Brushing her hair, washing her face...
'Is this right?'
Kikyo tried to remember how Kagome usually styled her hair. She stood before the mirror, comb in hand, carefully arranging the dark strands. Since she was currently inhabiting Kagome's body, she felt obligated to maintain the girl's usual appearance as best she could.
"Breakfast is ready, Kagome!"
"Coming..."
After changing into what Kagome called a "school uniform," Kikyo walked to the dining table and took her seat.
"Huh?"
Kagome's mother paused for a moment, noticing a subtle shift in her daughter's aura. She didn't say anything immediately, but the change was undeniable.
"Big sister, when is Inuyasha-niichan coming back?"
"..."
At her younger brother Sota's question, Kikyo's hand froze mid-air, a piece of food held between her chopsticks. She was momentarily speechless.
"Probably... the day after tomorrow?"
"Yay! That's great!"
Sota didn't notice the difference in her tone, but Kagome's mother confirmed her suspicion. The girl sitting across from her wasn't Kagome.
"Alright, Sota, don't pester your sister while she's eating."
"Okay!"
"!"
Kikyo stole a glance at the smiling woman. She knew she had been found out, but given the circumstances, she wasn't quite sure how to explain herself. Kagome's mother didn't press the issue, even as Kikyo finished her meal and prepared to leave, which offered the ancient miko a small measure of relief.
"Big sister..."
As Kikyo walked down the steps of the Higurashi Shrine, Sota appeared behind her, his expression one of bewilderment.
"What is it, Sota?" Kikyo asked, trying her best to mimic Kagome's usual cadence.
"Nothing... it's just that you seem so much quieter than usual. Did you and Inuyasha-niichan have another fight?"
He was clearly trying to be a peacemaker.
"It's nothing like that."
"Uh, okay... if you say so."
At the "cold" response, Sota looked at her flat expression and became even more convinced of his theory.
'Inuyasha-niichan must have really made her mad this time!'
He had never seen his sister look so distant and stoic.
"Haha, well, it's good to see you didn't oversleep and end up late today!"
Seeing that he couldn't bridge the gap, Sota offered a nervous laugh and made his escape, silently praying for Inuyasha's safety.
'Does Kagome... often oversleep?'
'And if she does... how does she usually handle it?'
Kikyo watched Sota leave, then turned her attention to the world outside the shrine. She began to walk toward where Kagome's "school" was supposed to be, but after a few minutes, she realized a very serious problem.
She had no idea where the school was.
While she had awakened within Kagome's body, their memories were not shared. She had barely managed to navigate breakfast; navigating a modern city was an entirely different beast.
Luckily, she was a woman of resources.
Map.
She could cross-reference the name of the school from Kagome's textbooks. After that, it was just a matter of finding it on a map. Whether she would be late or not was a concern for later.
"Achoo!"
"Did you catch a cold, Inuyasha?"
"Don't be stupid! How could I?"
"Anyway... Rikuo and the others are gone, right?"
"Yeah. Said they wanted to get back to their own worlds and check on things."
"That's a shame. Kagome-san didn't even get to say goodbye."
"Tch. It's her own fault. She insisted on 'testing' that drink Kirinmaru brought for Moroha's sake. That stuff is too strong for a human. With the way she was drinking, she probably won't wake up until noon."
Inuyasha and Miroku sat on the porch of a village house, looking uncharacteristically idle.
"It's strange... having nothing to do."
"Tch. I still have to build a house soon. I'm going to be plenty busy."
"I see you're finally developing the sense of responsibility of an adult."
"Shut up! I can't just hang around the village doing nothing forever, can I?"
Inuyasha pointed toward a patch of empty land, glaring at Miroku. Miroku, on the other hand, was perfectly relaxed. Now that the world was safe, he was already planning his marriage to Sango. The two of them were moving toward their future with a natural fluidity.
Inuyasha, however...
'No, no, no... NO!!!'
'It's way too early to marry Inuyasha!'
Kagome's adamant stance on the matter had left Inuyasha completely bewildered. He remembered his father's expectant look and felt the pressure. He wanted to see "Moroha" as much as anyone, but if Kagome said "no," he just had to wait.
Luckily, as a half-demon with a shared lifespan, he had plenty of time.
"By the way... are you still able to pass through the Bone-Eater's Well freely?"
"Yeah, no problem."
"Good to know."
Miroku nodded at the answer, then moved on to the next topic.
"Hey, Inuyasha. I'm heading out to a rich merchant's estate outside the village this afternoon to perform an exorcism. You want to come?"
"Can't you handle it yourself?"
"I could, but... you know how it is. I need to start saving up rice and money. If I tell the merchant the demon is particularly powerful and I brought a special consultant, they'll usually pay for two people."
"You black-hearted monk..."
"I'm saying this for your sake, too. You're going to marry Kagome-sama eventually, aren't you? We'll split the reward fifty-fifty. If you don't want to come, fine."
"Tch! Fine! I'll come!"
As usual, Inuyasha was a sucker for a soft touch. Despite his grumbling, he realized he was currently "penniless." He figured he might as well start building a "nest egg" for the future. He could probably ask his father for wealth, but he had too much pride for that. He would earn it himself.
Hell.
This was absolute hell.
Kikyo's expression remained stoic, but internally, she was reaching her breaking point. She had made it to the school, but she was now facing a challenge she was entirely unprepared for.
She had lost count of how many times she'd been given "confused," "suspicious," or "outright weird" looks by the other students. She understood why; her behavior and presence were fundamentally different from the bubbly, energetic Kagome.
She had no idea what Kagome's social circle looked like. A boy named "Hojo" had approached her with a familiar friendliness, only to be met with Kikyo's icy silence.
The "best friends" who crowded around her during the breaks were even more baffling. Their constant chatter and gossip were like a foreign language.
(Kagome, are you in a bad mood?)
(Your vibe is so cold today!)
(You're like a totally different person!)
Exhausted. She was so, so exhausted.
Trying to communicate with these people as "Kagome" was a Herculean task. She struggled even to form the right sentences. She had never imagined she would find herself in such a predicament.
And then there were the classes.
She could read many of the characters in the textbooks, but the strange symbols and mathematical formulas were incomprehensible. She had sat through two classes so far, and realized the teachers operated much like the old scholars, calling on students by name to answer questions.
She'd been lucky that the last class was history; she had known enough to give a passing answer. If it had been anything else, she would have been exposed immediately.
Kikyo found herself praying--for the first time in centuries--for Kagome to wake up. She had never been this desperate for anyone's company.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]