A/N: First off, I wrote this somewhere around a year ago, but I did my best to make it good. And if anyone missed the part that said "Inuyahsa/X-Men Crossover"; now you know. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't read this. Also, I sort of randomly picked some favorite X-Men, so this doesn't take place in any specific part in the comics, ok? That said, I hope y'all enjoy this story; please don't flame me, I'm sensitive!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the X-Men...sniffsniff, isn't that depressing?
Chance Encounters
"I can't believe you, Inuyasha! I'm going home, don't come for me, I'll come back when I'm ready!" Kagome shouted in anger. Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and Kaede watched from a distance as the future-born miko and stubborn half-demon got in yet another fight.
"You wanna leave, wench? Fine, be my guest! Why the hell should I give a damn?" Inuyasha yelled in frustration, realizing too late that his last comment would definitely get him into trouble. And indeed it did. The others watched as Kagome stepped onto the edge of the well, backpack on shoulder, and yelled, "SIT BOY!" before jumping down the well to her time.
"Very smooth, Inuyasha. Tell me, what started this particular argument between yourself and our dear Kagome?" Miroku asked curiously.
"She said she had to go home to study for one of those 'exam' things again, I told her we should be out lookin' for more jewel shards, and then she started cryin' some nonsense about her bein' nothin' but a damn 'shard detector' and it kinda took off from there. That wench is way too damned emotional sometimes!" Inuyasha explained as he climbed to his feet from the small dent that last 'sit' made.
"I don't suppose you've had any run-ins with Kikyo lately? You know as well as the rest of us that that tends to put her in a foul mood." Miroku questioned. Sango, Shippo, and Kaede watched as the stubborn half-demon known as Inuyasha erupted immediately.
"This ain't got nothin' to do with Kikyo, dammitt! I haven't seen Kikyo in over a damned month, ok? I don't know why Kagome's actin' like this!"
"Inuyasha," Kaede interrupted, possibly saving the lecherous monk's life, "why don't ye go apologize to Kagome? Or at least ask her if something is wrong. But, I implore ye, ask nicely. Do not raise your voice. Ye'll only anger her more if ye do."
"Fine, if it'll get you pests off my back, I'll go." Inuyasha decided, using them as an excuse to check up on the woman he not-so-secretly loved. Lately it seemed the only person who hadn't figured it out was Kagome herself. So, with glare at his friends, he leapt into the well.
At about that time, in Salem Center, New York, a young woman around 18 years of age with a bright yellow trench coat and pink sunglasses was roller-blading around the property of her home, Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. She was also wearing headphones, and not paying too much attention to her surroundings, as she was listening to music. Her name is Jubilation Lee, but everyone, friends and enemies alike, calls her Jubilee. Or another variation thereof.
As Jubilee turned a corner and decided to test her 'off-road skills' by going onto the grass, she failed to notice a blue light in the sky maybe a foot above her head. That is, until a 17 year-old Japanese girl in a green and white school girl's uniform landed in front of her. The girl was out cold.
"Oh my God! Where'd she come from?" Jubilee cried in shock as she crashed on her rear as a result of stopping quickly enough to avoid skating over the girl. I should probably go inside to get someone, in case this is some sort of trap. But, what if she's being chased, and I take too long looking for someone? JEEZ-LOUEEZE just go inside an' holler for Wolvie. He'll be out in a flash, and that way he can't yell at me for puttin' myself in danger if this is a trap. Good call, Lee! That decision made, Jubilee glanced up to make sure no one else was falling from the sky above her head, and skated off. Before rounding the corner, she decided to check the skies one final time, just to be safe, and let out a high-pitched (if short-lived) squeal when a person with long, silver hair, wearing red, fell. He landed not 10 feet from the Japanese girl.
"Ok, that's it, I'm definitely getting Wolvie!" Jubilee said to herself, before turning and skating into the mansion, through the open front doors. That's when she realized that if they were open, then she would surely get caught wearing roller-blades in the house. Of course, she was right.
"Jubilee, sugah, ya'll know you're not supposed to wear those thangs in the house. Ya'll're just lucky I ain't Scott or Professor X for that matter." the X-Man known as Rogue drawled in the thick southern accent that earned her the nickname 'Southern Belle'.
"Yeah, yeah, Rogue, I know. Where's Wolvie, I kinda need to talk to him."
"Well, then start talkin' kid, I ain't got all day." the 5'3'' Canadian called Wolverine, or Logan if you were a friend, commented, walking in from the elevator that lead down to the basement. Or, in this case, probably the Danger Room.
"Two people just fell outta the sky and landed in the backyard!"
"You sure you ain't just daydreamin' again, Jubes?" Logan asked skeptically.
"Of course I'm sure! Besides, why would I bother trying to lie to you?"
"All right, then lets go take a look, shall we?"
"I'll come, too. You comin' Gambit?" Rogue stated, directing the question to the red-and-black-eyed Cajun who'd followed Wolverine out of the elevator, and was currently leaning lazily against the wall, flipping a few cards between his fingers.
"Of course, chere, any t'ing for you." he replied flirtatiously. Jubilee gagged and led the way.
Not even a minute later, they were walking up to the two bodies that were lying, face down, on the ground. Leaning over to Rogue, Jubilee whispered, "They almost look dead, don't they?" Rogue nodded silently before following Gambit, who'd gone to check on the girl. Wolverine and Jubilee went and knelt next to the boy in red.
"Oh whoa, I didn't notice those when he fell!" Jubilee whispered, pointing with a mischevious grin to his dog-like ears.
"Did you notice the sword on his waist?" Logan asked curiously, knowing full well she hadn't.
Jubilee's eyes widened, "He has a sword?" Upon seeing Logan's look of 'like you haven't seen a sword before', she added, "I've always liked swords, ok?" He just rolled his eyes and placed his index and middle fingers of one hand on the boy's neck, to check for a pulse. Finding one, he moved to shake the kid's shoulder to try and wake him up.
Inuyasha groaned as he slowly came to. What the hell happened? One minute I'm jumping through the well, and then suddenly I'm unconscious? Wait, if jumping through the well's the last thing I remember, then what about- "Kagome!" he said suddenly, sitting up quickly and trying to take in his surroundings.
"Take it easy, pal, yer prob'ly gonna be disoriented fer a few minutes. By the way, name's Logan. And you are..?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm Inuyasha. Where the hell am I?" he said warily, not completely certain he could trust these two strangers. That's when the wind shifted, and Kagome's scent drifted towards him. His eyes widened slightly, and he spun around quickly so he could see her. When his eyes landed on her, she was still unconscious, and a man was kneeling next to her, with his hand on her shoulder. His fists clenched as he stood and ran over to them. Dropping to his knees on the other side of Kagome, he growled, "What the hell'd you do to her!"
"Gambit did not'ing, mon ami, she was like dis when we found her." the Cajun replied, lifting his hands in defense.
"Well, ya'll did roll her over so she wasn't layin' on her stomach no more, but that's it." Rogue offered, stepping up to stand by Gambit's side.
Inuyasha glared in warning before shifting his attention to the sleeping miko on the ground in front of him. Reaching over, he gently shook her shoulders to try and wake her. When all she did was moan a little and roll towards him, he tried shaking her harder. Then, her eyebrows narrowed and she started moaning more, and she began to toss. This worried him, so he spoke, hoping it would wake her, or at least calm her. "Kagome! Kagome, get up, damnitt! This ain't no time for sleepin' in, wench!"
"Sooo, I take it he knows her?" Jubilee said sarcastically as she walked up to stand beside Rogue, Wolverine just behind her. Gambit flashed her an appreciative grin, Rogue rolled her eyes, and Logan said, "Now whatever gave ya that impression?"
Kagome Higurashi was running for her life, through the streets of a foreign city, with only one thought echoing over and over again in her head. Where's Inuyasha when I really need him? I don't have any arrows, and I have no idea where I am! Inuyasha, help me, please! She didn't know who was chasing her, and she wasn't sure why, but she did know that if she slowed down, she'd die. She screamed as an energy blast flew right past her, nearly taking off her head. Turning slightly to see how close her shadow-covered pursuer was, she was shocked to see that he'd vanished. Not wanting to risk it, she turned back to keep running. And came face-to-face with him. Even through the shadow, she could see the smirk on his face as he took aim at her heart from point-blank range. She did the only thing she could think of. She screamed Inuyasha's name.
Inuyasha was really starting to worry, it wasn't like her to sleep this deeply, unless she was possessed, and that thought scared him. He'd all but forgotton that there were four complete strangers standing maybe five feet away, subconsciously deciding that if they pulled something, he'd grab Kagome and run, instead of fighting. His worry only increased when she went slack for a second, and then she started struggling in his grasp and moaning loudly, before falling limp again. "Kagome! Wake up!" he pleaded, shaking her again, and sniffing the air to see if he could smell what was affecting her. He couldn't smell anything off with her scent, and not knowing the normal smell of the air around him, he couldn't figure out if anything was wrong. Then, suddenly, her eyes snapped open, unseeing, and she screamed, "INUYASHA!" before her eyes fell closed.
Cringing slightly from the volume, he shook her again, and said, "I'm here Kagome, wake up, I'm right here, you stupid woman." Almost as if hearing him, she moaned a little and her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Inu...yasha? Inuyasha, is that you?" she asked groggily, still shaking off her dream.
"Who were you expecting, your mother?" he teased half-heartedly, grinning faintly, and not releasing her from his hold.
Kagome blushed faintly when she realized that he was holding her tightly to his chest, but she was still a little shaken from her nightmare, so she reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that." Though he didn't say anything in return, Kagome knew he was sorry also when he tightened his grip ever so slightly.
When Kagome opened her eyes, she saw four people standing about four feet away, watching them. Her face was instantly beet-red and she pulled back enough to look Inuyasha in the eyes and said, "What's going on? Where are we?"
"I don't know, I was hopin' you would." Inuyasha said honestly, pulling Kagome with him as he stood up. Turning to face the four strangers, he stepped habitually in front of Kagome. "All right, where the heck are we?" Behind him, Kagome sighed quietly at his typical way of asking questions.
Remy LeBeau grinned mischieviously and said, "My, my, y'almost remind me o' Wolverine, mon ami. By de way, I'm Gambit, dis here's Wolverine, but y'can call 'im Logan, dat's Jubilee, and dis belle is Rogue." As he finished, he looped his arm 'casually' around Rogue's shoulders.
Sighing, Rogue flicked his arm off and said, "It's a pleasure to meet ya'll, don' mind him none, he's harmless."
"If not slightly irritating. By the way, welcome to Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, Salem Center, New York." Jubilee stated bluntly. She was about to continue, when Logan interrupted.
"Why don't we talk about this inside, where it's a little more private."
A few minutes later, and only after Kagome assured Inuyasha it would be all right to go inside, they were all sitting at the kitchen table. Except for Inuyasha, who chose instead to stand behind Kagome's seat. Once they were all sitting, Jubilee started the conversation. "Ok, well, in case you wanna know how ya got here, I can tell ya. You fell outta the sky. There was like this odd flash, I don't know, didn't really see it, and then, down you fell. You fell first, by, like, a minute." she concluded, pointing at Kagome.
"Um, this may sound a bit odd, but, what year is it?" Kagome asked tentatively, seeking to verify that she knew something about her location. The other four people seated at the table got a questioning look for a second, and then Logan answered.
"2005, why?"
"Uh, just checking." Kagome stated, blushing. Inuyasha "Feh'd" in the background, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Somet'ing buggin' you, mon ami?" Remy asked curiously, placing his cup of hot coffee on the table.
"Don't mind him, he does that a lot."
"Oh yeah, well what if somethin' was buggin' me?" Inuyasha returned aggitatedly.
Kagome sighed, "Well then, speak up, maybe you can help us figure out what's going on."
Inuyasha said nothing for a minute, unsure of whether or not he should say what he was thinking. When he opened his eyes again, Kagome was staring straight at him, silently begging him to speak. "All right, but, first, I have to ask something. Kagome, what the hell's an 'institute'?"
The four X-Men stared at him, not believing what they'd just heard. Kagome choked, fighting the instinct to laugh at the looks she knew the other people seated at the table were giving him. "Sorry, Inuyasha, sometimes, I forget just how much we take for granted, that you've never heard of. An institute is a place where people go for...special education. Institutes are usually for rich or talented people. It's just another type of school."
"Feh, this world of yours is way to damn obssessed with the whole 'school' thing."
"I totally agree!" Jubilee commented loudly.
"Of course you do, Jubes, you'd agree with anything that got ya outta school." Logan stated. Jubilee nodded with a grin.
"Not to sound rude, but, why don' ya'll know what an institute is?" Rogue interrupted, attempting to be polite with her question.
"Oh, well, Inuyasha's not exactly...fromaround here. Let's just say there's a well on my family's property that leads to Feudal Japan. Inuyasha and I are the only ones who can actually go through, though." Kagome explained briefly.
"Um, how many years ago was Feudal Japan?" Jubilee asked tentatively.
"500." Inuyasha stated bluntly. Gambit whistled appreciatively, Wolverine took a large swig of his beer, Jubilee's eyes widened, and Rogue whispered an "oh my".
"Hey, Inuyasha, you said there was something else, didn't you?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah, are you feeling ok? You don't usually sleep like that unless you're...possessed...or something."
"Well, I don't feel like I'm possessed, but, then, that doesn't mean I'm not. But..." Kagome responded, trailing off when she realized that she didn't know how to describe the dream she'd had, which still seemed to haunt her.
This reaction got Inuyasha's attention immediately. "'But' what, Kagome? What aren't you telling me?"
"It's just, the dream I had, it's haunting. The only thing I knew was that I was lost, and someone was chasing me. He wanted to kill me. I never got a really good look at him, though. He was always covered in shadow, but he was frightening. He was about to blast me when I woke up." As she recalled the dream, still in perfect detail, she involuntarily shuddered. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, he could tell that it had really shaken her, and something about it bothered him. This just doesn't smell right. That dream couldn't have been a coincidence.
After about another hour of talking, they hadn't really discovered much else. Except that, for some reason, their phone wouldn't reach Japan. Kagome had tried calling home three times, and gotten the operator each time. Inuyasha had also discovered, much to Kagome's horror-filled amusement, that he loved coffee. But, of course, it had to have sugar.
It was about two minute's after he'd finished his last cup (#6) of coffee, that the front door had opened again. Three tall, healthy-looking women walked in, shopping bags in hand. The one on the far right had bright red hair, emerald green eyes, and wore a green summer dress with a gold belt. The recently-married Jean Grey-Summers, codenamed Phoenix, stopped in mid-step when she saw the unexpeted guests.
The woman in the middle that had chocolate skin and snow-white hair to go with her blue eyes, wearing white dress pants and a gold, loose-necked, tank-top was Ororo Munroe, a.k.a. Storm. She stepped slightly in front of the other two women when they stopped.
The third woman had Asian features, dark purple hair, and a red stylized 'J' over her left eye. She was wearing a tight, navy blue mini-skirt and a red, v-necked shirt with loose sleeves that extend to the elbows. Her name: Elizabeth Braddock. Although she goes by Betsy. Her codename is Psylocke.
The women stopped not five feet into the mansion. Storm stepped slightly forward, and turned to address her teammates. "Will one of you please explain why we have unannounced guests?"
"Come sit, ladies, we'll fill you in on de particulars." Gambit teased.
"Remy LeBeau, will ya knock it off!" Rogue exasperated, lightly smacking him upside the head.
"He'll need a harder hit than that if you want him to listen, Rogue. You of all people should know that." Betsy teased.
"Would somebody mind doing introductions, please?" Jean requested, setting her bags down next to the couch.
Jubilee jumped at the oppurtunity, and began, "Ok, guys," she paused, making sure she had Inuyasha and Kagome's attention, "these are our teammates, Jean Grey-Summers, called Phoenix, Ororo Munroe, called Storm, and Betsy Braddock, called Psylocke. Red, 'Ro, Betts, meet Kagome Higurashi and Inuyasha. He's from Feudal Japan, and, he's a half-dog demon! Isn't that totally cool!"
"We get the idea, Jubilation." Betsy interrupted. Jubilee shut her mouth and glared at her superior.
"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you, please, make yourselves at home as long as you're here." Ororo replied kindly, extending her hand in greeting. Kagome shook it politely, and they all sat down to once again go over the circumstances.
Nearly three hours later, the phones still hadn't gone through to Japan, and they were waiting on a call back from the professor and Scott, to know when the jet would be brought back. After nearly three and a half hours of waiting, the phone rang. When the ringing started, Inuyasha's ears twitched noticably and he growled low, finding the sound irritating. Jean got up and answered it. "Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, this is Jean, how may I help you?"
"Jean? It's Scott. What's going on?"
"Scott, we have a slight situation here, and we were wondering when you and Charles will be returning. We need the jet, because the ones we have here can only take up to two, and we haven't got enough fuel to use two mini-jets."
"Why do you need the BlackBird? What's going on down there, should we be worried?"
"No, it's not life-or-death, we just have a couple of out-of-place Japanese kids. Well, they're young adults, technically. So far, everything's pretty peaceful, they just happened to fall out of the sky this afternoon, that's all. They are quite...nice. The man's a bit...argumentitive, but he's no worse than Logan."
"Well, if you're sure there's nothing too serious, then I can assure you the professor and I will be back in under 48 hours, however that's the best I can do. If something changes, I'm sure you know that Peter and Kitty are in Deerfield, and the others are scattered somewhere in the area."
"Of course, Scott. Well, then we'll see you when you return. Love you, babe."
"Ok, love you, too, honey." Scott said, hanging up.
Hanging up the phone, Jean turned to the group of people in the living room, took a deep breath and said, "Scott and the professor may not be back for anywhere between this evening and 48 hours from now. I'm sorry."
Standing up, Ororo looked around the room, and finally landed on Kagome. "If the two of you could excuse us for just a moment, please?"
"Sure, we'll try not to break anything." Kagome reassured, glancing at Inuyasha, who nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, we shall return shortly. Friends, if you would please join me in the kitchen a moment." Ororo stated, returning her look to her teammates. They all nodded in assent, stood, and followed their in-house leader into the kitchen.
Once they were all in the kitchen, Gambit shut the door, and they all turned to look at Storm. Silence reigned for nearly a minute, as she thought of how to best phrase what she was thinking. Then, she spoke. "I trust you all have an opinion on our guests, and their current predicament. Tell me, does anyone have anything they'd like to say about this before I continue?"
"I fer one don't think it's some sorta coincidence that our phone suddenly doesn't make international calls, or that they came when they did. With most o' the team outta town fer the weekend, an' our main mode of transportation with Scott an' Chuck on Muir Island. Someone's after 'em, an' if we give 'em money fer a plane ticket an' send 'em home, they prob'ly won't make it to the airport." Logan stated bluntly. The others nodded in agreement.
"I concur. I also believe that they are in need of our assistance. While I'm certain he's volatile, I believe that Inuyasha will not become a threat, and I'm equally certain that Kagome is an extremely trustworthy young woman. They need our help, and I, for one, desire to give it." Psylocke said calmly. Again, the others nodded.
"Good, I feel the same way. I have come to the conclusion that whatever is to happen will happen before the professor and Cyclops return from their visit to Muir Island. So, will anyone have any objections if I should invite them to stay until we find them a way home?" Storm asked. No one had any objections. That having been decided, they exited the kitchen.
While they had been inside the kitchen, Inuyasha had grown restless. Not even a minute before the door'd been shut, he'd begun pacing. Kagome had watched him silently at first, then she'd tried to ignore it, and get a little more comfortable on the couch. After having readjusted her position four times, she stood, took a step away from the couch, and then sat on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. Inuyasha was still pacing, muttering what was, no doubt, a string of colorful curses under his breath. Kagome finally decided to speak. "Inuyasha, why are you pacing? You're not going to get anywhere by walking back and forth like that."
Grumbling, Inuyasha stopped his pacing to face her. "While we're stuck here, in your time, Naraku could be gathering more jewel shards, or destroying the damn village. Or, knowing that bastard's mind, he may've even blown up the well by now. And that's assuming he isn't the one who put a spell on it to send us here in the first place!"
Nodding, Kagome said, "Ok, that's true, but Sango and Miroku would never let him destroy the well, you know that, Inuyasha."
"Not willingly, they wouldn't. But he could've sent a diversion, or just waited 'til they left for one reason or another. Besides, face it, do ya really think just Miroku and Sango, even with Kilala, would stand a chance against Naraku?"
"Well, I was kinda trying not to think about that, but they wouldn't be alone, you know." Kagome said, her face paling slightly at the thought of what might happen to her friends should they fight Naraku alone.
"Oh please, we both know Shippo and Kaede wouldn't last a minute in a fight like that. An' who the hell else d'you expect would help?"
"I...I don't know, Inuyasha. I just, I don't want to imagine what would happen if you were right..." Kagome said, letting the sentence trail off as she looked at the carpet beneath her and hugged her knees tighter, her eyes watering at the thought of losing them.
Smelling the salt in the air, Inuyasha realized that she was on the verge of crying, and he really didn't want her to cry because of something he'd said, especially when he didn't really believe it himself. Sighing, he walked over to stand next to Kagome, and then he dropped down and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure they're fine. Miroku's prob'ly the only one close to death, an' I can guarantee it's his own damn fault, too."
Kagome chuckled lightly, the tears vanishing before they'd had the chance to fall. "Thanks, Inuyasha. You're right, I shouldn't have gotten so emotional over a hypothetical scenario."
Just then, the door to the kitchen opened, and the remaining memebers of the X-Men stepped back into the living room. Before Storm even had the chance to open her mouth to make the offer, Gambit was talking. "Well, don' mind us none if we be interruptin' anyt'in', we can always jus' disappear again, an' leave you two alone." To make matters worse, he finished it off with a wink.
"Real smooth, Cajun. Real smooth." Jubilee sighed behind him. Rogue just shook her head and held up her hands in a surrendering fashion. Logan smirked at the possibilities of what could happen to the flirtatious Cajun.
Inuyasha's head jerked up, his ears twitched, and he instantly released Kagome as he stood. Kagome drew in a deep breath, hoping she wouldn't have to 'sit' him. Surprising to all, Inuyasha suddenly smirked, one fang showing, as he looked over at Kagome and said calmly, "I think Miroku's been reincarnted, an' we were fortunate enough to meet 'im."
Kagome reacted instantly by laughing, wiping her eyes as they watered from all of her laughter while she nodded in agreement, "I can see your point, Inuyasha." she said when she'd finished laughing.
"Gambit would like to know who dis 'Miroku' fella is, if he used t'be me."
"Miroku's a friend of ours from Inuyasha's time. He's a monk, but he has a...wandering hand." Kagome said, trying to put it nicely. She should've known better, as Inuyasha decided to help in the description.
"He's a damn lecher."
Rogue nodded, saying, "I do believe, if someone were dumb enough to make Remy a monk, he'd definitely fit that description."
"Aw chere, you wound me. You know I only have eyes for you." This caused most of the room's occupants to laugh as Rogue rolled her eyes. During the laughter, Kagome looked at Inuyasha and mouthed 'Sango', and he nodded with a grin.
After the laughter had died down, Ororo spoke up. "I know that the two of you, especially you, Inuyasha, are very out of place here in Salem Center. As we do not currently have a jet to take you home with, you are both welcome to stay here as long as you need. Is that all right with you?"
"It's fine with us, thank you very much, we appreciate it. Right, Inuyasha?"
"Keh."
"Cool, now that that's settled, can somebody please start dinner, I'm starving!" Jubilee stated, reminding everyone that it had been nearly four and a half hours since they'd had anything more than a drink. No one missed the look Inuyasha gave Kagome at Jubilee's mention of food.
Kagome sighed and asked with a smile, "Do you happen to have any ramen? It's Inuyasha's favorite."
"Are you kidding me? I eat it for lunch at least once a week! Which flavor do you like best?"
"He likes beef and chicken the most." Kagome responed at Inuyasha's confused look.
To Be Continued...(obviously)
A/N: I also want to apologize if anyone seems OOC; I tried to make it believable, but that doesn't always happen, y'know? Don't forget to review!