InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inuyasha AD 4023 ❯ Dogs, Trees and Hags ( Chapter 2 )

What do you think so far? I do so enjoy reviews!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Inuyasha; Takahashi-sama does.

 

Chapter Two: Dogs, Trees and Hags

 

She was having a nightmare, a terrible nightmare. She was being sucked into a black void; she could feel her soul draining from her body.

 

No, that wasn't right.

 

She was piloting a Phoenix I-LD2 against impossible odds. Lasers and missiles whirled about her as warning alarms went off in her cockpit. Primary weapon malfunction, drive system damaged, coolant leak, reactor breach, an explosion; she died.

 

No, that wasn't right either.

 

A boy was smiling at her. He was dressed strangely in some sort of red robes. He was striking, if weird looking. A length of silver hair that went to his mid back made him look like something of an angel. Sharp angles defined his boyish face. Eyes of molten gold pierced through her and his eyebrows arched gracefully. He was shaking her, trying desperately to tell her something. She could only gaze at him as she brushed his hair back over his ears; only he had none. That couldn't be. No, he did, but they were on the top of his head. Fuzzy white triangles; they looked like dog-ears. She giggled, wanting to touch them, but her giggle turned into a cough. Her coughing got more and more violent. She was choking! She couldn't breath! She-

 

Kagome sat bolt upright, drenched in a cold sweat. It had been a dream. Thank the gods for that. Where was she anyway? Studying her surroundings, she realized she was sitting at the bottom of the old well. She must have fallen and hit her head, and then had a nightmare about being sucked down, but it had all seemed so real! A little too real... Her eyes scanned her surroundings trying to determine whether or not it had been a hallucination. Finally convinced that it indeed had been a frighteningly real hallucination she looked up for the ladder that led out of the well. There wasn't one.

 

Ivy climbed down the side of the well. That was weird… and could she hear birds chirping? What the hell? Looking up she was surprised not to see the ceiling of the well house, but open blue skies colored with lazy and puffy white clouds. She calmed herself, refusing to panic. Maybe her family had installed a holo-roof with environmental monitors? Yes that had to be it. Then why was there no ladder? Maybe gramps had removed it? She bit her lip as a rising feeling of dread filled her. Her hand brushed against her right hip. At least she still had her Caster gun and shells. She didn't know how that helped- the thing didn't even work, but at least it made her feel more secure. Sighing heavily, she resigned herself to climbing her way up and out of the well using the ivy to pull herself.

 

Get a grip Higarashi. Everything is fine- The thought died as she finally pulled herself over the lip of the well. No way… There was no shrine, no well house, no New Tokyo, just an open meadow that reached out until it hit a tree line that surrounded it on all sides. Oh shit…

 

Kagome quickly went into the focused state she used in times of crisis, similar to when she tried to touch her chakras. She weighed her options. She could either wait where she was and hope someone showed up or she could go looking for help. She decided on the latter, figuring that the area was secluded and looked pretty untouched. It was likely that people didn't come there that often. She was also worried that the rest of her dream was just as real as this was; she didn't want to run into whatever it was that pulled her down the well. Stiffening her resolve, she got her bearings from the sun and began to walk in the direction that would take her to the center of New Tokyo- west by north west. She quickly cleared the meadow and entered the forest of tall oak and maple trees. She kept herself on alert, jumping at every other sound. She was surprised, to say the least, to see wildlife creatures such as squirrels, rabbits and birds inhabiting the place. Such things hadn't been seen on this part of the Earth in well over two hundred and some odd years. Where… or when the hell am I?

 

She had been walking at a steady pace for perhaps ten minutes when the forest began to grow gradually thicker and darker. She was beginning to wonder whether or not wandering off had been such a good idea when she noticed it got lighter just ahead. Maybe it was the way out? No, it merely looked like another clearing. As she got closer, Kagome began to see something through the last hundred feet of trees. Her heart lurched as she realized what it was. Goshinboku… your still here… maybe that means some part of the shrine is here too? No, you were at the far edge of the shrine grounds… Her thoughts skipped back to one of the many conversations she had shared with her grandfather when she was little. She was only four when she had first asked about the giant sakura tree that lay on the shrine grounds. She had seen pictures of regular sakura trees in preschool that day, and wondered why the Goshinboku was at least five times bigger than them. Her grandfather had been more than happy to answer her.

 

“The Goshinboku, or `god tree' as it is called in common, is an ancient and magical tree of ages. It is said that it has existed since ancient times. Some even claim it goes back before humans had even discovered the 5th Dimensional Time-Space Lightdrive! The historians of ancient Earth culture even ran tests on it. The Goshinboku is over two thousand five hundred years old! The Higarashi Shrine was built in honor of Goshinboku; to protect this most holy and powerful tree. Later the shrine was expanded when the Bone Eater's Well was built from the wood of the god tree. The well was used as a final resting place for youkai. Its even possible that the very soil in the well contains some of these ancient bones…”

 

When she was young Kagome had completely believed everything gramps had told her. As she got older and began to pursue her career of a star pilot and mech warrior she dismissed all such beliefs to legend, folly, and eventually bullshit. Now she wasn't so sure…

 

As she entered the clearing she stared in awe at the serene beauty of the scene before her. Shafts of brilliant light broke through the branches of the Goshinboku, which was thick with cherry blossoms in full bloom. The light danced with the shadows as a gentle breeze stole through the clearing. Kagome walked towards the tree, all other thoughts stilled by the shear magnificence and majesty her eyes feasted upon. When she was about thirty feet away her gaze began to wander amongst the various streams of light until one that was particularly prominent and striking caught her eye. Her gaze followed it down as it began to narrow to just a few feet of light. Before she knew it she was staring straight and level at the base of the tree, gazing in amazement at the incredible presence she felt coming from it. Suddenly her attention was brutally yanked by something her eyes had somehow missed, and silent awe turned to shock. Her mind was a complete blank; so taken by the vision before her was she. Oh gods… what… what… Her thoughts were an incoherent jumble of utter bewilderment, awe, and something else… she wasn't quite sure.

 

There, wrapped among the root-like vines at the base of the Goshinboku was a young male figure draped in red and possessing the most peculiarly beautiful, supernatural and undeniably entrancing features she had ever seen. It was him. The… the.. boy… no- man from my dreams? B-but how… ohmigosh… I-I think… Kagome was dimly aware of her feet moving below her, drawing her towards him. She felt strange, very strange; fuzzy and hazy was her mind, and her heart was beating so fast she could swear it was going to burst. Her cheeks flushed lightly, and she suddenly felt very warm. Her breaths were short and shallow, and she felt as if the world were tilting crazily beneath her feet. It was like a dream. Her eyes were glazed over, her entire being in a trance, focused on this man. He was beyond beautiful, beyond gorgeous, beyond flawless, he was a god, an angel descended from heaven who graced her presence with his impossibly perfect and majestic, glorious and surreal beauty. This is a dream! This has got to be a dream!

 

She was suddenly very aware that she was leaning into his form, touching the incredibly soft and creamy skin of his lightly tanned cheek. A thought popped into her mind and her hands freely wandered up to the top of his head, wondering if they would really be there. Sure enough, the fuzzy white triangles were right where they were supposed to be. She couldn't help but rub them and close her eyes at the pleasure she felt flowing through her fingertips. They were impossibly soft and smooth to the touch; she had never felt anything like it even with the advanced fibers of her world. Her body toyed with her mind, alerting her to the proximity of her body to his. She pressed against him, the taught muscles under his flowing robes feeling wonderfully hard and firm. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at his lips. They look so soft… One of her hands descended slowly to touch his lips; they were very soft. Her other hand meandered down to touch her own lips, wondering how they would feel in comparison to his. They were just as soft, but a little fuller with a bit more spring to them.

 

The feeling of the two separate sets of lips made images appear in her mind. If it felt this nice now then what would it be like to kiss him? She closed her eyes, enjoying the visions that danced around behind her eyelids, starting to find herself becoming more and more attracted to the idea. Her eyes fluttered open delicately, a soft, hazy look smoldering in their depths. The chocolate brown hue seemed to light up, as if life had just found her for the first time. What… what is this feeling? Why is my heart pounding so hard… oh god… please don't tell me… Kagome had never believed in love at first sight, she was starting to seriously reconsider that belief very quickly. Unable to contain herself anymore she moved, almost painfully slowly, towards his lips. Millimeter by millimeter she progressed, her head spinning like a top, she felt as if she were suffocating in warmth and her head ached at the strain. She was close now, oh so very close. Just another half a centimeter. She could already feel him, already taste him. Oh kami-sama… please… please…

 

Out of nowhere harsh warning bells started to go off in her head, screaming for her to stop. She barely heeded them. As she drew herself away from him her mind cleared and body started to feel normal again. She blanched at what she had almost done- and with a complete stranger too! What the hell had gotten into her? Her heart constricted painfully, attempting to remind her of exactly what had `gotten into her.' She did her best to ignore it. He wasn't even conscious for god's sake! Wait a minute… what the hell was he doing pinned to a tree unconscious anyway? Pinned… Something about that word filtered down into her brain and she shifted her eyes to his left shoulder. There, just above where his heart would be was an arrow that pierced all the way through him and pinned him to the tree. She dimly noted that there was no blood… interesting… How had she not seen that arrow before anyway? I guess I was too busy… too busy… The thought trailed off as she realized precisely what she had been `busy' doing, and her cheeks flushed bright red. Shaking her head and reprimanding herself for yet again becoming distracted, she decided she wanted some answers. Clearly it was this arrow that somehow sealed him. Well we'll just have to fix that now wont we Kagome? Her hand reached for the arrow- she was going to free him and figure out exactly where and when she was!

 

“HALT!” The word burned through her like a concentrated sustained energy weapon- perhaps a phase blade, and she jumped in fright. “Remove thine hand from the arrow girl or I will be forced to kill ye.”

 

Kagome slowly removed her hand, doing as the voice said. “Now put thy hands behind thine head and back away slowly.” The voice was not going to take no for an answer.

 

Again Kagome obeyed, slowly placing one foot behind the other. After she had taken about ten steps she felt a pair of phase manacles snap around her wrists. “Turn thyself around.” The caution in the voice was quite clear, and the tension in the air palpable.

 

Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned around expecting to find the worst. She was genuinely surprised when her gaze found nothing but empty space. Turning her gaze downward she discovered the source of the malevolent voice and her swiftly fleeting terror.

 

A squat old woman garbed in a loose uniform of red and white with a cybernetic implant in her right eye socket studied her intently. Her hunched form and wrinkled face boldly pronounced her advanced age. Her hair was a dull gray and was tied loosely into a ponytail behind her. Her only armament appeared to be an ancient bowcaster on her back, accompanied by a brace of bolts that resided in the large holster that hung from her left hip. A large sash with several stripes and decorations crossed from her left shoulder across her torso and down to her right hip where it curved to retreat up her back. A single badge pinned the two ends of the sash together just below the shoulder. The abbreviations were in kanji, something never used in the 41st century. Kagome was glad she had taken that advanced language class back in her junior year. The characters clearly read: Captain Kaede Momoko, Division Six, Special Forces. Who the hell is this dried up old bag?

 

“What were ye doing attempting to free Inuyasha from the Goshinboku child?” So that was his name. Now she knew. Inuyasha… wow… its so… so fitting… I could say it over and over again. Inuyasha. Inuyasha. Inuyasha… Her heart did a summersault again and she felt that strange yet oddly pleasant feeling of being warm inside.

 

Suddenly she realized that the hag was still talking. “Why did ye attempt to remove the seal mine own deceased sister placed upon him with her own dying breath? And why do ye resemble her so closely? Be ye a kitsune taking human form? I detect no youkai aura from ye.” The women eyed her closely, ceasing her cackling. Kagome noted that the last question was one the hag had said to herself.

 

“My name is Kagome Higarashi of the Intergalactic Federation. Private 1st class. Serial number zero-zero-four-eight-six-six-five-seven-seven. Graduated the New Tokyo Institute of Interstellar Studies. Star pilot and mech warrior professions. Class year: AD forty twenty three.” It was the routine set of information that she was allowed to give when taken captive by the enemy; any more would be treason on her part.

 

The bag was clearly taken off guard. “Child, ye seem to speak the truth, as I detect no insincerity in thine aura,” she said slowly, a little hesitation present in her voice, “but what ye say be impossible.”

 

“Why?” Kagome's voice was strong and void of emotion. She had been trained for this- this was something she was familiar with. Under the code of capture she was allowed to asked questions as long as she did not betray her interest in a way that could reveal the Federation's intentions.

 

“It not be possible, child, because the current year be AD thirty five twenty three. Ye be off by five centuries.” She spoke guarded and haltingly in that annoying cackle of hers. She seemed afraid the girl would not take well to that information. “I am going to remove the phase manacles from thy hands. Do not attempt to escape. Ye shall accompany me to Division Six Headquarters of the New Edo Planetary Defense Force.” True to her word the old women, Kaede according to her badge, deactivated the phase manacles. When Kagome made no move to escape she clipped the manacles back about her waist and turned northeast. “Come.”

 

Kagome stood stunned into silence as her feet slowly began to carry her after the hag. The year AD thirty five twenty three! No-no way… I've somehow traveled time back to the Warring Galactic States Era! What in the seven hells is going on? She looked over her shoulder one last time at Inuyasha hoping that she would be able to free him soon. She had to meet him! She just had to! As she stepped to the tree line she vowed she would find a way. But first she had to find a way out of this thing with the hag. Just what the hell have I gotten myself into this time? She could only shake her head in disbelief as she made her way towards whatever fate awaited her in New Edo.