InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Wasn't In The Job Description ❯ Onsen Oedo Monogatari ( Chapter 49 )

Chapter 49

 

Onsen Oedo Monogatari

 

When they returned to InuYasha's house, the contractors were already there, called by Kaede to do an estimate for repairing the damage. She had already had the house cleaners there, who helped her clear away the blood and scraps of youkai flesh, but the contractors still looked baffled as they surveyed the damage. No one was going to tell them what had actually happened…

 

InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango with Kirara went to InuYasha's office to look at what they had found. Kagome removed the papers on InuYasha's desk and they laid the articles out. There were five pages, mostly badly torn and very dirty. Writing could be made out faintly, yet not good enough to read.

 

“I think I should take this to someone I know in the forensics area of the Tokyo Police Department,” said Miroku. “He owes me a couple favors, and I'll call them in and get him to glean what information he can from them.”

 

“Alright,” said InuYasha, leaning on the desk and gazing at the pages intently for one more moment. “You have the phone number for my house in Kamakura. We will be spending the night at Onsen Oedo Monogatari and head over there tomorrow.”

 

“Are you sure you want to stay at the Onsen?” said Sango, quirking an eyebrow. “That place is more of an amusement park, not a hotel.”

 

“Exactly,” said InuYasha. “How could Naraku send anything against us there?”

 

InuYasha's words made Kagome cringe inside. She hoped he was right, but wondered if he had just jinxed it by saying that. Her eyes flicked to his face a moment, and saw that he looked confidant and relaxed. Ah, well….she believed that no matter what came their way, he would be able to handle it.

 

“Would you all care to have a late lunch?” Kaede said from the doorway to the office.

 

“Good idea,” said InuYasha. “I am hungry.”

 

“You are always hungry,” said Miroku wryly, and Sango and Kagome laughed.

 

“Will you two be staying to eat as well?” Kaede asked, looking at Miroku and Sango.

 

In Sango's arms, Kirara chirped hopefully.

 

“And I have some nice fish for you as well, Miss Kirara,” said Kaede with an indulgent smile.

 

The neko looked at the housekeeper and purred.

 

“I think she has made our decision for us,” said Sango, with a short laugh.

 

“Very good then,” said Kaede. “Lunch will be served in the dining room in a half hour.”

 

After lunch, Miroku and Sango left. InuYasha told Miroku to call him on his cell that night if anything came up. That left Kagome and InuYasha to finish their work in the office, tying up things before they went to the Onsen. Before packing, Kagome called her mother, and told her that she and InuYasha would be out of town for a while. Of course, her mother wanted to know exactly where they would be going, so Kagome told her and gave her a phone number where she could be reached. Her mother was not too pleased to hear that she did not know how long they would be away, but Kagome reassured her as best she could.

 

“Since we are going directly to my house in Kamakura after the night at the Onsen, we'll take my car,” said InuYasha, as they stepped out of the office and went upstairs to pack.

 

“You mean you are leaving your beloved motorcycle behind?” Kagome teased.

 

“Of course not,” InuYasha scoffed. “I'll trailer it to the back of the car.”

 

In another hour, they had packed and loaded up the car. The motorcycle's trailer was hooked up, and then they said good-bye to Kaede. When they got on the road, it was already getting late, and would soon be dark. It felt strange to Kagome to be riding beside InuYasha and not behind him on his bike. He drove the car in the same manner he drove his bike - fast, but he handled it well. They were silent as they drove, but as Kagome gazed at him, thinking, InuYasha turned to her and smiled, and gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. This show of affection made her feel happy and relaxed, and she gazed out the window at the quickly passing scenery.

 

The Onsen Oedo Monogatari was a huge complex in Odaiba that had been built recently and resembled a giant house built in the Edo style with Christmas lights on it. It had many different types of baths - outdoors, indoors, foot baths, steam baths, and many others. InuYasha parked the car and they entered the complex. When they arrived, they put their shoes in a locker and proceeded to the changing rooms where they were given a choice of yukata in designs from the Edo period, and an obi. They walked barefoot, down a crowded, roofed street modeled as a hirokoji street from the Edo period, flanked with shops and restaurants, until they got to the in-house capsule hotel known as the “Black Ship Bunk Room.” There they checked in and stored their bags, and went out to enjoy the Onsen and get something to eat.

 

Most of the people at the Onsen were tourists, and this was fine with InuYasha. They were less likely to know who he was, since he was a celebrity only in Japan. Kagome wanted to take a dip in one of the outdoor hot spring onsens. They were separate for men and women, so they parted for a while, and planned to meet back in twenty minutes. Relaxed after their baths, they decided to get a meal of Soba noodles and fried crisp tempura. As they were eating, a murmuring among the people strolling out in the street could be heard. InuYasha suddenly dropped his chopsticks and scowled.

 

“What is it InuYasha?” said Kagome in concern.

 

“Trouble,” said InuYasha.

 

Getting up and throwing some yen at the waitress, he grabbed Kagome's hand and ran out of the restaurant.

 

“Where are we going?” said Kagome, stumbling after him.

 

“I have to get back to our room and get Tessaiga,” said InuYasha. “But you are too slow.”

 

Picking her up, InuYasha put Kagome on his back and headed for the rooftops of the buildings. Luckily, everyone's attention was drawn to the commotion coming their way, and they were headed in the opposite direction. They dashed into the Black Ship hotel and InuYasha grabbed Tessaiga. When they got out, the disturbance was nearly upon them.

 

“Oh Kami,” exclaimed Kagome. “It's a dragon!”

 

“It's a youkai,” said InuYasha, and drew Tessaiga.

 

The youkai was gold and green scaled, with six legs, red eyes, and a long, sinuous tail - about was about ten feet long in total length. It obviously had one purpose as it spied InuYasha - to kill the hanyou, as it grinned and showed rows of saber-sharp teeth.

 

“Look, Mommy, a dragon!” said a little boy, pointing excitedly.

 

“Oh my, what a wonderful dragon - it looks so real!” The boy's mother replied, moving him aside as the beast glided past.

 

“InuYasha, they think it is a show!” said Kagome. “You have to get that thing out of here!”

 

“I'm trying!” InuYasha growled through clenched teeth, and transformed Tessaiga.

 

The crowds made `ooh,' and `ah,' sounds of awe at the sight of the massive blade in InuYasha's hand and began to clap. Rolling his eyes, InuYasha flushed and charged for the dragon. It reared back, opening its jaws and front claws out to strike. He leapt up at it and brought Tessaiga down on its nose as it lashed at him, tearing at the yukata and almost grazing his legs.

 

Because it was a small dragon, it went down, and InuYasha flipped over and landed on the other side of it.

 

“Come on, come get me!” InuYasha yelled at it, Tessaiga held in front of him.

 

“Go get him!” A little girl yelled. “You can do it, Samurai!”

 

“Shush, let the man do his performance,” the girl's father said, and picked her up in his arms.

 

As Kagome watched, InuYasha let the dragon push him back down the street towards the entrance of the Onsen. She bit her lip and wondered if he could handle this youkai. Though small, it was tough - Tessaiga was not making a cut on it. It dawned on her that only the Kaze no Kizu would be able to over power it. She only hoped he did not have to use it inside the Onsen.

 

Finally, InuYasha and the dragon burst outside the front doors of the Onsen, and a crowd had followed them, chattering and cheering the hanyou on. Once outside, InuYasha ran past the Maritime Museum, the Science Museum, the Hotel Grand Pacific and the Nikko Hotel until he came to Tokyo Bay. The dragon charged after him. Then he turned and leapt high over the water. As he had hoped, the dragon came charging into the water, snapping at him. Flipping in mid air, he faced it.

 

“Kaze no Kizu!”

 

The blast ripped into the open mouth of the dragon, and blew it apart. It was visible all the way back at the Onsen, where the crowd had waited, transfixed. They all cheered when they saw the yellow blaze, and Kagome, who was standing amongst them, let air out of her lungs explosively in relief.

 

Unfortunately for InuYasha, the only place for him to go once he had destroyed the dragon youkai was straight down into Tokyo Bay. He entered the cold water with a huge splash, and then swam back up to the surface and headed for shore.

 

“Fucking piece of shit dragon,” he muttered angrily as he stalked back to the Onsen, his yukata dripping wet and clinging to his body.

 

In disgust, InuYasha saw the crowd was waiting there for him - but so was Kagome, looking both relieved and amused at his peeved, bedraggled state. Everyone was clapping and cheering.

 

“Great job, Samurai!”

 

“Excellent performance!”

 

“This Onsen sure puts on a wonderful show!”

InuYasha walked up to Kagome and sighed heavily, ignoring the praise, a sour expression on his face. She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling in the lights from the Onsen.

 

“Come on, my Samurai hero,” she said, a laugh in her voice. “Let's get you a dry yukata.”