Preview from last chapter:
Leota nodded as though the event happened all the time, "Ah, had another run-in with Anju, eh? I always told you to stay away from that hag, but did you listen? Nope."
The newly dubbed Kibun sighed. It would take a while for him to get used to the fact that Leota saw him only as her brother, who happened to be a girl. How he wished he could just burst forth and tell her what had really happened, but Tora would skin him alive and worse, Leota may die of a seizure right there from what Tora had said.
But all of that was child's play compared to a much more threatening task that loomed over the wolf's head.
How the hell was he supposed to go to the bathroom?
Chapter Twenty-One:
Dirty Work
"I said no."
"Aw c'mon, Inu-san! It'll be fun!" Tora smirked.
"No way! There is no way in the seven hells I'm gonna go there!"
"Please? Ki-kun's going!"
"Because he wants to go!" Inu-Yasha argued.
Gripping the stubborn hanyou's arm, Leota gave him her 'puppy dog eyes', "Come on, Inu-kun. You don't have to do anything with us; just come along. We'd really enjoy your company."
"Just give in, Inu-Yasha. It's less painful that way. You can't defeat her; this is her territory. Trust me."
Sighing, Inu-Yasha nodded, giving him the appearance of a puppet. Leota smiled.
"Thank you, Inu-kun, you won't regret coming, I know you won't!"
Tora nodded, pointing to Leota, Kagome, and 'Ki-kun', "Indeed. There's never a dull moment when those three get together."
"I know," Inu-Yasha said, his voice sounding utterly defeated, "that's what I'm afraid of."
Twenty minutes later...
"Oh wow, Ota-chan! It's beautiful here!" Kagome exclaimed, taking in the scenery that was laid out before her.
They had just emerged from a small forest that they now saw surrounded a large lake with a boulder in the middle. A boulder Kibun (a.k.a Kouga) could have sworn he'd seen somewhere before. On their right was a small waterfall that fed the lake, a petrified piece of something sticking out at an odd angle.
"Arigatou, K-chan, I'm glad you think so. It took me awhile to reacquire this land, but after much debating, this land has finally been restored to the Usu Family."
"Does this lake have a name?"
"Oh but of course it does, K-chan. It has a name that you should be very much familiar with. Ki-kun and I used to come here all the time when we were little, back before the Ura family stole it from us," Leota said as she climbed on top of a small boulder, taking off her street clothes to reveal her two-piece bathing suit, "welcome to Dragon's Lake."
With that, Leota dove into the now-clear water, leaving behind four very bewildered companions.
"Hold on now," Tora thought, "isn't Dragon's Lake supposed to be filled with the blood of two dragons that Ookami-sama was said to capture? If that is true, then why is there actual water here?"
"When last I was here, it was blood that washed upon the sand; however now it is water. How can this be? The scent of blood is still strong, but not quite as much as when we came here and..." Kouga had to stop. Questioning the lake was making him relive what had happened not too long ago. The time he and Usu-Venita had become mates for all eternity.
"Hey, uh, Ota-chan?"
"Hm?" Leota asked, shaking herself off as she climbed out of the lake.
"Before, during the Blood Moon, Tora-san told us that this lake used to be, uh..."
"Filled with the blood of dragons?"
"Uh..." Startled by her friend's bluntness, Kagome nodded, "Hai."
"It was; however, a priestess happened to wander by and purified it. Now no demon can bathe in it. I can only bathe here because at the moment, I am human. Inu-kun, Ki-kun, and Tora-kun should be safe, though."
"But you just said..."
"I know, but my family was lucky enough to have a nice priestess walk by. The only bad thing that happens to someone of demon lineage is that they start to have urges. What the urge is for depends on the person, but usually it's nothing too bad."
"Then why don't you bathe as a demon?" Tora asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Because I already know the urge I would have."
"Which is?" Inu-Yasha prompted.
Leota raised an eyebrow, "Listen, I don't mean to make you guys paranoid or anything, because I'm gonna be as blunt as I can be. At the moment, I am in extreme need of sexual release. I do not need that feeling to be amplified, all right? So let's not have me bathe as a demon, okay?"
Now Kouga felt extremely useless. Here he was, stuck in a woman's body, and his mate was in need of him! He shot Tora a glare, but the tiger only responded with a shrug.
"How long can I keep this up? How long will it take for her to realize it's me? Why couldn't Xavier just have cursed her with something else!" Kouga thought, those same questions having haunted him before.
He felt a hand on his arm, "Ki-kun?"
"Hm?"
"Is something the matter? You look a little out of it."
"No, no, I'm fine, Venia-chan. Really."
"You're sure?"
"Hai, it's nothing. There's just something I have to do." He said, turning out of Venita's grasp.
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now. I have to do this. You can have fun without me, all right? I promise to come back as soon as I can."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"All right, but I'm gonna hold you to that promise." Venita said firmly.
Tora watched the exchange between Venita and her 'brother', wondering just what it was Kouga had to do. He felt sorry for the wolf hanyou, knowing just what it was like to have a bitch in heat right next to you but unable to do anything about it.
Turning his head, Tora saw that Venita was making her way towards him. He smiled at her, "Do you need something?"
"As a matter of fact, I do, Tora-san."
"And what is it that you need?"
"Come here and I'll tell you." Venita said, standing on tiptoes as she whispered into the tiger's ear.
He chuckled, "You're really desperate, aren't you?"
"Wouldn't you be? Come on, Tora-san, we haven't made an attempt for quite some time, you know. It's about time we tried moving our plans further. This is the way it needs to happen."
"Are you sure it's going to work? You've had this 'Operation Hot Spring' stuck in your head for quite a while. You sure it hasn't fermented up there?"
"Are you gonna help me or not?" Venita growled at him, watching as Kagome swam laps in the lake while Inu-Yasha kept a protective eye on her… from the safety of a tree, of course.
"Just how can you make something like that work? You may be a genius when it comes to these things, Sama-sama, but I think even you would have problems with that plan."
"You got a better one?"
"Well, no, not exactly…"
"Then that proves it. If we don't act now, then it lessens the chances that they'll get together, which defeats our purpose all together!" Venita said in an excited whisper, continuing right as Tora opened his mouth to protest, "Don't argue with a horny wolf demon, Tora, it won't get you anywhere. I can promise you that."
Knowing she was right, Tora nodded, "All right, all right, you've got me beat. But just how do you plan on starting this little chain of events?"
She shrugged, "You ever hear of fish?"
"In this lake? Sama-sama, nothing lives in this lake!"
"This is true," Venita said, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "but they don't know that."
In the Feudal Era…
Running as fast as he could from the Bone Eater's Well to Kaede's village, Kouga kept trying to think of ways he could explain himself. Finally deciding to be as blunt as he could, Kouga slowed to a stop in front of the hut. He knocked.
"Who is it?" A younger woman's voice asked, probably the woman named Sango.
"I need to speak with the Moon Goddess."
"What for?"
"One of her children needs advice."
Pulling the grass mat aside, Kouga saw that it had indeed been Sango that had answered, "She's out right now, but she'll be coming back any minute, if you wish to wait for her."
"I would like that, yes."
"Would you like some tea while you wait?"
"No thank you."
"Would you like to come inside?"
"Please."
Sango stepped aside and let Kouga through, looking him over before he sat down. It was then he realized he was still wearing the clothes Venita had picked out for him.
"You seem nervous," Miroku said from his corner of the hut, "any specific reason?"
Kouga looked up, "You don't know who I am, do you? I don't see how you could remember me, seeing as how I look so much different than last we met."
"I think we would remember seeing someone like you." Sango said, putting a pot over the fire.
"You mean to say that you would remember seeing a wolf hanyou, right?" Kouga asked, watching as both exterminator and monk seemed to look for the right words, "Don't worry, I won't be this way for long, not if my hunch is correct, which it should be."
Just then, Shippo walked into the hut, taking a sniff and looking towards the wolf's corner, "Kouga! You're back! Where's Venita and Kagome, huh? Did they come back with you, too? Why do you smell funny?"
Miroku and Sango blinked, "Kouga!"
"Sorry, Kid, I left by myself. I need Lunia-san's help with… this," he gestured to himself, "I think Lunia was behind this somehow."
"Did someone call?" Aforementioned moon goddess asked, stepping into the hut and stopping as she looked at Kouga, "Oh dear…"
"You were behind this, weren't you?" The wolf hanyou accused.
"Uh, heheh, let me explain…"
"Weren't you?"
"All right! It was me! What do you want?"
"Change me back."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Not time yet."
"What do you mean by that?"
Lunia sighed, taking her seat around the fire, "I mean that everything concerning Kagome and Inu-Yasha must be taken care of before you and Chan-chan can be together again."
"What! That could take forever!"
"This is true, but we must stick to the plan."
"Does Venita know? Does she know who I really am? When she looks at me, does she see me, or her brother that's been turned into a girl?"
"I can't tell you that, Kouga, I really can't. Just know that you'll be together again in the end."
"Listen Lunia, my bitch needs me right now, and I can't do anything about it! How am I supposed to ignore something like that!"
"Calm down, Kouga-san. We all have hardships in our lives, you know. Don't you think Inu-Yasha and Kagome deserve to be together after all that's happened? Don't you think it's about time they found happiness like you and Chan-chan have found?"
"But you didn't have to take our happiness away!" Kouga exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "All I want to do is be able to hug my mate with her knowing that it's me! Every time she calls me by her brother's name, it kills me, and I'm sure it kills her to some extent inside. Please, Lunia-san, I want to be me again. I don't want her to have to fear me just so you can fulfill your plots. How many people do you intend to hurt before all of this is through?"
"You don't seem to be understanding anything I'm trying to tell you, so let me explain it another way," Lunia said, eyes narrowing before she sighed and her face showed exasperation rather than anger, "Lira's on vacation!"
Kouga blinked, "Who?"
"Lira! The Love Goddess from the Inside! She's on vacation and left me in charge of all her 'dirty work'!" Lunia exclaimed, trying to calm down to answer the suspicious looks from her human friends, "Every god and goddess has a pile of work that they label 'easy work' and 'dirty work'. Everyone loves the 'easy work', so Lira decided that since she had all that 'dirty work' to do, she'd just ask me to finish all of her 'business'… which means I have to fulfill her quota!"
The monk, exterminator, fox kit, and wolf hanyou all nodded, as though they'd each reached their own epiphany.
"So what's this gotta do with me and Venia-chan?" Kouga asked.
Lunia sighed, "Nothing! Just nothing! I needed a way to split you two apart long enough so that we could work on getting Inu-san and Kagome-san together!"
"You couldn't think of anything else?" Sango asked, an eyebrow raised.
"It was the first thing that came to mind! Chan-chan's the evil genius around here, not me! And besides, I didn't have time to think things through the way she does! She probably devotes her entire day to thinking up of stuff, and what do I do? I screw stuff up! That's what a goddess does! We screw stuff up for all you mortals down here!" Lunia exclaimed, putting her head in her hands as she moved her white hair behind her ears.
"But you can change Kouga back, right?" Shippo asked, tugging on Lunia's sleeve.
"And change Venia-chan's mind about me?"
"Yes to both questions," Lunia sighed, sitting back up and snapping her fingers, "there. Now help me come up with plots to get Inu-san and Kagome-san together."
All present looked at Lunia as though she'd just asked them what the meaning of life was.
"I've got it," Miroku said, clinking his staff against the floor as he pulled out a small vile from his robes, "and it doesn't even need to sit over night."
Lunia stared at the little vile, "Please tell me that's…"
"I was saving it for….someone else, but I believe Lady Kagome and Inu-Yasha need it more than I do." Miroku nodded, risking a glance over in Sango's direction before handing the small bottle to Lunia.
Holding the bottle as though it were as precious as a newborn child, Lunia's face broke into a cynical grin, "Now all we need is a miko, a dog hanyou, and a few more cups of tea…"
((March 2, 2005)) A/N: Woohoo! I'm finally done with this chapter! I even made sure to make it nice and long for all of you, aren't I nice? I'm sorry it's taken me so long, but I've been working on some of my original stories and also my new Samurai Deeper Kyo fic, so if you're a fan, check it out!
Also, I wish to thank all of those that have been reviewing, it really makes my day especially now because I have strep-throat for the first time of my life… blech…
Anyway, please put up with me as I believe it will take a little while before chap. 22 starts coming to me… thank you for your patience! I love you all:-)
