Ummmm...I don't think I have anything to say before this one. :( Nope. Dozo!
"He what?"
"He jumped into the well and disappeared, Mrs. Higurashi."
Zurui clenches her fingers tightly around the cup of tea Siore had gotten her, the knuckles of both hands white. The girl had come flying into the older woman's kitchen, screaming at the top of her lungs about blue light in the well, and the fact that her boyfriend had vanished before her eyes.
It had taken Siore a quarter-of-an-hour to calm the girl down long enough to get anything coherent out of her, after which she desperately wished she hadn't. The woman sighs, knowing that she had to explain to the girl where her youngest had gone, and hoping it didn't frighten the girl more.
"Zurui...you know that Inuyasha is half demon, right?" she begins. The red-head nods hesistantly, her face betraying the confusion she felt. What did Inuyasha have to do with this?
"Well, Zurui, there are few other people who know who Inuyasha really is, but there are only four who know where he's actually from," Siore says, staring down into her own teacup. She can almost feel the girl frowning at her.
"I...thought he was from the southern island. I don't remember the town Kagome said..."
The girl stops talking when she sees Siore shaking her head. "No. Inuyasha is from Tokyo... we think."
Zurui shakes her head a little. "You...think? What does that mean?"
Siore sighs. "On Kagome's 15th birthday, she was pulled into the well--just as Sota was--and came out in Sengoku Jidai, around the year 1500. That's where she met Inuyasha, and that is where he, my daughter, and my son are right now."
The teenager stares at her boyfriend's mother as if she's lost her mind. "What?!" she yells after a minute.
Siore flinches backward in her chair, the girl's high-pitched voice having hurt her hearing. She rubs her ears before responding.
"Yes, Zurui. The well has some sort of magical ability that allows both Kagome and Inuyasha to travel back and forth from this time to the past." The woman smiles wryly. "And now, apparently, Sota, also."
Siore waits patiently for the girl to accept her explanation, even standing up to retrieve more tea for the two of them. Zurui is pale when she sits back down.
"Sengoku Jidai?" the red-head asks. Siore nods. Zurui swallows, her clenched hands shaking in her lap. "And they'll...be back?" she whispers, her voice trembling. The older woman nods, smiling a little.
"Yes. I imagine that Sota has already found his sister, and they'll return through the well when they finish visiting with Kagome and Inuyasha's friends."
Zurui stares at the Siore blankly for a moment before nodding. She looks down at her tea and speaks quietly.
"I...can't say anything about the well, can I? That would be more dangerous than people finding out about Inuyasha being a half-demon, wouldn't it?"
Siore nods solemnly. "Yes, it would. Other than the kids, only dad and myself know about it, so it is very important that we keep quiet."
The red-head stares at her tea for few more minutes before looking up. Her expression seems to be one of resignation. "I...I'm going to go lie down for awhile, if that's alright," she says, standing.
Siore watches the younger girl walk slowly toward the living room and sighs again. Life was so complicated sometimes.
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"Thanks, uh...Shippo?" the dark-haired teenager says as he shakily steps onto the ground from the demon's back. The fox nods his head and smiles. He's about to speak when a silver blur stops abruptly beside him and a fist connects with the other boy's head.
"What the hell are you doing here, Sota?!" Inuyasha roars, ignoring the pained expression on his targets face. "Don't you know that you would've been killed if Kilala and Shippo hadn't saved your ass!?!"
The rest of the group stares with wide eyes at the very angry hanyou. It's obvious that Inuyasha is only this upset because he cares for the boy. Kagome had scrambled off her fiancé's back when he stopped and is now hugging her brother very tightly while sobbing. Everyone seems to be frozen in place as they wait for Sota to respond, during which Kilala lands beside her mistress and sits down to rest. No one notices that the miko's shield has now disappeared.
"Uh...I...uh...," Sota stutters. He'd never seen Inuyasha like this before, and the half-demon's anger was almost never aimed at him. The younger boy didn't know how to deal with an irate hanyou. Plus, his sister was currently cutting off his air supply, making him light-headed. "Uh..."
"Well?" the half-demon asks impatietly, one eye twitching.
"Uh...I sort of...fell through..."
"Fell through?" Kagome growls. The others all glance at the miko, who is now over her sobbing and slowly stands up beside her fiancé. She also glares at her brother when he doesn't answer.
Sota takes a deep breath now that his sister has released him, and is about to tell them what happened, when Miroku interrupts.
"Is there any way we can talk about this later?" he asks, pointing his staff at the two beetles that had almost gotten Sota, which are now heading their way.
Inuyasha swears quietly before grabbing the two siblings and throwing him on his back, while Miroku and Shippo help Sango and the kids onto Kilala before the monk joins them. The group heads down the hill toward the village, noting the increase in the demonic cloud hovering over the huts in the distance.
"What in seven hell's is going on?!" the hanyou asks to no one in particular.
"I don't know," Shippo says, pulling up beside the half-demon and keeping pace with him while Kilala flies over their heads. "But I feel like everything up til now has been a distraction," he says, frowning at the alarmed looks the others give him.
"You know, I think Shippo may be right, guys." The others all turn to look at Sango, who is still trying to calm the two children riding between herself and her husband. "The demons all seemed to be concentrating on myself, Tsuta, and Korogi. Don't you think that's odd, considering I'm really too far along to fight back, and they are just children?" she asks, gesturing to the kids.
Sango gives her friends a few minutes to think about this, their expressions changing from alarm to anger. Kagome speaks next.
"Easy targets," she whispers, rage contorting her voice. "Whoever's doing this knew we would stay and protect you, rather than heading for the village."
"Yes, but what's in the village that someone would be after?" Inuyasha asks. "The Shikon no Tama no longer exists, and no one there holds anything of value."
"I just thought of something."
The adults all turn their heads toward Sota, who had been quietly listening until now. Kagome raises a brow at her brother, waiting for him to speak.
"How did whoever's doing this know that you and Inuyasha would be here today?" He continues when everyone simply stares blankly at him. "I mean, why today? If it was tomorrow, neither of you would be here, and..."
"And the village would more easily be taken over," Miroku interrupts, his face set in a scowl. Everyone turns to the monk now, slight confusion on their faces. He sighs.
"If Inuyasha and Kagome weren't here, we...," he says, gesturing to everyone else, "...wouldn't have left the village. We probably would have still been in our huts when the ...swarm...attacked, and would probably be trapped there right now." Miroku continues when he sees the still-confused looks of the others. "Whoever's behind this is trying to delay Kagome and Inuyasha. It was only their misfortune that they picked today to attack."
The hanyou and the miko exchange a surprised look before turning back to the hoshin. "What does that mean?" Inuyasha says, frowning. "Are you saying it was simply luck that we came back today?"
Sango nods. "It sure seems like it," she says, shifting to a more comfortable position as the group reaches the edge of the village.
Choas and panic are everywhere. Men, women, and children are running back and forth between the huts, screaming for loved ones or for their lives, if demons are after them. Bodies of humans, livestock, and youkai litter the ground, as well as blood and limbs from the dead, and random debris. Huts are torn to the ground or burning, some of them with people still inside. The group of fighters takes one look at their beloved village and immediately begins to help.
"Sango, stay with Kilala and the kids," Miroku says, sliding off the nekomata's back. The pregnant slayer glares at him but doesn't protest. "Go," the monk whispers to the feline, patting her on the head as he starts to head toward one of the burning huts, where they can hear screaming.
The cat growls and immediately takes off, circling above the huts and staying well-away from any demons. Strangely, none of youkai seems to notice them now.
Shippo follows the hoshin for a little ways before heading in a different direction, toward some small demons that are terrorizing a mother and her child. The kitsune takes care of them before running after some more youkai deeper in the village.
"Sota. I want you to stay as close to Inuyasha as possible," Kagome says, as the siblings hop to the ground. The hanyou frowns.
"I was going to find something to kill," Inuyasha growls, his gaze shifting to something behind the girl. A few seconds later a very large and disgusting bird-demon of some sort disintegrates as the half-demon slices through it with Tetsusaiga. He smirks. Kagome glares.
"He'll be safer with you than me, Inuyasha, and you know mom will kill both of us if something happens to him. I'll stay here and work on putting up a barrier around a few of the huts so people have somewhere they can hide. You can bring Sota back when I get finished," the miko says, seeing a quiver of arrows lying nearby and heading toward it.
The girl comes back a few seconds later, and is also wielding a battered katana. "Here," she says, handing the sword to her brother. Both boys stare.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" the teen asks, holding the weapon as if it might contaminate him. A few drops of blood slide off the end and splatter the ground, and Sota makes a disgusted face.
Kagome rolls her eyes. "Kill something if it gets too close to you," she says, turning away and heading for a group of huts that is still standing. Miroku joins her a few seconds later.
"Well, come on," Inuyasha growls, grabbing the boy's arm and tossing him onto his back again.
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Ichigo paces back and forth in his living room apartment, his mind going over the strange encounter he'd just had.
Telephone company? I doubt that...
A man dressed in a blue uniform, with a short, silvery hair and a creepy grin had been getting on the elevator on his floor when the red-head had gotten off. He said that Ichigo's line would be down for a few minutes while he went back to street level and reset the power box.
Ichigo had asked what was wrong with the line to begin with, to which the uniformed man had replied that a water main had burst a few blocks over, and ruptured the cable supplying the building. The boy had nodded and thanked the man, then proceeded into his apartment.
Twenty minutes later, Ichigo was trying to figure out what was wrong with the converstion.
For one thing, I don't have a land-line. Just my cell phone...
Maybe he was just telling everyone he ran into...just in case...
Ok, then why didn't the Jidanbo tell me when I passed him downstairs?
Maybe the guard... forgot?
Not likely...
"What if he was in my apartment?" the boy says out loud. He frowns, wondering where that thought came from and why he was talking to himself.
After the past few days, maybe I'm just starting to lose it...
Frowning again, Ichigo wanders through the rooms, his eyes going over all of his belongings. Nothing seems to be missing.
Strange...
The boy walks to his kitchen and grabs a cold soda from the fridge before remembering that he was supposed to meet Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad in half-an-hour for a guys night out.
Ichigo grins to himself, glad that some things hadn't changed, at least.
------------------------
"Here! Everyone in here!"
Miroku waves people past the break in the sutras that forms a barrier covering the land around three huts. Kagome stands in the center, her eyes closed while she wordlessly mouths a silent incantation, Tsuta, Korogi, and Kilala beside her. Sango is ushering the people who are coming through into the huts themselves.
"Where are Inuyasha and Sota?" Shippo asks, coming to a sliding stop in front of the monk. The kitsune is covered with dirt, grime, blood, and small injuries of his own, but seems to be doing fine otherwise. Miroku shakes his head.
"I don't know. I haven't seen them since we entered the village."
A loud shout, followed by what sounds like an explosion gets their attention, and the boys quickly run around the side of the barrier, stopping dead in their tracks at what they see.
Inuyasha and Sota are facing four very large trolls, a fifth lying several feet behind the others, as the hanyou had hit it with his Windscar a minute before. The teen looks like he's just seen a ghost, while the half-demon just looks pissed.
"You bastards! Get the hell away from me!" Inuyasha yells, darting forward to slice-and-dice the closest ugly. He slashes three times, then smirks and runs back to Sota, watching the demon crumble to dust.
"That...was really good, Inuyasha," the boy mumbles, grabbing onto the hanyou's shirt so that he doesn't fall over. Inuyasha gives him a confused look.
"What's wrong with you, kid? This isn't even a challenge."
"Something...is very odd about this," Shippo says, watching Inuyasha use his Windscar again to take out another troll. Miroku nods.
"I know. They're...they're not going after them, Shippo," the monk says, frowning at the lack of action on the remaining troll's parts. He watches them for a few minutes, his dark eyes narrowed. The hoshin suddenly gasps and turns back to the barrier, his eyes widening in shock.
"Inuyasha!" he yells, before running back to the huts.
The half-demon turns when he hears his name, seeing Miroku and Shippo sprinting away. He raises his eyes to the curve of blue over the houses, and feels his heart skip a beat. The barrier was flickering. That meant one thing.
Kagome was in trouble.
Swearing to himself, the boy grabs Sota and hauls him onto his back again before heading for the others. A large hand suddenly flies out of nowhere, and Inuyasha barely dodges out of the way before he and the teen get splatted.
Spinning around, the hanyou glares and bares his fangs at the trolls, who suddenly seem to have come alive. Though there are only two remaining, the demons are grinning evilly and edging their way between the boys and the barrier. Inuyasha growls.
Oh, hell no...
"Hang on tight, Sota," he whispers, feeling the boy drop his katana and tighten his arms around his neck. Inuyasha raises Tetsusaiga and sends his diamond attack at the two youkai.
"ADAMANT BARRAGE!"
The half-demon takes off running as soon at the attack hits, dashing between the ugly creatures that are now howling in pain at the giant shards sticking out of their bodies. Inuyasha dodges the aimless blows that are coming his way and quickly slashes one troll in the chest before using it's head as a springboard. He bounces high into the air and drives Tetsusaiga into the shoulder of the other demon, cutting diagonally all the way to the ground.
Smirking to himself, Inuyasha watches the two youkai drifting away on the wind before he heads toward the barrier.
Rounding the last hut, Inuyasha stops abruptly, a strangled cry escaping his throat. Sota glances over his shoulder and pales, his eyes bugging out slightly. The woman speaks in a deadly tone.
"Drop the sword, half-demon. Or your woman dies."
-------------------
"Thank you, ma'am. For letting me use your phone. I used my spare last week. Guess I need to get a whole new set, huh?"
Siore smiles at the dark-haired man standing on her porch, grinning sheepishly at her, his glasses skewed ever-so-slightly over soft eyes.
"No problem. Uh... What did you say your name was again?"
"Kudakero, ma'am," the man says, bowing.
Siore smiles again before doing the same, fighting to hide her unease. Something is off...
Before the woman can think too much about it, Zurui walks up beside her, yawning.
"Siore? Is...? Oh, hello," the girl says, smiling sleepily at the visitor. The man grins.
"Hello. Your daughter?" he asks, tilting his head slightly toward Siore. She smiles again, and raises one brow.
"Not yet...," she replies, laughing lightly when Zurui blushes.
"I'm going to get something to drink," the girl mumbles, bowing politely before she heads into the kitchen. "It was nice to meet you," she calls back.
The man smiles again, then frowns a little. "Well, Miss, I guess I'll just go back to my car and wait for the tow-truck," he says, walking down a few stairs. "Thanks again!"
Siore waves back, then slowly closes her front door and promptly locks it.
Something about that man...
She shivers, then rubs her arms where goosebumps were starting to rise. Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, Siore follows the red-head into the other room.
Oh, uh...Obviously, this story is starting to look like a crossover. It wasn't supposed to be, but...oh, well. I've fallen in love with Bleach, so sue me. shrug Anyways, for the Ichigo fans like me :) you can probably guess who certain people are. ;P Ummm...that's all!