This chapter is brought to you by episodes 13-25, which have been watched so many times my brothers—who are no fans of Inu Yasha—can now act out whole scenes in various character roles. But it did break my writer's block (a span of some months) and help me write this chapter.
Disclaimer: Hum the tune of Devil's Dance Floor, kiddies! Flogging Molly says:
Oh, swing a little a more, Inu Yasha ain't mine oh no.
Swing a little more on the disclaimer floor!
Swing a little more, Inu Yasha ain't mine oh no!
Swing a little more on the disclaimer floor.
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Toe the Line
By Phoenix Cubed
Chapter 4: Of Love and Loyalties
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The air was quiet and unbroken but for the fettering silence that sounded much like the annoyed tick of a muscle thrumming near a stressed woman's eye, or the sliding of a droplet of exasperation and disbelief down the temple of the perplexed. Indeed, this silence was the case as Sango maintained a cool grip on her weapon whilst staring at her holy-following companion, caught in the midst of self-righteous prayer and meditation.
"Ah, Miroku," Sango ventured, her voice balanced between flat irritation and tried patience. "When attempting to give explanation, one generally does not stop halfway through their explanation!" With that, Hiraikotsu swung around and the flat of the boomerang slapped against the monk's head.
The gigantic bone weapon made a solid hit against the top of Miroku's meditating noggin, and in an instant the monk was splay-legged on the ground, his eyes dancing with multiple Kiraras, Shippos, and to his delight, Sangos. Partially deranged by the hit as well as by natural design; the monk ahh'd a bit as he watched six of the dark-haired huntresses dance about him in enticing circles, each pass calling more and more to—
"Miroku!" Sango's voice cracked like her boomerang over bone, and the monk snapped out of his fantasy and opened his eyes to a more realistic one.
Sango stood before him leaning on her stout weapon with her eyes closed and yet again a muscle twitching in a suspicious manner in her cheek. "Miroku," she said again, "exactly what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Came the man's succinct reply.
Something began wriggling violently in Miroku's hands, and he looked down to see Shippo squirming furiously against his grip; growling and snarling something about "not again."
"Shippo?" Queried Miroku, "how did you get there?"
"What do you mean, how did I get here? You grabbed me!" The irate kitsune cub howled, "Sango hit you too hard this time, I think, 'cause you got this funny look in your eye and reached for my tail, drooling, 'oh, dance closer, San—"
"All right! All right! Miroku hastily released the demon fox kit's tail and produced a sucker from his robes, popping it into Shippo's mouth before he could finish damning the monk.
"Aw, grape?" Griped Shippo, "don't you have anything else?"
Miroku coughed and stood, glaring at the cub to shut his mouth before straightening completely. He stood fully and smiled in an apologetic manner at Sango, who had thankfully not seen the frozen look that had silenced the cub into discontent with his grape sweet stick.
But Sango was delivering a look of her own, and one frozen enough to cause Miroku pause; he took a brief glance around for possible escape routes before venturing further into what he saw could be a very deep hole.
"Ah, my Lady Sango," Miroku started, "is there something wrong?"
"No more than usual," she replied, planting a fist on her hip. "Now what were you saying about Inu Yasha?"
"I spoke of Inu Yasha?" He replied, somewhat confused.
"Miroku!"
"Oh yes! I remember now!" Miroku declared, throwing up his hands and backing away from Sango, who was once gain reaching for Hiraikotsu. Miroku composed himself in what he hoped to be a dignified manner, clearing his throat and bringing his staff close to his body as he tried desperately to remember his previous train of thought rather than simply pretending in order to placate the hot-tempered huntress.
"Concerning Lord Inu Yasha's predicament with the lovely priestesses, Master Miroku," a tiny voice whispered conspiratorially into his ear. Miroku nearly started; he had forgotten about Myouga. But the flea had come in handy, and now Miroku remembered his previous words. "Ah, yes, Inu Yasha."
"Sango," he began, "do you remember when you first joined us? Your opinion of Inu Yasha was somewhat low, was it not?"
Sango snorted, "That's a way of saying it. He was rude, condescending—"
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "And this is different from now because…?"
"Well, because I know him!" Sango replied, "he's still arrogant and crude, but I think it hides a great heart. After all, I tried to kill him the first time we met, I've stolen Tetsusaiga, Kohaku forever gets in his way; but still, he forgives it all and makes sure we all move on." Sango smiled wanly, "it makes me think that Kagome is a lucky girl, despite everything. Because even if he shouldn't, he cares, and cares a lot."
"Once again," Miroku slid his gaze sideways as he walked and threw Sango a small, half smile, "exactly. But in this, it is perhaps the case that Inu Yasha cares too much."
"What?" Shippo paused for a moment from gnawing on his sucker, "what do you mean, cares too much?"
"Yes, Master Miroku, please elaborate," Myouga sat on Sango's shoulder with a contemplative frown; one set of arms folded over his chest whilst the top set formed a contemplating gesture as he rubbed his chin in thoughtfulness. "Benevolence is a trait held in high regard by any good noble, and Lord Inu Yasha most certainly fits that title. To take away such a kind heart would put Inu Yasha on a pedestal no higher than that of Sesshoumaru."
"But at least Sesshoumaru isn't caught between two very destructive emotions," Miroku countered, "love and hate are powerful forces, the likes of which are hardly understood by humans, much less demons." Realizing what he said might be perceived as insulting, Miroku turned to his dark spirited companions, "forgive my words, but in my experience, you demons have shown less need or patience for such feelings."
"There is truth to such thinking," Myouga agreed, "alliances are generally formed more for convenience than any fondness towards another—though there are notable exceptions."
"Like my parents!" Shippo piped up, "Pops loved Mama a lot! He used to tell me almost everyday."
"And I'm sure he loved you just as much," Miroku reached up to pat Shippo's head before continuing on. "So yes, there are exceptions, and Inu Yasha certainly is one, but he is also a stupendous example as to why he is the exception, and not the rule. Being half-human, Inu Yasha feels more keenly the jibes of love and hate and consequently becomes bound by the rules of human emotions. At the same time, dog demons are distant relatives to wolves, a very socially devout species. And while dog demons lack the need for pack affiliation, they retain the traits of devotion and a fierce loyalty to whatever they give themselves to. Sesshoumaru and Jaken, or Rin, for example—"
"Or Inu Yasha and Kikyo," Myouga nodded, "I see."
"Well I don't," Sango huffed, "Sesshoumaru with his pet lackey and Inu Yasha with Kikyo are completely different. Kikyo tried to kill Inu Yasha! Why should Inu Yasha be loyal to his murderer?"
"Remember the circumstances, though; she thought that he had betrayed her," Miroku reminded Sango, "but Inu Yasha knows the truth and feels it his responsibility to straighten the scroll. Don't forget that Inu Yasha loved Kikyo as much as he knew how—he was loyal to her. And now, still loyal, Inu Yasha blames himself for her death and the torments she endures through her resurrection. He has no choice but to help her, it is his duty as dictated by both love and loyalty. And even if it kills him or drags him off to Hell, Inu Yasha must see Kikyo through to peace."
"But...but what about Kagome?"
The questioning words slipped from Shippo's mouth before he could stop himself. From atop Miroku's head, Shippo could feel the monk pause in his walking; a small, instantaneous shudder that took the world with it. The staff in the monk's hand clinked and chimed like thunder in the sudden silence once, twice, then again before finally Miroku took a deep breath and looked to the setting sun. "There are some stories, Shippo, that only time can tell."
From that, Shippo could only nod to, and the five continued on in silence.
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It wasn't the first time Kagome had wished her school uniform meant pants.
The sun had turned its course and was now retiring for the night over the distant, snow-flecked mountains. With its expected end the sun stole from the land the light and life it had previously lavished on without thought or care. In place of the day's absence came the moon, stars, and bewitched shadows of night; further usurping the heat and lanterns of daylight for darkness's own unseen purposes and exchanging for their theft only the thin slivers of illumination that moon and starlight could offer. The day was done and the coming night a frigid warning of death in old forest.
From Inu Yasha's back, Kagome shivered. Despite their constant hours of traveling, the half-demon had yet to show any signs of fatigue; and beyond grilling occasional furtive directions from his passenger, he had yet to do more than grunt or snarl at Kagome's requests for further conversation or assurance that they weren't yet again heading into danger. But willingly approaching the lion's den or not, Kagome was restless from being confined to the roll of cargo for the better part of the afternoon and cold against the approach of nightfall. She needed to stretch and sit by a fire, but the odds of that happening were slim. Nonetheless, flexing her fingers on their perches of Inu Yasha's shoulders to get his attention, Kagome tried again.
"Ne, Inu Yasha—"
"No."
"But—"
"No!"
"Please?"
"Damn it, Kagome, I said no!" Inu Yasha paused in his running to perch on yet another conveniently felled tree. The ground had hardened considerably in the last hour or so they had been traveling, giving way to clearly defined areas of land and water; yet despite this, Inu Yasha's continuous leaps and bounds and defined for the casual observer a curious aversion to the ground.
However, his recently acquired peculiarity had tired him more than he let on, but it was only now when they had stopped that he could not hide his exhausted state. Kagome felt beneath her his muscles corded tight with fatigue and the somewhat erratic, heavy breathing that the half-demon maintained.
"But you're tired," Kagome persisted, "I'm tired. Why not?"
"Because I said so," he snorted, "that's why."
"That's not a reason, that's you being pig-headed!"
"Call it whatever you want, we ain't stoppin'!" As if to prove his point, Inu Yasha tightened his grip on Kagome's legs even as she tried to loose herself. "Cut it out, Kagome; now which way to the shard?"
Kagome released her light finger hold on Inu Yasha's shoulders to cross her arms and flit her head to the side in a prim manner. "I'm not telling," she snipped, "not until we rest."
Inu Yasha snarled at her, "I'll let you rest," he barked, "you can sit here like this log and pine while I go off and find the shard and leave you here by yourself!"
But Kagome wasn't the best thing to happen to Inu Yasha since the discovery of courtesy for nothing, and she hadn't spent many hours of yelling and slamming Inu Yasha into the ground for simple enjoyment, either. This was an argument she could win, and she need play only one card from her deck of tricks to trump him this hand.
Carefully composing her face, Kagome looked Inu Yasha straight on and asked, "Would you really leave me?" Her tone had meant to be calculating, but somehow an undertone of desperation had crept in, inadvertently voicing a silent fear that Kagome had harbored since the group's last encounter with Kagura and the Naraku offspring.
His expression fierce, Inu Yasha opened his mouth to let out a biting confirmation to Kagome's words. But then he stopped, mid breath, as if realizing what Kagome had meant though not spoken. His jaws clicked together so that his face could better entertain a look of confusion, then guilt; and finally his ears drooped in a resigned fashion to the sides as he sighed.
"Fine," he said, letting Kagome slide from his back to balance on the log. "Five minutes, but that's it! And don't touch the ground."
"Why?" Kagome asked, already in the action of placing her feet on firm land.
"Because I—Kagome, no!"
But it was too late, the school issue loafers made clear impressions in the soggy ground as Kagome attempted to stretch and loosen her cramped limbs.
She immediately stopped, however, as a strange and unpleasant feeling crept upwards through her body from the bottoms of her legs, spreading across her inside and out to send ragged chills down her spine. Kagome began to shiver from the sudden rediscovery of the cold air and the strange feeling that captured her strength and deadened her body to warmth. Unable to react, she watched as the earth and ponds around her faded beneath the encroachment of a wispy, tendril fog. Kagome's instincts caused her to shrink back from the ghost cloud's searching fingers, acutely aware that no fog acted in such a way naturally.
"I, Inu Yasha," Kagome called out for her companion, all too willing to have him scoop her up and replace her to the safety of his arms.
"Idiot," he snorted as he gently situated her on his back, "is there a reason you ignore every warning I give you?"
"That fog is alive," she told him, still watching the gathering mists with a nervous eye.
"I know," he replied, "I've been feeling it for a while now; its why I wanted you to stay off the ground."
"Sorry."
"Little late now," the demi-human muttered. "We're just going to have to move quickly and stay ahead of it. Odds are that fog's being put out by whatever thing's got the jewel shard, letting it know whenever something's passing through."
"You think whatever it is knows about us?"
"Most likely. We might not have a clue, but the fucker undoubtedly knows we're here."
"What'll we do then?" Kagome asked.
"Find it and kill it, of course." Inu Yasha replied, his usual bravado in full working order.
"Then grab the shard and use it to pin that damn flea to that insect graveyard you've got in your room."
"It's a display case for my science class, Inu Yasha," Kagome corrected in an exasperated tone.
"Its freaky, whatever it is; now, where's the shard?"
"Hm, that way, I guess." Kagome decided, pointing off to her left and ahead where she could see thicker fog and taller, more lively—but no less ominous—trees.
"You guess?" Inu Yasha sounded irate as he leapt off in the appropriate direction.
"Well its difficult to tell, okay? Its like the closer we get the harder it is to feel."
"Why would that be?" Inu Yasha wondered.
"I don't know," Kagome answered, "but I can also feel something big and dark that way, too; probably the demon that has the shard."
"Big, huh?"
Kagome reached out for the distinct feeling of a demon with a Shikon Jewel fragment. The dark energy that slammed into her as a response was enough to make her shudder. "Very big."
"Good," Inu Yasha grinned, "I've been wanting to sharpen my claws lately."
From behind him, Kagome rolled her eyes, "Inu Yasha, you're terrible."
Inu Yasha grinned a very shit-eating grin. "And don't you forget it."
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Well, that's it for this chapter. Thanks to all of you who reviewed previously! I can't tell you how great it is to read your responses to my story, they tickle me pink. Oh, please, keep them coming! I love shrieking my delight in such decibels that my family in other rooms very politely shout for me to shove a sock in it.
And on a side note: the Rurouni Kenshin manga, I hear is being officially dubbed by Viz and will be picked up by the English release of Shonen Jump. Rumor confirmation, anybody?
