Due to the evilness of leaving you at a very nasty cliffhanger last time, and a four-day weekend, I've decided to take pity on you and post early. Just don't expect this to happen again any time soon, unless I get about ten chapters ahead of schedule or something equally unlikely. In the mean time, I'm going to shut up so you can read.
A Hanyou in Tokyo
By socchan
Two: The Shikon no Tama
"Where the hell are you hiding the Shikon no Tama, bitch?"
Kagome glared at the hanyou looming menacingly over her as the shock of his sudden appearance wore off. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Stop lying, bitch!" Inu-Yasha snarled.
Kagome's lips pressed into a thin line. "Okay, you caught me. I do know what the Shikon no Tama is, but I don't have it, so you can just go straight back to your forest, Inu-Yasha!"
Inu-Yasha started a bit at this, then went straight back to glaring at her. "I know you have the jewel; I can sense it. Now where the hell is it, and how the fuck do you know my name?"
Kagome glared just as fiercely. "My Grandpa told me your stupid legend; about how you wanted to become a full youkai, so you tried to trick that Kikyo person you thought I was into giving the jewel to you. You destroyed her village, so she shot an arrow into you and pinned you to that tree! And I don't care if you think you can sense the jewel with me, I'm telling you, I don't have it!"
Inu-Yasha slammed her up against the wall, claws around her neck. "You fucking liar! I never destroyed Kikyo's village, and I know you have the jewel, so don't bother trying to hide it from me!"
"If you didn't destroy Kikyo's village, how come she shot you?!" Kagome choked out.
Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed as Kagome struck a sore spot. "I don't know! She just did!"
"Wrongo, buster!" Kagome shouted at him, "Kikyo shot you because you went on some mad demonic rampage and mortally wounded her! And I can't have the Shikon no Tama, because they burned it with her body!"
Inu-Yasha's eyes went wide, and his grip slackened at this statement. Kagome used the opportunity to wrench his hands from her neck. "She's… what?" Inu-Yasha whispered.
"She's dead, you moron! You killed her. And even if you hadn't, she'd still be dead, because that stupid legend took place hundreds of years ago!"
"How many?" His voice was barely audible.
"What?" Kagome asked, startled.
"How many years has it been since… since she was killed?"
At once Kagome felt an odd sort of sympathy for the hanyou in front of her. Though her mind screamed it was a trick, merely more deception from the deceitful half-demon that wanted her dead, something inside her overpowered it. Perhaps it was the same thing that had drawn her to his forest in the first place. The thought that she was suicidal crossed her mind, but she brushed it away as she reached forward and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. He started, but didn't snap it off and shove it down her throat, so she took it as a good sign and left it there. "At least four hundred…" she told him, softly. "Humans don't live nearly that long, especially back then, when it was a fight even to survive."
"So I've been dead… asleep… whatever, for four hundred years." His voice seemed almost to betray his age. Kagome nodded silently. The hanyou clenched his fists so tight that his claws punctured his own skin. He relaxed them, and held them up to his face, watching as the wounds healed. Kagome watched, fascinated; she had never seen anything quite like it. At last, he let his hands drop, sighing. He looked at Kagome, something bordering incredulity on his face. Normally I would have ripped someone in two for telling me that, but I just can't seem to get the strength, or the anger, to do it. Who is this that she could calm me so much…? He wondered, gazing at her, trying to find the answer to his question in the contours of her face. "Why did you do that?" he asked, softly, amber eyes boring into her.
Kagome knew she never should have caught his gaze. Now, she found she couldn't look away, and words spilled from her, unbidden. "I don't really know…" she answered, voice just as soft. "It's just… you were in pain, and I had to do something…" Her eyes bared as much of her soul as his did, and for a split second as their gazes locked, a connection was formed between them. Then, Inu-Yasha broke the connection, turning away and massaging his temples with his eyes closed.
"Right…" He murmured. He turned a warning glare on her from the corner of his eyes. "This doesn't mean anything. It especially doesn't mean I like you. It just means that I'm not planning to kill you just now."
Kagome smiled, softly, glad in spite of herself that he was feeling better. "I know." She told him. "I didn't really expect anything else." She grinned, teasingly. "So I won't be surprised when you sneak into my room one night and tear everything apart looking for the Shikon no Tama." Kagome turned, and snatched Inu-Yasha's arm, dragging him with her. "C'mon, I want you to meet my family."
Inu-Yasha stumbled behind her. "You what?!"
"I want you to meet my family." Kagome repeated. "I know the language must have changed between your time and this one, but it can't be that different."
"I just tried to fucking kill you! How can you be so damn cheerful?" Inu-Yasha hissed at her.
Kagome stopped in front of the stairs and turned to face him. "You aren't going to kill me now, right?" she pressed.
Inu-Yasha leaned back, flustered. "Well, not at this exact moment…"
"Well, I'm not about to waste what's left of my life worrying about when you are going to kill me." Kagome turned and stared walking down the stairs. "I'm sorry if that's a problem for you, but it's just not who I am." She stopped near the foyer, standing at attention, and addressed her family. "Mom, Grandpa, Souta, this is Inu-Yasha. I accidentally woke him up, so he's going to be staying with us for a while. Is that okay?"
"Sure, honey." Her mother's voice came from the kitchen. "I'll set an extra place for dinner."
"Nice to meet part of the local history." Kagome's Grandfather said, shaking Inu-Yasha's clawed hand. "It's a good thing the Shikon no Tama isn't in this field, or I'd be really worried!"
Souta was right next to Inu-Yasha, looking him up and down with an excited expression on his face. "Wow, cool!" he said, "A real demon!"
"Half-demon." Kagome corrected.
"Yeah, whatever. Say, Mister Inu-Yasha, can you do any neat tricks?"
Inu-Yasha blinked. "Kagome, you have, without question, the strangest family I have ever met." Souta grinned. Suddenly, something clicked in Inu-Yasha's mind, and he whirled on Kagome. "Hey, what the hell did you mean, I'm going to be staying a while?!"
"Oh, that." Kagome shrugged. "Do you have anywhere else to go?"
"Well, no, but—"
"Look." Kagome was starting to get impatient. "You said you sensed the Shikon no Tama with me, right?"
"Well, yeah…"
"And I don't have it, but Mistress Centipede thought I did, too. So don't you think that other demons are going to want it, too?"
Inu-Yasha frowned. "I don't see what this has to do with where I'm staying…"
Kagome's mind was working fast. "Well, since I don't think I have it, but both you and Mistress Centipede thought I did, it might be somewhere in me. And if you try to get it out of me without the right methods, something bad might happen to it. And if you don't want the jewel damaged, and you also don't want other demons to get it, then that means that you're going to have to protect it. And until we find a way to determine where it is and how to get it out, that means you're going to have to protect me, too. And since you're going to have to protect me, that means you're going to need to stay close. And since I'll throw a fit and risk damaging the Shikon no Tama if you try to drag me away from my home, my life, my friends, and my family, that means you're going to have to stay right. Here. With. Us." Kagome's mouth set stubbornly, but she smiled inside at the flawless logic she had produced. She held back a snicker of delight as she watched Inu-Yasha open his mouth to protest, then process the information, and shut it again, glaring at her.
"Alright, fine, you goddamned bitch." He growled. "But don't expect me to be nice to you."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "If I didn't expect it before, why should I expect it now? Hey, Mom?" she called, turning her head to the kitchen. "Where do we keep Grandpa's old clothes?"
"In the back closet, sweetie!" her mother called back.
"Thanks, Mom. C'mon, Inu-Yasha." Kagome once again snatched Inu-Yasha's arm and proceeded to drag him along.
"What gives?!" Inu-Yasha protested.
"You're going to protect me, right?"
"The jewel." Inu-Yasha corrected.
Kagome shot him an exasperated look, and he shut up. "Well, if you're going to do that, you're going to have to look like you fit in. And to do that, you're going to need modern clothes." She frowned a bit. "I'm not sure what we're going to do about those ears, though…"
Inu-Yasha stared in awe at the force of nature leading him through the hallways, and gripped his ear subconsciously with his free hand. They stopped in front of a door in the wall, which Kagome opened and took a box from. Choking a bit on the dust, she opened it up and sorted through the items inside, selecting a few and draping them over her arm. When she seemed to be satisfied, Kagome shut the box and shoved it in the closet, closing the door and once again snatching Inu-Yasha's arm to drag him somewhere. She stopped in front of another door and handed him her armload of cloth. "Here," Kagome said. "This is the guest room. You're going to stay there. It's right below my room, so you should be able to sense anything that's coming. Now try these on to see if they fit." With that, Kagome shoved him, clothing and all, into the room and shut the door.
Inu-Yasha twitched slightly, feeling the beginnings of panic catch at his mind with icy claws. "How do I put these on?" he demanded, hoarsely, some of the panic reaching his voice.
"Oh, I forgot about that." Kagome's voice reached his sensitive ears through the door. "You wouldn't know, what with being from the past and all. Okay, first you have to take off your old clothes."
"I guessed that, thanks." Inu-Yasha growled, already undoing the ties that bound the fire-rat cloth together. That wench was doing nothing to spare his pride. A thought occurred to him. "How do you know I won't just sneak out the window and come to kill you when I find a way to get the Shikon no Tama safely?"
He heard Kagome snort. "I have the jewel; you don't. You won't risk leaving just for some other youkai to sneak in behind your back and take it." Inu-Yasha cursed mentally. "You ready for instructions in there?" her voice called.
"Yes," he answered, a blush tinting his cheeks in shame of his helplessness. If he was back in his own time, he would have no trouble at all*…
"Okay," Kagome's voice snapped him back to reality. "Do you have any underwear?"
"Any what?"
"I didn't think so. Good thing I remembered to throw that pair of boxers in the pile…" Kagome trailed off. "Anyway! Find the shortest pair of pants with the crossing stripes on them, and put those on first."
Inu-Yasha dug through the stack of clothes until he found the item Kagome had been describing, and put them on. They felt a bit… confining, but he supposed he would get used to it. "Next?"
"Next, find the gray short-sleeved shirt and put that on."
It didn't take as long to find the shirt as it had to find the boxers, and he held it up in confusion a minute, turning it over and over a few times. "Hey," he said at last, "It doesn't open up." His ears twitched as Kagome struck her forehead.
"Duh!" she hissed, probably thinking it was too quiet for him to hear. He smirked a bit at that thought. "Okay, find the small hole at the top near the sleeves. There should be a little bit of cloth sticking out on the inside; that's the tag; it goes in the back. Reach through the large hole in the bottom, and pull the middle-sized one down over your head. Push your arms through the smallest holes."
Fumbling a bit, Inu-Yasha pulled the shirt on. "Alright."
"Now take the pair of long blue pants, and put those on, with the big pockets in back and the metal thing in front. When you have them all the way up, pull up the little metal tab that's sticking out. The two metal strips should come together. Be very careful not to get anything caught in it. The metal thing is called a 'zipper', by the way. Tuck the shirt into the pants, but not the boxers. Make sure you do the button at the top of the pants."
"Now what?"
"Now grab the jacket, and come out so I can see you."
Inu-Yasha opened the door and walked out, jacket in hand, a bit self-conscious. He put up a mask of indifference, and tried not to look worried as Kagome circled him, looking him up and down. A thoughtful expression was on her face when she came in front of him again. Then, inspiration struck, and she smacked her fist into her palm. "Socks! I forgot socks. Oh, well, you can go without them for one night. Now…" Kagome reached out and pulled on a sleeve. "T-shirt." She said, before bending down and tugging on his pants where they slacked around his feet. "Jeans." She told him. "Underneath those, you're wearing boxers, a kind of underwear for guys. The other pair of pants I brought are called 'sweat pants', and can be used for exercise, but in this case I want you to use them as pajamas. That means you sleep in them, wearing underwear, but no other every day clothes, aside from maybe a clean T-shirt." Inu-Yasha nodded, absorbing the information. Kagome smiled at him. "This'll do till Mom has a chance to take you shopping. Now put on the jacket, and let's go show everyone."
Glaring dispassionately at Kagome, Inu-Yasha pulled the black windbreaker on, barely noticing the Japanese flag on the left breast. With a scowl, he freed his flowing white hair from the back, and followed the dark haired girl down the hall to dinner.
=^-,-^= End Chapter Two =^-,-^=
*We all know how true this is…
Just a few announcements before you leave. I would like to thank all of my reviewers for taking the time to leave a comment, and I'm sorry I won't be able to reply to all of them. I've decided it would just take up too much space; I'm pushing it as it is. Nevertheless, there were three people I felt I needed to say something to. Pay attention even if you aren't one of them; I might give something away…
Kristen Sharpe: Who said I wouldn't be using 'sit'?
Ame Tenshi: Dun worry, the others will show up. Part of what I'm proud of in this story is how I managed it. Shippo, in fact, makes a brief appearance in the next chapter, and is the second of the two reasons I decided to write this. The number one reason won't appear until the fifth chapter, though, so you're going to have to wait a while ^_~.
Verena: Thanks so much for that well-thought-out review! It really made my day. I promise I'll try and smooth out those rough spots if I ever go back and do a thorough job of revision. Hope to hear from you again ^_^.
Sorry if I got any of your names wrong, and thanks to all of my other reviewers, too. All of you remember, I want to hear what you really think. Personally, I felt that Inu-Yasha was a little too nice in this chapter, but I couldn't think of a way around it. I also had too much fun with the introduction to modern clothing. I still can't stop grinning about it. Also, if you're really persuasive, maybe you can talk me into updating once a week instead of once every two weeks. We'll see what happens.
Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!
Edit (12-24-03): Changed the beginning so Inu-Yasha remains standing instead of slouching down when he finds out about Kikyo. I figured that the idiot's way to stubborn to let even news like that affect him to such a degree. Also corrected a glaring error in the first version in which I forgot to include the sleeves in Kagome's instructions ^^;. Oops…
-socchan