InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Gift of Protection ❯ The Tanner ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of  their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own and I make no money from this.

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Originally posted to IB4Y2.0 on June 18, 2012 for W-Prompt #19 Temptation. Won 1st place.

Title: The Tanner
Author: ananova
Rating: T
Genre: Friendship
Universe: Canon
Word Count: 1546
Summary: Inuyasha meets the tanner and must convince him to create a garment out of the fire-rats. Hisashi means long-lived. Follows Where There's Smoke and The Hunt.

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Inuyasha stared as his eyes adjusted to the small amount of light present in the cave. Cavern, really. It was much too large to be called a simple cave. Every available space was covered with hides of all types, including one that looked suspiciously like Sesshomaru's mokomoko. He shuddered slightly at the thought.

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” A gravelly voice demanded and Inuyasha turned to see an old youkai staring suspiciously at him. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the youkai, who reminded him of Totosai with his large, bulging eyes and wrinkly face, spoke again. “That's one of my creations!” he shouted, pointing at Inuyasha's haori. The large eyes narrowed. “Never seen you before, so you must have stolen it!”

Inuyasha growled at the implication. “I ain't no thief! This belonged to my old man!”

The old youkai paused, giving him a contemplating look. “Your father's you say? Hmm. You wouldn't happen to be Inuyasha?”

“So what if I am?”

The tanner laughed, a booming sound that shook his whole frame. “Should have known. You have the look of the Inu no Taisho about you. What can old Hisashi do for you?”

'Yep, just like Totosai.' His gray beard being longer and more wild looking the only difference. Inuyasha relaxed slightly as it became apparent that he wouldn't have to fight, at least not yet. After seeing Totosai in action he knew not to underestimate the man before him simply because he was old. After all, the older ones are usually more dangerous because of what they've lived through. He held up the fire-rats. “I need you to make me something out of their fur.”

Hisashi blinked at the carcasses before frowning. “You already have a haori made of them. One of my finest works if I say so myself. What do you need another for?”

“What does it matter what I need it for? I just do.”

“No.”

“What?” It was Inuyasha's turn to frown.

“Why should I make you anything if you won't even tell me what you need it for?” Hisashi turned back to the hide he had been working on when Inuyasha entered. “I trust you can see yourself out?”

Inuyasha blinked at the obvious dismissal. He resisted the temptation to bludgeon the old youkai with the sheathed Tessaiga. Barely.

Hisashi turned. “You're still here?”

Inuyasha grit his teeth. 'For Kagome,' he told himself. “It's not for me. It's for...” he trailed off, unsure of how to describe Kagome. “For a friend,” he settled on.

Hisashi stepped right up to the hanyou, staring unblinkingly into his eyes. “And does this friend have a name?”

“Kagome,” Inuyasha said without thinking. He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. “Her name is Kagome.”

“Kagome, eh?” Hisashi scratched at his chin. “Must be pretty special.” He whirled around, digging through the various hides. “Sure she wouldn't rather have something like this?”

Inuyasha stared. It was the most amazing set of robes he had ever seen. His eyes were drawn to them. Dark midnight blue, with a pattern of stars that seemed to sparkle as they caught the firelight. His hand rose to touch it as he imagined Kagome wearing it, then he snatched it back, shaking his head to rid himself of the temptation. “N-no, she needs fire-rat clothing. I've got to protect her. Especially from fire,” he added as he recalled the discussion that led to this quest. “Besides, I could never afford those,” he mumbled the last.

“And I wouldn't have given them to you even if you could,” Hisashi chuckled, returning the robes to their hiding place. “It was a test to see if you could resist temptation. Those robes are made of spider silk, utterly beautiful but worthless when it comes to protection. And my business is protection,” he stated seriously.

“What do you mean?” Inuyasha frowned, not quite understanding.

“I am a tanner yes, but,” he gestured at the various hides, “as you can see most of my work is thick and strong. Very good for protection. My brother focuses on weapons while I create armor.”

Inuyasha's eyes bugged. “Totosai's your brother?!” Well, that certainly explained the resemblance, hopefully this guy would have a better memory.

“Totosai? Who's that? And who are you?” Hisashi laughed as Inuyasha smacked his hand against his forehead. “Just messing with you.”

Inuyasha glared at him. “So why the test?”

“Like I said, I make armor. I needed to know if your need was serious. That spider silk may look nice but it is utterly worthless at stopping even the most minor damage. But it possesses a quality that compels people to want clothing made from it. Only someone who truly has need of protection can fight off the compulsion, and only one who has fought off the compulsion will get one of my pieces. So, let me see these fire-rats.”

Inuyasha handed them over.

“Hmm. Not bad. You did a good job of catching the ones with the right kind of hide. These are good for all sorts of protection, but especially fire, which you indicated was important.” Hisashi clapped his hands. “Okay, I'll do it!”

Inuyasha sighed in relief.

“But!” The old youkai held up a finger. “Before I turn it over to you I want to meet this Kagome, that is my condition.”

Inuyasha grumbled a bit. “Fine. How long?” he gestured at the carcasses.

“Hmm, well I have to skin them, then prepare the fur,” Hisashi mumbled to himself. “Probably be a week.”

Inuyasha slumped slightly. He'd been hoping it would be done sooner. “Alright, I'll be back in a week with Kagome.”

“Not so fast, there is one more thing,” Hisashi said as Inuyasha turned to leave. He peered once more into the hanyou's face. “I assume this Kagome is human?”

Inuyasha bristled. “So what if she is?”

Hisashi waved him off. “Nothing against that, but you know the fire-rat won't be as effective for her because she has no youki.”

Inuyasha frowned. “What are you talking about? She's never had a problem when she's worn my haori.”

Hisashi blinked at that before cackling. “Well, that answers that question,” he waved off Inuyasha's confused look. “No, that's because even though she is wearing it, the haori is still bonded to your youki.”

Inuyasha began to get angry. “Then you're saying this was all a waste of time?!”

“No, no. I was going to ask how important she was to you, if you would be willing to make a sacrifice for her protection-”

“Anything!” Inuyasha cut him. “I'd give anything to keep her safe.”

Hisashi pulled a set of shears out from somewhere. “Then all I need is some of your hair, maybe some blood, and a piece of your haori. Makes it much easier now, knowing that she has already been protected by it.”

Inuyasha perked right up until he heard the last part. 'My haori?' He fingered the garment. It had belonged to his father and was one of the few things he owned. Could he really allow a piece of it to be cut away? 'For Kagome, I can,' he thought, a determined look crossing his face. “Is that all? How much do you need?” He ripped a handful of hair out and held the claws of his right hand over his other arm, prepared to slice it open.

“Only a few drops!” Hisashi said before the hanyou caused himself serious injury.

Inuyasha simply nodded and used a single claw to scratch himself. Hisashi came forward and collected the blood into a small bowl. He retrieved the shears once more and Inuyasha pulled his haori free of his hakama, holding the bottom out. Hisashi paused, shears at the ready over the material. “I'm surprised at how easy-going you are about this. Most wouldn't want to part with part of their own protection for that of another.”

“Feh! I don't care about my own protection. Hell, I tried to give my haori to Kagome but she wouldn't take it. Said she didn't want to leave me without my protection when she's the one who really needs it. Stubborn wench,” he mumbled the last bit.

Hisashi laughed and proceeded to cut a small length of fabric from the bottom of the haori. “I look forward to meeting this girl, she certainly sounds interesting.”

“Yeah, she is,” Inuyasha said softly, a hint of a smile on his face. Thinking about the girl in question, the temptation, the need to see her, grew. “I'll be back in a week.” With that, he turned and exited the cave, racing back to the girl he had left behind.

“Ah, young love,” Hisashi chuckled before turning to the fire-rats. His nose wrinkled. “First things first, these need to be skinned and washed.” He shook his head, didn't the boy know the first thing about tanning hides?