Episode Two: Pratfalls, Vegetarians, and Fluffapopathy
Written by: Silver Kagami and Reina no Taisho

Disclaimer: InuYasha and all of its characters do not belong to me. They are copyrighted to their original creators. I am not making any money off of this. Please don't sue me, I am very poor and I wouldn't be able to give much money anyway.
The following characters were created by Silver Kagami: Nayru

Sesshoumaru realized soon enough that he was in need of direction to the territory of the Nikushoku. However, he couldn't just ask where the territory of the Tribe was. That would scare of the young girl, or at least make her suspicious of his intentions. No, he had to be cleverer than that.

"Now then, Nayru," he said. "Which land did you say you came from again?"

"Um, I didn't," Nayru said after awhile, looking puzzled. "But if you really want to know, it was in the land where the sun rises, opposite the Tiger."

"I see," said Sesshoumaru. He paused for a moment, and then continued. "That happens to be the direction in which I am traveling. You may not wish to accompany me any further, as we will most likely be nearing your old territory."

"No," Nayru said almost instantly, shaking her head. "I'm fine! So long as I don't set foot inside the territory, I can be as close as I want!"

"Very well," said Sesshoumaru, in his normal flat tone. Inside, he was pleased that all was moving according to plan. Whatever elation he had was soon deflated, however, by Nayru's odd antics.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, in her usual peppy tone.

"No," Sesshoumaru replied flatly.

"…Are we there yet?"

"No…"

"Are we there…yet?"

"No." There was a warning tone in Sesshoumaru's voice, but Nayru didn't seem to notice.

"Are we there yet!" she asked enthusiastically.

"No!" Sesshoumaru growled, this time getting frustrated with her.

"…" Nayru stopped for a moment, and then asked him, "Where are we going, Sesshy?"

"They call me Sesshoumaru," he said, trying hard for once to keep his temper. "And I will not tell you again, we are headed to retrieve something of importance to me."

"Which is?" Nayru asked curiously. Sesshoumaru didn't speak for a moment, as he pondered over what to tell the demoness.

"It is not of your concern," he said finally. "Besides, you will see soon enough." Nayru seemed to want to know more, but Sesshoumaru would answer her nothing. She finally gave up, and the company traveled in silence for a long while.

"Look!" Nayru chirped several hours later. Sesshoumaru didn't even glace over. It was only a weakling demon she had seen after all, why should he bother with it? Nayru thought different, however. "Hey ugly!" she called after it. "Yeah over hear! That's right, I'm talking to you!"

Sesshoumaru looked at her with an expression of pure loathing. Perhaps this girl was worth more trouble than it was worth…No; he told himself, she was necessary to the plan. Without her, he held a bigger risk of being stopped by the Nikushoku before he reached his goal.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but be irritated of the way Nayru was riling up the demon, however. She wasn't helping the situation; in fact, she was making it all worse. He watched as she charged at the demon, ready to draw her bow. But just as she was in the right position, she tripped and fell flat on her face.

"Owie!" Nayru cried as she pushed her self to her knees. "That hurt!" The demon raised its talon-like claw to strike her, but suddenly it was razed by a blast of demonic energy. Nayru looked back to see Sesshoumaru sheathing Tokijin. Without a word, he turned and began to leave.

After getting over the flat shock of seeing just what Sesshoumaru could do, Nayru scurried to her feet. She took one look at the scorch mark and stomped on it.

"Ha!" she said. "I told you I would take you down! You should have left while you had the chance!" She looked back towards Sesshoumaru, and then scrambled to follow him, tripping once more along the way. Still, Nayru had to come up with a new issue; Hunger.

"Sesshouma-ru!" she half-chanted. "I'm hun-gry! When do we eat?" Sesshoumaru looked up at the sky. The sun was already high, and he had hoped to be closer to the sword then he felt. Stopping to eat would prolong not only the journey but the time he had to spend with this…person. However, he couldn't have her collapsing either, so he decided it would be best to take a short break.

"Very well," he said. "We will stop for a short while." Nayru seemed quite happy about being able to rest. She leapt up onto a tree branch, leaning against the trunk. It was easy enough to tell that there would be no hunting done by her means, so Sesshoumaru took it upon himself to get food for once. However, things did not go according to plan.

"What did you do?" asked Nayru, looked horrified.

"It's a deer," Sesshoumaru said flatly. "Surely you've seen one before…"

"Of course!" Nayru said, slightly insulted. "But you killed it! How could you?" Sesshoumaru actually stared at her for a moment, before he spoke.

"Of course," he said. "How else do you expect to get food unless you kill?"

"Simple," Nayru chirped. "You just don't eat meat. That's why I'm a vegetarian!" Sesshoumaru was baffled, though he didn't let it show. A cat that was vegetarian? Was this girl out to make this journey even more miserable?

Sesshoumaru shook of the thoughts of confusion. He wouldn't take it any longer. He spoke in a growling voice, "Just eat it." Nayru shook her head.

"No!" she said, shoving it away.

"Eat."

"No!"

"Eat it."

"I'll eat it when you shove it down my throat!" Nayru called. Sesshoumaru looked from Nayru to the deer and back again. He got a dark look on his face. "Just an expression, just an expression!" Nayru squealed, looking terrified.

"…" Sesshoumaru left it at that. Nayru went and got her own food after awhile. Sesshoumaru knew he had snapped, and truthfully he was surprised when Nayru returned after leaving. He had scared her half to death when he had lost his patience, something he had been driven to a lot recently.

Later that night, after they had set up camp, Sesshoumaru was leaned up against a tree to rest. The girl had been grating on his nerves all day, and even he could only take so much. It wasn't long till he felt something on his right-side. He turned his head slightly, and caught sight of Nayru looking at his fluffy (once again, if you know what this is called, please do tell.).

"What is so fascinating?" he asked, a growl under-toned in his voice. Nayru looked up, all signs of her fear from earlier vanished. Still she remained silent for many long moments.

"…Fluffapopathy," she said suddenly. Sesshoumaru stared at her, and she repeated herself. Sesshoumaru just blinked. "Fluffapopathy. That's how this is, and that's how you are, too."

Sesshoumaru looked even more irritated, and he must have been. The dog demon stood up and moved clear to the other side of camp. Nayru felt a little hurt, but it wasn't anything she hadn't seen happen before. After all, she had gotten used to be alone by then. He drifted off into sleep, where one thought seemed to prevail over others.

Fluffapopathy…