Author's Notes: I wrote this for my Boy-Spawn after a horrible and twisted idea popped into my head yesterday. The boy loves all things science and silly. Yes, it's silly but it's not meant to be anything more than a bit of humorous fluff. Enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. They're the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
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Tails and Tribulations
Sesshomaru scowled as he followed Kagome down the crowded streets. He ignored the stares he drew from the multitude of humans they passed. It seemed not one of the vermin could not look at him. Only centuries of practice kept his from wrinkling his nose in disgust at the stench of this place. Not only of so many thousands of humans crowded together but of their strange machinery that spewed foul smelling gasses into the air.
He silently fumed as he recalled the events that had led up to him ending up in this ridiculous situation in the first place.
He had been examining the old dry well in the middle of the small clearing that his half-brother was always so interested in. He'd overheard snippets of conversation alluding to some sort of magic that it contained. Sesshomaru had decided to investigate the claim for himself. Powerful magics were much too dangerous to leave in the hands of his incompetent brother and a bunch of humans. He'd been inside the well, having found nothing noteworthy, levitating back up when the human wench, Kagome, had come barreling over the edge and crashed into him. Her weight and momentum combined with his total surprise had sent them plummeting to the bottom of the well.
Except, they never hit the bottom.
Instead, they'd been surrounded by a soft blue light. Then they appeared at the bottom of the well. He knew immediately that they were someplace else. Strange scents reached him, even down here. He'd jumped out of the well, leaving the human to make her own way out.
She'd found him a few minutes later just outside the structure that housed the well, doubled over and retching. Not his finest moment, to be sure. But the sudden assault of loud noise and strong smells to his acute senses had been overwhelming. She'd laughed, not unkindly, and after extracting a promise that he wouldn't hurt or kill anyone, had lead him into the nearby house. He really felt like killing something but he'd have agreed to anything to get away from the onslaught to his nose.
He'd regretted it as soon as he stepped foot in the house. An elderly human, Kagome's grandfather he'd learned, had screamed about demons and attempted to throw a handful of sutras at him. Her younger brother had gawked at him in awe upon learning that he was Inuyasha's brother, firing off questions at a rapid pace. And her mother… he cringed inwardly at the memory. Her mother had actually pet his tail.
Now he was stuck with his half-brother's wench. He refused to wait at her home. There was no way he was going to give her any opportunity to attempt to slip away and leave him trapped in this strange world. He didn't think she'd be so foolish – she had to know that he would slaughter everyone she had ever known if she did such a thing. But she had been spending a lot of time with Inuyasha who was that foolish. Who knew which of this half-brother's bad habits had rubbed off on her.
His eye twitched slightly. There was no way he was waiting at that house with Kagome's family. He would not be responsible for his actions if he remained. The old man's purification sutras couldn't harm him and the child was irritating but no threat. But her mother… he shuddered inwardly. She had been positively entranced with his tail, stroking it, even rubbing it against her cheek. He had turned his iciest glare upon her – the one that made the strongest of battle-hardened warriors quiver in terror – to absolutely no effect.
Kagome had told him there was a science fair at her school that day and a cultural festival at the neighboring high school. Neither event held any meaning for him. She explained that the latter meant no one would question his out-of-place clothing. He had shrugged it off. He didn't care what humans thought about him. He certainly wasn't going to change his clothes or leave his weapons behind in order to appease them.
They arrived to a crowd of teenagers walking around singly and in small groups, moving from exhibit to exhibit. Tables had been set up for displays for the science fair. Students in traditional dress from various periods of history wandered the crowd.
The exhibits at the science fair caught Sesshomaru's attention in spite of himself. Keeping tabs on Kagome, he wandered through the tables, looking at the various displays and making mental notes on the wonders he was seeing. It was shocking that such short-lived creatures as humans could have possibly invented these marvels.
Kagome kept an eye on Sesshomaru for a while, then realized that there was no need. Despite having lived for centuries, he had the appearance of an older teen. Everyone simply assumed he was one of the many high school students wandering around. She smirked to herself. Any other time his outfit would have been horribly out of place but now he fit right in with the reenactors. His pointed ears and markings were written off as simply adding a fantasy or cosplay element.
Sesshomaru had wandered over to a table with a strange device on it. It appeared to be nothing more than a pole topped with a large metal ball. Van de Graaff generator read the sign beside the machine. It did nothing that he could see. Even though he was unfamiliar with the technology of this era, Sesshomaru had a keen intellect and he was able to grasp most of the concepts with relative ease.
He studied the strange device, intrigued. He enjoyed a puzzle. He placed his hand on the sphere. There was a shock then nothing more than the faintest tingling sensation in his palm but he detected no other effects. He left his hand on the sphere, waiting patiently to see what other effects would be forthcoming. Surely it had to do something.
Finished for the day, Kagome scanned the crowd for Sesshomaru. Between his height and silver hair, he wasn't difficult to spot. Kagome's eyes went wide and she whipped out her camera. Sesshomaru would surely kill her if he ever discovered what she was doing but this was simply too good to pass up. She hurriedly snapped several pictures and tucked her camera safely away in her bag before approaching the demon lord.
"Ready to go home?" she asked.
He nodded, the slightest bit disappointed that nothing more had happened.
"Did you enjoy the fair?" Kagome asked as they walked back towards her house. She sighed and rolled her eyes at Sesshomaru's lack of response. She supposed it had been too much to hope for any sort of conversation with him.
They returned to the well. Without preamble, Sesshomaru grabbed her around the waist and leapt into the well. Kagome stifled a scream as she found herself falling. A moment later they were surrounded by the familiar blue glow. He released her and jumped out of the well.
"You could at least help me out, too. Jerk!
Silence answered her. Grumbling, Kagome climber out of the well. By the time she swung her legs over the edge, Sesshomaru was gone.
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About a month after he had fallen into Kagome's strange world, Sesshomaru was sitting at the desk in his study, reading over a scroll when a knock came on the door. He called out for them to enter. A messenger entered and crossed to him.
"My Lord, this came for you."
Sesshomaru took the envelope from the messenger as he bowed and left. It had a strange stiff texture. It was covered with the scent of Inuyasha's miko. He frowned. Why would she be sending missives to him? He used one claw to open it. Two papers slid out into his hand. His eyes skimmed the top page and his eyes began turning red with rage.
Dear Lord Fluffy ~ I think we should have a little talk. At the Bone Eater's Well on the night of the new moon.
Grinding his teeth, he regained control of himself and turned his attention to the second object. It was some sort of strange portrait that smelled of ink but not paint. The surface was smooth and slightly shiny. It was of him examining that strange device called a Van de Graaff generator. He continued studying it, wondering what made the little human miko think she had anything worth his time. Curiosity was not something to be ashamed of. Then he saw it.
His eyes went wide with horror as he realized the device wasn't so harmless after all.
The fur on his tail all stood on end, fluffing it out to nearly three times its normal width. Fluffy was an understatement.
Horrified, he melted both papers with his poison claws. He did a quick mental calculation. He had an appointment in two days.
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"What do you want, miko?" Sesshomaru demanded.
Kagome smiled sweetly. "Did you enjoy the picture I took?"
He let out a low growl of annoyance. Deciding not to push her luck too far, Kagome continued. "Unless you want the Western Palace wallpapered in them, I have a couple of conditions."
"What?"
"First, you stop trying to take the Tessaiga from Inuyasha."
"Very well."
"Good. That brings me to my second condition." He waited impassively. "You stop trying to kill Inuyasha. Or Shippo, Sango, Miroku, or myself!"
"Agreed," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Anything else?"
"Nope. And just to make certain you don't go back on your word, there is one copy hidden away where you'll never find it."
"You dare imply that I would break my word?"
"Not at all. But I'd hate to see an 'accident' happen."
He snorted. "Should I hear that any of those disturbing portraits of yours been shown to anyone I shall kill you slowly and painfully."
"I promise, Fluffy. Even Inuyasha hasn't seen them."
His eyes narrowed to glittering gold slits. "Call me that again, miko, I shall kill you where you stand."
Her smile never faltered. If anything, it grew wider. "We have a deal."
Without another word, he turned and disappeared back into the forest.
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Five hundred years later, Sesshomaru stood in his office, flipping through a stack of mail when an envelope caught his eye. There was no return address but it held a faint familiar scent.
Dear Fluffy ~ I think it's about time you had this. It's the only copy other than the one I assume you destroyed five hundred years ago.
He turned over the picture of his hand on the Van de Graaff generator and his fluffed-out tail. He smiled ruefully as he tucked the photo and note back into the envelope. He got to his feet and crossed the room. He opened a wall safe and placed the envelope inside, making certain it was locked securely before turning away.
Fluffy, indeed!