Wishing Well
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Dragon Ball Z. Even my pants are on loan. Don't sue me.
Disclaimer: This is my first fic. Expect it to suck. Don't hurt me.
Legend: "…" = speech
'…' = thought (usually)
~~~ = beginning/ending of flashback
The three couples eventually remembered to leave the hot spring. The girls blushed, the men grinned, and the ambience was one of friendship and love. The sun stood high in the sky as they dressed, and the playful males decided on a race back to the village. Miroku cheated, blasting Gohan and Inuyasha back with a wild gust while he took off in the other direction. The death threats spewing from the half-breeds' mouths may have encouraged him to keep running though. The girls followed more sedately, planning their outfits for the upcoming festival.
Our six young protagonists spent the remainder of the day resting and preparing for the festival the next day. The men finally finished chopping the required logs and soaked them in water to render them fire retardant. Then they built four large walls with the soggy logs, effectively designating the bonfire area. The women went to work finishing their kimonos, preparing foods, and helping the villagers clean. In an attempt to keep Shippou and Kirara from being underfoot, Kagome sent them to bathe in the nearby stream, handing the kitsune her shampoo and soap. The furry beings scampered off eagerly.
The evening meal saw everyone but the kitsune and the cat in Kaede's hut. The males were the only ones still eating, and Gohan was ahead by 17 packages of ramen.
"INUYASHA!!!" came racing through the air, the kitsune's shriek followed by a flying russet ball that attached itself to said hanyou's face. Kirara ran behind Sango, growling fiercely at the door.
With an ease born of much practical experience, Inuyasha pried the kitsune off with his chopsticks, throwing the irritating bundle towards Gohan. Gohan, following the self-preservation instinct of a hungry Saiyan male with siblings, used his tail to stop the kit's flight, and threw him across the room to Miroku. The monk, having just discovered his youkai instincts, didn't react as gracefully as the others. He was soon covered in fox fur and ramen.
"Oi brat, what is it? I'm still hungry and if I don't eat now, Gohan's Kazaana mouth will leave me with nothing," Inuyasha muttered, slurping a noodle between his teeth.
"Wolves!" the kitsune managed to squeak, "Those two youkai that used to follow Kouga plus the rest of the red and black wolves!"
The way the men responded, you would have thought that they were never there.
Following their noses, the three pulled up just outside the village.
"We can smell you, so you might as well come out now. I am not in the mood for any games," Inuyasha barked, his ears and nose actively searching for any attempted ambushes.
"Inuyasha-sama, don't hurt us! We're here in peace!" came one voice.
"Well then hurry up and show yourself, I'm still hungry!" Gohan yelled peevishly. Saiyans do not like being interrupted during a meal.
"At least let me go back inside, I'm soggy and I smell like chicken soup," Miroku muttered angrily, squeezing ramen out of his robes.
Kouga's underlings, Ginta and Haggaku came from the surrounding gloom. Behind them stood the remainder of the northern black wolves and the southern red wolves.
Inuyasha and the others dropped into defensive stances, ready to fend off a vengeful attack.
That could explain why their jaws hit the ground when all of the wolves knelt down and began groveling.
"Inuyasha-sama, your victory over Kouga, along with the victories of your companions over the northern prince Nii and the southern prince Souran, makes you the overall leader of the wolf clans," Haggaku stammered, his face low to the ground.
"We have come to congratulate our new lords, and do their bidding," Ginta continued, as he groveled before Inuyasha's clawed foot.
Three pairs of eyes blinked incredulously.
Three noses sniffed the air around the wolves, checking for the slightest signs of advanced rabies. All of the wolves appeared sane, and their smell registered them as fit and in desperate need of a bath.
"FFFEEEEEEHHH!!!!"
The cry of the irritated inu hanyou echoed off of the mountains.
STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.
Kagome, Videl, and Sango blinked as the males came into the room. Miroku entered the hut first, kicking Shippou away from his bowl of food and returning to his place to eat the cold noodles. Gohan arrived next, his face set to cry as he realized that Shippou managed to finish his food while he was gone.
Given these arrivals, could you blame the girls for being a tad apprehensive of what entered the hut last?
Inuyasha's bangs hid his eyes, but irritation rolled off of him in palpable waves. Each clawed hand held a wolf youkai, and furry shapes rolled around his feet.
"I. Said. Stay. OUTSIDE!" he snarled, turning his glare to the mobile fur blanket.
In roughly five seconds, only two wolves were in the room, and they were stuck in Inuyasha's grip.
Two shapes went flying through the air to land in a huddle in the center of the room. Inuyasha stomped back to his spot by the door and accidentally sat on Shippou, who ran to Kagome for comfort while the dog demon folded his hands in the sleeves of his haori.
"Alright you two, start talking, and don't think of moving or I'll kill you so fast you'll walk home before your bodies realize they're dead."
Ginta gulped nervously before beginning.
"W-well, you see, we were on a hunt with Kouga to find food for the clan when we came on a couple of boars. They looked dazed, so we moved in 'cause a dazed animal is a nice cheap quick kill."
"But as soon as Kouga made his grab for the closest boar, instead of running away, it turned on Kouga and gored his upper arm," Haggaku continued, trying his best to comply to Inuyasha's command not to move, even though he was face down on the ground. Again. The added weight of Ginta didn't help.
"The boar then started foaming and stuff, and it still couldn't stand very well. So then, Kouga tried again, but then the other boar bit him on his other arm, near his elbow.
When Kouga saw the other boar start drooling, he ordered us to retreat. We didn't understand why, but we always listen to Kouga."
Ginta took back up the threads of the tale.
"When we got back to the cave, Kouga ordered us to get spears to kill the boars. We were confused, so we asked him why we needed the weapons. He told us to just do it and make sure that they didn't bite anyone else, and then burn the bodies to ash.
We followed his orders, and we came back to find him still standing outside the cave. He told us to keep safe until he returned, then he ran off. He was gone for months."
Inuyasha grunted for them to continued, and prodded Haggaku into a sitting position with Tetsusaiga's hilt.
The mohawk-wearing youkai started talking again.
"It was three days ago that Souran and Nii came. They'd heard that Kouga was sick, and they didn't waste any time issuing the Challenge, saying that Kouga was a scrawny ill-bred runt, who should never have led a clan."
Kagome, ever kind, brought the last of the ramen for the fearful duo. The flat hungry glares from Inuyasha, Gohan and Miroku made them yelp and cower, until the girls, uh, addressed the problem.
"Osuwari," Kagome idly tossed over her shoulder, feeling Inuyasha on the verge of an angry tirade, "Let them eat then they can finish the story."
Bonk. "Miroku, calm down. This will give you a chance to change. Here, I already found you a clean mai you can use."
"Aw, dammit, what did I do?" Gohan whined as Videl squeezed his tail.
"You're still hungry and you're looking at those two like appetizers. I have my lunch from training still, you can inhale that till they're done."
The three irritated men sulked out of the hut, led by Inuyasha's loud, "Feh!"
Approximately fifteen minutes later, a slightly more tolerable group sat inside of the hut. Gohan and Miroku sat under the windows near the door, while Inuyasha sat in the doorway itself. The three had been doing things like that lately, working in unconscious harmony.
The girls sat against the back wall, where they were busy reorganizing Kagome's pack. Shippou and Kirara were busy playing shadow puppets on one of the free walls, while Kaede tidied her belongings along the last wall.
Ginta and Haggaku were back in the middle, licking their bowls as clean as possible.
"Arigatou gozaimasu onee-sama!" they chimed to the girls, who smiled brilliantly.
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, and he barked at them to continue. Literally. Barked that is.
At the sound, Ginta hurriedly began again.
"Kouga came back that same night. He called for us, he wouldn't come inside and he wouldn't let us near him. He asked why the other wolf clans were here. So we told him about the Challenge.
He went quiet like he does when he's thinking hard, then he muttered something about two birds with one stone. After that, he told us about his madness. He said it was from those boars he made us kill with long weapons."
While Ginta tried to control his grief-stricken voice, Haggaku finished the tale.
"Kouga told us that he'd thought up a plan that would be for the tribe's best, but now he had to modify it to take care of Nii and Souran. He told us to busy ourselves with training for the leadership tournaments. Since those fights only happen when the clan leader dies, we kinda guessed that…that he intended to..."
Inuyasha waited very patiently.
"Nothing else?"
The two wolves shook their heads.
"Ano," Miroku began, "I don't see how Inuyasha became Lord of the Mountain Wolf Tribe by his actions."
Ginta looked at Haggaku, who looked back at him nervously.
"Well, uhm, you know that howl that you lords gave before you went inside?"
Gohan's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Oh no," the demi-Saiyan started, "You can't tell me that we issued Challenges to the…"
"TO THE ENTIRE HEAD OF THE MOUNTAIN WOLF TRIBE!!" Inuyasha completed, his gaze an inferno of annoyance.
The wolves nodded, huddling away from his ire.
"Your lands, Inuyasha-sama, now stretch from this village, through the forest, and over the entire mountain range. They run next to Sesshoumaru-sama's borderlands."
Inuyasha stared briefly, and then began banging his head on the hut floor.
They managed to stop Inuyasha's head banging before Jaken's voice rang through the area.
"Arararara. Make way for Sesshoumaru-sama, kisama wolves."
Inuyasha jumped up, growling.
"Miroku, go reintroduce your fist to Jaken's head. Ginta, Haggaku, tell the wolves to retreat. I'll summon you later. Gohan, come with me!"
A whirlwind announced their departure. The girls wasted no time in preparing themselves for battle, Kagome lowering her quiver of arrows over her head, Sango changing into her working outfit, and Videl slipping on her training gloves.
A chorus of howls rose to the sky, and the village was abruptly bereft of the slightest presence of wolves.
Jaken, who was on the verge of toasting a number of wolves with the Two-Headed Staff, suddenly found himself flung away by an unnatural gust of wind. A kindly thorn bush stopped him.
"Itai, itai, itai! Where did that wind come from? I was about to clear the way for Sesshoumaru-sama and the air was still…AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!"
Two violet eyes peered down on the ugly beaked toad.
Inuyasha and Gohan, who were following Sesshoumaru's scent, winced as they heard the familiar crack of the monk's staff.
They screeched to a halt as a hideous smell filled their noses.
"Kuso, he's brought that oversized ogre with him again. Gohan, change to your youkai form and lead it away from the village."
Gohan nodded as he powered up, calling the ogre's attention. With an enormous roar, the huge beast swatted at the demi-Saiyan, who merely flew back, then threw a Kamehameha along the outstretched arm. When he was sure that the ogre had him back in it's sights, he zoomed away from the village. The dumb brute roared again before following Gohan's trail.
Inuyasha stood still in the dark, eyes, nose and ears working to pick up his brother.
"Kisama, I know you're there, now come out. I've been having a bad day, so don't get me started."
"I'm amazed you even know what day is, otouto. Your human bitch may actually be able to improve your intelligence."
Sesshoumaru regally floated down in front of his annoying younger half-sibling. He cocked his head slightly as he sniffed him.
"So, it's true. You took the Mountain Wolf Tribe as your followers."
Inuyasha snorted in disgust.
"Their leader was mad. He tried to use me to end his misery and stop his rivals. He didn't expect me to rule the wolves."
"Ou? So you mean to say that you have no interest in the land? It is good to know that you aren't so presumptuous as to think a wretched hanyou like yourself should rule over youkai. You won't mind giving it to your onii-sama, will you?" Sesshoumaru stated nonchalantly, even as he raised his poisonous right hand.
Inuyasha grinned as he flexed his claws.
"Hn, I may not want to rule, but I'll be thrice-damned if I let my dear brother take what is now mine."
Miroku landed next to Inuyasha, a lumpy-headed, unconscious Jaken in his right hand and his staff in his left. He threw the toad at Sesshoumaru's feet.
Sesshoumaru didn't even glance down as the pile of green lumps and warts rolled past him. He narrowed his glare on Miroku.
"Hmph. You are truly a worthless hanyou, brother, that you've kept company with offal like that bouzu for so long. Even if he isn't all human."
Gohan returned to land on the other side of Inuyasha. His hair and eyes gleamed brightly against the night sky. A ki leash in his hand traveled upwards to wrap around a certain struggling ogre.
Sesshoumaru's eyebrows quirked up a millimeter.
"Hmm? So, brother, you really have found a rare saruyoukai hanyou. One stronger than you."
Inuyasha grunted, then pulled himself upright from his aggressive crouch.
"So, you just came to see if the rumors were true. Well they are. The monk can work wind, the hanyou is from a different world. Satisfied? Or are you nervous that I may make a foray into your lands, hmm?" Inuyasha smirked.
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed again at Inuyasha's taunt.
"The day that this Sesshoumaru fears a kisama hanyou such as you and your worthless group will be the day this Sesshoumaru kills you all. I will let you play king for now, but when I think you overstep yourself, you will die."
Sesshoumaru rose gracefully into the air as he spoke, then turned for home.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Wait for your loyal Jaken!" the green lump cried, as Gohan loosed the ogre so that it could follow its master. The trio watched them until they were far out of sight.
They met the girls and Shippou riding Kirara on their way back to Kaede's hut. They all turned back to the village as Inuyasha related what had occurred.
"Wow, Inuyasha, you actually sound like a real lord now. Especially with the way how you ordered everyone to their positions and they obeyed you!" Shippou cried, "Who ever knew a baka like you had the…"
BONK.
Miroku frowned thoughtful.
"Now that you're a minor landlord, Inuyasha, we should probably post sentries along your borders."
Gohan nodded in agreement. "If that was your, uhm brother's…"
Inuyasha's snarl somehow formed the word half-brother.
"…half-brother's response to the news, you can be sure other youkai are not going to be happy, especially other wolf youkai."
By this time the group was once again in front of Kaede's hut.
Inuyasha sighed miserably, then grabbed Kagome, who gasped in surprise as he planted a swift, harsh kiss on her lips.
"Bouzu, monkey-face, we leave in ten minutes. You better spend some time with your women." Inuyasha muttered irritable, before he uttered a harsh bark for the wolf clans.
Gohan whined as he tickled Videl. He curled her to his chest, his arms around her waist, and her stomach's warmth on his fingertips.
"Kuso, Inuyasha can't you just trust Ginta and Haggaku…" he trailed off as he remembered the duo, "Che, never mind that idea."
"There is no rest for the wicked," Miroku muttered, as he smothered Sango's face with sloppy wet kisses, ignoring the lumps she left on his head.