Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Inu Yahsa. Don't own a pony either...Darn.
Chapter Ten"Here ya go, dear," the wayside house wife said, offering the guest some tea. "To think a young lady such as yourself is out in this weather without a chaperone!" she tutted and pattered out of the room.
The woman waited until she was sure the housewife would not be returning and then walked over to the heap that was her cloak and from it pulled out a strange book. She had found it on the side of the road, covered in mud, and she had decided to take it with her. It was fascinating really. It was extremely heavy with a shiny, smooth cover. Inside were extremely realistic looking illustrations and words she had no idea as to what they meant.
She flipped open to a random page and stared in awe at the picture before her. She guessed that the creature before her was some kind of deer, but she'd never seen one like this. Even in the tiny insert it appeared huge and powerful.
The woman would have continued to look through the peculiar book, but she felt the presence of magic. Her magic. With malicious glee she realized it was the half demon and miko from before. She kneeled down next to the wall and placed her hand lightly on the wood. Relaxing the boundaries of her mind, she let herself go. Her awareness expanded, engulfing the building.
In the kitchen was the owner and his wife and a monk of some sort was with them, talking. She moved on, not caring what they had to say. There, in a room on the opposite side of the building, was her quarry. She watched with a delicious sense of victory as the half demon turned into a raven and then landed naked in the lap of a new girl. With growing satisfaction she continued watching over them as the monk from the kitchen returned. The witch was about to return to her body when she saw the monk feel up the other girl.
A naughty little boy needs to learn some control, she decided as she returned to her self. She looked at the weird book, and at the picture of the powerful animal. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she pulled on her cloak, pulled the hood over her head, and sauntered out unnoticed into the downpour.
"This seems to be working out so nicely I'll just do it again," the woman told the raindrops and then she kissed her palmed and began to whisper in the archaic language again. Just as before, in the end a dim ball of light hovered over her hand. She blew it gently towards the house and it drifted off in a lazy zigzag pattern.
"Sealed with a kiss," the witch chuckled to herself and waited.
---
The hair on the back of Inu Yasha's neck stood up. The air was filled with an electric current, but by the look of it nobody else seemed to notice. His skin was prickling and he felt something inside of him become charged with an ecstatic energy. He sniffed the air slightly, everybody ignoring him, and it smelt different. The only way he could think to describe it was spicy.
Wondering if a demon or something was approaching, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. If anything happened, he'd be ready.
A few minutes passed and nothing had happened yet. Inu Yasha reluctantly let go of his hilt, deciding that if something was going on, it would have already. Still feeling uneasy, he resumed the kicking of the walls from earlier.
"I'm going to neuter you if you don't quit it," Kagome warned, looking up from a textbook. She had become particularly testy since she had discovered that her Bio book was missing. Since the half demon didn't know what 'neuter' meant he paused for a second, let the girl think he was done, and then started it again.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" she shrieked, standing up and stomping her foot for emphasis.
Since Inu Yasha was still feeling mischievous, and in his own way punishing her for hurling him at Sango, he looked her straight in the eye and then tapped the wall with his foot again.
"That's it! SIT!" The half demon slammed to the floor.
Miroku chuckled and leaned over to tap Sango on the shoulder and point out the vein throbbing on her forehead. As soon as the monk touched the girl, there was a Pop!
Where the young man had been, a huge, panicked looking, antlered animal now stood. The sudden appearance caused Kirara to erupt into her large form. Then the room exploded into chaos.
Inu Yasha and Kagome yelled in unison, "What the hell?!" and the demon exterminator jumped up and tried to get away from the slashing fire cat. At the same time so was the enormous animal and the room was just too small for that. The large creature bolted out the narrow doorway and took a chip out of the frame, the demon in hot pursuit.
Suddenly Inu Yasha realized what was going on. "She's here!" he yelled and took off at a run in the same direction as the two beasts. Kagome and Sango looked at each other in bewilderment and then followed.
---
Outside, the woman had already seen the animals crash out of the house. A lucky kick from the deer-creature hit the cat on the jaw, which knocked the demon off-balance and made it stumble to the ground. Only seconds later did the half demon appear. He paused, looked around, and spotted her.
"YOU!" he snarled and charged at her. She knew he couldn't see her face and that the rain would dampen her scent. She waved mockingly at him and then put two fingers to her mouth and blew. A shrill, piercing whistle split the sky and he stopped, covered his delicate ears, and howled in pain.
A horse's whinny answered. From the wayside house's stable a little bay horse galloped out from, with a confused groom hopelessly running after. By now Inu Yasha had recovered. He sprinted at her and the witch smiled and called, "Take flight my pretty little birdie."
With a Pop! he transformed into the raven and the horse rushed past him. As the animal came up beside the woman, she grabbed the withers and effortlessly swung herself up. The bird tried to pursue them but the rain had already shielded them.
Kagome and Sango were outside the building and he flew back to them. He perched on the miko's shoulder and cursed the woman in a raven's beautifully dirty vocabulary.
A small Kirara sulked up to the older girl and meowed pathetically. The deer-like animal followed and Kagome looked at it's dark head and neck, shaggy coat, and cream-colored body. Finally she realized what it was. "An elk," she told Sango. "Miroku has become an elk."
A/N: This chapter was fun to write. Man, Chapter Ten already? Sorry for the long wait, but I hope it was worth it. When I first thought of this story, my mind filled with tons of side-stories but I don't think I'll put them up. They don't really aid the plot at all. Originally I was going to add a back round chapter about the witch, but it too, wouldn't really be important to the story itself. All you guys really need to know is that she's not from around there. Oh yes, Naraku will be showing up soon, because what is an Inu Yasha fanfic with out him? Ok, so please review!