InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Class Dog ❯ Serendipity ( Chapter 16 )

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Thanks are in order to all my wonderful reviewers! Again, I'm going to put spaces in people's names so that Microsoft Word doesn't have a stroke. Is it a little Monkish of me to hate an overabundance of red squiggly lines under words?

 

Sailor Jupiter Rox, thank you so much for sharing your perspective with me. It really helps me keep focused and your encouraging words are far too kind on me. Nekomata Hanyou has been wonderfully supportive to me as well so a big thanks to you, too! You're always giving me just the little pick-me-up I need to keep pushing on. I've been so bummed out about these silly art teachers that I really needed to hear someone besides my fiancé (who obviously has a vested interest in keeping me happy XD) say that my ideas were sound. Missy, thank you for all the reading material! It is so very helpful for me to have people like you around to stay inspired. I will definitely check out the fictions that you mentioned might have good ideas for me first. As for the readers on Media Miner, big thanks abound for Little White Kitsune and Elven Mistress for kind thoughts and more great recommendations.

 

B.T.W. - The “Pink Puppy” story was HILARIOUS. I loved it.

 

Author's Note: Okay, this is fair warning to readers who have not read the end of the manga. There is a mild and indistinct spoiler (though it should not come as a terrible surprise) which references the epilogue of the Inu Yasha manga. You have been duly warned.

 

It's time for a new question for my readers! I wanted to write a sequel to the end of the Inu Yasha manga because I wasn't very happy with the epilogue Rumiko Takahashi left us since it was very vague. My question is this: If I write the sequel, should I wrap this story up as an `extended episode' of Inu Yasha and leave it like that or should I continue on from this story and jump to the end of the manga and continue to write as if this episode is included? I'm asking this because I've done the time line math in my head and their three week vacation should be ending in a few `days' so to speak. So what do you guys think? Keep going or make this a stand alone story?

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Kagome and Inu Yasha had just stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where the banquet halls were located when they spotted a young Japanese man alone in the long hallway. The dog-demon sniffed the air and growled, already in a foul mood from having their potential tryst interrupted, at the man in the hall. Before Kagome had a chance to think the hanyou stormed over to the man, cracked his knuckles, and brought his fist down onto the top of his head.

“Inu Yasha, sit!” she shouted, belatedly.

A leaf fluttered to the ground at the same time the miko yelled. The half demon ate carpet. With an almost cartoonish poof and a burst of pink smoke the Japanese youth disappeared. The smoke quickly cleared and out stepped a grinning Shippo. He rubbed the rising lump on his head and looked to the seething demon. A few seconds later the effect of the subjugation beads wore off and the hanyou immediately jumped up and yanked the kitsune by the collar so that he was inches from his bared fangs.

“I know your altered scent now, fox; did you think I would forget it?”

Shippo put on the sweetest of innocent expressions as he replied, “What did I do?”

“You put that fucking noise machine in her pocket! You ruined our—“Inu Yasha coughed and cut himself off as he realized what he had almost let slip.

Kagome caught up to them then, flustered.

“What is going on here? Let him go!”

The kitsune twitched his nose as she got close and grinned, “My, my, you finally got the balls to mark her. I thought you'd puss out.”

The hanyou growled and shook him a little, “Oi! I'm not a coward! Of course I did!”

“Sit!”

The two rocketed into the floor simultaneously. Inu Yasha had made sure to take Shippo with him; he knew full well that it was coming. For once, he welcomed it.

The miko stood above them, furious, tapping her foot impatiently. Her face was burning up from the heat of her blush. She crossed her arms over her chest while Inu Yasha eyeballed her ankles for several moments until the subjugation effect wore off. Shippo groaned beneath him as the hanyou struggled to his feet. He offered the kitsune a claw up, certain the trickster had been properly punished. The kitsune righted himself with Inu Yasha's help and rubbed the sore spot on his back which now mirrored the pain in his head.

“Kami, your manners are just as bad as his!” She huffed as she motioned at the slightly-less-irritated hanyou.

The butt of the conversation grumbled and crossed his arms as well. Inu Yasha wondered to himself what he did that caused him to endure such trials. Of course, he somehow forgot that he had done his share of troublemaking and quite possibly deserved to have a little fun poked in his direction once in a while.

Kagome suddenly realized how quiet the hallway had been for the ruckus the two had caused, “Hey Shippo, where is everyone? I thought this was the time to meet.”

His sly smile told her everything she needed to know but Inu Yasha could not see the look with his back turned to the group. “Answer her, fox.”

Without hesitation he replied, “Well actually I gave you a different time than I gave everyone else. I figured he'd be out for blood but I just couldn't resist. You guys are about an hour early.” The fox demon took a moment to check his expensive-looking watch, “Mm… should change back.”

With a comical poof he returned to his version of a generic Japanese businessman. Inu Yasha, who had turned around at some point during the conversation, noticed something unusual.

“Wait, you didn't have to use a leaf to change? What the hell?”

Shippo laughed, “No, not any more. My kin still have to though. It comes with time and practice. I only did it the old way for old times' sake.”

“…So fucking hungry…” The hanyou complained to no one in particular.

The thought of food had been enough to make him hungry, now that he knew he still had to wait another thirty minutes he was in an even worse mood than before. He knew the kitsune could still hear him and apparently came prepared.

“Oh come now, did you really think I would leave you two love birds hanging?” He chided.

The dog demon made a gesture that implied that he did indeed believe that the mischievous fox would do such a thing. Kagome appeared to know better. It amazed both men how much trust she put into her friends. Inu Yasha wondered for a moment if time might cause her to lose that smile in the future. The kitsune knew better, though. The hanyou's tried and true ability to always protect her in some way had protected her faith. He knew, however, that he could not reassure him with that knowledge without possibly ruining their future. Long ago he had learned that the problem with certainty is that it often made people soft—and vulnerable.

Just as Shippo was about to lead them to a dining area prepared for just the three of them the elevator pinged in the distance. As soon as the door opened Inu Yasha was snarling and the kitsune was smacking his hand against his forehead. Kagome wondered what had gotten the half demon in such a tizzy so she turned towards the figure exiting the elevator.

He was not quite as tall as the hanyou with short brown hair that had been carefully styled. Deep brown eyes regarded the hanyou with a raised brow and a haughty smirk. The hanyou had stepped in front of the miko during that time and continued to growl at the man. She wondered what his problem was until the man raised a hand to brush stray brown hairs from his pointed ears. Pointed ears? Kagome gasped as realization dawned on her. Inu Yasha rumbled out one name:

“Kouga.”

“—But, how? Where are your shards?” The miko interrupted, staring at his legs.

She had not sensed a thing, not even the faint whisper of the shard Shippo carried in his neck. Kouga had not bothered to use one of Shippo's inventions to hide his tell-tale demonic markers. Although, seeing him now, she could see how the wolf demon could get away without one. Still, it was a risk. His hands were deadly claws and were not well-hidden even with the fine leather gloved he wore over them. The tips had begun to break their surface, even though the gloves looked brand new. Kagome took a moment to look him over. He was clad in a fine dark blue silk suit which had clearly been tailor-made to his toned frame and held an expensive-looking black leather briefcase. Apparently, Kouga had done well for himself in the future.

“What do you mean? I haven't had my shards since—” The wolf demon was cut off by Shippo's nervous cough.

“*Ahem,* ah Kouga, I suppose you're here because you've lost your bead again?”

The wolf youkai raised an eyebrow and walked towards the three, his eyes trained on the miko even as he spoke.

“As a matter, of fact, yes I am. A greenhorn grabbed a crab pot the wrong way and it slipped out of his hands and ended up hitting me. I tripped into an open hatch and lost that pebble when I hit the rim and cut the back of my head open.”

Shippo shook his head and chuckled, “You're lucky it's just you and your pack out there on that ship.”

“Well if it wasn't for that television show going on I wouldn't be bothering with these trinkets. If there's a chance some idiot will catch footage of one of us youkai out there then I'd rather wear them than take the risk. It costs too much to buy up all that footage.” He replied.

Shippo took the briefcase without checking the contents; the weight of the case told him all he needed to know. “You need just one bead? Wow, you guys are doing a lot better than last year. I'll send Shiro to your room in a few hours; I assume you're taking the same one as last time?”

Kouga nodded and then sniffed the air; his brow furrowed momentarily. His face blossomed into a sardonic grin. “No wonder you're cranky, dog shit. You marked her and didn't even get laid? If she had picked me I would have been sure to please her before doing business.”

Kagome turned ten shades of red but quickly regained her composure by ramming her foot down onto the sputtering hanyou's. She was not sure what future-Kouga was capable of or if he was still inclined to take off with her at random; but she was not about to find out—especially if he had six hundred more years worth of fighting experience.

“Well we'd better be going; I've kept these two waiting for dinner for some time now. I'd be an awful host if I did not see to them first. My son will see to you soon, good bye!” The kitsune broke in.

Seeing her distress, Shippo had taken Kagome's hand and led her away down the hall, forcing the protective hanyou to follow, still snarling. Kouga blinked and waved with a mildly perplexed look on his visage.

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Questions had been aching to be raised in the young couples' minds as the three ate dinner in a private dining area used for VIP's of the hotel. Kagome wanted to ask a good many questions but her fear of altering their future in some way kept her silent. Initially the miko had been hopeful that the hanyou would not inquire but that only lasted until his hunger had been sated. Inu Yasha had no qualms with demanding answers.

“Shippo, why do you associate with that wimpy wolf?”

The kitsune chewed thoughtfully on a piece of steak before answering with the least amount of damaging information. The look in the half demon's golden eyes told him that if he did not give him something that he would be secretly attacked later. Inu Yasha had bullied more than a few private conversations out of him as a kit; and only when he was concerned Kagome was hiding some secret (being sick, for example) that he was convinced might harm her later unless he learned the truth quietly.

As a demon child, Shippo had been privy to many discussions between Sango and the miko while they had assumed he napped on her lap. For many years, especially as a young teen with raging hormones, he had feigned sleep to listen in on their girl talk to find out if Kagome ever spoke of him. Shippo had harbored a secret crush on the miko for most of his younger years. When he outgrew curling up in her lap the kitsune was allowed to sleep with his head on her thigh.

It was a position the dog demon had envied and complained about for a short time until he realized how much Shippo heard. The thought made the kitsune grin inwardly. The hanyou was far cleverer than his friends often gave him credit for. Kagome was the only one who always knew better. Only now did he wonder if the miko had known all along about their secret agreement and had allowed the boy to nap so that he might come to understand that she would never be his. He would not have put it past her.

Whether she knew or not; it was his eavesdropping that finally cemented into his mind that his beloved miko was never going to fall for the fox demon. Sure, they had tittered on a couple different occasions about how cute of a young man Shippo had become. However, most of the talks had focused on their complaints, concerns, and gushes over the loves of their lives.

The pivotal moment that the fox demon had overheard and had ended his amorous affections for the pretty miko had also granted a new role for Kagome. The conversation began as they normally did between the two close friends. Sango complained about her naughty children and libidinous husband while Kagome griped about the latest of Inu Yasha's sit-able offenses. Eventually their meandering conversation led to a discussion about a young woman in the village who secretly had a crush on Shippo. Kagome confessed that she had been more than a little stand-offish with the girl because of her notoriety around town as a heartbreaker. Initially the fox demon was elated and hoped that perhaps the miko had been jealous. His infatuation was dashed though when she followed up her thoughts.

“I worry about him. I know that eventually he'll find a sweet girl but I still can't help but want to protect him from getting his heart broken. I hope I don't worry him to death.”

The two had laughed and went on to discuss what girl in the village might be his best match. The kitsune realized then that she loved him like a parent loves and defends a child. Afterwards Shippo had come to Kagome privately and asked if he could call her mom. No one could replace his birth mother but the miko came as close as it got and he certainly needed one.

“Oi, fox, answer me!” Inu Yasha's voice broke through his reverie.

“Huh?” He blinked and turned his blue eyes towards the voice. “Oh right, you want to know why I talk to Kouga. Well, I'll tell you this much: He's settled down with his pack in another country. He only comes out here to buy some of those beads to keep his crew looking human. His job is rather rough on them.”

“Rough?” Kagome spoke up.

“Yeah, for the moment he's a fisherman in Alaska. There aren't a whole lot of humans up there to worry about.”

All demonic professions seemed momentary to the kitsune. Though they might work for twenty years at a job; in the span of six hundred years each career seemed like some part time dream. Many demons had populated their staff with other youkai so that they maintained the same occupation for hundreds of years without humans around who might care that their boss always remained youthful. Those in working-class professions often had to change jobs rapidly or change their looks and reapply under a different name to continue the same one if the company was majority human. Still others had formed alliances with some humans who knew their secret, though such was a rarity. Most stayed with their own to avoid the hassle.

Inu Yasha looked non-plussed by the information but Kagome's nod was enough to tell him that it was true. The waiters came then and cleared their table of food. Shippo needed to get around to calling Shiro. He wished the new couple a good night, Kagome gave him a quick hug, and they headed back to their respective rooms.

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Back in their room the miko was forced to answer questions about why Kouga needed a `pod' for fishing and what the hell Alaska was. She did not want to dwell too heavily on any of the information for fear Inu Yasha or she might make connections between the future wolf-demon and the one from the past. It seemed that their break had been very risky. At the same time their chance meetings had seemed inevitable. She wondered if their fairy tale romance had been coincidence or serendipity. If Shippo's future had been altered, would he have even known?