Okay. . .so I wrote another chapter at my grandparents. So what if I'm bored? So what if I'm taking my frustration out on my poor and helpless character? I feel sorry for her. . .well, actually, I shouldn't yet, but because of The Plan-Yes, Megan, I couldn't resist the opportunity to capitalize it-my character will be suffering. So. . .R&R!
Inuyasha isn't mine. I think he'd be much-much happier if he did belong to me, because I'd love him, and squeeze him, and. . .okay, too many Looney Toons today. All Inuyasha related items aren't mine. Miroku isn't mine. Their clothes aren't mine. The tree Inuyasha sits in isn't mine. The idea of a demon isn't mine. So, yes, most of this isn't mine.
But Angela, Biiru, and any other characters are MINE. That means you ask permission before using them, or any ideas in this story. Not that you'd actually want to, but just in case, I'm required to type this as a warning. So heed it, or great pain and suffering will fall upon you and all of your children! Well, at least your Fan-Fiction account if I get a hold of it. So, read, review, yell at me for destroying your "favorite character," -and if you yell at me this time, KW, I'm going to laugh, because is she even in this chapter?- and all that stuff. And if you want to e-mail me, go ahead, but I'd prefer the review, because. . .well, it lasts longer. I delete e-mails after a few weeks, and reviews are eternal. . .! Oh my god, I need to stop quoting stupid Loony Toons. . .wow, I used the ". . ." things 52 times in this chapter. Ouch.
~*~
Angela's eyes seemed to get distant at Megan's question. "Biiru. . ." She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
Megan and Miroku looked at each other. Miroku raised an eyebrow. Great. That tone just screams something about love. Or something related to it. Either she loves him and he doesn't love her, or she did love him. Something that's bound to be confusing.
"Why not?"
Angela glared in Inuyasha's direction. He had finally stood up, in order to get a better view of her face. Not that he intended on admitting that, but the fact remained he had wanted to see her face. "I doubt any of you would really get what's bothering me. It's. . .the way the merger has to be completed. The two Priests have to agree on it. And Biiru. . .well, he's ready to agree on it. But I don't think I want to."
"How exactly is the deal made?"
Angela sighed. ". . .It's not important. It's my problem, not yours." Her eyes glassed over for a minute. "Come on," she finally said. "There's a demon to the west Shi wants to deal with."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Does it have a Shikon shard?"
Ang shrugged. "I don't know. Does it really matter?"
Miroku nodded. "Yeah. Inuyasha won't fight it unless it's got something he wants." He sighed. "He says it's worthless and dangerous to risk his life when he doesn't have to."
Ang nodded. "Makes sense, actually. Fine then, Toto," she said, looking up to meet Inuyasha's non-committal gaze. "I'll do it myself."
"What?" She smirked at Inuyasha's suddenly surprised face. "What makes you think you can take on a demon? And stop calling me Toto!"
"Of course I can. I've got Shi on my side, and I've got some powers of my own. I'll be fine, half-demon," she snapped back, emphasizing the "half."
Inuyasha nearly winced at the words. Even though he was only a half-demon, she didn't need to rub his face in it. And she's not even part demon. At least Megan is part demon.
"Fine. Get yourself killed. I don't care!"
But I do. I do care. I don't want her to get killed. But I don't want to have to listen to her insult me, either. If I have too much pride, she's got just as much. Inuyasha's resolve to not help her didn't waver a bit with the realization. If I could just get her to stop calling me Toto, maybe I'd consider it…
Miroku scowled. "What's your problem, Inuyasha? You could help her, you know. It won't kill you. And if she dies, you have to get Kagome. And I know you hate her."
I don't hate Kagome. I don't hate either of them. But I can't admit that. If I said that, then Miroku'd rub the fact I gave in to them in my face every day. I don't want that, either. It's easier to just let them think I hate them. Even if that hurts me.
Megan sighed. "Leave it, Miroku. He's too high and mighty to help them. We'll do what we can to help, though. Even if 'Toto' won't help."
Ang smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"No problem."
The trio began walking, leaving Inuyasha behind. They were talking loudly, making small jokes, most of them at Inuyasha's expense. It didn't seem to matter to them that he could hear them. After all, who was he? Just some half dog-demon who was useful for only fighting. Not even intelligent.
He swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. What did it matter to him, anyway? He was a demon, no matter if part of him was human. He didn't need to deal with them anymore than they wanted to deal with him. Why should it matter to me what they think of me? I don't need them. Hell, I don't even want to deal with them.
But then. . .why does it hurt so much?
~*~
"Ang, when you said west, how far west did you mean?"
She smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure. I just wanted to get away from Inuyasha. He was. . .annoying me."
Miroku put a hand on her shoulder, and smiled at her. "Don't worry. He won't have helped any of us if we had asked. Don't take it personally."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about that. Why would I take it personally?"
Of course I took it personally, Miroku! You say he wouldn't have helped any of you, but your voice betrays you. I know he'd help you. It's me he won't help. Me he hates. Not Kagome. I saw the way he treated her, and admittedly, he wasn't nice, but if you looked at his eyes, it wouldn't take a genius to realize that he wasn't doing it for the reasons it looked like. Maybe he wanted her to be safe. Certainly this time isn't safe. Or maybe, he just didn't realize how much he'd miss her. Either way, he cares nothing for me. I think he'd prefer it if I went and got Kagome for him.
"Say, Ang, explain something for me. You said Biiru was a Priest, right? Well, wouldn't he be in a different time than the one we're in?"
"Priests and Priestesses can perform a type of time-travel. We can skip around in time, but we can't go to a time we've already been to. I, for instance, couldn't go back and save my parents, because I already lived through that time. It makes more sense than the way the gods travel, in my opinion."
"Yeah, it does."
They walked in silence for about another hundred yards. Then, Angela stopped. "Here."
Miroku and Megan looked around, and then finally looked at each other. "I don't sense another demon's presence here," Megan said.
"Neither."
Ang chuckled. "Of course you don't. It's not here yet. Shi says it'll stop here in. . .two minutes."
"How do you know our being here won't scare it away?"
"Have you ever scared a demon away? And how do you know that us being here isn't what will make it stop?"
Miroku paused at that. It was a good argument. "Well, what are you supposed to do if you stop it?"
Ang frowned. "Well, it's a demon. Shi likes demons, so I'm sure I'm not supposed to kill it. Besides. . .I don't think I could take a full demon on my own. Shi says I could, but I don't think so. Although, if Shi says I could, it must be true. So, I guess to answer your question, I don't know."
Megan stiffened. "I feel a demon."
"Huh?" Miroku and Angela both stared at her. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you?"
"No."
Megan sighed. "Well, it's gone now. It must have been a lesser demon just passing through. Or something."
"Mmm-hmm." They sat back, and rested again. The demon had another minute to get there.
Inuyasha leaned back against the tree. Megan didn't sense him because he was high enough to not be considered to threat to a demon on the ground, but he was definitely close enough to be able to hear everything that was going on down on the ground. He said he wasn't going to help, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be there. They don't have to know I'm even here. All I have to do is sit here and drop down if they need me. I can protect them without giving up any of my pride. Why does everything revolve around pride?
A minute later, a man walked into the area where the group sat waiting. Inuyasha picked him up first, and dismissed him as a man that just was walking through. Megan and Miroku didn't even hear him until he was where they were. Angela stood up when she saw him. She looked surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
The man smiled. "Good to see you, too. Don't worry about the demon, Shi told you that so you would come to meet me. Shi and Issey are working on the merger as we speak, you realize."
Ang glared at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you Biiru?"
"Of course." He smiled gently. "And if you stopped. . .if you stopped opposing me for one, and liking others you wouldn't oppose it either."
Biiru didn't seem to be a bad person. His tone was very reasonable, and he seemed to be sad that Angela had greeted him so harshly. He was very handsome, with his blue eyes and wavy blond hair. It went down to his shoulders as well, rather thin and stringy. He was wearing robes, similar to Miroku's, only his were white, and fringed with the same yellow of Shi's dress. He was wearing sandals with a thick bottom, but thin straps holding them to his feet. He didn't hold a staff, but it was unmistakable that he was some sort of Priest. "I hate to interrupt your gawking, Priestess, but would you care to introduce me to your friends?"
"The Buddhist priest is Miroku. And this is Megan, a fourth-cat demon. We're going to travel to look for Shikon shards with a half-demon named Inuyasha. Megan, Miroku, this is Biiru, the Priest of Life. And I do not like anyone."
Miroku blinked. "Issey doesn't mean life, does it?"
"Let's just say it's preferred."
"Ah. Why would Life and Death make a merger?"
"Think about it," Biiru replied. "Someone with Angela's ability to contain and kill the spirits of the dead, to use the powers of death, combined with my powers of life. The ability to grant life to anything. To strengthen the life in someone, make them stronger. The power to kill illnesses, which are living things."
Miroku nodded. "Yes. They would be fairly powerful."
Biiru turned back to Angela. "So, I can see these two. You meet the most interesting people, Angela. Tell me more about this Inuwasha." When he said his name, he waved his hand, as if the knowledge was trivial anyway, but something to know.
"Inuyasha."
"Yes. Sorry."
"He's a half demon. I don't know much about him, but I think he. . .oh, for Shi's sake, why do you care? It's not of your business, and if you want to know what he's like, then why don't you ask him?"
Maybe you'll have better luck than I did, Biiru. . .
"I will sometime. For now. . .please, all I ask of you is to try to accept the merger. You don't know it's what I want. I am certain it's not what you want, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be if you put a little effort into it. Just try to think of me as someone you don't hate to start," he added with a trace of slight bitterness which he managed to direct somewhere other than Ang.
"Say, Ang, you never did tell us what exactly it was that the merger itself meant."
Ang sighed, and looked at Biiru. Her eyes were showing a mixture of confusion, anger, and a little bit of acceptance. Inuyasha felt himself grow apprehensive. What was so special about this merger that Ang was so upset about it? She hadn't seemed phased by the rest of this stuff, and even if coming into a new time wasn't important to her, she should have been a little bit afraid. After all, being plunged into feudal Japan was kind of significant.
She sighed. "Well. . .a merger between gods is different from a merger of mortals. Two kingdoms make mergers differently than the dogs would, for instance. Two gods never make mergers between themselves. No merger between gods are permanent, because there may be a reason to break the merger. They make their unions with their Priests or Priestesses. The merger can be different in different situations. For instant, same gender mergers are different from opposite gender. The same gender. . .well, it's a scientific genetic experiment, and I sincerely doubt that any of you-except Biiru-know what it is. They have to have their genes combined into one child, and then the youngest one deals with the child. That way the child has the powers of both the Priests."
Megan and Miroku looked at each other, and then back at Angela, and said at the same time-comically- "What? Genes?"
She sighed. "Don't bother trying to understand. Genes won't be discovered for centuries from now. Like I said, it's different. The two Priests of the gods need to have a combination of their genes in order for the powers to be passed on. So, in the case of opposite genders, then. . .well, if a guy and a girl need to have a child to combine genes…"
Megan nodded. "Oh. I see."
Ang nodded. "Yeah."
Biiru sighed. "You know if there was a merger, I wouldn't abandon you. It'd be against my beliefs."
"Biiru. . ." She was exasperated with him. He was nice, he was supportive. . .he always had been. He was-in a nutshell-everything that every girl was supposed to want. But, he never seemed special to her. He was just another guy. One she didn't even like that much. Her gaze hardened slightly. If he doesn't do something to change my mind about him, them I'm not going to agree! I know how important it is to Shi, but. . .it's not worth it. I won't deal with it.
There was a noise from a tree. The whole troop looked at the place the wind had come from, only to see the tree branch swaying slightly in the wind. They shrugged, dismissing it as a high wind.
Angela kept staring at it, though. She noticed one long, sliver strand of hair fluttering gently in the slight breeze. Her gaze softened, and a soft smile fell across her face. So. . .Inuyasha. You did come to help, huh? That was. . .nice of you.
I wonder. . .is that what you're really like? Underneath that hate you've expressed towards me, is there something else? Do you hate me as much as you act? You acted like you hated Kagome, but I know that wasn't the way you felt about her. What are you hiding inside yourself, Inuyasha?
"Inuyasha. . ."
~*~
Megan: Our next selected victim for torture-I mean interview-is going to be-
Author: Megan. . .I wasn't mean to you!
Megan: I don't like trees! Especially being one!
Author: . . .Point. Get on with it! -Any Monty Python fans out there?-
Megan: Anyway, I don't know who it is, so it was a good idea for you to interrupt me. Who is it?
Author: *mutters* I need to get better help. Maybe I should consider paying them. . .
Megan: *even though she is not visible, being an announcer, she perks*
Author: Of course, Megan, I have no intention of paying you.
Megan: *scowls* You know, you never call me Meg.
Author: *blinks* What?
Megan: Look! Never once am I called Meg!
Author: Oh. Because, I have an autocorrect on my Word program. Whenever I type "meg," it corrects it to Megan.
Megan: . . .Why?
Author: Because, I am a lazy bum, and it's easer to be lazy.
Megan: Oh.
Author: Anyhow, our torture subject is. . .Miroku!
Megan: Oh, poor Miroku!
Author: *sweatdrop* I'll turn you into a tree again. . .you're supposed to announce the subject, announce the end, and then be silent the rest of the time!
Megan: Oh, did they hurt you, Miroku?
Author: . . .you realize, Miroku isn't here yet.
Megan: Oh. Did you hurt him?
Author: Actually, no. When he fell through Inuyasha's window last time I interviewed you, he was knocked unconscious, and therefore was easy prey. However, he is still unconscious, so I guess we'll have to interview him. . .later!
Megan: . . .You've still got a few seconds left.
Author: Fine. Roll the footage of his capture!
Megan: *sweatdrop* Uh. . .okay. . .
*a large screen appears from somewhere. On it, there is a Blair-Witch like cameraman, who is obviously not being paid much for this. You can see a broken window, with a black form that must be Miroku lying in the glass shards. You can see Inuyasha's foot.*
Inuyasha: . . .Hey, how long is it going to be to get him out of here?
Author: Shut up. Anyhow, here we are, stalking the rare and elusive wild Miroku. . . -Any one who knows me, that's an inside joke.-
Inuyasha: He's not rare. Go to any bar with girls, and you'll probably find him. And if he were wild, then would he-
Author: *glare* I told you to shut up!
Inuyasha: But you won't turn me into a tree.
Author: . . .What makes you say that?
Inuyasha: Because you think my ears are too cute.
Author: Irk. . .ah, ha. . .okay, so you have adorable ears! *glomps Inuyasha in order to play with his ears*
Inuyasha: . . .Bad author. . .down, bad author!
*Inuyasha turns into a West Highland white terrier. They are adorable little doggies, and they have the exact same ears as him. They have the white pointy ears, and they are soft, and I bet Inuyasha's ears feel the same way. . .the author has one, if you're wondering*
Inuyasha: *barks*
Author: *smiles, continues to play with his ears* Oh, look, he's so cute. . .Miroku isn't going anywhere. . .I think I'll just play with the ears for a while. . . -Ears! Come here, Ears!-
*the screen is cut short, and you see only blackness, as you hear people running away. You hear someone stop next to you*
Megan: And, after this commercial break-ah! Run away!
~*~
Yes, I hate my grandparents.