It started with a fight.
Dark, messy, and they have to give it their all.
In a fight for their life, when not only their own life, but also the lives of others depend on it, they have no other choice.
An attack flew out of nowhere, and the very air seemed to explode.
The dark purple, tar-like clouds drew closer into a circle around the group, who were fighting off a small army of the undead.
'Where the hell are you, Naraku?' One shouted, swinging a large, heavy-set sword and slicing three clean in half, ignoring the fact that the attackers pulled themselves together again.
A wicked female laugh sounded from above them, and a circle appeared at the groups feet, carved out of the dirt.
Ominous chanting appeared from all around as a girl with a short skirt knocked a creatures head clean off its shoulders with a heavy pot-like object, her quiver empty of arrows.
A large, boomerang shaped weapon threw two creatures so hard into another three that they all shattered, breaking into the clay-like substance they were originally made from.
Another laugh joined the first, causing all of the group to look up for a brief second.
'Naraku!' A man with a metal staff shouted, and fell back to join the others in making a tight circle, everyone facing outwards.
A strange shape was slowly getting carved into the dirt around the circle at their feet, where whatever was making the carving was unseen.
The miasma pulled closer, but the undead suddenly fell back, having caused apparently sufficient damage to their opponent.
InuYasha stood, torn, run ragged, it looked like he was getting beaten by sheer numbers.
Miroku was sporting several deep cuts, most of which were on his arms, along with large bruises.
Sango was holding an unconscious Kirara, and was fighting as hard as she could.
Kagome had a deep wound seeping from her arm, which she was ignoring.
Shippo was unexplainably absent, the group hadn't seen him since the first attack.
The chanting was increasing, speaking in a strange tongue that none could understand, and the laughing woman sounded mad.
The second the shape was complete in the dirt, its finish meeting the beginning, the circle that they stood in suddenly vanished, along with the ground with it.
They fell into the darkness, all yelling wordlessly.
Kagome opened her eyes to recognise the space they were falling through.
InuYasha had grabbed her protectively during the fall of blackness almost instinctively, and Kagome looked over his shoulder to see Miroku almost back-to-back with InuYasha, with Sango firmly in his grasp, the end of Hiraikotsu, Kirara and all.
Kagome reached out for Sangos hand and Sango caught her eye, and looking very scared, reached for her, and grabbed her wrist, pulling her and Miroku closer.
Kagome tried to call out, but found her voice stolen by the swirling purple and blue colours.
The jewel shard around her neck gave a strange little jerk in its bottle, and the group were thrown both seemingly into a brick wall and brilliant white light.
XxXx
InuYashas vertigo was completely thrown off balance, and it took a full second to realise the wall he had hit was actually the hard ground.
He pulled Kagome's stunned form into a sitting position, and looked around to see Miroku pulling Sango off the strange grey ground, and it was only then did he notice that he had a splitting headache, as though he had hit the ground head first.
'Are you guys alright?' He asked, pulling Kagome over.
It seemed Sango had met the ground exactly wrong, Miroku was hunched over her unconscious figure.
'I think so. Any idea where we are?' Miroku asked, his face not leaving Sango's direction, but his eyes flashing around, suddenly noticing they were not alone in this strange place.
It seemed a lot like the place InuYasha had been to quite a few times before, and yet it was different.
Kagome blinked slowly, and shook her head slightly.
'What's happening?'
There was a tapping on InuYasha's shoulder, and he turned to see a young child with a bear looking at them quizzically, her mother a few paces behind her.
She asked him something in a strange language, it was smoother then what he spoke. The girl was obviously asking something along the lines of 'are you okay,' so he nodded.
She smiled, saying something again.
The mother had strode across to them.
She asked something else in the same strange tongue, to which InuYasha had no clue how to reply.
Kagome, however, recognised the language, and looked up at her slowly. It was in english, something that Kagome was not too bad at, and replied to the woman.
'Do you have a phone I could borrow?'
'Sure,' The woman replied, and started searching through her handbag.
Kagome rose unsteadily to her feet, aided heavily by InuYasha, who was looking utterly confused.
Kirara blinked a few times and mewed, causing the little girl to squeal.
'Is that your kitty? She's so cute!'
She put the bear down at her mother's feet and ran over to the twin-tail, picking it up and hugged it.
Miroku slid the Hiraikotsu over to InuYasha with his foot, and carefully lifted Sango onto his back.
InuYasha picked up the strange weapon, and looked around to see a busy street, with lots of those strange metal things he hated from Kagome's time.
Kagome checked the date first when she opened the phone, and was shocked.
Then, she dialled.
It took her a full minute to get through, with lots of apologetic looks at the woman, and Kirara almost getting strangled by the hugs of the girl.
After six rings, someone finally picked up.
'Higurashi shrine-'
'Mom?'
'Kagome?'
She exchanged a significant look with InuYasha, which he missed as he was slipping Hiraikotsu's long carrying strap over his shoulder.
'Where are you?'
Kagome bent down to the child, and asked her a quick question.
'Hey there. Could you tell me what city this is?'
The girl laughed.
'It's New York, silly, did you forget?'
She smiled, and turned her attention back to the phone.
'Mom, you are not gonna believe what's happened to me.'
XxXx
After a brief explanation, and Sango stirring groggily, grasping onto Miroku's shoulders, Kagome gave back the phone, thanking the two, and somehow pried Kirara out of the girls arms.
She looked around, and pulled the others into a nearby coffee shop, and sat down on the couches next to the door.
Miroku lowered Sango wordlessly into the most comfortable looking one, allowing her to sprawl over the arm, and sat right next to her, looking concerned.
'What's going on, Kagome? Where are we?'
Kagome looked around the little shop, catching the eye of the waitress before answering.
'Do you remember how I'm not from the time that you guys are?'
'Yes…'
'Well, this is my time, but in a completely different place. About five hundred years in the future.'
Miroku looked as stunned as Sango, who was pulling herself upright slowly.
'Can I get you anything?' A female voice drawled in english, looking at Miroku on the couch, and InuYasha behind him.
'My friend has fallen, could she get some water?' Kagome asked, gesturing at Sango.
'Sure. And what about you fine fellers?' She asked again, leaning over Kagome's chair, accenting her low-cut uniform.
Miroku only had eyes for Sango at the moment, who was still woozy, but InuYasha merely raised an eyebrow confusedly as he shook his head again, understanding only the sounds of a question.
The waitress shrugged a little sourly, chewed her gum and turned back.
'And what language is this? I don't understand it at all.' InuYasha threw in.
'It's english, I'm learning it at school.'
Sango looked around, still leaning on the arm of the couch, and lifted her hand where Kirara immediately snuck her head underneath, mewing.
'What happened?' Sango asked.
'We're in Kagome's time.' Miroku replied, looking relieved.
'How are you feeling?' Kagome asked, leaning over to her.
A heavy red mark appeared over Miroku's face.
He rubbed it for a second, then smiled and said, 'she'll be fine.'
Sango glared at him, and tried to shift further away on the seat, but ran out of room.
A woman appeared behind Kagome in a strange uniform that seemed to small, carrying a strange container of water.
She made a comment in a strange fluid language, glancing at Miroku and InuYasha.
InuYasha didn't notice her, he was busy trying to balance the Hiraikotsu against the back of the couch. Miroku, on the other hand, was getting his hand pinched for the looks he was giving the girl.
'They wouldn't understand you, even if you tried, Miroku.' Sango muttered menacingly.
Kagome waved her away, and turned pack to her pondering of how to get back.
The hiraikotsu clattered to the ground with a thud, InuYasha had given up.
'Any ideas, Kagome?' Miroku asked.
'Well, do you remember before when Sango joined us,' She looked up at InuYasha, 'when you forced me back to my own time?'
InuYasha turned a delicate shade of pink.
'So what?'
'Well, I think it could work the other way, and return you lot to the right time. We just need to get over to Japan, which is the hard part.'
'What about one of those big metal flying things?'
'Well, those are expensive. Plus, to get on there, we'd need some proof as who we are, which according to this time,' she looked around, 'none of you guys exist.'
'We do have a little money, but would it work in this era?' Miroku asked, pulling out a small drawstring bag out of his sleeve.
Kagome stared at it for a long moment.
'Miroku, you're a genius!'
'Add that to my long list of other qualities, eh, Sango?' He commented, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She tried not to smile as she took a drink and forced her attention back on Kagome.
'How so?'
'I think,' Kagome started, pulling a coin out of the bag and turning it over in her hands. 'these are worth a lot more over here and now, then they were back then. Lets go, we need to find a place.' she said excitedly, standing up.
'Where to?'
That pulled her up short. She paused, then turned her attention to the waitress, who was nearby.
'Excuse me, miss,'
'Yeah?'
Kagome had to think through her words carefully before she spoke them, she wasn't brilliant at english.
'Could you tell me where to find a coin collector?'
The girl blew a bubble with her gum as she thought it over. 'Well, theres that little one down on fifty fourth street, about four blocks from here. That way.' She pointed.
'Thank you,' Kagome replied, and turned back to her friends, where InuYasha was trying to explain the large metal demons whizzing by outside that Miroku and Sango had just noticed.
'-a bigger version of Kagome's iron cart. It moves you around.' He was saying uncertainly.
Kirara bristled, but thankfully did not transform.
'But-'
'Come on guys, you'll be okay.' Kagome interjected. 'Its a bit like back in the feudal era, trouble only comes when you look for it. As long as you don't step in front of those things, they won't hurt you.'
Miroku nodded thoughtfully, watching one pull along side of the road.
'So then what are we doing now?' InuYasha asked, obviously eager to keep moving.
'Going that way, to get some funds to get us back to Japan.'
'I'm curious, Kagome, where exactly are we?' Miroku asked, helping Sango to her feet.
'Do you know how far it was from where we were to the Continent?'
He paused, thinking hard. 'I think so,'
'Well times that by about a thousand, and you're about there.'
The monk's eyes nearly fell out of his head. 'Really?'
'Yep. In a place called America, which is a little smaller then the continent.'
He exhaled in a huff, eyeing the place up whilst Sango picked up the Hiraikotsu and Kirara.
xXxXx
'Oh no, I am not going back in there.'
InuYasha was standing defiantly at the doors of the elevator, arms crossed, staring into the little metal box.
'Come on, please? You're causing a scene, and it's the only way back down that we're allowed to.' Kagome beckoned from inside, holding the door open, shaking her head. 'You went up in this thing, why not down? Please?'
Miroku and Sango were hovering unwillingly at the edges, looking like skittish horses, Kirara bristling again.
'You can trust me, you know. It won't hurt you.'
Miroku shook his head a little, then grabbed Sango and pulled her inside. 'Don't you trust, Sango?' He asked.
They all turned to face InuYasha, who was looking slightly betrayed.
Kagome sighed, seized his hand and pulled him in, letting the doors close behind and the feeling their stomaches rising told them they were sinking back down.
InuYasha was looking agitated, like he was about to tear a hole in the box and leap out, so Kagome, without looking, started making circles with her thumb on the back of his hand, making him flush slightly and stare at her.
Presently, the doors opened again and the three not-so-confident and one perfectly-fine-with-it time travellers leapt out and into the crowd of liquid-language speaking people.
'Guys!' Kagome called, and they halted, InuYasha still having yet to let go of her, and pulled her along too, where Kagome walked face-first into the Hiraikostu.
'Oops, sorry Kagome.' Sango said, turning around.
She plucked Miroku out of the crowd with ease, dragging him by the ear away from a couple of strangely dressed girls who were walking in the opposite direction.
'Well, what do we do now?'
'We got plenty from that collector, and while Naraku thinks we're dead, let's take a breather, and go back later. And, to be straight,' She eyed the others as well as herself. 'We look like we've been in a war.'
Wounds still had not healed, nowhere close, gashes and tears in fabric, and just the general disheveled look of fighting covered them all.
'Anyway, we look like cosplayers. Let's get some fresh clothes, at the very least.'
The American money that currently sat wrapped tightly in Miroku's sleeve seemed to be begging to be spent.
xXxXx
'What do you think, Sango? Do I look hot or what?'
Miroku was standing in one of the change rooms with the door wide open, and Sango on the other side.
'I'll have to go with 'or what', Miroku.' She said, smiling slightly.
'Aw,' Miroku sighed, turning back to look at himself in the mirror.
The strange blue fabric that was denim jeans went well with his overall look of a black shirt with a purple design, he had thought he looked pretty good.
He glanced at the reflection of Sango, and couldn't help running his over her again, with the low-cut, pink-and-white top and jeans again, with a green design up one side.
She turned to the side and fiddled with the strap of the Hiraikotsu, refusing to look at him as she flushed slightly and said haughtily; 'I was joking. You look fine.'
He smiled, enjoying the fashions of this era, as she slid the door shut again, and listened to the argument brewing a few doors down.
'Is everything alright?' A completely unfamiliar, yet in their language, voice interrupted the two.
Kagome took her chance and shoved the hat on InuYasha's head, backwards as he was facing away, pouting, before turning back to the assistant.
'Yes, thank you. He's just being, uncooperative.' Kagome said, almost smiling in spite of herself. She turned back to him. 'Please?' Kagome asked again, in a softer, yet somehow scarier tone, Squeezing her hands together under her chin, 'please please please please please? With sugar, and cherries, and, um, ramen, and Naraku's head on top? For me? Just for today?' She begged, giving him her most powerful puppy dog eyes. 'Please?'
'What does that even mean?' InuYasha muttered, sighing and shutting the door.
'Yay!' Kagome squealed, clapping her hands together and successfully walking into Sango again.
'What's all the racket?' She asked, eyeing the closed door and the muttered profanities within.
'You'll see,' Kagome said evilly, rubbing her hands together and tugging slightly at her new dress.
The profanities slowly dawdled away into silence, and all was quiet in the little room.
'You like it, don't you.' Kagome called through the door.
'Keh.' Was the only reply.
Immediately, Kagome started pounding on the door, chanting 'I want to see, I want to see!' Like an impatient child.
'Nothing to see. I'm taking it off.'
'You let me in this door right now or I will say ssss-'
It was a bluff, of corse, she didn't wan't to damage the floor of the shop, but the door unlocked with a click, and pushed open.
The immediate impression was so strong it took all of Kagome's power not to leap on him and start snogging him right then and there, she even took a few minute steps foreword, but she reigned herself in.
There, InuYasha stood in all his glory, with a simple jeans and a tight white singlet, accenting his almost hand-sculpted abs, which Kagome had only seen on extremely rare occasions, when he wasn't injured, the cap turned around, and a look on his face like she was about to attack him, which was very close.
The all-but-forgotten assistant nudged Kagome and whispered in english; 'He looks hot enough to divert traffic, Why don't you kiss him?' Causing her to turn beet red.
He shot a suspicious glare at the woman, before shutting the door again and saying 'I'm taking it off now, your majesty. Happy now?'
'No, no, please? You look-' amazing, gorgeous, handsome, magnificent, stunning, sexy beyond words, words filled themselves into the blank, but she settled for 'really good.'
'You do!' The assistant threw in. 'If I wasn't standing out here with your girl, you'd be in serious danger right now.'
'Alright alright alright. You don't have to nag me.'
He opened the door again, this time with a light red open jumper, he hadn't even tried to work the zip.
Miroku appeared then, and hit him lightly on the shoulder, grinning.
'So who's this then? And where's InuYasha?'
Kagome did not reply immediately, she was too busy staring.
Miroku dodged a fist as the assistant nudged her again, whispering in english, 'You're staring at him like he's some sort of sex object. Either snogg him now, or tell him to do up his jumper.'
So, a little dreamily, Kagome wandered up the few steps to him, causing Miroku to freeze, still grinning, watching as she pulled her face closer and closer to his, until-
ziiiiip!
Kagome shook her head slightly as her hand left the zip, and a bright red InuYasha.
'Come on, lets get an afternoon snack. I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry.' She said.
xXxXx
The door finally opened, making the strangest noise Miroku had ever heard.
His eyes sparkled with delight upon seeing the cool refreshments within, and grabbed one.
He popped the lid and took a sip, offering one to InuYasha, who had revealed the mystery of the large grey container in the kitchen, but he waved him away and returned to the magic box.
It was incredibly strange, how the moving pictures of the people and things appeared on the screen, and after Kagome had left the large mansion of a place, it was the first thing he had explored.
Sango had discovered the bathroom, and the water that fell from the ceiling, and promptly threw out the two men to make use of it, and an hour later, she was still there.
Any peeking had been proven a failed attempt as Sango had found the locks for the doors, unfortunately.
Miroku drifted back to the lounge, with the big, comfortable seats that InuYasha was ignoring, rather, he was staring at the box blankly, looking irritated.
Well, more irritated then usual.
'The conveniences of this era are truly incredible, aren't they, InuYasha?' Miroku said, flopping onto a chair and taking another sip.
InuYasha, though limited, had a reasonable understanding of this place, but Kagome, who knew everything, was not present.
She had given them a quick run down, gave them free reign over the 'tv' and 'minibar', whatever they were, called dibs on one of the beds, and left, saying she would be back later with a way back.
Suddenly noticing a book next to him on the little table, he picked it up, but lost heart when he saw it was in 'eenglish', or whatever that language was called.
In all of his readings, he had never heard of such a language, or such places, where drinks were kept cold, people slept high off the ground, and metal creatures provided transport around.
He flicked through, looking at the odd paintings, which were strangely glossy.
InuYasha suddenly sighed, then started pushing buttons on the box, where scenes changed with a fuzzy 'whoosh' sound, where he froze on a scene that spoke their tongue.
People in brightly-coloured, strange costumes danced their way across the scene, singing and laughing, this was obviously designed for children.
So, of corse, InuYasha was completely enthralled.
Miroku rolled his eyes, and turned back to the paintings.
There were paintings of around the castle-like area they were staying in, this must be an advertisement of some sort.
He put it back, and got up again, leaving the drink where it was.
The distinct sound water of the falling water stopped, and even as Miroku crossed the room to the bathing room door, such thoughts filled his mind of what she was probably doing, where he promptly fell face first on the soft floor, followed almost immediately by a sharp pain on the back of his head like a heavy rock being dropped there.
He looked up wildly, expecting to see Sango with foot out and like she was about to pummel him, but saw only the Hiraikotsu.
He shuffled out from under the weapon to see he had caught his foot on the strap, from where it was standing against the wall, which had both tripped him and brought the weapon down upon his head with a loud thwack.
'Miroku, what are you doing outside my door?' Sango asked from within.
Thinking fast, he pulled himself to his feet.
'Nothing, dearest, I was walking past when I tripped on your weapon.'
'Don't you 'dearest' me, idiot, and if that's the case, where were you going?'
Quick! Think of something! 'Uh, outside. through the clear door.'
There was an unsatisfied 'Hmph!' from within, a mew from a twin-tail, and Miroku took his chance to set back up the Hiraikotsu and escape.
xXxXx
'I'm back, you guys. Is everything okay?'
InuYasha was immediately standing, facing the door as Kagome shut it carefully behind her.
'And where have you been? It's dark out already!'
Sango looked up from cleaning her weapon, her hair still up loosely in a towel, and Miroku entered the room, drink in hand.
Kagome did not answer the question immediately, rather, spotting the monk and saying 'Oh good, you found the fridge. Anyway, I brought tea.'
She lifted a shopping bag with a delicious scent flowing from it.
'Did you hear me? Where were you?'
'I was getting a way back to Japan, like I said.' She said coldly, putting the fast food on the little table.
And then she noticed what was different about him, but did not comment.
Still looks good enough to eat, a small, sly voice in her head said, noting his dark hair.
Absently, she remembered last night worrying their proximity to both Naraku and the new moon, a very bad combination.
'How? Big metal flying thing?'
'An aeroplane, and yes. With a few stops along the way.'
'Where? and how long will it take?'
'Well, have you ever tried sitting still for a full day?'
InuYasha paused, grabbed a chip and chewed it before answering.
'Well, no,'
'So we'll be making a stop at another city, and this really great place for holidays. Its actually awesome.'
'But what about Naraku?'
'What about him?' Miroku interjected. 'Come on InuYasha, he think's we're dead. And for all intents and purposes, we are dead to that era. We might as well take a breather.'
InuYasha gave him a scathing look, and took another chip without replying.
xXxXx
Unfortunately for the group, when downstairs Kagome had asked for 'a room for four', they gave her exactly what she wanted.
Two singles, and a double bed.
After much persuasion, a couple of raised words and a sit following a stupid comment, Miroku had one of the singles, Kagome in the double, Sango on the single closest to the bathroom and InuYasha, unable to be swayed, was awake on the couch, drink in hand.
None of them were able to sleep though, so used to the quiet forest sounds, all were listening to wail of sirens, car alarms and the odd person shouting, even though it was the dead of the night.
Kirara was more comfortable in her large form in the unfamiliar territory, and was taking up about 90% of the odd bed.
Sango was just laying against her side, listening to the odd sounds, ones that she already seemed used to, and watching Kirara's ears twitch every time a new noise started.
The sounds of people, lots of them, walking around on the ground, reached her. She smiled at the memory of getting InuYasha into the lifting box thing, and listened more to dogs barking, sounds that must be loud down there, and the gentle sound of someone knocking against her door.
'Who is it?'
There was a slight pause before a familiar voice answered, they sounded like they were smiling.
'I thought I'd try sneaking into your room in the middle of the night.' Without getting beaten almost added themselves to the end of the sentence.
'Come in,'
The door opened to reveal Miroku, in his old robes, who slid into the room and closed the door quietly behind him.
'Couldn't sleep?'
'As much as you could.'
Kirara shifted down, allowing room for the newcomer to sit down, which he did.
'What do you think, it's a bit of culture shock, right?'
'A bit? It's like we've walked into a completely different world.'
Miroku smiled again. 'We didn't exactly walk, you know.'
Sango shook her head in wonder, and Kirara huffed.
'But I completely understand.' He caught the look on her face before she glanced away. 'But you mustn't worry, it seems like Kagome has a plan to get us back. With these fabled 'metal flying things'.'
He put his arm around her shoulders, and after a moment, she relaxed and leant against his neck, breathing slowly.
Kirara huffed again, and put her head back on her paws.
And yet, inwardly, Sango was in shock.
Why hasn't he tried anything yet? Usually after this he would try somethi-
Almost proof to her thoughts, he shifted slightly, but it was for nothing, he was shifting his weight to get more comfortable.
Sango smiled and enjoyed the moment, before the cursed hand could make it's move.
xXxXx
Outside, Kagome had tiptoed out of her room, and out to the lounge where she saw the couch was empty.
She spun, instantly worried, but the large room and adjacent kitchen where silent and still.
A flicker of movement caught her eye, making her both jump and flinch at the same time, causing her to crash into the padded chair by her foot.
Clutching silently at her toe that was agony like all living hell, Kagome looked around for the source, which, after a bit of searching, was revealed to be, the curtain to the balcony moving in the breeze it was letting in.
A few minutes went by before Kagome could stand again, limping slightly over to the door and out of it.
Of corse, InuYasha was outside, leaning on the edge and looking down.
'Whatcha doing out here?'
InuYasha jumped slightly and shot a glare back at her, but it didn't last long.
'Nothing.'
He turned away again, looking back down on the street, the robe of the fire rat that he had pulled over his 'normal' clothes making the same sound as the curtain inside.
'It's cold out here,' she hinted.
And, as dense as ever, he replied 'Go inside then.'
She joined him on the edge, but looking up instead of down.
All of the outside noises were suddenly gone, including the loud thwack that resonated from inside.
InuYasha watched the people a long way down quietly, unwilling to break the silence.
There was a long moment, where a the sounds of a clock striking another hour of the night reached them.
'Kagome,'
She started slightly, but he did not look up.
'Yeah?'
Still he did not lift his eyes from the street.
'What happened to all the stars?'
Kagome looked up, but could not see any, even though it seemed a clear night.
'We just, can't see them so well here. They're still there, it's just, all a matter of perspective.'
She knew he did not mean the stars, and it was why he did not look at her.
'All over the world, there are people who can't see them, because of where they stand, and how good their eyesight is. But, for as many people who can't, there are just as many who can.'
He turned his face away, as if to get a better view of the people further down.
She closed her hand around his, and rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the street bellow, listening to the sound of someone getting dragged through inside, and a door slamming shut.