Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One for the Ages ❯ Chapter Nineteen: A Change of Scenery ( Chapter 19 )

One for the Ages

By Gan Xingba

Chapter Nineteen: A Change of Scenery

 

The first thing Kurama noticed when he returned to consciousness, other than the fact that he hadn't been reduced to cinder, was that he was not lying on the cold stone of a temple, but rather was face first in dirt. As he rose and dusted himself off, he took a good look at his surroundings, which was the middle of a forest with rays of sunlight penetrating the trees from above.

 

`Well…this is abnormal…' he commented inwardly. `Well, I'm sure the others can fill me in on what happened.'

 

Closing his eyes, Kurama attempted to reach out with his spirit energy and search for the familiar energy patterns of his companions. However, not only was he unable to locate them, he was unable to sense anything at all. He tried again, this time with a little more effort, but still he had the same result. After a few more moments of stubborn trying, Kurama was utterly horrified to come to the only conclusion he possibly could: he could no longer use his spirit energy.

 

`But this is impossible…' he thought, still hardly believing it. `Maybe I am in some sort of barrier that suppresses spirit energy. Yes, that must be it.'

 

He walked forward through the forest, attempting to find whatever the source of his problem was, refusing to believe it was anything but a temporary inconvenience. After a few minutes, he came out of the forest and found himself at the top of a hill, staring out at a city. There was his answer.

 

`There were no cities this large in the feudal era, and that architecture resembles that of the later part of the nineteenth century, the Meiji period, I believe…' he noticed, drawing on the incredible wealth of historical knowledge he possessed. `I don't believe it…I've been sent through time. No, not just time, but space as well. This looks like Kyoto.'

 

With the oddity of the situation increasing with each moment, the fox demon decided it best to sit down and asses the situation.

 

`Let's see…Naraku interrupted the spell to send us through time at the last moment, so it follows that the Sacred Jewel would still be under the influence of the incomplete spell…' he surmised. `And I suppose being sent through space as well makes relative sense. A blast of energy is hardly a stable way to transport something through time. But still, why can't I use my spirit energy?'

 

Again, Kurama went over what had happened in his head. This time, though, he recalled what Naraku had said.

 

`Of course! Naraku had no idea that it was a time traveling spell we were performing, he thought we had just made it stronger,' he remembered at last. `When he sent that blast at me, he must have tried to infuse the jewel with destructive energy. However, the spell's energy must have been stronger, thus warping the destructive energy as it tried to fuse with the spell's energy. Instead of harming me personally, it ended up destroying the link between myself and my spirit energy. Yes…that would explain Youko's absence from my thoughts as well.'

 

He ran through the theory a few more times in his head, for he did not want to come to a rash conclusion. However, it only seemed to make more sense with the more thought he gave it, and so it was confirmed. Of course, he also realized that this theory also meant that he was now stranded at some point in the Meiji era of Japan. This of course, could not be allowed to stand.

 

`It appears that I shall have to try and look for another way back to my own time,' he decided, but as he began to walk down towards Kyoto, another thought occurred to him. `Wait a moment…I may not be the only one that was sent to this time. I'll need to find anyone that was sent here as well. It would be inhumane to leave here without them…'

 

Finding a path leading down from a nearby temple down into the city, Kurama followed it down towards the city, staring at the ground as he lost himself thinking about his possible courses of action. When Kurama had use of his sensing abilities, he would always be aware of his surroundings, even when thinking like this, but without them, he was as blind as any daydreamer. He found this out when something slammed into his left shoulder as it went speeding past, knocking him off balance and onto his posterior. Looking up at the path, he caught a glimpse of the offender: a young woman with a long braided ponytail racing up towards the temple steps with unusual haste.

 

“If you'd have looked where you were going, that wouldn't have happened!” she called back down at him unapologetically, though she did not stop her ascent.

 

`At the pace she's going, you'd think the most important thing in the world is up there,' he thought as he stood and dusted himself off. `Ah well, I can't waste time complaining about such things. I must begin my search.'

 

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Unlike Kurama, Kuwabara did not have the luxury of waking up at his leisure. When he had been transported through time, he had ended up in someone's house. Specifically, he was in the bedroom of a woman who, as he would find out rather painfully, was very skilled at throwing heavy household objects. Once he had successfully fled out the bedroom window, he found himself in the middle of a large city, with the moon shining down from the sky above. If the incident in the bedroom had confused him, this left him utterly dumbfounded. He may not have had Kurama's historical knowledge, but he knew for sure that there were no full fledged cities in the feudal era, since he himself had been there. He was also not an expert on architecture, but one he didn't need to be to discern that these buildings were not from his time either.

 

Given enough time, Kuwabara may have eventually may have come to the same conclusions as to where and when he was as the fox demon, but fortunately for him, he was been spared the trouble when a newspaper flew into his face. At the top of the paper, among other things, were both the year, reading “11th year of the Meiji” and the name of the city that Kuwabara now found himself in: Tokyo. At this point, Kuwabara was more than just worried, in fact, he was completely panicked.

 

`What in the hell is this year of the Meiji crap? What does that even mean, and how can this be Tokyo? I was at that stupid temple, not here! Where the hell is Kurama when you need him…' he thought in frustration. `Wait! If Kurama was blasted with the same thing I was, then he should be here, too!'

 

Like Kurama had done, Kuwabara tried to use his spirit energy to search his surroundings. Also like Kurama, he failed. He tried again, and when he failed a second time, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

 

“Spirit Sword!” he said, trying to call forth his weapon desperately. “Aw come on! Spirit Sword! Spirit Sword! Damn it, why can't I use my spirit energy?”

 

Thankfully, no one had been around to see the young man or hear his ranting, for if they had, he surely would have been reported as insane. Confused, angry, and just a little scared, Kuwabara decided that there was only one thing he could do for the moment: sleep. So, after a couple minutes of searching, he found a completely vacant alley and tried to get some rest.

 

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Luck was clearly not on the side of Kazuma Kuwabara. The vacated alley he had slept in also turned out to have a clear view of the eastern horizon as the sun rose the next morning, and as a result, Kuwabara was awoken by the rising sun after a mere five hours of sleep. With nothing else to do, the stranded Spirit Detective decided to wander the streets aimlessly, looking at how different this Tokyo was from the one he knew. For hours, he just walked around Tokyo, often finding himself going in a large circle since he truly had no idea where anything in the city was. Not surprisingly, he was generating a lot of curious stares from most everyone he passed. He was a large, muscular, and shirtless teenager who was meandering around with the look of someone who had absolutely no idea where he was, after all.

 

After many hours, he finally saw something that made him stop wandering. It was a small shrine, which was unusual enough considering it was in the heart of the city, but that wasn't the part that intrigued Kuwabara. No, he was far more interested in the well-house, which was located a short distance away from a very large, very old tree.

 

`This is Kagome's shrine! Well…I guess it isn't right now, but it will be eventually…' he observed as he slowly began to walk up to the well-house and stare at it. `Yeah! Me and Urameshi fought Inuyasha here, then we chased him and Kagome to the feudal era with that gate…'

 

Suddenly, his train of thought stopped dead in its tracks as he recalled him and his teammates traveling through time. The memory triggered a sudden and brutal realization.

 

`I'm stuck here in this time forever…' he realized, his body frozen in horror. `I'll never be able to see anyone I've ever known ever again. Not Urameshi, not my sister and not…not Yukina…'

 

He suddenly felt very weak, and leaned forward against the well-house wall for support.

 

`Well, maybe Kurama is around here somewhere, so at least I'll have some company,' hoped the boy, clinging to the one sliver of his former life he may still have left. `He's gotta' be somewhere in this time, he's gotta' be!'

 

Now that he had at least found a temporary purpose for himself, he was able to lift himself from the well-house wall and walk away from the shrine. As he walked, though, he couldn't help but feel depression bear down upon him. It could not be helped. His situation was beyond bleak. After a short while of walking with his gaze fixated on the ground in front of him, he heard the sounds of someone whose situation may be even bleaker.

 

“Please, stay away from me!” came a female's voice from up ahead.

 

“Aw, now that's not a very nice way to treat a person,” responded a male voice with a sinister tone twisting the seemingly polite words.

 

Kuwabara's head snapped upwards at the sounds, and spotted the source just outside a restaurant up ahead. A trio of men wearing blue uniforms, swords at their sides, and wolfish grins were crowding around a young woman who had her back up against a wall and a terrified look on her face. He temporarily forgot his woes when he sighted the young woman's predicament, suddenly placing her troubles before his own.

 

`Guess no matter what time you're in, there are still plenty of creeps,' commented Kuwabara inwardly, and began to race forward.

 

As he approached the three hoodlums, he quickly snatched a broom from a woman who had just stepped out from the restaurant to check on the commotion with a rushed “Thanks, lady!” as he passed. He quickly removed the straw from the broom, leaving only the wooden shaft, and then squared off while facing the ruffians, holding the wooden stick in a two handed sword fighting stance.

 

“That's not how a real man is supposed to treat a lady, you ugly dirt-bags,” he stated loudly, causing all three swordsmen to turn their heads.

 

“We can treat women however we want, boy,” replied the apparent ringleader of the three, who was ironically the ugliest as well, mostly due to a very large nose that was in serious need of trimming. “We represent the government, so whatever we do is perfectly justified.”

 

“I don't care who you represent, you just look like a bunch of wimps to me,” retorted Kuwabara, smirking as the faces of the swordsmen suddenly became more angry.

 

`I wonder how much strength I'll have without my spirit energy,' pondered Kuwabara as his new opponents spouted threats and unsheathed their blades. `Only one way to find out, I guess…'

 

The ringleader charged first, blade raised above his head in preparation for a downward strike. Kuwabara never gave him a chance to bring the blade down, taking one step to the side before charging while swinging the broom pole horizontally at the ruffian's head. It made contact with a loud thwacking sound and essentially had the effect of a clothesline on the man, with the end result being him lying on the ground, unconscious.

 

With the fall of their ringleader, the other two charged together, one swinging downward and the other horizontally. Kuwabara handled the attack easily, smacking the flat of the downward swinging blade with the broom pole so it fell harmlessly to his left, and then ducking the horizontal swing before countering by swinging the broom pole upwards into the mans chin, shattering his jaw. The last man standing tried to raise his sword again, but Kuwabara simply brought down his improvised sword down onto the small of the man's back, flattening him.

 

`Huh, I guess my body is stronger than I thought. That was a piece of cake,' remarked Kuwabara to himself as he dropped the broom pole and turned to ask the young woman he had rescued if she was all right.

 

However, the young woman was no longer against the wall, she was hastily heading down the street, as though she was terribly afraid of something. Kuwabara didn't need to wonder for long about what it was that she was afraid of, because the hoofs of several horses could be heard trotting behind him. Turning around, he saw four mounted swordsmen ridding slowly towards him before coming to a halt several yards away. Kuwabara was quick to notice that they wore the same garments as the three he had just knocked out.

 

“You there! Are you the one who has assaulted these officers of the law?” inquired one of the four demandingly.

 

“Wait, these guys are cops? Since when did you let jerks like these guys become cops?” shot back Kuwabara before he could stop himself.

 

The officer looked like he was about to yell at the boy when a man stepped in between them. He was small compared to Kuwabara, both in height and build, with long red hair fashioned into a ponytail. However, he had a sword sheathed at his side and wore a purple and white garb that turned on a light in Kuwabara's brain that instantly signaled “samurai”. This image was only furthered by the cross shaped scar that Kuwabara caught a glimpse of on the man's left cheek.

 

“Those officers were threatening a young woman,” stated the man calmly to the officer. “This young man was only acting in her defense, that he was.”

 

“You dare defend this man? How da-” bellowed the officer down at the red haired samurai, but he was cut off by one of the men to his right, who had been looking carefully at the samurai for a few moments before his eyes doubled in diameter with shock.

 

“Are you nuts? Do you know who that is?” asked the man in a panic to his superior, who shook his head. “Look at the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek! That's Kenshin Himura!”

 

The panicked officer then whispered something into his superior's ear that made his jaw hang slack in astonishment. Kuwabara simply watched with confusion, really only partially sure of what was going on.

 

“I-I'm sorry Mr. Himura, sir,” apologized the officer almost pleadingly. “I-I was just…I…”

 

“It is perfectly all right, officer,” replied Himura with a kind smile that really didn't match the fear on the officer's face at all. “You were just doing your job by asking questions, that you were.”

 

With a few more hasty apologies, the four mounted officers gathered their fallen comrades off of the ground and left as quickly as possible, at which point the crowd that had gathered dispersed as well. That is to say, most of the crowd did, anyway. Three people aside from the samurai and Kuwabara remained standing outside the restaurant. The other three walked up to the samurai, apparently friends of his. One was a boy of no more than eleven with messy hair and a wooden sword strapped to his back. Another was a young woman with a pink bow adorning her hair and wearing a purple kimono. The last one was a tall man wearing a black and white outfit that was capped off with a long red headband below a messy hairdo that for some odd reason reminded Kuwabara of a rooster.

 

“Hey, that was a nice whooping you gave those slimes,” complimented the tall man to Kuwabara with a nod.

 

“Yeah, I bet they're going to be pretty embarrassed after being beaten up by a guy with a stick,” added in the small boy with a grin.

 

“Uh, thanks…” replied Kuwabara, still trying to process what had just happened.

 

“Yeah, that was really impressive,” added the woman, though she raised a curious eyebrow as she inspected Kuwabara. “Although, I have to ask, why aren't you wearing a shirt?”

 

“Oh…well, it kinda' got…ruined,” answered Kuwabara, realizing that saying it was disintegrated by a massive wave of demonic energy would come across as more than a little insane.

 

“Don't you have more than one shirt?” asked the small boy skeptically.

 

“Not really…” responded Kuwabara, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment, and then, anticipating the next question, continued. “And I don't really have any money, so I can't exactly go an' buy one.”

 

“So you're homeless, then?” guessed the tall one unceremoniously, drawing a small glare from the woman.

 

Kuwabara again scratched the back of his head and shuffled his feet in embarrassment. Though the tall man was essentially right, Kuwabara didn't really want to parade this fact around, because inevitably it would lead to him coming off as a beggar, and begging was something that Kuwabara's pride would never allow.

 

“Look, thanks for stepping in there…Mr. Himura, right?” said Kuwabara hastily, avoiding confirming the tall man's conjecture. “But I've gotta' go…”

 

“If you have no money, than you must be in need of food as well,” surmised Kenshin with a smile, clearly seeing right through Kuwabara, “We were just about to go have lunch, perhaps you could join us?”

 

“Thanks, but I don't need any handouts,” replied Kuwabara, quickly turning to leave. “Thanks again.”

 

Kuwabara's exit, however, was cut short when his stomach decided that this was the ideal time to let out a loud growl. Red with embarrassment, Kuwabara turned around and smiled awkwardly.

 

“Well, on second thought…”