InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fireside Chats ❯ Part Three: Dragon and Demon ( Chapter 3 )

Update: A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

"Sango," Miroku raised his head slightly, "what do you know about the Inu no Taisho? Surely a demon as powerful as him was famous in your village."

"Of course he was," Sango said. "But for different reasons. My people never even considered going after him. There was no point. He wasn't a malevolent demon. He was a demon lord. He protected the Western lands from the scourge-type demons and dragons. Demons like Naraku and dragons like Ryukotsusei."

"Naraku couldn't have ever met up with the Dog General!" Shippo exclaimed. "He wouldn't still be around, would he?"

"Demons like Naraku," Sango clarified, "not Naraku himself. Naraku told you guys that he was 'born' fifty years ago, right? That means even Inuyasha is older than Naraku. The Inu no Taisho died long before Naraku ever existed."

"At the time that the Inu no Taisho ruled, dragons were more numerous than they are now, so the Dog General spent most of his time trying to control them, or so legends say. If I recall the stories correctly, Ryukotsusei was a problem for the Dog General just because he was so young and persistent and the Dog General was getting tired of fighting. Ryukotsusei is said to have landed a lucky blow on the Inu no Taisho, and that that is why the Dog General couldn't level a finishing blow--because the dragon's chance blow hamstrung him, so to speak, practically crippling him. The dragon didn't overpower him, he just caught him off guard."

"I wondered about that," Miroku said with a nod. "It didn't make sense that Inuyasha could defeat the demon that the Inu no Taisho couldn't kill."

"Dragon," Sango corrected. "That was no ordinary demon. That was a full-blooded adult dragon. The only thing I can figure out, from what I know, is that Ryukotsusei was still partially asleep when Inuyasha took him on. Otherwise he wouldn't have given Inuyasha time to figure out the Backlash Wave."

"Wasn't he toying with Inuyasha though? Releasing some pent-up anger?"

"Dragons don't usually do that," Sango replied. "They're usually rasher than that. Ryukotsusei must have known he was still partly asleep and was trying to stall for time until he was sure he was fully awake."

Kagome chuckled as she twined a lock of Inuyasha's ebony hair around her fingers absently; "Maybe Inuyasha's part dragon then. That'd explain why he charges headfirst into battle and always gets himself impaled or some such thing. He's always having his stomach or his chest get punctured by something!"

"Uh, Kagome," Miroku cleared his throat, "did something happen between you and Inuyasha that I wasn't aware of? You're stroking him rather, uh, intimately."

Kagome's hand froze.

Miroku, you asshole. I'm going to fucking kill you for that! Inuyasha ground his jaw in frustration as his canine nature raised its hackles at the abrupt ceasing of the caresses.

Inuyasha felt his "pillow" move sharply, and then heard a resounding SLAP!

"My question was an innocent one, I think!" Miroku sounded righteous and hurtly outraged.

That's my girl, Kagome! You teach that pervert a lesson or two!

"You had no right to ask me that!" Kagome shrieked.

"Calm down, Kagome! You'll wake him up!"

That's right, Kagome, just put your hand back down on the nice shiny black hair. That's a good girl...

A thin, puppy-like whine escaped his throat and his limbs spasmed subtly.

"Just like a dog dreaming in his sleep," Shippo commented. "Even when he's human, he's dog-like!"

The air fell silent except for the steady crackling and popping of the fire. Inuyasha was almost lulled into sleep by the silence and Kagome's rhythmic caresses. He certainly lost track of time. Then Sango broke the silence tentatively.

"You know, for a half-demon, he's got to be the most handsome I've seen. And strangely enough, he's pretty damned good-looking as a human too. I can't decide which I like better."

Miroku harumphed.

"His mother must've been quite the beauty," Kagome said. "I can't imagine he got any human traits from his father, so this must be to some degree what his mother looked like. She must have been, as Myoga said, a beauty beyond compare. And get your mind out of the gutter, Miroku. She's been dead for more than sixty years."

Okay, now the conversation has gone too far.

A hand snaked up and swatted Kagome behind the head.

"Ow! What the...?"

"That's for drugging me," Inuyasha said, sitting up and opening his eyes. He stretched a bit, wincing as some muscles caught and spasmed, and yawned hugely. "Put me to sleep, will you?"

"You needed it."

"How long was I out?"

"Not quite three hours," Kagome said, checking the weird contraption on her wrist. "We still have a long way to go before dawn."

"Say, can I have Tetsusaiga back?"

"Oh, yeah," Kagome reached over to where she'd wedged the sword behind her pack. As she handed it to Inuyasha, she noticed that he had one hand to his temple, smoothing down the lock of hair she'd spent almost three hours playing with absentmindedly. She felt her face grow very hot with embarrassment.

God I hope he didn't actually feel that. He'd BETTER have been asleep for that whole thing!

last updated: August 28, 2005