InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Future Beginnings ❯ Up up and away.... ( Chapter 1 )

It was over. Kagome hugged Sango, and gathered up her few belongings. She had been accepted at a college in the United States, and she decided to go. It wouldn't be forever, and happily the well continued to function. She would miss her friends from the Feudal age, especially Inuyasha. But it was time. She needed a break.

 

Everyone understood except Inuyasha. He was the same as always, not willing to make any sort of commitment, but not willing to let her go either.

 

“Please be happy for me,” Kagome begged him. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me, and it's not like I will be gone the entire four years—I will be back every summer, and for a month every winter too.”

 

“Why do you have to go? Why can't things just stay the way they are?”

Kagome sighed. “I—can't. That's exactly why I have to go. I don't want things to stay the way they are.” She gathered up her books, reached out and shyly hugged Inuyasha good-bye. “Don't follow me through the well. I'll see you in a few months.” She jumped in, the familiar wash of blue surrounding her as she transcended time once again.

 

Inuyasha watched as the light faded. The others had said their good-bye's back at the village. Even Shippo had resigned himself to Kagome's absence. He had attached himself more and more to Sango and Miroku, forming a family unit of their own.

 

“What am I supposed to do?” muttered Inuyasha. He glanced around the glade, then jumped into the well and into the future where Kagome was.

 

Inuyasha had had enough experience sneaking through the well to Kagome's time that he easily slipped from the well house to the roof outside Kagome's room without being seen. He didn't go in this time, but perched on the roof outside her window and listened while she discussed her plans with her school friends.

 

“It's a small college in Connecticut. Someone from the school will pick me up at the airport and bring me to my dorm room. There's a shuttle bus that goes between the dorms and the classroom buildings, so I should be able to get around pretty easily.”

 

“Won't you be lonely?”

“What about food? Can you eat American food all the time?”

“When are you coming home?”

 

Inuyasha's ears pricked up at that last question.

 

“Well, classes end in mid-December, then don't start up again until the end of January, so I'll be home for about a month.”

 

That didn't answer the question for Inuyasha. How long until “mid-December?” He fidgeted on the roof. This wasn't going to work. What was he going to do? For the last three years, Kagome had been with him more or less continually. She said she'd never leave him. She said she wasn't leaving for good. But a lot could happen between now and “mid-December.” What if she forgot about him?

 

He decided to follow her. After all, how far could this “Connecticut” be? When they were following the trail of the shikon shards, they had traveled over a good portion of Japan. He didn't remember any place named “Connecticut,” but names could have changed over the centuries.

Inuyasha leaned his head against the outside wall and made his plans. He knew that the “cars” of this age could go faster than he could run, so he would have to figure out a way to hitch a ride without Kagome's knowing. If she discovered him before they arrived, she would send him home again, if she didn't “sit” him into oblivion! He could jump on the roof of her family's car after it started to go. Then she wouldn't see him.

 

Inside Kagome's bedroom, the four friends continued their conversation and it gradually dawned on Inuyasha that there might be a better solution!

 

“How are you getting to the airport? Is your mother going to bring you?”

 

“No, since I'm leaving from Narita, I'll take the bus from Shinjuku station right to the airport. It's easier that way.”

 

Inuyasha agreed. He knew where “Shinjuku station” was—he had actually taken a train with Kagome before. He would follow her there and see what this “bus” looked like. Hopefully it would be easier to follow than a “car.” At any rate, there would be enough people around the crowded station that she might not notice him.

 

Of course, it didn't work out exactly as he had planned. Inuyasha was extremely noticeable in any day and age. Shinjuku station was huge, and the only way Inuyasha could trail Kagome was by scent. Since there were so many people, he needed to put his nose to the pavement every so often and that drew people's attention more than his outlandish clothing did. Fortunately for him, he was not the only character dressed in ancient clothing. It was quite common for businesses around the train station to advertise using actors in feudal costumes.

 

Inuyasha glared at the small crowd he had managed to attract. He straightened up and strode forward towards a line of buses, much to the disappointment of the people gathered around him. He had Kagome's scent now. She was somewhere up ahead.

 

“Hey!” A boy around Souta's age tugged on his sleeve. Inuyasha looked down in annoyance.

 

“What?” he growled.

 

“Aren't you going to do martial arts or something? What are you supposed to be?” The boy looked quizzically at Inuyasha's very visible ears.

 

“Be?” Inuyasha didn't understand the question, so he pulled his sleeve out of the boy's grasp and continued walking towards Kagome. The boy stared after him for a moment, then turned towards another feudal age figure who was standing in a doorway handing out brochures.

 

Inuyasha almost ran right into Kagome and her mother. Luckily, the crowd was thick and Inuyasha was fast. He ducked into a subway entrance, stopping just inside and peering out above the railing. Those very big, very long “cars” must be what they meant by “bus,” he thought. At the moment, he saw Kagome's luggage being loaded into the belly of the bus. Kagome had climbed inside the main body of the vehicle and was waving at her mother through one of the windows. She wasn't looking his way.

 

Seeing his chance, Inuyasha bolted from his hiding place and into the belly of the bus with Kagome's luggage just as the attendant slammed the cargo door shut. She wouldn't see him in here, he thought smugly.

 

The bus lurched forward and Inuyasha spent the next hour and a half in a daze from the motion and the exhaust fumes. He opened his eyes as the bus pulled to a stop in front of a large complex of buildings. As soon as the cargo door opened, he sprinted out, a red and white blur to the surprised attendant. He ran for the cover of the nearest building as the attendant searched in vain around and under the bus for what he thought was an animal.

 

A few people got out, and the attendant sorted through the luggage and removed several pieces. Then, to Inuyasha's horror, the bus started on its way again with Kagome and her bags still on board. He took a running leap and grabbed on to the back of the bus, hooking his claws into the metal to get a good grip. It was pure luck that no one from the bus stop was looking in his direction.

 

It was only a matter of minutes before the bus approached a second set of buildings. Inuyasha jumped off well before it came to a halt, making sure this time to stay close by in case Kagome did not get out again. He stood behind a pillar near a different bus. Some people who were waiting in line for the bus gave him a peculiar look, but to his relief no one spoke to him.

 

Kagome exited the bus and exchanged tickets for her luggage. She looked up at the signs, chose a doorway, and entered the nearest building. This time Inuyasha didn't even try to follow her. He hopped up on to the top of the building, confident that he had her scent and would not lose track of her.

 

What he saw astounded him. On the other side of the buildings was a huge flat area and on that flat were gigantic metal “cars,” he supposed, except that they had arms, or perhaps wings like giant birds. He was sophisticated enough to know that they weren't some modern kind of Youkai (there was no scent except for a much magnified exhaust scent like cars or buses.) They must be even bigger forms of transportation than buses or cars, he thought. How far away is this “Connecticut?”

 

It occurred to him that Kagome might be leaving Japan, though he was not at all sure how this would be possible. Did these bird-cars float across the water? Or…no, they couldn't….

 

Inuyasha watched in wonder as one of the bird-cars roared away from the buildings, becoming smaller and smaller until with an even louder roar, it rose diagonally, seemingly slowly, but surely, into the air. Apparently they could. And Kagome was going to go inside one of these bird-cars and fly away from him?

 

He hopped from the top of the building to the ground where he saw many workers scurrying back and forth between the buildings and the bird-cars. Every so often he noticed a large cart piled high with luggage similar to Kagome's that would be loaded onto one of the bird-cars. That gave him an idea. Instead of following Kagome, he would follow her luggage! He wasn't too crazy about the idea of squeezing in with the luggage again. If this trip was much longer than the bus trip, he would be very sick! But Kagome was not flying away in a bird-car without him!

 

There were many bird-cars and many luggage carts with many people's luggage. Inuyasha sped from one to another, sniffing frantically, because he realized that if he did not find Kagome's luggage and her particular bird-car, she might fly away without him after all. Eventually he picked up the scent. Carefully, for him, he followed the luggage cart with Kagome's bags on it to one of the bird-cars. The luggage cart was raised into the air and placed on a moving path where it glided and bumped its way into the big belly of the bird-car. There was no opportunity for Inuyasha to hide himself among the luggage as it remained a big block from the luggage cart to the bird-car's belly.

 

He glanced around, making sure no one was watching. He intended to jump up the ramp and hide between the giant blocks of luggage, even though it would be a tight squeeze. Nearly impossible, he thought. Just as he was about to leap, he noticed movement on the other side of the bird-car. Maybe there was another way on that side. He darted under the belly to look.

 

On this side a moving metal stairway had been placed towards the very back of the bird-car. Inuyasha could see a small doorway at the top. As he watched, a man carried a stack of boxes up the stairs and into the bird-car. Moments later, a different man came out and went down the stairs into a large, square car, or was it a small square bus? He came back out with another stack of boxes and went up the stairs once again. Inuyasha went up the stairs a few seconds after the second man had disappeared inside the bird-car.

 

There was a very small kitchen inside the back end of the bird car with curtains which screened it somewhat from the doorway. Inuyasha glanced in, saw the two men putting the boxes into metal compartments. He glanced back out the door and saw another worker with more containers heading for the stairs.

 

Muttering a curse, he strode past the kitchen area, past two tiny doors, and found himself inside the largest car, or bus, he had ever seen! There were rows upon rows of seats, blessedly empty at the moment. However, if he sat in one, he was sure to be noticed. He jumped onto the very last row of center seats and gingerly hopped his way across to the other side of the bird-car farthest from the rear door. There were two tiny doors on this side, too, as well as the curtains which hid the little kitchen. Since he couldn't go into the kitchen area, he tried one of the tiny doors. He pulled on it, but nothing happened, so he pushed it, and it folded in half, spilling him into a very small room. He immediately recognized the room as a toilet similar to the one in Kagome's house, although ridiculously small.

 

He shut the door behind him. There was nowhere to hide, but maybe no one would come in this room. In Kagome's house, there was a way to barricade the door to be sure that no one else could get in. Perhaps there was something similar here. He peered closely at the little door with the split down the middle. He pulled on the knob but the door started to open, so he quickly pushed it shut. He noticed that there was a little bolt above the knob. Maybe that was the lock. He slid it to one side and suddenly the tiny room was illuminated in a bright light. Quickly he slid it back, and the room slipped back into dimness. With a sigh, Inuyasha climbed up onto the toilet and squatted there. This was as good a place as any for the moment.

 

Presently he heard movement, smelled humans, and realized that the bird-car was filling with passengers. Kagome had better be on this thing, he thought. Otherwise, he was getting off, no matter who saw him, no matter if he had to claw his way out through this thing's belly.

 

A rattling at his door brought his attention back to himself and he tensed, one hand on Tetsusaiga, ready to fight or run as soon as the door opened. However, it did not open. Instead, there was a distinct clunk, and suddenly his little room was flooded with the bright light again. Since he had not done it himself, Inuyasha figured it was normal. No one seemed to be trying to get in, so he relaxed. He gazed around the small space, saw himself in the mirror, something he seldom did even at Kagome's house. “Need to do something about the ears,” he thought. “Kagome always worries that somebody will see my ears.”

 

There were all sorts of interesting things in his tiny room. He pulled tissues from a hole in the wall and stuck them over his ears, but they fell right off. He tried the coarser white squares of paper in a holder near the sink but they didn't stay on any better. Another hole in the wall held paper cups so he pulled one out and tried to turn on the water in the sink. This was definitely not the same as the sink at Kagome's house. He tried twisting the handles but nothing would twist. He knew from experience not to twist too hard. So he pulled, and finally pushed, and was rewarded with a thin trickle of water. He put the cup under it only to have the trickle completely stop. A few more pushes, and the cup was full. By this time he had worked up a thirst, so he drank it down. He glanced around for a place to put the used cup but he couldn't find any, so they joined the tissues and the other white papers on the floor of his increasingly cramped room.

 

Since it was technically a toilet, he figured he might as well use it. He hopped down from the seat and expertly flipped the top open. The medicine smell made him slam the top back down. Where was the water? How did this toilet work? It wasn't like the one in Kagome's house either. He decided to wait a while.

 

Somewhere along the line it registered that he could smell Kagome's scent. Unconsciously his shoulders relaxed and the tenseness went out of him. She was here.

 

There were lots of people on this bird-car. He could hear them moving about, getting settled. From her scent, he could tell that Kagome was towards the middle of the bird-car, so he carefully pulled on the doorknob, noticing as he did so that the bright light again went dim. His ears were as far back as he could make them, but it was dark and nobody was standing in the back where he was.

 

He quickly slid into the nearest seat, moving blankets and pillows out of his way. He draped one of the blankets over his head, effectively covering both his ears and his distinctive hair. Tetsusaiga was digging into him in this position, so he slid off the entire sheath and wrapped it in another blanket. He already knew what Kagome would say about his sword in this modern era.

 

“Sir?” Inuyasha looked up to see a woman leaning over him. Oh no, this was it. They had found him and now they were going to make him leave Kagome. Well, he would not leave without her. He didn't care what she would say about him making a scene in her time. Not enough to leave, in any case.

 

“Sir, you can't keep that in your seat during take-off.” She gestured towards his blanket-wrapped sword. “You can put it in the overhead bin,” she pointed above and Inuyasha saw that there were small luggage compartments above the rows of seats. “or I can store it up front for you.”

 

“No! I will put it up there.” Inuyasha stood carefully so that the blanket on his head didn't fall off. He placed Tetsusaiga in the overhead bin, tucking it securely towards the back before pulling the door closed.

 

“Thank you, sir. Enjoy your flight.” With that, the woman continued on towards the kitchen in the back.

 

“Enjoy my flight,” thought Inuyasha. “I think I will.”

 

He paid no attention to the droning of announcements and only momentarily gaped at the small television screen directly in front of his chair. He knew what this was. He could even hear it with his sensitive ears, but he couldn't figure out how the ordinary humans would be able to hear the small television.

 

A loud rumbling from somewhere below caught his attention, and his ears started to ache! He clamped his hands over his ears, which were still covered by the blanket. It didn't help.

 

“Sir,” the same woman who had approached him earlier was back. “Fasten your seatbelt.”

 

Inuyasha must have looked confused because she reached down and gently pulled two flat ropes together across his blanket-covered waist. She also glanced at the television screen. “I'll get you some headphones after we take off,” she said. Inuyasha blinked at her, cheeks slightly red in response to her seatbelt fastening.

 

Moments later the noise increased to a painful level and Inuyasha was thrown against the back of his seat as the bird-car hurtled forward. He turned his head sideways and saw the ground rushing by from the little holes—windows—across the aisle. His stomach flip-flopped as he realized the ground was dropping away.