Every time I edit this whole thing, I end up making more errors. That's rage material right there.

Enjoy!

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Auburn Strands and Red Threads #25

Orihime lay on her sofa, one arm heavy and limp across her eyes and the other hanging off the edge along with her leg. Her bag was abandoned somewhere on the floor directly in the path she had taken before she collapsed, and her school bow was loosened along with a few buttons of her shirt. She had every intention of taking a shower and possibly doing some homework before she slept for a few hours, but she could not shake this thick dread that was hovering inside her body.

It's been nearly a week.

It's been a week since Ichigo talked to her regarding his phone call on the the night of the new moon. They met the next day on the roof during lunch, and he told her he and Rukia were going to the Soul Society for a while. He said they were specifically called there by Captain Yamamoto, and Ichigo merely wanted to tell her to be safe.

With all the events that took place prior to that talk, Orihime could not blame him for wanting to reinforce caution in her routine, but she hardly felt the unease that Ichigo had been feeling. If she had been more focused, she would have wondered why just he and Rukia were called to the Soul Society. If she had been more alert, she would have questioned Captain Yamamoto's motives for making it a point Ichigo know who summoned him. Orihime would have noticed more and raised thousands of questions had she been paying more attention, but she was...far too distracted. She couldn't even enjoy that she had been alone on the roof with Ichigo—that he actually told her to wait for him there.

Which brought her to why she was feeling so much dread.

She had not seen Inuyasha in a week, and it was hard to say how she felt about that.

The first two days, she had been nervous and had not wanted to see him. She knew a secret of his, and she could not gather the composure needed to act normal around him. She constantly thought back to the morning after his transformation and how transparent she had been. Inuyasha must have put two and two together at some point after that. He must have known she knew his true feelings for her, and he could see how uncomfortable she had been.

She was uncomfortable, but it wasn't because of what she knew or who he was. It was just...

He...loves her.

Orihime exhaled, groaning, and shifted.

After admitting to herself she was seeing Inuyasha differently, it was too much to bear knowing that he not only had feelings for her but that these feelings were strong ones. She wasn't sure she actually liked Inuyasha, but she knew for a certainty that she did not love him. There was no way their time together could have led to love for either of them, so why did Inuyasha claim to feel that way?

It put a lot of things into perspective, though. When she thought back to some of his actions and some of his looks, they all made sense if he actually...loved...her.

But what did this mean for her?

Did the fact that his private confession was sticking with her mean she felt something? It was a little hard to believe her feelings for Ichigo could be replaced, but is that what was happening? Or did she not want to see Inuyasha anymore because doing otherwise meant she would not have to confront him? There was no way she could act like nothing was bothering her when she sees him, so she might as well deal with it as soon as possible, but what exactly did she feel for Inuyasha? She wanted to keep their friendship and know more about him, but she could not accept his feelings for what they were. She was not even sure she could actually see herself being with him...so why did that hurt so much? Knowing that she would hurt Inuyasha with what she had to say was enough to distress her, but why did her inability to picture the two of them together as a real couple cripple her heart so terribly?

She didn't want to think about it. She had many possible answers why she was feeling this way, but she wasn't sure any of them were right. Or worse... She was afraid at least one possible answer was right.

Orihime groaned and shifted again. She removed her arm from her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. The afternoon light was still bright and yellow, so she decided to sleep until there was more of an orange tinge.

Really, she just did not want to think.

Inuyasha wandered through the forest of his own time, arms crossed and brows furrowed with slight bewilderment.

He had given up looking for the right spot for the moment because... Well, because this was impossible!

He never realized how much he relied on landmarks until now, and this only reinforced how different the two time periods were. Unlike the Sacred Tree, nothing from his time lasted long enough to be found anywhere near Orihime's building, so just what the hell was he supposed to do?! He thought about making a giant crater in the ground with Tetsaiga, but the passage of centuries upon centuries could easily have it filled again. Then there was the issue that the wildlife of his time was replaced with hard gray rock and towering buildings.

In other words, he was bound to fail from the very beginning.

Inuyasha stopped walking, eyes rolling to the top of his head, and he plopped down to a sit against a tree trunk. His head hung, a dejected sigh leaving him, and he stared at his lap. His current situation did nothing to ease the fact that he had been by himself for days now.

He spent a few days in Orihime's time before coming here. Because of his pride, he couldn't face her until this task was accomplished, which was the very same reason he could not face the rest of his friends. At least three of them surely suspected he was spending this time away to further his relationship with Orihime, but there was no relationship. He was still a ways off before he could confess to her, but he was becoming discouraged the more he tried to be in her life.

What was he doing all this for?

This was the first time he was going for it without knowing how the girl actually felt about him, and it left him feeling incredibly delusional. If Orihime didn't like him, this would all be one huge blunder.

Was it so bad if they remained friends?

She obviously liked having him around, so that could be enough, but...his emotions (especially his stubborn pride) wouldn't let him believe he could just stop at friendship now. Even if he never confessed, he wouldn't convince himself that he was okay with just her friendship. If they did in fact remain friends forever, he would like it well enough, but he would always wonder if there could have been more. He probably would always want more.

And it was kind of weird to admit.

He looked up, puzzlement still apparent, and searched up and down the forest. He was a little turned around now, and he was not sure how far he had come since leaving the well. The thought of going all the way back and making this trek again did not appeal to him in the slightest, but he set his body in motion despite his reluctance.

o0o0o

It was late afternoon when Inuyasha caught scent of something familiar yet elusive.

He slowed his pace and sniffed around, trying to remember where he remembered it, but he could not figure out who or what it was.

He debated with himself. He didn't have to make an appearance in any era anytime soon, and he had been walking rather slowly and was nowhere near the well. With that in mind, he decided to follow the scent.

He was led deep off the path where it was obvious many travelers and animals did not venture. The grass and trees became denser, the sun penetrating less and less the further he went. When he finally emerged into an opening, there was a narrow river flowing, and a heap of clothes were at the river's edge. Inuyasha looked around but didn't see anyone. Walking closer to the river, he noticed someone was emerging from beneath the water. A man with long blonde hair burst through the surface. The man immediately took notice of Inuyasha, and the man's bright golden eyes lit up just as Inuyasha's stomach dropped.

The man jumped out of the water, hurdling towards Inuyasha. "Fuuuuuuzzy Ears! I was just thinkin-"

Inuyasha stepped out of the way, causing the man land into the foliage. Inuyasha looked at him warily. "Don't touch me."

The man shot up with a grin, fists triumphantly on his hips. "That was a good dodge, Fuzzy!"

"That's not my name. And get dressed!"

The man laughed and walked to his clothes. "Well, it's not like you ever stay long enough for me to ask, but I can't tell you my name at the moment either." He turned to Inuyasha as he gathered his clothes. "I may be a wanted man some day, so it's better you know as little as possible about me in case anyone comes after you."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and turned his back to him. "I don't really care about all that, but just call me Inuyasha from now on."

The man laughed. "Inu...whatcha? That means dog spirit or dog demon, right? Why not call me Man Human while we're at it."

Inuyasha grumbled. "What're you still doing around here? Don't you travel any faster than this?"

"I was in the southern mountains, if you don't remember. Normal people like me take time going from place to place."

"Yeah, right. You have that time-space thing you can do."

"Ah. So you remember. You can turn around now."

Inuyasha peeked over his shoulder before turning around completely. The man was straightening his clothing and surveying the area, and Inuyasha wondered if this man could be of any use to him.

"So what brings you so deep into the forest?" The man looked at him with a friendly grin. "You never look like you're with anyone, so maybe you just go wherever the moment takes you."

"I have people I travel with, but a lot's been goin' on."

"Like what?"

"It... It's complicated."

"Either that or you don't wanna talk about it." The man studied Inuyasha for a moment. "You wouldn't mind telling me more about Ohumru House, would you? Information like that is really important for my research."

"You really don't let up, do ya?"

"How can I?!" The man's golden eyes sparkled. "I may be on to something revolutionary. So, how far is it from here? What's it like?"

Inuyasha slumped, scratching his head. "I can tell ya, but I'm gonna need a favor."

"Favor?" The man walked over to sit in front of Inuyasha. "A demon-spirit is asking me for a favor? Does this mean you want my soul or something?"

Inuyasha scowled. "Like I could actually use anything like that. I just need you to do that space thing again."

"Ahhhh. So this is the kinda thing spirits ask for." He nodded and proceeded to take out something to write with and something to write on. "It's good you don't want my soul. Things would get quite complicated. So! Ohumru House, where is it?"

Inuyasha fell into a sit, annoyance etched on his face. "First of all, I don't know a place with that name." He paused a beat. "Musta meant the girl I know."

"What?! You mean you were that beat up and bloody, and you just wanted to see a girl?"The man scribbled something down. "Is she a healer or something?"

"Yeah, she's a healer. Has powers I've never seen a human possess before."

"A human?" More scribbling. "So you're one of those demons who use humans, huh? Is she a lover or are you planning to kill her?"

Inuyasha grimaced and flushed at the same time. "All demons ain't out to kill, and what she is to me ain't all that important."

"True, true." The man jotted down 'lover' in his notes. "So, this human girl lives...?"

Inuyasha rubbed his neck. "Well...it's something like hundreds of years after now."

The man stared at him blankly, writing instrument halted. "Are you being serious?"

"Why're you so surprised? You said yourself that you were able to move things that way."

"Y-yeah, I did, but..." The man's mind was churning, going over all his calculations and formulas. "I was just talking about one existing location to another existing location. How were you able to go to a place that doesn't even exist yet?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't know what to tell ya other than the place already exists. To the people there, this time doesn't exist anymore."

The man's face remained blank, but his eyes were sparkling again. "Interesting..." He began scribbling frantically. "This is...time travel!" He looked up at Inuyasha with glimmering eyes. "You said hundreds of years from now? What's it like?"

"Er... Well..." Inuyasha looked around. "There's a lot less trees, but a lot more people. Uh... A lot of gray rock replaces the grass, and..." Inuyasha looked at him, exasperated. "It's hard to explain. Nothin' is really the same." He paused. "Even demons are replaced by these things called Hollows."

The man hesitated. "What makes you say they're Hollows?"

"That's what Orihime said they were." Inuyasha shrugged. "They look a lot like demons, but they're... Well, I've never seen one, but they sound more...enhanced. And they have holes on their bodies."

"I see." The man stared at Inuyasha a second longer before jotting down more notes.

"Yeah. Oh! There's also this society. They wear black, and it takes some kinda portal to get there." He scowled. "They ain't nothin' but a bunch of annoyin' troublemakers, and their boss seems to be this real old geezer with a long beard."

The man looked up at him, but Inuyasha didn't notice.

"I forget what they called him," Inuyasha went on. "Captain Somethin'. He knew about me and my dad. Didn't even seem surprised when I told him where I came from." Inuyasha shuddered. "I dunno what he or that place is about, but they know too much. It's best to just stay away from 'em."

The man tapped his writing utensil against his writing pad for a quiet few seconds before tucking them away. "You have an interesting accent."

"What?"

"Well, that's good enough. Thanks, Fuzzy."

"Inuyasha."

"Fuzzyasha. So you want to go back to your lover, right?"

"She-" Inuyasha groaned. He was tired of fighting with this man. "Yeah. But it's more than just that."

Inuyasha took out the needles and orb and explained what they were used for. The man listened carefully all while staring at the curious instruments with a type of awe and sharp eye that perplexed Inuyasha if he mulled over it for too long. After the explanation, the man continued to turn the items over in his hands before looking back at Inuyasha, satisfied.

"That's some task you have in front of you." The man pushed his bangs back for a moment, gazing up at the sky. "But I must admit, this is a very clever way to travel."

"Can you help?"

"If this destination of yours is really hundreds of years from now, there's no way for me to send you to where you need to be with one hundred percent accuracy."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's better than what I was doin'."

o0o0o

The two walked to their destination with an abundance of conversation to fill the time.

The man kept asking Inuyasha question after question about what the future was like and who the mastermind behind the peculiar devices were, but Inuyasha could not give him any answers that actually helped. Truth be told, Inuyasha did not honestly believe he could get a full understanding of the Modern Era no matter how many times he visited. Nevertheless, the man was not frustrated with Inuyasha's limited answers because it made him think life would get much more advanced than anything he had experienced so far.

The concept was very encouraging—very enticing.

"Hey, Fuzzy-"

"Say it right or don't talk to me."

"Hey, Inu...yasha, how is it you came to experience time travel? You don't look like you're secretly a genius."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow but ignored that last bit. "There's a well that connects this world to the other one. Still not sure why it's there, but it's there."

"So you already have something that can transport you? What do you need this for?"

Inuyasha frowned at the ground, crossing his arms. "It's...personal, I guess. I can't keep usin' that well, and I wanna be closer to Orihime after all-"

"Orihime, huh?" The man slung his arm around Inuyasha, smiling slyly. "You keep bringing up that name, so I'm guessing this is the young lady you have a thing for."

Inuyasha's cheeks tinged. "That knowledge ain't gonna help ya, now is it?"

"Aww, c'mon. What's a few secrets between friends?"

"Friends?"

"We keep running into each other, so this must be the universe telling us to be friends, wouldn't you agree?"

"No."

"Well, I agree." He pressed closer to Inuyasha. "So? What's the deal between you two? Close? Really close? Closer than close?"

Inuyasha shrugged him off, turning his head away. "Call it what ya want, but heck if I know what this really is." He hesitated before looking at the man, his cheeks plainly colored. "But...I guess she just sees me as a friend."

"For now?"

Inuyasha hesitated again. "Who knows."

"So, it's unrequited, hm?" The man crossed his arms and shook his head. "Don't worry!" He patted Inuyasha on the back. "I was in a situation similar to yours not too long ago, but I think my sex-kitten is finally seeing me as a man."

Inuyasha blushed harder. "So, it's that kinda relationship."

"Not yet!" the man gushed, gesturing prolifically as he spoke. "But she's so damn sexy and so fun to be around that I can't help but be eager about whatever my mind wants to conjure up!" He hugged himself, wiggling in his hold. "But I can wait as long as it takes because just being around my kitten is enough to keep me satisfied!"

"Right." Inuyasha smiled despite himself. "I guess I can relate to that feeling."

When they reached their destination, the man began to survey the area. Inuyasha watched as the man went from place to place, closing his eyes and running his hand along the dirt and wildlife.

"Hm..." The man looked at Inuyasha. "You're sure this is about the same place as it is centuries from now?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Pretty sure."

"That's good. I don't feel anything that feels similar to what let me send you into the future, though." The man looked around once more. "I'm not sure where we can place one of those receptors. If any of these trees get torn down at any point in the oncoming years, this will all be a waste."

"What if we just bury it?"

"That's an idea, but there's still a chance something could dig it up."

"Tck! Yeah, but then anywhere we put it has a chance of somethin' happenin'."

"Yes, that's true, but there has to be a way to do this if you were given these in the first place."

Inuyasha grunted, rolling his eyes. "Maybe not." He pursed his lips before looking back at the man. "Hey, I get that you can transport me like you did last time, but what if the metal thing we put here is in the wrong spot? How am I supposed to let ya know to move it?"

"Ah..." The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I guess...you'd just have to come back here through that well you told me about, and we'd try it again."

Inuyasha paled. "Hold on. Yer tellin' me...I hafta run all the way to the well in that time then run all the way back here in this time until we get it right?"

The man gave a bright yet wary smile. "Seems that way, huh?"

Inuyasha stared at him, eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed menacingly. He looked around the forest wildly, his breathing suddenly picking up for reasons unknown. The man watched the half-demon cautiously. It looked as though Inuyasha was on the verge of going on a rampage, and the man was unsure if he wanted to see what the boy was capable of or if he should make a hasty exit before anything happened.

Inuyasha placed a hand on his sword.

"I have an idea!" the man said suddenly. "I think I have something that may help you out."

Inuyasha stared at him, his hand slowly dropping. "What is it?"

"I can show you. There's a hut close to here that I've been using, and you look like, um, the rays of the sun are starting to work your nerves."

Inuyasha thought for a moment. He straightened his posture, let out a heavy sigh, and crossed his arms. "Maybe you're right."

o0o0o

The man led Inuyasha a decent walk away into an even denser part of the forest. A large wooden hut was tangled amongst the trees and grass, and the only opening to the hut was a large rectangular hole that served as the door. Inuyasha watched the man walk inside and heard him rummage around for a while. When he emerged, he was holding a dark, medium sized pouch and gestured for Inuyasha to come closer.

"This bag of dust will help," the man said.

"Dust...?" Inuyasha paused. "Regular dust?"

"Yes and no. In this state, it won't do anything, but when a little spiritual pressure is applied, it helps turn kishi into reishi, which will help you locate one receptor with the other when I send you forward in time."

"Right... Kishi and..." Inuyasha shook his head slightly, his expression showing his confusion. "What is this going to do?"

The man smiled helplessly. He pulled out the receptors from his clothing and stuck one in the side of the hut while holding the other between his fingers. "Kishi makes up matter in the physical world, so everything we see around us has it. The dust I have helps turn this makeup into a spiritual component known as reishi, which is easy for me to track." He opened his bag and stirred the receptor around in the dust. "Since these metals seem to have come from the same source, it'll be easy to track them once I enhance their reishi, which'll be a whole lot easier for you." He handed Inuyasha the receptor.

Inuyasha looked at the white dust skeptically. "So...the dust is all it takes?"

"And my spiritual pressure. Since I've never tried this method for time travel, I have no idea if it'll actually work, but it'll be great if it does, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh... Y-yeah, I guess."

"Of course! I won't activate them until it's time to transport you, so let's get these bad boys back to that spot and see how it goes."

Inuyasha smiled despite his mind pounding with all this information. "Sure, let's do it."

The man turned to retrieve the other receptor from the hut. Inuyasha waited, but after a few seconds, the man still had not turned around. A few more seconds passed before the man slowly turned to peek over his shoulder. "Uh... Inuyasha? Did the person who gave you these items say anything...about it being a one-shot-only type deal?"

"One shot? What do you mean?"

"Like...once you stick the receptors in something...they won't come out?"

Inuyasha inhaled slowly, a crease forming between his brows. "What are you saying?"

The man slowly turned his whole body to face him, a nervous smile on his face. He was pulling on the receptor sticking out of the wall. "It's stuck."

"It's stuck?"

"It's stuck."

Inuyasha went to pull the receptor out and found it to be difficult. He pulled harder only to have the wood threatening to give instead. He stared at the wall for a long minute before turning back to the man with crazed eyes. "It's stuck!"

"Yes, it's stuck."

Inuyasha stepped towards him, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. "What did you do to get it stuck?!"

"Whoa, hey, hey!" The man's hands went up. "It wasn't me, I swear! I-it just happened somehow!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?!"

"Get another set made?"

Inuyasha flicked his sword out the sheath.

"O-o-o-or maybe this is fate!" the man said. "My hut isn't so far from where we were, a-and maybe it'll still be standing hundreds of years from now."

"Are you going to be living here hundreds of years from now?"

The man laughed. "In this crap location?"

Inuyasha drew his sword.

"Hey, whoa, who knows?! Maybe? I-it's not a bad hiding spot, so maybe I will keep this place. It wouldn't hurt to try to see if this can still work out, right? Right? Let's just try it out before we start slashing people, okay?"

Inuyasha glared at him, sword gripped with both hands in a stance that was ready to attack. His mind slowly cleared, and he allowed himself to ease out of his stance and put his sword away. Huffing, he ran his hand through his bangs. "Fine."

The man heaved a sigh of relief, slumping against the hut. "My, you're easily riled, aren't you?"

Inuyasha grunted. "Nothin' was gonna happen to you." He looked at the man wearily, then the receptor sticking out of the hut. His chest felt heavy at the sight of it. "This is just great."

"Hey, come on. Like I said, this may be fate." The man sprinkled the dust on the receptor. "At least we don't have to walk all the way back. Let me see yours."

Inuyasha dejectedly handed it to him. The man examined it briefly and pumped a surge of his energy into it. The receptor glowed a bright blue for a few seconds before fading back to normal.

"Mm. It's gonna be warm." He handed it back to Inuyasha. "I'll activate the other one as soon as I transport you."

Inuyasha took the receptor and almost dropped it. It was burning hot.

"I'm getting a good feeling about this." The man pulled out a slim, cylindrical stick from his clothes. "I think I can feel the future from this spot." He grinned brightly. "You ready?"

"Yeah-" The stick was jabbed into Inuyasha's chest, knocking the air out of him. He fell to his knees, grabbing his chest and gasping for air. "Wha- What-?"

"Oh... I guess that would hurt... Uh, well, maybe this next part won't."

Inuyasha attempted to glare up at the man when an incredible pain engulfed his body with terrifying speed and intensity. Inuyasha yelled in agonizing torment, bright light taking over his vision, and the sensation of being yanked forcefully was felt in the depths of his soul.

He gasped, blinked, and suddenly he was able to take in mouthfuls of air. He continued to blink until most of the pain had subsided and realized he was on his knees still, one arm holding him up while the other still clutched his chest. He could feel sweat covering his body, and the dull pain where he was jabbed ached.

He looked up to discover that his surroundings were an open courtyard with a gate surrounding it. Looking next to him, he saw he was next to a building. He shakily stood and was aware he was in the Modern Era, but he did not readily identify where he was sent.

A small protrusion on the house caught his attention where there was a thin metal piece two-thirds of the way into the building. As soon as he noticed it, the center of his hand clutching his chest began to burn. He opened his hand and looked at the receptor. He stared at it, then the wall, then back again. He touched the metal sticking out of the wall, and both it and the one in his hand became even hotter.

Hissing, he attempted to stick the receptor into the wood, but it would not penetrate the surface. He tried again in many different locations without any success, but that did nothing to stop the metal from heating up at a steady pace. Cursing, he held the receptor with the cloth of his sleeve and tried pushing it through the metal sticking out of the wall, which seemed to work. The receptor sunk into the other one as though sinking into water, and he could feel through his sleeve the rise of the temperature slowing.

The sound of a door opening caught his attention. Tessai and a little girl with two pigtails of dark hair emerged.

"Oh. It's a dog-eared man," said the girl.

"Inuyasha, long time no see," Tessai said. "Still on the search for the right spot, are you?"

"Uh... I think I just finished," Inuyasha said.

"Well done, my boy! Didn't take as long as we thought. Oh!" Tessai patted the little girl on the head. "I don't think you two have met. Inuyasha, this is Ururu. Ururu, this is Inuyasha."

The girl bowed. "Nice to meet you, Inuyasha. I've heard so much about you."

"Uh-" Inuyasha did a jerky bow himself. "Yeah. Hey."

Ururu looked up at him, wide, sad-looking eyes taking him in. "You're the one in love with Orihime, right, Mr. Dog-eared Man?"

Inuyasha jerked, face flushing. "Wha-wha-wha- Who said-"

Tessai laughed heartily. "Now, now, Ururu! Jinata's teasing is rubbing off on you, I see!"

Ururu looked up at Tessai. "It just seems like Kisuke is rubbing off on Orihime since they both like animal people."

"Hm." Tessai nodded. "Indeed. But we must go grocery shopping, now." He looked back at Inuyasha, remembering how he had been staring at the distorted nail sticking out of the house. "Don't mind that old thing. Doesn't seem to go all the way in no matter what we do."

"Huh." Inuyasha looked at the protrusion. "You don't say."

Inuyasha waited until the two were gone to pull out the orb on the chain. He stared at it before touching it to the receptor. A sense of weightlessness immediately took over, followed by a series of colored lights swirling around him. Without him realizing when it happened, he was staring at thick grass and dense trees and bushes.

"Hey, you're back!"

Inuyasha looked into the hut to see the blonde man rummaging through various odd items.

"So, it worked, huh?"

Inuyasha stared at him for a hard moment. His mind was curiously churning in an attempt to do something, but he shook himself out of it. "It's actually...closer than I thought it would be. Maybe better than what I wanted." He paused. "Thanks."

The man smiled triumphantly. "Told you it was fate. Now then," he pulled out his notes and writing utensil, "tell me about it. Everything."