Chapter 25
A/N: Thank you guys for hanging in there. The American holidays tend to go on forever and disrupt schedules from November to late January. This week marks the reintroduction to my usual schedule. Every other week will be a new chapter of this and hopefully I can crank out a new School Days every week :D Now on with the show! P.S. Shameless Promotion Time! Ceysna has started to add chappies to her lovely fic Journal Through Our Eyes! As her Beta I ask that you pretty please check it out!
B/N: BEHOLD MY AWESOME POWER! TREMBLE BEFORE ME! Lol, nah, not really. Welcome to the amazing world of BDD! Brought to you by the awesome that is InuGirl294! I sound like an ad! Ok, well I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. In case no one has noticed we are (slowly) editing the earlier chaps, a kind of update if you will. So feel free to read those over as there are a few details that are coming to light, such as Kagome's thoughts leading up to her changing forms and how this was possible. No more spoilers from me though! It is worth the read. :Inugirl mutters at Ceysna: Lol, yes, yes, I am once more working on Journal, trying to bring my muse back for the dead. It's a canon fic that takes place after InuYasha. Kags works as a translator for a local museum and gets a restoration job on an old journal. Only to find out that it's Sesshomaru's. If you wanna see into the past as well as the very mind of Sesshomaru, feel free to take a look. Enjoy the update!
Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha happened upon the two male Inu's sparring in the garden. Sango was immediately escorted to the Ōoku by a maid. Miroku and Inuyasha remained and watched while Shippo was practicing basic sword play with Sesshomaru, as Inu demon tradition dictated. He was really bored with the whole weapons thing. He clung to the last part of his identity as a Kitsune and a magic user. Magic, illusion especially, was like his pup-hood blankie, it was very comfortable and familiar. A comfort and reminder of his 'past life' as a kitsune kit. It didn't help that Inuyasha had always teased him while he was trying to concentrate! That baka! He was brought back to the sparring battle with Chichi-ue when the pup was brought to the ground with a sword to his neck.
Inuyasha started in on him, hollering across the gardens "God Shippo, you're always going to be a weak little runt!" Tears of embarrassment started to run down the pup's cheeks.
Frustrated and suffering from a sore ego, the inu pup shouts back "Inubaka! You're one to talk! You could never beat my Chichi-ue!" Shippo let out a deep growl from his chest, a wicked smirk turning the corners of his mouth up, he added heatedly "You aren't even worthy to be in Chichi-ue's presence as he teaches me!" By the end of his statement the pup was letting his inner youkai out. He transformed into his true form, that of an inu-kitsune hybrid. His blood red eyes trained on the inu-hanyou.
"Bring it on Brat! Sesshomaru isn't even your true father and you know it! Look at you! You're more of a mutt than even me!" Inuyasha's brash response came spilling out past his bared fangs. The fire-rat clad hanyou drew his sword from its sheath.
Feeling a cold chill creep along his spine as he watched the scene unfold, the lecherous monk address his concerns to the silent demon near by "Sesshomaru-sama, forgive me for being bold, but shouldn't Shippo back down? He could be seriously injured and then Lady Kagome would be most displeased." The monk searched the Youkai Lord's face for any sign that he had heard him.
"This one's pup knows what he is doing. Inuyasha has insulted both Shippo's honor and my own as one of his sensei. Not only that but Inuyasha has also reminded Shippo that he is not yet my legitimate heir. Shippo will not allow that transgression to stand." The Youkai Lord cut his amber eyes from the amethyst orbs of the monk to his son and his idiot brother. Could the fool really not smell the miko's power sparking through the pup's blood stream?
Inuyasha started the battle with a swipe of Tetsusaiga at the pup's paws. His sword was met with a shimmering pink barrier of holy energy. Growling in frustration, InuYasha shouts accusingly "Coward! Using Kagome's power to protect yourself!"
Giving a foxy grin, the small Inu-Kit just danced out of the hanyou's reach. The pup felt elation course through his veins at using his mother's inherited skill. 'Mama had said it would come in handy one day!' The pup mused with a mental giggle of excitement. Being the quicker of the two, Shippo soon found this to be similar to playing tag with Mama and Rin than actual fighting!
When he saw Inubaka begin charging the red Tetsusaiga Shippo allowed the purification barrier to fall and still Shippo managed to dodge the attack. Soon the pup became bored with fighting on the ground. Finding that fighting on the hanyou's level to be boring and left a bitter taste in his mouth. 'He fights too much like a human, always on the ground. Jump, stab, jump, stab. Wash rinse and repeat. Can't I fight differently?' Pondering this over, Shippo remembered all of the fights he's seen. It seemed that every type of demon had their own style for combat, and that wasn't just from their training. Wolves relied on speed and force, Cats on tactics and stealth, and Foxes used magic and sneak attacks. But Inus were the only ones to be different, or at least Sesshomaru was the only one to be different. He used it all, power, strength, tactic, stealth and skill. The western lord did not limit himself in battle.
Feeling admiration for the deadly demon sink into his mind, he thought 'I want to fight more like Chichi-ue.' With that thought most present in his mind, the little Inu-Kit let his youkai spring forth. Forming a small cloud, like one he had seen Sesshomaru use once before as a form of transportation, he used it to float above the gardens turned battle field. Bouncing on the cloud in excitement, 'It worked! I made a youkai cloud! Hmm… I wonder if I can make more.'
Using a bit of kitsune know-how, the kit turned pup bounced from his first youkai cloud, forming a new one in mid air. Releasing an excited bark, he continued bouncing from his clouds and forming new ones until there was a full ring circling InuYasha. Shippo had to concentrate to keep them whole and floating where he wanted, but if this worked it'd be worth the mental strain later on. Using the youkai clouds as platforms, Shippo bounced back and forth among his clouds dodging the raging hanyou.
Shippo's ears flicked as he listened closely to the Hanyou's heartrate and his breathes. 'The baka is already tiring!' Shippo used his illusion magic to make a large orb of light to blind his opponent temporarily. His trick worked as Inuyasha covered his eyes to protect them from the blast. This gave Shippo time to transform back to his humanoid form, hiding his scent and aura as Sango had taught him during his ninja training. Inuyasha, still focused on the sky, got no warning of the pup sneaking up behind him.
Shippo slowly moved within striking distance and released a whip made of untainted purification energy across the hanyou's unsuspecting back. Shippo continued lashing him across the back until he knew that he had temporarily purified Inuyasha's youkai half.
Inuyasha fell to the ground with the pain of his forced transformation. Shippo gingerly walked around to the front of the hanyou, pink whip receding. As his claws began glowing a more sinister green. Shippo had only released a small amount of poison on to his downed opponent when his Chichi-ue's deep rumble of disapproval rung throughout the garden turned training grounds.
"Inuyasha has already passed out, musuko. The match is yours. You would dishonor yourself by killing him when he can no longer defend himself." Sesshomaru stated in a tone that that left no room for arguments.
Shippo pouted for a full minute before he got a shit eating grin on his face. Sighing, Shippo finally conceded "Yes Chichi-ue, you're right. Besides," he added with a kitsune's grin "Mama always said not to play with your food." He replied, letting out a victorious cackle as the hanyou turned human blacked out.
He was about to ask Chichi-ue if they would continue to spar when he heard an explosion from the Ōoku. The three male's faces dropped. Returning swiftly from the battle field they ran to the bathhouse to investigate the possible intruders on the estate.