Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted/licensed/trademarked materials mentioned in this fanfiction (from InuYasha to my references to Nine Inch Nails or Harry Potter). They are the properties of their respective copyright holders and I in no way am insinuating that I own them. (Consider it free advertising.) I only own the storyline and any new characters that may crop up.
Chapter Fifteen: Into the Wild Blue
That night the six companions loaded up the trucks with weapons and supplies for the next day's excursion. They prepared for a possible camp out, loading tents, sleeping bags, and other assorted camping equipment atop the weapons and armor. When morning broke everyone rolled out of bed and Yamashita had breakfast ready for her brood. Before leaving most of them strapped small weapons in easily concealable places, like onto legs and into boot cuffs. Megami and Senkotsuke double checked that they had cell phones and portable chargers on hand. They were placed in the trucks in case an emergency should arise to call for back up. They had decided to break into two groups consisting of Megami, Sesshomaru, Shippo, and Senkotsuke, Sango, Kagome.
Senkotsuke packed the last cooler into the back of his truck and secured the lockable cover over the truck bed. "We'll head to Wallowa Lake, you head to Morgan Lake, and we'll meet up at the Denny's in LaGrande to head out to Hot Lake."
Megami stuffed a small sleeping bag for Shippo into the bed of her Avalanche before closing the truck bed cover. "When should we meet up?"
Senkotsuke checked his watch. "I'd say around three. We don't want to be snooping around after dark and have someone call the damned sheriffs."
"True. I don't think we could ask Kagome and Sango to outrun them like we do." Megami smiled mischievously.
Senkotsuke chuckled, "They haven't caught us yet, sis."
Megami opened her door to climb in as she said, "The Duke boys have nothing on our driving skills!"
Megami climbed into the truck, followed by Shippo and Sesshomaru. They both quickly buckled their seat belts, and Sesshomaru couldn't help but ask, "Who are the Duke boys?"
Megami laughed softly and put the keys in the ignition. "I take it that you didn't see The Dukes of Hazzard while in Japan. I'll have to show you what I mean."
"I don't think I want to know."
She started the engine and shifted into gear, "Maybe not, but we may not have a choice." Soon they were bombing through the off road paths again and heading for the freeway. Megami drove like an absolute maniac and her passengers clung to their seats for their lives. "Now I have The Dukes of Hazzard on the brain, I need some classic tunes!" She reached into the CD organizer on her visor and looked for a disc, not even paying attention to the road.
"Megami!" Sesshomaru hissed at her, "Look at the road, for the love of Kami!"
She pulled a disc out and slid it into the stereo. "When you have a license, then you can give me driving instructions." After she said that, AC/DC came blaring on the stereo. "Do you really think I am a horrible driver?" she asked looking to Sesshomaru, then to Shippo in her rear-view mirror.
"YES!" both screeched.
Megami gave them both the Roseanne glare (it's twice as bad when one has yellow eyes). She honked her horn three times. Shippo and Sesshomaru looked to each other in confusion. Senkotsuke honked once in response and moved his truck further away from hers.
In Senkotsuke's truck, Kagome and Sango were just as confused. "What's going on?" Sango asked.
"I think someone has pissed Megami off. She's going to show them just what she can do. Just watch. You'll love it."
Sesshomaru could smell Megami's adrenaline and realized the grave mistake he had made. Megami executed her next few moves so fast that upon reflection no one in the truck was quite sure how she did it. All they could remember was the truck suddenly spinning repeatedly, kicking dirt into a whirlwind around the Chevy. In the other truck, Sango and Kagome began screaming. Senkotsuke was quick to calm them, "Stop! Stop! It's not what you think! She knows what she's doing. She honked so I'd get out of the way." They all watched, utterly transfixed, as Megami spun at least twelve cookies.
As fast as it had started, the truck was now heading in the correct direction. Megami moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear and looked to Shippo and lastly to Sesshomaru. "Don't ever tell me that I'm a bad driver again."
Shippo, who was white as a sheet, shakily said, "Yes, ma'am."
Both trucks pulled in at Hilgard State Park about ten miles out of LaGrande to stretch their legs and apply sutras. While still in the truck, Megami carefully painted her own on her back and repeated her actions on Sesshomaru's back. Shippo quickly morphed into a mortal child with a resounding "POP!" Senkotsuke came walking to her truck already in a mortal guise. He knocked lightly on her window. As Megami rolled down the window he asked, "Any more lip from these two?"
"None whatsoever," Megami opened her door and got out of the truck. "Anyways, it shouldn't take us long at Morgan Lake, seeing as I don't have as far to drive as you do. I was thinking of picking up a few things around town and seeing what kind of information I can gather. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Sounds fine. Wallowa Lake is another forty miles from LaGrande, and you have only an extra ten or fifteen to drive. You should have plenty of time before we have to regroup."
Sesshomaru walked around the front of the truck to join the others. "What is this 'LaGrande' like? Should we expect trouble?"
Megami shook her head, "No, no. It's a small town; very quiet. The people are nice and will assume we're tourists, which is perfectly fine with us. If we ask questions about the area, they'll open right up. Now," she turned to Senkotsuke, "What's our story?"
Senkotsuke spoke without missing a beat, "You two are a young couple who have recently moved to Pendleton with your son," he turned to Shippo, "Try to look a bit younger there, pup," and addressed Megami again, "Sango, Kagome, and I are young students on our Senior Trip across America."
Sesshomaru asked, "What on Earth are you talking about?"
"Along this little excursion we may be asked questions about whom we are and where we're from. It's better to have a plan than to appear suspicious," Senkotsuke said. "You two don't have to worry about acting too much. The citizens won't understand a word you say except 'konnichiwa' or 'sayonara'."
"You mean I could say they are worthless bastards and they wouldn't be the wiser?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Not a clue," Megami said. "But not to worry. Give it about three days of being around Americans and you'll speak English so fluently they'll think you were raised here."
"So quickly?" he asked incredulously.
Senkotsuke spoke, "When we all started school in America, we pretended to be extra shy for a few days until we absorbed the language. It only took about three days whenever we moved to another country."
Sesshomaru looked between the siblings, "How many languages do you two speak!"
"Oh, let's see," Megami said as she began counting on her fingers, "Japanese, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, many dialects of Arabic, and Greek."
"How often did you move!"
Senkotsuke answered, "Sesshomaru, we've been on the move looking for the shards for almost two hundred years. We've had to learn a lot." He then looked to his wrist watch. "We should get back on the road. Let's saddle up."
Everyone returned to the trucks and rejoined the freeway traffic. Both trucks took the LaGrande exit and soon parted ways at an intersection. Megami wound her way through residential traffic and made her way up the largest hill in the town. They passed schools and a large university. "Huh, imagine that. I always thought this place was a trucking town," Megami mused. (AN: This is true. LaGrande is a small mountain town that hides a very nice, large university (Eastern Oregon University). You'd never know it to drive through the town.) Shortly after that comment Megami spotted a sign that directed them towards Morgan Lake. She followed the sign posts and before she knew it Megami had to engage the four wheel drive again to climb up the trails. The trees thickened and the sun peeked out from behind thick branches when it could. Finally, the path seemed to even out and they reached level ground. Morgan Lake stood before them sparkling in the sunlight. Families were out for a little rest and relaxation. Megami slowly angled the Avalanche into a parking area and killed the motor. "All right, we're to act like a family just out for a little bit of fun just like the people here. I brought fishing poles and swimming gear for everybody. We want to be as inconspicuous as possible. Now, I'll grab your swim trunks and you two can change in the car." Megami exited the vehicle and opened the truck bed.
"Swim trunks?" Shippo asked.
"Just play along, Shippo. I don't have a clue either."
Megami returned with a small duffle bag and handed it to Sesshomaru. "There you two go. I'll get some of the other stuff unloaded until you two can help." She left as Sesshomaru unzipped the duffle bag.
Sesshomaru pulled out two pair of sandals and swim shorts, only to have him and Shippo look at them critically. Sesshomaru grumbled, "What strange garments they have in this age. Well, we don't want to light her fuse. Shippo, get changing." He began to strip off his shirt and pants and Shippo did the same. They put their sandals on and climbed out of the truck. Sesshomaru came around to the back of the truck just in time to intercept Megami lifting two heavy coolers. He took them from her, "I'll take those."
"I had them," she protested quietly.
"I know but you said to be inconspicuous. I don't know of any man who would make his wife carry this." He looked at her with a smile and walked away. Sesshomaru carried the coolers to where Megami had set up a few folding chairs and blankets. Megami and Shippo came along shortly after bearing fishing poles and tackle boxes. Once Megami's hands were free she pulled her shirt up and off. Sesshomaru was a split second from protesting when he saw that she had a strange garment beneath. It was similar to her usual undergarments. Megami then took off her jeans. She was wearing a red bikini. Sesshomaru smirked as his eyes drank in the sight of her, but soon the smile was replaced with a frown as he heard a group of young men whistling and cat calling her. He picked up a blanket and covered her with it, growling softly in the direction of the young Americans.
"Sesshomaru! What are you doing?" she demanded of him.
He was glaring at the teenagers as he growled, "I will not have another look at you in such a way!"
She growled back, "You are drawing attention to us!"
"No, you are drawing attention to us. Now put something on over that!"
She bristled at him and hissed, "Make me."
His nostrils flared in anger. "Megami my dear if you do not cover yourself I will make damn sure that you will. Even if I have to pick you up and dress you like a child, I will make sure that you are not on display for others!"
She angled her chin up at him and simply stood there defiantly. Sesshomaru shrugged his shoulders and without warning picked her up over his shoulder. Her hands immediately went to her chest to prevent gravity from causing unwanted exposure while she yelled, "Sesshomaru! Put me down!"
He strode to the truck with her angled over his shoulder and began rummaging through a duffle bag while Megami shrieked and kicked. Sesshomaru simply said, "I warned you, Megami." To the onlookers, it was quite comical to see the young couple shouting at each other in Japanese. Many families broke into fits of laughter as Sesshomaru grabbed a black sport cut tank top, walked back to their chairs, and plopped Megami into one. He yanked the tank top over her head then stood back to admire his handy work. Megami was fuming, but no longer exposed beyond his liking. "Much better," he said proudly and then sat in the chair next to her.
Shippo ignored them both and began setting up a fishing pole. "So Megami, how are we supposed to investigate the lake with all of these people around?"
"I have it covered." She reached into the duffle bag she placed between the chairs and pulled out a bottle marked sunscreen. She handed the bottle to Sesshomaru. "Put this over my sutra and I'll put it over yours. Just whatever you do, don't lean back into your chair for about ten minutes."
He looked at the bottle and said, "And how is sunscreen supposed to help?"
She whispered, "It's not sunscreen. It's glue. A layer of it over the sutras will add a little extra protection to the waterproofing. This way, we can swim without being revealed. While swimming we can investigate the lake. We'll have to do this in shifts. People tend to frown on unattended children."
"Good thinking." Sesshomaru opened the bottle and asked, "How much will it take?"
"Not too much. Just make sure there's a good layer over the entire sutra."
Sesshomaru applied a descent amount over her sutra and Megami returned the favor for him. While she smeared glue on his lower back, Sesshomaru asked, "Won't people see this on my back and ask what it is?"
"If they notice it at all, they'll assume it's a tattoo. Many people have them today, and Kanji characters are a fucking fad in the states. That's why I put them there. It's a common place to get a tattoo and only someone who has any clue what it is will ask specifically. In Japan I try to keep it covered. Too many people will know what it means."
Sesshomaru looked at her with respect gleaming in her eyes. "You really think things through. You're very meticulous."
She blushed gently and mumbled, "You're just flattering me."
"No, I'm serious. You put intense thought into the smallest of procedures."
"Next you're going to tell me that I'm just paranoid," Megami said and turned to him.
"Quite honestly it's kind of a turn on." He winked at her. Sesshomaru grasped her chin gently between two of his fingers and kissed her softly.
Megami looked to him and smiled. Her eyes happened to look southward and she blushed furiously. "I may also warn you, my lord, that those shorts aren't very good at hiding any, er, stirrings you may feel. Perhaps I should swim first."
Sesshomaru looked down to see what she had been talking about. He repositioned himself in his chair and tugged at his shorts to hide the evidence of his lustful thoughts.
Sesshomaru chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, "They're not as good as a pair of hakama for hiding that, huh?"
Megami laughed, "Indeed not."
Shippo groaned mournfully as he cast his line out into the lake, "Oh Kami, why did I have to be paired up with you two?"
Megami stood and stretched, "My glue should be dry now. I'll go in first." She walked to the edge of the water and waded in. At about waist level she dove under the water. Sesshomaru watched for her. Megami's head would pop up here and there over the lake but she would soon dive again. He watched intently, keeping track of her for a little over half an hour. Finally Megami surfaced near their site and walked out of the water. Sesshomaru arose and grabbed a towel for her. He came forward and wrapped it around her.
"Anything?" he asked of her.
"Not that I saw." She turned to Shippo and softly said, "There aren't many fish where you're line is. Try casting it out further."
Sesshomaru rubbed her shoulders to dry her. "You relax. I'll go in now; seeing as I'm not a living sundial."
Megami giggled and sat down in her chair to wring out her soaked hair. Sesshomaru left his sandals beside his chair and walked to the lake. He waded in just as Megami did and dove into the water's depths. Megami now watched intently for Sesshomaru's head to break the surface on occasion. Shippo recast his line, propped the pole on a stand, and then leaned back against Megami's legs. Megami petted his hair while watching for Sesshomaru. Shortly after Sesshomaru's head appeared at the far side of the lake Shippo's fishing pole began to jiggle. "Shippo-kun! You have a bite!"
Shippo leaned up and grabbed the pole. He pulled at the line and began to reel it in. Shippo fought with the fish for about five minutes until finally he held up a beautiful trout. Megami grabbed a camera and took a picture of him with his first catch (in this era). Sesshomaru resurfaced while Megami and Shippo were putting the fish in an empty cooler. Megami closed the lid on the cooler and grabbed a towel for Sesshomaru. She draped it over his shoulders and asked, "Did you see anything?"
"Not a damn thing."
Megami cursed under her breath, "Maybe we need to have Kagome come out here. She can sense the shards."
"No, Megami." Sesshomaru rubbed the towel over his chest. "They have their own scouting to do. Two more dives should cover the lake but I don't sense anything either. Just to be sure we should look again."
"Yes, my lord," she looked at one of the coolers, "Are you hungry?"
"A little. Is there something in the other cooler?"
"Yes. While I'm out you two help yourselves." She made her way out to the lake and plunged into the waters.
Shippo and Sesshomaru raided the cooler as soon as she was submerged. They both sat munching on cold cut sandwiches while watching for Megami to bob up from the water. Sesshomaru's jade eyes wandered slightly to the families on the edge of the lake. These people frolic and are unaware of the danger looming in their world. Their ideas of danger are burglars, drug dealers, and bad politicians. Little do they know that something far worse lurks in the shadows … even right here among them. Things that they tell their children are mere fairy tales and myths still roam this world. In a way we must fight to protect them as well as ourselves. Their lives hang in the balance of this. When Naraku stretched his hand into the World Wars, millions of mortals died. His evil affected them, too. He has tainted the entire world. We have to find that shard.
Megami returned empty handed some time later and Sesshomaru moved for his last dive. Megami ate a sandwich and Shippo returned for seconds. They saw Sesshomaru surface here and there, moving swiftly through the lake. He stayed under longer than the first time. He returned almost an hour later, shaking his head upon reaching shore. Megami brought him his towel again and used hers to work on his hair. "Nothing?" she asked.
"Nothing," he confirmed.
"Well we should be moving on then," she said heavily.
The trio changed before working on packing up their small camp. They loaded everything back into the truck carefully. With a last dirty look at the boys who whistled at Megami, Sesshomaru got into the truck and they went on their merry way. Sesshomaru fumed silently in his seat.
"Don't worry about not finding anything. This is only the first day. We can't expect to get that lucky," Megami reassured Sesshomaru.
"I know. I just can't help it," he grumbled.
Megami gasped in horror as an elk darted out in front of her truck. She jerked the wheel to the side to avoid hitting the animal and the front passenger wheel fell into an enormous pothole. SCRUNCH! Megami worked the truck out of the huge rut and pulled off to the side of the trail. She turned on her hazard lights. "Ah fuck it all!" she shouted as she jumped out of the truck. Megami jogged around to the tire and inspected it. Growling, she got on her hands and knees to look under the vehicle.
Sesshomaru got out of the truck, "What's wrong, Megami?"
"I'm not sure yet." Her voice was slightly muffled for she had turned on her back and scooted her torso under the truck. "Motherfucker!" she screeched.
"What's wrong?" he asked again.
"I tore a boot."
"A what?"
"It keeps the grease in the joints for my tires to turn. If I don't get it fixed I'll be replacing a half shaft sooner or later. Son of a bitch!" She crawled out from under the rig and they both got back in the truck. "There's bound to be someplace in LaGrande that can fix this." She turned off her hazard lights and drove back to LaGrande.
"So you guys have the time and parts to fix this?" Megami asked the tire shop clerk in perfect English.
"Yes, ma'am. It should be done in about a half an hour. Go ahead and take a seat in our waiting room," the clerk responded, "There are cartoons in there for the little one. Just pipe up if you need anything."
"Thank you," Megami said and led the others into the comfortable waiting room. They waited patiently. Sesshomaru took a hold of Megami's hand, and Shippo curled up in her lap. They all soon fell into the daze that can only be brought on by a waiting room in a tire store. However, after about twenty minutes all three of them began wrinkling their noses from the strong smell of new tires. "Oh, man," Megami groaned, "Let's just wait outside."
They walked out into a bright summer day. Sesshomaru looked around at the small town.
"It's so unlike where we came in from the plane," he commented.
"Portland is huge. This place is less than a tenth its size," Megami answered. She kept looking into the garage where her Avalanche was hoisted on a lift, worried that someone would snoop in the truck bed. And that's when she noticed it: a peculiar scent. Megami sniffed a few times. It has to be. But which one is it?
Sesshomaru noticed the look on Megami's face, "What is it? Do you smell it, too? Which one is it?"
"I'm not sure just yet." She sniffed again.
A mechanic pressed a button and the Avalanche was lowered back to ground level. Soon after, a young mechanic came up to Megami, "Your truck is ready, miss."
She eyed him suspiciously and smelled softly. Her eyes went wide and she muttered, "Kitsune!"
The young mechanic went deathly pale and whispered back in Japanese, "How did you know that!"
"Appearances can be deceiving. Wait here. Sesshomaru, keep an eye on him." Megami went inside to pay for the work done and retrieved her keys. She was out of the store in a flash and returned to speak to the young man. "Who are you?" she demanded in Japanese.
"No, I should be asking you!" he said defensively.
"If you are a fox demon, you don't need to worry. If you'd pay attention to your nose, you'd know that this little one isn't my son."
The young man looked to Shippo, and the little one gave him a wink as he pulled a leaf from inside his pocket. The mechanic took this as a vote of confidence. "My name is Yukio."
"Are there others like you, Yukio?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Look, my shift is over in fifteen minutes. Do you know where the Denny's is?"
Megami nodded. "Yes."
"We'll talk more then. I'll meet you there."
"And if you don't show?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"You already know my scent, and I only can smell the little one. I'd say you have the upper hand here. Trust me."
"Fine, Yukio. We shall see you then," Megami said. Yukio returned into the garage and the three slowly made their way to the truck. Once inside, Megami pulled out her cell phone and called Senkotsuke as she drove to Denny's.
