Hey everyone!! I'm writing this up at different times, part while I'm in
class, par while I'm at my grandmothers, or on the ride home, and part at
home. But hey, I promised to update this weekend, and I am gonna do it!!!
Double thanks to all those who supported me during the whole plagiarism thing!!! This chapter is dedicated to all of you!!!
And I still don't own them!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ch. 14 Memories and a Pup named...
She had forgiven me. She had finally acknowledged my presence, and looked directly at me. And she spoke to me. Kagome finally accepted one of the rarest things on this earth. My apology.
Now that I think of it, the last time I apologized was to Rin on her deathbed, when she had been sifting though her memories, and laughing at how I had frightened her at our first meeting, only to end up adopting her as my daughter.
I had to bite down a growl as the boy with Kagome grasped her wrist and dragged her towards the metal and glass building I tended to stay away from. So many scents and sounds, layered one upon the other, placed stress on my sense until I felt the need to run through the tainted forests in hopes of finding some solace.
I moved to follow her, but found myself staring at a small girl plucking a flower from a nearby shrub, then running back to her mother and hading her the small gift. I found myself thinking on Rin once more, and the girls who came after her.
So many times, I had come across children whose family had died from war, famine, disease, or, in the worst cases, those whose families had not died at all, merely left them alone in the wilderness to prevent starving the family to feed the child. A boy-child, or more than one child, I left at homes of child-less families. But the girls, I watched. I watched their reactions to myself, to Jaken and Ah-Un. I tested their obedience and strength of will. I compared them to my Rin, hoping to find one whom I could keep with me as I did my lost daughter.
But so many recoiled in fear at my identity, cried at Jaken's taunts, and ran from the two-headed dragon who had loved and protected Rin with a fierceness that rivaled my own. Others were too disobedient, asking why constantly, or refusing to listen to me when I would try to keep them safe, or concentrate on my meditation. The girls whom did not act like my Rin were often left with infertile parents who were all too glad to receive the child who had wandered into their village alone, not knowing whom she had spent her past few days with.
The first girl I decided to keep with me was a 12-year-old named Kioko, whom I had kept from being brutally raped and murdered by some middle-aged bandit reeking of blood and sake.
~~*~~ (flashback)
She had been crying, but was still able to stand and bow to me when I finished infusing the attacker with my poison to his chest. Her legs were shaking, and she was sobbing silently, but she stood, walked over to me, looked me in the eyes, then kneeled before me and placed her forehead to the ground. Just as I had to Rin so long before, I asked her name. My only answer was a soft whisper, but still, she answered me.
I turned and began to walk off, giving her a chance to follow or stay. The thrashing of bushes and grasses behind me informed me of her choice. I was hopeful, disgustingly so at the time, that perhaps I had found one with a strength like my surrogate pup from before. This was reinforced by her lack of shock and fear upon the arrival at my campsite.
When Jaken squawked at her, she stood and took it all in silence. When Ah- Un sniffed at her, she gave him a small smile and patted Ah's head. Un looked at me, as did Jaken, both asking a silent question. I merely nodded my head slightly, and told the girl to stand before me. She did so without question, her head bowed, not even noticing that my retainer had run off.
I unsheathed Tenseiga, gauging her reaction, and noticed the slight flinch and flash of worry come across her face. This would be her final test.
"Stay still."
I raised the healing sword, which warm in my hand, willing to help the young girl. She had been afraid, then, I could smell it rolling off of her in waves. But she remained still before me. I brought the sword down, slicing off her clothing as my father's heirloom healed her bruised and battered body. Her eyes didn't open until the katana's hilt clicked softly against its sheath. She was so surprised, she didn't move until one of Ah- Un's breaths hit her skin a minute before his head did, nudging her towards a river we had been sure to stop near. Eventually, she got the message, but only after I sat down near the fire, my back pressed against a tree.
Less than an hour later, Jaken and the girl returned, one behind the other by only a few moments. She was shocked at the site of bread and clothing resting across the fire from me, waiting for her to accept them.
Quietly, she had dressed, and brought the bread over to me, breaking it into two pieces, and offering me the larger half. Still looking into the flames, I informed her that I didn't eat human food. She nodded and sat nearby, eating happily but quietly. Then she spoke to me for the first time since telling me her name.
"Domo arigato gozaimasu, Sesshoumaru-sama." I was almost surprised that she knew who I was, but I remembered that Jaken had called out to me once he saw me returning with a human girl.
~~*~~ (end flashback)
Kioko had followed me faithfully for a few years, then fell in love with a human male who accepted her as his wife, knowing who had been raising her these past years. She had four children, all of whom she kept as part of her family.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I made my way into the mall, trying to block out all the smells and voices assaulting my senses. It worked somewhat, although I had to use those same senses to find Kagome.
Finally I arrived at a pet store, only to see a small snow-white pup trying to leap into her face, his tongue lapping at her in his own version of kissing. She was laughing at him happily, and I felt the urge to smile, especially seeing as how the tiny canine reminded me of myself so long ago. After all, we were born in our dog forms and merely gained the ability to change into our humanoid shapes after a year or so. That's because, as a pup I was able to still use my claws, and drip poison from my mouth. I had to learn to use that same poison in my claws when I changed into my new form.
As I was watching Kagome and the pup in her arms, I smelled something familiar and annoying. Looking behind her, I saw the weak human boy moving to stand behind the oblivious miko, the cat in his arms hissing at the close vicinity of the pup and myself. The more familiar scent, though, was of the neko youkai standing close by, who I recognized as one of the demons who had been standing behind me in my fight against Kouga. I spared her a quick glance, then focused back on Kagome, who had just realized I was here.
"Hello, Kagome."
She was blushing at me, and stammered back her greeting as the puppy turned to me and tried to come to me, recognizing another canine by my scent and aura. It's true, animals do have a sixth sense that allows them to get an idea about the true nature of a person.
I reached out and tapped the pup on the nose, a sign that told him I wanted him to stop. He quieted immediately, and I leaned forward, only to earn a soft growl from him, telling me that this was his human, hopefully his new mommy, his yip saying that he'd fight me if I tried to take her away from him. I returned the growl in a soft tone, so only he heard me, but my growl was a more pleased one, in order to assure him I wouldn't be separating them.
The pup settled down to rest, and I looked up in time to see the human boy stand next to Kagome, while the cat demon moved closer to myself. Her scent berated my nose, the feline smell clashing against my dog instincts. I replaced my cold mask instantly, making sure to observe this boy and the way Kagome reacted to him without actually looking directly at them. He draped his arm across her shoulders as though to prove his possession of her, and smiled at me.
"Kagome, who's your friend? We've met before, haven't we?" He laughed. "Hello again! Sorry that we can't stay and talk long, but Kagome and I have to get back to our date. I still have to show her the new store that just opened up, you know, the one with the - " I cut the boy off with an icy glare that was once used to make others cower before me, and served to enrage Inuyasha. I even allowed some of my youki to flow around me, making my markings more visible, and allowing my claws and fangs to lengthen and form sharp points. The natural warning made the neko take a step or two back, and the boy to pale. But not Kagome.
No, Kagome moved towards me, one arm holding the pup to her chest while she rested her other hand on my shoulder, her own aura mixing with mine in order to help placate me. I looked down at her, and could see the silent plea in her eyes. She didn't want another fight. Were I to attack this human, he would not survive, and she did not want him hurt. For her sake, I would leave him be.
I looked down at the pup again, and lifted him up into my own arms, and turned to the youkai that I now knew worked here. The way she looked at me was odd, as it was one that many human female teenagers had when I was around. That look of pure adoration, as though they would like nothing more than to jump on me.
Trying not to pay attention to her obvious change in scent and the way she tried to lure me with her curves by swinging her hips more, and leaning over the counter, I pulled out a credit card and laid it on the counter, not wanting to give her any idea that I wished for her to seduce me. She smiled and lifted the card, looking far too long at the name on the piece of plastic before scanning it through.
"I saw your fight the other night. I never doubted for a second you would beat that stupid wolf," she whispered, in order to keep others from hearing her references to the demon prince. Not wanting to encourage her, I merely ignored the statement and ran my retracted claws through the pup's fur.
By the time I had signed the receipt, she had brushed her hand against mine a good few times. Once when she handed me back my card, another when she handed me my receipt and again when she gave me her pen. I ignored her hand and placed the slip of paper and the pen on the counter, turning to hand Kagome her new pup. She stared at me in shock as she took it, and I could smell the annoyance from her date, who was trying to soothe the angry cat in his arms.
I nodded to my intended, and scratched the wakening pup behind the ears, earning a contented yip from him and a smile from Kagome.
"Osakini... I had better visit Shippou and update him, or else I'll keep being bombarded by his and his wife's advice." I smirked at this, and at the way she blushed in knowing that her son had been willing to help me, should I ask for it. (Note: "osakini" is basically "Pardon me, but I'm leaving now." It's polite to say it when you're leaving while someone else is staying behind. Sorry!!)
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru." She bowed to me, still appearing shocked at the warmth of the koinu (puppy) in her grasp, now hers to keep. I smiled slightly at her and turned away, walking out of the loud and odd-smelling building and leaping into the trees nearby, leaping back towards where I had parked my car, that small smile still on my face, and the image of Kagome smiling happily and lovingly at the small white pup in her arms, in my mind.
~~*~~ (after about 4 pages, Kagome's turn!)
I had thought she'd been drooling over him before he was angry, but it was nothing compared to the full-blown flirting session she then started while he was buying the adorable puppy. I didn't know which to feel more, the delight and shock that he was getting the little dog, or the annoyance and anger at the female youkai's blatant disregard for modesty as she leaned over the counter with her elbows resting on the top of it, pressing her breasts together and exposing more cleavage than would normally have been seen.
But shock won out, as well as happiness at seeing how he refused to touch her if possible. When he placed the pup in my arms again, I smiled ecstatically. Sure, I had a cat, but I knew if I took a blanket that smelled like Buyo and wrap it around my little koinu, then they'd accept each other easier.
Sesshoumaru scratched the puppy behind the ears, getting him a yip from the cute animal, before looking at me and excusing himself to go talk to Shippou. That kind of surprised me. After all, Shippou's my son, and he knew what had happened. Then again, what did I expect? Kouga and my kitsune had never been able to get along very well.
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru," I said, thanking him for both buying me the puppy, and for saving me from Hojou's constant talking. He smiled and nodded at me, making my knees feel like they were going to give out, while my heart was going to burst from my chest.
The mood was ruined, though, when Hojou came back up to me, now kitten- less, and grasped my hand in his. I looked around for the cat youkai, and found her coming back from replacing the neko in its cage. I smirked and bowed to her, allowing my miko energy to be felt, even though only a person with demon blood would feel it. To humans, it felt like that warmth and kindness that radiated from some people. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she bowed low in return.
I was able to follow Hojou around for only an hour more before insisting I needed to get home in order to help Souta with a school project. It was partially true. He didn't need my help, but I would rather help with a model of the solar system than listen to one more story about what new remedies he had heard of that I should try for my "illnesses".
The rest of the afternoon was spent making a paper mache` sun while Souta worked on Mars, Grandpa insisted on making Venus, and Mama agreed to make the Earth. My little pup decided the paper mache was a food, and I had to keep him from trying to chew on it. I was supposed to help with Saturn and its rings, but was asked to help make dinner instead.
Afterwards, when I was laying in bed and petting my new puppy after a nice warm bath, I was called to the phone, only to be greeted by Shippou's excited voice, begging me to come over the next day for lunch, since one of his daughters would be visiting, and she had just found she was pregnant. Again. You'd figure they'd stop being so excited after the number of children and grandchildren, and so on, that he had, but nope, every birth was celebrated for them. Usually every Saturday night, in fact.
I agreed to come over, and could hear Kohana saying thank you in the background. With a laugh, I hung up and moved to go back upstairs where my little koinu was, probably being loved on by my brother or mother. In fact, it was my brother who named him. He insisted the pup reminded him of his former hero, Inuyasha. And Mama had insisted that, "those adorable ears look so much like that nice young man's did."
And so, the puppy given to me by Sesshoumaru was named Inuyasha. He seemed to like the name, yipping happily when he was given the hanyou's title. I couldn't help but wonder, though, how Sesshoumaru would react to finding out his gift had been named after the half-brother he had once fought.
With a yawn, I pushed the thought aside and climbed up to my room and disentangled my puppy from Souta's arms, where my mother was lovingly petting his ears. I swear, she must have missed Inuyasha mostly for the lack of furry ears in the house.
I fell asleep with a contented pup curled up against my stomach, giving my nearby hand a lick once or twice before he finally fell asleep.
~~*~~
Inuyasha didn't want to be left alone the next day. He yipped and played around with an old stuffed animal of mine while I got dressed, but when I went to say goodbye to him, he started to whine at me, and crawl after me, looking dejected and sad. I couldn't help it. I crumbled under the pressure and lifted him into my arms, telling myself that Shippou and Kohana would want to meet him, anyway.
He behaved pretty well on the way there, staying quiet and still while I carried him down the sidewalks. I didn't think I could take a bus, since it's usually so crowded, I figured he would either get squished or go insane. And I didn't want to take my bike and put the pup in the basket like Shippou once rode, because I wasn't sure he wouldn't try to jump out, and I didn't want to lose him.
When I finally arrived, I wasn't as tired as most people would be. After spending so long in the past searching for jewel shards, who can complain about a short hike to my son's house? Sure, it took about an hour to get there on foot, but it was worth it to see those younger kid's faces at the sight of the snow-white puppy in my arms. Before I could even walk to the front door, I was surrounded by kits asking where I got him, what's his name, could they hold it, when did I get him, etc...
I was trying to answer while I laughed at their reactions, only to have Kohana and her mate come out and smile as I tried to get the children to all calm down. But they loved rubbing his ears, petting his fur, moving their hands so that whenever his tail wagged, it would hit them. When he saw Shippou, though, he yipped a couple of times and went to him, only to be lifted up by the 500 year old kitsune. But we were both surprised when he bit Shippou's ear.
"Inuyasha! Stop that, be nice!"
Everything seemed to freeze. Shippou and Kohana turned wide eyes towards me, and I couldn't help but laugh at the shock on their faces.
"Mama and Souta named him. They said he reminded them of Inuyasha. And you have to admit, he kind of does." Everyone seemed to agree, although the older foxes were looking at me nervously, knowing that the dead hanyou was a touchy situation with me.
"So." A soft voice spoke from towards the house, shocking me as much as my pup's name had shocked everyone else. "You named him Inuyasha."
I looked up, not expecting to have seen him today. I don't know why. He and Shippou are friends now, aren't they? Of course he'd be invited to the baby shower/birthday party.
"Sesshoumaru..."
~~~~~~~~~
Sorry, everyone, it would be a bit longer, but it's 2 am, on Sunday night, and I am going to bed!! Hope ya liked!! Night, all!!
Double thanks to all those who supported me during the whole plagiarism thing!!! This chapter is dedicated to all of you!!!
And I still don't own them!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ch. 14 Memories and a Pup named...
She had forgiven me. She had finally acknowledged my presence, and looked directly at me. And she spoke to me. Kagome finally accepted one of the rarest things on this earth. My apology.
Now that I think of it, the last time I apologized was to Rin on her deathbed, when she had been sifting though her memories, and laughing at how I had frightened her at our first meeting, only to end up adopting her as my daughter.
I had to bite down a growl as the boy with Kagome grasped her wrist and dragged her towards the metal and glass building I tended to stay away from. So many scents and sounds, layered one upon the other, placed stress on my sense until I felt the need to run through the tainted forests in hopes of finding some solace.
I moved to follow her, but found myself staring at a small girl plucking a flower from a nearby shrub, then running back to her mother and hading her the small gift. I found myself thinking on Rin once more, and the girls who came after her.
So many times, I had come across children whose family had died from war, famine, disease, or, in the worst cases, those whose families had not died at all, merely left them alone in the wilderness to prevent starving the family to feed the child. A boy-child, or more than one child, I left at homes of child-less families. But the girls, I watched. I watched their reactions to myself, to Jaken and Ah-Un. I tested their obedience and strength of will. I compared them to my Rin, hoping to find one whom I could keep with me as I did my lost daughter.
But so many recoiled in fear at my identity, cried at Jaken's taunts, and ran from the two-headed dragon who had loved and protected Rin with a fierceness that rivaled my own. Others were too disobedient, asking why constantly, or refusing to listen to me when I would try to keep them safe, or concentrate on my meditation. The girls whom did not act like my Rin were often left with infertile parents who were all too glad to receive the child who had wandered into their village alone, not knowing whom she had spent her past few days with.
The first girl I decided to keep with me was a 12-year-old named Kioko, whom I had kept from being brutally raped and murdered by some middle-aged bandit reeking of blood and sake.
~~*~~ (flashback)
She had been crying, but was still able to stand and bow to me when I finished infusing the attacker with my poison to his chest. Her legs were shaking, and she was sobbing silently, but she stood, walked over to me, looked me in the eyes, then kneeled before me and placed her forehead to the ground. Just as I had to Rin so long before, I asked her name. My only answer was a soft whisper, but still, she answered me.
I turned and began to walk off, giving her a chance to follow or stay. The thrashing of bushes and grasses behind me informed me of her choice. I was hopeful, disgustingly so at the time, that perhaps I had found one with a strength like my surrogate pup from before. This was reinforced by her lack of shock and fear upon the arrival at my campsite.
When Jaken squawked at her, she stood and took it all in silence. When Ah- Un sniffed at her, she gave him a small smile and patted Ah's head. Un looked at me, as did Jaken, both asking a silent question. I merely nodded my head slightly, and told the girl to stand before me. She did so without question, her head bowed, not even noticing that my retainer had run off.
I unsheathed Tenseiga, gauging her reaction, and noticed the slight flinch and flash of worry come across her face. This would be her final test.
"Stay still."
I raised the healing sword, which warm in my hand, willing to help the young girl. She had been afraid, then, I could smell it rolling off of her in waves. But she remained still before me. I brought the sword down, slicing off her clothing as my father's heirloom healed her bruised and battered body. Her eyes didn't open until the katana's hilt clicked softly against its sheath. She was so surprised, she didn't move until one of Ah- Un's breaths hit her skin a minute before his head did, nudging her towards a river we had been sure to stop near. Eventually, she got the message, but only after I sat down near the fire, my back pressed against a tree.
Less than an hour later, Jaken and the girl returned, one behind the other by only a few moments. She was shocked at the site of bread and clothing resting across the fire from me, waiting for her to accept them.
Quietly, she had dressed, and brought the bread over to me, breaking it into two pieces, and offering me the larger half. Still looking into the flames, I informed her that I didn't eat human food. She nodded and sat nearby, eating happily but quietly. Then she spoke to me for the first time since telling me her name.
"Domo arigato gozaimasu, Sesshoumaru-sama." I was almost surprised that she knew who I was, but I remembered that Jaken had called out to me once he saw me returning with a human girl.
~~*~~ (end flashback)
Kioko had followed me faithfully for a few years, then fell in love with a human male who accepted her as his wife, knowing who had been raising her these past years. She had four children, all of whom she kept as part of her family.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I made my way into the mall, trying to block out all the smells and voices assaulting my senses. It worked somewhat, although I had to use those same senses to find Kagome.
Finally I arrived at a pet store, only to see a small snow-white pup trying to leap into her face, his tongue lapping at her in his own version of kissing. She was laughing at him happily, and I felt the urge to smile, especially seeing as how the tiny canine reminded me of myself so long ago. After all, we were born in our dog forms and merely gained the ability to change into our humanoid shapes after a year or so. That's because, as a pup I was able to still use my claws, and drip poison from my mouth. I had to learn to use that same poison in my claws when I changed into my new form.
As I was watching Kagome and the pup in her arms, I smelled something familiar and annoying. Looking behind her, I saw the weak human boy moving to stand behind the oblivious miko, the cat in his arms hissing at the close vicinity of the pup and myself. The more familiar scent, though, was of the neko youkai standing close by, who I recognized as one of the demons who had been standing behind me in my fight against Kouga. I spared her a quick glance, then focused back on Kagome, who had just realized I was here.
"Hello, Kagome."
She was blushing at me, and stammered back her greeting as the puppy turned to me and tried to come to me, recognizing another canine by my scent and aura. It's true, animals do have a sixth sense that allows them to get an idea about the true nature of a person.
I reached out and tapped the pup on the nose, a sign that told him I wanted him to stop. He quieted immediately, and I leaned forward, only to earn a soft growl from him, telling me that this was his human, hopefully his new mommy, his yip saying that he'd fight me if I tried to take her away from him. I returned the growl in a soft tone, so only he heard me, but my growl was a more pleased one, in order to assure him I wouldn't be separating them.
The pup settled down to rest, and I looked up in time to see the human boy stand next to Kagome, while the cat demon moved closer to myself. Her scent berated my nose, the feline smell clashing against my dog instincts. I replaced my cold mask instantly, making sure to observe this boy and the way Kagome reacted to him without actually looking directly at them. He draped his arm across her shoulders as though to prove his possession of her, and smiled at me.
"Kagome, who's your friend? We've met before, haven't we?" He laughed. "Hello again! Sorry that we can't stay and talk long, but Kagome and I have to get back to our date. I still have to show her the new store that just opened up, you know, the one with the - " I cut the boy off with an icy glare that was once used to make others cower before me, and served to enrage Inuyasha. I even allowed some of my youki to flow around me, making my markings more visible, and allowing my claws and fangs to lengthen and form sharp points. The natural warning made the neko take a step or two back, and the boy to pale. But not Kagome.
No, Kagome moved towards me, one arm holding the pup to her chest while she rested her other hand on my shoulder, her own aura mixing with mine in order to help placate me. I looked down at her, and could see the silent plea in her eyes. She didn't want another fight. Were I to attack this human, he would not survive, and she did not want him hurt. For her sake, I would leave him be.
I looked down at the pup again, and lifted him up into my own arms, and turned to the youkai that I now knew worked here. The way she looked at me was odd, as it was one that many human female teenagers had when I was around. That look of pure adoration, as though they would like nothing more than to jump on me.
Trying not to pay attention to her obvious change in scent and the way she tried to lure me with her curves by swinging her hips more, and leaning over the counter, I pulled out a credit card and laid it on the counter, not wanting to give her any idea that I wished for her to seduce me. She smiled and lifted the card, looking far too long at the name on the piece of plastic before scanning it through.
"I saw your fight the other night. I never doubted for a second you would beat that stupid wolf," she whispered, in order to keep others from hearing her references to the demon prince. Not wanting to encourage her, I merely ignored the statement and ran my retracted claws through the pup's fur.
By the time I had signed the receipt, she had brushed her hand against mine a good few times. Once when she handed me back my card, another when she handed me my receipt and again when she gave me her pen. I ignored her hand and placed the slip of paper and the pen on the counter, turning to hand Kagome her new pup. She stared at me in shock as she took it, and I could smell the annoyance from her date, who was trying to soothe the angry cat in his arms.
I nodded to my intended, and scratched the wakening pup behind the ears, earning a contented yip from him and a smile from Kagome.
"Osakini... I had better visit Shippou and update him, or else I'll keep being bombarded by his and his wife's advice." I smirked at this, and at the way she blushed in knowing that her son had been willing to help me, should I ask for it. (Note: "osakini" is basically "Pardon me, but I'm leaving now." It's polite to say it when you're leaving while someone else is staying behind. Sorry!!)
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru." She bowed to me, still appearing shocked at the warmth of the koinu (puppy) in her grasp, now hers to keep. I smiled slightly at her and turned away, walking out of the loud and odd-smelling building and leaping into the trees nearby, leaping back towards where I had parked my car, that small smile still on my face, and the image of Kagome smiling happily and lovingly at the small white pup in her arms, in my mind.
~~*~~ (after about 4 pages, Kagome's turn!)
I had thought she'd been drooling over him before he was angry, but it was nothing compared to the full-blown flirting session she then started while he was buying the adorable puppy. I didn't know which to feel more, the delight and shock that he was getting the little dog, or the annoyance and anger at the female youkai's blatant disregard for modesty as she leaned over the counter with her elbows resting on the top of it, pressing her breasts together and exposing more cleavage than would normally have been seen.
But shock won out, as well as happiness at seeing how he refused to touch her if possible. When he placed the pup in my arms again, I smiled ecstatically. Sure, I had a cat, but I knew if I took a blanket that smelled like Buyo and wrap it around my little koinu, then they'd accept each other easier.
Sesshoumaru scratched the puppy behind the ears, getting him a yip from the cute animal, before looking at me and excusing himself to go talk to Shippou. That kind of surprised me. After all, Shippou's my son, and he knew what had happened. Then again, what did I expect? Kouga and my kitsune had never been able to get along very well.
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru," I said, thanking him for both buying me the puppy, and for saving me from Hojou's constant talking. He smiled and nodded at me, making my knees feel like they were going to give out, while my heart was going to burst from my chest.
The mood was ruined, though, when Hojou came back up to me, now kitten- less, and grasped my hand in his. I looked around for the cat youkai, and found her coming back from replacing the neko in its cage. I smirked and bowed to her, allowing my miko energy to be felt, even though only a person with demon blood would feel it. To humans, it felt like that warmth and kindness that radiated from some people. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she bowed low in return.
I was able to follow Hojou around for only an hour more before insisting I needed to get home in order to help Souta with a school project. It was partially true. He didn't need my help, but I would rather help with a model of the solar system than listen to one more story about what new remedies he had heard of that I should try for my "illnesses".
The rest of the afternoon was spent making a paper mache` sun while Souta worked on Mars, Grandpa insisted on making Venus, and Mama agreed to make the Earth. My little pup decided the paper mache was a food, and I had to keep him from trying to chew on it. I was supposed to help with Saturn and its rings, but was asked to help make dinner instead.
Afterwards, when I was laying in bed and petting my new puppy after a nice warm bath, I was called to the phone, only to be greeted by Shippou's excited voice, begging me to come over the next day for lunch, since one of his daughters would be visiting, and she had just found she was pregnant. Again. You'd figure they'd stop being so excited after the number of children and grandchildren, and so on, that he had, but nope, every birth was celebrated for them. Usually every Saturday night, in fact.
I agreed to come over, and could hear Kohana saying thank you in the background. With a laugh, I hung up and moved to go back upstairs where my little koinu was, probably being loved on by my brother or mother. In fact, it was my brother who named him. He insisted the pup reminded him of his former hero, Inuyasha. And Mama had insisted that, "those adorable ears look so much like that nice young man's did."
And so, the puppy given to me by Sesshoumaru was named Inuyasha. He seemed to like the name, yipping happily when he was given the hanyou's title. I couldn't help but wonder, though, how Sesshoumaru would react to finding out his gift had been named after the half-brother he had once fought.
With a yawn, I pushed the thought aside and climbed up to my room and disentangled my puppy from Souta's arms, where my mother was lovingly petting his ears. I swear, she must have missed Inuyasha mostly for the lack of furry ears in the house.
I fell asleep with a contented pup curled up against my stomach, giving my nearby hand a lick once or twice before he finally fell asleep.
~~*~~
Inuyasha didn't want to be left alone the next day. He yipped and played around with an old stuffed animal of mine while I got dressed, but when I went to say goodbye to him, he started to whine at me, and crawl after me, looking dejected and sad. I couldn't help it. I crumbled under the pressure and lifted him into my arms, telling myself that Shippou and Kohana would want to meet him, anyway.
He behaved pretty well on the way there, staying quiet and still while I carried him down the sidewalks. I didn't think I could take a bus, since it's usually so crowded, I figured he would either get squished or go insane. And I didn't want to take my bike and put the pup in the basket like Shippou once rode, because I wasn't sure he wouldn't try to jump out, and I didn't want to lose him.
When I finally arrived, I wasn't as tired as most people would be. After spending so long in the past searching for jewel shards, who can complain about a short hike to my son's house? Sure, it took about an hour to get there on foot, but it was worth it to see those younger kid's faces at the sight of the snow-white puppy in my arms. Before I could even walk to the front door, I was surrounded by kits asking where I got him, what's his name, could they hold it, when did I get him, etc...
I was trying to answer while I laughed at their reactions, only to have Kohana and her mate come out and smile as I tried to get the children to all calm down. But they loved rubbing his ears, petting his fur, moving their hands so that whenever his tail wagged, it would hit them. When he saw Shippou, though, he yipped a couple of times and went to him, only to be lifted up by the 500 year old kitsune. But we were both surprised when he bit Shippou's ear.
"Inuyasha! Stop that, be nice!"
Everything seemed to freeze. Shippou and Kohana turned wide eyes towards me, and I couldn't help but laugh at the shock on their faces.
"Mama and Souta named him. They said he reminded them of Inuyasha. And you have to admit, he kind of does." Everyone seemed to agree, although the older foxes were looking at me nervously, knowing that the dead hanyou was a touchy situation with me.
"So." A soft voice spoke from towards the house, shocking me as much as my pup's name had shocked everyone else. "You named him Inuyasha."
I looked up, not expecting to have seen him today. I don't know why. He and Shippou are friends now, aren't they? Of course he'd be invited to the baby shower/birthday party.
"Sesshoumaru..."
~~~~~~~~~
Sorry, everyone, it would be a bit longer, but it's 2 am, on Sunday night, and I am going to bed!! Hope ya liked!! Night, all!!
