InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Only Time... ❯ Alternate Time ( Chapter 3 )

I do not own any of the InuYasha characters in this fanfic. The OC's are forbidden and so is the story line.

 

It's been a while since I last updated this. But I've been busy with editing HPHS that I forgot about this almost completely. Anyway, I hope you're all still reading this because it's only going to get better.

 

Chapter 3: Alternate Time

 

The majestic sun rose over the falls and cliffs in the East. The early morning birds sang their happy song from the trees next to the lake that the falls cascaded into and fed. Nearby, a lone wolf demon was wading in the water, trying to catch breakfast for the pack.

 

In a deep cave behind the waterfall, wolves stalked around as they stretched and yawned to wake themselves up. A little further back, on a pile of soft, brown animal fur slept a girl with black hair in a high ponytail. The sound of the birds and the wolves groaning as they stretched brought her to consciousness and she began to stir. Going from her side to her back, her arms reached above her head as she languidly stretched the knots out of her neck. When she opened her eyes, she saw the golden ones of a wolf staring at her. Its ears were perked and alert, almost as if it was on the look out. She blinked in disbelief. “Wh…where am I?” She sat up and found herself clad in her feudal wear. “When did I return home?”

 

“Well, look who finally woke up.” A deep, brawny male voice said from behind her. “It's not like you to sleep in past the rising sun Mika.”

 

Mika turned to look at her brother, Koga. “Hey bro, good to see you too. How'd I get here anyway?”

 

His smug face turned down in a frown of confusion and his blue eyes narrowed. “What nonsense are you spouting? As always, your two feet brought you here.”

 

“What do you mean? I was in Tokyo only a minute ago!” She stood. “Then I wake up here in my own den? Wait…” She paused, thinking through what her brother had just said. “…as always?”

 

Koga blinked. “Yeah, duh! You've been walking for how many years now and you don't remember how you got home one night? And what the hell is a `Tokyo'?”

 

`It's like I've been here all along. Almost as if I never met InuYasha or Kane. Maybe anyone for that matter.' She contemplated. `This must have something to do with Kane falling down that dry well in Yasukuni Shrine.'

 

Koga's black ponytail of thick hair swished behind him as he walked over to his sister. “You've been going out a lot at night these past few months. If you've been seeing that bastard Nakura, I swear…”

 

Mika blushed. “Na-Na-Nakura?! No, of course not.” `So he's here too. Maybe because Kane fell down the well, everybody must be back here too.'

 

“Hah! I knew it! That bastard is going to pay for even just looking at you!” Koga spat out.

 

“Hey, just hold on! I never went to meet him last night! I don't even remember last night…” She didn't and that could be a problem.

 

“Too much sake, I assume?”

 

She got right into his face. “Hell no! The last thing I remember is Kane-Sakura falling into the Lost Memories Well in Tokyo and then…” A startled gasp escaped from every mouth in the cave. “What, did I say something wrong?”

 

“Did you just say `Kane-Sakura'?” Koga inquired.

 

“Yeah, what of it?” She backed away from him and looked around at the rest of the pack. They were all nervous, just because she'd said one of her friends' names.

 

He visibly shivered, and nobody ever saw him shiver. “She's pure evil, Mika. And you were with her?”

 

“Kane? Evil?” She burst out laughing. “Oh that's a good one! While in her condition her mood swings make her seem evil, she's not really evil.” Mika laughed harder at the idea of her friend being evil. But nobody else was laughing with her.

 

“Don't you remember how that hanyou stole both yours and Koga's shards? You almost died!” Ginta stated, shuddering at the memory of the alpha female's near-death experience.

 

“She's that mutt's little sister, but even he's better than her.” Koga began. “Her desire to become a full-fledged demon has made her more and more dangerous as time goes on.”

 

Mika couldn't believe her ears. Kane, wanting to become a full demon? More evil than InuYasha had once been? Almost killed her?! What the hell was going on around here?!

 

The Shikon Jewel is now complete and under the watchful eye of Kagome. Kane-Sakura has tried multiple times to steal it and gain her full demon potential. Thus far, that mutt, InuYasha, has protected her very well.” Koga narrowed his eyes. “You should know all of this already Mika. Mind explaining to me what happened?”

 

She didn't have any time to argue with her brother since it would always end up that they'd fight verbally then lunge for each other's throats. What she needed to do was find the others and then look for Kane with them. Everything had been changed drastically and it wasn't for the better. “Where are InuYasha and Kagome right now?” She turned away from her brother.

 

“In Kaeda's village. Why, you going to talk to him about the Jewel too?”

 

Mika closed her eyes. “Listen to me and listen close. Things have changed, and not in a good way. And I need to right all that has been distorted. I'm sorry, but I honestly liked things as they were before.” That said, she dashed through the falls and headed for Kaeda's village in the West.

 

Koga blinked. “What the hell was that all about? `Things have changed'?”

 

Ginta shrugged. “Beats me.”

 

“There's something different about her. Has she gotten fatter?” The alpha male asked his subordinate.

 

“I've noticed it too. And over the past few months she's been moodier than usual.” Ginta gulped. “I hate to say this, but I think your sister may be…”

 

“Don't say it! She isn't, she's just gaining weight from being lazy!” Koga stormed off in a huff. The last thing he needed at the moment was a confirmation of his suspicions. Mika was going to be the one to confirm what he thought was wrong.

 

***

 

A cock crowed from the roof of a Shinto shrine in the middle of a grassy field. The gentle breeze rustled its feathers and the grass on the plain. The serene setting was adorned with orange sunlight as the new morning sun rose in the eastern skies. It shone through a window on the eastern side of the little shrine, glaring into the room of not many material possessions.

 

And in the middle of the room, a meager bed of a small pillow and blanket lay freshly made, with a young girl snoring loudly on top of the blanket, an empty sake bottle and saucer next to her right hand. Her black, red tinted hair glimmered in the morning sunlight, and that same light hit her square in the face. Squinting, she slowly opened her eyes and groaned as she woke. Her eyes were glossy, her vision blurry and hazy. Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her bangs and tried to clear her foggy mind. `Ugh, it feels like I have a hang-over.' She blinked a couple times and saw that there was an empty sake bottle by her bedside. `Maybe I do. Did I really drink that whole thing? But when? Last thing I remember was picking out souvenirs at Yasukuni Shrine. How'd I…?' She instinctively felt her right hand, the one with the Kazaana, and felt no beads, no cloth, and no ring.

 

Her vision instantly cleared and she gazed down at her hand. Expecting the Wind Tunnel to suck her up, but there was nothing there to do so. “My…my Kaz…”

 

“Michi, are you finally awake?” A young male voice asked through the straw mat door.

 

`Who's that?' Michi wondered. `It doesn't sound like Ori.' “Um, yes I'm awake. Who is it?”

 

A man with short brown hair and hazel eyes pushed aside the straw mat. He was clad in monk's clothing, fairly tall, and looked to have just recently come in from the early spring warmth. His cheeks were high with color and a light sweat had broken onto his forehead. “You should know who I am, Michi. It is I, Akutou.”

 

She groaned inwardly, but smiled and said, “Of course, how could I forget?” `Not Akutou, the monk who has a tremendous crush on me and has asked me to marry him before.'

 

Flashbacks

 

Michi knelt by the Buddha statue, praying with the utmost concentration. The beads in her hands gleamed in the sunshine that filtered through the windows. As she started to chant, a figure blocked her sunlight with his body. Opening her eyes, she looked in the direction that the shadow came from. “He-hello, fair maiden.”

 

She stood. “Can I help you?”

 

He looked nervous. “Yes, uh…you s-see, I'm new here and…” He gulped.

 

Michi smiled and approached him. “A new monk? That's great. I'm Michi, and you are…?”

 

“Akutou.” He smiled and blushed. “Michi…that's a very pretty name.”

 

Michi seemed unmoved by his comment. “It's a common name. Many girl monks have my name.” She turned away.

 

“It suits you though. A pretty name for a pretty girl.”

 

Michi stopped walking. “Oh…” She slowly turned back to him. “Thank you, I…I guess.”

 

“Oh, forgive me. I didn't mean to seem too forward.” Akutou took one step towards her. “Could you show me where the priest, Mushin, is?”

 

“H-hai.” Michi waved her hand over her shoulder in a gesture of `follow me.'

 

***

 

A waterfall cascaded onto Michi as she performed her cleansing ritual of purity. Her robes had been cast aside and instead she wore a plain white kimono. From a distance, on the shrine deck overlooking the falls, Akutou watched and sighed. `Why can't I get close to her? Every time I try, she gets interrupted, or I get scared.' He smiled slightly. `From the moment I saw her, I knew she was special and that we should…but there's something about her that's different from the other girls.'

 

“Akutou!” An older man's voice called out. Akutou was pushed out of his revere and into the reality of punishment. “Are you spying on young Michi as she cleanses herself?” Mushin scolded.

 

“Gomenasai, Mushin.” Akutou bowed as he apologized. “It's just…well…”

 

“Do not get yourself involved with her in that way. Not only does she have a man in her life, she's half-mortal.” Mushin explained.

 

“Half-mortal? What's the other half of her?”

 

“Well,” Michi's voice resonated behind the men. “If you must know, I'm also half-demon.” She held her hand up and a flame flickered and twinkled in her palm. “My mother was a fire apparition.”

 

Akutou watched as she closed her hand around the flame. Once it was out, she turned away, her long hair still wet from her purifying. “A half-demon? But, she…she looks human.”

 

Mushin nodded. “Half-demon she may be, but she has her father's traits. Do you know of her half-brother, Miroku?”

 

“I've heard he was a lecher and that's about it.”

 

“That is unfortunately true. But so is his Wind Tunnel.”

 

“Wind Tunnel?”

 

Mushin sighed. “Her Kazaana came from her father's side, and it may kill her if Naraku is not destroyed.”

 

Akutou seemed puzzled, but he persisted with, “Who is Naraku?”

 

“Miroku and Michi are the third generation of monks to have this curse. So long as this demon remains alive, so does the curse since he was the one that put it on her grandfather fifty years ago.” Mushin turned to the young man. “Her brother is searching for him now with a few others involved with Naraku in one way or another. But mind you, if Michi gains word of this, she'll go out and try to be with him. We can not allow that since she is but a young woman.”

 

Akutou felt pity, and even more affection, towards the young Michi. “Arigato, Mushin-sama.” He stopped before walking away. “Who…who is the man in her life?”

 

Mushin hiccupped. “A Thunder Brother, Ori. And he's a very powerful full demon.”

 

***

 

Tears stung in the back of Michi's eyes as she gathered up what few belongings she had. Panic rose high like bile in her throat, fear clutched her heart making it hard to hear over her racing heartbeat. `I have to save my brother from Naraku. He can't fight alone.'

 

“Michi!” Akutou ran into the room after having seen her run from the monastery to her room. “You mustn't go! It's too…!”

 

Wiping tears from her eyes, she choked out, “Miroku, my only brother, is in danger. Mushin told me everything! I must go to him!” She broke down into more tears but kept going with her packing.

 

A quick grab brought Michi into a lip-lock with Akutou. Stunned into silence, her eyes opened wide as he drew her in. Letting go of her mouth, he embraced her tightly. “Michi, please don't leave. Can't you see that I love you?”

 

Thunder roared instantly in the distance after a brilliant burst of lightning. A storm was building, not because of anything natural, but because he was coming. `Ori…' Michi pushed him away, knowing her koishi was nearby. “Akutou...I...”

 

“Please, my love, stay by my side.”

 

She backed away slowly as more thunder rattled the earth's crust. “I…can't…” She started. “I can't return your feelings!” She blurted out as she ran out of the room.

 

End Flashbacks

 

The young monk rolled his eyes as he knelt by her. “Too much sake again? Dear, you must know that too much to drink will harm the child.” His eyes took in her beauty and reveled in it.

 

“Ch-ch-child?! Since when am I…?” She felt her belly, and to her surprise there was what she'd call a `Buddha Belly' growing in her middle. It wasn't as big as Kane was, but it was noticeable even through her monk robes. `I'm pregnant? With Akutou's child?' Her eyes widened. `I-impossible! What about Ori?'

 

“You forgot? Michi, I insist. Stop the binge drinking and settle down.” He gathered up the empty bottle and saucer. “From now on, you're not permitted to drink any sake. Even on special occasions.”

 

Michi stood. “Since when are you the boss of me?”

 

“I'm not the boss. I'm simply a concerned husband worried about his wife and child.”

 

“We're married?! Since when?” She stamped her foot. “Akutou, I demand an immediate explanation! How'd I get back here?! And how the hell are we married?!”

 

“Still drunk?” He blinked. “You've always been here my love.” He moved to the door.

 

“How long have we been…” She paused, searching for the right words. “…like this? And where's my Kazaana?”

 

“You should know we've been intimate for almost a year, my love. That sake must've really gone to your head.”

 

“What about my Wind Tunnel? Why's it gone?”

 

Akutou narrowed his eyes in concern. “Naraku was defeated, thus your…”

 

“I know he's gone!” Michi interrupted. “But Ren-Tao took over my curse, so is he…?”

 

“Ren-Tao? I've heard rumors that Kane-Sakura defeated him before Naraku died. What a nasty battle that must've been.” Akutou turned with a grimace on his face. “In my opinion, Ren-Tao should've been the one to keep alive. He was, by far, a nobler demon.”

 

Angry, Michi stood and slapped his cheek. “How dare you say that about Kane?! She's…”

 

“Michi, you're defending that hanyou? She's a danger to all of us!” The monk rubbed the spot he'd been slapped with an annoyed hand. “She'd kill us on the spot if we even got near her! We are, after all, playing on opposite sides.” That said, he took the saucer and sake bottle and left the room.

 

Tears formed in Michi's eyes as shock coursed through her system. “She'd want to kill us? But why would she want to do that, we're her best friends.” She gasped when a flutter of movement within her reminded her of the small life she carried within her body. “And I'm pregnant with a child from someone I don't love. What kind of hell is this?” She closed her eyes and blinked away the angry tears that threatened to stain her cheeks and kimono should she cry. “I must leave. I have to find the others.” To herself, she added, `Especially Ori…' She dressed quickly into her battle attire, which didn't fit right on account of the weight she'd gained in front, and seized her staff. She ran as best as she could and headed south, the direction of Kaeda's village.

 

***

 

Sunlight filtered through her eyelids, but even then she continued to dream. Dream about disappearing, dream about seeing Yasukuni's little shrine all a glow in red light. A comfortable, yet familiar, warmth radiated her skin. Curious, she slowly opened her eyes. It took a minute for her eyes to focus, and when she saw a man, lying naked in bed beside her, it took another moment for her to realize just who that man was. Akira.

 

Yuki screamed in rage and embarrassment. “You pervert, get out of my bed and put some clothes on!” She sat up, not taking notice of her own nakedness.

 

Her caterwauling successfully woke him up and he bolted up in bed. The covers flew off of his chest, barely covering his thighs. “Huh? What's going on?” His vision was blurry and he couldn't quite make out the figure sitting beside him. But when he did see who it was, a blush spread over his face like racing flames. “Y-Yuki?” The sight of her shirtless and without a bra on was more than his sleepy mind could take. He looked away and covered his thighs more protectively. “Uh, you might want to cover your chest.”

 

She looked down and saw her breasts, out in the open, and pulled the cover up to her neck. “What the hell are you doing in my bed?”

 

“In your bed?” He turned slightly to look at her from a side glance. “Sorry, but I think you have it the other way around. You're in my bed.”

 

“I am not!” Yuki looked around the room, searching for her school uniform. What she found disturbed her. They weren't in a bedroom; they were in an innkeeper's room. In Feudal Japan, or at least that's what she thought since there were no hotels in Tokyo that had this primitive of décor. And then she saw the mat they were laying on. “Actually, we're on a mat…”

 

“Who the hell cares?! What I want to know is what is going on around here?!”

 

“Calm down Akira! Not only are we on a mat, naked…” She coughed. “But we're in an inn.” She found her kimono instead of what she'd last been wearing. “A Feudal Japanese inn.”

 

Akira groaned. “How'd I get here? Last thing I remember was heading down to the nurses office with Ori, Nakura, and Setsuna. Then we all disappeared.”

 

“I remember disappearing too. And I had seen a bright light erupt from the Lost Memories Well shrine, and me and Michi were covered in the same colored light.”

 

“Red, right?”

 

Yuki nodded. “Whatever happened in that shrine affected all of us because you said the guys all disappeared as did Michi.”

 

He got up while she was looking away and found their clothes scattered around the room, like they'd been carelessly and hurriedly strewn from their bodies. He gulped. Like they'd been in a hurry to… “Do you think anything happened last night…between us?”

 

She blushed. “I don't…I don't know.” She looked over at him as he pulled on his hakama. His broad shoulders were flexing with ripples of muscles as he moved and she couldn't help but wonder what they felt like when she touched them. “I…hope not.”

 

Taking it wrong, he frowned and said, “Yeah, me too.” He threw her the blue kimono with fluffy white petals embroidered on it and black obi.

 

After her obi was tied and she was standing, she stretched and yawned. “We should find Kaeda and see what's going on. I don't understand any of this, so maybe she will.”

 

“Is she even going to remember us?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“There must be a reason we came back here. If something was changed, maybe our existence in the future never happened.”

 

She nodded. “So what you're saying is that the tie that brought us to the future was broken…Kane. That's what originally brought us to the future; meeting and becoming friends with Kane-Sakura. She must've fallen in the well.”

 

“And think about it. If we never met her in this era, then we most likely never met Kaeda either.” Akira concluded. “Either way, we should still go and see her. Maybe she has some knowledge of the Lost Memories Well.”

 

“We'd better get going then. Maybe we'll find the others along the way.”

 

They walked out of the room. “The sooner we figure out what's going on, the sooner we can start to figure this whole thing out.”

 

Yuki gazed up at him and added, “Mika was with Kane. If anything, she's the first person we need to find after Kaeda. Maybe she'll have answers too.”

 

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