InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Death, Trust Me, as You Didn't in Life ❯ Stories, Pranks, and Jokes ( Chapter 29 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 29: Stories, Pranks, and Jokes

Kagome sighed wearily, and wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead. What I wouldn't give for a bath right now, she thought, looking down with annoyance at her blood spattered clothes.

They'd crossed the borders into the western lands several days before, and it had been almost constant battles since. They had managed to save several villages, however, which was some consolation, but Kagome was becoming exhausted; they'd had almost no rest since arriving in the west.

On top of that, the fire elemental had chosen to stay with their group rather than heading south, and while he was a good warrior, and helped without complaint, he had taken to flirting outrageously with both her and Kikyou.

Needless to say, that wasn't going over well with Inuyasha, or Sesshoumaru.

Her either, for that matter.

After the fiasco with Koga, which really hadn't been all that long ago, just over a week, she was very wary about another flirtatious, pushy male, and no matter what she did, he didn't seem to take the hint that she wasn't interested.

Kikyou, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind all that much - and that was rather surprising. After all the years of Kikyou and Inuyasha going together in her mind as a couple, it seemed that Inuyasha had played himself out into the cold with her as well.

And Kagome wasn't even sure that he was really upset about it because he wanted Kikyou for himself. She was beginning to think he was just acting jealous because he didn't know how else to act.

With another sigh, she pushed her thoughts away, looking over, she caught Sesshoumaru's eye, and with a grimace, asked, "Is there someplace close to clean up at? I can't stand this smell much longer."

He cocked a brow at her, and she frowned at him as she took in his usual clean, flawless appearance. Glancing around, she found that Kisho looked just as clean, but everyone else looked like her.

Must be a demon thing - lucky bastards, she thought, a disgruntled huff coming from between slightly parted lips as she crossed her arms over her chest.

He thinks its funny! she thought, incredulously. Eyes narrowing, she glared at him, not really paying attention to the fact that everyone else was watching the battle of wills between them with a great deal of amusement.

Finally, after several seemingly endless moments of staring contest, he said, "Come. I will take you to a place I know of, miko, before your temper frays any further."

She followed him, keeping her gaze settled firmly in the middle of his back, determined to make him feel just as uncomfortable as she was feeling at that moment, and ignored the chuckles from the rest of the group as they all wearily trotted along behind her and her demon lord.

A few hours later, clean, fed, and stretched out comfortably on her sleeping bag, she stared up at the darkening sky almost contentedly. The stars are so beautiful, she thought, as she watched more and more of them peek out of the deepening night.

Once things settle down with all these low level demons, I could be very happy here... it's beautiful country. Indeed, a great deal of the western lands was almost pastoral in its gentle, rolling terrain, slowly climbing to a low-lying mountain range, then endless, perfect sand beaches.

She frowned as a thought came to her, then, and she glanced over at Sesshoumaru as he sat down next to her. He met her gaze with a raised brow.

"I'm kinda curious, Sesshoumaru. I know you inherited the title and the lands from your father - but how did the lands originally come into your family?"

He watched the fire for several moments, an indecipherable expression on his face. "Do you really wish to know, miko?"

She rolled her eyes as the desultory conversation around the fire tapered off when the content of their conversation was heard. "Well, yeah... I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

He flicked a quick look at the rest of the group, eyes locking with Inuyasha's for a few seconds, then moving back to his contemplation of the flames.

"Perhaps... it is a tale that needs to be told. You will after all," he said, casting her a sidelong glance, "be the Lady - my Lady, and as such, part of my family line."

She blushed faintly, pleased. It never failed to make her feel good when he acknowledged her in such a way - it was just one more proof that he no longer saw her as beneath him. What he said next, however, caused that blush to deepen exponentially, and she dropped her gaze, embarrassed at the laughter that followed it.

"You will also be mother to the next heir, and will need to know the correct things to teach our son of his heritage." With an almost inaudible sigh, he shifted his position a little, then began.

"There existed once, in the far distant past, a demon lord of great power. He was feared and respected by all, human and demon. This was at a time when humans were hunter and gatherers, rather than farmers, and they moved with the herds of animals that they hunted for food, instead of settling in villages."

Kagome's eyes lit up. "The Jomon," she breathed. At his curious glance, she said, "That's what the people you speak of are called in history - how they are known in my time."

"You know of these people?"

"Yes. History was one of my favorite subjects," she chuckled, "and became even more so once I fell down the well, since at that point, I was living what was history for me. My favorite period was pre-historical - before there were written records," she finished.

He studied her, finding himself unsurprised by her knowledge. She was, after all, one of the most learned people he'd ever come across - it was one of the things that had first drawn his attention.

"Very well, miko, I will name them as you have - the Jomon. They were a clever people, for primitive humans, and very adept at survival. They existed as they were for almost eighteen thousand years before they slowly faded away." He glanced around at the people in the clearing.

"All humans in this land are their descendants and carry their blood, along with those that came from the continent, and intermingled with the native peoples. At any rate, the Jomon wandered the lands, for the most part, living in harmony with the demons that were here."

Sango frowned. "The demons did not attack and kill these humans?"

With a raised brow, he shook his head. "No. They lived apart, but peacefully." His voice took on an almost hypnotic cadence. "Amongst the Jomon, there were those like you, miko, though they were not called so. These women were prized amongst their people, and jealously guarded by them."

He flicked a glance around the fire again, everyone was silent, mesmerized.

"One of these women, however, fought against the constraints put upon her by her people, and chose instead to roam the lands alone, without the protection of the warriors of her tribe. Because of this, one day, the Lord and the young woman of power crossed paths. The woman was beautiful, and carried power unparalleled even amongst her own kind, and it was little wonder that she drew the proud Lord's attentions."

Inuyasha snorted at that. "It's always some beautiful, powerful woman in these stories, isn't it?"

Kagome cast him a narrow-eyed look and shot back, "It sure is, Inuyasha, as you should know from personal experience, right?"

The half-demon flushed red as the group laughed, and his brother eyed him impatiently. "Be silent, Inuyasha." As the laughter calmed down, he continued.

"The woman, however, was not overly impressed with her new suitor, and went on her way. At this, the Lord's anger was aroused, and he went back to his home, determined that he would have her - one way or the other. In this way, the fair lord was corrupted, and his reign soon became dark."

Kagome looked saddened. "All too often, unrequited love is what causes the darkness in our hearts," she said softly, her face taking on a pained cast as she remembered her own battle against just such a thing at Naraku's infant's hands.

Inuyasha caught her gaze then, and a look passed between them. Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed as he noticed the look. What memory has this story woken in her - and what does Inuyasha have to do with it?

Shaking his head slightly at the flare of jealousy that look engendered, he continued.

"The Lord had a very close friend - so close, they were almost as brothers, and this demon was my ancestor. As his friend's youki grew dark, and his heart violent, he grew determined to find out the reason that the woman had scorned his friend, and he went out to search for her."

Miroku shook his head, then, and said, almost as though to himself, "I can see where this is going."

Sesshoumaru cocked a brow at the monk. "And where would that be?" he asked, dryly.

"The friend met the maiden, and the two fell in love, causing a severing of the bond of brotherhood between the two youkai. The Lord declared war on her, her people, and his former friend, and when the dust cleared - your ancestor was the new Lord. He mated the woman, and they lived happily ever after."

"Close, monk. The woman died in the war, and my ancestor eventually took a demon female as a mate - for the purpose of begetting an heir. He never got over the human woman, however." He glanced at Kagome, then.

"It seems that a... desire for humans runs in my line, does it not? I myself swore never to fall prey to this desire - and you see where that has gotten me."

Kagome flushed, a mocking smile crossing her face. "Yeah... you ended up with me. Poor, poor Sesshoumaru. You could have done so much better."

"That was not a complaint, my miko. You are forgetting the lesson from the day in the springs - need I remind you again?" he asked, raising a pointed brow at her.

The group, minus Inuyasha, turned laughing, rather knowing looks on her, and she buried her face in her bedding.

"You bunch of hentai's!"

"Do not berate them, Kagome. In this instance, their suppositions would be correct, would they not?" he questioned, a wicked glint in his eye.

Her head jerked up, and she stared at him, an almost horrified look on her face as she realized that he was teasing her - and being as big a pervert as any male she'd ever encountered - in front of everyone.

Miroku grinned, and opened his mouth to comment, but before he could, he was dropped quite efficiently by a still giggling demon slayer.

"Sorry, Kagome. Didn't mean to laugh at you, but the look on your face..." she trailed off into more giggles.

Kagome stared at her, then at a still wickedly amused Sesshoumaru, and promptly dropped her head back down with a groan.

How in the hell am I supposed to deal with them all? And HIM! I'm never gonna live this down...

---wWw---

Kagura panted hard as she skimmed her feather along the edges of the cliff face, pissed at the mess she'd gotten herself into.

That sorceress!

She gritted her teeth, determined to see this thing through, and get Sesshoumaru as her mate. Once she'd achieved her goals, she'd take her revenge on Nyoko for the disaster that her life had become since she'd agreed to gather the ingredients for the potion.

I bet she did this on purpose, sending me after these stupid items without warning me about the dangers. She's probably sitting at home laughing her ass off at me!

She was, of course, quite correct.

Tucking the now secured herb into her obi sourly, she twisted her feather around, heading south this time as she looked at her list.

Damn! And I'm not even half done! This is going to take forever, she groaned.

Then she looked at the list again, and growled.

That damn woman wrote out the list to send me on a wild goose chase all across the lands! The first two ingredients to be found in the north, then the next in the east, then one in the south - then back to the North - then back to the south before heading over to the east again, she narrowed her eyes, and none in the west...

Looking over the list, she took a moment to group everything by where they were found, and then smiled smugly.

Now that she'd done that, she'd be done in half the time.

Bet that stupid woman isn't expecting that!

Grinning triumphantly, she soared off, sure that she had beaten the sorceress at her own game.

---wWw---

Nyoko was perched over a bowl of water, watching Kagura's adventures, laughing hysterically. She was laughing so hard, she almost fell into her seeing spell water several times, and by the time it was over, she did fall, landing hard on the floor in tears.

What an idiot! It took her this long to figure out that I made a mess of the list... and that I did it on purpose. This is almost too easy - if it weren't for the fact that she's got such a big ego, it wouldn't even be fun.

But... since Sesshoumaru's ego is impermeable, I'll just have to be happy with destroying this arrogant woman's unfounded, excessive pride in herself.

Her laughter finally slowed into giggles, and she hiccuped, then giggled again. Once she'd calmed down, she stood up, and made her way over to her sturdy bookshelves, searching through the piled scrolls until she came across the one she was looking for.

Nyoko was a woman of great power and knowledge of the arcane arts - she'd been taught by a woman who wasn't even a native of these lands, and she was the only one of her kind to be found anywhere, here, or on the continent. Her old teacher was from a land much further away than those barbarians across the sea, and even in her lands, those who practiced her arts were not common.

Despite her inheritance of power, however, the rock-bottom truth was that Nyoko was a prankster.

It was shameful, and she would cheerfully admit that, but she was completely unrepentant about it. She enjoyed hassling people, and that was all there was to it.

That was why she was so amenable to this particular job. It gave her the chance to bring out the big guns, so to speak, and make the wind witch's life miserable, while making her own absolutely chock-full of fun - and all with no interference from anyone! What better work could be found?

She grinned as she tapped the scroll across her hand thoughtfully. This particular scroll belonged to her prank section of literature - because the spell was nothing more than a very mean joke.

And one that she was about to unleash on an unsuspecting Kagura.

Best part of the whole thing was that Kagura wouldn't know that it was her doing this... it would just seem like a string of bad luck. Even if the bitch suspected that she was behind it, if she wanted that potion, she'd have no choice but to grin and bear it.

Chuckling wickedly, Nyoko unrolled the scroll and gathered the needed ingredients.

Play time was just beginning.

---wWw---

Inuyasha had spent the entire day watching Kikyou flirt with that stupid fire freak, and was finally beginning to understand that he'd pretty much lost her, as well as Kagome. The strange thing was... losing Kagome had hurt worse.

He wasn't exactly sure why, but there it was.

Even though he'd gotten angry at Kisho for being obviously taken with Kikyou, he'd found as the day wore on that he was almost relieved to find her attention taken by someone else.

And that was shocking, even to himself.

Emotions in a turmoil, and needing some peace to think things through, he cornered his brother.

"Oi, Sesshoumaru. I'm going to head off in a different direction tomorrow. I need some time alone," he said, turning his face away and tucking his hands into his sleeves. "I've got a lot of thinking I need to do."

His brother watched him for a few moments, silently weighing his words, then nodded once.

"Do not cause trouble in any of the villages, and you may do what you wish. Will you be returning?"

"Yeah." He sighed, eyes dark with frustration and confusion. "Once I figure myself out I'll show back up."

"Very well." Sesshoumaru turned back towards the group, and Inuyasha leapt off into the darkness without another word...

It was the start of a new page in his life...

And Kikyou's.

---wWw---

Kagome watched Inuyasha go with sad eyes, knowing exactly the reason for his disappearance.

He was finally figuring it out, and it was going to be a painful thing for him... but that was almost over - and hopefully, he'd soon find his happiness.

She hoped so with everything within her.

Unbeknownst to her, another was watching - and was hoping for the same...

Hurry, my son, run... and figure out your heart. The time for you to meet the one who can make you happy draws near...

Your days of suffering are almost over, Inuyasha.

Just don't give up.


---wWw---

A/N: Well, I hope that chapter keeps everyone happy for a while... this whole 'military move' thing is a pain, especially since my husband is being medically retired - there's so much to do that I'm amazed I even got this chapter out at all. This one was what they call a 'filler chapter' really, but necessary for the lead up to Inuyasha's new interest. And I added Nyoko into it just because she's funny.

Amber