**********
Prisoners
Aftermath
**********
Shippo found Inu Yasha on the couch. The hanyou was staring blankly above him, looking worse than Shippo had seen in centuries. In fact, he could only recall one time when his friend had been as miserable.
"Where's Kagome?" Shippo asked quietly.
"Left," Inu Yasha's voice was monotone, "She chose to leave, this time."
"Left for where?" Shippo kept his voice very gentle.
"To her family, at the shrine."
Shippo furrowed his brow, "Is she coming back?"
Inu Yasha shrugged, never looking at the fox, "Who knows."
Shippo sighed, "Did she say she wasn't coming back?"
Inu Yasha glowered, "Not out loud...."
Shippo leaned over Inu Yasha, staring down at his face, "Then you can't presume she meant to leave forever. She's barely spoken to her mother in a week, Inu Yasha, you can't take it as a death knell for your relationship that she goes home once in a while."
Inu Yasha averted his eyes, "You don't know what happened before she left."
"So tell me, what happened? What was so-?" he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "We aren't finished," Shippo told him, leaving to answer the door.
Inu Yasha rolled his eyes.
*****
Shippo opened the door to an old man dressed in robes worn by a religious figure. Beside him was a young girl with her dark hair in two braided pigtails. Upon seeing Shippo, the old man's face split in a wide grin, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Master Kenjinshi, and I have something to discuss with you."
Shippo glanced back into the house, "Um, now isn't the best time...."
The elderly man leaned heavily on his staff, "I'm afraid it is terribly important. You see-"
"Shippo?" the young woman suddenly asked, her eyes wide in recognition.
Shippo blinked, "I- Do I know you?"
The girl seemed extremely satisfied, "You are Shippo, I remember you. But where have ye hidden your fox legs, and your tail."
Shippo glanced nervously behind them, as though they were hiding a demon extermination squad, "Perhaps you'd better come in after all..."
*****
Shippo led them into the room Inu Yasha was moping in. "Hey, there's a private funeral in here!" the hanyou barked at his uninvited guests.
"Ignore him," Shippo muttered. "He's currently competing for the title of 'Most Self-Involved Ass'."
The Master Kenjishi nodded, "Tough competition this century...."
*This century?* the strange statement reminded Shippo of the reason he'd invited them inside. "So," he started amiably, "What makes you think that I have a tail and- what else was it?"
The girl cleared her throat, "Fox legs."
"Right, so is that just a sales pitch to get people's attention or what? If so, it worked very well." Shippo gave them a winning smile.
The old Master licked his lips, "Well, for starters, your friend there has the ears of a dog..."
Shippo's winning smile was washed away instantly, "Oh, those... he's... in a play! Stage makeup!"
The hanyou snorted and rose from the couch, "Right, I'm just gonna leave you folks and take off my 'makeup'."
Master Kenjishi looked at his wizened hands, clasped together at the top of his gnarled staff, "I would not, Inu Yasha, for what we have to discuss involves you as well."
Inu Yasha turned toward Kenjishi, unimpressed, "Do you expect me to be amazed, old timer? I've seen mind reading before."
"I am no mind reader, Inu Yasha, just a very old friend."
Shippo looked at him questioningly, "I don't remember you, and I've been with Inu Yasha for the past five- um, a long time."
Master Kenjishi smiled happily, "I wouldn't expect you to recognize me, my friends. I am well aware that I look quite different now than I did when I went by the name Miroku."
Shippo's jaw dropped, but Inu Yasha remained unconvinced. "Feh, if you can figure out my name there's no reason you couldn't pick the name of any of my long dead friends to try to manipulate me."
The young woman looked at the hanyou with a sly grin on her face, "Well, if you don't believe he's Miroku, I suppose there's no way ye would believe that I'm Kaede."
Shippo's gaze shifted to her, his eyes going wide in awe, "Ka- Kaede?"
Inu Yasha guffawed, "Excuse me, 'ye'?"
The girl claiming to be the reincarnation of the old priestess blushed, "I meant 'you'. Ever since I've started having visions of my previous life, I've been slipping into the old language."
Inu Yasha snorted, but the angry look Shippo shot him kept him from saying anything further. "So you really are Kaede...."
She nodded, "I think so. In this life, however, I go by the name of Tamiko."
"That's enough about us, I think, Tamiko," Master Kenjishi cut in. "Please sit down, Inu Yasha, you look as though you're about to tip over anyway."
The hanyou growled, "I prefer to stand."
The old man nodded, "As you wish, but you really do look terrible. I haven't seen you look this bad since when Kagome left, and the well was sealed."
Inu Yasha shook visibly with anger, "You see a lot, old man. So you must know that Kagome has just left me again."
Master Kenjishi looked surprised, "Yes, in fact I do know. Actually, I'm surprised to see that you know as well."
Inu Yasha looked confused, then angry, "What do you mean, you're surprised I know?! I'm the one she ran out on this morning!"
The wrinkled face fell, "Oh, then you don't know...."
Shippo leaned forward, concerned, "What is it?"
Tamiko was tired of her Master's indirectness, "Kagome has been kidnaped," she told them gently.
*****
Inu Yasha didn't remember anything about leaving the house. He didn't remember anything said after the startling revelation. He only knew that he was now running, full tilt, toward the Sunset Shrine, searching desperately for any scent of Kagome.
*****
"Excuse me!" Shippo ran over to two old ladies sitting on a bench, breathless from running, "Have either of you seen a big guy with dog ears and silver hair running through here?" The women stared at him blankly. "Uh, never mind. Sorry."
Shippo turned to see Tamiko and Master Kenjishi, "I don't know where he's gone, nobody's seen him..." Shippo trailed off as his demon ears picked up on a familiar voice.
"Kouga...." Inu Yasha's growl was coming from the other side of a small cluster of trees.
"Come on," he urged his companions.
"Shippo?" Tamiko asked.
"Eh?" the fox turned to see Master Kenjishi down on one knee before the two old ladies.
"Beautiful creatures, may I just confide that I-" he was forced to stop as Shippo lifted him up by the arm.
"Come on, you perv! Honestly, don't you ever quit?"
They caught up with Tamiko, who was trying to calm a very agitated Inu Yasha. "She was here, and so was Kouga, and then-" He sniffed the air desperately, "Nohing! Damn pollution!!" He saw Master Kenjishi, "You!" he grabbed the neck of the old man's robes and pulled him close. "You knew she had been abducted, how??"
Master Kenjishi was surprisingly unfazed, "I have felt some trouble brewing over sweet Kagome for the past week now. Only this morning did I see exactly how it would manifest itself."
"Feh," Inu Yasha dropped the man, "Did you sense where she had been taken, old geezer?"
"My visions do not appear in digital imaging with surround sound. I know only that she is safe."
Shippo nodded, "At least Kouga would never hurt Kagome."
Inu Yasha glared suspiciously as Tamiko and Master Kenjishi, "I smell a trap," he snarled. "Well, I refuse to walk into it! I won't take on Kouga unprepared, there's too much at stake!"
Shippo blinked, "Wow, Inu Yasha, I think you may actually have matured...."
Inu Yasha was already walking away, "Shut up and bring Gramps and Pippy, brat!"
*****
Kagome awoke on a rough stone floor in complete darkness. She shuddered. She could hear someone in the complete black shift, then whisper.
"Hey, I think she's awake."
"'Bout time. She was out for a long while, even for a human," the second voice was disdainful.
"Be quiet, Chiyo. You don't want to scare her.... I don't think she can see in this light, I'd better start a fire." Kagome saw a bright flash of light, accompanied by the sound of two stones being struck together. Someone blowing gently, and moments later, a small fire had been kindled. Kagome's eyes adjusted slowly and she could see two female wolf demons, both facing her.
"Hm, not very pretty, now that I get a good look at her. Not all Kouga made her out to be..." the woman was definitely the owner of the second voice... Chiyo?
Her companion shot a dirty look. "Don't be so mean, can't you see that she's frightened?"
Kagome tried to stop shaking. She didn't want to feel vulnerable before these strangers. Still, it seemed to be winning her some sympathy with the other one, besides Chiyo. "You," Kagome said steadily, "are Chiyo, right."
The youkai sniffed and looked at Kagome as though she were a three week dead fish. The other wolf demon rolled her eyes, "She is. You may call me Kanta," she smiled brightly, and Kagome fought the urge to shrink back at the sight of her pointed fangs.
"I'm pleased to meet you..." Kagome struggled to think of something more to say, "Um, some of my best friends are demons." *Ouch... but I'm their captive, right? I don't have to worry too much about social grace here.*
Chiyo glowered, "Some of your best friends are filthy blooded half bloods, too. Kanta, she is awake now, and it does not seem as though she is likely to overpower you. I'll be waiting at the mouth of the cave. You can call if you need me." Shooting one last look of contempt to Kagome, she rose gracefully and left her alone with Kanta.
Kanta smiled kindly "Please don't blame her for the way she acts. The evolution of your human societies has made things very hard for our kind recently. Chiyo is not the only one to resent it."
"You don't seem to," Kagome observed.
Kanta shrugged, "I'm a more 'go with the flow' kind of gal. Besides, after hearing Kouga talk of you for so long, I'm very interested to speak with you."
Kagome smiled tentatively. If she was Kouga's captive, it meant that she was safe from any physical threat. *...and the shard of the shikon no tama is safe....* suddenly Kagome felt very foolish for leaving Inu Yasha the way she had. *If he had wanted the shard, he could have just taken it, but I was so afraid when I found myself so ready to give it to him... after what happened in the kitchen....* Kagome was glad for the dim light as she blushed.
"Here," Kanta said suddenly, and Kagome caught the apple she was tossed, "You look starving, and I could use a bite, too..." Kanta pulled out a strip of dried jerky. She ripped a bite off and regarded Kagome. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on you until the hanyou's influence wears off," she explained, making herself more comfortable on the stone floor. "So, tell me some about yourself...."
*****
Rin happened to be looking out the window when she saw them. She hurried to get her husband. "Sessho Maru?" she stuck her head into the study, where the Great Demon of the West was examining a few dusty scrolls.
"Rin? What is it?" he rose to walk over to his wife.
"Oh, I just thought I'd let you know that your brother, the kit, an old man, and a young woman are all coming to pay us a visit."
Sessho Maru's face was calm, "I see. We must go greet them."
Rin winced, "Sessho Maru, must you say it like that?"
"Like what?"
Rin was already headed downstairs, "You're so unemotional, it makes everything you say sound all creepy...."
Behind her, where no one could see, Sessho Maru stuck his tongue out, blowing a silent raspberry.
**********
TBC
Prisoners
Aftermath
**********
Shippo found Inu Yasha on the couch. The hanyou was staring blankly above him, looking worse than Shippo had seen in centuries. In fact, he could only recall one time when his friend had been as miserable.
"Where's Kagome?" Shippo asked quietly.
"Left," Inu Yasha's voice was monotone, "She chose to leave, this time."
"Left for where?" Shippo kept his voice very gentle.
"To her family, at the shrine."
Shippo furrowed his brow, "Is she coming back?"
Inu Yasha shrugged, never looking at the fox, "Who knows."
Shippo sighed, "Did she say she wasn't coming back?"
Inu Yasha glowered, "Not out loud...."
Shippo leaned over Inu Yasha, staring down at his face, "Then you can't presume she meant to leave forever. She's barely spoken to her mother in a week, Inu Yasha, you can't take it as a death knell for your relationship that she goes home once in a while."
Inu Yasha averted his eyes, "You don't know what happened before she left."
"So tell me, what happened? What was so-?" he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "We aren't finished," Shippo told him, leaving to answer the door.
Inu Yasha rolled his eyes.
*****
Shippo opened the door to an old man dressed in robes worn by a religious figure. Beside him was a young girl with her dark hair in two braided pigtails. Upon seeing Shippo, the old man's face split in a wide grin, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Master Kenjinshi, and I have something to discuss with you."
Shippo glanced back into the house, "Um, now isn't the best time...."
The elderly man leaned heavily on his staff, "I'm afraid it is terribly important. You see-"
"Shippo?" the young woman suddenly asked, her eyes wide in recognition.
Shippo blinked, "I- Do I know you?"
The girl seemed extremely satisfied, "You are Shippo, I remember you. But where have ye hidden your fox legs, and your tail."
Shippo glanced nervously behind them, as though they were hiding a demon extermination squad, "Perhaps you'd better come in after all..."
*****
Shippo led them into the room Inu Yasha was moping in. "Hey, there's a private funeral in here!" the hanyou barked at his uninvited guests.
"Ignore him," Shippo muttered. "He's currently competing for the title of 'Most Self-Involved Ass'."
The Master Kenjishi nodded, "Tough competition this century...."
*This century?* the strange statement reminded Shippo of the reason he'd invited them inside. "So," he started amiably, "What makes you think that I have a tail and- what else was it?"
The girl cleared her throat, "Fox legs."
"Right, so is that just a sales pitch to get people's attention or what? If so, it worked very well." Shippo gave them a winning smile.
The old Master licked his lips, "Well, for starters, your friend there has the ears of a dog..."
Shippo's winning smile was washed away instantly, "Oh, those... he's... in a play! Stage makeup!"
The hanyou snorted and rose from the couch, "Right, I'm just gonna leave you folks and take off my 'makeup'."
Master Kenjishi looked at his wizened hands, clasped together at the top of his gnarled staff, "I would not, Inu Yasha, for what we have to discuss involves you as well."
Inu Yasha turned toward Kenjishi, unimpressed, "Do you expect me to be amazed, old timer? I've seen mind reading before."
"I am no mind reader, Inu Yasha, just a very old friend."
Shippo looked at him questioningly, "I don't remember you, and I've been with Inu Yasha for the past five- um, a long time."
Master Kenjishi smiled happily, "I wouldn't expect you to recognize me, my friends. I am well aware that I look quite different now than I did when I went by the name Miroku."
Shippo's jaw dropped, but Inu Yasha remained unconvinced. "Feh, if you can figure out my name there's no reason you couldn't pick the name of any of my long dead friends to try to manipulate me."
The young woman looked at the hanyou with a sly grin on her face, "Well, if you don't believe he's Miroku, I suppose there's no way ye would believe that I'm Kaede."
Shippo's gaze shifted to her, his eyes going wide in awe, "Ka- Kaede?"
Inu Yasha guffawed, "Excuse me, 'ye'?"
The girl claiming to be the reincarnation of the old priestess blushed, "I meant 'you'. Ever since I've started having visions of my previous life, I've been slipping into the old language."
Inu Yasha snorted, but the angry look Shippo shot him kept him from saying anything further. "So you really are Kaede...."
She nodded, "I think so. In this life, however, I go by the name of Tamiko."
"That's enough about us, I think, Tamiko," Master Kenjishi cut in. "Please sit down, Inu Yasha, you look as though you're about to tip over anyway."
The hanyou growled, "I prefer to stand."
The old man nodded, "As you wish, but you really do look terrible. I haven't seen you look this bad since when Kagome left, and the well was sealed."
Inu Yasha shook visibly with anger, "You see a lot, old man. So you must know that Kagome has just left me again."
Master Kenjishi looked surprised, "Yes, in fact I do know. Actually, I'm surprised to see that you know as well."
Inu Yasha looked confused, then angry, "What do you mean, you're surprised I know?! I'm the one she ran out on this morning!"
The wrinkled face fell, "Oh, then you don't know...."
Shippo leaned forward, concerned, "What is it?"
Tamiko was tired of her Master's indirectness, "Kagome has been kidnaped," she told them gently.
*****
Inu Yasha didn't remember anything about leaving the house. He didn't remember anything said after the startling revelation. He only knew that he was now running, full tilt, toward the Sunset Shrine, searching desperately for any scent of Kagome.
*****
"Excuse me!" Shippo ran over to two old ladies sitting on a bench, breathless from running, "Have either of you seen a big guy with dog ears and silver hair running through here?" The women stared at him blankly. "Uh, never mind. Sorry."
Shippo turned to see Tamiko and Master Kenjishi, "I don't know where he's gone, nobody's seen him..." Shippo trailed off as his demon ears picked up on a familiar voice.
"Kouga...." Inu Yasha's growl was coming from the other side of a small cluster of trees.
"Come on," he urged his companions.
"Shippo?" Tamiko asked.
"Eh?" the fox turned to see Master Kenjishi down on one knee before the two old ladies.
"Beautiful creatures, may I just confide that I-" he was forced to stop as Shippo lifted him up by the arm.
"Come on, you perv! Honestly, don't you ever quit?"
They caught up with Tamiko, who was trying to calm a very agitated Inu Yasha. "She was here, and so was Kouga, and then-" He sniffed the air desperately, "Nohing! Damn pollution!!" He saw Master Kenjishi, "You!" he grabbed the neck of the old man's robes and pulled him close. "You knew she had been abducted, how??"
Master Kenjishi was surprisingly unfazed, "I have felt some trouble brewing over sweet Kagome for the past week now. Only this morning did I see exactly how it would manifest itself."
"Feh," Inu Yasha dropped the man, "Did you sense where she had been taken, old geezer?"
"My visions do not appear in digital imaging with surround sound. I know only that she is safe."
Shippo nodded, "At least Kouga would never hurt Kagome."
Inu Yasha glared suspiciously as Tamiko and Master Kenjishi, "I smell a trap," he snarled. "Well, I refuse to walk into it! I won't take on Kouga unprepared, there's too much at stake!"
Shippo blinked, "Wow, Inu Yasha, I think you may actually have matured...."
Inu Yasha was already walking away, "Shut up and bring Gramps and Pippy, brat!"
*****
Kagome awoke on a rough stone floor in complete darkness. She shuddered. She could hear someone in the complete black shift, then whisper.
"Hey, I think she's awake."
"'Bout time. She was out for a long while, even for a human," the second voice was disdainful.
"Be quiet, Chiyo. You don't want to scare her.... I don't think she can see in this light, I'd better start a fire." Kagome saw a bright flash of light, accompanied by the sound of two stones being struck together. Someone blowing gently, and moments later, a small fire had been kindled. Kagome's eyes adjusted slowly and she could see two female wolf demons, both facing her.
"Hm, not very pretty, now that I get a good look at her. Not all Kouga made her out to be..." the woman was definitely the owner of the second voice... Chiyo?
Her companion shot a dirty look. "Don't be so mean, can't you see that she's frightened?"
Kagome tried to stop shaking. She didn't want to feel vulnerable before these strangers. Still, it seemed to be winning her some sympathy with the other one, besides Chiyo. "You," Kagome said steadily, "are Chiyo, right."
The youkai sniffed and looked at Kagome as though she were a three week dead fish. The other wolf demon rolled her eyes, "She is. You may call me Kanta," she smiled brightly, and Kagome fought the urge to shrink back at the sight of her pointed fangs.
"I'm pleased to meet you..." Kagome struggled to think of something more to say, "Um, some of my best friends are demons." *Ouch... but I'm their captive, right? I don't have to worry too much about social grace here.*
Chiyo glowered, "Some of your best friends are filthy blooded half bloods, too. Kanta, she is awake now, and it does not seem as though she is likely to overpower you. I'll be waiting at the mouth of the cave. You can call if you need me." Shooting one last look of contempt to Kagome, she rose gracefully and left her alone with Kanta.
Kanta smiled kindly "Please don't blame her for the way she acts. The evolution of your human societies has made things very hard for our kind recently. Chiyo is not the only one to resent it."
"You don't seem to," Kagome observed.
Kanta shrugged, "I'm a more 'go with the flow' kind of gal. Besides, after hearing Kouga talk of you for so long, I'm very interested to speak with you."
Kagome smiled tentatively. If she was Kouga's captive, it meant that she was safe from any physical threat. *...and the shard of the shikon no tama is safe....* suddenly Kagome felt very foolish for leaving Inu Yasha the way she had. *If he had wanted the shard, he could have just taken it, but I was so afraid when I found myself so ready to give it to him... after what happened in the kitchen....* Kagome was glad for the dim light as she blushed.
"Here," Kanta said suddenly, and Kagome caught the apple she was tossed, "You look starving, and I could use a bite, too..." Kanta pulled out a strip of dried jerky. She ripped a bite off and regarded Kagome. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on you until the hanyou's influence wears off," she explained, making herself more comfortable on the stone floor. "So, tell me some about yourself...."
*****
Rin happened to be looking out the window when she saw them. She hurried to get her husband. "Sessho Maru?" she stuck her head into the study, where the Great Demon of the West was examining a few dusty scrolls.
"Rin? What is it?" he rose to walk over to his wife.
"Oh, I just thought I'd let you know that your brother, the kit, an old man, and a young woman are all coming to pay us a visit."
Sessho Maru's face was calm, "I see. We must go greet them."
Rin winced, "Sessho Maru, must you say it like that?"
"Like what?"
Rin was already headed downstairs, "You're so unemotional, it makes everything you say sound all creepy...."
Behind her, where no one could see, Sessho Maru stuck his tongue out, blowing a silent raspberry.
**********
TBC