The Bus Ride by Elenna
The Bus Ride
The Bus Ride
5:26 p.m.
The bus was officially running late.
This was not a good start to life. Then again, things never start or end well for me, Kagome thought as she sighed and pulled the hood over her head as a cold breeze passed by. A recent graduate from college, a newly hired researcher for an archeological group, and still single; Kagome had come a long way since she had reappeared in her time with Inuyasha…only to watch him leave and the well seal forever.
Her family supported her to the best of their capabilities but Kagome had learned many things during her time in the Feudal Era. The most important lesson being that she was a very strong individual that had the ability to overcome anything. So, even though she was back in the present and all of her dear friends were in the past, Kagome was still Kagome. Inuyasha…Sango…Miroku…Shippo…none of them would want her to simply shut down. And I will live my life to the fullest! I promise you guys this!
The honk of the bus from several feet away caused Kagome to jump out of her thoughts. She quickly stood and waited patiently for the large machine to stop completely.
The bus wasn’t crowded…ten people at the most. Kagome smiled at her good fortune and checked her ticket: F6. So, I’ll be on the right side. She took her time, checking each row sign until she spotted the letter F. Without a second thought, Kagome placed her large, yellow bag above the seats and promptly decided to hold on to her small purse.
It wasn’t until after accomplishing her task that Kagome decided to cast her eyes towards the two seats…only to find that one was occupied. This other person, who sat next to her seat, had short black hair and dressed in business-like attire (including a tie). He had a very expensive looking leather briefcase lying across his lap. One would think he would own his own vehicle by the way he dressed.
“Excuse me.”
Kagome’s eyes immediately shot up at the sound of a familiar voice and caught…amber eyes staring back at her. If looks could kill, she was sure that the staring match in which they shared would have killed them both a thousand times over.
“If you would please take your seats, we will be off to our next stop. I apologize for the delay. I promise that I will do my best to get everyone to their destination on time. Thank you very much and please enjoy you ride.” The driver’s voice had forced the two passengers to come to their senses. Kagome blushed and immediately sat in the empty seat next to the amber-eyed man. She thought for a second that she heard him take a strange inhale of air, but then convinced herself that she was simply allowing her thoughts to venture into the past again.
Though, it could be possible for him to be alive…ne? Kagome was too embarrassed to meet the stranger’s gaze again and simply fidgeted with her hands in her lap.
As the bus took off, the tension between the two passengers seem to lessen. Kagome did her best to think of other things but felt tempted to look at her companion over and over again. This said temptation slowly sped up her heart rate and caused her hands to become very wet.
“I apologize for scaring you.”
His voice surprised her again. He sounds exactly like him! “Um…it’s o-ok. I’m sorry too. Y-you just remind me of someone I used to know.”
“Hn.”
Maybe it was instinct, but be that as it may, Kagome rolled her eyes at the sound. Too much like him if you ask me! And perhaps it was the comment that gave her all the courage she needed to look back up at the man. Not only did she notice how tall this man was (because he was very tall), but she found that the stranger’s face was turned towards the window this time; staring off into his unconsciousness.
No markings. No crescent shaped moon on his forehead. No silver hair. This was not the Lord of the Western Lands.
Kagome smiled at this realization. Her smile relapsed, however, the minute his piercing gaze snapped to meet hers.
“Could you kindly stop staring at my person?” His voice was very demanding and pulling on some old tricks from the past, the Miko could sense no hospitality in the stranger’s structure. Yet, the thought did dawn on her that it was, indeed, rude to stare at someone.
“Gomen,” she quickly replied. “Like I said, you remind me of someone I –“
“Do you plan, then, to continue to stare at me for the entire duration of this trip?” He cocked an eyebrow at her…fueling her anger.
“Maybe. Depends on where your stop is and where mine is.” She narrowed her eyes at him, a tip she learned from Sesshomaru. Kagome was issuing a challenge…would he respond?
“Do as you wish then,” he stated with a huff. Kagome nearly dropped her jaw in response to this.
DEFINITELY not Sesshomaru. A pity. Deciding then to turn her attention elsewhere, she opened her purse to pull out her small traveling journal. It had been her companion in both the Feudal Era and in college. It’s nearly full too, she thought sadly as she pulled out a pen. Then again, maybe this is a new sign like the job in Osaka. A new one would only mean that I’m about to start a new journey.
She flipped through some of the older pages, pausing every couple to glance at a few of the sentences and smile at the memories that the old journal presented.
~
Dear Journal,
I can’t believe Inuyasha! Poor Shippo has, yet again, another bump on his small head. And all because he –
____________
Ew! A talking flea actually bit me! A coward one at that! He came by to tell –
____________
PEEPING TOM! I swear, I’m going to cut off BOTH of Miroku’s hands as well as his–
~
Kagome stopped as she came across one of her old entries. This said entry caused her to look at her companion from the corner of her eye every once in a while.
~
I woke up and saw the strangest thing. Sesshomaru was killing lesser demons that were floating around me. And you know what? This isn’t the first time he’s done something like this! Do you remember what I told you about with the poison guy from the seven man group? Yea…same thing. He turned to look at me in both cases and I saw a strange thing in his eyes. I can’t describe what it was but it was just for a minute.
He’s changed so much…you know? I think Rin has done a really good job at changing that human-hater. I mean, I still think he dislikes humans but not nearly as much as when I first met him. Oh! And I forgot to mention that I got to touch the mokomoko! It was so soft and fluffy-
~
Kagome giggled at the memory of the feeling of Sesshomaru’s pelt. It had been so long since she thought about that incident but it still felt like it had only happened yesterday.
Unsuspectingly, her laughter caused a flat object to slip out of her notebook. Her companion seemed to notice and gentlemanly reached down to pick it up. As he did this, Kagome caught sight of what happened…blushing in response. However, his movements immediately stop on the way up. Curious as to why this was, Kagome looked over his shoulder and gasped as she recognized the old photo.
She had taken the camera to the Feudal Era and for one brief moment, she had convinced her friends AND Inuyasha for a simple photo. Worried that she may have hurt the timeline, Kagome completely pushed the memory from her mind until the well had sealed. Her mom, who had developed the camera and discovered the picture, gave it to her nearly a day after Inuyasha had vanished. Seeing the image of their faces brought fresh tears to her eyes every time she laid eyes on it.
“Gomen,” the man said as she pulled out of her depressing thoughts. He handed her back the photo. “I was simply curious when I saw that the boy in red had silver hair and dog ears.”
Kagome smiled. “It’s ok. It’s been so long since I last saw them is all.”
The man remained silent for a few minutes, contemplating his words as the girl calmed herself. “Curious.”
“What is?”
“Where was the photo taken?”
Kagome felt a small shiver of panic set in. What do I say?! “Uh…it was….at…a convention!”
“Convention? You are an otaku then?” His pale face portrayed some disgust as he asked this.
“Oh no. I do like some anime, but I am no otaku.”
“And yet, you went to a convention?”
Oh, he’s a sneaky son of a bit- “Yeah. It was my friend’s idea. She thought that I would have a lot of fun if I tagged along.”
“I take it that you are referring to the taija?” The man now seemed to have crossed his arms across his chest and had a sort of smartass complexion written all over his face.
“Uh…yeah.” Or you probably would be if you lived in this time Sango. Kagome hoped that he would quickly drop the subject but had an odd inkling that the stranger would continue his pursuit.
“And how was the convention?” His eyebrow cocked again.
“T-the same as any other convention, I guess. I don’t really have a comparison for it since I haven’t been to another before or since then.”
“Did you lose contact with these friends of yours?”
Kagome sighed. “I guess you can say that it was something like that.” She frowned and stared down at her hands. “I really miss them.”
“Is there no way of contacting them?”
Tears came forth but Kagome forbid them to fall. This was one question that she had anticipated in him asking but the answer was just too painful to conceive. “They’re dead.”
The stranger said no words. Kagome was sure if she could hold in her tears as the silence grew into minutes. She nearly broke down when a single tear slowly made its way down her cheek. However, a warm hand brushed the tear away, shocking the poor girl out of her depressive thoughts. Kagome looked up at the guy in awe. He had the very same look Sesshomaru had while in Narkau’s body and with the poison guy. How I wish I could place a word to describe it. It’s such a beautiful look…
“I am sure that wherever they are, these friends of yours are proud of you. I am equally sure that they are happy that you are still alive.” His voice was so gentle…so soothing…so…different than the Sesshomaru she once knew. Perhaps this was the final piece she needed to fully admit to herself that this stranger was no demon lord. “It is within everyone to desire two things before they pass. One of which is to live one’s life to the fullest. The second is that they make a mark in the world. Your friends have surely accomplished this…living now through your memories.”
Kagome smiled in response and nodded her head. “Arigato.”
“Osaka.”
She blinked…suddenly confused. “Ne?”
“You are heading towards Osaka, are you not?”
“How did yo-?”
The man held up Kagome’s bus ticket with a smile. “This too was on the floor.”
Kagome couldn’t help but blush again. “Oh. Wow, thanks again. And yes, I’m going to Osaka to look for some places to live around my new job as a researcher for archeologists.”
“Ah. Is the department close to the university or the city?”
“University.”
For the next several hours, Kagome and the man, whom she learned was called Sho, had a very intellectual conversation on various subjects. From school to politics, Kagome found, for the first time in a long while, a time in which she felt normal; a time when she enjoyed being not only Kagome…but the present time Kagome.
Eventually, Kagome fell to sleep and unconsciously laid her head on Sho’s shoulder. However, it seemed that the guy didn’t mind at all as she couldn’t remember being woken up by him. When she did wake up, sadly, she found her companion was gone. In his seat sat her journal.
Sighing, Kagome reached over and picked her journal up. She gasped as she saw something beneath. Did Sho leave something? What she picked up was a folded piece of paper. After a few minutes of deliberation with herself, she opened the paper. Her eyes widened as a piece of tattered cloth fell into her lap; a red and white floral pattern…from Sesshomaru’s kimono. And on the paper was a note:
500 years ago, a young ningen miko stood up to a demon lord with the courage of a thousand demons. You are a unique human Kagome Higurashi. You have the wisdom of the past, the memory of cherished ones, and live in a time of wondrous possibilities. Throughout our conversation, I desired to express the truth of who I was, but assumed that you had already guessed as to my identity. At first, I had believed that you were a descendent of yourself, but the picture was proof enough of said otherwise.
I leave you now miko with a message: it is time that you forget the past. When we first began our conversation, I sensed within you a horrendous desire to retreat into your memories. Clearly you are a strong woman and have not let such depressive thoughts overcome your actions, but it is also certain that you have not allowed yourself the chance to fully change. Use your memories as a new source of empowerment and dwell not with the past any longer. When you come to understand my meaning, then perhaps we shall meet once more.
Sesshomaru
~~~~
“Kaogme!”
A short raven-haired woman turned to see another woman running towards her. “Kimi? Is something wrong?”
“We found something…well…you’ve got to see if for yourself!” Kimi pulled on Kagome’s arm, leading her into the newest dig site; a cave just outside the boundaries of Osaka.
Kimi had been the first friend Kagome had made after settling in to her new home; five years ago…a time when Kagome’s world changed once again.
“What is it Kimi? I haven’t seen you this excited since we found that fossil of –“ Kagome took in a deep breath as she came upon her friend’s find.
A fire-rat robe, priest garments, and a large boomerang weapon made of bone lay side by side to one another. “This is what you were talking about all those years ago, right? You told the director the possibility of this find and that’s what landed you the job, ne?”
Kimi wasn’t sure what to make of Kagome’s reaction. The woman was smiling. No tears, no enthusiasm. Kagome had that sort of proud or satisfying look that a mother makes when a child does something well.
“Yeah. They’re all there…and…here I am.” The end of her comment was stated quietly. Taking another deep breath, Kagome turned and gave Kimi a huge hug before ordering the archeologist to call the director about the find. Of course, this meant that her friend had to leave the cave because there was absolutely no signal within the dark tunnel. However, when Kimi did as instructed, Kagome turned back to the graves with a sigh.
She stared at the ground with that proud expression on her face. Here lie your physical bodies…but somehow, I also feel you with me. Is that what you were talking about Sesshomaru? Have you always been able to feel them, knowing where they’ve rested and grown as a person after 500 years? There was a gust of wind that blew from the opening of the cave, but it did nothing to change the way Kagome stood or the expression upon her face.
“We’re all together again. They lie there because they are the past. I stand here with them because I am the future,” she stated aloud slowly, happily. “I understand now. I had to forget the past because it was who they were…not who I am. And yet, their memory gives me more strength to continue living on. I know where they lie now…and for once, I feel at peace.” She raised her head and looked into the darkness of the cave. “I am here.”
“As am I, miko.” White hair blew into her preferral vision and a familiar stripped, pale, clawed hand brushed against hers. “As am I.”
To be continued…?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wow, so it's been a long while, ne? I hope you like this simple one-shot that I've done.
I've put Total Eclipse of the Heart on Hiatus for the moment. I have several one-shots that I am going to post over the next several weeks. I still haven't given up on it yet, and I appreciate those who are continuing to remain paitient with me!
Please be sure to leave me a review! That's the fuel that pushes me to continue my work!
Thanks!
Elenna