Of This World And Yesterday Chapter 8: Changes, a Sailor Moon + Inuyasha Crossover fanfic

Of This World And Yesterday

Then to this moment could I say:

Linger you now, you are so fair!

Now records of my earthly day

No flights of aeons can impair-

Foreknowledge comes, and fills me with such bliss.

I take my joy, my highest moment this.

-Faust, Goethe

Taken from 'Sophie's World', p.327

Chapter 7- Changes

As Kagome suspected, once the administrators and teachers woke up, it was decided to let the students out of school. They declared there was a pipe bomb somewhere in the building, to explain for the mess of the hallways around the southern corridor, and the fact the doors had been blown out by an explosion. Kagome was one of the better off students, and managed to elude the press that was swarming around outside the school. This was the second time in only a couple days she'd had to get away from the attention of police or reporters. Not that anyone made a connection between the two attacks; not yet, at least, much less trace it to her presence.

Setsuna, Ukifune- Kami, she reminded herself brusquely, Kami. Setsuna, Kami and Inuyasha waited as promised across the street of the school, Kami restraining Inuyasha from running out into the crowd to steer her through. Setsuna had instead, guiding her around people carefully and far less conspicuously than Inuyasha would have. The Guardian of Time could give off a strong commanding air when she wanted to, and after seeing the tall woman take Kagome's arm, few people wanted to ask her about her version of events.

Kagome had worried about her friends, but knew better than to stay. They were all fine, other than poor Hojo, who had the misfortune of being on the stairs when Karasu had begun to wander through the hallways. He had a nice sized bruise on his head from a fall, but seemed glad when she checked on him along with her other friends.

They had all gone to the home of the Outer Senshi, minus Setsuna, who returned to the Observatory for awhile, to tell the professors there that she was having a family emergency. Dreamweaver had been fortunate when she called her. It was lunchtime, and Setsuna had just been heading to the cafeteria. It was easy enough for her to slip away unnoticed. She returned home soon enough; Kami knew how to use a microwave now, and was under the impression that Kagome was in need of some food, since the attack came just as she was heading to lunch as well. That was probably intentional, they reasoned eventually. With everyone in the hallways, it would be harder for Karasu to miss anyone, or for them to call for help from outside.

Kami put her modern-day culinary skills to work, producing green tea and a bowl of steaming instant ramen noodles. Then a second and third bowl when she discovered Inuyasha loved ramen noodles, and also loved to eat them. Messily. Kagome ate heartily as well, though with a bit less gusto. Kami was right; apparently having your Hoste sucked out and crystalized takes a lot out of you.

As time ticked away, Kami stood and left the other three, saying she was going to go pick up Hotaru from school. Setsuna nodded, as though this were usual behavior for the other woman. Eventually, they decided they best head to the Hikawa Jinja, for the evening meeting. On her way back from the Observatory that afternoon, Setsuna also slipped into Juuban High, surprising four of the Inners as they, in turn, ate lunch together outside. Rei was called after classes ended for the day, and told to turn on her tv, where people were discussing violence in schools today, isn't it terrible? More security, more protection, they need to keep control!

Right now, however, Kagome and Inuyasha were currnently stuffed into the back of Michiru's car, now driven by Setsuna, with schoolbooks on the floor by Kagome's feet. They were travelling across town, the windows open with wind whipping through, since the day was clear, the air freshly cleaned by the previous night's rains, cottony and soft.

Inuyasha stuck his head out the window.

Kagome lunged at him, grabbing the back of his kimono and hauling him back into the car. "Inuyasha, keep your head inside!"

"Why?"

She sighed, exasperated, "Because it makes you look like a dog!"

Inuyasha blinked.

Kagome groaned.

Setsuna, from the driver's seat, chuckled.

They parked the car just down the street, quickly moving their way towards the high rows of steps that led to the jinja. Traffic was few in this corner of Juuban, and they made their way without anyone noticing, or even caring they were there. People heading into a shrine was hardly an uncommon occurrence...though perhaps not for a half youkai.

***

Setsuna rapped lightly on the door, and muffled sounds from within grew quiet. The house was old fashioned, with sloping tiled roofs, and the layout of the place not so different from Kagome's home. Leafy shinboku trees, reaching up high, hemming a courtyard and torii. It was somewhat different to look at during the day, though lengthening shadows were deepening it into the familiar appearance Kagome had seen last night. A few moments later, the door to the house was pulled open, and there stood Hino Rei, dressed in a miko's robes. She held aside the door for them, and they entered as she ushered them into the hallway.

"We're in the kitchen now, just getting some food together. I managed to convince Grandpa we needed some groceries, so we've got an hour or so before he gets back."

Inuyasha peered around Setsuna, taking in the house's interior. It smelled good, of some of the things Kagome would sometimes bring. Potato chips, he realized after a moment. And also of incense, the smell that seemed to cling to Rei. Black and white pictures of family hung on walls, and they entered a nice kitchen with a swept linoleum floor.

There were a couple people there already. Kami was standing at the counter, now out of her senshi fuku and into a denim skirt, mockneck black shirt and sandals. She was carefully pulling open bags of chips, salt scented air rushing around her face. Two other girls were also in the room, and he recognized them from the previous night. Tomoe Hotaru, Kami's would-be sister, dressed in a knee length, pleated skirt and dark blouse, a row of buttons in the front. A school uniform, Inuyasha recognized. Hotaru was standing at the dining room table, short dark hair slanting downwards as she placed cans of cola and green tea on a tray. A little grey kitten sat on her haunches on the table, owlishly looking at the newcomers, obviously curious. She looked at him, blinked once, and Inuyasha could have sworn she smiled.

Another little girl was moving around the kitchen, and Inuyasha tried to remember her name. The kid who smelled like Usagi and Mamoru. Chibiusa, the one who was from the future. Fluffy pink hair in pigtails, not wearing a school uniform, but instead a blue pinafore and white blouse. She made a happy sound when she found what she was looking for, then hurriedly reached into the cabinet, pulling out a set of matching wooden bowls.

Heads turned, with varied expressions, on seeing Inuyasha and Kagome. Kami smiled in greeting. Hotaru looked a bit uncertain, and Chibiusa blinked...then beamed. "Konbanwa, Inuyasha-san, Kagome-san. We're just getting some food ready for when everybody gets here," she told them as she set the bowls down in front of Kami.

"You've got enough for an army," Kagome marveled, staring at the bowls of chips, dip, and chocolate chip cookies.

"And half of it will be going into Usagi's stomach," Rei grumbled, sighing and turning to the pantry to rummage around. "She eats like a five hundred pound man."

"Rei-chan, do you have any salsa?" Chibiusa asked, turning from the counter where she was holding the last empty bowl.

"Yeah. Hot, too. Here," the miko told her, turning around with a glass jar in hand. The lid popped open, and the smells of tomato and pepper wafted around the room spicily. "Kagome, Inuyasha, have a seat. Help yourselves, you may not get any when the odango shows up to eat it all."

Kagome grinned and leaned over the table, taking a scoop shaped nacho chip and dipping it into the bowl before Chibiusa headed for the table with it. Her eyes watered a bit at the spices, and Inuyasha watched her face turn a bit red. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded, wiping away a tear from an eye. "Spicy. Good, Rei-san."

"Thanks. Mako-chan called and said that Ami and Minako went with to her apartment to get the food...she didn't sound too happy, either," Rei frowned, folding her arms. "I wish you'd told me that they were going out after school, Setsuna-san."

The older woman shrugged, shaking her head and leaning against the chair's backrest. "You were better off scrying. Nothing in the fire?"

She ran a hand through her hair, and felt oddly aware of the several sets of eyes on her. Kagome and Inuyasha looked confused, so she elaborated, "We have a fire shrine...sometimes I go there to meditate, and to scry for things...sometimes it helps. Other times...just snatches of things. I saw the Witches 5, but we've already fought with them...if she is a Death Buster...I don't know, is it possible for the Sacred Fire to get mixed signals?"

"You'd know most about it, Rei," Hotaru said, speaking quietly. She pulled out one of the chairs and sat herself on the edge of it, purple eyes moving from Rei to Setsuna, then to Kami, and Inuyasha and Kagome, the latter now seated at the table. Her eyes then slid away, down to the table as she picked up a can of Pepsi and pulled open the tab with a small popping sound. "Nothing is as before."

"So you can see into fires, too?" Inuyasha asked, and she looked at him for a moment with wide eyes, then snapped them away, holding the aluminum can in small hands, turning it around and around silently.

"Hotaru-chan can't see into fires," Chibiusa told him, laughing a bit nervously and scurrying over to the table with a small glass bowl full of milk. She set it down in front of the quiet little grey cat, saying, "Here you go, Diana."

"Thank you."

"Welcome," came the reply, as Chibiusa flounced back to the counter. "Mamo-chan's not usually late-"

"Did that cat just talk?" Kagome blinked, staring at the little kitten, who was lapping up milk delicately. Wide cinnamon colored eyes looked back at her, and Kagome noticed a strange mark on her forehead, a crescent moon between her brows. A sweet expression filled the kitten's face, and she mewed once.

Sniff. Sniff.

Inuyasha poked his nose closer to the cat. He had distinctly heard her say 'arigatou.' Nothing funny about her smell. Though she did appear to be laughing at him now, one eye closed and a paw over her nose. "You don't smell like a youkai."

"I'm not a youkai," came the reply, and she giggled, bowing her head to lap up some more milk. A tiny bell on her collar jingled when she laughed at him.

"Diana is Small Lady's future advisor, Inuyasha, Kagome," Setsuna informed them, leaning forward and placing her elbows on the table, gently petting Diana's head once. In the light of the chandelier above the table, Kagome noticed that her hair was in fact not black, but reflecting a very dark shade of green, pulled back into its little bun.

"Small Lady?"

"Me," Chibiusa supplied, hopping up onto the counter and crossing her ankles politely. She swung them back and forth a bit. "Puu always calls me Small Lady."

"Puu? For Pluto?" Kagome guessed, and Setsuna gave her a small nod in acknowledgement. "Why Small 'Lady'? Just a pet name?"

"Oh, no, that's because I'm-"

The doorbell rang. And rang. And rang. Rang. Again, rang. Rang. Rang, rang, rang, rang, rang....

"Ugh! That must be Usagi...or Minako. Probably Usagi-chan. I'll get it," Rei grumbled, covering her ears as the bell continued to sound over and over.

"What the hell is she ringing?" Inuyasha shouted, covering his own ears. "Why is she ringing it fifty times? It's annoying as hell!"

There was the sound of a door opening, and of Rei scolding. Then footsteps in the hallway, and Usagi appeared, waving, with an embarassed looking Mamoru behind her, scratching his head. Each had a cat with them, Mamoru holding a white one and Usagi with a black one draped over her shoulders. She was still in her own school uniform, navy blue skirt, collar and bow with a white blouse, her boyfriend in a pressed blue shirt and jeans. Mamoru, finally recovering from embarassment at the ringing, glanced at Inuyasha, who was glaring at Usagi, ears still twitching. "There's no stopping her from it. I get it all the time."

"Feh!"

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried, looking a bit wounded as she set the black cat down beside Diana. "I thought you liked my surprise visits!"

Mamoru smiled weakly, shaking his head as Rei squeezed her way past him and back into the kitchen. As the racket faded in his ears, Inuyasha peered in a bit closer to the black cat on the table, sniffing her as well. Another with the weird crescent mark. The cat was looking highly insulted, drawing herself up and opening her mouth just as another voice shouted: "OY!"

That was a new voice. And...male. Inuyasha turned around to see the white cat leap out of Mamoru's arms and actually manage to land on the table. "Stop sniffing up my wife!"

"I can defend myself, Artemis," came the sharp retort from the black cat. The white one looked about ready to hiss at the hanyou. Diana looked a bit embarrassed, scratching her head with a paw nervously. "I'm Luna. This is Artemis, demon cat extraordinaire."

Sniff, sniff. "You don't smell like a youkai."

"I'm not a youkai!"

"Mom, Dad, can we please stop arguing with the dog youkai?"

"So these are your parents?" Kagome asked, a little confused by the strange little family spat going on atop the table.

"Well, not yet," Diana allowed, edging away from her parents a bit. "I'm not born yet."

"I...see," Kagome breathed, watching the two other cats back down slowly. "So you all talk? But you're not youkai? How?"

Luna, the black one, turned her head to Kagome and settled herself down on her haunches, curling her tail up around her paws. "We advise the leaders of the Silver Millennium. I guard Princess Serenity, to see that she fulfills her destiny. Artemis belongs to Venus, the leader of the Princess' guardian senshi."

"Princess?" Inuyasha asked, finally deciding to sit down. The kitchen and dining room were getting cramped, with people filing in. When the other three got there, it would get even worse. He sat himself down against the wall, folding up his legs and balancing Tetsusaiga against his shoulder. "What's 'Princess'?"

"Oh, uh, that would be me," Usagi laughed a bit shyly, raising her hand and grinning. "A Princess...is a hime." She'd never announced it to anyone before, other than a senshi. Of course they believed it, being a part of the thing already. But an outsider? A bit nervously, she glanced between Inuyasha and Kagome, awaiting their reactions. Inuyasha seemed unimpressed, just grunting and holding his katana tighter. A hime in the sengoku jidai was no uncommon thing. With warring daiymo, there were plenty of girls and women claiming the title. Kagome, however, was round eyed, looking more than a little surprised.

"Princess? Of what? Where? How? I mean...I don't know. Of what?"

"Um...the Moon?"

Kagome blinked. The Moon? "Oh," was all she managed to say uncertainly.

"We are all reincarnations, Kagome," Kami told her gently, drawing out a chair beside Hotaru and sitting down. "I never made it to my first life, with the others. To each planet, a princess. To the Earth..." she glanced at Mamoru. "A prince."

"And Mamo-chan and I were Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity, living in the Moon Kingdom, centuries ago," Usagi said, glancing down at the bowl of cookies before her. She picked one out, nibbling on the edge for a moment. "An evil woman named Beryl tried to usurp the throne of Earth...and led a revolt against the Moon," she explained, waving the cookie around as she spoke. Then her voice grew thin, and she set it down on the counter, remember the next stage of the tale. "And...she...well...." Usagi trailed off quietly.

"Killed me," Mamoru said bluntly. "It was a long time ago. Another life," he told them, leaning against the doorframe. "Fortunately, Usagi's mother then, Queen Serenity, sealed away Beryl's leader, Metallia. She resurfaced about a year ago. That was when we finally met again, after so many centuries." His blue eyes were on Usagi, and she was returning the gaze, a small smile on her face. "We got a second chance at destiny, in this era," he finished, as Usagi slipped a bit closer, and he set an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean into him a bit.

"Amazing..." Kagome murmured, looking at the hands in her lap, then, through her lashed glanced at Inuyasha. He was staring intensely at the linoleum floor between his bare feet, frowning and not looking up. A second chance at destiny, sprung from this era. Strange.

"So this Metallia person was behind the Death Busters people?" Inuyasha asked after a moment, looking up finally. "What was she?"

"Metallia wasn't a Death Buster," Mamoru continued, looking down at the young man beside him on the floor. "That was Pharoah 90, and...the others," he amended, suddenly catching himself before saying another name. Hotaru was clutching her can tightly, the thin aluminum sides denting under her grip. "Metallia was basically the coming together of evil energies, given a mind and thought, sealed away for years. When Beryl was reincarnated as well, she found and awakened her old mistress."

The can was crushed in Hotaru's hands, and brown liquid splashed out of it. "Oh!" the girl exclaimed, and Kami reached for the napkins on the table, as Chibiusa rushed over with a dishrag from the sink, the cats backing away before getting sticky. "I'm sorry...."

"It's okay, Hotaru-chan," Setsuna said quietly, patting at the spill with a napkin as well. "We've got it."

Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged glances, and some quiet undercurrent of understanding passed from Inuyasha to Kagome. It said, 'I know something. Will tell you later. Soon.' She nodded, watching from her corner of the table.

"Oh!" Usagi suddenly cried, disrupting Kagome and Inuyasha's silent exchange by snapping her fingers. "I almost forgot!"

Rei rolled her eyes. Usagi forgetting things was hardly unusual. "Now what?"

The excited Moon Princess was digging through the pockets of her pleated skirt, and a moment later, produced a small penlike thing, the end tipped in a pink jewel. "Luna, I was thinking this morning...will this work?" She held it up into the air, and the black cat blinked, then slowly began to nod, rising to all four paws, glancing between Usagi and Inuyasha. The hanyou suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, getting the feeling the females of the room were scheming against him.

"Usagi-chan, for once I think you had a good idea," Luna acknowledged, slowly appriciating Usagi's enthusiasm. This might actually work. "We can try it. No harm."

"No harm in what? What are you planning to do to me?" Inuyasha was frowning suspiciously at the cat and the odangoed girl. He drew back a bit when Usagi broke away from Mamoru, and pushed the pen down at him. "What?"

"It's the Luna Pen!" Usagi told him eagerly, as though this explained everything. She was still pushing it at him, so he reluctantly took it, holding it with his fingertips, as though it might bite him if he wasn't careful. Out of her hands, Usagi edged backwards, smiling expectantly. He glared at her, lifting an eyebrow, and he heard the black cat's voice from behind.

"The pen is meant for disguising, by way of a henshin, a transformation. Usagi-chan hasn't found much use for it recently...to disguise your more youkai-like physical traits, it could be useful if it will function for you. We've never really tried it on anyone other than a senshi. It should work...at least in theory."

Inuyasha stared at the thing. A golden colored bit of metal, with a prismic pink stone on the tip, the edges catching in the light a bit. No one other than a senshi? That meant a girl. And in theory? He glanced at Luna. "I'm not going to turn into a girl or some shit like that, am I?"

That elicited a couple giggles from some members of the gathered group. Rei snorted. "Hell no. Does this look like 'Ranma 1/2' to you? Just try it."

"What's a Ranma 1/2?" Inuyasha asked Kagome, bewildered and suspicious. Sometimes they referred to things he had no clue about...she had an unreadable expression on her face, something between nervousness, embarrassment and laughter.

"Don't worry about it, Inuyasha. Just try it, okay? It can't hurt."

He frowned, not liking this at all. "How?"

"Say, 'Moon Power' and then what you want to look like," Artemis glowered, still a bit miffed with Inuyasha for sniffing Luna. "That you want to look human."

Inuyasha snorted. He hated being human. Weak and defenseless, without claws or sense of smell or hearing. That he didn't want, not with that Karasu bitch wandering around. "I'm going to be human? Forget about it. I can't fight-"

"No, no," Usagi cut in, shaking her head vehemently. "You won't actually be human. It's kinda like an illusion. Your clothes and all will change, but you're still you."

"Inuyasha," Kagome coaxed, "just try it. If Usagi's done it, I'm sure you can too."

Was she suggesting he couldn't do something a girl could do? Feh!

"Fine," he growled, standing up and looking at the pink little jewel. "This is stupid. Moon Power. Make me look like a human."

White ribbons of light burst out of the gem, and since Inuyasha had been peering straight into the tip, the brightness hit his eyes. Startled, he dropped the thing, backing away and banging into the wall as he covered his face with his free hand, as though to beat away the light. But it was already too late. The white light faded away, and there were a couple of quickly muffled exclamations from the girls in the room.

"What the fucking hell was that?!"

Then he blinked. Why was everybody staring at him?

Oh shit, he didn't turn into a girl, did he?

He looked back and forth, turning around a couple times to see himself both forward and backward. The pen had put him into a prep school uniform, black pants and a white oxford shirt, a red blazer over it with a black tie. Otherwise, he saw bits of his hair down his back, also black. He looked at his hands, still holding Tetsusaiga, and though they were clawless, he felt none of the lacking of strength that usually accompanied his turning into a human on the night of the new moon.

A chair scraped across the floor, and he heard Kagome's footsteps. Looking up, she was searching his face closely, with curious wide eyes. "Just like the new moon...Inuyasha?"

He glanced at Tetsusaiga, held in his palms, then at the pen, rolled away a bit on the floor. It was disconcerting. "I'm fine...I think. Oy, Usagi. How do I turn back?"

"Well, actually, I've always had to henshin into Sailor Moon whenever I've used it..." she realized thoughtfully, a hand to her chin.

Alarmed, "You mean I can't turn back?!"

"Well, you could try just telling the pen to turn you back...."

"You should have fucking told me that before!"

Usagi backed away a little nervously, as Kagome leapt in to restrain an upset Inuyasha.

Then doorbell rang. And rang. And rang. Rang. Rang...suddenly stopped ringing, and then there was a polite knock.

Rei groaned, heading for the door. "Ami-chan must have stopped Minako-chan. I'll get it...."

Kagome continued to soothe the irritated Inuyasha, though somewhat amused by the whole thing in general. She seriously doubted that Inuyasha would be stuck that way. And of course if Inuyasha were actually planning on attacking Usagi, she'd just 'osuwari' him down. Usagi, under Inuyasha's glaring, had backed up a bit into Mamoru, who also looked a bit amused by the situation, and was trying not to laugh as his girlfriend backed away from the angry dog demon.

Footsteps pounded through the hallway, and four of the Inner Senshi appeared, pressing in far enough to see the human looking Inuyasha on the verge of a fistfight with a nervous Usagi.

Hands full of stacked pizzas, Makoto attempted to drop into a more defensive position, confusedly trying to follow what was going on. Minako blinked, looking around the room while balancing another pizza in her hands, finally got to the black haired, earless and clawless Inuyasha asking, "Who's the hottie?"

That was enough to interrupt Inuyasha's concentration, and he looked at the red ribboned pretty soldier of love and beauty in bewilderment. Rei was shoving the other three forward from behind, into the room, knowing nothing was wrong. With Makoto and Minako out of her way, Ami was able to see what was going on. She glanced from Inuyasha to the floor, where the Luna Pen lay. She picked it up, considered it for a second, then said to him, "Inuyasha?"

"Feh!" was her answer.

Ami smiled faintly, and held out the pen to him. "I see you've been trying to disguise yourself. You should be able to turn back by requesting it to return you to normal. It's merely a tangible illusion."

He kept his sour expression, and Kagome accepted the pen from Ami instead, sticking it into Inuyasha's emblazoned jacket pocket, and letting her hand rest there for a moment longer as she told him, "You look perfectly human, Inuyasha. You'll be able to blend in fine now. Really."

Consolation from Kagome was a bit more reassuring, and he let himself calm down a bit, shooting Usagi another irritated look.

"Okay, are we done arguing now, because the pizza is starting to heat through the hot pads," Makoto said, gingerly angling her way around the two newcomers to the group. Minako followed her a moment later, setting hers down on the counter as Kami pushed aside the silverware, clearing a bit of space. Each of them released clouds of steam as they peeled back the layers of aluminum foil Makoto wrapped the pizza in, and the smells of freshly baked Italian food wafted warmly through the house.

There was a clattering of plates, and Chibiusa leapt off the side counter to come around, as Rei headed for a drawer for a pizza slicer and server. Makoto was continuing to talk, raising her voice over the new clamor of voices, some louder than others. "Okay, we've only got three...one half cheese for Usagi-chan," that was accompanied by a squeal of delight, "one half sausage. Next one has green pepper for Minako," another squeal and Minako whipping around to dive into the huddle around the table, "and the last is all pepperoni. That's on the counter. Help yourselves!"

"Mm, homemade pizza," Kagome murmured, edging herself and Inuyasha aside and out of the way. Mamoru was also hanging back, waiting for the stampede to end. Kami had her hands over her head, trying to protect herself from the barrage of passing plates and elbows, and Hotaru was half under the table. Setsuna was leaning as far back as possible as everyone else sliced and cut and passed food around. "Mm, it smells good, ne, Inuyasha?"

He was trying to see around the packed female bodies, and not succeeding. Though he had to admit, Kagome was right. It smelled great, even of things he'd never smelled before. Spices and tomato sauce, cheese and baked dough and peppers. "What is it?"

"A foreign food," explained Kagome, tugging on his arm now that it was deemed safe enough, and the senshi were backing away to various places to eat their slices. "It's good. You'll love it. Come on."

A moment later, Inuyasha had been forced to set aside Tetsusaiga, and had his hands full of a plate with this 'pizza' thing on it. It was triangular shaped, and had the 'pepperoni' on it. It was also hot, and he imitated Kagome, blowing on it to cool. He watched as she held it up to her face, cheeks puffing out a bit as she concentrated on the food. Tentatively, she picked it up with her fingertips, raising the pointed end and biting down. Strings of mozzarella cheese dangled between the food and her lips, and she tried to bite the two apart. After a moment, she looked up at him, trying not to giggle as he continued to imitate her, holding the pizza farther and farther away as the cheese lengthened out. Makoto, wonderful cook that she was, had heaped it on. Kagome smiled at his consternation, reached out and pinched the trail just in front of his mouth. He managed to pull the ends apart as Kagome put the rest back onto the plate, laughing at him as a very faint tinge of pinkness rose on his face.

Neither noticed the slightly demonic grin Minako had on her face.

If they knew her better, they would have known exactly what she was plotting. Nobody noticed budding romance better than the senshi of Venus.

The chatter was dulling, and as everyone settled in, he could tell they were growing serious again. Sailor Senshi were weird people, Inuyasha decided. Though pretty much everything in Kagome's time was weird, in his opinion.

"Did you three find anything today, after school?" Rei asked as she settled herself into the ring around the table, wedged into a chair in back with Minako.

Ami wiped her mouth with a napkin, setting her pizza slice back down. "No. I ran some scans on the area, but all I got were tracings of youki, which basically correlates to what I found before, linking daimon with youkai. The police are all over everything, and the news. Really not much more than what they've found. We talked to a couple of students, but all we managed to learn is that when the lunch bell sounded, everyone went out into the halls...."

"And started keeling over," Kagome cut in, adding to the story. Eyes switched to her, and she took a deep breath. "I saw that Karasu woman walking around, through the hallways...she would point her staff thing down one, and there was a black light...everyone was hit by it. Me too. Then those crystal like things started appearing. Their...Hoste? Their soul?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened before," Makoto sighed, setting down the crust of her pepperoni and holding the plate as she leaned against the counter, Chibiusa sitting atop it just behind her. "If you resisted it that long, you must have a pretty strong soul, Kagome."

"Eh...heh...." Kagome managed, paying a lot of attention to her food again.

Inuyasha watched her nervousness, and cut in, "Ukifune-"

"My name is Kami," the girl insisted quietly, leaning around Usagi to see the hanyou. "Kami."

He met her gaze for a moment, and nodded once. It was true enough. The Ukifune he met was this girl...but not this girl. A past self and a present self, though not quite reincarnated. "Kami," he acknowledged, "figured out how to put up that big dome thing to protect the building."

"Dome thing? Kami-san?" Usagi asked, turning to the girl beside her. "You learned an attack?"

She blushed, looking down and covering her mouth with a hand thoughtfully. "I wondered if maybe mine would be like Hotaru-chan's, since we are both of Saturn. It seems I have a Silence Wall of my own."

"That's wonderful, onee-san," Hotaru beamed, leaning around Usagi, who had set herself between them when she dug into the pizza. "Then perhaps also an offensive attack?"

She smiled in return, nodding once and looking at Inuyasha. "Her attack was powerful. She said 'Shadow Buster'...I didn't know if I could hold it up...I didn't know what I was doing."

"Feh. Well, at least she didn't get any of those people's souls," Inuyasha stated as he shoved the last bit of pizza into his mouth, chewing before snapping, "Your precious school kept you from getting there in time to help out."

That, of course, set off a barrage of protests.

"School is important to us in this era-"

"We can't help it!"

"I'd have to make it across half of town!"

"Do you know what would happen if I snuck out of chemistry again? I'd get detention for a month!"

"But I'm already failing history!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome frowned, turning on him. "They can't get out of classes! Neither can I! It's not like we have the others to help us out here!"

"Then why the hell can't we just bring them here? There's got to be a way to get them through the well-"

"Why the well?" Chibiusa asked, pulling something out from under her shirt. Kagome and Inuyasha stared at the end of her silvery necklace. A scripted key hung there, dangling idly where she held it. "Puu, it can't be too much worse than it is already to bring their friends here, ne? We've trusted them this far."

Setsuna spoke before either Kagome or Inuyasha could ask what the key was, or what it did, exactly. "People of the past must not know of the future. His being here is already bad enough. The use of a timekey would only effect matters further."

"But you allowed him to stay, ne?" Chibiusa pressed, leaning forward and being as sweet as she could. Pluto never could resist her for long. She smiled, and Setsuna lifted her eyebrows, knowing exactly the pink haired girl was up to. "They could help out while we're in school."

"Haruka and Michiru will be returning this evening," Setsuna countered flatly, not liking this at all. She always felt like the bad guy in situations like this. She did wish Uranus and Neptune were there...at least one of them would be likely to back her up, hopefully Michiru. If Michiru, then Haruka knew better than to disagree, their leader though she may be. "Their credits have not transferred to Juuban High yet. They'll be free to help tomorrow."

Chibiusa pouted a bit, trying to think of another tactic. "Kagome, Inuyasha...these others...who are they?"

"Feh, you mean the bouzu, the punk kid and-"

"Sango," Kami finished, laughing a little at the description. "Your friends would be helpful if here. Besides, Setsuna-san, I am only learning my way around yet, and you have work yourself. Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan are very competent, but we can use all the help we can get. A houshi and a taiji-ya would be very useful, fighting with a youkai-daimon. Not many in this era know of how to deal with youkai. This...Sango?" she queried, and Kagome and Inuyasha nodded that she was correct, "This Sango may have knowledge of them, and the houshi-sama as well, if they are experienced fighters. Neither Haruka nor Michiru have background in these things. It would be wise to gain aid from those who know, Setsuna-san. Not that Inuyasha and Kagome do not know things, but Kagome, like everyone else, has school, and Inuyasha will be remaining with her during the daytime."

Eyes swiveled to Setsuna, who was looking down and seemed to be considering what Kami had just said. "You also said a 'punk kid'?" she asked after a moment, warily. "How many people would you be talking about?"

Kami clapped her hands together once, smiling as she remembered. It had been a long time for her, down the centuries. She remembered a little boy who played kemari with her at the riverside. "Ah! Shippou-kun! How is Shippou-kun? I remember him a bit better."

"He's fine," Kagome smiled. The little kitsune had moped about for days after they'd been unable to find any trace of Ukifune's ghost. "Just those three, Setsuna-san. And Kirara, too."

"Kirara?"

"Sango's youkai cat," came the reply, and the ears of the three cats on the table perked up a bit.

"Chibiusa has a point, Setsuna," Luna began after a moment. "Damage to the timestream would already be done. And as Kami said, knowledge could help us. We may be in a situation in which aid from the past may be necessary, if this Magus Karasu person is all that she claims."

"Besides," Artemis added after a moment, "there's the distortion to take into account. If there's been almost no warping, then we may be looking at a situation of predestination."

It was these two bits of advice Setsuna was considering most seriously. Over a thousand years of warning was bred into her blood. Taboo. It was taboo. When she was first given the Garnet Orb and the Timestaff, Queen Serenity had distinctly told her the three taboos of time travel.

First- Never leave your post at the Doorway.

Second- Never travel through time.

Third- Never stop time.

And she'd broken every one of them.

With a sigh, she stood, pushing back her chair at the table. "Come. There isn't enough room here."

"Room?"

She looked at the group, not knowing which voice had spoken. It could have been any of them, and it did not matter which. Finally, she closed her eyes.

"To summon your friends from the past."

~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~

That elicited a couple giggles from some members of the gathered group. Rei snorted. "Hell no. Does this look like 'Ranma 1/2' to you? Just try it."

"What's a Ranma 1/2?" Inuyasha asked Kagome, bewildered and suspicious. Sometimes they refered to things he had no clue about...she had an unreadable expression on her face, something between embarassment and laughter.

"Don't worry about it, Inuyasha. Just try it, okay? It can't hurt."

He frowned, not liking this at all. "How?"

"Say, 'Moon Power' and then what you want to look like," Artemis glowered, still a bit miffed with Inuyasha for sniffing Luna. "That you want to look human."

"Fine," he growled, standing up and looking at the pink little jewel. "This is stupid. Moon Power. Make me look like a human."

"What the fucking hell was that?!"

Then he blinked. Why was everybody staring at him?

Rei suddenly whipped a mirror out of Pretty Space.

His hair was pulled into a thin little ponytail. He was in a pair of black, thigh high leather boots, hot pants and a black bra top with wings on the front. What was worst though, was when he realized he was actually filling out the bra top.

Inuyasha: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! runs from the room

"Oh yeah," Rei sighed, watching Inuyasha run off, "I almost forgot. There's gender bending in our show too."

Kagome: o.O;;;;

Terms of note:

shinboku- sacred trees at a shrine. Not to be confused with the Goshinboku, the specific tree Inuyasha was pinned to.

torii- entrance arch to a shrine

hime- princess. Due to all the various daiymo in the sengoku jidai, there were many women claiming the title then.

daiymo- a feudal warlord

kemari- kickball

Have fun with the omake? I keep finding lots of Ranma crossovers with Inuyasha, so I thought I'd take a stab at making a joke out of it. Turning Inuyasha into a Sailor Starlight...giggles

This chapter was a lot of fun to write, mainly due to all the jokes I could play with in here...Inuyasha goes into a car. Inuyasha sniffs the cats...Inuyasha eats pizza...hehe, Kagome helps Inuyasha eat pizza. ^_^ Sailor Venus is unleashed! Basically, I belong to the 'less is more' school of romance- I like little sweet things you can remember rather than just simple clinginess. A smile, a touch, a gesture...little things, more subtle, more enduring. If it's rare, it has all the more value, like a priceless little antique you discover buried somewhere....ah, I'm being silly now, don't mind me. ^.^

Overall, not much by way of notes today. This chapter basically just sets up the next one. And, next, what you've all been waiting for...drumrolls the rest of the Inuyasha-tachi making it to the present!

Til next storytime.

~Queen

Coming up next, in Chapter 8: Forward-

A light slanted into his eyes, and he held up a hand to cover them. Shouts sounded up from the village; he wasn't the only one to see it. "Kaede! Miroku! Sango!" They were already on their feet by the time he shouted, running to the door and grabbing up weaponry as they headed out into the glowing light....