Written: July 18, 2010

It's been like two months since my last update! Erm, my only excuses would be that I'm lazy or busy. My kittens are so darn cute, even with their faults. My dad even filmed one time when the male kitten (Oreo/Lor Mi Guy) was begging for some French toast and it was so damn adorable that I can't help but watch it over and over and over again. XD

Summary: The Shikon Jewel made a mistake. A big mistake. When Kagome wishes for someone to love her for herself, the Jewel gave her not a warm, cuddly teddybear, but an emotionless, cold-hearted killer.

Warning: Inuyasha has a giant potty mouth.

The Shikon's Mistake

Ch. 6

The Other Side of the Well

A week passed by in a blur, and the shard-hunting group soon found themselves back in the village where Kaede resided. Kagome decided that it was a good time to catch up on some studying (which didn't really matter much considering how much school she'd missed) and to gather up more supplies from home. However, Inuyasha was being a stubborn asshole and refusing to let her go. Again. For perhaps the thousandth time.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, ready to tear out her hair. "I need to go home and study and get supplies!"

"No, you don't!" the half-demon retorted. "We need to get a move on so we can get those shards sooner!"

"WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THE FREAKING SHARDS WHEN I FINALLY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO HOME?"

"I DO! AND SO DOES THE REST OF THE FUCKING WORLD!"

"SIT! DAMN IT, JUST SIT! SIT, SIT, SIT!"

Alas, poor Inuyasha. He'll never learn his lesson, the stubborn idiot.

Kagome felt like kicking him in the face once for good measure, but held back. She stormed off angrily towards the well, a black aura emanating ominously from her person. Even Naraku might shrink away from her because of how dark her mood was. It was like Sesshomaru times a hundred. Inuyasha, when he looked up, could've sworn he saw a blizzard trailing behind her. Ah, the wonders of women and their mood swings . . .

Itachi followed quietly behind, curious about this "home" the girl talked of. She'd already informed him of her time-traveling abilities, but the concept was still mind-boggling. She seemed not to notice him as she viciously stomped towards the old wooden well in the forest (which was named Inuyasha's Forest, after the half-wit idiot). That was all well, if not for the fact that he wanted to see what her home was like. So he'd have to catch her attention. And fast.

Using his chakra to enhance his super-human speed, he raced in a blur ahead of her. He emerged in a clearing with an old well in the center, the rims crawling with vines. He blinked. This was also where he first met Kagome. The well . . . she'd been sitting on it. He walked over to it and seated himself on the worn edge. He looked over the edge, expecting to see something interesting. He was intrigued (not disappointed) when he saw a dark hole with long, curly vines snaking down the sides. The bottom was too dark to be seen. And she had to jump down this every time she went home? How interesting.

Kagome's loud footsteps approached at a rapid pace. Itachi turned his head to look in that direction.

Kagome entered the clearing muttering angrily under her breath about the sheer stupidity the half-demon displayed at some vital times. However she stopped her self-rant when she spotted Itachi sitting on the rim of the well, calmly waiting for her. She blushed when she realized how strange she must've sounded.

"Ah, Itachi," she began nervously. "Um, were you waiting for me?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes," she said. Then a thought struck her. "Wait, you want to go to Tokyo with me?"

Itachi nodded. "I am . . . curious about this home you speak of," he worded carefully.

"Well, I guess I could take you with me," Kagome replied thoughtfully. "Are you able to go through the well or do I have to . . . uh, hold your hand?" She blushed again. Itachi thought it was amusing.

"Hn." Itachi stood up and looked over the rim. Making a quick decision, he hopped over the edge and down the well he went. However, there was no bright flash of blue light. Kagome didn't hear anything, so she frowned and looked over. He was still there.

"I guess that didn't work," she sighed. "Come back up, Itachi. I guess you'll have to hold on to me."

Her cheeks grew hot when she awkwardly laced her fingers with his (his hands were surprisingly warm, she noted). They stood on the rim of the well for a moment, glancing at each other, and then jumped.

Itachi's interest perked when a flash of bright blue light came from the well and surrounded them. There was a brief flying sensation, then one that felt as if he were traveling through water, and then they landed at the bottom of the well. The blue glow disappeared. Itachi was somewhat disappointed when he felt Kagome let go of his hand. But forget that, there would definitely be more opportunities later.

With practiced ease, Kagome shimmied up the rope ladder that had been placed against the side of the well. Itachi followed at slower pace. His keen mind took note of the differences between the Sengoku Jidai and the supposed "modern era". For one it appears that the well was now inside a wooden building of some sort. He briefly heard Kagome mention that they were in a mini-shrine.

She slid the door open and called out, "Mom! Souta! Jii-chan! I'm home!"

"Kagome-neechan! You're back!" Itachi saw a young black-haired boy drop the broom he was holding and run over to his sister.

"Kagome," an old man wearing a priest's garb trudged over to them. He spotted Itachi behind her and did something Itachi found unexpected, amusing, and also annoying. "DEMON BEGONE!" Kagome was startled when he pushed past her and slapped a piece of paper on Itachi's forehead. He twitched.

"Jii-chan . . ." both Kagome and Souta sighed. Kagome peeled the sutra off Itachi's forehead. "He isn't a demon. This guy is Uchiha Itachi, my newest companion."

"Besides," Souta piped up, "those sutras never work anyway. If he was a real demon, Kagome would've blasted him to pieces already! Right, right?"

"That wouldn't have happened, because if he was a real demon, he would've been ash on the wind a long time ago."

"As in, how long?" Souta asked.

"More than a week."

"Is something the matter? I hear voices," a female voice came from the shrine house on the left.

"Mom!"

Itachi saw a pretty woman with short curled hair approach with a delighted expression on her face. "Oh, Kagome! You're back! You're just in time; I made oden for lunch."

Kagome seemed to have been fed a mountain of caffeine as she zoomed towards the house, screaming, "ODEEEEEEEEEN!"

Itachi watched as her family burst out laughing where they stood. The woman wiped a stray tear from her eye. "That's my Kagome! Always ready for some good old homemade oden," she chuckled. She turned to him. "My, what a handsome young man! Are you Kagome's new boyfriend?"

Itachi shook his head. Souta groaned in disappointment, "You're not?"

"Oh, well, that's okay. My name is Kun-loon Higurashi, and I'm Kagome's mother. Please come in. We're about to have lunch," the woman said kindly, gesturing for him to follow them into the house. Itachi complied. He'd never eaten this . . . "oden" before.

"Hurry up, I want to eat!" Kagome called from the kitchen.

"Oh, be patient, Kagome dear," Kun-loon said, entering the kitchen. They all sat down at the table, then she realized Itachi had nowhere to sit. "I'll be back with an extra chair, you just wait here."

After the woman left, Souta turned to him and asked, "So . . . how did you meet my sis?"

After an eventful dinner full of pleasant and unpleasant talk (i.e. Kagome's many "illnesses" and a strip-down of Itachi's history), Kagome went to take a bath while directing Itachi to her room. "I think you'll fit my dad's old clothes. After I'm done, I'll go ask my mom where they are," she called as she headed down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Itachi stepped into her room and looked around in mild distaste. Bright colors and pinkness . . . Itachi wanted to run away. But Kagome wasn't as bad as her . . . taste in decoration. Itachi twitched as he sat down in her swiveling green chair and observed the sheer girlyness of her room. Her actual person belied her tastes. If Itachi ever married someone, he'd make sure that they didn't have such brightness in their house. This was just absurd.

He heard Kagome's younger brother downstairs shouting something about not letting someone beat him (he'd been introduced to video games shortly after dinner) and he heard Kagome's grandfather walking down the hall muttering about evil demon spirits.

All in all, it was a relatively normal household (just missing a father), and Itachi was reminded of how cold his own childhood had been – no, he hadn't even had a childhood. But he sometimes thought it was a good thing that he was the eldest, the "perfect child". Then Sasuke could have a childhood. Ah, dear foolish little brother . . . Itachi might not have killed the clan and he would still be none the wiser. What puzzled him was that Sasuke had wanted to be like him, to catch their father's attention and be good at everything he did. It was a curse, Sasuke. One that Itachi had to bear.

The door opened and Kun-loon came in. "You may as well spend the night," she told Itachi, unraveling the bundle of blankets in her arms. She made a makeshift bed on the floor, making sure it was comfortable enough for Itachi to sleep on (not that Itachi minded sleeping on a hard surface). She fluffed up the pillow and stood back to look at her daughter's guest. "I think you'll need a change of clothes too. Wait here, I'll go get some. Then you can give me your cloak and current clothes so I can wash them for you." She walked out of the room.

She came back not too long later with a large red shirt with black stripes and a pair of dark-blue cotton pants. "You can wear these tonight and I'll go find you a pair for tomorrow," she said, handing them to Itachi. "Now change and give me your clothes when you're done. I'll be downstairs!" She walked out of the room again and shut the door.

Itachi gave a blank stare to the clothes in his hands. He'd never worn such casual clothes before, because of the Uchiha's prodigious image and their traditional high-collar shirts. He shrugged. Maybe he'll allow himself this one moment of relaxation (not that he'd drop his guard). He unbuttoned the Akatsuki cloak and draped it over the chair. He lifted up his shirt over his head and tossed that over his cloak. Picking up the red and black shirt, he pulled it over his head, marveling at the silky feeling of the semi-elastic fabric. He was about to pull the cotton black ones on when the door opened and Kagome came in, rubbing at her hair with a towel.

She blushed bright red when she realized she had just walked in on Itachi in the middle of changing. "Sorry!" she squeaked, running out the door and slamming it. Itachi just blinked, and then pulled the pants on. He didn't really care if anyone saw him naked, but it'd be more preferable to have clothes on. He took his weapons pouches from the pile of clothes and put them on Kagome's desk. Then he gathered up the clothes and walked out to hand them to Kun-loon.

Kagome was back in the room when he returned. She looked up at him and her cheeks blazed crimson as she remembered what just happened earlier. He just smirked. Inwardly, he gloated.

"I-I-I'm sorry a-about earlier," she stammered, waving her hands wildly in front of her. "I didn't look! I thought you would be just waiting for me! I had no idea! I'm sor –"

"It's fine." And Kagome shut up.

Night had fallen over the city of Tokyo. Lights from the windows of buildings and from the streets and party places gave it a dazzling look of brilliance. However, the Higurashi shrine was located in a somewhat quieter and more remote area of the bustling city. Away from all the hustle and festivities. Therefore, as Itachi stood by the window, he could only look out at the darkened streets and homes, and the glint of white and silver light caused by the moon overhead. Kagome was soundly asleep on her bed, sleeping without a care in the world.

Itachi was not much of a sleeper thanks to his shinobi life. The times he did sleep were simple naps that left him awake for hours afterwards. And he was always on guard. For now he would watch, and watch he did. He shifted from his position by the window to glance briefly at the girl he'd come to familiarize with. Despite being asleep, Itachi had to admit she was more beautiful than many of the kunoichi in his world. Hell, she'd even been able to heal his eyes, a feat which he'd thought impossible until up to that point. Mysteries always intrigued him, and she was a puzzle he had yet to fully unlock.

Itachi rested his head against the window, closing his eyes briefly. Perhaps a little rest was fine for now.

Early morning caused Kagome's mind to sluggishly resurface from the dark abyss of sleep. She groggily opened her eyes and blinked a few times to register that yes, it really was morning, and she was really awake. She sat up, a curtain of dark hair falling over her shoulders as she glanced around for her companion.

Itachi was nowhere to be seen. She shrugged and decided that he probably went downstairs for breakfast. What should they do today? she wondered as she changed out of her pajamas. With luck they'd be able to evade her three pesky friends Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, who were always bugging her about Hojo and boyfriends and her suspicious illnesses.

A shout of "how'd you do that?" pulled her from her thoughts. She listened as a murmur spoke, followed by a whine that undoubtedly belonged to her younger brother. Her mother's voice was heard, calling them for the morning meal, and she hurried to get down before Souta devoured it all (growing boys needed their nutrients after all).

After a brief squabble over the last bite of omelet and rice, Kagome started thinking about what she and Itachi could do during the day. Kun-loon had said that today was a Sunday; therefore there was no need for her to go to school. She did have stuff to study, but at the same time she contemplated showing Itachi around Tokyo (and hopefully avoid running into her friends and Hojo).

She eventually decided that a Tokyo tour was much more pleasant than a day of math equations and history.

Gah. It is short. I was going to make this chapter longer (adding what Kagome and Itachi did during the day), but I got lazy and decided to put the fun stuff in the next chapter. Well, this is chapter six. Reviews, please? And of course, no flames.

Jii-chan - grandpa

Onee-chan - older sister

MangaFreak15