Chapter Text
"Mama, can I go outside? I want to play with the butterflies!” Kagome called enthusiastically, bounding down the stairs.
It was mid-July and summer vacation just started. Kagome was overflowing with excitement about not having to worry about school anymore. At the age of 7, she had already decided that mathematics was her arch-nemesis. While she enjoyed her schoolwork and excelled in most subjects, numbers proved to be her main adversary. It was just the way it was. Apart from her studies, Kagome loved the outdoors, she could stay outside for hours creating her own little world to explore. The weather was particularly splendid on this day, and she decided there was a whole world of things waiting to be discovered.
Her mother often joked that Kagome must have been a butterfly in her past life because she was always fluttering about, bringing joy to everyone.
"Of course, sweetheart, but stay where I can see you, and remember not to let Buyo out," her mother replied, gently holding Kagome's baby brother, Souta, in her arms.
Buyo was the family’s newest member, a playful calico kitten. They adopted her this past January, and Kagome had immediately fallen in love with her. Buyo had a bad habit of trying to dart out the door the moment someone opened it. Consequently, the family had learned to always keep an eye out for her before venturing outside. When returning indoors, they had to squeeze in through the smallest crack while attempting to block the kitten with their legs. Buyo was still quite small so she was pretty swift at diving between even the smallest spaces.
Though Kagome thought it was fun to chase the cat around the yard, it gave her a playmate since Souta was too young to play, and her mother was too preoccupied with him to play with her anymore. Her father was not around at the moment, so he obviously was not able to play with her either.
Kagome rushed into the kitchen, exclaiming, "Thanks, Mama!" She quickly ran up to her mother and hugged her tightly. “Hi Souta,” she cooed at the baby in her mother's arms, kissing him on the cheek, which earned her a delighted gurgle. With that, she was off like a shot into the garden, grabbing her butterfly net on her way out.
Alright butterflies, get ready for me. Kagome thought as she proudly stood in the middle of her yard, her brows furrowed in determination. She ran around her yard catching butterflies to study their wings and then releasing them to watch them fly away. Sometimes, while she sat on her heels studying one butterfly, another would land on her arm, causing her to squeal with joy and fall over, making the butterfly fly away, which made her laugh.
I love butterflies.
The sun slowly set, and Kagome's butterfly adventures turned into firefly adventures. Her porch light came on, and the sound of her front door rolling open made her turn around.
"Kagome, sweetie, dinner will be ready soon. Come inside and wash— BUYO!" Her mother yelled.
Kagome giggled. “Mama, why would I wash—Oh, Buyo!” She suddenly noticed the calico kitty running in her yard.
Ohhhh …
Without a second thought, Kagome was off, chasing after the cat with laughter ringing through the air. “DON’T WORRY, MAMA, I GOT IT!” she shouted as she pursued the kitten, enjoying every moment of the playful chase. Kagome dove for Buyo, who leaped away, making a beeline for the wellhouse. Kagome’s laughter turned into a worried gasp.
“No, Buyo, please don't go in—” But it was too late. Buyo had already disappeared inside.
Aw, man. Kagome thought running to the wellhouse.
“Buyo… please come out. It's creepy in there.” She called, anxiously swaying from side to side just a foot away from the door.
She hated this place. Jii-chan said it was haunted and even though she didn’t believe a word he said, the dark and damp atmosphere alone wasn’t very inviting. It had a super old well in it. She was told to stay away because it was very dangerous. The old well within was something she was told to stay away from because it was very dangerous. She had overheard her mother discussing sealing it up, to prevent any accidents with her children.
Suddenly, a creak from inside the wellhouse made her tense, and the wooden structure moaned in response to the breeze.
"Buuyyoooooo!!” Kagome whined again. She looked behind herself to see her mother standing in the doorway of the house, holding Souta, who was now crying. Kagome knew her mother needed her to be strong, especially since her dad was gone at the moment, because he had “passed away”.
About six months ago, Kagome’s mom sat her down and told her that her dad had "passed away". This left Kagome puzzled and her mother didn’t explain much else, only that it meant he would not be coming home. But Kagome knew her dad wouldn’t just abandon them, not after he promised to take them to the lantern festival at the end of August this year. They had even pinky-promised, and you couldn't break those.
She sighed softly to herself, she missed him and he needed to come back soon because her mom needed help with Souta. Kagome turned back to the wellhouse, determination etched across her face. I gotta help Mama, she resolved to herself.
“Mama I’m getting Buyo from inside the wellhouse. I’ll be right there!” She called and then immediately slid the doors wide open and flew inside before her mother could respond.
Kagome stood just inside the doorway, looking into the dim interior of the wellhouse. The wooden deck bordered the wellhouse, and a short wooden staircase with just five steps led down to the bottom. At the base of those steps, she knew there was what looked like a small, open box - the well itself. It was a very old well, and very deep. Kagome had lost a toy down there when she was four years old. She had ventured into the wellhouse and was playing near the well's edge when her father caught her. He swiftly picked her up, but as he did, Kagome accidentally let go of her toy, watching it plummet into the depths of the well. She promptly began crying and her dad scolded her for being in here when they told her it was dangerous. She didn’t come back inside again, since this place stole your toys. And it was creepy.
Kagome took a deep breath to ready herself before going down the stairs.
As she descended the stairs, she spotted Buyo, bathed in the remaining sunlight and the glow of the lamps outside. What scared her though, was the lump of red on the edge of the well crouching to be face-to-face with her cat, who was perched next to it on the well's edge. The figure was shrouded in what appeared to be a white sheet and had two white triangles on the top.
"Buyo..." She whispered, her voice trembling. The white sheet moved aside to reveal... A face. She was staring at a person.
She took a deep breath, feeling slightly relieved that it wasn’t a ghost or a youkai, not that she believed in those.
They looked young, and Kagome thought they could be her age. The more she studied them the more apprehensive she felt, because something was off about this person. They weren’t exactly what she was used to seeing. The big golden eyes and what she now realized was white hair were nothing like the black hair and brown eyes she was used to seeing.
At the bottom of the steps Kagome stood, fidgeting with her dress.
“Hello, you shouldn’t be in here, my Mama says it’s dangerous. You should find your parent’s. If you're lost you can come with me,” she said, trying to sound as grown-up as possible.
The boy tilted his head to the side and looked confused. He didn’t speak. Instead, he looked back at the cat and poked its nose. Buyo responded by swatting at his hand, and then leaning forward to continue sniffing and inspecting him.
“Oh! Are you not Japanese?” Kagome asked, figuring if he wasn’t Japanese he wouldn’t understand her. She paused. “English… are... you?” She asked slowly, not sure if she was making sense.
The boy looked at her again, appearing even more confused, leaving Kagome flustered. English isn’t easy either. She huffed crossing her arms. She watched as Buyo began pawing at his arm, signaling that she wanted to be pet.
“If you're just going to look dumb, please leave. I need my cat and you’re weird,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
He smirked at her, amused by her antics. “Keh! I look dumb? At least I don't get scared by butterflies,” he chuckled as he moved to sit down, crossing his arms. His sudden movement startled Buyo, causing her to back away cautiously. But as she inspected his lap and decided it was a safe place to be, the two children watched as the calico kitten hop onto his lap. The boy looked down at the kitten and then back to Kagome, even more amused by the unfolding situation.
“HEY! Have you been watching me? You— I’m not scared of butterflies!” Kagome exclaimed, her frustration evident as she put her hands on her hips and stomped, causing Buyo to jump off the boy's lap and hide in the shadows of the wellhouse.
Kagome began marching towards the boy, finger pointed in accusation, “You are a weird boy and a—” She abruptly stopped when she noticed the white triangles on his head twitch away from her yelling. Not triangles, she realized, they were ears, dog ears. Her eyes widened and she straightened up, retracting her pointed finger.
The boy had wide eyes and a slightly intrigued expression. The change in her demeanour, especially when he saw her eyes go above his head, made his expression drop. Kagome, just an inch away from him, seemed frozen.
The boy leaned over the edge of the well so he towered over her. He hardened his gaze and glared at her.
She bowed her head, then knelt on the ground and put her head on the floor. “I'm so sorry, Inugami-sama. Please forgive my rudeness, and thank you for protecting Buyo." Her heart was pounding, she was the daughter of a shrine family and she disrespected a God!
His eyes widened, taken aback by her sudden display of respect, he burst into laughter and fell forward onto Kagome, making them both cry out.
“Owwww!” They both cried in unison. The boy rolled off her quickly and rubbed his forehead which had smashed into the ground behind her. Kagome rubbed her forehead which was smashed into the floor in front of her. Her eyes widened again and she turned around to the boy.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry” She kept her head down and her eyes began watering as her fear of getting her family cursed increased. He didn’t laugh this time.
“Relax, idiot, I’m not an Inugami. So quit your crying and grab your ‘Buyo’.” Now he looked at her directly, his earlier coldness gone.
Kagome lifted her head, her cheeks stained with tears, and looked into the boy's eyes. She smiled, and the tension lifted. "Oh, good," she said. Then, a thought crossed her mind and she cocked her head to the side. “So then are you a youkai? My grandpa has told me stories about them, but he’s usually lying, so I don’t think youkai exist.” She paused for a moment, continuing to think. He raised his brows in expectation of her next words, this girl is so weird, he thought. “Nope, I can’t think of another reason you would have doggy ears… wait!” She exclaimed. He leaned in close to her, hanging on to her every thought. “Are they fake?” She reached her hands out quickly and grabbed them, pulling a little.
They didn’t come off. They also twitched out of her touch as he moved his head away from her.
“Hey!” He shouted, “didn’t you learn to keep your hands to yourself?” He crossed his legs and arms and looked down and away. Kagome peered around his hair to look at his face, noticing his red cheeks.
Nobody has ever talked to me this long without telling me to die, he thought. Despite not enjoying her rough nature he was intrigued by her boldness.
As he calmed down and mustered the courage to look at her face, he saw her on her knees with her hands over her mouth, hiding a big smile that sparkled in her eyes. He saw an expression he had only ever seen on his mother's face—admiration. His ear twitched, and he stood up straighter, catching Kagome's attention.
“Someone’s coming, idiot. Get your Buyo and leave,” He instructed before standing.
“What—”
“Kagome!!” Her mother called from outside, her footsteps getting closer.
Kagome reluctantly tore her gaze away from the rude boy to look at the door.
“Mama, I’m with Buyo,” she replied, turning her back to the boy to call out the door. Unsure if she should mention the obvious non-human entity she was in the company of. She didn't want to get in trouble, after all.
Buyo was now at her legs, rubbing against them. She bent down to pick her up, then turned around to give the boy a piece of her mind, but he had vanished. When Mama appeared in the doorway of the wellhouse, she found her 7-year-old holding their cat and staring blankly.
“Kagome, stop playing around in here. I’ve told you, it’s dangerous and I already said it’s time for dinner,” her mother scolded. However, her tone softened as Kagome turned around. She noticed her daughter's red eyes, the red dot on her forehead, and her dirty knees.
“Oh, sweetie, did you fall, and I didn’t come help you?” Her mother cooed and descended the steps to hug her daughter. Kagome was confused, she didn’t fall, but she preferred her mother’s tone now instead of the scolding she had expected.
"Yes, Mama, but it's okay. I just want to go inside," Kagome replied, looking up at her mother with teary puppy dog eyes and held out her hand.
“Of course, honey. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Her mother took Buyo and grabbed Kagome's hand to lead her inside. Kagome turned around to see if there was evidence that she wasn’t alone there. He was gone.
Behind the well, the boy couldn't help but snicker. Who is this brat?