Summary: One small thought, an action, and suddenly history has been changed. Kagome realizes the jewel is too precious to be lying outside without protection, so she picks it up before the Crow even had a chance to. Consequence: The jewel was never destroyed and Kagome has to get used to her new position. Why do they keep calling her -sama and Okashira anyway? AU. Blend of both manga and anime.

Authors note: I'm excited for this one. I have BIG plans for it! I will add OC's as I see fit, since this will be an epic journey exploring the concepts of youkai, ghosts and holy energy. It will be fun, I promise! Or, at least, if you like that sort of thing.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

o0o0o0o0o0o

Chapter 1

Kagome slammed into the ground, grunting from the force. She rolled with it and was barely able to avoid the sword that whizzed through the air shortly after. She clambered up, sparing a second to look back at the large, looming and dangerous man. "Come on!" Kagome called frantically, tugging the one she recognized as one of her kidnappers to follow her. He halted besides her, grimacing in pain, and she lent her shoulder for him to lean on. She spared a worried look for him. "This isn't the moment for spacing out!"

Those that had been in a state of shock at their leader's sudden change, and the death of two of their fellow comrades, finally regained some sense after her shout. They began to move. Kagome was a bit surprised that they elected to follow her, the one he was actually trying to kill, but since there was power in number, she thought that maybe she should just run and not think about it.

So she ran as fast as she could with her kidnapper heavily leaning on her.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anywhere to escape his swings. The entrance had been blocked and the deranged leader was in the middle, leaving them no choice but to try and duck from the long range of his sword. It was hard, especially when a man weighing twice as much as her was relying on her support. There wasn't much else they could do though. Even Kagome could see that the men couldn't overpower him in this state, shocked as they were, and it wasn't like she could pick up a weapon and start swinging. It would be a bad idea all-around considering Kagome's clumsiness, but she couldn't help but think that the situation might be desperate enough for her to try.

She glanced back and paled at how quickly the large monstrosity of man lumbered behind them despite his sheer size.

"Give me... The jewel," he wheezed, his eyes an unhealthy yellow and unfocused as he said it.

"Never!" She shouted back fiercely.

He lurched forward, and Kagome yelped as she had to scramble back with the rest of the thugs. "Give... me..." He repeated in a wheeze, sounding like the mere effort of talking and swinging the sword was too much for him. His body swayed where he stood, but his arm had a mind of its own as it drew back to slash at them again.

She darted to the side, realizing that they were walking in a tight circle inside the old building. Who would tire first? She wondered.

… Probably her, Kagome realized since she was already winded.

"Why is it always me?" She cried, clutching the jewel at her neck and lamenting the fact she was wearing it. Everyone seemed to want it, and not even youkai. Even humans seeking the power would want it, as Kaede had said.

"Okashira! Help us!" A thug said as he looked pleadingly into her eyes. She vaguely remembered he had been smoking with a leering grin when she had been kicked in. Her temper flared.

"What?! You...!" She growled, partly from disbelief and partly from anger. Weren't they the grown men with experience from this sort of thing? She was just from the modern times, not a savior or anything! "And I'm not your Okashira!" She bit out when she remembered what they had called her. The nerve of this people!

"Watch out!" The smoker pushed her to a run again, and she noticed the sword that was stuck halfway through the wall where she had been standing a second ago. She gulped at the narrow miss.

"Thanks," she said weakly.

Doing a sort of weird twist that entailed more of throwing himself at the sides and still somehow managing to stand on his two feet, the leader got out his sword in the process. Kagome slowly backed away. "Give me... The Shikon no Tama!" He rasped out again.

Clutching the pink jewel, wondering absently why something holy seemed to be cursing her, she was about to shout out another denial when she noticed the crack he had made in the wall. A rather large crack, in fact...

A proverbial light bulb lit up over her head.

Coercing another thug to take over and help her halting kidnapper, she turned to the towering form with the little bravado she had managed to scrounge up. The sight of him made her skin crawl, and she couldn't help but think there was something inherently wrong with him. Like a whisper at the edge of her senses, it whispered messages of taint, death and parasite.

Steeling herself, she took a few quick steps to the left, waving her arms to catch his undivided attention. "Fine!" She shouted. "You want it? Then go and get it!" Kagome threw the necklace away and out of the smallest window she had ever had the misfortune to see. Luckily enough, the jewel sailed freely out of the building, but she couldn't help but lament the window anyway. Bigger and they might have escaped that way, but as it were he was staring in the direction it went, swaying slightly and looking quite confused.

The thugs, however, were staring at her like she had gone nuts. Maybe she had. But a psychiatrist would just have to wait. She wants to be freed first!

"Now!" Kagome yelled, pointing at the wall. "Let's all push against the wall!"

They threw themselves at the wall as one body, an ominous creak grumbling from the ceiling, and she startled. It didn't budge, but what surprised her most was that they obeyed her without thought. Too bad it wasn't enough.

"Okashira! It's no good!" One cried out while the others were looking at her for more orders.

Kagome only stared at them in incredulity for a heartbeat longer. Feeling rather than hearing a heavy thud behind her, she prayed that the unstable roof hadn't decided to pick now of all times to crumble. Turning around, she saw it was only a large sword being swung at her, and her relief was short lived. Kagome closed her eyes tightly and shied away.

She heard a crash, and the pain that she had been expecting never came. Opening her eyes, she saw red and silver dart across her vision. Inuyasha? She gasped. He jumped in front of her, the sword shattering at the contact of his red robe.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of him. "You came here to –" she began with a smile, but the hanyou whipped around, glaring at her.

"Where is the Shikon no Tama?!"

"– not save me," she continued in deadpan, narrowing her eyes at him. He looked like he was about to repeat himself, but the leader stirred from where he had fallen and he clicked his tongue instead, annoyed. Turning around, he spread his hands and showed his sharp claws, a silent warning.

"You reek, you disgusting crow!" Inuyasha bared his teeth, and she amended her statement to a maybe not so silent warning.

"Okashira!" Kagome turned to see several of the men waving at her urgently, casting distressed looks at Inuyasha. "Please escape while you have the chance!" She thought about correcting their misconception that he was evil, but it probably wasn't worth her breath at the moment.

Glancing back at the silver mane, Kagome decided that he might as well take care of it when he had been so rude. So she nodded and made her way towards them. The hole Inuyasha had made when crashing inside was perfect for escaping, though all the debris was a bit difficult to climb over. When she was near enough, they quickly grabbed her arms and hauled her over a particularly sharp and high rock. Smiling in thanks, she turned and did the same to two others that had let her go first.

"Where are we going?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder for any sound of fighting.

Turning to the men, she noticed how they traded uncomfortable looks, but it was quickly hidden when a thug she didn't recognize nodded to the other side of the house. "We have horses," he said in explanation.

Kagome probably thought it would be rude to point out that they didn't answer, so she only made a vague noncommittal sound.

They quickly walked around the house, and she winced when a particularly hard crash came from within. Inuyasha did seem to be a noisy fighter.

Four or so of the men noticed the direction of her eyes, and they flinched instead, taking almost an involuntary step the other way from the sounds.

Kagome kept quiet about that reaction too, not wanting to bring something to light they clearly didn't want to talk about. But she couldn't really repress the gut feeling she had that they didn't have anywhere to go, now that their leader had literally gone rogue.

"If you want, you guys can always come with me back to the village. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you slept there for awhile."

The words were out before she even knew it, and she stopped to look at the men who had gone utterly silent. The looks in their eyes which she managed to seize unsettled her, so she turned around and began walking again. She didn't regret asking, though.

Kagome only took a few steps before she saw something glint in her peripheral. She came to a sudden stop from her brisk walk, squinting her eyes.

"Okashira?" A surprised voice called.

She waved over her shoulder absently and told them that they could go ahead, taking a step closer to the spot that had glinted. There, lying innocently among high grass, the Shikon no Tama rested peacefully. Kagome sighed in both relief and despair.

She had it again in her possession.

Picking it up reluctantly and setting it around her neck again, she walked to stand with the group that had stopped around their horses. She noted with confusion that they weren't tending to the animals like she had thought, but they were instead staring. Then she noticed that they were staring at her chest, and she blushed furiously. Kagome wanted to shout hentai at them, and then storm away. What had she been thinking, anyway? These thugs were the ones that had kidnapped her to that insane leader, and she sure noticed those leering grins when she had been lying on the ground! Their intentions had been a little too clear.

A sensible part of her pointed out that their eyes weren't lecherous, so she stopped herself with a frown.

Then what..? Oh! They were staring at the Shikon no Tama.

No sooner than Kagome had realized that did the one closest ask her slowly and almost reverently, "Is that... the Holy Jewel?"

If she had been stared at before, she was now enduring positively drilling stares.

She dragged her nod out, her eyes darting between them suspiciously. How hadn't they noticed? What did they think that madman had been demanding back in the rundown house? Another jewel with the same name? Something was up, she could feel it. "Yes?" Her answer came out as a question, accusing in its forwardness. "Wasn't that why you kidnapped me in the first place?"

They at least had the grace to avert their eyes, ashamed, but the smoker shook his head vehemently in denial in the same motion. "No. He only said we were to take the woman that dressed with a short kimono." He shot a meaningful look to her school clothes, eyes lingering suspiciously long at her legs.

Kagome squeaked a little bit at that, tugging down her skirt. This was a perfectly normal outfit, thank you very much, but suddenly she felt it didn't cover nearly enough. He gave her an apologetic glance. "I deeply and humbly ask for your forgiveness, Okashira. We were only following orders." They bowed as one, deeply and respectfully; even the kidnapper that had probably sprained his ankle, and she felt the urge to slam her palm to her face. First the villagers bowing, now the kidnappers?

It creeps her out that she might actually become used to this.

"It's okay, apology accepted," she assured them hurriedly, hoping they would stop with the too deep bow. "But how many times must I tell you that I'm NOT your Okashira! My name is –"

"Wench!" A voice roared, and her smile twitched.

"Inuyasha?"

She turned just in time to catch the sight of a crow with three eyes taking flight, and she wondered where that had come from. Then Inuyasha hopped out in all his enraged glory, coming for her. The thugs shifted uneasily in her peripheral, and the horses whined softly in distress. "Wench!" He growled, further proving what animal characteristics he had inherited as he prowled forward. "How dare you leave me there to fight and instead go with them, you filthy –"

Her eyes narrowed in a split second, and she stood her ground firmly. "Osuwari," she snapped, glaring at him. He slammed into the ground several feet away with enough force to rattle it. She stomped forward. "Listen here, and listen well; my name is Ka-go-me! You hear me? Kagome!"

Unknown to Kagome, the group of thieves was staring at her wide eyed, their view of her continuing to shift as every second passed. They shared a glance among themselves.

Not that one couldn't tell from just looking at them, but they had been thugs and thieves for quite some time now. Being immediately marked as something bad could sometimes have advantages, and one of those were the things they learned. People tended to have loose tongues in their company, so knowledge of money was first and foremost for them. How else would they know who the most profitable person to rob would be?

Looking at the young woman – Kagome was it? – they could easily detect signs of rich heritage from experience alone. It probably helped they had a keen eye for travelers with wealthy pockets, and this time it was used rigorously.

The kimono was made of fine cloth, the seams flawless and the colors vibrant, though it was a bit too short and left almost nothing to the imagination. Maybe it was some sort of odd sleeping wear? She had been grabbed in the early morning, after all. Add that with her long and thick hair, the Shikon no Tama, her unblemished skin and soft hands, those vibrant blue eyes, her control of the youkai... It all painted a picture they couldn't deny.

Two of the more religious ones began to shift on the spot, casting nervous glances over their shoulder as if expecting something to swoop in and devour them. Another bravely stepped forward, but stopped after only one step. "O-Okashira?" His voice faltered.

She paused in her verbal berating of the youkai and straightened, looking over at them inquiringly. "Hm?"

Her back was naturally straight, and her posture looked immaculate from their point of views. It only furthered their belief.

The smoker that had called her Okashira the first time hadn't really thought of her like that, but had hoped that the name would appease her and maybe get her to help them. At that moment, she had seemed to be the one most in control while they had been frozen. The others in the group had heard and understood on some level, following his lead regardless. Besides, if push came to shove, she was the slowest of them and could serve as an excellent distraction for their former leader. The sick and the women was always the first to go, so it had only felt natural.

But there was just something about her... There wasn't really a word for it, though the feeling was what drove them to at least follow her. In hindsight, that trust had been well placed.

They started to cold sweat when the pieces all fell neatly. They had kidnapped a high noble! They're going to be executed any moment now!

Again, they bowed deeply. "We are profoundly sorry, Kagome-sama!"

Wait, what?

She quickly backtracked, almost stumbling over a stone in her haste. Sama, she wailed internally, where had that come from? She flailed her hands, almost as if she had been attacked by flies. "No, there is nothing to be sorry about! You've already apologized! Please stop bowing!" She was obviously flustered, looking around in reflex to see if anyone else could see her embarrassment.

Their heads stubbornly pointed to the ground. "We did not know you were a noble!" Another voice she couldn't quite remember continued undeterred. "Please see it in your vast and deep heart to forgive us!"

Kagome blinked in shock at the old and very formal speech they were using, but she quickly shook it off for the new realization. Her, a noble? She was in disbelief and Inuyasha seemed to agree from where he had crawled up from his hole. "Bah! Like this wench could be a noble. Of all humans, she must be the most unworthy one I have ever met!"

There was a deafening pause for everybody except the hanyou that had caused it.

She blinked.

She digested the words.

After a moment, she finally decided that she took offense at that.

Kagome rose to her full height, and the gang of thieves watched on with wide eyes as they vacated from their bow. "And why can't I be a noble?" She inquired sweetly, a smile fixed firmly on her face.

His ears swiveled, perhaps sensing danger, and he frowned. "You're not womanly enough," he bluntly said.

Her smile disappeared and she bristled. Like that was a good enough reason!

"Inuyasha? Osuwari." He slammed into the ground again, and Kagome tilted her head up, looking down her nose at him with icy blue eyes. She felt childish for thinking it, let alone saying it out loud, but it was a rightful indignation that she felt should be shown in the same manner he had done. With a drawl, she said, "And you're not worthy enough to ever be inside a court of mine."

While she internally fretted at her childish remark, the bandits were speechless. That tone of voice was well remembered by their countless encounters from before of arrogant ladies and lords, and it only furthered their belief that she was of noble birth. Maybe even higher.

Kami, what had they done?

"Besides," she added, tilting her head and speaking more to herself when she had calmed down, "if anything, I'm more of a Miko." She lived in a shrine, after all.

Kagome continued to pour salt into wounds she couldn't see. The men paled beside her and gulped. Either they had the blessing of the gods, or they had inquired the wrath of one. A Miko? The thugs wailed internally. They kidnapped a Miko?! Seeing the glint of pink, they paled even more as they remembered the jewel and connected the dots belatedly. She was the new Shikon no Miko.

Kami, forgive them.

At least the priestesses were usually more forgiving than the nobles. Maybe they could keep their heads?

The group almost slammed into the ground at the same speed it had taken for Inuyasha to get down, bowing low in a dogeza. "Okashira!"

She sighed in frustration, turning to them. "What is it?" Before they could say anything, she crossed her arms with a glower, her temper flared by the hanyou's display. She really wasn't in the mood for this, so she barely noticed their bowing forms that would have made her flustered in any other moment. "And don't call me Okashira! My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me!" What was it with everyone and calling her everything else but her name? Was it that hard to remember? She didn't even ask for them to call her by her family name!

They visibly struggled with themselves before they came to a compromise. "Kagome-sama!"

She sighed quietly, fingers twitching. She supposed it would have to do.

"Forgive our lowly deeds and persons, for we are not worth the air we breathe!" The smoker almost shouted out his apology, and Kagome was again boggled with the formal speech.

"We deeply and humbly ask for your apology," another picked up where the other left off, "and we can only hope you deem us deserving enough to grant us this selfish wish:"

"Please forgive us!"

She didn't quite know what to do, so she only stared. Inuyasha had picked himself up sometime during their bowing, and was now standing beside her in silence. She looked at him in surprise. He glared right back, but it felt muted from his usual vehemence.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

"W-what?"

Inuyasha jerked his head in their direction. "You're a Miko, right?" He stated in a gruff voice. "What you gonna do?"

"But I'm not really..." She trailed off, furrowing her brows.

The bowing men, nervous from the lengthy silence, once again spoke up through a single spokesperson. "What can we do to earn your forgiveness, Miko-sama?"

That snapped her right out of it. "No no no, you're misunderstanding!" Her usual bravery was blown to the wind with the sight of them in the dogeza. She was a modern girl first and foremost, and what might seem normal for them was certainly not for her. She felt slightly embarrassed for their sake. "There is nothing to forgive, and you already have it if you insist so much! Please, stop bowing!"

"We... we already have your forgiveness?" His voice was hesitant, and she hastened to reassure him.

"Yes, yes, of course!" She crouched, careful that her skirt wouldn't open, and sat in front of them, pleading with her eyes. "So please sit up."

She was puzzling to them, and they couldn't quite figure her out.

Kagome was acting like a noble, was a Miko, and despite all this still insists on bringing herself to their level, quite literally too. It was unheard of, and they stared at her even though it was rude and most probably forbidden. She was a noble woman, after all. Didn't she say so to the insulting youkai?

So yes, she was puzzling to them... but also oddly refreshing.

"Please allow me to follow you wherever you go, Okashira."

Her head snapped to the determined man with a resounding crack. Say what?!

Her emotions clearly showed on her face, for he cleared his throat and reverted his eyes uncomfortably. "Please," he repeated, almost softly if it hadn't been for the slight wheeze in his voice. "I would be honored."

"Why?"

It was the only question that stood out in her chaotic mind. Why do they continue to bow? Why do they call her Okashira? Why do they think she deserves the -sama suffix? Why was she sent to this time period? And why did this happen to her?!

He only understood one question.

"Because I would be honored," he repeated with a firm tone, turning to meet her eyes. A slight awe invaded his features as he continued, "Kagome-sama, forgive me, but I don't think you understand. The fact that you're asking me that is enough. Others would not."

Murmurs and shared glances rose from the group in front of her, and suddenly they all repeated what the first man had said.

"Please allow me to follow you, Okashira!"

She was staring again, lost at what to do.

Kagome didn't really know how long she stood there gaping, but Inuyasha was the one that broke it at last. "Keh, you foolish humans, needing someone else to follow... And you choose this wench?" He laughed, quick and short, but narrowed his eyes when he saw those that could draw their swords had pointed them at him.

"Don't you dare talk about Okashira like that, youkai!"

He bared his teeth, growling. It did the trick for her tired mind to reboot itself.

"Don't." Kagome said, sighing. "He's not hurting anybody, only acting a bit immature. You all are," she added when they only tensed.

His ears swiveled and he shot a venomous glare towards her, but he didn't say anything back as they hesitantly sheathed their weapons at her admonishment.

"Keh," he spat out and jumped away. The thugs were immediately on alert again with several shouts, their swords pointed in the direction he had jumped from.

Her palm met her face in a subdued smack. "This won't be easy," she mumbled.

A/N Prologue over! Please tell me your thoughts so that I know exactly how I should destroy your hopes, alright?

Thanks for reading, see you at the next update! (And you're lucky. I have several chapters stored on this story, so it won't be too long.)