InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moving Pictures ❯ A Quick Detour ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Thanks for reading! It's funny, this story is so much quieter than my other one. I finished it, so I'll be concentrating solely on this one.

 

FFnet:

Shock1119, gothic-ember, forgotten angel,

 

Witch of Darkness: I plan to discuss add bits and pieces of her culture as I go along.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Chapter 7 - Quick Detour

 

The town sprawled on either side of the river, neatly terraced rice patties almost glowing with green vitality. A wide raft made of saplings lashed together and steered by a bored man in a straw hat ferried townspeople from one side of the swiftly moving water to the other. The streets were thronged with people and animals, vendors displaying their goods from carts, stalls or a simple blanket on the ground. Shouting, laughing, cursing, and dealing, the people went about their business oblivious to the observers on the cliff high above them.

 

“We don't have time to dawdle,” Jaken griped at the lion youkai staring down at the bustling town, punctuating his statement with a tap of the business end of his staff.

 

Charlotte knocked the staff away with a bat of her hand and glowered down at him. “You hit me with that thing one more time and I swear I will nail your ass to a tree.”

 

“You wouldn't dare,” he hissed but backed up a few steps.

 

“Try me.”

 

“Charlotte?” Rin wandered over to where she was standing. Surprised to hear her given name from the child, Charlotte dragged her eyes from the imp.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Do you live in a town like that?”

 

“Not exactly. The city I live in is much, much bigger.”

 

“How much bigger?”

 

“Well, about four million people live in LA.” Rin's eyes widened as she tried to comprehend the figure. “In downtown, the buildings reach thousands of feet into the air and even from the top of one, the city stretches from the ocean to as far as the eye can see. The roads are paved and people travel in self-propelled carts called automobiles.”

 

Jaken snorted, “Impossible. Youkai would not transport humans.”

 

“Automobiles aren't propelled by youkai; there aren't any other youkai, that I know of.”

 

“B-but…” Jaken stuttered, having trouble with the idea that humans could outnumber youkai so completely.

 

“Until I came here, my parents and brother were the only other weres…youkai…I had met. Mom said there used to be more but now most are dead or gone. Only fifty years ago, there were several prides left but no one has heard from them for the last two decades.” The image of her mother frantically trying to call her father's pride was etched into her memory. Hair disheveled, mascara running down her cheeks in black rivulets, she had argued with the telephone operator until she had been disconnected. Again and again, she had dialed the number, yowling until her voice was hoarse.

 

Barely ten years old, she and her twin had hugged each other, whimpering quietly, not yet understanding that their father was not coming home. Giving up on her mate's pride, her mother had tried to contact her own pride, cursing her decision to raise her cubs away from the protection of the Family. It had been the start of her mother's decline; even her cubs had not been able to soften the blow of losing her mate and extended family.

 

Once in a while, especially when the moon was almost full, Charlotte would feel a shiver of power and wonder if there was another were around. She suspected that not all the coyotes in the hills were simple animals, but she hadn't seen or talked to another non-human other than her brother since her mother had disappeared.

 

Cheeks puffed indignantly, Jaken crossed his arms over his chest. “I refuse to believe that weak, pathetic humans could defeat their youkai lords and take control.”

 

Charlotte shrugged noncommittally, “Maybe it's different in Japan. I don't know; I've never been there. Well, not during my time, anyway.”

 

“We've wasted enough time with this nonsense and we are keeping Lord Sesshomaru waiting. Come along, Rin.” Jake huffed and stomped after the demon lord who had not stopped walking and was now much further down the trail they had been following.

 

Toeing the edge of the cliff, Charlotte peered over, looking for a way down. “I'll catch up later,” she called after them, then hopped down to a shallow ledge several feet below. Ignoring Jaken's outraged shout, she picked her way down a steep path that seemed to have been cut by mountain goats, sometimes leaping down to the next outcropping in the cliff's face. For once, she was grateful that her brother had drug along on his “hikes” through the Yosemite Mountains; real cliffs were nothing like the plastic molds they had in at the gym.

 

She reached the bottom without incident and hurried toward the road leading to the town gate, pleased by her successful descent and refusing to think about the difficult climb back up. If she were lucky, she would find the artist who had painted that damn painting and she wouldn't need to climb back up. She could go home with a week of vacation to spare, with no one but her brother aware of her absence. Wincing, she hoped that he hadn't reported her missing to the police.

 

At the very least, she could find a hair stylist and get her hair cut. Thankfully, the changes in her appearance hadn't been brought up. She supposed that Sesshomaru had explained her change to Rin and Jaken and as much as the situation had embarrassed her, she was relieved that she had been spared Rin's inevitable questions.

 

Stopping short, she suddenly realized that she was in her natural form. Indecision gripped her and she chewed on her bottom lip. Should she change into her human form before entering the town? She was dressed a little more appropriately but had no desire for a repeat of the attempted kidnapping of the other day. Jaken's reaction seemed to imply a much higher demon population in this time and place, so maybe her cat features wouldn't be too out of the ordinary. On the other hand, both he and Sesshomaru spoke as if they despised humans (excluding Rin) and she expected the feeling to be mutual.

 

“Fuck it,” she thought, straightening her back and marching toward the gates. “I'm going as I am.”

 

She regretted her decision soon after she entered the town. Hostile eyes followed her; dark looks beneath furrowed brows. Conversations stopped as she approached and people moved out of her way as if she were carrying a plague. It didn't help that she was several inches taller than most of the humans, including the men, and she was the only person who did not have black hair. She stuck out like a sore, or gilded, thumb.

 

`Concentrate on the objective: find the art district,' she repeated to herself as she wound through the streets, consciously shutting out the gestures and mutterings of “foul demon” directed toward her. The advantage of being taller than the crowd was that she didn't have to make eye contact with anyone; she simply stared over their heads, ears pinned flat to her skull, and tried to make herself as small as possible.

 

“Excuse me, my lady, but you seem to be under duress,” a smooth voice spoke behind her. She turned to the man, ears perking up at the kind tone. Dressed in flowing violet robes, his short, dark hair pulled back in a tail, he was stood out almost as much as she did in the sea of kimonoed drudges. Handsome and only an inch or so shorter that her, he cut a strangely reassuring figure. “Oh my!” he took a step backward in surprise, and then recovered himself. “I see you are youkai! No matter, you are still beautiful and I cannot deny a woman in need,” he inclined his head in a small bow. The rings on his staff tinkled merrily as he moved.

 

“Uh…thanks,” At least he wasn't giving her the evil eye, she thought, relaxing her defensive posture. Flirting she could handle.

 

“Perhaps there is some way I can be of service?” he gazed into her eyes in a frank, forward manner that seemed to imply a different kind of servicing than was acceptable in polite company.

 

`I eat men like you for breakfast,' she ducked her head so that she could look at him through long blonde lashes. “I'm looking for the art district. Maybe you could take me?” she husked, letting her own innuendo hang in the air.

 

“O-of course I could…take you…” he slipped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her back, leading her through the street and around the corner to another part of the open-air market. Walking with this man, she no longer garnered the unfriendly looks of before; he seemed to command some sort of respect. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she supposed she really didn't need to lay it on so thick, but she hadn't earned a reputation as a man-eater for nothing. A man trying to get into your pants was a man that could be controlled, and he had started it. He smiled at her as she felt his hand begin to slide south.

 

Pulling his arm from her butt, she wrapping her arm around his and smiled demurely, fluttering her eyelashes. `This is too goddamn easy.'

 

They wandered through the entire art district without finding anything remotely similar to the painting in her living room, finally ending up back at the town gates. Hot, tired, and disappointed, the sex-kitten act was beginning to grate on her nerves. She'd been aghast to learn that her horny companion was a monk but had continued the charade simply because his presence made her life so much easier. Now, unfortunately, she was having difficulty getting rid of him.

 

“Thanks for the offer, Miroku, but I really have to get back to my companions…” she tugged on the hand he had captured in his own.

 

“My friends and I have several rooms in a local inn,” he tugged back, giving her his best seductive smile.

 

“Your friends?”

 

“I assure you, we would not be disturbed and I would be eternally grateful.”

 

`I bet you would,' gently removing her hand from his tightening grip, she patted his cheek. “I'll think about it.” Turning lightly, she sauntered out the gates and back toward the cliff.

 

“But…”

 

She grinned at him over her shoulder and wiggled her fingers, tossing her mane of golden hair, “Don't call me, I'll call you!”

 

XxxxxxxxxxxX

 

“You smell of human filth.” It was the first words the inuyoukai had spoken to her since she had rejoined the group, breathless from the climb and the run to catch up. Both he and Jaken had ignored her until they'd stopped for the night. She preferred the looks the townspeople had given her to the now malevolent gaze of Sesshomaru.

 

Startled, she almost dropped the skewer she'd been handing to Rin. “I spent the afternoon in a human town.”

 

He sniffed in her direction, disgust evident in his eyes, “One human, in particular.”

 

“Oh…some guy showed me around.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “What? He took me to the art district. That's all.” Not for lack of trying, she added silently. `Why is he so angry? They didn't wait for me, so I didn't slow them down.'

 

“Indecent woman,” he spat, dismissing her with a turn of his head.

 

“Hey, I did not go down there to fuck around. I was trying to find the artist who did that painting so that I can go home!”

 

“Watch your language,” he snarled.

 

“Fuck you,” she stated clearly, coldly and spun on her heel, stomping away from the clearing. Gorgeous or not, he really was beyond all patience. She hadn't deserved that kind of treatment. What did he expect, that she would check with him before she did anything? She thought he'd be happy that she was trying to get back home. He obviously didn't like her.

 

The ground was soft and uneven, threatening to trip her with twisted roots and snagging brambles. So wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice that the forest floor was beginning to get more steep. Unconsciously moving downhill, she swatted through the dense undergrowth, muttering and cursing. She didn't know where she was going and didn't really care; all she wanted to do was to put space between her and that insufferable asshole. Pushing through some particularly dense ferns, she stepped forward - and her foot touched nothing but air. She yelped as she tumbled forward and slid down the slick slope, claws scrabbling for a hold in the mulchy earth. The slope ended abruptly at a short cliff and she plummeted several feet before landing in a crouch in a patch of fragrant herbs.

 

The minty aroma of the bruised plants surrounded her and she inhaled deeply, her irritation melting as her mind clouded and spun giddily. Flopping on to her side, she rubbed her cheek through the densely growing plants and purred loudly, a big, silly grin plastered across her face.