InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Class Dog ❯ Corkscrews and Demons ( Chapter 10 )

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No many notes this time, really. I'm very grateful for all the ideas from reviewers. Keep them coming and thank you so much for reading! I'm also sending a special shout-out to Nekomata and Amaranth for their great advice and support. You two have been a huge help. Thank you so much!

 

A note on gift-giving: I'm not a huge stickler for Japanese tradition in fan-fiction and I'm certainly not an expert. However, the gift-giving tradition is such an obvious one that it would be pretty out of character for the characters to not conform to it. Even though Shiro and Ikume are half-European it would be common sense to assume that their mother would have taught them that kind of social politeness.

 

Yeah, you know how I said not many notes? Okay, I lied: Another thing I'm pointing out is that I love roller coasters. So… yeah… I apologize if I geek out a little.

 

One more note: A Biwa is like a Japanese lute and a Kokyu is a traditional instrument played with a bow.

-*-

The morning found the two companions having breakfast with Shiro, Ikume and a private investigator. The man took careful notes and studied their faces intently. It made Kagome more than a little nervous. She wondered if the man could tell that she was not being entirely honest about the jewel. The miko was only slightly relieved when his questions focused on a description of the staff member who had turned in the gift box.

The investigator looked so normal. He was a very average-looking, middle-aged Japanese man with no single physical feature that made him stand out. She quickly realized that was probably what made him such a good detective. What person would look twice at the man? After all the information was exchanged the investigator quietly requested to be excused.

Once he was gone Shiro explained, “Mother says he prefers to get started right away. We might have some more information by tomorrow. He's very good.”

He reached out and gave Kagome's hand a pat.

“I'm so sorry about all this. From now on I'm going to give you gifts in person.”

“Oh, really, Shiro” the miko began, “I don't deserve all these gifts…”

“Of course you do!”

The shout came from not one, but two men—Inu Yasha and Shiro. They glared at each other for a few minutes. Ikume gave a short, derisive sniff. She was none too happy about her prince and her brother lavishing so much attention on some stupid girl. Kagome shook her head and sighed, wondering what aura she oozed that attracted the boys to her like flies to honey. Ikume came to the rescue.

“Well if you guys are done flirting with each other I'm going to go. Come along, Kagome.”

“Wha--? Why me?” She rose out of her chair without thinking.

Ikume trained her shimmering blue eyes on her, finding her gray-blue pools to be so very boring, what did Shiro see in that girl?

“Why, mask shopping, of course!” She replied.

Kagome looked nonplused. With a slow, pained sigh the blonde spelled it out for her, “The masquerade ball?”

There was a collective `oh' from everyone. Shiro grabbed his jacket and looked at the half-demon.

“I guess that means we ought to go get ours, too. I don't know about you but I can't sit around waiting for Mr. Kei to bring news.”

Before Inu Yasha could argue Ikume had already taken up Kagome's hand and, half skipping, dragged her out the diner's front door. The boys had been left behind to eye each other suspiciously.

-

The Baines sibling hummed a tune as she shepherded the miko into a limo. As soon as they were inside she released her hand, choosing to sit directly across the car from Kagome.

“So… tell me about my prince.”

The priestess could not resist a small chuckle. “Inu Yasha?”

She bobbed her head several times an affirmative.

“Well, he's ill-tempered most of the time, possessive, sometimes violent, doesn't get along well with new people—“

“—So you two aren't dating?” Ikume interrupted.

“I…well… I don't know.” She was taken aback by the question until an answer unexpectedly left her lips, “It's not like he's ever asked.”

The blonde pondered her response for a moment. “Hmm… So, my prince hasn't told you he likes you because he's too shy.”

“What? What gave you that impression?”

Unnaturally blue eyes locked on hers, and she gave Kagome a withering look.

“Oh please. That whole protective and aggressive thing is just an act! Shiro acts like that in front of me all the time because I'm his baby sister. You're obviously not his sister so there's got to be another reason why he's like that.”

“Well, yeah because he has to protect me—er…he feels like he has to, anyway.”

The confession caused the woman to raise a well-manicured eyebrow. Then, the woman said something that caused her mind to spin.

“Did you ever ask how he feels?”

“Did-did…I …what?”

Ikume gave a derisive snort and sat back in her seat, “You're pretty selfish.”

Kagome was flabbergasted. Had she really been selfish? Had she assumed all this time that he did not want her when she had never asked? Feeling victorious, Ikume allowed the miko to stew on the trip to the jewelers. At the store the girl was handed a note from one of the salespeople. She huffed and stomped her feet like a small child. Kagome later discovered that Shiro would not allow Ikume to pick something out, “in poor taste.” In a foul mood, Ikume bought up several extremely expensive jewelry pieces and put them on Shiro's tab before taking Kagome back to the hotel.

-

Back at the hotel Ikume stared daggers into Shiro while Kagome and Inu Yasha gave each other confused looks. They sized each other up; both apparently full of internal questions neither were willing to vocalize. Without so much as a thank you, the hanyou dragged the miko off to their room.

Once they were safely on their floor he blurted out.

“We need to talk.”

The stormy blue eyes peered up into his golden ones. For a second the great half-demon was afraid he might stutter like a fool.

“I'm taking you to the masquerade. So tell that moron no when he asks.” He looked away from her eyes before adding quietly, “If you want.”

They stood in front of the elevator, Kagome gave a curious smile.

“Inu Yasha, are you asking me out on a date?”

“What the hell kind of question is that? Yes, or no, damn it. I'm not asking you again!” He growled and stomped away from her to the door to their room. He fumbled around in his jeans pockets for his key card, cursing tight pants before shouting back.

“J-just forget it!”

“Yes.”

He nearly dropped the card, “What?”

“Yes, Inu Yasha. I would like that…very much.”

She said it so quietly and in such a shy voice that had he not had his sensitive ears back he might not have heard. The miko was only steps away from him, and she looked down at her fingers, playing with them. The dog-demon wondered if he had heard correctly. He was certain the question should have had a more complicated answer. His relief soon transformed into smug satisfaction as another thought struck him.

While he and Shiro were out, the human had grilled him for information about Kagome. When the dog-demon had inquired the reason for such things the idiot had boldly (or suicidal) told him that he was intending to ask her out. Inu Yasha immediately told the impertinent bastard that he might as well give up because she was not stupid enough to go out with an idiot like him. Shiro had laughed in his face and proclaimed that a fool like him could not possibly afford to lavish the gifts upon her that he could. Then the hanyou countered that his woman was not shallow enough to be swayed by petty gifts and that, in fact, he needed no gifts to get a date with her.

The second Inu Yasha had made the challenge to Shiro he regretted it. He was positive that Kagome would not accept his invitation. Gifts were required to court any woman, he knew that. Yet, here he was: a half-demon with no home territory or money and yet, she had accepted his request. It blew him away. She deserved much better

…but it still felt damn good to have triumphed over Shiro.

“Inu Yasha?” Her voice shattered his thoughts, “Can we go inside now?”

He grunted an apology, kicked himself mentally, and let her in.

-

The next few days went by at a lazy pace. Shiro and Ikume were far too busy organizing the events for the amusement park to cause any trouble for the couple. Shiro was so busy that he did not bring Kagome any gifts except to have several bouquets sent to their room. The two spent most days at the nearby park or at the movies. The dog-demon had become a huge fan of action flicks and thrillers. They spent their nights discussing films they had seen and on long explanations of how amusement parks worked, what roller coasters were, and that all the rides were not demons or torture devices.

-

The day finally came to go out to the amusement park. The guests first gathered in the lobby at the instructed hour and from there were ushered into limousines. Having been in limos several times by this point Inu Yasha was eager to look out the darkened windows. He watched the scenery seemingly float by, gradually picking up speed as they reached the highway. The buildings became less and less crammed together and the landscape began to look far similar to the countryside he knew. The only difference was the smattering of modernized, yet in many cases still traditional-looking houses, which peeked through the greenery.

Strange, snake-like brightly colored metal skeletons suddenly appeared through the trees as they rounded a bend in the highway. A few of the couples turned to look through the windows facing the park side. Kagome had tried to explain what the tracks of the roller coasters would look like but he did not quite imagine them as twisted metal spinal chords. The dog-demon found them both chilling and fascinating all at once.

He lost sight of the roller coasters as the vehicles threaded their way past an off-ramp, then the parking lot, and finally stopped at a drop-off zone. The familiar figures of Shiro and Ikume could be made out, welcoming the guests into the park.

“Thank you all for coming,” Shiro began, “I'm glad to see you here and I hope you all have fun.” He paused when some couples began to clap; then continued when everyone was quiet. “We've reserved the park for guests only so there will be no lines for any of the rides.”

Some men in the crowd whooped and Ikume began to pass out maps of the park to each guest. After everyone had received a map and had taken a moment to look them over Shiro added,

“Lunch will be served at the Magnolia Pavilion—it's marked on your maps—and then at six we'll meet here to head back to the hotel. We hope you have fun, guys, we'll see you at lunch!”

Everyone dispersed while Shiro headed for Kagome. He took one of her hands in both of his and bowed slightly to her.

“I'm sorry I haven't been able to give you your gifts but I had the jewelry checked twice.” He produced a box that was similar to the one he had originally sent her. As was the custom, the miko accepted the gift but did not open it. Instead, she gently placed the box in her purse to open later, proclaiming the gift to be `too much' and `too kind' of him. Inu Yasha gagged inwardly.

“So, what happened?” The miko inquired.

He looked around to make sure the rest of the guests were gone before he spoke.

“Well, the investigator has said it's fairly early to tell but it looks like the stone wasn't swapped. It just broke on its' own. The chains have not been tampered with either.”

She pretended to look confused, though she was not terribly surprised at the news.

Shiro continued, “As far as he can tell he says it looks like the primary staff is not involved. It's going to take a day or so longer to find out whether or not the upper-tier staff had anything to do with it.” He paused, noticing one of the chauffeurs approaching him from the side. He quietly added. “I'll tell you more at lunch. We'll be dining privately.”

With that the male Baines sibling excused himself from the group and went off to speak with the driver. Ikume remained behind.

“I've got something to tell you, as well, Inu Yasha.”

The hanyou had been trying so hard to look disinterested during Shiro's conversation that he was startled when the blonde had spoke.

“What?”

She stood before him with a coy smile. “I'm not telling until lunch. I'll see you then!”

With that she skipped away. The dog-demon was perplexed.

“What the hell was that about?”

“I don't know, maybe she'll tell you more about the shard?” Kagome replied.

“So then… I have to go, don't I?”

She nodded, and he groaned. “I was having a pretty damned good week, too…”

The miko shook her head and opened her map after a quick check of the time.

“Well, Inu Yasha, where to?”

-

The half-demon's first choice had been to ride the tallest, fastest rollercoaster he could identify by sight. Kagome was only slightly thankful to know that it wasn't technically the tallest coaster there because that one had a portion of the track running underground which the hanyou could not see. Initially, when she first fell into the well, she could not so much as look at a rollercoaster without feeling anxious. However, as of late, she had become so used to riding on the hanyou's back that the ride did not seem quite so terrifying. At least she would not have to brave the ups and downs without a safety harness or an enormous (and often hungry) demon close on their heels.

The location of the ride, named “Suzaku,” just happened to be on the other side of the park. Walking the entire way had been near-torture for the dog-demon. He constantly argued with her about the lack of efficiency when walking like a human. They could have been at the coaster already and have gone on it a second time!

By the time they reached the entrance for the ride Kagome was in a far less cheery mood. She was fairly certain that if Inu Yasha complained one more time that one of her ears might fall off. Thankfully, there was no ridiculously long line to further dampen her spirits. Her companion scoffed at the number of hallways and turnstiles they were forced to pass through to get to the main station. She tried to explain to him that theme parks were normally packed every day but he would not be swayed in his conviction that line partitions were a silly waste of space.

The loading area included two other couples who had arrived at the same time. It was a steel inverted rollercoaster so the seats hung below the track. Inu Yasha marveled at the sight. The bones of the dead demon (though it did not smell like one) were being used to propel people at a fast rate along its spine.

The biggest challenge turned out to be getting a Sengoku period demon strapped in to the seat. He asked numerous times if he could simply hold on, rather than put the safety harness down. There was another awkward moment when Kagome could not explain how the buckle attached to the shoulder harness hooked into the seat at a clasp between his legs. When he couldn't figure out how the seat belt buckle worked she had to reach between his legs and buckle him in herself, blushing furiously the entire time. He nearly scared another attendant when they came to check that his harness and buckles were all locked in and the man had to tug on the belt buckle, as per safety procedure. Thankfully, the hanyou could not reach around the substantial shoulder restraints to belt the guy for what he thought was going to be some perverted grab. The miko apologized profusely, claiming he had an itch and jerked suddenly, to her relief they bought it and within seconds the car began its ascent.

Inu Yasha looked about, unable to contain his intense interest as the car creaked its way up the slope. He was almost as impressed with the view from the air as much as he had been of the view from the hotel window. The dog-demon concluded that the hotel view was better because it was a little higher than the apex of the ride.

After ages (thirty seconds is forever to an impulsive demon) they reached the peak, there was a slight dip in the track and then, slowly, ever so slowly, the car moved to the edge—and then plunged.

Kagome had become so used to the spins and turns holding on to Inu Yasha's back that she surprised herself with her own lack of fear. The couple who had arrived at the same time with them included a woman who screamed like a little girl. The dog-demon gave a war whoop and cheered. He was having a blast.

The ride was over far too soon for the hanyou. As soon as he jumped off the ride he wanted to get on it again. She obliged several times before suggesting they try other rides. As they walked to the next ride Inu Yasha babbled on excitedly about the speed and intensity of the ride. The miko was more amused by his child-like thrill rather than how fun the ride happened to be.

After several more rides the two reluctantly made their way to the Magnolia Pavilion for lunch. Shiro met them at the door and whisked Kagome away to a private table away from Inu Yasha's sight. Ikume appeared moments later and dragged the fuming demon off.

At their own private booth Ikume sat with her elbows on the table and her hands in her face, staring intently at him with big smile on her face. It disturbed him. After several seconds of nothing the dog-demon could no longer stand the silence.

“So what is it you want?”

Ikume frowned at her prince's brusque question; she did not realize he was more concerned with his true companion. He hoped Shiro did not have any bad news. He'd had a good time so far—despite Ikume—and though it went his better judgment, prayed it might last a little longer. So far her scent did not have the aroma of fear, so that was a good sign. An obnoxious voice interrupted his musings.

“Well, Inu Yasha. It's a fact that you are my soul mate. So, you have to ask me to the ball.”

That caught him off guard. He had not expected her to say that at all. He thought her to be quite odd. She had barely known him for little more than a week, yet she had proclaimed him her soul mate. She was quite strange. He felt a funny thrill in his heart as his reply slipped out.

“I'm sorry but I already asked Kagome.”

Saying it felt so very natural it almost scared him. It disturbed him even more to realize he was quite happy with the notion that Kagome might really be his. It seemed like he should have cared more about the fact that it meant she had filled the place in his heart that Kikyo had left behind. Ikume was sputtering. Apparently, she'd never been turned down before.

“Y-you can't do that. It's not what I told you to do.”

Something seemed to change for a moment, Kagome's scent in the air was no different but Ikume's was altered slightly. He realized that it seemed strangely familiar to him. He couldn't tell where though. If it lingered for a little bit longer he was sure he could tell. Ikume's chair scraped backwards suddenly and she stormed off. As quickly as it had come, the scent faded away. Inu Yasha remained at the table, his mind racing. He knew his senses would not lie to him. It was familiar, and he knew it came from someone in his time period, but whom? No, he realized, it was not a familiar scent because it was any particular person he already knew. It was someone who carried someone's scent traits.

“Shit. It's someone's whelp.” He cursed out loud.

The dog-demon instantly knew why he could not recognize the sire. Any person he knew well enough could have taken a mate (though likely not a mortal to mortal bond) and that mate would have given his or her offspring the influence of their scent, combined with their partner's. That was why he could not even identify the original sire. The two combined to form one new unique, yet familiar signature for their children. The combination made it impossible to discern who the original parent could be that he knew. The only way he would know who or what he was dealing with would be to scent the original blood relation. It did not help that Ikume and Shiro had to have used something to mask their aroma to other demons. If the parent was also using a mask it would be extremely difficult to discern which parent was the relative he knew.

In nearly six or seven hundred years that person's face may have changed greatly. If they figured out how to mask scent then it was entirely possible that their appearances would be altered as well. All the new revelations were making his head nearly ache. Cold reality began to set it. The most obvious answer meant a demon—and just about every demon he knew was an enemy.

“Damn it. I have to talk to Kagome.”

Inu Yasha knew Kagome would be able to help him narrow down the list of enemies (or potentially allies) which could be Shiro and Ikume's sire. She had the brains to think through everything that wouldn't process past his constant, torrential downpour of emotions which kept him from being a logistical thinker. He quickly rose from his chair and followed Kagome's scent until he reached her table. There was a man, dressed like one of the wait staff, who was playing a stringed instrument which reminded him of a Biwa. The man played the Biwa on his shoulder and its shape was distorted. He played it with a bow like a Kokyu, yet it was far too short for it to be that instrument, either. The music sounded very similar, too. However, the notes seemed less dramatically inclined. The hanyou had no clue that he was, in fact, listening to an Irish fiddle.

The miko had been listening to a romantically-themed tune until she became aware of Inu Yasha's figure standing behind the instrumentalist. She gave him a quizzical look. He had been distracted by the music momentarily but when he realized Kagome was watching him he sprang into action, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her up to her feet.

“We've got to go. I—uh…” It was in that moment that he realized he had not made up a good excuse to take off. That had always been Kagome's forte. Having seen the look of concern on his face the girl quickly came to his aid.

“Ah… Oh! Inu Yasha, there you are. I was just getting ready to leave. Shiro here has been trying to impress me to change my mind about who I would be going with to the masquerade. I keep telling him I already have a date.”

Her fingers laced through his and she gave his hand a light squeeze. The dog-demon was speechless, Shiro fumed. Quickly regaining his bearings the hanyou was able to get a response out.

“Y-yeah. I already asked you.” A brilliant thought crossed his mind as he gave a roguish smirk. “I guess you were a little too slow on the draw, Shiro.”

His scent changed slightly at that moment confirming another one of the half-demon's theories. Whatever was masking the Baines siblings' scents could not hold up against strong, sudden emotional changes. Whatever they were using could not adjust to a sudden spike in energy. It confirmed that he was at least half demon. Demons were the only type of immortal who became stronger as their minds became more emotional. Inu Yasha was more powerful as a full demon; yet less in control of his own mind as a consequence. The aroma faded as Shiro regained his composure. With a sigh he stood from his seat and drew close to the hanyou.

“You may have beaten me to the punch but believe me, she'll know who is the better, more capable man in the end.”

Kagome gave a derisive snort. It certainly was not a turn-on to be talked about like that right in front of her. Shiro's nerve gave her the courage to quickly stand up on her toes and kiss Inu Yasha's cheek. The two boys' jaws dropped.

“Come on, Inu Yasha. Let's go. I'm not listening to any more of this.”

He gave a dumb nod, allowing the miko to lead him away. They walked in silence until they had left everyone behind, heading into a part of the theme park that appeared to be built for young children. None of the couples had children so no one would have been interested in coming to that part of the park. When the miko was sure there was no one around she wheeled on dog-demon. Her gray blue eyes studied him carefully. She looked angry.

“Is this some sort of competition between you two? Is that why you asked me the way you did?”

“N-no, well… Shiro did tell me before that he would ask you.” The fear of an eminent sitting caused him to talk faster as Kagome placed her hand on her hips, a frown tugged at the corners of her lips. “But I…I wanted to.” He ended lamely. Amber eyes turned away to look at the ground near her feet, afraid to look at her face. Everything was quiet.

There was the sound of a deep breath. The half-demon closed his eyes in preparation for a sit. Instead, a quiet voice came forth.

“Oh…well, then, okay.”

He slowly trained an eye in her direction. She smiled shyly. He let out a relieved breath.

“I thought you were going to sit me. Let's keep walking. I've got a lot to tell you.”

Inu Yasha recounted his revelations from lunch. His companion listened in silence, digesting all the information before she raised any questions. Finally when she could tell he was finished she spoke.

“Okay, so you're saying we've seen these demons' parents before somewhere. Wait, how come they smell different? You said I smell just like Kikyo.”

The demon shook his head, “No, you're different. Kikyo never had a mate. When she died her soul was passed completely to you without ever having bonded to any other. Your scent never changed…Well… It's a little different…it's better.”

She was quiet again, deep in thought. Finally, she spoke up.

“Okay, well, I'll need time to think. When we're at the hotel I'll make a list of the demons we know, which are dead… no… that won't work. We don't know which dead demons might have already had children. Ah! This is not good. Let's talk more about this when we get back.

Neither knew Shiro had been watching them from a distance. He kept down wind of Inu Yasha so he would remain undetected. A smirk spread across his lips, a plan forming in his mind for the masquerade.