InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Down the Rabbit Hole ❯ Modern Visitors ( Chapter 8 )

~*~AN~*~ Okay, its been a while, but at least it hasn't been as long as I usually take... Anyway, enjoy chapter 8! And look out for the next chapter!

 

Quatre stood with his hands on his hips as he gazed down into the dried up well from which they had pulled Duo and Rin. He turned to look behind him as he heard Trowa's footsteps coming back from around the abandoned shrine building. He shook his head at the blonde, indicating that he didn't find any evidence of their three missing friends or the child. The brunette walked up beside him as Quatre's gaze turned back to the well.

 

"No one that lives around here remembers seeing any of them around. If they're here, they haven't been around any of the populated areas."

 

Quatre nodded, frowning. "The old woman that lives down the road told me this house used to be owned by the Higurashi family until the old wars forced the town to evacuate. One of the battles destroyed the main house and damaged the shrine beyond repair."

 

"Is there a living relative? Maybe the girl was related to the family. It would explain why she was around here, especially if the family still owns the property."

 

The blonde looked up at his friend and partner, giving a sigh. He hadn't thought of that idea, but that was why the two worked well together. What he didn't think of, Trowa did. They went back to the main town, now steadily moving towards city status with its current population, to see if they had a suitable hall of records. They found the family name, and that they did, in fact, still own the property as well as a secondary property at the edge of town.

 

When they got to the address of the secondary property a young woman dressed in a traditional kimono answered the door with a polite smile on her face. There was a smaller shrine on this property as well, so the woman probably thought they were there for permission to access the shrine grounds. Quatre smiled warmly at her like the practiced politician he was raised to be, with Trowa hovering close to his right shoulder with a polite hint of a smile.

 

"May I help you?"

 

"Yes, Ma'am." Quatre began. "A friend of ours was hiking back through the old ruins outside of town and came across your family's old shrine. He and a small girl by the name of Rin both fell into the old well on the property."

 

The woman looked startled when she heard the name Rin. Quatre took it as a good sign. If she recognized the name, then the girl must be related to them, so he was hoping Duo, Heero, and Wufei had been there, or were nearby. Trowa took the look a different way, thinking she might be worried about someone getting hurt on her property and their friends making a house call, especially since they both were wearing Preventers jackets.

 

"The two of them are just fine. Our friend left to escort the little girl back home, but we haven't been able to find him since. We were wondering if the girl might have been a relative of yours and if you've seen him, or two others looking for them?"

 

The woman seemed to center herself, taking a breath and smiling politely once more. "Why don't you come in." She waved them into the house, but instead of stopping at a room she led them straight through and to the shrine out back. They were led into a small building off to the side of the shrine with a low table and cushions to sit on. The walls were lined with bookshelves and cabinets. It seemed like a records room of some sort. Once they were seated, the woman spoke up. "Forgive me, my name is Higurashi Kagome. It is the name of a great Miko ancestor of ours and has been passed down to the eldest daughter of each generation for centuries."

 

"My name is Quatre Winner," Kagome's eyes widened a bit, obviously recognizing the name, "and this is my friend Trowa Barton. We are looking for three of our friends; Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and Chang Wufei, along with the little girl."

 

It only took the young woman a moment to recognize all of the names and their relation to one another. All five of the famous ex-Gundam pilots were involved in this.

 

"Rin, correct? Now you said this Rin was a young girl? About how old was she?"

 

Trowa spoke up. "She couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. Is she a relative of yours?"

 

"Well, I do have a relative by the name of Rin, but I am certain you must be looking for another little girl. There hasn't been a Rin in relation to the Higurashi family for hundreds of years."

 

"We may be mistaken, but I would hope not. Otherwise, we have no leads as to where our friends have gone unless you know of the family this girl may belong to. She was found in the well on your old property, as I mentioned earlier."

 

"Did this Rin refer to herself in the third person?" Quatre smiled, confident that this woman knew the girl in question, and also at the memory of the sweet girl.

 

"Yes, yes she did! So you know her?"

 

The woman looked wary, but nodded as she let out a sigh. She stood, eying the shelves on the wall for a moment before she found what she was searching for. She pulled an old cloth scroll out and shook it, letting it unroll onto the table.

 

"Is this the young Rin you saw?"

 

Quatre and Trowa's eyes widened. This was most definitely a portrait of the young girl, but the scroll looked so old. She was standing in a field of flowers with an unrealistically large white dog with golden eyes sitting behind her. The background looked as though it was Feudal Japan, and the seals on the portrait supported that.

 

"I don't understand... this is definitely the little girl, but..."

 

"I think I need to explain the lore behind the Higurashi family in order for you to understand. You must try hard to have an open mind. It will be very difficult to believe, but these events have been documented." She motioned to the various scrolls, books, paintings, and items stored in the room. "The first Kagome of our family was a young Miko who used that old well to travel backwards in time - to Feudal Japan."

 

~*~*~

 

The Taka cornered Duo almost as soon as they got through the door into the healing quarters, encroaching on his personal space as only a nosy old woman would be able to get away with. Duo was pinned against her desk, but managed to lean back as far as possible.

 

"What did the whispers tell you about the Western Lord?"

 

Duo's eyes narrowed almost immediately. He wasn't sure of her intentions at first and he managed to edge out from between her and the desk and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. The Taka took the move as it was intended, as a warning, and made sure she didn't get too close to the agitated Kitsune again.

 

"My purpose as a loyal servant of the Western House is to ensure the safety of its Lord, and I am quite fond of Lord Sesshomaru as well as his younger brother, Lord Inuyasha. If you heard anything..."

 

"Oh hush, Taka-sensei." Duo relaxed, the trickle of whispers telling him her worry was genuine and that she held no ill intentions towards Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, or anyone else. "The whispers said nothing of danger, but what they -did- speak of was personal and I doubt you are privileged enough to hear. I wouldn't have even stuck my own nose in it if I could have avoided it."

 

The old woman huffed at him, but she trusted the young man after his rather public vow to the Lord to protect his young charge. The fact that the Kitsune's own Alpha was present when he pledged a service to the Lord spoke volumes. "Well, fine then. I'll leave it be. Now, are you certain you are feeling alright? I have a feeling your Alpha would have my head if I just let you go to dinner without looking you over."

 

Duo rolled his eyes. "The only problem with me is I'm hungry. Really, I feel fine, and the whispers aren't even bothering me much anymore. Once I eat I should be able to concentrate more on controlling everything."

 

"It seems your Kagemusha instincts are kicking in, helping to keep some control over what powers you have. Just don't take that for granted. I suggest you talk to the Miko about it like the vision of your mother suggested. Now go eat, and if you start to feel odd or less than fine in any way, come see me immediately."

 

"I promise."

 

~*~*~

 

Heero looked up as the doors to the dining hall opened and Duo walked through. He had both swords at his side and he seemed to have straightened himself up a bit to look a tad more presentable. The Ookami had a feeling it was more for Sesshomaru's sake than anything else. Duo was walking with the cocky-yet-subtle street swagger he only used back during the Eve Wars. And he had only seen his close friend pull such a demeanor together when they were on missions on the L2 colony clusters, where your walk and your attitude was meant to impress the street life and let them know you were to be respected. By the way some of the others milling about reacted, it was working.

 

Of course, the whispered rumors that Duo was a Kagemusha, and had thwarted the assassination attempt on young Rin and Shingi, had also made their way through the castle. Wufei leaned lightly against his right shoulder and whispered into his ear.

 

"Is it just me, or is Duo out to impress tonight?"

 

"Oh, he's out to impress, but he doesn't care about anyone else in this room except Lord Sesshomaru. He already knows he has our respect, now he wants the Inu Lord's."

 

Wufei snorted, shaking his head, but both men glanced over towards the table Sesshomaru sat at with Rin at his side. His golden eyes were trained on Duo, tracking his movements as he made his way through the hall to the empty seat at Heero's left. He sat down and instantly eyed his food, but glanced at Heero first, knowing the former Wing pilot would ask a few questions.

 

"The Taka cleared you then?"

 

"Yes, I'm fine, just hungry." He saw the skeptical look in the Ookami's eye. "Look, I know all this is weird, but the whispers aren't bothering me right now, and I feel fine. I'll talk to Kagome after we eat and see if she may know something about how to control this new power. But until then, let's just drop it and eat."

 

Heero nodded, noting the slight bit of annoyance in Duo's tone. The Kitsune didn't like being coddled. He had fought in the wars just like the other pilots, and he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He also knew where his limits were, and didn't have much of a problem admitting to them, unlike Heero or Wufei. The Ryuu leaned forward to speak past Heero.

 

"What else did the Taka want you for?" Duo sighed.

 

"She asked me what I heard when I touched Sesshomaru-sama. And I told her it was nothing dangerous and none of her business." As Wufei opened his mouth to ask what he had heard, Duo glared at him. "And it's none of yours either. In fact, it's not even any of my business, but I couldn't help hearing it."

 

Dinner continued in silence from then on. Duo was too busy eating to do any talking and Heero and Wufei usually ate in silence anyway. Inuyasha was increasingly uncomfortable, not used to these large hall dinners where the entire court and other inhabitants of the castle attended. He had been forced out before he was old enough to really be involved in such meals, as children were usually fed elsewhere by their hired caretakers. It seemed Sesshomaru had made an exception that night, as Rin was sitting to his right and looking quite excited to be there. Kagome and the others were also fairly nervous and guarded about the whole affair. None of them enjoyed being surrounded by so many youkai.

 

The clatter of a glass hitting the table drew everyone's attention towards the table Heero and his pack had been seated at. Duo was frozen in place, his hand raised as if he had been about to drink from his glass, but the glass and its contents were scattered across the table. He was staring towards the East with unfocused eyes, and he looked as if he were growing wispy and dimmer. Heero and Sesshomaru stood, both worried that something was wrong. Heero went to shake his friend, as calling his name was obviously not getting through to Duo, but his hands passed right through him just before Duo disappeared altogether.

 

An exclamation of shock rose throughout the hall as the Kagemusha disappeared, and once again when he reappeared seconds later, half-way across the room, still staring off towards the East. A few guards watching over the hall surrounded Duo as Heero, Wufei, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru all stood to make their way over to him. Heero snarled at the guards as he got close, a warning to back off, but they only shifted nervously until Sesshomaru motioned for them to stand down. Wufei approached Duo from the side, making sure he could be seen by his old friend before he laid his hand on Duo's shoulder.

 

"What is it? What do you hear?"

 

"I... I wasn't certain at first, but... I'm certain now. It's definitely them."

 

"Definitely who?"

 

"Quatre and Trowa. They just used the well."

 

~*~*~

 

The story was certainly hard to believe. There was no scientific record of demons or 'youkai' even existing, let alone during Feudal Japan. There were legends and myths of course, but every society had those. That didn't mean they were actually based on truth... right? Quatre couldn't help it. He continued to try and rationalize this young woman's story, even though he felt in his heart that she was speaking the truth. And if he thought about it, the well did call to him, like it should be further explored. The blonde was also a little annoyed with his Spanish friend, as Trowa seemed to be having no problem accepting that youkai were real and there was a magical well that could send you back in time.

 

Kagome was quite adamant about preparing them for their journey. She insisted they be dressed appropriately and that they take a few items with them. The two ex-pilots stood patiently while the practiced Miko whispered an old prayer with a firm grip on a set of old prayer beads and looked them over. Supposedly she was getting a sense of how they should look and what they would need. She seemed almost giddy about the whole situation.

 

Higurashi Kagome accompanied them back to the old ruined house and run-down well. Quatre was still convinced the whole situation was stupid, but Trowa simply shrugged at him, his expression seemed to say, 'Why not?' As they stood at the edge of the well, Kagome went over a few last minute things.

 

"Now, if it works and you are granted access to Feudal Japan, be very careful. It is highly likely you will be youkai or hanyou yourselves, but if you are not, those that are may attack you. There are a few you can trust: the original Kagome, who will be a Miko of high school age; Inuyasha, a hanyou that is half Inu youkai; Miroku, a human monk; Sango, a human that was raised as a youkai slayer; and Sesshomaru, a full-blooded Inu youkai. Sesshomaru may not seem friendly at first, but he is Inuyasha's older brother."

 

"And we will know if we are youkai or hanyou as opposed to human?" Trowa asked, mostly out of curiosity. Kagome smiled.

 

"Oh, you will know."

 

"And there is nothing special we have to do? We just jump into the well?" Quatre asked.

 

"That is correct. Now, I wish you luck, and may you find your friends quickly."

 

Quatre and Trowa hesitated long enough to glanced at each other, nodding as they both confirmed they were ready, before they leapt into the dried up well. Quatre gasped as they were surrounded by a blue light, seeming to be floating weightlessly for a moment before finally feeling the sensation of falling once again. They hit the bottom of the well almost immediately after and both stumbled slightly, unaccustomed to such a way of travel, let alone landing in such a confined area.

 

The well was in shadow due to the late evening sun skipping over its surface, so the two travelers were unable to really see one another, but it was obvious that something had changed. It was also obvious, as they looked up towards the sky, that they were not where they had begun. Trowa gave Quatre a boost to the lip of the well and waited until he had disappeared over the edge before using the uneven wall of the well to give himself a boost up. Once both of them were out in the evening sun they glanced towards each other.

 

Things had definitely changed. Trowa was a bit tanner than he had been before, and he had stripes that were an even darker tan, almost brown. He had two stripes across his cheek bones, a few more at the base of his neck that extended over his shoulders, and some at his wrists. And those were just the visible ones. He also had stripes down his sides and over his hips, as well as at his ankles. He looked almost like a tiger. And he had a tail! His green eyes were also slitted like a cat's and a lot more vibrant than they had been before. Quatre was just as pale as ever, but he had a blue stripe underneath his right eye. His eyes were the same aqua blue as before but his pupils seemed to be a great deal larger. He also discovered that just above his ears and along the nape of his neck fine, golden colored feathers were mixed in with his hair. They examined the clothing they had been given to wear by the young Higurashi woman.

 

Quatre was dressed almost like a Lord with white silk hakama and a kimono top embroidered with gold and violet threads in a leaf pattern. Trowa was dressed in a few natural shades of green, but his was the outfit of a fighter, almost Chinese in design, and made for ultimate flexibility and a full range of movements. Quatre was given two sickles, which Trowa thought was amusing as it was reminiscent of Sandrock. Trowa was given five knives, two of which where connected at the hilt by a red silk cord. She had also filled a satchel with a few food items, an old book, and a collection of scrolls that had both paintings and writing on them.

 

“Well,” Quatre began, “I think it worked. And I have a feeling we've come out as either youkai or hanyou. The question is, what kind?”

 

“You are obviously some type of bird, if the feathers are any clue. And by the looks of it, I'd say I was a tiger, or a 'Tora'.”

 

Note: Quatre is a Taka (or Hawk), which will get explained in the next chapter, but some of you may be curious. And the scrolls that they brought with them will help explain a few things... just be patient.