Fumetsu no Fushigi Chapter 4: Blood Moons and Womenstealing Youkai, an inuyasha fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own copyright to Inu-yasha or any other affiliated character, except Ayami. I'm working on owning Inu-yasha, the person, though.

A/N: Any words contained in backslashes and hyphens are actions. Hyphens between the words are changes in character speaking. There are only two scenes those appear in. Good luck. Have fun reading it!

Chapter Four-Blood Moons and Women-Stealing Youkai.

The troupe awoke the next morning at dawn. Set in the inner part of the doorway was a stack of clothing. It wasn't their original clothes, but the clothes themselves seemed pretty comfortable. It seemed the clothing had been made specifically for them since each person had their own clothes that fit them directly. The three in the entrance room got dressed after finding their clothes. Inu-yasha picked up the remaining and placed the stack in the changing room for Miroku, Sango, and Kagome; Shippou still had his own clothes. The other three came out fully clothed, but looking at the odd garments. They weren't colored and weren't traditional Japanese clothes of that era. They all looked at Ayami accusingly. She just grinned and walked out to get some breakfast. The rest of the day would be spent speaking to the village leader.

Ayami returned with some wonderful food and set it out for them all with help from Kagome and Sango. They ate in silence, contemplating what could make this village so deserted of female humans, as Miroku had pointed out last night. After the meal remains were cleaned away, they all went to the main building, the same big one they first arrived at the village. Bengoshi was waiting for them. He showed them into the hall and sat down at a table in the back. The pillows were softer than to be expected and there were several bottles of sake on the table. Inu-yasha and Sesshoumaru refrained from drinking any more than was required by politeness. Miroku drank enough to be polite, but not enough to affect her senses. Sango refrained drinking at all, as did Kagome. Shippou was not allowed to even touch a bottle of sake. Ayami was the only one to drink in liberal amounts, besides Bengoshi himself.

After several hours of pleasantries and a large lunch at noon, they finally got down to "business," as Ayami called it. They finally were about to find out what the village leader was wanting them to do, and what plagued this village so bad as to take all the "voluptuous delicacies," as Miroku so delicately put it.

"My dear lady Ayami, we have a problem. This village has been plagued by a horrid demon. Every few nights he comes and takes our women. The halest and most beautiful disappear into his mountaintop home. We never see them again. It is killing the village off. The husbands of the women are too afraid to leave. The fathers are worried for their daughters' safety. The young children of those women are crying over their lost mothers."

Inu-yasha frowned at that and butted in, his own past coming up.

"So you want us to go up there and beat this youkai up and bring back the women you've been loosing, right?"

Bengoshi and Ayami shook their heads together. Ayami spoke up this time.

"It's not as simple as that, Inu-yasha. They don't know what is happening to these women and girls. Some think that the youkai is using them for some spell. I don't believe it, personally. I don't feel that kind of magic at work here, something greater than that works in the dead of night with these human females. We have a better idea as to how to find out what is happening up there. Bait."

At that word the others scooted away from Inu-yasha to leave her alone in Bengoshi's and Ayami's attentions. She seemed to notice that they had moved away, and that the two telling them all what was going on were giving her appraising looks. Her golden eyes widened as the iris grew in something akin to fear.

"Oh hell no! No!! Don't even think that!"

They grinned maliciously and grabbed her up to carry the hanyou off to see what they could do to make this stunning hanyou astonishingly beautiful. Sesshoumaru smirked and went after them, determined to see this and help if she could. Dusk was approaching in a few hours, just enough to get everybody ready. Appropriate clothing was gathered. Inu-yasha's formal kimono was brought with the obi and other accessories to be placed on the struggling hanyou. Others were brought to help Ayami and Sesshoumaru with the hanyou. Men were banished from the house to stare in bemusement as the walls and foundation of the hut shook with the fight the hanyou woman was putting up. This is what they heard:

"No! No! That doesn't go there! Stick it there! Okay! Hold her down! Hold her down! Tie that there! NO! There!!-What if she gets up?-She won't get up!-How do you know that?!-I just do! Give me the obi!"

"Nooo!! You will never get me in this! Let me GO!! Don't do this! Don't do this!! NOooooo!!"

"Deal with it, Inu-yasha!! /-thump-/ Don't make me use the rosary! I will!! Hold still!!"

"Pin her down! Pin her down!! Don't let that fall over! That's IT!! SIT!!! /-crash-/ Get her hair!! Kagome, get the hair combs!"

There was much rustling and other loud, suspicious noises. The door to the hut slammed open to reveal a much disheveled Ayami panting heavily. She stumbled out and headed off to get herself ready. Kagome came out next, tugging her clothes back in the right position. She waited for the next person to come out. Sesshoumaru dragged her half-sister from the dark protection of the hut. It was a stunning change. The hanyou's hair was done up much like Kagura's, only with a ponytail-like bit hanging down in the back, as her hair was much longer than the wind demon's. The kimono had been done expertly and was quite stunning on its own, small cherry blossom petals styled into the light blue background. The obi was a soft purple. The village men whistled appreciatively. Inu-yasha glared at them. Sesshoumaru chuckled, her own clothes much like what she had been wearing before they came here, only without the armor. She had refused to put away her two swords, the Tenseiga and the Tokijin.

Sango walked over to Kagome to hand a stack of white and red clothes, the taijiya dressed in her normal clothes. Hiraikotsu was missing from her back, though. When asked about it, she said she'd left the giant boomerang in the hut they were staying in. Kagome nodded, took the clothes, and went back in the hut. Ayami returned with Miroku and another stack of clothes. The older woman shoved the other into the hut after Kagome had exited. The door closed and there were rustlings from the other side. Kagome, who had just exited, looked at Ayami for approval of the miko's newly acquired red priestess clothing. The spirit woman raised her eyebrows and nodded her approval. It was at that moment the noises started. It would have gone something like this:

"Ooo. Wow, this is different. /-chink, tinkle, thunk-/ I wonder what this does? /-shuddery "Whoa"-/ that's ... very ... /-cough-/ ... Okay. That felt weird. I wonder, is that what they feel? ... ... ... Hmm. I wonder. /-chink, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle ... CRASH-/ Right ... not doing that again. Ow. Right, on with the dressing. /-rustle, rustle, thunk, rustle, rustle, chink-/ Ouch! /-clatter, rustle, rustle-/ Ha! Take that!"

There were noises of the staff Miroku carried being picked up once again and of her walking to the door. The next instant, it opened to reveal Miroku in blue priestess clothes. The rest of the group had gathered to stare at the hut in varying stages of disgust, amusement, wonderment, and curiosity while the villagers stared at her in amazement. Miroku stared at them innocently.

"What?"

There was much head shaking. Kagome and Sango, with Miroku following, headed for the main hall after Sesshoumaru and the villagers. Ayami waited, watching as Inu-yasha tried to make her way to the building. The hanyou would take two steps, then fall over, not used to being forced to take small, shuffling steps. She snarled in frustration and decided to take great bounding leaps, even though she was halfway down the road to the main hall. Inu-yasha jumped up. There was a pause after a few feet were gained, and then the ensuing crash as she fell back down to the earth. The resultant snarl of rage was enough to startle sleeping birds away. Ayami smacked the enraged hanyou on the head, hard. The dazed Inu-yasha looked at her in confusion.

"Look up. For once in your life, Inu-yasha, look UP. ... I can't believe I'm surrounded by such idiocy."

Inu-yasha took no offense to the second comment, as she was busy looked at the night sky. The sun had just gone down and the stars were peeking down at the ground. She frowned as she looked around at the sky. There was no moon.

"Where's the moon? ... No. I-It can't be. No. Not ... the new moon?!"

She looked down at her claws as they started to retract and then lifted her hands to feel for her fangs, they were going too. Her silver hair was turning raven. She looked panicked for a moment and reached up to feel for her ears. They were receding down her head and becoming human in appearance.

"Great! Just great! Now all that needs to happen be for it to rain!"

A small cloud appeared right above her and let loose a torrent of rain. No where else did it rain. The drenched hanyou stared straight in front of her. Ayami laughed.

"Never tempt Fate, my little popinjay. You never know when you may regret it!"

The rain cloud had ceased its torrential downpour on everybody's favorite tormented hanyou. Said hanyou hiked up her kimono and finally got to the main hall. She was famished, if truth be told. Inu-yasha looked relieved to be there and started for the door. One problem, a guard stood in her way, smirking confidently.

"Only way you're getting by, little missy, is if you pucker up and give me a kiss."

Inu-yasha stared at him in horror and rage. Her hands balled into fists.

"What? There is no way in hell I would ever kiss you."

"Then I guess you ain't gettin' by."

There was a silence for a while as Inu-yasha bowed her head in frustration. She stiffened and then looked at the guard speculatively. Fine. If he wants a kiss, she'd give him a kiss, but not the way he was expecting it.

"Fine. Close your eyes and lean forward."

His eyes gleamed happily and did as she said. Inu-yasha grinned maliciously. The next thing the guard knew, he was on the ground and his face was in some serious pain. The woman he demanded a kiss from had punched him! The degradation of it all. Inu-yasha grinned broadly and happily, glad to have been able to vent some of her anger. Everyone else that didn't know her looked shocked at that show of power. The guard she'd just knocked over was pretty strong, after all. Everyone sat down and started the meal.

After a few moments, there was a roar and a crash. The villagers looked sorrowful and several left. Inu-yasha and those of her group looked up and around, alarmed. Bengoshi nodded and looked to them.

"The demon has come. It is time to line up the women."

The troupe looked confused, then noticed that the few women they had seen in the village were being lined up and others were coming for them. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku went quietly when the men asked them politely to come with them. Sesshoumaru was glaring at the two nervous humans that had approached her, two fingers raised in preparation as they tried to politely persuade her that their lives depended on it and to please, please, please come with them without a huge fuss.

Ayami was sitting quietly in her corner, off in her own little world, when two of the guards approached her and picked her up by her arms. She snapped out of it and looked at their hands as she was being dragged to the line. The demon could be heard outside demanding all the women be lined up and that he could smell more. Ayami glared at their hands and stopped short.

"Unhand me. I will go with you, but let my arms go. I would like fully functional limbs when we get out there."

They unhanded her. The moment she was released, she headed back to where Sesshoumaru was still holding the nervous humans enthralled. She glared at her son-turned-daughter. Ayami grabbed the front of Sesshoumaru's clothes and started dragging the demon out to be lined up. She spoke up as she heard her offspring about to protest.

"If I have to go, then so do you."

Ayami let go the moment they were out at the line, which was right outside the hall. They saw Inu-yasha running with others right behind her. The human Inu-yasha grabbed a tree and wrapped her arms around so fully that they could not pry her from it. Sesshoumaru glared and fumed. She walked up to her half-sister and grabbed her at the midriff to drag her to the line, tree and all.

"If Ayami has to go, then I have to go. If I have to go, then you have to go."

She set down the clinging Inu-yasha. The tree quivered as Inu-yasha tightened her grip on the trunk, letting leaves rain down on the other women. Sesshoumaru and Sango shook their heads at the antics of Inu-yasha. It was then that they noticed that the women from the village had scooted away from them. A timid-looking girl in her teens pointed discreetly to where the demon was, towering over them. They all turned around and gasped at what stood there. Soaring over them was a demon that looked much like Goshinki in height and shape, but there the resemblance ended. He sounded ever so polite when he spoke though.

"So many beautiful ones. I don't know which one to take. Hmm ... I know. I'll just take them all."

He set the cage he held and opened it. He scooped his hand around to try and herd Sesshoumaru, Inu-yasha, Ayami, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku into the cage.

"Come along now. Come along. Please get in the boxy thing. It's for your own safety you know. It would be terrible if any of you dropped from the precipitous heights I live in. You there, with the tree. You need to let that go and come along now."

There was a low, feral growl from the woman "with the tree." She stood, still gripping the tree trunk, and glared at the youkai in front of her. Inu-yasha was breathing quite heavily, which couldn't be good for the health, could it? She advanced slowly, tree dragging behind her.

"I have NOT had a very good week and you are not helping. First! I had to fight who knows how many demons to get here! My half-brother's mother uses some stupid spell to turn me, him, and a monk into FEMALES!! Then I become the first of us to learn, first-hand, what it's like to go through female monthly problems. Now it's the new moon and I'm stuck as a HUMAN!! And you have the audacity to DEMAND that I get in the cage with the people I have fought demons and collected jewel shards with along with the woman that CAUSED all my problems of the past few days?! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!! I don't feel all that well. I have a pain in my lower abdomen that WON'T go away, even with youkai healing powers working on it! I have a permeating smell of blood ALL OVER ME!! I can't express my love to a woman because I'm stuck AS A WOMAN!! AND YOU ARE PISSING ME OFF!!!"

Kagome looked like she was trying to hide being stricken at Inu-yasha admitting love to someone, since she thought it was Kikyou the hanyou-human spoke of. Ayami bumped into her and smiled gently, in that way that says "not to worry, everything will turn out for the better, you'll see". Miroku saw the expressions and silent exchange and stored it in her head for later examination.

The demon had been inching back from the onslaught of this raging female. He blinked at her politely, as if very startled to have this one human girl speak to him and spill her heart out in an enraged rant.

"Well. I'm very sorry to hear that. Truly I am. You'll have to leave the tree behind."

Inu-yasha's frame shuddered with her withheld rage. Her eye twitched in annoyance as she stared at this demon with red tinged vision. She screamed in fury and hit the demon on the head with the tree several times. He stared at the world cross-eyed and fell over, speech slurred from being dazed.

"Mammy I wloov yu an' neeeed yu healp."

Inu-yasha stared at the demon for a little while, then turned back to the villagers. Her eyes went wide and filled with tears. She ran over and just about bowled Kagome over in her attempt to get to someone that would give her comfort. She pouted into Kagome's stomach, arms locked around the girl's small waist. She was raving and crying and being very upset. Kagome looked at the others pleadingly, petting the crying girl attached to her waist in an attempt to soothe her. She sat down on the cage floor and pulled Inu-yasha into a sitting position next to her. They sat there and talked softly, speech from the upset girl interrupted by effects of her crying.

The demon came to his senses and shook his head. He looked at all the girls in the cage. They were all there. He grinned, as much as one can with that kind of snout-ish mouth. The cage door shut and he lifted it gently. The demon started off for the mountaintop, where his home rested. He got to a ledge that jutted out and stopped for a bit. The mists parted to reveal a magnificent mansion of sorts where the peak should have been. The women in the cage stared in disbelief and 'wowed' appreciatively.

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A/N: I have finally figured it out. ... Right. From last chapter on, I will be suggesting fanfictions to those that read this. Each one will be different. Trust me, I found enough good ones to last until the end. Enjoy.