Author's Note:  Footnotes are at the end of the chapter.

******

There and Back Again

Chapter Six:  Misumaru Yurika meets Mexican Rice

The next day could only be described as brutal.  By the end of the day, even Sesshoumaru in his centuries of experience couldn't tell who had ended up having the worst day.  Guts per pound went to Ruri for her tenacity alone.  Inuyasha was by no means going easy on the girl, because he wasn't exactly sure how much she was going to be facing.  At the same time, he forced her to attack him with full strength, since any battle they fought in Sengoku Jidai would mean life and death for both of them.  Thus, there were several Kaze no Kizu he barely escaped from.  For his part, he was using Tenseiga on the right and a shinai [1] on the left, which forced Ruri to respond to the most possible attacks while shielding her from any deadly attacks.  At the same time, any time he purposefully missed she screamed at him, leaving him little choice but to leave a few deep bruises when she failed to dodge.  She still wasn't good at seeing the wind scar, yet Inuyasha's spirit was definitely with her as she could always hit it even when she couldn't see it.  This sudden onslaught of power she'd never known frightened Ruri, though no one but her sparring partner could see it.  She saw his fear as well, for when she used Hanyou's Protector with Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha knew even his father might not survive a full attack from it. [2]

            After eight straight hours starting at six that morning, Akito had lost count of the number of "baka" and "baka yourself" that had flown across the field.  He'd never attempted to count the "Shit"s emanating from both opponents.  Yurika went inside after a few minutes of watching the two, but Akito managed to stay outside for almost the entire day.  Snacks set out at 10 that morning were still there, minus a few handfuls of nuts Akito took.  The two combatants only seemed to want to stop for water.  During the brief lulls in clashing swords, the youkai crammed the hanyou with errata that might be necessary.

            Mid-afternoon Sesshoumaru joined Akito on the grass.  Hoshino's instructor was trying to show her some of the elements of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

            "Inuyasha sometimes has more in common with his uncle than his father," Sesshoumaru said, wincing after a particularly colorful string from his son after Hoshino completely misread his attack.

            "BAKA!"

            "BAKA YOURSELF!"

            Akito smiled, "Ruri-chan has far from fragile ears.  Besides, you can tell they already think of themselves as brother and sister."

            "Indeed.  She is becoming quite good."  It was the first thing Jaken had said all day from his spot on the grass a few feet behind Akito.

            "Er, Sesshoumaru-sama, I know Yurika-san is being very brave about all this, but how much danger will they really be in?"

            "From the day he could hold a sword, I have trained my son to be able to fight at my level.  Yes, they will be in grave danger.  However, take heart, young friend, the weakness towards humans of my father Inutaishou-sama is a part of our bloodline.  Inuyasha was the son of a human woman, and he protected Kikyou-sama until Naraku caused her to betray him.  He protected Kagome-sama until the day she died.  I myself have sheltered a human child, and became as a father to her.  My son will protect your daughter to the death.  And those deaths will not be his own, I assure you."

            Sesshoumaru rose from the ground.  "They shall end soon.  I will begin preparing the meal."

            Akito chose to linger for a few minutes before joining Sesshoumaru in the kitchen.

            "Jaken-san?" he started, turning to face the toad.

            "Hai, Akito-san?"

            "Something didn't make a lot of sense just then, but I didn't want to question Sesshoumaru-sama about it."

            Jaken raised a hand to stop Akito from speaking.  "Sesshoumaru-sama makes few mistakes.  Yet once in Sengoku Jidai, when Sesshoumaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama were at odds, Sesshoumaru-sama came across someone resembling his half-brother.  He attacked the stranger and they battled fiercely.  I could not hear all the words they exchanged, but suddenly each broke off their attack, and the two went their separate ways.  Traveling with this stranger was a girl, slightly older than Rin-san was at the time, who had white hair and carried a battered sword on her back."

            Akito's eyes widened but he said nothing.

******

            That evening dinner was an eating contest between Hoshino Ruri on one side of the table and Inutaishou Inuyasha on the other.  The fathers at the table ate normally, but Misumaru Yurika didn't find the dinner too appetizing.

            "Um, why is my rice... orange?"

            Inuyasha paused long enough to explain.  "This is Mexican food... enchiladas, tacos, burritos, taquitos, guacamole, queso, salsa, pico de gallo, tamales, refritos, and Mexican rice," he said, pointing out the dishes.

            "But why so much of everything else and so little rice?  And why beans as a course not dessert?" Yurika retorted.

            "Well, beans, corn and wheat grow much better in the Americas than rice does, so their dishes tend to have much more of those in it," Akito said gently.

            "Exactly," Inuyasha snorted.  He realized he was losing to Ruri and dove back into his tamales.

            "Mexican food is also much 'heavier' than Japanese meals.  In Mexico they tend to have two hours for lunch - part for eating, and part for dozing for a while to recover from eating.  With as much energy as our children put out today, I thought it might be wise to put forth a meal that helped them rest tonight," Sesshoumaru retorted, a bite of enchilada halfway to his mouth.

            Sesshoumaru's plan was partly successful.  The food and the encroaching darkness caused the trainer and trainee to stay inside.  However, Inuyasha broke out the x86 emulator that he had been playing with, and he and Ruri spent the better part of the evening gibbing each other with old versions of Quake and Unreal on the house computer.  Akito tried to join them, but quickly got dizzy and was forced to quit.  Sesshoumaru didn't even try, knowing from watching his son in the past that those games would be rather difficult for someone with only one arm.

******

            Ruri woke late the next morning, still feeling slightly dizzy from the final few rocket-laden rounds the night before.  Hearing the clashing of weapons, she looked out the window of the room she'd been given to see father and son sparring with each other on the lawn.  Turning back to the room, she saw that her mother had left a bright red suit folded by her bed.

            "Ruri-Ruri,

            Sesshoumaru-sama said this was the fire-something robe that Inuyasha-sama

            always wore, and that I should alter it to fit you so you could wear it as

            protection in Sengoku Jidai."

            It was signed with the normal flourishes her mother normally put on things.  Ruri pulled on the robe, expecting it to be rough and uncomfortable.  To the contrary, it was quite soft and smelled slightly of Inu-kun, as she had taken to calling him.

            By the time Hoshino made it downstairs, father and son had finished their match and were drinking tea on the porch. 

            "Where did my parents go?"

            The question was simple and direct, and Sesshoumaru gave a simple and direct answer.  "Your mother wished to go shopping, so they went into town.  I sent Jaken-sama with them as guardian if Nergal decided to try something."

            "Do you think they would after what Inu-kun did?"

            "Keh.  They're still watching us now.  They're frightened though.  I can smell their fear from here."

            Sesshoumaru rose and collected Toukijin.  "You two should begin packing.  I contacted Higurashi yesterday, and he will be expecting you at the shrine tomorrow."

            " Hai, Otou-san." [3]

******

            The three shoppers returned hours later to find the driveway and garage strewn with camping gear and weapons.

            "Too bad I don't think I could get the Yamaha back with us," Inuyasha whined.

            "That steel horse is the DEVIL!" Jaken screamed at him as he walked towards the white hairs.

            "Shut up, Jaken-baka."  Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.  "You really have no taste for adventure, do you?"

            Akito cut in before Jaken could receive some fresh lumps.  "So, Sesshoumaru-sama said you guys would try to leave tomorrow.  Do you want us to drive you over there?"

            "Nah, we'll have to walk all over medieval Japan with this stuff, I don't think there'll be a problem with going a couple of miles with it.  Besides," his eyes darkened, "I'd rather not announce we're leaving if we can avoid it."

******

Footnotes:

1.  Shinai – If you've seen any Rurouni Kenshin, this is the weapon Yahiko carries, or, if you've ever seen Kendo, this is the weapon used in it.  A traditional shinai is four strips of bamboo lashed together.  It has a lot of give to it and is very difficult cause any injury with other than heavy bruises.  I've heard that you can get them made from carbon fiber these days, but I haven't come across one yet.  If somebody does know where to get carbon fiber shinai, lemme know. ^_^

2.  I don't know if it's necessary to point this out or not, but I will in case it causes some confusion.  One of the things Tetsusaiga is designed to do is keep youkai blood in check by subduing it.  Pairing it with a weapon designed to bring out youkai blood and keep it in check, as I see it, would have one of two results.  One – the two would neutralize each other, or two – the two would magnify each other.  Since such weapons don't exist and I have no way to test any theory on the matter, I'll just go with what I think is best for the story.

3.  Otou-san - Father