InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth About Cats and Dogs ❯ Kirara's Tale ( Chapter 2 )

Recap: Sango wished for a friend who understood her, and inadvertently reversed a spell cast on her fire-cat demon companion Kirara, changing Kirara into a human-form demon.

 

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Chapter 2 - Kirara's Tale

 

Kirara squatted down, waiting for Sango to climb off her back. Her smile faded as she saw Sango stagger to one side, sway uneasily on her feet and then finally fall backwards, her Hiraikotsu stabbing into the ground. Sango slid down against her weapon until the rope that usually held hung over her shoulder was suddenly wrapped around her throat, and she found herself hanging from her own Hiraikotsu.

 

“Sango!” Kirara said, hurrying over to unhook her from the rope. “Are you alright?”

 

“I'm never doing that again,” Sango said, falling forwards onto all fours. “I don't know how Kagome does it…”

 

“Oops, sorry Sango!” Kirara said. “I was a little excited about being able to run and jump like that again. You see, in my cat form before, I was so small and weak, I could never do things like that!”

 

“Small and weak?” Sango repeated, pushing herself up onto her knees and turning her head towards Kirara. “You were huge!”

 

“Huge?” Kirara echoed, her large green eyes looking momentarily lost. “Oh, you mean my demon form! No, I can still use my demon form! I was talking about my little kitty-cat form!”

 

“You can still transform into a big fire-cat?”

 

“Of course I can!”

 

“Wow… And you were Midoriko's companion, yes?”

 

“Yes. She put the spell on me. And after she died, I stayed by her grave for many years, in the hope that when someone returned the Shikon Jewel, they would return her soul, and undo my spell. But of course, I was wrong. Then I spent a long time trying to find the Shikon Jewel myself, to use it to undo the spell. But then I decided that Midoriko must have placed the spell on me for a reason. She wanted me to gain the trust and friendship of humans, and so I returned to the village, and I began helping young female demonslayers. Of course, the problem with befriending mortals, is that they all die, and I was always so sad when one of my friends died. But I had to keep going. I knew that I had to break the spell. Midoriko wanted me to break it. She did it to test me, to make me prove that my heart was true, and now I've finally done it. And it's all thanks to you, Sango!”

 

“Wow… And the spell broke during our pursuit of the Shikon Jewel, how ironic… And I never would have guessed that you were so old, but I suppose being a demon, you do have a much longer life than us humans. So, what are you going to do now?”

 

Kirara stared blankly at Sango as though she had not understood the question.

 

“What do you mean?” Kirara asked.

 

“Well, will you stay with us?” Sango asked. “Will you continue to travel with us as we search for Naraku and try to complete the sacred jewel?”

 

“Of course I will!” Kirara hurriedly replied. “You're my best friend Sango, I would never leave you!”

 

“Oh…”

 

Sango hesitated as she thought this over, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.

 

“I really did get what I wished for,” she said, meeting Kirara's eyes.

 

“Yes!” Kirara agreed. “And if you ever miss stroking me, I can transform into my fire-cat form!”

 

“Um…”

 

Sango sweat-dropped awkwardly, but Kirara appeared not to notice.

 

“It's late, we should go inside,” Kirara suggested.

 

Sango frowned, turning her attention to the horizon, where the sun was starting to rise.

 

“And we've been up all night…” Kirara added, her armour clunking as she stretched arms above her head. “Unless you slept while I was carrying you?”

 

“Not a wink,” Sango dryly replied. “Let's go to bed.”

 

Sango led the way to the front entrance of Kaede's hut, slapping aside the bamboo flap. Inside, Kaede and Shippo were asleep at the back corner of the hut, but Miroku was sitting huddled over a small fire, her hands cupped around a half-drunk bowl of tea.

 

“Sango!” he blurted as she crossed the room towards him. “You're back already? I was just… Having an early morning, it's such a nice day outside already!”

 

“Early morning?” Sango snorted, eying him over suspiciously. “You look like you haven't slept all night. What have you been doing all this time?”

 

“Sitting thinking about you, Sango,” Kirara drawled sarcastically from behind Sango.

 

“Huh?” Miroku grunted, looking over Sango's shoulder at the source of the second voice. “Who are you?”

 

Miroku's eyes slowly widened, and he got to his feet.

 

“Is that one of those panther demons, Sango?” he asked Sango, pointing at Kirara.

 

“Panther demon?” Kirara echoed. “How dare you! I'm a fire-cat you fool! Would you like me to demonstrate?”

 

“No need,” Miroku replied. “Sango, what are you doing with this demon?”

 

“Miroku, you should probably sit down before I tell you.”

 

“Sango?” Shippo groaned, sitting up from his sleep, rubbing at his eyes with his fists. “Is that you? Gee, you sure came back quick! Did you miss Miroku? Where's Kirara?”

 

Miroku frowned as he caught the look on Sango's face changing with each of Shippo's questions: from a bashful, girlish expression to a look of shock and almost guilt. Miroku lowered his eyes to Sango's empty hands, and then down to her feet.

 

“What's going on, Sango?” he asked. “Where is Kirara? And where is your Hiraikotsu?”

 

“Oh, I left it outside…” Sango vaguely replied, pointing at the nearby wall of the hut.

 

“Kirara or your Hiraikotsu?”

 

“My Hiraikotsu.”

 

“So where's Kirara?”

 

Before Sango could answer Miroku, they were both distracted by Shippo, who was creeping towards Kirara, sniffing at her cautiously.

 

“Say, you smell familiar, do I know you?” Shippo asked, looking up at Kirara.

 

“Um…” Kirara began nervously, her eyes wide, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

 

“Shippo, Miroku, this is Kirara,” Sango said with a sigh, deciding it was best to just get the introductions over and done with. “While we were away I made a wish that released her from an old spell that had held her in the form of a cat. Now she's free, she can take the form of a human again.”

 

“Kirara?” Shippo said in disbelief, falling onto his rear as he stared up at her face.

 

“You mean to tell us that all this time Kirara was a humanoid demon, trapped inside the body of a cat?” Miroku said. “All those times I sat on her, she was really a pretty young lady?”

 

Kirara snarled at Miroku as he reached his cursed hand out towards her, her eyes glowing red and her fangs and claws lengthening.

 

“Such a pity she's a demon…” Miroku sighed, retracting his hand in defeat.

 

“Wow Kirara, so how does it feel to be able to talk again?” Shippo asked Kirara.

 

“It feels wonderful, thank you for asking,” Kirara politely replied. “And I want to thank you for always being so kind to me, Shippo.”

 

“No problem, Kirara!” Shippo replied. “I bet you've got lots to say to everybody now that you can talk!”

 

“You're damn right I do…” Kirara growled, fixing her eyes onto Miroku as he reached a hand towards the distracted Sango.

 

“And since none of us have slept all night, why don't we all get some rest, hm?” Sango hurriedly suggested, putting one hand on Mirouk's shoulder to halt his movements, and one on Kirara's shoulder to stop her from taking a swipe at Miroku. “We can discuss this in more detail in the morning.”

 

Kirara nodded her understanding, walking over to the back wall of the hut and sitting down, resting her back against the wall. Shippo joyously leapt into her lap, curling up and drifting back off to sleep almost instantly.

 

“And the first thing we're going to do when we wake is get you some real clothes, Kirara,” Sango added, eying over her companion's bulky, old and unnecessary armour.

 

“But these are the clothes of a warrior!” Kirara argued back, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Shippo. “I am proud to wear these clothes!”

 

“Maybe Kagome could get you some clothes, Kirara,” Miroku suggested.

 

Sango and Kirara both eyed Miroku suspiciously as he closed his eyes, a sly smirk appearing on his face as he became lost in thought.

 

“There's a dressmaker at the other side of the village, Kirara, we'll go there when we wake,” Sango said to Kirara. “We can't wait until Kagome returns, and I don't trust Miroku to leave you alone if you're dressed in something as revealing as that skirt that Kagome wears.”

 

“But Sango, that skirt is part of Kagome's school uniform!” Miroku hurriedly pointed out, opening his eyes to look at her as he spoke.

 

“I know,” Sango replied, rolling her eyes. “But the people in Kagome's era are weird.”

 

Sango gathered up her blanket and walked over to Kirara's side, lying down not far from Kirara by the back wall. Miroku cheerfully collected his own blanket and walked over, sitting down in the small space between the two women, smiling at each of them in turn. When both simply glowered back at him, Miroku sighed in defeat, gathering up his blanket and moving off to the other side of the room.

 

“He is such a pervert…” Kirara grumbled under her breath.

 

Sango gave a small smile as she watched Miroku settle down in the opposite corner, an action that did not go unnoticed by Kirara, who bared her teeth at the monk, an almost inaudible growl rumbling in her throat. One of the most frustrating things about not being able to talk, she thought to herself, was that she had never been able to give her true opinion on anything or anyone before.

 

But that was all about to change.

 

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“This is a beautiful material, Kirara!” Sango said, holding out a length of pale pink linen for her to see.

 

Kirara scrunched up her nose sceptically, before turning to the elderly woman sat before them.

 

“I'm a warrior,” she explained, thumping a fist against the metal plate that covered her torso. “I need clothes that befit a soldier. Can you help me?”

 

“Don't you want to get something a little more comfortable for travelling in?” Sango asked her quietly, again moving the length of pink cloth towards her.

 

“I'm a warrior,” Kirara said again, recoiling from Sango's offer. “And I rather like the clothes I have. I would like to see Master Totosai though, I need a new sword-”

 

“How about this nice green colour?” Sango interrupted her, offering her a length of dull green cloth.

 

“I am a warrior,” Kirara said, her waning patience evident in her tone as she addressed the dressmaker. “I need clothes befitting a warrior. You understand, don't you?”

 

The dressmaker glanced over Sango before returning her attentions to Kirara and nodding softly.

 

“I think I can help you, young lady,” she said. “But it won't be cheap.”

 

Kirara turned to Sango expectantly, but Sango merely shook her head.

 

“I don't have any money, Kirara,” Sango explained.

 

“No, but Miroku does,” Kirara plainly replied.

 

“Miroku doesn't have a lot of money, and he certainly doesn't part with it easily…”

 

“But if… Oh, never mind.”

 

Kirara looked around herself thoughtfully, before breaking into a grin as an idea occurred to her.

 

“Perhaps we could make a deal, good lady,” she proposed, turning back to the dressmaker. “I see you have many fine animal furs here, hunting those animals must be very hard work.”

 

“I pay some of the young men in the village to hunt for me,” the dressmaker replied.

 

“You pay them?” Kirara confirmed. “Then perhaps if I were to return with some fine furs for you, we could make an exchange. You will make me some fine clothing, worthy of a warrior, and I shall bring you all the furs you need.”

 

“Kirara!” Sango hissed.

 

“Yes, I can do that,” the dressmaker agreed. “Your new clothing will be ready the day after tomorrow.”

 

“Right,” Kirara said decisively. “In the mean time, I shall hunt and bring you the furs I gather.”

 

“What about the Shikon Jewel?” Sango whispered to Kirara.

 

“What about it?” Kirara asked. “We can't search for it now, not without Kagome. I couldn't detect Naraku's scent at all last night on our journey home, nor can I detect it this morning. If I do sense anything, I will return here immediately. Otherwise, we are bound here until Kagome returns.”

 

“I guess so…” Sango said slowly, looking down again at the green cloth in her hands.

 

“Maybe if I get enough furs, you could have a new kimono if you like that one so much,” Kirara suggested.

 

“Oh…” Sango said slowly. “Well, that would be nice…”

 

“You stay here and let the old lady take your measurements, I will start hunting. Wish me luck.”

 

Kirara skipped out of the hut, leaving Sango standing in the middle of the floor, two large sheets of material draped over her arms.

 

“But…” she began.

 

Sango placed the materials down and hurried over to the door, pushing the flap aside. Ahead of her she saw Kirara jogging off towards the trees; as she watched, Kirara leapt into the air, transforming into her more familiar fire-cat form and flying off over the tops of the trees.

 

“This is going to take a lot of getting used to…” she muttered to herself, allowing the flap to drop shut again. “But since she did offer…”

 

Sango smiled at the array of fabrics around her, images of herself wrapped in luxurious silk kimonos dancing through her mind.

 

“Now my dear, what can I do for you?” the dressmaker asked her.

 

“Well…” Sango began.

 

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Kagome sighed, resting her chin on her upturned palm. Behind her, Inuyasha was leaping between eras, collecting all the bags and bags of food and supplies he had insisted on taking with them. She was beginning to regret having taken him shopping with her back in her own time, but at least, she thought to herself, she would have some tasty food to eat for the next few days. Or weeks.

 

“That's the last of `em, Kagome,” Inuyasha called to her.

 

“Right,” Kagome began, standing up.

 

Kagome opened her mouth to continue talking, but when she turned around and saw the multitude of bags lying around the well she merely let out a whimper of despair.

 

“Inuyasha!” she moaned.

 

“Do you think we got enough dried potatoes?” Inuyasha asked, grabbing up a giant bag of spicy potato chips.

 

“I think we have enough potato chips to last us until Christmas, Inuyasha,” Kagome dryly replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “How are we going to get all of this stuff back to the village? And, more importantly, how are we going to carry all this stuff with us when we travel?”

 

“Well, I was thinking, we've lost all traces of Naraku, so we don't really need to hurry…” Inuyasha began, opening the bag of potato chips in his hands.

 

“So you want me to carry all of these bags?” Kagome snapped, the word “sit” at the forefront of her mind as she watched Inuyasha munch into a handful of potato chips.

 

“Course not, stupid!” he scoffed, spraying crumbs everywhere as he spoke. “We could just strap them all to Kirara's back. Sango and Miroku won't need to ride her if we aren't travelling too fast. You can ride your bike, Shippo can sit in the basket, Sango can sit on the back, Miroku and I will both walk, and Kirara can carry the bags.”

 

“Oh, I never thought of that,” Kagome said, her anger subsiding. “But are you sure Kirara is strong enough to carry all these bags?”

 

“She can carry all of us, can't she? We'll just tie them all around her body, and she'll just walk on like normal.”

 

“Okay. I'll go back to the village and get her now, she can help us carry these bags back there.”

 

“Okay. I'll wait here.”

 

Kagome set off for the village, leaving Inuyasha behind. Inuyasha sat on the edge of the well wall, eating more rapidly and with less grace once Kagome had disappeared from sight. Just as he was chewing his way through his last mouthful, Inuyasha caught the scent of a demon, his sensitive ears twitching as he heard something moving in the trees far behind him.

 

Inuyasha swallowed the contents of his mouth, dropping down the empty bag and turning in the direction of the demonic aura. There was definitely something in the trees, something quite powerful; but his senses could not distinguish exactly what it was. It smelt familiar, but he could not decide just who the scent belonged to, as the air was rapidly filling with the smell of the blood of various animals.

 

His concern rising, Inuyasha decided to head into the trees to see what it was. He leapt over the wall and started across the clearing, stopping halfway as he saw a shadow moving through the trees. The slow, methodical way the figure was walking instantly put Inuyasha on edge. As the figure drew closer, nearing the edge of the trees, Inuyasha could make out that it was the tall silhouette of a longhaired demon, dressed in what looked like an ancient warrior's battle clothes.

 

“Sesshomaru!” Inuyasha growled quietly to himself, tearing the Tetsusaiga from its sheath and readying himself for a fight.

 

As he tensed into a fighting stance, Inuyasha kept his eyes fixed on the demon. He could not see the annoying little toad demon his brother kept with him or the two-headed dragon demon, but he was certain it was Sesshomaru.

 

“What are you doing here?” he yelled.

 

Just then, the demon stepped out of the trees and into the light, stopping abruptly.

 

“Inuyasha?” a girl's voice called to him.

 

“What the…?” Inuyasha began, straightening out of his defensive stance.

 

Standing by the edge of the trees was a female demon, with hair as long as his own only it appeared to be blonde and black as opposed to silver. She was wearing clothes not too dissimilar to Sesshomaru's, the clothing of a noble soldier. Both her hands were at her shoulders, supporting what looked like a pile of animal skins that rested over her shoulders.

 

“What do you want here, demon?” Inuyasha demanded, pointing his sword at her.

 

“Inuyasha, you're back already!” she replied. “Where is Kagome?”

 

Inuyasha faltered, the demon's ease and familiarity beginning to make him feel highly uncomfortable. He tried to recover his composure to warn the demon away, when he heard Kagome screaming from the village, the sound shattering his already raw nerves.

 

“You got a lucky escape, demon!” Inuyasha warned the demon girl, dropping the Tetsusaiga back into its sheath and hurrying off towards the village.

 

Inuyasha was back in the village in a matter of seconds, skidding to a halt as he sighted Kagome. He grunted in confusion when he saw that she was standing with Sango, her jaw hanging shamelessly open and her eyes the size of saucers.

 

“What the hell's going on over here?” Inuyasha asked no-one in particular.

 

“There have been some developments while you were away,” Miroku explained, joining him at his side. “I trust Kagome is feeling much better?”

 

“Yeah, I gave her some of my liver potion,” Inuyasha casually replied.

 

“Ah yes, an excellent remedy,” Miroku agreed. “And that worked better than any of the medicines in Kagome's own era?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“Hey, Inuyasha!” Shippo called, bounding over to Inuyasha's side. “Did you hear the news?”

 

“No,” Inuyasha began, bending down and grabbing a hand around Shippo's bushy tail. “But you're going to tell me what the hell's going on around here, got that?”

 

“Ow, ow, let me go, Inuyasha!” Shippo cried.

 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome yelled. “Sit boy!”

 

“Ha, ha!” Shippo squealed, as Inuyasha released him and fell, face-first, to the ground.

 

“Shippo…” Inuyasha growled, his voice muffled in the ground as he waited for the effects of the spell to lift.

 

Shippo quickly scurried away from Inuyasha, leaping into Kagome's arms. As Kagome and Sango continued their conversation, Miroku squatted down next to Inuyasha.

 

“So, did you bring back supplies from Kagome's era?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Inuyasha slowly replied, pushing himself up. “We've got bags of stuff, Kagome was meant to be getting Kirara to carry it back for us.”

 

Inuyasha began brushing the dirt from his clothing, oblivious to the horrified look on Miroku's face next to him.

 

“Inuyasha?” Miroku began nervously.

 

“What is it, Miroku?” Inuyasha asked, still distracted by the dust on his clothing.

 

“About Kirara…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Inuyasha looked up, his eyes locking onto Kirara, who was bounding across the village ahead of them in her fire-cat form, heading towards the forest.

 

“Well, something's different about her, you see,” Miroku continued. “While you were away Inuyasha, she-”

 

“Save it, Miroku,” Inuyasha interrupted him, running off towards Kirara.

 

“Inuyasha!” Miroku yelled after him. “Wait!”

 

“Huh?” Sango muttered, turning her attention to Inuyasha as he ran off.

 

“I didn't get the chance to explain it to him yet!” Miroku explained.

 

“Oh no!” Kagome said, turning to watch as Inuyasha pounced at Kirara.

 

“Hey, Kirara, get back here!” Inuyasha yelled, grabbing a handful of the fur at the back of her head as she tried to fly.

 

Kirara let out a snarl of pain as Inuyasha tugged her back to the ground, a sound that slowly turned into a girl's voice.

 

“Ow! What are you doing? Let go of me!”

 

Inuyasha froze, his hand still gripped around what had been the blonde fur of a fire-cat, but was now the blonde hair of a demon girl.

 

“Huh?” he muttered, eying her over in confusion. “You're that demon who looks like Sesshomaru!”

 

“Get off of me, you filthy dog!” she snapped, swiping a clawed hand at Inuyasha's arm.

 

“Hey!” Inuyasha yelped, releasing her instantly and retracting his arm to inspect the bloody marks her claws had left.

 

“You are so inconsiderate, Inuyasha!” she grumbled, getting to her feet and straightening her bulky armour indignantly.

 

“What the hell is going on?” Inuyasha demanded. “And what did you do with Kirara?”

 

“I am Kirara, you idiot!”

 

Inuyasha sniffed at the air around her, his eyes widening at what he sensed.

 

“But that's not possible…” he began slowly. “How is that possible?”

 

“I was under a spell that bound me in the form of a small cat, but now I'm free,” Kirara patiently explained, touching a hand to the back of her head where Inuyasha had grabbed her.

 

“Oh,” Inuyasha said. “Well, that's going to cause a bit of a problem for me…”

 

“It is?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

Kirara frowned, the look on Inuyasha's face leaving her feeling suddenly very unsettled. Just what was he thinking?

 

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Next Chapter: What is Inuyasha thinking? And now that the gang are all reunited, what lies in store for them? The search for Naraku and the Sacred Jewel continues. Chapter 3 - Inuyasha's Concern.