Chapter Four: Arrival and Subsequent Escape From the Sengoku Jidai

"They got lost," the false Kagome announced to the rest of the group, rolling her eyes. "I found them."

"Good," the false Sango replied, applying a bit of last-minute maroon eye shadow to her pale face. Before Kouga could avert his eyes, he noticed that her black fingernails matched the fingerless gloves, tight black tank, and spiked choker she was wearing. Tearing his gaze away, the wolf concentrated on the floor, cataloguing the various objects and fluids that had been discarded.

"We're on in five minutes," the false Sango continued.

"On where?"

"Oh, we're in a band. We're Dark Black Ebony Jet Obsidian Onyx Sable Shadow Hellfire Rebels. I play the lead guitar, Miroku is bass guitar, Ayame is drums, and Kagome sings lead. She has a voice like an angel. Ahh!"

Hearing the girl's sudden scream, the wolf looked up to see her violently beating another boy about the head and shoulders with a folding chair.

"How dare you touch me, you pervert hentai letch!"

"Sango, please!"

Puzzled, Kouga looked back over to Inu-yasha, who was rolling his eyes, and Kagome, who was laughing. The hot pink had fully worked its way through her hair now, he noticed; the effect was rather shocking. She caught him staring and raised a pierced eyebrow.

"Oh? What do you think?"

"It's, um, very eye-catching," Kouga spluttered, hoping it was the right thing to say.

"Hey!" a passing boy yelled to them, grinning. Kouga rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Was that… Jakotsu? "You display the rainbow, girlfriend! Gay pride!"

The entire group, including Sango and Miroku, froze. Finally Kagome replied icily, "No one here heard that."

Another shriek interrupted her, and Kouga and Inu-yasha exchanged silent "What now?" looks. Following the others, they headed around to the side of the stage, where Ayame was screaming her head off. The tone had changed, however; the first screams had been surprised. These were angry.

Eying the target of her verbal abuse, Kouga wasn't quite sure what was going on. The girl was pale, with long dark hair, and wearing a tight pink tube top, mini-skirt, and pair of stiletto-heeled boots. She was also wrapped around a boy Kouga vaguely recognized from the school. She had begun to yell back at the group. The wolf squinted; in the dim light the girl looked almost similar to Kagome.

Beside him Inu-yasha had gone into some sort of convulsions. "Kikyou. But. Kikyou. How. The Hell. Kikyou. I. But. Kikyou. What. But. The Hell. Kikyou."

The false Miroku shook his head sadly. "Inu-yasha, I'm sorry. I told you Kikyou would do this, though. It's what happens when you date a prep."

Meanwhile, the false Kagome had begun screaming. "How the hell could you do this to him, you whore? You're supposed to be his girlfriend! And with Houjo, of all people! How could you be such a slutty (censored)(censored)(censored)?"

Kouga stared in bafflement. "Girlfriend? But I thought Inu-yasha just got here today." All turned to glare at him, even the disheveled and lipstick-smudged Houjo. "Okay. Girlfriend. Whatever."

At that point, three things happened simultaneously. Kagome leapt at Kikyou, who screamed and attacked like a banshee; Sango resumed beating Miroku; and Kouga grabbed the twitching Inu-yasha and dragged him into the crush of bodies and away from the confusing and by now bloody scene.

"Okay," began Kagome, surveying the assembled group. "Sango, Miroku, are you yourselves? Um, I mean your real selves?" Kagura rolled her eyes, but the two only nodded.

"Great. Okay, we're all itching to do it, so let's take a few minutes to examine each other's outfits." The girl stared at the assembled group members, none of who knew anything about twenty first-century fashion, but had nevertheless managed to scrounge up what outfits they could find. Kikyou was stunning in a pale yellow business suit and lavender scarf, Miroku was wearing a purple bathrobe, and Sango had on a black bodysuit covered by a pink jacket and green skirt.

"I don't see why you're in charge," said Kagura, leaning against the wall. The only one with any real money, she had found a red evening gown and shawl. There was nothing particularly offensive about the outfit; the dress was long and displayed a modest neckline. However, there was just something about the way she wore it that seemed risqué. Miroku was staring and drooling. The wind sorceress held up an expensive red fan threateningly and added, "And monk, you've been looking long enough."

Kagome stepped in. "I wouldn't say I'm in charge, Kagura. Do you have any ideas about what to do?"

"Yeah. We find all the substitutes, put them in a pile, and set it on fire."

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why not?"

The demon slayer sighed. "Though that would be satisfying, I think we should explore the area a bit more and try to find the others."

Kagome nodded. "Okay, that sounds good. I think Inu-yasha's here, and I saw a fake Sesshoumaru as well."

"You sure he was fake?" asked Kagura.

Kagome's face was haunted. "Yes."

"All right, then," sighed Kagura. "Monk, slayer, priestess, let's pile back in the car and go drive some more."

"Car?" asked Sango.

"Oh, you'll see," responded the sorceress, grinning for the first time since the conversation began. The group filed out of the mall, Kagura smiling unpleasantly, Kagome white as a sheet, Miroku and Sango confused, and Kikyou with the calm bearing of those who have accepted death gracefully.

"So," began Sango as Kagome fiddled with the car door. "Where do we go from here?"

Kagura leaned against the convertible's side, soft breeze playing with her shawl. "Well, I know part of Naraku's evil plot was—" She was cut off mid-sentence by the tortured sound of the air itself being ripped open. A black gash appeared next to her and promptly began to suck in everything around it.

Kikyou jumped to the side and ran to a safe distance, noting that Miroku and Sango had done the same. That only left Kagura, who was clinging to the car door for dear life, and Kagome, whose reflexes were much slower. Watching emotionlessly as the schoolgirl ran, Kikyou began to count under her breath.

"One, two, three…" At that exact moment, Kagome tripped and was dragged into the vortex, wailing like a banshee the entire way. Sango and Miroku both screamed; Kikyou simply nodded and Kagura rolled her eyes. After claiming its victim, the gash disappeared as though it had never been.

"It would appear," Kikyou stated frankly as soon as everyone had calmed down, "that Naraku does not wish his plans to be discussed."

Kagura dusted herself off. "So it seems. But we lost Kagome." The wind sorceress paused. "Oh, well."

Sango stepped forward angrily, about to defend Kagome. Her valiant action was cut short, however, when Miroku quickly shushed her and pushed her behind the convertible. The monk pointed across the parking lot, to where a Sango dressed in—they all desperately tried not to look at her outfit—dressed in black was making her way towards them. Miroku stepped out from behind the car just as she reached the group.

"Miroku?" she asked, eying them suspiciously. "What are you doing with Kag's car? And why are the Queen of Bitches and her little minion here?"

Kagura opened her mouth to protest her new status as Kikyou's minion, but Miroku spoke first. "I borrowed the car from Kagome. And Kikyou here was, um, indecently propositioning me."

The priestess shot him a Death Glare, but played along. "Yes. I was behaving in a promiscuous manner," she said curtly. "And I was also asking him for Inu-yasha's whereabouts. He said that you knew."

Sango laughed unkindly. "Yeah, but I wouldn't tell you, you bitchy whore."

Playing unconvincingly at chastisement, Kikyou led the reluctant Kagura to a nearby car, where they watched Miroku and the false Sango converse for a minute. Then the girl left, slapping him as she turned away, and the two returned.

"Well?" asked Kagura, voice laced with malice.

Miroku sighed and touched his face. "Apparently, Inu-yasha is part of a band of musical performers singing at a club called the Sengoku Jidai."

"Club?"

"I'm not sure what it is, either. But I have driving instructions."

The real Sango emerged from behind the car, glaring at the lot of them. "Has everyone forgotten about Kagome?"

"No," replied Kagura, returning the glare. "We just don't care."

Kikyou stepped between the two. Her bearing and expression said very clearly, "I can have my bow out from the car and put arrows through both your heads in a matter of seconds, but I'd rather not, so let's discuss this peaceably." Both Kagura and Sango relaxed marginally but continued to eye one another warily. Miroku, deprived of his chance to witness a catfight, pouted and sat on the car's hood.

"We know Inu-yasha's whereabouts," Kikyou began, "and we do not know Kagome's. I think it best that we find him first. And besides, wherever Inu-yasha is, I doubt Kagome is far behind." The priestess paused while the others nodded in agreement. Without turning around, she added, "And monk, your eyes should be on my head."

"Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! Inu-yasha, somebody, save me! Ahh!" Kagome stopped and took a deep breath. "Ahhh!" After continuing in this vein for a while, the girl calmed down enough to examine her surroundings. And then she started screaming again. She was floating through a black void, dotted here and there with pinpricks of light. There were no discernable walls, ceilings, or floors, and she was horribly, horribly, alone.

"Ahhh!" Kagome passed out from lack of air.

An immeasurable amount of time later, Kagome awoke to see a pair of impossibly huge eyes staring at her. The eyes backed away when she started screaming again, and the girl realized that she was staring at Shippou.

"Hi, Kagome!"

"Ahh—oh. Hi, Shippou. Is this where you've been all this time?"

"Yep." Shippou back flipped lazily, rolling over and over again in the zero gravity atmosphere. "What are you doing in the plot hole?"

"Oh, I kinda got sucked in. Is there a way out?"

Shippou smiled and pointed to two nearby spots of light. "Sure thing. See those two? The right one will take you back to the cave, and the left one drops you in Hell."

Kagome smiled back and patted him on the head. "Thanks, Shippou. Are you coming with me?"

"Nah. It's nice in here. See you later."

Kagome smiled one last time, waved goodbye to the fox, and started dog paddling toward the right spot. Taking a deep breath, she dove in.

Behind her, Shippou was looking nervously at his hands. "Wait. If this one's right, then that one is le—oh no! Kagome! Kagome, wait!"

Nothing but emptiness, all around her, except this time she was falling, hair whipping at her face as she hurtled earthward… Kagome dared not open her eyes, only screamed louder than she'd previously thought possible. She was falling faster, and something within told her the ground was coming closer…

She landed with a relatively soft thud on a sticky concrete floor, shivering and whimpering. After a moment, the girl opened her eyes. And gaped in wonder. She was sitting in the midst of a crowd of people who were, for lack of a better word, dancing. The occasional flash of colored light punctuated the darkness around her, and the music was at that volume where you felt rather than heard it.

"Am I really alive?" she asked, if only for the reassurance that speech provided, because she couldn't hear herself anyway. Then: "Ew, what am I sitting in?" Kagome shakily pulled herself to her feet and began pushing herself to the exit, apologizing to dancers that couldn't understand her and wouldn't care if they did.

She screamed ineffectually again when a hand clamped itself onto her shoulder, and then turned to see someone who might have been Inu-yasha. He carefully scrutinized her face, swearing to himself.

"Do you remember Feudal Japan?" he finally asked. Kagome sighed with relief.

"Inu-yasha, it's you!"

"Kagome? Thank God!" He paused, then yelled up to the ceiling, "Yeah, I can tell her hair frames her face! Shut up already!"

Tentatively reaching toward her hair, Kagome realized that it was held in a messy bun and two strands were, in fact, framing her face. One of them was red. She looked down at herself, saw that she was wearing a revealing black fishnet dress, and sighed.

"I just went shopping, too. Oh, well. And Inu-yasha, I met up with the others. Miroku, Sango, Kagura… and Kikyou. They'll probably show up here looking for us." She suddenly grabbed Inu-yasha's shoulder, face white with terror. "Oh, no!"

A streak of black and silver sped down the highway. If one could pause the scene for a moment, one would be able to tell that it was a black convertible with silver flames running along the bottom. The hood and sides of the car were already covered with dents, scratches, and a few road signs.

Kagura yawned. "Do you think this thing goes any faster?" No one answered.

In the seat beside her, Kikyou was attempting to look for landmarks and failing. Sango was doing the same thing in the back, and Miroku was praying.

"Please not until someone bears my child, please…"

Kagura leaned curiously out the window. "Hey, look. The other cars look like they're standing still."

"Eyes on the road!" snapped Sango, composure dissipating as the car reached speeds that should have been impossible. Kagura threw back her head and laughed.

"Are we here?" asked a frazzled Sango, stumbling out of the car. Miroku, in even worse shape, followed behind her. From the other door, Kikyou emerged, expression unreadable as always.

"Hey, you. Is this the Sengoku Jidai?" Kagura asked, grabbing a random man from the sidewalk. He nodded, looking rather surprised, and the woman sighed and tossed him away.

The group turned and looked at the dull building. Even outside, the street pulsed with the beat of some form of noise, and all that could be seen of inside was darkness and a jumble of bodies illuminated by an occasional flash of colored light.

"Well, you kids have fun," Kagura said, smirking. "I will wait in the car."

"We're not leaving you alone with that thing. How will we know that you won't just take off on us?" Sango demanded. Kagura's only response was a throaty laugh.

The demon slayer, fuming, paced a few feet in front of the car. "Fine. Kikyou, you can stay here and watch Kagura—hey!"

Said undead priestess was already standing at the door to the club, carrying on a conversation with the bouncer.

"Excuse me."

"You lost, lady?"

"No. I wish to enter this 'club.'"

"Nothing doing."

"Excuse me?"

"Listen, lady, this is a punk nightclub."

Kikyou glanced down at her sophisticated pale yellow suit and back up at the bouncer. For a moment she contemplated a quick chop to the man's jugular vein, but decided against the action, as he was a mere human who wasn't actually fighting her. And she wasn't quite sure how strong her body was in this universe. The dead priestess calmly returned to the car, where her three companions were still arguing.

"I said, we're not leaving you alone with this car!"

"And I told you I'm not going in there. What are you going to do, human?"

"Silence." The others turned to Kikyou, who had managed to cram a page-long monologue's worth of concentrated malice into a single word. "This argument will benefit no one."

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?" Sango asked through gritted teeth.

Kikyou merely gave her a cool and unmoved glare. "I will enter the club and search for Inu-yasha. You may do as you wish. First, however, I will need access to the 'trunk' of this vehicle."

"Sure," replied Sango, yanking open the locked trunk with her bare hands. Kikyou gave her a slightly longer look, which very clearly stated that the demon slayer needed to work out her anger. Sango glared back evenly.

"As I had thought," announced Kikyou, turning her attention to the mounds of black cloth in the trunk. "She left it here." Sifting through the piles resignedly, the priestess pulled a few articles from within and retreated to the safety of a nearby alleyway. Sango, who didn't much care for the other woman but was nevertheless a good person, grabbed Miroku's arm, her hand like a vise.

"Sango?" he asked.

"Don't act innocent. You headed toward that alley the minute her back was turned."

The monk adopted an expression of wounded virtuousness. "You misunderstand. I was merely heading out to stretch my legs."

The slayer yawned. "I'm sure. Sit down on the car and stop trying to look over my shoulder."

A few minutes later, Kikyou returned. The others stared. She was wearing… well, they weren't quite sure. Her outfit seemed to be composed of three different pairs of stockings, two skirts, and three shirts. It was entirely black, and as she turned, they could see that a spiked wristband held back her hair. None of her skin except for her face was showing. The effect should have been comical; instead, it was frightening. Walking over to the car, Kikyou dropped her armful of detached chains and straps and headed back to the club.

Sango was the first to speak. "Well, if she's going, I'm going, too. Kagome might be in there."

Miroku sighed resignedly. "So I'll be staying with the car."

"Yes. Don't even think about leaving," Sango replied, yanking off her skirt and jacket quickly and pulling on a black outfit over her black bodysuit. Tossing her clothing over the neatly folded suit Kikyou had left in the trunk, the woman headed for the entrance to the club. Miroku turned to Kagura.

"We should probably make the best of our time alone together."

"If you so much as touch me, you will be looking for your arm."

"I think the exit's this way!" Inu-yasha yelled, dragging Kagome through the crowd.

"Wait!" Kagome screamed back, pointing to one of the dancers. "I've seen that spiked pink hair before! We're going in circles!"

Inu-yasha spun to face her. "Well then, where do we go now?"

Before she could reply, the club became deathly quiet, and as one entity, the crowd turned to face the stage. Darkness flooded the building, causing Kagome to squeak and grab Inu-yasha's sleeve. After a moment, a single spotlight hit the stage, illuminating the false, rainbow-haired Kagome. The two could vaguely make out Sango, Miroku, and Ayame playing various instruments in the background.

The onstage Kagome opened her mouth and began to sing, the high-pitched and crystal clear notes drifting melodically through the club. Inu-yasha had to admit they weren't bad. However, they also sounded nothing like Kagome's voice.

"I'm empty

Empty, I say

Nothing inside, it's all gone

Oh yeah, except for my hatred

I hate you

I hate you

You (censored)(censored)(censored)

I'm burning with hatred

Hatred is inside me

Hatred to the maximum

I'm filled with hate

Hateage is occurring

But except for that I'm empty

(I'm also kinda sad.)"

One of the bystanders turned to Inu-yasha and Kagome. "It's so beautiful. Doesn't she have the voice of an angel?"

"Well… It's not really my style of music," Kagome began. Seeing the expressions she was getting from the crowd, she continued, "But it could certainly be considered beautiful."

A harried-sounding voice could be heard from behind them. "No, actually, I think it's not at all beautiful and a waste of air." Inu-yasha's ears perked up and he spun around, searching for the voice's owner.

"Kikyou! Is that you?"

Kikyou, rather imposing in her head-to-toe black, stepped through the crowd. Glancing from Inu-yasha to Kagome, the priestess's customary "Oh, look, it's a particularly disgusting species of cockroach" expression let them know exactly what she thought of her rescue mission. Sango appeared behind her a moment later, panting from shoving through the crowd.

"Hey, Kagome. Inu-yasha. Come on; we've got a car outside," the slayer said. Kagome laughed in relief.

"Thank goodness!" The group turned to leave.

(A/N: Hehehe, just when u thought u were safe! im so evil, guess what happens now!)

"Oh, great!" Inu-yasha muttered, spinning around to examine the rest of the club. The dancers were still eerily motionless, as Kagome-onstage had begun another song. A sinister feeling crept through the dark building, setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end.

Kagome turned to him. "What's the matter, Inu-yasha?"

"I'm not sure—ahh, what the hell?"

A pink blur, standing out against the almost solid black backdrop, was hurtling towards the group. They winced, hearing the high-pitched shriek it seemed to be emitting. Gradually the noise became words.

"Yashie-poo!"

Inu-yasha could only croak out a strangled-sounding "ulp" before the pink menace attached itself to him, squealing more quietly and making vague noises of contentment.

"Yay…mm…my Yashie-poo…yay…stay off my Yashie-poo…my Yashie-poo…mm."

Inu-yasha, whose airflow was being constricted, sent a "do something" glare to the three women. Kagome and Sango seemed to be caught between concern and laughter. Kikyou, however, seemed even less amused than usual.

"Would you care to do the honors, Kikyou?" Sango laughed.

"Yeah," Kagome chimed in, covering her mouth with a black-nailed hand, "She kinda is your duplicate."

The priestess shot them both a Death Glare, which did not have the usual effect under the circumstances. "I think not. You should be more than capable of handling this." She abruptly turned and strode off into the crowd, Inu-yasha's noises growing more desperate.

"Sango, I…" Kagome doubled over, trying vainly to suppress a fit of giggles. "I think Kikyou just ditched us."

"You don't say?" replied Sango, who had begun to pry the false Kikyou from Inu-yasha. "Wow, this girl has a grip like a leech demon. Kagome, help me out."

"Oh, Sango, my rescuer! I have never been so happy to gaze upon your breathtaking visage!" From his seat on the car's hood, the monk leapt to his feet and ran towards the woman emerging from the club; her glare stopped him in his tracks.

"Save it, Miroku. I am not in the mood."

Behind her, Kagome followed, warily watching Kikyou, who was waiting by the club's door. The schoolgirl was limping and clutching a few bright red scratches on her face; traces of Petal Pink nail polish could be seen in them. Putting on something resembling a smile, she turned to the monk.

"So how have you been?"

"Not good, Kagome."

Sango, who was clutching her arm, looked to be seriously considering slapping him. Choosing instead to grab his arm and drag him to the car, she sighed wearily. "We're leaving. Where's Kagura?"

"She's—ow, Sango, please—she's in the driver's seat. Where's Inu-yasha?"

"Inside," Sango answered brusquely. The demon slayer sighed again and deposited Miroku in the backseat next to Kagome, who had already sat down and buckled her seatbelt. From the front seat, the wind sorceress opened her eyes lazily and laughed.

"Oh, so you're finally back?"

Sango slammed the rear door closed and yanked open the front door, sliding into the black leather seat. "I don't feel like talking about it. Kikyou, hurry up!"

Kagome watched, still wary and rather sore, while Kikyou calmly sat down in the back at the car's other side. The atmosphere in the backseat grew tense as Miroku, sitting in the middle, tried to get as far as possible from her without sitting on Kagome; neither she nor Sango seemed in the mood to deal with him.

Another figure emerged from the club's doorway, and Kagura sighed with relief. "The idiot's here. Can we go now?"

Inu-yasha stomped over to the car, ringing out his long hair and frowning. Yanking open the front door, he squeezed in next to Sango, choosing not to bother with the "next-to-Kikyou-or-next-to-Kagome" question.

"I got all the blood out. Let's get out of here."

Kagura, the all-too-familiar manic gleam in her eye, began to back out of the parking lot when another black-clad figure ran out of the club, caught sight of the car, and began running towards them. Inu-yasha burst into cruel laughter.

"Drive, Kagura, drive! Leave him!"

Kagome peered through the window, eyes widening. She spun angrily toward Inu-yasha.

"You just left Kouga there?"

"Yeah, wouldn't you?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, announcing very clearly that later there would be words, and yanked the back door open. The monk, still trying not to come into contact with Kikyou, reluctantly scooted over to make room. Kouga slid in next to Kagome. His entire appearance, from the stormy look in his blue eyes to the rips where chains had been torn off his clothing, suggested that he was livid and looking for someone to beat.

"Mutt, I am going to kill you!"

"Just try it!"

"Just watch me!"

"Both of you, shut it!" Kagome yelled, surprising herself as much as them. In the silence that followed the outburst, Kagura pulled the car onto the open road and laughed as the wind tugged at her hair.

"Look, the girl may have some moral objection to killing you both, but nothing would bring me greater pleasure. So please. Just give me an excuse."

"Just try it," Inu-yasha and Kouga simultaneously muttered, but quietly, both men shooting cautious glances at Kagome. Sango sighed, leaned against the window, and dozed off; for her part, Kikyou was enjoying being one of the only non-squished people in the car.

The car pulled into the parking lot, coming neatly to rest in the center of a parking space. There was a brief, nearly silent pause as all within fumbled unfamiliarly with their seatbelts. Then, the doors burst open and the car's contents exploded out, many of them gasping for air.

"I'm not getting back into that car, and nothing's making me," growled Inu-yasha, stretching his cramped legs. Kouga shoved past him; the two glared at each other.

Sango was stretching as well; she stopped and looked around suddenly. "Hey, look around. It's daytime again."

"Wow, it is daytime," observed Kagome. "I guess time is weird here."

An eerily creepy voice, which sounded like it could have belonged to the evil little girl in a horror movie, spoke up abruptly, filling the parking lot with sound. The group paused what it was doing and began looking around curiously.

"You wish to leave," it whispered.

"No, I'm thinking of building a timeshare here," growled Inu-yasha.

The voice seemed puzzled for a moment, and then continued. "I can open the door back to your world."

"Where's the door?" asked Kagome, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"The door is nowhere… and everywhere."

Kouga raised a fist threateningly at empty air. "If you don't get us out of here—"

"If you wish to leave this world, find Sesshoumaru."

"What? Why?" asked Miroku.

"Find Sesshoumaru. Bring him to the high school. Find Sesshoumaru."