Pipe Dreams by MontiK

Lost

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Walking up the steps on the bus, Kagome Higurashi waved politely to the driver. She could hear the excited chatter of her friends just behind her, but today she was just too tired to care what they were talking about. She drooped into a seat with her back to the window and held her hand over her mouth as she let out a loud yawn.

She stayed up late last night, her new book about the adventures of youkai in the feudal era having entranced her. She had completely forgotten she had to study for a test until it was almost one in the morning. She didn't remember how much sleep she got last night, but it definitely wasn't much.

Leaning her head on the back of her seat she smiled lazily. Thinking of the samurai in shining armor, evil youkai, powerful priestesses, and helpless hime, she felt the world drift far away. In her dreams she saw great inugami, raging oni, and a young priestess with great strength of heart.

Opening her eyes hazily, she blinked at the changed scenery. I was dark out now, the sky black and the bright lights on the bus like a torch in the night. It was hard to see out of the windows. With a muffled curse Kagome stood up. She wondered why no one had bothered to wake her up, but she still had to get home. She nodded to the driver as she bolted down the steps out onto the dark sidewalk, she had to do a double take. For a second she was sure the chubby man behind the wheel had greenish skin and bulbous yellow eyes. She soon shook off the thought and started on down the street.

She walked carefully, watching her footing on the cracked concrete. She gazed up at blackened and broken windows, looking for names on buildings, street signs, anything to tell her which way was home. How long had she been on that bus? She winced at the loud noise as she kicked a can and the metal scraped on the cement pathway.

She stood frozen as another louder rumble sounded ahead of her. A man fell from the alley yelling and shouting, someone else answering in an even louder voice. Fearing what would happen she turned and ran. A dark alley was the first open place and she pressed her hand to the walls, following them to hopefully a safe haven.

She fell over trashcans and frightened stray cats in her hasty retreat. The path thinned and widened many times as she ran, left, left, right, right, left... faster and faster like a scared rabbit. She frightened herself with her own noises until she was exhausted.

She gasped for breath and fell to her knees. Frightened tears gathered at the corner of her eyes and she tried to take in her surroundings. It was a fairly large room of sorts, the walls looked like rusted metal with chipping paint. It was quiet, steam rose from underneath manholes making a thick haze cling to the ground.

It was quiet, still dark, and a little creepy, but for some reason she wasn't as scared. Her breathing evened out and she braced herself against a wall and rose to her feet, her school bag still on the ground.  

“Hello?”, she called hesitantly into the still night. The dull hiss of steam being released was her answer, she jumped in surprise. Creeping further into the room she called again, no answer.

Further in the could see a ray of moonlight cutting through the darkness. She could see a wall of pipes, the red exit light making their steam look like a fiery veil. She stepped onto the uncovered walkway just outside of the room. More pipes, like a maze, the jutted from the wall and twisted around each other, hissing and popping as their heated contents escaped through tiny holes in the failing metal. She pressed on, something was there she could feel it. Through the red fog she could see the moonlight again, a stark contrast to the dark colors around her.

Squinting ahead of herself, she tried to make out the illuminated figure obscured by the fog and metal. When she neared him she let out a quiet gasp and clasped her hands over her mouth. Laying back against the brick wall a white haired boy was pinned. A silvery sword jutted from over his heart, holding him in a standing position and moonlit rays shinning all around him illuminating his figure.

She stepped closer, weaving through the pipes and found he had puppy ears atop his head. He reminded her of the inugami in her her story book. Avoiding the sword, she went to his side. Her fingers gently touched his face, he looked peaceful in sleep but sad.

“How'd you get here?”, she whispered to her silent companion. Looking at his chest she could see no blood and he didn't look dead, he wasn't cold to the touch. Her hand slid downs, skimming over his shirt and followed the path of the blade but never touching the metal.

She gasped, screamed, and jumped back pressing herself to the wall was a vicious snarl ripped though the alley way.

“Don't touch him, girl”, she heard a cold voice from the shadows.

Her eyes darted around looking for the source, her heart pounded in her chest and her breath quickened. “Wh... Who's there?”, she called.

Golden eyes and silvery hair revealed themselves in the shadow. She pressed herself further to the wall, the dark promise in his glowing eyes instilling fear in her.

“Do not mettle in what you cannot understand, leave the boy”, the tall figure hissed at her. She saw fangs when he spoke that time.

She was now almost on the ground, knees pulled to her chest and the tears of fright once again gathering at the edges of her eyes. “I was just.. lost..”, she whimpered, “I wanna go home.. I don't know how I ended up here.. I just wanna be home..”, she closed her eyes as her shoulders shook and tears fell.

When she opened her eyes again the dark figure was gone. She peeked over at the sleeping boy, finding a strange comfort in his presence. “At least I'm not alone.. right?”, she asked him with a watery smile. Scooting closer she lay her head against his leg and closed her eyes. “Mama's gunna be so worried”, she whispered, “I hope I find my way back home..”, with that she closed her eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Blinking at her surroundings Kagome noticed the blue seats of the bus and the bright morning sun shining in the windows. Looking at the bus driver, he was the same one she saw every morning on her way to school.

Seeing her confusion, the bus driver chuckled, “They work you kids too hard these days, you fell asleep yesterday too!”, his belly shook with his jovial exclamation.

Kagome smiled hesitantly, she didn't remember going home last night or getting on the bus that morning. Was is all really a dream?