Inuyasha scowled across the table at Miroku's wide grin. Once again, the young monk had managed to secure accomodations for them at the finest establishment in the village in which they'd decided to spend the night. Unfortunately, it was a geisha house.
"Dammit," the dog demon said, wrinkling his nose. "Every woman in here must be wearing an entire barrel's worth of perfume."
"Inuyasha, we are surrounded on all sides by lovely women from every corner of the globe. Surely even YOU can appreciate that?" Miroku chastised mildly as a lovely maiden whose ethnicity was a mystery to him leaned over to refill his glass.
"This place doesn't feel right to me, and I'm not thrilled about the others being kept separately from us. We could've just eaten in our room."
"Hmmm?" the monk replied absently, smiling at the young woman who was now clearing his first plate.
"Fuckin' hentai," Inuyasha grumbled, rising from the table and striding towards the exit.
"Hey! Um... wait!" came a feminine voice at his back. He wasn't planning on turning around to respond, but an insistent hand tugged the back of his shirt.
"What?" he growled, spinning around and coming face to face with the nuisance. It turned out to be a young woman of about 19 and clearly she was one of the "exotics girls" boasted by the owner. She had skin the color of tree bark, large luminous brown eyes, and generous lips. Her hair was black, thick and curly.
"You forgot your sword," she said, holding the Tetsiga out with both hands.
Inuyasha's cheeks reddened momentarily before he snatched the sword from her palms. He hoped Miroku hadn't noticed his absent-mindedness. If word of this were to get out to Shippo or Kagome, he'd never hear the end of it.
"Arigato," he mumbled.
"Hai!" the girl smiled. Why did these girls grin so much anyway? "Shall I show you to your room?" she asked, stepping around him so that she too was heading out the door. Ordinarily, he didn't like sleeping indoors-- it made him feel caged in -- but he wanted to check on Kagome and the others before they turned in for the night, and so he agreed to let the young woman show him the way.
When they reached the spacious bedroom, there was no one to be found. Kagome's backpack rested on the floor, and Inuyasha noted that her bag full of bathing things was missing. Obviously, she and Sango were still in the bath.
"Is everything to your liking?" the girl asked, removing some sheets from a nearby shelf and placing them onto a futon.
"Yeah, sure."
"Would you like anything to drink? Some bedclothing? A," she cleared her throat, "woman, maybe?"
"I said it was FINE!" the dog demon snarled. "And I certainly don't want your...your.." he began blushing madly, "your COMPANY!"
"Baka!" the girl shrieked, shocking the hanyou. "I wasn't talking about ME!" she flung the door open, startling a recently arrived Sango and Kagome, both with heads wrapped up in towels. "If anybody but HIM needs anything, let me know," she barked, stomping off down the long corridor.
"Well," Sango said after a moment of silence, "geisha life obviously hasn't had a tempering effect on her. What was that about?"
"Did it have anything to do with the jewel shards in her ears?" Kagome asked, her towel slipping down over her ears.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.
"The WHAT??"
_____________
Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold night air. Of course, the batteries for her hairdryer would choose tonight to go dead. The windiness combined with a headful of wet hair didn't make for an enjoyable mix. Crouched down directly behind Miroku, she waited with the others for Inuyasha to speak.
"ACHOO!" a sneeze snuck up on her and exploded forth.
"What're you trying to do? Let everybody know we're here?" Inuyasha whispered harshly.
"I didn't do it on purpose! It's your stupid fault for dragging us--"
"Oh, just keep quiet, would you!"
They were all kneeling against the outer wall of the geisha house, except Inuyasha, who was down on all fours, sniffing the ground. After a lot of yelling-- mostly stemming from Inuyasha and Kagome, although Miroku chimed in upon being dragged away from the embrace of an especially fetching geisha--they had followed the jewel shard girl's trail from the scent on the linen she'd touched. So far, it seemed, she had been down the corridor, through the kitchen, all over the dining room, in an upstairs bath, out in the garden, and now they were following her scent around the perimenter of the main house. She was a busy one, it seemed.
"Do you think we're any closer to her?" Shippo whispered from inside Kagome's shirt. The young kitsune had nestled there for warmth, and being quite cold herself, Kagome hadn't protested.
"How the hell should I know?" Inuyasha growled. "She's got the most damned elusive scent. Like it it's incomplete or something." Privately, he mused that it was scent not completely unlike Kikyo's-- it dissipated easily, and lacked a certain quality that was apparently reserved for living beings. The hanyou hoped they weren't dealing with another walking corpse.
"Incomplete?" Sango repeated softly. "How so, Inuyasha?"
Backing up slightly as though he'd momentarily lost the trail, Inuyasha scowled.
"I dunno... it's just... there's something not right about it. Kagome, can you sense the jewel shards nearby at all?"
"Nuh uh," the girl replied. "You know, I barely felt them even when she was standing right in front of me. I was relying on sight."
The party fell silent again as Inuyasha sniffed at the wall.
"What are you smelling the wall for, baka?" came a voice in the darkness.
Everyone looked up into the sky, where the voice seemed to be coming from. It was impossible to see the girl in the darkness. The entire group got to its feet, and Inuyasha leapt in front of them all, brandishing the Tetsiga.
"All this trouble for me?" the voice came again.
"Don't flatter yourself," the hanyou scoffed, "We're after the shards- but you probably already knew that."
The girl slid gracefully from her perch in a nearby tree and stepped into the light eminating from the torch on the brick wall.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Inuyasha menaced, showing his fangs. "Being a mere human bitch, I suggest you cooperate."
"Why don't you come here and take them?" she said in a conversational tone, her gaze never wavering.
"Inuyasha, there's no need to harm such a lovely creature," Miroku reasoned, with a charismatic smile in the young woman's direction, "I'm sure that if we just explain the situation--"
"I don't care about your situation," she interrupted her eyes still locked with Inuyasha's, "If you want these shards, you'll have to take them off of my corpse!"
With that bold declaration, she leapt into the air, a streak of color, and somehow landed feet-first, squarely on Inuyasha's back. A look of shock flitted across the face of the now prostrate hanyou, before he flipped himself up, sending her flying up into the air. She executed another perfect landing a few yards away.
"Um... I don't think she's human, Inuyasha," Kagome interjected.
"It's the shards" he spat back. He sniffed the air again... her scent in person was just as insubstantial as it was on the trail. The two opponents faced each other, a smirk creeping across the woman's face.
"Is it just the shards, mongrel?" she hissed. Her gaze still on him, she removed both earrings from her lobes and threw them in the hanyou's direction. They landed a few feet away from him. Everyone's eyes followed their flight and landing, but no one moved.
"Go on! Fetch!"
A low growl rumbled in Inuyasha's chest, but he remained still.
"Why doesn't he grab them?" Kagome whispered.
"He's sizing her up," Miroku whispered back. "I suspect there's more than meets the eye where this woman is concerned."
"What're you trying to pull?" the dog demon yelled finally. The woman merely continued watching him silently.
After a moment more of hesitation, Inuyasha took a quick step forward, only to find himself flipped onto his back. Snarling angrily, he stared up at the woman who it seemed had simply materialized over him, one foot planted roughly on his chest. He could tell that at least two of his ribs were cracked. The shards still lay glittering in the dirt.
"If ever you want a rematch, let me know," she said quietly, retrieving her jewelry from the ground.
"Dammit," the dog demon said, wrinkling his nose. "Every woman in here must be wearing an entire barrel's worth of perfume."
"Inuyasha, we are surrounded on all sides by lovely women from every corner of the globe. Surely even YOU can appreciate that?" Miroku chastised mildly as a lovely maiden whose ethnicity was a mystery to him leaned over to refill his glass.
"This place doesn't feel right to me, and I'm not thrilled about the others being kept separately from us. We could've just eaten in our room."
"Hmmm?" the monk replied absently, smiling at the young woman who was now clearing his first plate.
"Fuckin' hentai," Inuyasha grumbled, rising from the table and striding towards the exit.
"Hey! Um... wait!" came a feminine voice at his back. He wasn't planning on turning around to respond, but an insistent hand tugged the back of his shirt.
"What?" he growled, spinning around and coming face to face with the nuisance. It turned out to be a young woman of about 19 and clearly she was one of the "exotics girls" boasted by the owner. She had skin the color of tree bark, large luminous brown eyes, and generous lips. Her hair was black, thick and curly.
"You forgot your sword," she said, holding the Tetsiga out with both hands.
Inuyasha's cheeks reddened momentarily before he snatched the sword from her palms. He hoped Miroku hadn't noticed his absent-mindedness. If word of this were to get out to Shippo or Kagome, he'd never hear the end of it.
"Arigato," he mumbled.
"Hai!" the girl smiled. Why did these girls grin so much anyway? "Shall I show you to your room?" she asked, stepping around him so that she too was heading out the door. Ordinarily, he didn't like sleeping indoors-- it made him feel caged in -- but he wanted to check on Kagome and the others before they turned in for the night, and so he agreed to let the young woman show him the way.
When they reached the spacious bedroom, there was no one to be found. Kagome's backpack rested on the floor, and Inuyasha noted that her bag full of bathing things was missing. Obviously, she and Sango were still in the bath.
"Is everything to your liking?" the girl asked, removing some sheets from a nearby shelf and placing them onto a futon.
"Yeah, sure."
"Would you like anything to drink? Some bedclothing? A," she cleared her throat, "woman, maybe?"
"I said it was FINE!" the dog demon snarled. "And I certainly don't want your...your.." he began blushing madly, "your COMPANY!"
"Baka!" the girl shrieked, shocking the hanyou. "I wasn't talking about ME!" she flung the door open, startling a recently arrived Sango and Kagome, both with heads wrapped up in towels. "If anybody but HIM needs anything, let me know," she barked, stomping off down the long corridor.
"Well," Sango said after a moment of silence, "geisha life obviously hasn't had a tempering effect on her. What was that about?"
"Did it have anything to do with the jewel shards in her ears?" Kagome asked, her towel slipping down over her ears.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.
"The WHAT??"
_____________
Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold night air. Of course, the batteries for her hairdryer would choose tonight to go dead. The windiness combined with a headful of wet hair didn't make for an enjoyable mix. Crouched down directly behind Miroku, she waited with the others for Inuyasha to speak.
"ACHOO!" a sneeze snuck up on her and exploded forth.
"What're you trying to do? Let everybody know we're here?" Inuyasha whispered harshly.
"I didn't do it on purpose! It's your stupid fault for dragging us--"
"Oh, just keep quiet, would you!"
They were all kneeling against the outer wall of the geisha house, except Inuyasha, who was down on all fours, sniffing the ground. After a lot of yelling-- mostly stemming from Inuyasha and Kagome, although Miroku chimed in upon being dragged away from the embrace of an especially fetching geisha--they had followed the jewel shard girl's trail from the scent on the linen she'd touched. So far, it seemed, she had been down the corridor, through the kitchen, all over the dining room, in an upstairs bath, out in the garden, and now they were following her scent around the perimenter of the main house. She was a busy one, it seemed.
"Do you think we're any closer to her?" Shippo whispered from inside Kagome's shirt. The young kitsune had nestled there for warmth, and being quite cold herself, Kagome hadn't protested.
"How the hell should I know?" Inuyasha growled. "She's got the most damned elusive scent. Like it it's incomplete or something." Privately, he mused that it was scent not completely unlike Kikyo's-- it dissipated easily, and lacked a certain quality that was apparently reserved for living beings. The hanyou hoped they weren't dealing with another walking corpse.
"Incomplete?" Sango repeated softly. "How so, Inuyasha?"
Backing up slightly as though he'd momentarily lost the trail, Inuyasha scowled.
"I dunno... it's just... there's something not right about it. Kagome, can you sense the jewel shards nearby at all?"
"Nuh uh," the girl replied. "You know, I barely felt them even when she was standing right in front of me. I was relying on sight."
The party fell silent again as Inuyasha sniffed at the wall.
"What are you smelling the wall for, baka?" came a voice in the darkness.
Everyone looked up into the sky, where the voice seemed to be coming from. It was impossible to see the girl in the darkness. The entire group got to its feet, and Inuyasha leapt in front of them all, brandishing the Tetsiga.
"All this trouble for me?" the voice came again.
"Don't flatter yourself," the hanyou scoffed, "We're after the shards- but you probably already knew that."
The girl slid gracefully from her perch in a nearby tree and stepped into the light eminating from the torch on the brick wall.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Inuyasha menaced, showing his fangs. "Being a mere human bitch, I suggest you cooperate."
"Why don't you come here and take them?" she said in a conversational tone, her gaze never wavering.
"Inuyasha, there's no need to harm such a lovely creature," Miroku reasoned, with a charismatic smile in the young woman's direction, "I'm sure that if we just explain the situation--"
"I don't care about your situation," she interrupted her eyes still locked with Inuyasha's, "If you want these shards, you'll have to take them off of my corpse!"
With that bold declaration, she leapt into the air, a streak of color, and somehow landed feet-first, squarely on Inuyasha's back. A look of shock flitted across the face of the now prostrate hanyou, before he flipped himself up, sending her flying up into the air. She executed another perfect landing a few yards away.
"Um... I don't think she's human, Inuyasha," Kagome interjected.
"It's the shards" he spat back. He sniffed the air again... her scent in person was just as insubstantial as it was on the trail. The two opponents faced each other, a smirk creeping across the woman's face.
"Is it just the shards, mongrel?" she hissed. Her gaze still on him, she removed both earrings from her lobes and threw them in the hanyou's direction. They landed a few feet away from him. Everyone's eyes followed their flight and landing, but no one moved.
"Go on! Fetch!"
A low growl rumbled in Inuyasha's chest, but he remained still.
"Why doesn't he grab them?" Kagome whispered.
"He's sizing her up," Miroku whispered back. "I suspect there's more than meets the eye where this woman is concerned."
"What're you trying to pull?" the dog demon yelled finally. The woman merely continued watching him silently.
After a moment more of hesitation, Inuyasha took a quick step forward, only to find himself flipped onto his back. Snarling angrily, he stared up at the woman who it seemed had simply materialized over him, one foot planted roughly on his chest. He could tell that at least two of his ribs were cracked. The shards still lay glittering in the dirt.
"If ever you want a rematch, let me know," she said quietly, retrieving her jewelry from the ground.