The Race for Life
Inu-Yasha/ Speed Racer Crossover
Chapter One: The strange tale begins………..
Kagome sighed as she stared out at the racetrack. The rain was falling heavily on the entire area, making it hazardous to even walk on the bleachers, much less for the race car drivers to even attempt to start the race.
"What a drag! I came home from the Sengoku Era to spend time with my family and it rains on me! This sucks!" Kagome muttered, moodily.
"No kidding." A male voice agreed, from beside her. Startled, Kagome jumped and looked at the speaker, whom she hadn't even sensed standing next to her. He was about Inu-Yasha's height, with short, bushy black hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a simple racing uniform that consisted of a blue shirt with white trim, white pants, and a short red bandanna tied around his neck. He gave her an apologetic look and grinned somewhat sheepishly.
"Sorry if I startled you." The young man said, still looking somewhat embarrassed by his breach in etiquette.
"No problem! No harm done! Lousy weather we're having, isn't it?" Kagome asked. The young man nodded as he gave the rain a truly disgusted look.
"Yeah. I was really looking forward to this race too. The first race of the season and it gets rained out. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the season, does it?" the young man asked, jokingly.
"Nope, it sure doesn't. By the way, my name's Kagome Higurashi. What's yours'?" Kagome asked, conversationally.
"I'm known as Speed Racer. I'm the current driver for Team Go. Pleasure to meet you, Higurashi-san." The young man replied. Kagome raised both eyebrows.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't know racecar drivers mingled with their fans." Kagome said, frankly. Speed shrugged.
"It's something I choose to do. Besides, on a day like today, my 'family' isn't exactly the most agreeable group of people on the face of the planet. My father's stewing about the weather, my best friend and mechanic for Team Go is still angry with me for what I did to the Mach 5 during the trials yesterday. And my girlfriend…….well……I'll not go there." Speed muttered, as Kagome nodded her understanding.
"In other words, a typical Monday, right?" Kagome questioned.
"Oh yeah. Big time Monday." Speed agreed, "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother getting up on Monday mornings."
"Same here. So, how long will you and your 'family' be in town, Racer-san?" Kagome asked, curiously.
"A few days at least, a week at the most. Why?" Speed in turn asked.
"It's nothing important, I just thought I'd do a good deed and help you get a break from your team, that's all. You look as though you could use one." Kagome stated. Speed only rolled his eyes and gave her a wry look.
"You don't know the half of it. I believe I'll take you up on your offer, Higurashi-san. It'll give Trixie some time to cool off and give me a break from having my ears chewed on. Let's go." Speed said, sounding somewhat eager to get some distance from his miffed loved ones for awhile.
"Okay. Let me just tell my mom and grandfather where I'm going, then I'll be right back with you." Kagome said, even though part of her was wondering why she felt so at ease around a boy she barely even knew. Within moments, she and Speed Racer had left the stadium behind and now traveled in relative comfort through town in the Mach 5.
"I'd have never imagined that such a powerful car could be driven off of the racetrack like this. Was it designed this way?" Kagome asked. Speed nodded.
"Hai. My father designed and built this car from the ground up. It's not only one of the fastest racing cars out there, but it's also one of the safest road-worthy vehicles I've ever seen. The only other one I know of is Racer X's Shooting Star………Speaking of which, I haven't seen Racer X in a race in ages. I wonder if he's stopped racing?" Speed mused, aloud, as he drove.
"I'd heard that he'd disappeared from the racing circuit, but I wasn't sure if it was true. It seems kind of odd, doesn't it?" Kagome asked, as she remembered what she'd read about the mysterious racer's disappearance and how it had seemed suspicious to her even then. Speed again nodded, this time thoughtfully.
"It does. He's an international man of mystery, yet no one has heard from him in months. It's like he's vanished from the face of the earth. Even the Interpol is baffled." Speed confided.
"Does he usually leave clues to where he's going?" Kagome questioned.
"Sometimes. But this disappearance was sudden, even for him. I'm starting to wonder if he's gotten into something even he can't get out of without help." Speed murmured, then added, "You know, I normally don't talk about these sorts of things around people I have just met. Yet, for some reason, I feel I can confide in you. Kind of strange, don't you think?"
"I was just thinking the same thing. For some reason you feel……I dunno…….familiar? Like I've known you for years." Kagome said, in agreement.
"Maybe we knew one another in a previous life or something." Speed suggested, unexpectedly stirring something within Kagome to the surface.
"Maybe……….." Kagome murmured, as the scene from the past unfolded right before her mind's eye.
Flashback
Kikyo looked up when the thundering of hooves came to her ears. This wasn't an unusual sound to her, by any stretch of the imagination, but the situation she saw wasn't at all normal. A lone warrior was racing to get away from his pursuers, pushing his horse to its' limits in order to remain free. Even from where she stood on the forest's edge, Kikyo could see the young warrior's desperation. It was then that she saw what his pursuers truly were and notched an arrow into her bow, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"I hate it when lesser youkai take on human form." Kikyo thought, as she let fly the arrow from her bow, striking all of the warrior's pursuers with one powerful blast. When he realized that he wasn't being chased anymore, the young warrior rode over to Kikyo and expressed his gratitude.
"Many thanks, Miko-sama. I thought truly that those youkai would slay me." The warrior said, gratefully.
"You're very welcome. So, tell me, what are you doing so far away from any of the battlefields?" Kikyo asked, curiously. The young warrior blushed slightly.
"As embarrassed as I am to admit this, Miko-sama, I have a terrible sense of direction. I got lost on my way to the battlefield and blundered into that nest of youkai. My friends often say that I'm a terrific samurai that has no sense of direction and even worse luck. That seems to describe me very well." The warrior replied, with surprising amiability for someone of his class. Kikyo smiled warmly at the young warrior; she could sense his pure soul, and that he meant her no harm.
"Why don't you return to the village with me? You could set off for the battlefield early tomorrow morning." Kikyo suggested. This got a grateful smile from the warrior.
"I would be much obliged, Miko-sama. Arigato." The warrior said, as he dismounted and walked alongside Kikyo to her village.
"Dou itishimasu. By the way, would you mind telling me your name?" Kikyo asked.
"I don't mind at all! My name is Koryu, though my comrades often call me 'Kazeryu' because I race the wind and fight like a dragon." The warrior answered, with the same amiability as before in his voice and eyes.
"He's the exact opposite of Inu-Yasha………" Kikyo thought, with a sad smile; she knew that Koryu's chances of living to see old age were slim at best. But he had the brightest spirit of any man she'd ever seen.
"In any other time, he'd make a very good husband to a very lucky girl. But in these times of war, there are no guarantees. He might live to grow old, but, then again, he could die tomorrow. There's no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring." Kikyo thought, sadly, yet kept up her peaceful appearance so she wouldn't worry her newfound friend, Koryu.
End Flashback
Kagome returned to herself just as Speed let out a surprised yelp and slammed on the brakes.
"Whoa! What happened?!" Kagome shouted, just as startled as Speed must have been.
"Higurashi-san, some hippie is standing on the Mach 5's hood." Speed muttered, his expression deadpan as he pointed out the person that now stood on his car's hood.
"Inu-Yasha?!" Kagome yelped, as Speed pressed the button on the steering wheel to open the transpara-steel dome that served as his car's roof and let Kagome stand.
"Inu-Yasha, what's your problem?!" Kagome asked, angrily, as she got an obstinate glare from the hanyou as a response.
"You're hangin' out with that guy when you'd said that you'd be with your family all day today. We could've found some more Jewel shards in the time you've been wastin' with this guy." Inu-Yasha growled, curtly, as he gave Speed a look Kagome could have sworn was a jealous one. Surprisingly, Speed's only response was an arched eyebrow and an inquisitive glance at Kagome.
"What's he talking about?" Speed asked, curiously.
"It's nothing, Racer-san." Kagome said, as she gave the hanyou a warning look.
"He sure is raising quite a ruckus over nothing, Higurashi-san. Are you sure he isn't stewing about his wardrobe?" Speed asked, with much sarcasm in his voice.
"Whaddaya mean?!" Inu-Yasha snapped, not really understanding what Speed was talking about, but hearing the sarcastic tone of voice easily enough.
"Well, it isn't exactly my fault that you're dressed like someone from my father's generation. And there's really no need to take it out on Higurashi-san either. I can't help it if you dress and act like a bad-mannered, dog-eared hippie!" Speed stated, coolly, surprising Kagome by his calm and collected manner.
"What did you call me?!" Inu-Yasha snapped, furiously.
"Inu-Yasha, get off of the car." Kagome ordered, as she got out of the Mach 5 and went and stood on the sidewalk, much to Speed Racer's confusion. To his surprise, 'Inu-Yasha' did as he was told and got off of the hood and stood before a slightly miffed Kagome, casting the occasional 'dagger glare' at him while he was it.
"Well?" Inu-Yasha asked, crossing his arms as he glared at her.
"Sit boy." Kagome said, crisply, about ten seconds before the hanyou was smacked into the concrete by an invisible force (and formed a Wile E. Coyote-esque imprint in the ground while he was at it).
"That had to hurt…….." Speed muttered, chuckling a little at the expense of the hanyou's dignity.
"But he deserved it." Kagome retorted, as Inu-Yasha grumbled something unsavory under his breath and slowly stood back up.
Meanwhile, back at the track, an equally miffed Trixie searched for the missing member of Team Go.
"I don't know where he could have gone or how he could have gotten out of the stadium without being noticed. He's become fairly popular over the last couple of years." Sparky muttered, taking extra care that he didn't get too close to the fuming girl in front of him.
"He better not have pulled a Rex Racer on us. Pops can't take that kind of emotional wound again." Hank Racer, Speed's cousin and newest member of Team Go murmured, as he seemingly appeared from nowhere and scared several years out of Sparky's life.
"For the love of the Mach 5, don't do that!" Sparky yelped, jumping back several feet, with a hand to his chest and a shocked look on his face.
"Sorry, Sparks. Didn't mean to startle you." Hank said, apologetically.
"'Startle' is an understatement, Hank. What the heck are you doin' here?! I thought your folks were against you joining Team Go. What're you doing here and when did you get here?" Sparky asked, as Trixie cooled off a little bit and listened in on the conversation.
"I finally got the 'okay' from my folks about two days ago, but the flight I wanted to take to Japan didn't leave until yesterday evening. It got delayed about halfway en route because of a tropical storm and had to take a long detour. I just got in about two hours ago." Hank explained, with some irritation on his part.
"Sheesh! No wonder it's raining so hard! Pops is not going to be happy about that! He's already mad enough about Speed pulling a disappearing act on us and taking the Mach 5 out of the garage to do so." Sparky muttered, as he removed his baseball cap and ran a hand through his unruly brown hair, a look of pure irritation on his young face as he did so.
"Excuse me, are you three members of Team Go?" a woman's voice asked. Surprised, Sparky, Hank, and Trixie turned their attention to the speaker.
"Yes ma'am, we are. What can we do for you?" Hank replied, politely.
"I heard you mention Racer-san and thought you should know that my daughter had invited him to come to our shrine for a while." The woman said, quietly.
"Your daughter invited him? Why?" Trixie growled, possessively.
"A gesture of friendship, nothing more. The young man had mentioned that there was some strife within his family today." The old man beside the woman said, to his granddaughter's defense. Hank turned and gave Sparky and Trixie a questioning look.
"Strife within the family? What happened? Has he gotten into a fight with Pops of something?" Hank asked. He watched as the pair got guilty looks on their faces.
"No, he hasn't been fighting with anyone on Team Go. He's been his usual peaceful self. But we've been awfully cross with him for the past few days. Pops and I climbed all over his back yesterday about his carelessness in the trials and Trixie got angry with him about something and wound up slapping him. I guess he did have a good reason to step out for a while." Sparky admitted, as Trixie nodded sullenly in agreement. Trixie jumped when the woman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry. Kagome won't steal your boyfriend. She has her heart set on someone else." The woman said, reassuringly. At first, Trixie merely gave the woman a surprised look, then this look became one of deep embarrassment.
"How about this; why don't you all come and visit the shrine later? It will give you a much-needed break from your busy schedules." The woman offered.
"We couldn't possibly impose ma'am! You must be incredibly busy yourself!" Trixie said, speaking up calmly for the first time since Speed had gone 'missing'. The woman smiled and shook her head.
"Think nothing of it. I'll even cook dinner, how does that sound?" the woman asked. This got a rather abashed look from the three in response. Then Trixie shook herself from her shock and dipped a polite bow to the woman and her elderly father.
"Thank you for your hospitality Mrs……….Mrs………?" Trixie trailed off, her confusion and embarrassment very evident on her face.
"Higurashi. I'm Toko Higurashi and this is my father. My son is somewhere around……" the woman said, trailing off when a rather frantic-looking Pops Racer rushed over to them.
"Pops! What's wrong?" Sparky asked, immediately concerned about the manager for Team Go.
"I can't find Spritle anywhere! Have any of you seen him?" Pops asked, in turn.
"We haven't seen him, Mr. Racer." Trixie replied, noticing when Toko blanched.
"I think I know where our sons are………." Toko murmured.
"Where?" Pops asked, in all seriousness.
"They went with your other son and my daughter." Toko said, as she quickly started fitting the pieces together.
"The Mach 5's trunk……….." Pops, Trixie, and Sparky muttered, in unison.
"It looks like we're going back to the shrine after all." The old man said, matter-of-factly.
"Looks that way….." Toko agreed, as she watched the tense faces of the racing team's remaining members, knowing exactly how it felt when children went missing for any amount of time.
"How long are you going to sulk, Inu-Yasha? It isn't like I was defending him." Kagome said, as Speed drove towards the Higurashi Shrine (they'd had to take a more roundabout route than what they would have, had Inu-Yasha not come to be sitting Indian-style just behind Kagome and Speed).
"I take it that you had to defend someone he didn't like before?" Speed asked, instinctively ducking when Inu-Yasha aimed a punch at the back of his head.
"Kinda." Kagome replied, deciding that it was best that she didn't say anything about her adventures in the past for the time being.
"Feh. Mangy wolf." Inu-Yasha grumbled. Speed gave Kagome a curious look.
"Long story." Kagome said, answering the look the young racecar driver had just given her vocally.
"I kind of assumed that much." Speed stated, quietly, as he carefully pulled into the driveway behind Higurashi Shrine. It wasn't until they were within sight of Kagome's bedroom window that Kagome became aware of the odd look that was now becoming evident on Speed's face.
"Racer-san? What's wrong?" Kagome asked, as she paused and looked at the now stock-still young man.
"I could've sworn I'd just seen some kind of light coming from that room, Higurashi-san. And it wasn't an electric or natural kind of light, either. It was almost like an aura of some sort." Speed murmured, his tone thoughtful as he gazed at something he thought only he could see. He was therefore unaware of the disbelieving looks he was getting from Inu-Yasha and Kagome.
"He can see them! He can see the aura of the Shikon Shards!!……….But how?!" Kagome wondered, as the moment dragged into uneasy silence.