InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ Renewed Quest ( Chapter 54 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.14.2010 | Updated On: 02.25.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.7K | Visits: 2.6K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.14.2010 | Updated On: 02.25.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 8.7K | Visits: 2.6K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Renewed Quest
“Well, you two seem happy this morning,” Miroku observed knowingly, studying the two hanyou from which contentment practically oozed from every pore.
They were. After their wedding yesterday, Mrs. Higurashi had surprised them with a reservation at a ritzy downtown hotel. And when a stretch limo showed up at the shrine with instructions to take them wherever they wanted for the entire evening, Kagome really began to question how much money her mother had spent on this one night. But the older woman brushed off her concerns, telling her to go “enjoy being young while it lasts.” Actually, the package wasn’t nearly as expensive as it seemed; owning the shrine that a prominent manager of the hotel liked to frequent helped quite a bit in that regard.
Both hanyou were shocked when Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi piled into the limo with them; the schoolgirls were bound and determined to give their friend and her new hubby a proper sendoff. They treated the newlyweds to dinner, then took them to a couple shows, one of which was a magician. Kagome giggled at Inuyasha’s amazed expression as he wondered how a human with no aura of any kind could perform such feats. He was a little disappointed when she told him it was all sleight of hand and hidden compartments, and he spent the rest of the show trying to figure out how each trick was done. Kagome just sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. People did real ‘magic’ in the feudal era all the time, but it was never choreographed quite like the fake stuff.
For their final event of the evening, the girls took them to a dance club, which Kagome wasn’t too excited about at first. She wasn’t much of a dancer, and she was quite certain her husband had never danced in his life. But Inuyasha practically dragged her off after the newly-arrived Kenji insinuated he was a coward. The inu-youkai had shown up at Ayumi’s request to dance with her, and received a resounding “fuck off” from Inuyasha when he offered to give the hanyou lessons. The newlyweds found a quieter spot on the dance floor, away from the blaring speakers. The slow songs were easy; their feet moved naturally as they held each other close. Then the music picked up, and they were both lost for a few minutes. But Kagome’s confidence grew as she observed how her husband’s eyes eagerly followed every subtle sway of her hips, and soon she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Inuyasha tried to imitate the other men around him, and discovered that dancing was a lot like combat practice, with plenty of fluid, repetitive movements. Of course, as they got more into it, dancing became more like another pastime at which he was becoming increasingly proficient. He liked that kind of dancing the best, especially when Kagome gyrated in front of him, grinding her backside into him. If Kenji and the girls hadn’t needed a ride home, they might’ve jumped each other in the limo.
As it was, their friends dropped them off at the hotel and said tearful goodbyes. Everyone hoped it would not be the last time they saw each other, but they knew it could be. Time and tears had cooled Inuyasha and Kagome’s surging desires by the time they reached their hotel room, which was just as well. The room was enormous, with a bed that made the already oversized one in her bedroom at home look like a cot. They spent a long time relaxing their overworked muscles in the room’s private Jacuzzi, each too tired to be really affected by the nakedness of the other. After pulling themselves out of the hot tub, they slipped on robes provided by the hotel and went to bed. In addition to being huge, the bed proved to be amazingly comfy; it seemed to suck whatever energy they had left right out of them. It dawned on Kagome that this was their honeymoon, but neither of them felt any obligation to have sex when the mood wasn’t right. Besides, the weeks leading up to the wedding had functioned as a sort of honeymoon for them anyway. They curled up under the covers together and fell asleep, all smiles.
Unfortunately, their nighttime activities meant it was nearly dawn before they finally nodded off. They were a little red in the eyes as a result, but still in high spirits. Now they stood in the mid-morning sunlight of the feudal era, bidding farewell to a different group of friends. After yesterday, they were ready to renew their quest to rid the world of the Shikon no Tama.
“Did you have an enjoyable evening?” the monk continued, his voice all insinuation. The two hanyou shared an amused glance; Miroku could waggle his eyes at them all he wanted, but the fact remained that for last night at least the gesture was unwarranted. But they weren’t about to tell him that.
“Keh. Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Why, yes, actually I wou—”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Sango interjected, grabbing Inuyasha’s haori and pulling him off to the side. The hanyou was surprised but went along quietly as the slayer led him a fair distance from the others. He had a good idea what this was about, anyway. Sango confirmed it when she finally stopped and turned to him, sincere gratitude in her eyes.
“Thank you for talking to Kohaku. Already he seems…different.”
Inuyasha glanced over at the boy, currently standing next to Miroku. It was true; he did seem different. His posture was straighter, his eyes brighter, his lips appearing more ready to shift into a smile at any moment. Kohaku had apparently turned a corner, and Inuyasha was happy to be part of the reason for it.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told the slayer.
“Kaede told me you spoke to him, but what did you say?”
“The truth,” was his simple reply, but Sango seemed to understand. She nodded, patting him briefly on the shoulder before preceding him back toward the others.
“Do you have everything you need?” Miroku was saying.
“Yep,” Kagome answered, pointing to the large packs both of them wore. “We have plenty of ninja food so Inuyasha doesn’t have to catch something every day, some changes of clothing for me, and my new sleeping bag. We’re all set.”
“Well, then we wish you the best of luck. Visit us soon.”
“Thanks, Miroku-sama. We will.”
“Oh, and one more thing,” the monk said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small purse which jingled with the sound of coins clinking together. Kagome shook her head when he moved to hand it to her.
“Miroku-sama, I can’t accept this. I—”
“Please! With all the aid you and Inuyasha have given us? You can think of it as your share of the proceeds from the extermination job you helped us on,” he told her, referring to the fiasco at Kiku’s village. “I am sure those funds will come in handy if you see something tasty at a market, or want to spend an evening under a roof. Remember, I won’t be there to provide exorcism services and get us free board.”
Kagome bit back a comment about Miroku’s ‘services,’ not wanting to criticize him when he was giving her something that he could surely use with a new baby on the way. But she also didn’t want to insult him by refusing the gift. And it really would be nice to have the option of buying something at a village.
“Thank you, Miroku-sama,” she said, taking the purse and embracing the monk, who hugged her back.
“Oi! Watch those hands, bouzu,” Inuyasha warned, far more amused than annoyed since Miroku’s wandering appendages hadn’t actually strayed from the small of Kagome’s back. Yet.
“Ah, Inuyasha, you misjudge me. I am married now. These hands are only for my lovely Sango’s shapely rear end,” Miroku declared, holding them as if to show everyone how faithful they were, while simultaneously winking at his wife. Sango smacked herself in the forehead, but couldn’t help shaking her head and grinning at her husband’s antics.
More hugs and farewells were exchanged, and the two intrepid hanyou were just about to set out when Kagome froze, frowning and glancing around the clearing.
“What’s wrong, Kagome?” her husband inquired.
“I don’t know…it feels like something’s missing. Oh! Where’s Shippou-chan?”
“He went off to play,” Sango said, pointing in the general direction she had seen him last. “But I told him to be here.”
“That damn kid,” Inuyasha grumped. “Come on, Kagome, let’s go find him.”
Kagome grinned secretively as she fell in step beside him. Inuyasha probably didn’t even realize how easily he’d proposed seeking Shippou out. The old Inuyasha would have declared it a waste of time and complained about it the whole way. He certainly had changed. And he wouldn’t admit it, but he probably didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Shippou either.
“What’re you smiling about?” he grouched, which only widened her grin.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
The loud crack of snapping wood made Shippou jump. He quickly scanned his surroundings, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. The hairs on the back of his neck remained standing on end, however. That was not among the range of normal sounds animals made as they moved through the forest. It was the sharp, piercing crack of a predator attempting and failing to stalk silently toward prey. Now the game was up; the prey knew the predator was out there, somewhere. The predator had two choices: give up or give chase.
A hulking monster emerged from the cover of the trees. Its form was shrouded in unnatural darkness, and it seemed to float over the ground as it moved. Shippou could make out glowing red eyes, and a pair of white canine teeth shining in the gloom. That was enough for him; he immediately turned and bolted, sprinting away as fast as his four legs would carry him. In the next instant he skidded to a halt, nearly smashing his chin against the ground. The creature was now in front of him! How it had gotten there, he hadn’t the foggiest idea, but he wasn’t about to keep going that way.
He spun and darted in the other direction, only to stop once again. A hulking form, cloaked in darkness blocked his way. Panic built rapidly within him, his heart and lungs pumping frantically now as he dashed to the left. For a moment he saw a clear path, then the creature materialized again. Shippou barely managed to avoid crashing into it this time; it seemed that with each successive appearance the monster closed the distance. Blindly now he ran, a frenzied fox with no direction and no plan. Some thread of memory prompted him to cast his multiple illusion spell, and dozens of Shippous fled in all directions. But the creature was not fooled. Shadow cut off his vision just before he hit something hard, falling back and gazing in terror up at the unshakeable nightmare looming over him. He backed away, praying for a miracle. Then the back of his head encountered an object, and in dread he craned his neck to look above him. Glowing red eyes, and vicious white teeth…leaning toward him… And at that point there was nothing left to do but scream.
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”
Only when the last iota of breath had been expelled from his lungs, and he discovered that he could still breathe, did Shippou dare to open his eyes. Tranquil woodland greeted his frightened gaze; there was no sign of the nightmare. He hesitantly looked around, half-expecting it to pop out of the foliage at any moment, like a cat toying with a mouse before finally killing it. But as his other senses came back to him, a strange, totally unexpected sound reached his ears.
Laughter. Not mere chuckling, but full-on, can’t-breathe, I’m-dying-here guffaws. And it sounded somewhat familiar. Peering around a bush at the source of the racket, Shippou nearly tripped over himself in shock.
It was Kiku, rolling around on the ground in her mirth. She squinted up at him and pointed, declaring “You should have seen your face!” before launching into a fresh round of giggles. As the truth dawned on Shippou, he flopped onto his back, overpowering relief temporarily rendering his muscles incapable of supporting him. It almost took away his anger at the girl who had played a cruel, cruel trick on him. She had nearly scared him to death! He at least needed to know whether she had a good reason before giving her a piece of his mind.
“What the hell, Kiku?!” he snapped furiously, causing the girl’s lingering amusement to vanish in a heartbeat.
“Oh, no, don’t give me that hurt attitude! That’s payback for giving me a bald spot!”
The throbbing vein in Shippou’s forehead nearly popped. Of all the stupid, childish things. He was just about to tell her what he thought of her ‘payback’ when a deep, male voice spoke up from behind him.
“It was also a test.”
Whirling around, Shippou was met with the sight of a man, whose style of dress and youkai features easily marked him as a kitsune. His robes were made of fine furs and appeared immaculate, complimenting his regal demeanor. Kind eyes were set in a stern face, and it was the former that enabled Shippou to identify this kitsune. They looked just like his daughter’s.
“A kitsune of your age should have been able to see through that illusion,” Kiku’s father continued. “It is good that you thought to use your kitsune-bi in the heat of battle, but you should have been able to do more with it. Though I suppose I cannot blame you for failing, since you have been without proper instruction for a lengthy period of time. Kiku told me that you have lived with the hanyou’s group since your father’s death. I did not know your father, but he must have been a good man. You have my condolences.”
“Dad…” Kiku groaned in the typical manner of a child frustrated with her parent. The elder kitsune was talking too much as far as she was concerned. Shippou just stared at him, not sure what to say.
“But I did not come here to criticize, and we probably should have gone easier on you with the test. I apologize for that. The main reason I made this journey was to express my sincere gratitude to you in person. Thank you for rescuing my daughter.”
“Dad!” Kiku whined, this time flushing in embarrassment. Shippou could not help but puff out his chest just a little bit. That had been one of his finer moments.
“Shush, Kiku. From what you told me, rescuing you was exactly what he did. It seems your quick thinking and drive to help others makes up for your lack of formal training, young fox. In that regard, you are already well ahead of most of the other kitsune in your age group. But those traits alone will not carry you forever. Why don’t you journey back to our home with Kiku and me? There is much I can teach you, even if you only stay a short time. What do you say?”
Shippou gaped slightly, stunned at the offer. The more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him. This village was his home, and his friends and family were here, but how often did an opportunity like this come up? He had wanted to learn more about his kitsune heritage for some time now. He was tired of struggling to figure tricks and illusions out on his own without any guidance. The fact that he would be able to see Kiku every day was a nice bonus, and a shy glance in her direction revealed that she liked the idea as well. Swallowing hard and feeling as if he was taking a major step toward his future, Shippou prepared to give his answer.
Loud rustling cut him off, and all eyes turned to see Inuyasha and Kagome barrel into the clearing, having been urged into flight by his terrified shriek. The male hanyou’s hand gripped the hilt of his sword, but his recognition of one of the strangers led him to release it almost immediately. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the other youkai was, or that he meant no harm. Whatever Shippou had been screaming about, he was in no danger now.
“You Kiku’s old man?” Inuyasha demanded just to be sure.
“Indeed,” the youkai replied, executing a short bow. “You may call me Hideyoshi. And you must be Inuyasha and Kagome.”
“Pleased to meet you, Hideyoshi-san,” Kagome greeted, taking an instant liking to the formal yet friendly youkai.
“I assure you the pleasure is all mine,” Hideyoshi replied smoothly. “You have helped raise a fine young kitsune. But I fear Shippou is growing out of touch with his roots. I offered to take him back to my home and teach him some of the things he has missed out on since joining you. I mean no offense, of course, but these are things that can only be learned from a fellow kitsune. I believe he was just about to give me an answer when you arrived.”
All eyes turned to Shippou, who gulped again under the pressure. His desire remained the same, but the presence of his friends complicated things. He didn’t want to hurt their feelings or make them feel like he was abandoning them. Kagome easily read these concerns in his gaze, and shook her head to dissuade them. Was she worried about Shippou going off with someone they had only just met? Of course, but how often did an opportunity like this come up? He really did need to learn more about his kitsune heritage before he lost all connection with it. And besides, it was probably boring in the village for him. None of the human children could keep up with a youkai, even one much shorter than they were. With Kiku, it was Shippou who would have trouble keeping up. The girl was nice enough, if not a little mischievous—most children were—and held no prejudice toward humans or hanyou. These things reflected positively on the man who raised her, which, along with her own private judging of his character, gave Kagome the confidence to say what she did next.
“It’s up to you, Shippou-chan. If you want to go, you should go. Don’t worry about us,” she finished with a smile.
Shippou nodded gratefully, meeting eyes with Inuyasha for a second to gauge what he thought about it. Seeing his agreement, he turned back to the elder kitsune.
“I accept your offer, Hideyoshi-sama. Thank you in advance for teaching me.”
Hideyoshi chuckled a bit at the kit’s formality, but was glad the boy knew how to respect his elders. Inuyasha would have scoffed at that, but he was a different kind of ‘elder’ from Shippou’s perspective. All of his friends were; he would tread carefully until his new sensei told him otherwise.
“Shippou, why don’t you take Kiku and go play,” Inuyasha said sternly, no room for argument in his tone. His sudden shift in mood was perplexing, but Shippou chose to ignore it in favor of something which would clearly be a lot of fun.
“Come on!” he called excitedly over his shoulder as he bounded toward the village. “I’ll introduce you to the kids in my village.”
Hideyoshi waited until the children were no longer within hearing distance before speaking. “Something bothering you, Inuyasha?”
“Yeah, there is,” the hanyou confirmed accusingly. “Do you intend to leave the brats by themselves for a month while you’re on ‘kitsune business’ or whatever?”
Hideyoshi sighed at that. “I am always nervous when I must leave my daughter, but my work…is something I do not wish for her to see,” he said solemnly. Not for the first time, Inuyasha and Kagome wondered what exactly that ‘work’ entailed. But they didn’t ask; they sensed the kitsune would not answer if they did.
“But she is never truly alone,” Hideyoshi continued. “The village is a second home to her, and I trust the humans to look out for her. I also trust my daughter to take care of herself, though considering recent events, perhaps that trust is somewhat misplaced. She is still a child, after all. Anyway, I promise I will not leave Kiku and Shippou alone. I do not anticipate being called away again for awhile, but if I do need to leave, I will bring them back here. I assume you do not mind watching my daughter?”
“No, not at all,” Kagome replied, relieved that Hideyoshi would make such a promise. “We appreciate that you won’t leave Shippou alone.”
“The runt has a way of finding trouble,” Inuyasha added.
“A malady shared by my daughter, apparently,” Hideyoshi joked, chuckling quietly to himself.
“We can visit him, right?” Kagome asked, wanting to be sure Shippou’s training didn’t require seclusion from his friends as a monk’s might.
“Of course you can. Stop by anytime. I’ll even cook you up some fine kitsune cuisine.”
“Oooh, that sounds good. We’re not very good cooks,” Kagome admitted.
Inuyasha snorted derisively at all the fancy food talk. “Put it on a stick and roast it.” That was his philosophy. Kagome rolled her eyes at him, knowing that eating like that got boring very quickly. That was what the dozens of varieties of ninja food in their packs were for. Hopefully they could find or purchase some other items on their journey to spice things up a bit. She had a feeling the travel funds Miroku gave them would come in quite handy.
With nothing else to discuss, the three of them walked to the village and found the kitsune children playing with some kids from the village. The hanyou said goodbye to Shippou, Kagome with a tight hug that nearly crushed the kit’s lungs, and Inuyasha merely with a sharp nod. But his eyes spoke of pride, and encouraged Shippou to treat his training with the same tough, ‘give ‘em hell’ attitude the hanyou fought every battle with. Shippou nodded back, the resolve in his gaze saying ‘I won’t let you down.’
Then, at long last, they were finally ready to set out on their journey. Nearly a quarter of the village came down to see them off, a welcome show of solidarity. Most of the inhabitants looked forward to the day when their hanyou protectors would return for good. But they understood the importance of the mission, and wished the brave travelers the best. Inuyasha and Kagome walked away with their heads held high, feeling that they were doing something truly important. And, perhaps more significantly, that they had a home to come back to.
“It seems like we’ve come full circle,” Kagome commented after awhile.
“Huh?”
“Just two years ago we were in the same spot—going after the jewel, just the two of us, not really knowing what we would find.” She gazed contemplatively up at the sky, smiling serenely. “Somehow, it feels different this time.”
Inuyasha grinned, turning his eyes skyward as well. “I guess it does.”
For a moment, they simply basked in everything that had changed since they first met two years ago. Their goals, their fears, their feelings, their relationship, who they were as people…all of it had undergone a drastic metamorphosis. In coming full circle they had grown as individuals and as a couple. Now, with their experiences and bonds to guide them, both hoped and believed this journey would take them toward a bright future.
Two days into their quest, they had stumbled upon their first jewel shard. Or rather, the four-legged reptilian youkai bearing said shard had suddenly blitzed them, seeking the chunk they already carried. It moved swiftly in short bursts like a lizard, but its jaws were elongated and enlarged out of proportion to its body, which was covered in tough-looking scales. As a result, the creature’s initial attack was somewhat clumsy and would have been easily avoided by its intended prey even if one of them hadn’t possessed the ability to sense approaching jewel shards. Inuyasha had just drawn Tetsusaiga and was preparing to obliterate the beast when Kagome’s voice stopped him.
“Let me handle this one, Inuyasha. Please.”
His first reaction was to shout ‘hell no!’ and tell her to stay back where she belonged. But he couldn’t do that, not when she was basically pleading with him using those soft doe eyes. She understood how difficult it was for him to let her put herself in harm’s way; for more than a year and a half she had relied on him to pull her out of those same situations, often to his physical detriment. But she also refused to be a bystander now, when she was more competent in combat than ever before. She was strong, she knew the limits of her own body, and she knew how to take care of herself. She would not insist on slaying every youkai they came across, or even half, but neither would she sit back and let her husband risk his life time after time. Inuyasha knew all this, and because he had faith in her, he was able to sheath his sword and give her a reluctant nod. He hadn’t trained her for nothing, after all. And at the slightest sign of trouble, he would leap in and help her.
He needn’t have worried, in this case at least. Kagome made dodging the reptile’s snaps and swipes look like child’s play. Unsure how effective her claws would be against the creature’s tough hide, she wisely chose to forego an attack which might leave her open to counterstrike. Instead she readied her bow, gracefully leaping off the creature’s back high into the air, only to turn and fire a purifying arrow straight through the top of its skull. The beast collapsed and stilled almost immediately, its brains liquefied into a charred mush. Perhaps it would have regenerated eventually, but Kagome did not afford it the opportunity. A few short minutes after its first foolhardy attack, the youkai was reduced to dust blowing in the wind.
“Try not to look so surprised, Inuyasha,” she teased as she walked up to him. “I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
“K-keh! You had a good teacher,” he retorted lamely. Kagome laughed, a sound which oddly made him feel better, as did her next words.
“I guess I did.”
“Nope.”
Kagome growled in frustration, though she knew it was futile. Inuyasha could be like a steel trap when he wanted to, nothing getting in or out. Better to just accept it and let him lead the wa—
“Hey, I recognize that scent!” she cried suddenly. It was the combination of aromas from a flowery field, a very particular field of flowers that had once launched her into the most powerful sneezing fit of her young life. This time she would not stop for a sniff.
Sure enough, the beautiful countryside came into view as they emerged from the forest. The great cave carved into the small mountain, the vast beds of flowers painstakingly tended, flourishing under the warm sun and the loving care of their keeper. The natural splendor was as breathtaking as she remembered, but she was even more excited about seeing the main inhabitant of this grassland utopia. She glanced over to her husband, who was watching her closely and seemed especially pleased with himself. He knew I wanted to visit Daichi-sama, so he led us here to surprise me. How thoughtful! But before she could express her gratitude, Inuyasha spoke hastily as if to forestall a comment he really didn’t want to hear.
“I thought maybe the old bear knew where we can find some jewel shards,” he stated a little too nonchalantly. Kagome rolled her eyes, but decided to let it go. They both knew she saw right through him. At this point, he probably only kept up the ‘not a nice guy’ act out of habit.
As they wove their way through the flowers and neared the cave, Kagome spied Daichi’s companion Sakura coming toward them. She tensed, remembering the fox-like youkai’s less-than-friendly greeting the only time they had previously crossed paths. But evidently Sakura had taken a liking to Inuyasha on his last visit, for she loped up to him and rubbed herself affectionately against his leg, seeking some attention in return. He knelt, gently running his hands along the fur of her back. At an encouraging wave of his hand, Kagome moved to join him. A sharp look from Sakura stopped her briefly, but then the youkai seemed to recognize her as well and Kagome was able to scratch her head without incident. Daichi had been right about Sakura; once you were no longer on her ‘tear to shreds’ list, she really was a sweet little thing. Hmm, maybe her name isn’t such a misnomer after all.
“Well, hey!” Daichi’s voice suddenly boomed, making both of them jump. “If it isn’t my two favorite hanyou! What brings you to these parts?”
“We got a question for ya’, you crazy bear,” Inuyasha replied with a small but genuine smile. As annoying as he was, he now considered Daichi a friend.
“Oh? Please come inside. You must stay for dinner if not the night.”
Kagome grabbed her husband’s hand and dragged him after the bear youkai, expecting a protest. But Inuyasha had none to make; he had expected this, after all. Besides, he was sure the food would be tasty, and perhaps they could even wrangle some sake out of the old bear.
“So how are you, Kagome? It’s been awhile since I last saw you. Any major changes in your life?” Daichi asked as they seated themselves in his plush sitting area. The hint of a smirk quirking the bear’s lips suggested that he knew more than he let on.
“A few,” Kagome admitted, trying not to blush under the older youkai’s knowing gaze.
“Keh,” Inuyasha muttered, unwisely drawing Daichi’s attention to himself. The bear took a few moments to simply study them, drawing out a silence that wasn’t so much uncomfortable as it was slightly embarrassing. Finally he turned to Inuyasha and adopted a positively roguish grin.
“I see you kept your word, Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha blinked in confusion. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“Remember the last time we spoke? You were amazed at my creations, and you said you didn’t know what to say. I believe my exact reply was, ‘You can say that Kagome will be your mate the next time I see you.’ And now that I see the two of you together, I can easily tell that you kept your word.”
At this, Inuyasha finally lost his inner battle with mortification, his cheeks darkening nicely. “I never agreed to that, you bastard!”
“Ah, but you did not dis-agree with it, either.”
“Oh, so now nothing means yes?”
“When I make a bold statement such as that, and you don’t say anything at the time, then yes, nothing means yes.”
Inuyasha growled and smacked himself in the forehead, the only suitable alternative to smacking his tormentor. Friend or no, Daichi had a way of getting under his skin. He was brutally honest and called things as he saw them, which clashed with Inuyasha’s usually shy, reserved personality when it came to matters of the heart. But that was also why the bear was such a good friend, and why he had helped a confused and uncertain hanyou so much on his last visit.
Kagome cleared her throat, drawing both males’ eyes in her direction. “You two talked about that the last time Inuyasha stayed here?” she asked, her tone incredulous and slightly hurt.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” Daichi hastened to reassure her, “I was only joking. Inuyasha and I talked about you quite a bit, but I was just trying to get him to admit a few things. I—”
“Ah, shaddup already,” Inuyasha cut him off. “Kagome,” he said, turning to his wife and pausing for a moment. “I still had my head up my ass back then. He really helped me sort out my feelings. It was…the first time I admitted that I loved you.”
Kagome’s eyes softened as she gazed upon her husband’s sincere amber orbs, then she turned and smiled gratefully at Daichi.
“Then I have another thing to thank you for, Daichi-sama.”
“Another thing?” the bear repeated, somewhat bewildered. “Surely you don’t mean the clothes? Those were a gift, my dear!”
“But you made them, and I love them. They’re the perfect combination of beautiful and functional.”
“Aw,” Daichi mumbled, genuinely touched. “No thanks are needed. Seeing you satisfied is reward enough. Although…no, never mind.”
“What is it?” Kagome inquired.
“Well, I was sort of wondering if you wouldn’t mind modeling each garment for me? I would really like to see how they look on you. Well, maybe not all of them,” he said with a wink, obviously referring to the bathing yukata. Kagome was glad he wasn’t going to ask her to model that particular garment; it was for one man’s eyes only. Although, come to think of it, Inuyasha had not seen her in it since the night he gave it to her. She had never thought to wear it before, having gotten used to bathing immediately after stripping out of her clothes and then simply putting them back on afterwards. Glancing Inuyasha’s way, she spied his slight pout, which told her his thoughts were flowing along similar lines. This situation was intolerable, and required remedying soon. The gorgeous yukata was resting at the bottom of her bag, but it would not remain there for long. Her hanyou’s gift would yet see some use.
But as for the here and now, she had a rather unusual request to comply with. She felt rather foolish standing up and modeling the clothes she wore every day, but if that’s what Daichi wanted, then she would stride back and forth across the cave and do little twirls when asked. At least there was a small audience, and Daichi studied her with a professional eye. Though her husband’s gaze was tinged with something decidedly unprofessional. Finally, after she had modeled all four sets of garments, she changed back into the white kosode and forest green hakama which had become her favorites. Daichi had not said a word beyond giving instructions the entire time, but now the seriousness abruptly vanished from his demeanor as he whistled appreciatively.
“I’m my own worst critic, but even I’m impressed with my work in this case. They fit perfectly with the natural way you carry yourself. Mostly conservative, but with just a hint of sensuality. Very sexy in a classical kind of way.”
“Oi! Don’t be ogling my wife,” Inuyasha warned. That’s my job.
“Oh please, Inuyasha, my examination was entirely prof—wait, did you say wife?”
“Uh, yeah. Got a problem with that?” Inuyasha demanded, reacting to Daichi’s shocked tone. He knew youkai didn’t typically get married, but was there a genuine aversion to the custom or just an ignorance of it?
“No, no, of course not,” Daichi replied, assuaging his concerns. “I was merely surprised. Marriage is something we full-youkai don’t ever think about, but I suppose it makes sense. Both of you are half-human, after all.”
“That was our thinking exactly, Daichi-sama,” Kagome confirmed.
“Well, I’m happy for you. Congratulations. But alas,” he lamented dramatically, “it is sad that such a fine lady is off the market. My son will have to find someone else,” he said with a wink in the miko’s direction. Kagome grinned, remembering the old joke, and how worked up a certain jealous inu-hanyou had become over it.
“Don’t start that shit again,” Inuyasha grumped, shaking his head at his own memories of how dumb he’d acted back then. “Why don’t you just tell us what we came here for?”
“And that would be?”
Grrrrr. As if he doesn’t know exactly what I mean. Jackass. “Have you heard about any jewel shards?”
“Ah, yes, the Shikon no Tama. I heard a rumor that it had been shattered again. I believe I was traveling up north at the time, visiting one of my long-time customers. You see, his daughter was…”
Inuyasha hung his head, wondering if bashing his skull against the ground would be less painful than listening to Daichi’s incessant babbling. Yet somehow, when he’s talking about my personal life, he never goes off on tangents. And was it his imagination or was the bastard doing it on purpose just to mess with him?
“I don’t care where you fucking heard it!” Inuyasha swore. “Have you heard about any specific shards we can go grab?”
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
“Ugh,” Inuyasha groaned, collapsing against the cushion at his back. Then why didn’t he just say that in the first place?! Daichi was something else, and a little crazy to boot.
Fortunately, the bear youkai knew exactly how to appease the annoyed hanyou—with food. And afterwards, with sake. It quickly became comically clear that Kagome had barely touched alcohol in her life. If she thought being a hanyou would allow her to hold her liquor better, she was sorely mistaken. Inuyasha and Daichi had quite a time making fun of the woman who didn’t even realize she was being made fun of, though the former was starting to slur his words as well. Finally, Daichi concluded that they’d had enough and sent them to bed.
“Alright you two, lie down here and sleep it off. I wish you had told me you were such lightweights.”
A few minutes later, Inuyasha and Kagome were sound asleep, curled around each other on a makeshift bed of soft furs. Daichi gazed down at them with amusement in his eyes. They looked so comfortable like that; he would wager everything he owned that they had trouble sleeping without each other. Sakura rubbed up against his leg, growling lowly in her version of a purr. He picked her up and began to pet her, running his hand gently along her back.
“Oh, Sakura, they’re quite a pair, aren’t they?”
No reply came from his companion. Shaking his head, Daichi went to put the fire out before turning in for the night.
“Because then he would have begged us to stay another night, and we probably would’ve had sake again. You didn’t want that, did you?”
“I’m never drinking again.”
Inuyasha chuckled at her, though if truth be told, he was feeling the effects of the previous night’s merriment as well. They had departed early the next morning, and the sun was now high in the sky, beating down as if to punish them. Sitting in the shady cave would have been nice, but one whole day spent in Daichi’s company was plenty. He was a nice guy, but annoying as hell as far as Inuyasha was concerned. And they did have a quest to continue.
By late afternoon, Kagome was finally feeling like herself again. The sun was pleasantly bright, the gentle breeze cooling her skin. The scents and sounds of nature were comforting to her hanyou senses. In short, she felt wonderful.
The sudden onset of painful and familiar symptoms completely threw that to hell. The nausea, the dizziness, the pounding between her temples…all signaled the approach of her time of weakness. Sure enough, in a few minutes the discomfort abruptly vanished, as did her heightened senses. She blinked her eyes open, feeling Inuyasha’s arms around her as she gazed up at his concerned visage.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, grateful that he hadn’t let her fall. Her own voice sounded muffled to her now-human ears. She sighed as he steadied her on her feet; it was going to be a long night. Kami, how did I stand this before? Probably because I didn’t know what I was missing.
When Inuyasha didn’t reply, Kagome glanced at him again and was surprised to see genuine alarm on his features. It wasn’t as if this had never happened before; she would be back to normal once her youki returned, probably the next day. So then why was he so troubled?
“What’s wrong, Inuyasha?”
“You know what tonight is, don’t you?”
Kagome gasped as the realization struck. Oh, crap. Tonight’s the new moon! She and Inuyasha would both be human this evening.
“We got a problem, Kagome.”
This was bad, very bad. Human eyes were not designed to see well in the dark. She was still a miko and could deal fairly well with youkai, but only if she could see them. And what if—Kami forbid—a gang of bandits discovered them, a couple humans with only a rusty sword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows between them? Kagome shuddered to think what could happen in that situation. Damn, what a horrible coincidence! Statistically, it was bound to happen sooner or later that her and Inuyasha’s times of weakness overlapped, but this was a particularly bad time for the odds to turn against them. In the beginning, her transformations had been preceded by close to an hour of symptoms, but now she hardly got any warning at all. It seemed her body had grown more used to the changes, and for the first time, she wished it were not so. They could definitely have used more notice of the impending catastrophe.
“Think we can make it back to Daichi’s?” she asked. Inuyasha grimaced, staring anxiously at the sun, which now seemed to be descending rapidly toward the horizon.
“Dunno, but we have to try. Hop on,” he said, squatting so she could climb on his back. Once she was secure, he took off at full speed, seeming to fly across the landscape. But all too soon, his pace slowed, his breathing becoming heavier as the shadows lengthened.
“Shit!” he cursed, coming to a stop. But he didn’t put Kagome down; instead, he spoke quickly to her over his shoulder. “We ain’t making it back to Daichi’s. But I remember there being a human village over that way. We’ll have to stay there for the night.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied, and Inuyasha took off again. The sun was about halfway below the tree line when they reached the outskirts of the village Inuyasha had spoken of. It was relatively small, and looked peaceful and quaint from a distance. They decided to wait until after Inuyasha’s transformation to approach closer; there was no need to let anyone know they were hanyou.
Kagome grinned despite their predicament. This would be the first time she and Inuyasha had gone anywhere as human man and wife. She was looking forward to the experience, to the lack of automatic suspicion and mistrust. For once, they could go into a new place and be treated like normal people. And they could afford a room at the inn or someone’s home, thanks to the traveling money Miroku had given them. They definitely owed the monk for his foresight and generosity.
But despite the positives, Kagome could not shake the faint feeling of dread which hovered in the back of her mind. She hoped she was wrong, but her instincts told her that their stay at this village would not be as uneventful as they hoped.
Hideyoshi – “esteem, excellence” combined with “good luck”
**HUGE Fanfiction Announcement**
It is a story months in the making, with many hours spent brainstorming, planning, writing, editing, and corresponding. A simple idea from my wonderful co-author SplendentGoddess became a comedic epic of over 50,000 words. I only hope those of you brave enough to read it have as much fun as we did writing it. So, without further ado, it is my great pleasure to announce the premier of:
The Comedy Central Roast of Inuyasha
Link: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/166965
2011 Note – I altered the drinking scene to make it less OOC. But I left the hangover as is; we see in the series that hanyou are no more resistant to alcohol than humans.
Converting /tmp/php3GqMFO to /dev/stdout
Renewed Quest
“Well, you two seem happy this morning,” Miroku observed knowingly, studying the two hanyou from which contentment practically oozed from every pore.
They were. After their wedding yesterday, Mrs. Higurashi had surprised them with a reservation at a ritzy downtown hotel. And when a stretch limo showed up at the shrine with instructions to take them wherever they wanted for the entire evening, Kagome really began to question how much money her mother had spent on this one night. But the older woman brushed off her concerns, telling her to go “enjoy being young while it lasts.” Actually, the package wasn’t nearly as expensive as it seemed; owning the shrine that a prominent manager of the hotel liked to frequent helped quite a bit in that regard.
Both hanyou were shocked when Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi piled into the limo with them; the schoolgirls were bound and determined to give their friend and her new hubby a proper sendoff. They treated the newlyweds to dinner, then took them to a couple shows, one of which was a magician. Kagome giggled at Inuyasha’s amazed expression as he wondered how a human with no aura of any kind could perform such feats. He was a little disappointed when she told him it was all sleight of hand and hidden compartments, and he spent the rest of the show trying to figure out how each trick was done. Kagome just sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. People did real ‘magic’ in the feudal era all the time, but it was never choreographed quite like the fake stuff.
For their final event of the evening, the girls took them to a dance club, which Kagome wasn’t too excited about at first. She wasn’t much of a dancer, and she was quite certain her husband had never danced in his life. But Inuyasha practically dragged her off after the newly-arrived Kenji insinuated he was a coward. The inu-youkai had shown up at Ayumi’s request to dance with her, and received a resounding “fuck off” from Inuyasha when he offered to give the hanyou lessons. The newlyweds found a quieter spot on the dance floor, away from the blaring speakers. The slow songs were easy; their feet moved naturally as they held each other close. Then the music picked up, and they were both lost for a few minutes. But Kagome’s confidence grew as she observed how her husband’s eyes eagerly followed every subtle sway of her hips, and soon she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Inuyasha tried to imitate the other men around him, and discovered that dancing was a lot like combat practice, with plenty of fluid, repetitive movements. Of course, as they got more into it, dancing became more like another pastime at which he was becoming increasingly proficient. He liked that kind of dancing the best, especially when Kagome gyrated in front of him, grinding her backside into him. If Kenji and the girls hadn’t needed a ride home, they might’ve jumped each other in the limo.
As it was, their friends dropped them off at the hotel and said tearful goodbyes. Everyone hoped it would not be the last time they saw each other, but they knew it could be. Time and tears had cooled Inuyasha and Kagome’s surging desires by the time they reached their hotel room, which was just as well. The room was enormous, with a bed that made the already oversized one in her bedroom at home look like a cot. They spent a long time relaxing their overworked muscles in the room’s private Jacuzzi, each too tired to be really affected by the nakedness of the other. After pulling themselves out of the hot tub, they slipped on robes provided by the hotel and went to bed. In addition to being huge, the bed proved to be amazingly comfy; it seemed to suck whatever energy they had left right out of them. It dawned on Kagome that this was their honeymoon, but neither of them felt any obligation to have sex when the mood wasn’t right. Besides, the weeks leading up to the wedding had functioned as a sort of honeymoon for them anyway. They curled up under the covers together and fell asleep, all smiles.
Unfortunately, their nighttime activities meant it was nearly dawn before they finally nodded off. They were a little red in the eyes as a result, but still in high spirits. Now they stood in the mid-morning sunlight of the feudal era, bidding farewell to a different group of friends. After yesterday, they were ready to renew their quest to rid the world of the Shikon no Tama.
“Did you have an enjoyable evening?” the monk continued, his voice all insinuation. The two hanyou shared an amused glance; Miroku could waggle his eyes at them all he wanted, but the fact remained that for last night at least the gesture was unwarranted. But they weren’t about to tell him that.
“Keh. Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Why, yes, actually I wou—”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Sango interjected, grabbing Inuyasha’s haori and pulling him off to the side. The hanyou was surprised but went along quietly as the slayer led him a fair distance from the others. He had a good idea what this was about, anyway. Sango confirmed it when she finally stopped and turned to him, sincere gratitude in her eyes.
“Thank you for talking to Kohaku. Already he seems…different.”
Inuyasha glanced over at the boy, currently standing next to Miroku. It was true; he did seem different. His posture was straighter, his eyes brighter, his lips appearing more ready to shift into a smile at any moment. Kohaku had apparently turned a corner, and Inuyasha was happy to be part of the reason for it.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told the slayer.
“Kaede told me you spoke to him, but what did you say?”
“The truth,” was his simple reply, but Sango seemed to understand. She nodded, patting him briefly on the shoulder before preceding him back toward the others.
“Do you have everything you need?” Miroku was saying.
“Yep,” Kagome answered, pointing to the large packs both of them wore. “We have plenty of ninja food so Inuyasha doesn’t have to catch something every day, some changes of clothing for me, and my new sleeping bag. We’re all set.”
“Well, then we wish you the best of luck. Visit us soon.”
“Thanks, Miroku-sama. We will.”
“Oh, and one more thing,” the monk said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small purse which jingled with the sound of coins clinking together. Kagome shook her head when he moved to hand it to her.
“Miroku-sama, I can’t accept this. I—”
“Please! With all the aid you and Inuyasha have given us? You can think of it as your share of the proceeds from the extermination job you helped us on,” he told her, referring to the fiasco at Kiku’s village. “I am sure those funds will come in handy if you see something tasty at a market, or want to spend an evening under a roof. Remember, I won’t be there to provide exorcism services and get us free board.”
Kagome bit back a comment about Miroku’s ‘services,’ not wanting to criticize him when he was giving her something that he could surely use with a new baby on the way. But she also didn’t want to insult him by refusing the gift. And it really would be nice to have the option of buying something at a village.
“Thank you, Miroku-sama,” she said, taking the purse and embracing the monk, who hugged her back.
“Oi! Watch those hands, bouzu,” Inuyasha warned, far more amused than annoyed since Miroku’s wandering appendages hadn’t actually strayed from the small of Kagome’s back. Yet.
“Ah, Inuyasha, you misjudge me. I am married now. These hands are only for my lovely Sango’s shapely rear end,” Miroku declared, holding them as if to show everyone how faithful they were, while simultaneously winking at his wife. Sango smacked herself in the forehead, but couldn’t help shaking her head and grinning at her husband’s antics.
More hugs and farewells were exchanged, and the two intrepid hanyou were just about to set out when Kagome froze, frowning and glancing around the clearing.
“What’s wrong, Kagome?” her husband inquired.
“I don’t know…it feels like something’s missing. Oh! Where’s Shippou-chan?”
“He went off to play,” Sango said, pointing in the general direction she had seen him last. “But I told him to be here.”
“That damn kid,” Inuyasha grumped. “Come on, Kagome, let’s go find him.”
Kagome grinned secretively as she fell in step beside him. Inuyasha probably didn’t even realize how easily he’d proposed seeking Shippou out. The old Inuyasha would have declared it a waste of time and complained about it the whole way. He certainly had changed. And he wouldn’t admit it, but he probably didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Shippou either.
“What’re you smiling about?” he grouched, which only widened her grin.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
* * *
Off in a quiet part of the forest, Shippou was practicing one particular kitsune trick he was having difficulty mastering. It involved creating a temporary illusion of himself that could carry out a short conversation with an enemy, giving him time to take the enemy by surprise. Or more realistically, to run away. Hey, he was still just a kid. So far all his illusion could say was “Hi, me Shittou.” Ugh, horrible grammar and he can’t get my name right. He sighed, deciding to give up for now. Wasn’t there somewhere he was supposed to be? The loud crack of snapping wood made Shippou jump. He quickly scanned his surroundings, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. The hairs on the back of his neck remained standing on end, however. That was not among the range of normal sounds animals made as they moved through the forest. It was the sharp, piercing crack of a predator attempting and failing to stalk silently toward prey. Now the game was up; the prey knew the predator was out there, somewhere. The predator had two choices: give up or give chase.
A hulking monster emerged from the cover of the trees. Its form was shrouded in unnatural darkness, and it seemed to float over the ground as it moved. Shippou could make out glowing red eyes, and a pair of white canine teeth shining in the gloom. That was enough for him; he immediately turned and bolted, sprinting away as fast as his four legs would carry him. In the next instant he skidded to a halt, nearly smashing his chin against the ground. The creature was now in front of him! How it had gotten there, he hadn’t the foggiest idea, but he wasn’t about to keep going that way.
He spun and darted in the other direction, only to stop once again. A hulking form, cloaked in darkness blocked his way. Panic built rapidly within him, his heart and lungs pumping frantically now as he dashed to the left. For a moment he saw a clear path, then the creature materialized again. Shippou barely managed to avoid crashing into it this time; it seemed that with each successive appearance the monster closed the distance. Blindly now he ran, a frenzied fox with no direction and no plan. Some thread of memory prompted him to cast his multiple illusion spell, and dozens of Shippous fled in all directions. But the creature was not fooled. Shadow cut off his vision just before he hit something hard, falling back and gazing in terror up at the unshakeable nightmare looming over him. He backed away, praying for a miracle. Then the back of his head encountered an object, and in dread he craned his neck to look above him. Glowing red eyes, and vicious white teeth…leaning toward him… And at that point there was nothing left to do but scream.
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”
Only when the last iota of breath had been expelled from his lungs, and he discovered that he could still breathe, did Shippou dare to open his eyes. Tranquil woodland greeted his frightened gaze; there was no sign of the nightmare. He hesitantly looked around, half-expecting it to pop out of the foliage at any moment, like a cat toying with a mouse before finally killing it. But as his other senses came back to him, a strange, totally unexpected sound reached his ears.
Laughter. Not mere chuckling, but full-on, can’t-breathe, I’m-dying-here guffaws. And it sounded somewhat familiar. Peering around a bush at the source of the racket, Shippou nearly tripped over himself in shock.
It was Kiku, rolling around on the ground in her mirth. She squinted up at him and pointed, declaring “You should have seen your face!” before launching into a fresh round of giggles. As the truth dawned on Shippou, he flopped onto his back, overpowering relief temporarily rendering his muscles incapable of supporting him. It almost took away his anger at the girl who had played a cruel, cruel trick on him. She had nearly scared him to death! He at least needed to know whether she had a good reason before giving her a piece of his mind.
“What the hell, Kiku?!” he snapped furiously, causing the girl’s lingering amusement to vanish in a heartbeat.
“Oh, no, don’t give me that hurt attitude! That’s payback for giving me a bald spot!”
The throbbing vein in Shippou’s forehead nearly popped. Of all the stupid, childish things. He was just about to tell her what he thought of her ‘payback’ when a deep, male voice spoke up from behind him.
“It was also a test.”
Whirling around, Shippou was met with the sight of a man, whose style of dress and youkai features easily marked him as a kitsune. His robes were made of fine furs and appeared immaculate, complimenting his regal demeanor. Kind eyes were set in a stern face, and it was the former that enabled Shippou to identify this kitsune. They looked just like his daughter’s.
“A kitsune of your age should have been able to see through that illusion,” Kiku’s father continued. “It is good that you thought to use your kitsune-bi in the heat of battle, but you should have been able to do more with it. Though I suppose I cannot blame you for failing, since you have been without proper instruction for a lengthy period of time. Kiku told me that you have lived with the hanyou’s group since your father’s death. I did not know your father, but he must have been a good man. You have my condolences.”
“Dad…” Kiku groaned in the typical manner of a child frustrated with her parent. The elder kitsune was talking too much as far as she was concerned. Shippou just stared at him, not sure what to say.
“But I did not come here to criticize, and we probably should have gone easier on you with the test. I apologize for that. The main reason I made this journey was to express my sincere gratitude to you in person. Thank you for rescuing my daughter.”
“Dad!” Kiku whined, this time flushing in embarrassment. Shippou could not help but puff out his chest just a little bit. That had been one of his finer moments.
“Shush, Kiku. From what you told me, rescuing you was exactly what he did. It seems your quick thinking and drive to help others makes up for your lack of formal training, young fox. In that regard, you are already well ahead of most of the other kitsune in your age group. But those traits alone will not carry you forever. Why don’t you journey back to our home with Kiku and me? There is much I can teach you, even if you only stay a short time. What do you say?”
Shippou gaped slightly, stunned at the offer. The more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him. This village was his home, and his friends and family were here, but how often did an opportunity like this come up? He had wanted to learn more about his kitsune heritage for some time now. He was tired of struggling to figure tricks and illusions out on his own without any guidance. The fact that he would be able to see Kiku every day was a nice bonus, and a shy glance in her direction revealed that she liked the idea as well. Swallowing hard and feeling as if he was taking a major step toward his future, Shippou prepared to give his answer.
Loud rustling cut him off, and all eyes turned to see Inuyasha and Kagome barrel into the clearing, having been urged into flight by his terrified shriek. The male hanyou’s hand gripped the hilt of his sword, but his recognition of one of the strangers led him to release it almost immediately. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the other youkai was, or that he meant no harm. Whatever Shippou had been screaming about, he was in no danger now.
“You Kiku’s old man?” Inuyasha demanded just to be sure.
“Indeed,” the youkai replied, executing a short bow. “You may call me Hideyoshi. And you must be Inuyasha and Kagome.”
“Pleased to meet you, Hideyoshi-san,” Kagome greeted, taking an instant liking to the formal yet friendly youkai.
“I assure you the pleasure is all mine,” Hideyoshi replied smoothly. “You have helped raise a fine young kitsune. But I fear Shippou is growing out of touch with his roots. I offered to take him back to my home and teach him some of the things he has missed out on since joining you. I mean no offense, of course, but these are things that can only be learned from a fellow kitsune. I believe he was just about to give me an answer when you arrived.”
All eyes turned to Shippou, who gulped again under the pressure. His desire remained the same, but the presence of his friends complicated things. He didn’t want to hurt their feelings or make them feel like he was abandoning them. Kagome easily read these concerns in his gaze, and shook her head to dissuade them. Was she worried about Shippou going off with someone they had only just met? Of course, but how often did an opportunity like this come up? He really did need to learn more about his kitsune heritage before he lost all connection with it. And besides, it was probably boring in the village for him. None of the human children could keep up with a youkai, even one much shorter than they were. With Kiku, it was Shippou who would have trouble keeping up. The girl was nice enough, if not a little mischievous—most children were—and held no prejudice toward humans or hanyou. These things reflected positively on the man who raised her, which, along with her own private judging of his character, gave Kagome the confidence to say what she did next.
“It’s up to you, Shippou-chan. If you want to go, you should go. Don’t worry about us,” she finished with a smile.
Shippou nodded gratefully, meeting eyes with Inuyasha for a second to gauge what he thought about it. Seeing his agreement, he turned back to the elder kitsune.
“I accept your offer, Hideyoshi-sama. Thank you in advance for teaching me.”
Hideyoshi chuckled a bit at the kit’s formality, but was glad the boy knew how to respect his elders. Inuyasha would have scoffed at that, but he was a different kind of ‘elder’ from Shippou’s perspective. All of his friends were; he would tread carefully until his new sensei told him otherwise.
“Shippou, why don’t you take Kiku and go play,” Inuyasha said sternly, no room for argument in his tone. His sudden shift in mood was perplexing, but Shippou chose to ignore it in favor of something which would clearly be a lot of fun.
“Come on!” he called excitedly over his shoulder as he bounded toward the village. “I’ll introduce you to the kids in my village.”
Hideyoshi waited until the children were no longer within hearing distance before speaking. “Something bothering you, Inuyasha?”
“Yeah, there is,” the hanyou confirmed accusingly. “Do you intend to leave the brats by themselves for a month while you’re on ‘kitsune business’ or whatever?”
Hideyoshi sighed at that. “I am always nervous when I must leave my daughter, but my work…is something I do not wish for her to see,” he said solemnly. Not for the first time, Inuyasha and Kagome wondered what exactly that ‘work’ entailed. But they didn’t ask; they sensed the kitsune would not answer if they did.
“But she is never truly alone,” Hideyoshi continued. “The village is a second home to her, and I trust the humans to look out for her. I also trust my daughter to take care of herself, though considering recent events, perhaps that trust is somewhat misplaced. She is still a child, after all. Anyway, I promise I will not leave Kiku and Shippou alone. I do not anticipate being called away again for awhile, but if I do need to leave, I will bring them back here. I assume you do not mind watching my daughter?”
“No, not at all,” Kagome replied, relieved that Hideyoshi would make such a promise. “We appreciate that you won’t leave Shippou alone.”
“The runt has a way of finding trouble,” Inuyasha added.
“A malady shared by my daughter, apparently,” Hideyoshi joked, chuckling quietly to himself.
“We can visit him, right?” Kagome asked, wanting to be sure Shippou’s training didn’t require seclusion from his friends as a monk’s might.
“Of course you can. Stop by anytime. I’ll even cook you up some fine kitsune cuisine.”
“Oooh, that sounds good. We’re not very good cooks,” Kagome admitted.
Inuyasha snorted derisively at all the fancy food talk. “Put it on a stick and roast it.” That was his philosophy. Kagome rolled her eyes at him, knowing that eating like that got boring very quickly. That was what the dozens of varieties of ninja food in their packs were for. Hopefully they could find or purchase some other items on their journey to spice things up a bit. She had a feeling the travel funds Miroku gave them would come in quite handy.
With nothing else to discuss, the three of them walked to the village and found the kitsune children playing with some kids from the village. The hanyou said goodbye to Shippou, Kagome with a tight hug that nearly crushed the kit’s lungs, and Inuyasha merely with a sharp nod. But his eyes spoke of pride, and encouraged Shippou to treat his training with the same tough, ‘give ‘em hell’ attitude the hanyou fought every battle with. Shippou nodded back, the resolve in his gaze saying ‘I won’t let you down.’
Then, at long last, they were finally ready to set out on their journey. Nearly a quarter of the village came down to see them off, a welcome show of solidarity. Most of the inhabitants looked forward to the day when their hanyou protectors would return for good. But they understood the importance of the mission, and wished the brave travelers the best. Inuyasha and Kagome walked away with their heads held high, feeling that they were doing something truly important. And, perhaps more significantly, that they had a home to come back to.
“It seems like we’ve come full circle,” Kagome commented after awhile.
“Huh?”
“Just two years ago we were in the same spot—going after the jewel, just the two of us, not really knowing what we would find.” She gazed contemplatively up at the sky, smiling serenely. “Somehow, it feels different this time.”
Inuyasha grinned, turning his eyes skyward as well. “I guess it does.”
For a moment, they simply basked in everything that had changed since they first met two years ago. Their goals, their fears, their feelings, their relationship, who they were as people…all of it had undergone a drastic metamorphosis. In coming full circle they had grown as individuals and as a couple. Now, with their experiences and bonds to guide them, both hoped and believed this journey would take them toward a bright future.
* * *
“Damn,” Inuyasha mumbled appreciatively, watching as his wife deftly plucked the jewel shard from the dying youkai’s head. Easily hearing him, she sent an almost cocky smirk his way, which finally prompted him to close his gaping mouth. Two days into their quest, they had stumbled upon their first jewel shard. Or rather, the four-legged reptilian youkai bearing said shard had suddenly blitzed them, seeking the chunk they already carried. It moved swiftly in short bursts like a lizard, but its jaws were elongated and enlarged out of proportion to its body, which was covered in tough-looking scales. As a result, the creature’s initial attack was somewhat clumsy and would have been easily avoided by its intended prey even if one of them hadn’t possessed the ability to sense approaching jewel shards. Inuyasha had just drawn Tetsusaiga and was preparing to obliterate the beast when Kagome’s voice stopped him.
“Let me handle this one, Inuyasha. Please.”
His first reaction was to shout ‘hell no!’ and tell her to stay back where she belonged. But he couldn’t do that, not when she was basically pleading with him using those soft doe eyes. She understood how difficult it was for him to let her put herself in harm’s way; for more than a year and a half she had relied on him to pull her out of those same situations, often to his physical detriment. But she also refused to be a bystander now, when she was more competent in combat than ever before. She was strong, she knew the limits of her own body, and she knew how to take care of herself. She would not insist on slaying every youkai they came across, or even half, but neither would she sit back and let her husband risk his life time after time. Inuyasha knew all this, and because he had faith in her, he was able to sheath his sword and give her a reluctant nod. He hadn’t trained her for nothing, after all. And at the slightest sign of trouble, he would leap in and help her.
He needn’t have worried, in this case at least. Kagome made dodging the reptile’s snaps and swipes look like child’s play. Unsure how effective her claws would be against the creature’s tough hide, she wisely chose to forego an attack which might leave her open to counterstrike. Instead she readied her bow, gracefully leaping off the creature’s back high into the air, only to turn and fire a purifying arrow straight through the top of its skull. The beast collapsed and stilled almost immediately, its brains liquefied into a charred mush. Perhaps it would have regenerated eventually, but Kagome did not afford it the opportunity. A few short minutes after its first foolhardy attack, the youkai was reduced to dust blowing in the wind.
“Try not to look so surprised, Inuyasha,” she teased as she walked up to him. “I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
“K-keh! You had a good teacher,” he retorted lamely. Kagome laughed, a sound which oddly made him feel better, as did her next words.
“I guess I did.”
* * *
“You still won’t tell me where we’re going?”“Nope.”
Kagome growled in frustration, though she knew it was futile. Inuyasha could be like a steel trap when he wanted to, nothing getting in or out. Better to just accept it and let him lead the wa—
“Hey, I recognize that scent!” she cried suddenly. It was the combination of aromas from a flowery field, a very particular field of flowers that had once launched her into the most powerful sneezing fit of her young life. This time she would not stop for a sniff.
Sure enough, the beautiful countryside came into view as they emerged from the forest. The great cave carved into the small mountain, the vast beds of flowers painstakingly tended, flourishing under the warm sun and the loving care of their keeper. The natural splendor was as breathtaking as she remembered, but she was even more excited about seeing the main inhabitant of this grassland utopia. She glanced over to her husband, who was watching her closely and seemed especially pleased with himself. He knew I wanted to visit Daichi-sama, so he led us here to surprise me. How thoughtful! But before she could express her gratitude, Inuyasha spoke hastily as if to forestall a comment he really didn’t want to hear.
“I thought maybe the old bear knew where we can find some jewel shards,” he stated a little too nonchalantly. Kagome rolled her eyes, but decided to let it go. They both knew she saw right through him. At this point, he probably only kept up the ‘not a nice guy’ act out of habit.
As they wove their way through the flowers and neared the cave, Kagome spied Daichi’s companion Sakura coming toward them. She tensed, remembering the fox-like youkai’s less-than-friendly greeting the only time they had previously crossed paths. But evidently Sakura had taken a liking to Inuyasha on his last visit, for she loped up to him and rubbed herself affectionately against his leg, seeking some attention in return. He knelt, gently running his hands along the fur of her back. At an encouraging wave of his hand, Kagome moved to join him. A sharp look from Sakura stopped her briefly, but then the youkai seemed to recognize her as well and Kagome was able to scratch her head without incident. Daichi had been right about Sakura; once you were no longer on her ‘tear to shreds’ list, she really was a sweet little thing. Hmm, maybe her name isn’t such a misnomer after all.
“Well, hey!” Daichi’s voice suddenly boomed, making both of them jump. “If it isn’t my two favorite hanyou! What brings you to these parts?”
“We got a question for ya’, you crazy bear,” Inuyasha replied with a small but genuine smile. As annoying as he was, he now considered Daichi a friend.
“Oh? Please come inside. You must stay for dinner if not the night.”
Kagome grabbed her husband’s hand and dragged him after the bear youkai, expecting a protest. But Inuyasha had none to make; he had expected this, after all. Besides, he was sure the food would be tasty, and perhaps they could even wrangle some sake out of the old bear.
“So how are you, Kagome? It’s been awhile since I last saw you. Any major changes in your life?” Daichi asked as they seated themselves in his plush sitting area. The hint of a smirk quirking the bear’s lips suggested that he knew more than he let on.
“A few,” Kagome admitted, trying not to blush under the older youkai’s knowing gaze.
“Keh,” Inuyasha muttered, unwisely drawing Daichi’s attention to himself. The bear took a few moments to simply study them, drawing out a silence that wasn’t so much uncomfortable as it was slightly embarrassing. Finally he turned to Inuyasha and adopted a positively roguish grin.
“I see you kept your word, Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha blinked in confusion. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“Remember the last time we spoke? You were amazed at my creations, and you said you didn’t know what to say. I believe my exact reply was, ‘You can say that Kagome will be your mate the next time I see you.’ And now that I see the two of you together, I can easily tell that you kept your word.”
At this, Inuyasha finally lost his inner battle with mortification, his cheeks darkening nicely. “I never agreed to that, you bastard!”
“Ah, but you did not dis-agree with it, either.”
“Oh, so now nothing means yes?”
“When I make a bold statement such as that, and you don’t say anything at the time, then yes, nothing means yes.”
Inuyasha growled and smacked himself in the forehead, the only suitable alternative to smacking his tormentor. Friend or no, Daichi had a way of getting under his skin. He was brutally honest and called things as he saw them, which clashed with Inuyasha’s usually shy, reserved personality when it came to matters of the heart. But that was also why the bear was such a good friend, and why he had helped a confused and uncertain hanyou so much on his last visit.
Kagome cleared her throat, drawing both males’ eyes in her direction. “You two talked about that the last time Inuyasha stayed here?” she asked, her tone incredulous and slightly hurt.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” Daichi hastened to reassure her, “I was only joking. Inuyasha and I talked about you quite a bit, but I was just trying to get him to admit a few things. I—”
“Ah, shaddup already,” Inuyasha cut him off. “Kagome,” he said, turning to his wife and pausing for a moment. “I still had my head up my ass back then. He really helped me sort out my feelings. It was…the first time I admitted that I loved you.”
Kagome’s eyes softened as she gazed upon her husband’s sincere amber orbs, then she turned and smiled gratefully at Daichi.
“Then I have another thing to thank you for, Daichi-sama.”
“Another thing?” the bear repeated, somewhat bewildered. “Surely you don’t mean the clothes? Those were a gift, my dear!”
“But you made them, and I love them. They’re the perfect combination of beautiful and functional.”
“Aw,” Daichi mumbled, genuinely touched. “No thanks are needed. Seeing you satisfied is reward enough. Although…no, never mind.”
“What is it?” Kagome inquired.
“Well, I was sort of wondering if you wouldn’t mind modeling each garment for me? I would really like to see how they look on you. Well, maybe not all of them,” he said with a wink, obviously referring to the bathing yukata. Kagome was glad he wasn’t going to ask her to model that particular garment; it was for one man’s eyes only. Although, come to think of it, Inuyasha had not seen her in it since the night he gave it to her. She had never thought to wear it before, having gotten used to bathing immediately after stripping out of her clothes and then simply putting them back on afterwards. Glancing Inuyasha’s way, she spied his slight pout, which told her his thoughts were flowing along similar lines. This situation was intolerable, and required remedying soon. The gorgeous yukata was resting at the bottom of her bag, but it would not remain there for long. Her hanyou’s gift would yet see some use.
But as for the here and now, she had a rather unusual request to comply with. She felt rather foolish standing up and modeling the clothes she wore every day, but if that’s what Daichi wanted, then she would stride back and forth across the cave and do little twirls when asked. At least there was a small audience, and Daichi studied her with a professional eye. Though her husband’s gaze was tinged with something decidedly unprofessional. Finally, after she had modeled all four sets of garments, she changed back into the white kosode and forest green hakama which had become her favorites. Daichi had not said a word beyond giving instructions the entire time, but now the seriousness abruptly vanished from his demeanor as he whistled appreciatively.
“I’m my own worst critic, but even I’m impressed with my work in this case. They fit perfectly with the natural way you carry yourself. Mostly conservative, but with just a hint of sensuality. Very sexy in a classical kind of way.”
“Oi! Don’t be ogling my wife,” Inuyasha warned. That’s my job.
“Oh please, Inuyasha, my examination was entirely prof—wait, did you say wife?”
“Uh, yeah. Got a problem with that?” Inuyasha demanded, reacting to Daichi’s shocked tone. He knew youkai didn’t typically get married, but was there a genuine aversion to the custom or just an ignorance of it?
“No, no, of course not,” Daichi replied, assuaging his concerns. “I was merely surprised. Marriage is something we full-youkai don’t ever think about, but I suppose it makes sense. Both of you are half-human, after all.”
“That was our thinking exactly, Daichi-sama,” Kagome confirmed.
“Well, I’m happy for you. Congratulations. But alas,” he lamented dramatically, “it is sad that such a fine lady is off the market. My son will have to find someone else,” he said with a wink in the miko’s direction. Kagome grinned, remembering the old joke, and how worked up a certain jealous inu-hanyou had become over it.
“Don’t start that shit again,” Inuyasha grumped, shaking his head at his own memories of how dumb he’d acted back then. “Why don’t you just tell us what we came here for?”
“And that would be?”
Grrrrr. As if he doesn’t know exactly what I mean. Jackass. “Have you heard about any jewel shards?”
“Ah, yes, the Shikon no Tama. I heard a rumor that it had been shattered again. I believe I was traveling up north at the time, visiting one of my long-time customers. You see, his daughter was…”
Inuyasha hung his head, wondering if bashing his skull against the ground would be less painful than listening to Daichi’s incessant babbling. Yet somehow, when he’s talking about my personal life, he never goes off on tangents. And was it his imagination or was the bastard doing it on purpose just to mess with him?
“I don’t care where you fucking heard it!” Inuyasha swore. “Have you heard about any specific shards we can go grab?”
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
“Ugh,” Inuyasha groaned, collapsing against the cushion at his back. Then why didn’t he just say that in the first place?! Daichi was something else, and a little crazy to boot.
Fortunately, the bear youkai knew exactly how to appease the annoyed hanyou—with food. And afterwards, with sake. It quickly became comically clear that Kagome had barely touched alcohol in her life. If she thought being a hanyou would allow her to hold her liquor better, she was sorely mistaken. Inuyasha and Daichi had quite a time making fun of the woman who didn’t even realize she was being made fun of, though the former was starting to slur his words as well. Finally, Daichi concluded that they’d had enough and sent them to bed.
“Alright you two, lie down here and sleep it off. I wish you had told me you were such lightweights.”
A few minutes later, Inuyasha and Kagome were sound asleep, curled around each other on a makeshift bed of soft furs. Daichi gazed down at them with amusement in his eyes. They looked so comfortable like that; he would wager everything he owned that they had trouble sleeping without each other. Sakura rubbed up against his leg, growling lowly in her version of a purr. He picked her up and began to pet her, running his hand gently along her back.
“Oh, Sakura, they’re quite a pair, aren’t they?”
No reply came from his companion. Shaking his head, Daichi went to put the fire out before turning in for the night.
* * *
“Ugh, why couldn’t we have stayed at Daichi’s until my hangover wore off?” Kagome griped, holding a hand to her head. “Because then he would have begged us to stay another night, and we probably would’ve had sake again. You didn’t want that, did you?”
“I’m never drinking again.”
Inuyasha chuckled at her, though if truth be told, he was feeling the effects of the previous night’s merriment as well. They had departed early the next morning, and the sun was now high in the sky, beating down as if to punish them. Sitting in the shady cave would have been nice, but one whole day spent in Daichi’s company was plenty. He was a nice guy, but annoying as hell as far as Inuyasha was concerned. And they did have a quest to continue.
By late afternoon, Kagome was finally feeling like herself again. The sun was pleasantly bright, the gentle breeze cooling her skin. The scents and sounds of nature were comforting to her hanyou senses. In short, she felt wonderful.
The sudden onset of painful and familiar symptoms completely threw that to hell. The nausea, the dizziness, the pounding between her temples…all signaled the approach of her time of weakness. Sure enough, in a few minutes the discomfort abruptly vanished, as did her heightened senses. She blinked her eyes open, feeling Inuyasha’s arms around her as she gazed up at his concerned visage.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, grateful that he hadn’t let her fall. Her own voice sounded muffled to her now-human ears. She sighed as he steadied her on her feet; it was going to be a long night. Kami, how did I stand this before? Probably because I didn’t know what I was missing.
When Inuyasha didn’t reply, Kagome glanced at him again and was surprised to see genuine alarm on his features. It wasn’t as if this had never happened before; she would be back to normal once her youki returned, probably the next day. So then why was he so troubled?
“What’s wrong, Inuyasha?”
“You know what tonight is, don’t you?”
Kagome gasped as the realization struck. Oh, crap. Tonight’s the new moon! She and Inuyasha would both be human this evening.
“We got a problem, Kagome.”
This was bad, very bad. Human eyes were not designed to see well in the dark. She was still a miko and could deal fairly well with youkai, but only if she could see them. And what if—Kami forbid—a gang of bandits discovered them, a couple humans with only a rusty sword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows between them? Kagome shuddered to think what could happen in that situation. Damn, what a horrible coincidence! Statistically, it was bound to happen sooner or later that her and Inuyasha’s times of weakness overlapped, but this was a particularly bad time for the odds to turn against them. In the beginning, her transformations had been preceded by close to an hour of symptoms, but now she hardly got any warning at all. It seemed her body had grown more used to the changes, and for the first time, she wished it were not so. They could definitely have used more notice of the impending catastrophe.
“Think we can make it back to Daichi’s?” she asked. Inuyasha grimaced, staring anxiously at the sun, which now seemed to be descending rapidly toward the horizon.
“Dunno, but we have to try. Hop on,” he said, squatting so she could climb on his back. Once she was secure, he took off at full speed, seeming to fly across the landscape. But all too soon, his pace slowed, his breathing becoming heavier as the shadows lengthened.
“Shit!” he cursed, coming to a stop. But he didn’t put Kagome down; instead, he spoke quickly to her over his shoulder. “We ain’t making it back to Daichi’s. But I remember there being a human village over that way. We’ll have to stay there for the night.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied, and Inuyasha took off again. The sun was about halfway below the tree line when they reached the outskirts of the village Inuyasha had spoken of. It was relatively small, and looked peaceful and quaint from a distance. They decided to wait until after Inuyasha’s transformation to approach closer; there was no need to let anyone know they were hanyou.
Kagome grinned despite their predicament. This would be the first time she and Inuyasha had gone anywhere as human man and wife. She was looking forward to the experience, to the lack of automatic suspicion and mistrust. For once, they could go into a new place and be treated like normal people. And they could afford a room at the inn or someone’s home, thanks to the traveling money Miroku had given them. They definitely owed the monk for his foresight and generosity.
But despite the positives, Kagome could not shake the faint feeling of dread which hovered in the back of her mind. She hoped she was wrong, but her instincts told her that their stay at this village would not be as uneventful as they hoped.
Hideyoshi – “esteem, excellence” combined with “good luck”
**HUGE Fanfiction Announcement**
It is a story months in the making, with many hours spent brainstorming, planning, writing, editing, and corresponding. A simple idea from my wonderful co-author SplendentGoddess became a comedic epic of over 50,000 words. I only hope those of you brave enough to read it have as much fun as we did writing it. So, without further ado, it is my great pleasure to announce the premier of:
The Comedy Central Roast of Inuyasha
Link: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/166965
2011 Note – I altered the drinking scene to make it less OOC. But I left the hangover as is; we see in the series that hanyou are no more resistant to alcohol than humans.
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