Past and Future, Intertwined
Jaded Skye
Chapter Two – Getting to Know You
Ah, it was a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping, the sun was showing her brilliance, the trees whistled... The peace was interrupted at times by the honking of the traffic, but that was normal in Tokyo. The households of the people were starting to stir, and all was tranquil.
Now that's boring. If everything was peaceful, there wouldn't be conflict, and there wouldn't be story to tell. Thankfully, our main characters aren't as tranquil as the others, as we now take you to a quite contrary setting—a chaotic residence that we've been introduced to before.
"What do you mean we're not going back?" Inuyasha exclaimed angrily, "You think Naraku's going to wait for us to gather the jewel shards?"
"Well, it's not my fault we have a major Science test the day after tomorrow!" Kagome protested equally angry.
"How long have you been here already, huh?" Still furious, Inuyasha asked.
"Well, excuse me for having a normal life! I have an obligation to actually PASS this course! I'm not going to be paid for finding jewel shards! I need a good education so I can get a good job and live a good life WITHOUT the complications of the past!" Kagome ranted on, "I did not ask you to come here, and if you can't understand why I must be here just a little more longer, than go back!!" With that, she stormed out of the room.
Inuyasha stood dazed for a second, then—like the runners in the Olympics—bolted after Kagome. He grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards the well. Needless to say, Kagome was most displeased. Well... you can probably guess what happened next.
"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!"
BOOM! CRASH! CLING! THUD! KABOOM!
"KAGOME! Not inside the house! Oh dear, look at the mess."
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Kagome stared into space defiantly. She knew she did what she had to do, but why did she feel so gloomy? She had to stay, if only to study for that dreadful Science test the next day. Who did Inuyasha think he was anyways? She thought angrily, trying to boss her around. Her life was more important than some... jewel shards that could be amplifying demons' strengths—giving them power to destroy entire villages. There would be even more deaths should Naraku come to possess all the jewel shards.Kagome knew this, but she also knew that she would be putting her life on hold if she gave up everything for the past. She needed to keep that balance, and she resolved that she would.
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Kagome turned her attention to the teacher just in time to hear, "...and remember to study for the history quiz next week!" She silently groaned. Why was everyone against her? Tsukaze believed that luck decided to favor him at last. Clutching the piece of paper like his lifeline, he smiled happily. He entered the warehouse unhesitatingly after consulting the paper to make sure that the address was correct—it was.It was sort of an anti-climax for Tsukaze. The room was nothing out of the ordinary. It was not dark like in the movies; fluorescent lights hung in the ceiling. The room was not abandoned, but held about a dozen men—those men were just regular looking men, nothing special.
Tsukaze approached the nearest man, and asked, "excuse me, but do you know what's happening?"
The man shrugged, "I guess we're waiting."
Tsukaze nodded. He was good at waiting. After all those horrible months of unemployment—waiting for a response from a company only to get rejected—he had learned patience. He waited. It wasn't long before something happened. After a few other men had arrived, his mysterious new boss decided to make an appearance.
The man was dressed in an expensive looking black suit. He was a western man and had the features of them—tall, blond, and haughty. He spoke, "I'm sure you all received my letter. I'm looking for close-mouthed workers. You will sign a contract of secrecy after I explain what you are to do."
The man paused slightly, and then continued, "Your job is simple. You are to look in antique stores all over Japan for an antique Japanese ornamental sword. You are to ask for the 'Tetsusaiga'. If they react to the name, notify me immediately. If not, move on. The people either have it or not. You will pick up your cheque—you will remember in the letter how much I will pay for your services—after you have completed searching all the stores on your piece of paper. Simple, no?"
Tsukaze listened intently. It was not a joke; he had finally found a job—a good and easy job that paid well at that. It was a strange job, granted, but who cared! As long as he can cash those cheques, he would be happy... very happy indeed.
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Souta enjoyed the sunshine. He enjoyed the caress of the warmth against his bare face and arms, but most of all; he enjoyed the freedom of recess. It was almost worth his torture in the morning classes. He stopped suddenly as he spotted the new girl—Lindsey. He headed towards her."Ohaiyo!" Lindsey greeted him cheerfully, "I beg your pardon that I don't know your name yet."
"It's all right. You've only been here for a day, and there are just too many new names for you to remember. I understand!" He pointed toward himself as he introduced himself, "I'm Souta. I'm not interesting, but I bet you are. Tell me about yourself."
Lindsey hesitated, "I-I don't know what to say. Really. I don't think I'm very interesting either."
"Of course you are!" Souta objected, "You came from Canada! If you aren't going to volunteer information, then you can just answer my questions." Matter-of-factly, Souta began, "where did you live in Canada? Why did you decide to move here? How come you know Japanese very well? They didn't teach Japanese in your old school, did they?"
"Slow down!" Lindsey exclaimed. Then she smiled abruptly as if she came to a decision about something. "I'll try to answer your questions. I lived in Montreal, Ontario of Canada. We spoke English and French there." Spotting an incoming question, she continued, "Yes, I also know French."
"That's awesome!" Souta replied.
"No, not really." Lindsey smiled modestly, "my uncle Maru knew many more languages." Holding up her hand, she said, "ask your questions after I answered your first ones. We decided to move here, because... well... my parents decided that I should see the home of my ancestors. I know Japanese because they insisted that I learn it. See, my parents planned our move for a while now—ever since I was born, to be exact."
Souta nodded. "So, tell me about that uncle of yours. Is he Japanese? 'Cause he has a Japanese-sounding name and all."
Lindsey laughed, "no one really knows actually. He's just... there. Every few years he comes to visit us, and we can get in touch with him via his company if we have an emergency—we never did. Did I mention he's very rich? He owns companies from all over the world. Other than that, we don't know much about him. We all have different suspicions about him and his family. Some of the theories that we came up with are pretty wacky. You want to hear?"
"Sure!" Souta agreed at once.
"Okay," Lindsey said, and then started, "see, my mom thinks that he's actually a departed spirit that was sent to look after us—a guardian angel, in other words. My dad, he believes that Maru's an alien that wants to study the human race and chose our family." She giggled, then continued, "Me, well, this is what I think..."
Lindsey never got to finish for in that moment, the bell rang for the resumption of class. She went back inside with joy, happy that she found a friend in this new environment in such a short time.
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Tsukaze pushed open the fragile looking door. The bell that was evidently on it jingled and notified the owner, which happened to be a man getting on in the years. The man looked up from his magazine disinterestedly, and asked, "are you a customer?""I work for a collector," Tsukaze answered simply, "I look for a sword. An ornamental Japanese sword called the 'Tetsusaiga'. Do you have it in your inventory or do you know anything about it?"
"I might have it," the man answered gingerly, "how does it look like?"
"You either have it or you don't. In your instance, you do not," Tsukaze told him as he flung a few 500-yen bills on the counter, "for your silence." The man looked suspiciously at him but he took the bills. It would be a long time before he would forget the incident though.
Tsukaze stepped out of the dimly-lit store. He looked at his slip of paper for the next antique store address. He headed there.
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Inuyasha was walking around the city again, in a bleak mood. His claws itched for some demon blood, because fighting required his full concentration and he would not have to think of these maddening thoughts. He still could not believe Kagome refused to come with him, again! He gave up a whole day to bring her back, but did she care? No. All she cared about was some—what was that strange word again?—test. Kagome even had the insolence to tell him what to do. "Go back!" she had yelled at him.
Well, he would stay here, if only to contradict her orders. Sure she could tell him to 'sit'—he snarled at the thought—but she doesn't have the strength to actually throw him in the well. Feeling better that he had made a decision, Inuyasha walked more briskly. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to what was in his path, and so he bumped into someone. He wasn't about to apologize to a mere mortal and so he walked on...
"You don't recognize me, dear half-brother?" asked the stranger, "why I'm wounded, deeply wounded."
The voice, the tone, the words all blended in Inuyasha head. Slowly, he turned and stared into the golden eyes of the stranger. "Sesshoumaru," he growled. It was his demon half-brother—his hated enemy—dressed in the modern clothes that all the humans wore. It disgusted Inuyasha.
"So you remember me. Good, good," Sesshoumaru continued, "still dressed in those rags, are you?" He looked up and down at Inuyasha, fully aware of the insult in his eyes.
"You will never get your dirty hands on my Tetsusaiga so give it up!" Inuyasha declared, as if he had not heard the insultingly comment.
Sesshoumaru started. Inuyasha still thought he was after the Tetsusaiga? How idiotic was his younger half-brother, but this might work in his advantage, it was what he wanted—when he could've just walked away—wasn't it? A reason to fight. "All bark and no bite, are you Inuyasha?"
"You want a fight?" Inuyasha smiled with malice, drawing the Tetsusaiga from its sheath. "I will destroy you with the very thing you sought to take from me! Tetsusaiga!" He charged.
Sesshoumaru was aware of the crowd making a circle around Inuyasha and himself to watch the spectacle. Perhaps he was a little rash, he thought as he dodged Inuyasha's uncoordinated sword strokes. Did he really want the humans to watch it? No, he answered himself.
"Do watch yourself, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru commented, "you wouldn't want to kill a human by mistake." With that, he thought it was safe to leave. So, using a technique that he learned decades ago, he 'disappeared' as Inuyasha's latest attack came down.
Inuyasha was furious at this turn of events. Ignoring the humans completely—for they don't matter—he began his futile attempt to catch wind of his half-brother's scent. He would do that in vain for several hours yet.
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Tsukaze beamed as he walked away from the scene. It was really his day! To think, mere curiosity would earn him an extravagant bonus from his boss! The weirdly dressed kid had practically given him the money, yelling out 'Tetsusaiga' like it was the end of the world.
It was a wicked looking blade. He had never seen anything like it, and that kid was wielding it like an actual weapon, not an ornamental sword put on display. He wondered if that sword could actually hurt that other person if he had not dodged the attacks.
It occurred to Tsukaze suddenly that the police might be interested in this 'attempted murder', however strange it might be. He quickly rejected the notion. After all, the police wouldn't be paying him.
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Sesshoumaru was laughing inside as he strolled. The brat was still alive and apparently, he had not lost his usual vigor in battle. Inuyasha would provide him with entertainment on another day, when he had time to spare. He stopped in front of the schoolyard and glanced at the children inside. He spotted Lindsey. The girl was talking quite lively with a boy of her age. She looked happy.
Sesshoumaru was glad. It was great that she found a friend so soon. The girl spotted him, said good-bye to her new friend, and skipped over to him. It turned out he had not even to ask, for Lindsey was telling him all about her new friend. How like Rin she was, talking to him endlessly on end without expecting a reply in return.
It turned out that the boy was called Souta and he lived with his older sister, his mom, and his strange grandpa in a shrine. (Lindsey thought that was so cool.) There was a "God Tree" on their property and it was supposed to be a place of mystery. It had always made them happy to be near there. Souta had invited her to visit sometimes, and would uncle Maru please, please, please let her go? Lindsey looked at him for an answer.
"If your parents agree," Sesshoumaru responded. He did not know why the girl always asked him for permission. He was rewarded by one of Lindsey remarkable smile of joy. It somehow cheered him up as well. Elvrie hanged up the phone in disgust. A perfectly good piece of news was spoiled by the lack of answers. Sure they had found the apparent owner of the Tetsusaiga, but did they know who he was? No. Did they know where he lived? No. Did they know anything about this punk? Unfortunately, no.
Elvrie regretted his choice of the man in charge in Japan. The idiot has absolutely no clue how to get information. If only he was there... He gritted his teeth. Wait. What was that? If only he was there... Well, why couldn't he be there? His fraction of the company could practically run itself, given the proper management. He had a few perfectly good youth who would do a good job managing his duties...
This job of finding the Tetsusaiga was important enough for Naraku to worry about, and if they wanted to keep his job, he would have to please his boss. Elvrie grinned. When—not if—they got their hands on the sword, Naraku might even reward him. It was the thought foremost in his mind as he set about organizing the details of his departure.
Disclaimer:
Sure, I'm Rumiko Takahashi and I own Inuyasha. I was born in 1957 in Niigata, Japan. I'm considered to be one of the world's most popular manga artists. Yes, yes, of course.
Author's Note:
I wrote this pretty fast this time, but this chapter's a bit more shorter than the last. Not a lot of humor here, but hey! What's a story without some plot development? /laughs As usual, if you have any questions, suggestions, constructive critisim, or anything else, feel free to leave me an review!