Chapter 12! Ah, it feels so good to be back on track…
(By the way, I know next to nothing about Kyoto or festivals or anything like that. All the information I have is complied from watching anime. Just warning you, if you find something wrong and please, feel free to point it out. We learn from our mistake)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Sango, Kirrara, Miroku, Shippo, Myouga, Naraku, Kagura, Kanna or anyone else in one of the greatest manga/animes of all time. And no… I'm not sucking up…
*Oh, and thanks to --- for noticing the screw-ups with the words 'where' and 'wear'. I can't believe I didn't notice that! *smacks self on head*
Chapter 12:
Festival
The midday sun hung over the bustling streets of the outskirts of suburbia Kyoto, where the sakura petals were falling like snowflakes. The country houses, restaurants, inns, stores and other buildings of many kinds were open and people were milling about, enjoying their lives as the beautiful, spiritual city prepared for a spring fair that very evening. Tourists and locals alike were excited, and the air was as alive with buzz as those that filled the air with it.
None of them were aware of the huge shout that frightened a few animals, sent some birds into flight and shocked the undead bejeebas out of a few ghosts that resided in the area.
"I am NOT wearing THAT!"
The shout originated from a classical Japanese inn, located on a small hill with beautiful gardens and it's own share of blossoming cherry trees. Inside the inn the living occupants were none the wiser to the half-angel who was fending off a group of ghosts in one of the finely decorated rooms; they probably wouldn't be as cheerful as they were if they knew.
Inu-Yasha snarled at a frustrated Kagome and Sango, who were trying to convince him to change out of his old kimono and into some a little nicer for the festival. After he disregarded every single outfit they could think of the girls finally decided they would pick what was best for him. Miroku, Shippo, Kirrara and Myouga had all wisely chosen to stay out of the war, leaving the poor Inu-Yasha by himself against two girls who were slowly losing their temper.
"Listen Inu-Yasha," Kagome said, trying very hard to contain her patience. "I know you like your kimono and everything but you should at least wear something nice for the festival. I don't care if you chose something out of date, just anything but that!" Inu-Yasha crossed his arms and refused to move.
"Inu-Yasha, just listen to Kagome-chan." Sango advised. "Just pick something and wear it. It's only for one night."
"Keh." Inu-Yasha snorted, eyeing the outfits Kagome and Sango had conjured up (with help from the angels, of course). His gaze went to the girls then over to Miroku, who was sitting calmly in the corner and rather enjoying this. "Why doesn't he have to wear something stupid?" The half-angel asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.
"Because he's already chosen an outfit!" Kagome nearly shouted with exasperation. "Look, all you have to do is wear a nice outfit! For one night! Is that too hard to ask?"
Inu-Yasha grinned. "Yes."
"Why you…" Kagome clenched her fists and really, really looked like she was restraining herself from just going over there and using a different measure to get Inu-Yasha to comply. She turned around in a huff. "Inu-Yasha, SIT!"
There was a loud 'thump' noise, followed by a string of swearing. Inu-Yasha pushed himself upwards, growling in his throat. "Why you…" He jumped up in front of Kagome, practically in her face. "What'd ya do that for?" He snapped.
"Because you're an obstinate jerk!" She shouted back, poking him in the chest to punctuate her point. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched and he snarled back.
"I'm not a jerk, you're a stubborn bitch!"
"Jerk!"
"Bitch!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
The arguing continued on, Miroku and Shippo sighing through all of this and rubbing their foreheads simultaneously. "Sometimes I wonder if they're actually older then me." Shippo sighed.
"They're not." Miroku reminded him.
"Well, Kagome's not. But they still act younger." Shippo argued. Miroku nodded. "Good point." He said, watching the half-angel and his aggravated task argue back and forth like a broken record. Even Sango was getting a little tired of the banter.
"Inu-Yasha… don't make me say it again." Kagome threatened, and Inu-Yasha looked as though he'd like to say something back, but instead he turned his back on the girl and sat down. "I'm not getting changed." He said stubbornly.
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"FINE! Go naked!" Kagome shouted, throwing her arms in the air in disgust and going to sit beside Miroku, Sango and the other angels. Inu-Yasha was sitting there, slightly stunned and even the others had to look at the fuming Kagome with some question.
"Wha-What did you say?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking at his task in confusion.
"You heard me." Kagome said, although she couldn't keep the slight red from her cheeks. "If you don't want to get a new outfit then either go naked or don't come at all. There are going to be other ghosts there and I don't want it to seem that my guardian is an out-dated barbarian!"
Inu-Yasha stared at her, blinking a few times.
"I must say that this is one of their most interesting arguments." Miroku observed and Sango and the angels had to agree. Kagome and Inu-Yasha either didn't hear them or ignored it as they continued their conversation.
"So you're saying that I either don't go or I go naked? Those are my only choices?" Inu-Yasha asked, trying to get a grip on this in his mind.
"Or get changed into a different outfit." Kagome said curtly. "But don't wear that. First of all, it clashes with the yukata I'm going to wear. Second of all, it looks like we just found you frozen in a block of ice and defrosted you and brought you along."
"Eh?" Inu-Yasha was getting completely confused now. He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "I don't want to get changed and I'm sure as hell not going naked but I have to be there. What the hell kinds of choices are you giving me?" He asked, looking at his task. She kept the frown on her face but inside she was close to laughing. The way he was sitting there, his head cocked to one side, staring into space with puzzled eyes and his left ear twitching slightly with confusion he really did look like a puppy dog. But still, she had to keep up appearances. She nodded. "Only those three. Pick one." She almost smiled. He would definitely get changed now.
"Fine then." Inu-Yasha sighed, absently pulling a loose thread off of Tetsusaiga's handle cover. "I won't go."
Kagome sat there for a few seconds, blinking. Then suddenly her brain seemed to work again. "You what?" She asked, standing up.
"I won't go." Inu-Yasha said, looking at her calmly. "I'm not getting changed and I'm not going naked. So I'm not going."
Kagome stared at him opened mouth and he looked back at her with a straight face, although the edges of his mouth were slightly curled in a smug smile. Kagome's expression darkened and she glared at her guardian. "Fine then, you… you…. JERK! SIT!" She turned on her heel and stormed off, as Inu-Yasha tried to push himself up and he watched her jump through the window. "Kagome!" He shouted, but she was already gone. Inu-Yasha snarled and sat up, crossing his arms and going into 'Inu-Yasha-pout-mode'. He sulked darkly.
"The hell I'd do this time? She gave me three choices, I picked one. What the hell's up with her?" He glanced over at the other mortals and angels still in the room. "What the hell are you looking at?" He snarled.
"Nothing." Miroku smiled in his way and decided now would be a good time to talk to Shippo – somewhere else. Sango left to go talk to Kagome and she brought Kirrara with her. Inu-Yasha sat there, still sulking, trying to figure out what in the twelve hells he had done to get a female task, especially one as obstinate as Kagome. Damn her! He snorted and glanced over at the outfits Kagome had laid out for him. These stupid outfits were the reason she was angry at him. He sighed and hung his head, hating himself for what he was about to do.
"I hate you all, you know that?" Inu-Yasha grumbled under his breath so Kagome wouldn't hear him. Miroku overheard him and smiled, patting the poor angel on the shoulder. "It'll be alright Inu-Yasha. Festivals aren't so bad. Look at the colours, the patterns, the decorations!"
"You're looking at the clothes the girls are wearing." Inu-Yasha pointed out and Miroku smiled again. "Details, details." He said, fixing the rosary and glove that covered his Air Rip to make it look more fashionable. "After all, it's what the festivals are all about." He admired the goldfish design that patterned one girl's outfit close to her rear.
Sango frowned at the monk's actions and Kagome hid a smile. This was a festival and they were all here to have fun, even if they couldn't play any of the games. But Miroku had told them that sometimes, if enough ghosts come to a festival, there would be a section that the spirits had taken for themselves and set up their own games. There was certainly a fair number of spirits, Kagome had noticed. For every five living auras she saw she spotted a ghost and an angel aura. With so many people here, however, she was having a hard time seeing the actual spirits and guardians, but she had spotted a few, such as what appeared to be an adult man and what she assumed to be his angel, which looked almost human except it was really tall, dressed completely in green and had pointed ears and long, gold hair. A few other angels she had seen were no more normal; a six-winged serpent, a human with insect wings, even what looked like a vampire. If she couldn't see their auras she would have been certain they were demons. Strange how some things worked out.
It was around six in the evening, so the sun was just beginning to set and the food vendors were selling at their maximum, spreading a wonderful smell through the area. Kagome inhaled deeply, remembering these foods from her life and really, really wanting some. Still, they had just arrived and she wanted to look around first before 'acquiring' a meal.
They wouldn't have been so late if Inu-Yasha had just cooperated but at least he came. After a strange change of heart he reluctantly agreed to wear one of the 'stupid outfits' to the festival. Of course, he immediately disliked the one they thought suited him best but he had promised and Kagome and Sango had finally persuaded him to wear it.
He actually looked nice in it, she mused. It was a dark fuchsia-red kimono with gold trim and a golden oriental dragon circling the right shoulder. They had actually managed to brush his hair, although it was an experience Kagome hoped never to repeat, and had done it up into a ponytail so the demonic angel looked at least as human as possible. He still had Tetsusaiga on his waist and the rosary around his neck but there was nothing to be done about either. He still looks like a barbarian, Kagome thought, but at least it's a barbarian with some fashion sense.
Her own yukata was a dark pink with rose trim and light purple flowers, an exact copy of her old yukata from her life. She wore a ribbon in her hair that matched the ribbon that held Inu-Yasha's ponytail together, and had earrings made to look sakura flowers. Sango was wearing a similar yukata expect it was a creamy yellow with large white and rose flowers decorating the entire outfit. Miroku was dressed in a more formal monk's uniform, either trying to look nice so that Kagome and Sango wouldn't bother him or to look important so he could impress any female ghosts he met. Shippo was wearing a similar outfit to what he always wore, except his furry vest had been replaced with a silk one. Kirrara hadn't changed.
"Oh! A goldfish pond!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly, going over to the booth where a young child was trying to catch a prize goldfish. "This was always one of my favorite places to go when I was alive!"
"I know." Inu-Yasha muttered. He'd never be able to figure out what was so special about the stupid goldfish. He tugged nervously on his ponytail, not used to doing pretty much anything with his hair. "How much longer do we have to stay here?" he asked wearily.
"Inu-Yasha, we just got here!" Kagome sighed. "And we're not leaving until the fireworks!"
"When's that?" Inu-Yasha, hoping it wasn't long.
"10 'o' clock." Kagome said. Inu-Yasha looked confused and frowned as he tried to figure out how long that was. "Four hours." Kagome clarified. Her guardian's face fell. "Shit." He muttered.
"If you're not careful I'm going to say that word and leave out the 'h'." Kagome warned. Inu-Yasha clamped his mouth shut and glared at her. Kagome smiled sweetly as she turned to the rest of her friends. "Let's go check out the festival, shall we?"
"'K." Miroku and Sango nodded and followed Kagome as they wandered around the festival, admiring the sights and sounds. Inu-Yasha followed skulking, toying with Tetsusaiga's handle and walking straight through people, ignored the fact he was giving them strange chills.
"Inu-Yasha? Inu-Yasha!" Everyone looked up as a strange girl ran up, beaming. Miroku and Sango looked curiously over at Kagome, who frowned. "She's an angel." Kagome said and looked at Shippo on her shoulder who, for all his youth, was turning into her fountain of knowledge. "Who is she?"
"I – I have no idea." Shippo said, shrinking into a small ball. Kagome took his word and looked back over at the angel, who was grinning at a bewildered Inu-Yasha.
"Haven't seen you in ages." She was saying and winked at him. "What have you been doing with your life? Still an exterminator?"
"I'm a guardian angel now." Inu-Yasha said, getting his wits back and crossing his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"A guardian angel?" The girl blinked. "You? Really? Wow, time flies when you're traveling. It's been what?"
"200 years." Inu-Yasha snorted. "And I repeat: What the hell are you doing here?"
"Travlin'." The angel responded with another grin and she glanced over at the rest of the group. "Oh, Kirrara-chan!" She said, crouching down and patting the small cat angel on the head. "How have you been? Still guarding?" She looked over at Shippo, seemingly ignoring Sango and Miroku. "Oh, and how cute! Say, don't you look familiar?" She said, tweaking Shippo's cheek.
"He's Kinu's son." Inu-Yasha said, dragging her away. "And will you answer my dammed question already?" He growled, holding her aloft by her collar.
"I did." The girl pouted and focused still on the group. Then her eyes fell on Kagome. "Oh my!" She somehow broke free of Inu-Yasha's grip and was face-to-face with a confused Kagome. "You! What are you doing here, especially wi-" she paused and looked Kagome over before meeting the girl's eyes again with a look of confusion. "Oh. Sorry, my mistake. You just look really, really familiar." She glanced over at Inu-Yasha for an explanation, although he looked more like he'd rather bite her head off.
"Reborn." He nearly snarled, hoping she would go away. "Now I'm not going to say it agai-"
But the angel was ignoring him now. "Reborn? And you're her guardian?" She giggled. "My, that's funny! Inu-Yasha, at least we can say you're loyal!" She turned around and smiled brightly at the half-angel. "Although don't you get tired of it? Well love, I'm not going anywhere, except maybe China. When you get tired of the dull, boring job of being a guardian angel, then call me up." She flipped his ponytail, turned around to the rest of the group and winked. "Toodles!" With that she transformed into a white dove and flew away at abnormal speeds.
Everyone stared up at the sky where she disappeared then simultaneously looked down at Inu-Yasha, who was slightly red although it was difficult to tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger. He was still looking up but seemed to feel everyone's eyes on him. He looked down at them and coughed.
"She's the little sister of Minu, an angel that used to live in my village. Her name's Ayeka and she's annoying as hell. Her sister was a hell of a lot better then that brat." He said nervously, playing with his ponytail. When no one said anything he snarled. "Look, just shut up!" He turned around and stormed away.
"Shut up?" Shippo echoed. "But we weren't saying anything."
"Kagome-chan?" Sango looked over at Kagome, who was still trying to figure out how to react. She frowned. He really is a man-whore, she thought.
"We should go find him before something turns up." Miroku advised. "So far, nothing good has come of us separating."
Sango and Kagome looked as though they wanted to argue, but they both knew he was right. They agreed and followed Miroku and Shippo as they weaved through the crowd, Shippo sniffing to find Inu-Yasha's scent.
They found him near a shooting gallery, watching dully as a twelve-year-old boy was trying to hit one of the targets. Inu-Yasha had taken out his hair tie and was twirling the ribbon around his claws. His ears turned in their direction then flipped back as though he wanted nothing to do with them. Kagome frowned and was about to storm up to him when Sango put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.
"Kagome-chan, it's not going to make anything better arguing with him." The older girl advised. "It would be best to just leave it alone since his story seems fairly true and I used to have a friend with a younger sister who was a lot like that. Just let it be and try to enjoy yourself for the rest of the festival. It's the last spring festival we have." She added a little more firmly.
Kagome listened quietly and nodded. Sango was right and there wasn't any proof she had about Inu-Yasha and that girl. Why was she getting jealous anyway? It's not like she liked him or thought about him that way… okay, maybe he did look really, really gorgeous in the outfit he was wearing now and had his nice moments, like the night before at the inn. She smiled secretly, knowing she would never tell Inu-Yasha she was awake for that; he'd kill her. But that didn't mean she wanted him for a boyfriend!
"Well?" She looked up to see Inu-Yasha looking at them, half-angry and half-bored. She almost said the word but decided against it. Do what Sango says and just enjoy your last festival on Earth, she told herself. So instead she smiled and grabbed Inu-Yasha's kimono sleeve. "Let's go get something to eat!" She said, dragging him along.
"Wha- hey!" Inu-Yasha protested but allowed himself to be pulled away. Sango smiled and shook her head at the antics of the girl and angel, who had just stopped moving and were now arguing over something Inu-Yasha had said again. She heard a small rustling of cloth beside her and frowned; that could only mean one thing.
"Don't even think about it, Houshi-sama." She said. Miroku quickly pulled his hand away and smiled nervously. "Do what?" he asked, trying to sound innocent. Shippo rolled his eyes and jumped to the ground and began tugging on Miroku's pant leg. "C'mon Miroku, Kagome and Inu-Yasha are almost out of sight! I want food too!"
"Good idea. Come Kirrara." Sango said and left. As she thought, Miroku followed and Sango quickly sped up to join with her friend and the half-angel. Last thing she needed was getting lost in this crowd with the lecherous monk. As she slowed down to see which direction the other two had gone she felt an all-to-familiar rubbing on her rear end.
Whack! She turned around and slapped Miroku yet again. "Didn't I warn you?" She asked angrily, before Kirrara indicated where Kagome and Inu-Yasha went and Sango stormed off in that direction.
Shippo sat up and smoothed his hair of where it got ruffled when he ducked just in time to not get hit by Sango. "Why can't I have an easier task?" He wailed, bonking Miroku on the head. "You cause me too much trouble!"
"Silence Shippo." Miroku bonked him back. Then a group caught his eye. "Come now, there are some girls that I'm sure would enjoy your company."
"I give up." Shippo sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable squealing.
"Oden!" Kagome pulled Inu-Yasha in another turn and grabbed a few things of oden and a tray. Her eyes were shining. "Oh, what a wonderful world where I can still eat oden!" She picked up one and unceremoniously ate it in one bite. She swallowed and sighed happily, then looked over at her guardian who seemed interested in other things. "Don't you want anything Inu-Yasha?"
The demonic angel didn't seem to hear her and was looking into the crowd, his ears forward and his nose twitching slightly as he sniffed the air. Something was wrong, very wrong. Kagome followed his gaze and realized that she couldn't sense any ghosts or angels here, just a strange, inexplicable cold. She quickly swallowed her third oden and put the rest down. Then a movement caught her eye and she gasped.
"Inu-Yasha! It's Rin!" She grabbed her guardian's sleeve and pointed through the bustling mass of people to a small clearing. If Inu-Yasha knew everything her life then he would definitely know of Rin. He glanced over at where Kagome was pointing and immediately saw the girl. He peeked forward and started to growl.
When Kagome was younger there had been a horrible explosion in her district, killing 13 people and nearly destroying Kagome's shrine. There had only been one survivor in the midst of it, a six-year-old girl named Rin. What was peculiar was that she had survived unscathed and disappeared from the local hospital three days later. While humans had said the explosion was due to terrorists, Inu-Yasha knew better; it was a pack of demons that had devoured the humans' souls then destroyed the buildings to make it look less suspicious. He had always sensed something off about Rin, especially after she disappeared.
Now the young girl was at the festival, confusing both Inu-Yasha and Kagome because she was very much alive. She was dressed in a light yukata and playing hopscotch at the end of one booth hall, where she was mostly being ignored. But right beside her, although it looked rather bored, was a small demon carrying a staff and Rin seemed to be carrying a one-sided conversation with the demon, who would snap at her every once in a while. Yet, for all Kagome looked, she couldn't see a guardian angel around the girl or even close; there was just the demon standing there. What was going on?
"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome looked up at her guardian, who was growling deep in his throat, his hackles somewhat raised. There was definitely something wrong about this girl, but Inu-Yasha seemed most in tune to it. Kagome looked back at Rin, then at the half-angel. "Wha -?"
"Stay here." Inu-Yasha snarled, jumping up to the top of a booth, one hand on Tetsusaiga. He stealthily crawled over to the unsuspecting Rin and her demon companion.
"Kagome?" Kagome looked over to see Sango and Kirrara walk up, watching Inu-Yasha with curiosity. "What's Inu-Yasha doing?" Wordlessly Kagome pointed over to where Inu-Yasha was heading. Sango followed her gaze and gasped. "Tha-that's Rin!"
Inu-Yasha's ears flicked back as he heard Sango's voice, then turned forward again as he resumed his hunting of the live girl and the demon, who still hadn't noticed him. Inu-Yasha's ears were flickering all around and he was sniffing wildly, looking for the demon he knew wasn't far behind. He almost smiled, had he not been snarling so much. So the rumors were true. Oh, the mighty one was going to get a chewing out as soon as Inu-Yasha found him. He chuckled under his breath as he jumped to the last booth right near where Rin was playing quietly. He'd kill Jaken at least, that should draw the pompous asshole out. He'd just hope he wouldn't have to kill the girl, especially with Kagome watching. Why in the twelve hells was the girl here anyway?
Time for questions later, Inu-Yasha thought while drawing Tetsusaiga. He stood up to a crouch, quietly transforming his sword with a flick of the wrist. He coiled up, preparing to spring, when he heard a voice behind him that made his blood run cold and almost caused him to jump out of his skin.
"Savage and barbaric as usual, nephew. I would have thought that living with the angels would have improved your manners. Still, one can't expect much out of a mixed-blood like you. Now won't you turn around and greet me properly, and put that sword away as well. That's no way to greet a Demon Lord."
End Chapter 12
Ha-ha! He's finally appeared, so all of you can stop bothering me! *throws streamers in the air* 'sides, the story's barely a third of the way through, so expect more of our 'mystery visitor' (if you haven't figured out who it is, read it many, many times over. If you still can't figure it out, go hit yourself on the head until you do.) He's gonna be a main character, I just needed the right time for him to pop in. And here he is! Now perhaps I'll stop getting blasphemous letters threatening my life, per say, if a certain fluffy didn't appear.
And thank you for all your entries for the title of the book! You guys are crazy with your imagination. I have to say, however, that while I wouldn't use it there was one title that caught my eye and I have to write down just because it's so memorable:
Ø "I should have worn my seatbelt" (Tanuki-chan. What brand of sugar do you use?)
Of course there has to be a winner of this contest, and if you were observant you would have noticed the name of said suggestor in the story (look closely at the section with Ayeka) I would like to congratulate Minu for her wonderful suggestion for a title. And now, the title of Book 1 for Guardian Angel:
*!~Fate's Threads~!*
And that's all for now! I'd like to thank everyone for their contributions, including vicous wolf, Tanuki-chan, warriorGL, link no miko and the many others!
On another note, I'd also like to say to everyone that you shouldn't give up hope on the doujinshi: pages 1-3 are outlined and page 1 is nearly completely done! The cover page is a bitch though. Maybe I should hold a contest for that too…
Well anyway, before I start getting master plans for all of you to do my work for me, ja!
~Ama