Inu ½
Chapter 4
Coming to Grips: Inu-Yasha's decision
Inu-Yasha spat dirt out of his mouth. There was a look of rage on his face and scratches covering most of his body including those brand-new, soft, and delicate bulges of tissue on his chest. He shook with frustration and there were almost tears in his eyes. Her eyes, actually. She pushed herself up off the ground and shook her kimono, the prayer beads knocking annoyingly against her chest, reminding her of her new embarrassment.
"I'm going back home. Don't follow me." Kagome's order ran through her head and she sneered in typical Inu-Yasha fashion.
"Feh," scoffed the dog-demon as she headed over to the well and leapt into the air. Don't follow my ass, she thought bitterly as she was coming down over her square target.
That's when she remembered that the ultimate embarrassment would be immediately following her arrival in Kagome's world. And Sesshomaru, if he was still conscious, would be there to witness it. She spread out her legs and arms, catching the edges of the well before she went in and strained to stay in that precarious position until she could get enough leverage to push herself up and away.
She landed on the ground with a soft thud and fell on her rear. "Son of a frikkin--" she muttered, rubbing her hind quarters in contempt. The new body had a new center of balance and would take some getting used to.
Inu-Yasha bit her lip and punched the ground, tears stinging her eyes again. Damn that stupid girl... she thought bitterly. There was no way she was going after Kagome until she was a he again. Kagome didn't even have to know. But, the thought of Sesshomaru there with her in a deceptively sweet and cute form made her blood boil in her veins.
That settled it. She stood up. I need to find out all I can about this stupid spell and I only know one person in this time period who has half a brain, she thought.
Inu-Yasha headed over to the now normal Tetsusaiga, picked it up and put it in its scabbard. She looked at Sesshomaru's kimono and fur wrap lying on the ground next to a sword.
Hm... The thought crossed her mind to examine the sword, since she could no longer hold the Tetsusaiga, and she ventured over to the heap of silk and the sword picking it up.
The sword, as it turned out, was remotely heavy and Inu-Yasha hefted it from hand to hand feeling the nice weight. She swung it with ease and with a smile on her face, tucked it under the same cord that held the Tetsusaiga close to her hip. She then looked reluctantly at Kagome's over inflated bag and again at Sesshomaru's clothing, growled deeply and meaningfully and then picked up the silk kimono and other garments along with the fur wrap Sesshomaru was always wearing, and headed over to the backpack, shoving the items in. Inu-Yasha slung the bag over one shoulder, the fur wrap billowing out of the opening in the top of the bag, and took off for the woods, hoping like hell she could reach the village without anyone seeing her.
Kaede sighed as she heard the noise again. It was well into the night before Inu-Yasha would venture out from the forest. She was in fear that her new body would be the laughing stock of the village and her fragile ego couldn't handle being jostled about by so many humans, so there she sat, on the outskirts of the forest hidden in some bushes lobbing little rocks and tree branches at Kaede's hut in hopes that the old bat would get the idea and go investigate.
Inu-Yasha's patience began to wear thin when she heard footsteps crunching on the ground, slowly advancing toward the back of the hut and Kaede came into view holding a brightly glowing torch.
Inu-Yasha swallowed hard and then gruffly said, "Old woman--what kept you?"
A rustle of leaves and a few moments later and Inu-Yasha was standing before the old woman, one clawed hand tightly gripping the strap of the backpack. The fur wrap snagged on bushes and brittle grass whenever she moved and she longed to get rid of it not to mention Kagome's heavy load. What'd she have in there? Bricks?
Kaede's face went white as the half-breed stepped into the light. "Inu...Yasha?..." she cautioned.
The dog-demon somewhat sheepishly tugged at the backpack.
The fire crackled and hissed in its pit, dancing around and throwing shadows across the wall and light onto the faces of the hut's inhabitants. One such inhabitant seemed slightly annoyed at said fire for just such a reason and tried to keep out of the light as much as possible. There was a large lump in one of the corners of the hut which happened to be Kagome's bag. This was what Inu-Yasha stared at as she avoided Kaede's one eye.
Kaede was silent and in disbelief as she mulled over the story Inu-Yasha had told her. She was surprised that Inu-Yasha had allowed Kagome to take Sesshomaru with her. Should Sesshomaru regain his previous form the girl would be in more danger than they had ever imagined possible. Then again, from Inu-Yasha's story, it sounded like the puppy would be having a bit of trouble harassing anyone for a while. Kaede felt no sympathy for Sesshomaru, but the fact that he would be so vulnerable and Kagome would probably be his caregiver, scared her.
This could change things immensely... she thought with apprehension. Who knew how long Sesshomaru would be in that form and what sort of attachment Kagome would form to him? Worse still... that girl has a way of working her way into the most stubborn of hearts... she thought as she glanced at Inu-Yasha, who happened to be in silent contemplation at the moment. If Sesshomaru wasn't soon removed from Kagome's world, the two brothers would be fighting over more than the Tetsusaiga...(That is to say if Inu-Yasha would be honest with himself.)
Still. Why had he let her go? She sighed as she realized it was probably his stubbornness and pride, more than anything. He probably couldn't stand the thought of her seeing him as a girl. Which led her to think of something else-- why had she chosen to consult with her? If Inu-Yasha was asking a human for help, that meant that the situation was serious.
Kaede sighed and rubbed her temples. She stood up and began to pace slowly. Inu-Yasha watched her from the corner of her eye.
"Did you by any chance bring one of the flasks with you?" asked the old woman, finally. It would be a stretch, but Inu-Yasha was obviously desperate.
Inu-Yasha shook her head, no, and Kaede let out a sigh. "You did break one, though, correct?"
Inu-Yasha looked at her in confusion. "What are you getting at, Old Woman?" she huffed.
She was desperate, but obviously not enough to be polite. Kaede approached the now nervous dog-demon and looked at her hands. They were much more slender, but were still as calloused and hard as anyone's would be if they led Inu-Yasha's life.
The dog-demon noticed that she was being looked at funny, became very self-conscious and pulled the hands behind her back. "They're smaller now, o-kay? It's not a big deal," she said defensively.
Kaede stared at her and flatly said, "Hand."
Inu-Yasha reluctantly produced both hands for her to see.
"I don't get what the big idea is," she grumbled as Kaede examined.
Inu-Yasha usually favors his right, so... Kaede took hold of the dog-girl's hand (although not without much protestation on her part) and stared at it intently for a bit. A dry look came across her face and she then plucked a long, thin splinter our of Inu-Yasha's palm.
"You didn't notice this?" she asked with an arch of one eyebrow.
Inu-Yasha looked at the sliver of pale wood. "Feh," she scoffed. "That tiny thing?" She shook her head. "No. What's it got to do with this stupid body, anyway, Granny?"
Kaede gave her a look. As bad as "Old Woman" was, "Granny" was worse. She let out a "huff" and turned away from the half-demon and toward the fire.
Inu-Yasha eyed her archly. "Oi--Granny--Oi! Dont tell me--" she started smugly, thinking shed hit a nerve.
"Inu-Yasha-" Kaede interupted. "Do you wish to remain in that body?" she asked as she neared the fire.
"Are you senile, Old Bat?!?" the exasperated dog-demon yelled. "Hell no!!!" she said slamming her fists into the floor of the hut. "I'd rather die!"
"Then be still, or my spell won't take hold," Kaede said as she held the splinter over the fire.
Inu-Yasha held her tongue after Kaede's short but effective rebuke and watched the old woman's back as she began to mumble some words. Her sharp ears were able to catch them, even so, they were just gibberish to her.
Kaede dropped the splinter into the fire and it flared up with a yellow glow. It didn't last but a few seconds before it died back down again. It had startled Inu-Yasha (who'd have thought the little splinter would cause such a reaction?) who had had to stifle a yelp of surprise and jerked back a bit.
Inu-Yasha regained her composure and crept up behind the old woman asking quietly, "Oi--what'd it say, Old Woman?"
Kaede frowned. "It was no good."
Inu-Yasha's eyes opened wide and she let out a "hrk!", her kimono slipping a little off her shoulders.
She shut her eyes and through clenched teeth growled, " What...do... you...mean....?"
"It was too fast for me to catch. My eye isn't as good as it used to be--" she felt hands on her kimono as she was roughly turned around, still frowning.
Inu-Yasha got in the woman's face. "And you wasted it?!?!?" she demanded, frantically.
"Inu-Yasha," said Kaede flatly and calmly. "There was more of it you left behind, correct?"
Inu-Yasha thought for a moment, realized she was being silly and let go of Kaede's clothing. She started toward the door of the hut, mumbling, "I got it, I got it."
Kaede turned the broken flask over in her hands. The second one lay on the floor of the hut waiting for its turn to be examined.
With a sigh, she put it down. "I can feel nothing from it."
The dog-demon scoffed. "All talk, Granny? I coulda told you it was the water inside the damn thing that was charged." She folded her arms.
Kaede frowned at the stubborn girl, yet again. "Hand me the second one." Inu-Yasha obeyed with a little reluctance and flippancy.
Kaede shook the flask back and forth for a moment. "There is still water in this one..."
"Hm?"
"A small amount," said the old woman. "Bowl, please." Inu-Yasha, gaining some interest, retrieved a bowl for her and stood over her shoulder.
"Oi--what're you going to do?"
Kaede answered her question by dumping the remainder of the water into the bowl and looking into it.
"Oi--what're you doing, Kaede Ba-ba." Kaede seemed to be ignoring her and this angered her a bit. "Oi--"she said again and poked the back of the woman's head. "OI--"
"I'm scrying, Inu-Yasha," said the old woman without looking back.
"Psh! Like you did in the fire, Old Woman?" she scoffed with a slight smirk and sat back on her haunches, determined to remain uninterested as she defiantly stared at the ceiling.
Kaede, glad to have some respite, continued to work on the scrying while Inu-Yasha eventually began to doze off and garner some much needed sleep.
"Mmm?" asked the dog-demon in a sleepy voice as Kaede said her name. Inu-Yasha looked at the old woman, a groggy haze over her eyes. She yawned largely and scratched her head as Kaede dipped a finger into the water, successfully breaking its surface, and the spell.
"Wha is it?" she asked with another yawn and was greeted with the foreign sound of her own voice. For a moment, she was shocked and her eyes went wide. Then she recalled what had happened earlier in the day and her face changed as she growled a low growl.
"I have found something," said the woman with a nod.
Inu-Yasha perked up at that and was at her side in a nanosecond. "Do tell," she said as a sort of command.
"The water is from far away--a foreign country. Probably China. It was taken from a spring," said Kaede as she picked up the bowl.
Inu-Yasha smacked her palm with her fist. "Hey! Old woman, you're actually good for somethin! So your scrying told you all that?" she asked, a little impressed.
Kaede shook her head. "No."
"Eh?"
Kaede tossed the now empty flask to the dog-demon.
"What?" she asked as she caught it skillfully.
Kaede simply said, "Turn it over," and went on tidying up. Inu-Yasha complied and found a wad of paper with a thin layer of sap on the back stuck to the bottom of the flask. "Hrm?" she wondered as she impatiently straightened it. A look of contempt and confusion crossed her face. Does she think I can actually read this? Stupid old codger. "Old Woman-- what's this chicken scratch on here?" she asked waving the slip of paper around like a miniature flag.
Kaede stoked the fire in the pit between them and answered her. "It's Chinese and it says Spring of Drowned Duck."
Inu-Yasha blinked a few times, looked at the paper, turned it upside down, and then right side up again, shook her head, wadded it up and threw it at the old woman who caught it with more ease than Inu-Yasha had hoped.
Kaede smoothed it out again. "This makes things more complicated," she said as she looked at it again.
"How so? I know it came from China, so I'll just go to China," Inu-Yasha said with a shrug and a sneer.
"Inu-Yasha-- there were other flasks of water--else, why would we have that label? It should say girl or puppy, if I'm not mistaken," said the old woman with a serious stare.
"Yeah, yeah. That's someone else's problem, not mine," she replied as she headed toward the door. "I'm getting out of here before anyone notices me," she said peeking out of the flap and noting that the sky was graying--a sure sign that morning would be soon on them.
"And Kagome?"
That stopped the dog demon as she had one foot almost out the door.
There was a pause that was just long enough to make her feel uncomfortable and awkward and rue that she had allowed a pause at all. After she came to her senses, she demanded gruffly, "What about her? If she comes back through the well, just give her her crappy bag and tell her you haven't seen me."
"Inu-Yasha--" started Kaede.
As an afterthought, she added, "It's none of her business and I'll have it fixed before I see her again."
Was that resolve I heard in her voice? thought Kaede with a smirk.
This, Inu-Yasha noticed. "What the hell are you smilin about Old Woman?!?"
"Heh. Nothing," she remarked with closed eyes. "Have a safe trip."
"Mn," replied Inu-Yasha, which was as close to a sincere "thank you" that Kaede had ever received from the half-breed. She pushed her way out of the hut and offered her own goodbye--"Dont die or nuthin." And with that, Inu-Yasha was gone from the jut and Kaede let out a sigh.
She was relieved that shed been able to suppress her feelings. She knew that Inu-Yasha could smell fear, among other things, on people and every human emotion had a distinct smell to one with so sensitive a nose as Inu-Yasha's.
She hadn't seen the past by scrying, that was true. But, she hadn't told the girl that she had seen the present-- and a most unsettling present it was-- in Kagome's world. She also hadn't told her that shed seen the future. The first thing shed seen, after shed been staring into the water so long her head began to hurt, was a scene of Kagome lying in bed with the dog she assumed was Sesshomaru. Inu-Yasha would have been gone to her world in no time if shed seen that. The second scene was one of great worry and had Kagome lying dead. The third, a kiss between Sesshomaru and Kagome, with Sesshomaru in his humanoid form, of course, and the last scene, one of equal concern, was Inu-Yasha lying dead at Sesshomaru's feet. At the last scene she had accidentally called Inu-Yasha's name and the girl had begun to stir. She had hurridly broken the spell and tried to compose herself, reciting over and over in her head that premonitions were only possible futures and not necessarily unavoidable. It was also impossible to tell in what order they occurred or the circumstances behind them.
Well, she thought, if Inu-Yasha is in China, then Sesshomaru can't kill him, and with that thought in mind she went to make her futon and turn in.
Kaede Ba-ba... Inu-Yasha thought sourly. Something was up. She hid it damn good, but I got the slightest hint of it as I was leaving. Stupid old woman. It better not be important. Inu-Yasha raced through the forest that was past the village, hoping to find a cave to sleep in or something for the day. Shed be traveling by night from now on, just in case anyone might recognize her.
At the outskirts of the forest there was a cave. It would be a gamble staying in a place so close to the road and potentially full of humans, but it was the only cave she knew of in the area and it was still a bit out of the way. So, keeping those thoughts in mind, she settled in at the back of the cave, leaned her head against the wall and, by and by, drifted off into a light sleep.