Inuyasha looked back down the street to see if anyone was coming. He ducked down an alleyway with William and Kikyo in tow. They warily went in the side door of the building into a kitchen. When the door shut behind them, they finally were able to relax. Inuyasha went into the living room to see Josh, Miroku, and Richard soaked in sewage warming themselves by the fireplace. The smell was menacing, but not as bad as Kikyo's tone of voice.
"What kind of sick freaks are you? You guys reek and you want to cook in front of the fire! Smells like a dog crap roasting on the sidewalk! You want to warm up? Go get your disgusting butts in the shower!"
The only face not present at the rescue mission was still dirty from days in the palace prison. Other than the dirt, Miroku's face was nice to see after the effort spent to rescue him. He said to Kikyo calmly, " Kikyo, we only have one shower."
"I don't care! Get your asses up those stairs or I will use the hose to clean you off! Put those stinky clothes in trash bags. And Miroku, in gratitude for us saving you, I am sure you are willing to do the laundry tomorrow, right?" Her look dared him to turn down the chore.
He sighed and nodded. Josh and Richard went upstairs and Miroku quickly followed. An old lady walked into the room. She had an eye patch but her other eye held wisdom and kindness. "Greetings, Niece. Inuyasha and William, I trust you made extra sure to keep Kikyo safe?" The boys nodded. "Shippo and the other little ones are in bed. Other than the odor, do any other injuries trouble you?"
Kikyo smiled. "Nothing some rest and a shower won't help, Aunt Kaede. Scrapes and bruises, but I will be fine." Kikyo always seems to brighten in her aunt's presence. A big change from a moment ago.
"That's good my child. How do Inuyasha and William fare?" She inquired gently.
"We're good," Inuyasha answered for them. "The cuts should be better by morning." A definite bonus to being a freak with dog ears. William also healed faster than humans but not as fast as Inuyasha. Inuyasha then told Kaede about the night's venture to the palace.
"It sounds as if they were in wait for you, Inuyasha. Your raid on the interrogation facility must have perturbed someone greatly." The week before Inuyasha and the gang had raided and more or less destroyed an interrogation facility. By interrogation, they meant White Lions torturing political rebels to ensure their rule in Neo Tokyo. "I am going to bed. You should hurry and do so as well, for you three still must do your chores before supper." With that Kaede went upstairs.
Inuyasha heard the shower turn off. Kikyo must have too. She turned to Inuyasha and said, "My turn. Hopefully they didn't clog the drain. Hurry to bed, Honey. Don't stay up all night talking with Will again." She kissed his cheek and went upstairs. That left Will and Inuyasha alone by the fire. Will was deep in thought. The silence grew more and more uncomfortable for Inuyasha. William seemed spooked. It was weird seeing him like this. Seeing the future is something that would make someone very confidant, like the way William normally was.
"Hey Will, what's eating you? You're not still worried about that elevator, are ya?"
"I didn't see it coming Inu."
"Big deal. So what?"
"It is a big deal. Very big." Will sounded grim. "I have told you before how my power works. I can see every possible outcome of every possible action. I can see everything. Even the day I die. Even the day you die. Everything, but I didn't see this. Just looking at the future changes it. Look at the future twice and it will be different. Like a ripple in a pond, the changes are small at first and dramatic later on. I was checking the future every couple of seconds. An elevator is a big change in a couple of seconds. There is no way that elevator could have been there by my actions."
"I don't get it. What do you mean?"
"The elevator would have taken several minutes to get there. You're the one who told me that protocol is for all the elevators to go to the ground floor to prevent intruders from using them, right?" Inuyasha nodded. "In the future I checked when we entered the mess hall, there was no elevator on its way down."
"Oh, I see what you're sayin. Couldn't of someone sent it up from like one floor down. That wouldn't have taken long to get to where we were. But someone with clearance to override the protocol would have to do that. We don't have any friends inside the palace capable of doing that."
"Even if someone did help us, Inu, I am the only one who can cause unforeseen things to happen. Everyone acts as they would with no knowledge of the future. If you throw a ball down, you expect it to bounce right? If it had a bomb in it but you didn't know, you would die expecting it to bounce. I,. on the other hand, would see the bomb and not expect a bounce."
"So you're saying unless a future seeing person knocks the ball away, I am going to happily bounce it 'til I blow up?"
"Uh... Yeah. I guess you could put it that way."
Inuyasha thought for a second. "So what if another person like you changed the future?"
"I don't know. We have never met another person like me in any future I have seen."
"But you didn't see the elevator either." Inuyasha struck somewhere deep inside William with that remark. Will mumbled something about firewood and headed to the back yard. Inuyasha stared into the fire, remembering times when Will saved his life. What if Will can be wrong? Inuyasha didn't want to think such big thoughts. It was a fluke, nothing more. After a shower and sleep Inuyasha would feel better.
Inuyasha heard the shower shut off again. Looking upstairs Inuyasha saw Kikyo standing on the top step in her bath robe and a towel wrapped around her head. "There is plenty of hot water," she called down to him. "Hurry and get in." She headed to her bedroom where Inuyasha knew she would be awake until her kissed her goodnight.
Inuyasha headed to the upstairs bathroom for his turn in the shower. He peeled off his black clothes and stood looking at himself in the mirror. He had a lot of cuts and bruises. Not as bad as last time they clashed with the White Lion army. He flexed for a moment, admiring his tough, lean body. "Lookin' good, Inu. You want a piece of this? You can't handle this."
Off with the boxers and into the shower. He turned it on and let it rinse off the foul odor of the sewers. His wounds stung for a moment. Inuyasha hardly noticed the pain. He was thinking about what had happened that night. Not about the elevator, but thinking about the girl.
Who was she? She must be somebody to be living in the palace. She was standing in a towel. She had nice legs. "I wonder what was under the... whoa. Get a grip man! Kikyo is your girlfriend." That girl did look a lot like Kikyo. Could they be related? No, Kaede was all that was left of Kikyo's family. Just a coincidence. She did unlock her door during invasion protocol. Why would she do that? Did she mean to help? Inuyasha's thoughts revolved around the black haired girl until William came in.
His voice interrupted Inuyasha's thoughts. "Hey fart face, quit jacking off and get out while there is still hot water." William sounded like he was in a better mood. Inuyasha quickly lathered up his skin. He winced as the soap reached his open cuts. He rinsed off and got out. William was already naked and handing him a towel. Inuyasha dried off and wrapped it around his waist.
In his room, Inuyasha put on some shorts and a tee shirt. Then off to Kikyo's room to kiss her goodnight. A little girl was sound asleep in the other bed on the opposite side of Kikyo's. Inuyasha smiled. Rin wanted to go with them earlier but being just a human, she would have been in too much danger. Her little face, which was so frustrated earlier in the evening, was calm and peaceful.
Kikyo closed her book and Inuyasha gave her a kiss. As he turned around to go to his room, Kikyo stopped him. She asked him to sleep in her bed tonight. He smiled at her and climbed into her sheets. He laid on her pillow and she rested her head on his bare chest. She was warm. Inuyasha gently stroked his fingers up and down her spine as he thought about another black haired girl.