I will once more thank RoryKat for helping me to correct some of my exotic grammar and improve my understanding of English. Thank you : )
23:30 hour
The air-raid sirens shrieked, and Kagome who had faced so many different dangers in the feudal era, was suddenly confronted with the horror of modern warfare when the first bombs fell. Kagome turned her back on the clerk, ran through the lobby, slammed the main door open and starred.
Standing at the top of the entrance stairs, Kagome watched as the skyline of old Tokyo turned into a dark and orange silhouette against the growing fires. More explosions followed and shook the air.
"No, this cannot be happening! This can't be!" Kagome whispered. The few people who were outside, panicked and ran for cover. Kagome had no idea where she should go. Another wave of explosions sent a shockwave through the air and she almost dropped Akito.
"Mother! Father!" he shouted and brought Kagome out of her stupor when he began to struggle to get loose.
"Akito, no! We have to hide! Do you know where the closest bomb shelter is?"
"No, I want my mom and dad!" he cried.
"Your mom is helping your dad, they will be here soon, but we have to hide now!" Kagome said and turned her head from side to side, looking for anything that could protect them. Seeing nothing from her immediate position, she went down the stairs and jogged halfway into the hotel garden.
Kagome gazed back at the hotel, it was shrouded in darkness, except from….
"The door!" Kagome exclaimed, remembering the story she heard earlier that night. "Somebody shut the door or else the light will give you away!" she shouted. The military guards barely looked at her as they ran inside to investigate the ruckus, despite the bombings.
"Shit shit, what do I do now?" she asked herself.
Another bomb hit a building close by and the shockwave knocked her down. Kagome tightened her grip on the child as she fell. Debris and ash from the burning wooden houses flew around her. Unlike the Tokyo Kagome knew, the Tokyo of the past consisted mostly of poor buildings made of wood and paper, and in less than a minute, the dark night had turned into a flaming inferno. The hotel however, with its magnificent garden was far enough from the surrounding houses to protect it from the spreading fires.
Akito began to cry, reminding her once more that this was a bad place to linger.
"Sorry, but we have to get away, fast! This is no place to wait for your parents!" Kagome said, got up again and set her feet in motion. "Where to hide, where to hide?" She turned her head, frantically from side to side. "There!"
Right outside the garden, along the street was a partially dug ditch. The earth had been shoveled up in a long mound along the road, but because of the darkness, she had not seen it earlier. Now, the burning buildings illuminated it. With stamina built from her years in the feudal era, Kagome passed fleeing people in a blur as she left the hotel area. Above, she could hear the engines' roar coming closer. She raised her gaze towards the sky for a brief second and saw a huge bomber caught in the searchlight. It was heading straight towards them!
"AWAY" Adrenaline, mixed with holy powers, gave her the ability to close the distance in seconds. Kagome made a final leap and dived into the ditch with Akito in her arms as the bombs rained down around them. With only an arm to protect her head, she slammed into a wall of earth and bounced back, into the other side before falling to the bottom. A deafening noise boomed over her head and everything turned white and red. Parts of the mound above collapsed and rained down on them.
….
"My head!" Kagome groaned. When she came to herself, she was lying on top of the kid and partly buried in dirt." Akito, are you alright?"
"It hurts, but I think I'm ok," he sobbed. "What happened?"
"I think the hotel took a direct hit from a bomb. I will have a look." Kagome managed to lift herself up to stand to balance on her hands and knees and shook off the earth before she stumbled back on her feet. She carefully helped Akito to stand up too, but unlike herself, he was not tall enough to look over the edge.
The hotel was in flames. The entire roof was missing and every window blown out, just like the main doors. All around, debris fell from the skies, some of it was burning and lit up the air while other were only noticeable when they crashed into the ground. The trees closest to the building blazed, their leaves and branches torn off by the blast. People, seen and unseen, screamed. The military men who hadn't entered the building lay strewn around like dolls, and while a few tried to get up again, most lay completely still.
Bruised, but otherwise remarkably fine, Kagome was left standing to stare at the inferno. The heat increased as the flames began to spread away from the center and to other parts of the large building.
"What do you see, can you see my parents?"
"I… I'm afraid I can't!" Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry."
"Wadda ya mean?" Akito cried and burst into tears. "Where's mom?"
Kagome crouched down and wrapped her arms around the little boy, letting him cry in her embrace. More bombs followed, but none came nearly as close as the one that hit the hotel. Thoughts, that during less perilous circumstances would have raced through her head, were suppressed by her instincts which sought to comfort the boy.
"War is terrible," Kagome eventually said. "And I am afraid worse is about to come before it all ends. Do you have relatives you can stay with? Preferably outside Tokyo and other large cities?"
"Uncle Tojo, but he is so strict!" he sobbed.
"You better stay with him, strict or not, but we need to get out of here soon, it sounds as if the raid is ending." she said as another impact echoed through the night at an even greater distance. Kagome took hold on Akito and lifted him out from the ditch before she crawled out herself.
Akito cried when he saw the burning hotel, knowing that his parents had been inside. But between his sobs, he managed to let out a few words which sent shivers down her spine.
"But where do you come from? Where will you go?"
Kagome's eyes bulged. "I…." she squeaked, but was unable to say more. She had no idea how she ended up in the past.
Her heart almost stopped and her throat felt dry. Her home, the shrine, would survive the war, but she had no idea if the magic well would grant her a way back to the future from the 1940s'. She could think of one way to get home; back the way she came. The hotel!
Kagome felt dizzy, and as if a trance, she walked towards the crumbling structure.
"Miss? Miss? Where are you going?" Akito asked, taking her hand.
Kagome shook her head and stared down at the little boy. "Listen! I want you to find a police man, tell him who you are and that you need to go and stay with your uncle. Tokyo is no place for children anymore. Do you understand? There will be more air raids in the upcoming months and this is only the beginning of the horror. Stay away, and keep away from Hiroshima and Nagasaki in particular!" she said and pushed him towards a man in uniform who starred with horror at the destruction.
"What about you?"
"I will go inside and see if I can find any survivors, but you can NOT come with me. This is only for adults. Do as I say and whatever that happens, do not come inside!"
Kagome turned on her heels and ran towards the hotel.
…
Inu Yasha jumped down from a roof and landed in front of a couple who were walking hand in hand, making them shout in surprise. But the half-demon didn't pay them much notice, instead he rushed past them and left the couple staring as he leaped across the road and hurried up to the building on the other side.
"This is where Kagome and her friends entered!" he grumbled to himself. "I knew it was stupid of her to attend this Alloween party, she would be much better off with me back home."
A group of teenagers, clad in various costumes, stood outside the entrance, laughing and talking to each other. Kagome had said alcohol wasn't allowed, but his nose picked up the stench before he even came close. A few of the teenagers looked at him and Inu Yasha growled, telling them to back off. But instead of frightening them, it surprised him to see everybody raise the metallic cylinders they had in their hands and cheer at him. Hell, a girl even gave his "costume" a compliment! No one made the slightest attempt to stop him from entering when he passed the group.
Inu Yasha swung open the doors and entered the lobby.
"Oh come on! How many kids are in her school? Everyone from the city must be in here!" he exclaimed when the largest group of teenagers he had ever seen crammed together, sang and cheered before a visible angry clerk behind the desk. Inu Yasha grabbed the first person who passed him, a guy in a strange black suit with a green glowing sword.
"Have you seen Kagome?" he asked.
"Kagome who?
"Higurashi Kagome." Inu Yasha began. "She has long, black hair and is dressed up in a witch costume that is all black. There is a pointy hat on her head. She came here along with her friends a few hours ago."
"I have seen several girls dressed up as witches walking around, but I don't know anyone named Kagome. Sorry dude, but try asking someone else."
Inu Yasha released his grip on the guy and let him go.
"Wow, you are strong! Nice costume by the way!" the guy said and wandered off.
"Keh!" Inu Yasha grunted and plowed through the group of students. Kagome was not among the people in this room, nor could he smell her either. There were simply too many different scents for his nose to pick up, so he continued up a few stairs to another door from which people came and left at random pace.
"Excuse me!"
"Sorry!"
"Watch where you're going!"
Inu Yasha pressed forward but was left gaping when he was finally able to look through the door. Never in his life had he seen a room as big as this one, and it was filled to the brim with teenagers clad in every imaginable kind of costumes! It also had the loudest and most ear- deafening music he had ever heard!
"Kagome? KAGOME WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" he shouted, but only those closest to him seemed to hear.
"By the nine circles of hell, where can she be?" Inu Yasha flattened his ears due to the infernal noise and began searching for Kagome. She had certainly told the truth when she said he wouldn't stand out if he came. Never had he seen such a collection of ridiculous outfits, some he recognized as samurais and other as youkai, but most were unfamiliar to him. After stopping a few teenagers, Inu Yasha gave up trying to ask more questions.
"Look who's here! Hey Inu Yasha! Yoohoo!" Surprised at being recognized, Inu Yasha turned around and came face to face with Eri and Ayumi, two of Kagome's noisy friends. Both seemed happy and smiled bright.
"Kagome said you wouldn't come, are you here to surprise her?" Ayumi asked.
"Well, I… uh." He began, not sure what he should tell them. "Her mother got a telephone call from Kagome and wanted me to come and get her."
"What! Have you been staying at the shrine?" Eri said.
"Yes of course, where else?" Inu yasha answered, not sure where else they thought he would have been.
"And just where was you when we visited earlier?" Eri asked.
"Her bedroom of course!"
The two girls looked at each other with an expression Inu Yasha wasn't sure what meant, but their faces were becoming red.
Eri turned her head again and continued, "Exactly, for how long was you in her room, and how long did you plan to stay there?"
"What the hell is this about?" he grunted impatient. "I came earlier this day and was with her until she left with you, but I will leave tomorrow. Happy? Have you seen Kagome; I cannot see her anywhere in this crowd. I need to find her."
"No, I haven't seen her for a while," Ayumi said. "So, you are actually staying with Kagome for the night?"
"Of course, where else? Sota's room?" Inu Yasha snorted.
Eri and Ayumi became very quiet. Both looked as if they wanted to ask for more details, but neither seemed able to utter the next question.
After a long moment where the girls tested his patient by gaping like fish, Eri stuttered back to the original topic, "I haven't seen her either! Nor have we seen Yuka. Maybe they're together?"
"And where could they be?" Inu Yasha said.
Ayumi mused, but eventually said. "I'm not sure, but the last time I saw them, they were both speaking to a guy Yuka had her eye on. He was dressed up as Dracula."
"Dracula who?" Inu Yasha said, confused.
"A vampire. Blonde though, wearing a nice, black suite and a cape and with fangs like yours. Not as long though!" Ayumi explained. "Shall we look for them together perhaps?"
"Sure, if we can find them faster, then it is ok with me." Inu yasha said, and together they began looking for the two missing students.