InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ On a Leash ❯ Guardian ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Well, here's my obligatory disclaimer. No, I don't own Inuyasha. I just so happen to like to entertain myself at his expense. ^^ The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: No, I haven't given up any of my other fics. I'm just currently in a small slump on a chapter for "On Vacation". Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter One: Guardian

"That…bitch…I can't take it anymore! Bound like this for fifty years…. Wonder what the fuck she'll do when she realizes I ain't here…. Heh, that's her problem, not mine. I've got my own to worry about. Oh, hell yeah…."

He had to be quiet, or else that bitch would wake up.

Did she think this was funny? Did she enjoy torturing him? Was this the only way she'd been able to 'control' him? The answer was 'yes!' to all of the above.

This would show her…. Now, how to get out? Well…if he kept creeping down the stairs noiselessly like this, he would be in the clear…. Shit, she moaned!

He froze. An angst heartbeat banged against his rib cage.

Was she…awake?

Listening more intently, he found that she wasn't and hoped to the gods she'd stay asleep.

Still moving furtively down the staircase, he made it to the ground floor of the house. Running as fast as he could, Inuyasha leapt out of the open window of the kitchen and sped off into the night.

~*~*~*~*~

"All right, miss, these are the dogs," the animal rescue leaguer was telling the girl, walking in the center strip of cement.

Lined on the sides of the band of free floor were chain link cages' faces. Numerous doggy mugs stared at the new passerby, tongues hanging out as they panted. They wagged their tails insanely in the hopes of earning brownie points in the girl's heart, hopefully scoring a new home. The place was abuzz with barking and yipping and yapping.

The girl strolled behind the man, scrutinizing the kennels she past. Big dogs, little dogs; dark dogs and… "Wow, that one there! He's beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed stepping closer to another kennel.

Within it laid a dog that bore an expression of sheer ennui in his golden orbs, such an odd but beautiful color for eyes. Very rich and deep; Kagome would swear that they had a passionate flair. The dog had a white coat, silvery-white, in fact. It was moderately long-haired, and had ears that were perched up, rather than floppy. It was fairly large, most probably sinewy. Currently, it was lying on its side, gaping vacantly at the metallic ceiling of the kennel. That is, until the hoary dog's eyes lit upon the girl.

"Hi, there," she cooed to him softly as she knelt before the cage.

In turn, the white dog raised his chops, revealing long, pearly white-no doubt sharp-teeth, and growled, rising to all fours. The muscles of his shoulders bunched up as he leaned forward, his snout just touching chain link gate of his confinement. He emitted a few mighty barks, which made the floor the girl was kneeling on rumble. He continued to snarl, staring intensely into the girl's cobalt eyes. That would teach her to bother him.

"Uh, miss," the balding animal rescue leaguer hustled up by her, placing an anxious hand on her shoulder, "you really don't want that one. He's not exactly the friendly sort." He crouched beside her to whisper very faintly, "He's going to be put down soon."

Her eyes grew as she turned to him. "Oh?"

The dog snorted. "I just wanna be left the fuck alone," he said, though to everyone else it sounded like woofing. He lowered his chops and flopped onto his belly, gawking at the girl, paws stretched out in front of him. "Hmph, that should show her not to bug me."

He was more than surprised to hear her say, "Well, for some reason, I really like that dog. Could you open the cage?"

"Are you insane?!" the man shouted, hopping up down, now upright again. "Miss, this dog will kill you the first chance he gets! He's violent, that one, always getting into fights with the others."

"I don't know," she murmured serenely, tilting her head as she got another view of the animal. "I don't think he'll attack me, and maybe the other dogs started it. You know, kind of like doggy provocation? Maybe one of them barked at him in the wrong tone."

"Hell, yeah!They start it…not my fault that they keep losing." The dog in discussion sat up, mildly interested as he tipped his head, his ears flicking around a bit.

The man shook his head and, against his better judgment, unlocked the door of the cage.

The girl reached her hand in slowly, making little clicking noises with her tongue; the dog continued to back up, raising his chops once more as his rump hit the back of the cage. "It's ok," she murmured softly. "I won't hurt you, see?"

He snapped at her fingers. "Go away, you dumb bitch! I don't need you!" This female looked too close to the slut that made him this way….

However, she didn't move her hand, but continued to reach out to him. She leaned in a tiny bit more and whispered, "I don't if you were listening, boy, but they said they are going to put you down." She watched as the dog's eyes grew in understanding and shock. "So, either you die here or you come with me and you'll have a home."

Inuyasha stared at her for moment, contemplating. Finally, he begrudgingly slinked over to her and lowered his head.

Delighted, the girl's fingers rubbed behind his ears gently. "Come on out then," she instructed as she got up, allowing the dog to move out of the cage. She took the leash from the frightened rescue leaguer and clipped it to the collar already on his neck. "Hmm? A collar, but no tags?"

"That's right," the man replied uneasily, watching the dog; he had a slightly evil glint in those strange-colored eyes. "You just need to take him up front and pay for him."

The teenager nodded. "Ok. Come on, boy." She tugged on the leash and he reluctantly followed her through the double metal doors.

Other dogs they passed yapped from their cells, mocking Inuyasha. "Get back to normal, mutt!" was a favorite. He simply shook his head at their stupidity. He was getting out of this hell hole and they weren't…even if he was going with this wench.

The two made it to the front where the edgy animal rescue leaguer rang up the cost on the dog and got the girl's signature. "Miss," he began, "honestly, why do you want a dog like this? He's crude and insolent."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I just like him, is all. For some reason, there's something very curious about him, and the way he looks at things; he seems almost human. I need a good guard dog anyway."

"You got the 'almost human' part right, girl,"Inuyasha quietly woofed.

The man shook his head. "Well, he's all yours. May the gods protect you from that maniac."

Inuyasha snarled and snapped at him. Satisfied when the guy virtually leapt out his boxers, he came when the girl tugged on the leash. He was led through the double glass doors of the animal shelter and into the late afternoon sunlight. He'd been in that place-that prison-for nearly a month. Felt like so much longer. The girl stooped down by him and peered at him. "What?" he barked, slightly annoyed.

"Hmm…well, to be fair, since I'm your new owner," Inuyasha snorted when the girl said that, "it's only reasonable to say I have a cat already, so no eating him. Besides, he's really fat anyway. I'm Kagome." She gave the dog a pat on the head, which made him surprised.

He came close to barking, "Hey, stupid! Don't do that!" but decided against it. She was rather tender to his ears and an ear rub was not something to back away from….

"I'm pretty sure you already had a name, huh?"

"Uh, yeah!It's Inuyasha. INUYASHA!" He danced around her on all fours, yipping at her.

"Stupid question, I know. So, let's see. What to name you…unless you liked your old name…" Kagome thought aloud.

"Yes, I happen to like my name very much, thank you!"

She peered at him again. "You're very prideful, that I can tell. But from the way the guy inside was describing you, you like a bit of a terror. Like a demon, or something."

"Yes! Yes! Ding, ding, ding! Tell her what's she's won!" Inuyasha ran circles around her. "You think I'm human and you think I'm demon. You are right, girl, I'm both! I'm hanyou! A half-demon!"

Kagome laughed. "Ok, so…if I named you Fluffy, you'd probably try to kill me."

"Damn straight!"

"So…how about…Inuyasha?"

"YES! YES!" At that, his jubilation hit peak and the boy-in-a-dog-suit couldn't resist jumping on her any longer. She landed with her back on the grass, and he wagged his tail like crazy. The girl giggled as he started sniffing her "Good girl! She got it! Maybe living with this wench won't be the most horrible thing I'll have to do. Hell, at least I still have my name. Mm…." He took in her scent, a doggy smile growing over his muzzle. "She smells nice, like flowers and herbs…."

Kagome still giggled when she finally managed to push the massive, white dog off her. "All right, it's settled then. Your name is Inuyasha."

He wagged his tail all the more, glad to have his name.

The girl gave a small tug on the leash and began leading him back home. It was a cool fall day, and it felt really nice to be out for a walk. Inuyasha had almost forgotten the sensation of wind and the aromas that would waft upon those updrafts. Being coped up with those normal dogs was maddening. Gods, they were stupid!

The dog-demon-turned-house-pet trotted along on the chainlink leash, the clip over the loop on his black leather collar. He looked at the girl; unlike normal dogs, he wasn't color blind and could tell easily what her distinct appearance was. Ebony hair, cobalt eyes, a green sailor uniform, white socks, and brown loafers. He tilted his head as the jogged to the bottom of a large set of steps. "Hey. Why'd we stop?"

Kagome peered down at her pet and smiled. "This is where you'll be living for now on. The Sunset Shrine, run by the Higurashi family…."

Inuyasha whimpered. "Ah, hell, I have to live in a fucking SHRINE?!"

She knelt down by him and stroked his ears, which instantly made him overlook his earlier complaints. "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think Gramps has any spiritual power whatsoever." She giggled as she watched her dog wag his tail. "I think it'll be ok for you here, Inuyasha. I mean, we haven't ever had a dog before because of all the stuff at the shrine…but with the new item we have to keep protected…." Sighing, Kagome trailed off, having ceased massaging his ears.

"What are you keeping protected?"He perked up his dog ears in interest, laying a paw on her knee.

Shaking her head, the girl merely grinned again. "Anyway, you are my present for my birthday. I'm fifteen today, boy."

"Don't 'boy' me you stupid-ok, call me whatever you like just don't stop the rubbing of the ears," Inuyasha moaned happily as he leaned against Kagome's legs. If the wench can keep up with this treatment…I might just consider liking her… he thought.

Giving him a final pat, the girl gingerly slid him off her lap and stood up. "Let's go." Together, they jogged up the steps.

"Gods, those stairs seem a lot longer and steeper than I ever remember temple steps to be," Inuyasha huffed as he trotted on all fours with Kagome. After what seemed like forever to the dog-demon, they finally made their way to the stone landing. There stood the traditional building that where people gathered to pray. There were smaller, similar buildings on either side that probably housed little keepsakes for 'good luck' and junk like that. As the pair stepped closer, Inuyasha spotted a shrine that had been turned into a home.

"So, what do you think of the grounds? Plenty of places to run? There's a small grove over on the left," Kagome said, pointing. She led him over to the trees, figuring he'd want to do his business-as he'd marked his whole way to the house.

Inuyasha sniffed around. "Sigh, I can't believe I've been demoted to this but, what can I say? When you gotta go, you gotta go." He smirked evilly, slinking over to the god-tree.

The girl spotted him. "No! Not the Goshinboku!" she cried, trying to force the words out as she yanked on the leash.

The dog persisted and marked it. He gave her a look of sheer cocky pleasure as he trotted over to another tree that he deemed worthy for business.

Kagome waited, releasing an exasperated. "You're such a monster."

"I'm a demon, wench, a demon."

She waggled her head from side to side as she dragged him over to the mini-shrine. "In here, there are many costly artifacts and stuff. Your job is to protect all of it, Inuyasha. Well, that," she grinned, "and be a good pet."

He snorted. "Keh, I'm not someone's 'pet' you stupid girl." He scurried alongside of her as they made their way to the slab in front of the side door of the house. "But this petting thing REALLY isn't all that bad." Inuyasha's pink tongue hung out as he panted. His amber eyes flicked over his new home. "But, I wonder…what exactly am I guarding? Is it anything important?"

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Ok, new fic. Same rules: R+R! (Read and Review!!) I need reviews, people! I haven't been getting many lately, which doesn't encourage me to write. Anyways, as you can see, Inuyasha's dialogue is done in Italics. If you can't see the Italics, just go and figure that Kagome still can't understand him. If it doesn't have quotation marks around the Italics, it's one of Inuyasha's thoughts. Please read my other fics: "The Mysterious Little Visitor", "On Vacation", "Shikon High" and I have some one shots under the name "Hugs and Kisses (And Other One Shots)".

Inuyasha: Why me?

What was that doggy? All I heard was "woof, woof!" Are you hungry?

Inuyasha: NO! Moron! I want to be back to my normal self.

Deal with it…I wonder if Mrs. Higurashi will send you to Obedience School…. *grins evilly*

Inuyasha: Oh, gods…help….

In any case, I'll be working on a fic. Till then, ja ne!

~Moonlight Shadow