Disclaimer is the same as in the prologue.
Author's note at the end.
"Borrowed Time" - Chapter Two: Of Faces and Families
"That was nothing," Buffy began as she stood before the large group of potential slayers. She told them of her dream and as their faces portrayed the hurt and distrust they felt, her voice became hard. "They didn't come here tonight for any other reason than to simply prove that they could. The First is playing with us and the next game he has planned is another bout with the Turok-han."
The cheer that had resulted from their success with the Bringers dissolved almost instantly from the room. One Turok-han had killed a potential before and Buffy herself nearly died in her campaign to destroy it. They all felt as if they had taken a step backwards.
Inuyasha stood in the background, listening carefully to the questions and concerns raised by the anxious potentials. There were so many of the girls, so young, so fragile, all of them dripping with the stench of fear. That any of them could inherit the Slayer's place seemed impossible.
Standing apart from the potentials in isolated pockets of quiet reservation were the Slayer's friends, the woman, the demon, the man and the monk. He watched them take the situation with mature determination. They had shared a great deal and fought side by side for a long time. He saw this in their faces and the way they regarded one another. Buffy had no speeches for them. They knew each other too well.
As she spoke of commitment and the need for courage and strength she looked to Inuyasha. The hanyou bristled uncomfortably under her attention. He leaned towards Tetsuo and said in a low voice, "She keeps staring at me. Why?"
"Perhaps she is waiting for your input," he replied mildly.
Inuyasha sneered at this suggestion knowing how unlikely the Slayer would desire his comments. "This is stupid," he huffed in frustration. Shackled from sharing his thoughts with Buffy he gave them to Tetsuo. "We shouldn't be just waiting for him to attack. These demon thugs had to leave a trail. We should track him down, fight him where he lives." His words came in stilted harsh whispers meant only of the monk's ears. He stifled a growl directed at the vampire as he watched him smirk in response to his suggestions.
He needed to remember that his ears were as sensitive as his nose.
"Fight who?" Tetsuo asked with a curious turn of his head. "You speak as if this is Naraku. You don't really understand what they're up against."
Inuyasha brought himself nose to nose with the monk. "Then tell me," he demanded in a growl.
Without flinching, Tetsuo explained. "This is the First Evil. It takes no tangible form. It corrupts the good with fear and malice. It uses the wicked as its pawns, to fight the war in its name." The monk held his proper posture and seemed to have absolutely no fear for Inuyasha or the entity of which he spoke. With the close proximity between the two, Inuyasha sensed something unsettling.
In the absence of fear stood something else . . . .resignation.
"Naraku was merely an aspect of it, a tool," Tetsuo continued softly. "You can defeat the demons but it will always send more."
He saw it now, a strain in the monk's eyes he had not seen before. Tetsuo was barely holding himself together. Inuyasha looked down to the monk's hand, wrapped and bound in prayer beads. The words took new meaning. The war meant everything to Tetsuo. He was already giving his life. "So they can't win," the hanyou said finally.
The monk looked away towards the Slayer still trying to inspire her troops. "The First Evil cannot be destroyed," he stated. "The best that could happen is a stalemate."
"If this is so damned impossible, why the hell did you bring me here!?" Inuyasha barked angrily in a voice much louder than he had used before. The rest of the crowded house turned their attention unexpectedly in his direction. With so many eyes on him, the hanyou felt his cheeks flush.
Tetsuo tugged him into the kitchen away from the others. He regarded Inuyasha with a look so well known that if he were Miroku, he would have smacked the other on the head with his staff. "So they might survive another week," he whispered angrily, almost desperately. "To give them hope."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Inuyasha snapped.
"For this time, they are your group, your family," he answered, shoving him back into the living room packed with the multitude that was his new family. "Become a part of them."
At his sudden reentry the potentials turned in unison to face him. Buffy and her friends had already left the room. He looked to the group of young women with growing discomfort. They were equally unsure of him. The only semi-benevolent demon they had met before was Spike and his ears were logically placed on the sides of his head.
With a heavy frustrated sigh, Inuyasha sat with them on the floor.
One of the girls, Molly, cleared her throat noisily. "Willow said you might have fought the First before," she began shyly. "Did you fight the Bringers then?"
"Those things outside?" he asked sharply. At her frightened nod, he swallowed and tried to soften his tone. "No, but he sent different demons, ones that I knew on sight came from him."
She smiled politely, this girl who would be a killer of demons. He could see some of them relax a bit and he felt a strange sense of protection over them he couldn't explain. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult to be a part of them for a week.
Another girl, Rona, cocked her head to one side and grinned in a way that caught him off guard. "Can I touch your ears?" she asked playfully.
The blood flowed quickly to his already pick cheeks.
The front door opened suddenly, letting in a spectacled, middle-aged gentleman. Behind him lurked a frightened, confused girl with pale blonde hair.
"Giles has brought another one," Rona remarked. She got to her feet to greet the girl.
"Does this happen often?" Inuyasha asked curiously.
"Almost every night," Molly answered.
Tetsuo came from the kitchen and smiled greatly at seeing the return of his friend. "Rupert!" he called happily. "I trust your evening went well."
Giles nodded absently as he encouraged the girl to come in. "Yes, quite," he replied. He then turned to Rona. "This is Irina. She's from Estonia. She will need to be brought up to speed."
Rona took the girl by the hand and smiled. "C'mon, let's get you settled."
As Irina passed Inuyasha, a look of surprise and puzzlement mottled her face. A growing frustration began to erupt in the dog demon. Too many people. Too many scents. Too much fear and despair. Each night more and more of them would come. Each more afraid than the ones before. He didn't think he could stand it.
"Rupert Giles," Tetsuo announced, catching Inuyasha's arm as he attempted to vacate the room. "May I present to you, Lord Inuyasha."
Inuyasha looked to the spectacled man and saw his expression matched Irina's. Neither was happy to see him and the dog demon didn't have it in him to comfort them. "Feh," he grunted indifferently. He then yanked his arm out of the monk's grasp so that he could leave.
"Tetsuo," Giles said tersely. "Am I to believe that you summoned a demon to help us fight the First?"
"Half-demon," the monk corrected.
The Watcher's blood pressure was visibly rising as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I have enough trouble with the demon who's already here," he said wearily.
"We cannot afford to be picky about our allies," Tetsuo told him patiently. "He will prove his worth. You'll see."
Giles pursed his lips in futile acceptance. His friend had a point. Their list of allies had grown abysmally short. No one was willing to fight an unwinnable war. He knew he should be grateful. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it.
Not much time had passed when the front door opened again. A harried, young woman with shoulder length blonde hair came in and flung the door closed with dramatic flair. "Next time I go out to get information, I'm taking someone with me," she announced to everyone within earshot. Her gaze narrowed on Xander who came towards her with a piece of plywood to cover the broken window. He met her eyes and her loud tone softened with embarrassment. "Somehow threatening demons with Slayer vengeance isn't as believable when I say it by myself," she said for his ears alone.
"Did you learn anything?" he asked with concealed worry as he looked her over. If she was hurt, she hid it well.
"Besides that it sucks to be human?" Anya snapped. She threw down her jacket and purse and fell into the nearest chair. "Nothing that you want to hear," she sighed. She watched him nailing the board over the window and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She loved to watch him work. So much was lost. So much she missed.
Anya shook her head, ridding herself of the intoxicating moment. She focused her thoughts on her unhappy news. "The First is going to raise another Turok-han," she said.
Xander nodded vaguely, showing less distress than she had expected. "We sort of figured that out. We had uninvited guests," he told her as he made a sweeping gesture over the damage done by the Bringers.
Anya smiled grimly. "I can tell from the redecorating." This time she looked at him in search of any injury. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he kept at his repairs. He was unharmed. Somehow they had managed to survive another day. The future was uncertain and in her view quite fickle.
Inuyasha rushed suddenly through the living room from the kitchen. The mechanisms that opened the back door had frustrated him. He had thought of ripping the door out of its frame but had reconsidered and decided to try the front door first. He had to get out. So many people in one place was driving him insane.
Anya followed him with wide eyes.
The hanyou found the front door just as unyielding and began to growl, raising his clawed hand to strike it.
Xander took two quick steps and grabbed the doorknob before Inuyasha could tear the whole thing down. "Here, allow me," he said with his usual chagrin as he easily turned the knob and opened the door.
"Feh," he snorted as he stepped outside. That was all the hanyou would offer the man as a thank you. Xander simply shook his head and shut the door.
Finally Anya broke her incredulous silence. "What is Inuyasha doing here?" she asked.
Xander blinked in surprise at his former fiancé. "You know him?"
Anya's brow furrowed deeply as she tried to form her answer. She did know him. He seemed soulfully familiar but as she reached for a specific memory that would explain her recognition it slipped away. She couldn't understand why, but this dog demon felt important. She struggled out a feeble reason. "Not personally, but he was pretty big in Japan."
Xander watched her through narrowed eyes. He could tell that she was hiding something. "I didn't know you did much in East Asia," he commented.
Anya smiled weakly. Her mind still reeled to find some meaning to her discomfort. "Vengeance knows no borders."
TBC
Author's Note: I had meant to add another scene of someone subtly convincing Inuyasha that it was a good thing for him to stay. Time ran late and I thought you might like an update sooner rather than later. I will write it up as a short interlude and try to post it sometime this weekend.
I am following the manga because (honestly) I haven't seen the series yet. I am unsure of exactly where this takes place. I had thought of placing it after Kikyou's fall but I might make it before. There could be a way I could fit her into this. I'm still working on it. Believe it or not, your suggestions have swayed me.
Your reviews fuel me to write good stuff. Thanks.
Coming up: Interlude One - Overlooking the well that brought him here, Inuyasha wonders if he is up to an unwinnable fight. A soft and curious voice convinces him of his usefulness.
And then-
Chapter Three: "Of Wounds and Swords" - The first big fight with the First. More than just a few things go wrong.
Author's note at the end.
"Borrowed Time" - Chapter Two: Of Faces and Families
"That was nothing," Buffy began as she stood before the large group of potential slayers. She told them of her dream and as their faces portrayed the hurt and distrust they felt, her voice became hard. "They didn't come here tonight for any other reason than to simply prove that they could. The First is playing with us and the next game he has planned is another bout with the Turok-han."
The cheer that had resulted from their success with the Bringers dissolved almost instantly from the room. One Turok-han had killed a potential before and Buffy herself nearly died in her campaign to destroy it. They all felt as if they had taken a step backwards.
Inuyasha stood in the background, listening carefully to the questions and concerns raised by the anxious potentials. There were so many of the girls, so young, so fragile, all of them dripping with the stench of fear. That any of them could inherit the Slayer's place seemed impossible.
Standing apart from the potentials in isolated pockets of quiet reservation were the Slayer's friends, the woman, the demon, the man and the monk. He watched them take the situation with mature determination. They had shared a great deal and fought side by side for a long time. He saw this in their faces and the way they regarded one another. Buffy had no speeches for them. They knew each other too well.
As she spoke of commitment and the need for courage and strength she looked to Inuyasha. The hanyou bristled uncomfortably under her attention. He leaned towards Tetsuo and said in a low voice, "She keeps staring at me. Why?"
"Perhaps she is waiting for your input," he replied mildly.
Inuyasha sneered at this suggestion knowing how unlikely the Slayer would desire his comments. "This is stupid," he huffed in frustration. Shackled from sharing his thoughts with Buffy he gave them to Tetsuo. "We shouldn't be just waiting for him to attack. These demon thugs had to leave a trail. We should track him down, fight him where he lives." His words came in stilted harsh whispers meant only of the monk's ears. He stifled a growl directed at the vampire as he watched him smirk in response to his suggestions.
He needed to remember that his ears were as sensitive as his nose.
"Fight who?" Tetsuo asked with a curious turn of his head. "You speak as if this is Naraku. You don't really understand what they're up against."
Inuyasha brought himself nose to nose with the monk. "Then tell me," he demanded in a growl.
Without flinching, Tetsuo explained. "This is the First Evil. It takes no tangible form. It corrupts the good with fear and malice. It uses the wicked as its pawns, to fight the war in its name." The monk held his proper posture and seemed to have absolutely no fear for Inuyasha or the entity of which he spoke. With the close proximity between the two, Inuyasha sensed something unsettling.
In the absence of fear stood something else . . . .resignation.
"Naraku was merely an aspect of it, a tool," Tetsuo continued softly. "You can defeat the demons but it will always send more."
He saw it now, a strain in the monk's eyes he had not seen before. Tetsuo was barely holding himself together. Inuyasha looked down to the monk's hand, wrapped and bound in prayer beads. The words took new meaning. The war meant everything to Tetsuo. He was already giving his life. "So they can't win," the hanyou said finally.
The monk looked away towards the Slayer still trying to inspire her troops. "The First Evil cannot be destroyed," he stated. "The best that could happen is a stalemate."
"If this is so damned impossible, why the hell did you bring me here!?" Inuyasha barked angrily in a voice much louder than he had used before. The rest of the crowded house turned their attention unexpectedly in his direction. With so many eyes on him, the hanyou felt his cheeks flush.
Tetsuo tugged him into the kitchen away from the others. He regarded Inuyasha with a look so well known that if he were Miroku, he would have smacked the other on the head with his staff. "So they might survive another week," he whispered angrily, almost desperately. "To give them hope."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Inuyasha snapped.
"For this time, they are your group, your family," he answered, shoving him back into the living room packed with the multitude that was his new family. "Become a part of them."
At his sudden reentry the potentials turned in unison to face him. Buffy and her friends had already left the room. He looked to the group of young women with growing discomfort. They were equally unsure of him. The only semi-benevolent demon they had met before was Spike and his ears were logically placed on the sides of his head.
With a heavy frustrated sigh, Inuyasha sat with them on the floor.
One of the girls, Molly, cleared her throat noisily. "Willow said you might have fought the First before," she began shyly. "Did you fight the Bringers then?"
"Those things outside?" he asked sharply. At her frightened nod, he swallowed and tried to soften his tone. "No, but he sent different demons, ones that I knew on sight came from him."
She smiled politely, this girl who would be a killer of demons. He could see some of them relax a bit and he felt a strange sense of protection over them he couldn't explain. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult to be a part of them for a week.
Another girl, Rona, cocked her head to one side and grinned in a way that caught him off guard. "Can I touch your ears?" she asked playfully.
The blood flowed quickly to his already pick cheeks.
The front door opened suddenly, letting in a spectacled, middle-aged gentleman. Behind him lurked a frightened, confused girl with pale blonde hair.
"Giles has brought another one," Rona remarked. She got to her feet to greet the girl.
"Does this happen often?" Inuyasha asked curiously.
"Almost every night," Molly answered.
Tetsuo came from the kitchen and smiled greatly at seeing the return of his friend. "Rupert!" he called happily. "I trust your evening went well."
Giles nodded absently as he encouraged the girl to come in. "Yes, quite," he replied. He then turned to Rona. "This is Irina. She's from Estonia. She will need to be brought up to speed."
Rona took the girl by the hand and smiled. "C'mon, let's get you settled."
As Irina passed Inuyasha, a look of surprise and puzzlement mottled her face. A growing frustration began to erupt in the dog demon. Too many people. Too many scents. Too much fear and despair. Each night more and more of them would come. Each more afraid than the ones before. He didn't think he could stand it.
"Rupert Giles," Tetsuo announced, catching Inuyasha's arm as he attempted to vacate the room. "May I present to you, Lord Inuyasha."
Inuyasha looked to the spectacled man and saw his expression matched Irina's. Neither was happy to see him and the dog demon didn't have it in him to comfort them. "Feh," he grunted indifferently. He then yanked his arm out of the monk's grasp so that he could leave.
"Tetsuo," Giles said tersely. "Am I to believe that you summoned a demon to help us fight the First?"
"Half-demon," the monk corrected.
The Watcher's blood pressure was visibly rising as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I have enough trouble with the demon who's already here," he said wearily.
"We cannot afford to be picky about our allies," Tetsuo told him patiently. "He will prove his worth. You'll see."
Giles pursed his lips in futile acceptance. His friend had a point. Their list of allies had grown abysmally short. No one was willing to fight an unwinnable war. He knew he should be grateful. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it.
Not much time had passed when the front door opened again. A harried, young woman with shoulder length blonde hair came in and flung the door closed with dramatic flair. "Next time I go out to get information, I'm taking someone with me," she announced to everyone within earshot. Her gaze narrowed on Xander who came towards her with a piece of plywood to cover the broken window. He met her eyes and her loud tone softened with embarrassment. "Somehow threatening demons with Slayer vengeance isn't as believable when I say it by myself," she said for his ears alone.
"Did you learn anything?" he asked with concealed worry as he looked her over. If she was hurt, she hid it well.
"Besides that it sucks to be human?" Anya snapped. She threw down her jacket and purse and fell into the nearest chair. "Nothing that you want to hear," she sighed. She watched him nailing the board over the window and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She loved to watch him work. So much was lost. So much she missed.
Anya shook her head, ridding herself of the intoxicating moment. She focused her thoughts on her unhappy news. "The First is going to raise another Turok-han," she said.
Xander nodded vaguely, showing less distress than she had expected. "We sort of figured that out. We had uninvited guests," he told her as he made a sweeping gesture over the damage done by the Bringers.
Anya smiled grimly. "I can tell from the redecorating." This time she looked at him in search of any injury. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he kept at his repairs. He was unharmed. Somehow they had managed to survive another day. The future was uncertain and in her view quite fickle.
Inuyasha rushed suddenly through the living room from the kitchen. The mechanisms that opened the back door had frustrated him. He had thought of ripping the door out of its frame but had reconsidered and decided to try the front door first. He had to get out. So many people in one place was driving him insane.
Anya followed him with wide eyes.
The hanyou found the front door just as unyielding and began to growl, raising his clawed hand to strike it.
Xander took two quick steps and grabbed the doorknob before Inuyasha could tear the whole thing down. "Here, allow me," he said with his usual chagrin as he easily turned the knob and opened the door.
"Feh," he snorted as he stepped outside. That was all the hanyou would offer the man as a thank you. Xander simply shook his head and shut the door.
Finally Anya broke her incredulous silence. "What is Inuyasha doing here?" she asked.
Xander blinked in surprise at his former fiancé. "You know him?"
Anya's brow furrowed deeply as she tried to form her answer. She did know him. He seemed soulfully familiar but as she reached for a specific memory that would explain her recognition it slipped away. She couldn't understand why, but this dog demon felt important. She struggled out a feeble reason. "Not personally, but he was pretty big in Japan."
Xander watched her through narrowed eyes. He could tell that she was hiding something. "I didn't know you did much in East Asia," he commented.
Anya smiled weakly. Her mind still reeled to find some meaning to her discomfort. "Vengeance knows no borders."
TBC
Author's Note: I had meant to add another scene of someone subtly convincing Inuyasha that it was a good thing for him to stay. Time ran late and I thought you might like an update sooner rather than later. I will write it up as a short interlude and try to post it sometime this weekend.
I am following the manga because (honestly) I haven't seen the series yet. I am unsure of exactly where this takes place. I had thought of placing it after Kikyou's fall but I might make it before. There could be a way I could fit her into this. I'm still working on it. Believe it or not, your suggestions have swayed me.
Your reviews fuel me to write good stuff. Thanks.
Coming up: Interlude One - Overlooking the well that brought him here, Inuyasha wonders if he is up to an unwinnable fight. A soft and curious voice convinces him of his usefulness.
And then-
Chapter Three: "Of Wounds and Swords" - The first big fight with the First. More than just a few things go wrong.