Well, there's not much to add about this chapter. Inu and DP are off on a slow and shaky start, but they'll find Kagome or kill each other trying – either way it'll be fun. Meanwhile others are also concerned for Kagome.
Tokyo
The half-demon inwardly groaned anticipating the world of pain he was about to enter. None of that mattered however, only Kagome's safe retrieval. So doing what he must, the recently zapped and shot Inuyasha braced himself as he strode directly into the line of traffic. No sooner than he'd crossed over the white reflective line, twin beams of light assailed his sensitive eyes. The blinded hanyou held his hands instinctively out in front of him and waited for the impact.
There was a heavy thud as he immediately felt a smooth brittle substance slam into his open claws, his unshod heels scraped mercilessly against the coarse asphalt. Cringing, the demon boy managed to hold off the speeding automobile for a second before it plowed him over and came to a screeching halt.
The victim lay prone for a moment; it wasn't much worse than being 'sat' by Kagome, he decided, but that in itself was still sometimes enough to leave him laid up for a couple days. He didn't have time to flinch as a second car, tires squalling, careened into the first; a third attempted to swerve that one and instead fishtailed into a truck in the next lane. All around, nothing but the scream of wheels and blaring horns could be heard as the smell of burnt rubber subtly lent itself to the ambiance of chaos.
Amidst the commotion, an officer suddenly stepped up to the first vehicle and opened the passenger door. A flashlight shined in on the badly shaken motorist who looked up from her deployed airbag.
"License and registration, ma'am," the policeman asked in a thick accent.
"I think I just hit someone," she gasped hoarsely.
The man gave her an odd look, "have you had anything to drink tonight, ma'am?"
"Have I what?"
The officer nodded as if he now knew everything he needed, "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car, please."
"But I think I'm injured, shouldn't I wait for an ambulance?"
"You should be glad that I'm not hauling you into the station for a DWI," he snapped at her, "consider this a warning; but because I can't allow you to drive home in your condition I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate your vehicle." As he spoke, he now lifted the petite woman like a child out of the car and set her casually down on the side of the road.
"But, but…" she stammered.
Without warning, the man she'd run over emerged from under the automobile carelessly brushing bits of glass and debris from his outlandish costume. He looked, amazingly, to have suffered only minor cuts and scrapes.
"Thanks for stoppin'," he muttered.
Uttering another grunt, the young man slid into the passenger seat of her car immediately followed by the cop who jumped into the driver's side!
Deflating the air bag, the "officer" gave her a final wave before the vehicle lurched forward and sped away with the two con artists. The poor flabbergasted woman could do nothing but gawk after them as the other distressed motorists from the pileup trickled out to join her on the road's shoulder.
Wade wove deftly in and out of the thick Tokyo traffic with his right elbow dipped out the open window and the radio belting out Japanese pop. Meanwhile, Inuyasha hung the entire top half of his body out the opposite window as he inhaled the whipping wind. Try as he might – he could not distinguish the signature smell of the engine that had transported Kagome from the hundreds of other very similar smelling travel devices.
Occasionally, he thought he could almost detect the girl's pungent perfume pierce through the smoggy haze, but it always vanished before he could determine its precise direction. He presently caught the scent once again, this time he was sure of it – the melding of the artificial chemicals with Kagome's naturally sweet odor; as thin as a spider's thread it drifted across the rows of vehicles pulsing along the vast urban channel. Inuyasha smelled it heading toward the exit on the opposite side of the divide.
"That way," he shouted from outside the window as they neared the ramp.
"Thanks for the early warning," snorted his chauffeur, leaning his own head out to take note of where the other indicated, "but since you weren't considerate enough to get clobbered by something a little bulkier – like say a Wells Fargo – it doesn't look like we'll be able to plow through this parade quick enough to catch it."
The hanyou immediately took matters into his own hands. Pulling himself the rest of the way out, he climbed to the roof of the car and proceeded to the turnoff leaping from one vehicle to another – much to the shock of the unfortunate motorists.
He knew Kagome had been this direction; after that, however, things were less certain. For as soon as his feet hit ground he stood facing another busy street at the end of the ramp, traffic heading in either direction. Inuyasha swore quietly, once again the faded scent was broken and he was leadless.
"You know, you might try giving me a little more warning next time before you decide to 'frogger' it across a busy highway like that," remarked a voice behind him.
Wade appeared tripping down the grassy slope to where silver haired boy stood.
"I lost the trail again," snarled Inuyasha, punching a hole through the ground in his frustration.
"Relax," the mercenary shrugged, "there are plenty of other clues to guide us –he's most likely off searching for his ancestral hand bag with matching shoes right now to complete his evil ensemble! He probably figures a teenage girl will know all the best shopping resorts; Kagome obviously has good taste," he held up the girl's abandoned purse as an example.
"Will you shaddup and quit making stupid jokes already," snapped Inuyasha, "everything in this future time makes absolutely no sense – especially you!"
"You never told me you were from the future! I have a lot of questions: can you get KFC on the moon yet; will Oprahism become the new world religion?"
"I ain't from the future, stupid, you are! This is the future for me," explained the tested hanyou.
Wade appraised the other with a critical eye, "that would explain why your pajamas look so old – but not why you have cat ears."
"They're not cat ears," Inuyasha ground out, "I'm a dog demon!"
"You're a dog demon?"
"Actually, a half dog demon," admitted the other.
"A half dog demon," Deadpool again parroted.
"Yeah, that means I'm stronger and faster than a human like you."
"Is that supposed to impress me," Deadpool smirked behind his mask, "maybe if you were a real demon and not just a half demon, not only that, a half dog demon – I mean come on, dogs are man's best friend, everyone knows that! But if say you were something like a jackal demon or even a demon that looked like my 9th grade French teacher – now that would be pretty scary; I might have a healthy dose of respect for you then. Seriously, the man had a goiter the size of Jupiter on the side of his neck!"
"Will you please Shuuuut-uuuup!"
"Nope, probably not!"
A pregnant pause followed in which Inuyasha punched the ground once more for good measure before turning back to his unlikely companion, "Well if you have any bright ideas now would be a good time to mention them, otherwise I'm about to tear this city apart and anyone else who gets in the way of finding Kagome!"
"As fun as that sounds," suddenly remembering something, Wade fished around on his person until he produced what looked like a small folded piece of trash, "I think I know a quicker way." Flattening out the crumpled business card, which bore the legend Goshie Ashram scribbled hastily on the back he flipped it over and read aloud, "Tri-Mega Industries: 'When only the best will do'," He handed the slip of paper over to the dog demon, "Here, Suzy gave this to me when I first took the job."
Inuyasha frowned at the dog-eared (pun intended) object. "What is this supposed to mean?"
Wade smacked his forehead in exasperation, "Isn't it obvious? Tri-Mega is clearly some sort of – er – industry that uhhh… Anyway, it's something! And I guarantee that if we find this place it'll lead us to Suzuki."
The half-demon looked hopeful, "Where do we start looking?"
"Nowhere that a couple well placed phone calls couldn't tell us," Declared Deadpool, "I guess I should mention that I wrecked the car back there; turns out you really can't force your way across three lanes of traffic in just an '88 Corona. Anyway, let's get me back to my hotel room, and we can get started."
"You what! Now we don't have any transportation, you idiot! How far away is this place we're going?"
"Oh a looooooong way from here," Wade chuckled.
Inuyasha crossed his arms, resisting the urge to unsheathe the Tetsusaiga, "And how do we get there?"
"I think you just answered your own question; after all, you're stronger and faster than I am."
"So," the boy paused. "Why are you looking at me like that – wait a minute, you'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking, 'cause the answer is no!"
Five minutes later Wade was headed north on what he'd coined the 'Inu-Express'. "To the Ramada Inn as fast as lightning," he cackled in his best wicked witch.
His disinclined palfrey took the time to appreciate – for once – Kagome's petite frame as he bore the ample merc by the scenic route to Deadpool's lodgings. He couldn't think of anyone else he would ever go through this for other than her –accept (he guiltily admitted to himself) Kikyou, of course.
Higurashi residence…
All was quiet in the house; the only one still awake, Ms. Higurashi paced from the living room to the dining room giving the front window the occasional anxious glance. She straightened up the house as she walked, attempting to deny her true purpose for staying up so late. She knew she shouldn't worry – that nice Inuyasha was very trustworthy and there were few people she would trust more with Kagome.
Still, she couldn't help being concerned when her only daughter was out this long past curfew. The pair might have decided to head back to the feudal era, but it wasn't like Kagome to run off without any notification.
She told herself not to worry; they must have a perfectly good reason to remain out so late. Perhaps that boy was keeping Kagome's hands full with his antics, she thought with a smile. No matter how hard she tried to shake it, however, her mother's intuition told her that something wasn't right. She'd felt such an odd sensation earlier – a pang of fear followed by a dizziness as if she were about to pass out. The feeling passed, but Ms. Higurashi's uneasiness remained.
Once again, the lone woman crossed to the window and stared out, hoping her daughter would return home soon.