My opening statements seem to be getting longer.

I've always wanted to use this song in a fanfic. And now I finally get to. :D

~Don't own Inuyasha or Fake It by Seether or Pretty Handsome Awkward by The Used~

Chapter 4: Pretty Handsome Awkward

"I'm telling you, you'd win in a fight." Shippo told Kiki as the sun fell behind the trees. "All you have to do is say 'sit' and she's a goner."

"I don't think that'd be very nice…" Kiki said, her bottom lip sticking out cutely. "Isn't that cheating?"

"What?" Shippo asked airily.

"To say 'sit'."

"GAH!" There was a smash as Izumi almost made a crater several feet ahead of them.

Shippo started to laugh as Izumi turned around, on her hands and knees.

"Dammit fox bastard! You did that on purpose!" She yelled.

"You're right." He smirked. "I did and I enjoyed it."

Izumi sighed, feeling the tiny rocks digging into her knees. She was starting to feel bruises formulate on her hips and sternum from dropping so many times. It never ceased to amaze her how amusing her smashing into the ground seemed to Shippo.

"Here." Inuyasha offered his hand. "Shippo, knock it off."

Izumi glared at him balefully for a bit.

"It's just a hand. I'm not gonna kill you or anything." He said, eyebrows furrowing.

Izumi looked away and took his hand, allowing him to help her up.

"You're welcome." He said sarcastically.

"Yeah, whatever." Izumi brushed herself off irritably.

Inuyasha paused. She seemed terribly tense right now. More so then usual. He glanced around, suddenly focusing on his hearing and sense of smell. Maybe there was something in the area…

There was a shriek so close it made him jump.

"Spider!" Kiki fled to behind Shippo, pointing at a particular large specimen sitting on the ground in front of her. "Oh my God, get it away!"

Shippo kneeled down, staring at it curiously. "My God, it's huge."

The spider itself reared back on it's back legs, raising it's forearms threateningly.

"And hostile." Inuyasha said grimly.

"Do you think…?" He posed an unspoken question, seeming hesitant to speak it aloud. He glanced at Kiki.

"What?" Kiki asked.

However, Inuyasha interpreted the look and nodded. "Yeah. It's them." There was no way he was going to say it out loud and scare Kiki brainless. He didn't need her whining as they dragged her along behind them.

There were Spider Heads in the area.

Shippo shuddered. The last time they had encountered these creatures had been the night of a new moon and Inuyasha had been unable to help until morning. The memory of the fear of trying to hold out til morning still made Shippo flinch. He glanced over at Izumi. At least with a full demon they'd have more of a chance –

He paused. "Izumi, are you alright?"

Izumi's eyes were glued to the spider. She sat on the ground, frozen in absolute fear as she trembled, her skin pale and clammy.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Inuyasha groaned. "You're afraid of spiders?" He asked, infuriated.

Izumi ignored him, still staring at the object of her absolute fear.

"Pathetic!" Inuyasha snapped. "And you call yourself a demon?"

That snapped her out of it. "I'm not a pure bred!" She sounded scared and again, Shippo was reminded that she did indeed have vulnerabilities. She hugged herself desperately.

"Doesn't make a damn difference! Get over it!" Inuyasha grabbed the spider before it reached the safety of the brush. "It's only a goddamn spider!" He held it in front of her. It pissed him off that she was all talk. She had to be tougher then this if she was going to survive. Any demon that got close enough could smell the slight trace of human in her blood.

Izumi moved backwards, baring her teeth at him.

Shippo looked around nervously, keeping a hand on Kiki's arm. He could hear rustling from far off on either side of the road and it was getting dark fast. A full moon had already risen in the sky, fat and illuminating.

"Get over it, and kill it!" Inuyasha jerked it towards her.

Izumi watched it writhe, dangling from his hand. She shuddered in horror. "L-leave me alone…!" She yelled. When he didn't oblige, she covered her eyes and shook her head violently, like a kid. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Inuyasha flinched back as something furry erupted out of Izumi's clothing, making him drop the spider. His hand fumbled around his waist instinctively for Tetsusaiga, growling as he remembered what had happened to his sword. Dammit, why did I have to hide it after Kagome left…?

Kiki gasped as Inuyasha found himself being stared down by a large angry dog white dog, growling at him with saliva dripping from its humongous jaws.

"That's a big puppy." Shippo said, awed.

Inuyasha stared into large amber eyes, standing his ground. "Do you do this when you get pissed?"

Izumi put her head down, her growling cut off as her tail drifted down.

"No?" Shippo asked, standing.

Kiki gasped and clutched the back of his shirt, hiding behind him in fear.

"This is going to be fun. It doesn't look like she can talk." Shippo stood beside Inuyasha. "No more witty remarks, eh Inuyasha?"

His friend didn't answer, suddenly looking up at the moon. "Myoga."

The flea hopped up on his master's shoulder. "Yes Master Inuyasha?"

"Is it possible that the same thing that happens to me on a new moon could happen to…oh, say a demon with human blood?" He shrugged.

Izumi's head lifted up and her tail wagged a bit.

"I'd say that's a yes." Shippo pointed out.

"It seems that Miss Izumi turns into a large dog on nights of the full moon." Myoga mused.

"Wow. That must ruin your night life." Shippo smirked.

Izumi smashed her head into his stomach and tossed her head, sending him screaming into a tree.

Kiki shrieked and stepped back, her hands covering her mouth as she stared at Izumi.

Izumi snorted at her and turned around, her bushy tail almost knocking Kiki over.

Inuyasha looked around. "We need to go. Something's coming." He started jogging. "Get up, Shippo!"

Shippo groaned and brushed the broken branches off him, rubbing the back of his head. "Stupid…dog…" He grumbled, getting up and catching up to them.

"W-wait!" Kiki stumbled, trying to follow.

Izumi paused, turning her head back to look at her. She let out a whining bark.

"Then why don't you pick her up and carry her instead of whining about how slow she is!" Inuyasha snapped.

Izumi growled at him before trotting back to Kiki.

Kiki hesitated as Izumi approached and stretched out a shaky hand. "I-Izumi…?"

Izumi laid her belly on the ground, putting her head between her paws and staring at her.

Kiki ran her eyes over Izumi's white body, noting the triangular ears pointed in her direction and the animalistic beauty of Izumi right now. "Wow…" She breathed, running a hand over Izumi's forehead. "You're amazing."

Izumi snorted at her, blowing Kiki's hair back.

Kiki giggled and then went to the side of her.

Izumi lifted her head and let out another whining bark.

"I'm grabbing your clothes!" Kiki replied, picking said articles out of the dirt. "They're a bit torn, but okay." She held them up for Izumi to inspect.

Izumi growled and put her head back down.

Kiki cautiously climbed up between Izumi's shoulder blades, delighted to find the necklace that Kaede had trapped the demoness with enlarged and still there. She grasped onto the beads, her other hand keeping a hold on Izumi's clothes.

Izumi got up quickly, almost throwing Kiki off.

Kiki squealed as she started to slide off.

Izumi turned her head and pushed Kiki back up with her nose. She growled again.

"Hold on. Okay. I got it." Kiki nodded.

Izumi's head snapped back to where they had been and Kiki watched the hair on the back of her neck rise in aggravation. Izumi let out another bark and turned tail, running towards Inuyasha and Shippo.

Kiki cried out and pressed herself more into Izumi's fur, holding on for dear life.

Shippo was the first to look back, seeing the white fleeing Izumi followed by several things with spindly legs following from the brush. "Spider Heads!" He yelled, pointing.

Inuyasha turned, his eyes widening. They were all over the place. There wasn't a single piece of the road viewable from here. It was all covered in Spider Heads. There was no way they could stay and fight. "Grab onto Izumi!"

"What?" Shippo gave him an odd look as Izumi zoomed past him.

Inuyasha grabbed the beads around Izumi's neck and swung himself up behind Kiki, crouching down.

She gasped and turned.

"Hi." He raised an eyebrow.

Izumi growled at him, still running.

"Oh shut up!" He snapped. "Come on, Shippo!"

"Finally you choose to escape an unnecessary fight, Master Inuyasha." Myoga said sagely from Izumi's back. "I congratulate you on your decision!"

"Don't make me change my mind!" Inuyasha snapped.

Izumi yelped and stumbled, almost throwing Inuyasha off.

"Shi-!" He glanced behind him to see Shippo holding on to her tail. "Glad you could join us, dumbass!"

"Where are we going?" Shippo climbed up onto Izumi's hind quarters. He looked behind them at the writhing mess of Spider Heads, shuddering as they hissed at him, pincers clicking hungrily. You could hear it everywhere. They had to yell to be heard over the noise.

Inuyasha pointed to a cliff face. "There's a temple up there! We should be able to hold them all off from inside!"

Shippo shuddered. His childhood was happening all over again. At least this time he'd actually be able to help fight.

Inuyasha leaned over Kiki, causing the young girl to flatten herself against Izumi's neck. "Izumi! Turn left!"

Kiki blushed, burying her face in Izumi's fur. It smelled like cherry blossoms. It was a bit musty because of the dog smell that accompanied it, but it was good and comforting, oddly enough.

Izumi snorted and did as she was told. She slowed down to a lope and then a walk, ears swiveling about.

Shippo looked up, noticing the lack of pursuers. Maybe they had lost them.

Inuyasha tapped Kiki's shoulder. "I need to get closer to her ears so I can give her directions without having to yell it for the world to hear." He said shortly.

Izumi slowed to a stop to allow Kiki to switch places with Inuyasha.

Kiki blushed as she brushed past him and sat just in front of Shippo.

"How you doing?" He asked, smiling.

"Good." She replied, smiling. Shippo was so nice to her. How could Izumi hate him so much?

Izumi growled as Inuyasha sat cross legged between her shoulder blades, shaking her head as if trying to toss him off.

He jumped to his feet to keep balance and bared his teeth at her. He viciously grabbed her large ear and yanked it back towards him. He dug his claws into the sensitive skin there until she yelped. "You really want to throw attitude with me?" He snarled. "The only reason I haven't beat the livin' hell outta you is cause you're Kagome's kid!"

Shippo watched, amazed, as they both stared each other down angrily, neither giving an inch. He barely noticed when Kiki moved closer to him in uneasiness. He'd never seen Inuyasha this angry with anyone in such a long time. It was almost a pleasant change to the passive brooding Inuyasha he had known for these past forty years.

Finally Izumi lowered the one ear that she had control over and flattened to the back of her head, her tail moving just barely between her legs. It was defiant consent, but consent to behave nonetheless.

Inuyasha was alpha dog. Literally.

He released his grip on her ear and settled back between her shoulder blades. "There's a road up here you want to take. It'll take us up the cliff side."

Izumi huffed and walked on towards the cliff.

~*FAKE*IT*~

The temple was abandoned, unfortunately, but Shippo comforted himself in realizing that it'd be easier to use wood and furniture to block off the exits. He helped Kiki off Izumi, putting his hands on her slim hips. "You need to eat more." He teased. "How do people in your time get so skinny?"

Kiki blushed, hands on his shoulders. "I don't know…" She looked away as he set her on the ground.

He was about to comment about how pretty she looked in purple when he suddenly found his mouth full of Izumi's tail.

Izumi let out a couple of short barks that sounded like laughter, her tongue sticking out as she panted and grinned at them.

Shippo pushed her tail away irritably, spitting out white fur. "Not funny." He wiped his mouth, his hold on Kiki gone.

Kiki looked back at Izumi. Why was Izumi acting like that? Like she never wanted to let Kiki and Shippo have a moment alone. Maybe because Izumi liked Shippo. Struck with this sudden (albeit misguided) revelation, Kiki put a hand on her cheek, staring at Izumi wide eyed. That must be why Izumi was so proactive about keeping Shippo away!

Izumi noticed Kiki's stare and whined lowly, hitting her gently with her tail. She turned away and followed Inuyasha into the building.

Kiki turned to Shippo, still wide eyed. She blurted out, "Shippo, do you like Izumi?"

Shippo took a step back, surprised. "Uh…" He glanced over to see Izumi had disappeared. Inuyasha, however, was standing at the entrance and Shippo could tell he was listening. How incredibly awkward.

Kiki took a step forward. "You can tell me! I won't tell her, I swear!"

"Shhh…!" Shippo held up his hands, taking another step back. He glanced at Inuyasha. There was no telling what the guy might do to him if he felt any…fatherly affection towards the young woman. At the wrong moment, a memory popped into his head of him and Kagome talking.

"It would be great! You could marry our daughter!" Kagome smiled at him as she patted her swollen belly.

"Yeah!" Shippo had agreed eagerly. "And then we'll really be family!"

The memory was almost sad to think about, but he brushed it off. It was embarrassing to think that after he'd agreed to such an idea, the exact opportunity had shown up right in front of him.

In fact, she was the large dog walking towards them.

"Oh hey Izumi!" Shippo said, relieved. He walked up to her. "How's it going?"

She let out another whining bark, completely ignoring him as she pranced around in front of the temple.

"She can't fit in the temple…" Kiki said in horror. "She can't until morning!"

Izumi lay down on the grass outside, her tail slowly wagging.

"I'll stay out here with her, then." Shippo volunteered. No way he wanted to be left alone with Kiki and her awkward questions.

"No. I will." Inuyasha put his hands in his sleeves. "Get inside and barricade the entrance. We'll figure something out for Izumi when the sun rises."

Shippo frowned. "But what if the Spider Heads come?"

"I'll make it up as I go, now get inside!" Inuyasha said impatiently.

They both did as they were told, walking past the large dog and the half demon.

Kiki paused in front of Izumi. "Here's your clothes." She set them down in front of her. "The tank top's a little ripped though…"

Izumi nudged Kiki towards the door and put her head down between her paws.

Inuyasha crouched down next to the doorway, staring out at the road as he heard the muted sounds of things being pushed across the floor to block the entrance to the room Shippo and Kiki had decided to lock themselves into. "So Kagome never told you…anything?" He asked softly.

Izumi snorted, shaking her head.

"I guess that's a no." He smiled a little. Then he sighed. "I don't think you're my daughter because the only child Kagome and I ever had died."

Izumi's ears focused on him. She stared at him intently, waiting for him to continue.

"I think that's why she left. She just couldn't handle the fact that there'd never be…well, a happy family." He shrugged.

The wind lazily shifted the grass in front of them, giving the impression that it was the calm before the storm.

"She wasn't the same after that." Inuyasha continued. "She seemed…angrier." He shrugged.

Another silence.

"You're easier to talk to when you're not telling everybody what a jackass they are every other word." He smirked as Izumi growled at him. His smirk faded quickly as he heard something in the distance.

Izumi whined, her ears flat against her skull.

"They're coming." He stood up. "We'll fight them. We've got no other choice."

Izumi rose to a standing position and looked at the sky. She whined at Inuyasha again.

"Whine, whine, whine! That's all you do!" He yelled at her, putting his hands in his sleeves. "Don't be obnoxious. They can't hurt you unless you let them. They don't even really look like spiders."

Izumi's flanks trembled as she stared into the darkness, wide eyed.

Inuyasha glanced at her and rolled his eyes. He walked over and patted her front leg. "You'll be alright, stupid. Just don't let them get to you." He wasn't the best at comfort and, quite frankly, he was uncomfortable giving it. But he felt over protective of Izumi, though she got on his nerves almost 24/7 now.

The first Spider Heads that attacked were only a few and Izumi managed to grab one's head in her jaws and tear it to pieces.

Inuyasha gave her a thumbs up, his usual scowl on his face.

She grinned at him, tongue lolling outside her bloody bottom jaw.

Then they came by the multitudes, crawling all over the place. It was like the apocalypse. They almost blocked out the sky.

"Why…the hell…are there…so many?" Inuyasha grunted, accenting each pause by killing another demon.

Izumi yelped loudly and kicked off a Spider Head that had bitten her. She barked loudly as several more jumped where the last one had been shaken off.

"Shit!" Inuyasha clawed his way through the writhing mass as light started to pour across the temple grounds. Daylight already.

By the time he had pushed his way through, Izumi was limping, breathing in raggedly as blood gushed from her mouth and wounds. He wasn't sure if it was all from her or the Spider Heads. "It's daylight! Get in front of the building!" He yelled, pointing upwards. Any minute now, she'd turn back into her more humanoid form and be even more vulnerable. He paused, noticing the way the spider heads started to retreat as the sun reached the courtyard. They were going to pull back for now, but by nightfall, they'd return. And he would bet his place in hell that they weren't going to let them take one step off the temple grounds to escape.

Izumi limped over to the front of the temple and laid down, breathing in heavily.

Inuyasha took off his jacket. "Here. Wear this until you can get some clothes on." He said off handedly, more concerned with the retreating Spider Heads. A few looked like they wanted to chance it. He didn't look back, but heard what sounded like flesh being carved out (or filling out) behind him.

Izumi grabbed his jacket and put it over her, grateful that it covered down to her thighs. She stumbled in and yelled, "Kiki!" She coughed painfully. "Where the hell are…my clothes?" She breathed in shallowly, breaking out into a cold sweat as she leaned on the wall. Something wasn't right. Her thigh where she had been bitten burned. She put a hand over the would and drew it back to see it coated in what looked like blood and purple saliva. "Damn…poison…" She sighed.

There was a sound like heavy objects moving across the floor and Kiki rushed down the hall, carrying Izumi's clothes. "Izumi!" She gasped. "You're hurt!"

Izumi growled weakly in response and reached out for her clothes.

Kiki gave them to her and promptly turned around, averting her gaze. "Mr. Shippo, don't come any further!" She warned Shippo, who was clear down the hall.

Izumi dressed herself painfully, becoming weaker with every second. "Done." She said weakly.

Inuyasha walked in. "Well I guess we're stuck here – " He froze, staring at Izumi's stomach. "What the fuck…?" He whispered.

Izumi's tank top had the midriff torn off during her impromptu transformation, exposing the scars on her stomach. 'LIAR' shown red on her pale skin, making her feel exposed. She weakly tried to cover it. "It's nothing…" She pitched forward, fading out into black.