A/N: Thank you to James Birdsong, Aldana ruth and little25victor for their reviews; and thank you to those that put this story or me on their lists.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
One Hanyou Too Many
A Lunch Break
The war conference proceeded as planned once the Honorable Mother returned to her company. The generals were quick to point out the flaws in her plan, and the inutachi, including Sesshmoumaru, watched silently as she took their concerns seriously. Unlike her devil-may-care attitude with them, she listened and accepted their suggestions when it appeared they were correct, exchanging ideas when something didn't jive. They saw, perhaps for the first time, the real Honorable Mother.
Breaking for the midday meal, conversation turned to lighthearted things, among them how Miroku came to be in his present state. While Byakko laughed heartily at the whole thing, Yukari and Miroku sulked, not at all amused that the other demons thought the mistake funny. Chishiki paused in her enjoyment long enough to lecture the elder dog demoness about giving better instructions; and warnings.
"What fun would that be?" the Lady Mother asked.
"One of these days," Miroku muttered, rubbing the rosary around his right hand.
"Does it hurt?" the demoness asked suddenly, having noticed that he'd been doing that frequently lately.
"It itches," he returned. "I believe the natural demonic ability to heal quickly is trying to counteract the curse," Miroku said absently.
"Never thought of that," Inuyasha mused. Miroku hadn't said anything about the wind tunnel bothering him.
"Perhaps the damage done by all your battles is being repaired. Naraku spent many a conversation gloating about that deadly little thing," Sesshoumaru's mother said.
"If it would heal only some of it, this experience would not be all bad."
"See? Not all of my plans are awful," the woman pointed out.
"Mother, you have arranged it so that Naraku will arrange a marriage between Kagura and I," Sesshoumaru pointed out.
"Only temporarily. As soon as I have her heart in my hand, I will gladly let her chop his head off, if that is her wish."
"Just how are you going to get him to do that? He thrives on the power he has over her," Sango asked, unintentionally bringing the conversation back to the reason they were all there.
Byakko answered for his underling. "When she was just a little pup of only fifty years, Chūrippu became a very skilled pickpocket." The others in the room, well aware that Sesshoumaru's mother hated her first name, waited for the inevitable explosion. When nothing came, her son tilted his lips in a bit of a smile. So there was someone who could get away with using that word. His mother didn't like that she had been referred to as such, as evident by the frown on her face. Unfortunately, the Cardinal Beast had been the one to use it, so she couldn't retaliate as she wished.
"A pickpocket?" Miroku perked up. "Do tell," he encouraged. The others nodded, loving the start of this story.
"It is not a proud moment in my life," she stated, her tone telling them that she didn't want to rehash that part of her misspent youth.
"Come now, you love to tell stories, Lady of the Moon." Masayoshi pointedly stared at his hostess. "Surely you would not begrudge His Grace this," the tora daiyoukai continued.
Chūrippu tapped her claws on the table, their tips momentarily turning a bright green. "Very well. Please proceed, Your Grace."
"Ooh, this wouldn't have anything to do with your tail being dyed, would it?" Kagome asked, remembering the Cardinal Beast's promise to tell them the story.
"Indeed it does, young priestess." The White Tiger laughed heartily, finishing his tea before he began. "On one memorable visit, this young lady decided that she wanted snacks in the middle of the night, despite being told no. So, using her stealth, she became a thief in the night at first. The maids and kitchen staff were fit to be tied because they couldn't figure out who was doing the thieving."
"Keh, lousy sense of smell." Inuyasha gave a little sneer.
"Well, yes. There were no canine demons on staff at the time and other youkai that had excellent senses of smell were hard to come by. This little lady had laid her groundwork well, coming to the kitchen several times a day so that they could smell her, but couldn't determine exactly when the last time she'd been there was."
"Plotting even then, Mother?"
"Well…"
"Clever," Miroku muttered and got hit by Sango for his comment.
"Don't encourage her," the taijiya whispered back.
"Having succeeded in taking snacks out from under the nose of adults, she moved on to more challenging game. Children are often ignored during adult meetings such as these, so she made it her mission to take things right out from under our noses. Several brushes, ink pots, and fans disappeared that conference."
"Are you sure you're not part kitsune, my lady?" Shippou asked. "That sounds like something I'd do."
"You have done something like that," Inuyasha reminded the cub. Lady Kaede had not been happy when her eye patch had gone missing for an entire afternoon.
"One hundred percent dog demon," the put-upon lady declared.
"I've wondered the same, on occasion," Kahi interjected.
"You're so amusing, dragon."
"As I was saying…" Byakko cut in before blood could be shed. Dragons and dogs were not always a good mix. "Writing instruments and fans were not enough, so she continued on with her thieving by actually stealing from our pockets, so to speak. Change purses were the last thing to test herself on and she handily did that as well. It did not help that by that point we were all arguing about who had taken what.
The Honorable Mother wanted the floor to open up. His Grace was having entirely too much fun recounting this story. Her son was looking like a cat who'd eaten the canary, and the humans were engrossed. She wouldn't put it passed the kitsune child to try his hand at what she'd done. Perhaps she'd warn him of the consequences.
"Was she ever caught?" Kagome asked.
"Eventually. She was made to sit in a corner and not move for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for me, that corner happened to be right behind me. The maids brought her something to eat, including this one type of berry. She enjoyed them immensely, but they do tend to stain your skin and fur if you're not careful."
"Let me guess, your tail was within reach." Miroku had noticed that the White Tiger's tail was quite long. Then again, he was far larger than the other daiyoukai in the room.
"Yes. Never felt a thing. She didn't make a peep and went off to bed without admitting what'd she'd done. I found my new fur color that night when I bathed."
"A lot of berries can dye fabric and skin. Do you remember the name of it?" Kagome asked casually. Almost too casually if Inuyasha's twitch was anything to go by.
"Not the name, but it does get this vibrant purple color in the fall. It turned the white part of my fur a fetching shade of violet for a week."
"Ah, I think I know the ones you mean. Go on, sir." Kagome smiled softly, the tilt of her lips catching her friends' eyes. They knew that look.
"Let's just say that the young lady was not able to sit down for many days after she was found out."
"No thanks to you, Your Grace. Are you finish rehashing my ignoble past?"
"I am. I do wish to be certain that you are still as light fingered as you were though, Chūrippu."
"I had a feeling some of you might doubt my abilities," the Lady of the Moon said, pulling a small bag out of her sleeve. Dumping the contents out onto the table, she grinned triumphantly when everyone else gasped. There sat something from everyone, taken at various points during their stay.
"When the…" Inuyasha snapped, reaching for the locket Kagome had once given him. He didn't particularly like the picture inside, but it was a keepsake. He didn't recall a time when she'd been close enough to nab the thing.
"Not only are my pickpocketing skills still up to snuff, but so are my overall thieving skills. You and Miroku should pay more attention to your surroundings when you go to bathe." A small stack of uncharged sutras was returned to the monk.
"I wondered where I put them." Miroku grimaced, sensing her youki on the paper. He was running low on blanks and didn't think that these would work now that they'd come in contact with her powerful aura.
"There's my favorite pen!" Kagome gasped. She'd been sitting at this very table trying to write a report in a rare moment of quiet. She'd turned at the sound of some footsteps and then when she'd turned back, the writing utensil was gone. Searching for it had been futile and none of the maids she'd ask had found or seen the pen.
"I do not see anything of mine," Sango stated, examining the pile.
"Oh, you mean this?" Sesshoumaru's mother returned, producing a small clamshell. Inside was a poison the demon slayer used in her profession. "I stored it separately so that it wouldn't pop open and spill. Nasty combination you've created, my dear."
"Thank you," Sango returned dryly.
The return of items continued until everyone had what had been taken. Even Byakko had not been spared her jest. The other daiyoukai were clearly not amused at having something stolen but were also relieved that she still had the skills to get both Kagura's heart and the Shikon Jewel shards Naraku possessed if he didn't hand one or both over.
"I say we table things for now," Chishiki pronounced, tucking her fan away. "When is Naraku supposed to arrive?"
"The day after tomorrow, should he accept my invitation."
"How certain are you that he will, Mother?" Sesshoumaru asked. She'd stolen the comb from his chambers. It wasn't something he paid much attention to, but he imagined she'd snuck it out on her way back from her own rooms.
"About ninety-five percent."
"So there's a five percent chance he'll think it's a trap," Inuyasha said.
"The odds are in our favor, friends. Let us not borrow trouble until we must." Miroku squeezed Sango's arm out of sight of the others.
"The monk is correct," Kahi agreed. "We can only wait and see what happens."
"We must have faith," Shinkō counseled.
"In this, I am in full agreement," Masayoshi intoned. He was still a little embarrassed about being caught sound asleep by his master.
"Then it is settled," Byakko declared. "We have planned as much as possible. The rest will hinge on the response of that depraved half demon."
"It will be as you say, Your Grace," the Lady of the Moon said and rose. The meal was done, and they were finally free to go do what they wished.
Relieved, Kagome started down the hall, not realizing that all of her friends were following. Once in the room that she was sharing with Sango, Rin, and Kirara, the miko turned around to find several pairs of eyes studying her closely. "Can I help you?" she asked, wondering what would happen if Sesshoumaru's mother found the boys in their room. Kirara, who had taken sanctuary in their chambers to stay out of sight, and out of mind of the daiyoukai, perked up from her nap.
"You've got something going on in that brain of yours, wench."
"What do you mean?"
"I believe Inuyasha is referring to how very interested you were in the type of berry her ladyship enjoyed and used to dye Lord Byakko's tail." Miroku smiled at her, one fang appearing. The fang didn't do anything for hiding his mischievous nature.
"Oh, yes, that," Kagome admitted. Her scent became filled with amusement.
"Spill, Kagome. You're not good at hiding things," Inuyasha ordered, tapping his nose for emphasis.
"You've got an idea we're not going to like, don't you?" Sango asked, picking up her companion.
"Well, I don't know about that, but Lord Byakko got me thinking," her friend said.
"That's not always good," Inuyasha muttered.
"Explain," Sesshoumaru demanded, making everyone jump. He had followed them, their collective disappearance making him wonder what they were up to. "My brother is correct, miko. Your ideas are not always a good thing, and you cannot hide your feelings at all."
"Gee, thanks." Kagome looked behind him, seeing that the door was still open. "Close the door," she ordered. It wouldn't keep all sound out, but if they spoke softly enough, no one with a good sense of hearing should be able to hear their conversation.
Sesshoumaru closed the portal, coming further into the room. "Go on."
"Well, Lord Byakko mentioned he was biding his time for payback. What if we had a way to get her back using the same method she used?"
"The berries?" Sango questioned.
"From their description, they sound like beautyberries. The plant is easy to take care of and the berries are edible to both human and animal. They also can be found in the fall and grow into a rich purple."
"Ooh, I heard Yukari's teacher say that they got a shipment in yesterday," Shippou added. His tail swished in excitement. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking, Kagome?"
"You wish to dye something of Mother's?" Sesshoumaru questioned.
"Sango mentioned that your mother enjoyed the hair washing soap and conditioner she had with her that day in the cave. If we add some beautyberry juice to the conditioner…"
"You believe she will use it and dye her own fur."
"Or her hair, or both. It makes a lovely shade of purple," Kagome said, repeating what the White Tiger had told them. "She did want us to bring her some. If I leave a partial bottle here, with the shampoo, of course, she'll no doubt be too curious to resist trying it; especially if it smells like her favorite berries."
"I wonder if all of her fur would be purple if she transformed," Shippou mused.
"A distinct possibility," Sesshoumaru answered. "How do you plan to accomplish this?"
"If I can get ahold of a concentrated form of the berry juice, I can add it to the conditioner and then leave the bottle for her to try. Hopefully, she wouldn't do that until we were all long gone. The bright side is that she would probably conclude that it was Lord Byakko, as he has been waiting to get back at her. A paste would work better…" Kagome trailed off, considering the ramifications of using something that wasn't pasteurized as an additive.
"Consider it done," Sesshoumaru intoned and left before the rest of them could comment.
"Is this a terrible idea?" Sango questioned, worry in her eyes.
"Nah," Inuyasha brushed off. "I'll speak to Byakko on the side and let him know. I'm sure he'll cover for us."
"It's a wonderful idea!" Shippou exclaimed. "She tricked us, it's only fair."
"I am in agreement with our fox friend," Miroku put in.
"Keh, if anyone's related to kitsune, it's you, Miroku. How long will you need to make this happen, Kagome?"
"It'll take about ten minutes. I'll leave it in the bathing chamber as a gift, and only mention that it has a hint of beautyberry in it. The kanji on the ingredients list is in modern Japanese so she won't be able to tell whether it's supposed to be there or not." Kagome smiled brilliantly at her friends.
"Assuming she bothers to look," Inuyasha muttered.
"Then we have a plan!" Miroku said brightly. "I for one, will be meditating in our shared room. Do let me know if something changes." Inuyasha and he left, Shippou staying behind to nap while Kagome did homework.
"You're so smart, Kagome," the child murmured as sleep overcame him.
"Thank you, Shippou," she replied and stroked his auburn mane. She had her moments, but she doubted she'd ever be as smart as the Honorable Mother.
She guess they'd find out.