InuYasha Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ A Demon By Any Other Name... ❯ Bonding ( Chapter 3 )

AN: Ok, well I know no one's reading but it makes me feel better to update, just to see that I'm making progress. This chapter is dedicated to Orion, for the support and the challenge to make my writing meaningful, if only to myself- thanks and I'm waiting as patiently as I can for your next exciting installment. I hoping to at least break 5 reviews… Comon, 3 chapters, 5 reviews, I know that's not too much to ask. Even if you just write nonsense… I'd do it for you.

Anyways, hope you enjoy the next exciting chapter…

~~0.o~~byrd

Chapter 3:

The adjoined room was much more quiet than their boisterous neighbors. The room seemed divided; Goury and Zelgadis talked quietly to one another, occasionally glancing up to catch the frozen stare of Inuyasha, who sat with his claws extended, picking the leftover meat from his glistening fangs. Goury shivered slightly at the sight while Zel concentrated on looking fiercer than the ill-mannered hanyou. He was never one to be intimidated so easily, however, he had to admit, if only to himself, it was difficult not to be. He bored into the silver haired inu with his stony eyes, intent on unnerving his opponent. Their demon auras crackled and sparked as the storms around each met in the middle of the room. Poor Goury chuckled nervously, trying to break up the tension, but when it failed once again, he moved to the chair by the window and resumed polishing his sword.

Below both chambers, two drunken priests raised their sake glasses once more and poured the burning liquid down their throats. Slamming the glasses onto the bar, they laughed heartily, slapping eachother on the back several times to congratulate holding their tenth drink. Both set of eyes were glassed over, fuchsia became mostly red and bloodshot, and the striking chocolate eyes were buried under heavy lids. Xellos swatted at Miroku again, waking him out of the drunken stuper he had drifted into.

"Hey Mrrroku, don't cha go flllin asleep on me now!" Xellos gave one more good smack, then flailed a bit as Miroku suddenly threw his head up to stare at the mazoku.

"Xellos, my good man, I thnk wee need another round," he slurred, motioning to the barkeep for a refill. "So, you travel with 3 gorgeous women, a blond, a brunette, AND a redhead, who would spit fire if she could, and you mean to tell me you haven't loved ANY of them? Not even once?" The dark eyed monk began laughing hysterically, as if what he had said was so far fetched, no one would believe it. Xellos cleared his throat and shifted on his stool, as if suddenly uncomfortable in his drinking buddy's presence.

"Naaaaaw, those girls couldn't interest me less. I'm the fuckin' Trickster Preist frr cryin' out loud…" his voice trailed off as he stared at a vision Miroku could not see. "What abou you, hu? That Kaaagome's quite a fox, and Sango's a tigress herself, don't tell me you haven't tamed those two pussy cats. Meeeeeow!" The chuckles shook the priest's strong frame and soon both holy men were laughing out right, holding onto the railing of the bar to keep their stools from tipping.

Miroku held his head and sighed, all of their jaunting was making his head spin, and the discussion of women was making his heart- and other neglected regions- ache. He was in his prime, beautiful, young women found him charming and handsome. He could be knee deep in vassal's daughters at any time, yet he hadn't been with a woman for nearly two years. Come to think of it, it hadn't been long after he began traveling with Inuyasha and his little misfit gang; which at that time only consisted of the bitter- sweet hanyou, Kagome and the kitsune. For the several months he traveled with them, besides the obvious ogling of the luscious blue eyed girl; which had definitely started him off on the wrong foot with Inuyasha, he also frequented the geisha of the villages they stayed in. It wasn't until Sango joined the group that he began to stay in at night, not that she ever said anything about him leaving, it was just that the urge kind of… slipped away. He looked at the man sitting next to him, staring at the red flags above their heads. Why was it that these two handsome, intelligent men stayed in every night with women that made no commitment to them, and which they had no commitment to either?

Xellos seemed to read his fellow monk's thoughts, turning to him and shaking his head. "We should do something about that…" Miroku was speechless for a moment, trying to decide exactly what the mazoku was saying. He reached out an arm, eyes drawn up in a squinted smile, and giggled lightly as he pat Miroku's shoulder. "This was fun, human. Let's do this again. In the mean time, I have some planning to busy myself with."

"This from the `Trickster Priest', any clues?"

"I'm afraid, my dear monk, that that is a secret." With that, the mysterious demon disappeared, leaving Miroku alone with his unfinished cup of sake, and the unpaid tab.

~~0.o~~

The tension in the boys room had grown so thick, even the rusty, untransformed tetsuaiga could have cut through it, or the sword of light- with out the light. Goury had had enough of the heated glares and the stink eyes flying back between the inu and the golem; he put away his sword and grabbed his towel, sighing when neither of the other med even made eye contact with him on his way out of the room. He made it halfway down the hall when a click sounded in the quiet corridor. Inuyasha flinched, so much for sneaking out. The tall swordsman turned and smiled at the ornery hanyou, who grunted lightly in response.

"Comin' to the baths with me?"

"Just goin' to collect my drunk monk…" as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. `Gods, I've been around Kagome too long.' The blond chuckled and slapped his new friend on the back, startling Inuyasha with the contact and the power behind the simple gesture.

"You know, you're alright. You're tough, like Zelgadis, but I've seen the way you look at Kagome…"

"Leave her out of this," he growled. Goury held up his hands in defense, smirking to find that his assumption was correct.

"Well, I'll be in the hot spring, I'm sure your drunken friend could use a dip to help sober him up. Maybe I'll see you there." He smiled again and waved as he disappeared into the changing room. Inuyasha shook his head, trying to suppress the small grin that threatened to slip across his lips. He passed down the hallway and entered the bar, again shaking his head at the predictable antics of the monk.

Miroku sat, clutching the stool on which he sat, using incredible strength to keep from falling, and yelling across the room at a woman who was trying her best to ignore him. Inuyasha slid his hands under the intoxicated dark eyed man's arm pits and drug him unceremoniously out the door, tossing what he found in Miroku's change purse to the bar keep and bowing a slight apology to the lady in the corner before disappearing into the hallway yet again. He lifted the monk over his head and walked through the changing room, out to the spring and lightened his load with a big splash. A sputtering, soaking wet monk burst through the water moments later, weighed down by his heavy robes in the water, making him look like a drowned rat. Across from them, Goury and Zelgadis tried their best to hold in the snickers as daggers shot all around from the holy man's eyes, burning violet malice to anyone who dared remark on his current condition

~~0.o~~

On the other side of the wall, the girls also sat relaxing in the warm pools of the hot spring. Kagome had remembered this time to bring her new loofa from home and one by one, washed all of her friend's backs with a lightly scented lavender soap. She talked with each girl as they scooted closer to be next. Sango, of course was first. The two sat at the far end of the pool, chatting about the newest members of their shard hunting party. Kagome braided Sango's hair and coiled it around her head like a crown, clipping it twice with 2 small clips from her bathing bag.

"So Lina is a sorceress, and that's like a miko?" Sango leaned into the soft circular patterns her sister was tracing on her back.

"Well, yes and no. A sorceress can use magic like a miko; however, her magic is black, drawing on the power of evil gods and powers beyond our realm. A miko draws her power from this world and the many gods and goddesses of this dimension. I'm not sure how the two magic's will stand up to each other; I suppose we'll find out sometime in the near future."

"So, you're like Zelgadis?"

"Yea, he's the closest one to having a power like my own." These last two statements caught the attention of Amelia, who was relaxing near by.

"Pssst, Lina." Amelia leaned in closer to her friend. "Liiiiiiiina." "Lina!"

"What Amelia!?! I'm trying to relax!" The red head cracked one eye at the justice fighter, her eyes shinning with unshed tears and her lower lip quivering.

"Did you hear that? Miss Kagome likes Mr. Zelgadis. What if she falls in love with him? We… we could… loose him." She stared down into the grayish water, rich with minerals from the underground spring. Lina tried to quell her smirk at the younger girls use of the word "we". She knew what the white priestess meant was "I", "I might loose him."

"Why don't we go sit with them, maybe get to know them a little better before they swoop in and take Zel right out from under our noses." Amelia's face twisted into an angry scowl, now sure that Lina was mocking her. But it was too late, the sorceress was already wading through the water to join the two raven haired girls from the other group. Amelia huffed slightly and followed her friend, covering her frown with a wide smile.

"So, she couldn't help overhearing," she motioned back over her shoulder to the girl moving closer to the corner of the pool, "that you are interested in our Zelgadis. Let me tell you, he may be made of stone, but he has a heart of gold, right Amelia?" The mentioned girl stumbled and fell face first into the water at the implications Lina was bringing up. Lina threw her head back and laughed a free and almost eerie laugh that made both Kagome and Sango a little uncomfortable.

"I hate to interrupt, however Kagome never implied that she liked Zelgadis the way you hope and Amelia worries she may have. She simply said that his magic was most like her own of our group." A disembodied voice rang out in the pool, followed by a stream of bubbles and a large splash a few feet away. A huge head broke from the darkness of the water, rising up on a long and powerful neck, covered in armored scales, disturbing the water all around and sending a light spray into the chilly night air.

"Damnit Filia! I told you to quit doing that, you were this close to eating a fire ball!" Lina was enraged, but visibly calmed as soon as she recognized the doe- eyed dragon that emerged from the bottom of the hot spring. Sango allowed Kagome to slowly climb out of her arms, her cheeks rosy for seeking safety in her sister's arms, and a nervous chuckle directed at the blonde reptile slowly returning to her human form.

"Sorry, it just feels good to allow my body to relax in its true form; my muscles get so tight being in this tiny body." She scratched the back of her head and giggled at the heated glares she was receiving all around. "What I said is true though, Kagome never indicated she wished to steal Zelgadis, as I figure, she has an affinity for hanyous." At this, the miko flushed almost purple as she avoided all eye contact, choosing instead to glance up at the stars.

"You know, we've been traveling for so long and our lives just seem to get more complicated every day. I'm glad you all have joined with us, at least for a while, it's a very nice distraction- plus now Inuyasha can't object to staying at an inn and I'll get to sleep in a bed more often." She looked around the gathered women and smiled. "I owe you all big time." They all had a good laugh, knowing exactly how she felt. She moved closer to Lina, who was again resting her head against a rock on the bank, eyes closed in a light meditation. "Lina, would you like me to wash your back?" The red head lifted her head, a look of confusion creeping onto her face.

"You want to wash my back?"

"Well, I know how much better I feel after I know I've gotten all the grit and grime off from traveling, I just assume it must be the same for most girls. Never mind, I'm sorry for asking." Lina felt instantly guilty as the sweet blue eyed girl moved away from her. `This must be why my reputation always precedes me,' she thought. She reached out and caught the miko by the wrist.

"No, wait. I'm sorry, it's just that… it's been a while since anyone's offered to do anything for me, I mean without wanting something in return." Her mind instantly drifted to a heated moment she had spent with the mazoku priest and a blush spread over her cheeks.

"Well, Sango and I always try and do things for each other like this, `cause gods know we'd be caked in mud before the guys ever offered." There was a far off splash and a coughing sound that Kagome shrugged off, meeting Lina's crimson eyes. "What do you say? Some female bonding would make these next few weeks of traveling together much nicer…"

"You don't have to ask me twice," came a bubbly voice to Kagome's right as Amelia swam up beside them.

"I don't recall her asking you once," was Lina's hot reply as she spun, giving the miko her back and turning to look back over her shoulder at the surprised woman, offering her a wink. As the blood red eye of the sorceress met with the cool, ocean blue of the miko, an understanding was reached, no words needed. They were all part of the same group now; they would all look out for and take care of one another as true friends would. They spent the rest of the evening in the hot spring, each taking a turn to have their backs scrubbed, Filia offering to do Kagome's once she had finished. Shippou and Kirara had come bounding into the water with them shortly after Kagome had started on Lina. Amelia took it upon herself to shampoo and rinse the adorable little kit while Sango showed her how to use the supplies in Kagome's futuristic bag, washing the fire cat along with her new friend. By the time they all got back to the rooms, everyone was exhausted from all the talking, laughing, and occasional water fight that had erupted during their bonding. Kagome and Sango bid the rest of the girls good night, entering the last room in the hallway.

The girls talked in hushed whispers while Kagome struggled to find her lighter in her bag. Finally finding it, she withdrew it and lit the closest candle she could find.

"Oy, wench, put out that light and come to bed. We leave early in the morning." Both girls let out a frightened `eep', as Kagome held the single candle out into the room. Inuyasha was laying on his back on the bed closest to the window, one foot propped up on the frame and the other crossed on top of it. Miroku was fast asleep on the other bed, snuggled in deeply with his face hidden in the pillow.

"Whoa, what happened to him?" Sango looked slightly concerned, having never witnessed the monk to sleep so heavily or bury himself in the blankets as he was now. She wasn't sure if the end of the world would wake him up this time.

"Feh, he went glass for glass with the mazoku in the bar, stupid holy men, I'll bet that beady eyed bastard's in the same shape."

"Inuyasha," Kagome scolded, "I know that you don't particularly like him but there's no need…"

"Alright, alright, sorry, I meant Xellos. I'll bet Xellos is in the same shape." Both the taijiya and the miko were speechless. Kagome's mouth hung open and tiny sparkling tears flooded her eyes. Sango put a hand on her shoulder, cautioning her; it may have been a trick…

"Inu…yasha, did you just… apologize to me?"

"Sheesh, don't make such a big deal out of it. Besides, wasn't it you that stormed out of camp today because you said I never admit when I'm wrong- not that I'm admitting he's NOT a beady eyed bastard…" The tears drained from the crystal blue eyes and a fire was ignited by his words. "I just wanted to get you to shut up and come to bed." He was digging his own grave and Sango immediately took two steps back.

"So, Inuyasha, you want me to `come to bed' right there, beside you, ne? Just hop on in and get all snuggly under the covers with you because you appologised?" Her words were soft and feminine, but held enough venom to kill a youkai. Inuyasha took the bait, cracking half of a smile and patting the sheets beside him, even being so bold as to hold up the warm blanket so she could slide in. Kagome took a deep breath and counted to ten, one eye twitching.

"First of all, I left this morning because you were being a Jerk! And it's true, you never apologize or admit when you're wrong- unless you want something, which makes it meaningless. I told you that I was going to go to the next town and get a room BY MYSELF, but I think I will let Sango stay. So, dog boy, take your drunken friend and GET OUT OF OUR ROOM!" Her words echoed off the walls, her face red from yelling and the tears beginning to trickle back in to the soft lids. How could he be so self consumed all the time, did he ever even consider her feelings before he said something? They'd been together 2 years, was she that big of a mystery?

"Keep your voice down, bitch, you're gonna wake the whole Inn! And besides, I'm not leaving."

"GE(rrrrrrrrrrrt uuuuuuuuurt)!" Her sentence was interrupted by a hand coming over her mouth from behind. She jumped slightly, eyes widening, until she smelt the familiar aroma of chamomile and inscents; she visibly calmed. The hand released her and a nervous chuckle sounded in the room. Kagome spun to see Xellos, his hands up in the air and the edge of Sango's kitana pressed to his neck. The girls made eye contact and at her sister's nod, the taijiya retracted her blade and sheathed her sword. The priest smiled at her, walking up beside her and placing an arm across her shoulders.

"I believe the ladies asked you to leave, hanyou." Inuyasha didn't move from his position beside the bed, as he had gotten up when he saw the hand come around his miko's face.

"Beat it mazoku, don't you have a hangover to prepare for?"

"Ah, yes, the monk was a worthy opponent, but my monster side can handle worse than a few flasks of sake. Besides, who would escort you back into the other room? I know Zelgadis just hates midnight visitors. You could open up a can of worms…" He looked down at Kagome to see her repressing a giggle. He pulled her closer for a moment and chuckled lightly as well. That broke her seal; Kagome let out a tinkling laugh that rang out like chiming bells. Sango had never been able to resist that laugh, it had reminded her of her brother's carefree laugh, and she joined in as well. The three giggled for the better part of five minutes, slowing down, then picking back up until they all ran dry. Inuyasha's temperature rose with every second that passed. He watched the monster pull on Kagome's sleeve, rub her shoulder, and he even rested his head on hers as the giggles died down the final time. He could barely see through the red that clouded his vision and he knew he had to leave, and quickly, before he attacked the mazoku and ensured his own doom. He threw open the window behind him, hearing the wood crack with the force he exerted, and turned to the laughing threesome.

"I'll be here a daybreak, be ready. And you can deal with the monk!" With that, he disappeared into the darkness. Kagome had seen the red in his eyes and had heard the window pane break- surprised that the glass didn't shatter as well. She knew he'd be in a bad mood now for days, but that thought was lessened by an embrace from behind. Two gloved hands slid around her stomach and a velvety voice played across the sensitive flesh of her neck.

"Don't worry, he's as harmless as a puppy dog. He just needs a little training." With that, the priest disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. The girls looked at each other and shrugged, climbing into either side of the plush bed by the window.

~~0.o~~