InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dogs in Tokyo ❯ Chapter 20 ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter 20

Inuyasha was still brushing brick dust out of his hair when he reluctantly gathered himself up to help Kagome move the unconscious Houjou. His head hurt, he had a major twinge in one ankle and all Kagome could find to care about was this human bag of wussiness?

"Maybe he would do better sitting up." Kagome whispered in concern. Outside of a shallow wound on the inside of his left wrist, which bled in a slow drip and had left the hand covered in blood, the boy appeared uninjured. She briskly whipped out a plastic ampoule of saline and squirted the contents over the wound to clean it before wrapping the wrist in a couple passes of dressing tape. As time had passed in the Sengoku Jidai Kagome had refined her collection of first aid supplies and now never went without a pocketful of the absolute basics. There were a couple of red threads tangled in the fingers of the hand but no trace of whatever had been attached to them.

She frowned in puzzlement as she snipped the tape and pressed briefly to secure it in place. Why would Houjou be wandering around carrying sacred Tibetan holy threads in the first place? She could recognize those by their aura at least and had seen the flash of light before Inuyasha had touched him. "Inuyasha, was that an anti-daemon spell you ran into?"

Inuyasha sighed. She was always getting sidetracked like that. He couldn't claim it was wrong; too many of their battles had been decided on this support of the weak that she insisted on. But couldn't she just keep to the point for once? No helping out gormless losers? 'Surely,' Inuyasha thought, 'Not too much to ask from one's life's mate?"

"Kagome," he said. "Who the fuck cares? Whatever it was didn't really hurt me. But we have to leave" He wanted to stop there but some devil of concern kept him on. "What is this with this guy that he matters to you? He's alive," he offered.

Kagome lifted her hand and he automatically helped her to a standing position from where she knelt at Houjou's side. "Inuyasha, I just can't, simply cannot, ignore pain that I can alleviate. I know this sounds stupid to you; but Houjou was in my school and I can't forget the day he was knocked cold by falling off the swings."

"So, that's what happened," he said.

"Yes.." then she paused, catching on to his meaning and what she had just said. She snapped her head around to look him in the eye. . "No! You stinker! Now be nice, I didn't mean that at all!" She got up and turned her back on him as she walked away to Jaken's side. "Even if he couldn't talk straight for a week."

She blushed and he caught the shadow of a smile, which caused him to smirk. But, under his hands, Inuyasha felt the human boy stir.

"Kagome?" Houjou murmured. Inuyasha huffed softly and shifted Houjou's torso into a more comfortable position against the alley wall. Houjou opened his eyes. "You evil daemon," he mumbled, "what did you do to my Kagome?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up behind his untamed bangs and he shoved sharply at Houjou's shoulders to get his attention. "Asshole, that's my wife you're talking about."

He hissed.

"Kagome shouldn't be near anything like you." Houjou persisted, in a whisper that was gaining some heat. "You are ruining her life."

Inuyasha didn't reply but dropped the supporting grip he had on the boy's shoulders suddenly. There was a distinct thump and Houjou gave a grunt as his head bounced off the wall and dropped forward.

"Is he awake?" inquired Kagome, having heard something.

Inuyasha flicked his eyes to her where she stood, upright and concerned and returned his gaze to the 'nice' boy she maybe liked. Maybe he had stolen her life and Houjou was her proper mate. Damn them all. "Out like a light." He stated and moved to sweep her and Jaken along "Let's go and get that stick."

Under Jaken's staccato directions they headed for an area that he declared to be some three blocks away in the business district for that chome to a large concrete building that had at one time been painted a fierce red but now had faded to a muddy pink. Hung Lou Meng's Traditional Hand Laundry screamed the name in bold neon kanji over the shop front doors opening onto the street.

Inuyasha remained in the shadows for a moment as he shifted to a somewhat more human aspect, replacing the white hair and dogs ears with a less attention-getting configuration.

Jaken tugged at Inuyasha's pant leg and cleared his throat. The hanyou glanced down and realized that the pint-size toad daemon was asking for something. "What?"

The toad daemon cleared his throat again and waved a hand at his own form suggestively. "Perhaps the favor of a small concealment spell?"

Inuyasha stared at him for a moment before exchanging glances with Kagome. "Umm, Jaken?" She said. "What makes you think Inuyasha does magic?"

Jaken stared at the human girl in patent offense. "I just watched him do it, Girl. And very smoothly too, I might add. Now about that concealment spell," he turned back to Inuyasha to encounter a thunderous frown.

"I don't do magic tricks." was the snarled response. "I'll just tuck you under my arm and nobody will notice," he said, suiting the action to the word.

With a protesting squawk, Jaken found himself tucked against a hard chest and spent the next several minutes struggling to breathe against the overly firm pressure being applied to his froggy ribs by the restraining arm.

Kagome and Inuyasha circled around the front of the building and down the narrow drive that led to the delivery bays out back. The streetlights were just beginning to come on and a floodlight illuminated the rear of a brightly painted laundry service van that was drawn up to the loading dock. Other vans could be picked out in the dimness of the parking lot. The loading dock itself was deserted for the moment and they cautiously ascended the stairs.

Inuyasha took a deep sniff and nearly gagged on the rich mixture of soap, machine grease, dust, rot and the sharp tang of maggots. He sent an aggrieved look at the large sacks sitting on a pallet jack and into the body of the van where more were waiting. Apparently, a lot of the laundry arrived in a pretty foul state. Even Kagome was holding her nose as she edged past.

"Yeach, hospital linens." Wheezed Jaken from his crushed position. "Sure, it's a hand laundry." His comments ended with a grunt as Inuyasha gave an admonitory squeeze of his elbow. There was scarcely the need for any silence however, as there was a steady rumble of running machinery that covered any noise they may have made.

The concrete floor of the entry way led to a wide opening curtained in clear plastic strips hanging from the ceiling. There was no movement visible and Inuyasha finally let Jaken down to the floor before easing through the strips and into the darker area beyond.

They were approaching a structure that had glass windows all around it and the blinking screens of a couple of computer monitors visible inside. The door to the room stood wide open and they could see the shattered fragments of a coffee mug next to a tipped-over desk chair.

Kagome pursed her lips and regarded the signs of a hurried exit with a jaundiced eye. "I can tell Ryosei's been here, she seems to specialize in disrupting business."

"That's not all she's going to disrupt if we don't get the Staff of Heads back from her, you foolish girl."

Inuyasha was just turning to give a snarl at Jaken when he was interrupted by a rising scream. They immediately piled off in that direction and quickly came to a large open space surrounded by huge washing machines. There were cloth-sided bins on wheels scattered around the area and a group of cowering men and women dressed in gray coveralls backed into a corner formed by a couple of particularly businesslike silver cylinders covered in dials and switches.

Ryosei stood with her back to the new arrivals, holding up the Staff of Heads in one hand and moving it much like a kite flyer does when winding up string. One of the women from the group, middle-aged and thin, with a face currently twisted in terror, appeared to be in the process of being drawn step by unwilling step closer to the girl.

Kagome could just make out a tenuous thread of power extending from the neck of the staff to that of the woman. She was leaning forward in concentration when the female head on the staff appeared to catch sight of them and dropped it's mouth open to emit a shrill call.

Inuyasha cursed and started forward, simultaneously drawing Tetsusaiga and dropping his human aspect.

Ryosei spared them a single startled glace over her shoulder before leaping forward and grabbing the woman by the collar and bringing the staff firmly against her neck. Immediately the air behind her quivered with disturbance and gate opened up on a void of blackness in which something stirred.

Inuyasha hesitated for just an instant as a huge clawed foot stepped out of the blackness followed by a scaly green leg. He could hear the fussing of Jaken as the little toad daemon moved from his side, and sense a stir of power from Kagome. He held his stance, watching the slow movement in the portal while peripherally noting that Kagome was doing something that caused static electricity all along his forearms.

With a sudden rush the creature from the portal came through. There was a collective scream from the group of hostages and even a quiet gasp from Kagome at his side. The being that revealed itself as it leaped from the portal measured a good three meters tall from the tips of its upswept horns to the clawed ends of its wings where they brushed the concrete floor. Above it, in the metal rafters of the roof, sparks flew, illuminating briefly the tangle of black water supply hoses before falling in a shower about the creature. They seemed to gather along the lengths of a coiled barbed whip held in one hand. The black portal shrank to the size of a small ball and hung in the air the way that balls don't.

It turned its head slowly, surveying the area with glowing red eyes. "Who now disturbs the rest of Hammertoe? This had better be good."

There was a shrill whimpering sound from Ryosei. She still clutched the woman from the crowd of laundry employees in an odd embrace; but the staff appeared to move of its own volition, jerking her arm out straight towards the monster. Its eyes seemed to glow.

"I see," rumbled the creature. "What is an item from the Sixth Plane of Hell doing in a place like this?"

Beside Inuyasha, Kagome had fallen into a tense stillness. He didn't know what she was doing. She didn't have her bow with her but seemed to be dropped into the same powerful concentration that she always manifested when preparing to use it. All he could do was be ready and wait.

"Well, we'll just have to retrieve that," stated the monster and dropped the coils of its whip to the floor as it lunged towards Ryosei and its goal; the Staff of Heads. A flaring spark erupted against his hand a scant few inches before Ryosei's quivering body, showing briefly an inverted shell that surrounded both her and the huddled group of people behind her.

'Good girl, Kagome.' Inuyasha thought as he took a few swift steps forward and leaped towards his opponent. "Fool, I'm the one you'll be fighting!" He shouted and gave a clout to the creature's shoulder with the flat of his blade.

The horned head swung towards him and glowing eyes flared orange. The creature shifted its stance and Inuyasha could spot the signs of the monster's pleasure at being challenged. The glowing eyes narrowed as they examined him, "What breed of insignificant hell-spawn are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

"Don't make me laugh, Pipsqueak, DIE!"

The horned devil lashed out at the hanyou with its barbed whip. Inuyasha tried to jump away, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the spiked tip as it wrapped about his throat. His hand went up instantly to prevent the whip from closing on his windpipe and he glared at the fiend. "You damned piece of shit!" He growled and yanked both his body and the whip back with a hard wrench.

The devil staggered from the suddenness and force of the pull this little opponent was producing and gave a twist to the whip, managing to stop the hanyou's progress and pull him forward a couple of steps. Could it be this small creature was under the impression it was stronger than a greater devil? It grinned with a fierce joy. "A challenge, it has been so long." It rumbled, forgetting any other aim. With a flick of its wrist the whip was lashed giving the hanyou on the other end a nasty jolt before slipping free.

Inuyasha hissed in an abortive attempt to speak as blood began to trickle down from his abused neck. He slid down to one knee and gazed up at the devil with grinding teeth. This thing was going to have to die. He regained his footing and lifted the fang blade up, with not a second thought to where he was, or the people who were watching. He located the Kaze-no-Kizu and aimed it straight for the horned devil facing him.

The devil stared at the action of wind and youki that was forming a passage between it and its opponent and laughed. Its claws started to glow red-hot and a flame danced on its fingertips. Within a shattered instant the flame became a huge ball of fire, which it flung at Inuyasha through the burst of the Kaze no Kizu.

"Oh crap…" Inuyasha watched for a split second as a huge, rolling, ball of gas came right at him. He barely got the Tetsusaiga into a blocking position before himself and Kagome before it struck, causing the long table in front of them to burst into flames. "How the fuck did he get through the Kaze no Kizu?!" The blast from the Kaze-no-Kizu seemed to roll past his opponent with little effect although the washing machines behind him were pulverized.

The devil laughed mightily and reached back into the nothingness of the portal. When its hand emerged it held a two-pronged fork, so sharp at the tips of its prongs that it seemed to cut the very air as the creature pointed it at the hanyou.

Inuyasha felt hot slices on his arms and legs and stumbled back, gasping a bit. "Asshole…" He wielded the Tetsusaiga in front of him again with a low choked snarl and flew forward at him.

The devil matched his move with a toothy grin, aiming the fork right for Inuyasha's throat. The hanyou countered by catching the fork with his blade and deflected it up and to one side, baring his own fangs.

The devil dropped its jaws open and scowled in astonishment as its fork was propelled out of its hands and up into the ceiling where it struck a waterline far above their heads. There was a deep, creaking sound and metallic snap as torrents of warm water came pouring down to the floor, soaking everything.

Inuyasha heard Kagome gasp as she got drenched and the barrier around the humans flickered and failed for a moment. He spun around. "Kagome!" He saw her shake herself a bit and throw a look his way.

"I'm all right! Keep your attention on that-- thing!" She called, before hastily turning her attention to her own task.

Inuyasha frowned and nodded, turning to face the devil just in time to have it swing yet another fork at his neck. He gasped and dove under the attack to come back up in a crouch at the end of the roll with a swing at the creature's legs.

The devil grunted as he missed and stepped back a bit into the torrent of water. With a rumble it dove forward again, making an uppercut to the hanyou's chest and, in the process, attempting to strike the Tetsusaiga away.

Inuyasha leapt back a foot or so, just out of the fork's reach, but not fast enough. He let out an agonized howl as the thing scraped his leg with a lava hot point, ripping and burning his pants and skin. Stumbling for balance with a few choice curses Inuyasha was caught unawares as the devil made another slice, this time directly at Kagome.

She saw it coming, and her hold on the protective shield broke as she automatically fended off the darts of cutting force with an explosive blue flare. The distraction was enough, however, and the barrier was down, giving the creature free rein.

Within a splintered instant it was back through the torrent of water that still cascaded from the ceiling and grasping Ryosei by one wrist. She gave a shriek as she was towed bodily through the black portal and there was an echoing cry as Jaken sprang from the shadows and grabbed at the Staff of Heads, clinging to it as even he was dragged though in the horned devil's wake and the portal closed with a distinct pop.

With a clatter the Staff of Heads fell to the floor of the Hung Lou Meng's Traditional Hand Laundry and lay abandoned in a rapidly spreading pool of sudsy water.

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A sort of kicky version of 'The Girl From Ipanema' wafted though the air as Higurashi-San paused in front of a shelf of expensive gadgets. "Are you sure that's the best selection?"

"Well," came the reply. "You really can't go wrong with Pioneer."

"Mmm, true" She mused. "Let's try them." And they moved leisurely along as the xylophone solo started.

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What can I say? One hard drive crash and a destructive purge and recovery later I finally get my chapter out. A mere twenty days late and written from scratch.