Well, here's chapter six, with the funniest/weird title I could think of: If ya can't beat 'em... jump a cliff
Now on with the story, which I sort of like, but first...
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Inuyasha characters. Nor the Timeline characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Michael Crichton.
Chapter 6: If ya can't beat 'em... jump a cliff
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"Inuyasha...Inuyasha, we're here," Kagome whispered, removing the headphones from Inuyasha's head.
Everyone had gotten off the plane, but Inuyasha had fallen asleep so deeply he had not noticed that Sesshoumaru had taken everyone but Kagome off.
"Nnh. Coming." he got up, stretching, and followed Kagome out of the cabin.
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"Welcome..." Sesshoumaru looked up at a camera and two white doors in front of them slid open with a hiss. "...to ITC."
The room had a wispy, mysterious effect which made them feel like there was no end to it.
Kouga perched one arm atop the other on the side railings, watching what was happening on the floor below.
He watched a woman. She was dressed finely, but... He looked closer. In old-styled clothing. She wore a robe decorated with what looked like outlined pentagons and feather shapes. Then another robe, and another, and another, and...
"Kouga!" Miroku said from the other end of the hall.
"Mm?" he turned.
"Getting carried away?"
"Yeah..."
Miroku left through another set of doors, expecting Kouga to follow. But Kouga watched a bit longer.
His eyes followed as the woman climbed up a small pair of stairs, until the metal shutters closed around her and blocked her from view.
He made to leave, but then looked back as a scream-like whirring noise filled the room. Then it stopped.
The shutters hissed and creaked as they resumed their positions.
The woman was gone.
Kouga rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had gone off hallucinating.
"Kouga! Get your ass over here." Inuyasha said, sticking his head around the corner impatiently.
"That woman..."
"Yeah, yeah... Come on. We don't have all day."
-----
Kagome, Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku had been seated for a while now in bare conference room when Naraku Ishizaki walked into the room.
With no particular greetings, he dove right in: "Ojikan wo saite itadaite arigatou gozaimasu. (A/N: Thank you for taking the time to see me.) I told you I needed your help. And I do. You know that the Professor came here to confront us. Well, he did, and now he is no longer in this world. He is years in the past, about 500 years ago, in the Sengoku Jidai of a parallel world."
Everyone except Kouga cringed in confusion.
Ishizaki sighed.
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"You're saying we're the first ever to do this? To step into the world?"
"And the Professor before you, of course." Naraku replied.
Kagome sighed, and everyone held looks of deep thought and confusion. Excepting Miroku.
He smiled. Everyone else glared at him edgily.
"Follow Sesshoumaru here," Naraku said, and pointed for Sesshoumaru to go to the door labeled Step 1: Prepack.
"You first," Sesshoumaru looked at Miroku, motioning for him to get into the room.
"You said that's a..."
"High-powered MRI."
Looks like a coffin, Miroku thought.
Sensing his hesitation, Sesshoumaru said, "It's harmless, like an MRI. Just remove your clothing and an automated recording will talk you through it. Do exactly as it says. We'll be next door."
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"Calibrating. Do not move," the voice said soothingly. "Calibration is complete. Look straight ahead. Lasers polarizing xenon gas. Five seconds."
A bright blue color increased around him as the voice said, "Take a deep breath...now!"
The color around him in the "coffin" reduced to white. Then everything was silent. "Scan complete. Thank you."
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Everyone except Kouga had been scanned when Kagome asked, "What was all that for?"
"It helps us to transport you faster because the information about you has already been put into the machine with the scanning. Like when you are downloading a file, you can open it up to your computer so that when you save it, download time is fast."
Down below, under the balcony-like hallway, Kikyou said, "Kagura!"
The woman Kouga had seen disappear earlier was just now getting out of the same machine, and she looked up to see Kikyou coming down the stairs to the transit floor. Higurashi wa doko desuka?" (A/N: Where's Higurashi?)
"Tooku ni... Watashi no suisoku." she shrugged, and then caught sight of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Kouga for t6he first time. "Ah. They're to be saving the Professor?" (A/N: My guess... far away.)
Sesshoumaru nodded and said to Kagura, "Wait here. Where's Hakudoushi?"
"Coming."
With that, Sesshoumaru led them to a room back down the hall.
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He reached into a closet and pulled out what appeared to be olden-day clothing.
"See if these will fit." He gave Kagome, Inuyasha, and Miroku theirs. Just as he was about to give Kouga his, Kouga said:
"I'm not going."
Miroku had expected it, watching him shift uneasily in his chair the whole time they had were waiting for Naraku.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't my affair. I was only on the Professor's team because I was referred by Inuyasha to the Professor to be a replacement for their old analyst. And I'm not even a historian. I'm a scientist. It might not even be safe."
"The machines?"
"No, the place, 1457. The Sengoku Jidai period of Japan."
Miroku nodded, but said nothing.
Sesshoumaru said, "This is an earpiece that allows you to speak to each other when you are separated. Just tap it and it turns on or off. It also translates anything that it picks up from the language, which might be helpful in some cases. Just come over here to the desk when you're done changing and sit on it for them..." Sesshoumaru pointed to some employees, "...to insert it."
Everyone then took off to the changing rooms.
When they all emerged, they looked different- older, maybe even more mature-looking.
Miroku's was a dark purple robe that had a one-shouldered feature to partly cover the black one he had under it. The other end of the purple robe went under his arm, to connect at his left shoulder with a bow.
Kagome's appeared to be a three-or-four parted one; it was a white robe with one slit for each sleeve which revealed another white sleeved robe under it. Those two, one atop the other, acted like shirts, and were tucked into a long, flowing, red skirt that was a little bit above her waist, and at her foot was another hint of white: another skirt-layer. (A/N: One cannot fathom the freaky little stitches of Inuyasha's outfit correctly, but this is my attempt) Inuyasha's was all red, in the same fashion as Kagome's only instead of a skirt; it was two baggy pant legs, tied at his waist with another bow. His shirt under the haori was a sort of milky yellow-white. His outfit, for reasons unknown, had a black string from one shoulder down to his waist on the opposite side, and right next to where it rested, a slit showed the same milky white color on both sides.
In truth, they wee confused. But, all in all, they had gotten them on correctly. It saved them humiliation.
"Anything else?"
"Follow me." Sesshoumaru motioned in the direction they had come.
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The transit room below was cold and almost completely silent. Four cages linked together stood behind shutters, and another stood alone. They would be transported in those.
Kagome was tense, and Miroku could sense it.
"If you stay with me, I will protect you." Though Miroku was carefree and he treated this trip like a vacation, he was being serious- for almost the first time in his life.
"Here we go." Kikyou said, walking past the three of them and in turn, handing each a white ceramic piece, about 3 centimeters square. "The button at the bottom calls the machines back. You must have 6 feet on all sides. "Ah. Hakudoushi. Your uncle has assigned you this job as well as Kagura?"
A young boy, about the age of 15, walked into the room, saying nothing, with Naraku at his side.
"Yes, I did," Naraku answered.
He came up and handed each of them a can and a bunch of small sacks with numbers on them.
"They'll help you in any dangerous situation. This one-powder. If it gets on something, moisture lights it to fire. The cans are sprayed in one's face to temporarily knock them out and cause them to lose memory.
"So, you know now that the Professor has most likely assumed a job in the Sengoku Jidai. You may have to go search around for him a bit." He motioned towards the machines. "I look forward to your return."
Kagome turned to Kouga.
"Don't worry, Kouga. We'll be back soon."
She hugged him briefly, and then turned back to Inuyasha and Miroku, who both waved in goodbye and entered the cages, which were large enough so that they could stand.
"Infrared clearance," the voice said.
This is it... Inuyasha thought.
"Stand still- eyes open-deep breath- hold it- now!"
Silence. Darkness. Nothing.
-----
He was standing in sunlight, the air warm and fresh on his face with no smog or industrial sites to interfere with the pure pleasure he felt.
Inuyasha recognized it immediately: the town and castle of Fukui. And it wasn't a ruin. Its homes were complete and standing, as was the castle itself.
He was here.
The lady called Kagura hopped lightly out of the machine.
"Ohh..." Kagome said, seeing Fukui.
Miroku smiled, and Kagura said, "Beautiful isn't it?"
"Amazing..." he replied.
As Kagome's eyes traveled the walkway down from the forest and into the town, Miroku sighed like a lover. Behind her, Kagura said sternly, "Hakudoushi! What do you think you're doing?"
Hakudoushi had stretched his robe out slightly to reveal a holstered pistol and two grenades with small screens on them.
"If we're going into the world, I'm going to be ready."
"No, you're not going in with those. You know that's not allowed. Sesshoumaru would never permit our weapons-"she pointed at the grenades, "-to be taken into their world!"
"But he's not here right-"
He was interrupted by a young boy wearing a young boy, who wore a long, dragging robe and an overcoat, the hood of it pulled just above his eyes, running into the clearing, saying, "Hide! Hide! For God's sake, hide!"
Everyone held quizzical faces.
He shoved Kagome hard, pushing her down the sloped path down the path. She was about to get up when she heard the same, monotonous rumbling noise.
Horses. Riding full gallop in her direction.
Kagura and Hakudoushi were still in the clearing when the boy fled.
The black rider leaned over handily in his seat and swung his katana viciously at Kagura as he rode past. The head dropped down with a soft thump on the moss. Hakudoushi, covered helplessly in Kagura's shining blood, swore loudly as he ran farther backwards into the woods. One rider stopped his horse, drawing his bow and aiming.
The arrow struck Hakudoushi square in his arm as he reached for his grenade and turned. Another struck him full in his stomach. He clutched at his stomach, feeling the blood and where the arrow had pierced him, felt his own insides. There was a large flash of light as his machine took off and blinded the men.
He was gone.
The riders turned to go, and Inuyasha and Miroku stayed hidden in the brush.
Kagome.
The boy had pushed Kagome toward the pathway. Obviously, Miroku was thinking about it too, because he stood up and made his way forcefully out of the bush. "I'll go look for Kagome. See how she is."
Inuyasha only nodded, staring at the headless torso of Kagura. A head wasn't too big without a body.
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"Stand by. Coming in..." the technician said.
Sesshoumaru looked at the platform. His eyes grew wide. "That boy is nothing but trouble."
His gun in one hand, his other clenched something tightly in the other hand, resting on his stomach. Obviously dead, Sesshoumaru did not bother to do anything to the pale body of Naraku's nephew.
"What's that?" Kouga asked, as the item he had held rolled out with a thump out onto the platform. "It almost looks like a gre-"
The explosion sent huge flashes of light in the transit room, filling it with pale smoke that intoxicated all the workers.
"It's the cells." Sesshoumaru said. "They've leaked acid. Don't touch it." The floor began hissing and steaming uncontrollably.
"There are no more machines now, so does that mean...?"
"Yes. I'm afraid they're on their own."
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"Pssst."
Inuyasha turned, seeing the boy from earlier. Inuyasha shot him an accusing look, as if saying, what do you want now?
The boy said nothing, but pointed vigorously at the head of Kagura.
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Kagome sat on a tree stump, her head bleeding.
Miroku approached her slowly. "Are you hurt?"
He moved her hair around and saw a three-inch cut along the scalp.
"What's happened?"
"They're dead. Inuyasha is waiting for us back there."
They walked around the final bend of the pathway.
Inuyasha was gone.
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"Inuyasha."
Miroku. The device they had put in their ears was finally at good use.
"Where are you?"
"I'm running... for the town..."
He looked up at the boy in the tree, and climbed up with little difficulty.
Horses. Damn it.
"Can't talk." With that, static infiltrated Miroku and Kagome's earpieces.
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"Lord! My lord, the tree! They are in the tree!" the "lord" turned and looked at the tree, while his men all pointed at the muddy footprints Inuyasha had made on the trunk. By then, they had moved out onto the outer and lower branches of the tree, so they could reach the ground and escape.
"There!" they charged, and the boy ran furiously, Inuyasha close behind.
"Can you swim?"
"Yeah." Of course he could. But that wasn't one of the things on his mind, because right now, they were running out toward a clearing.
Toward the cliff.
The land sloped downward, gently, at first, and then steeply. Without hesitation, the boy leapt.
Glancing back, he saw the men charging toward him.
No choice.
He turned and ran, thrusting off the cliff with all his might, Ishikari-gawa shimmering below.
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Well. A true cliffhanger. This chapter, by far, took the lo9ngest for me to write up because I wasn't pleased at how many reviews I had received. In the first week, only my sister had reviewed. (Or something of the like.) Then, about 2-3 weeks later, the motherload came in. So by then I was halfway through the chapter. And now I finished it! Yay! (Right now I was laughing so hard at what my friend said on the phone that I spit out some tofu.) ) Now go read my sister's fanfictions. Again, her screen-name: alohaturtle Review please!
xkumaxchanx
Chapter 7: The boy that helped Inuyasha will turn out to be more important than you think. And he kind of isn't a... Well. Nevermind. Review! Thank you!