome came back, she was shocked!
"Y/N, how did you do that?! I need to retake my math course, you know. You've gotta give me your secrets."
"My secret is fear." You said deadpan, before giggling. "No, but seriously, if I didn't get my grades up, my parents would've had my head..."
"I'm glad you get to stay in Tokyo! But I...I really do need to study..." Kagome sighed.
"You'll get to, in due time, hopefully! How did Inuyasha take me not visiting?" You tried not to sound too interested. He was sweet to you, and saved you from that flesh-eating mask thing...even though the moment was shortly lived. It showed there was some interest, right? Even just a little?
"He was...well, he was as nice as Inuyasha can be...he didn't quite understand why you didn't come over. You know he would never say it, but he missed you. He asked me when you were going to be back, and I told him that I didn't really know...but I guess soon now, right?"
"Yeah! Probably today after school, do you want to trade shifts, sort of thing? So you have time to study?"
"Y/N. My savior! Thank you!" Kagome threw her arms around you in a massive hug.
"If I can come over to yours after school, I'll let you borrow my notes and hop down the well?"
"Perfect! I'll see you then!"
This was one of the only times that you didn't feel like you were drowning in schoolwork; you were actually...ahead. You needed it to stay that way; you spent the rest of the school day working ahead through the course syllabus. Before you knew it, it was time to go home! Well...to Kagome's home. You caught up with her and began walking back to her place.
"Are you ready for summer uniforms?" You asked Kagome. The leaves on the trees were turning green now; it was time to say goodbye to fall. You would miss it, but there was nothing like watching the flowers bloom as spring blossomed into full view.
"Gosh, am I...it feels like we've been wearing winter uniforms forever. I think the short sleeves are much more chic, don't you?"
"I totally agree! Also...I think that they'll give us more mobility to run when we need to, I mean, considering half of the shit we go through every week."
"Absolutely!" Kagome laughed. The two of you kept asking eachother silly questions until you arrived at her place. But when you got there...you saw somebody. You nudged Kagome in the ribs.
"Is that not Hojo?" You whispered to her. You saw her face get red. Hojo was the class prince, and he had developed a little something something for Kagome. He had asked you a few times where she was over the last few weeks, trying to give her various things to cure her ailments. "He's been asking about you lately, you know!" You wiggled your eyebrows at her. You quickly shed your backpack off of your shoulder and pulled your folder filled with notes out of your bag. "Now you...have fun! I'll sneak out through the back...okay? Okay!" You winked at her three times before cutting around the back of her house to get to the shrine.
Kagome was so beautiful, caring, and kind. She really did deserve all that attention she got. Maybe one day someone would pine after you that way. You could only dream...Anyhow, bigger things were awaiting you. It was time to jump down into the well. Down the hatch! Cannonball! Bon voyage! You mimed the motions of jumping in but hesitated. No matter how you tried to dress it up, jumping down into a dark well never got easier. But the only way to get it over with is by doing. Off you went!
The sludge of time dragged you through, until finally, you were through the other side. The familiar vine of the well greeted you, and you began to climb your way up. That also never got easier. You really needed to stop skipping gym class...
"Y/N? Y/N!!!" A high-pitched voice greeted you; it could be no other than Shippo. He was so stinking cute. He was a little brother of sorts.
"Oh Shippo! My friend!" You scooped him up into a big hug. "How are you?"
"I'm good! You were gone so so long! Then Kagome left too…and I was stuck with that jerk Inuyasha!" Where was that jerk Inuyasha anyway? Not that you cared…or anything. You were only gone two or so weeks; it's not like you needed to see him immediately. He was on your mind, far too much. You were still really grateful to him for saving you again. You could never praise him to his face, though; he'd get far too full of himself. You felt bad that you left Shippo with the ego maniac; you could barely handle a few hours of it without retorting. You couldn't imagine what a few days was like.
"I wasn't gone so long, Shippo, just a week. Or two… maybe it was a long time. I'm sorry. What did you do while I was gone?"
"Not much, to be honest with you…Kagome and Inuyasha bickered…and I learned a new trick." He looked over at you, his eyes begging you to inquire. You'd bite.
"Now you've got to show me." You exclaimed. You watched as he turned into a pink balloon. You clapped. It was genuine. Real magic was much cooler than the stupid Criss Angel shows that were on TV in your time. "I wish I could do something cool like that, Shippo. That's totally awesome!"
"Thank you; only you and Kagome see how cool it is. Inuyasha makes fun of me." You felt awful. What kind of person picks on a kid like that? Shippo needed some confidence; you could see it in him.
"Well, Inuyasha is just an insecure asshole; you don't mind him, okay? Keep your chin high!" You ruffled his hair and smiled at him. He made an uneasy face at you; you looked at him in confusion. He pointed behind you. There's no way. You slowly turned your head to look behind you until you saw a red robe and long silver hair. Of course, this is the time he wanted to show up. Why wouldn't it be? You felt heat rush to your face. God, how embarrassing was this?
"I'm a what?" He said in a ticked voice—no point in pretending like you weren't talking shit. You were caught red-handed. Honesty was the best policy, right?
"I said that you're an insecure asshole. You pick on a seven year-old; I don't think that my assessment is too off base."
"Maybe I shouldn't save your life next time if this is how you thank me."
"Okay, don't save me next time then. I'm sure you'll miss my incessant nagging even if you don't want to admit that…I have proof!"
"Oh yeah?" He laughed at you.
"Yeah! As a matter of fact, I do. Kagome told me that you asked about me while I was gone, and that was just a week. Imagine eternity without me; you'd be so sad. Plus I come bearing gifts." You chucked a cup of noodles at him. His pupils immediately dilated…it can't be good to feed modern-era food to someone from the past, but it kept him docile, so who really cares?
"Thank you, Y/N." He said begrudgingly.
"Don't go singing my praises just yet." You pulled out another cup, waving it in his face. "Okay, now sing them!" You waited and were met with silence. He was staring at you deadpan. "Alright. Don't ask me for any of mine later." You rolled your eyes. You knew he would; he always did. So greedy.
"Okay, fine…" He groaned. "You are helpful. Sometimes. And nice. Rarely. Can I have the other cup now?" You met him with silence this time; you dramatically frowned and slipped the cup of noodles back in your bag.
"You truly are the worst, Inuyasha."
You settled in the grass between Inuyasha and Shippo. There was a cocoon of wax around Inuyasha's sword. A bunch of wasps were scattered around the hilt of his sword. What was that all about?
"How much longer is this going to take, Myouga?" Inuyasha said poutily.
"Be patient, Lord Inuyasha! If you try to take the sheath away from the steel wasps now, they are certain to sting you to death." Oh yeah…after that encounter with the Thunder Brothers, Inuyasha badly cracked his sheath. It's cool that it could be repaired so simply, just with some wax. An eerie tune started playing on a pipe. A yellow ball was floating across the river.
"What's that?" The melody was calming to you; you hummed along to the tune before Shippo practically tackled you.
"It's a demon!" His palms were sunk deep into the fabric of your shirt.
"Stop clinging to her! Why are you scared? You're a demon too." Inuyasha chided.
"That's no ordinary demon; it's the Soul Piper. When a child passes, the Soul Piper stays and plays with the child until their soul is ready to peacefully rest. As long as its eyes remain closed, there's nothing you have to be afraid of!" Thank you, Myouga, and your infinite wisdom. You thought to yourself.
"Nothing to be afraid of, Shippo." You smiled at him kindly and lowered him onto the ground.
"How did your ever-so-important finals go?" Inuyasha said pointedly. You stared at him like you'd been shot. You truly didn't want to even think of schoolwork after the week of hell you'd been through. You could feel the arthritis developing in your hands as you wrote all of those make-up papers. He opened his mouth to say something else but just closed it. You knew he wouldn't apologize for bringing it up, so his being quiet was the next best thing.
The three of you journeyed back to Kaede's village; there wasn't much to do at the current moment, so you might as well. You missed the village very much; even though you were only gone two weeks, it felt like forever. You'd spent so much time here since you moved to Japan. The air smelt so fresh; humanity really did a number on the natural environment they started with. The difference between here and Tokyo was so stark, it made your head spin. You sat on the stoop of Kaede's house until Inuyasha came up behind you.
"Y/N." He said flatly.
"Yes?"
"You haven't trained in weeks."
"Yes, your point being?"
"You should…and I can help you. If you want. Because I don't want to." Was he trying to ask you to hang out? He wasn't great at it…but sure.
"Yes, Inuyasha, I would like to hang out with you too. What am I learning today?"
"Same thing we did last time, 'cept this time you get a real sword. Let's go."
You got up, preparing to walk, but Inuyasha stopped you.
"What are you doing?"
"Walking?"
"It'd be faster if you just hopped on my back; walking only makes sense when we have a group. C'mon." You got onto his back, your fingers gripping the fabric of his robes. He set off from the ground, running and jumping with ease. You liked the feeling of being free. You wished that you could do this all of the time. You envied it a little; you couldn't lie. Your head pressed into his shoulder. He smelt like he had showered recently, rare. His robe was soft. You felt so peaceful like this. The ride was over soon, though. Inuyasha landed close to the well. You slid off of his back to find a whole set up of targets. Had he done all of this for you?
"This is really thoughtful, you know?" You said softly.
"It's not thoughtful. You need to train." And train you did. You squared your shoulders and focused on the precision you needed to cut through a target with your sword. You actually felt like this was something you could get good at. You wanted to be helpful. I mean, you were, kind of. You could see the shards, but if you could fight, really get good at it, you could be super valuable. You knew that Inuyasha didn't mean it when he said that he wouldn't save you if you were in danger, but what if there was a small chance that he didn't? He wasn't entirely the good guy, based on what Kagome told you. He was just docile because of those beads Kaede put on him. You were the type of person who believed the best was in everyone, no matter how naive it was. But you also realized that you needed to be independent.
"Are you going to hit that target, or what?"
"Sorry, uhm yeah! I will. I was just thinking, is all." You tried to say it with energy in your voice, but it obviously didn't come out that way. He looked at you with a flicker of…well, you could call it concern. Or the closest emotion to concern that Inuyasha could feel.
"About what?" You opened your mouth to speak, but Kagome came bounding out of the well. She was back, really early. Was everything okay?
"Kags? Are you alright?"
"I'm okay…! Hold on just…one second." She took a deep breath; it seemed like she ran straight here. "I saw this yellow ball…there's a girl, and I think she needs our help!"
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hi guys!! i am gen so sorry that i have been gone so long, this chapter is a bit short...but but! the next two are going to be pretty hefty. i hope that you guys enjoy, love ya! -pluie
