To those I couldn't reply to:
kaki112: For some reason I couldn't message you. I just wanted to say thanks for adding this story to your story alert list. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Its much appreciated.
Inu4ever: Ha ha! Well, I'm glad to know that. Hope this came out fast enough, but it was a bit tough to get this chapter done. I had to go back and edit quite a few times, but I hope it will suffice. Thanks for the review.
Somewhere Beyond This
Chapter 11: Frustration
It was so peaceful. So calm and serene. There was no plane crash. There was no life or death situations. Nothing. Just me and the stillness. I smiled. All of those dark images over the past few hours were nothing but a dream. When I opened my eyes, I would be welcomed with Sango's soft snores or the ringing of my alarm clock. I would get up and shower before going to class, where I would be hassled by my ex-boyfriend and loved by my current one. Rin and Ayame would be bubbly as always and Miroku would try to feel up every girl he met. I would laugh at Mr. Totosai's forgetfulness and sigh at Kikyo's snobbish attitude. And everything would be okay.
This is what I expected, what I believed would happen once I left the tranquil place of my mind. People had vivid dreams all the time, right? As if a person thought it had happened, only to wake up and find out it didn't. Yeah, thats what was going to happen. I just knew it.
"Kagome," someone whispered beside me.
I smiled in my sleep, knowing Sango was probably crouched over my bed, trying to wake me. "Five more minutes," I mumbled, snuggling further into my arms.
She shook my shoulders. "Come on, you've got to get up."
I squinted my eyes shut as I finally became conscious and the rays of sunlight permeated my eyelids. "Class can wait," I persuaded, hoping to dose for a little longer.
I heard a sigh from beside me. "Kagome," she said more sternly. "You need to get up. Now."
I groaned low in my throat and finally decided to give her a piece of my mind. She was never this pushy in the morning. Usually it was me trying to get her out of bed. I slowly opened my eyes. "Alright, whats the big idea ... " I let my sentence trail.
What greeted me was not the small confinement of our dorm room. Rather, the sunlight glistened off the white sand and the soft sounds of ocean waves reached my ears. The breeze brought the scent of sea water to where I lay, which happened to be under a small cluster of trees. I sat up and looked around, speechless.
The fire from the night before had long since died, leaving burnt wood as the only evidence. Everyone else appeared to be up, although they hadn't moved from their positions they took the night before. The only person who seemed active was Inuyasha. He stood by the water's edge, gazing out at the horizon with his hands stuffed into his jeans.
"Sango," I mumbled breathlessly, turning to look at her. She smiled sadly at me. "No, it can't be. It was all just a dream."
She shook her head. "Afraid not, Kags," she said, her voice twinged with sorrow.
I closed my eyes to hold back the tears threatening to spill forth. I couldn't let anyone else see me break down. I had to be strong. With a deep breath, I opened them once more, turning to gaze at the small collection of survivors. A groan caught my attention and I glimpsed Miroku stretching from his position. I couldn't blame him. Because of his busted leg, he had to sleep sitting upright against a tree the entire night, not to mention the pain the injury caused him. "Good morning," he greeted cheerfully with a grin.
Leave it to him to act happy when there was nothing to smile about. "Mornin'," I replied with a sigh. I licked my lips and suddenly realized how dry my throat was. It hurt to swallow.
Sango stood up and yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "Damn, I'm starvin'."
I grimaced and placed a hand over my stomach, recalling how I was running on empty before the plane began to nosedive. I didn't have a chance to voice my opinion, however, because Miroku's stomach growled at Sango's question and he grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
My lips twitched in a smile. "Who wants to get breakfast?" I asked, turning to gaze at my boyfriend, who had stood up a few feet away.
He narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I got the firewood last night."
"Yeah," I reasoned. "But you're the only one who can do it."
Kouga crossed his arms. "What about mutt-face or his brother? They're perfectly capable." Sesshomaru didn't even glance our way, choosing to ignore the petty fight.
I frowned. "Does it really matter? We're all starving. Would it kill you to just get something to tide us over?" My voice rose as I spoke.
I was a bit on the hungry side. Not to mention the little sleep I got on the plane and the tossing and turning I did all night because I was lying on a patch of sand rather than a bed. So I was in a bit of a pissed off mood. Thanks to all that had happened over the last twenty-four hours, he was walking a thin line.
We continued to bicker back and forth for a few minutes, Sango shaking her head and sighing as time passed. "I'll do it," someone suddenly spoke up. I didn't hear Kouga's response to my latest argument, but instead shifted my gaze to where the voice came from.
"Inuyasha?" I questioned hesitantly. He hadn't turned towards us yet. It was strange. Never would he willingly give into Kouga's demands. At least, not that easily.
"Hn," Kouga grunted, crossing his arms and glaring at my ex. "What? You want to play hero now?"
The silver-haired man turned and my breath halted in my throat. His eyes, usually always burning with the desire to fight, were dull, tired almost, as if he had no more strength to battle. "No," he growled. "But maybe you should stop wastin' time fightin' about it and just do it. Ain't that hard, wolf-shit."
"What did you call me?" Kouga yelled in response, turning to glare at Inuyasha and curling his hands into fists. "You think you can take me? I'll beat the living shit out of you right here, right now."
Inuyasha didn't seem at all fazed by his threats. "Whatever," he mumbled, walking towards the forest before disappearing through the trees. I'm guessing he went to see if he could find some fruit or small animals.
Then a thought suddenly occured to me. "Wait!" I called out. He stopped in his tracks and looked over at me. "Bring someone with. We don't want anything to happen."
A smirk graced his lips and for the first time since the accident, his eyes lit up. "Worried about me, wench?" he asked with a smug demeanor.
I blushed and narrowed my eyes. "No, I just - "
"Keh," he responded, cutting me off as he turned back towards the forest. "I can take care of myself."
I waited a few minutes after he disappeared to calm my boiling blood. "The nerve of that guy," I mumbled to myself, slowly relaxing my muscles. This was no time to be angry.
"You alright?" Sango asked, coming up and placing a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, I for one, am not," a gruff voice spoke up from behind us. We turned around to see one of the strangers standing beside us with a dark look on his face.
Sango took a step towards him. "And who are you?"
He grunted. "Name's Kentaro Wantanabe. You've probably heard of me."
We peered at him suspiciously, having no idea what he was talking about. Kohaku stood up and walked over to Sango, placing a hand on the side of his mouth. "Sis, who is that?" he whispered, eyeing the large man.
She shook her head. "No clue."
He seemed flabbergasted by our lack of knowledge, for surprise took over his face as he took a step back. "You ... you have no idea who I am?!"
We continued to stare at him. Mr. Wantanabe was a heavy-set guy with a balding head and, from what I could tell, a huge ego. He appeared to be wearing a pinstripe suit, although it had been ripped into pieces by the crash. His pants were cut off at the knees and his sleeves were gone.
His face turned a bit red as he glared at us, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "Lies! Surely you've heard of me! I am an executive at the Glico Corporation." We continued to stare. "You know, the company that sells Pocky?"
Light bulb! "Oh, I gotcha," I responded with a smile, pounding my fist into my hand much like Mr. Totosai used to do. Perhaps the old man rubbed off on me. I frowned. "But wait. That corporation is so huge, why would we know who you are? After all, I bet there are plenty of executives working in the building."
It appeared as if my words only furthered his anger. "Gah!" he grunted, throwing up his hands in the air. "Kids these days. Never pays attention to politics."
Politics? Okay, his position isn't exactly what we 'kids' would call politics. "Do think he's crazy?" Souta asked as he stepped up beside me.
I continued to watch the plump man take a few paces back and forth while muttering to himself. "I don't think so," I replied hesitantly. "I mean, he doesn't look crazy."
"Looks can be deceiving," Sango whispered in a sing-song voice as Yuka came to stand beside us. Ayumi trailed behind with a dumbfounded look on her face.
"And furthermore," Kentaro said as he turned and took a few steps towards us. "I'm not gonna stake my life on a bunch of kids!" He pointed his finger in my face, enraged. He was just about my height, which was surprising for him. I thought he'd be much taller, being an 'executive' and all. I fought back a smile, knowing it would only make him angrier.
"Look," Kouga started with a growl. "I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm tired of this crap."
The man looked taken back by the sudden disrespect. "Excuse me?" he yelled. "How dare you talk to me that way! You're just a kid!"
"Actually, we're in college," Ayumi said, putting her two cents in. "Which makes us adults."
He clenched his fists in rage. "I don't care what the fuck you are! I'm not gonna take this shit from anyone!" He began striding forward, as if he was preparing for a throw down.
Alarm crossed my mind. "Woah!" I cautioned, meeting him and placing my hands in front of me to offer some kind of defense. "Hey, pal. We don't want any trouble."
"Come on, Kags," Kouga began, pushing against my arms to try and get closer to Kentaro. "I can take this guy."
I turned to glare at him. "I don't care if you can kick his ass or not. We're not doing this now." I waited until he crossed his arms in acceptance before swiveling my gaze to Mr. Wantanabe. "We're all a bit hungry and our nerves are shot, but we have to work together in order to survive. You and I both know this."
He seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I don't need a bunch of brats to take care of me," he finally replied, glaring one last time before turning around and stalking off down the beach.
"That went swimmingly," Miroku called from his position, watching the man as he retreated towards the ocean.
"Bastard," Kouga muttered, causing me to hit him softly in the arm. "What the hell was that for?" He clutched the offended spot.
I furrowed my brows and clenched my hands into fists. "You are such a jerk," I said coldly. He seemed surprise to hear me say that for his eyes widened and he was rendered speechless.
With a grunt of frustration, I swiveled around and made my way to where Miroku and Sango were sitting. He was looking up at her, flashing a perverted smile. She frowned. "No, not that. You're the survival guy. What do we need to do?"
His smile wavered when he realized she wasn't calling on him for romance. He cupped his chin with his hands and stared off into the ocean in a thinking pose. "Come on, Sango," I said a little too sharply. "We don't need him telling us what we have to do. The essentials are food, water, shelter, and warmth."
I turned around and walked away without another word. Perhaps I was being a little too harsh, but I just wanted to get things over and done with. Determination set in as I strode up to the other survivors. "Kohaku, Shippo, and Souta, you three go with Kouga into the woods and find some stuff we can use for a shelter. Rin," I called, glancing over at her. She smiled up at me, a childish innocence in her eyes. "Never mind. Kentaro -"
"I ain't doin' nothin'!" he called from a way down the beach. I sighed in frustration.
Sango eyed me. "Why, Kagome, I never knew you were the type to bark orders." Her voice was laced with sarcasm and hurt, but I didn't dare apologize for anything. I just wasn't in the mood to hold a smile. With Kouga's bad attitude and Mr. Wantanabe's huge ego, I no longer had an ounce of happiness in me.
"What are you going to do, Kags?" Souta asked, coming up beside me.
I glanced over at the two other strangers that had failed to introduce themselves. "I'm going to talk to them," I replied, nodding my head in their direction. He smiled slightly and squeezed my arm affectionately before meeting up with Kouga and his friends to find what they could.
As everyone found something to do (excluding Miroku, who had a bad leg), I strolled up to where Rin and Sesshomaru were sitting under a nearby tree. "Sesshomaru," I began. He didn't glance my way. I sighed. "Look, since Mr. Totosai isn't here right now, you're the next best thing. I need to know what you think we should do."
His amber spheres glared at me. "That is none of my concern," he responded. Obviously he wasn't in the mood.
"Of course its your concern!" I yelled at him, placing my hands on my hips. "Lives are at stake and you could very well be the only person who can help us."
He ignored me. I stared at him for a few moments longer, contemplating on blowing up at him again, but realized it would be no use. Sesshomaru was the kind of person that only answered if he wanted to. Never did he involve himself in things that he didn't care for. I would know, considering we were kind of close back when me and Inuyasha were dating.
"Ugh!" I screeched, throwing my hands up in the air and stomping away. Well, there goes that bridge of survival. Oh well, I suppose I'd have to manage on my own.
I walked around for a bit, steering clear of everyone else as I contemplated the situation. I wasn't sure how long we would be here before help arrived. But what if it never did? What if they couldn't find us? They could be mourning our deaths back home and we'd still be stranded in the middle of nowhere, believed to be dead.
I shook my head violently. No, I wouldn't think such things. I had to keep my emotions in check and my thoughts clear. If perhaps help was unable to find us, that led to our only other option. Using each other's strengths, we'd have to work together to get off the island. That meant preparing food, getting supplies, building a big enough raft, and then of course there was how the weight would be proportioned ...
"Excuse me."
I was snapped out of my thoughts by an unfamiliar woman's voice. I turned around, noting that I had walked quite a ways down the beach, and found the blond woman from the night before. She appeared much frailer than I remember. Then again, at the time, my only thoughts had been Souta. She was about my height and had deep turquoise eyes, but they had an underlying layer of sadness swirling within them. "Yeah?" I responded, a little surprised to see her.
She wrapped her hands around herself. "Is there anything I can do?" Her japanese was broken, so I knew she wasn't originally from there, but I could still make out what she said.
I smiled. "Of course," I replied. I began walking back towards the group with her beside me. "Whats your name?"
"Sarah."
I guess she wasn't really in the talkative mood. "Well, Sarah, why don't we look for something to drink?"
She nodded appreciatively. Whoever she lost, it must be real hard on her. Perhaps she was just looking for something to occupy her hands and mind, giving her less time to think about the death of her loved one. That is, if they died. Maybe they were simply adrift somewhere like Kouga had been.
I sighed at the silence between us, leaving me to wander my thoughts. After only a few hours of being with this group, I could already feel my patience running thin. I didn't know how long it would take before we were rescued, but it could take days.
I inwardly cringed. Would we be able to last that long?
A/N: Okay, because of a few reviews I got last chapter, I made this one a bit longer. I'll try to keep up the chapter length, but I can't promise anything. I hope you liked it and please review.