InuYasha Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Three Days In Tokyo ❯ Kerosene and Not Heard ( Chapter 4 )

Standard disclaimers apply:

Inu Yasha and all related characters are property of Takahashi Rumiko and Viz.

Rurouni Kenshin and all related characters are property of Watsuki Nobuhiro and Shounen Jump.

Three Days In Tokyo

By

koinekid

Summary: After exposure to the stomach acid of an ogre carrying a shikon shard, Kagome and Inu Yasha pass through the Bone Eater's Well. Finding themselves in late nineteenth century Tokyo, they must defend Kagome's ancestors and the Sunset Shrine against a vicious attack. Fortunately, they receive help in the form of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai and his companions.

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Kagome's plan to escape has a horrific outcome. Now a young boy's life is in jeopardy, and an injured human Inu Yasha must venture into this unfamiliar world to find help.

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Chapter 4

Kagome knew the paper sliding door would at best halt the boy pursuing her for only a moment. She shut the door anyway, wishing it were the pivot-hinged door that normally controlled access to her room. Besides being constructed of sturdy, protective wood, Kagome's door had a lock.

Had she the presence of mind, Kagome would have scanned the room for a something large enough to block the door. Perhaps a bureau or a bed. No guarantee she could push the bureau, of course, or that the boy couldn't hop over it. Though he had Souta's frame, he seemed stronger, more athletic, or at the least more stubborn. The girl's survival instinct overtook her senses, and since her survival had for the past months been inextricably linked with her hanyou companion, that sense called out for Inu Yasha. Her voice soon followed.

Inside the well house, Inu Yasha opened his eyes. He'd heard a voice call his name. More than that, he felt it. Kagome needed him. Fighting through the pain, he rose, stepped forward, and stopped. He sank back to the ground, and exhaled roughly.

While in human form, Inu Yasha's emotions ran wild. None of his companions had noticed. He hadn't let them, for shame too was an emotion. And his weakness shamed him. He wanted Kagome to need him, so in his weakness he'd imagined her voice calling out to him. This is Kagome's home, he told himself. Her time. She's safe here.

With that, he closed his eyes again.

Kagome knew Inu Yasha wouldn't come. He'd probably decided to take his chances in the Sengoku Jidai, and already slipped back through the well. She had to fend for herself. A survey of the room yielded little to aid her defense. Besides the dull round rug on which she stood, little else adorned the room. The furnishings were as sparse and the decorations as simple as her mother's had appeared from the hall. No bureaus and no beds, that's for certain. A small wooden chest, locked, and obscured by the cast-off covers of a close-by futon, was shoved into the far corner. The head of the futon was positioned next to the chest. A protective measure, Kagome realized. Anyone reaching for the box would have to reach over the futon, likely waking the sleeper in the process. In another corner a western-style kerosene lamp blazed. Next to it set a box of matches. Kagome recognized that she must have entered the boy's room. She felt suddenly violated that this room that should be but wasn't hers was now occupied by a male, even one this young.

She forced herself to focus. Why was the lamp still lit? Had the boy neglected to extinguish it? Or perhaps he had blown it out, but in his haste left a spark glowing that rekindled. Was that even possible? she wondered. More important than the why of it, how could she use it?

A commotion in the hall caught her attention. Had she been in the hall, she would have seen the boy wrestle the walking stick away from the old man, and charge the door. Instead she heard only low murmurs of an argument and the pounding of footsteps. Her eyes shot back to the lamp, back to the door, and then back to the lamp. Bounding forward, she grabbed for the lamp, tipping it over and nearly spilling the kerosene. Recovering, she removed the glass dome and unscrewed the brass top. The flame was doused, but she still had the matches.

The door slid open with such force that Kagome feared it would break. Apparently, she was not alone in her fear. She could hear the old man's shouts. Steeling herself, she drenched the boy's clothing, face, and hair with the contents of the lantern. The boy's eyes filled with anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

Kagome rose and held out the match box. "Stand back. You're covered with-"

"I know what I'm covered with. I can smell, ya know!"

"Then…then you know what'll happen if I use these!"

"Ha…" the boy smirked. "I used the last match this evening."

Kagome fought the impulse to break eye contact with the boy. Instead, she slid open the box, and felt inside with her fingers. Predictably, the boy had lied. "One match left," she said.

The boy swung his grandfather's walking stick to strike at her hand. She dodged. "Uh uh uh," she said, moving the match to striking position on the side of the box. "Now," she said, "I'm leaving, and unless you'd like to be flash fried, you'll let me pass."

The boy grumbled, but stepped back.

Inu Yasha cursed himself as he limped, supported by his sword, to the main house. This is Kagome's time. She's safe here! What was I thinking? A series of images cycled through his mind. Kagome pursued by a slithering sickening mesh of bodies, arms, heads, and legs jutting out at grotesque angles, held together by an ancient plastering mask empowered by a Shikon shard. Half of the mask, free of its writhing mass, soaring towards Kagome's face, threatening to end her life and absorb her body into itself. Her hand guarding her face, its slim width all that separated her from annihilation. The split second when he demanded she move her hand, and her fate was entirely in his hands. He hadn't been sure she would trust him. Safe in her own time? Keh! He didn't ever want to start thinking about the incident with the Tatari-mokke and the dead girl.

A light rain had begun to fall, making the trip more difficult. The tip of tessaiga's sheath dug shallow rivets in the quickly forming mud. He slipped on the path several times, and banged his knee, drawing blood once or twice. Maybe Kagome wasn't in trouble. Maybe she'd still be angry, and she'd sit him in spite of his injuries. Didn't matter. He'd risk it.

Inu Yasha slid open the front door. Though he'd only used the door occasionally, he remembered it having a different design. He had little time to puzzle over it, as he heard Kagome's voice. He couldn't make out the words, but could tell she was aggravated. Not at him, he hoped. He limped toward the staircase. The tip of the sheath clopped heavily on the stairs with his every step. He knew that whoever was on the second story could hear him coming, but in his present state surprising an opponent would provide too slight of an advantage. And to be honest he felt impatient. The thought of Kagome in danger left him belligerent. He wanted to fight.

Kagome fought to keep her composure. She couldn't allow her face, even in this dim light, to reveal her apprehension. Someone was ascending the stairs at an alarmingly fast rate. Step. Tap. Step. Tap. Kagome felt confined, trapped, and a bit curious as to why a peg-legged pirate was coming up the stairs. She took a step backward.

Inu Yasha blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to find an old man and a young boy as his opponents. "Oi, Kagome. You okay?"

She nodded.

He chewed on his lip, muttered "Get some sleep. I'll see you back in my world," and turned to go.

Her eyebrows lifted in amazement, and then lowered in anger. "Are you just going to leave me here?"

"Sure. The old man and your brother can take care of you for a few days."

"Old man and…that's not jii-chan! And this brat certainly isn't Souta. Can't you remember what my family looks like?" she fumed.

Inu Yasha looked at the pair of faces, and tried to conjure up a mental picture of Kagome's family to compare with them. He came up with nothing almost immediately, but scrunched up his eyes and cocked his head to the side to feign concentration and mask his emerging boredom. The possibility of being sat still concerned him, so it seemed a good idea not to anger the wench. After a suitable pause, he shrugged. "This isn't them?"

This simpleton has made the succubus angry, the boy thought. And like ojii-san says, "Anger breeds distraction." He shot a hand forward, yanking the matchbox from her grasp. It was a fast grab. His speed always left him with a swell of pride. Half a second later, he realized the truth of another ancient aphorism with universal applicability-one of which, with the influx of a modified Hebrew ideology piggybacking on a Euro-American financial hegemony, he may have heard-"Pride goes before a fall."

In drawing the matchbox away, he scraped its sandpaper striking surface against the head of the match in Kagome's hand. The sandpaper's red phosphorus coating reacted with the chemicals on the match head, producing a spark. The boy cried out as his clothing and hair caught fire.

"Grandson!"

The old man with his shuffling gate could not hope to reach the boy in time. Nor could the injured Inu Yasha. The boy beat at his clothes with futility. With every hit, his kerosene-drenched sleeves made contact with the kerosene-drenched front of his gi. Kagome pushed him to the ground, and tried to smother the flames by rolling him onto his stomach. He wouldn't budge, but continued to beat at himself. Desperate now, Kagome was about to hurl herself onto the boy. That's when she remembered the futon blankets. Scrambling over him, she grabbed the blankets, pivoted on her heels, and half ran, half tripped her way back.

"Inu Yasha," she said, smothering the flames, "help me get him into the room."

Moments later Inu Yasha, Kagome, and the boy's grandfather were gathered around the boy's barely unconscious form. Inu Yasha had volunteered to gather a lamp (it was a traditional Japanese one) from the old man's room, claiming his leg felt better. He now held the lamp over the boy, so the trio could get a better look at his chest. Their examination revealed several red swollen splotches, one the size of Kagome's fist. Portions of the boy's gi were stuck to his flesh. Kagome reached down to try to peel the clothing back. Her efforts produced a crackling, tearing sound. The boy winced, and the old man glared at her.

"Shit!" she seethed.

Inu Yasha blinked. He'd never heard the girl curse before, let alone with such a choice epithet. This must be serious.

"Kagome?"

"Never remove clothing stuck to a burn," she chided herself. "Inu Yasha," she said, looking into his eyes, "we have to get a doctor."

He nodded. "Let's go."

"No. I'll go. You stay here."

"Not a chance."

"He needs help NOW! You're hurt, and I can't slow down for you."

Inu Yasha recognized the look in her eyes. She was going to sit him. He clamped a hand over the girl's mouth before the first syllable of the subduing spell could slip out. He hefted her to her feet, and half-dragged her out of the room, his hand still firmly clasped over her mouth.

"Kagome, listen to me. All right?"

She nodded.

"I don't know if you've realized it yet, but we're not in your world. This isn't your house, and that's not your family."

Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. "I know, but we don't have time to think about it."

"I promise I'll get you home. But you're right. Helping that boy is top priority right now."

"That's why I have to go."

"You don't know anything more about this world than I do. There could be dangers out there-dangers we haven't even seen in my world. You don't know where to start looking for a doctor. And-"

"Inu-"

"And even with this injury, I'm still faster than you."

Though she wanted argue the point, she relented. She felt weak in the knees, and her shin was throbbing from the boy's earlier attack. She sank to the ground. "All right. Just hurry."

Nodding, he called out, "Oi, old man. Where's the nearest doctor?"

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Note: My roommate has joked that I'll have written this entire crossover without having any RK characters appear. So far, he's been right. If I have Kenshin make an appearance on the last page, will this fic still be a crossover? What do you guys think? Hmm…

…Guess not.

No worries. The Kenshin gumi will appear. Which doctor do you think the old man was talking about?

Special note about continuity:

I am following the Inu Yasha manga continuity. Therefore, when Inu Yasha is remembering the plastering mask incident, he remembers the conglomeration of bodies that appeared in the manga and not the oily black creature from the anime. Imagine that this story takes place sometime between scrolls 2 and 3 of manga volume 15 (or if you prefer, part 140). It's right after the broken alarm clock incident.

For RK, I'm following manga continuity as well. The story takes place after Act 30 (in volume 4). The incidents with the Oniwabanshu and Kanryuu have occurred. Megumi is staying in Tokyo as Genzai's assistant. Neither Saitou or Shishio have appeared. It's right before Tsubame makes her first appearance.