Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mobius ❯ Round n' Round ( Prologue )

Story Title: Mobius

Author: Anaphalis

Story Summary: Kagome's got a horny kitsune, an invisible 'friend' and a kamikaze quest with a five hundred year deadline. Oh yeah, and she's disguised as a boy. But when did that ever get in the way of "twue wuv"? Let's just not answer that....

Foreword: After I finished writing my last RK/IY crossover, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't touch another crossover- too many characters, too much research and far too much work. Of course, I instantly started writing another story starring the characters that I knew the least about in Rurouni Kenshin, taking place in a time period that I knew very little about, and using a relatively complicated back story that involved nasty perspective shifts between the past and the present, even though there was no actual time travel. -Headdesk- I swear I'm secretly masochistic. Just to clarify, this story is not AU for either series and does not involve time travel of any kind. I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this thing, so any and all suggestions for improvement are welcomed and appreciated. That being said, I hope that you enjoy the story!

The reason for the title: I've always been fascinated by Mobius strips. They're really interesting because they only have one side and one edge- no beginning and no end. They even got incorporated into religion by becoming a symbol of Tantric Buddhism representing the concept of "continuity." And yes, all of this rambling will later make sense in the context of the story.

Chapter Summary: It's really hard to get in a little uninterrupted stalking time.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Shounen Sunday. Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro and Jump. 'Hello Kitty' belongs to an evil alien overlord er... 'corporation' somewhere in Japan. Incidentally, did you know that it's 'Hello Kitty's thirtieth anniversary this year? Scary....

Warning: Rated R for language, violence, and adult situations.

-Prologue: Round n' Round-

-Can you remember the days

-When you were sweet sixteen

-And always followed the ways

-Of someone else's dream?

-Now everything changes

-Ain't nothing the same

-I'm having the strangest feeling, baby

-I can't remember my name

-Goin' round n' round n' round n' round....

- Aerosmith, "Round n' Round"

-July 25, 1993. Tokyo.-

She's fighting again. One of the big kids 'borrowed' her favorite stuffed toy and now she's bopping him over the head with her 'Hello Kitty' lunch bucket.

Ouch! Okay, that's not his head and that's got to hurt. On the positive side, it's nice to see that she's developing survival skills at this age. She's getting pretty good at using her knee-

"You have to stop doing this."

Not 'her' again. Let's play innocent.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't even try to play innocent. You can't stalk that poor girl every hour of the day until she turns fifteen."

"Try me."

"I could force you to leave here, to not come back until her birthday."

"You could, but there's also the chance that she might discover that she can fry certain people by touching them. You can't afford to take the risk that she'll have any kind of protective knowledge when she goes. You need me to keep her as innocent as a sacrificial lamb."

"We've been over this before-"

"Every week for the last five hundred years. And nothing that you've said has ever convinced me that it's necessary."

"But you still obey me."

"Because in the end I will sacrifice her, myself and everyone else to make sure that this nightmare ends."

Well that shut her up. Maybe she'll even take the hint and fuck off.

"You were never meant to carry this all by yourself."

Okay, apparently not.

"Look. Shi's going to be back any minute and as much as I want to have a heart-to-heart with a sanctimonious, self-righteous little prick, I don't think that you really want to expose yourself to the rest of the world."

Oops. Did I say that out loud? Bad, bad me. Maybe I'll have offended her so badly that she'll disappear and never come back.

Nah. I never have that kind of luck.

"Lashing out at me won't change the past."

What part of 'sanctimonious, self-righteous little prick' didn't she understand? Well, maybe the prick part doesn't apply, although I've never been too sure with her. She was always way too obsessed with getting on my ass. Think brain! There must be some way to get her to bugger off.

"Did I ever tell you about the time that Shi and I got really, really drunk and visited that teahouse in old Tokyo-"

"Um... I think that I should probably go before your companion returns."

Score! Did I mention that she's also a raging prude with a phobia of anything to do with deviant sex? 'Deviant' of course meaning not 'missionary position with the girl doing a good imitation of a block of ice.' Doesn't matter that I wouldn't have been caught dead in a Tokyo teahouse- she's finally left me blissfully alone and I can go back to stalking in peace.

"You're still here?"

Good to see you too, Shi.

"No. I'm actually a figment of your overactive imagination."

"Nah. If that were true, you'd be naked and there'd be two of you."

"I told you to stop watching those channels before bedtime- Damn! Now you've made me lose track of the fight!"

"She's fighting again?"

"She's a stubborn little monster. I'm rather proud of her."

"You do know that your priorities have become unrecognizably warped from when I first met you?"

I know that this is just a part of our normal joking to make our hellish lives a little bit less soul-destroying. It still feels like a kick to the gut.

Obviously he realizes it too.

"Gods, I'm sorry. That was totally uncalled for."

"Hey, you don't even want to get me started on your newfound obsession with non-existent manga characters. Now that's warped!"

"There's nothing wrong with a little fantasizing about impossibly hot girls- Hey did she just knee him in the nuts!?!"

"Again?"

And off we go again. It does no good to dwell on these things- they'll eat you alive if you let yourself think about the past.

"Damn. It looks like mom's coming with little brother to intervene- Oh wait! She's giving him one final kick before they drag her away."

"That's my girl!"

"You know, you used to hate violence."

What the fuck is it about me today that people think that I want to have a soul-searching conversation? Do I have some kind of tattoo on my forehead that says 'Please bring up all the painful memories of my past so that I can sob on your shoulder and make you feel like a real man.'? Actually that probably wouldn't fit on my forehead. Maybe my butt-

"It's a hundred and ten years today."

Oh. That's why. Strangely enough, I actually had forgotten. Thanks for reminding me, asshole.

"Do you ever think about Kyoto- Of course you don't. You probably don't even remember, do you? Just forget I said anything."

"Already forgotten."

Of course I remember, Shi. But we both knew that already, didn't we?

-Updated 12-16-04-