Right. So, hello. Um... It's me... Manekochan again. I decided to type this up today because I've gotten a landmark (for me) 100 reviews! I really ~ought~ to be working on my show. Stupid show. Okay okay. I'll get started with this thing already. Special thanks goes out to everyone who reviewed. I need a massage. That would be great. Okay okay. I promised to give you a chapter that you were waiting for, so here it is.
Note to self-- Hiten is the humanish demon and Manten is the other one.
Oh-- and just so you know, I don't know crub about geographical stuff, so the setting for this chapter is just for story purposes. It probably doesn't exist in Japan. I don't know. Also, Sesshomaru's sword is the Tensaiga and I changed the number of Shikon shards the two demons had-- it is a little later in the story than when the events of the manga take place, so it's possible that they have gotten two more demons by then.
Just as an aside to all the "Take a Bath!!!" comments I've been getting, Inu-Yasha hates hot water. It's in one of the later mangas. He goes to Kagome's house and goes into the furo and comes out cursing a blue streak because the water was way too hot, when Sota was just fine with it. Obviously, Inu-Yasha is highly sensitive to hot water so I assume he wouldn't take baths very often and if he did, they would be in cold water. Sesshomaru's avoidance of baths was for story purposes, so I did cheat there. You're right, he ought to have been bathed by now, but MAYBE Kagome was afraid to remove the splint! Eh? EH?!? Okay, so I'm grasping here. Just enjoy the damn thing.
Chapter 13:Lightening Always Strikes Twice: Inu-Yasha vs. the Thunder Bros.
"Hraugh!" yelled Inu-Yasha as her claws swept through the monster. It fell in two halves before her in a bloody mess.
Miroku was beside her (he had hoped to protect her, but realized she didn't neccessarily need it).
"Heh!" she laughed, slinging the blood off of her hands. She approached the body and plcked out the obvious Shikon shard.
"Fu... Just one?" she sighed. She turned to Miroku. "You can come out now, Shippou. It's dead."
Shippou peeked out from behind Miroku.
"I-I-I -- wasn't scared," he said, shaking.
"Yeah?" asked the half-demon with a a smirk.
They had come across the ogre as they'd been trailing the two brothers. The creature had sensed their shikon shards and attacked.
Shippou hopped back over to Inu-Yasha's shoulder to stare at the body.
"How come the brothers missed it?"
Inu-Yasha shrugged, shifting the little kitsune. "Beats me. Maybe he was sleeping when they came by or something. He wasn't much of a challenge," she said and swung her arm in a circle. She popped her neck and said, "Let's move on, shall we?"
"Mm," nodded Shippou.
Miroku, as usual, followed behind them.
"Can you smell that?" asked Inu-Yasha after a while.
Miroku nodded. "Sulfur?"
"Mmn," she replied. They continued to walk. They'd been walking in a North Western direction for the past week. Ever since Shippou had joined them, they'd been assailed by more demons than usual but they figured it was just the area. The demons seemed to be animal-like, mindless, and territorial. The oni they'd recently fought had been the only one with a shikon shard so far.
They'd long since passed most forrests and were getting to fairly barren land. It whould have been getting colder, but it hadn't been and Inu-Yasha wondered why.
They soon got their answer as they approached a large canyon. It's floor was cracked and dry and the heat coming from it was intense. There were strange holes all over it. Inu-Yasha cautioned her companions to be quiet as they stalked nervously through the canyon. They sulfur smell was stronger-- almost overpowering and the dog-demon held her nose.Strange hissing sounds came from everywhere and Miroku whispered that they ought to avoid the holes, as he had a strange feeling about them.
Inu-Yasha acknowledged him with a nod and they stalked onward, Shippou hiding as best he could in Inu-Yasha's hair without losing his line of sight.
The ground suddenly began to rumble and the group stopped in their tracks. Behind them there was a giant rushing noise and a pillar of water rose in the air, continued for a few seconds and then settled back down into its hole. The parched earth darkened and steamed where the water had landed.
They stood there staring at the little hole, thier hearts all beating fast. None of them had expected it and all of them had been a tad surprized. They began to recover their bearings and faced forward again when they heard laughter echoeing down the canyon walls.
They became nervous again but soon realized that they had gone unnoticed and that the laughter was not directed toward them. Inu-Yasha signalled for them to move again and the troup began their trek through the hot canyon.
At one place, the canyojn turned and they flattened themselves against the jagged wall and peered around.
"That's them..." Shippou whispered into Inu-Yasha's ear as they watched the two laughing demons. One had perched himself on a large rock. He was a large demon with a big head and an enormous mouth. There were 3 shikon shards imbedded in his forehead.
The other demon was more human looking but had evil eyes. A braid went down his back and there were wheels turning at his feet. He floated lazily in the air and held a spear in one hand. There were 4 shikon shards on his forehead.
"That big one is Manten," Shippou provided in a whisper. "And the little one is Hiten."
"No problem," whispered Inu-Yasha to the kitsune and she began to draw the Tensaiga with a wicked grin.
Shippou didn't seem to hear and, instead, was looking directly to their left (the wall being to thier right) at a hole (albeit a small one) that had begun to gurgle. Miroku, too, noticed this with a "hm?" and just as he followed Shippou's line of sight the geyser erupted into a spray of hot liquid. Shippou yelped in alarm and Miroku quickly placed himself between his friends and the potentially scalding liquid, trying to shield them with his tunic.
The geyser resettled and Miroku gave Inu-Yasha a quirky smile. "Chivalry isn't dead," he said with a wink.
Inu-Yasha sneered. Shippou looked sheepish and tried to hide behind Inu-Yasha again. "I'm sorry," he whispered, whining.
"S'okay," said the girl demon, but the laughter down the canyon had stopped and she knew they'd lost the element of surprise. Her grip began to tighten on the Tensaiga.
*No use in hiding, now,* she thought. "Shippou--"
"Hm?" he asked.
"Stay with Miroku."
"What? But--"
"DO it," she said angrily and shifted her shoulder. Shippou leapt over to Miroku who regarded him with little more than a glance. He looked sternly at the demoness.
"You're not going out there alone," he said with conviction.
Shippou was clearly frightened, but agreed. "Y-y-yeah."
Inu-Yasha checked her sword. "Watch me," she said and she leapt into the air with the Tensaiga raised.
"Ho ho! So we DO have a visitor!" came an amuzed voice. It was accompanied by the clang of metal.
Miroku, with Shippou in tow, rushed past the turn in the canyon.
"This should make for some fun, Manten; you stand aside while I slay this one," said the human-ish demon as he blocked the sword with his spear.
"You fucks! Don't think I'll be so easily subdued," growled Inu-Yasha bearing down hard against the spear. She was surprized at the demon's strength and felt foolish.
Manten chuckled. "It's been a while since you've had a worthwhile apponent, brother. This should make for a good show if she is as good as she thinks."
The demon Hiten laughed, grunting a little. "Yes, I believe she is strong-- although, not quite strong ~enough~. Are you here for our Shikon shards, little lady?" he asked and with a hard pusth the demoness was shoved off and to the side. She slammed mercilessly into the wall.
"Inu-Yasha!!!" cried Shippou in alarm.
She stood up and readied the sword again noting with chagrin that her two friends had come into the danger regardless.
"What's this?" asked Hiten. He looked toward Miroku and the kitsune. "You've brought friends?"
"Don't you ignore me, you fuck!" she said, lunging. The Tensaiga slipped past the demon as he moved gracefully out of the way.
"How boring. Your swings are wild and careless," the demon said as he slipped behind her and crooked her neck in his arm. Inu-Yasha dropped the Tensaiga, struggling against his one-armed embrace. She dug her claws into his arm.
"Do you imagine that hurts?" he asked glibbly. He craned her face upward. Inu-Yasha could hear the strange noises coming from behind her and knew that Manten and Miroku (possibly Shippou) were now engaged in battle.
~Shit...~ she thought bitterly and bore down hard on the demon's arm. She cried out in a growl as she felt her side pierced by the spear the demon held in his other hand.
"My. That DID hurt that time. Naughty naughty..." He looked at her face. "You are a pretty one, aren't you..." he mused, twisting the spear a little. "Maybe I could tame you-- keep you as my pet-- how is that?" He bent his face toward her neck and breathed in her scent.
Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed. "I'd rather DIE!" she screamed and found the energy to wrench him off of her. She flung him over her head and into the canyon wall. She stood there panting, trying to get her breath back.
"B-Bastard..." she growled and went for the Tensaiga. She glanced over at Shippou and Miroku and was surprized to see that Shippou was physically attacking the large demon. She noticed, however, that the demon seemed to be wearing the pelt of what looked to be a large fox and assumed that it was Shippou's father. Miroku was trying to beat the demon with only his staff and Inu-Yasha wondered why he didn't use that hand thing he was always talking about.
She turned back to the demon she'd left, only to find regaining his footing and raising into the air. "Perhaps I have underestimated you," he said with a smile. "GOOD." And with taht he plunged toward her, his spear facing forward as he hoped to catch her with the full force of it.
Inu-Yasha blocked it with the Tensaiga and sent him a ways to the side. He turned in the air and stood, waiting, watching, and generally being amuzed.
Inu-Yasha's face hardened. There was a sudden thud behind her as Miroku hit the ground with a grunt. Manten flung Shippou off of him and into the ground as well.
~God damn it...~ she thought and made as if to move.
"Ah, ah ah," chided the flying demon as he plunged his spear into her yet again. "I'm your opponent," he purred. He yanked the spear out and watched her collapse to the ground in a pool of blood. "Let's play, shall we?" he said as he yanked her up by her kimono. She kicked at his and freed herself, turning back to her friends. The Tensaiga was still clutched in her hands.
Shippou was at the creature's waist again and tugging at his father's pelt. Miroku was looking irrate and calling for Shippou to get back. he was still on the ground and it seemed that his staff had been knocked away. He glanced over at her adn saw that, she, too, was not fairing so well.
Shippou gave a final tug on the pelt and it loosed, falling to the ground. Shippou began to skuttle away, dragging the pelt with him. Manten focused his attention on the priest who had finally begun to unwrap that hand of his.
*The shards!* thought Inu-Yasha in alarm. She felt the air behind her being sliced and knew that the spear was coming again. She dodged it and grabbed it, flinging the demon into the ground as he held it. She wasted no time and stabbed the Tensaiga downward, pinning him in place.
She plunged her claws into her own side and drew them out, dripping in blood. She brought her hand back and yelled out, "Claws of Blood!" sending the red arcs of hard blood flying.
Miroku's hand was almost unsealed when the blood claws sliced into the demon's head and effectively freed the shards along with more than a little of the demon's forehead.
Shippou saw the shards' glints and popped in to capture them as they hit the ground. He popped out and hid behing Miroku as the dmeon began to fall toward them with an angry look in its eyes.
Miroku, knowing then that Shippou was in a safe place, loosed the beads over his hand and unleashed the vortex. Inu-Yasha watched as the giant demon disappeared and Miroku clapped the beads over his hand again.
"Manten!!!" cried the demon from behind Inu-Yasha and she heard him get to his feet. He grabbed her by the kimono yet again and flunger her to the side. She looked at his chest only to find that there was no blood. The Tensaiga was on the ground as the demon had pulled it from the earth and flung it aside, as well. He it really done not damage? she wondered.
Miroku was beginning to stand then, but the demon was flying for him. Inu-Yasha rushed forward to grab the Tensaiga again and gave chase to the demon. She swung at his back only to have it pass harmlessly through him with a strange light.
He turned, hatred burning in his eyes, grabbed her yet again and said, "I tire of you. " He threw her to the side into a sea of little holes and continued on his way.
*Miroku! Shippou! They're going to die!* she thought in alarm and began to scramble for them. *Sesshomaru's sword is worthless. Why the hell did he keep it?~ She threw it to the ground. ~I have no choice-- somehow, I have to get the Tetsusaiga to work for me again,* she thought and, pulling it, ran. Geysers of sulfur water rained down around her, stinging her, searing her. She ignored the pain and raced on toward her two friends.
The demon floated before them, it's staff raised. "~YOU~," he bellowed. "You have destroyed my brother?!?" He was shaking with anger. "YOU a filthy human and a kitsune pup? How can this ~BE~?!?" he demanded. "It is of no matter! You will die ~NOW~!" he screamed and the spear began to come down with swiftness.
The Testusaiga came down with a power and an urgency that Miroku hadn't thought possible of a sword. It buried itself into the ground beside his head and devided the demon before him in half. Shippou yelped and the half of the demon nearest them collapsed to the ground in a splash of red blood. The other half of the demon thudded to the ground as well.
"I don't think so," said a somewhat familiar voice and the Tetsusaiga was withdrawn. Inu-Yasha smirked. "Heh." The Tetsusaiga became the rusty old blade again and the half-demon sheathed it.
"Fwah! Didn't think I could pull that off," Inu-Yasha said in relief.
Miroku and Shippou stared blankly.
"Whatsa' matter, Shippou? Di'ja enjoy the show?"
Shippou nodded in wide-eyed silence.
"Nice job getting those Shikon Shards, anyway." Inu-Yasha began to move. "Now, where'd I put that stupid sword?..."
Miroku stood up, dusting himself off. His eyes never left Inu-Yasha as the demon searched for the sword amid the geysers. Shippou shook off the shock and retrieved the shikon shards from the dead demon's forehead before it could regenerate.
"Do you think she noticed yet?" said Shippou as he put the new shikon shards with the others.
Miroku shook his head.
Inu-Yasha picked up the Tensaiga without reverence, looked at it closely and then tucked it under her belt. *If Sesshomaru kept this useless thing, there's gotta' be ~SOME~ reason.*
"Inu-Yasha," came a voice and it was accompanied by scampering.
"Yo..." she replied in acknowledgement.
Shippou ran before her. "Um..." the kitsune was mysteriously silent.
"What? Spit it out, kid," she growled. She stopped. *That was an awfully deep growl for a girl...* she thought suddenly. She growled again. *That was definately low.* She looked at Shippou, who had begun to shiver a little, then at Miroku who seemed to still be in shock.
*Only one way to find out...* she thought, becoming nervous. *Please, oh, please...* She opened her kimono.
"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" There was a large smile plastered to the half-demon's face as he howled in triumph. Inu-Yasha grabbed a frightened Shippou byt he paws and began to swing him around in a dizzying circle.
"I got my body back!!!" he screamed giddily.
"Inu-Yasha..." whined the kitsune from the inside of the spinning vortex. "Gonna'-- gonna' throw up..."
"Op!" Inu-Yasha set the kitsune down and tossled his hair. "Sorry, kiddo."
"Oooog..."
Inu-Yasha smiled and turned toward Miroku. "Yo, Miroku!" he called happily.
The priest was staring at him in red faced, sullen anger. He quickly averted his eyes.
"Hm." Inu-Yasha huffed. "Whatsa' matter with him?" he asked aloud. He picked up Shippou and set him on his shoulder. "Don't fall off," he joked.
The kitsune hung on and tried not to vomit as Inu-Yasha began to walk over to Miroku.
"Yo--" came Inu-Yasha's voice.
Miroku wouldn't turn to face him.
"What the hell is the matter with you, Miroku? You're pissed off, I can smell it. " Inu-Yasha crossed his arms.
"I'm not," said Miroku. "Let's move on." He still didn't face the half-demon.
Inu-Yasha set his face into a huff. "Fuh. I ~told~ you I was a frikkin' man. Didn't I tell you?"
Miroku sighed. "I recall that you did."
"Damn straight," nodded Inu-Yasha. "So you've got no reason to be moping around." Inu-Yasha began to hum. "I got my body back. HA! It's about damn time, too. Wonder what did it..."
"Maybe it was the hot water back there..." offered up Shippou. He was slowly getting over his motion-sickness. The new Inu-Yasha wasn't that different for him. He even seemed a bit happier than he had been as a girl, so Shippou was okay with the change.
"Maybe... Or maybe the spell just wore off," he muzed. Then he stopped, turning red in the face. *If MY spell wore off... then maybe...Sesshomaru.....*
His face darkened.
"Shippou-- Miroku... We're going to go see a friend," he growled suddenly. Shippou cringed at the sudden change in attitude.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A light rain was falling. Miroku and Shippou were standing benieth a tree calling out, "Come on, Inu-Yasha. It's okay. Come down."
"NO," came a whiney woman's voice.
"We'll just find you some hot water and everything'll be okay again," said Shippou.
A few more minutes of coaxing saw the bedraggled lass pulling herself down the path behind Miroku and Shippou.
"So the cold water makes you a girl again, huh?" asked Shippou.
"Shut up," she growled back in contempt.
Miroku smiled bitterly. "She's just snippy."
"Shut ~UP~!" she yelled back. "YOU're just mad 'cause you have no chance with me, you damn sex-maniac."
Miroku's face flushed and he went silent. Shippou looked back and forth between the two "adults".
~Good grief...~ he thought. "Listen, Inu-Yasha-- you're wierd, but you're still my friend so I'm not gonna' treat you any different than I did before."
"Feh," she scoffed, but she was gratefull.
"At least you can change back to a man again. That's a little better, isn't it?" asked the kitsune trying to find SOME good thing about the situation.
"Yeah..." grumbled the demoness. The kid was right. She knew now that all she needed to stay a boy was hot water.
Shippou righted himself and faced forward. He'd soothed the half-demon. He looked at Miroku, whose face was determined and angry looking. He was still slightly flushed and Shippou knew that the poor priest would be inconsolable for a while.
Shippou felt wierd. It was like going on vacation or a trip with two fighting parents. He sighed. *I hope this is resolved soon...* his mind whined pathetically and he shook his head.
Chapter 13
End
Next time, on a very special "Blossom": Inu-Yasha goes to check up on Kagome and, upon finding Sesshomaru is still a puppy, is forced to make an important decision. Does he tell the secret of the curse?
Chapter 14: Inu Yasha's Dilema: Honor thy ... Brother?!?
Note to self-- Hiten is the humanish demon and Manten is the other one.
Oh-- and just so you know, I don't know crub about geographical stuff, so the setting for this chapter is just for story purposes. It probably doesn't exist in Japan. I don't know. Also, Sesshomaru's sword is the Tensaiga and I changed the number of Shikon shards the two demons had-- it is a little later in the story than when the events of the manga take place, so it's possible that they have gotten two more demons by then.
Just as an aside to all the "Take a Bath!!!" comments I've been getting, Inu-Yasha hates hot water. It's in one of the later mangas. He goes to Kagome's house and goes into the furo and comes out cursing a blue streak because the water was way too hot, when Sota was just fine with it. Obviously, Inu-Yasha is highly sensitive to hot water so I assume he wouldn't take baths very often and if he did, they would be in cold water. Sesshomaru's avoidance of baths was for story purposes, so I did cheat there. You're right, he ought to have been bathed by now, but MAYBE Kagome was afraid to remove the splint! Eh? EH?!? Okay, so I'm grasping here. Just enjoy the damn thing.
Chapter 13:Lightening Always Strikes Twice: Inu-Yasha vs. the Thunder Bros.
"Hraugh!" yelled Inu-Yasha as her claws swept through the monster. It fell in two halves before her in a bloody mess.
Miroku was beside her (he had hoped to protect her, but realized she didn't neccessarily need it).
"Heh!" she laughed, slinging the blood off of her hands. She approached the body and plcked out the obvious Shikon shard.
"Fu... Just one?" she sighed. She turned to Miroku. "You can come out now, Shippou. It's dead."
Shippou peeked out from behind Miroku.
"I-I-I -- wasn't scared," he said, shaking.
"Yeah?" asked the half-demon with a a smirk.
They had come across the ogre as they'd been trailing the two brothers. The creature had sensed their shikon shards and attacked.
Shippou hopped back over to Inu-Yasha's shoulder to stare at the body.
"How come the brothers missed it?"
Inu-Yasha shrugged, shifting the little kitsune. "Beats me. Maybe he was sleeping when they came by or something. He wasn't much of a challenge," she said and swung her arm in a circle. She popped her neck and said, "Let's move on, shall we?"
"Mm," nodded Shippou.
Miroku, as usual, followed behind them.
"Can you smell that?" asked Inu-Yasha after a while.
Miroku nodded. "Sulfur?"
"Mmn," she replied. They continued to walk. They'd been walking in a North Western direction for the past week. Ever since Shippou had joined them, they'd been assailed by more demons than usual but they figured it was just the area. The demons seemed to be animal-like, mindless, and territorial. The oni they'd recently fought had been the only one with a shikon shard so far.
They'd long since passed most forrests and were getting to fairly barren land. It whould have been getting colder, but it hadn't been and Inu-Yasha wondered why.
They soon got their answer as they approached a large canyon. It's floor was cracked and dry and the heat coming from it was intense. There were strange holes all over it. Inu-Yasha cautioned her companions to be quiet as they stalked nervously through the canyon. They sulfur smell was stronger-- almost overpowering and the dog-demon held her nose.Strange hissing sounds came from everywhere and Miroku whispered that they ought to avoid the holes, as he had a strange feeling about them.
Inu-Yasha acknowledged him with a nod and they stalked onward, Shippou hiding as best he could in Inu-Yasha's hair without losing his line of sight.
The ground suddenly began to rumble and the group stopped in their tracks. Behind them there was a giant rushing noise and a pillar of water rose in the air, continued for a few seconds and then settled back down into its hole. The parched earth darkened and steamed where the water had landed.
They stood there staring at the little hole, thier hearts all beating fast. None of them had expected it and all of them had been a tad surprized. They began to recover their bearings and faced forward again when they heard laughter echoeing down the canyon walls.
They became nervous again but soon realized that they had gone unnoticed and that the laughter was not directed toward them. Inu-Yasha signalled for them to move again and the troup began their trek through the hot canyon.
At one place, the canyojn turned and they flattened themselves against the jagged wall and peered around.
"That's them..." Shippou whispered into Inu-Yasha's ear as they watched the two laughing demons. One had perched himself on a large rock. He was a large demon with a big head and an enormous mouth. There were 3 shikon shards imbedded in his forehead.
The other demon was more human looking but had evil eyes. A braid went down his back and there were wheels turning at his feet. He floated lazily in the air and held a spear in one hand. There were 4 shikon shards on his forehead.
"That big one is Manten," Shippou provided in a whisper. "And the little one is Hiten."
"No problem," whispered Inu-Yasha to the kitsune and she began to draw the Tensaiga with a wicked grin.
Shippou didn't seem to hear and, instead, was looking directly to their left (the wall being to thier right) at a hole (albeit a small one) that had begun to gurgle. Miroku, too, noticed this with a "hm?" and just as he followed Shippou's line of sight the geyser erupted into a spray of hot liquid. Shippou yelped in alarm and Miroku quickly placed himself between his friends and the potentially scalding liquid, trying to shield them with his tunic.
The geyser resettled and Miroku gave Inu-Yasha a quirky smile. "Chivalry isn't dead," he said with a wink.
Inu-Yasha sneered. Shippou looked sheepish and tried to hide behind Inu-Yasha again. "I'm sorry," he whispered, whining.
"S'okay," said the girl demon, but the laughter down the canyon had stopped and she knew they'd lost the element of surprise. Her grip began to tighten on the Tensaiga.
*No use in hiding, now,* she thought. "Shippou--"
"Hm?" he asked.
"Stay with Miroku."
"What? But--"
"DO it," she said angrily and shifted her shoulder. Shippou leapt over to Miroku who regarded him with little more than a glance. He looked sternly at the demoness.
"You're not going out there alone," he said with conviction.
Shippou was clearly frightened, but agreed. "Y-y-yeah."
Inu-Yasha checked her sword. "Watch me," she said and she leapt into the air with the Tensaiga raised.
"Ho ho! So we DO have a visitor!" came an amuzed voice. It was accompanied by the clang of metal.
Miroku, with Shippou in tow, rushed past the turn in the canyon.
"This should make for some fun, Manten; you stand aside while I slay this one," said the human-ish demon as he blocked the sword with his spear.
"You fucks! Don't think I'll be so easily subdued," growled Inu-Yasha bearing down hard against the spear. She was surprized at the demon's strength and felt foolish.
Manten chuckled. "It's been a while since you've had a worthwhile apponent, brother. This should make for a good show if she is as good as she thinks."
The demon Hiten laughed, grunting a little. "Yes, I believe she is strong-- although, not quite strong ~enough~. Are you here for our Shikon shards, little lady?" he asked and with a hard pusth the demoness was shoved off and to the side. She slammed mercilessly into the wall.
"Inu-Yasha!!!" cried Shippou in alarm.
She stood up and readied the sword again noting with chagrin that her two friends had come into the danger regardless.
"What's this?" asked Hiten. He looked toward Miroku and the kitsune. "You've brought friends?"
"Don't you ignore me, you fuck!" she said, lunging. The Tensaiga slipped past the demon as he moved gracefully out of the way.
"How boring. Your swings are wild and careless," the demon said as he slipped behind her and crooked her neck in his arm. Inu-Yasha dropped the Tensaiga, struggling against his one-armed embrace. She dug her claws into his arm.
"Do you imagine that hurts?" he asked glibbly. He craned her face upward. Inu-Yasha could hear the strange noises coming from behind her and knew that Manten and Miroku (possibly Shippou) were now engaged in battle.
~Shit...~ she thought bitterly and bore down hard on the demon's arm. She cried out in a growl as she felt her side pierced by the spear the demon held in his other hand.
"My. That DID hurt that time. Naughty naughty..." He looked at her face. "You are a pretty one, aren't you..." he mused, twisting the spear a little. "Maybe I could tame you-- keep you as my pet-- how is that?" He bent his face toward her neck and breathed in her scent.
Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed. "I'd rather DIE!" she screamed and found the energy to wrench him off of her. She flung him over her head and into the canyon wall. She stood there panting, trying to get her breath back.
"B-Bastard..." she growled and went for the Tensaiga. She glanced over at Shippou and Miroku and was surprized to see that Shippou was physically attacking the large demon. She noticed, however, that the demon seemed to be wearing the pelt of what looked to be a large fox and assumed that it was Shippou's father. Miroku was trying to beat the demon with only his staff and Inu-Yasha wondered why he didn't use that hand thing he was always talking about.
She turned back to the demon she'd left, only to find regaining his footing and raising into the air. "Perhaps I have underestimated you," he said with a smile. "GOOD." And with taht he plunged toward her, his spear facing forward as he hoped to catch her with the full force of it.
Inu-Yasha blocked it with the Tensaiga and sent him a ways to the side. He turned in the air and stood, waiting, watching, and generally being amuzed.
Inu-Yasha's face hardened. There was a sudden thud behind her as Miroku hit the ground with a grunt. Manten flung Shippou off of him and into the ground as well.
~God damn it...~ she thought and made as if to move.
"Ah, ah ah," chided the flying demon as he plunged his spear into her yet again. "I'm your opponent," he purred. He yanked the spear out and watched her collapse to the ground in a pool of blood. "Let's play, shall we?" he said as he yanked her up by her kimono. She kicked at his and freed herself, turning back to her friends. The Tensaiga was still clutched in her hands.
Shippou was at the creature's waist again and tugging at his father's pelt. Miroku was looking irrate and calling for Shippou to get back. he was still on the ground and it seemed that his staff had been knocked away. He glanced over at her adn saw that, she, too, was not fairing so well.
Shippou gave a final tug on the pelt and it loosed, falling to the ground. Shippou began to skuttle away, dragging the pelt with him. Manten focused his attention on the priest who had finally begun to unwrap that hand of his.
*The shards!* thought Inu-Yasha in alarm. She felt the air behind her being sliced and knew that the spear was coming again. She dodged it and grabbed it, flinging the demon into the ground as he held it. She wasted no time and stabbed the Tensaiga downward, pinning him in place.
She plunged her claws into her own side and drew them out, dripping in blood. She brought her hand back and yelled out, "Claws of Blood!" sending the red arcs of hard blood flying.
Miroku's hand was almost unsealed when the blood claws sliced into the demon's head and effectively freed the shards along with more than a little of the demon's forehead.
Shippou saw the shards' glints and popped in to capture them as they hit the ground. He popped out and hid behing Miroku as the dmeon began to fall toward them with an angry look in its eyes.
Miroku, knowing then that Shippou was in a safe place, loosed the beads over his hand and unleashed the vortex. Inu-Yasha watched as the giant demon disappeared and Miroku clapped the beads over his hand again.
"Manten!!!" cried the demon from behind Inu-Yasha and she heard him get to his feet. He grabbed her by the kimono yet again and flunger her to the side. She looked at his chest only to find that there was no blood. The Tensaiga was on the ground as the demon had pulled it from the earth and flung it aside, as well. He it really done not damage? she wondered.
Miroku was beginning to stand then, but the demon was flying for him. Inu-Yasha rushed forward to grab the Tensaiga again and gave chase to the demon. She swung at his back only to have it pass harmlessly through him with a strange light.
He turned, hatred burning in his eyes, grabbed her yet again and said, "I tire of you. " He threw her to the side into a sea of little holes and continued on his way.
*Miroku! Shippou! They're going to die!* she thought in alarm and began to scramble for them. *Sesshomaru's sword is worthless. Why the hell did he keep it?~ She threw it to the ground. ~I have no choice-- somehow, I have to get the Tetsusaiga to work for me again,* she thought and, pulling it, ran. Geysers of sulfur water rained down around her, stinging her, searing her. She ignored the pain and raced on toward her two friends.
The demon floated before them, it's staff raised. "~YOU~," he bellowed. "You have destroyed my brother?!?" He was shaking with anger. "YOU a filthy human and a kitsune pup? How can this ~BE~?!?" he demanded. "It is of no matter! You will die ~NOW~!" he screamed and the spear began to come down with swiftness.
The Testusaiga came down with a power and an urgency that Miroku hadn't thought possible of a sword. It buried itself into the ground beside his head and devided the demon before him in half. Shippou yelped and the half of the demon nearest them collapsed to the ground in a splash of red blood. The other half of the demon thudded to the ground as well.
"I don't think so," said a somewhat familiar voice and the Tetsusaiga was withdrawn. Inu-Yasha smirked. "Heh." The Tetsusaiga became the rusty old blade again and the half-demon sheathed it.
"Fwah! Didn't think I could pull that off," Inu-Yasha said in relief.
Miroku and Shippou stared blankly.
"Whatsa' matter, Shippou? Di'ja enjoy the show?"
Shippou nodded in wide-eyed silence.
"Nice job getting those Shikon Shards, anyway." Inu-Yasha began to move. "Now, where'd I put that stupid sword?..."
Miroku stood up, dusting himself off. His eyes never left Inu-Yasha as the demon searched for the sword amid the geysers. Shippou shook off the shock and retrieved the shikon shards from the dead demon's forehead before it could regenerate.
"Do you think she noticed yet?" said Shippou as he put the new shikon shards with the others.
Miroku shook his head.
Inu-Yasha picked up the Tensaiga without reverence, looked at it closely and then tucked it under her belt. *If Sesshomaru kept this useless thing, there's gotta' be ~SOME~ reason.*
"Inu-Yasha," came a voice and it was accompanied by scampering.
"Yo..." she replied in acknowledgement.
Shippou ran before her. "Um..." the kitsune was mysteriously silent.
"What? Spit it out, kid," she growled. She stopped. *That was an awfully deep growl for a girl...* she thought suddenly. She growled again. *That was definately low.* She looked at Shippou, who had begun to shiver a little, then at Miroku who seemed to still be in shock.
*Only one way to find out...* she thought, becoming nervous. *Please, oh, please...* She opened her kimono.
"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" There was a large smile plastered to the half-demon's face as he howled in triumph. Inu-Yasha grabbed a frightened Shippou byt he paws and began to swing him around in a dizzying circle.
"I got my body back!!!" he screamed giddily.
"Inu-Yasha..." whined the kitsune from the inside of the spinning vortex. "Gonna'-- gonna' throw up..."
"Op!" Inu-Yasha set the kitsune down and tossled his hair. "Sorry, kiddo."
"Oooog..."
Inu-Yasha smiled and turned toward Miroku. "Yo, Miroku!" he called happily.
The priest was staring at him in red faced, sullen anger. He quickly averted his eyes.
"Hm." Inu-Yasha huffed. "Whatsa' matter with him?" he asked aloud. He picked up Shippou and set him on his shoulder. "Don't fall off," he joked.
The kitsune hung on and tried not to vomit as Inu-Yasha began to walk over to Miroku.
"Yo--" came Inu-Yasha's voice.
Miroku wouldn't turn to face him.
"What the hell is the matter with you, Miroku? You're pissed off, I can smell it. " Inu-Yasha crossed his arms.
"I'm not," said Miroku. "Let's move on." He still didn't face the half-demon.
Inu-Yasha set his face into a huff. "Fuh. I ~told~ you I was a frikkin' man. Didn't I tell you?"
Miroku sighed. "I recall that you did."
"Damn straight," nodded Inu-Yasha. "So you've got no reason to be moping around." Inu-Yasha began to hum. "I got my body back. HA! It's about damn time, too. Wonder what did it..."
"Maybe it was the hot water back there..." offered up Shippou. He was slowly getting over his motion-sickness. The new Inu-Yasha wasn't that different for him. He even seemed a bit happier than he had been as a girl, so Shippou was okay with the change.
"Maybe... Or maybe the spell just wore off," he muzed. Then he stopped, turning red in the face. *If MY spell wore off... then maybe...Sesshomaru.....*
His face darkened.
"Shippou-- Miroku... We're going to go see a friend," he growled suddenly. Shippou cringed at the sudden change in attitude.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A light rain was falling. Miroku and Shippou were standing benieth a tree calling out, "Come on, Inu-Yasha. It's okay. Come down."
"NO," came a whiney woman's voice.
"We'll just find you some hot water and everything'll be okay again," said Shippou.
A few more minutes of coaxing saw the bedraggled lass pulling herself down the path behind Miroku and Shippou.
"So the cold water makes you a girl again, huh?" asked Shippou.
"Shut up," she growled back in contempt.
Miroku smiled bitterly. "She's just snippy."
"Shut ~UP~!" she yelled back. "YOU're just mad 'cause you have no chance with me, you damn sex-maniac."
Miroku's face flushed and he went silent. Shippou looked back and forth between the two "adults".
~Good grief...~ he thought. "Listen, Inu-Yasha-- you're wierd, but you're still my friend so I'm not gonna' treat you any different than I did before."
"Feh," she scoffed, but she was gratefull.
"At least you can change back to a man again. That's a little better, isn't it?" asked the kitsune trying to find SOME good thing about the situation.
"Yeah..." grumbled the demoness. The kid was right. She knew now that all she needed to stay a boy was hot water.
Shippou righted himself and faced forward. He'd soothed the half-demon. He looked at Miroku, whose face was determined and angry looking. He was still slightly flushed and Shippou knew that the poor priest would be inconsolable for a while.
Shippou felt wierd. It was like going on vacation or a trip with two fighting parents. He sighed. *I hope this is resolved soon...* his mind whined pathetically and he shook his head.
Chapter 13
End
Next time, on a very special "Blossom": Inu-Yasha goes to check up on Kagome and, upon finding Sesshomaru is still a puppy, is forced to make an important decision. Does he tell the secret of the curse?
Chapter 14: Inu Yasha's Dilema: Honor thy ... Brother?!?