Author's Ramblings
Wow! So many reviews; I've never gotten that many reviews! I'm immensely happy ^-^ Anyway, here is chapter two. I like this chapter—it was very fun to write. Enjoy!
Disclaimer
Inuyasha is not mine. I don't claim it as mine. And it will probably never be mine ~_~ Sad, sad me….
~*Chapter Two: Hide and Seek*~
A WEEK LATER
It has
been one hundred years. Miroku and
Sango's children have died, but their two female grandchildren have married and
one of them is pregnant. Inuyasha said Kagome
was pregnant when she left so many years ago…I wonder how she is? Or, more chronologically correct, how she
will be?
Kagome,
if this journal stands the test of time and ever comes into your possession,
know that Inuyasha cried for you every night that he spent in the village. Of course, he'd never admit to it, but it's
true. Speaking of Inuyasha, I saw him a
few days ago. He always comes to the
Well right before the New Moon. Anyway,
I found it strange that in a span of one hundred years, he has only aged two…
Kagome put
Shippou's diary down. She could digest
only so much information without wanting to cry. After breathing deeply for a few moments, she stood and deposited
the sentimental object on her desk. Normally, after reading so many intriguing things, Kagome would reflect
on what she read. But not this
time. She would save the reflecting for
later; right now, she was going to go downstairs and play with her son.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Chichiwe!"
a somewhat feminine male's voice called. "Chichiwe!"
"My son,"
another man regarded. A puffy white
appendage over his right shoulder bristled. "Why is there urgency in your scent?"
"I saw
him! I saw him with my own eyes!"
"Who is it
that you beheld?"
"That
hanyou!"
The man
cursed. "He's still alive? This is certainly a surprise. Rinmaru, where did you see him?"
"I first
saw him two days ago," Rinmaru answered, "only I wasn't sure it was him. He was up in a tree on the campus of the
University, probably trying to protect his precious humans from the band of
piranha-youkai passing as Brazilian exchange students."
The man
adjusted his fluffy appendage. "If it
weren't for you mother, you know, all filthy humans in this world would be
dead." Again he cursed. "Why was it dictated that I fall in love
with that-that child?" He sighed. "I suppose we'll never know. Rinmaru, go get Jaken."
"Why,
chichiwe?"
"I want him
to gather every youkai for hire as possible. Get him to bribe those piranha-youkai if he must. My pathetic halfling brother would never
make himself so obvious unless something that makes him happy is on that
University campus. He has denied my
true happiness by denying me the Tetsusaiga, thus we will deny his
happiness. Rinmaru, you and Jaken must
determine what it is that Inuyasha wants."
Rinmaru
bowed. "Hai, chichiwe."
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A tall
woman with short brown hair with black streaks in it walked briskly down the
busy Tokyo sidewalk. She wore a blue
business suit, and it brought out the beauty in her ruby-red eyes. On a brassy gold nametag read the name Kitsu
Kirara. She stopped at a crosswalk, and
as she waited for the signal to say "walk" she pulled out a small cellular
phone. She dialed a sequence of numbers
and waited patiently as it rang.
Moshi
moshi a voice answered.
"Shippou
dear, he called didn't he?" the woman asked.
…How
did you know? And yes, he did
call. He found her, Kirara.
"I
figured. I saw Sesshoumaru today. If he's in town, then he'll catch on." The signal changed and Kirara crossed the
street.
Shippou
snorted. I hate that youkai. Inuyasha said that she's attending the University;
think Sesshoumaru will plant Rinmaru there?
Kirara
sighed. "There's no doubt about
it. And he'll probably have that
troublesome toad of his do something too." She wiped a lone tear away from her eye. "It's a time like this when I really miss Sango."
I know,
Kirara, I know.
"Should we
contact the descendant?" Kirara asked as she rounded a corner and dodged a few
rambunctious schoolchildren.
Hmm…we
could. Yes, I think we should do
that. He's a professor there, so he'll
be able to keep an eye on her. We can
give him Miroku's staff too.
"Exactly
what I was thinking. And Shippou?"
Yes?
"What
should we tell Inuyasha to do?"
We
can't tell him to do anything. You know
that.
Kirara
snorted. "I knew that. I meant what should we recommend that
he do?"
If he
approaches her in his normal hanyou form, there's no telling what Sesshoumaru
will do. But, since Sesshoumaru does
not know that Inuyasha has gained the ability to morph, perhaps he can take on
a form that will allow him to be near her to protect her. And their son. You know what?—I'll invite Inuyasha to the office tomorrow before
you and I meet for lunch.
"Sounds
like a great idea." A moment passed,
and again, Kirara sighed. "Will he ever
be allowed to be happy? He's waited
five hundred agonizing years; now he's found her, and he might not get to be
with her."
I
know Shippou commiserated. This
time, though, it'll work out for them. I know it.
"I hope so,
Shippou. I really hope so."
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kagome
crawled stealthily around the couch. "Gee," she mused loudly, "wherever could my little Kenichi be?"
A soft
"feh" could be heard. Then, in a louder
tone, "You'll never find me, okaachan! I'm too good!"
Kagome
continued to crawl. Her knees were
showing signs of rugburn, but she didn't really care. She loved playing hide and seek with Kenichi; and it was true, he
was good. He hid in places that normal
two-year-olds would never conceive of hiding in. Kenichi was a very bright child—he had walked very early, talked
very early, and learned basic motor skills very early. Kagome suspected that it was the youkai in
him that caused his mind to develop so rapidly.
She rounded
the legs of a table, and saw a flash of gold. She knew where he was now. She
positioned herself in a pouncing stance—yes, she knew how to pounce—and in the
blink of an eye she pushed herself off of the ground. Just as she predicted, Kenichi sprang up with a yelp and went
running. He certainly didn't want to
lose this game. He ran quickly, sending
a stream of laughs echoing in the halls. Kagome chased after him, as was customary if she was the one who
"seeked" him.
With his
keen eyesight, Kenichi noticed a ripple in the hallway's carpet and jumped to
avoid it. His mother, however, wasn't
so lucky. She came crashing to the
ground with a pronounced thud that made Kenichi want to rip his ears off. He stopped in his tracks as he heard her
groan. "Okaachan?" he questioned
worriedly.
Kagome
groaned again. She lifted an arm and
waved her hand aimlessly. "Angh…. I'm fine, I'm fine. Just getting old; don't worry about me."
Kenichi
laughed as he walked towards her. "Okaachan, you're twenty. You're
not old, silly."
Kagome
picked herself up off the ground. "Ack,
that one's going to leave a bruise." She looked down at Kenichi, who was looking at her with wide golden
eyes. She sighed with joy and picked
him up. She tapped his nose with her
finger. "You're really cute, you know
that?"
Kenichi
pouted. "Feh. I'm not cute!"
"Really? Could've fooled me." Kagome giggled. "But you know, un-cute quarter-youkais have to take baths…."
"I'm
cute! I'm cute!"
THE NEXT DAY
Kagome sat in
Literature class, intently listening to the professor lecture about metaphors
and similes. For some reason, the class
seemed so much more interesting now that she knew he was the descendant of
Miroku and Sango. The lecture was
interrupted as the door opened. A young
man with very blonde hair walked up to the professor and gave him a note. The professor nodded, pointed to the empty
seat next to Kagome, and spoke, "It seems we have a new student in our
midst. I'd like to introduce Shou
Rinmaru. Shou-san, please take your
seat."
Rinmaru
bowed, stood, and climbed until he got to the empty seat next to Kagome on the
fifth tier of the stadium-style seating. He took his seat, pulled out a Handspring® Visor [a PalmPilot® but by a
different brand], and began to take notes studiously.
Kagome, as
she too took notes, couldn't help but stare. He seems so familiar… That
blonde hair is almost silver! She
looked at his profile out of her peripheral vision, noting the ski-slope nose
and defined cheekbones. Her eyes
narrowed. Something about that
profile tells me to be cautious. She nodded her head as if deciding something. Then cautious I will be.
Meanwhile,
Rinmaru breathed in Kagome's scent. He
gathered every bit of information he could with this method. His eyes widened only slightly when the
scent of a young partial dog-youkai was intertwined with hers. Upon further inspection, he discovered that
the woman was not a virgin. He deduced
that the young partial dog-youkai must be her offspring. Interesting, he commented
mentally. I'll have to keep my eye
on her. Perhaps it is she that Inuyasha
desires.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You don't
understand! You have to lay low
for a while!"
"Feh! You're the one who doesn't understand! I've kept myself alive for FIVE HUNDRED
YEARS for her!"
Shippou
sighed. "Sesshoumaru is back, Inuyasha—
"Yoshou. I changed my name to Yoshou back in
1735. Only one person can call me
Inuyasha anymore, and you're not that person."
"Fine,
Yoshou then. The point is that
Sesshoumaru is back in Japan, and he has a son now. His name is Rinmaru and he appears to be around Kagome's age. If our dear Fluffy decides to plant his son
in the University where you've been seen and where Kagome attends, it's
possible that they'll figure out that it's she you desire. They're out to make your life miserable, Yoshou. You have to be careful!" Shippou exclaimed.
Inuyasha
was quiet for a moment. "I've wandered
the Earth for five hundred years. I
lived with five kitsune-youkai—who were masters of kitsune sorcery, by the
way—in Spain from 1694 to 1733. From
them I gained the ability to morph my appearance. Heck, I could grow sixty-eight arms if I wanted to!"
Shippou gasped. Completely ignoring the other information,
he asked, "Since when did you stop cursing?!"
Inuyasha
blushed. "Four hundred, ninety-nine
years and three months ago, if you want specifics."
"How do you
remember the exact date?"
"I stopped
on the day I figured my son would have been born."
"…Oh." Shippou fidgeted, not quite sure on what to
say next. Inspiration suddenly hit him,
and he pointed to a door in the back of his office. "Hey Yoshou, want to see the progress of The Youkai Genome
Project?"
Inuyasha
sighed with resignation. "Sure,
whatever." Soon he found himself in the
midst of a busy laboratory, and there were gazillions of charts plastered to
the walls. Shippou pointed to one and
said, "This is the basic DNA strand of any youkai. Doesn't matter what breed. Kirara and I have determined that every youkai ages the same as humans
up until age fifteen, and after that he/she ages one year for every century."
"Got any
stuff on hanyous?"
"I was
getting to that," Shippou remarked somewhat grouchily. "The fifteen-year rule still applies to
hanyous, but after that they age two years for every century. You're 518 years old (568 if you include the
fifty years you were pinned to the Tree), but you appear to only be 25." Shippou paused, then decided to explain
further. "You were fifteen when Kikyou
sealed you and still fifteen when Kagome freed you. You were eighteen but still looked fifteen when…you parted ways with
Kagome. It's been five hundred years
since then. Multiply five by two, and
you get ten. So you you've aged ten
years in appearance in addition to fifteen. That makes you twenty-five in appearance, but 518 in actual age. Do you understand me?"
"I think
so," Inuyasha answered. Both he and
Shippou were silent for quite a while; Inuyasha simply staring at the pretty
colors on the various charts and graphs. After clearing his throat, he asked, "Do you…have anything on
quarter-youkais?"
Shippou
smiled, his teal eyes lighting up with glee. "Just for you, Yoshou! I
knew you'd want to know." He walked
farther down the laboratory, coming to a stop in front of a different
chart. "Okay. Quarter-youkais are perhaps the luckiest of the hybrids. They age exactly like humans do, they look
exactly like humans do except for eyes and sometimes ears, but their senses are
extremely heightened like a youkai's are. Most quarter-youkais are mistaken for elves because of the ear thing,
but some of the more human-looking ones make money by working for rip-off
psychic hotlines—you know, the ones you see the infomercials for at two or
three in the morning."
Inuyasha
nodded, following Shippou completely.
"That's
because of the heightened senses," Shippou finished up. He lifted up his wrist, glancing down at his
watch. "Oh fudgemuffins—
"Fudgemuffins?!"
Inuyasha asked with a slight crack in his voice. "What the heck is a fudgemuffin?!"
"I don't
really know," Shippou replied, "but I too stopped cursing when my first kit was
born."
Inuyasha
resisted the urge to facefault. "Yeah…well, what was it you were saying?"
"I promised
Kirara to meet her for lunch."
"Say no
more, Shippou-chan. If it was
Kagome…."
"I know, Yoshou,
I know," Shippou spoke. Inuyasha made
his way to walk out of the laboratory. "Yoshou!" Shippou suddenly
called. Inuyasha turned his inu-ears
around to hear Shippou continue, "Don't do anything stupid when it comes to
Kagome. I want you to be happy this
time around."
Inuyasha
allowed himself a small smile. "Feh. When was I ever stupid?"
Facefault. "…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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