Buffy the Youkai Slayer, a fanfic by Sharibet, chapter 23

Author's Notes: This is an edited and corrected version of the story originally posted to Fanfiction.net January - March, 2004. The content is still essentially the same as the first version, but I fixed some consistency glitches, typos, and Japanese usage errors.

This story takes place after the second Inuyasha film, "Castle Beyond the Looking Glass," (after Episode 74 in the series), and after the Buffy series finale. Contains spoilers for events that happen in all seasons of Buffy, through the beginning of the final season of Angel, Inuyasha episodes 1-74, and the second Inuyasha film.

One minute, Kagome was kneeling in the pre-dawn darkness, feeling the cool tickle of Miroku's brush moving across the skin of her face, and trying not to fight the stinging flood of his power.

In the next instant, her nose was filled with the sharp scent of rubbing alcohol, and she felt something icy-wet dabbing against her forehead.

Kagome opened her eyes, and saw Buffy leaning over her. The American girl grinned in her friendly, confident way. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Okay, I think." She was laying down, curled on her uninjured side, gravel poking her hip. Her cheek was pillowed on something scratchy and warm...and bright red.

Inuyasha. She smiled a little, tempted to close her eyes and go back to sleep, but now that she'd awakened, so had the pain.

Slowly, painfully, Kagome pushed herself up. It was full daylight now, and bright sunlight filled the courtyard of a shrine. We made it!

But were they still in the past, or had Buffy already brought them through the portal?

She strained, listening, and heard only the sound of the wind moving through the trees. No airplanes. No cars. No trains.

"See?" Inuyasha sounded as grumpy as ever, but Kagome wasn't fooled. He had been holding her head in his lap while Buffy erased the spell. "I told you we'd wake you up as soon as we got here."

"I'm sorry for doubting you," Kagome said, reaching up and briefly sliding her hand over his.

The old Shinto priest, Hayao-sama, appeared shortly thereafter. He and one of the shrine's mikos, a girl about the same age as Kagome, came out, bearing pots of hot tea and plates of buns for the entire party.

The miko served them in silence. She was obviously trying hard to keep her eyes properly downcast, but Kagome saw her sneaking looks at their strange garb--and Inuyasha's ears. Which twitched uncomfortably every time the girl's gaze fell on them.

Their arrival was probably the most interesting thing to happen in years at this little out-of-the-way shrine, Kagome thought.

That thought spurred another...where were her manners? She put down her cup and struggled to her feet, helped up by Inuyasha's unobtrusive hand under her left elbow.

With an effort, she bowed properly to the priest, trying to ignore the sickening feeling of bone ends rubbing against one another in her side. "Ojii-sama," she said, a little breathless from the rush of pain. "Thank you so much for letting us use the shrine to--to go home."

He smiled benevolently at her. "You are welcome, Kagome-sama. Miroku-sama has told me much about you. He says you have powerful spiritual gifts."

She felt her cheeks heat. "Oh, not at all," she denied, politely. "Miroku-sama was only being polite, I'm sure." There was one more thing she was obliged to do. "Ojii-sama, you have already been so kind to us. May I ask one further favor, and pay my respects to your kami before we go?"

Kagome heard Inuyasha's loud, impatient sigh but ignored him. She had grown up in a shrine. She knew what was expected of her. And, frankly, they needed all the help they could get, and making proper obeisance to this shine's guardian couldn't hurt.

Despite Inuyasha's grumbling about foolish delays, it didn't take long for Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and--surprisingly--Buffy to pay their respects.

Shippou, Inuyasha, and Kouga remained in the courtyard, sitting companionably together for once, drinking tea and gobbling down the last of the sweet bean-paste buns.

After washing their hands and rinsing out their mouths at the shrine's purification basin, the four humans proceeded to the worship hall, where Miroku made an offering of incense. The three girls rang the temple gong, said their prayers, clapped their hands, and bowed. Kagome noticed that Buffy was watching her closely as they performed the familiar ritual, the Slayer's movements echoing hers by a half-beat.

She didn't know what prayers Sango and Buffy said, but Kagome only had one wish, Please protect my family, kami-sama. Please let us be strong enough to defeat Naraku this time.

When they finished, they returned to the courtyard and gathered up their belongings. It was time to go. Sango bade farewell to Kirara, and sent the firecat off after promising to return soon from Kagome's realm.

"Now," Buffy said, thoughtfully, as she opened the small, jeweled sphere of the Portal Key. She studied the meager possessions left to them. "What am I going to use to focus the portal?"

Everyone waited. Then, Buffy grinned. "Shippou-chan, are there any potato chips left?"

"Oh, grow up!" snapped Buffy as the little kitsune pulled the crinkling bag from her backpack.

Kagome saw him snarl, and added hastily: "I promise I'll buy you some more when we get back to Tokyo, Inuyasha."

The hanyou subsided into sulky silence, his hands tucked in his sleeves. He watched intently as Buffy took a single chip out of the bag, relaxing a little when she resealed it and handed it to Shippou to pack away.

Buffy put the chip into the sphere, unfolded a sheet of paper, and began chanting.

A shimmering curtain of blue light came into existence, hovering just above the raked gravel. It was approximately the same height and width as a doorway.

Miroku went through first, followed by Sango, who let Shippou ride on her shoulder. Then, it was Kouga's turn--he strode up to the portal with what seemed his usual confidence, but Kagome noticed that he was clenching his fists. Then it was her turn.

Inuyasha took her hand just before she stepped through, and together they floated briefly through the shimmering dark. It felt just like going through the Bone-eater's Well.

The Chichibu shrine looked virtually unchanged when she stepped through on the other side of the portal. It was still a sunny morning, and the ground beneath her feet still crunched with carefully-raked gravel. But the air smelled different, and Kagome heard the sounds of traffic and modern music drifting in from the area outside the shrine precincts.

Inuyasha dropped her hand as soon as they emerged from the portal. "She did it...we're back in your realm, Kagome," he muttered.

"...are they filming a movie or something?" Kagome heard someone ask as their group passed under the shrine's torii.

She saw a white minivan parked just outside the precinct, surrounded by a gaggle of senior citizens. A sign taped to the minivan's windshield proclaimed Plum Blossom Tours.

The tour-guide-san, a young, snappily-dressed woman with a bright blue kerchief, blinked and stared openly at them.

Kagome sneaked a worried glance at her companions, trying to see them through the tour-guide-san's eyes: a young woman in an old-fashioned robe, carrying a little boy on her shoulders, a boomerang the size of a surfboard strapped across her back. A young man with a ponytail and multiple piercings, wearing the traditional long robes of a Buddhist monk.

Kouga had--reluctantly--loosened his hair from its ponytail, and the thick, dark mass hung to his shoulders, concealing his pointed youkai ears. But he was still a startling sight in his short fur kilt and leggings, his sword, and his hauberk. Inuyasha was wearing a baseball cap Buffy had lent him, which was his usual disguise when venturing out into the modern world, but his scarlet robes and long, silver hair drew attention, as they always did.

"Filming? Ah, yes, I-I believe so," stammered the young tour-guide-san after a long moment of gawking at them.

Kouga and Inuyasha simply strode by, looking neither right nor left. Sango and Miroku both bowed politely to the old people, Shippou clinging to Sango's neck and hiding his bushy foxtail in the space between her back and Hiraikotsu.

Buffy waved at the tour group as she passed, startling them with a cheery, "Ohayou gozaimasu!" With her blonde hair and jeans, she was just as much a misfit as the youkai and the hanyou.

Trailing in the American girl's wake, Kagome bowed automatically, and bade them good morning as well, struggling to keep up with the others without being rude to her elders.

"I--I--that is to say, I heard they were filming an advertisement today. Yes, yes, there are always, um, film crews around here...as you know, this region is rich in both scenic and historic monuments." The tour-guide-san's voice regained its practiced rhythm as Kagome and her friends left the tour group behind and walked toward the buildings of the nearby town. "The Chichibu Shrine, which you see before you, has been here for many years; however most of the present buildings are modern reconstructions..."

The walk to the Chichibu train station seemed endless. Each step on the hard pavement jarred Kagome's broken ribs, and she felt as if she were falling further and further behind. It was a little better when they reached the town's main street, and the travelers from the Sengoku-jidai slowed down to stare at the cars zooming by on the street, and to examine the items displayed in the windows of the close-packed shops.

They'd only gone a block or two when Sango gasped, and came to a dead halt in front of a newsstand. A moment later, Kagome saw what had captured the youkai-taijya's horrified attention: an advertising poster featuring a naked girl draped with a strategically-positioned boa-constrictor. The model was proffering an ice-filled glass of bright blue liquid, and the text promised, "Snowflake liqueur brings ecstasy to your mouth!"

Kouga, Inuyasha, and Miroku clustered around her. They, too, stared at the billboard, but their expressions were anything but horrified.

"What good is it if you can't smell her?" Kouga said, puzzled. Losing interest, he turned away and started investigating the display of packaged snacks.

This seemed to break Sango's temporary paralysis. "Humph!" she said, turning her back on the offensive image. She strode away rapidly, ignoring Shippou's protests. "But there was candy, Sango! Lollipops! Strawberry lollipops!"

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had picked up a graphic novel, and was flipping the pages, his eyes wide as saucers. Kagome saw the dark blush rising up his neck, then realized he'd picked up a hentai manga titled, Hot & Naughty Schoolgirls, Volume 12, no doubt attracted by the sight of a very familiar middle-school uniform on the cover.

Oh, no. I'll never be able to wear those clothes in the Sengoku-jidai again! She opened her mouth, but no words emerged. She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life, not even when she had caught Inuyasha peeping at her while she was bathing, that first time.

Miroku was now standing on tip-toe, unabashedly reading over the hanyou's shoulder. Kagome noticed that his cheeks were nearly as red as Inuyasha's. "This is truly...amazing," he muttered.

Inuyasha swallowed hard. "People really--really do that? To each other?" he said, his voice breaking in an undignified squeak.

"Er, I believe that, um, sometimes, they, uh, do," Miroku said, his eyes still glued to the pages.

"Come on, guys!" Buffy said, coming to Kagome's rescue. And, quite possibly, Inuyasha's. "You can educate yourselves later. We have a train to catch!"

She plucked the manga out of Inuyasha's hand, and put it back on the rack. "You're probably not old enough for this stuff, anyway."

"I am, too!" he muttered, but that was the extent of his protest as Buffy spun him around by his shoulders, and sent him stumbling in the direction Sango had gone. He looked dazed.

"I can't believe they have something like that displayed in public!" Miroku said, looking longingly over his shoulder as he walked away. "Where anyone--young girls--can see it!"

Despite her discomfort, Kagome couldn't help teasing the monk. "Oh, they have manga like that for girls, too."

Shippou, Kouga and Inuyasha all began wincing as they progressed into the heart of Chichibu. Each store they passed seemed to emit a cacophany of electronic sounds and music, plus there were loudspeakers mounted on slow-moving vehicles that blared advertisements and announcements.

Fortunately, none of her friends were drawing attention to themselves beyond the oddities of their appearance, and Kagome began to relax a little. Perhaps they would make it the rest of the way home without any further...incidents.

Still, she kept a close eye on Kouga and Inuyasha. At first, the wolf-prince was openly startled by his surroundings. Then, he saw how blasé Inuyasha was acting. The hanyou's clawed hands were tucked out of sight in his sleeves as he walked calmly down the street , the sight of the cars and toys seemingly beneath his notice.

With an effort, Kouga folded his own arms, and kept his gaze focused straight ahead. His poise wasn't perfect, though.

They reached the main intersection near the station just as a train came roaring and rattling through the crossing. Everyone jumped a little, even Kagome, but Kouga leapt backwards several meters, with a startled shout. "Dragon!"

Inuyasha began laughing. Loudly. Derisively. "You wimpy wolf! Don't tell me that that scared you!"

"Yeah, really? I thought you were going to piss yourself any second!" Inuyasha was still laughing when Kouga took a swipe at him.

Inuyasha dodged the blow, following up with one of his own, which Kouga blocked neatly. There was a ripple of applause from the onlookers.

"Hey, these street-theater guys are really good," Kagome heard someone say as Kouga and Inuyasha began trading blows in earnest.

She threw a pleading look at the others. Miroku responded first, slamming his staff over Inuyasha's head. The hanyou sat down, rather abruptly, on the sidewalk. "Ouch! What the fuck did you do that for, bouzou?"

His language drew gasps from the watching people. Inuyasha glared at them, but Miroku simply hit him again. "Do not make trouble for Kagome-sama, not now," he said, with quiet menace.

Snickering at Miroku's intervention stopped Kouga long enough for Buffy to reach the wolf-prince. She embraced him, incidentially pinning his arms at his side, and said, loudly and flirtatiously, "Wow, you are so amazing, Kouga-kun! Can I take your picture?"

As he stood frozen, gaping down at her, she batted her eyes at him. "Pretty please? Just one photo? In private? Just you and me, big boy?"

The onlookers began laughing at her imitation of a smitten tourist. Buffy hooked her arm through his, and steered him, forcibly, back to the group. As she pulled him along, Kagome saw her say something else to him. He listened, looking unhappy, then nodded.

When they reached Kagome, he took her hand and said, mournfully, "Kagome, I regret losing my temper just now with Inu-koro. Can you forgive me?"

She saw Miroku prod Inuyasha with his staff, and the hanyou rose to his feet, scowling. He, too, approached Kagome.

"Miroku made me promise not to beat up that wimpy wolf until we've dealt with Naraku," he muttered, giving his rival a dirty look.

It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was the best she was going to get from him.

"Let's move on," Kagome said, wearily. "It wouldn't be good if you two were arrested for fighting in public."

She spotted the train station two blocks up, and newly-motivated, she set off again. With an end in sight, it was somehow easier to grit her teeth against the pain that accompanied each step she took.

The sickening realization hit Kagome as soon as she walked through the entrance of the train station.

She came to a dead halt in the middle of the station hall, her stomach churning. What was she going to do? How was she going to get home now?

"Eh, Kagome, what's wrong?" asked Inuyasha. The rest of the group straggled to a halt, looking curiously at the flashing neon signs of the shops inside the station.

"I--I don't have any money," Kagome said, miserably, the full scope of this latest disaster sinking in. "I left my purse at home. I didn't think I'd need it in the Sengoku-jidai."

"It won't work, not here." Kagome was sure that none of the ticket machines would accept the ancient money, and she didn't think there was a coin dealer anywhere in this town.

"Hold on a sec," Buffy said, kneeling next to her backpack. She unfastened the flap and fished for something on the bottom, her arm engulfed to the shoulder in dirty t-shirts and socks. "Ah-ha!"

She pulled out two green bills. "I knew I had some emergency cash stashed away. Do you think forty dollars will do it?"

"Thank you, Buffy-chan. Oh, thank you!" The sense of relief that poured through Kagome was so intense that her eyes began to sting. I can't cry now, she told herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We--we can exchange the money for yen at the post office. I saw one across the street."

"Cool." Buffy pressed the money into Kagome's hand. "We probably won't be able to afford that taxi, though--will the train or subway take us all the way back to your house?"

"There's a Metro station near the shrine--I pass it every morning on my way to school," said Kagome. "Oh, thank you. I was so stupid not to bring any money. I should have thought of it!"

"Don't worry about it." Buffy gave her a crooked smile "It's probably better that we're taking the train the whole way, anyway. There are too many of us to fit in one taxi, plus, I don't think Hiraikotsu and Miroku's staff would fit in the trunk. We'd have to tie them to the roof, and that would look really, um, strange."

"Please wait here," she told the others. "Buffy and I need to exchange some money, but we'll be back very soon."

"And, Sango," Buffy said, as she saw Miroku's gaze drawn irresistibly to a nearby magazine rack. "Try to keep the boys away from the newsstand, will ya?"

Inuyasha hunched his shoulders. "I'm not interested in those stupid picture books, anyway." Kagome thought she saw him shudder.

"Buffy-chan," called Shippou, who was standing, fascinated by the bank of vending machines along one wall. He gazed up at the displayed ranks of candy, beer, coffee, and chips. "When you return with money, can I please have some candy?"

Buffy laughed. "Sure thing, kiddo." She turned to Kagome. "I bet that buying a candy bar from one of those machines will probably give him a bigger kick than actually eating the candy."

The money exchange went smoothly. As they prepared to leave the post office, Kagome spotted the bank of payphones. So did Buffy.

"And get hold of Koji. It's been over a week...he must think I'm dead or something by now," Buffy added, wishing she had brought her cellphone with her. His number was stored in the phone's memory. Oh, well, Grandpa Higurashi probably has his number, too.

She wondered if Koji would be able to get them some Slayer reinforcment from the tight-fisted Watcher's Council. Probably not in their budget. Too bad that the Bringers killed all of the Potentials in Japan...

After three rings, which seemed to last an eternity, someone picked up the phone. Thank goodness! Was everyone all right? In the next instant, Kagome was sure.

"Moshi-moshi," her grandfather said. He was alive! Everything would be all right, now.

"Kagome-chan! Where are you? Are you all right?" His tone expressed surprise and concern--but only for her. Naraku isn't there yet. Thank you, kami-sama! "It's been such a long time since you left! Is Summers-san okay? Minamide-sensei is very worried about her."

"We're all fine, Grandpa. But you have to leave the shrine, now! Take Souta and Mama with you. Something bad is coming!"

"But, Kagome-chan, I can't leave the shrine. It's my responsibility," said her grandfather, finally. "But don't worry. I have my spells here. They've been handed down in this family for generations. Nothing will get past them!"

Cold horror swept through her. Grandpa's spells were useless, and always had been--as everyone except for him seemed to realize. Now, his self-delusion might get him killed.

"I'm at the Chichibu station, Grandpa. Inuyasha is here, and so are my other friends. Buffy used her Portal Key--we brought everyone with us." Kagome took a deep, shuddering breath despite the pain in her ribs. She was babbling. "Grandpa, you have to leave. Now! We'll be there soon, to fight--fight Naraku. But he's coming, and you have to leave!"

Gramps sighed. "Don't worry, Kagome-chan. I have everything under control here." Which worried Kagome more than anything else he'd said so far. "Your mother and brother have already gone to Aunt Hitomi's."

"Oh, that's good!" Aunt Hitomi lived clear on the other side of Tokyo from the Higurashi Shrine.

"I'm glad that Inuyasha is with you. I trust that he'll protect you. Tell him that, please."

"I will, Grandpa." From the corner of her eye, Kagome saw Buffy's frantic gesture. "Oh, and can you please call Minamide-sensei, and let him know that we'll be there in about two hours?"

"Hai." A moment of silence, then Gramps said, hesitantly: "Be careful, Kagome-chan. Don't make your mother sad, neh?"

She replaced the receiver, and turned back to Buffy. "Gramps thinks he can fight Naraku off by himself," Kagome said, dully. "At least Mama and Souta are gone."

Buffy nodded. "Well, the seals haven't broken yet," she said, sympathetically. "Maybe we'll get back to your place before anything happens."

All in all, the train ride into Tokyo went more smoothly than Buffy had expected, given the odd assemblage she was traveling with.

The Sengoku-jidai gang were glued to the windows as the train pulled out of the station.

The lone holdout was Inuyasha, who had a faraway look in his eyes and the oddest expression on his face.

Every so often, his gaze would focus on Kagome, and he'd look away again, very quickly. Buffy strongly suspected that his ears were twitching under that baseball cap.

Poor guy, he's probably wishing for some brain-bleach after that XXX schoolgirl thing, thought Buffy. Then she remembered the first time she'd seen Kagome...hadn't she been wearing one of those uniforms?

She had a feeling that both Kagome and the dog-boy were headed for a rude shock in the very near future.

"Hey, this train-thing runs as fast as I do!" Kouga murmured in amazement as they picked up speed, and the trees blurred.

The wolf-prince's expression went from amazed to horrified when they entered the Tokyo suburbs a short while later. "What happened?"

"This land belongs to the kitsune, and now I see nothing but buildings, buildings, buildings, as far as my eyes can see. The forests, the fields--where are they, Kagome?"

"It looks so peaceful, so prosperous," she murmured. "None of these towns have stockades around them, like my village used to, and I haven't seen a single samurai or armed man since we arrived in your realm, Kagome. Are there no wars in your time?"

Kagome shook her head, very slightly. Her face had that pinched, pale look again, and it looked to Buffy that the only reason she was still sitting upright was because Inuyasha was next to her, supporting her.

Even if he couldn't quite bring himself to make eye contact with her. Buffy saw Inuyasha's cap move, ever so slightly. Yep. Definitely twitching.

"There hasn't been a war in Japan in over fifty years," said Buffy, wondering if Kagome was going to make it all the way home. Maybe we really should drop her off at a hospital, no matter what she says. I bet I could get Inuyasha to help me. He's as worried as I am. "It's a very peaceful country, these days."

Sango sighed. "That must be nice, not to have to worry about ronin despoiling your villages."

Miroku looked very thoughtful. "And you say this is a land without famine, Kagome-sama?"

"Well, I don't understand why anyone wants to live here," grumbled Inuyasha, and for once, Kouga nodded in agreement. "The air stinks, and there are hardly any trees. Except for in the parks." He spoke that last word with palpable contempt.

When they finally arrived at the Higurashi Shrine, everything seemed quiet. The only sounds were Kagome's rasping breaths as she struggled up the steep stairs to the entrance.

Buffy relaxed slightly as they passed under the torii, and saw a courtyard mercifully free of giant insect youkai or other nasties. All clear?

Then, she noticed the dead birds littering the courtyard, as if an entire flock had dropped dead at once. Crap. Oh, crap.

At those words, Buffy looked over to Kagome, and saw the girl clutching one of the remaining wooden posts with bloodless fingers. The well's wooden cover was gone.

"Grandpa was fine two hours ago," Kagome said, dully, staring at the torn remnants of the seals. "If only we'd gotten here earlier!"

Buffy the Youkai Slayer by Sharibet

This fanfic is complete.

Best Fanfics on the Web, selected by Tim

Tim Seltzer's page www.seltzerbooks.com/timseltzer.html

This site is published by Samizdat Express, Orange, CT info@seltzerbooks.com privacy statement


	Webseltzerbooks.com

Buffy the Youkai Slayer

Chapter 23: A Day Late and a Yen Short