Chapter 7: The Demon. The Vet.
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The morning sun was just peeking through the window, almost asking permission before interrupting the peaceful slumber of the residents within.
Lifting his ears only but a little Inuyasha surveyed the scene. The bean bags had long since been abandoned back into the closet for the sleeping bags against the wall. The girls slept soundly curled away in their own dreams.
Inuyasha himself was within a small bed just below Kagome. It was a gift they were excited to see how he took to when he saw it. To his eyes the floor looked much more appealing than that thing, or better yet being back beside Kagome who seemed amazingly tolerate of him snuggling close to her. He had only taken to it, when he saw the disappointed eyes, dang did he hate to see women cry!
A yawn grew from above, and with it a gentle hand to stroke his head. Inuyasha looked up to see Kagome smiling down on him, sleepy eyes closing occasionally. She looked so happy and peaceful; Inuyasha wondered for a moment why he couldn't make her feel that way around him in his normal form.
"Today's another big day for you." She announced quietly, "Today you meet your vet."
Vet? He had never heard that word before, and from the way she seemed to frown in pity he felt a prick of worry as to what this 'Vet' was.
"Kagome, Dr. Tatsuya just called. He has you scheduled for an appointment in another two hours. Since Taisho is going we are bringing Buyo in for his annual exam as well!" The motherly voice drifted through the halls of the home in a sing-song voice while she cooked.
Breakfast was earlier than usual apparently to ensure Kagome enough time to get ready for the expected arrival.
Inuyasha watched her set down a plate of her mother's delicious cooking inhaling the luscious, heavenly scent of eggs and pancakes. In his hayou form she would be making a second plate also while he sat at the table in expectation. But here…
"Taisho off!" He backed his ears at her disapproving frown his eyes trailed to her food.
"Off? The hell?" And why wasn't she making him a plate of food?
"Get down Taisho!" Warm hands pushed him over the edge until the white dog jumped out of the booth. He turned to watch her stand up grabbing a bowl and opening a can.
"Stay off the chairs, I'll get you some breakfast."
Okay fine, Inuyasha thought taking in the scents again with a happy sigh, "As long as I get some of that…food…"
She was approaching him with a bowl that smelled nothing of the wonders of Mrs. Higuarashi's cooking.
"What the crap?" Inside it looked as if something had been devoured and thrown out the other end. Backing away from the bowl he concluded that whatever it was hadn't lived through the experience.
"Eat up!" Kagome sung while returning to her seat. Inuyasha growled back to her, "Yeah easy for you to say…"
Walking back to his bowl he again eyed the contents and again decided that whatever it was wouldn't agree with his stomach. "I'll starve before I eat THAT." He snorted.
Ears perked at the arrival of Kagomes friends all yawning as they entered through the doorway, "Good morning girls. Breakfast is on the table." Ms. Higurashi informed them before retreating with her own plate of food.
"Thank you very much!" The girls chorused everyone sat down beginning to eat and talk while Inuyasha watched.
"Kagome…Taisho doesn't seem too interested in his food." Eri replied gazing deep into the Shepards eyes.
"He wants what we have, but we can't give in." Kagome took another bite of her eggs, "Then he'll never learn."
"Yeah, we know but…" Yuka had joined in to watch him staring at their plates. Of course all of the girls were used to watching a begging dog, but somehow this felt different. Tashio wasn't whimpering or wagging his tail, he was just staring at the food with the longing of someone who had been starving in the desert for weeks and had just seen a loaf of bread. A very small, meager but delicious loaf of bread.
"Oh Kagome just this once. I mean, it's his first official day here, and with the Vet's appointment we can't make it a completely bad day!" Eri asked, the other two girls joined in watched Taisho's tail seeming to wag just a bit in response to their words.
"Well…" Kagome peeked from the side of the table to watch him. Inuyasha knew just the move to get her obeying his every whim.
Walking towards the unexpectant girl his fuzzy appendages rose and twitched while he allowed his head to move more to one side. Just as he expected the girl started to cave in.
"Just this once…" She started, already her friends had retrieved a bowl and were depositing bits and pieces of the meal into it. With a wagging tail the meal was set before him to enjoy. As he ate his breakfast he snorted, "About damn time…"
"Don't you think you're the 'Top Dog' in this house pal." Buyo. He was walking forward tail high while he observed the dog, "Don't let these freebees go to your head."
"For the lazy house cat, you sure have a big mouth." Inuyasha mumbled. He was just finishing his meal. To his left Kagome had set down cat food.
"Ah this is grand coming from the unsuspecting mutt." Buyo stated, "You really seem to have no idea what's going to happen to you today, do you?"
"What are you talking about cat?" Inuyasha questioned. Buyo approached his bowl and took a few delicate bites before perking an ears towards him in amusement, "What am I talking about? Why, the vet of course. Dr. Tatsuya. Do you…not know what a vet is?" he dared with a chuckle.
It probably would've been wise to show his cluelessness and allow Buyo to tell him exactly what a 'Vet' was, but with his pride swelling up he bristled and snorted, "Feh, of course I know what a vet is. I'm not stupid you know."
"Oh? But still you are not scared of what the Vet will do to you, about that…procedure? Neutering?" Buyo questioned looking at him.
Inuyasha rose his tail and smirked, "Nothing I can't handle."
"Of course." Buyo began to eat, before Inuyasha walked away he heard Buyo add, "Dumb dog."
Turning around he began to snarl in warning, "What was that you overstuffed sack of fur?"
"Taisho, be nice to Buyo." Kagome stepped into his view and lightly tapped his snarling snout in a scolding manner. Lowering his tail, he looks away with a snort as Buyo stalked past him with a condescending chuckle, "Good doggy."
When Kagome backed away a bit, the hanyou stood up and walked away rolling his eyes beneath the girls concerned frown, "Whatever." He grumbled, "You'll get yours. Just you watch."
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Breakfast was cleared away quickly and Buyo was placed into a small mobile den from what Inuyasha could see. Standing tall, he watched with a tipped head as Kagome took an offered leash from one of her friends and clipped around his neck.
"Go ahead into the car girls! I'll be right along!" Again Kagome's mother called from the kitchen. Eri picked up the cat and Kagome pulled Taisho along outside to one of the strange 'not living' creatures of Kagome's world. Inuyasha paused before Kagome pushed him inside of a wide mouth. She had explained this thing to him as something called a 'car' a few months ago. She had insisted the thing wasn't alive and was used to quickly get from one place to another instead of relying upon puny human legs. Cautiously sniffing the opening while the girls hopped inside, Inuyasha finally placed a tentative paw into the object and hopped inside glancing about curiously. It felt strange but not dangerous. Moments later Mrs. Higuarashi stepped in as well and the creature seemed to growl in reluctance before moving forward.
The vets office happened to be about ten minutes within the belly of the 'non' creature. Jumping out of the car he took a tentative sniffed and raised his ears at the whimpers from within the building. To the side of him a rather large and especially fluffy dog was yanking backwards with all of his might trying to get away from its human.
"No PLEASE I'm not supposed to be due yet! I have two more months! Two whole months of immunity!" the hound was howling as the older man pulled unsuccessfully against the leasth, "C'mon Darth, you don't have to do this every single year! You're just due for your combination! Just one small needle this time!"
Inuyasha couldn't help himself from stopping and staring at them. He broke out of his trance as Kagome lightly tugged on his own leash, "Okay, let's go Taisho." He had to be tugged along just a little bit because his eyes refused to rip away from the crying dog and frustrated human. When they reached the door however his attention redirected to the occupants inside. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with a feeling he very rarely had even for all of the demons he had fought in his lifetime.
Impending doom.
It was as if he had stepped into an execution chamber. There were four more dogs and not a happy face in the room. Almost lifeless eyes drifted up to gaze him in such a heartbreaking way Inuyasha swallowed thickly beginning to feel like an idiot for not understanding the reason for such a horrible atmosphere. Kagome's mother approached two women behind a counter while Kagome's friends took seats nearby. Kagome hesitantly approached a woman reading a magazine while holding an older brown dog closer to his own height, "I'm sorry, do you mind if I sit beside you with my dog?" Kagome questioned. The woman gazed first into Kagome's eyes before looking down at the white dog beside her. Smiling just a bit she nodded, "Oh yes go ahead. Bravo is friendly."
Kagome took a seat and Inuyasha sat down beside her. Just as he began to sweep a gaze over the cold white walls and the chilly floors the dog, Bravo, spoke in an even, tired tone, "Hey. So what are you due for?"
"Huh?" Inuyasha asked.
"What are you due for? You don't look injured...or smell injured." Bravo snorted.
"Why would I be injured?" Inuyasha ventured.
"Because you're at a vet?" Bravo answered as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, "Only reason to come to a vet is injury or being due for something."
"Oh is that so?"
At his revelation all of the dogs in the room suddenly perked up and gazed at him. The abrupt attention startled the half-demon turned dog. He resisted the urge to curl his tail beneath him with the attention, "W-what?" mentally he kicked himself for stuttering.
"You...do know what a vet is...don't you?" Across the room a skinny female dog asked him.
"Pft. Course I do. It's the place to get neutered or whatever." Inuyasha declares.
Silence answered his declaration. Finally, the dog beside the small female dog, this one a muscular black and tan with a shorter snout narrowed his eyes, "And you...do know what neuter is right?"
"The hell if I know. Kagome just told me I needed it so I guess it's important or something." He answers back while laying down. He tried to ignore the sound of Buyo snickering from inside the movable cat den.
Suddenly, the female dog was casting him a look of concern and sympathy, "Oh you poor guy... no one told you?"
"I'm sure that stupid cat could've clued him in." The black and brown dog growled.
"Why should I bother? He would've found out eventually anyway... when he was laying on the table knocked unconscious and being cut open." Buyo purred.
"Unconscious? Cut open?" Now all of the animals in the room had Inuyasha's full attention, "What is he talking about?"
Bravo slowly sat up. It was clear the action took a lot out of the old dog who panted lightly, "I'll explain to you. A vet is a human demon who takes important things from you. If you have nothing good to take then they help you."
The explanation made Inuyasha frown in confusion. He didn't get it at all. Seeing his expression the female dog in the room spoke up, "When you're happy they make you feel sad. When you're sad they make you feel better. Since you're being neutered though... that means you're happy right now and they're going to make you sad. Very very sad."
Inuyasha was starting to wonder if he wanted to know any more about this human demon called Vet. Bravo gazed towards the entrance where the man with the large black dog was finally almost able to open the door, "They mean to castrate you my friend."
Castrate? If Inuyasha had been any other color besides white he was sure all of the color would've drained directly to the floor at that moment. They wanted to-no-no Kagome wouldn't let some crazy human take his manhood away! Would she? He thought back to that morning and her sympathetic glances his way. He couldn't help himself was casting a look of complete and utter horror towards the girl. She would! She really would! How could she betray him like that?! Is this what it meant to be a good dog? The price was his balls?! Every males pride and precious pair of jewels?!
Screw that!
"Taisho! What are you doing? Stop pulling!"
"Kagome what's wrong?"
"I don't know! Taisho just suddenly started freaking out!"
"Ma'am, would you like to borrow one of our dog crates? It might calm him down."
"Yes please! Oh hush Taisho! Stop that howling!"
Damn.
Inuyasha ran a paw over the front of the barrier similar to the one he was put in when Kagome first found him as a dog. He had been none too politely shoved inside by Kagome and her friends as Buyo laughed manically. Glaring at Kagome he bared his teeth just a little while thinking of ways to exact his revenge upon the wench.
"Kagome... Taisho seems really, really upset." Ayumi supplies.
"Maybe he just found out what the vet's going to do to him?" Eri shifted guilty in seat while Kagome winced and mouthed a 'sorry' to her pet.
Feh, she's gonna let some demon cut off my balls and all she can do is say sorry? Wench.
The door burst open and the man outside earlier successfully pushed the large dog inside of the building. Before the canine could find his feet and bolt for the door it was slammed shut. "There!" the human man puffed out his chest in exhausted pride just as one of the inner doors open for a man wearing a long white coat. All of the dogs inside of the room visibly cowered, "There he is!", "The demon human!"
"Got him through the doors just in time!" The vet was saying while gazing down at the whimpering dog. He placed a hand on his head, "Come now Darth, I just have to give you a check up and a shot and then you won't have to see me again for another whole year." the man reassured.
"You liar! You said that last year too! But I'm here two months early! I had two more months!" The dog moaned. The vet sat up and pulled a small jar from his pocket and stabbed it with a needle, "He's already quite tense. I'm just going to sedate him so this goes more smoothly." Inuyasha watched in interest as the dog's human and two other humans in colorful tops held down the large black dog. He struggled against them before letting out a high yelp as the vet injected the needle into his fur. Suddenly the dog stopped moving. Inuyasha paled.
"Did he? Did he just?" He was afraid to ask. To his relief Bravo shook his head, "No, he's not dead. Just unconscious."
Without further ado, the dog was picked up and led beyond the doors which closed with a definitive click. Inuyasha shuddered, so that was a 'shot'...
Another of the doors open to reveal another human demon. This one read a piece of paper before calling out, "Buyo and Taisho?" Inuyasha felt his stomach drop straight into his tail.
The other dogs again looked his way as Inuyasha's barrier was wheeled into the next room, "Good luck friend."
Inuyasha raised his tail and snorted, "Don't worry about me. This ain't the first time I've gone up against a demon. "He's gonna regret the day he ever messed with me."
Author's Note: Whew! This took a week to fashion up! It took an unexpected turn from what I originally planned to do but I'm glad I made the change. At first I was going to have it become a house call but then I wanted Inuyasha to learn about vet's from fellow dogs. Hope you liked it! I'm hoping to keep up this pace of a chapter a week until this story comes to an end.
Suggestions and reviews are as always warmly welcomed! Thanks for reading!
