InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ On a Leash ❯ Acid and Ginger ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: No own. No sue.

A/N: Well, I was…staggered again by how well this story is doing. I have lots of ideas at the moment, but will have to patiently wait…though patience is a virtue, it isn't always one of mine. As some of you may have noticed, I'm using the same surnames that I used in "Codename: HANYOU" and "Shikon High" and that's because I don't have to switch what the characters' family names are. Questions will be answered as the story progresses, so no worries. Hakuna Matata. I'm eager, so are you, so let's go!

Chapter Eleven: Acid and Ginger

About a month passed, and Inuyasha fully healed long before then. The Higurashi house was becoming more and more homey to him everyday, and his fondness for the family grew. Mama remembered to give him something extra on his dog food that made it at least palatable. Souta fed him scraps and liked to kick the soccer ball towards him, which Inuyasha would pounce on and knock back. Gramps even gave him pleasant grins before disappearing, muttering about one thing or another.

Then there was Kagome.

Without fail, the girl would make sure he was cared for. She had little chats with him, even though he knew she didn't understand all of what he said--which could be a two-edged sword. Her cheerful attitude was damn near infectious, and Inuyasha had to admit that she was an ease to him.

At that moment, Inuyasha was sprawled on the floor of the living room in front of the sofa. Mama bobbed her foot a bit above his head at some internal rhythm, coffee cup in hand and the afternoon news flashing on the television in front of them.

"Today the temperature will reach a low of three degrees Celsius," the chipper weatherman said, gesticulating at the screen behind him. "The wind chill will make it feel well below that, and there's chance of a hail storm this evening. Be sure to be bundled up tightly and be prepared for anything. Back to you, Kohana."

The anchorwoman smiled demurely from the meteorologist to the camera as it panned to her, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Sakamoto. Politicians from all over Japan came together early this morning to raise money for the families affected by the destruction of power lines on Okinawa, due to the blizzard that hit late last Friday night."

A clip of numerous political figures speaking overtook the screen, interspersed with footage of the fallen poles and lines half buried in the snow, while Kohana made commentary: "All of the speakers today advocated that everyone must pitch in and help. Even one politician pledged some money."

A dark haired man, perhaps in his late twenties dominated the set. Dressed in a rich blue suit, he stood tall, and gave off a dominating presence. A lilted half-smile spread across his thin lips.

"Onigumo Naraku," Inuyasha snapped to complete attention, having been half-listening, his chops rising into a snarl, "Prime Minister of Internal Affairs, has pledged ten million yen toward the cause."

Naraku continued with the subdued leer as cameras flashed and journalists jotted in their notebooks. Speaking in an oily-smooth voice, "I donate this money from my own pocket. I trust this will help to defray costs, but I realize it cannot make the tedious work here go any faster."

Kohana's voice took over again, freeze-framing Naraku's Q&A period. "Onigumo Naraku is one of those selected by his party as a presidential candidate, and says he will be visiting Tokyo on his campaign route around May. In other news…"

Mama punched the button on the remote, shaking her head. "Those poor people on Okinawa. I should have Grampa say a prayer for them, don't you think, Inuyasha?" He stared at her for a moment, tipping his head slightly in concurrence. The woman got up with a yawn, stretching her back a bit. "I better get to straightening up the gift shop for Dad…" she mumbled to herself, exiting the room.

Inuyasha glowered at the blank box before him. When he'd heard Naraku's name-seen him on TV-crashing waves of smoldering ire rippled through his body. That bastard looks the same as he did back then…. Naraku doesn't care about those people… He snorted, remembering the first time he had even laid eyes on the conniving asshole.

It was fifty years ago, after Kikyou had placed the collar around his neck…

"Inuyasha," Kikyou snapped tartly, "stay here. Stop fussing and behave or I'll have to tie you up again."

He narrowed pools of molten gold on her, hoping to burn her iron-straight black-opal hair all the way up to their roots. It crossed his mind once to bit her leg or at least rip the hem of her black evening dress as she traced her lips in red, but decided against it. The many things she could punish him with were quite varied, and none of which was Inuyasha particularly fond of. So, he merely continued to glare and snarl quietly, just out of kicking reach.

Kikyou ran a hand through her hair, readjusting the diamond-studded barrettes that crowned around her head. She double-checked her reflection, straightening up little details here or there. "Behave while I am away," she said in a commanding tone, though much softer and gentler than before, unable to look down at him, "I do not want to have to do something heinous to…train you."

Inuyasha snorted. He couldn't say a damn word; he knew she'd understand even the quietest utterance.

The young woman picked up her black leather handbag and slipped on her high heels. Pulling an expensive fur coat around her, she hastily exited the house, not giving him enough time to slink past her.

Going to the window and standing on his back paws, Inuyasha saw a large American luxury pulled into the driveway. The driver's door swung outwards, and a tall, pale-faced man stepped out, eyeing Kikyou appreciatively while she buttoned up her coat. His dark curls hung greasily down his back, and Inuyasha felt repulsed even looking at him; the lewd stare he was giving Kikyou made the hanyou's stomach churn all the more. He had always thought of Kikyou as a dignified ice-beauty, some form of snow queen, not a tramp to be soiled by lustful gazes.

The greasy-haired man walked Kikyou around to the passenger side and opened the door with a practiced flourish. The humming of the foreign car made it hard for him to catch what they were saying as they loitered there. Inuyasha was only able to catch snippets that, overall, meant very little to him-only made him curious.

"…seen Inuyasha…?" the man asked.

Kikyou shook her head. "No, Naraku… disappeared… gone too…"

Naraku's russet eyes sparked with vice and irritation. "I… go… where…think he…?"

Slipping into the car, "Dead."

Smirking faintly, Naraku pulled her up to her feet again by the hands. He wrapped his arms around her, placed a hand on the nape of her neck, and kissed her.

Inuyasha's mind whirled in repugnance…

…when Kikyou kissed him back.

Inuyasha never forgot Naraku…the way he looked at Kikyou, the resentful gazes at him, the way Kikyou never said his name in Naraku's presence….

How Kikyou, even though she'd cursed him like this saying that it was "For you own safety, Inuyasha," had broken her promise to him.

Of loving only him.

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Kagome walked briskly home for a two-day weekend, wearing her school sweater beneath her sapphire jacket with her school case hanging from her wrist. She had a pair of mittens on, yet even so, she had her hands jammed in her pockets. A headband protected her ears from the rolling gusts of relentless cold.

Regardless that she was practically sprinting home, the girl window-shopped. Beautiful Christmas decorations of scarlet and gold were shown in every store. Holiday specials lit up every window. Brightly colored toys were arranged in eye-catching window displays.

When she passed by a coffee shop, however, Kagome was halfway tempted to duck inside and order a hot chocolate or an espresso-she'd never been fond of regular coffee.

Unfortunately, she was a typical teenager in the way that she only had enough money for a payphone.

Tired but feeling relieved, Kagome tried not to gawp wishfully at the people sipping their piping hot drinks in the nice shop while she had another block or so to walk to the shrine. She'd aced her Trig test, hence the feeling of relief, after mulling over knowing how to find, for example, the sin of ninety degrees without using her calculator by taking the points from the unit circle and remembering that sin was equal to the y-coordinate…

Yeah, it had confused her for a while, too.

Studying for that test had cost her precious hours of sleep, and had she been more focused like she was normally, Kagome wouldn't have had to stay up for the additional two or three hours that she did. All of a sudden, I'm not sure of anything… She released a breath, absently watching it turn into a silvery cloud. It's getting a little hard to focus on school work. Maybe I'm paranoid…or maybe it really is bothering me about how those demons got into the shrine.

She had been so preoccupied with tending to Inuyasha, her schoolwork, and shaking off the premonitions she would get from time to time-this time one of dread and not a small one-that she had never actually checked out the mini-shrine; the police didn't always tell everything. And when Kagome did remember to investigate the mini-shrine, she was in the middle of school.

Another billowing wind combed her wavy hair into wild, ebony currents about her flushed face. A few stray snowflakes stuck to her rosy cheeks and long lashes as she contemplated, No one has figured out how whatever got in there did, so…

Nodding firmly to herself, Kagome kept up her quick step.

Eventually, after passing by other such pedestrians that were freezing like her, Kagome carefully ascended the Sunset Shrine steps. She crossed to the mini-shrine. The sliding doors had been bound together by a chain that wove through the dowels. It held fast. A thin sheet of plywood had been tacked up from the inside to keep the elements out of the gaps. The only way to get in is through these doors… she reasoned, gently setting the school case on the snow-dusted porch, and since none of the walls are damaged... Kagome tapped a hand against her chin thoughtfully, peeking around the other sides just in case.

She continued to look over the entrance, an uncovered hand's fingertips running over the double sliders for some indication of forced entry. When her fingers were about numb, and just about to give up and warm up with a nice cup of cocoa from Mama Kagome felt a rather distorted twist of metal beneath her index finger.

Her peering automatically went to that place. The original lock on the doors had been melted, as if it had oozed away, and there was no soot residue as if someone used fire. It'd have to be some form of acid, she decided, eyelashes lacing together a tad, trying to block out a few flurries. Kagome investigated for a bit more, getting eyelevel with the hole, and seeing the minute mechanisms were missing; in their place were globs of melted metal. "If it was an acid or something similar, it would have been injected right into the keyhole…" A shiver of cold touched her senses, as if brushing her mind and spirit.

She leaned forward a bit. "I can sense a very faint trace of youki here," she whispered to herself, taking the case and straightening. "A demonic acid… I wonder if the police noticed this."

Tugging her mitten over reddening hand, Kagome turned away from the mini-shrine and made her way to the house.

When Kagome opened the door, she was blanketed by the warming scents of ginger and other spices perfect for the season. She grinned cheerfully to herself, slipping off her loafers and tucking them beside Souta's on the landing. Taking off her jacket, she gleefully called, "Mama! I'm home!

"I'm in the kitchen, honey!" came the reply.

Kagome, still in her socks, wandered to the kitchen, leaving her school bag propped up against the side of the stairs. A giggle escaped her lips when she saw the gingerbread men her mother was pulling out of the oven. "Can I help decorate them, please?" she begged, sidling up to her mom.

Mama laughed, setting the cookie sheet on top of the stove. "Once they cool, Kagome, you and Souta can put the icing on them."

"Hehe!" The girl twirled around once. "Christmas is coming so close, I can almost taste it!" she romanticized. Her wild smile gained a more tamed demeanor, yet was no less dazzling as she said, "I have finals coming up in two weeks. I'm so nervous about English and math." She sat in one of the kitchen chairs, still watching her mother slid the cookies off the sheet and onto cooling stand.

Shaking her head, Mama took a gingerbread man and walked over to her daughter, handing her the cookie. "You're excellent in English, Kagome, and you study very hard in math" she soothed, smoothing out her daughter's wind-tussled hair. "I'm sure you'll have no problem at all."

"Thanks, Mom." Kagome nibbled on the gingerbread man, enjoying the ambience of her shrine-house. After a few pacific moments, she suddenly asked, "Mama? Do you…do you really believe in this whole fiancé business? How much do we actually know about him?"

Mama was quiet for a moment, wiping her hands off her apron before sitting in the chair beside Kagome. "Sometimes I'm not all that sure, sweetheart. I trust what your grandfather says but at the same time, we both know he has a tendency to…exaggerate what he says. For all we know, Grampa's friend just asked him to hold onto the sword because he was about to go into a suicide mission."

Kagome nodded, understanding. "Or…" she started softly, "Grampa could be telling the truth."

"That's right."

"But…for all we know his friend's son is dead, or married, or really old, or something." The girl released a frustrated breath.

Smiling good-naturedly, "That's why I let you go on that date with Houjou. Even Grampa isn't sure how old Inutaisho's son was at the time, or what has happened since then. If your promised fiancé doesn't show up by your sixteenth birthday, you'll be free to choose who you marry."

"So it'll be null and void?"

"That's right." Kagome leaned against her mom, comforted, until Mama queried, "Oh, how did you date with Houjou go, honey? You never told me."

"Uh…" Tell Mama the truth, or lie like a dog? "It was great! The movie was really good, and Houjou was a perfect gentleman."

"Well, that's wonderful, Kagome!"

Well, a half-truth was better than a bald-faced lie, right?

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Inuyasha double checked the calendar while Kagome worked vigorously on some Chemistry homework. (Something about acids and bases, equations or whatever, stuff he hadn't done in fifty years, and had no wish to repeat, actually). The new moon was indeed tonight, and would begin in about two hours.

Like every time prior, he felt a less infused with power, but due to the fact he was a dog at the moment, his senses of smell, hearing, and eyesight had yet to damper as extreme as it would had he been transitioning straight from hanyou to human.

I'll meet up with Buyo in the storeroom and get changed in there. It shouldn't be a problem. All I have to do sneak past the geezer's room and I'll be free to leave. He smirked. It was the perfect plan. The old man sawed logs no body's business, so all he would have to be was stealthy, which was his specialty.

About five days after he'd first turned human, he'd tossed the other clothes into washer when Mrs. Higurashi wasn't looking, and put the running shoes in the dryer. Likewise, he'd extracted them without her noticing and hid them behind other boxes in the storeroom that he and Buyo had decided to use as 'home base' when he was human.

Buyo had already taken the business card down there and tucked in one of the running shoes, he said. The feline even went so far as to ask, "What kind of attire would you like to wear to visit your brother: casual, dress, or casual dress?"

Having spent a majority of the day in his mistress's room, Inuyasha nosed around the books she had trying to learn a little more of what was going on in the world. When he'd been stuck with Kikyou, he'd done the same thing. After so much time, he had learned to really enjoy reading.

The month or so back when he saw Kagome remove that katana-Tetsusaiga-from that velvet-lined box, Inuyasha was pretty curious.

A dowry?

Fiancé?

For some reason, it bothered him a lot. Inuyasha wasn't sure why, but he was not keen on the idea of Kagome marrying some stranger she didn't even know; he thought she should be given a chance to fall in love, get married or screwed over, like everyone else. He had searched all the books he could reach, and even the scrolls in the main office, but he couldn't find a thing telling more about Tetsusaiga.

Considering that was taking precedence over all else, Inuyasha was fairly relaxed about going to see his enigmatic brother.

He was sure there would be no hitch tonight…

Then there was a knock on the door down stairs, and Mama saying, "Oh, Mrs. Hishinuma! I'm so glad to see you-oh, hello, Shippou! Let me go get Kagome. Kagome!"

Kagome pushed back her chair, a huge grin on her face and skipped passed a blank faced Inuyasha. "Coming!"

Slowly, Inuyasha slunk his way after her to see what all the hubbub was about. A little kitsune had launched himself onto Kagome, squealing her name happily; his mother stood smiling, speaking to Kagome as she lifted the fox-child into her arms, "Thank you for letting Shippou spend the night while you baby sit, Kagome. My husband and I really appreciate it. We weren't expecting my mother to get sick, so…."

"Oh, it's no problem. I love having Shippou around." The teenage girl tickled Shippou gently, making him giggle. "I hope your mother gets well, Mrs. Hishinuma."

"Thank you. All of his things are in his bag, and he brought a sleeping bag with him." The woman leaned over and kissed the boy on his gingery head. "Bye, sweetie pie. Be good for Kagome."

"I will, Mommy," he promised.

"Come on, Shippou," Kagome said, picking up his things before carrying him and his bag up the stairs, "let's set your sleeping bag on the floor of my room. I'll unroll mine, too. Ok?"

"Yay!"

Inuyasha trotted back into the bedroom ahead of the pair and sat on the floor. He stared at them when they came in.

Shippou jumped out of Kagome's arms and looked at Inuyasha. "Is this your dog, Kagome?"

"Mm-hmm," she replied, taking out his small blue and green checked sleeping bag.

Inuyasha locked gazes with Shippou. The little boy scrunched his nose for a moment before turning his head decidedly and saying, "He's weird. He's smells weird, too."

And that began Inuyasha's disliking of the brat and the beginning of a difficult night.

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For an hour and a half, Kagome, Shippou, and Souta had played Chinese checkers on the floor of living room. Inuyasha had snuck by them and gone off to meet with Buyo, although he felt a emerald-azure stare follow after him as he did. The cat had picked out another pair of jeans, a black turtleneck, black and red striped boxers, a slightly dusty hunter jacket, and a pair of plain white socks.

Inuyasha waited out the transformation with Buyo, conversing with him as they waited. The laughter from the aforementioned trio danced into the dark room. Inuyasha wished he wasn't stuck lying on his stomach, waiting to change, but he couldn't risk anyone seeing him.

The transfiguration happened in the same way it had the time before, all within the span of a minute. Inuyasha pulled on the boxers first, then the rest of the articles-making sure to pull the turtleneck over his collar again. He slipped the socks on and wiggled his toes; it'd been a long time since he'd worn socks that they felt even odder than the rest of his clothing.

He didn't dare leave the storeroom until everyone had gone off to bed, or at least to their rooms. There was no window to climb out of like last time, so he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. The only way out was the rear door in the kitchen. With an irritated sigh, Inuyasha sat in the furthest, darkest corner and waited none too patiently.

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Shippou was sitting with Kagome in her room, playing a game of Candyland, when he looked to her and asked, "Kagome, can I go down and get something to drink? I'm getting thirsty."

She started to get up. "What do you want, Shippou? I'll go get it for you."

"I wanna get it myself."

"Well," she smiled, "alright. You know where everything is in the fridge. So be careful going down the stairs."

"I will, Kagome. I've got stairs at my house, remember?"

His babysitter laughed. "I know."

Shippou, in his acorn patterned pajamas, toddled down the stairs. The house was pretty dark, but there were a few nightlights to along the way to help. He held firmly to the railing until he got to the bottom. He went to the kitchen by unvoiced memory, hearing Kagome's Grampa's loud snoring and the ping of the hailstorm just starting. The digital clock on the microwave flickered to thirty minutes after nine.

Shippou opened the fridge and retrieved a juice box, filling the entire kitchen with butter-yellow light.

Then he heard a quiet noise, of something sliding, and a vague silhouette of a figure at the far end of the hall.

The fox-child shut the door hastily, using his enhanced demon sight to make out the shape of a young man in the darkness. Shippou knew that there were no other guys in the house besides Kagome's Grampa and Souta and everyone else except the old man was upstairs. Why isn't that dumb dog of Kagome's barking? wondered the boy in annoyance, and slight fear. What if it was a robber or something? Or murderer? Or the boogey man!

Shippou's little body trembled as the guy looked around the house carefully, stepping around the corner and smacking the back of his hand into the side of the wall. A muffled string of angry curses filled Shippou's ears. The little boy watched what he sure was the boogey man sauntered closer to him.

Panic wracked his nerves and he dropped his juice box, but then the little boy thought of his poor defenseless babysitter upstairs… What if the boogey man was after Kagome?! Shippou decided he had to do something to protect her, so he suddenly charged his nemesis, and successfully caught him off balance.

"Ha! I got you, boogey man!" he proclaimed in a strained whisper. Blue flames lit in his palms. "I'm going to give you three seconds to leave or I'll destroy you with my Kitsunebi!"

"And I'm going to give one second to get off my stomach, you brat, until I punch your head in," an angry teenage boy's voice hissed back. He pushed Shippou off. "And I ain't the boogey man, stupid."

Shippou rolled to the side, but the blue flame flared brightly. "I don't believe you, boogey man!" The little boy held the fire up to his enemy's face to see…a human boy with blue-black looking hair and ticked off eyes glaring at him. "Oh…you're not the boogey man."

"No, I'm not…" he tersely replied.

"…Then you're a murderer!"

"I'm not a murderer, you twit." Inuyasha picked Shippou up by the collar of his pajamas, making him eyelevel. "I'm just leaving the house. Don't mention this to Kagome. Got it?"

Shippou crossed his arms. "I don't believe you. How stupid do you think I am?"

You thought I was the boogey man… Inuyasha mentally groaned, until he found a way out of his predicament. "You're right, Shippou," he started, setting the boy down. "I can't fool you…I'm the boogey man hunter."

"The boogey man hunter?" Shippou echoed back.

"Yeah…I don't want you to tell Kagome 'cause she might get scared that the boogey man is in her house." Inuyasha stopped, making a dramatic pause. He dropped into a fighting stance. "Hurry. Get whatever you need and go back upstairs. He's still here."

The little boy swallowed. "H-h-he is?!" he squeaked.

"Yeah, now get your stuff and hurry." Shippou ran over and grabbed his juice box and started to leave the kitchen when Inuyasha said, "Remember, don't tell Kagome. She'll get scared…and the boogey man might get her." The boy nodded and scuttled off. Inuyasha waited before chuckling out a, "Keh," and snuck out the kitchen door.

Kagome stared at an ashen Shippou, who continued to shake a little when he sat down fore her. "Shippou! Are you ok?"

He nodded and swallowed again, and locked a serious gaze on her. "You're safe now, Kagome. Don't be scared."

"Of what?" She blinked her cerulean eyes.

Shippou glanced around quickly before whispering, "Him."

"Oh…ok…" She shook her head as Shippou regained his color and returned to playing Candyland with her. Little kids have such imaginations, she thought laughingly.

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A/N: Done! Woo! That's the fastest I've written a chapter in comparison to another. Back-to-back my baby! (Speech and Debate, long story.) Well, I hope everyone liked this one too. I worked especially hard and all. My nephew stays up really late, even later than me sometimes, even when he was about four or so. He wouldn't go to bed, so I figured maybe Shippou's as energized as him. R&R! I loved all the reviews I've gotten; I've topped 300! Araigotou! Belated Happy Birthday to Queen Klu who celebrated a 15th birthday about 2 weeks ago or so.

This chapter is dedicated to my friend we lovingly call Mango. Today is her 17th birthday-well, her party anyway-and I wanted to dedicate this to her.

I really had trouble thinking of a title, though. Hehe.

Ja ne,

~Moonlight Shadow

kitsune-fox

youki-demon energy

kitsunebi-fox fire