Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wishing Well ❯ This can't bode well ( Chapter 30 )

Wishing Well

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Dragon Ball Z, buy I have earned enough money to finally by my very own pair of pants. Don't sue me.

Disclaimer: I work and study so I really don't have time to write. Don't hurt me.

Legend: "…" = speech

'…' = thought (usually)

~~~ = beginning/ending of flashback

This Sesshoumaru was not pleased.

He had spent years, decades, in the growth of his lands, moving ever eastward in his expansion. The Wolf Kingdoms were sizeable tracts of what could be called prime real estate, and this Sesshoumaru had sent trusted agents to conquer those pristine hunting grounds long ago…agents who would have to produce a magnificent reason why Tokujin should not gorge its mad blade upon their souls to punish them for this blatant failure. Especially when such agents were blood relations. Such close relations that they could be considered…

"Watashi no shounin," Sesshoumaru declared coldly as two shadowy figures strode into the moonless gloom of the forest glade chosen for this confrontation. Not that this Sesshoumaru needed light to identify the beings walking towards. Oh no, these beings he knew with every fiber of his being. His burning gold eyes were the only clue that he was aware of their presence as the silhouettes stopped next to him, and then turned to kneel before the inutaiyoukai. The dark, reflective eyes of the beings winked out as they turned their heads to the sky and bared their vulnerable necks in complete submission to the one they called…

"Otou-sama."

Sesshoumaru coolly laid Tokujin's blade along their throats, his profile lean and strong as he too raised his head to stare into the dark, starless sky. He ground his teeth very slightly as he spoke.

"Would one of my sons like to explain to me, before they die, why they have failed?"

Sesshoumaru turned his molten gold glare to scald his pups as he named them.

"Haggaku… Ginta…"

Inuyasha was not pleased.

After Kagome and Bulma had left, and the consumption of food had gone from gobbling to nibbling, the picnic had wound down as the sun began to set. Despite the ladies' eagerness to display their skills, it was decided to hold the impromptu tourney another day. Actually, any day after Bulma returned with the results on the rabies tests. Gohan, Miroku, and Krillin helping Sango, Videl, and Chi Chi tidy up the area. Eighteen had flown back to Chi Chi's house with a sleeping Marron in her arms, saying that she would be back after tucking the chibi in for her nap. Piccolo had just disappeared, muttering to himself about business to take care of. Some distance away, the other males and children basked in the sun until Shippou and Trunks started bickering about whose mother was better than the other's.

Again.

"My mom is smarter than yours any day!" Trunks yelled furiously, nose-to-nose with the kit youkai.

"Oh yeah? Well I bet your kaa-san can't shoot straight through a youkai and make it disappear!" Shippou countered heatedly, his tail and hair bristling about him.

Goten and Goku sat under a shady tree, watching nervously as tempers flared, knowing that if two certain individuals joined the bickering, a free-for-all would ensue. While the Son men normally enjoyed a vigorous brawl before and after a good meal, the fighting wouldn't be fun with Goku being forced to pull Inuyasha and Vegeta apart…again. As it was, the two ouji sat down in the sun, facing each other in a silent duel of wits…and good ol' fashioned Don't-Blink-First.

In reality, Vegeta was closely regarding Inuyasha's features. The long white hair, with the two dog ears prominently displayed, had struck some long-buried memory in Vegeta's head, but it was the impassive face in front of him that now made the Saiyan no Ouji ponder an impossibility from his long hidden, shadowy youth.

Inuyasha was not pleased because he was likewise perplexed. He had felt a small stirring deep in the abyss of memories that he had long ago forgotten, all from the sight of Gohan's tail, and now, as he regarded Vegeta's impassive face, the memories were slowly awakening in his head. He was locked in a silent mental battle to resurrect the dusty old rememberances, and he loathed mental battles in any form.

Both males had their thoughts broken as the squabble turned into a mini wrestling match, with Trunks trying valiantly to pin Shippou, while the kit growled, yipped, and scratched. Both children tumbled on the ground, now one at the bottom, now the other, as the squabble began to turn into a real fight, with Trunks landing solid punches in Shippou's side and the kit searing Trunks' exposed skin with kitsune-bi.

Before any of the adults could break up the tussle, Goten stomped over to both of them, pulled Trunks off of Shippou...

...And punched both of them in the nose.

"You're both wrong!" he yelled in an exasperated voice at the two ill-tempered brats.

"Nan da?" Trunks grumbled as he turned his peevish mood on Goten. Shippou was too busy trying to look down his snout to see if it was as flat as it felt.

"Watashi no kaasan wa sekaiichi desu! Son Chi Chi is #1!" the demi-Saiyan proudly proclaimed, posing in a manner fit to rival the Great Saiyaman.

Large sweatdrops broke out on the adultsa heads, and Goku soon adopted his trademark grin, while Inuyasha and Vegeta sat with their faces twitching.

Silence reigned for quite sometime. High above, a lone eagle screeched once.

"BAKA!"

Shippou and Trunks launched themselves onto Goten simultaneously. Inuyasha, Vegeta, and Goku blinked rapidly as fur and fists began to fly.

"Oi, pansy ass, get your gaki off Shippou!" Inuyasha growled bitterly at Vegeta, his teeth grinding slightly as he made sure to get into the other ouji's face.

"Well he's right, my woman is better than yours anyday," Vegeta ground out, his perma-frown deepening a few notches.

"Look you mangy badly-bred orangutan," Inuyasha began, as Goku pointedly stepped in between the two princes. Again.

"Now be reasonable you two…" Goku began only to be cut short by the other two warriors.

"Oh shut it, you know your wife isn't better than mine!" Inuyasha and Vegeta roared at the same time, never taking their eyes off of each other.

Whoever told them to say that truly did not have the word peace in mind. Soon, there were two brawls raging, that quickly merged into one free-for-all. Fur, fists, and feet were flying all over the place by the time the others returned, and only one person dared to enter the fray.

CLANG! "Kagome-kaasan!"

CLANG! "G'DAMMIT! Watch where you're swinging!"

CLANG! "Honey, no, not…"

"Oh shit..." CLANG!

"Mama!!" CLANG!

"Goten, stop her!" CLANG!

Silence reigned for quite sometime. High above, a lone eagle screeched once.

Kouga was not pleased.

As a rule, wolves and other canines did not like to be surprised, and Kami had just dropped a surprise the size of Mount Fuji on him; an unpleasant surprise at that. Worst of all, Kami knew what reaction to expect, judging from the nervous, wary stance he'd taken as Kouga felt the frown on his face come down low enough to obscure his canine eyesight. As it was, the deceased youkai had to chew his tongue numerous times before he could form any words that could voice his thoughts.

"Kami-sama, may I be allowed to summarize all that you have just told me?"

Kami nodded slowly, unsure of where this reiteration would lead.

Kouga took a deep breath to steady himself, then began.

"Kikyou and Kagura were once one person…one entity so to speak. You started training this entity, and taught it to suppress and ignore her bad feelings. Ultimately, she forced them out altogether, leaving the miko entity, Kikyou. The bad side, abandoned and unacknowledged, was found by Naraku, who forced it into a body, creating the youkai entity, Kagura. The same filth-sucking, cockblowing, pissant, Naraku spawn that, incidently, sent my entire tribe into the afterlife ahead of me.

Now that Naraku is dead, the miko entity and the youkai entity have also ceased living. However, for reasons that I'm sure are holier than me, you've decided to cram Kikyou and Kagura back into their original union, and I have to raise this, for lack of a better word, re-entity, in order to determine my place in the afterlife. Does this sum it up?"

Kami pondered the wolf's words, and deemed them to be accurate. He always knew that Kouga's mind was sharp, just like Inuyasha's, but both hardheaded males had an aversion to using their brilliant minds. At any rate, it seemed that Kouga fully grasped the situation.

"You are perfectly correct on all counts," the former world protector declared, his eyes closed and a small smile of paternal-like pride on his face. That could be the reason why he never predicted the wolf youkai's next move. At least, it's the reason he gave Piccolo hours later.

Kouga saw the nod, and his mind blanked red in rage. His body swelled into enormity as fur covered his elongating face. His growl ripped into a roar as his mouth filled with dagger-like fangs. His eyes were covered by a red haze, and for some time, he knew no more.

When he came back to himself, he was lying naked in a stinking pool of blood and mud and some unidentifiable mass of flesh and fur. His long black hair lay in lank greasy strings on his cheeks and back. On his narrow, athletic hips, two sets of violent blue stripes slowly faded to a dull grey color. His mouth stank of rotting meat, and his tawny skin was singed in multiple places.

To put it mildly, he looked like a wreck.

As sore muscles unknit themselves, he scanned the surroundings with blurry eyes. His vision was annoyingly hazy, but the green blur near the shrine was arresting to say the least.

It was even more arresting when a lightning bolt jumped from it into his face.

Kouga swore proficiently as he narrowly avoided the deadly arc of electricity, and noticed two points of interest at the same time.

Firstly, the green figure was shaping itself into an immense, shining, wrathful image of Kami, easily twice the height of his youkai stance, much younger and less forgiving in stance and nature.

Secondly, the lightning bolt had actually been headed for his genitals

Kouga noted with annoyance that death still couldn't stop ingrained instincts, such as cupping oneself when threatened in particular places. In that highly embarrassing position, Kami began to berate him in the true, holier-than-thou manner that made all creatures on earth quake.

"You imbecile! You dolt! You ill-bred, unlearned, milksoppish, mothercoddling whelp! How dare you?! Do you truly believe yourself so immune to the fates that you can take your wrath out on Kami! Be glad I love you so much that I won't send your wormy soul to the depths of hell now, to dwell lower than even Naraku for such insubordinace!"

Suitably chagrined, Kouga bent low, his head to the ruptured ground, then, in frank desperation, rolled onto his back, baring all his vital points in submission. His speech descended to the yelps and whines of a newly born wolf cub, and he was nigh insensible.

But he was in luck. Kami was, and still is, a merciful protector. Also, his energy source, Piccolo, was being drained too quickly with the display of power needed to stop Kouga's raving and put the wolf in his place. Slowly, ever slowly, the former protector of Earth reduced his size and appearance to normal, then hobbled over to Kouga. He used his staff to bid the wolf to rise, which the youkai did immediately, but only to his knees.

"I will forgive. But know this well: the scales are not in your favor."

Kouga, trembling, neither said nor did anything. The fear of dwelling on a level of hell lower than Naraku was too strong upon him.

Kami sighed quietly. He loved all the beings on Earth and hated to use such tactics, but when souls and universes needed saving, harsh measures needed to be taken. Ignoring the mud, stench, and general condition that Kouga was kneeling in, Kami stroked his hair benevolently, and smiled as he spoke.

"I trust you, Kouga, Ookami no Ouji, Wind-runner. You have battled long and you are strong, so I trust you to conquer this deed, your worst battle to date."

Kouga was close to tears. Kami's touch conveyed all the painful memories of his past, as well as the mistake he'd just made, and the punishment Kami had to mete out to stop Kouga from destroying all in his path. He marvelled at the strength that Kami possessed to increase his body size to rapidly, and deal out lightning with such deadly accuracy. Everything that had died had been killed by Kouga's jaws and paws as he marauded around the area, but never once did he touch Kami, and often Kami's mere spirit repelled his insane attacks. And yet this old, powerful creature, who knew the sins of his past, still believed in him. It touched the wolf profoundly, and renewed his spirits.

Kami gently laid a kiss on Kouga's soiled head as he stepped back.

"I must return, but I will try to guide you as often as I can. In times of need, do not fear to call on me."

So saying, Kami began to fade away, still smiling gently at the contrite figure of the wolf prince. Kouga stayed in the same kneeling position until Kami was no longer visible, and his presence had disappeared from the shrine.

With tears in his eyes, Kouga stood up, shoulders back, a prince once more. Determination lit his eyes as he strode back to his challenge, confident once more. Neither Kagura nor Kikyou had ever bested him before. He had trounced Nii and Souran when he won the leadership of the clan. He'd lived through the battle with Naraku. He would not lose now.

Please note:

Rabies cannot be identified by a blood test in real life. It usually requires an examination of the infected brain after death to give a conclusive vote of the presence of rabies. For the sake of this story, I've thrown all that science out the window, so to speak.

"Watashi no kaasan wa sekaiichi desu!" - hopefully it translates to "My mother is number one in the world!" If not, I paid too much for my Japanese books OT_TO

Oh, and my laptop hard drive died on me, thereby causing me to lose multiple chapters, so expect to see many changes. O~_~O'

And sorry for the formatting issues, I just can't get it back to the original style O~_~O'