Kagome, the Shadow Painter by Shikura Harunai

Kagome, the Shadow Painter

Kagome was surrounded by grass. She was standing in the middle of the field. Many flowers were patching part of the green grass. What am I doing here? She thought. She started walking. Then the next moment she was face to face with Midoriko. Kagome was stunned. She was stunned that she was alive on the green field, but also her beauty.

Kagome managed to whisper, "Midoriko.." Midoriko pulled her gentle finger to Kagome's lips. Kagome gasp a little. Midoriko then started talking, "I don't have much time. I have to explain everything to you quick and swift." Kagome was listened in awe. Her voice was so gentle yet, her voice still held authority.

"There is an evil aura coming forth onto this era," Midoriko explained, "And you have the power to stop it." Kagome listened carefully as her voice flowed into her ears. "Why me? Isn't there someone else that can do a better job than me? I have the mental ability to control one's mind, but I cannot kill." Then Midoriko looked at her in the eyes. "This evil aura needs a lot of mental ability to destroy it, and you are the one that has it. I will get a youkai to train you, the first thing the day after tomorrow. I wish I can train you myself, but I cannot since I am one of the dead." Midoriko told her.

Kagome couldn't believe her ears. She knew she had many chances with great opportunities, but she didn't know it would give her this kind of opportunity. She nodded. "I will do my best to ward off this evil aura. I will also do my best to kill it." Midoriko was glad. But her face still remained cold. Then Midoriko said, "Good bye, my fellow Shadow Painter, for I won't be able to see you again." Then she disappeared with the next blow of the gentle breeze.

Kagome woke up. She was in front of the fire. InuYasha was sitting up straight, with his head down and eyes closed. Sango was in her sleeping bag. Miroku must have been meditating and decided to take a rest and he fell asleep. Shippo was next to her. She smiled warmly at them. Then her face turned cold again. She was worried. Had that been a dream? She asked herself. It must have been. But it felt so real.

She decided she had to go to sleep to find out. But sleep wouldn't come to her. She was just wondering about her "dream". Soon she realized she couldn't sleep until she has taken a bath. She went to the springs they passed earlier. She removed her clothing, and walked into the warm water.

She sighed. She loved the way the water was flowing around her. She closed her eyes. She sighed again. About 30 minutes later when she was content, she came out of the water. She dried herself off and wore her clothes. She went back to the camp.

But when she did, she sensed a demonic aura. She decided to go alone since she thought her friends needed their rest. She took her bow and arrows. She explored the forest. She could have sworn a demonic aura was covering the woods just a moment ago. Then while she was looking at the right side of the forest turned to the front and saw Naraku.

"So," said Kagome, fearlessly, "it was you, Naraku." He chuckled. "Of course it would have been me." She took her bow and arrow and aimed for Naraku's heart. Without another hesitation, she shot the arrow. Perfect hit, she thought. Naraku's puppet stood in the ground. She already knew that Naraku wouldn't send himself in the forest.

Then Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and InuYasha came running to her. They asked their typical questions. "Are you ok, Kagome?" asked Miroku. "Did anything happen?" Sango asked worriedly. InuYasha just went on yelling at her. "You shouldn't have gone alone! You should have stayed and let me handle it!" "Shut up InuYasha.." Kagome said slowly.

Of course, InuYasha wouldn't stop. "You could've gotten injured or---" InuYasha couldn't finish his last words. The next word that came out of Kagome's mouth was, "Osuwari!" Then InuYasha came face to face with the ground, well, also below the ground. "Osuwari, osuwari, OSUWARI!!!" InuYasha was helpless, and Sango and Miroku watched with amusement. He cursed into the ground. When he stood up his hair was messy, and his eyes were in spirals.

Kagome stood up and said, "You're a jerk." InuYasha then ran after her saying, "What did you just call me?" But of course Kagome had her own way of making him stop. "Osuwari!" she told him. She kept saying, "osuwari" because InuYasha was following her. "You should be at least two feet away from me." she glared, "or else, you'll get the worst sitting of your life."

InuYasha groaned. He just "sat" there cursing into the ground more. "I'm going home," she said, "and if you decide to follow me, I will have no choice but mess with your mind as a punishment." InuYasha was silenced immediately. He did not want Kagome to go inside his mind and find the true feelings about her.

When they got to the well, she jumped inside. Ugh, she thought, that annoying freak. I sometimes want to purify him completely. When she came back to the modern world she climbed up the well. She came outside the shrine door. She smelled the blowing breeze. It was gentle. She could hear her mother calling to her. Kagome waved at her. She ran inside the house. "Hey mom, what's up?" she asked. Her mother's replied was, "Nothing, just same old, same old."

After she ate dinner, she went to take a bath. Then she brushed her teeth, and went to bed, drifting off to sleep slowly. Then she saw a dream.

She was surrounded by burning fire. She saw a part of the roof collapse from the top so she dodged. She screamed for help. But nothing came out of her mouth. But she heard a little cry of her baby brother, Souta. She ran to where the voice was coming from, and stopped dead in her footsteps when she saw Souta caught on fire. She ran to him immediately without hesitation.

Kagome reached her hand out to Souta, trying to save him. Unfortunately, Souta's little body got caught on fire quickly. Kagome gasp out of sadness. She couldn't save her baby brother. It was too late. She clenched her fist where her baby brother's hand could have been. Tears fell down... Her mother stumbled down the stairs, dropping dead..

Then she was awake. She let out a sigh of relief. It was only a horrible nightmare. But something inside her head told her that it wasn't a dream. She dropped the thought immediately. She went back to sleep, trying to erase the horrible nightmare away from her mind.

The next thing she heard was screaming. Her eyes snapped open. Burning fire surrounded her room. No, she thought, her eyes overflowing with tears, no, this isn't happening.. Then she heard a familiar scream of help. It was her baby brother. She ran to help him. Just like her nightmare, Souta was caught by the burning fire. She reached out to grab his hand and missed, leaving him to burn into ashes. She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down freely. She closed her hand knowing that her brother's hand could have been there. Her mother came downstairs, hearing Souta's shouting. Unfortunately, her mother was caught on fire, too. More tears fell, her mother burning away before her eyes. No, she thought, I can't take it anymore. Kagome ran. I'm going to leave the modern world and live in the Feudal Era, she thought, tears falling even more, forever. She quickly ran to the well and jumped in. She quickly tried to dry her tears while the process of going to the Feudal Era continued. I will never make the mistake I made, she vowed to herself, I won't lose anymore of the people I love.

When she arrived, she was greeted by InuYasha, Shippo, Sango, Miroku and Kirara. She tried to smile, but it didn't work. Immediately, the five knew something was wrong. There was a long silence between them, until InuYasha spoke up. "What's wrong, Kagome?" he asked, softly. "Oh, it's nothing really." was Kagome's respond, as she looked down to the ground. Miroku was the second to speak up. "Kagome," he said, looking into her brown eyes, "we know something is wrong. Please tell us." "Yes," said Sango, with a worried expression, "please, do tell us."

Kagome sighed. She sat down next to the well, and her friends surrounded her. Kagome then started explaining. She kept speaking as she watched her friends' expressions change. Tears coursed down her pale cheek as she spoke. She also told them that she won't be going back to modern world ever again. Everyone gasp at this reponse. Kagome just nodded when her friends looked at her questioningly.

"Well, that's what happened, and I don't want to talk about it anymore, ok?" she said sadly, and walked off somewhere in the woods. Her friends followed her quickly, making a fire for her, and decided to rest for the night. My friends might not see me tomorrow, she thought. Then she drifted off to sleep, a sorrowful sleep that was most tearful.