Chapter 3

Of Demons and Curses

Kagome could barely keep herself from figiting as the club activities commenced around her. What was she going to tell him? It wasn't like she could state that she'd been influenced by a demon into walking into the street! Could she? For almost the hundredth time in two hours her eyes flickered over to Tamaki. He seemed to be unaffected by their second meeting, chatting happily with the girls around him.

Kagome almost gave off a shriek of terror as someone pulled her out of her chair. Her eyes located who was doing it as she glanced up at Haruhi. The girl said nothing but pulled her out of one of the doors on the side of the room. The girl's lips were pulled down into a frown but she said nothing until the door was firmly closed.

"What are you going to tell him?" She demanded.

"I don't know! Will he believe me if I tell him the truth?" Kagome shot back, her voice holding hints of hysteria.

Haruhi sighed and thought for a moment. Maybe if she backed up the girls story? From what Kagome had told her about demons Tamaki might be in danger from this demon as well. He'd seen Tamaki with Kagome and might try and use him to get to the soft hearted Kagome. Maybe if she showed him the Shikon he'd understand. No, that wouldn't work. He didn't know that legend, he was raised in France not Japan. A frustrated sigh left the girls lips.

"We'll try and explain it to him. He knows I wouldn't lie about something like this. Now if it was the twins then he'd laugh at them." Haruhi said with a sigh.

Kagome leaned against the wall, her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do now? She reached up and touched the jewel hanging from her neck. What if he thought that she was insane? For some reason she didn't want him to think of her like that. She let out a slow sigh, the familiar energy from the jewel calming her slightly. She jumped slightly as Haruhi laid a hand on her arm.

"Kagome, it'll be fine. Tamaki's not one to judge people like that." she said softly, her eyes worried. "Stay back here and I'll bring Tamaki after the club's closed. Take some time to calm down." she said softly then opened the door and slipped out.

Kagome slid down the wall and leaned her head back. She had to think about exactly what to tell him. Did he know the Shikon legend? It would make it so much easier to explain everything if he had. She didn't want to have to tell the whole tale and relive every second of it. She would break down if that happened, there was no doubt about that in her mind. As she thought about it she pulled the jewel and it's chain from around her neck and cradled it to her chest. She fought off the tears that threatened to pour out of her eyes as images of her friends leaked past her walls and presented themselves before her minds eye.

A sound from further into the darkness of the room made her tense up. She clutched the jewel tighter to her chest and peered into the darkness nervously. She doubted that the demon would dare enter a school full of humans but then again it'd been on a crowded street. The sound grew closer but so did a light. It looked like the flickering light of a candle. As the light came around a corner, she now saw that this wasn't a room but unlit hallway, she saw a teen wearing a black cloak and a black wig while carrying a candle. He paused for a moment as he spotted her and they stared at each other for a moment. His eyes traveled down to the jewel held in her loosened hands. His blue eyes widened as his eyes traveled back to Kagome's face. She could see the recognition dawning on his face as he came to kneel in front of her. She could see some sort of puppet shaped like a cat on his hand but her attention was brought back to her face as he spoke.

"Is something wrong Miko-sama?" he asked in a soft voice.

Her eyes widened and her hands tightened around the jewel once more. She couldn't help the tensing of every muscle in her body. Nothing good ever came from someone calling her Miko-sama in this time. Her eyes took in all of the features of the teen. She could see a stray blond hair peaking out from under the black wig. She also noted the Ouran uniform he wore under the cloak.

"H..how did you know?" she breathed quietly, her eyes widening.

"Because you're holding the Shikon no Tama, so you could be none other than the time traveling Miko from the legend." he said with a small chuckle. "I'm Umehito Nekozawa, but you can just call me Nekozawa." he said, his voice a little bit more serious.

"I'm Kagome...and please don't call me Miko-sama in front of anyone other than Haruhi." Kagome said, a little dazed by the person in front of her. He seemed like a strange character to say the least.

Nekozawa chuckled and continued to watch her. He seemed to think for a moment before placing a hand on hers.

"I'd like to say that I'm sorry for your loss." he said quietly.

Kagome stared at him for a moment, not quite understanding what he was saying. He seemed to understand her confusion and hurried to explain.

"My family holds a set of scrolls that gives a detailed record of the legend of the Shikon." he said softly.

Kagome nodded, finally understanding what he meant. She stared down in her lap and blinked several times to hold back the tears.

"Th...thank you." she murmured quietly. "Um...are they waiting for you in the Host Club," she asked, nervously glancing up at him.

He chuckled once more and shook his head.

"No, I was going to take a few minutes to say hello but now I have to get back to my own club activities." he said in a light voice. "If you want you can come with me instead of sitting here alone in the dark," he added in a hopeful voice.

Kagome couldn't help but smile at him, not very often you met someone who believed in the legend and even rarer to find someone who recognized her as the miko from the legend. She shook her head and Nekozawa let out a disappointed sigh as he rose to his feet. He picked up his candle and gave her a small wave as he disappeared down the hall once more. As she watched him go she could feel the difference in her mood from before he came around the corner. She smiled to herself and leaned her head against the wall. Nothing like meeting a fellow oddball to lift the spirits. She glanced at the door and realized that most of the noise from inside of the room had stopped. The club must have been closing down.

As she thought this the door creaked open and Haruhi emerged, pulling Tamaki along with her. She could hear the other members of the club calling out to them, asking where they were going, but Haruhi ignored them and closed the door behind them. Tamaki stared down at Kagome, his eyes confused. She motioned for him to sit down and Haruhi moved to sit next to Kagome.

"Kagome..." he started but Kagome held up her hand and shook her head.

He sank onto the floor and watched her carefully. Haruhi had acted like there was some huge secret that was about to be revealed and that confused him. Surely Kagome's accident with the bus wasn't that big of a secret! He watched her closely as she struggled to find the right words.

"Tamaki...do you believe in Demons and Curses?" she asked slowly.

Tamaki stared at her and nodded his head once. Of course he believed in them! His father had told him that if he didn't behave the spider demon from the Shikon legend would come and eat him! But in light of all of the things Tamaki had found out since moving to Japan maybe that wasn't true. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a relieved sigh that forced its self from both girls lips.

"Senpai, have you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?" Haruhi asked carefully, watching him with a hawk like gaze.

He stared at her for a moment. The way this conversation was not going the way he'd imagined it. He stared at Kagome, wondering what she held in her hands that she had cradled against her chest. She noticed and stared at him with cautious eyes.

"Yeah, my dad told me the story when I was younger," he said cautiously, trying to figure out where this was going.

Of course he'd heard the story of the jewel and the Miko, Hanyou and others that fought to reclaim the shards from the spider demon? As he stared at Kagome she slowly opened her hands and showed him what was cupped in her hands. The jewel glowed gently, casting a soft pink light over the three of them. His eyes grew wide and his eyes slowly found their way to Kagome's face. She was staring down at the jewel with a mixture of sadness and joy. His brain slowly kicked into gear and he tried to piece things together in his mind. Could this seriously be the same thing from that old story his father told him at bed time? If so then wouldn't that make Kagome...? He stopped that train of thought before it left the station. If Kagome was the girl from the legend then she'd have to be over four hundred years old and if he remembered correctly the girl from the legend had been human, not demon.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, his eyes slipping back down to the jewel.

"Yes, and the reason I was in that road two days ago was because of a demon that somehow influenced my mind into thinking I'd be better off dead." Kagome said, her voice very soft.

Haruhi caught the things that were going through Kagome's mind as she said that and wrapped an arm around her. For the hundredth time that day she found herself silently cursing Inuyasha. He should be here to protect Kagome, to keep her from thinking that everything was her fault. Haruhi may not have liked him but she knew him well enough to know that he'd never allow the demon that had done this to her cousin to remain existing for more than ten seconds.

"Kagome, it wasn't your fault!" she said gently, yet firmly at the same time.

Tamaki moved closer to her, raising a hand to place it on hers. He didn't know how to help her. It was clear to him that this jewel was a burden to the girl. For some reason he found himself unable to disbelieve what she was saying. It might have been the fact that Haruhi believed her but he didn't think it was. You didn't get that saddened look from something that didn't exist. The more he thought about it the more he believed her. She made more sense to him now that this secret had been reveled. He also realized that he must be one of the only people to ever find out about this.

"I don't know what you may think is your fault but I'm positive that Haruhi's right. It couldn't possibly be your fault." he said gently, trying to make the look of deep sorrow leave her eyes. He didn't like when people were sad, it made him feel like he should be doing something to help.

"Yes it is!" she cried out, clutching the jewel to her chest once more.

All of the walls she'd placed around those memories and those thoughts were crumbling. She should have known that talking about this, explaining it, would do this. She couldn't help the tears that were now freely falling down her face. She'd let them all down! She hadn't done everything she could to save them and now they were dead. She'd never see any of her closest friends again! She'd never see the first man she'd fallen in love with again! The poor child that she'd decided after the fight she was going to raise was now dead, his whole life ripped from him. It was all her fault!

"They're dead because I was too much of a coward to do everything in my power to defeat Naraku! I hesitated and he killed them! Inuyasha died protecting me because I was too much of a coward to help him!" she sobbed, pulling her knee's up to her chest and clutching the jewel tighter.

It was her only link to all of the people she'd never see again. The only thing that she had left of them and their hard work. The only thing she was good for now was making sure she brought it with her to the after life and prevented another Naraku from coming into power. She stiffened as she felt an arm wrap around her but didn't pull away as Tamaki pulled her to his chest. He stared over her head pleadingly to Haruhi, praying that she knew a way to calm the raven haired youth down. She shook her head, feeling just as helpless as Tamaki. She didn't know how help calm the girl. The sat their in silence for a while, letting Kagome cry herself out. It didn't take that long but as she began to calm down Tamaki didn't let go of her.

From what he'd just heard she was the girl from the story and surprisingly that didn't bother him. She'd explain everything to him when she felt herself ready. As he ran a soothing hand over her back he couldn't help but realize how much he hadn't really given a thought to. Meeting Kagome he realized how sheltered his life had been. Two days ago the most he had to worry about was trying to make Haruhi forgive him for something he hadn't even realized he'd done. While Kagome had seen more than any person alive at the moment. He patted her back and glanced over at Haruhi. She was staring at him with a strange expression on her face. He couldn't place it but it looked as if she wanted to be angry with someone but there was no one to be angry with.

Kagome sniffed quietly, more in control of herself. She felt a little bit of embarrassment at the fact that she'd broken down like that in front of someone she barely knew but for some reason she didn't want to push him away. She hadn't felt this safe since a few days before the fight with Naraku, but even then she hadn't felt exactly this safe. At that time she'd been worried about who Inuyasha was going to choose. She felt a vicious stab of irony, he'd ended up with Kikyo in the end anyway. She fought the sudden urge to laugh, she really needed to get a better hold on herself. She forced herself to pull out of Tamaki's arms and sit up straight. Haruhi's hand made it way into Kagome's and she felt another stab of shame, she hadn't meant for Haruhi to see that either. She didn't want to put that kind of thing on the girl. She didn't want the girl to worry about her more than she already did. She took a very deep breath and turned her eyes back to Tamaki and gave him a weak smile.

"Unfortunately, that's not the worst part of this little tale." she said, her voice tinged with humor she didn't feel.

Tamaki stared at her for a moment, not understanding. How could anything get any worse? There was a demon after her because of some jewel she'd probably never wanted. To make the demon even more evil he was bringing up things that Kagome would rather not think of. How could things get worse? Kagome could see the confusion and hesitated for a moment in telling him. Maybe she could just let be blissfully unaware. They say ignorance was bliss right. Not if it got him killed a little voice, sounding vaguely like Miroku, chimed happily in her head.

"The demon's going to be pissed that you saved me...," she stared, lowering her eyes to her lap. "He's going to come after you to." she said slowly raising her eyes to his face.

He stared at her for a moment then nodded, understanding what she meant. It didn't scare him, well maybe a little but he sure as hell wasn't going to let her know that.

"I understand," he murmured, he'd deal with it when it came time to deal with it. One step at a time and all.

Some deep dark hole in the ground

"Kenji-sama, I have the information you seek."

Kenji turned his head to the side, staring at the human in his room. A slow smirk pulled at his lips as he lifted himself into a sitting position. This was turning out to be a good day.

"You found out who the girl's rescuer is?" he drawled slowly.

The human nodded and handed him the file in her hands. He smirked again and motioned for her to leave the room. She bowed low and disappeared quickly. The humans in his lair knew better than to linger too long after they were dismissed but he would have forgiven this human, she'd been with him for the past ten years and he found himself vaguely fond of her. He pushed those thoughts away and opened the file. He felt a flicker of sadistic satisfaction as he saw that this was indeed the human who'd foiled his most well laid plan. No matter, he'd get rid of the annoyance soon enough.

"Tamaki eh? Too bad, he looks like he might have had a bright future," he said with a menacing chuckle, flipping through the file leisurely.

At the back of the file lay a papers on his actual target. As his eyes skimmed over the paper he frowned. Something had changed since the last time he'd looked at the girls file. His eyes flickered over the paper once more and he let out a low chuckle. This just made things so much easier, killing two birds etc etc. It seemed that his little Miko and the knight in dull armor were now going to the same school. Easier for him to pick them off. How accommodating they were. Another chuckle left his lips as he rose from the bed. He pulled his long dark hair into a pony tail and grinned into the mirror. His luck seemed to be going his way once more.

"Don't worry little Miko, I'll make sure you and you're new prince get to see your friends very very soon." he drawled, picking up the file and gazing down on Kagome's picture before closing the file and leaving the room. He had work to do.

It's finally finished and it's the longest thing I've ever written! I'm so proud of myself [ : It's six pages long in word. Anyway it took longer to write than normal, I was having trouble trying to figure out how to properly word the whole thing. I hope all of you like it. I'd also like to thank all of you who read and reviewed, it makes me happy to see that people like my story [ :

Also I'd like to know what you think of Kenji so far, I'm going to go into more detail about him in later chapters but at the moment he's one of my favorite evil characters that I've ever made XD

Until next time

~Sailor Emerald