Chapter 10 -

Though he regretted leaving the merman alone in the shallows of the mainland coast, he did so and bid the young blonde his temporary farewell, promising again that he would return in less than a day's time; and if nothing else, he was true to his word. Not so much as bothering to dry his sopping robes after the long swim back to the shore of the bay, Inuyasha instead allowed the speed of the air that blew past as he pelted back to Kaede's village where hopefully the priestess and the monk would still be waiting. Even as he ran at his very highest comfortable speed, the distance between the small town and the Sagami was very great, and he only came to the village elder's stoop after a half-hour of constant running. His robes had dried to a rather salty crust, his hair had the mineral crystals thick in every tress and everywhere his skin was dry and itched fiercely. Of course it was worth it, the sooner he could affirm his safety to his friends, the sooner he could return to the fascinating creature that waited for him just beyond the beach. Still, what he would not tell Deidara was the secondary reason he had for visiting the village; while he was in town, the half demon planned to probe Kaede's mind for all her knowledge of the ningyo.

Throwing the cloth aside from the priestess's doorway, Inuyasha entered her quaint abode without so much as announcing himself. The half-dozing elder's head shot up immediately at the sound of intrusion, only to find a rather frosted-looking half demon sitting himself by her fire as if he had been invited. There were no objections from Kaede, though any person who had not taken vows to share all that was theirs would surely have been less than compliant. Quietly, the one-eyed woman lifted a rod used for prodding the embers of her fire pit and gave a harsh prod to the wad of blankets that rose and fell in the corner of her home.

"Wake up Miroku! After five days lost at sea, our good friend Inuyasha returns without a word of greeting!" When the mass lurched and immediately the raven-haired monk exploded from beneath the woolen blanket, the elderly miko chuckled to herself with a mischievous glint in her one good eye. She quickly turned the rod on Inuyasha, poking him firmly in the chest with the dull end of the ashy pole and trying to phase a reaction out of him. "Come now Inuyasha, been washed away for so many days and you still haven't the decency to say 'hello' when you visit an old friend? Shame… I would have expected for living with animals to have taught you some appreciation for manners."

The half demon growled quietly and grabbed the end of the metal shaft to keep it from poking at his chest still more, but he gave the miko a friendly smile all the same. With a quick tug he snatched the fire-poking-stick from Kaede's weak palm and used it to adjust the embers that still glowed in the little hearth.

"Don't be so quick to pass judgment, ya-old bat," he snorted as sparks flew up from the coals and flames again began to lick at what unburned of the sticks in the fire pit. "They're more human than you'd expect from a bunch of fish-people." Though mostly lighthearted, there was a defensive undertone to the hanyou's voice; still he did not like to hear of Deidara being called an animal, even if by all rights, he was. At the same time, he was more than another fish; the ningyo were a sentient and, from what he had learned from his time spent in the alcove, gentle people. He caught himself daydreaming for a moment about the blonde, wishing to be back by the seaside again, and had to shake himself to bring his mind back to the present.

"Look who's got a soft spot for his fishy captors" Miroku nearly slurred as he stifled a wide yawn, clapping his friend across his shoulder. "So, let's hear about it! Were you whisked away to an enchanting oasis by a beautiful young ningyo maiden?" The half demon grunted and gave the embers a fierce jab.

"Feh, no such of a thing" he replied, looking over his shoulder and itched the back of his neck where his salty hair rested awkwardly on his nape. "I was taken care of by a merman… not a mermaid."

"Oh, well that's too bad I suppose… I have been waiting on pins and needles to tell you about one that helped me. Boy was she beautiful, if only she had legs and lungs, I'd have shown her how to use them, if you know what I mean." He gave Inuyasha's bicep a prodding nudge with his elbow and looked at him in a kind of sideways fashion that let Inuyasha know his perverse meaning. The half demon only grunted and rolled his eyes, twisting his mouth to the side as if to tell the lecherous monk that he disapproved, though at the same time he couldn't help the qualm of his own hypocrisy that stirred in his stomach.

Still for a single instant that thought leapt into his mind; he imagined what Deidara would look like with the lower body of a human in place of his exotic tail. He couldn't help but swallow a lump that had subconsciously risen in his throat as the, rather sexual, image danced in his brain, aided by the suggestion of his near friend. He had to break himself out of the thought, quickly turning to look at Miroku and give him a scornful frown.

"You're a pig, Miroku, what ever happened to Sango? What ever happened to 'I'm going to marry that woman if it's the last thing I do!' hm? Gonna give up on that to go chasing after fish are you?"

"You know as well as I do that I could marry Sango any time I want," the Buddhist smirked and leaned back against the wooden wall of Kaede's hut. "It's just a matter of getting all of the fun out of life before I decide to settle down. Besides, all I have to do is pop the question and she'll practically jump into my arms." With a victorious smile on his lips, Miroku folded his hands behind his head and crossed his legs comfortably, assured that he'd won the duel of wits. "So enough about me… tell us the story of your long captivity by the savage ningyo tribe." Of course it was clear that he didn't mean the insult in his heart, somehow knowing that Inuyasha had a soft spot for the merfolk made the monk simply want to poke at the weakness in his friend's armor for sanction of its existence.

The half demon snorted indignantly, but wouldn't give his companion the benefit of seeing him snap again about improperly titling the ningyo.

"Well for starters, it wasn't a tribe at all, just one male. He pulled me ashore and treated where I got stung with an antidote and brought me food and went about his merry way. He didn't talk much… They can't speak out of the water you know… Anyway, he stuck around until my leg was better and all then swam me back here."

"Well that doesn't sound exciting at all," the raven-haired man mused having hoped for a daring escape from a bloody death or really anything more eventful than Inuyasha's story. Still little to Miroku's knowledge, there was far more to the tale than his friend was letting on, but the half demon would be the last to tell the other man that several times he had kissed the merman in the most deep and intimate of ways. Such stories Inuyasha planned to take to his grave if he possibly could… but how, when the story was not over yet; he still was going back to Deidara, he only needed a few answers first.

"Well if my story is so boring to you, why don't you go for a walk? I gotta talk to the hag for a minute." Miroku gave his companion an inquisitive look but when he saw how Inuyasha's eyes asked him for privacy, he shrugged it off and wordlessly quit the scene, leaving the other two in discretion. Once he was sure the other man was gone, the half breed let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump as if with the monk gone he was free of some pressing burden. "Kaede… what can you tell me about merfolk?"

Rubbing her wrinkled chin in meditation, the priestess sat back for a moment as she thought. Eventually she rocked to creaky feet and slowly ambled over to a shelf that seemed to be sagging under the weight of countless scrolls and tomes. Eventually she drew a very large roll of yellowed paper from the rack and passed the heavy volume to Inuyasha.

"This is an ancient scroll of magical creatures. It is mostly full of demons and spirits, but if there is any information in this house on the ningyo, it is in that scroll. They were once thought to be magical sea spirits, so I would not think they could be excluded." As the hanyou accepted the scroll from her hands, the priestess's brow furrowed for a moment, her lips twisting slightly before allowing him to have it entirely. "Be very careful with that tome… its writings are very old and some of the diagrams and practices you may read about might not be completely accurate." As she sat cattycorner to Inuyasha, she stroked her own withered knees through her bright red hakama, staring at him as if trying to find what he was thinking. "I wonder what it is you plan on using that scroll for, Inuyasha. It is not a toy to be trifled with…"

"It is only in curiosity," he muttered, waving her off slightly as he began to unravel the roll of paper. "I plan on returning to the bay and observing the merfolk a little more. They've caught my interest and I only want to learn more." With that he returned to spinning through the scroll in search of a section about ningyo.