Sit. Stay. Good dog.
**
Inu-Yasha sat on one of the roofs of the village houses, looking out over the forest and beyond. There were a lot of mountains these fabled snake demons could be living in, he wondered how they were supposed to find the right one. Of course, it wouldn't even matter if they couldn't get his brother to help. Having to rely on Sesshoumaru was not something Inu-Yasha had ever wanted or expected to do.
"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome wandered the village looking for him, finally catching sight of him sitting on the roof. She tossed a few pebbles up at him to catch his attention.
"Ow!" Inu-Yasha grumbled and rubbed at his forehead where one of the pebbles hit him, glaring down at Kagome and signing, "What?"
"We're all packed and ready to go," Kagome signed up at him. "Ready to go find Sesshoumaru?"
"Don't bother," Inu-Yasha signed, hopping down off the roof casually. "I can smell him from here. He's close."
"Oh…" Kagome smiled weakly, signing, "Well, saves us the trip at least. Maybe he heard the whistle too and is coming to see what the noise was about. If we're lucky, maybe he went deaf too."
"When have we ever been lucky?"
Kagome sighed. "Good point."
"Does Kaede think this plan will work?" Inu-Yasha signed, frowning. He had his own doubts about this plan, but it was better than anything else they'd come up with.
"No," Kagome signed back. "Ready to go try it out?"
"No. But we'll try it anyway." Inu-Yasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga and followed his brother's scent toward the woods. Kagome gathered her supplies and sprinted after him.
**
"Why are we stopping, Master Sesshoumaru?" Jaken asked, blinking up at his master in confusion when they stopped in a clearing. This whole journey seemed pretty weird to him, but if it was what Sesshoumaru wanted…
Sesshoumaru didn't bother answering. The wind had changed directions, and from here he could smell… "…Inu-Yasha. He's nearby."
Jaken back up a few steps nervously. "Should we go a different direction?"
"No… If Inu-Yasha wishes a confrontation, he shall get one." Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed a little as one of the bushes nearby rustled. "Nice try, but I know you're there, Inu-Yasha."
From where they were hiding and waiting in the bushes, Kagome nudged Inu-Yasha forward. He barely spared her a glance to see her "go on" signal, before stepping out into the clearing to face his brother. If the plan worked, he wouldn't really have to defeat Sesshoumaru. Just… stall him a bit.
Sesshoumaru said something to him, and though Inu-Yasha couldn't tell what it was, from the look on his brother's face he assumed it was an insult. Inu-Yasha resisted the urge to insult him back; after all he was holding his sword, and he couldn't use his more elaborate hand signals with only one hand. He made a mental note to modify them later. But for now…
Inu-Yasha leapt at his brother, sword raised high to cleave Sesshoumaru in two. Easily Sesshoumaru leapt to a safer place; he'd always been somewhat faster. Something was different about the way Inu-Yasha was fighting. He was a little clumsier when Sesshoumaru attacked from behind, as if… he couldn't hear the blow coming.
And not once did Inu-Yasha speak. Sesshoumaru wondered on that as they exchanged attacks and counter attacks. What had changed in his brother?
And where were Inu-Yasha's little mortal companions? Dodging one of Inu-Yasha's blows, Sesshoumaru leapt to a better vantage point. Ah, there they were. Hiding in the bushes like cowards, it seemed. What was it the little girl was holding?
Kagome clutched a string of prayer beads; similar to the strand Inu-Yasha wore around his neck. She chanted the priestess spell the way Kaede had taught her, only hoping it would work, and be strong enough to hold the demon it was meant for. In her hands she could feel the beads heat up, infused with the power she gave them, and with a burst of light the powerful spell flew from her hands, the beads wrapping around Sesshoumaru's neck.
And it only needed one final touch; the word of binding. "STAY!"
THUD!
"I did it!" Kagome squealed, hopping up and down in excitement. "I actually did it!"
Inu-Yasha sheathed his sword, walking over to where his brother lay belly down on the ground. He didn't even try holding back his snickers. It really was kind of funny when it wasn't happening to him.
"What is this?!" Sesshoumaru demanded, trying to lift himself up off the ground. But the spell on him worked differently than Inu-Yasha's; Sesshoumaru's hands would not come unstuck from the ground. He was well and truly caught. "What did you do?"
"It's a spell for catching demons," Kagome said. "Sort of… something to insure you don't kill us while we try to talk to you. Don't bother trying to remove the beads; only I can do that." She spotted Jaken trying to sneak away, and pointed to him, signing to Inu-Yasha, "Get him!"
Inu-Yasha glanced at the toady man, and stepped on him, effectively halting the little creature's escape. He signed something back to Kagome. She rolled her eyes, and translated to Sesshoumaru, "Inu-Yasha says you get used to being slammed flat on your stomach while I'm around."
"What do you mean, 'Inu-Yasha says'?" Sesshoumaru demanded, still trying to pull his hands free from where they were planted to the ground. "Why doesn't he say it himself? And let me up already!"
"Okay, but remember, I can do that to you again if you try anything funny," Kagome said. She sighed, and said the release word. "Heel."
Sesshoumaru's hands came free of the ground, and he scrambled to his feet, regretfully finding there was no dignified way of doing so. He rubbed his hands slightly, for once at somewhat of a loss. "Now. Explain."
"Well…" Kagome sighed, "…it kind of goes like this…"